Money was the hot topic at the last city council meeting. The Council Chambers filled near capacity as many people wanted to be heard. The City Hall building and concerns about taxes were frequently mentioned. Traffic and modes of transport were also discussed.

Below is a summary of a few issues addressed in the last council meeting, held on April 19th of this year. Watch the video at the bottom or click a link to view a portion of the meeting that interests you. 

Council Member Helen Dee Cragun attended the meeting in person for the first time in about seven months. Council Member Heather Newsom was attending the meeting via the phone.

Crawford & Main
The Council approved a previously planned assessment of Crawford & Main. JUB Engineering will provide the work and resulting reports. The report will include proposed changes to improve the intersection. The project cost will be limited to $45,620.

Annexation Request
The city has received a joint annexation request from Habitat for Humanity and Mark Skocilich. There are many steps in the process, and will include a public hearing. A key question is what happens to a section of Dalton Road that currently belongs to the county. Depending on negotiations, the railroad crossing and portion of Dalton Road could become part of the city in addition to the property in the annexation request.

City Hall Discussion
Council members and the public in attendance discussed the future of the City Hall building. There are essentially three options. The task force disregarded the first option, “Plan A,” to fix up the current structure; because of building codes, there would be a significant loss of usable space and cost nearly as much as the other options. Plan B is to tear down the existing building and construct a completely new building. Plan C is to remove the 1936 and 1980 additions and build a new addition to the west of the original 1911 building. 

Council vote was split 3 to 2 to research funding for Plan C, with Stapp, Upchurch, & Diaz in favor and Cragun & Newsom against.

Wheeled All-Terrain Vehicles (WATVs) on Public Roads
The city has acquired a WATV for use by the parks department as it is much more cost-effective than a traditional pickup truck. The school district and utilities would also use similar vehicles, according to Mayor Tim Verzal. With recent changes in the county, Deer Park can also make off-road vehicles legal for use on public roads. The council held a public hearing at this last meeting and will vote on the law change at the next meeting on May 3rd, 2023.

Key Points:

• 00:00 – Call to Order & Roll Call
• 00:45 – Invocation & Pledge of Allegiance
• 02:20 – Approval of Agenda & Meeting Minutes
• 02:40 – Comments From Audience
• 10:18 – New Business – Local Improvement District
• 12:05 – New Business – Forest Management @ Airport  
• 13:05 – New Business – Wastewater Spray Farm
• 14:25 – New Business – Crawford & Main Intersection Improvements
• 26:00 – New Business – Annexation Request Mark Skocilich & Habitat for Humanity
• 33:35 – New Business – City Hall Discussion
• 1:05:30 – Ordinances – Wheeled All-terrain Vehicles on Public Roads (Second Reading & Public Hearing)
• 1:14:50 – Ordinances – Avista Utilities Franchise (Second Reading, Third Reading & Public Hearing Waived)
• 1:16:05 – Consent Agenda
• 1:18:15 – Report of Departments – Jake Barlass (Code Enforcement)
• 1:19:15 – Report of Departments  – Darold Schultz (Airport Manager)
• 1:19:45 – Report of Departments – Brad Wainwright (Parks & Streets)
• 1:20:46 – Report of Departments – Roger Krieger (Community Services)
• 1:21:45 – Report of Departments – Brandon Gray (ADA Compliance)
• 1:23:30 – Council Member Report – Caleb Stapp
• 1:24:55 – Mayors Report