Minutes
(Minutes subject to council approval)
CITY OF NEZPERCE, IDAHO REGULAR MEETING
March 11, 2024
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE NEZPERCE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEZPERCE, IDAHO, HELD ON March 11, 2024.
PLACE: Training Room, Nezperce City Hall, 606 Maple Street. Time: 5:30PM THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER BY Mayor Tyler Nelson AT 5:30PM
PRESENT were Councilmembers Tyler Nelson, Mike Jensen, James Zenner, Kimberly Ingram, and Kelby Heartburg, Maintenance Department Craig Cardwell and Ben Mauer, Clerk/Treasurer Rhonda Schmidt, and Fire Chief Dave Kuther. Visiting were Susan Lausen of the III-A, attorney McKenzie Lewis, JUB Engineers Amy Uptmor and Colt Shelton. Residents in attendance were Jonathan & Caleb Rosenau and Jeff Peterson.
PUBLIC COMMENT
MINUTES of the previous meetings of 2/12/2024 were approved as emailed upon a motion by Cm. Zenner was seconded by Cm. Jensen, motion carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT AND MONTHLY BILLS:
The Clerk’s Monthly Treasurer’s Report dated March 11, 2024, was examined, and approved, showing the following:
Funds on Hand $432,998.65
All bills and payroll disbursements were examined and approved for payment upon a motion by Cm. Ingram and seconded by Cm. Zenner in the total $142,497.58 check numbers 17441 through 17482. Receipts since the last meeting were shown as $89,544.21. Checks and stub approvals were signed appropriately by all parties as well as all signed the Claim Approval Report for March.
BUSINESS TO BE CONDUCTED
- III-A Annual Report- Susan Lausen of the III-A: Susan is the Operation Director for the III-A and was present to provide the council with the organization’s annual report. At the completion of the year there were 103 agencies, 2,139 total employees and 5,427 total members in the III-A. The organization is proud to offer that they work hard to keep the administration and operation expenses low with 87.2% of a dollar going to They received $2.9 million dollars last year to help cover Covid reimbursement. Coming off a couple of high claim years they are looking for things to level out when it comes to renewal costs for the coming year. But they are proud to offer that that medical only grew by 5.6% while Idaho costs grew 6.4% last year. Their medical programs, wellness screening programs grew over the last year and this year will be bring dermatology skin checks to their wellness clinics. The mental health plan highlights using Shift Wellness that specializes in first responder crisis calls. The organization will be tackling more in the coming year.
- Roosters & number of Chickens in city limits – Resident Jonathan Rosenau: Last month Clerk Schmidt informed the council that she could not find anything in any ordinance saying anything about roosters which lead to a follow up conversation regarding whether roosters are allowed in other cities and do other cities limit the number of chickens allowed at a residence. Resident Jonathan Rosenau was contacted by the city to question him about the number of chickens he has and ask if he indeed has roosters as he owns the greatest number of chickens in Nezperce. The city is on a fact-finding mission, but a council member had received a rooster complaint. Jonathan came to the meeting and was very informative on the fact that they have 30 or so chickens and have had up to 4 roosters. Before getting chickens, they contacted all their neighbors and informed them and occasionally checked in with them, noting that they have never received a complaint from a neighbor nor any other resident. The Rosenau’s sell eggs to several senior citizens in Nezperce and have quite a business. They provided the council with 2 different petitions, one to allow 2 roosters and the other to contest any changes to the city ordinance allowing chickens in the city. Jonathan put together a list of pros that their chickens have brought to the Jonathan suggested that the city implement a formal complaint policy so that accused have the right to defend themselves prior to the council making changes to ordinances. The council thanked Jonathan for the information and informed him that they are on a fact finding mission and have no plans now to change anything.
- Attorney McKenzie Lewis – Interview: McKenzie Lewis introduced herself to the council and gave them her background She met with Mayor Nelson and Clerk Schmidt last week and they asked her to come to the council meeting. Lewis was raised on the prairie and graduated from Grangeville, attended college at the University of Idaho and has a master’s in accounting. She passed the bar and opened a firm recently in Grangeville and has been working with another city attorney Matt Jessup. She stated that she is very zealous and confident in her research. Following a brief discussion of her terms and her agreement to work for what is already in the budget, Cm. Ingram made a motion to contract with McKenzie as it would be nice to have a local attorney, Cm. Zenner seconded the motion, motion carried.
- WW Land Ap Project update – Amy Uptmor and Colt Shelton of JUB: Engineers met with the council to discuss the project since meeting with local pilots who fly off the They have been working to find options to replace the 2-foot sprinklers that were in the works for the runway protection zone (RPZ). Of course, any change in the works has to accommodate the amount of water the city will need to put down in a year. The engineers looked at different pop-up plastic sprinkler heads, the down side of the pop-up is plastic and burning the field is not conducive plus the fact that there would have to be so many of them to cover the area it doesn’t seem practical. The next idea would be a partial pivot. This comes with problems such as uneven landscape, tire ruts and areas the pivot can’t reach. Another idea is a dripline system that is somewhat a disposable system after use the lines fail or rise, get caught in equipment so not a feasible solution. Lastly, they found the movable big-gun. This sprinkler travels back and forth on a cable. Following discussion of the proposed ideas the council would like to take pause on the project phase allowing time for the engineers to do additional research, the council wants the extra time to do things correctly. The council likes the idea of the partial pivot with the traveling big gun to cover the areas unreachable by the partial pivot. The council wants valves in the RPZ in concrete vaults in the ground as they don’t want anything stationary above ground. Extra time given to Phase 2 design gives extra time to track down money for the project as we are over budget currently. Amy described the option of going after Rural Development for additional funds. JUB will come back to the April meeting with more ideas.
- Personal Policy Update/Review: Due to the length of time taken for other business the council tabled the policy update/review for
- Ordinance Codification: Several years ago, the city started the process of having ordinances codified and because everything was in paper form, Clerk Schmidt changed direction and had all the city documents scanned for Now that everything is in electronic format, contact has been made with the codification company. The cost of the contract is $6,800. The city would not pay anything to the codifiers until they have reviewed and put something into format for the initial review. The initial review would be reviewed by the attorney and at that point the city would pay half of the contract; the final payment would follow the final review of the codification. Cm. Ingram made a motion for the codification; Cm. Heartburg seconded the motion, motion carried. Once the codification is completed the city will be able to put the codes on the city website. Under this contract for the next 5 years the ordinances will be sent to the codifier for inclusion for $495 and updated to the website.
DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS
- Maintenance
Water: Cardwell reported that they need to find a new supplier as Ferguson in Lewiston just isn’t cutting it. Water meters will be read this month after estimating over the winter months.
Sewer: Maintenance has started discharging again. Cardwell will be putting together a manhole list for the sewer line extension project.
Streets: Mauer did some grading in the industrial area, gaining experience in the grader.
Parks: It’s the time of year for pruning trees and bushes; followed by the mowing season.
EMS Building: Maintenance is almost done with the kitchen; waiting on a stove, microwave and sink to arrive to finish the project.
Senior Center: Maintenance completed the floors at the center. Mary Ann Hess has been busy spending the Seniors l0K grant money. She is continuing to purchase items for the future Legion Hall building remodel.
Equipment: The dump truck has been repaired.
- Clerk: Clerk had nothing further to
- Fire Department: Chief Kuther reported that their annual fundraiser is April 13th. They will have dinner and The proceeds will go toward the purchase of tools and they can help out with the EMS kitchen expenses. 6 guys are going to fire training this month.
COUNCIL COMMENT/OTHER
- Employee Evaluations: Executive Session Idaho Code 74-206 (l)(b): Jensen made a motion that the council go into executive session to handle employee evaluations pursuant to Idaho Code 74-203 (l)(b). Motion was seconded by Cm. Ingram, motion carried. The council came out of executive session at 8:45PM.
ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Nelson adjourned the meeting at 8:50PM.
Other/Upcoming Events:
Upcoming Council Meetings: April 8th and May 15th at 7AM NRES Fundraiser- April 13th
Arbor Day-May 3rd
Community Wide Yard Sale Day – May 11th
The next regularly scheduled city council meeting will be on Monday, April 8th at 7 a.m. at City Hall.
____________________- ________________________
Tyler R. Nelson, Mayor Rhonda J. Schmidt, Clerk-Treasurer