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minutes meeting date 2026-07-13 · fetched 2026-09-17 · 7146 characters · official file · plain text
COUNCIL WORKING MEETING July 13, 2026 203 Broadway Ave N PRESENT: Douglas Howarth Mayor Marla Sisson (on Zoom) Council President Ryan Loos Council Member Fred Bartlett (on Zoom) Council Member Cortlin Runyan Council Member Chelsea Popplewell City Clerk BreShelle Tews City Treasurer Shayne Nope City Attorney Jason Scott Public Works Director Pam Pehrson Planning & Zoning Admin Concerned Citizens PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE CONFIRMATION OF QUORUM: Chelsea Popplewell confirmed a quorum. CITIZEN COMMENTS: Margret Gray, Buhl, ID - Spoke regarding a conversation with Regie Finney about hooking up to City services several years ago. She believed she was grandfathered into it and shouldn’t have had to have hooked up to City services but was forced to. She then went on to comment on the look of the community. PUBLIC HEARING #1 Opened at 6:37 PM. Chelsea confirmed a quorum. No Council member declared any recusal or ex parte discussion. Chelsea spoke regarding the recommendation. She explained that in reviewing the recommendation, she discovered an error in the calculation that made the posted recommendation inaccurate. She notified the rate committee and they agreed to send the posted recommendation but to amend that recommendation in the meeting. The posted recommendation was increasing the water portion by $2.56, however, it only needs to increase by $.58. The overall bill still needs to increase but only by a total of $2.58 rather than $4.55. There was no testimony in support of the proposed recommendation. Donald Wisner, Buhl, ID spoke in opposition of the proposed recommendation. He questioned what the increase was for. Chelsea spoke to several of the increased costs of the everyday operational needs of the water, sewer and sanitation departments including utilities, chemicals and fees. He commented that the City should just set a rate and stick to it. Marla spoke regarding the rate committee and the process they go through to come up with these numbers. He asked about what happens if someone does not pay their bill. There was no neutral testimony on the proposed amendment. Chelsea spoke during the rebuttal about some of the things the City does to help those who have a difficult time paying the bill. The hearing was closed at 6:58 PM. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Minutes of June 22, 2026 – Working Session 2. Claims for Payment 3. Department Head Report – Public Works, Fire, Police 4. Commission Minutes – Library, Housing Authority, Airport 5. Clerk Report Cortlin moved to approve the consent agenda. Ryan seconded the motion. There was no discussion. Fred’s computer froze and he did not vote. Marla voted yes, Ryan voted yes, and Cortlin voted yes. The motion passed. NEW BUSINESS: Review and Consideration of Utility Rate Resolution: Cortlin moved to approve the Updated Utility Rate recommendation. Marla seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. Fred voted yes, Marla voted yes, Ryan voted yes, and Cortlin voted yes. The motion passed. Review and Consideration of the subdivision Preliminary Plat request submitted by Jared Hunt/JTMESC, LLC for Henry’s Fork Subdivision located at 522, 530, and 534 Sawtooth Ave, Buhl, ID 83316: Marla had some questions regarding crosswalks at the entrances. David Thibault spoke regarding he recommendation from Police. He said it would show on the construction plans, given approval. Council could include in the motion anything that they would want to require. Marla asked about the 10 year timeline and David spoke to the approval and building process. Marla then brought up parks and green space and David said there is green space planned in phase 1 as a retention pond. They would like to defer the additional green space or parks because of future plans regarding additional developments. Marla then brought up traffic concerns. David clarified a few of the items in the traffic analysis including the idea of a roundabout and he explained that ITD refused that. He explained that the traffic problems exist already, not as a result of the proposed subdivision. He suggested the City work with the School District to get another access out of the parking lot. Ryan agreed with Marla’s concerns regarding the traffic. Marla moved to table the subdivision preliminary plat until the Council can meet with ITD. Cortlin seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. Cortlin voted yes, Fred voted yes, Marla voted yes, and Ryan voted yes. The motion passed. Review and Consideration of First Federal Signers Resolution: Chelsea explained this would take Cristi Barriente off as a signer on the City’s accounts and add BreShelle Tews on as the new treasurer. Cortlin moved to approve the First Federal Signers Resolution. Ryan seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. Cortlin voted yes, Ryan voted yes, Fred voted yes, and Marla voted yes. The motion passed. Holiday Celebrations Special Events Permit Application by the Buhl Chamber of Commerce tentatively scheduled for November 20th, December 12th and December 18th: Pam Pehrson, as vice president of the Chamber of Commerce requested tentative dates for fall and winter celebrations. She requested October 16-17 for Harvest Festival, November 19 for flag retirement, November 29 for Cowboy Church, December 4 for Christmas tree lighting, December 12 for Christmas parade and December 18 for Caroling in the park. She also requested permission to use a 3rd party to decorate the tree at the Chamber building and said they would work with fire on some fire pits in the park for the December 18 caroling. Cortlin moved to approve the Holiday Celerations Special Events Permit Application by the Buhl Chamber of Commerce. Marla seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. Marla voted yes, Fred voted yes, Cortlin voted yes, and Ryan voted yes. The motion passed. MAYOR & COUNCIL COMMENTS: Mayor Howarth read the below statement. We need to make sure that we comply with the law regarding employee privacy issues. If a member of City Council would like to discuss any issues pertaining to complaints, discipline, etc., of a city employee, those will first need to be discussed with the mayor, who is the chief city administrator per Idaho Code 50-602. After review of the complaint, discipline, etc., if it needs to go before City Council, it will be listed under an executive session on the upcoming meeting agenda. Mayor introduced the new treasurer, BreShelle Tews. Marla thanked everyone for Sagebrush Days and spoke about the Grand Marshal of the parade. She also reiterated that we can’t respond during public comments but offered to sit down with citizens regarding any concerns they may have. Mayor noted that the coins for the Grand Marshal were really neat and thanked the Chamber for those. MEETING ADJOURNED – Cortlin moved that the meeting be adjourned; Ryan seconded the motion. There was no discussion. All voted yes. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 pm. Minutes prepared by Chelsea Popplewell, City Clerk
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