City Council Minutes 6-7-22

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
JUNE 7, 2022

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

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Holmgren called the June 7, 2022 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, Seamons, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Robert LaCroix, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Interim Police Chief Brian Crockett, and Parks and Recreation Director Zach LeFevre (arrived at 6:25 p.m.).

1. Discussion of the FY 2023 Budget, which may include increasing property tax for 2022 tax year

Mayor Holmgren said we are not making a decision tonight this is just a discussion, but by our next meeting we will have to decide what we want to do. We have two questions—the how and the why. We know the why. We all understand that our employees need to have more in order to keep them. We need to be competitive with our wages for the police and public works departments, as well as others. I think we are all in agreement on the why, we just need to know how to work it out. Manager Warnke said we either need to adopt the Certified Tax Rate or we need to declare a property tax increase by the end of this month. We are waiting on the County Auditor to calculate the Certified Tax Rate, but we do know that the calculated rate will give us the same amount of revenue as last year, plus new growth. In the budget we have estimated about a $50,000 increase in property tax. Based on inflation and other factors, we will discuss what those mean for capital projects and other issues the City is having. Sales tax does increase with inflation to some degree. Some of those inflationary factors could force people to make less purchases based upon having discretionary income to spend on luxuries, which is an issue, too. The City is growing and with that growth we have to add new positions. We need to make sure we have sufficient officers to meet the growing population. A City Planner could potentially be considered, especially since Building Official Steve Bench is nearing retirement. That will leave a hole and could influence our planning. He has done a tremendous job as the Building Official and Building Inspector while also handling the zoning administration. We are seeing the volume of land use issues increase as far as applications and their complexity, which warrant more time. We have also talked about increasing our code enforcement and animal control. These are things needed once we hit the 4th Class City mark (population of 10,000). We are about 100 people short of that.

Manager Warnke explained that when property values increase by 20% in the County, that does not equate to Tremonton getting a 20% increase in property tax. There is a tax shift that can happen between real and person property. We get the same revenue plus new growth. Some people see their taxes go up, but someone, somewhere is playing less. Assistant City Manager Christensen said we do not know the Certified Tax Rate number yet. Tremonton will get the $1.9 million again. Manager Warnke said it is a revenue-based system and the Certified Tax Rate is what fluctuates rather than a rate based system. Assistant City Manager Christensen said the County already knows the number we will get plus the new growth on top of that. Councilmember Vance suggested they review the meeting from when the previous County Auditor, Tom Kotter, presented on property taxes to help the Council better understand that process. It would seem common sense that if my taxes went up then Tremonton should be getting the money, but that is not the way it works. It is complicated. We need to refer citizens to this. Mayor Holmgren said the confusing thing is that property taxes have increased over the last few years. This muddies the water and makes it hard to explain. Manager Warnke said the only time we have increased taxes since the 1980s was last year. Other taxing entities could increase their tax rate or there could be a bond that was voted for. We are proposing to increase property taxes equal to inflation. This year there is a lot of pressure with inflation and it is affecting the City’s budget. Assistant City Manager Christensen said we are proposing to keep in line with the 10% inflation. We will get about $2 million in property tax so that would be an increase of about $200,000 for the property tax portion. We will come up with the rest of the salaries with other streams of revenue. A lot of salaries and benefits come out of the utility funds (fees for services).

Mayor Holmgren said we need to go into this with eyes wide open. We need to make sure we understand the implications. If we choose to leave things the same with property taxes then that money will come from another pocket or out of sales tax, which could have an effect on capital projects. There is also secondary water projects and the increased costs associated with fuel prices, along with everything else. One million dollars today will buy more than one million dollars a year from now. If we put off capital items for a year then we do not get as much.

Manager Warnke reviewed capital projects on the wait list. These are the estimated costs at today’s dollars. At our next meeting you will amend our current budget and assign some of these different capital projects so they will have another infusion of money. In Fund 40, these are past transfers attributed with sales tax, which pays for capital projects and bond indebtedness. He then reviewed future capital projects. We have not done road projects in about five years, but the money is building and is earmarked. This is what we have set aside and we will see how much we can get done with those funds. We have done grants to help maximize our money. The City can only have a 25% surplus in our General Funds so anything above that we move to our Capital Projects Fund. He then reviewed sales tax. Councilmember Rohde said we should have plenty of money to fund what we want to do and still have money going into our capital expenses. Manager Warnke said one of the anomalies we are seeing with last year is that we got COVID funds. That infused a lot of money that we otherwise had not foreseen. Some of these large amounts are attributed to that infusion of federal funding. That allowed us to transfer most of our sales tax for those other purposes. Otherwise, we are relying on sales tax to help with operations and not capital projects.

Councilmember Rohde said you know where I sit. I am not for raising real estate taxes. Mayor Holmgren suggested the Council make an unofficial motion at this time to see where they stand and to give City staff guidance on how to proceed. Councilmember Vance said the City Council knows and understands we need to increase wages to stay competitive and keep good employees and be able to continue to bring employees in. We all know that needs to happen. The question is do we do it by raising property tax or by going with our budget the way it is and using sales tax. I make a motion, to not raise real estate property taxes and just go with our sales tax and see where we are at by the end of next year to see if our operating capital is really hurt or not. I do that because I think we have been ultra conservative on our numbers as far as what sales taxes are coming in. We have all these positive things hanging out there. I think we have enough money coming in from other sources where we do not need to rely upon increasing our constituent’s real estate taxes. Councilmember Rohde would second that. I think we will have enough sales tax revenue coming in and are going to be able to add a significant amount to these. Councilmember Estep said that 10% increase would be $40 to $70 a year. I am not sure if we can still get by with doing everything else we still need to do. I know the money is sitting here for projects, but what are we going to lack by not raising taxes. Councilmember Archibald said I share that same concern. Mayor Holmgren said if we do not do something now, next year could be compounded. I lean toward the property tax increase at this point based on inflation. There are a whole lot of moving parts. This is not a simple solution. Councilmember Vance said if we could guarantee everyone’s houses would only go up $40 I would be all for it. I think everyone would, but the last time we increased property taxes and were promised $40 the County did their own thing. We do not know what the County and other taxing entities are doing. My personal taxes went up $2,500. My job as a City Councilmember is to represent my constituents who are the citizens of Tremonton City. Inflation is going up so when we hit them at $40 or $2,500 we are hurting them. I am not sold on the fact that we need to raise taxes. I think it is already in the budget so why are we going to the citizens and asking them for more taxes when I think we have it right here.

2. Presentation on funding sources for the Bear River Valley Senior Center

3. Continuation of discussion on annexation and growth in outlying areas that lack City utilities and/or allowance of the use of septic tanks

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

5. 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 6:55 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Holmgren called the June 7, 2022 City Council Meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. The meeting was held in the Tremonton City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Holmgren, Councilmembers Archibald, Estep, Rohde, Seamons, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Robert LaCroix, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Interim Police Chief Brian Crockett, and Parks and Recreation Director Zach LeFevre.

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 resident Sara Mohrman and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Estep.

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

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: Councilmember Estep declared a few issues as he is a full-time City employee.

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Seamons to approve the agenda of June 7, 2022. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – May 17, 2022

Motion by Councilmember Estep to approve the minutes of May 17, 2022. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

6. Presentations:

a. Service Award for Dr. DellRay Anderson, M.D. – Robert LaCroix, Fire Chief

Chief LaCroix provided a bio about Dr. Anderson and said he has been with the Tremonton City Fire Department since 2008 as the medical director. Thank you for your commitment to our department. We would like to honor him with this plaque for providing a high standard of service to the community and for his dedication and willingness to be our medical director.

b. Utah Recreation and Parks Association (URPA) Outstanding Department Award – URPA Representative

President Scott McDonald said for 71 years we have served Utah. During our annual conference we give out awards and Tremonton was named the Outstanding Department for 2022 for Class 1. Our group reviewed your submitted accomplishments and determined you were the best in the State. Zach LeFevre and Kirsti Christensen participated in our leadership academy and have other qualifications and are educated people to provide services to your community. Congratulations to them and their team to make all the programs work great. We would like to recognize them for their efforts. We are fortunate to have them as a part of our organization.

c. Tremonton City Farmer’s Market – Sara Mohrman, Main Street Mercantile and Zach LeFevre, Parks & Recreation Director

Director LeFevre said earlier this year Ms. Mohrman proposed an idea for a Farmer’s Market. We worked together and came up with plans. Her organizational skills helped us find vendors and her great personality helped us reach out to the public to make that a reality. We owe her gratitude for the work she has done. She has a lot of ideas. Ms. Mohrman said we have been able to completely fill the square. The first month we had 32 vendors and this last one we had to close the side street to make room for more. We already have a waitlist. It has been really good to find ways to get people to spend their money in town and support locally. For the July market, which is the 4th of July weekend, the Mayor has offered to help us with grilling hot dogs. We plan to provide about 400 hotdogs to get people out and celebrate our independence. We also want the Council to get involved with a watermelon eating contest. This is a fun activity to help you engage and allow citizens to get to know you in a fun way. Councilmember Archibald said I would like to pat Director LeFevre and Ms. Mohrman on the back. This is a well-organized event that brings people to Tremonton and helps us stay here. Councilmember Vance said you guys are doing phenomenal with the parks. We appreciate what you do.

7. Public comments:

Resident Jeff Hoedt said thank you for the time. When I worked for a state agency as an administrator, we did events to boost morale and donate to worthy causes. Employees and others were allowed to throw pies and other soft things at the administration if they wanted. The first shot was free and then the rest cost. You might want to think of that as an opportunity. It was engrained into my mind throughout my government career to make informed decisions as an administrator. That is the way my brain works and when I make decisions, I want to make sure I have weighed all the different considerations and viewpoints. We would do a murder board, I hate the term, but love the process. They would call specialists on topics and we had to role play. Our job was to think of hard questions and then you throw them out. That way when our people were asked questions they were prepared and had looked at all the different considerations from different viewpoints. Making an informed decision is essential. Your conversation in the work session encouraged me so kudos to everyone here. On many topics you are picking up more information and sharing that with the public so we know you are weighing all the different considerations. Everyone has a challenge with the workforce because things have changed over time. Some of you are my generation some are older, but we grew up with the idea of loving your job was not the goal. You had to feed your family. When we went to work it was not a matter of hierarchy or loving the things you did, you just stayed with your employer and they took care of you. That worked out great, but unfortunately, we have started to ween away from that. Our youth have weened further from that. People are changing jobs constantly, which is sad to me. Unfortunately, increasing pay is an endless battle because everyone does it. It goes up and up and never stops. I support pay raises for employees, but I do want you to consider all the information. In the presentation you considered wages, but you did not consider benefits. The percentage of benefits to the staff here in Tremonton is significantly higher than Brigham City. If compared to private industries I would bet money you guys pay good benefits. Some of the numbers that came to me are that 16 of the 30 highest paid employees are getting 71-94% of their salary in benefits. As a government employee at the state and federal level, 27-30% was the norm. Also 25 of the top 30 employees are getting $30,000 or more in benefits. A dozen of them are getting over $40,000 in benefits, which is tax free. You are offering better benefits so take advantage of that and make sure your candidates are aware of that when they are considering where to go. I am hoping there are still a lot of people with the old work ethics and loyalty here because they love Tremonton and want to be here. It is not just about how they can climb the financial ladder and move on from there. I appreciate seeing your information on the revenues. Over the last 12 years, according to your charts, there is over 100% increase in sales tax and personal property tax. That is pretty incredible. Sometimes I hear comments that personal property tax is more stable or reliable than sales tax, but in fact according to your charts sales tax has been more reliable and consistently climbing. Over the last four years personal property tax went up 56%, which is way beyond inflation. Sales tax was up 43% in the last four years, which is way beyond inflation. I appreciate hearing some of the comments that you offered about using other revenue sources to accommodate some of these things. I also appreciate the comment that you represent your constituents. Part of government business is prioritizing. If you do not have all the money you would like to provide services to constituents you need to prioritize them. You may have to look at other programs or services instead of increasing taxes and reducing some of those less prioritized areas.

8. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of approving the April Financial Statements

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

b. Discussion and consideration of approving the April Warrant Register

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

c. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-24 concurring that Rupp Trucking has incurred the additional expense of $235,729 associated with secondary water piping, fuel, and other miscellaneous increases during the construction of the Secondary Water System Project Service Areas 2, 4, & 5 and authorizing an increased payment of $235,729 for an adjusted total Contract Price of $4,019,086 to be paid to Rupp Trucking

Director Fulgham said some of this was already approved last year—$167,000 of this has already been paid out in the pipe cost. This new addition is basically for fuel costs. When they bid the project, fuel was $2.50 a gallon. Now diesel is $5.50 or more per gallon. Within our project they are allowed to do that because it is an unforeseen thing that has happened. With all the pipe delays the timeline has been stretched and we are looking at mid-August for completion. Manager Warnke said we had the full amount budgeted because we anticipated them being done in this year’s budget (June 1 deadline). We will amend the budget and move some money into next year’s budget for the rest of the payment. This is an increase in the total project cost. Going forward I would like to do more formal resolutions approving contracts and tracking them for the record. We will continue to do that with projects you award and any change orders that occur.

Councilmember Rohde said the way this is worded is a little misleading. Director Fulgham went through the breakdown. Rupp’s is asking for an additional $119,000 to pay for the increase in fuel prices. We have paid everything but that amount. Councilmember Rohde asked that it be changed to be clearer. Manager Warnke said I could change the wording to say previously paid and what is still due.

Motion by Councilmember Vance to adopt the resolution, keeping everything the same given that $116,729 has already been spent and previously approved by City Council and an additional $119,000 is being approved to finish the contract out to Rupp’s. Motion seconded by Councilmember Archibald. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

d. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-25 ratifying the Archibald Estates Subdivision Plat N Subdivision Development Agreement

Manager Warnke said this is Archibald Estates’ 55 and older community. This phase really completes that portion of their development. They are nearing completion of their total project, which is 37 acres. The development agreement has some pretty standard stuff, but one unique condition is that the landscaper is going to landscape all the yards.

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

e. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-26 ratifying the Spring Hollow Subdivision Phase 3 Development Agreement

Manager Warnke said this is another senior community in our City up on the hill. The Christensen’s are the developer and this completes their project as well.

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

f. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-27 reaffirming, amending, and enacting new fees and fines in a schedule entitled Tremonton City Consolidated Fees and Fines Schedule including, but not limited to, Development Fee-in-Lieu of Public Improvements and Animal Control Service Fees

Assistant City Manager Christensen said this is an amendment to our fee schedule. We collect fee-in-lieu from developers when certain developments are not ready to take place. Those had not been put into the fee schedule so this will help us keep track of them. We had a conversation with Rocky Mountain Power. We have been paying a different rate. They discounted the streetlight and then we paid monthly to make up that cost. We are proposing the developer pay the full amount of the streetlight so our monthly cost will go down. This is something we caught when discussing our streetlight project and renovating those. Cost is $3,500 per streetlight, which includes the streetlight and the installation fee. Our monthly cost would be lower and save the City money.

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

g. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-28 approving an interlocal agreement for medical services between Tremonton City and Thatcher/Penrose Fire

Chief LaCroix said we have the ambulance license to provide ambulance service for Thatcher/Penrose and others in our area. Thatcher/Penrose does provide first response in their area so we have to sign an inter-local agreement that says they can provide those services before we get there. That covers us and them for liability. Their EMTs arrive first and provide basic life support until we can get there with our ambulance. They have a first response license through the State. We will have more of these agreements to come.

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

9. Continuation or commencement of any item listed on the 6:00 p.m. City Council Workshop Agenda (as deemed necessary by the Mayor and City Council)

Assistant City Manager Christensen provided a presentation on the Bear River Valley Senior Center. The Council wanted to know what we are paying as far as other people’s share and what our options are. The Senior Center provides a lot of good for seniors in our valley. For the month of April, they served 374 individuals, but provided 5,837 acts of service, including activities, meals, and rides. The report shows that 262 individuals participated in activities sponsored by the Senior Center. They delivered 2,725 meals to 190 individuals and provided rides from the Senior Center to the hospital and back. We also had 27 people volunteer their time. We took a three-year average of what it costs to run the Senior Center—those expenses, minus the capital expenses, which we use sales taxes for. It costs about $422,000 to run the Senior Center. I then took the revenue sources and backed out any source from contributing local governments. The County pays their proportionate share, while Bear River City and Plymouth pay some of their share. We receive $181,000 worth of revenue. The operational shortfall is $240,000. Our proportionate share would be $102,000. BRAG contributes state and federal funding. We are paying our share and others. Ideally the local entity contributions could be bigger. That would cut down the shortfall we are funding on top of our proportionate share. None of the others are paying into this. If we decide to only fund Tremonton City seniors then we have to talk to BRAG and see if we are able to continue to get funding from them. We could also consider how much we keep the Senior Center operating. Do we continue to be open five days a week and how many meals would we make? There are a lot of fixed costs that go into it that.

When asked if other cities have been asked to pay their share, Assistant City Manager Christensen said our Senior Center Director, Jenny Christensen, and I went out about four years ago. We attended council meetings for Garland and Bear River City to provide a presentation on their share. Every year I send out a suggested invoice to all of these communities. We explain what we do and show them how many seniors we have served in their area and that associated cost. Councilmember Rohde said it does not seem fair that our constituents are paying for other people’s benefits. Manager Warnke said part of the argument as we reached out to these communities was that their residents’ shop in our community and we get the sales tax. The purpose of that money is to pay for capital projects. We explained that we do pay for those with our sales tax and these are operational shortfalls. Assistant City Manager Christensen said car maintenance and fuel is all added in there. Councilmember Vance said it seems we should talk to BRAG and see what they would do. I would be happy to go with you. The question is after going to all these cities can we cut them out if they do not help and how does that affect BRAG’s relationship with us. Manager Warnke said we have reached out to BRAG and had these conversations, but it is time to have them again. Three years ago, they did not leave us with good options, but maybe there are more options now. We are actively looking and searching for ways to reduce the amount. Political persuasion can also be helpful. We need to continue to raise awareness and make requests. Since we do receive federal funds, we are limited to what some of the repercussions can be.

Mayor Holmgren said we had a discussion a while back on annexing and growth in outlying areas that lack City utilities. Let us talk and get some more direction. Manager Warnke said I would love more direction and guidance on how you would like to see the policy change. The packet has the current ordinance that allows an exception to septic tanks. We need an understating from the Council on how broadly you want to apply that exception. Currently it is based upon a distance from an existing sewer line and also restricts it by the number of lots and density. Director Fulgham is working on putting a map together that shows the different service areas for water. I want to know how many residents we have within the City who are currently on septic and will work with Treasurer Sharri Oyler. I will also gain a better understanding on the issue of impact fees and how that applies. We need to understand what you want to accomplish with the policy change and then we can draft it accordingly and present to the Planning Commission. Councilmember Archibald suggested utilizing the health department to help understand things they have learned. Manager Warnke said absolutely, I will reach out and have Director Jordan Mathis present to us. Mayor Holmgren said we need to get through the budget and then we could have him come in July.

10. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar:

Assistant City Manager Christensen said the Farmers Market will continue to be the first Saturday of each month through October. The Chalk Art contest will be at Midland Square on June 25, which is an all-day event. Hay Days will be July 22 and 23. The Council will cook breakfast on Saturday morning. All the events will be at Jeanie Stevens Park this year.

b. Unfinished Business/Action Items: None.

11. Reports & Comments:

a. City Manager Reports and Comments
b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments

1. Review of Land Use Applications

Manager Warnke said this is an exciting project—the rehabilitation of two historical buildings in our downtown with the addition of some new townhomes. When we did our historic district, it was determined that Jeppesen Gym was a contributing building within our district. The Bowcutt building is not. This project is feasible because of tax credits and the groundwork we have laid. These individuals are using existing market forces, the need for housing and federal tax credits based upon restoring these historic structures. The market is sort of helping create these projects and the tax credits are filling the gap. Clark Jeppesen is doing the construction management side and another person from Wasatch Development is pursuing the tax credits. The Jeppesen building will have eight suites for commercial offices on the first floor. The upper story will have some residential units. They are converting the racquetball courts to townhomes (four units there). The Bowcutt building could have a restaurant on the first floor. There would also be about six units on the second floor. Parking is an issue so they are looking for off-site parking. I am excited about the positive change and impact this could have on Main Street, not only for the aesthetic point of view with some of the improvements, but even the activity it could bring to the downtown area. Councilmember Rohde confirmed the mural would be preserved and suggested they look into some kind of ordinance for air quality within these offices. There need to be regulations that require a different ventilation to protect those in the building. Manager Warnke said they are gutting the building and wanting to push forward on construction this summer.

The Menlove subdivision is on the next Planning Commission agenda said Manager Warnke. This is the rehabilitation of the old hospital—turning some of those individual patient rooms into studio apartments and rezoning the back portion of their project. They acquired it from the County. They need to pay a park impact fee for the conversion of an institutional use to a residential use. We charge impact fees for parks to residential use only. We have worked on having developers provide onsite amenities or make contributions to help us with park offerings in addition to their park impact fees. They are electing to do some onsite amenities.

Manager Warnke said the Wizard Wash on the corner of 1650 East and Main Street is a project we have been working on for several months. The DRC has worked through the original site, which was much smaller. They had a parcel they were trying to save for a different use, but at looking at turning and stacking they expanded it to encompass the full parcel. There will be an RV dump on the north side with an onsite manager. He is hoping people will use it respectfully and wash their vehicle when they are done. There is one automated bay and the rest are self-serve. We have worked to widen the street and acquire additional property so we will pay to install a fire hydrant that existed previously that needs to be relocated. We will pay for the relocation of the curb, too. On Main Street the developer will have the full frontage improvements.

Manager Warnke said resident Lynn Martineau wants to subdivide his property. He will connect to sewer through Val Stokes’ property since he has a private line that is closer. The City issued 240 permits last year for the Mathison Apartments. They have three buildings remaining. Part of the development agreement included an issue of access to Main Street that needed to be resolved before we would permit the last building. Our traffic plan tries to deemphasis 4th West and emphasis a connection to Main Street where we propose a traffic light (600 West). We want to create some separation between the railroad and 4th West and this seemed like the natural place to do that. We have worked with them to configure that access, which was not known previously. The owner of Tremont Center has an obligation to provide a street with delineated travel lanes through a parking lot. It needs to be unincumbered so there will not be parking isles or friction from people backing up. This will be a convenient way for people to access Main Street in the future. They will have 304 units with some amenities.

For this next one we have already approved the last phase shown up in the North West corner said Manager Warnke. This is the rest of the townhomes, which are close to being finalized. That project will be built out shortly. Jasmine Trucking is a trucking company that is coming. This lot is owned by Val Stokes on 2000 West. He is proposing a subdivision that would split the parcel so there would be a trucking operation on the front and an overflow for his trucking operation in the back. They would have a common access on this minor arterial road (2000 West). His plan is to do the parking lot because of cost. He is planning on doing the hard and soft scape with the building to be constructed at a future date.

Manager Warnke said you are aware of The Junction, which is property that is already entitled to have a certain amount of density. We are working on coming up with a layout that provides the best outcome. The Planning Commission has reviewed it. The developer is working on refining it even further. Our new plan talks about clustering so they will get as many units as they can within their entitlement, which is 16 dwelling units per acre. They are coming in at 10.7 dwelling units per acre. I will keep you posted as the different iterations come out. Councilmember Vance said we are not concerned about that kind of traffic coming out of one spot? That is 557 units so that could be over 1,000 cars. Manager Warnke said it is significant, but they did a traffic impact study, which shows it is acceptable as far as the level of service. Our code requires two access points, there will be a right in only, which is that road. We already have a public road that services the Madsen property. There will be full turning movements on the other intersection. They will need to do some improvements with lane widening and build out that section of road. Councilmember Vance said growing up down there and going through that area, that is crazy. There will be people killed there. Councilmember Rohde said that was part of the discussion of slowing the traffic down there. Manager Warnke said I had that same concern with sight distances and an engineer reviewed and stamped it. They say the sight distance is adequate for the new intersection and I agree. The code we have does not require amenities, but we have negotiated some. They are putting in a pool, pool house, playground equipment, and a community park. They will construct their own lift station to gravity flow to our system. The Bear River Meadows project has been rezoned and they are working on getting it platted.

c. City Department Head Reports and Comments: None.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Archibald said I want to give a shout out to Mayor Holmgren and all those who helped with the Memorial Day service. The speaker was fantastic and the music was great. It was a great tribute. The library has summer reading programs happening and last Friday they had their kickoff party, which was well done. It was a well-attended celebration.

Mayor Holmgren said with Director Fulgham’s help I have been tracking our culinary and secondary water use for this year. We have put together a chart, which shows our three-year averages. We are tracking consistently below that average. We did the right thing by implementing secondary water. This will pay off for us. Our residents are conserving water even though we have more ERUs now. That can be viewed on the City’s website.

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

The Council moved into a closed session at 8:58 p.m.

12. CLOSED SESSIONS:

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to return to open session. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

The Council returned to open session at 9:52 p.m.

13. Adjournment.

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

The meeting adjourned at 9:53 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 21st day of June, 2022.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

Follow-up items for the Council and City Staff

Assistant City Manager Christensen and Councilmember Vance will meet with BRAG to see what their options are for the Senior Center. They will also continue to work with those in the valley who benefit from this service on having them pay their proportionate share.

City Staff will continue their efforts on the budget, which could include a property tax increase. Afterward, the Council will continue discussion on an annexation policy to give City staff direction on how to proceed. They will invite a health department representative to educate them in a July meeting.

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