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Goldendale approves interlocal agreement to map sidewalks with $10,000 RTC grant
Summary
The City Council authorized the mayor to sign a master interlocal service agreement with the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council to fund a sidewalk condition mapping project; the $10,000 award will reimburse staff time for a data-collection exercise and does not fund repairs.
The Goldendale City Council on June 2 authorized the mayor to execute a master interlocal service agreement with the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC) to accept a $10,000 grant to map sidewalks and pedestrian connectivity within the city.
The mapping work is a planning exercise intended to inventory sidewalk widths, surface issues, curb cuts and other barriers and add that information to the statewide OS Connect dataset. Adam Fis, a staff member with the Regional Transportation Planning Organization working with the RTC, told the council the grant pays for the data-collection process and that the city will be reimbursed for staff time once information is submitted.
“This is a planning exercise,” Adam Fis said. “It is just that mapping exercise. In future years, you can use the data to pursue construction funding.”
The council and staff emphasized the project will not pay for repairs. Sandy Wells, Goldendale city administrator, confirmed the work will be performed primarily by the city’s public works crew and that the grant is structured as reimbursement for work already done or time documented by staff. Councilmembers asked whether the mapping would include winter conditions and whether the work could be aligned with Goldendale’s six-year street plan so repairs and paving projects could be coordinated with any future sidewalk work.
Councilmembers also discussed starting the mapping work on Broadway and downtown priority areas and expanding mapping if time permits. Fis said the RTC and partner organizations provide an app-based workflow and remote office hours to speed training and reduce staff time, and he offered to return to the council with preliminary findings.
A motion to authorize the mayor to sign the master interlocal service agreement passed unanimously.
City staff and council members said the inventory will be used to support future grant applications for construction funds, but no construction funding was authorized as part of this agreement.
The council asked staff to report back with the mapping results and to consider winter maintenance and the six-year street plan when prioritizing repairs.
