Dayton City Council appoints interim Clerk, Assistant Public Works Director

DAYTON—The Dayton City Council met Wednesday, August 11, for a regular meeting. The council continues to meet in person, with the option to join via Zoom.

During the first public comment period, council members heard from Howard Novak urging them to consider hiring more than one animal control officer. Novak said he had been attacked or threatened by a dog on more than one occasion. Mayor Zac Weatherford said the city is currently working with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office to create and staff an animal control officer. Weatherford said he does not have the power to deputize someone to fill the position.

Seth Murdock, the owner of Maco Aviation, spoke during public comment on the Port of Columbia broadband project, which aims to provide high-speed internet to Dayton and Columbia County residents. He asked the council to think about how many people they know who already spend enough time on the internet and how many people they know whose lives could be improved by spending more time on the internet.

Murdock said that most of the time, his personal need for high-speed internet is purely for entertainment. He went on to say that “every other hub of bureaucracy in this country wants more than a citizenry that is terrified, comfortable and sedated in their living room cocoon, streaming on their free internet that the government and taxpayers provide.”

Kristina Brown, Dayton Secondary Principal, requested that the crosswalks around the school be painted before school starts.

Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson updated the council on the broadband project. On July 15, Dickinson went to Olympia, WA, to present to CERB board members, after which she secured a $2 million grant for broadband infrastructure. The Port of Walla Walla received grant money, as well.

The contingency of the project depends on matched funds. Dickinson said the Port is requesting $335,000 in matched funds from the City of Dayton and $100,000 from Columbia County. The city can use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the match. In previous meetings, there were concerns about federal funds being used to match other government funds. Dickinson said she had investigated and found using the funds in such a manner is allowed. She is seeking written confirmation about matching funds to share with both the City of Dayton and the Columbia County Commissioners.

The project could provide high-speed internet to 3,000 city and county residents, Dickinson said. The Port would provide the necessary infrastructure, including fiber-optic cables, but the service would be provided by existing local businesses. According to the Port of Columbia’s website, PocketiNet, Columbia iConnect, and Emerge by Inland Cellular had agreed to utilize the new network.

Dickinson was joined by guest speakers, including healthcare workers, PocketiNet representatives, and Columbia County Rural Library District representatives. All expressed that reliable, high-speed internet would benefit residents in the area.

The council voted 6-1 to approve providing the $335,000 in matching funds for the broadband project.

The council approved the Main Street Safety plan, which was developed by members from local agencies, including Columbia County Sheriff’s Department, City of Dayton, Port of Columbia, Washington State Department of Transportation, local farmers, Main Street businesses, various Columbia County departments, and the Dayton Chamber. The plan received support from the Historic Dayton Chamber of Commerce. The council approved the plan.

The Council tabled approval of Ordinance 1478, authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with Anderson Perry & Associates to provide 80 hours of professional support for GIS services, not to exceed $10,860.00. The council requested that the budget be reviewed to ensure that the ordinance did not exceed the previously approved dollar amount for GIS services.

The Council approved Ordinance 1479, authorizing the mayor to execute change order number one for Humbert Asphalt, Inc., for the Front Street Bridge Railing Project, not to exceed $68.58.

The City of Dayton awarded the 2021-22 Newspaper Award to The Times. At the July 14 meeting, Dayton Chronicle Publisher Loyal Baker formally requested that the City of Dayton reconsider the newspaper award after a minor discrepancy in the bid was discovered. The Times failed to include a statement that they intended to comply with all bid requirements.

Mayor Weatherford explained that, according to the city’s attorney, the City of Dayton has the right to waive minor discrepancies as the city is not required to go through a formal bid process. He said that this is a ‘minor irregularity that shows no advantage in the selection process.’ The council voted not to change the award and maintain The Times as the paper of record to the city.

The council accepted Mayor Weatherford’s appointment of Debra Hays to interim City Clerk with wages to be determined later and Eddie Strickland to interim Assistant Public Works Director. The current Assistant Public Works Director, Rob John, has been out of work due to health reasons, and is anticipated to be out for a ‘couple more months.’

Mayor Weatherford said that both the Tremont Street and Cameron Street projects are nearly complete, with the final seal happening on August 26.

Mayor Weatherford addressed a statement about the unexpected termination of three senior employees, saying that the employees were terminated without cause. All three employees were under contract that required severance pay if terminated without cause. Severance packages totaled $287,002.64, according to Weatherford. Packages including wage, vacation, sick leave payouts, and COBRA pay. Other employees were given the option to leave with severance pay.

Mayor Weatherford said that he did leave on pre-scheduled vacation from June 20-24, during which he was in cell service and communicated with city employees and the mayor pro-tem daily. An email was sent out on the morning of June 16, 2021, informing remaining city employees of the situation, and a follow-up email was sent to council members later that night, Weatherford said.

Weatherford said that computer access was limited upon termination to “keep moving forward with already underway projects and so remaining staff could continue fulfilling obligations.” Weatherford said that cross-training was necessary. Building access was immediately removed.

Weatherford stated the financial impact was considered, knowing that the costs were already budgeted for annually and provided for by various revenues, including sales and use tax, property taxes, and utility rate structure.

Weatherford said he is actively working with the human resources committee to determine job needs and fill them.

During committee reports, City Council Finance Committee Chairman Delphine Bailey voiced her immediate resignation from the Dayton City Council. Reading a letter, Bailey said that she had asked Weatherford “three times what your plan is going forward, and all you will say is that you do not have a plan that the council will support you.”

“Someone in the community asked if you have the support of the council, and, although I cannot answer for the other six council members, I can tell you that I am insulted that you would ask me to support you when I have no idea what I would be supporting,” Bailey said. “The mayor is the leader of the city, and I believe a leader is someone others are confident in following, and, at this time, I am not confident in following you. I respectfully request that you come clean with the council and the members of the community as to why you acted in such haste, without any input from the council, and tell us your plan going forward.”

In the final public comment period, speakers expressed concerns about the lack of transparency regarding the termination of the employees and the terminated employees coming back into the office to help train current employees without compensation.

The meeting adjourned after more than two and a half hours.