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Council Minutes 07/26/2001 CITY OF AMMON July 26, 2001 Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Mayor and the City Council: The meeting was called to order by Mayor C. Bruce Ard at 7:30 P.M. in the City Building, 2135 South Ammon Road, Ammon, Idaho, with the following City Officials present: Mayor C. Bruce Ard Councilmember W. Lee Bean Council member Harvey L. Crandall Councilmember Leslie Folsom Councilmember Ira K. Hall Attorney W. Joe Anderson Engineer Bill Manwill Fire Chief Clarence Nelson City Clerk Aleen C. Jensen Others Present: Alan Cunningham, Mountain River Engineering Tom Hunsaker, 2925 Carolyn Lane, Ammon 8g1. Greg Black Robert and Paula Loveland, 2795 Romrell Lane, Ammon Absent: David Wadsworth, Public Works Director Mayor Ard led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Council member Bean offered a prayer. Councilmember Crandall moved to approve the Findings of Fact and Conclusions as prepared by Attorney Anderson for the Knight Nuisance Hearing held July 12, 2001. Councilmember Bean seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Crandall - Yes; Bean - Yes; Hall - Yes. The motion carried. A copy of the finding should be mailed to Knights and to their attorney. The thirty (30) days starts as of the date of the hearing, July 12. Councilmember Bean moved to approve the minutes of City Council Meeting held June 7, 2001. Councilmember Hall seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Bean - Yes; Hall- Yes; Crandall- Yes. The motion carried. Bonneville Land and Title has requested a full release of the Anderson Lumber Development Agreement recorded on October 7, 1994, under Instrument No. 887090 and a partial release of the Arave Construction Development Agreement recorded on January 2, 2001, under Instrument No. 1037944. The two development agreements concern the same property. The partial release is for Lot 1, Block 7, Oak City Council Meeting, July 26,2001 - Page 2 Ridge Division No.1, and it is being developed by Sonic Drive-In. It was not known how the two agreements compare or what should or should not be released and why. Following a discussion, Council member Crandall moved to take no action on the request of Bonneville Land and Title pending a review of the why and wherefore of the development agreements. Council member Bean seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Crandall - Yes; Bean - Yes; Hall- Yes. The motion carried. Daniel M Bare has offered to purchase the 1977 Dodge pickup, which was declared surplus, for $40.00. The pickup has very little value for the City. Councilmember Crandall moved to accept the offer of $40.00 from Daniel M. Bare for the 1977 Dodge pickup. Council member Hall seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Crandall - Yes; Hall - Yes; Bean - Yes; The motion carried. Dennis Vance, a former employee, has filed a tort claim against the City because he was discharged. He would like his job back. He was the last employee hired to work on the garbage truck, and there was concern about budget funds for a third employee on the truck. It was not working out as well as hoped. When he was let go, the employee was advised it was because of funding. There was more to the issue than funding, but problems were not documented. Attorney Anderson advised the Council to deny the claim and to refer it to the insurance company. Councilmember Hall moved to deny the tort claim for Dennis Vance and to refer it to Idaho Counties Risk Management (ICRMP), the City's insurance carrier. Councilmember Crandall seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Hall - Yes; Crandall - Yes; Bean - Yes. The motion carried. The City Council meetings for August were rescheduled. If the meetings were rescheduled, the Council could get back into their two-week rotation. The Council agreed to meet on Thursday August 9 and Thursday August 23 at the regular time of 7: 30 p.m. The tentative budget for FY2002 will be ready for approval on August 23. The Fire Department has scheduled a summer Bar-B-Q for Saturday, August 11 at 5:00 p.m. All the City officials and City employees are invited. Council member Bean pointed out that some speed limit signs have been posted, which read "25 mph unless posted otherwise". They seem to be causing confusion because people see 25 miles per hour and then 40 miles per hour. There were six signs posted. They are located on all the major streets coming into the City--one coming from Crowley Road, two on the intersection of 1 ih Street and Ammon Road, one coming on 1 ih Street by Albertsons, one on Sunnyside Road, and one by the railroad tracks on Sunnyside Road coming west. There are two more being built for Sunnyside Road and Ammon Road. Each one of the signs has the correct speed limit posted directly after except for Sunnyside Road. Council member Bean wondered if there was something to do to not cause the confusion. The City City Council Meeting, July 26,2001 - Page 3 ordinances state the speed limit on city streets is 25 miles per hour. This would cover residential streets where they are not posted. Sg1. Black and Public Works Director Wadsworth discussed the issue with the Council. Sg1. Black suggested on Ammon Road to move the speed limit sign farther north in conjunction with a 'Welcome to Ammon" sign. One area of confusion is on 1 ih Street because there are three signs close together. The Council agreed the 'Welcome to Ammon" sign would be a good idea, and it would help identify the City limits. Public Works Director Wadsworth was authorized to get some "Welcome to Ammon" signs. Sg1. Black reported on an incident with youth painting graffiti on the Peterson Park Well house. They were caught and the punishment was to scrub the graffiti off. They were youth who live within a block or two of the area. One was involved with the sprinkler incident last summer. Council member Folsom arrived at the meeting. She was late due to a conflict with another meeting. Attorney Anderson introduced Ordinance No. 291, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF AMMON, BONNEVILLE COUNTY, IDAHO, VACATING AND CLOSING A PORTION OF A PUBLIC STREET AND RIGHT-OF-WAY IN THE CITY OF AMMON, COUNTY OF BONNEVILLE, STATE OF IDAHO, PARTICULARLY DESCRIBING SAID PORTION OF THE STREET AND RIGHT-OF-WAY TO BE VACATED; AUTHORIZING THE VACATION OF SUCH PORTION OF THE RIGHT-OF-WAY AND STREET; DECLARING THAT THE VACATED PORTION OF SAID STREET REVERT TO THE OWNERSHIP OF THE ADJOINING OWNERS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (Vacating Judy Street in Olson Park) The ordinance was read in full. Council member Folsom moved to dispense with the rule requiring the ordinance to be read on three different days and the three readings of Ordinance No. 291 be waived. Councilmember Crandall seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Crandall - Yes; Bean - Yes; Hall- Yes. The motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Folsom read Ordinance No. 291 by title and moved its adoption as an ordinance of the City of Ammon on its third and final reading. Councilmember Crandall seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Crandall - Yes; Bean - Yes; Hall - Yes. The motion carried unanimously. Mayor Ard signed the deeds to transfer the ownership to the two owners involved. The deeds are to be recorded at the Bonneville County Recorder's office. Attorney Anderson introduced Ordinance No. 292, AN ORDINANCE ANNEXING CERTAIN LANDS TO THE CITY OF AMMON, BONNEVILLE COUNTY, IDAHO; DESCRIBING WITH PARTICULARITY SAID LANDS TO BE ANNEXED AND City Council Meeting, July 26, 2001 - Page 4 HEREBY ANNEXED AND DECLARING SAID LANDS A PART OF THE CITY OF AMMON, BONNEVILLE COUNTY, IDAHO; DETERMINING THE PROPER ZONING FOR CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANNEXED LANDS AND TERRITORY UNDER THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF AMMON, IDAHO; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE FOR THIS ORDINANCE AND OF THE ANNEXATION OF SAID LANDS. (THE COTTAGES DIVISION NO.2) The ordinance was read in full. It covers a strip of 2.3 acres along the west side of The Cottages Division No.2, which was inadvertently left out of the original annexation. Regarding Ordinance No. 292, as introduced by Attorney Anderson and read in full, Council member Folsom moved that the City Council dispenses with the rule requiring the reading of the ordinance on three different days and that the three readings be waived. Council member Crandall seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Crandall - Yes; Bean - Yes; Hall- Yes. The motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Folsom moved the adoption of Ordinance 292 as an ordinance of the City of Ammon on its third and final reading. Councilmember Crandall seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Crandall - Yes; Bean - Yes; Hall - Yes. The motion carried unanimously. Mayor Ard reported that he, David Wadsworth, Bill Manwill, and the developers met up at the Bit 0' Heaven well site. They discussed the booster pump at the bottom of the hill. The booster pump will push water up the hill so there will be adequate water for fires and whatever. If the well happens to go down, we can push water up from our system. The water pressure should be adequate. Regarding the storage tank, there is nothing there high enough to do much more good than where the well is. It would need to be 250 feet higher, and the developers do not own property only about 80 feet higher. A storage tank by the well would serve all of Ammon. Engineer Manwill explained the details. The pump they are looking at will be the one they need to serve their development for they are designing for peak demand. At off peak demand times the well will fill the storage tank. The water comes off the well and goes into the pressure tank. Once the pressure tank is charged it will by-pass and go into the storage tank. If the power goes down, the storage tank is going to pressurize the entire water system with the exception of Quail Ridge. The pump up there would need auxiliary power. There is enough room on the well lot for the well, the pressure tank, and the storage tank. The water system study will help us determine our needs. One of the things discussed was the houses they are building up there will probably need water for settling and other things. The booster pump will be in, but if the other pump is not up and running as soon as they need water, the developers wonder if it would be a problem to push some water up there. Mayor Ard did not see it as a big problem. The booster pump is at the end of The Cottages Division NO.1. It pulls water from Mason Street and probably from Well NO.5 and Well NO.8. City Council Meeting, July 26, 2001 - Page 5 Well No.8 has been down. It is believed that lightening damaged it. The claim in the amount of $6,800.00 for repairs is to be submitted to our insurance carrier. The projections on the Bit O' Heaven well are that the tests will start September 1. Alan Cunningham of Mountain River Engineering explained the time frames. Council member Folsom reminded that the houses under construction would need to start paying the City of Ammon for water after four months. The well lot has not yet been deeded to the City of Ammon. The annexation ordinance is ready for completion as soon as the City receives the deed to the property. Attorney Anderson received on e-mail back from Marty Frantz in response to the letter which he sent regarding Palisades Park water and sewer fees discussed by the Council at the last meeting. Mr. Frantz is the actual person in charge for the development. He said he did not think we needed to get any attorney involvement. He preferred to talk to someone from the City. Copies of the e-mail response were given to the Mayor and Councilmember Folsom. Attorney Anderson recommended that it would be appropriate for the Council to make a decision and then have the Mayor or Councilmember Folsom or both call Mr. Frantz. Council member Folsom prefers to have a conference call with our attorney in the background. The resolution needs to be amended to eliminate meter rates for residential water. According to Attorney Anderson there is still some area of determination as to phasing in to give Palisades Park the chance to recover the cost of the meters that they installed. It is an open issue that we were talking to them about. That is one of the points still subject to discussion. Attorney Anderson understood the feeling of the Council was that there should be some phasing in. It was determined the meters cost $21,000 plus installation. The cost was validated with H&K Contractors. Councilmember Folsom stated that we just need to tell them that we will take it against their bill until it is used up. It would take about a year to recoup. Council member Folsom will make arrangements to talk to Mr. Frantz. The only way to fix the drainage problem at Fox Hollow is with a French drain. It cost about $3,000 for the one we did on Ross Avenue. It is believed there is only a necessity for one drain on the west side. The Fox Hollow improvement drawings did not include a French drain so the developer did not include one. There is a drainage problem. Council member Bean recommended that the City put in a drain because the developer is not going to assume responsibility now. It was decided to go ahead and try to do a French drain before fall. Funds could be budgeted in the water department Mayor Ard had some proposals, which would have impact on the way we plan the budget. He proposed to move Jason Clapp to be over the streets so the signs we talked about, roadside maintenance, pothole patching, etc. is his responsibility and he is accountable for it. This would take some responsibility off of Public Works Director David Wadsworth and get some other people responsible. He will still work through City Council Meeting, July 26, 2001 - Page 6 David. Jason was willing to do that, and he thought it was a good idea. Jason will put his priorities together to work on, and David will have to make sure that he gets what he needs. The two part time parks people that we hired this year were good. We would need to hire someone full time to be over parks. The Mayor has someone interested in the parks job. Also, we need to budget for another man in the sanitation department. This was the Mayor's idea for rearranging personnel. He talked to the people affected before he talked to the Council. It was not definite how fast we can do the rearranging because we have to cover it in the budget. Plans are to buy another garbage truck. Council member Hall asked for some clarification of one more garbage truck and only one more employee. If we had another truck and another man, we could go do dumpsters. Once we got in rotation, one man would be taking the truck to empty it and the others would be collecting garbage. We think that we could make it work for awhile. Down the road we may need another complete crew. We will have to watch the growth. Councilmember Folsom suggested hiring a part time garbage truck driver in the summer and utilizing the park people for the winter. The person we are looking at for the parks will be able to do our mechanic work. We are going to save money in other areas. The details will have to be worked out as we go, and we may have to adjust. Public Works is really getting two extra full time employees. The Council agreed with the Mayor's ideas. Councilmember Folsom recommended that the sanitation crew be encouraged not to throw garbage cans. It should not be too difficult to stand the can up on the curb after if is emptied. Council member Folsom reported that Bud Langerak wanted her to put police employees on the agenda. He planned to attend the meeting, but he had to attend another meeting out of town. He will try to be at the next meeting. The Bonneville County Sheriff's Department is looking at a 6% increase in their contract. They won't include the 911 expense this year. Also, an additional officer would be $10,000. Council member Folsom would like to add an extra officer if we can or at least to include it as negotiable in the agreement. Council member Bean commented. He would like to see another police officer here, but he is very skeptical if the County can get us another full time officer for $10,000 per year. Another thing, we have no verification that they are going to be within the City limits full time. We are paying $30,000 for Sgt. Black or $130,000 over the next few years. We are only going to pay $10,000 for the next officer. Something does not make sense. Council member Folsom said we are already paying part of another officer's salary through the outside staff hours. According to the report, Sgt. Black is spending lots of hours. Councilmember Crandall stated that it is hard for us to continue this police escalation. Council member Bean said he did not see how we City Council Meeting, July 26, 2001 - Page 7 could increase the law enforcement cost 6%. In the budgeting we have been looking at a 3% increase. A 6% increase is over the cost of living. The $10,000 is over and above the 6% so we are looking at about 13% increase. Councilmember Hall said he was not speaking for the Sheriff's Department, but City of Ammon has grown in the last six years. According to the 1990 census, Ammon's population was 5002, and in 2000 the census showed our population to be 6187. With all the development, it is hard to believe that we haven't grown more. Council member Bean would like to know how they clock the hours for the officer's time in Ammon. Councilmember Folsom said she presented the information on law enforcement for the Council to think about so that we can negotiate. Councilmember Folsom would like to get with Planning and Zoning to get all the County islands within the City of Ammon annexed. She would like to see it done before the new Legislature meets because they may again try to adjust annexation procedures. Councilmember Folsom reported the Fire Department would like to have a summer party. Chief Nelson has already set the party for August 11. They would like to budget $100 to $200 for the party. The Council did not have a problem with using funds for a party for the volunteers. Chief Nelson said $150 would probably be enough to cover the expense. Mayor Ard explained what has been done about the Knight's nuisance hearing. We have sent them Findings of Fact and Conclusion to justify the Council's decision. They have thirty (30) days to take action or to appeal. The thirty days counts from the date on the Findings. Attorney Anderson advised the Council to wait and see what happens before we decide upon any action to take. Knight's attorney indicated they would probably appeal. Attorney Anderson explained the procedures to the Lovelands. The time frame is being watched. Lovelands are especially anxious because they thought there was a time frame of June 1. The next appeal is to the Court. Reports: Chief Nelson reported for the Fire Department. The Bureau of Land Management is in big trouble with the forest fires in Jackson Hole. They are in need of structural equipment and manpower. Our volunteers want to go. The Council questioned whether Ammon had enough equipment or enough firemen to go help. There was a discussion about the advisability of providing help. It is a long way to take the equipment, and we would need to have adequate coverage for our home base. There was not authorization to respond to Jackson Hole for equipment. The volunteers could respond, if they wanted to, provided we had staffing in Ammon. Sgt. Black is extra hot in the Fire Station. He would like some type of air conditioning. City Council Meeting, July 12, 2001 - Page 8 Chief Nelson reported on fire calls. It has been fairly quiet. There have been a couple of false alarms. The Council inquired about the ordinance on false alarms. It was discussed but not passed. It was determined action should be taken to get the ordinance in place. The Clerk was instructed to schedule the false alarm ordinance for the next City Council meeting. Our fire hydrants are checked twice a year. If there are any broken fire hydrants, they need to be fixed. There is one hydrant by Kmart that needs to be repaired. Councilmember Folsom expressed concern about the access for the new Sonic Drive-In. Councilmember Bean assured that the access would be all right because it will self regulate. The access on Curlew Drive nearest 1 ih Street will be both an entrance and an exit. Some adjustments may need to be made, but everyone is aware of the situation. Councilmember Bean recalled that at the last Council meeting we talked about DEQ's requirement to comply with Idaho Storm Water Best Management Practices. We were unsure about just what that involved. Interesting enough, there is a training meeting coming up in August in Boise. It should be worthwhile for David Wadsworth to attend. However, David plans to be on vacation at that time. Engineer Manwill explained that DEQ has implemented the regulations, but they do not have a lot of staff to do the enforcement. At a meeting he attended, it was indicated it would be quite some time before there would be enforcement on storm drains. On best management practices the only impact the City may see is regarding French drains. They are going to be requiring a filter system for French drains and that they be registered. Engineer Manwill's assessment is that DEQ has regulations but doesn't have the staff to do anything about it except the real serious problems like grease traps, grease pits, and cesspools. They are trying to get a little help by requiring entities to use the best management practices. It is not a threat yet. Councilmember Bean reported that Geoffrey Pond, 4280 Wanda Street, has done a substantial amount of work and planning on Babe Ruth diamonds and baseball diamonds. We discussed potentially having a Babe Ruth diamond in the Eagle Pointe park. Mr. Pond would like to be involved in the planning. He thinks it would be an extremely high benefit to the community. Council member Folsom took park plans over to Lee Gagner. He agreed to help with the design plans. He was told that a Babe Ruth diamond was a number one priority. Other ideas were a soccer field, a parking area on each side, and a walking path going through to Crowley with an access from the south. Council member Bean's suggestion was to let Lee Gagner work on the planning, but when it comes to the actual construction and layout let's get Geoffrey Pond involved. He definitely wants to be involved, and he has the ability to rally troops around him to get things done. He is the one who has done the majority of the work on the Hillcrest High School ball diamond. It is an extremely good field. ------1 City Council Meeting, July 26, 2001 - Page 9 When Council member Bean and the City Clerk were working on the budget, it was noted that Jennifer Kerner, manager of the swimming pool has not had a raise for several years. She has a big responsibility, and she deserves an increase. Most of the pool revenue comes from lessons. Jennifer does a good job. It was agreed to provide for a raise in the budget. Councilmember Hall reported Jared Judy had done some disc work on the Eagle Pointe park. Mayor Ard agreed to contact him about doing some more. The next thing we need to do is some grading. The area that needs to be graded has had some disc work done. It was agreed to get the rest of the disc work done and then decide about the grading. Once the park is graded, we need to be ready to put the sprinkler system in. The sprinkler system at Stanley Cramer's, which was authorized to take the place of his irrigation ditch, is almost completely installed. Engineer Manwill pointed out that City of Idaho Falls has not included all of the Quail Ridge/21 st Street annexation in Ammon's sewer service area. A letter was sent to Chad Stanger, Public Works Director for the City of Idaho Falls, to request the addition but he has not responded. They did receive the letter of request because they called the City Office to get copies of the annexation ordinances for the areas involved. Councilmember Bean agreed to follow up. A number of people have complained about the weeds on the property to be developed as Ammon Ranch. A contact was made with Sandra Steele and she agreed to alert the owner. The owner called to say that he would get someone to take care of the weeds. Mark Johnson has some of his material and/or equipment stored on the property, and he may be able to do something about the weeds. An inquiry has been received about a church group wanting to know what steps to take to develop a facility on the north side of 21st Street in the Quail Ridge area. The property, which they are considering, is in the area annexed to the City of Ammon. They should be directed to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The restrooms on the back of the swimming pool are available for use by groups using the McCowin Park shelter. A restroom key is available at the City Office that will open the facilities at both McCowin Park and Peterson Park. Claims were approved. Councilmember Bean moved to adjourn the meeting and Councilmember Hall seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned. Attest Mayor