Council Minutes 05/18/1977
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May 4,1977
seconded by Councilman Lee; meeting adjourned at 10:20 P.M.
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CITY OF AMMON
l\1ay 18, 1977
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council:
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Mayor George Wehmann with
the following City Officials present:
Mayor George Wehmann Cle~k Deen Hemingway
Councilman Marvin J. Anderson Asst. Engr. Robert Butler
Councilwoman Carol A. Dille Maint. Supv. LaVern E. Williams
Councilman Francis Lee
Also present during the meeting was Joseph Wengert, 3635 Wanda St.
The pledge of allegiance to the flag was led by
invocation was offered by Councilman Anderson.
May 4, 1977, were approved as prepared.
Councilwoman Dille; the
Minutes of the meeting of
Mayor Wehmann introduced Joseph Wengert, with an explanation as a matter
of record that Mr. Wengert has spent a great amount of time studying
statistics and participation in meetings and hearings to help the City
as an intervenor in the Utah Power & Light Company rate increase case.
Mr. Wengert reviewed information which was discussed at a conference
held during the day with Kenneth Seeds and John Springer representing
R. W. Beck and Associates, a consulting firm out of Seattle, Washington.
It was proposed by Mr. Wengert that these men be retained as consultants
for the Utah Power & Light case, and the Council members indicated approval
of Mayor Wehmann's suggestion that an expression of faith be given at
this time that the City of Ammon will participate in providing funds, along
with other cities and organizations in the area with no definite amount
mentioned, to help pay for this consulting service.
With reference to a notice from the Idaho Department of Labor and Indust-
rial Services, Mayor Wehmann requested that the Council take action, in
accordance with a bill enacted at the recent session of the State
Legislature, on the City's option regarding the Uniform Building Code.
Councilwoman Dille moved that the City continue to comply with the Idaho
Uniform Buildin9 Code. The motion was seconded by Councilman Lee; voting
was all in favor; carried. Mayor Wehmann is to send the proper notifica~
tion to the State.
Mayor Wehmann explained that a decision is needed regarding whether or
not the City desires to participate in a suit to be filed to challenge the
Federal Act of requiring Unemployment Compensation coverage for all
municipal employees. He noted that financial support is required in
order to be a named-plaintiff in the suit, which would in turn provide
the benefit of an injunction which is sought in order to not have to
comply with the law while the case is being tried. The Council members
felt that the Mayor should obtain more information on costs before a
questionaire on this matter can be completed and returned to the
Association of Idaho Cities.
The Council agreed that there is no problem with the zoning regulations
regarding a building permit application submitted by Harold Loveland at
const~uct an upstairs dwelling over the office to be built at 3345 Rawson
Street for which a variance was granted at the previous meeting. Approval
was also given to apply credit due Mr. Loveland for payment on services
not received toward his building permit fee.
Regarding the proposed deve~opment of the Russ Wallace Property, Council-
woman Dille reported that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommenda-
tion was to give the jurisdiction of this to Bonneville C?U~ty, inasmuch
as Mr. Wallace has withdrawn his request to have the subd1v1s1on annexed
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May 18, 1977
to the City of Ammon, with a provision that development standards be
compatibl~ with the City of Ammon standards and a suggestion that the
zoning be modified to include a buffer of RA1 bordering the Mountain
View subdivision. It was noted that this action then gives the re-
sponsibility of approving the plat to the City of Idaho Falls as the
la~gest city within one mile of the development. In view of the lo-
cation of the property being contiguous to the City of Ammon and in
response to a recommendation by Mayor Wehmann, Councilman Lee moved
that the Mayor be authorized to write a letter to the City of Idaho
Falls requesting that the City of Ammon have the right of veto on
the preliminary plat of the Russ Wallace Property, with a copy of
the letter to go to the Bonneville County Planning and Zoning Board.
The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Dille; voting was all in
favor; motion carried.
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The recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission regarding
the Ammon 17th Street North Addiiion was reviewed by Councilwoman
Dille, indicating that the Commission members had voted in favor
of the preliminary pla~ with some modifications in zoning request.
Councilman Lee moved that a special public hearing before the City Coun-
cil on the Ammon 17th Street North Addition be scheduled on June 8.
The motion was seconded by Councilman Anderson; voting was all in
favor; motion carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mayor - Reference was made by Mayor Wehmann to a letter received from
John Homer regarding the City's decision to change insurance carriers,
and Councilwoman Dille was asked to talk to Mr. Homer about this matter.
No objections were voiced to Mayor Wehmann's suggestion that he contact
several banking firms about setting up a branch bank in the City of
Ammon. Mayor Wehmann pointed out that the City might qualify for funds
under a new Federal Public Works Act if an application is submitted for
a project which would be ready for construction within 90 days. He
noted that the plans for a City Building which were prepared a number I
of years ago are not suitable, and suggestions were made that the
State Librarian be contacted to see if there are any blueprints avail-
able for a library building or an inquiry be made to determine if street
construction would qualify, such as finishing of Midway Avenue to 17th
Street.
Library- Councilwoman Dille reported that a letter to the hibrary Study
Committee has been prepared and will be mailed as soon as approved by
the Mayor.
Public Works- Copies of a list of locations where cement repair work ~s
proposed were distributed by Councilman Lee, who asked that any suggested
additions to the list be submitted by June 1 S0 that the Engineer can
make a check and advertise for bids.
Enainoor- It was reported by Engineer Butler that the bad hole on Sunny-
side Road near Central Avenue has been repaired, that Northwest Electric
has been contacted about installing emergency lighting in the Well #6
pumphouse, that there are some details to work out regarding an existing
private fence before the plans for a fence at Well #5 can be completed,
and that the notice asking for bids on two French drains in the Southwiek
Addition will be in the newspaper this weekend. He mentioned that there I
was no need for a meeting with the telephone compapy engineer since the
sewer metering device has been working, and a calibration on the readings
will be made shortly. Concerning a problem of excavations not having
been satisfactorily backfilled, etc., Engineer Butler was asked to give
notice to the contractors involved regarding their obligation as required
by the City's excavation permit ordinance. Also he is to notify Groberg
Realty that the sewer manholes and waterline valves in Meadow Lark Addi-
tion are to be brought to the surface by May 31.
Traffic Safety- Councilwoman uille called attention to the minutes of
the recent Traffic Safety Commission meeting and a draft of a letter
which the Commission proposed to send out to local engineers to ask for
quotations on the cost of a minimum traffic study. Mayor Wehmann advised
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May 18, 1977
that the procedure should be for the Traffic Commission to recommend to
the City Council that a study is needed and what the scope of a study
should be, then the Council should ask for quotations. As a matter of
record Mayor Wehmann stated that he has not received any complaints on
the parking since the Council meeting of April 20. In response to a
report by Councilwoman Dille that the Traffic Safety Commission made a
motion to recommend to the City Council that developers be required to
install the necessary signs in new subdivisions, it was pointed out that
the City's subdivision ordinapce already contains regulations on this
subject. Mayor Wehmann requested that the Traffic Commission be asked
to make a recommendation regarding stop signs for the church parkin$]
~ that is being finished south of Salmon Street between Bittern and
Curlew.
Fiscal Operations - It was reported that the City's Insurance for this
fiscal year is to be written with Tandy & Wood Co.
Planning and Zoning - Councilwoman Dille reported that the Planning
and Zoning Commission members were in favor of recommending to the Cny
Council that a policy concerning installation ofttaffic signs by de.,. ,
~~pers be adopted as moved by the Traffic Safety Commission. Regard-
ing the Hollycove Park Addition, Councilwoman Dille reported that the
plat had been denied by a vote of 5 to 2 after a public hearing before
the Planning and Zoning Commission, mostly because of resident object-
ion to the increased traffic which would come on Eagle Drive. Mayor
Wehmann expressed concern about the sewer lift station which would be
needed in the mentioned subdivision if it were developed. It was de-
cided that advice should be obtained from the City Attorney about
whether or not any further action needs to be taken on this plat.
Also, it was felt that the present policy on curb, gutter, and side-
walk requirements in new subdivisions should be checked before the
Cou~cil takes any action on the proposal made by the Planning and
Zoning Commission that the City should require curb, gutter, and side-
walks except where lot sizes have more than 120 feet of frontage and
as compatible with the adjoining area. Mayor Wehmann requested that
the City Engineer make a suggestion on what the fee for checking im-
provement development plans for new subdivisions should be.
Parks and Recreation - Councilman Anderson reviewed the progress of
getting the parks ready for the summer season, and approval was given
to spend approximately $300 for installing a clock device to regulate
the lights at the tennis courts.
City Clerk- According to the Clerk's report, the current General Fund
checking account balance was $21,331.75 and there were claims to pay
in the amount of $14,564.72, which included a payment of $7,444.00 on
the lease contract for the fire truck obtained in 1976. It was men-
tioned that the annual audit is still in progress, and Mayor Wehmann
requested that an audit report be scheduled for the next meeting on
June 1.
Police and Fire Department- Law Enforcement and Animal Control reports
for the month of April, 1977, were reviewed by Councilwoman Dille.
New Business- Councilman ~ee recommended that the 7000 lumen street
light at the southwest corner of Curlew and Salmon be removed since
there is now a 20,000 lumen light at that intersection across the
street on Lions Park.
Claims were approved for
seconded by Councilwoman
payment. Councilman Lee moved to adjourn;
Dille; the meeting adjourned at 10:20 P.M.
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MAYOR
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CITY CLERK