Georgetown Idaho

April 17, 2023
Those Present: DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, City Maintenance Alan Howell, Mike Carr, Nicole Price, Tim Neuman, Stacy & Charlie Christensen, Joe DeClark, Layne DeClark, Brice DeClark, Jeff & Deanna Franzen, Chris Shepherd, Kevin Martin and Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering
Meeting called to order: 6:00 pm Invocation: Mayor Stephan Waechtler
The Council entertained a motion from councilor Tee Steadman to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor Greg Kunz. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The council has had to call this emergency meeting to declare a state of emergency in the City because of the water issues going on in town. There have been some frozen lines, broken lines and now seven homes on the lower end of Stringtown and above East Street are currently without water. Shane explained the issues that have been going on and where it all started at Rusty Dimick’s and the church without water. On Wednesday, April 12th, they got a call that the water was bubbling in front of the church so they dug that up and capped the line and finally got water back to the town and the school by 4 am on the 13th. The next day the seven homes were suddenly without water and they capped it at East street and still no water to the homes so they have ran hoses to homes as a temporary fix for the evening and then the hoses froze. They got those thawed on Sunday but they are still living off the hoses for now. There is still a water leak in front of the church that needs to be taken care of and the fire hydrant by the school is also out of service. We issued a boil order notice from the water being off the first time fixing in front of the church and those samples came back good so the boil order was removed on Friday.
There was lots of discussion on where the lines are and where it ties in. The plans say those lines their being fed from were supposed to be abandoned. They are still connected somewhere with PVC pipe and so it’s hard to locate. The citizens at the seven homes said they have had significantly less water and pressure since the new PRV’s were installed a couple years back. Discussion about a band aid fix to get them water back for now and then will give us time for the snow to melt more and make a plan to get it fixed right. Shane has been working diligently and nothing has worked that he and Alan have tried thus far.
Sunrise Engineering said there should be some funding options for emergency situations up to $150,000. DEQ has already allocated all of their funds for the year but the State may have some money available and USDA. They will pursue and get back to us.
Clerk Smith and Shane have reached out to a few different contractors to get bids. As per State Statute in an emergency situation and if it is less than $50,000 we can hire anyone. If it is over the $50,000 but less than $200,000 then we are required to get at least 3 bids or contact 3 contractors and must go with the lowest bid. Bids were solicited to A+ Contractors, JAG Enterprises, BE Excavating and Bethers Excavating. JAG is 4+ weeks out to do any work for boring, BE Excavating is too busy and Bethers is getting back to us, A+ can come by the end of the week to get working.
The council and citizens in attendance want to get a band aid in place and get DigLine called in the morning to get the line exposed by Wednesday. The Mayor told everyone this is a great way to get to know your neighbors and help each other out. The community has been great to stop by and offer help and pitch in and all have been willing to help and he and Shane have been very appreciative.
It was agreed that the homes without water are in priority and there are two separate issues with the homes and the church without water. The council wants to bore to the homes if at all possible and get more bids from Vaughn Smith, Lutz Construction and Bills Construction but we need someone with a crew that knows what they’re doing to fix both projects. They will reassess as things go to come up with the best way possible to get water to these homes throughout the week and Shane can solicit the help that he needs to get it fixed.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Greg Kunz that council adjourns from the emergency council meeting at 7:50 pm. Councilor DeLoy Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith, City Clerk-Treasurer

April 4, 2023

Those Present: Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Sheriff Bart Heslington, Tim & Merg Neuman, Garth Glenn, Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering

Meeting called to order:              7:00 pm                                Invocation:         Mayor Stephan Waechtler

The Council entertained a motion from councilor Greg Kunz to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The minutes from March 7, 2023, were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to accept the minutes as read. Councilor Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Tim Neuman on behalf of Sam Holder said the City has permission to use his area to clear and pile when there is lots of snow for flood control but to take care to the soft ground in the pasture to not tear it up or make large ruts. Sam passed away on Sunday.

Sheriff Bart Heslington came before the council to discuss the contract. He has had conversations with the other cities and they don’t have the funds to employ a deputy. He has talked with the commissioners about increasing the budget to help with that. He has some contracts gathered from other areas and he and Adam are piecing one together that will include the citation revenue coming back to the city along with fines and fees on misdemeanors within city limits. He felt we could have a pending agreement so they can respond and enforce our ordinances now. Bart will be available to come to council meetings as needed and Tee requested to change up their hours as we need. We will start a trial run at no cost for a few months to see how things go. If Adam can have a contract ready before the next meeting, the council would like to have a special meeting in April to get it approved.

The council entertained a motion from councilor Tee Steadman to leave the regular meeting and move into Public Hearing for the purpose of rezoning the property that was annexed into the City owned by Kameron & Jessica Whitaker. The motion was seconded by Councilor Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and a roll call vote was taken and is as follows: Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Clerk Smith reported that the office has not received any public comment either written or verbal pertaining to the annexation. She mailed out notices of the public hearing to all landowners within 300 feet of the property. Councilor Trenton Morrell asked about if we needed to rezone and adopt a new Ordinance when it states in Ordinance #27 that all property annexed into the City limits will be rezoned as residential. Lynette reached out to Adam and he said he felt it was still necessary. Ordinance #110 to rezone the property from agricultural to residential was read and reviewed by the council and a map was passed out to show everyone where the property is located. Garth Glenn commented on the City doing a great job plowing snow down Hayes Lane and throughout the City. Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to go out of the public hearing and move back into the regular meeting and was seconded by Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and a roll call vote was taken and is as follows: Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. The Ordinance will be tabled until the next meeting when all councilors are in attendance to dispense the three reading rule.

The budget hearing date was set for September 5, 2023 at 7:00 pm and the workshop will be on August 1, 2023.

Clerk Smith had Tyler Williamson create a logo to be placed on the City vehicles. The cost to print them will be around $400-500. The council loved them and said to move forward to get them printed and placed on the City service/plow truck and side by side.

The backhoe agreement between the City and the Irrigation Company was discussed at the annual meeting and all felt that things were still working great. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to renew the yearly backhoe agreement with the Georgetown Irrigation Company and was seconded by Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried.

The City cleanup day was scheduled for May 20^th and dumpsters will be brought out by the park for citizens to use after this snow finally leaves.

The business license ordinance was discussed and the council agreed to not pursue issuing business licenses at this time.

The subdivision ordinance was discussed. Copies of the counties ordinance were printed and distributed for each council member to jot notes and review deeper before the next meeting. Sunrise Engineering will help add a developers agreement to be included with the ordinance.

Councilor Tee Steadman has been researching in the Twin Creeks books and found a letter about Tolo’s Fork in 1827. Lynette will forward on to TJ Budge to see if that can be used to help prove how long we have used water in the City for the adjudication.

Councilor Greg Kunz has complaints about the road that got cut last fall for the water and sewer hookups to the new homes along Stringtown. He would like to see it better maintained with road base until we can asphalt it. The Mayor will speak with the Whitaker’s about maintaining.

Councilor Trenton Morrell has received a complaint from a citizen about their neighbors trees being planted in the right of way and moving their shed. Lynette will send a letter to them with the concerns.

Police Report:  The council had a retirement party for Officer Martinez and his wife at the Ranch Hand on March 29^th at 1:00 pm. The Mayor, Tee, DeLoy, Alan, Lynette and spouses were in attendance to present Officer Martinez with the shadow box with his shirt inside and a cake and lunch. All had a good time honoring him for his years of service to the City. Clerk Smith has reached out to the candidate the council wanted to hire and she is no longer interested in the position. The council will see how this trial run with the Sheriff’s office goes to see how to proceed.

The Mayor brought up that Layne DeClark would like to pay for his water and sewer hookups now for his piece of property he may build on down the road instead of paying the increased rates. The council directed Clerk Smith to compose a letter denying his request since the ordinance and hearing have already been implemented since January and other homeowners have been told to pay for their building permit along with hookups and you can’t prepay for hookups.

Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of March and stated that he has been working on the Reuse Permit Classification and water reports. He thanked the Mayor and his boys for coming to help clear the snow off the roofs of the City Hall and the shed. They have still been moving snow and helped Clinton Price shut off water in his house. There will be quite a few shutoffs needing replaced this summer.

Office Business:   There are 16 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of March. Lynette reported that the new coupon books with individual statements were mailed to every resident informing of the water rate increase. The vaccine clinic sponsored by Bear Lake Animal Hospital was well attended at the beginning of the month even though it was a snowy day. The citizens in attendance appreciated the convenience of being close to take care of their pets. They would like to continue to do each year. The back storage room has had some water damage from the ice on the roofs and Lynette will file a claim with ICRMP to cover the cost to replace the walls, ceiling, flooring, etc in the room. The county will be coming this Thursday to help citizens with property tax relief and will be in the office most of the day.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Greg Kunz for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of March 2023 in the amount of $19,640.95 in the general fund, $6,625.39 in the water fund, and $16,351.06 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $42,617.40. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried the council.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Greg Kunz that council adjourns from the April 2023 council meeting at 9:05 pm. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith

City Clerk-Treasurer

March 7, 2023

Those Present: DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, Ada DeClark, Joe DeClark, Nathan Crane, Tim & Merg Neuman, Kevin & Marty Nate, Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering

Meeting called to order:              7:00 pm                                Invocation:         Mayor Stephan Waechtler

The Council entertained a motion from councilor Tee Steadman to approve the added agenda items of Nathan Crane to discuss building options on the land next to him and Addison Ochsenbein from Sunrise Engineering. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. The council entertained a motion from councilor DeLoy Kunz to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The minutes from February 7, 2023, were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to accept the minutes as read. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Ada DeClark came before the council to discuss the Easter Egg Hunt. She would like to do a May Day Celebration on May 1^st instead due to the amount of snow we have this year and will hold the easter egg hunt then and will get the 2^nd Ward Young Women’s group to help. She will get some other local donations for bikes and prizes if the City would be willing to donate $400 towards the celebration. Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to donate $400 for Ada to put on a May Day celebration and was seconded by councilor Tee Steadman. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Cemetery Winter Fees – Clerk Smith did some research and heard that some cities were charging an extra winter fee for cemetery open and closings but found out that the City of Bancroft and Chesterfield actually closes down their cemetery in the winter and the funeral home keeps the bodies until a later date for the funeral when the snow has melted. They are typically closed from December until April depending on the year and snow load. The council discussed adding a fee or closing the cemetery for the winter months. The concern is when the snow gets so deep and not being able to see where the headstones are or some winters we have struggled with the frost setting in so soon and making it so hard to dig. The council decided to table it and determine on a year to year basis whether to close it down and in the meantime see if the funeral homes will work with us to postpone where we have so much snow this year.

Nathan Crane came before the council to discuss options on the property next to him. It is for sale and he’s wondering if there is potential to build on the property for himself or anyone else in the future. The property is partially in city and partially in county but his lane to his house is so narrow that it restricts anyone being able to get back there anyway. The railroad right of way is for recreation use but years ago the city was told that the road could be used for anything the city wanted, so eventually a road and water line could be put down there but that is years out for that to happen. There is no potential for water to the property unless a whole separate line is installed and cannot be added on to the end of his water line now. The short answer is anything can be done for a fee but the water and road is restricting any growth on that property now.

Addison Ochsenbein from Sunrise Engineering stopped by to bring some material for the council to review regarding developer’s agreements that the city could adopt along with the planning and zoning subdivision ordinance.

The business license ordinance draft was handed out to the council to review and citizens in attendance. The draft was tabled until a future council when they have had time to review and can determine better if this is something we really want to implement or not.

The planning and zoning subdivision ordinance draft was also tabled until a future meeting when the council can review. The city will look at adopting the county’s subdivision ordinance with some adjustments that don’t apply to us but may be needed for future growth. Also suggested to implement a committee to review and bring to council.

The police contract was discussed and councilor Trenton Morrell reached out to the other cities involved in using the Sheriff’s department and the Mayor of Bloomington said that they aren’t ready to sign a contract and the Mayor of Paris hasn’t been able to get a meeting with the Sheriff to discuss so they’re not ready either. Mayor Roy Bunderson is working on putting together a meeting with the Mayor’s throughout the county with the Sheriff’s Office and see about a contract with them to enforce each cities ordinances since all the citizens pay taxes to the Sheriff’s Office. It was decided to move forward in doing our own thing and to contact our applicants and see if either is still available or interested in the job.

Councilor Greg Kunz inquired about how many fire hydrants are along Stringtown and if we need to install another one with more homes going in. It was determined that there are 3 along the lane that should be sufficient for our needs.

Joe DeClark came to tell the council to continue to look for other water source options and to not give up. The railroad right of way was a lot of work to get and has no water rights but he remembers there being lots of water down by the sewer ponds when we installed the new project and see if there is a way to pump that back up to the rest of the system through that right of way. He also reminded everyone about an easement for the cabin’s up the canyon and there is a water line through there but DEQ made them all drill a well instead of hooking on to the system so to keep that in mind if anyone new ever owns those and finds the easement with their property and tries to connect.

Clerk Smith gave a quick recap of the meeting that she, Shane, Tee and Greg had with TJ Budge over zoom for the City’s adjudication. Tee took home the Twin Creeks books to read some history about Georgetown but we need to find evidence of the first time anyone remembers water being used in the city from packing it from the creeks or somehow before it was distributed through the pipes, through an affidavit of someone’s memory or if we can find any documentation or letter about that. We need to find some history of when the spring was developed and our measuring device at the spring to be able to defend the water that we have. We need to get this information to TJ before October so he can file the claim for the City.

Police Report:  No report for the month of February.

Maintenance Report:    Shane gave his report for the month of February and stated that he and Alan have been plowing snow, snow and more snow. The Mayor helped them get up to the water tanks. They’ve also helped citizens get their water unfrozen if possible or find alternate solutions. The water at the church has a temporary fix running a hose from the fire hydrant and the Mayor got a call today to see about help paying for the labor trying to get the lines unfrozen. The Mayor will wait to get an itemized bill and see if we can turn it into our insurance.

Office Report:   There are 19 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of February. The new coupon books have arrived and Lynette will send out a letter with them telling everyone about the water increase beginning in April and reminders to not park in the roads to aid with winter maintenance and a brief explanation of the adjudication coming up.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Greg Kunz for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of February 2023 in the amount of $14,069.71 in the general fund, $28,364.23 in the water fund and $45,911.60 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $88,345.54. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Greg Kunz that council adjourns from the March 2023 council meeting at 9:30 pm. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith

City Clerk-Treasurer

February 7, 2023

Those Present:  DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Kevin & Marty Nate, Chris Banks, Brandee Wells, Kevin Martin & Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering, Lori Chapman, Neiko Waechtler, Gary & James Teuscher

Meeting called to order:              7:00 pm                                Invocation:         Council President Greg Kunz

The Council entertained a motion from councilor Tee Steadman to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The minutes from January 4, 2023, were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to accept the minutes as read. Councilor DeLoy Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Chris Banks and Brandee Wells came before the council to discuss some options that they help to write grants for landowners and municipalities. They worked with our city previously on our wastewater project and did a conservation project. He wanted to know exactly what we’re looking to do and the council told him we need to upgrade our lines since most are very old and cast iron lines and we would like to look at adding another line from our tanks because we don’t have room for growth with our current system. We need to replace probably 25,000 feet between the spring to the tank and from the tank down to the City. Chris will email a form to Lynette to fill out so he can help us get a couple of grants that are available right now.

Kevin Martin of Sunrise Engineering and his partner Addison Ochsenbein, came to the council to discuss our new requirements from DEQ to test every home for lead and copper. He has submitted an application for us for help to get a grant to pay for that. They will want all homes to be documented in the city and to have all galvanized pipe removed. Upstream galvanized pipe will be ok but downstream will need to be replaced. Inventory will need to be taken by October 2024 and we have a 4 year window to address issues. If we haven’t had any hits ever for finding lead and copper before then that could be taken into consideration for our inventory. Kevin also had a suggestion to implement a developer’s agreement with our subdivision ordinance which could include a cost analysis. He will forward that on to Lynette.

Neiko Waechtler asked the council for some guidance on making the shadow box for Officer Martinez. It was requested to make the box out of blue pinewood and to spend up to $500.00.

Gary and James Teuscher came before the council to present the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Audit. The city continues to be in good shape and all accounts are in order. Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to payback the General Fund from the Sewer Fund in the amount of $15,740.05 and from the Water Fund in the amount of $21,362.69. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The city needs to submit a claim to adjudicate our water used throughout the city with the Bear River Basin Adjudication. TJ Budge in Pocatello is willing to help the city file the claim. Clerk Smith will setup a conference call with him on February 22^nd from 2-4 pm for those that can make it to help get our claim going.

The Business License and Planning & Zoning Ordinance Drafts will be tabled until the next meeting.

Councilor Tee Steadman said to reach out to the other cities and get a feel for what they are thinking on going with a contract with the County or if we should move on and do our own thing. He would like to see a contract by our March meeting.

Councilor Greg Kunz would like the city to consider selling the welder/generator if it’s not being used. It’s practically brand new with 4 hours on it and since we have a bigger generator. Shane does start it and run it once a year to keep it in good working condition. Councilor Tee Steadman said he thinks its good to have it even though it’s not being used much so that we have it when we need it and not getting rid of useful equipment. Greg also asked about the snow pile by the post office and wondered where we can put snow throughout the city because the intersections are getting hard to see past.

Police Report:  No report for January.

Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of January and stated that he and Alan have a grave coming up this month. Shane is worried about graves in the winter and damaging headstones in the snow when you can’t see where they are at and trying to dig around them. There are some other cemeteries that wait for the snow to leave. He will check into and find out more details before the next meeting. The plow truck clutch was readjusted and fixed by Troy DeClark and they have been able to do more snow removal this month. He thanked the Mayor and his family for helping to pull the plow truck out and provide a way to plow snow when the truck was down.

Office Business:   There are 13 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of January. Lynette inquired about the Employee Holiday suggested list for the maintenance workers. It was decided to follow the federal recognized holiday. Marty Nate would like to use the City Hall for a greenhouse class on February 18^th. Bear Lake Animal Hospital wants to do a pet clinic in Georgetown and offer a discount for vaccinations and come to the community. They will take care of all of the advertising and such if we will provide the location in an enclosed building such as the City shop. The council agreed to let them come and Lynette can get dogs licensed and sell dog tags at the same time.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of January 2023 in the amount of $16,124.00 in the general fund, $23,475.83 in the water fund, and $66,560.92 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $106,160.75. Councilor DeLoy Kunz 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 February 2023 council meeting at 9:30 pm. Councilor DeLoy Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith

City Clerk-Treasurer

January 25, 2023 – Special Meeting

Those Present:  DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, City Attorney Adam McKenzie, Kevin & Marty Nate, Tim & Merg Neuman

Meeting called to order:              7:00 pm                                Invocation:         Mayor Stephan Waechtler

The Council entertained a motion from councilor Tee Steadman to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor DeLoy Kunz. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The Mayor welcomed all to the meeting and appreciated the public in attendance. Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to leave the regular meeting and go into public hearing for the purpose of discussing a property annexation, increasing monthly water rates and increasing water and sewer hookup fees. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and is as follows: DeLoy – yes, Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Motion carried the council. Clerk Smith reported that there has not been any comments received in person or by mail to the office in regards to the public hearings.

The Whitakers would like to annex their remaining 2.5 acres of their property into the City limits. 2.5 acres already lies in City limits and they would like the other half in the City too. A map of the City limits and property was shown to the council and public. City Attorney, Adam McKenzie said the process to annex is to adopt the Ordinance to annex, then we will have another public hearing to rezone the property as residential. Marty Nate commented that it is already in the Comprehensive Plan that if any property is annexed to City limits that it will be rezoned to residential.

Resolution #2023-01 was read to the council; a resolution to increase the monthly water rates $10. This increase will be saved for future upgrades to the water system and hasn’t been increased since 2008. The sewer rates haven’t been increased since 2012 and ideally rates should be increasing 3% each year. Shane Clark informed the council that we have new testing requirements that have come up this year for Lead & Copper and each home must be documented in the City. Kevin Martin of Sunrise Engineering is helping us to apply for grants to help with those costs, but this $10 increase will help to pay for that as well. Adam said that we can pass an Ordinance to raise the rates each year; if it is less than a 5% increase we don’t need a hearing and can just adjust/increase each year.

Resolution #2023-02 was read to the council; a resolution to increase the water and sewer hookup fees from $1500 to $5000 each plus associated fees. Adam went into detail about keeping in mind that the mine is coming soon and that we need to get an ordinance in place for subdivisions because growth will be coming to the City and we need to start planning for it now. Adam suggested for the council to look over the County’s Subdivision Ordinance as a good starting point and decide what applies to us and what we want to keep and what we don’t need along with their zoning ordinance to update ours. He advised for us to put a subdivision ordinance into place before annexing any large parcels and to make sure the system can handle more homes in its current state. He suggested adding to a subdivision ordinance that for example, in order to develop a subdivision that they must bring in water shares to provide for their homes and that the developer must work with the City Engineer to solve water issues.

Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to close the public hearing and move back into the regular meeting Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and is as follows: DeLoy – yes, Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Motion carried the council.

Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to approve the annexation of 2.5 acres of the Whitakers property into the City limits. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and is as follows: DeLoy – yes, Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Motion carried. Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to approve Ordinance #109 annexing property of 2.5 acres into the City limits. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and is as follows: DeLoy – yes, Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Motion carried.

Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to approve Resolution #2023-01 to increase the monthly water rates beginning April 10, 2023 and was seconded by Tee Steadman. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to approve Resolution #2023-02 to increase the water and sewer hookup fees to $5,000 each and was seconded by DeLoy Kunz. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman that council adjourns from the January Special Meeting council meeting at 8:15 pm. Councilor Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith

City Clerk-Treasurer

January 4, 2023

Those Present:  DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Kevin & Marty Nate, Sheriff Bart Heslington, Chief Deputy Ryan Larsen

Meeting called to order:              7:00 pm                                Invocation:         Council President Greg Kunz

The Council entertained a motion from councilor Greg Kunz to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The minutes from December 7, 2022, were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to accept the minutes as read. Councilor Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council. Clerk Smith made note of a correction about when the Public Hearing will be for the annexation and water rate increases as well as water and sewer hookups. The date will be January 25^th because the news examiner didn’t publish a paper during the week of December 28^th so the notices didn’t get in for the time restraints.

Sheriff Bart Heslington came before the council with a proposal for the County Sheriff’s Office to have a contract to patrol and enforce our Ordinances in Georgetown. Sheriff Heslington was appreciative to be on the agenda and the Council’s consideration with Officer Martinez retiring. He said he has prepared similar proposals for St. Charles and Bloomington. Their proposal would hire a separate deputy to patrol all the cities but may not be the same deputy each time, but this would allow them to hire another full-time deputy. Their office would handle all the certifications, POST, etc. and they would attend regular council meetings. This contract would enable the deputies to enforce our Ordinances as well; at this time, they are not authorized to enforce but only help to keep the peace now because we are incorporated City. He handed out a report to all the council members to review about calls being made to Georgetown in the last calendar year. The council asked if we would be able to have an officer on weekends or holidays when we want and Sheriff responded that we would be able to discuss and set a schedule for the contracted 55 hours a month. How much will it cost? Georgetown’s share would be about $30,000 a year which would be equivalent to the other cities also. The Mayor questioned a specific incident happening a year ago and was told if we have any issues to call the Sheriff’s Office but what does that do if they can’t enforce anything? Sheriff explained that they can come and assist to keep the peace among the neighbors but can’t issue citations but they can still collect info and then pass along to our police department and attorney. The Mayor worried about the summer months and the lake and that end of the valley taking precedence over us. Sheriff assured that we would get our hours we are contracted and scheduled. Council questioned how do we get ahold of the officers on duty and Sheriff said we would have a direct line of communication and his office would handle all the scheduling. Kevin Nate thinks it would be of benefit to have 10-12 different personalities to handle the people that always think they’re above the law and said that Georgetown has been known as a speed trap and we don’t want to lose that. Marty Nate asked if the City would still get their percentage of citations issued in Georgetown and Sheriff said that would have to be included in the contract. Sheriff explained that each City would have its own contract and would be renewed annually and ideally each City needs to participate to make this work, but if in a year a City doesn’t renew, then the Sheriff’s Office would assume all risks. Sheriff will work with Adam for a template on the contract. Shane asked if there is any benefit of having our own vehicle with all the upgrades that we’ve made to the vehicle lately and Sheriff said that could be negotiated in the contract or the county could add it to their inventory, or we could sell it. Question was also asked what happens if for some reason they don’t get their 55 hours in, what would the consequences be; Sheriff said maybe the next month they would do more than 55 to offset. The council decided that they would like to see a contract written up by Adam before making any decisions.

There was only one silent bid received for the old Ford service truck. Lynette confirmed with Adam that the City is not required to accept the bids and can advertise in the classifieds to sell. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to reject the bid and was seconded by Councilor Trenton Morrell. Councilor Greg Kunz abstained from voting. After some discussion Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to accept the bid to Jacob Kunz and was seconded by Councilor DeLoy Kunz. Voting was tied and the Mayor broke the tie by voting to list the truck on FaceBook and KSL for $2,150.00.

The public hearings for the Whitaker Annexation, water rate increase and sewer and water hookup increases will be held on January 25^th and has been published in the paper.

Councilor Tee Steadman is concerned about who will enforce our Ordinances now since Officer Martinez has retired and until we get someone new hired. He said there are still a lot of people that are plowing their snow and carrying it across the road and not getting it cleaned up. He would like Lynette to send out letters to them telling them to stop since the post on FaceBook hasn’t helped.

Councilor Greg Kunz asked who plows the snow at the cross walk on the highway so that the kids can use the crosswalk and the flags that we’ve put up. He also commented that the cars parked in front of the Church, from all the mine workers, are awful because we can’t get it plowed. Need to find out who has jurisdiction; City or Church. Need to post signs for no parking and can talk to the mines about it or have them towed.

Police Report:  There were 32 contacts for the month of December. Officer Martinez sent a letter for the councilmembers, officially giving notice for his retirement and how much he enjoyed working here.

Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of December and stated that he and Alan did some work to the SCADA system, he got a new pump ordered, and did lots of snow removal. He helped Gail Hayes with a sewer issue. There was lots of discussion on where the bus can turn around up the canyon and who is responsible for keeping it plowed. Shane was told to track all of his hours of time spent plowing county roads. It was suggested to get in touch with the County to have them install a sign for no parking so the bus can get turned around. Shane also said that they will need to do some chip seal this year and was told to contact the County and see if they can drop it in Georgetown instead of hauling all the way to town and then we have to find a way to haul it back.

Office Business:   There are 14 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of December. The winners of the Christmas Lights contest were 1^st Tony & Chris Price, 2^nd Doug & Shellie Thompson and 3^rd Matt & Tiffany Argyle. She will inform the Police applicants that the Council isn’t ready to make a decision on who to hire yet and want to explore all options with the Sheriff’s department before making a decision. Lynette will get the W-2’s prepared for everyone to have before the next council meeting. She asked about if people can pre-pay for their water and sewer hookups. One family would like to get them installed in order to get one load of asphalt to go on all properties. The council decided that hookups can’t be paid for without a permit first.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilor DeLoy Kunz for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of December 2022 in the amount of $15,105.12 in the general fund, $6,066.50 in the water fund, and $20,396.00 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $41,567.62. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried the council.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilor DeLoy Kunz that council adjourns from the January 2023 council meeting at 9:30 pm. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith

City Clerk-Treasurer

December 7, 2022
Those Present: DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Tim & Merg Neuman, Tamalu Glende, Sam & Wendy Holder, Kam & Jessica Whitaker
Meeting called to order: 7:00 pm Invocation: Tee Steadman
The Council entertained a motion from councilor Greg Kunz to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The minutes from November 9, 2022, were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to accept the minutes as read. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Ordinance #108 – An amendment to Ordinance #100 to clarify living in trailers no longer than 30 days and not within city limits was read aloud and discussion about snowbirds. Tim Neuman suggested having 5 requirements to meet to qualify for a hardship to live in a trailer; he also suggested reinstating the Planning & Zoning Committee and poll the community. It was also suggested that if you own property then you can bring a trailer on to the property as long as it has hookups. The Council then decided to just keep the Ordinance black and white and to remove the wording for the Council approval. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to accept and pass the Ordinance #108 an amendment to Ordinance #100 about living in trailers in City limits. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and is as follows: DeLoy – yes, Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Motion carried.
The Whitaker’s came to present a plan to the Council about their property up Stringtown and being annexed into the City. They are asking that the remaining half of their primary residence lot located off of Stringtown Road be annexed into the City, which is 2.5 acres. They also have another parcel that is about 15 acres at the end of Hayes Lane that connects to the other parcel that they would like to split off into 3 one acres lots and would like for those 3 lots to be annexed into the City as well and the remaining acreage would stay in the County. In exchange for annexing the property, they would provide an easement through their property for future use to the City for the updating or addition of utility lines. They would also like to extend their help and resources when the City is ready to expand the water or wastewater system in the future. Councilmember Tee Steadman said we would need a subdivision ordinance in place before annexing all of the property and not sure our infrastructure is ready for it. Jessica responded with saying they don’t want it to look like a subdivision and would have a private entrance and private driveway that they would maintain. Some garbage and snow removal options were discussed. It was also brought to attention that the irrigation line runs through their property and the Irrigation Company has a 25-foot easement on both sides of that line. Clerk Smith mentioned that the City can annex a portion of the property now and can readdress the remaining property later. It was just simpler for advertising and Ordinance purposes to do it all at once, but it is not necessary. The Whitaker’s said they would really just like the 2.5 acres for their primary residence to be annexed for their 1 house and barn with 1 dwelling and hookup for now. The public hearing will be on January 4th for the annexation and Lynette will make sure that Adam gets the notices published. No decisions will be made until the public hearing. The council appreciated the Whitaker’s coming and presenting their plans as well as the publics input that was in attendance.
The Christmas Park Lighting Event was well attended again this year. Sean, Jamie and Lori Bartschi love to help each year and serve the food. There was snow and it was colder, but people seemed to linger longer than previous years. There were a lot of compliments on the Nativity light set; some of the lights have quit and need to be replaced. Suggestion to get some KeyLix tubs from Greg to have more fires for people to gather around for next year.
Clerk Smith wondered if we would be having another Christmas Lighting Contest this year. It was decided to continue and do the same things as last year and if people won it last year, they can win again this year if they deserve it. Lynette will get flyers posted and the gift cards. First place will get $100, Second place a $75 gift card and Third place a $50 gift card. Judging will be on December 22nd. Suggestion for next year to have the councilmembers go caroling with Tee’s team of horses.
The Employee’s Christmas Bonus was discussed and was decided to get Johnny something extra for a retirement gift. Suggestions were to put his uniform in a glass container with his badge in a wood case that he can hang on the wall. Councilmember Greg Kunz made the motion to give Shane and Lynette $400 each; Johnny $375; Doug and Alan $200 each. Councilmember Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Councilmember DeLoy Kunz said that we can add our own flags to the crosswalk along the highway for kids to carry across the road. He also reported that in order to get the speed limit lowered and have it marked as a school zone that we will need to speak with Kory Krantz. Also need to talk to City of Grace for help with grants for flashing lights that we could add to the highway for a school zone warning.
Councilmember Tee Steadman inquired about if in the winter months we could move meetings up to 6:00 pm instead of 7:00 pm. It wouldn’t work for all of the councilmembers so it will remain at 7:00 pm. Tee would like to invite Chris Banks to come to our February meeting to discuss water grant options for municipalities to help with our water improvements needing to be made.
The Mayor suggested we get the Planning & Zoning Committee reinstated and invite the guy from Sugar City to help. He and the maintenance guys met with Simplot and Rick Phillips today at the Ranch Hand and they are going to be an asset to our community and are keeping our youth in mind. They will be keeping the northern access open and not using Stringtown for now. They are also a long ways out for the Diary Syncline Mine to be used and operating. They would like to take the 5th graders out to Simplot and do a safety course sometime in May. They are also going to help us pay for two of the speed limit signs we received and we should be getting a check for that shortly. All of the councilmembers are invited to go to their safety meetings and address speeding or any other issues we feel are because of their employee’s happening in our community at any time.
Police Report: There were 23 contacts for the month of November. Clerk Smith has the job posted for applicants and they are due back December 15th. Interviews will be shortly after.

Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of November and stated that he and Alan fixed some water issues on Hayes Lane and shut the water off on a Sunday to fix. They will need to replace some valves in the summer. Shane wondered about getting some pumps for the lagoons at the sewer ponds to have a spare and to have for emergencies. They cost around $11,000 and are 6-8 weeks out to ship. The Council gave Shane approval to find one and buy it to have a spare. The Council also approved having the Mayor sign the contract with Keller Associates for them to compile the Land App Report for the year.
Office Business: There are 13 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of November. She reported that the Public Hearing should be scheduled for Wednesday, January 4th for the annexation, monthly water rate increase and water and sewer hookup increase. Adam will get the notices prepared and Lynette will make sure that they get published on time. She also reported that Shane has taken his water license certification and passed the test. He is now certified to be the water operator and needs an increase in pay. Councilmember DeLoy Kunz made the motion to give Shane Clark a raise agreed upon by the council and was seconded by Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council. He will get another raise as he gets his wastewater certifications.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Trenton Morrell for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of November 2022 in the amount of $13,536.90 in the general fund, $7,637.03 in the water fund, and $13,700.58 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $34,874.51. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried the council.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Trenton Morrell that council adjourns from the December 2022 council meeting at 9:45 pm. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith City Clerk-Treasurer

November 9, 2022
Those Present: Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Kevin Martin of Sunrise Engineering, Tim & Merg Neuman, Tamalu Glende, Kevin & Marty Nate, Barry Bergholm, Jordan Rasmusson, Joe DeClark, Dave Lindsay, City Attorney Adam McKenzie by phone
Meeting called to order: 7:05 pm Invocation: Mayor Stephan Waechtler
The Council entertained a motion from councilor Greg Kunz to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The minutes from October 5, 2022, were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to accept the minutes as read. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Kevin Martin of Sunrise Engineering came before the council to discuss our water capacity and give an idea of what it would cost to make more upgrades or split the line at the top of the line.
• Kevin said the last water study was completed in 2017 by Keller Associates.
• He reviewed our water capacity for 220 connections. We use about 650 gallons during peak hours at the peak of summer. The maximum is 1 million gallons a day.
• How does the source serve in relation to demand? We have an excess of 1 million gallons from the spring and using about 50% now.
• Storage – we need a reserve for fire protection for the school and church but will still have an excess of 1 million gallons because of our spring and wells.
• Issues with the transmission line – the capacity is ok but flow could be an issue of concern for fire safety.
• Couple options to increase the pipe size would cost about $1.3 million for the upper transmission lines or the lower transmission lines about $2 million or add/split a second line. In 2019, 12” pipe cost about $12-15 a foot and now it’s about $45 a foot.
• Could possibly qualify for some grants – the state will pay 50% for a study to update our current study now that costs have increased so much but we would need to apply by January. Depending on the funding sources, they could require meters.
• Mayor reported that we should be increasing rates every year to help prepare for these expenses but we haven’t raised for over 10 years to keep costs down for our City. The last improvement that we made replacing the pipe within the City, we were able to pay for a majority of it out of pocket and got a small loan for the rest.
• Joe DeClark reported that the spring has no room for developing and thinks that what we have is what we have. The water levels are down everywhere this year. He said when we did the sewer project, we found lots of water down at Peterson’s – maybe there is a way to pump that water? He also suggested using the old railroad right of way to get that water and run pipe, pump and chlorinate over there. He said there is no need to increase the size of the lines because there’s no more water than what we’re getting. Joe suggested maybe looking at another storage tank?
• Pipe from the tank needs to be replaced because they are starting to deteriorate and pushing 100 years old.
• In the Bear River Basin, a municipality cannot drill a well without water rights from someone willing to give up theirs. Residential is different and can drill a well anytime but not a City.
• Shane reported the tanks held pretty good throughout the year.
• Barry Bergholm said he feels its irresponsible to add in more homes until we get a plan in place.
• Councilor Tee Steadman voiced he wants the public support when it comes time to increase the rates to make these improvements. We also need to increase the hookup fees too.
• Councilor Greg Kunz said Central Farmers should have a well or Agrium/Nutrien we could look into. Marty Nate asked about the well up by Gary Thompson’s. Joe thought that well had filled with rocks and dirt and not working.
• Dave Lindsay suggested a water capture system like a reservoir or tank and working with Army Core of Engineers.
• The Mayor appreciated the interaction from the citizens and said we need their input from those that know things the current council does not.
City Attorney Adam McKenzie prepared an Amendment to Ordinance #100 to include a section about living in trailers no more than 30 days in a calendar year. The Mayor read aloud the Amendment. Councilor Trenton Morrell suggested removing the good cause clause and just leave it at 30 days. Discussion about leaving in there for the council to discuss each situation but the Mayor said that each persons traumatic event or need will be different for everyone. Barry Bergholm pointed out that people can’t build right now throughout the valley that thought they would only be in RV’s for a short time; Tamalu Glende said there is no where to rent or build right now; Jordan Rasmusson asked how it will be enforced; Tim Neuman wants to be able to be a snowbird and come back in the summers to live in a RV on their property for 4 months out of the year. The council said we’re trying to mostly prevent squatters and dwellers. It was decided to make it clear in black and white and to take out the good cause clause. The council then called Adam on the phone to have the clause removed and to add in the section what the fine is so it’s easy to find, which is $1,000 fine. Once the changes are made and all council members are in attendance the Amendment will be passed at the next meeting. The Mayor appreciated the citizens that were there and their input.
The Christmas Park Lighting Event will be held on November 28th at 6:00 pm. The Bartschi’s have expressed interest in helping with the meal still. Lynette will contact Sean about the food and be in touch with Santa. We will have Officer John Martinez bring him in since it will be his last time before retiring the end of the year.
Councilor Tee Steadman reported that Officer Martinez was going to be here tonight to introduce his friend Dave Lindsay, but it is his anniversary. Dave is interested in the police chief position and told us all a little about himself. He has come out for a couple of ride alongs with Martinez and served in the military. He has roots in Nounan and worked with Johnny at the Sheriff’s Office. He started the heroes on helmets foundation at the middle school which honors fallen soldiers and is now recognized in 14 states. He is also great at getting government grants for police departments. Tee reported that he’s noticed the flags are up on the school crossing signs on the highway but wonders if they can be put lower so the kids can reach them and carry them as they go across the road. The council wondered if that is a school zone and if the speed can be dropped to 20 mph during school like is done in Montpelier along the highways. The City of Grace has been successfully with getting some grants for flashing light signs and maybe could help us get the bridge fixed along the highway too. Lynette will get in touch with their office.

Police Report: There were 32 contacts for the month of October.

Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of October and stated that he and Alan moved a cremation that was in the wrong spot, got the land app samples ready to Keller’s Associates to do the year end report. They replaced a water valve at Todd Passey’s; winterized and serviced the vehicles and getting ready to plow. Shane is taking his test to get his water license next week.
Office Business: There are 12 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of October and Clerk Smith reported the Trunk or Treat was well attended but not all citizens were in favor of it. It was decided to continue to hold it for those that want to attend, and people are always welcome to go door to door afterwards. The elections held in City Hall last night had a great turnout and Marty Nate handled that. The annex hearing did not get published in the paper in time so it will not be held on November 22nd. It was discussed to hold a public hearing at the same time as the annexation public hearing to increase the water fees by $10.00 and water and sewer hookups to $5,000 each. Lynette will work with Adam to get the notices in the paper.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Greg Kunz for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of October 2022 in the amount of $30,797.57 in the general fund, $9,176.33 in the water fund, and $19,790.62 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $59,764.52. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried the council.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Greg Kunz that council adjourns from the November 2022 council meeting at 11:10 pm. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted, Lynette Smith City Clerk-Treasurer

October 5, 2022

Those Present:  Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Kameron & Jessica Whitaker, Justin Smith

Meeting called to order:              7:00 pm                                Invocation:         Mayor Stephan 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 September 6, 2022, and the special meeting on September 21, 2022, were emailed out ahead of time by Clerk Smith. Councilor Trenton Morrell suggested to change that, “he would provide a way to pump the sewer,” on the special meeting minutes. Councilor Trenton Morrell made the motion to accept the minutes with the change. Councilor Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Jessica Wright could not attend the meeting due to a conflict with Parent Teacher Conferences so Shane Clark brought up that the school would like the City to install a crosswalk at East Street and add poles with a sign to hold flags to walk across the road. The school will provide a person to man it if we will paint the lines on the road. Councilor Tee Steadman suggested putting a school crossing flashing sign on the highway by the church crossing too. We will have Councilor DeLoy Kunz check into it and repainting as well. Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to put in a crosswalk by East Street and Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Justin Smith came before the council about his trailer situation. He plead his case about only sleeping in the trailer at nights when he is home and didn’t feel like that was actually living in the trailer. He is planning to leave around the 20^th of October and won’t be back until next year late spring. Councilor Tee Steadman said we have a communication problem in the City and have too many people living in their trailers or looking like they’re being lived in. Trailers being lived in belong in a trailer park and Georgetown doesn’t have one. City Attorney, Adam McKenzie said the argument could be made that sleeping in a trailer is considered residing in it. There was lots of discussion from the councilmembers about doing away with the Ordinance and then fine people when their property gets to be too trashy with trailers; come up with a system of being able to live in the trailer for certain circumstances on a case-by-case basis during the summer months; make a Resolution of $500 temporary use permit after 30 days plus the cost of utilities. The fear amongst the council is that the issue will only continue to grow with the way the economy is going and the expense of owning a home vs a trailer and the mine going in and people wanting to come and park to live for the summer. Adam suggested amending the Ordinance to address those living in trailers with no intent to build and have a public meeting to alert people about the things we are trying to avoid and prevent; to pay a $500 fee after 30 days which does not include utilities and you can’t just move trailer away and start a new 30 days within a 6-month period. Adam will prepare an amendment for the next meeting. The council did not have a clear answer for Justin’s situation, he will be gone for the winter and then will have to readdress when they come back in the spring.

Kameron & Jessica Whitaker came back to the council to discuss their land being annexed into the City. They were getting their property surveyed and the County has since changed their requirements and want them to make more of a subdivision for the road width and add power and fiber to every lot. They would like the City to consider annexing all 20 acres instead of just the 5 earlier anticipated because they don’t want it to look or feel like a subdivision and want to keep it more like the country. They will sell off pieces of land but it will be to just other family or locals that are looking to build. They are open to putting stipulations on annexing for the City to not have to provide water and sewer services and they would take the power and services to the lots as needed vs having to develop everything up front. Jessica stressed that they want to keep things simple. Adam McKenzie said that there is a process to annexing property into the City limits and we would have to have a public hearing and pass an Ordinance and address the zoning classification in our comprehensive plan. The notice for the hearing has to be published 15 days prior to the meeting. He will need the legal description of the properties being annexed and then we will provide copies to the Tax Commission, County Assessor and County Clerk. Adam told the council to not commit to putting any restrictions or stipulations on the annex and when people apply for building permits it can be addressed if they can connect to City services at that time. If the City doesn’t have the capacity to provide for more homes within the City limits then the City can say we don’t have the water and you can’t build until you can find the water and you have to pay to do it. In essence, the City can say no on building within the City with just cause. Clerk Smith reported that she has reached out to our engineers at Sunrise to find out what our capacity is and where the City needs to be planning for upgrades and splitting the water line at the canyon to provide more water to it’s citizens. Kameron suggested drilling a well to filter back into the system to give us more water and pump into the system if needed but would also need to be chlorinated too. He also said that in the 14 acres the City will have a right of way for another water line to be installed. Adam will prepare the notices for the public hearing and Ordinance for the annexation .

Resolution #2022-01 for increasing delinquent water and sewer account fees was read aloud by Clerk Smith. This will raise the turn off/on fee from $50 to $100. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to accept Resolution #2022-01 to increase the delinquent turn off/on fee and Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The City will sponsor a Trunk or Treat again this year at the City Park at 5:00 pm on Monday night of Halloween. Lynette will prepare flyers to send home with the kids from school and post at the post office and the Facebook page.

Councilor Tee Steadman reported that he has spoken with Officer Martinez and he will be retiring at the end of the year. He has someone in mind that would do a great job for the City to replace him and will be bringing him around to meet everyone and go for ride-alongs.

Councilor Greg Kunz would like some flags and wreaths put up for the Veteran’s. He will get with Marty about putting up flags around the Veteran’s Memorial at the park for Veteran’s Day.

Councilor Trenton Morrell had a run in with a citizen about their neighbors shed being too close to the property line and parking in the right of way. Lynette will send him a letter explaining the issues. Trenton also would like to get a trench box purchased for the Maintenance guys and thinks he can find one under $10,000 which is well worth their safety.

Police Report:  There were 26 contacts for the month of September.

Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of September and stated that he and Alan installed the water line at the top of Stringtown and they have been working on the shed and will be getting it finished up shortly. He has located and cleared access to all of the fire hydrants through the City and put new pressure valves on the PRV’s. He says they are not using the old Ford anymore and so we should auction it off at the next Council Meeting. We’ve received the speed limit signs and they will work on getting them put up this Fall.

Office Business:   There are 12 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of September and Clerk Smith has ordered a Nativity Christmas Light set to add to our collection.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Tee Steadman for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of September 2022 in the amount of $17,375.43 in the general fund, $14,079.24 in the water fund, and $18,734.11 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $50,188.78. Councilor Greg Kunz 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 October 2022 council meeting at 10:45 pm. Councilor Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith

City Clerk-Treasurer

September 21, 2022 – Special Meeting
Those Present: DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Tee Steadman, Mayor Stephan Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Kameron Whitaker, Kevin & Marty Nate
Meeting called to order: 7:00 pm Invocation: Mayor Stephan Waechtler
The Council entertained a motion from councilor Tee Steadman to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilor Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Kameron Whitaker came before the council to discuss his building plans on the property he purchased up towards the top of Stringtown and annexing the property into the City limits.
• Councilor Greg Kunz asked if his intent is to annex one or both of the properties?
• Kam responded that if the water line is brought down that road (old railroad right of way) then he would just as soon annex both properties now and he is willing to help with whatever is needed to make that happen.
• The Mayor commented that if he builds in the County then it is to no benefit to the City but they still get to use our roads, etc. If his property was annexed then the City will get the property taxes etc.
• Option to add a water line down the south side of Stringtown but depending on how soon he starts to build that could be a long time before that happens.
• Councilor Tee Steadman clarified that he has been granted for one line for one home on the property now without annexing, but he would be in favor of annexing just where the house will sit for now.
• Kam said that eventually there could be 7 homes at the most between the two properties.
• Mayor suggested he may need to drill a well for the other homes.
• Councilor Trenton Morrell understood that if an owner is subdividing they are responsible for the infrastructure and the City would maintain. If the City were to annex the property then we should provide the water and sewer and he would provide a way to pump sewer.
• Concern that the pipes we have now have already exceeded their life expectancy.
• Concern is if we can supply enough water to those already in City limits let alone more homes going in within City limits and potentially an extra 7 homes to be annexed.
• Councilor Tee Steadman asked if we have ever annexed before and if not, why not? Marty Nate answered that we have not and because there hasn’t been the need for it because there has been land within the City limits for people to build on and farmers haven’t sold property before for the City to consider needing to annex.
• Example of Fish Haven and the extra well house that was installed and everyone had to pay an impact fee over 2 years to pay for it.
• Discussion about the snow removal and garbage pickup, there would need to be an easement agreement
• Mayor suggested annexing the 5 acres for now and then get a bid from Sunrise about how much it would cost to split the line at the top of the canyon and it would need to run through a chlorinator to come down to the citizens on the south side of Stringtown. We also need to check the statistics from our water study to see what our system can handle.
• Councilor DeLoy Kunz said it’s hard to expand very much where we know other houses could be coming and are inside of City limits and we’re obligated to provide services to them first.
• Option to run a water and sewer line through a 30 foot easement off of Stringtown
• There is a need to look at increasing our water fees anyway because they haven’t been increased in over 12 years. The City could be saving that money now before we need loans to do upgrades. The cost to upgrade the system was estimated to be about $3 million back in 2017 and now how everything has increased so much it will probably be closer to $6 million instead.
• Marty Nate thinks that it’s a good idea to only annex the 5 acres for now. She’s concerned about the traffic going down Hayes Lane if that is used as an access to the other homes, but if the property stays in the County that traffic may happen anyway.
• Question was asked about using the old railroad right of way as an access? Agrium gave it to the City to use for recreation. May need to look into how we could use that road as an access.
Councilor DeLoy Kunz felt that just the 5 acres would be best right now to annex; Councilor Tee Steadman agreed as long as it is just the house and barn on the property annexed; Councilor’s Greg Kunz and Trenton Morrell were in favor of annexing the property now as well. Trenton suggested maybe having the well and chlorinator building be by Hayes Lane instead of up the canyon and update that line, but would still need to upgrade the line up the canyon in time. The Mayor expressed that the City can build a great relationship with Kam and that all of this is going to take time and we will probably have to increase the water fees soon as well.
Councilor Greg Kunz made the motion to annex Kameron Whitaker’s 5.5 acres matching the legal description of the property into the City limits. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and is as follows: DeLoy – yes, Tee – yes, Greg – yes, Trenton – yes. Motion carried.
The council expressed their appreciation to Kam and his willingness to work with us and his patience as we figure all of this out.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Greg Kunz that council adjourns from the Special Meeting at 8:10 pm. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith
City Clerk-Treasurer