Cashmere City Council Meeting

In a split 3 to 1 vote and with 1 member absent, the Cashmere City Council authorized the city‘s attorney to draft an ordinance to vacate an undeveloped portion of Kennedy Road. The vote followed a public hearing and lengthy discussion by the Council. The actions were prompted by a petition received from Rhonda Reyes, Property Manager of 303 Kennedy Rd., Zack and Anna Bourgault, owners of 303 Kennedy Rd., Chris, and Stacy Rankin owners of 301 Kennedy Rd. and Blaine and Jacqueline Smith.

During the hearing, six citizens expressed their support for the city vacating the property. Rhonda Reyes argued that the current homeowners and two potential homeowners will benefit if the city vacates the property. In addition, she told the Council that anyone who is currently squatting on the property will be pushed out. She added that if the property owners are allowed to buy the property, they would have the opportunity to improve the area. Others voiced their concern that the city could potentially build a trail along the right of way, which would be adjacent to their backyards and through their orchards. Greg Johnson said that could create parking issues and peoples’ dogs would be pooping in their yards. Blaine Smith explained that the undeveloped road goes through the middle of his orchard and a trail would cause problems when spraying and increase the issue of people being in the orchard. Director of Operations, Steve Croci, explained that the Cashmere Planning Commission (CPC) has been working on updating the city’s Parks Plan. As part of the long-term planning process, the CPC had discussed creating connectors between neighborhoods and the city’s parks. The Commissioners had thought that the Kennedy right-of-way could potentially be useful for such a connector. Croci suggested that “pathway” might be a more appropriate term than “trail”. A letter from the CPC was submitted to the Council for the public hearing and it stated: “Based on the information provided, the Planning Commission advises against the city's vacation of the portion of unimproved Kennedy Road property as it does not align with the mission, vision, or goals of the City of Cashmere's existing Land Use Comprehensive Plan. Additionally, the vacation of said property does not align with the forthcoming updated Parks and Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan.”

A 2nd letter against vacating the property was submitted to the Council by Lacey Price and included 23 digital signatures collected via petition on MoveOn.org from June 5 - June 10, 2022. In the letter the residents requested “that the city maintain public access to a minimum of 10' of the proposed road for potential future public pedestrian trail development. The importance of pedestrian trails in Cashmere's development is cited in both the City's Comprehensive Plan "Parks & Recreation Element" (p.76) and in the City's Comprehensive Transportation and Development Standards…” The letter recommends that “The undeveloped portion of Kennedy Road requested for vacation presents an opportunity to create a pedestrian hiking trail connecting Kennedy Road to Valley Street. Although this area is a steep vertical slope, a hiking trail providing vanishing public views of the surrounding area appears to be possible…. We believe a public trail could and should be developed in an inclusive way that respects these nearby landowners and takes their needs into consideration, yet also serves the broader citizens of Cashmere now and for generations to come.”

Mayor Jim Fletcher recommended to the Council that the city vacate the property. Providing additional explanation, he said that the Parks Plan is a vision and that there are no specific plans to build a trail, utilities, or anything else on the Kennedy Road right of way and that the city does not really have any use for the property.

Councilmember John Perry, who voted against vacating the property, argued that Cashmere, and the surrounding area, is changing and growing. He explained that he was thinking 30 - 50 years down the road, when the city may have need of the property so said he was voted for the city to retain ownership of the right-of-way.

An Automatic Aid Agreement with the Fire District was unanimously approved. According to Fletcher, the Aid Agreement was based on the collective wisdom of the fire chiefs, and it spells out specific emergency coverage that allows RiverCom to know when to dispatch the city fire crew out of the city. Also approved was an EMS Contract between the city and fire district, with the stipulation that the contract end in Dec. 2023 and a new agreement be negotiated. Fletcher stated that currently the city fire department responds to EMS calls outside of the city and the Fire District pays the city $85 per call. Council member Chris Carlson asked what it actually cost to respond to calls and said that $85 does not sound like enough to cover the expense. Fletcher replied that the city does not actually know the cost but that he has asked the fire chief to begin collecting data to be able to determine the amount. He added that the volunteers are the heart of the department, and they want to be able to respond to calls outside of Cashmere.

In other business, the Council approved a Special Event Permit for Founders Day on June 24^th and 25^th. The event will require the closure of Cottage Ave. and other streets from 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM on Friday the 24^th and on Sat. the 25^th from 6 AM – 6 PM.

Also passing unanimously was an amendment to the contract with Waste Management to allow garbage pick to be an hour earlier on extremely hot days. Fletcher explained this is the result of a requirement of the state’s Labor and Industry agency.

The Council unanimously passed an ordinance to annex property in the City of Cashmere’s Urban Growth Area located on Evergreen Dr. The property owners had requested the annexation.