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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Minutes - December 4, 20241 (208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org City Council Minutes – December 4, 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. (video index 00:00:02) 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 E. Erickson, Council Member Reeser, Council President Walker and Mayor Merrill. Public Comment: Items not on the agenda; limit of 3 minutes; issues may be considered for discussion on a future agenda. Please keep comments on point and respectful. NONE Ratify Future Appointment of New City Attorney Spencer Rammell effective February 19, 2025 Action Item Discussion: Council Member Chambers moved to ratify the future appointment of new City Attorney Spencer Rammell to be effective on February 19th, 2025; 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 E. Erickson Council Member C. Erickson Council President Walker Council Member Reeser The motion carried. Staff Reports: (00:00:52) A. Recreation: - Jon Lewis Recreation Director Lewis presented the Rexburg Recreation Department End of Year Report. He reviewed the number of participants in the various city recreation programs. There was a record high number of participants this year except for in the youth sports and activities; however, those numbers are still high. Recreation Director Lewis explained one of the first things he and Mayor Merrill discussed when he was promoted to Recreation Director was to make sure they could cover the recreation program expenses. He reviewed the programming financials graph below that indicated the revenue and expenses for the adult sports programs and events. 2 Mayor Merrill asked if there has been push back on any of the program fee adjustments. Recreation Director Lewis replied that his goal was not to increase the program fees, it has been to operate quality programs. To run a quality program it takes more funding, it also takes more time and effort from the Recreation Department employees. He said the participants have felt since he has taken over the Recreation Department that the quality of the programs are better managed and the participants feel like their concerns are being resolved; therefore, he has not received any pushback on any of the fees. Recreation Director Lewis reviewed the programming financials for the youth sports programs and events graph. The revenues generated by the youth sport programs exceeded the expenses. He said he attends game days to ask the participants what the Recreation Department can do to make their experience better. Recreation Director Lewis reviewed the programming financials for the aquatics program and events graph. They have seen some ups and downs in terms of revenues. He said he seen more private entities offering aquatic programs in the area so that starts to affect the city’s aquatic center numbers. The swim club is consistanly full and they are looking for ways to add more time slots because as soon as registration opens it fills up on the first day. The Rexburg Rapids exclusive rentals have continued to increase every year. They have used some of the revenues from the exclusive rentals to fund the aquatic programs. Council Member Johnson asked about the swim team. Recreation Director Lewis explained there are two swim teams and the participants practice twice a week. The teams swim against each other to compete. He mentioned a lot of the swim team coaches are actually kids who are on the swim team. There is a large interest in the community to have competitive swim teams; however, Rexburg Rapids does not have the adequate facilities to accommodate competitive swim teams. 3 Recreation Director Lewis reviewed the Rexburg Races Financials graph. He said they have been able to turn a profit on every single race; for example, the Teton Dam Marathon has had two consecutive years of higher revenues. They have used the extra revenue to make the participants experience better each year to hopefully get more people to participate so one day the marathon can be nationally recognized. He said they are looking to expand their race series next year. Recreation Director Lewis reviewed the Recreation Facilities Financials. The carousel over the last couple of years has done well in terms of revenues. He said it is difficult to balance the revenues with the expenses given that the carousel is 100 years old and making repairs to the carousel are expensive. Recreation Director Lewis reviewed the Rexburg Rapids financials graph. The expenses have been higher than the revenues at the start of the season. They have identified some areas where they could make improvements to where Rexburg Rapids could start earning a profit rather than having an operation loss. 4 Recreation Director Lewis reviewed the Winter Park financials graph. He said Fiscal Year 2024 was a good year in terms of revenues considering that it is subjected to Mother Nature. They were only able to be opened a few weeks and are hoping for better winter weather this year because they are incorporating new programs to offer at the Winter Park. The Winter Park expenses are largely personnel, equipment and ice skating rink. Mayor Merrill said he and Recreation Director Lewis debated on whether to open the ice skating rink this year because the rink liner needs to be patched. There is a decent ice skating rink in Sugar City so they decided patrons could go use that skating rink this year until the indoor skating rink near Rexburg Rapids is built. Recreation Director Lewis reviewed the Recreation Department’s list of new ideas and the department’s focus for 2025. He said Pickleball is growing a lot in our community. They have ran two Pickleball tournaments the last few years and he realized that they are missing an opportunity by only running two tournaments. This upcoming year they are going to run four two day tournaments. They also want to introduce an adult pickleball league so he has been doing some research on how other cities are running their pickleball leagues. He has discussed the idea of the pickleball leagues to local avid pickleball players in the community and they have expressed interest in wanting a league. Recreation Director Lewis explained they are also going to bring in two PGA sanctioned disc golf tournaments. They have held a disc golf tournament; however, the tournament wasn't sanctioned and sanctioning the tournament will help get more players to participate. The tournament counts towards their ratings, and there are a lot more perks that they can get from being sanctioned. Recreation Director Lewis continued to review the list of new ideas for 2025. He said some of these ideas came from community members through an online survey. B. Public Works: - Keith Davidson (00:22:19) 5 1. Bid Approval for Teton Lakes Clubhouse Remodel Public Works Director Davidson reviewed the two bids received for the Teton Lakes Clubhouse remodel. Council Member Johnson moved to approve the low bid of $92,789 from Teton Repair for the Teton Lakes Clubhouse Remodel; 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 E. Erickson Council Member C. Erickson Council President Walker Council Member Reeser The motion carried. 2. Resolution 2024 – 17 Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) TAP Grant Agreement for River Pathway Underpass at 2nd E. Key #23918 Action Item Public Works Director Davidson explained this resolution is for the TAP grant that the city received from the Idaho Transportation Department to construct the trail underneath the bridge on 2nd East. The grant amount is $650,000. Mayor Merrill said this resolution is to move forward with the agreement and wondered what the next steps are and the date when they will start to construct the trail. Public Works Director Davidson replied the next step is to acquire Request for Qualifications from engineer firms, select the engineer firm to complete the design work, after the design work is complete, they will acquire construction bids. Council Member Chamber asked what the city’s match percentage for this project would be? Public Works Director Davidson said the city’s match is 7.34% which is slightly under $48,000. City of Rexburg Resolution of Resolution No 2024 - 17 WHEREAS, the Idaho Transportation Department, hereafter called the STATE, has submitted an Agreement stating obligations of the STATE and the CITY OF REXBURG, hereafter called the CITY, for construction of RIVER PATHWAY UNDERPASS AT 2ND EAST; and WHEREAS, the STATE is responsible for obtaining compliance with laws, standards and procedural policies in the development, construction and maintenance of improvements made to the Federal-aid Highway System when there is federal participation in the costs; and WHEREAS, certain functions to be performed by the STATE involve the expenditure of funds as set forth in the Agreement; and WHEREAS, The STATE can only pay for work associated with the State Highway system; and WHEREAS, the CITY is fully responsible for its share of project costs; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: 1. That the Agreement for Federal Aid Highway Project A023(918) is hereby approved. 2. That the Mayor and the City Clerk are hereby authorized to execute the Agreement on behalf of the CITY. 3. That duly certified copies of the Resolution shall be furnished to the Idaho Transportation Department. Passed by the City Council and approved by the Mayor the __ day of __ 2024. ___________________________ Jerry Merrill, City of Rexburg Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________ Deborah Lovejoy, City Clerk CERTIFICATE I, Deborah Lovejoy, City Clerk, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true, and correct copy of Resolution No. 2024 - 17 adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 4th day of December 2024, and that the same is now in full force and effect. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and impressed the official seal of the City, this 4th day of December 2024. ___________________________ Deborah Lovejoy, City Clerk Council President Walker moved to approve Resolution 2024 – 17 Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) TAP Grant Agreement for River Pathway Underpass at 2nd 6 East Key #23918; 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 President Walker Council Member Reeser The motion carried. 3. Resolution 2024 – 18 Set Hearing for Final Assessment Roll for Local Improvement District 53 (LID 53) for January 8th, 2025, Action Item Public Works Director Davidson explained Local Improvement District (LID) 53 is ending and a date needs to be set for the final assessment hearing. He recommended the date of January 8th, 2025. RESOLUTION FOR SETTING THE TIME AND PLACE OF HEARING ON LOCAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT 53 ASSESSMENT ROLL Resolution No. 2024 - 18 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, FIXING THE TIME AND PLACE OF HEARING ON THE LOCAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 53 ASSESSMENT ROLL; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION AND MAILING OF NOTICE THEREOF; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Local Improvement District Number 53 ("L.I.D. No. 53") of the City of Rexburg (the "City") was created by Ordinance No. 1309 adopted by the City Council (the "Council") on March 6th, 2024; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Ordinance No. 1309, the improvements within L.I.D. No. 53 have been completed, and the City Engineer, as engineer for L.I.D. No. 53, has submitted a report showing in detail the total cost and expenses of the improvements, the dollar amount thereof payable from assessments, and a form of assessment roll showing the amount chargeable to each lot or parcel of property subject to assessment within L.I.D. No. 53. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, as follows: Section 1: The form of assessment roll for L.I.D. No. 53 prepared by the City Engineer shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk, where it shall be available for public inspection during normal business hours. Section 2: Wednesday, the 8th day of January 2025, at the hour of 6:30 pm, at the regular meeting place of the Council, City Hall, 35 N 1st E, Rexburg, Idaho, is hereby fixed as the date, time, and place when and where the Council will meet in open session for the purpose of considering the City Engineer's report on the assessment roll and hearing any objections to the assessment roll by the owners of property within L.I.D. No. 53. Section 3: The City Clerk shall give notice of the hearing specified in Section 2 above by publication of notice in the official newspaper of the City, once a week for two successive weeks, the first such publication being at least fifteen (15) days before the date fixed for hearing objections to the assessment roll. The City Clerk shall also, not less than fifteen (15) days before the date fixed for hearing objections to the assessment roll, mail notice of the hearing to each owner of property, if known, or his or her agent, if known, within the limits of L.I.D. No. 53, addressed to such person at his or her post office address, if known, or, if unknown, to the main post office in the City of Rexburg, Idaho. The mailed notice shall state the amount of the individual assessment as shown on the preliminary assessment roll. Section 4: The owner or owners of any property which is assessed in said assessment roll, whether named in said assessment roll or not, may, within the time specified in the notice before the date and time fixed for the hearing, file with the City Clerk his or her objections in writing to said assessment. Section 5: This resolution shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval. DATED this __day of ___ 2024. CITY OF REXBURG Madison County, Idaho ________________________________ SIGNED BY: Jerry Merrill, Mayor 7 ________________________________ ATTEST: Deborah Lovejoy, City Clerk EXHIBIT "A" (See attached Notice of Hearing on Assessment Roll) EXHIBIT "B" LID 53 Final Assessment Roll Council Member C. Erickson moved to approve Resolution 2024 – 18 Set Hearing for Final Assessment Roll for Local Improvement District 53 (LID 53) for January 8th, 2025; Council Member E. 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 President Walker Council Member Reeser The motion carried. Mayor’s Business: (00:25:57) Mayor Merrill said he will be attending several out-of-state conferences. Items for Consideration: NONE Calendared Bills: (00:26:27) A. Second Reading: Those items which have been first read: NONE B. Third Reading: Those items which have been second read: 1. Ordinance No 1324 Rezone 119 W 2nd N from Light Industrial (LI) to Low Density Residential 3 (LDR3) Zone #24-00808 – Alan Parkinson ORDINANCE NO. 1324 Rezone 119 W 2nd N from Light Industrial (LI) to Low Density Residential 3 (LDR3) 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 President Walker moved to approve Ordinance No 1324 Rezone at approximately 119 W 2nd N from Light Industrial (LI) to Low Density Residential 3 (LDR3) Zone and consider it third read; Council Member Chambers seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: 8 Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Johnson none Council Member Chambers Council Member C. Erickson Council Member E. Erickson Council President Walker Council Member Reeser 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. (00:27:11) A. Minutes from November 20, 2024, Meeting B. Approve the City of Rexburg Bills Council Member C. Erickson moved to approve the Consent Calendar containing the minutes and city bills; 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 President Walker Council Member Reeser The motion carried. Adjournment 6:57 P.M. APPROVED: ________________________________ Jerry Merrill, Mayor Attest: _____________________________ Marianna Gonzalez, City Deputy Clerk