Cathlamet Town Council report

The Cathlamet Town Council met Monday evening at which the Town of Cathlamet sought approval from the Town Council to apply for a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund construction loan. This loan would be for the 2nd St. and Butler St. waterline replacement and would cost an estimated $816,686. Council member Joe Baker asked if this project was essential and Clerk-Treasurer Sarah Clark responded that it was necessary to increase water pressure to the port for fire fighting. The council unanimously approved the request to apply for the loan. This loan would be in addition to the $981,000 in outstanding loans the Town of Cathlamet already has. PUD General Manager Dan Kay advised council members that, in his experience, loan forgiveness maximums do not exceed 35%, which would leave the Town responsible for paying back at least 65% of loans acquired.

During public comments, a concerned citizen read aloud a section of the October 16 minutes. The person expressed confusion as to how a motion in the minutes turned into a phone call to the town forester to cut a tree down on private property. The commenter also questioned whether council members fully understood what they had agreed to. Another concerned citizen expressed discomfort with verbiage used by council members as they referred to timber harvest earnings as “play money”. The commenter stated, “I want to remind everyone of the Town of Cathlamet’s mission statement: ‘Cathlamet is committed to providing credible leadership and quality services to the community through transparency of its processes, good stewardship of public resources, respect for the Town’s heritage, and valuing its diverse citizenry.’”