Palouse City Council
Regular Council Meeting
February 26, 2019
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Echanove called the Council Meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
ROLL CALL: Council members present: Bill Slinkard; Tim Sievers; John Snyder; Rick Wekenman; Mark Wilcomb. Staff present: Police Chief Jerry Neumann; Police Officer Joel Anderson; City Administrator Kyle Dixon; & Deputy Clerk Ann Thompson. Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED to excuse the absences of councilmembers Cooper & Cook. Councilmember Wekenman seconded and the motion carried.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Sievers MOVED to adopt the minutes of the Council Meeting of February 12, 2019. Councilmember Slinkard seconded the motion and the motion carried.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt. Griffin submitted a written report.
POLICE REPORT: Chief Neumann is cautioning the public about phone scams and is asking people to warn their parents, kids, neighbors, etc.
A few weather-related calls recently. Slick roads will continue for a few weeks.
Still no applicants for third police officer position.
Equipment is all good.
A reminder that dogs running-at-large or off-leash with owner is not allowed in Palouse.
BUILDING INSPECTOR REPORT: BI Gladwill presented his 4th Q 2018 report. Total permit valuation for the year was almost $1.6 million. Palouse had 6 new houses in 2018 and 8 new houses in 2017.
JOINT FIRE BOARD REPORT:
New airpacks went into service February 1st. Within 36 hours they were put to the test for a structure fire and worked wonderfully.
Fire Dept is going to purchase a new air compressor so they can quickly charge air brakes on emergency vehicles so they can get on road faster.
Looking at doing some upgrades to station: exhaust fans, new carpet, painting, drywall, etc.;
The pumper truck is still in repair for damages sustained in its engine’s electrical fire.
Fire & EMS are both on budget.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:
TD&H will attend March 12 meeting to discuss water system improvements. There will be a w/s committee meeting prior.
CA Dixon has been working closely with Varela on our wastewater project. We are still trying to develop a feasible plan. The most recent option of putting lagoons on county land fell through as county code does not currently allow for construction of wastewater lagoons for municipal purposes. As a result, we’ve directed our engineers to redirect their efforts to higher-technology solutions. The city needs to send to Ecology another request for an extension until April 1, 2020 for our Wastewater Facility Plan. Councilmember Sievers MOVED to authorize the Mayor to send the extension request. Councilmember Wilcomb seconded. Motion carried. Varela will be at March 26 council meeting.
Brownfields site update: CA Dixon is optimistic; he has sent out three RFP packets so far. Proposals are due April 15.
Complete Streets grant with TIB update: CA Dixon applied for a grant that would construct a sidewalk from the north side of town (down Palouse Cove) to our city park. Word came back from TIB that the bridge portion of application that was going to connect pathway from Palouse Cove Rd across river to park is not eligible for funding. However, the rest of the project is eligible and hopefully some other agencies will help us with the bridge portion. TIB makes their selection the end of March.
OLD BUSINESS:
Avista electric vehicle charging station site selection: There is another possible site for the charging station on Main Street in front of Brownfields site. There is already electrical infrastructure in place for what was years ago going to be a light pole. This comes in at a price of $1,233 vs $4,218 to put in at Heritage Park. Another bonus is this new possibility won’t be blocked off during events. There was discussion on how this new location might impact potential Brownfields developers. Councilmember Slinkard MOVED to table this discussion until first council meeting in May. Councilmember Snyder seconded. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
Resolution 2019-04 adopting interlocal agmt with Whitman County 2019-2024 Solid Waste Management Plan:
Mayor read aloud the resolution in its entirety. RCW states each city has to have their own solid waste management plan in place. We defer to Whitman County the planning and subsequent updates required by DOE. Ultimately Whitman County has the only permitted solid waste site in the county and Palouse has no plans of putting in a solid waste site. We will continue with this interlocal agmt. Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED to adopt Resolution 2019-04 as presented. Councilmember Snyder seconded. Motion carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS/REQUESTS:
Policy & Administration, Chair Wilcomb- Councilmember Wilcomb is following up on the city’s personal vehicle policy. Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED to adopt a new city policy that states
In the event that a City employee is driving their personal vehicle on approved City business, and the vehicle suffers damage through no fault of the employee’s actions, the City will reimburse repair expense not covered by the employee’s vehicle insurance, up to a maximum of $500. Reimbursement policy does not apply to the employee’s normal daily commute to and from their place of work.
Councilmember Slinkard seconded. Motion carried.
ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Sievers MOVED that the bills against the city be allowed. Councilmember Slinkard seconded. Motion carried.
The following checks are approved for payment:
Claims Paid 2/26/19 Ck. #9860-9876 $6,910.70
ADJOURN: Councilmember Sievers MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Slinkard seconded. The motion carried. The council meeting adjourned at 8:08 PM.
APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________