The Mayor’s Corner 08/05/2020

Mayor Randy Hibberd

My wife, Cathy, and I had the chance to get away camping for a few days last week. It was nice to be in the hills fishing, hiking, soaking in hot springs in the cool mornings, and sitting in our lawn chairs in the river on the hot afternoons. I would have gone bike riding, except that one tube just decided to blow a few minutes before I even had a chance to use it. I guess it was too hot.
We came back to find that there was a TREMENDOUS outpouring of support for the Loudermilk family in just the short time we were gone. It is truly heartwarming to know that Washington County is the kind of place that supports each other in times of need. This is a GREAT community. With that said, our hearts, prayers, and support will continue going out to the Loudermilk family as they go through this difficult time.
It was good to get away, but it is now time to get back to work.
We are now at 190 COVID-19 cases in the county. This is a 14.5% increase from the week before. The White House’s report, breaking down the cases state by state and county by county, continues to place Washington County in the “Red Zone”. The Idaho Dept. of Health places our county just below this in the “Orange Zone”. The difference is in the target number for new cases per 100,000 people. The State does not expect to be able to eliminate the spread and so has a higher number used in their matrix.
In either category, the recommendations are the same with using masks, hand washing, distancing, and limiting the size of crowds. Controlling the spread of this virus is the responsibility of each of us. Please do your part.
One of the projects we are working on here at the City is the possibility of combining the City and Rural Fire Departments. Mike Hopkins, your City Councilman, is heading up the team looking into this. The target is to objectively analyze past expenses for both Departments, project expenses if combined, project cost savings, analyze tax implications, project impact to the City for a new fire truck if the Departments are not combined, and impact to homeowners for homeowner’s insurance if the City does not purchase a fire truck and our fire rating diminishes. It is a big project, but is in very capable hands.
Another project being worked on, involves our Weed, Junk, and Debris ordinance. We are looking at other city ordinances in Idaho who have dealt with this successfully to try to build on their knowledge. This will also involve your City Council Members. If you have input on what you would like to see, please let me or one of your Council Members know. At this point we are looking at an abatement program where, as a last resort, the City would clean up the property in question and add the expense to the individual property owner’s taxes for the following year as allowed by Idaho statute.
In other City business, State Street will be blocked off from Court Street to W. Park Street until Friday, Aug. 7th to continue a project to upgrade the water lines in town.
The RV Dump Site is coming along nicely. The sewer and water are almost complete. The project should be done well before the target date of Labor Day. It has been interesting and rewarding to watch the Water, Waste Water, Street, and Electrical Departments all working together to get this project cranked out quickly. If you see any of these guys, please thank them, especially if you own an RV.
Also, the swimming pool’s end of season will be August 15. If you plan on using the pool this summer and haven’t, you should probably get there in a hurry!
Well, that’s it for this week. We live in such a Great Community!