City Council Soda Springs June 4
Cardinal Cove
The Cardinal Cove housing project has been a subject of discussion to greater and lesser extents over the last months, but it appears to be back in motion.
Navy Vet Ryan Hogan, who will be coordinating information with the city on the Cardinal Cove project, spoke to the council. He is an attorney who works with the project. “I excel at taking complicated things and bringing them to fruition,” Hogan said. He wanted to share some updates on the project. He has completed a feasibility study. The master plan has been updated. The group is planning to conduct a geotechnical survey next to make sure that the lava rock doesn’t create a problem. A website is launching soon. They would love feedback from the community. They will be building a housing subdivision for the “underserved, underhoused population”. There will be changes to the original plan, according to Hogan.
Councilmember Paul Gritton asked how the project will benefit the Soda Springs community.
Hogan’s primary response was that the available housing units will mitigate some of the problem of housing locally, and allow people to stay instead of move. This will benefit younger individuals, as well as those who work in the area but currently commute from other communities.
The current plan is to start with 1-2 bedroom apartments, and then look at the prospect of single family homes. This would potentially serve the immediate needs of the populace first, and also speed the process of filling the vacancies before moving forward.
Councilmember Rod Worthington asked about an RV park mentioned in the original plan.
Hogan clarified that the RV park was a secondary consideration for the group, with conventional housing being the priority. He stated that he would like to meet with the council to talk about the modified plan, and get feedback on it.
Main Street
The Main Street construction project that occupied a good deal of last year is still something of an ongoing issue, as the paving work in some sections of the road are in need of repair/redo. The contractors have said that they will provide those repairs. A recent study on behalf of the city shows a lack of thickness, oil, and compaction in the sections at issue. The contractor responded by saying that they will mill and replace the asphalt. West lane was done with asphalt from Pocatello plant, the east side is the problem and was mixed and from IF. They may offer an extended warranty.
Trails
The economic and supply issues of the last few months throughout the economy have created a situation where there is currently no available source of the correct type of sand for the Ledger Creek Trail project. There is sand north of China Hat that might be able to be used, but the county does not have excess sand in its inventory, and neither do the other sources so far consulted.
Councilmember Ryan Carpenter has talked to people who are excited about the trail system, but timing for volunteering to help might be difficult. Once a source for the sand can be established, scheduling can begin.
Geyser Control
The control system for the Soda Springs Geyser, as has been noted before, is a unique, largely purpose-made setup. Justin Hansen has remarked that “it isn’t like there’s a geyser store you can just go down to.” Anyone who has visited it recently has noticed that its on/off cycle is somewhere inbetween at the moment, and this is due to a need for a system repair.
The cost to update the control system for the geyser is $9150 for setup, $12281 all said and done. It would provide the hardware for the control system. Upgrading to a SCADA system would cost $158/mo. A SCADA system allows the operators to monitor the system remotely through an app. The valve and actuator, etc need to be installed before SCADA can be used. The process will involve jackhammering, etc. The geyser is shut down completely right now. The valve was last replaced about 23 years ago. It might take 3+ weeks for the crew, which would put everything else on hold.
A motion to approve the funds for the instrumentation that will allow for a new valve and control equip was held for the moment while they move toward the budget meetings.
Fat Beam
Fat Beam is a company that has presented a contract to the school district for the infrastructure needed to create a self-contained network. This would improve security and efficiency. The company isn’t providing the internet service, just the infrastructure.
Because the installation would require physical changes to the buildings and properties involved, the question of a performance bond was raised. The bond would eliminate the need to pursue legal action for any problems arising from installation/construction.
A final version of the contract will come before the council at a later date.
Safety Manual
The workman’s comp insurance representative coordinating with the city suggested that they put together a safety committee to address any issues with the insurance plan in place. President Hart suggested some of the rough outline elements of the committee, and noted that it was a good idea in terms of liability and protection of the city’s interests. “It’s probably a good idea that we step up and make a more formal approach to safety.”
MOU SRO
Chief of Police Golightly asked for an increase of the Memorandum of Understanding for the School Resource Officer with the Soda Springs School District, which was $35K. It went up to $45K on the part of the School Board. It would be extended to a 5 year instead of a 2 year. Mayor Robinson, Superintendent Muir, and Chief Golightly will sign a new MOU to that effect.
Councilmember Rod Worthington (who is also a principal in the school district) said, “Having an SRO has been huge. It’s been awesome. I couldn’t even explain the impact. We have a great response time from the SSPD, but having Phelps there—his professionalism and knowledge—have been a very positive experience. Mr. McMurray was very complimentary. I think for officer Phelps it’s been more than he thought. I’d like to thank the School Board for being approachable on this topic.”
Chief Golightly noted that, “They [the school board] see the benefits as well, and what officer Phelps has brought.”
Department Reports
Recreation
The mayor read a report from Recreation Director Jessica Thurman. “Everything is going great!” Thurman wrote. She is teaching a paddle boarding class in July, and registration is open soon. Soccer registration is opening soon for June. She will interview for the assistant recreation director position.
Hope Hansen
The library’s summer reading program is underway. By the numbers, so far 391 kids, 96 teens, 55 adults have signed up, though those numbers are likely to increase. Even so, they are higher than previous years at this point. Hansen would like to discuss funds from the city for the summer reading program, which has been grant-funded in past years. The goal is to look for a sponsor every year, but she would like to have a cushion just in case. The donation from Ben and Erica Goode for prizes related to the Teen Reading program has been a big hit with participants. Those prizes can be viewed in the display case at the front of the library.
Dan Squires
The Fire dept has been relatively quiet, according to Chief Squires. There have been some false alarms due to burning in fire pits. Squires noted that the department would rather be safe than sorry, and that people should continue to call in if they are unsure of the origin of a fire. “We’ll go over there for nothing, and it’s okay.”
On water, the Ledge Creek transmission line is having problems with leaks. There are some parts of pipe that are above ground due to erosion of dirt on top. The depth varies. Under the tracks is the shallowest part.
Cejay Golightly
Chief Golightly wanted the thank ITD for getting the area by Maverik painted. The lines outside the entrance to the gas station had created some confusion about lane assignments that were dangerous.
Golightly reminded citizens that now that Yellowstone traffic is consistently busy, please be careful crossing roads in town, especially near Main Street. Crosswalks should be looked for, whether or not there are flashing lights present.
Justin Hansen
Cleanup week has been busy. Hansen mentioned that as with every year there are some instances of the cleanup dropoff locations being abused by residents from outside the city, and even outside the county.
He acknowledged that it was difficult to intervene in most circumstances, but that some of the most egregious instances (out of county commercial dumping, for instance, or large volumes of used tires) need to be stopped.
“It gets brought up every year, but I do think there are circumstances where people need to be turned away,” Hansen said, to the council’s general agreement. “That’s definitely something we should be specific about next year,” members of the council stated.
Hansen announced that “the beavers are back”. They have been causing problems in different areas. The crew has cleared out some dams. There is a big tree by the school that is one major source of the problem. Hansen crawled into the culvert, and found that all but 25 ft on one end are mostly full of mud rock trees, etc. “I don’t know any options to physically clear 4 feet of mud 75 feet. Culvert is 100 ft. This is just going to keep going and going. All that stuff is going to come out and plug the creek on the other side.” Various solutions are being explored.
There was a discussion about the impact of heavy vehicles on city streets, and whether it was in the city’s interests to set some sort of limit on weight in that regard.
