City Approves Grandstand Project; Discusses Apartments
The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge City Council was held on April 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the City Hall Chambers on South Superior Street. All action items on the agenda received unanimous votes of approval, beginning with the Consent Agenda, which included the approval of the current agenda, previous meeting minutes and payment of bills. Rather than providing comprehensive minutes of this meeting, which are always available on the city of Cambridge’s website, highlights of the April 13 general meeting and the outcome of agenda items are provided below.
The April meeting kicked off with Cambridge’s recognition as an official “JustServe” city. JustServe is a global organization that supports volunteerism in communities. Volunteer opportunities can be found on their website (justserve.org/) and community organizations can also post volunteer needs. JustServe links potential volunteers with community organizations in need of volunteers. The JustServe designation also coincides with America 250 preparations and the challenge to complete 250 hours of volunteer service as part of the festivities celebrating America’s independence.
The first action item was the Cambridge Rodeo Association Grandstand Project. The Cambridge Rodeo, in collaboration with the Cambridge Western Heritage Foundation, will be funding the grandstand project through grants and community donations. The recently established Cambridge Western Heritage Foundation, an organization created to promote the western way of life in Cambridge and surrounding communities, is a local non-profit that will be administering scholarships to area youth as part of its mission. A motion was made to approve this project. The motion was unanimously passed.
The next action item continued the discussion of the America 250 banner design. These banners will be displayed in Cambridge as part of the America 250 celebration. A motion was made to approve banner designs. The motion was passed unanimously.
The next action item involved continued discussion pertaining to the new city logo. Following the lead of Washington County and the city of Council, Cambridge is in the process of updating its logo with the help of generative AI. The logo is still going through the revision process and part of the discussion revolved around whether the date for Cambridge’s establishment should be included on the logo and, if so, which date should be listed, as there is some local controversy surrounding the date Cambridge was founded. No motion was made regarding the design at this meeting.
A non-action item but of interest to residents of the city of Cambridge was a discussion on the issue of basement apartments within the city limits. This discussion dovetailed with Mayor Loveland’s proclamation, earlier in the meeting, of April being Fair Housing Month. Basement apartments are important sources of rental housing stock in many Idaho communities. Currently, Cambridge does not have a specific ordinance pertaining to basement units and the discussion revolved around whether this was necessary or if existing building permits were adequate to ensure public safety and address other potential concerns.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting which was passed unanimously.
The next Cambridge City Council meeting will be held on May 11 at 7:00 p.m. As a reminder to the community, if you are unable to attend in person, audio recordings of City Council meetings, minutes, and agendas are available on the City of Cambridge website. City Hall is accessible for people with disabilities. Any person needing special accommodation to participate in the meeting should contact City Clerk Sandra McKee at (208) 257-3318 or (208) 550-0591 at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.
