| Cottonwood
City Council meets
J.D. Lauer appeared before the Cottonwood City Council with concerns about the new 15 mile per hour speed limits in front of the schools in town at the September meeting of the council Monday, Sept. 8. Lauer was concerned about the 10 mph drop for the 3-block “speed trap” on Lewiston St. with 25 mph on the rest of it. He felt a 20 mph limit would be sufficient. The council responded that there had been a 20 mph speed limit there for quite some time but that nobody was obeying it. Even with the Idaho County Sheriff Department’s speed sign there people were not slowing down. The 15 mph signs at least seem to have caught their attention. Mayor Denis Duman said that Terry Cochran did traffic studies both there and at the Middle School and talked with the principals and teachers and it was felt that the most dangerous areas are those directly in front of the schools, especially at the Elementary School where many parents drop off and pick up their children. Duman stated it may be an inconvenience to some but the safety of the children is the first concern. Streets Commissioner Jack Duman stated he is comfortable with the 15 mph zones. The council had discussed this for a couple months before passing the ordinance to change the speed zones. Lauer also suggested some kind of signage or paint on the streets noting a “school zone ahead” might be a good idea. In other business the council approved having the mayor sign quitclaim deeds on street right of ways on the St. Mary’s Hospital campus. These were approved by ordinance back in 1963 when the current hospital was under construction but apparently it was never actually done. A fund transfer of $1100 from the general fund to the recreation fund was approved to cover expenses in that department. The city also approved the writeoff of just over $500 in bad debts, unpaid utility bills, and send them to a collection agency. Jack Duman brought up for discussion the part of Maple Street between Front St. and the Trestle Addition. Apparently what’s there is listed as a tax lot rather than a street right of way. City Attorney Joe Wright said it may be what’s called a prescribed right of way and there may need to be some swapping done to make sure the street right of way doesn’t wind up going up to somebody’s front porch. In reports, the city pumped 8.5 million gallons of water in August and sold 8.1 million for a loss of just 4%. Ron Grant reported the seepage tests have been done at the sewer lagoons and some followup testing is being done for verification purposes. Jack Duman reported the rains were welcome although it washed off some of the mag chloride. He is asking citizens not to spin their tires on the hillside gravel streets so we can avoid washboarding those streets. He also reported the city crew is working on the water problem on Bash St. They are adding some tile and storm drains to try and keep the runoff water from the top of the hill from pooling under the street on what appears to be a rock shelf and then seeping out through the street in the middle of the block. In the land and buildings report Shelli Schumacher commented that the park looked good for the fair as did the buildings on the park. Grant reported there were no fire calls this past month. He is also working on some wildland grants for the Rural Dept. and that they are assessing their equipment to see what may be needed. Mayor Duman reported that the company building the Verizon cell tower has started with some of the preliminary work. They were asked to hold off until after the O-Mok-See at the Riding Club Arena, which is this weekend, before going at it hard and heavy. Duman reported they changed things up in that they won’t be having the large building, reducing the footprint needed for the tower. This eliminates some of the concerns they had with the Riding Club Arena about moving a couple of gates. The council adjourned at 8:15 p.m. The next meeting will be Tuesday, Oct. 14 as the regular Monday date is Columbus Day, a legal holiday. |
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