Dayton City Council report for June

DAYTON—Both city parks and the Dayton City Hall are now open to the public since the county has moved to Phase 3 of the governor’s plan to reopen Washington State.

Mayor Zac Weatherford said social distancing regulations are still in place.

“We are still practicing social distancing and protecting ourselves as best we can,” he told the Dayton City Council at their regular meeting last week.

Weatherford ‘s report included an update from the public works department. He said the City crew has begun repairing potholes in city streets and painting crosswalks. They will begin crack sealing some city streets, in August, he said.

The City has received several bids for replacing the concrete in front of the two trees on Main Street that were examined by Community Forestry Consultants, last fall.

It was decided to hold off on that project, choosing to refresh the missing gravel for now.

Planning Director Meagan Bailey said the Main Street Safety Plan Advisory Committee will guide the development of the Main Street Safety Plan, which aims to integrate safety improvements with Complete Street Policies, historic preservation goals and increasing tourism for the City.

The committee has plans to begin meeting in mid-July.

Bailey reported on Dayton’s Affordable Housing Commission’s (ACH) recent hosting of the Department of Commerce’s Short Course on Affordable Housing. The event was held in May with nearly 100 stakeholders from around the state attending the meeting, via Zoom.

The AHC will review and consider options to incentivize affordable housing. Their recommendations will go before the Dayton Planning Commission and the Dayton City Council, she said.

The AHC will request funds for a housing marketing campaign and help with the cost of surveying and title reports of surplus city property.

There is currently one vacancy on the AHC as well as vacancies on the Dayton Historic Preservation Commission (DHPC), and the Dayton Planning Commission (DPC).

Bailey said the governor signed SHB 2868 in March to allow for two seven-year extensions of the special valuation tax credits for registered historic properties. The DHPC is reviewing the bill and will send information to qualifying property owners about this opportunity.

The DHPC is working on finding a downtown location for a historic district sign, replacing the current Dayton City park sign with one for the Pietrzycki-Dayton City Park.

Bailey said the Dayton Planning Commission has tabled zoning amendments and floodplain ordinance amendments until the Open Public Meeting Act restrictions enacted during the COVID-19 outbreak are lifted.

The DPC has reviewed the Six-year Transportation Improvement Plan for 2021-2026, she said.

The Dayton City Council confirmed the Mayor’s acceptance of Kathryn Witherington’s resignation from the Dayton Planning Commission, effective June 1, 2020, and the Mayor’s acceptance of Rusty Figgins’ resignation from the Dayton Historic Preservation Commission, effective June 1.

The city council adopted the following resolutions:

Resolution 1418; Adopting the Six-year Transportation Improvement Program for 2021-2026.

Resolution 1419; Designating The Times newspaper as the City’s official newspaper of record for the term June 14, 2020 through June 13, 2021.