City Council Minutes 11-21-17

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING

NOVEMBER 21, 2017

Members Present:
Diana Doutre
Lyle Holmgren
Jeff Reese
Bret Rohde
Lyle Vance
Roger Fridal, Mayor
Shawn Warnke, City Manager
Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Fridal called the November 21, 2017 City Council Workshop to order at 6:03 p.m. The meeting was held in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Fridal, Councilmembers Doutre, Holmgren, Reese, Rohde, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Police Chief David Nance, Treasurer Sharri Oyler, Recreation Program Coordinator Zach LeFevre (arrived at 6:30 p.m.) and Battalion Chief Blair Westergard (left at 6:10 p.m.).

1. Review of agenda items on the 7:00 p.m. Council Meeting:

The Council reviewed the November 21, 2017 Agenda with the following items being discussed in more detail:

Surplus of a 1985 Kenworth Fire Truck. Battalion Chief Blair Westergard said Corinne City is the only entity to express interest in the 1985 Kenworth Fire Truck. The Fire Department will keep the loose equipment that has been on the truck and then donate the truck to Corinne Fire Department. If the Fire Department were to keep this truck, they would have to find a heated place to store it so the water in it would not freeze. The truck is in good working condition and will be good for Corinne. In return, Corinne will help Tremonton Fire Department on calls if needed. Councilmember Doutre said it is good to be a good neighbor. Councilmember Holmgren liked the idea of keeping the truck in the county. Councilmember Reese agreed the firefighters have good wisdom on where surplused equipment should go. The Council thanked Battalion Chief Westergard for his time.

Awarding bid for the Main Street Storm Drain Project. Director Fulgham said this project will not get done before winter and in order to receive better bids, because of how busy everyone is, the City gave a year window for the project to be completed and expects it to be a spring project. There were seven bidders ranging in price from $534,040 to $775,000. Councilmember Holmgren wondered if the City would be more prepared for next year’s run off and another 100-year storm. Director Fulgham said we are as prepared as we can be. The City placed a grate in Byron Wood’s field, which can shut off the water from coming back in around the basin where the bottleneck is. Mayor Fridal asked if we have started working on the ditch south of that area that goes through the field. Director Fulgham said we will once the ground starts to freeze.

Ordinance No. 17-14. Director Fulgham said this did not play out quite as well as saying this is the zoning of your development and this is how much water will be exacted. For example, the City’s Zoning Code says if you develop in an area that is R1-10, which is one of the most common, lot sizes cannot be smaller than 10,000 square feet. But there are a lot of developments in R1-10 zones that have up to 20,000 square foot lots. How it has worked out is in accordance with the Engineer’s calculations, which is 50% of water shares per developed irrigated acre. Director Fulgham said his recommendation is what Engineer Breinholt has recommended since the beginning. If not, then we have to look at each subdivision separately as it comes in based on lot size, the average footprint of homes and the non-irrigated property with that lot. If a subdivision is required to have a detention or a retention basin, which will be included in the calculation because that whole lot is irrigated.

Manager Warnke said he added the chart based on lot size to the Ordinance, which, in the end, equates to the same as the Engineer’s estimate of 50%. If the wording in the Ordinance is too complicated, the Council could eliminate the chart and it could just say half a share per developed acre. Site plans will be reviewed and a site analysis by the Public Works Director or City Engineer will be required on Industrial and all other developments other than single family subdivisions. Councilmember Holmgren said the Ordinance looks good but asked if somebody decided to do xeriscape and could show water conservation in some fashion—is it worthwhile for the City to say we encourage that conservation and could do something. Director Fulgham said a developer could come in and do that, but the problem is, the City does not enforce those covenants. When the property changes ownership and if they do not like xeriscape and want sod—now we do not have the shares for that. If we were metering per lot, it might be different, but where we are not doing that per lot it is hard to control. Councilmember Reese said we have done our due diligence and it floats all around 50%, which becomes so objectionable on areas that it could be argued every single time. We would be safer to say we did a study and it averages 50% and that is where we should go. Councilmember Vance said we are always shooting for consistency. Manager Warnke said we could simply state it as that, but right now the proposed language references this chart, which looks at ranges of lot sizes and gives a percent.

Councilmember Holmgren asked if this decision would be enacted from this point on or if the City has been able to get some of the other subdivisions that are in the process to meet these standards. Manager Warnke said the Council adopted a resolution and that became the deadline, however, a few subdivisions beat the deadline so some for this year have been approved without the exaction of water. Going forward, State Code allows the City to reject applications since they created a pending ordinance and gave notice so applicants would need to comply or have their application rejected. The City has not approved any subdivisions since then and developers know the water exacting is a requirement at this point. This would formalize what we have designated as a pending ordinance.

Ordinance No. 17-15. Manager Warnke said this is an addition to this Ordinance. We now require a permanent address sign at the street. The idea is that if there is an emergency at a flag lot, there is some direction for emergency responders to be able to find them. Flag lots have narrow frontage and are not readily seen when driving by, especially at night. This will require the landowner to post signs to certain standards so they can be found. Councilmember Doutre asked if emergency personnel have any input. Manager Warnke said we use the Fire Code, but a representative does not sit on the Land Use Authority Board. However, Administrative Bench and Engineer Breinholt are well versed. This issue is born out of the Fire Code, which requires a permanent address be attached to a property in a position where people can see it from the street. It also takes into account public safety issues.

Manager Warnke said there is more permissive language under section A, which talks about the Planning Commission approving deep lots, but it has been proposed that part be struck out because if the lot meets the standards, the Land Use Authority Board approves it. Councilmember Rohde said we just keep taking things away from the Planning Commission and they are a valuable resource as they debate and evaluate those things. Manager Warnke said this is proposed because developers like certainty and they want to know what they can and cannot do sooner in the process. The Planning Commission is further into the process and it is good to have standards that are clear when they meet with the Land Use Authority Board. Manager Warnke added he did not mean to say the Planning Commission is not important, just that from a developer’s perspective, there are some advantages to clear standards and having uncertainty removed early in the process. Councilmember Rohde asked why Planning Commission and Land Use Authority Board are separate. Manager Warnke said the City created the Land Use Authority Board to review applications, which has been a good model. The Planning Commission is an advisory board and technical experts who review development, almost on a professional level. There are certain statutory requirements that are specifically reserved for the Planning Commission. Reviewing applications is more of a procedural and administrative issue. But that is the Council’s decision and the Land Use Code can be changed to designate the Planning Commission to have more authority to approve applications, but that is more administrative and their time is better spent in reviewing planning documents and ordinances and making recommendations. We have several plans coming through to them like the Transportation Master Plan and Economic Development Plan. They also did great work on the secondary water ordinance. They gave thoughtful consideration and discussion to the issue.

Resolution 17-54. Manager Warnke said this changes the current model slightly. We currently give an allowance, but as you know, that is a small amount added to each paycheck that elected officials receive. This does not give enough resources for that individual to go out and purchase a computer as a lump sum purchase. This change will provide an elected official (Mayor, City Councilmembers, and Judge) with an allowance of $1,500 for their term. In return, the City expects them to have a working computer to do City business on.

Cellular Communication Antenna on City Property. Manager Warnke said Verizon is looking for three new tower locations. Tremonton was hoping to get all three sites, but only have one site that is feasible—located between the tennis courts and the police station. This is a 25-year ground lease. The Council is not approving the lease at this time, but are allowing site selectors to propose it to Verizon. If we tell them we are interested in continuing, then it would be approved at some point. It is a 30-foot tower with a light on it. It is thicker than a typical streetlight. This would bring the City a $3,000 revenue annually, which could be used for public art and continuing those efforts. Councilmember Reese said he did not see a problem with it.

2. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar
b. Review of past assignments

Discussion of a City Mission Statement. Councilmember Rohde sent an email to Councilmembers asking for their input. It was also posted on the City’s social media, which ended up with 6,187 reaches. Councilmember Rohde said he also added it to his personal page and got an additional 819 reaches. He received some good comments along with a few complaints. He went though all the responses and categorized them and would like more responses from the Council and ideas on values.

According to the responses, the public wants a safe place to live, which was number one with 11 votes. Next was a fun place to live with recreation and to keep kids out of trouble. The City’s job is to provide some of that entertainment and recreation. Next was entertainment and restaurants. There is a lot of push for a movie theater and nice restaurants in town. They also liked economic opportunities and local businesses. There were a lot of comments about keeping business in town and giving incentives to local businesses. They want a clean town without weeds, along with open space, parks, and trails. They want economic opportunities, health, fiscal responsibility, growth, education and infrastructure.

Councilmember Rohde said he would like to educate the public and let them know that the Council does not control what businesses come in—that is controlled by zoning. There are tax incentives for new businesses, but some would like to see incentives for those already here. Others said they want a City that values the rights of the individual and protects them and a City that values free markets opposed to government controlled economic development. There were 148 comments, categorized into 39 areas. He will email this to the Council. The next step is to go through and decide what values are important for the City. Councilmember Holmgren said what sticks out in his mind is the idea of art and murals. He would like to see things that would bring people downtown. All those things add to what makes a small community special.

Manager Warnke said there is a base line for governmental services we provide such as utilities and public safety. It would be nice to single out what we want to do to make us different and separate our City. It is all about branding and differentiating us from other communities and building something greater than the base line. If we make the values so broad and include everything then we really accomplish nothing. We should define a basic level and then focus on something above the base line government and really try to get after it. Art, culture, recreation, trails, and entertainment are all ideas. We need to focus on something that would help us raise the bar and our community above the generic community.

3. Discussion of tasks and details surrounding the implementation of a pressurized secondary water system
4. Discussion of values and mission statement
5. CLOSED SESSIONS: No closed session was 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

The meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Fridal called the November 21, 2017 City Council Meeting to order at 7:05 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 Doutre, Holmgren, Reese, Rohde, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Police Chief David Nance, Treasurer Sharri Oyler and Recreation Program Coordinator Zach LeFevre.

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 Councilmember Doutre and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Reese.

2. Introduction of guests:

Mayor Fridal welcomed those in attendance.

3. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Doutre to approve the agenda of November 21, 2017. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

4. Approval of minutes – November 7, 2017

Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the minutes of November 7, 2017. Motion seconded by Councilmember Rohde. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

5. Public comments: Comments limited to three minutes.

Micah Capener thanked the Council for all their efforts and hard work on secondary water. He likes the new consolidation in the zones and thinks that makes it way more effective and efficient to do. The Ordinance the Council is seeing today is not what the Planning Commission has seen—that was a few revisions ago. As the Planning Commission, we approved the one share per irrigated acre, which generally is fair in my mind as far as what is really being watered. He said the Ordinance talks about exacting other water that meets the municipal needs and said he does not know exactly what that is. It feels a little ambiguous. That is a concern I have. I think commercial needs to stay on a case-by-case basis because it depends on how much they are really irrigating and what commercial it is. I would also encourage the Council to approve secondary in all of the City if we are going to do it to make it easier on billing and exaction. For zones 9 and 10, I counted 218 existing homes and businesses, plus an additional 80 acres we are working on, so I can see it being 300 to 400 homes shortly.

6. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of awarding bid for the Main Street Storm Drain Project (from approximately Country Club Drive to 2000 West).

Director Fulgham said we put our Main Street storm drain project out to bid and we received seven bidders ranging in price from $534,040 to $775,505. The low bid was Rupp’s Excavation and recommended awarding the bid to them. A portion of it will be paid for by UDOT. This is a good opportunity—if we wait and postpone it in the future then UDOT might not participate. They look at it as our problem and we look at it as their problem, but we are going to solve the problem and this is one way to get them to step up.

Councilmember Vance asked how much UDOT is paying. Director Fulgham said they would contribute $127,538 to pay for a portion of the pipe cost. Councilmember Holmgren asked if the County was going to help on the fill. Director Fulgham said they mentioned they could, but by the time they screen it and make it to the standard of UDOT it is about sixes. However, they are willing to help the City with gravel. Councilmember Vance asked what the end results would be. Director Fulgham said water will all go west with the natural drainage that was there before the State put the freeway through and cut it off.

Motion by Councilmember Reese to accept the bid for Rupp’s Excavation on the Main Street storm project. Motion seconded by Councilmember Holmgren and Doutre. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and consideration of adopting Ordinance No. 17-14 enacting the requirement for new developments to provide as public improvements a secondary water system and water shares to the City for secondary water and other exactions

In response to the public comments, Manager Warnke pointed out that the Ordinance still says one share per irrigated acre at the beginning. He also addressed the comment about exacting water for other needs of the City. All that is trying to say is the secondary water needs to irrigate lawn or open space, there is nothing hidden there. We are not taking more to make up a deficiency in any other location—it is all based upon exacting water shares to service the new subdivision and development. The additional items changed since the Planning Commission reviewed it are double underlined and based on discussions at the Council level.

Councilmember Holmgren asked how the City is going to handle water exactions when development occurs in an area that would not be serviced until a later date and where that water will got and if it is attached to that area of used in another part of the City. Manager Warnke said it is an exaction that would be applied across the City no matter where you develop and would go into the pool. Developers would be required to put the distribution lines in and the City would service them someday. He added that the City does exactions that are not implemented for some time, such as fees-in-lieu for sidewalk, curb, and gutter. The City knows what is required for build out. We cannot exact to make up our own deficiency, but without exactions, we are not going to approve the subdivision. If we are able to provide water somewhere else, it frees up culinary water for them in their development. What we exact will not go toward the City’s deficiency. We need 300 shares for areas that have already been developed. Director Fulgham said water from that phase that is not serviced with secondary water might be put to use, but will be ready for the area when they do service it. We will be acquiring other shares to meet our deficiency, we are not taking it from developers. Manager Warnke said from a developer’s perspective, if we do not exact the water, we do not acquire it and we cannot put that water to use and then we cannot put their subdivision into service. We are trying to balance it out. We need to reduce the demand on our culinary system and it does not matter how we do it. In order to allow a new development to come online, we are responsible for acquiring the 300 shares that we have for existing residents and we cannot exact that deficiency from developers. Councilmember Vance clarified that they would require developers to install the distribution lines and provide 50% of a share per developed acre and then made a motion to approve the ordinance.

Motion by Councilmember Vance to adopt the ordinance. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – nay, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

c. Discussion and consideration of adopting Ordinance No. 17-15 amending Title II Subdivision Ordinance of the Tremonton City Corporation Land Use Code, Chapter 2.06, Section 2.06.080 Deep Lot or Flag Lot Development

Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to adopt the ordinance, amending deep lots or flag lots. Motion seconded by Councilmember Doutre. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

d. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 17-54 amending Section XIII: Compensation Planning of the Tremonton City Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual adding a policy regarding Elected Officials Computer Allowance

Motion by Councilmember Reese to adopt the resolution. Motion seconded by Councilmember Holmgren. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

e. Discussion and consideration of approving notice of the “Annual Meeting Schedule” for 2018 of the City Council of Tremonton City, Utah

Motion by Councilmember Doutre to approve the Annual Meeting Schedule. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

f. Discussion and consideration to surplus a 1985 Kenworth Fire Truck

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to approve the surplus of the fire truck. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

g. Discussion of concept of plan to locate small cellular communication antenna on City property between the Police Department and Tennis Courts at the Civic Center Common

Manager Warnke said this concept plan has not been formalized, but allows for the consideration of this site to move forward. We will need to determine the exact location for the antenna between the police department and tennis courts, but it would be a 10 by 10 foot space, which would be tied up for 25 years in a lease and would like to put it by the existing UTOPIA cabinets. This would provide the city with $3,000 a year.

Motion by Councilmember Doutre to accept the plan to locate the antenna on City property. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

7. Reports and Comments

a. City Manager Reports and Comments

1. Wastewater Treatment Plant Impact Fee Facilities Plan and Impact Fee Analysis

Manager Warnke said we have a good draft and are finalizing the impact fee analysis for the facility. They will be forth coming here in the next month or two. We have to go through the public notice requirements, but the impact fees will be around $1,800 per ERU ($1,400 currently). These are a couple big projects, but we have budgeted for them every year for the past four years. For handling bio-solids, we budgeted about $800,000. We will complete it with cash as soon as it is approved. The other project that we recognize in this plan, but is not impact fee eligible, is nutrient removal. The State requirement to remove phosphorus will be completed by 2020. It will cost about $2 million.

b. City Department Head Reports and Comments

Recreation Program Coordinator Zach LeFevre gave a report on the City’s Christmas Light Show. Last year they had 2,000 cars come though with about 6,000 people (three per car) as their rough estimate. This year we are expecting that to grow because of advertisement and social media posts. Within one day, 400 people were interested in attending and have had 32 shares. This year there are three new songs. He thanked Val Bennett, who has helped them for several years behind the scenes, working with trouble shooting and new equipment. The display will run through January 2. Mr. Bennett has said they are pushing the limits of what their software is capable of and the display is really progressing.

c. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Holmgren said after discussing with Recreation Program Coordinator LeFevre and Manager Warnke, it would be beneficial to start an arts council in Tremonton. This would allow the City to apply for more art grants.

In talking about secondary water, the City needs to acquire enough shares. When we exact the 50%, we need to be prepared to buy the other 50% of that share at market price. When it comes time to move, it is critical for the City to be able to do that. He also felt some special meetings would be beneficial.

Councilmember Doutre told Recreation Program Coordinator LeFevre she takes a lot of pride in the things the Parks and Recreation Department has done, as does the community. We really love those lights and we thank you very much for it.

Councilmember Vance highlighted the Senior Center. It is kind of cool to drive by and see all the cars parked there and see how it is utilized. We have a good thing going on in the community.

Councilmember Vance added we need to start discussing the pumps and filtration system for secondary water. We have to have a good filtering system so it is not all on the end user and that the water cannot have so much grit. We all are in agreement we need to do something with secondary water and we need to know the end cost and how we are going to finance it. We need to get to that point soon.

Engineer Breinholt and Director Fulgham will report at the next meeting where the City is at on its capacity for water. Engineer Breinholt certifies Tremonton’s water system every year to ensure the City is able to supply enough water to its residents. Special council meetings and work sessions on secondary water will also be important. Manager Warnke said we are close to that issue of not being able to certify the system for service delivery. This report will help us set a game plan and determine how we proceed and resolve the issue.

Mayor Fridal reminded the Council about their annual Christmas party on Tuesday, December 12, at Maddox at 6 p.m. The Senior Center will also hold a holiday event that they will help serve at. They will find out more information soon.

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

9. Adjournment.

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

The meeting adjourned at 7:41 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 5th day of December, 2017.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

Follow-up items for the Council and City Staff

The Council needs to think of mission statement ideas and values for the City. Send those ideas to Councilmember Rohde, who will send a reminder.

Archives