Talking Kelso

Here’s the link to the agenda packet for July 15, but be warned: it’s more than 400 pages long! The biggest part of the packet is the Capital Improvement Plan, which runs through page 400.

You’re welcome to peruse the entire plan, but the upshot is that we have over $17M of projects that are classified as “urgent” that need to be funded in the next three years. About half of that will be paid by federal and state grants, but we will soon be considering issuing bonds for about $6.5M of those investments.

We also recognized Officer Ernie Moore, who is retiring this year after 34 years on the Kelso Police Department. There will be a retirement recognition open house for Officer Moore on July 25 from 1-4 PM in the council chambers. All are welcome to attend.

We also approved a contract for a website update with omOriginals at a cost of $14,500, authorized the disposition of an old police car, and reconsidered our recent recommendation of denial of the liquor license request from El Tucan.

You may recall that we were concerned with the fact that the business intended to operate a teen nightclub above a bar, and that the arrangement had caused trouble with minors accessing liquor in the past. The owners of El Tucan now have changed their plan for the second floor to operate as a family-type restaurant that only allows minors until 10 PM. This seemed to me typical of most of the restaurant/bar combinations in the city, like the Red Lion, Azteca, etc., and based on these changes, the council recommended approval of the license to the state.

The agenda packet for the May 20 meeting is now available. While the package is huge, much of what we will consider comes down to the implementation of the new Kelso Engineering and Design Manual (KEDM). The manual is a key piece that the engineering department is using to communicate the city’s design requirements to builders and developers in one consolidated document. As we begin implementing the manual, it will require changes to the various code sections that now contain these requirements. As a result, we have nine agenda items that really could all be summarized into one thing: approving and implementing the KEDM.

After the KEDM, the council will consider these items:

• Adopting an updated fee schedule for the Planning department to provide a predictable and equitable cost structure.
• Accepting the dedication of Coweeman Park Drive. Roads in newly constructed developments are often dedicated, or given, to the city when the development is complete. The city takes ownership and maintains the street from there. This one apparently never was formally dedicated, even though the construction was completed several years ago.
• Renewing our agreement with the Longview Housing Authority to administer some of our federal housing assistance funds.

The agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting is now available on the city’s site. It looks like we’ll have a solid ten minutes of reading proclamations for National Police Week, National Public Works Week, and Mental Health Month . Other items we’ll discuss:

• We’ll consider refinancing some bonds that were issued in 1998 for the water and sewer fund. It looks like we could save more than $50,000 by taking advantage of lower interest rates now.
• We’ll consider suspending the requirement that Talley Way area businesses must make improvements to their street frontage until a comprehensive plan for that area is completed. Businesses who get a free pass now would have to make the improvements required under the new plan once it’s done.
• We’ll consider a proposal for constructing new hangars at the airport.
• We will probably award a bid for paving the parking lot at Tam O’Shanter Park.
• We’ll look at hiring a company to complete the airport master plan update to help drive future development in that area.
• We’ll consider hiring an engineering firm to evaluate a site for a potential new water reservoir.

As always, it’s Tuesday night at 7:00P, with plenty of good seats still available!

Here’s a link to the agenda packet for this week’s meeting.  Some of the highlights:

• We’ll allocate the HOME funds that we receive to help fund various low income housing projects.  The proposed projects include funding part of a Habitat for Humanity house, providing rental assistance for domestic violence victims, and providing rental assistance for participants in the HOPE and drug court programs.
• We’ll consider rezoning several parcels on 7th Ave NW in West Kelso to allow the construction of some multiplexes.
• We will consider awarding a bid for this year’s paving program, which will take place in the industrial area.
• We’ll decide on a possible lease of land at the airport for the construction of new hangars, designed to increase capacity to accommodate some on the waiting list at the airport.

Here’s a link to the council packet for our March 18th meeting.  Some highlights of what we’re going to be discussing:

• We’ll probably appoint members to the Aldercrest/DNR Trust Land advisory board.
• We’ll hear from the annual report from our police and fire departments.
• We’ll consider hiring a firm to revise our subdivision and zoning ordinances.

Check out the packet for full details on these items and more.

Apparently due to some technical difficulties, the packet for March 4 is not shown on the city’s website. Fortunately, I have a copy for you. Here’s what’s we did:

• We approved the structure of the group that’s being setup to advise the council on possible uses for the Aldercrest DNR land, though we didn’t yet make appointments to start the group. Councilmembers will receive copies of the applications submitted by the next meeting, where we will likely make appointments to the group.
• On a 4-3 vote, we referred a recommended increase in hangar rental rates back to the airport board for further consideration. (Councilmembers Wheeler, McDaniel, Roberson and Myers voted to do so, with Slater, Karnofski and I preferring to accept the recommendation.) Because the hangar property technically belongs to the City of Kelso, the council has to approve changes like this, even though the airport board generally makes the decisions on how to run things out there.
• We heard a presentation from the group starting the downtown revitalization efforts in Kelso.  Be sure to visit their new website.
• We passed a resolution of intent to annex the property Tichael Properties wants to use to construct their multi-story mixed housing and retail development, one part of which could house the Kelso Library in the future.
• We adopted an updated city park plan.
• We authorized the purchase of a backhoe and a street sweeper/catch basin cleaner.

Here’s what’s on the agenda for February 19:

Recognition of Senator Sid Snyder – We’ll be revealing a plaque recognizing former state senator Sid Snyder. The plaque will be presented to Senator Snyder at a ceremony recognizing Joe Moses at RA Long High School on March 1.

Airport Presentation – The airport manager, Denny Wise, will present an update on the future of the airport.

Planning Fees – Commercial projects have been required to reimburse the city for fees the city pays to outside engineers for plan review. These projects are reviewed by outside engineers because the city does not have the necessary engineering staff to review these types of projects in house. (Commercial projects are hard to predict, and we had few of them in the years preceding 2006.) Because we can’t always control the cost of an outside review, developers have no certainty in the cost of the city’s plan review. We will hear a proposal to fix the cost of these services, so that we can give a firm price to potential project developers, instead of asking them to write a ‘blank check’.

Solid Waste Management Plan - We will consider the adoption of the county’s new Solid Waste Management Plan.

Animal Control – The council will consider the approval of the annual contract with the Cowlitz County Humane Society. The 2008 contract amount is proposed at $68,332.

These are the main items we’ll be looking at. For a full agenda and packet, just like we councilmembers receive, visit the council section of the City’s website.

The council heard from representatives of the Kelso School District regarding the potential installation of a red light traffic signal at the exit of the parking lot to the high school. If you don’t live on that side of town, you might have missed the huge backups mornings and afternoons on school days. The District has reviewed other options and has worked with engineers to determine that a signal is the best option for the safety of the students and other drivers. No commitments were made regarding the city’s financial participation in the project, though the council indicated support for the concept.

Retail Development

The council approved a recommendation from the planning commission regarding a change to the city’s comprehensive plan and zoning map to allow the possible construction of a retail complex near I-5

HOME Fund Allocations

Kelso receives funds through HUD which are to be used for various low-income housing projects. Each year, we hear proposals from various organizations for ways to use the funding. This year, we heard presentations from the housing authorities for the SHARE program and Phoenix House. Phoenix House is a proposed transitional group housing project for mothers recovering from drug or alcohol addiction. The request for this project was $50,000. The SHARE program was funded last year, and helps low income individuals purchase and renovate an existing home, increasing the assessed value and improving the look of the entire neighborhood. The SHARE program requested $43,000.

As is always the case, the requested funding exceeded the available HUD money of $66,748. The council voted to split the money evenly between the two projects, giving each just over $33,000.

Backflow Prevention

The council approved on second reading changes to rules about water connections that are intended to eliminate backflow and control cross connections. These measures are designed to meet requirements of mandated programs and to prevent public health issues that can arise from backflow contamination.

ADA Bathroom for the Library

Council approved a bid from Five Rivers Construction to add an ADA accessible bathroom at the Kelso Library. The library continues to have difficult access for the disabled, which is one of the reasons the council has interest in an updated facility. This new bathroom, though, will help resolve one issue complicating life for some users.

Allen Street parking

The state will resurface Allen Street this year, so the public works department has taken the opportunity to evaluate the option of moving the parking area from the south side of the street to the north side. The thinking was that the north side is closer to the housing, which uses the area the most. Studying the issue revealed that the businesses actually count on the parking spaces for their employees as much as the residences. Furthermore, the renovation would reduce the available spaces by 40%. Given that fact, and that any change to the construction would have to be paid for by the city, the council decided to leave the configuration as it is.

KHS Pedestrian Crossings

The council has instructed staff to investigate possible solutions for increasing the visibility of the three crosswalks on Allen Street near Kelso High School in the interest of the students’ safety. After reviewing bids, the public works director gave the council three options, ranging in price from $12,870 to $31,555. The council asked for images of the proposed options, in order to help determine which choice would produce the best visibility for the crosswalks.

Community Center Survey

The council approved $3,200 as the Kelso portion of a joint effort to determine the community’s interest in a new community center. Each of the other jurisdictions has approved their portion of the funding. I think the council had some mixed thoughts on the center planning, but hopefully the survey will clarify what the citizens want, if anything. See my previous post on the community center summit.

Liquid Natural Gas

The council voted unanimously to indefinitely postpone any discussion on a resolution opposing the potential LNG facility on the Columbia River.  Opponents of the project presented their side of the issue to the council at a March meeting, where they asked us to consider formal opposition.  Council members also heard later from supporters of the project.

It became clear that those involved in the issue are very zealous, and equally clear that the issue was outside of Kelso’s jurisdiction.  Weighing in on an issue to be decided by a federal agency would likely have the same effect as our passing a resolution on the Iraq war or abortion.  The process would have been divisive and at the same time, likely fruitless.  Personally, I felt like we run into enough divisive issues in what we are required to do without taking on this one voluntarily.

LNG Resolution

A number of citizens came to express their opinions on the liquid natural gas facility proposal on the Columbia River. The council put off action on a resolution opposing it until May 1, so that the proponents of the facility may have an equal opportunity to get in front of the council with their information.

Tourism agreements

The council approved two agreements to provide tourism services. One was with the historical museum, and the other with the Columbia Theatre. These agreements were basically technicalities required under a recent attorney general opinion that restricted the use of the hotel/motel taxes. Since these organizations are agreeing to provide tourism services, we’re able to provide the same funding that we’ve provided in the past.
Cross Connections

The council approved changes to rules regarding water hookups that will strengthen requirements for preventing backflow. This can be a serious health issue if contaminants were ever allowed to enter the water supply.

Skate Park Grant

An anonymous donor offered to match private contributions up to $10,000, in the event that the city would then match the combined total of $20,000 with a like amount. The council voted to allocate $20,000 toward the skate park project to take advantage of the donors’ generosity.