Monday, January 28, 2013

City Council Meeting - January 22, 2013


Work Session
We reviewed the agenda for Council meeting. Resolution for Herb Wilkinson has not yet been prepared so that item will be read at next meeting. For the Silver Beaver BSA award we will have everyone present except for Sherman Varney (injured) and George Reynolds (it was his dad who received the award). CM Jackman will have some changes to cattery ordinance. Ordinance on buildings over $400,000 changed to remove clause providing for retroactive enforcement (not legal) and to require a majority of votes not a majority of all registered voters. There will be an Emergency Management town hall in February. Ideas for Cedar Hills Champions program include having the day after the resolution be that Champion’s day, each will receive a certificate and be included on the plaque, invite them to be in the parade at Family Festival, encourage more nominations from residents. 

Council Meeting 

Public Comment
Michelle Demille - Three houses on her street were damaged after vandalism occurred in sewer system causing those houses to be flooded with sewage. She wants to put some closure to frustration. She was told it would be taken care of. Overall there were 350 gallons of sewage. She could have done cleaned it up herself instead of paying someone else if had known they would have no coverage from the City or homeowners insurance. She wants to have a settlement with city, would rather not hire an attorney. $9000 worth of belongings are now in her garage that was sitting in waste. Mayor Gygi said he would speak with other mayors who sit on the appeal board for City insurance as our insurance carrier has stated they will only reimburse each home $5000 as this issue was caused by vandalism. **The City is in the process of appealing this decision. We sent pictures of the vandalism (someone lifted the manhole cover and put a basketball, football, and several large branches wrapped in towels into the sewer system) and are asking our insurance carrier to reconsider their decision. Each manhole cover weighs over 100 pounds so it wasn’t little kids who did this.

Suzy Butler – Suzy was also affected by the sewage backup. She has been a resident for 30 years. Spent 15 years on septic tank but allowed easement when sewer main went through. Her house has been flooded 4 times, 3 times due to a faulty sewer pipe and this time from vandalism. She has cleaned up mess herself in the past. This last time was the worst as she suffered $25,000 worth of damage. She stated she is not convinced it is vandalism, thinks someone is purposely sabotaging the system. She thinks an adult lifted off the cover because it is heavy. She was told the city would cover it and would have cleaned it up herself if known that it would not be covered. She didn't find out insurance wouldn't cover the cleaning crew ($5000) until a week and a half later. When there is vandalism to park bathroom, the City pays for it so why not this? She wants us to have a remedy in place in case the insurance company doesn't come through

David Butler - Confirmed his wife's statements. He wants to have a remedy for the future to be sure this doesn't happen again. Wants to know why the City manhole covers are not locked down so this can’t happen.

Review/Action on Recognizing Cedar Hills Champions
From the City press release - As part of the Cedar Hills Champions program, the City Council recognized those residents who have received the Silver Beaver Scouting Award. This includes Sherman Varney, Sheldon Talbot, Arlene Smith, Gary Smith, Andrew Gibbons, Reed Swenson, Grant Bangerter, Grant Iverson, Pauline Iverson, Greg Harris, Bob Ogden, Jeffery Pyne, and Brad Sears. The Silver Beaver award is the highest recognition a Boy Scout council can bestow on an adult volunteer leader. The award is presented to those volunteers who have made outstanding contributions to the Scouting program through hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and many years of service. Nominations are recommended by the local council and approved by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.  

Discussion on Temporary Island Cutout on Cedar Hills Drive
Amsource is requesting a temporary cutout on Cedar Hills Drive so that drivers can exit the businesses on the corner by turning left onto Cedar Hills Drive. This has been discussed and rejected in the past due to safety concerns. The Council unanimously agreed to not allow this as the safety concerns still exist and we did not allow this for Harts.  

City Reports
David Bunker - New TSSD sewer plant 80% complete and is very impressive. Recommends Council go on a tour.

CM Jackman - Finance committee met today to kick off budgeting process. Timeline setup to make periodic presentations to Council.

CM Rees - Issued press release on Silver Beaver Award recipients. Discussed Daily Herald article on Lehi and executive retreat where City Council, City Manager, and department heads all get together to plan vision and goals. Called City Councilmember from Lehi to get feedback and was told they do this every year to work on year goals and 6 year goals. Feels it is important to have the city staff on board with goals and have buy in.

CM Zappala - Finance committee met. Agrees that we should have a retreat each year. Working on Emergency Preparedness townhall meeting. Lone Peak Fire has a system for radios that works great even when phones are down. Can receive calls from neighborhood leaders (Stake leaders, schools). Cedar Hills needs to get this information out and be sure stakes and schools have them, as well as area leaders for a neighborhood. Wants to meet once per month with three cities and schools and council and get that frequency up and running with drills. Radios are $175. City has several radios. LPPSD also has a big snowmobile trailer to rescue people in canyon and are getting a new heavy duty trailer to be a mobile EOC. CM Zappala is also working with students on helpful City Apps for budget transparency and a virtual library.

CM Martinez – Had interviews with YCC to assess commitment, communication, and follow-through. Our youth have commitments elsewhere in city, but we are not communicating to them our big events. Need to do a better job of communicating to church leaders about events. Junior Jazz going well. Basement plans are with architect for bid packets and will come in two parts. There are issues with elevator, so one option is an addition to west side. An ADA ramp will not work.

Review/Action on Cattery Ordinance
Chandler Goodwin presented. Changed maximum number of cats to be 6 over the age of 6 months. Added language concerning outdoor exercise area. Council brought up concern with large number of kittens under 6 months so language will be changed to only allow for one litter for breeding purposes. Will remove section 1.B.1.A and add as part of our business license procedures. This item has been continued.

Reviw/Action on Ordinance to Restrict Purchase or Construction of Public Buildings in Excess of $400,000
David Bunker presented. In 2011 a petition was submitted to the City for this purpose. The language required a majority of registered voters, not a majority of those voting in election and also allowed for the law to be retroactive, which isn’t legal. This was a hot topic at the last election. Council understands the concern and has no problem with this ordinance giving residents the opportunity to vote on new buildings over $400,000. This item passed unanimously.

Review/Action on Contract with PR Firm for Branding Campaign
Would include logo and rebranding of the City. Two firms were interviewed and Mayor and City Manager would like to enter into a contract with Radi8 Creative. We would need to amend budget for this in current year or wait for 2014 budget. Mr. Keith Irwin commented and stated that commitment comes from involvement so this process needs to involve residents. A branding process well-done engages many constituents in the community. He did have one concern that the contract only has one deliverable and we need to change it to include everything in their bid. CM Jackman has also asked for legal review of the contract and more information on where the funds will come from. Mr. Bunker recommends unrestricted funds, but CM Jackman would like him to also look at using some of the existing advertising funds already allocated to the Community Recreation Fund. Item has been continued.

Discussion on Town Hall Meeting Regarding Emergency Management
Will be held February 21st. City responsibility is major infrastructure. CM Zappala recommended we use the Parlant system to get word out about the meeting. CM Jackman wants to increase the number of times we use Parlant, but when we do a survey ask questions about what type of info should be communicated. CM Zappala wants to be sure to use text messages where possible because they are less intrusive and more convenient.

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