Town of Lind to receive over $942,000 in FEMA grants

A good portion of the July 25 Lind Town Council meeting was once again the Steve Nelson show.

Nelson, who works with Century West out of Spokane, informed council, Mayor Jamie Schmunk and residents in attendance, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has obligated $942,225 in grant money to the Town of Lind to repair streets damaged during the storms in January and Feburary.

Nelson said the grant money would go toward fixing portions of Third, Fourth and Seventh streets, as well as repairing virtually all of Sixth Street and fixing cracks at the airport.

Crews would lay down geotextile fabric on the roadway first, then add six inches of crushed stone and two inches of asphalt on top of that.

Nelson added that the town will need to provide a 25 percent match for the grant, however the Washington State Department of Transportation could cover half of that amount – dropping Lind’s match to 12.5 percent.

He also plans on meeting with the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board in hopes of acquiring additional funding for the city to lower the amount of money the city would need to pay. If Nelson is successful, the town would only have to pay 2.5 percent matching funds.

Schmunk said the city had some money in the capital construction fund, as well as dollars in the current expense fund that is not allocated for anything else, which could cover most of the 2.5 percent match.

Town staff will also work with Nelson on additional fundraising opportunities.

The next step is for the town to hire an engineer for the FEMA roads projects. Schmunk said there was only one applicant - Century West. She added that TD&H Engineering had expressed interest in working on the projects and asked some questions, did not submit an application.

Nelson said he would bring a master services agreement at a future meeting for the council to look at.

The city will also need to hire a contractor to complete the work. Nelson said FEMA will pay the cost of low project bid, even if it comes in twice as much as the estimate.

Stantec Consulting engineer Alan Gay would also work in conjunction with the contractor during those projects so it does not come into conflict with the town’s water Storm Drain project.

Nelson advised council that the town could split the road projects into “different chunks” and complete them over a period of time. The city has 18 months to initially complete the project, and then can request up to four additional years to finish the work.

“I would recommend not tearing up all of those streets at once,” Nelson said.

Council briefly discussed the council’s impending decision on its current marijuana moratorium on production, processing and sale of recreational cannabis in the community. The moratorium is in effect until November.

Schmunk said there will be discussions on the matter during the next few council meetings. She added that she recently attended a public meeting where Adams County Economic Development Director Stephen McFadden discussed the moratorium and gained input from residents.

Schmunk said 80 percent of those in attendance, which was between 25-30 people, were in favor of some type of recreational cannibis business in the city.

Councilmembers Paula Bell and Jim Dworshak said residents approached them, saying they felt the meeting did not fully represent the consensus of the town.

Bell also brought up some statistics on how recreational marijuana stores have done in different parts of Washington - including Ritzville, which only received $2,065 in excise tax from marijuana sales from January to June 2017.

“Lind is so far away and different from Ritzville,” Bell added. “Lind would not be getting the same sales brought in.”

Council asked if there is a way to gain more input from more Lind residents. One idea was to place a ballot in the upcoming November election, asking residents whether or not they want a marijuana business in the city.

Another suggestion is conducting a townwide opinion poll through utility bills asking the same question. In both solutions, only registered voters in Lind would be allowed to vote on the matter.

During her mayor update, Schmunk announced that Gregory Pietz will be the new wastewater treatment plant operator.

Pietz brings 32 years of work experience to the facility and has worked in cities like Pasco, Prosser and Wenatchee.

Kylie Buell was also announced as the town’s new Deputy Clerk-Treasurer. She previously worked in a substitute position at the office before applying for the Deputy Clerk-Treasurer job.

When asked if the Deputy Clerk-Treasurer and Clerk-Treasurer are bonded as notaries, Schmunk said she will have Buell bonded and notarized at a later date.

After Bell asked if the substitute office employees are bonded and notarized, Schmunk answered that those positions are covered under the town’s Errors and Omissions Insurance.

Bell announced that the slow caution sign on Third Street is missing a bolt and is upside down. She also had a resident contact her about a dog fine on her utility bill.

Schmunk said the fine is more of a reminder and not included in the utility bill process. Bell suggested it “may be better” to put dog fines on separate forms.