Council Meeting Notes: Jan. 4, 2010

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Hopkins at 7:02 pm. After the roll call and flag salute, the agenda was amended so that the new town officials would be sworn in after agenda approval. Mayor Hopkins was sworn in by the town attorney. Hopkins then swore in Council Member Hunt and Kristovich.

The minutes were approved after a note was added that Council Member Hedrick had attended the last meeting.

Public Comment
Jim Wingard asked why the minutes had not been included in the informational packets like before and expressed concern about the new BIAS software system.

Sherri Forch had visited former Council Member Mary Joyce at Tacoma Lutheran recently. Mary is recovering from a fall and doing well. Her husband hopes to bring her home soon.

I asked the council to give some background on why they were repealing some of the Ruston code tonight (since we cannot ask questions during their discussion). I also asked them to consider a new system that allowed public comment during their discussion in individual agenda items.

JJ McCamment from Point Ruston thanked everyone for their patience during the recent tunnel closure and explained why it took longer than planned.

Business
1. Mo Fesharaki - Street Lighting: Mo handed out a list of the bids received for the new poles and light fixtures. He recommended going with Tacoma Electric Supply as the low bidder. He had negotiated a $2,300 reduction in pole costs from them this afternoon. The cost came in at $930 per pole and $890 per fixture. The factory will pay for shipping. He wants to proceed now so the project can get started. Shipping will take 8 to 10 weeks. If the material arrives before the new lines are installed, it can be stored at the school building. The trenching and new lines will be starting in the next few weeks.

2. Resolution 459: The council decided to include new fixtures for the 10 lights on Stack Hill with this work. Hunt asked that the planning commission get the town code updated to require dark sky lighting from now on. The motion to proceed with purchasing 47 new poles ($43,710) and 57 new fixtures ($50,739) was approved 5-0.

3. Resolution 458 - Online Bill-pay Vendor Agreements: Hedrick asked why there were 4 different vendors listed. They are for the different pieces of electronic payments (credit vs debit cards, converting checks to electronic payments, etc). Hunt said the pricing was excellent compared to what she has seen in the marketplace. Mayor Hopkins noted BIAS will print and send out the bills. He is considering putting a computer in the town hall lobby so citizens can pay their bills, get building permits and such on their own rather than take the clerk's time. The resolution passed 5-0.

4. Ordinance 1304 - Repealing Ch. 1.12 RMC Town Employee Policy (First Reading): The town attorney is working to clean up the town ordinances. This will be the first of many things he suggests for the council to change. In this case, the town updated employee policy by resolution recently, but because this was an ordinance it trumped the new resolution. Britton pointed out that the town codes are available on the town web site (code is linked here). The council did not have any comment. The issue will be voted on at the next meeting.

Claims and Payroll
Hedrick asked the BIAS show which funds the claims will be paid out of. Hopkins said they can provide reports on any information the council wants. Claims and payroll was approved 5-0.

Mayor's Time
Hopkins welcomed Deb Kristovich "to our little family". He felt her business experience would be a huge asset. She is assigned as the council liaison for Public Works and Parks. He reported that the monthly staff meetings are yielding good results and will help prevent some of the problems the town has had in the past. BIAS is formalizing their proposed contract. The council should have it for approval by the next meeting. He noted that if the town has problems with the company or they become too expensive, the town can fire BIAS and continue to use the software.

Council Time
Huson welcomed Kristovich to "our previously dysfunctional family" but felt things had improved over the last few months. He will be meeting with his banker to see if the town can earn better than 1.7% on its investments. He asked that Point Ruston provide an update at the next meeting that included a timeline for the next few years. He asked that the town try to sell the 10 light fixtures they are replacing on Stack Hill. He added that he and Council Member Hunt went by the liquor store because they wanted to after the last meeting for the first time, rather than visiting out of need.

Hedrick said he knew when he was not going to be able to top Huson's comments and only welcomed Kristovich and wished everyone a happy new year.

Hunt updated everyone on her attempt to notify all the telephone companies of the new taxes that go into effect next month. There are 430 phone companies in Washington. The mayor and she had decided to only notify the top 15. The rest of the utility companies have been notified. She also welcomed Kristovich.

Hardin congratulated all the elected officials sworn in tonight. He will have a report out soon with some recommendations for improving the town computer systems. He noted that BIAS is geared for small cities and he does not have any worries about their services.

Hardin also wanted to know who was surveying the alleys in town. The mayor said it was for the new sewers. The council will quickly have to decide how to handle any lateral lines to private property that are not functioning properly. Those lines with leaks or that have storm water infiltrating them cost the town money (since the town pays by volume for sewer treatment). The surveying will include smoke testing to identify the lateral lines that are problems. Those residents will have to pay to install new lines to their homes. The town engineer is asking if the USDA loan limit can be increased so that the town can loan those monies out if the resident cannot afford a new line on their own. The loan would be paid back in full if the property sold (a lien would be placed on the property) or the property owner can repay at the same low interest rate.

Kristovich thanked everyone for their welcome. She is honored to serve and takes her new role very seriously. As a small business owner who recently converted to a system similar to BIAS, she was thrilled to see Ruston make this move.

The meeting adjourned about 7:50 pm.