by A.F. Mayor
Marc Beitia
Last Wednesday’s city council meeting concluded with a vicious dog hearing; a vicious dog hearing that ended with a split council vote but whose initial declaration was upheld. The thing with ordinances, like most things produced by man, is that they are seldom perfect. Which is to say that they rarely address every conceivable type of infraction. Which is why in the weeks to come the council will likely be modifying the current vicious dog ordinance to cover instances of dogs attacking other dogs (which will address last week’s hearing) and dogs attacking humans. We will do our best to make the existing ordinance better; it may not be perfect, but it will be better.
The council also heard a request from Bill Meadows, the owner of Mountain States Oil Seed, to work collaboratively to curb, gutter and pave between the railroad tracks and Whitman on Elevator Street. The current gravel road and dust there is raising concerns with the quality of the products Bill’s company produces. To a person, the council is excited about the collaborative effort. But the city ordinance for such a project requires a 40 foot width. The problem is that the buildings on either side of Elevator Street at this location exist above the grade of the street and established large truck accesses encroach on the 40 foot width of the street. Which is partially due to the fact that this street was established long before most of us were born, and long before 40 foot streets were the norm. So our city attorney, Tippi Jarman, is trying to come up with a workable solution that will allow for the collaborative effort. Mountain States Oil Seed produces food quality seeds for a number of products shipped throughout the U.S. and Mexico; their mustard seeds are used in Beaver Brand products that can be found locally at Ken’s Market.
As you drive between American Falls and Aberdeen in the weeks to come you will find that State Highway 39 is being chip sealed. Give yourself a few more minutes as you travel, drive a little slower, give the driver ahead of you a bit more space and avoid the windshield damage that often occurs with this type of project. The good news for us in American Falls is that Snake River Construction, the company doing the SH 39 project, will be storing their gravel chips in our city yard for the duration of that project. In return they have agreed to chip seal Lee Street between Fort Hall and Hillcrest as a trade. Collaboration can work.
Tammy Ramsey also addressed the council last Wednesday and requested that the city allow the Music in the Park concert series to proceed again this summer. Concerts will be held each Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at the south city park’s gazebo. The series will begin in June 4 and conclude August 1 or 8 with a large festival.
The golf committee met for the first time this year last Thursday evening. After the discussion of many suggestions the expansion of the tee box on the fifth hole was deemed a priority and should be completed around July 1. Our golf pro Denny Howell brought an idea he used when he was at Bear Lake to our attention and I think it is cool. Denny will be signing couples or small groups up to plant flower beds around each of the tee boxes after the soil in the designated areas has been prepared by Cody Moldenhauer. While at Bear Lake the “Tee Box Flower Beds” became quite the competition between the folks involved. I would suspect it will be very similar here. See Denny and get signed up; as you know I am not a golfer, but I am signing up. Once you are assigned a tee box, it will be yours to plant and care for throughout the season. The watering will be done automatically each day by the course’s system.
A few weeks ago I wrote about the possibility of night golf. I did receive a few concerned comments on that possibility and expressed those to the committee. The night golf event has been scheduled for August 1, which is American Falls Day and a full moon. It will be divided into three sections. The first nine holes of the event will begin at 5 p.m. and carts will be used. A dinner will follow the first round. The second round will begin around 8:30 and no carts will be used. The committee will work out the finer details in the months to come.
For those of you familiar with our golf course, you know that we have to remove several trees in and around the course. As Arbor Day approaches on April 23, consider donating a tree to the course as a lasting contribution to the community. Every little bit makes it and us better.
Until next week…
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