Bonners Ferry City Council minutes, July 5 |
| July 25, 2011 |
|
Mayor David Anderson called the regularly
scheduled council meeting of July 5, 2011 to
order at 7:12 p.m. Present for the meeting were
Mayor Anderson, Council President Chris Clark,
Council Members Mike Klaus and Connie Wells,
Clerk Kris Larson, City Administrator Stephen
Boorman, Assistant City Administrator David
Sims, Fire Chief Pat Warkentin, Police Chief
Rick Alonzo, Water Department Operator Doug
Ladely, Economic Development Coordinator Mike
Sloan, and Attorney Tim Wilson. Also present
were Dave Gray, Marcia Cossette, Collett Allen
and Carolyn Testa. Tom Mayo was gone on personal
business. Police Chief Rick Alonzo gave the police report. There have been two warrant arrests, one child endangerment, two minor in possessions, one agency assist, two crashes, one child custody dispute, one battery, one injury to property, one hit and run, one assault case, four DUIs, one possession of paraphernalia, one probation violation, and a phone scam, one forgery, one reckless driving. Rick is still working on the nuisance property issue in the Eaton Addition. The department is working on the graffiti problem but most of the damage has been done in the county. The most recent damage was to the Historical site sign near the golf course. Rick said there are enough patrol vehicles so that each officer can have their own vehicle. He would like to allow the officers living within the city limits have a take home vehicle. One reason is that the vehicles are a deterrent to crime, another positive is that the officer’s gear is in the vehicle, also the maintenance is kept up better on the vehicle, and the vehicles will be kept cleaner. There would also be the fact that the vehicles would be cleaned off in the winter before the officer comes to work. He just wanted to get council’s thoughts on this issue of take home vehicles. Pat Warkentin gave the fire report. There have been several false alarms at the School District since the last meeting. There was a gas odor call in the Marx Addition. The Fire Department took the ladder truck over to Harvest Foods for the 4th of July celebration and let the public look over the vehicle. Pat said the Bonners Ferry Fire Department will also participate in the fire awareness day in the City parking lot later in July. Stephen spoke regarding the handout from Sandpoint regarding storm water. He read from a letter received from Susan at DEQ thanking Doug Ladely for his efforts. Stephen said golf revenues are down and the city needs to do a better job of advertising the golf course. He spoke regarding the city’s revenues. Rick Alonzo said there is a young cougar that has been sighted in the Marx Subdivision and Fish and Game and the City Police are looking for it. Mike Sloan reported that Black Foot Communications from Missoula is the firm being looked at by U.S. Metronets as a service provider for the fiber optic broadband project. He said there is a meeting coming soon and he asked that council be there to show their support of the issue. Mike Klaus said the owner participation agreement for the urban renewal project is available to be signed. House Bill 95 passed and it shortens the length of the urban renewal plan. Mike Klaus moved to approve the consent agenda. Connie Wells seconded the motion. The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”. The consent agenda contained the following: roll call; approval of accounts payable and payroll; approval of June 21, 2011 council meeting minutes; and approval for Steve Neumeyer to attend Meter School from August 29 to September 2, 2011 in Seattle, Washington. David Sims spoke regarding the well agreement for the District 2 well. He said there were negotiations going on and when he was on vacation, the agreement got signed. David said the change to the agreement was for a one year warranty period. Connie Wells moved to approve the revised well agreement with Panhandle Brewing Company. Chris Clark seconded the motion. The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”. Mike Klaus moved to have the second reading of the sign ordinances #524 & #525 by title only. Chris Clark seconded the motion. The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”. Attorney Tim Wilson read Ordinance 524 and Ordinance 525 by title only. Dave Sims updated council regarding the steel tank repair. LSB Consulting has requested some sand blasting in the tank and this may not be prudent for the city crews to do. David is also exploring the cost of a new roof on the tank and he will speak to Howard Lunderstadt at USDA tomorrow. Mike Klaus said he looked at the tank and his first glance was that the roof be replaced. He said he is concerned about the safety of the person sand blasting as well as sand blasting making the metal too thin. Mike thinks if the upper eight feet of the tank is coated and the roof replaced that we could get another 20 years of service out of the tank. David said if USDA money is available that this may make the decision easier. More information will be provided at the next meeting. The dispatch agreement for 2012 was discussed. Boundary County has raised the cost by $1,241 per year. The Mayor would like to speak to the Commissioners about charging other taxing districts if the city is required to pay a fee for dispatching. Rick Alonzo gave an overview of agencies using dispatch. Council briefly discussed dispatch services. Chris Clark moved to authorize the Mayor to sign the dispatch agreement for fiscal year 2012. Mike Klaus seconded the motion. The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”. David Sims spoke to council regarding the consultant voucher estimate for the LHTAC Alderson Lane project. He said there have been many difficulties this week on the Alderson Lane project but it should be completed soon. Chris Clark moved to authorize the Mayor to sign the LHTAC Alderson Lane project consultant estimate voucher. Mike Klaus seconded the motion. The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”. Mike Klaus gave an overview of the Association of Idaho Cities Conference that he attended in June. Idaho Bureau of Licensing requires eight years of education for water operator certification and Mike said AIC is trying to get experience in lieu of education. Experience time is only allowed if a person is in a supervisory role. The strict requirements affect the cost of water. There are also changes coming to the public works standards. Mike said House Bill 95 regarding urban renewal districts went into effect on July 1 and the main changes were the length of urban renewal agency and bonds to a 20 year period. Mike also attended a leadership session and gave an overview of the training that he had. Of the people surveyed, the qualities they look for in a leader are honesty, forward looking, inspirational, and competence, in that order. Stephen Boorman said we would like to hire Kevin Cossairt as lead electric lineman and thinks this is what the electric department needs at this time. Chris Clark moved to hire Kevin Cossairt as lead electric lineman. Mike Klaus seconded the motion. The motion passed – Mike Klaus "yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”. David Sims said each generator at the power plant has a protective relay. The protective relay we now have has failed and we need to repair it and also purchase a spare protective relay. Mike Klaus moved to purchase a new relay for $8,000 and repair the old relay for approximately $2,000. Chris Clark seconded the motion. The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”. Boundary Community Hospital is interested in a fiber optic line to be installed by the city between the hospital and Dr. Geyman’s Office. Chris Clark asked for clarification that the hospital will pay the costs of the line and the city will charge a monthly maintenance fee for the line. Stephen agreed. Materials are about four to six weeks out so Stephen wanted authorization. Chris Clark moved to authorize the contract between the City and Boundary Community Hospital for the fiber optic line. Connie Wells seconded the motion. Stephen said this is not a service that Frontier provides. The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”. Mike Klaus moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code 67-2345 (1) (b) at 8:05 p.m. Connie Wells seconded the motion. The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”. At 8:09 p.m. executive session ended. No action was taken. At 8:09 p.m. the meeting adjourned. /s/ David K. Anderson, Mayor Attest: /s/ Kris Larson, City Clerk 07/05/11 Council Meeting 4 |