The Richland City Council will start the process for annexing 300 acres along the Columbia River north of the current Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL). The city will supply infrastructure to the site to enable future development there. Item 7.
The council will also discuss restarting live boards and commissions meetings. What about the city council? Item 17.
An ordinance update that protects aquifer recharge is also on the agenda. Then, a mere two items later, they will be surprised to learn about permitting hurdles with the road over the Amon Creek Nature Preserve. Who’d have thought. Item 5
The numbers after the items correspond to pages in the packet. Information on public comments appear at the top of the agenda.
1.The Trifecta of Chief of Police John Bruce, Fire Chief Tom Huntington and Parks and Public Facilities Director Joe Schiessl will give a July 4 update. Nobody died and only a few things burned to the ground so I guess the day will be rated a success. Pg. 4 😃
Consent Calendar
2. Approving the June 15 and June 22 city council meeting and workshop minutes Pg. 5-15
3. Changing the municipal code to protect aquifer recharge areas Pg. 16-79
4. Amending the process for approving minor variances. Pg. 80-88.
5. Approving $110,805 to RH2 Engineering to address the unexpected permitting complexities regarding the road over the Amon Creek Nature Preserve. Pg. 88-115
6. Approving the final plat for 24 residential lots and 3 tracts on 68 acres in Westcliffe Heights. Pg. 116-182
7. Beginning the process for the annexation of 300 Department of Energy (DoE) acres so that city services can be extended there. An unofficial source told the Observer that DoE and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL) have had problems with the mix of ownership of land and buildings on their campus. Any expansion of PNNL onto DoE property would eliminate that complication. Pg.183-195.
8. Authorizing Silverbow Roofing to be a contractor for the Weatherwise Program Pg. 196-220.
9. Paying Murrysmith , Inc. $249,618 to complete the retrofit analysis and design for the waterwater treatment plant’s aeration basin facilities. Pg. 221-234
10. Authorizing a service agreement with Benton-Franklin Health District for a COVID-19 mobile vaccination clinic. The cost to the city was unavailable Friday when the agenda was published. Pg. 235-245
11. Renting more space to Frost Me Sweet that will double the size of its outdoor dining. The restaurant will increase the monthly amount it now pays the city to $420.89 for outside space on Carol Woodruff Plaza. P. 246-252.
12. Paying expenses for Mayor Ryan Lukson and Councilmember Bob Thompson to travel to Alexandria, Virginia on September 8-10 for an Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) National Cleanup Workshop. It will cost $5,048 but most of that will be reimbursed by the ECA. Pg. 253-257.
13. Appointing Justin Raffa to the Board of Adjustment. This is the board that Councilmember Marianne Boring served on for almost 20 years. Most of the work this board did in the past was transferred to a hearing examiner. The board now considers applications for carports and other smaller projects. Pg. 258.
14. Creating an all-male Utility Board Committee. The one woman on the committee resigned. There were six applicants, but the city decided to reappoint Dave Larkin who had dropped off the committee after serving 15 years. Last year he wrote to the Observer for an article about the five longest serving members of the Richland boards and commissions:
15. Awarding a bid to Sierra Electric for traffic signal systemic safety upgrades. A map of the intersections is provided. P. 262-278.
16. Accepting a request from annexation for 8 homes at Badger Mt. Estates. They have well water. Pg. 268-277,
17. Discussing in-person meetings for boards, commissions, and committees. Maybe the council is afraid to go in-person because Councilmember Terry Christensen declared some months ago that he didn’t intend to be vaccinated.
Blah, Blah Blah, the interim city manager and the city council talk.
Thanks.