Ferron City met on Sept. 25 for their city council meeting. In the public comment period, Jay Dougherty approached the council about bringing a demolition derby to Ferron around May. The council informed Dougherty to come up with a proposal and work out the insurance requirements for the event. Dougherty will need to contact the council and be put on the agenda of a future council meeting for further discussion and approval.
Mayor Trent Jackson received an anonymous letter from a concerned citizen. Mayor Jackson said if a person has a complaint against the city he/she should put their name to the letter and stand behind their comments. Mayor Jackson addressed the complaints in the letter.
Deb Dull and Jesse Barker from PacifiCorp were in attendance with an update about the new power line construction. Ferron experienced power outages last year with the longest outage being 30 hours. New lines and other improvements are being installed to cut down on the outage times in Ferron. Testing on the new lines and feeder line will take place within the next two weeks. The city requested an inventory of the street lights, currently there are 94 street lights in the inventory. Dull discussed the community plan, in which the inventory was requested. PacifiCorp provided trees to the city for Arbor Day. The Christmas light attachments were discussed and need to be in compliance with the new standards. All cities must be in compliance with the new safety standards for Christmas lights attached to power poles.
April Riley requested the council to look at an old tree near her home. The last big storm Riley could hear the tree cracking and worries the tree could fall on a person or a vehicle. The city will look into the matter, but is concerned about the cost of removing the tree. Dull and Barker said they would go look at the tree to see if it poses a threat to any power lines.
Bill Langston updated the council on the possibility of a BMX track near the fairgrounds. Langston gave a rough draft to the council. There is plenty of dirt for the project. He will just need a top layer of road base to put as a top layer. Langston asked if city equipment could be used for the project, which the council said it could. Nielson Construction will let the city use a side dump trailer as long as the fuel is paid for. There are plenty of volunteers to help with the labor of the track. Langston will also look at how close water is to the track to water it down before it is used. The track will be approximately 80 feet by 100 feet. The city will also look at liability. Adele Justice will contact the insurance company on Monday.
The council sent a letter to Tony Hancock in reference to a Nusiance property. Hancock addressed the council and did not think it was adequate time to clean up his property. Hancock was given two months to clean his property. He did not think it was possible to clean up 12 years of accumulation in two months. Hancock also thought the council was singling him out. Councilman Ronny Bloomer said they did not single him out and have sent letters to other residents regarding nusiance properties. When the business license was granted the property was to remain clean and no salvaged vehicles were supposed to be on the property. When the business caught fire several years ago it was discussed again that the property would be kept clean, but it has been neglected for a considerable time. All of the business signs need to be removed from the hotel and restaurant area, which is no longer in business. The council had contacted the lawyer who advised them to have the property cleaned immediately. The city needs to have documentation of all letters they send to property owners in case any legal action is taken. Councilman Bloomer said the coucil has an obligation to the residents of Ferron to keep the city clean, especially since the property is on Main Street and everyone can see it when they drive through town. Councilman Bloomer said the council is always available for questions and is willing to work with Hancock if he attempts to clean up the property.
The city is considering putting a link on their website to pay water bills online. The cost is $75 for setup and $40 a month. It will be a convenience for the citizens who like to pay their bills online. It will save the city money. More residents will pay their bill online if the service is available. Citizens can still come in and pay their water bill at the office. Councilwoman McCall Fuller made a motion to add the bill pay to the website. Councilwoman Vickie Shreve seconded it. All were in favor.
In council reports, Councilwoman Fuller said there will be a movie in the park on Oct. 30. The demolition derby had a good turn out with 23 cars. Next year they need to consider making an advertising poster with all of the events listed instead of individual events.
Councilman Joe Trenary reported the soapbox derby was a success and the cars were more stable. The council will require the soapbox cars to have four wheels for next year. CERT will have a drawing for a 72 hour kit.
Councilwoman Shreve reported, the horse race had a good turn out and thanked Councilman Bloomer for having the track in good condition.
Mayor Jackson reported, the field of flags went well. There were a lot of people at the dinner. They had approximately 800 baked potatoes and very few were left at the end of dinner.
The golf course is in good condition and play has picked up this week.
Some of the sheep panels were borrowed and have not been returned. There needs to be a sign out sheet for the stockshow panels to have accountability for them.
There will be a budget hearing next month.
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