BINGEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
August 17, 2004
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Prigel at 7:00 p.m. Council members present: Terry Trantow, Randy Anderson, Jeanette Fentie, Betty Barnes and Laura Mann. Clerk Jan Brending and Attorney Tad Connors were present. Audience: Mildred Lykens, Jesse Burkhardt, Brandon Walter
Public Comment
Brandon Walter, Public Works Superintendent
Brian Prigel introduced Brandon Walter as Public Works Superintendent. He
said he thinks Brandon will do a good job and is eager to step up to the plate.
Approval of Minutes – August 3, 2004
The following corrections were noted to the August 3 minutes:
Page 1, 8th paragraph, 2nd sentence should read as “She noted that all requirements previously noted in the preliminary approval have been satisfied.”
Page 1, 9th paragraph, 1st sentence should read as “Terry Trantow moved to approve the final short plat for Glenn Taylor.”
Page 1, 10th paragraph, 3rd sentence should read as “Prigel said the goal of the project at this time is to fix the pot holes and bad sections and to have a fire lane on Depot Street.”
Page 2, 8th paragraph, 3rd sentence should read as “Prigel said it is important that a quorum of city council members not be present as that constitutes a meeting.”
Page 2, 9th paragraph, 1st sentence should read “Jan Brending noted that Betty Barnes plans on attending the exit interview.”
Page 2, 11th paragraph, add the following sentence “She noted that city crew took care of the water and sewer line breaks.”
Page 3, 1st paragraph, 1st sentence should read “Brian Prigel said that the contractor continues to clean up some loose ends on the project.”
Page 3, 1st paragraph, 2nd sentence should read “He noted the city will also have a few things to take care of before the end of summer.”
Laura Mann moved to approve the minutes of August 3 as amended. Randy Anderson seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed.
Amended Short Plat Approval – Steve Delaere and Elaine
Adsit
Jan Brending said Steve Delaere and Elaine Adsit have submitted a proposal
for an amended short plat which would consolidate three lots into two. She said
the subject property is the Gorge View Apartments and the property immediately
west.
Jeanette Fentie moved to approve the amended short plat application submitted by Steve Delaere and Elaine Adist. Laura Mann seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously with Terry Trantow abstaining.
Public Hearing – Six Year Street Improvement Program
Jan Brending presented the proposed six-year street improvement program. She
said that she added the Jefferson Street bridge and made it a higher priority.
The City Council discussed the Jefferson Street bridge and that it needed to be addressed as soon as possible. A suggestion of placing 4-inch plates in some areas to buy time was made. Brian Prigel said it would be a good idea to have a civil engineer to take a look at the bridge at that time.
Betty Barnes moved to approve Resolution 2004-001 adopting the six-year street improvement program. Terry Trantow seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.
Sign Application – Bad Seed Cider House
Jan Brending presented a sign application for an additional sign for Bad
Seed Cider House. She said the proposed signage is consistent with the city’s
sign ordinance.
Betty Barnes moved to approve the sign application by Bad Seed Cider House. Laura Mann seconded the motion and it was passed 4 to 1 with the following vote: Anderson – Nay, Barnes – Aye, Fentie – Aye, Mann – Aye, Trantow – Aye.
Small Works Roster – Tree Removal
Two bids for tree removal (two dead trees in Daubenspeck Park) were
presented to the City Council – Treeman $642.00 and Columbia Tree Serive
$941.60. Brian Prigel recommended awarding the bid to Treeman.
Randy Anderson noted that there appears to be a dead branch in one of the trees near the basketball court and that it could be a safety hazard. Brian Prigel said he will have staff work with the contractor to remove the branch.
Laura Mann moved to award the bid for tree removal to Treeman for $642.00. Randy Anderson seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.
Small Works Roster – Concrete Work
Brian Prigel said there are two small areas in downtown that need some
concrete – in front of the Northshore Bar & Grill and in front of Guler Oil.
Brian Prigel said the work involves about 5 yards of concrete. Because of delays
bids were not available at the time of the council meeting.
The Public Works Department asked for authorization to work with the Mayor in obtaining bids and awarding the job.
Betty Barnes said it would be nice to get the concrete poured in front of the Northshore Bar & Grill so the benches could be installed.
Betty Barnes moved to authorize the mayor to work with Brandon Walter in obtaining bids for the work and awarding the job. Terry Trantow seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed.
Huckleberry Festival – Electrical Request
Brian Prigel said the Huckleberry Festival has asked that the electrical
service be improved at the park. He said the south side of the park has limited
electrical service and that during Huckleberry Festival this has been an ongoing
problem. Prigel said he and Brandon Walter looked at a variety of options
including adding to the power pole that serves the park well. He said the PUD
does not want to add additional outlets on that pole because of voltage issues.
Prigel said that another option that has been suggested is adding a short pole
on Walnut about mid-block between Humboldt and Franklin that would hold a 400
amp breaker and then trenching to the south and installing a 200 amp sub panel.
Prigel said there are two questions regarding the proposed option: is this a suitable solution and can the City of Bingen help pay for the work. He noted that this would add a new overhead power pole.
Randy Anderson said adding a new overhead power pole goes against the City’s ordinances.
Laura Mann said she is concerned about making a quick decision on the issue particularly when it involves an overhead power line.
Council members asked Tad Connors how the City would go about applying to itself for a variance. Connors said he would need to look at the issue but that the above ground installation would definitely need a variance.
Brian Prigel said that if the council is not comfortable with the timeline the issue could be put off until it can be explored in further detail.
Betty Barnes said she would prefer to wait and do a good job.
There was a consensus of the City Council to hold off on any electrical improvements until further information and options can be considered.
The City Council noted that the Huckleberry Festival has done a lot of work on the park in the past.
Treasurer’s Report – June and July 2004
Jan Brending presented the Treasurer’s Report for June and July 2004.
Jan Brending made a request for a temporary 0% loan of $100,000 from the community development fund to the street construction fund. She noted that both Klickitat County and the Transportation Improvement Board have approved additional funding but it will take at least a month for the reimbursements to come through.
Randy moved to approve the temporary loan of $100,000 at 0% interest from the community development fund to the street construction fund. Laura Mann seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.
Betty Barnes moved to approve the Treasurer’s Reports for June and July 2004. Jeanette Fentie seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.
Mayor’s Update
Well Rehabilitation
Randy Anderson asked what is the status of the well rehabilitation project.
Brian Prigel said he has put the well rehabilitation on hold. He said it will be done in the late fall and early winter. Prigel said scheduling the work during a high water usage period was not a good idea and that the delay will provide the opportunity to look at some additional issues.
2004 Single-Year Audit
Brian Prigel said the Auditor’s office conducted the exit interview for the
2004 single-year audit. He said a single-year audit was conducted because the
City had expended over $300,000 in federal funds during 2004. Prigel said two
council members, himself and Jan Brending were in attendance.
Prigel said the audit report will include one funding which deals with requesting reimbursement from the federal funds. He said that at one point of the project a reimbursement had been made for more than there were eligible costs. Prigel said subsequent reimbursement requests corrected the problem.
Prigel noted that the Auditor’s office noted that except for the one finding, which they considered minor, the audit was clean. He said the Auditor’s office commended staff on the job done.
FireWise
Brian Prigel said the City of White Salmon has requested a joint council
meeting at which the Department of Natural Resources will present its “FireWise”
program. He said the program is an existing program mainly targeted at rural
areas. Prigel said the presentation is part Community Wildlife Protection
Planning process the City of White Salmon is currently undertaking.
Jeanette Fentie asked if the FireWise program deals mainly with rural areas how does it affect the City of Bingen. Prigel said there are some perimeter properties and the east end of Bingen that could benefit from the FireWise program. He said the primary focus is the bluff areas.
Council members asked if there are other things that could be on the joint council agenda.
Jan Brending noted that the cities are required to meet yearly and discuss how the law enforcement contract is going. She said this would be a good opportunity to schedule that discussion.
Depot Street
Brian Prigel said that Seaborn Engineering will present recommendations for
paving on Depot Street at the September 7 council meeting.
SR35 Bridge
Brian Prigel said the Port of Hood River did not attend the recent RTC
meeting. He said the SR35 bridge was discussed. He said the federal highway bill
has $800,000 on the Congress side but not the Senate side for continuing the
environmental impact process for the new bridge. Prigel said most people feel
that the funds will become available but then local match will be needed. He
said that in the feasibility study identified an increase in tolls would be
dedicated to the new bridge as the source for local match.
Prigel said he has drafted a letter to public entities addressing the need for public support for the idea of raising the tolls. He said he would like to get a cohesive group together to present the idea of an interlocal agreement to the Port of Hood River for a $0.25 increase in tolls that would go into an escrow account dedicated to the new bridge. Prigel said the new bridge would reduce the Port of Hood River’s liability, would be a good public gesture and the public entities would take most of the heat for the increase in the tolls. He said the proposal will only work through an interlocal agreement.
Prigel said the initial increase in tolls would help take away some of the rate shock when the new bridge is built and tolls are increased to $2.00 from $0.75. He noted that when the bridge is paid off the tolls will be eliminated.
Jeanette Fentie asked how the decking project is going. Prigel said it appears that the project is proceeding on time.
Highway 14 Truck Traffic
Jeanette Fentie suggested that the reopening of the weigh station at Home
Valley may help deter some of the truck traffic on Highway 14.
Brian Prigel said that the issue was brought up at the Transportation Commisison meeting held in Stevenson just recently. He said funding is the reason the weigh station has not been open. Prigel said he believes most of the trucks traveling on the Washington side of the river are doing so because of tax structure issues. He said the opening of the weigh station would not necessarily affect those drivers.
Piping at BNSF
Jesse Burkhardt asked if the City was aware of any work that BNSF was doing
along Depot Street. Jan Brending said BNSF is installing a new radio tower.
Burkhardt mentioned there is a large stockpile of piping between Depot and the
railroad. BNSF will be contacted to see if they are planning on any additional
work besides the radio tower.
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
August 17, 2004. The council by unanimous vote does approve for payment the
following list: warrants 6179 through 6203 totaling $19,290.76, manual warrants
6177-6178 and 501025 totaling $$221,937.79, and payroll warrants 5990 through
6002 totaling $5,416.76 for a total of $246,645.31: Current - $6,647.73; Street
- $1,271.12; Street Construction and Maintenance - $207,867.44; Water -
$1,453.35; Sewer - $560.11; Treatment Plant - $2,856.72; Dallesport Treatment
Plant - $11,990.49; Dallesport Billing Trust Fund - $13,998.35.
Executive Session
At 8:50 p.m. Brian Prigel announced the city council will meet in executive
session for 20 minutes to discuss personnel matters.
At 9:10 p.m. the city council resumed regular session and announced they would continue the executive session for an additional 20 minutes.
The city council resumed regular session at 9:30 p.m. and announced they would continue the executive session for an additional 10 minutes.
At 9:40 p.m. the Council adjourned.
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City Clerk
Mayor