Council votes to surplus pocket park

WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met on October 13 for a regularly scheduled meeting. Before the approval of the agenda, Mayor Marty Dunn added an item regarding the Touchet River Levee Repair project, which was accepted by the council.

During public comment, former council member Terry Jacoy said that in the past, the City of Waitsburg published the status of the municipality around election time.

“The elector was able to see the financial status of the municipality,” Jacoy said. “I don’t know why they did away with that, or if there is a law they passed, or regulation they passed, to do so, but I would like to see that back.”

City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said that the information is available on the city’s website.

After discussing the issue at a previous workshop meeting, the council held a public hearing during the regular meeting regarding the surplus of an empty lot next to the former Anchor Bar. The City of Waitsburg purchased the lot in 2018 from John and Marilyn Stellwagen, owners of the Waitsburg Hardware Store, for $30,000. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said the initial plan was to turn the lot into a pocket park. The plan to purchase the lot was not discussed in public sessions before the sale was completed.

“We had some initial plans to turn it into a pocket park, had a conceptual design done and some ideas of how we would lay it out, that kind of thing,” Hinchliffe said. “As with some stuff, desires and directions from the city council changed over time. I have only worked on it sporadically. Part of the original intent of the purchase of the lot was to try and drive some improvements on that end of the block.”

The conceptual plan was developed in 2019 after the park was purchased and had estimated costs of over $200,000. Hinchliffe went on to say that the north end of Main Street was very vacant at the time of the purchase and that he had considered the possibility of eventually striking a deal with whoever purchased the American Legion (Anchor Bar) for outdoor space. He said that, after a fire and additional business closures, the city did not see the need to pursue the park, and they opted to seed the space in grass and wait.

Hinchliffe said that the appraisal had not been finished at this time, so he was unable to provide that information, but bids must come within 10% of the appraised value of the lot.

Local business owner Lane Gwinn asked if the council would consider keeping the park and working with the new owner of The Anchor and other business owners to create a space similar to what the City of Walla Walla did during the pandemic. To support the downtown restaurants during pandemic closures, the City of Walla Walla worked with the businesses to create outdoor seating and lighting. The businesses paid for the construction of seating platforms, and the city provided seating. One street was closed off, creating seating and a stage for performances.

“The ability for us to be able to help local businesses right now, when we are starting to see this push, this wave of new businesses has been a long time coming. Any way we can help them seems to be the priority of the council,” Gwinn said.

The new owner of the Anchor Bar, Tom Bennett, spoke after Gwinn and said the uncertainty of the lot was difficult, he was also worried that the cost of purchasing the lot would be higher than he could afford with the ongoing remodel costs he has accrued with the remodel of his building.

“If it is a price I can afford, I’ll buy it. If it’s a price I can’t afford, I can’t,” Bennett said. “What I’m trying to say is, is there a path for me to partner with the city, so that I don’t have to lay out a bunch of money, because I have been getting some frightening quotes about things I have to do inside of the building?”

Bennett said that ultimately, he would like to create a vibrant space for the good of the community, but he hoped to have some certainty about the cost associated with the purchase of the park. He said he would be interested in leasing the lot should the city opt to go that route instead of selling.

“I want to partner with the city, I don’t want to make it a big deal,” Bennett said. “I just want to make a vibrant space where people can enjoy themselves.”

The city attorney noted that both a lease or a sale were viable options.

Councilmember Jillian Henze asked if the city had leased out property before, and Hinchliffe said yes, it has. The city leased a small strip of land formerly known as Poulder Street to Trevor Johnson before it vacated it earlier this year. He said there is a lease excise tax, approximately 12%, included in the lease. Currently, the city does not pay property tax which the exercise tax would replace. The city keeps a small portion of the tax, according to Hinchliffe.

Henze asked how that previous lease situation worked for the city. Hinchliffe said it went well, but it was one more administrative task for him.

The council voted to surplus the property.

The council approved a payment to Culbert Construction for work regarding the Millrace Road Grade Improvement project that started in early October. The payment was for $158,988.29.

After receiving questions about the project’s cost, Hinchliffe reiterated that the City of Waitsburg paid for the design and engineering, right of way, and permitting, which totaled roughly $60,000. Grants covered the remainder of the nearly $600,000 improvement.

The council reviewed preliminary 2022 Proposed Revenues and Expenses. A document with all proposed expense and revenue details for the upcoming year can be viewed online at http://www.cityofwaitsburg.org. The total expenses and revenues totaled roughly $2.5 million, which is typical according to Hinchliffe.

The City of Waitsburg expects that retail sales taxes will continue to increase in the upcoming year, and the utility tax will still be in effect to cover some flood control work. A slight utility rate increase will be extended (2.5%, or $2.30 per month), and the city will receive the second allotment of American Rescue Plan Act funds next year.

In unfinished business, the council discussed the employee pay matrix adjustment as stated in a memo from the mayor dated October 15, 2021. The issue was first discussed in an executive meeting on October 14, 2021, where the council reviewed the survey results and recommendations from AmeriBen Human Resource Consulting. The study included recommendations for salary adjustments for nearly all city employees.

The mayor's memo to the council recommended a 3% increase for the City Administrator and the Public Works Director positions and a 5% raise for Public Works Specialist I. The council approved an adjustment for Public Works Specialist II and tabled the discussion regarding the remaining city employees during the October 14 executive meeting.

Before the council voted on the remaining pay increases, councilmember Henze said her notes did not agree with the October effective date stated in the packet memo. Henze read from her notes that the adjustment was to go into effect “across the board, January 2022.

Discussion between councilmembers followed, in an attempt to verify what was discussed at the October 5 meeting.

“If I can emphasize, during an executive session, you can discuss generally wages, but no decisions are made. I keep hearing reference to ‘we decided this, we decided that.’ The council did not decide,” city attorney Jared Hawkins said.

He went on to say "So, if the council is trying to clarify now it’s completely appropriate to say now this is ‘what we would like to do,’ just to clarify, no decisions were made. There was discussion as is appropriate.”

The council voted to accept the salary adjustments as written, with the increases to start in October. Council members Karen Gregutt, Karl Newell, and Kevin House voted in favor, while members Jillian Henze and Jim Romine voted against.

The last item in unfinished business was status of the Touchet Valley Levee Repair project. In a letter sent to Waitsburg residents dated October 7, the mayor and city council said they would decide at the October regular meeting if and how to move forward with the project.

The decision was postponed so Hinchliffe could work with the city’s attorney and a specialized attorney covered under the city’s insurance, to determine if there are any existing or poorly worded easements that could impact a final decision on the repair project.

The project stalled due to the city’s inability to negotiate access rights with several property owners in the affected area. The city still needs to secure access from the state and Walla Walla county.

During council reports, the council heard from Gregutt, who shared the planning commission has been contacted by the owner of the Wheatland subdivisions, who is interested in selling each property within the division as individual plots. She said that they are currently ‘addressing’ the proposal.

The council heard a brief update from Hinchliffe and adjourned shortly after.