TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
APRIL 17, 2018
Members Present:
Diana Doutre
Lyle Holmgren
Jeff Reese
Bret Rohde
Lyle Vance
Roger Fridal, Mayor
Shawn Warnke, City Manager
Linsey Nessen, City Recorder
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP
Mayor Fridal called the April 17, 2018 City Council Workshop to order at 5:36 p.m. The meeting was held in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Fridal, Councilmembers Doutre, Holmgren, Reese, Rohde, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Steve Batis (arrived at 5:39 p.m.), Parks and Recreation Director Marc Christensen, Police Chief David Nance, and Treasurer Sharri Oyler.
The following items were discussed out of order.
1. Discussion of matters pertaining to the FY Budget 2019, which may include, but is not limited to:
• Capital Projects for all Funds
• Health Insurance
• Changes to employee staffing, etc.
• Other related matters
Manager Warnke told the Council that working on the budget has been a great team effort and talked about some key concepts needing to be finalized before adoption of the tentative budget on May 1. Once it is adopted, the City will have a month and a half to finalize it. Recorder Nessen said Cigna originally gave us an 18.6% increase on our medical insurance rates and dental rates were a 5.71% increase. GBS Benefits negotiated with Cigna and gathered data so we could go out to bid, however, Cigna came back with an offer of an 11% increase on medical and 3.4% on dental, with $750 cash to use toward the City’s wellness program if we do not go out to bid. This offer from Cigna will expire if we go out to bid. Councilmember Rohde asked if we know what other insurances are offering. Recorder Nessen said a 9% increase is the Utah average for medical premiums right now. Councilmember Doutre asked what Cigna was thinking by asking for an 18% increase in the beginning. Councilmember Rohde asked if the City’s claims helped drive that up. Manager Warnke said we do get usage reports now because we are a little bit of a self-funded plan and that was a factor, but we did not think 18% was in line with our usage. We think 11% is a fair number. Recorder Nessen said we also had to inform Cigna if any of our employees have ongoing medical conditions such as cancer, pregnancy, etc. but we do not know of any at this time. Manager Warnke said we pushed back and asked for 10.5%, which was a small amount of money, but Cigna said no. Recorder Nessen said the average dental trend is 4.1% so we would be a little below that. Manager Warnke asked for direction from the Council. We can go out to bid with GBS, but then we lose this option at 11%. Councilmember Reese recommended we go with the 11% increase with Cigna. Councilmember Rohde said it would be nice if it were closer to 9%, but 11% is fine. We could put some feelers out during the year and see if there are other options to us for next year. Manager Warnke said we will finalize that in the budget.
Recorder Nessen said we have also programmed in the budget a 2% Cost of Living Adjustment and a 1% merit increase for our employees. According to a survey of other cities, the average proposed increase this year is 3.4%, putting Tremonton on track. We did a salary survey and included all Class 5 Cities in Utah. We focused on the average starting pay of comparable Class 5 Cities for our positions and the findings were that 46% of our positions have a starting pay less than that of comparable cities. In those, 34% of our employees are actually receiving a wage less than the average starting pay for these Class 5 Cities. Councilmember Reese said it looked like what helped that pattern change a bit was that one city was high on everything. We were more in line without them. Councilmember Doutre said that city’s cost of living would be a lot more though. Mayor Fridal asked if the survey just includes wages or benefits also. Recorder Nessen said just wages. Mayor Fridal asked if it would be more accurate if we had a compensation packet. We have good benefits here in Tremonton and that makes a difference. Manager Warnke said we did a survey a few years ago and it seemed like South Weber paid 80% of insurance premiums, while most other entities paid 90%. We are pretty similar as far as the medical and retirement is the same because everyone participates in the state retirement program. The only significant benefit that could make a difference in the cost would be the premiums paid, but we feel like we are clustered around the average (90%), which is a generous benefit.
Recorder Nessen said to address some of these findings we have done a few selective salary adjustments. We have also looked at increasing the starting pay for our pay ranges A-2 through B-1. We focused mainly on the Senior Center positions because we have had a really hard time recruiting and retaining employees there. The budget impact for those adjustments is $16,531 for the year. Councilmember Reese agreed those should be increased and asked if there is any way we can have other cities contribute to the Senior Center. Manager Warnke said that is not within our control. We do have a partnership with the County and they contribute about $30,000 per year. We could have a conversation with them about how it is based. Councilmember Doutre said if we have other entities contribute, then they are going to want to put their two-cents in on how things are run, which makes for complications. Mayor Fridal said he is holding a mayor’s meeting this week and will bring it up.
Director Christensen talked about revenue in the General Fund. The City will realize about $275,000 in property tax because the West Liberty Foods EDA expired last year. We made our final payment back to them and they have about $101 million in taxable value. Property tax is one of the only revenue streams that we can control by raising property taxes. For the past six years, the City has seen an increase in sales tax, but as we know, that can start trending downward. It is hard to base ongoing costs on sales tax, but as of March 2018, we are 9% ahead of last year ($107,000). For this current fiscal year, we have budgeted $1.354 million. For next year, we have averaged the last four years and will budget $1.48 million. Another variable is building permit revenues and impact fees. We took a four-year running average of single-family and multi-family building permits, and next year we are estimating we will have 43 single-family and 17 multi-family building permits to be issued. For impact fees for storm drain we have about $83,000 and for wastewater treatment about $82,000.
Manager Warnke said we have been pretty conservative in our variable revenue. When we have good years, we are able to realize some fund balance at the end of the year that is transferred to the Capital Projects Fund. The City is in a position to fund ongoing operations with these variable revenues ($1.5 million is based on sales tax with some of that funding ongoing projects). Our approach is to be conservative and that is working well. We have had a lot of good years and been able to go away from lease agreements for most of our vehicles and capital equipment. We will talk about adding some additional employees. Building permits are on the rise and other generated revenue can provide a lot of resources to the City, but that can change and then the Council would be forced into making some tougher decisions like raising property taxes. We need to think about what we can do to make sure we have stable reliable revenue to meet these ongoing costs for personnel and how comfortable we feel about relying upon some of these variable revenues.
Manager Warnke then discussed the Capital Projects spreadsheet. Councilmember Rohde asked if these projects changing much from what was on the spreadsheet when we had the five-year forecast. Manager Warnke said not a lot, but we did some additional enhancements. We have a broader picture and will continue to build into the future. A big chief item is building out the BR Mountain Road. As we acquired the property, we took away an owner’s frontage. In exchange for that, we told him we would build out and create a road so he would have his frontage back again. It will cost about $500,000 in road construction costs with each utility contributing their portion within that right of way. This is the start of a minor artillery road that will service that whole west end of town. Landscaping the trailhead with a parking lot and grass is another project we will talk about and replacing the Animal Control Office, which is starting to deteriorate and has water damage inside and out. We need to replace it with something comparable. He then brought up ambulance replacements for those above 100,000 miles, which Chief Batis will address later in the meeting. Chief Batis said so far this year they have responded to 338 medical calls and 40 fires. Last year they responded to 1,154 medical calls and 175 fires.
2. Land Use Authority Board Report
a. Status report of applications being processed by the Land Use Authority
Manager Warnke gave a quick update on the last meeting, which had four agenda items. Phase 4 of Tremont Center includes a road that lines up with the Crump Reese Road on Main Street. We did not have an opportunity to talk with the developer, but we did provide some written comments to them and will talk through the specifics at our next meeting. Developer and Councilmember Holmgren is on Phase 7 of his development where the trailhead is. This would be an extension along the river. Councilmember Holmgren is working with the surveyor to make sure there is no overlapping between our conservation easements and the subdivisions. We do not want to have to work with 10 property owners to make sure the easement is not encroached upon or used contrary to what has been recorded. Councilmember Reese asked if Councilmember Holmgren added lots. Councilmember Holmgren said yes, there are two more hill lots and one more on the other side.
Manager Warnke said for the Aspen Grove RV Park they have been a little stuck as far as getting it approved. The Land Use Authority Board primarily deals with administrative land use decisions. The Council has adopted the Code and we administer the requirements of that Code and apply it. The developer has submitted four different iterations and the comments that have been resolved have a strike through. This developer lives in California so it is harder to finalize. We are still working and they have their punch list. We also allow for walk-ins and an individual who owns an existing home south of the tennis courts wants to develop a multi-family project there. We had a brief conversation, but he wants to tear down the house and do something different. It is only a quarter acre and there is a tendency to overbuild a site. We have standards that come into play that have to be factored in and help shape how much the property can be developed. Councilmember Doutre asked if the residents would be able to park off the street. Manager Warnke said that was one of the questions we had. He wanted to do a back out, but our Code does not allow for that. That is as far as we got, but he does have some development opportunities because it is a double frontage and corner lot, but it would have to be rezoned. One thing we were concerned about was being respectful of the existing neighborhood.
3. Discussion and tasks, policies, strategies, and issues surrounding the implementation of a pressurized secondary water system within Tremonton City’s incorporated limits which may include, but is not limited to:
Construction secondary water system in various service zones/areas
Issuance of bonds to fund the construction of secondary water systems in various service zones/areas
Possible user rates for secondary water system
Other matters pertaining to the deployment of pressurized secondary water system
Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to move into closed session. Motion seconded by Councilmember Doutre. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
The Council moved into a closed session at 5:48 p.m.
4. 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 Doutre to return to open session. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
The Council returned to open session at 6:30 p.m.
The meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m. by consensus of the Council.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Mayor Fridal called the April 17, 2018 City Council Meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. The meeting was held in the Tremonton City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Fridal, Councilmembers Doutre, Holmgren, Reese, Rohde, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Steve Batis, Parks and Recreation Director Marc Christensen, Police Chief David Nance, and Treasurer Sharri Oyler.
1. Opening Ceremony:
Mayor Fridal informed the audience that he had received no written or oral request to participate in the Opening Ceremony. He asked anyone who may be offended by listening to a prayer to step out into the lobby for this portion of the meeting. The prayer was offered by Mayor Fridal and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Rohde.
2. Introduction of guests:
Mayor Fridal welcomed those in attendance.
3. Approval of Agenda:
Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to approve the agenda of April 17, 2018. Motion seconded by Councilmember Rohde. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
4. Approval of minutes – April 3, 2018
Motion by Councilmember Reese to approve the minutes of April 3, 2018. Motion seconded by Councilmember Doutre. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
5. Lifesaving Medal Awards
a. Officer Tyler Bell
b. Officer Greg Horspool
Chief Nance said on December 29 2017, Officers Bell and Horspool responded on a medical emergency. An individual had overdosed and did not have a pulse and was not breathing. Their efforts led to that individual surviving and they were nominated to receive this award. Mayor Fridal then read the award and asked officers Bell and Horspool to come to the front. He read “Officer Bell was dispatched to an overdose call. The caller reported a 25-year-old male had overdosed and was unconscious. Officer Horspool overheard the dispatch and responded to assist. On arrival he found bystanders were doing CPR on the victim, who was seated in a vehicle. He assessed the victim, who was unconscious, unresponsive and pulseless. Having been trained in recognizing and treating opioid overdoses he quickly administered Narcan to the victim. He removed the victim from the vehicle to a hard surface and began doing CPR. A short time later when medical personnel arrived on scene, the victim had begun breathing and regained a faint heartbeat. Your quick actions helped to reverse the affect of this dangerous drug and allowed the victim to get further medical care and ultimately recover. The lifesaving medal is to be awarded to a police officer for saving a human life. Officers Bell and Horspool you are hereby awarded the Tremonton Police Department’s Life Saving Medal.” Mayor Fridal thanked them for their service.
6. Employee Service Awards
a. Kristy Hess, Assistant Librarian – 5 Years
b. Alyssa Mecham, Assistant Librarian – 5 Years
The following employees were not present, but Mayor Fridal announced their award and appreciation for them.
7. Public Hearing
a. Concerning the proposed annexation of real property and zoning of said real property (Tax Parcel No. 05-167-0040, 05-167-0003, and 05-167-0044) being 62.85 acres which is located at approximately 1150 E. Main Street owned by Kokopelli Investments LLC. The 62.85 acres is located within the areas defined in the Master Policy Declaration for future expansion by Tremonton City and the proposed zoning of said real property is Mixed Use (MU)
Mayor Fridal opened the public hearing at 7:10 p.m. and it was closed at 7:11 p.m. Five people were in attendance.
8. Public comments: This is an opportunity to address the City Council regarding your concerns or ideas. Please limit your comments to three minutes.
There was no public comment.
9. New Council Business:
a. Discussion and consideration of approving the February Warrant Register
Motion by Councilmember Doutre to approve the February Warrant Register. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
b. Discussion and consideration of approving the March Warrant Register
Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the March Warrant Register. Motion seconded by Councilmember Doutre. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
c. Discussion and consideration of approving the March Financial Statements
Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to approve the March Financial Statements. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
d. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 18-17 approving Kokopelli Investments LLC Pre-Annexation Agreement for Parcel Numbers 05-167-0040; 05-167-003; and 05-167-0044 comprising 62.85 acres located at approximately 1150 E. Main Street
Manager Warnke said we have put together a template for a pre-annexation agreement. We have a pretty good development agreement template and we believe this version will serve as a pre-annexation agreement template. We will be coming back to the Council in the future to approve the form. City Attorney Ericson and I have spent quite a bit of time to create this document and think it serves well for future annexations. This is a significant annexation agreement, so, like the development agreement, there is a section on Special Conditions. Whenever we review these agreements, the Council should scroll to this section and spend some time reviewing it. We have identified, as best as we could at this point in the process, all the issues that the developer should be aware of. The intent was to mitigate some of the barriers to development in some instances, but also put them on notice so they understand what issues they face. This specific project is a little bit outside where infrastructure is so there are some off-sites associated with it. The owner wants to partner with the City on some issues and he has been great to work with.
This annexation is on the east side of the City by the Crossroads and is 62 acres. In our Master Plan for Capital Facilities, this area is slated for a regional park and regional storm drain. We wanted a regional park that had the ability to facilitate organized sports. There is a policy within our Master Plan for storm drain basins that we consider multi-use. We have regional storm basins so we do not have small retention ponds everywhere, but we try to consolidate the storm drain basins into regional basins so that they are usable for recreational purposes. This also helps with operation and maintenance so we are not traveling to these small parcels of grass and mowing them, but we have a large enough piece that is easy to maintain. There is a regional storm drain pond also planned according to our Storm Drain Capital Facility Plan. We think 102-acres could be served by this. City Engineer Breinholt has done some storm drain planning based upon the willingness of this individual to accommodate a regional facility. The developer would have a responsibility for the proportionate share that their development would take. There are also some opportunities for impact fee credits based on these surrounding properties flowing into the regional pond. At the same location we are trying to create a regional park. There is also some willingness by the developer to do that, but there are some barriers. There would be 12 acres developed as a park space and he estimated that development cost would be about $2.3 million. That includes 12-acres of park space, with parking area, fields and pickleball courts, along with other amenities. We are trying to come up with a funding mechanism to reimburse the developer. He is willing to make the cost improvements in advance, but we need to figure out if there are adequate revenue streams to pay and reimburse him. There are some impact fees and some of it becomes a timing issue.
Manager Warnke said we are also looking at creating a project area with the purpose of capturing tax increment. Those are some of the things we are exploring. The agreement does not finalize those, it just notes what we are trying to accomplish. We would work in good faith to bring that about. The Council would decide if we could enter into an agreement and find agreeable terms. This is our future planning. His willingness to partner has led us to this point. The agreement does allow him to develop property ahead of finalizing some of those issues. The agreement also allows him to do other things before installing the collector road or the outfall line to the Malad for purposes of the storm drain. The State has created an office to help with property rights, which has been a great resource. These land use attorneys are well versed and their goal is to help cities get land use decisions right. They provide different levels of service to help cities and developers work through land use issues. I called them on the exactions we are contemplating here and all of them are well within our scope. The collector road is something we have in our Transportation Plan. In the future we had it programmed as a lighted intersection and it lines up with 950 East. We are working with the owners to acquire property. This is a parcel between Holmgren’s and Kokopelli’s property. We are working on some of the exact terms, but we envision that the dedication would be equal between the developers. We are working through the cost of developing that road.
Councilmember Rohde asked if the road needs to bend and why we would not keep it straight as straight roads are better than curved ones. Manager Warnke agreed, but we tried to keep in mind that there are property owners and the best way to treat that intersection. It lined up more to the west, but we felt like this was the best geometry for that intersection. We think it is a good road and in some ways it is not bad to have a little bit of a bend for traffic calming. There will be a stop sign initially, with potential for a stoplight in the future. There would be restrictions for the first 175 feet of the intersection for access management. This will be a collector road with a width of 66 feet. Typical residential roads are 60 feet wide. From this location, we showed it to the end for the Kokopelli Investments LLC property, but from there it starts to bend to the east and would connect into a future intersection in Garland. We have tried to reach out to the developer and he did provide some emailed comments. We also spoke to developer Micah Capener, who spoke to him and seemed to suggest we were pretty close on finalizing it, but he wanted to have some conversations. There are some other smaller issues relative to some of the gateway and planning efforts that we are trying to do along Main Street and the developer is open to accommodating some of those.
Manager Warnke said there are two options: the Council could approve the resolution and allow us to negotiate some of the final terms or it could be tabled to allow us to work through the terms and come back on May 1. At some point, we want there to be a functioning road, which may include the half width of 33 feet of right-of-way, including curb, gutter, sidewalk and park strip. We need to have sufficient travel lanes for two cars to pass. The adjoining property owner would finish out whatever the other improvements are. He is pushing back a bit on the half width plus 10 feet. We need to figure out the portion it would take to have a functioning road. Councilmember Doutre asked if the State would have to put in turning lanes on Main Street. Manager Warnke said the right-of-way width is big enough for their build out they would just need to paint it. UDOT has looked at our Transportation Plan, but as this road starts to function as a collector road, we need to talk to them about creating that turn pocket. Councilmember Reese said he cannot see any problem with approving it to this point because there are still going to be changes. Councilmember Holmgren said he has some questions so it would be a good idea to table it. Manager Warnke said there are three agenda items association with the annexation. The pre-annexation agreement is the biggest issue, the other one is the ordinance that approves the annexation and designates the zoning as mixed-use, which is what he is proposing. He is proposing some different land uses and housing products, with some commercial along the Main Street frontage. We are working on amending our mixed-use zone to help accommodate and allow some flexibility for that. The last item that is on the agenda is a resolution that is sent to the Lt. Governor’s office. It amends our Articles of Incorporation, which are our boundaries and gives notice to other entities of what our new boundaries are. Councilmember Rohde asked if we would be delaying anything by tabling this item. Manager Warnke said no, but the developer is anxious. We could meet with him in the short-term. The Council could still approve the other two agenda items. There is language included that says all of them are contingent upon the approval of those three documents. Councilmember Rohde said if one is contingent on the other, why not table all of them. Then we could pass them all at the same time unless there is an advantage to passing the other two at this point. Manager Warnke said it shows good faith for the developer and in some ways it puts more urgency to get this resolved. Sometimes it is hard to line up all the steps that need to occur with an annexation.
Councilmember Vance said there are still some major numbers that need to come together—the $2.3 million to develop the park and how that will be approached with impact fees or an EDA. Manager Warnke said the annexation does not necessarily require him to do that, it just states that is an issue we are trying to partner on. Councilmember Vance asked if we can do an EDA on a residential project. Manager Warnke said there are several different things we are contemplating with this project area. We have had some preliminary conversations with one or two individuals who are on the governing boards of the taxing entities and they are supportive of it. The School District’s support would stop at the commercial value because as homes are built, it represents services they need to provide. In fairness, we do not see them wanting to go that direction and giving tax increments up on homes or as something we would want to request of them. The City could grant to the EDA increased property values and that increased tax increment on the residential homes. Councilmember Vance said those things still need to come together before we tell them to start digging and putting in the drains. We need to table it until those numbers start coming together a little bit better. Manager Warnke said that piece is going to get resolved and that it is not necessarily pertinent to the annexation. If the Council reads the Special Conditions, it says that condition (regional storm pond) is not necessarily a requirement of annexation. He is going to have his own storm drain requirements. The question is can we enter into a future agreement where we can essentially create these regional facilities.
Councilmember Holmgren said he is having a battle within his head about the 66-foot collector road and is struggling with having the developer put in the road. I understand that is what we do, but it seems to me we are putting in a collector road wider than we typically would and the City ought to bear some of the responsibility for that. When we are told to put in a wider sidewalk, the City bears the cost of the upsize. To be fair, the City ought to bear some of the responsibility of the collector road because it is not a choice of the developers. I would like to see us work that through so everyone is on the same page. I think we ought to wait until May 1 because there are some questions that need to be answered. Manager Warnke said we do not have transportation impact fees—that is something we have not created. If a development creates the demand for a facility, the City can exact it. We think this collector road of six additional feet is well within the bounds of the demands that are created by both of these developments. We have a willing partner and are trying to manage toward realizing regional facilities at this location. It meets our plans, but we cannot exact some of these regional elements because it does not meet the exaction tests. That is why we are trying to find a way to partner together to see it accomplished.
Motion by Councilmember Vance to table the resolution until the next meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Doutre. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
e. Discussion and consideration of adopting Ordinance No. 18-05 annexing real property, specifically, tax parcels No. 05-167-0040; 05-167-003; and 05-167-0044 comprising 62.85 acres located at approximately 1150 E. Main Street, under the provisions of sections 10-2-403 and 10-2-405, into Tremonton, Utah and zoning said parcels of as Mixed Use (MU)
Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the ordinance for mixed-use. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
f. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 18-18 approving Articles of Incorporation to annex tax parcels no. 05-167-0040; 05-167-003; and 05-167-0044, comprising 62.85 acres located at approximately 1150 E. Main Street into Tremonton, Utah
Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the resolution and approve the Articles of Incorporation to annex the parcels. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
g. Discussion and consideration of adopting Ordinance No. 18-06 repealing Ordinance No. 09-04 and re-establishing the Tremonton City Historic Preservation Commission to provide advice and information to City Officials and other Governmental Officials
Manager Warnke said we have done some historical preservation and years ago the City did a preservation ordinance with the idea of creating and complying with the Certified Local Government (CLG). We are following the State’s program and protocol for historic preservation efforts. By doing that, they provide grant funding to those cities. It is not a competitive grant, but is a rotating grant and every other year we could be eligible to realize these funds. It is a one-to-one match and we can use it for all kinds of historic preservation. As it relates to building improvements, there is one stipulation that they need to be on the National Register of Historic Places. We have one building on there currently—the Holmgren Historic Barn and Farm. We could also use these grants to put more buildings on the historic register. Tamera Zollinger would like to replace the windows in the barn and would provide the match portion. We do have an ordinance so we took the most recent model and propose that we adopt that. We would repeal our existing ordinance and adopt the most recent version of it. There is a Certified Local Government agreement that is the next agenda item, which is a resolution. If we establish a Certified Local Government we can disband it at anytime without penalty. The Certified Local Government agreement is pretty benign, but says if we are going to do it, we prescribe and follow the protocols and program. Lastly, we would need to appoint a board. We have talked about it on and off for several years. I do get encouragement that this would be helpful and this would take our historic preservations to the next level.
Councilmember Reese asked what others things we have done. As a Council, we have to have a good reason as to why we are putting new windows in Holmgren’s barn. Yes, it is a historic place, but still. Manager Warnke said that is a good question. Do not focus on the barn, but historic buildings in general. Councilmember Reese asked if there are any other historic buildings in Tremonton that we need to help. Manager Warnke said the Museum comes to mind. Councilmember Doutre said there is a home at the bottom of her hill that was the Pony Express building. Manager Warnke said for places like that, we could put a monument there. This would be an advisory board and ultimately the City Council would approve the projects. Historic buildings are an asset to the community. Economically they are little bit of a liability. It is harder to recoup an investment in a historic building than a newer building because there are reluctances from individuals to purchase an older building. This helps to soften that gap. The State also has incentives to allow for recognizing issues and allowing tax credits. By approving this, the Council is not approving that specific project, it just allows for the opportunity. Councilmember Reese said he struggles doing personal people stuff with City money. Manager Warnke said Ms. Zollinger would provide the match. Councilmember Vance asked if a list could be put together on other things that could happen in the community that would reinforce doing something like this. Manager Warnke said definitely. There are a myriad of things we can do. Most historic buildings are owned by individuals and are not public. Councilmember Reese asked for an example of some others that we would be able to help. Manager Warnke did not know of anyone else who has gone through the process to get their building on the historic register. However, if we make this available, people may realize there is potential to help offset those costs. Councilmember Reese said he would have to justify why we would do that for a personal building and is looking out for the citizens. Manager Warnke said these are all fair things but he does not want to overshadow what is specifically on the agenda. Councilmember Doutre also brought up the first hospital, which is now a home. Manager Warnke also mentioned the Library and Museum. These funds could help put them on the register and then help with projects.
Councilmember Rohde said by developing this commission and assigning a board, we could start trying to identify the different buildings in our area. The old Tremonton 1st ward would be a historic building. There are a lot of buildings in town that we are not concentrating on. If we had a board to help us do that, it would be a very strong asset. Manager Warnke said we have done several projects—one is a survey that identified a lot of historical assets and buildings along with their value and the cohesiveness of creating a district. We do have a good start for this board to go after and have put together a walking tour. Manager Warnke put a TAP grant together, at no cost to the City, to help restore Jay’s sign. That is a landmark and is owned by a personal property owner, but it adds value to our downtown and creates vibrancy. There is public value in that it helps create and design a sense of place. Councilmember Reese said he is for this, but we should have citizens from throughout the community be on this committee to decide. Mayor Fridal said there would need to be five people and wondered if anyone had suggestions. Manager Warnke said the last step is to create the board, which is an advisory board much like the Planning Commission. We envision some professional and technical expertise to be on the board. We want people who have formal education, experience and training in some of these traits associated with preservation. There might be limitations on who is willing to serve and they do need to submit a resume.
Councilmember Vance asked how old something needs to be to be put on the register. Manager Warnke said 50 years. Councilmember Vance suggested adopting the resolution by putting the committee together and listening to their suggestions before spending any money. Manager Warnke said there are three items on the agenda—the first is the ordinance that repeals the exiting ordinance and puts in place the most recent model ordinance that the State is recommending. The second is the resolution, which creates and allows the Mayor to sign this agreement with the State. Third is creating the board. The first two are ready for consideration, but we do not necessarily have board members to present. Mayor Fridal said the Council would come up with recommendations for the board. Manager Warnke said he did not know how much of an interest the Council would have or the community would have. One thought was tasking an already established board to take on these additional responsibilities. The Land Use Authority Board has professional expertise or they could create a new board with citizens who are interested and have technical expertise surrounding historical preservation. Councilmember Holmgren clarified that this board would make recommendations that would come before the Council before it proceeds. Manager Warnke said yes they would be an advisory board. There is a budgetary impact depending on where the match is coming from. It would flow through the City because the City is managing it and it would come to the Council as projects.
Manager Warnke asked what City staff member would be assigned to the board and he enjoys historic preservation, but is worried about taking on more. We have talked about Coordinator LeFevre and Manager Warnke would be happy to participate on the side. Councilmember Holmgren suggested taking a couple weeks to get the loose ends tied up and to find individuals to serve but was totally in favor of it. There is a lot of good we can do with other buildings around town that would qualify. It could help with the downtown, as well as with surrounding areas. Manager Warnke asked if a Councilmember would like to seek out people who could compose the board. Councilmember Doutre was suggested, who is involved in coming up with names for such things, to work with Manager Warnke to identify some individuals. Manager Warnke said if we had to say a staff member it might be cooperation between Coordinator LeFevre and he and that he will talk to Coordinator LeFevre to see if there is enough bandwidth to do a committee, realizing we may not be as aggressive as other boards. Using an existing board might be nice because it is hard to keep a board together that does not meet frequently. Councilmember Rohde asked which Board he was thinking of. Manager Warnke said the Land Use Authority Board because there are technical expertise there. We have a building official, engineer and I am a planner. Councilmember Holmgren said there has to be some citizen involvement. Manager Warnke said we could have it be the Land Use Board, but add some additional people and include Councilmember Doutre. Then if we have a hard time pulling in citizens, the board could still function. Buildings are just one piece of this. There are other historic preservation projects that could be done. The Council could say we do not want to focus on buildings, but on creating walking tours or histories. Councilmember Rohde suggested putting this committee together and having them report back to the Council with where they would like to use the funding and then we can make the decision. Councilmember Holmgren said he would like to table items G., H. and I., and give Councilmember Doutre and Manager Warnke time to come up with people who can serve. We should use the Land Use Authority Board as a nucleus and also have citizen involvement.
Manager Warnke confirmed that this is something the Council is interested in before he pursues it further. Most seemed to be in favor, but would like to continue looking into it. Councilmember Holmgren said it seems like this is a direction that makes sense for Tremonton and will be a great thing.
Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to table agenda items G., H. and I and give Councilmember Doutre and Manager Warnke time to come up with people for the committee. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
h. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 18-19 approving a local government certification agreement between the Utah Division of State History and Tremonton City
Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to table agenda items G., H. and I, and give Councilmember Doutre and Manager Warnke time to come up with people for the committee. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Roll Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
i. Discussion and consideration of appointing members to the Historic Preservation Commission
Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to table agenda items G., H. and I and give Councilmember Doutre and Manager Warnke time to come up with people for the committee. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
10. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment
a. Review of calendar
Recorder Nessen reminded the Council about a conference on April 25-27. The City has reserved the Maddox Lodge on May 31, at 6 p.m. for Chief Nance’s retirement dinner. We need to RSVP at least two weeks prior. We will also hold an open house on June 1 for Chief Nance and the new police chief from 11 am to 1 pm. The Council has been asked to cook hot dogs at the Library’s Summer Reading Kick-Off party on June 4, at 4 pm.
b. Review of past assignment
Manager Warnke is working on the one-page of information for the Council on secondary water to pass out to citizens. He said there would be some historical elements, but it is more about talking points and why are we doing this. It will be a question and answer format.
Director Fulgham did talk to the USDA and reported back.
Councilmember Rohde, Director Christensen and Manager Warnke are still meeting to discuss a mission statement and values for the City.
Director Christensen said the Parks and Recreation Department had 28 softball teams from all over the state in town on Friday and Saturday at North Park, Jeanie Stevens, Deweyville and Garland. He also told the Council that on May 4, they are doing their first annual Mother Son Ball. They were also reminded of the Fire Department’s Steak Fire on May 12.
11. Reports & Comments:
a. City Manager Reports and Comments
Manager Warnke said there has been interest in the City for an opportunity zone. It is an economic development tool that allows investors within the City to defer capital gains on investments within this zone. He showed the proposed zone boundaries and said the Governor is the one who formalizes it, but we think that we are in a good position to be approved for the opportunity zone. It follows census tracks and has an element of median income within this census track boundary. It goes from 1000 North down to SR-13 on the east side and follows the BR. It comes back around and hits the I-15 corridor, including a large chunk of Tremonton City.
The budget discussion was continued from the work session. Manager Warnke said we would send the spreadsheet to the Council for further review. These are the capital projects that we are proposing be included in the budget, but this is the Council’s decision. Completion of the trail down by the river bottoms, completion of landscaping on top and the acquisition of the last phase of the canal rail trail. These projects have been budgeted, but some of these projects will be brought back to the Council. We would program in an inter-fund loan, which we have done in the past. We have experienced residential growth, which has allowed for impact fees to help pay for it. In this scenario, we have $60,000 to appropriate and an inter-fund loan of $128,000. That does not mean we would necessarily activate the inter-fund loan, but that is what is budgeted. Some of these projects have a grant ($91,000) and we think impact fees can be realized, eliminating the need for the inter-fund loan.
The Fire Fund includes the purchase of an ambulance. There is $230,000 available, but $180,000 has been appropriated for an ambulance, which gives a balance of $50,000. Mayor Fridal asked if we are thinking of a new ambulance this next year. Manager Warnke said yes, but the Council can say yea or nay. Chief Batis said we have two ambulances over 100,000 miles. Ambulance 34 is the one we would get rid of. We have had to put injectors in again and it is costing us money to keep it, but we are going to run it as much as we can because they are not worth anything when we get rid of them. Councilmember Rohde said we need to move forward because if we do not then we are going to end up with two that need to be replaced at one time. We need to stay on schedule. Councilmember Vance asked how much a brand new ambulance costs. Chief Batis said he got the bid at $180,000. The last one we got will be two years old. Our new ones do not leave the City limits and that is why our older ones have a lot of miles.
Manager Warnke said the Senior Center roofing is about $40,000 and we budgeted for it previously, but it was not enough from one contractor’s bids so we are trying to finalize that. Paving of the park building is also included in this year’s budget, along with some exterior improvements at $70,000. We had $30,000 budgeted for the animal shelter. We are trying to rebuild the deteriorating building at the same location. We will raise the base elevation and replace it with a like structure. We need to replace playground equipment at Meadow Park—it is failing and we have to take pieces of equipment out. The accumulative cost of those projects is $170,000 and we have $150,000 available. In the vehicle fund we have $600,000. We have proposed a side-by-side for the Parks Department to replace an ATV that has lived its life. The following year we have about $441,000 in program replacements anywhere from police vehicles to street sweepers and service trucks. Councilmember Rohde suggested moving those replacements up and staggering them so we do not have to buy two police cars in one year. Manager Warnke said the departments would welcome new equipment sooner, but we do try to stretch them out and build the fund up.
Manager Warnke said we do not have any road projects assigned this year. We have the BR Mountain road ($500,000) and have $80,000 programed for acquisition of right-of-ways. We have $600,000 in that fund right now and would appropriate all of it. In future years we would have the expansion phases 2 and 3. That road is using small urban funds, which is cyclical. We are proposed to receive an additional million dollars to do the next phase. He talked about two expansions. We are trying to use City dollars to do this section over the canal so we do not have to use federal funding and have restrictions relative to that small section of road. It is several years before it will be our turn for small urban funds. This is a project that is realized by transfers from the General Fund. Our portion for the Archibald and Maverik corner project is 6% of $640,000. We have put that on a retainer with the State and they will tell us when we need to participate. Mayor Fridal asked about drainage on west Main. Manager Warnke said they are staging there, but have not done a lot of work because of UDOT’s requirements on temperature for pavement.
We have $3 million available in wastewater with $2.2 million in projects that have been talked about—the bio solid handling and nutrient removal, which will put the City in good shape. That fund balance is made strong by some of the fee increases the Council has done. It has put the City in a good position to make these projects happen. In the Water Fund we have $2.2 million. We are appropriating about $350,000 for shares and have $969,000 for the secondary water system. We have already committed to do phases 1 and 2. We have added an additional $400,000 to allow flexibility for projects or opportunities that could come up for implementing secondary water. We have programmed $20,000 for acquisition of an easement and $40,000 for construction of that water line. We would have $782,000 left in that fund if all the projects were budgeted and constructed. For the Sewer Fund the only thing we have, and the Water Fund has it too, is the proportionate share of utilities within the BR Mountain road. Storm drain is $400,000 and is for the project that has already been approved.
We have $150,000 in RDA funds. This was transferred from the General Fund to allow us to do little projects to help the effort continue in hopes we will receive tax increment in future years to undertake larger projects. About $40,000 has been appropriated with no projects necessarily defined and they would come back to the RDA for approval. We are proposing purchasing some property at $80,000 for moderate-income housing projects. Nothing has been programmed, it just allows the RDA flexibility throughout the year to identify and create some projects. The inter-fund loan would go to the Park Fund ($128,000) if that fund was needed. We have $900,000 available for affordable housing, with an appropriation of $283,000. Councilmember Doutre asked about the Jazz courts. Director Christensen said they are waiting on weather to surface the top and paint it.
Manager Warnke said a big impact on the tentative budget is employee costs. If the Council wants to increase personnel, we have some numbers of what it would cost to contemplate increasing a few positions within the City. Mayor Fridal suggested we discuss that at the next meeting.
b. City Department Head Reports and Comments
Chief Batis said this year’s Firefighter of the Year went to Blair Westergard. We are almost 100 percent Advanced EMTs. We have three older members who are Basic EMTs, but the rest are advanced and have all their fire certs. We participate in teaching at the station. We have wild land, hazmat, awareness ops, fire fighter 1 and 2, and we send a few to State training for both EMS and fire. Our call volume continually goes up on the EMS side and the fires fluctuate. We make a lot of transfers and cover a lot of area, which is why our mileage is way up. We also have meetings with other fire chiefs. The last page shows our public education. We do a lot of CPR classes, go to all the schools and have a lot of tours for kids. As far as the financial side, we cover that and keep the Council up to date on that as well. Councilmember Doutre talked about her CO2 detector saving her life. Chief Batis said we look at those for furnaces too because they do crack. All new construction has to have one on each floor and they should be changed every seven years. Smoke alarms are good for 10 years. Manager Warnke said several years ago they changed the fee schedule so the City does not charge to check CO2 detectors. If a resident has one going off then the Fire Department will come check it and not charge them. Chief Batis said we have three machines now that can be put on someone’s finger to see if they have CO2 in their bloodstream. These machines are pretty accurate.
c. Council Reports and Comments
Councilmember Rohde said he has a person on the Planning Commission who has asked to resign. He asked that the Council help him think of some names from the Tremonton Stake region, but they could take interested people from anywhere.
Councilmember Holmgren brought up the Arts Council, which has been pretty busy. He said on June 23 they will have a chalk art contest. Someone who knows how to do chalk art will come and teach people on May 19 and both events will be held at Midland Square.
Councilmember Vance said this opportunity zone is cool. The Governor will decide which areas and zones to approve. There are 188 spots picked in the State of Utah, which will be narrowed down to 45 places. For this enterprise zone, if we get picked, anything in that zone, if you purchase, maintain and keep if for 10 years, then you do not have to pay capital gains on it when you turn it over. The federal taxes will be discounted, which is huge when you are in the investment market. It is going to give us a shot economically and increase value of the property. Cross your fingers we get approved. BRAG has chosen four different areas in our area and we are number one, so we have a really good chance of getting picked.
12. CLOSED SESSIONS: No closed session was held at this time.
a. Strategy session to discuss the purchase of real property when public discussion of the transaction would disclose the appraisal or estimated value of the property under consideration or prevent the public body from completing the transaction on the best possible terms; and/or
b. Strategy session to discuss the character, professional competence or physical or mental health of an individual; and/or
c. Strategy sessions to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation; and/or
d. Discussions regarding security personnel, devices or systems
13. Adjournment.
Motion by Councilmember Rohde to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.
The meeting adjourned at 8:52 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 1st day of May, 2018.
Linsey Nessen, City Recorder
Mayor Fridal will bring up the idea of having other cities contribute to the Senior Center during the mayor’s meeting.
The Council has been asked to come up with recommendations for the Historic Preservation Commission. Councilmember Doutre and Manager Warnke have been selected to identify some potential individuals. Manager Warnke will also talk to Coordinator LeFevre about being the City staff member to serve on that board along with him.
The Council has been asked to think of someone who could replace an individual on the Planning Commission, specifically in the Tremonton Stake region, but they will take any willing individual.