TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
JANUARY 21, 2020

Members Present:
Connie Archibald
Lyle Holmgren
Bret Rohde
Rick Seamons
Lyle Vance—excused
Roger Fridal, Mayor
Shawn Warnke, City Manager
Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Fridal called the January 21, 2020 City Council Meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. The meeting was held in the Tremonton City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Fridal, Councilmembers Archibald Holmgren, Reese, Rohde, and Seamons, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Community Services Director Marc Christensen, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, and Police Sergeant Nick Nessen. Councilmember Vance was excused.

1. Opening Ceremony:

Mayor Fridal informed the audience that he had received no written or oral request to participate in the Opening Ceremony. He asked anyone who may be offended by listening to a prayer to step out into the lobby for this portion of the meeting. The prayer was offered by Director Christensen and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Recorder Nessen.

2. Introduction of guests:

Mayor Fridal welcomed those in attendance.

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: none.

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to approve the agenda of January 21, 2020. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – January 7, 2020

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to approve the minutes of January 7, 2020. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye. Motion approved.

6. Public comments: none.

7. Employee Years of Service

a. Linsey Nessen, City Recorder – 10 years

Mayor Fridal presented Recorder Nessen with her award and thanked her for her service.

8. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of approving Resolution No. 20-05 adopting the Tremonton City Corridor/Area Corridor Study Collaborative Agreement between UDOT and Tremonton City to create an integrated Land Use Plan

Manager Warnke said we budgeted $25,000 to undertake some land use planning. Tremonton City submitted a grant to UDOT and they gave us $50,000 to do a comprehensive land use plan, focusing on land uses throughout the City, looking at our zoning districts and densities. It would also look at our other plans. We are working on an Affordable Housing Plan and did our Transportation Plan, which would be reviewed and incorporated into one overall plan. We have also done some Main Street planning, as well as parks planning. The overall effort would be to take all those plans and incorporate them into a comprehensive Land Use Plan, looking at the elements for land use policies or objectives.

This agreement was created by UDOT and sent to us to review. They suggested the City Manager be the project manager and identify a consultant. The project committee would approve that selection before it would proceed to the Council for approval of a contract. Landmark Design, from Salt Lake City, is a part of UDOT’s consulting pool and has land use and planning experience. I provided a scope of work at the last Council meeting, but that might adjust slightly based upon the consultant’s review. At this point, we want to get the resolution agreement approved so UDOT can approve it and we can start working on refining that scope of work. It would then come to the Planning Commission and Council for input and approval.

There is also a Steering Committee that would be selected and comprised of stakeholders to work with the consultant. Information would be put before the public. We could incorporate all those plans and put them into a similar format, but since there are hundreds of pages, I would recommend we leave those as stand alone elements of the plan instead of combining them. Not only would we use a lot of time to incorporate it into one, we would lose a lot of information. Councilmember Rohde said we really need a Land Use Plan to give us direction and strategies to move in the future.

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to approve the resolution. Motion seconded by Councilmember Holmgren. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and consideration of approving the disposal of a city vehicle (2004 Ford E-456—Ambulance)

Manager Warnke said Portage had a first responder vehicle that was in an accident and they have an interest in having this vehicle if the City is disposing of it. The Police Department was going to use it as a crime scene investigation vehicle, but they are fine with it being released to Portage.

Motion by Councilmember Archibald to dispose of the vehicle and give it to Portage. Motion seconded by Councilmember Rohde. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye. Motion approved.

c. Discussion and consideration of accepting a $30,000 National Grant Award as part of the 2020 Fit Cities Campaign – an initiative to install and activate Fitness Courts®

After watching a quick video about this, Director Christensen said he was called by this organization, asking if the City would have an interest. It is a $130,000 program that provides the whole fitness court, promotional and making kit, fitness mobile app, court ambassador kit, and also trains ambassadors from webinars so the City could program on it and do challenges. That includes the freight, packing, and shipping. They were awarding 250 $30,000 grants. I filled out an application and the City has been awarded that. The City would have to come up with the $100,000, but they are working with me to get corporations in the area who would be a title sponsor for the court. The City could contribute $47,000 and if we were not able to get the other $53,000, then we would not continue.

If we could, I think it would be a great asset. It would be installed south of the stage at Jeanie Stevens Park. We have a couple old green sheds we would like to move and would utilize that concrete pad. The court itself is a 32×32-foot pad and would have one-inch tile squares so it has a soft surface. Local gym members think it is a great asset and would get people exercising outdoors in the summer and then in the winter they could have a membership for their gym. This would be free for the public. Councilmember Holmgren asked about maintenance and operation. Director Christensen said the only moving parts are the cable rings, everything else is pretty solid—it does not take a lot of maintenance. Councilmember Archibald asked who would be coaching. Director Christensen said we would recruit the ambassadors, who would be trained by the national fitness campaign. If someone did not want to be coached, there is a free app that takes you though the seven, seven-minute workouts. The only time they would not be able to go on it is if we are programing, but a class is free for everyone so people could join in.

The closest fitness court is in Avon, Colorado, but Heber City has gone through the application process. They are about a year ahead of us. Councilmember Rohde asked about liability. Director Christensen said it would be the same as our playgrounds. We would do routine maintenance and inspections and make sure all the cables are strong and the nuts and bolts are tight. It would be an impact fee eligible project since it is expanding what our City has to offer. It is pretty early in the process. We have been awarded the $30,000 discount and the next thing they need from the City is a letter of support, but it would depend on sponsors. Councilmember Rohde said if you can get the outside community to support 50% of it, I am all for it.

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to accept the grant and follow forward with those bullet points. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye. Motion approved.

9. Discussion of water rates- Paul Fulgham, Public Works Director

Director Fulgham said the Council wanted to look at culinary and secondary water rates. Our biggest concern with the rate is the cost for secondary water, which is high because of the infrastructure. Even though the water is a lower quality, it still takes the same infrastructure to move it from the canal to people’s homes. We have borrowed $3.4 million and have operation and maintenance costs on top of that. Since September 2018 we have spent $1.4 million on acquiring water shares so we have enough now and into the future. Regardless of what we do, we have to make sure we are able to collect 125% of the debt payment plus the operation and maintenance. That is the loan requirement.

Councilmember Rohde asked why we are calling it culinary versus secondary water and not just a water rate. We know as we move forward with secondary water, and until we build enough customers, the culinary system will be handling the debt. So what if we call it a water rate with everyone paying the same. This would reduce the concerns as new sections come on. Those who move from using culinary on their lawn to secondary will see no change in their rate because it is the exact same. This would provide more predicable revenues for the City and stay pretty neutral to cover the costs. It would also be a more predictable expense for residents as they make the switch from culinary to secondary. The first tier would cover indoor use and the next three would cover outdoor usage. When looking at secondary, we wondered how we could incentivize or penalize people to move off that so another rate was adopted for those who have secondary to their yard, but do not choose to use it. The internal use of 0-7,000 gallons would be the same but the cost per 1,000 gallons would have a different rate if they elected to stay on culinary for outdoor watering. Some do not use much culinary water on their lawn or have their own well.

Director Fulgham said as a committee we discussed what we could do to make it a water rate and not secondary versus culinary. One thing is if we adjusted the base rate $2 a month (from $10 to $12) then this would get rid of the base rate for the secondary system. The base rate helps us cover some of the costs we incur before we sell any water. The second idea was to adjust the first tier from 7,000 to 10,000 gallons for indoor water use. This would give larger families who use more indoor water a break on the average usage. The third idea was to adjust the tiers to match that of the secondary tiers (30,000 gallon increments instead of 40,000 gallons). So everyone would pay a $12 a month base rate with a first tier of 10,000 gallons. Everything would be blocked at 30,000 gallon increments. With secondary water the first 10,000 gallons are all on lawn not in the home so that is why we went to 0 to 30,000 on the blocks and then added the incentive rates so people would hook to secondary. So as we expand the secondary system and people hook on, they would see no difference in their utility bills. They could then better plan for it.

Director Fulgham then reviewed the averages for residential water use in the summer time and winter. He also provided medians. We have talked about lowering the first tiers and hitting the higher tiers, but the problem is we cannot count on the usage in the higher tiers to pay the loan back. Councilmember Holmgren said if this is going to be really pricey, people will cut back and our revenues will go down. Director Fulgham said in 2016 we adjusted the rates because the goal was to conserve 10%, but people did not adjust. We raised the rates per thousand gallons and went to the tiered rate hoping for a 10% reduction and we got a 2% increase, which matched our growth. Nobody reduced their usage just because we raised the price. We are just adjusting some tiers and the big adjustment is the $2 a month base rate to offset having to have a base rate for the secondary. Residents will get a bill showing both readings. It is not about impacting them so much financially on the secondary system, it is about recovering the cost we have to make our debt service payment. At first everybody who had secondary in front of their house would get a $10 bill whether they used it or not. This would do away with that. If they do have secondary, they would go to the other rate that everybody pays, but if they go over the 10,000 gallons that is when it would make a difference. If they have a well they will not see any change because the average indoor use is 5,700 gallons a month. We want to move on this before the secondary season comes so we could adopt a new rate. Councilmember Archibald said this is moving the public toward being conservative, but we are listening to their comments and taking some of their feelings into consideration.

10. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar

Manager Warnke said there is a pre-disaster mitigation meeting on Thursday, Jan. 30 at the courthouse. The Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual banquet on Friday, Jan. 24. We will hold a training as part of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on March 3, to discuss the Municipal Officers Ethics Act, along with the Open Meetings Act, which is required training.

b. Review of past assignment: none

The following items were discussed out of order

11. Reports & Comments:

a. City Manager Reports and Comments

Manager Warnke said this is the plan where the RDA engaged a consultant to look at Main Street, and the urban design and streetscape. It is completed and ready for your review, but is a large document. It will be presented officially at an upcoming meeting.

b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments

1. River Valley, Phase 7

Manager Warnke said this is 2300 West where 32 lots are proposed. It is a concept review and is a basic subdivision continuing on what Sierra Homes has done in the past. They want to do smaller lots (8,000 square feet) so we need to see how that matches our zoning district (R1-10). We have talked about a rezone and some enhancements to the neighborhood.

Manager Warnke said the Tremonton Place Subdivision Phase 2 is creating a connection to Tremont Street and is 12 lots. It is at the Planning Commission right now for a preliminary plat review. Councilmember Rohde said they had concerns about that road stubbing off at 150 West, the drawings showed it dead ending, but if they are never going to put a road there then why show it. Director Fulgham said that would be in the third phase, but we do not want stub streets that go nowhere.

2. Edgewood Subdivision

Manager Warnke said this is a generational neighborhood where they have different housing products within the same development. Bordering Archibald Estates will be 8,000 square foot lots, then 6,000 square foot lots, patio homes for senior living, and townhomes. The preliminary plat has been approved by the Planning Commission and Phase 1 will have all these housing products. They need to vacate a subdivision and road that was platted for a church site and never constructed before they can finalize their plans.

Manager Warnke said the Hansen Annexation is in the same vicinity of Tremont Place and Aspen Ridge and is 24 acres of property. It would extend our City limits down to the interstate for this proposed annexation. We have been talking to Jay Stocking who wants to do a higher density development with amenities. This is a concept. He is supportive of the trail system with the higher density and having an alternate form of transportation. It includes a piece of property owned by the Tanner’s and the back of Blake Christensen’s farm, which are outside the City limits. A regional storm drain basin would be required to service this area and is shown on the other side of the road with the idea to make it a neighborhood park. We have talked about the sewer and approaching the end of the limits of what our system can flow to. Mr. Stocking is working on a pre annexation agreement that would formalize things.

Manager Warnke said the 1650 West Subdivision is one the City is sponsoring related to the creation of a collector road. Stotz Equipment, IFA, and Contemporary Homes own property here. The idea is to have a collector road that runs parallel to the interstate and extend 1650 to the north with a connection into 1000 North. For the 1650 West subdivision, they want to augment their existing parcels because the City street would take some of the developable property. Their parcels would be enlarged and we would adjust the alignment to make sure future develop needs could be accommodated. We are waiting to hear back from the church and working with Contemporary Homes to acquire the property for a regional storm drain basin. We hope to work out a zoning impact fee credit agreement with them. Our obligation would be to construct a road in the future. We did get corridor preservation funds in the amount of $200,000, but the actual construction of the road would be closer to three-quarters of a million dollars. We need to work with Finance Director Roberts to figure out the timing of when we could undertake that cost. It is on the DRC agenda and we are working on completing the acquisition agreement.

3. Aspen Ridge Subdivision

Manager Warnke said the preliminary plat has been reviewed by the Planning Commission and will go back to DRC for the final plat review. It is between the tracks and canal. Councilmember Archibald asked about the impact on traffic there and Councilmember Rohde said the 150 Subdivision that Mr. Capener is proposing would provide another outlet onto Tremont Street, which will reduce the traffic. Manager Warnke said Rocket Road is also clarified as a minor arterial. We do not have the same right-of-way width as Tremont Street and it does not quite meet our standards. We are looking at ways to increase that. There is an extra dedication of right-of-way on Rocket Road. There will be some constraints where it is already developed, but there are opportunities to increase it on the south side. There will be five phases and there is a trail planned along the canal corridor. We have talked to the developer about them constructing the trail as part of their development and giving them impact fee credits.

4. Matheson Apartment Complex

Manager Warnke said this is the Tremont Center apartment complex site plan. It shows the first phase with seven apartments (24 plexes). They will have a clubhouse with amenities. They are apartments so they will not be owned, but this will give us a housing product we do not have with these types of amenities. This project gives us a lot of park impact fees because of the number of units coming on line. They have done a site plan with the DRC and we are waiting for resubmittal. We have given them our comments and they are working through those. This would help boost our RDA values and give the funds we need to pay the developer back and start reinvesting in our Main Street.

c. City Department Head Reports and Comments

Director Fulgham said some of these projects could allow us to expand secondary water sooner. We could serve these areas and take them off culinary before they even come on. We just need to put the infrastructure in and the developers will provide some of that.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Rohde discussed Bear River Middle School’s white ribbon week, which has increased public awareness of the potential harm of exposure to pornography. This year it will be held February 3-7 at the school. There will be activities, and a student assembly presented by Fight the New Drug. We have been asked to hand out fliers.

Also, people who live in the apartments by Rocky Mountain Power have suggested we start on the walking trail so children have a safer path to school. This is a good opportunity to get started on our trails. I received a call about a suicide awareness event and they asked if they could use the trail for their walk this year.

I also have a few names for Planning Commission. I am leaning toward Layne Sorensen because of his location. The Council agreed and also suggested Teresa Shaffer as a second option.

Councilmember Archibald said she has reached out and is getting her contacts for her meetings and Council assignments.

Mayor Fridal brought up some internet safety measures for youth and the idea of putting banners up in the local schools.

12. CLOSED SESSIONS: There was no closed session held at this time.

a. Strategy session to discuss the purchase of real property when public discussion of the transaction would disclose the appraisal or estimated value of the property under consideration or prevent the public body from completing the transaction on the best possible terms; and/or
b. Strategy session to discuss the character, professional competence or physical or mental health of an individual; and/or
c. Strategy sessions to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation; and/or
d. Discussions regarding security personnel, devices or systems

13. Adjournment.

Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

The meeting adjourned at 7:46 p.m.

The undersigned duly acting and appointed Recorder for Tremonton City Corporation hereby certifies that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes for the City Council Meeting held on the above referenced date. Minutes were prepared by Jessica Tanner.

Dated this 4 day of February, 2020.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

Follow-up items for the Council and City Staff

City Staff will work on getting title sponsors for the Fitness Court and will continue their efforts on secondary water rates.