The Raymond City Council met on Monday, Sept. 19, with a new council member to fill the previously vacant seat : Council Member Chris Halpin, who was appointed at the previous meeting on Sept. 6.
The first item the council dealt with was a member of the public who had appeared to discuss a multitude of issues regarding the Duryea construction and a building on Third Street, that also runs along Duryea. Richard Curtis, the owner of the building in question, first inquired about the trees that would be going into the sidewalk along Duryea. Curtis was concerned that a tree that will go in will push foot traffic up against the building, where slanted cement ramps run up to the building, making for uneven ground. Curtis asked the council if there are any other options and even suggested that maybe the tree could be utilized in a better spot. While he had the floor, Curtis brought up an issue he had with the way that the construction was being done. His complaint was that the wrecking ball that the construction crew has used to break up the asphalt on Duryea has shaken the buildings and their foundations in the process, possibly damaging them. The council discussed their options and determined that they would come to the next meeting with an answer for Curtis.
The council next discussed Ordinance 1855, a possible 10 percent sewer tax increase. The ordinance wwould make it so that everyone that is paying a utility bill in Raymond will get a 10 percent increase on the $85 sewer bill . The council passed Ordinance 1855 on first reading (three readings are required), but then discussed the ordinance further.
Council Member Ian Farrell raised an issue: "We got into this situation where we didn't have money. Bringing in more money doesn't necessarily resolve the original issue. We can't just bring in more money. We need to fix the thing that is causing the shortage," said Farrell.
The second reading of Ordinance 1855 will be held at the next Raymond City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 3.
Fire Chief Todd Strozyk reported that he has a new ambulance coming to Raymond by the end of the month, which he had acquired for under $100,000.
It's a refurbished ambulance, box-mounted to a new frame.
"The North Pacific County EMS District 1 will be running their excess EMS levee. Please go out and vote. Just so you know, their plan is to run for the same amount of money that they ran for last year, so if you do vote for it ... the EMS tax will be the same as it was last year," said Strozyk.
Public Works Director Eric Weiberg reported that a crew will be removing a cherry tree from a park that runs adjacent to Highway 101, in front of Flowers by Lynne. After the council discussed what they were going to do about a particular memorial that sits beside the tree, the council came to the conclusion that they would try to contact the family that the memorial belongs to and notify them that the memorial is slated for removal.