⚾ Let's Play Ball! Budgets, Sports Courts & Sanitation: October Skamania City Government Round-Up
From sewer bill shock in Stevenson to greenhouse gas policy in North Bonneville and grant-funded upgrades in Underwood, here’s what happened across Skamania’s city governments in October, and how neighbors are shaping what comes next.
🏙️ Stevenson City Council - October 2025 Round-Up
📆 October 5 - Council Workshop
The council met for a focused workshop on solid waste and recycling coordination with Skamania County. Staff reviewed the current interlocal agreement and discussed proposed updates. Councilmembers flagged challenges in aligning city services with county goals, particularly around composting and recycling infrastructure, which remain limited.
The conversation emphasized both regional collaboration and the need for local flexibility, including concerns about staff bandwidth to implement changes.
📆 October 12 - Regular Meeting
This meeting centered on utility system policy and public comment regarding the city's mandatory sewer hookup requirement.
- Resident Brian McNamara shared detailed cost projections showing that, over 10 years, required sewer hookup and service fees could total more than $34,000 for his property, even though he already maintains a functioning septic system. He expressed concern for low-income and senior residents, calling the ordinance financially burdensome.
“That’s a substantial amount, especially for seniors, people on fixed incomes.”
- Council and staff discussed the city’s enforcement process and clarified the ordinance’s basis in long-term infrastructure planning and Department of Health requirements.
- Also approved: Consent agenda items including vouchers and staff contracts.
📆 October 19 - Budget Workshop
Councilmembers and city staff met to begin early deliberations on the 2026 city budget. The conversation focused on balancing infrastructure investments, personnel costs, and general inflationary pressure while maintaining essential services and preparing for capital project needs.
Key themes included:
- Department-Level Projections: Staff walked council through revenue and expense projections for core departments, with particular attention to Public Works, where cost increases for materials and contract services are straining capacity.
- Utility Rate Adjustments: Council discussed the financial health of the Water and Sewer Funds, exploring whether 2026 would require modest rate adjustments to stay on track with planned upgrades and operational costs.
- Personnel Planning: Rising wages and benefit costs were flagged as a budget concern. Council considered how to responsibly meet staffing needs without creating structural deficits, especially with smaller departments.
- Capital Planning: The team reviewed long-term projects like sewer line replacements, water system resiliency, and road surface repair, many of which hinge on securing state/federal grant matches or pacing spending over multiple years.
- Public Engagement: There was brief discussion of how to communicate budget choices and rate decisions more clearly to residents, particularly in light of recent frustrations (like high water bills or mandated utility hookups).
While no decisions were finalized, the meeting laid groundwork for November hearings and final adoption in December.
🌲 North Bonneville City Council - October 2025 Recap
📆 October 14 – Budget Talk & Mayor Pay Debate
This meeting opened with a packed agenda and an unusually active round of public comment and council discussion. Two key topics emerged:
🧾 Mayor Salary Debate:
Councilmember Randall initiated a conversation on reducing the mayor’s salary back to its pre-2021 level. Councilmember Good proposed forming a citizen committee to guide compensation decisions, while City Attorney Emily Guildner outlined the process of establishing a formal salary commission. No vote was taken, but public commenters weighed in:
- Jeff Blakely suggested any vote would be premature.
- Don Stevens shared historical salary context and supported a part-time mayor model.
- Kalista Hamilton raised concerns about Public Works staffing capacity, asking whether the budget allowed for additional help.
🧑🤝🧑 Family Employment Discussion:
Councilmember Baxter requested a discussion on family members working together in city offices. Legal best practices were reviewed, including how to separate supervision from evaluations or pay decisions if relatives are employed within the same department.
Other highlights:
- The Sheriff’s report noted a drop in Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding, which could impact county budgets.
- The Planner’s report provided updates on Cascade Business Park SEPA review.
- The Mayor and City Clerk updated the public on Lift Station #2 repairs, public works staffing interviews, and the city’s audit progress.
- The city began review of 2026 revenue projections, grant hopes, and reserve fund balances.
📆 October 28 - Waste Management, GHG Policy & Mayor Compensation Ordinance
This session was more action-focused, with the council approving or reviewing several major items:
♻️ Adoption of County Waste Plan
Council passed Resolution 590, formally adopting the 2025 Skamania County Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Plan, a coordinated city-county strategy submitted to the Dept. of Ecology.
🌿 Greenhouse Gas Policy
Council also passed Resolution 589, adopting a city-level greenhouse gas reduction policy to guide future projects and infrastructure decisions. This policy is intended to align the city with state and federal expectations, potentially making North Bonneville more competitive for grant funding in areas like transportation, energy efficiency, or environmental upgrades.
🏗️ Public Works Upgrades
Council approved a $10,000 contract with Mid-Columbia Overhead Door to replace a failing overhead door at the city’s Public Works shop.
💬 Mayor Compensation Ordinance - First Read
Council reviewed draft language for a new mayor compensation structure, adjusting the monthly salary to $4,017/month plus an $890 stipend for health coverage, effective January 2026. This is a significant reduction from the temporary salary of $10,350/month, aligning with ongoing public and council discussion.
🎉 Big Win for Underwood Parks!
In October, Underwood Parks & Recreation announced that it has received $152,000 in grant funding from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) to improve community recreation spaces. The grant will fund upgrades to the tennis and basketball courts, including new surfaces, nets, and accessibility features, as well as improvements to the baseball field, like backstop replacement and regrading. These much-needed updates aim to increase safety, usability, and inclusion for all ages. Local volunteers and UPRD members celebrated the news as a major milestone in building more resilient public spaces for the Underwood community.
As an aside: the writer of this very newsletter, the Skamania Dispatch, is one of the volunteers who also worked on obtaining this RCO grant. I'm grateful to have had the chance to put my writing skills towards the improvement of our beautiful shared public spaces in Underwood!