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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003.08.20 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MINUTES CITY OF REXBURG August 20, 2003 7:30 P.M. STATE OF IDAHO ) County of Madison ) SS. City of Rexburg ) Present were the following: Mayor: Mayor Bruce Sutherland Council Members:Glen Pond Shawn Larsen Marsha Bjornn – Excused Paul Pugmire Donna Benfield Nyle Fullmer Financial OfficerRichard Horner P&Z Administrator:Kurt Hibbert City Clerk:Blair D. Kay PFC:John Millar City Attorney:Stephen Zollinger Pledge to the Flag 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 the July 30, 2003 meeting b.Approve City of Rexburg bills Glen Pond moved to approve the consent calendar; Nyle Fullmer seconded the motion; all voted The motion carried. aye, none opposed. Non Controversial Items Added to the Agenda: 1 REXBURG UNPLUGGED – Center Street Event on Sept. 06, with Booths/Music/Store Discounts (Chamber of Commerce welcoming BYU-I students) Donna Benfield gave the Council a reminder of the event from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, thst the 6 of September. Center Street will be closed from Main to 1 South. The event will allow the University students to meet the Rexburg merchants. Nyle Fullmer moved to approve the event; The motion carried. Glen Pond seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. Information on the Madison School District Bond Election for 25.2 Million dollars. The requested Bond is for a new High School plus renovations of other School District buildings. Dr. Geoffrey Thomas , Superintendent of the Madison School District offered information on a st 1,000,000 word reading campaign. The average 1 grader will read 4 books per day to meet the goal. He mentioned a family literacy campaign on August 28, 2003. Mr. Thomas passed out some reading books the children will be reading to the Council. He also passed out small flashlights to the Council that will be given to students who reach their goals in the program. The School District is encouraging literacy in the Community. thst Superintendent Thomas requested that week of November 17 – 21 to be proclaimed as a week for family reading. It is the week before the Thanksgiving Holiday. He requested an official proclamation for the event. There are several reading programs that are being promoted by the School District this year to encourage the students and families to read together. Mr. Thomas is in his third year as the School District’s Superintendent. He mentioned that there are 600 students in the Orchestra and the Band curriculum. Test scores for students in the School District have been favorable in the State rankings. There has been great support from the children and the Community to support the Schools in the District. Dr. Thomas mentioned that maintenance recommendations for the school buildings in the School District are in process. The maintenance costs for 5 of the buildings in the District would cost about $11,000,000 to repair. The District has explored several options to deal with the maintenance issues. The current plan is to seek a $25,000,000 bond to build a new high school and move the current Junior High School to the existing High School Building. If the bond passes the District would sell the current Junior High School property. This is part of a 20-year plan to upgrade the school Buildings. There has been tremendous growth of the Community since the BYU-I announcement to go to a four year University. The growth will eventually impact the District with more students. They are trying to plan for the future needs of the District in a responsible manner with this proposal. There is normal wear and tear on the buildings plus the new population growth to manage. Dr. Thomas presented an architect’s design of the proposed new High School to the Council. Timing for the request is good at this time due to lower interest and lower construction costs at this time compared to construction costs in the future. The School District is focusing their efforts on Education in the District. The sole purpose of this Bond request is for the educational needs of the Children. If the Bond passes, the School District plans to build a 1500 seat auditorium. This would 2 be large enough to accommodate the growth of the student body. Modern facilities would enable for a better educational opportunity for the Children. The Bond election will be held August 28, 2003. Donna Benfield asked about the maximum number of students that could be allowed in the new High School. Dr. Thomas indicated that the new High School would accommodate about 1400 students. The current student body enrollment at the High School is 978 students. Dr. Thomas indicated that a pitch roof is planned for the facility. Shawn Larsen asked if they would sell the Junior High School property as it is currently maintained? Dr. Thomas indicated that the Bond only goes to Capital improvements. There would not be any funds to repair the old Junior High Building. Dr. Thomas indicated that the $25,000,000 is for the completing of phase I of the expansion plan. The Junior High Building would be sold in phase II. He mentioned that there is private money available to build athletic (sports) fields. Public Hearings : None New Business: Noise Ordinance for Jake Breaks – City Staff Discussion on the problems that exist in other Cities with trucks entering from the County into the City limits. Signage for a Noise Ordinance was discussed. It would take about 2 weeks to make the signs. The signs will be ordered as soon as possible to install at two of Rexburg’s City off ramps from U.S. Highway 20. Discussion on adding language to the Ordinance to measure the sound from engine breaks. Paul Pugmire moved read the Noise Ordinance for the first time; Nyle Boyle seconded the motion; The motion carried. all voted aye, none opposed. Paula Sonderegger – 925 Widdison Lane - commented on the excessive noise from trucks entering the City of Rexburg that she can hear from her home. She has worked with State Highway Department employees to measure the noise level at her location. Paula is upset with the noise that comes from trucks using engine breaks to exit U.S. Highway 20. Shawn Larsen requested some information on the source of the engine noise. How is the engine used to slow down the trucks? 3 Discussion on the engine compression that is used to slow the trucks by the operator shifting down to a lower gear which allows the engine to slow the truck. Paula discussed the possibility of having a highway noise wall installed in the area. Mayor Sutherland indicated that there would have to be discussions with the State Highway Department on the noise wall. Jogging Path for Hidden Valley Subdivision to East First North Street Tim Anderson passed out a petition to the Council for a walking /bike path in the Hidden Valley Subdivision. They expect to have 340 children in the Subdivision when the housing project is completed. Shawn Bennett helped give input on the proposal to have a walking path for the area. Tim mentioned his discussions with John Millar to have the City of Rexburg help with a Jogging Path for the neighborhood. Tim reviewed the proposal to have an 8 foot wide walking/bike path on the overhead screen. John Millar reviewed the costs associated with the 8 foot path. Neighbors have agreed to excavate the path with donations of labor and equipment. Scouts will clear brush from the path for an Eagle project. The asphalt will cost about $5,300 with a total cost of about $12,000 to $14,000 for phase st one going around the s curve to the west to 1 North. The total project for phase I and phase II which extends to the east on North Hill Road would be about $22,000 to $28,000. Tim indicated that they would like to do both phases at this time. Discussion on the path connecting to the Smith Park. Donna Benfield and John Millar mentioned that this is a safety issue not an exercise issue. It would cost the City of Rexburg from $11,000 to $22,000 to do the project out of the Street budget. The path would have limited space on the S curve and the path would have to be separate from the st road connecting to 1 North. Discussion on cleaning the path in the winter. Discussion on the need to redesign the S curve. Discussion on the current street budget and if there is any money available this year. Paul Pugmire indicated that there is a need to correct the road design in this area. Discussion on budget money in the General Contingency Fund to be used in this year’s budget. Paul Pugmire asked John Millar what could be done this year. John indicated that the first leg could possibly be done in this year’s budget. Discussion on trying to get the ground work done this year. Shawn Bennett - 36 South Hidden Valley Road - indicated that private sources would be used to start the ground work with ground work completion expected to be by September 30, 2003. Glen Pond discussed the need to have the City in control of the design of the project. Nyle Fullmer discussed the need to expedite the project for safety reasons. 4 Shawn Larsen agreed with Nyle that there is a need to proceed with the project as soon as possible. Paul Pugmire discussed possible solutions for project oversight and budget concerns. st Paul Pugmire moved to approve Phase One of the project going west to 1 North and to have City funding from the General Fund Contingency Budget not to exceed $10,000 in the 2003 or the 2004 budget (what ever year is possible), with City Staff Engineering oversight; Donna Benfield seconded the motion; Discussion: John Millar concurred with the motion. All voted aye, none The motion carried. opposed. Shawn Bennett reviewed the path’s location in the Millhollow Subdivision; He also requested that a st three way stop be implemented at the intersection of Millhollow Road and 1 North. Mayor Sutherland recommended that Traffic Safety Committee review the three way stop proposal. Ordinance 899 – Increase the Mayors salary 2004 Ordinance 900 – Increase the Council Members salary 2004 Richard Horner reviewed the history of the salary increase proposal. It is a cost of living increase of 3.7 % on the Mayor’s salary and an increase of $50.00 per month for the Council Members. The Committee recommended these raises including a $50 raise for the Council seats every election for the next 10 to 12 years. The Ordinance must be passed by September 03, 2003 and published by September 05, 2003 to become effective for the next calendar year. Paul Pugmire discussed the issues of the pay increase and following the recommendation of the Committee. Paul Pugmire moved to read Ordinance 899 and 900 for the first time; Nyle Fullmer seconded the motion; Discussion: Glen Pond indicated that he is opposed to the increases. He wanted the Staff to receive additional compensation instead of the Mayor and Council Members. Shawn Larsen indicated that he is also opposed to the increases. Richard mentioned that he will contest the Highway funding for the City that is based on the City’s population. He indicated that the City should be receiving more funding from the State because the City population has grown since the last census. Glen mentioned that the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Staff should receive the increases. Shawn reviewed the extra work that Council members have received with the growth of the City. Mayor Sutherland called for a vote on the issue. Those voting AyeThose voting Nay Paul PugmireShawn Larsen 5 Nyle FullmerGlen Pond Donna Benfield The motion for the first reading of Ordinances 899 and 900 passed. Old Business: th Tabled -Final Plat for Valley Wide Cooperative Subdivision No. 1 - 12 West and West Main Street; and Citizen’s input on the buffer zone and truck stop for Valley Wide development – 10 minutes, Wes Belnap. John Millar reviewed the process for the requirements to review a Plat for the City of Rexburg. Site Plan issues are not part of the Plat review process. The Plat is reviewed on separate criteria dealing with property issues like the legal descriptions. He reviewed the Subdivision Plat on the overhead screen. The Plat is in a Highway Business District (HBD) Zone. This Zone is intended for Commercial development. The Planning & Zoning Commission had several recommendations for the Council that dealt with site plan review issues. The Commission approved the Plat with the recommendation that these site plan issues be part of the Plat review. Paul Pugmire discussed the reasons why the Plat review does not contain site plan issues. Utility easements and public right of way are all that are required for a plat review which demonstrates legally definable lots. John Millar mentioned some of the items that are in a site plan review process. State Statutes are the controlling factor for a Plat review. Paul Pugmire asked where the site plans would be reviewed. John mentioned that City Staff would review the site plans with Planning and Zoning criteria. John Millar indicated that there are two ways that restrictions could be put on a Subdivision Plat. 1) Adopting Restrictive Covenants for the Platted Subdivision 2)Utility Easements Nyle Fullmer asked if the City could require Restrictive Covenants in a subdivision. He commented on a statement by the developer that the Subdivision would be developed as a non- manufacturing development. John discussed the issues of requiring restrictions in a development. Glen Pond asked Kurt Hibbert to review the buffering requirements for a Commercial Zone as follows: adjacent to a Residential Zone in Chapter four of the Zoning Ordinance 4.7Fencing and Screening Requirements. 6 Screening and fences within the City shall be constructed and maintained in conformance with the following standards: A.Screening Requirements. 1. Parking Areas. An effective buffer shall be provided between parking areas for more than five (5) vehicles and existing residential uses, schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions for long-term human care. The buffer shall consist of a minimum of four (4) foot-landscaped strip to be planted with shade trees and low shrubs, and/or a suitable fence otherwise in compliance with this ordinance of sufficient height and density to screen the two parcels, as specified by the Planning and Zoning Commission. (Amended the 20th day of October, 1993; Ordinance No. 753) Where a commercial or industrial use 2. Commercial/Industrial Uses. adjoins uses, residential zones, or undeveloped land shown as residential uses on the Comprehensive Plan, there shall be proved along the abutting property line a yard equal in width to that required in the residential zone. The yard shall be planted with a combination of shade trees, low shrubs, and ground cover, and/or a suitable fence otherwise in compliance with this ordinance of sufficient height and density to screen the two parcels, as specified by the Planning and Zoning Commission.” (Amended the 20th day of October, 1993; Ordinance No. 753.) B. The maximum height of any fence, wall, or sight obscuring objects within fifteen (15) feet of the public right-of-way shall be three feet. Fences would be allowed in excess of three feet if constructed out of rigid materials and approved by Planning & Zoning with 50% or more see through per lineal foot and that they be between 3' to 6' high within 15 feet of the right-of-way. Fences shall not be greater in height than eight (8) feet. th (Amended the 15 day of April 1998; Ordinance No. 802) Paul Pugmire was concerned with how the development would be developed with the respect to the adjacent neighborhood on the south side of the property. Paul Pugmire Final Plat for Valley Wide Cooperative moved to remove from the table the Subdivision No. 1; Shawn Larsen seconded the motion; Discussion: Paul wants the enforcement mechanism in place before the Plat is approved. All voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried . Brent Harris - 1125 Widdison Lane – indicated that he does not see any enforcement of the original site plan approval for the Valley Wide Cooperative building. He indicated that there was not a buffer installed for the original building as was required in the original site plan. 7 Wes Belnap – 1150 Widdison Lane – passed out a document to the Council which delineated his review of the truck activities at the Cooperative building. He was concerned with the valuation of their residential property due to the noise, lighting, and truck traffic at the Coop building. His property appraiser recommended a buffer zone between their property and the Valley Wide Cooperative building. Wes indicated that they want to protect the value of their property. The development is growing into a truck stop. His handout (log) documented the truck activity at the development. He demonstrated to the Council that a 6 foot fence would allow a sufficient buffer for their residential development. A six foot fence would not block the line of sight between their home and the Cooperative building. They would like trees no more than twenty feet apart with fast growing trees in the middle of fir trees. Dave Holtom – 1175 West Main – indicated that the valuation of adjacent properties was not considered when the Cooperative property was developed. Dave did say that they did consider the adjacent neighborhood when they built the store. He provided a letter to the Community and the Council. Dave read the letter which indicated that Valley Wide Cooperative did recognize the need for a buffer on the south side of it’s development at 1175 West Main Street in Rexburg. Dave indicated that they planned to follow the buffering rules as set forth in the Zoning Ordinance. The Ordinance states that there should either be a fence and/or trees to separate Commercial property from Residential property. The letter stated that Dave has reviewed many Commercial/Industrial properties in Rexburg that do not have an effective buffer against or near a Residential Zone. Dave indicated that most sites do not have a buffer as described in the Ordinance. He found some with a chain link fence and/or shrubs as a buffer to Residential Zones. Paul Pugmire discussed the two rows of trees (Poplar Trees and Spruce Trees) planned for the development as a buffer. These would go on the south side of the Cooperative development. The 6 foot fence would be totally ineffective. The robust poplars grow out fast to create a fast buffer. Dave Holtom mentioned the he would consider signage for the development saying “no overnight parking” or “no running engines overnight”. Enforcement of the signs may not be possible. Discussion of using private property by right. Discussion on Changing the Ordinance to control the development of a Zone. Paul Pugmire’s preference would be to not have the Council arbitrate this buffer issue. He recommended that Dave sit down with the neighborhood and resolve the differences. Dave Holtom indicated that the Commercial Subdivision will be a retail and professional development. Nyle Fullmer discussed concerns of having the initial development change it’s direction after it is approved. 8 Paul Pugmire mentioned that he would like the neighborhood involved in the decision on the buffer between the development and the residential area. Mayor Sutherland discussed the need to stick to the Plat approval process. Donna Benfield reviewed the issue of the fence not being an effective buffer. Wes Belnap concurred with Donna. The residents want a 20 foot distance between the poplar trees. John Millar mentioned that contingencies on a Plat are not practical since once the plat is signed you can not un-sign it. John discussed minimum standards for future site plans that will be considered by the City for this Plat. A separate site plan would be presented for each lot or development. Dave Holtom mentioned that the length of the Subdivision is about 1600 feet. They plan to build the buffer for the first 800 feet during the initial phase of development. Glen Pond indicated that the City can not enforce restrictive covenants. Dave Holtom mentioned that a Site Plan approval based on restrictive covenants would be enforceable. Glen Pond commented that the Subdivision would have to enforce the restrictive covenants. Nyle Fullmer concurred with the Mayor that the Plat needs approved on its own merits. Dave Holtom is willing to do the entire buffer of 1600 feet into the future as the asphalt was expanded. st Jennifer Cameron 357 West 1 North – representing an insurance business planning to locate in the development, said that they do not want the development to become a truck stop. They are an insurance business. She mentioned having no-parking signs to limit overnight truck parking. She presented a site plan for lot 15 to the Council which showed a building similar in design to the original Valley Wide Cooperative building. Paul Pugmire indicated that the site plan was “Impressive” for the insurance building. Shawn Larsen Valley Wide Cooperative Subdivision No. 1; moved to approve Plat for The motion carried. Glen Pond seconded the motion; all voted aye. none opposed. Mayor Sutherland asked Dave to work with John and the neighbors with future site plan reviews and to include a Development Agreement (protective covenants). nd Impact Fees for the City of Rexburg – (Richard Horner–Treasurer) 2 Reading of Ordinance 896. 9 Richard Horner reviewed the Impact Fees that would have been collected in 2001 and 2002. Richard commented on the comparable position Rexburg is in with other cities with the tax levies. Rexburg has a property tax level that is in the middle range for Idaho cities. Idaho cities that have an Impact Fee charge from $1,500 to $3,000 for Parks’ Impact Fees. Eric Erickson – 890 Widdison Lane – reviewed the Impact Fees that are proposed for the City. Eric is against the Impact Fees because they may harm future growth of the City. He indicated that a proposed Bond Election for the School District and property taxes increases are currently impacting City residents. The Impact Fees will send a message that Rexburg is “anti growth” oriented. Eric recommended that the City use Development Agreements to provide additional infrastructure. It is poor timing to consider Impact Fees at this time. Eric suggested that the Council re-look at this proposal before discarding Development Agreements as a method to provide City infrastructure. Mark Nygren – 479 Harvard Avenue – reviewed the reasoning for the proposal. The Impact Fees are necessary to maintain the current level of public services as the population base grows. The Committee was charged with making the Impact Fees fair and equitable. The City of Rexburg has limited funds to provide additional services without Impact Fees. There is a question as to what makes fair and reasonable performance standards. The Committee used .95 policemen per 1,000 residences instead of the National average of 1-2 policemen per 1,000 residences. The City of Idaho Falls uses the standard of one fire station per 8,000 residents. Rexburg uses one fire station per 12,000 residents in this proposal. The average is to use 4 acres of City Parks per 1,000 residents. This proposal uses 3 acres of City Parks per 1,000 residents. Mark indicated that this process to provide additional funding to expand City services is legislative based. The State has allowed the Cities to use Impact Fees to provide resources for Cities to expand their services as the Cities grow in population. The Committee used conservative numbers to develop the performance standards for this proposal. Glen Pond asked about performance standard used for the police department. The Committee used .95 officers per 1000 instead of the 1-2 officers per 1,000 residents on the National level. These funds can only be used on asset that will have a 20 year life span. Discussion on having ground for City Parks with out the money to develop them. Richard Horner indicated that 300 sq feet of office space per police officer in the national standard. This Impact Fee Ordinance allows for the development agreements to be used as a credit against the Impact Fees. Some large developments may not have to pay Impact Fees. Mayor Sutherland indicated that the City does not have a vehicle (mechanism) in place for the funding of emergency services. Shawn Larsen reviewed the impact of new developments on the City’s infrastructure. 10 John Millar commented on the ability to fund waste water projects and street projects with no funding for emergency services or City parks. Shawn Larsen commented on the need to establish more large parks in stead of small neighborhood parks. Richard Horner reviewed number of units that contributed to City park development or City green space. Out of 1001units that were recently built in the City, only 35 gave resources to the City for parks or green space. Those two subdivisions were the Evergreen Subdivision and the Hidden Valley Subdivision. There were 965 units that did not contribute to the City for parks and green space. In the year 2001, there were 267 units with only 21 providing additional green space to the City. There were 246 units that did not contribute. Glen Pond asked for City Park reservation statistics for the City. He does not see the need to expand the parks if they are not being maximized. Discussion on the need for the fees to add capacity to the City parks. Glen reviewed the maintenance issues that would be the result of adding additional City parks. Glen is concerned with maintaining additional parks for the City of Rexburg with existing funds. Shawn Larsen reviewed the 20 year plan and expressed a need to plan for the future. Glen Pond indicated that Service Clubs have built the existing shelters. Donna Benfield mentioned that there has been an increase in usage of the City parks. Richard Horner mentioned that there are tax benefits for a developer to donate to the development of the City parks. Discussion on the fact that people come to the City for what the City has to offer. Shawn Larsen reviewed the need to have Impact Fees. Shawn Larsen moved to suspend the rules to pass the Ordinance on this reading. The motion died for lack of a second. nd Paul Pugmire moved to read the Impact Fee Ordinance for the 2time; Nyle Fullmer seconded The motion carried. the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. Preliminary Budget for 2004 Richard Horner reviewed the preliminary budget and asked the Council to set a hearing for a fee increase. He reviewed the proposed budget with the Council. Richard discussed the State of Idaho Revenue funding levels and the need to correct the population numbers for Rexburg. 11 The State Revenue funding is projected to increase slightly due to a small population increase projected by the State of Idaho. Richard will work with the State to increase the population numbers to a more realistic number. These population numbers affect sales tax and gas tax refunds to the City. Richard projected that an additional $20,000 in revenue funding would be possible revenue. Discussion on the property tax levy rate. Richard Horner is working with the County Assessor to make sure all of the properties have been put on the tax rolls. The City tax revenues suffer if the new properties in the City have not been put on the tax roles in a timely manner or if they are not assessed the correct value. Richard continued to review of the proposed budget. He indicated that the GIS (Mapping), and the police are scheduled for additional resources to meet the needs of the City. Richard reviewed the plan to add software to the City that would enhance the reporting capabilities for City Departments. These areas include tracking processes by parcel and by project. Richard Horner indicated that if the Impact Fees were in place, additional funding would be available for the police budget. Their budget could increase $25,000 per year with the new Impact Fees. Richard indicated that an additional operator would be hired for the Waste Water Department in this budget. The base rate for waste water would increase by 63 cents. Glen Pond moved to go to a public hearing on September 03, 2003, for a fee increase on the The motion sewer fee; Paul Pugmire seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. carried. Discussion on the aerobic digester that is in the budget for the sewer plant. Donna Benfield moved to accept the preliminary budget; Nyle Fullmer seconded the motion; all The motion carried. voted aye, none opposed. Nyle Fullmer moved to go to a public hearing for the 2004 budget; Glen Pond seconded the The motion carried. motion; all voted aye, none opposed. Comprehensive Plan Document Kurt Hibbert discussed the future growth patterns for Rexburg. Kurt asked the Council to provide some direction to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Urban sprawl and other growth trends. The Council discussed the need to plan for the future growth of the Community for the next 20 years. Update on Projects: 12 Intra-City agreement with Sugar City and Rexburg Discussion on the Glen Pond moved to allow for the authorization of the agreement with Sugar City; Shawn The motion carried. Larsen seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. Discussion on the need for additional parking at the nature park. nd The paving project on 2 East and Main Street is being paved. Committee Reports: None Mayors Business: = Proclamation Recognizing IDAHOWORKS Day IDAHOWORKS Day Mayor Sutherland read a proclamation proclaiming September 01, as for the City of Rexburg; the program is intended to improve the work force in the Community by encouraging businesses and job seekers to work in concert to improve the workforce. IDAHOWORKS day Shawn Larsen moved to have on September 01; Nyle Fullmer seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. Adjourned ___________________________ Bruce Sutherland, Mayor _____________________________________ Blair D. Kay, City Clerk 13