The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - The Dayton City Council has set an in initial budget workshop for Monday at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The city's preliminary 2014 budget will be presented to council members at that time for their review and to make adjustments. No formal action will be taken at the workshop.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled to be held during the council's regular meeting October 28. A sec- ond budget workshop has been scheduled for October 30, but may be cancelled. Additional public hearings on the budget are scheduled for November. The council hopes to adopt the 2014 budget ordi- nance during its November 25 meeting.

In other business at its Oc- tober 14 meeting, the Dayton City Council: - Approved an interlocal agreement with the Columbia County Health System for construction of a recreational pathway from the

Booker Rest Home to the

Touchet River Dike. Costs are to be covered by CCHS. - Approved an agreement with the Association of

Washington Cities to pro- vide self-insured health benefit plans to the city and its employees. The city expects no increase in cost for health insurance next year due to the change. - Approved a grant agreement with the Washington De- partment of Achaeology and

Historic Preservation for development of guidelines for the Southside Historic

District and The Washing- ton Street Historic District in Dayton. The $6,700 grant will allow a consultant to be hired to help prepare the guidelines, to be used by the

Dayton Historic Preserva- tion Commission. - Approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the union representing city employees for a 1.6% cost of living allowance for fiscal year 2014. - Heard a report from the

Parks and Recreation Com- mittee about efforts to create a Parks and Recreation Plan in conjunction with Columbia County and the Port of Columbia. Two gradu- ate students from Eastern

Washington University will help prepare the plan, which is to be implemented in

March.