Bondyweb’s April 12th, 2010 Mountain Home Idaho’s City Council Meeting Review

My work hours have not allowed me to attend the last few city council meetings but that changed this past Monday.  Overall, this meeting was a good example of how local politics should be.  It was a jovial yet businesslike meeting.  I counted 43 people sitting in "the stands" at some point or another  with most people there for the epic Catholic Church parking story and the "Wild Idaho" presentation.  There was also plenty of other subjects discussed during this meeting:

The Issue:  Engineering Services Agreement with Keller Associates for Mountain Home Well #15.  It appears that the company that was hired to install a new well for our drinking water is running into some unexpected cost over-runs.  A Keller Associate addressed the city council explaining the total cost of the new well will likely be higher than originally contract for.  The council made a motion to pay the extra amount when the job is finished.  I think the estimated amount of the overrun was about $12,000 or maybe $8,000.  
My Thoughts:  I would think a company hired and contracted to do work for the city would have to absorb these costs.  But I have no idea how the contract was written and from the reaction from the Mayor and Council, this appears to be a normal situation.  One doesn’t bite the hand that provides drinking water to your city???

The Issue:  The allowing dogs or banning dogs from our city parks issue came up again tonight.  The short story here is if our dog owning citizens don’t start cleaning up after their dogs while using city parks, they could be banned from some or all parks.  The Mayor doesn’t hold out much hope that dog owners will heed this warning. Enforcement is the real sticking point for this issues.  Do we want to our "already stretched thin police department" to spend time ticketing inconsiderate dog owners?  
My Thoughts:  The nice thing to do would be to cherry pick certain parks to ban dogs.  The best option is to make a blanket policy of no dogs allowed in city parks…period.  As one lady said, "there are miles of desert around here to walk dogs".  Good luck to the city council on making this impossible decision.

The Issue:  The Catholic Church building of a Parish Hall and parking lot downtown is becoming an epic story and I’d say burrs have slid under the saddles of a few people in town.  Long story short, more public hearings will be held on this issue in about 4 weeks.  Apparently there is another traffic/parking study being completed and until the results come back, the city council will not make a decision in this issue (and rightfully so).  
My Thoughts:  Hard to get a read on this issue.  Is there really a concern for the future parking situation in Mountain Home???? Then common sense says our leaders must take their time and eventually deny this conditional use permit.  If not, then there is no tender way to say this…someone or some group doesn’t want the Catholic Church to expand.  

The Issue(s):  New Ordinances being considered by our city council.
Ordinance – Hydrant Meters/bulk water rate (3rd Reading by title only)
Ordinance – Water Leaks
Ordinance – Utility Account Connection Fee Changes
My Thoughts:  I have to read these documents first.  You’ll likely see more on this issue on the Bondyweb.Com website.

The Issue:  "Wild Idaho" is a organization that takes a small group of kids on outings to learn about "Wild Idaho".  This organization is done through the Parks and Recreation office in Mountain Home.  They gave a cool presentation from a recent trip to McCall.  I was impressed with this group of kids and even more so when I learned they fund these trips the old fashioned way…by working for them.  
My Thoughts:  You will see more on this issue right here in the near future with a challenge to businesses and citizens coming your way.  

Thanks for visiting and commenting on this story.

Tim Bondy
The Bondyweb.Com author