Mayor Good Recognized for Efforts in City
The New Meadows City Council held their regular meeting on Monday, June 9 beginning with Mayor Julie Good’s report. The Mayor stated that the Mehen Memorial Skatepark committee has begun construction with Grindline. The scheduled date for the grand opening of the park is September 27 and will include a Skate Down and celebration.
Mayor Good also noted that Ziply had not submitted a completed right of way application or the requested project timeline as required by the City and affirmed that no underground work would be allowed until after the requested paperwork was received. She also praised John Stone saying he has been doing excellent work as liaison between the City and Ziply.
Public Works staff has removed the partitions around the shelter at the City Park and is working on further clean up of that area ahead of installation of locked display covers and picnic tables.
Mayor Julie Good received the John Evans Award from the Association of Idaho Cities. This award is given to a city official who demonstrates exemplary performance in city government and who has contributed to the accomplishment of the association of Idaho cities. Mayor Good stated her desire to “recognize that although her name is on the plaque, she recognizes that everything that has been accomplished while she has been mayor is only due to the decisions of the city council and city staff’s efforts to continue to work together to address challenges and pursue projects that will benefit the city now and in the future.” She said this award is a testimony to the amazing teamwork of New Meadows.
The Mayor detailed the clean up efforts at Brown’s property on South End Road has made major progress. There is still some work to be done, but she was positive that they would meet their clean up deadline of August 30.
Mayor Good detailed some of the recent changes and updates at the new city hall building including installation of the City Hall sign, May Hardware’s work in updating door locks with new but still historically accurate hardware for offices and storage rooms, and donation from Meadows Valley Library of display panels. The city is looking to have a drop box stand created and installed at The Depot, likely of metal. A change of use building inspection will occur at the Depot. Hunter Brown from Public Works fixed the flagpole light, and has been checking lights around the building and learning maintenance details.
The Mayor introduced Micki Eby as the liaison between the City and the Adams County Historical Society. The liaison position is part of the agreement between the two parties. Eby gave some of her personal history and involvement with the ACHS noting she grew up and graduated from high school in New Meadows, moved away, and returned in 2007. She was involved in the restoration project and has worked with ACHS since then. She said she has been fascinated with the history of this valley and the city. She also gave gratitude for the partnership with the school and specifically with Brent LaFay’s work with getting his third grade class involved in recording history. The class did a community project this past school year learning about the history of Meadows Valley.
In New Meadows Youth Center updates, the HVAC has passed, sheetrock started last week and will be followed by painting, the canopy over the playground is scheduled for installation on July 7. Preparations for sidewalks and the parking lot are underway.
The council then had long discussions on rear yard setbacks on properties in town, speeding on side streets, and possible changes to an ordinance affecting food trucks. A digital speed sign has been in place around town for a couple weeks in an effort to slow drivers down, but positive change has not been noticed, and communication was sent even stating the community member thought people were speeding up by the sign. Since the Sheriff’s office is already very busy, they are not likely to have availability to have a physical presence to increase ticketing and observation. Discussion included removable speed bumps and other speed deterrents.
The food trucks discussion included noting there are allowances for the Labor Day and Farmers Market events. The council brought up that it could benefit the city to have options for food trucks on days most businesses are closed, like Sunday or Monday. The council also discussed current known permits and charges of nearby cities, possible locations for truck parking, and maximum lengths. Julia Olson shared her own experiences as a local food truck vendor. The council and mayor also voiced their concerns of not wanting to impede on current brick and mortar businesses.
A proposal from Dalrymple Construction for repairs in the Industrial Park complex including framing, plumbing, and electrical was presented to the council and discussed. Specific details on this and other items can be found in the agenda packet from this meeting located on the city website. The council unanimously passed a motion to approve the proposal. The details will be put into a pending lease agreement that will be on the agenda for approval at the next meeting.
The Depot rental agreement was reviewed again and approved unanimously with the addition of a 50% discount for local non profits. The agreement was already reviewed and approved by the city attorney.
The Meadows Valley Days Committee submitted a request to the city for water and power. The council had questions wanting to clarify who would be using these resources and what they would be used for, especially the water. After much discussion, and positive discussion of the event itself and the committee’s work, the council decided to table the request and send a request for a committee representative to attend the next meeting so they can clarify details.
Future meeting topics may include a walk through at 6:00 p.m. of the Youth Center, further discussion on food trucks, rear yard setbacks, and the Meadow Valley Days committee requests, a presentation by the County’s prosecuting attorney, a presentation from the West Central Mountains Economic Development Council, right of way, ditches, and the pending ambulance district dissolution.
The next city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m..
