Dayton City Council regular meeting update

DAYTON- The Dayton City Council held its regular meeting on October 11, 2022. Mayor Zac Weatherford and council members Shannon McMillen, Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Kyle Anderson, Laura Aukerman, Dain Nysoe, and Tiger Dieu were present at City Hall.

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, as was decided at the last meeting.

During the first public comment period, a citizen asked about the status of promised flood mitigation efforts planned by the city.

Weatherford said he has been unable to schedule a meeting with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representative.

Sheriff Helm was participating in training and was not available to present the Sheriff’s report. Commissioner Ryan Rundell reported that two new deputies are still waiting for an academy start date.

Rundell also reported the Sheriff’s Department received a grant for active shooter equipment and a fully equipped, marked Polaris Ranger UTV valued at $30,000.

He said deputies are still heavily involved with school activities. The Department will host a Halloween hot dog feed at the Court House and is seeking donations of candy which may be dropped off to Chief Civil Deputy Tim Quigg at the Sheriff’s Office.

Nysoe noted that the Sheriff’s Department’s agreement with the City of Dayton requires 24/7 coverage, but the Sheriff said publicly at the recent candidate forum the Department does not provide that service. Nysoe feels this is a violation of “our contractual agreement with the County.

“Furthermore, that agreement says that the Sheriff would be here at each meeting and give us a report. There have been numerous meetings where the Sheriff has not been here in person. Again, that’s contrary to what the contract says between the City and the County. So, I just want that on the record,” said Nysoe.

Weatherford said the agreement states that the Sheriff or a representative would be present for meetings, which has happened for the most part. McMunn said she asked the Sheriff at the last meeting to estimate the cost of transporting prisoners to other jails. Rundell said he did not have the numbers off the top of his head, but since he signed the vouchers for the housing at other jails, he knew it was “very expensive.”

McMunn expressed concern about the Sheriff and said that illicit fentanyl use was of great concern; however, he’d admitted that the Narcan kits at the Sheriff’s Department were all out of date. She thought Narcan should be a higher priority.

Su’euga mentioned a letter from a citizen concerning speeding on Fourth Street. This letter was sent to the Sheriff’s Office for action, but Weatherford said he sent copies to all City Council members because it was a matter of interest.

The Council authorized Ordinance 1993 unanimously concerning franchise rights for the Port of Columbia’s broadband project.

McMunn said in the committee reports that the Dayton Chamber of Commerce is doing a “Cup of Joe” on October 25 at 7:30 AM at Vikki’s Sweet Shoppe.” Coffee and breakfast are free and open to the public.

The Chamber of Commerce is preparing for Christmas Kickoff on 25 and 26 November.

Council discussed flood mitigation and dike maintenance at length and, by acclamation, agreed that the County and City should write to higher-level governmental representatives to seek clarification on how to proceed.

In the Mayor’s report, Weatherford said the City and Anderson Perry had developed a draft agreement concerning the sewer treatment plant with the property owners. For the time being, the property owners involved remain anonymous. He said the project was still making progress.

Ryan Paulson, the Public Works Director, spoke about work on the fishpond. The pond was leaking copiously, mostly back into the river. The water pump must run full-time to keep the pond full. Some dirt was removed and used to complete the fill of the old swimming pool. The West side of the pond was lined with plastic material and covered with dirt. Nysoe expressed concern about the longevity of the pond’s liner. Paulson said he hoped the sediment would help protect the liner. If the leakage problem remains next year, he plans to line the bottom of the pond and other banks to stem the leakage.

County Commissioner, Ryan Rundell, spoke at the end of the meeting to clarify things he had said during the discussion about flood mitigation efforts. “I spoke incorrectly before about the Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan. Apparently, with all the turn-over in our engineering department, we have actually turned the money back to (the Department of) Ecology because the Flood Control Zone District was the recipient of that grant, and it is unfunded and uninsured at this point. We felt that was too much on our plate to deal with. Once we get settled in the Engineering section, we’ll be ready to move forward and apply for that grant again.”

Weatherford asked that the city be kept in the loop so it and the citizens can keep informed on what is needed to keep flood mitigation efforts moving.