Chubbuck council approves short plat, surplus transfers, PFAS legal-services contract and confirms new fire chief

The Chubbuck City Council approved a series of routine land‑use, equipment and personnel actions at its Jan. 21 meeting, including a short plat for Pine Plat 2, several surplus equipment transfers and a contingency legal‑services agreement related to PFAS litigation, and it confirmed Chaz Clark as the city’s fire chief.

Land use and plats: Applicant Emily Roach of Reven Associates said the short plat for Pine Plat 2 splits existing Lots 4 and 5 to create five additional lots and adds a small parcel to one lot. Sean Harris, the city’s development services manager, told council staff found the application met the short‑plat standards and recommended approval with no conditions. The council moved, seconded and adopted the short plat and accompanying findings and conclusions by roll call; councilors voted in favor.

Surplus property and transfers: The council approved disposal of several listed surplus items from police and public‑works yards (old patches, equipment, pallets and worn flags) and agreed to proper disposal protocols for American flags. The police department also proposed an intra‑departmental transfer of a used animal‑control truck to parks staff; Chief Sasser characterized that transfer as an interdepartmental reallocation of existing city property rather than a donation and said the vehicle has about 148,000 miles. Separately, the council approved donating two Zambonis — one operable, one for parts — to the Rotary Club of Soda Springs after staff said the machines were originally purchased by a hockey association and later donated to the city.

PFAS legal services: Council considered Resolution 2026‑02 to authorize the mayor to enter into a contingency legal‑services agreement to evaluate potential claims against manufacturers and distributors of PFAS chemicals affecting public drinking‑water systems. Staff explained the agreement would not require the city to pay attorneys’ fees or costs unless the city received recovery; any city share of fees would be paid from proceeds the city receives. Councilors asked whether the agreement would conflict with other claimants’ actions (for example, firefighter claims); staff said the contract specifically targets claims for public water systems and would not bar unrelated claims by other groups.

Claims and personnel actions: The council approved the presented claims docket for Jan. 21 by roll call. The council then entered executive session under Idaho Code 74‑206(1)(a) to evaluate candidates for a vacancy; after adjourning the executive session the council confirmed the mayor’s nomination of Chaz Clark as the city’s fire chief by roll call. The mayor said a formal acknowledgement ceremony for the new chief will occur at the next meeting.

What happened to votes: Nearly all listed votes in the meeting were unanimous in favor. Where roll‑call tallies were recorded in the meeting transcript, council members Reese, Heiner (appearing as Heiner/Hiner in the transcript), Hernandez and Evans voted yes on the recorded motions.

Next steps: No substantive policy actions beyond Resolution 2026‑02 were adopted; the council said staff would follow through on approved disposals, the plat recording and the mayor’s authority to finalize the PFAS legal‑services agreement.