Council votes to support, then oppose sewer camera purchase

The Washington City Council voted, multiple times in fact, on whether to spend about $100,000 on a camera system for its sanitary sewer. The camera would allow the city to find out where leaks are and to find out where rainwater enters the sanitary sewer. Nick Duvall of the Maintenance and Construction Department wrote in a memorandum to the council that the city?s current camera is unreliable and that manufacturers have ceased making parts for that system.

Councilor Merlin Hagie motioned to approve the purchase of the sewer camera and the trailer and computer programs that go with it. The council voted 3-2 in favor of the purchase. Hagie, Wilson-Johnson and Fred Stark supported the motion while Mike Roth and Bob Shepherd voted against it. There was then confusion as to whether the vote of the absent councilor, Russ Zieglowsky, counted as a ?no? vote and whether Mayor Sandra Johnson would then have to break the tie.

Resolutions and ordinances require majority support of all councilors in order to pass, not just those present. The council took a recess so that City Attorney Craig Arbuckle could investigate the matter. During the recess, Mayor Johnson called Maintenance and Construction Supervisor J.J. Bell, who told her that he wanted the item pulled from that meeting?s agenda. Stark then made a motion of reconsideration so that the council could vote on the item again.

The council voted 3-2 to approve the motion of reconsideration with Hagie and Wilson-Johnson voting against it. The council then voted on the motion to approve the sewer camera. This time, Stark, Roth and Shepherd voted against the motion and Hagie and Wilson-Johnson voted for it.

Wilson-Johnson and Hagie objected to the way the vote on the sewer camera was conducted.

?It gives me a very uneasy feeling to bring up a topic, have a vote on it, pass it, then have a recess for a discussion and then backtrack what you did,? Wilson-Johnson said. ?I?m not saying it can?t be done but it feels not right. If we?re going to stop to have discussions, we should have had the discussions before the vote was ever taken. The phone call from J.J. should have been brought up before the vote was taken.?

Mayor Johnson said Wilson-Johnson made a good point about her call to Bell. Mayor Johnson said Bell was not available for a phone call until after 7 p.m. that night.

Stark said, ?While it?s true it took us a while to get to the answer we came to, we did it in a democratic way and in an organized way, in a way that follows Robert?s Rules of Order. It was something different, and maybe that?s why it was a little uncomfortable, but that is part of the governance process.?

Hagie responded, ?It might make you feel all warm and fuzzy but it still stinks.?

The council also considered a request from the Maintenance and Construction Department to purchase a hydraulic hose crimping machine, which would allow the city to produce its own hoses. Duvall wrote in a memorandum to the council that his department spends $2,500 on hoses every year. At Wednesday?s meeting, Duvall said the machine to make such hoses, which would cost just over $6,000, would pay for itself in two or three years.

Councilor Karen Wilson-Johnson motioned to purchase the machine, but her motion died for lack of a second.

Paul Towner, president of the Washington Municipal Band, gave a report on the band?s performance this past year and what it has to look forward to next year.

?We had one rainy day and we had one really hot day, but we got off pretty lucky,? Towner said. ?We had great crowds this year. Oftentimes we had more than 200 people.?

Towner said the band has big plans in store for next year, which will be the band?s 80

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birthday.

?We?re going to try to figure out who all the conductors were,? Towner said. ?Apparently, there are not just five but more like 15. We?re going to honor anyone who has played in the band, to see if we can have them stand up and be recognized for that.?

Towner said the band has toyed with the idea of an ?all request concert.?

?Either the band members or the audience could submit pieces to play,? he said.

Stewart Booster secretary April Cuddeback asked the council?s permission to close a portion of North Fourth Avenue Oct. 8 for the boosters? 5-kilometer run. The council approved the request. North Fourth Avenue will be closed from East Seventh Street to East 10

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Street from 9:45 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Cuddeback said she was not requesting that the entire course be closed, merely the area near the finish line.