Council Highlights

May 2003

-Kevin McLeod, Water Circuit Rider for the Idaho Rural Water Association, was present during the regular monthly meeting of the Albion City Council to discuss the City’s water system; he explained that, because his job involves helping small towns, he has been working with City Maintenance Supervisor Stewart Waldemar; his first recommendation was that the City put flow meters on the wells; he stated that this is rule is now being pushed by the Department of Water Resources because of the need to conserve water;

-McLeod explained how the flow meters should be installed;  Councilman Len Marrs noted that any action by the Council on this matter needs to be coordinated with the engineers hired for the water system improvement project because they can use the facts for their study; Stewart was instructed to talk with the engineers and then obtain three quotes for the cost of putting in the flow meters before the next meeting;

-another recommendation McLeod made was that the City begin charging for water usage based on the meter readings;  Stewart reported that the reading of service meters had begun in order to obtain baseline data for determining ratesl;  McLeod stated that he has a computer program that can help determine rates; the Council thanked McLeod for his help;

-in another water issue, the Council asked Stewart to clean out ditches needed for surface water delivery.; at a later date, the ditch on the east side of the City Park is to be replaced with pipe and enclosed because of the new playground to be installed there; this will include removing some tree stumps along the ditch;

-Kay Powell, representing the Albion Valley Players and the ASN/SICE Alumni Association, reported about the recent boarding up of windows on the main floor of Comish Hall, former girls dorm on the campus; he stated that the Players had contributed $535 to purchase plywood and the alumni association $466; the reasons he listed for closing up the building were safety, security, preservation of the building, and making the campus look better; he requested funds to finish the windows on the upper floor; after explaining the cost of what is needed to complete this project and replace some boards that have come off other buildings, the Council approved spending up to $1000 for this; the men doing the work were commended;

-it was agreed to change the time schedule of the budget process for next year’s budget by moving it up a month; the Budget Hearing will be during the August meeting, not in

April 2003

-the meeting began with a Public Hearing regarding the City vacating rights to and ownership of a 24 foot wide strip of city property along Market Street bordering the northern edge of property belonging to Leeana Hauser, the City of Albion, the Albion Fire Protection District, and Bennie Chatburn; it began with Mayor Don Danner outlining the procedure for the hearing; City Attorney Kerry McMurray presented the petitions for vacation from the land owners; there were no questions from the public and only comments in favor of the vacation; by Ordinance the Council approved giving the property to the land owners; a reservation of easement to city services running through the property was spelled out in the ordinance;

-Jennifer Etter from Region IV Development in Twin Falls, administrator for the Block Grant being sought by the Albion Fire Protection District with assistance from the City, was present to complete the final grant application; she stated that the numbers had been adjusted and reviewed the documentation needed for the application; discussion was also held about the oral presentation to be given to the review committee appointed by the Department of Commerce the last of April; the Council agreed to hire Carleen Herring from Region IV as the Environmental Review Officer;

-the council members approved and signed a Position Paper, which was prepared by Councilman Len Marrs, regarding development of wind generated power; it states that “the Mayor and City Council of Albion, Idaho support the development of wind generated power in the State of Idaho and specifically in the Albion Valley;” it was noted that they are not endorsing any company, just supporting the concept. -it further states: “It is the position of the City of Albion that the development of wind generated power should be pursued at the Cotterel Mountains location. The installation of the wind farm will provide economic benefits to the City, and to the Albion Valley, in the form of employment during construction and the potential of permanent, full-time jobs

during operation, increased income during construction for local businesses, and an increased tax base for Cassia County.”  It concluded with the elected officials encouraging residents of the city and valley to support and encourage the development of wind generated power at the proposed site on the Cotterel Mountains;

-Larry King from Bonneville Power Administration was present to explain a document Mayor Don Danner had been asked to sign in regards to transmission of power; he stated that BPA was acquiring ancillary services from Idaho Power for transmission and the cost is to be shared by BPA customers; the cost to the City of Albion is about $320 per year depending on the load factor; the Council authorized the Mayor to sign the contract revision;

-Lorna Caliouette was present to inform the Council that she had a large flag pole on her property that she would donate to the City if the Council would remove it; it was suggested that it be put between the City Office and the proposed fire station; she also asked if the city could do anything about termite infestation on the property north of her residence; the council members stated they would check the ordinance to see what they could do;

-Len reported that Galena Engineering hired by the City to do a water improvement feasibility study had completed phase one of the study by locating two funding sources for grants; approval was given authorizing the mayor to sign grant applications to the Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Forest Service which are to be prepared by Region IV development; approval was given for the engineering firm to begin phase two which will include determining problems with the current water distribution systems;

-Bruce Bristol, a member of the Albion Senior Citizens Board of Directors, brought three issues from the Board to the Council; he asked if it would be possible to flood irrigate the lawn at the Senior Center and the council agreed to check into the matter; secondly, he asked if the sewer rate for the center could be reduced because the center is not used very often; lastly, he stated that the seniors are receptive to negotiating moving the center to the former Masonic Hall which the City now owns’  

-Resident Deputy Sgt. Bruce Bristol gave his monthly report, noting citations issued and reports taken;

-Sheriff Jim Higens visited the meeting to see if the City was satisfied with the law enforcement service provided by the sheriff’s department;

-Kerry reported on the redraft of the agreement between the City and LeRoy Robinson he is preparing in regards to the spray field from the sewer lagoon and asked if the council members wanted any items added; -Kerry reported about the latest developments in the new plat for the Hunter Addition in north Albion, noting that the old plat will need to be vacated if and when all the property owners agree to the new one; -updating of the electrical ordinance was postponed to the May meeting; -a resolution encouraging all Albion residents to support the annual cemetery cleanup, valley cleanup, and community barbecue on Saturday, May 3 was approved and signed; -Mayor Danner reported that he would be attending a Rural Development Forum being held in Hagerman and a Funders Fair being held at the Marsh Creek Event Centre south of Albion;

-Lenn reported that the proposed location for the new playground on the city park has been inspected by the Park Service and approved with the conditions that the irrigation ditch around the park be enclosed and tree stumps near the playground be removed;

-City Clerk Mary Yeaman noted that the budget planning date needs to be set soon because she needs to let the county know the date by the end of April.

February 2003

-a public hearing regarding vacating rights to and ownership of a 24 foot wide strip of city property along Market Street bordering the northern edge of the D.L. Evans Bank Albion branch property was held; it began with Mayor Don Danner outlining the procedure for the hearing; City Attorney Kerry McMurray presented the petition for vacation from the bank which included a letter from John Evans, Jr. stating that the bank would accept, upgrade, and maintain the property; there were no questions from the public and only comments in favor of the vacation; by Ordinance 2003-01-01 the Council approved giving the property to D.L. Evans Bank; a reservation of easement to city services running through the property was spelled out in the ordinance; Dell Mitchell, branch manager, was present to represent the bank;

-other property owners along the eastern three blocks of  Market street have been approached about making similar petitions; the city is doing this to align the southern boundary of the street with the western portion; a hearing on these petitions may be held during the March meeting of the Council. 

-it was announced two of the four engineering firms that submitted Letters of Interest in regards to a Water Improvement Feasibility Study for the City have been called in for interviews to be held on Thursday, January 16; Councilman Len Marrs handed out a new evaluation form that he had prepared for the council members to use; one part of it was for evaluating the technical proposal the companies are to submit and the other part was for the oral interview;

-discussion was again held about updating the city codification of ordinances; upon a suggestion from Councilman Marrs, it was agreed to have the City Attorney McMurray and City Clerk Mary Yeaman review it and suggest changes they think need to be made; the Councilmen will also check the document for needed updates and corrections;

-Mayor Danner announced that the City had again received Gem Community certification and that the first of three required meetings of the Gem Community Action Team was tentatively scheduled to be held Wednesday, January 29 in the Albion Grange Hall; it will be for the purpose of reviewing what was accomplished during 2002 and making plans for 2003;

-the mayor was authorized to proceed with a Low to Moderate Income survey of residents; he stated that this data is needed for some grants that the City plans to apply for in March; the Community Relations Committee of the Albion Valley Planning Council will assist with taking the confidential survey;

-Resident Deputy Sgt. Bruce Bristol gave his monthly report;

-Animal Control Officer Stewart Waldemar reported that he planned to have all the dogs in Albion licensed by February, reminding those present that the fee is $10 or $5 for a neutered animal;

-the Council agreed that at this time there would be no fee during the winter for irrigation pumps on the city water system;

-some complaints received about the chip-seal of the city streets were discussed and it was determined that the work done was correct;

-an ordinance adopting the International Building Codes was approved;

-it was reported that the City’s application prepared by JUB Engineers to renew its Wastewater Land Application Permit was submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality before the December 31 deadline;

-Councilman Don Bowden reported that he was going to invite Larry King from Bonneville Power to the February meeting to discuss how recent developments with BPA will affect the City’s electrical system;

-Councilman Marrs reported that the final draft of a brochure about the Albion Valley has been approved by the Idaho Travel Council and that 20,000 copies are being printed;

-the city clerk reported that letters of apology had been received from some young people caught trespassing on the campus property; and

-Kay Powell, part-time city maintenance man, reported what had been done to fix a city pump that quit working.

January 2003

-Jeff Poulsen, new City Auditor, was present to review the 2002 audit of the city accounts; he addressed some minor areas of concern, stating that the accounts were in good order; he commended the City for its record keeping and thanked City Clerk Mary Yeaman for her help after he had to take over the audit upon the death of former auditor, Garth Beck;  the Council accepted the audit;

-Ray Mitchell from R & S Enterprise was present to briefly review the wildland urban interface program, “Community At Risk;” he explained that the Bureau of Land Management funded program is a partnership between the bureau, the City of Albion, and the Albion Fire District through which the community can become more safe from rangeland fires; he then reported that, since the community open house held to explain the program to valley residents, he with help from Fire Chief Stewart Waldemar had begun the analysis portion of the three year project by taking pictures around the valley and identifying fire hazard areas; 

-a public hearing will be held during the January meeting in regards to a petition filed by D.L. Evans Bank to have a strip of city property north of the Albion bank’s parking lot on Market Street vacated and deeded to the bank; the Council asked City Attorney Kerry McMurray to send letters to other landowners along the east three blocks of Market Street offering to help them file similar petitions; the Council would like this section of the street to have the same dimensions as the rest of it; a public hearing will be held during the February meeting for any petitions received before that time. 

-Councilman Len Marrs reported about a meeting with a representatives from the Department of Environmental Quality and JUB Engineers in regards to the City’s application to renew its Wastewater Land Application Permit; he stated that JUB will be submitting the application to DEQ by the end of the year deadline, but noted that it might not be approved; it was noted that compliance with DEQ regulations will have to be phased in due to budget constraints;

-it was reported that four engineering firms had submitted Letters of Interest regarding the Water Improvement Feasibility Study; Len gave each Councilman an Evaluation Rating Sheet that he had prepared for each to use in rating the four companies; the Council will then meet to compare the ratings and determine which ones to call in for an interview;

-Len handed out a draft copy of a format to be used in the submission of proposals regarding use of the Albion campus so that all applicants can then work from the same page; the Council members are to review it; he noted that Attorney McMurray had already reviewed it and expressed some concerns he had;

-it was reported that Kay Powell was hired as the part-time city maintenance person;

-Resident Deputy Sgt. Bruce Bristol reported that three citations were issued in Albion during the month, two reports were taken, and an arrest for criminal assault was made;

-Len reported that he still has not heard from the National Park Service whether grant to improve the playground on the City Park has been approved;

-Mayor Don Danner reported that he is still working on cost estimates for the renovation of the old Masonic Hall as a Community Center in order to apply for a grant;

-Attorney McMurray was asked to prepare an amendment to the water ordinance regarding the rate for contiguous lots owned by one person;

-Councilman Brent Stauffer and City Maintenance Supervisor Stewart were asked to figure the labor costs for replacing the surface water delivery ditch with pipe;

-Mayor Danner reported that he has been working with Mini-Cassia National Heritage Program which is working to preserve historical sites in the area;

-discussion was held about meeting once a month to review and update city ordinances; and

-discussion was held about how to handle zoning violations.