Members of the Napavine City Council met for their second regular meeting of the month on Tuesday, Jan. 27, and began the meeting with Napavine Mayor Shawn O’Neill administering the oath of office to reelected Councilor Brian Watson.
Watson won reelection last year against challenger Luis Manzo. He is the executive regional ad sales manager for The Chronicle.
“One thing that’s great about us here in Napavine is we don’t always agree, but we agree to get along, and we do the work for the citizens of Napavine and we appreciate you being a part of that,” O’Neill said.
Watson’s swearing in wasn’t the only one carried out by O’Neill at last Tuesday’s meeting, as Napavine resident Christian Loose was appointed to a Napavine Planning Commission vacancy.
Additionally, the council also unanimously approved an interlocal agreement (ILA) with the Riverside Fire Authority in Centralia for fire code inspection and administration services.
While Lewis County Fire District 5 is located in the heart of Napavine, O’Neill explained currently the rural fire department lacks a qualified code inspector.
“We just can’t sit around waiting for them to be able to do this. I’ve had a lot of conversations with Fire (District 5) Commissioner (Gregg) Peterson, and this is one of those things that is kind of their thing to set up, not necessarily ours,” O’Neill said.
The ILA ensures the city remains in compliance with International Fire Code (IFC) — and Riverside Fire Authority will handle plan review, permit administration, construction inspections, occupancy certificate inspections and other fire prevention-related functions in accordance with IFC.
The next regular Napavine City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 6 p.m. inside Napavine City Hall, located at 407 SW Birch Ave.
