City Council: 3.12.24

The March 12 meeting, was held in council chambers with all four council members and the mayor present.

The first item on the agenda was a presentation by Keller Associates pertaining to the level of asbestos in the city water. They covered the basics of what asbestos is (an organically occurring mineral that is used in construction) and the way in which it is used in many concrete pipe systems nationwide. The material of which does not typically break down for roughly 100 years. Keller Associates had stated that the last testing done for asbestos in the water system occurred approximately a decade ago. A common practice when there is no urgent need for testing. However, councilwoman Wirkkala had requested a new test be conducted as soon as possible so that the matter could be settled.

As usual the council then disclosed if they had been contacted by any one pertaining to items on the agenda. Typically it is a letter or a phone call that they had received from a concerned constituent. However, this meeting they all had to inform the chamber of a great many emails, texts, and phone calls that they had received about the happenings of the airport the last few years from former Airport Manager Ted Thompson. Most notably was the accusation of economic discrimination that was being done to multiple people who rent hangers and run their businesses out of the airport.

Councilman Brennen had requested of Thompson to come to the stand so that there could be open dialogue and to better understand if these accusations would hinder the three men up for reappointment to the airport committee. Thompson took the stand. He was asked more in depth about the discrimination, to which he stated that it was not the three men up for reappointment, but rather the current airport manager that had committed the offense. It was asked of Thompson whether he had any misgivings about the three or any objections to their reappointment, to which he said that he did not.

Old action items that were addressed were the deliberations/decisions to reappoint A.J. Lewis, Steve Mulberry, and Richarch Buxton to the Airport Advisory Committee with 4 year terms to expire in February 2028.

All three men had been requested to be at the meeting by councilwoman Wirkkala so that they could introduce themselves to the new council members and the community. They laid out their credentials individually and what their qualifications to be a part of the committee were.

The new business that took place was first the deliberation/decision on a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation to amend an existing conditional use permit for an off-premises sign located at 404 N. Main Street with conditions, requested by Ron Cox, of Cox Signs. It had been determined early on that Cox was not within his permit for the new sign at the property of 404 N. Main Street. This is because his business is not currently running out of the building located at the property, and because it is not just his business that is being advertised on the electronic billboard.

Cox had claimed that the sign on his property was an essential advertising tool to the business’ of Mountain Home and that if his sign needed to come down he couldn’t understand why since the city had a similar sign. It had been mentioned by Councilmen Brennan that the current sign at 404 is significantly brighter than the city sign and is used to promote free city events. He also stated that this was not the first time the Cox had been in violation of permits, due to the signage he had been selling to businesses that did not meet city ordinances in perspective to the size of the windows. The conversation will continue in the next meeting.

The final action item was the deliberation/decision regarding the golf course concession agreement with Kurly’s 2 Sports Grill LLC. set to terminate on September 30, 2024. The council members will be doing a walk through of the property to discuss adjustments to the new contract. The matter has been tabled for the time being.

If you missed this meeting, or wish to watch virtually, you can find all meetings at the City’s YouTube. All meetings are held the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 5pm at City Hall.