Quincy council preps for burn ban

City hears from teen seeking bike track restoration

QUINCY — A representative of the Department of Ecology told the Quincy City Council on Tuesday that new restrictions on outdoor burning will take effect in 2007.

Kary Peterson, an environmental specialist with the DOE, said that starting Jan. 1, 2007, residential burning will be banned in the urban growth area, or UGA, but will not restrict agricultural burning which occurs inside the city.

Washington state's Clean Air Act of 1991 requires the DOE to decrease the amount of backyard burning, because the smoke produced is a health concern for certain segments of the population, Peterson said.

Quincy has a compost facility that's already in operation, which will help residents get rid of backyard waste without burning, Peterson said.

He said that grant money is available to help cover expenses that the rule change will create and to help provide alternatives to burning for city residents.

The DOE will be enforcing the new backyard burning restrictions. The law doesn't change until 2007, but Peterson said the DOE is making an effort to notify residents in advance so they can begin looking for new ways to dispose of yard waste.

The city council also heard from 16-year-old Bill Crane of Quincy who suggested that the city restore its BMX bike track back to its original condition. He said that competitions were once held there that brought riders from Moses Lake, Wenatchee and other areas to Quincy.

The council and Mayor Dick Zimbelman agreed that it would be valuable to the city and also give young people something positive to do.

"We don't even have a theater in this town," Councilmember Tony Gonzalez said.

The mayor and council members all agreed that they would have to discuss the request further with Allan Galbraith, the city attorney, and review the city's insurance coverage.

In regular business, the 2005 street overlay project was approved by the city council.

The contract for the work went to Basin Pavement Company in Moses Lake, and the project is set to cost $673,155. The work would be completed this year.