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

Members of the Helping Hand Food Bank have asked the Town of Cathlamet to consider leasing a parcel of land to become the site of a new food bank.

Helping Hand representatives discussed the matter with members of the Cathlamet town council at the council's monthly meeting Tuesday.

Craig Brown, architectural advisor for the group, said the site offers numerous advantages over the food bank's present site at the foot of Broadway Street. Among the advantages, he said, the new site would offer better access for the public and for deliveries of food.

The site is a vacant lot at the corner of Beal and 2nd streets.

Fred Johnson, a member of the Helping Hand board of directors, said the board has been looking for about 1 1/2 years for a viable site.

"I would urge the council to consider looking seriously at this site," he said. "The need (for food distribution) is growing every month."

Helping Hand is just looking for a long term lease for a site, he added; the group would construct their own building.

"I find the proposal very interesting," said Council Member Dick Swart. He suggested the mayor and staff analyze the proposal and its implications for the area and have a proposed lease for consideration at the council's December meeting.

"Okay," responded Mayor George Wehrfritz. "I'll make that happen, and we'll talk about that in December."

Earlier this year, Wehrfritz had proposed locating the new food bank building in Erickson Park, but councilmembers voted down the proposal.

Wahkiakum County Emergency Management Coordinator Beau Renfro informed the council that he would like to locate the county's emergency operations center (EOC) in the DeBriae Meeting Room of the new fire hall.

The center has been located in the basement of the county's River Street Building, but the town library has taken over those quarters while the town hall building is remodeled, and the town has allowed the county to use the fire hall for the EOC during the construction project.

Renfro said he would like to make the arrangement permanent. The DeBraie Room is set up and largely equipped to be an EOC, he said.

"I fully support Beau's efforts," said Sheriff Mark Howie. "This building has everything."

Johnson, who is executive officer for the fire department, said recent experience has shown the fire hall works well for an EOC, and there is no adverse impact on the fire department.

"It's really a good fit," he said.

Council members said they were willing to consider the proposal; Renfro said he would talk with county commissioners and develop a formal proposal to present at another meeting.

Council members authorized town Attorney Heidi Heywood to work with Gray and Osborne, Inc., engineers on a stand alone contract for services of wastewater treatment plant specialist, Susan Welland.

With the retirement of David Vik and the departure of Kevin Patching from the town Public Works Department, only one employee has certification to operate sewer or water plants. New Public Works Director Duncan Cruikshank is taking classes, and the town has advertised an opening for a certified operator.

In the meantime, Welland will work two days at the plants; she will also provide some training and other services. The fee would be $12,474 for 60 days of service.

Gray and Osborne proposed the agreement be an amendment to an existing engineering services agreement, but Heywood felt it should be a separate contract. She said she had discussed the issue with Gray and Osborne personnel, who were agreeable to that approach.

"I'll be the fly in the ointment," said Council Member Steven McNicholas. The town is paying $12,000 for two months of service that it could have hypothetically have had by giving Patching a $500 monthly raise, he said, a total of $1,000.

Wehrfritz said he didn't think the comparison was apt.

"Kevin resigned," he said. "He took another job."

Cruikshank reported that the recent heavy rains had shown there is still a lot of storm water runoff that goes into the town's waste water treatment system. The town has been working for years to separate storm runoff into the storm drains and not the sewer system.

It may be costly to fix the infiltration, he said, but the runoff decreases treatment efficiency. One suggestion, he said, is to buy or rent a camera that is capable of being put into the sewer lines to see where storm water originates.

Council members authorized staff to work with business owner Walter Deege on an agreement that will allow him to relocate his business's sign on a street right of way.

Deege said the state Department of Transportation has informed him the sign is on SR 409 right of way and must be moved. He has identified another spot on his property that won't interfere with his on-site parking, but the site is on a street right of way. He asked the council to grant a variance to locate the sign on the street right of way.

After discussing the matter, council members agreed staff could work to develop an easement, not a variance, that would allow Deege to locate the sign as he proposed.

The council supported a suggestion from Mayor Wehrfritz to research the feasibility of annexing Columbia Street from Alder Street to Jacobson Road.

Wehrfritz said the move would enhance applications for street funding to add sidewalks to the road. A walkability study recommended the street have sidewalks all the way to St. James Family Center; sidewalks now end at Alder Street.

The street was once the main highway, but when the highway was rerouted around Cathlamet, it was vacated, and Wahkiakum County took ownership. The property abutting the street is in the town limits as far as Jacobson Road.

Wehrftitz said he wouldn't pursue the matter if council members didn't support the effort; council members said he should do the research.

The council also acted on budgetary issues.

The council gave final approval to an ordinance increasing the 2013 property tax levy by 1 percent.

The collection will be $71,013.16.

The council also gave second approval to the proposed 2013 budgets, which total $8 million. Of that $5.8 million is set for the waste water treatment plant construction project.

The council will hold a public hearing on the budget at its December meeting and give final approval there. Copies of the budget are available at town hall.