Council, Chamber news

 

Last updated 7/12/2019 at 11:57am



Town Council

The town received one application for the Lodging Tax funds released for expenditure by the council. The application submitted by the Odessa Chamber of Commerce was approved unanimously. The funds will be used for purchasing a new cooler for the Biergarten, a print advertising campaign promoting Odessa tourism and for two cables across First Ave. to be used for securing banners advertising events, businesses, etc.

Steve Nelson of CenturyWest Engineering in Spokane told the council that Earthworks Northwest Inc. of Sandpoint, Idaho has been signed to finish the work at the Odessa airport following the withdrawal of the prior subcontractor.

As road work within the town limits continues, the town government will coordinate with the garbage disposal company to ensure pickup while work progresses over the summer.

Public works director Rod Webster and public works employee Gerald Greenwalt are both scheduled to retire in two years. Webster suggested to the council that the search for replacements begin now to allow sufficient time for training the new staff members.

Chamber

Trevor Smith, Biergarten chairman for 2019, has lined up volunteers for setup, sawdust placement, etc., with nearly all of the people responsible for those activities in the past agreeing to handle them again this year.

Fest preparations are under way:

Odessa Foods has agreed to sponsor the Ugly Beard Contest at Fest this year. No further details are available yet on the time or place.

To entice visitors to leave the immediate vicinity of the Biergarten and Festplatz and venture toward the western end of the business district, additional vendors will be allowed to set up their booths in the parking areas of First Avenue. There was also talk of eliminating parking in the downtown business area of First Avenue to provide more visible access to the businesses there, but no firm decisions have been made.

A dunk tank will be provided as an activity this year by the Chamber. The platform release mechanism used in the past still exists, says Chamber president Zach Schafer, but likely needs repairs.

Chamber member Laura Estes announced that the vintage textile display at St. Matthew’s historic church during Fest will also include a special display of treadle sewing machines.

The town marshal’s new K-9 unit, headed by Officer Les Jimerson, had asked the Chamber to spearhead a fundraising effort to help meet expenses such as dog food, kennel purchase and other incidentals for which the town had no budgeted funds. Thus far, the donation jars placed in downtown businesses have collected over $500.

Author Bio

Terrie Schmidt-Crosby, Editor

Terrie Schmidt-Crosby is an editor with Free Press Publishing. She is the former owner and current editor of the Odessa Record, based in Odessa, Wash.

 

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