CITY of ELGIN
COUNCIL MINUTES FOR MARCH 10, 1998
COUNCILORS PRESENT- Pat McMullen
John Stover
Berta Churchill
Misty Bennett
Leroy Short
Rick Smith - Mayor
ABSENT- Kevin Cooper
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7 pm by Mayor Rick Smith.
Approval of Minutes
The Mayor called for approval of the minutes of the meeting of February 10,
1998. Councilor Churchill moved to approve the minutes of February 10, 1998 as
presented, with Councilor McMullen as second. The vote was unanimous for
approval, motion carried.
Supervisors Reports
The Mayor called for the supervisors reports.
Police- Chief Sibley; absent, written report submitted.
Public works- Kyle Boylen; absent, no report.
Library- Sandra Good submitted a written report outlining proposed over-due
book policies. She asked the Council for approval of the policy, explaining that
it would be some time before the Library Board finished drafting the complete
policies. Councilor Stover stated that he would prefer to review all policies at
one time, rather than approve them one at a time.
Fire- Chief McDonald reported that they had to perform an emergency extrication.
He said that if they never had to use the extrication tool again, it has paid for
itself. He also reported that he and Lee traveled to Wisconsin to bring the new
fire truck home. He was quite impressed with the quality of work at the factory
and believes we have made an excellent purchase.
Ambulance- Merle Laci; absent, no report.
Municipal Court- Ralph Howell; absent, monthly court report was submitted.
Recorder/Administrator- Joe Garlitz presented an amendment to the Hunaha grant
from NEOEDD to include an additional $28,000 in in-kind contributions. The
addition does not require anything of the City. Mayor Smith signed the
amendment.
He also called attention to the nominations for Women of the Year and Man
of the Year, and noted that the bills contained a payment for Chamber of
Commerce dues for the year.
Hearing 7:15 Conditional Use; Chrisman Investments for Senior Apartment
complex at Hartford and 15th.
Doug and Tony Chrisman were present. The Chrisman's are requesting a
conditional use of an 11 unit senior/disabled apartment complex. They have
received an Oregon Housing Authority grant for the complex and need to proceed
with permitting and final plans.
Mayor Smith opened the hearing for the conditional use application. The
Recorder stated that notice of the hearing has been mailed to all property owners
within 300 feet. No written comments have been received regarding the proposal.
Doug Chrisman explained that they have had two informational hearings in
Elgin regarding this proposal. At these hearings concerns were expressed that
the development was too far from the post office and the shopping areas. They
have contacted the post office, the location is on a rural route and would receive
delivery 6 times per week. A local grocer has offered to make grocery
deliveries as requested.
Another concern expressed was the conversion of the units from senior
housing to open housing. The grant conditions require a 30 year covenant for
use as senior housing. In addition, the units are 1 bedroom which would further
restrict the units from being used as family housing.
Cheryl Coe was present to testify. She stated that the development was
much too far from downtown services to provide proper housing for seniors and
disabled patrons. Councilor Short expressed a concern that there was a
possibility of vandalism due to the proximity of the complex to the Highland View
Apartments.
Mr. Chrisman noted that the senior bus was available for transportation.
He also noted that the likelihood of vandalism of the apartments would be much
less than that for the surrounding single family dwellings, since there would
always be someone present at these apartments.
With no other testimony, Mayor Smith closed the hearing. After discussion,
the Mayor called for a motion of the Council. Councilor Churchill moved to
approve the conditional use as requested, subject to a formal site plan review,
with Councilor Short as second. The vote was unanimous for approval, motion
carried.
The following findings support the Council's decision:
a) the use is a listed conditional use in the residential zone, and
b) will not interfere seriously with established and accepted practices on
adjacent lands, ie. single family residential and multi-unit residential, and
c) will not materially alter the stability of the overall land use pattern of
the area, and
d) the use shall comply with the standards of this zone, and
e) prior to construction, the development will be submitted to the City
Council for a formal site plan review.
Citizens to Speak
Marilyn Lane/Shirley Peters, Opera House parking, not present.
Cash Lisk, re. park restrooms, not present.
Loyde Knapp, re. White St. Vacation
Loyde is requesting that the Council initiate vacation of the remnant of
White Street. It is located adjacent to Division and extends from 17th street east
for about 150 feet. The right-of-way serves no useful purpose since the area
is fully developed. Councilor Stover moved to begin the vacation process for
that portion of White Street described, with Councilor Short as second. The vote
was unanimous for approval, motion carried.
Arnie Krause, re. renewal of wrecking yard license
Arnie Krause was present to request processing of his wrecking yard
license renewal. The renewal requires the governing body (the City Council) to
certify that the wrecking yard complies with certain ORS provisions. Councilor
Churchill moved to authorize the Mayor's signature on the renewal application,
with Councilor Short as second. The vote was unanimous for approval, motion
carried.
Danna Driggers and Joe Prestly, of OTEC, were present to discuss the recent rate
increases for residential and irrigation customers. The rate increase is the
result of the revocation of a subsidy by BPA. The increase is a direct pass
through to BPA and will not benefit OTEC.
Fire Chief McDonald asked about the possibility of having OTEC personnel
make a quicker response to emergencies. It is frequently more that an hour for
OTEC to respond. Mr. Prestly stated that they were working on the situation.
Some difficulty was being encountered with labor contracts but they hoped to be
able to provide a better response in the near future.
Councilor Stover asked about tree trimming policies. Mr. Prestly said that
OTEC would trim any trees that were growing into power lines, or at the owner's
request, remove any tree that is interfering with the power lines. He noted that
OTEC would remove any tree that was a persistent problem and give the owner
$100 voucher to purchase a replacement tree that would not grow into the power
lines.
Committee Reports
The Mayor then called for the committee reports.
Administration: Councilors Cooper and Stover; Councilor Stover informed the
Council that they had discussed the need to involve the Department Heads in
some planning sessions.
Public Works: Councilor McMullen and Churchill; no report.
Public Safety: Councilors Short and Bennett; no report.
Old Business
Police Policies and Procedures, Chief Sibley was not present for this discussion
item; item tabled.
New Business
Ambulance Mutual Aid agreement with Umatilla County.
A draft mutual aid agreement, lifted from the agreement with Wallowa
County, was presented for approval of the Mayor's Signature. The agreement is
a requirement of the State Health Division. After discussion Councilor McMullen
moved to approve the Mayor's signature on the agreement as presented, with
Councilor Churchill as second. The vote was unanimous for approval, motion
carried.
Cedar Street construction agreement w/ ODOT.
The City was awarded a grant for improvements to Cedar Street. ODOT has
a contract to improve Highway 82 this summer. ODOT has agreed to use our
grant and add the Cedar Street project to their work. This has saved the City
a lot of time and effort. To formalize this agreement, ODOT has submitted a
contract to this end. Councilor Stover moved to approve the Mayor's signature
on the contract as submitted, with Councilor McMullen as second. The vote was
unanimous for approval, motion carried.
Correspondence; no correspondence was presented.
Good of the Order
Councilor McMullen moved to approve the bills as submitted, with Councilor
Churchill as second. The vote was unanimous for approval, motion carried.
Councilor Short informed the Council that Elgin was going to host the Little
League softball tournament this summer. The tournament will begin 4th of July
weekend and run through Stampede weekend, July 4th to July 10. Mayor Smith
asked that ODOT be informed of this in regard to the highway construction.
Councilor Bennett submitted her resignation. She is moving to the Hermiston
area.
Councilor Churchill moved to adjourn, with Councilor Bennett as second. The
vote was unanimous for approval, motion carried.
Minutes respectfully submitted;
Joe Garlitz,
Recorder/Administrator