Washington Board of Public Works approves salary changes and contract renewal, tables water-line agreement

The City of Washington Board of Public Works and Safety on July 13 approved routine minutes and claims, voted to approve two personnel salary changes, renewed a one-year professional engineering and land-survey agreement with Ed Barnett and tabled a proposed water-line repair agreement with Bethany Christian Church pending revisions.

Board members opened the meeting by approving the minutes of the June 22, 2026, regular meeting after a motion by Councilman Dahl and a second; the approval passed by voice vote. The board then voted to pay city claims following a motion identified in the record as made by Councilman Dawn and seconded by Councilwoman Ash Saines.

The board discussed a draft agreement with Bethany Christian Church that would clarify who pays for concrete replacement if the city must excavate and repair water lines beneath the church parking lot. A staff member described the draft as "a very basic agreement" that acknowledges the city's water line and asks the church to cover concrete restoration and related damage costs if repairs are required. The staff member also pointed out a typographical error in the draft that references the wrong paragraph and said staff would correct the error and bring the agreement back to the board. The item was tabled for revision.

The board approved two salary and position changes in the water and wastewater departments. The record lists Caleb Moffitt moving from a "water summer" role with a listed pay of $12.35 to a water distribution/maintenance title at $25.80, with an effective date recorded as July 20, 2026. The record also lists Austin Clark moving from a "wastewater summer" role (listed pay $12.35) to a park labor title with a listed pay shown in the transcript as "$24 percentage 70¢"; the board approved the change and the city clerk/staff should confirm and publish the corrected pay notation in official minutes.

The board also renewed the city's professional engineering and land-survey services agreement with Ed Barnett for another year, noting that Barnett regularly provides project-specific services and has saved the city money on surveying and small projects. A board member moved to renew the contract, the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

With no additional business, the board adjourned the meeting.

Next steps: staff will correct the typographical error in the Bethany Christian Church agreement and return it for further consideration; the clerk will publish corrected salary figures for Austin Clark in the official minutes if edits are confirmed.