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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001.08.01 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING August 1, 2001 7:30 a. m. STATE OF IDAHO) County of Madison) SS City of Rexburg) Present were the following: Mayor:Bruce Sutherland Council members:Kay Beck Paul Pugmire Nyle Fullmer Glen Pond Donna Benfield City Clerk:Marilyn Hansen Finance Officer:Richard Horner P.F.C.:John Millar Excused: City AttorneyStephen Zollinger Pledge to the flag. The report from the Citizens Recreation Committee shown on the agenda has been moved to the next City Council meeting. The scouts were welcomed and introduced. Glen made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Paul. All voted aye, none opposed. Stacey Dye Request for Band Concert at Smith Park Stacey Dye, 20 E. Main Street, Rexburg A couple of years ago Stacey set up a concert at Smith Park and is requesting to do the same type of concert this year in Smith Park. She is manager at Main Street Music, has met a lot of the nd bands and different artists in the area and is requesting permission for the 2 Annual Concert. Last time there were 10 bands on one stage from noon to 9:00 p.m. which were mostly rock bands, 50-100 people attended. This year they would like to have two stages, about 20 bands, open up to the entire family with different types of music such as rock, jazz, blues, string instruments, and vocal performances. One of the stages will be in the gazebo and the other at the other end of the park in the baseball field, area on the grass in between would be for acoustic performances with 30-60 minute sets for each of the performers, a couple of vendors providing food and several sponsors from local businesses for the event. The concert is free to the public, funding would come from donations from local businesses. There will be an off-duty police officer and 10 or so adults throughout the day providing security. City Hall will have the restrooms unlocked, there will be a crew organized for clean-up afterwards. This concert is to be held on September 15. Discussion. Kay made a motion to grant the request for the concert, seconded by Paul. All voted aye, none opposed. Christmas Lights The Christmas lights which the City now has were purchased in 1977, they have been repaired several times but they are reaching the end of their usable life. Discussion concerning more repair, purchase of new lights, or a combination of both using the old and purchasing the new, and budgeting. The Mayor solicited comments from the public in attendance, it was the consensus the City needed new lights. Glen recommended a plan be made to see what needs replacing and what they would be replaced with. It was recommended and agreed to put the 1 figure in the budget so it is there, then work toward replacing the lights and have John and the Mayor get ideas and a plan and present to the Council at a later date. First Reading of Ordinance 858 for Increase of Mayor Salary First Reading of Ordinance 859 for Increase of Council Salary Mayor Bruce Sutherland read the Ordinances in full then opened for discussion. Mary Jo McNaughton - 111 Tamarack Mary Jo has resided at the above address for approximately 13 months having moved here from Henderson, Nevada. She reviewed the letters she had written to the Rexburg Standard Journal giving her reasons for objecting to the 100% salary increase. She felt the increase was a slap in the face to many citizens struggling each day to pay their bills when she hears the City budget is limited when it comes to helping Dama’s Dog Foundation. She feels $40,800 is too much for this job with a 32 hour work week. Council members should also have an hourly requirement in their job description. It may be time for this Council to rescind this tremendous salary increase and the City should hire a City Administrator who has the experience and the credentials to effectively deal with the growth of the City. Discussion concerning Dama’s Dog Foundation. Nile Boyle - 611 W. Main There is nothing in the 25 years he was involved with the City that he has had more comment on than this salary increase. He may disagree a little with the Mayor but he can justify an increase in that salary. Looking at the Department Heads, with their calibre, he feels this position could still be done on a parttime basis but that is just a philosophical difference. On the Council Members, there is no other job in the private sector where a part time job pays their insurance which averages over $200 per month per person, it doesn’t bring out the fact there is $100/month in travel, so the salary instead of being $3,000/year is over $7,000/ year already. For a part time job he feels this is plenty. He can justify the Mayor’s increase but another $3,000 on the City Council is unconscionable, that is over $10,000/year for a part time job. Discussion. Kay Beck stated that he agrees 100% with Mayor Boyle. He is very much in favor of the Mayor’s increase and he still is. He does not feel there is any increase that should come for the Council at all, the figures Mayor Boyle mentioned were not overstated they are understated, there are other things including retirement, contributions into 401K that the City participates in. He is strongly opposed to the Council increase. Paul LaFollette - 106 Birch He questioned if since the last increase on the Council wage has there been an increase of duties and responsibilities more than what was asked for at that time, other than the understandable increase that would come from the town growing. it is not his understanding that there has been. That being the case is it really right to increase the Council’s wage at such a dramatic amount? He feels it is an inappropriate amount. Discussion. Paul Pugmire thanked everyone who had come to visit concerning these ordinances and the letters to the editors, he appreciates the discussion. It is uncomfortable territory to set one’s own salary and because of that he sincerely appreciates the discussion and input. Fall Clean-up Dates The fall clean-up dates for 2000 were October 15 to November 15. The 1999 dates were from September 20 to November 15. The weather plays a part in the dates of clean-up so it was decided to table this decision to a later date. Brad Parkinson concerning tennis courts The Mayor stated that Brad and Marie Parkinson have been working tirelessly to improve the tennis courts in the community. Brad and Marie give tennis lessons all summer at no charge, next summer they are going to organize a group and use the U.S. Tennis Association as their basic element for organization. There was a tennis tournament last week, most of it done at Ricks because there were more tennis courts together. Brad comes as a frustrated coach, he uses the City facilities and the City has been very kind in working with them and they appreciate it. They need some facilities that would have 4 but preferably 6-8 courts all in one place. There is a 2 former resident of Rexburg that will donate $20,000 towards tennis courts if there were matching funds from either the City or the School District. There is also another Rexburg resident that will contribute enough to build a tennis court. Brad and Marie have donated their tennis salary giving another $3,000 there. In order to take advantage of the second offer, the court needs to be built this fall. Discussion concerning location, putting out to bid and matching funds. Brad stated they are trying to get the courts refinished but if you have an organization of approximately 25-30 kids and you try to get that many kids on two courts there is a lot of discouragement that comes. Tennis is a worthy lifetime sport and they would like to encourage the Council to take a look at the need. Discussion concerning making them for long term use, a probable location, adding onto the courts at Smith or Porter Park, working with the School District to help them see the need, and the temperature for the courts to be built. Glen made a motion to pursue the building of more tennis courts and when there is a program in mind it be brought back to the Council. Motion was seconded by Donna. All voted aye, none opposed. Brad and Marie are to meet with the benefactor and with John Millar to get some of the information started. The Mayor will meet with the new School District Superintendent to get some interest from the school board. Targhee Pawn Chris Huskinson, Fire Inspector, had been requested by Marsha to take a look at Targhee Pawn at 453 So. Yellowstone Highway with regard to public life safety issues. The building is approximately 3600 sq. ft., it is in fairly poor condition overall, enhancing that condition is the amount of material he has stored or for sale in there. It is a life safety problem, it is a hazard to the public. The requirements for aisles are 36" wide, most of these aisles are extremely small, you just snake through the merchandise and it is stacked approximately 8' high in a precarious position. The wiring is bad, access to the panels is non-existent, you have to go through two doors and piles of merchandise to get to them. Inside the building are propane cylinders, gasoline cans half full, motors, tires, and combustible materials making a huge fire load in that building. There are two buildings adjacent, one is a body shop with a spray booth, the other building is a two car garage with no idea what is inside. Both buildings have a wood truss roof so if they do catch fire it would be a good chance the other building will catch fire. If there is a fire at the pawn shop, it is the Fire Department recommendation that it be fought in a defensive mode, let it burn and try to protect surrounding structures. It would not be wise to send anyone into it for fear of their life. There are a few things to be done, they have been given citations with 30 days to clean up, in the past they have not done that, it has been ignored. The second choice is to have the Court system get involved and make them answer to the court. Discussion. Glen suggested a decision wait until the City Attorney is present before proceeding on the issue. Nyle suggested Chris get with Stephen on Stephen’s return and come back to Council with a recommendation for a course of action. Glen made a motion to approve the bills, seconded by Nyle. All voted aye, none opposed. Glen made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Kay. All voted aye, none opposed. _________________________________________ Bruce Sutherland, Mayor ______________________________________ Marilyn Hansen, City Clerk 3