HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001.02.07 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING
February 7, 2001
7:30 p.m.
STATE OF IDAHO)
County of Madison) SS
City of Rexburg)
Present were the following:
Mayor:Bruce Sutherland
Council members:Nyle Fullmer
Marsha Bjornn
Glen Pond
Paul Pugmire
Donna Benfield
City Clerk:Marilyn Hansen
Finance Officer:Richard Horner
P.F.C.:John Millar
City Attorney:Stephen Zollinger
Excused:Kay Beck
Mayor Sutherland welcomed the scouts.
Pledge to the flag.
Marsha made a motion to approve the minutes of January 17, 2001. Motion was seconded by
Paul, all voted aye, none opposed.
William Faurote and Jeff Schroeder have completed the Idaho Wastewater Operators Class 1
Operator course. The Mayor presented each of them with a Certificate of Completion and
thanked them for being willing to work and study to become more proficient in serving the
community.
Richard asked for approval from the Council to allow the Fire Department to dispose of their old
telephone system. This needs to be declared as surplus equipment, there is a buyer for the
system.
Donna made a motion to surplus the telephone system, said motion was seconded by Nyle. All
voted aye, none opposed.
Mayor thanked Raymond Hill for serving as a member of the Planning & Zoning Board.
Raymond will be leaving the end of February. Mayor recommended that Robert Schwartz be
appointed as a replacement for Raymond.
Glen made a motion to approve Robert Schwartz as a member of the Planning & Zoning Board.
Marsha seconded the motion, all voted aye, none opposed.
Paul made a motion to bring the Hawkins Companies request for annexation and zone change
from the table for review. Glen seconded said motion, all voted aye, none opposed.
Doug Matthews - Hawkins Companies, 8645 W. Franklin Road, Boise, Idaho
Doug has talked with the City staff and understands that neighbors in the area do not want to
have single student housing adjacent to their property. Discussion concerning the zoning request
and the amount of land zoned to High Density Residential. Doug stated they would be willing to
condition the property to not allow for single student housing in that vicinity but they need to
have the High Density Residential or the cost does not make sense. He does need the high density
designation but will negotiate the student housing.
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Nyle stated he had been the one to raise the concern about the whole project and his concern is
doing to a blanket rezone on that many acres when Hawkins is buying to resell to future
developers. He hesitates to blanket rezone so much property with only vague knowledge of what
is or could be put into that type of area.
Discussion of the buffer which had been agreed upon between this project and the residents.
They agreed to build a 6 or 8 foot wall along that property line of existing residences and a 20
foot buffer before any buildings would be built.
Paul stated he shares Councilman Fullmers reticence. He reviewed the four residential
classifications in the zoning regulations. He feels the burden of proof is on Hawkins and he feels
it is a substantial burden to convince Paul that high density is appropriate for that area. He is
unconvinced right now. He can see low density, both LDR1 and LDR, as part of the master plan
for the acreage, some medium density, but he is not comfortable with high density zoning.
Discussion among the Council. On the lack of a motion and the time frame for a public hearing
this matter was deferred until later in the meeting.
The Mayor reviewed the procedures for all public hearings.
Public Hearing for SBA Towers for Conditional Use Permit for cell towers.
Jessie Lassley - SBA Towers, 1135 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City, Utah
Jessie reviewed the request to build a tower which is located close to the City water tower. They
would build a freestanding 195' lattice tower which will be in compliance with FCC. The tower
would be lighted and would fall under the rules and regulations. The land belongs to Steven
Cook, the property as it stands now will not be changed in any way due to the fact that there are
other towers in the location. The tower will be for cell phone communications and should host
6-8 carriers.
Paul left due to illness.
Public hearing was open. There was no public comment, the public hearing was closed.
Mayor read into the record letters received from Wayne Pickerill of the Department of
Transportation and from Richard Smith. Discussion concerning lighting and FAA regulations.
There is approximately 45 feet difference between this request and the existing tower.
Discussion of multiple carriers on one tower compared to less carriers on more smaller towers,
the communication coverage with higher towers, SBA restoring the land to its original form if the
tower is naked, the renewal term lease of 50 years between SBA and Stephen Cook, the need for
Planning & Zoning to come up with a better City ordinance concerning towers.
Glen made a motion to approve the Conditional Use Permit request for a cell tower with FAA
approval for a possible renewal period of three (3) years. Said motion was seconded by Nyle,
voting as follows:
Nyle, aye
Glenaye
Donna aye
Marsha nay
Discussion that in three years if the ordinance requires something different than it does right now
there is a possibility that this tower will need to be lowered or moved.
Public Hearing LID 31
Richard recapped the history of LID 31 being set up approximately two years ago for
improvements on properties, mainly sidewalk, curb and gutter, street, storm drains, water and
wastewater. Part of the LID was a list of properties changing hands that did not have sidewalks
which were added to the list. Added to the project were properties along the South Highway,
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2 West, 1 West by the traffic signal and other miscellaneous properties. The project took more
time than had been planned on but is now finalized.
Public Hearing was opened
Joan Diamond - 189 N. 4000 East, Rigby, ID
Joan was speaking on behalf of her parents, Glen and Ruth Henderson, residing on Grandview
Ave., in the Grandview Townhouses. A letter had also been submitted by Joan for the record.
These four townhouses which are 1100 square feet each are being assessed $4,633.41. She had
been informed this could go up 20% which would bring the amount to $5560.00 which she
calculates to be a little over $5.00 per square foot of living space. The residents of these
townhouses are all elderly and on a fixed income. Joan described what had been done on the LID
and that these residents received nothing because they already had it before this project. She feels
these improvements should be borne by those who benefit, Shelbourne Apartments and Nauvoo
House.
Joan had some calculations as follows: the Shelbourne Apartments have apartments with 6
bedrooms and approximately 1390 square feet, at 28 apartments, times $4.21, their assessment
should be over $165,853. Student capacity is 168 which is an income property and at capacity
will yield close to $1 million per year. Nauvoo House has 42 apartments, 288 students. These
apartments have 3 bedrooms and are approximately 1300 square feet by 42 for 54,600 square feet
times $4.21 should be about $230,000.
She is asking that these senior citizens in the Grandview Townhouses be treated right. Just
because Ricks College has become a 4 year school doesn’t up everyone’s income 20-40% and
these people are living on a fixed income.
There was no further public comment and the public hearing was closed.
There was discussion of the 20% increase she mentioned which Stephen addressed. The figures
on this assessment are the final numbers and will not increase 20%. Discussion on what is
included in this LID, excavation of rock, water line, storm sewer, asphalt, curb, gutter and
sidewalk. More discussion if the water line helped these residents since they already had a water
line, which impact is $1372.00, approximately $350.00 per property. Storm drainage was
discussed which also amounted to $1372.00, and their benefit since this would not have been
needed if it were not for the asphalt parking lot and the widening of the street. After discussion it
was concluded that the $1372.00 for the water line and $1372.00 for the storm drain be deducted
from the Grandview Townhouses. The $1372.00 for the storm drain be added to Nauvoo
House, and the $1372.00 for the water line be added to Shelbourne Apartments.
Glen made a motion to make the above changes to the assessment roll, suspend the rules and
bring Ordinance 844 before the Council. Donna made a second to the motion. Voting as follows:
GlenAyeNyleAye
DonnaAyeMarshaAye
Glen made a motion to approve Ordinance 844 as amended with the deduction from the
Grandview Townhouses and the addition to Nauvoo House and Shelbourne Apartments. Nyle
seconded said motion. Voting as follows:
NyleAyeGlenAye
MarshaAyeDonnaAye
Richard will make the changes and the new assessments will be mailed Thursday, February 8.
March 9 is the date for payment in full with no interest, after that date interest will be amortized.
Life Safety Committee Recommendations
Approximately 3 months ago Val appeared before the Council and proposed the Life Safety
Committee recommendations. At that time it was suggested that there was more review needed
and since then there have been a minimum of ten meetings with apartment owners and other
officials including the Fire Department and electrical inspector. Val felt all the issues have not
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been completely resolved and probably never will be with the apartment owners but the Building,
Fire and Electrical Departments feel these recommendations should be a requirement and should
not be backed away from.
Val made note of one change on the recommendation he agrees with and that is No. 1
approximately 5 lines down. It states that one exit will be allowed when all bedrooms have egress
windows. It has been suggested that if this is allowed in the basement why not allow that on all
floors up to 2-1/2 story construction.
The Mayor stated that even though this was not a public hearing he would accept public
comments.
Scott Satterfield - 9892 So. 300 West, Sandy, Utah
Scott represents 10 apartment units in town. His group is not opposed to the preservation of life.
Scott used the analogy of cars that are safer because of air bags, if you have a car without an air
bag it would be hard to install one. For existing buildings he feels that some things in this body of
codes represent something very close to that analogy. He made several calls to other
communities beginning with Provo and other cities of size working his way toward Rexburg and
talked with building officials. He did not review the entire document but focused on Item 6,
concerning the 2 hour fire wall. He stated the response he received was that other cities do not
require this in existing buildings.
He described his Somerset apartments, using it as an example, where a fire wall would need to be
placed and all the work and cost it would take to accomplish this. He does not feel the City of
Rexburg should stand out from the group and start enforcing something that is not being done
elsewhere.
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Nephi Allen - 253 E. 1 North
He is here twofold, owns a house with an apartment as well as being in the plumbing and heating
business. He read Section 34 from the Uniform Building Code: “existing buildings are governed
by the code built under”. There are a lot of buildings built in previous years and to go back to
retrofix is an enormous project. He proposes this code book be followed as stated and go from
this point on unless it is a life safety issue. As of today he doesn’t believe any lives have been lost
because of noncompliance to these regulations, not the apartment complexes or the houses.
Discussion of cost issues versus safety issues.
Val explained that this section of the code had been attached earlier and it was the consensus of
the building owners that they could come up with better language, that not all the items were
applicable, so Section 34 was not adopted and the safety requirements being presented tonight are
less restrictive that Section 34.
Stephen made note that each apartment owner on this committee was not deemed to be
representing the entire body but only participating and being representative of the cross section of
apartment owners. No one held themselves out as representing any one other than themselves.
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Ross Farmer - 456 E. 2 South
Ross is the President-elect of the off-campus housing organization. The organization does not
take a formal position on this matter, either for or against. There were at least two publicly held
meetings for the householders, members of the City staff were present and out of this process
there were some issues that needed to be resolved. There were then continuing meetings for
those interested. He felt the City staff was very responsive.
There is a cross section of the home owners being in favor of this, he believes it is important to
understand that initially this came from the need to insure that houses being converted from family
homes to housing students were in compliance with safety issues. Superimposed on this matter is
the reality that even though the community has adopted the Uniform Building Code it may be
there are some places that are not in conformance.
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Regardless of whether or not the life safety issue is adopted and he goes to sell his property and
the person who buys it comes in for a business license, he understands that in order to get that
business license there will be an inspection conducted. That inspection will be conducted in
accordance with the code in existence at the time the building was constructed. If items were not
in compliance with the code at that time either the buyer or seller would have to bring it up to
standard.
Stephen did state there was an ordinance in place that requires an inspection by the Engineering
and Fire Department on any transition or change of ownership. Discussion on what precipitated
this issue.
Bart Ward - 517 Linden Ave.
He owns properties that were built under existing codes, inspections are done, something was
missed and he understands this would need to be brought up to code. He understands the only
other means of protecting himself would be through litigation. He feels it is not feasible to go
back and try to fix them all.
Discussion about due diligence in purchasing a property.
Van Elg - 117 E. Main
He has been on the life safety committee and has tried to understand and Val has been very
cooperative and receptive. He is concerned with the collateral damage issue. The issue of draft
stops and 2 hour fire separations vs installation of one smoke detector in every bedroom. He has
done some research and there are very few deaths in this country that can be attributed to fire
when there is an adequate smoke detector system that properly functions. He feels some of the
fire issues are the most compelling when it comes to cost. Years down the road there may be
other issues that will provide more protection, is this going to fall on them also.
He feels apartment owners have been hit very hard this year with taxes. Life safety issues are an
important issue but the timeliness of the expense portion is not very timely. The possibility of
spending $20-25,000 to replace fire extinguishers for what is required, he feels the smaller ones
are adequate. He would rather a student run from the fire than try to fight it.
He feels there is still further compromise that can be done and drop some of the items of most
concern, one being Item 6.
After discussion of compromising items, the numbers of meetings already held, the costs, the Fire
Commission, the 2 hour fire wall, draft stops, suggestion of fines for students taking batteries
from fire detectors.
Merrill Pratt - 3982 So. 2000 West
He owns Normandy and Cottonwood. He expressed his concerns with exits and 2 hour fire
ratings. Val has been very reasonable but he wants these recommendations written reasonably
because he is not sure how long Val would be with the City. He discussed Normandy
Apartments with regards to the 2 hour fire wall and feels there is no benefit to this requirement in
this particular case. He also expressed his concern with the exit requirement.
Blair Jacobson - 106 Triple J Road, Irwin, Idaho
He owns apartments, has not heard anything about the life safety issues until it appeared in the
Post Register this morning. He feels it would be a great expense and a lot of changes, he feels the
City is interested because there would be a lot of building permits required and they would get the
money from that. He owns Colonial Heights apartments and there are small windows that would
have to have changes, there are gas lines running across the back that would have to be repaired.
He feels there are other things that could be looked into and is opposed to these
recommendations.
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Scott Johnson - 545 So. 2 East
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He believes we need to look at what other cities do as well as the history in Rexburg. Within the
last 20-30 years he is not aware that there have been any deaths because of any issues we are
working with today. If they have been in effect 50 years and been safe to this point he wonders
where the point is that if it has been safe for 50 years it is now much more dangerous. He
represents Aspen Village, they do not want a loss of life or injury and are aware of the life safety
issues. This is going to apply to all apartments and with Ricks College approved housing they are
under some specific rules and they have leeway in when and how the apartments are inspected.
They are able to check for debris in the furnace area and other items because they have access to
these apartments. He believes the apartment owners are trying to make a living just like any other
business is doing, it is a hard time, he wants to see where the benefits and the cost converge to
make sure these things are of enough benefit to justify the cost without sacrificing lives.
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Layne Dearden - 351 So. 3 East
He admonishes the Council as they consider these things to take a stand on certain items and say
we will not compromise on this. He has apartments and has taught college for 30 years, college
students are inexperienced, they are not stupid, they are inexperienced and they trust what adults
say. When they rent an apartment, they trust that adults will provide a healthy living condition.
The students live out of this area, the parents sometimes don’t see the apartments at all. If there
are apartments in town that a person cannot get out of a window they should be changed. There
should be access out of the bedroom and this should be something that is not compromised. We
have a responsibility to these students and their families. He appreciates being reminded of items
he can take care of to improve the safety.
He hopes the Council will be flexible on things of great cost on places already built but there are
many things that should not be compromised on. He would love to have a City ordinance against
tampering with batteries.
Discussion concerning the testimony heard, the driving force of this issue, problems with older
units, having somewhere to start on this massive problem, pictures of some of the older non-
compliant apartments, whether or not the City is out of step, having the City help enforce the
problem of taking batteries from fire detectors with an ordinance.
Since part of the Council Members are absent Nyle made a motion to schedule a work meeting
with Val and any other concerned persons to discuss some of the questions and get to a workable
usable document. Motion was seconded by Marsha, all voted aye, Glen opposed.
It was suggested that anyone having any questions or opinions concerning the life safety issues,
submit these concerns in writing for consideration before the next meeting. This meeting is
scheduled for 6:30 p.m., 1 hour before the next Council meeting. There will be a decision at the
end of the meeting, there may be some changes, but it is something that is going to happen.
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The Mayor announced that today is Stephen’s 40 birthday and invited everyone to sing Happy
Birthday to him.
Bill Miller - 1730 So. 1000 West
Bill would like to see a published Mission Statement from the Council and Mayor. It would
inform the City and the community where we are going. The basis for this is that as things change
the mission may change so if anyone would get voted out, the Mission Statement would still be
intact. It provides insight into the past and where the Council sees us going. He would also like
to see a Mission Statement from the Planning & Zoning giving some accountability as to where
they see us in five or ten years.
He also requests the posting of city documents on line. He would like to set a target date of 30
days because there needs to be some milestones to hit or something to be working for. He talked
with Richard and Richard stated they planned to have this done by December 31, Bill thinks that
date is too far out. This would provide increased accessibility for the public, the maps,
documents, statements, pictures and bios of the Council and Mayor. Most documents are already
in electronic format and would be easy to convert to a web page. This could be done in-house
through a web master or have it as a high school or college class project. He would also like to
see the Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Ordinance, a zoning map, meeting agendas, minutes, and
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information concerning the recreation center. This would also provide a platform for the Mayor
and City Council to publish their position on items with a feedback capability through email. He
feels because of the rapid growth people have an interest in those documents.
Hawkins Companies
The Council and the Mayor reviewed the diagram of the subdivision. Hawkins Companies is
trying to create the most flexibility possible in the package. They were actually not interested in
putting any single family residences but after talking with the City staff they were requested to put
some single family in the plan.
Nyle felt it was not his decision to try and help Hawkins Companies make that piece of property
profitable. He is not comfortable with zoning 35 acres to high density residential from
agricultural in the hopes that someone else is going to come in and develop to that standard.
Discussion between Doug Matthews and Russell VanAllen, a neighbor.
Glen made a motion to accept Planning & Zoning’s recommendation for annexing and zoning of
this property. Motion was seconded by Donna. Voting aye were Glen, Marsha, Donna. Nyle
opposed.
John Millar reported on projects.
The CART bus group has approached the City about sponsoring a grant application for some
additional buses to serve the Rexburg area. They are doing a grant application through the
Transportation Department through what is called CMAQ grant fund. The grant application has
to be submitted by a municipality, highway district or county, it cannot be through CART. CART
will cover all the costs, they are basically asking the City to be the vehicle as sponsor for the grant
application.
Nyle made a motion to assist CART with the grant application. Motion was seconded by Donna,
all voted aye, none opposed.
DEQ approached John a few days ago, they have grant funds available on a 50-50 match for
doing water studies. This would be a great opportunity since we are in a growth mode to get a
grant through DEQ to cover half the costs of a water study to see where we are in supply
storage, distribution, future growth, and expansion areas. Discussion
Glen made a motion to proceed with the grant proposal, seconded by Donna. All voted aye, none
opposed.
Two apartment complexes now in subsidized housing through the USDA Rural Development are
Wagon Wheel and Madison Park Apartments. The owners are seeking to pay off USDA RD,
which would then release them from their commitment. We have a letter requesting input from
the City on whether or not to allow the current owners to pay off. Discussion.
It was determined that Stephen and John would do research on this matter and bring before the
Council on Feb. 21.
Glen made a motion to approve the bills, seconded by Marsha. All voted aye, none opposed.
Nyle made a motion to go into Execution Session for discussion of a real estate matter. Motion
was seconded by Donna, all voted aye, none opposed.
Reconvene
Nyle made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Glen. All voted aye, none opposed.
__________________________________________
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Bruce Sutherland, Mayor
_____________________________________
Marilyn Hansen, City Clerk
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