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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007.06.06 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Customer Support Services City Council Minutes 12 North Center blairk@rexburg.org Phone: 208.359.3020 x313 Rexburg, ID 83440 Fax: 208.359.3022 www.rexburg.org June 06, 2007 Mayor Shawn Larsen Council Members: Donna Benfield – Council President Farrell Young Christopher Mann Rex Erickson Randy Schwendiman Bart Stevens City Staff: Stephen Zollinger — City Attorney Richard Horner – Finance Officer John Millar — Public Works Director Val Christensen – Building Official Gary Leikness — Planning & Zoning Administrator Blair Kay — City Clerk 7:00 P.M. – Pledge to the Flag Roll Call of Council Members: All Council Members were present. 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 May 16, 2007; May 23, 2007; May 30, 2007 meetings B. Approve the City of Rexburg Bills Council Member Erickson moved to approve the Consent Calendar; Council Member Young seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. Public Comment: on issues not scheduled on the agenda (limit 3 minutes) - NONE Presentations: A.Madison Library District – Update on the Library District Goals http://madisonlib.org/refdesk.html Eileen Hancey and Pam Beard representing the Madison Library Foundation presented the project for the Library for Western Understanding. The library will be a Western History Cultural Center with David Wannamaker as project manager. He is the idea man for this project. He has been involved in several projects that have all been very successful. This project already has verbal agreements for 8 million dollars to fund the project. She went over a hand out explaining the proposal. The total budget will be about 10 million dollars. The library will have four cultural centers: 1) Center of Ancient Ways, 2) Center of Current Events 3) Center of Art and Beauty and 4) Center of Nature & Innovation. This will be a library and a museum together with a theatre, a computer room, etc. Nike, the Rockefeller Foundation and Sybervision have already committed to donate. They are still working to get more sponsors. The Rockefeller Foundation is the biggest sponsor. The library will be built for sure; the location needs to be decided. They would like the library in Rexburg; however the Rockefeller Foundation has land available in the Teton Valley/Jackson, Wyoming area. Rexburg is ideal because of the many travelers on the Highway 20 corridor. The timeline for this project is to have the groundbreaking by September 1, 2007 and have the grand opening in just one year; June 2008. The projected visitors, cost and revenue are anticipated at 600,000 visitors per year bringing in $1,200,000 annual revenue, and cost include directors 1 $200,000, employees $300,000, overhead & procurement $500,000 and annual contributions to endowment at $200,000. Ms. Hancey asked the City Council if they felt this library was a feasible option for Rexburg. Rexburg is a historical site where the youth in the Indian Nations were taught the Indian ways. The land needed for the project is the first step. They were thinking of the th land East from the Temple on 7 South. They are looking to see if this land is available. She asked the City Council for other ideas on the location of this project. Mayor Larsen and City Council were excited to hear the proposal and they discussed possible locations for the new library. Council Member Erickson said this is a worthwhile project. He thought the timeline was very ambitious. It would be great to have this in Rexburg. Mayor Larsen asked if the current library is paid off. It is completely paid for. He suggested the Junior High property that will be vacant in the near future as an idea. It will not meet the project timeline. Council Member Mann said he is excited for the project. He is concerned with a location East of the temple getting visitors through the residential areas. Council Member Benfield suggested land closer to Highway 20. There is land North of Rexburg available to look at. Mayor Larsen offered letters of support for the project. Council Member Benfield clarified this new library would be 40,000 square feet. The current library is 10,000 square feet. Council Member Young asked about the Teton Flood Museum in the Tabernacle. Eileen Hancey would like to see if this is something that could be incorporated in the new library as they will have a History Center. The Children’s Museum may also be incorporated in the project. Another option would possibly be to move the Children’s Museum to where the current library is. Council Member Benfield asked what the next stop would be to make sure the library is built in Rexburg and not in Teton. Eileen Hancey indicated the proposal is real. The library Board has secured Rexburg as the site of the library by providing a $2,000 start-up fee for the project. A.Madison Baseball Association All Star Tournament Randy Sutton wanted City Council to offer support for 1,000 baseball players to participate in a baseball tournament next weekend. They are asking the city to donate time and employees to prepare the fields for the tournament. It will cost the city $2,000-$3,000 in donated time and manpower to maintain the fields. It is a fund raiser for American League Baseball. The City Council was fine with offering this service as they have in the past. Committee Liaison Assignments for 2007: A. Council Member Chris Mann Parks & Recreation· Museum Committee· Romance Theatre Committee Council Member Mann reported the Museum Committee met. They are working on getting proper ownership papers for everything in the museum. They are also trying to get things cleaned up and looking more attractive. The Romance Theatre Committee also met. They outlined events this year as fund raising events. They will be doing Upper Valley Idle again along with a black tie event. 2 Mayor Larsen asked about a meeting with the Museum Committee. Council Member Mann will schedule this meeting after next week. B. Council Member Donna Benfield Beautification Committee· Police Department Council Member Benfield said the Beautification Committee has not met. She reported the Police Department has been recognized by the State for the OP manual. It is the best in the state. ICRMP will put our police department on the web as a great example for the state. C. Council Member Rex Erickson Airport Board· Planning & Zoning Council Member Erickson said the Airport Board has not met. They did give verbal approval for the air show on June 16, 2007. Planning and Zoning will meet tomorrow night. D. Council Member Randy Schwendiman Golf Board· Traffic & Safety· Emergency Services Board Council Member Schwendiman said Traffic Safety Committee met last night. There is not much to report. They do a good job in keeping Rexburg safe and in identifying problem areas with burned out lights, etc. th Council Member Stevens asked to review the speed limits for construction on 7 South. It goes from 35 mph to 25 mph then back to 35 mph. Public Works Director John Millar will look into this. It is only changed during construction; this is not a permanent speed change. E. Council Member Farrell Young Tabernacle Committee· Rexburg Arts Council Council Member Young said the Tabernacle Committee is moving forward on fund raising projects. He reminded the City Council that the Rexburg Arts Council has free performances each Wednesday night this summer. Mayor Larsen said a Rexburg Community Foundation is in the final phases of being set up. It will be a 501C organization. The Arts Council along with the Romance Theatre Committee could take part in this. The Rexburg Art Guild is a separate organization looking for an art gallery in town. It will display local artists work. Mayor Larsen suggested City Hall could be a location to display local art work. Council Member Young will coordinate this. F. Council Member Bart Stevens Trails of Madison County· IBC Committee· School Board Council Member Stevens mentioned the contract between the school board and the city to use school facilities, including the community ball fields. Mayor Larsen explained the intent of the joint contract. In the process of working on a new agreement, the city and school board decided the original agreement serves the purposes needed. The agreement calls for a liaison from the city council, a liaison from the school board and one other person to work out management of the ball fields. The two liaisons will work out an agreement for paying the expenses for the use of the facilities and scheduling the fields after school hours. Council Member Young asked if the new tennis courts can be added to the agreement. They are hoping to include these. Council Member Stevens also asked for a liaison from city staff and from the High School athletic department. Mayor Larsen said there were misunderstandings on how the fields came to be in the first place. The city built the fields and the school donated the property they were built on. Council Member Stevens did not meet with the Trails Committee. Mayor Larsen said they will receive a $90,000 grant for a trail on the south side of the Teton River. The Great Spud Race will be held on June 23, 2007. Council Member Erickson suggested the canal that runs through the golf course. G. Mayor Larsen Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board· Legacy Flight Museum Mayor Larsen reported the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board is planning to have a booth at the th park for the 4 of July parade selling cotton candy and lemonade. They are also planning a Celebrate Youth celebration at Porter Park on August 21, 2007. 3 th The Legacy Flight Museum will have a free air show on the 16 of June for the community. The Teton Dam Marathon is Saturday June 9, 2007. A free pancake breakfast will be provided. There are just over 1000 runners this year. The runners are coming from 30 different states and one foreign country. Public Hearings: NONE New Business: th B.Preliminary Plat – The Meadows, Phase 3, 4, and 5 off West 7 South nd Winston Dyer of the Dyer Group 310 North 2 East is the authorized representative for Timber Hawk, Inc. He reviewed the plat on the overhead screen. It is a plat to continue the th development of four-plex town homes on the west side of Hwy 20 north of 7 South. There is about 8 acres of property to be developed. It will constitute 92 town homes to be built in this area. It is currently zoned as MDR1 which is appropriate for this new development. The plat will tie to future development on the north end of the plat. The parking areas will be around the perimeter of the development. Building separation has been varied to enhance the development. The have parking stalls in excess of 2 parking stalls per unit and they are close to the buildings. They will be 10 feet wide by 18 feet parking stalls to accommodate young families. They will have concrete sidewalks and landscape areas between town homes that face each other to buffer noise, etc. Mayor Larsen asked if there was a landscaped berm planed. Mr. Dyer said there was a 10 foot area inside the fence for landscaping. The fence will sit on a 4 to 6 foot berm which makes about a 12 foot buffer. The final plat will be developed in phases. There are currently 19 buildings completed or under construction with 4 units per building. Council Member Mann verified the streets are private streets to be maintained by the development. Council Member Erickson asked if all of the lighting will come from the buildings instead of street lighting. Winston Dyer said this developer is willing to address street lighting as recommended by the city. Council Member Stevens explained because these are not dedicated city streets, lighting works differently. Public Works Director Millar said public safety requires consideration with respect to the lighting needed for streets and street intersections. The private streets are 24 feet wide. Council Member Erickson said the density will build out at 69% of possible capacity. The developer has done a good job to make the project appealing. Council Member Mann commented this is important family housing for Rexburg. Council Member Stevens moved to approve Preliminary Plat – The Meadows, Phase 3, 4, and 5; Council Member Erickson seconded the motion; all voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. C.Approve Operational/Fireworks Stands Permit Applications Mayor Larsen explained these are regulated by city ordinance. The same vendors that were in Rexburg last year will be coming again except for one and they will be in the same location. Fireworks can be sold in Rexburg from June 26 to July 26, according to the city ordinance. 4 Council Member Erickson moved to approve operational fireworks stand permit requests. Council Member Young seconded the motion. All voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. Mayor Larsen asked if the permit includes the fire department fee. It does include this fee. Report on Projects: John Millar He presented current projects on the over head screen. ? Spray Park is getting heavy use with 200 to 300 children at any given time. ? Rest Rooms at Smith Park are 95% complete. Harris Construction has done a nice job. The project should be completed in 10 days. ? Wastewater treatment plant is under construction through the summer. Depatco is the contractor for this project. ? Veteran’s Memorial at Smith Park started construction last week. The grade work will be done this week and concrete will start next week. ? North Alley project is moving forward. It has been a difficult project and is behind schedule but should be completed within two weeks. ? South Arterial is moving forward and is on schedule. ? Police HVAC will be overhauled starting Monday of next week. ? nd 2 West project to replace 1000 feet of sewer line is out for bid. ? st 1 South parking lot and green-scape project is a joint project with Morris Floral and the city. nd Council Member Benfield asked if the sidewalk on 2 West is within code. Yes, it is a 5 foot sidewalk. She also asked about a letter Planning and Zoning sent out having to do with a survey around the University. It discusses changing the density of parking. This letter will be discussed at Planning and Zoning tomorrow night. Council Member Mann discussed the problem of finishing the West State Development storm water storage area on Pioneer Road. Public Works Director Millar said it would be finished up this year. Council Member Mann also asked about the empty space between the vinyl fence and Pioneer Road. This land needs to be mowed down along with the land by the golf course. Public Works Director Millar will look into getting this cleaned up. Council Member Mann also said the ribbon curbing from the Chamber of Commerce to the round- a-bout needs to be fixed. Council Member Erickson commended Millhollow Trailer Park for keeping the ditch area clean. He asked to have the city portion of the ditch taken care of in the same manner. Public Works Director Millar presented a draft resolution for public works standards. He asked the City Council to review the standards for a future presentation. Public Works Director Millar said the Millhollow Subdivision pavement has been delayed a few days. Millhollow Road will be under construction after this subdivision is paved. Calendared Bills and Tabled Items: A.BILL Introductions: - NONE B.First Reading: Those items which are being introduced for first reading. 1.BILL 941 – Cost of Living adjustment for City Council Members Mayor Larsen presented BILL 941 for discussion. It was taken from BILL 986 and put into a separate BILL. This is based on a recommendation given by a citizens committee that looked at council salaries a few years ago. Council Member Mann said it is always hard for City Council to raise its own salary. Unfortunately this is the only way a salary raise can occur. Nobody is on City Council for the money, but it is important to not just think of themselves, but to think of future City 5 Councils. The citizens committee recommended this raise and the council has been slow in doing this. He would like to see the City Council pass this BILL giving a $50 a month raise. It takes political courage to raise your own salary. He suggested if some council members really object, they can donate the additional $50 a month to many worthy causes including the Mayors Youth Advisory Board, Romance Theatre, The Museum, etc. He gave an example of someone interested in running for council that may need a babysitter in order to attend meetings. It is appropriate to have a small raise every once in a while. If a small raise is not approved now, it will force a future City Council to vote in a large salary increase. Council Member Erickson agreed with Council Member Mann. This raise will not matter to him because he won’t be on the council when it takes affect. He supported the recommendation of the citizens committee to raise the City Council salary for future City Council. The additional $50 a month means nothing to the council members now, but it may mean something to future council members. He liked the idea of donating the money. He would like the council to approve this. Council Member Young asked if the City Council salaries could be tied to the cost of living raise city employees receive. City Attorney Stephen Zollinger explained the City Council salaries can only be increased every two years. This would require a new BILL to be voted on every two years to increase the council salaries the same percentage as city employee cost of living raises. City Attorney Zollinger reminded the council this raise was recommended by a citizens committee. This recommendation came after reviewing similar cities’ salaries. The committee wanted to raise the city council salaries to $600 a month all at once. At that time, the council did not raise their salaries, and also decided not to give the entire raise at the once but to split this amount up over a few years time. Mayor Larsen explained the citizens committee was in place prior to many of the current city council assignments. Many additional responsibilities have been added to the City Council since this committee made the recommendation such as the liaison assignments, etc. Council Member Stevens said he appreciates this discussion. When this issue first came up he was very much opposed to it. He has reconsidered his position noting some people may want to run for city council but are excluded because they financially can’t afford to do this. This discussion has helped him think these issues through. An extra $50 to help pay for a babysitter was a good analogy. Council Member Erickson said the recommendation by the citizens committee was to attract people to run for City Council. If the council had done what was recommended six years ago, the council would be paid $600 plus a travel fee. Mayor Larsen suggested that whatever is decided tonight, another committee be formed to look at city council salaries. Council Member Mann moved to consider BILL 941 first read for a cost of living adjustment for city council positions. Council Member Benfield seconded the motion. Discussion: Council Member Young said philosophically speaking the School Board does not get paid. He feels like this is a chance to give back to the community he has loved living in. In his 14 years of campaigning he has promised never to vote for raise. This is why he will vote against this. This is a service opportunity. He admires the School Board for serving without pay. Council Member Erickson said that is the same reason he ran for city council. He has seen that younger people have a better perspective on the future. His future is tomorrow and the next day whereas the future of the younger generation is 15 and 20 years from now. Encouraging the younger people to run for city council would be an asset to the city. Council Member Stevens agreed with Council Member Erickson. He has thought about this a lot and does not want to cause a financial burden on those who want to run and who 6 could be a great impact on the city. He has changed his thinking on this and would like to support BILL 941. Council Member Young asked if the Planning and Zoning Commission should receive more compensation for travel to the projects and to meetings. Council Member Benfield said Traffic and Safety was given an allowance when she was new to the City Council. Mayor Larsen did not know why the complementation was ended. City Attorney Stephen Zollinger clarified Planning and Zoning receives a travel allowance, they are not given a salary. Those voting aye Those voting nay Randy Schwendiman Farrell Young Donna Benfield Rex Erickson Bart Stevens Chris Mann The motion carried. Mayor Larsen noted the City Council has had additional meetings and responsibilities. He thanked the City Council for the discussion. He appreciates all their efforts and work to make Rexburg a great place. C.Second Reading: Those items which have been first read. nd 1.BILL 988 – “LID 38” for the North Alley from Center St. to 2 East Deputy Finance Officer Matt Nielson presented the discussion on the parking lots. A 20 year lease should be agreeable with Wells Fargo Bank on the parking lot with parking signage for two hour parking for Wells Fargo employees and customers. The City has not finalized the lease on their portion of the AMET parking lot. Terms of the lease agreement need to be finalized with AMET. Finance Officer Richard Horner has a meeting on Monday at 11:00 A.M. to discuss this. Mayor Larsen suggested making sure the agreement is secure before BILL 988 is third read and adopted. Deputy Finance Officer Nielson said Wells Fargo would like a better pedestrian walkway. This is a workable issue. Council Member Erickson moved to consider BILL 988 second read; Council Member Mann seconded the motion. All voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. D.Third Reading: Those items which have been second read. 1.BILL 986 – Cost of Living Adjustment for Mayor’s Salary Deputy Finance Officer Matt Nielsen reviewed BILL 986 with two cost of living raises. The salary would go from $55, 512 to $58,944 which includes a 2.1% increase and a 4% increase consistent with cost of living raises given to city employees. Council Member Stevens moved to consider BILL 986 third read and adopted; Council Member Erickson seconded the motion. All voted aye, none apposed. The motion carried. Tabled Items: Those items which have been the subject of an affirmative vote to a motion to table: - NONE 7 Old Business: Deputy Finance Officer Matt Nielson presented a proposal to approve a step raise for the Parks Supervisor and a salary adjustment available for Parks employees based on performance. The total would be $11,100 out of the contingency fund for the supervisor and the Park’s employees. The supervisor raise would be a step raise of 4.0%. The seasonal parks employees would receive an additional $1 per hour at the discretion of the parks supervisor. This request was brought by the council as they did their Rexburg 301 drive around. This would be an out of guidelines raise for doing such a great job. Council Member Mann moved to approve a step raise and salary adjustment for the Parks supervisor to come from the contingency fund; Council Member Schwendiman seconded the motion; Discussion: Council Member Erickson asked to have the monies reflected in the 2007 Budget and the 2008 Budget. Council Member Mann agreed to amend the motion to include the monies into the budgets, and Council Member Schwendiman agreed to amend the second to the motion. All voted aye, none opposed. The motion carried. Mayor’s Report: th Mayor Larsen reported on the Teton Dam Marathon on the 9 of June with a free pancake breakfast at 8:00 A.M. Over 1,000 runners are expected to race. Council Member Benfield and Mayor Larsen will run in the race. Council Member Schwendiman asked to move into executive session Pursuant to State Statute 67-2345 due to a personnel matter; Council Member Erickson seconded the motion; Roll call vote: Those voting aye: Those voting nay: Donna Benfield None Farrell Young Christopher Mann Rex Erickson Randy Schwendiman Bart Stevens The motion carried. Executive session: Executive session ended. Adjournment ____________________________ Mayor Shawn Larsen Attest: _________________________ Blair D. Kay, City Clerk 8