Hope City Board meets

HOPE – Hope City Board met in the City Hall Boardroom on Monday. Bonnie Raff, representing the DAR brought to Mayor Don Still a proclamation to sign honoring the contributions of Native Americans to our culture. “Our constitution comes from the Iroquois and 60 percent of the world’s food comes from the Americas.” Raff also talked about the code talking in World War II using the Navajo language. Raff spent a lot of time on the Navajo Reservation and taught there for five years. She demonstrated a Navajo sand painting, a woven blanket, and a kachina doll which the neighboring tribe of the Hopis created. Raff also talked about other resources that come from the reservation. This month is Native American Heritage Month. The Navajo reservation is the largest in the US both by size and population. The Police Department has a Navajo woman working for it.

At the Board meeting there was also a presentation from the Bild architects from Fayetteville demonstrating what they had done elsewhere and talking about what they could do for Hope. They should be in Hope at least once a week and if needed twice a week for their hands-on parts of the construction.

A Hope for the Future projects update was presented, including certification of the election within 10 days and a 30-day challenge period. The tax is estimated to start being collected on April 1st with an inflow on June 1st.  Trustees will hold the money. The bonds at the earliest will be available in April 2026.

The Board should to have the budget ready by the first meeting in December. Packets were presented to the Board. It could include a $1,000 salary increase for each employee.

Fire Chief Todd Martin requested Board approval of the lease of a ROC building for six months at $250 a month to keep the new ladder truck out of the weather while the new building is being built. The question was raised about a 2-year lease instead. The question was also raised if ROC will allow cameras in there as the spot is isolated.

The new fire station is already designed and would take 7 months for construction. The city is still looking at potential locations and need to narrow down the options and get a few concrete places to purchase. So far only one has said they would sell. The area looked at has been in the South Main area. The building will be two houses wide which narrows down available spots. The spots chosen will be brought before the Board and there will be 30 day bid window.

The Fire Department also asked for permission to apply for the Assistance to Firefighters’ Grant. Permission was granted.

There was no City Manager’s Report.