Soda Springs City
A regular meeting of the Soda Springs City Council was held on February 7. The invocation was offered by Paul Gritton, and the mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Accounts Payable
Councilmember Gritton inquired about an overpayment made to an employee on the payroll report. It was reported back to the council that the overpayment process had begun. 25% of the employee’s paycheck was in the process of being deducted until the repayment had been completed.
Councilmember Worthington asked about the total price of the boiler at Ender’s. Attorney Haney resonded that the total cost for the boiler was $12,705, which was in line with the quoted estimate.
Councilmember Carpenter asked director Hansen about the power poles in the city. It was reported that the city had purchased a supply of lights from D&S Supply to keep on hand.
The accounts payable and payroll were accepted by the council.
Travel Council
brochures—Debbie Dumont
In 2018, the travel council printed 20,000 copies of a brochure designed to be distributed from the visitors’ center. They were funded by the Caribou Development Foundation, with a grant from the High Desert Travel Council. In 2018, the city’s half was about $500. They haven’t been distributed much over the last few years.
There were boxes of brochures by the shed near police station. Only about 150 brochures were left of the original supply. The Travel Council grant is given out every year, covering 50% of print costs of brochures up to $2500. The deadline for the grant is the first meeting in January, but since there were no respondents, the Travel Council was offered an opportunity to submit for the grant. Dumont said she would speak to the city council about it.
Dumont has started designing brochures. She is witching out some of the pictures, changing colors, and updating the contents. She suggests only printing about 10K copies, and updating them more frequently. She has to have it done by February 14. Since the last printing, costs have gone up, but should definitely be under $1500 for the CDF’s half. DD requests that the GSSCDC should be the budgetary source. Dumont asked for any input on changes to the brochure.
Dumont was asked what her ideas were for changing the brochure. She stated that she would like to mention the ice skating rink, cross country skiing facilities, snowmobiling, and other winter sports, since the current content is heavily weighted toward summer activities.
Councilman Ryan Carpenter suggested Enders. Dumont suggested that Terah Jones, the manager of Enders, was pursuing a grant on her own to create a brochure. Carpenter also suggested including river floating.
Dumont clarified Fifth District Boys Wrestling Tournament
On February 14, the fifth district held their championship tournament at Bear Lake High School. Wrestling combines the 1A and 2A classifications, making it one of only two sports (golf being the other) where all three county high schools compete against each other for district titles. In total Caribou County would be represented by twenty-three wrestlers, ten each from Soda Springs and Grace with three coming from North Gem. Of these twenty three an impressive twelve qualified for the upcoming state tournament. For those that did not qualify, many of them they are already looking forward to getting another shot at things next year.
Wrestling is a very physically and mentally difficult sport. While there is a team aspect and great support, ultimately you are all alone one on one with your opponent on the mat. It is a terrific sport for teaching kids perseverance and requires hours of physical training making them very strong. Those that come back year after year gain confidence and learn lessons that will stick with them for their entire lives.
For North Gem Haydn Frandsen (152 lbs) lost a close match to decision, then got a pin in his second match. He would get pinned in the consolation round and be eliminated from state contention. Lukky Welker (145 lbs) would battle hard but would unfortunately have to withdraw due to injury. Luke Rindlisbaker went 2-2 for the Cowboys in the tournament and place fourth, just missing out on qualifying for state.
The Grizzlies saw great success as they qualified seven of their ten wrestlers for state. Balczewski, Robbins, and Jorgensen would all miss out on qualifying, however Robbins and Jorgensen would each place fifth and will look to improve on that next season. Jayden Lunt went 2-2 in the tournament and placed fourth, but grabbed one of the wildcard spots at 106 lbs. Brett Hobbs (120 lbs) and Jack Eddins (138 lbs) each took third place and automatically qualified for state. Cael Newby (106 lbs) and Kole Younger (98 lbs) both made it to the championship round, but come up just a little short and each placed second. Carter Kimball (113 lbs) and Wyatt Cutler (170 lbs) were perfect on the day, as they each would bring home a district championship.
The Soda Springs Cardinals qualified five of their wrestlers. Lee, Dickhaut, Hemmert, Belt, and Cutler all missed out on qualifying, with Hemmert and Cutler each just missing it by a hair losing in the third place match. Owen Miller (106 lbs) went 3-1 and nabbed third place. Zayden Garbett (145 lbs) likewise went 3-1, and he would also place third and move on to state. Cole Garbett made it to the championship match, but fell and placed second and qualified for state at 170 lbs. Tucker Bowen (126 lbs) and Elijah Dilworth (195 lbs) each went undefeated and become district champions.
State qualifiers will begin their run at a state title Friday inside the ICCU Arena in Pocatello. Kimball and Cutler from Grace as well as Bowen and Dilworth from Soda are among the favorites to become state champions. However several of the qualifying wrestlers are highly ranked and could do very well in the tournament. Caribou County should be well represented. that they were able to include whatever they felt was appropriate in the materials, as long as it contained the Idaho Tourism and High Desert Travel Council logos on the reverse of the document. The grant is funded by a tax on hotels throughout the state, out of which 1% is given to tourism promotion through the Travel Council. They will be distributed by Dumont around the area. According to Dumont, the brochures are useful ways to communicate information quickly to tourists and interested businesses at tourism conventions and elsewhere, as people often want to know where they can hike/camp, where they can ride ATVs, and where they might be able to have family reunions and other events of the sort.
“I know we aren’t a big draw for tourism on our own, but we are a crossroads to a lot of other places. And if we can get our information out there to people, they may say ‘hey, we’re on our way to Yellowstone, let’s stop and stay in Soda Springs and see the geyser and all these other things.’” Dumont also explained that the tourism board sends out packets of print material to people who request it via mail. While those numbers were down in recent years, Dumont states that it is still a viable means of promoting tourism in the area, especially for older travelers.
Councilmember Ryan Carpenter asked whether Dumont had considered walking trails, disc golf, rock climbing, and other activities. Dumont stated that there were a lot of things included in the brochure, but many other things that could be included.
Councilmember Mitch Hart asked whether there was any advantage to using the CDF over the GSSCDC? Dumont explained that for some grants there was a restriction whereby funds could only be given to non-profit organizations. For this grant, there was no such restriction.
The idea of using a QR Code on the front of the publication was raised by Hart, and it was agreed to be a good idea.
Councilmember Hart motioned for up to 1500$ for the republishing/updating of the SS Idaho Oregon Trail Oasis brochure. The motion was seconded and approved.
Citizen Input
Mayor Robinson spoke as a member of the community, sharing his thoughts on the passing of former mayor Kirk Hansen. Other members of the audience, including his son Justin, also shared their thoughts on the occasion. A selection of those tributes is printed in this issue elsewhere.
Chamber of Commerce
The next meeting of the Chamber of Commerce Revitalization committee will be held at Enders Hotel on February 22 at 3:00 p.m. The committee hopes to rotate the location of the meeting in order to involve as much of the community as possible.
Mayor Austin thanked Debbie Dumont for her efforts at working to reinvigorate the chamber in the city.
Unfinished Business
Engineer Alan Skinner spoke to the commission about the project list updates, and specifically the 1.5 million dollar grant for the Main Street reconstruction project. Councilmember Carpenter moved to have the mayor sign a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) for the project between the Idaho State Transportation Department and the City of Soda Springs. The motion was seconded and approved.
Once the MOU is singed and in place, the City can request that the engineering portion be completed. A meeting about the engineering took place on February 8, and new recommendations were discussed.
The state will reimburse the city for engineering costs and the remaining funds will be released soon. Mr. Skinner stated that he would like to have bids ready by the first of March for the project. Lighting and storm drains still need to be addressed for Main Street. The City has $600,000 budgeted in water and sewer, which is the matching amount the city is respnosible to pay. The grant, however, does not cover utility line replacements, which are the city’s responsibility.
Councilmember Carpenter asked about the price for storm drains, but Engineer Skinner does not have a cost estimate yet. Carpenter asked Director Squires if $300,000 was enough to pay for the sewer and water lines. Director Squires indicated that it likely would be,but that it would depend on the material used for the pipelines. Director Skinner added that he believed the railroad was a potential issue for the project, but that he had submitted and application to bore under the 2nd E crossing.
Director Skinner has completed his building inspector course and is working toward his commercial building inspector certification as well. Councilmember Worthington congratulated Mr. Skinner for his work on the grant.
An Urban and Community Forest grant requires a match of $500,000, and has been presented to the city as a possible project. This match, however, was waived based on the provisions of public law and because the grant will fund a disadvantaged area.
It was announced that discussions will be held in Planning and Zoning about tiny house. This construction option is becoming very popular around the country, and interest in them is percolating in the area. The issue is making such homes fit within the existing development code, or changing the code to allow for them.
The Council opted to include extend coverage for domestic partnerships in its insurance policy. There is no additional cost or required action on the city’s part other than to authorize the allowance.
Clerk Beer and her staff have completed a six month probationary period for wages. Councilmember Worthington moved to authorize a pay increase resulting from the end of the probationary period. The motion was passed.
Assignments were established. Mayor Robinson will oversee City Administration, the SS Police Department, the SS Fire Department, and the City Recreation Department.
Councilmember Hart will supervise the budget/audit process, Planning and Zoning, power, environmental, Ender’s/City Hall, city lands, AIC board, SICGO board, ILRCC board, BLM, and the RAC board.
Councilmember Carpenter will be responsible for water, wastewater, streets, garbage, Greater Soda Springs Caribou Development Committee, and the Trees City Foundation. Councilmember Gritton is responsible for the library, parks, industrial parks, shooting range, rates, fees and services, chamber of commerce, employee safety, and EMS. Councilmember Worthington will act as a liaison for the airport board, human resources, benefits, economic resources, 4 CASI, and grants.
Councilmember Carpenter made a motion to elect Councilmember Hart the Council President, a move which was seconded by Councilmember Gritton. The motion passed unanimously.
After a meeting in executive session, the council returned with a motion to instruct the tenant of the Ender’s building that they are allowed to lease out up to six rooms in compliance with certain guidelines and restrictions imposed by the City’s Fire Chief, the City Building Inspector, and legal counsel. Each room will need to be formally approved, with written consent from legal counsel, the fire chief and the building inspector before the sublease is entered into. The motion passed and the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
