Council Minutes
May 6, 2014
Those Present: Matt Argyle, Ada DeClark, Joe DeClark, Glenn Hunter, Clerk Lynette Smith, Doug Thompson, Mayor Bob Van Cleave, Mable Whitmore, Ryan and Corbin Spencer
Meeting called to order: 7:05 pm Invocation: Councilmember Ada DeClark
The chair entertained a motion from councilmember Matt Argyle that the council accepts the published agenda. Councilmember Joe DeClark seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Minutes from the April 1, 2014, regular council meeting were read. The chair entertained a motion from councilmember Glenn Hunter the council approve the minutes as read. Councilmember Joe DeClark seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Three bids to mow the city park were received in the office. Two out of the three bids were pretty much the same. Councilmember Ada DeClark made the motion to have the Mayor call and interview the bidders that were the same, about insurance, how often they will mow and then he can make the decision as to who to hire. Councilmember Glenn Hunter seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Mable Whitmore represented the Twin Creek Days Committee. She passed out a schedule for the day and made assignments for councilmembers to take care of that day. The City will still take care of the lunch for the day and councilmember Glenn Hunter will be responsible for ordering and gathering everything for the lunch. Councilmember Joe DeClark will clean up the tables and help serve the luncheon. Councilmember Ada DeClark will be responsible for the treasure hunt/treasure pool and councilmember Matt Argyle will take care of the advertising.
Doug Thompson asked the council about their thoughts on using Roto Rooter to maintain the city sewer lines, to clear at least one section a year, to prevent any large blockages in the system like what happened last fall. The Roto Rooter business has relocated to Montpelier and would be very convenient for us to use. Doug will get an estimate from him for the council to approve how many sections we can perform maintenance on each year.
Doug has found a few issues with the water system throughout the City recently with pressure reducers, valves and eroded lines. He received an estimate from Ferguson’s for the materials to fix lines at Don & Paul Clark’s in the amount of $2,020.00. Councilmember Ada DeClark made the motion for Doug to make the purchase for the materials from Ferguson’s in the amount of $2,020.00. Councilmember Joe DeClark seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. Doug informed the council that there are two sets of pressure reducers and some valves which have gone bad and need to be replaced. He will speak with Idaho Rural Water to see what our options are and speak with contractors that would be willing and certified to perform the work. When these fixes occur, the City water will all be shut down for a short while if everything needs to be completely replaced. We will also work on getting estimates on how much all of this will cost to the water fund.
The council discussed the LHTAC street grant briefly and said that they are still researching possibilities. There is some confusion on the wording in the grant letter that Lynette will call LHTAC to get cleared up about correct dates.
Doug also informed the council that he will be doing lots of road patching along various streets this summer. He was notified that there is about $10,000 in the current budget for him to do so.
Doug received a bid from Sims Construction for putting up a new roof on the City Shop. After much discussion the council agreed that they would like to maintain the building that we have before going through the expense of building a new one, such as the shed for all equipment. Perhaps the equipment shed will be put off for another year at least. They will make more of a concrete decision about what to do with the buildings until we know further on our water situation within the City.
Reed Clark has offered to fence the sewer ponds, and he has already done the other side about a year ago. He will perform all of the labor if the City will pay for the materials. Doug will get a bid from Reed listing the expense of the materials for the council to approve.
Councilmember Joe DeClark reported that he attended an LHTAC meeting this past month and that it was mostly about all of the bike races that will be going on in this area over the summer.
Councilmember Ada DeClark reported on the Easter Egg Hunt which she received lots of great feedback on and will plan to do it again next year. She also proposed for the water budget to be reopened for the next meeting.
Police Report: Officer John Martinez made 24 contacts for the month of April.
Maintenance Report: Doug Thompson gave his report for the month of April stating that he turned water services off at one location and on at two locations. He received his lab sample tests which were good. Taylor Construction is coming back and getting set up and ready to resume construction sometime next week. He tore down the trees behind the City Hall building and took a few loads to the dump with them. At the cemetery, he marked a grave for a headstone to be put in and put some backfill on a few sunken graves. He issued dog warnings to those who haven’t purchased their licenses yet, marked some areas for DigLine and attended the LHTAC meeting with councilmember Joe DeClark. He also overhauled the lawn mower and mowed the lawn at the City Park.
Office Report: Clerk Smith reported that there are 16 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of April. She bought new phones from King’s of Montpelier because the Caller ID stopped working on the old phones. She ordered new coupon payment booklets for the next two years and will compile a letter to send to all citizens with the new books. She informed the council that she will be changing her office hours for the summer to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. A customer has complained about their account being a month behind. Lynette researched the issue and his account has continuously been a month behind since before she was hired in 2011. The council agreed to make everyone’s lives easier by removing one month’s worth of services from his account. Lynette will compile a letter to Randy Toomer for the Mayor to sign notifying him of the council’s decision granting him a one-time credit to his account.
The chair entertained a motion from councilmember Matt Argyle the council approve checks and vouchers for the month of April 2014 in the amount of $11,139.97 in the general fund, $72,772.82 in the water fund, $26,399.94 in the sewer fund with all funds totaling $110,312.73. Councilmember Glenn Hunter seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The chair entertained a motion from councilmember Ada DeClark that the council adjourn from the May 2014 council meeting at 9:15 pm. Councilmember Matt Argyle seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith, City Clerk