Washington’s City Council met Monday evening and did some end-of-the-year bookkeeping, heard the introduction of a proposed ordinance to add a separate section regarding food trucks to the City Code, and heard a request from the Daviess County Community YMCA.
Nearing the end of the year, the Council passed a resolution transferring unspent capital equipment funds from several city departments to the Rainy Day Fund. This allows the city to carry the money over into next year’s budget.
The Council then heard the introduction regarding food trucks. In the past, the city provided plug-in boards to food trucks free of charge, with the city footing the electric bill. With the proliferation of food truck events, the city is seeing an upswing in electricity costs. The new ordinance looks at charging a small fee to the sponsors of food truck events to lessen the cost being borne by the city. The Council will take action on the proposal at its next meeting.
Next the Council heard a request from the YMCA. Jeff Owens recounted the history of the YMCA in Daviess County beginning in 1946. Owens said the gym was added 77 years ago, the pool in 1979, and the fitness center 25 years ago. Owens said the “Y”’s Board had asked four firms for the most cost-effective way to deal with the aging structure. The consensus is that building a new YMCA building was the best option. A.J. Miles and Beth Gabhart described the Y’s current programming and discussed the proposed expansion that the proposed 50,000 sq. ft. structure would allow. Owens told the Council the projected cost of the new building, to be built on the current site, is $25 million. The “Y” is asking the city to contribute $3 million to the project. The Council discussed the proposal and took the project under consideration.
At the end of the meeting, Mayor Rhoads reminded everyone that the final Council meeting of 2025 would be held on December 8th. The mayor also announced Washington’s annual Christmas in the Park on. Dec. 3 and Dec. 18.
Mayor Rhoads also announced the contractors had laid the final coat of pavement on the old U.S. 50 project on Washington’s east side, but putting down lines depends on the weather.
