Othello City Council roundup

OTHELLO — The Othello City Council met on Monday, July 22 for their regular city council meeting.

During public comment, Charles Garcia thanked the council for their continued support for the Chicano State Tournament at Lions Park. He said this year he is hoping to bring in a band on Saturday evening of the baseball tournament.

“The support for this tournament has been unreal,” said Garcia. “I encourage you to continue to work with organizations.”

In business, Othello Police Chief Phil Schenck asked to purchase new tables and chairs for the police conference/training room. They will be purchased with funds donated to the police department by a local family.

The council also approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Othello Police Department. The MOA allows the Othello Police Department to get reimbursed by the ATF for any assistance they provide.

“We are finding ourselves working with the ATF and the Marshals a lot in our community,” said Schenck.

Schenck also asked the council to allow him to hire a provisional officer for the remainder of the year.

“This year, I’m not asking for any money,” Schenck said.

The council approved the request.

Othello Code Enforcement Officer Heather Miller updated the council on the parked car complaint made by a concerned citizen during a previous city council meeting. Of the cars that had been reported, about half of them had already gone through the process to get them moved. There were 10 that Miller didn’t know about. Three had been moved. The contractors with trailers parked on the street didn’t know that they were in violation of city code and moved the trailers off the street.

“We are open to conversations or complaints,” said Miller. “A couple of people sent texts with the address. Hopefully this citizen is happy it has been taken care of. We are getting stuff done.”

The council also approved the city’s six-year Transportation Improvement Plan. The plan is essentially a wish list of what street repairs the city would like to have done, according to Shawn O’Brien, Othello’s city engineer. The plan is required to be updated every year. It is used when applying for grants.

Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via email at rpinkerton@suntribunenews.com.