Harrington news

The Harrington City Council met August 10 with the full council present: Mike Cronrath, Justin Slack, Peter Davenport, Levi Schenk and Rick Becker, city clerk Bunny Haugan, maintenance supervisor Scott McGowan, and visitors Celeste Miller, Sharon Schultz, Sharon Alumbaugh, Dan Fromm, Paul Charlton and Marge Womach. Celeste Miller, Harrington Historic Preservation Commission chair, described the Preservation Commission's current project, the proposed restoration of the north Harrington pillars and their removal from private property (CPS) to a city-owned property, to be decided by the council. She reported that CPS has expressed the desire that the pillars be removed from their property. Mayor Haas stated that the city would need that in writing from the owner, and that someone needed to get a copy of the deed to determine if there were any mention of the pillars in the deed. The council voted 4-0 for the commission to continue its planning phase and come back to the council prior to taking any action on private property.

Haas and McGowan shared the maintenance report which included mower repairs, screen spec status, burn ban enforcement and sprinklers at the cemetery. One violation had occurred regarding the burn ban. Updates were given on 2nd Street repairs, street lighting, CenturyLink, and the "income survey" which is 85% done by the mayor for Margie Hall with the county Economic Development Council. This survey will continue into early Spring. Preparations are being made to patch the road holes. Second street has been surveyed. Doug Miller, regarding street lighting, had reported to the mayor that the grant will include labor. Changing of these lights is anticipated to reduce the city electric bill considerably. CenturyLink will combine the city accounts which will reduce expenses. The ceiling, roof and skirting are done, the wiring is done and the concrete has been poured for the gazebo in the city park. McGowan spoke briefly of the cleaning and repairs for the Art Mann Memorial drinking fountain which has been completed and placed on the west end of the park. McGowan stated that he purchased a new lock for the entrance to the burn pile, as citizens had duplicated the old key and were using it without city consent or knowledge. Comments were made regarding how the burn pile saves the citizens time and expense, but that since it is on private property, rules need to be followed and they had not been.

The mayor revisited the building permit fee schedule. The present form was devised in 1991 and is out-dated. It specifies charges that are not adequate to meet city expenses.

Councilman Slack addressed the formation of council committees, information gathering bodies and being non-action and non-power positions. Suggestions were made for the types of committees needed, and the mayor concluded that the list should be pared down. One of the purposes of the committees would be to reduce the work load on the mayor and city clerk.

Council addressed the potential of hiring an enforcement officer for the city in an effort to have the citizens all in conformance with the local city ordinances. Primary concerns have been the dog ordinance violations, nuisance properties and zoning violations, as well as abatement notices. Slack is doing research on what this position would entail and what the expense to the city would be. Temperament and some form of prior training would be important. Mention was made of the need to have a background check.

A brief statement was made regarding the present status of enforcement on junk on lots, lawns that are fire hazards, dogs that are not licensed, fires within the city limits during the ban and firearms. The mayor is compiling letters regarding junk and fire hazards. Once again it is a matter of enforcement. Automatic compliance by the citizens saves the city money, which also saves the citizens money by not having rates raised. Refusal to comply will eventually cost the citizenry. Dogs within the city are now on the mayor's computer; this issue is showing at least 90% compliance, including the nine new residents.

Public comments were few. Schultz brought up the arrangement of the council seating which had been on the agenda last month and also sought information as to the ownership of the sewer line that goes through the Slack property, which belongs to the city. Fromm requested information from the city on the drainage ditch that divides his property, and stated that the width is greater than it needs to be. The drainage ditch itself is city property. Several months ago the council had consented to Fromm moving some earth to reduce the width. It was suggested that he speak with the Dept. of Ecology before making major changes. The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.

The mayor's Game Night was held on Thursday, August 11 at 7 p.m. with about 10 individuals playing a variety of games. At 8 p.m. there were 8 playing Apple to Apple, a card game well suited to the group. Levi Schenk and his two nephews, Peter Davenport, Elaine Cronrath and two young ladies were participating, while the mayor had stepped out. The mayor attempts to close these nights around 9:30 p.m.

Although advertised as a violin recital, a small audience was delighted Sunday afternoon with a spectacular performance by Sky McCauley of the Edwall district. This 14-year-old artist is the student of Jeanne Bourgeois Swanson, who is also the violin assistant concertmaster of the Spokane Symphony. Most of the numbers were accompanied by Louise Butler at the grand piano. Several selections were duets which featured McCauley with Sherry McCauley on the cello and Butler at the piano. Several songs were violin duets with instructor Jean Bourgeois. The nearly flawless performance included many numbers by S. Suzuki such as Allegro, Perpetual Motion, Andantino and Etude. Numbers written by J.S. Bach included Musette and several minuets. Theme from Witches' Dance by N. Paganini, Hunter's Chorus by C.M. von Weber, Long, Long Ago by T.H. Bayly, Waltz by J. Brahms, Bouree by G.F. Handel, The Two Grenadiers and The Happy Farmer by R. Schumann, and Gavotte from Mignon by A. Thomas were very well performed. Concluding numbers were Gavotte by J. B. Lully, Minuet in G by L. van Beethoven and Minuet by L. Boccherini. This excellent performance was open to the public and was so well received by the attending members of Opera House Society that it is hoped and anticipated that McCauley will return with her accompanists. One visitor in the audience was from Chicago.

The Harrington Public Library has placed a new order for books, including several by Stanley West and Maeve Binchy. GED books have always been important to have available, and sometimes they disappear when lent out. New books will soon be available to replace those that patrons failed to return. Younger readers might be pleased to see that Rick Riordan's series will be available. The Harrington Library had a copy of "The Lightning Thief" to determine whether the series would be of interest, and the book met with a painful accident and had to be replaced. Two new Stuart Woods books will also be in with this order: "Run Before the Wind" and "Under the Lake."