Mayor Young called the regular meeting to order at 7:38 p.m. Harold Olsen delivered the invocation and Mayor Young led the flag salute.

Mayor Cheryl A. Young

Councilor Bill Guy

Councilor Gary Hudson

Councilor Tyra A. Schroeder

Councilor Bob Schmor

COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT:

None

ALSO PRESENT:

Michael Reedy, Chief of Police

Micah Olson, Public Works Superintendent

Leahnette Rivers, City Administrator/Recorder

ATTORNEY PRESENT:

Harold Olsen, City Attorney

A quorum was present and due notice had been published.

None.

Brian Little, Enterprise Zone Manager and City Administrator for the City of St. Helens, presented the Council with a revised version of Council Bill No. 06-392 as a result of new information he received today. He said Pacific Stainless will be able to increase employment by 110%. He said they currently employee 54 employees, and they are guaranteeing they will employ 60 employees in their new location.

Mr. Little said Pacific Stainless wishes to extend the property tax abatement from three years to five years, which requires the approval of each of the Enterprise Zone Sponsors. He said the sponsors are the City of Columbia City, Columbia County and the City of St. Helens.

Mr. Little said Pacific Stainless will need to pay their employees an average wage and benefit package equal to at least 150% of the Columbia County median wage, which is currently $46,460. He said Pacific Stainless has agreed in a letter dated December 30, 2005, to increase productivity at the new facility by 10% over its existing facility, to dedicate an amount equal to 25% of its property tax savings to workforce training, and to maintain 60 employees through all five years of the property tax exemption.

In addition, Mr. Little said he is negotiating with Pacific Stainless for other things that the local jurisdictions might want. He said Columbia County asked that Pacific Stainless pay Davis Bacon wages during the construction of their facility, but Pacific Stainless said it would be too much of an expense. Instead, he said Pacific Stainless has agreed to contribute $2,500 to the Columbia Pacific Food Bank, $1,000 to the St. Helens Senior Center, $500 to each of the five High Schools in Columbia County, $500 to the Toy and Joy charity for five consecutive years, and $500 to the St. Helens Fireworks Fund for five consecutive years. He said they have also agreed to use Columbia County suppliers if their prices are within 10% of outside suppliers.

Mayor Young suggested Pacific Stainless donate $2,500 or $500 for five years to the St. Helens Senior Center, which would make the contribution to the Center equal to the contributions they are making to each of the other organizations. Mr. Little said he will suggest that change to Pacific Stainless during the continued negotiations.

The Council discussed this matter at length with Mr. Little and staff.

Kim Shade said the Port of St. Helens supports the City's efforts in supporting the passage of this resolution.

MOVED (SCHMOR), SECONDED (HUDSON) AND CARRIED TO ADOPT THE REVISED COUNCIL BILL NO. 06-392.

Mayor Young abstained from voting.

AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT:

Charles Young of Columbia City suggested the City do something to prevent cars from traveling off of the roadway on Fifth Street between "I" and "J" Streets. He said the cars leave the paved roadway and create a muddy mess along the undeveloped right-of-way, He suggested we might install some large rocks or some other type of barrier to keep the cars from traveling in the unimproved right-of-way.

Micah Olson said the City maintains the area, and we should leave a shoulder area because the roadway isn't very wide. He said if we install any barriers we would need to spray for weed control because we wouldn't be able to mow near them.

Councilor Hudson said vehicles appear to be "four-wheeling" in the undeveloped right-of-way and it is really making a muddy mess. He suggested that three large, strategically placed objects would probably solve the problem.

The Council will revisit this problem during the next meeting.

4.1 Parks Committee: No report.

4.2 Water Source and Development Committee: No report.

4.3 Streets Committee: Chair Hudson said there are a few change orders coming up for the "L" Street Bridge project, and the City is responsible for 20% of the additional costs. Leahnette Rivers said we don't know the amount of the second change order, which resulted because the waterlines were deeper than anticipated. Micah Olson said it is a steel waterline that appears to be in surprisingly good condition, considering its age.

4.4 Sewer Committee: Councilor Schmor asked if the rain has increased our sewer flows. Micah Olson said it has, but we only notice it in the upper elevations of the City, and they are attempting to identify the problem areas.

Micah Olson said the sewer line has been rerouted at the "L" Street bridge project, the tie in is completed, and the new sewer main is in operation.

Leahnette Rivers said the St. Helens water treatment plant is connected to the City's sewer system. She said they've done some backwash testing, and the backwash is impacting our system as projected by our engineer's model. She said the new pumps will be installed next week.

4.5 Library Committee: Liaison Hudson said he attended the Friends of the Library meeting. He said they have updated their brochures, and circulation is up over last year. He said they are planning a book sale for Saturday, February 18th, in the Community Hall. He said they are soliciting volunteers to staff the Library on Saturdays.

4.6 Other reports:

Item 5.1 was removed from the Consent Agenda.

MOVED (SCHROEDER), SECONDED (GUY) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY ROLL CALL VOTE TO APPROVE THE REVISED CONSENT AGENDA.

AGENDA ITEM 6 UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

This item was postponed until the next meeting.

MOVED (HUDSON), SECONDED (GUY) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT THE NIMS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN DATED DECEMBER 2005.

The Council reviewed Change Order No. 1 consisting of $840.06 for a revised vault lid.

MOVED (GUY), SECONDED (SCHROEDER) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE CONTRACT CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 IN THE AMOUNT OF $840.06.

The Council completed the first reading of Council Bill No. 06-393, which corrects a clerical error in Ordinance No. 05-610-O.

Councilor Hudson said Micah Olson will meet with St. Helens staff tomorrow morning to get more detailed and accurate information about the turbidity issues they've been experiencing with Ranney Collector Well #1 during the last month of rain. He said because of the turbidity problems, the Health Division may revisit the determination of whether or not the well is influenced by surface water. He said if the Health Division determines that it is influenced by surface water, the water will require a level of treatment that we won't want to provide.

Councilor Schmor asked what the appraisal will cost.

Leahnette Rivers said we planned to strike the appraisal of the Ranney Collector Well at the request of the City of St. Helens, and just complete the appraisal of the water rights. She said this would bring the appraisal costs down to $19,125, which would be shared by the two cities. However, in light of the newly acquired information about turbidity problems, she suggested we postpone action on this matter pending further investigation.

This item was postponed until the next meeting.

Campfires and Canoes: The Council reviewed a request from the Campfires & Canoes Partnership Committee requesting financial support of the Corps of Discovery II, a traveling exhibit from the National Park Service scheduled to be in Olde Towne St. Helens from March 13 - 20, 2006.

MOVED (SCHMOR), SECONDED (SCHROEDER) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO DONATE $300 (DISCOVERY LEVEL) TO THE CAMPFIRES & CANOES PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE.

City Hall remodel project: Leahnette Rivers reviewed the costs for the remodel project, which are within the original estimate of $3,500 with the exception of items that were added to the project as it progressed. She said we weren't originally planning on upper kitchen cabinets or new appliances, but it makes sense to take advantage of the extra storage space and replace the tiny refrigerator and portable dishwasher, which can only be run when we are in the office. She said the entry floor replacement was a budgeted item separate from the remodel. She said the additional items (entry floor, refrigerator, dishwasher and upper cabinets) total approximately $1,454.

Leahnette Rivers suggested the Council consider replacing the carpet in the front office and Council Chambers when the new carpet is installed in the center room. She said Carpet One has a very high quality nylon carpet available in stock and at a reduced price. She said it will cost $1,700 to add new carpet to the front office and Council Chambers. She said the Council Chambers carpet was installed in 1994, and the front office carpet was installed in late 1999 or early 2000.

It was the consensus of the Council that the building materials budget for the remodel be increased to cover the added items and additional carpet. It was suggested that the old carpeting might be reused upstairs or in the Public Works shop if it is salvageable.

MOVED (SCHMOR), SECONDED (GUY) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO INCREASE THE REMODELING BUDGET BY $3,000.

Public Works well: Micah Olson said the well drilling project is moving forward. He said they are ready to start preparing the site for drilling the well. He said he would like to install a retaining wall behind the shop office and backfill it with compacted structural fill. He said this would reduce maintenance problems along the hillside and expand the yard area for the shop. He said they are looking at a variety of retaining wall materials, including large decorative blocks.

Leahnette Rivers said we are looking at placing the retaining wall in a portion of the undeveloped Third Street right-of-way.

St. Helens Water Treatment Plant: Micah Olson said the St. Helens Treatment Plant is scheduled to go into operation for a 30-day test period beginning February 6, 2006.

Mayor Young suggested the contractor add some better gravel to the base rock that is on Fifth Street. Micah Olson will look into this.

Third and "L" Street intersection: Mayor Young said a citizen approached her and requested a "yield" sign be installed on the gravel portion of Third Street where it meets "L" Street, and that the "stop" sign on the paved portion of Third Street at "L" Street be replaced with a "yield" sign.

Leahnette Rivers said she was also recently approached by a citizen with a request for a "stop" sign on the gravel portion of Third Street at "L" Street. She recommended against the use of "yield" signs because "L" Street is fairly heavily traveled. She said it appears that some of the lots along the gravel portion of Third Street will be developing in the very near future, which will increase traffic on Third Street at "L" Street.

It was the consensus of the Council that a "stop" sign be installed on the gravel portion of Third Street at "L" Street.

Police update: Chief Reedy said Officer Bubar is performing very well during his training period. He said Officer McQuiddy, who also serves as Police Sergeant for the City of Clatskanie, will be resigning because he is not able to work his hours here due to the demands of his other job.

Summer concerts: Chief Reedy said the County Commissioners have approved up to ten concerts this year, beginning in May and continuing through September.

Columbia City School: Councilor Schmor said the School Board appointed a Committee to study the school building needs and recommend whether or not the grade schools should be returned to the local communities. He suggested we send a letter in support of returning the Columbia City School to a local elementary school. It was the consensus of the Council that, to the best of their knowledge, the community would prefer the return of the Columbia City Grade School to the community, and that a letter of support should be sent.

AGENDA ITEM 9 ADJOURNMENT:

There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

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