La Conner council awards pest-control contract, approves DocuSign and reviews wastewater grant support offer

The La Conner Town Council approved several administrative items at the meeting, including a multi-site pest-control contract, a subscription to DocuSign for electronic signatures, and a staff-authorized agreement to have Wilson Engineering prepare a grant application for wastewater treatment-plant design.

Pest-control contract: Public works solicited bids for pest control at three town facilities and recommended awarding the contract (one-year service). "I got 5 bids," a staff member said; the council voted to approve the recommendation. The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.

DocuSign subscription: Staff proposed a DocuSign account to reduce paper and to allow invoices and receipts to be routed and signed electronically. The annual cost cited in the discussion was $2,800. A council member moved to approve the subscription and the motion passed on voice vote.

Wastewater grant application work: Wilson Engineering, which is performing work on the town’s wastewater treatment plant, offered to prepare a state grant application to fund the plant design; the firm proposed a $9,000 fee to prepare the application. Staff said the grant application is due the week of the meeting and that Wilson would submit the application; the council discussed the timing and staff said the agreement to engage Wilson for the application work was forthcoming. The transcript does not record a completed, signed contract for that $9,000 scope during the meeting, only that the firm offered to prepare the application and that staff expected the submission that week.

Fireboat payment timing: Council and staff discussed delivery and payments for a fire-boat unit to be delivered on Sept. 3, with a third payment of $119,000 scheduled at delivery and a remaining balance and change order to follow. Staff said they would cut the payment check on Sept. 3 so the vendor could change banks; the transcript records that the remainder payment and any change-order items would appear on the next claim.

Why it matters: The pest-control contract and DocuSign subscription are operational actions intended to address maintenance and administrative efficiency. The Wilson Engineering proposal, if accepted and the grant is successful, would fund design work for the wastewater treatment plant and shift design costs to the grant.

The transcript shows council approval votes for the pest-control contract and DocuSign subscription; it records discussion of the Wilson Engineering offer but does not record a completed motion to approve the $9,000 scope during the meeting.