City Council met in regular session on April 20, 2026, at 6:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.
Mayor Lester:
Councilmembers present:
Wyatt Perry
Jared Andrew
Dylan Canaday
Gabe Forsmann
Amy Farris
Cody Edwards
City employees present: City Administrator Kennedy, Chief Newman and Public Works Director Mager. Attorney Jessup absent.
MINUTES: The meeting was called to order and the Council minutes of April 6th were approved as presented by Councilor Canaday, second by Councilor Perry. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
VISITORS: Miranda Thompson, Grangeville Farmers Market stated they have received a lot of public input asking for a weekday market, so they added the Tuesday options to try it out this year. On motion by Councilor Andrews, second by Councilor Farris to approve the request to hold the 2026 Farmers Market on Saturdays from June 20th – September 29th, 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and on July 7th, August 4th and September 1st from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
Jordan Zwygart, Zwygart John & Associates presented the audit to the Council. The audit consisted of the city’s regular audit and a single audit, due to federal funds received. Upon completion they had no concerns and the city had a clean audit. On motion by Councilor Canaday, second by Councilor Farris to accept the 2024-25 audit. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Farris, Andrews, Canaday, Edwards, Forsmann, Perry. NO: none. RECUSED: None. The motion passed.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: The following committee reports were presented.
• CITY ADMINISTRATOR: City Administrator Kennedy and Treasurer Rowland attended the AIC Spring District meeting in Moscow last week and will be attending the tax levy workshop next week in Lewiston. The summer averages for utility bills have been calculated and were applied on this month’s bill. The office is actively working on pool advertisements and working up some social media content for the franchise fee.
• PUBLIC WORKS: Public Works Director Mager has been talking with asphalt companies about fixing the road behind the courthouse. He is working with J-U-B engineers to get budget numbers for manhole replacement in the Crooks, Scott and Harrison area. He’s also trying to get manhole replacements numbers for the current year to continue working to reduce I&I. The department is replacing culverts and crack sealing. They just completed patch work for the courthouse parking lot and have billed the county. They have been blading roads, mowing, spraying weeds and will continue with street sweeping. The final inspection on the old tank should be coming up in a few weeks. Idaho Transportation Department will start work on Main Street next week from Idaho Avenue to Les Schwab. They will try to shut down a block at a time and work with flaggers for traffic. They are doing a small grind down and patch project in the driving lanes and then a mastic project should occur in May and will be from fog line to fog line.
• POLICE REPORT: The department had 103 calls for service and 30 reports taken for March 2026. Officers Logan and Vance are being sent this week to Field Training and Instructor Training classes. Next month Chief Newman will go to the Chief’s Training.
• FIRE MINUTES: On motion by Councilor Dylan, second by Councilor Farris to accept the Fire Minutes of February 9th, 23rd, March 9th and 23rd, 2026. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
BILLS: The bills in total amount of $399,635.49 (Financials $301,221.35 March Payroll $98,414.14) were approved and ordered paid out of their respective funds, on motion by Councilor Canaday, second by Councilor Perry. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: As the facility manager for the school district, Councilor Andrews stated he would recuse himself. On motion by Councilor Farris, second by Councilor Perry, to approve the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law for Mountain View School District’s variance to place a shipping container in the F Street setback. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Farris, Canaday, Edwards, Forsmann, Perry. NO: none. RECUSED: Andrews. The motion passed.
HERITAGE SQUARE SLURRY SEAL: Public Works Director explained city hall parking lot will be fine with a slurry seal; however Heritage Square is in worse shape due to more traffic and water flowing through it. He would like to have a 1 ½”-2” asphalt mat done next budget year instead of the slurry seal this year. He felt it would be a better use of the city’s money. Councilor Andrews felt Mager was here for a reason and his advice should be followed. After discussion, the council agreed with Mager’s plan.
SURPLUS SKI PATROL HUT: Administrator Kennedy asked to surplus the ski patrol hut and split the funds between ski patrol and the city. She talked to Roy Kinner, current ski patrol director, and other employees and no one knows for sure who bought the building. Ski patrol is good with the split. On motion by Councilor Farris, second by Councilor Andrews to surplus the ski patrol hut and split the funds between ski patrol and the city fifty/fifty. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
GRAZING LICENSE: City Administrator Kennedy explained Lee Spencer reached out to her asking if they could run cattle on the old dump for shade while they reseeded the field adjacent. Attorney Jessup created a grazing license which allows them to utilize the dump for grazing and to fence it at their expense. The license is multi-year but has no payment amount as it is mutually beneficial because the cattle will keep the grass down which helps reduce fire hazard for the city. The road will be left open. On motion by Councilor Andrews, second by Councilor Farris to approve the grazing license with Spencer Ranch for the old dump. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Farris, Andrews, Canaday, Edwards, Forsmann, Perry. NO: none. RECUSED: none. The motion passed
ITEMS TO NOTE: Spring Clean Up Week: May 11 – 15, 2026.
Mayor Lester stated Andrew Lane reached out to let him know he was doing a fundraiser for the track team. Mayor Lester had them spruce up the city hall/library landscape and they did a great job.
The meeting adjourned at 6:52 P.M.
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Wes Lester – Mayor
ATTEST:
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Tonya Kennedy – Clerk
