Christmas Tree Lighting on December 7
The New Meadows City Council held their regular meeting on Monday, November 10 with all Councilmembers present. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 8.
Mayor Julie Good began the meeting with her report. She said since there was such a great turnout for the candidate forum and so many great questions, she thought they should revisit the community potluck with Q&A idea the Council discussed a few months back.
The Mayor also reported that the Adams County Historical Society is changing their museum exhibit to represent “an Old Fashioned Christmas” circa 1800-1900. She said the group’s vision was to “consider what was available to people then and focus more on holiday meals, family gatherings, and very few gifts that were of practical value, if any were given at all”. Mayor Good said she hoped some of the school classes would come see the new exhibit. She also said the Society is getting a bid from a local fabricator for the Will Kerby Memorial Bench. The museum is open during City Hall open hours.
At the Skatepark, the City will be installing a drain from the west side of the park over to the ditch, said the Mayor. The area will be graded so that water is directed to the drain west of the skatepark. They will also bring in gravel for that area and a lower area near Peterson Memorial where water has been pooling and causing mud. They hope this will help alleviate the mud being tracked onto the skatepark. Next year, the Mayor said the City plans to bring in recycled asphalt behind the youth center to create a nicer parking area.
In staff reports, a new employee made a request for a welding apron, and the City said they would acquire one soon.
Council member Traci Foster asked about the City Hall drop box and who would be making it. A discussion ensued that there would be follow up with interested parties about timing to finalize the project.
Mayor Good said they have been gathering letters of support for the sign grant the City plans to apply for through LHTAC. Letters are anticipated from the school, library, the Meadows Valley Early Learning Foundation, and possibly the bank or another local business.
Discussion ensued on cost estimates for the possible Four Way Stops on Heigho. A general quote was given for needed sizing and options. The conversation included a possibility of getting poles donated which would make the cost of signs including brackets around $1000. They also discussed driving to the sign manufacturer to save on paying shipping and other costs. Currently the City would need to purchase 7 signs.
Regarding assistance for furloughed employees and SNAP recipients, Mayor Good said she is “still in conversation with the [New Meadows] Food Bank about possibly having the City as a location if they were going to do any kind of gift cards or anything like that since they food bank is not open enough” and that she would keep the council informed if that would be happening.
The next Food Bank Day is November 22 at the New Meadows Methodist Church.
Regarding the City Surplus Bid, three bids were received ranging from about $600 - $4,000. The highest bid was accepted and the bidder will be notified by the City.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ignite Idaho was approved. Before the discussion, Council member Shiloh Ryker disclosed for the record that she is employed by Ignite Idaho Family Resource Center and stated that she would not receive any economic or any other benefit to her by engaging in this MOU. Mayor Good added that the City Attorney said as long as Ryker’s employment was disclosed at the meeting and the other two City Council Members did not have a problem with her voting then Ryker could forego recusing herself. This was needed as there are currently only three City Council Members and at least three are needed for a vote.
The MOU allows Ignite Idaho to use an office at the New Meadows Youth Center for crisis counseling, case management, and other mental health services as needed with 24/7 access.
An agreement for rental of the New Meadows Youth Center was approved. The Council agreed to make it fairly similar to the rental agreement for the Depot’s Freight Room. Kitchen facility rental may be included per hour. Per hour rental fees up to 3 hours, a 4 hour rental, and an all day rental rate are available. Rental will include restrooms on the skatepark side of the building and will exclude access to the daycare and preschool area of the building.
The Council also approved the submitted Mission Statement for The New Meadows Youth Center.
Approving changes to the city’s personnel policy was on the agenda, but approval was postponed as the details are still being worked out. The Mayor said employees have been alerted via letter of the possible changes as previously discussed.
The Council approved cancellation of the November 24 & December 22 regular City Council Meetings due to lack of quorum.
Canvassed Election Results from the County were approved by the City Council after a short explanation of details. The results paperwork includes a section noted as ‘Undervotes’ and the Mayor explained this is when someone writes in something that does not count for a vote. For example, writing in a candidate who is not registered or not checking any boxes but turning in a ballot.
City Council went into an Executive Session and returned to approve a motion to ‘grant authorization if needed for an emergency contractor to be hired to remedy the concern at the Meadows Subdivision if the Meadows Subdivision contractor does not remedy it by the due date.’ This is concerning fixing a stormwater pipe that was not fixed to the City’s standard.
Future meeting topics may include discussions of possibilities surrounding expansion of the City’s area of impact, annexation, and a public hearing for a considered area of impact change. Area of impact expansion may include areas to the west and east where most growth and potential for growth has been seen. They may also include updating the personnel policy and road & streets committee updates.
The City’s annual Christmas tree lighting event is scheduled for Sunday, December 7.
As noted above, the City Council’s November 24 and December 22 meetings are canceled.
The next regular City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 8 at 6:30p.m.
