Video courtesy of Nancy Kusky of Goldendale TV. Please subscribe to her YouTube Channel.
Goldendale city councilors powered through a fat agenda that kept them until after 9 pm for the regular session, before heading into an executive session on personnel issues. They did hear a report that the Lions Club will again be sponsoring the sale of fireworks in the city. Under state law, fireworks sales can only take place from June 28 to July 5. And City Administrator Larry Bellamy added this:
“I think it should be made clear, though, that the sale of fireworks is not the same time frame as the discharge of the fireworks.”
That’s because Goldendale passed an ordinance several years ago which says that legal fireworks can only be set off inside city limits from 6:00 pm to midnight on July 4. Police plan extra patrols that night.
Councilors also heard that supply chain slowdowns have led to a waiting period of up to 12 weeks for a specific kind of electrical cabinet needed in conjunction with the installation of fuel systems at the Goldendale Municipal Airport. In a related item, councilors approved a quote from Klickitat PUD to provide a 200-amp underground single phase electrical service to the airport in the amount of $12,754.30.
Other expenditures passed last night included $26,314.10 for a new pump at the wastewater treatment plant, and $31,436.87 for a sewer line extension.
Police Chief Jay Hunziker announced that the department had received a grant from Legends Casino for $7,500 to purchase new laptops, and Mayor Mike Canon announced that the Washington State Department of Ecology had given the wastewater treatment plant staff an award for outstanding performance for a second year in a row. Mayor Canon said the text of the award indicated just how hard the year 2021 had been:
“2021 started as the rainiest year on record, followed by extreme snowfall, then continued with a record-setting heat wave, tornado warnings, and headed out for flooding and more snowfall. Ecology appreciates the extraordinary level of effort Goldendale wastewater treatment plant operators have demonstrated throughout 2021.”
In other items, councilors heard that the city’s main street repair project for the summer will deal with a section of Byers Street starting June 20, and that the Goldendale High School graduation parade will take place this Thursday afternoon.