Fairfield, Washington
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
APRIL 17, 2012
7:00 P.M.
Note to persons reviewing this document: This is not a verbatim transcript. While an attempt has been made to document pertinentpoints, these minutes contain only a summary of the discussion and voting.
Mayor Huber called the regular council meeting to order on April 17, 2012 at 7:00 pm. Council members present: Harry Gibbons, Mary Branon, George Davidson and Brian Kauffman. Valerie Spurrell is absent due to a family emergency.
Others present: Dennis Fuller of Century West, Tom Smith, Tony Sparks, Derek Knecht and Cheryl Loeffler.
Approval of Minutes
ACTION
Brian Kauffman motioned to approve the April 3, 2012 regular council minutes presented, seconded by Harry Gibbons. The motion carried.
ACTION
Approval of the Claims
Brian Kauffman motioned and Mary Branon seconded to approve claim vouchers #16606 through #16621 for $21,596.30 and EFTs for $ 1,259.78 as presented. The motion carried.
Claims: $20,029.48
Payroll: 2,826.67
Total Claims: $22,856.15
Check Register signed by: Mary Branon, George Davidson and Brian Kauffman
Engineer’s Report
Century West
Sewer System Improvement Project
Dennis Fuller of Century West came to the meeting in place of KJ Hanley who is ill. Dennis discussed the upcoming sewer improvement project on Carlton. A letter was sent last week inviting the businesses and citizens, that would be affected by the project to come tonight and visit with the engineer but no one attended. There has been discussion with many of the citizens throughout the early phases of the project. Dennis commented that when Carlton was worked on years ago, there was a large amount of undesirable material that had to be removed and replaced. This was considered into the bid price for this project. The treatment plant was discussed as a potential location to place the removed material. A silt fence would have to be placed to comply with the Department of Ecology (DOE) but that area should be fine. Having the extra dirt out there will actually help to level some of the banks and make mowing easier. Dennis will discuss this with the contractors. The plan is to begin the project next week providing the weather holds.
ACTION
Mary motioned to approve signing the Notice of Award to Bowen Brothers for $77,125.55 for the 2011 Sewer Improvement Project; seconded by Harry. The motion carried.
Dennis then commented that Derek is doing a great job at the treatment plant. Managing the flows to stay compliant with DOE, especially during a wet spring is very difficult. When the I&I reduction project started, about 700,000 gallons of water went through the treatment plant a day. So far, with the sewer projects that have been completed the amount of gallons has been reduced to about 500,000 gallons a day. The flows need to be much lower to comply with the DOE permit. By doing all of the different sewer improvement projects and reducing the I&I, demonstrates to DOE that the town is making progress with this issue.
TD&H
Randy Noble sent a written progress report from TD&H stating that UPRR has not yet executed an agreement for the railroad’s portion of the street project. The advertisement has been posted with bid opening on May 1.
Public Hearing Ordinance #369
AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF FAIRFIELD, WASHINGTON, ADOPTING RULES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR CUSTOMERS OF THE TOWN’S WATER UTILITY AND OTHER MATTERS PROPERLY RELATED THERETO.
Ed opened the public hearing at 7:20. The first reading of Ordinance #369 was done by the mayor.
Tom Smith:
Reviewed the document and pointed out that the terminology of water/sewer main is present in a few locations. He wondered if sewer should be removed from water ordinance.
The word sewer will be removed from this ordinance.
There is reference to both “town” and “city” throughout the document. Since Fairfield is a town, this needs to be corrected to read town.
The document mentions the “superintendent of water”. Does the Town have one?
It is referred to in Section 2 of the ordinance.
He did not find reference to whose responsibility it is from the meter to the house in the document.
This will be clarified.
Brian Kauffman:
Discussed the section of the good faith payment plan being only for the outstanding balance and having it state that the delinquent accounts MUST stay current on the utility bill along with making payments on the past due amount. If the person defaults on the outstanding balance, anything over 90 days will have a lien placed. Terminology should be in place for minimum dollar amount or percentage of payment to be accepted on the past due account set by resolution.
Brian also noted that there should not be a specific dollar amount or gallons/cubic feet listed but specifics should refer to be established by resolution of the town council. This will make future changes to the ordinance minimal.
The attorney signature line will be added.
Mary suggested having both the water and sewer ordinance sent to the attorney for review at the same time to save on legal fees.
A few other typos were corrected.
Tony: Will there be another reading?
Yes, especially with the corrections and additions. The next one will be at the next council meeting.
Tom: What prompted the council to review codes?
There are several areas in the ordinance that are outdated.
Tony: Are there plans for increases to the water rates:
Every year the town implements a small increase. Currently, it has been at 2%. This helps maintain the water budget and keep up with the additional testing requirements from the Department of Health.
Does the homeowner have to get permission from the water superintendent to run water from the main house to a shop?
Permission does not need to be granted but the additional water line should be approved by the public works and all of the materials are up to code. Unless there is an entire new building built, the line would be an extension of the current property and no further permits would be needed.
With no further public comments, the public hearing was closed at 8:52.
OLD BUSINESS
RECYCLING
Fee per dumping Frequency # of bins Plastic Aluminum Paper Cardboard Glass Bonus
Sunshine Disposal $30 per bin every week 2 X X X X
Du-Mor Free as needed 1 X X
Aluminum can money comes back to Fairfield
Empire Disposal 175 as needed 1 X X X X X $10 per ton rebate
The council discussed each company and what they would offer to the town. They were very appreciative to Mark Matherly and Du-Mor Recycling for their offer but felt that their program did not take enough different items. There would also be the possibility the Town losing them if Mr. Matherly were to move from Fairfield. The council is looking for a very long-term commitment.
Sunshine Disposal’s fees would be $240 per month with the expectation that the bins would be dumped every week whether they were full or not. They also do not take glass.
Empire Disposal does take glass along with all of the other items. The bin would be dumped on an as needed basis and is $175 per dump plus the possibility of a $10 per ton rebate. Their drivers could monitor this while they are on their route in Fairfield.
ACTION
Mary motioned to proceed with Empire Disposal to provide recycling for the Town of Fairfield with a fee of $175 per bin dump on an as needed basis; to amend the current budget to allow a portion of the collected utility tax to pay the fee and to take into consideration possible grant monies to help defray these costs; seconded by Brian. The motion carried.
Empire Disposal will be notified of the decision and asked if a side-door modification could be made. Possible locations are being discussed.
Community Center
Youth Activities
The Youth Activity Committee met last week with four people wanting to participate. Amy Howard, John and Jeannie Jesseph and Paul Anderson all came with ideas to help this progress. They would like to see Levi’s Room open at least three times a week with food served one of those nights and also have a family night. Paul suggested that the age be lowered to about nine. He explained that the kids that are in junior high already have their “hang-out” decided and getting them to change is pretty difficult. The younger kids can still be persuaded to participate and would bring their friends. Funding and volunteers are still the biggest hurdles. Going door to door with handouts could be a way to generate interest. Amy will design a handout to be delivered this week. John and Jeannie will prepare a spaghetti dinner for this Thursday, April 19 to be served at 5:30.
Liberty School District was contacted about a summer lunch program but with their rural location, it is almost impossible to get the kids there so they have never applied for the funding. Cheryl had the idea of having Liberty do the lunches but have locations in the different towns for distribution. A count of kids that would benefit from this would be helpful for both the town and the school. Cheryl will continue to work on this project. There is also a Wal-Mart Stop Hunger grant that will be looked into for both the Youth activities and the Senior Souper.
Door
Cheryl has been unable to reach Kirk Mundt from Kirk’s Doors about the door handle on the lower door. Another provider is being contacted.
Light fixture replacement bid
Mary received the bid from Platt but it was much higher than both Carr Sales and CED. Derek will contact these other two companies to provide an updated bid.
Maintenance at Post Office
Bids were received from Air Pro and Banner Furnace and Fuel for cleaning the furnace ducts at the post office. Both bids were for $400 plus tax. They also provided bids for servicing the furnace, replacing all filters and repairing one air return opening. Air Pro was $650 and Banner was for $95 per hour with a different tech and truck. This could take up to two additional hours.
The air ducts at the community center need cleaning
ACTION
Mary motioned to approve the bid from Air Pro for $650 to clean the ducts, service the furnace, replace all filters and repair one return air opening at the post office and to add cleaning the ducts at the Community Center; seconded by Brian. The motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Dust control
Dust control information was received from two providers. Custom Spray uses magnesium chloride and would charge $1.20 per foot. Custom Spray guarantees their product and stated that they would come back to Fairfield for reapplication at no additional charge, if needed. This is available until Spokane County stops issuing permits. They have used this product before in Fairfield. Lyman Dust Control has been the company used in the recent past. They use Lygnol at $1.20 per foot as well. There were a few complaints last year about their guarantee and their service. Derek will contact Custom Spray about the application process that they use. Ed commented that the magnesium chloride is used for washboard control in Idaho. When it is applied correctly, it usually does not need reapplication and does stop the streets from becoming a washboard.
Community Yard Sale
Requests to have a community wide yard sale are coming into the office. Waverly would like to have one at the same time so the weekend of May 19 and 20 was chosen.
Mosquito fogging
Dean Browning will not be fogging for mosquitos this year so at the current time, there is not a licensed applicator. A new interlocal agreement between the different communities that purchased the fogger will be drawn up and will need signatures. Tekoa will keep us informed on the progress of this.
Public Works Update
WATER
- All water testing is on schedule.
- Chlorine residuals are within limits.
WWTF
- Flows are still above normal, but are coming down to a manageable level.
- We are having some trouble out of pump #2 in lift station #2; settling conduit has exposed and corroded some wire leads dealing with power supply and control. This problem is being remedied before the ponds must be emptied and ready for the “NO” dis-charge season this summer.
- E.Q. liner pump has been put into operation, evacuating water under the liner from high levels of natural ground water this spring.
PARKS
- Weed control and mowing has started for the season.
- Garbage and branches are being picked up on a daily basis.
- Avista has been contacted about putting in a light to shine on the pedestrian bridge and light up the parking area on the north end of Thiel Park.
- Final Pricing on mowers is ready for review. Council will make a decision on Lawn Mower Purchase.
- Bee catching traps have been placed and stocked with nectar.
ROADS
- Repaired stop sign at the west end of Portland Ave.
- Ordering new stop signs and some much needed road name signs to replace some weathered and/ or missing and damaged ones around town.
- Removed plow and emptied sander unit on town dump truck.
OTHER: Cleaned out spouting at the Library, spread ant neutralizer around outside of Library facility to get rid of invading carpenter ants in the meeting room. Furnace filters are being changed in all town buildings. Fire alarms are also being checked/ batteries replaced. Ford town truck is in need of expensive mechanical work on the front end of the drive train (4x4 system) looking to a possible up-grade to a more economical S-10 or truck of that nature. Fuel savings alone will help with budget.
Lawnmowers
Derek provided the council with quotes for the purchase of a new commercial lawnmower. The current grasshopper has been a great machine but is near the end of its life.
Grasshopper mower with 72” mower deck with collection mount kit: $16,336.50
John Deere Commercial Front Mower without mower deck 1565 Series 25,927.00
John Deere Commercial Front Mower 1445 Series less mower deck 19,573.00
ACTION
Mary motioned to purchase the Grasshopper mower and deck for $16,336.50; seconded by Brian. The motion carried.
The lawnmower was budgeted for with the excess sales tax that was collected in 2011.
Other:
2012 Spring Yard Debris Day is April 28th 9-3 with a home composting class offered that same day at the community center at 10 a.m. Derek A will work his schedule so he will be available to work at the site. The fire department has asked that people DO NOT leave material at the site prior to the actual date.
The fire department asked for clarification of ownership of the fire hydrants at Fairfield Care. They are the responsibility of the Town, as stated in the water ordinance.
Review Complaints & Compliments
4-12-12 Blocked alley behind 106 S Fairweather. **A letter was written asking the owner to move the vehicle as it is was in violation of ordinance #334. The owner did notify town hall that the vehicle has been moved.
Adjourn
The regular meeting adjourned 9:13 pm.
__________________ __________________________
Mayor Ed Huber Clerk/Treasurer Cheryl Loeffler
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