HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_09262023 CITY OF IONA
CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING
IONA CITY HALL
SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 6:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Mayor Daniel Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael
Thompson, Council Member Peter Wadsworth, Council Member Evan Mann, Public Works
Director Zech Prouse, City Attorney Andrew Rawlings and City Clerk/Treasurer Keri West.
ABSENT: None.
VISITORS: James West, Rylea Farrens and Bill Koester.
ITEMS OF BUSINESS:
Discussion of Iona City Code § 10-1-17(E), pertaining to Construction Requirements for
Public Ways in the Iona Subdivision Ordinance, specifically driveway approaches — Clerk
West stated the Planning& Zoning Commission(P&Z) and the City Council discussed this topic
last month, but Director Prouse requested to continue the discussion after we received
information from the City Engineer. Clerk West stated she received information regarding the
pedestrian safety aspect of driveway approaches from the City Engineer last night and updated
the packets. Mayor Gubler stated the City Engineer confirmed there are no statutes in the state of
Idaho that define requirements for driveway measurements. Mayor Gubler confirmed the current
City Code allows for a maximum driveway approach of 30'. He continued and stated the
discussion tonight is to decide whether the City should change the existing code to add
limitations to the driveway approach measurements. Mayor Gubler stated he is not concerned
with the length of the approaches, but he is concerned with impeding the drainage from the road
and the sidewalks. Clerk West clarified the main reason this discussion is taking place is because
there is nothing in the current code that restricts people from having multiple driveways unless it
is a "half-circle". She continued and explained the example of a resident building a shop and
adding a separate, second driveway off the road to access the shop. Director Prouse agreed and
stated there is nothing in the code that restricts parallel driveways that are separated by the swale.
He continued and stated there is only a restriction for half-circle driveways that limits the
approach to 50% of the total frontage. Clerk West stated the P&Z discussed this during their
August meeting and suggested adding a maximum percentage for all driveway approaches, not
just the half-circle driveways. Director Prouse stated the sidewalks connected to driveways are
different specs than standard pedestrian sidewalks, so that would need to be taken into
consideration also if residents intend to add another driveway. Council Member Wadsworth
asked who is responsible for sidewalk maintenance (excluding snow removal). Director Prouse
confirmed the City is responsible for maintenance of all sidewalks and driveway approaches
because they are part of the right-of-way. Mayor Gubler stated he would like to have a standard
specification for sidewalk construction. Director Prouse stated that is already in the City's
Standard Specifications and Drawings. He continued and encouraged the Council to consider
placing a limit on the total length of frontage that can be used for driveway approaches. Council
Member Thompson suggested a maximum of 50% of frontage for driveway approaches,
regardless of it being a half-circle driveway or two separate driveways. Council Member
Wadsworth agreed,but requested an option for residents to have a higher percentage if they have
it engineered to satisfy the drainage requirements. Council President Geray disagreed and stated
if the resident wants to deviate from this requirement it would be considered a Variance and they
IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING- SEPTEMBER 26, 2023
would need to go through that process. Clerk West agreed and stated there would need to be a
review process if a resident submits engineered drawings and that expense would need to be
offset somehow, such as through the application fee for a Variance. Discussion continued
regarding the logistics of these processes. Council President Geray asked if the engineers had
given feedback regarding allowing all residents to have 50% of frontage for driveway
approaches. Clerk West stated the feedback that was requested of the engineers was specifically
pertaining to the pedestrian safety aspect of the sidewalks. Mayor Gubler stated he spoke to the
engineers and was informed there is no statute that regulates the maximum for driveway
approaches. Council President Geray stated he is not concerned with the statutes but wants to
ensure the code is also addressing the necessary drainage. Director Prouse agreed and stated
when new subdivisions are engineered, they do not account for multiple driveways. He
continued and stated if every resident puts in 50% of frontage as driveway approaches, the
amount of drainage for that subdivision would be drastically reduced. Director Prouse stated he
would suggest all driveways beyond the first 30' approach must be engineered by the resident to
satisfy the drainage requirements. After further discussion the Council decided that all driveway
approaches that exceed the 30' width will have an application and engineering requirement.
Discussion of Iona City Code 1-6-1: Regular Meeting, pertaining to the date of the monthly
Regular City Council Meetings — Clerk West stated she would like the Council to consider
changing the City Council dates from the 3rd Tuesday of each month to the 4th Tuesday of each
month. She explained there are already 3 months during the year that they have to push back the
meetings for various reasons, and this change would give an extra week in between the P&Z
Meetings and the City Council Meetings. Attorney Rawlings stated the Council could also decide
to not have the code specify the day of the week and month, but rather state that the Council
would just approve an annual meeting schedule prior to the start of the year. Clerk West agreed
and stated the Council already approves an annual meeting schedule in December each year.
Mayor Gubler suggested changing the code to state that the annual meeting schedule will be
approved each year by Resolution. Council Members all agreed to this course of action, with the
majority of the meetings being held on the 4th Tuesday to keep consistency throughout the year,
but also allowing additional time between the monthly P&Z and City Council Meetings.
Attorney Rawlings understood and stated he will have this amendment drafted and ready for
approval at next month's meeting.
Discussion of Building Rental Fees —Clerk West stated the utility and maintenance costs have
increased since the Resolution was passed in 2014 that defines the Building Rental Fees. She
continued and stated the City currently charges $30/hour and $150/day for Iona residents to rent
the gym or Council Room. The price for non-residents is $40/hour and $200/day. Council
President Geray asked if renters always disclose their residency status. Clerk West confirmed the
office staff verifies addresses for all building rentals. Council President Geray suggested keeping
the resident rate as it stands, but increasing the non-resident rates. Clerk West stated she has
created a spreadsheet with the utility and cleaning costs that shows an increase of 77% since
2016. Mayor Gubler stated the City is not interested in making money off renting the building,
but we do need to cover our costs. He continued and stated he does not want to raise the rate for
residents as renting the building at a lower cost is a benefit for residents. Council discussed how
to amend the code and concluded to keep the Iona resident rate the same and double that rate for
non-residents. Clerk West stated she will draft a Resolution for next month's meeting.
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IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING - SEPTEMBER 26, 2023
Discussion of Enacting a new Section to the Iona City Code Title 5, Chapter 9: Litter and
Weed Control, pertaining to external storage on private property — Clerk West stated this
amendment was brought up by the City's Building Official, Allen Eldridge, because residents are
starting to place shipping containers on their properties for storage. She continued and stated he
would like to see those either prohibited or classified as accessory buildings so they would need
to meet certain requirements, such as setbacks. Attorney Rawlings stated the code does address
"storage buildings", but technically a shipping container is not a building. Council Member
Thompson stated he does not want them to be prohibited, but does think they should have to
meet setback requirements, like all other storage buildings. Council President Geray expressed
concern over allowing shipping containers because they are highly, aesthetically displeasing.
Council Member Thompson argued they are not more displeasing to look at than houses that
have multiple junk cars and weeds on the property.
Audience member, Bill Koester, stated these containers will rust over time and agreed with
Council President Geray that they are not pleasing to look at. He suggested the City impose
fencing and maintenance requirements for shipping containers. Director Prouse stated the fence
code has a maximum of 6' in height and most shipping containers exceed that, so a fence would
not be beneficial in this situation.
Council Member Wadsworth suggested adding a requirement that all accessory buildings,
including shipping containers, need to match the home. The rest of the Council felt that was too
restrictive and not the City's responsibility. Mayor Gubler suggested changing the language in
the code that would categorize a shipping container as an accessory building, thus requiring the
same setbacks and permits.
General Fiber Project Discussion — Director Prouse stated Direct Communications is
continuing to work from the south zones to the north, installing the fiber cables and the ducting.
He continued and stated Fybercom has subcontracted with a new installation company that is
mimicking the method that Direct Communications has used. He also stated Fybercom is still
doing some boring and hit another gas line today. Council President Geray asked if a letter had
been issued to Fybercom. Director Prouse stated he did issue them a punch list of over 40 items
that needed to be addressed or fixed before any new right-of way permits would be issued. He
continued and said most of those items have been completed, but not all. Director Prouse stated
he believes Intermountain Gas is going to step in and work directly with Fybercom to address the
multiple gas line concerns. Council President Geray asked if there needs to be more done against
Fybercom to address the many construction errors that have occurred. Director Prouse stated he
would like to see them complete the punch list first, but there are two additional permits that
could be suspended.
Meeting Adjourned: 6:52 p.m.
COUNCIL APPROVED: October 17, 2023
Daniel Gubler, Mayo
ATTEST: Olfrf
eri West, Cik/Treasurer
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