Palouse City Council
Regular Council Meeting
May 26, 2015
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Echanove called the Council Meeting to order at 7:03 PM.
ROLL CALL: Council members present: Bo Ossinger; Mike Hicks; Senja Estes; Rick Wekenman; Bev Pearce. Councilmember Hicks MOVED to excuse Councilmember Hanson’s and Langsett’s absences. Councilmember Pearce seconded and the motion carried unanimously. Staff present: Public Works Superintendent Dwayne Griffin; Police Chief Jerry Neumann; Police Officer Joe Handley; Clerk-Treasurer Mike Bagott; & Deputy Clerk Ann Thompson.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Wekenman MOVED to adopt the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of May 12, 2015. Councilmember Pearce seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt. Griffin submitted a written report.
Motley & Motley Construction needs council permission to work in right-of-way for sewer line install at 220 South River Road. Councilmember Wekenman MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Hicks, to grant Motley & Motley permission to work in city right-of-way for sewer line installation. City staff will make the connection to the city main. Motley & Motley will provide traffic control, etc. Motion carried unanimously.
Road Oiling Bids: The city put out a call for bids for approximately 160,000 square feet of road oiling using an emulsified asphalt. The city received three bids: 1. BST Surfacing $8,451.52; 2. Mort’s Dust Control $10,240.00; 3. Lyman Dust Control $13,798.40. Low bidder is BST/Tak Petroleum. They’re who has done the oiling in the past. The duration of the product depends on the traffic and the weather. CT Bagott said the low bid is within what we budgeted for street oiling. Councilmember Hicks MOVED to accept the bid from BST for $8,451.52. Price includes tax. Councilmember Estes seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
POLICE REPORT:
Officer Handley has completed his first phase of training. Chief Neumann is very pleased with Officer Handley.
There’s a phone scam going around again targeting the elderly. Officer Handley stopped in to the senior meal at the Palouse Community Center and spoke with them about protecting themselves against phone scams.
All three officers are working Friday and Saturday for the Rat Rod show.
Chief would like to update the security camera system at the compost site and expand to Heritage Park, the RV Park, the sewer plant, the PD, etc. The technology has really improved. Chief will look at pricing different systems.
JFB REPORT (2nd council meeting of month only):
Chief Bagott reported that the water tender truck has a plumbing leak and the rough estimate to repair it is $3,500. There is money in the current budget. We do have a pumper/tender truck as back up until the tender truck is repaired.
4 fire calls in April, 10 YTD. They had a retirement party for Marty Lentz. Marty was with Palouse FD/EMS for 21 years.
Marc Arrasmith is moving forward with parking block project. The city’s backhoe may not be able to move them because of the faulty hydraulics so we will need to find an alternative.
6 EMS calls in April, 22 YTD. There is an upcoming EMS/Fire joint training on using the Jaws of Life.
CLERK-TREASURER REPORT:
Mike met with representatives from Apollo Solutions. These guys are a contractor and consultant all wrapped up in one. They work on energy projects in conjunction with the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services’ Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC) program. Their main focus is finding potential projects from an energy savings perspective: street lights, pumps, HVAC, well pumps, lift stations, etc. Their initial consultation and system-wide review is done at no cost. They’ll do an evaluation and put together a potential project list and quantify costs, anticipated savings, etc. At that time the city can decide whether or not to move forward with them or with someone else, or don’t move at all. They showed some work they did for the City of Prosser: by upgrading one well pump they saved 251,035 KWH annually. Mike thinks this is very worth looking into because the City’s revenues are not likely to increase substantially going forward so controlling costs is very important. Councilmember Pearce MOVED to authorize Apollo Solutions to come in and do an assessment on Palouse’s energy resources, at no cost to the city. Councilmember Estes seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
The City of Palouse operates under the Washington State Building Code (WSBC) for building permits. As a result, fences less than 7’ tall don’t need a building permit (changed from 6’). There are exceptions however so it’s imperative to check with City Hall prior to construction. There is still a 3’ height maximum on corner lots.
NEW BUSINESS:
Ordinance No. 932 amending PMC 13.16.050:
Mayor read aloud the ordinance in its entirety. This ordinance puts into Palouse Municipal Code the water meter size standards which were adopted by resolution in March 2015. All newly installed water meters connected to the city’s water system shall be 5/8” x 3/4”. For good cause shown, the public works supervisor may authorize the installation of a larger water meter for particular water service connection depending on the needs of the water customer. Any additional cost for a water meter shall be paid by the water service customer to the city before the meter is installed. Councilmember Pearce MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Hicks, to adopt Ordinance No. 932 as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Ordinance No. 933 amending PMC 15.34.010:
Mayor read aloud the ordinance in its entirety. This code is correcting a typo in our codebook. The code said PMC 17.64 and should have said 17.16. Councilmember Hicks MOVED, seconded by Councilmember Ossinger, to adopt Ordinance No. 933 as written. Motion carried unanimously.
School pasture agreement:
Mayor read aloud the agreement in its entirety. The agreement permits the school to maintain sheep and/or goats on the school property in conjunction with school sanctioned activities such as FFA. In keeping sheep and/or goats on school property, the district agrees to comply with all local laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations to include all applicable nuisance, health, odor, public safety, and animal welfare provisions of the Palouse Municipal Code. Councilmember Pearce MOVED to allow the mayor to sign the agreement as written. Councilmember Estes seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS/REQUESTS:
Streets & Sidewalks, Chair Hicks- Public Works equipment needs are replacing the 1-ton and replacing the locator. The cost for a locator ranges from $1,200-$5,000, depending on what they can do.
Councilmember Hicks will begin working on the Six year street plan.
Personnel & Pool, Chair Pearce-
We have hired three new lifeguards, in addition to the four returning guards. We’re very pleased so far with our pool manager Annie Leendertsen. Budget-wise we are in line with payroll expenses.
OPEN FORUM:
Judy Stone: She is concerned about the bridge corner by the car wash. It’s so narrow and tight. Cars are always crossing over the center line. Council agreed with Judy. This has been an ongoing problem over the years. Judy wondered if adding pop-up orange stickers or a rumble strip on the center line would help or be worth trying. Unfortunately it is a state highway and bridge, not a city street so the city has no jurisdiction or ability to alter it. Chief Neumann explained that there’s no city data of accidents at that site to take to the state to earmark it as a dangerous road/bridge. The bridge is outdated in its design, construction, and the approach. It’s one of those traffic problems in a small town that we have to live with until the state replaces the bridge. Council recommended to Judy to contact the DOT in Colfax about the problem; the more people who contact the DOT about the problem the better.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Appointment to Planning Commission: Nicole Flansburg – Nicole Flansburg submitted a letter of interest to be on the Palouse Planning Commission. Mayor appointed her. Council voted unanimously to ratify Nicole Flansburg’s appointment to the Planning Commission.
ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Pearce MOVED that the bills against the city be allowed. Councilmember Estes seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
ADJOURN: Councilmember Pearce MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Hicks seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. The council meeting adjourned at 8:42 PM.
The following checks are approved for payment:
Claims Paid Ck. #6584-6597 $3,326.69
APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________