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01.15.2026 City Council MinutesAmmon WHERE TOMORROW BEGINS AMMON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2026-4:30 P.M. 2135 SOUTH AMMON ROAD AGENDA CALL TO ORDER: - Mayor Brian Powell at 4:30 p.m. - Pledge of Allegiance— Council Member Fullmer - Prayer—Council Member Hamberlin ACTION ITEMS: 1. Clark Property Rezone Findings of Fact - (Cindy Donovan, City Planner) 2. Consideration of Resolution 2026-001- Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map Amendment - (Cindy Donovan, City Planner) 3. Consideration of Ordinance 744 - Clark Property Rezone - (Cindy Donovan, City Planner) 4. Consideration of Resolution 2026 -002 -Application for TAP Grant Funding - (Morgan Stewart, City Engineer) 5. Planning and Zoning Commissioner appointment Rod Hudman - (Cindy Donovan, City Planner) DISCUSSION ITEMS: 1. Residential Density (Council Member Kris Oswald) 2. Greater Idaho Falls Transit (GIFT) Funding (Council Member Jeff Fullmer) 3. Body Cam replacement (Animal and Code Compliance Director, Clarissa Jones) 4. Wastewater Plan Study (Water & Wastewater Division Director, Nathan Riblett) Flue rel"01 City Officials Present: Mayor Brian Powell Council President Scott Wessel Councilmember Nolan Wheeler Councilmember Kris Oswald Councilmember Heidi Boyle Councilmember Jeff Fullmer Councilmember Sid Hamberlin MINUTES City Attorney Scott Hall City Administrator Micah Austin City Clerk Joanna Dahm City Planner Cindy Donovan Assistant City Planner Heather McBride City Engineer Morgan Stewart Streets/Sanitation Division Director Tony Black Water/Wastewater Division Director Nathan Riblett Human Resources Specialist Rebecca Osai City Officials Absent: Ammon City Council Regular Meeting 01.15.2026 Page 1 of 6 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Brian Powell called the meeting to order at 4:32 p.m. ACTION ITEMS: 1. Clark Property Rezone Findings of Fact -(Cindy Donovan, City Planner) It was moved by Council Member Wessel and seconded by Council Member Wheeler to approve the Clark Property Rezone Findings of Face Wheeler, yes; Oswald, yes; Wessel, yes; Boyle, yes; Fullmer, yes; Hamberlin, yes. Motion passes unanimously with vote by roll call. 2. Consideration of Resolution 2026-001- Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map Amendment - (Cindy Donovan, City Planner) It was moved by Council Member Fullmer and seconded by Council Member Hamberlin to approve the Resolution 2026-001- Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map Wheeler, yes; Oswald, yes; Wessel, yes; Boyle, yes; Fullmer, yes; Hamberlin, yes. Motion passes unanimously with vote by roll call. 3. Consideration of Ordinance 744 -Clark Property Rezone -(Cindy Donovan, City Planner) It was moved by Council Member Wheeler and seconded by Council Member Wessel to move that the City Council dispense with the rule requiring the reading of the ordinance on three different days and that the three readings be waived Wheeler, yes; Oswald, yes; Wessel, yes; Boyle, yes; Fullmer, yes; Hamberlin, yes. Motion passes unanimously with vote by roll call. It was moved by Council Member Wheeler and seconded by Council Member Wesel to approve Ordinance 744 - Clark Property Rezone Wheeler, yes; Oswald, yes; Wessel, yes; Boyle, yes; Fullmer, yes; Hamberlin, yes. Motion passes unanimously with vote by roll call. 4. Consideration of Resolution 2026 -002 -Application for TAP Grant Funding -(Morgan Stewart, City Engineer) It was moved by Council Member Oswald and seconded by Council Member Fullmer to approve Resolution 2026-002 - Application for TAP Grant Funding Wheeler, yes; Oswald, yes; Wessel, yes; Boyle, yes; Fullmer, yes; Hamberlin, yes. Motion passes unanimously with vote by roll call. Council moved on to discussion items and will come back to the appointment of Rod Hudman, when he arrives at the City Council Meeting. 5. Planning and Zoning Commissioner appointment Rod Hudman -(Cindy Donovan, City Planner) Ammon City Council Regular Meeting 01.15.2026 Page 2 of 6 Mayor Powell spoke on the behalf of Rod Hudman and he stated he recommends Rod Hudman to the Planning and Zoning Commission, he is very knowledgeable. Council Member Oswald asked how long Rod had lived in Ammon. Rod Hudman spoke to the City Council, he stated that he has lived on Heather Lane for about 27 years. Council President Scott Wesssel stated that he wants Rod to be aware that City Council and Planning and Zoning have different rules, and even though P&Z may approve something doesn't mean the City Council will pass it. It was moved by Council Member Boyle and seconded by Council Member Wessel to approve the appointment of Rod Hudman to the Planning & Zoning Commission for a term of three years. Wheeler, yes; Oswald, yes; Wessel, yes; Boyle, yes; Fullmer, yes; Hamberlin, yes. Motion passes unanimously with vote by roll call. Mayor Powell moved the Council back to Discussion item 44 DISCUSSION ITEMS: 1. Residential Density (Council Member Kris Oswald) Council Member Kris Oswald spoke about residential density and how she would like the Council to be thinking about ways to offset residential with the commercial that we need. We are set up with a large inventory of residential, including apartments and townhomes however, we need more commercial spaces. 2. Greater Idaho Falls Transit (GIFT) Funding (Council Memberleff Fullmer) Council Member Jeff Fullmer spoke on the funding needed from the City of Ammon to expand GIFT into Ammon, and that the need is there. City Administrator Micah Austin gave background on the service contract previously presented to Council as well as the two previous staff reports. Council Member Fullmer stated that GIFT has the potential for Federal grant funding but the money from the City of Ammon would cover the matching portion needed. He stated that GIFT has reached out to roughly 60 businesses in Ammon trying to gain funding and support. Council Member Boyle brought up why GIFT funding had been cut from the previous budget due to the short fall in City funding, and the need for cuts. Council Member Jeff Fullmer stated this is a contract for service, and a way to lower costs, as it would cost the City much more to do this on their own. 3. Body Cam replacement (Animal and Code Compliance Director, Clarissa Jones) City Administrator Micah Austin spoke in place of Clarissa Jones, who was unable to attend the meeting. City Administrator Austin explained that the body cameras the City is currently using are older, broken and becoming obsolete for video storage. The City of Ammon's body cameras video feeds are uploaded to the Sheriff's department servers. The Sheriff's Department is switching to a contract with Axon for all their body cameras, cloud storage and body camera maintenance. The City of Ammon has three choices, 1)go away from body cameras altogether, 2) choose the contract without AI or 3) choose the contract with Al. The Al feature will save time on Ammon City Council Regular Meeting 01.15.2026 Page 3 of 6 reports, which will free up Clarissa and Kamila to be out in the community more and responding to calls. Sgt Miller from the Bonneville County Sheriff's Department showed a small YouTube video which showed how quickly the Al feature transcribes in real time, for reports, as well as spoke about the demo and how happy the officers were with the body cameras. Council advised City Administrator Micah Austin to allow Clarissa to move forward with the body camera contract with Al as long as she was able to make it work within her budget. Mayor Powell moved the City Council back to the Action Item - Planning and Zoning Commissioner appointment of Rod Hudman 4. Wastewater Plan Study (Water & Wastewater Division Director, Nathan Riblett) Water & Wastewater Division Director Nathan Riblett spoke to the Council stating the contract with Keller Associates had been previously approved, back in 2021, however, was never signed by the City of Ammon. Water & Wastewater Division Director, Nathan Riblett believes it would be a good move forward to sign the contract and proceed with Keller to perform the Wastewater Plan Study, to tie into the needed Fee Study. The City has a goal to have a Fee Study complete on all utilities by 2027. This information is critical for the Fee Study. We are already a little behind schedule to have our Wastewater Facility Plan Study done. This study typically takes about 12 months to complete. One option is to uphold the recommendation to sign the contract. The second option would be to put it back out for Request for Proposals. However, this would delay our process. Tyrel Clark - (Keller Associates) - Stated they are willing to uphold the contact and sign and move forward with the contract. Mayor Powell asks since it has been awarded by previous council does it need to be rewarded and two do we have money budgeted for the study. City Administrator Micah Austin stated if the Council decides to move forward, then Nathan would need to pull the money in his budget from other projects to cover it. Water & Wastewater Division Director, Nathan Riblett, $165,055. Tyrel Clark, stated this would be billed on a monthly basis. City Attorney Scott Hall stated the contract has been approved, it's just a matter of executing it. It's a matter of having the budget for it or opening the budget, otherwise we would have to put it off to next budget year. Miscellaneous - Council Member Sid Hamberlin - Would just like to say he is very pro law enforcement and believes anything that makes their jobs easier and safer, he is in support for. He feels body cameras are a very big thing for liability and safety. Ammon City Council Regular Meeting 01.15.2026 Page 4 of 6 Council Member Jeff Fullmer - Stated he loves the City in a Minute email that Human Resources is sending out every week. He wonders how much of that we can communicate to the public, especially with projects. Council Member Boyle stated staff is going to put out a quarterly newsletter. Mayor Powell stated we are working on some solutions and putting things together so we can control the narrative. Council Member Heidi Boyle - Concerned about the Walgreens parking lot, east side, left turn, people are still trying to turn out even though the turn arrow has been removed. City Engineer Morgan Stewart stated it is a double yellow line so people should know not to cross it. Council Member Boyle asked if maybe a no left hand turn sign can be put up or maybe a barrier. City Engineer Stewart said we could look into a barrier. Council Member Scott Wessel -The Council needs to implement more safeguards into the Fire District Contract, including the title work to sign over vehicles to the Fire District and have the City of Ammon listed as a lien holder. This will help eliminate liability. The Bird property, the property is being used as storage for new and old cars. When these cars are crushed it leaks hazard fuels and liquids into the ground. That property could eventually be part of the City of Ammon. If we could contact the County to address the issue. It is across from Blue Mountain Storage. Council Member Nolan Wheeler - Asked City Administrator Austin what his thoughts were on Central and the condition of the road. City Administrator Austin didn't think it was horrible. The road is super narrow. It would be helpful to have Tony Black look at it. Council Member Wheeler stated he has had a lot of citizens bring it to his attention and needed repairs. Streets and Sanitation Division Director Tony Black stated those roads over there are way past their life span, a life span is about 20 years and they are about 50 years old. You could zip it but it wouldn't compact because it is so dry. City Administrator Micah Austin -Stated he met with Tyler Draney, and he has the contract from Outlook Credit Union for $125,000 to go towards McCowin Park Playground. The playground is in the budget. Is the Council okay with the Mayor signing the contract, or would you like it brought back as an action item. The Council consensus was for the Mayor to go ahead and sign the contract. The contract does give naming rights, the biggest point of contention was the size of the sign they wanted installed at the playground. Language had to be added to address the issue. Sgt Miller Bonneville County Sheriffs - Sgt Miller presented to the City Council and Mayor the BCSO and Ammon Crime Stats, he compared the 2024 stats to the 2025 stats showing a significant decrease. City Clerk Joanna Dahm - City Clerk Joanna Dahm addressed the City Council and Mayor to explain in more detail the option for the vehicles titled in the City of Ammon's name that the Fire District has possession of and explained switching the titles to the Fire District and listing City of Ammon as a lien holder would eliminate the liability of the city from being sued in case of an accident or incident, as well as the decrease of staff time to track and register vehicles for the Ammon City Council Regular Meeting 01.15.2026 Page 5 of 6 Fire District. City Clerk Dahm reminded the Council of the upcoming Elected Official's Day at the Capitol on January 29th, 2026 and asked for anyone wanting to attend to let her know so she can get them registered. ADJOURN at 7:17 pm Brian Powell, Mayor na Dahm, City Clerk SEAL 1961 Ammon City Council Regular Meeting 01.15.2026 Page 6 of 6