HomeMy WebLinkAbout12 10 2014 CM Study Session133
CITY OF CHUBBUCK
COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
December 10, 2014
3:00 pm
CALL TO ORDER 3:00PM
AMEND COUNCIL STUDY SESSION AGENDA
GENERAL BUSINESS:
The tree inventory report will happen in January.
Utility Billing - City Clerk, Rich Morgan, reviewed with the council the entire time line for a
utility customer who has had services discontinued, starting with receiving their utility bill, then
a delinquent notice, another utility bill including the past due amount, a second delinquent
notice, a phone call reminder of pending shut off and the final the door knocker letting the
customer know that services have been discontinued. There was general discussion on the fees
charged and when in the process they are posted to the account. There was general discussion on
changes that could be made to the fees charged and when they would be posted to the account.
The council has asked the Clerk to bring more information to them to continue the discussion.
The meeting agendas with known items for December 17, and January 7 were prepared and
given to the council. Councilmember Lewis asked each department head to give the council as
much lead time as possible, to talk, discuss and investigate items that are going to be on the
upcoming agendas.
Councilmember Marshall then asked for the actual bid specs to be sent to him as if he was
vendor each time we bid a purchase.
Chief King presented the current condition of the Fire Departments aerial ladder engine.
The apparatus is 31 years old. It was purchases when the Pine Ridge Mall was built. Currently
it is out of commission. There are leaks throughout the pumping system that are elusive and hard
to find and fix. With the apparatus being so old parts are hard to find and when they are found
they are expensive. The department has out grown the truck as well and there is added
equipment on the outside of the truck rather than in equipment compartments. Chief King stated
that if the truck is not replaced the City should notify the Insurance Service Office (ISO) to let
them know that we no longer have this piece of equipment. Chief King does not know how or if
this notification would affect the City's current ISO rating, which is 4. Councilmember Ellis
asked Chief King to contact ISO and have them rate the City without the aerial engine to see
what the actual effect is. Chief King estimates the cost of a new aerial ladder to be between
$600,000 and $1,000,000. Both Pocatello and Fort Hall have aerial ladder engines. The City of
Chubbuck does have mutual aid agreements with both jurisdictions. Chief King was asked if
having the mutual aid agreements with jurisdictions that do have aerial apparatus would help
with the ISO rating, if we do not replace this truck. Chief King did explain that since the mall
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was built there are other structures that are covered by the aerial apparatus, Hawthorne Grove
Apartments, and the Idaho Central Credit Union building. Councilmember Ellis would expect
with this kind of expenditure that the City would need to bond for the truck and would like a plan
in front of the public as soon as possible. Councilmember Lewis asked Chief King to get some
numbers on the aerials usage. The council would also like Chief King to tighten up the number
on the cost of the apparatus.
Steve Smart explained to the council the opportunity the city has to purchase a residential side
load sanitation truck for the same bid price that the City purchased its last residential side load
sanitation truck. The order would need to be complete by the end of December. Steve explained
how many hours of use the trucks are getting each week. The sanitation trucks will need to be
replaced about every 5 years. The truck would be between $255,000 and $260,000.
Councilmember Marshall asked how much it would cost the city to contract out the sanitation
service.
Steve did discuss the bid that has been released for a new flusher vacuum truck. The vacuum
truck will cost around $400,000. The bids will come back January 6, 2015. The city of
Pocatello just bought one for $420,000. There are approximately 60 miles of sewer within the
city that the vacuum truck is paramount for maintenance to these lines. However, there are many
other uses for the vacuum truck as well, such as surgical excavation.
The discussion on possible synergies in animal control with the City of Pocatello has been
postponed.
Councilmember Marshall has had some comments made to him about roosters making an
inordinate amount of noise and bringing in more insects. Paul Andrus explained the two
ordinance sections in which a citizen of Chubbuck would be able to legally raise chickens or
fowl including roosters.
Mayor Kevin England adjourned the meeting at 5:20pm.
Kevin England, Zayor
Rich Morgan, City Clerk