05212009CouncilMinutes
CITY OF AMMON
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009
AGENDA:
CITY OF AMMON
2135 SOUTH AMMON ROAD
CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009 – 7:30 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER:
Mayor Bruce Ard at 7:30 p.m.
Pledge of Allegiance – Councilmember Kirkham
Prayer – Councilmember Waite
MINUTES:
ITEMS FROM MAYOR:
Councilmember Ellis Resignation and Direction for Seat 6 Vacancy*
CONSENT AGENDA:
Business License
Accounts Payable – Exhibit A
ITEMS FOR/FROM TREASURER:
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
None
PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA:
ACTION ITEMS:
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1.
Change Order #1 – Ammon South 45 Transmission Lines - PRV Vault and PRV Station at Well #11 (Lance)*
2.Ord. 473 Rezone Oak Ridge Division 2, Block 7, Lots 14 & 15 from R-1 to HC-1 (Ron)*
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
1.Sunnyside Road Closure (Lance)
2.Falcon Park Access (Randy/Ken/Scott)*
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3.Hillcrest High School – McCowin Park July 4 Fund Raiser (Leslie/Ron)
4.Founders Point Water Update (Lance)
5.Misc.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
1. Idaho Code 67-2345 Subsection 1 (f) (Scott/Ron)
MINUTES
City Officials Present:
Mayor Bruce Ard
Councilmember Dana Kirkham
Councilmember Lee Bean
Councilmember Brian Powell
Councilmember Randy Waite
Councilmember Rex Thompson
City Attorney Scott Hall
City Clerk Leslie Folsom
City Treasurer Jennifer Belfield
City Engineer Lance Bates
City Officials Absent:
Councilmember D. Ray Ellis
City Planning Director Ron Folsom
City Council Minutes 5-21-2009 Page 1 of 7
Mayor Ard opened the meeting at 7:38 p.m. at the City Office Building located at 2135 South Ammon Road.
Councilmember Kirkham led the Pledge of Allegiance and Councilmember Waite offered a prayer.
MINUTES:
None
ITEMS FROM MAYOR: Councilmember Ellis Resignation and Direction for Seat 6 Vacancy*:
Mayor
Ard asked the Council to think if they would like to fill the seat now or wait for the election in November.
Councilmember Kirkham asked if we could appoint a person nominated right after the election. Scott said the
Mayor, at any time including now, can appoint someone to serve until January. An example would be waiting until
the election has been canvassed, then the Mayor can appoint the winner to the Council in November, who would
assume his or her regular term in January.
CONSENT AGENDA:
CITY OF AMMON
BUSINESS LICENSE CONSENT AGENDA
Thursday May 21, 2009
License applications, carrying the required documents, pending approval of the City Council:
GENERAL BUSINESS LICENSE:
1.NEWGENERAL BUSINESS LICENSE APPLICATION:
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A.Scott, Abby – Daycare Employee/Sunny Day’s Daycare – 4366 E. 17 Street
B.Sno-Shack – Mobile Vendor – Eagle Pointe Plaza
C.Cool Treats – Mobile Vendor – P.O. Box 1683, Idaho Falls, ID. 83403
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D.AT&T Mobility – Cell Tower – 4381 S. 25 E.
2.RENEWALBUSINESS LICENSE APPLICATION:
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A.Elite Talent Agency – Talent Agency – 3544 E. 17 Street
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B.American Promotional Events/K-Mart – Retail Sale of Safe & Sane Fireworks – 3101 E. 17 Street
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C.Stacci Lache’s Ice Cream – Mobile Vendor – 495 E. 17 Street
D.Parley’s Mercantile & Gun Shop – Retail Sales – 3890 E. Sunnyside Rd.
E.New Beginnings Care Facility, LLC – Assisted Living – 2085 & 3206 Avocet Drive
F.Walker, Robert & Rebecca – McCowin Park Concession Stand – McCowin Park
HOME OCCUPATION PERMITS:
1.NEW HOME OCCUPATION PERMITS:
A.Trosper, Whitney – E-Commerce – 2626 Fieldstone Drive
B.Summers, Nathan – E-Commerce – 4130 Wanda
C.Southwick Black Belt Academy – Martial Arts Instruction – 2250 Bittern
LIQUOR/BEER/WINE WITH GENERAL BUSINESS LICENSE:
1.NEW LIQUOR/BEER/WINE WITH GENERAL BUSINESS LICENSE:
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A.Evans, Ryan – Bartender/Carino’s – 2833 S. 25 E.
2.RENEWAL LIQUOR/BEER/WINE WITH GENERAL BUSINESS LICENSE:
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A.Duran, Brigido – Bartender/Sol Rio – 2635 S. 25 E.
Business License: Councilmember Powell motioned to approve the consent agenda business licenses
as presented. Councilmember Kirkham seconded. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Powell – Yes, Councilmember
Kirkham – Yes, Councilmember Bean – Yes, Councilmember Waite – Yes, and Councilmember Thompson – Yes.
The motion passed.
Accounts Payable – Exhibit A: Councilmember Kirkham motioned to approve the accounts payable as
presented. Councilmember Waite seconded. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Kirkham – Yes, Councilmember
Waite – Yes, Councilmember Powell – Yes, Councilmember Thompson – Yes, and Councilmember Bean – Yes.
The motion passed.
City Council Minutes 5-21-2009 Page 2 of 7
ITEMS FOR/FROM TREASURER:
Jennifer stated she had no new items, at this time.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
None
PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA:
Max Bosworth, 510 Matchpoint said it
smells of cronyism with Ray Ellis. He has talked with Lance and Lance informed him that no one from public
works applied for the job. Ray has no background in public works and Max feels that it’s a conflict for a building
contractor to do public works. There are two guys who have worked for the City for 20 plus years with experience.
He stated he knows that Rick and Jason didn’t apply. Councilmember Kirkham said Rick and Jason were asked to
apply but they didn’t. Max said he was told that was not the case. It looks like a job was created for the position.
Councilmember Kirkham stated that she was part of the process and there were over 50 applicants and there was a
blind file to sort the applications. These applications were narrowed down to 10, of which, 5 went to interviews.
Mr. Ellis was not in the first grouping. There was nothing to the City’s satisfaction with the first five so they went
through the applications again and chose the next group and Ray came out the most qualified for the job. The City
did have reservations for offering him the job for all the political ramifications and public opinion but at the end of
the day either you sleep at night because you satisfied public opinion or you sleep at night because you gave the best
candidate for the job. This is a Public Works Manager which is a level two position which will answer to the City
Engineer and it is a crew chief position. Rick and Jason were encouraged to apply but the overtime would go away
and they probably felt they could make more money staying where they are. The City has discussed this position for
a couple of years now and Lance can’t do his plan reviews, etc because he is taking care of snow plow crews or
water pressure in the summer. We are at a point where it has become truly needed. Max feels that developers
should have been out of the application process since they just care about development. Councilmember Bean asked
if this is an issue because it is Mr. Ellis or because he is a building contractor. Max said he cannot believe there
wasn’t a better choice. Councilmember Bean said the second most qualified individual had a building contractor
background also and if we had hired the second choice, you would have still had a problem. Councilmember
Kirkham said there were 50 plus applicants for the job, which was a lot of applicants.
Dwayne Davis, 3110 Fennec said he was one of the applicants for the job and he has no public works
experience but he has worked with Cities for over 20 years. He questions whether Ray Ellis had experience over the
other ones because he actually knew of one that had water and wastewater experience. Councilmember Bean said
he would defer to Council that commenting on this might not be appropriate in a public setting. He recommends
that a one on one discussion would be better and then it could be discussed where you qualifications fell short but
commenting on another’s qualification would be with that person. Mr. Davis stated from his side it looks like an
inside thing. Councilmember Kirkham said the City was concerned, as well, and thought of not offering Ray the job
because of how it looked but he was highly qualified. Dwayne apologized if he offended anyone. Scott asked who
the four or five other concerned individuals were. Dwayne said he would rather not say in their absence, but one
was a personal friend who applied and didn’t get a call back. One of the other individuals was Bob Klingler who
was one of those who asked Mr. Davis to address the Council, who has had water and wastewater experience. He
ran Larson Farms entirely and that makes him wonder. Councilmember Kirkham said she did not say there were no
qualified applicants but did say there were very few with public works experience and sited there was one with
water experience. Scott said it is very difficult to lose a valuable Councilmember because Ray was doing an
excellent job on the Council.
Brett Skidmore, 3920 E. Sunnyside stated he has worked with Ray Ellis on the Home Builders Assoc.
and whenever anything came up concerning the City of Ammon he has excused himself 100% and made it very
clear he cannot voice his opinion and has protected that line very well.
ACTION ITEMS:
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1. Change Order #1 – Ammon South 45 Transmission Lines - PRV Vault and PRV Station at Well #11
(Lance)*:
Lance explained this is an updated price which installs the pressure reducing value that will allow
Well 11 to pump directly into the system. The cost is $35,670. Mayor Ard said the way it was designed it would
not pump directly into the system without this change. Lance said it was designed to pump to the tank but not the
system and the valve will allow it to bypass the tank and go to the system.
City Council Minutes 5-21-2009 Page 3 of 7
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Councilmember Bean motioned to approve Change Order #1 Ammon South 45 Transmission Lines PRV
Vault and PRV Station at Well 11. Councilmember Waite seconded. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Bean – Yes,
Councilmember Waite – Yes, Councilmember Thompson – Yes, Councilmember Powell – Yes, and
Councilmember Kirkham – Yes. The motion passed.
2. Ord. 473 Rezone Oak Ridge Division 2, Block 7, Lots 14 & 15 from R-1 to HC-1 (Ron)*:
Lance
said this is the maintenance building on the side of the hotel that was discussed earlier.
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Councilmember Kirkharead
Ordinance 473 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION AND
THE ZONING MAP FOR CERTAIN LANDS LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY OF AMMON; PARTICULARLY DESCRIBING SAID
LANDS AND DECLARING THE CLASSIFICATION OF ZONING FOR EACH SUCH PARCEL OF LAND; PROVIDING FOR AN
Councilmember Kirkham motioned to
.
EFFECTIVE DATE. (Oak Ridge Division 2, Block 7, Lots 14 & 15 from R1 to HC-1)
recommend that the City Council dispense with the rule requiring the reading of the ordinance on three different
days and that the three readings be waived. Councilmember Bean seconded. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember
Kirkham – Yes, Councilmember Bean – Yes, Councilmember Powell – Yes, Councilmember Thompson – Yes, and
Councilmember Waite – Yes. The motion passed
Councilmember Kirkham read
Ordinance 473 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION AND
THE ZONING MAP FOR CERTAIN LANDS LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY OF AMMON; PARTICULARLY DESCRIBING SAID
LANDS AND DECLARING THE CLASSIFICATION OF ZONING FOR EACH SUCH PARCEL OF LAND; PROVIDING FOR AN
Councilmember Kirkham moved to adopt
EFFECTIVE DATE. (Oak Ridge Division 2, Block 7, Lots 14 & 15 from R1 to HC1).
Ordinance 473 as an ordinance of the City of Ammon on its third and final reading.Councilmember Bean
seconded. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Kirkham – Yes, Councilmember Bean – Yes, Councilmember Powell –
Yes, Councilmember Thompson – Yes, and Councilmember Waite – Yes. The motion passed
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
1. Sunnyside Road Closure (Lance):
Lance said in getting ready for this project, the engineers of
record discussed possible options and chose one that would minimize the construction time and truck traffic through
the area. Once a semi-truck gets into this section the only way to turn around is to take a residential street. They felt
this would be unacceptable so they have marked it road closed to keep as much traffic specifically heavy truck
traffic off of Sunnyside past the intersection of Ammon Road. The road will be open for the residents, as much as
they possibly can and there will be people directing traffic. There will times when they have to wait. If someone
waits more than 10 minutes, they will stop what they are doing and let the traffic through. This allows them to
operate as fast as they can to get the road up and operational. Councilmember Bean asked what trucks are going
through there. Lance said Walker produce, Bonneville County transfer station, etc. Councilmember Bean asked
why we can’t keep one lane open. Lance said there may be delays because when you bring the dirt up onto the lane
it makes the road smaller. Councilmember Kirkham said this would be from May-September. Lance stated the
section he is concerned about is Walker Produce. Councilmember Kirkham suggested making the sign say closed to
truck traffic. Lance said they will ignore it. Mayor Ard asked the time frame for completion. Lance said sometime
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in July – around the 30. Councilmember Bean said we have businesses that need to be considered. Lance said this
is the option to get the road done the quickest.
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Roger Sheehy, Sunnyside Automotive said 45 east construction killed him. He would like to take the
detour sign and road closed sign and use the stoplight. He has talked to the supervisor who said I can make up a
sign saying businesses still open. He asked to please look at a different game plan. Councilmember Bean asked
Lance why we didn’t use the stop light like on 21st. Lance said one of the differences is it was a water line that was
only 6 feet deep and 12” in diameter. This line is a wastewater which is 12-14 feet deep and 30” in diameter. There
is significantly more spoil at this area. Councilmember Kirkham asked if there was a compromise. Lance said
Sommer’s price is for the shortest time and if it goes longer the City will see a price increase. Roger requested to
get an offsite location during this construction for the corner of Sunnyside and Ammon Road. Council advised
Roger to talk with Ron.
Councilmember Kirkham asked why we had to have the road closed ahead of when it was needed. Lance
explained the road is officially closed only when the road closure sign is in the middle of the road. Today the sign
was off to the side, but plainly visible to get people prepared. Councilmember Waite said he came through tonight
the road was cleaned.
Kelly Landon, 2160 South Foothill said he bid this job with a traffic control plan. He will be driving
his dump trucks through residential streets, since the road is closed. If he has to wait for 10 minutes, it will hurt his
City Council Minutes 5-21-2009 Page 4 of 7
building of the school project he is currently working on. He bid this job to haul the dirt to a different site and bring
back what is needed. They need to be loading dirt into the trucks and moving it. Sommer’s has only allotted $4000
for the traffic control plan which isn’t enough. Councilmember Kirkham said it brings up a point, that they bid
$4000 and the next closest is $10,500. Lance said if you would look at the overall price bid price, its lower.
Councilmember Powell said even if you add another $20,000, it is still the lowest bid. Councilmember Kirkham
asked did you explain traffic control in the process. Lance stated they met with them and discussed different items.
Scott asked what the difference was introduced hauling dirt at the end of the project rather than during. Lance said
the speed of the project. Leslie asked wouldn’t it be quicker if they pulled the dirt and put it into the dump truck at
the time rather than doing two movements. Lance said they did not bid it that way. Mayor Ard said it wasn’t in the
bid to close the road. Councilmember Kirkham said we can require it. Lance said Bonneville County has given
them permission to close their side. Lance said if he doesn’t close his portion then everyone has to back track back
to Ross which he feels is unacceptable.
Brett Skidmore, 3920 E. Sunnyside said the asphalt isn’t the edge of the public right-of-way. He
would rather pay to redo the grass in front of his place, that is also part of the public right-of-way, than suffer the
lost business revenue. He suggested that the City call Bonneville County and see if they will work with the City.
Councilmember Bean asked how Walker’s finds another way. Lance said there will be times to get them through
that area. Lance said the road is closed at Ammon Road. Councilmember Kirkham asked if the road is open, why
do we have it posted closed. Lance said he has to post it that way or no one will pay attention to it. Lance said the
road is impacted from Ammon Road to Crowley towards the railroad tracks. Councilmember Kirkham said post it
“delays possible”. Councilmember Bean asked how we can be sure people can get through. Councilmember
Kirkham said she can’t support the road closure. She wants the sign to say “road construction - expect delays”.
Lance said this will cause a price increase.
Kelly Landon said closing the entire Sunnyside is one of the problems. Crowley Road is torn up and
Sunnyside is torn up and he has to drive through Ross. He is driving dump trucks down residential areas.
Councilmember Bean said why we are allowing traffic to come down Ross. Scott asked how much of the material
will need to be hauled off. Lance said he’s unsure. Scott thinks he feels 25-30%. Kelly Landon said 1/3 of it will
be hauled off. Councilmember Kirkham asked Kelly what his plan was. Kelly said his plan was to haul it away and
his plan would have been a single lane with flaggers. Scott asked if we specified 1/3 of that material be hauled off
within a day or two – would it make a difference to remove it today vs. later.
Bruce Empey, of Empey Truck and Auto Repair said he is impacted with what the City is doing.
When you were considering this job and the bid was being done it would have been nice to have been contacted so
they could comment on it. June, July and Aug are his busiest time of the year which carries them through Sept, Oct
and Nov so this will impact him hard with the road closed signs. The police picked up one of his clients trying to
come to his shop. There are a lot of people who won’t pass the signs. Did Sommer’s underbid this item? The
flagger was leaning on his hood and talking on his cell phone. Councilmember Powell said your concern is the sign
and one lane open. Bruce said it would be nice to have a positive sign. Councilmember Bean said what if we tell
him to keep a lane open. Lance said it would cost more. Councilmember Bean said the bid didn’t specify the road
was going to be closed and we won’t pay more. Councilmember Bean said take the fill and put it in the truck. Scott
said what difference does it makes when you remove the dirt. Councilmember Bean said they need more than a
business’s still open sign. Sommer’s needs to find a way to keep a lane open under the current price.
Councilmember Kirkham stated our contract never said the road can be closed.
Larry Shank, 3024 Rancho Via said yesterday he pulled out of Sunnyside Auto and the flagger said
can’t you see the road is closed, you idiot. Councilmember Bean said this is unacceptable.
Kelly Landon said one thing to consider is you don’t have to load all of the dirt, just 1/3 and this will
still leave enough room to leave one lane open. Councilmember Kirkham said she respects the job that Lance is
trying to do but it is Sommer’s responsibility and she needs to have Sommer take care of the problem.
Councilmember Kirkham stated we need to talk to Sommer about this, but in the meantime the signs must come
down, put up construction ahead, determine the possibility of keeping a lane open, and find out if the bid price is
affected.
Brett Skidmore said he has paved many miles. Township was rejected when the water line went in
due to the asphalt not being done properly. The road was as good as potholes. Township and through Cortland
Ridge was an absolutely pathetic job that had to be redone. Councilmember Kirkham asked Lance to move ahead
with the previous discussions and to let the Council know.
City Council Minutes 5-21-2009 Page 5 of 7
2. Falcon Park Access (Randy/Ken/Scott)*:
Ken Knock said he met with Mr. Curran since there was
no progress being made and Mr. Curran doesn’t know where to start and he has requested the City to take care of the
demolition which entails moving the fence but not redoing or replacing the fence, taking out the debris, etc. Scott
said he is ok with the form asking to have these items done. Ken said it would be approx. 15-20 crew hours and he
might possibly need to rent some equipment to move out the shrubs. Council said just to make it look nice. Ken
said the fence consists of an entry and another one in the back that is 30 feet. Councilmember Waite asked if we are
clear on our property lines. Councilmember Bean asked if there will be any fences on our property line. Ken stated
the survey was done last fall and the stake marks are still there. Ken will proceed and get it done.
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3. Hillcrest High School – McCowin Park July 4 Fund Raiser (Leslie/Ron):
Leslie stated that a
person from the Hillcrest High School has requested the use of the park for a fund raiser by shutting down the park
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on July 4. Councilmember Kirkham said the fire fighters have their barbecue on that day and the concessionaire
has it for this day. Council will not authorize a park for this use and doesn’t feel we should ever close down an
entire park. They suggested Hillcrest use their own grass area at the school.
4. Founders Point Water Update (Lance):
Lance showed the Council a couple of pictures of the tank.
The tank is being filled.
Mayor Ard asked where we are at on Well 10 and Well 11. Lance said the biggest delay is on the
transformer with Rocky Mountain Power which is now being built.
Councilmember Thompson asked what the timeline on Well 8 is. Lance said it bids out next Friday.
5. Misc.:
Scott said Ron received a letter from Hawks Landing Homeowners Assoc. concerning the
lights that they will install, offering to maintain and pay the power costs and operation of all street light within the
Hawks Landing Subdivision. Scott stated he is concerned turning something like this over to a homeowners
association. Councilmember Kirkham stated that the PUD agreement was that if ever the homeowners association
failed to operate then it would come back to the City at the developer’s expense. Scott recommends creating a
lighting district, if Rocky Mountain Power would allow it. It would then become a tax on the individual homes.
Councilmember Kirkham said we have the same issue with the French drains, etc. Scott said the City would have to
have a public hearing, and pass an ordinance to create the taxing district. Councilmember Kirkham said now is the
time before anyone moves in. Councilmember Kirkham asked the Mayor to talk with Glen Pond with Rocky
Mountain Power to see if Rocky Mountain Power would be in favor. Mayor Ard stated he would do this tomorrow.
Councilmember Bean said there is an opening at Planning and Zoning since David Hill resigned and
wanted the Council to be aware of it and give any suggestions to Mayor Ard..
Councilmember Kirkham said that Public Works doesn’t have a Councilmember over it and asked the
Mayor what he would like to do. Mayor Ard asked Councilmember Bean if he would accept the position.
Councilmember Bean said he will work with Lance.
Councilmember Kirkham stated that she has met with the County Commissioners on the area of
impact. The Commissioners are prepared to put this in writing, since the City now has the easements. She would
like to have Ron move ahead with petitioning the Commissioners. Council concurred.
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Councilmember Powell stated there is no light on the corner of 45 East and 21 Street. Quail Ridge
also doesn’t have any lights at the entrances to the development. Councilmember Kirkham said that was the request
of the developers (after input from neighboring residents) so they could continue to see the stars. Council has asked
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Ron to pull the plat to see if the light (on the west side of 45 East and 21 Street) was on the plan, so we could
request the developer to install it.
Leslie mentioned that the rules for open meetings and executive sessions have been changed. If the agenda
is amended after posting, at the first of the meeting there will have to be a statement as to why and a vote taken to
accept the amended agenda. There are also some new executive session rules for personnel. She requested that the
Council look at Sharepoint for the new rules.
Mayor Ard stated he met with Jared Fuhriman yesterday. Mayor Fuhriman presented the plans for
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Hitt Road from 1 Street to the canal and asked again if Ammon wants to participate. If Ammon doesn’t participate,
then they probably won’t be putting in curb cuts for John Adams Parkway or sidewalks on the Eastside. If we have
an interest, they would like to have a couple of Councilmember’s from each City to discuss the situation. At one
City Council Minutes 5-21-2009 Page 6 of 7
point, Mayor Fuhriman talked a 25/75% split. Scott said he thinks the curb cuts and sidewalks are in Idaho Falls.
Mayor Ard will remind Idaho Falls about this, because the curb cuts and sidewalks are part of their right-of-way.
Mayor Ard also stated if you don’t want to use the memorandum of understanding, then Hitt Road is all theirs.
Councilmember Bean suggested having Idaho Falls put in this stretch, declaring their obligations under the current
memorandum of understanding were now all met, then opening the memorandum of understanding up for new
discussion as to how to move forward thereafter, especially with the area South.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
1. Idaho Code 67-2345 Subsection 1 (f) (Scott/Ron):
Councilmember Kirkham motioned to go into
executive session pursuant to Idaho Code 67-2345, Subsection 1 (f) relating to litigation. Councilmember
Thompson seconded. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Kirkham – Yes, Councilmember Thompson – Yes,
Councilmember Powell – Yes, Councilmember Waite – Yes, and Councilmember Bean – Yes. The motion passed.
The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
___________________________________________
C. Bruce Ard, Mayor
______________________________________
Leslie Folsom, City Clerk
City Council Minutes 5-21-2009 Page 7 of 7