City OKs plat extension request

PRIEST RIVER — The City Council voted to approve a requested extension for a proposed subdivision's final plat Monday.

Subdivision officials had sought the extension after inclement weather and a change in contractor led to some part of the project not being completed. While a new contractor is moving quickly to make up ground, city planner Bryan Quayle and Scott McArthur, who was represented ownership, said additional time would allow the project to be completed both on time and correctly.

Quayle advocated for the extension, saying project officials have worked with the city and it didn't make sense to force Millie's 40 and McArthur Engineering to resubmit the paperwork later.

The council unanimously voted to approve the plat extension request, adding a year onto the initial completion date, giving them until 2025 to complete the work.

Efforts are continuing on shoreline stabilization at Two Rivers Park, Martin told the council Monday. The project, which is in its initial design phase, saw only one bid submitted despite five contractors being alerted to the project.

The bid, which came in at $172,000, had been estimated at $140,000, "which is considerably more than what we had initially thought when we were talking about the project," Martin said. Due to the higher-than-expected costs, the city's Urban Renewal Agency opted to reject the bid and postpone any action until spring.

The project will then be rebid in hopes of securing a better price, Martin said.

Martin also updated the council on a proposed road on the site's north side, which will require the removal of 15-16 trees. The work, which will need to be completed before the ground freezes, will likely see estimates presented to the URA within the next few weeks.

Work on a road in the Two Rivers Park area is ongoing with the road being "overbuilt" to accommodate future truck traffic if the city opts to move forward with the thinning project, Martin said.

Martin told the council he'd met with Inland Forest Management officials about the Healthy Forests initiative and how they connect with the park. That initiative could be designed around the park's master plan with a report likely back to the council by the end of December.

The report would be broken down into two components, one assessing potential thinning needed and the other assessing fuels reduction, which could be covered under the BonFire program, a hazardous fuels treatment program.

In other business, the city voted to approve an increase in commercial waste disposal costs. While the increase went into effect in September, notifications were late in going out with the city not receiving the updated fees until late October. Under the amendment approved by the council, the rate will now align with updated commercial waste disposal fees in Bonner County.

The amendment essentially allows the city to pass through the fee charged by another governmental entity such as Bonner County.