General Information

Government Type

Municipality

Entity

Blanding

Public Body

City Council

Notice Information

Add Notice to Calendar

Notice Title

8.26.2025 City Council Minutes

Notice Type(s)

Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

August 26, 2025 07:00 PM

Description/Agenda

CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Mayor Trevor Olsen Mayor Pro Tempore Cheryl Bowers Council Member Chris Ewald Council Member Charlie Taylor (absent) Council Member Erik Grover Council Member Kellen Nielson August 26, 2025 - 7pm - City Council Meeting 50 West 100 South Street, Blanding Utah 84511 Meetings live streamed when available at: https://meet.google.com/ymf-jwqo-rjs POLICY MEETING Call to Order Roll Call A Prayer was offered by Councilmember Bowers. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance. Approval: Consent Agenda and Minutes from August 7, 2025 Special Council Meeting & August 12, 2025 Regular Session Councilmember Grover made a motion to approve the consent agenda and minutes from August 7, 2025 special council meeting and minutes from August 12, 2025 regular council meeting. Councilmember Ewald seconded the motion. Mayor Olsen repeated the motion and asked for discussion or questions. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting aye: Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Grover Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Olsen declared the motion carried. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest - None Public Input Mar Dawn Palmer was present at the meeting and she wanted to know if the JL Hunt zone change request was going to be discussed at tonight's meeting. It was advised that it is not on the agenda so it won't be discussed tonight. It was explained that the issue was tabled, meaning that more work needs to be done before it's brought back to the council. It will be on the first meeting of September at the 6 PM work session. She read a letter to the council expressing her concern of the zone change. She had a copy of her letter for all the council members. Her letter stated that the majority of the neighborhood hopes that this area isn't rezoned. She asked that Councilmember Bowers excuse herself from voting, citing a conflict of interest. Councilmember Bowers stated that it doesn't exclude her from being able to vote and she intends to vote on this matter. Mar Dawn stated that she understands there is a need for affordable housing, but she doesn't think that rezoning is the answer. Mr. Redd read a letter from Cari Spillman who is the Hunt rentals maintenance manager. She cited their application process for tenants, stating they have high quality tenants and hold them to high expectations. They have an online process for tenants to request maintenance. The letter stated that they have a 98% same day response. The letter also cited weed control and garbage control. Pam Hosler was present at the meeting and she wanted to report some things that she has heard directly from tenants of JL Hunt properties. She cited several different problems that the tenants have encountered. She stated that she doesn't think affordable housing should be equated with substandard living. She talked about permanent foundations and the costs associated with that. She talked about the different prices that people are paying for rent. Trent Herring made a statement, he thinks that it is great that people are speaking up whether it's for or against an issue. He thinks it's great that there is change that is happening. He asked that we try not to point fingers at people. No matter what, people are going to have something to complain about to their landlord, no matter the place or the person. He believes that affordable housing needs to happen and the city council wants to do it in the right way. Reports & Action Mayor Resolution - 08-26-2025-1 Approval of City Manager Contract Blanding City desires to employ a City Administrator to act under the direction of the Mayor and to serve the City Council, staff, and citizens of Blanding City. The Mayor, in consultation with the City Council, has negotiated an Employment Contract with Pratt Glen Redd to serve as the City Administrator of Blanding City. The Employment Contract sets forth the duties, responsibilities, compensation, benefits, and conditions of employment for the position of City Administrator. The City Council has reviewed the terms of said Employment Contract and finds them to be fair and in the best interests of Blanding City. Councilmember Ewald made a motion to approve Resolution 08-26-2025-1 approval of the city manager contract with Pratt Redd. Councilmember Grover seconded the motion. Mayor Olsen repeated the motion and asked for discussion or questions. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting aye: Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Grover Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Olsen declared the motion carried. Mayor Olsen and Representative Monson attended the UAMPS meeting. They are going to bring back some more options and opportunities for the city to grow their power company. They will be added to an upcoming agenda. City Council Councilmember Nielson stated that the planning and zoning met and had a robust discussion on the R1 zone. We saw some positive changes there. They are willing to address the mobile home zone as well. He stated that the planning commission is a good group, Linda Swenson has been serving as chair for the commission and is now done with her term. Councilmember Nielson stated that there have been complaints about scooters around town. Councilmember Ewald wanted to call another airport meeting to discuss plans and the airport budget. He stated that there are at least ten people on the wait list for hangars. Councilmember Bowers had a question about the Moses property. She stated that Chad had sent an email asking for an update on that. She asked if it was going to be brought back on the agenda. Councilmember Nielson stated that the planning commission is working on revising the R1 zone ordinance and that potentially could help Moses with their plans. Mayor Olsen stated that Chief Bradford has been working on identifying police calls and mapping them out and identifying particular areas and properties that are problem areas. Finance Report/Operational Budget - James Francom Mr. Francom had the operational budget available for the council to see. He wanted to point out that the year to date column encompasses the whole year, not just a certain time period. City Engineer Report - Patrick Parsons Mr. Parsons was excited about the rain that came today, but his report is for last month so it doesn't account for today's rain. We've received less than an inch of precipitation since May. He went over the reservoir's volumes. Our accumulative volume is sitting at about 66%. We've been sending water from Starvation to the 3rd reservoir to keep it full. Recapture is at about 30%. He stated that it is a possibility of having our mountain lines dry up. Historically, it has happened once or twice. Well B is running at full capacity and is looking good. He stated that despite such a dry year, he still sees quite a bit of watering at homes and businesses. He wondered if we needed to go from yellow tier to orange tier. He stated that the annual mountain tunnel walk through is scheduled for September 18th. If there are too many conflicts with that date then it can be rescheduled, but they need to be aware that cold weather is coming and he will also be out of town for a couple of weeks. Deep well: the preliminary plans for the well house structure and the yard are done and tri-hurst will do the construction on that when it's ready. Energy fuels gas line: the feasibility study for the routing of the gas line is done. The next step will be for city staff to identify where there will be utility crossings. Sewer master plan: The final draft is done. It will be used to look for deficiencies in the system and potential future projects. Crack seal project: RFP has been posted. Mr. Parsons has reached out to several contractors. The job description for seasonal help has been posted and there is already one application. They are working on quotes for a crack seal machine. Mr. Parsons has been working with the San Juan transportation district to try and get funding for this project. Councilmember Grover sits on the board for that organization. Mr. Parsons will attend their next meeting. Highway 191: We share a portion of 191 with UDOT and there should be funding for some improvements of the center and main section of 191. Specifically for curb and gutter. UDOT has a program called quality solutions that would supply the funding. Business Items Resolution - 08-26-2025-2 Blanding City Water Conservation Plan Blanding City recognizes the importance of sustainable water management and conservation for the health, safety, and welfare of its residents and future generations. The State of Utah requires municipalities to prepare and update water conservation plans periodically. Blanding City Staff, with the support of city leadership, has updated the City's Water Conservation Plan in June 2025 to reflect current usage, infrastructure, goals, and conservation strategies. The updated Water Conservation Plan includes realistic and actionable steps to reduce water consumption, encourage responsible water use, and ensure long-term availability of this essential resource. Mr. Parsons stated that this update is required by the state, and our plan has been approved by the state with two enthusiastic thumbs up. Mr. Redd highlighted a couple things from the plan, such as the rate structure. Councilmember Grover asked why the irrigation company's raw water meter was the city's concern. Mr. Parsons stated that the water comes from the Recapture line and we share the water. Councilmember Grover stated that the line is owned by the conservancy district and the irrigation company. Mr. Parsons stated that is correct and we get water from those lines, so that is probably why it is stated in the plan that way. The irrigation company does the repairs and maintenance on those lines. Councilmember Ewald made a motion to approve Resolution 08-26-2025-2 accepting the Blanding City Water Conservation Plan. Councilmember Nielson seconded the motion. Mayor Olsen repeated the motion and asked for discussion or questions. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting aye: Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Grover Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Olsen declared the motion carried. Resolution 08-26-2025-3 Election Canvass Approval The City Council of Blanding City, Utah, is required by law to canvas the returns of municipal elections. The canvass of the 2025 Blanding City Council election held on August 12, 2025, has been completed and the votes have been counted and reviewed. The total number of ballots cast was 581, with a voter turnout of 38.89%, and the vote counts for City Council candidates were as follows: Chad Moses - 186 votes (17.46%) Erik Merlin Grover - 263 votes (24.69%) Jesse Glen Grover - 227 votes (21.31%) Stacy Harrison - 166 votes (15.59%) Bret Allen Hosler - 223 votes (20.94%) Pursuant to Utah law, the candidates moving forward from this election to the general election are Chad Moses, Erik Merlin Grover, Jesse Glen Grover, and Bret Allen Hosler. The City Council of Blanding City, Utah, that: 1. The official canvass of the 2025 Blanding City Council election is hereby approved and accepted as presented. 2. The results of the canvass shall be recorded in the official minutes of the City Council. 3. The City Recorder is directed to certify the results and take all necessary steps to move forward with the general election process. They discussed the votes that were returned, noncurable and not able to be counted. They discussed that moving forward, they will advertise and educate on how, when and where to turn in ballots. Councilmember Bowers made a motion to approve Resolution 08-26-2025-3 approving the city council election canvas. Councilmember Grover seconded the motion. Mayor Olsen repeated the motion and asked for discussion or questions. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting aye: Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Grover Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Olsen declared the motion carried. Discussion Items Bike Utah Presentation - Ben Muhlestein Camerson Carter, Carson MIller and Allison Padgen with Bike Utah joined the meeting virtually and made a presentation complete with slides, pictures, graphs and the input that they have gathered through their surveys, public input and research. Bike Utah is a non-profit planning firm and they are contracted to do the downtown improvement plan for Blanding City. The purpose of this plan is to assess current conditions and recommend strategies to improve Blanding's downtown. This will include transportation, land use and zoning, street amenities, wayfinding and branding. Bike Utah will send a PDF draft plan to the council for review and feedback and they will also present the plan in October or November, they will coordinate with Ben on that. Vacation Bonus Time - Charlie Taylor Councilmember Taylor wanted to be present for this discussion item, so it will be brought back when he is present. Education Policy - Pratt Redd Mr. Redd went over some of the edits that he made to the education policy. The discussion focused on proposed changes to the city's education policy, aiming to streamline approval for employee training. Key adjustments include requiring prior approval for all city-funded education and training. For requests costing $3,000 or less, the mayor or their designee can approve, while requests exceeding $3,000 need approval from both the mayor and city council to ensure transparency and alignment with city goals. The policy retains a repayment obligation if an employee leaves early after receiving city-funded education. The next step is to formalize these changes into a resolution for an upcoming council meeting. Adjournment Councilmember Grover made a motion to adjourn. Councilmember Nielson seconded the motion. Mayor Olsen repeated the motion and asked for discussion or questions, hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting aye: Councilmember Grover Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Olsen declared the motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:23pm.

Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)

In compliance with the ADA, individuals needing special accommodations during this meeting may call the City Offices at (435) 678-2791 at least twenty-four hours in advance. Every effort will be made to provide the appropriate services.

Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation

One or more Council Members may partcipate electronically.

Meeting Information

Meeting Location

50 W 100 S
Blanding, UT 84511
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Contact Name

Pratt Redd

Contact Email

predd@blanding-ut.gov

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

September 11, 2025 01:05 PM

Notice Last Edited On

September 11, 2025 01:05 PM

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