Palouse City Council
Regular Council Meeting
June 26, 2018
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Echanove called the Council Meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
ROLL CALL: Council members present: Bill Slinkard; John Snyder; Rick Wekenman; Mark Wilcomb. Councilmembers Cook & Sievers were absent. Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED to excuse their absence. Councilmember Snyder seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Staff present: Public Works Superintendent Dwayne Griffin; Police Chief Jerry Neumann; City Administrator Kyle Dixon; & Deputy Clerk Ann Thompson.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Wekenman MOVED to adopt the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of June 12, 2018. Councilmember Wilcomb seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT:
City received two bids for annual road oiling: TAK Petroleum for $8,575 + tax and RPI Road Products for $26,250 + tax. Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED to accept TAK Petroleum’s bid as presented. Councilmember Snyder seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
POLICE REPORT:
Radar trailer is located at City Park. Reminder to public to slow down and watch for children.
One of our police vehicles has developed a tic but otherwise running fine. We’ll keep an eye on it.
JOINT FIRE BOARD REPORT: Mark Wilcomb reported. There were two meetings in June. Everything fine on the financial side. Zero fire calls in May and only 5 calls YTD. SCBA evaluation is ongoing: packs from three manufacturers are currently under consideration (Scott, MSA, and Avon). Chief Bagott announced that he will be stepping down as chief in the near future. If approved by the firefighters, Scott Beeson will become the chief and Mike will become the assistant chief. One of Scott’s priorities is to identify and start developing future leaders for the department. Mike is confident in Scott’s ability to lead the department. EMS team recently held a swimming pool training as well as a LifeFlight training.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:
Had another quick follow up meeting last week for Brownfields transfer process. We hope to publish the Request for Proposals later this week or next. At time of publication there will be a 60-day period to submit proposals.
Attending AWC conference in Yakima this week.
Two public hearings next meeting: Six-year street plan and 2019 revenue sources.
CA Dixon read aloud an update from TD&H Engineering outlining what has been done up to this point with the water tower project. Additionally, the Water System Plan (WSP) adopted in 2013 is set to expire in June 2019. DOH requires periodic updates to the plan as it is a working document intended to represent the current state of the water system. Proposed projects must be identified in the WSP. The intent is to incorporate the WSP update into the water tower project design if the city decides to move forward. If the city chooses not to proceed with the project, the WSP update still needs to occur with approval prior to expiration. In the next month or so the city plans on having a public meeting with our engineers present to address concerns and questions.
OLD BUSINESS:
Resolution No. 2018-04 – allowing for surplus of Brownfields property: Mayor read aloud the resolution in its entirety. This resolution declares city-owned Lots 3 & 4 and a portion of Lot 2, Block 1, Wiley’s Addition in Palouse as surplus. This property will be offered for sale by the city in the near future via the publishing of a request for proposals. Councilmember Wekenman MOVED to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Slinkard seconded. This is the empty lot across from the P.O. Motion carried unanimously.
OPEN FORUM:
Delores & Wayne Moore, Gary & Joanne Wilson, and Marge Brink voiced their concerns about having water tower by the cemetery. The Wilsons moved here and built a house across from the cemetery about 18 months ago and don’t want their view of cemetery changed with the installation of a water tower at cemetery. Wayne Moore brought a list of people who have concerns.
Mayor Echanove reexplained where city is currently with the project. The process began a year and a half ago. Engineers tested 8 alternative plans for the placement. TDH engineering and water/sewer committee recommended the current site (NE corner of cemetery) to council. Council went with the most cost-effective plan that addressed all project priorities: providing redundant storage to get water to residents in case current reservoir ever has to be shut off; improving pressure on south side of town; increased fire hydrant flow (fire hydrant pressure was a big deal; a majority of hydrants on south hill don’t currently have the necessary pressure). If ever there’s another big fire we will need a second reservoir. Booster pumps don’t offer redundancy and have a lifetime of expenses. The city does not have any redundancy. When reservoir went down we lost our back up water storage. If ever there’s a problem with our one current tank, we’re in a world of hurt. If we get two reservoirs on opposite hills, if something goes bad we can build in a valve system so we can have two independent systems. If you want good pressure you need good elevation. The other plans require way more money in acquiring land and way more piping. Long story short, council came down to this site from all the options. Because this project isn’t mandatory, the project can be on the city’s terms. That’s a refreshing way to build public infrastructure. We want to be good stewards of our water and our infrastructure and our money. If this isn’t a project we can get off the ground in an affordable manner, then we won’t proceed past this point. If we’re able to put together a funding package we can live with, THEN we bring in the engineers, and THEN we start penciling out all the details. DOH wants a bigger water line on W. Church street from the bridge to grain growers. Part of this funding project is the engineering and construction of that line.
In the next month or so the city plans on having a public meeting with our engineers present to address concerns and questions.
Sandy Jamison, running for WC Auditor. Sandy introduced herself and gave a little background on her experience and education. She would like the public’s vote.
John Hart, running for WC District Court Judge. Introduced himself and gave a little background on his experience and education. He would like the public’s vote.
Dan LeBeau, running for WC District Court Judge. Introduced himself and gave a little background on his experience and education. He would like the public’s vote.
ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Wilcomb MOVED that the bills against the city be allowed. Councilmember Snyder seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
The following checks are approved for payment:
Claims Paid 6/26/18 Ck. #9274-9287 & EFT $9,182.40
ADJOURN: Councilmember Wekenman MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Slinkard seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. The council meeting adjourned at 8:02 PM.
APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________