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minutes meeting date 2025-10-30 · fetched 2026-09-17 · 11839 characters · official file · plain text
Page 1 of 3 City Council Public Hearing for Wastewater FPS October 30, 2025. MINUTES OF THE City Council Public Hearing for the Wastewater Facilities Planning Study for the City of Menan held October 30, 2025. Presiding: Nathan Bronson, Mayor Present: Nathan Bronson, Victor Cammans, Ben Smith, Danielle Andrew, Matt Walker, Brent Crowther, and Allyson Pettingill. Public in Attendance: Brian Storms, Gary Maples, Matt & Dayna Jones, Scott Crane, Chris & Grant Taylor, Noel Raymond, Neil Jenson, Rand Watson, Milton Ollerton, Dustin & Brandy Parkinson, Jon South, and Bev Kingsford. Mayor Bronson calls the Public Hearing to order. Enter Public Hearing for public comment in regarding the Wastewater Facilities Planning Study for the City of Menan at 7:00 pm. Mayor Bronson introduces Brent Crowther, Husk, as the City Engineer and the presenter of the facilities study. He then gives the guidelines as to how the Hearing will proceed. Brent starts by stating that the actual study will stay in the City Building so anyone can come in and look through it whenever they would like to. He also needs everyone in attendance to sign in with their name and address so the DEQ can contact them later. He then gives a list of the agencies involved in monitoring the utilities(sewer) in cities, and that they require a FPS if there are any changes to be made, not just maintenance. He states the Hearing is for the technical and environmental changes that need to be made. He further explains the reason for the study was a combination of things; mainly the age of the system (40 years old), capacity issues, growth, and maintenance issues caused by the age. This study was needed to find a path forward and see how to proceed. He discusses the connections, residential and commercial. He also discusses the system; the lines, pumps and the plant. He discusses environmental conditions and the studies that might be required. He then starts to talk about the lagoons and the bacteria needed in them and the need to keep them fed and happy. He explains about the aeration and how to keep it mixed and partially mixed. He then starts to discuss the project in 2022 of having all of the sewer lines recorded and videoed to find the infiltration in the lines. He says that the lines are in pretty good shape, considering they were built in the 1980’s. He then explains that the DEQ would like it at 20%, our flows are exceeding that, by double or more. He moves on to the lift stations. He says the physical condition is ok, Matt does a good job of keeping them working. He also says the SKADA system is functional. He then goes back to the aeration and machinery at the lagoons. He states that the current machinery isn’t big enough to mix the lagoon as it should, as not all the aerators are still working. He also reports that the system is currently working at capacity and is fine, but with growth it will need more. He discusses some issues with chemical imbalances that have been fixed. He discusses alternatives on how to proceed. He also addresses the accepting of septage at the lagoons from outside entities and how affects the plant and how it stresses the system more. He states that there needs to be more done to the septage receiving station. He states there are three different options to consider moving forward. Option 1: -bare minimum, fix the 16 deficiencies found when recording the sewer lines. -repair non-working blower and surface aerator/mixer -construct new winter storage -permit additional land application site -manual septage station at lagoons Option 2: -Everything in #1 (fix 16 deficiencies) plus fix 2000 lineal feet of collection lines -construct new headworks with outdoor septage station -add automation to lagoons and storage pond Option 3: -Everything in options 1 & 2 -dredge ponds -replace aeration system -replace surface mixers -add a pond -reuse additional land application site with a pivot system -pursue IPOES permit -install automated septage station Brent then discusses costs involved. He then discusses the need of grants and other funding options. He states that Menan’s median income rate is more than the states average. He explains that when the agencies look at who to give the grants to and how much to give, this is what they look at. They then determine how much the utility payments should be based on that. What the DEQ thinks the utility rate should be is around $95.00 per month per EDU. He further states it Page 2 of 3 City Council Public Hearing for Wastewater FPS October 30, 2025. has to be done in order to get the needed grant money for any project. It is asked how to find the infiltration points to address those without spending a lot of money. There is discussion of possibly going out at night manhole to manhole to find them. There is some discussion of the outside septage and the wear and tear on the system. It is asked if it would be a net plus to not allow the outside septage anymore. It is discussed that the septage can be a benefit if it is done right. It is further explained that if there are changes being made, it needs to be expanded and this would be the right time to do it. He states again that the issues the system is having is due to age, not one specific problem. There is discussion of the idea some are asking about having new developments fund the project. This is answered as not legally possible, but the connection/impact fees collected when connecting to the system can help pay for expansion of the system. Mayor Bronson states that there will be a short recess of 5 minutes to give those in attendance time to sign in on the comment sheets if they wish to comment and when the Hearing resumes the Council will take the public comments. The Hearing resumes at 8:17 pm. Mayor Bronson states that during the remarks, if the person asks a question it will be noted and answered all at the same time at the end of the commenting period and asks for Allyson to call out those who would like to comment in Favor of the Wastewater FPS. In Favor of: Noel Raymond, 668 N. 3530 E., Menan, Idaho: Noel states he is in favor of proceeding and upgrading the system. He states that the equipment and system are worn out. He states he is also in favor of looking into whatever funding the city can apply for to accomplish the upgrading. He asks what the sewer rate we should be at is. He also asks about the city’s surface water rights on the land the city land applies on. He also asks about the subdivisions having surface water rights and how and if they are transferring them to the city. He then states that in the past the discussion of impact fees for the sewer have been debated in the council, he asks why the push now and how can the city now do this in a way that makes a meaningful impact on what this will cost. Neutral to: Gary Maples, 627 N. 3510 E., Menan, Idaho: Gary states that after listening to the presentation, he would move his comments to support, and he also agrees with everything Noel said. He states it is a 40-year-old system. He would like to make sure there is some extra storage created for the future. He is also concerned with the acceptance of septage and feels it should be monitored more closely. Brian Storms, 3558 E Menan Lorenzo Hwy, Menan, Idaho: Brian states he is neutral to the study. He states that if the city is taking septage from the county, then the city should be taking funds from the county to make up for it. He states that the county allowed the development, so they should be responsible to pay for it. He also asks if the previous plans the city has for the ponds meet modern code? He asks if it is possible to resurrect the plans for the previous pond so the city won’t have to pay for new drawings. He asks if the previous study Husk put together for sewer fees is out dated and no longer applicable for the connections now? He states that from that study, the new connection fees should be higher than they are currently. He then asks how best to address how much septage is being dumped? He also states the city might want to look into purchasing its own camera system to record the sewer lines. He then asks how much it costs currently to pump out a septic tank. Bev Kingsford, 3580 E. Menan Lorenzo Hwy, Menan, Idaho: Bev asks if developers are paying the impact fees or just the residents? She asks how this study will impact new residents. She also asks what the city would be on the hook for if they accept federal money and grants for the project. Matt Jones, 3571 E. 630 N., Menan, Idaho: Matt asks if the city is in compliance or not with the different reporting agencies. He also asks if the drinking water from the wells is safe. He also would like to know if the costs are worth it for taking outside septage. Opposed to: Rand Watson, 3552 E. Menan Lorenzo Hwy, Menan, Idaho: Rand states he is in favor of compliance and updating, but he feels the study didn’t address everything. He states that the city should look at pumping everything to the Rigby plant. It might cost more up front, but it would be better in the long run. He further states that the septage should be looked at seriously, as the storage at the lagoons is not what it should be originally. He states that the lagoons shouldn’t be full. He has concerns with the current residents that are deficient in their utility payments. He wants to know if the city is going to raise the sewer rates, how will they make sure everyone is paying their bill. Rebuttal and Answers to Questions asked: Page 3 of 3 City Council Public Hearing for Wastewater FPS October 30, 2025. Husk goes through the questions asked. The DEQ says the city residents should be paying $107 a month for the sewer utility. There is discussion of a two-stage increase, this would allow to start some fixes and also increase points for the grant applications. Husk goes through impact/connection fees, they are the same thing and the city already has those in place. He then discusses septage and how to monitor and charge for it. He states that he only knows of one county in Wyoming that paid a city for the septage they were taking in. He says that the city can use previous plans to save money, but the DEQ will want new stamps and drawings. He discusses connection fees and how to come up with the appropriate amount. He discusses that all residents will pay the same amount, new residents will not pay more. There is discussion of what is expected from the agencies if the city takes funds or grants. He states the system is in compliance right now. He also states that the drinking water is safe and there is discussion of the process Matt goes through regularly to test it. He states that he didn’t think of the option of pumping into Rigby, so he didn’t look at it. There is discussion of different cities attaching to their sewer system. There is discussion of the delinquent sewer accounts and what the city can and does do about them. The Council takes a minute to discuss questions they may have. Danielle asks about staying with the smallest option and discusses the fact that this will be really hard for some residents. They also discuss the option of forming a sewer district with Rigby and Lewisville to maybe lessen the cost. It is discussed that this Hearing is informative, not a decision making Hearing. Victor Cammans made a motion to exit the Public Hearing. Danielle Andrew seconds the motion. Motion carried. Exit Public Hearing at 9:10 pm. Allyson Pettingill, City Clerk/Treasurer
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