DRAFT ONLY. Without council review or approval.
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
July 24, 2012
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Echanove called the Council Meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
ROLL CALL: Council members present: Tim Jones; Bo Ossinger; Norm Schorzman; Alison Webb; Rick Wekenman. Absent: Cecil Floyd, Connie Newman. Councilmember Wekenman MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Jones, to excuse both councilmembers’ absences. Also present: Public Works Superintendent Dwayne Griffin; Police Officer Brian Dentler; Clerk-Treasurer Joyce Beeson; & Deputy Clerk Ann Thompson. Public present: Janet Barstow, Garth Meyer, Caitlyn McGehee (7:52).
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Schorzman MOVED to adopt the minutes of the Special Council Meeting of July 10, 2012. Councilmember Webb seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt. Griffin submitted a written report. Additionally, they have started the Mohr Street project. They discovered that one of the sewer mains will be in the way of the new curb so the sewer line will be moved north about three feet.
Award bid for G Street Paving: Received two bids. Motley & Motley bid $24.95/sy = $15,194.55. Poe Asphalt bid $22.50/sy = $13,702.50. Supt. Griffin confirmed that both bids met the requirements and recommended that council award to the low bidder. Councilmember Ossinger MOVED to accept the low bid from Poe Asphalt for $13,702.50 for the G Street project. Councilmember Wekenman seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
POLICE REPORT: The Police Department is requesting that council establish an ordinance for people residing in RV’s outside RV parks. We currently have a policy but it is not backed by one specific ordinance but rather different references within Palouse Municipal Code. For instance, Title 17–Zoning sets the minimum size for a dwelling unit at 750 sq feet and that two separate dwelling units cannot be located on the same lot. Zoning code also allows RV’s for human habitation in a mobile home park. This isn’t something that we have to deal with often, but it is an issue from time to time. In order for the current policy to be properly enforced, it should reference an ordinance. Our attorney recommended that council include the Planning Commission in addressing this issue since it concerns zoning codes. The Policy and Administration committee will address this.
Palouse Music Festival is this weekend. The PD doesn’t foresee any issues. August 7 & 8 is the Ride Across Washington bicycling event with approximately 250 bicyclists camping at our park.
JFB REPORT: Due to aging demographic of the fire department, they’re having trouble getting enough responders to fire calls. EMS is right where they want to be for support personnel.
NEW BUSINESS:
2nd Quarter Treasurer’s Report: No surprises, no budget amendments. Busy looking at next year’s budget and what beginning balances might be for next year. As the numbers start coming together, the Finance Committee needs to meet with Clerk-Treasurer Beeson every two or three weeks.
Ordinance No. 898 – setting 2013 excess property tax levy amount: Mayor read aloud the ordinance in its entirety and again by title only. We are taking our banked capacity of $782 and the 1% increase allowed by law. These figures exclude any new homes that aren’t on the tax rolls yet. Councilmember Schorzman MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Jones, to adopt ordinance No. 898. Motion carried unanimously.
Ordinance No. 899 – setting 2013 regular and special levy amounts: Mayor read aloud the ordinance in its entirety and again by title only. This ordinance sets the amounts for the special street levy, special pool levy, regular EMS levy, and the general levy. Currently, 65% of the general levy goes into Current Expense fund and 35% goes into Street fund. The Street fund is an operating fund. Capital improvements to streets come out of our Arterial Street fund through the voted special levy. The pool levy funds only a portion of the pool, the rest is absorbed through the current expense fund. Some years it costs more than others to operate the pool, depending on condition of the equipment. Councilmember Webb brought up charging entrance fees to the pool. The last time we charged for entrance, we brought in only about $5,000. Collecting fees to operate the pool on top of what they’re paying in their taxes doesn’t compensate for hours spent collecting, banking and auditing the process. It would also mean that homeowners not only pay the tax, but would then have to buy a pass to use the pool. Councilmember Jones MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Ossinger, to adopt ordinance No. 899 as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution No. 2012-05 – language for placing the street improvements levy on Nov. 6, 2012, ballot:
Mayor read aloud the resolution in its entirety. Councilmember Wekenman MOVED to adopt Resolution No. 2012-05, seconded by Councilmember Schorzman. Supt. Griffin stressed how important this levy is in order to maintain our city streets. The paving and dust control are funded only through the special street levy. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution No. 2012-06 – language for placing the M & O swimming pool levy on the Nov. 6, 2012, ballot:
Mayor read aloud the resolution in its entirety. Councilmember Wekenman MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Ossinger, to adopt Resolution No. 2012-06 as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Resolution No. 2012-07 – interim specifications for sewer hook-up:
Mayor read aloud the resolution in its entirety. The city is in the process of developing standards for new sewer connections. This is setting an interim standard by setting the size of a standard sewer service line to a single family residence at 4” pipe. In adopting this interim standard, the city will be able to move forward with applications for sewer hookups while the comprehensive standards are being developed. Councilmember Jones MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Webb, to adopt resolution No. 2012-07 as written. This resolution was written by our attorney. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS/REQUESTS:
Parks, Cemetery, & Buildings-Alison Webb. Chair: no report
Policy & Administration-Bo Ossinger, Chair: no report
Streets & Sidewalks-Cecil Floyd, Chair: no report
Personnel & Pool-Tim Jones, Chair: no report
Water & Sewer-Connie Newman, Chair: no report
Police, Fire, & Safety-Rick Wekenman, Chair: Colfax hazardous mitigation draft is in its final stages.
Finance, Property, & Equipment-Norm Schorzman, Chair: no report
OPEN FORUM: Janet Barstow. Talking about Haunted Palouse. Dates this year will be Oct 19, 20, 26, 27. Janet asked permission to use city property again as in the past: Shady Lane, the PD basement, and Central Park. They will be starting to set up the last week of September. Supt. Griffin is fine with it. The Palouse Chamber will have the portable potties again which really helped last year. Councilmember Jones MOVED to grant the Palouse Chamber of Commerce permission to operate Haunted Palouse using city property as outlined in the past. Councilmember Schorzman seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Brownfields bids close 4 pm, July 30th (update: bid closing date moved to August 1st). There were 16 contractors here for the pre-conference meeting. We have scheduled a special council meeting August 7th with just one agenda item to perhaps award the bid for the project.
ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Ossinger MOVED that the bills against the city be allowed. Councilmember Wekenman seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
ADJOURN: Councilmember Schorzman MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Webb seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. The council meeting adjourned at 8:09 PM.
The following checks are approved for payment:
Claims Paid, July 25, 2012: Ck. #4167-4184 $7,734.79
Void: Ck. # 4165
APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________
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