General Information

Government Type

Municipality

Entity

Blanding

Public Body

City Council

Notice Information

Add Notice to Calendar

Notice Title

City Council Minutes 11/14/23

Notice Tags

Administrative Procedure

Notice Type(s)

Notice

Event Start Date & Time

November 14, 2023 07:00 PM

Description/Agenda

CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Council in Attendance: Mayor Logan Monson Council member Cheryl Bowers Council member Len Gasser Council member Kellen Nielson Council member Erik Grover Staff Members in Attendance: City Manager - City Engineer - City Finance Director - James Francom Judge- Others: Charlie Taylor, Milt Pipkin, Kendall Laws Tuesday November 14, 2023 at 7:00pm 50 West 100 South Street, Blanding, Utah 84511 Meetings are live streamed at: https://www.youtube.com/@blandingcity7442 City Community Dev. Dir. - Bret Hosler Economic Dev. Dir. - Ben Muhlstein Police Chief- JJ Bradford Fire Chief - Recreation Dir. - David Palmer Mayor Monson called the meeting to order at 7:00pm A prayer was offered by Council member Bowers The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Council members Bowers moved to approve the consent agenda and approve the minutes from the October 24, 2023 Council meeting. Council member Nielson seconded the motion. Mayor Monson repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting Aye: Councilmember Bowers Councilmember Gasser Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Grover Those voting Nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. Declaration of conflict - None Public Comment - Milt Pipkin introduced himself, he stated that he has been here for 50 years. He came tonight to ask if he can put a solar panel in his yard for charging his electric vehicle. Mayor Monson advised him that he needed to talk to the city engineer. He advised Milt who that is and how to contact him. REPORTS Mayor Report Mayor Monson informed us that this past week the Carbon Free Power Project has basically come to a halt. Between New Scale and UAMPS, the subscription wasn't met and it was clear that it wasn't going to be met. So the participating parties decided to terminate that project, rather than incur costs. CFPP and New Scale determined that ending the project was in the best interest of both parties. Going forward, UAMPS will look for ways to add renewable energy to replace what was planned there. They're looking to expand the wind farm at horse butte, and additional solar opportunities. Including some natural gas technology that has recently come out. There is a whole list of options that the council can go over at a later time. Council member Nielson asked what percentage of our power was going to come from that. Mayor Monson replied that we have a pretty diverse portfolio as far as our power goes and we aren't depending solely on that. Council member Grover asked if we are getting money back on that project. Mayor Monson advised that we are. There was a settlement agreement that happened and there will be a reimbursement on that. He doesn't know an exact dollar amount yet, but will keep the council posted. Mayor Monson said that everyone was pretty positive on what went into the project and how it opened doors for future projects. Council member Bowers doesn't feel that it was positive because so much money went into it and was wasted and promises weren't kept. Council member Bowers did say that we will be more informed when another project like this comes along. Project Status Report - Sprinkling system - the work on the showers is still going on, they are about ready to paint and get the tile done in the showers. The deep well - Patrick is out of town but Mayor Monson did report that the testing is done on the well. Ben advised that he talked to Patrick and the main point is that the state has approved to move ahead with the building of the well house. Council member Bowers said that an article ran in KSL yesterday. She said that it mentioned some archeological sites. Mayor Monson clarified that the article is talking about the West Water area. Pickleball courts - The concrete will cure for another week or so and then painting will begin. General plan - Still on going. Planning commission is also working on it. City Council Swallow's Nest - Council member Nielson asked if David Palmer had talked with Winston Hurst anymore about the project. They both agreed to make a time to meet as well as talk to Winston. Council member Bowers asked when we do the truth and taxation. James informed that usually an email is sent out to inform when that is supposed to happen. Council member Bowers stated that she did some in depth studying on taxes rates for San Juan County. She says that she now understands why businesses in San Juan struggle more than they should. She said that her hotel that she owns, taxes started at $2400 and now they are up to $9000 a year. She stated that San Juan County has the 3rd highest property tax rate in the state. She said that we are being taxed like Moab, but Moab can charge triple what we can here. She said that Carbon County is the highest in the state. She doesn't know what to do, but to continue to fight for PILT payments. She wants to know if there is anything the city can do to help with the businesses and residents with taxes. James advised that he looked it up and the time for truth and taxation depends on if you are a calendar year or a fiscal year. Property taxes are set by the county and the school district. Council member Bowers stated that our school district's rates are about the 15th highest in the state, and the county is the 3rd highest and the city is also quite high. James informed that the only time you do truth and taxation is when you are wanting to increase your taxes above the standard rate that is set by the county. Council member Bowers said that she was shocked to see how high our city rates are. Council member Grover said that he had the opportunity to go up to the justice court building. He said that some wood on the building has rotted out and is falling off the building. He thinks that they should be fixed and then maintained after they are fixed. Council member Bowers says that we need to budget in some money for that building. Council member Grover also stated that the flag at the justice court/police station needs to be replaced. As well as others on city owned properties. Financial Report - James Francom James stated that he attached a check register to everyone's packet and asked if anyone had questions. Council member Grover asked why we are paying out on the boat ramp. He stated that it is a state project. Ben advised that the money that we are paying out is coming from the state, it's a pass through grant. James stated that he had an audit of the financial statements and it was a clean audit. He was happy to hear that they were happy with it. Police Report - JJ Bradford Chief Bradford stated that they should have the stat report and general report in their packet. He asked if there were any questions. Council member Gasser asked if Halloween went smoothly. Chief Bradford stated that it did, it's busier than normal but there were no major events. Council member Bowers inquired about alcohol being a driving factor, she asked if the officers are being called to homes or is it referring to drinking and driving. Chief Bradford stated it's both. He said that most of the domestic violence calls are alcohol related. Assaults are mostly alcohol related. Council member Grover asked about Dylan Blake starting POST. Chief Bradford said that he started two days ago. His anticipated graduation date is March 8th. Recreational Report - David Palmer David stated that removing all the bushes in front of the justice court has opened up Pandora's box. There are lots of areas that need some TLC that would require some money in the budget. He said that they spruced up the main room that court is held in, but there is still plenty that needs done. David stated that everything is winterized and buttoned up and we are starting into our winter sports. Council member Grover asked about the bathrooms at centennial park. David advised work has been started on those. The countertops have been taken out and some things are ordered. The demolition part is done and the rebuilding has started. David said that this is the first thing that has been done to them since the time they were built about 21 years ago. Council member Bowers asked about a new drinking fountain on the outside of the building, David said that a new one has been installed and it's even refrigerated. Marathon Report - Ben Muhlestein On Nov 4th we held the Bears Ears Marathon. By all accounts it was a success. We made a fair amount of money on it. We had 186 sign up and 158 showed up. He stated that it went really well. The volunteers were great. The runners enjoyed it. He stated that being the first year there were a lot of expenses that we won't have next year. In future years we are expecting more participation and less costs. Council member Nielson asked if there were enough aid stations and paramedics along the route. Ben stated that there were. Mayor Monson stated that he helped with an aid station and he felt like it went really well. Overall there were not a lot of issues or injuries. Ben stated that there was one lady that had a stress fracture (that she had before the race) and she tried to finish the race but had to be picked up by someone. Ben stated that we'll put on an even better race next year. He stated that not only do we make money on the race, but it benefits the local businesses. The hotels, the restaurants, visitor's center, etc. Registration for the race was in the visitor's center and the visitor's center had around $500 in sales during that time. Council member Bowers stated that her hotel was fully booked during the race and it's normally a slow time of year. So she was happy about that. Ben stated that they purposely chose this time of year because it normally is a slow season for business. BUSINESS ITEMS Intent to Annex - Bret Hosler Bret stated that we started this process a few meetings ago. Under the new law that the state has, the city has to pass an intent to annex and the law states that the intent has to be public for 30 days. This is so that the public is not left out of the process. This is like a pre-public hearing notice saying the city's intent to annex that piece of land. Council member Grover confirmed that the land is already owned by the city, correct? Bret stated, correct. Mayor Monson inquired if it needs to be done by resolution or an ordinance. The agenda says ordinance. They came to a conclusion that it needs to be a resolution. Mayor Monson stated that the time frame of the project won't be changed. (Project includes installing a metering station for the water lines that will go out to West Water.) Council member Grover asked why we have to annex the land. Mayor Monson stated that it is not necessary. Council member Bowers made a motion to approve Resolution 11-14-2023-1 with a change of the word ordinance to resolution. Resolution is to establish intent to annex territory into the city of Blanding. Motion seconded by council member Gasser. Mayor Monson repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Council member Grover asked, if it's our property why do we have to have it annexed in order to have the metering station put in? Mayor Monson replied, it doesn't have to be, it's not required to be. Council member Grover asked, if people are opposed to this piece of land being annexed, a piece of land that we aren't going to build a street on, why does it have to be annexed into the city? Council member Bowers responded, it's our property, we should want property that we already own within our own city limits. It should have been annexed years ago probably. She asked Council member Grover asked if it was slowing down the project if it's not annexed. Mayor Monson confirmed that it is not slowing down the project. Mayor Monson again asked for questions or discussion on the motion, hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting Aye: Councilmember Bowers Councilmember Gasser Councilmember Nielson Those voting Nay: Councilmember Grover Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. CLOSED SESSION Council member Nielson moved to enter a closed session to discuss possible litigation. Council member Grover seconded the motion. Mayor Monson repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting Aye: Councilmember Bowers Councilmember Grover Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Gasser Those voting Nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. Council entered a closed session at 7:45 p.m. Councilmember Grover moved to leave the closed session. Councilmember Gasser seconded the motion. Mayor Monson repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting Aye: Councilmember Bowers Councilmember Grover Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Gasser Those voting Nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. Council re-entered an open meeting at 8:31 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Nielson moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Grover seconded the motion. Mayor Monson repeated the motion and asked for discussion. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting Aye: Councilmember Gasser Councilmember Bowers Councilmember Grover Councilmember Nielson Those voting Nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. Council adjourned the meeting at 8:32p.m. By: Nicole Holliday

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
Show in Apple Maps Show in Google Maps

Contact Name

Trent Herring

Contact Email

therring@blanding.city

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

November 30, 2023 03:12 PM

Notice Last Edited On

November 30, 2023 03:12 PM

Subscribe by Email

Subscription options will send you alerts regarding future notices posted by this Body.