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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.01.07 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 1 January 07, 2015 Mayor Richard Woodland Council Members: President Sally Smith Jordan Busby Donna Benfield Jerry Merrill Christopher Mann Brad Wolfe City Staff: Stephen Zollinger – City Attorney Matt Nielson – Finance Officer John Millar – Public Works Director Val Christensen – Community Development Director Scott Johnson – Economic Development Director Blair Kay – City Clerk 7:00 P.M. City Hall – Pledge to the Flag Robert Rose from Boy Scout Troop 404 led the pledge. Valeea Quigg said the prayer. Roll Call of Council Members: Attending: Council Member Mann, Council Member Busby, Council Member Merrill, Council President Smith, Council Member Wolfe, Council Member Benfield and Mayor Woodland. Public Comment on non-controversial issues: not scheduled on the agenda (limit 3 minutes): Kelly McKamey commented on the recent trips to Europe and Germany. He would like to know where the money came from for those trips. He is offended that the city would use tax payer money to fund these trips. He would like to know why we are not looking locally for solutions. Mayor Woodland thanked Mr. McKamey for his concerns indicating there would be a presentation tonight to go over the findings of the trip. Presentations: NONE Committee Liaison Assignments for 2015: A. Council Member Christopher Mann: Golf Board · Emergency Services Board · MYAB Council Member Mann reported that the Golf Board will not meet until March but the fence is up along the golf course and it looks nice. The fence had to go up first and then the sidewalk will complete the project. Final payment on the fence has been made. The fence is jointly owned with the city and county. Emergency services has not met, however, in December they watched a video of how a little girls life was saved in the wreck in front of Walmart this past year. Some lifesaving awards were given out at that meeting. The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board met today. They had a mock city council and talked about city government and problems in Rexburg. It was a great hour with them. He was able to attend both the Messiah and The Christmas Carol. They were very good productions. Both events were almost completely sold out. We are lucky to live in such a talented community. He is proud to be a part of it. 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Phone: 208.359.3020 x2313 Fax: 208.359.3022 blairk@rexburg.org www.rexburg.org City Council Meeting January 07, 2015 2 B. Council Member Jordan Busby: GIS Oversight · Airport Board · Traffic & Safety Council Member Busby reported that the airport board has met. The Life Flight Helicopter will be coming to the Rexburg Airport. Sixteen new jobs will be created. They will have a payroll of 1.3 million. The Civil Air Patrol will be putting in a base here. On January 15th at 6:30 there will be a kick off meeting at the VFW Hall. This is an opportunity for all kids ages 12 to 18 to be part of this. Kids who complete the program and then go into the armed forces will automatically get a pay grade. Traffic and Safety met and some issues were brought up about snow removal and about street lights. He would like the police to canvas the city to see what lights are out. Chief Turman said that they are already working on it. The turning lanes on University and Yellowstone have become a problem when they are covered with snow. People don’t know where the turning lanes are. He would like to encourage citizens to address problems through our website. C. Council Member Donna Benfield: Police · Trails of Madison County · IBC · Teton Flood Museum Committee Council Member Benfield reported that her committees have not met. She received a letter from someone who had reserved a park shelter and had to completely clean it before they could use it. She knows that the parks department does a good job but perhaps some more attention needs to go toward cleaning the tables and shelters. Mayor Woodland asked about LT Smooth. She has been helping LT Smooth, who is from Hawaii, with a tour he is doing here. He will be performing at 25 assemblies at area schools from Pocatello to Ashton. LT Smooth has performed in Rexburg the past two years during our International Summer Fest. He gives motivational speeches to the kids encouraging them to stay in school and avoid substance abuse. All the teachers have been very impressed and would love to have him come again. He shares a great story. D. Council Member Smith: Legacy Flight Museum · Rexburg Arts Council (Romance Theatre & Tabernacle Civic Center, Orchestra) · M.E.P.I. Council President Smith reported her committees have not met. Legacy Flight Museum will meet in February. The Arts Council will meet next week. She appreciates Council Member Mann’s comments about the concerts. E. Council Member Jerry Merrill: School Board · Parks & Recreation · Urban Renewal Agency Council Member Merrill reported the School Board and Urban Renewal have not met. Parks and Recreation is in full swing. Winter programs are about to begin. SnowFest is coming up on January 31. Tom Anderson would like to challenge the City Council to a polar bear swim belly flop contest. None of the council members volunteered. The invitation is open to everyone. F. Council Member Brad Wolfe: Planning & Zoning · Beautification Committee Council Member Wolfe reported Planning and Zoning has not met. Next meeting is on the 15th of January. It will be a joint meeting. He has asked to be excused from that meeting. He attended two ribbon cuttings at Papa John’s Pizza and Maverick. The managers had nothing but good things to say about the city and how easy they have been to work with. Council Member Benfield added that LT Smooth will be performing this Friday at 7:30 at BYU- Idaho in the Kirkham Auditorium. Mayor’s Report: The City has received a letter from a man in Heber City, Utah, regarding snow removal. [This message has been sent via e-mail to Mayor Woodland and Mr. Brandon Abegglen. Since there are no individual e-mails for individual city council members on the city's government site, I respectfully request that someone please forward this on to EACH member of the city council. If you would confirm that this e-mail has been forwarded to them, then I won’t have to pursue other avenues of trying to contact them. Thank you!] Dear City Council Member, I have lived in Rexburg since 2012, but I have lived in Utah, Idaho (we lived here in Rexburg and St. Anthony when I was very young while my dad managed the JB's Restaurant), and Wyoming my whole life (other than two years on the East Coast for an LDS mission). Before living here in Rexburg, my wife, our six children, and I 3 lived in Heber City, Utah. We are all very happy to be here in Rexburg now! As a community, the two places feel very much the same to us--friendly, peaceful, and very safe. We are grateful for all of this. There are some differences, however. Heber City proper had a population of only 11,362 (2010) and a total area of only 3.5 square miles. Rexburg has a population of 25,484 (2010) with a total area of 9.84 square miles--giving Rexburg a little more than double the population and not quite triple the total area. The entire Heber Valley-- which included the smaller communities of Charleston and Midway--was probably much closer to both the size (probably bigger) and population (probably still smaller) of Rexburg proper. Most people, who mistakenly think Rexburg is the epitome of the "great white north," are also surprised when I tell them the climate here is very similar to Heber City. According to some quick research I did online, Rexburg has an average annual snowfall of 54.6 inches and an average low temperature in January of 10.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Heber City has an average snowfall of 69.9 inches and an average low temperature in January of 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit--a bit more snow and a little colder (without the wind-chill, of course!). My point in this comparison is simply to say that somehow Heber City's snow removal system was much more effective than Rexburg's. I don't know any of the details about how each system is run (i.e. budget, resources, employees, leadership, etc.), but as a citizen of both communities I have observed a severe contrast between the two. And I don't know if there are fewer traffic accidents, less work time missed while people clear their driveways from the large snow berms that city crews push back up into people's driveways, less back pain and injury, etc., in Heber City during the winter months because of this or not. That would be some interesting research. However, I do believe that as Rexburg continues to grow and more people continue to come here to live, work, attend school, and help this community grow in very positive ways, there must be a better way to do snow removal. I am sure that snow removal is very difficult and an often thankless job. And I am grateful for what they do for our community. I am sure that I do not understand or appreciate the logistical challenges that snow removal crews face in the winter, but I am also sure that there is someone out there who does. My experience living in Heber City attests to the fact that there is a better way to do this than is currently being done in Rexburg. My experience commuting to and working in Park City (average annual snowfall of 141.8 inches per year) for three years, where snow removal was also much better than in Rexburg, also supports the idea that there must be a better way than is being done here at present. I have two main issues that I would like to raise where I believe the city could improve its snow removal process in ways that would really benefit the community: 1. Timing. I certainly understand the need to prioritize which streets get cleared first. It makes perfect sense that Main Street, 2nd East, 2nd West, 7th South, Yellowstone Highway, Pioneer Road, etc., all should be cleared before neighborhood streets are cleared. I understand and agree with that. But what I don't understand is why my neighborhood streets, for example, weren't plowed until sometime after 11:00 last night (which is when I finally went to bed), leaving citizens to try and get in and out of their homes in approximately 6 inches (or more) of snow for at least over 14 hours. This is not only an inconvenience, but a safety hazard for our community. This actually leads to my second point... 2. Stop pushing snow back up in people's driveways. We spend hours in our neighborhoods with shovels and snow blowers helping each other get unburied from large snowstorms like the two we had this past week. It is then extremely discouraging and frustrating when the city snow removal crews come along and push large snow berms (the one in front of my driveway this morning was three feet high in the middle and about that wide!) back up into our driveways. I don't expect crews to clear every speck of snow--no one does. But this seems a bit excessive. We then have to spend much more time digging out, but this time the snow is much more compacted and much more difficult to remove--especially when it seems to always get pushed up into my driveway in the middle of the night (see point #1 above) and then sits there getting more frozen solid all night long. In Heber City for example, snow crews would angle their blades to push the snow into the middle of the streets (away from people's driveways). This would leave large piles of snow in the middle of the streets, which they would then clear away as soon as they could get to it. However they managed it, it was much more effective. I have talked to many of my neighbors who are frustrated with this situation, but perhaps many of them don't take the time to voice their concerns or offer suggestions for how it could be done better. I am not sure what resources, leadership changes, etc., might be required, but I am sure there is a better way instead of just continuing to do things the way they have always been done. Thank your for taking the time to read this. I thank you and the city council for all you do to help manage our community and lead us in positive directions. If there is anything I can do (committees, boards, etc.) that I can be a part of to help find solutions to this problem, please let me know. Sincerely, 4 Ryan S. Gardner 265 Polo Dr. Rexburg, ID 83440 208-356-8826 (Letter to council and staff from Council Member Wolfe in reply to Ryan Gardner’s letter) I have thought about this for some time now and I guess this would be a good as time as any to make a couple observations and ask a couple of questions. I can't say that I agree with the general statement that we are not doing our job with regards to snow removal. I'm sure we all wish that the roads would be back to black pavement the day after a snow storm but recognize that it is not practical. ("I wish my waistline would be back to where it was the day after the holidays also, but that's not going to happen either!") I have however felt the same frustration as to the amount of snow I am left to deal with in my driveway after the snow from the street has been pushed into it. Sometimes it's as wide as 6 feet and 3 feet tall by almost 40ft long. I have listened to this similar complaint from a huge amount of our citizens. It seems to be one the complaints I hear most often in the winter months. I realize that there is not much a grader can do. Stopping, backing up and trying to clear the driveway would not only be very time consuming but most likely only push the snow further into the driveway. I have spent some time considering how this problem could be remedied. I know we spend a lot of money on certain things that only benefit a certain sector of people and we get a lot of flak for doing so. I wish that they could see that we try to do enough varied things that we in the end touch the lives of everyone in a good way. I personally think if we could do something to help this snow problem it would go a long ways to showing the community we are using their tax dollars to help them in a way that would benefit "every" family. I would be interested to see what the costs might be to solve this issue. I don't know how many, if any, of our cities vehicles are equipped with plows but that might be a consideration. If we had 5 or trucks that could follow the plows and clean driveways I think we could make a lot of our citizens very happy and not incur a huge annual budget cost. The plows seem to run between 5 and 7K each installed. I'm not sure how many times a year the plows go out with big storms but let's say it was on the average 12. I'm guessing that in a big storm there are employees available to man the trucks but for budget purposes if you allowed around 1200.00 per day that would cost the city 14 to 15K a year plus the investment of whatever amount of plows we would need. Probably about 25 - 30K spread over a couple years. The process could very efficient. Go up a street, do half of each driveway on one direction and turn around and come back and do the other half. The smaller plows could be used in many other ways such as clearing city lots, opening up sidewalks at intersections, (I tried to walk the city sidewalks after the last storm and it was very difficult to cross the streets due to snow blocking the sidewalks at the intersections) cleaning up and fine-tuning intersections as needed, possibly opening up a few areas in the center divider and other possibilities. I think in the big scheme of things the cost of this would be minor and money well spent to provide a welcomed service to our citizens and community. Like always, there may very well be costs I have not considered or ramifications I have not thought of or understand. I would however appreciate the department heads looking into the possibility and see if it makes any kind of sense at all. Thank you, Brad Wolfe (Letter to council and staff from Council Member Merrill in reply to Mr. Gardner and Council Member Wolfe) I've been thinking along the same lines as Brad. In all of our discussion about snow removal thus far, we've always felt like we do pretty well as a City, especially in comparison to other local cities and it seems we've always come to the conclusion that "the way it is, is the way it has to be" considering the costs of any alternatives. Maybe it is time that we seriously look at what the alternatives are and what they would cost to implement. At least we'd have a good basis to make a decision. This does seem to be one of the most common recurring complaints that we get and most folks might feel it is worth the extra costs involved. I think it's worth looking into. Thanks, Jerry M. Mayor Woodland indicated Mr. Gardner wanted to know why our roads are not as cleared in the winter as Heber City. Mayor Woodland indicated Heber City has warmer temperatures than Rexburg. He believes that we do a great job given the colder temperatures that we have to deal with. The small temperature variance makes a huge difference. The slope of the cities is also different. Ours slops down to the north and theirs slopes down the south. A. Ratify the appointment of Rob Webster to the Airport Board replacing Ross Baron and ratify the reappointment of Mark Jensen for a second term on the Airport Board. 5 Mayor Woodland commended Ross Baron for his time and service to the Airport Board. Council Member Busby moved to ratify the appointment of Rob Webster to the Airport Board replacing Ross Baron, and to ratify the reappointment of Mark Jensen to the Airport Board; Council Member Wolfe seconded the motion; Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Mann Council Member Benfield Council Member Busby Council Member Merrill Council Member Wolfe The motion carried Mayor Woodland asked Compliance Officer Natalie Powell, who is a pilot, to present a plaque to Ross Baron for his service on the Airport Board. Council Member Busby would like to address the concerns of the man from Heber City. He would like to discuss how we can keep from plowing people back in after they have shoveled their walks. Discussion: B. Resolution 2015 – 01 concerning an agreement with the Idaho Transportation Department to upgrade existing pedestrian facilities associated with State Hwy 33 and US 20 within the City of Rexburg. Areas to be improved are on Main Street and 2nd East. City Engineer Keith Davidson presented the Idaho Transportation Departments Agreement to enhance pedestrian access along Main Street and 2nd East which is Idaho State Hwy 33 through Rexburg. City Engineer Davidson reported that this would be a 50/50 match with the state and that the state has granted us $50,000. He said the money will be used to improve sidewalks and install a sidewalk along Main Street next to the Municipal Golf Course. Davidson indicated that we will need to obtain additional grants from the state to cover additional areas. He said the bigger part of the monies allocated will go to the transportation study and Envision Madison, $100,000 each. Council Member Busby asked what we are going to learn from Envision Madison that we don’t already know. City Engineer Davidson is not aware of that but Economic Developer Scott Johnson would be the person to ask. The Mayor said that the Regional Planning Organization (RPO) has come about from Envision Madison. The RPO represents area counties and the university. Council Member Busby asked about the $50,000 and wanted to know if that is a match between county as well? City Engineer Davidson said that the city and county would split the golf course portion but the interchanges would be 50/50 with the city only. Council Member Busby asked if this will address turning east off of Hwy 20 interchange. City Engineer Davidson said that it will address sidewalks but most of the money will be spent on the new sidewalk. Council Member Busby commented that it seems like we spend a lot of money on studies instead of actually doing something. He wants to make sure the difficulty to turn east off of Hwy 20 is resolved. City Engineer Davidson said that there may need to be a signal light there. He said that these issues will be looked at after some studies are complete. Council Member Mann mentioned that there is now extra traffic at the new Maverick by the intersection of Pioneer and Main Street. Public Works Director John Millar pointed out that the original transportation study did not have Idaho Transportation Department input. The new study will look at all three overpasses coming into Rexburg and it will be shared with the RPO. The Regional Planning Organizations’ (RPO) members include Madison County, City of Rexburg, City of Sugar City, and the Idaho Transportation Department. 6 The above picture is one of several intersections to be improved along with a sidewalk installation by the golf course. Resolution 2015 - 01 WHEREAS, the Idaho Transportation Department, hereafter called the STATE, has submitted an agreement stating obligations of the STATE and the CITY OF REXBURG, hereafter called the CITY, to provide funding to the City for certain infrastructure and planning expenditures, and WHEREAS, the STATE is responsible for obtaining compliance with laws, standards, and procedural policies in the development , construction and maintenance of improvements made to the Federal-aid Highway System when there is federal participation in the costs; and WHEREAS, the parties have agreed to participate in the costs of such improvements as outlined in this Cooperative Agreement. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: 1. That the agreement is hereby approved. 2. That the Mayor and the City Clerk are hereby authorized to execute the Agreement on behalf of the CITY. 7 3. That duly certified copies of the Resolution shall be furnished to the Idaho Transportation Department. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the above is a true copy of the Resolution passed at a regular, duly called meeting of the City Council of Rexburg, held on January 07, 2015. _____________________________ Blair D. Kay, City Clerk (Seal) Discussion: Council Member Busby moved to approve Resolution 2015 – 01 concerning an agreement with the Idaho Transportation Department to upgrade existing pedestrian facilities associated with State Hwy 33 and US 20 within the City of Rexburg; Council Member Smith seconded the motion; Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Mann Council Member Benfield Council Member Busby Council Member Merrill Council Member Wolfe The motion carried Public Hearings: – NONE Items for Consideration: A. Employee Safety Program Report – Detective Chuck Kunsaitis has served for the past two years on the Employee Committee. The committee has spent a lot of time coming up with a more improved safety program. Detective Kunsaitis, president of the committee, recognized that things had gotten stagnant with low morale among the employees in regards to the safety program and the risk assessments that had to be turned in every quarter. The committee implemented a new program a year ago. He reviewed the changes. Employees used to have to submit a risk assessment every quarter but it had gotten to a point where having 125 people submitting problems would result in a lot of repetition. The new program eliminates that. Instead, employees are required to attend quarterly safety meetings and avoid accidents and by doing this, they will be given an allotment of money at the end of the year. Missing a safety meeting or being involved in an avoidable accident lowers the amount of money that they are entitled to and in some cases, all of the money. A Safety Committee was set up with four people, one from the Fire Department, one from the Police Department and two from City Hall. The committee’s assignment is to investigate any lost time accident and determine if it was avoidable. This year there were two accidents that required the committee to look into it. One was a true accident but the other one was avoidable. Council Member Busby asked about employees who are at fault. Detective Kunsaitis explained that if the employee is at fault, he or she will lose all of their safety money. The department loses 25%. Additional accidents would result in even greater loss of that department’s safety money. Risk Assessments can still be submitted but are not required. Each department submits a yearend report on things they have done to improve safety in their departments. He reviewed the Police Departments Safety report. Council Member Merrill commented on the below 100 safety program that the police department has implemented. He complimented Chief Turman for already being on top of that. Detective Kunsaitis reported that morale has gone up. The employees are happier with this 8 program. Council Member Busby asked if all departments submit a report. Kunsaitis said, yes, they are required to. Human Resource Director, Valeea Quigg, said that ICCRMP, the insurance provider for the city, offers incentives for having an employee safety program. THE CITY OF REXBURG SAFETY PROGRAM OBJECTIVES 1. Improve workplace safety in each department. 2. Reduce the number of workplace accidents. 3. Reduce the cost of the City’s workman’s compensation plan. PROCEDURES 1. A City of Rexburg Safety Committee will be organized consisting of one member from Police, Fire, Public Works and City Hall. The method of selection will be left up to the Mayor to choose someone from City Hall and Public Works. The members from the Police and Fire Departments will be chosen by those departments. One person from the committee will be in charge of calling the meetings and reporting to the mayor. The person in charge will be rotated each year starting with the City Hall representative. 2. In December of each program year, every department in the City will be allotted $160 per full time employee as a safety allotment. 3. Each department or group of departments is required to have one safety meeting per quarter. Attendance is mandatory at all safety meetings and any employee not attending a scheduled safety meeting will forfeit 25% of his total safety money. Missed safety meetings may be made up at the discretion of that department’s safety coordinator. Each department needs to appoint one safety coordinator to be responsible for scheduling safety meetings each quarter or combining with other departments for a safety meeting. That person should also make sure everyone attends or makes up the meeting and that their department’s attendance is reported. The attendance role from each meeting will be submitted to the Mayor or his assistant by the first day of the following quarter, as well as a list of any employees who missed meetings. The total department safety money allotment will be lowered by 25% if the department’s quota of safety meetings is not met or if the Mayor does not receive the attendance role and list from any meeting. 4. In the event of a lost time accident by a full time employee in any department, the Safety Committee will convene within five working days unless mitigating circumstances, and investigate the accident and its causes and propose any necessary procedural changes. The findings of the Committee will be outlined in writing and submitted to the Mayor within 5 days of the accident. The Committee and the Mayor will determine whether the employee who had the accident will lose any or all of his safety money. The department will be required to hold an additional safety meeting within a month of the accident for the purpose of discussing the findings of the Safety Committee, providing training to the employees, or making any warranted changes to departmental procedure. The attendance role and list from this meeting will be submitted to the Mayor or his assistant by the first day of the following month. If a second accident occurs within the same department, its total safety money allotment for the year will be lowered by 25%. 5. Each department’s safety coordinator will submit to the Mayor by November 30th of each year a written report concerning safety within its department. This report could detail the safety issues the department has dealt with during the year and the steps it has taken to correct those issues, or any innovative plan devised and put in place to increase safety awareness among department employees. The Mayor will choose the three best papers and each of those departments will be given an award to be determined by him. The supervisor in each department will be responsible for the dispersal of the safety money to his individual full time employees in December of each year. 6. Participation in this Safety Program is mandatory for all fulltime employees. 7. Employee safety evaluations will continue to be important but will not be mandatory. Employees will be able to log any unsafe conditions they may encounter on the City website and receive an update on how each were handled. Discussion: 9 Staff Reports: A. Public Works: – John Millar 1. Final report on the water study (needs a public hearing) Council Member Benfield moved to set the public hearing date for final report on the water study for February 04, at 7:15 P.M.; Council Member Merrill seconded the motion; Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Mann Council Member Benfield Council Member Busby Council Member Merrill Council Member Wolfe The motion carried 2. Presentation on the proposed Sludge Management System Justin Logan from AQUA Engineering presented a proposal for Sludge Management in Rexburg: He covered some key points. Rexburg Water Reclamation Facility Solids Handling 503 Regulation of Sewage Sludge Sludge Disposal – Disposal site – Restricted access – No beneficial intent Land Application or Use – Intended to provide benefit (nutrients) – Restricted and unrestricted use – Two levels of treatment, Class B and Class A Class B Solids • Pathogen reduction to level unlikely to pose threat to health/ environment • Site restrictions for application • Additional monitoring and reporting required Class A Solids • Pathogen reduction below detectable levels • Can sell or give away end product, (no restrictions) • Monitoring and reporting at end of process 10 Solids Handling Options 1. AerobicDigestion - Class B, additional tankage is required, less effective digestion approach, high energy input 2. Solar Drying - Class A (by testing) or B, additional heat source required, winter operations are limited 3. Gasification - Class A, good solids reduction, minimizes solids volume, the technology is still developing. 4. Pasteurization with Anaerobic Digestion - Class A, good solids reduction, existing facility utilization, provides additional heat, energy efficient Pasteurization Benefits  Pathogen free product (meets Class A)  Improves sludge quality (rheology)  Enhances anaerobic digestion of solids  Improves methane gas production, used for pasteurization and additional solids drying  Compact footprint  Monsal 70 is proven and cost effective Council Member Busby asked if this system could be added onto in the future. Mr. Logan explained that it is sized to handle a 20 year life. After 20 years, there are ways to expand the plant or there may be other options by then. With the existing facility, that would still be used, additional equipment would be added. It would go inside a building. A solid storage facility would also be added. This process would provide a Class A product that is cost effective. Council Member Mann asked who else is using this process of pasteurization. Mr. Logan indicated that there are facilities in the United States using pasteurization, but Monsol has optimized this process specifically for waste water treatment. This is the process that was seen in France by the Mayor and Public Works Director Millar. Mayor Woodland said that he did visit the Tooele, Utah plant but the cold temperatures in the winter cause a problem, therefore, that system would not do 11 well in Rexburg. Mr. Logan said that here is no plant like the one that Monsol is offering in the United States. Council Member Busby asked if there would be energy that could be sold. Mr. Logan explained that the methane gas would be captured and used to heat the product and there would be enough gas provided to supply all the heat needed. It would be totally self-sustaining from a heat standpoint. Mayor Woodland also indicated that one of the three ditches now being used, could be eliminated. Mr. Logan reviewed the proposed location of the Pasteurization and drying buildings which would allow the product to dry through the winter months. The smaller building would contain the heat from the pasteurization tanks to be used in the product drying building and other buildings on site. As the system grows from increased populations, electrical generation may be possible on site. Council Member Merrill asked if there would be odors. Mr. Logan said this process reduces volital solids which reduces the odors. He said the odors would be totally minimized. 12 Council Member Merrill asked if the end product can be sold or given away to the public. Mr. Logan said, yes, that it could be used on the parks or sold to a soil amendment company. There are lots of different options. Kelly McKamey asked if we could just set up a basic solution and get in compliance. Mr. Logan said every treatment plant is different but he believes this is the best and most affordable way to solve the problem and be compliant and at the same time producing a Class A product with no restrictions. Council Member Wolfe asked about compliance. Mayor Woodland said that we are in compliance and that we have only had one fine for a record keeping violation. Shane Drewbush asked about reduction requirements. Mr. Logan said that volital solids need to be reduced by 38%. Mr. Logan said that record keeping is easier and there are fewer restrictions when you produce a Class A product. Council Member Benfield asked when the study was done on the Rexburg Waste Water Treatment Plant. Mr. Logan indicated that they have been doing work with the city for 5 years and have been talking about solids handling processes for the past 3 years. Council Member Benfield asked what other cities they working with. Mr. Logan said they have been working with Driggs, Rigby, Jerome, Twin Falls, Utah, Montana, Nevada, the whole intermountain west. Council Member Benfield asked what Driggs does. Mr. Logan said they have an old lagoon. It doesn’t create bio solids. She also asked what Jerome does. Mr. Logan said they use aerobic digesters and then they de-water and hall to a landfill. Public Works Director Millar said that Idaho Falls uses a lagoon, aerobic digestion and halls in the summer. They do have odor problems. Council President Smith asked if the EPA will be getting stricter, is that why are we looking at this? Public Works Director Millar said that we do get odor problems in the spring. It’s hard to hall and time is limited. The land used for disposal is about to its limit. We are currently hauling to Jefferson county and paying to dump there at a cost of $32.00 per ton. We are not producing even a Class B product. Council Member Mann asked about the cost. Overall cost has not been finalized, yet. Mr. Logan would like more time to finalize costs before saying anything. Mayor Woodland said that this process is used all over Europe. Council Member Merrill asked if the system they viewed in Germany was the same thing. It was similar, they use a process called pyrolysis. In general, pyrolysis of organic substances produces gas and liquid products and leaves a solid residue richer in carbon content. This process produces its own energy, however, that company ended. Public Works Director Millar mentioned other systems around that really are not cost effective. They have looked at many different systems and this one is the most cost effective. Mr. Ying said that England has a system that uses power to light the streets. Public Works Director Millar indicated that additional information would be brought to the City Council when more information is compiled on the proposal. B. Finance Department: Matt Nielson was excused. C. Community Development: – Natalie Powell 1. Review the December, 2014 Building Permit Report. 13 Building permits for December were about 50% residential and 50% commercial. Kensington is doing a 4-plex, Edge Real Estate is adding on , Papa John’s Pizza is complete, Monkey Bars has moved out by Artco. The building on the North East corner of Main Street and 2nd East will probably be coming down to make room for Mountain America Credit Union this spring. Public Works Director Millar said that he talked to the Public Works Director from Heber City. The letter received is not accurate. They do things differently than Rexburg. It is not a good comparison. Public Works Director Millar responded to a letter from Council Member Wolfe about plowing driveways with a front end plow. He said it would be very expensive. Public Works Director Millar also indicated that there are times when we do open driveways. He said a front end plow would just push snow off to the side and it tears things up. Council Member Merrill asked about plowing to the center of the road and then hauling it off. Council Member Mann said that the issue has been addressed before and was told that the residents would rather clean their own driveway than spend more tax dollars on having the city do it. Council Member Wolfe wanted it clear that he was not complaining. He just wants to help people with drive ways. He realized it would be expensive to clear everyone’s driveway. Council Member Merrill said it’s good to help those who need it. Millar said we will help those in need on a one by one basis. Public Works Director Millar said that in order to push snow to the center of the street, the grader has to go against traffic. He said the snow blower works great. It can fill a truck in 30 seconds. It did have a problem the other day when a tire chain got caught in it. It cost $2,000 dollars to fix. Council Member Merrill suggested that maybe we just need more trucks. Mr. Millar indicated that the cost per snow storm is around $10,000 to $20,000. Council Member Smith appreciates that we plow every road after every storm. Discussion: Calendared Bills and Tabled Items: A. LAND USE ACTION – BILLS RECOMMENDED/APPROVED IN A LAND USE PUBLIC HEARING PROCEDURE: – NONE B. BILL Introduction: – NONE C. First Reading: Those items which are being introduced for first reading: – NONE D. Second Reading: Those items which have been first read: 1. Ordinance 1124 - Rezone 252, 260, and 274 West 1st North, and 118 North 3rd West from Low Density Residential 2 (LDR2) to High Density Residential 1 (HDR1). Council Member Smith moved to consider Ordinance 1124 second read to rezone 252, 260, and 274 West 1st North, and 118 North 3rd West from Low Density Residential 2 (LDR2) to High Density Residential 1 (HDR1); Council Member Benfield seconded the motion; Mayor Woodland asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith Council Member Busby Council Member Merrill Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried. 14 C. Third Reading: Those items which have been second read: – NONE Consent Calendar: The consent calendar includes items which require formal City Council Action; however they are typically routine or not of great controversy. Individual Council members may ask that any specific item be removed from the consent calendar for discussion in greater detail. Explanatory information is included in the City Council’s agenda packet regarding these items. A. Minutes from December 17, 2014 meeting B. Approve the City of Rexburg Bills Council Member Mann moved to approve the Consent Calendar and pay the bills; Council Member Smith seconded the motion; Mayor Woodland asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Mann Council Member Benfield Council Member Busby Council Member Merrill Council Member Wolfe The motion carried. Council Member Busby moved to go into executive session per Idaho State Statute 67:2345 ) (f) To communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated. The mere presence of legal counsel at an executive session does not satisfy this requirement; Council Member Wolfe seconded the motion; Mayor Woodland asked for a roll call vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Mann Council Member Benfield Council Member Busby Council Member Merrill Council Member Wolfe The motion carried. Executive Session: 9:01 P.M. Executive Session Adjourned: 9:22 P.M. Adjourned at 9:22 P.M. APPROVED: _______________________________ Richard S. Woodland, Mayor Attest: _______________________________ Mary Flanary, Deputy City Clerk