Council approves multiple routine items: urban renewal eligibility, Stantec contract, utility agreements and animal‑display code changes

At its April 9 meeting the Idaho Falls City Council approved a slate of items that included an urban renewal eligibility finding, consultant services for the wastewater plant, utility contract approvals and a code amendment on animal displays.

Skyline‑Broadway urban renewal eligibility: Brad Kramer of the Idaho Redevelopment Agency presented an eligibility study for a proposed ~90‑acre Skyline‑Broadway urban renewal district and concluded that eight of the state's 15 statutory criteria were met, including deterioration, obsolescence, access conflicts and topographical constraints. Kramer said the finding of eligibility does not commit the city to adopt a plan. Council approved the resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute necessary documents.

Stantec professional services agreement: Public Works Director Frederickson described a proposed assessment of the wastewater plant headworks (screening, influent metering, air handling and options for future replacement) and presented a not‑to‑exceed contract amount of $108,975. Council approved the agreement and authorized signatures.

Utility agreements: Council approved the negotiated 2026–27 contract with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 57 covering outside crews, and approved an amended and restated power‑cooling agreement with UNS used for regional power transactions and transmission arrangements.

Animal display/code cleanup ordinance: The city attorney explained a code cleanup removing an obsolete licensing requirement for displaying domestic and wild animals, clarified permitted entities (shelters, nonprofits, zoos), and prohibited commercial establishments from displaying, offering for sale, or raffling cats and dogs unless from approved sources. Council adopted the ordinance under suspension of rules.

Consent agenda: The council also accepted three consent items read into the record, including a $50,000 aviation grant from the Idaho Transportation Department, an amendment to a concessions lease with Tailwind IDA Inc., and a police department item.

Each motion was seconded and recorded as carried in the meeting minutes; the transcript records affirmative votes for each item.