Minutes of the Meeting of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Soda Springs, Caribou s11

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SODA

SPRINGS, CARIBOU COUNTY, IDAHO HELD OCTOBER 5TH, 2011.

MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 5:00PM BY KIRK L. HANSEN, MAYOR.

ROLL CALL SHOWED THE FOLLOWING PRESENT: KIRK L. HANSEN, MAYOR

RANDALL E. PRESCOTT, PRES.

MITCHELL J. HART

LYNDA LEE TODD B. SMITH

EXCUSED:

ALSO PRESENT: Mark Steele

Alan Skinner, Director

CHAT TV Staff

Tausha

Vorwaller, Clerk

Alicia Smith Clyde Nelson,

Attorney

Joe Rice

Austin & Jackie Robinson

Charles Fryar

Sarah O’Bannion

Bryant Smith

The invocation was given by Alicia Smith, Mayor Hansen then led everyone in the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’.

The Council reviewed the minutes from the last meeting and the payroll and accounts

payable. Councilmember Prescott moved to dispense with the reading of the September

21, 2011 minutes and approve them as written along with the payroll & accounts payable

for September, 2011. Councilmember Smith seconded the motion. All in favor, motion

carried.

(SEE ATTACHED PAYROLL & ACCOUNTS PAYABLE REGISTERS FOR DETAIL) Alicia Smith, the Caribou County Domestic Violence Advocate for the Family Services

Alliance, along with Advocate Director Sarah O’Bannion requested that the Mayor proclaim

October as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month”. Mrs. Smith shared state and local

statistics regarding domestic violence showing a definite need for the services offered

through the Family Services Alliance. Mrs. Smith mentioned that she also helps individuals

file for protection orders and hopes that this proclamation will help get the word out about

their services. Mayor Hansen stated that it was an honor to proclaim the month of October

as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” and thanked Mrs. Smith and Mrs. O’Bannion for their efforts.

Director Skinner mentioned that previously the Council approved to assist with some

asphalt and curb and gutter for the Veteran’s Memorial placement in front of the Caribou

County Court House. Director Skinner explained the two options for the curb and gutter

placement along the south side of the Library’s lawn which could be installed diagonally in-

TH OCTOBER 5 , 2011

line with the driveway approach or could be put in straight by taking out a cedar tree. The

cost will be about $1900 for the curb & gutter and to split the cost on the asphalt for the

drive will be an additional $2400. Director Skinner also informed the Council that the

County will be installing a drain to stop the drainage from running across the sidewalk.

The Council discussed the options and the removal of the tree. Councilmember Smith

moved to approve the expenditures to put in the curb & gutter in-line with the approach,

saving the tree if possible and paying half for the asphalt. Councilmember Prescott

seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried. The Council reviewed the Engineer’s recommendation on awarding the bid for supply of UV

disinfection equipment for the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) project. Due to an

unqualified low bid the original bids were rejected and the equipment was re-bid. One bid

was received from Enaqua with a savings of $69,300 from the original qualifying bids.

Councilmember Prescott moved to approve, based on the recommendation of Forsgren

Associate Engineers and Director Skinner, to accept the bid from Enaqua for the UV

disinfection equipment. Councilmember Lee seconded the motion. All in favor, motion

carried. Director Skinner asked the Mayor and Council whether they wanted to approve each

invoice for the WWTP project or whether he should just review the invoices as they are

submitted by the contractors before submitting to the Department of Environmental

Quality (DEQ). Director Skinner explained the process of withholding 10% until the

project is complete and how the invoices are first approved by the engineer and then by the

City and then submitted to DEQ for approval before the loan funds will be disbursed and

the contractor paid. Mayor Hansen expressed that he would feel more comfortable with

review by the Council. Councilmember Hart suggested relying on Director Skinner to

review and also mentioned that waiting for Council review could hold up the process depending on the timing of meetings. The Mayor and Council discussed the issue and the

timing of processing the payments. Councilmember Lee moved to approve that the

invoices be presented to the Mayor and Council for review and approval and also approved

the Contractor’s Application for Payment #1 for $86,636.07. Councilmember Prescott

seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried. Councilmember Hart suggested

informing the engineers and contractors of the Council’s meeting schedule to help expedite

the payment process.

Councilmember Smith and Director Skinner presented some options for purchasing gravel to stock pile for future needs. The options include having the gravel hauled in for $12 to

$19 a ton or recycle Parson’s cement by crushing and using as gravel. Parsons have offered

to haul their left over cement to the gravel pit at no charge with a bid from Bryant Smith

Projects to crush the gravel for $8 a ton. Councilmember Smith explained that in order to

make it cost effective to set up the crusher the City would need to agree to purchase the

whole $25,000 budgeted for gravel. Councilmember Smith mentioned that this would be a

good recycling project for the City preventing 3,000 to 8,000 tons of material from going to

TH OCTOBER 5 , 2011

the landfill along with helping to clean up the Industrial Park and also being the most

economical option. The Council discussed the options. Councilmember Smith declared a

conflict of interest due to the fact that he works for Bryant Smith Projects but wanted to

present the option which seemed like a very good idea. Councilmember Hart expressed his

support for keeping business local and for the recycling aspect he moved to approve to

have Parson’s deliver their left over cement and have Bryant Smith Projects crush the

cement into gravel for the offered price per ton up to the budgeted amount.

Councilmember Prescott seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Hansen asked for a discussion on recent information about the Idaho Independent

Intergovernmental Authority (III-A) which is a group of cities forming a health insurance

pool. Clerk Vorwaller explained that the III-A will not be administering the NexStep/SIS

deductible supplement that the City uses in conjunction with the Assurant major medical

plan. Many of the cities have a similar deductible buy down program which will continue

to be administered by the cities themselves and will not be part of the III-A. The Council

discussed the cost of self funding the buy down compared to the cost of the NexStep policy

and Councilmember Smith also pointed out that in the future the City will be able to choose different options or a different plan through the III-A. Councilmember Prescott reported on

attending a III-A board meeting and explained that he was encouraged by what he learned

at the meeting and feels comfortable and positive about the program. Mayor Hansen and

Councilmember Hart expressed their concerns about contracted providers and being able

to cover huge claims. Councilmember Prescott mentioned that a list of providers is being

th prepared and will be sent out to members with plan booklets and cards by December 15 ,

and also explained that the III-A will purchase stop loss insurance to cover the really large

claims. III-A’s plan and budget has to be approved by the Idaho Department of Insurance. Councilmember Lee presented a request from a patron to designate a community compost

area where yard debris could be composted and then reused by residents. She stated it

would be a nice gesture and something to give back to the community. The best place to

have the compost would be in the shooting range area and it would take manure, water and

turning to create the compost. The Council and Staff expressed concerns about the smell

and also about things being dumped that shouldn’t be with no one to supervise the

dumping. Councilmember Hart suggested allowing the local garbage contractor to provide

this service along with recycling. Councilmember Lee suggested trying it and if it doesn’t

work then could stop. The Council mentioned it would cause increased traffic by the shooting ranges and also explained that composting is more complicated than it sounds

and would require close control.

Councilmember Prescott introduced Aaron Lott who has expressed interest in getting more

involved in the community and came to observe and will also be attending an upcoming

Planning & Zoning meeting. Mayor Hansen and Councilmember Prescott expressed their

support and encouraged Mr. Lott’s interest.

TH OCTOBER 5 , 2011 PAGE 4

Mayor Hansen invited the City Council candidates to attend the Rotary Club meeting on

Tuesday, October 18th at noon.

Councilmember Prescott moved to approve entering into executive session pursuant to I.C.

67-2345(1)(b) to consider a personnel matter. Councilmember Smith seconded the

motion. A roll call showed the following vote: Those voting aye: Mitch Hart

voting nay: none

Randy Prescott

Lynda Lee Absent: none

Todd Smith

Motion Carried.

Councilmember Hart moved to exit executive session, seconded by Councilmember Smith. All in favor, motion carried.

Councilmember Hart moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:50pm. All in favor, motion carried.

TH PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL THIS 19 DAY OF OCTOBER,

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Kirk L. Hansen, Mayor ATTEST:

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Tausha Vorwaller, Clerk