Town budget adopted, senior meals cut back

Odessa’s town council voted to approve a budget of $1,579,553 at their December 12 meeting. Council members have been working on the budget for approximately three months.

Mayor Doug Plinski distributed a letter from Okanogan County, providers of Odessa’s senior meals program. The letter stated that, due to reductions in funding and declining attendance at the meals, the program would be reduced to two days per week beginning in 2012. Okanogan County requested the council to approve reduced rent of the facilities at Old Town Hall to coincide with the reduced meals. The program providers stated that average attendance was 4 per meal at Old Town Hall and 7 home-delivered meals. The council approved the rent reduction.

Public Works

Public works director Roger Sebesta reported that Tuesday, December 13 would be paving contractor Loy Clark’s last day in Odessa. Sebesta and Plinski said that there were still some paving issues that should be taken care of in the spring. Plinski said that he had gone through the town with an Avista representative and identified areas where patching or repaving was not up to par. Just what work will be done in the spring is still being negotiated.

Sebesta also reported that the town would not be receiving a TIB (Transportation Improvement Board) grant for rebuilding Fourth Avenue from the school to Alder Street. He added that USKH, the town’s engineering firm, was “still working on it.” The cost of the project has been removed from the 2012 budget based on the news, however.

Finally, Sebesta reported that he has found someone who will be able to install an automatic gate entry at the water treatment plant, and that it should be installed by the end of the year.

Police department

Town Marshal Mike Wren reported that owners of three dogs who have been reported as “menacing” have been sent a “potentially dangerous dog” letter. Once owners are informed of this status, they will be required to meet a set of requirements intended to protect people and other animals from the dog(s) in question.

According to Wren, Odessa has a total of 8 dogs that are designated as potentially dangerous. He then provided the areas of town where those dogs reside: The 300 block of South Birch, the 100 block of East Third Avenue, the 100 block of West Fourth Avenue, the 300 block of South Elm, the 400 block of South Division, and the 300 block of East Marjorie. Wren noted that the three dogs on East Marjorie have been the subjects of recent complaints, the owners of the other five have complied with the requirements set forth in the letter.

Wren says that there are no set deadlines for the containment of the dogs, but that either he or deputy marshal Bryce Peterson will probably check on the status after approximately 30 days.

Wren then informed council members that Peterson has been in contact with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) about the possibility of setting up a prescription drug “take-back” program, which would give citizens a way to dispose of prescription medications they no longer need or want in a safe way.

Council member reports

Councilman Lynn Schmidt reported that he, along with Plinski, had met with representatives from Wilbur and Reardan about the proposed dispatch system fees from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. Plinksi said that the meeting went well, and those attending, with assistance from the city attorneys for Wilbur and Odessa, were able to offer a contract as an alternative to what the county is proposing. Plinski noted that they did not expect the contract to be accepted, but that it was a place to begin negotiating.

The next town council meeting will be held January 9 at 7 p.m. Council meetings are held in the Odessa Public Library.