City Council

City Council Meeting Minutes ___________________________________________________________________________________________ THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2014 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 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 Larry Preston Councilor Sally Ann Marson Councilor Josh Fromm COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Councilor Casey Wheeler 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. Mayor Young thanked Shannon Fitzgibbons for her service to the City during her time in office. She said Shannon served nearly four years on the Council, and decided to resign because she is moving to Deer Island. She said Shannon has accomplished a great deal during her time in office, especially in the areas of parks and police. Mayor Young presented Shannon with a Certificate of Appreciation, her City Council desk plate, and a card. The Mayor, Council and staff thanked Shannon for her service and many accomplishments. Shannon will continue to serve as a citizen member of the Parks Committee. 1.1 Appointment of Larry Preston to the City Council. Mayor Young said Larry Preston has shown a lot of interest in the City’s activities since he moved to Columbia City, and has frequently offered his input and his participation. He has regularly attended the City Council meetings and is a member of the Parks Committee and several other committees. She asked Larry to briefly describe his background. Larry said he moved to Columbia City after carefully looking for one of the best places in the world to live. He said he is a retired civil engineer, he managed water districts and water agencies, and he worked for and with local governments for many years, and he has always admired the way that this particular City Council can get things done. He said he has been monitoring the City Council’s activities for a year and a half, and it is exciting to see how much this group can get done in such a short period of time, with so little resources. He said Leahnette is the one that really drives it, and it has been a thrill to watch the City’s progress. He said to have the opportunity to serve on the City Council is 2 - Regular City Council Meeting March 20, 2014 very exciting to him, although he is sorry to see that Councilor Fitzgibbons is leaving town. Larry introduced his daughter, Lisa, and grandchildren, Brandon and Kyla. Mayor Young said it sounds like Larry Preston has the education, the experience, the knowledge, and the desire to serve Columbia City, and she recommended that he be appointed as a member of the City Council. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (FROMM) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPOINT LARRY PRESTON TO THE CITY COUNCIL. Leahnette administered the Oath of Office to Councilor Preston. Mayor Young said she would like to appoint Larry as a Co-Chair of the Parks Committee, with Sally Ann serving as another Co-Chair. AGENDA ITEM 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: None AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT: Each of the members of Boy Scout Troop #142 introduced themselves to the Mayor and Council. AGENDA ITEM 4 COUNCIL REPORTS: 4.1 Parks Committee: Co-Chair Marson reported that the concrete foundations for the veteran wall panels, picnic tables, and park benches were poured yesterday with the assistance of a large number of volunteers. She said she was pleased to find no visible footprints in the fresh concrete this morning. She said the Parks Committee has been busy considering design options for the park benches and picnic tables and planning the Memorial Day dedication ceremony. She said our park will be the first in the country that honors all six branches of the armed services. Mayor Young noted that engraved bricks are still available for sale. She said this park is being built with volunteers, donations, grant funds and park development funds - but not tax dollars. Leahnette mentioned that a member of the American Legion plans to contact the Boy Scouts to see if they would like to assist us during our dedication ceremony - perhaps with directing traffic. Leahnette said the Veterans and War Memorials Grant Funds include close to $10,000 for purchasing three park benches and two tables, with the stipulation that they are made locally. She said they have considered purchasing from a company that manufactures a wide variety of benches and tables in Vancouver, and sells them in Portland, and those tables and benches would cost about $10,000. She said we were able to find a local artist that lives in St. Helens that is interested in fabricating our unique benches and tables for us from steel for $10,000. She said they would be powder coated, and the backs of the park benches would have artwork depicting American flags blowing in the wind with an eagle and possibly a liberty bell in the center. She said the ends of the tables would have a panel of artwork - one depicting the POW/MIA insignia, another with the head of the Statute of Liberty and her torch, and a third with something else. She said the Parks Committee will be meeting on Tuesday, April 8, to consider the proposal further. She said if they decide to go with the artist, it may be possible that he can complete some of the work prior to the dedication ceremony if he gets started soon enough. She asked the Council if they would be agreeable to authorizing the work, provided the Parks Committee is in favor of it and subject to him signing a contract that is approved by the City Attorney, with the Council ratifying the contract at the next meeting. 3 - Regular City Council Meeting March 20, 2014 MOVED (FROMM), SECONDED (MARSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY THAT THE COUNCIL AUTHORIZE THE PARKS COMMITTEE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE FABRICATION OF BENCHES AND TABLES IF THEY SO CHOOSE, PROVIDED THE CITY ATTORNEY APPROVES A CONTRACT THAT IS SIGNED BY THE ARTIST. 4.2 Water and Sewer Committee: The Mayor and Council reviewed a letter of complaint dated March 15, 2014, from Tim and Diane Erceg requesting a credit on their water bill for water they used during a recent sewer system backup. They also reviewed a draft response letter from Leahnette, who recommended the Council deny the request after considering the information contained in the Erceg’s letter and the information presented by staff as outlined in her letter. MOVED (PRESTON ), SECONDED (FROMM) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO DENY THE REQUEST AND APPROVE SENDING THE LETTER PREPARED BY LEAHNETTE. 4.3 Street Committee: No report. 4.4 Audit Committee: No report. 4.5 Hazard Mitigation Planning Group: No report. 4.6 Other Reports: None. AGENDA ITEM 5 CONSENT AGENDA: 5.1 Bills paid with check numbers 17891 through 17944 during the month of March 2014. 5.2 Activities report for the month of February 2014 from the Public Works Superintendent. 5.3 Activities report from the City Administrator/Recorder. Item 5.2 was removed from the consent agenda. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (PRESTON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS AMENDED. AGENDA ITEM 6 UNFINISHED BUISNESS: None. AGENDA ITEM 7 NEW BUSINESS: 7.1 Temporary Construction Easement: Temporary Construction Easement between David R. Hamblin and the City of Columbia City for Columbia City Water System Improvements. MOVED (PRESTON), SECONDED (MARSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO AUTHORIZE SIGNATURE TO THE TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION EASEMENT. 7.2 Council Bill No. 14-715: A Resolution amending the Rental Agreement, Rules, Regulations and Rates for the Columbia City Community Hall as adopted by Resolution No. 11-1007-R. Leahnette distributed some additional language for page 3 as recommended by Harold Olsen. Councilor Fromm asked if the Fire Rules should be updated. Leahnette suggested we postpone adoption to provide additional time for staff to get input from the Fire Department about the Fire Rules. 4 - Regular City Council Meeting March 20, 2014 7.3 Council Bill No. 14-716; Resolution No. 14-1115-R: A Resolution adopting amendments to the City of Columbia City Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual dated April 18, 2002. Leahnette explained that the proposed changes document the current on-call overtime practices within the Police Department. Chief McGlothlin discussed the frequency of typical on-call overtime activities, which are fairly low, with the Council at length. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (FROMM) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-716. 7.4 Quotes for Sewer Line Locating and Televising Work: Review quotes received for sewer line locating and televising work and recommendation to award contract to Applied Professional Services, Inc. The Council reviewed quotes for the sewer line locating and televising work as follows: Applied Professional Services, Inc. $13,660.00 NW Kodiak Construction LLC 14,650.76 Pacific Int-R-Tek 16,127.00 Leahnette said that staff is recommending the Council award the contract to Applied Professional Services, Inc. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (FROMM) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ACCEPT THE QUOTES AND MOVE FORWARD WITH AWARDING THE CONTRACT TO APPLIED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, INC. 7.5 Contract: Contract between the City of Columbia City and Applied Professional Services, Inc., for Sewer Line Locating and Televising Work. Leahnette reviewed some proposed changes to the contract based upon input from the City Attorney, which included the addition of the following sentence to Article 4: “In no event shall the total Contract Sum to be paid by Owner exceed $13,660.00 without prior written approval of Owner.” The other change was to increase the liability insurance coverage to $2,000,000. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (PRESTON) AND CARRIED UNAIMOUSLY TO AUTHORIZE SIGNATURE TO THE CONTRACT WITH THE PROPOSED CHANGES. AGENDA ITEM 8 OTHER BUSINESS: Community Hall rental: The Council reviewed a request from Luis Gonzalez dated April 2, 2014, to extend his hall rental on May 4, 2014, to 11:00 p.m. She said Mr. Gonzales plans to use the hour between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. to conduct cleaning activities, and he realizes that it is to be a “quiet time” so as not to disturb the neighbors. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (FROMM) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE REQUEST TO UTILIZE THE HALL FOR AN ADDITIONAL HOUR BETWEEN 10:00 P.M. AND 11:00 P.M. FOR CLEANING. Police Chief report: Chief McGlothlin said it is nice to have Officer Cowen back from the academy, and the department has been busy. He said he has been reviewing the draft Emergency Operations Plan and will be distributing various parts of the draft to members of the Hazard Mitigation Team for review and input. He said the department is getting ready for an increase in traffic during the upcoming season. AGENDA ITEM 9 ADJOURNMENT: 5 - Regular City Council Meeting March 20, 2014 There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 6:51 p.m. APPROVED: _______________________________________ Cheryl A. Young Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ Leahnette Rivers City Administrator/Recorder