City Council

City Council Meeting Minutes ___________________________________________________________________________________________ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 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 regular meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Harold Olsen delivered the invocation and Mayor Young led the flag salute. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Cheryl A. Young Councilor Nell Harrison Councilor Sally Ann Marson Councilor Gordon Thistle COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Councilor Josh Fromm ALSO PRESENT: Michael McGlothlin, Chief of Police Micah Rogers, Public Works Superintendent 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 Resignation: The Mayor and Council reviewed an e- mailed letter of resignation from Larry Preston dated August 29, 2014. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (HARRISON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ACCEPT LARRY PRESTON’S RESIGNATION FROM THE COUNCIL. 1.2 City Council Appointment: Mayor Young recommended the City Council approve the appointment of Gordon Thistle to the City Council. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (HARRISON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPOINT GORDON THISTLE TO THE CITY COUNCIL. Leahnette Rivers administered the Oath of Office to Gordon Thistle, who then took a seat with the City Council. Gordon introduced his wife Gail to the Council. Sally Ann noted that Gordon has been an active volunteer for the Columbia City Library for several years, and he was the founder and organizer of the Show and Shine car show. AGENDA ITEM 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: 2.1 Public Hearing: To hear testimony about a proposed amendment to a loan under the Safe Drinking Water Program for water system improvements. 2 - Regular City Council Meeting September 4, 2014 Leahnette explained that the original loan of $772,000 will be increased to $842,380, and 40% of the amount of the debt will be forgiven. Joe Turner of Columbia City asked if the increase in the loan amount will result in a change in the water rates that the voters recently approved. Leahnette said the water rate increases never went before the voters, but were approved by the Council. She said this loan increase will not impact the annual 3% rate increases that are scheduled to occur each July for the next three years. She said the Water Improvements Project is $70,000 over budget, and this amendment will increase the loan by that amount. She noted that $28,000 of the $70,000 will be forgiven. She offered to e- mail an outline describing all of the individual items that contributed to the $70,000 overage to Joe. Joe said this project didn’t seem to go very well and he lost his phone service for several weeks. Micah explained that the issues associated with phone service were due to errors made by the company that performs locating services for the phone company, and were not the fault of the City’s contractor. Joe thanked Leahnette for her efforts in securing a funding source that includes debt forgiveness. Joe said there’s an open ditch at Harvard Park that has no barricades or cones around it. Micah said he will make sure it is properly secured tomorrow. AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT: AGENDA ITEM 4 COUNCIL REPORTS: 4.1 Parks Committee: Chair Marson reported that the concrete pad for the third park bench is now in place. She said more work will occur in the park on Friday, and we are all looking forward to the clean up event this Saturday. 4.2 Water and Sewer Committee: Micah said during the months of July and August we pumped over 14 million gallons of water from the well, which represents our highest rate of production since the well was put into service. He said we did need to supplement the well water by running the St. Helens supply for a day in order to raise the levels in the storage facilities. He said the lowest water table levels are still ahead of us during the months of September and October. He noted that we have dealt with nine water leaks this year. 4.3 Street Committee: Micah said he is currently obtaining quotes for striping and crack seal work. 4.4 Audit Committee: Secretary Harrison thanked Leahnette for her thorough explanations of the City’s financial practices and processes during the recent Audit Committee Meeting. 4.5 Hazard Mitigation Planning Group: Chief McGlothlin said representatives of the American Red Cross, Columbia County Emergency Management, Columbia 9-1-1 Communications District, Columbia River Fire and Rescue, DOGAMI, St. Helens CERT, and the Public Health Foundation of Columbia County will be participating in our Prepare Fair on Saturday, September 20 from 10 a.m. to noon. He said this year’s event will focus on earthquake preparedness. 4.6 Other Reports: None. 3 - Regular City Council Meeting September 4, 2014 AGENDA ITEM 5 CONSENT AGENDA: 5.1 Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of August 7, 2014. 5.2 Investment and Cash Balance Summary for the quarter ending June 30, 2014. 5.3 Financial Report for the period ending June 30, 2014. 5.4 Financial Report for the period ending July 31, 2014. 5.5 Public Works Activities Report for the month of August 2014. 5.6 Appointment of Larry Preston and Debra Hebard to the Parks Committee. Item 5.5 was deleted from the Consent Agenda because it was not yet available. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (HARRISON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS AMENDED. AGENDA ITEM 6 UNFINISHED BUISNESS: None. AGENDA ITEM 7 NEW BUSINESS: 7.1 Council Bill No. 14-738; Resolution No. 14-1131-R: A Resolution of the City of Columbia City, Oregon, adopting the 2014 Columbia County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update. MOVED (HARRISON), SECONDED (MARSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-738. 7.2 First reading of Council Bill No. 14-739: An Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 504, an Ordinance regulating vehicular and pedestrian traffic, providing penalties for violation thereof. This amendment will add regulations associated with the placement of basketball hoops within the City’s right-of-ways. Leahnette reviewed some final changes to Council Bill No. 14-739. Council Bill No. 14-739 was read in full. AGENDA ITEM 8 OTHER BUSINESS: Request for Community Hall rental fee refund: Council reviewed an e-mail dated September 3, 2014 from Wendy Wilson requesting a Community Hall rental refund for a reservation date of September 6, 2014. The rental fees totaled $205.00. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (THISTLE) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO GRANT A REFUND OF $155.00 TO WENDY WILSON. Community Hall Project Funding: Leahnette said she recently withdrew the Meyer Memorial Trust funding application after realizing some of the project criteria had not yet been met, and the Ford Family has declined our funding request because we must first secure a funding commitment of 50% for the project. She said a representative of the Oregon Community Foundation will be conducting a site visit of the facility at 11 a.m. on September 9, 2014. City Hall Week: Council Members were reminded of the upcoming City Hall Week meeting at St. Helens City Hall at 1:00 p.m. on September 9, 2014. LOC Small Cities Meeting: Councilor Marson invited members to join her for the Small Cities Meeting in Wood Village on September 18, 2014 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 4 - Regular City Council Meeting September 4, 2014 Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - Gateway Sculpture: Council Members were reminded of the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Gateway Sculpture in St. Helens on September 20, 2014 at 11:45 a.m. LOC Voting Delegate: Mayor Young suggested she be appointed as Columbia City’s LOC voting delegate. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (HARRISON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY THAT MAYOR YOUNG BE DESIGNATED AS COLUMBIA CITY’S LOC VOTING DELEGATE. Attorney’s Report: Harold provided Gordon with the following piece of advice, as spoken by Abraham Lincoln, “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Harold reported that a City Council of a City in Ohio required a recess when all Council Member engaged in serial giggling over one person’s flatulence. Police Department Update: Chief McGlothlin regretfully reported that the City will be losing Officer Cowen, who is taking a position with the Scappoose Police Department, st effective October 1 . He said Officer Cowen has been with us for more than five years and th he has done a tremendous job, and his last day of work will be September 25 . He said Officer Cowen has been an outstanding ambassador for the City and for the Department, he will be sorely missed. Chief McGlothlin reported that volunteer Reserve Officer Bubar will move into a part-time paid position with the Department. He said Officer Bubar has been volunteering with the Department for six years, is a top-notch officer that has donated a lot of time to us, and does an outstanding job. He said he is very confident in Officer Bubar’s abilities. Chief McGlothlin said a qualified candidate has completed the background process for the Reserve Officer Program, and is scheduled for two final examinations next week. Once those are completed successfully, the candidate will start the Department’s field training program, and he believes the candidate will be a real asset to the Department. Chief McGlothlin reported that the ODOT Motor Carrier Program is funded through February of 2015, but until the Oregon Legislature clears up some Oregon State Statutes dealing with the Motor Carrier rules, the State of Oregon will no longer qualify for this funding source. As a result, we will lose the full-time position that Officer Cowen currently holds, and replace it with a part-time position consisting of 80 work hours per month. Mayor Young commended Officer Cowen for his spectacular service to our community, and said she is grateful that he will continue to work within Columbia County. She said she is very pleased with Chief McGlothlin’s performance and the entire Columbia City Police Department. AGENDA ITEM 9 ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 7:17 p.m. APPROVED: _______________________________________ Cheryl A. Young Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ Leahnette Rivers City Administrator/Recorder