City Water Cleared, Brown Earns Certification

The New Meadows city council held their regular meeting on Monday, September 8.

Mayor Julie Good began by thanking Johnny Brown, Jr., who was in attendance, for his work on the recycle sign that is now displayed in the new New Meadows Youth Center as a beautiful reminder of the history of the building.

Public Works officer Hunter Brown was presented with a Certificate of Completion for 288 hours of apprenticeship with the Idaho Rural Water Association (IRWA). Jake Slater, Apprenticeship Program Specialist for IRWA, gave the award and applauded Brown’s work to complete the learning program while maintaining his full time job with the city. Slater said, “We’re super proud of him. He did a fantastic job.” Along with his certificate, Brown received a challenge coin and hat. New Meadows Water Operator Kirk Kundrick was also in attendance and offered his congratulations on completing the challenge. Mayor Good acknowledged that the apprenticeship was not easy and said she appreciates Brown’s tenacity and is proud of him. The city provided treats to celebrate Brown’s accomplishments.

Mayor Good’s report began with praise for another amazing Meadows Valley Days and all of the great volunteer work that goes into making it a successful event.

The Mayor updated the city council that Ziply contractors have been working in town and John Stone is on site monitoring. She also noted that Brown is currently the only Public Works employee and they are seeking an additional employee. In the meantime, Mayor Good said a volunteer is helping with the bathrooms at the park and they have called others to help with specific jobs around the city.

Mayor Good noted the recent water issue has been cleared. A letter from the city went out on Thursday, September 11 noting follow up tests had been clear of any contaminants, chlorination ended on August 31, and tests showed no residual chlorine present in the system as of that writing.

City Engineer, Grae Harper, notified Mayor Good that he has taken a new job in Texas and will not continue working with the city after all. Harper’s mentor, Justin Walker, will be taking over for him.

Mayor Good said she and City Clerk Kyla Gardner met with Meredith Fisher with Adams County P&Z and received information on available trainings and developer agreements that may help the city in the future.

This week kicked off the first article of a series of focused pieces in the city’s weekly Monday email newsletter highlighting the work and job description of each city employee. This week’s note focuses on City Clerk and Treasurer, Kyla Gardner. Mayor Good said she hopes this will help the public better understand the duties of each staff member and city official.

Links to staff reports are available in the city council agenda packet on the city of New Meadows website.

Some upcoming events mentioned during the Mayor’s report include the annual Fall Festival on Saturday, September 20 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the City Park and The Mehen Memorial Ribbon Cutting and Skate Competition on Saturday, September 27.

Mayor Good introduced a discussion regarding a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Meadows Valley Rural Fire District. She said she was really impressed with the draft MOU and thinks it is a great start. She requested a representative from the Fire Department come up to participate in the discussion. Fire Chief Doug Buys came up.

A long discussion ensued regarding details of specific sections of the draft, clarifications on timing and details as well as processes. City council members and the Mayor asked questions of Chief Buys regarding timing, International Fire Code, and other details. The MOU sets in place roles and responsibilities of each party as related to things like building plan reviews, inspections, and approvals of new construction as well as noting the importance of cooperation between the city and Fire Department to ensure public safety.

The fire commissioners held their monthly meeting the following day and Chief Buys said a further discussion on the MOU would be on the commissioners agenda. The city council and Mayor proposed various changes to the MOU mainly to clarify and specify details and ensure the MOU would be clear for any future new parties on the city council or fire commission. Chief Buys recommended they add definitions at the end of the MOU to clarify meanings of specific items and the Mayor and City Council offered heavy agreement. Mayor Good added they may request a quarterly meeting to check in and update paperwork as needed.

A quick discussion on the New Meadows Youth Center followed, noting the crew is working hard to finish up and plans are in place to begin preschool in the new building this week.

The Mehen Memorial Skatepark is finalizing construction and plans to open with a ribbon cutting and competition event including food and music on Saturday, September 27. The events are scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. and go throughout the afternoon according to online advertisements.

Sam Thompson with Seed Woodworking was in attendance regarding his lease in the City’s Industrial Park Complex. He inquired about extending the terms of the lease to be five years instead of one. The Mayor asked if he would be open to the agreement showing a potential increase in rate every other year if they approved a five year lease and noted that would include discount language in the case of adding a local employee. The new lease will be reviewed at the next meeting.

Action on Brown’s Mountain Recycling turned into an update including showing some recent pictures of the property and a few audience questions. The review and site visit by DEQ is still needed and the city council agreed to do a field trip with the Brown Family once DEQ’s assessment is finished. Mayor Good said she would update the prosecuting attorney.

The city council approved the Parks & Rec committee’s request to rearrange the brick paved area in the City Park in order to potentially install a picnic table. The committee plans to hold fundraisers to cover costs.

A cleaning contract with Elizabeth Martinez for cleaning the freight room of the Depot after rentals was approved.

The city council then went into an executive session. Payroll changes for the City Clerk and Public Works Officer were approved by the city council following the session.

The consent agenda, with removal of the August 11 minutes and April 2025 financials, was approved.

The next city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 22 at 6:30 p.m..