Kelly Kenoyer
The Dec. 8 City Council meeting was filled with laughter as the mayor and council members said goodbye to colleagues who lost their reelection bids.
Councilors James Goble and Cortney Nash are leaving the council in the new year, to be replaced by Angelita Sanchez for a four-year term and Dylan Richards for a two-year term. Councilors Lisa Gourley and Dave Trask won their re-election bids and will stay on council for four more years.
Also attending on Dec. 8 were councilors Susan Coleman and Diane Gerson.
Mayor Greg Mahler presented plaques to the two at the end of the meeting and thanked them for their service, his voice breaking a bit with emotion.
“I really appreciate all your guys’s efforts and your dedication to the community,” he said. “I hope you stay involved in the city. I really highly respect those who commit to a community and make it a better place to live.”
City Manager Ray Towry said, “I would also like to take the time to thank these two gentlemen. They’ve been engaged and insightful and also very open to learning.”
Goble had a few departing words for his last meeting as a city councilor.
“I think this council has not tooted its horn as much as it should have in the past, but we have moved things so far forward,” he said. “Councilor Gourley and I actually get along on certain topics, and we all know how that started,” he added with a laugh.
“We all are very passionate about our community. So thank you and all the staff who have always been there, I really appreciate it.”
In other action:
– Councilors declined to hold a vote on an ordinance that would create a mandatory business license program for the city. The ordinance drew a lot of criticism from constituents, Mahler said, as other councilors agreed.
“I’ve had a couple businesses reach out to me and they’ve expressed extreme irritation at this,” Gourley said. “They see it as government imposition.”
The business license idea originally came from the Chamber of Commerce, according to Community and Economic Development Director Blair Larsen. He said such an informational registry would make it easier to coordinate with businesses on grant programs from the CARES act, as well as informing them about potential disruptions, like the solar eclipse in 2017.
Goble and Coleman both said there was value in a registry, but that business owners’ privacy concerns should come first.
“I feel that, what if somebody just says no?” Goble asked. “Are we going to tell them they can’t have a business in town and employ people?”
Having it be mandatory meant there could be fines of up to $500 per day to require compliance, Trask said. “I am not in favor of this,” he said, because having a business isn’t a privilege, it’s “a right.”
After this discussion, Towry told the mayor the council could simply not hold a vote, allowing the ordinance to die. Mahler suggested to create a voluntary registry instead- which will not require a vote.
– Councilors were split on the second reading of an ordinance that would require maintenance on vacant commercial and industrial buildings, though the ordinance ultimately carried. It will go to a third reading at the next council meeting in January, during which new members Sanchez and Richards will be able to vote.
The ordinance will apply to buildings in commercial and industrial areas that are vacant; those with tenants are not subject to the requirements.
The intent is to “keep the property from being a nuisance,” Larsen said at a previous council discussion.
“The intent is not to punish someone for having an empty building,” he said. “There clearly is a need to have some basic care put into these buildings.”
The ordinance requires the owner to have a local agent who is in charge of the welfare of a vacant building, to keep the premises free of weeds, dead vegetation, graffiti, and trash. It also requires regular lawn and plant care, that fences and gates be in sound condition and good repair, as well as foundations, basements, cellars, and crawl spaces remaining in sound and watertight condition. Exterior walls are required to be free of holes, and exterior windows and doors must be in sound and lockable condition, with no broken glass.
There is some bite to these requirements: If a property owner does not fix the problems and maintain the building, they could be subject to fines up to $500 per day, depending on the judge. Goble said he’d like to see this as a process with warnings, rather than a situation where the city could “dig their claws into you.”
Larsen responded that enforcement for the code goes through the city, so staff would have flexibility on the severity of enforcement.
For Gourley, though, the punishment is necessary.
“There’s been abuse of our community for a long time,” she said. “They are not good community members or good team players when it comes to our Main Street.”
Most of the councilors initially supported the ordinance, with only Gerson voting against. She approved of the overall ordinance, but wanted the language of it to be “clearer.” She specifically sought for some language that is a little repetitive to be removed from the ordinance, though Larsen said the repetitions are an intentional aspect of this kind of document.
After the vote, councilors continued discussing the ordinance for a bit, then Goble made a motion to reconsider the ordinance, and Nash seconded, on the basis of changing the language as Gerson suggested. The council then began discussing whether to vote on the ordinance a second time, and Gourley said it would just pass again the same way.
“Humor me, I want my vote to be no,” Goble said, prompting a burst of laughter in the council chamber.
“It’s their last night; let’s humor them!” Coleman said. Then the councilors voted in favor of re-opening the ordinance for consideration, except Gourley, who said “No, I’ll be the naughty one,” to another round of laughter.
Larsen then explained that repetition in the ordinance is necessary for it to be usable as a document once it’s made into law. He said he could have one section reference the other, but the repetition is needed.
Trask asked about the requirement for monthly inspections, and wanted to know how that requirement would be enforced.
Towry said it would be based on complaints.
“If someone can’t find a suitable building, they can come to us and say “you don’t have any buildings for us to look at,” he said. “The purpose is to hold building owners accountable for their buildings.
“Our goal is compliance. We always enforce through education first.”
Gourley again voiced support for the ordinance. “Some people aren’t going to like it, but that’s OK,” she said. “Every time we meet we talk about the importance of Main Street. We talk about the community identity. This is part of making that change. We can’t complain and not do anything to make a difference.”
The councilors then tried to hold a vote to change the ordinance in the ways Gerson described: by cutting out redundancy.
But staff objected, saying it wasn’t specific enough.
“Where one person sees redundancy, I see things that are slightly different,” Larsen said. “I would be happy to meet with any councilor to see what could be trimmed out or what could be changed.”
Said Towry: “I’m going to have nightmares because of you guys today!” causing another burst of laughter.
Finally, Gourley recommended the ordinance be considered as written. Goble seconded, which caused another burst of laughter after his objections earlier.
The council finally voted again, this time with Goble, Nash and Gerson all voting no. The ordinance still carried, and will be considered at the next city council meeting for a third and final reading. New members Sanchez and Richards will be able to share their own views at that time.
– Mahler read off two proclamations acknowledging the passage of the police and library levies, which will both come into effect on July 1, 2021.
– Councilors unanimously approved a contract to continue employing City Attorney Rob Snyder in 2021. His monthly salary for the year will be $4,749.42.
– The council unanimously approved City Manager Ray Towry’s employment contract for 2021. Councilors evaluated Towry’s performance before the vote, and gave him an average score of 4 to 5 points out of five for his performance.
His highest score in the category of city council relationships was for “effectively aiding the City Council in establishing long-range goals,” of which he received 4.43 points out of five. He received an even higher score for controlling city expenditures within budgetary limitations to ensure public funds are spent wisely: 4.57 points out of five. Gourley, in particular, was well satisfied with Towry’s work, giving him a full five out of five points in every category.