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Idaho Falls council votes: canopy, water meters, sole-source purchases, write-offs and a controversial rezoning
Summary
The Idaho Falls City Council approved multiple procurement and infrastructure items Wednesday — including a $315,055 joint fuel‑facility canopy, sole‑source purchases for power‑generation and water‑meter parts, and a $942,469 street reconstruction contract — and accepted a $2 million letter of intent for city property, while also approving a $4.06 million ambulance write‑off and rezoning one parcel to R‑3A after heated public comment.
The Idaho Falls City Council handled a packed regular agenda Wednesday, approving a range of procurement and project motions and recording several large financial write-offs and development actions.
Highlights
- Fuel canopy at joint city–Bonneville County fueling facility: Council approved a $315,055.53 contract with Leonard Petroleum Equipment of Idaho Falls to design and install a canopy over the shared fuel dispensers; Bonneville County agreed to reimburse about half of the cost. Council members were told the city will issue a purchase order and the county will reimburse its share via a reimbursement agreement.
- Idaho Falls Power sole‑source parts and services: The council approved a sole‑source procurement for Basler parts and professional services tied to generator voltage control upgrades for a total of $201,001.19. Staff explained the work requires manufacturer parts compatible with existing systems.
- Water meters: Council approved a $198,704 sole‑source quote from Hydro Specialties Company to replenish Badger water meter inventory (meters and cellular endpoints) used by the public works water division; the parts are intended to allow contractors to obtain parts from city inventory to ensure consistency.
- Utility and ambulance write‑offs: In annual accounting actions, the council approved $184,950.87 in uncollectible utility-service account write‑offs and $4,060,999.85 in unpaid ambulance service write‑offs covering calendar years 2021–2024. Staff said ambulance write‑offs include Medicaid/Medicare allowable reductions and other uncollectible items; the city also expects future GEMT (Ground Emergency Medical Transportation) reimbursements that may be applied retroactively.
- Joint fuel facility canopy procurement: As noted above, the county reviewed and approved reimbursement for half the total quote; the city will manage purchase order issuance and contractor mobilization.
- Elevated water-tank demolition procurement path: Public works reported it received a single prequalification submission for the elevated tank demolition that did not meet prequalification criteria; the council rejected that prequalification and then found it impractical to obtain three competitive bids, authorizing public works to acquire qualified contractors on the open market per Idaho code.
- Street and facilities projects: Council approved a professional services agreement with NBW Architects for design of a 10,000 sq. ft. shared administration building for street and sanitation at a cost not to exceed $280,000, and approved a bridge-related construction change order of $9,763.28 (part of total change orders $379,313.50) for the Snake River bridge project.
- E Street reconstruction: The council awarded the E Street/Memorial Drive/Yellowstone Avenue reconstruction project to HK Contractors as the low bidder, $942,469. The work includes replacing curb ramps, storm-drain and water-line improvements, a new inbound east lane on E Street and flashing pedestrian beacons at two crossings.
- River Hollow final plat: Council approved the River Hollow Division No. 2 final plat and the related development agreement and reason statement.
- Sale/offer for city‑owned Bellaire Division parcels: Council accepted a letter of intent from Clearstone LLC to purchase a 4‑parcel city property (approx. 8.6 acres was described earlier in the packet for a different site; see packet) for $2,000,000 and authorized the mayor to sign the necessary documents; council discussion included the potential community benefit of affordable for‑sale townhomes, the unpredictability of final product type during due diligence, and staff’s note that the evaluation panel recommended townhouses as highest‑and‑best use.
- Transit grant agreement: Council approved an FTA 5310 Small Urban funding agreement for $230,400 with a 20% match to support Greater Idaho Falls Transit accessibility services.
- Electrical code amendment: Council approved an ordinance amendment removing a rescinded Idaho Administrative Rule reference and aligning the city code with the state adoption of the 2023 National Electrical Code.
- Quasi‑judicial rezoning: After a public quasi‑judicial hearing and significant public comment (both for and against), the council approved rezoning approximately 1.55 acres from Highway Commercial (HC) back to R‑3A (residential mixed use). The planning commission had recommended denial by a 3–1 vote, but after council deliberation the motion passed (final recorded vote after tiebreaker was 4 yes, 3 no). Staff noted the comprehensive plan’s mixed‑use centers and corridors designation and told the council that traffic impact studies would be required at site‑plan/subdivision stages.
Why this roundup: The council’s agenda bundled multiple procurement and budget items that are primarily operational, plus a handful of land‑use and capital projects with broader implications. The most sizable financial actions were the ambulance write‑offs and the E Street contract award; the most contested policy decision was the rezoning approval.
Ending
Most procurement and budget items passed on council votes. The council asked staff to monitor potential GEMT reimbursement, to coordinate with Bonneville County on the canopy project and to ensure ADA compliance and traffic planning for the rezoned parcel as the developers move through due diligence and site‑plan approvals.
