City Council 9.12.22

Members of the Mountain Home city council met for the first time this month in regular session on Monday the 12th.

The meeting started with statements from each of the department heads. Brock Cherry informed the council members and mayor that the first episode of a Mountain Home podcast—that aims to engage the community and connect city government with Mountain Home citizens—was released and seeing success. He was also excited to announce an event taking place on September 29th, “What does growth mean for your business?” that the owner of the Mountain Home Adult Training Academy building will be attending.

Next, the counsel heard from Fire Chief Mark Moore who also spoke on upcoming events including “Light the Night” in early October, and fire prevention week.

Mountain Home’s library director, Shasta Hochstrasser, reminded the council and public that September is sign up for a library card month, and noted that the Friends of the Mountain Home Library pooled together funds for 10 non-resident cards, one of which has already been taken.

Police Chief Scott Conner discussed the potential for the renewal of the Red Ribbon Campaign, a school-age anti-drug program. He also noted that a deal may be near completion for 8 new patrol cars.

After hearing from department heads, Mayor Sykes thanked each of the department heads and all others who were involved in this year’s AFAD celebrations. This resulted in many of the council members and department heads likewise sharing their gratitude to those who made AFAD possible.

Then, the council members moved on the consent agenda. Each of the items listed on the consent agenda including approval of minutes was approved.

The council members voted unanimously to approve a conditional use permit for the proposed Desert Sage drive-in/drive-through on American Legion Boulevard.

A lengthy discussion between the mayor, city council members, and the head of the golf course ensued. They were deliberating and negotiating terms of an updated contract between the city and the golf course to ensure that both parties will be satisfied heading into the following years.

Finally, the council began their discussion of the updates and edits to the City Personnel Policy. This discussion included the voicing of concerns from council members who took issue/wished for clarification on certain matters within the policy. Some matters discussed include the city’s tattoo policy for employees, new employee probationary period, employee tuition assistance, and the current method of financial compensation for traveling city employees’ meals and housing.

Following this, the meeting came to a close. The next city council meeting will take place on September 26th at 6pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall.