MINUTES OF THE
ATTENDEES:
Mayor
City Manager, Dave
DeMayo
Kay Robinson
Cindy Doherty
Tom Wolff
Bruce Nelson, Chief,
Public Works
Anne Spicer, City
Attorney
Deputy Adam Bredfield, MCSD
Members of the
Public:
David Green
Jerry Healy
1. GENERAL BUSINESS.
A.
Call to Order. The
B. Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Van Cleave led the attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
C. Announcements. Mayor Van Cleave announced that a full Council was in attendance.
D. Correspondence.
1) Letter,
2) Mr. DeMayo also announced that Morrow County Grain Growers has purchased the Green Feed operation and wishes to assume the property leased from the city..
2. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC NOT ON THE AGENDA. None.
3. CONSENT AGENDA.
A.
Minutes of City Council Meeting,
B. Resolution Approving Accounts Payable for
Payment.
C. Monthly Financial Statement.
Motion by Mrs. Doherty to approve the consent agenda. Seconded by Mr. Koffler.
Discussion:
Approval of
Resolution Approving Accounts Payable for Payment. Resolution 621-05
Monthly Financial Statement. Mr. Wolff questions the two bills for the copy machine. Mr. DeMayo will provide a more detailed answer.
Question: Motion Carried Unanimously.
4. REPORT FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION. None-no meeting in December 2005.
5. REPORT FROM HEPPNER HOUSING AUTHORITY.
Mr. DeMayo reported that during discussions with David Piper on the roof conditions, it was decided that a temporary fix by Public Works would be necessary since the roof will ultimately need replacing. Mr. DeMayo is investigating financing for a new roof. He is meeting with Public Works this week and will discuss the temporary repairs. Mr. DeMayo stated that Mr. Piper estimates $30-50,000 to repair/replace the roof. Mr. DeMayo has contacted several entities regarding refinancing which would lower the payments. He stated that no matter which alternative is selected, a match by the City would be required.
Mr. Koffler suggested investigating refinancing with the Oregon Housing Department to obtain a below market loan.
Mrs. Buschke reported that the meal site is doing very well.
There are three vacancies in the apartments. However, one of the tenants has temporarily moved into one of the vacant units while the roof is being repaired over her unit, so currently there are only two units available for occupancy.
Mr. Van Cleave asked Chief Estes about the fire alarm problem and Mr. Estes stated that there was a problem with people tripping a toggle switch in the dining area. The trouble was confined to one apartment.
5. PUBLIC HEARINGS.
Public Hearings opened at
A. A Resolution Declaring Certain Property a
Nuisance and Ordering Cleanup of Property.
440 Water Street, 2S2627DD, Tax Lot #2500, County of Morrow,
Discussion: Deputy Bredfield reported that Deputy Bowles is monitoring the progress of the cleanup. According to Mr. Baker, it was reported at the November Council Meeting that progress was being made in the front yard. Mrs. Doherty state that Cory Breeding’s truck has been removed from the property.
Public Hearings closed at
7. COUNCIL ACTION.
A.
A Resolution Declaring Certain Property a Nuisance and Ordering Cleanup
of Property.
Consensus of the Council was to table the action for an additional month because some progress was evident..
B. Renewal of Heppner Garbage Disposal Franchise.
Mr. DeMayo reported that he has met with Mr. Green to discuss the franchise. Mr. Green indicated that he is interested in renewing the franchise, along with a rate increase. Mr. Koffler asked about Mr. Green’s 2005 income and expenses. According to Mr. Green, due to fuel costs and insurance expenses, his financial report will be less for 2005.
Mr. Koffler asked if the rate increase would raise roughly $20,000. According to Mr. Green, it would. Mrs. Doherty asked if there was any way to notify customers when pickup would be delayed and suggested a public service ad on Channel 3 and notices posted in the Post Office. Mr. Green was agreeable to this.
Mr. Baker stated that he thought it would be a good idea to put a clause in the agreement that notice would be given in the event of a disruption of service.
Mr. Koffler asked for a recommendation from the Utilities Commission. According to Mr. Wolff, the Commission had discussed a 3 year term for the franchise agreement, and finally agreed that five years would be agreeable. Mr. Koffler asked if the old agreement would be amended or would a new agreement be drafted. According to Mr. Wolff, this was not discussed.
Mr. Baker asked Mr. Green if five years would work for him, and Mr. Green stated it would be agreeable, although he prefers ten years. Mr. Baker prefers the shortest term that makes it possible for a concessionaire to perform his duties.
Mr. Koffler suggested drafting a new franchise agreement to include terms discussed, i.e., rate increase and service disruption notice.
Motion by Mr. Koffler that the Council approve the Heppner Garbage Disposal franchise agreement for a five year period with the recommended pricing furnished by Mr. Green along with the two improvements to the agreement that state that Mr. Green will provide notification of interruption of service through the post office and the TV. Seconded by Mr. Wolff.
Discussion: Mr. Wolff stated that the motion calls for approving a 20% rate increase. However there has not been a rate increase in 10 years. Mr. Wolff suggested that Mr. Green attend Council meetings periodically to discuss rate increases every 1-2 years.
Question: Motion Carried Unanimously.
Ms. Spicer will work on having the
City Attorney’s office draft a new agreement.
Rate increases will become effective
C. Morrow County Grain Growers, Inc., Assumption
of lease for Tax Lot 2S 26 27DA, 6300, in the
Mr. Wolff stated that this is the small parcel of land next to Green Feed where the U-Haul trailers are parked. The yearly rental is nominal. Selling the property was discussed.
Motion by Mr. Koffler to allow Morrow County Grain Growers to assume the present lease and instruct the City Manager to query the Grain Growers to see if they have any interest in purchasing the property. Seconded by Mrs. Buschke. Motion Carried unanimously.
D. Approval of Rex Mather, City Manager of Boardman, as representative to the Greater Eastern Oregon Development Corporation (GEODC).
Motion by Mr. Wolff to renew Mr. Mather’s appointment to GEODC for an additional year. Seconded by Mr. Baker. Motion Carried Unanimously.
E. Resolution Approving the Transfer of Appropriations Within the 2005-2006 Budget.
Discussion: Mr. Wolff inquired as to what caused the miscellaneous line item to go over budget. Mr. DeMayo stated that this is not clear and he will investigate. Mr. Van Cleave stated that he thought this was for a transmission repair to one of the City trucks.
Motion by Mrs. Doherty to approve Resolution 622-05 approving the transfer of appropriations within the 2005-2006 Budget. Seconded by Mr. Wolff. Motion Carried Unanimously.
8. MINUTES OF COMMISSION MEETINGS.
A. Planning Commission – No meeting in December.
B. Police Commission – No meeting in November.
C. Utilities Commission –
D. Beautification/Parks & Lands Commission –
E. Housing Authority –
F. Safety Commission –
Motion by Mrs. Robinson to accept the minutes. Seconded by Mr. Baker.
Discussion: Mr. Wolff identified a correction to the Utilities Commission minutes. This referred to the method of distributing the Utility Assistance Program funds. According to Mr. Van Cleave there have already been two requests for assistance.
Mr. Koffler mentioned that the Beautification/Parks & Lands Commission is continuing to discuss the Old Pool Site project. An outline of the current plan is on display in City Hall. The latest plan does not use as much river rock and this should lower the cost of the project. This will be discussed at the Goal Setting Session for 2006.
Mr. Healy asked if
Question: Motion Carried Unanimously.
9. REPORT FROM
A. Activity Report. Provided for Council Review.
B. Code Enforcements.
Photos of properties considered for Code Enforcement actions were provided by Deputy Bowles and discussed by Deputy Bredfield as follows:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Mr. Koffler asked about the Mercedes that has been parked at the Forest Service building for quite some time. Deputy Bredfield will investigate this further.
Motion by Mr.
Koffler to initiate code enforcement actions on all properties except
Mr. Nelson reported that there was a disabled vehicle parked in the lot by the post office. Deputy Bredfield will investigate.
C. Additional Discussion. Deputy Bredfield reported that the contract hours are all above the allowance for the past months. According to Mr. Van Cleave, Sheriff Matlack reported to the Chamber of Commerce that all positions have been filled and all departments are functioning well.
10. REPORT FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
A. Activity Report.
Mr. Nelson reported that the rebuilds of the Pressure Relief Valve are almost complete. There is one left by Mr. Mills’ house to rebuild before anything is done with the valve by the High School. Taking the one by the High School out of the loop should not cause any adverse affects.
Mr. Nelson stated that a full Public Works staff should be on duty by the end of the week.
In answer to Mr. Koffler’s question as to why the water loss has gone back up, Mr. Nelson explained that there has not been as much water use and Reservoir One has been overflowing. They suspect that the float was stuck. They throttled Well One back to 125 gpm. This seems to solve the problem. The water overflows into the creek. Mr. Nelson stated that they had replaced a switch also. The percentage of water loss should go back down.
11. REPORT FROM THE
Chief Estes reported that the fire department was supposed to inspect the dental office at tonight’s meeting, but this was pre-empted by a wrestling meet.
Chief Estes stated that on their 2005 year-end report the following actions took place:
51 Page-outs
59 Calls that weren’t paged out
4 Structure fires in town; 3 Structure fires out of town
5 Grass fires in town; 11 Grass fires outside the City Limits
6 False Alarms
2 Flue fires
1 Water Rescue
7 Landing zone secures
1 Search Rescue inside City Limits
1 Car Fire
1 Dumpster Fire
9 MVAs
7 Mutual Aids to other fire departments in the district
7 Receipts of mutual aid
The pump broke on one of the rescue vehicles and this is being repaired.
Demolition: Tony Fox volunteered to demolish the old GT building. This will be done next Sunday. The material will be deposited in the City yard so that people can go through the bricks. The concrete will be hauled to the Wilkinson property. Once the property is cleared, they will begin working on grants. They would like to construct two more large bays and a conference room.
Mr.
Koffler asked about the McEwen property on
Council members discussed moving the Fire Department position to earlier in the agenda to accommodate Mr. Estes’ report since he also has fire drill on Mondays. Mr. Van Cleave also suggested moving the Sheriff’s Department report to earlier in the meetings.
12. REPORT FROM THE
Mr. Van Cleave welcomed Mr. David
DeMayo as the
Flood Plain Maps. Mr.
DeMayo reported that the flood plain maps are available in City Hall. There is a 3.54 foot difference in the
vertical datum that the measurements were taken from. He contacted the ISO office and discussed
this. The explanation was that the
professionals in the insurance business should know to look at the datum so
that if there is a change it can be taken into account. This means that the original baseline
measurement was at sea level. There is a
new baseline establishment procedure that is more consistent throughout
Utility Assistance Program. There have been two applications for assistance.
Goal Setting Session.
Mr. Koffler stated that Council needs to decide whether the goals should
continue to be set for a calendar year which would straddle two budget
years. Mr. Van Cleave discussed a date
for the goal setting session, and stated that past sessions had worked very
well. Possible dates were discussed and
the consensus was told the session on the afternoon of
Lift
Pump. This will be installed on
Rental of the former dentist’s office. Mr. DeMayo stated that a monthly rental amount of $845.00 had been suggested. Mr. DeMayo stated that this was an unrealistic amount after comparing other spaces available in the City. Mr. DeMayo also suggested possibly giving a potential tenant a discount on rent for remodeling the current space to fit their needs.
Vehicle Accident. The
recent vehicle accident which damaged the former dental office space in City
Hall was discussed. Mr. Koffler asked
about contacting the owner of the vehicle for payment since the vehicle owner
was not insured. The repair bill was
$924.00 which is under the City’s deductible of $1,000. According to Ms. Spicer, a claim could be
filed in small claims court. However,
neither the driver nor the owner have funds to cover
this. Mr. Koffler suggested community
service for repayment. Ms. Spicer stated
that when an investigation is done after the fact, it is difficult to prove if
the driver was intoxicated, or driving without a license. She is not sure whether the driver has been
cited or if the investigation has been completed. Ms. Spicer suggested checking with the
Sheriff’s Department. Mr. DeMayo will
continue to monitor this. According to
Ms. Spicer, a letter needs to be sent to Judge Gray,
Request from citizen for street light on
13. REPORT FROM THE
14. REPORT FROM MAYOR/
-- Mr. Koffler suggested drafting a Letter to the Editor thanking Mr. Mills for his service to the City as Interim City Manager. Mr. Wolff suggested mentioning this at the Town and Country banquet.
-- Mr. Wolff stated that he noticed that HUD has taken title to the Breeding property, and wondered whether the City could purchase it under the $1.00 program. Mr. DeMayo will investigate this further.
Meeting adjourned at