Council Meeting
Public Comment
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Public Hearing
A public hearing was held for amendments to the Fiscal
Year 2016 Budget and, Adjusting the Common Boundary between the City of Cedar
Hills and Pleasant Grove City (Wilson and Day Properties).
Nobody signed up.
Consent Agenda
The consent agenda was to approve the following: Appointment
of Elizabeth Paul and Greg Gordon to the Cultural Arts Citizens Advisory
Committee, and to approve the minutes from the July 21, 2015 and the August 4,
2015 City Council Meetings, and the August 13, 2015 and the August 20, 2015
Special City Council Meetings. These were all approved.
City Reports
David Bunker - TSSD has not met since last Council meeting. Soccer is going well. Flag football registration is closed and we have 8 teams. LPHS has done a great job spreading the word on this. Mulan play practice is now happening and will be performed in November. YCC is preparing for the year.
CM Geddes - Utah Valley Dispatch building is still being discussed. They will not need additional money than what was originally budgeted.
CM Zappala - There will be a special meeting next week for LPPSD.
Mayor Gygi - LPPSD board meeting was cancelled, as was MAG meeting. County Auditor decided to allow vote by mail cities to combine ballots so the sales tax option will be on our vote by mail ballots. Lt Governor's office intervened and helped with this compromise. This will be on the 2015 ballot. He had hoped it would be on the 2016 ballot so that we all had more time to research this item. There will be a large county-wide education campaign on this issue.
CM Crawley - Golf Course Finance committee will meet this week. They are still finding new things to discuss.
CM Augustus - Nothing new to report.
CM Rees - I have received feedback from staff on the State of the City but am waiting for any Council feedback. I need to have files to the graphic designer this week. The Arts Council meets next week and I'll have an update then on their next community projects.
Review/Action on a Resolution Authorizing the Issuance
and Sale of Excise Tax Revenue Refunding Bonds
Financial advisors and bond counsel attended the meeting
to discuss the potential savings available if the city opts to refund the
Excise Tax Revenue Bonds, Series 2006. Charl Lowe (city Finance Director presented). These bonds we are talking about are the bonds taken out for the Public Works building. Jonathan Ward with Zions Bank presented. Interest rates are low and there is an opportunity to refinance some debt at lower rates. These are some of the lowest rates seen in 20 years. The original bond was for a term of 25 years with average interest rate of 4.43%. Potential negative is that we extend the date of when we can pay off early without a penalty; however, one option is a direct purchase, which gives greater flexibility on the prepayment feature. Direct purchase bypasses underwriter to access investors. We can either request bids or go directly to an investor. It's about a 1-3 month process. Pros of direct purchase are lower upfront costs, flexible prepayment terms, no SEC governance, shorter processing time. Cons are purchaser makes specific terms and conditions, higher interest rates, and limited fixed rate maturity. JP Morgan has indicated they would be willing to purchase these bonds at a fixed rate.
JP Morgan has given some preliminary numbers on a Direct Purchase with backend savings, the all inclusive interest rate would be 2.537%, with a net present value savings of 13.23%, equal to $220,949. Backend savings means we accelerate debt service and realize the savings at the end by shortening the life of the loan. This would reduce the debt by 4 years. Payments until then would be the same as what we are paying now.
Marc Edminster with Lewis Young presented as well. Process is the same as outlined above by Jonathan. He recommends that we bid it out to several different banks to see who gives the best offer. JP Morgan may not be the best deal. He doesn't think interest rates are going to go up as we can't sell the bonds before the Fed meets. Feels our best strategy would be to wait and reduce the negative arbitrage as the savings aren't significant. Within a few months there will be a better idea of where interest rates will be. The closer we get to prepayment date of July 1, 2016, the greater the reduction of the negative arbitrage. Mayor Gygi agrees that we don't need to rush into this.
Charl feels that if we can lock in a better rate now then we should. He doesn't think we will find anyone who can beat JP Morgan.
David Shaw (city attorney) asked to hear from Brandon Johnson, bond counsel for Zions, on how the Council can approve a resolution when most of the documents addressed in the resolution are missing. These are supposed to be on file with the city at time of approval of the resolution. Brandon said they are in substantially final form. These are typically not sent in advance but brought at the time of the meeting. Says there is nothing in the documents that locks the city down in any way. Mr. Shaw recommended our legal counsel review those documents before final approval.
CM Zappala asked Charl who he would recommend. Charl said he likes both financial advisors. Feels Jonathan has done a lot of work for the city without much reward. He would recommend Zions for this transaction because they were proactive, did the homework, and came to us first.
CM Crawley stated we should go with Zions and use their approach because they came to us and had done this research, and this doesn't lock us into anything. Made a motion to approve the resolution for the reissuance of bonds with the requirement that it come back to the Council for final approval instead of allowing one person to negotiate terms (in the resolution it gave that authority to the city manager). Seconded by CM Geddes. This was approved 3-2 with myself and CM Zappala voting nay. I voted no for two reasons. 1. The resolution wasn't complete and I would like the city to be able to review all the associated documents. 2. Our prior resolutions that have dealt with refinancing have allowed the mayor and city manager to negotiate terms and receive approval from the Council informally, instead of needing to wait for Council meeting. I would've liked to review all documents prior to approving a resolution, even if it doesn't bind us in any way.
Review/Action on the Canvass of the Election Returns for
the Recount of the 2015 Municipal Primary Election
Pursuant to state law, it is necessary for the City
Council to act as the board of canvassers and to canvass the election returns
of the recount of the 2015 Municipal Primary Election. After a recount was
requested it was determined that there is a tie for sixth place. According to
state law, a tie is broken by lot, such as a flip of a coin. Colleen (city recorder) had the Council canvass the new results. Candidates Brian Miller and Craig Clement agreed to the process of drawing cards. Brian Miller's card was selected so he will advance to the General Election.
Review/Action on Adoption of an Ordinance Adjusting the
Common Boundary between the City of Cedar Hills and Pleasant Grove City (Wilson
and Day Properties)
On July 21, 2015, the City Council adopted Resolution
07-21-2015A, indicating the intent to boundary adjust the Wilson property (4547
North 900 West, Pleasant Grove) and the Day property (4495 North 900 West,
Pleasant Grove) from the municipal jurisdiction of Pleasant Grove City to the
City of Cedar Hills. In accordance with
UCA 10-2-419, a public hearing was held, and in that no protests have been
filed with the city recorder, the code requires that the legislative body adopt
an ordinance approving the adjustment of the common boundary. This was approved.
Review/Action on Awarding a Contract for the Community
Recreation Center Concessions
The City recently advertised the request for proposals
(RFP) from qualified food vendors to provide and operate concessions and food
services at the grill. The city received one proposal from Mr. Cameron Burr. He
has been involved in the management of food services for over 8 years and
currently operates a food truck called Genki Asian Street Food. Staff
recommends the council review and consider the proposal from Mr. Burr to
provide food and concession services. Staff opinion is that the contract will
be beneficial and the sooner the city engages in a contract, the sooner
services will be provided which will benefit the vendor and the City both short
term and long term.
At the last City Council meeting staff was directed to
get together the following week with Mr. Burr and to review his proposed
catering menu and get together with both Mr. Doyle (Golf Manager) and Ms. Scott
(Events Manager) to make sure they were on board with the menu and supporting
Mr. Burr’s new venture. Staff met with Mr. Burr on August 31st and
reviewed the menu and talked through any and all questions. Everyone is
comfortable with Mr. Burr’s experience and marketing plan and are eager to work
together to make this a successful venture in the grill space. Catering is
vital to the success of the tenant and Mr. Burr is eager to execute his plan
and has even stressed that he will be willing to make whatever request the
clientele will want work and he will exceed their expectations. Staff will make
it a point to make them our #1 preferred caterer.
The concern was brought up that the contract states we receive a percentage of profit, yet doesn't define how that is calculated, which could mean the vendor could increase his salary as revenue increases in order to keep profit low. The motion was made that the percentage should be based on revenue with a lower percentage determined by city manager and the vendor. This was approved.
Review/Action on Adoption of a Resolution Supporting the
HB362 (2015) Authorized 0.25% Local Option General Sales Tax Dedicated to
Transportation
HB 362 as approved by the State Legislature contains two
main provisions. The first is a Gas Tax Reform measure that will convert the
24.5 cent-per-gallon gas tax to a 12% sales tax on the state average rack price
of fuel. This will take effect January 1, 2016 statewide. The other provision
is for a local option Transportation Sales Tax allowing counties to enact a
0.25% general sales tax for transportation. It would be allocated as follows:
·
0.10% to the Transit Provider
·
0.10% to cities, towns and unincorporated county
areas
·
0.05% to the County
The local option Transportation Sales Tax will be
included on the ballot this fall as approved by the Utah County
Commission. The proposed resolution
memorializes the City’s support of the local option general sales tax dedicated
to transportation, and encourages residents support the proposal. Initial
estimates detail the increase of the Gas Reform Measure and the Local Option
Sales Tax would generate an approximate amount of $150,000 annually for the
City of Cedar Hills.
Commissioner Bill Lee presented. He has a few areas of concern. The ballot measure talks of transportation needs, but 40% goes to UTA, which is $7 million from Utah County on a yearly basis. Feels the County has a priority problem when it comes to transportation needs. Roads need to be addressed and should be a high priority. He asks us to vote against this resolution. He wants go back to the State Legislature and ask them to remove the portion that goes to UTA and have it instead go to the County. CM Crawley asked how much of this increase would fund BRT. Lee said none of it would go to BRT. CM Zappala asked if Commissioner Lee would properly rebuild Canyon Road as we have requested on multiple occasions. Lee said he is in favor of rebuilding that road, but they only build to County standards. This doesn't include things such as curb and gutter. I commented to Commissioner Lee that one of our biggest road concerns is Canyon Road, yet the County has been very clear that they will never view it as a priority, so I don't feel much confidence in his proposal that the tax increase go to the County where they will distribute based on need as they have been very clear they will never view our needs as a priority. Commissioner Ellertson specifically stated in a previous meeting that he would reject any money offered by MAG to improve Canyon Road beyond the current standards. CM Zappala asked why the County standards were so low but did not receive a response. Mayor Gygi expresses concern that if this doesn't get approved it will not be brought up again at the State level and no increase in transportation funding will occur. Commissioner Lee said if it doesn't come back up at the State level then cities could issue a GO Bond to get needed improvements to their roads.
CM Augustus is opposed to raising taxes as he feels that the State and County to re-prioritize expenses and figure out how things will get paid with money already coming in. Expressed frustration over government waste, especially with regards to transportation.
CM Zappala said gas tax hasn't changed in 18 years. Because we haven't addressed this issue, revenue has been falling for years. He is concerned that with expected population increase, if we don't invest in public transportation then we are going to see Los Angeles type congestion. Says you can't build your way out of congestion.
My concern is that the State won't readdress this, especially if Salt Lake County approves it and Utah County doesn't. The County isn't proposing anything better that benefits municipalities by suggesting they control the funding and they certainly aren't considering reducing expenses or prioritizing city roads. We are using more of our General funds every year for road maintenance and we can't sustain this for long without raising city taxes or we will end up in a similar situation that Pleasant Grove is in. We need to do better for planning for future needs, especially as our expenses go up each year but the property taxes collected stay the same. I agree with CM Zappala that this is a better way to allocate funding for roads than what is currently happening. ULCT, our lobbyist, is advocating for this option as well as a good solution for municipalities.
This was rejected 3-2 with myself and Zappala voting aye.
Review/Action on Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Title
9, Chapter 1, Article C, Relating to the Board of Adjustment
State law dictates that a member of the City Council should not be appointed as a member or liaison to the Board of Adjustment. We are updating our city code to comply with state code as it is currently written to appointment a member of the Council to this board. CM Zappala asked for this item to be tabled until we've had legal review. This was agreed to.
Review/Action on Approval of Vista Room Resident Rates
At the City Council’s request in a previous meeting Mr. Bunker, Ms. Scott, and I met with Mayor Gygi, Council Member Rees, and Council Member Geddes to discuss the proposal that staff had put together and there were differing opinions on our proposal so it was decided that they City would send out a survey to our residents via the Parlant system to solicit feedback on what they felt were appropriate/affordable rates. Staff had recommended the attached resident rates, however based on the feedback the City Council will receive from the survey it is up to the discretion of the Council to propose and accept what they feel is appropriate. Depending on what the Council decides we may need to increase our budgeted labor as the number of events will be increasing dramatically for less than our original projections. Staff will be happy, as we always have been, to work with our clients to exceed their expectations.
I would like to stick with my original suggestion of $20/hour for all rooms for Monday and Tuesday nights so as to open it more to residents to use frequently. I would like it to be affordable for every resident in our community these two nights a week so that it becomes more of a Community Center for anyone in our city who wants to use it. We can try it for a year and if it isn't working then we can adjust.
The motion was made to do the $20/hour for a period of 6 months and have staff provide information on how it is affecting the bottom line. This was approved.
Discussion on the Re-design of the Roundabout located on
Cedar Hills Drive
The Parks & Trails committee has asked for $1,000 to hire a landscape architect to look at beautifying the roundabout on Cedar Hills Drive. Their proposal includes raising the center of the roundabout two feet and planting evergreen trees in the center. Boyd Wilkins, the chair of the Parks & Trails Committee, presented. They feel it would be a welcoming entrance to the city. Would like more lighting, a water feature, and varying elevations and landscaping. I brought up the fact that the lady doing our free gardening classes has offered to design this and we should contact her first. My concern is that we have two parks on our capital projects plan that have been there for some time and while the roundabout beautification would be nice, it's unusable space. I would prefer that we complete the parks and trails on our capital improvements plan before spending a lot of money on the roundabout, which CM Augustus and Geddes have guessed would cost around $75k. This was only a discussion item so no motion was made.
Review/Action on a Resolution Adopting Fiscal Year 2016
Budget Amendments
The proposed amendments are as follows:
- $80,000 increase for 10-61-310 Engineering Services relating to the Lakeshore Trails subdivision and Amsource commercial development. $80,000 increase for the offsetting 10-32-260 Miscellaneous Inspection Fees.
- $175,000 increase for 10-69-910 Transfer to the Capital Projects Fund and $175,000 increase for 10-30-801 Transfers to the General fund to maintain the unrestricted fund balance in the General fund below 25% of revenues, which is required by law.
- $8,000 increase for 20-30-500 for concessions revenues and $8,000 increase for 30-50-500 increase for concessions costs.
- 40-80-822 approximately $1,000 in fees for a landscape architectural plan for the roundabout on Cedar Hills Drive under the direction of the Beautification, Recreation, Parks and Trails committee. Unrestricted fund balance in the capital projects fund would be used to pay for this plan.
- 40-80-817 Bayhill Park construction adjustment of $72,593 to $381,204 estimated by Bowen Collins. The amount required varies substantially depending on the final proposal approved by the City Council. Unrestricted fund balance from the capital projects fund and the potentially the general fund would be utilized depending on the amount of the adjustment. The modified proposal prepared by Bowen Collins, which would require an additional $211,224.00 in funding has tentatively been provided.
Motion was made by CM Augustus to adopt the amendments but to strike the everything related to the refunding of the bond until this reaches final approval and the $1000 for the landscape architect. This was approved.
Discussion on Adopting a Policy on Authorized
Communication with the City Attorney
Previous discussions have indicated that there should be a policy in place on when/how the staff and Council should contact the attorney in an effort to reduce legal expenses, which has been high over the past few months. Currently, if staff wants to reach out to the city attorney they must first go through the city manager. CM Zappala said his primary concern is the current contract goes up to 20 hours for a flat rate then hourly after that. He feels we should renegotiate our contract for unlimited number of administrative hours at a higher flat rate. I mentioned that there are some items considered litigation that are not included in that flat rate and we'd still need to be careful to know that those conversations would be billed separately and at a higher rate.
