Town council learns about Main Street program

The Cathlamet Town Council met Monday in regular session. County Commissioner Lee Tischer attended by phone and asked for an update on the high school sidewalk and the Erickson park skatepark. Mayor David Olson said that the planning and funding for the sidewalk is done and construction should begin by October. The effort to construct the sidewalk started three years ago. The mayor told the commissioners that a $95,000 grant had been approved for the skatepark but that they were still in the planning phase.

Jonelle McCoy from Washington state's Main Street program also presented by phone and told the council about the benefits of becoming part of their program. The main street program assists cities and towns with economic development by helping municipalities find grants and by connecting them with other cities for mentorship. Council members were cautious that membership in the program would cost the town money or manpower resources but in the end approved the first steps in applying for membership.

Council members could not agree on moving forward with a water system improvement which would improve water pressure on Fern Hill. They put off until their next meeting the approval of the bid for $333,000 for the necessary upgrades to the system. Finally, the town council discussed decreasing the size of the planning commission due to lack of volunteers who want to serve on the commission. Currently the commission is required to have five members, two of which could live outside the town limits. The proposal discussed would reduce the members to three, and only one of the members could be from outside the town limits. Most council members were opposed to a smaller commission but admitted that finding people to serve on the commission was a problem. Discussion of this issue will continue at the next town council meeting scheduled for August 21.