The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON--Diane McKinley, representing the Advisory Committee for the Friends of the Community Pool, was a special guest at the Dayton City Council meeting last week. The Advisory Committee is seeking a resolution from the council to place a proposition on the November ballot asking voters to approve the formation of a nonfunded county-wide Metropolitan Park and Recreation District.

If the proposition is approved, grants will be sought to build the pool, and the District will then ask voters to approve a special levy each year to pay for operations and maintenance. McKinley said the rate could be between 25 and 75 cents per $1,000 assessed value, depending on what community members want to be featured in a pool. An elected board will oversee policies and procedures for the pool.

The Metropolitan Parks and Recreation District and the tax dollars generated through that could be used for other recreational activities throughout the county but are to be used initially for the pool.

Mayor Zac Weatherford said a special meeting with the resolution on the agenda would be called later in the month.

The committee for the Friends of the Community Pool was formed after the city’s pool was shuttered in 2017 due to significant infrastructure issues. It had been estimated that costs would be around $2.5 million to repair the pool. The old pool is currently being backfilled with dirt by the Public Works Department.

Shoreline Master Program

Sara Noland of Anchor QEA and Ben Floyd of White Bluffs Consulting presented the City Council with an overview of the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) Periodic Review.

Dayton’s SMP was adopted in 2017. Since then, there have been changes in state regulations requiring input from the City of Dayton.

Floyd said for economic and efficiency reasons, Dayton is now partnering with Asotin, Columbia, and Garfield Counties and the cities of Clarkston, Asotin, and the Town of Starbuck in a regional process to update SMPs.

Nolan explained, “We are going to be helping the communities in southeastern Washington in what is called Limited Amendments to the Shoreline Master Program.”

The consultants will prepare changes in a collaborative review process with the city and the state Department of Ecology.

The deadline for the update is June 2023. The consultants have just begun to meet with the other coalition partners. Public hearings will take place locally before the adoption of any amendments, Nolan said.

The purpose of the Shoreline Master Program is to prevent harm caused by the uncoordinated and piecemeal development of the state’s major shorelines. This includes the Touchet River.

Wastewater treatment plant project

Mayor Weatherford said the City’s response letter to the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) updating the wastewater treatment plan and asking for an extension to meet the surface water quality standards was received by the DOE before the deadline and acknowledged by the DOE on July 1.

Anderson Perry & Associates and the City’s attorney are looking at a different location for the plant. Weatherford said a new Conditional Use Permit would be needed, and title reports have been ordered.

The city is working with the DOE, hoping to roll the land purchase and the design costs into one loan with a time extension on the design portion.

Dayton Chamber of Commerce

The Dayton Chamber Director Belinda Larsen provided her report to the council. She reported a busy second quarter with events including Dayton Days, the annual Chamber Banquet, All Wheels Weekend, and the recently held Childcare Community Forum.

All were well attended, she said.

Larsen has applied for a grant to replace the reader board located at the west end of the Main Street Bridge. Parts are no longer available for the reader board. The cost to replace it is around $30,000. The sound system also needs an upgrade.

County commissioners

Commissioner Ryan Rundell said six people were interviewed for positions on the board of health, and the BOCC is expected to announce their selections this week. Three people have been interviewed for the Emergency Management/Dispatch Director position.

City administrator

City Administrator Deb Hayes introduced the new Deputy Clerk, Misty Yost.

Hayes said the final payment was made on a 2004 $22,000 water system improvement loan from the Dept. of Commerce.

The Dayton City Council authorized the following at their meeting:

Resolution #1496; Authorizing the Mayor to approve a Transportation Improvement Board Consultation with Anderson/Perry and Associates for Design and Reconstruction of the North Third Street Reconstruction Project, from Main Street to Dayton Avenue. The existing road surface and base will be removed, and a new base and asphalt surface will be constructed. Construction will take place next summer. Mayor Weatherford said the city plans to apply for a loan through the Washington Public Works Board to replace all the water and sewer infrastructure under the street. Project elements are the sanitary sewer replacement, waterline replacement, sidewalk replacement where needed, and street reconstruction with the addition of curb and gutter.

Weatherford said bids for the S. Third St. overlay from Tremont St. to School Bus Lane came in too high and that project will be combined with next year’s N. Third St. project. A sanitary sewer replacement from the Main Street alley to School Bus Lane is also planned for that project.

Resolution #1497; Authorizing the Mayor to execute a Prisons Division Class IV Work Project Contract with the Dept. of Corrections. This is for work crews to help with work performed by the Public Works Dept.

“All the work I have seen them do has been excellent,” Weatherford said.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:07 p. m. The next meeting of the Dayton City Council is 6 p.m. on August 9 at the Dayton City Hall at 111 S. 1st St.