City Council

Regular Council Meeting of September 3, 2024 Present were: Mayor Naillon, Councilmembers Shaw, Marthaller, Werner, Hart and Moser. Absent: None. Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Naillon. Pledge of Allegiance given. Copies of the August 20th council meeting minutes were read and approved. Salley Bull, Oroville Market Association, presented a park use application for Health Care Day at Farmer’s Market to be held on the front lawn during the September 14th Farmer’s Market. Bull explained what vendors will be available for the public and services that will be provided. Motion by Werner, second by Shaw that the park use application be approved and the fees be waived, as it is an event to benefit the community; motion carried unanimously. Denise Dhane and Cindy Wallitner were present to discuss the 2nd Annual Firemen’s Appreciation Dinner to be held Sunday, September 22nd; Dhane discussed the event held in 2023 and requested that the Mayor and Council consider helping with the serving, as they did last year. Dhane stated that Pat Davisson, Frontier Foods, will be providing the meat; discussed the yard sale held by organizers that will fund the rest of the event. Discussion on community appreciation for the Fire Department Volunteers and the funds raised for the event; further discussion on actual details of the event. Council thanked Dhane and Wallitner for organizing the event. Before addressing the Mayor and Council as an Okanogan County Commissioner, Jon Neal wanted to state that he and the other firemen appreciate the dinner and appreciation shown by the community for the Fire Department members. Okanogan County Commissioner Jon Neal was present to discuss the current EMS Service for Oroville; discussed the separate entities that currently contract with LifeLine Ambulance, which are the Oroville City EMS District, Oroville Rural EMS District and the Tonasket EMS District. Neal stated that previous discussions took place about possibly combining the Oroville City and Oroville Rural EMS Districts; Neal would like to propose that Oroville and Tonasket look into combining the services for the North End. Discussed that the City and Rural EMS Levies go through 2025 and will need to be ran again in 2025 for collection starting in 2026. Neal stated that Tonasket will need to run their levy in 2025 as well and the County has been looking at options for getting the best service for the money for the North End. Mayor Naillon questioned what mechanism would be put into place to maintain the level of service; Neal stated that a board would be created to oversee the District. Neal feels confident that a consolidation would increase the level of service, not decrease it. Neal expressed concern regarding maintaining equipment and stated that expanding the service area under one district opens up grant opportunities. Councilman Werner questioned current contracts; Neal explained how the current contracts work. Councilman Marthaller questioned when the consideration should be addressed; Neal stated that since levies will need to be ran in 2025, the sooner, the better. Neal stated that the County came up with a rough estimate if the districts were to be combined; using 2024 assessments at a levy rate of $.50 per $1,000, approximately $758,000 would be collected for EMS services. Further discussion will be needed. Commissioner Neal reminded everyone that the Okanogan County Fair will be held this weekend and encouraged everyone to attend. Mayor and Council thanked Neal for attending the meeting. Background on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NCW Libraries for the Oroville Library Improvements given by Mayor Naillon. Discussion on improvements and funding provided by the NCW Libraries and the current condition of the building. Motion by Werner, second by Hart that Mayor Naillon be authorized to sign the MOU with NCW Libraries for the Library Improvement Project; motion carried unanimously. WSLCB Notice of Liquor License Application received for Dollar General for beer/wine at 1827 Main Street. Councilman Moser requested that they work with the Oroville Cares Coalition; Mayor Naillon stated that the request would not be included in the input from the City on the liquor license application, however, it could be brought to their attention separately. No objections on the liquor license application. Mayor Naillon stated that with the update being made to the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) and budget workshops to begin in the near future, he would like to request that the department heads provide a six-year projection on needs for their facilities for consideration in the update and in the budget process; discussed that Fire Chief Rawley and Building Official Forbus should have input as well. Department Head Updates Chief Langford stated that he doesn’t have any updates for the Mayor and Council, however, he would like to discuss the CFP with Clerk Denney to help with his projections. Superintendent Thompson updated the Mayor and Council on the Ironwood Project; the contractor is planning on the curbing being completed by Friday, September 6th and is projecting that paving will begin in the middle of the following week. Clerk Denney had nothing new to report. Denise Dhane wanted to compliment the Police Department on their fabulous National Night Out event; discussion on positive feedback and participation in the event. Zion Butler questioned how to contact the Oroville Housing Authority and wondered what type of funding is available to homeowners who need to make repairs to their homes. Discussion on ideas for contacts for available programs; Commissioner Neal also recommended that Butler contact Community Action. Motion by Werner and second by Marthaller the vouchers $195,830.68, #34102-34129, be paid, manual checks $1,712.64, Park Account EFT #990554, Checking Account EFT #990495, Checking Account #33964, 34012, 34032-34035, 34056, be paid, the August 31, 2024 payroll of $95,770.24, #34057-34101, Direct Deposit Run, EFT #202433-202434, be approved and the meeting be adjourned at 7:33 pm. Motion carried unanimously. Minutes approved ____________________ ________________________________ Mayor ________________________________ Clerk