The City Council met in regular session on October 2, 2017 at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.
Mayor Walker presided:
Councilmembers present:
Scott Winkler
Mike Peterson
Beryl Grant
Wes Lester
Pete Lane
Amy Farris
City employees present were Chief Drew, Public Works Director McFrederick, Attorney Green and Clerk Kennedy.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
MINUTES: The meeting was called to order and the minutes of September 18th were approved as presented by Councilman Peterson, second by Councilman Winkler. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
VISITORS: ZoAnne Anderson and Jeff Shinn, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest provided information on the End of the World project in the fish creek area. It is almost 50,000 acres and the project goals include reducing insect or disease infestation, reduce wildfire risk, forest restoration and improve water quality and aquatic habitats. A public meeting will be held Wednesday at 6:00 pm at the Grangeville office here in town. They would like input from people and would like proposed action by January 2018.
Girls Scout Troop#3702 provided the Council with information on the merry go round they would like to purchase and install at Jaycee-Soroptimist Park. They have raised a large portion of the money and would like to have permission to move forward. On motion by Councilman Winkler, second by Councilman Peterson to allow Girls Scout Troop #3702 to go forward with installing a merry go round at Jaycee-Soroptimist Park. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Library Minutes of July 20, 2017 and September 21, 2017 were accepted on motion by Councilman Peterson, second by Councilwoman Farris. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
PERSONNEL HANDBOOK: Clerk Kennedy provided the Council with the revised handbook. All the changes were as discussed. The Council needs to still decide on the sick bank. If kept, the Council needs to have specific requirements to be met which would allow the applicant to get the sick bank hours. There was discussion from a previous meeting if the bank was eliminated to allow employees to donate sick hours to each other. ICRMP and Attorney Green both stated it could be discriminatory.
Councilman Lester felt the City needed to go with ICRMP recommendation and by eliminating the bank. Councilwoman Grant felt the sick policy is generous as employees can accrue up to 400 hours. Chief Drew asked if the Wellness pay would continue for employees. Yes wellness would continue, as it is in a different section of handbook. Councilman Lane would like to keep the sick bank. Councilman Winkler felt since other Cities don’t have a bank it should be eliminated. Councilman Peterson felt it should be removed. Councilman Lane didn’t feel it’s a major money issue and he would like to discuss it further.
On motion by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Winkler to accept the changes for the personnel handbook and exclude the sick bank. Councilman Lane would like to see if options could be determined over the next couple weeks. There was some discussion that the sick bank had been used in the past for a terminal employee and others to extend paid leave until permanent disability occurred. Mayor Walker stated he could go for terminal not catastrophic.
Councilman Lane made a motion to postpone the vote to discuss the sick bank. Motion died for lack of a second.
The Council voted on the original motion. Motion carried, Councilman Lane voting no.
SURPLUSSED POLICE VEHICLE: Chief Drew requested permission to donate the 2007 Expedition police vehicle to the City of Cottonwood. The 2007 is one of the last vehicles at the City when the chief started. It’s in decent condition. It would cost about $1,000 to strip the equipment from the vehicle prior to selling. The equipment is not compatible with our current system/vehicles so it’s only beneficial to a small area. Chief Cochran has been very helpful whenever the City needs help. The vehicle is having transmission issues that he’s willing to fix if necessary. On motion by Councilman Peterson, second by Councilman Farris to donate the 2007 Expedition police vehicle to the City of Cottonwood. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
TRANSFER BEER & WINE LICENSE: On motion by Councilwoman Farris, second by Councilman Peterson to transfer the beer & wine license for the Hong Fa to J Perez LLC d/b/a Melting Pot Café for temporary and permanent when it arrives. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
FIRST STEP INTERNET AGREEMENT: Chief Drew explained Public Works Director McFrederick, Clerk Kennedy and himself met with First Step Internet to work out a new agreement where the City could get the service needed for the current software loads and First Step could have possible collocation sites for their needs. The agreement provides for a trade or services. Clerk Kennedy will do a yearly transaction to account for the actual value of services. On motion by Councilwoman Grant, second by Councilman Peterson to approved the revised First Step Internet agreement. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
DUMP TRUCK PURCHASE: Public Works Director McFrederick explained the truck he found in Colorado is in excellent shape. On motion by Councilman Winkler, second by Councilman Peterson to authorize purchase of the 2007 Ford dump truck for $40,500. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present. He would like to sell the 1990 GMC C7000 Dump Truck and plow and use that money toward a new plow for this truck.
ITEMS TO NOTE: 2017 Revenue (August) and Expenditure (September) Reports were provided to the Council.
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 P.M.
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Bruce Walker – Mayor
ATTEST:
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Tonya Kennedy – Clerk
