Gervais council approves consent calendar, reschedules Jan. 9 meeting; staff report details $250,000 ODOT grant and wastewater progress

The Gervais City Council approved its consent calendar and voted to reschedule the next regular meeting to Jan. 9 so auditors can present the audited financial statements, the council’s presiding officer said.

The action came at the council’s regular business meeting, where members also voted to continue two public hearings — a street vacation petition for a block of Cedar Avenue (VAC 2024-01) and an alley vacation in Block 58 — until the Jan. 9 meeting.

Why it matters: The delay allows an absent quorum of council members to attend and gives the auditors a chance to present a full report; the staff reports also included several operational items that affect city services and near-term capital work.

At the start of business, a councilmember moved to approve the consent calendar — minutes for Oct. 3, Oct. 10 and Nov. 7 plus the bills list for Nov. 24 — and the motion passed on the vote called by the presiding officer.

On scheduling, the presiding officer said several council members would be unavailable in early January and proposed moving the regular meeting to Jan. 9 so the auditors could present. The council voted in favor of the change.

Votes at a glance: - Consent calendar (minutes for Oct. 3, Oct. 10, Nov. 7; bills list for Nov. 24): motion carried. - Reschedule regular meeting to Jan. 9: motion carried. - Continue public hearing VAC 2024-01 (Cedar Avenue street vacation) to Jan. 9: motion carried. - Continue alley vacation in Block 58 to Jan. 9: motion carried.

Staff reports

Keith West, who the chair introduced as the staff reporter for the meeting, summarized October public-safety activity and department initiatives. He reported 239 calls for service, six arrests and 45 traffic offenses for the month; described recent and planned trainings, including use of the Western States Information Network (WISN) and an upcoming medical-examiner training; and said administrative staff received additional evidence-handling training.

"This gives the city of our size resources that much larger agencies are accustomed to," Keith West said of WISN and the training partnerships.

West also said the department obtained a new prescription-drug collection box through a vendor that will handle disposal, replacing an older green box whose disposal vendor (Covanta) will close at month’s end. He noted the department’s first annual Giving Tree distributed gifts to 30 children and that staff participated in community outreach events.

Public works and wastewater update

Kyle (introduced by the chair as the next staff presenter) reported on community events and capital work, and announced the city was awarded the full $250,000 ODOT Small City Allotment grant for a two-block street project designed to address congestion during school drop-off and pick-up and to improve drainage and safety.

"We were awarded the full $250,000 for much-needed street work," Kyle said.

He provided a technical update on the wastewater treatment-plant project: the fine-screen assembly installed at the plant has experienced defects that the manufacturer has been addressing with site visits from engineers in Eastern Canada; a large wet well structure is in the required 28-day curing phase, after which coating and installation of submersible pumps and controls will proceed. The project’s anticipated final completion date was given as Jan. 28.

Other operational notes included a minor repair to a superintendent’s truck and the city’s intent to maintain its Tree City status for the coming year.

Administrative updates

The chair reported receiving verbal certification of the general-election results from the Marion County clerk and said Brian Wagner has been certified as mayor-elect; a judge will swear in the mayor-elect at the Jan. 9 meeting. The chair also outlined plans to add a multilingual online payment portal provided by the city’s accounting software vendor (Infow) at an estimated $480 per year and an expected transaction fee of about $1.25.

What’s next

The council is set to reconvene on Jan. 9, when auditors will present the audited financial statements and the continued public hearings on the Cedar Avenue street vacation and the Block 58 alley vacation will resume. With no further business the presiding officer adjourned the meeting.