DRAFT ONLY. Without council review or approval.
Palouse City Council
Regular Council Meeting
July 24, 2018
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: Public Works Superintendent Dwayne Griffin; Police Chief Jerry Neumann; Officer Joel Anderson; City Administrator Kyle Dixon.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED to adopt the minutes of the two public hearings and Regular Council Meeting of July 10, 2018. Councilmember Snyder seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt Griffin submitted a written report.
POLICE REPORT: Officer Handley’s vehicle is in the garage. Bagott’s is performing preventative maintenance to get it through 2018. Looking to replace in early 2019. Responded to 911 call in Garfield last week, Officer Handley was assaulted, suspect booked on several felonies. Palouse Music Festival is this weekend in the city park. Still dealing with several calls regarding nuisance dogs. Chief Neumann explained police vehicle acquisition process in further detail and will have further discussions with council as budget season approaches.
BUILDING INSPECTOR REPORT: 2nd Qtr report. Still seeing a steady influx of new construction and permits. Additional construction anticipated for new development later this year.
JOINT FIRE BOARD REPORT: Finances are good. Team responded to lost child at Kamiak Butte with successful recovery. Air pack acquisition process is going along as planned. Dept is very supportive of new Fire Chief Beeson. EMT’s are at training.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:
2nd Q Treasurer’s Report: Current Expense (General Fund) is healthy and has been on a good trajectory this year. Cemetery fund is tight but will get through the year just fine. Joint Fire Board does a great job managing their expenses which in turn reflects well on Current Expense. Currently there are no issues to report with any funds.
3 concrete pads have been poured at the RV park. Remaining 7 will be completed later on in the fall.
City has 3 interested parties that will submit bids for construction of the riverwalk trail off Shady Lane with work to be completed in late fall. City received grant for project earlier this year.
Paul Kimmell from Avista approached the city last week to gauge interest in a car charging station in town. Council discussed possible locations. One parking space near store and heritage park seems to be favorable. CA Dixon will further research costs and provide update at next council meeting.
City received a short plat application for 2.74 acres to be subdivided into 3 residential lots on the north side of town. Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to review proposed short plat on August 9th, 7:00 PM at City Hall.
City’s wastewater engineers, Varela & Associates, will be at next council meeting to provide update on facility plan that is due to Dept of Ecology next April.
Dixon and Mayor will be in Olympia on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Dixon will be meeting with several state agencies to discuss projects and funding opportunities.
OLD BUSINESS:
TD&H Engineering funding update and water tower project review:
Mayor Echanove gave a background of the water project and why council proceeded with upgrades. Discussed old reservoir (built in 1910) that was taken offline in 2015. Also discussed water system plan adopted in 2013 and Church St upgrades listed in that plan. Water/Sewer committee interviewed 4 engineering firms in late 2016 and selected TDH. Project priorities were developed and TDH presented some preliminary project paths. Current preferred alternative was selected because it was the lowest cost option that addressed all project priorities. TDH is still waiting on final cultural report approval before we can receive an official funding offer. TDH took questions from council and audience. Discussed water system plan update and what needs to be included for future projects/upgrades. Members of the audience expressed concern over the proposed placement of a water tower in the NE corner of the cemetery and if current planned upgrades will adequately address project priorities. TDH discussed different alternatives that were looked at and why the city ultimately selected the current site to proceed with applications for funding. Booster pumps were discussed and yearly O&M costs initially presented a concern for water/sewer committee.
Doug Willcox water tower project review:
Mr. Willcox gave a background of his knowledge in hydraulics and water systems. He discussed his concern with the project priorities developed for the water tower project as well as some of the concerns south hill residents have regarding water pressure. It is his belief that the elevation at the current site in the NE corner of the cemetery will not be able to deliver the increased water pressure that residents on the south hill are looking for. Discussed static water pressure at the top of the south hill, measured at 26 psi. He believes that 80-85% of south hill residents should have adequate water pressure as the system currently sits. He believes that piping is too small on the south hill and significantly contributes to lower water pressure due to friction loss and that upgrading smaller mains may solve this problem. Discussed the problems he sees with putting in a water tower or booster pumps and indicated that it may put too much pressure on the lower elevation regions. He would like the city to revisit the hydraulic analysis to solve the problems at their source. Met with Fire Chief Bagott and Assistant Fire Chief Beeson to discuss the fire on Main Street and how that affected water levels in the reservoir. Based on the amount of water that was used to put out the fire and the rate that both wells can refill, he believes that there may have been another, unexplained reason for the significant drop in water supply in the reservoir, possibly pumps not operating at full capacity. Believes that installing variable frequency drives in well pumps may solve the issue of sustaining water service in the event the lone existing reservoir had to be taken offline. Council expressed concern that this would not be sustainable if lone existing reservoir experienced catastrophic failure. Went back to the need for the city to revisit hydraulic analysis and reconsider how to solve project priorities. Mayor read aloud a statement from Lynne Nelson and Bob Barry expressing their concerns regarding water tower project and would like the city to further investigate other alternatives.
TDH followed up with how the project will proceed given the different options discussed and will provide updates as they receive them.
NEW BUSINESS:
Resolution No. 2018-06 placing excess property tax levy on November 2018 ballot for purpose of funding street improvements and street oiling:
Costs to provide road oiling and supplies for scheduled maintenance of streets has seen little increase over the past couple of years. As a result, this levy has remained unchanged as well. Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED to adopt resolution as presented. Councilmember Cooper seconded and the motion carried.
Resolution No. 2018-07 placing excess property tax levy on November 2018 ballot for purpose of funding the O&M of swimming pool:
CA Dixon and Pool Committee Chair Cook discussed how recent increases in the pool levy were used to strip and paint the pool and help cover the cost of rising minimum wage. The city will not increase the levy this year but will need to examine how continued increases to minimum wage and long-term pool maintenance will be funded. The city is collecting data on pool usage during various times of day. Members of audience suggested other ways data collection could be expanded further to identify who is using the pool. Councilmember Cook MOVED to adopt resolution 2018-07 as presented, Councilmember Slinkard seconded and the motion carried.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Mayor Echanove requested council retire to executive session to discuss a real estate transaction relating to city’s wastewater facility plan for no more than 10 minutes. Councilmember Snyder MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Sievers, to enter into executive session at 9:20. Motion carried. Council returned at 9:26.
COMMITTEE REPORTS/REQUESTS:
Police, Fire, & Safety, Chair Wekenman- Had a meeting to introduce new councilmember Cooper to committee. Discussed acquisition of new police vehicle for officer Handley. Looking to upgrade cameras by police station. Firearms may need to be upgraded as well per industry standards. Discussed how to update police vehicles to be able to access internet while on patrol.
ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Wilcomb 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 7/24/18 Ck. #9347-9357 & EFT $6,291.70
ADJOURN: Councilmember Cooper MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Wekenman seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. The council meeting adjourned at 9:36 PM.
APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________