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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005.10.26 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES ORM F EQUEST R RAVEL T CCA ITY OUNCIL GENDA October 26, 2005 7:30 P.M. City Council Mayor & Council Members: City Staff : Shawn Larsen — Mayor Val Christensen – Building Official Vacancy Donna Benfield Kurt Hibbert — Planning & Zoning Dir Farrell Young Nyle Fullmer Richard Horner — Finance Officer Rex Erickson Irma Anderson Blair Kay — City Clerk John Millar — Public Works Dir Stephen Zollinger — City Attorney Pledge to the Flag Roll Call of Council Members: All Council members were present for the roll call. 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 October 05, 2005 meeting B. Approve the City of Rexburg Bills Council Member Benfield moved approve the Consent Calendar; Council Member Anderson seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. Council Member Erickson pointed out that there was a mistake on page 11. He and Richard gave a Levy presentation to the Lions Club instead of the Civic Club. Mayor Larsen indicated that a correction would be made to the minutes. Public Comment: on issues not scheduled on the agenda (limit 3 minutes) Susan Hammond at 659 Laleene Drive referenced the pending sale of the Sports and Fitness Club on South First East in Rexburg. The new owners (Apex Alarm) will not open the facility to the public. She asked the City to lease the pool so that swimming lessons could be offered to the children. A lot of children have used the pool for swimming lessons. She has year around classes for swimming lessons. She is extremely concerned with the loss of the pool for public access. Susan asked if there was anything the City could do to avoid the loss of swimming lessons for children in the City. She was afraid the children may not get the training necessary to keep them out of a drowning situation when they are around water. Mayor Larsen reviewed the issue and mentioned that the City may be able to look at other options for swimming lessons. Susan was extremely concerned with the pool closing. The City would have to put the offering for City swimming lessons out to bid with existing pools in the City to see if they were interested in doing swimming lessons. Council Member Young offered an idea for the City Council to consider. The City could build a training facility for swimming lessons at Porter Park near the Spray Park for an amount similar to a recent City expenditure for another facility the City purchased for $133,000. This facility would not need dressing rooms. Secondly, the leaves are falling from the trees, can the City extend the fall cleanup period for one more week? Mayor Larsen mentioned that this was something that they had done last year. Maybe it would be a good idea to change the dates in which the yard clean up were to occur. He also agreed that the City could extend 1 the clean up period for an additional week. The City Council concurred; it was a good idea to extend the clean up period for an additional week. Council Member Erickson asked about the swimming lessons. Susan explained her reasons for not offering the lessons at the Sports and Fitness Club in 2004. It has been a problem getting agreement on the expenses she has incurred at the Club to conduct the swimming lessons. The past bond election to fund a City swimming pool was defeated. Council Member Erickson believes that it was a mistake for the community to turn this bond down. Susan mentioned that even the Town of Ashton has a community pool. She feels that even when the bond was turned down that the city should still try to push the issue. Mayor Larsen indicated that the City has a lot of needs with limited resources. Council Member Benfield asked if Susan could use the Cotton Tree Inn Pool. Susan explained that there is a pending lawsuit for a previous drowning that prohibits them from allowing the pool to be open. Council Member Anderson commented on the County levy for a recreation center proposal failed a few years ago. It was a residential levy. Mayor Larsen agreed that a Recreation District in the County makes a lot of sense. He thanked Susan for her comments. Presentations: A.Parks, Recreation, & Arts Update (NRPA Conference): (Director Jack Bowman and Gabe Chariton) Mayor Larsen asked Parks, Recreation, & Arts Director Jack Bowman to review the NRPA Conference that he and Gabe attended. PR&A Director Bowman excused Gabe Chariton from the meeting due to personal family reasons. They spent a week in San Antonio, Texas, at the Conference. They offer over 200 session a year in the Conference for whatever you want to know in regards to Parks and Recreation. This is Jack’s fifth Conference for Parks and Recreation. He reviewed a Citizens Academy for Parks which allows public input into the City and it promotes community credibility. He mentioned using the Hidden Valley Park as an opportunity to use a Citizen’s Academy for the development of that City Park. What would the citizens like to see in the park? How can the community get together and help with the set up of the park? Another class that he attended “How to get the most out of a shoe string budget.” Jack also attended a class called “So you think you’re in Charge?” This class showed that they are not really the ones in charge; The City Council is in charge of the City. Gabe Chariton attended classes on marketing and training workers. They have discussed setting up the Nordic Center at the Municipal Golf Course and using Eagle Park as a Camp Site. This year alone, the obesity rate is moving up towards 24 percent in our City. He wanted to develop programs to get the children away from the couch. One thing that they need is new recreation software. It would allow online registration. The BYU-I Outdoor Activity Program has joined with the City to show some th Warren Miller films at the Westwood Theatre on November 11. Mayor Larsen reviewed the budget for the Parks and Recreation Department. The revenue increased $40,000 last year with a net gain of $22,000 on the program side. He wanted to make the Recreation Budget a self supporting (enterprise) fund. Council Member Erickson discussed the $80,000 subsidy for Recreation programs in Rexburg. He asked Jack if they were taking in more for recreation than they were spending. Jack said that they were able to make more on the program side. Jack indicated that the fund was subsidized by $57,000 this past year which is about twenty five percent. Council Member Young said that we should judge the department with how much they make. The incentive needs to be based on substance. He is afraid that the fees may become too high for the residents to pay. He recommended a continued subsidy of the recreation program. Jack said that there needs to be programs in place that generate revenue after expenses. He also expressed the need for programs like the Marathon that make money in a one day event. 2 Council Member Erickson indicated that the idea in mind was to set a ceiling on the amount the City would subsidize for the Recreation programs. Jack Bowman indicated that more students in City Recreation programs have lowered the deficit from $80,000 to $57,000. Council Member Erickson mentioned that City would cover administration and equipment costs. He understood that all the money generated from the programs stays in the program fund. Jack Bowman reviewed the Nordic Center plan to get a winter program. He wants self funding programs. Council Member Fullmer reviewed the need to reinvest the profits of the programs back into other recreation programs such as a swimming facility. Jack mentioned that some of this money may go back into City Parks and building facilities to start Park’s programs like tennis. Council Member Anderson mentioned the Parks Oversight Committee and the Council Liaison could support them with ideas for City Recreation Programs. Council Member Fullmer asked if the Warren Miller film event was free or a fund raiser. He also wondered if they could generate money. Jack said the film was a fund raiser at $6.00 per seat for BYU-I students and $8.00 for the general public. Jack Bowman mentioned that BYU-I has made money on the films from Warren Miller at the University and the they are offering to help the City/Community raise money to support City Recreation Programs. They have a few businesses that are going to be giving out free items at the event. Grand Targhee Ski Resort is one vendor that will be offering free lift tickets. Council Member Young asked for new nets at the City Parks basketball courts. Jack indicated that they will do it in the spring. B.Mayor’s Proclamation for “Lights On After school Day.” Mayor Larsen read the Proclamation for “Lights On After school Day.” Mayoral Proclamation 2005-06 Keeping the Lights On After School WHEREAS, the citizens of Rexburg stand firmly committed to quality afterschool programs and opportunities because they: ? Provide safe, challenging, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills. ? Support working families by ensuring their children are safe and productive after the regular school day ends. ? Build stronger communities by involving our students, parents, business leaders and adult volunteers in the lives of our young people, thereby promoting positive relationships among children, youth, families and adults. ? Engage families, schools and diverse community partners in advancing the welfare of our children. 3 WHEREAS, afterschool programs in Rexburg have provided significant leadership in the area of community involvement in the education and well-being of our youth, grounded in the principle that quality afterschool programs are key to helping our children become successful adults. WHEREAS, Lights On Afterschool, a national celebration of afterschool programs on October 20, 2005, promotes the critical importance of quality afterschool programs in the lives of children, their families and their communities. WHEREAS, many afterschool programs across the country are facing funding shortfalls so severe that they are being forced to close their doors and turn off their lights. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that I, Mayor Shawn Larsen, do hereby proclaim October 20, 2005, as “Lights On Afterschool Day”; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this mayor enthusiastically endorses Lights On Afterschool and commits our community to engage in innovative afterschool programs and activities that ensure the lights stay on and the doors stay open for all children after school. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of our City to be affixed this 17th day of October, in the year two thousand and five. ATTEST: _______________________________ Blair D. Kay, CITY CLERK APPROVED: ____________________________________ Shawn Larsen, MAYOR Mayor Larsen asked the City Council to Ratify the Proclamation. Council Member Fullmer moved to accept the Mayor’s Proclamation for “Lights on after school Day”; Council Member Young seconded the motion; Discussion: Council Member Benfield mentioned that hundreds of children attended the event. All voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. Mayor Larsen said the City and the School Board have a good working relationship and he is very proud that there is collaboration for the programs that they can implement. Committee Liaison Reports: A. Council Member Young: Downtown Vision · Rexburg Arts Council Two weeks from tonight there will be an Orchestra at the Tabernacle concert at 7:00. The same except name has changed from the Upper Valley Arts Council to the Rexburg Arts Council. 501 C3 Downtown Vision Committee is now a sub committee of MEDCO focusing on downtown development with council Member Young as a member of the Sub Committee. B. Council Member Benfield: Beautification · Traffic & Safety: These Committees have turned in synopsis of the past year. She will give the report to Mayor Larsen. Also, the committees have brought forth a name of from each to be recognized. Mayor Larsen asked to recognize one committee member in each committee under the City Council. She reviewed the request to close a street after an engineering study of the proposal. Karen Arritt gave a good presentation at the Traffic and Safety Committee for the problems of closing Rodney Street. John, the Public Works Director, reviewed the counters that were used for traffic traveling south and north of Nina Street. The maximum hourly count was 60 vehicles per hour (a car a minute) with average speeds of 21 MPH and occasionally 35 MPH. It was considered to be normal traffic. The Traffic and Safety Committee decided to leave the street open. Council Member Benfield suggested that alternatives to closing the road, such as seasonal speed bumps, neighborhood education, and “Children At Play” signs be implemented in the requested area. 4 Mayor Larsen asked Public Works Director Millar to report on the use of these seasonal speed bumps. John did not seem to favor the seasonal speed bumps. He recommended that further studies be conducted to determine if they were effective. Karen would be willing to help with the cost of paint for the curbs to help control blind spots at intersections in her neighborhood. Council Member Young asked if the groups in this neighborhood will work together. Council Member Benfield said they were working together. John is aware of the areas that need painting. Karen showed pictures of the accident area that took a child’s life to the City Council. Mayor Larsen thanked Karen and the neighbors for being involved in the process. nd Council Member Benfield reviewed the BYU-I request for cross walks on 2 East. There are four locations under the proposal with two locations being moved. The committee is concerned about the nd college students living along 2 East darting out in front of traffic. The Beatification Committee had a great meeting with beatification awards being given out during the summer. She reviewed signs and flower baskets and corn husks for Halloween. Mayor Larsen th mentioned it was a good project conducted by students of the BYU-Idaho 25 Ward. Discussed working with the Rexburg Arts Council on plans for the roundabout. The Committee has bylaws too. The ITD Grant for Interchange Beautification Projects is being put together for future grant proposals. It will take a while. C.Council Member Erickson: Airport Board · Planning & Zoning: The Airport Board did not meet. The Planning and Zoning Commission discussed the proposed wording on Bill 939. The corrections to th the bill are pending for a council meeting on the 16 of November. It is planned out well, and most people are happy with the changes. Commissioner Dyer is helping to draft the new wording for BILL 939 (Residential Business District) It will exclude some Zones for its application. Council Member Erickson recommended putting Bill 939 into effect. Council Member Benfield requested looking at the Bill before leaving town the next week. Council Member Erickson agreed to provide a copy prior to her departure. A request was made to view the drafted bill before it is voted on. Council agreed to post it on the City’s website. D. Vacancy: Golf Board E. Council Member Fullmer: Emergency Services Board Recently hired a new firefighter Paramedic interviewed two in-house paramedics, and hired Robert Kohler, who has worked with the city for two years. Robert graduated from Paramedic Program recently after completing an internship in Galveston, Texas. Robert will be a great asset to the team. They are back to full strength. Mayor Larsen welcomed the Scouts and invited them to introduce themselves. Scouts were there to complete a merit badge requirement. Mayor Larsen invited them to take a packet with them which would help complete this merit badge. F. Council Member Anderson: Museum · Tabernacle · Parks & Recreation Museum Committee will meet tomorrow. Committee has a new chairman Tabernacle Committee is grateful for budget to maintain the tabernacle toilets and clean the attic. BYU Idaho students will be contacting Jack about cleaning the Tabernacle. She mentioned that other service projects are available at the tabernacle. She had nothing on the Parks and Rec. The sidewalk, curb, and gutter of the Tabernacle are scheduled for completion in the next 10 days. G. Mayor Larsen: Trails of Madison County · Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board Youth will be taking Halloween bags with a resource officer to the schools to talk about safety to children during Halloween. 5 Report on Projects: John Millar 1. Animal Shelter contract awarded site clearing this week with the pouring of the concrete next week th 2. Sunset Circle project will be completed next week. It is scheduled to be paid on October 27. They used an infiltrator very similar to the current drain systems that are used. These are adequate for what they will be used for. There is a cement shortage due to offline plants in areas affected by the Hurricanes. 3. The Round-a-Bout lights are pending due to shipping issues. 4. The lights at Smith Park will be lit Friday because they are still waiting for the right light bulbs. The lights will be on all night and are attached to a photo cell so that the day light will turn them off. The parks close at 11:00 p.m. Council Member Anderson asked about Twin Falls problems with ground water for drinking. Public Works Director John Millar said that the city is in a better situation because we get the first pick of the water, being that we are north of them and higher on the Snake River. Council Member Erickson wanted to know if there will be some preparation for spray park at Porter Park. John mentioned that they will be bringing the gravel in and continue to do the ground preparation. He also asked where the city was on the animal shelter and its completion. John said that they are about 180 days out so in the next 6 months it should be finished. Council Member Erickson asked also if the Smith Park project was done and John said that it would be completed after the light bulbs were installed. Council Member Erickson then proceeded to ask about Porter Park, and John said that the Park lights will be done by winter. Council Member Erickson also asked about the Park in Hidden Valley. John said that the Millhollow Park will be started this fall with green grass being started by early spring. Council Member Erickson also asked about the completion of the Evergreen Park. John said that the fence should be finished today except the area by the head gate. It is to be done by spring and the rock work being worked on by part time city employees should be done by late fall. Council Member Erickson asked if the City employees are cost efficient to do that kind of work. Council Member Erickson mentioned the projects that go on and on and on with city crews drive him crazy because they take so long. He also mentioned that the crawl space underneath the fence on the south side by the ditch on Evergreen Park is not done. He mentioned that it costs the city more in the long run with some of these projects. The City looks inefficient to let projects set. He wants projects completed sooner so that the city does not look bad. Public Works Director Millar mentioned that there is only so much money that they have to work with to get each of these projects done. John asked Council Member Erickson if he would like the projects contracted. Council Member Erikson asked if the City Council would rather have fewer projects completed or have more half-done projects. Council Member Anderson asked how John decides whether to do something in house or contract out. John said that it is an administrative decision and relies on the availability of Public Works Crews to help him in those decisions. Mayor Larsen indicated that the Hidden Valley Park is in the Budget for this year starting October 01, 2005. Council Member Erickson said that John’s people were not hired to do construction. Council Member Fullmer said that we use our employees to the best of their abilities and that we should use the dollars to the best of the City’s ability to do the work and get it done. Council Member Erickson complained about the City Parks this year and said that this is the worst he has seen them since he has lived here. And he sees it as a bad image for the city when 6 these projects are let go and not finished for long periods of time. He thinks it would be better to finish one project at a time. A.Waste Water Capacity – Sugar City Winston Dyer explained he is the Sugar City Engineer authorized by The Sugar City Council to request an extension of the Norsun project. One, to extend the offer for one month; and two, to change the total to $560,000 verses $700,000. Mayor Larsen asked John if it was doable. John said it is not a problem to have a lesser volume. Council Member Erickson quizzed them on the extension request at the lower rate. He wanted to know if this extension was only an excuse to put off a decision. He wanted to know why the lower rate was given them in the first place. Both Sugar City and their major business needed additional capacity. Winston Dyer said that the increase would be passed onto Sugar City customers. Council Member Erickson discussed the proposal to extend the offer for additional time. He feels that the offer was extended with the promise of $700,000. Winston understands that they (Sugar City Council) are on tenuous ground. The Business has no guarantees to offer. Mayor Larsen recommended the fee change after November 02, 2005, as agreed. Council Member Erickson said that he is not sure that is fair to Sugar City. He believes that they should give the balance. Mayor Larsen asked if they have an agreement with NorSun. Winston Dyer said that they had entered into a verbal agreement with NorSun for $3.50, which is a little different than $3.79. Council Member Erickson reviewed the deal to have capacity of 700,000 at a cost of $3.49 a gallon. The deal was changed without agreement. John mentioned it was a City Council decision. Council Member Erikson does not want a smaller amount than 200,000 sold at the $3.50 rate, because they may never buy the balance of it. Mayor Larsen does not want to penalize them because the timing is not right. Council Member Erickson asked to extend the deadline to get the balance. He feels it would not be fair to sell less than was agreed upon at the lower price. The Council continued to discuss the issues. Council Member Anderson asked if the portion purchased was bought by Sugar City or would it be used by NorSun. It was determined that Sugar City had bought that portion. Council Member Erikson felt that if Sugar City has made an agreement to sell at a certain price, and if we don’t give it to them, we are putting Sugar City in a tight spot. Council Member Fullmer did not think it was fair that the City of Rexburg is subsidizing the affairs of Sugar City. 7 Council Member Fullmer moved to accept the offer of the lesser amount that they had purchased at the current price of $3.50 and after November 2, 2005, the rate would be $3.79 a gallon, Council Member Young seconded the motion. Those voting Aye: Those voting Nay: Donna Benfield Rex Erikson Farrell Young Nyle Fullmer Irma Anderson The motion carried. Public Hearings: - None New Business: D.Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application & request to Department of Commerce and Labor – Ted Hendricks (The Development Company) Ted Hendricks reviewed the scope of the $500,000 Grant. 1. To Remove the old coop building on Main Street. 2. To improve the alleyways between the City and the County Buildings. 3. To improve/replace the waste water in those alleyways. 4. To create a downtown park(square) where the Cenex building currently stands. John prepared construction cost estimates at $950,000 plus the cost of the land and the building-- $450,000, which makes a 1.5 million dollar project, funds for which will come out of the block grant and some City funds. The County is also willing to help with labor and material. The application for the grant is due at the end of November, before which time a public hearing must be held. A memorandum of agreement is also needed between the City and County to remove a “slum and blighted condition” which will be defined as the Coop building. Ted has met with the state representative, who felt it was slum and blight. The County has agreed to the four scopes of work th plus in-kind work. The Public hearing is scheduled for the 9 of November at 5:30 P.M. The County has agreed to donate the building for the project while maintaining ownership of the property. Filling station in the back may also be torn out and converted to parking. Mayor Larsen asked Ted about the split of the $500,000. Ted said use scope of work (negotiated between the City and the County) to determine that split. The other amounts of money will be negotiated when we get to the point of discussing which works benefits which department. We are also looking for other money to help with petroleum cleanup. A $3,000,000 EPA grant has already been issued to help with this. The County has agreement with Valley Wide Coop that they are still responsible to clean up after razing the building. Mayor Larsen reviewed the Memorandum of Agreement for park location. He asked for motion to pass resolution Council Member Fullmer moved to pass the Resolution 2005-17; Council Member Benfield seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. E.CDBG Memorandum of Agreement with the County – requesting the City Council’s approval to allow the Mayor to sign all traditional documents for a joint use agreement with the County. Council Member Benfield moved to accept the Memorandum of Agreement with the City and the County, Council Member Erickson seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. Ted Hendricks indicated that The Sports and Fitness Club is being sold, and it was leaked to the press before a formal announcement could be made. It is not a City deal; however; the purchasers are interested in leaving the pool open for at least a year. They are open to working with the community to make the pool work if it is cost effective. 8 Calendared Bills and Tabled Items: A. First Reading: Those items which are being introduced for first reading. – NONE B. Second Reading: Those items which have been first read. – NONE C. Third Reading: Those items which have been second read. 1. BILL 939 Revisions No. 1 Development Code – Deferred to November 16, 2005 D. Tabled Items: Those items which have been the subject of an affirmative vote to a motion to table: 1.Resolution 2004-22 (Adoption of Vision 2020 Rexburg Comprehensive Plan Text – Tabled November 03, 2004) Old Business: Mayor’s Report: Mayor Larsen reviewed the Boise trip for the America’s Promise award. The trip was not funded by the City of Rexburg. The Mayor will be attending the America’s Promise forum in Washington, DC on November 02-04, 2005, for the City of Rexburg. Rexburg was awarded the America’s Promise Award for being on of America’s one hundred best communities to raise children. Mayor Larsen would like to hold a volunteer appreciation event on November 30, 2005, at 6:30 p.m. for City volunteers that serve on City Committees. Executive Session – State Statute 67-2345 (B) Mayor Larsen asked for a motion to go into executive session to discuss possible litigation. Council Member Fullmer moved to go into executive session; Roll Call vote: for the Council to move into an Executive Session for Personnel Matters, Council Member Erickson seconded; Roll call: Those voting Aye: Those voting Nay: Donna Benfield None Farrell Young Nyle Fullmer Irma Anderson Rex Erikson The motion carried. Executive Session Executive Session ended Adjournment ____________________________ Shawn Larsen, Mayor _________________________ Blair D. Kay, City Clerk 9