By Al Camp
Chronicle staff

     Okanogan City Council March 4 discussed hiring a person on contract to market and promote the city.
     The person hired to promote Okanogan could work with the Okanogan Chamber of Commerce on Okanogan Days and Harvest Fest, and initially would be under contract, according to the proposal.
     If the person was successful, he or she could be hired as a city employee four to five years down the line, said councilman Craig Nelson, who also wondered how the person would be funded.
     Quality of life and business in Okanogan were highlighted as what the person would be promoting.
     "We need someone to coordinate activities," said Nelson.
     "Could we share the cost with Omak?" asked councilman John Combs. "Spread the cost out."
     Mayor Michael Blake asked whose interest the person would have in mind if he or she worked for several cities.
     "Nobody really is pushing to put on sports tournaments at the sports complex," said Nelson. "There are not as many activities out there as there could be."
     Blake, who said he is a big believer in promoting the city, asked if the person could be hired before June, when the year's first activities in the area start.
     Combs warned council members that the person hired would not necessarily bring results overnight and that promotion success would have to be measured "down the road."
     Councilman Wayne Turner noted that Gary Reese was hired in the past to work with teams at The Plex.
     Blake said working on tournaments would be part of the job description.
     "We're now looking at a more open-ended push to market the city," said the mayor. "I would like to see that (position) recommended."
     The matter was to be discussed at the next meeting Tuesday, March 18, when specifics of the position could be available.
     In other business, the council:
     - Heard from Economic Alliance director Roni Holder-Diefenbach, who discussed rates the cities pay to the alliance.
     Holder-Diefenbach, with support from Okanogan Planning Commission chairman Jim Martin, explained how the alliance is working with county commissioners to build up a fund that could be as much as $500,000 by 2009 and could be used for city and county projects.
     To accomplish that funding goal, Holder-Diefenbach asked that the alliance take 20 percent of the money raised to pay for alliance employees. No money was to be taken from the account in 2008, allowing a reserve to rise to a projected $149,000.
     By doing that, cities would not be asked to allocate money to support the alliance.
     Blake told Holder-Diefenbach there remain some hard feelings in county towns on how money was used by commissioners on county projects that seemed to stray from the purpose of the account - economic development.
     Martin said commissioners have gotten the message that they need to work with cities on awarding the money.
     Public works director Ray Clements said there might be a better way to list projects seeking money. He said in the past he'd have a project for which outside money was available if the project had a high priority on the alliance list.
     Economic Alliance is charged by the county commissioners with prioritizing projects for funding from the county's .09 (formerly .08) tax fund.
     The alliance would not have to pay any money into the project, but because the project had a lower rating Clements was unable to secure the money, he said.
     He asked if there was a way to float such projects to the top of the list if they had other funding.
     - Opted to buy underinsured motorist insurance on its 34 vehicles. The coverage, which would cost $1,700 or $50 per vehicle, would increase coverage to $1 million if an underinsured driver struck a city vehicle.
     The state Department of Labor and Industries covers all other aspects of a city employee being injured in an accident. The extra coverage would pertain to a small area not being covered, according to city officials.
     The addition passed on a 4-0 vote.
     - Heard thanks from Combs for council members' concern following the recent death of his wife.
     - Discussed whether to grant the Colville Confederated Tribes access to Salmon Creek.
     - Adopted a resolution concerning Americans with disabilities.
     - Held a first reading on an ordinance to the balance city budget.