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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Minutes - May 17, 2017.pdf 1 May 17, 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 Joshua Croasmon led the pledge. Kylie Leavitt said the prayer. Roll Call of Council Members: Attending: Council President Smith, Council Member Flora, Council Member Mann, Council Member Benfield, Council Member Wolfe and Mayor Merrill. 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: New Employee: IT System Administrator Joe Cramer Mayor Merrill asked Joe Cramer the new IT System Administrator to introduce himself. Joe Cramer said he was born in 1991 in Las Vegas, NV to Elvin and Andrea Cramer. He is the youngest of 4 siblings and was raised in Las Vegas, so (although he loves Idaho) he is proud of his “Battleborn” heritage. He mentioned he is a member of the Church of Jesus Chirst of Latter-day Saints, and served a full-time mission in South Carolina. He started as an intern on July 27th , 2015. Then graduated a year later on July 22nd, 2016 from BYU-Idaho with a degree in Information Technology. He was a distance runner in high school, but now he loves rock climbing and can’t get enough. He said he is very excited about the new position and the opportunity to work in a different capacity. He thanked everyone for making Rexburg a great place to learn, work and live. Committee Liaison Assignments for 2017: A. Council Member Mann: Golf Board · Emergency Services Board · GIS Oversight · Development Workshop 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 May 17, 2017 2 Council Member Mann reported the Golf Board met to discuss the conditions at the golf course. There was frost damage on some of the greens; however, the damage is being repaired. The revenues are where they hoped they would be because the season passes are selling well. They are working on contract negotiations. They will review the contracts with the golf course management with possible staff member changes. Emergency Services Board met during their budget review. He is proud of the Emergency Services staff and is impressed with the many things they do. The Development Workshop is responsible for assisting and placing disabled people in the workforce. They do a great job at finding employment for their clients. B. Council Member Busby: · Airport Board · Traffic & Safety · Trails of Madison County Council Member Busby was unable to attend the meeting. Mayor Merrill said they will be meeting with the Airport Board during their budget review. C. Council Member Benfield: Police · MYAB· Parks & Recreation Council Member Benfield reported the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board has been busy planting flowers along Main Street. They will be having a closing social with a slideshow tomorrow to end the year. She spoke with Police Chief Turman this week and they are busy with all the day to day things they do. She reported this is National Police Week and expressed her appreciation for the Police Department. She mentioned that City Council and the community stand behind the Police Department and are grateful for all they do. Council Member Benfield reported the Recreation Department is busy with the summer recreation programs. They are working on the carousel kick off at Porter Park on May 26th from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. with bounce houses, a farmers market and free carousel rides. There will also be a presentation at 4 p.m. to commemorate Patricia Burton and her committee for all the work they did to restore the carousel. The Teton Dam Marathon is scheduled for June 3rd. There will be a huge soccer tournament on June 8th with about 90 teams that have already signed up. Rexburg Rapids is scheduled to open June 10th. They have started a kid’s race program and the sport camps will begin soon. D. Council Member Smith: Legacy Flight Museum · Beautification Committee · M.E.P.I. Council President Smith reported City Council was able to tour the Legacy Flight Museum during the drive around. She said it was a great opportunity to tour the museum to see all of the displays and airplanes. The Legacy Flight Museum will be meeting on Friday for budget hearings. The next event they are working on is the Fly-in on June 17th at 8:00 a.m. with a free breakfast. She said the gift shop will be open with great ideas for Father’s Day gifts. Council President Smith said they have reorganized the Beautification Committee. They have been working with the community to get the committee up and going. She recommended the following people as new members to the Beautification Committee. 3 Council President Smith moved to ratify the appointments of the new members as listed to the Beautification Committee; 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 Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried Council President Smith said they have been working with the local flower vendors on an awareness campaign to beautify the city by planting flowers and other things. They have sent out flyers asking city residents to get involved in the beautification of the city and to help their neighbors, too. A Facebook page was also created named “Beautify our Rexburg”, she asked everyone to like the page. They will be doing a lot of fun things on the Facebook page including giveaways. Council President Smith reported the Beautification Committee will be sponsoring an event called “Clean up Days” on May 27th-29th. There will be two locations to drop off yard waste, furniture, and metal. The old Maverick and the old Cal-Ranch parking lots will be the drop off locations. She indicated she is very pleased with the work the new members of the committee have completed. Council President Smith reported M.E.P.I. met, they discussed fundraising. E. Council Member Flora: School Board · Rexburg Arts Council/ Museum of Rexburg Council Member Flora reported the Historical Buildings Committee met with engineers to put together a ten year plan for the maintenance needed at the Romance Theater. There are many volunteers helping with the painting of the theater. The Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra will be performing with a ballet on May 23rd and 24th at 8:00 p.m. Council Member Mann will be the MC at the event. Council Member Flora reported a local committee is teaming up with the Chamber of Commerce and the Heritage Festival Committee to discuss the “Experience Rexburg” event. They are excited and hope the university students and the community will be involved with the event. The Upper Valley Arts Council met and is working with Art Grows Rexburg to host a free Children’s Summer Art Camp on June 6, 7 and 8 at the Madison Jr. High School. There is also an Adult Art competition and exhibit at the Atrium at Hemming Village on June 15th- 27th. The Cultural Art’s Department will be hosting a Storytelling and Arts Festival on August 19th. If anyone is interested in volunteering for the Storytelling Event, meetings are held on Fridays at City Hall. Council Member Flora commended the Madison Cares Organization for the health fair they hosted. She was very impressed with the quality of the information that was given out. The School Board is busy working overtime trying to finish up the school year. They are also working on a school bond for August. There is a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the details of the bond. F. Council Member Wolfe: Planning & Zoning · Urban Renewal Agency · IBC Council Member Wolfe reported Planning and Zoning met and will meet again tomorrow night. The Urban Renewal Agency did not meet; however, they are busy with several projects going on in the city. Council Member Wolfe mentioned the training City Council received by Emergency Services Director Trevin Ricks. He is grateful for the Emergency Services employees and the knowledge they have with regards to how to handle emergencies. Council Member Wolfe said he was very impressed with the new pasteurization system at the wastewater plant. The pasteurization system is a first of its kind in the United States. He explained the by-product will be clean. 4 Mayor Merrill asked the BYU-Idaho Students attending the meeting to mark their calendars on September 16th for the Heritage Festival. Staff Reports: A. Finance: Financial Reports - Matt Nielson Finance Officer Nielson mentioned the Emergency Services Board met and made a motion to hire for a new position on June 1st of this year. They also motioned to defer adding a second position until January of next year. Council Member Wolfe moved to approve the Emergency Services position (new hire) on June 1st , 2017 and moved to defer a second Emergency Services position until January of 2018; Council Member Mann seconded the motion; Discussion: Council President Smith questioned the reason for the request. Finance Officer Nielson explained their initial request was to hire the two new positions in October; however, due to the fire season they wanted to hire sooner. The Emergency Services Board decided to hire one position in June and wait to hire the second position later. He said the ambulance district pays for 50% of the cost and the other 50% is split between the city and the Fire District; Mayor Merrill mention BYU-Idaho canceled their EMS program causing a shortage of personnel in the City’s Emergency Services. The two new hires will fill the shortage; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Flora Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Operating Expenditure Report. The city is seven months into the fiscal year with about 58% spent. The Wastewater Treatment Operations Fund is slightly high due to the addition of new personnel as they anticipate bringing the wastewater system online. He said on the capitol side the city is about 22% spent. Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Operating Revenues Report. The city has brought in about 46% of the operating revenues. He said the city is cash flowing fine; however, we have brought in 1.7 million dollars less in revenues than expenses. Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Cash and Investments Report. The has about 23.6 million dollars invested and 30% of that is liquid. The 30% of liquid calculates to about seven million dollars that the city has to cash flow if needed. Mayor Merrill question the 1.7 million dollars less in the operating revenues. He asked if it is typical to be laging or is the city behind. Finance Officer Nieslon said the lag is typical because of the billing cycles. 5 6 Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Treasurer’s Expenditure Report. The Revolving Loan Fund has about $342,000.00 available. There has been discussion regarding the facade campaign for Main Street. Some of the funds will be used for that campaign. He said there is about 3.6 million dollars in the Wastewater Fund reserve. The Street Fund is ahead. The Public Works Department discussed using about one million dollars from the Street Fund on projects for next fiscal year. The Water Fund has a 7.5 million dollars in reserve. A loan of $800,000.00 will be requested from the Water Fund. 7 B. Public Works and Engineering: - Keith Davidson 1. Approve LID47 Bid Public Works Director Davidson reviewed the bids for Local Improvement District 47. Zollinger Construction was the low bidder. Council Member Smith moved to approve the low bid for Local Improvement District 47 from Zollinger Construction for $1,211,997.50; 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 Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried 2. Approve House and out-building demolition bid for the Squires property on N 2nd E. Public Works Director Davidson indicated there were no bids on the demolition for the old Bud Squires house on One Stationary Road. Public Works Director Davidson reported they will be opening bids on Friday for the lighting project at Riverside Park. He asked if City Council could be polled after the bid opening. He would like to start the lighting project as soon as possible because it takes a while to receive the lights. Council President Smith asked when the work for LID 47 will begin. Public Works Director said as soon as the bid bonds are in place and the contracts are signed. She also asked when the Center Street Project will begin. Public Works Director said the project goes out to bid on Tuesday. Mayor’s Report: A. Proclamation 2017 – 02 “Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15th, 2017” and “Police Week” 8 Council Member Mann moved to ratify Police Week – May 15 to May 22, 2017 Proclamation No. 2017-2; Council Member Benfield seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Flora Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried Mayor Merrill expressed his appreciation for the Rexburg Police Department in protecting and serving the community. He mentioned it is also Public Works Professional Week. He thanked Public Works Director Davidson for his efforts to keep the water running and the streets kept. Mayor Merrill said he enjoyed helping the Mayor’s Youth members plant flowers along Main Street last week. He reported he met with the REDI economic development group. They discussed how to attract companies by promoting the city’s workforce. There is a large amount of talented individuals in Rexburg. He would like to keep these talented individuals in Rexburg by attracting these companies. 9 Mayor Merrill mentioned the city is looking for grants to update the plumbing and other items at the Romance Theater and the Rexburg Tabernacle. Public Hearings: – NONE Items for Consideration: A. Final Plat – Stonebridge Subdivision Division No. 2 at approximately south of Woodbridge Street – Harper Leavitt Engineers (Recommended for approval by Planning and Zoning) Discussion: Kevin Alcott presented the final plat for the Stonebridge Subdivision Division No. 2. He said he would like to help the city with their economic development and one of those keys is to have affordable housing. He is here to help with that by building residential lots. He said there are not any large changes from the preliminary plat. The plat is on the west half of the subject property. A sewer lift station will be put in and the east half of the property will be developed later. 10 Council President Smith moved to approve the final plat for Stonebridge Subdivision Division No. 2 at approximately south of Woodbridge Street; 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 Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried B. Final Plat – Juniper Sands at approximately 801 West 7th South – Bron Leatham (Recommended for approval by Planning and Zoning) Discussion: Bron Leatham presented the final plat for the Juniper Sands at approximately 801 West 7th South. There are no changes since the preliminary plat was approved. They are looking to break ground on the section of the road they will be building. Council President Smith asked about the Cook property and how it will fit with the development. Mr. Leatham said a development agreement with the Cooks will be created, providing that if access to the Cook’s property is adversely affected during phase two of the development. They will build an access road into their property for them. 11 Council Member Mann moved to approve the final plat for Juniper Sands at approximately 801 West 7th South; 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 Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried C. Cantemere PUD (Planned Unit Development) Preliminary Master Plan/Preliminary Plat at approximately 630 South Yellowstone HWY-(Recommended for approval by Planning and Zoning) Discussion: Kelly McCandless presented the Cantemere Planned Unit Development preliminary master plan/ preliminary plat at approximately 630 South Yellowstone Hwy. They will need to create access to the property by building a road through the property on the west that they own. They will also establish a Home Owners Association that will oversee the maintenance and upkeep of the property. One of the main reasons they are requesting a PUD is to allow the selling of the units individually. Mr. McCandless said the development will be built similar to that of approved BYU-Idaho housing. The units will be fully furnished and rented to individuals that will share rooms. The architectural design of the four-plexes is similar to the surrounding developments. Council President Smith asked about the playground and if the tenants from the other properties will be able to use the playground. She asked how large the playground will be. Mr. McCandless said he is unsure how large the playground will be. It was estimated about 40x80. 12 Mr. McCandless indicated the property is difficult to develop due to its geometry shape. They had a couple of iteration with city staff to work out the green space requirements. He said they started out with 21 four- plexes and are now down to 19 four-plexes to allow more green space. Council Member Mann asked when the units will be sold. Mr. McCandless said all of the four-plexes have a reservation agreement. The project will not be done in phases but will be built out from start to finish. 13 14 15 16 Council Member Flora moved to approve the preliminary master plan/preliminary plat Planned Unit Development for Cantemere at approximately 630 South Yellowstone HWY; 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 Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried D. Approve and First Read Ordinance 1164 changing misdemeanor violations in the Rexburg City Code to Infractions-Staff Discussion: City Attorney Zollinger said there are concerns that some cities continue to labor under their own ordinances. Some cities are using state statutes and other cities are using city ordinances that are exactly the same as the state statutes. There used to be a financial incentive for charging under city ordinances that is no longer the case. The fees are allocated based on the agency that writes the ticket and not based on the code that is written. He indicated there is a movement across the state and a recommendation from the Association of Idaho City’s that all residual city codes that are not covered by state statutes be converted to infractions, so that there is not a jail sentence associated with the infraction. He said city staff has gone through the city’s ordinances and determined that we really don’t have any that need to be retained as misdemeanors at this point. The city doesn’t need the threat of jail in order to obtain compliance; the city uses state statutes in those circumstances. Most of what you think of as criminal behaviors are covered under the state statutes. The city wants to decriminalize some of the things that we think of more as zoning infractions and stop thinking of them as criminal behavior. It’s that gray area between a civil dispute and criminal behavior. This ordinance will accomplish that by re-designating all of the city’s misdemeanors to infractions without changing any of the definitions of the behaviors. City Attorney Zollinger clarified infractions are punishable by monetary penalties only; you cannot lose your liberty on an infraction. 17 Council Member Wolfe moved to approve to change the misdemeanor violations in the Rexburg City Code to Infractions; 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 Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried Tabled Items: A. BILL 1166 to Rezone approximately 154 South 3rd West from Medium Density 1 (MDR1) to High Density Residential 2 (HDR2). (Recommend approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission with two Public Works staff recommendations on April 06, 2017) #1 The existing sewer system would need to be evaluated to determine if it would be able to handle the increased flow from the higher densities of the new zone; and #3 If the zone change is approved a traffic impact study would be required from any future development to determine street improvements needed; and with a strong recommendation against Public Works staff recommendation #2 which states: Increased density in the area would increase the traffic by the Splash Park and Carousel in Porter Park. With safety being the primary concern, the City currently installs speed bumps along 2nd South during the summer months to slow traffic down in this area. If the Zone change was approved, Public Works would recommend relocation of the Splash Park and Carousel.” NOTE: PUBLIC WORKS IS WAITING FOR A RESPONSE TO ENGINEERING QUESTIONS FROM HORROCK ENGINNEERING. Mayor Merrill said the recommendation from staff is to receive more clarification from Horrock’s Engineering regarding the traffic study. Council Member Mann asked to have a work meeting to review the information regarding the traffic study. Discussion regarding the date and time for the City Council work meeting. City Council decided to schedule the work meeting on June 7th at 5:00 p.m. 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. Second Reading: Those items which have been first read: NONE D. Third Reading: Those items which have been second read: 1. BILL 1161 to rezone 278 North 2nd West from Light Industrial (LI) to Medium Density Residential Two (MDR2) Council Member Mann moved to third read and approve BILL 1161 to rezone 278 North 2nd West from Light Industrial (LI) to Medium Density Residential Two (MDR2); Council President Smith seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Flora Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried 18 Mayor’s Business: Mayor Merrill recommended Kristi Anderson to be ratified as the new Planning and Zoning Commissioner from the City’s Impact Area. She will be replacing Richard Smith. Council Member Wolfe moved to ratify the appointment of Kristi Anderson as a new member to the Planning and Zoning Commission; Council President Smith seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Flora Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried 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 May 03, 2017 meeting B. Approve the City of Rexburg Bills Council President Smith moved to approve the Consent Calendar containing the minutes and city bills; Council Member Benfield seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council President Smith None Council Member Flora Council Member Mann Council Member Wolfe Council Member Benfield The motion carried Adjournment 7:44 APPROVED: ____________________________ Jerry Merrill, Mayor Attest: _______________________________ Marianna Gonzalez, Deputy City Clerk