Palouse City Council
Regular Council Meeting
January 22, 2019
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Echanove called the Council Meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
ROLL CALL: Council members present: Chris Cook; Bill Slinkard; Tim Sievers; John Snyder; Rick Wekenman; Mark Wilcomb; Katie Cooper. Staff present: Police Chief Jerry Neumann; City Administrator Kyle Dixon; Officer Joel Anderson.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Wekenman MOVED to adopt the minutes of the Council Meeting of January 8, 2019. Councilmember Snyder seconded the motion and the motion carried.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt Griffin submitted a written report.
POLICE REPORT: Fairly quiet the last few weeks. Chief Neumann attended training last week for crisis intervention through Central Washington University. Training mandated by the state and paid for by grant. Estimate to repair 3rd PD vehicle is $1100 and this will hopefully get us one or two more years of use. 10 CPL’s issued so far in 2019. No interest yet in open officer position.
JOINT FIRE BOARD REPORT: Welcomed Doug Arldt as the new Fire Board representative from the County. Fire and EMT budgets are as-expected for this time of year. No concerns. Fire crews are training on the new air packs. The new air packs will be in service beginning February 1. Major discussion item was the status of truck 416, the pumper tanker. An on-board electrical fire caused extensive damage. Insurance has determined it is more cost-effective to repair rather than replace. Truck has been taken to a repair facility in Sumner for a rebuild. Will take at least one month, likely longer. Final repair cost is estimated by the insurance company around $13,000. In the meantime, Palouse has mutual aid agreements with other local departments to cover our need if an emergency should arise. Purchase of a new ambulance vehicle is temporarily on hold until the City of Pullman hires their new finance officer. She/he will need to review and accept the proposal before we can proceed. The Lions Club will be bringing a wellness trailer to Palouse on May 22. EMS will help with screenings and check-in. The wellness trailer will be at the Community Center. More information to follow as arrangements are finalized. Fire Chiefs association meeting Feb 7th. First aid cert class Feb 9. Reach out to EMS personnel for more info.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT: CA Dixon is working on the City’s taxes and should have those submitted by the end of the week. Changes to the Brownfields RFP are to our environmental engineers Maul Foster and should be finalized and published by the first week of February. A sixty day period to accept proposals will follow after which the Brownfields committee will review submittals and make a recommendation to council. CA Dixon is working with TIB and a local engineer to price out work plans for a foot bridge and increasing pedestrian access to the park that will be funded by a grant. Work plans will be submitted to TIB in February and grant awards will be announced in March. CA Dixon and Pool Chair Cook are hopeful to have some quotes for painting the pool house for the next council meeting.
OLD BUSINESS:
Site selection for Avista electric vehicle charging station:
Aaron Flansburg relayed message from skate park board that read as follows:
“The Palouse Skatepark Board of Directors supports the addition of an electric car charging station in Palouse and we are interested in working collaboratively with the City to determine the optimal location for the station. We would like more information about the power supply to the station as well as the proposed location at the Skatepark. One concern about placement at the skatepark is the possibility that skateboards may accidentally leave the skate area and cause damage to the charging station and/or damage to a car using the station. As various sites are considered we are in consensus that a more visible location on Main street, possibly Heritage Park, may be better. That area has more visibility and drivers can view their car better when visiting businesses. We are happy to continue to meet with the City about this issue and explore all options available to the city, including placement at the Skatepark.”
Discussion ensued regarding the potential liability issues the city may encounter with placement near the skatepark. The Community Center Board also relayed a few concerns to CA Dixon regarding placement in that parking lot as well.
Councilmember Slinkard MOVED to proceed with installation on an electric vehicle charging station at the Heritage Park site, provided that the city is not responsible for any recurring costs after installation. Councilmember Cooper seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS:
Resolution 2019-03 amended fee schedule:
Change in fee schedule is related to commercial building permits. Fee for commercial building permits will now be based on project cost and the city already has a formula for this pricing that it has used in the past. Council discussed possibility of adding the formula to the fee schedule. This can be discussed in further detail at our next council meeting as it would not have any effect on the fee schedule as presented. Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED to approve Resolution 2019-03 as presented. Councilmember Sievers seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS/REQUESTS:
Personnel & Pool, Chair Cook-
Water & Sewer, Chair Slinkard-
Streets & Sidewalks, Chair Sievers-
Parks, Cemetery, & Buildings, Chair Snyder-
Police, Fire, & Safety, Chair Wekenman-
Policy & Administration, Chair Wilcomb- Discussed policy that neighboring cities use for vehicle reimbursement for City Administrators. Some have monthly vehicle allowances and others reimburse by the mile. Council discussed pros and cons of each and the city will continue mileage reimbursement. Policy Committee will draft a resolution to allow for reimbursement of deductible should city employee have accident while traveling for city business.
Finance, Property, & Equipment, Chair Cooper-
OPEN FORUM: Steve Witthuhn with Hub Insurance presented what they provide for the city for insurance services. The city is part of a pool that allows public entities and other organizations to band together to keep insurance costs lower than what they could get separately. The insurance industry as a whole has experienced significant losses due to recent emergence of devastating wildfires throughout the western United States and more specifically California. Witthuhn went further in depth about what HUB (broker) and Clear Risk Solutions (provider) offer. Also detailed different risk management trainings and activities that insurance companies use and provide for their clients.
MAYOR’S REPORT: No report
ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Sievers MOVED that the bills against the city be allowed. Councilmember Slinkard seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
The following checks are approved for payment:
Claims Paid 12/30/18 Ck. #9781-9782 & EFT $ 9,121.26
Claims Paid 01/22/19 Ck. #9783-9799 $11,632.88
Voids Ck. #9764 & Ck. #9784
ADJOURN: Councilmember Cook MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Sievers seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. The council meeting adjourned at 8:23 PM.
APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________