City Council Minutes 7-7-20

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
JULY 7, 2020

Members Present:
Connie Archibald
Lyle Holmgren
Bret Rohde
Rick Seamons
Lyle Vance
Roger Fridal, Mayor
Shawn Warnke, City Manager
Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Fridal called the July 7, 2020 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 Fridal, Councilmembers Archibald, Holmgren, Rohde, Seamons, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Steve Batis (left after the work session), Community Services Director Marc Christensen, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Police Chief Kurt Fertig, and Treasurer Sharri Oyler (arrived at 6:31 p.m., and left after the work session). Also in attendance were firefighters: Rusty Scoffield, Nate Christensen, Paul Evertsen, Lanette Sorensen, Larry Robison, Tiffine Jensen, Dallen Soffe, Russ Thornley, and Jeff Oyler.

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

The Council moved into a closed session at 6:00 p.m.

1. CLOSED SESSIONS:

a. Strategy session to discuss the purchase of real property when public discussion of the transaction would disclose the appraisal or estimated value of the property under consideration or prevent the public body from completing the transaction on the best possible terms; and/or
b. Strategy session to discuss the character, professional competence or physical or mental health of an individual; and/or
c. Strategy sessions to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation; and/or
d. Discussions regarding security personnel, devices or systems

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

The Council returned to open session at 6:30 p.m.

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

The Council discussed separating one lot into two in the Holmgren Estates East Phase 2. Manager Warnke said in State Code as it relates to plat amendments, in this specific circumstance a public hearing is required if someone protests. The City sent out a letter to all the property owners within Phase 2 and if they had objections they could provide that in writing. We did receive written objection, but since then that person has withdrawn their objection. We already advertised the public hearing so it is on the agenda and ready for your consideration. Lot 30 was originally going to be two lots, but prior to the recordation it was created into one larger lot (.8 acres). The property owner has submitted a petition to split it into two, which will make each building lot .4 acres. That is larger than a good majority of the existing lots. The Council needs to determine if there is good cause, which is explained in the ordinance. If you agree with that, you can adopt it as written. The person who objected was concerned about the number of lots on one access. We do have an application to finish the subdivision, which would complete that. Our ordinance says the City may require a second access if there are more than 30 lots on one access. This has 56 lots. The DRC reviewed the proposal and recommends approving the lot split and allow one of the lots to be eligible for a building permit upon approval while restricting the other until the second access is completed. The infrastructure is already in the ground for two lots.

The Council reviewed an ordinance that clarified the powers and duties of the City Health Director and the position of the City Code Enforcement Officer. Manager Warnke said this more or less brings our ordinances in line with what we are currently practicing. Right now it talks about a Health Director and their responsibilities for nuisance enforcement. We do have a Code Enforcement Officer who does code enforcement. We are simply specifying that in writing through the ordinance. We struck through some of the responsibilities of the Health Director and now have it say in conjunction with the Code Enforcement Officer.

3. Review and discussion of the City current ordinance for the appointment of the Fire Chief

Manger Warnke said the Council budgeted to hire a full-time fire chief and we need to go through that hiring process, but I need your direction. The current ordinance talks about the fire chief as a part-time position. We need to change that, but it also talks about the fire department forwarding three candidates they have voted for who would then be interviewed by the Mayor and Council. That suggests it should be a candidate within the fire department. If you want to consider a larger group of applicants then we would want to change the ordinance to reflect something like the appointment for our other department heads, which is advise and consent of the City Council. The City manager, as the chief administrator officer, proposes a candidate to the Council and they can consent to that or give direction on whom they would like. This process has always been a participatory process with help from elected officials and other individuals from different entities. I am recommending we include lots of different stakeholders, including our firefighters. It will always come before the Council for a final decision I just need guidance on how you would like to move forward. The Council agreed this was the direction they would like to go, but asked Manager Warnke to come back with an outline, as well as how many people would be on the hiring committee and provide a timeline for the decision. He would draft some language and have it adopted by the Council to start the process.

The meeting adjourned at 6:49 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Fridal called the July 7, 2020 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 Fridal, Councilmembers Archibald Holmgren, Rohde, Seamons, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Community Services Director Marc Christensen, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, and Police Chief Kurt Fertig. Also in attendance were firefighters: Nate Christensen and Paul Evertsen.

1. Opening Ceremony:

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

2. Introduction of guests:

Mayor Fridal welcomed those in attendance.

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: none

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to approve the agenda of July 7, 2020. Motion seconded by Councilmembers Holmgren and Archibald. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – June 16, 2020

Motion by Councilmember Archibald to approve the minutes of June 16, 2020. Motion seconded by Councilmembers Seamons and Holmgren. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

6. Oath of Office Youth City Council

Recorder Nessen led the youth in the Oath of Office. They then introduced themselves.

7. Presentations:

a. GFWC Women’s Civic League – Kathy Bessinger

Mrs. Bessinger said I am part of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs Women’s Civic League and this is our president Trisha Butler. Mrs. Butler said we are here to introduce ourselves, but have been in the community for about 80 years. With our club this year there was a vote whether or not to stay with GFWC and about half the members decided to disassociate from that while the other half wanted to stay. To eliminate any confusion, we wanted to explain that there are two women’s group in the community, which means lots of community service between both clubs. We know there are projects you are working on and we want to be involved. We have submitted an application to Director Christensen and want to sponsor a Pumpkin Walk this fall to help with funds for the playground by the walking path. There are some difficulties with COVID, but we will explore different options to help the community and other projects moving forward.

8. Public comments:

Mrs. Bessinger asked how soon there will be water in the bathrooms by the walking path. Director Fulgham said as soon as Rocky Mountain Power gets us hooked up so we can keep the facilities open. Hopefully by the end of the summer it will be ready.

Mayor Fridal called a Public Hearing to order at 7:25 p.m. regarding a proposed amendment to Holmgren Estates East Phase 2. There were 13 people in attendance.

9. Public Hearing:

a. Regarding the proposed Holmgren Estates East Phase 2 First Amendment dividing Lot 30 into two (2) separate building lots

Manager Warnke said this is an opportunity for people to make comments on a specific application. What is before the Council tonight is taking one large lot (.8 acres) and dividing it into two, .4-acre lots. Originally it was designed and constructed that way, but was recorded as one. This will take it back to two.

There were no public comments. Mayor Fridal closed the Public Hearing at 7:27 p.m.

10. City Council Business

a. Discussion and consideration of approving May 2020 Financial Statements

Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the May 2020 Financial Statements. Motion seconded by Councilmember Holmgren. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and consideration of approving May 2020 Warrant Register

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to approve the May 2020 Warrant Register. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

c. Discussion and consideration approving Ordinance No. 20-08 approving the Holmgren Estates East Phase 2 First Amendment dividing Lot 30 into two (2) separate building lots

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to move forward with this ordinance, but remove the line about the lot restriction. Motion seconded by Councilmember Vance. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Holmgren – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

d. Discussion and consideration approving Ordinance No. 20-09 amending Title 10 Fire, Health, Safety, and Welfare of the Tremonton City Corporation Revised Ordinances clarifying the powers and duties of the City Health Director and creating the position of the City Code Enforcement Officer

Manager Warnke said this amendment makes it clear that we have a Code Enforcement Officer. The Health Director may work in conjunction with them on nuisances and code enforcement.

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

e. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 20-30 approving an amended land acquisition agreement between Tremonton City and Bar M Land & Livestock LLC for Tremonton City’s purchase of land for the future expansion of 1650 West Collector Road

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

11. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar

Manager Warnke said we want to engage the public in the planning process of an Integrated Land Use Plan. People can participate in three ways online and give input on the future of Tremonton City.
The Council was reminded of the Tremonton versus Garland softball game on Saturday, July 11, at 6 p.m. for the Wheat and Beet celebration.

b. Review of past assignment: none.

12. Reports & Comments:

a. City Manager Reports and Comments: none
b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments

Manager Warnke said we are working on a few land use projects that you are familiar with. One is Edgewood, which is being developed by Visionary Homes across from the hospital. They have not gone all the way through the approval process, but their construction plans have been approved and they are moving along with that. They still need to draft some items for the site plan. The same is true for the Mathison Apartments. They have a lot of site work to do and have raised the site up quite a bit.

Manager Warnke said we have had some conversations about two potential annexations. One is 16 acres on the south end of town with Jay Stocking from Sierra Homes—the Hansen Annexation. We are working on some of the infrastructure that is needed to service those. That conversation went well and we will provide more information to wrap that up with the Planning Commission. They plan to do single-family detached housing on the west side of the canal and attached housing on the east side. Another project that is being proposed for annexation is Craig Adams’ development that has a mix of housing too. There will be attached housing with some single-family homes. There is a lot of development happening, we have a few other smaller subdivisions coming in as well.

c. City Department Head Reports and Comments

1. Update on Fixed Base Meter Reading Project – Paul Fulgham

Director Fulgham said for our first meeting in August, I will present our growth related to secondary water and get the Council thinking about where we want to go on our projects. Here is an update on our fixed based metering. The Council gave approval to move ahead with changing our meters from drive by radio read to a fixed base. This will allow homeowners to go online or through an app on their phone to see what their water consumption is in real time. Some antennas have been installed and we are waiting for employees to get some training. We have about 500 of these meters installed out of 2,500. I will educate the Council on this system so you can help the public.

Director Fulgham said Councilmember Archibald wanted to know about the COVID wastewater study. The State Health Department allocated more funds to water quality and so they expanded the project. It was 10 wastewater facilities, but that has been expanded to 42 systems. They have enough funding for about three months worth of study. This provides a picture on what is going on in communities. Sometimes people have the virus and do not even know while others are affected really hard. They are also building a website and as soon as they get that going, I will get that to the Council so you can track week-to-week what is coming out of the different communities in the wastewater stream. This is the influent coming into the plant, by the time it goes through the treatment process and is disinfected there are no trace elements of COVID that go into our effluent waters.

2. Update on Tremonton City Days- Marc Christensen

Director Christensen said this is the same report as last time with a few changes. We will not be doing the barbecue contest. The schedule is set and going out in the water bill, on our Facebook page, and email newsletter. Friday and Saturday will be the Men’s Softball Tournament, which is almost full. Our Homerun Derby will be held in conjunction with that. Monday through Friday will be the Tremonton Golden Spike Challenge. I need the Council’s help with the Goose Chase app. We need to send people to hidden gems around Tremonton and have them complete a challenge or trivia question about Tremonton. The app allows them to do 15-second videos and pictures of them completing their tasks to get the points. We have some great prizes coming in and plan on more. The more people we get to participate, the more fun it will be. This will start early Monday morning. We will send out new challenges all week. A drive-in movie will be at the fairgrounds—“Playing with Fire.” There will be a Corn Hole Tournament on Tuesday and pre-registration is required. There will also be a Pickleball Tournament on Thursday. Saturday there will be about seven food trucks coming to Jeanie Stevens Park. They will be in the parking lot and we are not going to encourage gatherings with any tables. We will encourage people to pick it up to go or to have a blanket on the grass in their own space. There will also be fireworks that night.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Councilmember Seamons said in my neighborhood there are about 14 cars around one house. What do you do about that? Manager Warnke said give it to Chief Fertig or Officer Horspool and they will look into the issue.

Councilmember Vance said Peach Days and Days of 47 are not happening, and asked about the fair. Councilmember Holmgren said there would be a modified, scaled back version of the County Fair.

Mayor Fridal said we had a Mayors’ Association meeting and one of the mayors suggested we write a letter of support for our police departments. The whole idea is to thank our police and those who work with them to make our lives better. This is not only for Tremonton, but the Sheriff’s Department and other departments in the county as well.
Manager Warnke said I want to bring the Council up to speed on the City’s effort to create a National Historic District. We have finished a reconnaissance level survey and nomination paperwork. It does look like we have a healthy collection of buildings that qualify as historic—historical significant or contributing to this district. There are a lot of good things about the creation of the district for these property owners. The Historic Commission will meet in the upcoming weeks and will send out notice to all property owners within the district for public outreach. The State will entertain the application until October or November and if they approve it, it will go onto the National Park Service for formal consideration. We have a worthy district to be considered. In order to put a district together, they do all the research on how the City was created and interesting pieces of Tremonton’s history are included in that write up. We will release that to you in the near future.

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

14. Adjournment.

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

The meeting adjourned at 7:59 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 July, 2020.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

Follow-up items for the Council and City Staff

The Council asked Manager Warnke to come back with an outline for the hiring process of a full-time fire chief, as well as how many people would be on that committee and a timeline for when this decision needs to be made.

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