City council roundup

by RACHAL PINKERTON & Emry Dinman For Sun Tribune
Staff Writer | March 27, 2019 3:00 AM

GRANT COUNTY — Two city councils in Grant County met this past week – Royal City and Mattawa.

Royal City

The Royal City Council met on Tuesday, March 19. During the meeting, the council approved city spring clean up days for April 12 through 14.

Four large dumpsters will be available for residents to put in regular household trash, furniture, carpet/carpet pads, mattress/box springs, light construction materials, car batteries and yard waste. The dumpsters will be located at 125 Apple Ave. NE in Royal City and will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or until the dumpsters are full. Items not accepted include paint, chemicals, oil, tires, rocks, concrete, bricks, tiles, dirt, shingles and hazardous waste. For more information, call 509-346-2263.

The Camilia Street project is basically completed, said Shilo Christensen, Royal City finance director. The final paperwork was scheduled to be completed last Friday, March 22.

The city council “made a motion to create a committee of three to four staff members to review” engineering proposals for work to be done on Poplar Street, according to Christensen. An engineer will be selected at the next council meeting, Tuesday, April 2 at 7 p.m.

New city council members will be participating in required training for public records and open public meetings on Wednesday, March 27. The council approved for Christensen to attend a professional development training in June to satisfy the certified municipal clerk’s training.

Mattawa

The Mattawa City Council met Thursday, March 21. Mattawa Police Chief Joe Harris reported on the previous week’s substantial drug bust, which involved the department seizing over five pounds of methamphetamine, worth $200,000 at street value.

Harris also informed the council that the police department would be assisting with county-wide efforts to support Kittitas County law enforcement following last week’s death of Kittitas Deputy Ryan Thompson and wounding of Kittitas police officer Benito Chavez. Harris also noted that the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had suddenly discontinued an agreement to support Mattawa law enforcement with calls between midnight and 5 a.m.

Public Works Director Juan Ledezma reminded the council of the city’s upcoming Spring Cleaning event, April 26-28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents are allowed to drop off up to two loads of garbage at the water tower at 710 First St., and are asked to bring a recent bill from the city or an ID indicating proof of residence. The event is first come, first served, and is not accepting refrigerators, air conditioners, tires, hazardous liquids, or construction debris.

The council also approved the purchase of a new brush for a wastewater treatment auger, which removes solid waste from the town’s sewage.