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Municipality

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Blanding

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City Council

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Notice Title

City Council Minutes 5.7.2024

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Administrative Procedure

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Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

May 7, 2024 07:00 PM

Description/Agenda

CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 05.07.2024 Mayor Logan Monson Mayor Pro Tempore Cheryl Bowers Council Member Chris Ewald Council Member Charlie Taylor Council Member Erik Grover Council Member Kellen Nielson May 7, 2024 - 6-7:00 pm - Work Session May 7, 2024 - 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 Work Session - 6-7 pm Fee Schedule - Trent Herring Mr. Herring stated that we talked about the fee schedule last work session and he wanted to continue talking about it and get input on it. The group talked about administration fees, the paper statement fee in particular, among others. They also talked about building department fees, they discussed the general inspection fee. Mr. Herring explained permit valuation and the associated fees. They talked about permit cancellation fees. They talked about police department fees, mostly dog fees in particular. They discussed special events, the public works department, records requests, GRAMA requests, water fees. They discussed impact fees, there were questions and answers about the different fees. They talked about residents outside of city limits paying double for water and sewer, but not for electric and natural gas. They talked about garbage, storm water, and taxes. Budget - Trent Herring Mr. Herring said that he asked all the department heads to put all their wishes in the budget. He wanted to briefly review them. They talked about the electric efficiency study, it is something that is done every 3 years. Mr. Herring stated that he wants to figure out how to punch in the numbers and do it ourselves to save that money. They talked about Christmas lights. Some have strong opinions about the current lights and banners. The airport needs a new fuel truck. Councilmember Ewald stated that it is a liability. Mr. Herring wants to do an airport lease study. It was stated that one was done not too long ago. Councilmember Ewald stated that he found that we are right in line with comparable airports. Visitor Center roof replacement. This is something that needs to be done soon. There are buckets of water leaking into the visitor center. They talked about different roof materials, rain gutters, removal of some trees and water flow. A proper walking path around the 4th reservoir. Mr. Mulhestein explained the different options and the possibility of grants. They talked about setting another meeting up for further budget discussion. POLICY MEETING Call to Order Roll Call A Prayer was offered by Trent Herring The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance. Approval: Consent Agenda and Minutes from April 9, 2024 Regular Session Councilmember Bowers made a motion to approve the consent agenda and minutes from April 9, 2024. Councilmember Ewald 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 Nielson Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: None Those abstaining: Councilmember Grover Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest - None Public Input Mr. Herring stated that we've had a lot of good traffic and engagement on social media with the public. Reports Mayor Mayor Monson wanted to remind everyone of the public comment training meetings with Kendall. It is very possible they will move the 5-6pm meetings to 6-7pm. Mayor Monson said that Little Miss Blanding will be on June 29th. There are 8-9 girls that have signed up for it. Mayor Monson wanted to mention that he has gotten a lot of compliments on the office staff and he appreciates the good work that all staff is doing. City Council Councilmember Nielson said that he has a couple complaints about the transfer station being closed. Councilmember Grover stated that he had good reports from the free dump day. It was mentioned that we should do it more often. Mr. Herring said that it cost us $7,500. And it was that much because we allowed people to take tires and there is a cost per tire. They talked about possibly giving out a one time voucher that can be used at any time. Councilmember Bowers stated the Commissioner Stubbs has reached out and is pretty frustrated. She has looked into getting funding from the grant that the White Mesa Mill is doing and putting in a splash pad. But Commissioner Stubbs said she didn't feel like there was support for it from the council. There was discussion about what it takes to have a splash pad and the maintenance and upkeep. Mr. Muhlestein stated that he talked to Commissioner Stubbs and he looked into the cost and maintenance of a splash pad. He contacted some other cities that have splash pads. What he found out is that it's basically like having another pool. It's a lot to take on. It has the same chemical requirements as a pool. Mr. Muhlestein stated that an option is to put one in as part of the wellness center and you can recoup some of the costs that way. One of the other location options is where the old pool was and it would be free to all. Councilmember Nielson asked if the funds had to be used for a splash pad or if they could be used for something else. Mayor Monson stated that he has also talked to Commissioner Stubbs and he wrote a letter for her in support of this. He is in support of what the greater population of Blanding wants and he has heard that many want a splash pad. He thinks that more research needs to be done before a decision is made. Councilmember Bowers stated that is the number one requested item since she has got since being on city council. She talked about the hotel business and the lack of things to do, eat, etc in Blanding affects that business. Mr. Herring stated that he was on a webinar yesterday all about splash pads, he emailed all that information to the council. He stated that one thing that we'd have to think about is a bathroom. It would be required near the splash pad. They agreed to put this topic on the agenda for a future meeting. Finance Report - James Francom Mr. Francom stated that the check register is quite large today. There shouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. Councilmember Ewald asked about the excavation trailer. It was stated that it is a piece of machinery that helps suck out all the extra debris when excavating, it makes for quick work. Councilmember Bowers asked if the Jones and DeMille charges were budgeted. Mr. Francom stated that they're all part of different projects and they are part of the engineering budgets. Councilmember Nielson asked about the music royalties fee. It is a fee that is paid for music rights for events such as the 4th of July. Economic Development - Ben Muhlestein Mr. Muhlestein stated that we have had several business licenses come in: a few new ones and a few renewals. Councilmember Bowers stated that she will be getting a business license soon for her small building that she put in her hotel parking lot. They will be serving a variety of food out of it as well as 'clean pop.' 4th of July plans are coming along. There are a few booths that are still available. Mr. Muhlestein said that they are working with someone who might come in and offer free internet for the day. There are certain activities that have traditionally been done in the past that were going to be done, but groups have dropped them or they just haven't been spoken for yet. He told the council but if they knew of someone who would be interested in that or wanted to start something new, that we are open to that. Mayor Monson clarified that they want it to be done by a group, club or a team for fundraising, not by individuals. There is a list of events that need to be headed up. The committee has reached out to specific groups and teams to see if they are interested. Mayor Monson stated that we are doing a citizen of the year again. He said there are forms available to nominate anyone in the community to be citizen of the year and that same person will be the Grand Marshal of the parade. The Fall Festival is continuing to grow. They have been working with the SJCPAC to expand it and it will be called the San Juan County Fall Festival this year. There will be buses to help get people from the county here. There will be a variety of events and activities put on by the different high schools in the county. Council member Taylor was 'rolling his eyes'' at the fact that it was the San Juan County Fall Festival and not Blanding. He asked if they were donating any money to the cause. Mr. Muhlestein said that yes, at least half or maybe a little more. That made Councilmember Taylor feel better about it. Mr. Muhlestein stated that he will be sure to put Blanding on the posters and flyers in some way. Mr. Muhlestein also made sure that the Fall Festival remain in Blanding and did not rotate out to other towns. Councilmember Grover stated that there are a lot of things in the county that other communities and counties are claiming in theirs. Particularly in the northern part of the county as well as the Jeep safari. Marathon: not a lot of significant updates. They have started some advertising for that. There are more racers that are signing up. It will be on November 2nd. The well-being survey was closed. We had 207 respond to it. The same as 2022. Results from the survey will come later this year. We had a billboard on the north end of town that got ripped in half by wind. The quote to get it replaced is just under $600. Pickleball courts: when he wrote the report, paint was scheduled within the next couple of weeks, but there may be a delay in the painting, according to Mr. Herring, he went and looked at the courts and the concrete is not in good shape. He said there are some holes, some cracks and it's not totally flat. It looks like water ran through the middle of it and it has been ground down to try and fix it, but it is not good and not acceptable. And painting it will just accentuate the flaws. He is meeting with Jones and DeMille and Preston Grover tomorrow to look at it. Councilmember Taylor asked who the responsibility falls on. Mr. Herring stated that it falls on the contractor, not on Blanding city. We passed a privacy policy last meeting and it was approved by the state and it is posted on the website. Councilmember Bowers wanted to thank the council for donating to the Sunrise Outfitters for their ATV ride; it benefited all the hotels, gas stations, grocery store and restaurants. She was very grateful for it, as well as Sunrise Outfitters. Parks & Recreation - David Palmer Mr. Herring stated that Mr. Palmer is working on the pool. So he went over his report for him. Volleyball has wrapped up, all baseball and softball has started. The CDBG grant for the shade structure is in the process of clearing the contractor. When the pool was originally opened, there was a leak, but they didn't necessarily know where it was, but it was passed off and the pool opened anyway. They started to fill the pool this year and there was a noticeable leak. They quickly found the leak and crews have been working overtime on fixing it. As of right now the pool will open on schedule. They will have the middle school triathlon, lifeguard training and elementary field trips. Councilmember Taylor wanted to thank Clint Black for the phenomenal job he has done fixing things and taking care of the ball fields at Centennial Park. They believe that recognition in a job well done goes a long way. Fire Report - Chief Corey Spillman Chief Spillman stated that they have been very busy since January. There have been some structural fires and car fires and, as per usual, plenty of false alarms. He stated that Price dispatch is doing well in automatically calling out other departments when there is a structure fire. They have helped Montezuma Creek, Bluff and Red Mesa with some house fires. All the departments appreciate the mutual help from each other. Most firefighters are part time so they get exhausted very quickly. Councilmember Taylor asked if our department has any hazardous waste clean up equipment on hand. He understands that it is hard to fund it and hard to train for it. There was a discussion about what it takes and the amount of traffic that comes through. Chief Spillman stated that because hazmat is provided through the county, they have the equipment on a trailer and it is stored in Monticello. Councilmember Taylor believes that we should have some supplies in more places, especially with all the traffic that comes through our area. He wants Chief Spillman to look into it. Chief Spillman stated that the only thing we have are the green absorbent things. There are 3 new hires and they have done lots of training already, including wildland certification. Business Items Ordinance 2024-2 - Annexation of Territory Contiguous to the City of Blanding Mr. Herring Stated that this is something that has already been passed but we need to pass it again. When you annex something you have 60 days to turn it into the state otherwise you have to pass it again. Nothing on it has changed, it is the same as it was before. Councilmember Bowers made a motion to approve Ordinance 2024-2 Annexation of Territory Contiguous to the City of Blanding. 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 Nielson Councilmember Ewald Councilmember Bowers Those voting nay: Councilmember Grover Constituting all members thereof, Mayor Monson declared the motion carried. Advice & Consent Grid Access Fees - Trent Herring Mr. Herring stated that this is for advice and consent to push forward with the plan to implement and keep grid access fees on utility bills unless they fully disconnect from our grids. This is something that should have been done in the past, and it was being worked on before Jeremy read left, but never got done. It costs the city a lot of money to provide people access to power, water, gas, and sewer. The connection fees that people pay doesn't cover all the cost of maintenance, etc. Once a customer is on the grid, you make an agreement to stay on the grid and if you want to disconnect, then you have to disconnect all the way back to the city line. Councilmember Bowers stated that she had to pay a reconnection fee on some property in Manila, UT and it was about $11,000. The fees go to the land owner, so if someone were to default on that, then the city can put a lien on that and if it goes up for sale then we get it back in the tax sale. Blanding City wants to keep the fee with the land itself. There was a discussion of the fee going to the land owner and subsequently onto the renter. They also discussed all the vacant properties and how we can make zoning be helpful in filling some of those vacancies. They also discussed the possibility of the state coming in and making cities allow people to do things on smaller lots. Essentially it is the state taking decision making power away from councils. The state would make a one-size-fits-all plan. Mr. Herring stated that this plan would be a slow rolling plan and it will take years to clean it up and get it how it should be. The council gave consent to move forward with making a plan to get this in place. Gas Line Feasibility Study - Trent & Patrick Mr. Herring stated that they have been meeting with the mill to get a gas line down to them, part of that includes getting a quote on a feasibility study. They have talked to the company that will do that project and they will get us a quote. Mr. Herring stated that this will be a really big project and it will be a really good project. The goal is to work with private landowners and avoid going through any BLM land. Council gave advice and consent to get a quote for the project. Discussion Items Youth City Council - Trent Herring Mr. Herring stated that in 2022 the city council passed a resolution to support a youth city council. He didn't know what youth city council was until he heard something about it on the radio, so he looked into it. Mr. Herring has been meeting with the high school's civic and leadership program to see if there is interest in a youth city council, and they are 100% on board. The resolution that was passed in 2022 was to support them with $200, which won't go far. Mr. Herring went to a conference in St. George, they had a panel discussion that was very good. They said that other municipalities put in anywhere from $7,500-$15,000, which helps with events, training, and other expenses. Mr. Herring likes that it gets youth involved, it builds a bridge between us and the high school. USU also has a youth city council program. They had a discussion about what the money is used for. Mayor Monson said that USU has a conference, they do educational training, they go over how meetings are run, and how the government runs. They also spend a day on the hill, and that is through the league of cities and towns. Mayor Monson stated that when council originally passed this, the purpose was to get it going and grow the program but it hasn't really grown much. Mr. Herring stated that essentially the money that we support them with, we in turn get help out of them. He stated that Jesse Grover is over the citizen leadership program at the high school. Councilmember Bowers asked if the youth ran for the position or if they were chosen. Mr. Herring stated that the first year they will be chosen and then in the coming years they will apply to be on the council. The other youth city councils had anywhere from 10 kids to 40 kids that participated. He said the high school is going to reach out to some students that they think will be interested. Of the United States, Utah has one of the best youth city council programs. Cemetery Water Contract - Trent Herring Mr. Herring said that the current contract was made in 2018 but has been renewed every year. Mr. Herring is on the cemetery board. The cemetery has expanded and they will continue to do so. They currently have 40 acre feet per water year at $175 per acre foot, anything above that is 75% of culinary rates which is roughly $600 per acre foot. They are requesting to increase to 50 acre feet per year. There was a discussion about the contract and previous discussions with cemetery personnel. It was stated that the cemetery used just over 40 acre feet of water. Mr. Herring stated that he will look into what was previously discussed. The council agreed that they should get the water that they need to keep the cemetery looking good and also be able to keep their prices of plots down. Mr. Herring said that they are a special service district. City Owned Property - Trent Herring Mr. Herring had a list of city owned properties. He stated that this is a living document and will be updated as things change. He is working on getting deed types for all the properties. The city owns 5 acres in Camp Jackson. Councilmember Taylor asked what our responsibility is for the old dump property and all the trash. He suggested that we put up a large fence. It was stated that trash will just get dumped on the outside of the fence, which is BLM property. There are certain properties that we can't do anything with, without going through the BLM, such as the park and old golf course up by the reservoirs. They are restricted properties and were given to the city for recreational purposes. They talked about the future golf course site. They talked about the main street property, the 12 commercial acres by the detention center. Mr. Herring stated that he has been approached by a developer about the property by the sewer ponds. But he wouldn't say what he wanted to do with it. Councilmember Taylor stated that if the city sells property he wants to know what it is going to be used for and that it is used to best benefit the city and the citizens. Mr. Herring said that he has talked with the school district and they don't know yet what they are going to do with the elementary school once they get the new one built. He thinks it would be an ideal place for a new city office to go. The school district has asked if there could be a possible trade. Mayor Monson stated he has been approached by several people about the Blake property. Mr. Herring stated that he has as well. There is a house on the property that is old and uninhabitable. Councilmember Bowers stated that in all the years she has been here, there has been talk about using the commercial land to entice a business to come here and it just has never happened. And maybe more effort needs to be put in by the city and maybe it needs to be advertised more. Mr. Herring stated that the hotel Omni has talked to him to see if anyone would be interested in that kind of a project. Councilmember Bowers' opinion is that the city can't support more hotels until there are more of other things, ie, food establishments, small businesses, etc. They talked about having a closed, non-disclosure meeting with potential buyers so that they know what the property will potentially be used for. Councilmember Grover asked if the old sewer lagoons are even usable for what we have it listed for, a park. Councilmember Taylor stated that yes, in Roosevelt, there is a park on old sewer lagoons. BENM May 9th - Trent Herring Mr. Herring said that a meeting with BLM and Forest Service will be held this Thursday at 6pm. He has collected a few questions for them and he will send them ahead of time. It will be a question and answer type meeting so that the community can make their thoughts and opinions be heard and hopefully get answers to some questions. Mr. Herring stated that he asked the BLM to have a question and answer portion at their meeting at the arts and events center and they said no and came to find out it is illegal for them not to allow it, so they were quick to say that they will do this. Mayor Monson wants to encourage everyone to submit their comments to the BLM. Closed Session Councilmember Nielson made a motion to go into closed session to discuss litigation. Councilmember Grover 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 10:30pm.

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.

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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

May 23, 2024 03:09 PM

Notice Last Edited On

May 23, 2024 03:09 PM

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