City Council Meetings 4-5-22

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
APRIL 5, 2022

Members Present:
Connie Archibald
Wes Estep
Bret Rohde
Rick Seamons
Lyle Vance—excused
Lyle Holmgren, Mayor
Shawn Warnke, City Manager
Marc Christensen, Assistant City Manager
Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Holmgren called the April 5, 2022 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 Holmgren, Councilmembers Archibald, Estep, Rohde, and Seamons, City Manager Warnke, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, and Interim Police Chief Brian Crockett. Councilmember Vance was excused.

Motion by Councilmember Archibald to move into closed session. Motion seconded by Councilmembers Estep and Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – absent. Motion approved.

The Council moved into a closed session at 6:00 p.m.

1. CLOSED SESSIONS:

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

Motion by Councilmember Archibald to return to open session. Motion seconded by Councilmember Estep. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – absent. Motion approved.

The Council returned to open session at 6:45 p.m.

2. Discussion of the FY 2023 Budget

Manager Warnke provided talking points about the tentative budget, which will be on the next City Council agenda for consideration. The Council will have until June to work through questions. Manager Warnke said a concern that is being seen all over deals with the workforce, the great resignation, which is tied to the low unemployment rate. Employees are resigning to migrate to higher paying positions while some employees are on the verge of retirement. What we are looking at in the budget is cost of living adjustments that seem pretty high for other cities. There are specific employees and departments that are experiencing more pressure as it relates to the great resignation. There are departments where we are trying to show up with selective salary adjustments that would be in excess to the cost of living adjustment. That is one of the biggest issues we are facing in this budget. There is also the cost of construction. If we do not have employees, we cannot provide services and we provide a lot of essential services that we rely on employees to perform. We are seeing a high cost for capital projects and part of the issue is low supply of materials and a shortage of contractors with a demand for projects. We are undertaking a few necessary capital projects, ones that have been planned and committed to well before we started to see some of these pressures. We will undertake the absolutely necessary projects for the budget year 2023. The following year we will have some projects ready to go. We will also undertake small projects City staff can do.

Manager Warnke said there is also general inflation, with fuel being an obvious one. There are a lot of other general incremental increases. Sales tax does increase with inflation so it is a good source, but more volatile. Employee wages are an ongoing obligation the City has. While sales tax can help, it does not keep pace with inflation. We have talked about an increase in property taxes to be consistent with inflation as a way to continue to provide municipal services. That is something to keep in mind and be discussed as an ongoing option. It could be incrementally increased to provide that stable source of revenue for governmental services. The last issue is the debt service ratio for water bonds. Our finance director looks at a return on asset ratio as a way to monitor the fiscal health of some of these utilities funds and revenue that is generated through assets. He feels it is a good benchmark. We will look at those as well as the cost of inflation and what that looks like compared to some of the rates we have. The debt service ratio for our water bonds is an obligation. We have to keep a certain amount of revenue (125%) for the water bonds over the debt. When we talked about increasing water rates a few years ago you might recall that the Council opted for the lower rate with the understanding that we would have to continue to monitor how that fund performs and make adjustments as needed. We will discuss that at our meeting in May and will invite Finance Director Roberts, who is well versed, to participate in these discussions. Mayor Holmgren stated that what is happening to the economy in the last few months is something that is very fluid. We have to make sure we can function as a City.

3. Review of the agenda items identified on 7:00 p.m. City Council Agenda

The meeting adjourned at 6:59 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Holmgren called the April 5, 2022 City Council Meeting to order at 7:04 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 Holmgren, Councilmembers Archibald, Estep, Rohde, and Seamons, City Manager Warnke, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Interim Police Chief Brian Crockett, and Parks and Recreation Director Zach LeFevre. Councilmember Vance was excused.

1. Opening Ceremony:

Mayor Holmgren 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 Seamons and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Holmgren.

2. Introduction of guests: Mayor Holmgren welcomed those in attendance.

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: None.

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Archibald to approve the agenda of April 5, 2022. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – absent. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – March 15, 2022

Motion by Councilmember Estep to approve the minutes of March 15, 2022. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – absent. Motion approved.

6. Public Presentation

a. Suicide Prevention – Jenny Shultz, Tiffany Palmer, and Doreen Seever

Ms. Shultz said I am here tonight representing the Northern Box Elder County Suicide Prevention Coalition. The coalition is made up of dedicated community members who want to address some of the mental health issues we are having up here. We have been working with Garland City, but we need the support of the whole valley. We are putting together a park that will help address mental health issues and give residents a place to go to recharge. This is a preventative measure. We recently held a townhall meeting where a professor talked about the benefits of green space and mental health areas.

Ms. Seever said thank you for having us. When we started our coalition in 2011 the purpose of it was to bring together a wide range of individuals and organizations in Northern Box Elder County to help us work on suicide prevention, awareness, and education. Our mission statement is to let the community know it is okay to ask for help. No community is exempt from suicide, it affects all ages, genders, races and social economics. We also wanted to change some of the stigmas that go along with suicide. One of the first ones we dealt with was if you mentioned suicide, especially after a suicide, people thought you would get a string of suicides to happen. They did not want to talk about it or use that word. That is a myth. It is good to talk about it and prevent it. Our goal was also to educate the community about mental illness. It is a disease like diabetes or heart disease. We want people to understand it is okay to talk to the doctor and get help just like you would with any other sickness. We use personal stories to help people relate and not feel alone. Another tool we have is our Suicide Awareness Walk, which supports families who have lost someone to suicide. We want everyone to be healthy physically and mentally. The coalition understands the dynamics of our community and we do not have enough mental health resources. Out of this frustration came an idea, “what if.” What if we had a community space where people could take advantage of being outdoors, a place to have quiet moments, calm thoughts, reflections, or meditation, which we know helps benefit the wellness of the mind. Mental health wellness is a key factor in creating a resilient community. From this idea, came other ideas to explore. When Garland City discussed expanding their park, we thought maybe we could create a space for us there. Greenspace is another tool we can use to help people in our community. We are in the early stages of planning and there are a lot of questions people have. The park will be in Garland, but will be a community area that is open to everyone in our valley.

Ms. Palmer said greenspace has a ton of benefits. It gives us a place to change our focus. It allows us to focus on a more passive attention of our breathing, relaxing and enjoying the tranquil surroundings we have. This reduces stress and improves sleep. It also increases happiness and helps generate a sense of meaning to life. The labyrinth is a great tool that uses right brain activity to help us be more creative, innovative, and imaginative. It becomes a walking meditation that slows breathing, heart rate, and lowers blood pressure. This creates a sense of control. It calms anxiety and reduces stress. It clears, quiets, and resets the mind, and it promotes relaxation. Our plans also include a water feature. Just being next to water has its own benefits. The mere sight and sound of water can induce a flood of neurochemicals that promote wellness, increased blood flow to the brain and heart, and induces relaxation. It induces a meditative state that makes us happier, healthier, and calmer. We are more creative and more capable of awe. It is easy to get lost in the chaos and ugliness of what can be an overwhelming world and green spaces allow us to see and focus on the beauty that is still in this world.

Ms. Shultz said thank you for allowing us to come here tonight. Although this will be housed in Garland we hope the City will be a part of it. Sometimes wide-open spaces do not allow you to have the benefit to start the healing process, it has to be a small, more contained space for the magic to happen. This is not the all-end answer for mental health and suicide, but hopefully it is one more tool in our box and it can be preventative.

Mayor Holmgren said in talking to our police department, they respond to suicide and family disputes frequently. It is happening almost monthly, maybe more so I am glad you guys are looking into this.

7. Public comments:

Resident Bill Roosma said first I want to talk to you about property taxes. This area is growing and there are a lot of houses, apartment buildings, and townhomes that are being built. That is automatically going to increase the amount of property taxes coming into this area. I ask you to consider that before you go bumping up property taxes. I have a single gal next to me working two jobs and raising kids. Those of us who are retired and living on fixed incomes, an increase of property tax could make some of us homeless and that is not okay. I would appreciate if you would really consider that before you do that. I live on 960 South. It is a nice new neighborhood and I love it. Recently I had a neighbor move in across the street who is a renter and he put up a basketball hoop. Personally, it is an eye sore to me. When they are playing basketball in the street there are a number of issues that happen. It obstructs traffic. You cannot help but do that from time to time. The street is for people to drive up and down and to park along the sides. Now that my neighbor has a basketball hoop across the street, I cannot park my truck across the street and not worry about it getting hit with a basketball. My family members cannot park in front of my house because if they are playing basketball their vehicle could get hit and damaged. You have a big thing to go through to get your neighbor to pay the damages on your vehicle. I do not want their ball in my yard either. It is my yard and it is private property, keep out. I am not playing in other peoples’ yards. Stay out of mine. You cannot keep a ball from rolling in my yard and what do they do? They chase it in the yard. Right now, all I have is dirt. I am getting ready to put in a yard and then I really do not want anyone in there once I plant grass. When I moved up here from Arizona, we had basketball hoops all over the neighborhood and when a wind storm came through, they would drop on streets all over the place. Do they go out and pick them up? No, they just leave them. I went to the police department and talked to an officer to find out what the law was regarding portable basketball hoops. He informed me that they are not illegal as long as they are not obstructing traffic. I would like the City Council to pass a law that makes it illegal to play basketball on the streets and have a basketball hoop on the street. I talked to my neighbor about some of my concerns with his hoop and he did move it down. I told him that when a wind storm knocks the hoop on the street everyone leaves them there. They do not police the property and it is trash in the street. He said we are not like that, but on Saturday they were gone and their hoop blows out into the street in the lane of travel. I was not going to move it and mess with it, I wanted to see how long it would take them to move it. They were out of town. Saturday night I got in my truck and the hoop was still sitting there in the lane. It is a black pole and it was hard for me to see, but I knew it was there so I got thinking if I do not move that someone is going to hit it. I am not concerned about the hoop getting damaged, but I moved it to the curb out of the lane of traffic because I did not want someone else to come along and damage their vehicle and have to go through that hassle. I put it on the curb and pointed it so it was over the sidewalk. We had another wind storm knock it into the sidewalk and it sits there. The people come home and it is still laying there. They did not move it. I had another neighbor a couple houses over and his basketball hoop dropped into the street. I sent pictures to Mayor Holmgren and it was there for a number of hours. Someone did move it off the street and onto the gutter out of the way. Honestly, I would really appreciate it if you would make that illegal. If they want to play basketball they can go to a park or gym. I do not see the need to have basketball hoops all up and down the street. Thank you so much.

Jeff Wikstrom said I have lived in Tremonton for 25 years. I am originally from Ogden. My wife is from the area and I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to be up here. It was a good move for me and my family. I used to work at La-Z-Boy and thought I was going to retire from there. Obviously, that did not happen. I have a job here working for the City in the Public Works Department. I work in the water and sewer deparment. I started in 2008 and in 2013 my oldest son got a mission call. At that time I was only making $14 an hour and really freaked out because I did not know how I was going to pay for everything I had and this mission, too. I had family members, ward members, and good friends that if I would have just slowed down, I would have realized all that would have fallen into place, but I jumped ship to Vulcraft. I thought the grass was greener on the other side and did not consider watering the grass that I had. For a while it was really good, but on a safety technicality they let me go. I got a wire poke and did not let them know because I thought I was lucky and it did not get me. A week later it was infected and I got in trouble. I had another job and one day I drove by Director Fulgham’s house. I stopped by to ask him if there was ever an opening with the City if he would consider me again. He was very kind and gracious and said yes. Luckily, that happened and I am so grateful for the second chance. He has no idea what he has done for me and how much that meant for me and my family. When I was at La-Z-Boy my wife did not have to work and ever since then she has had to. I have four children. My youngest is 22 and my oldest is 28 and all four of them make more money an hour than I do. My youngest has only been at his job for two months. He goes to work, does his job and goes home. He does not have to worry about a 3 a.m. water break or 2 in the afternoon clogged sewer. I was wondering if the City Council would consider talking about wages and making them higher for us City employees. I appreciate the time, thank you very much.

8. Years of Service- Recreation

a. Mandy Barfuss – 10 years
b. Ashley Brown – 6 years
c. Kegan Hansen – 5 years
d. Kristi Kent – 7 years
e. Gabriel Mejia – 10 years
f. Elizabeth Miller – 8 years
g. Jordan Rawlinson – 7 years

Mayor Holmgren thanked them all for their years of service. Director LeFevre said the three who are here tonight have been supervisors with us in the recreation program. We do a lot in the City and these three are integral pieces to our program that make us able to do all the things we do. We want to thank them specifically Mandy, Kristi and Jordan for what they do. Without them we would not be able to do the things we have done over the past 10 years. They have been very great to work with and we are so thankful for them. Mayor Holmgren said we appreciate all of our employees, we sincerely do. I wrote an article about our employees and it is true there is not a day that goes by that somehow your life has not been impacted by our City workers. We really do appreciate all of you.

9. Proclamations

a. Arbor Day – April 29, 2022

Mayor Holmgren read the proclamation. He thanked Proctor and Gamble for their donation to the City for $2,500 to purchase trees to beautify the area. Every year we have a huge tree planting project. We planted about 80 trees at the cemetery. It has been a fabulous thing. Remember that day and plant a tree.

10. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of approving February Financial Statements

Motion by Councilmember Archibald to approve the February Financial Statements. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – absent. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and consideration of approving February Warrant Register

Motion by Councilmember Estep to approve the February Warrant Register. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – absent. Motion approved.

c. Discussion and consideration of approving Resolution No. 22-17 reaffirming, clarifying, and appointing members to serve on Tremonton City Arts Council

Manager LeFevre said the Arts Council is doing some great things. We are currently working on a mural project. We have partnered with local business owner Sara Mohrman of Main Street Mercantile to create a Farmers Market downtown to promote local art and traffic on Main Street. We recently had some move out from the Arts Council so we had some openings. We are now ratifying those appointments and adding new names so we can continue to work as an Arts Council. There are some requirements like the knowledge of art and being trained in art. This is something that lovers of art can participate in. We ask for five to seven to be on the committee so it can function. We need at least one more. They can live anywhere within the valley as long as the majority of our members live in Tremonton City boundaries and the work done is for the benefit of Tremonton City to help the community as a whole. We want to pick people with different backgrounds and focus on many different parts of the demographic. Manager Warnke said the Mayor would propose someone and the City Council would affirm that decision. You could pass your suggestions onto him. The qualifications are listed here. Going forward as we appoint members willing to serve, we would revisit who is on the board to ratify it and clarify the terms. There was an appointment of Ms. Mohrman. She has an education in art and is well qualified to provide expertise in those meetings. That is why it is brought to you today to affirm her appointment, but also look at who is on the board and where they stand. Councilmember Archibald said I have been really impressed with Ms. Mohrman’s desire to be a part of improving Tremonton and her desire to make it a better place to live. I met her a few months ago at a school function and think her heart is in the right spot. I appreciate that she is willing to be a part of this Council to make Tremonton a better place. I really have to applaud Director LeFevre for working with Ms. Mohrman on her idea of having a Farmers Market. I think that will be incredible for Tremonton. I am excited and want to be a part of that. I have also invited the Women’s Civic League to help with that. They have consented to partner with you in that effort.

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

d. Discussion and consideration of approving Resolution No. 22-18 amending Section XIII: Compensation Planning of the Tremonton City Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual

Manager Warnke said this is an amendment that recognizes the service of individuals in the City. This clarifies that we also have retirement service awards. There has been a luncheon or dinner with the employees to honor them and a presentation is given for their years of service as they are retiring from the City. For public safety, these employees have a badge that becomes a personal affect for them and something they wear. If they are in good standing there is potential of them keeping the badge as a keepsake or small token of the service they have given. The Police Chief or Fire Chief and City Manager make that determination. There will be similar retirement awards for volunteers. The food pantry has many volunteers who make that service available to all citizens in the area. We are proud of the food pantry, it is a department that is ran from donations and charitable acts from the community, not just the City. It takes monetary donations and time to provide those services. Those volunteers would get a similar retirement award and dinner or luncheon to honor their efforts. Those are the changes being proposed.

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

11. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar

Manager Warnke said the Council will be at a conference so there will not be a City Council meeting on April 19.

b. Review of past assignments

Manager Warnke said we are continuing to work on parking along Main Street. Greg Horspool, our enforcement officer, has started the process of reaching out to businesses as a courtesy and asking them to consider parking off Main and allowing more customer parking. Assistant City Manager Christensen got word back from UDOT on the engineering order that allows us to post signs. We need to touch base with Director Fulgham and address the issues on Tremont Street as well. One of the things we are working on is the technology to monitor on-street parking through sensors. That was a preliminary conversation with UDOT who seemed open to consider that request from the City. UTOPIA could set up a network and put sensors in Main Street that would allow us to monitor how long a car has been parked in one location, which is pretty exciting to leverage our infrastructure and deploy that sort of technology to solve the problem. I am not sure it will come to pass, but it is a potential idea to effectively enforce the issue. We will continue to evaluate the process.

Manager Warnke said a resident was concerned about a wasp nest. We think it was vacant, but the Public Works Director took it down. There was also concern about speeders in Holmgren Estates. Our patrol observed some violators, but the majority of them are within the bounds of the speed limit. There are other smart city applications we are exploring. We have air sensors currently at the UTOPIA hubs. Weather sensors will monitor the amount of rain, which will provide us with more information to residents about how much water they need to apply to their lawn based on rain fall. There are also sensors that can detect lightening. Assistant City Manager Christensen said this will help us know if we need to cancel games or not. Manager Warnke said we also added WIFI in the park on a limited basis. We have an opportunity to increase the radius, we would just pay for that if it is something we wanted to try.

Councilmember Archibald added we do have the Farmers Market that will take place the first Saturday of the month starting in May and going until October. I have been working with Ms. Mohrman and Director LeFevre in posting flyers throughout Tremonton to let citizens know this is happening and welcoming those who would like to be a part of it. I want that on our calendar.

Mayor Holmgren said I heard of a concern on Rocket Road, that there are conflicting speed limits going in opposite directions. We need to make sure they are the same.

12. Reports & Comments:

a. City Manager Reports and Comments

1. Corridor Preservation Fund Submissions

Manager Warnke said in January we adopted a Corridor Preservation priority list, which the County has funded to help cities preserve corridors and, in some cases, do maintenance. We submitted two applications, one for Iowa String to do a road mill and thicken the asphalt pavement section, but that application failed to meet points. The application did not score well enough to receive funding. The other application we put in was for the acquisition of right-of-way needed to expand Rocket Road. With the City’s commitment to participate in the funding of that acquisition, we scored enough points. I have two applications I am trying to close out and I can only have two up at any one time. I will finalize some of these others to open up that spot.

2. Discussion of the recruitment process for the Police Chief position

Manager Warnke said we are currently recruiting for the open Police Chief position. Included in your packet is an overview of that process. It is similar to what we have done in the past. It has been a good process so we have kept it relatively the same. We will review the first round of applications the end of this month and will keep you posted as the process plays out. The City Council would approve the appointment of the Police Chief. There is an interview panel, which includes the Tremonton and Garland mayors, a Tremonton City Council representative and a Garland City Council representative, the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, a Police Department representative, the City Attorney, and the Fire Chief. It has been posted and we are getting local and national interest.

b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments: None.
c. City Department Head Reports and Comments: None.
d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Seamons said I would like to thank Chief Nessen for his good work while he was here. We wish him the best.

Councilmember Rohde echoed his response saying, Chief Nessen has our backing and support.

Mayor Holmgren said I would second that. We appreciate Nick. We appreciate all of our employees and all the efforts they do.

13. CLOSED SESSIONS: No closed session held at this time.

14. Adjournment.

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

The meeting adjourned at 8:05 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 3rd day of May, 2022.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

Follow-up items for the Council and City Staff

The Council can make recommendations for new Arts Councilmembers to the Mayor. City staff will continue to look into Smart City Applications and how to implement them. The City can start working on signage for two-hour parking. Efforts on the Preservation Corridor projects will continue, as will the search for a new Police Chief.

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