Centralia has now signed on to support county-sponsored Chehalis River Basin flood-control projects designed to keep Interstate 5 open, and to reduce flooding in the Twin Cities.
"There's nothing we could do with more impact on the community than resolve flooding," City Manager Tom Reber told the Centralia City Council Tuesday night.
Reber assured the council that supporting Lewis County's flood-control efforts would not cost the city - at least not yet.
The county is seeking backing from the cities, Thurston and Grays Harbor counties and the Chehalis Indian Tribe in its search for state and federal money to pay for area flood-control projects.
Reber said the agreement to support county projects does not include a financial commitment. If the county wants the city to pay for part of the project, a separate agreement would be needed.
In other matters before the council:
The county's approval of interim urban growth boundaries for Centralia on May 4 ended consideration of an annexation petition from Rhobina Street-Daniels Road residents.
The 19.85-acre parcel is outside of the county-adopted interim urban growth boundaries. The Growth Management Act prohibits annexing areas outside established urban growth areas.
Terry Calkins, community development director, said the city can request the property be included in Centralia's final urban growth area. But, he said, that would involve collecting and analyzing population and building data, and the cost of providing city services to the area.
Calkins recommended future annexation petitions go to the city planning commission for review. The GMA allows cities to petition the county for an annual review of their urban growth boundaries.
- Dale Pullin, owner of Thorbecke's Fitness Center, petitioned the council to amend his contract for use of the indoor pool owned by the city and by the Centralia School district. Pullin's rent for use of the facility was due to go from $800 to $1,500 per month beginning June 1. But Pullin said he is losing money on the deal because he doesn't have enough club members using to pool to cover his costs.
At the recommendation of J.D. Fouts, parks and recreation director, the council agreed to keep Pullin's rent at $800 through 1999 unless pool usage by Thorbecke's members increases dramatically.
- Fouts was officially designated Tuesday by the council as Reber's stand-in in the absence of the city manager.
Reber asked the council to designate Fouts the official acting city manager, with the understanding that Reber would rotate the acting manager assignment among department heads in the future. Reber said rotating the assignment would provide learning opportunities and promote teamwork, but the council insisted on more structure.
Shannon Murphy, assistant city attorney, will continue to be the designated substitute for the acting city manager. Murphy also had that assignment under former city manager Craig Nelson. Calkins was Nelson's acting city manager, and he served as the interim city manager for most of January.
- Calkins' department supervised Centralia's housing elevation program which will result in further flood-insurance savings for city residents.
Since 1994, city residents have qualified for a 5 percent reduction for flood insurance purchased through the National Flood Insurance Program due to the city's efforts to minimize flood losses. The city's program was just reviewed, and Calkins said he expects discounts to increase to 15 percent owing to the city's floodplain management activities.
- Councilors approved a utilities rate study to be conducted by Financial Consulting Solutions Group for an amount not to exceed $64,865.
Utilities Director Dick Southworth said the study is needed to forecast revenue needs for a six-year period and set fair rates by customer classification.
- The council amended the city's Lodging Tax Ordinance to increase the city's portion of hotel-motel tax revenues from 2 percent to 4 percent. The newly-formed Lodging Tax Advisory Board recommended the council take the action to increase the city's share of lodging tax revenues to provide more local matching funds for grant awards for tourism-related economic development activities.
Cheryl Murray, executive director of the Lewis County Center and a Lodging Tax Advisory Board member, estimated the council's action would bring in an additional $50,000 a year to support tourism-related activities.
- The panel approved location of the Lewis County Master Gardeners' demonstration garden at Fort Borst Park.
The garden, formerly at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, will be situated between the Borst Home and the one-room schoolhouse in the park. Master Gardeners will help maintain park landscaping and the arboretum, and will assist as tour guides. Demonstration garden harvests will be donated to local food banks.