Video courtesy of Nancy Kusky of Goldendale TV. Don’t forget to Subscribe to her Youtube channel.
The Goldendale City Council met last night with a bare quorum of four of the seven council members. One seat is vacant due to the resignation of Shannon Middleton. Loren Meagher and Julie Buck were unable to attend. Main items on the agenda were the city’s solid waste management plan, and the first reading of an ordinance rezoning some of the lots in a planned development off South Columbus and 18th streets.
Ruby Irving, Director of Solid Waste for Klickitat County, told the council that state regulations require an update in each city or county’s waste management plan every five years and the time had come:
“The cities have partnered with Klickitat County so they don’t have to do their own plan, which is really, really smart because it’s a really big expensive document that winds up sitting on the shelf and it only gives us a little bit of guidance. Our plan hasn’t really changed that much over the last 20 years. There are a couple of new things in the plan. We’re gonna start going in a different direction, due to legislation that has passed and legislation that is expected to pass in the next couple of cycles:
A motion to adopt the county’s plan passed unanimously.
Councilors also approved the first reading on a subdivision proposal from RRR Development. Earlier, the planning commission split on a 2 to 2 vote on whether to rezone all the proposed lots, and after a great deal of discussion at the last council meeting, staff was directed to draw up an ordinance rezoning six of the lots from single family to two family residential. The proposal passed on an unusual three to one split vote, with councilor Andy Halm expressing concern that a variance to allow narrower streets would cause potential problems for emergency vehicles.
And the council heard a request by Stillwater Ministries to enter into a developer agreement with regard to construction of a sewer main to their lot. Dustin Conroy of Pioneer Survey and Engineering supported the proposal, noting that a current sewer line under Simcoe Drive had been crushed and caused overflow problems:
“They’re proposing an agreement with the city to split that cost for crossing under Simcoe Drive. It benefits the city, because we have only one crossing of Simcoe Drive that way, so instead of having two open cuts, possibly there would only be just one. There’s also still the potential to bore under Simcoe right there, so we might not even have to do an open cut. It’s kind of a win-win for the city and Stillwater Ministries.”
In other business, Police Chief Hunsaker reported that their newest hire had received a job offer from the city of Tigard, Oregon for much higher wages and resigned to take the job. The city will search for a replacement, and civil service testing has been scheduled for May 15.
Next Monday, May 10 has tentatively been set for a meeting of the Public Works Committee, and the deadline for submitting letters of intent to serve on the city council to replace Shannon Middleton, who resigned, is May 19.