TD Council takes ‘Screaming deal’ on Sixth Street
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles City Council unanimously agreed to a deal with the Oregon Department of Transportation to widen west Sixth Street in what one councilor termed a “screaming deal.”
The agreement would allow for the $1-million project which will add a center lane from Snipes Street to Hostetler Street; Think Kentucky Fried Chicken to Spooky’s Pizza.
Public Works Director Dave Anderson told Council the section of road had been the site of many rear-end vehicle accidents as well as near-miss, head-on collisions.
“This section of roadway has been the site of numerous motor vehicle accidents over the years, the majority of which have been related to attempted left-turns by westbound Vehicles,” he read from his report. The upgrade will also include sidewalks improving pedestrian safety.
The Oregon Department of Transportation has agreed to pay $922,200 for the project. The City would be obligated to pay $77,800 for the $1-million project; the City would also be responsible for project costs in excess of $1,000,000 barring an amendment to the Agreement.
Councilor Darcy Long
That spurred Councilor Dan Richardson to call it a “screaming deal.”
“That's a great return on investment,” added Councilor Darcy Long. “This is important for public safety, of course, but it’s also a small match of city public funds… thanks for going after these federal grants… Thank you for your willingness to do this for our town,” she told Anderson.
The project will also regrade and repave the street to improve drainage, add street lighting, and it also requires the acquisition of right-of-way from two properties.
The city intends to design the project in-house and construct the project with contracted resources. Construction would likely occur in late 2022 or 2023.
Interview Committee for New City Manager
Mayor Rich Mays
Mayor Rich Mays said Steve Lawrence, Jorge Barragan, Nate Stice, Scott McKay, Megan Thompson, Addie Case, Corliss Marsh and Andrea Klaas are on the interview committee for a new city manager.
The closing date for applicants is Feb. 13.
The committee, which will also include three city department directors, will provide feedback to the Council. Council will ultimately choose who gets the job. Prothman consulting services out of Issaquah, Wash., has been hired to assist in the recruitment.
Here is a link to the job posting.
City Financial Audit and $5.3 Million
The City of The Dalles received a “clean” audit report, said Timothy Gillette with TKW, an auditing company serving many large companies and governments. “This is a clean audit opinion,” Gillette said. “There were no issues. This is the kind of audit you want to get from your auditor.”
Gillette also pointed out that The Dalles was in good financial shape, operating in the black and noted other municipalities are often not. For instance, he said Portland was at a $4.5 billion negative balance.
After discussion of minor clerical changes, Mayor Mays asked what money the City had in unrestricted fund balances, meaning money that was not earmarked for specific projects and could be potentially spent on other items or projects. After the meeting, Mays said he asked the question with no special project in mind. Rather, he said he wanted to know what untethered money was accessible to the Council as Google fees will also be coming in during the next fiscal year.
Gillette said $5.3 million and City Financial Administrator Angie Wilson agreed.
“We do have a strong beginning fund balance,” said Wilson, noting revenues are such that the City will likely end the year with more than anticipated cash funds within the unrestricted fund balance - meaning more than $5.3 million. “We like to keep 10 percent for contingency…”
Neither Mays nor Council made any requests for using that money. However, it’s fair to say that information could stir some ideas from Council as well as the community for the next budget planning cycle set to start this spring.
Russ Brown Speaks on Street Maintenance
Former City Councilor Russ Brown told Council that the City’s street department was underfunded and as a result asphalt, that is not maintained with chip seals, will decay prematurely, costing the city additional millions of dollars to repair.
He noted that he had tried as a Councilor to get enough cash appropriated to the Street Department, but fell short. He suggested adding two additional employees to the department and adding $300,000 for contracting and materials for street maintenance.
City Manager Julie Krueger said the City had been making strides to beef up the department, putting $300,000 into the department's budget in the last two fiscal years which paid for “miles of crack sealing. We will have an actual additional person to work on the crew,” she said. “We are making steps to address those concerns.”
The property, above in yellow, was annexation as the owner is looking to partition the property and build houses.
Annexation and house construction on East 18th St.
City Council voted unanimously to annex into City Boundaries a 1-acre lot in the 2500 block of E. 18th Street in Thompson’s Edition.
The property is owned by Edward Nelson who is asking to partition the lot to build houses.
The property is zoned residential, and Nelson applied to annex as part of a condition of approval for a minor partition which is needed to gain approval to build houses on the property.
Councilors reject bids for Trevitt Street utilities
Councilors rejected bids for Trevitt Street Utility upgrades phase 1 for replacing and upgrading the sanitary sewer mains located in Trevitt Street between the cross streets of W 9th Street and W 12th Street.
The Bidders were:
1. Crestline Construction, in the amount of $746,724.00
2. James Dean Construction, in the amount of $1,118,417.00
3. Beam Construction, in the amount of $1,315,776.50
However, an addendum to the bid requiring an 8-inch sanitary sewer pipe to be installed was not addressed by Crestline in their bid and was deemed incomplete.
City Staff then further reviewed the remaining two submitted bids and while they were deemed as responsive bids, it was determined that both bids substantially exceeded the funds that were budgeted and available for this project.
Public Works Director Dave Anderson said a new scope for the bid would be created, and the project budget would be updated. He said the current $750,000 for the project would carry over to the next fiscal year and the project would again be put out for bid.
