Talking Kelso

After the lone skate park bid we received last month was rejected by council, we asked that a request for bids be sent again. A local contractor pointed out that in our original request, we had required bidders to have extensive skate park construction experience, and that item limited the number of prospective bidders.

For the second round, staff changed that provision to require experience in similar concrete construction, but removed the requirement that the experience be specifically in skate parks. The hope is that expanding the potential pool of bidders will result in more, cheaper options for construction.

From what I’ve heard so far, it might be working. The city manager indicated that several bids have been received so far. Though I have no idea what the figures on them are, the mere fact that we have multiple options to choose from would seem to imply we’ll get a better price than the first time we tried. We expect to hear the results of the bid and choose a contractor (or not!) at our July 7 meeting.

The community assessment task force held meetings in various parts of the city to help us identify ways we could improve Kelso. Their report will be presented to the council in a special workshop on Tuesday, June 30 at 6PM. Everyone is welcome to join us!

We never know what we’re going to end up with when a council position becomes vacant. You might get a candidate with a good background in local government, or a person who’s never been inside city hall before. We’re fortunate to have four experienced individuals to consider for our latest council opening.

I found a copy of the paper from the day after I was appointed, and recalled that while the guys who interviewed against me for the position seemed friendly and dedicated, they generally didn’t have much knowledge about what’s involved in running a city. Thankfully, that won’t be a problem we face this week.

We have two recent councilmembers, Mark Chester and Jack Keolker, who have applied for the spot. The other two applicants, Rick Von Rock and Gary Schimmel, have both been attending council meetings regularly, Von Rock for well over a year.

Both former councilmembers were defeated in recent elections, Chester by Dan Myers in 2007, and Keolker by John Karnofski in 2005. I’ve heard thoughts in the past along the lines of, “If the citizens just said they don’t want this guy, why would we appoint them?” On the other hand, they have experience and are known factors in terms of how they relate to other members. The newcomers bring a fresh perspective and both have experience that could benefit a councilmember. Plus, they’ve already shown commitment by educating themselves on the position, with no requirement to do so.

As always, I’ll be looking for the one who I think will be able to mesh well with the rest of the council. I care less about their positions than how they express them.

Daily News - Four bid to fill seat on Kelso council

The council will interview applicants for the position vacated by Alan Slater effective June 30. The interviews will take place on Monday, June 8, at 7 p.m., and anyone interested in the seat is requested to submit their applications by Friday, June 5.

Because Slater’s position represents the north ward, applicants must live north of Allen Street, between I-5 and the Cowlitz River. Applicants are also required to have lived in the Kelso city limits for the year prior to their appointment. Once appointed, the successful candidate will have to run in the general election in November to retain the seat through the remainder of Slater’s term, which ends in 2011.

Based on past history, councilmembers have valued community service and experience with governmental agencies when selecting replacement councilmembers. Personally, I hope to find an individual who is willing to work together in a genial manner, has an open mind, and can be supportive of decisions made by the council regardless of whether they got their way or not.

If you’re interested and meet the required qualifications, you can download the application below. I look forward to having a full slate of quality applicants.

Council application

Long-time councilmember Alan Slater surprised the council Tuesday night by announcing that he will step down from his position by the end of June. Al said that he’s facing a recurrence of cancer and wants to spend more time with his wife and grandchildren.

Alan is by far the senior member of the council, with more than 26 years in the position. That experience, coupled with his business background and friendly personality, has made him a valuable part of the group. He will be missed.

Alan serves in the north ward, so we will soon begin looking searching for a replacement from that area. Applicants will need to reside north of Allen Street, between the river and I-5.

TDN

In an effort to add another way for people to interact and give input on city issues, I’ve started a Facebook page. Become a fan today!

Which budget fix would you prefer? Cut services/staff Increase taxes Just pull shortfall out of reserve funds View Results  Loading ...

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The financial news locally has been pretty dismal, with unemployment leaping, real estate stagnant, and government at every level looking for ways to cut costs.  We’ve been somewhat fortunate in Kelso, having taken pretty conservative approaches to spending in the past.  Those strategies left us without having to make severe cuts, even as the economy dipped.

However, it’s beginning to look like revenues aren’t going to hit even our conservative projections.  Through March, we’re seeing that:

• Sales tax is projecting about $50,000 lower than budgeted due to general reductions in spending and construction
• Gambling tax (lowered by the council from 10% to 6% for six months) is projected at about $75,000 under budget
• Real estate excise tax, collected on the sale of property, is on pace to be off $65,000 from budget
• Building permit revenue, budgeted to include $120,000 from the River Road condo project, could suffer if that project does not move forward
• Interest income was budgeted at 2.5%, but has been closer to 1.0% in the state investment pool
• Engineering, planning and zoning fees were budgeted at $95,000, but have only been $4,000 through March

Read more »

Councilmember Dan Myers is helping organize a group of volunteers to work on staffing the Kelso train station.  The role of these folks will be providing information to travelers and just being a friendly face when somebody shows up in Kelso.  It’s always nice to make a good impression on the arriving passengers, as well as those who pass through, perhaps shaping their perception of Kelso solely on the activity at the train station.

If you have any interest in working at the station, come find out more at the meeting on April 27th, 7:00 PM at city hall.  For more, see The Daily News article.

I’ll be taking your calls on new KLTV show Wednesday night at 7 PM. KLTV is kicking off a weekly show that will let viewers ask questions directly to a civic leader.

The show’s called ‘Local Matters’ and will air on KLTV’s governmental channel, 29. They’ll be alternating between the mayors of Kelso and Longview, a county official, and possibly a rotation of the mayors from the smaller cities in Cowlitz County. This will be the debut, so if you have questions about what’s happening in Kelso, give us a call!

The council voted 6-0 last night to reduce the gambling tax for card rooms to 6% for the next six months.  (Councilmember Myers was out of town for this meeting.)

The thought behind this move was to protect the jobs of those employed at the River Casino.  The casino earlier brought in their financial records, and had asked for any concessions we could provide to help them through the economic recession.

The immediate question some have is, why just help out a casino when other businesses are struggling?  That’s a valid thought.  To me, the answer is, we don’t take enough from other businesses to be able to give them a meaningful reduction. Read more »