Moyie Springs City Council minutes, May 9
June 13, 2012
City Council met in regular session May 9, 2012 at the Moyie Springs City Hall.


The meeting was called to order by Mayor Doug Evans. Present were Councilmen Steve Economu, Chad Farrens, Terry Johnson, Bart Klaus, City Attorney Dan Featherston, Fire Chief Ken English and Public Works Supervisor John Nelson.


Discussed the minutes of the regular meeting on April 4, 2012. A motion was made by Chad Farrens and seconded by Bart Klaus to approve the minutes as written. Motion carried.

Discussed the financial statement. A motion was made by Bart Klaus and seconded by Terry Johnson to approve as written. Motion carried.

Edna Fry, Elana Karl, Carol Mesenbrink, Lila Finley, Brian Woods, Ron Frederickson, Kevin Frederickson, Lori Johnson, Drexel Love, Doug Reoch, Mike Sloan, Mike Ashby, Jim Angle, Jeff & Tia Avery and Ken and Joy Carpenter attended the meeting.

Jim Angle attended the meeting to discuss subdividing his property. Jim said right now it will be divided into 2 pieces and there will be a 60’ easement up the driveway. The gas, power and electricity run down the driveway. The driveway is about 16’ wide. Mayor Evans asked if, in the future, he’d want to make the road a city street? Jim said he doesn’t know. He was told it would have to be brought up to city specifications before the city would take it over. The city will need a surveyed plat. The council approved the division.


Mike Sloan, with EDC, attended the meeting to discuss Broadband. Mike said it will affect this area more than thought. Metronet has gotten private funding to run fiber from Sandpoint to Canada. It would cost less to serve the outlying areas, but is not a done deal yet. Telco is the Canadian company involved. Mike invited the council to the opening of the Smithsonian exhibit, at the Museum, on May 12. The exhibit will be here through June 23rd. Bart Klaus said the museum is really nice since it has been redone.


Discussed the City Hall sign. Terry Johnson brought a model of the sign and explained there will be a light inside set on a 6” well casing.


Clean up day has been set for June 23rd . Mayor Evans explained what we do on clean up day. He said we are trying to get the city cleaned up. There will be a potluck BBQ after we’re done working. Terry Johnson said the landfill will bring a big dumpster to the hall to use for clean up day.

Carol Robinson had contacted Sandy about the lack of a speed limit sign on Moyie Street and the problem they are having with speeding drivers. A motion was made by Chad Farrens and seconded by Steve Economu authorizing John Nelson to put up a 15 mph speed limit sign on Moyie Street. Motion carried.

Doug Reoch said a speed limit sign doesn’t work. Doug asked the council if they would consider speed bumps on Railroad St? Ken English said the speed bumps don’t work. Lila Finley asked if the trucks aren’t supposed to be going 15 mph? Mayor Evans said yes. Mayor Evans also said if the trucks for North Idaho Energy Logs to Moyie are speeding, contact North Idaho Energy and they will take care of it. Mayor Evans asked Doug Reoch about his neighborhood. Doug Reoch said not bad.

Discussed the ordinance concerning council absences. Dan Featherston brought a draft for the council to go over and it will be discussed at the June 6, 2012 meeting.

Discussed the time certificate, #2904066, at Panhandle State Bank that matures on May 18, 2012. A motion was made by Terry Johnson and seconded by Bart Klaus to let it roll over for another 3 months. Motion carried. Jim Angle asked if we’d considered investing? He was told no.

Discussed mandatory garbage pickup. Brian Woods and Ron Frederickson brought a letter further explaining garbage collection. Brian Woods said we should give it a try. He said residents are already incurring costs and don’t realize it. 50 residents are already having their garbage picked up for $12.00 per month – if this passes, it would cost them less. Brian said the other residents, who are making special trips, are paying $26.44 per month, going 3 – 4 times per month. People combining trips are paying $4.44 per month. The mandatory cost would be higher if the cost was $8.50 per month. What benefits would all residents gain? The additional benefits would be: Time savings; Wear & Tear; Spills in the truck; Smell; Spills out of the truck; Injury; Weather; Damage to cans and convenience. Brian Woods said the city should do mandatory service and if the dump site across the bridge, goes in, it could be adjusted. Brian said he can’t see the county putting the dump site across the bridge. If the cost can be spread over more people, the cost goes down. The city would gain in a huge way through economic development. Brian said the city stands a good chance of seeing an economic bump. Long term, we will see a reduction if the tax load is spread over more people – taxes would probably go down. Cities can always start a service and in the next budget year not allocate the funding. Frederickson’s would like a long term contract. Doug Reoch said he disagrees with the figures. Is recycling part of it? Jim Angle asked is there a $8.50 charge for all residents? He was told yes. Mike & Linda Ashby presented a letter to the council concerning garbage pickup. Mike Ashby asked how many homes? He was told 200 – 250. What are the ramifications of people refuse to pay the fee? Mayor Evans said it would be $100 per day penalty. Mike asked if this could be put on the ballot? Dan Featherston said it doesn’t have to be put to a vote. Mayor Evans asked the council for their opinion. Terry Johnson said we have had a public meeting and he couldn’t vote for it. Chad Farrens agreed with Terry Johnson. Bart Klaus said we should check with what Mike Ashby said. Steve Economu said he appreciates what they are trying to do, but nobody wants to be forced to do it. Steve said no and wait to see what happens with the dump site across the bridge.

Drexel Love asked if all the councilmen are on the fire department? She was told yes. Drexel asked if they still get their water for free? She was told no. Mayor Evans said we will table the mandatory garbage pickup for the time being. Mike Ashby said at this time there are two competing garbage companies in the county. Ron Frederickson said they were working on the problem the city was having.

Discussed the Allstate Insurance. Nobody was interested.

There will be a joint meeting May 22, 2012 at 6 PM with the City of Bonners Ferry, Boundary County Commissioners, the Kootenai Tribe and the City of Moyie Springs at the Visitors Center in Bonners Ferry.

Discussed the Volunteer Fire Department. Ken English reported they did not pass the pump test with the big truck. John repaired what was wrong and now it is working fine. Ken said there was one ambulance call last month. There will be a meeting with ITD at the City Hall on Friday, May 11th at 10 AM to discuss the work being done on the Moyie Bridge. Ken said we need a rear bag lawn mower. He can get one at Big R for $289.99. Drexel Love said the weeds around the fire hydrants and intersections need to be cut. John said he can get equipment from the county to cut the weeds. Mayor Evans said the city would take care of it. Ken was told to check with Boundary Tractor on the price of a lawn mower. A motion was made by Terry Johnson and seconded by Chad Farrens authorizing Ken to purchase a lawn mower for $289.99, from Boundary Tractor, if possible. Motion carried.

Mayor Evans asked Carol Mesenbrink about the her gate and if somebody has the code to open it? Doug was concerned because of the possibility of fire. Carol said John Nelson has the code.

The Cross Connection Ordinance will be discussed at the June 6, 2012 meeting.

Discussed the Water & Sewer systems. John Nelson reported we pumped a high on April 24th of 191,500 gpd; a low on the 29th of 69,900 gpd; an average of 109,670 gpd and a total for the month of April of 3,290,100 gallons. John said we received a letter from DEQ concerning not doing lagoon seepage testing. He had a conference call with Larry Comer and John Tindall, with DEQ and they suggested because we’re doing a facility study on the sewer system, we need a stay. Larry Comer wrote a letter, to DEQ, for Mayor Evans to sign, explaining what we’re doing. A motion was made by Steve Economu and seconded by Chad Farrens authorizing Doug Evans to sign the letter to DEQ. Motion carried. John explained the test to the council. The cost would be about $10,000. John said there is a concern of flooding basements while he has the lagoon plugged. If we have to do the test we can handle it. The electrical costs for the well sites is $16,392.43 and that amount does not include the building. The building would cost about $2,000. John will check with the mill and EL Automation on prices. John explained the work that will be done on the Moyie Bridge – they have 70 days to complete the work. Doug said he would try to attend the meeting on Friday. John would like to finish tearing up East Railroad St. Doug asked about the cost? John said it’ll take about 200 yds. of rock. He will need to install a culvert at the intersection of Canyon View and McGinnis St. Doug told John the pothole on West Railroad St. needs to be fixed. John will talk to Travis Smith about truck traffic on Moyie Street. Trucks should come in on Brink St. and leave out of Moyie St. John said he talked to the surveyor about S. Division.

Discussed the Charyl Mesenbrink property. It is 2 separate pieces of property – the house has the water & sewer connections, the piece of property without the house has a sewer hook-on but no water. The property (without the house) sold and they will need to purchase a water hook-on.


A motion was made by Chad Farrens and seconded by Steve Economu authorizing Doug to sign the audit letter. Motion carried.

Discussed the bills. A motion was made by Bart Klaus and seconded by Chad Farrens to pay the bills. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Chad Farrens and seconded by Bart Klaus to adjourn. Motion carried.