MINUTES
OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING
April
12, 2004
ATTENDEES:
Mayor, Bob Jepsen
City Manager, Jerry Breazeale
Council Members:
Merle Cowett
Tom Wolff
Cindi Doherty
Kay Robinson
Bruce Nelson, Public Works
Anne Spicer, City Attorney
Sheriff’s Department:
Deputy Adam Bredfield
David Sykes, Heppner Gazette
Absent: Judy Buschke
Tim Van Cleave
Members of the Public:
Jerry Healy
Emily Chick
Kenneth Polin
George Koffler
Scott Newell
John Le Doux
1. GENERAL BUSINESS.
A) Call to Order. The April 12, 2004, meeting of
the Heppner City Council, was called to order at 7:00 PM, by
Mayor Jepsen.
B) Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Jepsen led those
present in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
C) Announcements.
1) Mayor Jepsen welcomed attendees to the meeting. Five
Council members were present.
2) Mr. Breazeale added the following items to the Council
Agenda:
a) E-mail from Nancy Snider voicing her support for the
City Hall relocation.
b) Letter from Eastern Oregon Rural Alliance announcing a
meeting to be held on April 21, at the John Day Elks Lodge in
John Day.
c) Offer from James Polin for the “Jack Little”
house at
d) Mr. Breazeale announced that the City Hall relocation
issue will be moved forward in the meeting after the Public
Hearings and Council Actions.
D) Approval of Minutes from March 8, 2004 Council Meeting.
Minutes of the March 8, 2004 Council meeting were reviewed, with
the following correction: On Page 5, Para D1. Strike
the words “the bridge.”
Motion by Mr. Wolff to approve the minutes of the March 8 City
Council meeting as corrected. Seconded by Mrs.
Doherty. Motion Carried.
F) Correspondence.
1) Correspondence from Ms. Snider and Eastern Oregon Rural
Alliance reviewed previously.
2) Offer from James Polin to purchase the property at 520
S. Main Street. Mr. Breazeale outlined Mr. Polin’s
proposal wherein he is offering to purchase the property for
$25,000, with conventional financing. Prior to loan
approval for conventional financing, Mr. Polin requests occupying
the property at $300.00 per month for 12 months under a lease
with option to purchase agreement. In the event that
conventional financing is not available, Mr. Polin requests that
the City of Heppner carry a contract on the house for a period of
15 years at 8% interest, with half of the rent paid during the
lease and $3,000 cash applied as a down payment.
Discussion: Mr. Breazeale stated that
an additional proposal to purchase the subject property was
submitted prior through the Parks and Lands Commission was
reviewed by the Parks and Lands Commission with the
recommendation that the proposal be referred to the City Attorney
for review.
Mr. Wolff recommended tabling this item for
further discussion under Item 8F.
3) Correspondence from the U.S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Reclamation, subject: Process and Consideration
for Proposed Long-Term Irrigation Contract(s), Willow Creek
Project, Oregon. According to Mr. Breazeale, this letter
discusses the draw-down of the Willow Creek Reservoir for
irrigation. They are proposing that after the draw-down was
done this past year for irrigation on an emergency basis, they
are looking at a long term permanent irrigation draw-down. The
letter is furnished for information in case the Council wishes to
take a position. There are a lot of impacts associated with
the draw-down. There will be opportunities to comment
through the environmental impact statement process which will be
ongoing through the Corps of Engineers, as well as other
opportunities through the rural participation. Mr.
Breazeale stated that action on this could be discussed at a
commission meeting. Mr. Jepsen stated that he feels that
this should be studied by the Willow Creek Valley Economic
Development Group. In answer to Mr. Jepsen’s
statement, Mr. Breazeale stated that it is his understanding that
the Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group intends to act
as a forum for discussions on this issue. Mr. Jepsen stated
that he would like to see this happen since this is an important
issue for the economic development of this community. Mrs.
Robinson stated that she agrees with Mr. Jepsen. Mr.
Koffler stated that minor discussions at the Chamber of Commerce
stated that the farmers would not have to go to this extreme to
get the water they need. The Chamber feels that the farmers
and the townspeople could reach a workable agreement.
4) Letter from Oregon Human Health Services regarding
illegal drug labs, which explains the process and the impact to
property owners if drugs are manufactured on the premises.
5) Letter from Gene Sonstegard in response to a letter from
Mr. Breazeale explaining the alleged hazardous material stored in
the city yard.
2. COMMUNICATIONS
FROM THE PUBLIC. None.
3. PUBLIC
HEARINGS.
A) Ordinance No. _____An Ordinance Vacating that Portion of
Morgan Street Between Riverside Avenue and that Portion of Morgan
Street Previously Vacated by City Ordinance 405 all in the City
of Heppner, Morrow County, Oregon.
Discussion: Mr. Wolff commented that
in the ordinance itself, it includes both
B) Ordinance No. _____ An Ordinance Amending
Discussion: Mr. Cowett asked if the
city is having trouble with animal waste and several councilors
stated that they have had comments from the public about the
animal waste problem.
Public hearings closed.
4. COUNCIL
ACTION.
A) Ordinance No. _____An Ordinance Vacating that Portion of
Morgan Street Between Riverside Avenue and that Portion of Morgan
Street Previously Vacated by City Ordinance 405 all in the City
of Heppner, Morrow County, Oregon.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to table this action
until the next council meeting. Seconded by Mrs. Robinson.
Motion carried.
B) Ordinance No. _____ An Ordinance Amending
Motion by Mr. Jepsen to read the amendment
by title only since it was previously published. Seconded
by Mrs. Doherty. Motion carried.
Motion by Mr. Cowett to approve Ordinance
544-4, amending Heppner City Code Section 5-2A. Seconded by
Mrs. Doherty. Motion carried.
Mr. Nelson inquired what the fine would be
for violation, and was told it would a Class D fine determined by
the judge.
AGENDA REVISIONS.
Item 8.B, City Hall Move/Remodel.
Mr. Jepsen stated that this item has been discussed in previous
meetings, and the Parks and Lands Commission. He stated
that this is a decision that is up to the City Council to make.
Mr. Breazeale discussed the background of this issue which
started in October/November. All costs have been researched
along with all actions necessary to make the purchase fall into
place.
Assumptions:
1) The city would like to purchase the
Klamath First building as a desirable location for the City Hall
as a preferred option to remodeling the existing city hall,
subject to being able to negotiate an acceptable offer among all
parties.
2) The Sykes have offered to purchase
the existing city hall building and use their building and
additional cash of $40,000 as a down payment. It was
recommended that the city receive $45,000 as the difference
between the two properties. In order to do this, the price
of the city hall has been raised to $112,640.
3) A counter offer has been prepared
to submit to the Sykes for their consideration. If the
Council decides to do this, a motion needs to be made to purchase
the bank building subject to the other pieces falling into place.
Mr. Jepsen
stated that the Parks and Lands Commission had made the decision
to recommend to the Council that the purchase be negotiated
subject to the terms as stated.
Mr. Wolff stated
that he was disappointed in the Parks and Lands Commission’s
action since the City Council had directed them to make a
recommendation to the Council on their opinion. Mr. Wolff
recommended that the following items should be included in any
offer:
a) The cash difference should be between $45,000 and
$65,000.
b) The items to be removed from the Sykes building should
be written into the earnest money agreement, and specifically
identified.
c) Possession of the Sykes building should be delivered
upon closing.
d) The alley in the rear of the present city hall should be
a city easement with public
access for
utilities.
According to Ms. Spicer, all these items
have been addressed in the counter offer, with the City
Attorney’s recommendation that the items to be removed
should be addressed as the items to remain in the Sykes property
since many of the items are personal property.
Mr. Wolff stated that he and Mr. Sykes
toured the Sykes property and there is some property that the
city would not be interested in. Mr. Sykes stated that he
has a business to run and much of the property is necessary to
keep his business operational.
Mr. Nelson voiced concerns regarding access
to the city shops by city employees and vehicles. Mr. Wolff
had questions on the easement and whether it would belong to the
city or the Sykes.
Mr. Jepsen pointed out that the Sykes offer
would expire on
Comments from Councilors:
Mrs. Doherty stated that she has had comments both pro and con
from citizens on the city hall move and feels that this would be
a good move for the city, and that a decision needs to be made by
the Council in their official capacity.
Mrs. Robinson stated that she has had several phone calls and
personal visits from citizens relating to the subject and only
one call was against the move. She feels that this is the
best opportunity we will have.
Mr. Cowett stated that he had only had positive calls and one
negative personal visit. He also feels that that end of
Mr. Wolff has had a number of calls both pro and con. Those
against this were primarily older longer term citizens on fixed
incomes. The pros tend to come from newer residents to town
or business owners on Main Street. He was surprised with
the comments that people made to him regarding the fact that
citizens feel that no matter what they feel, the decision will be
made. He also stated that he doesn’t want to see a
large building on Main Street sitting empty and that this is as
good of a deal as we will have.
Mr. Le Doux asked about the upper level of the building and Mr.
Wolff stated that there are no plans to use the space.
Mr. Newell stated that as an interested observer, he believes
that having the building occupied would be good for the city.
Mr. Koffler stated that he wanted to clear up some of the
comments on replacement value/appraised value. The
replacement value of the building is $675,000, and the appraised
value is $325,000.
MOTION:
Motion by Mrs. Doherty. I move that
in the public interest the City of Heppner proceed with an offer
to purchase the building at 111 N. Main Street, formerly known as
the Klamath 1st Federal building, from
the Bank of Eastern Oregon for $325,000, with the following
conditions: The offer to purchase is subject to a
satisfactory inspection by a qualified building inspector as to
the soundness of the building, roof, and exterior. Subject
also to successful negotiations with David and April Sykes for
the sale of the present City Hall and the purchase of the
existing Gazette Times building and property.
Seconded by Mrs. Robinson.
Discussion: Mr. Sykes brought up
the fact that his offer is open until 5:00 PM, April 14, 2004.
Question called for by Mr. Jepsen. Motion
carried unanimously.
Motion by Mr. Wolff that Council reject
the proposed purchase of City Hall as stated and submit a counter
offer under the terms included in the Council packet, with
the difference of the cash down payment increased by $5,000.
Seconded by Mrs. Doherty. Motion carried.
Mr. Wolff amended his motion to allow the
City Manager and the Sykes to negotiate the fine points of the
move, with 10 days allowed for acceptance of the counter offer by
Mr. and Mrs. Sykes. Seconded by Mrs. Doherty. Motion
carried.
Discussion: The fixtures and
personal property of the Gazette Times and the City Hall
necessary for continuation of the business need to be negotiated
in order to allow required business to be conducted.
Mr. Jepsen stated that he will support
the Council’s decision.
MEETING RECESSED AT 8:10 PM.
MEETING RECONVENED AT 8:20 PM.
5. COMMUNICATIONS
FROM THE COUNTY SHERIFF REPRESENTATIVE.
A) Activity Report.
The following incidents were discussed by the Council.
1) Shooting in Irrigon. Deputy Bredfield was asked
about the shooting today in Irrigon, and Deputy Bredfield replied
that at this time, he is not able to discuss this. The
incident is being investigated and the District Attorney will
issue an official statement in the near future.
2) Dog poisoning incidents in Heppner. Several
Council members reported recent incidents of dog poisonings in
Heppner. Deputy Bredfield was unaware of this, but assured
the Council that the incidents will be investigated.
B) Police Commission – March 25, next meeting April
29. Minutes reviewed by Council.
C) Code Enforcement. None.
D) Additional Discussion: Mr. Wolff inquired whether
the city is actively negotiating with the Sheriff’s
Department for next year’s budget request and Mr. Breazeale
replied that they have.
6. COMMUNICATIONS
FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
A) Activity Report – Bruce Nelson. Mr. Nelson
reported the following actions:
1) The fire hydrant at Church and Gale Streets has been
replaced.
2) The city gravel yard has been cleaned up.
3) The city crew has been cleaning at the old city pool,
brush has been cut down and hauled away, and the steel piping is
being removed.
4) Upcoming project is a suspected water leak up Willow
Creek; they will dig up the line and repair this.
5) There are several surplus items at the city yard. The
old sweeper and the old Army/fire truck are both surplus. Mr.
Nelson talked to Don Bennett and Mr. Bennett would like to see an
ad in the paper for sealed bids on this equipment. Mr.
Nelson also reported that there is also quite a bit of ductile
steel pipe that can be gotten rid of. Mr. Jepsen suggested
using this for drains at Chuck Holt’s property.
6) Mr. Nelson and Mr. Harmon took their Wastewater II test
in Pendleton last week.
B) Utilities Commission Meeting – March 18, next
meeting April 15. Mr. Wolff had one correction on page 2,
regarding the statue at Heritage Plaza. He would like the
minutes corrected to read “the statue” instead of
“a statue.” A mock-up of a statue proposed by
Dominic Monahan is located in Mr. Breazeale’s office. No
final decision has been made, although concrete platforms are in
place for a statue.
C) Septage Receiving Station Study. Mr. Jepsen asked
would like to have Roger Britt review this. Copies were
distributed to the Council members for review.
D) Parks and Lands Commission Meeting – March 29, next
meeting April 26.
E) Motion by Mr. Wolff to declare the sweeper, Army/fire
truck, and excess pipe surplus and offer for sale as the Public
Works Director sees fit. Seconded by Mr. Cowett. Motion
carried.
7. COMMUNICATIONS
FROM THE FIRE CHIEF. None.
8. COMMUNICATIONS
FROM THE CITY MANAGER.
A) Resolution No.____, A Resolution Approving Accounts
Payable for Payment.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to approve Resolution No. 560-04, a
Resolution approving accounts payable for payment. Seconded
by Mrs. Robinson.
Discussion: Mr. Wolff questioned the
payment to Heppner TV, Inc., for Heritage Plaza and was this
reimbursement for some of their costs. Mr. Breazeale
replied that this was for the undergrounding of their facilities
for the splicing of the cable. This has been submitted to
Motion carried.
C) Land Use Committee – UGB expansion project model
plan. Status report. Report by Mr. Breazeale that
there has not been any recent activity on this. They are
waiting for communications from the Department of Land
Conservation and Development as to the methodology used for
justification for the UGB expansion. The Governor’s
representative met with the DLCD representative and they will be
drafting a proposal with DLCD stating the validity of the
reasoning. This should be received within two weeks. Mr.
Wolff questioned whether this included expanding South of
Heppner, and Mr. Breazeale explained that it did not. This
proposal is for the property between the existing UGB and the
D) NEACT meeting, OTIA funding recommendations. Mr.
Breazeale reported a breakdown of the projects being considered
for funding. Heppner’s projects ranked very high, but
E) Flood Study – Status Report. FEMA
representatives will be in Heppner on April 13 to meet with
representatives from Heppner, Ione, and Lexington to discuss the
study. The study is underway and should be completed in two
years.
F) Sale of Property at
1) Mr. Breazeale outlined actions to date on the property:
a) The offer from Mr. Allison fell through, since he was
unable to obtain funding.
b) Mr. Le Doux has submitted an offer to purchase the
property for $20,000 and use his property on
Mr. Wolff asked whether the Main Street property could be rented
at $250.00 per month, and also questioned the other offer on the
table from Mr. Polin that was submitted today, which included a
lease/option clause for one year. Mr. Polin explained his
actions to date to obtain conventional financing for the
property. Mr. Wolff stated that he feels the city should
retain a qualified realtor to handle the sale of the property.
Mrs. Robinson agreed with Mr. Wolff. Council members
present were in agreement with engaging a realtor to handle the
sale of the property.
Motion by Mr. Wolff that the city list the
property for sale with one of the two real estate brokerages in
Heppner for six months to market the property. Seconded by
Mrs. Robinson. Motion carried.
Mr. Le Doux added that he had received a letter from Habitat for
Humanity and he would like to let the city know that he still has
the option to rebuild on the Matlock property end intends to
rebuild on this property. Time is not an issue.
As a result of the discussions, the names of
the two real estate brokerages in Heppner were submitted and as a
result of the random drawing, Willow Creek Realty was selected.
G) Sale of Property, Map 2S 26 27 DA, Tax Lot 6300, Request
by Green Feed and Seed. Morrow County has also expressed an
interest in this property. Mr. Breazeale contacted Judge
Tallman who discussed this with the other Commissioners and they
have no interest in the property. Mr. Wolff stated that as
far as he is concerned, the Helfrechts have not attended any of
the city meetings to discuss this further and he feels this issue
should be dropped.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to take no action on
subject request. Seconded by Mr. Cowett. Motion
carried.
H) Water System Improvements – Status report. The
Current status of the project is that we have been notified by
Oregon Health Division that because of our repeated positive
coliform samples for every month since December, the city needs
to notify the public in the newspaper. The state has also
issued an order that we must chlorinate our system. In the
past Well 1 has been chlorinated constantly. The Health
Department did a sanitary survey of the water system, and since
we are using ground water, we had no coliform samples that were
positive from any of the wells. It was suggested that we
did not need to chlorinate. At that time the chlorination
system was discontinued at Well 1. Well 1 initially tested
negative before we started getting positive results. The
last test on Well 1 returned a positive coliform count. Chlorination
has been reinstituted at Well 1, which will hopefully take of the
problem there, but higher levels need to be provided to maintain
a residual in the system. Chlorination will have to be
provided at reservoir 1 to accomplish the required residual.
As soon as a system is in place there, a chlorine taste will be
detected at the customer’s tap. This chlorination
order is effective until the construction of the water system
improvement. After that construction, if we show negative
samples for coliform, chlorination can be ceased.
An amended contract from Ace Consultants to
reduce the scope of the project has been received. The
amended contract reflects the changes that the city has directed
to be made, and reducing the consultant’s fees to the total
estimated project amount of $594,000. The old figure was
$800,000 +/-. Mr. Jepsen asked if the price included the
engineering and drawing for the additional reservoir, and Mr.
Breazeale replied that this is included in the $594,000. Mr.
Healy stated that CBEC has received several underground locate
requests and these are not marked. Mr. Healy requested that
these be marked before they are called in.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to revise the contract
with Ace Engineering to reflect the new amount based on
management’s recommendation and the knowledge that the
original invoice is included in the $594,000 amount. Seconded
by Mrs. Robinson. Motion carried.
I) Resolution No. _____, Volunteer Resolution for Policy
Year 2004-2005.
Motion by Mr. Wolff
to Approve Resolution 561-04 for workman’s compensation for
volunteers for policy year 2004-2005. Seconded by Mrs.
Doherty. Motion carried.
J) March Financial Statement. Mr. Breazeale reported
that the city continues to be in strong financial condition in
most areas. He still has concerns on sewer and water
reserve funds since the Public Works crew has been doing a lot of
work and the costs for sewer chemicals, enzymes, etc., have been
rising. Water revenues are up.
9. COMMUNICATIONS
FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY. No additional
communications.
10. COMMUNICATIONS
FROM THE MAYOR/CITY COUNCILORS.
A) Beautification Commission – March 11, April 8, next
meeting May 13. No comments.
B) Heppner Housing Authority – Bob Jepsen, Chairman,
March 29, Next meeting April 26.
Mr. Jepsen reported that both the Senior Center and Assisted
Living report no vacancies.
Mr. Breazeale reported that they are working on a contract for
the elevator maintenance. Mr. Wolff stated that the
Elks’ Club is not happy with the elevator maintenance
company, since they continue to raise their rates with no notice.
C) Mayor /Councilor comments. Mr. Jepsen brought up
the recent actions in the City of Union. He stated that he
would like to keep this type of incidents from occurring in
Heppner.
Meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM.