April Council Minutes
April 4, 2024 – Special Meeting
Those Present: Greg Kunz by phone, Trenton Morrell, Marty Nate, Tee Steadman, Mayor Steve Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, Maintenance Hadley Wright, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Sheriff Deputy Ryan Larsen, Deputy Jack James, Morgan & Heather Kidd, Kevin Nate, Zach Crockett, Paul Miller, Tiffini Ricks, Cody Coombs, Jacob Kunz
Meeting called to order: 7:00 pm Invocation: Councilor Marty Nate
The meeting was cancelled from the 2nd and rescheduled to the 4th due to a lack of a quorum.
The Council entertained a motion from Councilor Trenton Morrell to approve the published agenda and was seconded by Councilor Tee Steadman. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The minutes from March 5, 2024, were read aloud by Clerk Smith and Mayor Waechtler. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to accept the minutes as read and Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Police Report: Sheriff Deputy Ryan Larsen and Deputy Jack James came before the council to give the police report for the month of March and stated there was 63 contacts and they worked 62.5 hours and issued 14 citations and had 36 traffic stops. They issued warnings about a parking problem up Stringtown that was taken care of and had an arrest at a traffic stop. They also explained that they can give multiple warnings during a stop which is why that number can be higher than the citations issued.
Ordinance #113 an Amendment to Ordinance #109 for the Annexation of the Whitaker’s property into city limits to give a proper legal description of the property being annexed was read aloud and councilor Greg Kunz was available by phone to dispense the three-reading rule. Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to approve Ordinance #113 with the proper legal description and was seconded by Councilor Greg Kunz. A roll call vote was taken and is as follows: Greg – yes, Trenton – yes, Marty – yes, Tee – yes. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Cody Coombs came before the council with his plans of building a shop on his property to use as a building and an apartment on top and will install a septic tank as well. He wants to continue to cut up meat to help friends and family and cut between 15-20 a year. He expressed that he does not want to turn it into a business but just to help friends and family. He doesn’t use Wayne’s meat shop anymore because the hair and snakes and doesn’t drain well. He also said the place is priced too high to buy and he feels like he can build something cheaper plus it’s difficult to keep clean and too many rodents, etc. He wants to put the apartment above to house visiting family and wants to add 3-phase power for his power tools which takes a while to get approved from Rocky Mountain Power as well.
Some concerns expressed by the citizens in attendance if it ever does turn into a business:
- Where will the blood drain?
- How to control the flies build up and smell.
- Gunshots in town – can they be brought in already killed which would help with the hair build up too.
- Animals need to be disposed of in a timely manner and can’t dump by the creek either.
Councilor Tee Steadman pointed out that there are a lot of home businesses in town and we can’t focus on just this particular one and we need to compromise. The Mayor also expressed to get along with neighbors and to be considerate of others. Cody responded that it isn’t an ideal location for a business and if he decides to move forward, he will have plans for a building and sanitation and will bring to the council for approval and apply for a building permit. It was noted that the City’s impact area is within 1000 feet of city limits.
Jacob Kunz came before the council representing the County Fire District. He wanted to discuss moving forward with the lease agreement for the property on Main Street by Gary Thompson’s that had been discussed at previous meetings. They are interested in the City donating the property to the County or doing a 99-year lease. At the end of the lease, the property would be returned to the City or released to the Fire District. If they were to build a shed, it would have 2 bays. The council would like to see some plans and we need to find out what the building on the property is or was used for and it was confirmed that the City does own the land. Lynette will contact Adam about getting papers ready for a lease agreement. Jacob also asked for a donation for more air packs. The ones they have are 18 years old and won’t recertify. One air pack is $8,000 and it’s about $14,000 to outfit 1 firefighter. The city donated for some new turnout gear previously and we have at least 4 volunteers from our City. Councilor Marty Nate made the motion to donate $5,000 to the fire district to use for an air pack and councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Superintendent Gary Brogan sent an email to the City about installing a fence line on the North, East and West sides of the Georgetown Elementary School property. They want to update the fence and install a taller fence around the playground to help keep kids better protected during the school day. The school doesn’t want to pay for a survey to be done on the property if we can agree where property lines are. Shane and Hadley will meet with Mr. Brogan and get the property lines agreed upon in order to get the fences installed before the next school year.
The spring cleanup dates were set for April 29th – May 3rd. The Mayor will contact Hennings about bringing dumpsters and check with the landfill for dates that work best for them.
The Georgetown Irrigation Company Backhoe Agreement with the City is due to be signed for another year. There have been some changes in the company this year and Greg Kunz is now the President and Nic Higgins has been hired as the new water master replacing Doug and Bryce Thompson. The council agreed to add Nic Higgins and Hadley Wright as approved operators of the backhoe and remove Bryce Thompson. Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to renew the backhoe agreement with the Georgetown Irrigation Company with the changes made and was seconded by Tee Steadman. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The budget hearing dates were set for August 6th will be the budget workshop and September 3rd will be the budget hearing. Clerk Smith will report the dates to the County.
Councilor Marty Nate would like to reinstate having movies in the park during the summer months and confirmed we still have all the equipment, and the popcorn machine still works too. She was able to apply for the bike path grant and moved it to the lower end of town and she will find out in May if we are awarded the grants. She also inquired if the council is happy with the service from the Sheriff Department and our Attorney.
Maintenance Report: Shane Clark gave their report for the month of March and stated that he and Hadley have got the new backup generator here from Gundersens. Alice Hayes will come and see what we need at the park for power options now the snow is leaving. They went up to check the tanks a couple of times and took chlorine. They did the water samples for the month and all were returned ok. There are about 250 ton of chips available for free for us in the state pit and it will cost about $25-30,000 to crack seal we just need to find a machine and we can do some roads this summer. Shane will get finalized so we can move forward this summer.
Office Business: There are 18 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of March and now the snow is gone, some will be shutoff if not caught up. The office will be closed for regular business on May 21st due to the City Hall being used for voting.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of March 2024 in the amount of $22,034.13 in the general fund, $12,896.22 in the water fund, and $22,171.93 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $57,102.28. Councilor Marty Nate 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 April 2024 council meeting at 10:30 pm. Councilor Marty Nate seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith, City Clerk-Treasurer