New Meadows City Council
New Meadows City Council held their regular meeting on Monday, September 22. Mayor Julie Good began the meeting praising the Farmer’s Market Fall Festival and saying the market has been such a wonderful addition to the community. No public comment was added.
Good’s report updated the city council on Ziply Fiber’s contractor work in the city. She noted John Stone is still inspecting that work and confirmed his expenses are being paid by Ziply and not the city. She also noted that November 1 is the cut off for all right of way permits so they will need to finish up quickly.
The new city engineer, Justin Walker, met with the city on Wednesday, October 24 and received updates on current projects.
Mayor Good attended the first meeting of the Idaho Power mapping project. She reported that there are no plans to expand the substation east of town. Idaho Power is looking at reasons for power outages north of town as well.
St. Luke’s McCall contacted the city and offered items from several storage units as donations for the city to use for City Hall and the Youth Center. The city is grateful for the donations that included trash cans, chairs, file cabinets, and mop buckets.
City Clerk Kyla Gardner attended the recent PAWG (Payette, Adams, Washington, Gem) County meeting for LHTAC (Local Highway Jurisdiction in Idaho). This is the precursor meeting to determine applications for LHTAC grants in October.
The mayor reported that Hunter Brown with Public Works will be attending a stormwater certification class in McCall and will attend the IRWA Spring conference to keep up his continuing education.
Discussion began on the New Meadows Youth Center including an update on the recent Grand Opening event attended by well over 100 people including many contractors who worked on the project. Joe and Kimberly Dalrymple put together a large poster with a poem to be signed by contractors as well as city council and the mayor, along with some photo books showing the progression of construction on the building to be gifted to contractors and donors. Mayor Good also reported that the preschool is open and operational and the youth center portion of the building is being finished up. Concrete flooring needs epoxy finishing, and some other final items need completion including cabinets, some fixtures, and the restrooms on the skatepark side. The Mayor is working on some sign ideas for the front of the building with Rocky Mountain Signs.
Mehen Memorial Skatepark held their grand opening and ribbon cutting on Saturday, September 27.
An in depth discussion began with the council and mayor regarding 4-way stops on S. Heigho to determine possible locations. The conversation ended in a decision to poll residents at the proposed intersections via door hanger. The current proposal would be to put a 4-way stop at Benedict and Cedric. Ideally responses will be returned in time for the next city council meeting.
The council reviewed a longer lease renewal option for Salmon River Mobile Vet at the industrial park complex. The lease will be on the agenda as an action item at the next meeting.
The council and mayor then held a long discussion regarding possible changes to multiple personnel policy items including vacation, comp time, and paid time off. The discussion centered around employee incentives and benefits, especially making these policies beneficial for staff without putting the city at risk of large costs in case of sudden departures or similar circumstances. This is mainly a concern related to budgeting as well as making sure staff is receiving and using their benefits.
A broad discussion on small lot exceptions in Zone R3 ended in a decision to review related code, review all lots in R3 under 60 feet wide and under 2000 square feet, review the ideas with Meredith Fisher at Adams County P&Z as well as the city attorney and fire department, and then discuss findings.
The updated lease with Seed Woodworking was approved unanimously. A renewal of the city’s operational support services agreement with Kirk Kundrick was approved. Dates were the only thing noted as changed to Kundrick’s contract as he agreed to work with the city for another year. A renewal of a Building Official Services agreement with Kody Williams was approved with no changes except dates.
The council approved a resolution to move forward with a 2025 Idaho Gem Grant application for $50,000 to help with Youth Center expenses.
The consent agenda including April, May, June, July, and August 2025 Financials, Paid & Pending Claims, and August 11 & September 8 meeting minutes was approved.
Future meeting topics may include a review of the MOUs with Meadows Valley Fire District, Ignite Idaho, and Meadows Valley Youth Advocacy Coalition (YAC), poll review regarding potential 4-way stops, and a discussion on the old city hall. The next City Council regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 13 at 6:30 p.m..
