MEETING OF THE CITY OF CONNELL , WASHINGTON
CONNELL, FRANKLIN COUNTY , WASHINGTON

October 10, 2005

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

ROLL CALL

PRESENT:       Mayor Gary Walton , Mayor Pro-Tem Perry Skoglund , Councilmembers Roel Martinez , Monica Pruett, Ron Boyer and Andy Sawyer.

STAFF:            City Administrator Art Tackett , Chief of Police Rick Rochleau, City Attorney Terry Tanner , Public Works Director Pat Munyan , City Clerk-Treasurer Joan Eckman and Maintenance Person Sterling Joyner .

VISITORS:      Alan Schroeder , Anderson Perry; Joe Escalera, Rhonda Quinton, Council candidates; Jim Riddell; Jack Olson, DOC; and Kathy Bingham, Franklin County Graphic .

CORRESPONDENCE/ APPOINTMENTS

1)                  RSVP – Proclamation for volunteers – to be brought to the next meeting.

2)                  Liquor Control Board – Liquor license renewal for Tapia’s Bakery & Market.

3)                  Information in regards to the new Medicare benefits would be provided at the Community Center on October 19th at 7:00 pm .

CONSENT CALENDAR

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

a)      Minutes of the September 26, 2005  Workshop and Regular Meeting,

Councilmembers Martinez seconded motion. Motion carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Mayor Walton made the following addition to the Agenda:  13 a) Department of Corrections

Motion: Councilmember Sawyer moved to approve the agenda as presented. Councilmember Pruett seconded motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

ORDER OF BUSINESS

SURPLUS PROPERTY – PUBLIC WORKS

Mayor Walton listed the items to be surplused: Chevy oil truck, Galion Pneumatic Roller, old water meters, old damaged signs, Ford Econo van, misc. computer equipment, Cushman, rear mount sander, old sewer pumps and misc. equipment.

Motion: Councilmember Martinez moved to authorize the surplus of items as listed.  Councilmember Sawyer seconded motion, motion carried unanimously.

  PROPERTY SALE

         City Administrator Tackett met with Mr. Leirman and discussed the Buy/Sell Agreement.  Mr. Lierman requested some time to do some research on the property.

         Councilmember Skoglund voiced some concern with not moving quickly on offers to purchase land.

SEWER EXTENSION

City Administrator Tackett advised that he had met with Mr. Riddell and Mike Corcoran.  Mr. Riddell had agreed to pay for the extension of the sewer and any additions necessary.

         Consensus was to go ahead and write up an agreement for the sewer extension.

SET DATE FOR BUDGET WORKSHOP

City Administrator requested a 2006 Budget Workshop for October 17 at 7:30 pm . A Public Hearing on the 2006 Budget would be set for November 14th with a Final Public Hearing on November 28th.

Motion: Councilmember Pruett moved to set a Public Hearing for the 2006 FY Budget for November 14th and a Final Public Hearing for the 2006 FY Budget for November 28th.  Councilmember Boyer seconded motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

          The Budget Workshop for October 17th was set for 7:00 pm instead of 7:30 pm .

SEWER ISSUES

          Public Works Supervisor Munyan advised that there had been three sewer line breaks on work done by Apollo and that he had discussed the issues with them. Apollo exceeded allowable deflection per the contract. It appeared to be an installation problem not a materials problem.

          Apollo had made an offer to install new pipes but not cover the cost of the pipes. 

          Council consensus was to make a counter offer to Apollo for all cost to be covered by Apollo and no out of pocket expenses for the City.

PRELIMINARY BUDGET

          City Clerk-Treasurer Eckman provided a draft of the Preliminary Budget to Council.  The approximate budget for 2006 was balanced at $11,587.641.01.  This would be discussed in more detail at the Budget Workshop on the 17th. The theme for the budget document would be Preserving Our Heritage with black and white photos being used throughout the budget document.

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

City Administrator Tackett advised that he had met with Jack Olson of Dept. of Corrections in regards to the expansion of CRCC. 

Mr. Olson, Project Director for DOC, introduced himself to Council and discussed the upcoming prison expansion.   The project was moving rapidly, they were currently in the process of selecting design/building firms to compete for the design of the project.  They would be in a position to start construction immediately upon signing the design contract. The City should expect a lot of interest from firms in regards to City code requirements. It was expected that the contract for the design would be signed in June and construction would proceed for the next two years with the prison expected to open in June of 2008.  An informational meeting regarding the Environmental Impact Statement would be held on November 7th at the Community Center.  A Public Hearing regarding the EIS would be held on November 29th.   The Department of Corrections would reimburse the city for upgrade to the water and sewer infrastructure.

Mr. Olson advised that the City needed to be prepared to do plan reviews and issue building permits in a timely manner.  Having building permits held up for six months would be a serious issue for DOC. There were firms who could provide this service to the City.

Mr. Olson discussed impact funds and the need to request those funds in the year the impact occurred.  The impacted jurisdiction had the responsibility of applying for funds and providing backup documentation to substantiate those impacts. 

PAYMENT OF BILLS           

Motion: Councilmember Skoglund moved to pay the vouchers and payroll in the amount of $198,955.63. Councilmember Pruett seconded, motion carried unanimously.

COMMITTEE / DEPARTMENT REPORTS

CLERK-TREASURER’S REPORT – City Clerk-Treasurer Joan Eckman

1)         Moving along on the 2006 Budget, would be proposing a budget amendment for the 2005 Budget.

PUBLIC WORKS – Public Works Director Pat Munyan

1)                  Clark Street railroad crossing would be completed October 11.

2)                  Construction at Pioneer Park would begin once the sewer lines were fixed.

POLICE DEPARTMENT – Chief of Police Rick Rochleau

1)                  Civil Service exam was held on October 8th, would begin background checks.

2)                  Would be attending a training class on October 24th.

3)                  Would be attending a meeting in regards to sales tax issues.

CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT – Attorney  Terry Tanner

1)                  Had been busy in court.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT – City Administrator Art Tackett

1)                  Met with Senator Schoesler, starting to lay the ground work for impacts.  Would also be meeting with Representatives Buri and Cox.

2)                  Setting up a meeting with Department of Agriculture to discuss the Energy Park

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Councilmember Pruett reminded everyone about the Meet the Candidates Night at the Community Center sponsored by the Connell Chamber of Commerce.

MEETING RECESSED

Mayor Walton recessed the regular meeting at 8:37 pm to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel issues.

MEETING RECONVENED AND ADJOURNED

There being no further business to be heard before the City Council, Mayor Walton adjourned the meeting at 9:47 pm .