The regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 7:33 p.m. Mayor Young delivered the invocation and led the flag salute.

COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:

Mayor Cheryl A. Young

Councilor Marian Calnon

Council Bill Guy

Councilor Gary Hudson (arrived 7:35 p.m.)

COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT:

Councilor Bob Schmor

ALSO PRESENT:

Leahnette Rivers, City Administrator/Recorder

ATTORNEY PRESENT:

None.

A quorum was present and due notice had been published.

Public Hearing opened.

Leahnette Rivers explained that the City has been invited to submit a final funding application for this project, and the project is expected to cost approximately $401,000.

She noted that a written comment was received from Mary Ann Matlock on February 4, 2002, suggesting that new homes pay for the RCE lift station project.

Rivers said revenues from sewer system development charges could be used to supplement the sewer usage revenues to pay for this project, but they could not fund the entire project. She said the Council could elect to postpone this project if a back-up pump is purchased and the hydrogen sulfide gas problem is addressed, but it would only be a temporary measure.

Councilor Guy asked why this project is needed. Rivers explained that the RCE lift station was originally constructed to serve the River Club Estates Subdivision. She said in 1992 the lift station was incorporated into the City's new sewer system design, and it receives and handles 90% of the City's wastewater. She said it is a two-pump lift station, and the Department of Environmental Quality requires a single pump to be capable of handling peak flows in a two-pump station, which leaves the second pump available as a backup. She said during the past few years, several pumps have needed rebuilding and/or replacement, and during these repair periods, only one pump was in the lift station for long periods of time. She said during some peak flows both pumps are running. She noted that sewage has spilled onto the pavement area around the lift station at times.

Shari Ouillette of the Caples House Museum said it sounds like we have no choice but to complete this project.

No other comments were heard from the public.

Public Hearing closed.

7.1 Park System Development Charges: Presentation by Lans Stout and Anna Zirker of CIDA, Inc., of the City of Columbia City System Development Charges (SDC) for the Parks System Recommendations dated January 17, 2002.

Lans Stout and Anna Zirker spoke to the City Council about the Parks SDC Recommendations. Zirker reviewed the details of the report with the City Council. She noted that the recent purchase price of the St. Helens property was used to update the land value used in the SDC calculations, and as a result land value increased from $0.50 to $1.00. She said SDC's need to be fair and equitable, and the recommendation is to charge the same park SDC to all types of residential dwellings, whether they are multi-family, mobile home, or single family. She said they selected 13 other comparable cities under 5,000 in population with SDC charges in excess of $1,000. She said the average SDC for the comparable cities was $1,070.62. She said the SDC charge needs to be defensible, and they used a park land need of 5 acres per 1,000 in population.

Zirker said the report recommends the City Council move forward with adopting a Park SDC of $1,133.60 per dwelling unit, and she noted that this SDC is based upon an assumption of donated land, time and materials. She said the recommended SDC is approximately 6% higher than the SDC charged by comparable cities. She said new development should contribute towards growth-related park needs, and the recommended SDC would result in a fair contribution.

Stout said the equity and defensibility of an SDC is very important. He said a good foundation for the fee is very important, and fees that are comparable to those charged by other jurisdictions are less likely to be challenged. He said the Parks Master Plan provides a vision, and the SDC's will only pay for a share of the needed costs. He said an SDC calculated on the needs identified in the Parks Master Plan would have been extremely high.

The Council discussed the SDC study at length. Mayor Young inquired about a Park SDC for commercial and industrial. Stout recommended against such a charge. He said it is not easily defensible, and it may tend to discourage commercial and industrial growth.

Councilor Guy asked what other revenues would be used to meet the Park Master Plan improvement needs. Leahnette Rivers said the SDC revenues would be supplemented by grant funds and donations of land, labor and materials.

Mayor Young asked how the 6% land donation required by the Subdivision Ordinance would affect the recommended SDC charge. Rivers explained that a credit equal to the value of the land donation would be applied toward each SDC within the subdivision area. She noted that the Planning Commission will be looking at deleting the land donation requirement when they rewrite the development code.

It was the consensus of the Council that the City Attorney be directed to prepare the necessary paperwork for adoption of the recommended Park SDC.

Councilor Calnon said the Parks Committee is looking at cleaning up the Jim Bundy Memorial Park, but retaining the natural character. Zirker said a natural design would be very appropriate for that particular park.

AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT:

Shari Ouillette of the Caples House Museum spoke to the City Council about the need for the replacement of the Caples House Museum directional signs on Highway 30. She asked if the City Council can do anything to help the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) get the sign replaced.

Ouillette explained that prior to the highway widening project, there were small brown signs on Highway 30 that said, "Caples House Museum." She said the signs were placed on the highway in 1969 or 1970. She said the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) removed the signs during the highway widening project. She said when the highway project was finished, the DAR noticed that the signs were not replaced.

Ouillette said the DAR contacted ODOT about replacing the signs, and ODOT informed them that the old signs would not be replaced. She said ODOT offered to put up new signs for a fee of $1400. Ouillette explained that the DAR sent $1400 to ODOT to have the signs put up. However, several months later ODOT returned the check, noting that the fee was $1400 for each side of the highway, for a total of $2800. She said for the $2800, ODOT would install two signs on each side of the highway - the first sign would indicate that the Caples House Museum was 1/4 mile ahead, and a second sign would be placed at the turn. Ouillette said the DAR determined that the new signs were not affordable.

Ouillette said she and her husband became caretakers for the Caples House Museum in 1999, and she said she began working on the sign problem when she first arrived. She said one of the first things she learned is that ODOT would not replace the old signs because they did not conform to Federal law relating to historical signage along United States highways. She said under the new law, all of the historical signs needed to look the same.

Ouillette said she went to a sign company in Scappoose and asked if they would donate the signs if she obtained the specifications from ODOT. She said the sign company agreed to make the signs. However, she said ODOT refused to allow another sign company to make the signs. She said ODOT insisted that they must make the signs.

Ouillette said she talked with Jim Bundy several times during the last three years about the signs. She said about a year ago, Bundy announced that ODOT had agreed to include the Caples House Museum on the City Hall and Post Office sign. However, Ouillette said when ODOT representatives visited Columbia City two or three weeks ago they said the City Hall sign would be replaced, but the Caples House Museum would not be included on the sign.

Ouillette said ODOT has gone through several staffing and departmental changes, and no one is certain who said the Caples House Museum would be included on the City's sign, but ODOT has made it very clear that it will not happen. She said ODOT officials have said that they cannot add the Caples House Museum to the City's sign because another ODOT department would not receive money for making the historical sign.

Mayor Young suggested this matter be brought to the attention of Joan Dukes, Betsy Johnson and David Wu.

Ouillette said the DAR has invested a lot of money in the Caples House property in anticipation of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Celebration. She said funds are tight and the economy has taken a turn, and the signs are expensive to purchase through ODOT.

It was the consensus of the Council that the City send a letter to ODOT requesting a speedy resolution to this problem, and also send a letter to our State representatives asking for their assistance.

4.1 Parks Committee: Chair Calnon said the tree cutters will fell some trees in the Jim Bundy Memorial Park. She said Bernard Carlton has marked the trees that need to be cut. She said some trillium are showing in the park, so they plan to only drop the trees and let them lie for a while.

Chair Calnon reported that Gerry Reid and Bruce Holz attended the last Parks Committee Meeting. She said they would like to install a public park bench in memory of their mother. She said they are asking permission to place it on public property. She said the Parks Committee thinks it would be a great idea to allow citizens to put in benches or tables in memory of a loved one. She said design specifications should be agreed upon.

Chair Calnon said the Committee may have a plant sale during the Columbia City Celebration.

4.2 Water Source and Development Committee: Chair Guy said the Water Committee is recommending the City Council make a formal offer for the purchase of the reservoir property, which will be discussed in detail during an Executive Session.

Leahnette Rivers said Erik Coats is currently obtaining a quote for installing a packer in the King Well. She said the packer will be used to temporarily seal out water from lower sections in the well to determine the quality of the water coming from the upper sections. She said we will video the well prior to installing the packer.

4.3 Street Committee: No report.

4.4 Other reports: Mayor Young said she read a Dr. Seuss story to Elementary School children last Friday. She said she also read during Story Time at the Library Monday evening. She said she was presented with a flag and a large bag of M&Ms.

AGENDA ITEM 5 CONSENT AGENDA:

5.5 Request for renewal of OLCC Liquor License for Columbia City Mini Mart; applicants Matthew L. and Celice A. Carlough.

It was the consensus of the Council that item 5.3 be removed from the consent agenda, because there was no report from the Chief of Police.

Leahnette Rivers asked that the meeting minutes of February 21, 2002 be corrected. She said the second sentence of the paragraph entitled "Grand Marshals" on page 4 should be corrected to read, "She said they are sisters that both live in Columbia City, and they are ancestors of the Caples family."

MOVED (HUDSON), SECONDED (BILL) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY ROLL CALL VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA WITH THE DELETION OF ITEM 5.3 AND THE CORRECTION TO THE MEETING MINUTES.

6.1 Sewer Usage Fees: Recommendation from City Administrator/Recorder regarding an increase in sewer usage fees; discussion of rate structure options.

The Council continued their review of sample rate structures, including a chart showing the category of each residential customer based upon their winter water usage. Councilor Calnon suggested that staff develop more detailed information showing the amount of revenue each rate structure will generate.

Councilor Guy cautioned that a usage base rate structure will have a greater impact on the higher water users, who are also most affected by the recent water rate increase. He said a larger family is not necessarily more financially able to pay than a smaller family.

After a lengthy discussion, it was the consensus of the Council that the customer count for each category be applied to each sample rate structure to determine the amount of revenue that each rate structure would generate for further review at the next meeting.

Councilor Hudson suggested the City graph the fee revenue, cost of inflation, and operation and maintenance costs for the public hearing.

The Council discussed whether or not the City should move to a monthly water and sewer billing at length. They also discussed contracting for meter reading services, and they will continue this discussion at a future meeting.

MOVED (HUDSON), SECONDED (GUY) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE COUNCIL BILL NO. 02-242.

Leahnette Rivers said in the proposed job description of Public Works Superintendent, the word "only" has been struck from the General Purpose statement.

MOVED (CALNON), SECONDED (HUDSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 02-243.

Leahnette Rivers explained that these revisions have been adopted by the City of Salem, and forwarded to Columbia City to be included in our standard construction specifications.

MOVED (HUDSON), SECONDED (GUY) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 02-244.

MOVED (GUY), SECONDED (HUDSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE ENGAGEMENT LETTER WITH PAULY, ROGERS AND CO.

CCTV: The Council reviewed a letter dated February 13, 2002, from Columbia Community Television requesting the City's support and promotion of media democracy by proclaiming the week of March 17th through the 23rd as Media Democracy Week. It was the consensus of the Council that no action be taken at this time.

Oregon Association for Safe Highways: The Council reviewed a memo dated March 6, 2002, from Colleen Pacheco of the Oregon Association for Safe Highways, a program of the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, requesting a meeting with the Mayor and City Council Members to discuss the need to safeguard our roads and protect motorists' lives. Members of the Council expressed support for the efforts of the coalition. Mayor Young said she will try to meet with Ms. Pacheco on Thursday.

The Council convened in Executive Session.

The Council reconvened in Open Session.

MOVED (GUY), SECONDED (HUDSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ASK BENKENDORF TO NEGOTIATE THE PURCHASE OF PROPERTY AND EASEMENTS FOR THE WATER RESERVOIR SITE AS RECOMMENDED BY THE WATER COMMITTEE.

There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 9:41 p.m.

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