Yachats City RECORDER'S Report

March 2005

This month the City website had 1574 hits

Following the completion of the work on Yachats Ocean Road, and receipt of the final bills from the engineer and contractor for the project I invoiced the State Parks Department for their agreed-upon payment. Originally, the budget for this project was $280,000. State Parks agreed to pay $250,000. When it was finished the actual amount was under-budget at $238,933. Based on a pro-rated share the State Parks will reimburse the City $212,650.53. The City's share is $26,282.65.

The Capital Improvement Plan committee met several times, and we developed the 5-year plan the City Council will consider at the March meeting. Committee members submitted project forms for the facilities they represent and we met as a group to review each project and assigned ratings. The projects, together with the established schedule for equipment replacement and the recommended facilities reserves were then complied into a plan, which the committee recommends be adopted by City Council. I have posted the notice of public hearing for this issue.

While working on the budget I tentatively included the items for the next fiscal year as identified in the CIP recommended by the committee. Any changes made following the City Council hearing can easily be made before the budget is printed. Speaking of budget, I have the proposed budget almost done. I am currently waiting for information from the Library and the Little Log Church and Museum. However, since any special items they may request have been reviewed by the CIP committee there should be no "surprises" and therefore I have preliminarily entered in the basic operational expenses based on historical data. I have anticipated increases in the electricity expenses based on news articles about the BPA. And, as I reported in my memo regarding CIS, I used last year's actual figures for insurance expenses.

The next steps in budget preparation include writing the budget message, identifying the significant changes, preparing the backup narrative, and preparing the accompanying graphs, charts, legal notices, etc.

During the month I communicated with our City Planner, Dyer Engineering, the DEQ, and representatives at the Bank of New York to complete various tasks regarding the loan application for the sewer plant loan. We are currently waiting for the last piece in the puzzle - the environmental assessment. Once the DEQ has all of the necessary documents and assurances they should be able to make a determination on the City's application.

I prepared the Code updates (hard copy and web version) to include the new Charter and the various changes made by ordinances in the past two months - such as the residency requirement for membership on the Library Commission.

As I mentioned in my memo regarding CIS, I have been working on the up-dated safety manual. I prepared the first draft and gave it to the Public Works Foreman/Safety Committee Chairman for review. He made several suggestions; I have completed that edit work and will give it back to him. Our main concern will be to create a document, which will meet all OSHA and Workers Compensation Insurance criteria, AND be an effective tool for the city employees. The worst thing for the City would be to have a manual and procedures that are impossible to follow. When McClung and I have finished our work, we will give it to John McClintock to review.

And, of course I did all the normal tasks, such as payroll, web-site maintenance, drafting resolutions, preparing City Council minutes, updating the lien records, etc. Preparing the newsletter has been much easier the last couple of months, thanks to the Mayor's contributions.

City Council Minutes - March 10, 2005

City of Yachats