June 3, 2025

City of Townsend

Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 2025

Call to Order: Mayor Rauser called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Council members in attendance were JB Howick, Angie Wintrow, Vivian Boaz, Nate Brown, and Doug Sitton. Also in attendance were Andrew Herrick, Steve Kitt, Mike Evans, Jeremy Fadness (WWC Engineering), Sharon & Jerry Davis, George Carlis, Greg Saatzer, Sean MacIntyre, Roger Dunn, Nancy Marks, Brian Munro, Hope Munro, Jamie Williams, Nichole Brown, Harry Hall, Chase Ragen, Ken Urich, Shawn Simon, Eric Crusch, and Kari Williams.

Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.

Public Comment: (none)

Minutes from May 20, 2025: Angie stated she had two corrections to the minutes. One being a double “a” in a word, and then in the Round Table discussion, a correction to the incident she reported to Eric at Holloway Park. JB also made a correction within the paragraph of the Firework’s Ordinance, stating that the Fireworks Committee should replace individual names on the Firework’s Ordinance Drafts. (Corrections were made by Kari) Angie made a motion to approve the minutes from May 20, 2025 as corrected. JB seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.

Guests/Correspondence:

Chase Ragen, owner of Townsend Laundromat spoke and passed out handouts regarding his increased bill for the Townsend Laundromat. He stated that he received a letter from the City that stated his bill was going up by approximately $575 per month based on the size of the line. It was being billed at a ¾ inch, and the City determined it to be a 2-inch line. He stated that over the past 12 months, the average usage is 15,000 gallons of water. He then passed out a water bill from Pheonix, AZ. 22,580 gallons were used at a rate of 73 cents per thousand gallons. They use a flat tiered rate. Chase pleaded to the council to consider looking at the water rates and making them fair for both residents and businesses. He then asked for a pause on the monthly bills until the City can come up with a new water rate policy. Chase stated that his laundromat business is a public service to the community. He stated that if he would have known that the water rates would go up this high, he would not have opened the business. He asked the City Council to support his proposal and come up with a solution that works for everyone.
Auditor Statement: Mayor Rauser read the auditor statement that was received from the City’s auditor, Denning, Downey, and Associates. The documents states that they are currently engaged in an audit for the fiscal year 2024 with the City of Townsend.

Current:

609 S Harrison: Discussion was held regarding work being done on the property, along with several trailers that were moved onto the property at 609 S Harrison. This activity caused concern with neighboring residents of the property. Current owner Sean MacIntyre spoke about his plans for the property, but stated he’d been advised by his lawyer not to answer any questions. He moved several modular homes onto the property and wanted to store them there until he completed his permit/zoning application with the City. He stated that after a discussion with City Planner, Jeremy Fadness, he thought he was okay to move forward. The City of Townsend had printed all communications with the property owner so the public could see that it was an ongoing discussion about the permit and zoning application. Both MacIntyre and the City of Townsend have sought legal advice. Several members of the public asked questions about the easement access to the property, and the various requirements prior to the approval of any further work. Mayor Rauser along with city planner Jeremy Fadness, answered the questions. John Stenzel, City of Townsend Compliance Officer, stated that when he first met Mr. MacIntyre, he was on a fact-finding mission to find out what his intentions were. John stated that he in no way told Mr. MacIntyre to use that property for storage. Mayor Rauser thanked everyone for coming.
Bulk Water Rate: Water committee member, Vivian Boaz, spoke on their latest meeting. She and Angie Wintrow reviewed the current rates, and Eric had done some research on the rates. Vivian stated the committee is advising to increase the bulk water rate to two cents per gallon. Currently, the standard non-metered water rate is $91.03 for 9,000 gallons of water. The metered water rate on a ¾ in line is $91.03 for 9000 gallons and then .90 per every thousand gallons in excess of the monthly allowed after that. For the Bulk Water Rate, the committee thought that after doing the math, two cents per gallon is fair, especially compared to rates used by other cities and towns. Discussion was held that the bulk rate seems to be a better deal than our residents and businesses are getting, however, Mayor Rauser brought up the tiered rate involving the size of the water service lines. The service line size analysis was done by our engineers at the time the lagoon project was taking place. So, since 2019, that general structure has been in place for city water. When we look at the base rates for the service lines and the maximum gallons that can be used before they incur any additional cost. That’s where those one and a half cents comes from. So, setting a bulk rate, I see two different aspects of it. Mayor Rauser continued and stated that while she appreciates the concern, we are undervaluing the water we sell at bulk. We need to change that. She also stated that we need to look at the current rates based on the service lines, but that we should not delay this discussion on the bulk water rate. Nate stated that Chase Reagen is charged $661.29 based on his usage. So, $661 divided by 15,000 is 4.4 cents. JB stated that based on that, if a city resident were to discover that they’re paying two to two and a half times more for their water than we’re charging for bulk water, there may be an interesting argument. On the other hand, JB stated that he’s thinking the same way Nate as to why we aren’t charging even more for the bulk water, like three to three and a half cents. Eric stated he doesn’t know if that’s outrageous since energy prices are increasing and that’s going to affect how much it costs to pump a gallon of water. Nate asked if the two-cent bulk water rate is just a recommendation from the water committee. Mayor Rauser stated once council decides on a bulk water rate, it will go into a resolution, and there will be a public hearing. So, we are probably months away from implementing it. JB stated that based on the information, he’s wondering why we’re not charging sixty cents a gallon, especially with Northwestern Energy increasing their rates. Mayor Rauser asked Eric if we can approximate the amount of water used from the wells. Eric stated that yes, he has a good idea of what the water consumption has been over the past four months. Mayor Rauser stated we can look at the expenses over the last year or two and apply an inflation factor and get an approximate cost per gallon. We will also look at replacement costs and debt service that needs to be covered. JB stated that he’d like to see that average per gallon cost that we’re charging our residents to determine if we are more generous to the buyers of bulk water and not as generous to the people that elect us. Mayor Rauser stated we will have to work on one thing at a time.
Interlocal Agreement for City Prosecution Services: Mayor Rauser stated that this is an extension to the current agreement that ends June 30^th. This will be the same cost of $1525 per month for the next two fiscal years that we were paying. Angie made a motion to approve the interlocal agreement for city prosecution services. Vivian seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
Events Ordinance: Mayor Rauser asked if anyone from the Events Committee would like to present a summary. JB stated that the first page of the presentation provides a good summary. There are a block of definitions to help people understand what we’re talking about. We have a declaration of the right of the public to use public space and what those basic limits are. There is a section that goes into permits and reservations that try to address both permitting an event and reserving city infrastructure such as the pavilion at Heritage Park. We deal with the issues of solicitors and with the events who want to take on the responsibility for solicitors, such as Fall Fest. There are also sections for authority and compliance and how it’s going to affect the noise ordinance, fireworks, alcohol, and other ordinances. The council will be able to review the fee structure each year along with city amenities. Angie stated there are several sections that they’d like the city attorney to review. Vivian asked the difference between the controlled access and the exclusionary purpose. JB stated Fall Fest is an exclusionary purpose because they have managerial control over the property during the event. Controlled access locks the people out. Mayor Rauser asked about the section dealing with schedules, fees, and inventories. JB stated it will be a packet similar to a Street Closure Request only a lot more tailored to the specific event. Mayor Rauser asked if we have a motion that we submit the draft of the events ordinance to the city attorney for review. Vivian made a motion to submit the events ordinance draft to the city attorney for review. Doug seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
Pending Business:

Fireworks Ordinance: Meeting tomorrow at 4:30.

Ordinance Review: Angie will present on that at the next council meeting.

Telecommunications: Will set a meeting and go over the information that they previously researched.

Garbage cans on Broadway-on the agenda to remind us there is still work to do. Eric stated lids were placed on the smaller cans on Broadway during Rodeo and Fall Fest, which worked great, and will be done again this year.

Sewer Ordinance- Angie suggested that we could move this ordinance into the Ordinance Review. Mayor Rauser stated that it’s a great idea.

Claims for May 2025: JB made a motion to approve the claims for May. Nate seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.

Round Table:

Public- Fireman Andrew Herrick stated we are entering the deadliest season, which is between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so reminded everyone to be safe.

Kari-Our auditor would like to complete the closing of our audit on Tuesday with Mayor Rauser and one other council member. Mayor Rauser stated that 4:00 on Tuesday June 10^th works. Vivian volunteered to join in the meeting. Mayor Rauser stated this is an exit conference where the auditor goes over the audit for the past fiscal year and explains any findings, makes suggestions, and allows for questions.

Eric-The pool is running, after having to fix a major pipe. They were also able to flush the main going up to the hill. So, the water line that was just put in has water in it and its actually pressurized going up there from the system. The water tower project is actually going really well. Mayor Rauser asked when they’ll start stress testing the new tank. Eric stated there are still some pieces prior to that happening. Eric stated the first phase of the street project is nearly done, although they do have to redo a section of a sidewalk. The park restrooms are getting used quite heavily and are very dirty, so we have to get those cleaned. Also, Tracy Maughn reached out about redoing the soccer shed at Holloway Park, tearing that shed down and putting another in the exact same spot. Since it’s just a replacement, they can just go ahead and do this.

Council-JB asked some questions regarding old water pipes for the Pine Street storm drainage. He stated that they are slowly creating a better drain and pump system behind the Townsend Hardware building.

Nate asked about Tim filling in for him when he’s away. Eric explained.

Angie has been asked if there is someone living in the RV that’s parked in front of Geyser’s house. And then Teresa Anderson asked her again about the lights being left on at the tennis courts. Eric stated that when he asked NW Energy to turn the lights on, and Sean with NW Energy stated that if the City asks for them to be turned off, they will remove the lights. Eric said we can ask someone higher up at Northwestern Energy. Discussion was held.

Mayor Rauser: Spoke about council members filing for candidacy for next year’s council seats. She stated she’ll be out of town June 11-13^th, so Angie would sign anything in her absence. She stated she’ll also be gone on June 20^th, but if there is anything pressing, she is just a phone call away.

Adjournment: Nate made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Doug seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.

Next meeting: June 17^th

Mayor Rauser____________________________________

Kari Williams_____________________________________