The City Council met for a regular meeting on August 14.  Mayor Joan Hawkins joined the meeting by Zoom Call. 

Sheriff

Doug Williams spoke to the City Council representing the Sheriff’s Office.  He spent some time speaking with the council about the Opioid Settlement funds, and how the Sheriff’s Office would like to help when possible with any Mental Health and Drug Abuse Prevention initiatives the city planned to undertake.  The settlement funds are specifically earmarked for drug abatement and related purposes, but there are a number of potential avenues for using the funds under that umbrella, and the SO is interested in involving the city and local entitites in the process as much as possible.  Williams recently won the Republican primary for the upcoming Sheriff’s election, and will most likely be elected to the position this fall.

The Mayor explained a grant from the University of Idaho the city has been using to maintain a Mental Health discussion group, including school counselors, Kathy Hubbard, Jon Abrams, and other vested community partners.  Their determination was the biggest need was education about facilities and places to go for help.  A website has been put together, and a county mailing gave everyone in the county a fridge magnet with contact info etc.  The $3000 that remains from the grant were incorporated into the Suicide Awareness Prevention Walk.  The U of I re-funded the city to work on the projects.  The mayor expressed appreciation to Doug Williams for being willing to help.  “We’ve got this settlement money and we need to spend it on the best things we can for everyone,” Williams said.

Williams further reported that he and the dispatcher had been working on a guide “How to Deal with the death of a loved one” for distribution to those they encounter in their line of work.  The mayor will check to see if the church is listed on the resource list of the city’s website.  

“It’s definitely something the whole community has to team up on,” Councilmember Lance Tripp affirmed.  

Sheriff Jones spoke to the council about the Sheriff’s Office budget.  Because the county and city both share in the funding of the Sheriff, budgeting for the department’s needs between the two entities can take some negotiated work.  The mayor mentioned that she had spoken with Chairman Lewis about the budget numbers from the county, but nothing had been officially
released yet.

Williams explained that he would like an “unexpended fund” line item, whereby the city would pay 25 percent of the line items.  Terrill Schwartz mentioned that last month the fine revenue was 27$, as opposed to the same period in previous years, when it was considerably higher.  The sheriff says that a lot of charges have been filed, but are pending.  Brett Evanson said that he would be happy to take a look at the contract, in order to structure it in a way to return as much $ as possible.  AJ stated that there is a barrier to hiring to full staff in that housing is problematic and salaries are low relative to surrounding areas.  

The city and the SO discussed how to move forward with the budget, given Doug’s proposal to make it 25% of the county’s outlay, but the county hasn’t turned theirs in yet.  The deadline has to be formally approved by the second week of September.  

PZ

Shelly Williams spoke to the council representing the PZ Commission.  The Commission is skipping the meeting this month, as there is nothing on their agenda, and it is Fair Week.  Their next meeting will be Sept. 19 at 6:00 p.m. 

Recreation

Lance spoke representing the Recreation Board.  Scott Ray is still doing Pickleball, which is going strong.  An app for the Rec Program was notes to cost about $460/yr or so.  He would like to look at getting the app, which is being demoed on a free trial for the month.  The Rec board will not play games on the Day of Service.

Superintendent

The final details of the wastewater treatment facility are being completed.  It has been working decently so far.  Deep Creek is looking to shut off at the end of August.  Summer help for the city is mostly finished out, though some will be remining longer.  Crack seal might not happen as a result of the contractor not being able to and an alternative being a problem because of timing and cost.  

Attorney

Brett reported on a gymnastics equipment lease for Jennifer Hill.  The city will lease gymnastics equipment to her for use in a gymnastics class she is planning to start.  It would essentially be a month to month contract while both sides try out the arrangement to see if it will work.  The city is requiring Hill to provide a copy of a suitable insurance policy.  

The mayor and Brett have talked about Trevor Robbins’ contract, pending making sure it is in accord with the grant that will support funding his services.

Brett thinks that the city will need to pass an ordinance in order to be able to regulate and permit cutting into city roads and other infrastructure.  

Code Enforcement

John Christophersen spoke to the council.  He has received calls for a number of different types of animals, including pigeons, badgers, raccoons, and bats.  He may need to purchase some live animal traps to deal with them.  The calls have dropped off—JC believes he is getting more calls personally than the dispatcher, which has evolved over time.  He has only received one bid for the dog pound to submit along with a grant.   Christophersen is going to start back up with the Code Enforcement column in the paper.  He has given Brett a list of names of people who are in need of letters due to being in violation.  “I think I’ve educated quite a few on our water hours.”  In sum, he said “It’s been a good summer, things are going well.”  

Treasurer

Terrill spoke to the council about the city’s finances.  The city voted to move just over $58K from the defunct sanitation account to the deficit in the sprinkler account.  

Trevor Robbins

Trevor Robbins reported to the council.  He has been working in consultation with the city on its trees.  Robbins is a skilled arborist.  Without a contract in place at present (pending clarification of the grant that the city believes will fund his services), the mayor suggested that Robbins present what he thinks are the most important things to do.  He recommended mulching.  One problem is that there is grass right next to where the mulch is going.  He suggested waiting until the grass is dormant, then prepping for the mulch then using an air spade or air compressor to remove dirt from around the bases of the trees.  

He thinks anchoring the tree in the park that was split in a recent storm is a good first step.  He also mentioned 33 young trees that are staked, and the stakes should be removed.  There are few trees that might be best suited by removal.  They would potentially be replaced by grant trees.  Robbins wanted to know what the process for having decisions approved was, i.e. who does he have to get permission from?  The mayor stated that either the council would have to approve those decisions, or the council could appoint a rep to act on its behalf for that.  Robbins was essentially attempting to find a way to make things happen without having to go through multiple steps.  Jaime Olsen volunteered to be the representative from the council to Robbins.  The mayor, Brett, and Trevor will meet with the granting body on Monday.  The grant will ultimately allow for a gravel path, drip system, and irrigation for the north half of the park.  

Lance raised the issue of what the community wants.  He said that the soccer program is growing, and the only place that a full sized field could go is on that north field.  

The type of grass that will be planted in the north park project was discussed.  A grass type that Lance was recommended turns out to be not allowed under the grant in Idaho.

A lengthy discussion of the future of the city’s park properties was held.  The grant will be used for land to the north of the current park area, which some members of the council and city staff feel should take less priority than the already established west side of the existing park.  The grant is specific is where it can be applied, and the mayor and others felt that it was important to utilize the resources of the grant while they were available.  

The specific questions about the longer term future of the park were not resolved, but the council decided to appoint Jaime Olsen to be the liaison to Trevor Robbins.  

Misty and Roland Amendola 

Misty Amendola and Roland Amendola spoke to the council about a proposal to add driveway access to the house across from US Bank.  They proposed to allow access to a driveway that needs access from 50 S.  Parking for residents on the south side of the street is not permitted.  The Amendolas were asking the CC to ask the police not to ticket on that side of the road.  They would like the parking signs to be taken down, and the police to allow parking.  They also requested getting rid of the turn lane, and making just one lane to serve both directions. 

Lance stated that the city would need to have engineers take a look at it before moving forward with any decisions.  

The status of the road itself was also an issue, as it is a state road, and many of the decisions about it cannot be made of overruled by the city.  The road, which is the main entrance into town from the freeway, and intersects Bannock, has been the subject of discussion in the past, as parking and foot traffic have created some safety concerns.

No specific action was taken by the council during the meeting on the matter. 

Budget

The city council held a budget discussion on its proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which will be published in the paper in full.