City Of Kalama

The City Council discussed proposed changes to speed limits in various areas of the city, considering safety concerns and engineering recommendations, and adopted Ordinance No. 1533 setting the following new speed limits: • First Street from Elm to Kingwood (downtown) – lowering to 20mph • Cloverdale Road within the City limits – Lowering to 25mph • China Garden Road from Tenth Street to Gwynne Road – lowering to 30mph • Old Pacific Highway South from Elm Street to the City limits – now all 25mph The Council also discussed the community building survey which outlines the financial and structural challenges of the structure at 216 Elm Street while exploring options. It is clear the building holds an emotional attachment to many in the community which makes decisions difficult when the reality is the building is underutilized and underfunded without the means to support the costs of operations, maintenance and needed improvements. Funding for the building is coming from taxpayer dollars and to continue future operations the Council may need to hear from the citizens if this is how they want tax dollars allocated. The November ballot offers the opportunity to hear directly from the voters with either an advisory ballot measure or even a ballot measure requesting additional tax dollars to support the building. The consensus of the Council seemed to lean toward an advisory vote to hear how the public values the building. There will be continued discussions at the upcoming Council meetings in July (3rd & 17th). The Planning Commission is working on lot access code updates and will be moving onto the critical areas ordinance portion of the Comprehensive Plan Update. Public Works projects throughout the City are going well. The China Garden Road improvements project is complete. Work is underway on the sidewalk project along Old Pacific Highway. Two areas in the sewer line replacement project have now been completed with more to come. Police Chief Herrera noted the recent completion of ju-jitsu training by Office Castellanoz qualifies him as a training officer for self-defense tactics in this region. The department has been working with other entities to facilitate safe community events this summer including the City’s 4th of July event at the waterfront. The new staff member in Finance started as of June 1st and is working well. The Annual report was filed timely. Clerk/Treasurer Coni McMaster thanked Secretary Emily Moore for covering all the bases while Coni was on vacation. A few public service announcements noted— • Fireworks are permitted in Kalama City limits between June 28th and July 5th (Schedule will be posted to the city website) • North 1st Street will be chip-sealed with an onyx topcoat during the week of July 14th. Upcoming Events: • June 28th & 29th, Big Smoke in Little Kalama (Haydu Park) • July 4th, Kalama Summer Lights on the Fourth (Westin Amphitheater) • July 10th-12th, Kalama Community Fair (Haydu Park) • July 12th, Annual Kalama Downtown Parade (N 1st Street) • July 19th, Dance-A-Palooza

This is a reminder that the City Council will meet tonight, Wednesday, June 18th at 7:00pm. Agenda items include speed reduction in downtown and other areas in the city, as well as a community building discussion (which will likely continue to the July 3rd meeting). Agenda: https://www.towncloud.io/go/kalama-wa/agendas/793 (virtual meeting access information can be found on the agenda link)

City of Kalama offices and the Kalama Public Library will be closed on Thursday, June 19th in observance of Juneteenth — a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. and honors freedom and equality. We invite the community to reflect, celebrate, and continue the work toward a more just future. Offices will reopen on Friday, June 20th. Garbage service for Thursday pickup will be on the regular schedule.

We are bringing back the "Kalama Summer Lights on the Fourth" event, hosted by the City of Kalama! A free, family friendly event with live music, artisan vendors, food, and more! Here are the event details: Who: Everyone-- bring your friends & family When: Friday, July 4th, 2025, running from 12pm - 9pm Where: Westin Amphitheater/Marine Park at the Port of Kalama (215 N. Hendrickson Dr., Kalama, WA 98625) Event Shuttle: Skip the search for parking and use the event shuttle, which will run 11:30am until midnight (offsite parking location is at the Kalama school parking lot by the football stadium). The beer garden will be at the amphitheater, and is hosted by the Kalama Lions Club (12pm-9pm)! Free facepainting will be provided by Kalama Fair princesses. LIVE MUSIC will include: 12:30pm-2:30pm Grace + Dennis (Kalama Locals) 3:30pm-5:30pm CloudShine 7:00pm- 9:00pm 5 Guys Named Moe (The Moes) The BIG question we get asked each year: When do the fireworks start? Technically, we don't have a professional fireworks display, but the Kalama community (the public) tend to put on a wonderful show on the beach. The shuttle for offsite parking will be running through midnight for the fireworks too.

📬 Double the mail, not double the bill! If you receive your utility bill by mail, you may have noticed it showed up twice. Our third-party printer got a little overenthusiastic and mailed out duplicate bills. No need to worry — we’re aware of it, they’re looking into what happened, and the City won’t be charged twice. You only need to pay once (phew!). Thanks for your patience while we sort it out!

Recap City Council Meeting 6/5/25 The City Council reviewed the revised nuisance abatement code edits they made at the May 15th meeting which were prepared and presented by City Planner Todd Johnson. Council clarified a couple of points from the previous review for Mr. Johnson. Council chose to adopt Ordinance 1531 with minor changes replacing Kalama Municipal Code Chapter 7.04 Nuisance Abatement. The updates will be published and made available on the city website in the coming week. City Council authorized Mayor Reuter to sign Addendum 1 Supplement 1 to the 2023-2025 General Engineering Services Contract, increasing the total contract threshold from $40,000 to $55,000 for the two-year contract period ending August 2025. Staff explained that only $8,000 of the $40,000 spent so far under the contract included direct costs incurred by the city. The other $32,000 includes reimbursable expenses paid by development and land-use applicants. The increase in the contract threshold should not necessitate a budget amendment. Staff introduced new municipal law firm Thompson, Guildner & Associates. After a brief introduction from Attorney Erin Lewis and Managing Partner Emily Guildner the Council confirmed the Mayor’s appointment of the city attorneys. Under Staff Reports: Administrator Smee confirmed the Council is willing to discuss future funding and uses of the Community Building to meet the timeline for possibly putting an advisory vote to citizens in November 2025. Director Rasmussen summarized his report and recapped the current road projects underway for Kalama. Chief Herrera presented his report and explained the value of training and collaboration with neighboring LE agencies to keep our community safe. Acting Clerk Moore spoke briefly about upcoming fireworks discharge dates (legal June 28th - July 5th), and included a public service announcement to be aware of fire dangers such as long/dry grass in the summer heat. Upcoming dates and events: • Wednesday, June 18th, City Council meeting @ 7pm • Thursday, June 19th, Juneteenth Holiday (city offices & library closed) • June 28th & 29th, Big Smoke in Little Kalama • July 4th, Kalama Summer Lights on the Fourth (City of Kalama) • July 12th, Summer Parade Downtown (Kalama Chamber of Commerce) • August 16th, Street Dance Downtown (Kalama Chamber of Commerce • August 17th, Untouchables Car Show

The Kalama Planning Commission meeting and public hearing (continued, regarding lot frontage), will be held on Thursday, June 12th, 2025 @ 6pm in the City Council Chambers at 320 N 1st Street and via Zoom. The agenda and virtual attendance information is available through the calendar at www.cityofkalama.com.

The Old Pacific Hwy Sidewalk and Crosswalk project has started this week. Expect slight delays with flaggers for a single lane closure. Substantial completion of this project is 20 working days from the start of project-- we're aiming for early July. Thank you for your patience as we work to improve the safety of our streets and sidewalks!

The Kalama Parks and Rec June Drum 4 Fun schedule is now available! Register for classes here: Register. Classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am-11am at the Kalama Community Building at 216 Elm Street. Tuesdays only = $20, Thursdays only = $20, or all June classes = $40. Class dates: June 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, & 26

Join us for Summer Dance Sessions through Kalama Parks & Recreation with instructor Nichole Eden! Classes are Wednesday evenings from 6:30pm-7:15pm at the Kalama Community Building. Here is the schedule: 4th- American Rumba 8th- Single Swing 18th- Merengue 25th- East Coast Swing Each class is $20, OR buy a punch card with 8 punches for $120 (discount of $5 per class). Summer classes will be offered June, July, & August. Punch cards expire on August 30th. Drop-ins are welcome! Register online here: https://tinyurl.com/mpafxj44 Questions: 360-673-4908

The June edition of Kalama's City Newsletter is available here: https://5il.co/3hnfr Get the updates on upcoming events, public works projects, and important dates!

Attention Kalama city residents: Garbage pickup for Monday will be on a regular schedule. Please put your cart out on Sunday evening for Monday morning pickup. Thank you

Park Closure - Toteff Park and Stone Forest Playgrounds are getting new safety chips and some maintenance so will be closed during the week of May 27 - 30, 2025. A new adaptive swing will be installed in Toteff Park along with the safety chips in both parks. For questions call the City at 360-673-4562

STREET CLOSURE - N. 2nd Street between Juniper Street and Fir Street will be closed to traffic from May 26 to June 13, 2025 for construction with local access only. A detour will be in place along N. 3rd Place, Holly Street, and N. 3rd Street during the closure. Local residents will be provided access. This closure is necessary for public safety during the sewer line replacement construction in this area. For questions call the City at 360-673-4562 or email krasmussen@cityofkalama.com. Additional information for the north and south detours is available here: https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4835/City_of_Kalama/5683030/Submittal_26_-_TCP_-_N2nd_Closure__002_.pdf

In observance of Memorial Day, City offices and the Kalama Public Library will be closed on Monday, May 26th. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, May 27th. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the brave men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country. Thank you for your service. Wishing everyone a safe and meaningful Memorial Day. Garbage Notice: city residents- Monday garbage pickup is running on regular schedule.

🌞 Summer Sewer Averaging is Now in Effect! 💧 From May 21st through September 21st, Kalama’s Summer Sewer Averaging is active for residential properties connected to sewer. This seasonal adjustment helps account for increased water use during the summer months—like watering lawns or gardens—which doesn't enter the sewer system. 📌 Please Note: This program does not apply to commercial properties. 🔗 For more details, visit: www.cityofkalama.com/page/summer-sewer-average

🚧 Shoutout to the MVPs of Kalama – Our Public Works Crew! 🚧 It’s National Public Works Week, so we’re rolling out the (freshly paved) red carpet for the crew that keeps Kalama running smoothly! While the rest of us are busy enjoying clean water, flushing toilets, smooth roads, and working storm drains, our Public Works team is out there actually making it happen—rain or shine, mud or mayhem. 🛠️💧🌳 From filling potholes to fixing water lines and keeping our parks in tip-top shape, these people are the behind-the-scenes heroes of city life. And they do it all with skill, grit, and maybe just a tiny sigh when we park directly in front of their “No Parking” signs. 😅 So this week, give a big THANK YOU to the Kalama Public Works crew. Without them, well… we’d be up a creek. Without a pipe. Or clean water. Thank you, Public Works! 👏

5/15/25 City Council Recap Mayor Reuter initiated and concluded public hearings, on the six-year Transportation Improvement Plan (2026-2031) and the Water System Plan Update. There was no public testimony. Council reviewed Nuisance Abatement code recommendations from Planning Commission as well as proposed language from two of the council members. Council chose to work through the 12 pages of suggested code updates section by section. Mayor Reuter facilitated the discussion, and Council gave the Planner direction based on simple majority consensus for each section. The planner will bring back revisions based on Council’s directions for final adoption at a later meeting. Council awarded the North 1st Street Chip Seal project to Sierra Santa Fe Corporation, contingent upon the state Transportation Improvement Board’s final approval. Council authorized two interlocal agreements with Cowlitz County to move city water mains as part of their South Cloverdale and Cloverdale Confer Rd projects. One to allow the County’s contractor to work on city infrastructure the other to allocate the cost share and grant funding for the project. Council authorized the City Administrator to sign an interlocal agreement for services with the Cowlitz Wahkiakum Council of Governments to facilitate Kalama’s Internal Transit Feasibility Study. Federal funds were awarded last year to pay for the majority of this project. City Council approved an ordinance amending the city’s budget, a resolution declaring some police firearms surplus, as well as a resolution adopting the 6 Year Transportation Plan.

The Kalama Library Board will meet on Wednesday, May 21st, 2025 at 5:15pm in the council chambers located at 320 N 1st Street, Kalama. The agenda is available here: https://www.towncloud.io/go/kalama-wa/agendas/792

The May Civil Service meeting has been canceled due to lack of agenda items. The next meeting is scheduled for June 26, 2025 @ 5:00pm at the City Council Chambers located at 320 N 1st Street.