Ritzville City Council approves false alarm ordinance

The Ritzville City Council approved Ordinance 2106 pertaining to false alarms at the regular meeting on Tuesday, March 21.

City Attorney Mark DeWulf said since they reviewed the ordinance at the previous meeting, the city made changes to the verbiage in order to be consistent throughout the document.

The purpose of the ordinance is to reduce the number of false alarm calls in the city and waste of city resources by granting them authority to apply administrative action including fees.

The document states every false alarms requiring emergency responders to assist more than once in a three month period will be assessed a service fee of $100. It also declares alarms audible for more than 20 minutes a nuisance and may be abated by the police or fire department.

Councilperson Dede Rawlings questioned the consequences of a false alarm occurring with a new system still being regulated. DeWulf said Section 4B allows the police or fire chief to waive imposition of the false alarm fees in the direct result of a cause clearly beyond the control of the owner.

For residents who are installing a new system, he suggested they contact city hall and inform them of the situation prior to a false alarm occurring. He stated the primary focus of the ordinance is to reduce the number of false alarm calls and encouraging business owners and residents to properly maintain their alarm systems.

Councilperson Michelle Plumb said the administrative fees cover the cost of emergency responders going to a false alarm call. The Council then approved the ordinance to establish the regulations of false alarms.

Clerk-Treasurer Kris Robbins presented a contract with Evergreen Rural Water to conduct an income survey in the city. The total cost for the survey is $7,100, she added,

Mayor Gary Cook stated the income survey would take the city one step closer towards qualifying for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to fund Pete’s Lift Station.

The $7,100 for the contract is one percent of the $700,000 construction cost of the station, he added. Robbins said the money for the contract would come from the sewer and water fund.

The council approved for Cook to sign the contract.

Cook also advised he met with former mayor Linda Kadlec upon the Hennings Trust regarding funds and contributions for improvements to the beautification of the city. Kadlec will be ordering multiple picnic tables and garbage cans for the area near Zip’s Drive-In and she committed to contributing money for First Avenue beautification under the Tree Board.

On April 4, at 10 a.m. Cook said the city is hosting a ceremony to dedicate the fountain by the Zip’s Drive-In to Kadlec and he encouraged community members to attend and showcase support.

Ritzville Police Chief Dave McCormick reported on April 4, the department will be participating in a distracted driving emphasis. The Traffic Safety Commission will reimburse the overtime required for the event, he added.

He then provided an update on the number of burglaries, thefts and vehicle prowls since the officers have extended shifts to 10 hours.

Between Jan. 1 and March 7, there were 15 reported burglaries and since the extended patrols, the number has reduced to two minimal loss burglaries, he explained. Thefts have gone down from 11 in the first two months to two and only three reported vehicle prowls, he added.

McCormick stated he believes the officers’ efforts toward burglary patrol have been very successful, despite the cost for overtime. He said the extended shifts benefit the city by preventing loss from the residents and businesses and has decreased the amount of criminal activity in the area.

He then informed the council he received a call from Alan Bateman who owns SCI, the company the city purchases patrol cars from. Bateman said he has an SUV available for $16,500 before taxes, which is $7,000 less than the department requested for allocation in the budget to replace an existing patrol car, he explained.

The current patrol car is a safety concern for the officer who operates the vehicle, due to frequent issues and inconsistency. The vehicle also affects the officer’s response time, which impacts public safety, McCormick explained.

The continuous issues has forced the officer to keep the vehicle running at all times to avoid missing a call.

McCormick requested approval from the council to contact Bateman and confirm they will purchase the vehicle.

Cook said the Finance Committee discussed it during their meeting and he suggested leveraging the $5,000 they had budgeted for a new trailer and use money from a separate department to purchase the trailer.

The council came to a consensus to allow McCormick to contact Bateman about purchasing the vehicle. The city has 45 days to determine how to fund the purchase.