Bancroft City Council Report—December

These are adapted minutes from the December city council meeting.  While the January meetings have occurred, for the sake of public access to council reports, last month’s report is being included here.  January’s report will be included in next week’s paper, bringing the reporting current.  Several ongoing issues were covered in the December meeting, and it was also the final meeting for Mayor LuCus Spencer and Councilmember Eric Christensen.

SICOG/Park Grant

SICOG’s (Southeast Idaho Council of Governments) Amanda Collins congratulated the city for receiving the $242,000 park grant. The next step is to complete an environmental review. One of the mandatory review items is proving that the park is not in a flood plain. Clerk Swensen provided Collins with a copy of the FEMA documents including a map showing the remaining properties in the flood zone. The city will need to go through the state’s procurement process.

The city has already passed the required resolution and will get extra points for having a grant administrator listed. There are 476 compliance points that will be communicated along the way to satisfy the state and federal guidelines. They will want to communicate with city council as to what they want as we go. Collins asked if one of the council members would be a point of contact for the council, but noted that no decisions will be made without the entire council approval. Council member Thurman volunteered to be the point of contact. Collins would like to have the project completed and closed out within two. years. The next step going forward is to complete the environmental review and submit it. The city will need to go through the procurement process, which will include a lot of paperwork. Several proposals will

need to be reviewed by city council. Amanda explained that if council does not agree to putting in a pickleball court it is possible to change the scope of the project as long as council is able to show reason and proof of change. 

CM Vawser made a motion to sign the contract and assign Cm, Thurman as a council contact.

Motion passed 4-0.

Forsgren Engineers

Aaron from Forsgren stopped by to check on the progress at the 1st South drainage project before the meeting. CM Vawser has concerns about this project not being complete. The river rock used has created a very rough surface and will cause the residents to circle all the way around it to get to their shed. It needs to be compacted by the resident’s shop. Mayor Spencer has talked to the residents about bringing in some smaller rock which will make the surface smooth for crossing over. CM Vawser is also concerned about the elevation where the two gutters out in front of the old Harris residence. They seem to be higher than before the project and could cause pooling of water in that area. The engineer and Mayor Spencer will go assess the situation.

Aaron updated council on the Sewer Facility Planning Study. He has made some updates to the costs. Aaron reviewed the 3 different options including, rehabbing the existing lagoons, Mechanical Treatment plant, or do nothing. The do-nothing option is a required option when doing an FPS. Another option they often look at is called regionalized systems which would require pumping everything out of town to another facility like Grace, Lava, or Soda. Aaron informed council that this is not feasible. The mechanical treatment option would cost approximately $12 million and the city would have to be staffed with a level 4 operator. The O&M on a mechanical plant is a substantial cost. The general cost without any plans on rehabbing the lagoons is about 6 million dollars. The city may be able to reign in the costs once we get into the designs. If the city is able to rehab fewer cells, the cost will less. This price includes lift station upgrades and possibly adding aeration to the system due to the black liner holding everything in and not letting anything leak into the ground. The costs generally go up as more time goes by.

Lund Road Safety Concerns

Tara Nelson has concerns about vehicles speeding as they come into town off of Lund Road. The speed limit is currently 25 mph, but vehicles and trucks are going 40 to 55 mph. Tara told council about several situations she and her neighbors have witnessed. Tara is worried that someone is going to get hurt if something is not done. Kids are crossing the road from the school and from the church to got to the store.  Deborah Hill suggested putting up additional signage to slow traffic more gradually as they come into town from Lund Road.

Tara is concerned that grain trucks are going at least 40 MPH and are also using their Jake brakes to slow down instead of shifting down. Tara commented that most towns have a compression brake prohibited sign and codes in place for this issue.

CM Eric Christensen suggested putting a dip across the road. CM Trevor Parsons suggested working with the county and installing more signs to gradually slow the traffic coming off of Lund Road.

Council discussed re-installing the speed bumps but concluded they are not the correct type of speed bump for that road or condition. Tara asked if there is any reason why our county police officers cannot patrol those streets. 

Council explained that they do patrol Bancroft streets, but cannot set designated time here due to not having a contract. A contract could be upwards of $80k. Mayor Spencer commented that the deputies go through Bancroft but do not spend a lot of time here, due to the having a large area to cover.

Mayor Spencer will contact the county about installing a reduced speed ahead sign and the city will put in a 25 MPH sign in city limits. Tara asked if it would help to contact the granary regarding the excessive use of jake brakes and speeding. Council explained that trucks going there are privately owned and not the responsibility of the business owner.

CM Vawser suggested Tara do a citizen citation to get the county’s attention. 

Nissell Baker stated that she has done this several times and is aware of how it works.  She asked if the city could declare the section of road by the football field a school zone.  Deborah Hill stated that the kids are using the streets for PE class and the streets are not safe.  Nissell Baker commented that the teenagers are doing 40 mph through town and the city needs to reduce the speed in school zones for the safety of the kids.

Maintenance workers stated that they just got the new 25 mph signs in the last couple days and will get them put up. Council will further discuss signage and lowering speed in school zones.

The city attorney informed council that the city has jurisdiction to define the speed limit in the school zones and pass a compression brakes ordinance if they chose.

Livestock amendment

CM Jessica Vawser would like to clarify that this amendment will remove the grandfather clause and no longer allow bee hives. The city attorney stated that this amendment will remove previously existing uses that have allowed animals in restricted zones due to the grandfather clause. Bee hives will not be allowed going forward. CM Vawser asked about the section discussing poultry and commented that the city has a chicken ordinance that allows 15 chickens and no roosters. CM Parsons suggested leaving poultry in and just referencing the chicken ordinance.

Resident Nissell Baker asked council if this amendment will make it so the city cannot allow a case-by-case permit for certain circumstances. Mayor Spencer explained that this amendment will remove the grandfather clause that has allowed people to have unauthorized animals in zones that do not allow them going forward. Nissell asked council why someone with a smaller lot is allowed to have 15 chickens. 

CM Jessica Vawser explained that the code states that if the animals become a nuisance for neighbors, the city has the right to put restrictions on the owner. Resident Baker asked why the current chicken ordinance isn’t written to allow so many chickens per square foot of land. Nissell commented that it is animal cruelty if chickens are contained in small containers on small lots because they are not being properly cared for. She commented that she has a larger lot than most people in Bancroft but is limited to the number of chickens she can have due to city code.  

CM Parsons mentioned that chickens were not an issue when the code was implemented but due to covid restrictions and hardship to buy eggs, the city passed the ordinance quickly to allow residents a way to produce eggs. Mayor Spencer suggested that Nissell submit a Special Use application to the city for council review. The city attorney advised the city to leave poultry in the new code and just reference the existing chicken ordinance. These codes can be easily updated as needed. The attorney will make the wording changes and send the revised copy when completed.

CM Eric Christensen read the new ordinance in full. The city will publish the title summary and have copies available for review.

CM Trevor Parsons made a motion to approve the amended code Title 5

CM Jessica Vawser seconded the motion. Motion passed 4-0.

Council & Staff Reports

Mayor Spencer commented that he was pleased with the attendance for the Lighting of Teuscher Square. The high school kids that helped and wore costumes had a lot of fun and want to help again next year.

The polar bear costume got a broken zipper and will need repairs. Clerk Swensen will take it to a

seamstress this week. Caribou Memorial did a great job fund raising for the fire department. Donations for burgers and hot dogs totaled $653.00.