January Special Meeting Minutes
January 26, 2026 – Special Meeting
Those Present: Brooke Bergholm, Marty Nate, Jordan Rasmusson, Tee Steadman, Mayor Tony Price, Maintenance Shane Clark, City Attorney Adam McKenzie, Addison Ochsenbein & Kevin Martin from Sunrise Engineering, Former Mayor Steve Waechtler, Tyler Sorensen
Meeting called to order: 10:00 am Invocation: Councilor Jordan Rasmusson
The council entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman to approve the published agenda and was seconded by Councilor Marty Nate. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The Mayor called this special meeting to do some new council training for the new members to get a better understanding of their council duties and their roles as council members. Sunrise Engineering and City Attorney, Adam McKenzie were invited to the meeting to explain their roles for the City and discuss the system.
Kevin Martin and Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering came before the council to explain the water system and what they do for the City. They explained the condition of our water system and that the transmission lines are really old and need to be replaced which is why we keep applying for a loan from DEQ to eventually be able to replace the transmission lines from the spring down to the City. They explained the flow, pressure, and installed pipes. The heavy minerals in our water have a lot of build up in the pipes. DEQ has said they want municipalities to operate like a business and should be charging enough to cover all our expenses and be self sufficient. There isn’t much for grants available anymore. Cities are advised to increase rates 3% every year to stay on top of it. There have been previous discussions to replace the older system in segments and spread it out more to pay little by little and could install a new transmission line aside the old one. We still have $350,000.00 owing on the water loan and $1,855,934.00 on the wastewater loan. There are other options available with USDA as well but those have more requirements where the billing should be closer to $60.00 per month just for water and meter the water. They said there are conservation grants we could possibly qualify for with the leaks in the system and there is Emergency Funding up to $500,000 if a line were to break. Their last study confirmed that our usage is 968 gallons per person per day which is well above the State and National averages. Our spring produces a lot of water and can handle growth. The water right is less than what the spring can produce and the extra goes down the creek to be used for fish, irrigation, etc. We produce plenty of water, but our aging infrastructure is a concern for growth. Our subdivision ordinance requires all developers to install their own infrastructure and help update our current infrastructure. A developer would have to come to council to get approval and then we would consult with our engineers and experts with Sunrise for options at that time. They will keep looking for funding opportunities for us. The typical chain of command is that DEQ will reach out to the City if there are any issues or concerns with our system and then we would contact Sunrise for assistance.
City Attorney, Adam McKenzie, came before the council to introduce himself and explain what he does for us. He helps to draft ordinances and is our resource for legal counsel and advise. He explained to the council to be very careful with communication with each other with emails and texts or running into each other and discussing city business because it could be public record and seen as a meeting. He went over open meeting rules and explained a quorum. He advised for any complaints received about the City should be brought to council or made known to the Mayor individually and to listen to the complaints but to not engage. He encouraged the council members to attend the AIC trainings in June held in Boise. Clerk Smith explained that Adam is not on a retainer but does charge us a discounted rate so that we feel like we can call him about all the things. He said the Mayor’s main duty is to be the Chief Executor and lead the meetings but it is the council that makes the decisions as a group. It was discussed about having a public comment section on our agenda’s and suggested to have a cutoff to make any changes to our agenda’s no less than 48 hours.
The council then reviewed their duties and what being a liaison with different companies means and that being affective will only matter as hands on as they want to be.
The council signed the pages from Ireland Bank to update signers on the accounts.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Marty Nate that council adjourns from the January 2026 Special Council Meeting at 12:05 pm. Councilor Jordan Rasmusson seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith,
City Clerk-Treasurer