Grace City Council April 16
During a regular meeting of the Grace City Council, a number of issues were discussed, and Shelley Reeves was officially presented with an award from the IRWA.
Street speeds/signs
Members of the Grace City Council all had input on driving habits through the town. The input boiled down to a need for more awareness of the speed limits and the dangers of driving in excess of posted limits.
Councilmember Kyle Bingham raised the issue initially, as a result of having observed what he characterized as unsafe driving on the east-west roads through town. “I know Mingo road is a drag strip. I just wanted to bring it to attention because last weekend was way out of control,” he said. “I wanted to bring it up so it was in the minutes and we knew it was a problem.”
Mayor Barthlome and the other council members quickly agreed that there was an issue, and that the other cardinal directions were implicated just as much. In fact, the main route through town was highlighted as a continual problem. Despite the regular signage along the route, which notes the decreasing speeds through town, it was noted that many drivers continue to maintain excessive speeds. While the road officially becomes a highway as it goes south to Preston, through town it crosses school zones, downtown pedestrian traffic, and the city park which is often full of kids.
City Superintendent Riley Crookston stated that the sheriff’s department will place the speed indicator sign along the road and patrol the area more frequently. Without a municipal police force, the city contracts with the Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement.
The potential for a camera that records images of speeding drivers along the route was discussed, as well as speed bumps or other means of slowing drivers down. Because the road is a state highway, there are limits on what the city itself can do on the roadway.
The potentially related issue of loud vehicles driving through town was also discussed, with the possibility of approaching that issue through the enforcement of noise ordinances.
The speed indicator sign is currently in place on the approach to the school zone, and reports on its efficacy are positive so far, at least anecdotally.
IRWA
As we reported on last week, Grace City Clerk Shelley Reeves was presented with the Administrator of the Year Award by the Idaho Rural Water Association.
Circuit Rider Jeff Cook attended the meeting in order to present the award in person. “Every year at our spring conference we get nominations, and they are made anonymous for those who vote on them. As I read this one, I assumed Jake [Wright] and Riley [Crookston] wrote this one, based on the grammar,” Cook joked. “But seriously, sometimes we circuit riders can pick up on who it is based on what is said, and I knew right away this was Shelley. I just want her to know it was a landslide!”
In part, the nomination letter from the city read, “Shelley truly is the main reason the city is running….she is the glue that holds our whole city together. She is the true face of the city and we are the lucky ones to have her on our team.”
Safety Monitors
A discussion about safety gear was had for monitoring potentially dangerous times when people are “in the hole”. The air monitors detect unsafe breathing situations in time to alert those working in potentially dangerous situations. Jake Wright noted that that he would be wearing his at the plant.
A motion to buy 5 monitors was approved.
Fair Housing Proclamation
The City signed a Fair Housing proclamation, which attests that it will follow the Fair Housing Act. The proclamation is essentially always in place, though it requires regular renewal. It allows the city to apply and qualify for many federal funds.
Summer help
The city wants to accept applications for summer workers starting now. School is out June 4, and the summer worker generally assists with lawn mowing and other summer city tasks.
It was noted in a related discussion that the summer employees might also be able to contribute time toward wastewater plant licenses. “Pre-apprentice has to have so many hours doing water and wastewater. Through summer help they can pretty much get it done. They can get license by the time they are a junior to be a WW1,” Crookston said.
Miscellaneous
Council advised that the city will be on the lookout for junk violations in the next few weeks as spring weather moves in. Free cleanup is coming soon.
A backup generator for well 1needs to be installed. Having it on will get rid of a deficiency on the report. It will have to be on a concrete pad.
Keller will be repairing some of the concrete that was poured in Sept. Some is buckling.
The Post Office hasn’t been able to fly the flag, because a clip is broken. They will take care of it immediately, with the VFW.
