City Council

Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corp. December 8, 2020 board meeting was held online at 8:30am Attendance: Jake Durtschi, Emily Fitzpatrick, Brandi Newton, Shanon Taylor, Greg Crockett, Cindy Napier, Kevin Cutler, Steve Fischbach, Brad Cramer, Lisa Farris, Councilman Jim Francis and Jim Pletscher Staff: Catherine Smith, Juan Hernandez, Mala Lyon Minutes for November 3, 2020 were reviewed - Brandi motioned to accept the minutes. Cindy seconded and board approved Financial report – Brandi – the report is no longer showing the PPP loan as it was a one-time deal and has been forgiven, except for the $5,000 that was paid back. We can now see the budget and the actual income and expenses since we have split it into parking and operations. Brandi made a motion that the financial report be approved; Cindy seconded, and board approved Catherine – holiday re-cap – we moved the tree lighting to Friday evening, so we didn’t conflict with the Ammon light parade and to use it as a kickoff for Shop Small Saturday. We had planned to work with Ammon to advertise together this year but will hope to do that next year. The tree lighting was promoted as an online only event, but we still had about 30 people show up. I was in quarantine, so we asked Krisi Staten to be the MC. The Mayor read the Shop Small Saturday and then did the count down with Santa to turn on the lights. We only have 10 potted trees this year as we usually have 18 – 20 and the Memorial tree for the Veterans. Parks and Rec hung all the lights and garland for us on the light poles and have put up lights on Memorial and in the Friendship Garden. The horse drawn trolley is downtown every Saturday thru the 19th. We used Eventbright to have people to reserve tickets. We are accommodating people that just show up as there are no shows and we can get them on if they are willing to wait. The Road Apple Trolley people have also brought down a white carriage that you can fit 5 or 6 people in at no extra charge, so more people are getting rides. Juan is staying downtown to manage the rides. East Idaho News did a story last Saturday and we have had lots of calls and emails from people wanting to know how to get a ride. Very popular event. We are needing to revise the budget and remove the income we projected we would receive from the Winterbrew and Springbrew. Also removing the projected expense of a storage unit. Krisi had told us she didn’t have time to help with our events anymore, but now that she has settled into her new job and had a rest she would like to be involved again. They are willing to store our supplies at their place. The beautification, office supplies and general categories have also been adjusted. We are keeping St Paddy’s event on in hopes things are good and we can hold the event. Brandi made the motion to accept the revised budget; Shanon seconded and board approved. Catherine thanked Brandi for all her help in getting QuickBooks and the budget to work better for us. Parking updates – We are working with Brad Cramer and the city legal team to make an adjustment in the on-street parking and have requested they approve what is called the block face ordinance. This is where you can only park for the free two hours on one block then you would have to move to a different block for the next two hours. It is amazing how many people park and then leave and when they come back, they park in the exact same parking space. We assume that when the police department moves out the small lot on the corner of Capital and B Street will be open to the county employees. We will keep you posted. Problem with homeless people – we have found homeless people in the parking garage during the cold months and leaving their items behind. Ed and our staff have dealt with this in the past, but we have been told by Lt Shane Kaiser with IFPD that we are not to engage and allow the IFPD to handle the situation. We can ask them to leave, but if they do not, we call the police. We had some sleeping the Wells Fargo ATM that the police had to remove. It is not illegal to be homeless, so we will contact the police in the future. The new December Idaho Falls Magazine is out, and we have the Downtowner section in it. There are great articles and a parking section. The Parking Committee will be meeting next week in a virtual meeting, we did not have a November meeting. Kent Lott the owner of Centre Theatre has talked to Mala, Catherine, and Jake about the problem he has of people who come downtown to see a matinee movie and are parked more than two hours on the street then they are getting a $20 parking ticket. We encourage business owner to educate their customer where parking is available when they need to park more than 2 hours. Kent brought up the idea of having meters on the street so people can just pay for the time they need. Jake pointed out that it is very difficult to manage free parking. Hair Salon owners have also expressed the need to clients to have a longer period of time to park. With an on-street option people can take in dinner and a movie and add time to their parking with their phone thru the app on their phone. Catherine said this will be a big topic for the Parking Committee. She is putting together a couple of surveys that will go out to the public, our facebook followers and then one to the business owners and property owners. We are not naive about what some of the feedback we will receive. There will be plenty of criticism, but we are hoping for positive feedback also. Lisa – 2017 – 2020 funds are being worked thru. We have about $57,000. Spruce and Pie Hole Pizza are almost finished. There are a few other applications out that have not been returned. Please encourage people to contact Lisa so this funding can be used. There is a virtual public hearing for applications received for CV3-CDBG Thursday, Dec 3rd at 7:30. Catherine said we are still working on our lighting project. It has been challenging as we want to use solar lights and they are not used to installing those. We will work out those details. Brad did not have any other updates from the city that Lisa and Catherine hadn’t already covered. Meeting was adjourned at 9:10am Our next board meeting is scheduled for January 12, 2021. CUSP Healthcare and Public Health Subcommittee Meeting minutes of December 15, 2020 meeting Called to order at 2:30 by Doug Crabtree Those present include: Doug Crabtree Kim Remiem Bobbe Crapo (internet) Geri Rackow Richard Couillard (phone) Carolyn Hansen (internet) Miranda Marquit (internet) Welcome to all including those not on the committee (no one outside of the committee attended the meeting) We did not hear a report from the United Way nor the Food Bank. Geri Rackow summarized that the hospitals in the area are stretched with patients, including a high number of COVID patients. Carolyn Hansen reported that Bingham has only a few COVID patients. She also reported that their staffing is a concern. With a small facility, if one or two people are sick, it impacts the organization. Carolyn also reported that the mental health facility at Bingham was at capacity. She reported a large need for more psychiatric facilities in the area. Geri also reported on the recent number of COVID patients reported to the Health District. The numbers have been going up and are concerning. Geri reported that the Eastern Idaho Health District had received it’s first shipment of the vaccine. We all thanked and congratulated Geri and her staff for their efforts to get the vaccine. Bobbe introduced David Richards, Superintendent of Idaho Falls Water. He provided the following information regarding fluoridation of water. Water System Fluoridation Considerations Note: Most figures are rough estimates and would need to be completely vetted before being used. General: • Available in either liquid form (Hydrofluorosilicic Acid [H2SiF6]) or granular form (Sodium Fluorosilicate [Na2(SiF6)]) which must be dissolved on site into a solution with water • Both forms are highly acidic (pH<2), lowering pH level of source water (City’s water is currently pH neutral) Implementation: • Easiest to implement at centralized water treatment plants, more difficult at remote sites (City currently has 15 remote well sites) • All 15 well sites must be fully-equipped before implementation • Storage requires separate, climate-controlled room with dedicated ventilation • Capital costs for installation per site range from $250,000 to $300,000 (data from Colorado & Utah sites implementing fluoridation), totaling $3,750,000 to $4,500,000; these costs may be a bit high as they most likely include large, centralized water treatment plants • Liquid acid is pumped from storage container directly into source water via dosing pump • Granules are dumped from 50-lb bags into a hopper which feeds granules into a solution mixing tank to form a liquid acid; acid solution is then pumped into source water Maintenance and Life Cycle: • Acidic nature of liquid fluoride solution requires full replacement of dosing pumps, piping, injection equipment, and other equipment containing metal every 7 to 10 years • Etches glass and corrodes building materials made of metal within storage room • Procedure and safety training is relatively inexpensive through the Intermountain Section of the American Water Works Association (Utah & SE Idaho) • Costs for Hydrofluorosilicic Acid is approximately $620 per ton in Utah; assumed to be a bit more in Idaho including transportation costs (about $80,000/yr for City) • No cost for Sodium Fluorosilicate granules, but they are imported through Texas from Belgium and shipped in pallets of 50-lb bags • Source water should be continuously sampled for natural fluoride content to determine dosing rate; average dosing rate in Utah is 0.7 parts per million (ppm) with natural content of 0.3 ppm to achieve optimal dosing of 1.0 ppm; City’s source water range is 0.2 to 0.4 ppm with and average of 0.3 ppm • Water system sampling is required in Utah 3 times per week to ensure proper dosage (no indication of number of sampling sites required); City currently samples 35 sites for bacteria • An additional staff member would be required to handle burden of fluoridation and sampling • Additional laboratory sampling expenses • Annual Utah costs for ongoing maintenance are about $10 per acre-feet of water pumped (about $270,000/year for City or about $0.90 per connection per month) Following the report from Mr. Richards, we listened to a report from Brad Cramer, Director of Community Development Services for Idaho Falls. He has been working with Vitruvian, a consulting firm. He reviewed the preliminary findings of the work of Vitruvian Planning including the following: Idaho Falls Demographics Healthy Conditions Assessment Process Tract-level analysis Housing Quality Affordability Stability Health Seven Dimensions of Health and Wellness Social Determinants and Social Needs What Gets People Moving to Improve Health Life Expectancy rates by census tract Transportation He is finalizing the full report and will make it available when it is complete. Miranda Marquit volunteered to put the draft report on a common document so that we could begin to think about how our committee’s “road map” would correlate with the findings of Vitruvian. Meeting was adjourned approximately 3:45 p.m.  Idaho Falls Sister City Youth Approved Meeting-Minutes This meeting was conducted using the platform Zoom ​January 6, 2021 Maggie Boring Nicholas Cebull Charlotte Combs Laura Combs Kylie Eaton David Eaton Katie Eaton Abby Gallegos Izabel Kelley Laura Kelley Sam Hawker Lori Kidwell McKenzie McIsaac Edward McIsaac Heather McIsaac Eden McIsaac Charlie Medema Max Medema Heather Medema Mike Medema Jorge Padron Nathan Peck Kendra Peck Anna St. Michel Whitney St. Michel Rebecca Smith Stephanie VanAusdeln Carter Thompson Jennifer Thompson Approval of Meeting Minutes ​A motion by Stephanie VanAusdeln was made to approve the December 2, 2020 meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Whitney St. Michel. Passed. Reminder The next Zoom meeting will be ​January 18, at 7:00.​ Please put this on your calendar. A reminder email notice will be sent out before the meeting. Upcoming meetings: January 18th, February 3rd and 15th, March 3rd and 15th, and April 7th and 19th. Treasurer’s Report Lori Kidwell reported the checking account balance is $16,058.84. Membership Application, Annual Fees, and Code of Conduct Form Due ​An application will need to be filled out and sent to Katie Eaton at mskatherinejean@gmail.com​. Please include the guardians’ cell number and email address as well as the student’s cell phone number and email address. Each student is required to sign the Code of Conduct. Please email the completed Code of Conduct form along with the application form. Yearly dues: Individual ($25 – 1 student) Family ($35 – 2 or more students) Checks payable to Sister Cities of Idaho Falls. Please send a check to Lori Kidwell. Her address is: 1968 Sierra Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402 OR you may send membership dues using Venmo under the name of Lori Hawker.  NAME APPLICATION CODE OF CONDUCT DUES Maggie Boring Nicholas Cebull Yes Yes Yes Charlotte Combs Yes Kylie Eaton Yes Yes Yes Abby Gallegos Yes Yes Aliyah Gamino Izabel Kelley Yes Yes Yes Sam Hawker Yes Yes Yes McKenzie McIsaac Eden McIsaac Charlie Medema Yes Yes Yes Max Medema Yes Yes Yes Gabe Padron Yes Nathan Peck Yes Yes Yes Anna St. Michel Yes Yes Yes Stephanie Yes Yes Yes VanAusdeln Carter Thompson Yes Yes Yes Sharing Powerpoint Presentation/New Year Cards with Tokai-Mura Students ​Kendra Peck sent a powerpoint presentation of an American Christmas to Tokai-Mura students. David Eaton received postcards from Sister City Tokai-Mura students. He will deliver the New Year cards sometime within the week. Fundraisers ​Selling Calendars There are several calendars left that need to be sold. Contact David Eaton at 208 520-3714 to get more calendars to sell. The selling price of each calendar is $10.00. Idaho Falls Sister City Youth Website Kendra Peck and Whitney St. Michel asked if there is a student who will volunteer to update the IFSCY website to reflect the new officers as well as update dates of future meetings. Max Medema stated he will look at the site to see if he could figure out how to update the site. Student Exchange to Tokai-Mura Due to COVID-19 the Sister City of Tokai-Mura will make a decision by April 2021 whether or not their group will be able to host Idaho Falls Sister City students. Meeting Attendance Requirements Kendra Peck reminded students that attending 50% of the meetings is a requirement to be eligible for going to Tokai-Mura for July 2021. Recruiting Members for IFSCY If you know of any student who is interested in the Idaho Falls Sister City Youth program please invite them to the Zoom meetings. You may forward the link to the meetings to any student who is interested. Student Activity Max Medema did a powerpoint presentation on Japan’s Geography. Student Volunteers for the upcoming meetings in 2021 are: Carter Thompson volunteered for the January 18th meeting. Stephanie VanAusdeln will present on February 3rd and McKenzie McIsaac will present on February 15th. Maggie Boring volunteered to present at the first meeting in March. Next meeting: ​Next meeting will be on January 18, 2021. Motion to Adjourn Stephanie VanAusdeln motioned to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Max Medema. Current Checking Balance as of 01/06/2021---$16,318.84 Money Market balance $3292.53 Savings balance $25.05 December Deposits 12/01/2020 to 01/06/2021 (+$100) Dues received: Venmo: Laura Combs for Charlotte $25 (01/06) Cash Lori Kidwell for Sam $25 (​paid in November​ while waiting for Rebecca’s PayPal) Checks Date ​ ​Check# 11/28 #1534 Melinda Cebull for Nick $25 12/03 #2090 Rebecca Smith for Stephanie $25/ 11/11 Pay Pal payment didn’t go through 12/10 #119 Laura Kelley for Izabel $25 No December Deductions (Statement is still not available for December as of 1pm 01/06/2021) November 30, 2020 Statement Basic Checking $16,218.84 previous months balance $16,058.84 Money Market $3291.83 previous months balance $3291.16 (+$0.67) Reg Share Savings $25.05 previous months balance $25.05 November Deposits (+$160) No Deductions in November Venmo: Kendra Peck for Nathan Peck $25 Whitney St Michael for Anna $25 Jennifer Thompson for Carter $25 PayPal: Rebecca Smith for Stephanie $25(Didn’t go through/paid by check) Cash/Check Heather Medema for Charlie and Max $35 Jorge Padron for Gabe $25