City Council Minutes 5-15-18

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MAY 15, 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 May 15, 2018 City Council Workshop to order at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Fridal, Councilmembers Doutre, Holmgren, Reese, Rohde, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Parks and Recreation Director Marc Christensen, Recreation Program Coordinator Zach LeFevre, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, and Police Chief David Nance.

The following items were discussed out of order.

1. Discussion and review of the Annual Implementation Budget 2018-2019 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s), and Special Fund(s) and related matters

Manager Warnke said this is an update on where we are. We adopted the tentative budget and talked about different options. Chief Batis is getting costs to have some coverage during the day. Councilmember Doutre asked if it would be for full-time fire personnel. Manager Warnke said probably not full-time because the cost is so great. We could probably continue for a year under the current scenario, but Chief Batis can see it is getting more difficult to make timely responses. In the near future, the Fire Department will need to do something. It is strictly manpower and one scenario was to go to on-call. We do this for our Public Works Department. They are on-call and we pay them $20.96 a day. However, the firefighters feel if we did that for the day, we would have to do that at night too. Councilmember Reese said $20 a day is a cheap expense for that service. Manager Warnke said we are trying to get numbers and will talk to the Council about that again on the June 5 meeting.

Manager Warnke said there was an issue we found within the Fire Department budget as Finance Director Roberts reviewed it. We had a revenue line item of bad debt that should be entered as a negative number. That negative number was entered as a positive number in the draft so it showed more revenue. We fixed that issue and without any changes to the Fire Department personnel, we are $65,000 appropriation of fund balance. Otherwise, we are scrutinizing the budget a little more to see if there are other areas that we can reduce and how we can fund some of these additional staffing requests. So far we have identified about $30,000 we can rid the General Fund of. That would include moving the proposed carpet replacement for the Library from the General Fund to the Capital Projects Fund. We proposed an appropriation of about $20,000 to $25,000 for a Land Use Plan. The City has never had a formal Land Use Plan done by a professional. Now that we have our Transportation Plan that is about to conclude, our thought is we would look at that and plan our land uses based on the amount of traffic volume we foresee in those areas. We could go after CRV projects and get some grant funds. There is a lot of value in taking a look at future land uses. We have had some issues over the years with some incompatibilities and there is value in taking a step back and trying to plan some land uses based on our Transportation Plan. Councilmember Rohde said the idea would be to try and find some of those expenses that we can reduce every year instead of just one time. Councilmember Reese said the carpet at the City Office is older than at the Library and it is used daily. Manager Warnke said we could certainly appropriate funds for this carpet as well. This building could use carpet and more, but the issue is where we stop. We could get more direction about what the Council would like to see us work toward. Councilmember Rohde said we need to wait on Fire Department personnel because Chief Batis needs to come with a solid plan on what the Department is thinking. Manager Warnke said if we can make it another year that would be advantageous to work under the current system, but in the future there is going to be a transition. We need to see what the numbers are and start planning accordingly. Finance Director Roberts will be at the June 5 Council meeting to talk about the budget, along with secondary water. He is working on some proposed rates. A public hearing for the budget will be held on June 19.

Manager Warnke said because of the difference in revenue that came off that error, the City will now need to do a lease agreement for the proposed ambulance. We have done this in the past. We had estimated more revenue so with that mistake identified, we would need to enter into a purchase lease agreement. We will pay interest ($7,000 to $8,000) and will buy it over a four-year period.

2. Discussion of agenda items listed on the 7:00 pm City Council meeting

When talking about New Business items a. and b. Director Fulgham said this is just a renewal of the current pretreatment agreement. Six months prior to the expiration, Autoliv and POST Consumer Brands have to notify Director Fulgham that they are ready to renew. We will renew it and it will take place in six months. Both of theses items are the same. Next year, West Liberty’s agreement is up. Councilmember Doutre asked if Director Fulgham anticipates any change with West Liberty. Director Fulgham said unless they expand, they cannot get any more loading from us in their permit. They could discharge more but would have to pay penalties.

In regards to the item about health care, Manager Warnke said this is a resolution we adopt every year. We have selected and solidified the health insurance providers for this upcoming year. This continues the City’s previous contributions for the high deductible plan of $2,400 for a family, $1,900 for employee, spouse or children, as well as $1,300 for single. It still has the 90/10 split so the City pays 90% of the premium while the employee pays 10%. That is what we have done historically. Recorder Nessen said we are staying with the same carriers so everything should renew for those who have it without having to complete any enrollment forms.

A new Arts Council member is being proposed. Coordinator LeFevre said we have had some interest in the past in filling a final role in the Arts Council. Merinda Brighton, a local artist, reached out to us and attended our last meeting. She is really energetic and excited for arts in the community and wants to be involved. I would encourage the Council to put her in. She wants to take on some of the social media aspect. This would be in addition to and will make seven Arts Councilmembers, plus Coordinator LeFevre, who is not a voting member.

Councilmember Holmgren said on the public comments, he has heard that residents of Holmgren Estates East are concerned about trucks coming and going and the risk for kids playing in their front yard and riding their bikes. Without trying to have special consideration for this area, what if we put some Children at Play signs up and make people aware there are kids because there is a fair amount of construction. It might be a good gesture to people who live there. Councilmember Rohde said we have other subdivisions that have a lot more homes. Councilmember Reese said we would need to do it for the other areas doing the same thing. Mayor Fridal asked if we put them up if people request them. Director Fulgham said he usually gets direction from the Traffic Advisory Board. The Planning Commission and Chief Nance work with them and direct the Public Works Department on what signs we need. Manager Warnke said he looked through the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices standards (MUTCD) for traffic signs and there was not one for Children at Play, but there was one for playgrounds, which would be appropriate as the playground and the trailhead develop. Councilmember Reese said if we do that, we have to make it Citywide. Councilmember Rohde said it would be a good safety thing to do. Manager Warnke said in the budget part of the Transportation Plan they looked at deficiencies at railroad and school crossings so there are some recommendations for different signage there and we could do that as part of the entire City. Chief Nance clarified the residents are not necessarily concerned about speed, just increased traffic. The Council confirmed they are concerned about the truck traffic due to construction, the walking trail and additional homes that will be built.

3. Discussion and review of tasks, policies, strategies, and issues surrounding the implementation of a pressurized secondary water system within Tremonton City’s incorporated limits and related matters

Manager Warnke said we should have more information on the rates by June 5 and he put together some talking points for secondary water, which is in question and answer format. If residents want to see specific topics, they could identify the question and read the answer. These are draft responses and are long, but they will help people understand. There is some overlap, but they can pick and choose what they want to read. He did try to keep in mind that the public does not want to read a long answer, but in some cases it needed to be long in order to adequately answer the question. We can use it or put it in a different format. Councilmember Holmgren said with Crossroads Ranches and that proposed 14-acre park, we need to make sure secondary water for that area is a one-to-one ratio for water shares because it is all green. Other parks and large open areas need to have the same thing. Manager Warnke said we cannot exact the water for the park. Councilmember Holmgren agreed and clarified that we will have to get it from somewhere. Exacting is not the right word, but we need a one-to-one water ratio for that part. It will be City property and we need to make sure we have enough water. Mayor Fridal said when we have talked about rates on secondary water we talked about meters and asked if there would be a flat fee for secondary. Director Fulgham said we are working on a base rate with a gallons rate in a tiered system. Mayor Fridal asked if everyone would pay the base rate and if it would be the same for everybody. Director Fulgham said that is what we are planning on. We would have it tiered so if someone uses more or abuses it, they would pay more. We have two meters installed on residential homes now and we will see how it goes. Manager Warnke said the thought would be, if secondary water is available to a home, regardless of if they connect or not, everyone pays that base rate. Councilmember Holmgren said at one time we were talking about different fees based on different lot sizes and asked if that idea has been scrapped. Director Fulgham said it has not been totally scrapped, but if we go metered, it is like your home, the more you use the more you pay. Mayor Fridal said if we had meters it would be easier to manage. Manager Warnke said it is the more equitable way, but also more expensive. Councilmember Reese said it will pay for itself. Manager Warnke said the State will mandate meters at some point anyway. Councilmember Reese said it would cost us more to do it later on. Councilmember Vance asked about businesses that do not have any outdoor water usage and if we will charge them. Manager Warnke said they are excluded. If we have a connection in front of their property then it would be, but downtown businesses that have no irrigation needs will not have secondary in those areas.

Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to move into closed session. Motion seconded by Councilmember Rohde. 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 6:33 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 Vance. 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 6:58 p.m.

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

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Fridal called the May 15, 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: Parks and Recreation Director Marc Christensen, Recreation Program Coordinator Zach LeFevre, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, and Police Chief David Nance.

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 Councilmember Rohde and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Doutre.

2. Introduction of guests:

Mayor Fridal welcomed those in attendance.

3. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Holmgren to approve the agenda of May 15, 2018. Motion seconded by Councilmember Doutre. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

4. Approval of minutes – May 1, 2018

Motion by Councilmember Doutre to approve the minutes of May 1, 2018. Motion seconded by Councilmember Reese. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

5. Presentation:

a. TAP Award – Jason Watterson

Jason Watterson said I have the opportunity to present the Trust Accountability Program award to Tremonton City for the fourth consecutive year. This is a great opportunity to highlight the City’s efforts in managing your risk and making the City safer. We have partnered with the City for a long time and appreciate that partnership. I work as a risk manager to help keep you out of trouble and provide resources along the way. The City has done a great job in putting together a safety committee that meets regularly and looks at incidents and near misses, and addresses concerns in the City and community as a whole. The City is constantly working to reduce risk and losses that can happen. We like to highlight Manager Warnke and the team for those efforts. The City also receives financial support and got a check for $3,147 (a percentage of the general liability premium), as well as the highest level of discounting on the workers comp premium.

6. Public comments: This is an opportunity to address the City Council regarding your concerns or ideas. Please limit your comments to three minutes.

Resident Karly Palmer said my neighbors and I have concerns about Phase 7 of the Holmgren East Subdivision. The information I have received is that we have 46 lots using one access. We feel like the other access should go in and we want to know what the Planning Commission went through to decide it was okay. Was safety a concern? We feel like safety is a huge concern as our kids are out playing with big construction trucks, cars and stuff that comes along with building. A park is also being built there and we as a neighborhood want to know what was considered.

Resident Greg Madsen said I am here for the same reason. I should have attended City Council because I did not know the park was going in and all of a sudden I have a park next to my house. I do have concerns. I have seen the construction with the park across from my house and the construction of other homes close by and my street is a disaster zone with construction vehicles. I am definitely nervous about the construction vehicles coming down the road, especially as summer-time approaches—there are a lot of little kids. Is there a way to make another access point? You could have them cut through the field as a dirt, alternative access—something that may not have as much child traffic. Also has anything been done about lot care? They are gross and have eight-foot tall weeds. Has the City done anything about that? Mayor Fridal said Officer Greg Horspool has a constant battle with that and does not receive much response. Mr. Madsen asked is there an ordinance on the books, which there is. Manager Warnke said you could file a grievance. Mr. Madsen said we have to till and spray around our homes to keep the weeds down.

Resident Tyler Grange said my house almost burnt down last year so I was here then going over lot ordinances. We discussed having another person be hired to monitor some of that. I second Mr. Madsen’s point about something needing to be done. We live in a farming community, but as we develop into a residential town, we have to take into consideration the fire hazards that go along with development. Our neighborhood is concerned about safety. When you approved Phase 7 you picked money over the safety of the residents. There is pull in this office with the Planning Commission and we do favors for people. From what I know there are 44 lots in that subdivision in Tremonton that has one access road, but they are apartments and you cannot compare them to our neighborhood. We have 46 lots plus a park, so it is unprecedented territory. I say we need to change the regulation from may put in a secondary to shall. It might cost more money to do that, but it is for the safety of those in Tremonton.

Capree Austin said I second everything that has been said. The concern for the children is of the utmost importance to me. We sit near a cul-de-sac where everyone congregates and construction workers do not care. They are going 40 to 45 mph down that road because they are ready to get out of there. The City has tried to keep construction mess down and a street sweeper has come once, but with development it needs to be more and the developer needs to be responsible to clean up. Whether that is the builder or contractor they need to clean up the waste and big chunks of dirt and rock. We are fine with growth, but we need that safety barrier and we hope you have our best interests in mind.

7. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 18-22 approving an industrial user wastewater discharge permit agreement between Post Consumer Brands and Tremonton City Corporation for a three-year period beginning 1st day of November, 2018 and ending 31st day of October, 2021

Director Fulgham said this is just a renewal of POST Consumer Brands discharge agreement that they have had with the City since 2003 when they opened their doors. It sets the limits and allows us to institute fines if they exceed them. This is a renewal of the permit, nothing has changed with it in the three-year cycle and it will remain the same as when we set it the last time.

Motion by Councilmember Vance to adopt the resolution. Motion seconded by Councilmember Rohde. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 18-23 approving an industrial user wastewater discharge permit agreement between Autoliv and Tremonton City Corporation for a three-year period beginning 15th day of May, 2018 and ending 15th day of May, 2021

Director Fulgham said this is the renewal of Autoliv’s discharge agreement. We have these agreements with our bigger industrial users and they are not one as far as discharging, but they came to us wanting the agreement to cover them environmentally. They only discharge about 200 gallons of anything questionable on a daily basis, but because of what they handle with explosives they wanted to make sure they were covered. They have been permitted since 2012 and this is their second renewal cycle.

Motion by Councilmember Reese to adopt the resolution. 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 adopting Resolution No. 18-24 selecting Health Insurance Carriers and defining the City’s contribution for health insurance employee benefits for the 2018- 2019 Fiscal Year

Manager Warnke said this is a resolution that formalized previous decisions to move forward with retaining our current carriers and what we have done historically for benefits. It is included in the tentative budget and would formalize those previously made decisions.

Motion by Councilmember Reese to adopt the resolution. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

d. Discussion and consideration of appointing members to the Tremonton City Arts Council

Coordinator LeFevre said we established an ordinance to create an Arts Council in February. Since then we have been operating with six voting members, plus myself so there is one position open. Merinda Brighton contacted us. She lives in the valley and has shown interest in helping the Arts Council. She is a local artist, who is excited about local art. We propose the Council consider appointing her as a member.

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to accept Merinda Brighton as part of the Arts Council. Motion seconded by Councilmember Holmgren. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

8. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar

Manager Warnke said Open Enrollment is on May 30. Chief Nance’s retirement dinner is May 31 and on June 1 we will hold an open house for outgoing Chief Nance and incoming Chief Fertig from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Library has asked the Council to participate in their Summer Kick-Off Reading Program by grilling hotdogs on Monday, June 4.

Director Christensen said on June 5, members of the Utah Jazz are coming for a ribbon cutting. The Boys and Girls Club will also be there and the City will provide hotdogs for lunch. It starts at 11 a.m., but the Council was asked to be there at 10:30 a.m. Also Coordinator LeFevre is putting together the Memorial Day program at 9 a.m. at the cemetery. The torch run is this Thursday at the City Office around 10:30 a.m.

b. Review of past assignment

Director Fulgham put an article on conservation in the water bill. Chief Batis is working on putting together different scenarios and proposals for personnel at the fire station, which will be brought to the Council on June 5.

9. Reports & Comments:

a. City Manager Reports and Comments

i. Talking points associated with secondary water
ii. Talking points associated with trail development

Manager Warnke provided a handout that talks about acquisitions we are doing for the canal rail trail. Some acquisitions are relative to utility corridors and multi-use of that. If the Council has questions let me know. We did more for the nature trail down below and added some of the costs associated and donations that have been made, along with what started that effort and why the City has moved forward with it.

b. Land Use Authority Boards Report and Comments

iii. Holmgren East Phase 7- Final Plat Approval

Manager Warnke said Holmgren East Phase 7 is the preliminary plat that was approved. We are working on the final plat approval. The Council will see a development agreement coming forward.

iv. Garfield Estates Phase 3- Recording

Manager Warnke said we are to the point of recording that subdivision and we will see new lots being developed in the near future.

v. Pre-Annexation Agreement for Crossroads Ranches

Manager Warnke said we are working on a pre-annexation agreement. We met with the developer of the Crossroad Ranches and Holmgren East to talk about the collective road that is being planned at 950 East. We talked about the regional storm drain basin there as well. Craig Adams, the developer, was going to put together some different alignments for that collector road and see how it is best laid out. We know where it needs to tie into Main Street because of the existing intersection on the other side of the street, but there is some thought that it could be on Holmgren East Estates or on Crossroad Ranches.

c. City Department Head Reports and Comments

i. Update on BWCD Pump Station
ii. City Construction Projects

Director Fulgham said we were informed that Music and the Spoken Word will do a presentation on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend on the Borgstrom’s at our cemetery. They will do some drone videoing on Thursday and it will be on TV on May 27.

We should start laying pavement on 480 West this week, which will be a nice addition and take some pressure off the Sandalwood Acres entrance. Rupp’s is working hard on the storm drain and it is coming along. It will not speed up because we have a lot of sewer laterals from the businesses to work around, but it is on schedule. For the Bear River Water Conservancy District pump station, they are still in the works for designing it. We are going to try something this summer to see if it helps. About 20 years ago, Yukon Water had water that served Fielding and they lost a line underneath the river. When they did that, the Conservancy District came in and was going to bring water to Tremonton to help service them. They put this connection in a metering station that ties in above Warner’s Truck Center and it never got used. We dug that up with them and exposed it and everything looks workable. They have installed a blow off so they can drain and sanitize the water, but they are hoping by utilizing that it will be able to bring more water into Tremonton until they get this pump station up and running. It might even solve some of their head loss problems and they would not require the pump station. We will know this summer how much it will help. There are still some unknowns. They will do a test and make sure nothing is growing in it.

Manager Warnke said a magazine called Utah Life is doing an article on Tremonton City’s public art and wall murals, which will be in the June/July publication.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Rohde thanked the public for coming and sharing their opinions. We do not get enough of that and it is nice when the public participates. You can come and talk to me more—I am interested in getting your opinions.

Councilmember Holmgren said on Thursday the flowers will be delivered and the Youth City Council will help put together 55 flowerpots for Main Street. Anyone who wants to help is welcome. We will shoot for Saturday at 5 p.m.

Councilmember Vance said I appreciate Manager Warnke taking the time to put these talking points together and the questions for secondary water. I do not know how much time that took, but that is good stuff.

Mayor Fridal said we do appreciate the public coming. We do not act on your comments at this time, but we do listen.

10. CLOSED SESSIONS: No closed session was held at this time.

11. Adjournment.

Motion by Councilmember Reese to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Doutre. Vote: Councilmember Doutre – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Reese – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

The meeting adjourned at 7:40 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 5th day of June, 2018.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

Follow-up items for the Council and City Staff

Fire Chief Batis is figuring out the cost for part-time coverage during the day and will present his findings at the June 5 Council meeting.

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