BROWNSVILLE CITY COUNCIL

MEETING MINUTES

July 16, 2007

WORK SESSION: A work session was held beginning at 6:00 p.m. to review matters on the meeting’s agenda. Mayor Ware and Councilors Brenner, Cole, Shepherd and Hoyer and Pinnock were present for the work session.

ROLL CALL: Mayor Ware called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. with Councilors Brenner, Cole, Shepherd, Hoyer and Pinnock present. Councilor Hoffman 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 a presentation by Westech Engineering, a request by Sharing Hands and a discussion of the City’s water shutoff policy.

MINUTES: The Council reviewed the minutes of the June 18, 2007, City Council meeting. Councilor Cole moved that the minutes be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilor Brenner and was approved unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARINGS / PRESENTATIONS:

  1. Chris Brugato – Westech Engineering – Wastewater Project.. Mr. Brugato was present to update the Council on the status of the wastewater project. Mr. Brugato said that the Phase 2 contractor, Pacific Excavation, has already begun work and the City has processed their first pay request. Pacific will be finishing work on the north end of the system and will be moving to the south end in about two weeks. No major problems have been encountered so far. The Phase 1 contractor, Emery & Sons, has started mobilizing equipment and preparing the site for the new south lagoon. Mr. Brugato said that he had been asked several times why the contractor was not using the excess dirt dug during the pipeline construction to build the new lagoon levees. Mr. Brugato explained that the trench spoils are not of uniform consistency and were not suitable for levee construction, and that the excavation for pipelines is being done by a different contractor than the levee construction which could lead to problems and increased costs.

CITIZEN INPUT: NONE

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS:

  1. Administrator Report. Mr. McDowell submitted a written report to the Council. Mr. McDowell said that the City newsletter is running late due to all of the projects going on as well as his new baby, but that it would come out as soon as time permits. Mr. McDowell said that it had been necessary to set up some new bank accounts for the construction project which had taken some time but all was now in order. Mr. McDowell said that he had been approached by several people who wanted to have various types of work done as part of the sewer project. Mr. McDowell said that this is not possible as the contractors are there to do a specific job which is being funded by state and federal agencies. In addition, the contractors are being paid at state and federal prevailing wage rates which would make any additional work very expensive. Mr. McDowell thanked DariMarta for being extremely helpful and giving the City a 30’ temporary easement across their property which will assist in saving some walnut trees on the north side of Vroman Street.
  2. Public Works. Mr. Frink submitted a written report. In addition, Mr. Frink told the Council that the project to replace sand in the water filters had been successful. Two of the filters had been scraped and refilled, he hopes to do the third filter in September. Mr. Frink complimented the Park Caretakers on the fine job they’ve been doing in Pioneer Park. Four dispensers for dog waste bags have been installed in Pioneer Park.
  3. Planning. Mr. Sattler provided a written report . Mr. Sattler said that he had received the $45,000 payment from Oregon Parks & Recreation to close out the Pioneer Park Playground project grant and that he had contacted about 15 property owners regarding tall grass and weeds. Mr. Sattler said that the property owners had been cooperative in cutting their weeds and that if any Councilors were aware of any problem properties to contact him.
  4. Sheriff’s Report. Sgt. Lawler reported that Pioneer Picnic has been peaceful.
  5. Court Report. A large increase in collections had occurred last month due one person paying off a number of outstanding fees.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION:

    1. Ordinance No. 706 – Amending the Urban Growth Boundary, etc.. Mr. Sattler said that this and ordinance 707 are to formalize the decisions made at the June Council meeting to add the small parcel of land to the UGB to accommodate the new fire hall. Councilor Cole move that Ordinance 706 be read by title only. The motion was seconded by Councilor Brenner and was approved unanimously. Mayor Ware read the title of Ordinance 707. Councilor Cole then moved that Ordinance 706 be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilor Brenner and the ordinance was approved unanimously. Mr. Sattler noted that Ordinances 706 and 707 contain emergency clauses allowing them to go into effect immediately due to Fire District’s plans to start construction and a 60 day delay in construction would be very expensive.
    2. Ordinance No. 707 – Annexing Territory Without an Election. Councilor Cole moved that Ordinance 707 be read by title only. The motion was seconded by Councilor Brenner and was approved unanimously. Mayor Ware read the title of Ordinance 707. Councilor Pinnock moved that Ordinance 707 be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilor Cole and was approved unanimously.
    3. Ordinance No. 708 – Transient Room Tax Exemption. Mr. McDowell said that this ordinance is designed to implement the issues discussed at the last Council meeting, particularly it exempts activities of the City from the City’s portion of the transient room tax. The Council discussed the matter and set the proposed ordinance for a second reading at the August Council meeting.
    4. Proclamation – Commending Angela Debban. Mayor Ware read a Mayoral Proclamation commending Ms. Debban for her many years of excellent service with the City of Brownsville.

ACTION ITEMS:

  1. Nelson Request for Alley Vacation. Mayor Ware asked for public input. Mr. Wade Harden said that he lived just south of the area proposed for vacation and stated that he believes his property crosses the Tailrace and wants access to it. Ms. Kay Fox asked about emergency access to the area. Fire Chief Kevin Rogers said that it’s not an issue as they would not drive down the alley, they would park on Kirk or Spaulding Avenue. Mr. Nelson stated that Mr. Harden’s property does not go across the Tailrace and that’s one of the reasons they’re requesting the vacation. After discussion by the Council Councilor Cole moved that the Council initiate vacation procedures as requested. The motion was seconded by Councilor Brenner and was approved 4 to 1 with Councilor Shepherd voting no.
  2. Marvin Borntrager. Mr. McDowell told the Council that City employee Marvin Brontrager had successfully completed is six month probationary period.
  3. Authorize Agreement for Transportation Enhancement Grant. Mr. McDowell told the Council that he and Bill Sattler are working on finishing up the paperwork for the Transportation Enhancement Program grant for the Hwy. 228 / Main Street intersection area. In order to complete the process an Intergovernmental Agreement will need to be signed between the State of Oregon, Linn County and the City. The deadline is August 31 to complete the process so Mr. McDowell asked the Council for authorization for he and Mayor Ware to execute any needed documents to complete the application process. Councilor Cole moved to grant such authority to Mr. McDowell and Mayor Ware. The motion was seconded by Councilor Brenner and was approved unanimously.
  4. Recreation Center Agreement. Mr. McDowell said that he and Mayor Ware had attended the last Rec Board meeting to discuss the proposed agreement and had made some minor changes at the request of the Rec Board. There was a discussion regarding the services provided by the Rec Center and the amount of funding provided by the City. Councilor Brenner moved to approve the Rec Center agreement. Councilor Pinnock seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously.

DISCUSSION ITEMS:

  1. Julie Shoemaker Request. Mr. McDowell presented information regarding Ms. Shoemaker’s request to implement a dog and cat licensing system run by the City. Mr. McDowell said that he has contacted other cities with similar programs and they all have departments which manage those programs. Mr. McDowell said that implementing such a program would be expensive and would expose the City to significant legal liability as other cities have been sued over their management of their programs. Mr. McDowell recommended against the City implementing such a program. The consensus of the Council was in agreement with Mr. McDowell’s assessment. Mr. McDowell said that he would contact Ms. Shoemaker and inform her of the Council’s decision.
  2. Jake Brakes – Hwy. 228. Mr. McDowell said that he had met with Marcia Morrow, manager of the Brownsville Mobile Home Park on Hwy. 228, and she would like the City to request that ODOT place signs prohibiting the use of jake brakes on Hwy. 228 inside the City Limits. The consensus of the Council was to do so. Mr. McDowell said that he would look into what the City could do. Mr. Frink suggested that such a regulation be implemented citywide, not just in one area.
  3. Economic Development Council Retreat. Mr. McDowell asked the Councilor to choose three possible dates when they could get together for at least two hours to discuss the topic of economic development.

CITIZEN INPUT:

Ms. Kay Fox said that she had read an article in the Brownsville Times about the Community Gardens which said that some of the gardeners were selling their surplus produce at the Brownsville Farmers’ Market and that since the water for the gardens is subsidized by the City she wanted the Council to prohibit the sale of any produce raised in the Community Gardens. Cheryl Haworth stated that she is involved with the Community Gardens and that the goal of the project is to increase local food production. She said that the plots are only 300 square feet and that while some of the gardeners may sell some of their surplus of a particular crop the plots are much too small for anyone to be growing for the purpose of selling their produce. Ms. Rikki Gutierrez said that she agreed with Ms. Fox and didn’t want any of the produce sold. Ms. J.D. Cochran said that she was the coordinator for the gardens and explained that the project consists of 15 plots, each 300 square feet in size. The goal is to enhance local food production and to help people learn to garden. Ms. Cochran said that the group is trying to work out an arrangement to donate produce to Sharing Hands but Sharing Hands is not currently set up to handle perishable food. There was an extended discussion among the Council and the public regarding the issue but no action was taken.

HANDOUTS:

  1. Westech Monthly Report.

2. June Financials.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: Mr. McDowell said that the Council would be meeting in Executive Session pursuant to ORS 192.660(e) to conduct deliberations with persons designated by the governing body to negotiate real property transactions. The Council then went into Executive Session.

ADJOURNMENT: The Council returned from Executive Session and the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m. without taking further action.

 

 

___________________________ ____________________________

City Administrator S. Scott McDowell Mayor Don Ware