Ephrata pool gets new paint job

EPHRATA — The Splash Zone, the Ephrata city pool, will open on time despite being in the process of getting a new paint job.

City administrator Wes Crago said the need for a new paint job was obvious last summer, so city officials put money aside for the project in the 2015 and 2016 budgets. Recreation and parks director Ray Towry said the cost was about $157,000.

Crago reported on the project at the Ephrata City Council meeting Wednesday, and distributed a sample of the material. “I wouldn’t call it paint,” he said, more of an “epoxy, plasticky coating.”

The project is about a week behind schedule, Crago said. But Towry said that wouldn’t affect the pool opening, scheduled for June 13. That’s a Monday; school’s out the previous Friday, Towry said, but city officials are using the intervening weekend for staff training.

In answer to a question from council member Kathleen Allstot, Towry said material was added to the paint job on the shallow end to improve footing.

In other business, council members approved the purchase of a fire command vehicle.

The city will pay $31,817.22, purchasing the Dodge truck from Barry Chevrolet in Ephrata. The dealer was the only bidder, but when fire chief Jeremy Burns solicited a second bid, the Ephrata dealership had the lower bid, Crago said.

Ephrata voters approved a proposal to buy additional fire equipment, including the command vehicle and a rescue rig. Council members approved the purchase of the rescue rig at the April 20 meeting, at an estimated price of about $139,000. Burns said the rig would take about 280 days to build, with an estimated delivery date in late November or early December.

The council held a public hearing on a revised nuisance ordinance designed to help the city get more of its money back when it must clean up property.

Council members have been discussing the revisions for about a month. The revised ordinance would give the city’s liens against property the same status as property taxes, and make it easier for the city to get its money back, Crago said. The landowner has the right of appeal to Superior Court, and review by an outside party is an advantage to both sides, Crago said. The whole process is easier to understand, he said.

Council members declined to make changes to the city’s ordinances governing cargo containers.

Cargo containers have become popular for storage, Crago said, and there’s been a “rather large uptick” in containers around town, or requests for them. By ordinance they’re only allowed in the industrial district and can be allowed in the commercial zone (C-2) as a conditional use.

Crago said city officials want to start requiring people outside those zones to comply with city rules, but asked if the council wanted to revise the ordinance. Council members said they prefer to stay with the current ordinance. Councilmember Matt Moore said people start out with good intentions of making the containers attractive, but those plans don’t always pan out.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.