The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met January 20, 2020, for its regular meeting via conference call. All council members were in attendance.

Before public comment, Mayor Marty Dunn offered some clarification on projects under consideration under the 2021 City Budget, which was passed in December. One project listed in the budget is the widening of West Fifth Street from Main Street to Arnold Lane. On Fifth Street, homeowners circulated a petition against the project, voicing a strong stance against the road work.

Mayor Dunn said that while the project was on a long-running list of considered projects, no action is planned in the foreseeable future. He said that on a scale of priorities, widening the street was near the bottom, and projects on infrastructure repair, like sewer and drainage updating and repair, would take precedence.

Councilmember Karl Newell presented the petition from homeowners and residents against widening the street. Randy Charles said that this is the third time the potential project has come up since he moved into his home on Fifth Street. Neighbors, including the previous owners of his home, had advocated against the widening. Charles requested taking the action completely off the long-running list. Should the city wish to go forward with this project, it should go through the approval process at that time, including public comment.

Mayor Dunn also discussed the termination of Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 fire chief Michael Moynihan. Both the public attendees and council members expressed various concerns. Councilmember Karen Gregutt asked if there are documents that outlined CWWCFD2’s service requirements to the city. The City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said he was unsure if any documents existed, but he would go over the pre-annexation document.

“I’m sure all of us, school, businesses, and real estate would like to know exactly who is responsible for what,” Councilmember Gregutt said. “What is our exposure to things that may not be covered, and what do we do about that?”

The council agreed with Councilmember Gregutt’s concerns. City attorney Jared Hawkins said he had a document explaining the responsibilities of a fire district in serving a city.

Waitsburg resident Phil Monfort commented on the fire chief situation as well, sharing that he was displeased with the sudden termination of Moynihan and that this was not the first time he had witnessed resistance to change within the community. Monfort shared that he was the Commercial Club President years ago and was met with nothing but resistance when trying to make changes.

“I saw it as pride,” said Monfort. “Pride binds and blinds communities.”

The council moved into new business, starting with Resolutions 2021-712, 713, and 714. These resolutions address recommendations provided by the state auditor’s office in relation to the city’s most recent audit, according to Hinchliffe.

The Resolution 2021-712 added an extra accounting step, making so that the current year’s payroll and the upcoming year’s estimated payroll to check for any necessary adjustments. The council voted to approve the resolution.

Resolution 2021-713 provided a personnel manual update, which made it clear to city employees that the City of Waitsburg is a reimbursable employer: The city will pay unemployment claims, as they are presented. Hinchliffe said this recommendation was made after the city had a ‘rather sizable’’ reimbursement request in 2019, after paying unemployment to an employee for a period of time in 2018. This resolution does not change the city’s financial responsibility in any way, it just creates a new clerical step to thoroughly document how the city handles unemployment claims. The council voted to approve the resolution.

Resolution 2021-714 was a financial policy update. Under this resolution, the city will supply monthly time review cards to employees for a more thorough understanding and documentation of how much time is spent in each public works department.

The City Council discussed Right of Way procedures in preparation for the Millrace Grade project; Hinchliffe said that the city needs to acquire a ‘very small’ piece of land just west of the grease crossing to help with the alignment of the road. Hinchliffe said that this is the first time he has had to acquire land for a project and anticipates not having any large expenses. The Port of Columbia currently owns the land in question, and he is expecting an interagency transfer.

The council discussed the final application for payment from Nelson Construction, of Walla Walla, for the sidewalk projects. The final payment totaled $19,592.25. Councilmember Jim Romine noted that one section of the project still has not had ramps installed. The council approved the final payment.

Councilmember Romine shared a brief update from the Health and Safety Committee, focusing mainly on concerns about a weekend pop-up vaccination clinic that happened in Walla Walla. He shared that future vaccination clinics will be organized and no longer pop-up style.

Councilmember Gregutt shared that the Planning Commission is working on the process used by residents to file complaints with the City. She said they are trying to make it so that it is a ‘generally positive’ process and will hopefully have a presentation at the next council meeting.