Dayton council discuss wastewater treatment plant malfunction

DAYTON — Mayor Roger Trump called the Dayton City Council to order at 6 p.m. on June 10, 2025. Trump, council members James Su’euga, Michael Smith, Glenn Hagfeldt, Laura Aukerman, and Joann Patras were present. Shannon McMillen and Kyle Anderson did not attend.

Sheriff Joe Helm said May was the busiest month of the year so far, with 665 incidents, 497 of those taking place within the City of Dayton. He said fourth-grader Cameron Montoya had been selected for the “Sheriff for a Day Program.” The department will recognize the student at the Walla Walla Sweets game on June 26, 2025, and at the Dayton National Night Out on August 5, 2025.

Helm said the department is looking for citizens to volunteer for Blue Mountain Search and Rescue. Interested persons can contact the Sheriff’s Office for more information.

The council approved administrative items in the consent agenda.

The mayor opened a public hearing on the annual extension of the six-year Transportation Improvement Program. There were no public or council comments or remarks.

The council authorized Resolution 1570 to execute an annual contract agreement with the Blue Mountain Humane Society for animal control.

Resolution 1571 authorized a renewal of a work crew agreement between the Washington State Department of Corrections and the City of Dayton.

The council designated The Dayton Chronicle as the city’s official Newspaper of Record for the following year by authorizing Resolution 1572.

Under Resolution 1573, the council approved a professional services agreement with Anderson Perry to provide general on-call engineering, architectural, and land surveying services to the city.

A contract was also made with Anderson Perry for the temporary operation of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The company will provide an on-site certified operator to operate and train city employees. The contract is necessary after the departure of the city–employed certified operator.

Trump said the city settled a lawsuit but did not provide details. He reminded board members that if they had questions, they would have to go into an executive session.

Ryan Paulson, the Public Works Director, said the communications system for the wastewater treatment plant, which is used for monitoring the plant, failed suddenly on the morning of June 10, 2025.

The failure caused the plant to shut down. Paulson said the system’s components are obsolete, and replacements are not available. Steve Brenner of Dayton Electric was able to kludge together parts to restore operations to the plant.

To keep the plant operating until a new plant can be built, it will require repairs costing between $300k and $500k. 

Council members considered a draft of the redesigned utility bill for city utility customers. The new design is an effort to provide a bill that is more informative and easier to read. Changes made would have to be approved by the contractor that prints and mails the statements.

The council meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at 6 p.m.