Work Session
Public Comment
DeAnn Nielsen - Serving as liaison between Temple Shadows and the city. Would like a two-way dialogue so she can keep their board informed. There is a drainage issue from the roundabout going south into Temple Shadows. Feels this could be a problem as there isn't a drain or outlet there. Would like this to be on a future agenda. Will attend Council meetings as needed in her role as liaison. David Bunker added her to the distribution list to receive Council agendas via email.
Discussion of Design Guidelines
Went through a proposed list of uses to indicate whether they should be considered conditional or permitted. The list was pulled from what other cities have in their conditional and permitted uses.
Discussion on Council Retreat
The Council came up with a list of priorities for FY2017. David Bunker will work with executive staff to come up with plan to implement these items and will report back to Council each month. We will also have one work session each month dedicated to reviewing the monthly management report.
Council Meeting
Public Comment
Mr. Cromar placed his camera in an area not allowed by city ordinance. He was asked by officials, staff, and residents in attendance to move his camera to the area allowed by city ordinance, but he refused.
Ken Cromar - Read from a letter he wrote to the city attorney and also posted to his website. Wants litigation hold on all city email until he can determine if he is going to take legal action against the city. Says he has no reason to believe he has received all documents he has requested through GRAMA. Made several allegations against elected officials and city staff.
Ken Hansen - Has been a resident for 11 years and loves it here. Has seen many things. Thanks Mayor & Council for responsible governance of our city. Expressed support. Has debated with some of officials, but supports officials. Thankful for obedience to the laws, and the ordinances of the city. Thanked Council for looking after best interests of the city. Officials have support of the city.
Charelle Hagen - Encourages the city to uphold ordinances. Representatives spend a lot of time creating ordinances and there is a process to change. Thanks Council for resolutions passed to protect AF Canyon. Does not favor personal attacks on officials when it gets to the point it affects their family. Attended City Council Retreat on Friday. Appreciates time Daniel Zappala put on creating survey for commercial zone. Feels it is easy to conduct surveys. Snowbird is trying to develop in canyon and it would've saved a lot of headache to conduct a survey of what residents would want. This is where she struggles, when she was brought up to speed it was in panic mode. Never underestimate influence of serving on the City Council. Asked Council to represent constituents. Find out what residents want. What happens in Canyon will affect residents more than commercial zone.
Consent Agenda
Minutes from the December 1, 2015, January 5, 2016, and January 19, 2016 City Council Meetings were approved. Bill Knowlton and Ali Garbero were appointed to the Beautification, Parks, and Trails Committee.
City Reports
David Bunker - Ski bus starts this Saturday. Utah County Health Dept has seven week course for seniors on how to remain active and healthy and will be held at the Community Center.
CM Bailey - Arts Committee would like to host an activity on the 20th of February. More info to come.
CM Zappala - LPPSD met, but Mayor will report on that. Has spent most of his time going through Design Guidelines and Zoning Ordinances.
Mayor Gygi - LPPSD voted a new chair and vice-chair. Tim Irwin will be chair and CM Zappala will be vice-chair. Dealing with some personnel issues and replacing vehicles.
CM Rees - Family Festival Committee met and began discussing plans for events. Week will be May 31st through June 4th. No activities will take place on Monday as it's Memorial Day. The website has been updated with dates and will continue to be updated as things move forward. Parks and Trails Committee met to discuss their plans for the year and will be coming to the Council soon with their requested budget.
CM Crawley - North Pointe Solid Waste met and elected a chair for upcoming year. Appointed a UASD board member alternate (Commissioner Ellertson). Discussed fences for their facility to keep people from coming in.
CM Geddes - Utah Valley Dispatch began construction of new facility in Spanish Fork.
Review/Action on Amendments to FY 2016 Budget
- $10,000 increase to 10-40-220 Newsletter & Utility Billing processing costs and to 10-34-300 Processing Fees (processing fees offset cost)
- $2,000 increase to 10-40-221 Legal Advertising and increase 10-40-305 Legal Services $29,500 for Feb-June Legal Retainer fees, $70,500 for potential litigation, $5,945 for Eric Johnson’s golf related legal services, which is offset from $92,945 in unrestricted fund balance and $15,000 increase in building related revenues. These revenues mostly relate to solar permits. Mr. Johnson's portion will be carved out of this until we come to an agreement on his invoice.
- $2,000 increase to 10-45-400 Election Expenses offset by $2,000 increase in building related revenues. Increase in expense came from recount requested during the primary election.
- $20,000 increase to 10-60-215 Contract Labor offset by the higher volume in 10-32-200 building permits and 10-32-210 plan check fees.
- Sources and uses related to the refunding of the 2006 Excise Tax Bonds and the issuance of the 2015 Excise Tax Bonds to capture net present value savings of $208,949. 40-99-101 Other financing use—Payment to Escrow $1,826,563, 40-99-102 Bond Issuance Costs $23,757, 40-99-105 Other financing source—Refunding bonds issued $1,644,000, 40-14-165 Use of Debt Service Reserve Fund $176,320 and 14-14167 use of the Bond Fund $30,000.
This was approved.
Presentation by Snowbird Related to AF Canyon Watershed
Public Comment
Marisa Wright - Has concerns on water and public easement through Snowbird property. Went to County Commissioners meeting last week and spoke about Yankee mine. No real studies have been done regarding enormity of pollutants. Mr. Bonar brought to the meeting the studies. She asked for them to be made public, but they have not yet been made public. Yankee mine is in area Snowbird wants to expand. Mines can be disturbed. Says Mr. Bonar said it's OK as long as you don't step on the dirt. Feels this is an indicator the area is fragile. Wants to know how Snowbird is going to prevent people from stepping on the dirt. There are so many mines up on Snowbird property that need to be cleaned up. This is a huge issue for the quality of our water. It could contaminate water. Wants Council to put pressure on Snowbird.
Mark Allen - Started Protect and Preserve American Fork Canyon. Over past nine months he has made several GRAMA requests which paint a picture that concerns him. One came from an email sent to Mayor Gygi and was about a land swap. This concerned him as he was told Mayor didn't know about this until late last year. Also included a letter from Snowbird's attorney with more details. Feels that there are more emails or attachments that should have been included in his GRAMA request. Worried about Yankee mine. Half a million gallons of water could be contained in that mine. Says Snowbird cleaned up only a small portion of their mines. Encourages Bob Bonar to join with EPA to clean up entire six acres. If it's cleaned up then most of the issues go away. Property was purchased with prescriptive easements and can't displace locals without violating these easements.
Divo Hagen - Thanks Council for service and time. Wants to know why Snowbird has requested to do a presentation to city officials. Wants officials to think about what is going to transpire in the Canyon and that we do all we can as a city to make resident voices heard. Council represents the will of the residents of Cedar Hills. Wants Council to do all in power to represent the desires of the city. There is not an agreement that Snowbird should be allowed to make changes they want to make. Secondary issue is making it safe if the project is even something residents want. First should figure out what residents want for the Canyon. Feels his commute will be encumbered by changes in canyon. He's opposed to changes. Wants to know Council has listened to residents and are doing all it can to represent will of residents.
Jason Goates - Thanks Council for public service. Has gone through GRAMA requests. Information is disconcerting and there are holes in information provided. Went to earlier meeting in American Fork where Snowbird also presented today. Everyone in Cedar Hills needs to be concerned and needs to raise questions on watershed. Most studies by Snowbird were done 15-20 years ago. Wants to know why they feel this is enough. Risks of Yankee mine far outweigh the odds. Doesn't want to see something like what happened in Colorado happen here. Risks do not outweigh the odds. Wants to know who is responsible if something catastrophic happens, wants to know if there is a plan in place. Says Mr. Bonar has said he wants to be open in his processes, but he doesn't feel like there has been transparency or openness. Feels there needs to be more of a public setting where Snowbird hosts a meeting. Access, rights of way, and water are big issues.
Mayor Gygi wanted to correct some things that had been said about him. On GRAMA or email retention, the legal document he received was a pdf and he provided everything he was sent via email. Another question that came up was a letter drafted by staff on behalf of the Mayor, and he brought a copy of the letter for Mark if he wants it. Feels Protect and Preserve is losing credibility. Would like to know who the admins/moderators of the Protect and Preserve Facebook page are and what the vetting process was to determine who was given authority. Wants to know how Mr. Allen fact checks what is said as it opens him up to liability of slander. Feels Mr. Allen needs to apologize to all those who have been slandered on his Facebook page. There is a reason Mr. Allen banned four people from his site. Protect & Preserve website says they don't have a board and wants to know why they don't. Board should keep them on track. Seems to have a philosophy that it doesn't matter what people do, but what they think or what you think they are going to think. Everyone knows his views on AF Canyon, he likes the idea of a gondola. But he's never come to the city as mayor and told the Council to get behind that idea. There was a group that went to Europe and he said no as he felt it would be inappropriate. He didn't receive any campaign contributions from Snowbird. The only thing P&P can say is they don't like the way he thinks. Cedar Hills is never going to vote on this issue. What he feels is ironic is that he helped create a committee to study the impact on AF Canyon but Mr. Allen destroyed that committee. Now hears Mr. Allen wants to create a committee to do this. He could have asked for a seat at the table and would have been given one, but he didn't go that route. Learned that a leader that makes corrections is given respect. People who don't make corrections lose trust and respect. This is not his fight, it's Snowbird's fight. Everyone on the AFC Vision Committee was honest in their approach.
Bob Bonar presented on behalf of Snowbird. He is the president and general manager of Snowbird. Thanked Council for service. Everyone is concerned about water quality and they care about it everything they do. Presentation tonight will address water quality concerns. If intent is to keep Snowbird from doing anything on their private land then presentation will not be meaningful. Their proposal right now is relocating one ski lift in Mineral Basin. They have two ski lifts in Mineral Basin and have had for 20 years. Want to relocate a net capacity to one of those lifts. Other part of proposal is to add two lifts to their private property in Upper Mary Ellen Gulch and also add a zip line to one of those lifts. Proposal does not extend to AF Canyon, will not have impact on traffic. Also includes ancillary skiing facilities, like a warming hut.
Neil Arts presented on behalf of Snowbird. He has a PhD in Renewable Natural Resources and has been in environmental consulting field for 25 years. Has staff of six people. They do environmental impact and compliance reviews for governmental agencies. Have completed close to 100 major analyses of this type. Majority regarded winter sports developments of some kind. Has maintained a good reputation. Has commitment to objectivity and sound science. Mining related water quality issues are not new. Started in 70's and gained traction in the 80's. A no-further-action remedial plan was made by EPA in 1995 and 2002 for AF Canyon mines. Partnered with Snowbird to create a remediation plan for areas of concern. Dutchman Mine repository was completed in 2003. Took contaminated materials and gathered them into a repository. Left main issue of Upper Mary Ellen Gulch mines, including Yankee mine. Studies identified mine tailings in the area. Recommendation from Forest Service, with EPA agreement, was to leave pilings in place because there isn't a good spot for repository. Mine tailings that aren't close to water bodies aren't a priority for EPA. Snowbird started building a ditch to keep water away from the tailings. In 2008 with help of Forest Service, Snowbird put in more active drainage system to make sure drainage continued to fall away from mine. Has met most rigid standard. Most metals in AF River were reduced significantly, reductions from 50-80%. Snowbird met all standards required by the State, it just improved from the standard. Dilution of contaminants in AF Canyon also naturally occurs from snow pack runoff. The further down the Canyon you get, the smaller amount of metals found. There has never been an exceeding of standards below Tibble Fork. Some misinterpretations have arisen through this process. First is that there is a need for more studies. They have looked at 14 studies completed from the 1990's through well into the 2000's. There have been about 1000 water quality samples run. Believes the situation is well understood and has been well studied. Those responsible for safeguarding resources say all that should have been done has been done. Another concern has been that it will reduce water quantity. Proposal does not include any change of water quantity. Big consideration is ground water recharge. There are bedrock aquifers in the canyon. Most recent USGS studies show the water quality here is highest quality water in the region. Water drainage in the Snowbird area meets standards, and continues to be diluted of contaminants as it reaches the mouth of the canyon. If there were going to be issues with water quality, it would have occurred before the remediation efforts happened. Another concern that has been brought up is potential affects on PI water. Current reports show that there would need to be a significant increase in metals in order for it to be labeled a concern, more than what would come from this development. Snowbird has operated for 50 years in Little Cottonwood Canyon under magnifying glass of Forest Service and SL County and water quality testing done in that canyon shows Snowbird has been consistent with good water quality. Another concern brought up was the disturbance of mines. Equipment should not operate on the tailings. Right now people ride ATV's and motor vehicles in the area and there is no regulation of contact with those materials. One of Snowbird's mitigation efforts will be to eliminate access to the tailings. Another concern has been avalanche control programs created by Snowbird. Avalanches are naturally occurring in the canyon and don't generally disturb soil surface. Snowbird's proposal is to keep snow on the mountain, not to push it to the bottom so would have less potential to cause damage. Another concern is how to monitor if something went wrong. Snowbird has developed a monitoring plan to look at metals in the area to establish a baseline, then continue for 10 years to make sure area is stable. Snowbird is willing to extend this beyond 10 years. Another concern has been a plug in Yankee mine. Says that claim is speculative. Water accumulates in the mine and drains out. Whatever is in the mine tunnel is not going to be affected by this project. They are staying away from mine and tailings. If something were going to happen to affect water quality, it would have manifested before remediation projects were done. Well within standards by the time water gets to the mouth of the Canyon. This project does nothing to alter the risk that exists today or tomorrow.
CM Zappala asked if this information is in a report that is publicly available. The answer was it has been summarized and provided to the County.
CM Crawley criticized Snowbird. Feels they have paid AFC Vision and several politicians, as well as for this study. Hasn't seen an outside independent voice on these studies. Dr. Arts said his stock in trade is to follow scientific standards and he has done so. He has done EIS studies.
CM Geddes asked if CFS includes Mary Ellen Gulch, Dr. Arts said it only includes property of the project being proposed. Clarified project will be entirely on the private property. Mr. Bonar said the system is setup to require the developer to hire out the studies.
I asked about prescriptive easements and public right of ways. Mr. Bonar said they have made their property available for private and motorized use and are committed to continuing that use on County Class D roads. This applies to historical uses on Class D roads. Snowmobiling is a safety problem for them, so won't include snowmobiling.
Marty Banks presented on behalf of Snowbird. Has worked on conditional use permit. Surveyed the area and there are four small areas that are considered Class D roads. In winter it may necessitate a seasonal closing in areas near the ski area, but the other areas where there aren't any conflicts, they've made commitment to let public continue to use those areas.
CM Crawley asked Mr. Bonar about Mayor Gygi's involvement and statement that he didn't know about land swap proposed by Snowbird and Mountain Accord. Feels Snowbird used Mayor Gygi in the process. Feels it was disingenuous to use Mayor Gygi. Mayor Gygi reiterated that he didn't know of land swap discussions. Mr. Bonar said they have been working on land swap on both sides of mountain for many years. There have been public meetings, it was in the newspaper, there has been a lot of knowledge of these discussions starting with Congressman Matheson's Wilderness bill many years ago.
CM Bailey asked if there is any possibility of water contamination from tailings that exist from current use of the property. Dr. Arts said if you recreate on the tailings then yes, it could impact water supply. CM Bailey worries about contaminants getting into aquifers. Wants to know what safeguards are in place to eliminate pollutants in canyon that could impact water quality. Dr. Arts said there isn't a way. Said worse area is in a naturally occurring area in upper gulch area. Says project regulates some recreational use and project does not directly or indirectly affect tailings piles. Having more access and more presence to the area allows for better monitoring. Dr. Arts said it would take a lot to clean up all tailings. Would need a capable access road, then find a repository in the valley. Bottom line is that all tailings in the West are a ticking time bomb, but experts say to leave them be if you aren't running equipment on them. CM Bailey asked what the impact on use in the area will be. Mr. Bonar said most of public use occurs in summertime and is a few ATV's per day. After it is developed he feels the use will be similar to Mineral Basin. Feels track record in Mineral Basin with ski lifts built 18 years ago, which has mine tailings, show no negative impact on water quality. CM Bailey expressed concern that increased use could lead to contamination. Dr. Arts said access would be contained and kept away from tailings.
CM Zappala asked about zoning put in place to allow for this type of use and what role Snowbird had in zoning for the area. Said his understanding was that a zoning change was made to allow for a project like this. Mr. Bonar said he's not prepared to answer that question. CM Zappala said he read through materials given to Utah County and one concern was with view shed, which Snowbird indicated would be small. CM Zappala feels they don't address impacts of view shed on recreational uses on public lands. It isn't inhabited land, but people use the area to recreate. Mr. Bonar said he understands ski towers change the viewscape. CM Zappala asked how Snowbird balances the impact for those recreating on public lands. Mr. Bonar said they would work to have it better blend with the existing landscape. Forest Service has made recommendations on how to do this. View shed analysis that was done included a 10-mile radius from proposed project. A basic tenant of a view shed analysis is dependent on the number of people who will be affected. Says there is one campground, no heavily used roads. CM Zappala asked about AFC Vision process and what Mr. Bonar's opinion of that process is. Mr. Bonar said he is supportive of those processes. He wanted to be involved as there are a lot of user groups in AF Canyon. He would be happy to participate in a process but won't be the one suggesting it. Won't revoke his application for a conditional use permit for a ski lift.
Mayor Gygi quoted Carl Fisher of Save Our Canyons, Mr. Fisher said AFC Vision was the solution, not the problem. CM Zappala said residents would be happy to have a Mountain Accord type process.
CM Crawley asked if Snowbird will take responsibility for liability if something fails, like what happened in Colorado. Mr. Bonar deferred to his attorney, who said that Yankee mine has been in existence for some time and been owned by several entities. Utah Dept of Environmental Quality would be involved in a catastrophic event to determine the cause of the failure as that would be on the list of responsible parties (was it an owner or user of the land?), then DEQ would assess ownership duration and responsibilities during that time, then allocate responsibility among all parties.
I asked if Snowbird was intending on building the ski lifts before AFC Vision had completed their process and Mr. Bonar said they were planning on waiting until the process was over. I asked if they would be willing to hold off until the County can create another group to do this process if they were planning on waiting anyway, but Mr. Bonar said no. I asked if they would be willing to release all water quality reports to the public so that those with concerns can read through them. He said they have been provided to the County and can be requested from the County.
Discussion on Temporary Ordinance and Completion of Amendments to General Plan and Design Guidelines
Postponed for next meeting as it was discussed during work session.
