Mossyrock city councilors met for their regular monthly meeting inside the Mossyrock Community Center on Wednesday, Sept. 17, and discussed a number of issues — key being the City of Mossyrock’s interlocal agreement (ILA) with the Morton Police Department for emergency response services.
Also discussed was the possibility of creating a fireworks ordinance setting regulations for exact times, days and locations it would be legal to launch fireworks. Ultimately, the council decided to send out questionnaires in the next round of Mossyrock residents’ utility bills to gather public input on the matter.
Toward the end of the meeting, Mossyrock Mayor Randall Sasser honored Mossyrock Planning Commission Chair Marcia Manley.
“I believe that no matter what town, what city, whatever, you always have to acknowledge the people that help make it whatever it is. I’m a firm believer of giving kudos to people who deserve it,” Sasser said. “... I appreciate you greatly for what you do, Marcia, down there at the flag pole. You are constantly helping out and doing things. And from a mayor to you, and from just a citizen to you, I appreciate you. We appreciate you and what you do.”
Morton Police Department agreement
As for the Morton Police Department ILA, discussion was held after Mossyrock City Councilor Shannon Mcarron announced she contacted the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office to request a boilerplate contract to see how much it would cost the City of Mossyrock to enter an ILA with the sheriff’s office instead. Morton Police Chief Cole Cournyer was not present at Wednesday’s meeting.
“I did talk to their chief and expressed to them our current contract, and what they’re asking for now,” Mcarron said. “And was told by their chief that what they’re getting is more than enough for what they should be providing … It was not (Lewis County Sheriff Rob) Snaza, but another chief. He said $123,000 is more than enough for one full-time lateral officer and everything it takes to maintain them.”
The Morton Police Department, like many across the nation, has been facing staffing shortages and has struggled to get new officers to come work in the rural East Lewis County community.
“The fact that they were not fully staffed all year long and only had one to two full-time officers, they should still have a lot of money left over because they didn’t pay that third officer,” Mcarron said.
She added she had been in contact with the Morton Police Department to find out what the department’s budget has been recently as well as what it was under former Morton Police Chief Roger Morningstar, but has not been able to get answers yet.
“We are already paying them more than it takes to keep and maintain an officer in this area,” she said.
Sasser wanted to talk with Cournyer more about this issue before making any formal decision regarding the existing ILA.
Fireworks ordinance proposal
Concerning the possibility of a fireworks ordinance, discussion initially began back in July when Gary and Barbara Colvin — owners of the mobile business Barbs Hawaiian Shaved Ice along with another building in downtown Mossyrock they are currently converting into a new restaurant — said their Mossyrock building had been damaged over the July 4 holiday by people setting off the celebratory explosions.
“With the burn ban on, they’re not supposed to be lighting them off anyway,” Gary said during public comment at the July 16 Mossyrock City Council meeting.
He stated he and his wife had invested over $300,000 into the building already and anticipated spending another $300,000 to finish renovation work.
Because of ongoing construction, exposed insulation membranes in the roof were damaged and a sealing finish on the concrete floor inside had to be redone, Gary said in July.
“I get that it’s exciting to see all the colors and the bangs and all that, but I can’t afford to keep repairing my building because people want to shoot off fireworks,” he said.
Gary asked the council in July to formally consider an ordinance banning the discharge of fireworks within city limits, similar to one in the neighboring City of Morton.
According to Mossyrock City Treasurer Jessica Bragg, who spoke at last Wednesday’s meeting, several other property owners had come to Mossyrock City Hall to say their roofs also were damaged by fireworks.
“We gotta make a decision as to what to do about that,” Sasser said on Wednesday.
Sasser added he spoke to the Lewis County Fire District 3 commissioners who said they had no issue with fireworks themselves and had no opinion one way or another on a proposed ban.
However, homeowners insurance to cover damage from possible fireworks-caused fires was another issue Sasser brought up. While most homeowners insurance policies do cover damage caused by legal fireworks, some claims can be denied if the fireworks were illegal in the area.
“Somewhere, there has to be some sort of (middle) ground,” Sasser said.
He added even if someone is successful in filing a homeowners insurance claim to cover damages caused by fireworks, their premium would go up after.
“I’m having to put in a file on my car right now because a log came off a log truck on Monday and hit me in front of my van,” Mcarron said. “It’s gonna happen.”
Mossyrock City Councilor Juliana Simon stated if any ordinance were to be enacted, it should restrict the launching of fireworks to only on July 4.
“It shouldn’t be for five days (around the holiday),” Simon added.
The idea was proposed to have a designated area for fireworks as well. However, Mcarron still opposed any ban at all, despite having to be part of the cleanup crew picking up debris at the Mossyrock School District following annual fireworks displays there.
“When you come into a town, you should probably look into the town a little bit and decide, is this the community I want to be in?” Mcarron said. “This town has always had a fireworks show since the 60s, everybody’s always done fireworks. That’s how it's been. It’s only very recently when all of a sudden people have big, huge issues. If you have a house you should have insurance, or a good roof … I have a metal roof and I will always put a metal roof on my house.”
Mcarron suggested leaving the possibility of banning fireworks within city limits up to Mossyrock voters with a future ballot initiative.
Also suggested was the possibility of allowing people to continue setting off fireworks within city limits, but only on their own property.
Ultimately, after a few more minutes of discussion, the council decided to put a questionnaire concerning a possible fireworks ban in the next round of utility bills going out to Mossyrock residents in order to gather public input on the matter.
