Chelan Council discusses animal control, sewage contract renewal

Public Forum on Parks Master Plan August 25
The City of Chelan is holding an Open Public Forum to discuss the Parks Master Plan with the Consulting firm, GreenPlay, LLC. on Wednesday, August 25, 6:30-8 p.m. at Chelan City Hall Council Chambers, 135 E. Johnson Avenue. A quorum of Council members is expected to be in attendance but no action will be taken.

Chelan County Sheriffs Office
Town Hall Meeting on August 11
A quorum of Council members is expected to be in attendance but no action will be taken.

CHELAN - The July 27 Chelan city council meeting started with a presentation about animal control by Taylor Sharp, Executive Director of the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society.
In 2020, the number of calls that animal control received from Chelan increased exponentially, Sharp said. This year animal control received 267 calls from Chelan. Additionally, she said that trust in the badge has decreased. Officers have been confronted with knives and guns.
A council member asked if animal control officers are deputized. Animal Control Sergeant Ian Mallory responded that the animal control officers are not deputized and are semi-commissioned through Chelan and Douglas county superior courts.
Wages were increased for all officers, Sharp said. In the past, several qualified candidates were lost due to wage issues. Animal control officers already make more than minimum wage, but officer pay needs to go up to attract and retain qualified candidates since the minimum wage is going up, she said.
The cost of the contract for Animal Control is going to go up by 10 to 12 percent, Sharp said. In September or October when minimum wage increases have been decided the exact amount of the increase will be finalized.
The professional services agreement with Berk Consulting for planning services was presented by Planning Director Craig Gildroy. The city is requesting assistance from Berk Consulting to meet statutory deadlines for applications because of a high workload for applications for land use, Gildroy said.
Most planning applications will be handled in house so costs can remain low, Gildroy said. A motion was made and passed to approve the Berk Consulting professional services agreement.
Public Works Director Jake Youngren presented the Lake Chelan Sewer District agreement. The district is renewing a 40 year contract with the city, Youngren said. Council member John Olson asked why doesn’t the city take ownership of the sewer system.
A commission realized that the district was not in a financial situation where it would make sense for them to take over the sewage system, Youngren said. A council member asked if such a long agreement is normal for a sewage agreement.
 Youngren said that the agreement was similar to other districts but the term length could be amended if needed. Council member Peter Jamtgaard expressed concern over the district having control over both the north and south shores of the lake for such a long time and said he would vote no on the initiative.
Youngren replied that the agreement was a sewage agreement only and is set up to be equitable. A council member said that he would much rather have all of the places on the south shore hooked into a sewer than have septic tanks. He added that the contract is reviewed every five years.

Council member Ty Witt said that he wasn’t aware of any alternatives for sewer control and that the agreement could be amended and will be assessed on a regular basis. Witt said that he was comfortable with the arrangement.
After further discussion, a motion was made to execute the Lake Chelan Sewer District interlocal agreement. Council member Jamtgaard rejected the motion but the other council members voted in favor and the motion was passed.  
Youngren presented an amendment to the Lake Hills LLC site agreement. The company requested to push the installation of the sidewalk beyond the date that was proposed until grading work is completed. A motion was made and the amendment was passed.
The city has been awarded money that will go towards the extension of water to the Lake Chelan Municipal Airport, Youngren said. In east Chelan, a reservoir is identified to address fire flow deficiencies, but it is not sufficient for the long term needs of the city, he said.
The new plan is to have an east Chelan reservoir of greater size and a higher elevation, Youngren said. After discussion, a motion was made and the amendment passed.
 Gildroy presented an updated Chelan Bay (Three Fingers) shoreline maintenance agreement.
The decision for shoreline approval requires the applicant to improve public lake access, construct the lakeside trail, install viewing platforms at each of the canals and install native plants and grass in the walking area, Gildroy said.
The proposed commercial dock will be open to the public and maintained by the property owner, Gildroy said. The city is responsible for providing water, garbage cans, and maintenance of the lakeside trail.
A council member asked if it is going to be hard to snowplow the trail since it isn’t contiguous with the other areas the city maintains. Gildroy replied that it would be difficult initially for the park to maintain the 10 foot wide trail and hopefully the trail would be connected to somewhere else eventually.
Parks Recreation and Community Services Director Paul Horne presented an update on the replacement of the parking kiosks.  The existing parking kiosks are becoming obsolete, Horne said. Transactions take too long, they timeout and the meters don’t read a systemic magnetic stripe on a credit card, he said.
The new kiosks will have a touchscreen, a better user interface and a chip and contactless card reader, he said. The amount of money received from parking has vastly exceeded the budget and so funding will be there, he said.
A council member asked if an app based system where users reported their license would be better. Gildroy replied that the city of Leavenworth used to have a system like that and the proposed system has better functionality.
The system is working for most people, Gildroy said, but there are some cards it doesn’t read. A council member asked how much the city charges for parking. The city charges $20 per day for parking, Gildroy replied. Paid parking was the last item on the agenda of the city council meeting.