MINUTES OF THE
ATTENDEES:
Mayor Tim Van Cleave
City Manager, Jerry
Breazeale
Council Members:
Glenn Baker
Judy Buschke
Tom Wolff
Cindy Doherty
Absent: George Koffler
Kay Robinson
Bill Kuhn, City
Attorney
Dan Dunnett, Planning
Commission Representative
Bruce Nelson, Public
Works Director
Morrow County
Sheriff’s Department, Sergeant Phil Morris
Heppner Fire
Department,
Heppner Gazette
Times, David Sykes
Members of the
Public:
Jerry Healy
Sharon Harrison
Cara Osmin
Diana Ball
Doris Brosnan
Barbara Hayes
Johanne Wood
1. GENERAL BUSINESS
A)
Call to Order. The
B) Pledge of Allegiance: Councilman Baker led attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance.
C) Announcements. Mr. Breazeale announced the following additions to be included in the City Council packet:
1. Item 5D – Letter from the Morrow County Sheriff’s Department addressing concerns regarding the Heppner contract.
2. Item 8D – Resolution, Exhibit A, Current Bills, February 2005.
3. Item 8D -Letter from Ace Consultants, Re: Bids for the Construction of Heppner Water System Improvements.
D) Approval of the minutes from the
1.
2.
E) Report from the Planning Commission – Dan
Dunnett. Mr. Dunnett reported the
following actions from the
1. This was the first meeting of the new year. Officers for 2005 were elected as follows: Chairman, Dan Dunnett; Vice-Chairman, Rod Wilson.
2. One Public Hearing was held to approve a
variance to change the sign for a new business (Looslie’s Auto Body Repair
Shop,
3. Molly Rhea, representing the Lions Club, was in attendance to discuss future plans for the old pool site.
4. Mr. Breazeale updated the commission on current actions on the flood study.
F) Correspondence:
1. Letter of resignation from JoyceKay Hollomon resigning her position on the Budget Committee for the coming year.
2. Request from Dick Sargent to close
Motion by Mr. Wolff to approve this request. Seconded by Mr. Baker. Motion Carried.
3. Letter from Joni Robbins, Executive Director,
Oregon Trail Camp fire Council, informing the City of their upcoming door-to-door
candy sale and requesting permission for
Council members agreed to allow this program.
4. Publication from Columbia River Channel Coalition, subject: Columbia River Channel Project. According to Mr. Breazeale, this issue has economic impact on the State. Mr. Baker stated that he feels the City should add Heppner to the list of supporters.
Motion by Mrs. Buschke to support this effort. Seconded by Mr. Baker. Motion Carried.
2. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC.
A) Oral communications from the public not on the agenda.
1. Mrs. Johanne Wood. Mrs. Wood announced that she is attending the meeting to thank the Public Works Department for their work on the Gale and May Street island. She also discussed the junipers planted at the South end of the island and stated that she would like to see the plants remain since they help to control dust, etc. She also stated that the trees removed by Public Works were not dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Gonty. The only plant that had to do with the Gontys was a lilac tree that was removed. She stated that the area is much safer since the cleanup.
2. Sharon Harrison. Mrs. Harrison announced that she is attending
the meeting to request a game license for the Luck of the Irish gaming night
during the St. Patrick’s celebration. According
to Mr. Kuhn, this is a fund-raiser for the Chamber of Commerce. This will be a “Reno-night” type format. Mrs. Hayes has researched licensing
requirements. She has contacted the
State and they mentioned a requirement for an
Motion by Mr. Wolff that the City put their name on the application to the Oregon Department of Justice for the gaming license for the St. Patricks day evening on Friday night, one day only this year for this event. Seconded by Mr. Baker. Motion Carried.
B) Animal Permit Renewal – Elizabeth Pettibone,
Motion by Mrs. Doherty to approve the application. Seconded by Mr. Wolff. Motion Carried.
3. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A)
Resolution No. _____, A Resolution Declaring Certain Property a Nuisance
and Ordering Cleanup of Property.
Property address is
Discussion. This action refers to the Breeding Property. Mr. Breazeale reported that a letter was sent to the Breedings after the last Council Meeting and a courtesy follow-up letter was also sent. There has been no response. The letter specifically mentioned articles that needed to be taken care. Deputy Rayburn stated that he had hand-delivered the courtesy letter to Cory, the Breeding’s son. Mr. Van Cleave noted that there was no one present at this meeting to represent the Breedings. He also stated that he had visited Cory Breeding last week to try to encourage him to do some cleaning, but nothing has been done. Deputy Rayburn displayed recent photos of the property.
Mr. Kuhn stated that he had discussed this issue with Mr. Breazeale last week. There are a couple of mortgages on the property and any lien placed by the City for cleanup would be below the mortgages. However, there is another procedure that would allow the City’s lien to work through the court system and declare a court appointed receiver to clean up the property. This process allows the city to go ahead of the mortgages. Mr. Kuhn recommends that we go ahead and pass the resolution, but he will contact the mortgage companies to make them aware of this statute. Mr. Kuhn’s recommendation to the Council is that we allow him to proceed with this process. Mr. Van Cleave explained that in the past, Deputy Rayburn worked with the Department of Corrections to have a crew clean the property which saves the City money. Mr. Wolff asked what the process is concerning hauling off valuable goods. According to Mr. Kuhn, this is a judgment call. Deputy Rayburn stated that hauling off the unlicensed vehicles is quite costly. Mr. Kuhn advised waiting on this issue until after he has contacted the mortgage companies. Mr. Healy asked if County taxes would be under the cleanup costs and Mr. Kuhn stated that they are not.
Mr. Wolff asked if the cleanup would be done before St. Patricks and the answer is “no.” Mr. Kuhn stated that the process he is recommending would not be done for some time. Mrs. Wood inquired about the property lines between the Breeding and Smith properties. According to Mr. Wolff, the property lines are QUITEvisible from the top of the hill.
PUBLIC
HEARINGS CLOSED AT
4. COUNCIL ACTION
A)
Resolution No. _____, A Resolution Declaring Certain Property a Nuisance
and Ordering Cleanup of Property.
Property address is
Motion
by Mrs. Buschke to pass Resolution 591-05, a Resolution Declaring Certain
Property a Nuisance and Ordering Cleanup of Property. Property address is
5. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE COUNTY SHERIFF
REPRESENTATIVE.
A) Activity Report. Deputy Rayburn stated that the Sheriff’s Department is in the process of revising their reporting process and a complete report should be available for the next Council meeting.
B) Police Commission.
Discussion: Mr. Breazeale announced that most of the
January 27 meeting was devoted to discussions by Sheriff Matlack as to his
plans for the Sheriff’s Department contract.
He plans to discuss a formal presentation to be given to the City
Council at the March 2005 meeting. This
will be discussed at the February Police Commission meeting on February
24. Mr. Breazeale read the
Mr. Breazeale stated that he and Mr. Van Cleave had met with Sheriff Matlack last week to discuss this further. Some of the concerns Sheriff Matlack has are listed in the January 27 Police Commission minutes. Mr. Breazeale stated that one of the main points Sheriff Matlack would like to discuss is rotation of deputies through the county instead of dedicated officers exclusively to Heppner. This would provide experience for personnel and avoid officers leaving the department in order to get more experience. According to Mr. Breazeale the City would like a person dedicated to a set number of hours in Heppner.
Sheriff Matlack had stated to the Police Commission that he would like flexibility to operate under the contract. He also wants to discuss other issues such as vehicle ownership and rotation as well as the process for assigning times for deputies in Heppner.
Mr. Baker encouraged Council members to get involved in this effort. According to Mrs. Doherty, even if there was not a contract, Heppner would still have to be provided some coverage similar to the operation in Irrigon. Mr. Wolff stated that he has talked with Under-Sheriff Myren about the rotation period and he was not sure of the period of time. Mr. Wolff feels that six months would be doable since this would allow the deputies to be recognized by citizens. Another issue was response time and ability to send officers to other parts of the county. Mr. Wolff also discussed the issue of Heppner becoming a training zone. The under sheriff conceded that one way to solve this is to join a rotation system throughout the entire department county-wide. Under Sheriff Myren stated that he would agree to 120 hours per week and the same geographic coverage area as present. Mr. Wolff agrees with Mr. Baker ‘s comments that Heppner is buying a package of services that the other cities in the County do not have.
Sheriff Matlack has also stated that the deputies being in Heppner for other reasons would count as their time being available in the City. On the 120 hours per week, Deputy Rayburn stated that the City is currently getting more than 120 hours per week. Other deputies have been called out on disturbances in Heppner. He doesn’t want this to turn into more hours spent in Heppner. He feels that the other deputies are still working even though they are in Heppner for other reasons. He doesn’t want Heppner to be a training ground in the sense that the community is a different environment than the north end of the county.
Mr. Baker asked if the sheriff’s office will have some draft information to work with. According to Sergeant Morris, there will be information provided for further discussion. There is a March 1 deadline on this.
Deputy Rayburn stated that he would like Council members to attend the next Police Commission meeting. According to Mr. Breazeale this would have to be advertised as a City Council work session.
C) Code Enforcements. Deputy Rayburn intends to start a code enforcement action on the Smith property.
D) Additional Discussion. None.
6. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS
DEPARTMENT.
A) Activity Report – Bruce Nelson.
Public Works Director Nelson reviewed the actions reported in the January Report. There are some problems with the clay valve at the red barn. The paint at the city yard came back clean and the paint was picked up by Hermiston Salvage. Mr. Van Cleave added that he appreciated the written report.
B) Biosolids Agreement. Mr. Breazeale reported that this is a soil conditioner and the Jones have agreed to enter into an agreement for this. In answer to Mr. Wolff’s question, Mr. Breazeale stated that this site is the same as the previous agreement and this agreement is a renewal. Mr. Kuhn stated that this is the same agreement that has been used before and there have never been any conflicts.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to move ahead with the agreement as stated with the correction of the number of years. Seconded by Mrs. Doherty. Motion Carried.
C) Utilities Commission Meeting – Next meeting February 17. Minutes of the January 20 meeting are included in the Council packet.
D) Parks and Lands Commission - next meeting scheduled for February 28.
1.
E) Additional Discussion.
1. Mr. Wolff inquired whether the City has had any
further discussions with the Bank of Eastern Oregon and Murrays concerning on
the old Gazette Times building.
According to Mr. Breazeale there have been some discussions but no
formal offers. Mr. Breazeale hopes to
discuss this with the Parks and Lands Commission at their next meeting.
2. With reference to the water balance, a chart is included in the packet which compares water produced vs. water delivered and metered. According to Mr. Nelson, by next Council meeting they should have an accurate report. The clay valve has been sticking and that is the reason the most recent numbers are higher. Mr. Wolff asked why the difference in the gallons pumped is less this year than last year. According to Mr. Nelson, this is due to leaks being repaired.
7. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE
A) Fire Advisory Committee. This meeting is scheduled for February 23. There are a number of issues to be discussed.
B) So far this year they have had one MVA and two working grass fires.
8. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE
A)
Flood Study – Status Report. Mr.
Breazeale reported earlier that they had preliminary numbers on the
hydrology. The numbers included in the
report should be the final numbers after the report has been reviewed by the
hydrologist for Michael Baker Engineers, the contractor for FEMA to do the
quality control and assurance. Some of
the numbers have changed from those presented originally. The numbers shown are the effective and
revised drainage figures. The last
column shows the percent reduction between the two numbers. The positive numbers indicate a reduced
figure; a negative figure reflects an increase.
The increases are for very small drainages. The first one is in
Since the hydrology has taken more time to complete the quality control and assurance, the project may not be finalized until March or April of 2006.
B) Community Rating System. The City has turned in the application for premium reductions for those people that are already in the flood study area. This should be completed in May, and Heppner should qualify for at least a 9 and possibly an 8 which would give a 10% reduction.
C) Land Use Committee – UGB Adjustment Project Status Report. Mr. Breazeale reported that the City is awaiting notification from the County to advise on how to proceed on this. There is strong support for the adjustment from the golf course and all of but two of the property owners involved.
D) Water Improvement Project Bid Award. Mr. Breazeale reported that Opening bids were
held on
The engineer recommends that Council award the contract to Moore Excavation, but cut the project by $240,000. The City intends to stay at the budget figure. Ace Consultants recommends authorizing the City administrator negotiate a change at the time of the contract signing which would reduce the contract amount by $240,000. If there is money remaining in the contingency ($197,000), and once the project is nearing completion, this could be used to build back some of the deleted items so that we stay right at the budget figure.
According to Mr. Kuhn, the contract lets us do this for the same price. The change order would drop these items and if they are put back in, they may not come back at the same price due to inflation.
Mr.
Wolff asked about the
Motion by Mr. Wolff to award the contract
to
Mr. Wolff asked if any local
subcontractors will be used. According
to Mr. Van Cleave he has talked to Roger Britt and
Question: Motion Carried.
Mr. Healy asked if Nate Arbogast was furnished a copy of the work plan that shows where streets would be dug up because if there was any opportunity for him to put his lines in the open ditches, it would prevent digging up the streets again. Mr. Breazeale stated that Mr. Arbogast could be given a copy of the plan.
Mr. Wolff asked about the proposed schedule under Moore Excavation’s bid. Mr. Breazeale stated they would probably start the project in March and complete within 300 days. According to Mr. Breazeale, there will be some inconvenience for residents due to the short construction time and amount of work to be done.
Mr. Breazeale intends to publish an article in the City Newsletter outlining what people should expect during the construction.
E) Morrow Leadership 2005, Funding for Dinner for Participants. According to Mr. Brezazeale, in the past, the City has provided dinner for the participants. The cost should be less than $500.00. So far, the participants are satisfied with the program. There are six people from Heppner participating.
Motion by Mrs. Buschke that the City fund the dinner for the participants in the Morrow Leadership 2005 program. Seconded by Mrs. Doherty. Motion Carried.
F) Resolution No. _____, A Resolution Approving Accounts Payable for Payment. Mr. Wolff questioned the following bills:
1. Bank of
2.
3. Coppock Surveying. According to Mr. Breazeale, this was for an easement to go across school property and county property at the bridge by the fairgrounds. This is part of the water improvement project.
4. D&L Auto Parts Repair. Mr. Breazeale stated that this was for the fire department.
5. LH Morris Electric, Inc. Mr. Breazeale stated that this was for the telemetry system computer and program.
6. Rural Development Initiatives, Inc. Mr. Breazeale stated that this was the grant money from Ford Family Foundation that is passed through the account to pay RDI for the training. There is a $10,000 grant from Ford Family Foundation.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to approve Accounts Payable as listed, Resolution No. 592-05. Seconded by Mrs. Buschke. Motion Carried.
G) January Financial Statement. According to Mr. Breazeale, everything is on track.
9. COMMUNICATIONS FROM
A) Windwave Franchise Agreement. Mr. Kuhn stated that he has reviewed the document for risk management. The last two items he was concerned with were liability provisions. The liability provisions he was using come from the League of Oregon Cities model franchise ordinance. This is the one that the City has used for previous agreements and also the one that CBEC has. Mr. Kuhn had discussed this with Mr. Breazeale and Mr. Breazeale felt the liability provisions could be relaxed, so with those exceptions and the caveat that Mr. Kuhn has fully advised the City, he recommends that the City adopt the WindWave and Inland Development franchises. The WindWave agreement is for commercial telecommunications (for profit) Inland Development covers the commercial telecommunications (not for profit).
Mr. Kuhn also recommends sending the same agreement to CenturyTel since their agreement expires. This will increase their fees to the City due to the way gross revenue is defined. Mr. Breazeale explained the indemnity clause in the agreements which is that the franchisee would be held harmless for damaging the City equipment, and vice versa. This would protect both the City and the Franchisee.
No action taken at this meeting since the agreements need to be advertised and reviewed by City Council.
B)
C) Measure 37 Developments. Mr. Kuhn discussed the current actions
throughout the state on Measure 37. There
have been over 200 claims filed in
D) Mr. Baker requested advance copies of any agreements that were to come before the Council so they could be reviewed before the meeting. According to Mr. Kuhn the documents discussed would not be acted on until the next Council meeting, so there is plenty of time for review. Mr. Van Cleave stated that in most cases, Mr. Kuhn provides the information in a timely manner.
10. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR/
A) Resolution No. ________ A Resolution Adopting 2005 City Goals.
Mr. Van Cleave stated that two different versions of the 2005 City Goals which were set at the January 24 meeting were included in the packet. Version A-1 is the Goals established at the session. Version A-I is a modified version of these goals. According to Mr. Breazeale, A-1 is a close interpretation of the goals determined at the Goal-Setting session, and Version A-I is broken down into the different parts of the infrastructure with a couple of goals added. The goals that were added are:
1) Replace roof at Well 1 – materials are on hand.
2) Install a pressure sustaining valve on the feed line to better serve customers above Reservoir 1. Parts are available. Previously a pressure reducing valve was installed with the project by the Corps of Engineers to build the reservoir in its present location. It has never been used. By changing the pilot valve on this it can be changed to a pressure sustaining valve which means we can hold the pressure on the back stream side which means it will allow us to put more pressure to customers on the upstream side of the valve. This would benefit the customers. This is ongoing.
3) Replacement of a trickling filter pump at the wastewater treatment plant. This will cost approximately $4,000. One of the trickling filter pumps was replaced with a submersible pump and new piping. The other pump that has not been replaced has a leak in the pressure pipe where it pumps up to the trickling filter.
4) Public Safety. Review Sheriff’s Department contract and support efforts to merge the Heppner Fire Department with the Heppner Rural Protection District to provide a seamless fire protection.
5) Pursue efforts to secure funding for an expanded fire hall. (Through possible grants).
Discussion: Mr. Wolff stated that he likes Exhibit A-1. He is not comfortable with wording in Exhibit A-I. He feels this is in violation with the trust in City Government. He would like the Council to adopt Exhibit A-1 and in doing so acknowledge the items that have been installed in Exhibit A-I. He feels that mentioning any new projects at this time is not good. Mr. Estes stated that as regards the new fire hall, this would not cost the City any money to investigate this.
Mrs. Doherty was in agreement with Exhibit A-1. Mr. Van Cleave asked if the goals can be numbered, and Mrs. Doherty suggested an A, B, C format. Mr. Baker suggested adding a statement that the goals are not listed in priority order.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to approve Resolution 593-05 adopting 2005 City Goals as listed in Exhibit A-1. Seconded by Mr. Baker. Motion Carried.
Mr. Van Cleave asked when the next newsletter will be published, and Mr. Breazeale stated that it should be published by the end of February.
B) Beautification Commission. Next meeting to be held
C) Heppner Housing Authority. Next meeting
D) Personnel Committee. Next meeting
E) Safety Committee. Next meeting
F) Mayor/Councilor comments:
1. Mayoral Proclamation – City Cleanup Days. Mr. Van Cleave read the proclamation declaring City Cleanup Days, March 1 through 13, 2005.
2. Personal Liability Exposure for Elected Officials. This material was sent to the City by the League of Oregon Cities and is a reminder for elected officials that they are covered by City County Insurance Services during the performance of official duties.
3. Mayoral Appointments.
a. Housing Authority: Mayor Van Cleave stated that due to other
commitments, Andrea Denton is not able to fulfill her duties on the Housing
Authority board. Mayor Van Cleave has
asked Mr.
b. Budget Committee: Mayor Van Cleave stated that at this time, he does not have a name of an individual to serve on this.
Motion by Mrs. Buschke to ratify the
appointment of Mr.
4. Additional Comments: None.
Meeting adjourned at