City Council approves Memorial Day parade

BONNERS FERRY — The Bonners Ferry City Council conducted their bimonthly meeting on Tuesday with new business that included Manny Figueroa requesting approval for a Memorial Day parade, and the city signing a contract with ALLWEST Testing and Engineering for spillway repair.

Figueroa, with the American Legion, requested permission to conduct a Memorial Day parade with the idea that after last year’s parade didn’t happen, this year's could go forward since most COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.

A concern raised was the need for insurance for the event and a potential list of volunteers. According to the city, the event to be covered by insurance would make the event sponsored by the city and require a thorough list of volunteers to be covered under the city insurance.

The list of volunteers wasn’t complete, but the 10 volunteers listed at the city council would be covered under the insurance and the only ones that could act under an official capacity.

All city council members voted yes to approve the Memorial Day parade.

ALLWEST, as Chris McKissen as a project manager, was approved to oversee the rehabilitation of the downstream concrete surface, including work on the west and east spillways, work on erosion control. The project's estimated cost is $43,050.

According to a memo by City Engineer Mike Klaus, the spillway project requires rebar placement and concrete testing, with ALLWEST providing quality assurance testing for the project.

Klaus also requested a backup generator for the Moyie Hydro dam to provide power under emergency conditions and enable communication when power is out at the facility.

The city memo states that the backup generator will allow for lighting, cameras, and critical valves to be operative during any power outage. The unit quoted would cost $33,730.89.