October Council Minutes
Tuesday, November 12th, 2024October 1, 2024
Those Present: Trenton Morrell, Marty Nate, Tee Steadman, Mayor Steve Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, Maintenance Hadley Wright, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering, Sheriff Bart Heslington, Councilor Greg Kunz absent
Meeting called to order: 7:00 pm Invocation: Mayor Steve 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.
The minutes from September 3, 2024, were read aloud by Clerk Smith and the Mayor. Councilor Marty Nate made the motion to accept the minutes as read and Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Police Report: Sheriff Bart Heslington came before the council to give their report. They completed 59.5 hours and had 115 contacts resulting in 9 citations and 13 warnings and 21 traffic stops. He reported that they have been out patrolling in the evenings and have ran into citizens out and about checking on things as well but have not been calling things in. He asked the council to spread the word to encourage people to call in and report things of importance so a record and history can be started.
Addison Ochsenbein, from Sunrise Engineering came before the council to report on the roadway projects. The project is completed and he reported on the issue at 6th Street but it was too late to fix as it was missed during the final walk through. The Mayor needs to sign the final pay application and notice of completion. He also reported that the grant he was thinking of to fix our bridge, LHTAC isn’t doing this year so he is looking into other options. He asked for some direction on the Transportation Plan and what our top concerns are. The council responded our main concerns are with kids safety getting to and from school, the sidewalks, crosswalk, signs for a crosswalk/flashing lights, etc. Parking is another major issue. The city owns the street in front of the church but we need some guidance on how to enforce who can park there and when, because it is always full and it affects when there are funerals, church on Sundays and the school parking during the school year. Sheriff Bart recommended using citations vs. towing. Was suggested that we can put up no parking signs unless on Sundays or for a funeral or can issue permits for park and ride. Bart is going to a meeting with Bayer shortly and will bring up the parking issue and the County can put up a vehicle counter on the edge of town and Stringtown to get a better idea of the traffic we have from spring to fall. Councilor Marty Nate made the motion to sign the final pay application for Avail Valley and Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Our City Attorney, Adam McKenzie, recommended not holding a public hearing for the road permit fees until we can publish exactly what we’re doing. It has been discussed to charge $1,000.00 with $50.00 being for the permit fee and $950.00 being a refundable deposit if the work gets completed in a timely manner. Councilor Trenton Morrell also suggested a $500.00 fee for disturbing the right of way to be charged to whomever pulls the permit if it’s the homeowner or the contractor. The No Dig policy is from November 15th to March 15th. Was suggested to issue a fine if anyone digs without a permit, even to gas companies and have a way to pull the permit and pay for the fee online. It was $2,500.00 to fix and asphalt Stringtown this year so maybe $1,000.00 isn’t enough and was discussed if we could set the fee on a case by case basis. Councilor Marty Nate is concerned of how to enforce and was tabled until the next meeting and we will invite Adam to attend.
Fees at the cemetery were discussed. Funeral homes have asked if we have different fees on the weekends as other cities double fees on Saturday’s. Was recommended to say no funerals on Sunday’s or Holiday’s. Our plot fees are also super cheap compared to other areas for our residents and we need to look at increasing those fees as well. It was decided to table until the next meeting and to call around to other cities to compare.
UpAhead Messaging Service was discussed. The company did another demo with Marty, Shane and Hadley present and was able to ask more questions. The Remind messaging service that we use now is limited with how many people can be in the group and is meant for schools, at some point we will be told we can’t use the system anymore. We can use the service for water and sewer service shutoff notices and not have to use personal phones, and can use for more things if we have it, since it is more like a phone and can also log in anywhere and send a message. It was suggested to ask if the Irrigation Company would be willing to share some of the fee for use during the summer months. Councilor Trenton Morrell asked if it would be better to purchase a cell phone that can send messages, the cons to that are that no one wants to pack around an additional phone. Councilor Marty Nate made the motion to move forward with the UpAhead Messaging Service and was seconded by Councilor Tee Steadman. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The Trunk or Treat will be held on Halloween which is on a Thursday this year and we will start at 5:00 pm. Lynette will get flyers put up and handed out at the school.
The council discussed what to do with the old police car and that we need to sell it before it depreciates more. Sheriff Bart said he could check around if another small city needs it or we can strip all of the police stuff before it goes to auction. Lynette will send an email to Bart with the cars information, and he will report back at the next meeting.
Councilor Marty Nate reported she’s had some citizens concerned about when the cows will be coming down Stringtown from Slug Creek and Tee responded that he thinks they will truck the cows home and not trail them this year. She also said she would like to do a splash pad in the Park and wants to start planning towards that. Tee mentioned to reach out to the Mines about coming to a meeting and discuss help with funding for a splash pad and the parking issues.
Maintenance Report: Hadley Wright gave their report for the month of September and stated that he and Shane have been busy with mowing, checked on the spring, dug two graves, been helping with the power at the park and power to the shed is almost done. The service missionaries are scheduled to come on the second Tuesday of every month to help with projects. They have also been busy at the sewer ponds still and have installed a bypass line since the transfer structure is completely plugged. They will update all drawings with what they find and will tie it all in and have back to normal operating by tomorrow hopefully.
Office Business: There are 18 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of September. She completed and distributed the CCR Water Report for the year. Our next meeting has a conflict with the elections and use of the building so the meeting was moved to Thursday, November 7th.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Marty Nate for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of September 2024 in the amount of $262,792.85 in the general fund, $8,584.60 in the water fund, and $28,066.41 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $299,443.86. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried the council.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Marty Nate that council adjourns from the October 2024 council meeting at 9:35 pm. Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith
City Clerk-Treasurer