Now designated Otto Street

PATEROS – The city council voted to rename a long alley between Warren Avenue and Beach Street to qualify for improvement funds at its regular monthly meeting last Monday, August 20.

City Administrator Jord Wilson met with a representative of the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) to inquire about funds to improve Ives Warren Alley that extends east from the school to Dawson Street. TIB advised that a requirement for funding eligibility is changing the name from an alley to a street.

Wilson recommended that the segment from the school to Independence remain an alley and the portion from Independence to Dawson be designated a street. Five names were proposed for the spans:
• Anderson Street for Spider Anderson, a pilot and crop duster.
• Armstrong Street for Manton Davis Armstrong, Pateros mayor from 1948-52 and 1954-59.
• Borg Street for first Pateros mayor Charles Borg, 1913-14.
• Nickel Street for Jack Nickel, Pateros mayor in 1964.
• Otto Street for Harold Otto elected the cowboy poet of Washington state by the state legislature in 1986.

Following a discussion of the merits of several of the options, council members approved Otto Alley for the segment extending from the school to Independence Street and Otto Street for the remaining portion from Independence Street to Dawson Street.

Mayor Carlene Anders reported that she recently met with representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Washington State Emergency Management (WSEM) at Camp Murray regarding the Hazard Mitigation Grant program. Anders said a fair amount of money is being made available for post fire work in the area.

“It’s $766,000 per FMAG (Fire Management Assistance Grant), a classification of a particular kind of fire,” said Anders. “We had three last year that qualified.”

Anders said that those three, added to another nine FMAGs in the state, ties Washington, with 12 FMAGs with the state of California.

“That’s over $9 million,” said Anders and added that the funds can be applied by the city and fire district to a wide variety of post-fire improvements. Anders said the WSEM rep will visit Pateros on Tuesday, August 28, to discuss potential targets for funding.

In other business the council approved a resolution to adopt a Professional Services Agreement with Okanogan County for building inspector services until the city hires a new inspector.

Council members approved a purchase and sale agreement for $689.70 to acquire a small parcel of property from Marilyn Tschetter to clear up a boundary line for Ives Street.

Wilson and city engineer Varela & Associates submitted two funding applications to the TIB. The largest of the two applications for $327,211 will continue the sidewalk project from Warren Avenue and Chris Street to the tennis courts. The second for $68,214 would fund chip seal from the Lakeshore and U.S. 97 intersection to North Street, North Street, and Ives Street from North Street to Stadium Way.

Frank Herbert, a new Pateros resident, brought his concern about loose dogs in the city to the attention of the council. Herbert said his daughter enjoys walking around the city, but recent encounters with unrestrained dogs has made that no longer possible.

“In the past two weeks, my dog, that I was walking on a leash, was attacked by a dog,” said Herbert, who added that he was chased back into his yard by a Rottweiler.

 “Just today I was chased by two very large dogs that did end up being very friendly but I did not know when they were running at me,” Herbert said.

In her Mayor Report Anders noted that the city has rules in place governing dangerous dogs. Following council adjournment, Anders said that animal control duties in Pateros are handled by the building inspector and that the city is currently advertising to hire a new inspector.