General Information

Government Type

Municipality

Entity

Blanding

Public Body

City Council

Notice Information

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Notice Title

CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23 2016

Notice Tags

Administrative Procedure

Notice Type(s)

Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

March 14, 2016 12:00 AM

Description/Agenda

MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BLANDING CITY COUNCIL HELD ON FEBRUARY 23, 2016 AT 7:00 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS Present: Mayor: Calvin Balch City Councilmembers: Trevor Olsen Kd Perkins Joe B Lyman Robert Ogle Taylor Harrison City Manager: Jeremy Redd Finance Director: Kim Palmer City Engineer: Terry Ekker Community Development Director: Bret Hosler Police Chief: Jason Torgerson Community Members: Kendall Laws, Roma Young, Harold Lyman, Josh Webb, Scoot Flannery, Garrett Young, Logan Shumway. Prayer/Thought - The prayer/thought was offered by Jeremy Redd. 1. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 2. Councilmember Lyman moved to approve the minutes and financial disbursements of the February 9, 2016 meeting. Councilmember Ogle seconded the motion. Mayor Balch repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Voting was as follows: Those voting AYE Councilmember Lyman Councilmember Ogle Councilmember Olsen Councilmember Harrison Councilmember Perkins Those voting NAY NONE Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Balch declared the motion carried. 3. OPEN FORUM None 4. REPORTS/DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS Terry Ekker presented the Project Status Report. SCADA and metering for the 12' Mountain Line Replacement Project Mr. Ekker reported that staff is working with SKM on the computer replacement at the Water Treatment Plant and other SCADA upgrades. The metering portion is on hold until the snow melts. Backup Power at the Water Treatment Plant Mr. Ekker reminded Council that 4 Corners Electric had been awarded the bid for the project. It is anticipated that a notice to proceed will be issued soon and the project will begin. It will be completed by the end of May. Blanding Power Distribution Project A contract has been reached with ICPE for the engineering portion of the project. A site visit is currently being scheduled to get the project started. East Side Sewer Trunk Line The project is moving forward with the funding and right of way acquisition process. 2015 Streets Project Mr. Ekker told Council that the contractor has 19 days left in the contract time. After those 19 days penalties would begin accruing. The contractor requested those 19 days not include weekends. This would eliminate the need for City employees working those weekends. A change order was requested by the City to help in resolving and eliminating the storm water issue on 300 W and 200 S. Contractors are scheduled to begin April 4th, if the ground is conducive to the work. B. Kim Palmer presented the Financial Status Report Ms. Palmer presented the Financial Status Report. 5. AGENDA ITEMS A. 400 North Sewer Line - Terry Ekker Mr. Ekker told Council that the property owner on 400 North between 200 and 300 West is wanting to build a home on her property. Because the lot actually sits lower than the main lines on 200 and 300 West there is no way to gravity feed it into those lines. He shared the three available options to getting the sewage into one of these mains. Two of the options are expensive for both the property owner and the City. The third option would be to have the property owner install a personal lift station on her property and then run a line to the main line on 200 West. The cost of this would be approximately $3,000 to $5,000. Mr. Redd stated that it would be the property owner's line until it reached the main. Councilmember Perkins questioned how development in the neighboring lot would affect the line and pump. Mr. Ekker responded those property owners would have to install their own personal lift station and line. Councilmember Ogle asked Mr. Ekker how many lots could be affected by this same need. Mr. Ekker responded that there are multiple locations. One goal is to map those locations and bring them to Council to develop a policy for dealing with them. Mayor Balch asked for advice and consent to allow the property owner to proceed with option three. Council gave advice and consent. B. Water Outside City Limits Request - Jeremy Redd Mr. Redd gave a brief history on the development of Resolution 2008-5. This resolution states that 'the city will require all customers requesting any culinary water service outside city limits to annex into the City if possible, before they are allowed to receive culinary water service from the City.' It currently takes up to four months to get through the property annexation process. Tom Winder has approached the City for annexation and water. He is in the process of splitting his property into three lots. Because the annexation process has extended as long as six months, Mr. Redd asked if it would be possible to connect the property to City water before the process is completed. Mayor Balch asked what sort of consequence would occur if Winders backed out of the annexation process. Councilmember Lyman responded that it would be possible to draft a formal development agreement between the Winders and the City. The water would not be delivered/turned on until the annexation is complete. The cost to develop the agreement would be that of the Winders. In regards to inspections on the project City Attorney Kendall Laws told Council the best option would be for the County to contract with the City to complete the inspections. This would ensure the home was being constructed under City policy. C. Blanding Median Household Income Update - Jeremy Redd Mr. Redd reported the income survey results indicate that the MHI (median household income) for the City is at $45,000. 12% of those that responded to the survey were Native American. He reminded Council that survey letters were mailed to local residents, rather than a door to door survey. 31% of those were returned. The company completing the survey reported that this was an acceptable number of surveys to get a good representation of the community demographics and income levels. Mr. Redd then told Council he did not feel the same. However, in order to complete a door to door survey the cost would increase. The results that were received will allow for the City to apply for grant funding and low interest loans. Council determined that the results from the mailed in surveys would be used in applying for funding. D. Proposal - Job Classification & Compensation Study - Jeremy Redd Mr. Redd told Council that during the past couple of years he has worked to establish complete job descriptions for City employees. These descriptions were written based on the responsibilities of the employee. A yearly employee review process has been established and employees are reviewed based on their job description. One area of question is that of position pay scales. Because of the unique nature of the responsibilities assigned to employees it has been difficult to find exact comps for them. He is requesting a compensation study be done by a third party company to ensure the City has appropriate pay scales. The ability to have this done by an impartial company will allow for a complete unbiased evaluation. Upon completion of the survey a presentation would be made to both the Council and the employees. The presentation would include the process and the data used. Councilmember Ogle stated that he could not support putting funds towards this survey. He is comfortable with the current methods used to establish the ranges. Councilmember Lyman stated that he feels the City is doing a good job and there was no need to spend funds to find out what is already known. Mr. Redd responded if Council is not interested in a third party survey, staff will continue to provide that information. He also requested that as these are developed Council will back those ranges with employees who might approach them regarding the ranges. Councilmember Lyman suggested that data be gathered by staff and brought to the Council who will then develop the ranges. Councilmember Olsen stated that the study can provide the data to determine the range. Councilmember Perkins stated she is in favor of the third party review and would like to review that data. Mayor Balch asked for Advice and Consent for a compensation salary to be completed. Councilmembers Harrison, Olsen and Perkins were in favor. Councilmembers Lyman and Ogle were not in favor. E. Personnel Policy Update - Travel Policy - Joe Lyman Councilmember Lyman stated that the new personal vehicle use will require a change to the travel policy, so both policies are correct. Employees who use their personal vehicles for traveling on City business will use an Internet site such as Mapquest to determine their mileage. Councilmember Lyman moved to approve changes to the vehicle policy within the personnel policy. Councilmember Harrison seconded the motion. Mayor Balch repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Voting was as follows: Those voting AYE Councilmember Lyman Councilmember Ogle Councilmember Olsen Councilmember Harrison Councilmember Perkins Those voting NAY NONE Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Balch declared the motion carried. F. Resolution 2-23-2016-1 Calling for the Transfer of Public Lands to the State of Utah - Joe Lyman Councilmember Lyman stated that the resolution has been reviewed by Phil Lyman and Bill Howell. Mr. Howell recommended changes to the resolution to better reflect the language of the U.S. Constitution. Councilmember Lyman moved to approve Resolution 2-23-2016-1 Calling for the Transfer of Public Lands to the State of Utah. Councilmember Harrison seconded the motion. Mayor Balch repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Councilmember Perkins asked what the Federal lands are that are being requested for return to the State. Councilmember Lyman responded that it does not include tribal, state parks and national parks. The resolution has been written to be inline with what the state of Utah is requesting. Councilmember Perkins asked which State agency would manage the land. It is her experience and understanding that the state has dropped funding for state parks from 12 million to 3 million. Councilmember Harrison stated that the State will pass the oversight of the land to local control. This makes the most sense. The local people understand the area and the needs. Councilmember Perkins stated that she does not feel the State would do any better at managing the land than the Federal government has. Following the discussion, Mayor Balch called for a vote. Voting was as follows: Those voting AYE Councilmember Lyman Councilmember Ogle Councilmember Olsen Councilmember Harrison Those voting NAY Councilmember Perkins Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Balch declared the motion carried. G. Resolution 2-23-2016-2 - Municipal Wastewater Planning Program - Terry Ekker Councilmember Harrison moved to approve Resolution 2-23-2016 - Municipal Wastewater Planning Program. Councilmember Perkins seconded the motion. Mayor Balch repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Voting was as follows: Those voting AYE Councilmember Lyman Councilmember Ogle Councilmember Olsen Councilmember Harrison Councilmember Perkins Those voting NAY NONE Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Balch declared the motion carried. H. Police Officer Hiring Ad Approval - Jeremy Redd Mr. Redd told Council that a position for police officer will be open until the 15th of March. Councilmember Ogle asked where it would be advertised. Mr. Redd responded that the local papers and with Utah Cities of Leagues and Towns. I. Yearly Department Reports - Visitor Center - Harold Lyman Mr. Redd stated that the total budget for the Visitor Center is $118,101. The county TRT has increased from $60,000 to $70,000 for this year. Mr. Lyman stated that the Visitor Center has been in operation for 14 years. Reviews on Trip Advisor have been very positive. He thanked the Council, past and present, for their support of the Visitor Center. J. Yearly Department Reports - Planning & Zoning/Economic Development - Bret Hosler Mr. Hosler shared information regarding Planning, Building Regulation, and Economic Development. He told Council that state law requires cities to plan. Communities that have strong planning have outstanding communities where people want to live and work. The planning process requires all members of the community. 6. Information Councilmember Harrison stated that he had attended UAMPS meetings last week. He felt it was a valuable experience. 7. Open Forum Chief Torgerson reported that Officer Harlow has broken his foot and will be out for several weeks. To help cover the community while officer Harlow is on medical leave and a replacement for officer Sickels is hired, the following have been hired as part time officers, Aaron Woodard, Charlie Taylor and Clayton Most. 8. Executive Session Councilmember Harrison moved to adjourn to an executive session. Councilmember Ogle seconded the motion. Mayor Balch repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Voting was as follows: Those voting AYE Councilmember Lyman Councilmember Ogle Councilmember Olsen Councilmember Harrison Councilmember Perkins Those voting NAY NONE Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Balch declared the motion carried. Council adjourned to an executive session at 9:07 p.m. Councilmember Ogle moved to leave an executive session and re-enter the open meeting. Councilmember Harrison seconded the motion. Mayor Balch repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Voting was as follows: Those voting AYE Councilmember Lyman Councilmember Ogle Councilmember Olsen Councilmember Harrison Councilmember Perkins Those voting NAY NONE Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Balch declared the motion carried. Council left an executive session at 9:47 p.m. 9. Adjournment Councilmember Harrison moved to adjourn. Councilmember Perkins seconded the motion. Mayor Balch repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Voting was as follows: Those voting AYE Councilmember Lyman Councilmember Ogle Councilmember Olsen Councilmember Harrison Councilmember Perkins Those voting NAY NONE Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Balch declared the motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:48 p.m.

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, 84511
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Contact Name

Pratt Redd

Contact Email

predd@blanding-ut.gov

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

March 14, 2016 02:47 PM

Notice Last Edited On

March 14, 2016 02:47 PM

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