City Council met in regular session on December 20, 2021 at 6:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.
Mayor Lester presided:
Councilmembers present:
Mike Peterson
Pete Lane
Beryl Grant
Dylan Canaday
Scott Winkler
Amy Farris
City employees present were City Administrator Kennedy, Public Works Director Mager, Chief Newman and Attorney Green.
MINUTES: The meeting was called to order and the Council minutes of December 6th were approved as presented by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Farris. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Public Works Director Bob Mager reported PumpTech was up and Spencer well is now pumping. They were going to do a construction sample to see if they could bring the well live, but the snow came so it’s stopped at this time. They installed a water service and have been plowing snow since. During the snowstorm, Pioneer Park dropped a ton of limbs. John Finley contacted him about cleaning them up and Mager stated he’d have to wait until after Christmas. Finley called the next day and said he had extra time so he and his brother cleaned it up and donated their time. Avista took out the green street light by Palenque before the storm as it was tipping over.
POLICE AND ANIMAL CONTROL REPORT: Chief Newman reported the City had 94 calls for service and 25 reports taken. The department has been busy with weather related calls.
SNOWHAVEN REPORT: Administrator Kennedy stated Snowhaven opened on Saturday, December 18th and will be open the entire school holiday break. After break, they will move to weekends and holidays. We were able to find a backup groomer with experience. Gabe has been doing well.
FLOOD HAZARD ORDINANCE: Administrator Kennedy stated the Council had received copies of the revised ordinance to review after updates were submitted from Suzie Sarpong with FEMA. No additional changes were requested.
On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Canaday to waive the three readings and read the ordinance by title only. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Canaday, Farris, Winkler, Lane, Grant, Peterson. NO: none. The motion passed.
ORDINANCE NO. 954
(Ordinance No. 954 in its entirety on file in the City’s Ordinance File)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF GRANGEVILLE PROVIDING FOR FLOOD HAZARD REGULATION; PROVIDING FOR THE ORDINANCE BECOMING EFFECTIVE UPON ITS PASSAGE, APPROVAL AND PUBLICATION; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH.
On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Grant to adopt the Flood Hazard Ordinance as read by title only, to move for its passage and adoption and to publish by summary. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Canaday, Farris, Winkler, Lane, Grant, Peterson. NO: none. The motion passed. Mayor Lester then declared Ordinance No. 954 duly approved and adopted.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION REQUEST: Public Works Director Mager stated he contacted Avista to get a price to have it at Heritage Square. They will have to upgrade the service there. The location would have to be by the old recycle center and into the covered awning. In order to have it plumbed, it would have to go under the water and sewer lines to get conduit into it. They didn’t get back to him because of all the problems related to the storms.
Councilor Winkler apologized he missed the last meeting but questioned if the City would own it and have to maintain it if it was on City property. He asked if Ida-Lew contacted other businesses in town to see if there would be interest. Winkler felt it should be a private enterprise endeavor. Mayor Lester explained the grant covers 100% of the upfront costs if it’s on public property, and if private then the grant pays 80%. Councilor Grant didn’t feel the City should compete with private enterprise. In the future, there will be money that starts coming in when more use is present. Councilor Winkler agreed it should be done by private enterprise. He looked at City Hall’s parking lot. There are not three spaces to give up. The parking lot is full and busy most of the time. He asked if it would make sense for the City to put in gas stations too?
Councilor Grant stated when the Chamber first started looking into EV chargers, Jerry Cloninger was very interested. She believes in the new wave coming but doesn’t feel the City should be the one to put one in. Councilor Farris did some research. If a battery goes bad, it costs around $30,000 to dispose of it. When she was traveling in Oregon, it stated you had to stay with your vehicle and leave when it was done charging, because it was in such high demand and people were waiting in line.
Mayor Lester felt the parking lot is too busy. Between meetings and Library events/use, the lot is used all the time. Councilor Lane felt it should be stressed to businesses that the grant covers 80%. He asked Mager if there was room up on the shop property. Mager stated there is not enough power there either and there is no extra space. Councilor Grant stated she attended the Chamber meeting after the Council meeting and two people on the EV committee didn’t know what Tim was asking. He had spoken to two people from the chamber.
Shelly Dumas stated it sounded like the City supports the idea of an EV charger and there could be an increase in EV users which could bring travelers to town to utilize our businesses. Maybe the City could collaborate with the Chamber, Ida-Lew and anyone else and try to find a location. Councilor Grant stated the Chamber has a committee and they had approached Jerry Cloninger and he wanted to do it. Shelley asked what happened and Grant stated Ida-Lew ended up jumping in the middle of it. The City and Chamber are both in favor, but things are convoluted with Ida-Lew getting involved.
On motion by Councilor Winkler, second by Councilor Farris to deny the request for the electric vehicle charger in the City Hall parking lot. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
BILLS: The bills, in the amount of $242,579.86 were approved and ordered paid out of their respective funds, on motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Grant. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
PAWN, SECONDHAND AND JUNK LICENSE: On motion by Councilor Winkler, second by Councilor Grant to approve the applications submitted by the following business for pawn, secondhand & junk store licenses.
Brian Perry d/b/a B & B Bargain Store
Syringa General Hospital Foundation d/b/a Syringa Auxiliary Thrift Shop
Craig & Rhonda Clovis d/b/a Sissys Thrift
Bill Gaul d/b/a Gaul’s Getaway
ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Canaday, Farris, Winkler, Lane, Grant, Peterson. NO: none. The motion passed.
COUNCIL DATES 2022: On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Farris to adopt the 2022 Council meeting Dates. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
The meeting adjourned at 6:30 P.M.
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Wes Lester – Mayor
ATTEST:
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Tonya Kennedy – Clerk
