BINGEN — The Bingen City Council met in chambers Sept. 17.
Sidewalk design dominated the first half of the meeting. Tim Devries, project manager at Gray and Osborne Engineering, led council members through the initial proposed design for new sidewalks and curbs along Alder Street with new intersection infrastructure at Humboldt and Franklin, and along Cedar Street with added curbs at the Humboldt intersection. Discussion of the potential design focused on the angle of the curbs, with Mayor Catherine Kiewit pointing out that less angular curbs are much more navigable for the snow plow; the width of the driving lanes and the parking spaces; and the loss or creation of parking spaces. The council asked City Administrator Krista Loney to speak with The Society Hotel to keep them informed about the upcoming changes. Councilors also pointed out that some residents are currently using city property as their own, and they would be affected. Councilors were reminded that the bumped out curbs serve to slow down traffic, and that new crosswalks will be added to a pedestrian-heavy crossing at State Route 14 as well.
A second discussion focused on municipal code of conduct and expressive conduct policies. Bingen currently has neither, but both are recommended in order to be consistent in enforcing conduct in public facilities. Loney shared an example from Redmond, and added knowledge from a recent workshop she attended on First Amendment rights, responsibilities, and audits. Council requested an inventory of the city’s public spaces, and additional examples. They chose to examine the issue further in a later workshop.
The City of Bingen has numerous infrastructure projects in progress, most of which are at least partly grant-funded. The Oak Street Reservoir replacement is nearing completion. The East Steuben waterline replacement is in progress. The installation of a DC Fast Charger in Bingen has been postponed until spring 2025. The city is using a commerce grant to pay for the Middle Housing Study to examine housing needs in Bingen and a community open house is scheduled for Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. The SR-14 Water Main Extension is also on track. The city is also seeing the results of a USDA Rural Business Development Grant, which provided over-road signage, a Huckleberry Festival banner, holiday lights, and welcoming murals.
Council comments included celebration of the success of the Huckleberry Fest. Vouchers were approved for the 11 winners of the sidewalk drawing contest, who were Ivy Carpe, Amy Courtney, Hunter Deo, Bridger Dooley, Allison Doss, Greta Holmlund, Clara Jones, Emma Mosier, Eda O’Connor, Scarlett Regan, and Carl Spratt.
The Bingen city council next meets on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m.