September 5, 2023

CITY OF TOWNSEND                                                                                                        City Council Meeting Minutes

   Tuesday, September 5, 2023

CALL TO ORDER:  Mayor Evans called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

Present:   Mayor Evans, Peter Simon, Vickie Rauser, Matt West, Ken Urich, Angie Wintrow, and Nate Brown.  Also present were Tim Rauser, Paul Rauser, Jenny Barnett, Valerie Baraza, Nancy Marks, Christine Ravndal, Laura Obert, Todd Rolfs, Vivian Boaz, Andrew Herrick, and JB Howick. 

MINUTES:  Vickie made a motion to approve the minutes from 8.15.23.  Angie seconded the motion; all in favor, motion carried.

  • Valerie Baraza was sworn in by the mayor as a new council member.  She was elected to fill the vacancy of Christina Hartmann, who resigned due to moving outside of city limits. 
  • Mayor Evans read Resolution 2023-R003, approving and adopting the budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
  • Laura Obert spoke regarding Fall Fest.  She requested the streets be closed on Broadway for the Car Show on Sunday, October 1st from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.  She also requested the closure of Pine Street from Broadway to C Street on Friday through Sunday at 5:00 p.m.

She also requested a moratorium on all new Solicitor licenses.  She initially requested a moratorium from September 25th—October 1st.  Angie stated concerns regarding the amount of time for the moratorium.  She recommended the moratorium begin on Thursday, September 28th—Sunday, October 1st.  JB Howick also stated a concern regarding access through the alley way to his hardware store.  Laura stated that she would give him the phone number to the safety committee regarding this.  Vickie made a motion to approve the street closures and the moratorium; Angie seconded the motion.  All approved, motion carried. 

  • White’s Annexation is pending.  Todd Rolfs asked what is holding it up.

Peter Simon, the city attorney, stated that they’re waiting for the clients/engineer to comply with the city’s requirements.  Tim Rauser stated that he spoke to the engineers last week. 

Todd Rolfs also asked about the cost of the kennel license.  A kennel license is $50.00 and is required for three or more dogs. 

  • Vickie stated that she’d like to discuss the city attorney’s contract.  Peter spoke regarding this and stated that Corey Swanson showed interest in the criminal portion of Peter’s contract.   A shared contract suggests that Peter would accept half of the salary for the civic portion of the contract, while the other half could go to Corey and the county for the criminal portion of the contract.  This would be a short-term contract through the end of the fiscal year, 2024.  Ken suggested opening the position to seek another full-time attorney instead of splitting duties.  Vickie stated that she recommends moving forward with the interlocal agreement and present it to the county attorney to see if he accepts it.

Angie made a motion to accept the committee’s recommendation for the short-term contract; Vickie seconded the motion.  All voted in favor except for Ken Urich.  Motion carried. 

Round Table

Ken asked if city noise ordinances apply to the loud semi, logging trucks coming through town early in the mornings.  Mayor Evans did not think current ordinances apply to trucks, but he’ll speak to Sheriff Rauser to see if he could help.  The council could also look at changing the noise ordinance.

Nate stated there’s water on North Pine and asked if there’s anything we can do about it.  Tim said, “no”. 

Mayor Evans stated that there are people dumping garbage in our cans that don’t live in city limits, and people are also dumping non-household items into the cans.  He suggests getting a committee together to brainstorm what can be done to prevent this. 

Tim stated that he met with Chris Hayes regarding the new water system, and more information on this will be presented soon. 

Claims:  Ken made a motion to pay the claims for August, Vickie seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

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

*Additional Meeting held on Budget/Mill Levy—9/6/23 Present were Valerie, Angie, Ken, Nate, and Mayor Evans.  Also present was Jenny Barnett. 

Jenny stated that the city receives the numbers from the Department of Revenue.

The City of Townsend will carry over 1.50 mills this year. 

Angie made a motion to accept and submit the determination of tax revenue and mill levy limitations for Fiscal Year Ending June 2024; Valerie seconded the motion, all in favor, motion carried.

Valerie made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Nate seconded the meeting.  All in favor, motion carried.