City Council Minutes 5-5-26

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MAY 5, 2026

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

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Rohde called the May 5, 2026 City Council Workshop to order at 5:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Rohde, Councilmembers Bowcutt, Jex, Lewis, and Westergard, Manager Nessen, and City Recorder Nelson. Also in attendance were Planner Jeremy Lance, Finance Director Jami Heiner, Code Administrator Greg Horspool, Public Works Director Carl Mackley, Fire Chief Jeff Jarrow, Police Chief Dustin Cordova, Community Services Director Zach LeFevre, and Finance Director Curtis Roberts. Councilmember Oyler was excused.

1. Call to Order and Declaration of Conflict of Interest

2. Council Reports and Updates

Councilmember Westergard said the new ambulance is up and going. They are plugging away and we will go over that MOU tonight.

Councilmember Lewis said we will discuss Main Street America. There is a resolution to formalize that. We filed the application with Main Street America and will hopefully receive that soon. Once we do, we should see Main Street moving along, with direction from the Council. A quarterly report would be beneficial in these meetings, so we are up to speed on where they are headed. Approval of the data center is going to change a lot of things from our economic development perspective. There is lots to do with recruitment so we can get revenues up. There is the possibility of some sales tax revenue leakage, which is pretty normal for a city like ours if we have not done a robust study or dove into it (5-10% leakage). I have a couple of ideas and anticipate we could have upwards of $300,000 to add to the budget just by auditing and making sure the businesses are on the tax commission registry and in line with where we are getting our revenues. There are some things we might have to do to ensure we are buttoning up the process for sales tax revenue so we are not leaving revenue on the table. That could impact our budget.

Councilmember Bowcutt said I went to the emergency management training. It was fantastic. If we do not know what our role is, we are going to mess things up so it was well worth it. We have a new city planner, Jeremy Lance. He comes from Morgan County. The planning department has been actively working to refine internal processes and improve coordination between departments. Their major focus is ensuring that development applications, review procedures, and associated fees are being properly applied. They are also working closely with departments to improve how infrastructure obligations and development agreements are evaluated. The overall goal is to improve efficiency and strengthen accountability. Secondary water will be turned on May 11. Secondary water expansion for Holmgren East will start next week. The East Canal Equalization Basin is coming along and should be completed by June 15. Tremont Street and 100 West culinary waterline replacement is progressing well and should be done by May 31. They will do all the repaving at the same time. Rocket Road Construction is ongoing. Temporary road closures will be in place as they pour curb, gutter, and sidewalk and pave the road. They have started work on the sidewalks on Main Street. The treatment plant is an ongoing project.

Councilmember Jex said the police department is running on a red line. I have spoken with department heads who have not been included in any budget discussions and I am curious why that is? Why are those running the departments not seated in the middle of these discussions? They are the experts and who we are relying on. I have a problem with the lack of communication. Are we cutting any public safety positions? Manager Nessen said there has been one FTE requested. It is the position they gave up or suspended. We do not know how that ended up, but they gave one away to get the wages up to Ogden’s rate last year. I had that in the original budget that was brought in April and that is where we were only saving $37,000 in revenues over expenses. I just want to make sure we are looking ahead and not taking one step forward just to turn around and take two steps back. I hope in our discussions we are actively engaging and the public has the opportunity to hear from our department heads.

The following items were discussed out of order.

3. Presentations:

a. Title: EDCUtah Presentation

Greg Bisbing said we appreciate the partnership we have with Tremonton. Here is an update on EDCUtah, what we work on and how we support your community. We were founded 40 years ago to bring jobs and prosperity to Utah. Our mandate is to work with companies that are expanding within or into Utah. We are a unique economic development organization because we are statewide. We are the welcome mat for a lot of these companies. We work with them to highlight our community partners and dictate where they should take a look across the State. The biggest part of our team is our business expansion services. If you have questions on projects, please reach out to them. We have a research team that does primary and secondary research. Primarily we support our project needs with research. If they want data around age and population growth, we provide all of that for free to these projects coming in. The membership services Tremonton pays goes to support that mission of allowing us to do that and working with these companies. I am here to support you in whatever you need. Utah has a very diverse economy. The State has had strategic focuses on job growth, which has really paid off. We have a business development team. On average, we have about 100 companies we are working with and typically close about 20% of those a year. We have seen a big uptick in projects over the past couple months. Each community has their own specific desires, needs and opportunities, and we like to approach our community relations in the same way. Let us work with you if you are working on a project. If you have a project that lands in your community, it is not just a one and done. We are providing additional support to help them succeed. There are higher wage jobs we are trying to bring into the State. To help tell that story, we create profiles on our website. We also send a lot of information out in our newsletters and have events you can attend.

b. Title: RES 26-20 Main Street America

Councilmember Lewis said we are adopting the Main Street America program. Rather than us reinventing the wheel. We are going to take a model we know works and move forward with it. Kelly Wood will serve as the Main Street director. A clause in Main Street America says the director is supposed to be compensated and they recommended we do that. She is hesitant to receive compensation because that was not what drove her to take this on. It is a lot of work to get this done effectively and will require quite a bit of time and effort. We want to make sure she is putting in adequate time to pull off what we have to pull off. Those funds technically come from the RDA. Main Street America does recommend over time transitioning to a 501(c)(3). For now, we do have the funds sitting in the RDA. Director Roberts said now that we have additional resources, we are going to be talking about that over the summer and can identify those needs. We can build that up and come into the fall with a really good game plan. I would recommend bringing your legal counsel in to define what the legal process is to go through that.

c. Title: RES 26-21 Renaming post office to “Sorensen Estrada Post Office”

Mayor Rohde said the next one is the resolution for the renaming of the post office. I read the letter last time and with your permission put together a resolution.

d. Title: RES 26-22 Insurance Carriers

Manager Nessen said we do this every year. This is setting the contribution for our medical insurance. We are sticking with Select Health. Nothing has changing. Dental and vision all stay the same. We have discussed the possibility of giving a lump sum stipend for everybody to get the same amount for health insurance. We were asked to put it off until January. This spells out what we are doing for the Council. This will come back, but as of right now, it is going to stay how it is. Currently we pay 90% of your plan.

e. Title: RES 26-23 Tentative Budget FY 26-27

This item will be discussed during the regular City Council Meeting

f. Title: RES 26-24 UTOPIA board appointments

Manager Nessen said this needs to be updated. This would make me the representative and named our new finance director, Jami Heiner, as the alternate when I am unavailable.

g. Title: RES 26-25 MOU with West Liberty Foods

Chief Jarrow said this is a memorandum of understanding between the Tremonton City Fire Department and West Liberty Foods. They approached me in September, requesting us to respond to their facility. We do respond to emergencies in the City regardless, but prior to this they had their own in-house response team. They were looking to replace that so we began negotiations. The purpose is to identify the plan with pre-incident planning and training between us and West Liberty. This is great to help us know exactly how we will respond to an incident. To respond to hazardous materials incidents, they will help us with reimbursement of supplies. Parties may enter into a separate agreement for specific projects if needed. This contract is written so we can make adjustments as needed. West Liberty will provide calibrated monitoring equipment for the target hazard associated with operations at the facility for use by the fire department during emergency responses. My main priority was to get us the equipment we needed to mitigate the situation safely and rescue their people. Containing their product is on them. We also have access to regional hazmat teams who will help us. The company will call their own containment company and remove that chemical and be in charge of any of the EPA type stuff. West Liberty has offered to donate money for whatever equipment we need. The cost for the level A hazmat suits for four of them is about $2,000. We will get that cost up front to purchase those suits because the ones we have are expired. Any type of maintenance required over the next five years would also be in this contract. Where it says $2,000 annual maintenance donation for that year, the fire department shall provide the organization with an itemized invoice of such expense costs. If we go above, we can just give them an itemized receipt and they will provide whatever materials we need and will pay for that. Director Roberts clarified that the City would own the equipment. Also, when a donation comes to the City, the Council is responsible for then authorizing the expenditure of that donation, so it still has to go through the budget process.

h. Title: RES 26-26 Tremonton Garland Police Contract

Chief Cordova said this has been ongoing for what seems like forever, but I think it benefits both cities. Rather than trying to manage half the police department, Garland contributes four officers. They empower Tremonton to provide that service and pay us for that. There is some confusion or lack of communication on the number of officers we are bringing in. We went back and checked the record on that vote and some of us believe that position was suspended to make that adjustment to the end of the fiscal year, and some think it was permanently suspended. As good neighbors of Garland, we should loop them in on whatever we decide. It is very unclear based on reviewing the minutes and discussion with the Council what the decision ultimately was. I want to make sure we are going through the right process and being good neighbors by informing Garland, who is coming into this relationship and delivering the services agreed upon. Garland approved this unanimously in their last meeting. Their only condition was to retain the name Tremonton Garland. Mayor Rohde said part of this is the assets from Garland coming to Tremonton. As part of this first year, we will purchase those assets that will reduce their contract and then make sure they pay the full amount. Chief Cordova said correct, that helps us financially. We are buying them all up front and that will reduce their payment. Manager Nessen said we have not budgeted any capital except for that in this tentative budget. That is the only capital items, because we know we are going to have to purchase all those vehicles from Garland. That is in the budget already. That actually saved us money for officer allocations. All their portions will come to us, including vehicles and things of that nature.

i. Title: Planning & Zoning

Planner Lance said I have worked here for a couple of weeks and am getting settled. I transferred from Morgan County and am here to introduce the idea of a temporary land use law, otherwise known as a moratorium. This is from the Office of the Property Rights Ombudsman, which laid it out very well. I wanted to read this verbatim into the record. First, a temporary land use regulation, often called a moratorium, is a mechanism by which a zoning regulation is adopted for a limited period of time without having to go through the normal process of public hearings. A temporary land use regulation may be adopted when there is an emergency situation or a compelling reason that requires immediate action. While the temporary regulation is in place, local government has time to address the situation through the normal process to adopt zoning ordinances. A temporary land use regulation may be adopted to address any one of these three situations. A. local government finds there is compelling public interest that justifies the temporary regulation. B. there is an area that is unregulated by zoning ordinances. And C. a proposed highway corridor is being studied for an environmental impact statement or major investment study. A temporary land use regulation may remain in effect for no more than six months or 180 days. Local government must establish the effective period when it adopts the regulation. Tremonton’s current growth projections are outpacing several foundational infrastructural planning documents. A moratorium would allow staff to update our capital facilities plans as applicable to the public works department. Without these updated plans, the City risks approving growth without clear infrastructure capacity analysis. Furthermore, the moratorium would be a useful opportunity for staff to ensure that ordinances are drafted and adopted. That would help the land use approval process proceed in a consistent, efficient, and legally sound manner. This is a temporary land use law. It is a tool that can be employed for exact reasons that are applicable to Tremonton. The request tonight is for a directive from the Council to have staff bring forward a temporary land use ordinance. This will commission staff to do more research and nail down those countervailing public interests. The City attorney would be closely involved. Tremonton almost has a brand-new set of City staff and a lot of change. This would allow time to get systems in place. Tonight is less about reasoning for a moratorium, but rather for a discussion and then summarily a decision to be made to hammer out all of these reasons and have the real discussion. A moratorium would not touch subdivisions that have already been approved. Things could still go through the processes, this would just slow crucial elements for a time. With the effect being temporary. Working with Zoning Administrator ChrisDean Epling, we have noticed things in the code that are inconsistent, perhaps unenforceable gaps in our code that should be filled to help liability issues. Just in two weeks, we have already identified a few issues.

Councilmember Bowcutt said this is a great idea. It is important we have the right direction. We are a puzzle with missing pieces and the General Plan needs to be updated. The Land Use Plan needs to be followed directly. This will also give our new employees, and department heads time to come up with a plan. We need to find our identity and not let developers tell us what they want. I do not think this is going to stop economic growth from coming in. We do need to fix these codes. Councilmember Lewis said if you are a developer and hear the word moratorium, you are going to get skittish. How do we as a City make sure that message is communicated appropriately? Planner Lance said you define it really well in your ordinance. On infrastructure capacity alone, you have a countervailing public interest. Again, putting the breathing room for even public works to get their systems updated is one reason alone. When this is debated you should present as united as possible, the reasons why this would be good for the City. If there are reasons you do not want to do that, then let those make their way into the record. If the Council is even interested in something like this, then staff will answer questions since it has only been implemented a few times around the State for different reasons. Mayor Rohde said is the Council open to them putting together language on the moratorium and running it through the lawyer to make sure we are legal and then coming back to have a discussion? Councilmember Lewis said my fear is economic development, developers, and businesses not picking Tremonton with a moratorium in place. We have to be very careful about what we do and very specific, so we are not shooting ourselves in the foot. If we are overbuilding, obviously we owe that to our residents to make sure we have a capital plan in place. The last thing we want to do is turn off our revenue with a moratorium. Councilmember Bowcutt said I understand what you are saying, but we need to button up what is going on. We have too many loose ends. Let us see what you can come up with. Councilmember Lewis said can we button things up without putting an official moratorium ordinance in? Can we get the capital facilities and all the things we are going to do in the moratorium time, without branding the moratorium. Is a moratorium necessary to get a Capital Facilities Plan in place? I know it buys us time, but it also comes with consequence. I do not want to be locked in due to a moratorium and turn off our revenue spigot. Planner Lance said you can be pretty targeted in the language. Excluding economic development could be built in. You can be pretty targeted in what the moratorium does. That could be utilized to establish clear messaging and branding with what the intent of the ordinance is. Again, using it for on a temporary nature does not have to turn off any real spigots that are important. This would help us fast tracking gaping holes in our ordinance and put temporary stops on certain aspects of the subdivision process and allow plans to be drafted, approved, and implemented before we start sticking our neck out too far. Director Mackley said I have not been a proponent of a moratorium. To answer your question, can we do some of these things while entertaining develop. Yes, we can, but the problem is we have pushed that limit too long and have infrastructure problems. We were talking about bringing in businesses and industry. That got me thinking and steered the conversation toward, I think we should do a moratorium because those types of businesses and industries can have a significantly stronger impact on our infrastructure than homes. The idea is to do it now before we push too far. We are too close to certain lines. Water, sewer, and the treatment plant are concerns at the point where we need to be better prepared. That is really important. We have to have better tools in place. It is better to do this now than wait until we are already past and are in trouble.

Planner Lance said the objective of tonight was to simply start the conversation. Staff will research your questions and talk to the attorney and will bring something forward for discussion. Mayor Rohde said I am hoping to use a temporary land use development plan versus a moratorium. A lot of that can be defined and it does not sound as scary but accomplishes the same things. Councilmember Bowcutt said I have been in this process much longer, following Planning Commission since 2019. There are things that need to be buttoned down. We do not have the codes in place and developers are coming in and dictating what they want. We do not have the codes in place to say, no, this is what Tremonton is going to do. By doing that, slowing it down just a bit, I do not think it is going to hurt anybody. In the long run it is going to help our department heads. We need to stop and figure out how we are going to get more funding. We need to see how we are going to make changes to codes that identifies what Tremonton City will allow. Mayor Rohde said what would be the direction of the Council? Councilmember Lewis said the purpose of the moratorium, what are the restraints it offers? Why we would do that instead of just solving the problems one at a time. When a vote comes, we already have power to deny. So why would we consider it? I am struggling to understand the core purpose and messaging that comes with it when it is already in our power to do that as a legislative body. A moratorium does not solve our issues, it just prolongs what we need to get done. Director Mackley said this is a long game and we want to call a timeout. You want to let the play clock run down longer. Councilmember Lewis said what does a moratorium do to stop development and solve your current problem? Director Mackley said it is just intended to be a formal planning session where we do not have to address new developments. Councilmember Lewis said can we do a formal planning session without a moratorium? Director Mackley said I used to think we could, but I am not entirely sure we can or should at this point. We do not have updated plans in place and we need updated rates, capital facilities plans and impact fees. I do not care how we get from A to B, I just want to get to B. Councilmember Bowcutt said let us see what they can come up with because I trust in what they are doing and think we owe it to them. They are in that position to make these decisions. Councilmember Westergard said we have concerns about water and need some breathing room. We ought to put it together with good language and before we know it, that will be over anyway. Councilmember Lewis said I am not saying we should grow irresponsibly without having a Capital Facilities Plan. We need to be responsible and check boxes and if that means saying no, that is what we need to do. Mayor Rohde said our employees are overloaded with trying to catch up. That is part of the problem. We need to somehow get them on top and start working toward our goals. We are just trying to stay afloat. I support letting our department heads catch their breath. I can see where they are headed and I am so excited about the future of Tremonton. I just want to give these guys a chance to get us there.

j. Title: ULCT Debrief

This item will be discussed during the regular City Council Meeting

k. Title: RES 26-27 Planning Commission Vacancy

Councilmember Bowcutt said we have a vacancy on the Planning Commission with Mr. Thompson moving on to better things. I recommend we appoint Ben Greener. He has been on the Planning Commission before and would fill the seat until January 2028. This is a resolution we would pass tonight. Mayor Rohde said I worked with Mr. Greener on the Planning Commission, and he was a great asset.

l. Title: Discussion of Mugs & Bananas Drag Night

Director LeFevre said a special event application for Mugs and Bananas Drag Night was submitted. This is a recurring event every other year. He has submitted another application asking to continue hosting this event. He does a burnout lane on 200 West. This event brings in thousands of people. It starts at Bear River High School from 5 to 7 p.m. and they drag Tremont and Main from 8 to 11 p.m. The burnouts are from 8 to 9 p.m. To enter the burnouts, they have to have a wristband and know the rules. Typically, the police have been involved. He still has all his safety measures there and they do have to sign waivers. He would like to change the concert location to Midland Square from 9 to 10:30 p.m.

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

Please note that any agenda item listed on the 6:00 p.m. City Council Workshop may be discussed in the 7:00 p.m. City Council Meeting

The meeting adjourned at 6:53 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Rohde called the May 5, 2026 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 Rohde, Councilmembers Bowcutt, Jex, Lewis, Oyler, and Westergard, City Manager Nessen, and City Recorder Nelson. Also in attendance were Finance Director Jami Heiner, Code Administrator Greg Horspool, Public Works Director Carl Mackley, Fire Chief Jeff Jarrow, Police Chief Dustin Cordova, Community Services Director Zach LeFevre, and Finance Director Curtis Roberts. Councilmember Oyler was excused.

1. Call to Order

2. Invocation by: Student Jaden Mello
Pledge led by: Student Maycie Mello

3. Roll Call

4. Approval of Agenda:

Mayor Rohde said we need to make an amendment because we do not have the minutes from April 10, 2026 and will not be approving those. The April 7 minutes only.

Motion by Councilmember Jex to approve the agenda with that change. Motion seconded by Councilmember Bowcutt. Vote: Councilmember Bowcutt – yes, Councilmember Jex – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Oyler – absent, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

5. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: None

6. Presentations

a. Tremonton City Citizenship Award to Elementary and Intermediate Students

Mayor Rohde said this is the best time of the evening when we get to recognize these wonderful students and their fabulous work in the schools. They were presented with their awards and had their picture taken.

b. Youth City Council Presentations

Youth City Council Mayor Jaden Mello said this year we had the opportunity to serve Tremonton by doing a ton of random activities, such as the turkey trot, holiday Christmas bash, Daddy Daughter Dance, and many more. Youth City Council City Manager Landon Dennis said this year we had the opportunity to go to Utah State University for our youth leadership conference, which we are grateful for. We learned a lot of skills attending that conference, and will cherish and use that the rest of our lives. Mayor Mellow said we also had the opportunity to learn from our amazing advisors, Caroline Bourgeous and Andrea Mello. They have had a huge impact on all of us. We would also like to give a shout out to our new mayor and other board members. Bridget as the mayor, Avery as city manager, Ainsley as project manager, Macy as historian, and Taya as the recorder and secretary. Manager Dennis said we are so excited to see the amazing things this new board is going to accomplish. Thank you for letting us help our neighbors and community grow. We would like to also acknowledge our outstanding 26 members with a combined 388 total hours of community service this year. Director LeFevre said the Youth City Council is under Parks and Recreation and I have had the opportunity to work with these two for the past few years while they have been in the program. They are amazing young men and have a bright future ahead of them. The whole Youth City Council is a fantastic program that develops youth leaders in our community. I am proud to be associated with them and thank them for their hard work because they do make a lot of the events we host happen. They also add their input where they would like to see improvements so we can better the program and give them ownership in our events. I just want to thank them for all they do.

c. Quality Library Award

Tremonton received a letter from Culture of Community Engagement and the Utah State Library. Councilmember Lewis read, Utah State Library would like to recognize Tremonton City Library for outstanding service to their community during the 2025 fiscal year. Please accept our congratulations on earning the quality library award, which is a designation the State library determines during recertification, which is an annual process that requires public libraries to submit reports and data to indicate that their services are in accordance with State library standards. The quality library award is a secondary application for library directors to indicate that the work they and their staff have accomplished rises above and beyond the standards. The purpose of this award is to recognize libraries and the dedicated people who work in them, who are offering exemplary work. This award provides an opportunity for the State library to highlight transformational services that might not be obvious in the standard recertification process. As a quality library, your institution is a vital part of the community. It provides resources and services beyond the four walls of the library with exemplary outreach to residents. The best libraries seek to serve their communities in specific ways to address local needs. The efforts being made at your library demonstrate an awareness of community needs with an appropriate and helpful response by the library. Commitment to excellent library service indicates teamwork. It takes leadership from the director, funding and support from the city, county government, dedication from all library staff, support from the community, training for the staff and board, planning, and careful attention to community needs. Thank you for continuing to deliver outstanding library service to Utah residents.

7. Citizen Engagement – General Public Comment

Michael Leighner addressed concerns about Tremonton being in compliance with the American Disabilities Act. All these sidewalks do not have access for wheelchairs or scooters to go up and down City streets. There are no exits or on ramps on any of the major streets in Tremonton. City staff would have a discussion with him personally.

Chris Danvers said when I was much younger, I rode a 10-speed bike with my older brother. He took me out in the hills of New York. I remember I was so grateful to see the top of that hill and as I crested the top, I realized there was another one right after it. I think that is where the City is. We just crested a hill and thought we were going to catch our breath, but now we see this massive hill coming. The only thing you can do is give up or dig in deep and keep going. I was listening to the conversation at the workshop and you were talking about the Land Use Plan and Capital Facilities Plan. Is there any legal reason why we could not have volunteers help with that effort? We just got a fire hose in place of a garden hose. We really need more manpower behind this to get things done as quick as possible. If not, then maybe we could get professional consultants and find money in the budget to get talent behind us to get where we need to go. We do not want to miss a bus or be trailing behind. Economic development is coming no matter what and with that comes new residents.

8. Public Hearing

This item was moved to after 11. b.

a. To consider the adoption of the proposed Tentative Budget entitled “The Tremonton City Annual Implementation Budget 2026-2027 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s), and Special Funds),” for the period commencing July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027.

Mayor Rohde called a Public Hearing to order at 7:27 p.m. to consider compensation increases as contained in the Tentative Budget. There were 11 people in attendance.

b. To consider approving compensation increases for Executive Municipal Officers as contained in the proposed Tentative Budget entitled “The Tremonton City Annual Implementation Budget 2026-2027 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s), and Special Funds),” for the period commencing July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027.

Manager Nessen said we have to do this every year and have a public hearing on what increases our executive municipal officers are getting. It is included in the budget. Nothing is proposed other than the 3% COLA we are requesting in the budget. It has been two years since State legislators made this a rule that we have to call this out separately for our executive officers.

There were no public comments. Mayor Rohde closed the Public Hearing at 7:28 p.m.

9. Unfinished Items from City Council Work Session

Mayor Rohde said the ULCT conference in St. George was very useful and I appreciated the opportunity to spend time with our Council. As a City Council and City, one thing I would like to emphasize is our roles. The City Council sets direction and citizens give their voice and input, while employees carry out the direction. We should all be on a horizontal relationship where we treat each other equally. I feel we need to be a little better at giving direction on where we would like to see the City go. In our next Council meeting, I would like to take 10 minutes and go over the first two pillars and see if we can come up with some high-end strategies and give direction to City employees. Then two weeks after that, we would go through another and get this ready so when we pass the budget, everything can be driven by these directives. That way we can start the new year out on a great framework. The Council agreed they need to have time to hear from their department heads, who are the experts.

10. Consent Agenda – Any Councilmember may request an item be removed for separate discussion

a. Approval of minutes – April 7, 2026 & April 10, 2026
b. Approval of Resolution No. 26-20 Main Street America
c. Approval of Resolution No. 26-21 Renaming USPS
d. Approval of Resolution No. 26-22 Insurance Carrier
e. Approval of Resolution No. 26-24 UTOPIA member appointment
f. Approval of Resolution No. 26-25 MOU with West Liberty Foods
g. Approval of Resolution No. 26-26 Tremonton Garland Police Contract
h. Approval of Resolution No. 26-27 Planning Commission Vacancy
i. Approval of allowing Mugs & Bananas Drag Night on June 20

Motion by Councilmember Jex to approve the Consent Agenda with the spelling correction to the name Sorensen. Motion seconded by Councilmember Westergard. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Bowcutt – yes, Councilmember Jex – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Oyler – absent, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

11. Strategic Business (Ordinances & Policies)

a. Discussion and consideration of adopting March 2026 Financial Statement & Warrant Register

Motion by Councilmember Bowcutt to adopt the Warrant Register and Financial Statement. Motion seconded by Councilmember Lewis. Vote: Councilmember Bowcutt – yes, Councilmember Jex – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Oyler – absent, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 26-23 Tentative City Budget for FY26-27

Mayor Rohde said the budget, as it is presented, has a savings of about $570,000. Manager Nessen said but that is giving up every position that has been requested. Mayor Rohde said there were positions that were requested by multiple departments and all of those positions were taken out. Director Roberts said there is a significant area the City is going to be required to addressed. For over five years I have come before this Council talking about the fact that our rates were in a position they needed to be considered for increase. The treatment plant fund revenues are $2.4 million. The expenses are $2.2. However, the revenues also include impact fees, which cannot be spent on operations. If we run the math, revenues minus impact fees minus the operating expenses, this fund is now projected to lose. It is operating at a loss of $89,200. Your fees are no longer covering the cost of operations. This means the treatment plant fund is broken and if you continue on this path, it will be broke. There will not be money for any replacements, let alone anything that is needed as far as repairs go. The Council must take steps to address rates. The sewer fund is only for collection. This is all the laterals coming into the main lines that feed to the treatment plant. This fund has revenues of $406,400 and expenses of $393,150. It also has impact fees of $100,000. That means that fund is now projected to operate at a loss of $86,750. If we execute this plan, this fund is broke. This fund needs to have a rate adjustment immediately. There are two things that define a city: water in, water out and if you do not have that you are not a city anymore. You are a barren, desolate wasteland. If you want to have growth, you have to have water coming in. The water fund revenue is $7.5 million with expenses at $6.9. The impact fees are $460. That means the water net income before impact fees is $110,180. That will not meet your bond requirements. Failure to meet the bond requirements could result in an automatic increase in the interest rate they are allowed to charge, or they could call the bonds. You have a water rate structure that needs to be adjusted immediately. Come 2027, when we do the audit, there will be a report that the bonds are out of compliance and they will force you to do something, like raise rates. The storm drain fund is functioning on the low side. It is only going to have net income of about $44,000. That is not enough. The solid waste fund is fine. It is running at a positive $3,200, but it does not have anything it really needs to replace. It just recovers operating costs. I know this sounds stern and I am sorry, but I have delivered this message for years. You have to address it. If you fail to, your water fund will not meet the bond covenants.

Councilmember Lewis said where was our breakdown in prior Councils not getting it done? What are the steps to increase the rates? Director Roberts said about 10 years ago, there was a rate adjustment to the treatment plant fund. It was staggered over three years to break it out to where it was more manageable for the average citizen and that was very effective. I have built some plans based off that same concept. I can come back to the next Council meeting to discuss those in more depth. There are complex studies and we started down the path of trying to build it out, but we did not have the staff. With turnover that whole project just got lost. When we started delivering this message there was some pushback and considerations about General Fund needs. Then we had a bunch of turnovers. It was a combination of all those factors. I am not so worried about where we have been. I am more worried about where we are going. I realize these are going to be hard rates when you are five years behind and inside those five years, we had high inflation years. It is a cumulative effect, and this is why rates should be considered every single year for increase. We have to keep up with inflation. When asked about timing, he suggested immediately, but with the proper channels of holding a public hearing. Mayor Rohde said let us have Director Roberts put together rates and bring it back to the next meeting for discussion. I want to get a little defensive, it is not as simple as you have been saying this for five years and we failed. There have been so many things that have hit in this year alone and it did not look this bleak before. It looks bleak now and we need to react. Director Roberts said we have improved that budgeting process to try and make it clearer, showing our operating revenues and expenses. Then this is what we can set aside for capital. Right now, this does not set aside anything for capital. Councilmember Lewis said one of my frustrations since I have been here is we do not have a Capital Facilities Plan and are expected to do the impossible. Then when it is behind the eight ball, we get told we are out of money. I do not think anybody on the Council is against the concept that an operational budget has to cover itself. I am caught off guard that it is so stern and by the way we are 100 grand behind. It feels like last year we should have said, next year we will be behind, and you have to do this. I did not hear that message. Director Roberts said I am sorry if you did not because that is what I thought I delivered. That is part of the reason I am being stern because I have been almost too soft, but you still have a little bit of time.

The Council also addressed culinary and secondary water and how those rates are handled with citizens and plans to help with water conservation. Director Roberts said what I am proposing is a jumpstart to the rate structure increase. We definitely need to do an impact fee study and in conjunction with that, we can do the water rate study that goes along with it to make sure whatever gets adopted inside the impact fee has a water rate structure that supports not just what the water fund needs for ongoing operations, but also that portion of the capital that residents are going to have to be paying within the next six years, because that is all an impact fee can go out for. Councilmember Lewis said would it make sense logically for this year to make the increases match what would cover our operational expenses while we try to figure out a formula behind that. We do not want to overcharge our residents while we get the impact fee figured out and then also study the data, so we know we are planning accordingly. Obviously, we would be budgeting a responsible pad. Director Roberts said you have to cover the cost of replacing the assets plus inflationary costs. After much discussion, Mayor Rohde said I am optimistic we are going in a good direction. Let us figure out those rates and work on our impact fees. We have a lot of improvement we can make.

Councilmember Jex said with the fiscal year originally that was $4,768,700 revised down to $4,613,400, how many officers does that employ? Manager Nessen said one cut. Councilmember Jex said and that was the one that was on hold from last year for the raises in October 2025. I have a concern with our call responses and violent crimes going up. Everything is going up and we are turning down the opposite way. The effect of losing that position in order to fund those increases saved us from losing four to six officers. Councilmember Westergard said it seems like we have already done a lot, but I know you need more. Chief Cordova said we would go from 21 allocations to 20 while the population and our crimes rise. I have a concern with that. Zoning Administrator Epling has asked our opinions and how these new developments are going to impact us and for the first time ever I am starting to feel like we should pause development because if we are going to reduce my staff while we add developments we are asking for trouble. I want to grow responsibly. I do believe the City will grow and it is heading in a positive direction, but I do not think we are going to get there quick enough to deal with the current problems we are facing. I do not think we should continue to grow if we cannot keep what we have and if our trajectory is we are going to continue to cut officers with a bigger population. That has a bad ending. We need to take action to ensure we are not growing irresponsibly. If we do grow while we cut staff that is irresponsible. There are possible public safety issues. You do not want to scare away good developments that are good for our City, but what we have seen over the years is more developments that are not paying for their self. The problem with the police department is we require money year over year. Impact fees might help pay for vehicles and things, but it does not pay for salaries. Mayor Rohde said we need to get a plan where we can start to give everyone what they need. We have to start bringing revenues in. Councilmember Lewis said we have a revenue problem. Chief Cordova said it would be helpful for me to plan for the next year. We need to figure out did we cut a position and did we do that through the right government process. Next year are you going to ask me to cut another position as we continue to grow? Mayor Rohde said we do not want to. I am asking all of us to get on this level together and figure this out. My biggest frustration was last year we were put in this position to make all these decisions and you were put in a position to defend everything you needed. We need to figure out how do we work together on this. We have to get aggressive and start fixing these problems and get more revenue. Chief Cordova said we feel frustrated too because as far as the 20 officers instead of 21, I just got clarity on that today, so we need to do a better job of communicating. I am still unclear as if we officially cut that position or suspended it. My understanding is if we are going to cut a position the Council would have to vote on that unanimously. We do not know what that was last year. It was not clear. I think if we are going to go that route, I will respect the Council’s decision, but think we should go through and officially make it clear what we are going to do and what our intentions are for the interest of being open. We want to all be on the same page. I am okay getting through the next year, but if we continue to go down, we are going to be having the Director Roberts talk with the Council. Mayor Rohde said we just need to get aggressive in our goals and get revenues coming in so we can get this taken care of. Councilmember Westergard said we spent a bunch of our savings in that tragedy. Chief Cordova said I am happy to report we did not lose anybody because of your swift action, and I want to be clear, our guys do appreciate the Council. They are just feeling the pressure of a growing community and facing more crimes and things we have never seen before. We just have to handle those professionally and be able to provide the level of service people deserve. We are realistic in our asks, I will tell you what we need for next year and the year after, but what keeps me up at night is all the potential developments because I am supposed to plan strategically so we can be successful and take care of our residents and that is hard to do when I am calculating the population increase and that is what concerns me. If you guys need us to suspend a position we are on board, but I would like to define those things so I can plan strategically for the next couple years.

Motion by Councilmember Jex to adopt the tentative budget. Motion seconded by Councilmember Bowcutt. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Bowcutt – yes, Councilmember Jex – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Oyler – absent, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

12. Reports and Calendar

a. City Leadership Report

Director LeFevre said the parks, trails and open space master plan has been reviewed. They are finishing up the final details. It will then go to Planning Commission for a recommendation to the Council. There are a lot of things going on and a lot of things we are behind on. It will be a great tool to use as we move forward. We are doing maintenance work at Jeanie Stevens Park for the walking trail and parking lot. There was damage done to the stage at Shuman Park. During a storm the roof almost blew off. We will be replacing that. Also, on the back of the stage we are adding storage for the library. They have outgrown their facility and need this. That has been budgeted. I have worked with a community member who is hosting a regional water skiiing tournament over at Bear Hollow Lakes. That will bring people from all over the entire west into town. I worked with him on receiving a $5,000 grant. We will get those professional athletes staying in town. I also received a grant for a mural. We had another grant for the parking lot at Jeanie Stevens, but there were some issues with that being more expansive than anticipated so we are going to return that since we do not have the matching funds. We continue to see high demand for increased park space. That is something we will work on.

Chief Jarrow said as a department head, I think it would be a good idea for us to do our reports as needed and have that be at the first of the meeting while we are still fresh. Mayor Rohde said they could be added to the work session agenda as a presentation item.

Director Horspool said the Community Development group has several new employees and they are doing good things.

Lieutenant Skyler Gailey said this Thursday they are putting Sorensen’s and Estrada’s name on the monument at the State capital at 7 p.m. May 21, is the Special Olympics Torch Run. That starts at 10 a.m. in Garland and will finish here around the 11 a.m.

b. Upcoming Calendar Items

Mayor Rohde said our spring cleanup is May 6-8. The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is May 23, and the USA 250 gold star memorial walk is May 29. The library’s summer reading kickoff party is the last day of school, May 29, and they have asked the Council to serve hot dogs.

Mayor Rohde said the Council needs to go into a closed meeting to discuss real estate.

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

The Council moved into a closed meeting at 9:15 p.m.

13. CLOSED MEETING:

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

The Council returned to open session at 9:37 p.m.

14. Adjournment

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

The meeting adjourned at 9:37 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 19th day of May, 2026.

Cynthia Nelson, City Recorder

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