HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000.07.05 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
DATE: (070500)
MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING
July 5, 2000
7:30 p.m.
STATE OF IDAHO)
County of Madison) SS
City of Rexburg)
Present were the following:
Mayor:Bruce Sutherland
Council members:Kay Beck
Paul Pugmire
Marsha Bjornn
Glen Pond
Donna Benfield
City Clerk:Marilyn Hansen
Finance Officer:Richard Horner
P.F.C.:John Millar
City Attorney:Stephen Zollinger
Pledge to the flag.
There were two corrections mentioned on the minutes of the previous meeting. Kay made a
motion to approve the minutes with corrections, motion was seconded by Glen. All voted aye,
none opposed.
RE: BUSINESS LICENSE FEES
TOPIC: (23,272,,,BUSINESS LICENSES, FEES)
Stephen reported there is a great deal of disparity in the assessment of business licenses over the
past several years. Some accounting firms have licenses, some do not, some engineering firms
have, some do not along with other professions and there seems to be no real line to follow. It
would be appreciated if the Council would discuss and direct Marilyn in what is considered a
business, and types of business, if any, to be exempt. After discussion on this matter and
reviewing the process in other cities it was determined there needed to be more investigation into
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this problem and it was set for a work meeting on the 16 day of August.
RE: SNOW REMOVAL FOR MAIN STREET MERCHANTS
TOPIC: (23,272,,,FEES,MAIN STREET,SNOW REMOVAL,SIDEWALKS)
Stephen suggested the City might consider assessing a fee to the Main Street merchants and
removing snow for them. Often they remove the snow after the streets have been cleaned. We
could perhaps create a zone in which we suggest they stop paying someone to come shovel their
snow and we will have their snow removed every snow fall by 8:00 a.m. John suggested putting a
broom on front of the newly purchased bobcat, it could be driven down the sidewalks and it
would be a simple process.
RE: WASTEWATER LEASE PURCHASE
TOPIC: (23,272,,,WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT,WASTEWATER,LOANS,
LEASE)
Richard reported on the wastewater lease purchase. The project is $1.4 million and $350,000 is
grant money. We would like to borrow $1,000,000 on the lease purchase, it has been discussed
with First Security Bank and their interest rate is approximately 6%. When we first went into
the project the plan was that the City would be borrowing at least some of the money. Because of
tight cash flow we could borrow rather than using the cash flow to fund the project. The interest
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would be approximately $60,000 for the first year. The project should be totally complete in
about two months, it is being cash flowed as we go and it has been basically drawing on City
revenue. Concluding discussion of the details Kay made a motion to authorize the wastewater
lease purchase. Glen seconded the motion. All vote aye, none opposed.
RE: LOCAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE (LEPC)
TOPIC: (23,273,,,LEPC,BIKE PATHS,FLOOD RELIEF,GRANTS)
LEPC, Local Emergency Preparedness Committee has been formed for development of flooded
areas. Richard distributed a brochure showing before and after pictures of river banks. Various
committees have been formed to write an application for a grant, there is State money available
that Mike Clements is almost certain the City can receive of $300,000 with a match of $100,000
soft match, including donated land, engineering, materials, etc. The point of this grant would be
to purchase property along the river bank in the flood area, keep it protected as flood plain areas
and it could be used for putting in a bike path along the river. Mike Clements with the
cooperation of the committee would write up the grant. Marsha made a motion to provide soft
money and support for the LEPC grant match conditional upon receiving the grant. Motion was
seconded by Kay. All voted aye, none opposed.
RE: REVIEW PROCESS OF INVOICES
TOPIC: (23,273,,,INVOICES,DEPARTMENT HEADS)
The review of invoices was discussed by Richard. After visiting with accounting personnel it was
decided it was about equal work to sort the invoices for review by the Council or adding the
description to the summary. The present process of the Council signing the invoices prior to the
Department Heads signing was discussed at length. It was the majority consensus of the Council
to have the Department Heads review and sign all invoices first. Richard is concerned it will slow
down the payment process especially for those accounts that offer a discount for early payment.
It was concluded that Richard would discuss this new process with the staff and arrange to have
the Department Heads sign all invoices before the Council.
RE: MAYOR’S RECEPTION
TOPIC: (23,273,,,DANCE FESTIVAL,MAYOR)
Kay reported on the Mayor’s Reception for the International Dance Festival to be held Saturday,
July 29 at Ricks College Manwaring Center Special Events Room. The reception will begin at
5:30 and the food will be served at 5:45. The Mayor and Donna will review the invitation list.
The Council will serve as greeters, name tags will be provided. Governor Kempthorne is
scheduled to be in attendance.
RE: WATEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
TOPIC: (23,273,,,WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT,WASTEWATER)
The Wastewater Treatment plant is nearly 80% complete. The last concrete pour was made today
on the clarifier so it is going along well. The new equipment arrived on Monday, the dry beds
have been spread out and the odor has been taken care of.
RE: WATER SHOP
TOPIC: (23,273,,,WATER SHOP,WATER DEPARTMENT)
The floor on the Water Shop will be poured on Friday.
RE: SIDEWALK ORDINANCE
TOPIC: (23,273,,,SIDEWALKS,SIDEWALK ORDINANCE)
John discussed that under the current regulations the City requires 12" of gravel under the
sidewalks. There have been a lot of complaints that on the level part of town that is excessive, far
more than any of the other cities are doing. It is being considered to change that to 4" of 3/4
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crush under the sidewalks on basically the flat ground but maintaining the 12" of gravel where
there is a grade up on the hill. This needs consideration and will be brought up again later.
RE: SAND VS CINDERS
TOPIC: (23,274,,,SANDING,SNOW REMOVAL,CINDERS,ROADS,STREETS)
The perpetual question for every late summer - is it sand or cinders. It is near the point that the
materials need to be secured for the winter and John would appreciate some direction. The price
of each, carryover of cinders from last year, and the possibility of splitting the cinders and sand in
different parts of town was discussed. Paul feels that Magnesium Chloride should be
experimented with prior to the first snowfall, which will form a layer keeping the ice crystals from
forming on the asphalt and allow the plowing to be more efficient. John mentioned this had been
tried last year but it was too near freezing to be effective, but he will have a few applications used
this year for an experiment.
RE: SEAL COATING ROADS
TOPIC: (23,274,,,SEAL COATING,STREETS,ROADS)
The Mayor questioned the timetable for seal coating this fall so there is not the problem that the
City encountered last year. John will check the schedule and try to make sure it is accomplished
before the second week of August.
Marsha questioned some of the invoices, all of which were explained. She questioned the time
frame for the Louisiana Pacific property. The Mayor and John explained what work has already
been done and that the project will get underway as soon as funds are available. She mentioned a
phone call from a firm in Los Angeles that will give grants to communities declared to be “No
Kill” communities. She felt the parade was terrific and heard many positive comments from the
City about the sign she and Donna carried stating that “Rexburg Loves Sunbirds”. After touring
the Waste Treatment Plant in Coeur d’Alene she wants everyone to know how proud she is of the
plant in Rexburg. She questioned if anything is being done with the little white water building.
She was told nothing is being done right now, the Sons of the Pioneers have looked at it but the
Water Department is still using it for the present.
RE: AIC CONFERENCE
TOPIC: (23,274,,,AIC)
Mayor Sutherland expressed his appreciation and thanks to each Council person for taking the
time out of their personal schedule to attend the AIC conference and learn what they can to help
their City.
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RE: 4 OF JULY PARADE
TOPIC: (23,274,,,POLICE,POLICE DEPARTMENT,PORTER PARK,PARADES)
Donna had received comments about the Police Department and the excellent crowd control at
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the 4 of July parade. Stephen mentioned that someone may want to discuss with the Police
Department the many phone calls he took for parking tickets issued around Porter Park during the
parade and why the decision was made to issue parking tickets. Glen will visit with the Chief and
get the facts and see what transpired.
Marsha made a motion to approve the bills, seconded by Glen. All voted aye, none opposed.
RE: BUDGET PROCESS
TOPIC: (23,274,,,BUDGET)
Richard proceeded with a work meeting on the budget. He reported that each Department Head
met with the Council Person, Mayor and Richard and reviewed their budget requests, as well as
the General Fund Departments which are funded through property tax. He distributed several
sheets of budget information which were reviewed in depth.
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RE: HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOPIC: (23,275,,,HISTORICAL SOCIETY)
One discussion of a particular item was the possibility of charging the Historical Society $100.00
per month for rent for the one extra office they are using.
It was suggested that a work session on sewer rates might be in order the first week of August.
A work meeting to discuss the various sessions and suggestions and ideas from the AIC
Conference was set for Thursday, July 13, at 6:00 p.m.
Paul made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Kay. All voted aye, none opposed.
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