The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Members of the Cathlamet Town Council acted on a variety of issues at their February 20 meeting.

—Mayor Dick Swart will convene a meeting with town forester Bill Olsen and a Longview park tree specialist to discuss management of Erickson Park.

Several large trees fell during the November and December storms, and Olsen has prepared a plan to remove them and clean up brush and debris once the ground has dried.

Swart said he wanted to have the two consultants evaluate the remaining trees in the park and decide what can be done with them.

Councilmember John Hannah suggested the town may be at the point that the remaining large trees need to be felled in a controlled fashion or they could come down in the next storms and cause damage. The trees aren’t protected from storm winds and their root systems have been damaged by the trees that have been uprooted.

Swart said he realizes there are safety issues and that there are people who don’t want the trees touched, so a good plan needs to be developed.

— The council approved a request from Port District No. 1 for permission to grade and gravel a lot owned by the town near the Elochoman Slough Marina.

Swart said port personnel have offered to do the work at no cost to the town. The lot would be used for parking at the marina and for other needs.

—Sheriff Dan Bardsley reported that the sheriff’s department volunteer corps has begun working parking in Cathlamet, so far writing one ticket. Parking is limited to two hours on Main Street.

Officers responded to 101 calls in the city limits between November 1, 2006, and February 18, 2007, he said. Of these 16 were crimes resulting in arrests