MEDICAL LAKE – Katy Allen is the new deputy administrator for the city of Medical Lake. The announcement came during the March 15 city council meeting.
After asking former City Administrator Doug Ross to resign during the March 1 meeting, mayor Terri Cooper appointed Allen to the position.
“It was just a time for a change,” Cooper said. “You know, after a couple of months (of Cooper’s tenure), I thought it wasn’t the best fit, so I’ve asked for Mr. Ross’s resignation.
The mayor appoints the city administrator—it’s very common that you have a city administrator that can partner with your vision.”
Elaborating further, Cooper mentioned that Ross has not responded to that request. The resignation is still pending.
A salary ordinance added during the March 15 meeting accommodates the deputy city administrator position. According to Cooper, this allowed for the appointment and approval of the council’s placement.
“Katy Allen was approved for this position and received an appointment letter,” Cooper said. “She’ll be paid $55 per hour, and she is not asking for any benefits. The contract was written for one year, and that is to work through this interim period.”
Cooper explained that Allen is well qualified for the position and has recently retired as the administrator for the city of Liberty Lake. She was a Women of the Year nominee in 2020. Allen started the job on March 16, a day after her appointment.
In Other News
Cooper spoke about some recently approved planning commission contracts. Marye Jorgenson had an existing agreement, and others were renewed. Judy Mayulianos and Mark Hudson are also planning commissioners that were named.
According to Cooper, Andie Mark, a newly appointed commissioner, has a background in environmental science. She also explained that Carl Munson, a recent appointee to the commission, has extensive knowledge of real estate.
Funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has been on and off the table. According to the mayor, on March 9, the council held a special meeting to review the funding Medical Lake has and will receive.
“Jeff McMorris from the Spokane County Commissioner’s Office came out to give a 20-minute presentation on all things related to ARPA,” Cooper said. “He filled us in on the categories, and how it can be spent. He let us know that since we were awarded under $10 million that all of our money could go into the general fund, and that it could be used on anything the general fund would typically cover.”
The mayor said many ideas were brought to the table, including equipment needs for the public works department and the wastewater treatment plant. Representatives from both departments described their needs and claimed a significant issue with equipment coming to its “end of life.”
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