City Council Minutes 6-20-23

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
JUNE 20, 2023

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

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Holmgren called the June 20, 2023 City Council Workshop to order at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Holmgren, Councilmembers Archibald, Estep, Rohde, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Interim Fire Chief Chris Scothern (arrived at 6:45 p.m.), and Downtown Manager Sara Mohrman. Also in attendance was: Finance Director Curtis Roberts. Councilmember Seamons and Assistant City Manager Christensen were excused.

1. Review of the agenda items identified on 7:00 p.m. City Council Agenda

The Council discussed the budget and tax rates. Manager Warnke’s presentation would go ahead of the hearing so the public would have an overview on what is being proposed. He said a lot of it will be familiar since we have discussed it for months. Here are the noteworthy items. There is a 40-page narrative that goes in depth on expenditures and revenue. We are proposing five additional staff within the police department: three officers, one sergeant and one civilian staff. There is also the city planner position and COLA for all employees at 7.2%, which matches inflation. Our health insurance renewal for this year came in at a decrease.

Councilmember Vance said we have been through this 100 times, why do we not talk about the three extra fireman we are hiring? Is that based on the fact that it was in last year’s budget and we could afford them? Manager Warnke said yes, but it will be a stretch. It is a bit of a leap of faith, but a needed leap. We will have to evaluate that each year to see how revenues are doing compared to expenses. Director Roberts said we had that discussion, but the concept was we made the analysis last year and could fit it in based on where the current standing of the budget was. That is what we have presented to the Council. We do not want to make it sound like we were coming back twice for the money. The way it was structured—there was enough revenues with the transfer from the General Fund and EMS to pay for those additional positions on an ongoing basis. Councilmember Vance said our constituents need to understand why we are increasing their taxes and that we are getting three more firemen that we do not currently have. Manager Warnke said this shows the City is doing all within their power to use the resources we have. There is a need for those positions, but we are stretching to try to make that work financially without going to the constituents.

Manager Warnke said there are a lot of projects going on. At the end of June, we will receive a $2 million grant to implement Service Area 4 (secondary water). The engineer’s estimate shows that at $2.1 million so most will be paid for by grants. Mayor Holmgren said the ASR project has $200,000 in grant funds and the Midland Square upgrades has $400,000 in grant funds. We have about $2.6 million coming into the City through grants to help offset costs. It is important to show that we are active in finding additional funds. Manager Warnke said another significant project that has been funded through the right user rates is the wastewater treatment aeration basin and outfall ($3.5 million). There is money within that fund to make those improvements.

Manager Warnke said you are adopting the tentative budget, but a portion of that is dependent on the proposed property tax increase. We will not move forward with implementing that portion of the budget at this time. We have identified $887,000 associated with the police department positions and planner. We will not implement that until you go through the process and have a final decision on what the certified tax rate will be. The public hearing will be in August.

The Council spent time discussing the vacancy left by Building and Zoning Administrator Steve Bench when he retired. How they have moved forward with an independent contractor and how that position is being and will be funded in the future. Mayor Holmgren said Steve Bench was unique and could do both the building inspections and planning. We would keep the full-time position for the building inspector and also the planning. Good planning is something we need to focus on.

Manager Warnke said the property tax represents an increase in the City’s portion. This is not 50% on citizen’s total taxes this is just for Tremonton, which equates to 27%. The only time we have gone through Truth in Taxation since the 80s was in 2021 to transition to a full-time fire department. The Council set the tax rate to collect the amount of revenue needed to fund those new positions. New growth is $37,000 this year. The RDA is capturing a good portion, too. The City gets 25%, but the 75% is being held by the RDA. Tomorrow, we need to accept the certified tax rate or tell the County we will go through Truth in Taxation. Public safety is a legitimate part of the budget and the need to increase property taxes. We could hire fire captains once we have gone through the public hearing process and obtained all the information needed to make a final decision. You do not want to move forward with implementation until you have approved the property tax if you are attributing this to that. The Council continued to discuss the need for an increase in taxes not only due to a need for more public safety, but also general inflation.

2. CLOSED SESSIONS: No closed session 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 6:50 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Holmgren called the June 20, 2023 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, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Interim Fire Chief Chris Scothern, Police Chief Dustin Cordova (arrived at 7 p.m.), and Downtown Manager Sara Mohrman. Also in attendance was: Finance Director Curtis Roberts. Councilmember Seamons and Assistant City Manager Christensen were excused.

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 Finance Director Roberts and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Rohde.

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

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: Councilmember Estep, who is a full-time City employee, wanted to declare that as part of their discussion.

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the agenda of June 20, 2023. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – absent, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – Minutes stated were incorrect and will be approved next meeting.

6. Public comments:

Former Mayor Roger Fridal said the Tremonton City Council does a terrific job and they are a great group of people who are trying their best to make Tremonton City a better place to live. When they have an issue they listen, learn, study and make issues better. They make a decision they can live with and make Tremonton a better place. They have hard decisions and very few people appreciate the price the Council pays for Tremonton City. To take a quick moment on the property tax, everyone hates tax increases, but sometimes they are necessary no matter what we do. Tremonton is known for not raising taxes. They raised taxes in 2021 and before that it was in the 80s. He then reviewed statistics showing what cities in the County have paid in property taxes. Tremonton is the second biggest city in the County. Since 1997 Bear River City has raised taxed five times at an average of 19%. Brigham City has raised taxes seven times and averaged 21% increases. Deweyville has raised them once at a 66% increase. Elwood has raised taxes three times averaging a 41% increase. Garland has raised taxes twice at a 22% increase. Howell has raised twice at a 25% increase. Mantua has raised four times at a 31% increase. Perry City has raised six times with an average of 23% increases. Tremonton has raised taxes once with a 12% increase. Willard has raised taxes twice at a 40% increase. We do not like to raise taxes, but as I understand it, the taxes are going mostly to fund the police department and personnel issues in the City. That is valuable and important and it is a tough decision. I wish the Council the best of luck. I admire the Council for the sacrifice you make for Tremonton City, thank you.

Kristie Bowcutt asked for clarification on the City’s ordinance in writing off ambulance bills. How do you write these off and how do you decide why you are not collecting them? Mayor Holmgren suggested she have a discussion with Interim Fire Chief Scothern, who could explain that process, but a lot of these individuals have gone and cannot be found.

Jeff Hoedt said I wrote a letter to the editor that supports the proposal for more police officers following the Police Chief’s response. I was after transparency that officer safety is at risk. The level of seriousness of the crimes that have taken place necessitate that back up. I am on board. The detail is what did it for me and in that letter, I endorse the concept of adding officers to the force. Lastly, I would like to ask for an explanation again on the promotion or actions you took to drastically increase the population. I hope you will be transparent about that and am wishing you would respond since I have asked three times. Why are you incorporating more land in the City, permitting a lot more development and adding hugely to the population here? The numbers are so far beyond any other town and it is ridiculous. There is intent for that and I am wondering why. Mantua has restrictions on the number of permits that can be issued each year so it can be done. You have opted to allow mass permits. Mayor Holmgren said I am more of a free market sort of person and think the markets dictate how things grow and happen. My question back to you is what brought you here? Mr. Hoedt said smaller town and that culture, which is drastically changing. When we retired, we moved to Logan, but it was not the same. Everything changes and I get that, but everything had changed so drastically and a lot of that was population. The culture had changed too and was not as friendly and welcoming as we were hoping for so we looked for something smaller, quieter and traditional in culture. Councilmember Rohde said we have had no hidden agenda on bringing people in. I looked up the definition of promote and one definition is to help development. We have tried to do what we can to make it work, but we have not done anything to intentionally promote people to move. Mr. Hoedt said you have allowed or permitted that to occur opposed to restricting growth and retaining more of the traditional culture, but I get the free market aspect. Mayor Holmgren said I do not know how much we can restrict, there has to be reasons why Mantua decided that, they have to have a plan to rectify that in the future. They have to have a timeline.

Jayson Beagley said when we moved here there were five of us and the house we bought had two people. This town was welcoming and we liked that. I am sure we changed the culture a bit. When people move in and out and older folks pass on and younger folks buy places next to their parents, that helps the culture of the community to grow, develop and change. I do not know that I would want to live somewhere that is stagnant and always the same. I enjoy that variety of folks in my life and community I am a part of. I grew up in a place about an hour and a half south of here and it was very much like Tremonton is now. Now it is about 12 to 15 times that population with big office buildings. I grew up on a farm. All those things have grown and developed and that is what welcomes people to different parts of Utah and these small towns. One of the first experiences I had in Tremonton was City Days. We walked across town and there was a person making hamburgers, it was Mayor Fridal at the time. In recent weeks I have come to the library to help this mayor and his wife weed and garden, and take care of our town. I know a lot of you are here to hear about the tax increase. I work for a business that is not local, it grows every year and when it grows more money has to come in for it to grow and people have to do more jobs. As a town grows like we have, you have more people and you need more officers and firefighters, utility people, road crews and all these things to grow and develop. I commend the folks that have run the City and not raised taxes like other municipalities have had to do with their growth. I commend you all for doing that. People pitch in and do those things to help save a dime here and there. Thank you for that and we look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Penni Dennis said I am disappointed in our community for this place not being packed to come and support our law enforcement. We currently have one officer covering six schools and that is not cool. As a parent I would like to see more than that, but from what I am told we are four to five officers short. My question is why are we waiting to be four to five officers short before we get them the help they need. Two years ago, we were told that all this growth was going to sustain itself. I know Manager Warnke has mentioned that he is doing up to five jobs currently. How much more can our City take before we are just going to have to increase taxes every year. I get that a tax increase is inevitable, but when are we going to bring in more businesses to help soften this blow. I was with a car full of ladies in their mid 60s and they were listing off all the stores that were around when they were young. There were literally more stores in Tremonton than there are now. We are over 10,000 people and they were talking about all these candy shops, movie theaters, way more than we have now. Our law enforcement needs help. They need more people and we need more coverage at our schools. Thank you.

7. Presentations:

a. On the Tentative Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Budget, which proposes a property tax increase primarily to fund added personnel in the Police Department and Planning Department

Manager Warnke provided a presentation to discuss an increase that would fund added personnel in the police department and a planner. In part the presentation is to help the public understand the context in which we are considering going through the process of Truth in Taxation. We wanted to highlight noteworthy items that are included in the tentative budget. The Council is not finalizing that if we go through the Truth in Taxation process. That final budget will come once you complete that public process and consider if you want to increase property taxes or not or to what degree. You do need to adopt a tentative budget tonight to be compliant with State Code. What is driving this is increases with public safety. We are proposing five additional positions within the police department: three officers, one sergeant, and one civilian staff. There is a plan to increase our staffing for the fire department as well. That staffing in part includes the General Fund transferring money to the Fire Fund ($385,000). We are proposing to hire three captains and make a four-person crew available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That will help meet ongoing demands for fire service. There is also a proposal to have a city planner. Previously we had a building official, Steve Bench, who was a community treasure and highly regarded for all his years of service. He was unique in that he would provide building inspections, but was also the first point of contact as the zoning administrator to help people through that process. That is something we have missed dearly since he left. Not to mention all the additional State mandated planning processes and legislation that has been enacted that the City has to comply with. People traditionally think of public safety as first responders, but zoning was upheld through the supreme court based on police power, which is the power for government to regulate health, safety, and welfare. We have talked a lot about growth and that is what the planner position is involved in—working with and managing, and trying to preserve and protect the health, safety, and welfare of our community through the planning process.

Manager Warnke said there is 7.2% COLA included in this to increase our employee wages due to inflation. There are also large projects worth noting. The mayor and others have worked hard to pursue grants and within this budget there are several projects that realize these anticipated grant revenues. The most notable one is the construction of Service Area 4, which is secondary water. The grant is about $2 million and the engineer’s estimate is about $2.1 million. That will primarily be constructed with grant funds. There is also the ASR project, which has $200,000 in grant funds and the Midland Square upgrades has $400,000 in grant funds. The wastewater treatment plant has a big upgrade planned ($3.5 million), which will increase capacity and address deficiencies. Councilmember Vance said most of this has to do with growth, but it is important to know we are hiring three more firefighters. Thanks to our volunteer firefighters over the years, they have saved us a lot of money. We have had a lot of good men and women who are getting to the point where it is harder and the younger generation is not coming through like they have in the past. We have had to pay for four new positions and are now looking at three more. We have to move on getting coverage for our fire and police. Thanks to the volunteers for all they are still doing for our community.

Manager Warnke said inflation is a significant part of this budget. Public safety positions are included in this budget and there is a $1,020,909 gap with ongoing revenues that would be generated from property tax. That equates to a 50% increase in the City’s portion of the property tax. We do not want there to be confusion about your total tax bill going up 50%, it would be the City’s portion, which is currently 21%. This increase would increase your portion of your property taxes to 27% being attribute to Tremonton City. He went over examples of what that increase would look like.

Manager Warnke said in 2021 we increased the property tax for the first time since the 1980s and went through Truth in Taxation. That transitioned our firefighters from purely volunteer to having firefighters and EMTs stationed within the fire station. Property taxes do not increase with inflation. The City receives the same amount of revenue as last year, plus new growth. The calculation that the Box Elder County auditor goes through does not include any inflationary increase. As costs increase, the taxes remain the same. New growth demands additional services. For this year, Tremonton is realizing $37,000 attributed to new growth or new taxable value. Tremonton’s RDA is capturing a good portion of new growth. It was designed and setup with all the other taxing entities consenting to the City receiving a portion of their property tax for a time. There can be tax shifts that occur in any given year and the County assessor is charged with assessing property values. The City receives the same amount of revenue, plus the growth clause. In the end what the property tax system is trying to do is be fair and equitable, and capture the amount of revenue that is needed for local governments to provide services.

Manager Warnke said there is a proposed property tax increase, potentially. It is a public process we will go through and this is the first step. The County auditor has calculated the certified tax rate based on their calculation formula. That would deliver to the City $2 million. Some of the changes we are proposing in the budget requires $3 million. We are proposing 0.002985 compared to the certified tax rate, which is 0.001970. If the City Council moves forward tonight and proposes a tax rate that is different than the certified tax rate then we will go through Truth in Taxation. We want to make people aware of the public hearing, which will be held in August. Public should share their insights and comments or concerns, either supporting or opposing the proposed property tax increase. If you want to know more about the budget, under the City Council website there are city council packets with a 40-page narrative that includes graphs and more details.

Mayor Holmgren called a Public Hearing to order at 7:47 p.m. to consider adopting the tentative budget. There were 22 people in attendance.

8. Public Hearings (Please keep your comments to under 5 minutes):

a. To consider adopting the Tentative Budget, which proposes a property tax increase primarily to fund added personnel in the Police Department and Planning Department; the Tentative Budget is entitled “The Tremonton City Annual Implementation Budget 2023-2024 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s), and Special Fund(s)”, for the period commencing July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024

Jeff Hoedt said I would reiterate that I support the increase of the police force. I understand the need. You mentioned replacing Steve Bench’s job and from the discussion I heard is an FTE that already exists so hopefully the budget was already there and would not require additional funding. I did not understand that discussion. If the FTE has already been funded because that position has existed for years, I do not understand why you have to add? Mayor Holmgren explained there was a misunderstanding and Mr. Hoedt thanked them for their time.

Kristie Bowcutt said I loved our volunteer fire department. They cared, they loved, they were fantastic. They were the best of the best and I do not know how you would replace them. A tax increase is a hard pill to swallow, but I do know that over the two years we have been taking in Planning Commission and this meeting we have asked several times, are our taxes going to go up because of services, EMTs, police, fire department, and the answer was always, generally speaking no. It would come from the revenue brought in from the new property taxes. So, I kind of feel like we have been misled a lot, but I do think we need more firefighters and police officers. We are turning into a mini West Valley ghetto city, which is scary. I just worry about the people who are really struggling financially that is where my heart is. There are a lot out there. This is going to be hard for a lot of people.

Mayor Holmgren closed the Public Hearing at 7:52 p.m.

Mayor Holmgren called a Public Hearing to order at 7:52 p.m. to consider amending the budget listed below. There were 22 people in attendance.

b. To consider amending the 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 7:52 p.m.

9. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration notifying the Box Elder County Auditor and the State Tax Commission of Tremonton City’s intent to propose a property tax increase and propose a property tax rate that exceeds the Box Elder County Auditor’s Certified Tax Rate for the 2023 tax year, the proposed property tax increase will fund added personnel in the Police Department and Planning Department

Manager Warnke said I need to input specific values into the tax commissions’ website, the values being proposed are the absolute minimum that is needed to balance this budget and would include me inputting that $3 million and the tax rate of .003038, which is the maximum you could consider through the public hearing process. That is the maximum, but it is the minimum that is needed to balance the budget without reducing or changing that in any way.

Finance Director Roberts said this process started back in February and this Council has spent numerous hours through February and March analyzing the needs of the City. You went through all sorts of road projects and capital projects that are needed, we went through lots of equipment needs and understanding the long-term impacts and how do we fund these things not just for this year, but how do we address the potential growth going forward and in the future years and understanding those needs. I want to emphasize the number of hours this Council has spent to get to this point. This was not a rash decision or hasty, this was a long-debated decision. I want to make sure that is on record as to how many hours were put into this process to get to this point to understand what the basic needs are. Then in conjunction with that the efforts that City staff went through to identify potential cuts and revenues, what grants could be sought after and how could we minimize the impact of future funding needs. There was a lot of effort that went through that process trying to get to the best answer for the citizens. I think this budget reflects how to serve the citizens in this community the best.

Councilmember Archibald said I think this budget speaks primarily to our mission. Our mission for Tremonton City is creating a safe and welcoming community where neighbors feel connected to each other and they can enjoy life. That is what this is all about, it has to do with safety and having a community that is well planned. Serving on this Council has been such a great experience. As I attend DRC and Planning Commission, I can tell you what I have learned about how carefully this City is being planned. This is about Tremonton being a safe and wonderful community that we can be proud of. It is not taken lightly. Come to Development Review Committee and I can guarantee you will leave that meeting knowing nothing is done quickly in Tremonton. The City is very strategic and carefully planned. I have to recognize our City Manager for that partly, he does an amazing job helping our City to have a Land Use Plan that is extremely valuable.

Councilmember Vance said I appreciate all the time and effort Finance Director Roberts has put in to clarify and answer questions. We have gone through all this for six months. We have looked at all the numbers and figured out where to cut. For Truth in Taxation, we are notifying the County that we would like to consider increasing our taxes, but this is not the final vote. We do have a right to decrease that.

Motion by Councilmember Vance to give permission to notify the County of a proposed tax increase. We have budgeted $1,020,909 at this point. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – absent, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-34 approving a Tentative Budget, which proposes a property tax increase primarily to fund added personnel in the Police Department and Planning Department; the Tentative Budget is entitled “The Tremonton Annual Implementation Budget 2023-2024 (General Fund, Capital Fund(s), Enterprise Fund(s) and Special Fund(s)” for the period commencing July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024

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

c. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-35 amending the 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

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

d. Discussion and consideration of approving Resolution No. 23-36 authorizing the write-off of uncollectible accounts receivable for ambulance billings for FY 2023 in Fund 28 Fire Department

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

The following items were discussed out of order.

e. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 23-37 authorizing the write-off of uncollectible accounts receivable for utility services in the Enterprise Funds and fire truck clean-up in the Fire Fund for FY 2023

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

f. Discussion and consideration of approving Resolution No. 23-38 awarding a bid to Ormond Construction to construct the Central Canal Secondary Water Equalization Basin

Director Fulgham said we opened bids last week for our equalization basin that will impact the central canal. This is a requirement from the canal company on our secondary system so that during peak time we can put water back in the canal to offset our demand on downstream users. The basin will be located on 100 East just on the south side of the I-15 overpass. It will be off a canal drop so we will not have to pump. We had four bidders. Orman Construction, Rupp’s Trucking, Grover Excavation and Allied Underground. Our engineers’ estimate was $310,200 and the lower bid was Orman Construction ($289,907.79). Rupp’s came in at $323,000, Grovers was $325,000 and Allied Underground was $632,000. My recommendation is we award it to Orman Construction. They have done work for us in the past and been good to work with. Councilmember Vance asked what we get. Director Fulgham said a four-acre hole that is about five feet deep. An electronic gate will communicate with our system based on pumping rates. On our secondary system we follow State principals and try to get people to water when there is low evaporations so we have everyone pumping water at the same time and that is where the canal will see the peak draw. This helps us offset that. Material will be hauled off, but since we have clay, we will not have to line our pond. The clay will seal itself up. The canal company will be able to see what those are doing and will interconnect with their system. They will start after November and April 30 is the completion date.

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

g. Discussion and consideration of approving Resolution No. 23-39 adopting the revised Tremonton City Compensation and Classification Plan

Manager Warnke said this resolution changes the minimums and maximums of our pay ranges for jobs within the City. That will increase by the 7.2% COLA. Last year CPI was 9% and the City adopted a 5% COLA. We did some selective salary increases for jobs, mainly police officers. Their wages had significantly increased in the market along with our public works staff. All other employees received the 5% COLA. The CPI this year is the 7.2%, which was adopted in the tentative budget you approved.

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 – absent, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

h. Discussion and consideration of approving Resolution No. 23-40 accepting the Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI) grant

Chief Cordova said thank you for the support, it means a lot to us. My guys work hard and I am glad the City is behind us. I do not like to pay taxes, no one does. To try to help offset some of that budget we have worked with the Department of Justice to get additional funding. There is a common misconception about grants that they are easy to get, but they are highly competitive. We are the only awardee in Utah and throughout the US there were hundreds that put in and they only awarded 30. How the program works is we have to identify a violent crime problem in a rural community. We meet the criteria for that. We have a dating violence trend that has been growing for the past 10 years. Our statistics support that every year it gets a little bit worse. We have to come up with a solution that is scientifically based. We would work in cohesion with the school on educating our students, which will lead to a reduction in dating violence. We would train them to have the skills they need in the future. This grant will fund an allocation, who will spearhead that project. Commitment wise, all of that falls on my department. We have to report statistics and work with the group who offers the program to make sure we get it taught properly. We will also work with the school. Things are falling in line and this is the final step, getting your approval to move forward. They will fund that position for two years and then we would have to pick up the tab to retain that officer. I work with some of the best people in the City and I could not have done this without them. Councilmember Archibald said what would we do without great city employees, thank you.

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

10. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar

Mayor Holmgren said the Farmer’s Market will be July 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Council will cook hot dogs at noon and a watermelon eating contest will be at 11 a.m. Hay Days is July 21-22. There is the Friday Stroll and Chalk Affair this Saturday. Manager Warnke said we will not meet until July 18.

b. Unfinished Business/Action Items: None.
c. Branding Implementation update

1. Ordered Street Furniture with City brand

Mayor Holmgren said we have ordered street furniture that will be here in four to six weeks. This was possible through a tourism grant from the County to purchase and install benches and bike racks around the City.

11. Reports & Comments:

a. City Administration Reports and Comments

b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments:

Manager Warnke said we will have a meeting tomorrow. The Junction is revisiting their plans and we have other developers who are looking at parcels outside the city proposed for annexation. More is to come. There have been no official applications submitted just a lot of conversations. The DRC is in the midst of wrapping up recordation and working toward formalizing paperwork that goes along with them recording their project.

c. City Department Head Reports and Comments

Director Fulgham said we have some upcoming street projects. There are tentative dates starting next week, but it is all weather related. A big project will redo the surface on 1000 West. That will take place the week prior to Hay Days. That will go from Main to our north boundary. The southern portion needs so much more infrastructure done that it is another project in the future. The chip seal will be done first and then they will add the fog coat. Our sewer project hit a snag. We found an old storm drain line. The State knew it was there, but was not sure where. The plan was to lay our sewer line parallel with the existing, but we will have to lay it in the same vicinity, which means we will have some additional pumping cost. It is going, but is a slow process. We have an update on 1000 North and widening that road. We are waiting on the land acquisition to get the signatures, but it is in the process. The slope easements are ready. That will happen next summer.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Estep said this is not easy doing what we are doing, we hope you understand that, we have the best interest of our City at heart. I have to pay more taxes, we all have to pay more, we are not cutting anyone out of this. I know people who are struggling and it is a hard decision. It has been my hardest decision since I have been here. I hope people understand we are doing what we can with what we have to work with. We have the greatest of faith in all our department heads that they have cut where they can cut and to me this is the only option we have. I appreciate the comments tonight. We know what we need in this town and thank you for having a concern of the City.

Councilmember Archibald said I met with individuals who are sponsoring a service activity through Just Serve. They asked how Tremonton could help. As I pondered how we could serve and commemorate September 11th I thought about a trip I took a year ago to New York. I went to a play called, “Come From Away.” This was a heartwarming story about 9-11 and when all the planes were grounded throughout the world. Seven planes were told to land in Newfoundland and nearly 7,000 people landed there. Luckily for those people there was a good mayor who was in charge. He fed them and gave them a place to sleep. There were wonderful things that happened at that time. I would like to ask permission for the Council to move forward on a food drive called Community Feeding Community. I have visited with our director at the food pantry and I would encourage our community to band together. This is a time when the pantry is low. This would be held Monday September 11 and Tuesday September 12.

Councilmember Vance said Interim Chief Scothern has been our fire chief since October. Where are we at with the new chief? Interim Chief Scothern said the 30th of this month is his first day. He is moving from Florida. We did hire two full-time employees to fill the slots we had open. We should be back on our numbers. One started yesterday and the other starts tomorrow. Councilmember Vance said thank you for all you are doing to help us through this time.

Councilmember Rohde said I would like us as a Council to discuss having more restrictions on our conflicts of interest and asked if we can have something available for the July 18 meeting. Manager Warnke said our city attorney has been working on that. I will follow up with him. Councilmember Rohde asked Chief Cordova to put together statistics that show where the City was seven years ago. Is there a measure where we see how many police officers there are per population and where we should be? Where were we then? I think we were short and we are just now starting to make up the difference. I would like to see where we should have been, but I am glad we are reacting now. We are starting to see some of the benefits of an added police force to our community. You are going after a lot of things we did not have the manpower to do before. Chief Cordova said I will get those numbers. You are correct we have been behind for multiple years. As the population has grown, we have fallen further behind. That is why it is such a big ask right now so we can catch up to where we should be or close to it. Councilmember Rohde said there is a home going up where we will put the new basin on the east. It would be considerate to let them know. Can we take any of these basins and turn them into a temporary fishing hole for our teens? Director Fulgham said we have to look at the safety aspect and other features.

Mayor Holmgren said thank you all—the Council and all who participated in the comments. They are important and do matter. We look forward to associating with you this summer. I appreciate this community very much.

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

13. Adjournment.

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

The meeting adjourned at 8:42 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 18th day of July, 2023

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

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