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1 Star City Council Meeting Minutes The regular meeting of the Star City Council was held on November 1, 2016 at 7:00 pm. The meeting was held at the Star City Hall, 10769 W. State Street, Star, Idaho. Mayor Chad Bell called the meeting to order and all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call: Councilmen Hershey, Lockett, Chadwick and Nielsen were all present. Approval of the Agenda: Lockett moved to approve the Agenda, Chadwick seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Consent Agenda: Lockett moved to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of: Regular Meeting Minutes of October 4, 2016 and Claims Against the City for October 2016. Chadwick seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Presentations/Public Input: Presentation by Mayor Bell & Chief Vogt – The Mayor stated that he and Chief Vogt would like to make a presentation to Deputy Speakes for his service above and beyond for the City of Star. Chief Vogt stated that Deputy Speakes took it upon himself to organize a cleanup crew with the help of the Fire Department to clean up a property here in Star for a lady that couldn’t do it herself. The lady was hospitalized and when she got home was very thankful that someone would do this for her. The Chief talked about crimes in Star, Deputy Speakes has gone above and beyond to solve many property crimes in Star. One example was kids that spray painted fences and cars – Deputy Speaks and the north County Deputies worked the case. Deputy Speakes went back and canvased the neighborhood and came across some kids and found that there was one kid that committed the crime. Deputy Speakes definitely takes the extra effort. The Mayor stated that Deputy Speakes is definitely the kind of people we want in Star and the kind of officers we want in Star. The lady whose property he cleaned up was very overwhelmed. She was in the hospital at the time. The Mayor presented a Certificate of Appreciation and a gift certificate to Deputy Speakes. The Mayor welcomed the Sheriff and Captain Borquist. The Mayor has received no negative comments about Police Service in Star. Flood District #10 – Mike Dimmick, District Manager, introduced Steve Sweet, District Engineer. The flood district was created in 1970; handouts were provided for Council and Mayor. Dimmick stated there is a lot of information and they do have a web site which will also have a lot of information. Dimmick talked about their three commissioners, they answer to Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR). Their job is to reduce the risk of flooding. They take debris out of the river and do bank maintenance. They also work on removing gravel. They are starting to work with Cities with development along the river. The Eagle and Garden City areas have major issues. FD#10 has been working with the developer of Parkstone Subdivision on phases 8 & 9. Dimmick thanked Ward for help with the river areas of the City. They have resolutions regarding flooding and want to work with the City to work together and ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 keep building above the base flood area. They are also a member of the Ada City-County Emergency Management (ACCEM). Chadwick asked if they travel the entire river every year. Dimmick stated that it depends on the work load and piles of debris. The workload is smaller for piles of debris as they have been cleaning them up every three years. If they get a call, we clean up areas all year and they work with the Corp to get snags out. Lockett asked if it is their job to keep the river flow naturally. Dimmick stated that it is. The change of water velocity changes the scouring which changes the flow. Lockett asked about the dikes. Sweet stated that in dealing with levies, they find out who the agency is that is responsible and get the Corp to help recover if it is within standards. Sweet stated that they participate with FEMA and the river is a working river. Land owners see the benefit for an increased tax base, but it puts more people closer to risk. We don’t want to see the river go wild, but we can’t contain it too much. It’s not if the river is going to flood – it is when it will flood. The Police and Fire Department are great people to get the word out. Sweet stated that they are working with Ward to solve the problem areas. They are working with models. There are recreation opportunities all along the river. Public Input: Tom Erlebach, 11330 Second Street, Star, asked Sweet about the flood issue at Heron River and that it would be nice to get in front of the property. Sweet stated that the river is moving around and it is not cheap to fix. Erlebach is right it has provided help; the previous Mayor was out trying to fix the problem. Where we are going now is with the base flood elevation and we are up above that right now. Star is in a transition zone. We are vulnerable, the levee won’t help now, and it won’t save the community. Flood District 10 is going after these levees, there are 33 miles where we have weak parts. We need to continue to work with the City. Nielsen stated that the elevation data will help. That information is very helpful. He doesn’t have experience with levees. Sweet stated that they will continue working with Ward on the problem areas. Old/New Business: Resolution No. 16-08 Valley Regional Transit Agreement - Nielsen asked what the summarized benefit of belonging to VRT is. The Mayor said we get a say in how transit is run in the valley – we have a voice. We do have one bus that comes to Star. ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 Lockett stated that we don’t rely on mass transit in Star, but there are people that use the bus in Star. We have 4 or 5 people that use the bus each day. VRT also helps the Seniors. They are trying to partner to get to the more rural locations. Hershey stated that we have a place holder to keep a say and influence, and they put up with Councilman Lockett - it’s worth it. Nielsen is skeptical of value. They don’t seem to be interested in increasing bus lines to Star, their hands are tied, but not coming our way. Chadwick wants bus rider numbers. There are three or four riders each day. The Mayor has had this conversation more than once. He didn’t think the dollar value was there either. Nielsen would like to see more numbers. They don’t do any marketing here. The Mayor stated that we can have Kelli Fairless come out and have the discussion with Council. Hershey moved to table the VRT Resolution to November 15, and have Kelli Fairless come speak with the Council, Chadwick seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Grindline Change Orders – The Mayor reviewed the changes. There were to be two islands with astro-turf, it looked to be a smaller area and idea came up to just put concrete in the bowl area. It will make a good spot for a beginner’s area and better alleys. The cost is approximately $9,300. It won’t cost $9,300 more than what we were originally going to do. The change order is good in the long run and less maintenance. The time schedule is to be done by November 30, a hard date, after that they get fined. No extended time. Hershey stated that he hates the bid document, as it is double dipping. It needs to be cleaned up. Nielsen moved to approve the change orders for the Skate Park, Lockett seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Reports: Council – Nielsen had nothing to report. Chadwick helped with Trunk or Treat and it was awesome. The Council needs to put together a show like Tom and Dana did. It was a great success. Lockett attended the Solid Waste Committee meeting and yard waste was the topic. The Pheasant Hunters Breakfast was good and Trunk or Treat was fun. The Seniors Potato Bar Feed will be from noon to six on Saturday and he will be in the Veterans Day Parade in Boise. Hershey stated that he will take the pie tasting contest very seriously. The Star Library has amazing things to do and stuff to rent and things for free, everyone should check it out. He did a ride along with our Deputies – we have a good crew. He is still trying to find a committee member. ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 Staff – Chief Vogt stated that he will be keeping an eye on Councilman Hershey with the pies and he volunteered for Pheasant Hunters Breakfast and Trunk or Treat. Great turn out. Ward stated there are several items before the Council. ITD will be resurfacing State Street and Highway 20/26 this next year. Bids go out on October 31st and it should be a 120 day contract. All work during Monday thru Friday will be at night and at all times on the weekends. The bid for the boat launch went out in October and November. Ada County Highway District will start their tree maintenance this fall through the month of June. There was an accident in the park, a lady fell and broke her leg. To date, no one has picked up a claim form. There is a flyer in the papers given out inviting everyone to Homedale for a celebration the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Yorgason had nothing to report. Mayor – The Mayor stated that we have set a date for our Christmas tree lighting, it will be December 2nd at 7 pm. We are getting more lights for the tree this year and Theresa Tinsley is looking for donations. The Mayor thanked everyone that participated in the Trunk or Treat, they made a lot of cotton candy and had a fishing game, bean bag race and sack races. He guessed that we probably gave out candy to about 2,000 kids. They served 900 hot dogs. It was a great event that continues to grow every year. The Mayor encouraged everyone to attend the Potato Bar Feed. The Mayor thanked Lockett for doing the parade. Adjournment: Lockett moved to adjourn the meeting, Chadwick seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:14 pm. Approved: Respectfully submitted: Charlten Bell, Mayor Cathy Ward, City Clerk