Gooding Community Newsletter

BRINGING BROADBAND TO YOU!

Gooding County is working with community leaders to bring affordable and reliable internet access to our residents!

FIRST STEP: SPEED TESTING

Speed testing will allow us to determine what the state of broadband service currently is in Gooding County. Your participation in this study will help countless people gain better access to health services, online education, business opportunities, and more.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Visit www.imagineidaho.org/speed-test and take our survey. Please promote it to others so that we can get as much funding for our broadband infrastructure project as possible. Every test completed means real dollars coming to Gooding County to get our residents connected. Please contact Commissioner Susan Bolton at sbolton@co.gooding.id.us if you or your business are interested in helping us promote our broadband efforts.

Donation boxes for Toys for Tots have been set up at Columbia Bank and Glanbia. Also, a bin for Helping Hearts & Hands is set up at Columbia Bank for non-perishable food donations and warm clothes. We need community support to get these bins full to help others in our community. All the food goes to local families.

Donations can also be made in Hagerman & Bliss to help local families.

Donate to help ensure all students receive a good lunch at school.

The First Friday Dinner is here again.

Menu: Lamb Chops, Lamb Stew, Beef Meatballs, Basque Rice, Soup, Salad, Basque Bread and lots of yummy desserts.

Sponsored by the Gooding Chamber of Commerce and Glanbia

There will be arts and crafts event for everyone. Gift wrapping will be available on site. There will be great door prizes too!

The Gooding Elementary 4th grade will be Christmas caroling December 20th starting at 2:00.

Holiday Greetings to the Citizens of Gooding.

I hope you have had a blessed Thanksgiving. It got cold really fast this year. The leaves are falling and you can smell the wood burning in the fireplaces. Christmas is around the corner and the snow will be falling soon. I wish you and your family and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This has been my first year in office as Mayor and I have really enjoyed it. It has been a pleasure to learn all the different functions of the city. I previously worked at the county office and have always done financials, budgets, payroll etc. Moving over to the city I have learned about different departments such as the water department, wastewater treatment plant, road department, parks and airport. I must say I have learned a lot from Larry Bybee our Public Works Director. I am always asking him questions and he has been so helpful.

Our employees are wonderful to work with and they are very dedicated to their jobs. Our girls in the office are great. They cover the financial, payroll, billing, etc. They are the front line for our city, getting the work orders out and answering the questions that the citizens have. They do a fantastic job. If you have any questions, they are here to help you.

Larry Bybee and I have worked on a few projects this year. We received a grant from Parks and Recreation to repair our RV dump station. We plan to have this finished next spring. We have also received ARPA funds from Gooding County and we are using that to have an outdoor workout gym put in the West Park. This will be installed next spring also.

They have started on our new wastewater treatment plant. This plant has been in the process of being built for a while now. We started on this when I was on the city council about 8 years ago. It takes many years to begin the financial applications, engineering plans and studies to see what size of plant would fit the city’s needs. Now we are finally getting the work started. This new plant should last for at least 30 years.

Larry is starting to work on the new BMX Park that will be behind the Duke Morton Memorial Skate Park. Hopefully in the next year or two the kids in town will have a BMX Park to ride their bike in. This should be fun for the kids.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me or reach out to our employees. We are all here to help you.

Once again have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years. Be safe and drive careful on the snow covered roads.

Diane Houser

Mayor City of Gooding

Officer Neill Martin has been working with the City of Gooding Police Department since October 2021. He has been a great addition to our P.D. and we are very proud to have him! Congrats Officer Martin!

Less than 3”, we sand, de-ice and clear sidewalks as needed.

More than 3”, we plow, typically at nighttime for maximum efficiency. Sidewalks may be cleared in the business area during the daytime.

The timing of the start and duration of snow removal operations is dependent on the timing and severity of the storm.

1. Main arterials that provide a minimum network connecting hospitals, police and fire stations.
2. Arterials and traffic collector streets around schools and Main St. and school connection sidewalks.
3. All other significant traffic volume streets, known problem spots (intersections, hills, etc.).
4. All remaining streets, including residential streets.

If a snow event is large or if storms come back-to-back, it takes the entire crew to keep priority 1, 2 and 3 routes open. Priority 4 routes may remain unplowed for quite some time.

In a big snow year, it’s common for snow from plowing operations to be pushed onto and stored in this easement. This may create a large berm along your property boundary and is a normal result with a large volume of snow.

Illegally parked vehicles are the biggest obstacle to effectively remove snow, and they will be ticketed or towed without notice and at the owner’s expense. Illegally parked vehicles can also be plowed in or damaged, a nuisance and a cost to the owner.

Clearing driveway openings is the responsibility of the property owner. During snowstorm plowing operations, plow blades cannot be lifted as they pass by a driveway, so snow will be plowed into driveways as we come down your streets. You may wish to clear your driveway several times during the storm or wait until the storm and plowing activities have ended. It is unlawful to plow, blow, shovel or throw snow onto the street (or any public way), or to bury traffic regulatory signs, when clearing driveways. To avoid damage, graders and loaders will maintain a 4 to 5 foot clearance from obstacles which may be at the street end of your driveway (such as the rear end of a vehicle) or in the right of way. When this happens, less than optimum results are achieved. Park as far onto your property as possible and keep the right of way clear.

Keeping mailboxes clear of snow is the responsibility of the property owner. The City routinely uses the right of way for snow storage and snow removal operations. Any personal belongings left in the right of way, including mailboxes, can sustain damage. This damage is not the responsibility of the City. If your mailbox is inaccessible for mail delivery, mail can be picked up at the Post Office.

The City clears sidewalks in the downtown commercial district only. It is the homeowner or tenants responsibility to clear sidewalks in the residential area.

In this category, timing is everything, as trash service is rarely interrupted due to inclement weather. However, it’s a good idea to keep trash cans out of the right of way during a snow event. These items, and any other items left in the right of way, are easily damaged by snow removal equipment. This damage is not the responsibility of the City.

EQUIPMENT: Take an alternate route when you see snow removal equipment on the street ahead of you. Passing, tailgating or cutting off this equipment is hazardous.

CHILDREN: Snow forts and snow caves can seem like fun, but they are dangerous when built in the right of way or next to the road. When snow builds up we push the banks back. Visibility from inside a plow truck and around large banks of snow is limited.

GETTING AROUND: During a major storm, driving will be hazardous, and may become difficult or impossible on residential streets. Stay off the roadways if at all possible.

FIRE HYDRANTS: The City Public Works Department clears snow from fire hydrants as a maintenance item. With more than 250 hydrants in Gooding, this task takes some time to complete. Property owner help in keeping hydrants clear of snow is appreciated. It is unlawful to plow, shovel or place snow within 25’ of a hydrant on the street side of the hydrant.

We appreciate your support and assistance. We rely on citizens to do their part when it snows. We recognize it’s a big job, and thank you for your efforts. Let’s all have a safe and happy winter!

The City has a high call volume during snow events, especially if the event is large. Your call is important, and your patience is appreciated.

During a storm, you may need to leave a message with your question or concern. Messages are retrieved several times throughout the day. Calls are returned in the order they are received, and as soon as possible.

The Gooding Community Newsletter is a publication designed to shar the positive happenings in our community. If you have an event or news item you would like to share, please send along your information to the email address listed below. Should you have an idea you think could improve our community, we encourage you to bring those ideas to the city council with plans on how we can work together to make our city even better. Thanks for listening and sharing.

Email: info@goodingidaho.org
Website: www.goodingidaho.org
Location: 308 5th Ave W, Gooding, ID, USA
Phone: 208-934-5669
Facebook: facebook.com/goodingidaho