BINGEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
 

March 6, 2007

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Prigel at 7:00 p.m. Council members present: Terry Trantow, Sandi Dickey, Tim Hearn, Laura Mann and Betty Barnes. Clerk Jan Brending and Attorney Tad Connors were present. Audience: Judy Farrell, Ruth Winner, Theresa Rundell, Bruce Brending.

Approval of Minutes – February 20, 2007
Corrections to the draft minutes of the February 20 city council meeting were noted as follows:

Page 1, 4^th paragraph should read as follows: “Jim Andring said he has never known of the federal government to handle this type of case.”

Page 1, 5^th paragraph should read as follows: “Tad Connors said that even if it could be considered a federal offense it would not be likely that it would be charged as one.”

Page 1, add the following paragraph after the 11^th paragraph: “Jim Andring said damage has been minor to date.”

Page 5, last paragraph, 2^nd sentence should read as follows: “Prigel said the board has conditioned the grant in that Bingen and White Salmon will need to go together in the purchase of the SCBAs to hopefully get some cost savings.”

Page 6, last paragraph should read as follows: “Jan Brending said she can have David look at it tomorrow.”

Betty Barnes moved to approve the minutes of the February 20 city council meeting as amended. Terry Trantow seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed.

Public Hearing – Variance Request 2007-001, Our Savior Lutheran Church
Brian Prigel said the city has received an application from Our Savior Lutheran Church for a variance from the requirement of private streets requiring a 50-foot right-of-way and a 24-foot street width. He said the Lutheran Church is requesting a variance that would allow a 30-foot easement (right-of-way) and a 24-foot street width. Prigel said the church has also requested a variance from the requirement of the private street being approved prior to final plat approval and would like to use a temporary 15-foot easement/private driveway for access until further development occurs.

Theresa Rundell, representing Our Savior Lutheran Church, said the church would prefer the 30-foot easement because it does not plan to have parking along the private road and it does not want to mess with the rock retaining wall near the church. She said the church also would prefer not to have people walking close to the church and is concerned with vandalism. Rundell said the church would also prefer to be able to use the existing 15-foot easement until further development occurs on the property. She said the church would prefer not to put the road in until there is development.

Tim Hearn asked if the church no longer exists could the retaining wall be removed.

Theresa Rundell said no.

Terry Trantow said that he is concerned that the leg of the hammerhead will not fit within a 30 foot easement and that additional easement may be needed in that particular area just to construct the road.

Tad Conners provided an overview of Bingen Municipal Code 16.30.050B. He said that financial hardship is not always sufficient to approve a variance. He said financial hardship needs to be very high and prohibitive.

Brian Prigel said he believes lot #3 has access off of Jefferson Street but lot #2 will need access.

Terry Trantow said he does not think that lot #3 can be accessed off of Jefferson.

Laura Mann asked why the church needs a new road.

Brian Prigel said the existing driveway does not meet current standards.

Theresa Rundell said the church would eventually like to develop a parsonage on lot #2 and access is needed for that lot.

Betty Barnes asked if the church looked at options for the development and then chose the best.

Theresa Rundell said yes. She said the church took the neighbors into consideration and also addressed parking and drainage. Rundell said the church tried to make it a win-win situation for everyone.

Terry Trantow asked if the 15-foot driveway will eventually disappear.

Theresa Rundell said yes.

Tim Hearn moved to approve the variance request in total as submitted by Our Savior Lutheran Church. The motion died due to a lack of a second.

Laura Mann moved to accept the portion of the variance request requesting the use of a 30 foot easement/right-of-way instead of a 50 foot right-of-way due to hardship presented by an existing retaining wall and topography associated with the retaining wall.

Terry Trantow asked Laura Mann to consider a friendly amendment that approval would be given with the condition that the easement for the leg for the hammerhead be widened if necessary as determined by an engineer.

Laura Mann agreed to the amendment.

Terry Trantow seconded the motion as amended. The motion carried 4 to 1 with the following vote: Barnes – Nay, Dickey – Aye, Hearn – Aye, Mann – Aye, Trantow – Aye.

Brian Prigel said that his concern about the second part of the variance request is who would pay for the road in the future.

Theresa Rundell said the church can get a loan from the church district to put the road in if necessary.

Terry Trantow said he does not understand why the road would be constructed through a buildable portion of lot #3.

Theresa Rundell said that the church feels the location of the road provides as much buildable space as possible on lot #3. She said it might be possible to access lot #3 off of the southeast corner of the lot.

Brian Prigel said he does not believe the city would require all of the road to be built through lot #3.

Tim Hearn moved to grant a variance allowing the temporary use of an existing 15 foot driveway until future development occurs. The motion died due to a lack of a second.

Laura Mann moved to deny the variance request allowing the temporary use of an existing 15 foot driveway until future development occurs. Betty Barnes seconded the motion. The motion carried 4 to 1 with the following vote: Barnes – Aye, Dickey – Aye, Hearn – Nay, Mann – Aye, Trantow – Aye.

Proposed Short Plat 2007-001, Our Savior Lutheran Church
Jan Brending said that based on the previous decision on the variance requests the city can move forward with a decision on the proposed short plat submitted by Our Savior Lutheran Church. She noted that there are four issues associated with the short plat that were raised: the requirement for a new fire hydrant, possible stormwater issues, emergency vehicle turnaround, and a name for the private road. Brending noted that at the previous meeting when the short plat was reviewed there was discussion about possibly splitting the cost of installing a new fire hydrant. She said it is her understanding that church would like to name the private road “Old Church Road.”

Laura Mann said she believes the city should undertake installing a new fire hydrant versus the developer as it is needed for more than just the subject property.

Betty Barnes said she agrees.

Theresa Rundell said that the church has never had a problem with runoff from the existing driveway.

Terry Trantow said he is concerned with runoff of the proposed new road - Old Church Road and that water in the ditch may overflow and run to the south.

Brian Prigel said he does not see any reason why to deny the proposed short plat.

Laura Mann moved to approve preliminary Short Plat 2007-001 submitted by Our Savior Lutheran Church with the provisions that the City of Bingen will pay to install a new fire hydrant, the private road will be named “Old Church Road,” there is emergency vehicle turnaround provided, and there is no additional stormwater runoff. Betty Barnes seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed.

Gorge Heritage Museum, Planning Proposal
Brian Prigel provided an overview of the proposal for hiring an architect to develop plans for future expansion of the museum and for addressing ADA access. He said that he believes the planning is a good idea so that individual projects can be phased in without conflicting with other projects. Prigel noted the city has received a letter from the board supporting the planning proposal.

Jan Brending said the city and the museum can use the documents that will be developed to apply for grants. She said that without specific plans and cost estimates it is very hard to apply for grant funding.

The city council discussed the proposal.

Laura Mann moved that a committee be developed with council members and board members to hire an architect by developing a scope of work to be submitted to the city council for approval. Tim Hearn seconded the motion. The motion carried with the following vote: Barnes – Aye, Dickey – Aye, Hearn – Aye, Mann – Aye, Trantow – Abstain.

The council members who will serve on the committee are Tim Hearn and Sandi Dickey.

Agreement for Use of Klickitat County Adult Correction and Detention Facility
Tad Connors said he has reviewed the proposed agreement. He said the language on Page 2, Section IV, Paragraph 6 will be changed to read “Administrative bookings, i.e., bookings where the judge has ordered the defendant to be booked and released, will be conducted by the jail at no cost to the City. At his or her discretion, the City officer may stay on scene to transport the defendant back to the original place of pick up.” Connors said the change in the language address the concerns of the Bingen-White Salmon Police Department.

Bruce Brending agreed.

Tad Connors said the city will be paying $1 more than last year for the daily rate moving from $54 to $55.

Betty Barnes moved to approve the agreement for use of Klickitat County Adult Correction and Detention Facility. Terry Trantow seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed.

Old Business
Proposed Amendments to Interlocal Agreement Relating to the Provision of Law Enforcement Services
Jan Brending said the two police committees met jointly  in July 2006 and agreed on proposed amendments that would be submitted to the two city councils requesting review by the appropriate city attorneys. She said she has completed the draft language. Brending provided an overview of the proposed amendments.

Betty Barnes said that she would like the civil service section to reference the appropriate RCWs, specifically RCW 41.12.010.

Betty Barnes said there was discussion about how the appointment of a police chief should be handled between the two mayors. She said the committees are requesting that an opinion be provided in writing.

Tad Connors said he thinks it is legal but he can provide his opinion in writing with pros and cons.

Betty Barnes said that she believes that putting the police chief position back under civil service takes care of a lot issues.

Brian Prigel said he disagrees. He said that it takes care of testing but that the mayor still makes the decision on who is hired. Prigel said the civil service commission will present a list of qualified candidates with ranking based on the testing. He said that having the provision that a consensus of both mayors is required is a good thing but there is the issue of whether Bingen can require White Salmon to abide by it.

Betty Barnes said that if White Salmon agrees to the language then it is leverage.

Betty Barnes pointed out there is a Survival Clause that addresses what happens if one part of the agreement is determined to be illegal or unenforceable.

Betty Barnes noted that in the fall the city council voted to authorize the obtaining of a quote from the sheriff’s office related to the provision of law enforcement services. She said that she waited until after the election to contact the new sheriff to see if he would be interested in providing services to the city of Bingen. Barnes said she provided the previous proposal (submitted by Chris Mace) to Rick McComas. She said that she learned that McComas’ proposal would not be the same and that it would cost approximately $245,500 for 3 officers and probably would not include jail services. Barnes said there was also some discussion that the sheriff would only enforce state and county laws and not Bingen’s.

Laura Mann asked if something needs to be formally said to the Klickitat County sheriff.

Betty Barnes said no – there is no specific proposal at this time.

Laura Mann said she is not interested in 3 positions and is not interested in pursuing anything with the county at this time.

Betty Barnes said she was just checking to see if the sheriff would be interested in providing services if Bingen needed them. She said she did not ask for a specific breakdown. Barnes said she feels the goal is to nail down the amendments to the interlocal agreement and get things finished.

Jan Brending said it is good to know that the city has a resource if needed if something should happen in the future.

Mayor’s Update
Wilcox & Flegel Development
Brian Prigel provided an overview of the site plan for the redevelopment of the Guler Oil location now owned by Wilcox & Flegel. He said a SEPA checklist will be required as part of the development. Prigel said Wilcox & Flegel are requesting that a small portion of Depot Street be leased for an espresso stand. He said that his initial view was that it was not a good idea but after reviewing the site plan thinks it might be possible due to the location of a PPL power pole which would prevent that portion of Depot Street being used for traffic purposes.

Tim Hearn moved to authorize staff and the city attorney to begin negotiations for a lease of a portion of Depot Street by Wilcox & Flegel for the location of an espresso stand. Laura Mann seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed.

Maple Street Construction
Brian Prigel provided an overview of the proposed design for Maple Street construction. He said the city is working with Garwood and Wilcox & Flegel related to the east corner of Maple and Steuben where the tanks are currently located. Prigel said the city will need a little bit of easement to develop the sidewalks and maintain a turning lane from Maple Street onto Steuben.

Draft Dog Ordinance – Definitions
Brian Prigel said there are dogs now located in the Hood River County facility. He said he will be meeting with the county administrator this week.

Laura Mann said she would like the city council to spend time getting to the issues rather than spending three weeks discussing definitions.

Betty Barnes said that she feels the definitions were a practical place to start.

Tim Hearn said that he likes the document that was drafted putting all the different definitions together.

Personnel – Public Works
Brian Prigel said interviews for the vacant public work position have been scheduled for Friday.

Joint Water/Sewer Committee Meeting
A joint water/sewer committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the White Salmon Fire Hall.

Budget Committee Meeting
A budget committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 16 at 3:00 p.m. at Bingen City Hall.

Vouchers
Vouchers audited and certified as required by RCW 42.24.080 and expense reimbursement claims certified as required by RCW 42.24.090 as of this date March 6, 2007. The council by unanimous vote does approve for payment the following list: warrants 8253 through 8285 totaling $54,286.44; payroll warrants 6882 through 6893 totaling $18,189.11, and manual warrants 8249 through 8252 totaling $19,984.37 for a total of $92,459.92. Current - $21,998.11; Street - $1,727.30; Community Development - $14.88; Street Equipment Reserve - $1,261.34; Street Construction & Maintenance - $35,028.75; Water – $4,116.07; Sewer - $2,345.97; Treatment Plant - $6,091.86; Dallesport Treatment Plant – $4,099.51; Sewer Construction & Maintenance - $1,425.00; Dallesport Billing Trust Fund - $14,351.13.

Executive Session
Brian Prigel announced at 9:15 p.m. that the city council will meet in executive session for 10 minutes to discuss potential litigation.

The council resumed regular session at 9:25 p.m. and adjourned.

Jan Brending                                                            Brian Prigel
City Clerk                                                                Mayor