HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_CCWorkMeeting_03162010CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING MARCH 16, 2010 6:00 P.M. IONA COMMUNITY
CENTER
PRESENT: Mayor Brad Andersen, Council member Dennis McArthur, Council member Dan
Gubler, Council member Bruce Case, Public Works Supervisor Zech Prouse, Police Chief
Shannon Basaraba, City Clerk Robyn Keyes.
ABSENT: Council President Jane Shaw.
Reports.
Supervisor Prouse presented the preliminary drawings for Well house #3 from Paul Scoresby
and expressed concern with the pump running off a pressure switch. Supervisor Prouse said he
would rather have the pump run off the tank on the hill. Supervisor Prouse also thought a VFD
was not necessary for the pump on Well #3 and a Mag Starter would be sufficient and less
costly.
Council member Gubler asked if Well #3 would be used for reasons other than emergency.
Supervisor Prouse said the well could be used during the summer and could be switched back
and forth with the main well during the winter.
Mayor Andersen asked the Council to review the preliminary plans and get back with Supervisor
Prouse by Monday, the 22°a so the plans could be finalized.
Supervisor Prouse said a culvert must be installed in the ditch fifty feet out from the Well house,
and he wanted to know if the Council wanted to install a culvert in the entire section of the ditch.
The Council agreed it would be a good idea to cover the entire ditch.
Supervisor Prouse said the street sweeper would be out of the area for 2 more weeks then he
could begin sweeping the streets.
Mayor Andersen asked Supervisor Prouse to get an estimate for painting stripes on Main Street
from Owens Ave north to Rockwood.
Supervisor Prouse said he wanted to install a culvert in the ditch by the tennis court to help
eliminate the drainage problems. Councilman McArthur asked if a French drain would also be
necessary, and Supervisor Prouse said he planned to re -dig the swell to handle the water.
The Supervisor said the intersection at Main Street and Steele had a collapsing culvert that
needed to be replaced.
Mayor Andersen said the City received money from the State for road repair, which that project
would fall under.
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Supervisor Prouse suggested sealing the parking lot on the north side of the City building along
with the parking area in the front of the building. The Supervisor also wanted to add parking
stripes to the area.
Chief Basaraba said he had been talking with Guy Bliesner regarding the cross walk lights.
Mayor Andersen suggested the Chief coordinate with Paul Scoresby, who was the administrator
of the grant for the lights.
Mayor Andersen asked about code enforcement at residents with numerous vehicles parked at
the property. The Chief said he was talking with the residents regarding the issue. Some
businesses were acquiring many vehicles that needed to be checked into as well.
Mayor Andersen asked the Council for their ideas regarding business licenses and who would be
required to obtain one. The Council agreed to look into the possibility of offering a part-time,
seasonal business permit at a reduced cost for people that ran a business in their home such as
hair dressers and tax preparation.
Council member McArthur talked about revisiting the trash collection service for the City.
Council member McArthur suggested educating the public of its benefits through the newsletter.
The Council agreed to revisit the idea. Mayor Andersen suggested holding a Town Meeting in
April to discuss the topic with the citizens.
Council member McArthur said the Lion's club would be refurbishing the south shelter in the
Park this summer.
Mayor Andersen said a recent study showed there were more people on Earth than there was
clean drinking water for those people. The Mayor stated his concern with water waste by some
people in Iona and entertained the idea of installing water meters. Mayor Andersen said water
meters would cut down 1/3 of the water usage, and if the base rate allowed was 10, 000, or
13,000 gallons then most people's bills would not be affected by the meters.
Council member Case asked about the cost associated with installing meters. The Mayor said
there were already meter pits in the new housing additions, and there were grants available for
the meters. The cost to install meters could be close to $900,000.
Council member Gubler stated his concern with water right litigation if the City reduced its
consumption. Mayor Andersen said, based on what he had experienced, water rights were
difficult to take away, and the City belonged to water associations that would help the City keep
their rights.
Mayor Andersen said meter mandates would eventually reach Idaho and, that projected date was
in approximately 7 years away. Washington and Oregon already had mandates in place. The
mayor said he would like to educate the public on the need to conserve water and how meters
help with that conservation.
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Supervisor Prouse said the City would either need to install meters to help conserve water or
require a bond to drill a new well and install a new tank. Mayor Andersen said that some bond
stipulations required meter installation.
Mayor Andersen said the average consumption was 45,000 gallons a month per house hold in
Iona, and the national average was 12,000 to 15,000 gallons per month. The City's residents
were using 3 times more water than most other people in the nation, and most of that was due to
carelessness and waste.
Mayor Andersen asked the Council to consider ways to promote water consumption water
conservation.
Clerk Keyes said she needed a few more people to help with the Easter Egg Hunt, and said due
to a conflict with the LDS General Conference, the time for the hunt had been changed to 12:00
noon. Several council members volunteered and also thought their spouses could help.
Meeting adjourned 7:00 p.m.
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