Town council

Chief of Police Helen Coubra reported that the department has siezed a flatbed trailer which was used in the felony theft of aviation fuel from Wilbur-Ellis in May, and that as soon as the process is complete, the trailer will be licensed for use by the town.

Coubra also reported that the department had been inspected by the Juvenile Justice System and no violations were found. She added that as Odessa’s police department has no detention facilities, it was merely a matter of checking departmental procedures for compliance.

Coubra is continuing to work on establishing a local database which will allow immediate access to up to 12 years of incident history. She is currently working on budgeting for the equipment necessary to maintain the database.

Last Tuesday’s fire was a test of the local emergency system. Coubra said that the emergency dialer contacted 43 homes to notify residents that they must evacuate. She added that she and officer Bryce Peterson went door to door in some cases to ensure that residents moved to a safe location.

Coubra reported that there had been several drug arrests in the past two weeks, as well as numerous animal complaints, assaults, and malicious mischief incidents.

She also noted that several traffic signs were faded and leaning, and requested that they be replaced.

Public Input

Lise Ott presented a proposal to the council to begin working on a comprehensive plan for the Old Town Hall facility. She noted that recent rain had resulted in some serious leakage into the women’s restroom and the storage closet used by the Masonic Lodge, but that her plan was not intended to deal with that situation.

The proposal would form an exploratory committee made up of representatives from the council, public development authority, organizations which currently use the facility as well as interested community residents. The committee would explore possibilities for the future use of the building, and would present a comprehensive plan at the end of a maximum 6-month term. Once the plan is approved, the group will evaluate the condition of the building and begin to generate a plan for renovation, restoration, preservation or replacement.

Public Works

Rod Webster reported that the 2-man crew has been busy winterizing town facilities, draining and blowing out pipes, closing down bathrooms and so forth.

Webster also reported that a fire hydrant had been run over near the walking bridge and was leaking.

The lift station behind Grange Supply has been cleaned out, and the crew will pull one of the pumps for repair. Mayor Doug Plinski added that the residue buildup at the station was significant, and samples have been sent to a lab to attempt to identify the source.

Fire Department

“How about that show the other night?” asked Fire Chief Don Strebeck at the beginning of his report. He went on to report that Tuesday night’s warehouse fire went smoothly for the department and that there were no injuries. Plinski added that “everything seemed coordinated,” with various agencies and business entities cooperating to assist in the fire fighting effort.

Strebeck added that the mop-up of the site was ongoing and would be for some time. He reported several complaints about the smoke, and also that there was high demand for the damaged grain.

The cause of Tuesday’s fire was still under investigation, he said.

The department also responded to a recent brush fire near the walking bridge. The cause of that fire has also not been determined. Strebeck reported that the fire had been contained relatively easily, but that the portable Deutschesfest structures that are stored near the bridge came close to burning.

Finally, Strebeck reported that open burning started Monday and will run through November 19. Fires may be started no earlier than 10 a.m. and must be extinguised by 4 p.m.

Council member reports

Council member Frank White reported that he had attended an AWC (Association of Washington Cities) regional meeting in Omak October 17, and returned with “lots of information.” Key topics at the meeting were legislative priorities, emerging issues, demographic trends and revenue generation possibilities.

Plinski added that it appears that more pressure is being put on individual communities to generate revenue rather than share in funding from the state level.

Budget workshop

Plinski addressed the need for considering the 6-year water plan when budgeting for 2013. He proposed a rate study to determine how much it actually costs to deliver water to residents. Continued discussion between council members and the public works department revealed that a significant number of meters are out of service. Currently there is no way to measure the amount of water lost in the system due to decaying pipes and other leakage.

Webster informed council members that meters are currently very hard to access and expensive to repair. He presented a plan for an improved installation using a concrete box with a traffic lid, which would allow easier access for reading and repair.

Webster added that his recommendation for the water system would be to first fix the readouts and meters that would be “quick fixes” and then begin working with heavier water users.

Plinski asked Webster to present a “wish list” of items he felt were necessary for the maintenance of the water system, as well as other public works needs. The ensuing discussion revealed that insufficient budgets for the past several years have resulted in the department being far behind where they should be in terms of tools and equipment.