The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON— The Dayton City Council held a special meeting at 6 p.m., November 23, 2021. All city council members were in attendance except Byron Kaczmarski, who was excused.

The council approved the agenda unanimously.

There was no public comment.

Paul Ihle presented a daycare facility update. Ihle sits on the standing committee studying childcare issues for the Columbia County Health System (CCHS). The committee is working to identify a suitable location. The architect used by the CCHS has been advising on the project and drafting drawings.

Once open, Ihle said the YWCA would run the facility, and it would be available to all families, eventually offering services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Initially, it was proposed that the daycare center be located at the former migrant camp just east, across the highway, from the Seneca facility. Unfortunately, the location is unsuitable for a daycare facility as it is in an industrial zone and would require extensive renovations and improvements.

The committee is considering four alternate locations.

The Port of Columbia has offered land just west of the gardens at Blue Mountain Station (BMS), with utilities readily available for use. The Port wishes to support the project for similar reasons to CCHS; making it easier for employees to find daycare encourages economic development in the county. The BMS location has the added advantage of a more accessible site to residents of Waitsburg and Dayton.

A second location being considered is the site of the former municipal pool. This location could be part of a community center project envisioned by the Friends of the Pool Committee, including the pool, daycare, and other public use areas.

The third alternative is the vacant lot between the Dayton School bus barn and the city park baseball diamond. Councilmember Yost expressed concern that this area might experience traffic congestion.

The final alternative is the former First Christian Church across the street from the elementary school playground. Though this property has an excellent location, it would require extensive and expensive improvements for daycare use.

The presentation on daycare did not require any city council action.

The city council next held the first of two public hearings to review and receive public comment on Mayor Zac Weatherford’s proposed 2022 budget.

The budget rose to nearly $7.9 million from $6.5 million in 2021. The council discussed a proposed one-percent property tax increase for the city, which is the maximum amount allowed by law without a vote of the people. For this increase to be implemented, the council needed to approve it at this meeting. The estimated revenue to the city from the one percent tax increase would be around $4000.

Councilmember Dain Nysoe said the city should not raise taxes for such a trivial amount. He was also concerned that the budget process did not include city departments talking to council committees to justify their budget requests. This step was skipped this year, said the mayor, because of staffing shortages. Weatherford said he would be “absolutely willing to meet with anyone over any aspect of the budget.”

The increase was approved by a vote of 4-2, with Misty Yost and Nysoe voting against the motion. This was the only budget item that required action.

The second special meeting of the council on the 2022 budget is scheduled for December 1, at 6 p.m.