The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met Tuesday, September 15, via conference call. All members of the Council were present.

The Council reviewed an application for the first of a series of payments for work done on the new Taggart Road extension. Sharpe & Preszler Construction Company requested a payment of $345,066.74 to cover the cost of total work completed and materials on hand, to date. The Council approved the Taggart Road extension in 2019; however, construction was paused due to the flooding event in February. The Council approved the payment.

City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe presented a list of proposed names for the new road extension. Hinchliffe said he spoke to Mary Phillips, who donated the property to the City for the road. She suggested Hazelbaker Road, after former City-employee Elmer Hazelbaker, who worked for the City for many years. In addition, the Hazelbaker family previously owned the land for the extension. The Council enthusiastically approved the name Hazelbaker Road.

During council member reports, Jim Romine, chair of the Health and Safety Committee, reported criminal activity has quieted since the recent arrests at residences on Main Street over the past month. Romine noted that it appears one of the houses on Main Street is being vacated.

Romine said that there had been an influx of traffic violations throughout town. A non-injury crash occurred on Main Street last week in front of the Plaza Theater, involving a car and a semi-tractor-trailer. A short discussion followed on traffic signage in that area. Many local drivers will stop for trucks making the turn from Main Street to Preston Avenue as a courtesy, and it appears some regular truckers have gotten used to turning without yielding to northbound traffic. Since out-of-town drivers are not aware of the ‘Waitsburg rule,’ it creates potentially-dangerous situations, as demonstrated by the crash.

Hinchliffe informed the board that the City was approved for a grant that would cover one-third of the remodel cost of City Hall. The City does have time to accept the grant, but Hinchliffe noted that it was being ‘pushed to the back burner’ as other projects are being prioritized, and the City would need to figure out how to fund the other two-thirds of the project. Hinchliffe also noted that the grant was contingent on Washington’s 2021 budget, and it was up in the air whether the money would be available.

A sewer siphon was damaged ‘substantially’ in the February floods, creating a bent pipe. The City is working with an engineer to figure out how to repair the damage. Hinchliffe said he would have more information at the October meeting.

The City Council will meet next month on Wednesday, October 14, at 7 pm. Council members plan on meeting in a virtual call unless restrictions are lifted to allow an in-person meeting.