November 3, 2021
Those Present: DeLoy Kunz, Greg Kunz, Marty Nate, Tee Steadman, Mayor Steve Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Douglas Bradt, Moriah & Rick Peck, Tyler & Katana Sorensen
Meeting called to order: 7:05 pm Invocation: Mayor Steve Waechtler
The Council entertained a motion from councilmember Greg Kunz to approve the published agenda and was seconded by councilmember Tee Steadman. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The minutes from October 6, 2021, were read aloud by Clerk Smith. Councilmember Greg Kunz 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.
Moriah and Rick Peck came before the Council about needing a building permit for their tent on their property. She didn’t feel like one was needed because it is moveable, and she would like to move it in about two years’ time. She provided pictures to show the Council that the power to the tent is moveable also. She was concerned about getting a permit every time she moves it and the Council told her that wouldn’t be necessary and that greenhouses do not have a foundation either but still require a permit. Carports don’t have a foundation either and are held down with spikes, like a tent, and still require a permit. She was told it would be a one-time fee for the tent and she would still be welcome to move it every couple of years.
Katana and Tyler Sorensen came before the Council to discuss if a hookup fee and/or a monthly water fee would be needed. They have installed a water system for their yard and tapped into an existing line on their property and put in a 2” line behind the City valve. He has it all engineered to be more efficient and replaced all the galvanized pipe to the house also. It will have to be gauged to see if it does effect Sylvia Miller’s pressure, but they don’t expect it to affect her. After hearing how the line was installed, the council decided that they are fine with what they are doing.
Douglas Bradt came before the Council to discuss the footbridge by the creek and he has cleared out all of the willows now and it looks in pretty poor shape as well as the sidewalk. He wondered who owns it and if the City does if we can either fix it up or get rid of it. He hasn’t noticed a need for the footbridge because there hasn’t been any pedestrians that use it, but maybe that’s because it hasn’t been usable. The southside has a falling apart sidewalk and the northside doesn’t have a sidewalk at all. Councilmember DeLoy Kunz said he would look into and see if the State owns it. Now that it is usable maybe people will use and if we can use it to keep kids off of the main bridge up on the highway then we should fix it up. The City will look into fixing come spring if it is ours and maybe put in a timber bridge. Douglas said he would be happy to help as well.
The votes were canvassed from the election held last night for Mayor and two Councilmembers. Councilmember Marty Nate reported that there were 100 people that came to vote and the Mayor was re-elected as the Mayor again for the next 4 years and Trenton Morrell and Greg Kunz will be the new Councilmembers for the next 4 years also.
The Mayor said that any complaints in town need to be directed to the County Sheriff’s Office to be put on record. Citizens may call Johnny first if he is on duty but no longer can we have councilmembers going to visit people about Ordinance violations. So encourage citizens to call the Sheriff’s Office so it can all be on record. He also said that he is tired of the speeding and is going to personally buy some flashing signs. He figures they are $2,800 each and would like to have about 10 within the City limits. He is going to call Simplot himself again and contact the County because they had said they would help with the cost of a couple too. The City did receive a lot of grant money that could be used to purchase flashing signs also.
Councilmember Marty Nate wants to install a climbing spider at the playground for kids to play on. Morgan Kidd is helping her to design one and will get installed. Marty also noticed during the elections held in the office that Lynette needs a new chair, rolling mats and possibly a desk. She will have her carpenter look into fixing and get the new office items. She would also like the guys to get rid of the threshold in the doorway because everyone kept tripping over it when they came in to vote. She said the bathroom also needs some work and possibly a new toilet because it seems to be leaking. The guys will look into what needs to be done. The Christmas Lighting event details she will talk to Sean Bartschi about doing the welcome and the food and see if Trenton Morrell wants to come and help too. Next year for the Trunk or Treat she would like to do hot dogs and hot chocolate too. Lynette will remember for next year.
Councilmember Greg Kunz asked if the City sells the property to the County Fire Department to put up a building if the City would buy it back if they were to ever pull out. He said he would try and get Fire Chief Mark Parker to come to the next meeting to work out the details.
Police Report: There were 28 contacts for the month of October. Officer Martinez purchased some more ammunition this month because he had only purchased practice ammunition before.
Maintenance Report: Shane gave his report for the month of October and stated that he and Alan had to replace a valve at the land app site and have been getting the plow ready and did some plowing. They went to a training for the drinking water and painted the curb by the fire hydrant. They removed the water connection at the Country Corner for the trailer that was moved. The sewer is still there, but if the land gets separated and sold then it will need a separate hookup installed for water. He received a quote for the PRV’s to have an annual inspection done with a 5 year bid to evaluate annually and also includes a SCADA system on the valves. He will also get another bid from a Salt Lake City company too. If they were to come, we could split the cost with Star Valley when they make the trip up here to both places. They’ve been putting up lights in the Park for the lighting event and installed the signs to cleanup after your dog in the Park too.
Office Business: There are 19 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of October. Lynette has a conflict with the next meeting date because she will be out of the office for a week the first of December. Council will be held on Wednesday the 8th instead of Tuesday. City Attorney, Adam McKenzie, has sent a letter to Verizon asking them to turn off the old flip phone and stop sending us a bill. We don’t know who any of the authorized users on the account are, so hopefully a letter from Adam will suffice. The City Cleanup cost the City about $1100 between the dumpsters and the landfill, but we got a little bit back for scrap metal taken in. Lynette also received an email about a grant from Rocky Mountain Power for $1500 to help beautify our Park. She asked the council for some ideas and they suggested asking for the grant for trees at the Cemetery, more outlets in the park for our lights, or a sprinkler system for the park.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilmember Marty Nate for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of October 2021 in the amount of $14,476.12 in the general fund, $6,401.14 in the water fund, and $21,012.47 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $41,889.73. Councilmember Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilmember Marty Nate that council adjourns from the November 2021 council meeting at 9:00 pm. Councilmember Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith
City Clerk-Treasurer