MELBA, Idaho — The small Canyon County town of Melba has felt the effects of Treasure Valley's rapid growth. They call themselves the Seed Heart of America. It's a sleepy town that a lot of people have woken up to. Twenty years ago, people who wanted a little more space looked toward Melba.
Cory Dickard serves as Mayor and the high school's Athletic Director, and he has seen it all. "We kind of seen what's happened to Kuna with the rapid growth and we wanted to make sure when it did hit Melba we had plans in place that were meeting what the city's future plan was for growth."
So, years ago the town implemented a building moratorium for three months so their city attorney could create a building code and subdivision ordinance. For those subdivisions outside the city limits, City Clerk Noni Stapleton said this. "No, we do not receive any tax dollars from outside the city limits just what's inside."
The town has recently built a new water tower to handle a large percentage of new water lines. As far as police protection and response, Mayor Dickard would like to have their own police department, but it's not in the budget for the foreseeable future.
Because of what they can and cannot do inside city limits, I asked the Mayor how locals would greet newcomers to their neighborhood. "I would say some people are welcoming, and others who are concerned about the outsider attitude coming in," he added.
One thing is for certain Melba's small-town feel won't change anytime soon.
