WARDEN — There were no comments during an annual public hearing concerning the increase in property taxes for the City of Warden during a regular city council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

“Each year, by law, cities can increase their tax levy by one percent,” said Kriss Shuler, city clerk for the City of Warden.

To increase the levy, a public hearing must be held. No members of the public were present at the meeting. Over all, property taxes will increase between $5700 and $5800 for the entire city.

In other business, the city council approved a letter of support for the Columbia Basin Sustainable Groundwater Coalition. The coalition is looking for grant funds to get started and needed letters of support from governmental entities within their coverage area. They hope to be a voice to get the funding necessary to complete the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project in the areas affecting the Odessa Aquifer. The City of Warden is part of the Odessa subarea, which provides drinking water for cities such as Moses Lake and Othello, as well as other small communities in the area.

“They want to make sure we have a sustainable source,” Shuler said. “Since so many farmers use well for irrigation, they want to continue the irrigation project farther into the farming area.”

Warden Police Chief Rick Martin reported that the Warden School District and law enforcement have had a discussion about students fighting at school and how to best address it. He also reported on a conference he attended about internet crimes against schools and the training that one of his reserve officers attended.

Don Edson, Public Works director, reported that his crew is doing winter preparations at their facilities and on water meters. They have been reading the water meters for the last time this year. Water meter reading will begin again in the spring. They have also been stalling water and sewer connections for new houses being built in Warden.

Shuler told the council that the city has been working with the Port of Warden on a helipad concept. The port, which owns the airport, would like to install a helipad for use by emergency agencies, such as Lifeflight. Currently the helipad is in the planning stages. Port representatives will present the plan to the council at a later time.

Grant County Health District Chief Administrator Theresa Adkinson gave an update to the council regarding the health district and the services it provides. Currently, the health district asks that each city pay $2 per resident for use with disease outbreaks, school programs and mental health services.