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taken on street, alley closure requests
The Cottonwood City Council held a public hearing on a couple of alley and street closure requests and later took action at the October meeting of the council which was held Wednesday, Oct. 13. A request by Mike and Denise Nuxoll to close the alley between Smith and North Streets was denied. The Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended the denial due to the sewer line in that alley. Larry and Gladys Sonnen requested closure of Hogan and Foster Streets from Prairie View to Highway 95 and closure of the alley between Hogan and Foster. The council voted to grant the request and vacate the alley and Hogan Street but voted to keep Foster open and put up signage that it is a dead end. Mrs. Sonnen had said over the years several people had tried to get to Highway 95 by way of Foster, which was one of the reasons for their closure request. The alley and that portion of Hogan St. don’t go anywhere and are unlikely to ever be opened by the city. Since the Sonnen’s own the surrounding properties, title to those rights-of-way would revert to them. In his water report Martin Fowler noted that consumption is down with less than 5 million gallons pumped in September. Leakage is also down with 3.7 millions gallons billed for a loss of under 19%, the lowest in a long, long time. Fowler reported the pumps are all holding up well as is the computerized telecommunication control system. Fowler also reported that the Lions Club is continuing their bike path replacement project at the City Park. They’re replacing about 540 ft. of path this year and when finished about two-thirds of the project will be completed. 31 yards of concrete were poured. Max Nuxoll reported that the city has requested to continue sprinkling in the agriforest into October as the creek flows are still low. They will probably continue sprinkling until the weather change stops them. Nuxoll reported the testing is still showing the levels a little high in the discharge. Jack Duman reported the sealcoating has been finished for this year on the streets ad that they’ve done lots of patching. Bids have been let for a new grader with opening set for Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m. Duman reported that Planning and Zoning has been working on a sidewalk plan and prioritizing where new and replacement sidewalks are needed the most. Input is appreciated from the public. He is also working up an order for street signs as they have grant money for such through the road district cooperative. Shelli Schumacher reported they’ve put flags up at the ballfield complex where new trees are planned. She also reported that the refrigerators at the hall need to be replaced as they’re too small and don’t have enough shelving for what most events need. Mayor Denis Duman said soda pop coolers probably would be ideal if they could get them. Mayor Duman reported that 4 firemen went to Lewiston for training as part of a Homeland Security grant. Idaho State University sponsored the training. Homeland Security is emphasizing that they want reporting of incidents and development of an incident command system. The council decided to table any action on a Snake River Basin Agreement resolution until such time as it can be shown the city would be affected. The council discussed switching to wireless Internet service. Installation costs are high but monthly costs would be less. The council voted to table the matter to next month’s meeting to get more information on whether they would need 2 hook-ups at city hall. Currently they have a dedicated line for the police department computer as a condition of the Child Find program. Nuxoll questioned whether they’d need the separate installation with wireless. The clerk’s office has the fax and computer modem sharing a phone line. The council adjourned at 9:05 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Monday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. with a special meeting set for Friday, Oct. 22 at 4:30 to open the grader bids. |
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