Town Council report

The Town Council met Monday to discuss a range of topics including financial matters and potential utility consolidation.

The meeting began with the approval of the agenda, omitting an executive session based on legal advice.

The council addressed public inquiries about water line responsibilities, clarifying that while the town installs lines from the main to the meter, customers bear associated labor costs.

In financial matters, the council unanimously approved an ordinance adjusting employee salaries in the 2025 budget to align with the cost-of-living adjustment specified in the collective bargaining agreement.

Diana Zimmerman presented on Wahkiakum Youth Mentoring, highlighting the program’s growth, activities, and its recent national quality award. She invited the community to a Q&A session on Feb. 18 at the Hope Center.

A workshop on utility consolidation, led by Councilperson Laurel Waller, explored downsizing town employees, cross-training staff, and covering salaries and insurance if there were to be utility consolidation with the PUD. Clerk/Treasurer Sarah Clark expressed concerns, stating, “We’re not going to continue on this trajectory with or without utilities.”

Discussions of the town’s financial struggles turned grim as terms like “bankruptcy” and “disincorporation” were mentioned, painting a bleak outlook for Cathlamet’s future. Councilperson Joe Baker criticized the town’s handling of its utilities, calling it “incredible mismanagement” and stating that officials have been “ignoring infrastructure for a long, long time.” He suggested the issues date back to the construction of the sewer system and warned of deeper problems, saying, “There are things going on that I can’t talk about. It’s got to be fixed somehow, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

However, Councilwoman Hendrickson sought to end on a positive note, emphasizing the resilience of the community. "We live in a sweet, sweet town here." PUD Commissioner Gene Healy echoed that sentiment, stating, “This town was here before any of us were born, and it’ll be here long after we’re gone.”

During public comments, Anne Torget questioned how the town could fund a new Waterfront Park while struggling to pay its bills, calling it "unrealistic and bordering on abuse" of taxpayer money. Mayor David Olson noted the park is grant-funded but acknowledged the town must repay 25%—about $125,000—plus nearly $100,000 already spent.

Bill Wainwright urged the town to hire a professional manager, calling its spending a "cash flow crisis." Noting the town owns unused properties, he suggested selling assets and offered to buy the old town hall "if the price is right."

Mayor Olson ended the meeting with a final warning, emphasizing that "the PUD has not voted or stated anything about moving forward," making the discussion "academic." He reiterated that the town had neither vetted nor agreed to the final consolidation report and warned, "the town bears the burdens here and not the benefits."

He cautioned that "disincorporation was an absolutely likely scenario" and predicted user fees would become unavoidable—"at the library, community center, parks, anywhere we can have a user fee, we will have a user fee."

Addressing the possibility of consolidation appearing on the general election ballot, he stated, "I will work with the town attorney to provide a mechanism if the council doesn’t want to exercise that option." Confident a petition would move the process forward, he concluded, "I’ll have more on that later once I talk with the town attorney. And that’s my report at the moment." The next council meeting is scheduled for February 17th at 6pm, with ongoing discussions expected on utility management and municipal budgeting.