MEETING OF THE CITY
OF
CONNELL,
The regular semi-monthly meeting of the City Council of the City of
PRESENT:
Mayor Gary Walton, Mayor Pro-Tem Perry Skoglund, Councilmembers Monica
Pruett, Ron Boyer, Roel Martinez and Andy Sawyer.
STAFF:
City Administrator
VISITORS: Larry
Seibel, Anderson Perry; Virginia Colby, Quilters Group; and Kathy Bingham,
Graphic.
1)
Senator Larry Sheahan – Thanked the City for putting together the Small
Cities meeting for District 9.
2)
WA St Liquor Control Board – Liquor license renewal for Mei-Ling Inn
and Sun Mart.
3)
AWC – House Finance Committee provided an amendment of House Bill 2500
which provides a mitigation formula
on property & sales tax equalization on those cities that were impacted.
Motion:
Councilmember Skoglund moved to
approve the Consent Calendar as listed.
Minutes
of the
Councilmember
Sawyer seconded motion. Motion
carried unanimously.
Mayor Walton made the following change to the agenda:
Item 15 was moved to Item 7 a.
Motion:
Councilmember Skoglund moved to approve the agenda as changed. Councilmember
Martinez seconded motion. Motion
carried unanimously.
COMMUNITY CENTER
City Administrator Tackett advised that he had been approached in regards to waiving the $10 rental fee for the quilters.
Virginia Colby advised that her group used the center on a weekly basis for about 2 and a half hours each week with usually 5 to 10 participants to work on quilts.
City Administrator agreed to set up a meeting with the Community Center Committee to discuss this request.
Motion: Councilmember Skoglund moved to waive the $10 fee for the quilters until a decision was made. Councilmember Sawyer seconded motion. Motion carried unanimously.
USDA – WATER SYSTEM
IMPROVEMENTS
Larry
Seibel of Anderson Perry reported on the following:
Phase
II– A
water leak was detected and repaired on
Phase
III – Working
on the crossing permits. A new
reservoir would be placed on the west side of the Farm.
Having difficulties with the crossings. Permits would be submitted to the
Department of Health for review and approval the first week of March.
Advertisement for bids would go out in April for June construction.
STREET
PROJECTS - UPDATE
Larry Seibel of Anderson Perry reported on the following:
WASTEWATER
FACILITY
Larry
Seibel advised that he had received a report form Jack Hollopeter of Anderson
Perry in regards to pump # 2 of Lift Station 4 which had continued to experience
seal leak alarms. H & N, who was
hired by Apollo to do further testing, determined that one or more of the
control wires installed by the electrical contractor was shorting out and
causing the seal leak detector to periodically initiate the seal leak alarm.
H & N recommended that all the wires be replaced.
Apollo contacted TEM to replace these wires as soon as possible.
Further testing indicated that there was a possibility contaminated oil
inside the pump. Apollo would be scheduling a pump rep to pull the pump to check
and replace the pump oil.
SEWER
PROJECT
Larry Seibel reported that all releases had been received.
Motion:
Councilmember
Pruett moved to approve Application for Payment No. 6 to Paragon Construction in
the amount of $13,252.55.
CABLE
TELEVISION SERVICE
City
Administrator Tackett advised that staff had been contacting adjoining cities
regarding the cable service. Some
appeared to have cable companies that were as bad as ours.
AUTHORIZATION
TO APPLY FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT
City
Administrator Tackett requested he be authorized to apply for a $25,000 grant to
update both the Housing and Economic Development portion of the Comprehensive
Plan.
Motion:
Councilmember Sawyer moved to
authorize staff to apply for the $25,000 grant.
Councilmember Martinez seconded motion.
Motion carried unanimously.
AUTHORIZATION FOR IAC GRANT APPLICATION
City
Administrator Tackett advised that letters of intent were due to IAC by March 4
to notify them of the City’s plans to submit an application for funding.
This would basically be the same grant application as the one that was submitted
for YAF funding. The City would not know for another month weather
the YAF application was funded. The purpose of starting the process for
the IAC funding was to make the required deadlines so that if the YAF
application was not funded a new application would be underway.
City
Administrator Tackett also discussed submitting an IAC application to obtain
funding to start the bike trail form downtown to
Motion:
Councilmember Skoglund moved to approve the submittal of the IAC applications.
Councilmember Pruett seconded motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion:
Councilmember Skoglund moved to pay the payroll and bills in the amount of
$129,620.36. Councilmember Pruett seconded, motion carried unanimously.
ATTORNEY
REPORT – City Attorney Terry Tanner
1)
Held court on February 2.
2)
There would be a hearing
on February 27 in regards to the DOE litigation.
PUBLIC WORKS
DEPARTMENT – Public Works Director
1)
Introduced the new Public
Works employee, Sterling Joyner.
2)
Work was being done on
Lift Station 4.
3)
The street sweeper had
been picking up sand.
4)
Work was being done on the
pool.
5)
Work was being done on the
park tables.
6)
Patching pot holes.
7)
At the time of redoing
Clark Street Adams Street would also need to be redone.
POLICE
DEPARTMENT – Police Chief Rick Rochleau
1)
Only received a portion of
the grant applied for, which would be used to purchase mats.
2) Would be working with the State Patrol & Sheriff’s Office to address seat belt usage
CITY
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT – City Administrator
1)
Would be attending a
meeting in
2)
Received a letter from
TRIDEC which supports the request for funding for DOC expansion which was sent
to Senators Mike Hewitt and Pat Hale, and to Representatives Bill Grant, Dave
Mastin, and Shirley Hankins.
3)
Would be attending a
meeting in Ephrata in regards to the Columbia Basin Project
4)
Would be speaking to
Bureau of Reclamation in regards to the transfer of property to the City
of
MAYOR’S
REPORT – Mayor Garland Walton
Attending the
legislative meeting in
There
being no further business to be heard before the City Council,