Basin briefs for Dec. 6, 2019
QUINCY — Central Avenue in Quincy will be closed from D Street to E Street on Monday, Dec. 9 for the annual Christmas Celebration in downtown Quincy at the Rotary Fountain Park. The Quincy City Council approved the road closure during the consent agenda portion of their regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
The Christmas Celebration will happen between 6 and 8 p.m. Participants will get to enjoy the sounds of the season with music provided by Quincy Valley School, the Quincy Community Christmas Choir and others. Hot cocoa and cookies will be provided. A special, jolly, red elf will also make a guest appearance.
In other business, the council approved the purchase of land from the Port of Quincy for the sum of $1,054,550. The land is off 13th Street SW, adjacent to Quincy Valley School. The property is around 30 acres, with a purchase cost of $35,000 per acre. The selling price is below the appraised value. The city is looking to use the land for extending R Street SW and doing stormwater retention and park expansion.
WARDEN — The Washington State Auditor’s office issued a report on Monday, Dec. 2 concerning a finding for the City of Warden.
The audit looked at Jan. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2018.
“The City did not have adequate controls over the allocation of shared costs to restricted funds,” stated the report. “The City did not have a written methodology for how it calculated and charged shared services to all funds and departments. We communicated this issue to City management during the past two audits. However, the steps taken by management did not sufficiently address prior audit recommendations, causing a higher percentage of unsupported administrative costs charged to restricted resources than in prior years.”
“They have policies and methods,” said Kriss Shuler, Warden city clerk. “We had the policy but not the method. We have to get written methods for them. It should be taken care of. When they have those policies, they have to follow them to the tee. That’s what we’re doing.”
The auditor’s reports stated that they appreciated the city’s commitment to resolving the finding and will review the corrective action taken during the next regular audit.
KENNEWICK — The Mid-Columbia Libraries announced in a press release on Nov. 26 that as of Jan. 1, 2020, they will no longer be charging late fees on overdue materials.
“Overdue fines create barriers to using the library for many in the community, especially children and families, therefore reducing access to learning opportunities during periods of critical learning and development,” stated the press release. “MCL wants to ensure all customers —regardless of age, background, or socioeconomic status — have equitable access to MCL’s collections, programs, and services.”
Customers with overdue books will still continue to receive overdue notices and are encouraged to return books in a timely manner. Those customers who have outstanding overdue fees will receive fee forgiveness.
Books that are lost or damaged will continue to be charged to customer’s accounts. The charges are to replace the book so others can continue to enjoy.
The Mid-Columbia Libraries board adopted the new policy in the form of a resolution on Nov. 19. The library staff recognizes that past-due balances are rarely collected and that the amount of money it would take to collect the outstanding fees is more than they would expect to receive.
Moving away from overdue fees is a trend happening across the United States. Seattle, Spokane and Whatcom County public libraries are also eliminating their overdue fees.