City Clerk

City Clerk Susan Wittman spoke to the council about an ongoing safety issue that has been a concern within the city for quite a while.  She explained to the council that instances of pedestrians almost being hit by vehicles on 100 W were enough to cause concern and require action.  The issue has been discussed in the past.  1st, 2nd, and 3rd West are areas coming off Bannock Street that are particularly dangerous. On 300 W, she and others have observed the traffic and found that there were concerns with vehicles not being mindful of pedestrians, and that the weeds needed to be mowed in order to improve visibility.  

Chief Deputy Doug Williams spoke to the council about how the signage was frustrating.  According to Williams, “we can’t enforce the school zones” because the signage is not up to federal requirements.  

The clerk clarified that this would be a temporary fix until the full grant for the school zone funding can be completed.  She feels that the stop sign should be moved farther south of the intersection on 1 west.  

Sheriff Arne Jones noted that the most effective signs are the ones that show the driver’s speed.  “You could maybe pick 4 or 5 of our most troubled spots and put them there.”  There was general agreement among members of the council that those signs (which display the driver’s current speed and indicate whether it is above the posted limit) are effective at slowing drivers down.  The cost of such signs was presumed to be significant.  

Camille from Forsgren clarified that the LHTAC (Local Highway Technical Assistance Council) grant won’t be spendable until Sept 30, 2025 with regard to signs.     

Councilmember Tyrell Neal stated that he felt that the council needed to do something, as the issue had been raised many times by the clerk, law enforcement, and members of the community.  

Doug Williams suggested that he would speak with Superintendent Jon Abrams about whether there may be school district or other funds for pedestrian safety.

It was moved to allocate $3378.42 for crosswalk signs to help mitigate the problem until a more complete solution could be arranged.  The motion was approved.

Engineer

Camille Miller from Forsgren spoke to the council about the grants that are in place, as well as those which will be upcoming or are in the process.  

She explained the Bannock Street project, which started in 2017 with an STP Rural grant.  The original scope was to fix flooding and Bannock Street to the tracks.  The project got cut to 300 W due to cost.  The project includes sidewalk/curb and gutter, catch basins and piping.  During the initial studies, the engineers found that there was not a discharge location.  Forsgren asked LHTAC to pay to get pipe across street, but LHTAC reported that they could only go to where their environmental clearance went.  

The city then applied for a FEMA grant, which includes a detention basin and the remainder of the outflow pipe.  The design on that project is just starting.  The city then applied for the TAP (Transportation Alternatives Program) grant, to extend past 300 W to 500 W.  

The city then applied for an ITD (Idaho Transportation Department) grant to fix the roadway from 300 W to 500 W, followed by a grant from the Forest Service.  “We knew we were creating a park at the detention basin.  We thought we could use some new trees there.”  The city applied for 2 million dollars, but was awarded 1 million.  Just recently, the city was awarded an LRIP grant for asphalt overlay, and an STP Rural Grant 2.

“They all kind of built on each other,” Camille.  “As we go along, we keep saying ok, we need this, to make the project most effective.”  

Miller then went through the schedule and process for each of the grants, many of which overlap with one another.  A discussion of the various funding schedules and payments was undertaken with Terrill Schwartz, City Treasurer.  

The majority of the grants relate either directly or indirectly to the Bannock Street project.  As a result, Miller would like to schedule a meeting for the public to overview the project timeline with residents.  “My idea is that I want to invite everyone on Bannock street who’s going to be affected to come to a public meeting,” Miller said.  She stated that she envisioned one meeting before the bids are in, then another one when the LID needs to go in. An LID (Local Improvement District) cost of $25/foot was suggested by Schwartz for those properties in the plan area.  

A location and time for the meeting will be calendared down the road, with a potential date of November 13.  A mailer and paper advertising will need to be done by way of public information, especially as some of the people live outside the county during the winter months.    

LRIP grant applications are due by Dec 5.  In previous years, city has been awarded construction funds through the grant.  This year, the city will go for signs.  Up to $30k can be used for sign projects through the grant. 

Sheriff 

Sheriff Jones stated that contracts between his office and the county can be negotiated by various representatives, though the commissioners are the ones who have to sign the contracts.  The discussion of the sheriff’s office budget is not new to either the city or the county.  The issue is complicated by the fact that the county and the sheriff’s office negotiate the overall budget, and the city payments to the office are directed to the county, rather than directly to the sheriffs office.  

“The people are our boss,” Jones said. He recommended that the county and city officials meet with Doug in order to clarify the services desired under the service contract and arrive at a reasonable budget.  

One of the related issues for the sheriff’s office regarding the budget is the disparity between Oneida county and other counties in the region.  “It is hard to recruit when we pay less than all the surrounding counties…We know what everyone pays, and what the job descriptions are the same.  It’s just that when it comes to salary, they are getting paid 3 or 4 dollars more an hour.  We’re very frustrated.”  While the rates vary with regard to qualification and exact position, Oneida County is certainly at the low end of the range by comparison.  Sheriff Jones mentioned that the County has “proposed a new Health insurance plan for families, which is swinging the right way.”

Tyrell Neal asked whether the tri-county sheriffs Association that Jones mentioned as a group he is a member of has a negotiator/mediator, and was informed that they do not.  They have a consultant, who provides a recommendation to the commissioners.  “We don’t need to be top, but we need to be competitive.  Our costs go up every year,” Jones said.  

Doug Williams explained some of his plans going forward, should he win the election for sheriff and begin serving in that position.  “With a service contract, the commissioners negotiated with an HR firm.  They had a low, medium, and high tier.  When we’re short handed, everybody gets slower response times.  Us being short puts you guys at a low tier service contract.  When we get staffed up, that’s closer to a high tier contract.”  The idea is to make the service contract the guiding light for funding.

Discussion about the relationship between the city, county, and sheriff’s office continued.  Sheriff Jones eventually spoke specifically about the city: “For my eight years, we’ve always had a great relationship.  There are a lot of counties that don’t offer 24 police services.  We never leave you without something—we’re always there.”

Doug Williams stated that “the contract of service can be written any way, as long as both parties agree on it.”  The matter was left for future discussion.

Williams then spoke to the council to report law enforcement numbers and incidents of note from the last several months.  An overall of those numbers will be included in this edition. 

A discussion introduced by Jaime Olsen raised the issue of the arrows in the turn lane by Maverik, which have been argued to be potentially dangerous. 

Recreation

Lance Tripp reported on behalf of the recreation department that soccer has just finished, and the numbers were down by about 20.  It was noted that there are some parents who are taking the kids to Tremonton and Franklin, due to the fact that the recreation league in Malad doesn’t have referees and isn’t competitive enough for the needs of some players and their families.  Participation in the program involves roughly 120 kids in total. 

The council discussed the fact that there is increasing interest in traveling teams in the area, and that improving and expanding the soccer fields maintained by the city might be a good draw for teams for around the area.  

There will be two openings on the recreation board, as Lance Tripp steps down.  Tyrell and Beth Hubbard both want to do it.  The board consists of Melissa Firth, Scott Ray, Jeremy, Hayden Montgomery, and two the openings.  

A motion to approve Tyrell and Bethany Hubbard as new rec board members was approved.  

Superintendent

City Superintendent Tyler Webster was not able to attend the meeting due to other commitments, but the mayor presented the information he had prepared.   

The mayor reported on behalf of the superintendent that a truck and tractor had been ordered.  The city’s lead and copper inventory had been done.  Paving projects at various locations in the city would be underway through November to try to get them done before the weather makes it more difficult.

Speed limit signs have been put up in several locations, and a 13.6” height for trees along road was determined to be the standard.

In anticipation of the winter plowing schedule, Webster would like to remind people that there is no parking on the streets at night during snow in order to allow for the snowplows to operate in the early morning hours.  

The walking path around has been redone, as well as the Co-op building parking lot.  A water leak by old stake building has also been fixed.

The street lights on Main Street have been delivered and will be installed soon.

Attorney

City Attorney Brett Evanson reported on the city’s water rights situation.  Bear River Water Adjudication is underway, and the city has to submit claims for rights they want to retain.   It has been suggested to him to hire a water rights attorney.  Luke Marchant has a specialization in water law, and Evanson recommended contracting with him, to look over materials related to the issue, which he thinks can be done for around $3000-5000.  Marchant would verify what rights the city already has recorded.  “He knows about all of those our engineer brought up”

A motion to hire Luke Marchant for up to 5K$ to review the city’s water rights was approved.

The Mayor discovered a website called “Visit Malad” run by a gentleman named Cody Edwards from outside the area.  He creates websites for small towns, and then tries to find sponsors.  Attorney Evanson was assured by Edwards that the materials are his own, and he is aware of copyright issues.  

An updated Excavation ordinance will be coming by the next meeting.  The ordinance will require a bond to cover digging under city streets and other property.