| Cottonwood
City Council meets
Amy Uptmor of JUB Engineering presented a couple of proposals at the Cottonwood City Council’s November meeting Monday, Nov. 13. One dealt with installing an input screen prior to wastewater entering the sewer ponds. Cost estimate for a manually cleaned one is about $125,000-$150,000. When discussing the proposal later in the meeting Roy Uhlenkott said they have seen a lot of large disposable wipes coming through that don’t break down and could eventually diminish the capacity of the lagoons and possibly lead to other problems with the lagoons. City Clerk Carol Altman said there is enough in the lagoon fund or also the sewer dedicated fund. The council passed a motion to have JUB proceed with the procedures to get this done. Uptmor’s other proposal was regarding installing a chlorinator at well #4, the one in the city park. This would get chlorination closer to that end of town where there have been some water test samples show some minor problems. No action was taken on this proposal. Clint Riener, airport manager, reported Nick Seubert will have patching equipment at his airport hangar this week, and weather permitting, would patch the approach to his hangar. He offered to fix cracks in the run-up areas at each end of the runway for an estimated $6800. A motion was passed to go ahead with this repair as it would need to be done anyway prior to the slurry seal that has been scheduled. Riener also said in the future he would like to see the grassy area behind the Gun Club set up for use as a tiedown area. It would make use of that area, which isn’t being used now. In the reports Pat Holthaus reported there was just 33,000 gallons of water lost from the 2.1 million gallons sold. Uhlenkott reported they fixed a couple of small leaks and replaced one line that sprung a leak as soon as they uncovered it. Grant reported they have finished the watering season at the agriforest. The final report for the lagoon testing is done and needs to be submitted to the state. Jack Duman reported he would like to get bids out for redoing Broadway St. next year. The FEMA grant for the Cottonwood Creek culvert rehab and flood control culvert has been submitted. He was told the Army Corps of Engineers also has funding for those kinds of projects at a 65% match as opposed to the 75% for FEMA grants. Grant reported there was just 1 fire call this past month, for a car fire in the Greencreek area. They have ordered the new airpacks and turnouts. 5 members of the Fire Department attended a free training in Kooskia. Riener reported it was a very good training. In unfinished business it was reported some issues are still up in the air with the Currin property. Regarding Gabe Riener’s request for city services at lots in the city across the highway, Altman said the Idaho Transportation Department sent a map showing a 6” conduit under the highway. Even with that conduit, the cost of running water line there may be cost prohibitive compared to digging a well. The Senior Citizens meal site group has decided to form their own group along with the Winchester site. They are looking for someone to represent the city on their new board. At this time Linda Nida has volunteered to be that person. NICI sent the wrong Fire Protection Agreement to the city for approval. Grant said he and the warden agreed to some changes from the one that was previously approved by the Council. The term would be for 1 year but would automatically renew each year unless one party or the other decides to dissolve the agreement. The council passed a motion to approve the amended agreement. Under new business a backhoe purchase was discussed. Uhlenkott received two quotes, piggybacking on state bids. One was for a John Deere which would be less expensive and have a longer, but more limited warranty. The other was for a Caterpillar which would have a higher trade-in and also allow them to put a smaller bucket to get into smaller places. Uhlenkott’s recommendation was to go with the Caterpillar. After consulting with city attorney Joe Wright on the legalities of the process, the council voted to purchase the Caterpillar from Western States. Trees were discussed on the Jake Turnball property (former Kenny Pepper house) next to the Credit Union. It is believed the trees are in the city right-of-way and create a problem. Turnbull was sent a letter asking to have them removed with no response. Wright said you need to get a surveyor to check and make sure those trees are in the city right-of-way before you can legally proceed to get them removed. Altman was directed to contact a surveyor to get that checked. The council meeting adjourned at 8:58 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Monday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. |
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