Georgetown Idaho

April 14, 2021

Those Present:  Greg Kunz, Marty Nate, Tee Steadman, Mayor Steve Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Kevin Nate, Paul Miller, Jennifer Wells, Susan Dilworth, Loren & Mrs. Dilworth

Meeting called to order:              7:05 pm                                Invocation:         Mayor Steve Waechtler

The Council entertained a motion from councilmember Greg Kunz to approve the added agenda item of approval of a building permit for Larrylynn Smith and was seconded by Tee Steadman. All were in favor and the motion carried the council. The Council then entertained a motion from councilmember Marty Nate to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilmember Greg Kunz. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The minutes from March 10, 2021 were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilmember Marty Nate made the motion to accept the minutes as read. Councilmember Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Councilmember Greg Kunz presented the building permit for Larrylynn Smith. She would like to add a carport/garage to her property, and it would be portable. She wants it off of her sidewalk where she parks now but it would only be 10 ft from the road and in the City right of way. Shane had some concerns about plowing snow and that it is tight for snow removal along that street already. Councilmember Tee Steadman expressed concerns about how far off we require others along Stringtown and other roads to be parked off of the right of way and that we need to keep consistency throughout the whole town. It was decided that she is welcome to put up a carport but that it would need to be at least 8 ft off the right of way like everywhere else.

Susan Dilworth came before the Council and represented the Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Community. The committee figures that we have about 225-250 homes between Georgetown, up the canyon and in Nounan. The committee would like some help from the City to make copies and laminating costs up to about $250 to get notices out and for supplies for Emergency Preparedness. They will be making 72-hour kits and first aid kits. They would like to use the easel sign to put out notices when they will have their kit making nights. Councilmember Marty Nate made the motion to spend $250.00 to Kelle Kropushek for Emergency Preparedness supplies. Councilmember Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Loren Dilworth came before the council requesting approval for a building permit to build a new home on Solum Lane and east of his parents. He has been in contact with the Army Core of Engineers to cross the creek for water and sewer services with special conditions to be 2 ft below the creek bed and he will probably have to install a lift station. Shane and Alan went and measured in the manhole and it is 9 ft. 4 in. to the connection point. The council commended him for doing his homework and that he will be approved for his building permit after he gets approval from the Army Core of Engineers and the State of Idaho and the property has been deeded to him. Councilmember Marty Nate requested that he be very specific on his diagram and have it staked out on the property of where exactly the house will be.

A building permit application for Layne and Ada DeClark was presented to the Council. The Mayor said that he is wanting to use a trailer house and will pitch a roof to meet manufactured home requirements and he will put it on a foundation and turn into a partial double wide with a covered porch. Councilmember Marty Nate pointed out that the requirements are that it must be 20 ft wide and 1000 sqft of livable space and siding that would need to be completed this year. The permit approval was tabled until the next meeting when Layne or Ada can come and explain more of their plans and answer questions.

The Animal Control Ordinance Draft was discussed and there were a few citizens present to discuss their concerns about changes in the Ordinance. Paul Miller expressed his concerns about the smell of pigs and having close neighbors able to have pigs and he didn’t like that idea. Councilmember Tee Steadman expressed that we are still an ag community, and he would like to see it stay that way. It was suggested to maybe get permission on either side of the property within 150 ft, if they are wanting to have pigs or other stinky animals. Councilmember Marty Nate strongly expressed that the City does not want to manage people’s animals. Although, the City is leery of irresponsible owners. The draft was tabled until another meeting.

The Mayor reported that Simplot has said that they will help to pay for some more traffic control along Stringtown and he expressed again that the City Facebook page is meant to be an information center to get word out to our citizens and not a complaint center.

The Temporary Use Permit Fee was discussed, and councilmember Marty Nate suggested that the fee for it be raised since we have raised the building permit fees as well. It was suggested to set the fee high so that people don’t dwell for long periods of time in their trailers and to treat it as a rental fee. Councilmember Marty Nate made the motion to add to the agenda next month a public hearing to increase the fee from $25 a month to $500 per month for temporary use permits. Councilmember Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Councilmember Marty Nate discussed plans for Twin Creeks days and said she and her committee are still moving forward with July 10^th. They will have bounce houses coming and 1^st Ward will take care of the breakfast and 2^nd Ward will take care of the dinner and the City will provide the lunch. She would like to have a talent show during the dinner and is having Andy Nelson and his brother come for the entertainment that night. The Mayor would like to see the tradition be kept and so it was suggested to have the Mayor and/or Veteran’s to raise the flag that morning. Marty is planning for a Movie in the Park on July 9^th and then Twin Creeks on July 10^th.

The cleanup days were discussed and set for the weekend of April 30^th and May 1^st. The Mayor will coordinate with the Henning’s to get 2 garbage and 1 metal can out here during those days and councilmember Marty Nate will make and put up the flyers around town.

Councilmember Marty Nate made the motion to set the budget hearing date for September 7^th. Councilmember Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council. The budget workshop will be in August.

Councilmember Marty Nate reported that elections will be held on May 18^th and she will hold it back in the City Hall instead of the church. She would like to add stuff to the park to play on for the kids this summer and get the sand diggers in. There needs to be more sand in there and she wants to add a climber dome. She will order blinds for the City Hall and is getting a sign painted for the City Hall.

Police Report:  There were 25 contacts for the month of March.

Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of March and stated that he and Alan have been digging a grave at the cemetery and preparing for spring and summer by cleaning up the winter stuff and putting the plows away. The SCADA system at the water tanks is down and so they have been checking the tanks the old-fashioned way. There was a water leak in town that they fixed quickly before anyone knew the water was off and they have a cremation coming up this weekend. He would like to tell the Dilworth’s when building their new home to have the water and sewer hookups installed by their contractor.

Office Business:   There are 13 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of March. She also reported that she has to upgrade her QuickBook’s or the Payroll function will no longer work after May 31^st. She asked the Council what they wanted to do about awarding scholarships this year and it was decided to work on getting an application together throughout this year so that it will be ready for next year. The Council liked the idea of doing a Senior Parade again this year and giving $50 to each of the seniors from Georgetown and Nounan that participate.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilmember Tee Steadman for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of March 2021 in the amount of $12,999.37 in the general fund, $7,433.82 in the water fund, and $17,656.53 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $38,089.72. Councilmember Marty Nate seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilmember Tee Steadman that council adjourns from the April 2021 council meeting at 9:45 pm. Councilmember Marty Nate seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith, City Clerk-Treasurer

March 10, 2021

Those Present:  DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Marty Nate, Tee Steadman, Mayor Steve Waechtler, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Valerie Hayes of News-Examiner

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

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

The minutes from February 9, 2021 were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilmember Greg Kunz made the motion to accept the minutes as read. Councilmember DeLoy Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council. The minutes from the February 16, 2021 special meeting were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilmember Tee Steadman made the motion to accept the minutes as read. Councilmember Greg Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The Animal Control Ordinance Draft was discussed and Marty stated that she would add a paragraph about show animals to not deter those that want to raise an animal. The council discussed issues with pigs and asked to add in that pens must be kept clean and to limit a number on how many pigs or has to be kept to immediate family and not a business of raising and selling pigs. The draft was again tabled until the next meeting to review the changes.

The Mayor reported that Curtis McKinney is on the Emergency Preparedness committee for the community and has some new ideas there. He also has expressed his interest to the Mayor about being a backup operator for the water and sewer departments. The Mayor explained to him that we don’t have the money to pay for his training and he expressed that he would be willing to do the training on his own.

The Backhoe Agreement between the City and the Georgetown Irrigation Co was brought forth. Everything is continuing to work great for both and would like to keep the agreement moving forward. Councilmember Marty Nate made the motion to renew the agreement again for another year. Councilmember Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

The City has to get new seepage tests on our sewer ponds done this year. This is something that is done every 10 years. Shane reached out to four different engineer companies for bids. The council reviewed the bids from each. Councilmember DeLoy Kunz made the motion to award the bid to Keller Associates because of their history and knowledge of our sewer ponds. Councilmember Marty Nate seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Councilmember Greg Kunz said that he has heard some talk about Montpelier not having City officers anymore and will hire the County to do the day-to-day. He wondered if it was something we should consider and that it may be cheaper than supplying a car, guns, bullets, fuel, trainings, etc. The Mayor suggested inviting Sheriff Heslington out to one of our meetings sometime to discuss our options and how frequent we could have someone out here. We need to explore our options before Officer Martinez is ready to retire.

Councilmember Marty Nate suggested installing camera’s up Stringtown to help our officer. The Mayor reported that he is having a meeting with Simplot and will ask about how they can help us with the traffic and see if they would help pay for some patrolling. He would like to sit with them and get a 10 year plan from them. Marty also suggested sending out some cleanup letters to a list of citizens. She will get the list to Lynette to notify them. She said she will get to planning on Twin Creeks and set a date for July 10^th. The Mayor recommended including some younger members of the community on her committee as she would like to get someone to take over for her for the Movies in the Park and Twin Creeks.

Police Report:  There were 16 contacts for the month of February.

Maintenance Report: Shane was excused from the meeting and was out all day due to a migraine. Although they were busy this past month with plowing snow, remodeling the City Hall, and they dug two graves where one was a cremation.

Office Business:   There are 20 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of February. The guys are going deliver notes to everyone’s door and will begin doing shutoffs again now that the weather is turning warmer and snow is leaving. She reminded the councilmembers that their terms are expiring this year and that they will need to declare if they are re-running for Council or not. Councilmember terms expiring are Greg Kunz, Marty Nate and Steve Waechtler as Mayor. Lynette also got a call about if there is any community service available for someone to help with that lives here in Georgetown. The Council discussed things that could be done and then decided there wasn’t much to do that wouldn’t need some supervision and our guys try not to work on Saturday’s.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilmember Marty Nate for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of February 2021 in the amount of $17,900.18 in the general fund, $14,369.35 in the water fund, and $18,844.27 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $51,113.80. Councilmember DeLoy Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried.

The chair entertained a motion from Councilmember Marty Nate that council adjourns from the March 2021 council meeting at 9:00 pm. Councilmember DeLoy Kunz seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynette Smith

City Clerk-Treasurer