City of SUGAR CITY
IDAHO
City of Sugar City
10 East Center Post Office Box 56 Sugar City, Idaho 83448
February 2011
Dear Sugar City Residents:
Calendar:
Support our local businesses
February 3, 7 p.m. – Planning & Zoning Meeting
February 10, 6:30 p.m. – City Council Meeting
February 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day
February 17, 7 p.m. – Planning & Zoning Meeting
February 21 – Presidents‘ Day
City Hall will be closed
February 24 – 6:30 p.m. – City Council Meeting
DOG LICENSES: All dog licenses expired December 31st. The licensing fee for
Love you
each dog is $12 per year. Penalties for an unlicensed dog start at $100. Just a reminder, inside dogs also need to be licensed.
CITY BEAUTIFICATION: Be a part of it. Plant a tree or two and be a part of the Green movement. Go to the Sugar City Web site and click on Tree Information and Orders. www.sugarcityidaho.gov.
BE A PART OF YOUR COMMUNITY: Join the City Beautification Committee. We would welcome your ideas and service. Meetings are held every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. Contact: Burch Drake, Ph. 356-4475.
OVERNIGHT PARKING: JUST A REMINDER OF OUR SNOW ORDINANCE – NO PARKING IS ALLOWED ON CITY STREETS FROM DECEMBER 1ST THROUGH MARCH 1ST, BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 12 O’CLOCK MIDNIGHT AND 7 O’CLOCK A.M. THIS IS THE TIME WHEN MOST SNOW IS CLEARED FROM THE STREETS.
SNOW SHOVELING: The city would like to remind those out shoveling their sidewalks and driveways to not shovel the snow into the streets because once the plows have gone by it becomes a hazard on the street and often packs down and becomes difficult to remove. We recommend finding a good spot on your property to pile the excess snow.
STATE OF THE CITY OF SUGAR CITY 2011: A copy is included with this letter.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
SHERIFF DEPARTMENT’S PHONE NUMBERS:
911 Emergencies
356-5426 – Sheriff’s Office (non-emergency) 356-3282 Crime Busters (to stay anonymous)
Mayor Glenn W. Dalling City Council and Staff
CITY HALL PHONE NUMBER:
356-7561
Web site: www.sugarcityidaho.gov Web site: www.madisonsheriff.com
STATE OF THE CITY: FEBRUARY 2011
A Banner Year 2010
PLANNING AND ZONING: They meet the first and third Thursdays of each month at seven o’clock. The commission has accomplished considerable work this past year. They have continued with the revision of city ordinance, which entailed holding public hearings for the ordinances and for special use permits, etc. In September 2009, the city enacted a new Land Use ordinance, and in January 2010, a Home Business ordinance.
TREE AND BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE: They meet twice a month on Wednesdays and they work tirelessly in caring for the trees in the city, complying with the Tree City USA requests, and a number of projects that improve the appearance of the city. Specifically, they are responsible for the flower barrels on Center Street. They hope this year they will be able to complete the installation of the Welcome to Sugar City sign on Center Street just off the overpass.
TETON DAM MARATHON: The year 2010 was a banner year for Sugar City. We again became partners with Rexburg in sponsoring the Teton Dam Marathon. The runners passed through Sugar City and we were part of the awards program. We were involved in all aspects of planning and assisted in the awards ceremony.
YOUTH ACTIVITIES: The young people and their parents enjoyed an Easter egg hunt on April 17, 2010, after being postponed due to weather. The summer recreation sports and activities were very successful. They included baseball, softball, soccer and football. This program is organized and coached totally by volunteers. The city truly appreciates the efforts of these volunteers. Arbor Day was celebrated with a program at Central Elementary and planting two new trees in Smith Park. A large group of students participated and enjoyed the treats.
THE PIONEER BREAKFAST: We had a very successful pioneer breakfast on the 24th of July. Good food was served to a large crowd. People enjoyed visiting together and the weather was perfect.
TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY: On December 3 we had a good crowd to take part in the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Each year we increase the number of lighted trees. It was very exciting. We enjoyed the program of children singing and the cookies and hot chocolate.
DRINKING WATER AND WASTE WATER: Power fluctuations and power failures caused problems with our pumps both in our drinking water and waste water systems. Our city employees were quick to respond and as a result there was very little inconvenience. Also, our emergency power generators started as planned.
NEW WATER PUMP: We found a problem in the pump at the well in Neibaur Park. The pump had to be replaced and the well casing as well.
SNOW REMOVAL: Snow removal has been a challenge since mid-November and has continued relentlessly to the present. We are concerned that we have not been able to keep up with the driveways‘ snow removal. Basically, the employees have done a superb job with the snow removal on our streets.
PARKS: We have only compliments for our employees on the maintenance on the parks, mowing of the weeds in undeveloped areas, upkeep on the flowerpots on Center Street, and general city appearance.
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NEW BUSINESSES: We are pleased with the new businesses in Sugar City. We welcome Fuzion Fitness and Dance. The building is beautiful and the open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony were very successful. We wish them well. The Agri-Service business north of town on Highway 33 on the Palmer property is certainly welcome. They are a large agricultural business, have a large attractive building and we are looking forward to an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony. We wish them every success. We are also looking forward to the opening of Ole’s Burgers on North Austin, across from the junior high school. If construction continues as planning, they plan on opening sometime in March.
FIRE STATION: The fire station is in the finishing stages. We appreciate the Madison County Fire Department for making this project possible. This fire station will help to provide quick response fire protection in this area and should lower the cost of fire insurance for the property owners. They are planning an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony early in 2011. City residents are being trained to serve as volunteers for the fire department.
CITY FINANCE: We have suffered some cuts in our allocation of state and county taxes, but we have tightened our belts and have been able to provide all of our services needed to our citizens. Our employees have been cooperative on going without raises for two years and have worked hard and, most importantly, with enthusiasm and without complaining. Searle Hart & Associates auditors have audited our city and found our budgeting and financial practices in order and accordance with the laws. The treasurer states that the city is in a good financial position during these hard times. We haven’t taken on any new debts and have worked hard to keep utility rates from rising while covering our cost and keeping up the infrastructure. Tough decisions are made on where to make cuts, take advantage of present low rates and get rid of debt with high interest rates. These all make Sugar City a financially sound and secure place to live.
NEW YEAR 2011 OPTIMISM: We are looking forward to an improved economy in 2011. Hopefully, our two major developments – Toscano and Old Farm Estates – will start to develop. We would like moderate, well-organized, and planned growth. We also have some significant interest in a business coming to our business park. Definitely, Madison County would like to put a building in the northeast corner of the business park to house their Search and Rescue equipment, along with some office space. We would like to continue the development of the walking path around the business park. We have a small grant to help us improve 7th East from 3rd South to the Highway 33 Business Loop through Sugar City. We would like to get an agreement on 3rd South location and make plans for improvements. We plan to continue working towards obtaining a water right for future growth. Plans are underway to install a projector and screen in the council room. We also plan to add to our maintenance equipment by purchasing an additional pickup. Our previous purchase was in 1996. With very limited street funds this year, we still plan to keep the existing roads well maintained.
CITY HALL REMODELING PROJECT: Our remodeling project in Sugar City is virtually complete. We have accomplished this project with the financial help of Rocky Mountain Power. This grant was used basically in the front office. An energy grant made it possible for us to install new windows and insulation and a new heating and air-conditioning system. In addition, a large part of the expense of this project was covered by donated labor and donated funds. There were few, if any, local tax dollars used in this project. This project has provided a more friendly and serviceable office, including a new workstation for a receptionist. The back includes a small conference room, office for a building inspector, a Planning and Zoning office, and one additional office. We have offered this office to the Madison County Sheriff’s office temporarily until a new county building is built in the business park.
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