Thursday, August 23, 2012

Council Meeting Notes: August 21, 2012


The meeting started a bit late at 7:09pm, waiting for three councilmembers to arrive to create a quorum. Councilmembers Hunt, Hardin and Judd were present with Hedrick and Kristovich excused. The agenda was approved with no changes. No minutes were presented.

Staff Reports
Town Engineer: Jerry Morrissette gave a detailed report on the sewer project. Of note, the project is almost done with the connection at Baltimore near the railroad as the final piece, scheduled for early September. The contractor is estimating September 25th as the substantial completion date. Morrissette asked residents to report any outstanding issues now. The mayor wants to post the “punch list” of remaining repairs on the town’s web page so residents can see what issues are already listed and avoid notifying about the same thing repeatedly. Hunt suggested updating the punch list weekly since it will be a moving target. Hardin clarified the work on Highland and asked about the contract monies the town keeps back from the contractor (retainage). He was concerned about problems developing over the winter, but the mayor said the contractor has a performance bonds to warrantee their work rather than not paying on the contract.

The project is coming in under cost. The City of Tacoma will be using the new lines to drain up to 49 homes in their city as allowed under the town’s agreement with them. They are calculating the cost sharing for those homes, which should reduce the amount residents have to pay when the new rates are imposed to repay this sewer loan. The engineer said there is plenty of capacity in the line to handle these extra homes. The interest rates on these types of loans have gone down and the mayor is trying to get the lower rate from USDA.

Police: Chief Kunkel said National Night Out Against Crime went well. The bike rodeo at the Family Fair did not attract many participants, but those that brought their bikes down had fun. The department has completed their “use of force” training.

Fire: Chief Torbet noted the sewer contractor had worked well with them on notification of street closures after a few early challenges. The aid van has been repaired and is in service. The Family Fair and fire department fundraiser went well (thank you for everyone who helped). There is now a nice plaque at Town Hall using those funds. The volunteer appreciation celebration was last week, a great BBQ for all those in the department that give so much. The department is still working on getting the entire town CPR trained and encouraged the mayor to get the ball rolling by getting trained.

Public Comment
Beth Torbet thanked everyone for helping with the Family Fair, especially The Commencement for sponsoring the wagon rides. She invited the elected officials to the upcoming city-wide business district annual meet-and-greet.

I thanked everyone for helping with the Family Fair. I asked for clarification of any changes to next year’s event that would be caused if Ordinance 1380 was approved. I noted the 20 year anniversary of the smelter stack implosion is in January and encouraged a community celebration.

Business
1. Ordinance 1379 – Amend Chapter 10.01 RMC re: Playfield Park Reservations (1st Reading): No discussion, will be voted on at the next meeting.

2. Ordinance 1380 – Amend Chapter 14.04 RMC re: Special Events Permits (1st Reading): The town attorney outlined the changes; 1) increased the insurance requirements, 2) adding cost recovery for police or other costs for the council to consider and 3) expand the definition of a special event. Hardin asked if cost recovery would apply to events like Night Out (yes, if they need the permit). Hardin asked if there were any extra police provided for Night Out or the Family Fair (one officer for Night Out, regular hours were used for the Fair). Hunt couldn’t see charging for Night Out. The issue will be discussed at the next meeting when the full council was present.

3. Resolution 518 – Amendment of Facilities Use Guidelines: Passed 3-0 with no discussion.

4. Resolution 519 – Amendment of Town Investment Policy: Hunt commented it was about time. Hardin confirmed that Judd approved of the policy since he is on the council finance committee. Passed 3-0.

5. Resolution 520 – Fire Truck Surplus Property: Passed 3-0 with no discussion.

Claims and Payroll
Hunt questioned some of the charges for utility locates, but the town does not have any choice about paying them. Passed 3-0.

Mayor’s Time
Hopkins thanked the town maintenance and fire department for their work sprucing up the town before the Family Fair.  The water line work on 49th is still pending. The east side of Baltimore Street will have the required improvements installed by Point Ruston along with the last of the sewer work. The town has not formally accepted ownership of Baltimore or Ruston Way. The developer opened the road on their own. The town is waiting for documentation they require. Hunt confirmed that meant Pt. Ruston is liable for the road.

The mayor said the rest of the school parking lot will be completed next week. They worked a deal with The Commencement where the developer installed the new fence and the town will complete the landscaping. Staff is looking for grants to repair Winnifred Street. Century Link is undergrounding their lines from Pearl to The Commencement and he wants to install conduit for the town utilities at the same time.

Hopkins announced that the state auditor is doing another audit that was not budgeted for since they were there just last year.

Council Time
Hunt offered her sympathies for the audit.

Hardin thanked the mayor’s wife for doing all the social events in town.

Judd had no comment.

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