Water Project Presentation, Road Comm. Update
The New Meadows City Council began their regular meeting on Monday, November 25, 2024 with all Council Members in attendance. No additional agenda items were added by the public for future meetings.
Mayor Julie Good’s Report began with a note that about three times the regular number of voters came out on election day November 5, 2024. The Mayor said that everything went very well on election day with great volunteers assisting in the process. Mayor Good mentioned that the Little Salmon River Precinct is now doing their voting in New Meadows.
The annual Christmas Tree Lighting Event is coming up on Sunday, December 8 and will take place from 4:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Events begin at the library, then move to hayrides and caroling on the way to the park for the tree lighting. The event culminates at The Depot with treats, warm drinks, and visiting with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Submissions for the city mural design will be on display for the public to view. Mayor Good also said the City’s Christmas Decorating contest is returning for homes and businesses. Prizes will be given to first and second place winners as well as a kid’s choice winner. Brown’s Mountain Market currently holds the trophy. People interested in participating can contact City Hall to be added to the competition map.
In response to a recent request for more business engagement, the Mayor stated they will host a downtown business holiday open house. She said this will be an opportunity to discuss any ideas local business owners have. She also stated that the City plans to again do a shop local marketing campaign. To close her report, the Mayor gave a shout out and thank you to Franklin Building Supply for the 60 holiday dinners and 100 bags of pellets they passed out to New Meadows community members on Monday, November 25.
Kirk Kundrick, the New Meadows Primary Water Operator, then gave an update on the water system and overview of how the system works as well as its capabilities and future possibilities. He also described the final piece of the water project which is called SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition). SCADA is an important and helpful addition for water system management as Operators can see daily flow, amount of water that goes to the distribution system, total inflow, and other live data about everything going on with the sewer and water systems. Kundrick detailed the booster reservoir station that was the main focal piece installed during the water project upgrades and discussed how it helps the system work efficiently and adjust to varying needs.
Next, a brief overview of the Road and Streets Committee meeting minutes was given. At the committee meeting, City Engineer Grae Harper gave a presentation on the LHTAC grant. The committee discussed pros and cons to applying for the grant as well and asked Harper to get additional information on certain details. The grant application would be due in January, so the committee will decide this month if they want to pursue the grant and if so, they will present their recommendations for the grant and project to the City Council.
At the City Council meeting, Doug Buys described some discussions had at the Committee meeting including talk of excavating rock from a property owned by the White family and a conversation with Andy Mork with the Department of Lands Mining Division. The Committee also discussed borrowing a crusher. Having a supplier of rock for the possible major road reconstruction projects would potentially save the City millions of dollars on rock alone.
Once decisions are made of what to present to the City Council, a conditional use permit and public hearing will be part of the process to move forward. Council member Josh Carr noted that what the committee is discussing now is leaps and bounds ahead of what he thought they would be working on at this point. He sounded very pleased with how the committee is working and thanked Harper for his contributions.
Mayor Good informed the Council that an on-site meeting for the new Child Care/Youth Center would take place with the project managers from Boise, local contractors, and Kundrick. She noted that more fill is still needed and that they would discuss drainage concerns. A meeting is scheduled for December 4, 2024 for the new childcare foundation non-profit. The non-profit will oversee the daily operations of the childcare. The school will oversee operations of the preschool. The group is scheduled to meet to fill out their non-profit status applications.
Later in the meeting, a vote was taken to approve the Mayor’s suggested name of New Meadows Youth Center. Statements of affirmation were given from council member Shiloh Ryker noting the “sweat equity” and vision put in by the City. The name was unanimously approved.
Next, a discussion occurred regarding the limited availability of Post Office boxes for future homes and residential developments in New Meadows. Additional post office boxes could be added and serviced at new or existing developments if they are on the current mail route path. Anything not on the existing path would not be serviced. The Mayor will be visiting with MeadowCreek to discuss the possibility of putting in their own stand alone P.O. boxes.
The Comprehensive Financial Plan document has been finalized by Clearwater Financial. The company stated that in order to offer any additional work, a Master Services Agreement with a retainer and $6,000 fee would need to be put in place. The Council was unanimously not in favor of signing an agreement and no further action was taken.
The Council reviewed the existing Snow Removal Ordinance and made no changes. The ordinance details when snow removal will take place and reinforces right of way parking rules.
An action item to return the lot at 205 Larae to two separate lots, as originally platted, was unanimously approved.
An Executive Session per Idaho code 74-206(b) was taken during the meeting.
After the executive session, an action item to change City Clerk Kyla Gardner’s pay wage rate while she covers both the City Clerk and Deputy Clerk positions was approved unanimously effective November 15, 2024.
The consent agenda was approved unanimously.
Future meeting topics may include the annual healthcare update and an update from Brown’s Mountain Recycling on the United Metal agreement. The next City Council meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. and move to the Industrial Complex for a walk-through of the recently vacated unit. The meeting will then return to City Hall. Also at that meeting, a virtual walk through of the new youth center will be given. The public are encouraged to attend in person or via Zoom to see the tour. A Zoom link will be posted to the City’s social media page as well as on their website.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 9, 2024 at 6:30 p.m..
