Bridgeport council approves contingency funding for RV spaces

BRIDGEPORT –  The city council voted to allocate money from its general fund to go forward with plans to construct seven additional RV sites at the Conklin Boat Launch in conjunction with a PUD construction project.
In its regular monthly meeting, August 16, Council committed $225,000 to the project as a contingency measure in the event the state Legislature fails to approve the delayed capital budget in time to provide funding for the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant designed to cover the city’s share of the project.
Whether or not the capital budget is approved, the PUD is under a deadline to begin building the 10 RV spaces in at the Conklin Launch. If the city wants to join the project and fund seven additional spaces and benefit from the savings from the PUD joint venture, it must be prepared to act in conjunction with the PUD’s schedule. An RCO grant for $264,000 had been awarded the city to cover those costs, but availability of those funds hinges on approval of the capital budget.
Mayor Janet Conklin said missing out on the PUD project will make it too expensive for the city to later added the seven additional RV spaces on its own.
 “I don’t want us to miss out on this opportunity just because the state couldn’t get its act together,” said council member, Matt Schuh.
Schuh suggested that if the capital budget has not been approved by the time the PUD puts the contract out for bid early next year, the city should be in a position to proceed with its own funding, independent of the RCO grant.
Council also discussed empowering the designated animal control officer with the authority to write animal ordinance violation citations rather than having to call in a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy to perform that task.
Conklin said she spoke with the city attorney about said empowerment and was advised that it could be allowed provided arrangements are made with the court to acknowledge and accept the citations.