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By PAUL DELANEY
Staff Reporter 

Finally, a full city council in Medical Lake

 

Last updated 10/25/2018 at 4:10pm



For the first time in several months, the Medical Lake City Council had its full complement of members on hand to address the agenda for the Oct. 16 meeting. New appointee Don Kennedy sat on the council for the first time.

City Administrator Doug Ross gave a report on the ongoing routine state audit that was taking place at City Hall. The audit will cost the city $19,000. The peek inside the finances of the city takes place as a conversion to new software has recently occurred.

The effort by the state is looking at three years of records, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and was expected to be completed by this week.

Steve Meltzer, president of the Blue Waters Blue Grass Festival spoke to the city’s plan to adjust the code to ban alcohol in parks, wondering if special use permits might allow groups to serve beverages in the future, which there will be. Council later had the first reading of Ordinance 1063 which will ultimately ban any outside alcohol in city parks.

A public hearing was held on projected 2019 city revenues with citizen testimony offered by resident Lahnie Henderson over concerns that permits for fireworks sales needed to be increased. In 2018 the city collected $100, an amount Henderson suggested needed to be increased, if for nothing else, to cover the cost of city time.

Council voted 4-3 to pass Ordnance 1064, setting the property tax rate at the state maximum of 1 1 percent for 2019 which would raise approximately $5,800.

A 7-0 vote authorized public hearings of the proposed 2019 budget for Nov. 6 and 20 at 6:30 p.m. prior to the next two council meetings.

Ross said that the recycling center would discontinue accepting used motor oil due to the cost to the city to have an outside vendor process it.

The bulk of discussion for the approximately 45-minute meeting was spent on the depth to which official minutes should reflect on council activities.

There was, on one side, the desire to have verbatim minutes, but Ross said that a slimmed-down version of official minutes is what the city strives to offer. He said those wishing for further details on council meetings can always request a digital recording and find what they might want.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.

 

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