Palouse City Council
Regular Council Meeting
October 22, 2019
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Pro-Tem Wekenman called the Council Meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
ROLL CALL: Council members present: Chris Cook; Bill Slinkard; Tim Sievers; Katie Cooper. Councilmember Cooper MOVED to excuse the absence of councilmember Snyder. Councilmember Cook seconded. Motion carried. Mayor Echanove and CA Dixon are attending the IACC conference. Staff present: Police Chief Jerry Neumann; Officer Terry Snead; Building Inspector Dan Gladwill; & Deputy Clerk Ann Thompson.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilmember Cook MOVED to approved the minutes of the Special Council Meeting of October 8, 2019 as written. Councilmember Slinkard seconded. Motion carried.\
BUILDING INSPECTOR REPORT: BI Gladwill reported on 3rd quarter building permit numbers. Palouse is keeping him busy. Five new homes so far this year. International Building Codes are changing in 2020.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Supt. Griffin submitted a written report.
POLICE REPORT:
-First weekend of Haunted Palouse went well. Colfax PD and Reserve Officer Merry provided additional policing for the event. Chief will discuss some safety concerns with outside HP workers.
-House fire early Monday morning in Palouse. No injuries. Chief Neumann was on-scene around 5:05 am to direct traffic. Hwy 27 was closed for a few hours.
-Still ongoing issues with Kent Kimberling. He violated an order of protection in Garfield and was booked into jail again. Officer Snead has been looking into finding assistance for him through social service agencies but he isn’t receptive. The federal charges for firearms violations and threats are still pending.
-Chief is planning on following up in the spring with the skatepark board and the school to educate the students and the public about skatepark safety and laws. Councilmember Cooper would like to see it done before the spring.
-Chief found a traffic safety grant to fund one mobile digital/solar speed sign. The city is budgeting for the purchase of two permanently installed ones in 2020.
JOINT FIRE BOARD REPORT:
-Councilmembers Wekenman and Cook were both in attendance at the 10/21/19 meeting.
-FD is good on the finance side. Three mutual aid/minor FD calls in September.
-Truck 414 is exhibiting erratic pumping behavior; looking at having pump refurbished (costs unknown).
-Yesterday’s house fire indicated to the department that they don’t have enough air bottles to perform safely. We currently have six air packs and six spare bottles. Those were depleted rapidly during this fire. If there had not been mutual aid from other agencies the house would have been lost. They’re expensive and rarely needed but should the need arise, we don’t want to ever be without. They will be purchasing three more air bottles at about $1,000 each + tax & shipping. Cost will be shared by Rural.
-Chief Beeson is looking into a grant to acquire a fresh-air compressor for the department (cost is approximately $30k-$40k).
-EMS needs more volunteers. Only two EMS responded to yesterday’s fire.
OLD BUSINESS:
Ordinance No. 982 – Critical Areas periodic update: This ordinance was discussed by a public hearing at last meeting. Councilmember Sievers MOVED to suspend the reading of the ordinance. Councilmember Slinkard seconded. Motion carried. Councilmember Wekenman read aloud the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Cook MOVED to adopt the ordinance. Councilmember Cooper seconded. Motion carried.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Beer & Wine license renewal for the Bank Left Gallery & Bistro. No objections.
ALLOW PAYMENT OF BILLS: Councilmember Sievers MOVED that the bills against the city be allowed. Councilmember Cook seconded. The motion carried.
The following checks are approved for payment:
Claims Paid 10/22/19 Ck. #10399-10414 $14,533.97
ADJOURN: Councilmember Cook MOVED to adjourn. Councilmember Sievers seconded the motion and the motion carried. The council meeting adjourned at 7:58 PM.
APPROVED: ________________________________ ATTEST: ________________________________