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Municipality

Entity

Laketown

Public Body

Town Council

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Notice Title

Laketown Town Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 23 APPROVED

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Public Meetings

Notice Type(s)

Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

June 7, 2023 07:00 PM

Event End Date & Time

June 8, 2023 12:40 AM

Description/Agenda

Laketown Town Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2023 Laketown City Office 10 North 200 East Laketown, Utah Mayor Burdette Weston welcomed those present and called the meeting to order at 6:01p.m. on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Those present are as follows: Mayor Burdette Weston, Council Members Eldon Robinson, Brandon Willis absent due to travel, Kris Hodges, Delora Wight and Clerk Alice Jackson. Those present in the room: Planning and Zoning Chairman Duane Robinson, Justin Baer from NCHW law firm and Matthew Hurst via Zoom from the Utah State Tax Commission. Anneliesa Peart, Rich County Clerk and Steve Myers, from the community. Brian Carver and Brittany Alfau from BRAG arrived at 7:15pm. Dennis Hodges arrived at 7:35pm OPENING CEREMONY: Eldon conducted the opening ceremony and Mayor Weston led the pledge of allegiance. ACTION: Agenda: Mayor asked for a motion to approve the agenda. Motion made by Delora seconded by Eldon. Motion carried unanimously. The mayor moved forward in the agenda to accommodate our invited guests. Matt Hurst with Utah State Tax Commission joined the meeting via Zoom. Matt began by explaining his job description as it relates to setting tax rates within the State of Utah. Tax rates are based on a calculation. The calculation begins with our tax revenue as documented in our previous year's budget. Then property values are then incorporated based on the County Assessor's numbers as of the middle of May. They then take the revenues and divide it by the property values. This will equal our tax rates within our district. Matt also described the Truth and Taxation process should Laketown decide to raise the Laketown tax rate more than $20,000. State Statue 59-2-919 provides an exemption for towns that choose to not raise tax more than the allowed $20,000 without requiring a public hearing and following the Truth and Taxation process. The mayor asked Matt what the impact would be on Laketown homeowners if we raised the tax to $20,000 (previously it was approximately $12,000). Matt provided an example of a primary residence with a market value of $100,000, their taxes would increase from $14.00 to about $22.00 which is about an $8.00 increase. Businesses are taxed at a rate of 100% of market value, which would be approximately $14.00. The above would increase our budget by about 60%. Matt also noted that we can do less than the $20,000. The mayor asked the group for comments: Delora noted that she thought it would be more than Matt described. (Delora participated in a phone conference with Matt and Alice at an earlier date and time.) Over the course of a year, this is not a significant increase in her budget. This is palatable for Delora. Justin suggested that there may be more increases from the County that we should consider. Matt noted that the County usually does not raise taxes, the schools do. Annaleisa stated that the County taxes are decreasing this year over last year. Eldon asked Matt about the impact on 'real' (agriculture land, school, fire etc.) property. Because this property is within the County, the 'real' property tax will not increase this year. Discussion took place regarding the rationale, pros, and cons of raising the Laketown tax rate. Alice confirmed with Justin and Matt that Laketown would in fact receive the $20,000 in tax into our general fund. Mayor confirmed with Matt that if Laketown only raised the tax to $20,000, we would not need to go through the Truth and Taxation process. The mayor also confirmed that Laketown tax has not been raised since MacKay Willis was the mayor. Eldon reviewed the increase in water fees that have taken place since he has been on the town council. Mayor noted that this is the direction we will continue to go until we can accomplish Laketown's goal of securing a second source of water for the town. Laketown is required to have a second water source. Mayor asked the group again for additional questions for Matt Hurst. Steve Myer from the community asked if the $20,000 tax increase will be an annual increase. No per Matt Hurst, unless we choose to go through the Truth and Taxation process. The mayor asked again for comments/questions from the council. Mayor asked if Brandon had been able to join the meeting yet. He has not been able to join yet. ACTION: Mayor asked for a motion to approve the tax increase. Kris made the motion. Delora asked the purpose of this increase as a residence of Laketown. Mayor responded that this additional revenue would give the Town additional resources for our general fund. Delora asked if this would be used towards obtaining a second source of water. The mayor responded that the purpose is to increase our general fund so we don't need to keep depleting this fund. We are also able to transfer funds from our general fund into our water fund. The mayor also noted that there are other options to keep our water fund solvent. We can raise water rates. Eldon asked when the rate was last increased. It has been several years since this rate was increased. Eldon further commented that he is somewhat in favor of this increase only because it has not been raised for so many years. Mayor noted that increases are necessary, a little bit at a time. The town needs to operate, and it cannot operate without incremental increases. Eldon asked if anyone in the community is aware that increasing taxes is being discussed by this council. Delora noted that she had spoken to two individuals. ACTION: Mayor noted that we have a motion on the table. Motion can be tabled, or we can move forward. Delora seconded the motion. Eldon voted against it. Brandon unavailable. Motion passed. Mayor asked Anneliesa and others to step out so the council can enter into a closed session. This Town Council Session finished at 6: 37pm. Town Council Session post closed session started at 7:19pm Those present are as follows: Mayor Burdette Weston, Council Members Eldon Robinson, Brandon Willis absent due to travel, Kris Hodges, Delora Wight and Clerk Alice Jackson. Those present in the room: Planning and Zoning Chairman Duane Robinson, Justin Baer from NCHW law firm, Steve Myers. Brian Carver and Brittany Alfau from BRAG (arrived at 7:15pm). Ordinance 7 revision was reviewed with the group. Duane noted that P&Z had a public hearing on this ordinance, and they had a few questions regarding Laketown's long range road plan. Justin said that under state code, Laketown cannot force the developer to follow our road plan. They still 'must connect the dots' but they may decide to do it in a different way. P&Z recommended we accept this revised ordinance. ACTION: Mayor asked for a motion to approve ordinance 7 as revised. Eldon made the motion; Kris seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. The ordinance was passed around for signature. Mayor thanked Justin for coming and asked him if he would like to stay for the discussion regarding Oldham Farms. Justin was provided with the cover letter from Sunrise Engineering regarding the water issues for the Oldham Farms subdivision. He will be unable to review and provide comments tonight. Justin confirmed his engagement as our new Laketown attorney, and the group thanked him for this and for coming to our meeting tonight. Justin left the meeting at 7:40pm. Thad Willis arrived at 7:22pm. ACTION: Meeting Minutes: Mayor asked for a motion to approve 3 Town Council Meeting Minutes from May 3, 2023. Budget Public Hearing, Closed Session, and Town Council Meeting. Alice noted that Delora had comments on the minutes. Her edits were incorporated. Motion to approve all three meeting minutes made by Kris, seconded by Eldon Motion carried unanimously. MAYOR OPENED THE MEETING FOR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS: Brian Carver and Brittany Alfau from BRAG are in attendance tonight to review their services with the group. The mayor shared that water and road maintenance are key issues for Laketown. Laketown would be interested in grants from BRAG, but not loans. BRAG's additional services are: assistance with home repairs, leaking roofs, food, Ombudsman, elderly care, elderly abuse, in-home health care, help with enrolling in Medicare. They also offer veteran services. Brian and Brittany left the meeting at 7:53. The mayor moved to Oldham Farms subdivision agenda item. Gary started the discussion by stating that the system needs to loop. Health and fire are key points for planning the water options for this subdivision. Scott Archibald joined the discussion and reviewed the 4 options he sent to the mayor and council in a letter dated April 18, 2023. Scott and Gary's goal is to reach 1,500 gallons/minute. Dan said there is no way the 1,500 thresholds can be reached. Mayor agreed we cannot meet this threshold at this time. Scott asked the mayor and council to set a threshold so he can run another scenario. Gary suggested that Cameron Argyle (fire marshal) be brought into the discussion. Duane thought Scott had already had an email discussion with Cameron. Scott could not find the above noted email. Post the discussion, Scott will run another scenario and get back to the mayor and council. Delora asked if there is an option to avoid dead end lines. Mayor confirmed the council's preference would be for the water flow to be close to 1,000/minute. Scott left the meeting and Gary continued the discussion regarding utilizing pioneering agreements (other subdividers hooking on to the line, they should pay a portion). Mayor suggested that pioneering is included in our Code but wants to consult our attorneys to ensure its done properly. Duane read from our Code and pioneering is included. Gary asked the mayor and council if they are open to reconsidering 1/2 acre lots within the Oldham Farms proposed subdivision. Mayor noted that this would first be the responsibility of the P&Z Commission. It would also include public hearings. Gary also asked for accessory units on the property to help with the local workforce. This would be attractive to medium-income individuals and new homeowners. * Action Item-Gary to work with Scott and get back to the council with another scenario. Action Items From Previous Meeting: Brandon joined the meeting via audio at 8:00pm. - Alice-Check with MYTrust RE: Liability for jump houses etc. Alice called MYTrust and gave all the information to Heidi Hodges for her planned activity. - Alice-Update Fee Schedule (arena, park, transient merchants, water shares) Completed with the exception of the fee for water shares. - Alice-Update Website RE: Rodeo, Queen information and application for rodeo and park applications-Completed. - Alice-Ask Justin and David to be our town attorneys-Completed. - - - Alice-Winter Work Plan, Call Forwarding. Alice's proposed winter work schedule would be approximately 2 weeks each month from December-March. Alice would like more discussion on call forwarding during the winter months. Cost is $3.00/month per CentraCom. Alice asked for more discussion regarding call forwarding. It may be difficult to accept calls on her cell phone when out of the office. There is more time to discuss this. - Alice-Send track changed subdivision ordinance to Justin in time for P&Z to hold a public hearing-Completed. - Dan-Purchase insulation cap for Esterholdt's meter and possibly dig the meter deeper to prevent freezing. Not done, however, Dan did look at his meter. Is it not shallow. Dan will try an insulator. * Action Item Dan to purchase the insulation cap purchase. - Brandon-Update on legislative land use change. There will be a lot of necessary changes to our land use ordinances due to the latest legislative changes. Justin Baer will be reviewing our subdivision ordinance. - Eldon/Dan-ready the rodeo grounds for May rental-fridge and drinking fountain. Rodeo arena is ready to go. The group that used the grounds did a good job on cleaning up. They did bring in two porta potties. They did some damage to the wood. Eldon noted that it will need repair. It did break a bracket. *Alice to let the individuals know that they will need to pay for the repairs. - Mayor-DotBar: *Action Item mayor- Speak to Jon Lee about paying Laketown per contract and obtaining a static IP address. Discussion took place regarding DotBar Vs CentraCom. Eldon noted that DotBar has made some promises to Laketown, and they were good to work with at last year's rodeo. Kris noted that DotBar could have handled things differently. Alice shared the two conflicting text messages she and the mayor received from Jon Lee. The first text Jon said he had the static IP address for Laketown and two days later, he told Matt Johnson (Laketown's IT service provider) he does not have it. Alice does not have confidence in DotBar providing Laketown's overall WiFi service and specifically, providing the static IP address. DotBar shuffles their IP address among all their clients. They do not provide static IP addresses currently. Kris and Delora noted that DotBar does not return calls. Alice would like to use CentraCom. They can provide a static IP address and internet service within a week. The Town Council will hold another council meeting on 21 June at 1pm to adopt the budget and discuss further Laketown's WiFi service provider. In the meantime, the contract between DotBar and Laketown will be reviewed. Dan arrived at 8:20pm - Mayor-Speak to Scott Archibald about the late invoice-Not done - Mayor/Brandon-Speak to legislative representative RE: the Well. * Action Item Scott Archibald will work on this issue. - Brandon-Written justification for road maintenance and road cut fee-Not done. - Brandon-Conditional Use Permit. He emailed this question to Justin. *Action Item Justin. - Council-What should the fee be for those individuals that don't have water shares to donate to the town. Alice to add fee to fee schedule. *Action Item. The decision is to push this item to the next meeting. The council took a 10-minute break. Heidi Hodges-Activity Committee Update provided by Kris. Kris reminded the attendees about the spring social. It will be held on June 10 at 5pm at the park. Serving pizza. Resolution to adopt FY2023-2024 Budget. Pushed to the next meeting that will be held on 21 June 1pm. COUNCIL BUSINESS: Planning & Zoning- Chairman Duane Robinson Public Hearing was held by P&Z on Ordinance 7. See above. Conditional Use permits are still on their agenda for next month. Bond issues for the new subdivision. Duane would like to get guidance from our attorney. *Action Item Alice to ask Justin. Alice asked that the Fee Schedule review by P&Z be completed as soon as possible so this document can be completed. Ordinance 8.1.8 was discussed: Alice and Duane previously reviewed this together. The town council needs to review this ordinance (first paragraph) to make verbiage changes. This pertains to the Laketown residence as well as developers. Duane will add this to his June Agenda. *Action Item Duane. Communication between Town Council and P&Z will be as follows-Alice will send communications to Duane and Jon Carver and Jon will send onto P&Z Commission. Brandon via phone asked if Justin commented on the Subdivision Ordinance. Justin had not reviewed yet. Brandon shared that due to the latest legislation, P&Z will have sole authority over subdivisions. In the future it won't even come to the Town Council. Water Updates - Delora Wight Repair of Astle's meter. This was repaired. Leroy Gomez' leak-There is a large leak at Leroy Gomez's home. They have turned the water off. Cody will re-read. *Action Item Delora to report back to council. Contractor assistance for lead and copper issues/Kick-Off Meeting-Alice has provided Sunrise Engineering with the location of all Laketown meters so they can develop the digital mapping of our water system. Water responsibilities-transition from Duane to Cody, Jeff, Dan, Alice/Delora should call Dan or Jeff. When Cody finds meter issues who does Alice and or Delora notify? Dan and/or Jeff should be notified. Duane would just turn the meter off and repair it, but this is not the process right now with Cody doing the reading. Delora noted that Cody does not want to turn the meters off. Dan and Jeff have the ability/permission to turn meters off. Eldon is spending a lot of time looking at the water coming out of the canyon. Eldon said the screen needs to be cleaned. *Action Item Dan Eldon asked when are we going to apply for the additional point of diversion for the well per Will Atkin. We need to get it done per the mayor. Scott Archibald is ready to do it once Laketown lets him know. *Action Item mayor. Kris asked Dan about the sinks in the park bathroom. The men's sink is working, but the women's sink was leaking. Dan reports that they are both in working order now. The women's sink is now repaired. The altitude valve should be installed next week. No news regarding the chlorinator repair person. A second company should be called per the mayor. Dan will call Rural Water to get the chlorinated repaired. *Action Item Dan Roads & Streets Updates - Brandon Willis Crack Seal completed. 800 North not done. Speed Limit Signs should be up soon. Park & Recreation Updates - Kris Hodges Infield dirt quote from Diamond Dust was discussed. Approximately $13,000 if not compounded. If compounded, it would be approximately $16,760. (These are approximate numbers). Laketown will piggyback this service with Garden City to save money. We should have a good chance to attract outside teams to play in Laketown. This work would be completed once the league is done for the year (August). Next year TRT money should be directed for a pickle ball court. Portable fence-Eldon would like to get this as soon as possible. Kris and Alice to meet to review the park budget on Monday. The Activity Committee offered Kris part of their budget if needed. The possible cost for the fence will be $5,441.45. Includes shipping. Kris asked Dan what the cost would be to replace the sink at the park. Dan thinks it was about $200.00. Steve Meyers left at 10:32 Rodeo & Arena Updates - Eldon Robinson Suzanne Siddoway is doing 4H and wants to use the rodeo arena on several dates. See application. Sheryl Ward will use Wednesday nights at the arena. No form has been submitted for her time. Bleachers-Bleachers will be painted by volunteers on 16th of June. They will need paint and brushes. Queen contest June 15th Cleaning the concession stand will be done tomorrow. Alice to ready the rodeo tickets and letter for Eldon to deliver by the end of June. * Action Item Alice Eldon will make calls regarding other sponsors that have yet to pay. QRCodes may be a useful tool for the rodeo programs instead of printing them. Internet service would be required. MAYOR REPORTS: Bear Lake Regional Commission Report 3.2 million dollars is available to finish the bike path Review revised Business License Ordinance 3. Push to next meeting. UPDATES FROM CLERK'S OFFICE - Election Update-volunteers needed, camera. Alice reported that we will not need a camera when she is in the office. Ballot box will need to be locked in Alice's office when she is not there. Volunteer suggestions are-Suzanne Arnold and Betty Mills or Wilma Hatch - Training from Sherrie Stevens with state for grant opportunities. Alice received this training via a Zoom session. - Work Plan and call forwarding. See above. - Consolidated Fee Schedule-Needs to be completed. Waiting on P&Z. - Town Council Communication with P&Z. See above. - Rodeo Arena Damage. Picture was provided to the mayor and council. Damage will be repaired, and cost sent to those who rented the arena. - Ordinance 8.1.8 Installation of Water Lines. See above. - Sanitation. Mayor to speak to Sim. *Action Item mayor - Aging Report-Reviewed by the mayor and council. Those names with check marks were contacted for payment. - Rodeo Sponsor Payments to Date-Alice provided a list to the mayor and council. - Alice to provide Justin a deadline for Subdivision ordinance for P&Z for public hearing. *Action Item Alice - Mayor to speak to Cameron Argyle (fire chief) about paying the city $3,000 annually. * Action Item mayor BUDGET REVIEW-not done-will be reviewed at the June 21 meeting when budget will be adopted. APPROVAL OF BILLS Motion to pay the bills made by Brandon seconded by Delora. Motion passed unanimously. EXECUTIVE SESSION (if needed) ADJOURN ACTION: Motion to adjourn made by Brandon. Seconded by Kris. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 12.40am. /S/ Alice Jackson

Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)

NOTICE OF SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION DURING PUBLIC MEETINGS In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations (including auxiliary communicative aids and services) during this meeting should notify the town clerk three days before the meeting, so arrangements can be made.

Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation

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Meeting Information

Meeting Location

10 North 200 East
P.O. Box 118
Laketown, UT 84038
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Contact Name

Lisa Johnson

Contact Email

clerk@laketownutah.com

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

July 06, 2023 12:01 PM

Notice Last Edited On

July 06, 2023 12:01 PM

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