Cashmere City Council Meeting February 27

As a memorial to Brent Holladay, Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (Evergreen) will pave and upgrade the pump track. The agreement with Evergreen was unanimously approved by the Cashmere City Council at their February 27 meeting. Holladay was instrumental in establishing the dirt pump track but passed away about a year ago. Cashmere’s Director of Operations, Steve Croci, explained that Evergreen approached the City to make improvements to the existing track with no cost to the city. Kim Holladay told council members that an artistic metal sign is being designed that will be installed at the new track. She highlighted that the sign is a collaborative project of high school teachers, and students. Alan Pace, school art director, and Keith Boyd, engineering teacher, are working together to design and build the sign. Holladay added that the senior who will be doing the metal cutting is Brent’s nephew.

James Munley, with Evergreen Bike Alliance, provided the Council with detailed plans for the project and said that Evergreen has designed and installed numerous pump tracks around the state, including ones in Leavenworth, Quincy, and East Wenatchee. Evergreen will coordinate the construction project which will be primarily completed by local volunteers and staff. All project labor, equipment and material expenses are being donated in memory of Brent. The city will retain ownership and maintenance responsibilities of the track.

A Cashmere Community Forum was held on March 6, at 6 p.m. at the Riverside Center, Mayor Jim Fletcher announced at the council meeting. Mayor Fletcher told council members that the four main topics to be discussed at the forum include:

1) updates about the Sunset Highway Construction Project

2) plans for the Cashmere Library to move to the Riverside Center

3) options for city owned buildings- (particularly the building which currently houses the library) 4) options for funding the city’s parks and pool.

Fletcher provided additional context about city parks. The recently completed Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan was developed with community input, which indicated a public desire for additional parks, facilities, and services. Fletcher said that the city currently spends about $100,000 per year maintaining the existing parks and about $150,000 to maintain and operate the pool. Input at the forum will help determine what current and additional facilities and services the public is willing to pay for. Fletcher explained that even if grant funding is used to create a new park facility or trail, additional money must be available for ongoing park maintenance. To implement many of the items in the PROS Plan, he said that it will be necessary to have citizens directly involved.

Director of Operations, Steve Croci, also told the Council that the WSDOT, and the County, will likely be at the Forum, presenting information about construction plans for Sunset Highway and Hwy. 2.

Fletcher told the council members that their role at the forum should be to engage in small group discussions and asking citizens to explain their thoughts about the various topics.

Written comments may be submitted by email to: Mayor@CityofCashmere.org or by mail to: City of Cashmere, 101 Woodring St., Cashmere, WA. 98815.

An interlocal agreement with Chelan County for an emergency generator and quick electrical connections was unanimously approved by the Council. In partnership with the County,

Cashmere applied for, and received, a federal grant to purchase a mobile generator that can be used to power the city’s critical water facilities. The County will administer the grant, and contract. The grant award to the city is $178,524 with the city matching $28,128. The project was listed as a priority in the City’s Comprehensive Water Plan.

The Council also unanimously approved Woodard and Curran’s (W&C) amendment to the installation of the city’s lift station pumps. However, a larger than expected amount of work was required to complete the project. Much of the electrical system for the station needed to be replaced to allow the pumps to operate as designed. The additional out-of-scope services work, cost an estimated $12,610 for a total project cost of $17,460. Croci said that this is the first time that all 3 pumps are working properly in nearly 2 years.

 Unanimous approval was given for a Food Truck Fair to be held on March 18 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Mission District. The special event permit was requested by the Cashmere Chamber of Commerce and will close Mission Ave. from Woodring to Maple. Fletcher suggested to council members that the city have a consistent policy for handling requests to close streets in case special events become more common. According to Fletcher, the city ordinance currently stimulates that anyone requesting a special event must apply through either the school district, the Chamber or city. Councilwoman Jayne Stephenson said the idea of the event was fantastic for business in town, the other members agreed that the event could be good for local businesses.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Cashmere area residents made requests regarding two separate issues. One individual asked that the city try to address the speed of traffic traveling on Olive St. A 2^nd request was for the city to include a news release section on the city’s website, to make it easier for the public to find information about upcoming hearings, or other notices.

Croci announced that a grant funded economic development plan for the lagoon area had been completed. The study concluded that the area is not suitable for commercial enterprises but could be a good location as an open space natural area. Fletcher added that a lot of work is left to determine the specifics of what exactly will be established at the site.

Croci also announced that the city has received a $25,000 grant, from Complete the Loop Coalition, to repair the Riverside Trail.