City Council Minutes 12-3-19

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
DECEMBER 3, 2019

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 December 3, 2019 City Council Workshop to order at 6:00 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: Community Services Director Marc Christensen, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, and Police Chief Kurt Fertig. Newly elected Councilmember Rick Seamons was also in attendance.

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

Manager Warnke said these proposed amendments to the budget are fairly significant. First it proposes that City facilities pay their utility fees. From an accounting perspective, it is the most correct approach. Overall it would generate $80,000 for the Water Fund. The biggest user of culinary water is the wastewater treatment plant ($44,000 in revenue). The General Fund with the Parks and Storm Drain funds has about $13,000 worth of water usage. This would start the practice of charging City funds for utilities used.

Manager Warnke said we budgeted $60,000 to update our three billboards, but the initial pricing came in extremely high. The cost to do the two billboards on the interstate is $95,000 and $50,000 for the other sign on SR-13. We have asked them to redesign it using a different approach with materials and alternative designs. We could do a vinyl wrap, but that only gives us six months to a year of usage. It would be reasonable to increase the budget if the Council wants to address those signs. We would keep the sign structure, but switch the lighting. We have not done anything with them for 10 to 20 years. This would amend the budget, but before we made a decision it would be brought back to the Council. We are working to minimize the expense through a redesign, but it will cost more. The $70,000 increase would be accomplished through a transfer from the Capital Projects Fund.

Manager Warnke said we are trying to amass water shares. The Water Fund is using a lot of its reserves for construction projects. This budget amendment proposes we increase the budget line item for water shares. That will mainly be accomplished through additional revenue from the City funds paying for their utility services. This also proposes we appropriate funds in the Storm Drain Fund to acquire shares for regional basins in the future, as well as the Park Fund for future parks. That would be accomplished by transferring money from Fund 41, which is our Capital Equipment Fund. It says it would be a loan, but I propose it be a contribution. The Capital Projects Fund has money that has been transferred from the General Fund to purchase capital equipment in the future. That money would be transferred to the Park Fund in hopes that it would be paid back through this impact fee amendment.

When asked about water shares. Director Fulgham said the City currently has 416 shares and needs 574. Another 100 shares puts us there for our existing homes and new development will help bring more. Manager Warnke said we have existing deficiencies, but we also have to look into the future for parks and storm drain basins. Impact fees could pay us back. The hard part is not knowing the availability of water shares in the future. That is why we have been so aggressive in acquiring them. I have talked to Finance Director Curtis Roberts and he feels we are pushing the envelop for what the Water Fund can do. He has looked at the budget amendments and feels fairly comfortable with them. The Council needs to decide if we should continue to buy shares. We have spent more than has been appropriated. Councilmember Reese said I do not think you can go wrong with water shares—it is an investment.

Manager Warnke said Councilmember Holmgren is willing to sell 15 shares to the City, but there is a period of time he would like to continue the use them. We need to work out that agreement on when that term would end. Right now we have our excess shares in the lease pool (about 220 shares). Councilmember Reese wanted to make sure others would have this same opportunity if needed. Director Fulgham said I look at it as a win because I do not need them right now. We can buy them at today’s prices and they take care of all the use. Manager Warnke said we would work on the agreement and bring it to the Council for consideration. Councilmember Vance clarified for 100 shares we are talking about $500,000 and asked if we have that money. Manager Warnke said we would struggle to get that, but it would be great if our revenues matched the availability. Councilmember Vance said with the price of water and availability, I would be for pushing to get all we can right now until we hit the mark we need for existing rooftops and then we could start backing off. Manager Warnke said we are prioritizing expenditures and do have money in the Capital Equipment Fund. Right now water shares are more important than investing in the replacement of capital equipment. Right now 100 shares are not available, but we could get close to 20, which would cost $100,000. That would be appropriated in the Parks Fund. The $85,000 in the Storm Drain Fund would help cover shares we have already purchased. In the Water Fund there is an additional $70,000, which will help amend the budget for what we have already spent in excess of the appropriation. Councilmember Vance said I thought we agreed to put the zones out as fast as we could and asked if we bond, if we can borrow more money to purchase the remaining shares. Manager Warnke said our bond council advised us not to include water shares and they identified how we were going to spend the bond proceeds. Councilmember Vance asked when a new budget year starts if that opens up more money to purchase more water shares. Director Fulgham said it starts a new year so we look at the revenues coming in. If we have some reserves, we can move forward and there could be more money. Manager Warnke said 513 is the magic number, but we need more than that if we are going to continue to grow and do capital facilities. We need to support the future of our City. It is presented as a loan from the Capital Equipment Fund to the Park Fund, but I would suggest it be a contribution so the Park Fund would have no obligation to pay that back.

Manager Warnke brought up a transportation impact fee. We recently did a Transportation Plan identifying what these future facilities were and did the modeling associated with them to determine what we need in the next 10 to 20 years. There are a lot of roads that need to be constructed and impact fees are a mechanism that could help, but those alone will not construct them. It will take multiple sources. Through models we will be able to see the impact of new growth and what land uses attribute to that impact. Horrocks Engineering is in the best position to do that work, but it is expensive. It will cost $15,000 to $20,000, but would be reimbursable through impact fees. I have talked to them about doing a Preliminary Impact Fee Facility Plan to give us information to decide what the impact fee and our growth look like, and is it feasible to enact a transportation impact fee. They could do that for $7,000 to $8000.

Manager Warnke said when we have capital projects that extend multiple fiscal years, it is difficult to know how much money we need in the given year to finish the project. There is danger in not appropriating enough at the end of a fiscal year because we do not know how much we will be billed or how much work the contractor is going to do. I have budgeted 90% of those capital projects upfront and then 10% the next fiscal year. Now that we know the expenses for the last fiscal year and what to expect this year, I am proposing budget amendments to true up those numbers and reflect the actual expenses based on when they occurred.

Manager Warnke said the City would do two studies. One is for the Impact Fee Facility Plan, which identifies impact fee facilities anticipated to be constructed during a six to 10 year window. The other is the Impact Fee Analysis, which is a financial analysis that looks at the cost of those facilities and calculating the buy in—the capacity the City already has in those new systems and what new growth would be responsible for reimbursing. Jones and Associates will primarily be doing the City’s Impact Fee Facility Plan, but Zion’s Public Finance would do that for the Police, Fire, and Parks departments. The only new study that is being proposed is the Impact Fee Facility Plan for transportation, which would be Horrocks Engineering. Since it is a financial analysis Zion’s would be responsible for all the impact fee analysis studies. The cost for all of that would be $67,000, which would be calculated into our impact fee analysis and reimbursed through impact fees. There is a specific contract for Zion’s Public Finance by resolution since we already have a contract. I asked Jones and Associates to estimate what they anticipate the cost of this project to be, which is $18,000. The agreement with Horrocks Engineering is a separate motion. This would build on what they did to our master plan and allow us to start charging an impact fee (anywhere from $600 to $1,500 per building permit). Councilmember Vance asked if that is comparable to what is going on in other cities because we need to stay competitive and entice people to build. Mayor Fridal said we could look at what they are doing so we have a point of reference. Manager Warnke said we need to think about what facilities we need to support growth. As we build roads it opens up opportunities for people to develop in the City. These investments in our infrastructure help us promote growth. We are attracting larger developers because of our facilities.

2. 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; and/or
d. Discussions regarding security personnel, devices or systems

The meeting adjourned at 6:53 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Fridal called the December 3, 2019 City Council Meeting to order at 7:00 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: Community Services Director Marc Christensen, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, and Police Chief Kurt Fertig. Also in attendance was newly elected Councilmember Rick Seamons, Court Clerk Tara Buckway and Deputy Recorder Cynthia Nelson.

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 Fulgham and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Manager Warnke.

2. Introduction of guests:

Mayor Fridal welcomed those in attendance.

3. Declaration of a Conflict of Interest: Councilmember Holmgren declared a conflict on item 9. a.

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Doutre to approve the agenda of December 3, 2019. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – November 19, 2019

Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the minutes of November 19, 2019 with the correction to David John’s name during public comment. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

6. Public comments—there were no public comments.

Mayor Fridal called a Public Hearing to order at 7:04 p.m. to hear public comment on budget amendments. There were 14 people in attendance.

7. Public Hearing

a. Public hearing soliciting public comments regarding the City Council’s consideration of approving a budget amendment for “The Tremonton Annual Implementation Budget 2019-2020 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s) and Special Fund(s)” for the period commencing July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2020

There were no public comments. Mayor Fridal closed the Public Hearing at 7:05 p.m.

8. Presentation

a. Special recognition of Tara Buckway, Court Clerk – Utah Municipal Clerks Association (UMCA) and BRAG Area Group of the UMCA—Lisa Titensor and Cheryl Bodily

Ms. Lisa Titensor thanked the Council for allowing them to recognize Court Clerk Buckway for earning her Certified Municipal Clerks (CMC) designation. She said this is a great achievement that takes a lot of work and dedication. It includes 60 education points, which is equivalent to 240 hours of class time and 50 experience points, which are earned through years of experience. This is equivalent to an Associates Degree. The UMCA works in conjunction with the International Institute of Municipal Clerks so this is also an international recognition. There are 211 members of the UMCA and only 65 of those have earned this designation—it is an elite group.

9. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 19-54 approving a budget amendment for “The Tremonton Annual Implementation Budget 2019-2020 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s) and Special Fund(s)” for the period commencing July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2020

Councilmember Holmgren declared a conflict of interest and abstained from the vote. Councilmember Rohde said he is not ready to make this decision and Councilmember Vance said he would like a summary to review first.

Motion by Councilmember Reese to adopt the resolution. Motion seconded by Councilmember Doutre. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – abstained, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – nay, Councilmember Vance – nay. Mayor Fridal – aye. The motion passed by a 3-2 vote.

b. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 19-55 approving a professional service agreement with Zions Public Finance, Inc for creating or updating impact fee facilities plans and impact fee analyses

Motion by Councilmember Reese to adopt the resolution. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Doutre – nay, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved by a 4-1 vote.

c. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 19-56 authorizing Jones & Associates Consulting Engineers to create or update impact fee facilities plans

Motion by Councilmember Vance to adopt the resolution. 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 authorizing Horrocks Engineering to prepare a preliminary impact fee facilities plan to assist Tremonton City in determining the feasibility of Tremonton City enacting a transportation impact fee

Manager Warnke said Horrocks Engineers would do the preliminary impact fee analysis for $7,000 to $8,000. If we do not enact an impact fee, it is not reimbursable and would be an expense the City would cover. This is to authorize the study. The cost would be $20,000 if they ended up doing the full impact fee plan and Zion’s would charge $5,000. What is being proposed tonight is that they would do the Preliminary Impact Fee Facility Plan giving us some indication of what the fee would look like and if it is feasible. That money would allow us to have an understanding of what that impact fee would be. Councilmember Vance clarified that if it is feasible, this would come back to the City Council for further review.

Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to authorize Horrocks Engineering to do a preliminary impact fee analysis. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

10. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar

Manager Warnke said the Christmas light show is up and going and the Holiday Extravaganza would be on Saturday. The Council Christmas party will be at 6 p.m. on December 10. There is an elected officials training for newly elected and existing councilmembers. The City will cover the fee associated with that and they need to let Recorder Nessen know what day to register for. There is the Christmas dinner at the Senior Center. A City Council orientation will be December 17.

b. Review of past assignments: none.

11. Reports & Comments:

a. City Manager Reports and Comments: none.
b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments

Manager Warnke said we are receiving some submittals for land use. Wasatch Development submitted their first phase for the apartments behind Shopko. Visionary Homes submitted some of theirs to start the process of development behind Archibald Estates. We have also had some conversations with Sadler Construction on Aspen Ridges on the south end to town, but have not seen anything on paper yet.

c. City Department Head Reports and Comments

Director Fulgham said we had a ton of snow early on and have worked with the Police Department to get cars moved off the road. There is a lot of construction and debris in subdivisions being built, but we are working on that. During the storm, we had nine plows out at once and we tipped over at least two brick mailboxes. The groundwork for construction on secondary is done and they will be working on the pump station by the canal. We are hoping to pour more concrete at our treatment plant when it is thawed and dried out.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Reese said the Christmas lights are amazing and I have heard good things.

Councilmember Holmgren said I have appreciated the opportunity to work with you guys and he thanked Councilmembers Reese and Doutre.

Councilmember Rohde made trophies to show his appreciation for Councilmembers Doutre and Reese.

Mayor Fridal said thank you all for doing the job you do.

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

13. Adjournment.

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

The meeting adjourned at 7:25 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 7th day of January, 2020.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

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