Genola council approves routine expenditures, work orders and water-lease awards; signs CWPP commitment

Genola — At its regular meeting the Genola Town Council approved routine business including minutes from two previous meetings, monthly expenditures and two work orders for park maintenance, and opened sealed bids for leasing surplus irrigation water.

Mayor (meeting chair) read the agenda and the council approved minutes from Feb. 18 and a March 4 pre-bid meeting following a motion by Grant Lundberg. The council then approved expenditures totaling $106,816.59; the mayor noted that approximately $65,000 of that amount is a 0% interest loan for a new well and water tank.

Work orders approved included a $1,600 contract to K.E. Painting to reconstruct and repaint the South Pavilion ceiling and $3,000 for infield dirt for the town baseball fields.

Town staff opened three sealed bids for leasing the town's surplus irrigation water (487 inches of Strawberry Water and 70 inches of Summit Creek water). The bids read aloud included: Allen Steel (bid expressed as $125 per share for Summit Creek, sole bidder for Summit Creek shares), Neil Brown (offered $3.40 per inch for Strawberry water), and Kent Pine ($3.10 per inch for Strawberry water). The council voted to award the Strawberry-water lease to the highest bidder (Neil Brown) and accepted Allen Steel's Summit Creek bid as the sole bid.

In other business, the council approved agreement number 2026-02, the town's CWPP (Community Wildfire Protection Plan) participation commitment, and directed staff to route a proposed wildland-urban interface ordinance and related agreements to the planning commission for public hearing and return to the council.

What happens next: Staff will process awarded water leases and sign the CWPP agreement; the planning commission will hold public hearings on requested ordinances and proposed title changes related to Strawberry Water.