TONASKET-The city council approved the resolutions for the Community Development Block Grant for North Valley Hospital District at their meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

The meeting was advertised as a hearing for the grant which North Valley Hospital District Administrator Warner Bartleson said is to aid in the construction of the new hospital building.

“The hospital is not eligible to be lead applicant, so the city is being lead applicant,” Barbara Engstrom, contract grant writer for NVHD, said. “The bulk of the money will go to construction and some of it will be for special costs.”

After Engstrom spoke to the council, they voted to approve Resolution No. 2008-08, which is “a resolution authorizing an application to the State of Washington for Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG), and ascertaining that certain required conditions are met to qualify for federal funding.”

The council then voted to approve Resolution No. 2008-09 which is “a resolution establishing a grievance procedure for complaints.” This resolution also states “the City of Tonasket hereby adopts a grievance procedure for prompt and equitable resolution of any complaints that deal with local program administration, management, and operational procedures of the City of Tonasket.” The passing of this resolution was a requirement for the block grant.

In addition, this city council meeting was advertised as a budget workshop on the 2009 Budget. While the council discussed this budget, Alice Attwood, city clerk, said the library’s book drop is constantly not working and the library would like to move it and put one within the building through the wall. Attwood said the regional library would provide the new one and Bill Pilkington, Superintendent of Public Works, would do the work.

During committee reports, Councilmember Connie Maden said she attended the Infrastructure and Assistance Conference and learned that most funds granted for city projects will require a capital facilities plan. She said she also learned there are quite a few options for low-interest loans and since Tonasket is 63 percent low-income, the city is eligible for the lowest interest rates. Maden said the CDBG has a planning grant that can be applied for in addition to the hospital’s grant request.

The council next discussed the new plan of operations for the Tonasket Visitor and Business Resource Center. Mayor Patrick Walter pointed out the inclusion of more groups in the revision of the TVBRC Constitution and By-laws.

“The inclusion of more groups in the constitution is a good inclusion and a nice step in the right direction,” Walter said. “It totally changes the make-up of the TVBRC and diversifies it. This is what I’ve been asking for and it’s a good change.”

The TVBRC Revision of Constitution and By-Laws states that “under the revision, there are five core positions on the Board of Directors. Two of these positions are appointed by the Tonasket Chamber of Commerce; two positions are appointed by the Tonasket City Council; and one position is appointed by the Oroville Chamber of Commerce. This core group may select, by their own action, up to four additional board members with the primary aim of balancing representation from the different business sectors in the area.”

Finally, the council discussed the new holiday lights. Attwood said the first set of eight has been ordered and she just needs to sell two more before she can order the next set of eight.

“If we can sell the next two, we’ll be well over half,” Councilmember Jean Ramsey said. “Everybody has jumped on board and it’s so exciting.”

The next city council meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m.