Council Meeting - March 5, 2013

Work Session

Mayor Gygi met with two stakes about assigning wards to help with Family Festival each year. He will be meeting with third stake tonight. We need about 150 volunteers every year so each ward would have an assignment every 5 years or so, which works out to one ward from each stake. We are also working on creating a resident driven committee to help with the festival. Volunteers will work on things we've had staff normally do, such as help with booths, parade, activities, etc. This will also help the City get more input from community. We are looking at having a theme for each year. Mayor needs input on people who could serve on this committee.

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Ken Cromar - Disappointed that City raised taxes this year. Feels the City should have cut expenses. Says City misled the State Records Committee by saying his group has filed a lawsuit against the City. He says he has never filed a lawsuit against anyone. Says City misrepresents facts.

   ***The City did raise the tax rate, but this did not increase revenues. Utah County makes a recommendation to each city every year on what rate they should adopt in order to collect the same amount of revenue as the prior year. The City Council chose to accept this new rate to keep our revenues consistent as our legal expenses continue to rise. However, most residents are paying the same amount in property taxes that they did in the prior year. Some are paying less than last year, including Mr. Cromar. A more detailed explanation can be found in the State of the City newsletter, pages 7-10, which can be found online here.

Public Comment & Review/Action on Amendments to FY 2013 Budget

Nobody signed up for public comment regarding amendments to the budget.

Consent Agenda

Minutes from the February 5, 2013 meeting were unanimously approved.

City Reports

CM Augustus – Planning Commission met last week. Talked about weeds and how to enforce ordinance. North Pointe Solid Waste will have a meeting this Friday.

CM Zappala – Attended an Animal Services meeting. Bill before legislature right now (HB150) that would outlaw the use of carbon monoxide chambers for euthanization. This is how County currently put down animals. If passed, it will significantly increase cost of euthanizing animals, which will increase fees paid to this facility. Facility feels this bill is wrong as euthanasia is the most humane way to put animals down. Alternative is to use lethal injection, which traumatizes animal as it is held down while being injected, and it is also much more expensive. Asking us to reach out to representatives to lobby against this bill.

CM Martinez - YCC working on changing the ordinance for YCC. They have been stuffing eggs for Easter egg hunts. March 29th is teen hunt (ages 11-15) at driving range, and egg hunt for kids 10 and under is on March 30th at 11:00am at Heritage Park. Eggs are recycled so residents should take candy and leave the plastic eggs. YCC is also having a social gathering for teens right after teen egg hunt. Tot soccer registration is happening now. Price has gone up $5 and some residents are concerned so staff will be reviewing this to find out why our costs have gone up. Other cities (Orem, AF, Saratoga Springs, PG) all charge more than we do. Family Festival is June 3th - 8th. Parks, Trails, Beautification and Recreation committee is hosting Arbor Day contest with Cedar Hills elementary schools. Flyers will be going out to schools. This is a poster contest and winner will be selected. Fire department will be having an open house in April when new fire truck arrives.

CM Jackman - LPPSD had meeting. District is no longer participating in social security for employees so there was a lively debate on a refund that was being given back to cities. Board decided to give refund back to the employees who had been paying into the social security system. Will be meeting again to discuss LPPSD budget. Finance Committee met and Council will discuss budget items during meeting. Looking at potential options for emergency dispatch items and other cities for fire services. Not committing to any changes, but getting a sense for what others offer.

CM Rees - Several press releases issued and working on more. Watching County library system as American Fork Council discussed in a Council meeting. Parks, Trails, Recreation and Beautification committee will plant 26 trees honoring Sandy Hook victims and will also discuss event for Murdock Trail Grand Opening.

David Bunker - Murdock Trail opening on May 18th. County wants a passport system so residents can check in with each trailhead and events. Starts in Orem and ends in Lehi. Have had developer reach out to us to finish Bridgestone complex so Council will be receiving drawings. Radi8 Creative (PR firm) will be reaching out to ~120 residents and business owners to get feedback for branding process. This includes residents all parts of the city.

Review/Action on City Code for YCC

YCC needed to update the existing ordinance. Changes being made include:

• Ordinance to say ages 14-18 instead of high school students
• YCC members have to have served at least one full term before serving as mayor
• Contact YCC staff advisor if they can't attend a meeting
• Instead of having YCC elect a mayor the members will apply for mayor and present to adult advisors, who will then appoint the mayor
• Section 2D add "with consent of the City Council"

This item was unanimously approved.

Review/Action to City Code on Nuisances

Discussed during Planning Commission meeting. The City needs to address issues with trees that hang over signs and hedges that are growing over sidewalks as well as weeds. We previously have not had an ordinance that gives zoning official the authority to enforce laws. Additional items will be added by Scott McMahon after talking with the fire marshal and Utah County wildlife regarding vacant properties and pastures. Sending back to Planning Commission with these additional items before Council approves. This agenda item was continued.

Discussion on Family Festival

See notes above under Work Session.

Review/Action on Amendments to FY 2013 Budget
There were 5 budget amendments presented by Charl Louw and the agenda, which lists this in more detail, may be found here. The highlights:

• Reduction of $140,000 in Class C Road Funds (10-36-800) - After doing some research Charl found that last year we thought we had a fund amount of $425,00 but that didn't actually exist. The actual amount of Class C Road Funds available was $285,000. Because of this mix-up there are some projects that will be delayed to FY14. City Manager David Bunker stated we have already fulfilled our usual maintenance for the year and that this will not cause any disruption in service or diminish quality. These delayed items include:
• $10,000 in street light maintenance (10-62-415)
• $10,000 in signs (10-62-420)
• $65,000 in street supplies and maintenance (10-62-440)
• $30,000 in sidewalk maintenance (10-62-470)
• $25,000 in transfer to capital projects fund (10-69-910)
• Transfer of $1,100 from materials & supplies (10-40-200) to other events (10-40-350) to cover expenses included with decoration the CoRec for Christmas and holding a citywide Christmas party.
• Transfer of $900.00 from materials & supplies (10-40-200) to communications (10-41-290) to cover the purchase of tablets for Councilmembers. The reduction in materials & supplies is the money saved from not printing and delivering paper packets to Councilmembers.
• Transfer of $4000 from Planning Commission (10-41-115) to materials & supplies (10-40-200) to cover expenses associated with the printing and mailing of the State of the City newsletter. This money was available as the Planning Commission members have opted out of receiving a salary.
• Transfer of $7,500 from P/R Professional & Technical (10-40-330) to Branding (10-40-335). A an additional $3000.00 for Branding was transferred from the Water and Sewer Fund and $7,500 from Golf Advertising.
• The savings on the G.O. Bond after refinance was $49,957.56. After expenses the net refunding activity's impact to the FY13 budget was $21,373.56.

The budget amendment passed 3-2 with Rees, Zappala, and Jackman voting yes and Martinez and Augustus voting no.

Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Presentation

The revenues for the General Fund and Capital Projects Fund were discussed and the detail can be found at the same link provided above. Some highlights:

• There is an overall reduction in General Fund revenue of $258,000 compared to FY 2013. This is due to a reduction in delinquent tax fees (less people are walking away from homes), a reduction in telecom tax received, a reduction in building permits and plan check fees, a reduction in the Class C Road Fund balance (see above) and a reduction in the Care Tax Fund Balance.
• There is a transfer of $2,069,358 from the Capital Projects Fund to the Community Recreation Fund. This is to pay off the loan that the golf course had accrued from other funds. This transfer and associated remaining balance shows the actual balance in the Capital Projects Fund as the golf course losses were being paid throughout the years. This is more transparent in showing officials and residents what our actual cash on hand is for each of our funds.
• There will be a $12,000 capital outlay in the Capital Projects Fund for a safety trench box, which is now required by OSHA.

Council Meeting - February 19, 2013

Work Session

Mark Edminster presented a proposal from Wells Fargo to refinance the existing utility revenue bond. Currently has interest rate of 5.99%. Willing to refinance at 2.61% for seven years on outstanding balance of $845,000. The current bond is not callable until March of 2019 so we can’t refinance with any other bank until that time. The current average annual debt service on this bond is $80,663. The refinance scenarios and projected savings are:

• 7-year fixed rate option with 10-year maturity and level annual debt service
• Net Present Value savings: $182,404 (22.41%)
• Average increased annual debt service for first 7 years - $15,622.
• 7-year fixed rate option with 7-year maturity and level annual debt service
• Net Present Value savings: $167,035 (20.50%)
• Average increased annual debt service - $51,944.

Mark sent Wells Fargo a list of eight questions that need clarification before moving forward. Mark feels much of their letter was a boilerplate template so some of this may not apply to this refinance. The current wording states there is a mandatory payoff after seven years, so he is asking about that. If there isn’t a mandatory payoff then there is the risk of not knowing what the interest rate will be in seven years. Charl said if the interest rate was too high in seven years then we could pay off the bond with money in the capital projects funds. Right now we pay $80,663 each year on this debt. If we pay it off in 10 years then we would save the extra 6 years of $80k payments that we are now planning to make as payoff isn't until March 2029. Mark recommends we pursue it to see where it leads and we can make final decision once all questions are answered. It doesn't cost us anything to pursue it. Mayor Gygi has asked Mark to go back to Wells Fargo to see if they would be willing to do a fixed rate for 10 years instead of seven. CM Zappala expressed concern over speeding up payoff. Utility bonds are generally setup over a 20 year span so that residents who live in the City over that 20 year period are helping to pay for it. If we speed it up to 10 years then residents living in the City over 10 years are paying for all that infrastructure and residents moving in after that don't pay for any of it. CM Jackman was concerned as to why we are looking at this again as last year we had decided not to do this as we didn't want to raise utility rates any more than we already are to cover O&M costs. Council agreed that Mark could continue to work with Wells Fargo to get questions answered but no approval will be given at this time to refinance until we get these answers.

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Suzy Butler – Says she was told the City was going to get better insurance to cover sewer backup. She wants to know what recourse the City has and wants to know how she is going to be protected. Mayor Gygi explained we are currently looking at other insurance companies. Families involved are putting together a formal appeal which they will present to the City, asking to be reimbursed for damages. 

GFOA Distinguished Budget Award

From our press release - On February 19, 2013 the Government Finance Officers Association presented the City of Cedar Hills with the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. Finance Director Charl Louw was also presented with a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation as the individual primarily responsible for having achieved this award.

According to the GFOA, the award “reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.” This is the 11^th year that Cedar Hills has received this award. In order to qualify, the City had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. The budget documents submitted are evaluated separately by three reviewers. Each reviewer rates each budget document as being not proficient, proficient, or outstanding in regard to 27 specific criteria, grouped into four basic categories. To receive the award, a budget document must be rated either proficient or outstanding by at least two of the three reviewers for all four basic categories, as well as for 14 of the 27 specific criteria identified as mandatory.

“We wish to thank Mr. Louw and our entire financial team for performing all of the work required to obtain this prestigious award,” stated Mayor Gary Gygi. “We are lucky to have excellent people working for the City and are happy they are being recognized for their hard work and dedication.”

The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional association serving over 17,500 government finance professionals throughout North America. The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.

Discussion on Manila Sewer Back-up

The City had a sewer line backup on December 13^th due to vandalism. Three homes were affected. The City submitted a claim to the insurance company, which was denied. The City appealed this decision, which was also denied as the insurance company stated “This claim relates to damage to homes resulting from vandalism of the City’s sewer system. According to the facts you have given us, the damage sustained by these residents was not caused by any act or failure to act on the part of Cedar Hills – it was caused by third parties. The residents whose homes were damaged cannot prevail on a claim against the City because the City is not liable for the damages the residents sustained. Because the City is not liable for the claims, we cannot extend coverage beyond the no-fault coverage limits we have already paid.” Each of the affected households received $5,000 from the trust as part of our no-fault coverage but this does not cover the loss for each house. We are now appealing to the Board of Directors. Appeal will be on March 22nd.  AFPD is also currently investigating this vandalism.

Review/Action to Approve Wells Fargo Utility Bond Refinance

See my notes above during work session. We have asked Mr. Edminster to continue to work with Wells Fargo but are not approving a refinance at this time.

City Reports

David Bunker - Resident has approached staff about doing a development on the south end of the City. David will continue to work with him and provide updates to us. Attended State Records Committee hearing last week and committee ruled unanimously in our favor.  LPPSD meeting this week on recent study they had done. Had some discussions on PG 4000 N. sewer line and working on potential agreement to present to the Council.

CM Zappala - Emergency Preparedness townhall this Thursday. Met with Dax and David to review Parlant system and will do demonstration on Thursday. Will also do presentation on how to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

CM Jackman - LPPSD has board meeting next week. Budget is continuing to move forward.

CM Augustus -  North Pointe Solid Waste sent info on subgroups such as policies and procedures. Trent will work on this.

CM Martinez – For Family Festival she is working on creating a community committee. YCC working on fundraising activities. YCC reviewed ordinance and discussed things that need to be updated or changed. Talked about ways they can work with the Council with regards to issues the youth face. YCC is also now stuffing Easter eggs for hunt. PTBR committee will be meeting on Thursday.

CM Rees - Two press releases issued, working on three more. PTBR will be working on updated master plan for parks and trails.

Discussion on Family Festival

New dates are June 3 - 8th. Quincy Lewis will be the grand marshal. Adding food trucks, such as Waffle Love and Poji Grill (pizza). 20 sign-ups for parade already. Harts will be title sponsor. Working on Family Festival committee like Pleasant Grove does. Not sure when fun run will be. Seven businesses have already committed to sponsor. Budget this year is $40,000, last year we spent $43,000 so will work to stay within budget. Greg will work with the carnival company to get better rides (not so many spinning rides). Reaching out to National Guard on participating in parade and possibly sponsoring a rock wall. In the future we need to find out when other cities have their festival so we can try to plan our Festival later, such as July.

Review/Action on Social Media Use Policy

The policy establishes a set of rules to guide communication from the City to residents via social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. It was unanimously approved.