New Sidewalks, New City Impact Area Proposal, New Neighborhood

New Sidewalks!

After a lot of good work by city staff, we've been awarded a $250k Child Pedestrian Safety Grant from the state. In the image above, you can see the plans for the money.

The solid blue and green lines show the existing sidewalks and walking paths. The solid orange lines show the planned sidewalks, and the kind of dotted orange line along 3rd South is a planned walking path.

Also, the black circles are where we currently have those flashing-light crosswalks, and the yellow circles are where we are planning to install new ones.

All of these projects will be done by fall of 2023, but we are hoping to get some of them completed before snow flies this year, particularly the projects around the new intermediate school (jr. high). It's great to see the connectivity these new walkways will bring to the city.

New City Impact Area Proposal

After the recent rejection of Rexburg's impact area expansion proposal by the combined committee of representatives from Sugar City, Rexburg, and Madison County, we have submitted our own impact area proposal to the county.

You can see the full excellent proposal on the city's website (https://sugarcityidaho.gov/). The map image above gives a good overview of the proposal, but for details, please go to the city's website and follow the link on the home page.

We appreciate the wonderful work the residents of Salem have done to make this proposal a coordinated reality. Our two communities have a long history together, and we expect and hope for a long future together as well.

New Neighborhood

The Planning and Zoning Commission recently held a public hearing regarding a proposed new neighborhood in Sugar City. After a generally very favorable public hearing, P&Z voted to recommend the new development to the city council.

Last Thursday, the council voted unanimously to approve the necessary zone change for the neighborhood. The area in question is 36 acres just south of the current Ponderosa neighborhood. The plan is for 85 lots (71 zoned Residential1; 14 zoned Residential 2). The R2 lots will be single family homes, but share a common wall (twin homes). There will also be a park. The neighborhood will be similar in style and feel to Ponderosa. The development agreement and final plat will come before the council in the near future.

There are a lot of things happening in the city. With interest rates rising and the inflation we're experiencing, it's difficult to predict the future regarding city growth. But I suspect our area will continue to see a lot of interest.

If you'd like to volunteer for a committee or board or get directly involved with city functions in any way, please stop by city hall. The more participation by residents, the better.

Summer is going by quickly! I see the wheat fields drying out, and I'm picking raspberries every morning. Let's all enjoy it while we can!

FY 2026 Budget and Alcohol Ordinance

FY 2026 Budget The city council passed the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2026, which begins October 1st. (City budget fiscal years run from October to September.) It's a good budget, and I think the council and mayor are doing a good job keeping track of how our taxes and other public monies are being used. As normally happens, some fees were adjusted. (Of course, most of the time that means they went up when the government and businesses are talking.) The city has to hold public hearings for any fee increases above 5%. We only had one fee increase above 5% and it went up because of the increased cost of postage at the post office: the Paper Utility Statement fee went up to $1.09. The utility fee increases are listed below and compared with the fees from last year (or currently until October). Costs for maintenance, repairs, and capital projects demand that we increase fees each year to keep up with inflation and rising costs, overall. None of us like utility fees to increas...

Public Information, Sewer Use Rate Increase, City Budgeting

Public Information Recently, I was happy to see that some people notice the announcements regarding youth soccer that I occasionally post on social media.☺ (I've volunteered for the past decade or so with a local organization.) I'm not always sure those announcements for Sugar Soccer are very effective. Of course, the real reason the soccer information was screen shot and reposted, was to demonstrate to residents of Sugar City how hard it might seem to be informed regarding topics and issues being discussed and acted upon by city council. I sympathize with residents who can sometimes feel caught off guard regarding some issues coming up in city council. The mayor, council members, and city staff spend hours each week staying as informed as we can be. Understanding a proposed ordinance, development application, zone change request, or budget item can take hours of discussion and research. Sometimes we have to hear from state and other local government entities. Sometimes we ha...

Merry Christmas 2025! Sunpro, 6th North, and property development

I enjoyed the lighting of the city Christmas lights once again this year! The city crew and Mayor Adams do a good job preparing and conducting the event each year. And, of course, everyone who helped transform city hall into the North Pole for Santa's visit! I think close to 200 kids visited with The Jolly Old Elf! And we thank the fire department for escorting Santa into town and Mrs. Vail's great children's chorus! Sunpro Store and Plant If you've driven on Hwy 33 to the Hwy 20 interchange, you couldn't have missed the new Sunpro commercial building that is nearing completion. The millwork and truss buildings are also coming along. This facility has the potential to bring some good quality jobs into our city. I will also be glad to see the new street, 6th North, get completed with sidewalks and all. Our old dog can't go on long walks like she used to, but I think once 6th North is completed, I will enjoy having a new place to walk, and I might see if she is ...

Sugar City, Idaho: The Dayley Report

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