[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",5979007,"mediaKeyId","5792618-ceb851dcaca7ef28409be2ca09b73701","parentId",5792618,"title","Council adopts three measures: surplus equipment, secure‑connectivity agreement and curb grant application","audioSeconds",458,"startMs",2584000,"endMs",3042000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5792618-ceb851dcaca7ef28409be2ca09b73701&start=2584&end=3042","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5792618-ceb851dcaca7ef28409be2ca09b73701/thumbnail_2584000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/5979007/Ephrata/Grant-County/Washington/Council-adopts-three-measures-surplus-equipment-secureconnectivity-agreement-and-curb-grant-application","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5979007-1016fa576eaf99bf11b6a5f993666720/orig.mp4?Expires=1773568400&Signature=jfYI4vhFDubPxdnbCEwamRdSCEQsorDbxzsWiJyzWAm2FHu17Y3jmbgS4Q6s-k-t9pBsAPBwW7TvCU--R0cQu9HTwOQpnoIRyEi888ShpPYp5-16UkdwH0PvEo73AQxTZCge9N6p6xcYAGa-t9Cr4TVbX7SE8ZxDRf4LpiSTmornbcE7TdsXtbWlnoaIT-GFGSanVh5qp76bGl9beqSPLPZ3o3006D3PgpIwgISUxCwFvtyOYQ7xYFE6n~fc1Bv9NGQgJOv4msSXDPHkDPH4kpya2k~erNussoijXFlFfxMJTODUpbhX~CWtHlpDp0p9JAP6n0GTtI0XsC7Jfzt~Eg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Ephrata City, WA","date","2025-09-18T13:55:36Z","article","At the meeting on Sept. 8, 2025, the City Council adopted three resolutions by voice vote: a resolution declaring certain city equipment surplus, a resolution authorizing a secure‑connectivity service agreement with Washington Technology Solutions (Watech), and a resolution authorizing the mayor to submit a curb grant application for up to $100,000 with a 20% match. Council members voted \"Aye\" on each measure and none opposed.

Resolution R25‑061 declared a set of city items surplus so they can be disposed of or sold; the list included one used pickup and related vehicle transmission concerns, miscellaneous wiring removed during wastewater treatment plant work, stainless UV lamps from the treatment process, two older blowers, four 17‑horse motors slated for future replacement in a lift station, a small home‑sized chipper, several string trimmers and older gate cameras. Staff noted the transmission cost on one vehicle was about $8,000 and recommended surplus disposition rather than repair. The motion was moved and seconded and carried on a voice vote.

Resolution R25‑066 authorizes the city to accept a Watech primary services agreement to provide a direct connection to the state government network and to replace the current VPN arrangement. Staff described a one‑time setup fee and monthly charge for the Watech service and estimated that decommissioning local servers and changing the VPN will save the city approximately $9,000 a year. The city indicated the recurring Watech cost would be roughly $285 per month plus a one‑time $500 fee; staff said the change will simplify management and speed VPN configuration tasks. The council moved and seconded the resolution and approved it by voice vote.

Resolution R25‑067 authorizes the mayor to submit a curb grant application (a joint economic development application with the Port) with a maximum grant amount of $100,000 and a required 20% match. Staff said the city and port would split the $20,000 match equally (about $10,000 each) if the grant is awarded. Council members clarified that the motion authorizes application only; authorizing the actual expenditure of matching funds would come later if the grant is approved. The council approved the application authorization by voice vote.

Next steps noted in the meeting: staff will proceed with disposal steps for surplus items, execute the Watech agreement and, if awarded, return to council to authorize the city share of the curb grant match.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City Council Special Meeting - September 17, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The council adopted Resolution R25‑061 (surplus equipment), R25‑066 (Watech secure connectivity service agreement) and authorized a curb grant application (R25‑067) for up to $100,000 with a 20% match split with the Port.","taxTitle","Ephrata, Grant County, Washington","taxId",62260,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5979012,"Council hears account of Labor Day water main failure that lost about 4,000 gallons a minute",208,1187000,1395000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5792618-ceb851dcaca7ef28409be2ca09b73701&start=1187&end=1395","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5792618-ceb851dcaca7ef28409be2ca09b73701/thumbnail_1187000.jpg","/articles/5979012/Ephrata/Grant-County/Washington/Council-hears-account-of-Labor-Day-water-main-failure-that-lost-about-4000-gallons-a-minute","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5979012-f4ef60169a63be7447bf2d09dd29e2d4/orig.mp4?Expires=1773568400&Signature=cN~D86XxVe2X-pr71~phFaFPx8w8e9cC7GmJK8Itx9sP2ojsnQ4jRpzBqwWb059mM7l0GwYBnhkk9EEosR-0Wwr6xQgLlRlQvDMpvyNjdCLQ4dTriptlGj-kcqXIrEc2ZC8hJBTHzRyZMAcUYeO-k2Pm~vhaAvS3S2LsKCQzOkLExqcnPAv7WbaNPAgUoAr7bbgDQCd1fB0g8toP9sRFN7mP9Jiu6~AqWGBumP4GtbwlZ5h0tbdgDhM0tu7p5-DdJJL8LH8v2dRcqhHDAiFzBM9dlgOPkWEVg5PqUILv~h82i2A~nqcGpBjBH5v33qR7oATb0ajD-P3WxWBlDaAKPA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the City Council meeting on Sept. 8, 2025, public works staff reported that on Labor Day morning crews discovered a major leak in a cast‑iron water main behind the Youth Services Building adjacent to the canal after residents in the northeast part of town experienced low water pressure. Staff said the system lost roughly 4,000 gallons per minute at the leak before crews isolated the section and began repairs.

Public works staff said SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) monitoring recorded rapidly dropping reservoir levels and attempted automated callouts starting around 10:30 p.m., but the callouts were not received because the copper phone line to the shop had failed; email attempts also did not reach staff until later. One employee was notified about 1 a.m. but did not hear the alert because the phone was on silent. The staff member said the city is moving to voice‑over‑Internet callouts and planning cellular failover to build redundancy.

Crews isolated multiple sections of pipe during the search before, with assistance from the Freedom Police Department, locating the leak at about 7:30 a.m. The section removed was a cast‑iron pipe the presenter said was likely installed around 1950; staff described one jagged, eroded edge and said they believe the pipe had been leaking for a long period before catastrophic failure. \"We were hemorrhaging water over 4,000 gallons a minute,\" the public works staff said.

Crews reassembled the line using repair couplers with restrained joints and left the system off while they confirmed soil compaction and joint integrity; the presenter said the repair was physically buttoned up by Tuesday evening and the main was returned to service the following Wednesday morning. The city issued a boil‑water order during the outage and worked across departments on mitigation; staff thanked public works crews and other departments for their response.

Staff described short‑term consequences of restoring higher pressures: stirred sediment produced temporary dirty water in some areas, and staff cautioned there may be additional small leaks on homeowners’ service lines or meters as system pressure returns to design levels. The presenter said ongoing projects — a new reservoir, Well 10 and Well 11 and a booster pump station and pressure zone — would increase redundancy and reduce the likelihood of a similar pressure loss in the future once those components are in service.

In addition to equipment upgrades, staff described plans to strengthen SCADA callout reliability by moving to a fiber/VoIP solution and adding cellular fallback. The presenter noted potential billing discussions with the Bureau of Reclamation because much of the lost water flowed into the canal. Council members asked about inspection options for older water mains and about whether sensors or zoned pressure monitoring could narrow leak locations in future events; staff said the city is evaluating SCADA improvements but that many water‑main inspection technologies are designed for sewer lines and are not directly transferable to pressure mains.","Public works staff described a major cast-iron main failure behind the Youth Services Building that discharged an estimated 4,000 gallons per minute, SCADA callouts failed due to a copper phone line, and crews repaired the line over several days while planning redundancy improvements.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5979017,"Library official outlines services, funding and planned months-long remodel closure",552,232000,784000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5792618-ceb851dcaca7ef28409be2ca09b73701&start=232&end=784","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5792618-ceb851dcaca7ef28409be2ca09b73701/thumbnail_232000.jpg","/articles/5979017/Ephrata/Grant-County/Washington/Library-official-outlines-services-funding-and-planned-months-long-remodel-closure","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5979017-9dcd4857025eb60daa4c7381c6439d17/orig.mp4?Expires=1773568400&Signature=UfNpz4kooEPKMsQrtKwCQmEh3kSygJBd4o0O0S1ILOtRHHjBRZjjZ~i~UiWeQ42ppSjVxTLco~0jjr4Onwt8eU2whKPc34CFRBYXp5CcFxwQ4L9itPg7laaihfxBjsH0qGVWTentuGx4zbVoBD5U-hi4O0TnDPwKFAyLMzd29PGIZOtyKCXjbYbcO0fn2SsD2c9Jfp8p~o1bDH6scvd~xNXXQuiCifmVS2u0cxSIBActWIknchk3kPCQfm6nmRfzSnClP-~qJn~69VqBRz6qS0Q-meMRi4xPwj~FQRQosC7Flni7nB90dPVqdwgw7~PMSn7bvg2sm4ISpNUaXFK3TQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the City Council meeting on Sept. 8, 2025, Aaron Lofelbein, a library representative for North Central Washington Libraries, told the council that the Ephrata branch offers free Wi-Fi, digital resources and a range of programs and will close for an estimated four to five months for a remodel that is now expected to start in late spring next year. Lofelbein said the branch’s service area covers five counties and that residents who hold a library card can borrow up to 100 items at a time.

The presentation outlined why the branch matters to residents: it provides public computers, workforce-development tools such as LinkedIn Learning and test and career prep, a new Mango language-learning subscription, and outreach to schools, the food bank and local preschools. Lofelbein said the library averaged about 2,800 visits per month and about 3,200 circulations per month during the summer program, and the summer program had more than 250 participants.

Library funding and the remodel were central to the discussion. Lofelbein told the council that roughly 95% of the library district’s revenue comes from local taxes; the district is a junior taxing district and the city contracts with the district so in-town residents do not see a separate line on their property tax bill. He described small additional revenue from fees and from subsidies for some online resources. Lofelbein said the branch’s remodel timeline is “probably late spring next year” and staff estimate the branch will be closed about four to five months for construction.

Lofelbein described steps staff are planning to reduce service disruption during the closure, including options for a small temporary location, a trailer on site for holds pick-up and continued outreach through other district branches. He said some branches in the district have telehealth booths and that the branch maintains a meeting room that can be reserved for private telehealth or one-on-one meetings; staff will also convert an existing room into a smaller reservable study room after the remodel.

On the challenges libraries face with increasing digital services, Lofelbein said, “I think there’s there’s a lot of challenges going on right now to libraries, but libraries are … here to stay.” He added that the branch is working to expand partnerships — including with a local hospital foundation, schools and a small-business alliance — and to restore patronage after the pandemic lull.

Council members asked about the risk that a months-long closure could depress patronage; Lofelbein said staff are exploring ways to keep people connected to the library while the building is closed. He also described promotional activities for September (National Library Card Sign-up Month), the branch’s free printing allowance for cardholders ($5 per week), and the library district’s 30 locations and bookmobile.

Lofelbein closed by inviting council members and residents to review remodel previews and floor plans on the district website and by offering to sign up new cards after the meeting.","Aaron Lofelbein of the North Central Washington Libraries told the council about free services, usage statistics and a planned branch remodel that will close the building for an estimated four to five months beginning late spring next year.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Council adopts three measures: surplus equipment, secure‑connectivity agreement and curb grant application

Council hears account of Labor Day water main failure that lost about 4,000 gallons a minute

Library official outlines services, funding and planned months-long remodel closure