Town Council Meeting
October 19, 2011
7:00 p.m.
"Minutes do not include corrections made to the Approved Minutes, and do not include Voided Warrants."
Public Hearing
Mayor Pro-tem Steve Meyer brought the Public Hearing to order after the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Council members that were present: Clint Stevenson, Jim Oshanick, Stan Seehorn and Thomas Smith. Public Works John Goyke and Clerk/Treasurer Darlene LaShaw were also present. Mayor Micki Harnois was attending a conference.
A hearing was held for Rockford’s request for 1% increase on property taxes and also the EMS levy.
Darlene reported that the Town can request 1% more from the property taxes the Town received from the previous year. She explained that it would be approximately $ 605.
She further explained that with the EMS levy the Town can actually request $ 2,475. In the past six years of the levy funds have been banked to the total of that amount.
Kathy Creed spoke that the Town should just go for it.
The public hearing was closed.
Another hearing was held for the Town’s 2012 CDBG project. Darlene explained that there is $ 1,100,000 available for the 2012 grant cycle. $ 825,000 is available for infrastructure, $ 165,000 for Public Services and $ 110,000 for administration.
Clint Stevenson spoke of the sewer & water pipe lining that JUB had recently explained to the Council. Steve Kelley agreed with Clint’s idea.
Vicki Bergstrom voiced her thoughts of the Town working lining sewer lines, making a picture of the whole Town, doing sections at a time.
Kathy Creed asked if the Town was too late for this cycle for not being prepared.
John Goyke spoke of the wastewater improvement project that he had attended a tech team earlier in the day in Wenatchee. He explained that the whole project would cost approximately $ 2.5 million and wouldn’t be completed until about 2024. John further spoke of Cythinia Walls concerns with the Town’s wastewater improvement needs. She feels that pond # 1 needs to be dealt with first. He reported that two samples from the drainage pipe under the liner have shown fecal matter.
John further spoke of a possible option of applying for a planning application as well as application for repairs for pond #1 through CDBG for $ 201,000. He spoke there was a match of $ 16,000. He stated the CDBG would only be a small part of the whole project.
Jim Oshanick suggested the SW Reservoir roof as a project. Darlene stated that it would be too small of project for CDBG to fund.
Clint asked if aerators for the lagoon would be eligible for CDBG project. Both John and Darlene informed him that it would be.
John further spoke of DOE’s fears of the Town being sued for improper drainage. Other small towns in the state have already been sued.
John added that the Town will have to complete an income survey for approximately $8,000.
No further public comments
Hearing was closed.
Council Meeting
Mayor pro-tem Steve Meyer brought the Council meeting to order. Council members and staff that attended the hearing attended the meeting as well.
Steve announced that an Executive Session will be added to the agenda.
John explained there is approximately $27,000 remaining with the reservoir project. The Council needed to prioritize the options that could be possible for funding if approved by DOE.
Stan Seehorn made the motion to prioritize the options as: 1) booster pump for B Street, 2) PRV valve on Stringham, and 3) roof on the SW reservoir. Thomas seconded the motion. Jim opposed; motion carried.
Steve Kelly asked how close the SW Reservoir to contamination is. Clint told him it was close.
John finished the Engineer’s report by stating that well house projects are close to being completed.
Andy Clark of AWC was present to talk or answer any questions of the health insurance options for the Town. He informed the Council that 80% of the cities/towns in Washington have their medical insurance through AWC. The current plan the Town’s employee’s are on will discontinue at the end of the year. Stan stated he will contact an AWC insurance specialist before the next meeting to ask some questions.
No decisions were made.
Public Comment
Kathy Creed stated that she had been asked by people to inquire about a few issues. First she spoke about the poor attendance of the Candidate Forum that had been recently held at the Grange Hall. She thanked Clint for attending. He had been the only Council member who had attended. She voiced her thoughts that candidates should send a letter to the host whether attending or not.
Kathy also asked for clarification on the numbers that are rounded up on the utility bills. Steve informed her that gallons of water used are rounded up by the thousands, not the dollar amount.
Kathy also spoke of the Pit Bull that is at the trailer behind the yellow house by the Grange Hall.
Steve Kelley asked if it is licensed.
Darlene explained that Spokanimal had been called out for that dog. The Spokanimal employee thought it was the nicest dog she had reviewed. The owner claimed it was his daughter’s dog, not his dog. It was just visiting. Darlene noted her frustrations with Spokanimal.
Kathy asked why the property of the yellow house is not being cleaned up. She asked if the RCC could help out in any way. Steve noted that he wasn’t sure if they would want to involve themselves with that, not knowing what was in the debris. Steve reported that the issue is an on going project with the code enforcement person.
Steve Kelley spoke of the Town condemning the property. Steve reported that condemning properties is not as easy as people think it is. He further reported that in some places properties are cleaned up by the towns and a lien is placed on the property. The problem is that the property has to sell before getting the money back.
Steve Kelley spoke of part of his neighborhood by referring it to as Felony Flats. He talked about the foot and vehicle traffic that goes on at all hours of the day. He felt something needs to be done before something happens.
Steve again noted that the Town is currently working on problems in that area.
Jim noted that the Town has ordinances but it is enforcing the ordinances that is the problem.
Steve reported he will talk to the drug enforcement people.
Treasurer’s Report
Darlene reported that the Treasurer’s Report for the month of September 2011 was $316,680.83 – all in funds.
Minutes
Stan made the motion to approve the minutes of the October 5th and the Special meeting of October 11th. The motion was seconded by Clint. Thomas abstained; motion carried.
Old Business
Jim made the motion to increase the Council’s wages from $20.00 per meeting to $40.00. Stan seconded the motion.
Jim amended the motion to increase the Council’s wages from $20.00 to $40.00 and for any scheduled meeting of the Council. Stan seconded the motion. Clint opposed. Motion carried.
Clint voiced that as the Town is trying to make ends meet he disagreed with any increase.
Steve is still looking for another snow plow for the Town.
New Business
Stan made the motion to approve Resolution 11-5R, Rockford adopting the County Emergency Management Plan. Jim seconded the motion; motion carried.
Thomas made a motion to adopt Ordinance 11-3, Rockford amending the Town’s water system rules and regulations, charging businesses and residential per single unit 5,000 gallons of water during the months that the Town does not read the meters. Jim seconded the motion; motion carried.
Thomas made the motion to pursue fixing pond # 1 and apply for planning for the Town’s wastewater improvements by applying for CDBG funding for the 2012 CDBG grant cycle. Clint seconded the motion; motion carried.
Thomas asked Darlene when the Town would be able to proceed with repairing the roof of the SW reservoir. Darlene thought the Town could look closer at the project after the New Year.
John wanted to note that with the pump trouble at the lagoon’s lift station, there is only one pump operating. He will call Dickerson for a price of a new pump or to repair one.
Executive Session
Steve called for an Executive session for a legal issue at 8:30. It would last about ten minutes.
After the conclusion of the Executive Session the Council went back into regular session.
The Council discussed a potential legal issue. No decisions were made.
Adjourned at 8:45.
___________________________________
Darlene LaShaw, Clerk Steve Meyer, Mayor Pro-tem
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