---
date: "2017-04-12"
title: "Council Meeting Minutes 2017-04-12"
source: "2017-04-12-minutes-council-monthly.pdf"
---

City of Prairie City

1.                   CITY COUNCIL MEETING
2.                       April 12th, 2017, 6:00pm
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5. Attended:   Jim Hamsher, Mayor
6.
                   Carole Garrison, Councilor
7.
                   Dottie Miller, Councilor
8.
                   Georgia Patterson, Councilor
                   Joe Phippen, Councilor
9.
10.                   Frank Primozic, Councilor
11.                   Taci Philbrook, City Recorder
12.                   Lyn McDonald, City Clerk
13.                   Carlos Bortell, resident
14.                   Luann Bortell, resident
15.                   Heidi Cearns, resident
16.                   Michael Cearns, resident
17.                   Dennis Lynch, resident
18.                   Ted Williams, Grant County Emergency Coordinator
19.                   Dan Becker, resident
20.                   Chris Camarena, Public Works Director
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22. The Mayor opened the regular meeting at 6:00pm. Roll Call was taken. All
23. councilors present, except Councilor Church who was excused.
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25. The minutes of the March 8thth regular meeting were considered.  MSP:  To
26. approve the minutes as is. Councilor Garrison/ Councilor
27. Primozic.  All members voted in favor. The minutes of the March 22nd
28. Supplemental Budget Hearing were considered.  MSP:  To approve the minutes
29. as is. Councilor Garrison/ Councilor Patterson.  All members voted in favor.
30.
31. The Mayor recognized Dennis Lynch who has come before the council to discuss
32. garbage in trucks, and buildings in the city right of way(R.O.W.). He had
33. questions about; future water shortages and how they are getting fixed; does the
34. city follow its own zoning rules; if a citizen reports a problem who determines if
35. the violation is really a violation, and who lets the citizen know the results of the
36. investigation; is it true law enforcement has refused to enforce city ordinances;
37. and, is there anything in the works to improve our community beyond basic
38. necessities?
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40. Dennis also complimented the city maintenance department for their efforts in the
41. approved appearance of our two city parks. He stated he would also like to see
42. the city wide clean up day reinstated (see attached).
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44. Mayor Hamsher began answering Dennis's questions by explaining there is a city
45. wide clean up day planned for this spring. He further explained we can now
46. pump 300+ gpm versus the 50 gpm we were pumping last summer. Mayor
47. Hamsher let Dennis know he is looking further into Grants at a state level so we
48. don’t have to raise the usage rates to fix our water issues. When Dennis
49. commented about the taste of the water Councilor Patterson explained that
50. lowering the pump should improve the taste and production.
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52. The mayor explained all citizen complaints are handled case by case, and the
53. police not enforcing ordinances was just a bad rumor. Mr. Lynch would like to
54. see more enforcement through citations. There was some conversation amongst
55. the councilors about the written complaints coming before the council then the
56. council deciding a plan of action. There was some discussion about time
57. constraints by doing it that way. Councilor Garrison would appreciate an
58. unlicensed vehicle on 13th St. in the city R.O.W. be addressed. The city recorder
59. explained a letter has been sent to the 13th St. resident, and to the 12th St. resident
60. with garbage in their truck parked in the city R.O.W.
61.
62. The mayor began a conversation with the council about narrowing the ROW. By
63. doing that the property owners will be responsible for manicuring the grass and
64. trees in the R.O.W. He duly noted there is wood piled and rigs parked in the
65. R.O.W.'s. There are also rigs parked by fire hydrants in the city's R.O.W.
66. Although, there is not an ordinance about parking in the R.O.W. there is one for
67. vegetation, and garbage in the ROW.
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69. The Mayor recognized Prairie City resident, Loren E. Bebb. Loren has submitted
70. for consideration a Type II Conditional Use Application to erect a U.S. Cellular
71. Tower on his property at 10th & McHaley otherwise known as 13-33-11 BC Lot
72. 500 16 Lot. It is zoned R-2. Councilor Garrison asked permission to tour the
73. proposed site. Loren gave permission to all the councilors to do a site visit at their
74. own convenience. City Clerk, Lyn McDonald, outlined the procedure to acquire a
75. conditional use permit. She also confirmed that up to this point all steps had been
76. correctly taken to file for the permit. Lyn has set the hearing date for May 17th,
77. 6:00 pm here at city hall in the council chambers. While discussing the design of
78. the tower, Loren said he could request the tower look like a 200 ft. tree. There
79. was some discussion about height but it was decided that discussion could wait
80. until the hearing on the 17th of May.
81.

Ted commended Prairie City as the only city in Grant County creating an,
Emergency Operations Plan.

82. Emergency Response Team: Councilor Miller gave a brief history of how the
83. emergency management response team came to be, and the teams purpose.
84. Councilor Phippen added he is asking for names of wheel chair, or bedridden
85. residents for him to contact about assisting them through an evacuation should
86. one happen. Dottie then introduced Ted Williams.
87.
88. Ted Williams, the Emergency Coordinator for Grant County thanked the city for
89. being diligent, and proactive with its emergency planning and in its planning for
90. the 2017 Solar Eclipse. He reminded the council he is always looking for
91. volunteers.
92.
93.Ted spoke of the county's limited resources in an emergency situation.
94. He further explained; city governments need to take ownership of emergencies,
95. they need to set up command posts, train volunteers, and work in conjuction with
96. the county when responding to fire, or flood emergencies. Ted recommended
97. I.C.S. courses that are offered online, and are free to city government people. The
98. courses take three to four hours and are easy.
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Chris reported he was just returning from a class that Councilor Georgia
Patterson also attended on behalf of The City of  Monument. Since Prairie
City benefits from her certifications he is wondering if Prairie City could
share the expense of Georgia's room with The City of Monument. After
some discussion about ethics, the council as a whole decided if there is
a way to, we should.

Chris is also working on a trade with the county for the 79' Dodge
truck. He will be trading the truck for in kind labor at the landfill, and for
rock.

Chris is looking at purchasing a Tommy Lift to install in the back of the red
Ford 350. The purchase will come out of the Safety Equipment line.

 Public Works: (no written report submitted) Chris reported Tom was back
 to work on light duty.

Chris has met with City Engineer, Joe Hitz to finalize the bid packs for the
sewer project.

Chris is looking at purchasing two new solar powered speed trailers with

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flashing lights. He will purchase one this FY, and one next FY. He is going
to go through a program using the special rates for police chiefs so he can
get two trailers for what he would usually have to pay for just one. They
will get paid for out of the budget line for signs. He has also spoken to Toby
Gangler with ODOT. Toby is interested in using our signs for traffic
control in emergencies.

Councilor Phippen asked if there was any word from ODOT on the
mortality facility. Chris explained to the council that Taci had sent an
inquiring email to them, and when ODOT's work schedule slowed down
they will get the documents to us.

Chris asked if we can look into hiring some part time help for the summer.
He sees a need for more staff in the public works department in preparing
for the 2017 Solar Eclipse. He referred to John Day that is looking at hiring
four part time employees for the event.

Chris is also hoping we can fit a pay raise into the budget for the Utility
Maintenance II position. He was told we can discuss that during the
upcoming budget meeting.

Fire Dept.: In Chief Rynearsons absence Chris reported there had been a
fire at Eula Waits. After investigating the cause, it was reported she had
been smoking in bed, and ashes ignited her oxygen tube. At this time it is
unknown if she had insurance. The council discussed the possibility of the
city footing the bill for cleaning up the scene of the fire. The fire displaced
five people in the home. Chris reported two volunteer fire fighters were
injured during the call, but only one of the injured went to the hospital to
get checked out. The volunteer fire fighter has a sprained hand, neck and
shoulder.  There were lots of explosions due to fuel and oxygen tanks being
in the house. The neighbor, Pam Woodworth, pulled Eula Waits out of the
burning home. Chris offered debriefing to Pam. Councilor Patterson
suggested honoring Pam for her assistance and bravery. The council
decided to honor Pam with a certificate or plaque at the next regular
meeting.

Accounts Payable: MSP: To ratify payment of the bills. Councilor
Miller / Councilor Primozic. All in favor.

MSP: To approve the 2016-2017 Oster agreement and Contract.
Councilor Patterson / Councilor Garrison. All in favor.

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MSP: To approve the Facility Use Agreement for the Grant Co.
Kruzers to use the city park for this years car show. Councilor
Garrison / Councilor Patterson. All in favor.

The mayor introduced the offer from American Tower (see attached).
American Tower has offered three options to entice us into signing a long
term easement program with them. After some discussion the council
agreed not to accept any of the offers. The general consensus was; if we
wait they will offer more to get us to sign.

The mayor introduced this years fireworks display agreement, and purchase
order. After confirming with Taci there were no changes in the last year
since the council voted on the documents last. MSP: To approve the 2017
4th of July contract. Councilor Patterson / Councilor Miller. All in favor.

City Recorder Taci reminded the councilors of the Essential Training Class
in Redmond scheduled for the 19th of April.

The mayor read aloud the thank you card from the Senior Center Board of
Directors.

Councilor Garrison asked for volunteers to water the city planters in front
of the Texaco Bldg.;  May – Councilor Patterson
                                   June – Councilor Phippen
                                   July – City Staff
                                   August – City Staff / Councilors Garrison & Primozic
                                   September – Councilor Miller

 The Mayor adjourned at 7:15 pm.

 Submitted by:

  ________________________________
  Taci Philbrook, City Recorder
                                                         Approved by the City Council this_____
                                                         day of ______________, 2017 and
                                                               signed by the Mayor:

                                                        _________________________________
                                                        Jim Hamsher, Mayor