Lind Town Council discusses 7th Street water leak, receives Phase II project update

The Lind Town Council held a regular meeting in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, April 9. A quorum was present;, with councilmember Kathy Vedder participating via speakerphone.

Mayor Paula Bell asked councilmember Jim Dworshak to give a brief recap of the previous meeting regarding a resident’s water usage. Dworshak explained that it is not feasible to reduce the resident’s water bill at this time due to the Town’s current financial situation, in that in addition to charging enough to pay for water use, there is also obligation for the Town to pay back loans associated with the water system as well.

Vedder suggested that perhaps the council could do a budget plan with the resident so that they are paying the same amount each month year-round, and not being charged extra for overage during the summer months. There was a brief discussion, and Bell is still researching with other towns, as well as Municipal Research Center (MRSC), to see what options may be available. The item was tabled until a later date.

Steve Nelson of Century West Engineering was available via phone. Nelson notified the council that the bids were received and reviewed on March 27. Mr. Nelson was pleased that a bid less than the engineer’s bid was received. The Phase II project was awarded to Central Washington Asphalt.

Nelson clarified that he will be submitting an application for the CDBG grant on May 5. If approved, the Town would get notified in September and work would begin the following year. Nelson is meeting with Joe Pessutti tomorrow to go over high priority projects that the grant could be used for. WSDOT has awarded the Town a grant for the airport in the amount of $8,860.25.

Bell informed the council of the new retail sales tax rate. As of April 1, the new rate is 8%. She also gave a report on the free dump day that occurred on April 6. Mayor Paula Bell felt that it was not as good of a turnout as she expected.

Bell also provided an update on the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). Casie Monge and Pessutti worked with Aeromod over the phone for several hours trying to troubleshoot some issues with the plant. Monge is working on testing the polymer formula. In simple terms “the good bugs and bad bugs are out of balance.”

Bell also informed the council that Basin Plumbing, Heating and Cooling is almost done fixing the hot water tank at the WWTP. There is one last piece that had to be ordered, and Basin said the piece was stuck in Spokane and hoped they would be out the following day to finish.

Bell informed the council that Pacific Power is fixing the fuel injectors and filtering the fuel that failed testing earlier this year. She also reported that Reservoir 2 has been cleaned and is now being refilled and tested. Reservoir 3 will be cleaned next.

Bell reported on the 7th Street leak. Initially it was believed to just be snow melt that had pooled at the location, and rather than running over the roadway, was running under the asphalt and washing the road out. After further inspection, it was discovered that the water was still running. The Public Works crew was able to dig and find a crack in the main water line.

The water line is currently bandaged until a new pipe is delivered, which should be arriving within the week. As a result of the leak, and trying to isolate it by turning valves off, which was not effective, it was determined that there are also some valves that will need to be replaced. The street will remain closed until all repairs are completed.

Bell also told the council that the Fly Washington Passport Program began on April 1. The Lind Airport is a part of the program. There is a mailbox with a stamp in it located at the airport. The pilots fly in and then stamp their passport and then fly on to their next destination. The mailbox and stamp were purchased by the program.

Bell presented the council with emails that were received from the individual that was inquiring about tiny houses in Lind. The individual had sent some ideas and images for review. The individual had some further questions regarding our zoning ordinance, and Bell is still researching information and is in contact with the person.

Avista is doing a transmission line rebuild through Town. They supplied a map showing the intended route. Public Works Supervisor Josamy Blake is in contact with Aaron Tremayne of Avista gathering further information.