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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Minutes - February 17, 2021 Mayor Jerry Merrill Council Members: Christopher Mann Jordan Busby Mikel Walker Tisha Flora Brad Wolfe Bryanna Johnson City Staff: Stephen Zollinger – City Attorney Matt Nielson – Finance Officer Keith Davidson – Public Works Director Alan Parkinson – Planning & Zoning Administrator Scott Johnson – Economic Development Director Deborah Lovejoy – City Clerk 5:00 P.M. Joint Planning & Zoning City Council Work Meeting – Comprehensive Plan Map Items for Consideration: Comprehensive Plan Map change – Boundaries have been modified to follow parcel lines. This meeting is being held in preparation for a public hearing. Alan said we have sat down together as a group to decide on the areas for the Comprehensive Plan Map. Staff was going to wait until the Comprehensive Plan was ready in its entirety. Due to the applications coming to the City, the Comprehensive Plan Map affects their proposals. The group is together to indicate if any changes need to be made. The map has been drawn to follow the parcel lines. The north side of town was viewed. Industrial is shown for the Basic American property. Commercial is along N 2nd E up around Wal-Mart, the Hegsted and Harris properties. The north exit was identified. A recent change in this area was the Beehive rezone to Community Business Center (CBC). Moran View Rd. was identifed on the map. Just south of W Moran View Rd, a Plat was recently completed to build residential in Moran View Estates. A manufactured home park and a few homes are showing as Industrial. This land should be included in the Low to Medium Residential. This change will allow the development of the recent plat and will continue a residential allowed use for these lots, currently with homes on them. These parcels all front W Moran View Rd and to the West of them is Open Space. The Open Space area is an area where there is a floodplain. East of these parcels is Commercial. The area is showing as Industrial for the Basic American property. The spread of the waste water on Basic Americans’ land creates a buffer from the proposed residential. The next step for Basic American is to annex into the City. Alan asked Mayor Jerry Merrill how this affects the City’s wastewater. Mayor answered as long as the plant can land apply, the City would prefer them to continue. Otherwise, there would be a big surge on the city’s treatment plant. Alan said the nitrate levels in the soil could be another determining factor. Too high of nitrate levels could affect the water table. This is the reason Basic American’s wells are monitored for each of their pivots. Aaron Richards agrees with the change, due to Basic American’s fields working as a buffer between the Industrial plant and the residential in this area, creating a stair-step of uses. Alan said the recent investment by Basic American in this plant communicates the longevity of the business. This land is in the City’s Impact Area northwest of the city. Rory asked, what if Industrial keeps shrinking, where is the Industrial going to go? What happens if the airport moves? Will the airport land stay Industrial? Alan answered, if the airport moves, the land will probably stay as Light Industrial where the airport hangers are. The Rexburg Municipal Golf Course has to stay or the city has to pay to move it. Airport funds were used to build the Rexburg Municipal Golf Course. The only Heavy Industrial in our city area is Basic American. Sally asked, didn’t we just change the Leatham property to Industrial? We did. Tawnya talked to Bron on the phone and told him what the group was planning for the Comprehensive Plan Map to the east of him and the west of his parcel (4 W Moody). He decided he would want a Commercial designation. His parcel is currently zoned Light Industrial, so he would need a rezone to a commercial zone, but the Comprehensive Plan would be set up to match his request. Alan continued, in response to Rory. It is a challenge for the City, because we are limited on our Light and Heavy Industry areas. Heavy Industry is almost impossible to get into this area, because we don’t have the natural gas flow to service the Heavy Industry. His understanding is a major upgrade on the pipeline would be needed clear to Pocatello. Tisha asked if all of the people have been contacted to see what designation they would want for their land. Only those lots recently rezoned or have completed a Comprehensive Plan Map change in the last five years were reviewed. Those parcels, which could see a potential change, were contacted. Alan said when the group is finished with the map, there will be a citywide posting of the changes and the community will be notified, allowing them to come in and speak at the public hearing. The whole community will not receive a written notice in the mail, because there is such a great number of people effected in the City and the Impact Area. Sally said the decrease in industrial along the railroad track is a problem. Alan stated our business parks are just about full; we are running out of places for the business parks to expand. The northeast area was looked at next. Alan said around Porter’s, there is Light Industrial. Light Industrial moves north where Centennial Grain, Johnson Precast, Cedar Pointe are, and Sun Glow just put in a huge expansion along N Yellowstone Hwy in Sugar City. A rail spur could be put in to service this area. Valley Ag and the Seed Cutting Place and Wilcox to the south are along the railroad on the south side of town. Basic American uses very little rail. Few people are using rail right now.  North of the Teton Lakes Golf Course is showing as Low to Moderate Density. In this area, the zones are Rural Residential 1 (RR1) and Rural Residential 2 (RR2). Should the designation be changed to Rural? Rural includes TAG, RR1, and RR2. If we go Low to Medium Density, this would allow up to 20 units/acre. Rural makes mores sense further away from town. A comment was made around the high school the density needs to be greater, instead of out at Pine Brook. In Pine Brook, the lots along the highway could be a greater density. Jordan said we may run into the same conflicts we see with The Meadows. Vince said access is not great to those lots along the highway corridor. People, who are living in Pine Brook are thinking they are living out in the country. ½ acre is the minimum for Rural. Water and sewer is limited in this area. The Cove and Pine Brook subdivisions in this area have covenants which do not allow multi-family. With a low to moderate density residential, a P.U.D is possible as well. Next to the commercial, you would want higher density. Possible use the highway as a divider was discussed. The group determined to use N 5th W as the dividing line between the Rural and Low to Moderate Residential designations instead of the highway. Housing along N 12th W west of the Teton Lakes Golf Course is showing as Open Space. This area is all residential and we are changing land to the west to Rural. Homes in this area possibly could be Rural. Floodplain is an issue in this area. When a house is in the floodplain, the City is not the only one who is restricting building there. Homes that front W 1000 N should go to Rural. FEMA is in the process of rewriting our floodplain and they are telling us the area will be much larger than it currently is showing. Jordan clarified Rory’s comment about density around Madison High School. Rory said the map is currently showing less density around Madison High School, but he believes there should be greater density in this area. The only applications in this area of town are Sterling Medical and Berry Oil. Summerfield has commitments on most of their currently platted lots. Tawnya talked to Summerfield earlier in the day and they were finalizing submission of plat applications. Alan said Ball Ventures owns the land for Summerfield and they are in partnership with Kartchner Homes. The extent of the Summerfield P.U.D. was discussed, currently to the west, which is the boundary for the city limits. All of the townhomes are permitted; 114 of them. 30 homes are under construction. Alan has been told no foundations begin until the papers have been signed to sell ownership. West of the High School and south currently showing Rural is proposed to go to Low to Moderate Residential. This would allow a maximum of MDR2, which is 20 units/acre. Tisha confirmed this is only the case if the governing bodies approve this zoning. W 1000 S, W 7th S , the north border of the Madison school district property, would be the northern border of the Low to Moderate. Three parcels directly west of the school district property and going south will be included; the southern boundary is N of W 2000 S. Rainbow Lake and the adjacent property to the north came in in the last few years for a rezone to commercial.  The southeast side of the city was looked at next, west of the University land. McDonald’s and Cresthaven subdivision were located. Rural is showing outside the boundaries of the city in this area, except along S Yellowstone Highway. This area is heavily developing into subdivisions. The designation is showing Low to Moderate Residential. Alan does not believe we will see high density in this area. The location of the East Parkway Corridor was shown on the map. A couple of possible routes are shown in the plan; one to follow our sewer line instead of along the city boundary line. Right now a Transportation Study is underway for the entire city. A moderate to high density area was shown near E 7th N. This area was designated due to applications that have been submitted and approved by the city. Keep in mind a large park is being built on the former Barney property. Centennial Townhomes is 99 homes west of the church. An application for rezone around the church has been submitted. Yellowstone Heights is in front of Kenneth Square. A bridge to connect the East Parkway Corridor to E 7th N will be built out in the next seven to ten years. Bron Leatham is building 4-plexes just south of Lorene Street. There have been inquiries about the Grover property just to the north of him. Northeast of the City is currently showing Low to Moderate. South of Moody and east of N 9th E south down to E 9th N out to the Impact Area boundaries should go to Rural. Development in this area is greater than 10 years out. This change will keep people from stepping out in this area to develop at a higher-density. The Low to Moderate will be a buffer between the Commercial and the Rural. The sewer for the City services the church on E 7th N and this is as far as the line goes. N 9th E is a continuing north to south boundary following the city limit line on the same side of the city on the south and extending it up to the north. The Planning & Zoning department researched all of the zoning and Comprehensive Plan changes in the last 5 years and matched the request to the proposed zoning map or they contacted them individually. The group has been sent a link for the map and changes will show up for that link by tomorrow afternoon. Group members are asked to respond to let Staff know if they agree with the map changes. Mixed Use – Discussion about proposed changes to the Development Code chapter for the Mixed Use zone. Staff has rewritten the Mixed Use zone. The Mixed Use will come before the group with a required commercial component on March 4th. Tawnya will send out the Mixed Use draft the following day, so the Commissioners can begin reviewing for their next meeting. Also, a hearing will be held to request a rezone. 6:30 P.M. City Hall Council Member Mann said the prayer. Public Works Director Davidson led the pledge. Roll Call of Council Members: Attending: Council Member Flora, Council Member Johnson, Council Member Mann, Council Member Walker, Council Member Wolfe, Council President Busby and Mayor Merrill. Presentation: Senator Brent Hill Service Appreciation Gift. Mayor Merrill presented Senator Brent Hill with a “key to the city” to express the city’s appreciation to Senator Hill for his service of 19 years in the Idaho Legislator. He said Senator Hill represented the City of Rexburg well. Senator Brent Hill expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve in the legislator. He served with four different governors and 55 different senators. When he first became a senator he had four grand-children and currently he has 21 grand-children. He stated the following quote “the song is over but the melody lingers on” similar to his service as a senator, his career may be over but because of good friends he has made along the journey the melody lingers on. 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. Welcome New City Employees: Kyle Baldwin – Planning and Zoning Planner 1; Chris Talbot - New Full Time Patrol Police Officer – Oath of Office by Stephen Zollinger, City Attorney Mayor Merrill said the swearing in of Police Officer Chris Talbot will need to be postponed until the next City Council meeting due to City Attorney Zollinger being out of town. He said new P&Z Planner Kyle Baldwin was not able to attend tonight’s meeting. 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. Committee Liaison Assignments for 2020: A. Council Member Mann: M.E.P.I. · Legacy Flight Museum Council Member Mann reported M.E.P.I. has not met; however, they are reorganizing how they assist in economic development. The Legacy Flight Museum met; however, he was unable to attend the meeting. They will be meeting again on Friday. He will no longer be reporting on or attending the Planning and Zoning meetings due to advice given by Jim McNall with ICRMP. He said Mr. McNall had mentioned in a training meeting that City Council Members are not to report or attend meetings where decisions will later be deliberated on by the Council Members. He will remain as the city liaison for Planning and Zoning; however, he will no longer attend the Planning and Zoning meetings. B. Council President Busby: Cultural Arts/Museum Events · School Board · M.U.S.I.C. Council President Busby reported the School Board will meet tomorrow and the Boys’ Basketball District games will also begin tomorrow. The field house is near completion. He said if any of the Council Members are interested in touring the field house he would gladly give them a tour. The M.U.S.I.C. Committee will soon resume their meetings. Mayor Merrill mentioned a BYU-Idaho Group looking for service projects to complete in the city. There is a possibility the M.U.S.I.C Committee Members and the volunteer group could combine efforts. C. Council Member Walker: MYAB · Traffic & Safety Council Member Walker reported the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board met today to make blankets for the Family Crisis Center. The Traffic and Safety Committee met to discuss the crosswalks on Pioneer Road and the visibility issues at the intersection of 2nd South, 3rd and 4th West. There are issues with vehicle congestion at the Middle School when parents pick up and drop off their children before and after school. D. Council Member Johnson: Trails · Beautification · Rexburg Free Clinic Board Council Member Johnson reported the Trails Committee has not met; however, she has met with staff liaison Daniel Torres regarding the proposed trails. The fat bike trail at the Legacy Municipal Golf Course has been groomed and continues to be improved. There are more patrons using the fat bike trail. The Beautification Committee will meet next week. They are planning an Eagle Park Community Clean-up. The date for the clean-up is not official; however, they are considering having it in the month of April. She said the BYU-Idaho Student President is assisting by forming a group of student volunteers to help at the community clean-up. Council Member Johnson reported the Rexburg Free Clinic Board is doing well. They are in search of a new CEO and board members. E. Council Member Flora: Parks · Recreation · Urban Renewal Agency Council Member Flora reported the Parks Committee met to discuss ideas on how to preserve disk golf. Currently, disk golf equipment is only located at Nature Park. They discussed moving the disk golf equipment to Eagle Park. She reported the Urban Renewal Agency has not met. F. Council Member Wolfe: Airport Board · Golf Board Council Member Wolfe reported the Airport Board did not met. The Golf Board met; however, he was unable to attend the meeting. He was informed the Golf Board discussed the need for the handicap ramp and the expense of the new deck at the club house. The deck rebuild and expansion costs are quite high. They decided to postpone the building of the new deck and continue with building the handicap ramp. The handicap ramp will be built to fit into the deck once it is built. Council Member Wolfe reported the possibility of adding disk golf equipment at the golf course. There were comments made by some of the Golf Board Members against adding disk golf at the golf courses due to safety concerns. They also discussed hosting night golf tournaments as a way to increase revenue. The golf course is in need of additional golf carts; however, having the budget to purchase the golf carts may be an issue. One of the options to raise money for the carts is to allow business owners to advertise their business on the golf carts for a fee. Council Member Wolfe said there was an incident this week with a police officer involved shooting. He reached out to both of the officer’s involved in the shooting on behalf of the City Council Members. He expressed the Council Member’s appreciation and respect for the officers and thanked the officers. He informed the officers of Council’s support with any needs they may have. The officers expressed their kindness to him and appreciation for the Council Member’s support. Council Member Wolfe commended the Police Department and expressed his appreciation for the department. Staff Reports: Finance: - Matt Nielson Finance Report Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Budget Expenditures Summary Report. The Arts Department is at 51% because a budget adjustment is needed for the project carryover into the new fiscal year.  Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Revenues Budget Summary Report. The Covid-19 Grants have been received and deposited into the bank. The city also received its first payment of about 2.4 million dollars in property taxes.  Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Cash and investments Report. The rates continue to drop in the LGIP and State Diversified Bond Fund.  Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Treasurer’s Expenditure Report. Currently, in the Wastewater Reserves there is about six million dollars; however, the expansion of the sewer line to Sugar City is going to cost about four million dollars. He said it doesn’t take much to use up the funds in the reserves with projects. There is also an infrastructure study being completed at the wastewater plant which indicates the use of the Capital Reserves in the next five years. Council Member Flora asked about the High 5 Grant funds. She said she was under the impression the grant had expired. Finance Officer Nielson replied the Blue Cross Foundation gave an extension on the grant funds. Mayor Merrill said the Blue Cross Foundation representative has contacted the city about organizing a focus group to report on some of the items the city has completed with the grant funds. There is a possibility more grants funds could be available. The available funds in the High 5 Grant have been set aside for a capital project. Council Member Wolfe asked if the remaining High 5 Grant funds could be used to pay for the baseball/softball quad. The grant funds should not be used for additional studies. Mayor Merrill said additional discussion would be needed to determine how to appropriately use the grant funds.  Nature Park Equipment/Quad Donation Budget Adjustment Discussion Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Budget Adjustment for the Parks (Construction Fund) in the amount of $20,000 from the General Fund contingency. Council Member Flora said the contingency amount would pay for the soft fall, dig out, installation of the swings and replacement of the two broken toys at the Nature Park. Council Member Mann expressed concern with the amount of funds left in contingency. Once the amount of funds left in contingency are used, there will not be additional funds added to contingency until the next fiscal year.  Council Member Johnson questioned if the new park equipment is the reason disk golf is being displaced at Nature Park. Council Member Flora explained the park equipment purchased by the CHC Grant is not the reason disk golf is being displaced. The future plans to add a large play-ground is the cause of the displacement of disk golf. The Recreation Committee is looking for future location options for disk golf for when it is displaced. Council President Busby also expressed concerns with contingency being as low as it is and only being into the fiscal year by 33%. Finance Officer Nielson said there is a cutoff date for budget adjustments which is typically in the month of June. Council Member Wolfe asked if the cash donations collected for the baseball quad will be put back into contingency since the balance to complete the baseball quad came out of contingency. Finance Officer Nielson explained any money collected from donations for the baseball quad will be used to pay down the fund balance. Council Member Johnson said she was under the impression the money collected from donations would be put back into the Parks Impact Fund and General Fund. Finance Officer Nielson said the amount of funds transferred from the Parks Impact Fund and General Fund was transferred into the Construction Fund which became carryover for fiscal year 2021. The carryover plus an additional $400,000 will be used to complete the baseball quad. If there is over $400,000 collected in donations then those funds would be put back into the Parks Impact Fund and General Fund. Property Tax COVID-19 Grant and Expenses Budget Adjustment Finance Officer Nielson reviewed the Budget Adjustment for the General Fund for fiscal year 2021.  Council Member Johnson moved to approve the Budget Adjustment for the Parks (Construction Fund) the Nature Park Equipment and Budget Adjustment for the General Fund for the Covid-19 Grants; Council Member Walker seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Flora None Council Member Johnson Council Member Mann Council Member Walker Council Member Wolfe Council President Busby The motion carried Public Works: - Keith Davidson Wastewater Treatment Plant Oxidation Ditch Mixer Bid Acceptance Public Works Director Davidson said the low bid for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Oxidation Ditch was received from a company that city staff is not familiar with or has not worked with in the past. The company’s bid came in at half of the cost as the other bids. He said city staff is doing their due diligence in determining the reason why the bid came in so low. Once more information is received regarding the company and the bid amount a recommendation for acceptance will be before City Council for consideration. Public Works Director Davidson said the Wastewater Treatment Planning Study is near completion. Once the study is complete and the Department of Environmental Quality approves the study, it will be presented to City Council for consideration. He said some of the items on the study include improvements, upgrades, and future capacity needs. Council Member Walker commended the City Street Department on a job well done with snow removal. Mayor Merrill said the number of potholes in the streets continues to be an issue. As soon as a pothole is filled, the fill doesn’t last long due to moisture getting into the fill material. Mayor Merrill said the best solutions to avoid hitting a pothole are to go around the potholes, slower speed and do not follow the vehicle in front too close to allow enough time to maneuver around the potholes. Council President Busby mentioned the number of cars parked on the street overnight causing problems for the snow plows. He understands city staff is going to meet regarding the issue and he would prefer City Council to be informed of how city staff plans to address the overnight street parking issues. There is a city ordinance prohibiting overnight parking between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. from December 15th through March 15th. He believes the ordinance is not being enforced. Mayor’s Report: Mayor Merrill reported the city has seen a lot of interest in commercial ventures from different investors. Some of that commercial interest is one of the reasons there are changes to the Development Code. Planning and Zoning is trying to keep in front of the possible demands. He said they will be out of town for a week. Items for Consideration: Calendared Bills: Second Reading: Those items which have been first read: NONE Third Reading: Those items which have been second read: Ordinance No 1248 Amend Development Code Ordinance 1200 Planned Unit Development (PUD) Requirements #20-00851 – Alan Parkinson  Council Member Walker moved to approve Ordinance No 1248 Amend Development Code Ordinance 1200 Planned Unit Development (PUD) Requirements and consider third read; Council Member Flora seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Flora None Council Member Johnson Council Member Mann Council Member Walker Council Member Wolfe Council President Busby The motion carried Ordinance No 1251 Amend Development Code Ordinance 1200 Design Standards, Landscaping, and Screening #20-00705 – Alan Parkinson Council Member Wolfe moved to approve Ordinance No 1251 Amend Development Code Ordinance 1200 Design Standards, Landscaping, and Screening and consider third read; Council Member Flora seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Flora None Council Member Johnson Council Member Mann Council Member Walker Council Member Wolfe Council President Busby The motion carried Ordinance No 1247 Rezone Approximately the Corner of Moody Rd and North 2nd East from Light Industrial (LI) to Community Business Center (CBC) Zone #20-00606 – Alan Parkinson ORDINANCE NO 1247 Rezone Approximately the Corner of Moody Rd and North 2nd East Rexburg, Idaho to Commercial Business Center (CBC) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND CHANGING THE ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, AND PROVIDING THAT THE ZONED DESIGNATION OF THAT CERTAIN PROPERTY HEREINAFTER DESCRIBED, SITUATED IN REXBURG, MADISON COUNTY, IDAHO, BE CHANGED AS HEREINAFTER DESIGNATED; AND PROVIDING WHEN THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE.  Council Member Flora moved to approve Ordinance No 1247 Rezone Approximately the Corner of Moody Rd and North 2nd East from Light Industrial (LI) to Community Business Center (CBC) Zone and consider third read; Council Member Johnson seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Flora None Council Member Johnson Council Member Mann Council Member Walker Council Member Wolfe Council President Busby The motion carried Ordinance No 1252 Rezone All Parcels in City Boundaries Zoned Transitional Agriculture 1 (TAG1) and Transitional Agriculture 2 (TAG2) to Transitional Agriculture (TAG) Zone #20-00914 – Alan Parkinson ORDINANCE NO 1252 Rezone Certain Parcels within City of Rexburg Boundaries Zoned Transitional Agriculture 1 (TAG1) and Transitional Agriculture 2 (TAG2) to Transitional Agriculture (TAG) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND CHANGING THE ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF REXBURG, IDAHO, AND PROVIDING THAT THE ZONED DESIGNATION OF THAT CERTAIN PROPERTY HEREINAFTER DESCRIBED, SITUATED IN REXBURG, MADISON COUNTY, IDAHO, BE CHANGED AS HEREINAFTER DESIGNATED; AND PROVIDING WHEN THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE.  Council Member Johnson moved to approve Ordinance No 1252 Rezone All Parcels in City Boundaries Zoned Transitional Agriculture 1 (TAG1) and Transitional Agriculture 2 (TAG2) to Transitional Agriculture (TAG) Zone and consider third read; Council Member Walker seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Flora None Council Member Johnson Council Member Mann Council Member Walker Council Member Wolfe Council President Busby 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. Minutes from February 3, 2021 meeting Approve the City of Rexburg Bills Council Member Walker moved to approve the Consent Calendar containing the minutes and city bills; Council President Busby seconded the motion; Mayor Merrill asked for a vote: Those voting aye Those voting nay Council Member Flora None Council Member Johnson Council Member Mann Council Member Walker Council Member Wolfe Council President Busby The motion carried Adjournment 7:29 P.M. APPROVED: ________________________________ Jerry Merrill, Mayor Attest: _______________________________ Marianna Gonzalez, Deputy City Clerk