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minutes meeting date 2026-04-15 · fetched 2026-09-17 · 25929 characters · official file · plain text
Page 1 of 6 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SODA SPRINGS, CARIBOU COUNTY, IDAHO, HELD APRIL 15, 2026. ROLL CALL SHOWED THE FOLLOWING PRESENT: Paul Gritton, Mayor Mitchell J. Hart, Council President Ryan Carpenter Paige Byram Daniel Larsen EXCUSED: Mitchell J. Hart, Council President ALSO PRESENT: Dan Squires, Director of City Services Andrea Haderlie, City Clerk Thomas Smith, City Attorney Brandon Hall Brock Byram 1. Roll call & Additions to Agenda: Mayor Gritton called the meeting to order. This is Wednesday, April 15, 2026, City of Soda Springs council meeting. It is a regular meeting that begins with Councilman Carpenter leading the prayer and Mayor Gritton leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Gritton, roll call, all members of the council are here, besides Councilman Hart, who is absent. 2. Review & Approval: Mayor Gritton asked Council to review the minutes from the April 1, 2026, meeting. Councilman Larsen moved to approve the April 1, 2026, meeting minutes. Councilman Carpenter seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion carried. Mayor Gritton asked the council to review the payables for the period from April 1 to April 13, 2026. Councilman Carpenter motioned that we approve the accounts payable dated the 1st through the 13th of April, 2026. Councilwoman Byram seconded the motion. Mayor Gritton asked whether there was any discussion among the Council members. Councilwoman Byram questioned on 3088, Eastern Idaho Partnership. Clerk Haderlie commented that it is a coalition for the attorneys. She stated it is the Special Assistance United States Attorney Partnership. It's Eastern Idaho. We pay the $206.21 contribution; the Bingham County Clerk is responsible for it, and she sends us the annual invoice. Attorney Smith questioned whether the cities are to pay into it. Clerk Haderlie stated that it appears counties and cities both pay into it, and that it is based on population. Mayor Gritton asked whether the Council wants more research on that. We could table it for the next meeting on that item, or, if Council is comfortable, we can proceed. Council agreed they were comfortable proceeding. Councilman Carpenter questioned Director Squires about the county building inspector contract from February to the present. Director Squires commented that it's the middle of February, and we're at 70% of the building permit fees. If we don't issue any building permits, there is no cost to the city. Mayor Gritton recalled that's a 70% of the fee assessed to each permit. Mayor Gritton noted there is no payroll. 3. Appointments: There are no appointments. 4. Citizen Input There was no input given. 5. Unfinished Business: Director Squires the Enders Building and the crumbling concrete on the front of the Enders Building, of the white 10 feet up. It's like a decorative concrete border that goes around right below the first-story window. The concrete is crumbling, and the paint is peeling. He has a quote to repair the concrete and apply a coating to extend its lifespan. He questioned whether the council wants to review the quotes or approve them for $3,490 from a local contractor. He thinks it makes the front of the building look pretty crummy with that peeling paint and crumbling concrete. The other item on the north Page 2 of 6 side of the building is where the sidewalk meets the building. There's a gap. When it rains, the water goes down in that gap between the building and the sidewalk and actually gets into the basement. He got a quote to have all that removed and put into a silicone base with elastomer caulking. It'll fill the crack in, and that is $644.90. These are a couple of things the city should keep an eye on with the building, especially the front part. It looks pretty terrible, in my opinion. There are funds available to cover these expenses. He wanted to share thoughts, concerns, ideas, and go ahead. Councilman Carpenter asked about the warranty on the elastomer coating. Director Squires does not have one, but he can find out. Councilman Carpenter commented that anything we can do to help preserve the building is good. Director Squires stated that the sidewalk is pulled out from the building. There's like a three-quarter gap. And as the water comes out and scuppers off the roof, if you notice, if you go to the northside of the building, there are PVC pipes kicking it out, and that's to keep the water from going down in those cracks, and it ends up in the basement. Trevyn says that if it rains very hard, it still gets water in the basement. For $644, that's a cheap way to do the whole north side of the building. It's the whole length of the building. It'll be kind of an off-white that's there now, whereas under the threshold. The Council appreciates staff paying attention and doing these little things. We're trying to, for lack of better terms, market the building, and that looks horrible, that the paint is peeling off the front. Council approved moving forward with both repairs. Director Squires reported he traveled to Preston yesterday and spent about 3 hours at the Department of Water Resources. We had some water rights issues that needed to be addressed. The biggest ones were the Nutrien/Ledger Creek Properties. Water rights were not transferred to the city when the Nutrien/Ledger Creek property was purchased; the process began but was never completed. Those are now in the city's name. They are in the City of Soda Springs, but they were not up until yesterday. He doesn't know whether we ever have plans for those water rights, but water rights are one thing you don't let go of. The City's water rights were in jeopardy. He explained that if a water right goes dormant for so long, you basically still have the right. Still, you have to go back and prove that the right was previously used or used to keep the right, like just because you have it doesn't mean you technically have it; it hasn't been used, and they were in jeopardy of eventually being lost. He went over all the drinking water rights and the hydro plant water rights; all were fine. The only other one we had to tweak a little bit was Kelly Park. We have a water right to irrigate the baseball diamond. We had to adjust the acreage that we're actually irrigating a little bit. It actually went down some. When they figure these out, if it's for irrigation purposes, they basically look at Google Earth and get an acreage around the perimeter of what would be water. The City was including the lower parking lot where the tennis court used to be, so we had to take that little bit out. I mean, it doesn't change the right? It's minuscule. But yeah, so that's been adjusted. Everything is probably up and up as far as the city's water rights go. How the right what the water right is: earmarked for domestic use; it's used all the time for irrigation or recreation. There are a lot of things that go on. It was very enlightening. A lot of things he didn't know about water rights, and they were great. The guy was amazing. He was willing to walk me through it. It will be about July 1, 2026, before they're officially online with the Water Resources website, and we can go on there and see where they're at, their status, all that kind of stuff. Second South: an update from ITD that the utility contractor plans to start on Monday, April 27th. Utilities will start first, and then the road work will follow, probably by the end of June or 1st of July. On the 27th, the utility contractor will start now. He doesn't know if construction will start on the 20th, but they have already planned for traffic control equipment. Still, I don’t believe we'll see much action until about the 27th or 28th. He noted he went door to door and spoke to every resident or business that would be affected on the west side by water or sewer replacements. Have 18 yes’s, 3 no’s, and 4 outstanding. Most people are taking advantage of it. Everybody he spoke to had concerns, obviously, but understood the need, and everyone was trying to do the best they could to minimize inconvenience. Hence, the conversations actually went very well. It's all voluntary. Off we go, and we have the Page 3 of 6 agreements all signed. They've signed it; Director Squires signed it. They're dated. Their selection is marked as either 36 months, a lump sum payment, or declined. It should be much cleaner. Some of them are the minimum, because there's under 20 feet, which is the minimum, and from that on, it's 90 bucks a foot. It was a lot of work, but I think we'll get a better project out of it. The lines of communication are very good and keep each other informed. Mayor Gritton noted that the staff has assembled a contact list of all the property owners, and we've emailed them a couple of times with updates and other information. Director Squires has done a great job working on that and drafting that agreement. He thanked Director Squires for that. Councilwoman Byram asked if the public could sign up for those email updates if they want to know what's going on. Mayor Gritton stated Yeah, email addresses, and as we get into the thick of the Second South project, he hopes to do a weekly informational video. Councilman Larsen asked whether there were any other lessons learned from the Main Street project that could be incorporated into the communication and documentation to make this smoother. Director Squires commented that he really can’t think of anything. The problem is that this is a little different from Main Street: it's not a city street. We're third-wheeling this project, in a sense, and we're at ITD and HK's mercy. We really don't have a say in it. It's not a city-owned street. It's kind of tough to say that there are things we missed, because this is kind of a little different from Main Street. There's only so much we can do. The biggest thing was that everybody was just appreciative of the communication. That's really all that's new on Second South. The South Second East bore, we received confirmation from Rail Pros. They have us scheduled for the 18th of May. Spoke to the boring contractor. They are lined up for May 18th. Now we'll see if Rail Pros holds to the 18th May. After speaking with rail pros, they seem fairly open to communication and decent to work with. We'll see as it gets closer. But she sent me all the documentation we needed, the billing, to make sure it was all the same. They meet every Thursday to schedule next week's projects. She says that the week's projects and the prior week's projects take longer for whatever reason. It may take flaggers and observers away from our project, delaying us another week with the contractor. A week or two is not a problem, as they have some flexibility. Tied into the bore is the Southside East waterline replacement. The contractor states he may start that in the next week or two and replace the waterline. Bore site on the north and the south side, and tie the bore in the middle after it's completed. We'll have a new Water Run on the south side, tying all the way in the second south on the north side, tying all the way to Hooper Avenue. And then, when the bore is complete, we'll tie the bore to the north and south sides. The one thing that's going to be a headache over there is the RV dump, and the water fill station will be offline for the duration of the bore. I think once we get the new water line in, we can hook up to it, but he doesn't know what kind of access will be available. The bore pit will be right at the entrance of the RV dump. We'll work with people who need water. We'll set up a water fill at a fire hydrant, and we'll work something out to make it might be a week or two. Clerk Haderlie asked whether it would affect the RV dump? Director Squires stated he thinks they'll still be able to access it. There won't be water. Clerk Haderlie commented that City Hall will get phone calls about it. Director Squires commented that the city will get phone calls from people using the RV Dump, like on Memorial Day weekend or the Fourth of July, when they're lined up down the road. Director Squires updated the trails in the upper loop on Ledger Creek. There's a picture in Google Drive. The upper trails are sanded and ready to go. We are working on the parking lot with a fence. Weather permitting, we hope to have the parking lot complete and access available by the end of next week. Now, don't hold me to that, because things could come up, but to keep it open and let people start using the upper trials. He has walked it numerous times. It's pretty cool. It's pretty nice. The upper part is complete. How would you say, with the exception of planting the trees, that we are still working on that? Everything that we can do is done until the Army Corps releases the lower back to us. Councilwoman Byram asked whether you would access it from the Bailey Creek Road? Director Squires stated that we'll have a buckrail fence, a parking area, and a man gate to walk through to access the trails. Parking will be Page 4 of 6 available in a 100-by-200-foot area. They actually blended the white sand with the silica sand, and that was much, much better. The white sand on its own just does not set up very well. Vaughan Smith did a nice job on the trails. Appreciate them. Mayor Gritton questioned. Director Squires, do you want to mention anything about the repairs going on in the rear of Enders? Director Squires commented that one of the fancy streetlights in the back of the Enders was backed over. He found a replacement, an identical lamp. They are not cheap. It is ordered. The person's insurance will pay for it. There's been a little back-and-forth about whether it should be replaced, why he's paying, and whatnot, but we have it all figured out. Those fancy decorative lights in the back of the Enders are very expensive, at a tune of about $8,000 for materials, but we can't put one back. You can't put a different light there because it would take away from the aesthetics. We're just lucky we found a company that made that light, and they're still in business. It's basically a built-to- order thing. You can choose colors, and there are a million different options. We just had to match up exactly what was there? We did view the cameras, and he did back over it. There's no denying it. They did report it to the city, and a police report was filed. Mayor Gritton introduced a 2026-5 resolution adopting financial policies. Clerk Haderlie stated she is proposing a resolution to establish a financial policy and a framework for overall fiscal planning and management. Do you guys have any questions or concerns with it? Councilman Larsen asked how are we pretty closely following this? Clerk Haderlie commented that, budget-wise, you guys will have to make sure you follow it. Mayor Gritton questioned the motivation for this policy. Clerk Haderlie replied that if we plan to continue doing grants, we need to have these policies in place. Director Squires mentioned that the grant we received for the Power Study is what sparked Clerk Haderlie, because they asked for all of this. They asked all sorts of questions to apply for the grant and obtain the sub-ward agreement. They want to see all this kind of stuff. Councilman Carpenter motioned to approve and adopt resolution number 2026-5, a resolution establishing financial policies, and to also repeal and combine resolution 2022-2 into the financial policy. Councilwoman Byram seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion carried. Mayor Gritton introduced the 2026-6 resolution, a revision to the utility collection and disconnection policy. He asked the Council to take a moment and review. Clerk Haderlie mentioned it is a revision to reflect what we actually do. We have a utility policy for power, but we didn't include water and sewer, so they were added. Councilman Larsen motioned to adopt Resolution 2026-6, Utility Policy, which repeals Resolution 2023-8. Councilman Carpenter seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion carried. Mayor Gritton introduced the 2026-7 Resolution AIC Procurement Purchasing Policy. Clerk Haderlie explained that we need a written policy stating that we follow the state of Idaho's procurement statute, mainly for grants, so that we have it in writing. If they ask for it, we can show them this is what we are following. Councilman Larsen questioned, presumably, it didn't specify which addition or anything like that. There's no need to update it as they come out. Attorney Smith mentioned that, as he looks through this now, he would recommend the same as follows: follow the Association of Idaho City's procurement manual, as revised or updated, probably as updated, because they update it every few years. That way, you don't have to keep amending the resolution. He stated he missed that yesterday. He was concerned that the policy shouldn't just follow the state law, because that's required anyway. He recommended including it annually, so then there's some resource or something that the city is adopting to follow. Councilman Carpenter motioned that we adopt Resolution 2026-7 adopting the Association of Idaho Cities procurement manual and include the following verbiage: that, in Section subheading one, the procurement manual be updated as released, and that we will comply with that revision. Councilwoman Byram seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion carried. 6. New Business: Attorney Smith has been helping Deputy Clerk McDowell do some contract work for the trees Page 5 of 6 project. What would be helpful for me would be reaching agreements like that. He needs to know what that agreement is, to put it into a contract. It would be helpful in those kinds of situations if staff could work out as many details as possible, and then I can put them together. But he tries to refrain from suggesting any policy, because it's not really his role to do so if he sees something in a contract that could expose the city to liability. Of course, you know what rates would be helpful, things like that. You know, in terms of price and all that kind of stuff. It would save time and be more specific, clarifying those needs and requests with directors. Councilwoman Byram questioned Director Squires about whether the shipping container was approved. Yes, the Planning and Zoning recommendation will be presented at the May 6 Council Meeting. Mayor Gritton asked if the city staff had disassembled the ice rink. Director Squires, it is, and it is all stacked inside the area. The wind has damaged the floor liner. To keep that from getting worse, we went ahead and took it down. As soon as we get facilities to store the ice rink, it will be put in a storage container. Mayor Gritton introduced reviewing the budget calendar and budget hearing date to notify the County Clerk. Clerk Haderlie explained that the city is required to notify the county each year. As you can see on the calendar, she is setting the budget hearing for August 19, 2026. We will hold a public hearing on the budget, pass the appropriation ordinance, and certify the tax levy for submission to the county. If there are any of these dates you guys would like to use for additional meetings to go over budget stuff, we can adjust them as needed. Let me know so she can put it on the budget calendar and make sure it's done. Councilman Carpenter mentioned they moved the AIC conference this year. Mayor Gritton asked whether June 3 and June 17 were the two regularly scheduled council meetings for June. Clerk Haderlie clarified that all of these are regularly scheduled meetings on the budget calendar. If the Council would like to add any special budget meetings, they will have to let her know. Councilwoman Byram asked whether you usually need an additional meeting? Clerk Haderlie commented that Councilman Hart will go over the details, or we need to discuss certain subjects further. Director Squires introduced the Sunrise Engineering Utility Efficiency Proposal. He mentioned that the Sunrise Engineering proposal is included in the folder. The City received an Idaho Energy Efficiency and Conservation Grant. In previous discussions with the council, we decided to supplement that grant with additional funds to get a utility system analysis and a master plan for where our utility system needs to go, what our efficiencies are, and related details. He had to work through some loopholes. It was brought to his attention that the grant funders didn't necessarily like the city supplementing it. We worked through those. It's fine. We have to make sure we break down in our final deliverable to them what the grant is paying for and what the city is paying for, so their funds cover what the grant was written for. It'll be a little bit more legwork on our part. We went out and got a proposal. Proposals in front of you. Attorney Smith has a few minor tweaks he'd like to make, and I'll let him explain them. Attorney Smith explained that the language is only in the last three pages. Looks like they attached all their agreements. There are a couple of things in there that should change for the city. There's a bunch of provisions in there for the city to indemnify Sunrise. What that means is that if you indemnify someone, you assume their liability. It's just a way of shifting risk. The problem with the city is that, under the Idaho State Constitution, it can incur expenses or liabilities that won't be paid during the year unless there's a vote or they fall within specific exceptions. Indemnity agreements, for the most part, run afoul of that provision. It just needs to be changed to indicate that the city would only identify Sunrise Engineering as allowed by law, because otherwise, that provision wouldn't be enforceable. Director Squires explained that this study has to be completed by September 30, 2026. Councilman Carpenter asked what the grant amount was. Director Squires stated the grant is $50,000. Councilman Carpenter asked if we're continuing to complete the study. Director Squires explained they'll look at the hydro plants substation, along with the Energy Efficiency part of the grant, to make the city and our distribution system, and all that, more efficient. Also, look at what it would look like if we were to Page 6 of 6 grow; what would that look like for the city's electrical grid and things like that? It's worthwhile how often, and they will work fairly closely with Director Young, looking at substations, hydro plants, distribution lines, that kind of thing. Director Young will be involved pretty closely. In fact, part of the grant set aside funds for salaries, and those salaries are for Director Young because he will be working with these guys, especially early on, gathering information, and that kind of thing. He becomes more familiar, more educated. Help him and us. Councilman Carpenter motioned to approve the proposal from Sunrise Engineering, with a few minor tweaks from Attorney Smith, to allow Sunrise Engineering to assess the health of our electrical distribution system. Councilman Carpenter amended the motion to approve the expenditure of $39,700 to make up for the shortfall and supplement that grant money, allowing us to develop a full and complete study and master plan. Councilwoman Bryam seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion carried. Mayor Gritton introduced the 4-CASI letter of support. Clerk Haderlie explained that every year, we contribute to forecasting to pay Molly $3,000 the county pays the other $3,000 for a total of $6,000 that comes out of our county for the 4-CASI. She is requesting a $500 supplement to fund what she won't receive this year, due to price increases. Mayor Gritton commented that, working with Molly quite frequently, she invests many, many hours in bettering our community and advocating to bring things in. In fact, a recent example that quickly comes to mind is that she wrote the Power Study Grant. She also wrote, which was a $50,000 grant. She was very instrumental and did. Write the grant for the America 250 celebration grant, which was successful. Molly does some very incredible work for our community. Members of the council are the decision makers on this, but he fully supports it. Councilwoman Byram motioned to approve the additional $500 for the 4-CASI to grant program to keep that running, along with our normal contribution, $3,000 contribution, and office space, including the contribution. Councilwoman Byram amended the motion to have the mayor sign the contribution letter, including the City Hall office space. Thank you. Councilman Carpenter seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion carried. 7. Citizen Input: Councilwoman Byram commented that the Community cleanup day is next Thursday. If anybody wants to come to Kelly Park at two o'clock on Thursday, April 23rd. There were supposed to be 350 kids, and now I've been told there are like 450 kids, and even the fifth- and sixth-graders are going to stay over by the middle school and do that area, too. There's going to be a lot of little kids and big kids out at all the parks and on the back road. Councilman Larsen motioned to adjourn the Council Meeting. Councilwoman Byram seconded the motion to adjourn. All were in favor, and the motion carried. PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL ON MAY 6, 2026. _________________________ Paul Gritton, Mayor ATTEST _________________________ Andrea Haderlie, Clerk
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