DRAFT ONLY. Without council review or approval.
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
August 28, 2012

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

ROLL CALL: Council members present: Cecil Floyd, Tim Jones; Connie Newman, Bo Ossinger; Absent: Norm Schorzman; Alison Webb; Rick Wekenman. Councilmember Newman MOVED to excuse the absent Councilmembers this evening. Councilmember Jones seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Also present: Public Works Superintendent Dwayne Griffin; Police Chief Jerry Neumann; Clerk-Treasurer Joyce Beeson; & Deputy Clerk Ann Thompson. Public present: Darrel Goertzen, Shelley Goertzen, Gloria Hodges, Marv Pillers, Garth Meyer, Chris Sapp, Marv Pillers.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Jones MOVED to adopt the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of August 14, 2012. Councilmember Ossinger seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt. Griffin submitted a written report. We’ve had a number of water leaks about town this summer.

POLICE REPORT: The PD was called out at 3 am Monday for a possible vehicle prowl. Be diligent; keep your cars locked. Report of a theft on Union Street of a small, yellow, plastic man holding a “slow” sign on Union Street. If you have any information, please contact the Palouse PD. School starts soon; extra patrols will be ongoing. The radar trailer is on Mohr Street. Slow down and watch for kids.

JFB REPORT: Chief Bagott reported the FD went to two calls in July, 19 YTD. Calls are down from average and the Chief attributes that to the care taken by farmers during harvest. FD had two trainings this month. The FD is working on a mutual aid agreement with the town of Garfield. EMS had two calls in July, 26 YTD. EMS will begin their yearly attendance at home football games.

NEW BUSINESS:
Ratify JFB decision to purchase an EMS Response Vehicle – The Palouse EMS were given a great opportunity from Volunteer Firemen, Inc. out of Colfax, who is replacing one of the ambulances in their fleet. Palouse EMS had already been considering replacing their 1987 unit and had set specifications to do so. The vehicle in Colfax met all their specs. They then researched comparable units and the Joint Board voted to move forward with the purchase from the Volunteer Firemen, Inc. for the price of $11,000 which would then be split between the city and rural. The rural Fire & EMS board voted to approve the purchase at their last meeting. It is now time for the city to vote whether or not to ratify the decision by the Joint Board to purchase a vehicle. Councilmember Jones MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Newman ratifying the JFB decision to purchase an EMS response vehicle. Motion carried unanimously.

Award bid to Volunteer Firemen Incorporated – The Mayor read the desired specs, specs on four comparable vehicles found over the internet, and specs on the vehicle in Colfax they were offered to purchase – Volunteer Firemen, Inc: 2007 Ford Ambulance, with 78,060 miles, $11,000 + tax; Ambulance Trader.com 1: 2007 Ford Ambulance, with 118,000 miles, $45,000; Ambulance Trader.com 2: 2007 AEV ambulance with 186,430 miles, $14,000; Ambulance Trader.com 3: 2007 Ford Osage with 121,624 miles, $21,900; Firetec: 2007 Ford with 68,895 miles for $58,800. Only the vehicle in Colfax and one other that was found met the spec for less than 100,000 miles – Firetec Used Apparatus Sales – $58,000 and Colfax Volunteer Firemen, Inc. – $11,000. The mayor explained that the cost is split 50/50 with rural, making our share of the cost $6,000 with tax and licensing. This money would come from the EMS Vehicle Reserve fund and would reduce their balance from $24,000 to $18,000. Any repairs and modifications to the unit will have to come out of the EMS operating budget. Councilmember Newman MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Jones, to award the bid to Volunteer Firemen, Inc., for the 2007 ambulance for $11,000 + tax and licensing. Motion carried unanimously. It is still under warranty as well.

Ordinance No. 900 – Budget Amendment to make purchase of EMS Response Vehicle – Mayor read aloud the ordinance in its entirety and again by title only. Ordinance is a budget revision for Fund 313 EMS Vehicle Reserve for the purchase of an EMS response unit. Councilmember Ossinger MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Newman for the adoption of Ordinance No. 900. Motion carried unanimously.

Planning Commission Appointment – The Mayor appointed Sharon Tharp to the Planning Commission. Councilmember Jones MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Ossinger, to ratify the appointment of Sharon Tharp to the Planning Commission. Motion carried unanimously.

COMMITTEE REPORTS/REQUESTS:
Parks, Cemetery, & Buildings-Alison Webb. Chair: no report

Policy & Administration-Bo Ossinger, Chair: no report. Policy & Admin will review the Water System Plan.

Streets & Sidewalks-Cecil Floyd, Chair: No TIB grant this year for the Cove Road pathway project; hopefully next year. Taylor Engineering’s estimate did not come in soon enough to go to council for approval. Mayor Echanove received it Wednesday evening and it was due Friday. Based on a past motion, the Mayor felt he was not authorized to sign the application. The motion only authorized the search for funding sources. Mayor explained that because the application committed to $10,000 from city funds, he needed council approval. Perhaps, a special meeting should’ve been called. Councilmember Floyd requested that the city reserve $5,000 to $10,000 out of Arterial Streets fund for future grant match requirements. He would like to submit this same grant proposal next year and won’t be able to if we don’t commit to the city share.

Personnel & Pool-Tim Jones, Chair: no report. Pool closed Aug. 23rd.

Water & Sewer-Connie Newman, Chair: Met with Supt. Griffin and Clerk-Treasurer Beeson to review the Sewer Extension Policy draft originally drafted May 22. Atty Bishop gave them feedback and some changes and it was resubmitted to Atty Bishop Aug. 23rd. Committee is meeting Sept. 4th at 11:30 with Taylor Engineering to go over the DOH’s official comments on our WSP. We will review, amend, and resubmit to DOH. Taylor will address most of the questions which are very technical.

Police, Fire, & Safety-Rick Wekenman, Chair: no report

Finance, Property, & Equipment-Norm Schorzman, Chair: no report

OPEN FORUM:
Darrel & Shelley Goertzen – Wanted clarification on the process to have chickens and roosters in the city limits. They have had complaints from their neighbor and asked for the code that addresses this. Their feelings are that poultry should be allowed. They have poultry for 4-H, breeding, and the eggs. Councilmember Newman MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Jones to extend the three minute period for open forum. Motion carried unanimously. Chris Sapp also spoke in support of allowing chickens and other animals such as rabbits within the city limits. He stated that setting a limit of ten chickens would be too restrictive. Darrell asked if it was really necessary for the council to consider a change to the code just because of the one complaint from their neighbor. Chief Neumann pointed out that we have received many poultry complaints over the years, including two just yesterday (8/27/12). Mayor explained that zoning codes are already in place which requires the application for a conditional use for poultry and certain other animals (PMC 17.12). Council has asked the planning commission to review current code and deliberate on this matter to see if it needs to be modified. Councilmember Floyd’s feeling was that the PC didn’t want to get restrictive, but perhaps have an ordinance for chicken complaints (as opposed to a zoning code). Let an ordinance address complaints such as noise, odor, and sanitation. Councilmember Floyd stated that he is not in favor of restricting roosters within city limits. Our current code isn’t being followed, since there have been no applications submitted to the Board of Adjustment for animals in many years. Also, unlike other animals mentioned in code, there are no conditions listed for the keeping of poultry. Councilmember Newman encouraged the audience to speak to members of the PC about this issue. Also stating that she believes that conditions should be set for poultry and that people need to educate themselves to become compliant with what is already in place.

MAYOR’S REPORT:
WSU athletic dept is giving the Palouse Chamber of Commerce 20 WSU flags for game day display.
Liquor permit has arrived for Chamber of Commerce Palouse Days Barley Bar Relay. No objections.
Palouse Grange 177 has reformed and is moving forward. Heidi Kite is the Grange Master.

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

ADJOURN: Councilmember Newman MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Jones seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. The council meeting adjourned at 8:21 PM.

The following checks are approved for payment:
Claims Paid, August 29, 2012. Ck. #4249-4267 $8,856.34

APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________