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- Council hikes mgr. salary
- to $80,530
- SUNNYSIDE (Tuesday, 5-12-98)--The City Council last night approved adding a fifth salary step to the city manager's salary.
- Formerly, the top salary Sunnyside city managers could draw was a fourth-step $66,250. The council last night created a fifth step at $80,530.
- Councilmen also discussed fringe benefits including an auto allowance, life insurance, travel expenses for interviewees and their spouses, vacation time, and buy-back for unused vacation time.
- The council agreed to a June 30 cutoff date for accepting candidate applications. These will be narrowed to seven, which the council will interview over a two-day period.
- Grant proposal writer
- In other matters, the council heard a report from Dave Fonfara, director of Sunnyside Inc, the agency in charge of developing Sunnyside's economy.
- Fonfara recommended hiring a grant writer/coordinator to be paid $38,400 to $45,600 a year plus fringe benefits. In addition, the position would come with another $20,390 for the writer's secretarial support, office operations, phone service, internet connection, and other expenses.
- The grant writer/coordinator would work under Fonfara's supervision to seek out potential funding sources and prepare grant proposals based on community needs.
- He would prepare the grants on a contract basis, possibly for the City of Sunnyside, Sunnyside Port District, Sunnyside School District, and Sunnyside Community Hospital.
- Fonfara noted he has already spoken with city council representatives about the grant writer position, and with Mac Chambers, Supt. of Sunnyside School District.
- He suggested a meeting be set among the four public agencies to wrestle with details or concerns. He indicated he would like to see a grant writer on board by September.
If all four entities agree on Fonfara's plan, each would pay $18,107 for its chunk of the grant writer's time. If just three go for it, each would pay $24,143, he said.
- Councilman Mike Farmer liked the idea. "I don't see how we could lose. If (the grant writer) couldn't get $18,000 back for us he would not be much of a grant writer," he said.
- Councilman Roy Anciso said "I think it's a worthwhile project; $18,000 is not much," given the possibilities of returns for the area.
- Mayor Ed Prilucik suggested Fonfara get with interim City Mgr. Mark Kunkler to discuss what times of year would be best for the city to use the grant writer's services.
- Rural Empowerment dollars
- Fonfara told the council that the Sunnyside area is eligible for $40-million of "Round 2" Rural Empowerment Zone dollars flowing from the feds, which would be doled out over a 10-year period.
- Vice Pres. Al Gore announced the dollar availability last month. Fonfara said competition would be stiff--only five new zones will be funded in the U.S., with grant applications due at the Dept. of Agriculture by Oct. 9.
- Fonfara indicated the existing Lower Yakima County Rural Enterprise Community Advisory Committee (REC)--which he supervises under Sunnyside Inc--would be the lead agency to go for the Empowerment gold.
- The REC at present oversees an ongoing $30-million program that started in 1995 and will continue until 2005. It's one of 30 such Zones in the U.S. The same criteria that makes the Lower Valley eligible for Enterprise bucks also makes it eligible to get Empowerment dollars.
- That USDA Enterprise money currently is administered by Yakima County, which is advised by the REC.
- The REC has been directed by Dan Guzman, as supervised by Fonfara. Guzman recently resigned, and Fonfara has said Sunnyside Inc will drop REC oversight status Aug. 31.