Oliver’s first council meeting, several resolutions passed

EPHRATA — Mayor Steve Oliver led his first Ephrata City Council meeting Wednesday night, with council passing several resolutions regarding tourism funding, vactor truck enclosure project and amending the grant application for A Street.  

Oliver said there was a little bit of a learning curve during his first meeting, since he is still learning the format and rules of a council meeting. He thanked the council members for their patience and help during the meeting. 

“I think I gave a solid 80% and I have around 20% that I need to work on,” Oliver said. “Luckily the council members who were sitting next to me helped me get through everything. Without them, I would have been floundering.”  

Oliver said he received positive feedback from the community, staff and council.  

“I definitely have some things I need to work on, but I got a lot of compliments afterwards. I think there were more thumbs up than critiques which was really reassuring. This is my first meeting. They will go smoother as I get more comfortable,” Oliver said.  

He said overall he is starting to find his role in city hall.  

“You would not believe how smooth this transition has been,” Oliver said. “This is a very well put together puzzle, and luckily, I was a piece that fits; because everybody's so confident in their job, there's no need for me to be putting fires out. I really just need to check in to make sure I'm in the know. I need to know what they need me to know. Then, I can ask questions, and I get immediate answers.” 

The first order of business was electing a new Mayor Pro Tempore. Matt Moore was appointed to the role again.  

Following, the council approved a contract with North Central Construction for the vactor truck enclosure project. The vactor truck is used to vacuum and transport sewage, sludge and other debris from the sewer system.  

Earlier in 2025, council had advertised for bids for a new building, but the proposals came higher than expected, sitting at around $270,000, according to City Administrator Ray Towry. The staff recommended not accepting the bids because of cost and the council agreed. 

Soon after, city staff identified an existing structure at the Water Reclamation Facility that could be used to safely store the truck. The city went to bid again and accepted the bid from North Central Construction for about $125,000, more than half of the original expected cost.  

In other business, the council unanimously approved the allocation of 2026 tourism funding, coming from the Hotel/Motel Tax funding. The Hotel/Motel Tax is collected from overnight lodging stays and invested back into communities through local events, festivals, advertising and promoting local economies, Parks and Recreation Director Josh Johnson said.  

For 2026, the city received eight applications totaling nearly $112,000, with only $100,000 available funding. The Lodging Tax Committee reviewed the requests and got the requests down to the available amount. The final recommendation, approved by council, will fund events and organizations including Sage-N-Sun, Bells on Basin, Cork + Craw, Ephrata High School, Ephrata Enforcers and Ephrata Chamber of Commerce led tourism promotions.  

The council unanimously approved an amendment for the A-Street Surface Transportation Block Grant. The current grant covers sidewalks on the east side of A Street only; the proposed amendment would allow sidewalks on both sides of the street and temporary construction easements. The amendment added nearly $164,000 grant funding with a city match of about $26,000. Construction for this project is planned for this summer with temporary easements planned for this winter.  

Oliver was chosen to represent Ephrata at the Grant Transit Authority meetings. Previously, former mayor Bruce Reim represented the city.