City Council Minutes 10-1-24

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 1, 2024

Members Present:
Wes Estep
Jeff Hoedt
Bret Rohde
Lyle Vance
Blair Westergard
Lyle Holmgren, Mayor
Bill Cobabe, City Manager
Linsey Nessen, Assistant City Manager
Cynthia Nelson, City Recorder

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Holmgren called the October 1, 2024 City Council Workshop to order at 4:58 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 Estep, Hoedt, Rohde, Vance, and Westergard, City Manager Cobabe, Assistant City Manager Linsey Nessen, and City Recorder Nelson. The following Department Heads were also present: City Planner Jeff Seedall, and Fire Chief Brady Hansen (arrived at 5:15 p.m.).

1. Box Elder School District Update – Heidi Jo West, Assistant Superintendent

Ms. West gave an update on where things are at, enrollments and their plans for the future. I appreciate Tremonton’s support of education and recognizing our students for good citizenship. That has a lot more impact on what is happening in the schools and our communities. She then reviewed enrollment numbers for McKinley to North Park elementaries and the crowding at those buildings. Overcrowding is contributed to not only growth, but the fact that preschool is now at the schools, along with all day kindergarten. The dual immersion program has also impacted both schools.

Ms. West said the school district is trying for another bond, which has to be voted in by the community on November 5. She reviewed the problems they are trying to address. There are a lot of transition levels. Parents can take their students to four different schools That adds a lot of commute time for them and buses. We also have safety concerns. North Park and Lakeview were both built in 1962 and the middle schools were built in 1965. Those were before reinforced masonry rules and codes making them very unsafe for our students in the event of an earthquake. There is also a lack of air conditioning. With overcrowding, principles have had to get creative on how they use space. That means things like PE, music and computers no longer have their own classrooms. Those are taught in the classroom where the teacher is trying to prepare. This makes it difficult because they are supposed to have time to prepare their lessons without supervising their students. We have 34 portables in our district. North Park has become a village. There is no room for more. To add more would result in the loss of playground space. We have tried to make do with what we could to solve problems.

Ms. West then reviewed their proposed solutions, which is to reconfigure K-5, 6-8, and 9-12, eliminating a transition. We need to remove as many portables as we can. They are expensive to maintain and not conducive to learning. It is also difficult for teachers to be that far from their colleagues when preparing. Eliminating the intermediate schools allows us to take the resources we have and use them efficiently. That minimizes the number of additions we would have to do to the elementary schools. North Park and Lakeview are our biggest concerns. We would have to rebuild both schools at a cost of about $50 million each. Most of our other elementary schools need additions, six classrooms ($3 million). That does not include the infrastructure for a cafeteria, gym or additional bathrooms. A gym is around $5 million. The bathrooms and plans are another million. We would be looking at about $10 million per elementary school. That is $170 million dollars just to take care of the elementary schools. By moving into the intermediate schools and eliminating that age range and moving them into the middle schools that allows us to spread out the growth and consider other options for taking the pressure off other buildings without needing to add on to all of them. Focus groups have agreed that the two middle schools have to be replaced. They are really old and unsafe. They are also incredibly crowded and have sewer problems. The cost to rebuild those is $144 million. That includes purchasing land. The high school is landlocked and in order to expand programs and offer more, we need more land to expand. Moving the middle school off-site resolves both of those issues. The priority after building those two middle schools would be 9th grade additions at the high schools. Next would be the elementary renovations. The next priority for funding would be air conditioning in all schools. Ms. West also reviewed needs for special programs that would increase learning experiences for teachers, students and special education.

Ms. West explained what the tax increase would be. On the average household it will be about $19.86 per month ($450,000 home value). That is an add-on to the tax that they are currently paying. It is about $28, on average, to sustain throughout the duration of the 20 years to pay off the bond. All of this is available on our website. We are going through the process of recruiting a contractor, but do not want to pay money for something if the bond does not pass. This is our best success timeline. We would find sites between now and the new year and get design input from stakeholders. We would then release that information to contractors for bidding. We are hoping to break ground from January to August of 2026 on the middle schools and continue construction over the summer of 2027. We will make modifications to the intermediate schools based on recommendations from the contractors. They would begin high school additions in September 2029. Bonds can only pay for the cost of construction of facilities, not new teachers. We have so many needs all at once. If we do not bond, we might be able to save $50 million over the next 10-15 years. We would have to wait 40 to 50 years to do the number of projects we are looking to do right now. It has been 17 years since we went to bond. This will be a 20-year bond. For the next three years we are still paying off the last bond. That is why it is a $19.86 per month increase on the average household. We will have to add that on to what is already being paid. If the bond does not pass, we will look at other options and go back to the drawing board. Cost of construction will continue to get more and more expensive, and the needs will still be there.

When asked about the rounded numbers they are requesting, Ms. West said the architects and contractors have given us flexibility to put the bond together. The possibility is that it will come in less, but they are pretty good at projecting these things. The numbers are clean intentionally to allow more flexibility that should get us pretty close to what we need. They did not consider for inflation over the next five years because they gave us cost bid prices based off now. Through a contract we can lock in that price for five years.

After some more discussion, Ms. West said bond information can be found at besd.net or any of our school pages. There will be additional town hall meetings to educate and inform the public. There are videos online to answer questions.

2. UTOPIA presentation (6:00 p.m.) – Jason Roberts

Mr. Roberts provided an update on UTOPIA fiber. UTOPIA was founded by 11 cities that helped fund a fiber optic network in their cities. Tremonton was one of the original 11. New cities have been added and have pledged their own tax revenues to help build out their city. UTOPIA Phase 1 was 2004 to 2008. That was a bit ugly. There was a lot of build out and very few connections and little revenue that came into the system. The original plan had to change and a new plan happened in 2010. The revenues are paying off the debt and there is no additional cost to participating cities, with the exception of a couple bonds. UTOPIA is the largest open access network in the United States. There are now 23 city-wide projects. He reviewed their numbers, awards and ratings, as well as their speeds, costs, and total subscribers. He then explained how UIA has helped UTOPIA get where it is today.

Mr. Roberts discussed what Tremonton has paid over the years and some of the reimbursements. He said Tremonton is being treated just like all the other cities that are part of UIA. They want to keep everything equitable. Tremonton made their share of those payments and that was an important as joining UIA to keep that going. A lot of people were very grateful that Tremonton participated. Mr. Roberts reviewed the demographics and take rates.

The following items were discussed out of order.

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

Planner Seedall gave a rundown on the landscaping ordinance and suggested changes. Most of the influences are for commercial and multi-family properties because the City does not have much say over what private property owners can do. Most of the changes to single-family housing are written as recommendations and what we would like to see. Those are harder to enforce. We have incorporated unpreferred trees. One significant update is the removal of turf from park strips. By passing this we should be able to enter into the State’s sod reimbursement program for single-family. The Council agreed they would like to see the changes before approval. They discussed some of the suggestions and decided the word recommended would be better than required.

Motion by Councilmember Vance to move into closed meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Westergard. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes Councilmember Hoedt – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

The Council moved into a closed meeting at 6:27 p.m.

4. CLOSED MEETING:

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 Estep to return to open meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes Councilmember Hoedt – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

The Council returned to open meeting at 6:36 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 6:49 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Holmgren called the October 1, 2024 City Council Meeting to order at 6:58 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 Estep, Hoedt, Rohde, Vance, and Westergard, City Manager Cobabe, Assistant City Manager Linsey Nessen, and City Recorder Nelson. The following Department Heads were also present: City Planner Jeff Seedall, Police Chief Dustin Cordova, Sergeant Skyler Gailey, and Fire Chief Brady Hansen.

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 Vance and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Westergard.

2. Introduction of guests: Mayor Holmgren welcomed those in attendance, including a group of students.

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: None.

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Estep to approve the agenda of October 1, 2024. Motion seconded by Councilmember Hoedt. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes Councilmember Hoedt – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – September 17, 2024

Motion by Councilmember Hoedt to approve the minutes of September 17, 2024. Motion seconded by Councilmember Westergard. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes Councilmember Hoedt – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

6. Years of Service Awards

a. Rusty Bingham, Police Detective – 5 years
b. Nichole Fulgham, School Crossing Guard – 5 years

Sergeant Gailey gave a bio on both Mr. Bingham and Ms. Fulgham. The Council then thanked them for their service.

7. Presentation

a. Tremonton City Citizenship Award to Elementary and Intermediate Students

Mayor Holmgren said this started a couple of years ago and the whole idea behind it is to pay special tribute to the youth who are showing great citizenship through respect, responsibility and being safe. It is important to learn these skills.

Ms. West, from the school district, introduced the three principals, including Jerry Jackman (Alice C. Harris Intermediate), Ryan Green (North Park Elementary) and Jacob Balls (McKinley Elementary). We are really grateful for these principals and being willing to work with the Council in recognizing students for positive citizenship. We appreciate the Council recognizing positive behaviors and promoting that within our community and partnering with the schools every month. We also appreciate the families for teaching their kids. Thank you so much for being involved and supportive. They then took a picture with the students and principals and handed out gift cards.

8. Public comments:

Jamie Poppleton said I live in Tremonton. On my way to the meeting tonight I realized something very significant that I hope Council would take into consideration. There were almost two wrecks right at Main Street at the four corners by Dominos. If the trees are gone there is going to be nothing to block the sun from five until dark. If all the trees are gone who knows what will happen. I just wanted to let somebody know, thank you.

Mayor Holmgren called a Public Hearing to order at 7:17 p.m. to consider amending the chapter stated below. There were seven people in attendance.

9. Public Hearing:

a. To consider amending Chapter 1.18 Landscaping, Buffering & Fencing Regulations

There were no public comments. Mayor Holmgren closed the Public Hearing at 7:17 p.m. p.m.

10. New Council Business:

b. Discussion and possible action on adopting Ordinance No. 24-10 amending Chapter 1.18 Landscaping, Buffering & Fencing Regulations

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to table the item until they can have further discussion on the changes suggested. Motion seconded by Councilmembers Vance and Westergard. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes Councilmember Hoedt – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

11. Consent Agenda

a. Adoption of August Warrant Register
b. Adoption of August Financial Statements

Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion seconded by Councilmember Westergard. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes Councilmember Hoedt – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

12. Calendar Items and Previous Assignments

a. Review of calendar

Mayor Holmgren said the Farmer’s Market is on Saturday and we will have a giant pumpkin contest. Trick-or-Treat on Main Street is October 25, and we could use all the help we can get.

b. Unfinished Business/Action Items: None.

13. Reports & Comments:

a. City Administration Reports and Comments

Manager Cobabe said Planner Seedall and I are going to a planning conference in Provo to learn about the latest and greatest on land use. We are trying to stay abreast of those changes. I have been appointed to the Trust Advisory Committee so that will be a good opportunity to continue to learn and network. I will keep you posted on that.

b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments

Planner Seedall said DRC has slowed down with winter approaching. I have organized a meeting with three significant parties in the area to plan for an indoor hockey rink to come to Tremonton with the Council’s approval and backing. I would suggest housing it on our 20 acres along 2000 West. We would need five to six acres for it to be fully operational. That could be part of our Parks and Rec Department. Our hope would be 1,000 seats. We would add extra amenities for space to grow. The main rink would be an Olympic sized one and we would add a half-sized rink for smaller leagues. We could also add office spaces and storage. There would be special padding that goes over the ice so it could be used for other amenities. The main idea would be for a hockey rink, but that would allow us to have a spot for conventions. There is a huge demand with the NHL coming to Utah, I think hockey could be something huge for the City. The Council voiced interest, but they would like to have more information. Mayor Holmgren suggested Planner Seedall come back to the Council with a presentation.

c. City Department Head Reports and Comments

1. Purchase of new Body and Dash Cams – Chief Cordova

Chief Cordova said we need to update our body cameras. We are having problems with them breaking. Every time we go on a call, Utah law requires us to record our interactions. Storage space is an issue. That information is currently stored on the servers. We fill that up every year and have to buy more. We got bids from the two most popular companies—Motorola and Axon. For body cams with the software support and warranty for about 25 units the cost is around $34,646 for Motorola. Axon, which is what we currently use, costs about $105,000. We could also use vehicle cameras. Our City attorney is a big fan of them and said they are an insurance policy in case of an accident. The cost for that would be $127,135 for Motorola or $238,884 for Axon. At the very least I want to make sure we are complying with the law, which would require new body cameras. I think we could accommodate that in our budget. I would rather ask for your support on that so if we go over budget then you would know why in advance, or we can adjust the budget to accommodate that. We have received a grant almost every year for body cams. The cost is not enough to cover the new software. The cameras we have are out of service. They will no longer function on the software we are using. We can either upgrade through Axon ($105,000 to $238,000) or switch to Motorola ($35,000 to $127 000). Whether we use a vehicle camera or not, I will leave that up to the Council to decide. Manager Cobabe said we really poured over the budget and would have to massage some things and do an amendment to the budget in order to do so. There could be some way to make this work. The Police Department alone accounts for 42% of the City’s budget. A lot of that goes toward equipment. Those have a life expectancy and get rotated through. Those things are not cheap and so we are going to try to get all that baked into a budget going forward. Garland would likely participate in their proportionate share, but those are conversations to be had.

Chief Cordova said with our body cams going down, I do not feel comfortable waiting. With your support I would purchase that with my budget so we can comply with Utah law. The $34,646 is an absolute need. I would leave the vehicle cameras to the discretion of the Council. Councilmember Estep said I would pause on the vehicles. Move forward with the body cams and then we will reassess the budget to see if we can afford the other. Manager Cobabe said before we pull the trigger, we will bring a budget amendment to the Council so you are clear on everything that is happening and what we are buying.

2. New Crossing Guard at 100 E 700 N – Chief Cordova

Sergeant Gailey said a couple weeks ago we got complaints from concerned parents about North Park Elementary’s intersection at 100 East 700 North. Several people almost got hit in that intersection the first few days of school. I sat up there for three mornings and that intersection is ridiculous. It needs a crossing guard. I would encourage the City to let us put one there. Assistant City Manager Nessen said cost is about $9,000 for salary and $1,000 for benefits. Chief Cordova said we can probably make it work with our budget, but our job is unpredictable. As we add more things it increases the odds of us going over. We will do this proactively and sit down with the school and discuss the cost.

Chief Cordova then gave his department head report. He said we had a busy month. I want to thank the Council for your support with the bomb threat at Matheson Apartments. It was handled well. We did a good job combining our resources and making sure it was done safely. We did have juvenile threats with a gun, which we took very seriously. We served a couple warrants and arrested that juvenile. We did our annual testing and most officers passed. I just finished a 12-week crime analysis certification. We just hired a new investigator with experience from another department. We have a detective who is resigning and going to another department. We are doing really good on the Know Your Force reviews. Currently we are at 90 reviews total and have a 4.9 average rating and 97.8 is positive. Mayor Holmgren said we appreciate your proactiveness and the swift manner that you took care of the problems, same with the fire department, you guys are great. Chief Cordova said Chief Hansen and I really appreciate the support we get.

Chief Hansen said we have a week before the request for proposals is due for our ambulance billing. We have two weeks to review those and then can ask questions. Our goal is to have a new company take over ambulance billing long before Treasurer Shari Oyler retires. She can close out common accounts while I coach the new company. I am working on digesting the consolidation study. Reach out if you have questions. I have talked with other communities and their chiefs. We need to behave like we are one fire department and share resources. We need to call on each other. The rest of it is up to the elected officials to decide how funding works long-term. It is less about operational and more about how we are going to be funded years from now. We are a little short on staffing. We have not been able to get people hired and trained. I have hired a new part-timer this week. We have made a job offer for a full-time employee. I think we are going to be in good shape going into fall being fully staffed. Our new engine is almost ready. We should have that within two months. When that arrives, we will need to surplus an engine.

Planner Seedall said last week quite a few of us went to the Box Elder County Summit. The story that stood out to me was how easy it was for the demolition of the old Grouse Creek school. It fell down with three inches. This building and the fire station are under the same non-reinforced masonry construction as North Park Elementary and the middle school. As we start looking at growing and expanding, we need to be aware of the structural instability and dangers. We are growing and getting more equipment. What do we do with the fire department that is at 100% capacity. We need ideas on how we want to budget for a replacement structure.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Hoedt asked about the updates on three ordinance amendments or repeals. Manager Cobabe said we had discussions with the Planning Commission, who tabled it again. We can bring the other two if you would like, but I was intending to bring them all at the same time. Councilmember Hoedt said the one they tabled was on campaign signs. They were unsure of the language and whether it was enforceable or not. They may want to tweak some of the definitions. Manager Cobabe said it was an extensive conversation, so we have significant changes that we are working through. We are close and should have that to you soon.

Councilmember Westergard said we have the ordinance for people’s yards to be completed within a year, but then we still have this building on Main Street that we cannot tell them to put the siding on. We have bigger fish to fry than recommendations for people’s yards. That building is not finished. Assistant City Manager Nessen said they have been working on it but ran out of money.

Councilmember Vance asked about RFPs and Manager Cobabe said we have time to review those submittals. We have several applications for Director Fulgham’s position. We are going to look through those and get a short list.

Councilmember Rohde said I think good things come from public comments.

Mayor Holmgren said the City-wide cleanup is on October 10-11. The survey is going to be out for another two or three weeks. Quite a few people have been responding to it. We are excited about that.

Recorder Nelson said we went to the UMCA Conference last week and the motions will now have the wording of yes or no, not aye or nay.

14. CLOSED MEETING: No closed meeting held at this time.

15. Adjournment.

Motion by Councilmember Vance to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Estep. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes Councilmember Hoedt – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

The meeting adjourned at 8:21 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 29th day of October, 2024.

Cynthia Nelson, City Recorder

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