City Council Minutes 4-1-25

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
APRIL 1, 2025

Members Present:
Wes Estep
Beau Lewis
Bret Rohde – via Zoom
Lyle Vance – via Zoom
Blair Westergard
Lyle Holmgren, Mayor
Bill Cobabe, City Manager
Linsey Nessen, Assistant City Manager—excused
Cynthia Nelson, City Recorder

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Holmgren called the April 1, 2025 City Council Workshop to order at 5:00 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 Estep, Lewis, Rohde (via Zoom 5:21 p.m.), Vance (via Zoom 5:06 p.m.), and Westergard, City Manager Cobabe, and City Recorder Nelson. The following Department Heads were also present: City Planner Jeff Seedall, Police Chief Dustin Cordova, Sergeant Skyler Gailey, Co-Interim Fire Chief Shawn Jensen, Librarian Kim Griffiths, Senior Center Director Jenny Christensen, and Pantry Director Carey Hunsaker. Also in attendance was Finance Director Curtis Roberts. Assistant City Manager Nessen was excused.

1. Evaluating and prioritizing capital projects for the upcoming fiscal year

Director Roberts reviewed the analysis page, showing department needs by year and estimated costs. The summary sheet has all of their projects. This analysis is designed to give quick looks and provide information that the Council has requested from our last meeting. Projects need to move into a concept, so the City is planning properly. The Council should consider when that goes from concept to becoming a reality. The fire station, for example, at what point does the City say that needs to have a target year and start identifying funding? One option is to set up a savings plan. This will start 10 years from now and could cost $18 million so you have to set aside $1.8 million per year. How could this impact other things and does that warrant a property tax increase? Another option for a critical need is bonding. We did this with secondary, dedicating a percentage of the water revenues to repaying those bonds. Mayor Holmgren said could our sales tax revenue be used for a revenue bond? Director Roberts said you can, but that will take away the sales tax revenue stream. Right now, the City has committed to setting aside 75% of sales tax revenue and transferring that to other funds. That would reduce how much you would have available for other projects. We could look at the revenue stream and then discuss what that looks like with a bonding company.

Planner Seedall reviewed the needs and funds of the Food Pantry and Parks and Recreation. The Food Pantry wants to spend $163,000 in the next few years and already has enough to cover that. Parks and Recreation has a need of $14.5 million in projects. These filters allow you to break down how much department heads are estimating they would like to spend on their capital needs and funds available. As the Council decides which of these items to prioritize and adds timelines for those, I can start working with department heads to draft the concept. We would start going through the design process and get RFPs. That normally is a three-to-five-year process, depending on the complexity and how we choose to manage the project. That gives me three years to work with the professionals and agencies for grant funding. This kind of allows the Council to guide my daily efforts. Director Roberts said the elephant in the room is parks because it has a huge amount. The overall request over the next three years is about $32 million. Our overall, available revenue is $9.3 million. The Council can go through and evaluate those by project year, priority level, priority order, and how many years to complete. Our department heads are here tonight to answer your questions because they have a lot more information and can explain why they ranked things how they have. Critical items are first, then high, then important. Manager Cobabe said everything in the fire department has a feel of being critical, but we cannot ignore the needs of the Parks Department either. It is not fair to compare the needs of each department. Planner Seedall said that is what has got us in trouble with our parks so far.

Director Roberts said after discussion we will update this sheet based off priorities and decide how are we going to meet the needs. There is a lot of complexity to this, so we are trying to break it into pieces. Fulfilling each department’s needs is a tremendous balancing act. We have about $121 million worth of needs over the next 10 years and that is a scary number. When asked about the proposed sports complex, Planner Seedall said the RFP will help obtain more information. Councilmember Lewis said that is going to be a huge number so phases over years makes it become more realistic. Director Roberts said this is a perfect example. If the Council says, we want this broken out in phases, that gives us direction on how to proceed. We can come back at a non-pressing time with more information and discuss this further. Planner Seedall said an architect is going to be crucial this summer as we get into this process to understand what the phasing could look like. Manager Cobabe said once we find out what our budget should look like, we can start filling in some of those question marks and will have a much better idea of how we should parcel it out going forward. Department heads then explained their needs and estimated costs.

Co-Interim Fire Chief Jensen said their plan for a new fire station is likely 10-years out. They will start developing and looking for land in about five years and be a station in 10 years. We can survive in the station we are in. It is not critical, but it is critical to have it in the back of your mind as a need to start working on. The training complex should not be 100% our responsibility. If we build a training complex, all of northern Box Elder County would use it. It would be nice to have something centrally located in the County that everyone contributes to. After much discussion the Council agreed to plan on their portion of it (about $200,000), but not the full bill. They then reviewed an ambulance replacement. Co-Interim Fire Chief Jensen said we have $270,000 of it funded, but with increased prices we might need an additional $15,000. Ambulance 33 is being replaced. We will need to start another one on the build process since it took almost three years from the time we signed on this ambulance. If we get okayed to do another one for the 2025-26 budget, we are still 24 to 36 months out of receiving it. We should do a two-to-three-year rotation. We have gone five years without and now have four ambulances stacked on miles. We are behind the eight ball. Director Roberts said we would want to adjust the schedule to reflect it so the Council has that information to make decisions. Co-Interim Fire Chief Jensen said we could put aside $115,000 a year for an ambulance line item every year and by the time that three-year rotation rolled around you would have the money. Ambulances are most important. The extractor in the other side of the bay is another need if we are going to stay in that fire station a while. Cost is about $40,000.

Librarian Griffiths said a new library building is not going to happen for a long time. The items I added were not listed as critical. We do need a storage shed onsite so our older employees do not have to go downstairs with boxes. We would want something big enough to store everything that is downstairs (10×20, cost around $15,000). Our building will be 100 years old in 2030. The oldest part of the building is not up to earthquake code. The newer part was built in the 70’s. We did get a bid for cabinets. We have a lot of technology equipment, we just do not have anywhere to put it. We have a 3D printer, virtual reality sets, and other items that would be usable for people who are interested in starting a business. We would like to have this space for people to try things out and learn more about technology. We could get a smart board to do telehealth visits. By utilizing this space for that, we will not be able to have meetings in there anymore. We are trying to make use of every inch we have.

Senior Center Director Christensen said we are using an extra car from the police department. It would be nice to give that back and get another car for us. The vestibule expansion is critical. We would like to close that off so that every time the door opens, all the outside air does not come into our offices. We want two doors to go through, especially with the new push-button door openers. We also need new carpet upstairs. We have a lot of runs and bubbles, creating fall hazards. There should be grant money available for a 12-passenger bus and all our vehicles needed. There is nothing wrong with our bus they just ask us to start looking ahead and figuring out what we would need in the future. We have discussed putting pickleball courts in our back parking lot. We could fit two courts easily. That is a popular sport for seniors. It would need to be leveled and have fencing. A small bowery out back with more picnic tables would be amazing.

Director Roberts said we are planning about $260,000 being available for 2026 for capital projects in the Food Pantry. Everything is funded. The pantry gets many donations from our generous community. Over time, that fund has built up. Pantry Director Hunsaker said what I need most this year is the concrete replaced on the south side of the pantry. Cost would be about $8,000. We put very little use on our forklift and Chevy truck, which has 3,900 miles and is a 2019. Our pantry is exceptional for space. I feel we are doing really well. We serve about 180 families a month, which is about 600 people.

Chief Cordova said we have grown into our animal shelter and generally take animals from outside our City to help the Sheriff’s office. We have discussed coming together with the County to build a new shelter to meet everybody’s needs with the growth of our cities. This is up in the air. At some point, they are going to need a place to take their animals. I would love to see us come together to take that problem on. We would benefit from having a department head and part-time employee to help manage that resource. Julie Beagley has done a great job and brings in a ton of donations. It has also been great for PR. We average 1.5 animals per household. As we grow, we will have a larger pet population and will need to expand. Best Friends is a partnership that helps with funding. As far as the police department goes, originally, I had the wage adjustment as our number one because it is so impactful to the overall budget, but it does not meet the definition. Our number one on here is police vehicles. Every year we ask for money to rotate our fleet. As it stands, we are doing about four per year on rotations. We try to run the vehicles for a period of five years. We could push that out further, but if we are in that warranty period, it does not cost us anything to fix them. Once we pass that warranty, we pay for that and have taken some pretty good hits on repairs. Cops live and breathe in those vehicles so they take wear and tear. We absolutely have to have them. Another item on my list is a steel outbuilding, which is critical to high. I am currently on a waiting list through the Department of Justice to get a free armored vehicle, worth $1 million. One of the requirements is to have a secure building to park it in. You also have to meet minimum maintenance care. This would also help our surrounding agencies in a critical incident. These things are a game changer in a shooting. We have had a huge rise in our SWAT operations over the last couple years. Tasers are number two on the importance level since we are kind of behind. We are using old equipment. I would like to get our guys outfitted with the best to avoid lethal situations. The longer we wait to buy that equipment, the more expensive it gets. We had vehicle cameras in here. It is not required by law so I do not feel it is critical, but it does protect us from liability. Our guys carry body cams. I would recommend having them, but it is more of a luxury. Ammo, handguns, and rifles are an ongoing expense. Our guys need to train and stand on top of their skillset. That also protects us from liability. Vehicle radios are absolutely critical. We have to have them to communicate. SWAT headsets would be good but are far down the list. We also could use a larger building. We have multiple people sharing offices. We are fully staffed. I credit a lot of that to the Council and your support has helped tremendously.

Manager Cobabe read an email, outlining budget priorities, from Parks and Recreation Director Zach LeFevre, who was unable to attend. The first priority is land. Tremonton currently has a level of service of 2.4 acres of park space per 1,000 residents. For cities under 20,000 residents, the lowest should be six acres per 1,000 residents. Our current parks are small with no room to grow. It is recommended that Tremonton look at purchasing and investing in land now, that is earmarked for future park space, so that as the City continues to grow, we keep up with demand on parks and focus on raising our level of service to a minimum of 5.5 acres per 1,000 residents. Number two is the sports complex discussed previously. Stokes Park is proposed on the west side of town. There are no parks or playgrounds west of I-15 leaving those residents without any recreational opportunities within an acceptable walking distance. The park will also serve as a stormwater detention basin for the area. It will expand our open green space playing area for team sports and a possible dog park. Number four is an awning/cover for equipment behind the park department’s shop. We have run out of storage space. This structure will protect equipment from outside elements. Number five is a new field painter. Growth has maxed out our current playing fields and a GPS driven painter will save hundreds of man-hours per year on field setup. At Stevens Park alone, this year we set up 11 soccer fields. This will give us the option to easily set up new fields and sizes as we work with other sports per season. Number six is an updated security system at Shuman and Jeanie Stevens parks. The slides at Shuman Park are ordered and will be replaced soon. That equipment is 18 years old. The playground will need to be replaced within seven years. It is critical to save money for the playground at Jeanie Steven’s Park and finish North Park and Meadow Park playgrounds.

Planner Seedall said Recorder Nelson wants an interactive cemetery map to help people find their relatives. There is funding that will cover at least half of it. We could use an administrative vehicle. It would be helpful and a lot cheaper, especially with the raise in mileage reimbursement. We also need a new building but could likely consolidate administration with the library and police department in one. Fire needs their own and maybe even two locations.

2. Discussion of Justice Court (this item was discussed at the end of the City Council meeting)

Manager Cobabe said Director Roberts pointed out that the Justice Court does not make money. Director Roberts said I went back to 2019 and built a spreadsheet based off financial statements, fines, and forfeitures that are collected versus the revenues the court brings and what it takes to run that department. That does not include anything that might not be accounted for in the court department. From 2020 until 2024, the Justice Court has cost the City. The City has subsidized the court with some sort of funding source to the tune of $50,000-ish. Last year was closer to about $11,000 and was subsidized by the General Fund. Manager Cobabe said what costs us money is having the court clerk position. We also pay for the judge and bailiff, but those are minor. The real expense is the full-time employee. This is a way we could save some expense year in and year out. It is convenient to come here as opposed to driving to Brigham for your court dates, but a lot are being held online. Director Roberts said in 2025 the largest expenses were $80,000 in salary and $28,000 in benefits. That is $108,000 of the $131,000 budget. Manager Cobabe said we would not close the court altogether, just move that to the district court. We would work out an understanding and have them handle our court services. That leaves the door open if and when we want to reopen the court here. Opening a new court is difficult, but moving the court for a period of time is a lot easier. Chief Cordova said from an operational side, it is more work. We do have people consistently testifying in court, but I am not opposed to it. We have been pressing Garland to close their court since I got here. It never made sense financially to have it. They do not have the caseload. As the City grows, more than likely, we will want to have that service back. I would caution against getting in a position where we cannot easily bring that court back when it does make sense. It is going to be a little bit inconvenient, but that is nothing compared to the cost. I would support it. Manager Cobabe said we will get some real numbers and bring it back to the Council with a recommendation from staff.

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

4. CLOSED MEETING: No Closed Meeting held at this time.

a. Strategy session to discuss the purchase of real property when public discussion of the transaction would disclose the appraisal or estimated value of the property under consideration or prevent the public body from completing the transaction on the best possible terms; and/or
b. Strategy session to discuss the character, professional competence or physical or mental health of an individual; and/or
c. Strategy sessions to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation; and/or
d. Discussions regarding security personnel, devices or systems

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

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Holmgren called the April 1, 2025 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 Estep, Lewis, Rohde (via Zoom), Vance (via Zoom), and Westergard, City Manager Cobabe, and City Recorder Nelson. The following Department Heads were also present: City Planner Jeff Seedall, Police Chief Dustin Cordova, Sergeant Skyler Gailey, Co-Interim Fire Chief Shawn Jensen, Librarian Kim Griffiths, Senior Center Director Jenny Christensen, and Pantry Director Carey Hunsaker. Also in attendance was Finance Director Curtis Roberts. Assistant City Manager Nessen was excused.

1. Opening Ceremony: Prayer – Director Roberts, Pledge – Councilmember Westergard

2. Introduction of Council

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: None.

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Estep to approve the agenda of April 1, 2025. Motion seconded by Councilmember Westergard. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – March 18, 2025

Motion by Councilmember Westergard to approve the minutes of March 18, 2025. Motion seconded by Councilmember Lewis. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

6. Public comments: There were no public comments.

7. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and possible action of adopting Resolution No. 25-11 establishing a separate accounting fund for Roads Special Revenue Fund

Director Roberts said we adopted an impact fee a few years ago and put a lot of that money into fund 42, which is the Transportation Capacity Fund. RTIF added another revenue stream. These are restricted funds. The complexities of these restricted funding sources are becoming more challenging. We recommend setting up a separate special revenue fund. It is a governmental fund, but it would be designed specifically to account for the class C road money and RTIF money. We can put the impact fee money in there as well and have a road special revenue fund that would keep track of how much we are spending for road maintenance and report more accurately. This would help us communicate better internally and externally how much is being spent for roads. All I see are upsides. This makes things a lot easier and clearer from our standpoint and for citizens on how much money is being spent on roads. It does not get mixed into the General Fund and makes accounting for the restricted funds a lot easier.

Motion by Councilmember Westergard to adopt the resolution. Motion seconded by Councilmember Estep. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and possible action on adopting Ordinance No. 25-05 amending the Tremonton City Land Use Code Chapter 1.24 Home Occupation Permit

Planner Seedall said we felt this chapter could be clearer. This table lists our minor home occupations. As long as they are staying within the confines of their house, they would not have an extreme commercial impact on the neighborhood. Major home occupations will be sent through DRC to make sure they meet building, fire, and state code regulations, especially as we start seeing more childcare and preschools. They have more intense traffic flow. If a home business is too commercial, they will go through the DRC for approval. This loosens the regulations on minor home businesses and further outlines how the approval processes for major home occupations will go. This is a more thorough review than Planning Commission. Business vehicles or trailers used for home occupation have to be stored on the premises without blocking the public right-of-way. If there were to be a problem, we can point to this code and say, you have to keep it on your property. We have such a variety in property sizes and could not find a great way to address all the problems.

Motion by Councilmember Lewis to adopt the ordinance. Motion seconded by Councilmember Estep. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

c. Discussion and possible action on adopting Ordinance No. 25-06 rezoning parcels 05-200-0040, 05-200-0047, and 05-200-0048 located at 1215 South 100 East from Residential District (R1-8) to Residential Multiple District (RM-16)

Planner Seedall said the applicant asked that we rezone these to match the multi-family housing next door. These will be developed in that corner from 100 East to the Malad River, to the top of the flood zone. The parking and storm drain requirements will control how many units they can have.

Motion by Councilmember Estep to approve the ordinance. Motion seconded by Councilmembers Rohde and Westergard. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vance – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

8. Consent Agenda

a. Adoption of February Warrant Register
b. Adoption of February Financial Statements
c. Discussion and possible action on adopting Resolution No. 25-12 ratifying the final completion of Archibald Estates Plat M
d. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 25-13 appointing a Public Works Director

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

9. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar

The next Council meetings will be on April 22 and 29 to further discuss the budget. Spring cleanup will be May 2-3, with a dumpster behind a fence at the City. Someone will check driver’s licenses to ensure it is used by residents.

b. Unfinished Business/Action Items: None.

10. Reports & Comments:

a. City Administration Reports and Comments

Manager Cobabe said I am fortunate to work with such amazing professionals who are dedicated and give their talents to furthering the work of the City and blessing the lives of the residents. I want to highlight the work that Director Roberts, Planner Seedall, and Assistant Manager Nessen have done in putting together the spreadsheet for the budget. It is very clear and helpful. Those three have really shined on this particular issue. For a couple of personnel changes, we do have an HR director who has accepted another position. We wish her luck.

b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments

Planner Seedall said we have contracted with Civic Review to handle all of our land use applications online. It has been as smooth of a process as starting anything from scratch has been. We are working out the kinks, but it has been really helpful, especially with staff who does not work in the City to help communicate and centralize those applications. We are nearing construction season so applications should start flying in.

c. City Department Head Reports and Comments: None.
d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Estep said we need to look into keeping an Assistant Public Works Director. I want to wish Tara Buckway good luck in her future endeavors. We hate to lose anybody because we have good employees.

Councilmember Rohde said we had a great town hall discussion last Thursday on the first pillar. We had a lot of good input. We are going to do that every fourth Thursday.

Councilmember Vance said it would be good to go all the way down through the budget to show the Council just how much money we have available to decide what to do in capital improvements, instead of doing it backward and narrowing it down to show us how much money we actually have. It would help us make decisions more prudently. Director Roberts said we have tried to show the money available in the analysis page. I know the Council would like me to give a more professional recommendation on a range of what can be spent in this year. When we meet again, I will be prepared for that.

Councilmember Westergard said I know there are people who are not happy about the trees going, but I think it looks very nice and seems so wide.

Councilmember Lewis echoed Councilmember Rohde on the Town Hall meeting. I loved the feedback from residents. We got quite a few suggestions. A lot of questions are coming in on Main Street and what is the plan for that now that the trees are gone. Manager Cobabe said we are at about a 30% level of completion on the plans. Per Council’s request, we have asked our City engineer to put a budget number to it. That will be very loose and probably higher than the bids would come in at. Since we want numbers at this stage they will be padded. Once we get your approval, we will run it past UDOT. Again, not for their approval at this point, but to keep them in the loop. We have been working with them for months. We will keep plugging away and get those engineering drawings dialed in and will work with the Main Street Committee on design recommendations.

Mayor Holmgren said we met with the veterans and discussed the west part of the square. Part of the concern for them is they feel it was not clear they were going to be able to make improvements to that area. We are offering some kind of a resolution that this area is available for the veterans. Those improvements will still have to be run through the Council for approval. We are anxiously waiting for the engineer’s estimate so we can go out to bid. We have the 100-year anniversary of the Box Elder County Fair this year. There are big activities being planned, including a horse parade that Monday. That will be a good kickoff to the fair. It would be cool if we had things wrapped up with Midland and started with Main Street by then. It will be a neat year.

At this point in the meeting, the Council held their discussion of the Justice Court from the Work Session.

11. CLOSED MEETING: No Closed Meeting held at this time.

12. Adjournment

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

The meeting adjourned at 8:03 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 April, 2025.

Cynthia Nelson, City Recorder

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