New Bellevue Council sworn in
Watering scofflaws first order of business
By PETER BOLTZ
Express Staff Writer
Bellevue’s municipal government observed a changing of
the guard Thursday night with a couple of short statements, applause and a
swearing-in ceremony for a new mayor and two new council members.
Leaning on a cane because of a back injury, Mayor Steve
Fairbrother’s final act was to swear in his successor, Mayor John
Barton. Fairbrother, who served a two-year term, did not run for
re-election.
Barton then swore in the two new council members, Dale
Shappee and Wayne Douthit, and returning Councilman George Moore.
But before Fairbrother departed, he thanked the council
for its help over the past two years, "especially Monte [Brothwell]
for what must almost be a decade of service to the city—not to mention
all the free hours he put in coming in at night."
Bellevue city administrator Jack Stoneback told
Fairbrother, "If you get bored, you can always come back."
And so, to the sound of laughter and applause, Fairbrother
moved out and Barton moved in.
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In other business, the council struggled with the issue of
warning and then citing Bellevue residents who abuse the city’s
emergency water-use regulations.
The regulation, passed last August, limit use of automatic
sprinkler systems to the hours of midnight to 5 a.m. Other means of
irrigation are restricted to the hours between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Depending on the street location of their homes, residents
are further restricted to water on odd- or even-numbered days.
The issue before the council was how to deal with people
who ignore the watering regulation.
Stoneback asked the council for guidance on how many
warnings should be issued before a scofflaw is cited. He also wanted
feedback on his belief that any city staff member should be allowed to
issue a written warning to violators as they discover them.
The council decided that one warning will be issued before
a citation, and that any city staff member can issue one. The marshal’s
office will be responsible for issuing citations when necessary.
A sewer rate increase from $17.75 to $21 a month was
tabled by the council, but not until after it heard from Bellevue water
clerk Wynn Bird.
She told the council that a rate study by the city’s
engineering firm, Forsgren Associates of Rexburg, recommended the increase
after it looked at how much the service is costing the city and how much
the city is charging.
Stoneback said it is getting more expensive to run the
sewer system and that an expected 40 percent increase in power rates would
further add to the expense.
