HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_02212023 CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING
IONA CITY HALL
FEBRUARY 21,2023 6:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Mayor Dan Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael
Thompson, Council Member Peter Wadsworth, Council Member Evan Mann, Public Works
Director Zech Prouse and City Clerk/Treasurer Ken West.
ABSENT: City Attorney Andrew Rawlings.
VISITORS: None.
ITEMS OF BUSINESS:
Discussion of CDs and other Savings Options — Clerk West stated she has reached out to
multiple credit unions the City has worked with in recent years and gathered information for
various Certificate of Deposit(CD)options. She continued and described the CD options ranging
from 4.15% - 5.05% with terms ranging from 6 months to 18 months from local credit unions
including East Idaho Credit Union (EICU), Westmark Credit Union and Lookout Credit Union.
Clerk West continued and explained additional benefits, including a "bump"in interest rate if the
advertised rate increases during the term. Council Member Thompson stated Westmark Credit
Union is currently at 5.00%, but will be increasing their CD promotional rate to 5.25% in a few
days. Clerk West stated she would like to support institutions that support the City events each
year, such as Westmark and EICU. Council Member Wadsworth asked Clerk West how much of
the City funds she is looking to invest. Clerk West stated the current money market account with
Bank of Commerce is earning a rate of.33% and has over$300k. She continued and stated she is
suggesting to keep approximately $100k in emergency funds available for each of the water and
general funds. She continued and stated the rest of the reserve funds, that are not part of the
operating budget, could start earning significant interest if put in CDs. Discussion continued
regarding operating budget anticipated expenditures and revenues and the amount of funds the
City can feasibly allocate to investments. Clerk West also stated she has not been impressed with
Zions Bank and the City currently has over $100k there. She continued and stated they are a
large corporation and have not shown the same community support as the local credit unions and
she would prefer to close those accounts and move funds to organizations that give back to the
local communities. Council President Geray suggested the Council give parameters for Clerk
West to stay within and allow her to oversee the diversification of the accounts that will best suit
the City. After discussing the remaining expenditures for the current fiscal year, the Council all
agreed that $800k should remain accessible in the General Fund. Council President Geray
suggested the accessible portion of the Water Fund should also be determined by the amount of
unexpended expenses for the current fiscal year. Clerk West agreed to review the expenses and
determine the best options for the City.
Discussion of Badger Creek Subdivision — Mayor Gubler stated the applicants for the Badger
Creek Subdivision have changed and resubmitted their application to the Bonneville County
Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z). He continued and stated they have also submitted a
preliminary plat, along with the re-zone application. Mayor Gubler stated Attorney Rawlings
cannot be at this meeting, but he drafted a letter the Council can print and sign to submit to the
Bonneville County P&Z at their meeting tomorrow night, if necessary. Mayor Gubler and
Council discussed the letter drafted by Attorney Rawlings and removed language referring to the
IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—FEBRUARY 21, 2023
need to update the Area of Impact Agreement, since the City and Bonneville County are
currently working together on updating the agreement. Director Prouse suggested an edit on the
letter regarding the water and sewer system not being "available". He explained it is difficult to
define "available" pertaining to water and sewer systems. Mayor Gubler stated the statement
Director Prouse is referencing is taken directly from Bonneville County's Code and he does not
feel it needs to be removed. Council Member Thompson agreed and stated that was a large topic
of discussion at the Bonneville County P&Z meeting when this application was reviewed
previously. Mayor Gubler then stated the preliminary plat for Badger Creek shows multiple four-
plex units and he feels those are out of character for that area. He continued and stated he has
been contacted by various people all against this development and asking for the City's support
to have it denied. Council agreed this development should not be allowed and suggested a
representative from the City Council present the letter at the Bonneville P&Z meeting the
following evening. Council Member Mann volunteered. Mayor Gubler asked Clerk West if she
can make the requested changes to the letter tonight. Clerk West agreed and stated she will edit,
print and have Mayor Gubler and all Council Members sign it immediately following tonight's
Regular City Council Meeting.
Discussion of Professional Services Agreement,City Engineer—Mayor Gubler stated the City
sent the proposed Professional Services Agreement to Forsgren last month, they expressed
concern over the indemnification portion of the agreement. He continued and stated it was
requiring Forsgren to be responsible for any mishaps, regardless of whether they are actually at
fault. Mayor Gubler stated Attorney Rawlings has edited the agreement, which is in the City
riN Council Packet for review. Mayor Gubler and all Council Members agreed with the updated
version. Mayor Gubler stated he will have this version sent to Forsgren for their review and
approval.
Discussion of Bonneville County Area of Impact Agreement and Map—Mayor Gubler stated
at the last joint session with Bonneville County Planning & Zoning, they agreed to adjust the
map for the Area of Impact. He continued and stated the map was the only item agreed upon
during that meeting. He stated the language of the agreement itself is being discussed between
Attorney Rawlings and Austin Black, Bonneville County P&Z's Administrator. Mayor Gubler
continued and stated the adjustments to the map include removing the west side of 49th North
and removing the east bench that was originally requested. Council President Geray explained he
feels this is worth conceding if the City is able to lead the direction of the language in the
agreement itself. Council Member Thompson agreed but expressed hesitation over losing the
possibility of the additional area as a future negotiation tool with the City of Ammon. Mayor
Gubler stated he does not believe there will be any future negotiations with the City of Ammon.
However, he would entertain an agreement with the City of Ammon solely pertaining to the Iona
Cemetery.
Clerk West informed the Council that Attorney Rawlings has already met with Administrator
Black and the first draft of the items they discussed is in the City Council Packet. She continued
and stated Attorney Rawlings does anticipate a few more meetings before they have a version
they both agree on to submit to both entities for review and approval. Clerk West asked the
Council if there was anything in this version they feel needs to be changed. Mayor Gubler stated
he has not had a chance to go over it yet and encouraged the Council to review it over the next
few days. He continued and stated he will then call each Council Member and ask their opinion
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IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—FEBRUARY 21, 2023
and give that feedback to Attorney Rawlings. Clerk West then explained the expectation is that
there will be 1-2 more joint work sessions with Bonneville County P&Z before there is a final
version for approval that will be presented to them and the Bonneville County Commissioners.
Staff Reports — Deputy Randall stated he has not received the report showing the calls for
service for January. He continued and stated the significant calls received included a vehicle
collision with a train on 50th East and an airplane crash that occurred on the hill adjacent to the
City. He then continued and stated he will no longer be the Iona Deputy, as of April. Deputy
Randall then stated he requested to return to regular patrol because he misses the various types of
calls he responded to with the county. Council President Geray stated the City should anticipate
this type of turnover and suggested having a rotation every 8 months or so. Mayor Gubler then
stated there is an open application process within Bonneville County Sheriff's Office (BCSO)
and if there are multiple applicants for this position,they will begin conducting interviews.
Director Prouse stated he has been approached by Eagle Rock Engineering regarding a
preliminary plat they will be submitting to the City for a property Rockwell Homes has
purchased on 49th North that has already been annexed into the City. He continued and stated
they also informed him the property to the east of Freedom Field Estates, connected via Dutson
Drive, is also being platted for development. Director Prouse then stated he is still working on
locating a new dump truck as discussed previously and included in this fiscal year's budget.
Clerk West stated Director Prouse finished all of the paperwork for the parks grant that was
initiated by the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) and the City has been approved to
receive approximately $2,200. She continued and stated Rocky Mountain Power has also
committed to donate $1,000 to the MYAC. Clerk West then stated the winter basketball season is
wrapping up this Saturday and informed the Council that Director Homer has chosen to reward
the referees and building managers that worked every week of the season with a small bonus.
This will be paid out of the Recreation budget.
Council Member Thompson reported that he attended the Iona Historical Museum meeting this
week and he directed them to Rylea Farrens to help them with fundraising and activities for Iona
Days. Council Member Thompson then complimented Director Prouse on snow removal efforts
and stated he has been approached by friends in Green Valley that want to be annexed into the
City. Council President Geray stated this should be a topic of discussion at a future meeting.
Council Member Thompson stated those residents are going to start a petition and he has
instructed them to reach out to Clerk West for additional information on this process. Council
President Geray stated Green Valley is not contiguous,but this should still be discussed.
Meeting Adjourned: 7:00 p.m.
COUNCIL APPROVED: March 21, 2023
Dan Gubler, Mayor
riNATTEST: R)itAYI"eri West, Cityrk/Treasurer
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