Palouse City Council
Regular Council Meeting
August 28, 2018
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Echanove called the Council Meeting to order at 7:01 PM.
ROLL CALL: Council members present: Chris Cook; Tim Sievers; John Snyder; Mark Wilcomb; Katie Cooper. Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED to excuse absences of Councilmembers Wekenman and Slinkard. Councilmember Cooper seconded and the motion carried. Staff present: Public Works Superintendent Dwayne Griffin; Police Officer Joe Handley; City Administrator Kyle Dixon; & Deputy Clerk Ann Thompson.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Snyder MOVED to adopt the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of August 14, 2018. Councilmember Sievers seconded the motion and the motion carried.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt. Griffin submitted a written report.
POLICE REPORT: Officer Handley reported that Reserve Officer Snead will be back Sept. 1 and will be helping the PD with Palouse Days and various other duties.
JOINT FIRE BOARD REPORT: Chair Wilcomb reported. Finances are good on both the FD and EMS sides. New breathing apparatus has been selected; the process was exhaustive. We are now in the process of transitioning between outgoing Fire Chief Mike Bagott and incoming Fire Chief Scott Beeson.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:
Wastewater Citizen Advisory Board will meet next week with water/sewer committee, CA Dixon, Mayor Echanove and engineers to provide update and seek advice regarding next steps to finalize an updated facility plan to submit to Dept of Ecology next spring.
CA Dixon attended budget conference last week in Leavenworth. Palouse is far overdue for utility increases. Raising rates is the last thing we want to discuss or do but it’s a fact of life and we have to keep up. The city needs to be proactive in addressing this issue to avoid eventual rate spikes down the road. Need to be sure we have the rates in place that can ensure we are eligible for the grants to pay for these utility requirements.
3-year financial audit is coming up next year. No concerns. City of Palouse has a very good track record for the last 20+ years on these financial audits.
Avista put together a site agreement for electric car charging station. Agreement is with our attorney for review.
Franchise agreement with First Step Internet is with our attorney for review as well. Should be ready to present to council at next meeting.
CA Dixon will have meeting soon with streets committee on what we want to present to TIB for Complete Streets grant. We’ve had our eye on this for a couple years. They’re accepting nominations through December. Grants up to $250,000 will be awarded in spring of 2019. These grants are for multi modal access in cities. We essentially present a plan to nominating agencies and if our plan gets picked TIB will fund the project up front. There is a lot more freedom with this grant vs almost any other program in the state.
OLD BUSINESS:
Palouse Builders final plat for Amber Ridge: In the spring Palouse Builders presented to city their preliminary proposal for that last seven acres on Palouse Cove Road towards Moscow. They’ve been working with Public Works the whole way. Supt. Griffin has been working with them the last few weeks with w/s infrastructure, inspections, etc. They’ve done all their requirements on city’s end. There are eight, ½ acre to ¾ acre lots. Additionally, there are the four, ¼ acre lots at the end of Harvest Loop. Water, sewer, gas, etc. have all been put in. Paving is done. As-builts have been submitted as well. Street signs are all in and waiting to be installed. At the onset of preliminary plat, there was some language on first phase that required them at 50% development mark (10 houses) that they do an assessment to determine if existing lift-station could support all the new development. Phase 1 developer Roy Druffel hired TD&H Engineering for assessment. Report came back recommending that city acquire from the developer a back-up pump for the lift station. Palouse Builders paid for their portion of pump and Roy Druffel is paying for remainder. Pump is on order. Councilmember Sievers MOVED to approved the final plat for Amber Ridge. Councilmember Wilcomb seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS:
Resolution 2018-09: setting a date to hear petition to vacate alley/public easement: Mayor read aloud the resolution in its entirety. This vacation is for the alley between lots 3 & 4 and 5 & 6 of Block 23 in Wiley’s 2nd Addition. Steve and Cindy Alred are the petitioners of above alley vacation. A public hearing for above vacation will be held on September 25, 2018 at 7:00 pm at Palouse City Hall. Petitioners are required to pay for 50% of value of vacated property. The only thing this resolution does is set the date for the public hearing. Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED, Councilmember Cook seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 2018-09 as presented. Motion carried.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor worked with Canfield & Associates on a dog complaint. Portions of the complaint were founded.
ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Cooper MOVED that the bills against the city be allowed. Councilmember Snyder seconded and the motion carried.
The following checks are approved for payment:
Claims Paid 8/28/18 Ck. #9431 – #9447 & EFT $3,964.95
ADJOURN: Councilmember Cook MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Wilcomb seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. The council meeting adjourned at 7:54 PM.
APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________