The Goldendale City Council moved forward on several fronts at last night’s meeting. One item added to the agenda was a preliminary report on the 2025 budget from Jen Forsberg, who outlined the next steps:
“Sandy and I are going to work together to further refine the budget numbers. Any trends that we missed we will update in the next round. The full budget will be presented October 21st, including the budget message. We’re going to set the public hearings for both the levy and the budget for November 18th. The levies need to be approved by November 30th and then the budget needs to be approved by the end of the year.”
Sandy is Sandy Wells, City Administrator.
The airport committee is suggesting that now there is aviation fuel available at the city’s airport, it’s time to institute tie-down fees for leaving planes parked there. After studying fees at similar small airports in the state, the committee is asking for a modest $40 per month, with $5 per night for temporary use.
The second item is a request from codes enforcement officer Thomas Johnson, to notify the owner of property at 501 West Broadway that they have five trees next to the street that are considered a hazard and must be removed:
“What I’m asking for is a motion from the city council to move forward to notify the property owner to give him 30 days to respond to the city with his plan to move the trees. If he does not respond within 30 days, the city will move forward, find a contractor to do it. Could cost $15,000, could cost $20,000.”
If the city does have to hire a contractor to remove the trees, the amount of that cost will be placed as a lien on the owner’s property. Any such lien would have to be paid before any sale of the property would take place.
And council did vote in favor of the first reading of a resolution to change portions of the ordinance governing the use of city parks. That includes increasing rental fees for Ekone Park. Rent for the event area at the north end of the park will go from $100 to $250 per day, and to rent just a sector will rise from $50 to $75. One item that will be eliminated in the new rules is the $5 fee for tent camping on the property. There will be no camping allowed once the rule takes effect when passed at the next council meeting on October 21st.