City Council - Regular Meeting

All right. Good evening, everyone. I'm going to call to order tonight, September 8th, 2026, Caldwell City Council meeting. It is 6 p.m. on the dot. Thank you, everyone, for being here. And thank you, council, as always. Tonight is Tuesdays on the Creek. So we're going to try and knock on wood, get through this as fast as we can. We have a lot on agenda, but we should work through it quickly. All right. First on the agenda is going to be the invocation, which will be. Chaplain, if you'd mind coming forward. Chaplain Phil Whitbeck from the Colville Fire Department, thank you for being here. And also we'll follow that up with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Father, once again we come before you with a humble spirit asking for your direction for this meeting tonight. We ask, Lord, that you'd continue to use these, our leaders, to move us in the right direction. I know, Lord, that they have a large task ahead of them, so we just ask for your guidance in their life, I pray, as well as our great city. Bless this time together and use it for your purposes, ultimately, and for the good purpose of our city. We thank you for this day and give it all to your name, in Jesus' name.

Amen. I pledge allegiance to the Father,

As always, thank you, chaplain, for whenever you provide our invocation and your service to the city and the fire department. All right. The next item on the agenda is roll call, Madam Clerk.

Tillman.

Here.

Stoddick. Here. Register. Here. Williams.

Here.

All good. Here. Dittenberg. Here.

All right. Council is fully present. Thank you, Madam Clerk. All right. Next is conflict of interest declaration. Are there any members who have a conflict of interest to declare to anything on tonight's agenda? All right, seeing none. Just so everyone's aware, there is a change on tonight's agenda. So we're going to have case number SPP25-000019 and DEV25-000010 relative to the council's decision to deny the Covington Square Development Agreement modification of the preliminary plot. The takeoff off the agenda will be moved to mediation. All right, next is a special presentation with a proclamation recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month. Do we have anyone present? Before that, since we don't have a representative, I'm just going to read the start, and then we'll end up, just for the future, we'll post this on social media so we can read the entirety of it. So proclamation of Hispanic Heritage Month, whereas the city of Kabul proudly recognize the rich cultural heritage and lasting contributions of the people of the Hispanic heritage, whose diverse background, traditions, and experiences have strengthened our city, state, and nation for generations. We want to encourage all residents to celebrate this rich history of cultures and contributions of people of Hispanic heritage, recognize the important role they continue to play in that life of our community, and participate in activities that promote understanding, appreciation, and unity throughout this month. And once again, I'll read the rest of it, but in the best interest of time. Moving on, and Please look out for social media for that. And we also post those online, by the way. All right, next on the agenda is audience participation, which Madam Clerk has advised none. All right, next on the agenda is approving the consent calendar. These are routine items that are grouped together to be approved in one motion unless the counselor moves for one or more items to be removed from the consent calendar and considered separately. Do I have a motion?

Mr. Mayor.

Madam President.

I move to approve the consent calendar as presented.

Motion. Second. And a second. Madam Clerk. All right. That motion passes. Thank you. Next, we're moving on under old business. There's a discussion update on the Canyon County Jail. We're going to hear from Mr. Steve Pendleton and Robin Collins will have different aspects, so public works and community development. So with that, and just for clarity, we've met a couple times with their staff and one of their elected officials, ongoing discussions. It's been, we've worked through a lot of stuff. It's been some good information that we've worked through and appreciate staff and council that's participated in that too as we move forward for hopefully a resolution at some point. With that, we'll go on to the technical side.

Mayor and Council, I'm Steve Pendleton. I'm the Assistant City Engineer for Caldwell. In the last meeting that we had with the county on the jail, I think that we've come to some kind of an understanding as to the order of the routing of sewer, which will be routed through CHA's property to help serve their jail facility. As far as annexation, I think there's going to be probably an MOU that's probably drafted for annexation out there that's amenable to both parties. And then as far as planned submittals and things like that, the city will oversee all civil infrastructure and plan review, whereas the county will oversee the building permit itself. Obviously, we've got to get with obviously counselor the city attorneys and the county attorney will get together and draft the MOU and what-have-you And come to you know terms and what-have-you so that's probably going to go back and forth a few times yet Before we get to a final resolution that we can present to counsel and what-have-you And just for clarity I've been speaking with ITD the county

Entities and we've looked in an alternate route. I know you guys have been presented 44 through farm way because of the accident that occurred on the exit 26 26 to notice it could be up to two years before we could run sewer Down highway 44 to farm way because it currently is a designated alternative route for that exit so it will not be in anytime soon that we'll be able to Get that through especially with the sheer volume of traffic and an alternate route. They could come up with one, but it'd be Significantly more challenging and more expensive. So it could be one to two years before we can actually even Get any equipment in the ground. So looking at the route that We had evaluated going from the property down through CHA cutting on the south side that would keep them from having to You know get into the road It's just pretty much a straight dig, although there's diagonal changes and direction changes, but it's mostly just dirt the whole way, so it could be a much faster process. They would still have to work with Notice Parma, ITD potentially, and the irrigation company. I can't remember the name of the irrigation company, because there is a little bit of right-of-way right before we get to the street. But other than that, it's definitely a more sensible route, especially if we don't have to wait two years or the county wouldn't have to wait up to two years for that bridge construction to be completed. So with that, any questions for our assistant city engineer? And then we'll move to Director Collins. Councillor Tillman.

Steve, just a quick question. So we are then routing similarly south the way we originally, but instead we're then turning and going west across the south side of CHA? Is that correct? And then that way we're not jack boring underneath the

Yes, we would actually be making the connection into the city's main line in Farmway, which would be routing east and then north, actually, to get into the jail site. So, yes, they would not have to bore underneath the actual irrigation facility that's out there, which makes it a whole lot less expensive. It benefits everybody, I think, at that point. The city doesn't really want to maintain something that deep anyway.

Thank you, Councilor Tillmont. Councilor Stoddart, did you have a question?

Did they say anything about the pond lane site, what they're going to do with it?

I don't recall them actually specifying that at this time. I think that there may be some future negotiations with the city as to what's going to happen with that parcel, but I wasn't. Not to mention at all? No, not really.

All right, thank you. Yeah, just, Councilor Sadak, I'm not sure what exactly they would do other than I believe there's going to be an interest to sell it, but that'll be up to them as far as when. But it is a good highway front property. Thank you, Councilor Stoddart. All right, Director Collins.

Mayor and council members, I was just going to add a little bit to what the assistant city engineer stated where, you know, we talked about both options. We talked about a municipal services agreement. We talked about annexation. We talked about the option of like an interagency agreement. Um, the county was more amenable to, um, inter-agency agreement, um, at this time, but with, um, the caveat that they would be willing to annex and they would do that as each building is completed and has a CFO. Um, so there's multiple buildings out there for different agency, um, services. So they would do that as those buildings have a certificate of occupancy. And a lot of the main reason for that is they really wanted to go through You know counties build jails is like they said and they wanted to take that process the building permits and everything through the county And so that was kind of the agreement we came up with at the end to present to council Was that everybody felt comfortable? with being able to move this project along by allowing potentially that MOU if council was comfortable with that. Did I miss anything else? And then I did bring up the map in case we wanted to see. If I recall, Steve, correct me if I'm wrong, I think the line is supposed to come down and then come around this way of sorts. Correct. The sewer line.

Yes, that way it'll avoid the most pretty much almost all tariff of any asphalt or other infrastructure and such they can just dig straight through and get hooked up in a timely manner and keep in mind just just understand to a council that we haven't made any agreements obviously this would be brought before you for review before any decision was made what we did have a good productive conversation and it was nice to be you know in that spot instead of And in our wills. So with that, do we have any other questions from council on this old business item? Councillor Dittenberg.

Mr. Mayor, just so everybody knows, that green line down the east side of Farmway Village to a certain point to the southern end of the property, then heading from east to west, where that green line ends at the west border is the exact manhole where the existing jack and bore and inverted siphon that goes under the canal is. So that would be the pretty much anticipated route of the sewer line from the county property through CHA's property.

Thank you, Councillor Dittenberg. And once again, this is after looking at several routes and if we didn't have the alternate route, ITD would be a different situation, but with this, it's the most sensible at this time. So any other questions? All right. And just so we know, it's not a decision item tonight. It's just an action item. It's just an update. With that, now we're going to move on to new business. And first, we're going to consider action item number one, considering ordinance updating city code provisions for the city treasurer finance director. Michelle, would you like to please come up? Michelle Castleberry, our new, sorry, current city treasurer, is going to discuss these changes with council.

Hello, council, mayor. So with the transition of the previous finance director leaving, I discussed with you guys and with the attorneys a proposition to combine the finance director position with the treasurer position. Two main reasons for this is to provide clearer staff oversight. Currently having two leads in a department has created a little bit of confusion with training with cross training who is responsible for training who on what when a lot of the functions kind of cross between some of the staff as well as personnel issues and I think that it would provide a clear staff oversight to just have one individual be over the entire department and clear up some of those issues the other the other reason was to create better financial alignment the new proposed position treasurer slash finance director would have their hands in overseeing the audit as well as the budget and tying those two pieces together between what we're planning and budgeting and what's actually happening provides better outlook and reduces risk of gaps in oversight that could potentially occur. So those are the two things that, two reasons why I felt it would be appropriate to combine the positions I think With that, the benefits would include a clear chain of command, stronger staff development, improved accountability, better audit oversight, and more effective coordination for the team as a whole. The current structure looks like this with the utility billing and the treasury staff functions under the treasurer and the finance director overseeing procurement and budget. The new proposed, that's not coming through quite right. I don't know why that's, there we go. This would be the new structure. It would have the finance director at the top with four main areas, one being the treasury functions, one being the utility billing functions, and then procurement and budget. And then there would be personnel underneath those four chains the city grows so that's my proposal tonight and we did have to do some modifications to city code legislatively you have to have a treasurer and certain clauses within code to identify those specific Treasury roles and so we combine the two positions within code and made a few changes removing one section completely related to the finance director and then taking a piece of what was on the finance director position Code into the Treasury code and then renaming it.

So Do that that's all I have and I'll follow up with any questions Thank You counselor all good I don't have a question but counselor Tillman and I sit on the Finance Committee and We we had a finance meeting last week in which our auditor from I'd Bailey was president present And I had the opportunity to ask them how they felt about this setup and if they had any issues with or concerns with this change. And they said they were fine with it. They felt like with a controller in place, we would have the oversight or a second set of eyes, whatever is needed. And so going forward, our auditors feel like this is a fine change.

Thank you, Councillor, for that information. Councillor Allgood, and I appreciate you asking that. And obviously, we have great confidence in this move. With that, Councillor Tillman.

Just a quick question. This ordinance is actually not just repealing, it's also replacing code, correct?

That's correct.

Okay. Well just because of the cheat sheet. So I wanted to make sure. Um, so with that I will sponsor bill 36 ordinance three seven seven zero repealing city code title three chapter 15 pertaining to the city treasurer and replacing with a new chapter on city treasurer finance director.

All right, we have a motion. Second. Motion is second. Any discussion on that motion? Councillor Dinberg?

Mr. Mayor, thank you. I will vote in favor of this in large part because I have great faith in my fellow council members here. But I am always concerned when we take more eyes off of something and go with fewer eyes, especially when our city is growing. We have extreme scrutiny about what we're doing. And it just seems disingenuous that we would say fewer eyes makes better sense than more eyes. I know you have a plan for reorganization and different people looking at it. I just think there's some inherent risk and we ought to just be aware of that. So that's all my concerns.

Any other discussion? All right, Madam Clerk. All right, that motion carries. I believe we're going to have a follow-up next meeting to this. Yes, because we have to publish it, just so council's aware. Next item on the agenda is considering approval of the 2026 through 2029 collective labor agreement between the City of Caldwell and the Caldwell Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 1056. First going to hear from Fire Chief Daniels and then Colby Curves on behalf of the union. Just before we start, I want to say, you know, as prior to being mayor for several years, I got to work with the fire department, seeing them do amazing things out there. We have well-trained, skilled firefighters that go out on every day servicing our city and the surrounding areas. You guys perform to the max. I'm very impressed. Now getting to serve as mayor, it's been glorious to get to see what you do each and every day to understand the depth, all that you have to go through. So as we enter this discussion, I just want to say hats off to each and every one of you for all the great things you do. There's a lot of time, energy, and effort that you guys put in, and gals, and we just want to Say thank you for that. So with that, I'll turn it over to your chief.

Thank you, Mayor, Council. I prepared a statement, and I'll just refer to this as I go through. But before President Kerbs, I call him Captain Kerbs. He is one of our truck captains. He's also the union president. Before he speaks, I just want to share my perspective on this agreement and the work that was taken to get us here. First, I want to thank Councilman Dittenberg. His assistance throughout these negotiations his experience and involvement throughout the process was extremely valuable I sincerely appreciate you being at the table representing the city It was I've been through part of the labor negotiations for several cities and several organizations. This will have been my third contract presented to city council. This one felt pretty easy to me. I think it goes to speak about our relationships with our labor group and our city councilors. So thank you very much, sir, for being there. I also want to recognize President Kerbs and the local 1056 negotiations team. they showed up they came to the table prepared they understood the situations that the city was in both financially and logistically and we're they were able to make some meaningful concessions and it wasn't just about dollars it was about how we can become a more efficient mission-driven organization, and they really recognized some of those things. They brought things to the table that we didn't think of, quite frankly. They agreed to eliminate and restructure several existing compensation plans or provisions so we could redirect those resources to, I guess, more competing priorities. We spent a lot of time evaluating compensation throughout the Treasure Valley. This includes cities like Boise and Meridian, who are way outside of our market, but Eagle, CUNA, Nampa, Middleton, and Star in our direct market. Our goal wasn't to be the top paid. Especially in the Canyon County area. It was to be competitive. It was to be average And and we did that it was never to lead the Treasure Valley in compensation. I would love that Really I would but understanding there's only so many dollars Our goal was to stay competitive because we know what the high cost of turnover really is just to bring one firefighter on board costs around $25,000 That's a lot of money to invest in one year, and throughout the duration of their career, the cost goes up exponentially. Compensation wasn't the only thing we evaluated, nor is it the only thing that people look at when they want to come work for Caldwell Fire. In recent years, we have not lost any personnel to neighboring fire departments or districts. That used to be something that plagued the city of Caldwell. that we were the training grounds and this was the stepping stone. Again, with the high degree of turnover, the high cost of turnover, I should say. That was something that we have invested in for the past few years. And I think really that says a great deal about who we are as the Caldwell Fire Department today. People are looking at more than a paycheck. They are looking for an organization where they can build a career. We have a strong commitment to our personnel's health and safety. President Kerbs will talk about some of the initiatives embedded in this contract that are, yes, they're very good for our firefighters, but they're excellent for the city, and they're excellent benefits to make sure that they have a long, healthy career with the city. When we talk about mental health and wellness, the physical health as well of our people really matters. wrap it up with this whether our personnel were represented by a union or not i would support everything in this contract i would support i wish we could pay them more but i would support their wages i support the appropriate compensation i support appropriate staffing that we've achieved physical and mental health professional development the resources necessary for them to have a long career with the city and i think that this agreement continues that investment We've strengthened our health and wellness program and functional movement screenings and made those things mandatory as opposed to being optional. We improved the grievance process, which can be a process, quite honestly. We eliminated the politics from it. We eliminated city council from being part of that grievance process. And we did that on purpose. It gives me, as the department head, some flexibility. It gives me the ability to lead and manage and direct that process to change the organization. And I think it creates some clear responsibility for me, as well as our members. And really, that describes this agreement. It's relationship-based. And we've worked really hard to get there. I believe this is a great contract. It keeps us competitive. We made it work within the budget. We, again, didn't chase just dollars as far as being the highest paid fire department in the Treasure Valley or even in Canyon County. We wanted to stay competitive. We achieved that. And with that, I'm proud to support this agreement. I'm proud to support our personnel. As your fire chief, I wouldn't have imagined the relationship I would have with our labor union right now. We are lockstep in communications and the direction of this organization. I'm proud to stand behind them, in front of them, and right next to them. So with that, I'll turn it over to President Kerbs and Local 1056. Thank you.

Mr. Mayor, members of the council, uh, again, my name is Colby curbs. I am local 10 56, uh, union president. Um, you have to bear with me. Uh, so I don't ramble. I've got myself some stuff written down here to keep me on track, you know, and I want to start, um, more to kind of give you a history a little bit about the union and really what we stand for and what we do as a membership. So before I get into anything about the negotiations, I believe it's important to explain who we are, what our responsibility is, and how we've arrived to the agreement before you guys today. Local 1056 is an affiliate of the Professional Firefighters of Idaho and the International Association of Firefighters of Chapters. Those organizations give us a larger voice while allowing us to advocate for the specific needs of our members, our department, and our community. At its core, our responsibility as a union is to protect and advance the interests of the firefighters that we represent. That includes wages, hours, working conditions, health and safety, appropriate staffing, and the standards necessary for our members to safely perform their jobs. But our responsibility doesn't stop with just the membership. We recognize that every decision made with our contract also affects the fire department, the city's budget, and ultimately the community that we serve. That understanding has shaped the way that Local 1056 has approached labor management relations over the past several years. And I can tell you that I'm creeping up. Today isn't. Here in the next few days, I'll be reaching my 12th year as an employee of the city of Caldwell. Since I've been hired, I'm a part of the labor organization e-board to vice president to where I've been for the last four years as the union president. And I've seen the growth that we've had, you know, being able to work with multiple, not just city administrations, but work with multiple fire administrations as well. So I want to talk a little bit about the collaboration and what the union has done with these administrations, uh, to progress, uh, not just the department, but the city. So when the people hear the word union, you know, we like to believe that they primarily think about negotiations and all we do is want to fight for more money, but collective bargaining is much broader than that. Over the past five years, local 10 56 has repeatedly worked with the fire chief and the department to identify problems and develop solutions that both address the needs of our members and the financial and operational needs of the department itself. And I want to talk a little bit about some of those areas. So in 2022, the union negotiated, uh, in our contract, the use of comp time is an alternative route for overtime. At that time, it gave the department another tool to manage overtime expenses while giving our memberships flexibility in how they were compensated. In 2023, we took another step, and we negotiated an agreement limiting how many of the ranks, captain and battalion chief and drivers, to how many we allowed off duty every day. The purpose was pretty straightforward. We looked at what was generating the overtime and creating an expenditure on the department's budget in the city And by doing the negotiations, we were able to reduce the overtime generated while still maintaining the department's operational needs. After we agreed to that originally, we then renegotiated the following year and continuing to work through the issue, it became permanent as part of this year's contract. We also worked with the department regarding vacancies. In 2023, Rather than automatically refilling vacant firefighter positions, the union identified where overtime was being spent the most in the department's budget. We were able to negotiate, instead of hiring three new firefighters, that the department promote three additional captains. And at that time it came with a small financial impact, but the projected overtime budget was looking at saving more than $300,000 a year. So those are just some important examples because they demonstrate how we as a local approach the relationship, not just with our fire chief and his administration, but with the city. We're simply just not sitting across the table from the city, looking for ways to increase the costs. We're willing to sit at the table, understand the problems facing the department, examine the numbers and find solutions. We understand the city's responsibility to operate within its budget. At the same time, the city and the fire department must recognize the responsibility we have to maintain safe staffing, appropriate work conditions and healthy and a healthy workplace. And the level of service that our communities serve or community members deserve. Those responsibilities don't have to come or be in conflict. In fact, when labor management work together, when labor and management work together, they become more mutually reinforcing. And that has been the approach the local has taken and brought into the 2026 negotiations. So now I'm going to step into 2026 negotiations. Um, and I'll tell you right off the bat, this year's negotiations weren't simply about wages. You know, we had a lot of success and a lot of big wins that were much larger than anything financially that we, we got, you know, when we looked at this initially, we looked at how do we build a stronger, healthier, more competitive and more sustainable fire department while being responsible with the city's resources. That one question led and shaped negotiations for us. When we talk about big wins, and like the chief had mentioned, you know, some of our biggest wins came in the health and safety area of our contract. One of those, so as you all know, our members perform physically demanding work or work in physically demanding work environments that most people never experience. Maintaining physical fitness and mental readiness of our firefighters is therefore not simply an employee benefit, it's an operational necessity. This year, Local 1056 negotiated a formal health and wellness program that included mandatory physical fitness time during the shift. That provision recognizes that physical fitness readiness is directly connected to the firefighter's ability to safely perform the job. We also negotiated an annual requirement for the functional movement screening, or known as FMS. And so everybody understands what the FMS program is. It's a screening that we do every year that helps identify areas that potentially could lead to work-related injuries. Before this was not a mandatory requirement. This was just an optional participation. This year, it became a mandatory requirement. So the purpose, as I stated, is identifying movement deficiencies or physical limitations before they become injuries. For the firefighter, it can mean identifying a problem before it becomes a career-impacting injury. For the department, preventing injuries can mean fewer lost work hours, less overtime required to backfill injured employees, lower work and compensation exposure, and less operational disruption. That makes health and wellness more than an investment in just an individual firefighter. It's an investment in the department. And perhaps the most significant health and safety accomplishment in the negotiations was addressing an issue that's historically been difficult to discuss in the fire service, and that is mental health. Local 1056 negotiated an annual requirement for our members to meet with a mental health professional at least once a year. Firefighters routinely experience tragedy, injury, death, and crisis, and we respond to those events, return to the station, and expect to be ready for the next call. On some occasions, we experience all three of those multiple times a day. or a handful of times throughout a shift. We believe we should not wait until a firefighter reaches a crisis before mental health becomes a priority. An annual professional visit helps normalize mental health care and makes preventative care part of the culture of the department. Ultimately, health and safety means more than simply getting a firefighter home safely at the end of the shift. It means keeping our firefighters physically capable, mentally prepared, and able to safely perform this job throughout their careers. That benefits the firefighter, it benefits the department, and it benefits the community as a whole. Now the other major component of negotiations is compensation. Much of the work happened and I'll tell you that most as negotiations work, most of the work happens before we even start negotiating. This year, local 10 56 took a collaborative approach, uh, to understanding the city's financial position. We worked directly with the city of cobbles finance director to establish a starting point and better understand the city's financial position or what the city anticipated to bring to negotiations. That allowed us to enter negotiations with a realistic understanding of the city's financial circumstances rather than negotiating without regard to the city's budget. From there, the union took a broader look at the fire department's budget and examined the portions of our contract that directly affected the departments financially. And then we asked ourselves, are there existing dollars within our agreement that could be used differently? The answer was yes. Our goal was not to simply approach the city and ask for additional money. Our goal was to look at our look within our existing agreement and determine whether resources could be restructured and used more effectively. Examples of what we did or what we brought to negotiations was to remove a $200 safety incentive associated with the functional movement screening. And now that that was mandatory, it was no longer needed that we compensated our members to do something optionally. We also examined the working out of class compensation. We identified an opportunity to restructure that program so that members are compensated for working out of class when they're actually scheduled and assigned to perform those duties, rather than creating unnecessary costs outside of those scheduled assignments. And so you all know that we used to get it no matter what. It was a base rate increase, and you just got paid it if you were doing the job or not. So this better aligns compensation with actual operational needs. We also evaluated the certification pay Through that process, multiple categories of certification pay that members could previously qualify to receive were eliminated. Those decisions were not made independently. They were part of a larger strategy. We looked at the dollars already allocated to the fire department, identified areas where those dollars could be used more effectively, and redirected those resources toward priorities that benefit both the department and our members. So one of our priorities was ensuring that the Kabul firefighters remain competitive within the Treasure Valley. Competitive wages are directly connected to recruitment and retention. When experienced firefighters leave a department, the cost is not simply the salary associated with that vacated position. There are costs associated with recruiting, hiring, training, onboarding, the overtime, and developing a replacement for an experienced employee, and not to mention the equipment costs. Retention, therefore, has a financial value to the department. Our approach is to examine our Our approach was to examine our own agreement first. We identified areas where existing contractual dollars could be reduced or restructured. We then used those opportunities to create room to strengthen the wage structure. That distinction matters. Local 1056 came to these negotiations prepared. We understood the city's financial position. We examined our own agreement, and we identified areas where expenses could be reduced, eliminated, or restructured. And we use those discussions to pursue wages that help keep the fire department or our membership competitive within the valley. That is responsible collective bargaining. It is advocating for our members while recognizing the dollars negotiated ultimately come from the same city budget that funds a police department and many other services provided to this community. And looking forward, it doesn't just stop with the negotiations now, now that it's over. We're going to continue to work on strengthening what we have. There's always going to be disagreements between labor and management. That's just part of collective bargaining. The important question is not whether we will disagree. The important question is what we do when we disagree. Do we stop communicating, or do we sit down, look at the numbers, understand each other's position, identify areas where both sides can move forward and find a solution? Local 1056 believes the second approach is one that builds a strong organization. That approach has produced results. Over the past several years, we have seen tremendous success in retaining our employees and building a department where firefighters want to build their careers. We have continued to build a culture that can rival some of the best fire department cultures anywhere. And that doesn't just happen by accident. It happens because the administration and the membership are willing to work together. And it happens because we understand that a strong fire department is built on its people. So Local 1056 will continue to put the health and safety of our members at the forefront but we also recognize that health and safety is an ongoing process. As we move forward, we will look forward to continuing the work with the fire chief and his administration to development and implement fit for duty requirements for the department as a whole. Our goal is not to create requirements simply for the sake of creating them. Our goal is to build a comprehensive approach that keeps our members healthy, physically capable, and mentally prepared, and able to safely perform these duties as we ask them to perform. When we combine that commitment to health and safety responsible budgeting competitive wages strong retention and a healthy organizational culture we create something much bigger than a successful contract we create a sustainable fire department and a sustainable fire department benefits everyone it benefits the members it benefits the fire chief and his administration it benefits this city and most importantly it benefits the community we all have a responsibility to serve so in closing I want to thank the city and all of the city representatives who participated in this year's negotiations. This was one of the most collaborative negotiation processes that I have been part of. Uh, there was a willingness on both sides to listen, understand the issues, look at the numbers and find solutions rather than simply focus on our differences. That doesn't mean we agreed on everything. It means we are willing to work through those differences. And I believe this agreement we reached reflects all of that hard work on behalf of local 10 56. Thank you to the fire chief, his administration and all the city representatives and everyone who participated in the process. We look forward to continuing this partnership and we look forward to continuing to improve the department. And we look forward to continuing to build a department that our members are proud to call home and that our community can be proud to rely on. So thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you, chief questions from council. Councilor Denver.

Thank You mr. Mayor President curbs thank you very much I got to tell you this is the second negotiation I've been involved in and having some familiarity with negotiations previously you guys did a really good job for the for my fellow members of council this process took about a three-month period we met every two weeks for about four hours and maybe four and a half hours, and there are 32 different articles of the contract. And you deliberately and very professionally went through each of those articles. And one of the things that is important to note, that we talked about salary on day one, and we didn't talk about salary again until the very last day. That's because President Kerbs is correct. Uh, the main focus of what they brought to the table was how do we make our department healthier? How do we put things in place to have more people on trucks and more people in firehouses? And, uh, in the process of doing that, how do we eliminate the waste in the department? And they, at every turn and at every meeting came forth with a recommendation on how they can save the city money. So there was never an eye towards how much can we get. There was a clear spirit of cooperation. A negotiation takes a long time. You excuse yourselves when we chat, and you chat when you've excused yourselves. And many times during those negotiations, I can tell you that the union forced us to change the way we think. And it made us reflect on the dialogue that we've had historically. And that is a testament to the cooperation. Chief Daniels did a remarkable job. We met in caucus before we met with you, and he was pretty much on target about where it is you were coming from. And in very rare, very few cases, were we surprised. Kudos to you and and the chief and the communication that you've had because I do think that what happened this year was about Improving the quality of the firefighter was about getting more people in trucks and more people in firehouses and how do we have the the the most limited impact fiscally to the city and so I Appreciate your efforts Chief, I appreciate your efforts, and I'm glad we've concluded at this point.

Thank you, Councillor Dittenberg. Anything else from Council? Councillor Allgood.

Mr. Mayor, I move that we approve the 2026 through 2029 collective labor agreement between the City of Caldwell and And the Caldwell Professional Firefighters, IFF Local 1056.

All right. That's the motion. Any from Councilor Allgood? Second from Councilor Dittenberg. Any discussion on that motion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk. All right. That motion carries. Thank you to Daniels and President Gers. We appreciate it. And our firefighters that stayed Thank you. The next item is a resolution authorizing the execution of a subrecipient agreement between the City of Caldwell and Advocates Against Family Violence for a Community Development Block Grant, CDBG, award in the amount of $111,000. Staff want to make any comments?

Yes, Mayor and Council, Joanna's going to present that. I just wanted to make one note. The resolution is correct, but on the agenda that should be $115,000 instead of $111,000.

All right, we'll correct it to $115,000.

Thank you.

$115,000, just take note. Those listening in, it does say $111,000, but Director Collins has updated to $115,000.

Good evening, Council, Mayor, Joanna Bartrop. CDBG program manager, city of Caldwell. The staff is requesting city council approval to award the community development block grant funds for advocates against family violence, for energy efficiency improvements at the shelter in the amount of $115,000. Many of the shelter's existing windows are original to the building and have deteriorated over time resulting in drafts, reduced energy efficiency, increased maintenance costs, and privacy and security concerns. Several screens are damaged and are no longer functionable, limiting ventilation and reducing the comfort of the residents. In addition, sections of the exterior soffit and fascia need repair due to age and wear, creating ongoing maintenance issues and potential structural concerns. Soffit and fascia repairs are necessary to restore the integrity of the building envelope attic ventilation system. Damaged soffits have impaired proper air flows within the attic, contributing to increased heat buildup and reduced energy efficiency. The proposed repairs will restore ventilation help regulate interior temperatures, reduce strain on the heating and cooling equipment, and improve the overall energy performance of the facility. The proposed project is consistent with the city's adopted CDBG annual action plan and the five-year consolidated plan. If approved, the city will enter into a formal agreement with the advocates against family violence and a separate agreement with the contractor who will be performing the work. The subrecipients contractor will be responsible for carrying out all the approved project in accordance with any agreements and all applicable federal requirements. The city will retain responsibility for monitoring the subrecipients contractor and ensuring that CDBG funds are administered in accordance with HUD requirements. And I'll stand for any questions.

Thank you. Questions from council? All right. I did have a recent opportunity to tour. So that was a great opportunity and I definitely see where they can need this. Very heavily so with that do I motion?

Mr.. Mayor madam president um I move that we consider a resolution authorizing the execution of a sub recipient agreement between the city of Caldwell and advocates against family violence for a community development block grant award in the amount of 115,000

All right, there's a motion and a second from Councillor Dittenberger. All right, do you guys want to arm wrestle over it? Just kidding. All right, do we have any discussion on that motion? All right, seeing none, Madam Clerk. All right, that motion carries. Next, obviously item number four, Was moved. Action items number five, six, and seven related to a vacation right away at South 6th Avenue and Main Street.

We have moved that to October 19th at a request of... Mr. Mayor, I believe Director Torres is going to explain to the council what it is and then ask for a motion for a continuation. All right, that works.

Mayor and council. Yes, we'd like to postpone this to October 19th, the reason being is this is in conjunction with the RFP that is out by the urban rental agency. By the October 19th, we'll have a clear direction from the agency on who they will have awarded, potentially awarded the contract to. We're also working with both our city attorney and the URA attorney with some language to ensure that the property, if not needed, can be reverted back to the city or if not all of the property is needed for the proposed Our hotel will remain in the city's hands. Are there any questions?

Any questions? Councillor Dittenberg.

Mr. Mayor, I make a motion to continue items number five, six, and seven on tonight's agenda to a date certain of October 19th, 2026. All right. Thank you for that motion. Do we have a second?

Motion to second. Councillor Tillmott, any discussion on that motion? I see none, Madam Clerk. All right, that motion carries. The next agenda item is reconsidering, sorry, considering resolution 237-26, authorizing the execution of a professional services agreement, Barry, Dunn, McNeil, and Parker, LLC, for $124,000. $997 of impact fee funds to complete a comprehensive parks, recreation pathways, and open space master plan.

Dr. Collins.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Robin Collins, Community Development Director. We're pleased to finally bring this before council for consideration. It's been a long process with this master plan. We did advertise. We had eight responses. All of them were actually from out of state except for one. The one that was local exceeded the budget by $100,000. So we did have a committee that reviewed the top three firms. We selected Berry, Dunn, McNeil, and Parker because they seem to have the most experience specifically with park plans. And they have also worked locally. They did the City of Meridian Parks and Rec Master Plan, the City of Nampa Parks and Rec Master Plan, and the Ada County Parks and Waterways Master Plan. So they are partnering locally with Brecken Land Design, which is based here in the Treasure Valley. So this proposal is before you for consideration. The timeline on this is they're hoping to have it completed and done and ready for council's approval and adoption of that master plan by the end of 2027.

Thank you, Director Collins. Councilor Dentonburg.

Mr.. Mayor, thank you director Collins. I have a question for you with regards to the hundred twenty four Thousand dollars it says of impact fee funds, so I would take it that the Studies being paid for out of impact fees that go to parks But because it's part of the comprehensive plan or could be part of the comprehensive plan planning and zoning takes the lead on it Is that the correct assumption?

Mayor and council we just offered to the parks and rec department to go ahead and take the lead because we've done these types of RFPs for the master plan But yes, also because it has a direct tie-in with the comprehensive plan and we've already done Some of that legwork already We took the lead on it, but definitely with the parks and rec director alongside us with all the collaboration and communication Thank you Thank You councillor Dittenberg anything else from

Council. Councilor Allgood.

Would you tell us again what date they'll be completed by?

The estimated timeline is the end of 2027.

That seems like a really long time.

Mayor and Council, actually for a master plan, it's not. Master plans usually can take anywhere from 12 months up to two years, depending on it. I think the problem with this one is we have, we don't have a master plan for the, it's not an update. It's like a brand new master plan. Um, so they're kind of starting from scratch. We don't even have any GIS data on our parks and trails. And so it's not just parks, it's trails and open space through the entire city as well.

And what is the expected lifespan of this master plan?

It would be like any other master plan. We would expect it to go out to at least 30 years.

Okay. That makes more sense. Yeah. Yeah. That's better.

Thank you, Councilor. All good. Anything else from Council? All right. Do we have a motion? Councilor Williams.

Mayor, before I'll make the motion, but we do have a pathways plan. This is just much bigger than that, right? Because we've Referred to that even in how it overlaps with your department in parks and rec but that no doubt will be part of the Beginnings even though this might be much bigger than that Mayor councilman Williams.

We do have a master plan that we've been going off of It's a little confusing because we actually have two different Pathway master plans that were adopted and they don't tie together at all So we've had to revise some of our codes to tie with the most The master plan that we use the most correct But I could tell you that in the past a lot of that master plan Was not necessarily put down in writing like so we had the plan but like all the public pathways they were never mapped anywhere so we have Pretty much no idea where our public pathways are except for the ones that parks and rec actually maintains And so I think a lot of it is finding out what we already existing That we already have existing in the community. That's what's going to take them the longest I think If that makes sense it does it doesn't thank you for that addition with that.

Mr. Mayor if I could I I would move to approve resolution 237 26 authorizing the execution of the professional services agreement for a buried gun money Alan Parker For one hundred and twenty four thousand nine hundred ninety seven of impact fee funds to complete a comprehensive parks recreation pathways and open space master plan Thank You councilor Williams for that motion.

Do we have a second? Motion from a second from councillor Dittenberg any discussion on that motion Seeing none madam clerk All right, that motion carries. The next agenda item considers approving a resolution authorizing the use of available contingency funds for qualifying unplanned emergency-related wages incurred during FY 2026. Staff. Madam Treasurer.

Hello again. Thank you. This resolution that's coming to you tonight was a proposal And an ask to use contingency funds for some protests that were That occurred and required some police services during our 2027 budget discussions we identified Increasing a little bit of our contingency fund to allow for future funds to be used for emergencies and specifically in relation to the police department and then having their needs for security services and things like that related to protests. Those are things that we cannot plan for. They are emergency related and therefore qualify for use of contingency funds. And so this is an ask for several events, protest events that occurred throughout the year. For the police department and it's the the wages time and money spent on the wages and the overtime related to those specific events for the current fiscal year 2026 With that I'll stand for questions Thank you, sir.

Williams.

Thank you. Mr. Mayor Rochelle again. Thanks for all you do What will we still be at that? percentage balance of our contingency fund and

We've wished to stay at yes, that is that is a separate That is a separate that's the the fund balance I believe you're referring to and then our reserve that we hold on to that that is separate than the contingency Amount that I'm referring to so every year within our budget. We do Actually budget for a certain amount to be used with current existing revenues I think this year was two hundred and fifty thousand So that is there for emergency purposes And I think we used it a month ago or so for equipment much needed equipment repairs that were needed for the police department as well because a unit failed unexpectedly and Those were approved and so that is something that's plugged into the budget to use current year revenue the the reserve that we set aside for intact through our savings that is not current year revenue Budgeted funds received and so that will stay wholly intact If you run short, I would recommend just taking out of sergeant Cooper's swap budget Thank You council Williams anything else from council and Just for councils awareness if you recall I believe we increase this just

Kind of in preparation, hopefully we don't have to use any penny, but next year, correct?

Yes, it was increased in the 2027 budget with anticipation of being able to provide use of that if there are further events that are unplanned related to protests or any other kind of emergency related events that require police staff time and overtime. Their budget's really tight right now. And so when these events occur, it is not currently

there and that's what the contingency is it was increased for thank you comes Williams mr. mayor I move to approve resolution authorizing the use of available contingency funds for qualifying unplanned emergency related wages incurred during fiscal year 2026 thank you motion from your counselor Williams and a second from councillor Toma any discussion seeing none madam clerk

The motion carries. All right, moving on to the next agenda item is to ratify the installation of a security fence. The Caldwell Police Department ranged by a meridian fence in the amount of $44,478. I'd like to welcome Sergeant Jesse Cooper, who will be representing on this.

Just click here. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and Council. Yes, again, I am here requesting some money. First of all, I'd like to thank Treasurer Castleberry. Thank you for all the help and the questions that I had, as well as thank the Caldwell Fire Department, Deputy Chief Shoup, Chief Ritchie, and Captain McIntosh for the help on this and the collaboration that we've come together for the training facility out at the range. So I am here today presenting a ratification request for funding at the Caldwell Police Shooting Range and the Public Safety Training Center fencing. we're taking advantage of an opportunity to complete this work in conjunction with the caldwell fire department's fencing project that's already occurring at the site currently the fire department has funds that need to be spent before fiscal year 2026 end while the police department is in need of funds a few weeks early funds that were projected for use in the fiscal year 2027. this project is for new fencing around the caldwell police shooting range With the training center construction that is still going, the entire south fence had to be removed due to septic and electrical installation for the new building. Also, a section of the west fence had to be removed due to the ongoing construction, ensuring that we had a working entry and exit for the shooting range. In addition, with the newly acquired land to the north, new fencing is needed for the new ranges that are in the north end of the complex. This fencing is crucial for several things. First being that this training complex is used by numerous agencies. The police department and the fire department are attempting to ensure that we do not have training accidents at the complex with the fencing being a physical barrier between the training areas. Second, we're in need of a fence to secure the police property that is housed at the shooting range, let alone the storage facilities for ammunition and the explosives magazine for the explosive breaching cadre. Third, this facility is not manned during business hours, and its use is by approval and scheduling through the police department. This fence is crucial in showing a reasonable person that the facility is closed for use outside of approved times. It is currently scheduled for, or excuse me, the building and whole training facilities scheduled for potential use and occupancy, hopefully October 2026. With this ratification, we are hoping to stay on schedule and have this facility, which is many years in the making, usable to first responders here in the city of Caldwell, Canyon County, and beyond. I thank you for your time. I stand before you for questions.

Thank you for the presentation, and we look forward to this great training facility. If you haven't had the chance, please head out there to council, check it out. But with that, any questions from council? Councilor Hogan.

Mr. Mayor, I move to ratify and approve the installation of a security fence at the Caldwell Police Department firing range by Meridian Fence in the amount of $44,478. All right, we have a motion.

Second. And a second from Madam President. Any discussion on that motion? All right, Madam Clerk. That motion carries, thank you appreciate your service Next item next agenda items are two annexations into the call municipal irrigation district including Huntington Ridge East subdivision phase 2 and Maverick fuel station 808 speed Parkway Questions or do I have a motion?

Mr.. Mayor councillor Tillman I'll sponsor Bill 38, Ordinance 3772, and Bill 39, Ordinance Annexing Property into Caldwell Municipal Irrigation District.

All right. Second. And a second from Councilor Stoddart. Any discussion on that motion? All right. Madam Clerk. All right, that motion carries. Thank you. The next agenda item is considering a resolution declaring city-owned real property to be sold to the Canyon County Ambulance District. Mr. City Attorney.

Good evening. Chief Stolwell is here from the Canyon County Ambulance District to talk about the project, which I believe is going to be a great benefit to the city. I just want to give a framework for the legal procedure in which we're engaging in this, and then I want to get out of the way. So this is the step one of a two-step process. It's in conveying real property of approximately 1.5 acres From the city to the Canyon County Ambulance District and if you can see on the screen here It's kind of hard to tell but this property is located in the northeastern corner of Eustick Park so to the north is used to grow to the east is Oregon and Avenue street. I can't remember if it's out. Is it Avenue? To the, to the West is fire station number two and to the South is used to park. So this, this is what the property will be that that's looking to be conveyed. Tonight's first step in the process is for the council to do two things. One it's to make a declaration of the value to be received for this real property. And the other one is to declare the property is underutilized. The value that has been agreed upon by staff and is in front of the council for an approval is $13 per square foot. The property is approximately 1.48 acres. The survey as of right now is still in draft and hasn't yet been finalized but will be done before we go into step two. So that's approximately or would pencil out to $838,094.40 in overall value. The current utter utilization of the property is that the park is far away from the ballparks. We don't think that this area of the park actually gets used very much or to the best purpose that it could be. So that's why we're asking the council to make that declaration. The second step that will happen is after a notice period, when the survey is finalized, there'll be a notice provision. There'll be a public hearing before the council for an ordinance to go in place to be able to convey the property ultimately. There will be across the south of the fire station. There's a little bit of a dog leg there, a panhandle more than a dog leg. It's about, I think, 25 feet wide will be a cross-access easement that will go in to be able to allow the fire department and the ambulance district to be able to access the property from the backside. And I don't want to speak too much I think chief Stilwell and chief Daniels is here they can probably talk about the functionality and the the benefit of having The ambulance district being able to have a station there right next to our fire station the last thing that I'll mention before I sit down is that we do have in the resolution before you that the property will have a restriction that will be used for government purpose in the future and that that purpose will be will not interfere with the use and enjoyment of you stick Park and So if there aren't any questions for me, I'll stand down and let Chief Stilwell present to the council.

Councillor Dittmar.

Mr. Mayor, Oscar, thank you very much for the information, but I have a question here. So are we in this resolution just declaring the property surplus, or are we also in the process of declaring it surplus also assigning a value to it?

Mr. Mayor, Councillor Dittmar, both. So it's not surplus, it's just a declaration of underutilization of the land to transfer the real property. So there's that declaration, and then there's also needs to be, we also need to declare what that real value will be that the city is going to receive for the real property, which the agreed upon price with staff that we present to the council is that $13 a square foot.

Does that happen at a different time? Because I don't see anything on my little cheat sheet here that has any sort of property valuation for that process this evening.

Mr. Mayor councillor didn't burr in the resolution itself. It does outline the resolution resolution resolution is passed the the square footage is included along with the pricing and The approximate area of the land is to be conveyed.

Okay.

Thank you Okay, I'll sit down let the exciting part happen Just real quick.

Thank you both cheese for being here tonight, especially our great community partners, Kenney County paramedics We were approached about this several months ago, and it was a no-brainer. I mean, obviously, it's up to council to make this decision, but they'll present probably what they presented to me, and this is a great win for Caldwell and Canyon County if we're able to move forward with this. So with that, Chief.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor and City Council. It's good to be here this evening and talk about a project that we've been talking about for quite some time, and thank you, Oscar, for going over that detail. Currently, the ambulance district has two stations in Caldwell, one over by West Valley and one up off of exit 29. And that's how many stations we had in 2004 when I came here. So that many years later, we still only have two stations in Caldwell. So the desire is to build another station here in Caldwell. We've looked for years at different properties. We kind of want to be along that Ustick corridor, anywhere around 10th up to Indiana area. Clear back to when Chief Wendelsdorf was here, I'd visited with him about possibly could we maybe partner with Colwell Fire and remodel this station, add on a couple bays. We've looked at different ideas, even with Chief Frawley and most recently with Chief Daniels, And it just isn't quite optimal to add on to this current stations that's here, just the way the gas comes in, the generator, and just the footprint of the property. So when Chief Daniels and I were meeting with the mayor, we got to looking at the adjacent property there. And we just kind of spitballed different ideas of what would it look like if the ambulance district could purchase a chunk of property next to Caldwell Fire Station 2 there. And so we just flopped the property, same size as Caldwell Fire. And then when we looked at it, it still left this little sliver between that amount and over to Oregon Avenue. And so Haley kind of from City Engineering drew up some different sections of what it would look like and to, as Oscar said, the amount of property that would be there now if it was surveyed out. So what we got to looking at is that property is big enough we could build our station here. We could also have enough area there that we could probably build onto and have EMS training there. Currently, the Ambulance District does all of our EMS training at our administration building, which is great. We have a big room there. And Nampa Fire comes there, Caldwell Fire, and we do joint training. But if we were to purchase that whole property over to Oregon, it would allow us to expand our training. It would allow us to expand it here in Caldwell. So anytime we can keep Caldwell ambulances in Caldwell, Caldwell fire engines and trucks in Caldwell training, It's great. It's good for the community, good for response time. So having that larger property would allow us to do that. That's part of the reason we asked, too, for that easement along the bottom. Because if we're bringing in, say, a ladder truck or engines just to be able to come in and then still face out towards Ustick if they're parked there doing training or we're doing any meetings jointly between the ambulance district and the fire department. So the property is in the right area. It's the right size. I know The city's gonna put in an emergency light there for where the color fire already pulls out of the you stick there So for us to it'd be a win for us to be able to pull out on the you stick in that same area So it serves our purpose We're excited to be able to partner with Caldwell with the city to be able to purchase that property it keeps us next to Caldwell fire and We do a lot of collaboration with the fire department. We are jointly housed with some other fire departments. So if we could at least stay even close to Caldwell just for the collaboration after calls, before calls, it's just great to be right there. If we can't co-house, what's the next best thing is to create a public safety campus there and be right next to them. So it's kind of that in a nutshell. Any questions?

Thank you, Chief. Before we get to Councillor Stoddick, this is very exciting. Once again, we approved a paramedic bond. A levy, yes. Yeah, a levy, sorry. And this is the fruit of that labor. So with that, Councillor Stoddick.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mike, you and I have discussed this for quite a few years. Yes. The biggest concern I have is not the actual site or anything like that, it's the funding in the future for it. Do you see any... At the end of the tunnel that it's going to be a little bit easier than it has been in the past or you Have you looked that far ahead so mayor council static for as far as funding for EMS in general just overall We're still working.

You know we've worked with the legislature over the years. We haven't quite got there for any extra funding This was a temporary override that we went for this last time that got passed which means we will be back before the voters if the if the board approves it but I For right now, there's nothing on the horizon that is gonna solve funding for EMS, unfortunately. Still working on it though, yes.

Thank you, Councilor Stoddick. Anything else from council? All right, do we have a motion? Thank you. Thank you, Chief. Councilor Williams.

I had a couple questions.

Oh, sorry, I didn't see your mic.

I just turned it on because I thought Chief Daniels was going to say something, but you're not, so can I ask you a question, Chief? Do you mind coming to the microphone?

Thank you, Chief.

I think it was already answered by Chief Stoll, and thank you for being here, but this Station 2 was originally designed to add on to, was it not? I mean, your counselor, I don't know. Okay, I could be wrong with that. But with building Station 4, there is no notion, desire, appetite, or money to expand Station 2 at this time. Is that correct?

That is correct. Okay. It took me a while to process that.

And then the other question I wanted to ask Robin, and I hope you can answer this. I'm sure you can. Why would I hope? Is there any detriment to us as a city losing this park ground, and what is the resolution we have to make up for it if there is? And this isn't anything that was federally funded that we're going to need to make up for in another way so that we're in compliance, is it?

Mayor and Councillor Williams, no. There's no detriment to the city or risk to our federal funding if we lose this park ground.

Okay, thank you. Just for additional clarity, and thank you for that question, Councillor Williams, because we've had that issue. I believe in our new park study, we'll be adding Sisters Park, which isn't currently in that. We also have Mosaics Park and potentially Guardian Park that'll be added into that. So we'll be, although we'll lose a little bit here, we'll be significantly increasing that.

That is correct. Thank you for that clarification.

All right, Councillor Talmont.

Mr. Mayor, just to double check. So any profits from this land, will it stay with parks?

Check with our treasurer, but I can also if I can advise the plan what we had planned to do Yes, I think the plan is to maintain That funding and reuse it within the parks department and functions for the parks within the city Just for clarity and we'd spoke about this by email our plan is to commit that money to Lions Park It's an area that we had had a plan. I believe there was a press release and such. Looks great, but there was not any funding attached to that. So we're putting together the funding so we can make sure that we increase that. We'd like to reutilize it. Of course, it'd have to come before council. It's ultimately a blessing to council, but that would be the ask at a future point is if we can utilize all of this money towards that park. But thank you for the question.

Well, then with that, I move to approve resolution declaring certain city-owned real property to be no longer needed, declaring value of the property, proving sale of the property to Canyon County Ambulance District, authorizing execution of purchase and sale agreement and relative conveyance documents, and providing an effective date.

Second. Thank you for that motion, Councillor Tillman. And a second from Councillor Stoddick. Any discussion on that motion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk. All right, that motion carries, and thank you for bringing this up to the city. Both chiefs have been working very hard on this, and staff, and we look forward to our continued partnership. The next agenda item is a discussion for possible strengthening of city code enforcement. Councillor Stoddard could request that this be brought on the agenda tonight. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Bottom line here is that you've received some of the emails, and I think the rest of the counselors have too, on all the RV vehicles parked on the street and in driveways, safety factors, all that. And it seems like the current program that we have now, they can give a couple tickets up. Beyond that, there's really no enforcement relative to fines or anything like that. And I'm going to talk to the police chief about this too in the near future, hopefully tomorrow morning maybe, but I'm just wondering, maybe Ex-Chief Allgood could add a little bit to this. This program we have now, it's not even close to what we had before. Is it as far as enforcement, as far as fines, and all the other stuff that we used to do with it?

Sorry, Councilman Allgood.

Yeah, we, and Director Collins, please jump in whenever you want. Part of the situation that I perceive that we're facing is some of this stuff that we have parked on the streets just needs to be towed away. However, it costs us a lot of money. We get charged for that now where that didn't used to happen. I don't know, Director Collins, have we experienced that recently?

Mayor and council are all good. I believe the city and I don't know if Rochelle is aware of this. I know that the city had went out for an RFP or RFQ for tow companies to get some better flat rates and everything. I'm not sure where that process stands right now. But with the understanding from the previous chief that the city was getting charged for a lot of those tows. Now from my past experience working with the city of Nampa when I did code enforcement, we negotiated that with the tow company and the city did not get charged for any tows. They got charged to the actual owner of the vehicle. when they wanted to come pick it up or they didn't pick it up, then the tow company got to keep the vehicle and scrap it and keep the money from that. So I think there's different ways we can do it. I think some of the issues we've been seeing in the past is that there was a time when the police department didn't have CSOs to help us out with tag and towing. Now they do, but I feel like it's just a deeper conversation. With interim chief Thomas and the mayor we've talked about having a meeting coming up very soon To talk about how do we fix this? Problem with certain things that code enforcement can do versus what the PD can do because we do have somebody on our code enforcement staff That's an ex-police officer that could get his post certification Here in Idaho and be able to assist with tag and towing but we also need that help from The police department when it's on the streets for tagging and towing so I think it's just a deeper Collaboration and discussion between departments.

Yeah Previously when I worked with Sylvia BAM towing vehicles There's no value in these old RVs. The tow companies don't want them. They cost them money to get rid of them and so it's a money loser for them and so they don't want to take them and and so We need to come up with some idea of compensating them or figuring out some solution because a lot of the stuff that's sitting on the street has no resale value for the tow company.

Well, I know in the past, some of the HOAs do a great job on solving the problem. They usually give the owners 36 to 48 hours to get it off the street. And if they don't do that, a tow truck is called in. They haul it away. And then it gets added on to their fees. And if that doesn't work, then they usually go to the county as far as taxes are concerned. So I think there are some avenues that we can discuss here to maybe solve the problem. But I'd say the biggest concern and the complaints we get is that there's all kinds of recreational vehicles on the streets. And they get a ticket. They move it around the corner. It sits there again. And we just need to do something about it before it gets out of hand.

You can also go good and counselor static real quick just for councils information I do have a meeting this Friday with interim chief. I'm gonna go over this right now. We have two code enforcement officers, but we've been down one we're looking at some options with a Temp agency it was definitely a warmer winter so not just vehicles, but there's weeds in a whole variety of issues I know we are actively trying to address that but I right now basically with one code enforcement person. I know Parks and Rec and Robin and others know that I'm constantly sending them things that need to be addressed in the city, but with that, I think we need to take a bigger look at, because you're absolutely right, right? We need to address some of the stuff, but with the sheer size of our city and basically one person right now, this is why I'd like to meet with the interim chief, because his counsel are all good, formerly chief all good. you know, knows that it's, it's a big task and we need to be able to enlist, uh, the police department, our community service officers to help force multiply. And then to have also a bigger conversation that if sometime at a future staffing level, if we're able to bring on more staff to chase down all of these, because we do want to address them, we do want to keep our streets safe, neat and orderly. And we 100%, you know, here, your counselor static,

Other counselors or the public as we get these things in but having more staff would give us the opportunity To be able to address these and to start cleaning up Caldwell Yeah, one of the ideas I had is if it could be consolidated with the police department and maybe on their regular Patrol through the city they could actually issue tickets that way too rather than have a separate department I mean that's for discussion only so 100% well

make sure that we explore everything. I'll meet with Director and Interim Chief Thomas and see what we can figure out because we do need to get to a better situation, but it does require that conversation and we definitely hear you loud and clear. So thank you for bringing that up. Anything else, Director Collins?

No, I don't think so. Thank you.

Mr. Mayor, Director Collins did mention the RFP process and I just wanted to be able to update that There has been a contract for the towing that's been reviewed by legal, and I believe the police department is going to get that executed and before council. I'm not intimately familiar with the towing contract. I think I pulled it up here, and if I'm reading it correctly, I don't want to overstate, so I just want to give that caveat, but it appears to me that in this contract, a towing of disabled vehicles that aren't owned by the cities will be towed at the owner expense and no charge to the city, but the city will be responsible for notice to the owners. So just be able to provide that clarification for council.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anything else? All right. Seeing no further questions or comments, we're going to move on to the finance report.

Mr. Mayor.

Council, all good.

I move to approve accounts payable in the amount of $8,225,925.76, represented by check numbers 195445 through 195886, and lock electronic payments and payroll in the amount of $1,785,432.08, represented by check numbers 40941 through 40977,

direct deposits be accepted payments approved and vouchers filed in the office of the city clerk Thank you, that's a motion in a second for approval of the finance report any discussion seen none madam clerk All right that motion carries next we're gonna move to council reports councillor Williams Thank You Councillor all good There is a

A meeting to continue the discussion on the local option registration situation in Nampa this week. I just want to know, do we have someone from here going? Is that covered? Do we need to?

Yes, I'll be going. Sorry, I was going to cover that.

And Councilor Stoddick as well? Okay, I just wanted to make sure that we knew someone was attending that. That's all I have, sir.

Thank you, Councilor Algin. Councilor Dittenberg.

Thank you. Just thank the community. We had a remarkable rodeo the last couple weeks. Great turnout, and we have another great event heading our way here in a couple weeks is the Indian Creek Festival. So I encourage everybody to get out and enjoy what we have in our city. I also wanted to kind of comment on what Councillor Stoddick said about code enforcement. And this is something that I believe, and you and I have had this conversation briefly, Mr. Mayor. I think if you drive a city vehicle and if you have a city phone, you are by de facto a city code enforcement officer. I don't think that there is any reason why these employees of our city can't be saying other duties as assigned as a code enforcement officer. And I can take a picture and I can make a citation as well as anybody else. And, uh, I know we talk about staffing and we only have one code enforcement officer and we're down to, and we need to hire a couple other, but we do have a lot of people and I think we can carve out 15 minutes of everybody who has a city vehicle or a city phone to be a code enforcement officer, 20 minutes a week. Thank you.

Thank you. Counselor Denver, counselor Tama.

Nothing tonight.

And just for Councilor Tillmott, I did receive that letter, and Madam Clerk, I believe we turned it in to you from the library, so just wanted to give you an update on that. Councilor Stoddart.

Mr. Mayor, I just wondered whether you set up a meeting regarding the parking garage and convention center. Was it Grifton Swinton Company that we talked about?

Yes.

Okay, so it's going to be when?

Two weeks So we're meeting with him first I had mentioned to that an email that we have a follow-up meeting and then we'll go from there as far as the next steps So will you set some dates then that you can send me so we yeah, I appreciate that. Thank you Council register president sorry Just very quickly.

We had our first mayor's youth Advisory Council meeting for this year of which there were So many kids there. It seemed like most of them were from Caldwell High School, but there were some Valley View kids there, too. Gino, Jessica, and Annette are putting this on now. They did a very good job. There was a lot of excitement, a lot of energy. And from what I heard in the meeting, it sounds like they're also inviting our former mayor, now Colas, to come back and advise, since that was originally his program, I believe, that he started it or founded it, so that was super exciting. And then Director Collings, I know there's a lot of talk about code enforcement and things that need to be done, and I just, every time I've ever contacted code enforcement, I just want you to know, I know how short-staffed they are, but they are very responsive, very respectful. They do, I think they do everything that they can do based on whatever codes they have to follow and so on, so I look forward to getting them some help, whatever that looks like. So I appreciate Councillor Stoddard bringing it up so that maybe we can work across with the police department and maybe like Councillor Denton first said with other city employees. So I just want you to know though that they are appreciated because they do a great job when they have time to do it. So thank you. Appreciate that.

Thank you, Madam President. A couple things to go over. Yes, we did just start the mayor's youth. We will be inviting elected officials, not only from our council, to see if you're able to come and speak at one of those. We also invite you to attend at any point in time. So if you're able to accept one of those invites and come talk, we would love it because we don't want it to just be a youth group. We want it to be an opportunity for folks, young folks, to see what governance is like. We'll probably ask them to come to some of our meetings. and see how Caldwell runs. We'll also be inviting other county officials, state officials, hoping possibly to do a state capital trip, a day at the capital at some point, so probably send an invite out for you too, but thank you, Madam President, for calling that out. It was a great opportunity to see so many kids, and we thank our staff for putting that on. Councilor Denton first stole my thunder, but just for Indian Creek Festival, September 19th, oh, any time, 100%, September 19th, That date for the Indian Creek Festival, we look forward to that. Just an update, we have an Idaho Transportation Department meeting coming. Part of that, when you talk about code enforcement, we've had some struggles. If you look at Simplot, Centennial, Highway 2026, and others, I think they're stretched beyond belief when it comes to maintenance along our freeways, our gateways in the community. So we're going to ask for the opportunity to be able to address that, just because they just don't have the time or the manpower or personnel power. to address the weeds. So we hear the public when they talk about that, but we've tried to explain that there's different areas of the city that do not belong to us and we have no authority to take care of weeds or enforce abatement or weeds and things like that from businesses. So we're looking at hopefully having that dialed in here soon and to get that cleaned up. Vehicle registration update. I was just in a Keeping Idaho Moving Forward meeting and that came up. Ada County is renewing theirs for a second time. We have ours on the ballot in November, the $20 increase. So we're going to look at putting together an informational, working with NAMPA and others to try and get that out. And we do have that meeting. And part of that meeting, just so you're aware, is to agree that if it were to pass, how that were to be dispersed out, the actual funds from that. So we do have a lot of roads. We've been affected by House Bill 389 and others. If the public was to grant us this, we would have, in all the jurisdictions, in Canyon County, the highway districts and cities, be able to provide more funding for street maintenance and repairs. Part of what we're looking to do right now is to add in what actual projects would we be able to accomplish with that, not just our projects, but the other jurisdictions. So hopefully we can get that ironed out. Middleton Road is supposed to be opening at the end of this week, fingers crossed, by 2026. Is that? either you know i got an email today that contractor said it should be by the end it was supposed to be open by the first and it didn't so hopefully we can get that open soon looking through some of our liaison appointments we have one position for co-housing authority a liaison from council council are all good to express interest in that but i believe we'd have to trade one of your other duties so i'll send an email out just seeing if anyone would be interested in covering one of Councillor Allgood's other liaisons, but I would like to put Councillor Allgood on that Cobo Housing Authority liaison. I sent an invite to you just now, earlier, for a 9-11 Indian Creek Plaza invite with the dates and times, so if you're able to attend, they'll have that ceremony again, and we appreciate Elevate Academy putting that on. I also sent another invite for September 27th. Cobo Veterans Hall will be doing their Gold Star presentation, so if you would like to attend, that would be wonderful. We're still locking in the date, but around September 30th, we're looking at doing a tour of Simpla. I'm trying to line up some of our big community partners tours to take some of our appointed officials, or all of our appointed officials, and we're gonna invite you to council. Depending on how many would be able to and like to attend, we may have to just notice that, but we'd make no decisions or anything, but we wanna tour our local manufacturing, so we're gonna start lining out dates for our different nearby or in our city, manufacturers and other production facilities and then Other than that just code enforcement. We're definitely hear you counselor static on that and we're gonna look to see what we can do to force multiply that and Address the issues obviously you want to extend an olive branch to those that you know are struggling to take care of their properties Vehicles and such we do understand. It's very tight Financially and it's hard times right now, so we'll make sure we try and address that the best we can and and extend that olive branch and then see what we can do. Other than that, of business, is an executive session. I would entertain a motion to enter an executive session.

Mr. Mayor, in the spirit of a short meeting, the executive session I called for, I could easily just write up a memo to council and we can do that instead of an executive session.

I don't see an objection from council, so with that,

We're adjourned.

Thank you for coming.