October 7, 2026
Those Present: Brooke Bergholm, Marty Nate, Mayor Tony Price, Jordan Rasmusson, Tee Steadman, Maintenance Shane Clark, Maintenance Hadley Wright, Deputy Sheriff Wes Barnhill, Tyler & Katana Sorensen
Meeting called to order: 7:00 pm Invocation: Hadley Wright
The council entertained a motion from Councilor Jordan Rasmusson 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 September 1, 2026, were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilor Marty Nate made the motion to accept the minutes as read with corrections and Councilor Jordan Rasmusson seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Addison Ochsenbein was not in attendance from Sunrise Engineering this meeting, but will come back in November.
Police Report: Deputy Sheriff Wes Barnhill was in attendance to give a full report for the month of September. There were 79 contacts and 12 citations issued. He reported that the SWAT team responded to a call up Georgetown Canyon for an incident where the subject was barricaded in their home. They responded to an alarm at an abandoned house on the north end of town and responded to other animal problems and disturbances throughout town.
The Annual Land App Report needs to be prepared for DEQ. In years past, Keller Associates has always taken care of this for us since they installed the land app and have all the numbers from previous years. Sunrise Engineering would like the opportunity to help us. Addison comes to every meeting and continues to help us with multiple things each month without being on a retainer. We have received a bid from both companies to prepare the Land App report. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to have Sunrise Engineering prepare the report for us and was seconded by councilor Jordan Rasmusson. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The fence around the lower sewer pond was discussed. Councilor Tee Steadman presented a bid received from Custom Fence for material and labor. He said he knows this company and they have a great reputation with Business insurance and their own liability. Councilor Marty Nate made the motion to contact Custom Fence to have them come and look at the project. Councilor Brooke Bergholm seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. We may need to have a special meeting this month to accept their quote to finish before winter.
Tyler & Katana Sorensen came before the council to get permission to install a privacy fence around their property. They have just purchased the property next to the post office and would like to put up a fence with matching tin and to start and finish before winter. The council expressed that good fences make good neighbors and want to ensure there is enough space to see the road and oncoming traffic. The Ordinance states the frontage of property can only have a 3-foot fence but they would like 6-foot fence on all sides. Councilor Marty Nate stated she would like to see a privacy fence on commercial property when a business borders residential too. The council would like to go see the property in person before making a decision. The Sorensen’s expressed that if they cannot enclose the front or all of the property and just the sides, then they won’t do the fence at all. They only need approval for the front as the sides can be done at any time as they are allowed to do so. We can include this item with our special meeting so they can get going and finish before winter as well.
Update on the Comprehensive Plan. Molly has received the plan digitally but haven’t heard back from her about any of it. Councilor Brooke Bergholm said that she doesn’t feel like this is the right time of year to try and put a committee together, but she will get after it the first of the year in January.
Business Licenses were discussed to which Councilor Tee Steadman asked to what benefit it is to the City. Councilor Marty Nate replied to know what is being sold within the City and there would be an annual fee to provide revenue to the City. Clerk Smith emailed a business license form and Ordinance template previously discussed a few years ago and then died and was not passed. Discussion was tabled until all have a chance to review the information and can discuss more at the next meeting.
The City will host a Trunk-or-Treat again this year for Halloween. Halloween is on a Saturday this year and was discussed to hold at 4:00 pm so families can get to other events in the evening. Lynette will get flyers posted and on Facebook and to be delivered to the kids at school. Councilor Marty Nate suggested roasting hot dogs and things and it was decided to leave that for the Christmas celebration.
The floor was then open for public comment period which there was none.
Building Permits – Tim Neuman submitted an application for a shed to store his RV under. Discussion on if he will be 8 feet off the property line if the property is split into two separate lots. The application was approved.
Councilor Marty Nate asked Tyler Sorensen about the football turf and they are not selling anymore this fall but can look into in the spring again. She is still working on a grant for the walking path by the cemetery. She asked about removing the trees at the cemetery because they aren’t looking very good. Clerk Smith said they were planted as a barrier to the sewer pond and with an Arbor Day Grant. She also asked about being able to do some road repairs with just a little at a time along with the water system. The council will ask Addison about options to install in sections and their recommendations.
Councilor Tee Steadman inquired about the crosswalk along the highway and how we can get the ball rolling on that again. Addison had applied for that to be part of a sign grant that we weren’t awarded yet but we can follow up to see how we need to make it happen. He also mentioned an irrigation leak that needs fixed. The irrigation companies water master has the parts to fix and hoping to get to it this fall. He asked about the public comment period on the agenda’s. He would like the 2-minutes to be better managed or to remove it completely so we can conduct our time better at the meetings. Sometimes our meetings are too informal, and he would like the public to get on the agenda for issues they have. This would also remove the issue of making decisions without being an action item. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to remove the public comment period and for public to contact the Clerk to be on the agenda for an action item. Councilor Jordan Rasmusson seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Councilor Jordan Rasmusson said he would like to compile a list of projects the City needs and then can poll the citizens to rank by needs and wants. He will work on a list and Clerk Smith can put a survey out about ranking. He also added he doesn’t mind longer meetings, if they are productive.
Councilor Brooke Bergholm asked for some clarification on how the meetings work if items are for the council to discuss and make decisions or if items are up for group discussion. Council discussed and the dynamic is still being figured out with direction.
The Mayor said he spoke with Officer Barnhill about enforcing vehicles to not park in the right of ways with winter coming. He also added that the State will be coming out to paint lines on Stringtown when they are finished painting at the Geneva Summit. He also said that he and Councilor Marty Nate have a virtual meeting with an engineer firm from Idaho Falls for a grant opportunity and will report back at the next meeting.
Maintenance Report: Shane Clark gave their report for the month of September and stated that he and Hadley have helped tie in a new service connection and fixed a water shut off valve on West Street. They turned off services at a location for delinquency and turned on services for new residents. They finished the land app pumping and started winterizing. They mowed the parks and put away hoses and sprinklers at the cemetery. They gathered posts for the fence at the Cemetery for expansion. Prestige Valve came and worked on the PRV’s at the water tank and other valves, and since they have been coming frequently, we haven’t had any spikes in the system. They got well water samples and measurements from the land app. They took monthly samples to the lab and did more sampling and testing for the water PFA. Both have come back non detected so we’re hopeful we won’t have to test for the PFA as often. The guys from IRWA came and visited for the month. ITAFOS is finished getting water for the year. Lynette will contact them to bill for the water taken. Shane said the beaver up to the diversion have made a huge mess. It is now open season for trapping and we need to get that done.
Office Report: There are 17 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of September. She and Marty had to locate more information and history for the Adjudication, changing the priority date. The next meeting date has a conflict with Election Day and using the City Hall for the Elections. Meeting date was changed to the next evening on Wednesday, November 4th.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of September 2026 in the amount of $32,402.28 in the general fund, $17,492.23 in the water fund, and $26,001.21 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $75,895.72. Councilor Jordan Rasmusson seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman that council adjourns from the October 2026 council meeting at 9:25 pm. Councilor Jordan Rasmusson seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith, City Clerk-Treasurer
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