MEETING OF THE CITY OF CONNELL, WASHINGTON

CONNELL, FRANKLIN COUNTY, WASHINGTON

 

July 22, 2002

 

The regular semi-monthly meeting of the City Council of the City of Connell was called to order by Mayor Walton at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall and was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

ROLL CALL

 

PRESENT:       Mayor Gary Walton, Councilmembers Perry Skoglund, Monica Pruett, Roel Martinez, and Andrew Sawyer.

 

EXCUSED:      Councilmember Ron Boyer .

 

STAFF:            City Administrator Art Tackett, Chief of Police Rick Rochleau , Public Works Director Pat Munyan, Fire Chief Bob Koch and City Clerk-Treasurer Joan Eckman.

 

VISITORS:      Alan Schroeder, Anderson Perry; Kathy Bingham, Franklin County Graphic .

 

CORRESPONDENCE /PRESENTATIONS/APPOINTMENTS

 

  1. Liquor License – American Legion Post #195 has applied for a special occasion license for September 13 and 14 from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. during Fall Festival. There were no objections voiced.

  2. Eastern Washington Water Alliance – Mayor and council are invited to attend the first annual meeting, August 1, 2002 at the Hallmark Inn in Moses Lake from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

 

CONSENT CALENDAR

 

Motion:  Councilmember Pruett moved to approve the Consent Calendar as follows:

Minutes of the July 8, 2002 Regular Meeting

Minutes of the July 15, 2002 Special Meeting

Councilmember Martinez seconded motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

CITIZEN COMMENT / NON-AGENDA ITEMS

 

Mayor Walton indicated that he had been contacted at home in regards to semi trucks that are parking in two different restricted areas at night. They are on streets that have load restrictions on them. One of the areas is on First Street between Fir and Gum. Police Chief Rochleau stated that he would inform the officers in order to watch the area. 

 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

 

Three items were added to the agenda and are as follows:

 

                        8c    chip seal contract

                        16a  real estate purchase

                        16b  community center work contract

            Motion:  Councilmember Martinez moved to approve the agenda as amended. Councilmember Sawyer seconded motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

ORDER OF BUSINESS

 

WASTEWATER FACILITY

Alan Schroeder of Anderson Perry was present to update the Mayor and Council on the progress of the projects.

 

Schedule A – 1) a voltage supply test was run by PUD for three days and no voltage fluctuations were noted.

                         2)  the pump supplier is coming in to test for seal problems.

These two issues need to be solved prior to August 5th in order for the irrigation system to be tested.

           

Schedule B – Selland is to complete their punch list items in preparation for the final check of the irrigation system on August 5th. Neal Schmick will have his crop off by that date as he has begun his wheat harvest. Then the Department of Ecology is scheduled to do a walk through on August 14th. If there are still problems then one of the solutions will be to hire a new contractor to come in and problem solve and the cost will be charged back to the original project contractor.

 

          CHIP– the contract was presented for the chip sealing of Columbia Avenue . The public works crew is preparing the street. Solicitation for bids will go out the first week of August with the work scheduled to be done right after Clark .

 

            Motion:  Councilmember Pruett made a motion to enter into contract with Anderson Perry. Councilmember Skoglund seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.

 

USDA APPLICATION – WATER PROJECTS

The USDA requires an advertised meeting for the purpose of community members  to be able to come in and discuss the project and ask questions. The council meeting was advertised for that purpose. City Administrator Tackett indicated that he will  need to send in a letter to show conformance with the Growth Management Plan to  meet those requirements. Mayor Walton asked for comments or questions from the public. There were no further comments.

 

            Motion:   Councilmember Sawyer made a motion to proceed with the application. Councilmember Martinez second. Motion carried unanimously.

 

WATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS - PROJECT UPDATE

Alan Schroeder with Anderson Perry reported that the work on the environmental report is progressing on schedule with the help of Steve Troendle from USDA. It should be ready for submittal within the next couple of weeks.

 

TIB- CLARK STREET - PROJECT UPDATE

Alan indicated that the project is on schedule and coming along well. The retaining wall is done with some changes in size of block which has necessitated a change order and that it is currently being back filled. The storm drain has been installed and the paving is still set for August 21st.

 

Phase II planning is coming along as expected. There is data collection being done and they will need to set down with city staff before long to discuss the project. The Connell Grain Growers has expressed concern over the concrete sidewalk that is planned in the drive way area and has requested asphalt instead due to the time it will take the concrete to cure without traffic being allowed over it. The cost difference will be minimal and that should work well.

 

Motion:  Councilmember Skoglund made a motion approve Change Order No. 2 in the amount of $6,567.00.  Councilmember Sawyer seconded motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

PUBLIC FACILITIES DISTRICT -

After some discussion council concurred that they would no longer pursue the establishment of a public facilities district and eliminated agenda items 13, 14 and 15 as well since they were all related to the same topic.

 

COMMUNITY CENTER POLICY –

Staff and council discussed the proposed policy changes and what the anticipated  impacts may be. The discussion included alcohol use on the premises, rental and set   up fees for table and chairs, adding another user classification, billing the renter for  police incidents, the possibility of charging hourly rates, having a fee schedule that charges more for out of town renters, and the charge for and minimum requirements of the number of security officers along with miscellaneous other items. Staff will check on some of the information requested and bring the results back for   discussion at the next meeting.

 

REAL ESTATE – STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY

Bob Koch requested the city consider purchasing a strip of land approximately 30  feet by 300 feet along West Ash street for $15,000. Public Works Director Munyan indicated that it would be more costly to move all the utilities than to purchase the right-of-way and get the street established as it should have been in the first place.   Past surveying had placed the street incorrectly.

 

            Motion:  Councilmember Sawyer made a motion to approve the purchase of the strip of land described as Parcel 1, Block 7 of the Klindworth Addition for the amount of $15,000. Councilmember Martinez seconded motion. Motion passed unanimously.

 

COMMUNITY CENTER WORK CONTRACT –

The previous amount authorized by council was $150,000 for the work at the    community center. The cost of the contract is less than the original approved          amount. The cost is $119,000 plus tax.

            Motion:  Councilmember Martinez made a motion to approve the Mayor to sign the contract after the attorney has read and approved it. Councilmember Sawyer  seconded motion. Motion passed unanimously.

 

PAYMENT OF BILLS –

Councilmember Skoglund moved to pay the payroll and bills in the amount of $119,302.687.  Councilmember Pruett seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

 

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

           

FIRE REPORT – Fire Chief Bob Koch

1.         Flushing fire hydrants for a couple more weeks. The project is coming along and  there seems to be less problem hydrants now.

2.         Wednesday meeting scheduled with Art and Pat to discuss fire ratings.

 

POLICE REPORT - Chief of Police Rick Rochleau

1.        Towing of vehicles is going well using Oscar’s Towing out of Othello.

2.        The four video cameras have been installed and the officers are receiving training in using them. The policy for their use is also in place as requested by City Attorney Tanner.

3.         Ray Williams will be done with his tour of duty in early August and will be placed back on duty. He will immediately take a couple weeks of vacation time to use up some of the time carried over on the books. This will allow him to spend some time with his family before starting back to work.

4.         Dog issues surfaced with the discovery of two pit bulls in the city. One dog has been turned over to police; the owner of the other has a court date pending.

 

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT – Public Works Director Pay Munyan

1.         They will begin spraying for mosquitoes this week and will continue on a weekly basis until the problem resolves itself or until the first frost.

2.         A sink hole was created on Columbia Avenue in from of Michael Jays during the last rain storm that overflowed the capacity of the dry well in that area. The hole has been patched.

3.         The crack sealing of streets is in progress.

4.         Weed spraying is in progress.

5.         There was a water line break on East Cedar.

6.         Soccer nets still need to be put up at the neighborhood park on Clark Street .

 

CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT - City Administrator Art Tackett

1.         Two of the city projects; north railroad spur line and farm waterline are listed as first and second on CED’s project list.

2.         Art has a meeting tomorrow at 9 am in the Tri-Cities concerning water rights.

 

MEETING ADJOURNED

 

There being no further business to be heard before the City Council of the City of Connell , Mayor Walton adjourned the meeting at 9:28 p.m.