The regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 7:30 p.m. Mayor Young delivered the invocation and led the flag salute.

COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:

Mayor Cheryl A. Young

Councilor Marian Calnon

Councilor Bill Guy

Councilor Bob Schmor

COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT:

Councilor Gary Hudson

ALSO PRESENT:

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.

AGENDA ITEM 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: None.

AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT: Stuart Katz introduced himself to the Mayor and Council. He said there is drug problem at a house in his neighborhood, and this problem has been present for the 10 years since he has lived within the City. He said the neighbors have recorded license plate numbers and used video cameras to help the CENT Team do their job. He said one person was arrested, but soon returned. Mr. Katz said his son is 10 years old, and he doesn't like the drugs in his back yard or in the City. He asked the City Council what they can do to make this situation go away.

Leahnette said she would review the nuisance ordinance to see how it might apply to this situation. The Mayor said the Police would have to provide a history on the house and advise the Council on what to do. Harold agreed with the Mayor to ask the Police why this situation has continued.

4.1 Parks Committee: Chair Calnon reported that Chris Ebrahimi is designing a planting area for the north end of Bundy Park for consideration by the Parks Committee.

4.2 Water Source and Development Committee: Chair Guy asked Micah Olson for an update on the Ninth Street well investigations.

Micah said the casing has been perforated, and a test pump was placed in the well. He said at first they pumped it at 75 gallons per minute (gpm) during the first week, then they reduced it to 65 gpm, and now it is pumping at 50 - 55 gpm. He said the total dissolved solids (TDS) are currently at 675 and have stayed at that level for five days. He said the highest reading of TDS was 1500.

Leahnette Rivers said it is difficult to treat water with TDS levels in excess of 600. She said we will investigate whether or not we can mix the well water with water from St. Helens to dilute the TDS.

Micah said he wants to continue pumping the well until the gpm and TDS remain constant for at least two weeks to insure that we know what we have.

Chair Guy said Jeff Berry, a geologist from Ground Water Solutions, Inc. attended the latest Water Committee Meeting to explain the hydrology of the area, and reviewed a recent USGS map of the area with Committee Members. Chair Guy shared the USGS map with the Mayor and Council, and he explained that the basalt layer in our area is not deep enough to stay out of the marine layer when we drill a well, and that is why we have high TDS.

Leahnette said our basalt layer is 400 to 600 feet thick. She said to the south and west of Columbia City the basalt layer is 800 to 1,000 feet thick. She said the marine layer is under the basalt, but there are also fault lines that change the level of the basalt. She said the fault lines cause the basalt and marine layers to shift and join one another. The Mayor and Council reviewed a conceptual geologic cross section of Columbia City showing the potential effect of a fault line upon the basalt and marine layers. She said as the good water travels through the basalt, bad water from the marine layer is pulled into the basalt layer and mixed with the good water. She said Mr. Berry thought our chances are poor for finding good water in the basalt layer in Columbia City.

Chair Guy said there are two options and those are to either negotiate with and continue to buy water from St. Helens or to re-investigate the field south of Coastal Chemical for drilling in the gravels. He said the water is there in the quantities needed for the City, but there is the nitrate contamination problem to deal with.

Leahnette said the geologist suggested using a checklist consisting of five items, which are listed in the recent Water Committee Meeting minutes. She said Mr. Berry said if we can complete all of the items on the checklist, we should complete a geological study before we do any drilling in the area. She said the study is expected to cost between $8,000 and $10,000, and it would be conducted to make sure that the site is okay to use for a well, and to identify the zone of protection and the recovery area.

Chair Guy said the design for the reservoir should be completed by February for approval, and then the project can go out for bids in mid March. He said construction could begin in May.

Leahnette said the City of St. Helens is willing to dispose of Ranney I. She said according to St. Helens' staff members, the State has not yet required the water from Ranney 1 to be treated. Leahnette noted that due to high turbidity levels after the recent heavy rains and high water, St. Helens had to shut down Ranney II and III and draw water from their well. She said Ranney I is the oldest of the three collectors and will probably need some refurbishing. She said we don't have any cost estimates at this time for purchase or repairs. Leahnette said that the State is very likely to require treatment for Ranney I in the future. Leahnette said St. Helens plans to build a treatment plant on property located between Fourth Street and Highway 30 in the very near future.

Leahnette noted that there are some good basalt wells in this area, but they are producing small quantities of water for single households. She said our basalts have not produced the quantity of good quality water that we are looking for because they are not thick enough.

The Council discussed a well that is located in Yankton, which might serve as a source of water for Columbia City. The Mayor asked that the well be investigated as an option.

Leahnette reported on the situation with the St. Helens water and sewer rates. She said St. Helens has reduced our water rates by seven cents per 100 cubic feet, but the sewer rate increased by ten percent. She said City staff has reviewed the new water and sewer rate analysis produced by the City of St. Helens. She provided Council with copies of recent correspondence between Columbia City and St. Helens relating to water rates. She said if we prove to be correct on any of the issues we raised in our letters, we should receive an additional rate reduction and reimbursements for charges made in error back to June 2001.

4.3 Streets Committee: No report.

4.4 Sewer Committee: No report.

4.5 Other Reports: Leahnette reported that the Columbia County Planning Commission will meet again on February 24th at 6:30 p.m. to consider the Morse Brothers applications. She said Lisa Smith and John Rankin have discovered something in the County's code that has been overlooked by staff, and they are bringing this to the County's attention. She said they believe the only result from this discovery would be a denial of the applications.

5.1 Approval of the Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of January 2, 2003.

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

None.

MOVED (GUY), SECONDED (SCHMOR) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT.

MOVED (CALNON), SECONDED (SCHMOR) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE COUNCIL BILL NO 03-268.

MOVED (CALNON), SECONDED (SCHMOR) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO EXTEND THE MEETING TIME.

Lower Columbia River Water Trail: The Council approved sending a letter supporting the Lower Columbia River Water Trail as requested by Donna Matrazzo in her letter dated January 10, 2003.

Community Hall Rent Waiver: The Mayor read a letter from Ann Jennings dated February 6, 2003, asking that the rental fee be waived for the Community Hall use by the Girl Scouts on February 16, 2003.

MOVED (GUY), SECONDED (SCHMOR) AND CARRIED TO WAIVE THE RENTAL FEE OF THE COMMUNITY HALL FOR THE GIRL SCOUTS' USE ON FEBRUARY 16, 2003. The Mayor abstained from voting due to a conflict of interest

Street Light/Sign Issues: Councilor Guy reported that a streetlight is burned out at north of Skookum Court. He also said the sign reminding folks to scoop after their dogs is missing from Pixie Park. Leahnette said she will check into both matters.

The Council convened in Executive Session.

The Council reconvened in Open Session.

It was the consensus of the Council that Murray, Smith and Associates, Inc., inform the well driller that the City believes that each party is 50% responsible for the prevailing wages, and request that proof of prevailing wage costs be provided to the City as discussed.

There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

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