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Meadow council debates contribution to state cloud-seeding program; council considers modest pledge
Summary
Councilors discussed whether to contribute to a drone-based cloud-seeding add-on to the state's program after a company quoted $400,000 for the valley; some members said the state already funds most of the work, while others supported a small local pledge if necessary.
Council members spent substantial time weighing whether Meadow should contribute funds to a proposed drone component of the state's cloud-seeding program.
Speaker 7, who had contacted Rainmaker (the private company the state hires for seeding), said Rainmaker quoted $400,000 to serve the valley and that Director Jennings indicated the state would provide $350,000 toward the effort. "Rainmaker is the company who the state hires seeding," Speaker 7 said, describing conversations they had with Rainmaker and a state director. Speaker 7 suggested the town might only need to cover a remaining $50,000 gap if the state did not fully fund the drone add-on.
Other councilors expressed skepticism about whether local contributions were necessary. Speaker 6 said the state program has a large budget and historical operations and argued the valley might already be covered. Speaker 4 framed the town option as an add-on to the state program: "Your proposal would be adding on to the current state program. A drone component." Several members said they would prefer to wait for confirmation from state officials before committing town funds.
In the discussion about possible local pledges, Speaker 3 and Speaker 1 suggested a contingent contribution if the state asked for a shortfall, with Speaker 1 offering a working figure: "if in the in the event that they do need another 50, let's pledge 5,000." Council members said they could readily spend small amounts (e.g., $5,000) if needed, but no formal motion or vote to contribute was recorded in the transcript excerpt. Councilors asked staff to seek clarification from state contacts and Rainmaker before any commitment.
