City Council Minutes 5-3-22

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MAY 3, 2022

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

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Holmgren called the May 3, 2022 City Council Workshop to order at 6:01 p.m. The meeting was held in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Holmgren, Councilmembers Archibald, Estep, Rohde, Seamons, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Robert LaCroix, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Interim Police Chief Brian Crockett, and Treasurer Sharri Oyler.

1. Discussion on annexation and growth in outlying areas that lack City utilities

2. Use of ARPA funds for culinary/secondary water infrastructure

3. Review of items listed on the 7:00 p.m. agenda

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

The Council moved into a closed session at 6:02 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 Estep to return to open session. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

The Council returned to open session at 6:54 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 6:54 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Holmgren called the May 3, 2022 City Council Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Tremonton City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Holmgren, Councilmembers Archibald, Estep, Rohde, Seamons, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Robert LaCroix, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Interim Police Chief Brian Crockett, Treasurer Sharri Oyler (left at 7:42 p.m.), and Parks and Recreation Director Zach LeFevre (arrived at 7:52 p.m.).

1. Opening Ceremony:

Mayor Holmgren informed the audience that he had received no written or oral request to participate in the Opening Ceremony. He asked anyone who may be offended by listening to a prayer to step out into the lobby for this portion of the meeting. The prayer was offered by Councilmember Vance and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Estep.

2. Introduction of guests: Mayor Holmgren welcomed those in attendance.

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: Councilmember Estep declared a conflict on the budget since he is a City employee.

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the agenda of May 3, 2022. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – April 5, 2022

Motion by Councilmember Estep to approve the minutes of April 5, 2022. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

6. Years of Service- Fire Department

a. Collette Anderson – 15 years
b. Jeff Bonham – 15 years
c. Nate Christensen – 9 years
d. Wes Estep – 41 years
e. Paul Evertsen –5 years
f. Doug Fuhriman – 43 years
g. Dave Herron – 12 years
h. Shawn Jensen – 27 years
i. Tiffine Jensen – 6 years
j. Jared Morgan – 7 years
k. James Munns – 12 years
l. Daniel Nelson – 8 years
m. Mike Norr – 37 years
n. Jeff Oyler – 31 years
o. Joe Rathbone – 9 years
p. Russ Rhodes – 25 years
q. Larry Robison – 12 years
r. Chris Scothern – 7 years
s. Mark Thompson – 42 years
t. Blair Westergard– 39 years

Fire Chief LaCroix read a bio on each of these individuals. Mayor Holmgren thanked all the firefighters for their years of service to the City and shared some of his experiences with many of them.

7. Public comments:

Resident Bill Roosma said last time I was here, before the City Council meeting you discussed how to raise employee wages and discussed sales tax and property taxes. I spoke a bit about that. I am concerned about it. Real estate is twice what it should be now so the more your house costs the more property taxes you are going to pay. I know everyone likes to get raises. I like them myself, but there are a lot of people who are not getting them. The cost of food has gone up, your mortgage and taxes have gone up, everything has gone up and something has to give. I am asking you guys to be careful with that. It blows my mind what real estate is going for these days. With diesel fuel being up to $7 a gallon the truckers have to pass that cost onto us and we see that when we go to the grocery store. Maybe you guys could hold off for a little while and do this in a few years when things might look better and the cost of stuff goes down a bit. I am retired and on a fixed income. The cost of living went up, but a lot of people did not get a raise so it is even tougher for them. When you talk about property taxes you could literally tax people right out of their home and create homelessness. We do not want that. I am asking you all to be really careful about that.

8. Public Hearings

Mayor Holmgren called a Public Hearing to order at 7:32 p.m. to consider the following ordinance. There were 14 people in attendance.

a. Public hearing to consider adopting Ordinance No. 22-01 adopting an Impact Fee Facilities Plans for Parks, Trails and Recreation System

There were no public comments. Mayor Holmgren closed the Public Hearing at 7:32 p.m.

Mayor Holmgren called a Public Hearing to order at 7:32 p.m. to consider the following ordinance. There were 15 people in attendance.

b. Public hearing on adopting Ordinance No. 22-02 adopting and enacting impact fee for a Parks, Trails and Recreation System

Manager Warnke said the State law allows the City to charge impact fees with the issuance of a building permit for the impact a new home would have on City facilities, this is specifically for the parks and trails. Currently the impact fee for parks and trails are only being charged to residential dwelling units. The current fee is $1,300. We had to do a study called an Impact Fee Facility Plan and Impact Fee Analysis, which defines the current level of service and what the cost would be to perpetuate that same level of service in the future with new growth. It also defines proportionately what that dollar amount is and what the buy in would be. If there is existing capacity in our facilities the City can charge the impact fee to help recover previous expenses that the City incurred in expanding them. This one is a bit different and is based upon population. There is a different fee for single-family ($2,500) and multi-family ($2,300). This shows the different comparisons. These numbers are determined through a State subscribed process. The $2,500 for parks is the maximum fee the City can adopt.

There were no public comments. Mayor Holmgren closed the Public Hearing at 7:37 p.m.

Mayor Holmgren called a Public Hearing to order at 7:38 p.m. to consider adopting the Tentative Annual Budget. There were 15 people in attendance.

c. Public hearing to consider adopting the Tentative Annual Budget entitled “The Tremonton City Annual Implementation Budget 2022-2023 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s), and Special Fund(s)”, for the period commencing July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023

There were no public comments. Mayor Holmgren closed the Public Hearing at 7:38 p.m.

Mayor Holmgren called a Public Hearing to order at 7:39 p.m. to consider amending the Annual Budget. There were 15 people in attendance.

d. Public hearing to consider amending the Annual Budget entitled “The Tremonton City Annual Implementation Budget 2021-2022 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s), and Special Fund(s)”, for the period commencing July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022

There were no public comments. Mayor Holmgren closed the Public Hearing at 7:39 p.m.

9. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of approving March Financial Statements

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

b. Discussion and consideration of approving March Warrant Register

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

c. Discussion and consideration of approving Ordinance No. 22-01 adopting an Impact Fee Facilities Plans for Parks, Trails and Recreation

Councilmember Vance said we have been waiting for these numbers, are there other studies going on with impact fees or have we gone through all of them? Manager Warnke said Zions had this one done in the winter. We anticipated some future expenses so we obligated some of those funds to bring the credit down. We addressed some of the reserves and have appropriated them. What is outstanding is the fire and police impact fee. Currently we charge an impact fee for buy in to the existing facilities we have. What we need to do and are working on is creating a master plan for fire and police to understand how much capacity is really remaining in that system and what future facilities look like. With Garland leaving the waste water treatment plant, we want to start reviewing that impact fee again. Director Fulgham is working on getting a contract with Aqua Engineering. We have done water, sewer, and storm water. We also have the park and transportation. The next step is for fire and police. Once the Council adopts the future facility it puts us down the path of actually constructing those facilities within a timely manner because we would start collecting impact fees.

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

d. Discussion and consideration of approving Ordinance No. 22-02 adopting and enacting impact fee for a Parks, Trails, and Recreation

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

e. Discussion and consideration of adopting Ordinance No. 22-03 amending various sections of the Tremonton City Land Use Code, including Title I Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 1.04 and Title III General Public Works Construction Standards and Specifications, Standard Drawings Appendix “A”

Manager Warnke briefly explained the appendixes. He reviewed the Planning Commission’s composition, duties, and appointment process. We have changed the composition from seven to five members. Planning Commissioners are appointed officials who serve at the pleasure of the City Council. The City can appoint or remove a member for any reason. The role of the Planning Commission and their primary purpose is to be an advisory body to the City Council by providing recommendations on land use matters. They are also required to be trained.

Manager Warnke said there is also a change in our construction standards. In our intersections is where we experience congestion and we want to ensure adequate right-of-way for turning lanes. An alternative cross section addresses that. We are proposing that the intersections flair out and expand to 71 feet for collector roads, which is critical for the function of these intersections. There are also updates to dumpster enclosures. We are working with Econo Waste for commercial and residential projects. They have suggested some changes to that detail to more easily accommodate their trucks and efficiency of dumping. The width has been widened to accommodate a reasonable entry point for these garbage trucks. There are other minor modifications. These have been reviewed by the Planning Commission and they recommend approval.

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

f. Discussion and consideration of adopting Ordinance No. 22-04 establishing a new zoning district entitled the Bear River Meadows Overlay Zone, and amending the Tremonton City Zoning for Parcel 05-186-0058, totaling approximately 10.94 acres, from Residential District, R1-20 to an underlying zoning district of Residential Multiple District, RM-16 and an Overlay Zoning District of the Bear River Meadows Overlay Zone and approving a zoning development agreement

Councilmember Rohde said the Planning Commission has spent a lot of time on this. Manager Warnke said it is a thoughtful Planning Commission that debates and discusses things. This is rezoning property from R1-20 to a higher density zone. It was annexed a few years ago. The development to the south is Aspen Ridges. More townhomes would be continued north onto this parcel. This layout has not been approved through the subdivision site plan process, but we like to get as much information and come up with a good concept plan that supports what is being proposed so we understand what could be reasonably developed here. They are proposing 105 townhomes, but the ultimate density will be based upon compliance with the City’s codes and ordinances. The maximum will be 9.61 dwelling units per acre. One of the things we need to firm up is that the Tremonton Garland Drainage District shows they have a line that cuts through this property. We need to get more details on that. The canal company also has a prescriptive easement.

Manager Warnke then reviewed what is being proposed for this development. It is an overlay ordinance and we are creating a new zone. There will be architectural requirements, as well as landscape buffering and fencing requirements. The developers will extend the trail corridor all the way to 6th South. They will dedicate the land and accommodate a 10-foot trail section on that bridge. They will even do the fencing along the trail with a concrete mow strip beneath that. On the railroad side they will add a vinyl fence. Aspen Ridge had a robust onsite package for amenities. What is being proposed here is that instead of doing onsite amenities they would make a contribution to the City to help improve our park system. That is beneficial for the City. We would get some additional resources to improve our park system and benefit our current residents as this opens up amenities to be enjoyed by the entire City. This also does not burden these specific residents with ongoing maintenance of onsite amenities. They will dedicate 3.82 water shares to the City for these open spaces and make a financial contribution of $1,500 for each dwelling unit. They will have some minimum onsite improvements (playground, park benches). Although these are private roads, both developments have agreed to a cross access easement that allows them to use each other’s road networks. Based upon this type of development and the densities the engineer felt like it would be better to line up those intersections and not have an offset one. They will also improve the 6th South frontage and install a sidewalk that the City will extend to Tremont Street. All the open space will be taken care of by the HOA.

Kurt Larsen with Bear River Meadows said a lot of kids in Aspen Ridges are using the railroad tracks to get to school so this would supply an extension of your trail system that would allow them easier access to school.

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

g. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-19 adopting the Tentative Annual Budget entitled “The Tremonton City Annual Implementation Budget 2022-2023 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s), and Special Fund(s)”, for the period commencing July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023

Manager Warnke said this is the first iteration of the budget. The memo gives helpful details to the Council in making decisions. I highlight some of the big expenses and underlying issues. The biggest issue we have with this budget is inflation. We are seeing a real competitive environment for employees, specifically public works and police officers. There is a real shortage of police officers that are certified and willing to do the profession and for that reason it has become really competitive. There are more opportunities for these individuals to move elsewhere and we would like to keep our employees. There are selective salary increases being proposed primarily for those departments, but there is a total cost of living adjustment that is being proposed for everyone within the City (5%). I reached out to Robert Spendlove with Zions Bank, who referred me to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics to look at our region, which has experienced 10% inflation. Homes have increased by 28%. We are proposing an increase in property taxes.

Manager Warnke said we will continue to work with our Finance Director on the Fire Fund and Water Fund so we can dial down those revenues. The Water Fund has been hindered by the drought conditions. We are thankful people have used less water, but that also equates to less revenue. We will watch our bonds and debt closely. We will discuss our water revenues and what that looks like and what we need to do. When we last adjusted the water rate the Council decided to adjust it to the lowest rate that we felt would meet some of the requirements. Since that time things have changed.

Thanks to the Council, we made changes last year that put the City in a different market place for health insurance. Instead of getting rates based upon our own performance and claims we moved to a community rated product. This larger pool helps soften the fluctuations that occur individually within our own group for health insurance costs. The renewal we got this year was 3%, which equates to about $20,000. The work environment is getting safer and we have done some incentive programs that the Trust has championed.

Manager Warnke said Rocky Mountain Power has developers pay the cost to install a streetlight. Some of those costs are applied to the rate. We are working toward paying a higher cost up front so the City could enjoy a lesser monthly rate for power. We have a lot of fixtures we can move to the LEDs and if the City contributes $88,000 it will move us to a new rate where we will save overtime. The payback for that investment is 3.5 years and would save us about $25,000 annually. In the long term that will help to reduce the operating costs for streetlights. It is proposed that there would be an inter-fund loan between the waste water treatment plant and the sewer line we are installing on Main Street (upsize). If we collect a lot of impact fees then we will be able to finance all the project. If costs increase through the construction process and building slows and we do not have as many impact fees then we would do an inter-fund loan through the waste water treatment plant.

Councilmember Vance said we do not want to lose good employees. We have a problem. There is a demand for these people, but I think we have to get our thinking caps on and not just increase taxes. There might be other ways we can keep good people here without increasing taxes. We need to show employees what their total salary is with all their benefits so they know what companies really have to match before they leave. Many might be better where they are at without us increasing our wages. We have to look at this thing tighter. Manager Warnke agreed. Our employees enjoy Tremonton and our culture, but in some cases, they are being poached by other entities. We are not matching dollar for dollar and there are other things for employees to consider. Councilmember Vance said we need to see comparisons of what other cities are doing around us. We need to understand so we can get behind and support it. Mayor Holmgren said Manager Warnke and Assistant City Manager Christensen have really worked through this process. They have done all the comparisons with other cities we are just not seeing that right now. That is something that is going to be a part of the process as we work through and refine this. We want to keep our employees and be fair. We are concerned about property taxes. We will get more details so the Council can digest the information and make a decision. Councilmember Rohde said we need to do everything we can and we have to come up with creative ways to come up with money. There is no doubt that we need to take care of our employees. Councilmember Vance said we need to do what we can to keep them here, but the answer is not always raising taxes.

Mr. Roosma said when prices go up you can do less and cut some of your activities to save money, but when property taxes go up you cannot hide from that. Your home should be your sanctuary, I worry with prices going up so much. Manager Warnke said the State enables us to have different revenue streams, but out of all those, property tax is the only one that we can absolutely control. The rest are variable. Property taxes are stable and something we can rely on every year. If we do not increase property taxes, we will always collect less relative to what we previously had because it does not keep up with inflation. It is meant to deliver the same amount of revenue with the only increase being in new growth.

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

h. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-20 amending the Annual Budget entitled “The Tremonton City Annual Implementation Budget 2021-2022 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s), and Special Fund(s)”, for the period commencing July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022

Assistant City Manager Christensen said this is the current budget we are in that started last July and ends in June. The budget is our best guess at what we can do to expend the revenues that are brought in. Here is a comprehensive list of all the changes we are proposing. The majority of them have to do with grants. The Library, Senior Center and Fire Department have obtained grants and done projects. Our building permit revenues have exceeded what we estimated. There is $1.89 million from ARPA funds. We have received one of the payments ($544,000) and will receive the next payment in July. We will recognize that as lost revenue and will use those funds to help with our Water Fund for capital and infrastructure projects. It will go into the General Fund then transfer to the Water Fund.

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

i. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-21 selecting health insurance carriers and defining the City’s contribution for health insurance employee benefits for the 2022-2023 fiscal year

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

j. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-22 authorizing West Liberty Foods, L.L.C to discharge to the Tremonton City Public Owned Treatment Works (POTW)

Director Fulgham said this is just a renewal of their permit they have had since 2007. This is the same amount of discharge that we allow them. We do this every three years.

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

10. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar

Mayor Holmgren said the spring clean-up will be Wednesday through Friday. Last fall we had 30 loads that were hauled away. People are asking about the compost, too. The first Farmer’s Market of the season will be coming up on Saturday. We have 31 vendors and will give out the giant pumpkin seeds.

b. Unfinished business/Action items: None at this time.

11. Reports & Comments:

a. City Manager Reports and Comments

1. EDC Utah Community Development Grant for Wayfinding/Branding

Manager Warnke said we applied for wayfinding and they awarded us $5,000. Since our branding process includes a wayfinding element they allowed me to apply that to our branding. Assistant City Manager Christensen also helped get a wayfinding grant from the County for $40,000. Wayfinding is something that has been recommended since 1988. There was a plan for downtown that discussed wayfinding. It was also in our SDAT. Our most recent Main Street Plan recommended wayfinding so we are trying to work toward that. We will apply for another grant project to see if we can get some technical assistance. We have a year to move forward with implementation and take advantage of the money they provided to us.

b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments

1. Update on various Development Projects (time permitting)

These items will be discussed at the next meeting.

c. City Department Head Reports and Comments

1. Garland Wastewater Treatment Plant update – Paul Fulgham

Director Fulgham said Garland has been on their own for about two weeks now. They have not told me when they will officially pour the plug, but they have it sand bagged off. They are in the process of building their treatment. I showed them some things they needed to do on a daily basis and how to do their monthly samples.

Harvest Acres and Harvest Village recently closed the road to do a big sewer project for their development. We hope that is open by tomorrow, but it will take three to four more weeks to patch the road.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Vance said thanks for putting that together on the budget it is so easy to look at one page and see what is going on, thank you.

Councilmember Archibald said our library had a meeting last week and they are doing some great things in preparing for summer and their reading programs. I appreciate the library board and that group of individuals who help our community in that particular aspect of education.

Councilmember Estep said it has been an honor, I have learned a lot in a short amount of time and have a lot left to learn.

Mayor Holmgren said the Main Street pots are ready to plant. If anyone wants to help let me know. We will leave them at Call’s until things warm up a bit. We will let them grow in a hot house for a couple weeks so they are more adapted to the area.

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

13. Adjournment.

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

The meeting adjourned at 9:05 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 17th day of May, 2022.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

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