DRAFT ONLY. Without council review or approval.
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
April 12, 2011

CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Echanove called the Council Meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

ROLL CALL: Council members present: Cecil Floyd; Tim Jones; Mike Milano; Connie Newman; Norm Schorzman; Jeff Snook; Rick Wekenman. Also present: Public Works Superintendent Dwayne Griffin; Police Chief Jerry Neumann; Clerk-Treasurer Joyce Beeson; City Attorney Stephen Bishop; & Deputy Clerk Ann Thompson. Public present: Pete Hertz; Tom Wolny.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Schorzman MOVED to adopt the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of March 22, 2011. Councilmember Milano seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt. Griffin submitted a written report. Additionally, PW started replacing storm drain on Church Street.

POLICE REPORT: Chief Neumann submitted the March Activity log. He also presented a copy of the signs he is purchasing for the parks rules. The price will be approximately $295 for both instead of the original $550 estimate.

He is working with Bud Bagott on finding replacement vehicle for PD. He is finding the available SUV’s are higher mileage cars and costs are higher than anticipated. They are looking into perhaps a Charger which can be found with around 30k miles and much more affordable.

Had the radar trailer out and added patrol around Union Street as a result of speed complaints.

We have two bike races coming up this spring: The WSU/UI intercollegiate bike race and a duathlon which will be presented later in the meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:
Resolution No. 2011-02: Cancel unexpended checks. Mayor read the ordinance aloud in its entirety. Two checks have been lost by payee and must be replaced. Councilmember Milano MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Snook to adopt Resolution No. 2011-02, authorizing checks 2813 and 2861 be voided and reissued. Motion carried unanimously.

Ordinance No. 888: Palouse fiber optics contract. Councilmember Schorzman MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Newman suspending the reading of Ordinance No. 888. Motion carried unanimously. The line starts at Spokane and heads south to Clarkston. Atty. Bishop put together a franchise agreement to adopt by ordinance. At issue are concerns with topography in Palouse. From discussion, the main concern from council was the placement of overhead lines in the downtown core and that new infrastructure would have to be cut into in order to run fiber through Palouse and install connection vaults. Atty. Bishop clarified that the fiber will be going though Palouse within the state right-of ways through their own franchise agreement. How much say does the city have? Once they deviate from the state right of ways they will work with the city and public works department but the Port has the final say. Council will put together their concerns and offer potential changes to the agreement for Atty. Bishop to consider. Atty. Bishop advised that Palouse doesn’t have to adopt the agreement; the port is going to use the state right-of-ways regardless, they just won’t install vaults for future expansion. Discussion will continue at next council.

COMMITTEE REPORTS/REQUESTS:

Streets & Sidewalks-Cecil Floyd, Chair: Councilmember Newman explained the school’s desire to collaborate with the city in coming up with a solution for the traffic congestion/safety issues at Mohr and H St. The school project engineer has expressed interest in working with the city at no cost in looking at traffic flow and options that may work such as parking patterns, one-way streets, Mohr St drop off area, and other ideas. Time is of the essence as the engineering services through the school are only available to us through May. Councilmember Floyd agreed to set up a meeting.

Personnel & Pool-Jeff Snook, Chair: Deadline for lifeguard apps is May 24th.

Water & Sewer-Connie Newman, Chair: Prior to adopting the WEP through resolution the city had received two extension requests; to date, those extension requests have not been resubmitted.

In moving forward on the Water System Plan, they are currently checking references on the four engineering firms that have been shortlisted. Interviews are April 22nd. Committee will meet on the 25th to compare notes. They plan to have a proposal for council with a recommendation of the firm they would like to hire for the WSP at the 4/26/11 council.

Finance, Property, & Equipment-Mike Milano, Chair: Received a letter from WA State Public Works Board (PWB). In order to balance the state budget, revenues in their Assistance Account were committed to the General Fund. With loan repayments being one of their primary revenue sources, they are asking for early payment of the regular payment due and also, if possible, increase the amount of principal being paid. This request is for this year only. The scheduled regular payment is $13,935.11 due on 7/1/2011. The committee proposed increasing the principal payment by $6,000 for 2011 and allowing C-T Beeson to make the payment as soon as it is invoiced. The PWB has been a great partner with this loan at 1% interest. This will also reduce our interest payment in the long run. After discussion, council approved this change to the PWTF loan payment for 2011.

OPEN FORUM:
Mark Sawyer: Mark described a multi-sport race he is putting together called a multi surface duathlon on May 14th. Hosted here in Palouse. It is a 2 mile run (within city limits), transition onto a 10 mile bike race heading onto North River Road, cross over into Idaho, coming back on South River Road, then transition back into a 2 mile run. Race can be competed as an individual or a team. It will be chip timed. Start line, finish line, and transition area will all be at the park. They will be hosting a free spaghetti dinner with registration. He is anticipating/hoping this becomes an annual event. With 50 entrants they will break even on the costs.

MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor assigned Councilmember Jones to chair the Parks, Cemetery, & Buildings committee. He will also serve on the Policy & Administration, and Water & Sewer Committees. Councilmember Schorzman was moved from Water & Sewer to Streets & Sidewalks.

Mark Kramer, chair of the BOA, contacted Debbie Mitzimberg about serving on the BOA. Mayor then appointed Debbie Mitzimberg. Councilmember Newman MOVED to confirm the appointment of Debbie Mitzimberg to the BOA. Seconded by Councilmember Schorzman. Motion carried unanimously.

Our Palouse Community Center board is moving ahead with their plans to go out to bid on the building. The environmental permitting is customarily something Joyce signs but because she is serving on the PCC board, pending council approval, Mayor would like to step in as signatory for the environmental and other permit processes as needed. Councilmember Jones MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Milano, allowing the Mayor to sign the permitting process forms. Motion carried unanimously.

There was news on the radio regarding the reduced water usage of the Palouse Basin Aquifer – Grand Ronde. They mentioned the City of Palouse having a 13% reduction in 2010. Part of the reason our usage is going down is all the work our PW does; maintaining lines and infrastructure. In 2007 Palouse pumped 66 million gallons. In 2010 Palouse pumped 54 million. The city has been diligent upgrading the sprinkler system in the park; fixing leaks, etc. It’s all making a big difference.

ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Schorzman MOVED that the bills against the city be allowed. Councilmember Snook seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

ADJOURN: Councilmember Schorzman MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Jones seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. The council meeting adjourned at 8:41 PM.

The following checks are approved for payment:
Re-issued lost checks: Ck. No. 3068 & 3069 to replace voided lost check nos. 2813 & 2861
Voided Payroll Check: Ck. No. 3066
March Payroll Paid Ck. No. 3045-3067 & EFT $42,117.75
Claims Paid Ck. No. 3070-3104 & EFT $15,811.78

APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________