Past flooding continues as current topic

BINGEN — The Bingen City Council met on July 21, with a new face at the table: Mayor Kelsey Ramsey and Councilor Erika Ramsey attended the meeting in person along with baby Jesse, born on the Fourth of July.

Public comment kicked off with speaker Sherron Murphy, who testified that downtown Bingen has “way less foot traffic” and “is pretty much a dying town” due to the closure of the four businesses that were affected by the April flooding. Resident Brian Mattingly, also a local business owner, expressed empathy for the affected businesses, but pointed out the risks one assumes as a business owner and the benefits of an emergency plan.

The city has added a discussion item to its regular agenda for an update on the flood recovery. This week, they read the press release published online last week (available at columbiagorgenews.com). In it, the city explains why the process has been delayed and what the city can and cannot do about it.

The press release said they too are frustrated with the work timeline, which was mostly delayed because of the repair contractor chosen by the affected businesses. The city has no authority to direct its work.

Further, the city may not speak about the details of the incident because someone has threatened litigation; they have not indicated who it is, or what form of litigation. It is also illegal for the city to use public funds to pay for private business losses or private repair costs.

Meanwhile, the city’s insurer, Washington state’s Risk Management Service Agency (RSMA), is still waiting on final cost estimates. Despite public comment to the contrary, RMSA has paid cash to mitigate the wage loss suffered by the job loss, though Chips’ attorney Christopher Greene said those amounts were based on 2024 numbers and are not commensurate with what staff would be earning this summer. As an example, Chips Bar and Grill received a total of $71,440.96 in three checks to ease the wage loss, based on April, May, and June hours of 2024. Carmen’s Kitchen received $82,361.72, and Antiques and Oddities received $1,280.58 to mitigate wage loss.

RMSA representative Andrea Luper confirmed that “contractor selection is not controlled by RMSA. The affected third party independently chooses the contractor who will perform the repairs.”

The City of Bingen has no control over RMSA’s process, and neither RMSA nor the city has control over the businesses’ chosen contractor, resulting in a temporary deadlock. The affected business owners’ main complaint still seems to be that they will be expected to pay all repair costs up front, anticipating reimbursement from the insurance company afterwards. They are also unhappy that they must pay for water service even when their business is closed.

Other business

In regular business, the East Steuben water line project is in progress. City Administrator Krista Loney also presented the first preview of the city code Title 15 code regarding buildings and construction. The preliminary changes are mostly about language but will focus on fence building guidelines. As an example, the new code will indicate which fence height would require a permit. Bingen’s numerous infrastructure projects will continue to progress throughout the summer months.