City Council met in regular session on December 6, 2021 at 6:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.
Mayor Lester presided:
Councilmembers present:
Mike Peterson
Pete Lane
Beryl Grant
Amy Farris
Dylan Canaday
Councilmembers absent: Scott Winkler
City employees present were Public Works Director Mager, Chief Newman, City Administrator Kennedy and Attorney Green.
MINUTES: The meeting was called to order and the Council minutes of November 15th were approved as presented by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Canaday. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
VISITORS: Cheryl Probert, Forest Supervisor, stated the forest has been conducting a facility master planning effort to look at all facilities and ways to reduce funding needs. They are trying to get out of high cost leases and utilize property they own. The master plan basically said you need to reduce your footprint. The preliminary recommendation is to consolidate the Salmon River District and those employees here in Grangeville at Slate Creek. The lease on the facility in Grangeville is up in October 2022.
Jeff Shinn, District Ranger of Salmon River Ranger District stated the Clearwater district in Grangeville and Salmon River district used to be combined. They have about 20-25 people who work in Grangeville that will report to slate creek, which will serve the area from Grangeville to Pollock. The forest owns Slate Creek so improvements will be made to that facility. They feel most people living in Grangeville will commute to Slate Creek. Slate Creek Ranger District will be the official duty station.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION: Tim McDonald with Ida-Lew explained the Department of Commerce called and invited him to a meeting on grants for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. After attending he visited with Administrator Kennedy who directed him to the Chamber of Commerce since they were looking into a station. Tim researched costs and came up with the following charge estimates:
• Power to City Hall parking lot $20,000
• Concrete pads $5,000
• ChargePoint – two chargers plus credit card and 5-year warranty $65,000
• Roof over the structure
They would like to have three stalls in the City hall parking lot for the charge area and the costs of the project would be covered at 100% from the grant.
Councilor Grant asked who owns and pays after the five-year warranty. Tim responded the City. Grant stated the City doesn’t want to own it. Tim responded that maybe Chamber or Ida-Lew could own it. Whoever owns it would get revenue from selling the power. You can charge what you want because you are a monopoly in this area. Councilor Grant asked who is called when things don’t work, as she sees people going into City Hall to get help if it doesn’t work.
Lisa Hecht attended via phone and explained she drives an EV. ChargePoint has a phone number on the unit to call for help so she doesn’t see the City involved. It is predicted there will be so many more EV’s come spring and there may be a shortage of charging space.
Larry Nims is a Kamiah business owner (Ida-Stone Memorial) and has had an EV for three years. He explained almost anyone could make it with an EV from Boise to Grangeville but it is iffy if they can make it from Lewiston to Boise. Grangeville is also almost halfway between Spokane and Boise, so it would be strategic for travel. To top off the charge in the EV, it takes about an hour so people tend to go to a store or restaurant. There is no fast charging available between the Lewiston casino and Boise. If Grangeville shows up on the charging map, more people will come.
Public Works Director Mager stated the upper corner of the parking lot is out as the snow is plowed to that corner. Mayor Lester stated the City Hall parking lot is very busy and it’s full most of the time. Councilor Grant asked whose liability is it if the charging unit catches on fire or damages a building? Tim responded the car owner has insurance that could cover costs. He stated other cities are installing these and it is nothing new. Lisa stated some of the cities that have installed chargers are Lewiston, Post Falls, Bonners Ferry or Hailey.
Councilor Lane asked how long does it take to charge? Tim responded if at 50% about an hour. Councilor Farris asked Ted Lindsley how many vehicles use his at Super 8? Ted responded it gets used about 2-3 times per week. Ted stated he looked into a fast charge, but decided it wasn’t worth it because it takes a long time to get money back at the monthly rate. He didn’t know if the City wanted to compete with private enterprise. Councilor Canaday asked if the grant is for upfront costs or does it include monthly charges? Tim stated it covers upfront costs. Canaday was concerned about monthly costs. Councilor Peterson questioned the grant deadline. Tim stated the grant is available until the money is gone. Tim stated he knows Cloningers is interested but they would need to come up with about $30,000 because the grant only covers 80% of the cost. The City can use the grant money for the whole purchase. He didn’t know if the business community would pull through funding a portion to get it installed.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Canaday to accept the Library Board Minutes of November 18, 2021. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Farris to accept the Fire Minutes of November 8 and 22, 2021. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Grant to accept the Planning and Zoning Minutes of November 23, 2021. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
DISPATCH AGREEMENT: Chief Newman worked with Attorney Green to remove old language from the contract. The County has approved it and is waiting on the City. On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Lane to approve the police Service and dispatch agreement with Idaho County for 10/1/21-9/30/25. ROLL CALL VOTE: YES: Canaday, Farris, Lane, Grant, Peterson. NO: none. The motion passed.
ELECTION RESULTS: Administrator Kennedy explained Dylan Canaday, Beryl Grant, Wes Lester and Scott Winkler filed their declaration of candidacy. Because they were unopposed, they automatically take office in January and no election was held. An election for Water Revenue Bonds and Wastewater Revenue Bonds were held with the results below with 31% of registered voters voting.
Water Revenue Bonds In Favor 411 Wastewater Revenue Bond In Favor 406
Water Revenue Bonds Against 173 Wastewater Revenue Bond Against 177
On motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Grant to accept the official election results as submitted by Idaho County. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.
ITEMS TO NOTE: Jenny Fisher, Girl Scouts leader explained the girls attended the meeting as they are working toward their democracy badge.
The meeting adjourned at 6:50 P.M.
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Wes Lester – Mayor
ATTEST:
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Tonya Kennedy – Clerk
