Palouse City Council
Regular Council Meeting
February 12, 2013

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

ROLL CALL: Council members present: Tim Jones; Connie Newman, Bo Ossinger; Norm Schorzman; Alison Webb, Cecil Floyd and Rick Wekenman. Also present: Officer Joe Merry; & Clerk Joyce Beeson. Public present: Heather McGehee.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Schorzman MOVED to adopt the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of January 22, 2013. Councilmember Newman seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt. Griffin submitted a written report.

POLICE REPORT: Officer Merry reported they have increased their presence at the schools and did a basic risk assessment. It is greatly appreciated. The Mayor read a portion of a letter from the school superintendent talking about the increased patrols in the hallways and about the schools and how well it is received.

They would like to proceed with the next phase of making the PD more energy efficient – build walls around the furnace and duct work in the large meeting room. They would also like to create space on top of the structure to store their archive files. They would do the work themselves with material costs estimated at around $2,500. Council asked for a closer cost estimate for the next meeting.

JFB REPORT: Councilmember Wekenman reported on the January JFB meeting. All is good on the financial end; Chief Bagott reported 36 total calls in 2012, with 9 city, 18 rural and 9 mutual aid. Since the last meeting, we were awarded the DNR grant for wildland firefighting gear which will include coveralls, helmets and hopefully boots. This equipment is lighter in weight and designed specifically for wildland fires.
The L&I visit at the PSB came out with only a few low-cost changes to be made to be in compliance. They will be writing an Accident Prevention Program. The EMS will begin negotiations with Pullman’s new chief, Mike Heston, on the contract with the City of Pullman to provide ambulance service to Palouse. The EMS had 50 calls in 2012. Annie Pillers will be teaching classes for the next few months at the PSB. Gloria Hodges will be retiring April 2nd. The EMS Coordinator duties will be split to 3 people.

NEW BUSINESS:
Resolution No. – 2012-01 Health/Dental insurance benefits policy revision. The Mayor read aloud the resolution and policy in its entirety. The revision to current policy is adding an additional payment option for the opt-out benefit. After discussion, Councilmember Jones MOVED to adopt Resolution 2013-01. Councilmember Schorzman seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

Resolution No. – 2012-01 – Authorizing the adoption of the Whitman County Hazard Mitigation Plan (WCHMP). The Mayor read the resolution in its entirety. As appointed representative for Palouse, Councilmember Wekenman explained this work in progress and summarized why it is important to adopt the plan. One being it makes you eligible for FEMA grant opportunities. Once the plan is adopted, it will be reviewed every four years to keep it current. The Palouse annex to the plan will be distributed to council for review. There are some typo’s and cleaning up that need to be done. The full plan and the Palouse annex will be available at city hall for all to review. Discussion followed. Councilmember Wekenman MOVED to table Resolution 2013-02 until the next meeting. Councilmember Newman seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

COMMITTEE REPORTS/REQUESTS:
Police Fire & Safety-Rick Wekenman, Chair: The PD has made substantial budget cuts and still working on anything they can do to save money. At this point the cuts will be minor since larger cuts have been made. Discussion on the policing contract with Garfield has begun and will be ongoing. Councilmember Wekenman said he will be attending some of the Garfield council meetings to learn more of what they are doing that might work for us. The L&I visit to the PD went well and there are a few things they will be working on: a Blood-Borne Pathogens program will be written, and training classes and some supplies will be required but at no great cost to the city.

Policy & Administration-Bo Ossinger, Chair: Cecil stated that he is almost ready to present his draft ordinance regulating the keeping of poultry.

Water & Sewer-Connie Newman, Chair: The DOH has sent a few follow up questions and they are being looked at by Angel, Taylor Engineering. The discussion drifted into the public records law as it pertains to the members of council.

Finance, Property, & Equipment-Tim Jones, Chair: The budget video training presented by AWC was postponed to February 26th at 5:30, preceding the next council meeting. All of council is encouraged to attend. They will start having finance meetings within this first quarter. The 2012 fourth quarter narrative treasurer’s report went out to council by email and will be on the next agenda.

ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Jones MOVED that the bills against the city be allowed. Councilmember Schorzman seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
ADJOURN: Councilmember Schorzman MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Wekenman seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. The council meeting adjourned at 8:23 PM.

The following checks are approved for payment:
Payroll Paid 1/31/13: Ck. #4644-4641, & EFT $35,196.00
VOIDED: Ck. #4690
Claims Paid 2/13/13 Ck. #4643, & 4662-4691 & EFT $ 6,954.72

APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________