TOWN OF CATHLAMET

APRIL 16, 2007

COUNCIL MEETING

CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Richard Swart

The regular council meeting for the Town of Cathlamet was called to order by Mayor Richard Swart at 7:00 P.M. Monday April 16, 2007.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

ROLL CALL – Mayor Richard Swart

Those Council members present were David Goodroe, John Hannah, William Talbott, and Danielle Erickson. Council Member Walter Wright arrived at 8:40 p.m. due to another obligation. Others present were Clerk/Treasurer Virginia Welker, Town Attorney William Faubion, Wahkiakum Eagle reporter Rick Nelson, Planning Commissioners Fred Johnson and Chris Doumit, contractor Todd Nicholson and Citizens Craig Brown, Dr. Robert Rich and Dean Snyder

PUBLIC HEARINGS

PROCLAMATIONS and PRESENTATIONS

ADDITIONS, CORRECTIONS, DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA

An Executive session was requested by Mayor Richard Swart to discuss land acquisition following the regular meeting of the Town Council meeting. The session is expected to last for approximately 30 minutes.

Motion to approve the Agenda was made by David Goodroe and seconded by Danielle Erickson. Motion carried 4 Yes, 0 No, 0 Abstentions.

CITIZEN’S PARTICIPATION

Citizen Dean Snyder presented Mayor Richard Swart with a glass jar containing cloudy water which he said came from his kitchen faucet on Thursday April 12^th. Mr. Snyder said that the cloudy water has cleared up since he took the sample. Council Member David Goodroe said that he had experienced a similar problem shortly after the Public Works had conducted flow testing during the time frame in which Mr. Snyder took the water sample. Mayor Swart told him that he would take the sample and have Public Works test it.

VOUCHER REVIEW COMMITTEE

The Voucher Review Committee for the May 21, 2007 meeting consists of David Goodroe and William Talbott. John Hannah will be the alternate.

CONSENT AGENDA

David Goodroe made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, second by William Talbott. The consent agenda consists of the Minutes of March 19, 2007 regular Meeting, March 28, 2007 Special Meeting, Vouchers for March and Treasurer’s report for March 2007. With no changes to the consent agenda the motion carried Yes 4, No 0, Abstentions 0.

ORDINANCES

Mayor Swart told the Council that he has reviewed the allegations made by Dr. Robert Rich against the Town Attorney regarding the preparation of Ordinance No. 491 and found no conflict of interest. The Mayor asked if there was a motion to remove the Ordinance from the table. Motion to remove Ordinance No. 491; an ordinance Regulating Moorage of Vessels in Town Owned Waters from being tabled was made by John Hannah. With no second, the ordinance remains tabled.

Town Attorney William Faubion read Ordinance No. 492; an Ordinance Amending CMC 13.05.210 and CMC 13.05.270 Relating to Water Connections for the first reading. Motion to approve Ordinance No. 492 for the first reading was made by David Goodroe and seconded by William Talbott. Motion carried 4 Yes, 0 No, 0 Abstentions. Council Member David Goodroe asked Mayor Swart if Public Works Field Supervisor David Vik supported the ordinance. Mayor Swart answered that he had spoken with Mr. Vik who is in support of the ordinance.

Ordinance No. 493; an Ordinance relating to Sewer Rates and Amending CMC 13.20.030 was read by Town Attorney William Faubion for the first reading. Motion to approve Ordinance No. 493 for first reading was made by David Goodroe and seconded by William Talbott. Motion carried 4 Yes, 0 No, 0 Abstentions.

RESOLUTIONS

Mayor Richard Swart read Resolution No. 242-07; a Resolution updating the current Pool fee schedule. The Mayor told the Council that the Pool Advisory Committee recommended keeping the rates the same as last year with the exception of one $.25 increase in the ten-swim pass rate for adults and seniors, clarifying the ages of children, adults and seniors, establishing the definition of “family”, and establishing a limit on children for swim classes. The PAC suggested that the pool charge a special rate for children and seniors of $3.00 for both afternoon sessions. Motion to adopt Resolution No. 242-07 was made by John Hannah and seconded by David Goodroe. Motion carried 4 Yes. 0 No, 0 Abstentions. Council Member William Talbott proposed a special rate for adults at $3.50 for both afternoon sessions. Motion to adopt Resolution No. 242-07 as amended was made by William Talbott and seconded by John Hannah. Motion carried 4 Yes, 0 No, 0 Abstentions.

PUBLIC COMMENT

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Fire Marshall Fred Johnson read to the Council some new requirements needed to complete the final acceptance of the Marina Estates including a 5” discharge stortz connection, backfilling around a hydrant, paving the parking area, and providing a key to the gate for the Fire Dept. Developer Todd Nicholson told the Council that these items were already planned for and would be no problem to complete. Mr. Nicholson thanked the Council for their help in completing the development. Motion to approve the ccr’s and final plot plan incorporating the items presented to Mr. Nicholson by the Fire Marshall was made by David Goodroe and seconded by William Talbott. Motion carried 4 Yes, 0 No, 0 Abstentions.

Mayor Richard Swart told the Council that he had received confirmation from the USDA in which the Town has been awarded a grant to purchase the Titzler property located next to Town Hall to be used for a parking lot. The Mayor said that he expects an official letter of award to be received by the Town soon.

Based on recommendations from Town engineers Gray & Osborne, Inc., the Council agreed to accept the completion of the SR 4 Sewer Extension Project and to release the retainage fees to the contractor. Clerk/Treasurer Virginia Welker told the Council that there would need to be a notarized affidavit that all subcontractors have been paid for their services prior to the retainage being released. Council Member John Hannah asked if the hydroseeding had been completed yet and questioned as to whether or not the Town should wait until the hydroseeding is done before accepting the project. Mayor Swart told him that it is expected to be completed by the weeks end. Motion to accept the completion of the SR 4 Sewer Extension Project was made by David Goodroe and seconded by Danielle Erickson. Motion carried 3 Yes, 1 No, 0 Abstentions. Council Member John Hannah cast the “No” vote.

NEW BUSINESS

Clerk/Treasurer Virginia Welker told the Council that she was told in the last audit that the Town has too many funds set up which causes more time to be spent on auditing and that it is difficult to audit, so she has developed a plan to combine some funds. Ms. Welker said that she had recently had AWC Small Cities Specialist Toni Nelson tell her that real estate excise taxes are to be designated for capital projects only and that the town has not been doing that up to this point. Ms. Welker said that currently timber funds are in the Capital Projects Fund and that she is moving the timber funds to the Current Expense Cumulative Reserve. With Council approval, she will designate real estate excise tax for 2006 and 2007 to be transferred to the Capital Projects Cumulative Reserve from Current Expense. Council Member David Goodroe asked about how funds received from Water and Sewer would be designated as we currently do not separate the funds and occasionally have a surplus. Ms. Welker responded by saying that revenue from Sewer could be assigned to Sewer as a certain percentage. Council Member Goodroe said that he would like to see two separate funds for water and sewer and a third fund set up for a combined fund which could go to either water or sewer. Town Attorney William Faubion said that the funds have been established by ordinance and would need to have the ordinances amended in order to change the funds. Former Prosecuting Attorney Fred Johnson addressed the Council and said that the real estate excise tax statute has a very specific definition of capital projects and that it may not match the ordinance’s definition, so that if you co-mingle the funds you may find out later that the Town cannot show that real estate excise taxes were used for correct uses.

Motion to give Council approval to do the research to implement Clerk/Treasurer Virginia Welker’s recommended Funds Merge proposal was made by David Goodroe and seconded by Danielle Erickson. Motion carried 4 Yes, 0 No, 0 Abstentions.

Mayor Richard Swart told the Council that the old Pool Chlorinator which was going to be replaced next year will not work properly with the new heating system. The Mayor said that he has received two estimates to date ranging from $2,800 to $3,100 for a new chlorinator which will preserve the warranty of the new pool heating system. Mayor Swart said that currently the Town has budgeted $40,000 of county money for capital improvements for the Pool and would like permission from Council to ask the County Commissioners to include an additional $3,100 in their 2008 budget allocation. Mayor Swart requested authorization to expend money from reserves to purchase the chlorinator and to make the additional request for funds from the Commissioners.

Motion to approve authorization for the purchase of the new Pool Chlorinator and for the Mayor to request additional funds from the County Commissioners was made by David Goodroe and seconded by William Talbott. Motion carried 4 Yes, 0 No, 0 Abstentions.

The Council tabled Bruce Holland’s request for his one-time water bill adjustment until the May Council meeting while they receive additional information from Public Works relating to a cost-sharing agreement between Public Works and the Holland’s for the relocation of their water meter.

The Streets and Docks Committee had two recommendations for changing the names of 2^nd and 3^rd Streets including putting an ad in the Eagle for citizen input to go the Streets and Docks Committee for final selection and then announcing the new names at Bald Eagle Fest, or by having the Mayor create a council of citizens to come up with new names which would be revealed at Bald Eagle Fest. Council Member John Hannah said that he thinks that the idea of a citizen committee coming up with the names would be great! Council member David Goodroe suggested that the businesses on 2^nd and Third St should be contacted to see if there would be any hardships involved with the renaming. Fire Marshall Fred Johnson said that he does not think the street names are an issue but that the problem exists with the 911 operators who sometimes do not give out the correct addresses for emergency calls. Johnson said that the town should contact the 911 service first and ask them to be more precise in their direction information.

The Greenwood Tank Project contract was awarded to the apparent low bidder, Western Industrial with a bid amount of $71,218.75, after a review by the town engineers in which they recommended approval of the bid. Motion to accept the bid of $71,218.75 from Western Industrial for the Greenwood Tank Project was made by David Goodroe and seconded by William Talbott. Motion carried 4 Yes, 0 No, 0 Abstentions.

Craig Brown presented the Council with copies of a letter in which he stated that he thought the Town’s “No Parking” signs were illegally placed. Mr. Brown had recently received a $38.00 parking ticket for violating the two-hour parking limit on Main Street. Mr. Brown had contested the ticket but was found guilty of the violation and received a reduced ticket amount. Upon learning that an appeal would cost $245, Mr. Brown decided to approach the Council with the letter requesting a change in the locations of signs. Mayor Swart said that he will review the uniform sign ordinance and check to see if any changes need to be made.

MAYOR REPORT – Richard Swart

A copy of the Mayor’s report is included in the Minutes.

CLERK/TREASURER REPORT – Virginia Welker

A copy of the Clerk/Treasurer’s report is included in the Minutes.

Clerk/Treasurer Virginia Welker said that she had manual warrants for April which includes the Stouder General Construction retainage for the Wastewater Treatment Plant repairs, a voucher payable to L.L. Lindbergh Construction for their retainage release on the Sewer Extension Project and a warrant for the Town’s portion for the purchase of a new ambulance for the Fire Dept. Ms. Welker requested that the Council sign the manual warrants.

TOWN ATTORNEY REPORT – William Faubion

PUBLIC WORKS – David Vik

A copy of the Public Works report is included with the Minutes.

PLANNING COMMISSION –

A copy of the Planning Commission report is included with the Minutes.

Planning Commission Chairman Fed Johnson and Planning Commissioner Chris Doumit requested that the Town consider the possible purchase of the Bank of the Pacific lot on the corner of Butler and Main St. for the purpose of providing additional parking for downtown patrons. Commissioner Doumit stated that based on information provided by contractors, the benefits of purchasing the lot far outweigh the potential for problems related to possible contaminated soil. The Mayor said that he will take up the issue in executive session. Planning Chair Fred Johnson asked the Mayor if the Council was prepared to discuss PC recommendations for the Comprehensive Plan update. Mayor Swart said that he was not prepared to provide a complete recommendation to the Council yet, but has some material prepared and would have it ready for the next Planning Commission meeting.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

PARKS & PROPERTIES – Danielle Erickson & John Hannah

Council Member John Hannah said that the Erickson Park Big Toy has some broken parts that need to be repaired or replaced and that the level of sand beneath the swing set is low and needs to be replenished. Mayor Swart said that a new swing set is on order which will be installed by the contractor and paid for by the insurance company.

POOL – Walter Wright & William Talbott

Mayor Swart distributed copies of the new pool schedule to Council.

PUBLIC SAFETY – Walter Wright & John Hannah

Council Member Walter Wright suggested that a white line may need to be painted at the bottom of the road leading from the Post Office to River Street so that people are aware that they need to stop there. Mayor Swart asked Council Member Wright to show him the location after the meeting.

STREETS & DOCKS – Danielle Erickson & John Hannah

Council Member David Goodroe told the Council that he had spoken with County Engineer Pete Ringen who told him that the town qualified for chip seal on several streets which will be done this summer. The cost that was approved is $42,000. Goodroe said he will follow up on this with Public Works Field Supervisor David Vik.

WATER & SEWER – Walter Wright & David Goodroe

ANNEXATION – Danielle Erickson & Walter Wright

REVENUE & SALARIES – William Talbott & David Goodroe

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – David Goodroe & Danielle Erickson

Council Member David Goodroe said that he had attended the National Main Street conference in Seattle and picked up some literature about lighting, signs, equipment and benches and that he had attended some sessions on promoting tourism. Goodroe said that one of the things that interested him was a clock for the downtown and a possible fountain for Sally’s well. Mayor Swart suggested that Council Member Goodroe share his ideas with the Park Committee.

DISCUSSION –

Council Member William Talbott said that he had seen the backhoe on the street last week and thought that it was supposed to be kept off the streets to prevent damage to the asphalt. Mayor Swart said that the Public Works crew must have needed to use it on a job and that the town does not have a trailer for it.

ANNOUNCEMENTS –

EXECUTIVE SESSION –

The regular meeting of the Town Council was recessed at 8:46 p.m. The Executive Session began at 8:47 p.m. The Executive Session ended at 10:12 p.m. The regular meeting of the Town Council resumed at 10:12 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 10:12 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Virginia L. Welker

Clerk/Treasurer