(REPORT FROM JOE BEAVER, GOLD BAR)

 JOE'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOTES

TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2006

THURSDAY DECEMBER 14, 2006

The following are from my notes taken at the council meetings that were for a Public Hearing for the budget process.  They are not intended to be minutes of the meeting.  My comments are in italics.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12

Tuesday was a short meeting, with three council members in attendance.  Richard and Robert had earlier noted that they could not make this meeting and were excused by a 3-0 vote.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

Ray Coleman noted that the Repair and Maintenance budget of $ 1,000 was too low.  He noted that the roof and attic of City Hall need attention and that janitorial services are skimpy.  He also noted that the west end of the utility building needs painting and that the shelter in the US 2 Park is in danger of coming down.

COUNCIL COMMENTS

Dorothy asked that the meeting be deferred to Thursday so that all of the council members could take part in the budget discussions.  This passed by consensus.

The meeting was adjourned until Thursday.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14

All council members were in attendance.  Robert was caught in traffic and arrived about 30 minutes after the start of the meeting.  John Light and Laura Kelly were in attendance.

COUNCIL DISCUSSION

Jerry brought up Ray Coleman's comments from Tuesday about the meager allowance for maintenance.  Lonn concurred and discussed the items needing repair.  Crystal limited the discussion in order to move on.

John said he was planning on using reformatory help for lots of things this year.  There was some discussion of the status of that contract.  The budget for facilities maintenance was raised from $ 1,000 to $ 2,000.

Dorothy noted that without a past history of expenses, it was difficult to analyze the budget.

Richard noted that the financial maintenance budget of $ 1,000 was too low, that the city needs pdf capability and the main PC needs an upgrade.  He estimated a total budget of between $ 2,500 and $ 4,000.  Crystal said that a central server had been discussed in order to allow access to central files by all city machines and to improve training.  Richard added that all the PCs needed to be made the same, along with having the same software applications.  Crystal said that other upgrades were needed for printers, that this was a heads-up notice, the staff did not yet have pricing on this.  Crystal proposed a $ 3,500 budget and the council approved.

Crystal brought up the additional person needed, the Utility Maintenance I

person.  She noted that this might be two part-time people.  There was some discussion of a Deputy Clerk versus a Utility Maintenance person.

Moving the Sheriff's office into City Hall was discussed, with a possible credit

for receptionist support for them.

The Mooring property has been paid off.  Some possibility of US 2 shelter improvements were made, this depends upon the ownership of the shelter.  There was a discussion of the potential fencing along the railroad. 

A sign for Gateway Park was in the budget for $ 2,500.  There was some discussion of the current status of the sign.  Lonn noted that the playground equipment will likely require new chips and/or rubber shavings.

Robert arrived at about 7:15 PM.

Robert questioned the association membership dues and asked that the Puget Sound Regional Council be added for $ 530, SET for $ 250, and Snohomish Cities and Towns for $ 35.  Lonn noted that the US 2 Safety Coalition may be asking for financial support.

There was discussion on the cost of an additional Sheriff's Deputy.  This came out to be about $ 142,000 per year for 3 years, including amortization of start-up costs. 

Lonn discussed having some monetary support for the upcoming Gold Dust Days.  John discussed having a display case for booklets and maps.  There was an extended discussion of Gold Dust Days.  Richard and Crystal suggested putting $ 3,000 into the budget for this and the council agreed.

Robert asked for additional street lights in town, specifically for 13th Street and the 10th Street Bus Stop.  Robert talked on about earmarking the monies for this.  Richard suggested keeping the funding in the street fund, not earmarking it.  Robert said he wanted to force the city to make a decision on the street light for 13th (St.).  John said to put the money into the street light fund.  The council agreed to put $ 6,000 into the street light fund.

There was a discussion of storm drain money for May Creek Road.

Dorothy asked for funding by the city for the Gold Bar Museum.  In times past, the city had paid $ 4,000 toward museum support.  After some discussion, an amount of $ 2,000 was budgeted for this.

Robert asked about the UGA expansion.  He asked to have $ 1,000 put in the budget for a consultant to advise Gold Bar on how to get a bigger UGA.  Lonn noted that $ 1,000 would not cover much in the way of consultation.  Crystal reported that if the current UGA goes through, the city could annex the area. 

Crystal started to discuss the $ 15,000 water rate study needed.  Robert interrupted her, said the mayor had plenty of time to put this into the budget earlier.  He continued on to say that the UGA needs to be bigger in order to get retail businesses in town. 

Jerry said it was very important to expand the city's perimeter and consultation was needed, and he supported an expansion consultant.  Crystal said not to make policy now.  Robert then asked if there was a consensus for a $ 1,000 consultant.  He then talked about 3 yeses to get it on the budget.  Richard said not to make a specific line item as it restricts the use of the money for something else if the UGA expansion was successful.  Dorothy noted that there was already money in the budget for consultation.  There was other discussion, Crystal said she would have the staff increase the consultation budget by $ 1,000.

There was a discussion of the costs of the AWC conference, with Richard noting that they were getting close to the 5% safety margin.  Crystal said that the budget numbers were squishy and will need to be looked at again.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

Joe Beavers complimented Jerry on his work on his Emergency Preparedness Plan at the December 05 meeting.  First Jerry took on a problem that would affect many citizens of Gold Bar, but with little or no impact on his own street.  Second, Jerry minimized staff time, doing his own detailed research and foot work.  Third, he arrived at the meeting with a budget in hand, not having to guess at the financial impact. 

Joe then discussed a council meeting early in the year when a citizen had reported that his daughter had been clipped by a car on Lewis Street.  The citizen said that poor street lighting was a contributing factor.  Crystal said that a street light had been installed at the intersection where the accident happened and that the resident on the corner paid for the light, while the city maintains it.

COUNCIL PROJECTS

Each city council member brought up a special project to be financed by the city.  The summary is:

Dorothy           Gold Bar Museum rent support                                           $  2,000

Lonn                Gold Dust Days support                                                       $  3,000

Richard           City Hall Computer Upgrades                                             $  3,500

Jerry                Weather Emergency Materials                                            $  8,000

Robert            Street Lights for 13th St and 10th St                                   $  6,000.