It was the first meeting of the new year for the Goldendale City Council, which included a new lineup. Former Councilor Dave Jones was elected mayor in November. In that same election Danielle Clevidence won the open Position 5 seat left by Jones, and Theone Wheeler defeated incumbent Filberto Ontiveros for Position 2. Councilors Andy Halm and Loren Meagher both ran unopposed and were re-elected. Councilors Steve Johnston, Ellie Casey and Miland Walling were unaffected, as their terms don’t expire until 2026.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, Jones gaveled the meeting to order for the first time. The agenda included a presentation from the Coalition for Preventing Abuse in Klickitat County which included an invitation for council members to attend the group’s meetings.
Under Council Business, City Fire Chief Noah Halm summarized the department’s activity in 2023:
“Total number of incidents last year was 212. Ninety-seven of those would be EMS calls, 115 would be fire-related type incidents. We went to 11 structure fires, building fires, 3 car fires and 14 wildland-type incidents.”
He added that the department had provided mutual aid to nearby departments 18 times and had received mutual aid from other departments 6 times.
Councilors approved a ground lease for an emergency communications tower in the city’s watershed, and approved a $187,000 grant from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Administration, for new personal protection equipment for the city’s firefighters.
The surprise of the night came on an unusual divided vote on a resolution that would formalize the distribution of funds from the city’s transient room tax to nonprofit groups to fund events that would bring in tourist dollars. Despite having agreed on the distribution at the final meeting in December, councilors were unable to pass the formal resolution.
In the end, Councilors Miland Walling and Ellie Casey voted in favor, Councilors Theone Wheeler and Andy Halm abstained, and Councilors Steve Johnston, Loren Meagher and Danielle Clevidence voted against it.
Opposition to the distribution was due, at least in part, to the inclusion of funds for a gay pride event in Goldendale, despite the fact that the city has funded the program for several years, and last year it brought in 500 people