Bonners Ferry City Council minutes, July 19

August 14, 2011

07/19/11 Council Meeting

Mayor David Anderson called the regularly scheduled council meeting of July 19, 2011 to order at 7:00 p.m.  Present for the meeting were Mayor Anderson, Council President Chris Clark, Council Members Mike Klaus, Connie Wells, and Tom Mayo, Clerk Kris Larson, City Administrator Stephen Boorman, Assistant City Administrator David Sims, Police Chief Rick Alonzo, Fire Chief Pat Warkentin, Water Treatment Operator Doug Ladely, Economic Development Coordinator Mike Sloan, Head Lifeguard Jasmine Robertson,  and Attorney Tim Wilson.  Also present were Jerry Higgs and Robert Rasmussen.

 

Jerry Higgs spoke to council regarding last year’s budget discussion with Deputy Chief Minor concerning high mileage vehicles and police vehicles being assigned to an officer.  He asked that council consider looking at merging the city police force with the county.  He said the cut of the pie that the police department takes out of the city budget is huge.  He thinks the resources and assets could be pooled for law enforcement.  He said it seems that the police department has better equipment than other departments and it may be time for the other departments to get their share of the pie.

 

Robert Rasmussen works with the Trust for Public Land and he is working with Stimpson Lumber Company on a conservation easement in the southern end of Boundary County and northern Bonner County on about 6850 acres.  It is an opportunity for the land to be held as working forest lands and will maintain access for recreation.  The easement would prohibit the land to be subdivided.  Support has been garnered from Boundary County and Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative and they are asking for support from the City of Bonners Ferry.  There are 15 entities that have signed on for support.  The Forest Legacy Program will build protection for the property and provide opportunities for wildlife movement.  Tom Mayo asked who stands in opposition to this project.  Robert said no one that he is aware of.  Mayor Anderson said support is high for this Legacy Program and one of the goals is to de-list the grizzly bear and open the forests for additional uses.

 

Rick Alonzo gave the police report.  There was a malicious injury to property, two accidents, one possession of marijuana, one unattended death, five DUIs, four agency assists, one providing alcohol to a minor, one minor in possession, four warrant arrests, one burglary, one attempted burglary, one battery, and one malicious injury to property.  The speed trailer was purchased with ITD grant funding.  The Crown Vic is almost up and running and the police department is looking to get a donation from Riverside Auto to paint the top of the vehicle so it does not look like an ISP vehicle.

 

The fire department has had nine call outs since the beginning of the month.  The 1923 REO Speed Wagon is now at the museum and will be displayed for public viewing.  Kid’s Day at the farmers market is this coming weekend and the Bonners Ferry Fire Department will participate.

 

Stephen said the concrete work is done on the Riverside sidewalk and asphalting is being looked at.  The concrete and paving is scheduled to be done next week on Alderson Lane.  He said the department heads do look hard at finding good prices for the supplies they purchase and gave the example of Doug Ladely shopping for chlorine tablets and getting them cheaper for the City.

 

Mike Sloan said Blackfoot Communications is coming to look at the area for the broadband project.  There is a meeting at the Panhandle State Bank in Sandpoint on Friday to speak with representatives from Blackfoot Communications.  He said Mike Naumann’s business is now serving beer.

 

Jasmine Robertson updated council about the swimming pool.  There is an adult lap swim each morning and afternoon, swim lessons, open swim and family swim on Monday through Friday.  Saturday the pool is open in the afternoon for open swim.  There are 300-400 kids that take lessons each summer.  Family swim is each evening and there are generally 35-40 people attending.  There is an adult aerobics class twice a week.  Jasmine also teaches a Mommy and Me Class also.  She just certified nine people for lifeguarding in a class that she taught.  The pool is also available to rent to the public on off hours and on Sundays.

 

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”, Tom Mayo “yes”.  The consent agenda contained the following:  roll call; approval of payroll and accounts payable; approval of June 1, 2011 and July 12, 2011 special council meeting minutes, and July 5, 2011 regular council meeting minutes.

 

Connie Wells moved to read the sign ordinances by title only.  Tom Mayo seconded the motion. 

The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.  Attorney Tim Wilson read Ordinance 524 and Ordinance 525 by title only. 

Tom Mayo moved to repeal Chapter 14 of the Zoning Ordinance by adoption of Ordinance 524.  Mike Klaus seconded the motion.  The motion passed - Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.Connie Wells moved to adopt Ordinance 525 amending the Zoning Ordinance with a new SignChapter.  Tom Mayo seconded the motion.  The motion passed - Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.

 

David Sims said after looking at the steel tank further, it may be best to have the roof of the tank repaired and he has estimated the cost to be about $25,000.  The tank is needed for operations and it has been filled.  The tank will be drained in September or October and the repairs will be made.  The tank has had condensation on the outside and it may be leaking.  David does not think there will be a catastrophic failure due to the way the tank was built.  Connie asked if the tank will last ten years.  Stephen said there will be leaks that can be repaired.  Mike Klaus asked if the tank repair can be included in the amendment to the water master plan.  David said we may not want to use USDA.  Trevor Cushman has looked at the tank and has a crane that he may be able to use for the repair.  Council thanked staff for their exploration of the tank solution.

 

Mayor Anderson said the KVRI is whole heartedly behind the conservation easement on

Stimpson lands in the McArthur area.  He said it will tie two bear units together, helps with wildlife movement, keeps forest programs open, keeps development in areas that it more belongs, and gives Stimpson some breathing room.  Chris Clark moved to authorize the Mayor to sign a letter of support for the conservation easement on the Stimpson property in the McArthur area.  Connie Wells seconded the motion.  The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.

 

Change order #2 for the LHTAC grant on the Alderson Lane project is to change the completion date of the project.  Mike Klaus moved to authorize the Mayor to sign change order #2 for the LHTAC grant for the Alderson Lane project.  Chris Clark seconded the motion.  Tom Mayo asked what the date is changing to.  We were not sure but it won’t affect the project.  The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.

 

Connie Wells moved to approve the special event permit for the barrel races at the fairgrounds on August 6, 2011.  Tom Mayo seconded the motion.  He asked if there is a need for a cleanup fee.  No cleanup fee is necessary since it is at the fairgrounds. The motion passed, all in favor.

 

Chris Clark moved to approve the special event permit for Kid’s Day at the Farmers Market on July 23, 2011.  Connie Wells seconded the motion.  The motion passed, all in favor.

 

Jasmine Robertson left the meeting at 7:38 p.m.

 

The water master plan amendment was briefly discussed.  Tom Mayo moved to approve the water master plan amendment.  Connie Wells seconded the motion.  The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.

Roofs for the power plant buildings and water filter plant building are in desperate need of repair.  We would like permission for seeking quotes for the roof repairs.  David said there are two other small roofs that may need to be done when these repairs are done.  One is the chlorine room and the other is an uninsulated roof.  Chris Clark moved to authorize up to $18,800 to replace the roofs at the water plant and power plant.  Mike Klaus seconded the motion.  The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.

 

David said he is still waiting for the final amount for Ed Minden for the District 2 well.  He is asking for council approval for spending up to $6,500.  Mike Klaus moved to sign a contract with Ed Minden for the district 2 well not to exceed $6,500.  Connie Wells seconded the motion.  The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.

 

The asphalt patching quotes were discussed.  David said we got quotes from Interstate and Woods.  Woods quote is $6,782.  This is the quote we are asking approval for.  The crossing and the other area is about $1,400 and the total is less than what we were anticipating.  The crossing and parking lot patch would be electric funds and the sidewalk asphalt repair would be street funds.  Connie moved to approve the quote of $6,782 from Woods Crushing and Hauling as recommended by staff. Tom Mayo seconded the motion.  The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.  David said the amount is based on a surface square footage.

 

A take home vehicle policy was discussed.  The policy is a starting point of how we address take home vehicles according to Stephen.  Rick Alonzo said the only thing he may have a problem with is the five mile limit.  He said there is a fifteen minute response time in the personnel policy, a mileage limit, or the city limits and these may be other considerations for council.  Rick said the only reason that a mileage limit other than five miles would be a concern is because one of our k-9 officers lives seven miles outside the city limits.  Stephen said the call out time of 15 minutes is for all crews of the city.

Stephen said if an employee lives outside the five mile limit then the policy addresses the issue by the employee compensating the city for the mileage over five miles.  Connie said she is not sure she is in favor of the take home vehicles.  Rick said the benefit is to the citizens of Bonners Ferry and he gave the example of winter time response.  Mayor Anderson gave an example of a small riot in the small town he grew up in and the need for shortened emergency response time.  Tim Wilson said the presence of police vehicles are a crime deterrent as well as shortening the response time.  Chris Clark said in the minutes of the past meeting, Rick said he would like the officers within the city limits to have a take home vehicle and he has learned this evening that there is a police officer that lives outside the city limits that is taking a police vehicle home.  Rick said the k-9 officers take vehicles home.  Stephen said IRS rulings are specific to the types of vehicles that are taxable.  He said take home vehicles are a benefit.  Mike Klaus said he is the recipient of a take home vehicle with his employer.  He thinks it is a good thing to allow from a safety standpoint.  Mike Klaus asked Rick what would work for his department.  Rick explained that the council should be able to make exception to the policy for an officer such as Don Moore with the k-9 unit.  He is called out often on traffic stops at all hours of the day or night with the dog and these stops are time sensitive due to case law according the Attorney Wilson.  Mayor Anderson said Don Moore will be leaving soon so this problem will not be there any longer.  Chris Clark moved to table the take home vehicle policy until the next meeting.  Tom Mayo seconded the motion.  The motion passed, all in favor.

 

Mike Klaus said at the last meeting he gave some of his opinions on the police department and he apologized for that when Rick was not present.  Rick thanked Mike for his apology.

 

The group discussed the next budget workshop and set the date for July 26 at 6:00 p.m. 

 

Mayor Anderson said council will review the expenditure side of the budget.  Chris Clark asked for the department heads to submit their budgets before the meeting.  Stephen said there has traditionally been the operating budget for the personnel and supplies and then there is a separate budget for capital items.  Stephen said in the past we reviewed the capital list about mid-year to see how the revenues were coming in.  David said the other piece is where council wants to see the contingency. 

 

Connie moved to go into executive session at 8:15 p.m. per Idaho Code 67-2345 (1) (f).  Chris Clark seconded the motion.  The motion passed – Mike Klaus “yes”, Chris Clark “yes”, Connie Wells “yes”, Tom Mayo “yes”.  Executive session ended at 8:35 p.m.  No action was taken.

 

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. 

 

/s/

David K. Anderson, Mayor

Attest:

 

/s/

Kris Larson, City Clerk