Cathy and our daughter are teachers with a deep love of history. Our oldest grandson will be taking Idaho history in school next year. And so, this last weekend, we had a chance to introduce the grandsons to the beginning of Idaho history.
Boise State University hosted a seven tribe Native-American Pow-Wow. What we saw, heard, and experienced was well worth the time and effort to be there. To see people in their hand made native dress (often handed down from generation to generation), listen to the traditional music, and watch Native-American dancing was a privilege. What was also interesting was how the event was organized to include everyone from literally toddlers to the elders. The feeling of watching a large family reunion was remarkable.
The oldest grandson told us afterwards that he had not been too keen on going to the powwow when told that we were going. However, after being there just a short time, he was loving it. I guess that is not a bad way to introduce a child to Idaho History.
Now on to City business.
Last week, I used this column to let you know about some of the projects going on around town, but also said the mentioned projects were not all that is going on. This week, I thought I’d tell you more.
The water reservoir rehabilitation project on the corner of Valley View Drive and McGinnis is nearing completion. You may remember that this project included draining the reservoir, sand blasting the interior, replacing the roof, and painting the interior and exterior. The total project will come in at $1,429,000. Replacing this 50-year-old structure would have run us about $7.5 million. The rehabilitation should buy us another 50 years of solid use for about 20% of the cost. Please take the time to thank your City Council members for taking this route.
In addition, the Economic Task Force has been working to get the Main Street Weiser program off the ground. A coordinator was hired last fall. An office has been set up in City Hall where the Recreation Department had been located.
For those of you who may not know, Main Street is a national program designed to revitalize and preserve historic downtown areas. The program has a strong track record in other communities across the country.
Part of the genius of the program is the ability to directly tap into the collective knowledge of communities that have been successful. If our Main Street Weiser has an issue we would like help solving, the idea is presented on the Main Street website to other Main Street communities and those communities respond with what has worked for them. I love not having to reinvent the wheel.
Another advantage is that when all the requirements of being a full-fledged Main Street program are reached, the program is eligible for funding for projects. The benefits of investing in our downtown will have benefits for other commerce in Weiser as well. We look forward to seeing what comes about through this program.
The development south of the Weiser River Bridge is expected to begin soon. If I understand correctly, the Maverick project is currently out for bid. As part of that project, Maverick paid for and will be placing the third “Welcome to Weiser” sign on their property.
Also, the plans for the proposed recreational vehicle park across Highway 95 from Maverick on the southeast side of the bridge are nearing finalization. It would seem that an RV park would be fairly simple to construct. However, when it involves water, wastewater, power, working with the Idaho Transportation Department on ingress and egress from a state highway, and then being in a flood zone to boot, there is a lot to consider.
One final note, and again, there is still more going on within the City, you may want to drive by the covered picnic area at Memorial Park. People have suggested that it would be nice to have a sidewalk from the curb to the picnic area. Well, Mike Campbell, your Public Works Director, and Ron McDaniels, your Street Department Director thought so too and have made it so!
Well, that’s it for this week. It sure seems awfully busy around here. Wait…it really is! Have a great week!
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