The Cottonwood City Council held their June meeting Monday, June 13.
Audrie Johnson, Serena Lockett and Tabitha Key were present to update the council on Summerfest. They asked if they could extend the open container area to the end of the Royale Room building to get the cornhole tournament inside the area as that was a problem last year. They also asked about possibly having a beergarden area at the softball fields to address that issue.
Councilman Lynn Guyer suggested waiving the open container ordinance for the softball fields as he doesn’t see how you are going to be able to keep it out of the dugouts when people bring their own coolers. City attorney Joe Wright suggested working with Police Chief Terry Cochran to designate the boundaries.
As to downtown, they are going to use some construction fencing provided by Mayor Keith Holman to designate the open container area and hire security to patrol it. The fence wouldn’t be closed off until 2 p.m. after the egg toss and ping pong ball drop have been done. The ladies said they don’t plan to sell their beer until after 4 p.m.
Cochran had a concern about access through the fence in case of emergency. It was suggested to connect the panels using zip ties which could be quickly cut if need be.
The organizers will get together with Cochran and then with city clerk Lynn Johnson to get the areas designated so that a resolution can be drawn up and passed at the July council meeting.
Johnson also said they have been having difficulty finding a security firm as the ones she could find online have all quit business. Cochran gave them a suggestion for one used by the Credit Union that he knows is still in business.
It was also suggested to get something into the paper as to the detour route around downtown, especially if anyone is harvesting as trucks were going up Idaho Street last year which can’t really handle truck traffic. Cochran said they also need to follow ITD codes on the detour signage.
Amy Uptmor of JUB Engineering updated the Council on the status of their grant awards and the timeline on the projects tied to those grants.
They were awarded a grant for evaluation of infiltration into the sewer system. Pat Enneking and crew have been working on this for some time already. This is a requirement of their sewer treatment permit.
Another grant was awarded for developing a water system plan. The last time this was done was when the city replaced a lot of the water pipe in town.
Jordan Zwygart of Zwygart, John & Associates, PLLC, did a review of the FY 2021 audit and financial statement. He said everything looked good. There were no compliance issues found.
In action items a personnel policy resolution was approved. This change added Juneteenth, which is now a federal and state holiday, to the list of paid holidays for city employees.
The airport lease request by Todd and Aime McAllister was approved at the current lease rates. The city is looking into raising lease rates but those would only affect any new leases once those rates have been changed. Current leases wouldn’t be affected.
Lynn Guyer was appointed to be the city’s Ida-Lew representative.
The VFW was approved for a pair of catering permits. They first is for the park project fundraiser in the Community Hall on July 16. The second was for their beergarden in the city park during the Idaho County Fair.
A contract with JUB Engineers for a DEQ Grant amendment was approved. Also approved was a resolution which authorizes the mayor to sign the contract, once ready, in the city’s behalf.
A hall rent waiver was approved for the park fundraiser. As council member Linda Nida said in recommending the waiver, the money raised in the event is coming back to the city anyway.
An ITD Airport Aid Program Grant Agreement and Resolution was approved by the council.
The council gave their blessing for Prairie Mountain Nutrition to remodel the basement kitchen if necessary to accommodate new equipment they receive through grants.
In reports Debby O'Neill reported they pumped about 2.1 million gallons of water and sold about 1.76 million gallons for a 15.7% loss. Some of that loss may be attributed to agricultural water use at the airport that started May 3 but has not yet been charged.
In the sewer report Guyer said they had a flow meter go our at the wastewater treatment plant. He also said St. John Bosco hasn’t got back to the city yet about water/sewer hookup. He would like to have the city include in any agreement that they cannot add dormitory living to their site if they are going to hook up to the city.
In the street report Kristie Holthaus shared a written report as she was unable to attend the meeting. She reported that dust abatement info is out. Anyone not contacted that would like dust abatement can contact city hall.
Crack sealing has been put on hold until fall to concentrate on dust abatement work.
Linda Nida reported on the July 16 fundraiser. She also had Rhonda Wemhoff get a civil engineer involved in the placement of equipment after the topographical survey was done. Shawn Stubbers has offered his services.
Airport manager Clint Riener reported they are going with a regular airport surfacing outfit to do the slurry seal this time. He said he would also like to see the grassy area behind the Gun Club get surfaced for plane parking use in the future.
Nida reported the fire department had no fire calls but were asked to assist on flood control.
The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. The council has a budget workshop scheduled for next Thursday, June 23 at 7 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Monday, July 11 at 7 p.m.