City Council met in regular session on July 18, 2022 at 6:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.
Mayor Lester presided:
Councilmembers present:
Mike Peterson
Beryl Grant
Scott Winkler
Dylan Canaday
Pete Lane
Amy Farris
City employees present were City Administrator Kennedy, Public Works Director Mager, Chief Newman and Attorney Green.
MINUTES: The meeting was called to order and the Council minutes of July 5th, July 11th, July 12th and July 13th were approved as presented by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Canaday. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
VISITORS: Tim Thompson, via telephone explained he grew up in Grangeville and wants to put in a 3 space RV park at 907 N college. The location used to be Thompson Auto Repair and then it was rented out until the shop collapsed during a snowstorm three years ago. It is currently a cement slab. He is trying to improve the north side of Grangeville and he’s a little annoyed that the north side of town is the junky side. Williams Plumbing is coming to do the water and sewer on Wednesday. He has been studying other parks in Lewiston and Clarkston and utilizing that information to improve the property.
He asked for a waiver for the following three requirements on his proposed RV Park that he doesn’t meet.
1. No RV shall be located closer than 25’ from the right of way line of a main street. Tim currently has 20’ instead of the required 25’.
2. Roads and Walks within the park – Because the park is only 3 spaces and accessed from College Street, Tim has no roads and walks in the park.
3. Service Building, including office/management – At this time, Tim does not have a service building, but in the future, he hopes to convert the existing building on the property and add a service facility including office in the building.
Public Works Director Mager stated there is good fire access on back side, the drainage is good and his proposal meets the other criteria.
Mayor Lester asked Tim how he plans to function with rental of units without an office or someone on site. He explained he’s up here every week to assist with other rentals and maintenance and plans to be a part of it on a weekly basis.
Councilor Grant asked what type of client he’s looking for – long term, short term or both? Tim responded he’s looking for both, but he hopes to make his park into a high-end area. He plans to have strict covenants and each lot will have water, sewer, garbage, airline and WIFI. Councilor Grant asked his timeframe for creating the service building. Tim stated he hopes to open the RV park August 1st but wants to have the office delayed until next year.
Councilor Farris asked if he talked to neighbors to see what they thought. Tim stated he did and they thought it was a great idea.
On motion by Councilor Farris, second by Councilor Canaday to approve the request for the waivers on the proposed RV park at 907 N College. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Canaday, Farris, Winkler, Lane, Grant, Peterson. NO: none. The motion passed.
POLICE AND ANIMAL CONTROL REPORT: Chief Newman reported the City had 124 calls for service and 30 reports taken. Officer Vance will graduate the 5th of August. The department interviewed Logan Pitman and if his background goes through, he will start in late August or September.
TRAFFIC STUDY – NORTH FLORENCE: Chief Newman stated the police did a traffic Study on N. Florence to determine if a stop sign was needed. During a one-week period, there were a total of 675 vehicles. Of those 675 vehicles, only .74% vehicles were traveling at a speed that would have justified issuing a citation. A previous request was also denied in this area. Based upon the numbers, Chief Newman did not feel that the placement of a stop sign would have any impact on the low number of speeding violations that were observed during the survey. Councilor Grant felt when a vehicle comes off the truck route it always appears to be coming off fast, but they probably aren’t.
On motion by Councilor Canaday, second by Councilor Peterson to deny the request from Edwin Anglesey, 314 N Florence at the November 1, 2021 council meeting for a stop sign on N Florence. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Canaday, Farris, Winkler, Lane, Grant, Peterson. NO: none. The motion passed.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Public Works Director Mager stated his department is preparing to start the BST project on W North 6th and W North 3rd Streets this week. Curb and gutter is going in on W South 3rd and a City/homeowner curb and gutter project is starting on S C Street by the school. There are a couple weird places with water coming up in the street but not by city infrastructure so public works is trying to figure out where it’s coming from. These are located in the Blewett Subdivision and behind Cloningers. PumpTech will be here next week, starting at Eimers Well and then moving to Spencer Well.
ON STREET PARKING OF TRAILERS 9-2-15: City Administrator Kennedy read the written correspondence as summarized.
• Gary Fowler, 802 Washington – He felt people can’t afford to put their stuff in storage. This is a rural area and the trailers are for their lively hood. The 24-hour max parking and temporary permit is ridiculous.
• Bonnie Myers, 233 Clearwater Drive, Stites – She felt after 24 hours, the trailers should not park on the street but be moved to a storage facility. Temporary permits should not be issued. She asked for the Council to plan for the unthinkable future which is homeless parking everywhere.
• Jason and Sheila Key, 613 N Idaho – They understand the concern for visibility and public safety but felt that is addressed with the temporary permits. If the trailer is a traffic hazard or site restriction the permit could be revoked, and the trailer moved. They get a temporary permit seasonally to park in the right of way and would like it to stay that way.
• Randy and Jean Vanderwall, 316 Park – They felt no trailers should be parked on city streets. It is not the city’s responsibility to provide parking for residents’ trailers. It creates bottlenecks and restricts normal two-way traffic and creates safety concerns.
• Steve Munson, 331 S Florence – He has a small trailer parked on the street and felt it bothers no one. If a trailer poses a safety concern such as reduced visibility at intersections and an eyesore then warn the owner but it should be allowed on the street.
• Barry Kimbo, 318 S A – He felt the current trailer ordinances is overkill. Some residents don’t have alley access or driveways so street parking is the only option. He felt during heavy snow have all the trailers could be parked on one side of the road. He felt the ordinance is a waste of police time and taxpayer money. He felt parking trailers off the street in the yard would look terrible as well. He brought up speeding on Main Street coming down the hill be Rae Bros.
Mayor Lester asked for public comment.
Ed Anglesey, 314 N Florence stated those speeders – it only looks like they are going 40 mph in a 35-mph zone.
Cindy Ruzicka 301 E North 6th stated her house faces N Mill which wasn’t a road originally. They own 320’ up to the truck route. They park on the street with all their vehicles. When her husband has to work on the truck, he puts his trailer on the street and works on the truck on their lot. They pull their camper up to house and try not to leave it on the street. They live on the end of town where there are dirt roads and not much space to store things.
Councilor Grant felt there were a lot of things to think about in the public comments. The ordinance needs cleaned up and new language added that has teeth so the police can enforce it. Councilor Farris agreed.
Councilor Farris felt there were valid points brought up. Parking is limited in a lot of areas. Our community is a logging and recreating community. Parking on the street does pose a problem in some areas. Visibility can be poor. Then others take advantage of it with flat tires and inoperable trailers.
Councilor Lane heard complaints about narrow streets, with trailers on both sides of the streets and only one lane to drive in. He is concerned about kids running out between vehicles and getting hurt.
Mayor Lester stated most streets in town weren’t really designed for parking on both sides, especially with the size of current vehicles. Mayor Lester asked Kennedy and Mager to explain their ideas.
Administrator Kennedy stated one option is to allow parking of trailers on the streets from April 1st – October 31st. Then November 1st – March 31st would prohibit parking of trailers with no exceptions. This would allow for easier snow plowing during the winter months.
Public Works Director Mager stated the City could charge for parking passes for half a year or one year. They would get a parking sticker and could get cited if they don’t have one. This would allow the police department and public works to review the request and the area to make sure a parking pass wouldn’t cause issues in tight areas. Issuing a pass also takes away the controversary of taking away someone’s livelihood. The permit would only be granted after review.
Councilor Winkler questioned how wide are the streets? Mager stated curb to curb is about 30’ wide. Winkler stated if a trailer is about 8’ wide, the remaining width is about 14’ which is not wide enough for two vehicles.
Councilor Farris stated not everyone has the ability to make an area on their property to hold all the trailers. It is an issue. Where would they move them?
Mayor Lester stated the City has two priorities which are safety and to keep traffic flowing. He felt something needed to be done for winter. Public Works can’t push snow for two blocks to find an empty location. If a City plow clips a trailer, then our insurance won’t be happy.
Councilor Grant stated she has watched a trailer parked on the street for 6-8 months and they keep adding things to it.
Councilor Farris felt the City needed to come up with a reasonable solution. She appreciated the comments the City received. Maybe the City should leave as is but add some enforcement language.
BILLS: The bills, in the amount of $228,572.73 were approved and ordered paid out of their respective funds, on motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Grant. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
BLOCK GRANT AGREEMENT BETWEEN OWNER AND DESIGN PROFESSIONAL: On motion by Councilor Grant, second by Councilor Peterson to authorize the mayor to sign the Idaho Community development Block Grant agreement attachment between Owner and Design Professional pending JUB final approval. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Canaday, Farris, Winkler, Lane, Grant, Peterson. NO: none. The motion passed.
POOL CAPITAL OUTLAY: On motion by Councilor Winkler, second by Councilor Grant to allow Bob to use capital outlay funds to purchase three chlorinator replacement cells since the circulation pump came in under budget. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
The meeting adjourned at 7:00 P.M.
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Wes Lester – Mayor
ATTEST:
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Tonya Kennedy – Clerk
