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Mayor Anderson addresses Rotary |
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February 18, 2012 |
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Rotary
President Wilma DeVore and Bonners Ferry
Mayor Dave Anderson |
Deferring to his inability to sleep much the
night before an important meeting of nurserymen
in Boise (Dave’s other job) because of an
impending root canal and a scenario in which he
left a very early wake up call for a hotel room
that belonged to another guest, the Mayor
settled into the topic of the hour before the
Bonners Ferry Rotary Club February 14, that
being ‘what’s new’ in the city of Bonners Ferry.
Dave addressed six areas in his presentation:
Annexation, Urban Renewal District, Recycling,
Corps of Engineers, Forest Restoration, and the
Chief of Police, the latter because of a
question from the audience.
Annexation: Seventy-seven
parcels of land just south of town currently
using city services are being proposed for
annexation into the city to reduce taxes and
other benefits. The proposal is presently in
court.
Urban Renewal District: The
city formed an urban renewal district to
encourage development particularly in certain
areas of the city that are in need of
improvement – housing, roadways, light industry,
etc. Allowing the city to establish a taxing
district means that money can flow to the
district for these improvements. Dave cited the
Fodge Mill where the corner of Cow Creek
Highway, practically on the railroad bed, could
be improved, as could other areas along that
roadway. The Super 1 Market is another example
of the URD in action. Bonners Ferry was not a
proven market place for them, but the fact that
the city could help them in circumstances
related to the URD declaration, the store
decided to build in the community with a major
effect on local employment (i.e., 90+ new
hires).
Recycling: The city is adhering
to the program to keep the landfill below 20
tons of refuge each day. Decentralized
containers have been provided are various
recycling sites in the community and contrary to
earlier thought, these sites are being used
precisely as they are intended. However, in the
city’s efforts to get people to recycle, the
service has proven to be more expensive than
earlier anticipated obviously presenting a
dilemma for the city. “Be careful what you wish
for….”
Corp of Engineers: This
governmental organization is under pressure to
improve dykes, Because of excessive costs to
shore up banks, trees will need to be cut. In
reality, FEMA is after the COE because they
don’t want to rebuild areas devastated because
of flooding, etc.
Forest Restoration: The local
Ranger District has received a 10-year $10
million grant to improve cutting, drainage, fire
protection, and old growth protection for our
forest land. If the project receives full
funding over the next decade, it would result in
more than $20 million in restoration work in the
Kootenai River watershed. Projects to improve
water quality would benefit the river's
struggling populations of white sturgeon and
burbot, a freshwater cod. Replanting whitebark
pine trees would help grizzly bears, who eat the
trees' calorie-laden seeds. Reducing the risk of
large wildfires in the watershed that provides
Bonners Ferry's drinking water is also a
priority.
Chief of Police: With the
resignation of the former chief of police, all
appropriate steps were taken to post the
position with the Department of Labor. Seven
applications were received, a selection panel
was formed, four candidates were interviewed,
and one was selected unanimously. However, a
member of the council reported that the
candidate selected did not meet the criteria
established for the position (Lieutenant in the
job description -- Sergeant was selected).
Potential lawsuit(s) were probable from the
current police department applicant(s) and those
who didn’t apply from outside the area because
of the Lieutenant requirement. Legal council
advised resubmission of job description based on
new criteria of Sergeant as opposed to
Lieutenant. That has been done.
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