City Council reviews flood plan, committee assignments

WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met Wednesday, January 19, for a regular meeting.

Waitsburg resident Terry Jacoy spoke during public comment, asking the council to reconsider the $10 utility tax implemented last year to help fund flood repair projects.

Mayor Marty Dunn started the meeting with Resolution 2022-743, a note of appreciation to Dr. Roger Hevel, who was not able to attend. The mayor spoke of the many contributions Dr. Hevel and his late wife Laura Jean have made to the community. The two have donated to the Weller Public Library and the Waitsburg Pool, provided musical instruments for students, served on the local health department. He was a doctor at the town’s clinic for many years. Laura Jean was the first woman to serve on the Waitsburg City Council.

Marie Gagnon gave a quick update on the Weller Public Library, saying that there are 692 library members and 7,978 books in the library. More than 1,300 books were checked out last year, 171 new books were added, and nearly 170 books had been pulled from the shelves and retired. She said that the library received a $6,800 grant to improve technology in the building, and the board is discussing how to spend the funds.

The library purchased a wheelchair lift at the end of the year. It will be delivered from Canada within the next several months.

City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe asked the council to approve a payroll adjustment suggested by the state’s auditor’s office. There was roughly a $7,000 difference between the year-end payroll total and the budget. Hinchliffe attributed this difference to sporadic employee shortages and changes. The council approved the resolution.

The final order of business was Resolution 2022-744, which would allow the council and city officials to declare a disaster via remote meetings. The city has the equipment needed to make virtual calls so that the resolution will require no additional cost.

When the Touchet River flooded in 2020, Hinchliffe said that it was nearly a week before the council could meet in person to declare a disaster, and the city lost some relief funding due to the delay. Allowing the council to meet virtually during a flood or other disaster would allow a faster declaration and quicker access to emergency funds. It would allow them to stay up to date easier than meeting in person.

Councilmember Jillian Henze said Columbia County met after the 2020 flood event in a way that allowed it to declare a disaster within hours of the event. It was later clarified that Columbia County had passed emergency resolutions before the flood to streamline a declaration, though not via virtual meeting.

The council also reviewed the Flood Response Plan, including appendix 4 – Decisional flow chart and emergency contact numbers. The Flood Response Plan can be viewed on the City of Waitsburg website under Services.

Councilmembers received the following 2022-24 Committee Assignments and liaison assignments:

Personnel: Dunn and House

Community Health and Protection: Henze and Romine

Infrastructure and Budget: House and Romine

Community Recreation (Pool, Parks, Fairgrounds): Henze and Ruppenthal

Trees: House and Charles

Liaison assignments were:

Planning Commission: Randy Charles

Park and Rec: Court Ruppenthal

Library Board: Jillian Henze

Fire District: Randy Charles