City Council met in regular session on October 19, 2020 at 6:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.
Mayor Lester presided
Councilmembers present:
Mike Peterson
Scott Winkler
Beryl Grant
Dylan Canaday
Pete Lane
Amy Farris
City employees present were Chief Drew, Joe Newman, Attorney Green, Public Works Director Mager and City Administrator Kennedy.
MINUTES: The meeting was called to order and the minutes of October 5th were approved as presented by Councilor Peterson, seconded by Councilor Canaday. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
VISITORS: Heather Meier, 304 E North 4th doesn’t want the tree in the alley cut down to put in a new sewer line for benefit of one land owner. The tree is 50+ years old and benefits a lot of people. She would rather see North 4th Street improved with the money rather than tearing out the tree and doing work in the alley. Heather’s grandfather, John Gaither, said developing the land is the responsibility of the developer instead of the City putting money into the project. He would like the City to put the sewer line on the other side of the 30’ alley instead of taking out the tree.
Public Works Director Mager explained the City has sewer on Florence, Mill or in the alley. He’s not sure how many people are on the alley line. There is a manhole on Mill Street and it shoots straight up the alley. There could be 4 properties tied into the alley line, but he’s not positive. The alley is 15’ wide, not 30’. The current alley is an orangeburg line which could have roots in it. He explained he doesn’t want to tear down the tree if he doesn’t have to. The City’s job is to provide services and if the alley line is inadequate he must bring up to snuff. Mager stated it looks like the tree is in alley on north edge. Mager told Mr. Gaither he would run a transit once mobile equipment and other items were moved from the alley to determine if the tree was in the alley.
Attorney Green stated the tree is on City property so the City can do what is necessary. The City is liable for sewer backups that are caused by negligence. Lines need to be maintained.
Mayor Lester explained unless an alley is vacated, it is to remain clear for emergency access and public use.
Councilor Winkler questioned how many connections are on the alley line. Mager knew of two for sure but there could be one or two others also connected.
Councilor Lane asked what orangeburg pipe is. Mager explained it as newspaper and tar, heated and rolled into pipe form with a life expectancy of 10 years. The City has gotten more life than that.
Greg Skinner did a survey of the neighbor’s lot. Mayor Lester questioned Heather when her survey could be completed by Hunter Edwards. She answered that Hunter had originally estimated one month. The Council will wait until November 18 for the second survey. If the survey is not completed by then, the City will move forward based upon the survey by Skinner.
Nicole Wellard, 715 Crooks was present to voice her concerns about a manufactured home going in the on the property behind her. She and her husband just had a stick built home constructed. They put a lot of hard work and all their savings into it. They feel putting in a manufactured home would depreciate the value of their home and affect its re-sale value. A home from 1977 forward, which would be 40 some years old, is allowed in the City and it shouldn’t be.
Attorney Green stated Idaho addressed concerns when cities and counties start regulating manufactured homes there could be a disparate impact. State law says manufactured homes can’t be treated differently than stick built homes, except as allowed with certain limits as outlined in Idaho statute. The City has adopted some of those limits.
Mayor Lester stated the only way to protect your property and what goes in next to you is to buy those properties when they are for sale. Councilor Grant stated she bought the lot next to her property to protect herself on what could go in. Nicole responded she would have bought it but they couldn’t afford to do so. Grant explained it took her 20 years to buy her adjacent lot.
Councilor Farris stated if economic impact was a concern, she would not have built a brand-new house beside an existing manufactured home. Farris asked Nicole if she knew she built beside one prior to building her house. Nicole responded she did.
POLICE AND ANIMAL CONTROL REPORT: The department had 87 calls for service and 21 cases written for September 2020. They have been in and out of schools and are happy to see everyone. Joe Newman is on board and working with Chief Drew since October 5th.
PUBLIC WORKS: Public Works Director Mager stated they pulled out bad sections of the pool floor, got it painted and deco sealed. The 3’ section will be painted in the spring. The lift stations were updated and they are working on winterizing the plant. The have been sweeping, cleaning up the parks and general maintenance. The generator might be done by Friday.
FIRE MINTUES: On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Lane to accept the Fire Minutes of September 28, 2020 as presented. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
LIBRARY MINTUES: On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Canaday to accept the Library Minutes of September 17, 2020 as presented. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
WATER AND SEWER ORDINANCE: Administrator Kennedy explained additional changes she made. Charges for liens under water and sewer were deleted, along with references to requiring sewer in the area of impact. Kennedy is waiting on some information from J-U-B and then a proposed ordinance with all the changes will be on the next agenda.
BILLS: The bills, in the amount of $311,891.47 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.
FIRE GRANT BID: Chief Mager explained he budgeted for SCBAs and the filling station in case the City didn’t receive the fire grant. Since the department received the grant for the SCBAs, the City went through the competitive bid process and had one bidder respond. The bidder provided three different quotes depending on what we want for equipment. The filling station is $40,000. Rural Fire has agreed to pay for half. The quote Mager wants to accept for the SCBAs is $118,366.05 which is more than the grant is for. He’d like to use some of the budgeted money for the difference in grant vs bid which is offset by rural fire paying for half of the filling station. The match on the grant is 5%. Mager wants to own all the SCBAs, so the City would cover the entire 5% match. The difference out of pocket between the grant and bid is approximately $14,000 and about $20,000 for our half of the filling station. If the Council approves the bid, Mager would use about $34,000 from Webb funds for the project.
On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Lane to accept the bid from SeaWestern for the fire department grant in the amount of $118,366.05. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Canaday, Farris, Winkler, Lane, Grant, Peterson. NO: none. The motion passed.
SIDEWALK WAIVER: Public Works Director Mager stated North 4th Street is not a full width street and the City has no plans to upgrade. There is poor drainage in the area and there is no use for a sidewalk in the middle of the block. On motion by Councilor Winkler, second by Councilor Farris to accept public works recommendation to waive the sidewalk for Greg and Stacy Rice at 310 E N 4th Street. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
WRITE OFFS: On motion by Councilor Grant, second by Councilor Winkler to approve the write offs for year ending 9/30/20 in the amount of $2,878.52. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Canaday, Farris, Winkler, Lane, Grant, Peterson. NO: none. The motion passed.
The meeting adjourned at 6:59 P.M.
_________________________________
Wes Lester – Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________________
Tonya Kennedy – Clerk
