City of Grace—City Council Meeting 2/7

A regular meeting of the Grace City Council was held on February 7, 2024.  Present were Mayor Jackie Bathlome, Council Members Larry Allen, Kathy Tillotson, Colleen Fluckiger, and Curtis Toone, Superintendent Riley Crookston, and Clerk
Shelley Reeves.

The meeting was called to order by the mayor at 6:00 p.m., after which the invocation was offered by Councilmember Allen, and the pledge was led by
Clerk Reeves.

The minutes from 1/17
were approved.

Bills in the amount of $39,534.08 and Payroll in the amounts of $10,396.32 and $12,687.09 were reviewed and approved.

Cameras at Fire Station

The issue of cameras at the fire station was discussed.  Mayor Barthlome suggested acquiring two trail cameras that could be aimed to see who is throwing snowballs at the sign.  Councilmember Allen stated that he would be willing to donate one that he is not currently using.  Councilmember Tillotson moved to approve the purchase of one trail camera.  Councilmember Fluckiger seconded, after which the motion passed.

Conditional Use Permit

A Conditional Use Permit requested by Kelly Anderson was discussed.  Anderson was seeking a CUP to allow for the storage of junk cars in the industrial zone.  Mr. Anderson joined the meeting by phone.  Councilmember Tillotson asked Mr. Anderson how many more cars would be put there is the City Council approved the permit with the zoning commission’s conditions in place over the next three years.  Mt. Anderson stated that he was hoping the crusher would be coming to take the cars away any day now. Councilmember Toone asked if there was a specific timeframe in place for the removal process.

Anderson explained that he had received a call from the company stating that they were in town at the landfill and would be coming to crush his cars also, but they had not shown up.  The company later explained that they had experienced an equipment breakdown, but that he would be next on their list.  He explained that part of the nature of his business is that there will always be junk cars, but that he does plan on building storage units on the property in industrial areas.

A decision on the Conditional Use Permit was tabled until a future meeting when Mr. Anderson was able
to attend.

City Issues

The Idaho Transportation Department  and the City of Grace signed a Memorandum of Understanding for work on the Center Street bridge.  A motion to authorize the signing
was passed.

Superintendent Crookston requested the purchase of fifty 100-gallon garbage cans and four 300-gallon garbage cans for a total cost of $8865.50.  The motion was approved.  Crookston also reported that there was a sinkhole on 1st South due to an old coal chute.  The city will work with Rigby Plumbing to repair it.  Crookston reported that the city employees have been working on maintenance, clearing the roads, and the lead/copper survey of water lines throughout the city.

The purchase  of a laptop and internet connection at the wastewater treatment plant was discussed.  A laptop had been approved at a previous meeting, but not yet purchased.  Waster Treatment plant operator Jake Wright explained that after the laptop was approved more research was done, and it was found that after the treatment plant upgrade is completed he will need something more powerful than a laptop to run the SCADA system properly.  A fiberoptic internet connection will be budgeted for in the next meeting.

Councilmember Tillotson began a discussion about employee compensation and incentives.  After the discussion, those employees present stated that they would like to keep the comp time the way it is.  The personnel policy and the city superintendent’s salary and comp time will be discussed at a
future meeting.

A discussion about snow removal on Main Street was had.  The business owners and some city council members felt that the city should remove the berm on Main Street, or allow business owners to push the snow from their property onto the road.  The State of Idaho does not allow snow to be pushed onto any roads.  There was a discussion about hiring an outside contractor to come and clear the sidewalks, but it was unclear who would be responsible for paying the contractor.  The discussion was tabled.

Code Enforcement

Code Enforcement was discussed with Attorney Doug Wood and Deputy Russ Roper.  Attorney Wood reported that his research indicated that as the attorney representing the city he could not issue citations without a contract that allowed him to do that in his role as prosecuting attorney.  Deputy Roper stated that the county sheriff’s office could help the city with any issues that involve a state statute, but that city codes could not be enforced without a contract.  Roper stated that he would bring up the matter with Sheriff Mabey.  A motion to contract with Doug Wood as the county prosecutor and the sheriff’s office to enforce city codes was approved.

Mayor’s Report

Mayor Barthlome reported that the Association of Idaho Cities spring conference will be held on April 10.  She asked the council members to let Clerk Reeves know if they were able to attend in order to reserve spots.  She thanked the employees for their hard work.  The maor also reported that the Caribou Medical Center will be hosting a blood draw at the Legion Hut on March 15.

This report was adapted from the minutes taken by City Clerk
Shelley Reeves.