Rockford, Wash., Town Council Meeting Minutes May 15, 2013

Rockford Town Council

May 15, 2013

7:00 PM 

Mayor Micki Harnois called the meeting to order after the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Council members present were: Larry Van Every, Dave Thompson, Clint Stevenson and Thomas Smith. John Goyke Clerk/Treasurer/Public Works Operator was also present.

Mayor comments:

The combining of the Clerk/Treasurer position with the Public Works Position is still in its six month probation period.

 

Art Grewe will be leaving tomorrow May 16^th at 8:00 Am to fly to Washington D.C. on the honor flight.

 

Tree City USA:

For Tree City USA recognition the Mayor read the proclamation declaring the Town’s Arbor Day as May 4^th 2013. Three trees were planted in memory of three local residents Brad Marlow, Dough Pratt and Don Davis.

The May 4^th Town clean up day went very well, the Mayor then read a list of volunteers that she wished to thank including Jack and Vicki Bergstrom, Dave Thompson, Maiden, Trevor, Justin and Derek Cecil.

June 01 will be the Rockford Tire Recycle Day; tires may be dropped off at the Rockford Town Shop, all day.

The Rockford Community Center will have a redneck water park event at the Town Park. There will be a slip and slide and adult supervision the temperature will have to be 80 degrees or more for the event to occur.

The mayor announced that she has spoken to a corporation that wishes to open a card room in Rockford, this is just a discussion at this point nothing formal has been drawn up.

The mayor has nothing new to report on the Sheriffs contract.

The Mayor had nothing new to report on the Primmer Lease Contract for the South West Reservoir.

The Yellow House on Highway 278/1^st Street, the Mayor said that the Town is close to getting the paper work drawn up and signed that will allow the Town to clean up the property and then attach the cost of clean up in a lien to the property. 

Committee Reports:

Nothing to report.

 

May 01st Minutes

Dave Thompson made a motion to approve the minutes. Clint Stevenson seconded the motion, passed with a voice vote, with Thomas Smith voicing an abstention to the vote.

Checks

Clint made a motion to pay checks 12000 through 12015 for a total of $3,171.24, with payroll of $318.47 and claims of $2852.77. The motion was seconded by Thomas Smith, motion passed with a voice vote.

Treasurers Report

Treasurer’s Report: $249,707.86 for April 2013 CE-$65,109.17; Street-$24,866.54; Criminal Justice $3,079.91; Equipment/Property Reserve $51,535.70; Sewer $23,433.24; Lagoon Repair $13,153.69; Water Fund $-3,333.65; Sewer Reserve $43,543.42; Water Reserve $8,319.84; Waste Water Facility Reserve $20,000.00

The treasurer reported that the water fund was in the negative this month and that the revenue that was hoped for will be less than expected. After the meters were read for the month there were more accounts with credits than anticipated.

 

Thomas Smith then requested that a budget position be made available at the next council meeting.

Old Business

Arena

No Further information was presented.

 

Andrew Fricke Alley Vacation

The Mayor spoke to the Town Attorney and Attorney said that the amendment to Ordinance 12-03 was contrary to Resolution 91-1R.

 

Thomas Smith said that the council voted a year ago that Andrew Fricke could have the alley vacated and that Andrew Fricke could pay the Town $1.00 for the property. Thomas Smith said that the paper work should have been completed as voted on and it should have been dealt with by now.

 

Larry Van Every said that Fricke’s built their addition in good faith, and had assumed the Town had completed the process to vacate the alley.

 

Clint Stevenson and Dave Thompson both agreed with Larry Van Every and Thomas Smith.

 

Steve Meyer said that Fricke’s own both sides of the alley so the Town should be able to grant a variance to the ordinance and give them the alley.

 

Thomas Smith then explained that a new Ordinance will have to be drawn up to finish the process to vacate the alley to Fricke’s.

 

The Mayor said that the new ordinance will be drawn up by the next council meeting.

 

Town Mowing

Stan Seehorn and Clint Stevenson looked at the mowing deck for the Town tractor to assess what was needed to fix it so it could be used to mow the parks.

 

Stan Seehorn purchased new wheels, belts and blades for the mower deck.

 

The Mayor explained that she authorized the expenditure for the parts that Stan Seehorn purchased.

 

Clint Stevenson said that Skyler Gambrel used the mower deck earlier in the day and that Skyler Gambrel said that the deck works well now.

 

The Mayor said that the Town will use the Town mower to mow the Rodeo Grounds, but the Town is always looking for more volunteers.

 

Cathy Creed said that people purchasing lawn mower belts from the NAPA in Rockford should watch out, they have had trouble with the local NAPA store and their belts.

 

Six Year Street Plan

It was the consensus of the council to set June 5^th as the date to hold the public hearing for the six year street plan.

 

Carrie Roecks Sidewalk

The sidewalk in front of Carrie Roecks’ house on Weaver was discussed.

Larry Van Every wanted to know if the sidewalk was dangerous for people to walk on, is it a hazard?

 

Carrie Roecks said that yes it was a hazard.

 

Thomas Smith wanted to know what would happen if the Roecks were injured while removing the sidewalk, who would be liable.

 

Larry Van Every made a motion that the Roecks could remove the sidewalk if they agreed to dispose of the old concrete, would sign a general waiver of liability form, grade the area, plant grass where the sidewalk had once been and maintain the area where the sidewalk had once been.

 

The motion was seconded by Thomas Smith, motion passed with a voice vote.

 

Contract for a Web Master

Andy Coumont sent an email to the Mayor that stated that the last contract for service was in 2011.

 

Larry Van Every felt that the current webmasters were not timely in their updates and were slow to respond to questions.

 

Larry Van Every said if the Town was to retain the current web masters a new contract would have to be drawn up.

 

Thomas Smith wanted to know if Andy Coumont could come to the next Town Council meeting and talk with the Council on this issue.

 

Larry Van Every said he would contact Andy Coumont and have him come to the next Council Meeting with a contract proposal.

 

NPDES Permit

The Council had no feed back on the permit.

 

Developmental Regulations

The mayor said that the current developmental regulations for Rockford lack teeth. The Mayor said that the infrastructure standards lack subdivision codes. The Mayor said that the Planning and Zoning Board needs to look at these items and begin discussing these items at the next Planning and Zoning Board meeting on May 29^th.

Local Business Licenses

The Mayor discussed several jurisdictions and how they run their business license procedures.

 

Larry Van Every asked if a local jurisdiction denies the business license what happens at the state level.

 

The Mayor explained that when a locality issues its own business license a person applies for a business license through the state, and then the person applies to the locality, the State can issue the license and then the locality can issue the license and a person pays two fees, the state fee and the local fee. If the State grants the license but the local jurisdiction does not then the State license is still valid and the person is free to conduct business in the State just not the local jurisdiction.

 

Thomas Smith said that the current discussion is because of the new head shop that moved into Town, he said that if the business is operating legally, they can continue to operate.

 

Clint Stevenson said that Rockford used to issue its own business licenses.

 

The Mayor said that there would have to be exemptions to the local business license rule.

 

Steve Meyer wanted to know if Spokane County had any rules on business licenses.

 

The Mayor said that she was not aware of any information concerning that question.

 

Larry Van Every wanted to know if it was the consensus of the Town Council to pursue the business license issue further.

 

Larry Van Every said he would look into the issue further and report back at the next Council meeting.

 

New Business

Clint Steven Stevenson made a motion to accept Ordinance 13-2.

Town of Rockford, Washington

Ordinance 13-02

AN ORDINANCE SETTING THE SALARY FOR THE MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS OF THE TOWN OF ROCKFORD, WASHINGTON AT $0.00 PER MONTH AND SETTING THE PAY FOR ADDITIONAL MEETINGS ATTENDED AT $0.00.

The motion was seconded by Larry Van Every and was passed with a voice vote.

 

Dandelion Spray

Stan Seehorn had contacted Town Hall to inquire what the Town was going to do about the dandelions in the Town Parks.

 

Thomas Smith said he thought the Town should spray for dandelions.

 

Larry Van Every said the Rockford Youth Group could pull the dandelions by hand.

 

It was the consensus of the Town Council that the Public Works operator would work with Thomas Smith to find a solution to spray for the dandelions.

 

Wastewater Flow Meters

The Mayor said that the River Keepers would like a detailed report of the funding for the improvements on the Waste Water Facility.

 

The Mayor has told the River Keepers representative that the Town is looking at GAP and RCAC funding and the Town is working on the problems at the Facility.

 

Steve Meyer wanted to know if the Town was charging the River Keepers for the time being expended on their requests.

 

The Mayor explained that all communications must be made through the River Keepers Attorney.

 

Larry Van Every said that the Town should send them a fee schedule for the time and expenses that the Town incurs while answering their questions.

 

Public Works

The Town Clerk/Treasurer/Public Works Operator informed everyone that Chipping Day was complete and that there would be no further chipping days due to budget cut backs.

 

Clint Stevenson said that the Town needs to install a “No Dumping” sign at the old chipping site.

 

The Clerk/Treasurer/Public Works Operator said that he would look into that and that the items left by the chipping company that were not picked up will be picked up soon.

 

Public Comment

Jennifer Cecil said that she needs help in writing up her proposal to the Town to purchase the property from the Town near Mica Bridge. She said that she is willing to pay the Town $3,000.00 for the property even though it is only assessed at $680.00. She said that the property is approximately 25,000 square feet. She explained that currently the property is being used to dump garbage, that teenagers are hanging out there and that she wants to clean it up and fence it off.

 

The Mayor said that the Town has not used the property since it was purchased.

 

Clint Stevenson said that the property had to be purchased when the new Mica Bridge was installed.

 

Bill Creed wanted to know the status of the Primmer contract regarding the South West Reservoir.

 

The Mayor said that the contract is still in review.

 

Cathy Creed discussed the Bank of Fairfield robbery and that the person that saw the bank robber was not a local resident, and that the Town should send a letter of thanks to that person for calling it in and taking down important information.

 

Cathy Creed said that there is a spot in the park to pull cars into the park that is level that would not require the ditch to be filled in.

 

Jennifer Cecil spoke about the deposit for the Horse Arena; she said that she is still collecting information.

 

Clint Stevenson said the deposit needs to be more than the $50.00 that is charged for the park.

 

It was discussed that other arenas charge $175.00.

 

It was discussed that Rockford could charge $150.00 deposit, that there would have to be a rental agreement for an organized group, a reservation procedure and in the paper work the group reserving the arena would have to stipulate that they have insurance.

 

Robert Tollefson wanted to thank the Town of Rockford for responding to a water leak on Lake Street during Mothers Day Weekend.  He also noted that he did not see any further discussion about the electric bills that the Town is paying on non-town owned buildings. He said that the Town should recoup the electric costs from the float building.

 

Carrie Roecks said that the Fair Association does pay the electric bills for the buildings in the park.

 

The Deputy Clerk said that the Fair Association only pays the electric bill for one month out of the year when the fair is held and that the rest of the year the Town pays the bills.

 

Thomas Smith said that the Town needs to help the Lions Club because they help the Town on so many projects.

 

Ivan Willmschen said the Lions Club built the buildings and then gave them to the Town.

 

Larry Van Every then said that there should be a fee structure to use the buildings.

 

Larry Van Every said the fees need to be justified for the communities good.

 

Jennifer Cecil said that the Lions Club pays for many things around Town.

 

Jennifer Cecil wanted to know if the Town could burn down the Yellow House on 1^st Street.

 

The Mayor said the Town could not burn down the House on 1^st Street because it is too close to other buildings.

 

Larry Van Every said that he was glad that Bill Creed brought up the Open Public Meetings Act because the council was at fault the last few meetings and that they should have left the table when the discussion continued after the meeting was closed.

 

Executive Session

To evaluate the qualifications of candidates for council position

To review the performance of a public employee

(The information above is from RCW 42.30.110 and has to be stated as such on the agenda-per the Auditors)

The Mayor then moved the meeting into an executive session at 8:25 Pm and said the meeting would resume at 8:45 Pm.

 

The regular meeting was then called back into order at 8:45PM

 

Clint Stevenson then nominated Chuck Collison to fill council position two left open by Steve Meyer’s resignation. The nomination was seconded by Dave Thompson.

 

Thomas Smith then nominated Carrie Roecks to fill council position two left open by Steve Meyer’s resignation. The nomination was seconded by Larry Van Every.

 

Seeing no further nominations the Mayor called for a vote.

 

The vote for Chuck Collison was made and he received two hand votes.

 

The vote for Carrie Roecks was made and she received two hand votes.

 

The Mayor then declared a tie in the vote and cast a deciding tie breaker vote for Carrie Roecks.

 

Carrie Roecks was present for the vote and announced she would accept the appointment for council position two.

 

There was then discussion about changing the office hours of Town hall. It was the consensus of the Council to close Town Hall on Thursdays and to set the office hours at 9:00 Am to 12:00 Pm and from 1:00 Pm to 4:00 Pm. There was discussion on the cost saving that could be created by limiting the office hours of Town Hall. The Council wanted the Ordinance presented at the next meeting.

 

The Mayor then adjourned the meeting at 8:58 Pm.

_________________                                  ______________

John M. Goyke                                             Micki Harnois

Clerk/Treasurer                                           Rockford Mayor

Fairfield, Wash., Regular Town Council June 18, 2013 Meeting Minutes

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
PRELIMINARY MINUTES
JUNE 18, 2013
7:00 P.M.

Note to persons reviewing this document: This is not a verbatim transcript. While an attempt has been made to document pertinent
points, these minutes contain only a summary of the discussion and voting.

Mayor Ed Huber called the regular council meeting to order on June 18, 2013 at 7:00 pm.

Council members present: Mary Branon, Valerie Spurrell, George Davidson and Brian Kauffman.  Harry Gibbons was absent due to illness.

Others present: Kathy Marcus of Westland Planning, Cheryl Loeffler and Derek Knecht.

Approval of Minutes
 

ACTION

Brian Kauffman motioned to approve the minutes from the June 4, 2013 regular council meeting as presented; seconded by
Mary Branon. The motion carried.

ACTION

Approval of the Claims
Brian Kauffman made a motion to approve EFT payroll checks E139- E141and #17107-17108 totaling $5,296.49 and check numbers 17109 through 17118; E144 for $21,119.36 as presented. Mary Branon seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Claims: $21,119.36
Payroll: 5,296.49
Total Claims: $26,415.85

Check Register signed by: Brian Kauffman and George Davidson and Mary Branon.

Guests:
Kathy Marcus of Westland Planning

In response to the member standards requirements from Association of Washington Cities/Risk Management Service Agency, Kathy Marcus has prepared a 10-page summary of the pertinent Title 18 Municipal Code provisions indicating which types of land use projects require public hearings and to establish criteria for application processing uniformity and consistency. She was present tonight to conduct this training for the council and asked the council to approve Resolution 2013-4.

ACTION

Mary motioned to approve Resolution 2013-4 training of municipal personnel for land use planning public hearing purposes and further regarding the use of moratoria, seconded by Brian. The motion carried. Kathy also went over the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) section of the Town’s Resolution 2012-02, six-year plan.

The council did not have any additions to the list.

The council then reviewed the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) section. There was no additions to the list so all dates will be rolled.

PUBLIC HEARING: RESOLUTION 2013-5 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (TIP) AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP) SIX YEAR PLAN 2014 TO 2019

Ending the council’s discussion, Ed opened the public hearing at 7:40 and closed it at 7:40 since there was no public present to comment.

ACTION

Mary motioned to approve Resolution 2013-5 pending updating changes; seconded by Brian. The motion carried.

Century West
Derek Knecht gave an update on the 2012 Sewer Improvement Project since KJ was not present. He reported that the Bowen Brothers are doing great and that the project is ahead of schedule. Some significant I&I issues were found, which are reported in the public works section of the minutes. They will be replacing the manhole by Fairfield Care soon.

OLD BUSINESS
Light Pole Relocation

The council agreed that written documentation from the railroad that would approve the location and to authorize acceptance of their portion of the project is needed. Ed asked for council approval to reject the offer from TD&H that includes the holds harmless agreement and to move forward to project closeout.

ACTION

Mary motioned to reject TD&H’ s offer of 27% payment of the pole relocation and the holds harmless agreement and to move forward with project close-out; seconded by Brian. The motion carried.

Costco Credit Card
Jeannie Jesseph will be using Costco weekly for supplies for the Summer Lunch Program. To do so, she must take a blank, pre-signed check. We will also be looking to use Costco in the future for paper products and bleach now that Kelley’s has closed. Cheryl and Jeannie are asking to obtain the Costco American Express card for these purposes.

ACTION

Mary motioned to authorize applying for the Costco American Express credit card; the card to remain in the office unless needed for purchases; have a starting maximum limit of $2000 and to be paid by receipt at each council meeting; seconded by Brian. The motion carried.

Past due accounts
The council was presented a list of the past due accounts for their review. The list only shows account numbers and balances.

NEW BUSINESS
Cougar Corridor
Greg Parch from Gibby Media presented “Cougar Corridor” a program to redirect traffic that would be generated by the new Cougar Football program to alternate routes south to Pullman. WSU is producing a tri-fold color brochure mapping the alternative routes as well as promoting the open businesses. It appears there is no financial commitment from the communities but they are asking a representative to attend two meetings and the community to commit to displaying the 20 Cougar flags before each game. The council suggested that this would be a great start for KayDee Gilkey. Cheryl will contact her with the information.

Community Service Project
The Day of Service is September 11, 2013 and John Cory, a local resident, is asking if our community had a project that their church could do. He states there could be approximately 100 people that volunteer about four hours. The council did some brainstorming and came up with some possible projects. Top on the list is to work in the “bull-pen” getting rid of scrap, landscape the hillside on Johnson and Norton, place siding on the gazebo and pump house in Thiel Park. Cheryl will contact John and see if any of these would work for the group.

Flag Day
Everything went good with the Kid’s Games/races. It was well attended and everyone had a great time. The volunteers had fun and will help again next year. The waffle cone booth was a huge success and netted $1,018.00 for the Fairfield Youth.

Public Works Report
WATER
All wells have been cleaned and looked over for DOH inspection.

Soft Start system is in final stages of installation on Wellhead #1; this will complete all three active wells being updated to soft starts and controls.

Chlorination is well within limits/ no coliform present.
Having some trouble with reservoir communication, looking to replace old antenna and relocate to the south side of the west tank. Worked all weekend answering the calls.

WWTF
Grounds are being mowed and weed-eated on all banks and reservoirs.

Yearly Dam Inspection report is being generated for submittal to DOE.

Influent testing is the only liquids being tested at this time at the WWTF.

Running only two aerators during the NO-discharge season to save on electricity and motor use.

Generator has been inspected and topped off with diesel.

Last two lift station motors have been repaired; 3102 will be a stand by for the main lift and the other will be put in service in Lift Station #2.

PARKS
All sprinkler systems in parks have been repaired and are operational.

Minimal grass damage from the Flag Day Event! Good Job Service Club! Everything else was in GREAT shape, Thank You!

Weed control is almost complete.

ROADS
Roads have been oiled and are holding up.

Select stop signs are on order to be replaced this month to stay on track with retro-reflectivity requirements.

Sinkhole on side of Highway 27 has been repaired on the south end of town.

OTHER:
Sewer Construction is going great! Bowen Brothers are doing on wonderful job and staying ahead of schedule. I&I issues were found and remedied crediting to approximately 20 gallons per minute of now excluded ground water from the sanitary system.

Over the years, contractors have been dumping the unusable material from projects on Ed’s property, which has been saving the town project funds that could be used to extend the projects. The property is getting full so Ed is asking the council if he could connect a private culvert onto a Town’s culvert in this area. There would be no cost to the Town.

ACTION

Brian motioned to authorize Bowen Brothers to extend the Town’s culvert onto a private culvert at 308 N 3 rd; seconded by Valerie. The motion carried.

If anyone is interested in getting fill dirt from the different projects in Town, you can contact Derek. There is a criteria that you have to meet such as assuring that there is easy access for the dump trucks.

Other
The Town received notice from Spokane County Noxious Weed Control Board of noxious weeds located by at the intersection of Lake and 3rd Street. Ed will take care of this.

Summer lunch program has started.

The council all agreed to allow St. John Hardware to close Johnson Avenue the afternoon of June 26 to demonstrate some equipment.

Adjourn
With no further business, the council meeting adjourned at 9:12.
Mayor Ed Huber Clerk/Treasurer Cheryl Loeffler
 

Three Ordinances Passed by Rockford, Washington Town Council

Town of Rockford, Washington

Ordinance 13-03

AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE DAYS AND HOURS OF OPERATION FOR THE ROCKFORD TOWN HALL, ROCKFORD, WASHINGTON, AND REPEALING ANY PREVIOUS ORDIANCE OR RESOLUTION IN CONFLICT HEREWITH.

BE IT ORDANED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF ROCKFORD, WASHINGTON:

               The days and hours of operation for the Rockford Town Hall shall be:

                              Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday

                              9:00 Am to 12:00 Pm

                              1:00 Pm to 4:00 Pm

Thursday Town Hall will be closed to the public all day. 

This ordinance applies to administrative hours of operation for public to access to Town Hall only and does not affect public works hours of operations.

 

This ordinance does not restrict public access to regularly scheduled public meetings at Town Hall or restrict the hours of employees to work at regularly scheduled public and non public meetings held at Town Hall.

 

Effective: This ordinance shall take affect on passage this 5^th day of June 2013.

PASSED by the Town Council in regular meeting this 5^th day of June 2013.

Attested

____________________________

Micki Harnois, Mayor

__________________________John Goyke Clerk/Treasurer

 

Town of Rockford, Washington

Ordinance 13-02 

AN ORDINANCE SETTING THE SALARY FOR THE MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS OF THE TOWN OF ROCKFORD, WASHINGTON AT $0.00 PER MONTH AND SETTING THE PAY FOR ADDITIONAL MEETINGS ATTENDED AT $0.00. 

BE IT ORDANED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF ROCKFORD, WASHINGTON:

               The salary for the Mayor and Town Council of the Town of Rockford, Washington, is hereby set at the sum of $0.00 per month plus an additional $0.00 for any special meetings or non-regularly scheduled meetings. The Mayor and Council shall receive no compensation for their duties performed as Mayor or Council Member, except when specifically allowed through reimbursements or an hourly wage as set by Council for specific non-council related public work activities. 

Effective: This ordinance shall take affect June 2013.

PASSED by the Town Council in regular meeting this 15^th day of May 2013. This Ordinance amends Ordinances 83-7 and 86-5. 

Attested

____________________________

Micki Harnois, Mayor

__________________________John Goyke Clerk/Treasurer

Town of Rockford

Spokane County Washington

Ordinance NO.13-01 

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF ROCKFORD, WASHINGTON, ADOPTING RULES AND REQUIRMENTS FOR CUSTOMERS OF THE TOWN’S WATER AND SEWER UTILITY AND OTHER MATTERS PROPERLY RELATED THERTO.

WHEREAS, the town through its legislative authority has the power and authority to establish rates for water service and sewer service also to establish reasonable usage fee’s, and connection charges;

WHEREAS, the Town is vested with the authority to operate a municipal water/sewer system pursuant to chapter 35.92 RCW; and

WHEREAS, the Town also has authority to establish reasonable rules for the safety and effective operation of the Town’s water/sewer system.

 

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF ROCKFORD, WASHINGTON AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1.        Sewer charge a continuing charge—Suspension of service—Resumption of service.

A.        Except as provided in subsection B of this section, the charge for sewer service provided in this ordinance, shall be due and payable each and every month an improvement is connected to the Town sewer system, even if the improvement does not receive water service.

B.        The owner of a property not receiving water service may submit an application to the Town Clerk/Treasurer or Deputy Clerk, requesting the suspension of sewer service to the property. The application shall be on a form provided by the Town Clerk/Treasurer or Deputy Clerk, and shall be signed by the property owner. The application shall include a statement that sewer service shall not be reinstated except upon payment of the sewer connection fee as set by the current fee resolution for residential service. Upon receipt of the application by the Town Clerk/Treasurer or Deputy Clerk, sewer service to the property shall be suspended. During the period of suspension, no sewer charges shall accrue for the connection.

C.        Sewer service that has been suspended as provided in this section shall not be reinstated until the appropriate sewer connection fee has been fully paid. Any use of the sewer system through a connection for which service has been suspended and not reinstated shall be considered a theft of services equal in value to the sewer connection fee, and the amount of regular, monthly sewer charges that would have accrued for each month of such use had sewer service been properly reinstated as provided in this section. 

Section 2         Lien for unpaid bills.

            A.        When any water and/or sewer bill upon any premises has been delinquent and unpaid for one calendar month, the Town Clerk/Treasurer shall, within three days thereafter, cause a notice of the delinquency to be served upon or mailed to the owner(s) and occupant(s) of each such premises. If mailed, the notice shall be sent by first-class, certified mail. The Clerk/Treasurer in the notice shall advise each such owner or occupant that such owner or occupant shall have an opportunity to be heard before the Mayor or Clerk/Treasurer in opposition to the imposition of the provision of this chapter, within ten days of the serving or mailing of the notice. All costs for serving such notice shall be added to such delinquent account.

            B.        All water rates and penalties will be charged against the premises to which the service was installed or supplied. All charges for water/sewer, when the same becomes delinquent and unpaid, and all penalties thereon, shall be a lien against the premises to which the same has been furnished and charged, except where the owner of, or the owner of a delinquent mortgage on, said premises has filed written notice with the Town Clerk/Treasurer to cut off service to said premises, and paid the then delinquent charges and penalties against such premises.

            C.        All sewer rates and penalties will be charged against the premises to which the sewer service was supplied. The charges may be enforced as provided by law.

            D.        The lien established by this section may be enforced by cutting off service until the entire delinquent account, rates, fees, interest and penalties, including shut off and re-connection fees are paid. The service may be so cut off when the delinquent account is only for water service, only for sewer service, or for both.

            E.         For unpaid sewer bills, the Town Clerk/Treasurer may prepare and file a written lien notice in the form stated in R.C.W. 35.67.210 as it now exists and as it may hereafter be amended. This lien shall be a charge against the real estate to which sewer service has been provided.

            F.         Delinquent sewer charges shall bear interest at the rate of eight percent per year, compounded monthly. Interest shall run from the date the sewer charges become delinquent until the charges, and interest, are paid in full.

            G.        The sewage lien provided for in this section shall be effective for a total of not more than one year’s delinquent service charges without the necessity of any writing or recording of the lien with the county auditor. All filing costs, including the release of lien, shall be added to such owner or occupant’s delinquent account. 

Section 3         Interruption of service.

            A.        The water may at any time be shut off from the main, without notice, for repairs or other necessary purposes, and the town will not be responsible for any consequent damages.

            B.        The town shall not be liable, under any circumstances, for a deficiency or failure in the supply of water, whether by the shutting off of water to make repairs or extensions, or for any cause whatsoever.  While water is temporarily shut off from the mains, the hot water faucets shall be kept open by the occupants of the premises, to allow the steam to escape from the water heaters and to prevent bursting. 

Section 4         Private Service.

            No premises supplied at fixed rates will be allowed to supply water to other premises. 

Section 5         Maintenance.

            (a) Public Works will maintain private services from own mains in streets which are being graded or regarded and will have such access to private property as shall be necessary to maintain such pipes during the work, and shall as soon as practical upon the completion of such work, relay said pipes in street.

            (b) Owners shall maintain their private pipes from the end of the town service to and into their property. When necessary, Public Works may slope service in on property to conform to the slope occasioned by the grading of a street and charge expense to owner of service.

            (c) All consumers shall keep in good repair their service pipes and the meters installed by the Town to measure the water used, and protect them from frost at their own expense, and no deductions will be made from water rents on account of pipes being frozen or derangement of service or repairs.

            (d)  In the case of the failure or neglect of the owner of agent of any property in the town of Rockford to promptly repair any service or fixture or to make any changes or alterations required in this ordinance, Public Works is hereby given the authority to order such owner or agent to immediately make such proper repairs, changes or alterations as he may deem necessary and proper. Otherwise, Public Works shall cut off the water to such premises and it shall not be turned on again until all charges accruing against such premises have been paid and until there has been paid the further charge for shutting off and turning on such water service as outlined in the Town’s current fee resolution. 

Section 6         Turning off/on.

            A.        All orders for turning water on or off must be made in writing to the town treasurer, and must be signed by the owner or duly authorized agent of the property from which the water is ordered shut off or turned on. When the water is ordered turned on or shut off from the premises, all charges for water supplied to such premises shall be immediately due and payable to the town and the water will not be turned on until all of such charges are paid.

            B.          When water has been turned on at any premises in accordance with this chapter, the same shall continue to be charged against the premises until ordered turned off by the owner, or the owner’s duly authorized agent; provided, if water is ordered shut off before the third day of the month, there shall be no charge for that month. If water is ordered shut off between the fourth and fifteenth days of the month, rental shall be charged for one-half of that month, which shall be fixed at one-half the minimum rate as determined from the previous month. If ordered turned off between the fifteenth day and the last of the month, a full month’s rental shall be charged, which shall be determined by using the rate of the previous month.

            C.        It shall be unlawful for any owner of any premises connected with the town’s water supply system to disconnect the water on said premises. The owner shall file with the town treasurer a written request that the service of water to said premises be discontinued, and shall pay all arrears of water rates for said premises. When water has been shut off from the premises upon the application of the owner thereof, or for nonpayment of water charges, or for any such other cause, it shall be unlawful for any person again to connect such premises with water except Public Works.

            D.        Whenever the owner of any premises, or the owner’s duly authorized agent, shall desire to use water from the town’s water supply, that owner shall notify Public Works and request that the water be turned on to the said premises, and the owner or the owner’s agent shall leave the owner’s portion of the service exposed in the trench until the water is turned on by the Public Works Department, when the owner or the owner’s agent shall immediately cover the pipe.           

Section 7         Permitting unlawful use.

            Where water has been shut off from any premises for lack of payment, penalties or for any other cause, and the person occupying said premises proceeds to take water from any other premises, without first having secured permission from Public Works, such person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person occupying any premises who permits such taking of water will, by so doing, acknowledge the town’s right to collect from him an amount equal to the amount of the fixed rate, or the minimum charge for a metered service, if said service be on a meter. 

Section 8         Duty to enforce.

            The provisions of this chapter shall in no case be willfully ignored by any Town official or employee. But when a strict enforcement would work a gross injustice upon a consumer of water from the town mains, Public Works is hereby authorized to suspend action in such case until it shall be referred to the town council and acted upon by them. 

Section 9         Payment of delinquent accounts.

            No water or sewer service shall be provided anew to any premises where any owner of the premises, or any person or tenant in whose name(s) the account will be listed, has a delinquent water/sewer account with the town.

Section 10       Accounts in owner’s name.

            All accounts for water sewer/shall be the responsibility of the owner(s) of the real property receiving the water/sewer service. In the case of a mobile home, or other temporary or mobile structure, the owner of the real estate shall be the responsible party. All accounts for water shall be kept in the name of the owner of the property, when known, and all charges shall be made against the real property as well as against the owner thereof. No change in ownership or occupancy shall effect the application of this section. 

This Ordinance amends Ordinances 158,186,81-8,92-8,94-6,97-3,05-11,06-02,08-04,08-05,08-06,11-1,11-2,11-3,12-02 and Resolution, 80-2R and Ordinance 94-6. This Ordinance combines and adds to the collection fees, dates and sets responsibility of town and owners for water/sewer rates.

 

Effective: This ordinance shall take affect June 2013.

Passed by the Town Council in regular session the 01^st day of May, 2013.

 

Attested

____________________________

Micki Harnois, Mayor

__________________________John Goyke Clerk/Treasurer                                                  

Rockford, Wash., Town Council Meeting Minutes April 3, 2013

Rockford Town Council

April 3, 2013

7:00 PM 

Mayor Micki Harnois called the meeting to order after the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Council members present were: Larry Van Every, Dave Thompson and Steve Meyer. Clint Stevenson and Thomas Smith were absent but excused.  Brenda Gambrel Deputy Clerk and John Goyke Clerk/Treasurer/Public Works Operator were also present. 

Layne from JUB Engineers:

Pond 1 Liner has been spark tested, nine holes were identified and welded. Pond One Underdrain has had clean tests; no fecal coliform has been detected.

The drain line from the Waste Water control building has been videoed by General Industries and it appears that the drain pipe has settled. General Industries has given a proposal to fix the drain line at $1180.99.

Dave Thompson made a motion to accept the gravel Change Order # 3 for the Town of Rockford, 2012 Lagoon No. 1 Rehabilitation Project, Larry Van Every seconded motion, passed voice vote.

Larry Van Every asked if the gravel overage was valid, Steve Meyer said that the contractor did have an overage on the gravel, but there was a built in buffer on the price of the gravel when the contractor bid the project.

Dave Thompson made a motion to accept the drain pipe repair Change Order # 4 for the Town of Rockford 2012 Lagoon No. 1 Rehabilitation Project; Larry Van Every seconded the motion, passed voice vote.

SRTC pedestrian and bicycle trails money is available, with a 13.5% match, there is a potential that the state may pay for the match.

Steve Meyer asked what type of project the Town of Rockford would propose to use SRTC monies.

The Mayor spoke about a potential project that the money could be used for such as walking trails on the dyke.

Steve Meyer asked about extending the sidewalk along WA ST Highway 278 from the town park to the rodeo grounds. Layne explained that project would have to be cleared by the state.

The cut off for the SRTC funding is April 30^th. Larry Van Every was concerned with the match portion; JUB said that if the state did not cover the match the grant could be declined.

Dave Thompson said that if the state did not pay the match on the SRTC grant that he did not want to see town money pulled out of the budget to cover the match.

Steve Meyer said that if the town had to get the money at 13.5%, and if the project helped the town, the money should be got.

Layne said that the project could roughly be 1000 feet of sidewalk; the project may be $50,000.00 to $100,000.00 in cost.

The Mayor said the River Street sidewalk, and Emma to Church Street sidewalk is bad.

Steve Meyer made a motion to pursue the SRTC grant, seconded by Dave Thompson passed voice vote Larry Van Every opposed. 

Mayor comments:

Meetings are being recorded.

Agenda’s will be done the Friday before the meetings.

The Mayor asks that if someone speaks during the public comment section that they give their names and those names will be put in the minutes unless a public safety issue prevents the names from being placed in the minutes.

The Mayor asked if the meeting minutes should be approved before being posted to the website. The council decided by consensus that the meeting minutes will have to be approved before being posted on the website.

The Delante property foreclosure was discussed. 

Committee Reports:

Larry Van Every is working on the website with Deputy Clerk Brenda Gambrel, Larry Van Every would like to get some citizen comments to post on the website, and Larry Van Every would like to see some nice stories from the town to post on the website.

Public Comments:

Phil Evans was concerned about the engineer costs to write the grants and what would happen if the town did not get the grant. Steve Meyer explained, many times there is not a cost to the town from the engineer because it is a gamble for the engineer as well to write the grant hoping to get the funding and the project.

Bill Creed, the town needs to get grants to put the sewage dump station back in.

Kathleen Creed, there is a PT cruiser at the park and transactions are being performed around it, daily transactions, the PT cruiser belongs to a person in the trailer park. Brenda Gambrel says that she knows who the PT cruiser belongs to. Ms. Creed said that the town needs to put a stop to it. Steve Meyer suggested calling the Sheriff and reporting it to the drug enforcement department.

Phil Evans suggested that SCOPE get involved.  Larry Van Every said that he had filled out his Scope application, SCOPE was then discussed.

Carrie Roecks thought Stringham Road should get a sidewalk. She also thought the draft minutes should be posted on the website.

Phil Evans wanted a citizen vote on the draft minutes being posted. Larry Van Every then took a vote of the citizens and the vote was a majority, 7 citizens voted yes to post the minutes on the website in draft form. It was then decided that the meeting would be posted in draft form on the website due to the public vote.  

March 20 Minutes

Correction amendment 3^rd page, Public Works section, line eight, “An advertisement for a part time Public Works Operator will go into executive session”. Was changed to “The discussion of the Public Works Operator position will be discussed in executive session.”    Dave Thomas made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Larry Van Every seconded the motion, passed voice vote

Checks

Dave Thomas motioned to approve payroll checks 11934 through 11946 for $7,742.16, claims checks 11931 through 11933 and 11947 through 11969 for $29,776.74 total check numbers 11931 to 11969 for total claims $37,518.90, motion was seconded by Larry Van Every, passed voice vote.

Old Business

Primmer mowing contract:

AWC insurance coverage was discussed concerning volunteers working in the park. Clerk/Treasurer John Goyke explained that the AWC insurance would cover volunteers so long as they signed a hold harmless agreement and an agreement that stated that if they used their own equipment from home that the town would not be held liable for the repairs to their equipment. Clerk/Treasurer John Goyke also explained that volunteers can also use the town equipment but a hold harmless agreement would also have to be signed. Clerk/Treasurer John Goyke also explained that the town has the option to pay the L & I rate for the volunteers, if they felt that would give the town some protection, some towns pay this rate to help protect the town.  Larry Van Every felt that the town should try the volunteers first and if it did not work have Jerame Clark do the mowing. Steve Meyer felt that the volunteer idea would work well. It was the consensus of the council that Volunteers will be mowing the park and ball fields and that Clerk/Treasurer/Public Works Operator John Goyke is in charge of organizing the volunteers. Clerk/Treasurer John Goyke will also have the AWC volunteer waivers forms ready for approval at the next council meeting.  

Use of arena by outside persons:

Jennifer Cecil spoke on this issue.

Spokane charges $200.00 a day another charges $175.00 a day for arena use.

Women’s club has offered to buy more panels for the arena if needed. The width of the arena is okay the length needs to be increased which will require more panels to be installed.

Access to water and lights would be needed and donations for use of the arena could be taken and a sign could be put up to encourage donations.

Larry Van Every had a concern with the arena expansion and its subsequent rental, is the town in the business to do something that a private citizen could be doing is this commercially viable, why is the town in this business? Steve Meyer felt that this is not really a commercial undertaking more of an idea to help the youth. The arena was originally bought from Moran Fairgrounds and picked up by Steve Meyer. Phil Evans wanted to know if there would be any additional costs to the maintenance department. The Mayor felt that the there would be no additional costs to the maintenance department. 

Clint Stevenson will keep working on the issue.

Sheriff contract is still being reviewed.

Website:

Meeting minutes will be posted in draft form on the website.
There was a consensus of the council to give the password to Larry Van Every so he could work on the website.

Sewer ordinance:

No comment

Fricke alley vacation:

Ordinance 12-3 was never finalized, signed or published; so it was the consensus of the council that the ordinance was never fully adopted due to the contingency of the verbiage being changed because of these reasons it was decided that the ordinance is not in affect and is void.

AWC Claims:

Looked at, no discussion.

New Business:

Resolution 13-01R:
Bob Cunningham the owner of the Rockford Trailer Court discussed the meter hook ups and the sewer hook ups at the trailer park. Dave Thompson discussed the fee’s that were being assessed at the trailer park.

Larry Van Every moved to accept resolution 13-01R seconded by Steve Meyer passed voice vote, Dave Thompson opposed.

Costco Membership:

It was discussed that the town could join Cost Co and purchase the town checks cheaper.
It was the consensus of the council to apply for membership.

Elder Roof Contract:

Dave Thompson moved to accept the Elder Roof contract, Larry Van Every seconded motion passed voice vote.

Tree City USA Grant:

Clerk/Treasurer John Goyke explained that the grant does not pay for the removal of the old tree’s just the planting of new trees.

Steve Meyer made a motion to not apply for the Tree city USA Grant; Larry Van Every seconded the motion, passed voice vote

Steve Meyer announced that he is resigning his council position, affective the end of this council meeting. Steve Meyer mentioned his reasons for resigning they were the Sheriff’s contract automatic renewal; he feels that the Mayor should have been fired. Legal fees that were accrued without council vote, contrary to the council motion that said no legal fees could be accrued without prior approval by the council. He is not happy that John Goyke is the clerk, John Goyke was hired as the maintenance man and he is making $3.00 an hour more to do the same job that Darlene La Schaw was doing, and  by paying him more this could open the town up to a discrimination law suit. He feels that a big debacle is coming. He is tired of being kicked around by some of the people in this town and by some of the councilmen on the council. He does not want to be involved in these council’s current decisions. 

He said he will still work with the town.

Carrie Roecks feels that the town should not be shady in its decisions. 

 The Mayor then adjourned the meeting at 9:00 PM.
 
__________________________                                               _____________________________ 
John M. Goyke                                                                              Micki Harnois
Clerk/Treasurer                                                                             Rockford Mayor

Fairfield, Wash., Town Council June 18, 2013 Meeting Agenda

The agenda for the June 18, 2013 Fairfield Town Council meeting is available here.

If you have any questions, please call town hall at 283-2414.

Water Quality 2013 Report for Palouse, Washington

The City of Palouse Water System's annual Consumer Confidence Report on water quality is published published here. This report is mandated by the Washington State Department of Health.  

Hard copies will be mailed out to all city residents within the next two weeks.

If the link doesn't work, please visit City of Palouse and look for the link there.

Palouse Planning June 4, 2013 Meeting Minutes

Palouse Planning Draft Minutes

06/4/2013  7pm

I. Call to order by Chairman Corey Laughary @ 7:05 PM

II. Roll call

 A quorum was met with the following members present; Lynne Nelson, Sharon Tharp, Corey Laughary, Robin Rilette and Mary Estes.  Jay Iverson was unable to attend and excused.

Public in attendance; Nicole Wood

III.Approval of Minutes from the Last Meeting

Approval of minutes from 5/7/2013 was made with the correction of a typo. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Corey Laughary and seconded by Robin Rilette.  All were in favor.

IV. Old Business

The Vision Statement for the Comprehensive Plan needs to be approved.  Mary Estes will send it to Ann and it will be discussed at the next meeting.

Jay has conferred with Taylor Engineering regarding the zoning map and it is in process.

IV. New Business- none

V. City Council Matters- none

VI. Work Session.

1.       Review final draft documents for Comprehensive Plan- Discussion was held regarding some changes in wording in the comprehensive plan.  Lynne will work with Ann on the editing of the document and formatting of the graphs.

2.      Review zoning map – To be discussed at the next meeting. 

3.      Review title 17 -Discussion was held on the new Parks Open Space section with more work to be done by Lynne.  Several definitions were discussed and incorporated into the document and wording regarding housing was changed from single family housing to single unit, housing unit, dwelling unit or other appropriate wording.  More discussion will be held on the Critical areas section.

VIII. Public Forum – No issues were raised during the public forum.

IX. Adjournment- A motion to adjourn was made by Mary Estes and seconded by Lynne Nelson The motion passed unanimously.  Meeting was adjourned @9:00PM.