Town Council Report

At the October 7th Town Council meeting, the Council heard public comments related to a variety of issues including a question of whether the library issued fines. Several other comments focused on Strong Park: a citizen had tightened up loose benches in the park, and there was a reminder that park cleanup will continue every Tuesday at 10 a.m. until the weather gets too bad to continue. Bring gloves, clippers and any garden tools if interested in participating. Two people spoke in support of saving the tree in Strong Park, referencing documentation of the original Waterfront Park plan and letters from two children. Other public comments included a reminder that the Johnson Park Library is open and staffed three days a week, and a citizen submitted a letter addressing concerns about the PUD well drilling on Little Island.

In regular business, a Request for Waiver of CMCs relating to utility billing commencement was removed from the agenda by the individual. Other items mentioned included: Resolution 452.24 which needed to be defined but it was not included in the meeting packet so the Council did not vote but it will be included in the next meeting; it was noted that the Town owns a former dump site; and the Town staff have access to a wellness app to encourage a healthy work/life balance and the level of participation has created an insurance discount of 4%. Neewollah Days, the Camber of Commere’s Halloween celebration is cancelled this year. Sewer and water rate increases were proposed. These include a sewer base rate increase of 5.8% and a use rate increase of 66.7%, leading to a $10-$24 increase in the average homeowner’s bill. A proposed water base rate increase of 15% and a use rate increase of 5% were also mentioned. The Town Clerk-Treasurer stated that “we are not allowed to solicit estimates from people any more due to the new procurement laws, so we either have to ask our engineer [Gray & Osborne] or make our best guess.” Calculating sewer usage is based upon water usage and then based upon an average.

Council members reported that the Pioneer Community Association held a fundraiser at the Norse Hall on Saturday the 5th. One of our previous mayors donated three whirligigs and a bench at the pocket park near the old town hall. Thank you to Jason and crew for their work on Queen Sally’s Park.

More budget workshop meetings are scheduled for October 21, November 4 and 18 and December 2 and 16. Everyone is invited to attend any and all Town Council meetings in person or via zoom. You can find the proposed budget on the Town’s website.

For more details about the discussions, questions and suggestions made at the meeting, refer to the Town’s YouTube channel to hear all that was addressed.