The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG— Waitsburg City Council held its regular meeting on March 27 after being delayed one week due to council members’ availability.

In public comment, Joy Smith told the council that with the success of new businesses in town, there is now a budding parking problem. She said Waitsburg Commercial Club and the city have used signage to direct visitors to additional parking, usually the city-owned property west of the Main Street bridge.

Smith suggested it may be time for businesses to post parking options on their websites. She also said Gloria Wilson offered overflow parking at her lot next to Simply Sawdust. Smith asked that the council allow Hinchliffe to work on the necessary signage.

Weller Public Library Manager Sarah Roberts gave the council a brief update. She said painting and reshelving in the back room have been completed, and foot traffic for March has been up since tracking began. She invited the council members to tour the library on April 9 at 5:30, before the Friends of the Library and Library Board meetings later that evening.

After the comment period was closed, the council took up the council member vacancy. There are two applicants, Karen Gregutt and Court Ruppenthal, who have previously served on the council. Neither applicant was in attendance and Henze requested the matter go to executive session.

The council heard from Miles Nowlin, executive director of Common Roots Housing Trust. He described the trust’s mission and said it would like to work with the city to provide needed affordable housing. The land trust offers homeownership opportunities to people who are not served well by financing.

The community land trust’s services include education, funding, community investment, and property development. To help low and moderate-income homebuyers, the CLT offers homes sold as separate property from the land. The CLT retains ownership of the land and manages the property.

Nowlin was asked what kind of properties the trust would consider for a project in Waitsburg: multi- or single-family projects, ten- or more-acre properties, or existing buildings.

Nowlin said they are considering all options, including restoration or preservation projects. They are always looking for the right piece of land and have a property under consideration.

Common Roots Board Member Joy Smith said low to moderate-income projects are workforce housing, which the city needs.

In 2004, the city agreed to vacate two small parcels next to Camp Road. The land was to go to two landowners abutting the parcels. The transfer was delayed and accrued delinquent taxes. The filing is complete, and the council approved paying the taxes.

The council appointed Matt Bertucci to fill the vacated seat on the Planning Commission. Deanna Tipton was accepted as an applicant to fill Karen Gregutt’s seat on the commission should Gregutt be appointed to the city council.

In old business, the Friends of the Fairground and Parks and Recreation on the Waitsburg Fairgrounds presented the strategic plan to the council. The strategic plan will be included in the online version of this article at Waitsburgtimes.com.

Kate Hockersmith, representing RYSE, asked that the fairground budget be transitioned over five years to Parks and Rec. She said that the success of the Friends of the Pool to raise money for a feasibility study shows what is possible for the fairgrounds.

Since the Friends of the Pool is in the process of completing a feasibility study with PBS Engineering in Walla Walla, the city does not need to cover or fill in the old city pool per Health Department requirements.

The last item on the agenda was the fire hydrant project. Hinchliffe credited city council members Randy Charles and Jillian Hence for addressing the city’s aging fire suppression system. There are 78 hydrants in the city with over half over 50 years old. At this time, Hinchliffe said all hydrants work, but as they age the city must continue replacing them.

The cost to install hydrants averages $10,000 per hydrant. The plan is to replace three per year, and the council passed a $5 utility increase to go into effect on May’s billing.