Lind Town Council approves Well Installation Project pay request

Lind Town Council received an outstanding pay request during their meeting on Tuesday, July 26.

Stantec Engineer Alan Gay informed the Council about the requested payment due for the retainage release for the well installation project from the summer of 2015.

The pay request totaled $20,078.91. Gay explained the Town still had $15,000 in the contract from the block grant received from the Department of Commerce.

However, he said the Council needed to make a decision on which fund to use to pay the $5,000 due to urgency of immediate payment.

Gay then described some possible solutions for where the money could come. He explained how part of the project funds had gone towards the park irrigation project. The total number of funds contributed equaled around $7,000.

Gay said a funding agent had suggested he contact the Department of Ecology (Ecology) about funds they give out to help cover the costs of irrigation replacement projects.

If the Town applied for these funds and received them, the $7,000 used for the project could cover the rest of the money needed for the pay request plus some, and Ecology would reimburse the Town for the irrigation project, Gay explained.

Mayor Jaime Schmunk then asked Gay about borrowing the $5,000 from a Capital Construction fund and then reimbursing the fund if they receive the funding from Ecology.

Gay agreed and said the Capital Construction fund is one solution however, no matter where the Council decided to draw the money from, action must be taken on paying the amount due to the contractor.

Council expressed their concerns about the timeline of applying for the grant and receiving it. Gay addressed these concerns by stating the timeline is unpredictable and may require some patience.

The Town had received full funding of approximately $500,000 for the well installation. This is the first time they need to pay out of pocket for project, Schmunk explained.

Councilperson Craig Cooper motioned for the retainage to be taken out of the Capital Construction fund to pay the request.

He requested Gay apply for the irrigation replacement grant as soon as possible to reimburse the fund.

The decision deemed unanimous allowing for the pay request to be approved.

The Council went on with their meeting to the approval of the installation of new water meters in the town. The Mayor explained the company installing the meters would be coming out to Lind and training the staff on how to read them.

When it came time for the Mayor’s updates, Schmunk informed the Council of her recent experience riding in a combine and learning how the farmers go about harvesting the grain.

She said she had been involved with the harvesting of the airport property and described how appreciative she is towards those who were involved and their hard work.

The Mayor then told the Council they had harvested 45 bushels from the property. The profit made from the bushels will be used for the airport.

She also said the airport staff discovered a pressure tank and water pump on the property, which will allow for the airport to have water.

The Council then received quotes from One Call Now and Honeywell for a Residential Emergency Notification Plan. The plan would allow for the Mayor or Council to inform citizens of any emergencies or important information through many different forms of communication.

The citizens can choose whether they wish to receive notifications through text, email, phone call, a mobile app or even social media. Those who do not wish to receive notifications do not have to.

Due to the One Call quote totaling about $6,000 less than Honeywell’s estimate, the Council decided to approve the One Call quote.

Cooper motioned for the One Call service to be established for a one-year trial period to see how the community reacts to the system and how the Council feels about it. Council unanimously approved the motion.

The Council ended their meeting by discussing the annual one percent raise to the Town’s garbage company,

Consolidated Disposal Services for the cost of dumping the Town’s garbage.

Cooper motioned for the approval of the raise and the approval deemed unanimous.