August 2023 Minutes
August 1, 2023
Those Present: DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Sheriff Bart Heslington, City Attorney Adam McKenzie, Bear Lake County Fire Chief Mark Parker, Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering, City Auditor Gary Teuscher, Kevin & Marty Nate, Barry Bergholm, Irene Sorenson, Katana Sorenson
Meeting called to order: 7:00 pm Invocation: Mayor Stephan Waechtler
The Council entertained a motion from councilor Tee Steadman to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The minutes from July 5, 2023, were read aloud by Mayor Waechtler. Councilor DeLoy Kunz made the motion to accept the minutes as read and Councilor Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council. The minutes from July 12, 2023, special meeting was read aloud by Mayor Waechtler. Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to accept the minutes as read and Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to leave the regular meeting and move into public hearing for the purpose of discussing a new subdivision ordinance. Councilor DeLoy Kunz seconded the motion and a roll call vote was taken and is as follows: DeLoy – yes, Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Motion carried. The Mayor then opened the floor to the public for discussion, comments or concerns. City Attorney, Adam McKenzie mentioned a few changes from the County Subdivision Ordinance such as we don’t have a formal Planning & Zoning Committee so people that apply for a subdivision will need to come straight to the council for approval but can appoint an administrator. The County permits mobile homes but we will not approve based on previous ordinances. Fire Chief Mark Parker expressed concerns to have an engineer be involved for subdivisions to have appropriate fire hydrants, services, pressure, size of pipes, etc. and the contractor would be required to install. Mark said the Bear Lake County Fire Department would work directly with the contractor and engineer to make sure that everything is up to code. The City’s infrastructure cannot handle a subdivision right now so the contractor would have to come before the council to be approved or denied and can be denied due to infrastructure or the contractor would have to provide the adequate infrastructure. Adam responded that the City does have the ability to deny or accept but growth will happen and we need to be prepared for it. Clerk Smith reported that the office has not received any comments, written or verbal pertaining to the subdivision ordinance. Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to leave the public hearing and go back to regular meeting. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion and a roll call vote was taken and is as follows: DeLoy – yes, Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Motion carried.
Ordinance #111 a Subdivision Ordinance and Summary was presented to the council and the three reading rule was suspended since all council members were in attendance. Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to accept the Ordinance #111 for subdivisions and the summary to be published in the newspaper and Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and is as follows: DeLoy – yes, Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Motion carried.
Police Report: Sheriff Heslington came before the council and since the last special meeting, the contract was forwarded to Adam to review and it is now ready for signatures from the Mayor and the County Commissioners and they will ratify and sign on Monday. Sheriff reported that in July they had 53 hours and 115 contacts with 22 resulting in citations and 1 was a misdemeanor. There were different complaints about noise, open containers, ATV contacts, and disturbances. The Mayor requested reports to be emailed to Lynette so they can be handed out at the meetings. Irene Sorenson had some complaints about her neighbors wanting the shed and trees moved; the Sheriff will follow up with them. Lynette has already sent them two letters to move the shed and trees. Marty Nate asked about complaints about ordinance violations and was told to call dispatch and they will get handled by the deputy on duty and follow ups will be included in the Sheriff’s monthly reports.
City Attorney, Adam McKenzie, reported that he is still waiting for Tim Christensen to get an updated legal description so we can finish the annexation for the Whitakers.
Twin Creeks Update, the Waechtler’s and Sorenson’s brought in about $5600 for Firework donations and spent about $3200 on top of the fireworks. It was a great day and lots of fun. Katana also reported that they will be moving the building on their property for where they had originally planned and got the permit for due to where they can bring in power to, but they will keep the council updated for what they plan to do.
Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering came before the council and brought information for a grant that is due September 1st through ITD and LHTAC. Some roads need full restoration, some chip and sealed, and paint lines along Stringtown. He said it is not a fast process. The City had a transportation plan done in 2011 and should be updated. There is a $30,000 grant available for that to redo the study and Sunrise will help pursue that for us.
The Council engaged in the budget workshop with City Auditor and CPA Gary Teuscher from 8:00 pm to 8:45 pm. There was discussion about keeping in mind to plan on a 3% increase for employees each year.
Councilor DeLoy Kunz would like to see a list of building permits in the books each month.
Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of July and stated that the sewer pumps have been serviced. They got the new speed limit signs installed and have the applications to install the signs along the highway too. They are waiting to meet with Corey to see where those can be installed. Trenton mentioned to speak with Corey while he’s here about making a school zone along the highway. Shane said the spring is running and producing and they’ve done some maintenance at the cemetery and park. They have some leaks to repair on Hayes Lane. Next week they have a reuse permit inspection with DEQ for the land app. Tee asked about what Chris Banks and Addison Ochsenbein have been able to find for grants for our water infrastructure and Shane said he would follow up with Chris.
Office Business: There are 16 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of July.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of July 2023 in the amount of $35,741.76 in the general fund, $23,419.23 in the water fund, and $68,553.58 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $127,714.57. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried the council.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor DeLoy Kunz that council adjourns from the August 2023 council meeting at 9:10 pm. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith
City Clerk-Treasurer