Library, City Hall still at center of council meeting discussions

WAITSBURG—The Lions Club building was packed during the July Waitsburg City Council meeting, with nearly fifty residents gathered with concerns about recent property purchase, the current Weller Public Library's building and its governing entities, and inquire about a recently-surplused horse barn.

Residents in attendance included mayoral candidate Kate Hockersmith, council candidates Jillian Henze, Rebecca Wilson, and Randy Charles. Park and Rec commissioner candidates Bart Baxter, Beth Daves, and Leroy Cunningham. Weller Public Library Board of Trustees members Jim Leid, and former member Eleanora Montgomery.

Many attended the meeting over concerns about the potential surplus of 212 Main Street, the building which houses the Weller Public Library. In May, the city held a public hearing to decide about the future of the library, exploring the option to surplus the current building and move the library. The main reason the council gave for the possible surplus of the building was due to the lack of funds to bring the more than 100-year-old building into American Disability Act (ADA) compliance.

The council experienced high community attendance at the May meeting, with many members of the community being firmly against the surplus of the historical building and moving (or closing) the library.

In June, Waitsburg Mayor Marty Dunn removed the agenda item regarding the surplus of 212 Main Street, stating that the city needed more clarity on the legal responsibilities regarding the building and the library.

“We (the city) know that we own the building, but we do not know any of the infrastructure, or what is going on in the library,” Dunn said. “There was never any intention of closing the library.”

The council has not publicly discussed the potential surplus of the building since that meeting. The Friends of the Library and the Weller Library Board of Trustees have held multiple meetings open to community members. Both groups are continuing to make a case against moving the library or selling the building.

One source of confusion has been between the library board and the city. For weeks, the city has referred to the board as an advisory committee. The board has always maintained its designation as the Board of Trustees. The Library Advisory Committee is advisory only and has seven members where the board has only five.

During the July meeting, the city’s attorney, Jared Hawkins, shared that there was no need to have both a library advisory committee and a board of trustees. The board of trustees satisfies state statutes, while the advisory committee was an extra entity created for an unknown reason in 2009. Hawkins recommended removing the advisory committee.

Due to a lack of communication between the board of trustees and the city, the board appeared defunct and the council members and leadership were unaware of who was on the board.

According to Elenora Montgomery, the current board members, Jim Leid, Becky Huwe, and Montgomery continued functioning without council involvement for the sake of the Weller Public Library. The city sent out a call for applications for new board members last month. The board chose four new members from the applications and retained Jim Leid for the five positions, as required by state statute. Members of the Board of Trustees must be approved by the City Council and have staggered terms. There are no plans to close the library, but the City Council has not publicly discussed the potential surplus of the building since removing the action item from the June agenda. JimLeid spoke for the board saying they do not want the building to be sold or the library moved to a new location.

Councilmember Karen Gregutt said she remembers that at the last meeting the council said they were not selling the building. Several members in the audience responded, saying this was not the case. The Times reviewed tape of the June meeting and found the mayor only postponed a vote on the surplus resolution by taking it off the evening's agenda. He also said that there was never any intention of closing the library. After the item was taken off the agenda, there was no further discussion or comments about the library at that meeting.

A purchase agreement was approved for 106 Main Street, as the future home of City Hall and possibly the library, according to Hinchliffe in an earlier email to The Times. The city first presented the agreement in a July 1 workshop, but details were not discussed. Community members expressed concerns about the location being in a flood zone. They remembered how much water was in the basement during the 1996 flood and in events prior to that.

City Council candidate Randy Charles said the council’s lack of transparency in this matter was disappointing.

“This decision has been made without openness and transparency to the public,” Charles said during the public comment period, going on to say that the idea was introduced at a workshop that did not allow for any public comment.

Charles said there appears to be no estimate for renovation costs to make the new building ADA compliant, which was one of the stated reasons of moving City Hall.

“This seems like it is already a done deal,” he went on to say. “To me, the residents of our city deserve more. They deserve better than that.”

Other community members who spoke against the move included former councilmember Terry Jacoy, Attorney Mike Hubbard, Jim Leid, Kate Hockersmith, and Cindy Daves.

Councilmember Gregutt spoke about preserving the historic architecture of Waitsburg, just before the council approved the purchase agreement.

“The architecture of Waitsburg is priceless, historic and fabulous. There have been a lot of guardrails put in place and various schemes since I have been around, to protect it and keep it the way it is so it doesn’t turn into a Burger King or something,” Gregutt said. “However, just because something is beautiful, and precious, and lovely, and was a bank or whatever it was before City Hall got there, doesn’t mean that you can let it turn into a toothache that you can ignore.”

The idea of moving City Hall from its current location has been discussed since at least 2004, according to city administrator Randy Hinchliffe. Other locations included the current Waitsburg Clinic space, and the former Kingdom Hall on Coppei Avenue.

The purchase price of 106 Main Street was $200,000. According to city administrator Randy Hinchliffe, it would have cost roughly $1.6 million to bring the current City Hall up to date and full functionality. The purchase for the new building will come from funds from the FEMA reimbursement of roughly $300,000.

The council went on to approve the surplus of a horse barn at the fairgrounds that has been neglected beyond reasonable repair. The barn, known around town as the “long barn” or the “cat barn,” was used to house racehorses in the past but has recently become a hotspot for suspicious activity.

An agenda item for a SEED grant to fund a splash pad in Preston Park was taken off the agenda. Hinchliffe said the project had been approved for the SEED funding before the meeting. However, the grant was pulled just before the meeting, as criteria changed. He resubmitted the application and feels confident it will be approved. He said other applicants were in the same situation and working through the issue.

Hinchliffe reported that it has been hard to find a contractor for the splash pad. He recommended that the city purchase the jets and other materials now, with the hopes of installing the pad next summer. He said he would continue to search for a contractor for this year if the weather allowed possible construction.

The council interviewed three applicants, appointing Jillian Henze to fill a city council position vacated by David Paxton earlier this year. Henze will finish Paxton’s term, which ends on January 1, 2022. She is also running for Council Position 5 in the upcoming General Election.

Hinchliffe shared that the pool was being evaluated for leaks, which necessitated filling it with water for divers to identify leaks. Once filled with water the pool started leaking from one wall, indicating a major leak. Public Works began filling the pool on Monday, July 19. Hinchliffe said the city has used “enough water to fill the pool three times” in just three days as they wait for the inspection.

He shared that the Department of Transportation approved the funding for the Millrace Grade Project, and ongoing safety improvements. He will be placing the project out for bid soon.

Hinchcliffe and Public Works Specialist, Lisa Norris also brought it to the council’s attention that the waste treatment plant has had an influx of non-flushable items, like “flushable” wipes and plastic cocktail straws. These wipes are getting caught on tree roots and uneven pipes causing major backups. The plastic straws are not biodegradable and cause problems with machinery at the water treatment plant. Letters asking residents to refrain from flushing non-flushable items will be going out.