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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Minutes - April 28, 2023 - WORK MEETING DRIVE AROUND1 Mayor Jerry Merrill Council Members: Colin Erickson Jordan Busby Mikel Walker Tisha Flora Robert Chambers Bryanna Johnson City Council Drive Around 1. 8:00 A.M. Fire Department – Breakfast a. Ellis Johnston gave the City Council members a tour of the Fire Station and ambulance bays. He showed them the left gurneys and CPR machine that they were able to purchase with COVID money, and how it has helped with transporting patients as well as a preventative measure against back strain and muscle fatigue with the crews utilizing the equipment. 2. 8:30 A.M Department Doughnuts – Fire, Police, City Hall, Parks, Street/Sanitation/Shop, Water, and Wastewater Departments a. The City Council members took doughnuts to each of the aforementioned departments to express their appreciation to all of the employees and how much they do to keep the city running. 3. 10:00 A.M. City Council Street Review – Maintenance Concerns: The City Council members drove to the following streets and discussed the condition and issues that needed to be fixed or improved for the safety of both drivers and pedestrians. a. State Hwy 33 – Downtown Main Street and N 2nd E, maintained by Idaho Transportation Department (ITD): The City Council reviewed Main St and discussed that it is a State Highway that the Idaho Transportation Department would like to turn over to the city for maintenance. This is something that the city is unwilling to do because of the cost of maintaining a road that size and highly traveled. The state offered the city a onetime payment of approximately $3,000,000 to take over the care of Main Street and N 2nd E, but the money allocated to Idaho Cities is based on population size not road miles. The city would not be able to financially sustain the maintenance on that road. Keeping communication open between the city and the Transportation Department regarding the repair of the road is an option discussed to keep up with the potholes and damage to the Main Street of Rexburg. b. S 2nd E from Main St to E 1st S: The City Council stopped on this street to view the repairs that had been made. This winter was extremely hard on all of our streets due to the long season. The freeze and thaw break up the streets by water seeping into cracks then freezing and expanding the damage. The cold patch mix that is used to repair potholes in the early spring when it is still too cold to run the Durapatcher, is a 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Phone: 208.359.3020 x2101 Fax: 208.359.3022 deborahl@rexburg.org www.rexburg.org City Council “Drive Around Meeting” Minutes April 28, 2023 2 temporary pothole fix and only lasted a short time this year before blowing out the temporary repairs. c. Millhollow Rd Sidewalks: The City Council viewed the sidewalks here and in the Cresthaven subdivision and how problematic they can be for snow removal on the streets and sidewalks as well as issues with some of the widths and mailboxes in the middle of the streets preventing ADA access. They viewed the extreme damage to the road on Hillview Dr. There is insufficient base under the street, and it is buckling near the curbs and a large pothole that ruptured this winter. d. High Volume Arterial and Collector Streets: The City Council stopped on Sunrise Dr to view the area that the East Parkway Corridor will come through. The Council wanted to review the Transportation Plan prior to the Comprehensive Plan so the new Comprehensive Plan will get the attention from the public that it needs. e. University Blvd from Madison High School to 7th S, possible extension to 2000 W: The Council wanted to discuss the possibility of extending this road west from Madison High School. The infrastructure is in place for growth in this area. f. Lane Markings on University for Eastbound Traffic from S Yellowstone Hwy to S 5th W: The Council drove up University Blvd from Yellowstone Hwy to 5th W to try to understand how the lane markings could be improved on this portion of University Blvd. The markings had been removed, so there was no discussion. g. Lane Configuration and Merging of Southbound Traffic on S Yellowstone Hwy from University Blvd to the Hampton Inn: The signage was discussed on this merge from four lanes down to two lanes. They thought it might be more helpful to simplify the signs to possibly say Right Lane Ends. Keith Davidson will look into it further. h. Pioneer Rd Roundabout – Fire Hydrant and Winter Use/Safety Concerns, Railroad Crossing Concerns, Manhole Covers, and Sinking Roads: The Council stopped on this roundabout to look at the safety and traffic flow concerns. They discussed removing one of the Keep Right signs on the left lane going west bound into the roundabout from 7th South to avoid confusion for those who want to turn left, the fire hydrant placement was discussed to discover what could be done to keep if from getting hit by a car or snowplow and to make it more visible especially in winter, keeping the roundabout plowed better in the winter so cars weren’t driving on the roundabout bib and sidewalks, finally, Keith Davidson stated that the Railroad would be coming in this summer to fix/widen the railroad crossing so traffic could flow through there more efficiently so the traffic shouldn’t back up so far. i. Future Streets - Moody Rd and N 5th W, Teton River Bridge, East Parkway Corridor: The Council drove back up to the start of Sunrise Dr, down past Founder’s Square subdivision, then over to 2nd E 7th S along the path to see where the East Parkway Corridor would tie into 7th S as per the amendment in Resolution No 2023-08. Keith Davidson discussed how the road is currently overbuilt due to prior expectations of development in that area. The Council wanted to discuss the Transportation Plan in a work meeting prior to passing the new Comprehensive Plan. The date of the Transportation Work Meeting has been set at 5:00 PM, June 14, 2023. 3 4. 12:15 - 1:15 P.M. Lunch at City Hall Council Chambers with Madison County Commissioners Smith and Parkinson, Madison School District #251 Superintendent – Randy Lords, and BYU Idaho Representatives – Brett Sampson and Kyle Williams to briefly discuss current projects and plans as well as 5-year forecast: The City Council, Mayor Merrill, City Department Heads, County Commissioner Smith, County Commissioner Parkinson, Superintendent Lords, Brett Sampson – BYUI, and Kyle Williams – BYUI convened for lunch in the City Council Chambers. Mayor Merrill thanked everyone for attending and their willingness to work together for the betterment of our community. The mayor turned the time over to Brett Sampson and Kyle Williams with BYU-Idaho. Kyle Williams is the Managing Director of University Operations. He reviewed the current and upcoming projects at the University. The Church Education System requires BYU-Idaho to maintain their campus at the highest level of industry standards and guidelines. Some of their ongoing projects are finishing up the remodel on the Hart Building this year. That included work on the fire suppression and mechanical systems as well a modification to the gym to allow for functional flexibility to accommodate the College of Dance, as the Kirkham Building was taken offline; as well as the Manwaring Student Center’s interior modifications being completed by the end of September. They are planning a large remodel of the library in both the East and West Wing – where the Free Tutoring Center and the Book Stacks are located. They remodeled their warehouse and turned it into their Engineering Technology Center – ETC. They are in the design phase for the Romney Building’s basement to allow for some physics labs and photo studio labs with newer technology. The Planetarium will remain in its current location. They have an annual capital replacement budget that will go towards rebuilding the Taylor/Benson parking lot, concrete replacement maintenance around the University from normal wear and tear and winter damage, temperature control upgrades to buildings around campus, and they are proposing a possible green space north of the Temple – the 5 acres across the street where the students can have a walking area and green space. The Taylor Chapel is getting an ADA ramp upgrade, they are doing 4 elevator replacements, 4 roof replacements, and minor modifications to the Benson Building and Kimball Building. Upcoming projects beyond 2023 will include their regular annual capital renewal projects – lots of asphalt and concrete repairs. The University works with the city on the perimeter of campus to maintain those areas. The University Operations Yard is doing some feasibility and design work to see if they can have the area around University Blvd and 5th West as a place for their warehouse approximately across the street from where they are going to build a Stake Center. They are also doing a feasibility study for a substation upgrade for redundancy in case the main utility lines are ever compromised. They have some discussion about the need for additional space for offices and classrooms. Their ‘workhorse’ buildings – the Smith and Ricks Buildings, are hard to update because they hold so many classes it’s hard to find space to accommodate the displacement that would happen during construction. Finally, upgrades to the Health Center and Counseling Center. As the student population grows, they have reached capacity and the Counseling Center is overflowing into the old dormitory of Chapman Hall. Meeting mental health needs of the University population is a concern and goal of BYU-Idaho. 4 Council Member Flora commented about the recreational needs of the students and asked if the University had any plans to build more pickle ball courts. The University has two tennis courts that have been closed since the pandemic. They’ve tried to hire a contractor to come in and refinish them, but wasn’t successful until this year. The plan is to completely replace the tennis courts and incorporate four pickle ball courts into the tennis courts. The University is planning to plant some trees on their new “green space” across from the temple. The mayor asked if they would coordinate with the city’s Arbor Day celebration when they do that. Brett Sampson stated that he would talk to Brett Crandall about a City of Rexburg/BYUI Arbor Day Tree Planting Event next spring. The mayor then turned the time over to Superintendent Randy Lords to discuss Madison School District’s projects. They are finishing up projects from the previous bond. The plan is to move into Hibbard Elementary in January 2024 – the long winter took its toll on the timing of project completion. They will then spend a year remodeling the old Hibbard Elementary to convert it into an Early Childhood Center. The Junior High Project will have bids come in next week. The plan for that building is to remodel the kitchen and lunchroom area to make it bigger and add an atrium to the west of the lunchroom. They are going to add 6 classrooms to the south – they are going to take the back parking lot going towards Millhollow out, as well as add more restrooms. This project will finish up the rest of the bond projects. They are hoping with these upgrades that the school district will have their building needs met for a while. Five to ten years down the road, they plan to build a new Junior High behind Burton Elementary so they will be near enough to the High School to not have to build new athletic facilities. They will then turn the current Junior High into a middle school and use the current middle school for an elementary school that will redirect some of the students around that area and ease the population from the other elementary schools. They have been in discussion with the Fire Department to create a Training Facility on 3 acres near the High School for the use of the Fire Department and the High School’s Career Technical Program to offer paramedic, law enforcement, and CNA programs as well as fire classes. In July, they will be accepting offers on the current School District Office. They have been contacted by several builders and project managers who are interested in it. An appraisal is being done now. If they get a good enough offer, they will end up moving and building a new admin building on their property near the High School. They will not bond or levy for a new admin building. They’ve had meetings in Boise regarding the new law to present school districts with money to pay down bonds, but they don’t know yet what kind of distribution they would get from the state. Bret Stoddard – the City’s Building Director, asked if the School’s Career Technical Program would offer any Building Trade like Electrical and Plumbing? Randy Lords stated that they’ve had programs like that, but they run into problems staffing the classes when the demand for plumbers, electricians and contractors is high. The school district can’t afford to pay them what they make in the private sector. The school district has considered night classes if they can generate the interest in contractors to fulfill the positions. 5 The mayor turned the time over to Madison County Commissioner Todd Smith to inform the group of their current and upcoming projects. The county will be starting construction on the new roundabout out by the Hibbard Church either in the fall or possibly next spring, they have the funding in place for that now. The 911 dispatch center is moving to a better location. The county rented a building – 133 E Main St, next to their Juvenile Probation Center, they’ll remodel it and move them over in the next 4-5 months. They have a grant for the west side frontage road that will connect Wakeside (Rainbow) Lake to the Thorton Interchange. Getting enough funding to compensate for skyrocketing construction costs is very challenging. They’ve been working with LHTAC for funding solutions and hope to work on the frontage road next year. The county has been working on their new landfill south of Newdale, they have their funding in place. They’ve got their USDA financing, a $3 million dollar grant from DEQ, and things are out to bid now. They are hoping to have it operational late summer or fall of next year. Madison County pays Jefferson County about $1 million dollars a year to dump solid waste in their land fill. This new landfill is a joint effort between Madison, Fremont, Teton, and Clark Counties. The transfer station will be shut down for a few weeks in June to install new scales where the trucks load. As a result, the city garbage trucks will need to haul to Fremont County while that takes place. The question was asked if they were still considering moving the Fairgrounds out of town. The county figures it would be about a $20 million dollar project to replace what they have now and to improve parking. However, they don’t have that kind of money, so it is a goal that is a long way off. The fair grounds are used all the time. The mayor asked if they had further considered extending University Blvd out west of the High School to 2000 West. The city infrastructure is in place out there and it is a good place for development if the landowners were in favor of it. Commissioner Smith stated that they would be open to discussion about it. The mayor then went into the City’s projects. They’ve had discussions with the Economic Development Department and BYU-Idaho to see if we could create an international village and marketplace. The concept is in the very early stages still to see what we could do to bring together all of the different nationalities that are represented in our community with the diverse student population at BYU-Idaho. We would like to celebrate the heritage and be able to appreciate different cultures – to have food, art, music, dance, and eventually have something like an international peace center to promote civility amongst our differences. He also had Keith Davidson – the City’s Public Works Directory, report on the different projects around the city. Keith mentioned the reconstruction of 1st East from approximately 2nd North to 2nd South as well as Center Street from 1st South to 2nd South and 1st North to 2nd North starting next month. The south and middle state interchanges as well as signalizing the north interchange are the big projects for next year. The city has sewer lines that we are looking at for upgrade that run from Rexburg to Sugar City along N Yellowstone Hwy. We are looking to re-route the lines and run a portion of it back behind Deseret Industries and Fat Cats so we can stay off North 2nd East to avoid major traffic issues. We are also looking at getting a new lift station up by the new temple that is going in. 6 The mayor also mentioned that another big project coming up is the new Entrepreneurial Center that received about $6.5 million dollars in grant money from EDA and from several other agencies that were able to secure some funding. It will be built out by the Teton River Business Center. It is currently under design. Council Member Flora asked the County Commissioners if they were still interested in buying and sharing a new City Hall/Madison County building. Commissioner Smith plainly stated that yes, they were interested, but there would be a lot of logistics to work out. The city has been putting away a half a million dollars a year for the last few years, but the County has not, so they are behind. Matt Nielson – the City’s CFO, stated that in approximately 2025-2026, the city would be in the design phase with construction after that. We would need to decide who would be a part of that project and acquire ground. The mayor asked that they keep it in mind especially as we are all running out of space in our current buildings. The mayor then discussed how the city had a study done for a Recreation District and Rec Center. The city turned the study and all of the material from it over to a citizen’s committee to follow up on and see if they could get enough signatures to get it on the ballot. So, it is possible that it could be coming up. Commissioner Smith stated that the group had the understanding that if the County Commissioners opted to put it on the ballot without all of the signatures that they could. The county had never heard of that, so checked with the Secretary of State, and that is not correct. They must get the required 4200 verified signatures to get it on the ballot. If a signature is not a verified registered voter in Madison County, it is removed. Matt Nielson also mentioned that over the next few years they were going to run a campaign to raise funds for the restoration of the Tabernacle. It needs some repointing restoration work – that will cost from $800,000 to $1 million dollars, we are also looking at rebuilding the annex and putting in an elevator, and the heating system needs to be redone. The city is figuring that over the next three years, it could be close to $2.5 – $3 million dollars. Grants and contributions will need to be found to be able to accomplish these repairs. Keith Davidson updated the group on the Airport Relocation. He stated that we are still in a holding pattern, the FAA has approved the site, but we are still waiting to hear back from the BLM regarding the sage grouse habitat to see if we can just do a one-time investment in uplifting the habitat verses having to pay for the habitat uplift in perpetuity. We are still waiting for that decision. The mayor also mentioned that the city was going to have a Grand Opening for the DonJo Sports Complex (Baseball Quad) on the 16th of June 2023 around 6:00pm, in conjunction with the baseball tournament. That is a tentative date, because the mayor had not had the chance to see if the Cichos family would be in town and able to attend that day to honor them for their donation to the baseball quad. The complex’s fields are named after 4 major donors. Council Member Chambers commented on the value of these meetings where we could all get together and have a meeting like this. Twice a year was the consensus. The County said they could host the next one in about 6 months. Adjournment: Time 1:17 P.M.