City retreat moves to Ephrata

Electric City’s council retreat inched a bit closer to home Tuesday night when members voted to hold the six-hour meeting in Ephrata instead of Moses Lake.

What swayed council members was that City Clerk Jackie Perman found a free room at the Grant County Health Board.

The city would have had to pay for a room at Big Bend Community College, but the Health Board room is free.

It wasn’t exactly clear why the council wanted to meet out of town. About the only item for the agenda that cropped up was one suggested by Councilmember John Nordine. He said that members needed more instruction on the different roles played by the mayor and council, a problem that continues to crop up at city hall where council members sometimes tell employees what to do.

Set for the agenda at Ephrata, Friday, May 4, is a one-hour presentation by Canfield and Associates, the city’s insurance firm; an hour-long meeting with the city attorney; and possibly a meeting with Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones.

Council members were asked to bring items they wanted to discuss to their next meeting on April 24.

Both City Clerk Perman and Public Works Director Ken Dexter will also attend the retreat.

nsley said she never did get to see attorney Kennison.