Thursday, March 28, 2024

Brewster council discusses residential cleanup, street plan, surplus property

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BREWSTER – The city council heard a range of issues from residential cleanup to surplus property at its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, August 8.
In her report, Brewster Police Chief Nattalie Cariker said the department responded to ordinance violations involving three complaints for residential cleanup within the city. Cariker said her department is working with the city attorney on the issue and said progress is being made on all three.
City attorney Chuck Zimmerman told the council that Cariker was approaching the violations in the most effective way by acting on complaints as opposed to proactively searching for residences that are not in compliance with city code.
“It’s really cost-prohibitive to start going around each neighborhood and trying to find something that might be in violation,” Zimmerman said and added that responding to filed complaints and investigating those to see what can be done is much more effective.
 “I will tell you that in the number of small communities that we represent, I look at your situation that Kelly (Sgt. Kelley Hook) is working on right now and they’re already better than most that I see…”
Following a public hearing that drew no public comment, council members approved the city’s Six-Year Street Plan covering the period 2019 through 2024.
Public Works Director Lee Webster reported that a survey crew recently performed a GIF manhole-mapping project as part of a sewer grant the city received.
“We’ve got a bunch of work to do before they come back,” said Webster. “They located about 20 manholes that are covered with dirt or asphalt that need to be uncovered.”
Webster also updated the council on recent street resurfacing and a one-time facilities grant through Okanogan County Child Development that will pay for a renovation of the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms in the Rec. Center.
Webster said that Douglas County PUD would begin a shoreline armoring project adding sandbags and blocks around the cove starting Monday, August 13.
The FAA gave the city money for gravel to cover exposed dirt around the airfield runway left over from lighting and conduit installation, Webster said.
Public works staff members recently checked out some surplus equipment at Chelan PUD and found a 2005 one-ton four-wheel-drive utility truck that Webster wants the city to purchase.
“We estimate the price between $7,500 and $,500 which is less that the cost of the utility boxes on it,” said Webster. “It runs good, has full service records and has no problems.”
Council authorized Webster to proceed with negotiations and also gave the O.K. to pursue a truck with blade and dump box on public auction in Spokane.
Webster asked the council to approve the sale of a piece of surplus equipment called a Somat Dewatering Device, to the city of Waitsburg for the price of one dollar. Webster said an upgrade to Brewster’s treatment plant replaced the Somat, a solids removal pump that the plant no longer needs.
Waitsburg “has a Somat just like ours and they can’t get parts for it,” said Webster. “Ours is just collecting dust.”
Webster said that for the one-dollar sale price Waitsburg personnel would travel here from Walla Walla County, dismantle the surplus piece and haul it away. Council approved the sale.
 

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