City Council

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING Monday, June 23, 2025 City Council Chambers City Clerk’s Office 680 Park Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID 83402 3:00 p.m. The public is invited to observe City Council Work Sessions. However, the agenda for Work Sessions does not include an opportunity for public interaction. Seating in the Council Chambers may be limited. All seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The public also may view this meeting via livestream on the City’s website at https://www.idahofallsidaho.gov/429/Live-Stream. This meeting may be canceled or recessed to a later time in accordance with law. If you need communication aids or services or other physical accommodations to participate or access this meeting of the City of Idaho Falls, you may contact City Clerk Emily Geisler at (208) 612-8414 or the ADA Coordinator Lisa Farris at (208) 612-8323 not less than 48 hours prior to the meeting. They can help accommodate special needs. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Times listed in parentheses are only estimates. Call to Order and Roll Call Municipal Services, Mayor’s Office, Review and Discussion: Impact Fee Study & Capital Improvement Police, Fire, Community Plans (60) Development Services, Parks and Action: Council Direction to Staff (or take other appropriate action) Recreation, and Public Works Discussion: Next Steps and Timeline for Impact Fee Consideration (15) Action: Council Direction to Staff (or take other appropriate action) Municipal Services Update: Frontier Center for the Performing Arts (20) Action: Council Direction to Staff (or take other appropriate action) Mayor and City Council Acceptance or Receipt of Minutes (5) Action: Receive recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission Mayor and Council Reports: Calendars; Announcements; Events; Reports; Updates; Concerns; Questions; Discussion; Proclamations; Notes or Minutes from Boards and Commissions (15) Action: Council Direction to Staff (or take other appropriate action) DATED this 19th day of June 2025 ___________________________________ Emily Geisler, City Clerk P. O. Box 50220 - 308 Constitution Way - Idaho Falls, Idaho 83405 - (208) 612-8415 - Internet Homepage Address: www.idahofallsidaho.gov  Honorable Mayor and Council Wade Sanner, Community Development Services Director June 4, 2025 June 3, 2025, Planning Commission Action Planning Commission took the following action during the June 3, 2025, meeting. 1. PLT25-011: PRELIMINARY PLAT for Snake River Landing Division No. 17. SE ¼ of Section 26, Township 2 North, Range 37 East. Located north of W Sunnyside Road, east of Pioneer Road, south of Event Center Drive, west of Snake River Parkway. On June 2, 2025, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to approve the preliminary plat as presented. 2. PLT25-008: FINAL PLAT for Highland Park 2nd Amended. Lots 37-43, Block 45 of Highland Park Addition. Located north of Shelley Street, east of Elmore Avenue, south of US Highway 20, west of Canyon Avenue. On June 3, 2025, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the final plat to the Mayor and City Council as presented. 3. PLT25-009: FINAL PLAT for Lincoln Parkway Division No. 2. NE ¼ of Section 16, Township 2 North, Range 38 East. Located north of Kearney Street, east of Quail Drive, south of Lincoln Road, and west of S 25th E. On June 3, 2025, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the final plat to the Mayor and City Council as presented. 4. PLT25-010: FINAL PLAT for Home Ranch Addition Division No. 7, First Amended. Lot 6, Block 10 Home Ranch Division No. 7. Located north of Hartert Drive, east of S Boulevard, south of E 25th Street, west of S Holmes Avenue. On June 3, 2025, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the final plat to the Mayor and City Council as presented. 5. RZN25-008: REZONE from HC, Highway Commercial to LC, Limited Commercial. Portion of Lot 17, Block 4 Westland Heights Addition Division No. 3. Located north of Broadway, east of Hanson Avenue, south of Raymond Drive, and west of N Skyline Drive. On June 3, 2025, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the rezone to the Mayor and City Council as presented. 6. PUD24-004: PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT for Willowcreek Townhomes. SE ¼ of Section 6, Township 2 North, Range 38 East. Located north of E 33rd N, east of N Boulevard, south of Recycle Road, and west of N 5th E. On June 3, 2025, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the PUD to the Mayor and City Council as presented.  7. PUD25-001: PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT for Anderson Townhomes Division No. 2. Lot 1, Block 1 Berkshire Apartments Division No. 1. Located north of W Anderson Street, east of US Hwy 20, south of Science Center Drive, and west of N Boulevard. On June 3, 2025, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the PUD to the Mayor and City Council as presented. RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION: To receive recommendation(s) from the Planning and Zoning Commission pursuant to the Local Land Use Planning Act (LLUPA).  APPROVED 05.08.25 4/10/2025 SISTER CITIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE- Meeting Minutes The April 10, 2025 Sister Cities Advisory Committee meeting was held in Room 310A of Building 3 at College of Eastern Idaho (1600 S 25th E, Idaho Falls, ID 83404) and via Teams. ACTION ITEMS 5:35 PM Roll Call and Confirmation of Quorum ● In attendance: Amanda Logan, Chloe Doucette, Laura Combs, Julie McMurtrey, Lisa Armstrong, Jake Durtschi, Sunny Katseanes, Catherine McClure ● Absent: Cindy Ozaki, Caroline Combs ○ Note: Jeremy Crook who was filling the “community service organization” seat is officially off the Committee. This seat has been difficult to keep filled. Approval of March 13, 2025 Meeting Minutes ● Edits to minutes: Lisa Armstrong was present online. We simplified a note about INL’s plans for involvement this year. Chloe made those edits in the minutes. ○ Lisa moved to approve with March 13, 2025 meeting minutes with the above edits. Jake seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously at 5:39pm. Approval of Reimbursements ● Annual fee for the Adult Association’s PO Box. The Adult Association thought they had submitted this for reimbursement earlier. Wanted it to be covered by administrative fees. ○ Jake moved to reimburse the Adult Association $182.00 for their annual PO Box fee from the Administrative line in the budget. Lisa seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously at 5:40pm. DISCUSSION ITEMS 5:40 PM New Reimbursement Request Form and Spreadsheet ● Jake presented a draft reimbursement form and spreadsheet to streamline submissions. ● Edits made during discussion: ○ Added a field for submitter name ○ Drop-down menu for reimbursement group: Adult Association, Youth Association, or advancement request ○ Clarified language: receipts due by the 1st of each month; checks issued 4–6 weeks after approval ○ Added a fiscal year column to track timing of expenses ○ Receipts now auto-filed into named folders in Google Drive ● Jake will finalize the form and share with Cindy and Laura for review. ● Catherine agrees that this new process will work well with the City’s processes. ● Amanda noted committee files are currently on her personal Google Drive. ○ Catherine mentioned that we might be able to transition that to a OneDrive.  APPROVED 05.08.25 ○​ Chloe shared that a Gmail account has been created (ifscassociation@gmail.com) and she will forward information along to the committee members so they can move files there. Finalization of requested revisions to the Idaho Falls Sister Cities Advisory Committee City Code ●​ Catherine said right now, we need to align our goals. The Committee should be setting the goals and the Associations should be fulfilling those goals as a part of their exchanges/work as an association. ●​ The City Council is looking to the Committee to determine how to change the language of the ordinance. They really want to make sure it ties back to the goals. We need to redline the ordinance so that Catherine can take it to councilmember Francis so that it can be revised. Will take about 6 months to officially make the revisions that we suggest. If we submit it soon, we can have a new ordinance before next spring. ●​ Key issues discussed: ○​ Clarification of Chair appointment (elected vs. appointed by Mayor) ○​ Reassessment of voting vs. non-voting roles ○​ Language should allow for future sister cities beyond Tokai-mura ○​ Consider language modeled after Atlantik Brücke ○​ Suggestion to align new sister city outreach with areas like agriculture or nuclear. ●​ Committee members agreed to redline the ordinance for discussion at the next meeting. Updates from the City ●​ The Idaho Department of Commerce is doing a trade mission to Japan June 1 - 5, 2025. ○​ There will be some training on the first day, followed by meetings with Japanese businesses. The City of Idaho Falls will be in Tokai-mura for meetings on Wednesday and will go back to businesses they visited last time. Tokai-mura staff and Mayor Yamada are invited back to Tokyo that evening. ■​ If we can cultivate our relationship with Suzuki Labs then they should be able to sell their products in Idaho Falls. The Tokai-mura village office is the gatekeeper on contact information, so Catherine hasn’t been able to get products ordered. They’ll be visiting them again during this trip. ○​ A total of 16 people are going and there will be business representation. ○​ Tokai-mura has asked that Amanda join as a representative of the committee. ○​ Business in Japan is relationship based. Catherine mentioned that she thinks she may have been too optimistic with how she thought those business relationships could work. She appreciated having the experience for herself to see how relationship based the businesses are in Japan. She will continue to develop those relationships. ○​ Next year, the City may do their own city to city exchange separate from the adult and youth delegation and separate of a larger trade mission. ■​ The city may be able to offset some travel expenses (for example, if other Committee members wish to go so they know what things are like, the city may be able to assist with that.)  APPROVED 05.08.25 ■​ We may have to adjust the charter/ordinance because it currently states that the Committee can’t make any gains from their role. This type of reimbursement may qualify as “gains” under the current language. ■​ Jake agreed that creating these types of trips is how we would best serve the community. ○​ Lisa suggested that we see if there was an expert that could put on classes for our local business leaders so that they could understand the cultural expectations in Japan so that business relationships could be formed. ■​ Everyone agreed that this was a good idea. ■​ Catherine will explore. Report from Sister Cities Adult Association ●​ Cindy was absent, but Cindy and Catherine had been emailing about city day earlier, so Catherine shared some updates. ○​ City Day will be September 12th. The committee should be involved in city day, so please add to your calendars. There should be 12-15 delegates from Japan. Catherine is going to get a bus from GIFT and they will spend the whole day visiting different locations and really seeking educational value for the delegates. The Committee is invited to spend the whole day with the group. ●​ Catherine also shared that Cindy is working out the trip to northern Yellowstone. Need to figure out accommodations both for Yellowstone and for Idaho Falls. We want to make sure that they have quality accommodations for the time that they aren’t doing home stays. ○​ Lisa suggested we try to find business owners who own cabins in Island Park. Eagle Ridge ranch in Island Park could be good. Report from Sister Cities Youth Association ●​ Laura shared that there are two fundraisers coming up in the next month. ○​ The Snow Eagle fundraiser (a portion of the evening’s profits will be donated to the Youth Association) will be held on April 24th. Please plan to eat there on the 24th. ○​ A sushi making fundraiser will be held at the Skyline Activity Center on May 9th. ■​ A digital version of the flyer for the fundraiser is in the meeting folder. Catherine will reach out to the Chamber to ask for them to share it. ■​ Add to event calendars around the city. The committee can help with that. ●​ After a discussion about volunteer availability, cost, and the work involved, the Committee decided against entering a float in the Idaho Falls 4th of July this year. The Committee will reassess next year. Community Outreach ●​ Social Media, Traditional Media, Websites ○​ Chloe is working on the new website for the Adult Association and will connect with Cindy so she can review and edit a draft before the meeting next month. ○​ Chloe needs the Sister Cities logos for the website and will reach out to Cindy for those. ●​ Local Educator Grants​ ○​ No update as Lisa had to leave the meeting early.  APPROVED 05.08.25 ●​ Presence at Community Events ○​ Chloe will update the Committee on the Community Heritage Festival soon ●​ Friendship Garden Sign ○​ Catherine has sent an email asking for a meeting with the garden board because Judy Seydel felt that there wasn’t enough communication with them. ○​ Catherine stated that “there is no desire to put the sign in the garden where it would damage the aesthetic. We just want the sign by the garden/adjacent to it so that it announces the presence of the space.” ●​ Cultural Exhibits ○​ The Signs of the Times exhibit will open at the Museum of Idaho next Saturday. There is a mention on the Sportsmen’s Island sign label about the sister city program. ●​ Sponsorships from and Involvement with Local Businesses ○​ The COmmittee will work to help the Youth Association with their gifts which they need by July. ○​ The Committee can also help with the Mayor gift and the city to city gift. NEW BUSINESS Date and Agenda Items for Next Meeting ●​ The next meeting is set for May 8th in the same location. ○​ What do we want to do with the Service Organization Member seat? ■​ The City is looking to us for guidance. We could have the Food Bank, Civitans, Kiwanis, etc. We should add an agenda item to discuss at the next meeting. ○​ The June meeting is set for Thursday, June 12th, however, Catherine and Amanda can’t be there. ■​ Could we move the meeting to a day earlier? The Committee will decide at the next meeting. ADJOURNMENT​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 6:50 PM