The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON- Mayor Roger Trump called the Dayton City Council to order at 6 p.m.on April 9, 2024. Trump and council members Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Michael Smith, Kyle Anderson, Joann Patras, Laura Aukerman, and Shannon McMillen met in city hall.

Trump said it was National Library Day and therefore fitting that the council’s first task should be to vote on whether the city will place a measure to withdraw from the Rural Library District on the ballot.

Aukerman said community input was mainly against the measure being placed on the ballot. She said it didn’t make sense to put it on the ballot due to the overwhelming public opinion and the cost to the city. The council voted unanimously against putting the de-annexation proposal on the ballot.

Belinda Larsen, the Director of the Chamber of Commerce, gave an update on chamber news, encouraging everyone to take advantage of Dayton’s services, retail businesses, and to shop locally. She also said the electronic reader board adjacent to the car wash was no longer functioning and could not be updated. She hoped to have it replaced in the early part of May. Larsen also reminded everyone of the upcoming Dayton Days Parade on Memorial Day Weekend and the 30th Anniversary All Wheels Weekend on Father’s Day Weekend.

Sheriff Helm reported on the number of incidents his department responded to. He said incidents are increasing due to the better weather, and people are up and about. On May 3, 2024, the sheriff will be hosting another Citizen’s Academy, and he encouraged anyone who wants to learn more about the sheriff’s office to apply online or by contacting the department. Participants need to be eighteen or older.

Helm also reminded the council that the Drug Take Back Day is scheduled for April 27, 2024, and the Hidden in Plain Sight event at the Liberty Theater will be on May 15, 2024. Helm said he is looking for volunteers, particularly anyone willing to spearhead a neighborhood watch program for the county.

School Superintendent Rich Stewart discussed a lease with the city on land for several of the school’s sports fields. The most recent lease agreement expired in 2013 and stipulated that the district pay $1 annual rent to the city, and the city would pay a portion of the property’s water bill. Stewart said these stipulations had not been followed. He proposed dropping these items and retroactively making the new lease valid from 2014 to 2064, covering the years no valid lease was in effect.

Most of the council action items were administrative, except for confirming Robin Fitch’s appointment to the Planning Commission and a real estate transaction discussed during the executive session.

Following the executive session, Public Works Director Ryan Paulson announced that funding had been received to improve Fourth Street and that ADA ramps at the intersections would be included in that project.

Due to repeated vandalism in the City Park, including the destruction of the new steel doors at the bathroom, which were damaged on the first night after their installation, Paulson said he was applying for a grant to improve security monitoring for that area and others.

The council meeting adjourned at 7 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 6 p.m.