Monday, March 15, 2010

RideshareOnline.com launches new site!

It’s official! The new and improved RideshareOnline.com launched today – making the ride-matching experience better than ever for Idahoans.

With improved capabilities for personalization, tracking, and management, commuters and organizations will be able to easily optimize their car and vanpooling opportunities. But, the most exciting improvements reach beyond the traditional commuter. The new system features Bike Buddies and School Pool – new ride-match options for cyclists and parents of school kids.

“The addition of Bike Buddies and School Pool makes this new system very exciting. It extends the program beyond traditional commuters and reaches people looking for options in other areas of daily life” said Randy Kyrias, Division of Public Transportation Administrator.

New site features include:



Bike Buddies, ride-matching for cyclists looking to ride to work or ride the trails on the weekends
School Pool, carpool matching tool for parents of children living in the same neighborhood and attending the same school
Home page personalization and branding
Dynamic (same day), one-way, one-time, and long distance ride-matching
Event planning with improved capabilities for single event and dynamic ride-matching to help minimize the travel hassles of commuting to large and small events like sports events, concerts, conferences or weddings
Map-based origin-destination and along-the-route matching
Ability for organizations to create, promote and administer their own commuteincentive management programs entirely within the site
Greater self service features for vanpool formation and ease of administration
Idaho’s Rideshare program license was purchased in 2008 by the Idaho Transportation Department. Previously the program was only available in Ada and Blaine counties.

“ITD purchased the statewide license in order to provide more Idahoans additional transportation options,” said Kyrias. “Ridesharing is just as relevant for people living in rural areas driving to and from work, school and other activities as it is to those living in more populated areas of the state. Everyone is concerned about gas prices, other costs associated with vehicle maintenance and traffic congestion. Ridesharing is a simple solution to all of those things.”

Commuters and organizations interested in learning more about Idaho’s Rideshare program can contact Brian Shea, Rideshare Administrator, at 1-800-527-7985, or email brian.shea@itd.idaho.gov

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Dear Friends,


Thank you to everyone who participated in our last set of meetings and our poll! The results have been impressive indeed. Over the last year, we’ve collected your stories and gathered a sense of what you love most about our town. In the last few weeks, nearly 200 Victor residents voted on which values matter most to the heart and soul of Victor. And our winners are....

Small Town Feel. Family Friendly. Strong and Caring Community. Sustainability. Culturally Historic. Connected to Nature.

We have heard from a diverse cross-section of our community, and we feel confident that these six values represent the heart and soul of our town. But now comes the hard part - we need Victor residents to help us understand exactly what things like 'small town feel' and 'family friendly' mean to this community. If we don't get this part right, our future city plans could focus on the wrong things.

For three evenings in April, Envision Victor will work with Victor residents to more specifically define each of the six values named above. At these fun, interactive workshops residents will share stories of times when they experienced these values in Victor. The stories will help us figure out which physical qualities of our town support the things we love most. The information we gather will allow Envision Victor to turn our general list of six values into city plans on the ground. Each event is free and open to the public, and each will offer the fabulous food of Dining In Catering.

Sign up in advance online by clicking here or by calling (208) 201-3931.

All advance sign-ups will be entered in one of six raffles (one for each value) for great local prizes.

All three Values Definition Workshops will take place from 7-9pm at the Wildwood Room in Victor. All are welcome!

- Monday, April 5: 'Small Town Feel' and 'Sustainability'
- Tuesday, April 6: 'Family Friendly' and 'Culturally Historic'
- Wednesday, April 7: 'Strong/ Caring Community' and 'Connected to Nature'

We hope to see you at one of these events, and we look forward to these next important steps.

Many thanks, and please be in touch with any questions!


Best,
Dahvi Wilson

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

YELLOWSTONE GRAND TETON LOOP
BUSINESS OWNER MEETING


Business Owners, this could be the most beneficial meeting you attend for the viability of your business. This will be a 1 hour discussion regarding tourism and the scenic loop presented by;

Julie Bryan, Marketing Chair
& special guest speaker
Reid Rogers, Teton Valley Chamber of Commerce

Why? During this economy we need to be proactive. National Geographic and other research “think tanks” believe that offsetting the economic stress is possible by appealing to the millions of “geotourists” who have incomes that will support continued travel. This suggests increasing numbers of people looking for vacations, regional drives or otherwise, with experiential and historic content for all members of the family. We believe the concept of a well packaged and marketed Yellowstone-Grand Teton Loop Road with its surrounding attributes and attractions holds significant opportunity for tourism industry development, while contributing to the Geotourism goal of enhancing and sustaining the local area for the benefit of its residents.

Where? Huntsman Springs, Mountain View Lodge Unit #9, 540 Cottongrass Road, Driggs, ID. Follow the signs.

When? March 25th, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

We will offer beverages and snacks compliments of Julie Bryan, Marketing Chair. The setting will be a relaxed atmosphere in the living room where you may mingle and listen to the discussion while sipping on a glass of wine or non-alcoholic beverage. You will also be able to sign up for the program which will register your business free for one year onto the Yellowstone-Grand Teton Loop web site.

PLEASE CONTACT JULIE BRYAN VIA EMAIL TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT; jbryan@windermere.com

Your support of the Loop also improves the ability for future funding in our area to support tourism.





Thursday, March 4, 2010

March 10, 2010

Victor City Hall
CITY COUNCIL
MEETING AGENDA




7:00 Pledge of Allegiance and Agenda Approval
Minutes Review

Adoption of Fair Housing Resolution - 10 minutes

Sign Ordinance - Continuation of Public Hearing - 20 minutes

Sewer Discussion - 60 minutes

Census Update - 20 minutes

Visitors

Executive Session as per Idaho State
Code 67-2345(f) – 60 minutes

Administrative

Calendaring
Fiscal Impacts Presentation - County Office - March 16 - 4:00 p.m.

Bills





Wednesday, February 10, 2010

CHEAP MEAL - GREAT CAUSE!!!

Are you thinking those days of being able to feed a family of four for $20 are a thing of the past? We're here to tell you this is NOT quite a fond memory yet!! Here's an opportunity to spend some quality time with family and friends and support a great cause.

On Saturday, February 20 at 5:00 p.m. the 5th annual Spaghetti Festival will be held at Victor Elementary School. This is a joint effort being put on by Teton Basin Ice & Recreation (TBIR) and Tony's Italian Grill with soda being provided by Victor's own Grand Teton Brewing Co. For your $5 you get a plate of yummy spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, salad, cookies and root beer - PLUS you can go back for seconds!!

During the feast, there will also be raffles and a silent auction for goodies that will benefit TBIR.

There will also be a voucher for a small cheese pizza for the first 200 children 7 years of age and under. (For early attendees, your $5 is stretching just a tad farther!)

See any reason not to attend? I didn't think so!! Circle the date on your calendar and plan on having a wonderful meal at a great price and you will leave the table with a warm feeling knowing you've contributed to TBIR's future.

See you there!




A MESSAGE FROM ENVISION VICTOR

Dear friends,

Thank you to everyone who participated in one of our events in the last few weeks. The turn-out has been really wonderful, and we are so proud to have seen so many new faces in attendance!

I wanted to send along a few important updates. Please spread the word about each of these!

1) Envision Victor Ideas Blog Now Live!
In the last year, Envision Victor has taken on many fantastic action projects, inspired by community members. These have included a few volunteer landscaping days, a tree planting event for this spring, work on a visual gateway into downtown, and efforts to create a neighborhood emergency preparedness program. Though work on some of these is ongoing, we wanted to create a place where Victor residents can share their great ideas, and find others to help them get these projects going.

The Envision Victor Ideas Blog is a place to do just that. Visit the blog to see what others are thinking about, or to share your own ideas. We hope this will be a useful tool to help community members share events and projects, and to help people who want to get involved find interesting projects to work on.

If you offered an idea at our event on January 15th, you will see it on the blog already. Please feel free to comment on any of the posts, or get in touch with me to create a full post.

Please contact me if you have any questions about how this works! Visit the site at http://www.envisionvictor.blogspot.com.

2) Values Survey In the Mail!
Envision Victor is committed to hearing from you. Over the last year, we have collected your stories and listened to you tell us what you love most about Victor. We have compiled the most common values we heard into a list, and NOW WE NEED YOU TO HELP US FIGURE OUT WHICH ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU. In order to make sure we hear from everyone, we have created a survey that we are mailing to everyone in Victor. The survey is also available online, for those who prefer to share your thoughts electronically.

Visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EV to fill out the survey online, or return your paper survey by mail to: Envision Victor, 541 Village Way, Victor, ID 83455.
This survey will close on February 19, so please get your responses in soon!

3) Pierre's Playhouse OPENING FOR MOVIES!!
Well, it's finally happening, and now is a great chance to show the Egbert family how excited you are about Victor's very own movie theater! Pierre's will open for movies THIS THURSDAY showing SHERLOCK HOLMES at the following show times:
Thursday - 7pm
Friday - 6pm and 9pm
Saturday - 2pm, 6pm, and 9pm

Tickets at $7.50 for an adult, or $5.00 for children and seniors.
Call 787-SHOW with any more questions.

Thank you very much for your support, and we hope to see you soon!


Best,
Dahvi Wilson

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

February 10, 2010 Victor City Hall


CITY COUNCIL
MEETING AGENDA

7:00 Pledge of Allegiance and Agenda Approval
Minutes Review

Friends of the River – Trail Creek Stakeholders Water Rights – 20 minutes

Teton Community School – Discussion regarding Bike Path and
Sewer Fees - 15 minutes

Dogwood Place – Application Extension – 20 minutes

City Legal Services – Herb and Melissa Heimerl – 15 minutes

Recommended Water/Sewer Connection Fee Increase – 30 minutes

CIP Process and Timeline – 30 minutes

Maintenance
Progress Reports – Rob Heuseveldt
Victor North Well Progress (Memo)
Downtown Water Project (Memo)

Backflow Training – 5 minutes
Report on Brookside Hollow’s HOA Meeting – 5 minutes

Visitors

City Street Addressing Concerns – Cari Golden – 15 minutes

Park and Rec Committee Report – Cari Golden – 5 minutes

Discussion on additional committees – 15 minutes
Environmental/Energy/Finance/Community Events

On-Line Bill Pay – Amy Underwood – 15 minutes

Maintenance

Administrative
Key to the Capitol – 5 minutes

Bills