--- date: "2007-08-22" title: "Council Meeting Minutes 2007-08-22" source: "2007-08-22-minutes-council-monthly.pdf" --- CITY COUNCIL MEETING August 22, 2007 Attended: Stan Horrell, Mayor Frank Primozic, Councilor Bill Harrington, Councilor Pam Woodworth, Councilor Jim Wood, Police Department Lyn McDonald, Planning Bob Titus, Public Works Kathy Smith Dianne Lesniak Delores Young Ruth Casebeer Darrel Johnson Gary Knight Mayor Horrell called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. The roll was called, Roger McKinley being absent. The pledge of allegiance was recited. The minutes of the July 25 meeting were considered. MSP: To approve the minutes, Pam Woodworth/Bill Harrington. Mayor Horrell noted that he had received a written resignation from Councilman Tom McAuslan. When asked if he had given a reason for resigning, Mayor Horrell said McAuslan had indicated he was fed up with the City. Mayor Horrell also informed the Council of two letters of interest in Council positions that had been received. One was from Jim Munyon and the other from Jim Ratzell. It was decided that the Council would continue to advertise the positions until the next meeting and would run a notice in the following week’s newspaper. Note: The membership now being five means a quorum is three, as is a majority vote. Mayor Horrell recognized Kathy Smith of HOWDY, Inc. who addressed them regarding her request to possibly locate her historic “Dixie Town” on the City’s industrial site. She explained that when it is used (i.e., for Camp Logan Days) the structures must be put up and taken down each year which takes a lot of effort. She said she would prefer to find a permanent location for the town in order to put on various historical events throughout the year. She explained that the long range plans to develop the site would bring about tourism in the area, and potentially a job for a site manager. She also addressed some issues of concern the City might have regarding insurance, location, design and sanitation facilities. Smith said she had talked with Dan Bishop of Prairie Wood regarding a more attractive piece of property, approximately 15 acres below 7th Street located between Bridge Street and the mill, but wants to keep all her options open. At this point she said she would like to know if the City is willing to consider her proposal and enter into further discussion of the idea. It was noted that the Fire Department has a tank station on the site and will be putting in a fire training tower as well that will require at least an acre. Councilman Primozic noted that he is on the HOWDY board and would not be able to vote in regard to the issue. He said they are trying to attract individuals to the area who practice arts and Minutes August 22, 2007 crafts of the late 1800’s and to eventually operate year round. Smith said she would like to get the structures moved before winter. She also said she would be making the presentation to DR Johnson within the month to determine the feasibility of locating on the 15 acres. She stated that even if the project is not located on City property, she hopes to get the City’s blessing and work closely with them to ensure good relations. It was agreed that she would stay in contact with the Mayor to answer any questions and that the Council would re-visit the idea at the September 12 Council meeting. p.m. Ruth Casebeer opted not to address the Council. Planning: Lyn McDonald addressed the Council regarding unfinished business from 1989 and 1997 involving the City’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan. She explained that it is a state- mandated document that requires approval at the city, county, and state levels. She said that it appears that in 1999 the approval process failed to be completed and now requires a public hearing and approval by ordinance. Then it must be sent on to the county for approval, and finally to the state. She said the changes in the document were basically language changes. It was noted that the document does need to be updated, however, it will require funding and should be included in the next budget cycle. Until the document is completely approved and recognized by the state, it poses problems with regard to city planning and the urban growth boundary. It was agreed that the matter would be addressed at the next meeting. 7:10 Public Safety: Officer Wood reported the police, fire and ambulance activity. He said he has been concentrating his time on traffic and updating the cooperative policing agreement and the pursuit policy. He said there is a SWAT training being offered in John Day in September and that he had been approved to attend it last year, however not enough people registered so the class was cancelled and his tuition of $500 was returned. He asked the Council to consider allowing him and Chris Camarena to attend the class. He explained that it is 40 hours of training, taught by professionals. He noted that there is $1,000 budgeted for training and that the class is being offered at the same price as last year. There was some concern that the City has not yet decided what to do with the Police Department yet. Officer Wood contended that as long as there is still a department they should operate like one. He stressed that the instructors need to know very soon how many people plan to attend in order to know if they can put on the class or not. MSP: To approve the request for Chris Camarena and Jim Wood to attend the SWAT training, Bill Harrington/Frank Primozic. Bill Harrington, Frank Primozic and Stan Horrell voted in favor, Pam Woodworth opposed. Well Drilling: Mayor Horrell gave the members of the Council a copy of a letter he had received from Russell Ricco’s attorney, Dan Cronin. The letter outlined various requests by Ricco in exchange for an easement. Horrell said the attorney had requested a meeting with him to discuss the options. It was noted that Ricco is requesting the City pay his attorney fees and that the City will be charged for the meetings. Frank Primozic stressed that the City must maximize what is accomplished in the meetings and questioned whether or not a professional should be involved. There was discussion of how much water the landowners are requesting and whether or not the City will have enough for peak demand. It was noted that Coombs wants four 250 gallon tanks Minutes August 22, 2007 kept full and Ricco wants 600 gallons per day plus 5 gpm. The rate of 400 gpm was questioned as to who determined it to be how much the City would need. It was noted that the figure had come from the water study done by Anderson Perry and was part of a 20 year projection. It was also noted that 10 to 12 years have gone by since the projection. It was agreed that the City should talk with Anderson Perry and re-visit the study to determine if 400 gpm will be sufficient and for how long. It was suggested that perhaps the City should think about re-negotiating now instead of later. There was also concern over the amount of water reportedly coming in to the system being substantially higher than the amount being billed for use. Records indicate that more than half the water goes unaccounted for. Members of the audience stated that the problem of not enough water has gone on for 30 years and that it is time to get the agreements in place and get more water than is needed at present. The Council reviewed the latest schedule provided by Anderson Perry and noted that if the agreements are not completed by mid-September it will affect the entire project. It was agreed that the City should include a copy of the schedule in the next water bill so the public can be aware of what should be happening in a timely manner. Landfill: A written report was received. The Council reviewed a cost estimate from Sisul Engineering regarding the opening of a new trench. The project would have to wait until the following year because money had not been budgeted for it, however, since sand is needed for operation of the landfill, Joe Hitz had recommended spending approximately $800 to $1,200 to get started with excavation. The balance of the project would be budgeted in the following year. There was concern that if the initial portion is approved costs could exceed the approved amount however. Bob Titus agreed that he would make sure the project did not go over $1,200. MSP: To approve the initial engineering not to exceed $1,200, Bill Harrington/Frank Primozic. 8:05 p.m. Public Works: The Council was given a written report by Bob Titus. He said he had a quote of $2,600 to fix the grinder but is testing the filter system to see if the pump will operate without it. He said they may need to clean the filter more often and was instructed to keep track of the additional hours required to do so. Mayor Horrell noted that he had approved the request by Don Moss to dump septic waste in the City’s wastewater lagoons. Accounts Payable: There was a question regarding who owns the guns being purchased by the Police Department and it was agreed the Council should look into the policy and revise it if needed. There was discussion of why the City continues to pay $635 annually for a mining permit when it no longer takes gravel from the pit. Bob Titus said he would look into it. MSP: To approve the payables, Bill Harrington/Frank Primozic. All members voted in favor. Office: The Recorder referred to a Water Rights Conference being offered by Anderson Perry on September 26 at no charge and asked if the City would be sending anyone to attend. Stan Horrell agreed to go, Bob Titus said he would like to attend as well. She also asked the Council to consider a request from Dawn Gray for assistance to attend the Oregon EMS State Conference in Bend. She explained the Gray is one of the City’s EMT’s and Minutes August 22, 2007 is promoting EMT and First Responder Training in Prairie City. It was suggested that she be granted $200 from the Medical Clinic Fund to cover two nights hotel and money for fuel. MSP: To approve expenses in the amount of $200 for Dawn Gray to attend the conference, Pam Woodworth/Frank Primozic. Resolutions: The Council was asked to consider approval of Resolution 2007-11 changing the time of City Council meetings to 6:30 p.m. MSP: To approve Resolution 2007-11, Frank Primozic/Pam Woodworth. 8:30 p.m. Abatement: The Council was asked to make a decision as to what step to take next in the abatement issue regarding the property at 417 N. McHaley. The Recorder stated that she had sent the registered letters per the City’s ordinance, but had not received written response from either the owner or the renter. It was noted that extenuating circumstances do exist in that the renter has just had major surgery. It was also noted that the Mayor had received a telephone call from the owner, and that Lyn McDonald had spoken with the renter but no commitments had been made. According to the ordinance, the next step(s) are to issue citations and/or proceed with abatement of the property. The Council agreed that they should uphold and enforce the City’s ordinances and that the community expects them to follow through. Since this is the first time the City has been faced with actual abatement of the property, it was suggested that the attorney be consulted on how to proceed if it comes to that. It was generally agreed that citations should be issued to both parties. Bill Harrington, Frank Primozic and Stan Horrell voted in favor, Pam Woodworth opposed. MSP: To instruct law enforcement to cite both parties, Bill Harrington/Frank Primozic. Police Services: Bill Harrington presented a draft proposal of law enforcement needs of the City for presentation to the County in negotiating for coverage. He said he did not address costs in the outline. He asked the Council to review it and make any recommendations. The Recorder said she had a request from the Fire Chief to be sure and include the enforcement of burning regulations. Harrington noted three areas of concern; that Officer Wood must use up all comp time, that the Sheriff may not be able to enforce City ordinances, and that the City should set a deadline for when it will discontinue law enforcement in Prairie City. It was agreed the Council would review the document and address and fine tune it at the next meeting. Job Descriptions: Bill Harrington said the job description committee would meet with any of the employees that have comments or questions about the draft descriptions. Stan Horrell will set up the meetings. Harrington also said he had completed draft descriptions for the museum curator, the museum attendant and for council positions. It was noted that further discussion will be needed if the museum curator is to be an employee instead of a contractor. It was agreed that the job descriptions should be finalized and ready for adoption by the September 26th meeting. Sewer Ordinance: The Recorder said she had started revising the Sewer Ordinance and that the City needs to know how installations are made, i.e., what part is the City’s responsibility and what part is the customer’s. She also said she had developed a permit/application form for new sewer and water hookups. The form includes an estimate, provides for the payment of a deposit before work begins or materials are purchased, and provides space for actual costs and any Minutes August 22, 2007 refund or additional amount due. The form is to be filled out by the Public Works Department and filed with the utility billing clerk. 9:20 Other Business: The Council was asked to review the revised property use form. A number of revisions were suggested. Bill Harrington said he would incorporate them and present the document at the next meeting. The proposed complaint resolution form was presented and suggestions for revision were made. It was agreed the revised document would also be presented at the next meeting. The Recorder referred to an email from Peggy Gray asking the cities if they still plan to support the economic development position. No decision was made. Mayor Horrell addressed the Council and stated that agenda requests must be received by 5 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding a City Council meeting. He stated that it will help to get the agenda and other materials prepared and delivered to the Council members so they will have plenty of time to get familiar with issues before the meetings. It was agreed that notices will be posted letting the public know about the policy. 9:50 p.m. It was moved and seconded to adjourn. Respectfully submitted: ___________________________ Diane Clingman Approved this Date: ________________ _________________________________ Stan Horrell, Mayor Minutes August 22, 2007