First Lt Mark Buffington from the U.S. Army came to discuss the Community Covenant Program, which was started by the Army in 2008 and is designed to work with communities to find ways to support service members and their families. A city can create a document that commits to supporting these service members and their families while the service member is deployed to a hostile fire area. The covenant is a non-legal and non-binding agreement, but allows citizens within a community to find ways to help our service men and women. I requested this assignment and the Mayor approved it, so I will be working with First Lt Buffington to create our covenant and set up a signing ceremony. We will provide more information as this is developed, but I think it is a wonderful way for the residents of Cedar Hills to show our support to those residents within our community who are serving our country.
Public Comment
Ken Cromar again discussed the November article written by the Daily Herald discussing the golf course financials and also discussed a November 8th editorial also published by the Daily Herald. He would like an explanation of the golf course financials to be provided to the residents. He feels the city needs to correct the record after stating in the September 2011 newsletter that the golf course is operationally profitable. He wants to know how much money the taxpayers have put into the golf course.
**Mayor Richardson is going to provide Mr. Cromar with the portion of the audited financials that give this information. Additionally, on November 22, 2011 a special meeting was called to discuss the golf course financials. I found this very informative and recommend listening to the audio file, which can be found at http://www.cedarhills.org/government/city_council/minutes/index.shtml. I will also put together a summary of my notes from that meeting and post to this blog within the next few days.
Review/Action on Amendment Regarding Apiaries (Bee Keeping)
Ryan Wood and Roman Frasier, who are both beekeepers, have been working with the Zoning Administrator to develop regulations for hobby bee keeping within Cedar Hills. The ordinance did pass with the following changes to be made to the ordinance:
- The term "hives" will be changed to "colony"
- A colony will be defined as one stack which consists of one hive body with any number of honey collecting supers
- Lots may have 2 colonies per 5000 square feet (Section 1A)
- Neighbor permission can be revocable (Section 1D)
Review/Action on Amendment Regarding Solid Waste and Recycling
This was brought forth just to change the ordinance so that the language used is consistent with the language used in our contract with Waste Management Services. The ordinance passed with one change: the term "solid waste" will be changed to Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to match the wording in the contract.
Review/Action on Contract for Park Maintenance
The city currently has a contract with Wilkinson Outdoor Maintenance to provide services such as mowing, trimming, weeding flower beds, and fertilizing. The contract expired December 31, 2011 but can be extended for two three-year terms. The city did go through the bid process in 2008 and Wilkinson came in the lowest. The city has been very happy with this company as they are willing to fix a variety of things at no extra charge and the quality has always been very good. The contract is based on acreage and is approximately $105,000 per year. The council approved the extension of this contract.
Review/Action on Intent to Annex Property
Rhinehart Land Company, owners of the property located at approximately 10018 N. 4800 W., and Hart's have come to an agreement for Hart's to purchase that property to build a gas station and convenience store. As such, Rhinehart has agreed to have their property annexed into Cedar Hills. The process is as follows:
- The Council adopts a resolution of intent to annex this property
- The city must publish a notice stating the intent to annex
- A public hearing is held no earlier than 30 days after the adoption of the resolution
- At the conclusion of the hearing the Council may adopt an ordinance approving the annexation
- A notice of impending boundary action is sent to the Lt. Governor's office who issues a certificate of annexation
- All documents are recorded at the Utah County Recorder's office
Review/Action on Board and Committee Appointments
The Mayor recommended the appointment of Randy Gehring to a five-year term on the Board of Adjustment. The Council approved this recommendation.
Review/Action on City Council Assignments
The Mayor recommended Councilmembers Gygi and Augustus work with the Golf Finance Advisory Committee, and that Councilmember Rees work on the Community Covenant program. These recommendations were approved by the Council.
City Manager Report and Discussion
Marisa Wright was asked to provide other alternatives to the decoration of the Community Recreation Center. She provided four options.
- Option A: Using resident Natalie Scott to decorate with trees on the walls. Her work can be seen on her website at http://perfectspacedesigns.wordpress.com/. Price range would be $11,800 to $17,300.
- Option B: Using Critical Laser to do work similar to the work they've done down by Chase Bank. Working with metal circles with the city name and logo. Price would be $1500 per circle.
- Option C: Contracting with artists to do original oils. Marisa would choose pieces that emphasize our area and landscaping. Price ranges anywhere from $4,000 to $100,000, depending on the artist.
- Option D: Purchase stock art. Price varies depending on the piece.
The meeting was adjourned and the Council moved to executive session to discuss litigation matters.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at jenneyrees@gmail.com or via phone at 801-358-8730. You can listen to the audio of this meeting by visiting www.cedarhills.org. These files are generally available one week after the meeting.
