Discussion Regarding City Council Policies
Changes were discussed with regards to the Order of Business (section 5) of the policies. The order of meetings will change so that "City Reports" will immediately follow the Consent Items instead of occurring at the end of the meeting. These reports will consists of presentations, Council reports, announcements, community events, and the City Manager report. This change was made mainly because these reports provide much of the information pertaining to residents and having them earlier on in the meeting would allow for more residents to hear this part of the meeting as many attendees leave around 8:00pm.
We will also change the Public Hearings portion so that public comments can be made during the discussion of an agenda item instead of at the beginning. We will still have Public Comment period at the beginning, which provides an opportunity for residents to bring any feedback or concerns. The Public Hearing portion allows residents to provide feedback or concerns on specific agenda items while that item is up for discussion. Therefore, section 10 of the policies will be removed and become part of section five.
Section 12 covers how items are put on the agenda and when the Council receives the agenda. The current policy hasn't always been followed but we agreed it is good policy and will stay the same and we will make sure that these policies are being followed from this point forward.
Section 13 states that the meetings will adjourn at 11:00pm. We will remove this item completely.
Discussion on Civic Center
Brad Kearl (Building and Zoning Administrator) brought an analysis showing what space is currently available, what space is needed at a new facility, and what space is wanted. He is going to update this analysis as there was some confusion on how he worded it, mainly that what is listed as a "need" is only what he feels is needed in the new building, not what is needed overall. The Council asked Mr. Kearl to provide an analysis showing what space we currently have in all buildings, what is being utilized, and how much space is needed for each department in each building. Mr. Kearl also provided a pros and cons analysis to the several options we provided at the last meeting. For this first analysis, Mr. Kearl has stated that a new Civic Center is needed, that we need it to be at least 2,955 square feet, but is wanting 6,461 square feet. His breakdown by job responsibility is part of the documentation provided at work session and can be found at http://www.cedarhills.org/sites/default/files/agendas/city-council-ws-agenda-2012-03-06_0.pdf.
As I mentioned on my last Council post, this is a topic that will continue to be on the agenda for each meeting. I am glad we are doing this analysis and look forward to the discussions. Here are my initial thoughts:
- If we move all of our administrative staff out of the Public Safety Bldg (PSB) and Public Works Bldg (PWB), what happens to this empty space? The fire department does not need the basement of the PSB - Alpine has the same size building we do but without the basement. There has been some talk of using it for a police station or substation, but as far as I know American Fork has never requested this. We might as well use the space we currently have available to us.
- If we only need 2,955 square feet then why build a 6,461 square foot building? The statement was made that we have been fiscally responsible in saving money over the years in order to pay for this building and that being fiscally responsible means we can save up for our wants, we don't have to deprive ourselves of wanted items. I agree that it is a responsible principle to accrue money for future projects, such as a Civic Center, and I commend past Councils for doing so. However, my thought is that we do need to always remember that the money we have accrued is taxpayer money. If we decide that we have money to build a want then we should first be certain that this is something wanted by the taxpayers. Maybe taxpayers want something else. We do have an obligation to provide services to residents and we should have the things we need to provide great services. But when we start talking about wants we need to be careful that we understand the wants of the residents of the city, not just the wants of the Council or city staff.
- One of the reasons provided for building this new Civic Center is to provide better cohesiveness amongst employees, which will then allow the City to provide better or improved service to residents. I asked why we are struggling with cohesiveness and if this is a location problem or a procedures problem. We live in a global economy and many companies have locations and employees all over the world and are able to provide excellent services to their clients, so how can we not do the same in a City our size without requiring that all administrative staff be in the same building? Are there things we should look at changing in our communication methods and procedures that will solve the cohesiveness issue?
Council Meeting
Public Comment
Jeanne Mather - Ms. Mather was representing the Girl Scouts of America and provided some information on their 100 year anniversary. In our district there are 161 girl scouts and 84 adult volunteers. Four girls in Cedar Hills have received the bronze award. They have donated items to Primary Childrens Medical Center and American Fork Hospital. This year they sold 32,100 boxes of girl scout cookies and she thanked all the residents who purchased cookies.
Robert Chesworth - Mr. Chesworth is the President of the Bridgestone HOA. He discussed the issues that Perry Homes is having with the 8-plex units they want to build and hopes the City will work with Perry Homes to fix this so they can be built. He is happy the Mayor is willing to work through this. He says this development will be beneficial to Cedar Hills.
**This is on the Planning Commission agenda in March and will be on the City Council agenda for the April 3rd meeting.
Marisa Wright - Mrs. Wright is working on the CoRec decorations. She hopes residents are excited for this new facility. There will be many programs including a childrens reading hour, exercise classes, and other classes. She feels this building will bring the community together and says the main room is majestic.
Consent Agenda
- The minutes for the February 21, 2012 public hearing and Council meeting were approved.
- The dissolution of the Golf Course Advisory Committee, which has not met since 2006, was approved.
- The deletion of the criteria for the Parks and Trails Committee, which was dissolved in 2010, was approved.
As March 12, 2012 is the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America the Mayor declared that this day be Girl Scouts Day in Cedar Hills. The full proclamation is part of the Council packet for the day and can be found at http://www.cedarhills.org/sites/default/files/agendas/city-council-agenda-2012-03-06.pdf
Review/Action on Amendments to the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget
Rebecca Teharo presented the Council with a list of budget amendments that needed to be made for the current budget. Those items are:
$40,000 increase in legal fees / $40,000 decrease in fire services
The increase in legal fees are mainly due to fees that will be paid to Stirba & Associates in regards to the recent court filing against the Mayor and City Manager. To date we have paid them $74,000 but have not yet received the final bill. I asked Mrs. Tehero to provide the Council with a breakdown at the end of the fiscal year that shows all legal fees, who they were paid to, and for what services. She will provide that information at the end of the fiscal year.
The $40,000 decrease in fire services represents an adjustment to the projected amount we would have to pay for these services.
$20,000 increase in recreation programs / $20,000 decrease from CARE tax balance
In 2011 the Council approved the use of $20,000 from the CARE tax fund to pay for recreation equipment for the CoRec.
$20,000 increase for Utility Rate Analysis / $20,000 increase in water fees from residents
It is recommended that the City have a Utility Rate Analysis performed every 5 years and the last one was done in 2007. This analysis is done after we have set the parameters of the analysis. This will show us what we should be charging (which matches our costs) and also helps us identify future needs and how we should be accruing for those needs. The $20,000 increase in water fees from residents does not represent a change in utility rates - it is revenue that is coming in from residents who were previously with Manila Water company and are now going through the City.
$35,000 increase in wages and benefits in Admin Dept / $35,000 decrease in wages and benefits in Finance Dept
An employee was moved from the Finance Dept to the Administrative Dept.
These budget amendments were approved.
Budget Presentation for Fiscal Year 2013
Mrs. Teharo presented the proposed revenues for the General Fund, and for proposed revenues for the Capital Projects Fund for FY 2013. A few of the main points:
- Property Tax and Licenses and Permits revenues show an increase based upon the assumption of 20 new homes and 1 commercial entity. This assumption is based on FY 2012 actual new construction.
- Family Festival revenue assumptions are decreasing based upon actual revenue numbers for the past two years.
- Impact fees revenue show a projected increase based upon new construction assumptions.
- Sidewalk project expenses show an increase based upon the new sidewalk project for Cedar Hills Drive and 4000 West.
- Expenses for the payment of the Public Safety Building show a decrease as the bond for this building will be paid off this year.
C. Martinez
- Tot soccer registration has started.
- Lego league will be starting up and we have had many good responses.
- Rec department is putting together a proposal for the completion of the basement of the CoRec center and will be sending out an RFP for bids. Cardio room will be restricted to a certain age.
- Family Festival plans are still underway.
- The City received a bond rating upgrade from A+ to AA-
- SB180 passed by the House and has moved on to the Senate
- Six names have been proved to the Mayor for the Golf Course Finance Advisory Committee
- Planning Commission is meeting on March 14th to discuss plans for Hart's Gas Station
- Discussion of flag poles will be on the next Council agenda
- New City website is up
- Community Covenant Program signing will be on March 20th at 6pm. This will be at the Public Safety Building.
Konrad has met with a financial advisor and will next meet with the Finance Committee to discuss ways to save the City money on bonded debt.
The Pleasant Grove City Manager will be submitting a proposal to Konrad on utilizing Cedar Hills sewer lines for PG residents located on 4000 West. Konrad will send this to the Council as soon as he receives it.
There was no need for an executive session so the meeting was adjourned.
