Review of the Mountain Home, Idaho April 26th, 2010 City Council Meeting

The last City Council Meeting was short and sweet lasting just over 45 minutes from start to finish.  There were only about 5 citizens in attendance when one discounts the City employee’s such as all the department heads, the full Council and admin type people.  

Some Issues Covered During the Meeting
The Mountain Home Community Transit Report:  The Mountain Home Community Transit is run by the Treasure Valley Transit company out of Boise.  Their representative addressed the Council and  indicated ridership on our bus routes seems healthy and is increasing..maybe.  For March 2010, we saw 846 people riding the “City Route” buses and 1,147 people riding the “The AFB Route”.  That’s a total of 1,993 people riding the bus in the Mountain Home area.  The Council liked the idea that they got a report this month but wanted some more information, like year over year ridership numbers so they can  determine how the numbers compare.
My Thoughts:  This information should be posted on the Treasure Valley Transit website each month AND it should be mandatory that a representative address the Council each month.  Our tax dollars are going to this company and they need to keep the people who fund this program educated and informed.

Creation of a Gas Farm (Jet Fuel) at the Mountain Home Airport:  There is talk of creating a gas farm or gas station at our local airport which might include jet fuel.  The federal government might pay a significant part of the cost to build this aviation gas station but the city must apply for and be accepted for this program.  There was also talk about who would dispense the jet fuel (refuel aircraft) if this fuel farm became a reality.  From what I understand, the airport manager wouldn’t accept this responsibility unless he had his hand in the “financial pie” so to speak.  Hmmm.
My Thoughts:  I’m uneducated or stoopid about how things run around an airport BUT.  It seems if our government is willing to fund something Mountain Home needs or will need in the future, getting federal the paperwork submitted is a no brainer.  And if the airport manager doesn’t want to deal with this new service, then I’m sure some company wouldn’t mind coming in a doing this for the city but then the city would lose out on any revenue it could make from this project.  

Insurance and a May 2010 Carnival Events at the Railroad Park:  The complexities of running a city reared its ugly head on this issue.  Trying to figure out insurance issues when it pertains to a business trying to put on a carnival in our Railroad Park seems frustrating to me.  
My Thoughts:  While this is a very minor issue for the citizens of Mountain Home, I can imagine how frustrating it is to deal with companies that take their time making decisions and having to play the waiting game while paperwork is drawn up.  But this is just my opinion.  

Overall, this City Council Meeting was a little disappointing.  Not much new business to hear about and a low citizen turn-out makes me think that the people of Mountain Home might not care about their government as much as they should.  Just to let you know, if you have something to say to our local city government, the Council opens the floor to any citizen that may have a concern.  In other words, you get to have your say!  It’s a powerful tool that isn’t used enough these days.  I cannot speak for the entire council on this but I know Mayor Rist would love to hear from you.  

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Tim Bondy
The Bondyweb.Com author