The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON—The Dayton City Council met on June 14, 2022, for a regular meeting. All council members were present in the meeting room. Many residents filled all available seats, and as many as 25 logged in on Zoom.

Multiple public comments were heard, with the majority focused on the wastewater treatment project. All but one speaker, Kathy Berg, were residents of Dayton. Berg, a former Dayton City Councilmember now living in Walla Walla, encouraged current members to attend training and get involved with organizations and committees within the city.

Berg reminded councilmembers that politics have no place on the city council, “As an elected official, you represent the entire town, not just those who share similar views.”

Local speakers urged the council members to rethink their vote against purchasing land to move forward with the planned wetlands wastewater treatment plant.

Several speakers reminded the council that it does not have time to go through the steps to reformulate another plan, nor does the city have the funds to handle the financial repercussions caused by the delay.

Two speakers questioned the premise of an executive session, which, according to the agenda, was to discuss a response to the Department of Ecology as the city closes in on its required 30-day period. Mayor Zac Weatherford explained that there were names of individuals who wished to remain anonymous until the city was ready to act.

Sheriff Joe Helm stated in his report that the department has two deputies starting this summer. He also said the office wants to create a Special Response Team for crisis situations, including active shooters. Deputies will volunteer to attend special training. He said the department was considering forming a Sheriff’s Posse and compared it to a neighborhood watch program.

The council approved granting the use of the city park for National Night Out, which will take place in August. The sheriff’s office, which hosts the event, will be responsible for all cleanup.

Councilmember Laura Aukerman moved to table the decision on awarding the contract for publishing the city’s legal notices. She questioned how the city chose the paper of record, wondering why the city sought out a neighboring paper for the contract. The call for bids stated the award would be based on the lowest bidder.

Aukerman and Councilmember Tyler (Tiger) Dieu voted to table awarding the paper of record award to the lowest bidder, The Times but were unsuccessful with a 2-4 vote. Councilmember Kyle Anderson noted that The Times has approximately 300 more weekly circulations than the other bidder, the Dayton Chronicle before Councilmember Shannon McMillen moved to award the bid as it read. The motion was passed, with only Dieu and Aukerman against.

The City of Dayton will be getting a Facebook page after the council approved an administrative policy allowing Public Works Director Ryan Paulson to start and monitor the page.

Other approvals on Tuesday included recognizing Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., as a city holiday. The council voted to award Nelson Construction the contract to repair the wastewater treatment plant. The resolution to execute an agreement with Anderson Perry & Associates for GIS services to provide a high accuracy water system inventory was approved.