Harrington news

Here chick, chick, chick.

Monday, May 9, a group of 13 persons interested in having the city council change its ordinance prohibiting chickens in the residential and business districts held a meeting. Some were under the impression that the council had no ordinance regarding chickens, which one of the council members present was able to clarify. Much of the discussion was about actual care of the chickens, were they to be allowed in town. Levi Schenk of the chicken committee has not yet written a proposal for a new regulation or what it might include.

Some participants fully expected that chicken owners would be responsible and follow whatever rules the city might create, although they were aware that the council already has difficulties with people not being responsible with respect to several other ordinances, e.g., weed control, loose dogs, debris or junk in yards. A major concern of the city has been the added expense in terms of time and cost to monitor another issue for compliance.

City Council

The Harrington City Council met May 11 at 7:30 p.m. Present were Mayor Dillon Haas; council members Mike Cronrath, Rick Becker and Levi Schenk; city clerk Bunny Haugan; maintenance supervisor Scott McGowan and visitors Greg Tozar, Tim Campou, Sharon Schultz, Sharon Alumbaugh, Marge Womach, Dan Fromm, Melanie and Kaitlyn Kennedy, and Ashley Schenk.

Haas reported on the Lions Club and Homemakers memorial flag project at the cemetery, where recently 60 to 70 hours of labor went into placing conduit for the flag holders. He also reported that the Lions Club is interested in remodeling or replacing the city park gazebo early this summer. The council agreed that it must approve the project prior to any work being done. Since no representative of the Lions was present, no plans were available. Council members noted that a special meeting could be called rather than making the Lions wait until after the June meeting.

McGowan and Haas gave the maintenance report which included (1) work done on the broken frame of the Cadet mower, (2) the need for a new motor for the back-up mower, (3) organic weed spray to be used in specified areas and monitoring of its effectiveness by McGowan, (4) replacement of a meter by the golf course and (5) replacement of a 40-foot long sewer line that was crushed. Haas also reported on the street light update and said the city had received a credit of $1,600 from Avista. Lights were replaced with LED in the small dining room used for senior meals in an effort to increase the light and reduce the bill; the cost was donated anonymously.

Harrington’s waste water treatment plant was discussed, with the mayor reporting that personnel from the Dept. of Ecology had visited and then sent the city a new draft outlining achievable goals that would aid Harrington in having more consistent results, thereby reducing testing and maintenance. Council will review the draft and forward comments to the mayor. Concern was expressed that McGowan is the sole qualified operator for the plant. Becker said Keith had shown an interest in acquiring training when interviewed for his maintenance position, and Haas also indicated that he is enrolled for training next month and already has more than adequate chemistry background from college.

Review of county comissioner Mark Stedman’s request last month for all local governments in the county to support a tax increase of 3/10 of one percent (0.3%) resulted in a 3-0 vote to accept the resolution.

Committee members reviewing the request to allow chickens within the city limits said they did not have a complete document for discussion but would have it for next month’s council meeting. Haas said valuable input was provided at Monday’s chicken committee meeting. The topic was tabled until the June meeting.

The council agreed with the reimbursable county work request for services by Lincoln County for the chip seal project and signage project and voted to authorize the mayor to sign the requests, with two for the motion, none opposed and one abstention.

The council discussed building permit fees and the need for Harrington to revise its policy. No action was taken, and it was tabled to the June meeting to allow time for research.

Public comments included a variety of complaints about (1) a semi-truck parked in a residential area with a refrigerator unit running, creating excessive noise and blocking the city sidewalk. The council will investigate and enforce the noise ordinance. (2) A citizen wanted suggestions to prevent cat-trapping and removal of local cats to rural territory, saying that an elderly man was capturing cats and dumping them in the country. The mayor said only the animal control officer should handle animal relocations. The city would help citizens capture wild animals (raccoons, skunks, feral cats) causing harm or destruction but did not want to get involved in civil matters between neighbors. A suggestion was made to place pictures on file at city hall of cats and dogs in town to help in identifying and recovering lost pets. (3) A dog owner remarked that it is unfair for dog owners to pay a fee for their pet when cat owners are not required to do the same. (4) The mayor is working with CenturyLink to maintain the current email address while the city is receiving Internet service from Spectrum; CenturyLink should reduce its billing. (5) Belsby Engineering reported to the mayor that they are close to completing their application to TIB. (6) Dan Fromm announced he had purchased parts of Lots 7, 8, and 9 in Block 23 and intends to remove a trailer that has been an eyesore for years. He had questions of the council as to the city alley on the west side of this property, the bridge and the drainage ditch. The alley is presently closed until McGowan is authorized by the council to repair the bridge. Fromm wanted to move earth from a high portion of the property to the widened drainage ditch. The Mayor said he wanted the ditch left open but approved minor leveling by the owner.

Opera House cleaning

The Harrington Opera House schedule continues to unfold toward its deadline of Cruizin’ Harrington on May 21, at which time the quilt show will be held in the auditorium. The Serv Pro cleaning service cleaned the chandeliers and other difficult-to-reach areas.

Work continued on installation of the elevator.