November 7, 2005 Regular Meeting

The City Council met in regular session on November 7, 2005 at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.

Mayor Vanderwall presided:

Councilmembers present:

Wes Lester
Bruce Walker
Brian Lorentz
James Zehner
Georgia DeHaas

Councilmember Absent:

Jane Kissinger

City employees present were Public Works Director Gortsema, Chief Sedam, City Attorney Albers and Clerk Kennedy.

The meeting was called to order and the minutes of the October 17th meeting were approved as presented by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Lorentz. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

VISITORS: Ruth Oie and Annelle Urbahn of the Grangeville Merchants were present to voice their concerns to the Council about the condition of the bricks along Main Street. They have been getting complaints from customers based upon the condition of the bricks located in the sidewalk. A lot of bricks are sinking and they would like to know who is responsible for fixing them. They also asked about cementing the bricks in permanently instead of using sand. Public Works Director Gortsema explained that there is compacted gravel, then sand instead of concrete so water could drain without cracking the cement. Councilman Walker stated that the brick project originally started with the Downtown Revitalization Committee and continued from there. The sidewalk maintenance belongs to the property owner and if someone would get hurt, the property owner is held liable with the City being secondary. Councilman Lester felt that the problem would be ongoing as long as bricks are present in the sidewalk. Ruth asked if the bricks could be cemented in, instead of set with sand. Gortsema explained that cement wasn’t used originally because as water got trapped, the cement might crack or break. It was asked what would happen if the bricks were removed and placed at Heritage Square. The consensus on removing the bricks was that if the trough was filled with cement it would look horrible and then there would be problems with the cement shifting as the weather changed. It was suggested that a little annual maintenance by the property owners would probably be the best solution.

COMMITTEE REPORTS: Chief of Police Sedam summarized the monthly report, reporting that the department responded to 164 calls for service. There were 127 cases written, 38 misdemeanor arrests, 5 felony arrests, 60 citations, 24 written warnings issued, 6 dogs and 10 cats impounded. The Police and Animal Control Report for October 2005 was accepted on motion by Councilman Zehner, second by Councilman Lester. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

The Water Leak report for October 2005 was presented and it was reported that the department repaired 7 leaks (167 year to date) and installed one new service.

Water Project: Public Works Director Gortsema explained that one pipe laying crew will be moving out the end of this week. The other crew will stay until they finish up the areas where the pavement has been milled. The service crew will work as long as they can and Poe is supposed to be here Wednesday to prep all the trenches so they are done before winter. Mike Curtiss and Mike Sturdevant are getting a prioritized list on what the City would like to have done before Bodiford leaves for the winter. Gortsema believes the intent is to have all the services connected and streets patched before winter.

PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MAKEUP: At the morning County Commissioner meeting, two council members met with the County on the area of impact, with Joe Wright representing the City. The County seems to be in agreement with modifying the ordinance to have one area of impact representative and to allow those residents that own property in the area of impact to also serve as a representative. Councilwoman DeHaas felt the County was in agreement and they would proceed with a public hearing after the City adopted the ordinance revisions. The public hearing on the change to the planning and zoning commission will be held at the December 5th meeting.

REVIEWER OF PERMITS: Mayor Vanderwall explained that the Council has discussed having a city staff member fill the position of reviewer and would like Public Works Gortsema to fill the position. On motion by Councilman Walker, second by Councilman Lester to change the reviewer from a Planning and Zoning member to City Staff member Gortsema, effective immediately. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

ICRMP RENEWAL: On motion by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Zehner to authorize the Mayor and Clerk to sign the ICRMP renewal in the amount of $47,662.00. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

CANVASS THE VOTES: On motion by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Lorentz to set November 10th at 12:00 p.m. to canvass the votes. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

ADMINISTRATOR FOR SUBDIVISION: Lowell and Jodi Williams submitted a pre-application for a subdivision to be accessed off South 10th Street. Councilman Zehner made a motion, second by Councilman Lester to appoint Public Works Director Gortsema as the administrator for the subdivision pre-application submitted by Lowell and Jodi Williams. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

TORT CLAIM SUBMITTED BY RONALD PHILLIPS: The tort claim was submitted to ICRMP for review. Councilman Walker made a motion, second by Councilman Lorentz to deny the tort claim submitted by Ronald Phillips of the Camas Café. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

SURPLUS: On motion by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Walker to surplus the Library broken equipment, a dell monitor and canon printer. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

WAGON RIDES: Chief Sedam explained that Wagons Ho will be in Grangeville to provide wagon rides for three Fridays and two Saturdays during the month of December to view Christmas decorations. They have provided a certificate of insurance and would like permission to load and unload passengers on Main Street in front of Heritage Square. On motion by Councilman Walker, second by Councilwoman DeHaas to allow Wagons Ho to use the parking area as described by Chief Sedam. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: On motion by Councilman Zehner, second by Councilman Lester to go into Executive Session according to Section 67-2345 (f). A roll call vote was duly taken with the following results:

Councilwoman DeHaas Yes
Councilman Walker Yes
Councilman Lorentz Yes
Councilman Lester Yes
Councilman Zehner Yes

Motion passed.

A motion was made by Councilman Zehner, second by Councilman Lester to go out of Executive Session. A roll call vote was duly taken with the following results:

Councilwoman DeHaas Yes
Councilman Walker Yes
Councilman Lorentz Yes
Councilman Lester Yes
Councilman Zehner Yes

Motion passed.

ITEMS TO NOTE: The Council received copies of the Idaho Community Trees Brochure, RC & D Minutes from September 22nd and a Corridor Study Steering Committee Letter.

The meeting adjourned at 8:45 P.M.

_________________________________
Terry Vanderwall - Mayor

ATTEST:

_________________________
Tonya Kennedy – City Clerk