The Monday, July 11th, 2011 Mountain Home City Council Meeting ROCKED…when compared to the 2 previous boring meetings I attended. The full council was in attendance last night. They were businesslike (as usual), sometimes annoyed (rare), talkative and informative. There were a few regular citizens in attendance and this is becoming rare. Other than that, all City Department Heads showed up as usual.
What Did the Mountain Home City Council Talk About?
1. 5 Holes for 7 Dollars: The city council unanimously approved an idea from the Golf Course Manager(?) that sounds like a good idea. The idea is to offer beginner golfers a “5 Holes of Golf for $7-$8” deal. The thinking behind this idea is that beginners, more often than not, get frustrated and bored after about 5 holes. Offering a discount for a shortened round of golf will appeal to beginners.
— My take on this issue: Great idea! But it seems to me the City could offer a steeper discount…more along the lines of a “5 Hole for 5 Dollars”. Seems to me you might draw in some folks during their lunch hours, seniors who just want to get in a few holes before it gets too hot or the couple who have a an hour or so to burn before picking up the kids from summer camp. This idea (theirs or mine) is likely to develop a larger full paying customer base.
2. Water is a Big Deal for Mountain Home:
– Water Well 15: Well 15 located in Richard Aguirre Park is still having pump problems. Tell the kids to stay away from the contractor and city equipment as it will likely be around for a week or 5. Serious business here. Could be big bucks $$$$$ too.
– Water Well 11: Who knew that the pump houses needed to be cooled. Looks like the ventilation fan or cooling system is broken. I think I heard that it’s a 500 horsepower motor that went broken??? Means more big buck $$$$.
– The council approved a motion to let Mayor Rist sign a contract with Liquid Engineers to clean out our water tower tanks. This has to be done and will costs the taxpayers about $6,500. Just be aware that we will have actual scuba divers swimming around in those huge towers. Can you imagine the “Tidy Bowl Man” in scuba equipment 
3. City Could Buy a House for $1.00: The council gave Nina Patterson, the City Clerk, the authority to fill out paperwork that will allow “The City” to buy a HUD Home for $1 plus closing costs. Basically the city council has no idea what they would do with a house but they want to keep the option open.
— My take on this issue: Keeping your options open for buying a house that may or may not become a money pit isn’t a bad idea. Just don’t know if the idea warrants the cost of postage to send the application back to the HUD.
4. The City and County Work Together…Badly?: There are some problems arising between Mountain Home and Elmore County when it comes to Emergency Dispatch Service. I’m sure Mayor Rist will smooth things over on this issue. The issue is also being worked by Councilman Geoff Schroeder.
— My take on this issue: I wasn’t aware how interwoven the City and the County have become when dealing with public services such as fire protection, animal control and emergency services. In any case, some people think the City is “getting the shaft” by Elmore County.
5. Revision of the City Land Use Chart: I will deal with this issue on a different post coming out later this week.
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