When the Richland City Council excused Councilmember Theresa Richardson for missing the Oct. 4 Richland City Council meeting, the group escaped an individual vote on selling 350 Thayer Drive to New Heights Church.
As a member of the church, Richardson would likely have recused herself from the vote. That would have required that the council pull the item from the consent calendar and move it to “Items of Business” for an individual vote.
The consent calendar includes a group of items that are deemed not controversial, receive no discussion and only one vote for all of them. That method makes it easier for a councilmember to escape responsibility for a certain vote.
The five councilmembers present voted to approve the consent calendar, with the sale of 350 Thayer included. Richardson and Councilmember Terry Christensen were absent.
Only one matter appeared in the Items of Business section. City of Richland Purchasing Agent Irma Bottineau proposed selling several pieces of property and equipment.
Bottineau provided a list of items that included several trucks and described how the sales would occur. Bottineau said that the trucks wouldn’t be offered for sale until a new truck had been acquired to replace it.
In response to a reader who wanted more details about the sales, The Observer reached out to City Manager Jon Amundson for additional information.
“The vehicles and equipment that are ready for sale will be sent to Booker Auction at their Annual November Auction (online only).
“The City’s equipment and vehicles are scheduled to be at the ‘Annual Fall Eltopia Sale,’ which will be featured on the Booker Auction website, www.bookerauction.co. The bidding begins on October 25, 2022, at 6:00 pm and ends on November 4, 2022, at 12:00 am. There is a registration process on the Booker Auction site, so it is best for interested bidders to register before the auction.
“As mentioned during the public hearing, not all vehicles listed on the surplus list are ready for auction. As we receive the replacement vehicles, we will send the approved surplus vehicle to the next available online auction with Booker Auction. If your reader is registered with Booker, they should receive notifications of upcoming auctions.”
All five councilmembers present voted to approve the sales.
People may think Meadow Springs is privileged and getting its way with the traffic controls on Broadmoor and Bellerive because most of the city council lives in the area. The truth is they only blessed what the residence fought for with the city staff after years of the city turning the streets into raceways.
The Friends of Badger Mountain did the same thing with the trails. Their pressure kept the whole area from being zoned for people that like the view and icy roads in the winter. Great leadership. Badger Trail is now owned by the city and maintained by Friends of Badger Mt. and is one of the unique areas of the city and attracts numerous visitors.