Cottonwood City Council meets
The Cottonwood City Council approved their Fiscal Year 2026 budget at their July meeting Monday, July 14.
Included in that are a couple of fee increases. They approved a 4.5% increase in the sanitation fees that was proposed by Walco. That adds $1.12 per month to the residential rate.
They also approved raising the sewer bond fee $10 from $15 to $25.
Another fee increase that was approved is the bulk water rate. This would be for those hooking up to city water to fill a truck. The new fee is $60 minimum to hook up and then $10 per 1000 gallons of water. Therefore a 3000 gallon water truck would cost $90 to fill. The hook-up fee is to help pay the city crew member’s time who has to hook them up.
The city also approved an amended version of the FY 2025 budget due to increased revenues in the sanitation department due to some businesses that upgraded from a standard bin to a 2-yard dumpster.
The city also voted to increase the wages of two employees who recently earned their CDL’s by $1.00 per hour each. Along with that they are planning to review the employee handbook at the August meeting to look at clarifying some items in that regarding wages.
They approved the bid for auditing from Zwygart John & Associates CPA’s, PLLC. The bid was for $12,000 which is $300 higher than last year. City Clerk Lynn Thompson said they do an excellent job.
Bids to recoat water tank #1 wound up all being rejected due to some issues that came up with the bidding. The apparent low bidder does not yet have an Idaho Public Works License. According to City Attorney Joe Wright, if the funding source is “federal aid funds” you do not have to have one when submitting a bid but you do once the bid is awarded. The city plans to use block grant funds which could be considered as federal aid funds. Another issue is their bid form stated you need to have an Idaho Public Works License to bid. Wright suggested the best thing to do would be to reject all bids and rebid the job. Wright will also get a legal opinion from the Idaho DEQ on whether the funding is actually federal aid funds.
The house at the newly purchased re-use site was discussed. Wright said the choices are to pay someone to remove or call for bids to see if someone wants to buy it and remove it. There also may be some asbestos or lead issues with the house. Engineer Amy Uptmor will work with Wright and Thompson to address how best to proceed.
In correspondence, Mayor Keith Holcomb read a letter from the DEQ starting their reuse application has been completed with another letter stating they are proceeding with preliminary steps to use. Uptmor said the person handling it is in the process of leaving the DEQ but despite that they are well ahead of the timeline she expected.
In reports Police Chief Terry Cochran reported the cameras have arrived and they will start installing them.
Gus Hoene reported the city pumped 5,021,200 gallons of water in June and sold 4,532,620 for a loss of 7.17%. He also signed off on Pat Enneking getting equipment that would send a signal to his phone if a well has issues.
In the sewer report Brett Miler said they haven’t been sprinkling yet. The sludge depth monitoring is now done.
In the streets report Kristie Holthaus reported they are getting the streets ready for BST which should start next Monday. Chips will be putting the following week.
In the Land & Buildings report Linda Nida said she applied for and received a $2,000 grant through AgWest Farm Credit which will go toward picnic tables in the park.
Holthaus reported she will be meeting with Clint Riener to discuss the future of the airport.
Nida reported the fire department had 2 calls in the past month. One was on Highway 95 just south of town and the other was on Graves Creek Road.
She reported the department met with the hospital about their fire panels. They asked if it was possible to move a hydrant to their side of the street. The one they looked at was the one across from the parking lot entrance. Enneking said the one at North and School Street may be easier to move since they will be doing work there anyway for the St. Lawrence subdivision.
The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. The next regular meeting is set for Monday, August 11 at 7 p.m.