May 27, 2009 Council Meeting Minutes

 City of Heyburn Council Meeting and Public Hearing Minutes

May 27, 2009

7:00 P.M.

Council Present:

Cleo Gallegos, Rocky Baker, Leann Smith and Dee Ray Bailey.

Employees Present:

Linda Dayley, Scott Spevak, Dan Bristol, Earl Andrew and Steve Tuft.

Visitors Present: Margi Owens, Kevin Halverson, Jeff McCurdy, Bill Morrison, Norma Morrison, Rose Schmitt, Laurie Welch, Hellen Mc Gill, Jack and Kathy Bailey, Francis McGill, George Warrell III, Rob Ramsey, Roy Belnap, Stan Zielinski, Joann Justesen and Paul Aston.

Meeting conducted by Mayor Anderson.

Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Anderson.

Mayor Anderson amended the agenda to include Roy Belnap concerning River Ridge Property, discuss changing of the speed limit by the old Heyburn Elementary School, and discuss the Heyburn Amphitheater Committee Report and discuss an Eagle Scout Project.

Motion by Leann Smith to amend the agenda to include a discussion with Roy Belnap about concerning River Ridge Property, discuss changing of the speed limit by the old Heyburn School, discuss Heyburn Amphitheater Committee Report and discuss an Eagle Scout Project. Second by Dee Ray Bailey. Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye; Dee Ray Bailey - Aye.

The good faith reason it was not on the original agenda is that these items were not brought to the Mayor’s attention until after the agenda was posted.

Approve Minutes of the Council Meeting on May 13, 2009.

Motion by Dee Ray Bailey to approve the minutes for the Council Meeting on May 13, 2009. Second by Rocky Baker. Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye; Dee Ray Bailey - Aye.

Approve Paying the Bills.

Motion by Rocky Baker to approve paying the bills as presented. Second by Cleo Gallegos. Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye; Dee Ray Bailey - Aye.

Discuss an Eagle Scout Project - Zack Webb.

Zack Webb presented to the Mayor and Council that as an Eagle Scout Project he would like to set up a Horse Shoe Pitt on the northeast end of the McBride Park and on the northwest end he would like to set up a Volley Ball Pole with a net. After discussion City Superintendent Scott Spevak suggested that he called and set up a time to meet with Scott and Rob. Council was in agreement and commended him for the project.

Public Hearing for Reviewing the Current Waste Water Treatment Plant Community Development Grant - Jeff McCurdy.

Mayor Anderson turned the hearing over to Jeff McCurdy from Region IV.

City of Heyburn – Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project

2^nd Public Hearing – Status of Project

May 27, 2009 7:00 p.m. 

SCOPE OF WORK:

The City of Heyburn has undertaken a project to renovate its municipal wastewater treatment plant.   In May 2007, the City received an Idaho Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) to assist with the project.  ICDBG funds were used to partially pay for engineering expenses that are associated with this project.  Specific components of this project include:

·        Constructing an Oxidation Ditch and Belt Press Solids Handling System 

·        Installing an Anaerobic Bio-Selector Tank, Effluent Filters  

·        Upgrading Headwork’s Building and Equipment

CONSTRUCTION:

An assessment to determine the environment impacts the ICDBG funds would have on the environment was completed in June 2007.  On June 13, 2007, a Determination of Exemption as outlined in 24 CFR Section 58.34a was approved by the City Council and a Notice of Concurrence on Finding of Exemption was issued by the Idaho Department of Commerce on June 22, 2007.  USDA-Rural Development conducted an assessment to determine the impacts of construction on the environment and issued a Categorical Exclusion determination on February 21, 2007.  

Construction bid documents were prepared by Forsgren Associates, Inc.  Three Official Notice to Bidders were advertised in the South Idaho Press on June 2, June 13, and June 23, 2008.  The bid opening was held on July 2, 2008 and the City received three proposals from Peck Ormsby, Hills Construction, and Gerber Construction.  The low and responsive bidder was Gerber Construction from Lehi, Utah.  The City issued a Notice of Award to Gerber Construction on July 23, 2008 in the amount of $4,288,893.00.  The Notice to Proceed issued by the City authorized Gerber Construction to commence construction on September 8, 2008.  A preconstruction conference was held on August 13, 2008 at the Heyburn City Hall.

BUDGET:

To date, the City has expended $60,275.50 in local cash, $479,000 in ICDBG funding, and $2,725,971.18 of USDA-RD’s loan proceeds.  The City has $338,725 local cash, $21,000 CDBG funding, $2,274,029 USDA-RD loan proceeds, and $250,000 USDA-RD Grant funding remaining in the project budget.  The project budget is as follows:   

Public Hearing

For

Idaho Community Development Block Grant

City of Heyburn – City Hall

May 27, 2009 - 7:00 p.m.

Public Hearing:

A public hearing was held on May 27, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall in the City of Heyburn.  The City received $500,000 from the Idaho Department of Commerce through the Idaho Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) program to assist with the City’s wastewater treatment plant upgrade project.  The public hearing was held to provide an update on the project and to provide the public an opportunity to comment.  The public hearing included a review of the project activities and accomplishments, a summary of all expenditures to date, a general description of the work remaining, and the changes to the budget and schedule. 

The public hearing was opened at 7:11 p.m. by Mayor George Anderson.  Jeff McCurdy with Region IV Development Association gave a status report on the accomplishments of the project to date.  McCurdy discuss the conditions associated with the ICDBG program, which of those obligations the City has met, and which requirements still need to be completed.  Of the $500,000 grant money available for the project, $479,000 of the grant has been expended.  Funds have been used to pay for engineering and grant administration that have been incurred with this project.  To date, the City has provided $60,275.50 of local cash and $2,725,971.18 of loan money towards the matching requirement.  The project budget was also available for review.  McCurdy reported that

the City needed to update its Fair Housing Outreach Plan and update its Section 504/ADA Accessibility Transition Plan. 

Mayor Anderson asked Mr. McCurdy the time line in which the construction could be completed.  Mr. McCurdy stated that the contractor was given 365 days to substantial completion and 410 days until final completion and readiness for payment.  That would put substantial completion on September 8, 2009 and final completion around the end of October 2009. 

Scott Spevak asked Mr. McCurdy how the project was doing financially.  Mr. McCurdy stated the City is on track.  A contingency was built into the project budget to account for cost overruns and the increases to the project have been within that contingency budget.  Mr. Spevak stated that the City is constructing the essential components of the treatment plant and not much else.  There are no offices being built with these funds.   

No other public comments were made. 

The hearing was closed at 7:23 p.m. by Mayor Anderson.      

ATTEST:

/s/George Anderson, Mayor                                

/s/Linda Dayley, City Clerk                                 

Discuss/Approve the Helen McGill Property Line.

Attorney Steve Tuft explained that they met as a committee to discuss options to present to the Council and sent a letter to the Mayor for the Council for possible solutions to the problem of Hellen McGill’s home encroaching onto 18th Street. The problem was discussed by the Mayor and Council back in 1995 but apparently there was no resolution.

*1st option: A long term lease on the encroached property.

*2nd option: Vacate a portion of 18th Street between Q and R Streets.

*3rd option:  Re-plat Block 24.

*4th option: Re-plat all of the Original Townsite.

They all have advantages and disadvantages.

Rob Ramsey, City Engineer with Civil Science, my recommendation to the City is that 18th Street is a major connection to the State Highway that we do what we can to reserve that right of way. It is better to keep that right of way available. If anything should happen in the future then to have to repurchase it. It is in our best interest as a city to preserve the right of way.

City Superintendent Scott Spevak: Weren’t we thinking that the option of leasing would be best?

Attorney Steve Tuft: The least complicated would be to lease the property on a long-term lease with a minimal rent payment. I don’t know what the terms of that lease would have to be. As Rob says who knows what the future of the city is as to whether we need that width or not. Today it doesn’t seem very likely but things change.

Councilman Dee Ray Bailey: I don’t think we want to give away anything.

Attorney Steve Tuft: The lease would be the most uncumbersome way for dealing with it. More permanently would be to vacate a portion of 18th Street. More complex but more permanent would be to re-plat it. If we vacate a portion of 18th Street in a vacation ordinance it just indicates that the adjacent property owner becomes the owner. Somebody someday is going to have to survey that property. I think vacating just the part of the street in front of Mrs. McGill’s property is a pretty poor planning idea and if vacating you need to vacate the entire block of street. Paul Aston might want to talk about that. As far as re-platting it’s going to be a petty complicated process. It probably the best official response but it probably the one with the most amount of headache and it would take a considerable amount of time.

Rob Ramsey: The other thing involving that piece of property is to be able to protect the ability to maintain and have access to those utilities. Otherwise there is potential there to have to relocate those utilities. So we need to keep that in line when making our decision.

Councilperson Leann Smith: Do we have sewer lines running along that area.

Rob Ramsey: The sewer lines are out along the edge of the roadway. In this area would be possibly telephone lines. We do have fire hydrants that extend back to the existing right of way.

City Superintendent Scott Spevak: The power lines run thru the back. We do have irrigation lines. Any utilities there we would have to move.

Rob Ramsey: In the vacation we would have to retain an easement.

Attorney Steve Tuft: If that’s the route we take.

Francis McGill: None of the utilities are close they are inside the fence line. When they put in the low pressure and everything like that, they are still out in the street in the right of way but not in those ten feet.

City Superintendent Scott Spevak: If we vacated that would shrink that street up, which the utilities that are there now would be out of our right of way.

Rob Ramsey: Any water meters and fire hydrants that are back along the edge of the right of way line, currently, by vacating that ten feet than those become on private property.

Francis McGill: That is what I’m saying. The water line and the meters and stuff like that are out by the fence, all along there. The only one that I can see a problem with would be the fire hydrant.

Rob Ramsey: I would have to go out and look. But normally when we install our water meters they usually come out to the front lot line on the city’s right of way so that they can maintain it so that anything behind the meter is the property owner’s responsibility. Anything, including the water meter out into the right of way is the city’s responsibility. 

Someone from the city staff would have to go out and verify that, in this situation. But normally, normal practice is that you bring that back to the edge of the right of way. That is normal practice so we would have to verify it.

Francis McGill: So what you are saying is that the water meter cannot be in a paved area.

Superintendent Scott Spevak: It is usually in the city’s right of way adjacent to your property line. So that we still have access to maintain the meter and line. We can’t go onto your property and maintain the water meter. It has to be in the public right of way.

Councilperson Leann Smith: I think what you are saying is that if we move that property line but if we move the property line out would you make it so your house wasn’t on our city property. Then those utilities would move into your property.

Francis McGill: No, they are not even close. The fence, the water meter is five feet inside that fence. We want the back ten feet so you have another I don’t know how many feet between the water meter and the house. It doesn’t even come close to that line. When they put those in they stuck with our original fence line they just barely put it inside our fence line for that entire area.

Superintendent Scott Spevak: The fence line being your property line?

Francis McGill: Yes, where we originally thought the property line was. Or what we thought the original fence line is still there. With the telephone pole right there along the fence. The water meter is five feet inside of it. We just want the ten feet that includes the two feet on the house that is right there. The water meter is not even coming close to the edge of the right of way.

Councilman Dee Ray Bailey: Has anyone been out and actually checked it out.

Francis McGill: When they put in the utilities in there they stuck in the roadway. They didn’t come on our property or inside that fence line to put any of that stuff in.

Superintendent Scott Spevak: But if we move that property line out then the utilities will come into your property line.

Francis McGill: No. Okay I’m talking about the original fence that has been there my entire life. When they put in the utilities in the 70’s and put in the water meters and stuff. The only one that came inside the fence was the water meter.

Superintendent Scott Spevak: For now we just need to find out what the Council would like to do.

Councilman Dee Ray Bailey: The lease looks like the only thing feasible.

Paul Aston: I agree with Mr. Bailey that the lease would be the least cumbersome and it even works with the McGill’s property purchase with a long term lease. It has basically the same rights as if they own it. I might add that there will some costs involved. Even if there is a lease you have to create a legal descriptions, documents and such. So the city will have to decide how those expenses will be paid for.

Councilman Dee Ray Bailey: But it won’t be as expensive as moving the property line or anything else.

Paul Aston: You can vacate the street and that becomes no man’s land there. Then you have to create legal descriptions. Then you can quick claim the dead over to the people then they have a cumbersome legal description. If you are going to give them the property the cleanest way is to plat it and that adds additional costs if you re-plat those two blocks.

Attorney Steve Tuft: Not only does it increase in surveying costs and you would need the consent of all the owners in the block so that is pretty cumbersome.

Paul Aston: In prospective of the title company and things like that would be the cleaner way to do it. The process would be somewhat cumbersome too. You would have a considerable amount of engineering fees, surveying fees and things like that.

Councilperson Cleo Gallegos: I’m not in favor of vacating any streets because we have a lot of little areas within our city where they have fences up and they have had them there for years and they think that it is their property line and actually it is not your property line and we would be doing it all over the city. That would be my big concern of doing it that way. I think that the lease is the best way to go.

Councilperson Leann Smith: Is 30 years a long enough lease?

Rob Ramsey: I think that the recommendation would be on the lease agreement then you would have to look at something where if the city would need to use that property the lease would have to have some provisions included in it.

Superintendent Scott Spevak: We talked about any additions being added to the house would void the lease.

Attorney Steve Tuft: I’m not sure about the appropriate length of time, I threw in 30 years, I don’t know if that is appropriate or not. The land would have to be surveyed and I think that costs need to belong to Mrs. McGill. I don’t know what the cost of that survey would be. It would be a prohibition against issuing any building permits on the property without the approval of the City Council and no building permits would be permitted in any event on the north side of the home. We do not want any further encroachment on that area of the property. If for any reason the city needed to widen 18th Street in the future and we had to condemn the property the lease would be assigned a no value. There may be other value involved in the condemnation that would be an issue to be discussed at that time but there would be no value assigned to the return of the leased property. Those would be the recommendations that the committee came up with if the city goes for a lease.

Councilman Rocky Baker: I was wondering if there is any doubt on the 30 year lease if it was agreeable to the city and the McGill’s to have a renewable lease.

Attorney Steve Tuft: I would like to see it not renewable, just as a matter of policy, I think an application would need to be filed sent to the city and determine what life is at that point.

After discussion it was decided to attain a 50-year renewable lease at a dollar a year.

Attorney Steve Tuft will make a draft lease agreement and present it to the Mayor and Council for review at which point the city can present it to the McGill’s.

Paul Aston suggested that it be well documented and recorded so it will pop up with any transfer of the property.

Frances McGill asked for a copy of the minutes of the meeting because Hellen McGill does not hear well.

Discuss/Approve Membership in the Northwest Intergovernmental Energy Supply and or Bonneville Power for Tier II Power in the future and Mayoral Signature on the Northwest Intergovernmental Energy Supply Addendum Load Commitment Agreement for Idaho Cities - Ralph Williams.

Tier II power refers to the amount not covered by the base supplied from BPA. Because BPA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, the federal government could raise prices to market level. The federal government can also mandate green power sources, which are significantly more expensive. Membership in the Northwest Requirements Utilities (NRU), a nonprofit association representing utilities in seven states, allows a municipality to purchase additional power from a supplier that doesn’t operate under federal mandates.

After discussion this item was tabled until next meeting

Discuss/Approve Dispatch Contract with Cassia County - Dan Bristol.

Police Chief Dan Bristol told the Mayor and Council that he had asked for a bid from Minidoka County Sheriff Kevin Halverson for dispatch services and asked George Warrell from Cassia County to explain what their fee would be. Cassia stated that they would not charge any more for dispatch but that they would charge the $686.88 per month for PMT for the local database.

George Warrell, representing Cassia County for Sheriff Kidd, Cassia County is charged $686.99 per month for the routing of the lines over to Cassia County from Twin Falls, dispatch service will still be the same. The dispatch service is $10,766.

Sheriff Kevin Halverson, representing Minidoka County, two reasons for being here. A couple of weeks ago Chief Dan Bristol asked me to present the Mayor and Council with a bid. The second reason is that one of the council members asked me to come and explain this whole system to you. There are two issues at hand there is the main dispatch system, the everyday items for the police department and there is also a separate 911 dispatch services. In 1996 the county passed a 911 Ordinance. I don’t know if you have noticed that on your phone bill you get a $1.25 added to your phone bills. That money all goes into a county wide emergency 911-dispatch center. Over the years mandates have come down and we have to upgrade the system constantly. We have a computer system called the CAD and a countywide map. When George was talking about the $686.99, to operate all those 911 systems the phone lines come in transferred from PMT to Quest lines to a company called Atrodo they have a database of everyone in the county, their phone number and where they live. With one touch the dispatch can send all the emergency services to that residence. This is what fully enhanced 911 line gets you.

Councilperson Leann Smith: So our money that we are paying in is actually going to Minidoka County and if we would go with Cassia we have to pay them as well.

After discussion this item was tabled and Sheriff Kevin Halverson will draft an agreement between the City and Minidoka County to be on the next agenda.

Discuss/Approve Heyburn Amphitheater Committee Report and Sound Contracts/Agreements for Summer Music Events - Chairman Chris James.

Chris James, Chairman of the Heyburn Amphitheater Committee, briefed the Mayor and Council on the upcoming planned events for the summer, which includes a Open Mic Talent Night, the 4th of July Event and Blue Grass Festival in August. Jeff Pool will provide the sound for these events for $500.

Discuss/Approve River Ridge Property - Roy Belnap.

Roy Belnap updated the Mayor and Council on the site concluding that one of the issues was lowering the high spot of the walking path. Earl Andrew designed part of that area for the arboretum.

Another concern that Mr. Belnap had was the need to get the agreement language together for the walking path.

Earl Andrew reviewed the arboretum area with the Mayor and Council.

After discussion this item was tabled. The Mayor and Council at different times will go to the site and review the walking path and the arboretum area in question.

Discuss/Approve Accepting the Heyburn Elementary School.

Councilman Dee Ray Bailey reported to the Mayor and Council, after talking with Dr. Rogers, the condition of the Heyburn Elementary School. The Art Display will stay, some things in the Library will stay, and everything in the Gymnasium except the scoreboard will stay. It has all gas heat but each room has separate thermostats. The south wing has all new windows but the east end does not. Restroom is fairly new. The roof over the Gymnasium and boiler room has a warranty until 2020 and the rest of the roof appears in good shape. The north end building is for storage and has the irrigation pumps in it. The lawns are all sprinkle irrigated. Lights are all energy efficient and there is no asbestos that has any legal concern. There is no knowledge of needed work that they know of.

After discussion this item was tabled until the Mayor and Council can do a walk through of the school.

Discuss/Approve Changing the Speed Limit by the old Heyburn School.

The Mayor and Council discussed changing the Speed Limit by the old Heyburn School back to 25-mile per hour and removing the 15-mile per hour. Council was in agreement.

Council was in agreement.

Budget Workshop.

Meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

/s/George A. Anderson, Mayor

/s/Linda L. Dayley, City Clerk/Treasurer