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Municipality

Entity

Blanding

Public Body

City Council

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Notice Title

City Council Minutes 3/26/2024

Notice Tags

Administrative Procedure

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Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

March 26, 2024 07:00 PM

Description/Agenda

CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Mayor Logan Monson Mayor Pro Tempore Cheryl Bowers Council Member Chris Ewald Council Member Charlie Taylor Council Member Erik Grover Council Member Kellen Nielson March 26, 2024 at 7:00pm 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 Council member Bowers The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance. Approval: Consent Agenda and Minutes from March 12, 2024 Regular Session Councilmember Grover made a motion to approve the consent agenda and minutes from March 12, 2024. Councilmember Nielson seconded the motion. Mayor Monson repeated the motion and asked for discussion or questions. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting aye: Councilmember Taylor Councilmember Grover Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest - None Public Input - Lloyd Nielson, representing Sunrise Outfitters, spoke about an event that is coming up on April 19th. They have proposed the city for help with funding. Lloyd stated that they don't make money on this event. They just want people to come into the community, boost the economy, see the country, etc. They are expecting to have 70-80 ATV machines show up and 130-180 people. They did the same thing last year and had a great turn out. They provided a catered meal at the end for everyone. They filled up the hotels, people spent money on gas, food, etc. This year, they will have about 8 guides and use about 7 or 8 trails, they have everything squared away and approved by the BLM. Reports Mayor City Council Finance Report - James Francom Mr. Francom stated that he has attached the check register. He said the only thing that isn't normal is the $300,000 transfer that is showing up there. It is the transfer from the Wells Fargo account that they are closing to the Zion's account. Council member Grover asked about the amount that was paid to Empire Electric for 2 meters. Mr. Herring said that one of the meters is a natural gas odorizer out by Monticello. They weren't sure where the location of the west meter was. Council member Bowers asked if he was keeping an eye on our legal services budget and asked if we were staying within budget. Mr. Francom stated that no, we are not. The majority of it is for prosecution. Council member Grover asked if we are paying him to travel. Mr. Herring stated that he doesn't believe he travels down here very often. The only time he travels down here is when we need a bench trial. Otherwise, it's mostly done on zoom. Mr. Herring stated that he has worked with Mr. Yellowhorse on a few things, he is part of a big law firm, but he has been very responsive to him and he's happy with him. They discussed the budget for him, where it started and where it's at. Council member Grover asked about the boat ramp. Mr. Herring stated that it was on the agenda about 2 meetings ago. It's with Jones and DeMille, it's pass- through money. It's an ongoing project. Council member Nielson asked about the city street design. Mr. Francom said that that is the big project that Terri brought up before he left. Economic Development - Ben Muhelstein Mr. Muhlestein stated there isn't much to report since last time. He said that there have been a few businesses that have come in just since he's written his report. Rocky Mountain Home Health has new orders. There is a new, fun business in the works, Dirty Pop. It will be next to Hannah and Tyler Bailey's property by the visitor center. Mr. Muhlestein stated that the quarterly newsletter went live on March 13th. It was spread out on social media. The 4th of July committee met and set a theme for this year. It will be, 'American Dreams.' The marathon has been advertised and there have been some registrations. Mr. Muhlestien is making more of an effort to make more regular social media posts to keep people more connected and informed with events and what's happening in the city. They have seen a good response with that. Mr. Muhlestein stated that they sent out the Utah wellbeing survey. It's a survey that is done occasionally and it provides valuable data for the city. Mr. Muhlestein also wanted to report on the special event sponsorship. He said that it was something that was created and then has sat by the wayside. He would like to resurrect it and use it. The purpose of the policy is to bring beneficial events to Blanding City with the idea that the city can put some initial sponsorship into it and then the events hopefully become self-sustaining. Mr. Muhlestein is proposing a few changes to this policy, one being that sponsorships less than $1000 can be evaluated by city staff, especially those that are approved year after year. He is also proposing that he be given a budget of $4-5000. Council expressed their desire to hear about and approve of small sponsorships. They believe that it's a good opportunity for people, youth, students to come in and talk to the council and know that people that they voted for are on their side. Mr. Muhlestein asked if they would be ok with smaller sponsorships being approved by staff. Council member Bowers said she thought that we already had money budgeted in for that type of thing, like $7-8000. She then stated that maybe it was in the discretionary funds. Council member Grover asked some clarifying questions about the time frame when a sponsorship can be asked for. Right now the policy says that it is in the months of February and March. Council agreed that the time frame should be changed. They also discussed the non-profit item on the list. Mr. Muhlestein stated that the purpose of the policy is to help establish events, not become a long term funding for events. It was stated that a for profit and a non profit event can be accepted or denied for funding, just the same. Mr. Muhlestein said that Josh Nielson, with sunrise outfitters, sent him a detailed budget in January, and they are eating a lot of the cost in an effort to bring this event to the community. They have guide fees and permit fees. They feel like the total cost will be around $8,640 and they are asking the city to pay for about half of that and they will cover the other half. They estimate that the event will bring in about $30,000 in revenue from sales tax for the community. There was a brief discussion about the permits. Mr. Muhlestein explained that for the permits, there is a base fee and then you pay per use. Mr. Nielsen said that they aren't charging the participants a fee. They pay their guides $200/day. They have 8 guides that will be working for 2 days each. They spoke about the future of this event and what the vision for it is. Mr. Nielson and his son, Josh, both said that they want to continue it as long as possible. Josh stated that they hope to be a profitable company. Josh stated that Green River hosted an event like this last week and the city hosted the event. Mr. Muhlestein spoke about UTV Utah and their business model. There was a discussion about the need to bring people in, the need to bring in some tourist dollars and how it is good of Sunrise to take on the responsibility of this event to do just that. The council agrees that they want to help out, but the amount requested feels a little high, but at the same time, the discretionary funds haven't been used in years, except for the easter egg hunt. Mayor Pro Tem Bowers requested that the city help support the event and give $3,200. Council member Taylor said he was feeling more like $2,000. Council member Grover made a motion to support the event and donate $3,200 to Sunrise Outfitters for the San Juan Showcase. Council member Taylor seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. There was further discussion about putting Blanding in the name of the event. Mr. Muhlestein spoke about the policy that is in place and the application process for a request like this. It was asked if the event follows ADA regulations. Mr. Nielsen stated that yes, they follow ADA regulations. Parks and Recreation - David Palmer Mr. Palmer wanted to add something that didn't make it into his report, they had yet another successful volleyball tournament. They hosted over 50 teams. Councilmember Bowers asked about the shade structures. And confirmed that we got a grant for them. Mr. Palmer said that we did get the grant and it's open to bid until noon tomorrow. Mr. Palmer stated that he is getting the pool ready to go. He has to renew his license for the pool next week. They come due every 5 years. Council member Nielson asked if they have a pool manager yet. Mr. Palmer stated that the same one as last year will be back this year, at least until they get guards trained and the season going, then they will look for a new one. Council member Bowers asked if they are still hiring guards that are 15 going on 16. Mr. Palmer stated that yes, they are. Council member Nielson stated that he needs to get together with Mr. Palmer and talk about the swallow's nest. He said that Nancy Kimmerle wants a quote on how much the french drain will cost. Business Items Resolution - 03-26-2024-1 - Blanding City Account Collections Policy Mr. Herring stated that the only thing he added was in the disconnection of services, Blanding City will give a courtesy notice that is delivered to each address notifying the customers of the disconnection date. It is a bright yellow door hanger that is hand delivered. And that is in addition to the notice on the bill, it states that there is the possibility of disconnection for non payment. Councilmember Nielson made a motion to approve Resolution 03-26-2024-1 Adoption of the Blanding City Account Collections Policy. Councilmember Bowers seconded the motion. Mayor Monson repeated the motion. He asked for discussion or questions. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting aye: Councilmember Taylor Councilmember Grover Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. After the vote, Council member Bowers thanked Mr. Herring and the staff for working on getting the policies updated and current in a simple manner. Mr. Herring showed the council where and how the policies are updated and put in one place for easy access. The council also had a brief discussion about dollar general and about zoning and the location. It is going in a residential area but is zoned for commercial use. It was stated that a management position has been advertised, but they haven't started construction on it yet. Discussion Items City Council Member Voting on Planning Commission Board - Trent Herring There was a discussion on having the council member that is over the planning commission having a vote if needed. There was a question if it follows regulations and by-laws. Mr. Herring stated that that is something that will have to be looked into. He also stated that he knows of other boards that have done something similar. Council member Bowers stated that she thinks it's a good idea. It was agreed that it will be looked into and see if it is something that is allowed. Net Zero Solar Program WC-3 - Patrick Parsons Mr. Parsons stated that they have been going over their solar net metering program, and bottom line is, it's a mess. He has been wanting to revamp it since he's been in this position. He stated that it is a lot of look over, about 40 pages. He stated that it is strictly in the review process right now. They are working with a Consulting engineering firm, West Coast Code Consultants (WC3), they specialize in complete plan reviews, code enforcement especially when it pertains to solar. Mr. Parsons stated that other municipalities have had great success with them. He said that when you get into solar it can be very complex and confusing, so he wanted to lay out some clear and concise information. WC3 has some documents that do just that. WC3 will work with you to completion and you know exactly what you are in for. Mr. Parsons stated that there are some solar customers that did not fully understand what they were getting themselves into. Some solar companies tell customers that you can zero out your power bill, which is not true in most cases. Mr. Parsons wants the council to review the information that he provided and they can further discuss it at the next council meeting. They briefly discussed the issue of some houses having solar but when the sun doesn't shine, then they draw from the power grid. And being the owner of a power company, you have to provide so much power at any given moment. Mr. Parsons stated that there is currently one commercial business that is solar and about a dozen residential homes. Council member Bowers stated that when Clark's went solar, they asked that we increase our pay back rate. Council opted not to increase it at that time. Mr. Parsons said that the vast majority of power companies credit at 4 cents per kilowatt hour. Blanding credit 5.7 cents per kilowatt hour. So we are actually higher than most. Council member Bowers stated that she has had people approach her and are frustrated with their power bill and they blame the city for it. Mr. Parsons wants people to be well informed about what they are getting into with going solar so that that exact situation doesn't happen. Mr. Herring stated that when people go solar, we want it to meet the guidelines that Blanding City wants. Such as, two meters, one to show how much the solar is actually feeding back into our system, and one to show when they draw from our utility system. With one meter, it's hard to differentiate between those two things. Mr. Parsons stated that some solar customers have apps that tell them the power they are generating but then the power bill comes and tells them something different and it just goes back to not being well informed by the solar company from the beginning. Mr. Parsons spoke about a production meter and the purpose it serves. Utility Infrastructure Charges - Trent Herring Mr. Herring stated that we have talked about this a bit already. He stated that everyday they have people come in with complaints and problems with base rates, we are changing the name of base rates to a grid access fee. The problem seems to be mainly with renters. What he wants to look into doing is change the utility infrastructure charges to the landowner instead of the renter. Councilmember Bowers asked if It's an apartment building, does the landowner have to pay the utilities. Mr Herring stated no, they just pay the grid access fee which they can pass on to the renter if they want. Mr Herring said that the rate for sewer, water, and power gas is $72.50. Mr. Francom clarified that it varies for each customer depending on what services they have. Mr. Herring believes the infrastructure cost should go to the landowner, because they are ones that own the infrastructure. They discussed how it works with a multiple unit housing and the meters and the costs and if a rental sits empty for a time, the hook up fee and possible fixes that may be needed. Mr. Herring stated that Kigalia has one single water meter, so it's up to them how they bill their renters. And that's what they want to do with other multi unit properties. Such as trailer parks. Council member Bowers is concerned that it is already a hard environment for housing and renting and this is going to increase costs for renters. Mr. Herring stated that it will happen over time so that landlords have plenty of time to make the adjustments with their renters. They discussed that it's not the city's responsibility to manage rentals and inform landlords when utilities are turned off. Mayor Monson stated that we would work on that and bring it back to council at a later date. Wellness Center Sprinkler & Bathroom Project - Trent Herring & David Palmer Mr. Palmer stated that they are finished with the bathroom remodel. And it is done right. The replacement of pipes in the pool room is being worked on currently. Pickleball Courts - Trent Herring Mr Herring stated that we can't close out the CDBG grant until the pickleball courts are fully completed. So if we were to extend the fences ourselves, we can't close it out till that is done, or if we did it through the grant and their contractor, it would cost $25,000. We could paint the courts and get them done and close out the grant and then go in and extend the fences ourselves. The cost difference is $25,000 compared to $8,000. Jones and DeMille offered to take out the old fence at no cost. And Mr. Palmer and his crew would install the new fence. Council wants to inform the community of what is happening. Mr. Herring stated that he will personally reach out to any persons who have had concerns about the courts and let them know what is happening. Council also wants it to happen quickly. Mr. Herring stated that if council gives consent to get the fencing ordered, then that will help with getting it done quicker. They agreed to get it done under the grant and close it out then fix the fence. They talked about having a grand opening and or tournament of some sort. Dog Pound - Trent Herring Mayor Monson stated that there are lots of complaints and problems with dogs and animals. And he felt like it was time to discuss it. He feels like if we have rules and ordinances in place then we need to follow them. Mr. Herring said that there is a dog licensing fee and a renewal fee every year. Dogs that are spayed or neutered are $12, dogs that are not are $24. Mr Herring would like to see a one-time low-cost for licensing. Currently there are 6 dogs that are licensed in the city. He hopes that a one time fee will help with getting dogs back to owners and not have so many go to the pound. Mayor Monson spoke about giving vouchers for a spay and neuter clinic. They talked about vaccines and the cost and the lack of a veterinarian. They talked about in the past having an animal control person. And now it falls on the officers shoulders. They discussed the extra pay that one officer would get to be the one in charge of animal control. Mr. Herring stated that that is not the case anymore. Council member Bowers likes the idea of a dog being licensed that it gives the owner peace of mind that it will be returned to you. They talked about the little tags that are given out when licensed. They talked about being able to do it online. Bears Ears National Monument - Logan Monson The management plan came out and is open for public comment until June 11, 2024. The BLM has scheduled some open houses. The dates for those are on their website. Mayor Monson wanted to discuss this in our open public meeting to get the attention of our community and not to tell them what to think but to give them information on what is happening. He wants to give the community some education on how to submit comments and let them know what parts of the plan will affect them and the community of Blanding. Kendall Laws was present and stated that he was at a meeting last week and the BLM made a comment, they said that at the initial comment period with Bears Ears, they received 250,000 comments. When GSC went through their final comment period they got 7. Mr. Laws stated that there is a big population that feels like their comments don't matter and won't make a difference, and he says that it absolutely won't make a difference if you don't write a letter or make a comment. The BLM has a sheet that has recommendations on how to make a useful comment. He stated that 'form letters,' no matter how many there are, they are only counted as one. Letters can be relatively short but still have an impact if written appropriately. Mr. Laws said that when speaking with the Mayor they discussed possibly having a workshop of sorts to educate the community on how to make impactful comments. Mr. Laws says that the plans are coming across the media as 'fair' and 'really good.' But those who are publishing such things haven't really read the plan. Mr. Laws stated it is not good. Mayor Monson stated that they have put out plan A, B, C, D and E. He feels like we need to be wise and educated on how we are looking at these plans. He wants to set up a date where the community can get together and discuss and get proper information. They discussed some different dates and how to make it happen. April 24th 12-1 and 5-6pm, May 15th 12-1 and 5-6pm, June 5th 12-1 and 5-6pm in the city office, it will be a training on how to submit a comment that is effective. Mr. Laws stated that if the city puts these dates and times out for the community, it should be said that these times are not for people to come and be educated on the plans, 1 hour isn't enough time for that. He stated that there are opportunities for that, there are 2 virtual meetings, 1 in person meeting in Blanding and 1 in person meeting in Monument Valley. It was discussed that all of these things need to be advertised and pushed out on social media and make sure that it's clear what the purpose of each meeting is for. Closed Session Councilmember Grover made a motion to go into closed session to discuss litigation. Councilmember Bowers seconded the motion. Mayor Monson repeated the motion. He asked for discussion or questions. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting aye: Councilmember Taylor Councilmember Grover Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. Adjournment Councilmember Grover made a motion to adjourn. Councilmember Taylor seconded the motion. Mayor Monson repeated the motion. He asked for discussion or questions. Hearing none, he called for a vote. Those voting aye: Councilmember Taylor Councilmember Grover Councilmember Nielson Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:30pm.

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

April 10, 2024 01:30 PM

Notice Last Edited On

April 10, 2024 01:30 PM

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