Lind Town Council passes multiple ordinances, resolutions

At the Lind meeting of the Town Council on Dec. 22, several pieces of year-end business were discussed and completed.

The meeting began with discussion in regards to the Stormwater Project. The Adams County commissioners made the decision to donate a piece of property to the Town of Lind as per a request made by the mayor.

This property is listed as Lots 13 and 14, Block 54, Neilson Bros. 2nd Addition. The commissioners unanimously decided to approve the request and a real estate excise tax affidavit will be prepared for the transfer.

The next piece of business discussed was the need to purchase a new printer presented by Mayor Jamie Schmunk. Some research has been done in regards to the pricing of a new printer and Business Interiors was determined to be the least expensive.

The cost for the printer would be $6,250 and can be paid over a three-year period.

There will additionally be charges for servicing in the amount of $85 per quarter.

Councilperson Tom Strohmaier made a motion to purchase the new printer, councilperson Kindra Haase seconded and the motion carried with councilpersons Kathy White and Paula Bell opposed.

An amendment to the 2015 budget was the next item of discussion. Ordinance Number 15-05 amended the amount of funds in the Airport Fund Expenses as it became necessary due to revenues and expenditures in regards to the Washington State Department of Transportation Airport Project Grant.

This ordinance changed the starting budget of $15,628 in the Airport Fund to $272,198.77, which is a total amendment of $256,570.77.

The motion to approve this ordinance carried with Bell and White opposed.

Ordinance Number 15-06 was also up for discussion. This ordinance outlines a charge for unoccupied properties to remain connected to the water and sewer system in Lind.

The charge will be $20 per month for sewer and $20 per month for the water system. Within the ordinance it is stated the property owner has the choice of capping off the water and sewer services so as to not incur the charges.

The fee in Lind to re-connect the property to the sewer and water lines is $500 each. This ordinance shall take effect on Jan. 1, 2016.

Before a motion was entertained there was discussion as to when the council approved the ordinance as multiple members were under the impression they had only approved moving forward with the draft of the ordinance.

After this discussion Haase made the motion to approve the ordinance and councilperson Karissa Labes seconded. The motion carried with Bell opposed.

The council also unanimously approved Ordinance 15-07 to adopt the 2016 budget for the Town of Lind.

A discussion ensued in regards to the passing of Resolution 15-04, which approves salaries for town employees.

It was presented to raise the wages of four positions by four percent as a cost of living increase.

The four positions are the clerk/treasurer, public works supervisor, public works/sewer and public works/park/streets.

Haase made the motion to approve the resolution as is and Strohmaier seconded. There were no other votes to pass the resolution so the motion failed.

The council then discussed a resolution for wages they would approve. After several different ideas it was decided a resolution to raise the wages for three of the employee positions except for the public works/sewer position.

White made a motion to approve the resolution with the changes and Labes seconded, Bell and Haase were opposed. The motion carried with three votes.

The council unanimously approved resolution number 15-05, which outlines the tax levy for the 2016 year. The districts actual levy amount for the previous year was $69,964.

The resolution outlines a .0515 percentage increase for the next year; this will be a total of $36.

The last item discussed was the release of the town’s audit to the public. The mayor stated the information has been passed to the town’s attorney and insurance and has been sent to the Adams County Prosecutor’s Office and Adams County Sheriff’s Office for review.