December 20, 2004 Regular Meeting

The City Council met in regular session on December 20, 2004 at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.

Mayor Vanderwall presided:

Councilmembers present:

Wes Lester
Bruce Walker
Georgia DeHaas
James Zehner
Brian Lorentz

Councilmember absent:
Jane Kissinger

City employees present were Public Works Director Gortsema, Chief Sedam, City Attorney Albers and Clerk Kennedy.

The meeting was called to order and the minutes of the December 6th regular meeting were approved as presented by Councilman Lester second by Councilwoman DeHaas. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

VISITORS: Gerald Arnzen was present representing Brad Frei who is requesting water and sewer for a private residence located in the Area of Impact. The land Brad Frei is in the process of buying is located on the South West end of the City, behind Kings Discount Store and is approximately 14 acres in size. At this time he is requesting water and sewer for one residence only, but there is the possibility of other development. Councilman Lorentz felt that if the property was annexed it would make the decision easier to make. It was also suggested that he could ask to only annex the front 7 acres of the property that abuts Highway 95, and then request annexation for the other property as it was developed. Gerald explained that Brad is hoping to access the property from Highway 95; however, he hasn’t checked with the Transportation Department yet. If he isn’t granted access from Highway 95, then the property would need to be accessed from either Court Street or Elk Street. Mayor Vanderwall asked Gerald to talk to Brad to find out more information and the Council will take the request under advisement.

COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Planning and Zoning Minutes of December 8, 2004 were accepted on motion by Councilman Zehner, second by Councilman Lester. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

A motion was made by Councilman Zehner, second by Councilman Lorentz to accept the recommendation of Planning and Zoning to approve the conditional use application submitted by Dorothy Mendes, 316 West North 3rd Street, to operate as a manicurist in her home, with the hours of operation 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and not to have more than two customers at anytime. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

The Snowhaven Minutes of December 15, 2004 were accepted on motion by Councilman Walker, second by Councilman Lester. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

Public Works Director Gortsema updated the Council on the Water Project. Avista has put in the new service at the Hall Street Pump Station. The motor control panel and pump were wired by the electrician but the new pumps still need to be wired. The SKADA system is up and running and just needs a little calibration. Spencer Well was test pumped on Friday and did as expected.

Hopefully the City will be able to advertise in January, but it may be February. Depending on the contractor, the project could take six to eight months.

NPDES PERMIT: Jim Kimball, J-U-B, had been trying to get a meeting scheduled with the City, DEQ, EPA and the Tribe to discuss the permit; however, EPA wants to re-evaluate the draft permit based upon the information in the fish study and the letters they’ve received. Jim believes this is positive for the City.

WORKSHOP ON BUY IN FEES: The Council met with J-U-B on December 13th to discuss buy in fees for water and sewer, plant capacity, modifications and the NPDES permit. The Council is reviewing the information provided by J-U-B and is getting closer to making a decision. Three developers were present during the workshop and were able to ask questions and make comments on the information.

ADA COMMITTEE MINUTES: Councilwoman DeHaas reported that the ADA Committee met and discussed some concerns in the City. Those concerns are untrimmed brush, site restrictions at intersections, signage on bathrooms, and uneven and icy sidewalks. Walter Steed will be present at the January 3rd meeting to discuss changes that are needed.

CONSENT AGENDA: Councilman Walker moved, second by Councilwoman DeHaas to accept the following items as part of the consent agenda.

A. Approve the applications submitted by the following businesses for pawn, secondhand and junk store licenses.

Ralph Martin d/b/a Martin’s Antiques
Milton Perry d/b/a/ B & B Bargain Store
Evelyn M. Ruttman d/b/a Country Collectibles & Antiques

B. Approve the Annual Street Finance report and authorize publication (copy attached and incorporated herein, page 213).

Roll call vote on the motion.

Councilwoman DeHaas - Yes
Councilman Walker - Yes
Councilman Lorentz - Yes
Councilman Lester - Yes
Councilman Zehner - Yes

The motion passed.

BILLS: The bills were approved and ordered paid out of their respective funds on motion by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Zehner. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

Payroll Fund $ 58,657.27
General Fund $ 75,586.54
Street Fund $ 26,253.84
Library Fund $ 5,890.42
Library Memorial Fund $ 581.92
Insurance Fund $ 25,085.50
Recreation Fund $ 1,584.46
Snowhaven Fund $ 59,207.79
Medical Insurance Fund $ 13,549.53
Water Fund $102,899.30
Sewer Fund $ 37,261.39
Sanitation Fund $ 31,963.27

WEBSITE PROPOSAL: Chief Sedam asked the Council to approve his request to hire Mary Mangold (Wild Web West) to create a City website for $774.00. Because she wants to work with the City, Mary has waived her hosting fee for the first year. After the first year, the City will have a $19.00 per month hosting fee. Councilwoman DeHaas felt that it would be good for the City to have a website. This would allow ADA Minutes to be posted along with other valuable information. Councilman Lester also felt it would be beneficial to have a website to link to the City’s online code. The department heads have agreed to split the cost in thirds for the budget. On motion by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Walker to go forward with a website with Wild Web West for $774.00 and have the department heads meet with Mary Mangold to get it set up. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

SNO-DRIFTERS SNOWMOBILE CLUB: The City received a request for an easement from Sno-Drifters. Earlier in the day, three Councilmembers went up on the hill with Bob Haefer to get a better idea of the location of the easement. After meeting, Bob decided to hold off on the request until Sno-Drifters decided on a definite route.

CALL FOR BIDS ON WATER VEHICLE: A motion was made by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Zehner to call for bids on the budgeted water vehicle. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

REQUEST FOR CDBG FUNDS: On motion by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Walker to authorize the mayor to sign pay request #7 for CDBG funds. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

SNOWHAVEN: Councilman Lorentz reported that the hill has no snow, yet even if there was enough, the tubing hill wouldn’t be ready to go. There is no electrical on the lift and the cable hasn’t been spliced. Councilman Lorentz explained that an electrical part had to be ordered before the wiring could be completed. The Council asked that Clerk Kennedy talk to Jim Kingma to find out the status of the lift and to have it completed as soon as possible.

ITEMS TO NOTE: Mayor Vanderwall asked for the Council to think about volunteering to be a representative for CEDA.

A copy of the RC&D Minutes of November 23, 2004 were distributed to the Council.

A workshop has been scheduled for January 10th at 7:00 p.m. to discuss and make a recommendation for water and sewer hookups.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 P.M.


_________________________________
Terry Vanderwall - Mayor
ATTEST:


_________________________
Tonya Kennedy – City Clerk