PUD quick at work with operations

Plenty of action has taken place over the past couple of weeks to reflect the PUD consolidation. At the request of Mayor David Olson, PUD General Manager Dan Kay gave a report to begin Monday evening's session of Cathlamet Town Council. "The last two weeks have accelerated quite rapidly," said Kay to begin his report. "All is good, all is safe, everybody has water." Noting the PUD was "on site" at the water treatment plants, Kay reported "getting computer upgrades" and "needing to get more water in" to build the reservoirs.

"Last week, the mayor and I had a meeting," said Kay. "The mayor requested that PUD take over operations effective immediately...We've been on site all week." Assuring Town Council, Mayor Olson, staff, and those in attendance customers are "given highest priority," Kay reported having been in contact with organizations like the Department of Health, as well as applying for a military grant and noting "safety is paramount." Kay, explaining the wastewater treatment plant is "operational in automatic mode," said, "It's been a whirlwind in the last couple of weeks."

Following Kay's report, the agenda moved to PUD's rental offer for Public Works shops using storage space at the old Town Hall. "Dan reached out to me last week and they offered to rent a portion of the old town hall - the open storage facility areas to store the public works parts, tools, equipment - until they figure out what they want to do with them for the long term," said Town Clerk/Treasurer Sarah Clark. "They were offering $500 a month for up to one year...We don't have any issues. Any revenue would help us." Council unanimously approved the item and quickly moved onto the next, which was a transfer of $420,000 over to PUD from the town's current reserve balance. The money being split evenly ($210,000 each) between water and sewer funds, the $420,000 represents 30 percent of the Town's current balance. Though PUD has taken over operations sooner than expected, Clark, according to the Town's packet for Monday's meeting, described the transfer as "a reasonable request," but still needed Council approval since staff hadn't "amended the 2025 budget yet."

With both actions being approved unanimously by council members like Jeanne Hendrickson, the consolidation appears well on its way. "I'm in favor of doing whatever makes this transition smooth for both Sarah and PUD," said Hendrickson.