BROWNSVILLE CITY COUNCIL

MEETING MINUTES

April 16, 2007

WORK SESSION: None

ROLL CALL: Mayor Ware called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. with Councilors Brenner, Pinnock, Shepherd, Hoyer and Hoffman present. Councilor Cole was excused. Also present were City Administrator Scott McDowell, City Planner Bill Sattler and Public Works Director Karl Frink.

ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS: Mr. McDowell added Resolutions 579 and 580 to the Legislative agenda. A presentation from the Calapooia Watershed Council was added to the Public Hearing agenda.

MINUTES: The Council reviewed the minutes of the March 19, 2007, City Council meeting. Councilor Pinnock moved that the minutes be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilor Hoffman and was approved unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARINGS / PRESENTATIONS:

  1. Cliff Wooten – Linn County Commissioner. Mr. Wooten told the Council about the County’s program to assist with sterilizing feral cats in the County. The Commissioners recent approved a $25,000 fund to pay veterinarians for sterilizing feral cats which will be administered through volunteer agencies such as Spay, Inc., in Brownsville.
  2. Linda McCormick – Chamber of Commerce – Stand By Me Event. Ms. McCormick discussed plans for an event centered on the movie "Stand By Me" which is planned for July 28. Attendance is estimated at 1,000 – 2,000 so it appears that there will be adequate parking in Pioneer Park and offsite parking will not be required. The movie will be shown at dusk on a large inflatable screen in Pioneer Park, there will also be other events around town such as a cruise-in downtown and a dance at the Rec Center.
  3. Erica Lange – Calapooia Watershed Council. Ms. Lange introduced herself to the Council as she recently took the position of Outreach Coordinator for the Watershed Council. Ms. Lange gave the Council an overview of the history of the Brownsville Millrace and a status report on the current project to remove the Brownsville Dam and install a pump system to maintain flow in the Millrace. Ms. Lange offered to try to assist with obtaining permits and funding for work on stabilizing the bank in Pioneer Park and discussed the current work being done at Thompson’s Mills which has been acquired by the State of Oregon.

CITIZEN INPUT: NONE

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS:

  1. Administrator Report. Mr. McDowell submitted a written report to the Council and answered questions.
  2. Public Works. Mr. Frink was present and updated the Council on recent activities of the Public Works Department. Mr. Frink said that the water Consumer Confidence Report had been mailed, that a great deal of work had been accomplished at the City Library including building repairs, clearing old landscaping and construction of a new, more accessible, computer workstation for the public computers. There will be another volunteer work session at the cemetery to clean headstones, organized by Kathy Nida, and the Linn County Sheriff’s Work Crew will be clearing blackberries there.
  3. Planning. Mr. Sattler provided a written report and updated the Council on development activities around the City. Mr. Sattler said that he had received a land use application from the Brownsville Rural Fire District for annexation and rezoning for their new fire hall and asked the Council for direction on how the fees should be handled. The consensus was to charge the Fire District for out of pocket costs of processing the applications.
  4. Sheriff's Report. Sgt. Lawler was present and said that things had been quiet recently.
  5. Library Report. Mr. Smith submitted a written report.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION:

  1. Resolution No. 577 – Workers Compensation Insurance Coverage for Volunteers. Mr. McDowell explained that this is an item which needs to be approved annually, describing which volunteers are covered under the City’s insurance. Councilor Brenner moved that Resolution 577 be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilor Hoffman and was approved unanimously.
  2. Resolution No. 578 – Sewer Construction Project Bank Account. Mr. McDowell said that this Resolution is intended to set up a separate bank account which will be used solely for the wastewater construction project, as required by the agencies assisting with funding. Mr. McDowell said that the funds received so far are invested in the Local Government Investment Pool along with the City’s other funds. Councilor Hoffman moved that Resolution 578 be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilor Pinnock and was approved unanimously.
  3. Resolution No. 579 – Sequestration of Collected Funds. Mr. McDowell told the Council that the funding agencies were requiring that the City sequester the taxes collected last year for the sewer construction project until they are expended. Councilor Hoyer moved that Resolution 579 be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilor Pinnock and was approved unanimously.
  4. Resolution No. 580 – Authorize Bond Anticipation Notes. Councilor Hoyer moved that Resolution 580 be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilor Pinnock and was approved unanimously.

ACTION ITEMS:

  1. Rec Center Agreement. This item had been tabled at the last Council meeting to clarify the terms of the agreement, particularly a payment of $2500 from the City to the Rec Center. Mr. McDowell said that historically this money has been used to help pay for the Rec Center’s liability insurance. Mr. McDowell said that the insurance costs have gone up and the Rec Center would like to see that amount increased. Mr. McDowell noted that the Rec Center’s fees for use and participation are very low compared to other similar groups and the City has been subsidizing them. Mr. McDowell suggested that perhaps the Rec Center might look into raising their rates to bring in more funds. Councilor Hoyer said that he would like to see better communication between the Rec Center and the Council, as they are using a large piece of public property and being subsidized by the City. Councilor Shepherd stated that they should be self-sufficient in funding and charge enough to cover their expenses. Discussion on the agreement was then tabled until the next Council meeting with the expectation that a representative from the Rec Center could attend and answer the Council’s questions.
  2. Closure of Spaulding Avenue. This matter was raised in relation to the Cruise-In associated with the Stand By me event on July 28, 20007. Ms. McCormick asked that Spaulding Avenue be closed between Main Street and Averill Street on July 28 so that the cars attending the Cruise-In could be parked there. Councilor Hoffman moved that the requested closure be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilor Hoyer and was approved unanimously.

DISCUSSION ITEMS:

  1. OLCC Notice of Liquor License Renewals. The Council reviewed the list of liquor licenses being renewed by OLCC and took no action on the matter.
  2. Transient Room Tax. Mayor Ware said that at present only one business is liable for the transient room tax, other than the City, and the money goes into a special fund to promote and advertise the community. Mayor Ware said that he didn’t believe the City should be liable for the tax on camping fees at Pioneer Park. Councilor Shepherd moved that the Council look at amending the Room Tax ordinance to exclude the City from liability. The motion was seconded by Councilor Hoyer and was approved 5 to 1 with Councilor Brenner voting No. Mr. McDowell said that he would have a proposed amendment for the June Council meeting as the May meeting would be too busy.
  3. Arbor Day Celebration. Mr. McDowell said that the Park Committee has been busy organizing activities for Arbor Day on April 28. There will be a dedication of the new Pioneer Park Playground at 10:00 and a tree planting ceremony afterwards.
  4. Cemetery Headstones. Mr. McDowell told the Council that Kathy Nida had obtained grant funding to repair twelve headstones at the cemetery and had organized a volunteer effort to clean headstones. The next work party will be April 28, 2007, at 1:00 p.m., volunteers are welcome.
  5. Cleanup Day. Mayor Ware said that there had only been eight volunteers for the cleanup and that there had been a problem with people bringing in trash from out of town. Mr. Ware said that Mr. Weld had told him that the cleanup generates the volume of eight weeks of normal trash collection.

CITIZEN INPUT: Carol Monroe addressed the Council stating that she was upset that her name had appeared in the paper after speaking at the last Council meeting regarding her complaints about her neighbors. Mayor Ware responded that what occurs at a public meeting is a public record and subject to reporting.

HANDOUTS:

  1. Westech Monthly Report.
  2. March Financials.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m..

 

 

___________________________ ____________________________

City Administrator S. Scott McDowell Mayor Don Ware