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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Minutes - August 21, 20241 (208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org City Council Minutes – August 21, 2024 Mayor Jerry Merrill Council Members: Bryanna Johnson Eric Erickson Robert Chambers David Reeser Colin Erickson Mikel Walker City Staff: Stephen Zollinger – City Attorney Matt Nielson – Finance Officer Keith Davidson – Public Works Director Alan Parkinson – Planning & Zoning Administrator Scott Johnson – Economic Development Director Deborah Lovejoy – City Clerk 6:30 P.M. (0:02:33) Council Member Johnson said the prayer. Council Member C. Erickson led the pledge. Roll Call of Council Members: Attending: Council Member Johnson, Council Member Chambers, Council Member C. Erickson, Council Member E. Erickson, Council Member Reeser, Council President Walker and Mayor Merrill. Welcome New Employees: Samuel Montoya - Streets/Sanitation Departments, Trent Maybee - Street Department. Mayor Merrill asked Samuel and Trent to introduce themselves. Samuel Montoya said he is grateful for the opportunity to work for the City of Rexburg in the Streets/Sanitation Department. He was born in New Mexico and lived on the White Sands National Air Base. He said he traveled around quite a bit with his parents and that is how he ended up in the Northwest United States. He is married to Janelle Maupin and they have a family of eight. Trent Maybee said he is appreciative of the opportunity to work for the City of Rexburg. He said he is not the first Maybe to work for the City of Rexburg, he is the youngest son of Gordon Maybe who recently retired as a Police Officer. He is married to Heather Buck Maybe; they have been married for eight years and have three Children. Their oldest child is four years old, and his name is Miles, their second child is their daughter Lydia, and they just welcomed a brand-new baby girl Roselyn in June. Public Comment: Items not on the agenda; limit 3 minutes; issues may be considered for discussion on a future agenda. Please keep comments on point and respectful. Items from Council: (00:08:23) A. Committees: MEPI, Cultural Arts, Grants, School Board, MUSIC, MYAB, Traffic & Safety, Emergency Services Board, Trails, Beautification, Parks, Recreation, Urban Renewal, Airport, Golf Board, ADA Oversight Board, and Legacy Flight Museum Council Member E. Erickson reported the Recreation Department has had an active summer with the Teton Dam race, 5K race, youth baseball, and Pickleball tournaments. They have been busy at Rexburg Rapids. The season at Rexburg Rapids ends on August 24th. Mayor Merrill mentioned the Rexburg Recreation District Board is sponsoring a duck race at Rexburg Rapids on August 24th. Council Member Walker reported the ADA Oversight Board met last week. They discussed putting together educational material to hand out to the community members. The Board Members are passionate about educating the public about ADA regulations. Council Member Johnson asked for an update on when the Parks and Trails Committee will begin meeting. Mayor Merrill said he has not been able to speak to the city Recreation Director Jon Lewis about scheduling a Parks and Trails Committee meeting because Mr. Lewis had a family emergency. The City Council ratified three Parks and Trails Committee members at the last Council Meeting. Council Member C. Erickson reported there is an airport item on the agenda that they will be discussing. The Golf Board met, both of the golf courses are doing well with a lot of patrons using the courses; therefore, increasing the revenues. The School Board met this week they discussed the start of the new school year. Superintendent Randy Lords presented an award to Var Snedeker for his years of 2 service. They also awarded Grand Peaks Medical Clinic for coming to the School District to help some students with mental health at the Middle School and Elementary Schools. He said having mental health providers at schools is a great asset. Council Member C. Erickson also reported the Celebrate Youth Event yesterday was well attended. Other Reports: Staff Reports: (00:12:54) A. Human Resources: - Terri Hill 1. Review and Approval of Employee Policy Manual Action Item HR Director Hill reviewed the changes to the Employee Policy Manual. All of the changes can be found on August 21st, 2024 City Council Packets. There is a hyperlink in the City Council Meeting Agenda online at www.Rexburg.org. She said one of the major changes was going from Navex compliance software to the Lexipol public safety policy management. There are a lot of policies that have been added for the best practices and federal regulations. She and other Department heads chose Lexipol because they are at the forefront of keeping us updated on new legislation. Since switching to Lexipol she has received five updates to the employee policy manual. HR Director Hill said she received an email from Police Chief Rhodes requesting a change under policy 1304 Under Certifications currently indicates that the Supervisor certificate limit is 5 and the management certificate limit to 3 officers. He proposed that it be changed to all commissioned officers who meet the qualifications because these certificates require a lot of time served and a significate amount of training hours. HR Director Hill mentioned Economic Development Director Johnson requested a change to policy number 203 section 5.1 as currently written it states public posting is prohibited. They are proposing section 5.1 be changed to monitored and approved so the verbiage suggests the city’s legal counsel reviews the posting. The city’s Social Media Strategist is primarily the one that oversees the city’s Engage Rexburg web page, website and social media posts. There are instances where someone wants to tag someone or something instead of saying that it is prohibited; it’s better to state the city will monitor and be distributed if approved. Council President Walker asked if the city’s Legal Department has reviewed the changes to the Employee Manual? HR Director Hill replied yes, the city’s Legal Department has reviewed the changes to the manual. She explained the process upon engaging Lexipol, she sent them the city’s entire employee manual. Lexipol’s specialists then dissected the manual and inserted the changes in the prudent areas. She and HR Generalist Cathrine Gardner spent four months meeting with Lexipol on a weekly basis to review the manual, implement the changes, and to learn their software. Once all of the changes were made Finance Officer Nielson and City Attorney Zollinger reviewed the entire manual. The revised manual was sent to Fire Chief Child, City Council and Department Heads to review. Council Member Chambers expressed his concerns with the first sentence in section 300.2 Procedure about “Department Heads are required to inform and obtain prior approval from the Council Member over that department”. He said it puts a Council Member in an administrative role. He wondered if it should be left to Mayor Merrill as an administrative function. The one sentence in the middle of both paragraphs in section 300.2, he is not sure if the word conjunction is advisory or decisional. HR Director Hill clarified the creation of new city employee positions City Council approval is required and gernerally the new position is considered during the budget process; however, if it is a replacement position City Council approval is not required. Council President Walker clarified for a new MFD position it takes the approval of all three entities which are the city, county and MFD board. 3 Council Member Chambers said there is a line in section 300.12 that seems to give the impression that it’s the city’s responsiblility for fulfilling the staffing needs of the Emergency Services Department. HR Director Hill clarified that section 303.12 MFD Employees is verbiage found in the operational agreement between the three entities. She said having the verbiage from the agreement in the city’s policy manual clarifies that an MFD employee are City of Rexburg employees as defined by agreement. Council Member C. Erickson expressed his concerns about not having sufficient time to review the employee manual and with the volunteer section. He believes the changes to the volunteer sections are making it difficult to have volunteers, especially for the Animal Shelter. He mentioned a couple of Department Heads said they did not have enough time to completely review the manual. He asked that it be tabled to allow more time for Department Heads to review the manual because policy and procedures are a large part of an organization. HR Director Hill explained several staff members have reviewed the manual and they can make amendments as they move forward. The volunteer policies are not trying to make it difficult to have volunteers. She said it is important to keep in mind the different work environments within the city departments when considering volunteers. The manual is an overarching policy and then each department should have their Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that further directs personnel in that particular division or department; it is in that department’s SOP where procedures are drilled down for personnel and volunteers. HR Director Hill reviewed some of the substantial changes to the manual such as the AI policy which Chief Information Officer Todd Smith reviewed and the dress code. Council Member C. Erickson asked again to table the employee manual to allow more time for the Councilmembers and Department Heads to review the changes. HR Director Hill said one of the reasons she would prefer the Councilmembers to adopt the changes to the manual is because there are four new full-time hires that have not received the manual, nor does she have a way to track that they have read the manual. Mayor Merrill suggested approving the manual with the changes. The Council Members and Department Heads will continue to review the manual for any additional changes to be presented at a Council Meeting in October. Council Member Johnson said she feels comfortable with approving the changes to the employee manual because she trusts HR Director Hills judgement. HR Director Hill said if a longer time frame is needed to review the manual section by section, they can wait six months to make the additional changes. Council Member E. Erickson said instead of pulling apart the manual, which can take months, and reworking what has already been completed. The HR Department does not need to be micromanaged, he said he trusts HR Director Hill and Legal. Both of these city departments have come up with policies that are consistent with current laws. HR Director Hill continued to review some of the substantial changes to the employee manual including the on-call compensatory time, travel and training, the need for exempt employees to use the designated time keeping system to be able to track their time. There were changes to section 810 policy regarding regular/exempt employees working on a non-workday such as a holiday or a weekend. The employees are no longer required to use documentation, they are to request the time through the designated timekeeping system. By using the timekeeping system; it allows HR to track their vacation days or sick days more consistently. HR Director Hill clarified a non-scheduled day is not considered the day that employee is required to work based on their job description; for example, the Rexburg Rapids pool managers are required to 4 work on Saturdays and on Holidays; therefore, they cannot claim an earned vacation day when they work on a holiday or on a Saturday. Discussion regarding the volunteer policy. HR Director Hill explained that the purpose of the volunteer policy is not to make it difficult for volunteer help; however, more oversight is needed. There were some issues that came up in the Recreation and Arts Departments that brought up the policy that all volunteers need to have a background check. The Department Head is responsible for obtaining the fingerprints from the volunteers for the HR Department to do the background check. HR Director Hill said when there is a group of juvenile volunteers, there should be authorized adults present. The minimum volunteer age was also changed from 14 years old to 16 years old. Council Member Chambers moved to approve the Employee Policy Manual changes with the request that the Departments take six months to review and forward any modification request to the HR Department and at the end of six months present the additional changes to the City Council for consideration if needed; Council Member Johnson seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. B. Finance: - Matt Nielson (01:06:20) 1. Financial Reports Finance Officer Nielson said he will not review the Treasurers report unless there are questions from the Councilmembers. Finance Officer Nielson explained the city is 10 months into Fiscal year 2024 so the city should be at about 83%. The city’s expenditure is only about 55%. He reviewed the Cash and Investments Report. He has seen the investment market beginning to slow down in the investment returns, so the Finance Department is looking at longer CD’s. Currently, the city is investing in 12-month CDs at 5 to 5 ½%. They are starting to move some of the investments into the three-to- five-year range and laddering those investments, so they mature at different times to extend the total gain over five years by locking the rate of those returns now versus in 12 months when the percentage of those returns drops to 4% or maybe even down to 3%. Finance Officer Nielson explained of the 53 million dollars that the city is investing, he has professional management firms investing about 30 million dollars of that amount which has been beneficial. He said he and city Controller Scott Miller have been helping to manage those investments 5 and it has been educational for them, it is also helpful to have three professionals bounce information off each other and give input. Finance Officer Nielson continued to review the Cash and Investments report. The city has about 11 and a half million dollars of liquid cash; however, in the next few month the General Fund will start to decrease in cash. The Councilmembers have been approving expenditures totaling anywhere from a million dollars to two million dollars in the last few months which is a lot higher than they see in the spring and in the winter. The funds start to dive as more cash is used particularly out of the General Fund because the city does not have a lot of big revenues showing up until early January. 2. Review and Approve Pickleball Court Options Action Item Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Pickleball Court options to convert the Smith Park Tennis Courts into Pickleball Courts. 6 Council Member Chambers asked Finance Officer Nielson for city staff’s recommendation for the Pickleball Court surface. Finance Officer Nielson said the city staff’s recommendation is the Versa Court because it is the better option out of both options. Council Member E. Erickson said one of their concerns with extending the tennis court asphalt is having two different pieces of asphalt that could shift over time and create a problem. Mayor Merrill said the other issue they considered with the extension of the asphalt is that it would cause the light poles to be offset. Finance Officer Nielson said he received input from some of the major pickleball players that they definitely do not like the tile surfaces over the acrylic surface. These Pickleball courts are recreational and not tournament certified courts. He recommended the new Pickleball court stay in the budget under capital improvement allowing time to apply for grants; however, these tile courts are a way to get additional courts to have people start playing on them right away. Council Member Johnson moved to approve the Versa Court Tile for Pickleball Court at Smith Park without the extension of the asphalt; Council Member Reeser seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. 3. Additional Change Order for Tabernacle Project to Consider Action Item Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the change order for the tabernacle. Council Member Reeser commented Hydro-Tech has done some side projects at the library. The library had problems with their brick and one of the monuments left from the original building that was in the flood. He said having Hydro-Tech here has been handy because the Library District did not have to pay extra to get a company here from a different state that could complete the type of work needed. Mayor Merrill mentioned Hydro-Tech has completed a lot of small miscellaneous work that wasn’t listed in the job description. Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the three items included in the change orders. The total costs of the change orders are about $23,200 which would come from the General Fund. 7 Council President Walker moved to approve the Additional Change Order for Tabernacle Project; Council Member C. Erickson seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. C. Public Works: - Kieth Davidson (01:33:09) 1. Approval of FAA Grant Agreement for Relocation Airport Environmental Study 8 Public Works Director Davidson explained this grant is through the FAA. They couldn’t obtain all of the funding for what needs to be completed because of the grant fund allotment, so they divided the approved projects for this grant. These grant funds will cover the environmental study at the new proposed site, the purchase of land they would need to trade with the Bureau of land Management. The amount of funds for this grant is $412,325. Council Member C. Erickson moved to approve the FAA Grant Agreement for the Relocation of the Airport Environmental Study; Council Member Reeser seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. Discussion regarding when highway exit 333 on to Main Street would be reopened. Public Works Director Davidson said the Idaho Transportation Department said they hope to open at least two lanes by Labor Day. Mayor’s Report/Business: (01:39:15) A. Ratify Bruce Casper for a second term on the Planning & Zoning Board - Action Item Mayor Merrill reported he and city staff met with the Floodplain representatives, and they informed him that they are not making the new floodplain regulatory. They are going to submit the new floodplain as advisory. Mayor Merrill also reported that the Fire Department has asked for the Councilmembers’ support of a burn ban for the next few months because they feel like the conditions are such that burning could be dangerous right now. He said he approved the Fire Department to use the city’s logo on their notifications to show the city’s support of the burn ban. Mayor Merrill recommended Bruce Casper for a second term on the Planning and Zoning Board. Council Member Chambers moved to ratify the appointment of Bruce Casper for a second term on the Planning & Zoning Board; Council President Walker seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. B. Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership (EICAP) Presentation Mayor Merrill introduced John Radford, he is a Council Member for the City of Idaho Falls and is also the executive director of the Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership. Mayor Merrill said Mr. Radford will be presenting a slide show about EICAP. Mr. Radford explained EICAP has several programs such as Meals on Wheels, there are several programs for senior citizens that need help with home care so caretakers can get away. There is a therapist in Rexburg who does a chronic illness class for caretakers that are caring for seniors with chronic illnesses like diabetes. EICAP has 300 units of housing of those 30% are HUD approved. The Head Start program is also an EICAP program. There are 14,000 children in Idaho that are eligible for Head Start and only about 6% participate in the Head Start program. He said statistics indicate 36% of Head Start graduates graduate from college more than their peers that did not attend Head Start. Mr. Radford said there are family advocates right here in Rexburg, they go to families that are on assistance and help them budget. They help them with their finances and help them obtain medical care. There is a Food Pantry in Rexburg, and the church donated 28,000 pounds of food. The Food Pantry distributes dry food boxes to senior citizens who are in need of food once a month. 9 Mayor Merrill reviewed a power point presentation for the EICAP Weatherization program. This program provides assistance to eligible low-income households, in the areas of energy conservation and health and safety related repairs. Mayor Merrill mentioned some of the tools they use to identify energy leaks in a house. They conduct three different tests using a blower door, duct blaster, smoke pencil, furnance tester, inferred camera, gas leak detector, and flow hood used to measure the flow of exhaust fans. Items for Consideration: (01:55:51) A. Planning & Zoning recommendation to approve an amendment to the Rexburg Development Code, Ordinance No 1200, as it pertains to Fences and Billboards as well as other substantive and non-substantive items #23-00958. Designated as Ordinance No 1320 and considered first read if motion passes – Alan Parkinson Planning and Zoning Administrator Parkinson reviewed the amendments to the Rexburg Development Code, Ordinance No 1200 as it pertains to billboards. These changes were reviewed by the Strategic Team. The additions to the code are highlighted in green. 10 Discussion regarding limiting the number of billboard signs. There are about seven billboard signs in the city. P&Z Administrator Parkinson said the new billboard sign code would allow the grandfathered billboards to be replaced instead of just being repaired until they reach the end of life. P&Z Administrator Parkinson reviewed the amendments to the Rexburg Development Code, Ordinance No 1200, as it pertains to fences. The items highlighted in green are additions to the code and the items highlighted in red and stricken out are wording being removed from the code. 11 P&Z Administrator Parkinson explained there were some challenges with fences causing problems in areas near intersections. He said he had property owners requesting to put up a six-foot solid privacy fence in their front yards so he and several staff members spent quite a bit of time driving around neighborhoods to determine which fence height would work. They pulled into driveways to determine if they could pull out safely from the driveway if there were a fence in a certain position or area. These 12 were some of the questions that caused them to look at different fence height options and locations of the fence. The sight triangle and intersections will determine the height of the fence. P&Z Administrator Parkinson said the drawings were added to the code so residents could have an idea of the potential situations when putting up a fence in a particular location on their property. The current fences are grandfathered, the new codes are for new fences only; however, if they are replacing a fence the property owner would need to abide by the new code. All new fence permits will be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Department. The property owner would not be charged a building permit fee; however, there are certain circumstances where they are required to pay a building permit fee if they exceed eight feet in height to make sure the fence is engineered correctly. Council Member C. Erickson questioned if a property is in the RR1, and tag zone and the property owner removes the barbed wire fence would they be able to replace the fence with new barbed wire? P&Z Administrator Parkinson replied the old, barbed wire fence is grandfathered in these zones and the fence can be maintained; however, new barbed wire fences are not allowed. Council Member C. Erickson expressed his concerns about not allowing barbed wire fence in these zones because farm animals are allowed in these zones. P&Z Administrator Parkinson said there are other types of fencing that would keep animals on that property. Council Member Johnson asked P&Z Administrator Parkinson how they plan to enforce the new fence code. P&Z Administrator Parkinson replied they have been proactive by contacting the fence companies to inform them of the new fence code. He said contacting the fence companies has been extremely helpful because they have contacted him with the address of where they are installing the fence. When a building permit is submitted for new homes, they inform the contractor of the fence code. The city’s Code Compliance Officer will also assist in enforcement of the fence code. Council Member Chambers moved to approve Ordinance No 1320 an amendment to the Rexburg Development Code, Ordinance No 1200, as it pertains to Fences and Billboards as well as other substantive and non-substantive items and consider first read; Council Member Reeser seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. Calendared Bills: (02:21:36) A. Second Reading: Those items which have been first read: 13 1. Ordinance No 1317 Rezone 250 N 12th W and 1022 W Main St from Transitional Agriculture (TAG) and Mixed Use (MU) to Community Business Center (CBC) zone #24-00418 – Alan Parkinson Action Item Discussion: ORDINANCE NO. 1317 Rezone 250 N 12th W and 1022 W Main St from Transitional Agriculture and Mixed Use (MU) to Community Business Center (CBC) Zone AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND CHANGING THE ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, AND PROVIDING THAT THE ZONED DESIGNATION OF THAT CERTAIN PROPERTY HEREINAFTER DESCRIBED, SITUATED IN REXBURG, MADISON COUNTY, IDAHO, BE CHANGED AS HEREINAFTER DESIGNATED; AND PROVIDING WHEN THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE. Council Member E. Erickson moved to approve Ordinance No 1317 Rezone 250 N 12th W and 1022 W Main St from Transitional Agriculture (TAG) and Mixed Use (MU) to Community Business Center (CBC) Zone and consider second read; Council Member C. Erickson seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. 2. Ordinance No 1318 Amendment to the Rexburg Development Code, Ordinance No 1200, as it pertains to RV Park permitted uses for CBC, and other substantive and non- substantive items #23-00958 – Alan Parkinson Discussion CITY OF REXBURG ORDINANCE NO. 1318 DEVELOPMENT CODE ORDINANCE 1200 AMENDMENTS AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT CODE (PLANNING AND ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 1200) CONCERNING SUBSTANTIVE AND NON-SUBSTANTIVE ITEMS; THE FOLLOWING CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE: AMENDMENTS TO PERMITTED AND CONDITIONAL USES IN ALL COMMERCIAL ZONES PROVIDING FOR TINY HOMES ON WHEELS AS A CONDITIONAL USE; PROVIDING FOR VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE ORDINANCE; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT OF THE ORDINANCE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE ORDINANCE. 14 Council President Walker moved to approve Ordinance No 1318 Amendment to the Rexburg Development Code, Ordinance No 1200, as it pertains to RV Park permitted uses for CBC, and other substantive and non-substantive items and consider second read; Council Member Chambers seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. 3. Ordinance No 1319 Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Amendments amending Ordinance No 1300 Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Appropriation – Matt Nielson Action Item Discussion: Ordinance No. 1319 Amend Ordinance 1300 Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriation Ordinance AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 1300, THE APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2023, AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2024: APPROPRIATING ADDITIONAL MONIES THAT HAVE BEEN OR ARE TO BE RECEIVED BY THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, AND BUDGET REDUCTIONS IN THE NET SUM OF ($783,300) AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Council Member C. Erickson moved to approve Ordinance No 1319 Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Amendments amending Ordinance No 1300 Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Appropriation and consider second read; Council Member Johnson seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. B. Third Reading: Those items which have been second read: (02:23:55) 1. Ordinance No 1316 Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance – Matt Nielson Action Item Discussion: ORDINANCE NO. 1316 FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET APPROPRIATION AN ORDINANCE ENTITLED THE ANNUAL APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OCTOBER 1, 2024, TO SEPTEMBER 30, 2025, AND APPROPRIATING TO THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS, OFFICES AND FUNDS OF THE SAID CITY GOVERNMENT FROM THE REVENUE DERIVED FROM TAXES LEVIED FOR SAID FISCAL YEAR, AND ALL OTHER SOURCES, SUCH SUMS AS MAY BE NECESSARY OR DEEMED NECESSARY BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL TO DEFRAY THE EXPENSES AND LIABILITIES OF SAID CITY FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2025; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDINANCE. Council Member Johnson moved to approve Ordinance No 1316 Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Appropriation Ordinance and consider third read; Council President Walker seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: 15 Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. 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. (2:24:38) A. Minutes from August 7, 2024, Meeting B. Approve Payment of the City of Rexburg Bills Council Member C. Erickson moved to approve the Consent Calendar containing the minutes and city bills; Council Member Reeser seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council Member Reeser Council President Walker The motion carried. Council Member Johnson explained the Councilmembers toured the police station and talked about needing a new Police Station. The Council gave the direction to work towards getting a bond on the ballot for the new Police Station. She wondered if city staff with the City Council oversight could put together a timeline with measurable steps to get the bond on the ballot. Council Member E. Erickson said he does not recall discussion about a bond, he recalls discussing alternative methods to pay for a new police station. Council Member Jonhson said it was discussed during the budget work meeting. Finance Officer Nielson said when they toured the police station there were three representatives from Headwaters and based on the tour and input from the police chief and other staff gave him a cost estimate. He said he gave Chief Rhodes and Assistant Chief Hagen the cost estimate about a week ago. Finance Officer Nielson said he is working with one of his contacts about an amortization schedule of what the current rates would look like if they tried the lease option. He believes the costs to build a new police station are far too expensive, the estimate came back in the seventeen-million-dollar range. The cost estimate was helpful in giving them the idea of exploring different options and one of those options is to have a bond on a ballot. Finance Officer Nielson said he gave all the information regarding the different options regarding a new police station to Chief Rhodes to look through. After Chief Rhodes reviews the information, the city Finance Department can help provide more financing options. Council Member Johnson said she does not believe the Police Department knows the next steps to take. Finance Officer Nielson said he emailed Chief Rhodes the cost estimate of a new police station and is aware that they are waiting for the lease option estimate. Council Member E. Erickson asked Council Member Johnson if she desires a committee to be formed to include citizen input regarding the new police station. Council Member Johnson said not necessarily a citizen committee be formed; however, somehow include oversight from the full Council so that a timeline is set to move forward towards a goal. Council Member Johnson said the Police Department is a huge priority and feels like their needs are not being met and they need to address that, especially when a new police station could take years to have from now. She also feels like they have to aggressively make a plan, and the Council should be involved in that plan. 16 Council Member Reeser asked if Headwaters has the expertise in building a new police station. Mayor Merrill said Headwaters did not give the city a ballpark estimate, it was detailed by item per item. Discussion regarding alternative financing such as certificate of participation. Finance Officer Nielson said there are other options that are being considered such as joint building with the county, School District and city. Council Member Johnson said she would like to discuss it as a Council who actually supports the joint city/county building project and who does not. She said she would like to hear the full Council and what their priorities are. She said she knows what her priorities are, and that joint building is not one of her priorities. She believes the community members will find the joint building wasteful because she does not think it is needed. Council Member Johnson reiterated she would like to know what the Council’s priorities are so that they can move forward. She said they need to have a clear vision moving forward of what their priorities are because the Police Department is waiting for a new police station. She asked if the new police station discussion could be on the next meeting agenda. Mayor Merrill said he disagrees that a joint building would be wasteful, he believes it is forward thinking to have all government entities in one building and to try to get more money on the tax rolls by being more efficient with the buildings. Mayor Merrill said he agrees with Council Member Johnson that the police station needs to be a priority. They need to figure out how they are going to fund the new station. Council Member Johnson said the Police Chief is not in favor of remodeling the existing police station. She asked Mayor Merrill if he is considering remodeling the police station. Mayor Merrill replied not necessarily; however, that would be one option. Council Member Chambers suggested a joint meeting with the County and the School District to discuss each entity’s foreseeable construction needs. Adjournment 9:13 P.M. APPROVED: ________________________________ Jerry Merrill, Mayor Attest: _____________________________ Marianna Gonzalez, Deputy City Clerk