HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981.05.19 CITY COUNCIL MINUTESMr. Larson said that in years to come that he hoped that the city did not just look at
the dollar but also the need.
Mayor Porter said that the Fremont Madison Irrigation Company negotiate contracts
on their surplus water every year and we would do ours the same and have specific
guide lines.
Earl Hoopes suggested that an extended bidding would be more responsible in their
bidding. The mayor told him that a long range lease could cause problems to
the city.
Mayor Porter said that anyone that gets the water will have to change the point
of diversion. He said in talking to the Rexburg Irrigation, they don't want to
pay a lot of money for the water.
Mr. Erickson ask about the water from the sewage plant they are getting a lot of
guff about it.
The Mayor told him that the city is putting in equipment to cholorinate the water,
but we can put it in the river if the irrigation company don't want it. This water
from the sewage treatment plant would give them extra water, if they want it.
Jim Morris told them it was just a plus in their favor.
Mayor Porter told them that at the next council meeting the council would set up
the negotiations. It would have to be done at a public meeting. He told them
for them in the mean time to decide how much land they have to be watered that
is in use.
Sander Larson assured tham that the city would give them the water that they
needed to water the land that was being farmed.
i
i
City C erk Ros gley
Those Present:
OrL 0.p
Mayor John C. Porter
SPECIAL MEETING
IRRIGATION CO.
5/19/81
Mayor:
Councilman:
Councilwoman:
Also Present:
John C. Porter
Jim Morris
Morgan Garner
Sander Larson
Darlene Blackburn
Rose Bagley, City Clerk
Members of the Rexburg Irrigation Company were also present.
Lorin Kauer presented his feelings.
Mayor Porter said that he had gone through the minutes, and discussed these with
the group. He told them that when it was first decided to sell the canal there
was a sale of stock. People morgaged their shares of stock and the city would
go to the bank and guarantee money for shares. From that he said that he assumed
there must have been money involved. The farmers on the upper ditch participated
in the digging of the ditch and when the division was made they gave the ditch
to the city, although the city had to pay for the deversion ditch and headgate.
In view of the minutes where money was involved, the city had to pay to take over
the upper canal.
Lorin Kauer reminded the conucil that the city had always dumped excess water in
the canal.
Leland Steiner told the group that there use to be four drains to take the water
from the city canal to the Rexburg canal. Mr. Kauer said that was when the agreement
was made that the Rexburg Irrigation Co. would get the excess water. Andy
Anderson said that he remembered an agreement.
M
Mayor Porter read from the minutes of previous meetings, about agreements
between the City and Rexburg Irrigation Company. Mayor Porter said that
because we have to pay $15,800 on the drain ditch we have to sell water to
pay for it. He told them we have a lot of wastewater from farmers dumping
in the ditch you can use. When the Barney Dairy road was rebuilt after the
flood it was built so the excess drain water could dump into the canal, and
we have an asset of water and we have to pay for it.
Mr. Kauer reminded the Mayor that they have assumed the responsibility to
water the land that the city use to water.
Jim Morris ask how much farmland the Irrigation company was watering. The
Irrigation Company did not know exactly how many acres only approximate total
of about 100 acres.
Mayor Porter told them that the City needs to maintain the ditch and they
need to receive enough money to pay for the maintenance, the tax payers
should not have to stand the cost.
Mr. Kauer stated that they should have all of Tim Parkinson's share of
water.
Mayor Porter said that he thought they should go on a 1/3 basis, and checks
should be exchanged. The city has 142 shares.
Mayor Porter said that after making a survey on the farmland that is not being
watered now, he would estimate that only 75% of the farmland is being watered
that was originally watered. The mayor had talked to the farmers on the
east and they had told him that the ditch was always full of water, so
the irrigation company was getting as much wastewater as they did before.
Mr. Kauer said that water had been diverted to Walkers.
Mr. Kauer insisted that they needed the water Tim Parkinson had to water the
land that the city use to water, and if the city puts the water up for bids
the Irrigation Company should be able to meet bids according to their needs.
Mayor Porter said that the city is liberal and that he was thinking of giving
them 45% or 35% but that he thought 55% is to much, and if they only water
100 acres of land they should not have half of the water.
Mr. Kauer said that Tim Parkinson was getting 350 inches of water and they
wanted that much plus the wastewater. He also stated that in a dry year they
wanted the first preference in bidding. Jim Morris told them that a bid is
a bid. He also told them that the city would charge them for the water and
they should charge the city.
Mr. Kauer told the council that if they could not get 350" of water they
would take it to court. He said that he felt that the city should meet this
compromise because they really should have all the water.
Mayor Porter told him that the court would say that the city should be
compensated to maintain the ditch. He said he felt that the city was trying
to take care of them but we have to recuperate expenses.
Mayor Porter told them that at the regular city council meeting on Wednesday
night we have got to resolve this problem. He said that he felt the city
should allocate to them 30 to 40%. We have not made a deal with the pipe-
line, we have all agreed to negotiate the water in April or. March of each
year.
Mr. Kauer reminded the council that they felt that they had done the city
a service by watering the land that the city use to water.
Ma r John C. Porter
City Clerk ose Bagley
Ix