HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_08172021 CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING
IONA CITY HALL
AUGUST 17,2021 6:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Mayor Dan Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael
Thompson, Council Member Kathy McNamara, City Attorney Andrew Rawlings, Public Works
Director Zech Prouse (via teleconference), City Clerk/Treasurer Keri West and Office Assistant
Rylea Farrens (via video conference).
ABSENT: Council Member Peter Wadsworth.
VISITORS: Allison John, Jolyn Louk, Chris Williams and Kevin Casper.
ITEMS OF BUSINESS:
Discussion of City Events, Rylea Farrens — Allison John connected a video call to Rylea
Farrens to discuss City events. Assistant Farrens stated she conducted a public survey regarding
Iona Days and received valuable feedback from the community. She mentioned items that people
would like added to future events including: activities for older kids, movies in the park and the
community dinner. Assistant Farrens requested Clerk West to go over the revenue/expenses
incurred for this year's Iona Days Celebration. Clerk West stated the City did not spend any
money from the general fund and actually spent less money than was donated. She continued and
stated the City currently has a credit of approximately $3,300 from Iona Days donations and
sponsorships. Council Member McNamara stated she was happy the vendors were not charged
and said they all had a great turnout. Assistant Farrens also stated the parade fee was only $25
for businesses and was free for non-profit organizations. She continued and stated she received a
lot of positive feedback about the parade from participants and residents. Assistant Farrens
requested feedback from the Mayor and Council regarding future Iona Days. Council McNamara
agreed there needs to be more activities for teenagers. Council President Geray stated he thought
it felt about perfect for Iona. He continued and stated it was small enough to feel like a home
town celebration, as opposed to a large commercial event that draws in people from all
surrounding areas. Council President Geray stated there can be minor improvements, but overall
this year's event was very well done. Assistant Farrens agreed.
Assistant Farrens proposed setting the dates for next year's Iona Days Celebration and other
events to take place during the upcoming year. Clerk West encouraged setting the dates early to
allow the City to book activities and volunteers sooner. Assistant Farrens proposed July 23, 2022
for next year's Iona Days Celebration, which is the fourth Saturday in July. Council President
Geray stated over the next few years, the fourth Saturday in July will be closest to Pioneer Day.
Clerk West stated this year's Iona Days Chairperson had problems booking vendors on the fourth
Saturday due to a conflicting event in Idaho Falls. Mayor Gubler stated he is not worried about
what other cities are doing and is not concerned about hosting events the same day. Mayor
Gubler agreed to July 23, 2022 for next year's event. All Council Members agreed also.
Assistant Farrens then proposed hosting a City Halloween event in the afternoon on Saturday,
October 30, 2021. Mayor Gubler and all Council Members agreed. Assistant Farrens then
proposed to host the City Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 9, 2022. She continued and stated
Easter will be Sunday, April 17, 2022 and she received positive feedback this year regarding
holding the event the week before Easter. Assistant Farrens stated this allows families to attend
multiple events to celebrate the holiday. Mayor Gubler reiterated he is not concerned with
IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—AUGUST 17, 2021
scheduling events on the same day as other communities. Council Member Thompson agreed,
but stated he liked the idea of having the City Easter Egg Hunt the week before Easter to allow
residents to enjoy family time together on Easter weekend. Mayor Gubler and all Council
Members agreed to Saturday, April 9, 2022 for the City Easter Egg Hunt.
Council President Geray asked what the City has planned for Veterans Day. Assistant Farrens
stated she can contact Thunder Ridge High School (TRHS) if the City is interested in hosting
another program there for all City veterans. Clerk West asked if this should be held on Veterans
Day, or another day. Assistant Farrens stated she will contact them to see what days the
auditorium is available. Council President Geray stated he liked the personal deliveries the City
Office staff did last year to all the veterans in the City of Iona. He continued and stated he feels
this sends a stronger message of gratitude than a program. Mayor Gubler stated the programs
were not well attended in the past, but the City has been compiling a list of veterans in the City
to send personal invitations to, if a program is held. Clerk West acknowledged Mayor Gubler
and Council President Geray as veterans and advised them to discuss and direct the City Office
staff on the best way they feel is appropriate to honor the City's veterans. Council President
Geray stated he will think about it further, but advised Assistant Farrens to book TRHS if it is
available. Council President Geray also suggested combining efforts with TRHS for a Veterans
Day Celebration.
Assistant Farrens began discussion of the City Halloween event. She is proposing that going
forward, this event will be held the Saturday afternoon prior to Halloween. This allows for better
weather and less chaos for families with younger children that also go trick or treating on
Halloween Day. Mayor Gubler and all Council Members agreed to this change. Assistant Farrens
instructed Allison John to discuss some options to change up the Halloween event this year.
Allison John introduced herself as a Thunder Ridge High School student that is actively involved
in many clubs and sports. Allison continued and stated Assistant Farrens contacted her after she
received a lot of feedback to incorporate more activities for teenagers and older kids at City
events. Allison proposed changing the Trunk or Treat to a Halloween Carnival with many
activities throughout the City Building and the City Park. She continued and shared ideas such as
a chili cook-off, carnival games, a pumpkin carving contest and a chalk throwing competition for
older kids in the park. Council President Geray stated these suggestions sound good, but is
worried about inclement weather. Assistant Farrens stated they will have alternate plans if the
weather does not allow for certain outdoor activities. However, the carnival games and chili
cook-off would already be planned to take place in the City Building. The only outdoor activities
would be for the older kids and teenagers. Assistant Farrens stated the carnival games will all be
organized and managed by businesses and volunteers. Council President Geray stated he thinks
the consensus from the Council is this activity is a good idea and to give the City Office staff the
approval to continue with the planning and execution. Assistant Farrens proposed having a
garage door or yard decorating contest throughout the City during the Halloween season. Mayor
Gubler stated he does not have a problem with this idea and suggested having an online voting
form for residents to vote for their favorite Halloween decorated garage door. Council President
Geray expressed hesitation with this activity. Mayor Gubler stated he thinks the City could
donate prize money for the garage door with the most votes. Other Council Members agreed.
Clerk West requested the Council to discuss their thoughts on the idea of starting "Movies in the
Park" again. She continued and stated in the past this activity ended because there were no
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IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—AUGUST 17, 2021
volunteers interested in being in charge. However, Assistant Farrens has offered to be in charge
of this ongoing activity. All Council Members agreed.
Discussion of Fiscal Year 2022 Final Budget — Clerk West stated the major change on this
budget from the preliminary budget is the increase in property tax revenue to include the new
construction numbers from Bonneville County. She continued and stated there was also an
increase in the Equipment Replacement expense line item after Director Prouse requested to
purchase a new pickup truck during the next fiscal year. Director Prouse stated the truck Bryce
Stucki is currently driving is a 2006. Mayor Gubler also stated he understands the City sold the
police truck to Bonneville County last year, but it was not set up to use as a Public Works
vehicle. No other questions brought up by the Mayor or Council on the Fiscal Year 2022 Final
Budget.
Discussion of Fiscal Year 2022 Law Enforcement Contract with Bonneville County
Sheriff's Office—Lieutenant Casper from Bonneville County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) stated the
flat fee for the Fiscal Year 2022 proposed City's Law Enforcement Contract will remain the
same as the current fiscal year. He continued and stated all materials that have been purchased by
their department this year have seen a solid 7% increase in cost. Lt. Casper continued and
explained measures BCSO has taken to try and minimize cost increases, despite supply chain
delays. Council President Geray asked what the City can expect the contract increase to be for
Fiscal Year 2023. Lt. Casper stated he believes a realistic expectation would be a 5%-7%
increase, which would be approximately $10,000. Mayor Gubler asked if anyone had additional
questions for Lt. Casper. Jolyn Louk asked why there has been much less police presence this
summer as opposed to last summer. She continued and stated last year the City had a more
visible police presence and there was very little crime reported. However, this summer she has
not seen any evening patrol and has heard of a lot more crime happening. Lt. Casper stated they
are experiencing hiring & retention issues and are currently down eight full-time deputies as a
department. He continued and stated he understands there is not as much patrol as he would like,
but confirmed BCSO has been in the City when crimes have happened and are actively
investigating recent incidents.
Council Member McNamara expressed concern regarding the continued speeding on 55th East.
Lt. Casper stated this is an ongoing problem on all county roads. He explained that if a deputy
parks there and issues tickets, it will only solve the problem for a short period of time. This is a
common problem found everywhere on these types of roads, where the speed limit reduces so
drastically in a short distance. Lt. Casper continued and stated they have run the data from the
speed radar signs on 55th East and found most people are going 7-8 mph over the speed limit.
Council Member McNamara continued and stated she knows people are continually speeding,
but she never sees officers there to enforce it. Mayor Gubler asked if the Council had any other
questions. No questions were raised.
Discussion of Upgrading City Building Network and Council Chambers Digital Recording
Capabilities —Mayor Gubler stated the City had DB Tronix bid the cost to upgrade the network
in the City Building. He continued and stated the cost was significantly higher than expected.
Clerk West explained the total for the network upgrade is approximately $6,600 and an
additional bid of approximately $3,200 to enable digital recording at all City meetings. Mayor
Gubler stated the upgrade will benefit the City to enable better Wi-Fi service in the Council
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Chambers and throughout the City Building. However, this will still not allow the public to
access the City's Wi-Fi. Council President Geray asked if the American Rescue Plan Act
(ARPA) funds could be used for this expense. Clerk West confirmed. She also stated she has
another company coming next week to bid also, to ensure a fair price is paid for the services. All
Council Members agreed to this course of action. Council Member Thompson suggested also
adding an access point on the back of the building to enable City Wi-Fi in the park for events
such as "Movies in the Park". Clerk West agreed and stated security cameras in the park would
be easier to connect to if the City had an access point in the park. She also asked if we would
want to put public Wi-Fi in the City Park. Mayor Gubler and Council President Geray both
rejected Wi-Fi in the park for public use. Discussion then began regarding security cameras in
the City Park. Council President Geray suggested giving approval up to $10,000 to upgrade the
network and enable digital recording in the Council Chambers. All Council Members agreed.
General Water System Discussion—Mayor Gubler stated the water system was predicted to be
completed by August 1, 2021. However, it is still not complete. He continued and stated all the
large items have been installed and are completed. The City is waiting for Rocky Mountain
Power to set the transformer. But they are not able to do that until they hear from the State of
Idaho because an electrical inspection is required prior. The new tentative date for the
completion of the entire project is now September 1, 2021. Mayor Gubler then stated the
possibility of using ARPA funds to add a new generator to the water tank.
Council Member Thompson asked about the well problems that happened on Iona Day. Mayor
Gubler stated it was an electrical problem caused by corrosion and it was fixed by Director
Prouse that day.
Meeting Adjourned: 6:58 p.m.
COUNCIL APPROVED: September 28, 2021
Dan Gubler, Mayor
ATTEST: /AVM
Keri West, City Clerk/Treasurer
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