[0:09] All right, follow this meeting to order.
Today we have a special call meeting of
[0:13] city council followed by uh uh several
committee meetings.
[0:19] So, we're going to start out with this.
Before I I start, I want to recognize
[0:22] two new two new members of our leader
team uh who have come on board today. Uh
[0:27] city administrator David Pollson.
>> Thank you, M. finance director Britney
[0:31] Martin.
>> And yesterday was their first day and we
[0:34] just look forward to working with both
of you. Thank you.
[0:37] » Thank you.
>> All right, start with a moment of
[0:40] silence.
[1:11] All right.
[1:18] To the flag of the United States of
America and to the stands one nation
[1:25] under God, indivisible with liberty and
justice for all
[1:31] » has been able to
[1:38] now.
>> Good.
[1:41] Good. And I also want to start that uh
Mr. also will be leaving at 6:00. He is
[1:46] going to be recognized for his service
with the city of Pamilton. Yes, sir.
[1:51] » And sir, thank you.
>> Great honor that they're giving you. We
[1:54] speak to all of you.
>> Thank you very much. I appreciate you
[1:56] letting me do that.
>> Uh we have next the approval of the
[2:01] agenda. Uh is there a motion that we
approve the agenda
[2:07] » for disposal or everyone?
>> This is just for the special meeting and
[2:12] I need Well, I'm going to make an
amendment that
[2:16] Let me make the amend. I'm making motion
we amend this agenda and add select old
[2:22] JRSA
uh representative.
[2:27] » I make a recommendation to amend also
>> on this agenda.
[2:35] » Okay. Whichever one
that's a motion. Is there a second
[2:39] motion and a second?
>> Is there any discussion on the
[2:42] amendment?
All those in favor signify by saying I.
[2:46] » No hand raising. Okay. I
>> All those in favor of Lendez.
[2:52] All those in favor of approving the
agenda as amended signify by saying I.
[2:56] » I.
>> All right.
[2:59] » So that will be the uh the first thing
we're going to go into is last year
[3:05] council
recognized city of Wajala employees
[3:09] [snorts]
uh throughout the month of September.
[3:13] We've dedicated this to uh a commitment
to continue each year recognizing the
[3:20] hard work of our city employees uh every
September because without our city
[3:25] employees we would not succeed their
dedication their teamwork and I can site
[3:30] 100 examples of it over the past year uh
our streets and our water crews who
[3:38] [snorts] looked at a lot lately to our
public safety officials to throw out all
[3:43] of it. We we just owe you a debt of
appreciation. And I'm going to read a
[3:48] quick uh resit ourselves to having
September and it's employee appreciation
[3:53] month. Uh in August of 2025, the city of
Wallala passed resolution 2025-05
[4:00] to recognize the month of September as
Wallala City employee appreciation
[4:04] month. Again this year, we as city
council recognize and honor your hard
[4:08] work and dedication to making our city
the very best it can be. We know you
[4:13] take pride in your work and we want to
extend thanks to each of you for your
[4:16] loyalty. During September, our local
businesses and your council will offer
[4:21] small gestures of appreciation. We want
you to know that your efforts do not go
[4:25] unnoticed.
Your service is the cornerstone of
[4:29] making Walla a great place for families,
business visitors, and the community at
[4:34] large. And on behalf of all council, I
thank you.
[4:38] Uh, we all need to sign this. So, we
need a motion that we accept this as a
[4:42] resolution.
>> Motion second. All those in favor
[4:47] signify. I
>> I'm not even asking for.
[4:53] [applause]
>> Next issue is uh the approval of a bid
[4:58] for the CARET restoration project. Will
you take us through that? Uh, Mr. F. I'd
[5:05] be glad to do that. I actually have Mr.
Rich here. He can give you some maybe
[5:08] just a uh a background of where we're at
and where we're moving forward on that
[5:12] if you'd like to hear from him.
>> Absolutely. Absolutely.
[5:18] » Stand forward, please.
>> Okay.
[5:22] » You're welcome to use this if you want.
>> Very good.
[5:27] » Appreciate being here, Mr. Mayor.
Council, thank you. Um to give you some
[5:32] background on this project, uh the city
applied for a grant to the NRCS
[5:37] um after Helen to go in and clean up
Cane Creek and to restore some of the
[5:47] stream bank issues. And so we worked
through plans permitting. Um and then we
[5:54] took bids on the 20th. We received four
bids. We have the project broke up three
[6:00] divisions. Uh the three divisions are as
follows. Division one uh was cleaning
[6:07] approximately a two-mile portion of the
creek, basically snagging the the fallen
[6:13] trees and debris, cleaning the creek out
and
[6:19] mulching that that debris. Uh division
two
[6:25] same same issue just a different two
miles of the stream and division three
[6:32] was going in and basically restoring the
stream bank in problem areas. So we we
[6:40] found approximately 25 problem areas
that the stream needed to be um
[6:47] refurbished. So uh we took bids on the
20th. We received four bids for each of
[6:53] each division. Contractor by the name of
JL Construction Construction
[7:00] um
>> LJ
[7:01] » LJ I'm sorry LJ Construction
[7:07] LJ Contracting apologize. Uh they were
the low bid on division one and division
[7:12] 2. So you should have received letters
of recommendation for awarding the bid
[7:19] to LJ Contracting Incorporated. We have
not worked with LJ in the past. So we
[7:26] requested them to provide contractor
qualifications for our specifications.
[7:31] Uh they provided that along with um uh
references that we could call and and
[7:39] check and we did. We talked to their
reference and of course they're going to
[7:44] give good references but the references
that we talked to were dependable for um
[7:49] LJ contracting.
So we feel that they can give you a a
[7:54] good um product
good project for cleaning out
[8:01] approximately miles of the creek if you
award division one and two to them. the
[8:07] low bid for um division three uh
contractor
[8:13] that I understand
does for the town for the city. Um this
[8:19] would be Jatar Incorporated. Um division
three is going in and repairing the
[8:25] stream banks and um
I don't see any reason that they would
[8:31] not give you a good project as well. Um
so alto together these projects are just
[8:37] over
the three divisions are just a million
[8:41] dollars. Um the grant is for
approximately $3 million. So we're
[8:46] actually under budget um on the grant.
Um the caveat to it is that we've got a
[8:53] short time frame on it. Everything is
supposed to be finished by um November.
[9:01] We are requesting additional time. Um
the state engineer and project manager
[9:09] on this project have given us indication
that we may be able to get extra time.
[9:17] They just have not been able to award
extra time yet. So that'll be the topic
[9:21] of discussion as we move forward the
November 1 time frame. Um but with that
[9:29] um it's my recommendation that that
council um accept these low bids and
[9:37] contingent on
NRCS
[9:42] that we have bid for division one to LJ
contracting division 2 to LJ contracting
[9:51] division three to
>> okay thank Couple questions. Um,
[9:59] when you say November 1, does that mean
for project completion?
[10:02] » Yes, sir.
>> And any of our contractors indicate they
[10:07] would be able to meet specific timelines
that would enable us to
[10:12] » they did not. They they feel that time
is of the essence. If they can get
[10:16] started, they can they can complete.
>> Okay. And then the next question I have
[10:21] is okay. Can you believe that they can
be extended? That seems like a very
[10:25] short I'm optimistic.
>> Next question I have is that's way under
[10:30] bed. Is it possible to continue ask for
uh more time
[10:35] as well in order to project?
>> That'll be question number two, sir. We
[10:39] will um we will definitely try to expand
the project and there's already been
[10:44] other ideas come up that we could
improve parts of this this project. So
[10:50] So yes, that will that will be in the in
the
[10:56] right now.
>> Yes, sir.
[10:59] » Is there any other questions? Does
anyone have any
[11:05] motion to acceptation that award phase
one and two LJ contracting phase three
[11:10] to Jor?
[11:16] Any more discussion?
>> All in favor signify by raising your we
[11:23] » I [laughter]
And we I can see you raise your hand.
[11:26] Any all oppose?
>> That's unanimous. All right. Thank you
[11:31] very much.
>> Thank you.
[11:33] » Uh the third item is the amendment. Uh
we currently have as a representative on
[11:39] the regional sewer authority. Uh our
former administrator
[11:44] Myers was gracious enough to really
remain on as a representative. She has a
[11:50] lot of background on this, a lot of
knowledge of what's been going on and uh
[11:54] she remain through the end of uh of
August and we are now there. So uh we
[12:01] need another appointee to represent the
city and uh I would I would uh
[12:07] traditionally has been city
administrator. So uh I would put forward
[12:13] uh our new city administrator Davidson.
[12:20] [cough]
>> Any discussion?
[12:24] So this will involve replacing Mers with
Mr.
[12:33] All in favor, please signify by saying
[12:38] » Mr. Paul, will you please not
change
[12:43] » and see?
[12:48] All right,
that took us exactly 14 minutes.
[12:56] » Motion
second.
[12:58] » Motion and a second. All those in favor
say I.
[13:03] » There you go.
Meeting a journ. We're going to go into
[13:08] council meetings. Um, first one's going
to be public the public utilities
[13:14] committee. David Underwood is the
Sorry.
[13:20] » Okay. Jesse, hold on. Jesse Bunning is
on that committee and I will remind
[13:25] everyone those of us who are on exit,
those who are on committee, please
[13:30] request permission of the chair to
comment.
[13:35] I'll make motion that we move the agenda
to
[13:40] we're going to talk about the report of
the Wala water advisory ad hoc committee
[13:45] water utility reorganization
soon.
[14:01] All right.
[14:07] Um, could you hold up?
[14:21] This is a this is a screenshot of a um u
of a test that was u taken from a home
[14:30] in our water system.
I have a picture of a filter.
[14:37] These are it. It was uh installed on
5426.
[14:43] I personally was contacted by these two
families. The one that took the uh the
[14:48] sample and the one for the filter. Um
this is what we hear here. Bad water or
[14:56] the filters are extremely dirty and
cloth. These two issues are what I hear
[15:01] and a lot of
These families reached these families
[15:05] reached out to me personally both
worried about the health effects of
[15:08] their family. I would like to give the
administrator both families
[15:13] uh contact numbers
[15:17] and so he can contact them directly and
facilitate a sample to be taken any any
[15:24] and all resources so the f using any and
all resources so that the families in
[15:28] the city have answers so that we can
work together and get this corrected and
[15:33] maybe it might answer a lot of questions
that are on the mind of others within
[15:37] the Mahala water district. I do not I do
or we as council know what is causing
[15:44] this, but we're here to ask questions
and try to get answers so we we can all
[15:49] be informed and make corrections whether
it's on the city or it's on the
[15:54] individual customer and see if we can
work to get this resolved. I've uh
[15:58] invited Mr. Tommy Krooks here today.
He's the chief operator for the uh for
[16:03] the water plant.
>> Mr. Mr. Chair, can I ask a question?
[16:08] That water test that you brought
forward, was that a test by the city or
[16:12] was
>> No, sir. That was a test taken by an
[16:13] individual. So that's the reason why I'm
going.
[16:16] » So he purchased that test commercially.
The individual he or she
[16:19] » Yes.
>> purchased that test commercially and
[16:22] took it on his own.
>> Yes.
[16:24] » And posted the result or sent you the
results. I'm not sure.
[16:27] » He sent.
>> Okay.
[16:31] » And the same with those filters.
>> Yes. But they reached out to me
[16:35] personally. They're concerned about the
their issues with their health. So, we
[16:40] I'm not just going to put that to the
side. We need to get not blaming
[16:44] anybody. We need to find out what's
causing this. So, or even if there is,
[16:49] you know, calling the subject, the
expert on it, which is Tommy. So, I'm
[16:54] going to let uh talk about it. Tom, if
you would come up here, please.
[17:01] » Yeah. He's just going to I'd like for
him to explain the process of the
[17:06] testing and you know whatever else. If
anything come anybody got a question
[17:10] please ask
[17:14] this is what our bad sample looks like.
I made this stuck my finger in it so it
[17:21] turned immediately you know to 24 hours
and it turned bad. If it had a collide,
[17:27] it would flues.
[17:37] This is a sample that's got sodium
sulfate in it.
[17:41] » What does that do, Tom?
>> It kills the instantly. So that if we
[17:45] have any bacteria in the water, it will
grow.
[17:52] This is our finished water. That's the
water that's coming out of the plant.
[17:56] And
>> last, this is last night sample. It's
[18:00] been incubated 24 hours. And you can see
it's not
[18:03] » What does it mean to be incubated? So I
just kind of explain that a little bit.
[18:06] » We put it in an incubator that's the
same temperature as the human body. And
[18:12] so if something can grow, it'll grow. We
[18:25] We add a packet of color to it which is
growth media that allows any germs in
[18:32] there to grow.
>> So you do that on this this you samples
[18:37] you would add that one sample.
>> Yes. 100 mil samples. We do it all the
[18:42] samples. How many samples do you take a
day on
[18:48] just that or everything?
>> Sampling process.
[18:52] » What's your sampling? How many times a
day do you do it? How many times a month
[18:55] do you do? Where do you do it?
>> All right. We calibrate lab equipment
[18:59] twice daily.
>> What does that mean?
[19:03] » That's just to check our machines to
make their right before we run a sample
[19:07] on.
We take our total organic compounds on
[19:13] finish. We check for trihalomemethanes
on the finish and halosinic acid on the
[19:22] finish. Uh THMs are caused when
um particles in the water sit in high
[19:31] chlorine for a long time. That's
carcenic and unconscious.
[19:39] Uh could you explain that just we go
back to some of you some of the acron I
[19:44] didn't know this you test them so what
what would that be test for kind of
[19:50] explain that a little bit
[clears throat]
[19:52] » what you just talked about
>> yes what is that
[19:57] phalamethan
>> okay what's that do I don't
[20:02] » they're carcenic if you've ever looked
at your water and you seen those little
[20:06] look like hair maybe floating there
little particles.
[20:10] » Well, if those particles sit in high
chlorinated water for an extended period
[20:15] of time, they become thor.
[20:20] So, we're good on that. And halic acid,
it's also a carcinogenic. It could cause
[20:28] cancer. It's u
when oak leaves and and stuff like that
[20:35] rot in the water. Yes. And
we get the
[20:42] whatever they give off comes into the
plant. And it
[20:46] » So you take that?
>> Yes. No. No. We check those two once you
[20:50] once we we check them randomly for like
one time and then we're good for two or
[20:56] three years.
>> Okay.
[20:59] We check the chlorine at least times
daily and it's also online on the
[21:04] computer and we're pretty much watching
it at all times so we don't you know run
[21:09] out. We check the finished water
turidity
[21:13] which is in this
[21:18] that's when I left just just way put
this in the little machine and it would
[21:23] read it and tell us this is about a
00700
[21:29] so
>> turbidity is that correct
[21:32] » sir
>> turbidity is cloudiness particulate
[21:37] » [clears throat]
[21:40] » All right. We check our coine 12 times
daily. It's on the benchtop online.
[21:46] We finish our check our finished
turbidity
[21:51] um about 12 times daily.
We check the phosphate in the water one
[21:56] time. Iron one time. Alkalinity we check
daily. Hardness we check daily. Hardness
[22:03] is like if you were at the beat and you
had your soap and it don't lather up, it
[22:08] don't foam up. Well, it doesn't have
any. It's too hard. So, we don't have a
[22:14] problem. We check the maganese daily.
The um conical daily. This is the
[22:22] cornicle.
This is the water out of the lake as it
[22:27] comes into the plant. check check it to
get a basis of what bacteria is in it.
[22:34] Uh this is today's we had 138 colonies
of feal civor in one of these.
[22:42] We had two of ecoli in one of these.
That's pretty clean water.
[22:49] » That's when it comes in. You can clean
that.
[22:52] » That's the regular lake water right
there.
[22:54] » Right. Okay. That's in the water before
you clean Then we'll turn around at the
[22:58] same time and we'll test the water going
out of the plant to make sure all that
[23:02] is. And
they call it log. We have to have a
[23:07] 99.99
kill rate. So if we don't do that, we
[23:13] » and all this is logged every day.
>> Y'all log this every day. Okay.
[23:20] We check manganesees daily,
the clinical daily, the presence of
[23:26] absent bacteria is what this is called.
We check it daily.
[23:31] Um
the raw turbidity which is the turbidity
[23:38] the basically the dirt in our lake
water.
[23:44] Speaking of that, what you know you see
under the picture people in their houses
[23:49] got you know you see stuff coming out
looks like dirty water. Uh what could
[23:53] cause that?
>> You mean
[23:57] dingy water or whatever.
>> Yes. It looks like blood sometimes. So
[24:03] » that probably more likely be from the
construction.
[24:06] And u
>> what can they do? They need to contact
[24:12] the city to get that. There's a way to
clean that out.
[24:15] » Zane, we pull their meter and let them
flush it.
[24:19] » We would they call us, we we come up
there, pull their meter out where it
[24:23] don't cost them money and let run till
it clears up.
[24:27] » That's about the only thing you can do.
U
[24:32] lead copper. I think we check the pH on
the raw and the finish constantly.
[24:38] We check for sodium every 3 years. We
check gross alpha every 3 years. That's
[24:44] radiation. We check for radiation in the
water is from uranium and radium. And
[24:52] they're naturally in the ground and
they'll bleed off into the water. Um
[25:01] we check for Garia and cryptosperidium.
Garia is a cyst that can grow in the
[25:08] water. Most of it is always filtered
through a filter and gi that gets in. We
[25:15] check for cryptosperidium. It's a
parasite.
[25:18] » Our filters mostly take it out.
>> So we filter for that.
[25:23] » Sir,
>> they filter that out at the water.
[25:25] » Yes sir. It's bigger than five microns.
We can take anything out that's bigger
[25:31] than that. And so that that gets through
um the distribution
[25:39] we've got 40 samples
sample size and we do 20 a month.
[25:46] » So distribution now y'all go around to
the system this fall.
[25:49] » Yes sir. Yes sir. And we do five a week
and they're always in a section and then
[25:55] the next month we switch over to a whole
new list and
[26:00] back and forth back and forth. How far
out do you go to test those during those
[26:04] 20 tests a month? Do you go to the end
of the line or halfway or
[26:08] » they're broken up? Uh we try to go
around the perimeter of our system
[26:14] because that's where we going to have
the biggest change to the lowest floor
[26:17] where we would but we also check it up
town like parties or the library and
[26:22] different places up town.
[26:27] If we do pull a bad sample, we test
upstream from the like if your house is
[26:33] here, we'll test the house below you and
the house above you and we'll test you
[26:37] to see see if it's in the section.
[26:43] » [snorts]
>> We have very few of those and
[26:47] most of the time we have one somebody
accidentally got their finger on the
[26:51] bowl or something like that and or
set the lid down upside down and
[26:57] something fell in it but just any little
speck it'll cause it'll cause to have a
[27:03] bad sign.
>> So it's not necessarily more
[27:06] contamination from your fingers, from
the faucet, whatever. Right.
[27:09] » Yes.
[27:12] Usually we try to take alcohol and
alcohol the stick where we draw in the
[27:19] sample to make sure that it's we don't
get it from the outside of the spor
[27:36] everything I can assure you is coming
out of that water That is a good part.
[27:41] We That's my reputation actually. And
I'm not going to
[27:46] » Well, EPA says it is. EPA testing says
it is too. So,
[27:50] » yes. And JK and everything's logged and
recorded, they can come and look at it
[27:56] at any time. And
um
[28:01] if they catch you falsifying or
something like down to the jail, that's
[28:08] [laughter]
>> and you lose your operator's license.
[28:11] And it took about four years to get your
operator's license. Plus, you have to
[28:15] apprentice for four years. So, you don't
want to lose that.
[28:20] It's a pretty good job. And so,
any questions? Anybody
[28:28] on council got a question?
>> They'd like to I feel like the the brown
[28:36] water or whatever is
all summer long we've been tearing out
[28:41] pipes and putting in pipes and and then
we had some breaks. Well, that
[28:46] sediment's always in your line. So, when
we have a break and it goes to running
[28:51] down that pipe, well, it stirs it every
bit up.
[28:54] » Well, that's talking about
when the tanks so we we we had the line
[28:59] break out at the hospital and the tanks
went down. So the board advisories
[29:06] could you explain that a little bit
more?
[29:09] Well, we we feel like that when we have
a break until we can take these samples
[29:15] and make sure that everything's okay, we
have people boil their water to make
[29:20] sure that they're not getting, you know,
bacteria or germs or whatever. U
[29:26] and then as soon as we get a good
sample, we take the B bowl advisory
[29:32] over. So [snorts]
>> we we had it explained to us earlier as
[29:36] precautionary.
>> We had it explained to us earlier as
[29:40] precautionary. That doesn't mean the
water's contaminated.
[29:44] » It's just precautionary because the
pressure went
[29:46] » Yes, sir. Yes, sir. When we lose
pressure on a line, say there's a mud
[29:50] hole here beside our line and a little
bitty small hole in it we don't know
[29:55] about. When we lose that pressure, that
mud hole is going to go into our pipe.
[29:59] So, we just do this to make sure nothing
like that's happened. And then once we
[30:04] get the chlorine back,
nothing's living in there. So we use a
[30:12] free chlorine which when the clean the
water say
[30:18] this will turn red.
That red is an indicator that everything
[30:24] in here has been sterilized and that's
the leftover chlorine. That's the
[30:28] amazing thing about So we're we're
riding this down the pipe with leftover
[30:33] chlorine. So if something did happen, we
still got extra chlorine in here to take
[30:38] care of it.
>> You hear a lot of times people say,
[30:41] "Well, I smell pouring in my house." Is
there way is or I smell it in the water?
[30:46] So what what causes that? And uh
>> evaporation
[30:53] most of the time when you smell
chlorine, it's slow.
[30:57] » That's I don't know why. That's what
that taught us. Can I say [snorts]
[31:00] something?
>> I agree with Tommy on that because when
[31:04] I walk up to the swimming pool when I'm
doing the chemicals on it, if you smell
[31:08] chlorine, you go check it. It's low.
Okay.
[31:13] » Is it going to hurt you though? I mean,
>> if you have low chlorine,
[31:17] » I mean,
>> well, it could if like if you had no
[31:22] chlorine, you could get bacteria. That's
what makes me think about these filters.
[31:26] If we're filtering out chlorine at your
house, then the water in your house can
[31:33] technically have bacteria in it because
there's no chlorine. You took it out. It
[31:38] should be clean coming in. But if you
worked on your plumbing or something
[31:41] like that,
a main thing is a hose pipe. Your hose
[31:46] pipes laid out sunk. So, if you've left
the tap on the spigot, the hose pipe,
[31:54] well, you've always had the tap off and
you see your hose pipe and it's got
[31:58] pressure.
>> Well, that's because the heat [snorts]
[32:02] expanded the swelled up in your hose
pipe. Well, the minute you turn your
[32:07] faucet on in the house, goes right in
your house. That could be contamination
[32:13] from your hose pipe.
[32:17] So, I'm
not really sure about the filters.
[32:22] » I don't think we could check a house. We
check it, but if you're taking the
[32:28] chlorine out that we're putting in,
I don't know how how that would stack
[32:33] up.
>> I just think we need to maybe go a
[32:36] little bit further and maybe ask, you
know, maybe, you know, you know, we need
[32:42] to if there's an answer out there, we
need to find a defense. So,
[32:49] main thing is them touching base with us
and letting us know and we can take care
[32:53] of it.
>> But and these bottles, not that green
[32:58] bottle
[33:01] that right there, you got bad sump.
Bad sump.
[33:07] Something floating around falls in here.
Bad sump. And you can have a bad sump in
[33:12] many ways. So
[33:17] if we get a bad sample, we go back and
we test your faucet. We test your house
[33:23] and we test the 11 and above to make
double sure that it's not in our water.
[33:30] » Could Could we ask
Mr. Chairman?
[33:34] » Yes, sir.
>> Could we ask our You've got two
[33:37] individuals who reached out to you. I'm
going to let the administrator
[33:41] facilitate that test. He's going to talk
to them. He's got their I'm going to
[33:44] give them their contact numbers. He can
contact them and set that up.
[33:49] » Well, we'll be able to report back the
results of that.
[33:52] » That's I want it on record. That way,
whatever we learners, we can share that
[33:58] with the public, we learn something,
too. And we're all working together. So,
[34:02] » okay. I'll put up the agenda for the
15th council meeting and have that
[34:06] reported
[34:10] something bottles. That's all they got.
One time use bottle.
[34:17] » Yeah, we spend uh
between the bottles, that little packet
[34:22] there, we spend about $3500,
[34:27] at least $3,500 over three months just
for the bottles and the little packet.
[34:33] And when the bottles come in, we check
the lot number to make sure that all the
[34:37] bottles are it's a good lot. We check we
check the growth media, make sure that
[34:42] it's doing this stuff. We we double
check, triple check, and
[34:48] I mean
we don't want bad water running out of
[34:53] our water plant. We kind of stand on
that.
[34:56] » Who's responsible for the fling program?
kind of I'm doing that sometimes.
[35:05] » Is that
>> Yes.
[35:09] » We flush we flush when we have like line
breaks samples. I
[35:16] ate through Tommy bottle. I pulled
probably over 30 samples.
[35:22] Do we have a flushing program? Like if
there's a like a
[35:27] like a trouble area cuz I know I've got
a blow off on our cold site we had for
[35:32] 10 years now.
>> I'd like to locate some of the problem
[35:37] areas and look at that and maybe uh put
some uh automatic flushing systems on
[35:43] there to alleviate that. So [snorts] all
right if I could have actually 15.
[35:50] Anybody
got any?
[35:55] » Thank you, Mr.
>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
[35:59] » Thank you so much.
>> Thank you.
[36:10] » That could be part of your committee
report.
[36:14] » Any action that we took to remediate a
problem if they find
[36:23] I've got I want to introduce everybody
to Miss Kathy West. She's a code
[36:28] enforcement for the city.
She's a willing super and uh Tommy
[36:35] Crooks has just left and Zane Thompson.
So what I would like to talk about is a
[36:40] report
from the uh from the ad hoc committee.
[36:45] So at the end of 2025 was done by the
wala advisory ad hoc committee. This was
[36:50] a very important and neat study that was
done by the members of our community and
[36:55] employees is not that does not need to
be taken lightly and with the incoming
[36:59] of a new city city administrator take a
hard look at this report and implement
[37:04] the things they have recommended if
possible or not we need to explain. So
[37:09] let's get started during this. If y'all
if we say anything, you want to add
[37:13] anything, please do so. So, but I'm
going to go to court uh and and and talk
[37:18] about it. So, um interesting. The wilder
water advisory ad hoc committee
[37:24] conducted a detailed study of
communication practices within the city
[37:28] of Walla's water department. This
interviews with a with a water director,
[37:33] discussing with city administrative
staff and water department employees,
[37:38] conversations with customers inside and
outside the city, review of public
[37:43] concerns, communications and service
related challenges. The purpose of this
[37:49] report is to provide recommendations
that improve communication, reduce
[37:53] confusion, and support the wala
support water department staff and
[37:59] customer service across the entire
system.
[38:03] So recommendation first one improve
phone contact options and enhance
[38:09] customer access of the water department.
The most consistent raised during
[38:15] interviews and discussions was a was the
difficulty
[38:20] customers experienced when trying to
reach the water department by phone.
[38:24] Many reported long hold time voicemail
only options are difficulty reaching a
[38:30] live representative. It must be
emphasized that the two boys currently
[38:34] tasked with answering the phones are
doing an excellent job. They are
[38:38] knowledgeable, courteous, and committed
to helping others. However, the call
[38:42] volume with constant walk-in traffic has
overwhelmed their capacity resulting in
[38:48] unavoidable delays and stress.
So, I think we've done a changes to our
[38:54] phone system.
>> So, we addition of the online form. I
[39:00] don't answer the phone up there tell you
what the call volume is like.
[39:05] » Um, but
>> is it
[39:07] » we added the the online form
the phone systems because the system
[39:14] will not allow them to pick up out of a
queue. it will just put the call in onto
[39:20] their phone which if they have someone
at the counter you're going to upset the
[39:24] person who's standing there because
they've got a call on them or the person
[39:27] on the phone is going to be pulled
dumped out of a queue just to be put on
[39:31] hold while they wait on the person. So
there are interviews in process of
[39:36] looking for a system that will alleviate
that so that they could put it in a
[39:39] queue and then pull out of the queue.
>> Okay.
[39:43] » And correct me if I'm wrong but this
says we have two And we now have
[39:54] » committee believes winning a
professional call service would provide
[39:58] substantial relief to these employees
and improve customer experience. A call
[40:04] service would provide 247 coverage.
Never require vacation sit time pits.
[40:10] Sort calls efficiently so customers
reach direct options. Allow routine
[40:17] information to be handled automatically
and reduce the number of repeated calls
[40:22] related to outages and limes. Email
outage of emergency notifications
[40:29] to all necessary staff.
Free the water department employees to
[40:34] focus on building walk-ins and field
coordination rather than acting as
[40:40] intermediaries between customers and
repair crews. because of the inability
[40:46] to reach the water department was the
number one complaint heard during the
[40:50] committee study. The creation is a
better way to contact me as a top
[40:54] recommendation of this report. I want to
go back to that just a minute. So there
[41:00] again, we got people on the phone that
are talking. The girls could be talking
[41:05] to them or the ladies could be talking
to them and you got people up there.
[41:09] It's hard to answer. It's hard to answer
the phone. So we council need to uh to
[41:17] look at that and uh look at this new
phone system and and make it easier for
[41:22] them and the uh and the citizens.
Uh two, create and distribute a how-to
[41:30] guide for phone prompts and reporting
issues. Uh to support improvements to
[41:35] the phone system, the committee
recommends that the city prepare a
[41:39] simple, clearly written explaining to
navigate the phone prompts, how to
[41:44] report outages and leaks, how to reach
billing services and departments. So,
[41:50] have we worked on anything for that so
that y'all know of? So, please [snorts]
[41:55] explain a little bit. So,
>> so I did get um access to be able to
[42:00] build the phone trees.
What's a phone tree?
[42:03] » So when you call in somewhere, the tree
is press one, press two, press three. So
[42:08] that takes you to the different levels.
Um, so with Mr. Pollson coming in, that
[42:13] is a top priority to determine how our
phone tree needs to have the act to
[42:18] react as well [snorts] as the number of
layers put in there.
[42:22] » Does that help any up front or you Okay.
um
[42:31] how to report outages and leaks. So I
seen our website and there was we had
[42:37] something uh there was something added
to make it real easy right there at the
[42:41] front. So for right now
>> there is a popup box on every page of
[42:45] the city of Laala's website so you
cannot miss how board an issue.
[42:51] » The only way that we can fix something
is if it's been reported. Um, a lot of
[42:57] times you see or hear stuff out there,
there's no way to fix it because we
[43:00] don't know who it is or don't know where
it's at. So they put anus or something
[43:05] on there, you can't fix it. So
>> Mr. Chair, can I ask?
[43:09] » Yes, sir.
>> Um, when someone reports an outage or a
[43:13] problem using the the city link, what
happens to it from there? What's the
[43:18] process? So it goes to a spreadsheet. If
it's a leak that's not a like so
[43:23] somebody calling in because there's a
leak on Main Street, then that's going
[43:27] to go out to a leak crew to go look at
it. If it's a problem with somebody's
[43:31] water being dirty, then issuing a work
order in the billing office and then
[43:38] it's going out to the crews. Then it's
needs to be reported back what the
[43:43] problem was found and then that's logged
on a work order.
[43:47] » How does that get to Who's who's the
traffic cop on that?
[43:50] » Um, so Christina, um, Coral and Lindsay
all can have all have access and are
[43:56] monitoring that daily.
>> Can you explain the process of that,
[43:59] Christina? How y'all do that and what
you do?
[44:02] » So, just like what Kathy had explained,
a customer puts in a an issue that they
[44:08] are having, it comes up on our
spreadsheet detailed with the customer's
[44:13] name, their address, giving us as many
details they can what they are
[44:18] experiencing so that we can get someone
out there to exactly what is going on
[44:24] quickly.
>> What's the turn around time on the
[44:28] response?
>> Um it it just depends on what their
[44:31] issue is but I mean within a few hours
if that
[44:37] » Christina started a log sheet up there
too so explain that a little bit more to
[44:41] about
brown water and stuff like that.
[44:45] » Correct. So we have a separate log of
like brown water. That way we can relay
[44:50] that onto the water and they are aware
of different areas within our system
[44:55] that we are having issues.
>> How many of those you had? Do you see
[44:59] that?
>> Not not very many.
[45:02] » Okay. Okay. All right. We'll move on.
[45:08] How to reach Billing and customer ser?
What information customers should have
[45:15] on how to call the should be posted on
the city's website, sent through the
[45:20] city's text alert system, printed and
handed out to customers paying bills in
[45:25] person, and kept at the water uh
department service counter. Clear,
[45:30] accessible instructions will help reduce
confusion and improve communication
[45:37] consistently. Anybody got any questions
or anything to add on that?
[45:41] May
>> So, we put together the mayor's request
[45:44] PDF. You guys should seen it on um
Facebook that sends you it's [snorts] an
[45:50] interactive PDF that you can click and
dial the phone. It'll dial the phone
[45:54] number for you if you're having a
problem. It takes you to the water kit
[45:59] takes you to pretty much every page that
has information that you could ask about
[46:05] how to report the problem, how to look
up what type of issues we've had, boil
[46:11] water advisories. It takes you to the
water. Um, so there is an interactive
[46:16] PDF. Um, I could email it to anybody
that would like to see it. I believe I
[46:21] sent it to y'all.
>> It has a list of all the boil water
[46:25] outages, the reasons for that.
>> Correct.
[46:28] » It is on the city of Wallala.com
water and sewer. 3/4 of the way down the
[46:35] page, every wellwater advisory that has
been issued in 2026 is listed. and also
[46:42] all the we've done [clears throat] all
the work we've been doing which lists
[46:45] where the work's being done how much the
grants were for just goes into detail of
[46:49] all the work that we've done based on
those grants back 2024 we put out a lot
[46:54] of information on it frequently asked
questions on the water plant frequently
[46:58] asked questions on the water system and
a link to the strategy our water system
[47:03] that we put out correct
>> correct
[47:08] increase communication through social
media in the city of life. The committee
[47:12] recommends improving the frequency and
context of a communication through
[47:17] social media and the city's website.
Monthly or bimonthly
[47:22] update should include information such
as water line projects, pump station
[47:28] upgrades, status and use of grants,
year-to- date expenses and remaining
[47:34] balances of grant related projects, plan
improvement or construction that may
[47:39] [snorts] affect service and general
updates of the water department
[47:43] operations. When citizens understand
what is happening, trust increases and
[47:48] misinformation decreases.
The only Go ahead.
[47:55] » Is Is there going to be a
[48:00] like a piece put into the water bill
that says all of this or is there I mean
[48:06] I had suggested that a long time ago
that we just put you know down the
[48:11] bottom of the water bill you can put
there's probably about space about like
[48:16] this that you could put this kind of So
that everybody gets a water bill.
[48:21] Everybody sees it.
>> Could you put that in a note? We need to
[48:25] recommend that.
>> I mean, it could be just
[48:30] » as far as increased uh social media. I
think one person needs to be involved in
[48:36] that. And if we need to if we need to if
we need to discuss that, then we uh we
[48:43] give that person a time to add that. So
as far as the city's uh We have city
[48:49] social media right now. Don't you Kathy
>> right now?
[48:54] » And that that dashboard that we put is
that accessible through the city
[48:58] website.
>> So not yet. It's it does need to be on
[49:01] there, but I wanted to verify a couple
things on it to make sure
[49:06] » people to find stuff as possible.
[snorts]
[49:09] » All the information is on the website.
The interactive PDF is not on yet. It is
[49:14] on social. You can access it
>> link it in the water. someone there,
[49:18] they can just give them the address
where they can go get it.
[49:23] » All right. Number four, expand
information signage in city offices and
[49:27] along local streets. The committee
recommends expanding physical signage
[49:33] both indoors and outdoors to better
distribute important information to
[49:37] customers who may not use a digital
platforms. This may include bulletin
[49:42] boards of city hall and water department
offices, printed notices in hight
[49:47] traffic areas, reader boards or message
signs where permitted, digital displays
[49:54] inside of buildings. These tools provide
simple effective ways to publish
[50:00] outage alerts, updates, announcements,
and change in policies. So any questions
[50:05] or comments?
[50:09] We'll move on to number five. Improve
public trans public transparency on
[50:15] grant funding and require matching
dollars. Residents frequently express
[50:21] confusion about how grants work. The
committee recommends that the city
[50:26] clearly explain the total number total
amount of each grant, the required max
[50:31] from the city, what portion is fully
funded and funds are being spent.
[50:37] project timelines remaining grant
balances transparent financial
[50:41] communication promote promotes
confidence and reduces speculation or
[50:47] misunderstanding.
We have any questions or com number six
[50:50] or number five.
Okay.
[50:55] Number six provide limited access to GIS
water system map. A simplified GIS
[51:02] viewer showing only nonsensitive water
routes would provide customers with a
[51:08] better understanding of the source
connections. Sensitive or detailed
[51:12] operational information can remain
internal. Providing even limited access
[51:17] promotes transparency and reduces area
confusion among residents, developers
[51:22] and real estate. Any comments or
questions on number six?
[51:31] I was just saying our GIS map now is not
particularly accurate. I'm thinking we
[51:38] need to I know we're seeking out funding
to update our GIS and
[51:43] plan. So I think we wait till after that
then see how that
[51:48] » I have problem with that is not don't
want to be public information because it
[51:54] can be hacked and they can't come and
somebody can mess with our water lines
[51:58] and stuff that's just my personal
opinion on letting that out a homeland
[52:02] directive also about
>> yeah they're on me I have to constantly
[52:08] have to update
getting
[52:13] the routers and stuff updated on all our
stuff for home and everybody.
[52:19] » Weren't there some attacks also
[52:25] on water systems specifically?
>> They can hack in
[52:30] they can hack into they can pump off
drain. They can do whatever.
[52:37] basically at the end of this report. I
want to go over all this. I'd like for
[52:41] you know the staff to get back and look
at all this again and come up with what
[52:45] we've done and uh to fix it or what we
need to fix it or if it's going to work
[52:51] or if it's not going to work. So uh
seven uh improving public understanding
[52:58] of why city policy fees are implemented.
Many recommends the city proactively
[53:03] explain the reason behind important
decision fee structures and policy
[53:07] changes. There are currently significant
public confusion about the cost such as
[53:12] water tap fees and credit card process
fees. Customers are often unaware that
[53:18] that some of these fees such a credit
such as credit card search charges were
[53:23] previously suspended during the co area
emergency measure and have been
[53:28] reinstated following federal and banking
guidelines. Communicating why these
[53:33] costs exist and eliminating speculation
and misunderstanding while showing
[53:38] residents the decisions are based on
regulations, cost recovery, and
[53:44] financial responsibility. The type of
explanation should be included. Official
[53:49] announcements, city website updates,
social media posts, signage, signage and
[53:55] office and press release with new
policies are implemented. Clear
[53:59] proactive communication will
significantly reduce negative feedback
[54:04] and confusion to the comm
community.
[54:10] Any question? How's it going?
People come in when they their bills and
[54:15] stuff. Are they asking questions about
that?
[54:18] » Not as much as now, I think. Um, you
know, we just did a software conversion
[54:23] a little over a year ago, new system,
different ways. There was a lot of
[54:29] confusion then, not so much anymore.
>> Okay.
[54:33] So, if I could Yes, sir.
>> Your water tap fees.
[54:38] » Yes, sir.
>> I know everything has went up
[54:40] tremendously.
>> Something we need to look has
[54:45] increasing. What is it costing you for
us to go out a new bill here in town?
[54:50] Put a water tap
>> in the city
[54:52] $4,000
20 $4,500 outside the city's $2,500 or
[54:59] one in $3,000.
>> You I mean you just barely get involved
[55:05] that that amount of money. I think
>> I had figured it in a while, but it cost
[55:09] me more money in the city to do a water
tap than it does outside. That's why the
[55:12] city is higher. Why is that?
>> Because you've got asphalt, you've got
[55:18] concrete, you've got all that has to be
put back in when we do taps inside city.
[55:27] You need to go.
>> It wouldn't hurt.
[55:31] [laughter]
>> I didn't It was bucking. I didn't know
[55:34] you still back. Thank you for coming in,
Tom.
[55:37] » Thank y'all.
Learned a lot.
[55:39] » Thank you so much. Thank you. Bye. All
right. Conclusion. The Wala Water
[55:45] Advisory Adoc Committee respectfully
submits this report to improve
[55:50] communications, reduce confusion, and
support both staff and water customers.
[55:55] The committee strongly emphasizes that
the water department employees are
[55:59] dedicated and doing excellent work under
challenging conditions. The
[56:04] recommendations outlined here,
especially improved phone contact
[56:08] options and clear publications, will
directly support them and improve
[56:13] overall customer experience. We
appreciate the opportunity to serve and
[56:18] stand ready to assist the city in
implementing these recommendations. So,
[56:24] um this was
uh these were members of our community
[56:30] that that took this and took a lot of
time to do it and uh we appreciate what
[56:34] they what the time that they uh put into
this. So, I'll make a recommendation
[56:40] like I said for staff to look at this uh
go through one answer the question
[56:46] whether we've already doing it or what
we need to do to fix that. So, and if
[56:50] any of if any of the council members if
y'all got anything on so along with this
[56:57] » I don't I just you know this report came
to us nine months ago and it does look
[57:02] like some of we've made some
improvements since then. turnover going
[57:09] on inside the city at the time and it
was virtually impossible to get this
[57:14] done because I didn't want this or
nobody wanted this to fall by the
[57:17] wayside. So,
>> I was just going to say so I appreciate
[57:21] the time to come back and revisit I just
wanted to make clear that this is not a
[57:25] report that was just brought to us
recently. This is a report brought to us
[57:28] several months ago and that improvements
have, you know, some improvements have
[57:32] been made in some of these areas.
>> Some of them have actually been
[57:34] implemented.
[57:40] That's all we got on that. So
[57:49] right now I want to look at this wall
reorgation utilities reorganization.
[57:54] So this was
[57:58] this is the background. The Wala
utilities department department serves
[58:03] over 7,000 customers. I think it's a
little bit
[58:06] by now are providing water treatment,
water distribution and sewer collection.
[58:11] Approximately 75% of these customers
reside outside the city limits of Wala.
[58:17] Wala owns and operates its own water
facility which has commenced operations
[58:24] in the fall of 2020. The facility was
funded by 20 million dollar revenue bond
[58:30] issued in 2018.
The utility staff manages all as of the
[58:35] system uh including treatment,
maintenance like trucking, rightway
[58:41] [snorts] maintenance, meter reading,
billing, collection and waste off water.
[58:46] Uh the department is currently led by a
director who reports to the city
[58:51] administrator. Is that still correct?
>> Yes.
[58:54] » Okay. Proposal [clears throat]
uh administration hand is proposed that
[58:59] the utility director be reassigned to to
report directly to the city council.
[59:04] Council would then be responsible for
providing direction, hiring, firing, and
[59:09] receiving reports from the director.
This change would likely necess necessit
[59:15] nec necessitate
>> necessitate.
[59:19] » That's a hard one.
>> It is minor ordinance amendments. The
[59:23] primary objective of this modification
is not to diminish the role of the city
[59:27] administrator, but rather alleviate
their workload. [snorts] Given the
[59:31] substantial size of the utility system
and added complex financial management
[59:36] related to the 2018 revenue bond, it is
proposed to offer the utilities director
[59:44] an employment contract. The measure will
provide security for the director offer
[59:48] incentives and aid in recruiting and
retaining high quality measures. So I'm
[59:54] just what I'm saying this is just these
are just ideas and we can talk about it.
[59:59] » I have one comment. I think that um
doing that
[1:00:06] having us responsible as though we were
managers of the water system instead of
[1:00:11] a professional city manager is a recipe
for disaster. I think we already have
[1:00:16] the hiring and firing authority, but
>> I agree with you on that. I just want to
[1:00:19] do that and then let them run the day
that I operate. So I don't do that. But
[1:00:24] » we have hiring and firing authority now
department heads and I think we let the
[1:00:29] administrator take care administrator
though.
[1:00:32] » I'm still I still
[1:00:38] [snorts]
>> we do they still report the
[1:00:40] administrator on dayto-day operations.
Otherwise, we'd have to rotate days with
[1:00:44] each one.
>> But the hiring needs hiring and refining
[1:00:48] doesn't need to go a department head
>> that changed July 1st.
[1:00:54] » Yes. Okay.
>> Yeah. So that that's
[1:00:58] out there. Um
[1:01:02] » currently the utility budget is
consolidated with the city's overall
[1:01:07] budget. Given that the utility budget
operates as an enterprise fund, it is
[1:01:12] proposed that it be separated into its
own distinct budget and managed
[1:01:18] independently from the city's overall
budget. Fund accounts would no longer be
[1:01:23] co-mingled, which will enhance financial
transparency and allow the independent
[1:01:28] accounting of funds. This change would
not prohibit movement of funds between
[1:01:33] different accounts. Furthermore,
separation is expected to provide
[1:01:37] comfort to the bond rating agencies and
bond holders. So,
[1:01:43] » already separated. [snorts]
>> I'm just in there. I just want people's
[1:01:47] got questions and stuff, so we can
answer this.
[1:01:53] [clears throat]
>> You're reporting on reading what we
[1:01:55] already
>> know, but everybody's still got
[1:01:57] questions and stuff. Nobody's, you know,
putting it out there. That way when we
[1:02:01] take it to council then we can we can
say what we've already done. These are
[1:02:05] stuff I hear already now about the you
know about the water fund and stuff like
[1:02:10] » I guess I mean you just described the
structure.
[1:02:14] » Appreciate you bringing it up.
>> I do appreciate you bringing it up.
[1:02:17] Absolutely. That gives us a chance to
actually explain that
[1:02:21] » yeah that's just a lot of questions out
there right now and um we we may have
[1:02:26] already done this but I just wanted to
bring it up again. We take it to council
[1:02:31] this fight to counc make a
recommendation take this vote then then
[1:02:35] we can go through it again and put out
there what we've already done and and
[1:02:40] looking at it right there
[1:02:45] in conjunction with the aforementioned
changes it is recommended to establish a
[1:02:49] wala utilities advisory board this board
will be tasked advising the utility
[1:02:55] directors the city council with revenue
customers in the respective
[1:03:00] The board would comp comprise a utility
committee chair and a representative
[1:03:05] from each of the following areas inside
the city limits of Coney County Council
[1:03:10] District 1, Okone County County District
Two and Oak County Council District 5.
[1:03:17] Specific prospective representatives
will be required to apply for the seat
[1:03:22] similar to the process for the planning
commission and board of zoning appeal.
[1:03:27] Additionally, representative must be a
WA utilities customer and reside within
[1:03:32] district they represent. The advisory
board would operate within a leg without
[1:03:37] legislative or executive powers. This
initiative aims to provide for customers
[1:03:42] residing outside the city limits to
voice their concerns and have direct
[1:03:47] representation of the city.
So the recogn reorganization of the
[1:03:54] proposal for wildlife to improve
administrative efficiency, financial
[1:04:00] transparency, and public engagement. Key
recommendations include the utility u
[1:04:07] uh they've already changed all that
report directly to the uh city council.
[1:04:12] I don't agree with that anymore. They
need they need that's something I want I
[1:04:17] don't want to hide nothing here. I want
to put it out here so everybody knows
[1:04:20] it. Then we can discuss it at the
council meeting if this if we vote to
[1:04:24] move this on um directly to the city
council and reduce the city
[1:04:28] administrator's workload and enhance
oversight separating the utility budget
[1:04:33] into independent uh enterprise fund and
better financially clarity and bond
[1:04:39] assurance and establishing a wall
utilities board to provide direct
[1:04:44] customer representation especially those
outside the city limits without any
[1:04:49] legislative organized power. So there's
nobody bringing in
[1:05:00] a very good idea.
>> You got one from each council
[1:05:04] represented outside. I think it's a very
good idea that I do think is a good
[1:05:08] idea. The other
>> one already
[1:05:13] » I put that out there to bring it more.
[1:05:18] I don't know if a lot of people
understand that right now or know that
[1:05:21] we've done that. So, can I'm going to
ask that we move this to a full council
[1:05:27] meeting and uh I make a motion and then
at that time then we can discuss this uh
[1:05:35] we can [clears throat] discuss what we
you know we've already made these or we
[1:05:38] don't want this or we don't want or we
want that and then move on.
[1:05:42] » So, I think we are discussing that now.
And so I believe with the administration
[1:05:47] change proposal here, there is no change
to be proposed. We're already doing it
[1:05:52] the same. Okay.
>> And with the budget, there is no change
[1:05:55] to be proposed. We're already doing it
this way. So I mean, I think that
[1:06:00] everybody on council has a copy of this
and we've now discussed it publicly. But
[1:06:05] what I would
but what I would love to move to full
[1:06:10] counsel and definitely support is public
engagement piece of this. um which is
[1:06:15] the utilities advisory board. So um
[1:06:21] I would I would love to support moving
that to full council.
[1:06:27] » Okay.
>> So I'll make a motion to propose the
[1:06:30] public engagement piece of this
reorganization to full counsel.
[1:06:36] I'll say
[1:06:45] that
[1:06:54] to talk about work orders
and how we how we're doing that right
[1:06:58] now. Uh work orders. I would like for a
work order to be to the council every
[1:07:04] month. It us it will help us as council
to see what the problems were during the
[1:07:09] month doing this. Keep us in the know
and if we need to take any actions as
[1:07:13] far as council we can do that. Is that a
possibility of doing that or do you see
[1:07:18] a problem with that or
>> there's to my knowledge a work order is
[1:07:22] being issued on every complaint. So
>> okay
[1:07:25] » that'll be easy to pull and print.
>> Okay, sounds good. Um see
[1:07:33] I would also flushing I'd like to see a
report of of our problem areas uh areas
[1:07:39] where flushing is constantly needed so
that we can uh look at the system that
[1:07:45] and keep it flush. We may be able to
look at automatic systems.
[1:07:49] Do we have somebody that's dedicated to
this
[1:07:53] » water does that? Okay. Um
let's see. documentation or record of a
[1:08:01] line or hyd.
[1:08:24] I'm saying like if somebody's got a
problem with say their water's dirty or
[1:08:28] they called in I'd like to see where
that's documented that way we can back
[1:08:33] and say hey we did this at this time on
this day.
[1:08:37] would be included in the work order
[1:08:42] and it is included.
We go out. We have a lot of bus. We have
[1:08:47] to places,
>> okay,
[1:08:49] » and pull samples. That's part of the
boil water. When I water come back on, I
[1:08:53] have to flush the water and we have to
pull samples. We have to check on site,
[1:08:58] make sure we got it. We pull samples. We
take them out, do the test.
[1:09:07] » And so, if I understand it right, the
the logging or the keeping track of that
[1:09:14] Turn in the sample it's attached to it.
It knows
[1:09:17] » we have to put where we
[1:09:21] » in a log book.
>> But if somebody just called in and it's
[1:09:25] like why you just going around doing
stuff on that too,
[1:09:33] not additional log. Correct. It be
harder to pull monthly report.
[1:09:38] » I was just going to add that it's great
to have this information so we can
[1:09:43] identify
So when we get we know what areas need
[1:09:46] to work first
>> and having this information together
[1:09:49] helps
>> I can get that information.
[1:10:08] [clears throat] And the last thing I've
got is a flag pole right here city hall.
[1:10:12] So, we need
>> I know that this has also been you got
[1:10:17] to have a ladder to get up there. I
wonder if we can fit that where it's
[1:10:21] easier for somebody to go out there and
and to make it easier to do that. So, if
[1:10:27] we can get that
[1:10:33] second.
[1:10:36] » All right.
Next up, parks, recreation, and tourism
[1:10:39] committee. Miss Bunning, chair, Miss
Melind, Sarah E, are you still with us?
[1:10:44] » I don't
Sarah E.
[1:10:51] » We may have lost her. I got I got Siri
on here instead.
[1:10:56] [laughter]
>> Oh, no.
[1:10:59] » And Mr. Grant. So, Miss Money, take it
away.
[1:11:01] » All right. I like to call this meeting
to order and welcome. Um, I'll go ahead
[1:11:06] and call Mr. forward um for a piece of
this. Um but first on the action
[1:11:12] discussion items is our park tours and
events director search. Just a reminder
[1:11:16] that that posting is live. It closes um
September 11th. Um we do have some um
[1:11:23] applicants um sitting there. Um so I
would like to request that our next
[1:11:29] school council that um have that on the
agenda to go through those applicants.
[1:11:36] parks tourism parks tourism and events
director
[1:11:42] » and it is posted on the website and as
well as the municipal associating Mr.
[1:11:48] Is that the MC website? [snorts]
>> Um,
[1:11:53] that's it for that. Fallation
has
[1:11:58] » Yes, I printed out uh each schedule.
This is all my games that are being
[1:12:05] played on the second page.
>> And you went live in the new center last
[1:12:11] night.
>> Oh, yeah.
[1:12:12] » Yeah, we're going to talk about that,
too.
[1:12:14] » Cool.
>> So, this is kind of master schedule,
[1:12:18] right? Everything. I love this.
>> So, you'll see that uh it's colorcoded.
[1:12:24] That's from soccer to 15 soccer to all
baseball and softball for this year.
[1:12:32] It might change, but that's what I have
going on right now.
[1:12:42] » Thursday.
>> Any questions on the schedule? The first
[1:12:46] time that we've been given a master
schedule. So, this is this is Yeah, this
[1:12:50] is awesome. So, now when you don't have
anything to do, you know where you can
[1:12:54] go and and and support our young
athletes.
[1:12:57] » Um and then tournaments. Can you fill us
in on the tournament schedule?
[1:13:01] » Uh yes. Uh so, right now they're are
trying to do a Oak County Tur volleyball
[1:13:10] and softball. No, sorry. Uh,
volleyball and soccer. That will be
[1:13:26] they're trying to do it the week of um
October 12th through the 16th. Um,
[1:13:33] obviously I've notified each department
that obviously we will have October
[1:13:37] Fest. I did tell them that I could host
eight and 10 soccer because that is at
[1:13:41] Memorial Field. and also volleyball. So,
I'm trying to push that so I Waller can
[1:13:46] actually host something uh with that.
And then the next
[1:13:53] after that, that's when baseball and
softball will be played. That's just
[1:13:57] county tournament. So,
>> and then are we going to host a Super
[1:14:03] Saturday?
>> Uh yes. So, right now, uh my plan is a
[1:14:08] Super Saturday. Uh obviously changed it.
Um
[1:14:13] I'm trying to shoot for September 26th.
Um, the reason I did that Saturday,
[1:14:20] uh, just because a lot of people know
that goes to football games that Friday
[1:14:24] night they're playing or it's either
Thursday or Friday. So that frees up a
[1:14:28] Saturday. Um,
so that's that's where I'm looking at.
[1:14:33] I'm going to try to do basically all the
sports that are going on. Obviously,
[1:14:38] it's not fair to, you know, leave one
out. We'll try to do it across the
[1:14:44] board, which I've kind of did a rough
draft. Um, I think I can do it all in
[1:14:49] one day.
>> And we're going to pull in the BRT
[1:14:52] Foundation to help us with gate.
>> Yes. Yes.
[1:15:08] » Um, okay. So, we'll move on to the
community center. um modification and
[1:15:13] and grand opening. So, we'll start with
the modification piece. So, kind of two
[1:15:17] things that we want to discuss tonight.
We had a first volleyball game there
[1:15:24] last night. There was excitement in the
air. I know that mayor went I know Mr.
[1:15:28] Pson was [clears throat] also there. Um
and we noticed right off the bat that
[1:15:33] parking is at a pre down there. We did
have some folks not have a parking
[1:15:37] space. Um and so we need to start
looking at what we can parking overflow.
[1:15:42] U Mr. and I did talk today about some of
the the the bank like the bank parking
[1:15:48] there when they're um not open. There is
some parking available there with the
[1:15:54] sidewalk that goes to the front. Um but
we may need to look at doing some type
[1:15:58] of
[1:16:01] » parking area overflow parking.
>> One one thing too is I was looking at
[1:16:06] today um which I've
about too is uh there's a sidewalk that
[1:16:13] goes
supposed to go all the way to Open Door.
[1:16:17] I guess that's behind there,
>> but it does not. It stops apparently.
[1:16:22] » I guess I know I think John is here, but
apparently we we don't own that land
[1:16:28] that's to open doors. So, they stop.
There's a sidewalk that's just
[1:16:33] um I know last night when I came there
was people parked everywhere. Um and
[1:16:41] even on the side and you and Mr. Mayor,
we talked that night too. But my biggest
[1:16:47] concern is if I have an emergency, how's
fire? How's EMS? How are they going to
[1:16:52] get um
>> and obviously a volleyball night is not
[1:16:56] as busy as a basketball game per se. So,
we need to jump on this. So,
[1:17:03] » especially too like last night when
y'all saw that's just one game when
[1:17:08] basketball's going on. I mean, I'll have
six games a night there. So, that's
[1:17:13] going to be
>> obviously not all at the same time.
[1:17:16] » Um, so I think at this point we're just
going to ask staff to kind of come up
[1:17:20] with some ideas for a solution on this.
>> Make you aware. The other modification
[1:17:27] that we wanted to discuss was um and
I'll just let you
[1:17:32] » So my idea was um I proposed to tent the
windows there obviously to make it
[1:17:40] cooler. Um also
in our office area I have my office
[1:17:47] which is just one door but
I have contacted three companies. I've
[1:17:53] got quotes for that. Um, but you can see
out, but you can't see in. But reason I
[1:18:01] would like for it to be tinted is I'm
going to have documents in there, birth
[1:18:05] certificates,
meetings, you know, all this kind of
[1:18:10] stuff.
>> May I ask what are the quotes?
[1:18:12] » Uh, the quotes, um, there's three
quotes.
[1:18:17] Uh, the smallest one was $4,500.
Uh that was um the police officer, Mr.
[1:18:24] Mario. Um and then the other ones were
48 and $100.
[1:18:31] » I think this would be something, Madam
Chair, if I make that could be brought
[1:18:34] up with the administrator. Um it's under
$10,000. He can find money.
[1:18:40] » Well, I believe there's still money
sitting in the construction account.
[1:18:46] » Yeah. And that's what I was gonna
The only thing with Mr. Mario, uh,
[1:18:52] obviously he's the smallest bid, but the
only thing he asked is if we do go with
[1:18:57] him. He did ask if check 500 that pays
for the tent and everything for stuff to
[1:19:02] get going. And then he said that he
would do it on a Saturday or Sunday, did
[1:19:07] knock it out. Other ones, uh, they're
probably,
[1:19:12] um, about two months. And like me, Miss
Jesse's talked about, I'd love to get
[1:19:17] that done. So whenever we do a grand
opening and everything like that. So he
[1:19:23] is the smallest amount and he's the
fastest is what he's told me. So
[1:19:29] » we will leave that up to you and you can
work with Mr. P to get that done.
[1:19:35] » Um any other questions [cough]
[clears throat] grand opening?
[1:19:40] » What I have down is um September 18th,
that's on a Friday night. um 6 to 8
[1:19:48] maybe. Uh I did check with Wala High
School. Uh they are at Liberty that
[1:19:54] night. So there is not a home game in
that day.
[1:19:57] » September 18th is on a Friday.
>> We scoured the calendar.
[1:20:02] » September is tough and busy.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Please make sure that
[1:20:07] Senator Alexander represent
>> Yeah. I've been in contact with Hogan,
[1:20:11] got in contact with him. Um, and I kind
of gave them two dates or whatever. I
[1:20:18] was either leaning on the 18th or the
19th, but I know we have a big event,
[1:20:22] uh, the 19th. Uh, so the 18th I kind of
base it off of, you know, I know a lot
[1:20:27] of people, you know, hometown here, they
want to go to Friday night football
[1:20:30] games.
U with that um I kind of wrote some
[1:20:35] ideas uh kind of do like hot dogs and
hamburgers, shaved ice, cold peanuts,
[1:20:40] have water and then I've reached out to
a company well going to about blowups
[1:20:46] and just you know having stuff out there
and you know just give to the community
[1:20:52] everything would be free. Um also I've
talked going to talk with the foundation
[1:20:59] see if they can help with all that kind
of stuff.
[1:21:02] » And this will be an open house type.
>> Yes. So people can walk through, see
[1:21:06] what it's all about. Um,
you know, just have a good two hours. I
[1:21:12] mean, I just put 16 and I could be
longer, but I mean, I think two hours is
[1:21:18] good just to have kids around.
>> That's plenty
[1:21:21] » just to count just to just to see how
things
[1:21:25] » sounds good. [snorts]
[1:21:30] Oh, yep. We're back. Yes. M
[1:21:34] » ran out, so I had to pull in another
correctly. It was going to be on the
[1:21:41] 19th, I mean 18. So, it's going to be
back to back events when it comes to
[1:21:46] Super Saturday on a Saturday. And then
Friday, [snorts] we're going to have the
[1:21:50] grand opening.
>> No.
[1:21:52] » Uh the grand opening I'm looking at is
September 18th. That's a Friday. Um, and
[1:21:58] then the super Saturday is September 26,
which is on Saturday.
[1:22:05] » Okay. So, Super Saturday got changed.
>> Yes, ma'am. I think you missed that when
[1:22:09] you were on the off the line, offline.
>> Okay. Okay, that's good to know. I
[1:22:15] didn't realize it got changed. I think
it was September 19 was the the last
[1:22:20] time I
>> Yeah, that's what we're going to push
[1:22:23] for, but obviously some things change
and I've been told that Saturday's plan.
[1:22:41] » Oh, yeah. Yeah.
>> Yeah. That's
[1:22:46] That's why
>> do we have a budget for the community
[1:22:49] events? Is that what we're going to
discuss as well, Jesse? But the opening
[1:22:53] » for the grand opening.
>> Um, right now we're working with sponsor
[1:22:57] » working with sponsorships and uh he's
going to reach out to the PRT
[1:23:01] Foundation.
[1:23:05] » Okay. As far as sponsorships, have them
already like in tears or is that just
[1:23:10] talking individually? Every company gets
how much? I don't know that it's going
[1:23:14] to be monetary sponsorships. I think
he's looking at donation type
[1:23:17] sponsorships.
>> Yeah, I've uh I've reached out to uh
[1:23:22] I've actually talked about the shaved
ice
[1:23:26] couple months ago. Um but I think it's
Tikis or something like that. And uh
[1:23:32] I've already I've already talked to a
guy for Bold Peanuts. When I went to
[1:23:35] watch all the teams played at Synica's
opening day, he told me that date would
[1:23:39] be good. obviously have to have space
with him, but hamburgers and hot dogs. I
[1:23:43] mean, maybe you can ask the foundation
or
[1:23:46] even pay out of my pocket just just for,
you know, just to get back.
[1:23:52] » Anything else?
[1:23:58] » Okay. Upcoming events. Um, just wanted
to touch base with uh Hispanic Heritage
[1:24:03] Festival. I know that the cultural has
been hard at work. Um, Miss Kathy is
[1:24:08] here too as the um, staff liaison. Um,
and I know that there's a meeting set up
[1:24:13] with department heads to make sure
everything's in place. Miss Melendez, I
[1:24:17] didn't know if you wanted to add
anything um, as far as that festival
[1:24:20] goes.
Will be happening on September 19th.
[1:24:27] » Um, no, just the fact that I don't know
if the numbers are all in yet, but I
[1:24:31] know Kathy has been doing a great job in
her role. So, I think we're up to 4,000
[1:24:37] or maybe 5,000 that were fundraised. Um,
so we'll have clear numbers.
[1:24:43] » 4,08.
>> How much?
[1:24:45] » 4,080 and sponsorships, 8,000 for the
funded from the city. Um, so good job.
[1:24:54] Yes. And they are way under budget right
now. Good to hear. Good job.
[1:25:01] Anything else on that?
>> I only have John for our meeting this
[1:25:08] Sunday. I don't know if you had any
quick update
[1:25:12] who else going to be in attendance.
>> Um I have received a a accepted from all
[1:25:18] department heads from all departments
just to go over to make sure that we are
[1:25:22] all on the same page. Yes, ma'am.
>> And this is organizational meeting for
[1:25:28] Hispanic Heritage.
>> That's correct.
[1:25:31] » Yes. It's a typical special type meeting
that is that that
[1:25:37] typically has for all events.
>> Yes.
[1:25:42] » All right. Moving on to um signage at
Sertoma. So, this is kind of two
[1:25:47] conversation. There's um some signs have
been here for all of our parks, but
[1:25:51] specifically Tacoma um that will be
going up soon. Um some of them are just
[1:25:56] like the field numbers so that folks
that haven't been to Saroma um for the
[1:26:01] first time will know where to find uh
their age group playing um and those are
[1:26:07] in the works of being um put up.
Correct.
[1:26:12] » I think so. You have you have the signs,
don't you? The signs
[1:26:18] may be messed up. I believe I had
>> I'll check.
[1:26:22] » Okay. Um, and the other piece is the
sign that's at the road at Soma, if
[1:26:29] you've driven by it lately, has kind of
it's seen its better days. Um, the
[1:26:34] Wallala October Fest committee has um
offered to replace that sign at no
[1:26:40] [snorts] cost to the city. Um, and has
actually already gotten materials
[1:26:44] donated. We um allow them to do that.
Um, it would go back with being the same
[1:26:50] size 4T by 8 foot. wooden frame. Um, I
did a rough draft. This is just a rough
[1:26:56] draft. So, I I welcome feedback. Um, but
looking at something like this. Um, and
[1:27:05] so, of course, this will have to go make
sure that it fits our signed ordinance.
[1:27:11] Um, but just wanted to bring that.
Um I don't know that that necessarily
[1:27:18] requires any action other than you know
that um I can take back the October Fest
[1:27:24] committee that that we're good with
placing that sign
[1:27:31] » in for committee members but has my
blessing
[1:27:36] » I think it looks wonderful
>> appar
[1:27:43] the business that has offered to donate
materials.
[1:27:50] » All I have recalled
[1:27:59] on there that are anxious to start
building
[1:28:04] » one. Can I ask one bonus question? Uh
the RFQ for the new we've got money now
[1:28:09] for the new bridge. We know when
>> I do not know the answer to that.
[1:28:16] » We have a motion.
>> Yes.
[1:28:18] » Oh, favor. Motion carries.
>> Anyone want to take a break?
[1:28:24] » Absolutely.
[1:28:28] » Okay.
>> All right.
[1:28:31] All those safety committee meet
[1:28:37] » and Mr.
So, first on the agenda,
[1:28:43] careless driving ordinance,
judge,
[1:28:50] bring that out.
>> I'm sorry.
[1:28:59] » I'm fine right here. Honestly, um I
wanted to uh bring this up to council
[1:29:06] for a good while. Um You may or may not
know this, but a Wal Municipal Court is
[1:29:13] a summary level court where uh the
police officers are actually the
[1:29:20] prosecuting officers.
And so they have the discretion, you
[1:29:25] know, there's not an assigned solicitor.
It's their discretion in how they act or
[1:29:31] proceed in a plea agreement or anything
else. and um they do engage in the
[1:29:37] agreements. Um I do want to there are
some things that I may not be able to
[1:29:42] speak about as a judge and I just hope
y'all just give me some grace on that.
[1:29:46] Uh but I'm going to speak on what I can
or I believe I'm able to. But I'm asking
[1:29:52] for the driving ordinance to be amended
to match what uh statutoily allowed for
[1:30:00] my court. Um and the basis of that is
that there's been uh different times
[1:30:06] where the officers have made proposals
and um they would want to use that
[1:30:13] ordinance and I would have I I've had to
deny and it's just for several reasons
[1:30:20] and I'm not going into exact reasons or
anything major but I do know that
[1:30:27] um that is one of the officers preferred
go to But I also try to make sure
[1:30:35] however I make my decision it follows
the sense of justice and that's probably
[1:30:40] about as far as I can say on that. Um
currently it is allowed for $50 to $100
[1:30:48] and when you you know u fine
for when you add fees and assessments
[1:30:55] that is between $1586
to 25750.
[1:31:01] So if you match it to the actual uh
statuto allowance, then if someone for
[1:31:07] whatever reason has a let's say a
stating less than 10 miles over and
[1:31:13] they're asking for some sort of
alternative, the officer is agreement,
[1:31:18] they bring it to me, you know, I have to
go, well, I hear what you're saying, but
[1:31:22] we're going to have to double it, double
the fine just so that they can address
[1:31:27] that or have that possibility. So I'm
asking for just some grace to uh give
[1:31:34] the court some discretion and allow the
office to have a wild wider discretion
[1:31:39] in making proposals. I'm also asking
that the statement where
[1:31:46] um it is for first time offenders is
removed.
[1:31:50] Uh these officers know the citizens of
Wala and even just those that travel
[1:31:55] through other bases, you know. Um I
remember one of the officers had asked
[1:32:01] for um
had asked or was doing up on one issue
[1:32:06] and you know the officer said on the
record and that's you know why I'm
[1:32:09] saying that was on the record but um he
said hey this this gentleman you know
[1:32:14] has had some problems in the past he
he's not a first time offender he's had
[1:32:18] some problems in the last couple years
he's been really good about trying to
[1:32:23] stick to the law do what he has to do he
doesn't want to get caught up in a
[1:32:26] snowball event with you know, certain
things like if you get too many points,
[1:32:32] you get your uh license suspended. Also
get an additional $100 fine at the DMV
[1:32:38] and then if you have another charge and
it just kind of snowballs if you are,
[1:32:42] you know, living hand
on this event, you know, or monthly. It
[1:32:49] just allows people and the officers have
additional options. So, I don't know if
[1:32:54] y'all have any other questions for me.
[1:33:07] No, I don't.
[1:33:11] » Well, if y'all don't mind, I'm actually
a bond.
[1:33:20] » There is one I think.
>> Yes, that I had just suggested. It's
[1:33:24] just like match What's in section one-1
for the city ordinances penalties
[1:33:33] ordinance
>> appear
[1:33:37] in 1998?
>> Yes. So
[1:33:43] I have personally written this citation.
It was not on first time offenders
[1:33:50] as a police officer. I had no idea that
that was in here. So I think she has
[1:33:56] brought something to our attention that
needs to be addressed.
[1:34:04] Most of the time
my experience David yours too
[1:34:10] help me here.
If this was written most of the time it
[1:34:15] was written to
help the person out so to speak because
[1:34:19] there's no point with violation.
[1:34:24] I guess
is just
[1:34:29] something that we can approve.
[1:34:33] » Yeah. So, let's uh
move
[1:34:38] that motion.
All in favor of accept this motion.
[1:34:52] » Along the chief
come on and give us a update on the
[1:34:59] police department.
[clears throat]
[1:35:04] We got
you guys
[1:35:17] not extravagant, but it's kind of a
quick update on it. I won't keep you
[1:35:23] guys too long on that portion.
U [clears throat] look look through it.
[1:35:30] Uh some of you have visited the building
recently and it looks completely
[1:35:34] different than it did not too long ago.
So things are moving pretty pretty
[1:35:39] rapidly there. Uh I've been in contact
with M. He's our superintendent on site.
[1:35:45] He's been uh wonderful and gracious,
very helpful with that stuff.
[1:35:49] always excited to to walk us through
what's going on next. So, if any of you
[1:35:53] guys want to take a tour, there's hard
hats and vest in there. You want them to
[1:35:58] come at any time. They're they're very
accommodating with that. Uh right now on
[1:36:02] site, [clears throat] there's there's a
lot of people moving. Uh when you go in
[1:36:08] there, you you'll understand the hard
hat and the vest because there's just
[1:36:11] people everywhere and teams working on
this and another team working on that.
[1:36:14] So, the electrical is going up. You go
in, you'll notice the the metal stud
[1:36:19] walls are all up. The majority of the
drywall, I think it's at 100% completion
[1:36:24] on the the upper portions of that we
above the ceiling. Next, they're going
[1:36:28] to come in and start doing the
insulation and drywall on the lower
[1:36:33] portion. So, it's it's moving rapidly.
Um
[1:36:38] there is some things we're looking at
with changes and stuff as they come,
[1:36:41] whether it be uh the water tanks, water
heaters, and things, things like that
[1:36:46] discussion. We have another meeting
tomorrow morning. I got to bring Mr.
[1:36:50] Pollson up to speed on where we're at
with that stuff.
[1:36:54] We're just kind of taking it go. It's
little things that come up. Concrete.
[1:36:59] Supposed to start the curb in here soon
for the front of it. The uh the windows
[1:37:03] are in. I think they're at 95%.
I think they're at 95% completion on
[1:37:10] those. I think that last the the bay
window toward the the side of the back
[1:37:15] is the I think we on that. So, it's
starting to you can kind of see the
[1:37:22] vision now if you start walking through
it. It's coming together. We're hoping
[1:37:27] Christmas in there. That's no guarantee,
but we are hoping that
[1:37:32] spend Christmas in there. So, it's
moving along moving along quickly.
[1:37:38] » Mr. Chair, I will add to that. I went
into the structure yesterday with uh our
[1:37:43] new city administrator and we took a
look at it and that place is a lot
[1:37:48] bigger on the out on the inside than it
is on the outside. There's a visual play
[1:37:52] there. You look at the outside, it
doesn't look as big as it does when you
[1:37:55] go inside.
>> It it does. It's a world difference when
[1:37:59] you get in there. And I imagine when you
came and visited us yesterday that it
[1:38:03] really looked big after coming to where
we're at now. Uh yeah,
[1:38:07] » it's there's a lot there's a lot going
on there and you're trying to to get
[1:38:11] every nut and bolt and everything
aligned and you're trying to look months
[1:38:15] down the road to make sure you're you're
choosing everything wisely in the setup
[1:38:19] with that stuff. But then you you slow
down and take a moment and captain I
[1:38:23] actually did that looked around
with us yesterday. Was that your
[1:38:27] impression as well?
[1:38:32] » Yeah, we're uh we're excited about it.
There's There's a lot in the works with
[1:38:37] that. So, we're still leaving anything
to think of. We
[1:38:42] » It's moving along and uh it's looking
good. We're excited.
[1:38:48] » I don't think I've worn a hard hat as
much in my life as I have [laughter]
[1:38:52] over the past few days.
>> And while I may look like I know what
[1:38:56] I'm doing out there, don't.
>> I got a quick quick question.
[1:39:02] » Yes, sir.
>> I had a a citizen call the other day.
[1:39:05] used to back in the day when I was in
the city with the the uh
[1:39:10] street lights. Is there maybe one I used
to I it was hard for me to look at them
[1:39:16] every night cuz I was looking for other
stuff. But is there one that is there a
[1:39:20] way that y'all can pick out maybe one
night through the month or so we can
[1:39:24] identify street lights that are out?
>> Yeah, absolutely.
[1:39:28] » Okay. Yeah, we put that down.
>> Write the number down and so
[1:39:33] I didn't It's kind of hard to do that
every night. You're looking for
[1:39:36] something and but it's maybe on a Sunday
night and whatever night y'all want to
[1:39:39] pick or that's up to y'all. But
>> yeah, I'll get one of the night chef
[1:39:42] crew.
>> We used to take a like a yellow caution
[1:39:47] tape and put it around the telephone
pole and get the number off and that way
[1:39:51] they
does that or the street lights. Who does
[1:39:56] the street lights? Could you could you
is that a good way to do that or
[1:40:01] » Yeah, I mean either bring it to me or
let me know about it or they can actual
[1:40:06] citiz can go on the website Duke Power
website and it has a place on there you
[1:40:12] can
>> Okay, I want I will I'll let the
[1:40:17] gentleman that call me know that also.
So, thank you.
[1:40:24] » All right. Y'all have any questions on
the building?
[1:40:28] I guess next thing we're going to show
you.
[1:40:33] Uh, next thing we got is our Axon bodywn
cameras. And these are our body cams
[1:40:38] that everybody's familiar with.
[laughter]
[1:40:43] » So,
man, you got a [laughter]
[1:40:47] tas
[1:40:51] stop.
[laughter]
[1:40:54] I do want to point out if anybody heard
a loud roboting voice in the lobby a
[1:40:58] little bit ago, I apologize. This was a
lot louder than I thought it was.
[1:41:01] [laughter]
>> So, uh, again, that's our body cameras.
[1:41:04] I've worn them for years when all that
kind of changed years ago. What we found
[1:41:10] in meeting with Axon trying to work
through some things with them.
[1:41:13] [clears throat] Uh, they offer a
translator app which has proven we were
[1:41:17] able to move shift some things around
that we weren't utilizing as much as I
[1:41:21] guess previously that we thought we
would. and we're able to uh talk them
[1:41:25] into giving us this translator app for
no more additional money or anything
[1:41:29] like that. And it has proven to be very
beneficial to our our team. We were
[1:41:34] going to demonstrate that with you guys
real quick. So that's all right.
[1:41:39] » Real quick, I got to ask does anybody
speak any other languages?
[1:41:43] That's fine. I'm going to use
>> a few.
[1:41:47] » We got We got Miss Melendez if she wants
to try it also. But do you have it
[1:41:51] turned on now?
>> Not right now. We can try it on there
[1:41:53] and see if it recognizes that list. All
right, that list,
[1:41:58] can you hear me?
[1:42:19] Um, so real quick,
so the nifty thing about this is we can
[1:42:24] if I walk up and I'm speak and I know
what they're speaking. I just I don't
[1:42:28] speak that language. I can tell the
axon, hey, this is the language I'm
[1:42:32] trying to speak with. If someone starts
talking to me and I have no idea what
[1:42:36] language they're speaking, I say auto
detect. and the camera will hear them
[1:42:40] talking. You figure out, okay, they're
speaking this. I will automatically
[1:42:43] switch this and it'll start translating.
So, I'm gonna try it with you.
[1:42:49] Give it a shot.
>> Yes, sir.
[1:42:51] » Dealing with people on calls and things
like that.
[1:42:55] » So, we hit the side button and connects
to the assistant. Once it's fully
[1:42:59] connected, it'll tell you
>> translation. Hold button, say translate
[1:43:04] to X or detect, then release button.
[1:43:10] translate to Spanish.
>> Language set to Spanish.
[1:43:15] » So, give me one second.
[1:43:19] » Hello, I'm Captain Car with the Waldo
Police Department. I'm going to be using
[1:43:22] my Axon body camera to translate this.
Once it is done speaking, I will press
[1:43:26] the button again. I will have you speak
into the camera that I can understand
[1:43:29] what you're saying.
[1:43:51] Go ahead.
[1:44:02] » Very well. Thank you, police. I need
help. I'm lost.
[1:44:08] » You need to spice that up a little bit.
Sarah [laughter]
[1:44:11] » translation.
>> Button.
[1:44:14] » Say translate to X or auto detect
>> then release button.
[1:44:18] » You want
>> So for us,
[1:44:22] » that's you.
>> I we when I was there, we had I called
[1:44:26] it was our Spanish book. It was a little
book and we'd have to stand there and I
[1:44:32] would you'd have to read you'd have to
show them and they have to read or we'd
[1:44:38] have to have an interpreter and a lot of
law enforcement Spanish things it's more
[1:44:43] enforcement or you know this or that
where if we have a victim of a crime
[1:44:49] this thing's going to help us
tremendously help them feel more
[1:44:52] comfortable and able to you know to
understand what's going on. It's already
[1:44:55] proven to be very useful for us and our
team. So, we're we're excited about it.
[1:45:00] We want to get that out there to the
citizens so they know we do have those
[1:45:04] capabilities and every officer in the
body cam has that capability. Now,
[1:45:08] » you use an investigation also. So,
you're in an investigation. We used to
[1:45:12] have an interpreter. So,
>> yes. And all that's recorded. So, no
[1:45:15] matter what they say, everything's
recorded. So once yeah once the you
[1:45:20] start that's late and you start
discussing with someone the axon
[1:45:22] automatically starts recording that that
way it's not something you forget and
[1:45:26] it's not just Spanish there's a
multitude of language it's Russian
[1:45:30] German Mandarin it's multiple so
a lot of people interact with that could
[1:45:36] possibly speak another language we can
understand now and it's much quicker
[1:45:40] than having someone respond or trying to
call a translator or do something online
[1:45:45] » and all the officers carried
[1:45:50] I really [snorts]
[1:45:54] » I was going to say what I really
appreciated was the prompt that it did
[1:45:57] quickly whenever you were speaking an
English language
[1:46:01] and it was
it was explaining to me in Spanish and
[1:46:05] just listening to it it sounded very
accurate like I understood everything
[1:46:09] that it was saying
because on the tech side over here it
[1:46:13] didn't work as effectively but Yeah,
once I'm in town in person, I would love
[1:46:18] to get with uh you guys to look at it.
>> Yeah, anytime.
[1:46:24] » Well, thank you.
>> Any questions?
[1:46:26] » Awesome.
>> That is really cool.
[1:46:28] » Appreciate you utilizing what you
already have to make it more efficient
[1:46:33] what what y'all are faced with every
day. There's no additional cost to the
[1:46:36] city of juggling the program,
>> moving some things around that we felt
[1:46:40] like this would be more beneficial to
our officers and our citizens than
[1:46:44] another contract we had. So
>> the new ones we
[1:46:51] we know that they're not quite as as
good as they used to be, but but they're
[1:46:56] they hold up.
[1:47:00] So there are charges that you can plug
in, but unless you were recording
[1:47:04] constantly, these will last you the
shift. Um, it's just obviously there's a
[1:47:08] lot more going.
>> Yeah. If you're on a pretty serious call
[1:47:11] where you're out there for hours,
[1:47:17] they're mandated to have that on.
>> Yeah. our they deal with with a member
[1:47:22] of the public in a law enforcement
capacity then they're required to have
[1:47:26] it on.
>> So if you all want to just say hi to
[1:47:29] them doesn't mean they're going to
record you.
[1:47:31] » Yeah. It's a law enforcement capacity.
>> Thank you.
[1:47:38] » All right.
[1:47:48] » And I believe we're all
[1:47:53] S you in favor of the motion to adjurnn?
>> Yes.
[1:47:58] » Yes, sir.