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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Minutes - March 1, 2017.pdf 1 March 1, 2017 Mayor Jerry Merrill Council Members: Christopher Mann Jordan Busby Donna Benfield Tisha Flora Brad Wolfe Sally Smith City Staff: Stephen Zollinger – City Attorney Matt Nielson – Finance Officer Keith Davidson – Public Works Director Val Christensen – Community Development Director Scott Johnson – Economic Development Director Blair Kay – City Clerk 6:30 P.M. City Hall Council Meeting Natalie Powell said the prayer. Chuck Kunsaitis led the pledge. Roll Call of Council Members: Attending: Council President Smith, Council Member Flora, Council Member Mann, Council Member Wolfe, and Mayor Merrill. Council Member Benfield joined via internet. Council Member Busby asked to be excused. Public Comment: not scheduled on the agenda (limit 3 minutes); issues may be considered for discussion on a future agenda. Please keep comments on point and respectful. Presentations: A. Introduce two new employees in the Public Works Department: 1. Streets Department employee David Lindsey started in December. Mayor Merrill had him introduce himself. David Lindsey is new to the Streets Department. David has been married to Gerae for 19 years and they have 6 kids; Jada 18, Brant 17, Dixie 15, Emma 11, Abigail 9, and Tavia 6. He grew up in Southern Arizona and has also lived in California and Utah. He attended school at Delta Community College and BYU-I. He has worked in construction and mining. David enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, sports and being with family. 2. Assistant Public Works Director Justin Beard started February 21, 2017. Mayor Merrill had him introduce himself. Justin Beard is the new Public Works Assistant Director. He is married to Vanessa and they have 4 kids; Carson 8, Rachel 5, Logan 3 and Clara 1. He was born in Teton Valley but grew up in Archer. He has also lived in Salem, Rigby, Chubbuck, Provo and Argentina. He graduated from Madison High School and then went on to Ricks College, ISU and BYU. He previously worked at Forsgren Associates as a 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Phone: 208.359.3020 x2313 Fax: 208.359.3022 blairk@rexburg.org www.rexburg.org City Council Minutes March 1, 2017 2 Project Manager and at Idaho Dept. of Environmental Quality as an associate engineer. Justin enjoys hiking, fishing, camping, visiting new places, raising kids and church service. Staff Reports: A. Finance: - Matt Nielson 1. Financial Reports Chief Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Financial Dashboard Report and showed the graphs on the overhead projector. The Cash & Investments Over Time graph shows where we are at over the years from 2013 to 2017. With this report you can see how the City has diversified or changed our investments, for example; from 2016 to 2017 the red, which represents State Investment Pool, is substantially smaller because we went to some managed accounts with Morton and Zions. He reviewed the Reserves chart and the Operating Expenses and Revenues charts. We have received about 58 percent of the total budget on taxes. Recreation Revenue is very low because those haven’t started, yet. Chief Finance Officer Nielson referred to the Total Operating Budget, Revenue and Expenses graph and explained that the black line should stay even with the actual lines and idealy you would want the green line to be a little above the black line. This is a good indication that we are on track and where we should be. Fees collected so far this year is $655,000. 3 Chief Finance Officer Nielson indicated on the Building Permit Fees we are substantially lower than this time last year but in the end we should be pretty equal with last year. Growth has mostly been in the multi- family residential. The inflation chart shows the cost of living adjustment which is 2 ½ percent. Chief Finance Officer Nielson referred to the Major and Minor Construction Projects graphs. The Major Construction Project are over a million dollars. Blue means we have not spent a lot of money, yet. The red shows over budget. Discussion: B. Public Works and Engineering: Keith Davidson 1. Approve the bid for a new street signal light at S 2nd W and 7th South Public Works Director Davidson reviewed the bids that came in for the signal light at 2nd West and 7th South. He said the low bid came from Cache Valley at $262,060.76. He needs approval from Council to award the low bid to Cache Valley. Council Member Mann asked if anyone else is helping pay for this signal. Public Works Director Davidson said that the university is contributing $75,000. 4 Council Member Flora moved to approve and award the low bid for a signal light at 2nd W and 7th S to Cache Valley for $262,060.76; Council President Smith seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Flora Council Member Benfield Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe The motion carried 2. Approve the Re-Bid to Repaint the 5th South Water Tank Gateway Orion Maguire Classic Exterior Painting $13,787.00 $28,103.00 $55,000.00 $71,000.00 Interior Painting $33,775.00 $62,474.00 $110,000.00 $98,000.00 Surface Preparations $190,246.00 $161,931.00 $94,360.00 $224,750.00 Total $237,808.00 $252,508.00 $259,360.00 $393,750.00 Public Works Director Davidson explained the re-bid for the water tank paint project. The last bid went to Maguire but they had an elapsed license so the project had to be re-bid. This time, however, they included a later start date of 2018 to include more bidders. Public Works Director Davidson reviewed the bids. Gateway came in with the lowest bid of $237,808.00. He recommends that City Council approve and award the bid to Gateway for that amount with a start date in March of 2018. Mayor Merrill asked about Gateway. Director Davidson said that they are a company that does a lot of tank painting and are well equipped. They didn’t bid the first time because they were already booked for the year but with a start date in 2018, they were able to bid. Council Member Wolfe asked if they could possibly come back next year and say that prices have gone up so they will need more money. Director Davidson said no, it’s already spelled out in the contract. 5 Council Member Wolfe moved to award the low bid for the re-painting of the water tank to Gateway for $237,808.00; Council Member Flora seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Flora Council Member Benfield Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe The motion carried Public Works Director Davidson indicated that the City of Rexburg, in conjunction with Sugar City, is currently in the process of putting out RFP’s (Request For Proposals) for engineering firms to study the sewer line in between Sugar City and Rexburg. There will be a hold on all future developments until they get that study back and know what the capacity is in that sewer line. Two people from Sugar City and two people from Rexburg will choose the consultant. Council Member Mann asked what future developments they are talking about. Director Davidson said anything that ties into the Kmart lift station. Council Member Wolfe asked if Teton is also on that line and will they be involved, too. Director Davidson said yes, they are on that same line and depending on the growth of Teton; they would also be a player in this. Discussion: Community Development: Natalie Powell 2. New Construction Report Compliance Officer Powell indicated that the big project this time is the Gravity Factory with a 2.8 million dollar project. Community Development anticipates a big month next month. Mayor’s Report: Mayor Merrill indicated that it has been a very busy two weeks. He was totally surprised about his surprise birthday party that was held in the Council Chambers. He thought he 6 was meeting with President Eyring from the university but that was just a scam. He appreciates his wife and those involved with throwing the birthday party. Mayor Merrill went to the RDA (Regional Development Alliance) board meeting. They loan out money to business start-ups and business expansions in the surrounding seven county areas. The board listens to proposals and decides whether it’s something they can risk the money on or not and if they have a good business plan. The small counties really struggle with getting businesses. Mayor Merrill enjoys meeting with the youth in our community and he recently met with Sonnet Dummar who is a candidate for Miss Rexburg. She wanted to discuss issues that she could help with and incorporate into her platform. He attended a meeting with the Parks Department for eclipse preparation and damage prevention. They are nervous about grass damage in the City parks. On Thursday, Council Member Chris Mann, who is the new Executive Director of the Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce, held a chamber open house and ribbon cutting. The MYAB had a Natural High Campaign presentation from Madison Cares. They are doing a new campaign to encourage youth to get high on natural things like sports, music, etc. instead of a drug induced high. They encourage youth to get active and get high on life not drugs. Mayor Merrill took a tour of the new sewer plant. It’s quite amazing. They have two computer programmers getting it up and going. Council Member Busby mentioned the Brett’s Family concert at the Madison High School was a success. Mayor Merrill met with Chief Turman and CFO Nielson and learned that we are in danger of losing some of our qualified Police Officers because other cities are offering more money than they make here. They want to implement a plan where they give more money to those officers who are classified in certain areas. He feels like that is something that we need to do because by the time they fully train someone it costs about $45,000 and if we lose them and have to start all over it ends up costing more money. Council Member Mann said that the Post Register had an article about the lack of recruitment for area police. Numbers are down and it’s getting to be a tighter market than before. Mayor Merrill indicated that we have great officers and he would hate to lose them so he would like to see these certifications be awarded and compensated. He appreciates our police officers. The landscaping and design for Center Street is getting closer to being final. The new CIO (Chief Information Officer) meets with an IT Stirring Committee every two weeks and that is going well. Every Tuesday the Mayor meets with a Strategic Development Committee to talk about planning and growth. There have been several Eclipse preparation meetings. They have divided responsibilities up into emergency services, and commercial planning, headed up by Council Member Mann and communications, headed up by Council Member Wolfe. Council Member Flora will oversee the fun party events. Mayor Merrill has been doing performance reviews with department heads. Everyone wants to work hard and make their departments move forward in a positive way. We have great employees at the City and he is thankful for them and all they do. Public Hearings: A. 7:15 P.M. Recommended Fee increases in City Fees by Resolution 2017 – 02 to take effect immediately – Staff Finance Officer Nielson presented the new fee recommendations. He is recommending a waste water fee change to be the same sewer base fee for a 1 inch water meter to match that of a ¾ inch meter. It would create a more equitable base fee charge because having a bigger water meter does not always mean that it’s going into the sewer. 7 Recommended Wastewater Fee Changes •Charge same sewer base fee for a ¾” & 1” meter –would create a more equitable base fee charge because having a 1” water meter vs. a ¾” water meter does not mean that you are actually using 2.5 times more sewer •1” meter users include the following: –Many Commercial businesses, Professional offices, and a few Eating estab lishments and smaller apartment buildings –Bigger meter size may be needed for additional water capacity, but does not necessarily correlate with higher sewer usage Recommended Wastewater Fee Changes •Would reduce the base fee revenues collected, which means an increase on the volume fee revenues would be needed to cover the expenses, which don’t change •Proposed Fee Changes (would be a 4.1% increase) •The last sewer or water increase was October 2015 Recommended Wastewater Fee Change Examples Council Member Flora asked if that affects residential homes. CFO Nielson said no, because most residents have a ¾ inch meter and those who have a 1 inch are already being charged a lower sewer base fee because they had them on sprinklers so that is a perfect example. If you have a 1 inch meter for sprinklers, you are putting that water back into the ground not into the sewer system. 8 Finance Officer Nielson indicated that there are about 380 users that this would affect. The change would reduce the base fee which means we would collect less in our revenues. To off-set that, we would increase the volume by 4.1 percent. He showed the examples of the fee change. It would be about .90 cents per month for a typical resident. Finance Officer Nielson talked with the Impact Fee Committee and they did have some concerns that perhaps developers would not build here because of the high impact fees. 2017 Feedback from Impact Committee on Recommended Fee Proposal on 2/1/17: Troy Kartchner- You're getting rid of me first?? :) I've enjoyed meeting all of you and the association! Thanks Richard for involving me in the process and respecting my input! I enjoy working with the City of Rexburg and Staff! I don't have a good answer whether to go with the increase. Is this increase in perpetuity? At what point does there need to be an impact fee study? Should the City of Rexburg be more competitive or in line with other markets? Has the City of Rexburg reviewed its development code with an eye toward lowering future maintenance and replacement costs? I am seeing city's updating there old development codes and saving money now and in the future on maintenance and replacement costs. Recently I have seen city's requiring narrower streets in residential communities instead of the wider streets that codes currently require. These narrower streets meet all traffic, parking, and emergency vehicle requirements. The goal is to look for ways to lower costs, and a good portion of this could be, by lowering future maintenance costs. I'm sure Rexburg, like many cities are already looking at this. I'm never in favor of increasing costs until every other idea has been exhausted. It seems as if we are just supposed to say yes raise the rates, without discussion and without looking at alternatives. I believe the apartment communities are paying their share of what they impact if not a little more than their share. I don't suggest the MF is increased. I don't know about housing or commercial. I would need an expert to review all the numbers before I could answer. If you have to have an answer today. Raise commercial and Single Family to what you have recommended and not raise the MF. Judy Hobbs- First, I feel loosing Troy from this committee is an irreplaceable vacancy. Troy has the insight of being a developer/builder/owner in Rexburg and the insight of how these fees are handled in other aggressively growing area. I believe I served and was then re-appointed, so am uncertain of when my 5-year term may expire. I learn much more than I ever contribute to this committee, however, I would best serve Rexburg and the committee if I was allowed to transfer my remaining time to Troy rather than loose his valuable perspective on the committee. Second, fees/taxes seem to be on a run away, as are costs of providing services. At some point we will kill the golden goose if we continue to increase fees. At what point do the existing owners/users support the cost of maintenance and growth of the infrastructure? Is it logical/fair for existing owners/users to share costs of expansion in order to live, work and play in a vibrant and growing city which will attract more growth and opportunity? There must be some economy of numbers/growth in the calculations. Each year when we review these proposed increases we go thru the same agony of “NO” to more taxation thru fees. Then we have a well-organized and documented process of emails or meetings and concede, ‘I guess we have ta’. We do have-ta find a better way. The cost of construction and doing business in Rexburg for the single-student developers is a cost that well may drive private investors from Rexburg. If private industry does not provide the housing BYU- Idaho will, and off the tax rolls to do so. In addition to impact fees, the cost of property taxes on these student complexes is much higher than comparably valued properties in our surrounding states. No one wants to pay more, and I question how long we can continue to pass increases on to one segment of our growth and expect continued growth. I do not find fault with anyone in this process, nor do I wish to abuse the messenger. However, I do feel we need to postpone these increases until every avenue is exhausted to find a better way. It needs to be more than justifying the number, I am certain you have put a lot of work into the proposal you have sent, we need to find alternatives to an increase each year. I am only one vote on the committee and don’t wish to hamper progress, I am certain you can move forward it you have a majority approval. Wayne Clark- I strongly agree with Judy and Troy, the impact fees are making it difficult on developers and their ability to make a project pencil out. The tax base that will come to Rexburg through 9 continued growth will more than offset any impact fee. Please consider setting any increase on hold for this review period, outside development is important to Rexburg as noted and at BYU-Idaho we would sooner have private developers meet these needs instead of building more BYU-Idaho owned housing. Jared Kay- I stand with Troy and with Judy and with Wayne. Finance Officer Nielson did a study of four different properties and found that the impact fees were between 1.4 and 2.47 percent of the total cost. They also found that land was a substantial cost. BYU-I approved housing has much lower impact fees. 2017 Impact and Capacity Fees Staff* and Mayor Final Considerations and Recommendations from 2/21/17 meeting: Considerations and 2.47% of the total project cost. After the construction cost, the land was the second most expensive cost (averaged almost 13% of the total) e studied 2 new BYU-I approved housing developments and determined that the impact fees range between .59% and 1.00% of the total project cost. After the construction cost, the land was the second most expensive cost (averaged over 14% of the total) Finance Officer Nielson pointed out that our fees are really not that high. Rexburg has low property tax rates and that’s why we have impact fees. Council Member Mann commented that we have impact fees because we have growth. Those cities with no growth have no need for impact fees. 10 Finance Officer Nielson said staff recommends putting a hold on any significant increases but budget for a restudy of those impact fees for next year and increase most of the capacity fees to make sure we are closer to full cost for those. Recommendations (See new Fee Comparison Sheet) in impact fees. We recommend reducing Impact Fee combined increases from the original published amounts on 2/1/17 act fees (all 4 categories-streets, parks, police, fire) in 2018 Fiscal Year (We are estimating a cost between $50,000 to $100,000). 4 categories of sewer capacity fees in an effort to come closer to full cost *Finance, Economic Development, Legal, Public Works 11 Finance Officer Nielson explained that what they had advertised was a 2.03 increase in residential. Now he is saying a 2.37 percent increase because he kept the water the same but sewer needed a 9.7 percent increase and really to go to full cost it would be a 15.2 percent and on the impact fees he actually took the parks down. The overall increase to impact fees for a new residential home would be 2.37 percent or $140.00. Commercial would get 0 percent increase. RESOLUTION NO. 2017-02 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, ADOPTING A NEW RATE SCHEDULE FOR CERTAIN FEES. WHEREAS, the City Council desires to maintain the overall quality of life experienced by its constituents; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to set certain fees so that they cover the cost of the services provided through the payment of those fees; NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Mayor and the Council of the City of Rexburg, effective March 2nd, 2017, that the fees in attached list shall be charged as specified: 12 13 Mayor Merrill declared the Public Hearing Open. Public Testimony in favor of the proposal (5-minute limit): NONE Public Testimony neutral to the proposal (5-minute limit): NONE Public Testimony opposed to the proposal (5-minute limit): DJ Barney of Rexburg who is building storage units on his property on Airport Road explained his frustration with the impact fees. He isn’t against impact fees but wanted City Council to understand where he is coming from. Last year he built three buildings on Airport Road. The first two buildings, which are storage units, measured 6,000 square feet and the building permit, including impact fees came to $4,500 which equals 74.6 cents a square foot. Two months later the fees went up and a permit for his 8,000 square foot building went up to 88.5 cents per square foot. The biggest change on that was the police impact fee which went up $2,700 from $1,400 for the previous buildings. The fire impact fees doubled. He is getting ready to build another 8,000 square foot building and just paid $7,000 for the building permit. What he gets for his square footage is different than what other businesses get. Police and fire impact fees are based solely on square footage no matter what type of business it is. He doesn’t believe that his storage units need as much police or fire help. His storage units bring in and average of .46 cents a square foot per month. They are also building an RV storage unit. In the county it would be considered a hay shed. His building permit will be $9,000.00. His charge will be around $75.00 per month multiplied by 20 spaces which come to .15 cents per square foot per month. It will take over a year to pay for the building permit. If he didn’t already own the property it wouldn’t be worth it. He can build in the county a lot cheaper. He doesn’t agree with how the fees are assessed for police and fire. His buildings are 100 percent steel. His insurance company charges half of what it would be for wood. Therefore, the fire impact should be less as well. Storage units rarely get broke into because they use a lot of security. He would like to see a way to make impact fees fairer. Council Member Flora asked about electrical. Mr. Barney said they only have lights, no outlets. In the RV units it will be the same thing. Mr. Barney reviewed his costs for his buildings which came to about $100,000. The building permits are 9 percent of that. He previously had a possible agreement with Fed Ex to buy his property for their building. He wonders if the Fed Ex building went in by Rigby instead of here because of the high fees. He would like City Council to really look at these fees and try to find a formula that makes more sense. Discussion Council Member Flora asked that we include these concerns the next time we do a study. Council Member Mann asked if we look at impact fees every year. Finance Officer Nielson said we are required to look at it every 5 years but they wanted to do it every year. 14 Mayor Merrill closed the public hearing. Deliberations: Council President Smith asked Finance Officer Nielson if we are driving people away with these impact fees. Finance Officer Nielson said when it comes to housing he doesn’t think so. City Attorney Zollinger said that most commercial developers don’t have a problem with the impact fees. He said there are industries that we may need to look at. Steel buildings, maybe, should be less for fire impact but the national average shows that storage units are generally high crime. The City does not do the fee study. It has to be done by a company that specializes in that type of study and could cost 50 to 100 thousand dollars. Council Member Wolfe agrees that in Mr. Barney’s situation that a simple building doesn’t impact schools, parks, etc. but a place where you store RV’s full of fuel could be a fire hazard. As a City Council we need to consider everything. Council Member Smith moved to approve Recommended Fee increases in City Fees by Resolution 2017-02 to take effect immediately; Council Member Wolfe seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Flora Council Member Benfield Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe The motion carried Items for Consideration: Calendared Bills and Tabled Items: A. “LAND USE ACTION” – Bills Recommended/Approved in a Land Use Public Hearing Procedure (Recommend Suspension of the Rules): 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. BILL 1156 Creation of LID 47 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, CREATING LOCAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 47 DESCRIBING AND SETTING FORTH THE BOUNDARIES OF SAID LOCAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT; PROVIDING FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS TO BE MADE THEREIN; APPOINTING AN ENGINEER TO PREPARE THE NECESSARY PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE WORK; AUTHORIZING THE ADVERTISING FOR BIDS FOR SAID WORK AS AUTHORIZED BY LAW; PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF COSTS AND EXPENSES OF SAID IMPROVEMENTS TO BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE PROPERTY WITHIN THE DISTRICT BENEFITTED THEREBY AND THE METHOD OF ASSESSMENTS; PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LOCAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BONDS AND WARRANTS; PROVIDING FOR RELATED MATTERS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Council Member Mann moved to consider BILL 1156 Creation of LID 47 second read; Council Member Flora seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay 15 Council President Smith Council Member Flora Council Member Benfield Council Member Wolfe Council Member Mann The motion carried E. Third Reading: Those items which have been second read: 1. BILL 1157 Amendments to the Development Code (Ordinance 1115). AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 1115 WITH SUBSTANTIVE AND NON- SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES; THE MORE SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES ARE AS FOLLOWS: (1) ADD DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE (2) ADD RADON TESTING (3) REFINE DEFINITIONS (4) CHANGE SIDE YARD SETBACK (5) CHANGE MINIMUM LOT WIDTH (6) CONTAIN RUNOFF TO YOUR OWN LOT (7) CHANGE PEDESTRIAN EMPHASIS OVERLAY SETBACKS (8) REDUCE MIXED USE ZONES TO ONE MIXED USE ZONE AND ADD EIGHT FOOT SIDEWALKS TO THE MU ZONE INCLUDING TREES AND LANDSCAPING, ENCOURAGE UNDERGROUND PARKING (9) BLADE SIGNS CAN BE ALLOWED BETWEEN 11 AND 16 FEET (10) MAXIMUM DWELLING DENSITIES. (11) AMEND SOME CONDITIONAL USES (12) PARKING LOT CONNECTIVITY REQUIRED (13) ALL BUILDINGS REQUIRE A BUILDING PERMIT (14) MODIFY COMMERCIAL LIGHTING STANDARDS (15) PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT – ONE ACRE MINIMUM (16) ADD STORAGE FACILITIES TO CHAPTER 5 AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE ORDINANCE. Council Member Wolfe moved to consider BILL 1157 Amendments to the Development Code (Ordinance 1115) third read; Council Member Smith seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a roll call vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith Council Member Flora Council Member Benfield Council Member Wolfe Council Member Mann The motion carried Mayor’s Business: 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 February 15, 2017 meeting B. Approve the City of Rexburg Bills Council Member Flora moved to approve the Consent Calendar containing the minutes and city bills; Council Member Wolfe seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Flora Council Member Benfield Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe 16 The motion carried Adjourned at 7:54 P.M. APPROVED: ____________________________ Jerry Merrill, Mayor Attest: _______________________________ Mary Flanary, Deputy City Clerk