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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003.10.01 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MINUTES CITY OF REXBURG October 01, 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 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 September 17, 2003 meeting b.Approve City of Rexburg bills The Mayor welcomed the scouts. Shawn Larsen moved to approve the consent calendar; Nyle Fullmer seconded the The motion carried. motion; all voted aye, none opposed. Non Controversial Items Added to the Agenda: Inline Skate competition at the Skate Park - The organizers are local skate boarders th that have asked to reserve the skate park for October 18, 2003, to have a skate board competition. Several categories of skate boarding will be in the competition. Sun Rise Solar is offering to provide solar power for the event. They plan to have a few bands play music at the event. Donna Benfield asked for some information on the bands at the competition which will th be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the 18 of October, 2003. Discussion on the type of music and the number of bands. Paul Pugmire asked them to invite some other bands to the event. Stephen Zollinger indicated that there would need to be open admission to the event. 1 Shawn Larsen asked about a charge for the event. There will be charge for the participants but not the spectators. The Council indicated a favorable response to the request to have a skate board competition at the City Skate Park. Public Hearings: - None New Business: City of Rexburg General Election – Approve Precinct Boundaries Ordinance 905 City of Rexburg General Election – Polling Places open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 per Ordinance 773. The City Clerk presented Ordinance 905 which designates the new precinct boundaries for the City. The Precinct Boundaries for the City of Rexburg were changed after the last general election in 2001. A State Statute requires the adoption of new precinct boundaries at least 30 days before an upcoming general election. Discussion on the new boundaries. Glen Pond moved to suspend the rules and adopt the new precinct boundaries by Ordinance 905 on the first reading; Nyle Fullmer seconded the motion; Those Voting AyeThose Voting Nay Glen PondNone Nyle Fullmer Shawn Larsen Paul Pugmire Donna Benfield Marsha Bjornn The motion carried. Glen Pond moved to adopt Ordinance 905 which separates the City into 12 precincts; The motion carried. Nyle Fullmer seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. City of Rexburg policy for Political & Campaign signage (Intersection site triangles) Kurt Hibbert reviewed a proposal to adopt a Political Sign Ordinance for signage in Rexburg. It is needed to regulate the signs for public safety. Kurt would like to incorporate this into the new Zoning Ordinance. Discussion on the need to have a political sign Ordinance. Site triangles are an issue. Glen Pond indicated that the small signs do not block the line of sight for the intersections. The size of the signs that would be a problem was discussed. The State Statute allows a minimum sign height of 3 feet in the sight triangle. Paul Pugmire discussed the different reasons to delay the discussion to a future agenda. Mayor Sutherland took the proposal under advisement. Old Business: Rexburg Swimming Pool discussion – Parks & Recreation Committee - Brad Smith Chairman Heather Williams discussed the need to have safety seats for swings in the Porter and Smith Parks. She is on the he asked the Parks and Recreation Committee for the City. S City to add child safety seats to the swings in Smith and Porter Parks. They run about $94.00 per seat. 2 Stephen Zollinger indicated that the City is in the process of purchasing safety for the Parks. John Millar said they have not been ordered yet. Heather Williams suggested having two seats on swings in Porter Park and Smith Park. th Dana Wade – 30 South 5 West – gave a personal story about riding a bike to work to save money. He said the ride to work in the morning is ok at about 6:30 a.m.; however, th the evening ride at about 5:00 p.m. is a different story. He lives on 5 West and rides across Main Street to the fair grounds then towards Kmart before heading out to Artco. He is looking for a safe bike path to his work location that would avoid high traffic areas. At the present time he is not able to find a safe path to his job on a bike. Dana discussed the bike path and the plans that the Recreation Committee is planning to submit to the Council. The routes include the following: stth 1)A path on 1 North from Hidden Valley to 5 West. ndnd 2)A path on 2 East from Pole line Road to Sears on North 2 East. thnd 3)A path from 5 West on Pole line Road to 2 East. 4)Other paths will be designated on the Recreation Committees proposal. These paths are needed for safety reasons. The routes would allow more access for pedestrian and bike traffic from residential areas to the Central Business District for Rexburg. Shawn Larsen discussed the routes that are proposed in the Comprehensive Plan. Kurt Hibbert said the Recreation Trails (bike paths) are in Madison County and the City. The current Comprehensive Map is incomplete. Mayor Sutherland asked Dana to attend the Greenways Committee to discuss the bike paths. The next meeting for the Greenways Committee will be announced. Dana Wade will get with Kurt Hibbert and DaNiel Jose from the County Planning and Zoning Department to coordinate the discussion. Discussion on the need to coordinate this effort with the County. Marsha Bjornn did not want to have any delays on this project. Brad Smith Parks & discussed the Pool feasibility study with the Council. The Recreation Committee Ohlsen-Lavoie for information on the swimming pool proposal. They asked them for a cost on an outdoor facility. Ohlsen-Lavoie would not charge for an outdoor pool study. Brad indicated that Ballard King would charge $2,000 for an update to his portion of the study. The Recreation Committee recommended that the City spend the money to update the study. Ohlsen-Lavoie (OLC) will provide updated drawings and cost comparisons for an indoor pool compared to an outdoor pool. The cost will compare the Recreation Center cost with an outdoor pool facility. Marsha Bjornn continued to discuss the need to have the cost comparisons. Parks & Recreation Committee The plan to compare the same square footages for both indoor and outdoor pool proposals. The Ballard King proposal will take about a week to update. Paul Pugmire moved to approve the funding needed to compare the Indoor Pool to an Outdoor Pool facility; Marsha Bjornn seconded the motion; Discussion: Shawn Larsen discussed the options that the City would have for an outdoor pool verses an indoor pool. Brad said the Parks and Recreation Committee is seeking the numbers to make a decision. 3 Shawn Larsen asked if some of the options could be deleted from the Executive Summary. Shawn wants to look at each individual component for cost comparisons. Discussion on the end result of the comparison if a component is dropped from the proposal. Paul Pugmire mentioned that there are an infinite number of options to look at for cost comparisons. He suggested that the Committee look at an outdoor pool verses an indoor pool. Paul amended his motion to include a limit for $2,000 for the update; Marsha agreed to amend her second to include the $2,000 limit; All voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. Update on Projects John Millar reviewed the following projects: 1)The engine noise nuisance ordinance signs are done 2)Bike Path on Main Street is under advisement with the State of Idaho nd Transportation Department from 2 West to U.S. Hwy 20. nd 3)The Main Street and 2 East repaving project is complete John Millar plans to present an Ordinance to the Council that would have penalties for digging into newly paved streets or new roads within five years of the project. He suggested a moratorium on digging into a new street to limit damage to a street that costs a $100,000 per block to repave. The City Council would have to approve any requests under the proposed Ordinance. Paul Pugmire asked about the bike path and the parking along the side of Main Street. John Millar indicated that diagonal parking does not mix well with bike paths. He reviewed the different options that are possible for bike paths. Paul asked if the Parking Ordinance would need to be amended to accommodate a bike path along Main Street. John indicated that it would not require a change. Marsha Bjornn asked about the bike path around the Stake Center. John mentioned that the north side of Pioneer Road is a bike path for that area. John Millar reviewed a situation where annexed properties do not have fire hydrants. There is a request to build multiple family residential housing in the newly annexed area on North Yellowstone Hwy. They do not have access to a fire hydrant. Marsha asked if Impact Fees could be used for these facilities. John indicated that the master plan will show a water line out to the Moody Hwy. There are two reasons to extend the water line into that area: 1) existing growth; 2) loop to the water line over to the Artco water line for better water management. Stephen Zollinger mentioned that there is risk for the City to make an exception in the Ordinance to allow projects to be built without fire protection. The cost to extend a water line to this area would cost about $300,000. John mentioned that Teton County requires a pond for the Fire Department to draw on for a water resource for fighting fires in those locations that do not have access to a fire hydrant. Discussion on the location of existing water lines in the area of the North Yellowstone Hwy. The Day Care facility in the Rexburg Business Park is where the water line ends. The Fire Department review on this request was where the problem was identified. Discussion on the ability to get fire protection for the area. The Uniform Fire Code for the City was discussed. A four plex is required to have fire protection because there are multiple renters or owners. 1,000 gallons per minute of water is required for a structure that is larger than a duplex in the Fire Code. 4 Paul Pugmire reviewed the need to adhere to the Fire Code. He is not in favor of exempting the Fire Code. Donna Benfield inquired about having a pond to pump out of instead of a fire hydrant. Nyle Fullmer is concerned with opening up the options for developers to continue to request projects that do not have fire protection in the area. Stephen Zollinger indicated that a hard and fast rule is that the City can deviate from the Ordinance if it is based on rational reasoning. An example would be to determine how much water the Fire Department could deliver to a site with a pumper truck bringing water from an adjacent fire hydrant in a certain amount of time. Paul Pugmire asked for more information on the issue from the Fire Department. John Millar recommended deferring the discussion until the next meeting to allow the Fire Department time to conduct some tests for delivering water to a site in a specific period of time with the current equipment. Discussion on the policy of having new developments pay for the water line extensions. Stephen Zollinger indicated that the City Council could allow John Millar to meet with the Fire Department to work out the details. Glen Pond moved to allow John Millar to work with the Fire Department to come up with a reasonable City policy that would comply with the Fire Code for the City and allow for water delivery to a site that does not have access to a fire hydrant; Shawn Larsen seconded the motion. Discussion: The Mayor asked for a vote. Those voting ayeThose voting nay Shawn LarsenMarsha Bjornn Nyle FullmerDonna Benfield Glen PondPaul Pugmire The vote was tied. Mayor Sutherland voted aye for the motion and to break the tie. The motion carried. John Millar will bring a new City Ordinance to the Council for approval that will provide penalties to anyone who causes damage to streets by opening a water hydrant in a manor that contributes to flooding by allowing the fire hydrant bypass valve to let water flow to the subsurface below the street. The Ordinance would require a water purchaser to purchase a back flow prevention devise and water measuring device to measure the water flow used when water is purchased from a fire hydrant. After collecting a deposit for the use of the equipment, the City could refund a portion of the cost when the requestor was finished with the water purchase. Committee Reports Donna Benfield discussed the Traffic and Safety Committee’s meeting. Marsha Bjornn discussed The Downtown Development Committee’s progress to get the downtown area to look better. The Historical Preservation Register was mentioned as a Register that the City needs to be included as a Historical Site. It is all in the talking stages at this point. Marsha Bjornn asked to have an agenda for the next meeting to put a cap on the size of large retail buildings. She mentioned the Bozeman Ordinance which limits the size of buildings by a design review process. Marsha would like to have a similar Ordinance for Rexburg. Glen Pond indicated a need to move forward with the design review Ordinance to limit the size of a retail structure. 5 Glen Pond mentioned that Urban Renewal money was expended to provide facilities for nd the infrastructure on 2 East. The City needs to maintain the revenues that are currently paying for the Urban Renewal project. Shawn Larsen commented on the Planning and Zoning Commissions proposal to have Commercial Design Standards for the City. The standards are currently under review. Paul Pugmire indicated a need to coordinate this process with the County. Marsha Bjornn read a couple of paragraphs out of an article discussing the empty shells and acres of asphalt that are left behind when a large retailer moves to a new location. These type developments hurt the downtown area. Paul Pugmire mentioned that the Emergency Services Contract has been extended for 30 days until a new contract can be signed. Negotiation are continuing between the City and Emergency Services. Nyle Fullmer asked about the wage survey for the City. It should be done in a couple of weeks. Marsha Bjornn asked about the $200 deposit for the use of the Tabernacle. She indicated a need to charge less for the deposit. Paul Pugmire mentioned that the Tabernacle Board will review the cost structure. The City could hold the check until it was determined that there were no damages. He asked the Mayor for approval to hold the check. Paul indicated that the deposits are there to protect the City of Rexburg’s capital assets. Donna Benfield asked about the fees for a shelter for 50 people. Richard Horner indicated that it is time to review the fees. Maybe some changes are in order. Mayors Business - None ’ Glen Pond moved to adjourn; Nyle Fullmer seconded the motion; all voted aye. The motion carried. Adjourned _________________________ Bruce Sutherland, Mayor _______________________ Blair D. Kay, City Clerk 6