January Council Minutes
January 5, 2026
Those Present: Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Marty Nate, Tee Steadman, Mayor Steve Waechtler, Maintenance Shane Clark, Maintenance Hadley Wright, Tony & Chris Price, Brooke Bergholm, Jordan Rasmusson, Addison Ochsenbein from Sunrise Engineering, Brent Kunz, Mario & Cynthia Johnson
Meeting called to order: 7:00 pm Invocation: Mayor Steve Waechtler
The council entertained a motion from Councilor Greg Kunz 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 December 22, 2025, were read aloud by Mayor Waechtler. Councilor Trenton Morrell 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 Mayor reported that Rocky Mountain Power has installed all of the LED lights for the street lights throughout the City.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of December 2025 in the amount of $30,939.71 in the general fund, $10,699.96 in the water fund, and $23,306.00 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $64,945.67. Councilor Marty Nate seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The council then proceeded to swear-in the new Mayor and Councilmembers. Mayor Steve Waechtler read the oath of office to Mayor Tony Price, Councilmember Jordan Rasmusson and Councilmember Brooke Bergholm. The newly sworn in officers then took their seats and New Mayor Price took over the meeting. Councilmember Tee Steadman nominated Councilmember Marty Nate to be the new Council President and was seconded by Councilmember Jordan Rasmusson. All were in favor and the motion carried the council. The council then proceeded to assign duties to each council member. Councilmember Marty Nate made the motion to approve the duties as assigned and was seconded by Jordan Rasmusson. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
With new council members and Mayor there is a need to update the signers on the accounts. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to remove Steve Waechtler, Greg Kunz and Trenton Morrell from the accounts at Zions Bank and Ireland Bank and add Tony Price, Jordan Rasmusson and Brooke Bergholm. Councilor Marty Nate seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Addison Ochsenbein with Sunrise Engineering came to give an update on the Transportation Plan and other applications they’re applying for us. He reported that they are preparing th DEQ Letters of Interest for the water transmission line grant or loan and it needs to be submitted by the end of the month. The TAP Application for the pedestrian bridge and highway crosswalk requires matching funds and will need to be signed by the Mayor. They are still preparing the draft for the Transportation Plan as well.
Mario and Cynthia Johnson came to inform the new council about the dog issues they had late summer and fall with the neighbors dogs getting into their sheep. The case has been brought to City Attorney, Adam McKenzie’s, attention, and there is a hearing on January 14th. Cynthia will get other concerned citizens to send letters of support and telling about the run ins they have had with the dogs as well and Lynette will forward the information on to Adam. Cynthia was advised to convey to Adam what her wishes are for having the dogs removed from the City.
New council members were reminded that if they are approached by citizens that have concerns with the City, to invite them to come to council to voice their concerns and get answers and it’s best practice to visit the citizens in groups of two before sending the Sheriff’s Department over as people are usually less confrontational to visit first.
Councilor Marty Nate would like to use the money from Simplot for the playground equipment towards mulch around the equipment. She mentioned that those having won the Christmas Lighting Contest should be ineligible the next year to help spread around the Christmas Cheer.
Councilor Tee Steadman said he will make sure the Sheriff’s Department is aware of all information regarding the dog situation and ask to issue citations. Councilor Marty Nate said she would try to make it to the hearing to represent the City.
Councilor Jordan Rasmusson asked for follow up about the cows getting into the cemetery. Tee responded that the owners of the cows have agreed to help install cattle guards and they are currently being built to keep the cows out in the spring and the problem is being handled.
Police Report: Deputy Sheriff Wes Barnhill and Sheriff Bart Heslington were unavailable for the meeting and the report was tabled until the next meeting.
Maintenance Report: Shane Clark gave their report for the month of December and stated that they have got the lights wired for the plows and chains on the yellow truck to plow. They went up to check on the spring. Turned off some utilities for the winter, plowed some snow and attended the Transportation Plan Meetings.
Office Report: There are 17 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of December. The Christmas Light Contest winners were 1st place Matt & Tiffany Argyle, 2nd place Ashley Millard, 3rd place Marlin & Sandy Bartschi. Lynette got the Annual Road and Street Report submitted. She will have W-2’s and 1099’s ready and available by the end of the month. She informed them that we are still having troubles closing the accounts at US Bank because it is a government account. She will not update the signers there, in hopes the account can be closed out soon with the help of previous Mayor Steve Waechtler. She handed out paperwork to the new councilmembers along with a contact list and budget information and explained where the funds are and that water and sewer funds are dedicated funds and all have to be kept separate. She explained we need a quorum for every meeting and the next council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 3rd; let her know if there are any conflicts as soon as possible. She will also be out of the office the end of the month.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Jordan Rasmusson that council adjourns from the January 2026 council meeting at 8:30 pm. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith,
City Clerk-Treasurer