Townhall Meeting - October 18, 2012

Townhall Meeting - Public Safety

Lt. Sam Liddiard - American Fork Police Department

• 33 officers in patrol and investigations
• Investigations:
• 9 detectives, 1 in major crimes task force for the County
• In 2011 they investigated 2,100 cases
• As of September 2012 they have investigated 2,142 cases
• Three biggest issues for our area are domestic violence, child abuse, and drugs
• Patrol:
• In 2011 dispatch received 10,333 calls
• As of September 2012 dispatch has received 7,925 calls
• Patrol officers handle initial investigations, reports, and first response (CPR and first aid)
• Bicylce patrol for crowds, neighborhoods, and public presentations
• Motorcycle patrol for traffic, accident investigations, and special events
• K9 for patrol and narcotics
• NOVA program with elementary schools
• SWAT team for high risk warrants, hostage situations, and VIP protection
• Animal control
• We pay approximately $400,000 per year for all of these services. It is estimated to cost around $1.5 million to start up our own force, plus the cost of equipment and vehicles

Chief Brad Freeman - Lone Peak Public Safety District

• City is partial owner along with Alpine and Highland
• It would cost around $1.5 million per year to have our own, right now we pay around $600,000 per year
• Offer fire and paramedic services
• Utilize an intern program to keep costs down while helping interns keep their skills up
• Handle fire, medical emergencies, floods, swift water rescues, accidents, and canyon rescues
• In 2011 they handled 348 calls for fire and 842 calls for EMS
• Also do inspections, school programs, station tours, scout assignments, and other various community programs
• Law requires that they have a minimum of four firefighters onsite before entering any burning building
• Receive funding from ambulance bills, grants, county, and the three participating cities
• Alpine pays $624,310; Cedar Hills pays $611,258; and Highland pays $939,727
• Base fee is 10%
• 45% based on population
• 45% based on number of households and ERU's for commercial areas
• Cedar Hills pays around 22% of the total cost
• Cedar Hills is getting a new transport truck that allows for fire and paramedic services. Currently, if the EMT's were on the fire truck and got an EMS call they have to go back to the station to the get ambulance, and vice versa. This new vehicle will allow for both situations so there is no need to return to the station for the correct vehicle.
• Currently have 36 part time and 14 full time staff to cover three shifts for 24x7 coverage

City Council Meeting - October 16, 2012

Work Session

The work session was a closed executive session to discuss litigation matters.

Council Meeting

Public Comment
Nobody signed up for public comment.

Consent Agenda
The minutes from the August 28, 2012 City Council meeting and the September 18, 2012 City Council meeting and Public Hearing were approved.

Review/Action on Approving Submittal  of a Recreational Grant Application
Each year the City files an application for a municipal recreational grant from the Utah County Commission. The income from this grant will be $11,306.93 and will go into the CARE tax fund to offset some of the expenses associated with the Heritage Park basketball court, which was $36,245.01. The request to submit the application for this grant was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Resolution Appointing Daniel Zappala to the UV Dispatch SSD
The Utah Valley Dispatch Special Service District requires that appointing a member representative be made through a resolution. Mayor Gygi has asked Daniel Zappala to serve on this board. The resolution was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Water Charges and Reimbursement
Residents who live on Mahogany Drive and 9220 North had some water issues over the summer and it was later discovered there was a cross-connect in the culinary water line for these two streets (for more info see my notes from the August 28th Council Meeting). The City approved the reimbursement of all culinary and PI water charges for these residents for July - September, which equaled approximately $4,330.00. After this, city representatives met with these residents again who have asked for an additional six months of testing on their water line and an additional six months of free culinary water so as to reassure them that their water is fine. David Bunker estimated the additional cost for this would be $1,130.00. There were a few residents from this area in attendance and Mayor Gygi asked if any would like to speak. William Moore stated that he would like to see this resolved and felt better communication was needed. Crystal Michaelis stated that some residents still have discolored water on occasion and that her child was going to have to be on medication for the rest of her life because of the giardia diagnosis. David asked that any resident who has discolored water collect it in a mason jar and contact the City immediately. The request for an additional six months of culinary water at no charge was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Approval of Costs for CoRec Basement
This was changed to a discussion item only. Previously the recreation team had submitted three different options for completing the basement. A townhall meeting was held where the majority of residents indicated they preferred Option B. The Council asked the recreation staff to come up with some preliminary figures for each option. Option A which includes finishing the entire basement, supplying all equipment, and installing a rock wall is estimated to cost $396,777.00. Option B which includes finishing the entire basement but not purchasing any equipment is $301,902.00. Option C which includes finishing the North side only (classes but no cardio room) is $212,332.00. CM Zappala has asked staff to find out the difference in cost for an elevator instead of an ADA ramp. I suggested we do a poll with residents now that we have an idea of the cost. This was agreed to so I will be working on creating a poll using Survey Monkey or some other similar software. This topic will be continued at the next Council meeting.

**As I was going through my notes for this blog I realized something seemed off with the math for Option A and B. The cost for Option A is $396,777.00. The cost for option B without equipment is $301,902.00; however, the equipment is $98,445.00. This means if I add the cost for equipment back in, as most residents said they wanted with Option B, it would cost more than Option A. I then went back through and added the equipment total ($98,445.00) with the additional costs of construction listed below the equipment on Option A (mirror, handrail, ADA ramp, etc.) and I show the cost for Option A would be $424,777. Also, I don't see anything listed on Option A that includes a rock wall. I have sent an email asking for some clarification on these numbers and will create the poll for residents once that info is verified.

Review/Action on Approval of Updated Policies and Procedures
Over several months city staff has been working on updating the employee policies and procedures based on input from administration, the Mayor and Council, and the City Attorney. Updates include changes to benefits, recruitment, nepotism, city assigned phones, appeals board, employee privileges, and funeral leave. A few additional changes were requested by the Council - the employee benefit to rent the Vista Room one time at a reduced rate will only be offered Sunday - Thursday and is subject to availability. Also, an update to the nepotism policy must state that any potential hires cannot be related to anyone in the appeals chain. The changes to the policy were approved 4 to 1.

Discussion on Use of Soccer Fields by NUCS
The North Utah County Soccer Club currently uses our fields at Mesquite Park for soccer practice and games. We also utilize these fields for flag football. There have been some instances where NUCS is using the fields when they are not scheduled to do so and it has conflicted with flag football, yet the coaches are unwilling to leave the field. CM Martinez wanted to discuss this issue and get feedback on how to best resolve. Mayor Gygi has asked that he and David meet with NUCS to discuss better terms in our contract and possibly assess penalties for not complying with the contract. NUCS has threatened to send an email to the families of their Cedar Hills players letting them know the City is "unwilling to work with them"; however, we recognize that our flag football teams are just as important and need to be able to use the fields when they are scheduled to do so.

Review/Action of City Manager Contract
Mayor Gygi, Eric Johnson, and David Bunker have completed the final contract for the City Manager position. A few changes were requested:

• Change the distance that the city manager may live outside of Cedar Hills from 8 to 10;
• Change the wording on raises to state that the Mayor and Council can approve raises, not just the Mayor;
• Change wording on the vehicle supplied to state that the City will provide a vehicle based on the City's existing vehicle purchase policy.

The contract with changes was unanimously approved.

City Reports
CM Augustus - Planning Commission had a meeting and one of the new members was sworn in. He will try to change the November Planning Commission meeting so it won't conflict with the townhall for the Golf Course Finance Advisory Committee.

CM Rees - We will be having a townhall meeting on Thursday to discuss public safety.

CM Martinez - The new Parks, Trails, Recreation, and Beautification Committee will be meeting the first of November. YCC is having the Spooktacular on Oct 29th. Kids can wear their costumes and this will be at Heritage Park. Nov 3rd is the Princess Festival at the CoRec.

CM Jackman - Met with the Finance Committee to discuss the refinance of the golf course bond. The savings over the term of the loan is $400,000. We can only do an advanced call once so if we move forward we will be locked in at the new interest rate for ten years. This refi does not extend the term but lowers the interest rate from what we current pay (approximately 4% - 4.5%) to an interest rate around 2.3%-2.8%. We have this opportunity because of our recent bond rating increase. The Council is fine with the finance committee pursuing this option.

There was no need for an additional executive session so the meeting was adjourned.

Council Meeting - October 4, 2012

Work Session

The work session was an executive session to discuss legal matters.

Council Meeting

Public Comment
Kyle Castle - Concerned about the cost of the Community Recreation Center basement. Wants to know if income generated from the golf course and recreation programs will cover the expenses associated with building the basement and running the programs.

Youth City Council Update
Several members of the YCC came to introduce themselves to the Council. The YCC holds various activities for residents and all proceeds go to the Santa's workshop program, which helps approximately 25 families each year. They plan things such as the upcoming pumpkin walk and the Family Festival.

Review/Action on Creation of Townhall Committee
A new committee has been created by Mayor Gygi. This committee will consist of residents throughout Cedar Hills who will assist, advise, and direct townhall meetings. They will be responsible for coming up with topics and advertising the meetings to residents. The resolution creating this committee was approved with the following changes:

• Part II, letter A - update wording to state that the purpose of the committee is to increase communication throughout the city through the use of townhall meetings;
• Part III, letter B - add that members will be added with the advice and consent of the City Council;
• Part III, letter D - remove this statement;
• Part IV, letter A - the committee will appoint a chair and vice-chair.

Discussion on Amending City Code to Allow for Animal Boarding Business in Residential Areas
A resident has approached the City asking permission to be able to use their basement as a boarding home for people who need temporary boarding for their small animals. The City code enforcement officer, Scott McMahon, provided some suggested wording for how the code could be changed to allow for this. Areas that still need clarification is how many animals could be housed based on either lot or home size. The Council asked for some further suggestions after researching how other cities handle this. The discussion item will be continued at a later time.

Discussion on Eliminating Library Fee Reimbursement
This came up as a discussion item after Mayor Gygi had been approached by a former Mayor and Council member with a recommendation to end this reimbursement. The current budget allows for $14,000 to be used for this program, which means 350 households can receive a $40 refund on library memberships with another city. CM Martinez and Jackman both felt this should be postponed until the next budget year as it has already been approved for the FY 2013 budget. This item will be continued next year.

Discussion on Vision, Goals, and Branding for the City
Mayor Gygi has asked the Council and staff to come up with goals related to their specific assignments. The City doesn't have a specific brand and this is something Mayor Gygi would like to address. Mr. Keith Irwin provided Mayor Gygi with some good information on branding cities. Mayor Gygi wanted input from the Council. I personally feel if we are going to do this then we need to do it right so should hire an outside company that specializes in branding. We need to get a few proposals to know what this would cost. Other councilmembers were concerned with the cost and weren't sure why this is needed. This will be an ongoing discussion item.

Discussion on Completion of CoRec Basement
This is an ongoing discussion item. We had a townhall meeting last month and received feedback on the various options. One concern I had was that we did not have any estimates on what each option would cost, and that may have influenced which option residents wanted to go with. CM Martinez will work with staff to get estimates for each option, including a revised Option B that includes equipment. One of the biggest costs will be the ADA ramp, but it has been determined that the ramp will be cheaper than an elevator in the long run. This item will continue to be a discussion item.

Added Item - Resident Concerns on Deer
Resident Lois Howard came to discuss issues she is having with deer. She has lived in Cedar Hills for 23 years and the creek runs behind her home. Deer have become a huge issue for her as she constantly has herds of deer in her yard. They destroy her yard. She would like the City to partner with the Division of Wildlife Resources to address this, just as Highland has done. David Bunker will reach out to Highland and to DWR to find out how they are addressing a similar issue.

Added Item - Additional Free Water for Residents on Mahogany and 9220 North
Last month the City was notified that residents on two streets had discolored water. After doing some investigating it was determined there was a cross connect between the culinary line and the PI line (for more info see my notes from last Council meeting). The Council had approved the refunding of all culinary and PI water bills for these residents for the months of July, August, and September, which are the months they were receiving contaminated water. The residents on these two streets have asked that their water line be tested for another six months and that the City not charge them for culinary water for those additional six months. The Council has asked David Bunker to provide an estimate for what the financial impact would be and add it as an agenda item for the next meeting.

City Reports
David Bunker - PG wants to start talks again regarding shared sewer lines on one of their streets. Harts is opening October 4th and will have a grand opening on October 19th and 20th. Met with Snowbird to discuss their desire to have access via AF Canyon to their ski resort.

CM Martinez - Pumpkin Walk will be on October 29th. This will include a costume contest. All proceeds benefit Santa's Workshop program. Flag football has started and Kaity is working on issues with field availability. Lego League event will be in Cedar Hills in January. They are in need of 50 volunteers for this event.

Mayor Gygi - CM Zappala has been added to the Finance Committee and Utah Valley Dispatch. CM Augustus will serve on the board for North Point Solid Waste.

CM Zappala - Had meeting with animal shelter. We need to find ways to encourage residents to license their pets so they can easily be returned if lost. Suggested we do this at the Family Festival in conjunction with some sort of a pet contest.

CM Jackman - LPPSD met recently. There was an issue with the Social Security funds paid for the fire fighters. At the time the district was formed it was agreed that the cities would pay 6.2% portion of SS and this was being collected. Because of an issue with how the money was being held it will be returned to the cities. Board needs to decide if they are going to keep the money or put it into a different fund for the fire fighters. We have decided this money should be put into a fund for the fire fighters as they were told the cities would give this contribution; however, one other city in the district wants to use this money to handle a budget shortfall. The board will continue to discuss this and whether or not the district will pay the 6.2% moving forward. The Finance Committee is working with staff to figure out a way to show the total amount that residents pay in various fees and taxes.

CM Rees - One press release issued since last meeting. Good feedback on State of the City newsletter.

No additional executive session was needed.