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Home My WebLink About11City of Chubbuck — Mayor's Newsletter -November 2015 Home .3 I WantToD_pn't fqjgel Yn KZ6ucQcvqMber►3%*oing Business 5160 Yellowstone Avenue Chubbuck, ID 83202 Mayor's Newsletter -November 2015 Greetings, < Previous Well, Election Day is here. I hope everyone took the opportunity to vote. We in Chubbuck had four quality candidates to choose from. What a great blessing to have good people with a desire to serve their fellow citizens. It is just afternoon so I don't know who the victors will be but I offer an early congratulations to them. I am confident that they will serve us well. I had the opportunity to visit Washington DC in your behalf this last week and visit with the leadership of the Post Office to see if we can get standard service restored to our area. I felt that the meeting went well and they listened to our concerns. We enlisted the help of our Page 1 of 4 2 Your Gove http://Www.cityofchubbuck.us/2015/ 11 /03/mayors-newsletter-november-2015/ 11/3/2015 City of Chubbuck — Mayor's Newsletter -November 2015 Page 2 of 4 federal congressional rep fd st6WWs4AI@Wber 3rd. up and should be hearing from them later this week. Please do not hesitate to make me aware of any continuing problems as we have a commitment from the post office to work with us about any ongoing problems. The holiday seasons are here. I love this time of year. Let us all reach out to neighbors in love and concern and make sure all is well with them, especially our elderly citizens. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage us all to shop locally. I consistently hear about desires to have some bigger named retailers in our area. Shopping in our community will help this to happen. Let me share 4 reasons to stay local with our dollars. 1. Improve our local economy 2. Generate opportunity 3. Enrich our community 4. Experience a one -of -a -kind connection While I have been writing this letter it has started to snow, our first snow of the season. What a blessing to receive the moisture that we need. Be careful on the roads. Entering this Thanksgiving Season we as a community have much to be thankful for. We should all look for appropriate ways to express our gratitude. Let me say thank you for this sweet opportunity to represent Chubbuck as your Mayor. I commit again my very best efforts in your behalf. I love the people of our city. With warm regards, Mayor Kevin B. England http://www.cityofchubbuck.us/2015/ 11 /03/mayors-newsletter-november-2015/ 11/3/2015 November 2015 Volume 18, Issue 11 M8YOr'S Newslefler Time Commitment for Public Service I want to congratulate those who won their election races for Pocatello City Council seats #1, #2 and #3. We look forward to working with these individuals to make our city even better. I also want to thank all 10 candidates for having the courage to throw their hats in the ring and put their names on the ballot. Running for office is not an easy thing for anyone to do. It's important for people to get involved in government, especially local government, and these candidates deserve a pat on the back. This month I thought I'd give everyone a little insight into the time commitment it takes to be an elected official. Currently, we are holding "Budget Restructuring Meetings" on the first and third Thursdays of the month. These public meetings start at 9 a.m. and typically go until 3:30 p.m. We're holding these meetings to help the Council, staff and the public Holidav Lights Tour I was recently talking to Dave Hunt, Pocatello Regional Transit (PRT) Director, and he commented that the middle of December really is the most wonderful time of PRT's year. What Dave is talking about is the annual Holiday Lights Tour. PRT buses fill up with festive residents taking in the best light displays in the area. This mid -winter tour started 28 years ago. He explained to me that they just wanted to do a little something to spread the better understand the City's budget and the needs of each department; to discuss ideas for doing things differently; and to allow the Council to give direction to departments. These meetings are important prep work before our "Budget Setting Meetings" begin in the spring. The City Council also meets for "Regular Business Meetings" every first and third Thursday at 6 p.m. At these public meetings, we vote on land use issues, exceptions to City Code, new City Codes, contracts/agreements, etc. On the second Thursday of each month, we hold a "Study Session" beginning at 9 a.m. During these public meetings we study issues brought to us by departments, groups and individuals. After the first of the year, we'll start our "Service Level Report Meetings" and our "Budget holiday cheer. They've been thankful for the wonderful homeowners of Pocatello and Chubbuck who help make the tour a success by creating such amazing displays. This year's tour will be held the nights of December 17 and 18 from 7:30 p.m. to around 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3.50 for students. There's no cost for children who are able to sit on a parent or guardian's lap. Tickets must be purchased at least one day Setting Meetings." These also tend to be on Thursdays and begin at 9 a.m. and go until 3 p.m. each day. The City Council Members and I also serve as liaisons to City advisory boards and serve on various community boards. We attend a variety of events and meet with citizens to learn what's important to you. As you can see, the time commitment is significant, especially for what is considered a part-time City Council position. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to publicly thank Councilwoman Eva Johnson Nye for her many years of dedicated service to our community. Eva will definitely be missed when her term expires in January. She's shown great leadership and has always done what she felt was best for our community. prior to the desired tour date. The tour will also accommodate groups. Special arrangements can be made by calling Pocatello Regional Transit at 234-6248 or by e -mailing prt@pocatello.us. Don't miss your chance to see the best holiday light displays in the region! Get your tickets now! Mayees Newsletter Page 2 Pickleball Comes to the CRC New for the fall/winter season is Pickleball at the Community Recreation Center (CRC). Come try this exciting and fast growing sport! Pickleball is a lively paddle game that combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis. It was created with one thing in mind — FUN! It was designed to be easy to learn and to play for individuals of all ages. The sport is played on a court with roughly the same dimensions as doubles badminton. It can be played in either singles or double format using wood or composite paddles and a polymer whiffle ball. Pickleball is similar to tennis. However, the smaller court size and decreased speed at which the ball travels make the sport much more accessible to a wider range of players. Don't be fooled, though. Pickleball is still a great sport for competitive players! Pickleball games started at the CRC in October and will go through March 2016. The schedule of play is Mondays 8 — 11 a.m.; Tuesdays 12 noon to 3 p.m.; Thursdays 2 — 5 p.m.; Fridays 8 — 11 a.m.; and Saturdays 9 — 11 a.m. There is no additional cost for CRC members to play. The general public need only pay CRC daily admission fees of $5 for adults (ages 18+), $3 for seniors (60+) and $3 for youth. Everyone is invited to the CRC to give Pickleball a try. Call 232-3901 for more information. City Wins Reporting Awards I'm excited to announce that our Finance Department recently received 2 awards from the Government Finance Officers Association. The first is the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for our fiscal year 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). This is the 11th year we've received this award. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting. Our CAFR was reviewed and judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, including demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full disclosure." The second award was the Certificate of Excellence in Popular Reporting for our fiscal year 2014 Citizen's Report. We've received this award for the past 10 years. This report provides the highlights of the CAFR in a format that's easier to read. You can read these informative reports yourself by going to http://pocatello.us/175/Finance or call 234-6214 for more information. ................................. Reminders ... The City's Sanitation employees will not be working Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day or New Year's Day. This is a change from all other holidays throughout the year. Therefore, collection services will be delayed one day following each of these holidays. For the November 26 holiday, Thursday's collections will be picked up Friday, and - Friday's on Saturday. For the December 25 and January 1 holidays, Friday's collections will be picked up Saturday. The Sanitation Department will also be doing their annual Christmas tree drop-off boxes and special holiday garbage collection in December. Look for more information about these in the December newsletter or call 234-6192. If there is a topic you'd like me to address in future newsletters or if you want to comment or ask a question, write it down, tear off this part and send your comment to me. If you wish to call or e-mail, my number and address are listed on the front page. While I cannot respond to all comments individually, I do pass them on to the appropriate departments. v18,n11 My question/comment is Name Address iGu 1.. n - — Telephone