November Meeting Minutes
November 8, 2023
Those Present: DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, Maintenance Hadley Wright, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering, Deputy Sheriff Ryan Larsen
Meeting called to order: 7:00 pm Invocation: Mayor Stephan Waechtler
The Council entertained a motion from councilor Greg Kunz 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 October 4, 2023, were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilor Greg Kunz 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.
Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering came before the council to report on grants and funding opportunities that are available and that letters of interest for water funding will be coming due soon. Loans are at 2% interest and no grants are available at this time. Our last water study was completed in 2017 and could use an update. The more updated our plans are, the better it looks on applications. Addison will submit a letter to update our facility plan and apply for a loan to update the spring to the tank by January 12th. We can always apply but don’t have to accept the terms or get another loan right now. He will apply for a facility planning grant with a 50% match. We were previously denied for a lead and copper inventory grant and they are accepting applications again because there is more funding available but our inventory is mostly done so probably won’t be needing that. There is another grant available to update our transportation plan with $30,000 available. The last time we had a study done was in 2012 and we are due for an update. The application is due at the end of the month and the funding would be available in a year. Addison will apply for all grants and an infrastructure loan and see what offers we get.
Police Report: Deputy Sheriff Ryan Larsen came before the council to give a report for October. He reported that they worked for about 34 hours last month. He explained that they are down deputy’s. They responded to an Ordinance Violation about the shed needing to be moved and have responded to some other complaints about some mental health issues and have done some welfare checks. We need to get the contract signed after it has been reviewed by the other attorney and changes made. The contract says July 12, 2023, through September 30, 2028, but needs to be changed since that was in a previous fiscal year now. Once changes are made, Adam will get a contract to Lynette to have the Mayor sign and then the Sheriff.
Elections were held in the City Hall last night and we had 4 people run for council member seats and had 168 people come out to vote for County and 133 for City. Incumbent Tee Steadman received 98 votes, Marty Nate 91 votes, Stacy Christensen 47 votes, Jeff Crane 38 votes and Tyson Boehme for the Fire Marshall. Tee and Marty will take their seats at the January 2024 meeting.
The Christmas Park Lighting Event was scheduled for December 4th at 6:00 pm. Lynette will make arrangements with Santa and Sean Bartschi for the food and get flyers posted and delivered to the school.
In the past, the City has made a donation to the Senior Center for the Meals on Wheels program and to keep them operating. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to donate $1,000.00 to the Bear Lake Senior Center and Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Councilor Greg Kunz wanted a follow up on the snowplow that Shane and Hadley were going to go look at in Ogden and they reported that it got sold already. There was also discussion about a backup generator for the City Shop. If the power goes out, the shop door won’t open and the truck will freeze up. Greg suggested we could use some of the money set aside for the fire department to purchase a generator. Shane said that Mick Merritt could help us to hook it up to propane or even natural gas. Shane will watch for sales and report back about his findings so we can move forward.
Councilor Trenton Morrell reported that Marty Nate has been working with Tyler Williamson in town about the cemetery map and he can digitize the map so that we can update it and cost will be around $600.00. The council approved for her to continue working with him on it. He also reported that the County is working on an Ordinance for Air BnB’s and we should look at following it. He is still trying to follow up with Corey Krantz about the school zone along the highway too.
Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of October and stated that he and Hadley have been working on the sand spreader, serviced the backhoe and service truck, they’ve cleaned up and winterized at the cemetery and park, replaced a valve at the cemetery, replaced a light on the city shed, put tires on the backhoe that we purchased a year or so ago and got the block heater working. They also rented a dozer to widen the roads at the diversion and turn arounds. They got information to Keller’s to get the annual report ready for the Land App. They have some concerns at the cemetery with cattle getting in and vandalizing the headstones. They’ve tried to keep the gates shut but it makes it hard on the elderly to open and close gates all the time. It was suggested to install cattle guards at the entrances and some other cemeteries use them too. Shane will call around and get some prices. Also, the headstone that got brought in for Devin McCulloch needs to get moved. They have been notified that because of it’s location, it could get damaged from plowing this winter but have not been back to move. Lynette will send a letter to the family and try the phone numbers she has and other family members to get in contact with them to get it moved back in line with the others before snow comes.
Office Business: There are 15 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of October. The Trunk or Treat event was still well attended. There were a lot of people from Nounan that came to participate as well. There’s always a lot of division when it comes to the Trunk or Treat; some love it and some don’t. It was decided that as long as there are a lot of people attending still, we will continue to hold it. Next council meeting will be held at the usual date and time of Tuesday, December 5th at 7:00 pm.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of October 2023 in the amount of $21,434.87 in the general fund, $15,773.28 in the water fund, and $22,796.06 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $60,004.21. Councilor Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried the council.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman that council adjourns from the November 2023 council meeting at 8:45 pm. Councilor Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith
City Clerk-Treasurer