Waitsburg City Council holds community meeting to address flood response

A special meeting was held prior to the regular City Council meeting on February 19, to address community responses to the recent flood of February 7.

About 35 people attended, along with City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe and the City Councilmembers.

Pastor Matt Wyatt of the Waitsburg Christian Church described his efforts which included helping organize the Waitsburg Flood Relief Committee. He thanked committee members; Margie Benson; food preparation, Jillian Henze; communications, Bryan Martin: heavy equipment organizer, Joy Smith; general support, Brian Treadaway; home site visit organizer and Pastor Matthew Wyatt are the members of the committee, with KC Kuykendall and Kate Hockersmith  serving as Waitsburg City Council liaisons.

Pastor Wyatt reported that the committee identified 31 homes that were damaged and by the time of this meeting, repairs to seven homes had been completed. Wyatt also discussed the semi truckload of supplies donated by the Churches of Christ, which includes shelf-stable food, cleaning supplies, first aid kits and personal care kits. Wyatt urged residents to utilize the supplies from this donation first. The supplies are being stored in a Waitsburg resident's garage and can be accessed by contacting someone at the church.

City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe urged residents to contact their insurance agent, carefully inventory the damage and to take a lot of photos. Meeting the County deadline of Friday, Feb. 21 to report damage was encouraged. Those with crop damage or significant bank erosion were encouraged to contact the Walla Walla Conservation District.

Hinchliffe then reviewed the improvements the City had made over the years, noting that levee fixes following the 1996 flood were responsible for the fact that the wastewater treatment plant and the power substation were not affected.

Resident Lynn Carpenter asked why the City's flood siren was not sounded. Hinchliffe replied that because the flood happened so quickly, he didn't want to alarm people.

Liz Jessee, the Emergency Management Director for Walla Walla County, encouraged residents to sign up for the  Walla Walla Emergency Management Citizen Alert system which will alert citizens through whatever channels they choose (email, text, land line) and can include a number of locations, i.e. home and work addresses, etc.

Councilmember Kate Hockersmith then encouraged citizens to contact her directly if they have any problems or issues to address concerning the recent flood, or for the city's Flood Control/Emergency Preparedness Committee. She can be reached at tvamp1@charter.net.