Medical Lake’s City Council dealt with a variety of issues at meetings in February and early March, beginning with an ordinance dealing with vacant commercial properties in the city and ending with an electrical metering agreement with the soon-to-be built solar array at the wastewater treatment plant.
Feb. 6 meeting
Council unanimously passed Ordinance 1113 dealing with vacant commercial properties in the city. City Administrator Sonny Weathers reiterated previous discussions about the ordinance, which included adding language addressing such things as definition of structures, registration requirements, challenges related to window screening and the approval process.
“We also discussed how vacant, unattended commercial properties pose challenges to property taxes, tax revenues and community safety,” Weathers added.
The ordinance establishes a new chapter in the city’s municipal code, Chapter 14.16, that gives Medical Lake the authority and tools to require landlords and property owners to register “vacant, foreclosed and abandoned” properties along with an “enforceable legal framework” to require minimal maintenance and safety standards for these properties. Enforcement of any violations would be a civil infraction, with process and penalties per city code.
The first read was passed 6-0 on Nov. 21, 2023, with a couple of amendments.
Council unanimously approved entering into a three-year agreement with 8X8, Inc. for providing phone service to city facilities. The company was recommended by city staff and the city’s contracted information technology service, the latter noting 8X8 is the company they use and would recommend as part of modernization of the city’s communication and information system.
The city currently uses Lumen as the phone service provider. Finance Director Koss Ronholts said it’s a “very, very old system.”
“The seller for me is that we’re actually decreasing down from a monthly payment with Lumen of $1,010 a month, down to $240 a month with 8X8,” Ronholt said, adding the price didn’t include a fax line, which would add a little bit to the monthly rate.
Councilman Ted Olson expressed concerns with the contract’s pricing section, specifically the clause allowing 8X8 to raise rates up to 5% at the beginning of the contract’s renewal period.
“They’ve got our hands tied,” Olson said.
Ronholt said the city’s legal team reviewed the contract. While the price increase is possible, considering the monthly payment reduction from over $1,000 to $240, Ronholt said he sees it as “a viable choice.”
Council also unanimously approved a resolution voiding over $4,166 of certain outstanding non-interest bearing warrants. Ronholt explained the resolution is “a bit of housekeeping,” noting the city has gone through two recent banking transitions resulting in a couple of old accounts with outstanding claims.
Ronholt said he would still attempt to contact the individuals and organizations on the list, adding many of them are refunds for things like parks and recreation fees.
Feb. 20 meeting
Council unanimously approved a contract with Cintas, a supplier of workplace items such as uniforms, floor mats, towels, mops and other related services. The items would mainly be used by personnel at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Weathers said the contract would save the city in delivery time at roughly the same cost as their current supplier of these items. While the contract originates with the treatment plant, it could eventually be used citywide.
“It will essentially establish the relationship with the city,” Weathers added. “We won’t need an additional agreement to serve Maintenance, or City Hall.”
According to the quote from Cintas, the average weekly total for items would be $341.97.
Council passed a resolution that was added to the agenda to award the contract for the as-built, design and construction documents for the City Hall commercial kitchen build-out to the Sandpoint, Idaho company Back To Terra. The $19,200 contract will be billed in increments, beginning with a $2,850 lump sum payment for architectural as built /demolition floor plan to get the project started.
March 5 meeting
Council unanimously approved a pair of resolutions regarding contracts for services. The first was an extension of an existing contract signed in 2010 with Barr-Tech, LLC to handle disposal of biosolids and green waste in the city.
The original contract was extended in 2017, but expired Dec. 31, 2021. Since then, both parties have performed their respective responsibilities per the stipulations of the original agreement.
The new extension continues those responsibilities to Dec. 31, 2028.
The second contract was for net energy metering interconnection services from Avista Utilities. The contract is in conjunction with the city’s intention to build a solar array — also in conjunction with Avista — at the wastewater treatment plant, construction of which was to have begun last year but was delayed due to supply issues.
“This metering agreement is a key element of that contract,” City Administrator Sonny Weathers said.
According to the website Solar Reviews, net metering is “the utility billing practice of recording the excess energy generated by a solar installation and applying it to the customer’s bill as credit toward energy drawn from the grid.” If the electricity Avista supplies to the city’s plant exceeds what the solar array produces and supplies back to Avista, the city will be billed the net between the two. If the amount of energy produced by the plant’s solar array exceeds what Avista supplies, then the city will be billed the appropriate service charge as others in a similar rate class and credited for the excess electricity during the same billing period, with the credit appearing on the following month’s bill.
