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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010.01.06 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES1 January 06, 2010 Mayor Richard Woodland Council Members: Christopher Mann – Council President Rex Erickson Bart Stevens Randy Schwendiman Brad Egbert Adam Stout City Staff: Stephen Zollinger – City Attorney Richard Horner – Finance Officer Public Works Director Millar – Public Works Director Val Christensen – Building Official Blair Kay – City Clerk 7:00 P.M. City Hall – Pledge to the Flag Roll Call of Council Members: Attending: Council Member Mann, Council Member Erickson, Council Member Egbert and Council Member Stout. Excused: Council Member Stevens and Council Member Schwendiman. Consent Calendar: The consent calendar includes items which require formal City Council action, however they are typically routine or not of great controversy. Individual Council members may ask that any specific item be removed from the consent calendar for discussion in greater detail. Explanatory information is included in the City Council’s agenda packet regarding these items. A. Minutes from December 16, 2009 meeting B. Approve the City of Rexburg Bills Council Member Egbert moved to approve the Consent Calendar; Council Member Stout seconded the motion; all voted aye, the motion carried. Committee Liaison Assignments for 2009: A. Council Member Adam Stout Trails of Madison County · Traffic & Safety Committee · Airport Board Council Member Stout reported The Legacy Flight Museum received a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Certificate for their achievements with the flight museum. B. Council Member Brad Egbert Legacy Flight Museum · Parks & Recreation · IBC Committee Council Member Egbert did not have a report. C. Council Member Bruce Sutherland Museum Committee · Beautification Committee · Traffic & Safety Committee Council Member Sutherland received this new assignment for future meetings. D. Council Member Christopher Mann Emergency Services Board · School Board · MYAB Council Member Mann reported Emergency Services had a meeting with the city (Mayor Woodland, Council Member Mann and Corey Child) and other agencies including Madison School District and Madison County in December before the power outage. When the city experienced a power outage, it was great to see how the city mobilized so fast. The Emergency 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Phone: 208.359.3020 x313 Fax: 208.359.3022 blairk@rexburg.org www.rexburg.org City Council Meeting January 06, 2010 2 Services Board discussed the Teton House and Homestead Assisted Living to make sure the elderly were receiving proper care. Everyone was on line; the police directed traffic at intersections, etc. to make the community safe. No one stayed home; the Emergency Services Board met and planned how to maintain public services and keep the community safe. The Beatification Committee met today on ongoing projects and future considerations. The Library is going to be a cultural center for the community. The space between the library and the tabernacle will need some work to make it look really good like a little town square. E. Council Member Donna Benfield Police Department · Romance Theatre Committee · Rexburg Arts Council · Tabernacle Civic Center Council Member Benfield received this new assignment for future meetings. F. Council Member Erickson Golf Board · Planning & Zoning · Rexburg Redevelopment Agency Council Member Erickson did not have a report. New Business: A. Installation of new City Council Members: 1. Donna Benfield - (Certificates of Election) 2. Christopher Mann - (Certificates of Election) 3. Bruce Sutherland - (Certificates of Election) Mayor Woodland asked City Clerk Blair Kay to conduct the swearing in ceremony for the new City Council members. The official oath was administered to the three new City Council members by the city clerk: Official Oath STATE OF IDAHO, } SS County of Madison I, Donna L. Benfield, Christopher Mann, Bruce Sutherland do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Idaho, and the Laws and Ordinances of Rexburg City, and that I will to the best of my ability, faithfully perform the duties of the office of Council Member in Rexburg City, Madison County, Idaho, during my continuance therein, so help me, God. _______________________________ (Signature of Elected or Appointed Official) Subscribed and sworn to before me this 06th day of January , 2010. __________________________ Blair D. Kay, City Clerk Council Member Benfield and Council Member Sutherland joined the Council Members on the Dias. Mayor Woodland expressed thankfulness for the new City Council members and some regret to lose the previous great City Council members. It was with some sadness to see them go. They will miss their input and their wisdom. They have had some enjoyable times together. The new City Council Members come with a great deal of experience. Council Member Benfield has previously served on the City Council and she is the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce; Council Member Sutherland is a former City Council member and former Mayor. He wanted the City Council to grow to become one as the past City Council experienced. It will be a good experience. B. Elect President of the Council Mayor Woodland asked for nominations to elect a City Council President. 3 Council Member Erickson nominated Christopher Mann to be City Council President; Council Member Egbert seconded the motion; all voted aye. The motion carried. Public Comment: on issues not scheduled on the agenda (limit 3 minutes) Lynn M. Betts at 66 North 1st East expressed concern with a fire station vehicle being used to pull a horse trailer instead of a private vehicle. He believed charity was a privilege and a private vehicle would be more appropriate to help a fire station employee move private belongings. It is not governments place to offer charity for the employee’s moving needs. Mr. Betts wanted to have the department head act responsibly with city equipment. Fire Chief Child responded to Mr. Bett’s comments indicating David Ivey had to move immediately. He received help from David Davis, who is a member of the fire department. Council Member Erickson said it was the perception that was wrong. He recommended an employee could have used a private vehicle to pull the trailer. Lynn Betts asked if the city was going to be able to move others. Fire Chief Child said Mr. Davis was off duty; however, he was on call. C. Department Reviews – Department Heads PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTS: Public Works Director Millar explained Kip Orme quit the position of Water Superintendent and moved to Washington; Chuck Velman was installed in that position; another position will be filled in the spring. Public Works Director Millar is the process of the acquisition of more underground water rights. He is working with a consultant in Idaho Falls to get a mitigation plan to convert the city’s surface water rights to ground water rights. He is fighting a battle to get the ground water instead of building a water treatment plant. Shelley City thinks their water rights application is approved. Operationally everything is ok in the Water Department. The wastewater plant is under consideration for an upgrade to expand to 5.4 million gallons per day. The City Council has approved a plan to move forward to upgrade the wastewater plant. Some sewer lines need replaced this summer especially if some large projects move forward. The projects are bigger than the City of Sugar City. The City of Rexburg has no violations from EPA. Environmentally, this city is ok. The city should get approved this year for new underground water rights. Public Works Director Millar reported the Water Department has six employees; Eight employees in the Wastewater Department; Eight employees in the Street Department managed by Bill Blair with an increase of one employee last year. This past year the Street Department completed some street projects including the parking lot next to city hall. In the last 11 years there have been some equipment additions to the Street Department including a total of three snow plows. Snow removal is done with six graders; three graders are hired. The streets can be plowed in an eight hour shift. The last snow storm, there were only two trucks and three graders hired to clear snow. They are hauling more snow now verses 11 years ago including plowing Crosswalks. They have taken on a lot more work with snow removal. Council Member Egbert asked if there was a policy against throwing snow out into the street. He mentioned the property by the Ridge Apartments. There is a policy against moving snow off private property onto city streets; the city’s compliance officer follows up on violators. Council Member Erickson has contracted to have his sidewalks cleaned for $75.00 per storm; however, the city snow plow covered his sidewalk again after he paid to have it cleaned. He asked to have the patrol operator change procedures to eliminate covering the sidewalks of citizens. He asked for common sense in snow removal. He will turn the cleaning bill over to the city. He will keep cleaning the sidewalk. 4 Council Member Benfield asked for the city’s plowing policy. Public Works Director Millar said typically the crew comes in at 2:00 A.M. to plow when a storm has two inches of snow. They may start plowing in the daytime if the storm is heavy during the day. The police call dispatch when trouble spots are identified by the police. The city’s Shop Department has three employees with one welder and two full time mechanics; additionally, they have two hourly employees. The Engineering Department has three drafters and one inspector plus interns. The city does its own engineering work except state funded projects requiring more engineering specifications. The 12th West project; FAA projects; and the Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade project are examples of engineering projects done outside the city’s Engineering Department. Council Member Egbert asked if Main Street could be cleaned earlier on heavy storms. Public Works Director Millar said yes. The graders are set up to move snow to the right. Council Member Benfield said they do a great job on the Main Street sidewalks. Public Works Director Millar reported the Sanitation Department has three sanitation trucks. Four employees operate the trucks with one fill in employee to run a six day work week. The extra driver works for the Street Department too. A new sanitation truck was recently purchased for $182,000. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT: Building Official Val Christensen reviewed the Community Development Department’s building valuation history in the recent past: Building value permitted in 2009 - $31 million with a $33 million carryover from two University building projects. One more carryover year left in 2010. The Community Development Department has ten employees down two employees from 2009. Building value permitted in 2004 was at $39 million. Building value permitted in 2005 was at $65 million. Building value permitted in 2006 was at $77 million. Building value permitted in 2007 was at $159 million. Building value permitted in 2008 was at $83 million. Building value permitted in 2009 was at $31 million. The Community Development Department does have some savings on big projects due to economies of scale. Prior to the end of the 2009 Budget year Building Official Val Christensen was informed his budget was running into budget short falls; causing some employee cutbacks. Some accomplishments include remodeling City Hall. The project was designed and supervised by the Community Development Department. The construction was done and supervised by Larry Beesley. The department inspectors were involved in the City Hall remodel project too. The Mechanical plan was hired out of Pocatello. The committee organized to update and revise the Planning and Zoning Ordinance included Bart Stevens, Winston Dyer, Mayor Woodland, and Johnny Watson. They sat down and revised Ordinance 926 into Ordinance 1026. The revision was started four years ago with the completion this year. It was a big success working with BYU-I (Richard Smith) to change Ordinance 926. Phil Packer was another contact at BYU-I facilitating the changes to Ordinance 926. The changes include mixed use zones which is an ongoing process. Many land use applications were revisited. The department has ten rezone applications in process or completed. Apartment builders are engaged in new projects; the new owners of Nauvoo House are looking to build four or five buildings. Kartchner Homes have a Conditional Use Permit to add over 600 students. The Henderson project is working on a 900 student complex. Trent Birch is doing a zone change to add housing for a 460 student complex on 4th South. 5 The City Hall remodel project included remodeling the other side of City Hall (7,000 square feet) for Madison Memorial Hospital to lease from the city. The coming year looks good for apartments. It takes two years after University growth announcements to see growth starting. The students come in creating jobs. Every professional job creates 3 non-professional jobs. 1/3 of apartment rentals go to non students. Two years after apartments and houses are built commercial development grows. Council Member Egbert asked if the city is inline with the needs of the University. Building Official Christensen indicated the city and University work together to manage growth. POLICE DEPARTMENT: Police Captain Randy Lewis represented Police Chief Lynn Archibald who asked to be excused. The Police Department has great cooperation with the City Council. Crime statistics are up in some areas. The solvability rate is in the 57% range. There is an increase in domestic battery. Graffiti is up; however, overall the city is in good shape. The Police Force is good and well trained and they are doing really well. The Police Department is working extremely well with BYU-I. Parking is doing well; police officers are doing well and they are in good moral. The Police Department has 37 fulltime employees with 30 sworn police officers and seven non- commissioned employees including an Animal Control Administrative Secretary, Community Police Investigation Patrol and three dog handlers. The Police Department is seeking grants for funding. One dog is patrol trained; one dog is bomb trained; two reserve officers are in training. There were 529 criminal offenses reported through the UCR Reporting System. Misdemeanors are not reported as crime statistics; however, they are going up. Council Member Sutherland asked if youth gangs are up. Individuals are coming into the area from other areas to cool down and they do recruit. Police Captain Randy Lewis said Rexburg is a safe community. Other communities get more gang activity. Council Member Benfield asked who checks on peddlers permits on Saturdays and Sundays. Police Captain Randy Lewis said the police do check on peddlers in most cases; Business registrations are required. Alcohol sales to minors are checked periodically. There is a business currently under review for minor sales violations. Council Member Erickson reviewed budget categories. Police do a great job and the city should be proud of the police force. Discussion on how a Christmas party is accounted for in the budget. The Police Department appreciates the City Council’s cooperation. RECREATION DEPARTMENT: Recreation Director Robert Yeatman reported on the Recreation Department’s activities noting growth of 14%. The race series has been doing well with a projected increase of another 10% in 2010. A new race called the Turkey Trot was held in 2009 which was a 5K fun run to help the “Shop With A Cop” program. The Recreation Department collaborated with BYU-I for swim lessons in 2009. The Winter recreation programs are going well with an ice rink opening at the Municipal Golf Course. The Parks Department and the Fire Department helped get the ice rink up and running. The Winter Snow Fest is being planned for the end of January and Summer recreation programs are being planned. One program is an alternative recreation program for handicap individuals. It is being planned along with a “chilly and rib” cook off. Council Member Mann asked for a list of race events. Recreation Director Robert Yeatman indicated: 1) Teton Dam Marathon; 2) Liberty 5k Run; 3) Rush Triathlon in August; 4) Cube race in November; and 5) Turkey Trot in December. They will hire part time interns for part of the year. Council Member Mann asked the department to coordinate with Chamber of Commerce to avoid confusion. 6 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: IT Director Steve Christenson reviewed the Information Technology Departments biggest achievement in 2009. It was moving into a new building with a new phone system and upgrading the city infrastructure. They have 56 projects ongoing. Their mission statement is “To provide and protect information critical to the city of Rexburg, and to investigate, implement, and maintain technologies to enhance productivity and customer service”. A recent power outage caused some equipment failures including surge protectors and switches. Council Member Egbert asked how the backup system is working. IT Director Steve Christenson indicated the backup system works really well. Council Member Sutherland asked about automatic generator system for the new city hall. Currently, there are two server rooms which can’t be supported in long term outages. There was an issue last Monday with the current generator supplying adequate power. They are planning a disaster recovery program with the NIST Standards for the industry. They are planning an increase in dynamic content for the city’s web page. There are two full time employees plus interns and part time people. Council Member Mann indicated he could not get through on the phone system when the power went out. Today he is concerned with a real emergency. Council Member Sutherland said it was imperative to have power backup for the city buildings. Council Member Erickson asked about Harris Computer Corporation’s invoice for $26,648 for a one year charge. IT Director Steve Christenson said it is an annual maintenance fee for software updates. Finance Officer Horner said they raised their fees last year 35%. Police Captain Lewis said the police were totally shut down with the power outage. Two issues are generation and fuel. Discussion on a generator at the water shop building Public Works Director Millar explained they are looking for additional generator support. The Fire Station generator can run 20 KW about half the needed support. The old water department generator is 40KW. They are looking for a standby unit (37,000kw) for the three buildings for about $50,000 total. Council Member Erickson said it was serious and it needs to be resolved. Finance Officer Horner said it was needed as soon as possible. Council Member Benfield said it could be taken out of the contingency fund. Council Member Erickson and Mayor Woodland said it could be taken out of current budget savings. Council Member Sutherland said when you need the backup generation, you need it. It should be there. Building Official Christensen said there is a customer service component too. IT Director Steve Christenson said it is an issue with security and communications. Public Works Director Millar said he is looking for a used generator from State Surplus, etc. FIRE DEPARTMENT: Fire Chief Corey Child reported on the Rexburg Madison County Emergency Services Board. Accomplishments and Current Projects: 1. Organize the paid call positions into quasi-military units (6 platoons). This will provide increased efficiency and accountability. 2. Union negotiations for new contract. 3. Improved communications with the public during power outages; (working with BYU-I Radio Station 91.5). 4. Madison County Red Cross Organization representative Shawna Ringle. 5. 2008 (1900 calls); 2009 (2109 calls). 6. Paid call volunteers save a lot of money for the city and county. 7 7. One full time in Montana on internship. 8. One full time at BYU-I in school. 9. HINI vaccinations and education was a success. 10. 15 full time personnel. 11. Two work study students. 12. 50 paid call. 13. Six BYU-I interns. Council Member Mann really appreciates Fire Chief Corey Child and his department. He asked about the average response time. Fire Chief Child indicated the average response time in the city is three minutes and the average response time in the county is 14 minutes. If the call comes from outside Madison County (i.e. West Yellowstone, Montana), the average response time is 45 minutes. The Fire Department’s third fire station grant in Sugar City looks favorable. This fire station is manned with paid call employees. Mayor Woodland was interested to learn of Scottish Pipers being trained in the Fire Department. FINANCE DEPARTMENT: Finance Officer Richard Horner indicated there are six employees in the Finance Department with himself who are well trained and efficient. They monitor hundreds of transactions each day dealing with anything to do with the budget. The 2009 Audit is almost finalized. Auditors will share the audit result soon. The general fund carry over balance is increasing at the end of fiscal year 2009 by $150,000. The General Fund carryover balance at fiscal year-end is between 1.8 to 1.9 million. The current fiscal year is being curtailed with capital purchases over $5,000 being restricted. A financial report from the state is expected to show current revenue projections which are due about February 10th, 2010. The expected state revenue shortfall for the city will be about $30,000 to $50,000. The health and dental plans for the city employees have been changed to new providers. The Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) will allocate a $2,500 deductible; netting to $800 after city support. The new budget planning for 2011 will start in April. Finance Officer Horner is planning on a flat inflation factor for 2011. The department has been involved with the installation of new software and hardware for city/county golf courses. The software is a “point of sales” system allowing the golf course management to promote the golf course programs, etc. The golf professional is paying ½ the cost with the city and county paying the other half from golf revenues. The Y2K Emergency Preparedness Plan was successful with a new rewrite planned to look for asset needs including “backup generation for city buildings and fuel for emergency vehicles”. Council Member Benfield asked about impact fees balances. Police impact fee account = ($500,000) less transfers from the General Fund. Street Impact Fee Account = -0- Fire Impact Fee Account = -0- (need to save impact funds for a new fire station on the south end. Parks Impact Fee Account = ($10,000) or less. Council Member Benfield asked for total number of employees this year compared to last year. Finance Officer Horner said the employee count has dropped five positions with a net of about 130 employees which do not count summer temporary or part-time employees. He is working on a report showing the ratio of employees to 1000 residents for Mayor Woodland. In 2012 the lease payment of $36,000 on police building will end; thereafter, this money can go to dog shelter to pay down the Police Impact Fee account. Council Member Mann asked if the budget data could be put online including checks like Pocatello. 8 Council Member Benfield asked for check balance to show online for constituents. Discussion on getting budget information by check online. Finance Officer Horner said part of the problem is manpower to put budget information online. Mayor Woodland said the city should move carefully to maintain the budget. Council Member Benfield asked about the Legacy Flight Museum. Finance Officer Horner said it is the most profitable entity of its kind in the city. It costs the city four or five thousand per year for insurance. A lot of volunteer hours and money are put into the Legacy Flight Museum. PARKS DEPARTMENT: Parks Director Greg McInnes reported on the parks Department. They have two full time employees and 10 to 20 part time summer employees. They do presentation (ground work, flowers, etc.) for all of the city parks, all city buildings, and winter recreation programs. Council Member Erickson said the city parks have never done better. He said Parks Director McInnes sets very good example for the parks employees by doing the work with the employees instead of directing the employees. Council Member Sutherland asked Parks Director McInnes to pay more attention to Porter Park tree replacements. Parks Director McInnes indicated there will be more trees planted in 2010 as replacement trees. He thanked the Street Department for helping the Parks Department with many projects. The city has great staff. He thanked the City Council for their support with city park’s issues. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) DEPARTMENT: GIS Director Craig Rindlisbacher indicated the GIS Department is a joint city/county department with four employees; three employees are here in City Hall and one employee is at the county. The information business they are involved in does city and county maps for over 13,000 parcels. They are involved in all infrastructure Planning and Zoning projects, etc. Council Member Mann asked how GIS Director Rindlisbacher’s time was split between the city and the county. Does the city get a good deal or does the county get a good deal? GIS Director Rindlisbacher said there is a lot of overlap; however, it rounds out to about a 50/50 split. They are working on a new map book for emergency responders. They are implementing a new tracking system. The city flyover picture is done every other year and every five years with 6 inch pixel clarity. Finance Officer Horner said “economies of scale” save money by sharing employees with the county. GIS Director Rindlisbacher said GIS is shared on a regional basis with regional datasets. CUSTOMER SERVICES DEPARTMENT: City Clerk Blair Kay reported on the Customer Services Department. They have three full time employees for the front counter with interns from BYU-I to help with records management in the City Clerk’s office. City of Rexburg America’s Family Community Customer Services Department “Seamless Customer Service” 9 Responsibilities I. City Hall Front End Presence A. Backup for other departments 1. Phones 2. Purchase Orders 3. Utility billings 4. Building permits 5. City “news letter” 6. Order supplies B. Receipt “ALL” city revenue 1. Theatre events 2. Tabernacle events 3. Building rentals 4. Police parking tickets 5. City Attorney cases 6. Golf revenue 7. Carousel revenue 8. City utilities revenue 9. Balance cash 10. Make bank deposits =========================== Responsibilities II. City Clerk’s Office A. Management of all public records: 1. Administer comprehensive resource manual for records retention and disposition. B. Management of Ordinances, Resolutions, and minutes: 1. These records are important to the day-to-day operation of the city. 2. These records have historical significance and Idaho law provides that these records are not to be destroyed. 3. Prepare agenda’s 4. Prepare City Council packets 5. Prepare Council minutes 6. Prepare room for meetings 7. Prepare Ordinances 8. Prepare Resolutions 9. Maintain airport contract leases Resources Three employees – historically experiencing turnover. There is another employee leaving January 28, 2010. C. Receipt “Other” utilities 1. Intermountain gas billings 2. Rocky Mountain Power billings 3. Quest phone billings D. Permits: 1. Underground digging permits 2. Public gathering permits 3. Business registrations (about 1,000) 4. Front end Construction permits E. Job Applications: 1. Process job applications ============================ Resources College students – usually retraining every 60-90 days. C. City elections: 1. County administered in 2011. City Clerk will still be responsibility for candidate filings and campaign finance reporting. LEGAL DEPARTMENT: City Attorney Stephen Zollinger said he operates the Legal Department with one and 1/3 employee. Attorney Aaron Davis is hired part-time to help with court cases. He prosecutes criminal cases for the city and the county. The criminal numbers go up about 5% each year causing more court cases. There are challenges in court cases. Civil cases are good if there is not any jail time imposed; otherwise, they can be bad when jail time is given. Civil complaints are going up over the last four or five years. Council Member Erickson thanked Department Heads for doing a great job. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Presentations: - None 10 Items for Consideration: - None Staff Reports: Public Works: – Public Works Director Millar A. Intersection bids on 7th South/2nd East Intersection: The bids were let three weeks ago with the low bid going to Depatco for $277,239.50. The installation of the street light will be in late March or early April. Council Member Sutherland asked about the road extensions away from the street light. Public Works Director Millar explained the roads would be extended 150 feet beyond the intersection going east and south. Council Member Benfield asked about completion date. The project is planned to be completed by June 15th; damages can be applied weather dependent. The contract sets a completion date dependent on deviations. The materials are expensed once they are delivered on site and work is completed. This project will be done outside of state funding. The Church committed $75,000 the University is still pending. Council Member Erickson suggested the University and the city work out a split on the remainder. Public Works Director Millar said there was not a cushion built into the project. There may be change orders. He indicated a project bid with a lump-sum bid would cost more than a bid accepting change orders. Council Member Erickson said one mistake could run the price above other bids. He asked for an exact amount. Public Works Director Millar said the bids are done on a unit basis. Council Member Erickson wanted to pick and chose components to make the final price cheaper. Public Works Director Millar said none of the contractors are doing a lump sum bid; it is a unit based bid. Council Member Benfield continued to ask more about the bid. She asked the City Council if they had a ceiling on bid change amounts. Council Member Erickson said many times the city pays more money than the bid amount. Public Works Director Millar said a lump sum bid would cost an additional 10 to 20%. Often times the city comes in under the bid. Public Works Director Millar said the staff does monitor costs during construction. Council Member Erickson said the contractor does not come back with an amount less than the bid. Council Member Mann said the City Council wants to be informed if the bid is going over. Public Works Director Millar said they are more than happy to keep the City Council in the loop. Lump sum bidding will get you what you pay for even if there are problems. Mayor Woodland said we can’t be so tough that bidders won’t have a competitive atmosphere. The traffic signal bid estimate was $250,000 with the road extensions. Council Member Egbert moved to approve the low bid from Depatco for the intersection improvements at 7th South/2nd East; Council Member Sutherland seconded the motion; all voted aye, the motion carried. B. Airport Master Plan (Planning Services Contract) Public Works Director Millar explained the estimated fee was within $1,000 of estimate. The airport master plan approval needs both city and county approvals. The city needs to approve $117,000 of which the city pays 2.5% ($2,925) and the county pays 2.5% ($2,925). The master plan is required about every 10 years; however, it has been about 13 years since the last master plan update for the Rexburg/Madison County 11 Airport. The project will move forward as soon as the contract is signed. The paperwork will be done next and the ground work will start in early summer. Council Member Erickson said the city/county 5% share is paid out of the airport fund. Public Works Director Millar said the county is billed separately; however, if there is not enough operating funds in the airport fund, the funds could come from the city and the county. Council Member Sutherland moved to approve Airport Master Plan (Planning Services Contract); Council Member Erickson seconded the motion; all voted aye; the motion carried. C. Rexburg Recycling Program Questionnaire Public Works Director Millar explained a questionnaire is being prepared to be mailed to residents. The city is seeking recycling information. Who would participate in curb-side recycling? Council Member Benfield asked if the survey could go to apartment residents too; Public Works Director Millar said the survey will go in the water billings to water users. She asked how many companies are seeking the contract for recycling. There are two companies interested. Pocatello charges $5.00 per residence with 25% participation. Rexburg could do curb-side recycling if 25% of residents participated. Council Member Stout wanted to change the format of the survey to make it simpler. It was written by an engineer. Michael Elrod (elr08001@byui.edu) asked if the questionnaire would go to students. Council Member Stout said it was a good question; however, the students don’t typically pay a water or sewer bill. The survey will not go to each apartment. Public Works Director Millar said maybe the Scroll newspaper would run the survey. Council Member Mann said it was a good question for the students. Their rental costs would go up to help fund the program. Council Member Stout said it would reduce the city’s tipping fees at the county. Mr. Elrod and partner’s Brent and Tyler are interested in bidding on the curb-side recycling program. They want to help the city. Council Member Erickson said he was concerned with the first question on the survey. The city has already made a financial commitment. The city is in the recycling business. Mayor Woodland said curb-side recycling takes recycling to the next level. Council Member Egbert said the survey indicates we are already in the business; do we want to go to the next level. The city already owns the recycling bins. Council Member Mann asked about the street light at Pioneer Road and Main Street. Public Works Director Millar said the material is en-route from Washington State. Public Works Director Millar has been pushing the project forward with constant phone calls to get the material on site. Council Member Erickson recommended ordering the material sooner to eliminate delays in the future. Public Works Director Millar asked about renegotiating the contract with the Rexburg Irrigation Canal Company; He proposed changing the execution date from December 31, 2009 to June 01, 2010. 12 Council Member Egbert moved to amend the contract with the Rexburg Irrigation Canal Company; changing the execution date from December 31, 2009 to June 01, 2010; Council Member Benfield seconded the motion; all voted aye, the motion carried. Public Works Director Millar passed out a map of property at the corner of 1st East and Valley River Drive. The property owner has surveyed the property found the city has encroached on his property. He is asked for a property trade (square foot for square foot) which requires a public hearing. Public Works Director Millar asked for approval to hold a public hearing to make the property exchange. He asked for a motion to set a public hearing. The land owner is billing the city for rent. Council Member Sutherland moved to hold a public hearing in February to hear the proposal to do a land exchange on the corner of 1st East and Valley River Drive; Council Member Egbert seconded the motion; all vote aye, the motion carried. Calendared Bills and Tabled Items: A. BILL Introductions: NONE B. First Reading: Those items which are being introduced for first reading. - NONE 1. BILL 1027 – Amend Ordinance 908 Temporary Sign Sections – Staff (Delayed to January 20, 2010) C. Second Reading: Those items which have been first read. – NONE D. Third Reading: Those items which have been second read. 1. BILL 1014 – Towing and Parking enforcement – Staff (Delayed until January 20, 2010) Tabled Items: Those items which have been the subject of an affirmative vote to a motion to table: - None Mayor’s Report: City Attorney Zollinger presented an issue on snow towing. Eight vehicles were towed out of a city parking lot during the holidays. Some of the cars had parking passes for the parking lot. The towing charge ranged from $100 to $140 per tow. He asked for approval to have a Request for Proposal (RFP) to seek vendors willing to tow and drop on a fixed fee basis from parking lots and streets needing to be cleared of snow. The vendors would need to move the cars a short distance in order to have the snow removal completed where the car was parked. Idaho Falls uses this system to “pick and drop” cars for $40.00. Council Member Mann said it was a good plan. Council Member Erickson asked how many vehicles would be moved per night. City Attorney Zollinger said last few years about 6-10 cars were towed for snow removal each time there was a snow storm. Council Member Mann asked for a work session at the next meeting to review goals. The work session will be at 5:30 P.M. on January 20, 2010. Fire Chief Corey Child is seeking a fire inspector position to replace a vacated position at the fire department. The position is being posted at the middle of February. The net result is a zero increase in fire department personnel. It was agreeable to City Council to make the department personnel changes. Mayor Woodland reported on the position vacated by Kristy Geisler. He indicated the position needs to be an Economic Development and Grant Writing position. This person would be the face of Rexburg for planning and building permits along with promoting Rexburg to bring in new businesses. The position could wear two or three hats. 13 Council Member Benfield asked if the city would continue to support the current effort with the county’s effort to do economic development. Discussion: It is not an effort to go it alone; however, the job description should be looked at first to determine the direction the city would pursue. Pocatello, Idaho has a similar position staffed by Robert Chambers. He is able to bring new business to Pocatello through his efforts with economic development and working to use grants to encourage new businesses to move to Pocatello. City Attorney Zollinger asked for a motion to go into Executive Session per Idaho Statute 67-2345 (B) & (F) to consider personnel and legal issues. (b) To consider the evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, or public school student; (f) To communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated. The mere presence of legal counsel at an executive session does not satisfy this requirement; Council Member Erickson moved to go into Executive Session per state code 67-2345 (B) & (F) to consider personnel and legal issues; Council Member Sutherland seconded the motion; Roll call vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Sutherland NONE Council Member Benfield Council Member Erickson Council Member Mann Council Member Egbert Council Member Stout The motion carried. Executive Session: Executive Session ended. Adjournment __________________________________ Attest: Richard Woodland Mayor ________________________________ Blair D. Kay City Clerk