Bonners
Ferry has a new mayor.At last night's City Council meeting, newly-elected Mayor David Sims was sworn into office and jumped right into work on city issues. Mayor Sims was elected two months ago in last November's elections. He had formerly served as chairman of the Boundary Economic Development Council.
The meeting began with Mayor David Anderson presiding. After a few routine agenda items to start the meeting off, Mayor Anderson asked City Clerk Kris Larson to step forward. Ms. Larson then administered the oath of office to the new mayor and to recently-elected city council members.
Council members who were sworn in at the meeting, beginning their new terms of service, were Rick Alonzo, Connie Wells, and Adam Arthur. Mr. Alonzo is now beginning his second term on the City Council, Ms. Wells her third. Mr. Arthur, who was appointed to an open two-year seat on the council and began serving last July 1, was elected to continue in the same seat in November's elections.
Later in the meeting, council members voted to appoint Councilman Rick Alonzo as City Council President.
City Council member Ron Smith, also present at the meeting, who is continuing his current term and was not up for election last November, was also present at the meeting.
After all the swearings-in were completed, the mayor and council proceeded with city business, first hearing reports from the police chief, fire chief, city administrator, and water department supervisor.
The council then approved its first resolution of 2016, and the first under Mayor David Sims, which was a listing of all the charges for "licenses, permits, fees, assessments, rates, and charges by the City."
The council next gave the new mayor his first assignment, authorizing Mayor Sims to sign a city contract with Matt Maggi Logging to remove some trees in the area of Mirror Lake Golf Course.
In other business, the council approved a payment to contractors working on the Cassia Water Tank Project, and approved payment to Probst Electric, a Utah firm that has finished the job of relocating city power poles and line on Division Street in Moyie Springs, moving them to the west side of the newly-expanded street.
The council also discussed Boundary Volunteer Ambulance rental use of the Fire Hall, discussed a new city-wide telephone system (proposed to replace an outdated system in place since the 1990s), and discussed future plans to begin broadcasting city council meetings.
In the final order of business at the meeting, they spent time discussing a new policy to do criminal background checks on all individuals who do volunteer work for the city in any capacity. At present, the thinking is to have the city's chief of police review those checks, toward an end of ensuring that assignments as city volunteers are appropriate and to protect the city from liability risk that may arise in some situations and assignments with volunteers who might have a prior criminal history.