CITY OF GOLD BAR
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
CALL TO ORDER and ROLL CALL
Mayor Hawkins called the meeting to order with Councilmembers Price, Turner and Hill present. By motion of Councilmembers Price and Turner, Councilmembers Amenn and Norris were excused because they were stuck in traffic. Public Works Director Light and City Clerk Gilleland were also present. Chief Ruchty was expected shortly.
AGENDA APPROVAL
By motion of Councilmembers Turner and Price the Agenda was approved.
MINUTES APPROVAL (None)
VOUCHER APPROVAL
By motion of Councilmembers Price and Hill, claims vouchers in the amount of $177,002.61, paid by checks #12295 through #12336, were approved.
CITIZEN COMMENTS/AGENDA ITEMS
No comments were offered.
MAYOR’S REPORT
Mayor Hawkins stated Council needed to schedule a retreat but she would defer that until all members were present. She then reported that CTED has contacted the City. They have funds available to assist us with another facet of the Sewer Feasibility Study. The additional study would tell us how much Gold Bar needs to grow in order to reach financial sustainability. Mayor Hawkins and staff, including the City Engineer and City Planning Consultant, will be meeting with CTED on April 8th.
Mayor Hawkins reported that our Planning Consultant has been negotiating with the County and CTED regarding the City’s Comp Plan and UGA expansion. There had been rumors the County was going to appeal the Plan. Our Planner has been attempting to head off their concerns and put us in a position so that Gold Bar would not be entirely ruled out of our expansion request.
Library Board Appointment: Mayor Hawkins re-appointed Vicki Fuller to the Library Board and requested Council confirmation. By motion of Councilmembers Price and Turner, Council confirmed the re-appointment of Vicki Fuller as Library Board Member.
Mayor Hawkins called Council’s attention to the copy of Councilmember Amenn’s email to Karen Henigan of the Department of Health that the Mayor had provided to Council. In the email Councilmember Amenn makes reference to drought and our wells, expresses concern about the blending of the wells, and the water emergency fund and “financial viability test #3”. Mayor Hawkins clarified what the Water Comp Plan was actually saying about “viability tests”. Councilmember Amenn is continuing to misconstrue what the Plan says and is continuing to misquote financial information. Mayor Hawkins provided additional information she has researched regarding the current Water System Plan, the prior Plan, and the history of water rate increases that did not follow either Plan. She stated she will attempt to compile as much of this information as possible for distribution at the Town Meeting in order to dispel many of the rumors in the community.
(Note: Councilmember Amenn arrived at about 7:15 PM)
Town Meeting: Mayor Hawkins announced the Town Meeting is set for Saturday, April 16th, between 2 PM and 4 PM, at the Gold Bar Elementary School. The format for the meeting will be informal and she will have written materials available. Mayor Hawkins intends to open the meeting with a brief explanation of some of the issues that have been in the community, including the utility tax petition, and then the Council will listen to the citizens concerns.
STAFF REPORTS
Public Works Director Light, mentioning the Governor’s recent announcement regarding the drought, reported that the City of Gold Bar has never experienced problems under any conditions. Staff is monitoring the situation very closely and if there are any concerns, the citizens will be informed.
Public Works Director Light reported the bridge project on 1st Street continues to move forward. The project is going through environmental assessment items. He then stated the ribbon cutting ceremony was great. Staff is researching playground equipment for the lower end of the park. Staff is also looking into the possibility of eventually having some type of skateboard park for the older kids.
(Note: Councilmember Norris arrived at about 7:20 PM)
City Clerk Gilleland reported on her recent computer problems, stating the computer is now fixed and no information was lost. She reported there are other problems with the computers in City Hall that need to be addressed immediately. City Hall will be signing up for DSL and that should solve some trouble areas. When the extent of the “fixes” is known, City Clerk Gilleland will report back to the Council.
City Clerk Gilleland reported on the meeting of the Salmon Forum she attended recently. The Forum will soon be asking the cities and other agencies involved to implement the Plan they are developing for the Snohomish Basin area. City Clerk Gilleland and Mayor Hawkins will be meeting with the staff coordinator of the Forum.
Chief Ruchty reported they have been busy. He reported on the recent bust in Sultan with multiple storage units full of stolen property. There will be a showing of the property on April 2nd at the Evergreen Fairgrounds for those that think their property might be included in the recovered property. He urged all to write down serial numbers and to mark their property in some way just in case it gets stolen. It is easier to recover if marked.
Retreat: Mayor Hawkins asked Council to set a date for the Retreat. The first date that all were available was May 21st. The Retreat was set for that date, from 9 AM to 4 PM. Mayor Hawkins will get back to Council regarding a location.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilmember Turner stated he was proud of the way the City put together the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Park. He also congratulated the Sheriff’s office for the recent stolen property bust in Sultan.
Councilmember Amenn asked if the City has any plans to pass the viability test mentioned in the Water System Plan. He also asked questions regarding the water finances. Mayor Hawkins provided additional information regarding the Plan and finances. She also reported Staff will be working with the Engineers to re-evaluate the rate structure and a report will be made to Council.
Councilmember Price stated he felt the ribbon ceremony went well and that his wife’s musical group had fun. They are willing to perform music in the park again. He suggested we could possibly rent the facility out for weddings or other occasions.
Councilmember Hill thanked the crew for the ribbon ceremony.
City Clerk Gilleland announced the Antique Tractor group would be in town again on April 9th at the SR2 Park.
NEW BUSINESS
RESOLUTION: Email Policy
Mayor Hawkins provided background information regarding the proposed resolution. Mayor Hawkins read the Resolution in its entirety, being a resolution establishing a policy for dissemination of written communications to and from City Councilmembers. Discussion followed. By motion of Councilmembers Turner and Norris, the Resolution was adopted as read.
CONSULTANT AGREEMENT: Water Rights
Public Works Director Light provided background information regarding the need to clarify the Water Rights issue according to our Water System Plan. Discussion followed. By motion of Councilmembers Price and Amenn, Council authorized the Mayor to sign the agreement with Perkins Coie for Tasks #1 and #2 as stated in the Scope of Work, for an amount not to exceed $8,000.
PROCLAMATION: Public Health Week
Mayor Hawkins provided background information regarding Public Health Week. She then read the Proclamation, proclaiming the week of April 4 through 10, 2005, as Public Health Week. By motion of Councilmembers Price and Hill, Council approved the proclamation and authorized the Mayor to sign it.
OLD BUSINESS
ORDINANCE: Critical Areas (2nd Reading)
Mayor Hawkins called Council’s attention to the memo in the packet from our Planning Consultant regarding the Critical Areas Ordinance. She provided a brief overview of the memo and additional background information for the benefit of the Council and audience. City Clerk Gilleland gave a second reading, by title only, to an ordinance replacing Chapter 18.08 (Sensitive Areas) in order to protect and regulate critical areas as required by the Washington State Growth Management Act, including critical aquifer habitat conservation areas, frequently flooded areas, geologically hazardous areas, and wetlands. Discussion followed. By motion of Councilmembers Price and Norris, the ordinance was accepted for second reading and adoption. Councilmember Amenn voted no.
COUNCIL POLICY AND PROCEDURES (Tabled)
This item remained on the table.
CITIZEN COMMENTS/NON-AGENDA ITEMS
Dave Cotterill asked who should he call when dogs are running loose on the weekend. He was asked to call 911 dispatch and report it as a non-emergency on weekends and after City Hall hours.
Al Robinson, School Superintendent, offered the services of the District’s IT tech to the City to help with the computer problems at a minimal charge of $50 per hour. We could enter into a simple Interlocal agreement for the service. The City of Sultan contracts with the District. Mr. Robinson commented on the financial crisis facing small cities in the State thanks to the tax initiatives, the email policy and the OPMA, and the Critical Areas Ordinance.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned by motion of Councilmember Norris.
ATTEST ________________________
Colleen Hawkins, Mayor
___________________________
Hester Gilleland, Clerk-Treasurer