Dunes
City Council
M
I N U T E S
Regular
Meeting
December 13, 2007-
7:00 p.m.
Printable
file
City
Hall –
82877 Spruce Street
Westlake
,
Oregon
97439
Councilors
Present: Mayor
Eric Hauptman, Councilor Richard Koehler, Councilor John Scott, Councilor
Susie Navetta, Councilor Peter
Howison, Councilor Jerry Curran, Councilor Bob Petersdorf.
Others Present:
Staff Jeannie LaRocco and several members of the community.
I.
CALL
TO ORDER
Mayor Eric Hauptman called
the Dunes City Council Regular Meeting to order at
7:00 p.m.
2.
COUNCILORS
JOINED IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. MAYOR’S ADDRESS Mayor
Eric Hauptman
Mayor
Eric Hauptman read an address asking citizens to be patient with the
office bringing issues up-to-date. He
thanked new staff Lisa O'Callaghan and Maria McConnell.
Also, the auditing firm that was hired to conduct the annual audit
of
Dunes
City
is in breach of contract and has sent a letter of declination to proceed
with the audit.
Dunes
City
is currently seeking a new auditing firm to complete the audit.
A special
thank you to Councilors Richard Koehler, Susie Navetta, Peter Howison, and
Bob Petersdorf who kept the city in operation.
A special thank you also to the citizens, who have donated
countless hours to help the city maintain continuity; Debbie Pasternak,
April Dumas, John Stead, Jo Owen, Ralph Farnsworth, Mark Chandler, Lee
Riechel, Steve Hager, and to Del Riesenhuber who is a CPA and has donated
countless hours to get the city books in order in preparation for an
audit.
Two
committees are being formed to assist the city.
A Revenue Search Committee is being developed to keep monies
coming in to the city. There
are concerns regarding the timber revenue monies coming to an end.
The second committee is a Government Liaison Committee.
Dunes
City
needs to connect with government officials.
Dunes
City
is for the citizens of this city/community and is predominately a
volunteer community.
4.
WATER
PERMIT EXTENSION (Informational)
A special
thank you to John Stead regarding the water permit extension.
The water permit extension application was sitting in Dunes City
Office for an extended period of time and had not been processed.
John Stead volunteered his time to research and complete the
application within time constraints. Without
this extension, the city would have lost certain water rights on
Woahink
Lake
.
5. CONSENT AGENDA
A.
The mayor asked for the approval of the minutes of
November 15, 2007
, and
October 11, 2007
. Councilor Peter Howison
mentioned that there was a correction for the minutes of
November 15, 2007
.
B.
Bills of the Session
November 9, 2007
, through
December 6, 2007
, $25,839.21. Councilor John
Scott asked that the miscellaneous reimbursement items be listed
specifically instead of lumped together.
C.
Holiday Office Calendar for office closure and paid holidays was
included.
D.
Committee Vacancies: The
Site Review Committee vacancy applicant is Deborah Pasternak; and Planning
Commission applications are Ken Platt and Troy Ronning.
Councilor
Peter Howison made a motion to accept the Consent Agenda minus the one
Bill of the Session and the minutes from
November 15, 2007
, meeting.
Susie Navetta seconded the motion.
Motion carried. Discussion:
Councilor Bob Petersdorf inquired whose terms were set to expire on
the Site Review Committee and the Planning Commission.
Councilor Susie Navetta informed that there wasn’t a term
expiration on the Site Review committee.
She went on to explain that with the approval of an ordinance, the
committee return to the correct amount of people.
The Site Review Committee has been running one short for many
years. The Planning Commission
vacancies are Bill Tizzard and Darlene Beckman whose terms expire at the
end of 2007.
Bills of
the Session: There is a
billing from John Ely for the water tanker.
Originally he quoted $800 for a month.
After one month, the city elected to have the tanker returned as we
did not need the water. Councilor
Bob Petersdorf informed Chief Buchanan at the end of October the tanker
would no longer be needed. The
tanker is still parked across the street from City Hall as of this date.
Councilor Petersdorf called John Ely to inform him
Dunes
City
no longer needed the tanker. A
motion was made at the October City Council meeting to have the tanker
removed. The basic rental fee
was scheduled to be $800 with a delivery and pickup fee of $200 for
$1,000. A billing was received
for $1,400.
Councilor Bob Petersdorf made a motion to inform John
Ely to pick up the tanker and that we are willing to pay him $1,000.
Councilor John Scott seconded the motion.
Councilor Susie Navetta opposed.
Motion carried.
Minutes
from
November 15, 2007
, on page two, the third paragraph should read $1,000 not $4,000
reimbursement from the auditors.
Councilor Peter Howison made a motion to accept the minutes
of
November 15, 2007
, as amended. Councilor
David Bellemore seconded the motion. Motion
carried. Councilor John Scott was absent from the November 15, 2007,
meeting.
7.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND INFORMATION ITEMS
Dunes
City
continues to look for Volunteer Firefighters and CERT trainees which are
needed for
Dunes
City
.
8.
LEGAL SERVICES INTERVIEW SPEER HOYT PC, ATTORNEYS
Attorneys
John Wolfe and Christy Munson were present to represent Speer Hoyt PC,
Attorneys. John Wolfe stated
their firm represents a number of smaller cities such as Creswell, Veneta,
Junction City
, Oakridge, West Fir, the
Port
of
Siuslaw
, the Heceta Water District, and are familiar with how city councils work.
They also represent other municipalities throughout the state of
Oregon
. They went on to explain
their experience and trainings in what is public, non-public, confidential
etc. Christy Munson explained
that prior to coming to work for Speer Hoyt she worked as legal counsel
for the League of Oregon Cities. Questions
were asked the attorneys by city council members.
Councilor
Bob Petersdorf inquired about LUBA appeals and asked if we would have to
pay for the work to be redone. He
also mentioned Ordinances, Master Road Plans, Building Ordinances.
NORMAN
MARTIN - Citizen Norman Martin requested to speak and stated the
following: “I
would like to make a comment to these people who are applying for the job.
The main controversy going on or one of the main controversies
going on in the city at the moment is about land use ordinances which you
know is highly different from business ordinances, etc. etc.
The comprehensive plan of Dunes City and also goals goal one
through nineteen etc. etc. They
all say that the
Dunes
City
citizens have the right to be involved in all phases of the planning of
land use ordinances. Mainly
goal one but all the other goals too.
So, when you say that you can send a canned ordinance for certain
things, I think that would be very difficult to do for land use because of
that terminology that all citizens have the right or opportunity to be
involved all phases of the planning of land use.
And I just wanted to bring that up to you because that is a big can
of worms.”
9.
REPORTS
City
Attorney Gary Darnielle presented an update on the settlement demand by
Ms. Hickey. That settlement
demand was taken back/revoked by her attorney. An investigator
for CCIS, Gail Fischer made an offer to Ms. Hickey to settle for $5,000,
which is substantially less than what her demand was then in terms of
money. Her attorney said she
wouldn't recommend that Ms. Hickey accept the offer that she would pass on
that request and had no response. The
insurance agent has the ability to make an offer like that without city
council action because it is the insurance company money.
Ms. Hickey will now have to change attorneys and find someone who
is willing to represent her in court.
Mayor
Hauptman then asked City Attorney Gary Darnielle if he had been in touch
with Ms. Hickey and he responded that he had not.
Mayor Hauptman asked if he had been in touch with her attorney, to
which City Attorney Gary Darnielle responded, "once."
Gail Fischer the investigator is doing most of the communication.
The investigation is still ongoing and hasn't concluded.
When it does, the city will receive a report from CCIS regarding
the merits of the claims that are made and that will give the city some
guidance toward future decision.
A.
Planning Commission - Lee Riechel reported 82-1 Expedited Land
Division for Laurel Crossing that will be covered under Old Business.
The Grant ELD was approved with a number of conditions.
No land use applications that required Planning Commission action
have been received. As a
result, the regular Planning Commission for December has been cancelled.
There is no action on the
Montgomery
property. Pursuant to City
Attorney Gary Darnielle, there are a number of deficiencies that need to
be addressed, which have been provided to the applicant.
Lee Riechel will get the reported list from Hillary Dearborn, LCOG.
D.
Road Commission: Councilor
Bob Petersdorf gave a report on the Road Commission.
The commission met on
November 19, 2007
. The work party did work on
Dave Persons road as four trees came down.
The work party ditched
Maple Drive
road up through Laguna, then Parkway, ditched roadway to channel water.
Two danger trees on View Terrace were removed.
A letter
of resignation was received from Eric Hauptman from the road commission as
he was appointed Mayor.
Troy Sathe was then appointed to fill the Road Commission vacancy.
Subsequently, it was discovered the vacant term was only for one
month, so Troy Sathe reapplied. Four
residents applied for three positions.
Councilor Petersdorf went on to explain that the committee will be
walking the streets in
Dunes
City
to determine what items need to fall under the master road plan.
E.
Conservation Committee - Sunset Cove.
A Report was compiled by David Bellemore and presented by Councilor
Jerry Curran. On
November 2, 2007
, at the suggestion of Lee Riechel and with the permission of land owner
Rob Ward, the conservation committee visited the Sunset Cove PUD on
Clear Lake Road
. Members, Jim Rash, Carol
Retzer, and
David Bellemore Chairperson and Rob Ward were present.
The purpose was to tour the development and inspect the shoreline
area for ordinance compliance. This
report is of the committee's member findings.
Most of
the acreage is clear-cut down to bare earth, with mulch provided from the
removed vegetation. It appears
that most of the conditions have been met, however; there is a negative
effect of the extensive clearing. There
are photographs supplied from the lake and from the shoreline that show
the damage done by the clear cutting.
Councilor Susie Navetta mentioned
she is appalled at the extensive vegetation removal.
It is not what was stated would be done by Rob Ward.
F.
Site Review Committee/Grants/Police - Susie Navetta Chairperson
- The trailer across the street from city hall has been flattened and is
being removed. The committee
went to Mr. Watts’s property on
Pacific Avenue
and he agrees he is not finished. Mr.
Watts has further landscaping to do and is still working on his project.
G.
Parks and Recreation/ Franchises - John Scott Chairperson –
The committee did not have a meeting this month.
Work is finished on observation deck.
Mayor Eric Hauptman inquired who was most familiar with the amount
of the grant for Parks and Recreation for cost accounting.
Councilor John Scott stated it should be noted in a previous
budget. Councilor Peter
Howison stated that the information/documentation should be public
information.
H.
Community Center - Councilor Peter Howison announced that he
just became engaged!!
I.
Water Quality/Communication & Education - Councilor Richard
Koehler announced that the Water Quality Committee minutes have been
updated on the website. The
consensus of the committee and council is to review the duties and perhaps
curtail enacting the water quality ordinance until the committee is more
clear regarding the duties. They
reviewed the phosphorus education and concluded that our Don't “P” in
Our Lakes sign in the stores is a long shot and best avenue is the local
press and local website to inform the community.
Next newsletter will discuss the phosphorus issue.
In discussing permits, expirations and other city business, the new
office staff should have a multi-year calendar with dates at their
disposal. Also a survey card
was mailed out for citizen response.
12.
LEGAL SERVICES INTERVIEW WITH MACPHERSON, GINTNER, AND DIAZ
Peter
Gintner, Layer,
Newport
,
Oregon
was present to represent the law firm of Macpherson, Gintner, and Diaz. Mr.
Gintner discussed his credentials and mentioned that he has represented
Central Lincoln PUD for more than 22 years.
Councilor Peter Howison inquired regarding the writing of
ordinances and also about LUBA appeal.
A great deal of time was spent on billable time and issues.
NORMAN
MARTIN – “Yes, his billing, he
says he charges
two fifty
dollars for long distance calls.
Is that per minute or total or what?
Pete Gintner responded, "Per call."
In other words if you had a long distance call more than 8 minutes,
it would cost you more than the $2.50?”
Pete Gintner responded, "It's possible."
Norman Martin, “alright, okay.” Peter
Gintner went on to explain that the amount of billable telephone calls
amount to $12.00 a month. More
emails are used.
Councilor
Peter Howison mentioned that
Dunes
City
is on the coast and that
Mr. Gintner is located on the coast, is there is benefit to be able to
handle issues on the coast. Another
question is whether or not Mr. Gintner attends every meeting for Depoe Bay
City Council. Mr. Gintner's
response is that early on he attends several meetings and then attends
fewer as time goes on. If it
is necessary that Mr. Gintner be present at meetings then he will do so.
Further, Mr. Gintner does not charge for email.
11. Public
Comment re: Items not listed
on the Agenda
Norman
Martin,
Rio
Drive
,
Florence
"To
Dunes City Council,
December 13, 2007
, from Norman Martin,
Rio Drive
,
Florence
. I wish this letter
be included as written into the record of this DCC meeting.
1). I have tried to
obtain the minutes of DCC meetings from the web.
The latest minutes available seem to be from July 2007.
Why is this? I
______________ read this out and you've answered the question.
Why is this? 2) The
mayor has tried to impress on me that removal of tapes from city meetings
is probably illegal. I agree
with the mayor. When I
attempted to listen to meeting tapes, the Mayor and other staff informed
me that the tapes were missing and nobody knew where they were.
Later, in an attempt to listen to the tapes, the Mayor and staff
informed me that the tapes had turned up.
Along with the tapes I was shown a CD copy of these topes tapes
supposedly made by Councilor Koehler.
My questions to the council are, does the council consider the
apparent removal of the tapes to be an illegal act?
What is the explanation for the disappeared tapes?
At present, we do not know that the tapes have not been altered.
What action should be taken to assure unauthorized personal not to
tamper with these important city records.
You have a set of questions there in front of you."
Mayor, “Thank you Mr. Martin.”
"Alright, I'm here to hear your answers."
Mayor, “We are not going to address this at this time.
We are going to move on and if you would like to discuss it, you
are more than welcome, I believe you have an appointment this coming
Monday.” Norman Martin
responded, "I'm what?"
Mayor, “Don't you have an appointment Monday to review the
tapes?” Norman Martin
replied, "No, I had an appointment last Monday."
Mayor, “No, I mean, but wasn't it, last week our staff was
ill. We had really literally
nobody here for a couple of days which you were informed of and I believe
there was an appointment for you to come in on Monday to review the
tapes.” Norman Martin
stated, "There was an appointment on Tuesday…."
Ian
Chun,
82805
Lake Blvd
,
Westlake
Mr. Chun
presented information regarding long term planning and growth and urban
boundaries with the twenty-year growth plan.
He stated that it is time for the
Dunes
City
to meet the state mandate to meet the twenty-year buildable lands
inventory. He stated that he
feels the city must review its option and upon choosing, move its
boundaries.
Dr.
Wasserburg
Dr.
Wasserburg thanked Mayor and members of the city council for a well run
meeting presented the Mayor with a copy of Robert's Rules of Order.
12.
OLD BUSINESS:
A.
Audit/Accounting Services:
We have
received one response from an auditing firm to conduct our audit, Hallis
LLC. Counselor Peter Howison
inquired if we had contacted this firm.
Mayor Eric Hauptman responded by informing the council that he has
asked Del Riesenhuber, CPA who is a
Dunes
City
resident, to speak with Hallis, LLC. The
Mayor has asked Mr. Riesenhuber to make a recommendation based on his
findings. The city has
received an extension from the Secretary of State for the annual audit.
The extension is good until
June 30, 2008
. The former CPA firm Merina
& Company LLP, withdrew from the audit stating that they were having
difficulty getting the information they needed.
This firm also mentioned that the audit would be too costly for
them as the information was not readily available when staff left.
Another CPA firm from
Coos
Bay
indicated that they may be interested in the audit as they have performed
audits for
Dunes
City
in prior years.
Question
from Dr. Wasserburg inquiring what the council is doing to prepare for the
audit to enable the new auditors to perform their audit without problems.
Mayor Hauptman informed that he has hired a consultant to help
reconcile the bank accounts for the entire past year and will bring the
records up to audit condition. Currently
the city is using Quicken and will switch over to Quick Books.
Current program in place for the city does not have a payroll
module.
13.
NEW BUSINESS:
A.
Road Commission - Councilor
Bob Petersdorf, Road Commissioner, stated the recommendation from the
commission is to reappoint Linda Lauck, George McKenzie, and Troy Sathe as
they have the most experience. There
is one more application from Jo Owen and the application would be placed
in the file in the event of a vacancy.
Discussion from Counselor Peter Howison.
Councilor Howison informed that the road commission has become
politicized in the recent months and he feels that the commission could
use a new person. Councilor
Bob Petersdorf disagreed. Councilor
John Scott agrees with Councilor Bob Petersdorf.
Councilor Richard Koehler supported Jo Owen as a candidate as she
has given many hours of volunteer effort to the community.
Councilor
Peter Howison made a motion to appoint Jo Owen to the road commission.
Councilor Richard Koehler seconded the motion.
Motion approved by 4 AYES, AND 2 NAYS.
Motion carried. Councilor
Bob Petersdorf stated that he had spoken with Troy Sathe and Mr. Sathe
stated that he would step down from the road commission application if Jo
Owen was picked.
Councilor
Bob Petersdorf made a motion to appoint Linda Lauck to the Road
Commission. Councilor John
Scott seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Discussion: Councilor
Peter Howison asked what Troy Sathes’ feelings are regarding the
situation.
Troy
Sathe
83550 Clear Lake Road
. Mr. Sathe described how he
enjoys helping the road commission. He
mentioned that Linda Lauck has complete knowledge of the roads and does a
great deal of physical work on the roads.
George McKenzie donates a huge amount of time and equipment to the
city roads. Troy Sathe went on
to describe the amount of physical work required by the committee.
He offered to volunteer to remain on file for a vacant position.
The Mayor agreed that there is a physical requirement to serve on
the road committee. Councilor
Peter Howison made a motion to appoint George McKenzie to the road
Commission. Councilor Jerry
Curran seconded the motion. Motion
carried.
City
Council expressed appreciation to Troy Sathe for all of his volunteer
efforts.
B.
Wakonda Brew Pub application - Councilor Jerry Curran
asked about the particulars. Jeannie
LaRocco explained that Wakonda is requesting to open a second location to
serve the public on
Kingwood Street
in
Florence
.
Ron Shearer,
85101 Jensen Lane
. Ron Shearer described the
mounting cost of operating a brewery.
They have a rented warehouse in
Florence
on Kingwood. The state allows
for two places of operation with a brew pub license.
City attorney Gary Darnielle gave a dissertation why
Dunes
City
would have to approve a second location in
Florence
.
Mayor
Eric Hauptman stated concerns regarding the fact that we did not want to
open the door by granting application if this resulting in a brew pub
opening in
Dunes
City
. Ron Shearer stated that he
did not want to open a brew pub in
Dunes
City
. Gary Darnielle, City
Attorney stipulated that the city could respond to OLCC specifically
stating that this is our understanding of what this proposal will do as
long as it doesn't change the character and scope of the activity within
Dunes City. It is
discretionary for the OLCC to request your opinion.
Gary
Darnielle, City Attorney continued that it is probably standard procedure
but it doesn't seem to be mandatory on their part.
Councilor Jerry Curran inquired what authority does the Dunes City
Council have to grant permission to do this in
Florence
? Ron Shearer explained that
the one license covers both businesses and they are expanding into
Florence
.
Gary
Darnielle, City Attorney explained that the city is not permitting this.
The city is making a recommendation to the OLCC. They make the
decision as to whether to change the license.
The issue of zoning is within the authority of
Dunes
City
. He then gave the description
of home occupation which is an occupation or profession carried on by a
member of the family. It
would be a violation of the zoning ordinance if they opened a brew pub in
Dunes
City
.
Councilor
John Scott made a motion that we support Dr. Shearer in his request and
instruct legal council to compose a letter limiting the scope of the
operation and approve Wakonda Brewery Application with that
recommendation. Councilor
Susie Navetta seconded the motion. Motion
carried. Let it be noted that
Councilor Bob Petersdorf approved the motion but then objects.
Councilor Peter Howison asked for a correction on the application
to read Dunes City not
Dune
City
.
C. Mark
Chandler DEQ grant application – There is an application and budget
request for matching monies from
Dunes
City
for the request which would be initiated in May or June 2008.
23 water quality parameters are to be measured and will take place
over the course of one year. This
is a 60/40 funding grant. Total
grant is $142,000, with $85,000 coming from DEQ, with various commitments
from
Honeyman
State Park
, South Coast Water District, and Siuslaw Watershed Council and $6,540
match
Dunes
City
cost. Same costs basically
that are in place are covered by the water quality budget.
Volunteer
hours are credited toward the match also.
This is a comprehensive water testing project.
The funds would go to
Portland
State
University
. They are in charge of the
project. Neither
Douglas
nor
Lane
Counties
are contributing toward this grant. The
funds are not there from counties due to budget constraints.
Councilor
Peter Howison made a motion to approve the letter to have the City agree
to $6,540. $2,126 is in
volunteer hours contributed. Councilor Jerry Curran seconded the motion.
Motion carried. The
City Council thanked Mark Chandler for all of his efforts.
D.
Discuss Norman
Martin proposal of LUBA appeal. Mayor
stated he and Norman Martin met on
November 29, 2007
, and Mr. Martin said he would drop his appeal if the City Council agreed
to his proposal. Discussion
ensued regarding Mr. Martin’s list of demands.
City Attorney Gary Darnielle advised that to further the LUBA
appeal would cost the city approximately an additional $7,000 to $8,000.
One of the proposals from Norman Martin was for the city to rescind
Ordinance 193. Councilor Jerry
Curran asked Mr. Martin why he was opposed to the land use ordinance.
Mr. Martin replied, “I’m
not opposed to the ordinance. In
fact, early in the piece, I was proud of the group that were putting, that
was doing this. I was even put
on to the subcommittee before politics came into it and then I was
removed. And my thought right
from the start, from 19, from sorry, from 2006, was that the process was
flawed. I said that all along
and this was pooh poohed and pooh poohed and so in the end it was no use
knocking my head against the wall and that so have we got that right that
I’m not against the erosion ordinance and I do not say that I do not
look into any of the wording of the ordinance, I am looking to process
that I say Dunes City has violated State Statutes, Oregon Administrative
Rules. They have even violated their code for..(noise covered word) things
like that. I have just
summarized by a heading in doing this and that Dunes City has gotten away
with this many times and most of the LUBA cases that come up for this sort
of thing, the only reason that are the number there are is that somebody
can be bothered to take the County of the City to LUBA rather than to say
it’s going to cost me so much money to get a lawyer to do this that I
can’t be bothered. Well, I
can be bothered because I had enough experience with LUBA cases when the
city was doing me wrong and I learned how to do it myself and I say the
city is still doing things wrong and nobody wanted listen to me.
So they only way I can bring it up to say let the court decide.”
Councilor Peter Howison then offered Norman Martin, “You are saying the
ordinance is okay but you are asking to have it rescinded as this
agreement. That is just
contradictory.” Response
from Norman Martin is inaudible. Councilor Peter Howison made a
motion that the council table Norman Martin’s proposal.
Councilor Jerry Curran seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
E.
Laurel Crossing ELD (
Expedited
Land
Division) Planning
Commissioner
Lee Riechel explained that he asked the ELD be put on the agenda.
Final plat was passed and approved.
After approval the velum, the final document listed the Mayor and
the Council. Lee Riechel
explained that there are two options, one asking to sign this off that it
has met all the requirements or (two) be returned to the Planning
Commissioner to return to the applicant asking for the Planning Director
to sign off.
As a
note, no further subdivision of these parcels is to be allowed.
Councilor Susie Navetta asked about a turn around for emergency
vehicles. It is noted there is
an easement for a turn around to be approved by the fire department.
There was also clarification on parcel sizes.
Councilor
Bob Petersdorf made a motion that the council approve the partition plot
map for Laurel Crossing LLC. Councilor
John Scott seconded the motion. Motion
carried.
F.
Legal Services Deliberation After
a deliberation, Councilor
Bob Petersdorf made a motion to hire the law firm of Peter Gintner.
Councilor Susie Navetta seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
City
Council meeting adjourned at
10:47 p.m.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Lisa
O’Callaghan,
Administrative
Assistant