by Joanne Rideout
[Listen below to the live recording of this meeting, held Monday, Dec 16, 2019]
At Monday night’s Astoria City Council meeting, the council held its annual holiday reception, complete with Astoria themed cookies and punch, it was a chance to thank all the city commission, board and committee members who also serve the city.
On the agenda were two items, one concerned a memorandum of agreement with employee unions and a proposal to supplement the pay of city employees who are specially trained to handle hazmat situations. The motion also equalized the pay of a vacant engineering position the city is recruiting for to make it competitive with comparable public sector jobs.
The motion passed unanimously.
The council also unanimously approved a request for a change order that added to the cost of the sewer repair project on Lexington Ave. Crews found more damage to underground systems than was previously thought. That project is now complete and vehicles have unrestricted access to Lexington Ave.
The meeting lasted less than a half an hour.