Grace City Council 3/6

Adapted from the official minutes taken by County Clerk Shelley Reeves

After approving the minutes and bills in the amount of $36,147.19 and payroll of $10,451.48 the regular meeting of the Grace City Council was held.

Fire Chief Peck

Fire Chief Curtis Peck reported that the fire department escorted the championship wrestlers and girls’ basketball teams through the town.  He also reported that there had been a house fire in town.  9 firemen responded.  The house was a complete loss, but Chief Peck helped the homeowners contact the Red Cross, and there have been many people in the community donating clothing, food, and money to help.  Chief Peck also reported that the insurance rating process had begun, and they would be here in person in March or April.

Zoning Update

Zoning Commission Member Mark Crabb gave a follow-up report on the cars at Kelly Anderson’s property in the industrial zone.  Most the vehicles have been removed from the property.

Kent Loosle, Caribour 

Medical Center

Kent Loosle, CEO of the Caribou Medical Center spoke to the council with an update on some changes coming to the hospital.  He reported that there were 5 new physicians available to patients at CMC.  One is a back pain specialist who will be available once a week.  There is also a urologist that the center is sharing with Franklin County Medical Center, and a Family Practice/OB that will be coming in August.  He stated that compared to all the medical facilities close by, according to patient surveys, CMC ranked highest and was tied with Bear Lake hospital in nursing.  He stated that 33 people who live in Grace work at CMC.  He also reported that they had acquired a new robotic surgery machine that is used for urology, gynecology, and general surgery procedures.  

He stated that it shortens healing time and is easier on patients.  He stated that a small hospital is lucky to have it, and to have physicians with the skills to use it.  Councilmember Toone asked him to talk about Dr. Jensen, who works in the Emergency Room.  Mr. Loosle explained that Dr. Jensen is double board certified in emergency medicine and internal medicine.   Mr. Loosle stated that there have been questions about building a new hospital.  He said that right now they are trying to build services and see what the volue of demand is before deciding to build a new hospital.

Projects

Councilmember Allen moved to approve the contract with the Southeast Idaho Council of Government to administer the Community Development Block Grant for the wastewater treatment plant project.  Councilmember Fluckiger seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

The request for proposals for the engineer for the Center Street Bridge project was opened.  There was only one proposal, from Keller Associates.  Councilmember Allen moved to approve Keller Associates as the engineer for the project.  The motion passed.

Clark Reeves was able to get two bids for a new auditor.  Quest CPAs bid $10,000 plus $2,300 for a single audit if over $750,000 was spent in federal funds, and Poulsen, VanLeuven & Catmull bid $17,000 to $18,000 for a single audit.  Councilmember Toone moved to approve Quest CPAs as the auditor for the project.  The motion was approved.

Spring Clean-up

Spring clean-up was discussed by the council.  The landfill has made some changes.  They won’t allow the City of Grace to dump for free for a second week, since none of the other cities in the county have a two-week spring cleanup.  The city can still hold a two-week spring cleanup, but the second week of dumping will be charged to the city.  The city will also need to have citizens who borrow the truck or have the city pick up large items with freon in the, sign a release form stating that they are allowing the city to dump their stuff, though there may be a change which they will agree to pay.  They will also be required to sort trash, or they will be charged a fee.  After discussion, it was decided to change the clean-up plan to a single week.  The motion passed.

Sheriff

A contract with the sheriff’s office was discussed.  The sheriff can’t enforce city codes, but it willing to help the city enforce anything that is related to a state statute.  Sheriff Mabey was not in attendance, so a contract will need to be discussed at a future meeting.

Attorney contract

Attorney Doug Wood sent the city a contract allowing him to do criminal prosecutions for the city.  Mayor Barthlome explained to the council that after talking with Attorney Wood, he explained to her that the city had a civil contract with him and had never needed a criminal contract in the 11 years he had been the attorney.  He explained that any attorney working for the city would need both a civil and criminal contract in order to prosecute a criminal offense, but that the city has been able to work out solutions to most problems before they get to the point where criminal prosecution is necessary.  Mayor Barthlome suggested that the city sign a contract with Attorney Wood and give him a chance to sort out the ongoing problem in the city regarding storage containers.  The contract that Wood sent left the amount per hour blank, allowing the City Council to determine the rate.  The Council decided that $250/hr would be fair.  A motion to approve the criminal prosecutor contract was approved.

Reports

Councilmember Toone moved to approve the personnel policy change which would allow the City Superintendent to earn comp time at time and a half rate, rather than hour for hour.  The motion passed.

Superintendent Crookston reported that they are working on getting the sweeper ready for spring.  The clarifier froze up and they are getting it defrosted.  There is a free lead/copper training in Pocatello from the Department of Environmental Quality on April 16 that Superintendent Crookston would like to take.  The employees have been revamping the shop and need a new welding table, which would need to be approved at the next meeting.

A discussion about snow removal on Main Street was tabled without a solution being reached.