City Council

City Council Meeting Minutes ___________________________________________________________________________________________ THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF COLUMBIA CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON AGENDA ITEM 1 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL: CONVENED: Mayor Young called the 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 Council President Sally Ann Marson Councilor Shannon Fitzgibbons Councilor Casey Wheeler COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Councilor Josh Fromm ALSO PRESENT: Michael McGlothlin, Chief of Police Leahnette Rivers, City Administrator/Recorder ATTORNEY PRESENT: None A quorum was present and due notice had been published. AGENDA ITEM 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: 2.1 Public Hearing: To accept public testimony about proposed drinking water protection strategies for the City’s water source. Public Hearing opened. Ray Biggs of Columbia City said West Virginia recently experienced a spill that contaminated the water source for more than 300,000 homes. He said the contamination occurred when 4-methylcyclohexane methanol leaked into the Elk River. He said people were instructed to not bathe or shower in the water, or to touch it. Ray said he mentioned during the last Council Meeting that he sells distillers, and if each of those households had been equipped with a distiller, the contamination would have been a non-issue for them. He said Dyno Nobel is a scary neighbor. He said they use some really nasty stuff, and if there is a release we will need to use duct tape and plastic to cover our windows and shelter in place. This Public Hearing was continued to the next City Council Meeting - 6 p.m. on February 6, 2014. 2.2 Public Hearing: To accept public testimony about a proposed loan under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan program to complete sewer system 2 - Regular City Council Meeting January 16, 2014 improvements as recommended by the City’s Wastewater Collection System Facility Plan. Public Hearing opened. Leahnette explained that the $400,000 loan would be used to complete necessary sewer improvements that are outlined in the City’s Wastewater Collection System Facility Plan, including upgrades to the RCE Pump Station, Telemetry, Manhole Lining, and Steel Septic Tank Replacement/Abandonment. She said the terms of the loan would be 20 years with an interest rate of approximately 2.54% or less, and an annual loan fee of 0.5%. She said the total project cost is estimated at $430,000. Kit Gardes of Columbia City asked about the timetable for this project, whether or not the project will impact “K” Street directly, and the amount of impact this project will have on monthly user fees. Leahnette said we hope to have the project finished by December 2014. She said the sewer mains in “K” Street will not be impacted, but there may be some manhole lining work performed in that area. She said the annual loan payments are estimated at $28,000, which is equal to $2.80 per customer per month. However, she said the recent rate study anticipated the completion of this project, along with some other sewer projects, and the rate study recommended we implement an equalizing rate increase method of annual 3% increases for the next five years. She said the City implemented the first 3% rate increase in July 2013. Chip Gardes of Columbia City asked who is responsible for removing or replacing the individual septic tanks. Leahnette explained that the septic tanks are actually holding tanks that are part of the city- wide sewer system. She said the construction of the current sewer system utilized small diameter sewer mains to carry the sewer effluent and incorporated existing septic tanks into the City’s sewer system to hold the solids. She said some of those tanks were steel, as opposed to concrete, and they need to be replaced. She said the 54 remaining steel tanks within the system were inspected and prioritized for replacement based upon their condition. She said the 17 tanks that will be removed or replaced with this project are located in the northwest part of town. She said when feasible, the tanks will be removed and the service will be converted to a direct flow connection. However, in some cases, removal of the tank may be cost prohibitive, so those tanks will be replaced with a concrete tank. Public Hearing closed. AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT: None. AGENDA ITEM 4 COUNCIL REPORTS: 4.1 Parks Committee: Chair Fitzgibbons said the Grand Opening for the Off-Leash Dog Park will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2014. She said the park is equipped with a large dog section and a small dog section, a bench and picnic table, and doggie waste stations, but patrons need to bring their own water. Chair Fitzgibbons reported that the monument is installed at the Veterans Park site. Mayor Young said we are still selling sponsor bricks and veteran bricks for the park. 4.2 Water and Sewer Committee: No report. 4.3 Street Committee: Chair Wheeler said the streets are slightly damp. 3 - Regular City Council Meeting January 16, 2014 4.4 Audit Committee: Secretary Wheeler said we have received a good audit report from Pauly Rogers and Co. He said the Audit Committee is in the process of setting their next meeting date. 4.5 Hazard Mitigation Planning Group: Member Wheeler said the Hazard Mitigation team will meet next Monday. Leahnette reported that a test message was sent out to Columbia City residents through the Community Alert Network (CAN) emergency notification system. 4.6 Other Reports: Proposed Jail Closure: Mayor Young and Councilor Marson reported on the recent Jail Summit Meeting. Both generally expressed frustration and disappointment about the situation and the meeting. Mayor Young said it appears that the jail will be closed by June 2014. Chief McGlothlin said local law enforcement representatives will be meeting this Friday to review and discuss draft protocols associated with handling offenders when the jail is closed. He said it appears that only the 10 most dangerous offenders will be lodged in Polk County Jail. He said offenders who have crimes against persons will be transported to a booking location by the arresting department, where they will be booked, released, and issued a No Contact Order. He said there will be a separate process for warrants. He said they have obtained a legal opinion from the Department of Justice, and their opinion is that an officer cannot be held criminally liable for not taking a person to jail if there is no jail, but the Department of Justice did not speak to the civil liability of that officer, which is still under question at this time. He said it is his expectation that the jail will close sometime between now and June 30, 2014. Mayor Young said closing the jail will be devastating for our County - if something needs to be eliminated, it most definitely should not be the jail. She said it would be a serious mistake to not give voters another opportunity to vote on a jail levy measure during the May election. The Mayor, Council, staff and members of the audience discussed this topic at length. CC Rider: Representative Marson said the CC Rider will be losing their Director, Janet Wright, to retirement later this year. Columbia County Transfer Station: Representative Marson said the Advisory Board will be reviewing proposals for operating the transfer station. AGENDA ITEM 5 CONSENT AGENDA: 5.1 Financial Reports for the month ending December 31, 2013. 5.2 Investment and Cash Balance Summary for the quarter ending December 31, 2013. 5.3 Resignation from the Planning Commission submitted by Jaime Smith. 5.4 Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of January 2, 2014. 5.5 Reappointment of existing Council assignments. 5.6 Reappointment of Barbara Gordon and Ron Schlumpberger to the Columbia City Budget Committee. 5.7 Reappointment of Barbara Gordon to the Columbia City Audit Committee. 5.8 Appointment of Leahnette Rivers, City Administrator, as Budget Officer for the 2014-15 budget year. 5.9 Activities report for the month of December 2013 from the Public Works Superintendent. 5.10 Activities report for the month of December 2013 from the Chief of Police. 5.11 Activities report from the City Administrator/Recorder. 4 - Regular City Council Meeting January 16, 2014 Item 5.10 was removed from the consent agenda. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (WHEELER) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS AMENDED. AGENDA ITEM 6 UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. AGENDA ITEM 7 NEW BUSINESS: 7.1 Council Bill No. 14-704: Resolution No. 14-1106-R: A Resolution to change the South Columbia County Enterprise Zone Boundary and add the City of Vernonia as a Co-Sponsor of the Zone. MOVED (WHEELER), SECONDED (FITZGIBBONS) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-704. 7.2 Council Bill No. 14-705; Resolution No. 14-1107-R: A Resolution referring a measure asking if the voters of the City of Columbia City shall adopt revisions to update the City Home Rule Charter; certifying a ballot title and explanatory statement, and filing them with the City Recorder to be submitted to the voters at the May 20, 2014 statewide election. MOVED (WHEELER), SECONDED (FITZGIBBONS) ANC CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-705. 7.3 Council Bill No. 14-706; Resolution No. 14-1108-R: A Resolution authorizing and approving a Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Agreement between the State of Oregon acting by and through its Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Columbia City, Oregon. MOVED (WHEELER), SECONDED (MARSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-706. 7.4 Audited Financial Reports: Audited Financial Reports for the year ended June 30, 2013. Councilor Wheeler congratulated the staff on another excellent audit report. MOVED (WHEELER), SECONDED (FITZGIBBONS) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ACCEPT THE AUDITED FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2013. 7.5 Policy Goals and Objectives: Review of six-month progress report on 2013- 14 Policy Goals and Objectives; set date for annual goal setting for 2014-15 fiscal year. Council reviewed the six-month progress report on the 2013-14 Police Goals and Objectives, and will hold a Goal Setting Workshop for 2014-15 fiscal year following the adjournment of the February 6, 2014 City Council Meeting. 7.6 Engineering Proposal for Sewer Improvements Project: Engineering Services Proposal for the Columbia City Sewer Improvements Project. The Council reviewed a Proposal for Design and Construction Services from Kennedy/Jenks Consultants for the Sanitary Sewer System Improvements dated January 10, 2014 in the amount of $84,145. 5 - Regular City Council Meeting January 16, 2014 Leahnette said she e-mailed the proposal to the Water and Sewer Committee Members earlier this week and has not received any comments. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (WHEELER) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO AUTHORIZE THE WORK ONCE THE CLEAN WATER LOAN AGREEMENT IS EXECUTED. AGENDA ITEM 8 OTHER BUSINESS: Police Department update: Chief McGlothlin said the recent C.A.N. test message has solidified the fact that the C.A.N. system fairly well for the dispersal of information, but falls short when it comes to issuing an emergency notification. He said it takes at least 30 minutes to push the message out to the public. This topic was discussed at length. Recommendation to appoint a Basketball Hoop Study Committee: In response to citizen concerns, Leahnette recommended the Council consider appointing a citizen committee to study the issue of basketball hoops within the City’s right-of-ways. Following a lengthy discussion between the Mayor, Council, staff and members of the audience, it was the consensus of the Council to move forward with soliciting citizen volunteers to service on the committee. AGENDA ITEM 9 ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. APPROVED: _______________________________________ Cheryl A. Young Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ Leahnette Rivers City Administrator/Recorder