MINUTES
OF THE CITY OF HEPPNER CITY COUNCIL MEETING
JULY
12, 2004
ATTENDEES:
Mayor Bob Jepsen
City Manager, Jerry Breazeale
Council Members:
Merle Cowett
Judy Buschke
Kay Robinson
Cindy Doherty
Tom Wolff
Tim Van Cleave
City Attorney, Ann Spicer
Public Works Director, Bruce Nelson
Morrow County Sheriff’s Department,
Deputy Justin Slinger
Heppner Fire Chief, Rusty Estes
Heppner Gazette Times, David Sykes
Members of the Public:
Nona Grace
Verde Hager
Evelyn Sweek
Calvin Sherman
Jerry Healy
Mrs. John Le Doux
Mrs. Mark White
1. GENERAL BUSINESS
A) Call to Order: The July 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 attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
C) Announcements:
- Mayor Jepsen announced that a full Council was in attendance.
- Mayor Jepsen welcomed visitors to the meeting.
- Mr. Breazeale added an additional document to the correspondence, Item 1E, request from the Christian Life Center.
D) Approval of the Minutes from the June 14, 2004 Council meeting.
Minutes of the June 14, 2004, Council meeting were reviewed by members present, with the following corrections:
Page 6, para 8A1, line 3, first word should be “He.”
Page 6, Para 8A, property address should be 520 S. Main Street instead of 210.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to approve the June 14, 2004 minutes as corrected. Seconded by Mr. Cowett. Motion carried.
E) Correspondence:
1) Mr. Van Cleave has submitted a request from Christian Life Center to use the City Park on Saturday, August 7, 6-10 PM. The function will be a community picnic with various activities. Mr. Van Cleave discussed this previously with Ms. Devin and she informed him that they would have to have some type of liability insurance coverage and he has checked with his insurance agent and he is researching the details.
Motion by Mrs. Doherty to allow the use of the park. Seconded by Mrs. Robinson. Motion carried.
2) Request from American West Properties to use the City Park on July 28. According to Mr. Breazeale, this is a courtesy request. Mr. Wolff suggested that City Management reply to American West thanking them for their request and inform them that they are welcome to use the park, but that we don’t reserve the park for any specific group. Currently there are no reservations for that date.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to reply to American West as stated. Seconded by Mrs. Robinson. Motion carried.
3) Request from Willow Creek Baptist Church for use of the City Park August 2-6, 6-8:30 PM for Vacation Bible School.
Motion by Mr. Jepsen to allow the use of the City Park as stated in the request. Seconded by Mr. Van Cleave. Motion carried.
4) Request from Gladys Alderman to allow her to donate an 18” bronze plaque with an engraved poem honoring veterans for installation in the Veteran’s memorial park. According to Mr. Breazeale, she would like this to stand upright. If the Council accepts her request, the City would have to provide the mounting bracket. Mr. Wolff stated that he had talked to Randall Peterson, and the cost from the plaque would be approximately $750.00. Mrs. Alderman has stated that she would pay for an appropriate stand. She would really like to see a 4”x6” steel tube with an angled face plate to read while you are standing. The size would be 18” x 24” constructed by a local craftsperson and she would probably ask a civic group to install it to the City’s specifications, i.e., American Legion, Lion’s Club, etc.; the base would probably be concrete. Mrs. Alderman has budgeted $1,000.00 for this effort. She would also like the Heppner Gazette to do an article on the Archie Alderman family and his relatives who served in WWII. Mr. Wolff asked her about potential copyright issues and Mrs. Alderman didn’t seem to think she wanted to investigate this since it has been published in various magazines and used at funerals. According to Mrs. Spicer, “author unknown” could be added.
Motion by Mrs. Buschke to approve Mrs. Alderman’s request. Seconded by Mrs. Robinson. Motion carried.
5) Correspondence from Oregon Water Resources Department regarding emergency water releases from Willow Creek Reservoir. According to Mr. Breazeale, this correspondence is furnished for information that the Corps of Engineers will be doing releases for irrigation from Willow Creek Reservoir. This is allowed by emergency declaration by the Governor of drought conditions. In the future, people will have the chance to comment on water releases that are not emergency related.
2. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC
A) Oral communications from the public not on the agenda.
1) Mrs. Evelyn Sweek. Mrs. Sweek stated that she had visited the Chamber of Commerce regarding re-installing yellow ribbons on the trees in the city since 8 people of Heppner have been recently called up for National Guard Duty in Iraq, along with others from Heppner who are currently serving. Mr. Breazeale stated that he had discussed this with Mrs. Hughes at the Chamber office and stated that his biggest concern is that someone needs to take responsibility for the maintenance and they not be tied onto the trees with wires. Mrs. Sweek stated that she has had several people stated that they would pay for the ribbons and there is a possibility that the National Guard might take care of furnishing ribbons.
Motion by Mr. Wolff that the City allow the families of soldiers to put yellow ribbons on the trees on Main Street as long as they are maintained and kept presentable. Seconded by Mrs. Doherty. Motion carried.
Mrs. Sweek added that she will take charge of the project.
2) Mrs. Nona Grace. Mrs. Grace is attending the Council Meeting to discuss a problem with vicious dogs. She lives on West Street. There is also a problem with numerous cars being parked on the street. The Graces have talked to the Sheriff’s office and they did send someone to the area, but the cars are still in the area. Mrs. Grace stated that the dogs are penned up during the day, but are let out at night. Mr. Sherman stated that he does yard work for the Graces and verified the dog problem. Mr. Wolff asked if there is a City Ordinance concerning keeping dogs as a menace. According to Mr. Breazeale, there is such an ordinance if the dogs are large or vicious. He also stated that the City is dealing with a similar situation in another part of Heppner where the dogs are out loose and have threatened to attack people. They are handling these dogs as dangerous animals. The Sheriff’s department will do the enforcement, with assistance from Public Works if necessary.
In response to Mrs. Grace’s question as to what she needed to do, Mr. Breazeale explained to her that normally, you tell the Sheriff’s Department that you have a problem and they will do an investigation and if they feel it is warranted, they will go to the next step and issue citations. Deputy Slinger stated that he will go by Mrs. Grace’s property at 468 West Street and investigate this further. He will also check on the automobile parking problem.
3) Mrs. Verde Hager. Mrs. Hager is attending the meeting to bring up a problem that she has with people playing basketball at the tennis court until midnight. (The tennis court is right next to her home on Court Street.) She asked if it would be possible to establish a curfew time there and enforce it. She would like a shield put on the light next to her house. Mayor Jepsen asked if the tennis court was on school property, and stated that the curfew on city parks is 9:00 PM. Deputy Slinger suggested moving people to the other end of the tennis court so that the noise would not be a problem. Mr. Wolff stated that CBEC had installed a security light previously at Mrs. Hager’s request and this is the light that is causing a problem for Mrs. Hager. Mr. Healy stated that the school had lights installed, but never finalized the project to get them operational. Deputy Slinger has been unable to contact the elementary school principal, but will continue to pursue this. Mr. Cowett stated there is currently an ordinance on noise and nuisance and these could be enforced.
Mrs. Hager also asked if the new 20 MPH school zone law is being enforced and does it affect Court Street. Deputy Slinger stated that it cannot be enforced until the present signs are taken down and replaced. Deputy Slinger will look into whether the law is effective on a State Highway. Mrs. Hager feels there needs to be some tickets given to vehicles speeding in the area. Deputy Slinger stated that the radar was on loan from Boardman recently and it will be a while before it is back down here.
B-D) Requests for Animal Permit renewals: Hedman, Matthews, Wolff.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to approve the renewals of existing permits at the locations shown. Seconded by Mrs. Doherty. Motion carried.
E) Request for new animal permit – West. Motion
by Mr. Wolff to approve a new request for an animal permit from
Melissa and Nikki West,
3. PUBLIC HEARINGS.
A) A Resolution No. _____, A Resolution Declaring Certain Property a Nuisance and Ordering Cleanup of Property. 535 Matlock Street, Map No. 2S 26 35BC, Tax Lot 3300.
Mrs. Le Doux is attending the meeting to discuss this property. She stated that the property has been cleaned up. The material left on the property has been organized and Mr. Le Doux plans on finishing up a storage shed to store materials. Mr. Breazeale stated that there are two separate issues concerning this property: One is the cleanup; the other is a planning issue as far as a storage shed which will have to be addressed separately. Deputy Slinger distributed a picture of the property taken prior to the meeting which showed the condition of the property. He stated that progress has been made since the last council meeting. The floor has been removed, and the laundry building is still standing. The hole is still there, although it is covered. Mrs. Le Doux stated that Mr. Le Doux has been working two jobs along with attempting to clean the property.
Mr. Wolff stated that it is his opinion the property condition is still not acceptable to city standards, it has been over twelve months, and when is the property going to get into compliance. He asked whether John Le Doux has a clue as to what is going to be necessary to get it into city compliance. He also asked if the city wanted to take any additional expense involved if the property is eventually going to be taken over by the county for back taxes. In answer to Mayor Jepsen’s question, Mr. Wolff stated that he is directing his questions to members present, and Mrs. Le Doux in particular. Mrs. Le Doux replied that Mr. Le Doux is working at the Court House and applying his pay toward the back taxes. As far as the cleanup, she isn’t sure. Mr. Van Cleave stated that Mr. Le Doux has been working on the property this summer. Mr. Wolff stated that it is his understanding that the County has an emergency clause that they can invoke in the event of a public nuisance or public liability which shortens the period of redemption from approximately two years to thirty days, and they will take full title without redemption after thirty days and they are planning on invoking that when they take possession of the property for back taxes. Mrs. Le Doux stated that she thinks Mr. Le Doux has almost paid the amount that is due to avoid foreclosure.
Mr. Van Cleave asked what the date was that the county could foreclose. According to Mrs. Spicer, there is paperwork that has to be filed with the DA. Mr. Wolff feels that the city shouldn’t spend any more time and money on this issue, and let the county deal with it.
Public Hearing Closed
4. COUNCIL ACTION
A) A Resolution No. _____, A Resolution Declaring Certain Property a Nuisance and Ordering Cleanup of Property. 535 Matlock Street, Map No. 2S 26 35BC, Tax Lot 3300.
Discussion: Mr. Wolff requested legal council answer the following question: In your opinion, how much liability is the city hanging out if we decide to take no action for 90 days? According to Ms. Spicer, if someone gets hurt on the property; we have a problem. If no one is hurt on the property, we don’t have a problem. The property has been this way for a year, although it is a lot safer than it was previously. Mr. Van Cleave stated that Mr. Le Doux has been working and has covered the hole and made it safer. Mr. Cowett asked Fire Chief Estes what the condition of the property was, and Mr. Estes stated that he would have to look at the property. Mr. Healy feels that the property should be cleaned by the city, a lien filed, and let the county foreclose on the lien and take over the property. Mrs. Doherty suggested calling the tax office to see what the status is on the foreclosure. Mr. Wolff stated that he feels bad for the residents on Matlock Street who keep their property up and pay their taxes. Mr. Van Cleave stated that the immediate neighbors have not complained about Mr. Le Doux’s property lately. Mr. Wolff would like to talk to Mr. Le Doux and explain to him what is going to happen and ask him why he doesn’t just let the property go. Mayor Jepsen suggested taking no action at this point.
5. COMMUNICATIONNS FROM THE COUNTY SHERIFF REPRESENTATIVE
A) Activity Report. According to Deputy Slinger, last month was a very busy month, and so far this month, there has been a lot of activity. Mr. Wolff commented that there have been two car thefts in Heppner. According to Deputy Slinger, the thieves were not Heppner residents. On June 3, a report of the smell of pot burning was logged; however, this was not verified, and the smell was possibly garbage burning.
B) There was no Police Commission meeting in June. The next meeting will be held on July 29.
C) Code Enforcement. No new actions. The Le Doux property on Matlock Street is an ongoing action.
D) Liquor License Renewals. Deputy Slinger reported that both Bucknum’s and GD’s were cited for selling liquor to minors. There have been a few fights at both bars. No other incidents have been reported. Chevron will not sell alcohol to people with children in their cars or with them. Deputy Slinger has no complaints on the liquor law issues.
Motion by Mr. Wolff that based on the Sheriff’s report, the City take no action on the liquor license renewals. Seconded by Mrs. Doherty. Motion carried.
6. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
A) Activity Report. Public Works Director, Bruce Nelson reported that last month was a busy month. Chlorine was hooked up to Reservoir 1 upon recommendation from the Health Department. The last of the meters have been installed at Wilkinson’s. They fixed a bad water leak on Willow Creek. Mr. Harmon, Mr. Doherty, and Mr. Sample worked on cleanup of the spill at the sewer plant. Comments from the Health Department: DEQ, Pendleton Wastewater all commented on how professionally Mr. Harmon handled this. There was a plugged line at the sewer plant coming out of the digester into the storage tank. This was repaired and it worked for about 3-4 days and then plugged up again. The main problem is that the storage tank is full. They are land-applying the sludge beginning on Tuesday outside 2 and once the plug-up is fixed, they will keep on it every day and won’t have this problem again. The storage tank at the golf course has been cleaned along with the contact basin at the sewer plant. The samples came back acceptable. There will be no fines for the problem. Mr. Nelson stated that he should know late tomorrow when they can begin watering at the golf course. There are also problems with high flows in the sewer system. These problems are most apparent on May, Chase, and Center Streets, and Gale and Water Streets. It is unknown whether it is ground water or leaks. Crews will begin TV’ing the lines on Tuesday. This will enable Public Works to determine how to fix the problem. Mayor Jepsen stated that itwas good news that the city will not be fined.
Items B, and C: Utilities Commission/Parks and Lands Commission. Nothing to report.
D) Water System Status Report. Mr. Breazeale explained the problems outlined by the graphs included in the packet and explained how the recent problems were taken care of. The system went into a steep decline and a large leak was repaired. All wells were running, but the reservoirs were not filling; however, we weren’t losing water, but were not gaining a lot. Pressure was building on the pipeline above the valve on Willow Creek Road. Public Works investigated and found a valve that had been buried for a long time and had a lot of dirt and concrete on top of it. This was very nearly closed and once it was opened up, the problem was cured. The report on the water and how it is accounted for is included in the packet and shows the water that is going through the meters and accounted for and the remainder is unaccounted for. The un-metered services need to be taken care of. Mr. Wolff questioned whether we are taking in enough funds from water revenues to meet our requirements for the water project. Mr. Breazeale stated that we are not taking in as much this year, but are putting money away in reserve for future expenses. The lower revenue is due to the cooler weather.
E) Declaration of 1994 Dodge PU bed Surplus Property. Motion by Mr. Wolff to declare the 1994 Dodge PU bed surplus property and make it eligible for sale by the city. Seconded by Mrs. Robinson. Motion carried.
7. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE FIRE CHIEF
They have had one large fire to assist Condon. There were several fires and a couple of car wrecks over the 4th of July. They are ready for this year’s fire season.
8. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE CITY MANAGER
A) Purchase of Klamath 1st Building for $325,000 from the Bank of Eastern Oregon.
Mr. Breazeale briefed actions to date on the progress of the sale. He has talked to Mr. Koffler, Bank of EO regarding lowering the price because of the cost of anticipated repairs. The bank is standing firm on the price since they are discounting the price $20,000 below the appraised value of $345,000. A decision needs to be made as to whether the City goes ahead and purchases the building for $325,000.
Mrs. Robinson asked if the City would be able to make the payments and Mr. Breazeale stated that we can. Even with the additional expenses, Mr. Breazeale is confident it can be done. The building will make operations more efficient and provide a better public front.
According to Mr. Breazeale, all the comments indicate that the public is behind the decision to move forward on the decision. Mr. Breazeale’s position is that we should move forward. Mayor Jepsen stated that the exchange would get the remodeling of the fire hall in motion. According to Mr. Breazeale this would secure property adjacent to the fire hall and allow for expansion.
Mr. Sherman commented that he feels this is a good deal for the city, but wondered if we are going to be coming back and asking the people of Heppner for more money to pay for it.
Mrs. Grace stated that she feels there should be an accounting of what the repairs to the bank building are going to cost, and would the second floor be a fire trap.
Mr. Wolff asked if we have any concept about how badly the pipes are burst and how much money it is going to take to fix the hot water/cold water system? Mrs. Grace asked about the electrical system. Mr. Breazeale stated that these are unknowns, but can be done in-house.
Mr. Cowett asked if we received a final estimate on re-building or remodeling the present building, and Mr. Breazeale replied that we stopped short of that point. The architect had given an “off-the-cuff” $300,000 figure. Mr. Cowett also asked if the bank was giving a 20% discount or $20,000, and was told that it was $20,000. He asked about the roof repairs at approximately $13,000, so the discount would actually go to the roof. Mr. Breazeale confirmed this.
Mrs. Doherty asked whether the roof needed to be done right away and was told it did not. Mr. Sherman asked what repairs need to be done right away. In answer, Mr. Breazeale stated that the ADA requirements need to be completed and water repairs done. According to Mr. Jepsen, we have budgeted so much each year for renovation of the present building and this will continue even though we purchase the bank building.
Mr. Wolff stated that he doesn’t want to see taxes raised to support City Hall. Mr. Healy feels that with repairs and unknown maintenance items, the eventual price of the bank building within three years will be $450,000-$500,000 dollars. Mr. Wolff feels that City Hall should be on Main Street, but that the bank building is too much money for too big a building with too many unknowns. He compared this to purchasing a new home for an asking price, knowing that the roof needs replaced, not knowing how much fixing the water system is going to be, not knowing if you need to knock out walls, cut into cement, to cut behind the vault to replace the water lines, repair the front foundation wall, and how much all this amounts to. He wondered if any of the council members would sign a 30-year mortgage with those doubts in their mind. He wouldn’t. He feels that there are two other buildings on Main Street that are either available or may be coming available which would be much more conducive to our City Hall. One of them is the Hollomon Building and the other a long term lease on the Mason’s building where Gardner’s Men’s Wear is located and may be coming available. Both of these have Main Street frontage. The Hollomon building currently has a parking lot next door that is owned by the City. The City owns the property behind the building, and we own an alley way to access Gale Street. If we owned both of those properties, we could walk out of City Hall and into the Public Works office and shop. Mrs. Robinson stated that this doesn’t do anything for the fire department. Mr. Wolff stated that we could do the same thing, only go to an alternate location on Main Street that costs less money.
Mr. Wolff stated that the Hollomon Building could be purchased for $135,000 and they have indicated that they might sell it for $100-95,000 if they could get a 15-year interest bearing note on it. Mr. Wolff estimates and additional $100,000 to complete repairs to this site. According to Mr. Wolff, this building would be appropriate for a city hall at a much lower price. He has never been in the back of Gardner’s, but it is a corner store front. Mrs. Doherty asked about the other side of Murray’s and Mr. Wolff replied that he has never investigated this site. He stated that businesses on Main Street are declining and not expanding and he wonders if this is the time for the city to go into a major mortgage over twenty years on a building that has unknown maintenance needs just to keep operational? He is afraid he cannot bless this particular phase of the project.
Mayor Jepsen repeated that in previous minutes, Mr. Wolff had stated that once the decision is made, he will back whatever the council decides. Mr. Wolff stated that this is true. Mayor Jepsen also stated that initially Mrs. Buschke brought the bank building to the council’s attention and the more we looked at and studied it, the more it looked like the people were behind it 100% to get on Main Street and purchase the building. Mr. Wolff stated that the two people who expressed verbal assent to him were Nancy Snider and Claudia Hughes, both of these people do not live in the city and pay city taxes. He has had seven residents call him since Friday afternoon and express their concern that this is too big a step for the city. Mrs. Doherty stated than all of us want a better building and we should not give up since she thinks Main Street is the place for city hall.
Mrs. Robinson stated that she had people talk to her about it and when she explained that it was a three-way setup, they seemed to think it was all right.
Mayor Jepsen stated that Steve Rhea had agreed with this and he lives in town. Mrs. Buschke stated that this was before the repairs came up. Mr. Van Cleave stated that Mr. Koffler must think the building is a good investment because he wants to “hang on to it.” Mr. Cowett asked Mr. Nelson if he could determine the repairs needed and Mr. Nelson replied that only those repairs that are exposed at this time could be determined.
Mrs. Doherty asked Mr. Wolff if he had talked to the Hollomons and he stated that he had talked to Mr. Hollomon and he indicated that they are interested in selling their building—just the shoe store portion, and it is not conducive for a city hall as it is now, but it is adjacent to city property at a much lower price. In answer to Mayor Jepsen’s question as to what made Mr. Wolff think the Gardner area would be available, Mr. Wolff stated that it is “just intuition.”
Mr. Wolff stated that he likes the Klamath First building as a potential city hall—it is spacious and airy and he has been to the city hall in Pendleton and it is so nice. However, Pendleton poured millions of dollars into it and he is just afraid we are buying off more commitment than the citizens of Heppner are willing to pay for over the next twenty years.
Mayor Jepsen stated that he was hoping we would go ahead and settle this. Mr. Wolff stated that he thought this was settled last month, and Mr. Breazeale explained that it was agreed to explore negotiating a lower price and did not give authority to move ahead with the purchase.
Mrs. Grace stated that several people felt this was going to be discussed in a public hearing. Mrs. Doherty stated that Council meetings are public and if people had objections they would have been at the meeting. Mr. Sherman stated that people know about council meetings, but very few people are going to walk into a council meeting. He feels that there are mostly retired people and people on welfare moving to the city now and he wonders where the money is going to come from. Mrs. Doherty feels that we need to try to get people to come to a progressive town. Mrs. Hager commented on only using one floor of a three-story building. Mr. Healy stated that there are costs attached to having the vacant space.
Mr. Cowett stated that we need to do something—“this building is going to fall down around our ears in a few more years and then we will really be stuck.”
Mrs. Hager stated that she feels it would more beneficial to purchase the Hollomon building because we would use the whole building. Mr. Jepsen felt the Hollomon building is only a third of the size of the space in the bank building. Mrs. Hager stated that she had had comments on the cost of the building and the water rates and people wonder how much more we are going to spend when people don’t have any more money to spend. She agrees we need a new city hall, but questions how much more space we need to function. Mayor Jepsen stated his answer is more than we have here.
Mr. Breazeale commented that the second story of the bank building has historic office space and if the city were to pursue purchasing the building, we would be looking at potential uses for that space. There is a potential for grants to be applied for or a private developer could take over the second story for renovation. This would be a future decision for the City Council.
According to Mrs. Spicer, we need to make a decision on whether we are going to move forward on the bank building.
Meeting recessed at 8:50 and reconvened at 8:55.
Motion by Mr. Wolff that the City purchase the Klamath First
building for $325,000 from the Bank of Eastern Oregon and enter
into all the related agreements that go with that combined deal.
Seconded by Judy Buschke.
Motion carried: In Favor: Councilman Cowett, Councilwoman
Buschke, Councilwoman Robinson, Councilwoman Doherty, Councilman
Van Cleave, Councilman Jepsen. Opposed: Councilman
Wolff.
B) Riverside Avenue Improvements Grant Application. Mr. Breazeale reported that the Forest Service grant was not funded. He submitted another grant application with the Bike-Pedestrian with ODOT for approximately $440,000. to extend sidewalks from Court Street and connects Gale Street where the sidewalk ends with a foot bridge to the sidewalks in Heritage Plaza so that pedestrian and bike traffic wouldn’t need to travel on the street. The project would also extend the sidewalk from where it ends on Riverside to connect with Highway 2007. If this is approved, it would not be funded until 2006.
C) Flood Study – Status Report. Mr. Breazeale reported that he has received an e-mail from Joe Weber of FEMA stating they have sent the final mapping activity statement for review. Mr. Breazeale has reviewed this and found items that needed corrected. Mr. Breazeale would like approval that once we are satisfied with the document, the Mayor could sign it and it could be returned. He is not sure how soon this will be, but he has been working with Morrow County, the other cooperating technical partner, and Mrs. McClain has additional concerns. Mr. Breazeale has asked them not to sign the document until the review process is complete. The document is available for review. It lays out what is going to happen, who is going to do it, and sets a time frame. It is a technical document.
Motion by Mrs. Doherty that Mayor Jepsen be allowed to sign the document once everyone is satisfied with it. Seconded by Mr. Van Cleave. Motion carried.
D) Land Use Committee – UGB expansion project model plan. Status Report. Mr. Breazeale reported that he is meeting with Carla McClain next week to go over step-by-step what needs to be done to go through the process. They will determine if costs will be involved, but most of it will be staff time.
E) Water System Improvements – Status Report. Nothing new to report, with the exception that the first reimbursement check from OECDD arrived today. They are moving forward. The plan is in the drawing stages, and field work of gathering the data on water meter and valve locations, etc., in order to develop the plans. Mr. Wolff asked if the billing is a progress billing, and Mr. Breazeale stated that it is.
F) Resolution No. ____, A Resolution Approving Accounts Payable for Payment.
Motion by Mr. Wolff to approve Resolution 572-04 approving accounts payable. Seconded by Mrs. Buschke.
Discussion: Mr. Wolff questioned the amount paid to Ferguson Surveying for engineering in the amount of $1100. Mr. Breazeale stated that this was for bridge repairs. He also questioned the amount of $2160 to Morrow County Sheriff’s Department. Mr. Breazeale stated that this was for a progress payment.
Question called for: Motion Carried.
G) June Financial Statement. The June Financial Statement was provided for review. According to Mr. Breazeale, the ending balance was better than stated in the budget. This is the end of year statement and we are looking very good. We exceeded our expectations in most funds.
H) Mayor Jepsen stated that Mr. Breazeale will have been here six years in September with no pay increase, with the exception of cost of living. Mr. Breazeale declined a pay increase in the new budget. Mr. Wolff pointed out that the City Manager has earned Merit Increases in addition to the cost of living raises.
9. COMMUNICTIONS FROM CITY ATTORNEY. None at this time.
10. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR/CITY COUNCILORS.
A) Beautification Commission. Mr. Wolff commented on the statement that Dom Monahan is researching the intent of the sculpture and according to Mr. Breazeale, we have not heard back from him.
B) Heppner Housing Authority. Nothing to report.
C) Mayor/Councilor comments.
1) Mr. Wolff asked if the auditors had agreed with the revised date for providing the audit and was told that they had.
2) Mr. Wolff stated that a citizen had asked when the Council minutes were going to be published on the web site, and was told that Mr. Breazeale is resolving this issue, time and computer problems permitting. The minutes are available to the public, but are not posted until they are approved.
Meeting adjourned
for Executive Session at 9:15 PM.