1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL: Mayor Beckstead called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Beckstead and Councilors Abbott, Woodruff, Peterson, Welch and Church answered the roll. Councilor Eder was excused. A quorum was present.
2. CITIZEN COMMENTS AND CONCERNS: Eugenia Papas congratulated the Council on the review of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, indicating that she especially enjoyed the prioritization of projects. She expressed concern about pedestrian safety on Cedar Street, where there are 3 90-degree turns, and suggested that this be looked at in the next sidewalk review. Another suggestion was that the Council discuss the supplemental budget during the meeting, as not everyone reads the public notices. Her final concern was in regard to the inclusion of a proposed increase in sewer fees scheduled for January, 2005, as shown in the budget workbook for FY 2004-2005. She asked that the City do everything it can to keep costs down.
3. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND CONCERNS: Mayor Beckstead mentioned that he had attended the meeting of the Regional Investment Board (RIB) in Albany on March 29, was nominated to the Executive Committee, and subsequently elected. The Board discussed setting a target wage for the projects that are being proposed. Originally they had proposed that 50% of the jobs created by any project be at or above the median wage for the county in question. He felt that, given the high unemployment rate and economic disadvantages, 50% might be a little ambitious. He proposed that it be reduced to 25%, which was accepted by RIB. Mayor Beckstead also noted that he had been appointed as the Enterprise Zone Manager of Lincoln County, and stated that he will do what he can to use the position to benefit the economic development of the community. Mayor Beckstead then read a letter from the US Forest Service in regard to the Waldport Forest Service station into the record.
4. MINUTES: The Council considered the minutes from the March 4 and March 9, 2004 Council meetings. Councilor Church moved to approve the minutes as presented. Councilor Abbott seconded, and the motion carried unanimously on a voice vote.
5. PUBLIC HEARING: None.
6. STAFF REPORTS:
   A. Sheriff: Councilor Welch noted that the report that the Sheriff provides is listed by deputy, but shows their entire work for the month. He was having difficulty isolating the Waldport responses. Ms. Leonard responded that the Sheriff had indicated it was difficult to pull out just the Waldport information from the software. Councilor Welch also noted that he would like to have a report on traffic citations and Ms. Leonard said she would ask Lt. Stallard about that. Mayor Beckstead mentioned that his wife, Jackie Beckstead, had been specially deputized for animal control in a small ceremony earlier that evening. Councilor Peterson suggested eliminating the enhanced contract and just going with the County patrol. Mayor Beckstead indicated that the Sheriff’s department has suffered some setbacks in terms of available personnel, and his experience has been that, given the difficulties they are facing, they have done an outstanding job of responding. Although the Council might not be receiving the reports they request, the people are receiving service. Councilor Church suggested a workshop to discuss the Sheriff contract before the next Council meeting, as it was his understanding the contract will be renewed May 1. Ms. Leonard will coordinate a date by email, but also noted that the deadline was for a letter of intent, not for the actual contract. There is a 60-day clause in the contract which can be initiated by either party at any time.
   B. City Administrator: Ms. Leonard asked the Council about the direction they wished her to take with response to the expansion of the Library into the space previously occupied by the Youth Center. She asked Mr. McClintock to look at opening up the space, and Mr. McClintock had suggested getting a structural engineer to look at it as it is a public use facility. She would like to take the action as soon as its vacated, then the Library Board will look at their budget and see how much they can allocate to the move. Consensus of the Council was to proceed.
   C. City Attorney: No report.
   D. Public Works: Mr. McClintock noted that most of his information was in the Infrastructure minutes contained in the packet. He had been absent from the last Council meeting because he attended a Management and Technical conference in Bend the previous month. He felt that it had been a very positive experience. He reported that he and the engineers had reviewed the South Sewer Project initial draft, and the City should be seeing a finalized draft in the next four weeks or so. The Public Works crew will be starting the replacement of the old steel waterline on Highway 101 on April 5. ODOT was requesting that the work be done between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., and everything needs to be put back in order by the end of the day, so it may take a while to complete the project. Mr. McClintock has put in a request to ODOT to look at the Maple Street/Highway 101 intersection sight visibility problem. They will be sending a team to evaluate the situation and will provide a report. In regard to the sidewalks on Highway 34, Mr. McClintock noted that ODOT had required a larger sidewalk and railing, so the contractor was going to provide a revised price. Ms. Leonard has been trying to pursue the permit for the bulbouts, but had been unsuccessful so far. Councilor Welch reminded Mr. McClintock that the Traffic and Public Safety Committee had requested a white line delineating the pedestrian walkway on Crestline as soon as possible.
   E. City Planner: The Planner’s report was contained in the packet materials.
7. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
   A. Finance and Administration: No meeting.
   B. Infrastructure Planning : The minutes from the March 23, 2004 meeting were contained in the packet materials.
   C. Parks & Recreation: Councilor Woodruff noted that there will be another public meeting in May or June as the project progresses. Mayor Beckstead opined that, next to the Transportation Enhancement process, the Parks Master Plan will have the largest impact on how the future Waldport will look. He urged citizens to be involved in the process.
    D. Traffic & Public Safety: Councilor Welch noted a citizen comment regarding vehicle speed on the Alsea Bridge. He offered to recontact ODOT about putting 45-mph signage on the bridge, if the Council wished him to pursue the issue. Consensus of the Council was to have Councilor Welch proceed with his efforts.
    E. CIF: Councilor Abbott reported that there had been a good meeting in Yachats. The process was continuing, and the next meeting was scheduled to be held at the ODOT building at Ona Beach on April 22^nd.
    F. Community Youth: The move to the new space at the Waldport Annex was scheduled to be complete by Tuesday, April 6^th .
8. CONSENT CALENDAR: The Council considered the following items: City Engineer bill for February and the annual agreement between the Waldport Urban Renewal Agency and the City of Waldport. Councilor Woodruff moved to approve the Consent Calendar. Councilor Church seconded, and the motion carried unanimously on a voice vote.
9. CORRESPONDENCE: None.
10. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: The Council considered the Senior Board minutes. No action was necessary.
11. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
    A. Consideration of Resolution Requesting Expansion of the Lincoln County Enterprise Zone: Chris Chandler di Torrice addressed the Council regarding the proposed expansion and accompanying resolution. Councilor Church asked about any conflict of interest in having Mayor Beckstead appointed as the Enterprise Zone Manager. Ms. di Torrice responded that the Zone Manager was an administrative function and has no impact on whether or not someone would qualify for a tax exemption. She did not perceive there to be any conflict of interest. Councilor Welch moved to approve Resolution No. 1055. Councilor Woodruff seconded, and the motion carried unanimously on a voice vote.
    B, Council of Governments (COG) Membership: Councilor Welch explained that he just wanted to ensure that the Council recognized the value of the membership for our area. COG has been very instrumental in assisting the City to achieve things such as the Range Drive protected left turn lane, paving on Highway 34, the Downtown Revitalization funding and various other grants and loan funding. He felt that they were a very valuable partner for Waldport, and though the membership costs $1500 per year, it appeared to be a very good investment. Ms. Leonard agreed, noting that she was certain the City received much more than it paid for. Councilor Woodruff mentioned that apparently not many people knew about COG’s small business loan program, which was currently underutilized. 
    C. Changes to Debt Management Policy: Ms. Leonard noted that this had been discussed and recommended for approval at the February Finance and Administration Committee, but failed to make the agenda in March. She explained that, because of projects such as the South Sewer project, the City needed to institute some changes to the policy to take care of the new percentages. Councilor Abbott moved to accept the proposed change, Councilor Woodruff seconded. The motion carried unanimously on a voice vote.
    D. City Logo Discussion: Mayor Beckstead stated that, in the City’s ongoing efforts to upgrade and modernize it makes sense to look at upgrading its logo as well. The current logo depicts the old bridge and the way Waldport used to look. It may be time to look into options for coming up with a new logo. Following a brief discussion, consensus of the Council was to issue a general call for submissions. Ms. Leonard explained that the City’s logo is computer generated, so this would not entail having to purchase new stationery or other items.
    E. Other Issues: None.
12. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Not needed
13. ACTIONS, IF ANY, FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION: None.
14. GOOD OF THE ORDER: Nothing further
15. ADJOURNMENT: At 8:10 p.m., there being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned.

Top of Page

Back to Minutes

Home