Council Minutes 04/19/1984
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April 19, 1984
CITY OF AMMON
April 19, 1984
261
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council:
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Mayor Russell N. Swensen, with the
following City Officials present:
Mayor Russell N. Swensen
Councilman Thayle D. Monson
Councilwoman Carol A. Dille
Councilman Merle J. Quigley
Absent: Councilman Robert D. Williamson
City Clerk Deon Hemingway
Public Works Director Hayse L. Whiteley
Planning Commission Member Wayne Harding
Others present during the meeting were Walter and Debbie Clapp, Clifford Long,
Loren Peterson, Kelly McKinlay, and Kurt Karg.
The pledge of allegiance to the flag was directed by Councilman Monson and the invoca-
tion was offered by Councilman Quigley. Minutes of the meeting of April 5, 1984, were
approved as prepared.
The meeting was opened as a public hearing on an application for a sideyard variance for
Walter and Debra Clapp of 2210 Dove Drive. It was noted that proper notice had been
given as required by law. There were no adjacent property owners present to make comment
for or against the proposal, and the public hearing was closed. The details of the re-
quest were reviewed by the City Council: The application asks for permission to build a
garage on the street side of a corner lot at the same angle as the existing residence and
"due to the shape of our lot and the way the house sits at an angle there is no other
place to build as convenient or as esthetically sound as this"; a sideyard of 30 feet on
the street side is specified in the zoning regulations for an R-l Zone; measurements
taken by the City Building Official indicated that the property line is 9 feet inside of
the curb and there would be 13 feet 9 inches from the curb to the proposed structure.
There was agreement that the construction of a garage at this location on the lot would
not be a problem for traffic visibility at the street intersection of Dove Drive and
Salmon Street, and the setback would be compatible with others in the neighborhood.
Councilman Quigley moved to grant the variance, and Councilwoman Dille seconded the
motion. Voting was Quigley yes, Dille yes, Monson yes; motion carried and variance
granted.
Clifford Long appeared and introduced himself as a candidate for County Commissioner in
the Primary Election that is coming up on May 22. He noted that he had served on the City
Council of a small city and realizes that a close working relationship between county and
city elected officials is needed.
According to Loren Peterson and Kelly McKinlay, residents in the Peterson Park area,
about ten of the trees in the park are not doing well or have been damaged and need to
be replaced. They explained that a volunteer group would do the planting if the City
could provide funds to buy new trees. Councilman Quigley moved to appropriate $200 maxi-
mum for a project to replace trees in Peterson Park with volunteer labor by the Ammon
4th Ward Elders. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Dille; voting was all in favor;
motion carried. The subject of getting some seedling trees to plant in a designated
area on City property for future transfer to parks was discussed.
Wayne Harding, representing the Planning and Zoning Commission, informed the Mayor and
Council that a public hearing to consider changes in the Comprehensive Plan map is
scheduled for the Commission's next meeting on May 8, 1984.
In response to an inquiry by Volunteer Fireman Kurt Karg, it was pointed out that the
City officials are still checking on fire truck costs and other aspects of upgrading the
Volunteer Fire Department before making a decision about a suggestion that the City join
the Bonneville Fire District. Mr. Karg commented on the need to continue the training
of the two City employees who have been assigned to help on daytime fire calls.
Councilwoman Dille reported that the Sheriff Department has made arrangements to conduct
a bicycle safety registration at the City Building this Saturday, April 21. She men-
tioned that she has been in contact with the County law enforcement about parking problems.
Information presented by Councilman Quigley regarding parks and recreation indicated
that the ball diamonds in the parks are being worked on, there are Boy Scouts who are
interested in a project of making improvements on the McCowin Park picnic shelter, and
that most people that he has talked to feel that there are adequate summer recreational
activities in the City. Councilman Quigley noted that applications for pool manager for
this season have been reviewed, and he moved that Blair Thomas be hired for this position.
Councilman Monson seconded the motion and it was passed by unanimous vote.
Items brought to the attention of the Mayor and Council by Public Works Director Hayse
Whiteley were in connection with the sewage outflow meter, problems with littering where
dumpsters are located, and repairs on water lines and sewer mains.
Mayor Swensen noted that there has not been any response from LaVaun S. Merrill regarding
the Falcon Park property. He mentioned that he intends to write to the State Legislators
from this district to express thanks for their support of the sales tax revenue for
cities. With reference to the irrigation ditch between the school and the church that
are on Central Avenue, a subject on which there has been some inquiry recently, the
A'pril 19, 1984
May], 1984
262
Mayor pointed out that he checked the School Board minutes and the City was not mentioned
as being involved in getting the ditch covered several years ago.
Claims to pay in the amount of $14,134.57 and vouchers for expenditures since the pre-
vious meeting totaling $7,100.79 were presented and approved.
A motion to adjourn was made by Councilwoman Dille and seconded by Councilman Monson;
voting was all in favor; the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 P.M.
ATrEST, ~~
CI 't'( CLERK
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CITY OF AMMON
May 3, 1984
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council:
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Mayor Russell N. Sw'ensen with the
following City Officials present:
Mayor Russell N. Swensen
Councilman Merle J. Quigley
Councilman Robert D. Williamson
Councilwoman Carol A. Dille
Absent: Councilman Thayle D. Monson
Others present during the meeting were Margaret Cuda, 240 Ronglyn, Idaho Falls; Judy
Yela, 387 Montcliffe, Idaho Falls; Lee Dille, 3095 Central Ave., Ammon; and Tim
Ingram of the Volunteer Fire Department.
The pledge of allegiance to the flag was directed by Councilman Quigley and the invo-
cation was given by Councilwoman Dille.
The first item of business was a public hearing on an application for variance filed
by Margaret Cuda, the owner of a parcel of residential property located on the north
side of Molen Street between Central Avenue and Meadow Lane. Mayor Sw'ensen called
attention to the procedures required for conducting a public hearing as required by
law, and pointed out that the meeting had been properly advertised and notice was
given to the adjacent property owners. It was noted that the lot, which is a portion
of Lot 5 Block 9 Original Townsite, is 72 feet wide and is in the R-l Zone where the
minimum width is supposed to be 80 feet, so a variance of 8 feet was being requested.
Mrs. Cuda explained that she had acquired the property in lieu of a debt, and she
would like to have the variance to make the lot saleable as a residential building
site. Lee Dille stated that he is a neighboring property owner and wanted to go on
record as being in favor of the proposal with no objections. It was also made a
matter of record that a letter was received from Rex Purcell, who lives in Nevada
but is the owner of the adjoining lot at 3415 Molen Street, registering objection on
the basis that it would not be in the best interest of the adjacent property owners.
There was discussion regarding the distance to the homes on each side and the location
of an existing garage that is right up to the property line on the lot to the west,
which is allowed by the zoning for a detached garage built 12 feet or more behind the
house that faces on Central Avenue. Mr. Dille asked if the concerns of the Purcells
could be eased by making a stipulation that there cannot be any variance given on
setbacks when a building is put on the property. Further information presented by
Mrs. Cuda indicated that the resident to the west wants to buy the land to use as it
is without building on it but is not able to do so at this time and will not know for
several months whether or not he can make the purchase. Hayse Whiteley pointed out
as City Building Official that there would be no problem building a house as wide as
57 feet on a lot with 72 feet of frontage and still meet all of the front-yard,
back-yard, and side-yard setbacks. There being no further comments, the hearing was
closed.
City Clerk Deon Hemingway
Public Works Director Hayse
Engineer David E. Benton
Attorney W. Joe Anderson
L. Whiteley
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The Council members proceeded to deliberate on the variance request for Margaret Cuda,
on which the public hearing was just completed. Councilman Williamson questioned
whether a variance could be granted inasmuch as the property was part of a larger lot
until fairly recently, and the City ordinance, Section 11-7-8-2(5) states that evi-
dence must find that the hardship (in this case narrowness of the lot) "has not been
caused by an action of the property owner taken after the effectiveness of this
ordinance". Councilwoman Dille and Councilman Quigley reasoned that the narrowness
had not been caused by action of the present owner who took the land in settlement of
a debt, but was because of the division of the lot by those who had possession in the
past. A suggestion that the owner try to buy additional footage on the west to make
the lot wider was acknowledged to not be feasible since it would create a problem of
accessibility to the existing garage on the neighbor's land. Reference was made by
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