City purchases house near city hall

    The Washington City Council approved the purchase of the house east of city hall. The new property will give city staff more space to park near city hall. The council approved the purchase at its meeting Wednesday. The vote was 4-1 in favor. Councilors Bob Shepherd, Fred Stark, Mike Roth and Merlin Hagie voted in favor, and Karen Wilson-Johnson voted against. Councilor Russ Zieglowsky was absent.

    The property is at 303 E. Washington St. It costs $52,000. City Administrator Dave Plyman said the fire department urged the council to make the purchase.

    ?The current parking around the fire station does not accommodate the full roster of firefighters,? said Plyman. ?They have to send their firefighters directly to a fire, and that can create congestion at the scene.?

    The fire department has agreed to pitch in $10,000 toward the purchase, which is from money it raised at its pancake dinners. The city will borrow money to make the purchase and then be paid off from a Riverboat Foundation grant. Mayor Sandra Johnson said the council has no plans to do anything with the property in the immediate future.

    Wilson-Johnson said she agreed it?s a good idea to expand parking but argued that this is a bad time to borrow money.

    ?It?s still money we?re borrowing,? she said. ?It?s going to sit there for years before we do anything with it. We?ve been trying to set aside money to remodel the former library ? money we still don?t have. I realize the Riverboat is where we plan to get the money but there is no contractual guarantee that it?s going to be there. They could decide next year that there is something else they?re going to do with that money. It?s only a bargain if you can afford it, and we can?t afford it.?

    See the March 4 edition of The Washington Evening Journal for more information on the Washington City Council meeting.