Ahead of Toledo Cheese Days coming up this weekend, the Toledo City Council held its first regular meeting of the month on Monday, July 7.
During the meeting, the council voted unanimously to surplus an old Winlock Police Department cruiser originally sold to the now defunct Toledo Police Department for $1. The vehicle will be auctioned off later this year, and councilors agreed to split auction profits between Toledo and Winlock.
The council also approved an ordinance creating a city budget utility loan fund to provide loans to property owners in Toledo looking to build new connections to hook their homes up to city water and sewer lines.
Additionally, councilors approved a resolution authorizing contracts with a collections agency to go after unpaid utility bills of residents who have moved out of the city.
And local cribbage enthusiasts will soon have a new giant cribbage board at Kemp Olson Memorial Park after a resident offered to handcarve the board out of Sequoia logs from trees in town and donate it to the city, which the council unanimously approved.
Additionally, Toledo Mayor Cherie Devore swore in Tracy Navolynski and Jacob Edminster as the two newest members of the Toledo Planning Commission.
Devore also announced she had sent a letter of support to Winlock Mayor Brandon Svenson for his reelection campaign, and the council also voted to sign a public letter of thanks to the entire City of Winlock for recent help.
Police car going up for auction
Prior to the Toledo Police Department dissolving, the neighboring Winlock Police Department sold Toledo a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser for $1.
Since the Toledo Police Department no longer exists and the car is no longer worth enough to continue maintaining to give back to Winlock, the Toledo City Council voted to declare it surplus and auction off the decommissioned vehicle at a Ritchie Bros. auction later this year.
“I think that we should subtract what it costs us to have them come and debadge it, and split the difference with Winlock since they sold it to us for a dollar,” Councilor Eric Hayes said.
According to the council’s agenda report, the car’s estimated value is between $2,361 and $4,022.
Toledo City Clerk-Treasurer Rachel Campbell added a “bike” is also going to be auctioned along with the police cruiser, and the auction is expected to take place in August.
Utility connection loans and overdue collections
Toledo property owners looking to build a new connection to the city’s water or sewer lines now have a financing option to pay for the connection thanks to the newly approved city budget utility loan fund.
According to the council’s agenda report, loans are available for all properties within the City of Toledo service area as long as the legal property owners are the applicants.
During his motion, Hayes amended the ordinance to include the language “legal property owners in the city of existing buildings.”
Loans will be 10 years in length from the connection date, and interest rates will be fixed for the loan term and based on the U.S. Treasury rate closest to a loan’s approval, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. An additional 2% monthly administrative fee will also be charged and loans will be secured by a lien recorded against the property.
Campbell added the city already has a similar loan program to help out property owners with the costs of installing associated infrastructure needed to build a new connection to the city’s water and sewer services.
Hayes’ amended motion was seconded and the resolution was passed unanimously by the council, although Hayes did also request a second reading of the resolution at the next council meeting.
As for the new collection resolution, the resolution approved authorizes the city to contract with a licensed collection agency only after the following conditions are met:
• A final invoice has been issued or billing ceased by the city
• No payments, or payment arrangement, have been made within 30 calendar days of a bill’s due date
• There is no responsible third party like a landlord who can be billed aside from the original debtor
• The debtor has been notified in writing of the city’s intent to refer the matter to a collections agency unless resolved within 30 days
• City staff have made reasonable efforts to collect the debt themselves
If a collections agency is called in, the debtor will also have to pay for a collections fee up to 40% of the outstanding amount due.
“This is only for the people that are no longer here, so this isn’t going to happen for someone who’s late on their water bill or something,” Hayes added.
Cribbage at Kemp Olson Park
Cribbage players will soon have a new giant board to play on at Toledo’s Kemp Olson Memorial Park. The game is believed to have been originally created in the 1600s by English poet Sir John Suckling.
“A local citizen has generously offered to create and donate a hand-crafted cribbage board made from Sequoia logs from Toledo’s city limits,” the council’s agenda report stated. “This unique recreational amenity is designed to enhance the park's offerings and provide an interactive, family-friendly feature.”
The Toledo Park Board recommended the council accept the donation, and that once carved, the cribbage board will be placed on the south side of the park’s kitchen, bathroom and playground area, approximately 30 feet from the playground.
