City Council

City Council Meeting Minutes ___________________________________________________________________________________________ THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF COLUMBIA CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON AGENDA ITEM 1 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL: CONVENED: Mayor Cheryl A. Young called the regular meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Mayor Young delivered the invocation and led the flag salute. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Cheryl A. Young Councilor Sally Ann Marson Councilor Casey Wheeler COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Councilor Shannon Fitzgibbons Councilor Josh Fromm ALSO PRESENT: Leahnette Rivers, City Administrator/Recorder ATTORNEY PRESENT: Harold Olsen, City Attorney A quorum was present and due notice had been published. 1.1 City Council Member Inauguration: Inauguration of Council Member Sally Ann Marson. Leahnette Rivers administered the oath of office to Councilor Sally Ann Marson. AGENDA ITEM 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: None. AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT: None. AGENDA ITEM 4 COUNCIL REPORTS: 4.1 Parks Committee: Councilor Marson asked about the status of the Veteran’s Memorial Grant application. Leahnette said the Grant Advisory Committee is supposed to make award recommendations sometime this month. 4.2 Water Source and Development Committee: No report. 4.3 Street Committee: No report. 2 - Regular City Council Meeting January 3, 2013 4.4 Sewer Committee: No report. 4.5 Audit Committee: Secretary Wheeler said the Audit Committee will be meet on th the 25 of January. 4.6 Hazard Mitigation Planning Group: No report. 4.7 Other Reports: Councilor Marson said the Solid Waste Committee will meet on Tuesday of next week. AGENDA ITEM 5 CONSENT AGENDA: 5.1 November and December 2012 report from the Public Works Superintendent. 5.2 November and December 2012 report from the Chief of Police. 5.3 Reappointment of Casey Wheeler and Lisa Bush to the Audit Committee. 5.4 Reappointment of Glen Pritchard and Kelly Niles to the Planning Commission. 5.5 Reappointment of Karen Ladd to the Budget Committee. 5.6 Reappointment of Rich Bailey, Durell Kearsley, Randy May and Dave Sass to the Building Appeals Board. 5.7 Appointment of Karen Fox Ladd and Susan Ziglinski to the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee. 5.8 Reappointment of existing Council Assignments. Leahnette asked that the December 2012 report from the Chief of Police be struck from the consent agenda. Mayor Young asked that Council Assignments be added to the consent agenda, and noted that all existing Council Assignments will continue during 2013. MOVED (WHEELER), SECONDED (MARSON), AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY ROLL CALL VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS AMENDED. AGENDA ITEM 6 UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 6.1 Merchant Services: Leahnette explained that during a recent City Council Meeting, it was the consensus of the Council that we take no action towards providing merchant services until such time as the City’s utility billing software is updated so that we can offer our customers that pay by cash or check a discount to off-set the fees we will pay for the merchant services. However, since that meeting Councilor Wheeler brought to her attention another type of merchant services under which the customers pay a fee directly to the vendor and the City incurs no fees associated with the merchant services. She said this type of merchant services is only available to governmental entities. She said she is still researching and comparing the services offered by several different vendors. The Council discussed merchant services at length with staff, and it was the consensus of the Council that Leahnette come back to the Council at a future meeting with a recommendation. AGENDA ITEM 7 NEW BUSINESS: 7.1 General Application for a Safe Drinking Water Loan: Approval of the submission of a General Application for a Safe Drinking Water Loan administered by the Business Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority for the Columbia City Water Conservation Project - Meter/PRV/Line Improvements. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (WHEELER) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE SUBMISSION OF THE GENERAL APPLICATION FOR A SAFE DRINKING WATER LOAN FOR THE COLUMBIA CITY WATER CONSERVATION PROJECT - METER/PRV/LINE IMPROVEMENTS. 7.2 City Administrator/Recorder Evaluation Process: 3 - Regular City Council Meeting January 3, 2013 Councilor Wheeler said the City of Dover, New Hampshire, adopted a Handbook for Evaluating the City Manager using information they obtained from the League of Oregon Cities. He said he has reviewed the handbook and he really likes the process they use. Other members of the Council agreed. It was the consensus of the Council that the City follow the City of Dover process to conduct an evaluation of Leahnette’s performance, and that the evaluation take place in July to coordinate the evaluation with the City’s fiscal year and City-wide goals. Leahnette said she also thought the process looked very good, and she will work on developing a similar handbook for Columbia City once the City Charter is updated. Harold said it is important that the City conduct annual evaluations for all employees, noting that this is an area in which the City has been lax. 7.3 Executive Session: The Council met in Executive Session in accordance with ORS 192.660(2) to consult with legal counsel concerning the legal rights and duties of a public body with regard to current litigation. The Council convened in Executive Session. The Council reconvened in Open Session. AGENDA ITEM 8 OTHER BUSINESS: City Attorney report: Harold said the last time he attended a City Council meeting during a freezing rain event, he was driving home on Pittsburg Road and passed by a car that was upside down in the ditch. He said the police were at the scene, and he passed by and went home, and within a matter of seconds someone pulled in behind him and asked, “Didn’t you recognize your car?” He said his wife had flipped the car over and into the ditch, and he had not recognized the bottom of the car and had driven right by her. He said his wife has not let him forget about that incident. AGENDA ITEM 9 ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 6:34 p.m. APPROVED: _______________________________________ Cheryl A. Young Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ Leahnette Rivers City Administrator/Recorder