Members of the Vader City Council met for their first regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 1, to discuss a number of different agenda items.
During the meeting, the council approved an application to host a Trunk-or-Treat permit application for Halloween.
Councilors also discussed the possibility of holding an official prayer at the beginning of future meetings, along with contracting with a private company for code enforcement services.
Additionally, they approved a resolution adopting the Lewis County Hazard Mitigation Plan.
During his report, Vader Mayor Joe Schey thanked the Service family and other volunteers for their efforts in repainting the town’s old jail. He also announced the Office of the Washington State Auditor will be starting an accountability audit on Oct. 13 of Vader’s finances for the 2023-2024 fiscal period.
Schey also stated various stormwater and street improvement projects will be ongoing in Vader throughout the rest of October.
While Vader City Councilor Michael Ferguson was excused from Wednesday’s meeting, a quorum was still present with Councilors John Hurt and Jason Dailey at city hall along with Nicole Hansen and Mike Parsons attending remotely.
Trunk-or-Treat announced
With spooky season in full swing as Halloween is now just weeks away, Schey explained a group of local volunteers had submitted an application to hold their annual Trunk-or-Treat event in downtown Vader on Oct. 31.
Vader City Clerk Kristyn Miller added the request specified that A Street be closed for the event between state Route 506 and Sixth Street, along with using city barricades to block off the street — where decorated and candy-filled cars will be parked for trick-or-treaters to visit from 6 to 8 p.m.
Schey hoped to see all of the councilors at the event with their own booth or trunk.
“I think we should have a costume contest,” Parsons added.
“I’ve ordered a new lab coat already, so I’m getting prepared,” Schey said.
The application was approved unanimously.
Beginning meetings with official prayer
While it was the last item on the council’s agenda and councilors ultimately moved to table it until the next meeting for more discussion, a bit of debate was still held about a proposal to start future council meetings with an official prayer.
Like other councils throughout Lewis County, the Vader City Council begins each regular meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, which includes the phrase, “one nation, under God.”
“My thought is we’ve dealt with this before in the past,” Dailey said. “We used to have a prayer during the council meeting, and we decided that it was a turn-off to some in our community that didn’t want to be a part of it. That was one of our main reasons for not doing it anymore.”
According to the minutes from previous council meetings on the city’s website, an official prayer was said after roll call and before the pledge up until the end of 2015. Dailey added despite stopping official prayer during the meeting itself, councilors and meeting attendees were invited to hold prayer before and after the meeting.
Both Hurt and Parsons spoke out in support of once again holding an official prayer during meetings.
“If you look at your major (U.S.) House of Representatives, your senators, when they meet, they always have a prayer at the beginning of the year,” Hurt said.
He added he had no problem with it being held before or after the meeting as well, and stated he believed the “country needs a lot of prayer.”
Parsons took more of a hardline stance, advocating for the prayer to be specifically held at the beginning of each meeting.
“We need the Lord with us so we can make these decisions for our community, not after the meeting when it’s all over,” Parsons said. “We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our meetings.”
Dailey still opposed adding an official prayer to start meetings, citing the legal concept of separation of church and state, and wanting to avoid any action that could be perceived as government-imposed religion.
In an attempt to find a compromise, Hurt proposed having an official moment of silence where people could pray to themselves if they chose to start each meeting, instead of an official prayer.
“And then continue on with our meeting. I think that would benefit everybody that’s here,” Hurt said.
“That’s fine. At least there’s a minute to acknowledge a greater power than the five of us,” Parsons said.
Hansen supported Hurt’s moment of silence proposal, and thanked her fellow councilors for staying civil during the discussion.
“I can’t get mad at Jason. He’s got the best food in town,” Parsons added.
However, Hansen supported tabling the issue for further discussion at the next council meeting, as Ferguson was not present.
“I’m happy to wait until Mr. Ferguson can weigh in,” Hansen said.
Following the meeting, Schey told The Chronicle the city attorney has not been contacted about this issue.
Further discussion on an official prayer to begin future Vader City Council meetings will be held during the next regular council meeting, scheduled to start at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at Vader City Hall.
Privately contracted code enforcement
While no official motion was made on the issue, councilors discussed the possibility of entering into a contract for code enforcement with 4LEAF, Inc., in future years. 4LEAF is a nationwide construction management firm specializing in public works inspections, building safety and fire resiliency and more, according to its website, with its Pacific Northwest office in Tacoma.
According to Schey, city staff have had issues with code enforcement in the past, and some find it uncomfortable as they are often dealing with their neighbors in the small South Lewis County community.
“This is what these folks do, this particular company. They do it every day, they know the rules, they know the laws, they know what they can do and can’t do,” Schey said. “It’s a very good thing.”
The councilors were provided with a sheet showing different contract rate options, with the cheapest being a minimum of four hours a week at $85 an hour for code inspection services.
“It would be nice if code enforcement funded itself, like it was originally intended to do,” Parsons said.
“Even if it doesn’t fund itself, it will still make our city more valuable,” Dailey added.
Hurt stated it would also make the city more presentable.
Ultimately, the councilors still wanted more details as to what 4LEAF inspectors specifically provide for the different rates available. They also wanted to talk to the city attorney about the issue.
To learn more about 4LEAF, Inc., visit https://www.4leafinc.com/.
