City voids checks, writes off debt

If you received a check from the City of Portland more than two years ago and never cashed it, well, don’t bother trying to cash it now.

Portland Board of Works, which held its first meeting of the year Thursday, voided all outstanding checks more than two years old.

State law allows a city void checks after two years. That amounted to $50.98 for Portland.

The board took a similar action with outstanding water and sewage debts owed to the city. In total, it wrote off $1,132.02 in debts.

Newly appointed board member Steve McIntosh, who replaces Bill Gibson, told other board members Jerry Leonhard and Mayor John Boggs that the block on Hayes Street he lives on needs to be paved.

“It’s bad bad,” Leonhard said of the potholes. “It’s not going to swallow a car yet but I’d hate to be on a bicycle and hit a couple them.”

Boggs explained there’s a process the city goes through to pave roads. The city has a list — its street assessment document — that city officials use to gauge what streets are most in need of paving.

In other business, the board renewed a $1,500 contract with Jane and Tim Miller for use of five parking spaces at TJ’s Bike Shop near city hall. The Portland Police Department use the spaces for parking, said Portland clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips. The contract runs through 2020.