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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_04202021 CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING IONA CITY HALL APRIL 20,2021 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Dan Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael Thompson, Council Member Peter Wadsworth, Council Member Kathy McNamara, City Attorney Andrew Rawlings, and City Clerk/Treasurer Keri West. ABSENT: Public Works Director Zech Prouse. VISITORS: Deputy Chris Williams. ITEMS OF BUSINESS: Discussion of City Building Rentals — Mayor Gubler asked the Council if the City is ready to open the building for public rentals. Council Member Wadsworth stated he would like to wait one more month. He continued and stated he has not seen a significant decrease in numbers and is still concerned for the safety of the employees. Council President Geray stated the COVID-19 numbers are in a declining pattern. He asked Clerk West if there have been any pressing concerns to rent the building. Clerk West confirmed the office has received a lot of phone calls from people that are trying to plan ahead for summer events and would like to rent the building. She continued and stated when events take place in the building; they are usually after business hours, so the staff does not interact with the renters. Council President Geray stated he would suggest coming up with a date to allow people to start renting the building after that date. He continued and stated he does not want to discourage people from planning ahead. Council President Geray suggested opening the building for rentals as of May 20th, which is one month from today. All Council Members agreed. May Council Meeting Date Change — Clerk West stated Bonneville County Elections has already reserved the building on May 18th for the school district elections. This is the same date the City Council has scheduled their May City Council Meeting. At this time, it is necessary for the Council to change the date for their May Council Meeting. Council Member Wadsworth asked if the school district election takes precedence over City Council Meetings. Clerk West stated they don't necessarily take precedence, but the election office did schedule it in the fall and Clerk West mistakenly scheduled the City Council Meeting on the same date. Council President Geray suggested holding the Council Meeting on Wednesday, May 19th. All Council Members agreed. General Water System Discussion —Mayor Gubler stated the water project will begin again on April 23rd. He has not heard anything back from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regarding the travel plan that the City submitted. He also stated the water line that has been installed for the Pam Addition on 55th East has not been able to pass inspection. Mayor Gubler continued and stated when they pulled the pipes back out of the ground, they found many small holes had been drilled into the pipe, causing major leaking issues. At this time, their contractors will have to dig it all back up and replace or fix the damaged pipe. Mayor Gubler also stated the water line is currently being installed for the Sunrise Acres Subdivision. He continued and stated it is already completed through 41st North. Mayor Gubler stated the water line has crossed both canals adjacent to Sunrise Acres. He continued and stated 49th North will remain closed for another 1-2 weeks to complete the water line installation. Clerk IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—APRIL 20, 2021 West added that the contractors have been fully paid and the developer has been billed for their portion of the water line as agreed to in the Annexation Agreement. Discussion of FY2022 Budget Strategies and Goals — Clerk West stated she would like the Council to be more involved in the budget this year. She continued and asked what type of goals and/or projects they would like to see included in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget. Clerk West continued and stated when looking at a budget, it is easy to just see numbers. But once you have goals in mind, the numbers have more of a purpose and direction. Council Member Thompson suggested adding pickle ball courts to the tennis courts. Clerk West agreed and stated she has already been working with Director Prouse to determine the potential costs to completely redo the tennis courts. She stated there are many grants available, but they require a cost breakdown to be sent in with the grant application. Mayor Gubler stated he would like to keep the basketball courts where they are and redo them as well. He continued and stated he would like to have the tennis courts remain separated from the basketball courts to allow more people to use simultaneously. Mayor Gubler then said with the tennis court, he would suggest adding power poles to allow night tennis and pickle ball games. Mayor Gubler discussed the "Iona Rule" that allows cities in the state of Idaho to increase their levy rate from 1%-3% each year to offset the cost of growth. He further explained this is not a tax increase; it just spreads the cost out among more people in a growing community. He then encouraged Clerk West to work backwards to come up with a dollar value that can then determine the required levy rate the City needs to request. Council President Geray encouraged Clerk West to have this same conversation with Director Prouse because he oversees many projects and general maintenance for the City. Clerk West stated she has already begun this conversation with Director Prouse and will continue to get his feedback regarding his budget line items. Council Member Wadsworth stated he realizes how busy Director Prouse is and asked if it is time to hire another employee in the Public Works Department. Mayor Gubler stated he has discussed this with Director Prouse and he has stated in the past that he was not ready to hire another employee. Council President Geray expressed concern whether Director Prouse will be able to recognize when it has become necessary for him to hire another employee. Clerk West stated now that Director Prouse is also inspecting and verifying placement for fence permits, he is even busier than he has been in previous years. Mayor Gubler said when hiring another employee for the Public Works Department there is a fine line to keep them busy all year round. Council President Geray acknowledged that and suggested hiring a part-time employee now to learn the job before they are offered a full-time position. Mayor Gubler agreed and said he would discuss this with Director Prouse. Clerk West stated she would like to get feedback from the Council regarding the Dodge Durango that Officer Williams is using when patrolling our City. Officer Williams stated the Durango has had problem after problem and he is curious if the City would like to sell it while there is still value in it and have a City of Iona sticker added to one of the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) vehicles that will be used when he is patrolling the City. Mayor Gubler stated he is not interested in using a BCSO vehicle and prefers the City has its own vehicle with the City's logo on it. Mayor Gubler continued and stated the Durango is paid off and he is not opposed to purchasing a new vehicle. Council President Geray asked if it is a possibility to allow BCSO to purchase a new vehicle, but the City can pay for a new paint job to display our logo on the side. 2 IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—APRIL 20, 2021 He continued and stated he believes this is the most cost effective option for the City. Officer Williams stated he will discuss this option with BCSO. Clerk West stated there are a lot of extra chairs and audio equipment in the Council Room that are no longer used. She requested feedback on what to do with these items. Mayor Gubler stated he approves to get a list of items and advertise them as surplus for the next City Council's agenda. Council President Geray stated regarding the budget, he feels there are some areas that should be more specific and not lumped together in a miscellaneous category. Clerk West agreed and stated she will be working on getting the budget cleaned up and more transparent. Meeting Adjourned: 6:59 p.m. COUNCIL APPROVED: May 19, 2021 6Dan Gubler, Macor ATTEST: -[ Keri West, City Clerk/Treasurer 3