City Council

680 Park Avenue City Council Meeting Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Minutes Thursday, June 27, 2024, 7:30 PM City Council Chambers 1. Call to Order Present: Council President Burtenshaw, Councilor Radford, Councilor Freeman, Councilor Francis. Absent: Mayor Rebecca L Noah Casper, Councilor Ziel-Dingman; and Councilor Larsen Also present: All available Department Directors Micheal Kirkham, City Attorney Corrin Wilde, City Clerk 2. Pledge of Allegiance Deputy Chief Jon Perry led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Public Comment Faith Neibert wanted to express gratitude for public transportation. She stated that she had been waiting for years for public transit, and now we finally have it in Idaho Falls. Faith has been blind since birth, and having public transportation is something she always desired. The first time she used the service, she beamed joyfully because it allowed her to go anywhere in the city without relying on family, friends, or relatives for transportation. This newfound independence allows her to pursue her goals without constantly asking for assistance. Faith appreciates the GIFT program, which stands for Greater Idaho Falls Transit, as it has enabled her to attend massage school and discover a local yoga studio. She is grateful that the city endorsed the program and encourages everyone to support it, recognizing that many others in the community also rely on this essential service. 4. Consent Agenda A. Fire Department 1) Purchase of One (1) Replacement 2023 North Star Type II Ambulance This purchase will access the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) a cooperative government procurement organization based upon H-GAC Contract AM10-20 to replace a current fire department 2018 Type II transport ambulance. This ambulance has met its life expectancy. Replacement was scheduled in the FY2021-2022 budget when the vehicle was ordered. The ambulance is set for immediate delivery. The total payment for this apparatus is in the amount of $156,738.00. These funds were budgeted and authorized in FY21-22 utilizing the municipal equipment replacement funds. 2) Purchase of Two (2) 2025 North Star 153-1 Ambulances. This purchase will access Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), a cooperative government procurement organization, based upon H-GAC Contract AM10-23 to replace two current fire department ambulances. These two (2) ambulances have met their life expectancy and are scheduled  680 Park Avenue City Council Meeting Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Minutes for municipal equipment replacement fund (MERF) replacements. The approximate delivery will take 530-580 days. Acceptance of this proposal will place our order in the production queue without committing the City of Idaho Falls to purchase until delivery. Payment for these apparatuses will come from MERF funds for $567,302.00 upon delivery which is estimated to be in Spring 2026. Funds to purchase the apparatus are planned for within the Fire Department's EMS Municipal Equipment Replacement Fund (MERF). B. Municipal Services 1) Quote, Hardware, Software, and Subscription Maintenance Purchase for Information Technology. The purchase of the Palo Alto firewall solution will replace the current Checkpoint firewall used by the city over the past several years. Transitioning to the Palo Alto solution will also replace the city's VPN solution to reduce vulnerabilities of City staff accessing the City's network remotely. In addition to the hardware and software, the purchase includes a five-year subscription support service. Funds for this project are budgeted in the 2023/24 Municipal Services Department, Information Technology division budget. 2) Treasurer’s Report for April 2024 For April 2024, cash and investments total $176.8M. Total fiscal year-to-date receipts received and reconciled to the general ledger were reported at $152.6M, which includes revenues of $78.7M for charges for services and taxes and intergovernmental revenues of $53.1M. Total fiscal year-to-date distributions reconciled to the general ledger were reported at $131.7M. This includes salary and benefits of $48.2M, operating costs of $56.2M, and Capital expenditures of $33.7M. C. Idaho Falls Power 1) IFP 24-26 Lincoln to Sugarmill Conduit Project - B Jackson. Idaho Falls Power solicited bids from qualified contractors to provide labor and materials for the Lincoln to Sugarmill electrical conduit line installation project. Nine bids were received with B Jackson Construction being the lowest responsive, responsible bidder. The base bid was $115,081.63 plus a 10% contingency of $11,508.16 for a total of $126,589.79. D. Office of the City Clerk 1) Minutes from Council Meetings Minutes from 20 February 2024 Work Session. 2) License Applications It was moved by Councilor Radford, seconded by Councilor Francis to approve, accept, or receive all items on the Consent Agenda according to the recommendations presented. The motion was carried by the following vote: Aye – Councilors Francis, Freeman, Radford, Burtenshaw. Nay – None  680 Park Avenue City Council Meeting Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Minutes 5. Regular Agenda A. Airport 1) Master Contract for Airport Environmental Services The Idaho Falls Regional Airport anticipates the need for environmental services related to the Federal Aviation Administration National Environmental Policy Act requirements in the next several years. Most notably, an Environmental Assessment is expected for the relocation of the Airport Traffic Control Tower. Other professional environmental services may occur. To plan for this, a qualification-based selection process was issued as Request for Qualification 24-05 - Environmental Services for Idaho Falls Regional Airport. Two proposals were received, and the evaluation committee ranked Ardurra Group, Inc., the top qualified proposer. Director Turner stated that the contract covers 5 years. Fundamentally, it does not guarantee any work, but its purpose is to fund the relocation of the airport traffic control tower, which has a grant. The final value will be established through future negotiations, and the work order will be brought to the Council. Additionally, there’s a 5-year term because environmental services will be needed in the next 5 years. It’s prudent to select a consultant for this duration. Councilor Francis asked a clarifying question. Just to confirm, we need an environmental study to determine the suitable location. Is that correct? Director Turner agreed. It was moved by Councilor Francis, seconded by Councilor Radford to approve a master contract for professional environmental services with Ardurra Group, Inc., and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute said contract. The motion was carried by the following vote: Aye – Councilors Burtenshaw, Francis, Freeman, Radford. Nay – None B. Idaho Falls Power 1) IFP 24-25 Gem State Boat Ramp Idaho Falls Power (IFP) solicited bids from qualified contractors to construct a new boat ramp at Gem State Lake. The bid tabulation is attached. The one bid received was more than double the engineer's estimate. IFP staff concluded that awarding the bid was not in the best interests of the city. If the Council rejects the bid, IFP staff will go to the open market to procure qualified contractors to complete portions of the work, and IFP staff will perform the remainder of the work in-house. Funding for this project is included in the FY2023-24 CIP budget. Assistant General Manager Stephen Boorman stated that Idaho Falls Power recommends that the Council reject all bids because it is in the best interest of the city. He explained that there was only one bidder, and their bid exceeded the engineer’s estimate by more than double. The plan now is to revisit the bidding process and collaborate with Fish and Game, who have offered to contribute to the work. Additionally, there is already $120,000 worth of Fish and Game funding into this. Boorman emphasized that this bid does not align with their budget. Councilor Freeman clarified that the location of this project is at the end of the channel, downstream from the park, quite a ways.  680 Park Avenue City Council Meeting Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Minutes It was moved by Councilor Freeman, seconded by Councilor Radford to reject the single bid received from JM Concrete for the construction of a boat ramp at Gem State Lake, finding that the work and services can be procured more economically by purchasing the contracting services on the open market, and direct the Mayor and staff to procure qualified contractors to perform portions of the work. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye – Councilors Burtenshaw, Francis, Freeman, Radford. Nay -None. C. Police Department 1) Ratification of the purchase of In-car Radios At the end of December of 2023, the Idaho Falls Police Department entered into an agreement with Motorola for the purchase of Motorola in-car radios. In previous years these radios were part of our vehicle upfits. The Department recently determined that managing the upfit process separate from the lease process provides more value, offering some cost savings and faster return of the vehicles. The most recent vehicle package approved by the Council using MERF budget funds included $97,900.00 for these in-car radios. The radios were purchased using the State contract with Motorola (#PADD20221088). However, this decision to obtain the radios separately and move to a local vendor for upfit was made after the Council approved the package. Compliance with internal purchasing rules requires separate Council approval. In this case, approval comes as a ratification of the purchase. The final price came in at $97,896.42. The impact has not changed. It will result in $97,896.42 from the Idaho Falls Police Department 2023/24 Municipal Equipment Replacement Fund. Chief Johnson explained that in the past, vehicle upfitting was included as part of the car lease. So, when they leased a vehicle, it automatically came with all the necessary modifications. However, there were challenges with this approach. Since the upfitting was done out of state, there was less oversight, longer processing times, and higher costs. Now Chief Johnson has arranged for a local outfitter to handle all the upfitting for the police cars. Instead of bundling it with the lease, they purchase the upfit components separately. Doing it locally reduces costs and speeds up the process. The police department has already paid the invoice, and they’re seeking Council approval to ratify this expense within the previously approved budget limit. It was moved by Councilor Freeman, seconded by Councilor Francis to ratify the purchase of Motorola in-car radios. The motion was carried by the following vote: Aye – Francis, Freeman, Radford, Burtenshaw. Nay - None. 6. Announcements The city is celebrating the 4th of July on Thursday with the parade and fireworks show. Councilor Francis thanked all the departments involved in making this big event happen. Heritage Park Tsunami of Sod was Tuesday night, there were over 300 volunteers that came and laid over 4 ½ acres of Sod and served 700 dips of ice cream. Councilor Radford noted that this was a great  680 Park Avenue City Council Meeting Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Minutes experience and fun to see so many people come to that event. Last weekend was the Idaho Falls Pride celebration. On the 4th of July, there will be a firecracker fun run and lots of opportunities to go and serve around this time. 7. Adjournment. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:47 PM s/ Corrin Wilde s/Rebecca L. Noah Casper Corrin Wilde, City Clerk + Rebecca L. Noah Casper, Mayor