City revitalization, comprehensive plans discussed

OSMOND — The regular meeting of the Osmond City Council was held on Monday, June 13. Among items on the agenda were the city’s revitalization and comprehensive plans, and an ordinance on installation of new septic systems.

Revitalization Plans Explained

Susan Norris with Pierce County Economic Development updated the council with the Downtown Revitalization Plan for the City of Osmond. She explained that the city is not classified as low-to-moderate income. Therefore, Osmond is only eligible for a partial funded plan.

Norris explained that the city has two pledges, Community HOME Team $10,000 and Pierce County Economic Development $10,000, to offset the cost of hiring a consulting firm to compile recommendations for Osmond’s business district façade projects.

She explained the total cost for the consulting firm is $30,000. She recommended that the city invest a third of the costs towards the consultation fees, or pay half of the $10,000 and seek out a donor(s) for the other amount. Council approved the $10,000 investment.

Comprehensive Plan Update Given

Lowell Schroeder with 5-Rule Planning gave an update on the Comprehensive Plan for Osmond. He briefly reviewed the future land use map. Schroeder recommended that the Planning Commission meet with him in July and advised that a public hearing with the council be held in August. The council approved moving forward with the process.

Septic System Ordinance Approved

Mayor Dennis Kuhl opened the floor discussion on Ordinance 2022-1, Installation of New Septic Systems. Several of the community residents had questions pertaining to the responsibility of the costs to maintain or replace parts of the septic system. Jo Geneski asked council members why these changes were being considered. Councilman Dan Timmerman explained that the cost and longevity of the septic pumps has changed so much that the city is now losing money to maintain those systems.

He explained that it is not fair to the other residents for the city to pay for upkeep and repairs for one family, when other residents have to pay for their own costs to maintain their property.

Council members advised that this possible ordinance has been open for discussion to the public for the past three months.

After a lengthy discussion, Ordinance No. 2022-1 was approved. A copy of the ordinance is printed on Page 4 of this issue, and is also available at the city office.

Other Agenda Items

The council then addressed maintenance at Poolside Park. The fence separating the camping pads and the private residence was blown down recently during a storm. Several solutions were discussed among council members about how to fix the fence and secure it properly. Council decided to table this discussion until next month.

Treasurer Brittney Timmerman informed council that all 384 new endpoints had arrived as of that day. Timmerman stated that there is a lead and copper survey that must be completed on all properties in Osmond by 2024. She asked council members for permission to have city maintenance employees complete the survey and the Cross Connection Survey when installing the new endpoints on residential and commercial property, which has to be completed for the entire community.

Funding for the 2022 Street Improvement Project was then discussed. It was debated whether to include the cost of the engineering and construction costs into the bond, or leave the costs of engineering out of the bond. After some discussion about bonding options, the final decision was to include the cost of engineering and construction into the 15-year bond.

Council addressed the option for Lind-Gubbels to move the two poles that hold the city welcome sign, and a fire hydrant. After a brief discussion, council decided to allow the business to move the poles to a more convenient location 35-40 feet north on the property.

Also, the council decided to have the fire department assess if the fire hydrant is necessary to stay on the property, or if it could be removed. If the fire department deems it necessary to keep the hydrant, then the property owners may move it to a more convenient location.

Cindy Hoffman updated council on FEMA street repairs. An Invitation to Bid will be published for three weeks. Individual bid packets were also emailed to seven companies. All bids must be received by 2 p.m. on June 27 and will be opened at that time. Bids will be compared for council to consider at their special street meeting on June 29. Hopefully, several bids will be received with the cost falling within the city’s ability to afford the project, as council would like to see these damaged streets repaired.

The following Building Permits were reviewed: Aaron Gutz, attached garage; John Schmit, detached garage; Jerome E. Wingert, adding patio attached to house; Terra Henderson on behalf of T-Mobile, adding antennae telecommunications tower; Dennis Kuhl, addition on residential garage; Tyler Gansebom, detached garage; Dennis Kuhl, commercial new construction; Tiger Town Food Center LLC, addition to commercial building; Steve Lind, home addition.

Police Chief Wells presented a brief report including: children in car left unattended, assist with county for suicide, and assist with arrest warrant, to name a few. Wells informed council that the Hatch tail light on the Police cruiser is holding water and will cost approximately $1,200 to fix, but it is still covered by vehicle warranty.

In other business, the council:

— approved temporarily closing of State Street and 3rd Street for the June 25 Alumni Street Dance.

— after suggested changes to City Personnel Policy were discussed and made, adopted the new City Personnel Policy as written.

— pending the confirmation of completed assistant manager position certification by Hunter Beacom, approved a salary increase to $10.50 per hour from $9.50.

— heard that city sales tax for March 2022 was a total of $18,772.34 (of that amount $2,745.92 is from motor vehicle tax).

— went into closed session for personnel matters.

— approved a wage increase for Caleb Eckstrom of $0.50 per hour for completing a pool manager course.