City accepts Chronicle's high bid for legals

DAYTON - Mayor Roger Trump called the meeting of the Dayton City Council to order at 6 p.m., June 11, 2024. Mayor Roger Trump and council members Teeny McMunn, James Su'euga, Michael Smith, Laura Aukerman, Joann Patras, and Shannon McMillen met at City Hall. Kyle Anderson was not present.

Sheriff Helm reported to the council that his department handled 632 incidents in May, including 90 traffic stops, 40 other traffic calls, two DUIs, and six traffic accidents. Helm said his office completed a Writ of Restitution, an eviction, for the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla. Afterward, his office received a $1000 donation and a thank you letter from the tribe highlighting the professionalism of Helm's office. His department was also awarded a grant of $12,753 from the Wildhorse Foundation for the purchase of stop sticks and a training and certification program for the deputies. Helm said his department is seeking to fill an open chief deputy position. The National Night Out is scheduled for the first Tuesday in August in the City Park.

Columbia County Commissioner Ryan Rundell said the county is seeking applications to fill the open Consumer of Public Health seat on the Board of Health. More information on the board seat is at https://tinyurl.com/2ean8xbu.

Rundell said paving the courthouse parking lot will begin on June 17, 2024, and take about a month to complete.

The council approved Resolution No. 1543, the Cooperative Parks Master Plan. In relation to Resolution 1543 and the master plan, the council passed Resolution No. 1546, transferring ownership of Flour Mill Park from the county to the City of Dayton.

The council considered bids for the official newspaper of record for legal notices from June 14, 2024, through June 13, 2025. The city attorney had recommended selecting the "The Times" since "The Chronicle" did not include rates for subsequent insertions of notices as required by the request for bid and bid higher rates. The Times also reported a higher circulation. The Times quoted $22 per run for the example included in the bid, compared to "The Chronicle's" bid of $35.65 per run.

Aukerman said "The Times" had an unfair advantage in its selection as the city's newspaper of record before she was a member of the council, and to be consistent, "The Chronicle" should now be given an unfair advantage. The city has selected "The Times" annually since 2012 based on its qualified, competitive bids.

Aukerman moved to select "The Chronicle" as the newspaper of record, and Patras seconded the motion, which was passed 4-2 with McMunn and Smith dissenting.

Su'euga justified his vote by saying, "The content that's applicable to the community it's trying to serve, that's important. I mean, why are people going to read the paper? They're going to read it because the information is about their community. I don't see that happening currently, with "The Times." There is a blurb in there about the county commission meeting or a port commission meeting or about a council meeting or a school board meeting, but after that, there's nothing else in there about this community."

The council approved Resolution No. 1545 concerning the Class IV Work Crew Master agreement with the Department of Corrections.

No update on the wastewater treatment plant was given at this meeting.

The council meeting adjourned at 6:53 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 6 p.m.