Harrington news Chapel to hold another hymn sing; council adopts 2019 budget

Rocklyn Zion Chapel

The December Hymn Sing at the Rocklyn Zion Chapel will be Dec. 28 at 6 p.m. and is “an old-fashioned Christmas” with a live Christmas tree lit with real candles, prayer by Pastor Kim Kruger, singing for everyone, a message by Mary Mendenhall, a men’s quartet and Santa with children’s activities. Just as the church has in its long past, the traditional treat bags of nuts and candy will be given out and refreshments will follow the service.

City Council

The Harrington City Council met Dec. 12 at city hall with the following present: Mayor Justin Slack, council members Tim Tipton, Michael Cronrath, Peter Davenport, Nathan Luck, and Levi Schenk, Clerk Bunny Haugan, Maintenance Supervisor Scott McGowan, Treasurer Paul Gilliland and visitors including Cherie MacClellan, Jess Silhan, James Mann, Steve Marsh (TD&H), Marge Womach and Sam Aldis (local high school student). Steve Marsh presented the city clerk with a Christmas basket and congratulated the city that the TIB grant for which Marsh had applied, had been awarded to Harrington, which will ensure work projects continuing on the city streets. Minutes from the November Council meeting and the preliminary budget hearing were approved as were the bills as presented with corrections. Council members reviewed the rental rates for the use of the rooms at the Memorial Hall. Council voted for the clerk to draft a resolution with the proposed rates. Council briefly mentioned the McGregor Building, noting that the closing has not yet occurred.

Council continued from the previous two meetings working on the final budget for 2019. Two budget proposals were placed before them for consideration, identified as Budget A or B. Budget A was based on the purchase of a new mower and hiring a summer employee to be responsible for the lawns at the cemetery and the park and Budget B was based on the expense of contracting the same tasks to a lawn service and not purchasing the mower or hiring an additional employee. The motion to adopt Budget B was stated by Schenk and seconded by Cronrath. The vote was taken with three in favor, Luck opposed and Tipton abstaining. Following this hurdle, Council voted 5-0 to adopt the final budget by approving Ordinance No. 497.

Brief comments were made regarding the status of the chicken ordinance being prepared by Schenk. The ordinance is with the city attorney and cannot be voted upon until properly written. It was also announced that the present city attorney is retiring and has recommended Josh Grant, a former judge, as a potential replacement.

With just enough snow to bring the topic to mind, the council made a few comments about care for the curbs when plowing. Cronrath commended the city crews for their care with the heavy equipment, commenting that some of the damage was not caused by city crews.

City Treasurer Paul Gilliland reported to the council about an overdraft due to an IFT not submitted properly. The issue was resolved, but he wanted to explain to the council.

The City Council received the new contract for Okanogan County Transportation and Nutrition (OCTN) for rental of the Memorial Hall for Senior Meals, noting that some changes were probable for the coming year. Discussion followed with someone estimating that Senior Meals has been functioning for 20 to 25 years. At present there are about 7 to 10 attending, with the potential of up to 14 on occasion. They generally also make three regular home deliveries. Presently, Susie Harding is the cook.

The newly proposed plan by Okanogan is to no longer cook the meals in Harrington, but have them cooked in Davenport and transported to Harrington where they would be reheated. Salad preparation and fruit serving would continue in Harrington, but the days of service would be changed. In response to the proposed changes by OCTN the Harrington Seniors resumed meeting of “Mid-County Seniors”, a group which is a part of Senior Meals. Mid-County Seniors is a 501 (c)(3). Their former president was Bud McPeak. They elected Cherie MacClellan as their president beginning Jan. 1. Vice president will be Connie King and Aileen Sweet will continue as secretary/treasurer. The City Council tabled the contract while waiting for more information and acknowledged that Senior Meals is important to our citizens.

The use of golf carts, lawn mowers, quads and side-by-sides on the city streets and on the county roads going through town was addressed by the council. For one senior citizen a golf cart is his mode of transportation since he does not have a valid driver’s license. Some children are using similar vehicles for transportation when they are not old enough to apply for a driver’s permit. Harrington has an ordinance which specifies use of golf carts from one’s home to the golf course on specific routes and that they must register their route with the city clerk. Council decided that a policy needs to be devised during the winter before these vehicles are out in the spring.

Councilman Tipton spoke about the Opera House Square (vacant lot) project and that the Chamber had applied for a grant for it with the INNOVIA Foundation from whom it received a $30,000 grant. There had been 77 applicants. The remnant wall that is owned by the city needs to be fixed or removed. An estimate of $10,000 was given to fix the bricks. One consideration of the wall is the safety of individuals working in the lot and another issue is the integrity of the north wall of the building owned by the Herrons (whether it would be affected if the wall were removed). A potential purpose for the wall if repaired would be to use it for showing films on the flat surface. INNOVIA is the former Inland Northwest Community Foundation. The name changed in July 2018.

The next City Council meeting is postponed to Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m.