Community members question Lind council over tiny housing issue

The Lind Town Council held a regular meeting on May 28, as the council discussed the recent ordinance to ban tiny houses, as well as preparations for the Lind Combine Derby weekend.

Community member Barbara DeVore was in attendance to ask for an explanation why tiny homes are not being allowed in town and why there are restrictions on the size of houses that can be constructed. Councilmember Rose Elkington explained that the council is trying to avoid transients.

The council discussed the various reasons the ordinance banning tiny homes and requiring a minimal area for a newly-built home is in place. Councilmember Jim Dworshak explained that a 600-square-foot house is not unreasonable for a single person. Because the tiny homes are on wheels, they are classified as an RV. Dworshak noted that residents of tiny homes could conceivably pack up, and leave in the middle of the night with unpaid utility bills left behind.

Councilmember Kathy Vedder assured DeVore that the tiny homes issue is not closed; it is only not allowed for now, and could be revisited in the future and changed if desired. Another community member in the audience voiced her opinion that tiny homes are trending and becoming very popular. There are more and more younger people traveling and sharing their experiences on social media, which could advertise Lind.

Mayor Paula Bell reminded everyone that the Lind Combine Derby is coming up soon. She informed the council that the City of Connell will be unable to sweep the Lind streets in time because of equipment failure. The City of Ritzville has agreed to sweep the streets and will be in town do so on June 4. Mayor Bell informed the council that streetlights will be on from June 6-10.

Mayor Bell also asked councilmembers to review a sample brochure to evaluate interest in pursuing purchase of the designed brochure from Katelin Davidson. The Town would provide photographs for the brochure. The mayor also asked councilmembers to start thinking of the next budget and where to delegate funds for the next year. She also gave councilmembers an estimate for cones/drums from National Barricade & Sign Co. The Town does not have a current inventory of those items.

Councilmembers were given a copy of the Water System Ordinance for information purposes, and updated by Mayor Bell that 5th Street repairs have been completed. Josamy Blake will be getting sand to fill the hole and then asphalt over the top. The mayor also reported that the Town had been dinged for not having railroad crossing signs on each approach of the train tracks and were notified that they needed to implement signs to avoid being further reprimanded. New signs have been ordered.

Vedder asked if landlords require a business license for rental properties. Mayor Paula Bell will look into it. In response to a question from Dworshak regarding generators for the wells, Mayor Bell said that they are not turning on automatically like they are supposed to, but Josamy Blake is manually turning them on once a week. Dworshak then asked if there was a log being kept for each start up, and Mayor Paula Bell confirmed that there was.

Councilmember Richard Baldwin asked, on behalf of the Assembly of God, to have Smart Hill blocked off on June 9, for the coaster car races. Baldwin moved to allow Assembly of God to block off Smart Hill on June 9 and the motion carried.