My January 25th, 2010 Mountain Home City Council Meeting Review

I showed up at the 6:00 pm meeting that started at 5:30 pm so I missed a part of the meeting I was the most interested in tonight…the Parking Ordinance Review.  I’m sure it was announced somewhere that the City Council Meeting was going to start early except on the agenda I read earlier in the day.  Lesson learned.  Overall, this was another well run meeting with some good discussion and decisions made.  

There were not many citizens in attendance at this meeting.  I’d guess about 35 people attended but most of these people were scheduled to talk to the council and most left after their part was done.  You can lead a horse to water but you certainly cannot make them take interest in their local government?  

Groups Reviews
The "people" got to hear about what our local civics groups are doing.  The Treasure Valley Public Transit told us that ridership is likely on the rise in Mountain Home with the Base seemingly the biggest share of riders.  Then the Historical Museum had their chance to tell us what they have been doing.  The museum staff were by far the most enthusiastic about their programs and were more than happy to share their news.  The Youth Center announce that they are very hopeful in getting a $170,000+ federal grant that could mean great things for this community.  The grant paperwork will be turned in on January 29th and the feds make a decision on if Mountain Home will get this grant money at the end of April.

While these civic groups are hopeful in keeping City funding for the coming year, Mayor Rist threw a little water on this issue.  It’s looking like the incoming taxes will be "less than last years miserable amount they collected".  Looks like the recession will be effecting everyone for another year.  On a brighter note, both the Desert Mountain Visitor Center and the Museum both showed increases in use.  "Staycations" may be the norm for a couple years at least in Idaho.

Wind Power CUP Approved
Good news for all of us.  The Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the construction and use of a wind turbine at the McKenna Charter High School was approved.  What I found unusual was the fact that the City hasn’t approved the Wind Turbine Ordinance yet and this is a big part of the CUP.  I think there was some concern about this as Councilman Russ Anderson tried to say it was putting the "cart before the horse".  The Wind Turbine Ordinance was read (In Title Only) and approved for the first time tonight.  Not really understanding how all this Ordinance thing works, I think the council has two more votes before it become code.

Questions
1.  Where can citizens read and review the proposed ordinances our city council is voting on?  The City website would be a great place to post this information.

2.  Why does the public access door leading into the City Council Chamber room have to squeak so loud.  When someone walks into the room after the meeting starts, half the attendee’s and most of the Council look up to see who just came in.  This is "the squeaky wheel that rightfully should get the grease" or graphite.

3.  Where is the local business community?  Yes, you have a strong and vocal Councilperson Alain Isaac representing you but why not attend a meeting to see what is going on.  

 
Thanks for visiting and commenting on this story.

-S-

Tim Bondy