January 2024

The McCall City Council will be asked next week to allow water skis lining the roof of a downtown McCall business to remain despite recommendations from city planning officials.The water skis have lined the roof façade of Lake Town Clothing Company at 200 Lenora St.

A city-owned parking lot on First Street in downtown McCall is now the preferred location for Tesla to install electric vehicle charging stations, the McCall City Council was told last week.The Austin, Texas, electric vehicle manufacturer previously wanted to install the charging stations in a city-owned parking lot on Mill Street, but council members worried that location would be too far away from downtown businesses.The company and city staff have now agreed the charging stations should be placed in a parking lot just east of Albertsons near the intersection of First Street and Lenora Street.“It sounds like a big win as long as it’s sited in the right location, and it sounds like we can do that,” council member Julie Thrower said.The council directed city staff to begin negotiating a lease agreement with Tesla, which would be subject to council approval at a future meeting before the proposal becomes final.Current plans call for Tesla to install charging stations in eight parking spaces that would be leased from the city for about $20,000 per year.The chargers, known a Tesla Superchargers, would be able to charge several types of electric vehicles, including models made by Ford, GM, Honda, Subaru, and Hyundai.Gas vehicles would not be allowed to park in the eight spaces occupied by the charging stations, which would occupy 12% of the 66 parking spaces in the First Street lot.Tesla would pay for electric infrastructure upgrades required for the charging stations, while the city would pay for maintenance costs like snow removal.The infrastructure installed by Tesla, estimated to cost more than $100,000, would belong to the city even if the company removed the charging stations in the future.“It’s an expensive project that we wouldn’t be able to fund otherwise,” Community and Economic Development Director Michelle Groenevelt said.The Tesla charging stations would be installed as part of a rebuild of First Street slated for next summer.

A stoplight would be installed at the intersection of Floyde Street and Third Street (Idaho 55) in McCall, under a traffic planning study adopted last week by the McCall City Council.The Southeast McCall Buildout Transportation Plan recommends conceptual improvements to city streets based on projected traffic growth through 2040.The plan will be a roadmap for the city to follow as new housing developments are proposed in southeast McCall, council members were told.“We wanted to get ahead of that before something comes in and we don’t know what we’re doing,” City Engineer Morgan Stroud said.The plan recommends extensions of North Samson Trail, Davis Avenue, Floyde Street, and Deinhard Lane to spread traffic more evenly by improving interconnectivity between neighborhoods and Idaho 55.“I think last summer was a good example of why we probably need these other connections,” council member Colby Nielsen said, citing construction closures of Davis Avenue and Deinhard Lane.The roadway extensions are expected to trigger intersection expansion projects, including the addition of turn lanes and a stoplight at Floyde Street and Third Street.The roadway extensions are estimated to cost a combined $5.8 million, not including improvements to intersections and the existing segments of roadway.