City Council Minutes 5-19-26

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MAY 19, 2026

Members Present:
Kristie Bowcutt
Brent Jex
Beau Lewis
Sharri Oyler
Blair Westergard
Bret Rohde, Mayor
Linsey Nessen, City Manager
Cynthia Nelson, City Recorder

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Rohde called the May 19, 2026 City Council Workshop to order at 5:33 p.m. The meeting was held in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Rohde, Councilmembers Bowcutt, Jex, Lewis, Oyler, and Westergard, Manager Nessen, and Recorder Nelson. Also in attendance were department heads Zoning Administrator ChrisDean Epling, Community Services Director Zach LeFevre, Police Chief Dustin Cordova (arrived at 6:33 p.m.), Fire Chief Jeff Jarrow (left at 6 p.m.), Planner Jeremy Lance, Finance Director Jami Heiner, and Finance Director Curtis Roberts (arrived at 6 p.m., left at 6:57 p.m.).

1. Call to Order and Declaration of Conflict of Interest

2. Council Reports and Updates

Director Mackley provided an updated on the treatment plant and what could be improved to avoid smell and failures in the future.

Councilmember Lewis said we will get an update on the Main Street Committee and get on the agenda for a report. It is exciting to start seeing some movement.

Director LeFevre then discussed projects underway. The stage has been framed for storage for the library. We are waiting on siding to get that finished. The Jeanie Stevens parking lot will be sealed next Wednesday. Reconstruction of the back portions of the trail have been completed. Upcoming events include the America 250 Gold Star Walk. We are working with the American Legion on that and have our Memorial Day service. We will put the names of the Gold Star families at Midland Square. The splash pad usually opens around that time, so we are getting that prepped and want to repaint it. Several of the department heads and I have made revisions to the Parks and Rec Trails Open Space Master Plan. That is coming soon. It will be taken to the Planning Commission for recommendation then will come to the Council for approval. We hope to have that adopted by next month. They also reviewed vandalism in the bathrooms and how they can limit that. This includes plans to update the locks with technology to automatically lock and unlock those.

Chief Jarrow said we are good. We hired two more firefighters to replace the ones that left and are fully staffed. We are just getting them trained. We hired two part-timers as well. We have been trying to fill those spots since January, which has been difficult, but we are on the upside. We are just running calls and taking care of business like normal.

Councilmember Oyler said the library is having their summer kickoff party on May 29, from 4 to 7 p.m. The Council has been asked to cook hot dogs. They will have other activities. The food pantry is doing great and has a good supply. Last month they served 170 families.

Councilmember Westergard asked about group homes in the area. I do not know the rules and think we ought to make sure they have their licenses and meet our ordinances. After some discussion, Mayor Rohde said we will get our enforcement officer to follow up on that.

Councilmember Lewis said we are trying to get permissions to see more of the sales tax data so we can do audits on sales tax leakage. Things like this, where there is a business permit, means there is revenue at some level the City is missing out on. We are just going to make sure we are not missing out on those types of things. Councilmember Oyler said on the City Council wages, I think it needs to stay the same. It is not that big of a difference and is one of the perks of being on the Council. Mayor Rohde said we did some research and to make the suggested change would cost an additional $80,000. It would cost more to do a stipend that is equal for all councilmembers. Knowing that, we are fine staying where we are at. There is no reason to add that to the budget.

3. Presentations:

a. Title: Discussion on CAPSA—Josh Thompson

Mr. Thompson said I wanted to introduce myself and discuss the things we are doing in your neighborhood. We are building in Garland and will absolutely be serving residents of Tremonton. CAPSA is currently located in Logan, but we do not define boundaries for survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence. One of the reasons why we are building is because last year 10% of our clients came from outside of Cache County. We have expanded into Franklin County, Idaho, and in 2024, land behind Doctor Schow’s office was donated to us. We have seen an increase of cases and decided we need to put the services closer. We often ask, why do people not leave these situations and one of the reasons is because they have nowhere to go. Housing is a challenge for everybody. We have been awarded $3.5 million from the state to create housing for this purpose. We plan to build a couple of fourplexes for transitional housing. This will be a place survivors can go for up to two years as they rebuild their lives. It is something that helps them get stable and independent so they can move on. We are doing what we can to make sure we are building the right partnerships as well. We have an advisory board that is made up of citizens from Northern Box Elder County. We are also coordinating and collaborating with New Hope Crisis in Brigham City. We want all resources available for survivors in all areas. Here is a list of the services we provide. We are also in the schools to create healthy relationships and are trying to do preventive work. We want to help stop abuse before it even happens.

b. Title: Strategic direction on the first two pillars

Mayor Rohde moved this strategy discussion to the City Council portion of the meeting.

c. Title: Discussion of water rates

Director Roberts said last time we delivered a pretty blunt message. We have since gone through and analyzed bond covenants, water usage, and water rate structure. We can have a 15% variance in water revenues if based off culinary usage. If culinary is used outside and you have a really wet fall, people do not water as much outside and revenues drop. That also happens with a wet spring. You have to apply them for bond covenants to make sure we are prepared for those timeframes. If you have a year similar to this year, people are thinking conservation. When things are extremely hot and dry, there is a lot of water usage, and those revenues go up. We are trying to nail this sweet spot for bond compliance and have to consider what happens each year. We want to ensure we do not have bond compliance issues and are trying to fit this happy medium. The rate we are presenting would make us feel very confident regardless of weather patterns, fluctuates with secondary versus culinary use, and could be divided multiple ways. We suggest increasing the base amount for culinary $5 per month. We have not adjusted that for seven years. Under this idea, the tiers would stay the same. This is just to get us in bond compliance. Our proposal would also include a commitment by the Council to analyze impact fees. In conjunction with that, you develop the capital facilities plan so what is being added for growth helps. We would also want to study the repair and replacement of the capital projects plan. Next year, we could fine-tune this adjustment and see what additional changes may be needed. Now that the City has a full-time finance director, she has the ability to monitor and keep more tabs on this because more hours are being committed to finances. We can look at things and do projections of what is happening as people switch over from culinary to secondary because there is some impact there. What adjustments should be made, if any, to the secondary rates. The Council should also consider how to encourage the transition from culinary to secondary. The point of creating a secondary system was to free up culinary usage so we have more culinary water to satisfy other demands. We will not have to do a whole lot of meter upgrades because the City already has secondary water metered. Tremonton is ahead of the game when it comes to that. That is kudos to the leadership of the Council. As we prepare for that aspect, we will not have to do a whole bunch of meter upgrades, but we really do need to make sure we satisfy bond compliance.

Director Roberts said there is also much concern about the treatment plant. I would propose a $1 per month per connection increase to the treatment plant. We have had a lot of discussion trying to balance this up. I would like to increase a dollar for sewer as well. After some discussion, Mayor Rohde said I like your approach. Let us see what this whole system does as we try to gather all this data and how that affects us. I think there are some really good ideas behind that. Then we can make even stronger decisions when we have that data. Let us do what we have to do now, get the rest of our data put together, and then make some decisions again next year. Director Roberts said we really are trying to minimize the impact to the citizens, but also guarantee we do not create a problem with the bond. We went through multiple scenarios and ideas to balance it out.

Director Roberts mentioned three reports he wants the Council to consider in conjunction with the rates. A capital facilities plan, a capital projects plan, and impact fee study. We just got a general plan update grant and are in the process of writing what we want to use the money for ($93,000). After some discussion, Manager Nessen said we have given people a year to hook onto secondary water once it is available in front of their house. We think we also have given another year before charging the higher penalty rate. Is that what the Council wants us to do? They discussed the process of connecting and converting to the secondary system. There is a $10 charge regardless of if the water is being used and the rate is based on usage. Mayor Rohde said put this all together in a resolution and get it ready for our next meeting for discussion.

If approved these new rates would go into effect July 1. The Council agreed they need to make an effort to get the word out to citizens about the changes.

d. Title: RES 26-28 Amending Section II Purchasing Policy & Contracts

Manager Nessen said we have made some new positions and technically those are not allowed, as of yet, to sign purchase orders. I am just cleaning this up and adding things. I got rid of the assistant city manager and added the finance director position. I got rid of the community development director and added building officials, code administrator, emergency manager, public works operation manager, and zoning administrator to be able to sign purchase orders, up to those limits. That is all I am changing. We have department heads who should be able to sign these, so we are making it official.

e. Title: Discussion on updating Land Use Codes

Administrator Epling said we want to have a discussion on these changes and then we will put together a resolution. Planner Lance said with us being new, we are in a journey of discovery how to best fill our roles and positions in our daily work, both interfacing with City administration and the public. The code is our guideline and standard that we follow. In our reviews, we have found contradictory language and difficulty in enforcement of some of the sections. We have found instances where we have either missed or are out of compliance with State directives. There is a vacancy of language in code that does not jive with things from the fee schedule or best planning practices. We are looking for a directive. We do not have enough time to go through each one but would like to discuss the highest priority. The first one is the chapter on planned unit developments (PUDs). Administrator Epling said I have been going over this particular code with our attorney and there are some good things and things that are lacking. This is something we have really hashed out, trying to figure out what tools may be used. Planner Lance said the current PUD ordinance reflects a mix of legislative and administrative processes, creating internal conflicts and ambiguity and review authority and standards. Applicants are reading the code to see how they get from A to Z with the PUD code and it is difficult. We are trying to make it easier for applicants. The recommended action from staff is a comprehensive rewrite of that code start to finish to try to make it establish a clear logical flow of how to get an applicant through to the establishment of a PUD overlay. We could also do an emergency repeal of that section to take it out of the code. Or repeal for now and then replace it with a different form of PUD ordinance to clearly define processes, authority and standards and to separate legislative and administrative functions as appropriate. Administrator Epling said our recommendation is a PC zone, which changes some fundamental things. Our attorney suggested to repeal and replace. We want to replace it with code that actually has been vetted by land use attorneys. That would shift the negotiating power from the internal staff. Right now, with the PUD, we get a development agreement and bring it to the Council as a package deal. There is not much room for negotiation. With the PUD they get extra density for X amount of whatever and if the Council wants to change things there is not much leeway because it mixes the administrative and legislative things together. The PC zone is labeled as an actual zone type. The developer will present their plan to you before they get their entitlements and before they go to the DRC. That all takes a lot of time, staff, and money. That is my biggest concern with the PUD, we are spending a lot of time to get these proposals to you and it is still a legislative action. Also, the developer is spending thousands of dollars to get their plans up to snuff and then to bring you a package deal that you may say yes or no to. This other way, they get their entitlements set up front. The developer gets to be creative, but the Council can negotiate the terms. The PUD is more of a blank check than the PC zone because the PC zone is strictly legislative. It is set in stone and then when they go back to the DRC, they have their zoning type and what they can do. The lawyer thought this was great because it has a clear distinction on legislative and administrative duties. Once they get their entitlements, it is easier to go through the administrative process. It is all administrative after that. It also positions the Council to make requests or say no because you have legislative discretion. In our opinion, this is the best way forward, especially for all the development that is coming. Mayor Rohde said it seems to allow the Council to have input on those densities. Right now, a lot of it feels like the density is being done behind our backs. Councilmember Lewis said this would go before the NPI so we would have community feedback along with all the details.

In addressing the other items, Administrator Epling said our code just needs to be updated. A lot of these high priorities are just to get us up to date with what the State has. We are going to take our time to create a good draft for your review. It will all be vetted by the attorney. Here is the list you can look over and email me suggestions. We will continue this discussion in future meetings. The one we will discuss now is our fee schedule. The way the fee schedule should work in planning is it should pay for what we do. When we have an application, it should pay for our work, which includes reviews from our engineering department. Currently, there are set fees for a final plat, preliminary plat, and legislation application. These fees do not accurately reflect the work. Developers are paying over $10,000, which does not have any consideration for the little guy who is doing a one lot subdivision. They are all the same fees. Planner Lance said I see two ways forward of adjusting these fees and am looking for your thoughts. Instead of charging the fee we would do a bond. The smaller developer would pay upfront, get their reviews and then be reimbursed the difference. Any additional fees for engineering and such would be passed on to the applicant to pay prior to recording. Administrator Epling said we would lower the overall fee to a minimum and then at closing would determine how much they owe for reviews. That way the fee actually represents the work. Planner Lance said I do not enjoy shaking down applicants for money right at the end of the process to get them to pay their fees. The bond is cooler because it is paid up front and I like refunding people. Administrator Epling said that would be an easy change on our fee schedule.

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 6:57 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Rohde called the May 19, 2026 City Council Meeting to order at 7:01 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 Rohde, Councilmembers Bowcutt, Jex, Lewis, Oyler, and Westergard, City Manager Nessen, and City Recorder Nelson. Also in attendance were department heads Zoning Administrator ChrisDean Epling, Community Services Director Zach LeFevre, Police Chief Dustin Cordova, Planner Jeremy Lance, and Finance Director Jami Heiner.

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call

3. Invocation by: Planner Lance
Pledge led by: Administrator Epling

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Lewis to approve the agenda of May 19, 2026, but add the workshop item about pillars and vision for discussion during this meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Jex. Vote: Councilmember Bowcutt – yes, Councilmember Jex – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Oyler – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

5. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: None.

6. Citizen Engagement

Amanda Jones said someone I know said the water was not turned on at the Riverview Cemetery last year for Memorial Day for people to water their flowers. I just wanted to make sure that is turned on.

Chris Danvers said I listened to the workshop on secondary water and had some concerns, including getting communications out to the public about the costs of the meters, hookups, rates and increases, and penalties. I remember this discussion a year ago and nothing really got pushed out publicly. Are the landlords going to be penalized for not hooking their homes up or does that fall on the renters? A renter should not be penalized for something they just moved into or should not have to bear that burden. It should fall on the owner of the home. There are a lot of low-income families in town. I got a quote recently and it is upward of $1,000 to get connected. With money leftover in Habitat for Humanity, maybe that could be used to help some of those families get connected to secondary. Everything else you guys are doing is great. I am impressed.

Debbie Brantner said I do not ever plan on using secondary water. I have a box, but I have a well. How do we prove we do not plan on using it and do not get charged extra on culinary water? Councilmember Westergard said it is based on usage so you would be fine. If you are not using it, you will not be charged. It was suggested she talk to City staff after the meeting.

Richard Benson said I just moved here two years ago and live in one of the most gorgeous neighborhoods in Holmgren. We moved here from Mississippi. Living here in these beautiful mountains is amazing. I love the small-town feel. I understand and appreciate progress. I have grandkids and love children. I am really concerned about the entrance and exit to the subdivision for Holmgren. Really large vehicles are going 40 mph through there for construction. I have seen little ones in diapers playing in the front yard and they just wander in the street and when you have that type of equipment coming through at that speed, they cannot stop. Could we get construction signs to detour and prevent them from coming down the private drive? Let them create their own ingress and egress. I just wanted you to be aware.

7. Notice of a public hearing on June 16, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. to approve the final budget

8. Unfinished Items from City Council Work Session

The Council had their discussion on strategic direction on the first two pillars. Mayor Rohde said the first two pillars are connecting to the good life and each other. Let us make a list of our priorities. Councilmember Westergard said we need to move on with Main Street. Councilmember Lewis said I am super excited about Main Street because a lot of work has been done over the years and we have got feedback through events and surveys. Now the Main Street Committee gets to take that data and get to work with the budget. I am excited about the Main Street project because of the events we can do. The words I would add to this would be experiences, gratefulness, and enjoyment. You really cannot put a price on experiences. Councilmember Bowcutt said one thing that really resonated with me is what neighborhoods in Archibald Estates do, which is weekly activities. This is something I would love to see the NPI group take on to see how they can bring about community in their area. I also think activities need to be happening more at Shuman Park. That area is underutilized. We need to be doing anything that is family friendly. Councilmember Jex said crime will take away the good things a community has. The thing that allows for pillars one and two is we have to have a safe community in order to pull this stuff off. Councilmember Oyler said I love the things we have that bring our community together. For me it is just about community and family.

Director LeFevre said the pillar, the good life, has emotions like gratefulness and enjoyment. The strategic focus would be parks, recreational activities, youth programs, housing and growth management, along with quality-of-life amenities. Those are the kind of things that fall under the good life. I want to know what are some of the concerns you see and when a resident says they love living in Tremonton, what specific things are they grateful for? Are we actively protecting those things? Where is the gap and what should we be focusing on? A lot of people come here to get away from big city life, but residents still want big city services. Over the years we have spent a lot on big city services even though we are not a big city. We are providing a lot of things without the resources and people want more. Where is the tension showing up and where do we go or what do we have the most risk of losing by meeting every service? What are the concerns you are seeing? I am not saying we cut back on anything. I am just painting the narrative of where we are at and what this Council committed to. In 40 years, we have only raised property tax twice to keep up with big city services. Are we still committing to provide those and be a full-service city? If so, what are the concerns and gaps we see? What do we need to do to continue to offer those services? Councilmember Jex said I would not call them big city services. I would categorize them as our constitutional obligations to our citizens to provide that safety and security and things like that. My concern is we lack the willingness to do what it takes to make ourselves as safe as we can.

Councilmember Lewis said I think there is a difference between resources and resourcefulness. With the resources the Parks and Rec department has been given to provide experiences and this type of an environment, you have been super resourceful. We have an incredible Parks and Rec department doing a lot with very little. The conflicting narrative I hear is that people want a rec center and more parks, but there is a lack of budget for those. How do you provide the resources when there are limited budget and people say do not touch our property taxes. That is a conflicting demand. We can agree that we do have a lack of facilities to provide the services that lure others to town. We could increase our tournaments. We have to figure out how to fund things. I think we need to leave it up to the public with a proposal of a RAP tax and let them decide what they want to do. We need to understand what the public is willing to invest in.

Mayor Rohde said staff is asking us to get these out for them to give direction. Director LeFevre said these are going to be high level goals. In the future, what do we want? One of the biggest concerns from the wellness survey two years ago was opportunity for youth. How important is that going to be to us to provide that? The goal of this conversation is to get our priorities set. We want four or five strategic priorities from each pillar and then move from there. The highest priority will get the highest funding and it just trickles down. They would continue this discussion in future meetings.

9. Consent Agenda – Any Councilmember may request an item be removed for separate discussion – Roll Call Vote

a. Approval of minutes – April 10, 2026 & May 5, 2026
b. Approval of Resolution No. 26-28 Amending Section II Purchasing Policy & Contracts

Motion by Councilmember Oyler to approve the Consent Agenda with the change to the stop time of the April 10, minutes being 11:45 a.m., not p.m.). Motion seconded by Councilmember Bowcutt. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Bowcutt – yes, Councilmember Jex – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Oyler – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

10. Reports and Calendar

a. City Leadership Report: None
b. Upcoming Calendar Items

Mayor Rohde said this Thursday at 10:30 a.m., we will be here for the Special Olympic Torch Run. May 23 is the USA 250 Gold Star Memorial Walk at 9 a.m. May 29 is the library summer kickoff party 4-7 p.m. The Council has been asked to cook hot dogs. June 20 is the Mugs and Bananas Drag Night. The Farmers Market will be hosted by businesses in town each month at Shuman Park. There is also an outdoor adventure challenge for youth. Today I went to a presentation at the high school and one was about affordable housing. I asked them to present at our next meeting. Director LeFevre and I went to Washington, D.C. last week and got to spend time with our officers. It was an amazing time and fun to get to know them on a different level and to participate in such a special occasion.

Mayor Rohde said we will now move into a Closed Meeting to discuss some litigation concerns.

Motion by Councilmember Lewis to move into closed meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Jex. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Bowcutt – yes, Councilmember Jex – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Oyler – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

The Council moved into a closed meeting at 7:48 p.m.

11. CLOSED MEETING:

Motion by Councilmember Oyler to return to open meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Bowcutt. Vote: Councilmember Bowcutt – yes, Councilmember Jex – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Oyler – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

The Council returned to open session at 9:27 p.m.

12. Adjournment.

Motion by Councilmember Bowcutt to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by consensus of the Council. Vote: Councilmember Bowcutt – yes, Councilmember Jex – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Oyler – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

The meeting adjourned at 9:27 p.m.

The undersigned duly acting and appointed Recorder for Tremonton City Corporation hereby certifies that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes for the City Council Meeting held on the above referenced date. Minutes were prepared by Jessica Tanner.

Dated this 2nd day of June, 2026.

Cynthia Nelson, City Recorder

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