Waitsburg Council Considers Recycling, Fairgrounds and Streets

WAITSBURG – At their Feb. 22 regular meeting, the Waitsburg City Council agreed to look at reinstating the position of Assistant Public Works Director. The council will set up a workshop to hammer out the logistics.

Currently, the City has a public works director, Jim Lynch, and two laborers, Jake Adams and John Langford, with no one having authority to supervise when Lynch is away from his duties.

“We are finally at a stable working relationship among the public works employees that we could bring this position back and relieve some of the issues associated with the Director being off for periods of time,” said City Manger Randy Hinchliffe.

Hinchliffe said both Adams and Langford have sufficient work history with the City and have or will have the certification necessary to operate the waste water treatment plant.

Election Process

The council unanimously approved Ordinance 2018-1049 to prevent a replay of the confusion that arose when last year’s elections failed to fill a full slate of candidates.

City code now dictates that if a void in candidacy for any office occurs after the last day for filing declarations of candidacy or if a full slate has not been filed with the city clerk prior to the last day for filing, the filing period will automatically be reopened until the last business day in March.

If the election, which is usually held the first Monday of April each year, must be postponed due to insufficient candidates, the election will occur on the third Monday in April.

Water Meter Replacement

The council asked for more information before agreeing to hire temporary, seasonal labor to install new water meters in order to save the City approximately $75,000 on the project. The meters will be replaced to remove lead from the system, save public works employees time by allowing them to read meters with handheld radio reads and will increase water use accuracy.

Hinchliffe said the City approached five contractors about the replacement project and three expressed interest. Two came out and looked at the project, with only one submitting a bid, he said.

The lone bid came in at $374,100, which was higher than the originally estimated $350,000 for the project. Hinchliffe said parts and software are known to be about $225,000.

Since there is no engineering involved on the project, the council agreed to look at hiring two to four students from the Walla Walla Community College irrigation program to perform the installation over several months. They would be employed by the city at a rate of approximately $25/hr. and Hinchliffe estimated the installation would cost approximately $50,000.

Council requested that Hinchliffe reject the bid on the project and return in March with more specifics, and preferably a list of interested parties, regarding the installation proposal.

Fairgrounds Task Force Update

The Fairgrounds Task Force reported that it would like to seek community input regarding the future of the fairgrounds grandstands. Specifically, the task force would like to see the council hold a community input session in March and recommended that the council add the grandstands as an advisory item to this year’s election ballot.

Contractor Rick Nicely submitted a proposal of $41,000 to rehabilitate the grandstands last year, but some task force members are concerned that the plans are not detailed enough. Nicely is willing to provide more detailed plans at a cost of $350, Hinchliffe said.

Options for the grandstands include demolition, a combination demo/rebuild, or rehabilitation. Mayor Dunn asked for more information from parties involved, including the Waitsburg Historical Society. It was agreed that the March City Council meeting will include a public meeting on the issue.

Recycling

Faced with paying nearly double in recycling costs, Waitsburg opted to forgo its recycling program, aside from cardboard. Once the bin, located at the City’s wastewater treatment plant, is full, it will be dumped and will not return.

Hinchliffe shared a letter from Basin Recycling asking if the City wished to retain its recycling program in light of upcoming price hikes attributed to the fact that China is no longer buying paper.

In 2017, Basin Recycling hauled 11.71 tons of recycling from Waitsburg at a cost of $1,625. The company estimated removal of the same amount of recycling for 2018 would cost the City $3,180, Hinchliffe said.

Hinchliffe said the cost of recycling could be passed on to the consumer by adding a monthly 25-cent recycling fee to residents’ utility bills.

“I think we should dispose of it. It doesn’t cost us anything to get back in if recycling becomes lucrative again. But there’s no reason for us to operate something that loses money if it’s not required,” said council member Jim Romine.

The decision passed with a 3-1 vote, with KC Kuykendall opposed and Kate Hockersmith absent. Terry Jacoy, Kevin House and Jim Romine voted in favor of the decision.

Street Improvements

A dozen or more residents in attendance got what they wanted when the council agreed to drop a proposal to widen sections of E. 7th St. and W. 5th St.

Last month, Hinchliffe asked the Council to consider widening W. 5th Street and E. 7th Street between Main and Coppei because both streets can become congested, especially near the Presbyterian Church during services.

Several property owners wrote letters opposing the project, which they felt would negatively affect their properties.

Homeowner Larry Johnson questioned the procedure and lack of public hearing. He also objected to the city “taking the path of least resistance” by focusing on small sections of road and making improvements that are not consistent with the rest of the city.

“I’m hearing that there are a lot of homeowners and neighbors that want to be involved in the project and weren’t . . . Let’s have a workshop, identify proposed projects, and determine what we want the end product to look like,” said council member Kuykendall.

The Board unanimously agreed to table any discussion on improvements to W. 5th and E. 7th streets.