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Council Minutes 02/18/1976 164 Engineer David Benton met with the City of Idaho ;Falls for the sewer service charge. The rates are. 1306 per 1000 gallon and to be increased to . 2665 per 1000 gallon. Attorney Joe Anderson read the second reading of Ordinance #137. There will be a final reading on February 18, 1976. Funds' will be here in three weeks when Idaho Falls sets their rates. Mayor' Wehmann noted a resolution should be reviewed annually and updated periodically. Street Fund Certification - Mayor Wehmann said the total revenue is $164,035.55, the total expenditures is 160, 990. 34. The unexpended balance is $3, 045. 2l. Certification to this effect has been sent to the State Auditor with a copy to the Post Register for publishing. Establish budget time schedule - Mayor Wehmann proposed a budget work s.ession I with the Council and committees to be set up -February 11, 1976, at 7:30 P. M. Attorney Joe Anderson said there is to be two publications 15 days before the hearing and seven days apart. Mayor Wehmann noted a finali~ed budget will be required by. th.e 3.rd of March with the public hearing scheduled for 7:30 P. M. on March 17,1976. Mayor Wehmann said the unofficial population of Ammon is 3,630, a 42. Q%increase in the last five years. This. will effect the Highway tax and liquor funds. Since 1970 there has been an agreement that Jim D. Steel receive $400.00 from the City of Ammon for flood control. Now that the Ririe Dam is about completed, Councilman Lee made the recommendation to have the Mayor inform Mr. Steel he may not be paid for this year. Mayor Wehmann said he would talk first to Civil Defense Director Thomas J. Wadsworth and Vance Barnett of the flood control district. Mayor Wehmann asked the Council to come fifteen (15) minutes early to sign claims at the regular council meetings. . Councilwoman Carol Dille moved the meeting be adjourned.. Councilman Swensen seconded it. Meeting adj,ourend at 10:42 P. M. ~,~ CLERK I' , L ,; MA y ~'-i"F-J';' LC/iZl'j/'v<-(' v 0, I CITY OF AMMON February 18, 1976 Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council: The m~eting was called to order following City Officials present: Mayor George Wehmann Councilman Russell N. Swensen Councilman Marvin J. Anderson Councilman Francis Lee Councilwoman Carol Dille at 7:30 p. m. by Mayor George Wehmann, with the Deputy City Clerk Marian Perrenoud Office - Aleen Jensen Attorney Frank~in, Smith Engineer David E. Benton Maint. Supervisor LaVern E. Williams Others present during the meeting were BQY $couts Greg Biddulph and Brian Pickett, Mel Call of D. V. Groberg Realty, Kathy Quapp, and Craig Mowery. Tom Chriswell, Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, came in towards the end of,the m~eting, and he was ,accompanied by h.is daughter, Kim. I The pledge of allegiance to the flag was led by Councilman Lee. The invocation was offered by Councilman Anderson. The minutes of the Council Meeting held February 4, 1976, were approved as typed. Mrs. William (Kathy) Quapp appeared before the City Council to express her concern about the dog problem in her area. Mrs. Quapp lives in Jennie Jean Estates. Since she gets water through the City of Ammon and since she purchased an Ammon dog license, she wondered if she shouldn't register her complaints to I Q 00 t"- CO W C1:J I I 165 Ammon in hopes of getting something done about the problem. The Mayor assured Mrs. Quapp that he was aware of the problem and that he was desirous of doing something about it too, however, Jennie Jean is outside of Ammon City limits and the Council has no jurisdiction over dogs in ~hat area. He explained that the City could sell dog licenses only to City residents and her money should be refunded so she can purchase a County license. The County has a leash law and the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office administers the program. The dog control officer devotes 16% of his time to Ammon and 84% to the rest of the County. The Mayor told Mrs. Quapp she should feel free to call the County with her .problem. Councilwoman Dille recommended that. whe:n a dog problem is reported to the Sheriff's Office, they need details--description of dog, possible owner, time of day that dog is around, and etc. Mel Call, Realtor, appeared before the Council to discuss the proposed plans for a nursing home located on a five acre tract with a 440 ft. frontage on the North side of East 17th Street just East of Sand Creek on property known as the Hatch property. City E;ngineer David E. Benton showed the preliminary drawings. The nursing home is ,to be a single story, attractive unit, and a 110 bed facil1ty~ -rhe estimated cost is one million dollars. Construction can not begin until the nursing home has State approval. When asked about a beginning date, Mr. Call estimated that it probably would take eight months, but hopefully construction could begin during the later part of this calendar year. The Mayor expressed the thought that if such a project took place it would be after the finishing of East 17th Street and he was sure much objection would arise over breaking up the new road to install service lines. He asked that this be given consideration. Engineer Benton assured the Council that adequate service lines would be installed before the road was completed. Mr. Call explained that Don Bybee, developer, needed to have a letter of intent from the City of Ammon showing their willingness to change zones if approval of the project is granted. Mr. Call also explained that Don Bybee was a native of Idaho Falls and he and his partner, Mike Lee, planned to move from Boise back to this area to personally manage the facility. Mr. Call is involved in the project in no way except as realtor. The building will be about 1000' from Sand Creek and the property corner will be about 500' from the creek. Considerable discussion fol- lowed concerning the letter of intent, whether zone changes should be made now or preliminary work completed and wait for project approval, and the need for public hearing. Councilman Swensen asked for the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Mayor read their minutes of February 10, 1976. Attorney Smith asked if the facility would be a medical care center or a convales- cent type unit. He wondered if it were to be a medical care unit if there might be a possibility of emergency vehicles which the public could find objectionable. Mr. Call reported the facility is to be a convalescent type. Engineer Benton had notified Mr. Bybee that a zone change would e~tail a $15 fee to cover advertising costs and Mr. Bybee sent a check for $15 which was presented to the Council. The Mayor asked Attorney Smith for clarification of the correct legal procedures. The Attorney advised that no final approval.co~ld be given until a public hearing was held. The Mayor expressed that he approved of how another develope~, Dick Skidmore, had informally taken his plans out into the neghborhood to let the people know what he wanted to do. The Mayor recommended that this developer might do likewise to the people on 17th .Street. The Mayor asked Attorney Smith to draft a letter so that the developers could ge.t site approval and the City would go ahead with arranging a hearing. Councilwoman Dille voiced her opinion that a public hearing was necessary before a letter of intent could be written. Councilman Swensen agreed. Further discussion continued. The Mayor rec.ommended that the Council make plans to institute a change and the Attorney come up with some proper words for a letter to the effect that it was the Council's opinion that this would be a logical site for a nursing home, the building would be an asset to the community and approval for zone change would be granted subject to a public hearing. The Attorney suggested there should be a motion to this effect. Councilman Swensen: "I move that we approve the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission in regards to the nursing home North of 17th Street and that we Issue Mr. Call, Realtor, a letter of intent changing said 5 acre tract to Zone R3A to accommodate proposed nursing home subject to the positive hearing on the proposed change." Council- man Lee seconded the motion. Engineer Benton requested change in the wording of the motion from "positive" to "outcome of the". Councilman Swensen and Councilman Lee agreed to the change of wording. The Mayor called for further discussion. There was none so he called for a verbal vote on the motion. 166 (The Mayor expressed, in the interest of saving time at meetings, he would ask for a combined verbal vote of yes or no rather than ask each Council- person to vote individually. He had found nothing to indicate this was contrary to procedure.) Voting was all'in favor. Motion carried. Mr. Call thought a copy of the minutes of the Council Meeting would be sufficent for the developer. However, the Mayor requested a letter prepared by the Attorney and signed by himself. Discussion continued on when would be a satisfactory hearing date. Councilman Swensen' moved that a public hearing on the zone change be held March 16, 1976, at 8:00 P. M. at the City Building in connection with the Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting and that the developer pay the cost of advertising said meeting. Councilman Lee seconded the motion. The Mayor called for further discussion and a vote. All voted in favor-verbal yes. I Motion carried and the plans for the hearing are to go forward and the people on 17th Street notified. The Mayor expressed his opinion that, if a citizen took time to contact the City, the citizen should be heard--"our Council should take time to be sensitive." The Mayor read a letter from Diane Van Orden complaining about the garbage. Mayor W ehmann said he had written a memo and attached a copy of the Van Orden letter to Maintenance Supervisor Williams and his crew instructing them to use care at all times in garbage collection. A letter from Kris Smith was read. This letter was concerned with the dog and cat problem and side walk shoveling. A note stating Shauna Sauers had called in regarding the cat problem was read. Ammon has no ordinances on cats. Another note was read which stated Tim Nichols had reported the garbage men had taken two of his garbage cans, one a -regulation can and one a plastic kitchen can. Joe Winger also called to complain about the garbage. The Mayor ex- pressed the opinion that probably at times both the public and city employees I were at fault regarding garbage, however, he wanted the city employees to tighten up and be Sure they provided good service. , Roger Salvesen called in to complain about getting an illegal parking ticket - and wondered why he couldn't park in the street. By resolution the City has prohibited parking on certain streets. Councilwoman Dille will contact Mr. Salvesen. The Mayor read an invitation from the L. D. S. Social Services inviting the Council to all open hO\lse to acquaint the community with their services at their new location, 1420 Ea.st 17th Street, Suite B. The dates are March 4, 5, and 6. The times are from 12 Noon to 9:00 P. M. on March 4 and 5 and from 10:00 A. M. to 4:00 P. M. on March 6. The office of Crandall, Hinckley, and John did not appear to present the audit. The Auditors had a few questions they needed to discus,s with City Clerk Deon Hemingway prior to completing the audit. (Mrs Hemingway is on vacation until Friday, Feb. 20.) As soon as the completed audit is received, copies will be placed in the Councilperson's box and there wiIl be about a week for them to review. The Mayor called for Committee reports. Parks and Recreation: Councilman I Anderson had nothing to report except that he was working on the budget. Police and Fire Department: Councilwoman Dille reported that she had the contract from the Sheriff and it had been signed by the County Commissioners. Councilwoman Dille next reported in regard to the dog license fee and the possibility of charging a late fine, that her citizens' committee recommended - that the dog' license fee remain at $3 if a person obtained the license volun- tarily and no extra charge for purchasing after January 31. Councilman Swensen thought there ought to be more charged for female dogs. After discussion, it was brought out that during 1975 the license fee was $3 and so far in 1976 the fee has been $3. The policy of license charges should remain as the committee recommended. Councilwoman Dille further reported that her committee felt action needed to be taken on the dog problem and they I o 00 ~ CQ W ~ I I 1,67 recommended when citations are issued that the penalty should be greater. Their recommendation was to get at the offender through his pocketbook by increasing the fee to $10 for first offense plus $3 for a license if the dog doesn't have one and $6 to the Humane Society for impound fee; second offense $20 and third offense $40. Discus sion continued concerning fees and what happened to the dog. The Humane Society' has a supply of Ammon dog tags' at the pound. The citizens I committee further recommended that we adopt the contract with the County for animal control at a cost of $3, 467. Councilwoman Dille planned to continue work on this contract. After discussion everyone agreed that we are getting good value for the money invested in the contract, however it is not adequate to take care of the problem. A solution might be to look at paying the dog catcher extra money for extra service. Councilwoman Dille wanted to make a motion to change citation fines according to her committee recommendations. Much discussion followed concerning proper legal procedures. The Attorney advised that the City of Ammon can set bail on an offense but it cannot set a fine. The Magistrate Court has the power to levy the fine. The dog problem was tabled and the Mayor requested the Attorney to explore the legal routes and report back at the next meeting. Public Works: Councilman Lee was concerned with the action taken on those still not connected to the sewer. He requested clarification on whether the Attorney had contacted the owner, Verne Parrish, in Alaska or the renter, Manuel Rameriz. Councilman Lee also' wondered if any action had been taken on the Fred Blair case. Attorney Smith reported that criminal matters such as this would be handled by Gary Jensen, County Prosecuting. Mr. Jensen will take criminal action if the City of Ammon will file their complainL The Mayor asked that we get on with the action immediately. Councilman Lee made a report on the tree removal project. All the trees have been cut down except one --all that is left is stu'mps, and Ammon-Lincoln Road already looks better. Bonneville Council of Governments: Councilman Swensen reported that a meeting had been held the last Wednesday in January and another one is scheduled for the first part of March. The Transportation Advisory Committee had discussed 17th Street and Hitt Road extension at this meeting. Councilman Swensen advised that we should have a representative to this committee. T he Mayor asked for Councilman Lee and Councilwoman Dille's approval to appoint Councilman Swensen to be our representative to the Transportation Advisory Committee: Councilman Swensen said he is not always able fo get away from his job to attend the meetings and he requested that an Alternate Representative also be appointed. The Mayor appointed himself as 1st alternate arid Councilwoman Dille as 2nd alternate. MayorWehmann reported on his appearance at the Public Utilities Commission Hearing for Utah Power and Light Company rate increase. The Mayor was pleased about the newspaper coverage of the Hearing. The Council had each been given a copy of the Mayor's testimony. In addition to the testimonYl the Mayor also read at the Hearing a portion of a letter written by Carters on Sawtooth concerning the transformer problem in the area behind their house. The same day of the Hearing a representative of the Power Company came out to inspect the problem. The original letters sent by the public to the Mayor were presentedj to the Public Utilities Commission and copies of the letters are now 'on file in the City Office, and copies have been prepared for Utah Power. The Mayor re'quested the Council to make a recommendation if they wanted an Ammbn Hearing of the Public Utilities Commission on the Utah Power and Light rate increase. Councilman Lee moved that we request 1. P. U. C. to hold a hearing in the Ammpn area after 7:30 P. M. pertaining to their proposed rate increase of Utah Power" and Light Company. Councilman Anderson seconded the motion. The Mayor called for a vote. All voted in favor. Motion carried. The Mayor requested the Attorney to prepare a letter for the 1. P. U. C. The Attorney presented a resolution concerning the Utah Power and Light Hearing and it was read by the Mayor. The resolution follows: WHEREAS, the City of Ammon, Idaho, and the residents and citizens thereof, are customers of Utah Power & Light Company; and WHEREAS, the impact of an increase 'in rates, heretofore granted, has been substantial; and WHEREAS, there' are present proceedings'before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission for a further increase in rates, requested by Utah Power & Light Company; and WHEREAS, the citizens of Ammon should have an opportunity to be heard before the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Idaho, on the matter of such rate increase. 1 6'8 NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Ammon; 1. That the City Council do hereby express its opposition to any fu.rther rate increase to be granted to the Utah Power & Light Company, and that the r~te increases heretofore granted have seriously disrupted the budget of the City of Ammon and further increases would be difficult. 2. That the citizens of the City of Ammon should be given a reasonable opportunity to appear before the Public Utilities Commis sion, on the matter of such rate increase, and to be heard thereon, and that such hearing should be held within the area of the City Ammon, in the evening hours or at such time as the citizens thereof can be heard without taking I time from their employment. 3. That the City Council of the City of Ammon does respectively request that the Idaho Public Utilities Commission set a hearing upon the matter of such rate increases, within the area of the City of Ammon, at a time when the citizens thereof can reasonably be heard thereon. DATED this 18th day of February, 1976. Councilman Lee moved that the resolution be passed as written. Councilman Anderson seconded the motion. The Mayor called for further discussion and a vote of the Council. All voted in favor. Motion carried. The resolution prepared required the signature of Deon Hemingway, City Clerk. The Council asked if it would be possible in the absence o~ Mrs. Hemingway for Marian L. Perrenoud, Deputy Clerk, to sign. Mrs. Perrenoud signed the resolution and Attorney Smith agreed to make the nece~sary signature adjustments and get it mailed to the I. P. U. C. Mayor Wehmann asked for clarification on the claim signing procedure. He wondered if everyone on the Council needed to initial each claim or whether the committee was sufficient. Attorney Smith advised that it was enough to have commit t ee approval and the Mayor I s signature. The proced!-.lre .of approval is a protection for the City Clerk who dispurses the funds. At the last Council Meeting, the Council was concerned with who Clarence Rock I was and why he was listed as a city employee on the Association of Idaho Cities insurance claim. An explanation was made that Mr. Rock is an employee of tp.e City of Ucon but his insurance premium is submitted with our employees. The City of Ucon pays the premium to the City of Ammon. Mayor Wehmann requested that the office prepare a list of delinquent accounts for the City Council on the second meeting of the month. The list for February, 1976, was reviewed. It was noted that the list included an outstanding amount of approximately $800 for people who had moved away and approximately $1800 for people still receiving city services. One account--Lewis Nielsen, $91. 20 (sewer only), resides outside the city limits. It was recommended that an attempt be made to bring this account current immediately and then go to work on the inside the city delinquent accounts. The Mayor instructed the Attorney to write to Mr. Nielsen. Engineer Benton reported he had already talked to Mr. Nielsen but payment had pu;rposely been witheld because of a canplaint with Bonneville County. Mr. Nielsen agreed to pay the City of Ammon. The Attorney recommended the city notify the delinquent accounts that legal action would be taken if payment is not received by a ~ertain date. A list of those who didn It respond should then be turned over to the Attorney for action. When the Planning and Zoning Commission helq their meeting onFebruary 10, I 1976, they recommended that the City Council review the ordinances and up- date the Commission. Tom Chriswell, Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, was present during this discussion. Mayor Wehmann had re- searched the situation and made recommendations to the Council. Council- . . woman Dille was appointed to serve as City Council Representative on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Councilman Swensen moved that there be nine members on the Planning and Zoning Commission. The motion was seconded by Councilman Lee. Voting was all in favor. Motion carried. Council- man Swensen moved that the members of the Planning and Zoning Commission and their terms be approved as follows: I o 00 ~ CQ CI.J ~ I I 169 Name Term Expires Tom Chriswell, Chairman March 1, 1978 Paul Curtis, Vice Chairman March 1, 1979 Elaine McGary, Secretary March 1, 1977 Dick Kelly March 1, 1979 Dick Skidmore March 1, 1979 Earl McCoy March 1, 1978 Harvey Crandall March 1, 1977 Carol Dille, Council Rep. (Non-Voting) March 1, 1977 David Benton, City Engineer (Non-Voting) Vacancies: 1- 2. March 1, 1978 March 1, 1977 Councilwoman Dille seconded the motion. Voting was all in favor. Motion carried. Recommendations are needed for people to fill the two vacancies on the Commission. While Mr. Chriswell was present, the matter of the public hearing for the pro- posed nursing home was again reviewed. Discussion followed concerning who should call the hearing. The City ordinance was interpreted that the City Council has the right to call the hearing. Councilman Swensen moved to amend the motion made earlier in this meeting regarding the public hearing for the proposed nursing home scheduled for March 16, 1976, at 8:00 P. M. to read "hearing to be held be- fore the City Counci,1" instead of before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Motion was seconded by Councilman Lee. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Chairman Chriswell requested that a personal notice of the hearing be sent to all residents of the area surrounding the proposed nursing home. City Attorney Smith reported that the work on the updating of the ordinance book had been completed. He presentedl4copies of each correction for insertion in the copies of the ordinance books. He also requested that City Clerk Hemingway check and verify that all corrections had been included. Discussion was held on payment for the installation of water lines. City Engineer Benton explained that subdivision developers pay for any line up to 8" and for lines of larger sizes payment is to be requested of the City for the additional cost. Engineer Benton reported on the Romrell easement problem. Mr. Romrell did not sign the easement. A difference of opinion exists between city officials and Mr. Romrell, and Mr. Romrell feels he has been misre.presented. The City also has a water line on the ~omrell property. Engineer Benton recommended that the eilsement be .modifi.ed to include both water and sewer lines and make some provisions for lawn replacement. Decision was to table this problem to allow time for the Attorney to do some investigation. Technically the City should already have a water easement. Councilman Swensen reported he had previously worked on the problem and had secured the services of Mr. Ward, who was recom- mended by Mr. Romrell, to replant the lawn torn up by the sewer installation. The lawn has been planted but Mr. Ward has not been paid because Mr. Ward wants Mr. Romrell to be satisfied. The bill for grass planting is approximately $17 5. A 17th Street Construction Meeting has been scheduled for February 25, 1976, at 7:30 P. M. in the City Building. This is not a required meeting but a meeting to inform the citizens concerning the project and give them an opportunity to have their questions answered. All property owners on 17th Street will be notified individually. Notification to those living in Eastgate Mobile Homes will be given to Reese Brown. Notifications will be prepared and delivered by City Employees. Noting to report regarding Fiscal Operations. At future meetings the Council Representative to the Planning & Zoning Commission, Carol Dille; will report on their meetings. Mayor Wehmann presented Council members with a copy of "his first look at the budget." He encouraged them to study the budget carefully, to complete their budget figures, and to be prepared to push or pull to bring the budget into balance. 170 The Mayor proposed that discussion on the budget continue following the Construction Meeting on February 25. Also, he requested Engineer Bentcn to be prepared to discuss sewer and water rates and whether or not present rate is actually covering cost. Mr. Benton was asked to estimate the number of man hours necessary to operate the system. At the meeting following the Construction Meeting, the Mayor would also like to review and set up personnel policie s. Councilman Anderson advised that he had increased the propo sed budget figures for Parks & Recreation in the amount of $2625--$1325 for mower payment and $1300 miscellaneous. Councilwoman Dille wanted her fi,gures increased $500 for the fire department. I Discussion was held on newsletters. Each Councilperson was asked their opinion. Mayor Wehmann recommended that Councilman Swensen prepare his budget figures on the basis of six newsletter"s per year. Councilman Swensen called attention to information from AIC that legislation is still pending and encouraged increased support for House Bill 420. Engineer Benton called attention to a recent news release concerning the removal of the railroad line East of Ammon and wondered if the City had any interest. Claims were approved for payment prior to the beginning of the meeting. Councilman Lee moved that the meeting adjourn at 11:10 P. M. Councilman Swensen seconded the motion. 4~ ~<.7< CLERK ' '" ~.. // . ~l J / C).J? -r;..y---c;./ Il/ ~ ylUi .;"..i-7 MAYOR 1 CITY OF AMMON March 3, 1976 I Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council: The meeting was called to order at 7:40 P. M. by Mayor George Wehmann with the following City" Officials present: Mayor George Wehmann Councilman Marvin J. Anderson Councilwoman Carol A. Dille Councilman Francis Lee Absent: Councilman Russell N. Swensen Clerk Deon Hemingwav En,gineer David E. Benton Asst. Attorney Franklin Smith Maint. Supv. LaVern E. Williams (Illne s s) Others present during the meeting were LaDean Lee, John Homer, Phil Anderson, Vern Fowler, and Earl Foster. After the pledge of allegiance to the flag, the prayer was offered by Councilwoman Dille. The minutes of the meeting of February 18", 1976, were approved as typed. John Homer of the Homer-Koster Company met with the Council to review the city.s insurance coverage under the present pdlicy written by the Home Insurance Company, which expires on April 7. It was felt that the Council Fiscal Operations I Committee should study this matter and make a recommendation at the next meeting. . Phil Anderson of 2005 Dove Drive was given time to present information concern- ing a special meeting scheduled in the Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium on Saturday, March 25, for the purpose of acquainting the public with a proposed amendment to the U. S. Constitution, known as the Liberty Amendment. He encouraged the city officials to attend this meeting "which is ,.ponsored by the Freeman Institute. Vern Fowler, of Hartwell Excavating Company (now H-K Contractors, Inc.), the contractor for the recently completed Water and Sewer Project, answered