Franklin
council deals with snow, ice, water lines and dogcatchers
By Greg
Aullman
February 25, 2008 | FRANKLIN, Idaho -- As the new leadership
of Franklin met together a second time the meeting had
a bit more talking going on. Despite the snowstorm that
closed nearby I-15 and forced many to drive at snail-paced
speeds, the City Council was still able to meet to discuss
the issues that would help Franklin keep going forward.
One of the most important items of business taken
care of was the swearing in of Linda Hampton to finish
filling the city council seats for the next two years.
The issues most discussed dealt with construction
as well as growth and development. Part of the issue
involved the city dealing with growing its own water,
sewage, and road developments and the costs involved
with such projects. Also for the city was the issue
of sewage water lift stations and how future stations
would be held to a higher standard in their construction.
There was a lot of discussion regarding the use of
permits and inspectors from the state level to allow
building and growth to take place. Some of the snags
that were encountered were the additional costs associated
with bringing in a state inspector, as well as how the
payment for such a person would be handled. The situation
was not resolved and will be readdressed at next month's
meeting.
There were talks about having an easement to allow
travel to the water line going from Stone Springs to
Flat Canyon. The city has an easement dating back to
1918, and the council was mostly opposed to allowing
the road to be open access to the public since it goes
over private land. A public hearing regarding this issue
will be held later on. On this topic was also discussed
how there had been a charge of trespassing in an earlier
case for using the road, but the accused had won the
case.
For citizen growth Country Meadows Townhomes was discussed
on how the city will maintain the water lines just up
to each meter, but that the development will be responsible
for road maintenance. Also any additions to the development,
including a playground, would have to be submitted for
a bond authorizing their construction.
Another issue needing some resolution was that the
EPA had sent a letter to the city outlining some of
the citiy's violations. It is felt that the violations
resulted from an error in math calculations and that
the city will hire a student from JUB Engineers come
in to recalculate the math in an effort to appease the
EPA investigators.
Former dogcatcher Paul Loveday has decided that he
no longer wants the job and the council will have until
next month to submit possible replacement names. The
snow around local diner, Flora's Little Kitchen, was
removed to facilitate parking and the city is willing
to help get the parking area in back cleaned up to make
the area safer when pulling back out on the main road.
Also brought to the council's attention as that the
city's Ford 1-ton truck had broken down. The cost of
repairs was estimated to be between $300-$400 if it
just entailed a new lifter, or possibly as high as $4,500-$6,000
since the clutch would also need to be repaired. Estimates
on a new truck range from $35,000 up to $60,000, the
issue of purchasing a new truck or possibly leasing
will not be resolved until next month as well.
NW
MS |
