Lind awarded $55,000 grant to develop traffic plan

The Lind Town Council met for a regular meeting on June 11, as the Town was awarded a grant to put together a traffic plan and discussed potential concerns over a proposed festival.

Steve Nelson, an engineer from Century West Engineering, joined the meeting via speakerphone. He reported Lind had been awarded a $55,000 grant by Quarto to put together a Town traffic plan. That document would then be used as a springboard for future work on road improvements. A letter of the award from Adams County will be forthcoming, and the Town must advertise and select an engineering firm to do the work.

Nelson met with Cemetery Board members regarding work to be done there. Nelson described the agreements between the Town, Cemetery Board and Century West Engineering to accomplish the work. In the end, the Cemetery Board must approve the financial arrangements as well as the scope of the work.

Nelson also notified the council that the work on 3rd and I was in progress. Councilmember Richard Baldwin asked why the work on 6th Street was not prioritized, being that the citizens there had been waiting a long time for their road improvements. Nelson said that the work on 3rd involves sub-surface work, which is often done first because it is most likely to show up problems. Contractors wish to uncover and address any problems early in the process.

The Town also received a $2,500 grant from the State Department of Commerce. A timeline to adopt a critical areas ordinance is needed, but timing is not pressing as there is a year to get the work done. Mayor Paula Bell has been in contact with staff at the Department of Commerce.

The council received a letter from resident Diane Kennedy on behalf of the 3rd annual Adams County Harvest Festival as she seeks permission from the Town to hold the festival, which would involve numerous street closures. She included maps and photos of the closure requests.

Councilmembers had a long discussion regarding the requests. They listed the following concerns relating to various permits and tasks that need to be accomplished. In a nutshell, the Town alone is not able to issue permission for the various needs of such a Festival:

-Have to get WSDOT approval to have functions (parade, booths, commercial food) on the main street in Town, which is a state highway.

-A festival group must provide insurance to cover the Town for festival activities.

-A liquor license must be posted during the festival.

-The festival must provide barricades at closed intersections.

-Need approval from the fire department to ensure fire equipment can be dispatched from the station without delays.

-Security for the festival must be arranged through a licensed security company; may not use big and tough friends to provide security for the activities.

-No glass containers may be used.

-The Festival Committee must address how proposed street closures would affect Jim’s Market and Slim’s Tavern.

-Venders need permits; Kennedy told Mayor Bell that she would pay for needed permits.

-Bartenders must have a mixologist license.

There was conversation that there may be more requirements than those listed that immediately came to mind. Councilmembers who had been involved with previous events like this expressed concern over the timing needed to get some of the permits.

Mayor Bell gave notice to residents of 6th Street that work will begin this week. Airport work will be scheduled to be completed last.

The mayor also brought up discussion regarding power supply for the Town’s string of lights hung for decoration during events (Combine Derby, Christmas, etc.) There was an outage to the power supply to the lighted string during the combine event. After a misdiagnosis, it appears that an electrician will be needed to diagnose the problem’s source and make repair. The nearest known electrical repair is an individual in Ritzville; the mayor will contact that person. The mayor and council both agreed that to jury-rig the lighting string—as was done to get the lights on during the Combine Derby—is risky and not worth taking short cuts.

Mayor Bell reported that there has been some requests to have another free dump day. Should that happen, the cost to the Town would be $105 per hour for the truck, plus a tonnage fee for the dumped materials. During a discussion, councilmembers considered the reasons for a somewhat limited response to a free dump day held earlier this year, and whether or not is it prudent to pay the truck fee for a future dump day. Among concerns was whether or not to allow mattresses and furniture to be included in a free dump day. The discussion was tabled for a future meeting.

Mayor Bell advised Council that the flags on main street will come down on Monday, June 17. They will go up again for the Fourth of July.

Councilmember Richard Dworshak requested the Council to re-visit the permission granted for a memorial on Town Garden property. He felt that if approved for one case, it should be approved in the future for all requests, and was not comfortable with setting a precedent. The council reviewed the situation and finally concluded with a motion to not allow any memorials on Town property. The present approval would be left alone and remain.

Nelson called back to make the council aware of the Public Works Trust Fund, a very low interest loan program with annual rates in the 1-2% range. The council had been advised that TIB will not pay for paving or re-paving roadways that are graveled, such as 8th. The Public Works Fund, however, would.

Town costs to pave the roadway would be $250,000. The council then formally expressed interest in submitting an application prior to the July 12 deadline. Nelson will put the application together and figure the annual payment. There is no obligation to use the funds if application is granted.