The following are the unapproved minutes from the Hines Common Council meeting held June 23. These minutes have been edited for clarity and length:

City Administrator (CA) Kirby Letham mentioned how green the main park looks and said he is pleased with how well the new sprinkler system is working. He added that he’d like to get the remainder of the sprinklers finished as soon as possible.

CA Letham said there will be a pre-construction meeting June 24 at 2 p.m. for the water project. An audience member asked whether the project is only for the water tower or if it includes new water lines. Letham explained that the tank construction will be done concurrently with new water lines and new fire hydrants. He added that the project will also focus on Well No. 3 (Jones Avenue), as it was taken offline due to mechanical issues.

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Under new business, Steve and Doris Davison requested a $1,200 economic-development grant from the city to install permanent signage and a decorative bench to the front of their business, Country Washboard. The council voted to approve the request.

CA Letham presented a request to the city to pay Sage DesignWorks to complete the mural on the city park bathroom. In 2019, the owners of Sage DesignWorks, Jeff and Tory Schmidt, volunteered to paint the mural for the cost of materials. Since that time, their business has become very busy, and CA Letham recommended that the city pay them $2,000 to cover their time to finish the mural with the plan of having it completed within the next month.

Councilor Marsallai Quick said she is disappointed that, although the Schmidts volunteered to do the mural, it seems that the city cannot get on their schedule without paying for their labor.

When asked where the money would come from, CA Letham explained that it would come from this year’s transient lodging (TLT) funds.

Councilor Ron Williams asked if some of the TLT funds could be used to work on the skate park. He said it should be a top priority due to safety concerns and asked whether the city has money for both the mural and skate park.

CA Letham said there is funding in the new budget for park improvements. He is attending a meeting on June 25 regarding the skate park, and the plan is to decide what items are of immediate concern and what can be done later.

Mayor Nikki Morgan asked how long the mural is expected to last. Letham said it will be painted with exterior paint, but he doesn’t know how long it will last.

Harney County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lola Johnson said Sage DesignWorks completed three murals in Burns, and none of them have faded, even though they have been exposed to the elements. When asked if the Schmidts donated their time for the three murals, Johnson stated that all three were paid for.

The matter was tabled until the next meeting to allow time for more research.

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Robert Paramore presented an idea for Hines Paved Walking Trails, which would benefit residents and visitors. Both loops would be 2.27 miles of paved trails for people to walk, run, and bike ride year-round. He said he spoke to Harney Rock, who sent someone out to walk the loop, and they are working up a quote for him. He mentioned that it could be done in two phases and would be at least 8-feet wide. After some discussion, the mayor asked Paramore to give the estimates to CA Letham once he receives them.

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The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. to begin the budget hearing.

CA Letham discussed changing the name of a line item in the police budget to account for the expenditure of funds to acquire a police dog.

The council reviewed the final budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The mayor then opened the floor for public comment.

Hilda Allison asked the council to hold off on giving TLT funds to the chamber of commerce, stating that these funds could be used to develop the walking trails that Paramore discussed. She went on to say that the city could install an electronic reader board. Allison added that she spoke to a member of High Desert Park & Recreation about making the annual swim meet into a huge event, like a festival.

She asserted that, if all the TLT funds are given to the chamber, many of the events that citizens would like to hold would not get funding. Allison concluded that the council shouldn’t give the chamber any funds.

Mayor Morgan said  she’s been involved in this discussion for a very long time, and she doesn’t want the city to be a detriment to the chamber. The council will look at this every year, and will start reviewing how funds are used earlier in the year to allow time for research.

Councilor Williams was not at the previous meeting, so he asked what the final split on the TLT funding was set at. CA Letham stated that the split was set at 85 percent to the chamber and 15 percent to the city. If funds are not spent in the fiscal year, they can be carried over to the next one.

The budget hearing was adjourned at 7:26 p.m., and the regular meeting reconvened.

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CA Letham read Resolution No. 2288 in its entirety, a resolution of the city of Hines to adopt the 2020-2021 budget in the total amount of $7,915,088. The council voted to adopt the resolution.

The council also approved Resolution 2289, a resolution to receive state revenues for fiscal year 2020-2021.

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Kerry Boggs, owner of Harney County Sporting Goods, applied for funding to add an archery section to his store. Morgan said the council needs to review how these funds can be used, and a discussion ensued. The topic was tabled until the next council meeting.

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Johnson informed the council that the chamber’s board of directors committed to having a representative attend every city council meeting, and she presented a schedule showing who will attend each month.

She added that board members Tory Schmidt, Tyler Colley, and Dan Grigg committed to attending the TLT subcommittee meetings. She noted that Councilor Quick also committed to attending these meetings and asked whether any other councilors would like to attend.

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Chris Pratt presented his proposal to create tourism-destination ideas to increase tourism in the city and county.

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CA Letham told the council that, if they want to add a gas tax to the November ballot, the documentation needs to be submitted to the county by July 15. The councilors discussed how the public might view the tax. The tax would be used for street improvements, and would capitalize on the out-of-town traffic that comes through Hines. A motion was made to add a $.01 per gallon tax on the November ballot, and it passed on a 3-1 vote.

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CA Letham said that, according to the 2016 Employee Handbook, any vacation time over 80 hours must be taken or paid out each fiscal year. He would like to avoid paying out lump sums for unused vacation, and asked the council for permission to carry over unused vacation time into the next fiscal year. He will work with department heads to make sure staff members are taking their vacation time. The council voted to allow the city administrator to let unused vacation time carry over from the 2019-2020 fiscal year to the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

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During the public comment portion of the meeting, Eldon Hart said he remembered an idea of painting “Welcome to Hines” on the old mill smokestack and asked what happened with that idea.

Mayor Morgan said the idea was postponed because asbestos was found in the smokestack. However, she said she was told that the outside of the smokestack was refinished, and the documentation might be with the Snow Mountain Pine documents at the museum.

Councilor Ray Breshears said there could be limitations due to safety concerns.

Hart said that a crew could use a lift so they wouldn’t need to scale the smokestack itself.

CA Letham reminded the council that the smokestack belongs to the county, and the city would need to work through that.

The next council meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, at city hall.