City Council Minutes 12-5-23

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
DECEMBER 5, 2023

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

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Holmgren called the December 5, 2023 City Council Workshop to order at 5:30 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, Seamons, and Vance, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Fire Chief Brady Hansen (arrived at 6:12 p.m.), and Downtown Manager Sara Mohrman. City Manager Warnke was excused.

1. Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) regulations discussion – Sam Taylor, Landmark Design

Mr. Taylor said here is an overview on the ADU ordinance we have been working on with the Planning Commission. Accessory dwelling units are a growing trend and are adding to the housing supply. This is not a silver bullet to our housing problems, but is a piece of the affordable housing issue. That is a big part of why the State is interested in promoting them and has enacted certain requirements. Basement and mother-in-law apartments are now permitted. That has necessitated the need to get an ordinance together. There are internal and external ADUs. External can take place in an existing building like a garage or they can be constructed independently. Internal can be within the existing footprint of the principal dwelling or it can be an add-on. They have the opportunity to align the elderly and young with a mutual benefit. People could look to these as a way to offset their mortgages, but not everyone is lining up to get them built. They have to have a pretty compelling reason or need for the investment since they come with an expense. The State has removed restrictions on size, lot size, street frontage and connectivity requirements. There are still some factors that municipalities have control over and so we examined those through our process. In May, we began research and reviewed ADU ordinances from other communities. Manager Warnke and former Zoning Administrator Steve Bench prepared a draft of their own. Those were all used as a baseline. We developed the first draft in June and took it to the Planning Commission. We have gone back and forth and made several revisions. A public hearing was held and made they recommendation this to the Council.

Mr. Taylor said here is a brief overview of the ordinance. Internal ADUs are a permitted use under State requirements. The feeling of the Planning Commission was that it would be best to maintain the conditional use for the detached ADUs. There is concern since the detached ADU is not part of the main dwelling. There may be instances where additional conditions might need to be applied. Both types require a permit from the zoning administrator and that application process is outlined in the ordinance. If they are concerned, they can forward it to DRC or Planning Commission for review. For internal ADUs, there can be one per dwelling and it is subject to the zoning of the house. They share water and sewer, and have the same address, but with the unit B. The owner has the option to make the electric and gas separate. They will have separate entrances. Parking has been a topic of deliberation. There is one parking space requirement for one bedroom and two parking spaces for two plus bedrooms. They cannot share the same driveway as the principal dwelling. The cars can be parked tandem in that side driveway, but are not allowed to be tandem in or share the driveway with the principal dwelling. Street parking is not allowed, but we know people will park on the street. There are no impact fees for internal ADUs that do not change the footprint of the home. The detached ADUs have many of the same requirements. This section of the ordinance has a size range in which they are permitted. They are not to exceed 30% of the rear yard. Depending on the lot size, that changes the limitation. The setbacks are dependent on the residential zone. We treat them as an accessory building like we would any other garage or shed. Impact fees are required. That is maybe one of the barriers that could be removed to encourage these being built. That fee could be waived. There is an appeals process for the conditional use permit. We also have a leave of absence requirement for the owner if they want to take an extended leave from the home (up to 24-month).

Councilmember Archibald said having been in Planning Commission during this discussion, I will say the Planning Commission had concerns about safety services and being able to access those. As the legislative session begins, parking is going to be a huge topic. Parking was one of the Commission’s major conversations. Mr. Taylor said Manager Warnke did speak with the fire chief and they felt comfortable with the access as written. As with any ordinance, there is going to be a bit of a learning piece to this. There will be opportunities for a revision.

2. Justice Court Recertification discussion – Judge Kevin Christensen

Assistant City Manager Christensen said the judge has to go through a grueling process of checklists and making sure we are compliant with the State. He has done that, but wanted to provide an update. Judge Christensen said every four years we have to recertify. It requires a letter from the City attorney recommending we continue the court. I have to fill out an affidavit, which I have done and say we comply with all the requirements. The judge needs to sit six inches higher than the rest of the court and have a gavel and robe. We also have to have security and a flag. Our clerk has to be totally certified and caught up on all of her training and recertification hours, which she is. A resolution needs to be passed and signed by the City and sent in then we are good for another four years. Tremonton has been so good to me. I have always had the full support of the Mayor and Council. I have been able to run the court the way it is supposed to be run. I appreciate all you do.

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

The Council moved into a closed session at 5:54 p.m.

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

The Council returned to open session at 6:12 p.m.

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

The Council would hear from the Box Elder Chamber of Commerce and the Box Elder Family Support Center. They then discussed the adoption of an ordinance that would modify the manager’s duty to appoint persons with the advise and consent of the Council. Assistant City Manager Christensen said as you know we are recruiting for a City planner. We do not feel it is going to be at the department director level. If we do recruit a department director it will be the community development director, which is in the advise and consent of the Council. Taking that out allows the staff to hire the planner without coming to the Council meeting. This position is not an appointed position and is just an employee. We could still hire a Community Development Director, but that would take more budget.

Assistant City Manager Christensen said the next three items have already been recorded. This is a ratification of the development agreements. Harvest Village is on the south end of town. River Valley is next to BR Mountain Road. The last one is the homes at Tremonton on fourth west. Director Fulgham said one is going to be built as townhomes and one will be built as apartments. Assistant City Manager Christensen said the development agreement have been made and recorded. This just ratifies it. We put it in resolution form so that we can easily find it. Recorder Nessen said we have a template development agreement that the Council has approved. We are just showing you the special conditions. Director Fulgham said they put it in a resolution so they can pull it up easy—it is more about bookkeeping.

The Council then discussed vehicle surplus and authorizing the public works director to dispose of those. Director Fulgham said these vehicles have lived their life in the Public Works. They have limited, but hard miles. They are almost 30 years old and those miles are in town pushing snow. You could probably take a snow pushing mile and multiply it by 10 because it is hard on vehicles. They only have scrap value. We cannot dispose of these until they are listed as surplus property. When asked about the street sweeper, Director Fulgham said hopefully it arrives before Christmas. We have been waiting on it since we ordered it on October 5, 2022. I need to touch base with the sales rep. It will not get used until spring because we do not like to run them when it is freezing. They use water and we do not want to take a chance of it freezing the pumps.

Assistant City Manager Christensen discussed the City establishing a separate accounting fund for solid waste. Currently the solid waste with recycling and garbage collection is done within the General Fund. Our financial director has recommended anything that has to do with solid waste is put into its own fund, which would be treated as an enterprise fund. That way we could track our revenues and expenses and make sure our fees are set correctly. The price has increased from our contractor and everything is becoming more significant. This would not be immediate, but in the fiscal year 2025 budget.

Recorder Nessen discussed a resolution about health insurance and employee benefits for the 2023-24 fiscal year. There is just one change. We did not have any consideration for when a councilmember has health insurance from their employer. They only mentioned the marketplace and Medicare. We added if they are on an employer-sponsored health plan, the City would still cover 90%.

The Council then reviewed calendar items. Assistant City Manager Christensen said the second Friday stroll will be again this week. We also have training opportunities on December 9, in person or online on December 16. Other trainings will be at the beginning of the year. There are one-hour trainings via Zoom. Our first council meeting in January will be on the 2 and we will swear in the newly elected officials.

The meeting adjourned at 6:48 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Holmgren called the December 5, 2023 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 Holmgren, Councilmembers Archibald, Estep, Rohde, Seamons, and Vance, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Brady Hansen, Police Chief Dustin Cordova, (arrived at 7:14 p.m.) Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, and Downtown Manager Sara Mohrman. City Manager Warnke 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 Fire Chief Hansen.

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 Vance to approve the agenda of December 5, 2023. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – November 7, 2023

Motion by Councilmember Estep to approve the minutes of November 7, 2023. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

6. Citizenship Awards

a. Tremonton City Citizenship Award to Elementary and Intermediate Students

Councilmember Archibald said this is a special time and these young people are going to be our future leaders. It is important that we have good citizenship. There are over 100 children in each of these grades at each school (McKinley, North Park, and Alice C. Harris). They have selected students to honor. Moms and dads, thank you for your example and for teaching your children how to be responsible, respectful, and safe. These are our students of the month for November. She presented these students with their award, they took a picture and received gift cards.

7. Years of Service Awards

a. Jenny Christensen, Senior Center Director – 15 years of service
b. Laura Lee Woolsey, Senior Center – 10 years of service

Assistant City Manager Christensen read through a bio on Mrs. Christensen, while she read through the bio for Mrs. Woolsey. They were thanked for their service.

8. Presentation

a. Update on the Box Elder County Chamber of Commerce- Monica Holdaway

Mrs. Holdaway said we have 77 Chamber members in the north end of the County with the lowest membership dues in the State. Peach Days is our main fundraiser. In the upcoming year we will have a legislative preview breakfast in Tremonton on January 11. In February and March, we will be at the legislature. We meet every Wednesday morning with our northern Utah partners. We work with all the Chambers north of Salt Lake. We are working to video all our educational events and make them available on YouTube. We will have our Box Elder Business Summit in March in Brigham City. We are hoping to focus on workforce issues since that is our business’ number one concern—recruiting and retaining employees. We will end with the Taste of Box Elder where different restaurants do samples. We do a career day for the high schools. April 9, will be at Bear River High and April 16, will be at Box Elder High. Last year, we gave away $3,500 in scholarships. Our annual banquet will be in April at the fairgrounds. We give out annual awards. In May, we will do a home based/small business conference at the fairgrounds. We do it in conjunction with the Cache Chamber of Commerce. We will do two educational events for chamber members—one in September and one in November. We will do a meet the candidates event for the County election. Tremonton’s Trick-or-Treat on Main Street is planned for next year. We appreciate the support of the City, as well as the police department for helping us keep kids safe. We also helped with the light parade. We have received a grant from a national organization that works with Chambers of Commerce. Some of that went to an economic dashboard. This is an overview of our County. This is a demographic population trend forecast. It shows the percentage of job growth for the last five years, which lends to the employment problem. Our businesses are creating more jobs and expanding. This is our educational attainment in Box Elder County. We have high paying jobs and great opportunities for individuals. You can see our housing affordability has definitely skyrocketed. Stats show 3,200 people drive in from Weber County to Box Elder County to work. We have 5,370 driving out of Box Elder County to work in Weber County. We lose 2,110 of our workers to outside of our County. The only gain we get is with Cache County. We have a ton of workers coming from Cache County because their median income wage is very low compared to Box Elder. 4,700 people leave Box Elder to work in Salt Lake. I am working on a campaign of work where you live. We have a lot of great jobs, high paying jobs. Live local and save gas, money and time. I hope the business community can come together and we can start marketing this. We appreciate your support.

b. Report from the Box Elder Family Support Center—Shay Munk, Megan Nelson and Stacie Musil

Mr. Munk said this is a place where single moms and families, who have been through abusive relationships, can go. We are located in Garland with another center in Brigham City. This gives opportunity to single mothers who need a place to go or to help with kids while they run errands. It is a free service and a great opportunity for the community. It really supports families in a tougher situation or who need a little more freedom. The board that manages all the centers has pulled funding for Box Elder. This has created a huge issue for the center in Garland. If something does not happen, it will have to close in February. Scott Sandal is involved and applying pressure to the board to build a resolution. We are here asking for the Council’s help—anything that the City could do to assist us in keeping the center open.

Mrs. Nelson said I use their service. I am not a single mom, but I have three kids and my husband works very early and late. I work from home and having them at home while I am trying to work can be very hard. These guys have given me the support I need. It makes me feel safer knowing they have a place while I work, with people I trust. If the center closes it will affect many families that rely on this place. This support center means the world to a lot of people. This gives me peace of mind, knowing my kids are safe. Mr. Munk said we wanted you to be aware of this and work with Scott Sandal. If there are any funds that can be directed toward the center that would be great. Last year we served 290 children and 72 families. We had more than 1,000 hours of service.

9. Public comments:

Resident Kristie Bowcutt said I am involved with the Women’s Civic Club and every other month we collect treats to help this center. We also help with crafts. I would hate to see that place go. I worked in the schools long enough to know that that is a very important place. I would like to thank Councilmember Estep for being responsible in snowplowing. I appreciate you keeping the plow up out of the rock chips. He did not speed. However, Saturday was a totally different subject. They came whipping through there. I would bet they were doing 40 miles an hour and those blades were hitting the rock chips and throwing them on the lawns and filling the sidewalks. I had them halfway up my driveway. People’s vehicles were pelted. One lady said she had dents in her garage door. Those rocks are like BBs being shot out. They hurt. One guy took off running for his life. That is just something to be aware of. I do believe Tremonton has a budgeting problem and an excessive spending problem. I am hoping the new councilmembers can ask more questions. Why are we spending. Like the branding of Tremonton. Why could we not have put that out for residents to be involved in and come up with an idea. That would have been better than paying a firm $50,000. That is a great thing to do and I think we need to be considerate in getting others involved in what is going on in the City rather than being so quick to hire a firm and pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars. You could have let a resident get involved and they would have loved it.

10. Canvass of the 2023 General Election

Recorder Nessen said there are 4,700 registered voters in Tremonton and only 1,428 ballots were cast (30.38% voted). There were two ballots that were postmarked on time so they were counted. There were eight ballots that were not counted because they were postmarked after November 21. The total votes were Sarah 511, RJ 245, Jeff 710, Blair 828, Connie 650, and Lyle 694. There were three over votes, meaning somebody voted for four or five or six. So those do not get counted. Under votes, there were 643 of those, which is fine. It just means somebody only voted for one or two people. Those votes still count. You do not have to vote for three, but you can vote for up to three. This then breaks it down per precincts one through six.

Motion by Councilmember Estep to accept the canvas of the 2023 election. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

11. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of approving the October Financial Statements

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

b. Discussion and consideration of approving the October Warrant Register

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

c. Discussion and consideration of adopting the Tremonton City Council Annual Meeting Schedule for Calendar Year 2024

Motion by Councilmember Vance to adopt the annual meeting schedule. Motion seconded by Councilmember Rohde. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

d. Discussion and consideration of adopting Ordinance No. 23-09 creating Accessory Dwelling Unit regulations by adopting Chapter 1.21 Accessory Dwelling Units and amending Chapter 1.07 Residential Zone Districts and Chapter 1.03 Definitions of the Tremonton City Land Use Code

Councilmember Archibald said having worked on the Planning Commission and gone through this process, I think it is a good thing for the City. It offers options and opportunities.

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

e. Discussion and consideration of adopting Ordinance No. 23-10 amending provisions from Title 3: City Government, Part 3-1025 Powers and Duties of the Manager of the Revised Ordinances of Tremonton City Corporation modifying the Manager’s duty to appoint persons to City Offices with the advise and consent of the City Council

Assistant City Manager Christensen said this includes a multitude of jobs, which are typically department head level and are appointed by the Council. As we have been recruiting for the City Planner we feel it would be best that that position is not an appointed position, but more hourly. It would scratch the City planner from appointment with advise and consent.

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

f. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-70 requesting the recertification of the Tremonton City Justice Court from the Justice Courts Standards Committee and the Utah Judicial Council

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

g. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-71 ratifying the Harvest Village, Phase 1 Subdivision Development Agreement

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

h. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-72 ratifying the River Valley, Phase 8 Subdivision Development Agreement

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

i. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-73 ratifying the Homes at Tremonton Townhomes Site Plan Development Agreement

Councilmember Rohde said I think it is important to note that we are adopting a resolution that we have been noticed. We are not agreeing or disagreeing on what goes in. This just tells us what is being done with the zone that was already predetermined. I do not want people coming back and saying, we breezed through them. We are just making notice that we are aware of the ratifications or that these site plans have been submitted.

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

j. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-74 declaring certain vehicles from the City Public Works Fleet as surplus and authorizing the Public Works Director to dispose of the vehicles

Director Fulgham said these five vehicles have been used up. We have to surplus them before we can get rid of them because it is City property. They are not running vehicles and have been well used.

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

k. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-75 establishing a separate accounting fund for solid waste

Assistant City Manager Christensen said the purpose of this would be to extract all solid waste operations and financial transactions out of the General Fund and create its own fund for accounting purposes. This is for garbage cans and pickup. Anything that would have to do with solid waste. It would create a fund in July of 2024 for that fiscal year budget.

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

l. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-76 amending Resolution No. 23-29 selecting health insurance carriers and defining the City’s contribution for health insurance employee benefits for the 2023-2024 fiscal year

Recorder Nessen said this is just amending medical insurance for our councilmembers. The City does pay 90%. This just took into account the option of one of our councilmembers having employer sponsored health insurance. Before we only had mentioned Medicare and then the health insurance marketplace options for insurance for the Council. This adds that third paragraph that a councilmember who has employer sponsored health insurance would have the City cover 90 percent.

12. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar (see work session)
b. Unfinished Business/Action Items

1. Home-Based Business Procedure

Assistant City Manager Christensen said when we adopted the fee schedule, we discussed charging home-based businesses for a business license. The Council wanted to ensure we had a good procedure in place. It is here for your review. It goes through everything in the code—who we can charge and criteria that would allow us to charge that fee or allow them to have the fee waived. It is pretty robust. The renewal is $17. The initial fee is in the $40 range.

c. Branding Implementation update: None.

13. Reports & Comments:

a. City Administration Reports and Comments

1. Curbside Recycling program status update

Assistant City Manager Christensen said we received a letter from Econowaste that Recycled Earth has to shut down for a couple of months for building improvements. We have called other recycling receiving centers, but they are not viable options. I want to make it clear that we do not have a place to take recycling during this time. We plan to review and analyze the recycling program since we updated the contract. They will still haul it separate, but it all will go to the landfill. I do not want the perception to feel like we are recycling, but then they see the truck going to the landfill. I think it would be too confusing to tell people that their recycling can could be a garbage can for two months and then it has to change back. The price is the same. They will go to the landfill instead of the recycling center for that window.

2. Budget adjustment to purchase a vehicle for the strike force officer

Assistant City Manager Christensen said currently we have a full-time sergeant in the Box Elder County strike force. They are going through changes and we are pulling that sergeant. We will still be participating with the strike force, but it will be through a 10-hour a week detective. Our sergeant is currently driving a strike force vehicle and will not have one as he gets pulled. We recommend purchasing a vehicle for him. We could pay for is within the police department. They were allotted five new officer positions and four of those have been filled. We would move money from the salary benefit line to a capital vehicle purchase line so we would not have to change the budget. We are just using those savings to purchase this vehicle.

Chief Cordova said the last thing I want to do is ask for more since you have helped so much. This is a way for us to internally fund that. Cost will be about $50,000, but we are looking at an SUV, which would be about $35,000. There is extra cost to put lights and radio. The benefit of staying in the strike force is we still have access to thousands of dollars of specialized training. We get access to their unit and detectives, which is fantastic. They also reimburse overtime. We get access to their equipment, which is very important to our narcotic investigations. It makes sense to keep that relationship, but with the direction the unit is going it does not make sense for us the City to contribute that full-time sergeant. This is the best of both worlds. We will definitely preserve that relationship. I also want to say thank Councilmembers Archibald and Seamons for their service. I know it is a tough job. You guys are underappreciated in a lot of ways. I do not envy you. You make big decisions and did a lot of great things for our City. The police department is sad, but also excited about the future.

Assistant City Manager Christensen said I wanted to thank Councilmembers Archibald and Seamons for all of their service, too. We have had a lot of good times at our trainings and I appreciate everything you have done for the City. Also, we would like to welcome Jeff Hoedt and Blair Westergard. We are excited to work with them.

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

Director Fulgham said I also want to thank the Council for what they do. I know I am a hard person to deal with, but I have the best interest in the City. I live here. I love Tremonton and I wanted my kids raised here. I appreciate the time spent with Councilmember Seamons. I worked with him long before the City Council and with Councilmember Archibald. I know the Police Department offers this all the time, so anytime you want to do a ride along with us snow plowing, let me know. It seems like they are going a lot faster than you are. Our job is to move snow off the road as fast as we can. We have 50 miles of roads in town and it takes time. We have good crews. We do not have the best equipment, but we do the best we can with what we have. Councilmember Vance said we appreciate you guys getting up all hours of the night and being willing to go out and do it.

Chief Hansen said the fire department was budgeted for a new engine and ambulance in the current budget year. I have been in consultation with the vendor building the fire truck and the vendor building the ambulance. We will not see either of those until early 2025. We were glad to be a part of the light parade. We will work on a plan to get more involved down the road. The County is doing a study related to fire departments and their future. I have started giving them significant data (about 20% of the data they need). Work on that will continue. Last Saturday, we held our fire department Christmas party and gave out a couple awards, including Firefighter of the Year and a group of individuals received an EMS Incident of the Year award. Tomorrow we are taking over the back parking lot with the Toys for Tots and giving to families in need (40 to 60 families will benefit). Lastly, we had one vacant position for an employee who left and we filled that position. We had 11 individuals test and we were able to pick a really good candidate.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Seamons said we have good employees, who are looking out for the City. It has been a good four years. Keep it up. I appreciate it. It has been good working with everyone here. Thanks.

Councilmember Rohde said thank you Councilmembers Archibald and Seamons for all your work. I have discussed transparency and there is a website called citizenportal.ai (artificial intelligence). It is the most amazing thing. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of people who watch or listen to what we are doing. If every citizen would get involved with this—it lets you watch the data. It does not make assumptions, but the data on federal, state, county, and local level. I can go in here and ask a question about something in our City and it will show up every one of us and when we said something about it. It does great summaries of our Council meetings and emails them. It is absolutely phenomenal. We should tell our citizens about this so we can be more transparent. I was totally amazed with this capability.

Councilmember Vance said I do not have anything to report, but I need to add in Councilmembers Archibald and Seamons and all their time and effort from the last four years. I do not think people realize how much work and effort goes into what happens behind the scenes. Thanks for all you have done. I have appreciated working with you.

Councilmember Archibald said I wanted to thank all the departments I have got to work with. I have got a chance to rub shoulders at DRC, which is my favorite meeting. I love to go to Planning Commission, working with the police and public works, the fire department, the library and helping with the farmer’s market. Just all the departments. They all do a great job. I seriously could not tolerate someone that puts down the employees who work for Tremonton. I could not tolerate it because they do not know what they are talking about. I applaud our mayor. I believe in what he is doing. We have had lots of conversations about what he wants for Tremonton and I support him. I appreciate the administrative team. I feel like I have been in the tunnel with all these people and trying to do my part. As City Council we need to be visible. We need to be a part of things and I am grateful. It has been good for me to work side by side and to be a support to them. It has been a hard experience being on the Council. Before serving my term, I was in the audience for 15 years. It is different to be here than it is to be there. I will be there again and that is fine. I have had opportunities to serve and to share my talents. It has been great. I want to applaud those who have been involved with what we have been doing. It has been good to work with the Mayor. I think the world of him and support everything he is doing.

Councilmember Estep said I have nothing but admiration for being up here. I know you guys are done. Your time is up and you will never be replaced. You will just always be part of my heart. My family. You have more get up and go. I have learned a lot from you and I hope I can step into some of those shoes and help fill them when you are gone. I have total admiration for you guys and everybody that is here. Thank you.

Mayor Holmgren said you guys have been great. We have had hard things to figure out. It was not that many years ago when we made the decision to go with secondary water and you have been there through the whole thing, which was a hard thing to do. That was a serious issue we were worried about and today that is not a concern. That is because of the hard decisions you made. I appreciate working with Councilmembers Archibald and Seamons. They have been super. We made things happen with the farmer’s market and all the other things that we have worked on and done. The whole idea is to make this a more livable community and something we can be proud of. It takes people going above and beyond to make it work. We are excited for Jeff Hoedt and Blair Westergard. You are going to add another facet and other ideas. It is going to be exciting to work with you and rub shoulders like we have with these councilmembers. We have big challenges ahead of us. Our next step is to work through affordable housing. I just want to thank Councilmembers Archibald and Seamons, you guys have been great. We have developed really good friendships on this board. I appreciate it so much.

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

15. 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 – aye. Motion approved.

The meeting adjourned at 8:48 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 2nd day of January, 2024.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

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