Council approves additional costs
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Cost overruns on street projects were approved at this week’s Goldendale City Council meeting. Council members listened to presentations from public works director Keith Grundei and Pioneer Surveying project engineer Frank Childs that explained the requests for more than a $75,000 increase in funds budgeted for engineering the East Central Neighborhood project and the East Side Street project.
Childs said a combination of errors in bidding and unforeseen complications prompted the request for amendments to the professional services contracts. “I should have asked for 15 percent to begin with,” said Childs. According to Grundei, his research showed that 15 percent of the project cost was typical for engineering expenses. The original agreements were approximately 13 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively. Childs explained that coordinating sidewalks with homeowners’ driveways and property to arrive at proper drainage has taken a great deal more time. In addition, with the recent completion of water lines, Childs said the engineers had to modify storm drainage plans to avoid water lines and gas lines that needed to be relocated presented another modification. Issues with crown and slope of streets and extra time working with the contractor have been added costs. The Council was unanimous in passing amendments to the contracts for an amount not to exceed $38,736 in the case of the East Central project and $36,400 in the case of the East Side Street project.
Grundei also presented a request to execute two change orders in the construction contract with Cascade Equipment and Construction dealing with storm lines. In one case it was discovered that four residents on East Main had underground drainage pipes leading to the street ditch. It was decided that those needed to be extended to intersect with the new storm drain. The second change order involved fixes to damage associated with last year’s storm drain flood, sidewalk adjustments to match streets and driveways and the discovery of an unknown sewer line. While excavating along Allyn Street, a man-hole was discovered buried three to four feet below the surface of the street. With house drainage intersecting the deeper buried pipe, the new line had to be excavated deeper to match the house drain lines. Grundei calculated the changes would cost $19,923.54, which the council authorized Mayor Arlene Parton to approve.
In other business, the council authorized the mayor to sign an interlocal agreement with Bingen, White Salmon, and Klickitat County for surface transportation funding. The agreement involves county distribution of federal road funds based on a formula that accounts for population and miles of roadway.
The council heard an update on PUD plans and progress, including splitting the lines serving north Goldendale from the Satus Pass area, essentially cutting the load to each line in half and reducing the potential for power interruption under high load conditions. Manager Jim Smith also explained some of the diversification of income the PUD has undertaken since 1995, giving more flexibility to withstand Bonneville Power Administration rate increases.
The next Council meeting is June 21 at 7 p.m.
Candidates file for state, county offices
The races are on.
It’s an election year—again—and candidates around the state have begun filing for office. There are a number of familiar names and some new ones, and some expected names that have yet to show up in filing.
Candidates have until this Friday to file.
As of press time, the prominent name of Dino Rossi had yet to be filed in the race for the U. S. Senate seat now held by Patty Murray. Rossi is expected to be Murray’s toughest opposition. Former football player Clint Didier, also publicly announced as running for the Senate seat, also had not filed as of Tuesday afternoon.
On the other hand, one colorful candidate who has filed for that same race is Mike “Goodspaceguy” Nelson, listed just under the name “Goodspaceguy,” which he legally added some years ago. The 70-year-old Seattle Democrat wants to see the U. S. construct orbiting space colonies. And there’s also Mike the Mover—his now-legal name—another Seattle-area figure who has often run for public office and has now filed for the U. S. Senate race. He’s said that if people see his name on a ballot, they might call him for moving needs.
The candidates filed as of press time include:
U.S. Senate: Patty Murray, Schalk Leonard, Norma Gruber, James (Skip) Mercer, Goodspaceguy, Mike the Mover, and William Edward Chovil.
U.S. House of Representatives for 4th Congressional District: Doc Hastings and Jay Clough.
State Legislative District 15: Jim Honeyford (State Senator), Bruce Chandler (State Representative Pos. 1), and David Taylor (State Representative Pos. 2).
Klickitat County:
Commissioner 2: David M. Sauter.
Auditor: Connie Kayser.
Prosecuting Attorney: Craig Juris.
Treasurer: Dani Burton.
West District Court: Robert D. Weisfield.
PUD District 1, Utility Commissioner 2: Ray A. Mosbrucker, Doug Miller.
Precinct Committee Officers:
Lyle—Rosemary Hoyt.
Mt Brook—Tom Anderson.
N-F Valley— Loretta (Lorrie) DeKay.
Pine Forest— Kathryn Moco.
Trout Lake—Patricia Arnold.
Orchard Heights—Shonnie Scarola.
Goldendale—Mary Anne Miller.
Goldendale—Judith F. Cleary.
Property value change notices on their way
This month Klickitat County will mail value change notices to property owners in all areas of the county whose values have changed.
The state of Washington requires all county assessors to annually determine the full (100 percent) market value of all taxable property in the county and to notify property owners of any changes from the previous year. Notices mailed in June 2010 show a property’s market value on Jan. 1, 2010. This value will be used to calculate 2011 property taxes.
For inspection purposes, the county is still divided into four areas, as it was during the time properties were revalued on a four-year cycle. That means that the first annual revaluation will reflect changes in assessments differently for some areas than others. (This year’s revaluation will be the county’s first as an annual revaluation county.) For the most part, a taxpayer in Area 1, which includes White Salmon and Bingen, Husum, and Trout Lake, will see a decrease in the change from the market value on Jan. 1, 2008 to Jan. 1, 2010. A taxpayer in Area 3, which includes Goldendale and areas south, north, and west of Goldendale, primarily will see an increase in the change from the market value on Jan. 1, 2006 to Jan. 1, 2010.
All property values in the state are established on the same date each year: Jan. 1. The values listed on the notices to be mailed in June 2010 were established as of Jan. 1, 2010. They are based on sales of similar properties during 2009. Market values have changed since that time. The price a property might sell for today may be higher or lower than the assessed value on Jan. 1, 2010. Since all properties in the county are assessed on the same date, the share of taxes to be paid remains the same until all properties are valued again next Jan. 1.
Property taxes are calculated based on the budgets submitted by taxing districts that provide services like parks, fire protection, schools and libraries. These budgets are prepared independently by each district and are limited to a one percent increase from one year to the next. (This limit does not apply to taxes from voter-approved bonds and special levies.) Property values determine the share of these budgets that individual property owners will pay.
Property tax is both a state and a local tax. The state receives a share of the property tax for funding local schools statewide. The remaining share of the property tax is distributed among 59 different taxing districts in Klickitat County. These local taxing districts include fire districts, school districts, port districts, cities, and the county, among others.
Taxpayers are encouraged to talk with a county appraiser to verify that assessment records are accurate. Errors may be corrected without a hearing. Values placed on property may be appealed to the Klickitat County Board of Equalization (BOE).
Information about the appeals process and appeal forms is available on the Assessor’s Web site at www.klickitatcounty.org/assessor and on the BOE Web site at www.klickitatcounty.org/bdEqualization.
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