June 17, 2014 City Council Meeting

Work Session

I missed work session; however, the audio file should be posted within the next few days if anyone wants to listen.

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Steve Gentry – Wanted to discuss possibility of a cemetery in Cedar Hills. He has been looking around for a plot but before he purchases one he wanted to know if Cedar Hills is looking at building a cemetery. Also wants to know if the city is going to build a dog park.

Review/Action Recognizing John D. Lamb as a Cedar Hills Champion

From the press release: As part of the Cedar Hills Champions program, the City Council will recognize John D. Lamb for receiving the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecture Award through Brigham Young University.

This award is the university’s highest faculty honor. In order to be eligible for the award one must be nominated and show a pattern of excellence in teaching, research, and university citizenship. BYU has approximately 3,000 faculty members and honors one each year with this award.

In addition to being a chemistry professor, Mr. Lamb has served in several administrative positions such as the Executive Director of Research, the Dean of General Education, and the Associate Chair of Chemistry. He was the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry for 20 years and has been a visiting professor for universities located in Italy and China. Professor Lamb is retiring this month after 36 years of teaching at BYU.

“We are honored to recognize Professor Lamb for his many accomplishments,” stated Mayor Gary Gygi. “His extraordinary career and contributions have made him a respected individual not only at BYU but amongst other experts in the field of chemistry.”

The recognition ceremony will take place during the June 17, 2014 City Council meeting at 7:00pm at the Cedar Hills Community Recreation Center located at 10640 N. Clubhouse Drive. June 18, 2014 will be declared John D. Lamb Day in Cedar Hills.

City Reports

David Bunker – Family Festival is next week. Swim night is Monday, golf tournament is Tuesday, service project is on Wednesday, dinner & movie in the park is Friday, the carnival is Friday and Saturday, parade and fireworks are on Saturday. Lacrosse starts tomorrow.

Mayor Gygi – Met with UDOT and County Commissioner yesterday, along with PG, regarding Canyon Road. Encouraged the County to take ownership of the road. County would not commit but we will continue to have conversations.

CM Rees – Infographic is ready, as is water conservation flyer. Will start working on State of the City. One press release issued for Cedar Hills Champion.

CM Crawley – Yard of the Month starts this month.

Review/Action on Construction of a Pergola at the Recreation Center

The City staff has been working with two different parties who will be holding events at the Vista

Room this summer. Both parties have approached the City about installing a pergola on the southwest corner of the Recreation Center. They are proposing that the pergola be located by the old golf cart path so that it will not obstruct any views from the building. The two individuals, Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Hanneman, have proposed to construct the pergola in exchange for Vista Room rentals for their respective events. Any cost, above the value of the rentals, would be submitted to the parties in golf punch passes. The building plans have already been reviewed and approved by both the building and engineering departments. Cost is $17,200. Includes electrical and landscaping. Will be made of precast resin logs. Would be paid in trade with reception rentals and golf passes. No maintenance required and lasts a lifetime. This item was approved.

Review/Action Adopting FY2014 Budget Amendments

Summary of changes:

·         10-55-300 Lone Peak Public Safety is requiring approximately $46,000 more than their original contract to cover lower than anticipated ambulance reimbursements and higher than anticipated fire truck repairs.

·         10-62-440 May and June street repairs and maintenance required approximately $55,000 more in funding to complete the schedule street projects due to the scope of the project increasing. There were some issues with the roads we had been unaware of.

·         10-45-400 Election expenses were $3,000 higher than anticipated due to election ballots being printed more than once.

·         10-64-245 The Beautification, Parks, Trails Committee was originally allocated $3,000 from the parks supplies & maintenance budget. $2,500 was utilized during the budget year, and this adjustment creates its own line item.

·         The line items above are offset by reductions in other expenditure line items, and higher than anticipated general and construction related revenues.

·         10-65-605 Youth City Council has raised $1,267 during the last two years, which needs a budget adjustment to make it available to spend each year. These funds go towards YCC activities such as Easter egg hunt, pumpkin walk, Santa’s workshop, etc.

·         40-95-103 Cottonwood Electric, Gas, & Excavation improvements are required to make the Cottonwood lots ready for sale. $10,000 is being transferred in from the General Fund and $30,000 reductions in capital project expenditures are funding the improvements. This will make the lots sellable.

·         40-95-202 Community Rec Center Pergola proposed in exchange for $17,200 in Vista Room rentals and golf punch passes.

·         10-36-802 Use of restricted fund balance of $80,000 from the General fund was utilized to fund the Avanyu projects. This was a lawsuit settlement obtained by the city for Avanyu improvements.

·         40-30-990 Use of capital projects fund balance of $30,000 to fund Driving Range fence.

·         20-35-300 Golf Fund transfers in of $30,000 to avoid potential fund balance deficit. This is in case June numbers are worse than we anticipate.

·         40-30-801 Capital Projects transfers in of $56,500 due to higher revenues than the original budget.

·         51-73-360 Meter Maintenance needs to increase to fund the higher than anticipated meter purchases in the Bridgestone subdivision. This expense is offset by meter fees collected from Garbett and Perry homes.

·         51-16-500 Woodis Development $20,000 in water related improvements.  

Budget amendments were approved.

Review/Action/ Certifying the FY2015 Tax Rate

Statutes require that each year a certified tax rate be calculated. The certified tax rate is the rate which will provide the same amount of property tax revenue as was charged in previous year excluding the revenue generated by new growth.

The County Auditor’s certified tax rate for 2014 is .002410:

General Operations: .001703 ($669,454)

Interest and Sinking Fund/Bond: .000707 ($278,020)

The County Auditor’s certified tax rate for 2013 was .002873:

General Operations: .001922 ($662,799)

Interest and Sinking Fund/Bond: .000951 ($328,020)

The tax rate was approved.

Review/Action of FY2015 Budget

Presented a summary as the budget has been discussed in depth over the past several Council meetings.

General fund overall increase $72,000

·         Public safety contracts $61,847

·         Park maintenance contract $14,650

·         Streets maintenance $4,000

·         Public works staffing changes $9,000

·         Merit increases 3% and medical benefits increase 6%

·         Events staffing changes ($17,000)

·         Election expenses ($12,000)

·         Insurance ($10,000)

·         Decisions Survey ($10,000)

·         Signs ($10,000)

Golf fund overall net increase $3,647

·         Utilities, communications, unemployment costs, credit card increased expenses approximately $21,000

·         Merit increases 3% and medical benefits 6%

·         Advertising, pro shop and maintenance cuts ($23,000)

Water & Sewer fund overall net increase $139,321

·         Storm drain improvements for maintenance shed $100,000

·         Professional fees for secondary water meters design $40,000

·         Public works staffing changes approximately $20,000

·         Supplementary water $12,000

·         Merit increases 3% and medical benefits increase 6%

·         Projected sewer costs related to Timpanogos Special Service District ($49,000)

·         Professional fees related to impact fee study ($23,700)

Capital Projects fund new projects

·         Golf maintenance shed $200,000 plus $100,000 in storm drain improvements in water & sewer fund

·         Harvey boulevard roundabout concept $300,000 using street impact fees

·         Bayhill Trailhead Park Phase 1 $50,000 using CARE taxes and impact fees

·         Mesquite soccer park bathroom and community recreation basement completed in 2013-2014

·         Motor Pool fund overall net increase $7,168

·         ATV replacement $8,000

·

Advertising for golf and community services were both reduced by $3500 to pay for a new sign on Canyon Road for the Community Recreation Center/Golf Course.

Dispatch fees were reduced approximately $1900 and that money will go into the library reimbursement fund so that more residents can receive a library reimbursement.

Budget was approved.

Review/Action on Updated Fee Schedule

Modifications need to be made to the City Fee Schedule in order to implement recommendations from the utility. The proposed Fee Schedule also shows the modified impact fees that were adopted in March, and took effect in June. Additionally, some changes have been made to fees in the Building Dept. as well as Vista Room rentals have been added to the fee schedule.

·         Residential Plan Check fee going down from 53% to 26% for unfinished basements and small projects

·         Impact Fees went down based on impact fee study

·         Water and Storm Drain fees going up based on Bowen & Collins utility study

·         Vista Room fees are updated to be higher on weekends

Fee schedule was approved.

Review/Action on Update on Fencing Ordinance

City Council has asked that staff and the Planning Commission consider modifying the current

City Code regarding fencing along a park trail. Current Code requires that fencing along trails be open fencing (open is defined as 40%). Residents have expressed interest in having private fencing options along the trail corridors, specifically Sugarloaf. The open fencing provision was originally passed to allow for more visibility and increase safety along a trail. However, there are sections of the trail that border main roads, such as Canyon Road, that a private fence would still leave the trail corridor visible. Planning Commission has reviewed the proposed code, and recommended it for approval to the City Council. The proposed code adds language in instances where the trail corridor is adjacent to a major street as defined by the Street/Parkway Fence Overlay Map normal fencing code applies. This affects residents along Sugarloaf, and Bayhill Dr.

Approved with caveat that staff will meet with UDOT to see if we can landscape along Canyon Road and that these resident must go to Planning Commission for approval prior to installing fence.

Review/Action Proclaiming Utah Local First Independents Week

Local First Utah is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization which was organized in 2005 by a small number of volunteer business owners and community minded residents. Our mission is to empower a movement to recognize the value and vitality of locally owned, independent businesses to our communities and our economy. Local businesses are, in a real sense, the backbone of any community. It is nearly impossible to imagine our neighborhoods, towns, and cities here in Utah without them. The results of the Civic Economic 2012 Indie Impact Study demonstrated that nearly four times the amount of money spent at local retailers is returned to our own economy, compared to dollars spent at national chains.

Week will be June 30^th – July 6^th. This was approved.

Discussion on Canyon Road

See mayor’s notes above.

June 3, 2014 City Council Meeting

DISCLAIMER: My notes for work session are all over the place as I was transcribing for the city minutes. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Work Session

Discussion will be on City’s irrigation system. One aspect of water system is water rights. City has well rights and rights from water coming out of American Fork Canyon. Spread these out so we don’t get all of our water from one source. We also get water from CUP pipeline. The ability to produce water comes from pumps, pipes, etc. to get water throughout the city. In 2002 the City went to a pressurized irrigation system to utilize all water resources. American Fork Canyon delivers water to Pump 10 on the Golf Course. Water from the Canyon is utilized by Lehi, Pleasant Grove Irrigation System, Cedar Hills, American Fork and Highland. From Pond 10 a series of boosters takes water to Pond #12. From Pond #12 water is pumped into the PI storage tank. Pond 12 can also gravity flow down to Pond #17, which provides water to the lower zone of the City. The issue with this water is it’s all based on the amount of water coming out of the canyon. We aren’t guaranteed to get any water from this source and it will always be divided amongst the above mentioned cities.  

Canyon Well is owned by the City but is not a culinary grade well. This gives us 600-700 gallons per minute and puts water into Pond 10. We also have the North Central Utah Project Turnout, which provides water from CUP. We also have a South CUP Project Turnout at the south end of the City. Canyon Well is our least producing well. South CUP pushes into Pond #17, typically without being pumped. If users in other cities downstream from pull more water from CUP then this has a major impact on water pressure for our residents. When this happens there is a booster station at the south end of the city that can be used to improve water pressure.

On Pond 10 we have 5 pumps that boost water to Pond 12. This pipe is used at full capacity during summer months so we cannot push any more water through the system than we already are.

Pond 18 is used to water the golf course. Water from Pond 17 gravity flows into Pond 18.

Cottonwood Well can go directly to Pond #17 when it’s in irrigation mode. It can also be turned to push water into the culinary water system and fills the lower culinary water tank, located at the south end of the city. During summer months, this well is used exclusively for irrigation water.

Harvey Well only pumps into the culinary system and fills lower culinary tank. There is a booster station on Bayhill that takes culinary water from the lower zone to the upper culinary water tank.

Cottonwood Well is 1,000 feet deep. Harvey Well is 800 feet deep. There are no guarantees that the aquifer will supply the same amount of water forever. Other wells built in other cities can have an impact on how much water is in our aquifers.

CUP allows us 710 acre feet of water.  Some years we use less and others we use more. Last year we used over 800 acre feet of water. CUP allows us to use based on a 5 year running average. If we continue to go over, CUP can cap us and stop sending any additional water for the season. It’s expensive water but it’s very reliable. We can only get more shares if there are shares available for sale. It’s difficult right now as it is split between cities and a city would have to give up shares for it to be available to others.

In 2008 we ran out of water in the PI system. We added a few wet wells near Pond 12 to boost water right into the system instead of sending it to the PI tank first.

We have the potential to add about 2,500 residents before the city is built out. A few years ago, Manila Water went out of business and the City took about 100 homes that were on the Manila system. Many of these lots are larger than the average lot in Cedar Hills and use more PI water, which impacted the system.

In the summer months we do borrow culinary water from American Fork as Lone Peak uses our culinary water to water outdoor fields.  The booster really “kept CH alive” before the Harvey Well was completely functional.  We are supposed to be balancing what we take with what we supply.  What we take out of the booster should balance out – we don’t need this and don’t have to take this during the winter.  In the last few years, we have sent much more water to the high school than we have taken.  AF City owns the shares although Cedar Hills delivers the water.  During the winter months, we have the cottonwood and Harvey well to supply all culinary.  In the summer months, we have high consumption and we utilize Cottonwood Well to feed further to the PI system.  If one of the wells went down, could we fully manage the PI system? 

American Fork has the water rights for Lone Peak, though we supply the water. We also supply water to Warinski Funeral home and the 9 AF homes in that area. Highland doesn’t want to supply the water to Lone Peak since AF owns the rights.

In the summer months, Harvey Well is the only one providing culinary water to our system. If that well went down, we’d have to have all water from the Cottonwood Well go into the culinary system, which means that we would not have enough water for our PI system. We would run out of water for the PI system.

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Anne Perkins – Lots of talk around the neighborhood about an LED sign for the rec center. Moved out of Lehi for this atmosphere. Didn’t like that LED and commercial signage was right out of their neighborhood. Like the canyon, trees, dark at night of Cedar Hills. Likes the brand of the city, but feels this signage is the antithesis of the brand we are trying to create. LED sign doesn’t fit. Talked to many residents in the area and nobody she talks to wants it. Wants to know how to make their voices heard.

Jared Perkins – Echo what his wife stated. Doesn’t want LED sign. Doesn’t feel it’s necessary if it’s for the purpose of announcements. In our day and age of social media, that is much more effective than catching a glimpse of a message on an LED sign. The LED sign has the appearance of commercial. Likes having community that is quiet and dark at night so what you notice is the canyon and trees, not commercial siganage.

Ken Cromar – Received email from Utah Taxpayers Association regarding UTOPIA and what a mess it’s been. Reminds him of our golf course and that residents aren’t informed. Feels State of the City doesn’t show year by year losses of golf course and additional burden of this new building that is a wedding reception center and golf course clubhouse. He can’t afford to use the facility for his own kids’ weddings and he’s already paying for it. Brought Daily Herald article from 2011. Says CM Rees, Augustus, and Mayor Gygi were elected based on false information of golf course being profitable. Knows there is talk of a $300,000 shed expenditure for the golf course. Feels a cemetery and parks would be a better use of golf course space.

Review/Action Recognizing CH Champions Lois Moessinger and RaLynn Hansen

As part of the Cedar Hills Champions Program, the city would like to recognize Lois Moessinger and RaLynn Hansen. Lois and RaLynn have been serving our community as crossing guards for the past decade. They have rarely missed a day of work, and have provided an invaluable service in helping safeguard the elementary school students in our community. A resolution was passed declaring June 4^th as Lois Moessinger and RaLynn Hansen Day.

Consent Agenda

Minutes from the May 20, 2014 City Council meeting were approved.

City Reports

CM Rees – Issued a press release for our Cedar Hills Champions and the Family Festival. Family Festival Committee continues to work hard. Jerianne (chair) is concerned that revenues will be down this year as some wards are at Girls Camp and one stake has a camp for all males 12 and older. This could have a big impact on our attendance numbers for this year. YCC interviews started this week.

David Bunker – Vista Room had a great year and last month was a good month for revenue. Golf Course also had good month. We exceeded revenues from year over last. Tball season starts tonight and Lacrosse starts in two weeks. Family Festival is coming up and everyone is ready.

CM Zappala – LPPSD board met. Adopted budget for FY2015. There are small increases in the budget, which increases what the city pays. Will be hiring an additional officer. Current cost to our residents is about $250 per resident per year for fire and EMS services. Had PI meter installed at his house and will start getting feedback on how they are working.

Mayor Gygi – Met with County, UDOT, and PG regarding Canyon Road. Money has been requested from Mountainland Association of Governments for Canyon Road. Currently negotiating with the County as we feel it should be a County owned road since the State is not taking care of it. Need about $10 million to make all needed fixes. Also met with Utah State Developmental Center regarding proposed master plan south of Lone Peak in Highland boundaries. It is a very preliminary plan and nothing has been approved or even yet presented to the Highland City Council. Presented to Highland City Council about the possibility of annexing all of golf course into Cedar Hills. They stated they need a few months to research.

CM Crawley – Will be having a city breakfast in August, put together by Beautification Committee. Did an analysis on PI usage and recommends water restrictions to be put in place immediately. Important to note that we listen and take seriously comments given in public comment.

CM Augustus – North Pointe hasn’t met and Finance Committee hasn’t met recently.

Review/Action on Pressurized Irrigation System Study Proposal

See notes from work session.

As part of the ongoing efforts to analyze the pressurized irrigation system to ensure the ongoing operation and proper delivery of irrigation, the City has reached out to Richard Noble of Hansen Allen and Luce. Hansen Allen and Luce (HAL) have expertise in water studies and related projects. They are currently working on several pressurized irrigation projects for communities in northern Utah County.

The analysis that would be done by HAL would look at capacity, look at production capability, and to review scenarios, such as a pump failure, a well going down, increased usage from growth, etc. This would require modeling of the system and David feels HAL is capable of doing this to make sure our system is being utilized effectively and to determine what improvements may be needed. Cost would be $10,800 and would come out of Capital Improvements Fund or Water & Sewer Fund.

We are working on implementing the education suggestions provided by the resident driven Water Conservation Committee to align with the goal of reducing our outdoor water consumption by 50%. We are currently using 3x more water than we should be per state watering guidelines.

Richard Noble presented on his proposal. This proposal would provide the city with a tool to analyze the PI system to figure out what, if anything, isn’t working. Will also review various scenarios, such as what would the operation of the system would look like if the City was using the state recommended amount of water. Will also identify if there are ways with the current system to reduce pumping costs, which is a big portion of the expense of the system. Software used is public domain so the City could do additional scenarios, if desired. Was unanimously approved.

Discussion on FY 2015 Budget

We still have not yet received the certified tax rate from the County.

Enterprise Fund Updates:

New State Auditor guidance May 9, 2014 on enterprise fund transfers, reimbursements, loans, and services. We are required to estimate value of goods or services provided to another fund based on rate charged to other similar customers, if they are material, and required to estimate value of overhead provided to the enterprise fund. Going forward we will need to add cost of water for city parks and buildings. Impact to General Fund’s parks & open spaces water usage, Capital Project’s fund-Public Works building debt service, Golf fund’s water usage.

Tentative Revenue Updates:

·         10-31-100 New growth property tax $5,000, or $7,200 overall

·         10-31-350 CARE tax $1,000 increase, or $3,000 overall

·         10-31-400 Franchise tax $5,000 increase, or $40,000 overall

·         10-31-500 Telecom tax $5,000 decrease, or $15,000 overall

·         10-34-110 Garbage fees $15,000 increase, or $23,000 overall

·         10-34-120 Recycling $1,000 decrease, $5,000 overall increase

·         10-35-110 Recreation $5,000 increase, $10,000 decrease overall

·         10-35-111 Fitness classes $7,000 decrease, $5,000 increase overall

·         20-35-100 Green Fees $20,000 decrease, no change overall

·         20-30-400 Pro Shop Revenue $10,000 decrease

·         20-35-300 Transfer/Operating Subsidy $25,000 increase, $1,853 decrease overall

·         40-30-801 CARE Tax Transfer In $1,000 increase

Tentative Expenditure Updates:

·         10-40-200 Materials & Supplies $750 increase for additional paper signage

·         10-40-260 Office Equipment $300 increase for contingencies

·         XX-XX-150 Benefit adjustments—actual bids vs. estimates approximately $5,000 decrease for all funds

·         10-50-290 Communications/Telephone $500 increase for Finance

·         10-65-300 Fitness Classes $7,000 decrease

·         10-69-910 $1,000 increase CARE tax transfer to Capital Projects Fund, $40,000 overall

·         10-69-913 $25,000 increase to Golf subsidy

·         20-43-290 Communications/Telephone $500 increase for Golf

·         20-50-200 $500 increase for Golf utilities

·         20-50-700 $5,000 decrease pro shop purchases

Significant Budget Changes:

·         Sales and franchise taxes continue increasing

·         Sales tax revenues 3.3% growth over 2013 actual #’s

·         Franchise tax revenues 2.4% growth related to Questar Gas and Rocky Mountain Power price increases

·         Certified property tax rate 1.1% new growth estimated

·         Telecom taxes 13.5% decrease shift to data plans and less main home phone lines

·         Garbage fees 6.4% increase from 2nd garbage can fees

·         $7,500 new emergency management grant

·         Approximately $50,000 of Motor vehicle fees, Delinquent taxes, and Interest were allocated to the Golf Debt Service fund from the General fund based on property tax rates

·         $100,000 of fund balance set aside for Golf maintenance shed

·         Event center/Vista room rentals budgeted growth 3.7% or $5,000, though we anticipate a higher number

·         Golf debt service property taxes reduced $50,000

·         Overall utility bill rates increase 3.7%-4.3% through 2022 per BC&A utility study in 2012

·         Water fees increase 6.4% or $35,641

·         Pressurized irrigation fees are flat

·         Storm drain fees increase 6.5% or $15,426

·         Sewer fees are flat, instead of 5.5%, despite a 13.8% increase from the Timpanogos Special Service District in 2014, because current year costs are lower than anticipated, and the Canyon road sewer project was postponed

·         Permanent full-time and part-time employees 3% merit increase

·         Health insurance costs 6.1% increase

·         Utah Retirement System projected 1.14-1.18% increase

·         Increased one full-time public works staffing position $30,000 increase

·         Fire services $37,745 increase

·         Police services $13,132 increase

·         Increased library reimbursements $3,800 increase

·         Park maintenance $18,100 increase

·         Road maintenance $10,000 increase

·         Events-concerts, cultural arts, quarterly breakfasts $4,200 increase

Discussion on Canyon Road

See Mayor’s report above in City Reports section. One option being discussed is for County to take ownership of the road and pay Cedar Hills a fee each year for snow removal services. This is still in the discussion phase.

Discussion on Commercial Zone/Proposed Highland Development

Mayor Gygi and staff have met with representatives from Alpine School District and the Utah State

Developmental Center regarding the proposed development on North County Boulevard. The proposed development is located in Highland and encompasses 143 acres of USDC land. The conceptual plan calls for approximately 1,072 units/lots as well as 7.69 acres of commercial retail and office space. The proposed development is still in its conceptual phase and has yet to be presented to the Highland Planning Commission and City Council. Cedar Hills has concerns with the current transportation layout, and how it affects our East-West corridor on Harvey Blvd, as well as the Cedar Hills Drive intersection. Also concerned about impact on local schools.

Discussion on Regulating Open Fires and Fireworks

Fire conditions appear to be better this year at this point in the season. However, Chief Freeman feels that if dry weather persists, conditions could rapidly accelerate the potential for fires. The Chief has expressed concerns that restrictions for open fires and aerial fireworks should be in place in some locations.

His suggestion is that restrictions would be limited to areas east of Canyon Road. Utah law now puts the control of restrictions directly with Cities. By resolution, the City can restrict open fires, fireworks, etc. dependent on criteria such as environmental issues (weather conditions, dry fuel loads, and escalating fire conditions), topographical considerations (mountainous terrain, brush covered areas and wild land interface) and public safety concerns (people, structures and property). Suggestion is that aerial fireworks be banned on the east side of Canyon Road.

In addition, it has been proposed that the City identify one location for residents who live in restricted areas to gather to celebrate with legal fireworks. Other cities use open parks for this activity. It would be the suggestion of staff that Mesquite Park be designated as the location to have residents gather to light fireworks if they are restricted at their homes. This way, the fire dept. could monitor one location vs. the entire east bench.

On fire pits, suggestion is west side of Canyon Road can have open fires but east side of Canyon Road there must be a cover over the fire (a screen cover).

This was a discussion item only.

May 20, 2014 City Council Meeting

May 20, 2014 Council Meeting

Work Session

Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days Royalty Presentation

Invited the Council to Strawberry Days. All the girls are seniors this year and gave a summary of their plans after high school. Rodeo royalty gave information about the rodeo, which will be held the 18^th-21^st of June.

Presentation on Pressurized Irrigation Meters by Siemens

See my notes from the previous Siemens presentation for more details. Energy Performance Contracts are to be revenue neutral and cash flow positive. New revenue or savings finance the project. Relevant legislation is State Code Title 11 Chapter 44. Have identified a few areas for Cedar Hills, including PI water metering and street lights. Investment grade audit takes 8-12 weeks, so if a decision was made soon then it should be done by the end of August. Product procurement and delivery takes 3-4 weeks, which would be end of September. Construction takes 4-6 months, which would have it completed in March of 2015. John Harrington is the State individual to make sure State code is followed and there are still some questions he needs to answer as to what happens if cost savings aren’t less than our contract payments. Base rates for PI water would be established by lot size and how much residents should be watering based on State watering guidelines. Savings include reduction in pumping costs and extending the life of the system. Right now we are using about 300% of the water we should through the PI system, which has an impact on wear and tear and maintenance of the system, and has also had an impact on pressure available for homes throughout the city.

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Nobody signed up.

Consent Agenda

Minutes from the April 15, 2014 and May 6, 2014 City Council meetings were approved.

City Reports

CM Rees – Issued a press release on Resident Appreciation Day. Family Festival info has been posted to the website and Facebook. Working on ad and press release for Family Festival. YCC interviews will start taking place soon. Working with graphic designer on city infographic.

David Bunker – Lacrosse and tball registrations both doing well. Met with Principal Bruenner today to discuss activities we can do in lieu of payment for using the fields for Family Festival and will try to work something out. Smart family is allowing us to stage carnival equipment on their property. Events are doing well. Budget open house this Thursday night at 6pm and will be discussing highlights of the budget. Timpanogos SSD had a meeting last week, the plant is finished and operational. Still working out some contract details.

CM Zappala – Grassroots Shakespeare will be performing at Family Festival.

Mayor Gygi – Meeting next week with County and PG to further discuss Canyon Road. LPPSD meeting has been rescheduled. Finance Committee met and reduced golf course revenue expectations so they are in line with current budget year. Asking for a few councilmembers to do some research on UTOPIA.

CM Crawley – Finance Committee decreased projected revenue for golf course for FY 2015. Did an analysis on PI system and will discuss during next item.

Discussion on Pressurized Irrigation Water Meters

Memo from packet: 4-15-14: Based on the recommendations from the Water Conservation Citizens Advisory Committee, a discussion should be had to consider the potential means to fund the committee recommendations. Metering of the pressurized irrigation water city wide, as identified by the committee, is an important step in resolving long term water consumption conservation goals. The City Council should consider the Water Conservation Committees recommendations and determine if the recommendations, including metering are to be implemented. In order to facilitate a metering project, identification of costs, project schedule, and funding ability will be necessary. As has been previously discussed, the Siemens Group has identified one avenue to facilitate the project if approved by the council. Another avenue would be to self-fund and bid the project as a typical capital development within the city. The council should discuss the merits of each, if metering were to be implemented.

See notes from Work Session. David Bunker presented this portion. We have a good portfolio of water rights and don’t need to purchase more right now. Our restriction is capacity. In order to put more water through the system we would need to upgrade pipes and pumps to handle capacity. This would cost several million dollars. Last year we installed a meter to track usage for the entire city and we used approximately 300% of the amount of water we should have based on State watering guidelines. Last year we had a 10% increase in power costs for PI system. Next work session will be devoted to discussing the PI system so we can discuss in further detail.

Review/Action on Resolution Declaring May as National Military Appreciation Month

Memo from packet: Both chambers of the U.S. Congress have adopted a resolution calling for Americans to recognize and honor U.S. service members during May's National Military Appreciation Month. The Senate first passed a resolution in 1999 designating National Military Appreciation Month. That declaration summoned U.S. citizens to observe the month "in a symbol of unity, to honor the current and former members of the armed forces, including those who have died in the pursuit of freedom and peace."

I hope that in future years we can combine this with our Resident Appreciation Day and have some events, such as a community breakfast, focused on Military Appreciation Month. Resolution passed unanimously.

Discussion on Decisions Survey

Survey has been updated per last Council meeting, with updated questions and options to choose from. Swimming pool question data was based on Lindon pool data. CM Zappala would like to see a wider range of values for residents to choose from.

Discussion on Sign for Golf Course on Canyon Road/Bayhill Drive

Memo from packet: During the work session of City Council on 5/6/14, concept drawings for a street side sign at the northwest corner of Canyon Road and Bayhill Drive were presented. Currently a non-lit wood sign is in place. However, the existing sign needs repair and has been deemed less effective for proper directional identification of the City’s community center and golf pro shop. Based on feedback from residents in the area, the preference is to eliminate the LED portion of the sign. A modified base and newly designed sign will be presented for discussion and further direction from the City Council.

New sign is about 9 feet, removed the LED portion, and upper sign will have lights internally so it’s visible at night. Sign emphasizes Cedar Hills and not so much the events and golf course. Will get more resident feedback.

Discussion on Boundary Adjustment of Golf Maintenance Shed and Portion of Golf Course

Memo from packet: The city has evaluated the condition of the golf maintenance shed and found several areas which present possible deficiencies. As part of the potential improvements, permits may be required. The maintenance shed and lower portion of the golf course are on land owned by Cedar Hills within the city limits of Highland. The City Council should discuss the merits of boundary adjustment of the land owned by Cedar Hills from the city limits of Highland to the city limits of Cedar Hills.

Representatives from the City of Cedar Hills will continue from this meeting to the Highland City

Council meeting (tentatively at 8:00 pm) to also discuss the issue with city leaders from Highland City.

This boundary adjustment would bring the maintenance shed and the rest of the golf course into our city, which eliminates any liability that Highland would have for this property.

Council Meeting - May 6, 2014

Work Session

Discussion on Community Recreation Center Sign on Canyon Road

Better sign needed for direction and to bring more awareness to the facility. Funding was approved for this in the FY 2014 budget. Options were presented for signs on Nielsen and on Canyon Road. Proposed sign for Canyon Road has LED portion for advertising of events and announcements. My preference is to not have the LED portion as this is a residential area, not commercial, and I feel the LED would give it too much of a commercial feel. I would like to get feedback from those who live in that area as to how they feel about the LED portion. Right now our sign ordinance does state that the following is prohibited “ANIMATED OR FLASHING SIGN: A sign that includes movement or optical illusion of movement or rotation of any part by mechanical, artificial or atmospheric means or a sign that displays flashing or intermittent lights. Time and temperature devices and banners and flags shall be exempted from this definition.”

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Angela Johnson – Blu Line has done their homework and she’s excited to see what is proposed to Highland. She is opposed to high density housing in our commercial area and wants it primarily commercial. Feels high density is contrary to design guidelines and city codes. We lose sales tax revenue and commercial property tax revenue if residential is built there. Feels Highland development will make our commercial area more attractive to commercial entities. We have very few businesses that generate sales tax and doesn’t want us to eliminate potential for future commercial growth. Would also like commercial developed before any mixed use development.

Deborah Gibbons – Have obtained 176 signatures on a petition asking that the Council not allow high density in our commercial zone. Wants us to stick with design guidelines that residential is secondary to commercial, and less than the commercial. Feels it is not appropriate use of our limited commercial space.

Budget Award Presentation

From the press release: On March 28, 2014 the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) presented the City of Cedar Hills with the GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR).

According to the GFOA, this certificate “is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.” This is the first year that Cedar Hills has received this certificate. The CAFR was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of GFOA’s program, including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the financial report.

“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 fortunate to have excellent people working for the City and are happy they are being recognized for their hard work and dedication.”

As the person responsible for preparing the award-winning CAFR, Finance Director Charl Louw will be recognized at the May 6, 2014 City Council meeting, which is held at the Cedar Hills Community Recreation Center, 10640 N. Clubhouse Drive, at 7:00pm.

The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional association serving over 17,500 government finance professionals throughout North America.

Consent Agenda

The minutes from the April 1, 2014 City Council Meeting were approved.

City Reports

CM Rees – The Easter Egg hunt was once again a huge success and we thank the YCC and all volunteers who spent hours putting eggs together. Mayor Gygi and I presented awards to YCC members at Lone Peak at the Night of Recognition. I will be working with the YCC advisor and staff member to interview candidates for next years YCC members. The Family Festival Committee continues to be very busy. The activities will be as follows: Saturday June 21^st is the AF half marathon and 5k, Monday the 23^rd is Swim Night at the PG pool (dinner will be provided by Macey’s), Tuesday is the Firecracker Golf Tournament, Wednesday is our first annual Community Service Project where we will be assembling hygiene kits for women in Mexico, Friday is the 1 mile fun run, Dinner & Movie in the park, and the Carnival, Saturday is the parade and carnival. The theme is “There’s No Place Like Home”. Nathan Osmond will be performing Saturday night and kicking off our summer concert series. Herb Wilkinson is our Grand Marshal. One press release was issued regarding the awards earned by our Finance department.

David Bunker – TSSD board met and approved a rate increase beginning July 1^st of 13.8%. This is to meet debt obligations. Tball registration continues through this week. Soccer registration is now open. Resident Golf Appreciation Day is this Saturday. Governor Herbert has declared May Utah Golf Month.

Mayor Gygi – Met with County Commissioners regarding Canyon Road and will meet again to discuss ownership of the road. He will be attending Highland Council meeting to make a proposal for annexing property where the golf shed is currently located.

CM Crawley – Parks and Trails had their service project last Saturday. Chose 5 families in need for landscaping service. There were several volunteers who participated. Finance Committee met and discussed changes in budget that will be presented tonight.

CM Augustus – One staff member at North Pointe has resigned after making allegations regarding other staff members. Will have more info later.

CM Geddes – Planning Commission met and those items will be discussed tonight.

Discussion on Decisions Survey

Staff updated the City Council on the timeline and process to complete the Decisions Survey as prepared by the Cicero group (Dan Jones & Associates). This is a bi-annual survey done to get feedback from residents on a variety of topics. It is intended that the feedback can be used for decisions moving forward. Last survey was done in 2011. Sending a postcard will allow every resident the opportunity to take the survey online. Goal is 300 interviews, though more is always better.

TIMELINE:

1:            April 28 - May 2 Review and Update Questionnaire

2:            May 5 - 9 Program, QA, and Pretest. Design Postcard

3-4:        May 12 - 16 Field Questionnaire, May 19 - 23 *Phone *Email * City of Cedar Hills sends postcard

5:            May 26 - 30 Post-coding and analysis

6:            June 2 - 6 Reporting

Review/Action on Preliminary Plan for Amsource Property, located on the corner of North County Blvd and Cedar Hills Drive

Nobody signed up for the public hearing. Amsource has submitted preliminary plans for review to the City Council for consideration. The Amsource property is located at 4800 W Cedar Hills Drive. The proposal includes the construction of an American First Credit Union, and an additional two retail pads. Amsource has submitted the required studies to the City, and paid the application fee. Amsource is hoping to break ground as soon as possible in order to have the retail pads open for the coming holiday season. The credit union is planned for 2015. Bill Gaskell from Amsource presented. They currently have retailers interested in the two retail buildings and leases will be completed once approval is received.

Of concern to the City is the construction of the access road that runs adjacent to the Smart property and the Amsource property. The entrance to that road is on the Smart property, but staff recommends that the road should need to be installed in order for Amsource to build according to their plans. Amsource is currently discussing this with the Smart family. They are willing to acquire that portion of land needed for the road. Chief Freeman’s concern is that currently the only access point to the area from the Cedar Hills fire station is from North County Blvd onto 10400 North.

Preliminary plans were approved contingent upon two of the crosswalks being raised and additional landscaping along 10040 North and the future road.

Review/Action on FY 2014 Budget Amendments

Motor Vehicle Fee, Delinquent taxes, Interest re-allocation based on property tax rates. In the past, motor vehicle taxes, delinquent taxes, and penalties & interest have all gone to the General Fund. Instead it should be going to the Golf Fund as the property tax rate for the General Fund is different than the tax rate to cover the golf course bond. This shows as a separate line item on resident property tax notices. Those three tax sources are based upon debt levy, so this will be separated moving forward.

General Fund

10-31-150            Motor vehicle taxes $36,410 decrease

10-31-200            Delinquent taxes $9,930 decrease

10-31-250            Penalties & Interest $166 decrease

Golf Debt Service Fund

30-31-103            Motor vehicle taxes $36,410 increase

30-31-104            Delinquent taxes $9,930 increase

30-31-105            Penalties & Interest $166 increase

Revenue adjustment from construction related activities, grants, and garbage collection

General Fund

10-32-200            Building Permits $25,000 increase due to Bridgestone project

10-32-210            Plan Check Fees $7,000 increase due to Bridgestone project

10-33-450            Emergency Management Grant $7,500 increase

10-34-110            Garbage Fees $20,000 increase due to houses with 2 or more garbage cans

10-34-120            Recycling fees $5,000 increase due to new growth

Capital Projects Fund

40-30-100            Impact fees-park development $32,000 increase due to Bridgestone

40-30-110            Impact fees-park land $110,000 increase due to Bridgestone

40-30-130            Impact fees-public safety $13,000 increase due to Bridgestone

40-30-140            Impact fees-streets $7,000 increase due to Bridgestone

Water & Sewer Fund

51-37-350            Impact fees-water $35,000 increase due to Bridgestone

51-38-115            Sewer fees-nonresident $35,000 increase due to meter relocation

51-38-160            Sewer lateral inspection $1,600 increase due to Bridgestone

51-38-670            Impact fees-sewer $15,000 increase due to Bridgestone

Higher activity for event rentals, recreation programs, and change in staffing

General Fund

10-35-112            Event center rentals $15,000 increase

10-35-130            Park reservations $2,500 increase (this is a newly created account)

10-65-110            Salary & wages (FT) $38,280 decrease due to elimination of a position

10-65-120            Salary & wages (PT) $9,000 increase as replaced FT person with PT person

10-65-150            Employee benefits $6,700 increase

10-65-200            Materials & supplies $8,000 increase for linens and blinds

10-65-300            Rec expenses-fitness classes $28,000 increase as contract was finalized after budget approved

10-65-400            Rec programs $7,000 increase in gym rentals

10-65-401            Rec equipment $15,000 decrease

10-65-601            Other events $1,500 increase for summer concert series

10-65-610            Advertising $2,950 increase for wedding expo and contract with Sammy

10-65-620            Building maintenance $8,000 increase in cleaning and maintenance

Golf adjustments due to higher utility costs and trades for services

Golf Fund

20-30-500            Snack shack & concession revenues $5,500 increase

20-43-290            Communications/telephone $1,000 increase

20-50-200            Utilities $10,000 increase (expected savings in electric bill for new carts wasn’t realized)

20-50-500            Snack shack & concession expenses $4,500 increase

20-60-100            Repair & maintenance-course $4,000 decrease

20-50-100            Golf supplies $5,000 decrease

20-70-100            Dues & subscriptions $1,000 decrease

20-30-600            Corporate season passes $22,500 increase

20-60-100            Repairs & maintenance-course $7,500 increase

20-70-600            Advertising $15,000 increase  

This item was approved.

Review/Action Adopting Tentative Budget for FY 2015

The City reviewed the revenues and expenses proposed for the Golf Fund for the 2014-2015 Budget. The City is also required to approve a tentative budget for 2014-2015 by the first Council Meeting in May based on Utah Code 10-6-135. As the Council is aware, the final budget will not be approved until June, so there is still time to review any questions or concerns. Here is a summary:

New or Increased Expenses

·         Fund 10 & 51 public works full-time staffing approximately $30,000 combined increase

·         10-62-440 Road maintenance increases $10,000

·         40-78-732 Harvey boulevard roundabout $300,000 (This is a placeholder as it hasn’t yet been researched or presented to the Council. Would be paid for with impact fees).

·         Fund 51 Secondary meters design, installation, and related financing $1,500,000 (This is also a placeholder as more research needs to be done). Requested that Siemens come present to the Council again and also get an analysis on what it would cost for the city to do it on our own.

·         10-55-400 American Fork Police annual contract increases 3.5%

·         10-55-300 Fire Services-Lone Peak increase estimated at 4.2% but still waiting for LPPSD board approval so number could change

·         Fund 10, 20, and 51 City employee merit estimated increase 3%

·         Fund 10, 20, and 51 Employee healthcare market estimated increases 6%

·         40-95-135 Golf maintenance shed $300,000 (This is a placeholder as bids need to be obtained)

·         10-65-601 Other events/Cultural Arts Committee—concerts, quarterly breakfasts, $4,200 increase

·         10-64-245 Beautification, Recreation, Parks, and Trails Citizen Advisory Committee projects $1,200 increase

·         10-64-240 Park maintenance contract increases and new projects $18,100 increase

·         40-80-817 Bayhill park phase 1 $50,000 (would include a playground area towards the street and some grass in that area, on the south side of the lot)

·         51-73-330 Professional/Technical for water to increase $40,000 (This is a placeholder to cover costs of design and study for metering PI water)

Reduced or Eliminated Expenses

·         Allocation of motor vehicle fees, delinquent taxes, interest causes $50,000 decrease to debt levy property tax rates 30-31-101 & 30-31-102

·         Fund 51 delayed Canyon Road sewer project decrease $400,000

·         51-74-470 absorbed TSSD rate increase of 13.8% or approximately $63,000 increase in costs, and delayed Bowen & Collins sewer rate increases for 1 year

·         10-40-331 Decisions survey $10,000 decrease

·         10-40-510 Insurance $12,000 decrease (General Liability insurance and property)

·         10-45-400 Elections $12,000 decrease

·         10-40-305 Legal services $5,000 decrease

·         10-40-240 Computer/IT services $3,000 decrease

·         10-40-290 Communications/Telephone $5,000 decrease

·         10-69-913 Subsidy to Golf fund reduced $26,853 (I have requested that this go back to the Finance Committee. I am worried that anticipating golf revenues higher than last year and a subsidy lower than any prior year is unrealistic and puts us in a bad situation late in the budget year of having to cut other items in order to cover a higher than anticipated subsidy).

This was approved.

Discussion on Blu Line Proposal

Doug Young and Blu Line have presented a potential proposal to the Planning Commission regarding the property located at 4600 W Cedar Hills Dr. Doug has held a neighborhood meeting and has solicited feedback from staff, residents, Planning Commissioners, and City Council members in order to address the various concerns raised by this project. Doug would like to continue that discussion with the City Council tonight. The current proposal has reduced the number of units to around 250, and removed the 4th floor.

Chandler has contacted the Utah County Assessor regarding how the facility would be taxed. Previously it was indicated that it would be taxed at a commercial rate, which is how it is taxed in Salt Lake County. Utah County has indicated it would be taxed at a residential rate, not a commercial rate. There was misinformation provided in past meetings as to how this facility would be taxed as the information obtained wasn’t clear.

Blu Line is planning on bidding on acquiring property on the Highland side in the development recently approved by the State. Likes the proposal for an east/west connection to Highland as it will improve access to our commercial area. Blu Line is willing to pay for an economic analysis for the Smart property and city-owned property to determine how the property could be developed and to figure out what actual possibilities exist, just as was done on the Highland side.

Resident Deborah Gibbons provided the Council with a petition signed by 176 residents who are opposed to high density/residential in our commercial area.

CM Zappala – Likes idea of having a street from the Highland Development into the middle of our commercial area better than what State has proposed. Plans on speaking with Alpine School District to discuss their concerns regarding the Highland area proposal. Encourages Blu Line to do their development of a senior facility on the Highland side as it’s a better fit for what they are trying to do. CM Zappala has highlighted some key points in City Code regarding our commercial zone. His complete analysis can be found on his blog at http://cedarhillsblog.org/another-review-of-city-code/ and I encourage residents to read it. Feels our code needs to be updated to be more clear as it doesn’t discuss congregate care facilities and whether or not they are/should be allowed and where.

CM Augustus – Has spent a lot of time researching options for our commercial area. Many entities expressed that our commercial area is less than ideal due to our location and limited pull radius. Everyone he has talked to indicates that our area is not prime commercial real estate. Best possible location is right along North County Blvd. The Smart property is the least likely area for commercial development as it can’t be seen from main road and will be behind any businesses located on North County Blvd. Lexington Heights building has a difficult time keeping tenants and building full. Commercial doesn’t always bring commercial, especially in that back lot. Limited as to what types of businesses will want to be there as it’s hard to compete with Walmart. Looking for something that is viable for that area.

I appreciate Doug’s willingness to listen to feedback from the Council and from residents and to make changes. However, I agree with concerns that Daniel brings up with regards to city code, but I also agree with Trent that this isn’t an ideal commercial spot. I recognize that I sit at this table to represent residents and I can’t ignore a petition signed by 176 residents and all of the residents who’ve reached out via email and in neighborhood meetings. I haven’t seen overwhelming support for the facility but have received a lot of feedback opposed to high density and opposed to this facility. There are concerns regarding the code and regarding the location, but the number one driving factor for me is resident input and 98% of the feedback I’ve received from residents has been opposition to high density or mainly residential in the commercial zone.

CM Geddes – Feels this is a good facility and good for this area. Understands that many residents are opposed but feels many who signed the petition may not be fully informed. Feels government should be less involved and property owners have rights. Feels a lot of time has been wasted.

Discussion on Canyon Road

Nothing has changed from the last update.