Soda Springs City Council Report
The Soda Springs City Council met for a regular meeting on March 5.
Project Updates
Engineer Alan Skinner discussed a number of projects which are ongoing within the city.
The Enders hotel situation
Several meetings ago, a proposal to potentially turn the Enders Hotel over to the Idaho Parks and Recreation Department to be converted into a state park was made. Since then, Councilmember Paul Gritton (who proposed the idea) has been the council’s point person on the project.
He related that “the Parks and Recreation people came and did a more thorough inspection [two weeks ago] Monday and a general tour to make sure they had a good feel of what the area was like. It was encouraging, with a lot of pos comments…I am just waiting to hear back from them as to their next step.”
Gritton further related that he has contacted cities with State Parks near their locations, and that the comments about the situations for those towns were positive. “I didn’t hear one negative thing,” Gritton said. “In Island Park they were very, very complimentary about what the park has done for their area.”
Council president Mitch Hart inquired whether the situation could be resolved during this legislative session.
Gritton stated that “I heard comments that lead me to believe it could move fairly quick. I was very impressed by their comments and the things they had to say.”
President Hart observed that “The question will be asked, ‘do we gift them the gift?’”
The question of exactly how the city would transfer ownership to the state were discussed, with some members of the public suggesting that they felt a clean donation was prudent. Gritton mentioned that “I’ve started a list of must-haves or must-dos if we do wind up with a city transferring ownership. One is that the city needs access to any infrastructure it needs. Another one is that the museum will remain in place and secured and avail to public/comm use.”
President Hart asked that the list be shared among council members.
As the future of the building comes into further focus, the issue of what to do with it in the meantime was also raised. In order to make the building suitable for transfer, some aesthetic and structural repairs were mentioned. “We went out and got a bid to do some work on the façade brick, and I would encourage us to move forward with that to accept that bid and fix the bricks.” 300-350 bricks were said to be in need of securing. It was also suggested that contractors should extend the membrane off the roof. The bidder is the same one (Amazing Masonry) which did the work on the geyser building. Roof repair maintenance and $5552 to extend the membrane were presented, along with brick replacement for $12,700. A motion to approve those repair bids was approved.
Councilmember Gritton noted that “with the future of the Enders uncertain, it is incumbent on us to keep doing this maintenance.”
Other Projects
USDA grant for a trail system on recently acquired city land. A grant to create a trail system on various city land has hit a snag due to federal grant policy undergoing revision. The grant is connected to a Hispanic Access fund, which covers projects that meet certain requirements that are potentially at odds with new and changing federal grant policies. In the meantime, the project is on hold.
The grant was originally intended to be for land acquired from Nutrien. The matching part of the grant was potentially going to be attached to the Hispanic Access funds. The trails instead could be changed to the Bailey Creek area rather than the Nutrien area. According to Engineer Alan Skinner, this should be the only grant for city projects that will be affected by the current situation.
Main Street
Recently, the city decreased the amount that Main Street business are being billed for the water and sewer line project from last summer. That reduction was partly based on re-examining the way the costs were allocated, and partly as a result of funds from the county. Engineer Skinner stated: “ Where we’re at with that is that we’re waiting to hear back from the county, then the next step is talking with businesses about how they want to pay. We’re basically waiting for the grant to the county from GEM.” Skinner stated that the city has done what the county asked for so far.
Ledger Creek project
A project to create trails in the Ledge Creek area is still waiting on final agreement from Bayer Lawyers. Once the paperwork is completed, the city plans to hold a meeting with the county to determine the next steps.
Soda Creek
A project to use a pump in the city cemetery for watering the landscaping is moving forwad. After the new pump is installed, the cemetery district has money in the reserve and the power to tax in order to continue maintenance costs. The driver is that the cemetery is the largest user of drinking water within the system, according to the council, and this would allow them to access water rights for the needs of the facility.
Shade Cover
Progress on the Shade Cover at the City Park was reported. According to Alana Burns, the first part of the system should be put in in the next few weeks. Shade structures will go up on smallest swingset, pending the reception of pledges and grants. The committee would like to wrap the project up. They’d like to put in six trees in the front of the playground, as well as some tables. “We succeeded in our goal,” Burns noted.
“We want to ask [City Engineer Alan Skinner] what trees would be best. We don’t want shoots to become a problem. Originally we wanted to do some structures to cast shade, but we didn’t like the look and it isn’t cost effective. We don’t like to pester our community with requests
for money.”
“Never underestimate the Friends of the Park, and I say that with affection,” noted President Hart.
Hwy 30
ITD has provided a set of prints on sewer and water lines for the upcoming road project on Highway 30, which will be the most significant construction project of 2025, at least in effect and visibility. “We are beginning to start seeing the challenges we’ve got,” Skinner noted. “We’re going to start collecting cell and email of people with tax parcels on the route.”
There are approximately 60 or so property owners on Highway 30, as opposed to the 20 which had been involved on Main Street.
Formation Well Bond
Council President Mitch Hart raised the issue of the formation well bond. “There has been some question on when the bond would retire from paying back. We determined that we have one more year ahead of us. Somewhere around 1.2 mill. When we do budget, we should talk about renaming, maximizing use of this money. This might be used to pay “unfunded mandates.”
"In 2014, we wanted to self-fund the project. DEQ mandated that something would have to be done with Formation Spring. Because it was an open pool, the rules for how it could be used were changed. They drilled wells to turn it into a groundwater source. The bod was established to build a reserve in anticipation of executing that project. The city borrowed money from the power fund to the water fund, so in 2017 they started the project, and then determined how to pay back the fund for the project. The fund can be retired, re-established for near term projects. The fee would be renamed and then continue to be collected. The alternative is to raise water rates 25%."
Parental Leave
Resolution 2025-1. The city is finalizing its Parental Leave policy, which was in need of updating. Dept heads were told to talk it over and decide. The city will match PTO for a total of 6 weeks. A form also explains that they can have FMLA as long as it is approved, and comp time must be used. Benefits have to be paid out of pocket if there isn’t Comp time.
City Attorney Tom Smith noted that there may be some issues of phrasing that need to be adjusted to avoid falling into any kind of trouble with current law.
DEPARTMENT HEADS
Dan Squires
Dan Squires raised the issue of the current schedule for water/sewer hookup fees. “I want to bring to your attention that the $1250 we charge for water hookup doesn’t even cover our parts any more,” he said. Council president Hart asked for an updated estimate on the real costs. Squires explained that $2500 would be closer to the actual hookup costs. He noted that Montpelier charges $5K, and Preston $7.5K each for water and sewer. Elsewhere in the state, some fees are up to $12K. “We’re not even breaking even at $1250,” Squires noted.
Councilmember Ryan Carpenter asked “would it be appropriate to break it down by size?”
Squires stated that that would create a very cumbersome process. He also noted that hookup fees are made to add capacity to the system. The logic behind connection fees is that those who hook into the system are helping to expand the capacity and size of the system.
Councilmember Carpenter said, “we’re going to lean on you to come up with what’s fair and equitable. Talk to your suppliers about what tariffs are going to do.”
The issue will be on the agenda for the next meeting.
Squires stated that one daycare in town is closing, and that childcare resources in the city have been stretched. A daycare by Thirkill has had its CUP revoked. It can’t be a daycare again until they go through the process. “That makes things tough,” President Hart.
Cejay Golightly
Chief of Police Golightly noted that the department had saved money on a new K-9 officer through various means. Officer Steele will be the new handler for the dog. A kennel has been purchased, and the new dog will be live at the officer’s residence. The dog is continuing training before it will officially begin duty.
Golightly reported that overtime is up as a result of search warrants, court time, and two officers at trainings for drug impairment training. The SSPD Assisted in Officer Involved shooting investigations outside the county. The new dog is trained in fentanyl, which Golightly noted is an issue within Caribou County.
Justin Hansen
Hansen related that he had looked into a power pole on Hooper Ave that had been struck by a vehicle.
Streets projects have involved working on repairs that can be handled indoors.
Recently purchased equipment scanning devices have already come in handy on a couple things, including identifying needed repairs for vehicles.
Hansen asked the council about any progress on the issue of where city employees could live under the hiring guidelines. A discussion about how far outside of town employees could live has been ongoing. The consensus seems to be at present that different departments have different needs as far as employees’ ability to be on call quickly, with some emergency service employees having much more critical proximity needs than others. Department heads were asked by Attorney Tom Smith to report on what they saw as their department’s needs in that regard. The issue will be addressed at the next meeting.
Paige Bynam
Paige Bynam spoke to the council about the road connected to the Bynam’s business, Point S Tire. An issue related to the curb and gutter and access on the property has been in discussion for a number of months. President Mitch Hart and Alan Skinner stated that they will physically go down to the location and see what needs to be done.
