REGULAR COUNCIL

REGULAR COUNCIL MINUTES Council Chambers – 1300 First Street November 02, 2022 at 6:15 PM 1. WORKSHOP A. BUDGET WORKSHOP 6:15 - 6:30 Finance Director Pope went over the draft budget for the General Fund. She stated that an increase of $10.00 per month for EMS fees. Police wages will go up 3.5% per their union contract. Fuel costs are double this year from the prior year due to the increase in gas prices. The State is raising gas taxes $.43 per gallon the first of the year. Insurance will be up approximately 15%. Fire Department costs are up due to the contract with Aberdeen and other expenses needed to get the department to where it should be. Costs are rising faster than revenues due to inflation. Mayor Pauley stated that there is not a lot of room in the budget to reduce costs. B. RV & OVERSIZE VEHICLE ORDINANCE WORKSHOP 6:30-7:00 Mayor Pauley stated this has been brought before for discussion and is being brought back with some adjustments. This ordinance would limit recreational and oversize vehicles from parking on streets. Chief Stratton stated that we had considered 7 days, but we have gone back to 72 hours. Once the vehicle has been marked by police, it can't be on the street anywhere else on city streets. 2. FLAG SALUTE - PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilmember Candice Makos, Councilmember Stana Carlisle, Councilmember Jim Ancich, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Miles Wenzel 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion made to approve the agenda by Councilmember Ancich, Seconded by Councilmember Carlisle. Voting Yea: Councilmember Makos, Councilmember Carlisle, Councilmember Ancich, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Wenzel 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS No public comments 6. CONSENT AGENDA Motion made to approve the consent agenda by Councilmember Ancich, Seconded by Councilmember Robinson. Voting Yea: Councilmember Makos, Councilmember Carlisle, Councilmember Ancich, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Wenzel A. Claims Vouchers B. Meeting Minutes - October 5, 2022 Council Meeting and October 19, 2022 Council Meeting 7. COMMITTEE REPORTS Finance Subcommittee - Councilmember Wenzel stated we discussed the challenges of the 2023 budget. We discussed the auto pay software and archive social. Public Safety- Councilmember Wenzel stated they discussed municipal building move, E-911 increased fees, potential to add a chaplain to our fire service, the 2023 budget and the needs for a sixth officer, and possible shift coverage from Aberdeen or County due to our shortage. The Fire Department had their first official drill. They have responded to a few aid calls. They discussed the need to surplus the boat. There is a fit test machine at the Fire Department. This has never been tested and needs to be done. Grays Harbor Trauma and EMS is asking for fees from the cities. Administrator Raines stated that we need this program, but we also need a MOU or contract. The committee said they are discussing the volunteer compensation. This needs to be overhauled. We are hoping to have it by the end of the year. The Fire department is looking to donate a few sets of bunker gear to the Artic Fire District. One of our mandatory reports wasn't getting to the correct authority so we are looking software to help with this. The South Beach Regional Fire Authority has been approved to hold an academy in January. 8. CITY OFFICIAL REPORTS City Administrator - Administrator Raines asked for permission to apply for a grant to purchase a Lighted Speed Limit sign. We do not know what the cost is yet. We will come back with an amount at the next meeting. Councilmember Wenzel made a motion to move forward with the grant. Councilmember Makos seconded. Voting Yea: Councilmember Makos, Councilmember Carlisle, Councilmember Ancich, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Wenzel. Administrator Raines stated we should go out to bid in January for the new building. We don't know if City Hall staff will still be able to work here. We may have to move to the Fire station as well. With the budget constraints, this move could save us $5,000-$7,000 in utility bills. Police Chief - Chief Stratton thanked Public Works for getting the radar trailer fixed and back in service. Fire Chief - Interim Chief Raines thanked Nick Falley and Mark Tarabochia for all of their help. They have been invaluable. We have four fully operational members in the department now.  Public Works Superintendent - Superintendent Nations stated the last of the paving is being done in Highland Park. We just have odds and ends left to finish the park. 9. MAYOR'S REPORT Mayor Pauley stated it was nice to see people roaming around for Halloween. He rescinded the State of Emergency within the City as of 12:01 on Tuesday, November 1st. 10. NEW BUSINESS A. Xpress Bill Pay Quote Director Pope explained what Xpress Bill pay is and that our current electronic provider does have have true auto pay and people can't see their bills. Xpress Bill Pay has worked along side our financial software for many years. Grays Harbor County and the Cities of Montesano, Elma, and McCleary all currently use Xpress Bill Pay. This would be able to recoup the costs within six months. She is estimating a minimum of 50% of our customers would use this. The fees for the electronic payments would be passed on to the customers. This is what we do with our current provider. It could also be used to pay for other City fees. Motion made by Councilmember Carlisle to approve the purchase, Seconded by Councilmember Makos. Voting Yea: Councilmember Makos, Councilmember Carlisle, Councilmember Ancich, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Wenzel B. Archive Social Director Pope stated this software archives all activity on the City's social media accounts. This software is necessary for public records. This is to protect the City's records. Councilmember Carlisle stated this saves a lot of time in searching for records. It is a timesaver. Mayor Pauley stated it is $299 per month or $3588 per year. It covers up to 12 accounts. Motion made by Councilmember Carlisle to purchase the software, Seconded by Councilmember Wenzel. Voting Yea: Councilmember Makos, Councilmember Carlisle, Councilmember Ancich, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Wenzel C. Ordinance 1378 (RV Parking) Councilmember Makos made a motion to table it. Councilmember Robinson seconded. Councilmember Wenzel stated we should have another workshop to discuss it. Voting Yea: Councilmember Makos, Councilmember Carlisle, Councilmember Ancich,  Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Wenzel D. Surplus Turn-Outs to GHFD #15 Administrator Raines stated Fire District #15 is looking for a few turn-outs for new recruits. We still have a few sets that we can donate. These turn-outs are past their expiration date and can only be used for training. Attorney Johnson stated we have to make it clear to the district that they can only use them for training. Councilmember Wenzel made a motion to surplus 2-5 sets of turn-outs with the stipulation that they can only be used for training. Councilmember Robinson seconded. Councilmember Wenzel asked to amend the motion to add that the City of Montesano be also notified that they can only use the turn-outs for training that we surplused to them last meeting. Councilmember Robinson seconded the amendment. Voting Yea for the amendment: Councilmember Makos, Councilmember Carlisle, Councilmember Ancich, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Wenzel Voting Yea for the motion as amended: Councilmember Makos, Councilmember Carlisle, Councilmember Ancich, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Wenzel E. Surplus Boat Councilmember Makos made a motion to surplus the Fire Rescue boat on GovDeals. Councilmember Wenzel seconded. Councilmember Wenzel said in RFA discussions, this boat does not meet standards for swift water rescue on the river. Councilmember Ancich asked if Grays Harbor County had a rescue boat. Attorney Johnson stated their boat is for enforcement and search and recovery. Voting Yea: Councilmember Makos, Councilmember Carlisle, Councilmember Ancich, Councilmember Robinson Councilmember Wenzel 11. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Wenzel - He said the Highland Park looks great. His kids use it every chance they get. He thanked everyone for their help. Councilmember Robinson - His wife said there are five trees that blow leaves all over. A neighbor said the City owns the trees. They are located on Stanford Drive. Councilmember Ancich - He asked the status of the RFA meetings. Mayor Pauley said they are on the second Thursday of each month at the Fire Station. He said the committee is working on adding Cosmopolis to the plan. Councilmember Ancich asked when we would be having a public meeting to inform the public. Mayor Pauley stated the Planning Committee meetings are open to the public. Possibly in January we would start having public meetings to discuss the plan. 12. PUBLIC COMMENTS Debbi Moran - She asked if we are going to sell the boat or give it away. Mayor Pauley stated it would be auctioned on GovDeals. Agela McNall Mason - She asked if we vet more than one solution for our software. Mayor Pauley stated that we have looked at multiple software. These are very highly touted by other cities. Sue Darcy - At Alder Drive, there is a slide area and wants to know if there is a stability report on it. Administrator Raines stated there is no engineering report. It has been shifting for the last 30 years. We need a geotechnical engineer to drill down. Coming up with funding has been the problem.