City Council Meeting - March 15, 2016

Public Comment
Joe Phelon - Discussed sign ordinance. Requests approval to place temporary signs in public areas to let residents know where and when caucus meetings will be held. Shouldn't be viewed as political if it is open to all political parties. Signs would be removed day after caucus. This is allowed by city code and will be allowed.

City Reports
CM Rees - Members of the Parks and Trails Committee have met with someone in the city who is interested in redoing the roundabout on Cedar Hills Drive as part of an Eagle Scout project. Staff has expressed some concerns with the project because of the number of utility lines going through the roundabout and the issues that surround making significant changes. We will discuss in our meeting this week and I will report back to the Council. Family Festival Committee continues to work on Family Festival.

David Bunker - ULCT semi-annual training in St. George is the first week of April. Rec department will be adding pickleball and a soccer tournament to the Family Festival. Easter Egg hunt is coming up. Golf course is open. Emergency Mgmt meeting was a huge success with over 300 attendees.

Mayor Gygi - Finance Committee met and items discussed will be discussed during budget session in Council meeting. LPPSD met and is dealing with employment issues.

CM Geddes - Utah Valley Dispatch met but he was unable to attend. No big issues discussed.

Consent Agenda
Minutes from the February 16, 2016 City Council meeting were approved.

Discussion on FY 2017 Water & Sewer Fund and Excise Tax Debt Service Fund
Bowen, Collins, and Assoc (BCA) was asked to look at how the city could finance PI meters if the city decided to go in that direction. BCA looked at several options and provided the city with four alternatives. The following comes directly from the BCA report:

Alternative One - No PI Meters
Our understanding is that the City has not made any final decisions with regards to installing PI meters in the City. For comparison purposes, the option to maintain the PI system without metering secondary use is included in this analysis.

Alternative Two - Install PI Meters Immediately, Pay with 5-year Bond
The City could reasonably plan for the design and installation of PI meters City-wide within the next calendar year and finance the project with a 5-year bond. This alternative uses a preliminary 5-year 
amortization schedule provided to the City by Lewis Young Robertson & Burningham (LYRB). Debt service payments would begin in either fiscal year ending (FYE) 2016 or 2017 and last for 5 years.

Alternative Three - Install PI Meters Immediately, Pay with 10-year Bond
The City could also potentially finance the project with a 10-year bond. This alternative uses a preliminary 10-year amortization schedule provided to the City by LYRB. Debt service payments would begin in either fiscal year ending (FYE) 2016 or 2017 and last for 10 years.

Alternative Four - Install PI Meters in Future, Pay with Cash Reserves
The final alternative would not require the City to take on any more debt, but would delay the timeline of the project substantially. Because current revenues from pressurized irrigation rates exceed the costs of paying for the PI system (including O&M, existing debt service, and other capital improvements), the City could deposit the excess revenues into reserves and pay cash for the $1.5 million metering project at some point in the future. While estimates will vary somewhat based on water needs, other capital improvements, growth (or lack thereof) within the City, and the current balance of cash on hand, BC&A has determined that this alternative would push the implementation of the PI metering project into the future approximately 10 years1 (FYE 2025) using the updated PI rate model.

The financing for options 1 and 2 would look like this:

BCA believes that installing PI meters would result in a savings in capital improvements and O&M. Again from their report:

Aside from smaller miscellaneous PI projects that would be required, the City anticipates the need for repair and replacement of several irrigation pumps over the planning window. Due to the additional wear and tear on the PI system from overconsumption, it has been assumed that approximately $300,000 of capital improvements would be required approximately every 5 years, beginning in FYE 2019 if meters are delayed or not installed. If PI meters are installed, capital costs for irrigation pump replacement will decrease substantially. It has been assumed that once PI meters are installed, approximately $150,000 (one half of $300,000) of capital improvements would be required approximately every 10 years, also beginning in FYE 2019.

There are also likely to be significant O&M savings that must be considered in the case that PI meters are installed. BC&A has estimated that approximately $70,000 in utility costs can be saved per year once PI meters are installed, due to decreased pumping demand in the system3. Over the estimated 20-year life cycle of the PI meters, these annual savings will total approximately $1.4 million.

Considering only the costs discussed in this memorandum, the net costs of each alternative are as follows:

• Alternative 1 - $1.2 million
• Alternative 2 – $581,340
• Alternative 3 – $705,425
• Alternative 4 - $1.6 million

In the short term, Alternatives 1 and 4 have less of an impact on the City’s cash flow into and out of the water fund. As expected, implementing PI meters immediately (Alternatives 2 and 3) will have an impact on the City’s short term cash flow, but due to O&M savings over time, have a net cost lower than the other alternatives.4 From a financial perspective, Alternative 2 is the most attractive option over the long term, and by about FYE 2030 is the least expensive option.

The entire BCA memo from January 2016 can be found on my Council blog here.

Questions I would like staff to research:

• The State has indicated they may mandate water metering and recognize they would need to help pay for this. I'd like to hear from ULCT as to what they think is happening with this. Mayor Gygi said he has talked with some legislators and ULCT and the Governor's office seems anxious to move forward but legislators are non-committal. 
• Some residents have expressed they feel that we would not see a reduction in usage now that residents receive an electronic statement and can auto pay. Some feel that people will just let the bill pay process be automatic and not reduce usage as they aren't paying attention to changes in monthly bills. I'd like to know what other cities who have implemented PI metering are seeing as far as reduction and if they handle utility bills the same way we do.
• I would like to see the study done by BCA where they determined savings realized by other cities to determine if we are doing an apples to apples comparison. I recognize this may be something we have to do, but it's going to be an unpopular decision and I want to be confident that anything we do is going to fix the issue we are trying to fix. I know many residents are frustrated feeling that the city bonded for PI system with the understanding residents could use as much PI water as they wanted at a flat rate. We now realize this isn't feasible; however, we need to make sure any new projects have a high probability of realizing the savings we are expecting.

Highlights for the Water & Sewer Fund for FY 2017:

• $711,032 wages and benefits
• $534,038 Timpanogos Special Service District (Sewer Charges)
• $399,000 principal payments on debt service
• Extra principal payment of $22,000 on 2009 Utility Revenue Bonds
• $225,512 interest and trustee payments on debt service
• 2006 Utility Revenue Bonds refunded with issuance of 2014 Utility Revenue Bonds for a $402,777.04 net present value benefit
• $294,037 Rocky Mountain Power electrical costs
• $202,349 water purchases—Central Utah Water Conservancy District, Pleasant Grove Irrigation Company, American Fork
• $78,856 excise tax bonds debt service allocation (Public Works building)
• $68,376 motor pool charges
• $68,103 storm drain maintenance
• $66,075 professional services for well rehab, utility rate study, and financial software
• $59,140 meter installation and maintenance--Bridgestone

Here is a helpful utility rate comparison with other nearby cities:

One of the reasons our rates are higher than most is because other cities collect much more in impact fees than we do, especially now that we are almost built out, so we are accruing for future O&M needs that won't be paid for with impact fees. Here is a comparison of impact fees collected:

In the 2012 study, gradual rate increases were proposed by BCA from 2013-2018 to cover estimated operating & maintenance costs for rehabilitation or replacement of system components, plus capital improvements, and debt service (pay as you go philosophy):

• Culinary water rates increase 6.4% a year
• Pressurized irrigation (PI) rates remain flat
• Sewer rates increase 5.5% a year
• Storm drain rates increase 6.5% a year
• Total utility increase 3.7%-4.3%

BCA Recommendations:

• Recommended storm rate increases decline from 6.5% to 6.0% 2022-2025
• Recommended sewer rate increases stays at 5.5% through 2025
• Recommended pressurized irrigation rate stays flat through 2025
• Recommended water rate update depends on alternative chosen to deal with water consumption
• Alternative 1—Status quo, no secondary meters and no additional wells
• Water fee increases 6.4% annually through 2025
• Alternative 2—New secondary meters $1.5 million w/five-year bonds at 2%
• $900,000 used from unrestricted net position and $600,000 from bonds
• Water fee increase the same until year 5, then 8.0% decrease
• Costs city approximately $230,000 less than alternative 3 annually
• 33% less demand
• $70,000 in power savings per year
• $45,000 in pump and equipment cost savings per year
• Alternative 3—Additional well and updates to pumps, pipelines $3.5 million
• Water fee increase additional 8.0% first year, and 5.8 % second year, 6.4% each year after that
• Timing Changes
• Old Town retention project moved from FYE 2016 to FYE 2020 $400,000, PG irrigation may change timing and scope
• Canyon road sewer moved from FYE 2014 to FYE 2021 $400,000
• 4000 West sewer moved from FYE 2016 to FYE 2020 $250,000
• 4600 West sewer moved from FYE 2018 to FYE 2020 $400,000*
• *Projects may be adjusted based on timing of road projects
• Migratory meter read project to continue through FYE 2017
• Other projects
• Harvey well chlorination station FYE 2020 $80,000
• Cottonwood well chlorination station FYE 2020 $60,000
• Cedar Hills drive sewer upgrade FYE 2020 $400,000
• Sewer outfall line extension FYE 2021 $500,000**
• **Following the SECAP study, sewer projects timing will be refined
• Additional capital improvements from 2012 study
• New Jet/Vacuum truck for FYE 2018 $300,000
• Storm drain improvements for golf maintenance building for FYE 2016 $100,000
• Irrigation pumps at Pond 10 and 12 will be adjusted, if necessary
• Harvey well replacement FYE 2025

Finance Director is requesting that we separate debt service from capital projects fund. Here are details on the reasons for this, per GASB:

• Capital projects funds are used to account for and report financial resources that are restricted, committed, or assigned to expenditure for capital outlays, including the acquisition or construction of capital facilities and other capital assets. Capital projects funds exclude those types of capital-related outflows financed by proprietary funds.
• Debt service funds are used to account for and report financial resources that are restricted, committed, or assigned to expenditure for principal and interest. Debt service funds should be used to report resources if legally mandated. Financial resources that are being accumulated for principal and interest maturing in future years also should be reported in debt service funds.
• Excise Tax Debt Service Fund
• Move debt service related to Public Works building from the capital projects fund to a debt service fund for budget purposes
• Combine debt service fund with general fund for financial reporting purposes

Staff also provided information on creating a special fund to cover expected litigation costs:

• Alternative for budgeting volatile transactions like litigation and tort claims, which may allow the general fund to have more consistent legal expenses year to year
• Governmental Immunity Special Revenue Fund
• Create a risk insurance fund that funds and tracks litigation and tort claims
• Maximum tax levy rate allowed is .0001 or $42,982 in the current fiscal year
• May require truth-in-taxation, if combined aggregate rate exceeds certified tax rate
• Budget as a special revenue fund to manage and combine with general fund for reporting purposes
• Only increase property taxes if significant litigation expenditures are expected the next fiscal year, and/or current year litigation drains general fund reserves
• Amount allowed for tax under Tort Liability/Governmental Immunity 63G-7-704(2)(c) is 050 0.000100, which for us is equal to $42,982.

Questions I have for research:

• This year the State Legislature made some changes to cities bonding for judgments against cities. I'd like to know how this affects us if we do lose in any litigation and the pros and cons of going in this direction instead of creating this new fund. David Shaw is going to provide the Council with further information on this new law.

Discussion on Changes to Zoning Ordinance and Design Guidelines
We had a joint meeting with three members of the Planning Commission tonight. CM Zappala gave a brief overview of changes that were made to Design Guidelines. Has tried to remove duplicate language also found in city code. Language in introduction and vision are mostly unchanged from original document. Districts have been better identified. Zone for Walmart was updated to Neighborhood Retail as it is a high-intensity use. Use table has been completely updated and is based on use tables from other cities, especially PG and Provo. Still needing feedback from legal on changes that have been made to allowed uses. Residential uses now have very specific guidelines for density and location (ex: only allowed on second floor). Planning Commission a lot of valuable feedback and these suggestions/changes will be incorporated in to the document.

City Council Meeting - March 1, 2016

Work Session

Sent project to MAG for a traffic signal at the intersection of Cedar Hills Drive and Canyon Road. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) with MAG rates all the projects they receive requests for to determine which ones they will fund. This is an annual process and the funding varies each year based on what they receive from the federal government. This year MAG had about $40 million to allocate but approximately $200 million worth of projects were submitted for their review. Their emphasis is on regional projects and areas that are safety issues. Our project received a score of 68 out of 105, which puts it as a Tier 2 level as defined by MAG. It is unlikely that our project will be funded by MAG as the Tier 1 projects will consume their available funds for the year. David Bunker will continue to work with the County on Canyon Road improvement requests. We sent a letter to the County in partnership with Pleasant Grove suggesting some improvements with the two cities being willing to take on some maintenance, but so far, we have not heard back from the County on whether or not they are going to do any upgrades now that they own the road. CM Zappala suggested we also discuss with the County placing a sign redirecting large trucks to North County Blvd instead of Canyon Road in order to make it more safe and help the road last longer. David will discuss with the County.

Current property tax rate is .002315. Mayor asked for a review of revenue if the tax rate was dropped to .0019. The certified tax rate keeps revenues consistent year after year, even though expenses rise with inflation. Fire expenses have increased from $178,015 in 2006 to $675,000 expected in 2016. Police services increased from $276,943 to $406,368 in the same 10 years. We do get a great deal on our public safety services. Saratoga Springs pays $2.8 million/year just for police and they have a population of approximately 23,000. Their fire budget is around $400,000. Expenses have also increased for programs such as Family Festival, recreation, park expenses. Projects in the Capital Projects Fund rely on unrestricted fund balances year after year. Staff feels reducing the tax rate this significantly would require the city to stop offering some services, would negatively affect future planned projects, and would delay maintenance projects. This could put us in a similar position other cities are facing, such as Highland and PG, with roads not being maintained and services being cut.

Council Meeting

Public Comment
Ken Cromar - Has received a lot of abuse and has not received an apology. Cedar Hills Chat Room Facebook page shows that bearing of false witness is a problem. People don't understand what happened at Golf Course meeting, which was a hostile environment and he's never received an apology. Wants to know if Mayor has anything to say to correct the record or to apologize to him. Adds his voice to Curt Crosby and Sam Bushman in asking for the Mayor's resignation. Says he is unfit to be Mayor.

City Reports
David Bunker - TSSD met last month. Main topic was replacement of several of high speed blowers that change out air at sewer plant. Blowers that were purchased with plant expansion are having multiple issues and need to be replaced. March 8th is the annual emergency preparedness meeting. Notifications have been sent out through flyers, emails, and social media. The meeting will be at 7pm. Golf Course is now open. Jr Jazz went well. Adding a summer Minecraft Video Game Design class, which is being organized by Code to the Future. Advertising for this will start going out soon.

CM Zappala - LPPSD met and changed the structure of the executive committee, which changes operations on day-to-day basis. Cedar Hills will oversee fire budget, Alpine will oversee policy budget, and Highland will oversee operations overall. Working on better operational manual. Has been working on revising General Guidelines and we will be discussing later in the meeting. Changes have been made based on feedback by interested parties.

CM Rees - Parks & Trails Committee met and discussed plans for the year. Day of service is to work on roundabout on Cedar Hills Drive, and this will be held on May 14th. They will be removing some of the existing vegetation, raising the center, and planting new plants and flowers.

Mayor Gygi - Addressed what Mr. Cromar said. Last Council meeting we changed the ordinance regarding recording meetings, which benefited Mr. Cromar. If Mr. Cromar feels an apology is needed then they should meet together and determine what apologizes need to be made on both sides. Mr. Cromar challenged him to a debate on Sam Bushman's radio.

CM Geddes - Utah Valley Dispatch did not meet this month but he went to look at progress of the building.

CM Bailey - Arts Committee hasn't yet met and may be struggling.

CM Crawley - Read statement stating he feels the city was wrong limiting Mr. Cromar's ability to record meetings. Feels the city was wrong to create the original ordinance and was wrong to stop the meeting to discuss having Mr. Cromar removed. Says we have an obligation to stand up and defend the Constitution. He has seen Mr. Cromar harrassed for exercising his freedom. He apologized to Mr. Cromar and said his vote would be for the city to do so. He is going to do better standing up and defending the Constitution.

Mayor clarified that the original ordinance was created because meetings used to be held in a small room in the public safety issue and there were some issues with placement of cameras and safety for residents needing to exit the room. Now that we meet in a larger room the ordinance was unnecessary and the change was made.

Review/Action on 2016 Budget Amendments

• General Fund: 10-40-305 Legal Services increasing $100,000 for contracted services and $2,500 for ETJ Law (former attorney). This will be paid with unrestricted funds from the General Fund.
• Water & Sewer Fund: 51-16500 Water Improvements-Motor replacement for Cottonwood well requires up to $50,000 with the use of equity. The current motor is not working and needs to be rebuilt. New motor would be about $8000 more and wouldn't be ready for eight weeks. The rebuild will take 8-10 weeks, which means this well won't be available as a backup for the PI system. Hopefully this won't be an issue as demand isn't as high earlier in the summer and we anticipate higher runoff from the snow this year. CM Crawley suggested we keep a replacement motor always available. Staff indicated that the motor is quite large, so we don't have space to store it and don't have the ability to move it as it requires a crane. Motor is about 3 feet in diameter and about 5.5 feet tall. 

This was approved.

Discussion on FY 2017 General Fund, Golf Fund, and Golf Debt Service Fund
Items in updated budget include list of priorities from Council retreat in January.

Residents will need to vote this fall on whether or not to extend the CARE tax, which goes to arts and recreation. This is an added 1/10 of 1% on sales tax items. Things that have received CARE tax funds in our city include:

• FY 2011-2012 Heritage Park Basketball Court
• $36,245 Project—CARE tax allocation $24,938
• FY 2012-2014 Community Center Basement
• $385,917 Project—CARE tax allocation $122,840
• FY 2013-2014 Mesquite Soccer Park Bathroom
• $76,856 Project—CARE tax allocation $41,175
• FY 2015-2017 Art’s Committee Events
• CARE tax budget allocation $6,000 per year
• FY 2015-2017 Bayhill Park
• $464,224 Estimated project—CARE tax allocation estimated $80,621
• FY 2016-2017 Heritage Park Improvements
• $50,000 Estimated project—CARE tax allocation estimated $37,000

General Fund - Significant Changes

• Certified property tax new growth estimated $5,000-$20,000
• Motor vehicle tax increase estimated $5,000
• Sales tax revenues three-year average increase estimated $48,000
• Telecom general revenues estimated decrease $10,000
• Class C Roads restricted revenue estimated increase $25,000
• Garbage and recycling estimated increase $8,000 (based on usage, not fee increases)
• Processing, printing & postage fees increase $5,000
• Recreation programs increase $10,000
• Event center rentals increase $15,000
• Overall General fund revenues increase $110,935 or 2.85%

Wages and Benefit Changes

• Permanent employees proposed 3% merit increase $22,000
• Market analysis adjustment, potentially needed
• Health insurance premiums estimated increase 10%-12%
• PEHP dental insurance premium estimated 5%-10% increase
• Elected Officials’ alternative for life insurance $30 stipend option
• No change in rates proposed by the Utah Retirement System
• $9,000 set aside for health & dental benefit changes

Preliminary Street Maintenance Plan

• Public works is looking to use HA5 overlay road treatments this spring. It is a high density mineral bond surface treatment that extends asphalt life, and has a nice look. Ideally it is applied 2-3 years after a road has been paved to get the maximum benefit.
• The Cedars J-2 and J-3 subdivisions and the Meadows subdivision are on next year’s schedule to receive maintenance.
• Bayhill drive, Cedar Hills drive, Cottonwood drive, and Box Elder drive are under evaluation, and may have some maintenance performed in the next fiscal year.

Parks Expenditures

• Park maintenance and committee increase $10,225
• $2,370 Wilkinson park maintenance contract increase for existing parks
• $2,630 partial year maintenance costs for Bayhill Park
• $1,000 Cedar Hills drive roundabout landscape design
• $4,000 one-time decorative rock and electrical projects
• $2,000 Christmas lighting
• $1,200 service day
• $800 community breakfast
• $600 Santa night
• $500 beautification award
• $125 light up Cedar Hills

* Requested a bid from Wilkinson's to handle maintenance of flower beds in front of Community Center. Right now this is done by golf staff, but Parks & Trails Committee expressed concern that it was overlooked if golf staff was busy with course. They felt the flower beds should look nice as the entry the our Community Center. Staff will find out what the cost would be and report back to Council.

Other Expenditures

• Public works tech assistant full-time 40 hours a week $43,700
• $13,100 allocated to General Fund
• P/T communications specialist at 25 hours a week $20,000
• $10,000 allocated to General Fund
• Legal services $20,000 increase
• Fixed retainer fee $5,800 per month or $69,600 annually
• Fire projected increase $13,500
• Street and sidewalk maintenance increase $13,000
• Mobile resident request app $1,300-$7,400

CM Crawley feels there isn't a need to hire a communications person. I have advocated for this for many reasons. Most other cities have someone on staff who handles communication internally and externally. This person would be responsible for the mobile resident app that has been discussed (residents can use to report and track issues), communicate with residents via social media on city events, maintenance projects, and city issues/emergencies, help with GRAMA requests, work on education materials for things such as water conservation, and help the city utilize technology more to help residents who want to be involved. Other cities do things such as record City Council meetings and post to YouTube or live stream meetings with YouTube so residents who can't attend in person can still watch the meetings. This person would handle all communications externally, and would also act as a liaison between Council and staff on city issues that come up between Council meetings. CM Crawley felt those residents who want to be involved already have many ways to be involved. I feel that we have many residents who would like to be involved, but need other avenues available through technology to stay involved. Many have other commitments on Tuesday nights or prefer receiving information through methods such as email or social media instead of visiting the city's website. This is just a placeholder and will be discussed in more depth later on.

Golf Budget Highlights

• Green fees are projected at $562, 000 for the current fiscal year based on the last several years February through June average revenue amounts
• Windy, wet weekend weather during May 2015 caused green fees to decline over $17,000 lower than the prior year
• Golf pass trades: 2013-$17,500, 2014-$40,200, and 2015-$33,436
• Overall operational budgeted support from other funds $168,500
• 165 acres of open space or $1,021 of operating support required per acre
• 54 acres of irrigation lines or $3,120 per acre of irrigation
• Motor pool charges increase $10,750 for two fairway mowers
• 80 golf carts will be replaced February 2017 decrease $7,000
• Golf cart repair reduced $3,000 due to newer carts
• Green fees reduced $5,000
• Pro shop revenue increase $10,000 and corresponding expense $4,500
• $2,500 custodian allocation moved out of payroll to building maintenance
• Overall wages and benefits increase $3,750
• Supplies increase $2,500 for range balls
• Utilities increase $2,000 for electric costs
• Water pumping electric costs decreased $2,000

Golf Debt Fund Highlights

• Partially refunded 2005 General obligation was paid off 2/1/2016
• 2012 General obligation has principal and interest payment scheduled until 2/1/2035
• The principal and interest payments average approximately $384,000 annually
• The property tax debt levy was $309,970 for the current fiscal year
• The property tax debt levy is estimated at $309,770 for next fiscal year
• Motor vehicle fees allocated based on property tax levy amounts and approximately $10,000 in fund balance make up the difference

I brought up that I would like to see some funding to extend the golf course nets on the driving range. We know we continue to have an issue with balls going over the net. We did raise a portion of the net in one section, which did reduce the number of balls going over the net in that area. I have concerns with stray balls going into Mesquite Park or hitting someone walking on the sidewalk next to the driving range. We have residents who live in that area who have indicated they have hundreds of golf balls ending up in their yards from the driving range and have asked the Council to research options to reduce this. My suggestion is that we reduce the cost of the proposed golf maintenance shed by $35,000 to pay for the netting. Others feel that we should try other things first or that those affected should install nets on their own property to keep golf balls out of their yards. I don't mind trying other things if we feel they would be effective. My hope is that we can look at this from the perspective of community. We have residents on Canyon Road who want the the city to make improvements and lower the speed because of safety. We have residents who want us to install a sewer line in Canyon Road so when their septic tanks fail they can connect to sewer. We've had residents ask us to install a stop sign on Harvey Blvd due to speed issues. We had residents in the Cedars who wanted the school district to add a school bus route to their area because of safety issues with their kids walking to school. Last year we had PG residents whose septic systems failed asking to connect to our sewer lines even though they were not yet boundary adjusted into our city, and we bend over backwards to help them. We all may have issues that are important to us or cause us concern with regards to safety and these issues may not be important to others in the city, but we would hope that the Council would listen and attempt to address the issue. I dislike the attitude that anyone who built next to a golf course should've known better and, therefore, should expect issues with stray golf balls. We can't fix every issue, but I'd like residents to know that we give the concerns raised serious consideration and fix it if we can. If we as a city-operated business are causing an issue, then I'd like us to look at what we can do to minimize the impact. With businesses that have built in our city, we have required them to do certain things to minimize the impact to surrounding neighbors, such as installing sound barriers, certain lighting, landscaping, etc. As a city-owned business, I think it is right for us to look at what we can do to minimize the impact of our operations on surrounding neighbors, just as we expect other commercial developers to do. Staff has a concern with my suggestion of reducing the cost of the maintenance shed to cover the nets as they feel it's a slap in the face to the staff who work in the building. I sympathize, but I imagine the residents who are asking us to look into this issue may feel the same way when we tell them that they should install their own nets. 

Review/Action on Contract Extension with Waste Management
The city contract for waste and recycling services is currently under review. After receiving qualified bids from several service providers in April 2011, the city council authorized a five year contract with Waste Management of Utah for waste and recycling services. The original contract is set to expire May 1, 2016. The original agreement contains a provision for a two (2) year extension with the contractor subject to the approval of city council. Staff has reviewed the extension agreement and will present it to the city council. This was approved.

Discussion on Design Guidelines and Zoning Ordinance Changes
Public Comment - Candace Smart feels it would behoove the city to let the Blu Line project go through. Not letting it go through will raise legal fees for the city and keeps that property tax out of the city. Asks that we stop wasting tax dollars fighting the project. Three years is too long for them to sell their property.

CM Zappala has sent the draft revision to legal for review. Has shared the document with the rest of the Council and would like feedback. This will need to go to the Planning Commission for review and discussion on March 17th so Council needs to be prepared to send a product to PC by end of our next meeting.

City Council Meeting - February 16, 2016

Public Comment

Ken Cromar – Thanked those who do honorable things for the residents. He marks on the comment sheet every time that he wants to be contacted but he never is. He was abused by the mayor, residents, and a newspaper reporter at the last meeting while recording the proceedings from the side of the room. This is a first amendment infringement. In October at the golf course meeting the police were called to protect him. No apology was ever given. Says current ordinance of recording is illegal and all members of the Council should have gotten up to defend him. Says he doesn’t feel most of the Council has read the US Constitution. It should be followed just as marital vows. All laws repugnant to the Constitution are null and void.

Consent Agenda

Minutes from the February 2, 2016 meeting were approved. Matthew Laney was appointed to the Beautification, Parks and Trails Committee.

City Reports

David Bunker – TSSD meets this Thursday. On March 8^th we will have an Emergency Management Townhall meeting at 7pm. The focus is family preparedness. BYU basketball night went well. Cedar Hills night with Utah Jazz is March 8^th. Theater group is moving forward with plans to hold performances next month. Golf Course plans on opening next week, weather permitting. Tomorrow night is soils community class. Living with chronic conditions class is also March 8^th, further info is on the website.

CM Zappala – Wrote a letter to the Utah County Board of Adjustments outlined why he felt they can deny Snowbird’s conditional use permit. He has not heard anything back from the Board. They have given AF City and Snowbird 60 days to come up with a water quality plan. Sent out survey to residents on our commercial area and received 717 responses. Has been working on updating design guidelines.

CM Bailey – Arts Committee has cancelled their event for this month.

Review/Action on Amending Ordinance Related to Non-Flash Still Photography and Video Recording of Public Meetings

Public Comment Barbara Cromar – At last meeting the mayor disrupted the meeting to ask Ken to move his camera to the back. Can’t get good recording from the back. The only disruption has come from those who pretend to take offense at being recorded. We are a constitutional republic, not a democracy. The current ordinance is already repugnant to the US Constitution and not enforceable. The only authority Council has is to tell Ken that the Council will protect his constitutional right to record public meetings. Ken Cromar – Finished reading the letter started by Barbara. Council has no authority to weaken his right. Says Council should enforce stricter laws to protect his right to record meetings. Read scripture. He feels endangered by the Mayor. Says many city employees also feel abused by the Mayor. Asks the Council to table the item tonight and have the city attorney start again. Says if not, he will use his current recordings to make a video showing boy scouts how his rights have been infringed upon by others. Recommends Mayor resign if he doesn’t want to be recorded. Legal counsel and city staff recently reviewed the city code, Chapter 1-5-7, relating to non-flash still photography and video recording of public meetings. Multiple sections of the code are in need of revision. Modifications to the current ordinance include updated definitions, clarification regarding audio recordings and location of non-flash still cameras and video recorders during public meetings. Some changes were made to the ordinance provided to the Council tonight. It does allow for recording in the back and sides of the room. Camera placement shall ensure that no member of the public has their view obstructed. Cords cannot be ran across aisles and exits and cameras cannot be in aisles or blocking exits. Also updated to state no recordings or photographs can be taken of documents protected by GRAMA. This was approved 3-2. CM Crawley argued that the ordinance should be deleted altogether and the city should just go with State code, which simply says that recording is allowed as long as the recorder isn't disrupting the meeting. I argued that we should have some additional clarification so that aisles aren't obstructed and views of those in attendance are not obstructed. CM Crawley and Bailey voted no.

Review/Action on Resolution Adopting Municipal Wastewater Planning Program

The Utah State Department of Environmental Quality requires that Cedar Hills submit an annual report for our “Municipal Wastewater Planning Program” collection system and financial evaluation. Staff has prepared the report for review. The State Water Quality Board requests the following action be completed by City Council: 1) City Council acknowledges that they have reviewed the 2015 report and 2) If applicable; City Council has taken all appropriate actions necessary to maintain effluent requirements contained in the UPDES Permit. Current rates and capital projects plan prepare for future needs and repairs. This was approved unanimously.

Discussion on FY2017 Capital Projects Fund and Motor Pool Fund

Tentative Current and Future Capital Project

•  Bayhill park - $446,224
•  $274,603 unrestricted fund balance
• $80,621 CARE tax revenues
•  $80,000 Park development impact fees
• $11,000 Utah County TRCC grants
• Planning and construction planned for spring/summer of 2016, with bids going out in April and construction tentatively scheduled for September.
• Golf maintenance building - $300,000
• $200,000 unrestricted fund balance
• $100,000 placeholder for storm drain/site work from Water & Sewer fund
• Purpose is to provide safer work environment, comply with various codes, regulations, and be functional; working maintenance garage and bathroom. City does have a conditional use permit for the current property in Highland so the new building can be built in the same location. Mr. Bunker has discussed with Highland the potential of sharing a building, but they indicated they are looking at other locations for what they need.
• Canyon road pedestrian and bike access extending path or sidewalk
• This will connect with the development going in east of Canyon Road. Staff is still researching options on paths vs sidewalk. Also talking with MAG about funding for a light at Cedar Hills Drive.
• Fencing for public works yard extension for storage - $14,000
• Original Public Works building was never built to also be the city offices. With that now being the case, there is not enough parking at the city building for all staff that work in that building and areas meant for public works vehicles are full. The proposed extension is to the south of the current building. Most of the work would be done by city employees.
• Funds of $14,000 would come from unrestricted fund balance
• Street lights upgraded with LED improvements - $30,000
• $30,000 unrestricted fund balance/Rocky Mountain Power Wattsmart rebates and/or Class C Road funding
• Ongoing savings come from using LED lights
• Heritage park amphitheater access improvement - $50,000
• $16,000 unrestricted fund balance
• $34,000 CARE tax revenues FY 2016-2017 with renewed CARE tax
• Tree replacement plan/Arborist - $10,000
• Long-term plan of what trees should be removed and replaced, and on what schedule 
• Park maintenance line item, if bid under $10,000
• Roundabout improvements for Cedar Hills drive
• Community Center Flooring Replacement
• Hardwood or wood-like tile flooring bids needed
• Building maintenance line item, if under $10,000
• According to staff, the current floor is laminate and can’t be refinished.
• I recommended that whatever we use to replace, we need to choose materials that will last longer than 4 years. The current floor is less than 4 years old.
• Deerfield park and street widening - $2.5 million
• $1,650,000 financing for park land and development
• $825,000 park land impact fees
• $525,000 street impact fees for street improvements

Motor Pool Fund

• $10,750 increase for Golf fund charges
• $3,455 decrease for the General fund charges
• $2,594 decrease for the Water & Sewer fund transfer
• Three trucks and two mowers are scheduled for replacement during fiscal year 2015-2016
• Two extended cab half-ton trucks $30,000 estimated per truck
• One regular cab half-ton truck $25,000 estimated
• Two fairway mowers $42,000 estimated per mower

Golf Equipment Replacement Plan

• 1^st year – 2 green mowers and pump sprayer
• 2^nd year – no purchases
• 3^rd year – 2 fairway motors
• 4^th year – tractor, rough mower
• 5^th year – 2 green mowers, top dresser
• 6^th year – reel grinder, HD utility cart
• 7^th year – rough mower, blower, HD utility cart
• 8^th year – green aerator, 2 medium duty utility cards                     

Discussion on Temporary Zoning Ordinance and Updates to General Plan and Design Guidelines

This has been an ongoing discussion. The Council continues to work on updating the language and will continue to discuss. Will be completed within the next two weeks and the next step will be to schedule public hearings. 

City Council Meeting - February 2, 2016

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.

City Council Meeting - January 19, 2016

Public Comment
Marisa Wright - Is a member of Preserve and Protect American Fork Canyon. Board of Adjustment in Utah County is meeting next month and could approve Snowbird project. This group has done a lot of research and water issue is a big issue. Mine tailings could be disrupted very easily if Snowbird puts in a lift. Recently a Jeep damaged one of the mine tailing plugs and hasn't been fixed. Contamination could be life-threatening to fish and wildlife in the Canyon. Feels the writing in our resolution may not be strong enough. Would like wording adding that we will give legal help to this effort.

TJ Lockbach - Noticed there isn't a community garden nearby and would like to know if the city is interested in establishing one.

Bill Knowlton - Has lived in Cedar Hills for a little over a year and loves the city. Thanks the elected officials for dealing with tactics of sovereign citizens that are trying to run roughshod over the city. Said to keep the faith and not get scared. Residents support officials in the city, as does the state and nation.

City Reports
David Bunker - This Saturday ULCT is hosting a municipal officials training, geared to new city officials. Jr Jazz has started. City BYU Basketball night is January 30th and tickets are available on city website.

Mike Geddes - Utah Valley Dispatch met last week to discuss new building under construction. It has been delayed because of weather, but all piers are now in place. On schedule to finish by the end of September. They are in serious need of employees so asking everyone to spread the word.

Mayor Gygi - Each Council member is required to have annual Open & Public Meetings training. You can view ULCT training online. LPPSD meeting was used to discuss personnel issues.

Rob Crawley - Thanks Council and staff for working to get resolution done tonight.

Ben Bailey - Gave condolences to family to officer killed in Salt Lake City.

Review/Action on Acceptance of 2015 Fiscal Year Audit
Annually we contract with independent auditors to review the basic financial statements. The independent auditors are expected to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement and are fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

This is our first audit with Keddington & Christensen. They report they did not encounter any difficulties in performing the audit. There were no adjustments, no unrecorded misstatements for presentation, no disagreements with management that couldn't be resolved. The city only received one finding, and that was for having an unrestricted General Fund balance that exceeded the limit of 25% of current year revenues. We were over by $160,995. This was moved to the Capital Projects Fund.

The audit was unanimously accepted.

Discussion on Zoning Ordinance and General Plan
Based on the City Councils decision to enact a temporary land use regulation in the SC-1 Commercial Zone on November 17, 2015, staff is recommending that the City Council consider the hiring of a professional firm to assist in the revision of the City’s General Plan, Cedar Hills Municipal Code, and the Guidelines for the Design and Review of Planned Commercial Development Projects. Because the City only has six months to complete all of these revisions, and based on the fact that the revisions need to reflect current Utah State Code, as well as the industry’s established best practices, it is essential that the revision process begin immediately. Staff will continue to meet with Mayor Gygi and various members of the City Council to prepare the General Plan, Land Use Element, various elements of the City Code, and the Design Guidelines for review by both the Planning Commission and then for adoption by the City Council.

Last week, CM Zappala, Rees, Mayor Gygi, Chandler Goodwin, and David Driggs met to start discussing the commercial zone. The initial thoughts are that we need to determine if there should be subzones, and if so, what that should look like, and what uses should be permitted or conditional. Suggestion is that we have medium intensity uses for the eastern portion of the Smart property, then keep the rest of the zone neighborhood retail. There would be requirements in place to create a buffer between between the property and the residential homes so they are not negatively impacted. This would allow for commercial uses on the east and west side of the proposed 4700 South, which may be more attractive to businesses as it has direct street access.

One area I'd really like to focus on is the intent of the zone. Our current zoning ordinance says:

The SC-1 zone is established to provide an area in which the primary use of land is for commercial and service uses to serve the needs of the community and surrounding area and is located in the portion of the city most appropriately suited for the purpose. It is intended that development within the zone shall be characterized by a harmonious grouping of commercial stores and shops and essential ancillary uses(parking, signs, landscape features) architecturally designed and functioning as an integrated unit. Clean, well lighted parking lots, readily accessible from adjacent streets, and attractive, well maintained shops with significant peripheral and on site landscaping will be characteristic of development within this zone. It is the specific intent that architectural design and character of operation shall, to the maximum extent possible, be compatible with that of surrounding residential environment, and review, approval and attachment of conditions upon development within the zone will be predicated upon the accomplishment of this objective. (Ord. 10-11-95A, 10-11-1995)

It's important that, whatever we list as a permitted or conditional use, meets the intent of the zone as defined above. If we want to allow for other uses that don't meet this intent, then we need to change the intent of the zone. If we want to keep it more of a small town feel that is compatible with the surrounding residential environment, then we should list the uses to comply. We are going to send a 4 question survey to residents to get a feel for which direction they would like to go - more of what is outlined in our current zoning ordinance, or to make it more open to commercial uses. 

Discussion on Half-way Houses
Recently an inquiry was made to the city regarding the development of a half-way house for
recovering alcoholics. An inquiry was made to city attorney, David Shaw to advise on the options
available to the City when it comes to these types of facilities. Current city code does not define a
half-way house or other rehabilitation-type facilities. The closest definition currently in the code is for assisted living facilities or as the single family definition of four unrelated individuals living in the same dwelling. An assisted living facility could house persons with disabilities; our current assisted living code would allow for up to 16 occupants to be housed in the same facility in a residential zone.

HUD has definitions on housing for individuals with disabilities. Alcoholism is considered a disability under the Fair Housing Act. It is unlawful to prohibit these types of facilities. Alpine recently dealt with this same situation. The city turned it down, and it was appealed. A settlement was entered into allowing for a 16-bed facility in the residential area. It appears that we can require that the facility meets similar conditions we place on assisted living facility in a residential area, but cannot deny it completely. This is being researched by staff, but no application has been made.

Review/Action on Resolution Regarding American Fork Canyon
Public Comment 
Mark Allen - Founder of Protect and Preserve Canyon. Group now has 10,200 people. Was here the last time we passed a resolution. Has issued many GRAMA requests to find out how we've gotten to where we are and has discovered many concerning things. Four email accounts have been deleted. Some mayors have not responded to requests. Is waiting on a GRAMA request from Cedar Hills. Said he was happy that Mayor Gygi did not go on the Switzerland trip, but other elected officials from other cities have. Largest campaign donor to Mayor Ben McAdams was Snowbird. Would like us to add a requirement for an Environmental Impact Study in our Resolution. Snowbird needs to clean up their land, just like other groups such as Geneva Steel has done. Formal decisions shouldn't be made until more research and studies have been done.

Protect and Preserve has asked the Council to issue another resolution expressing the desire to protect the watershed in the Canyon and asking the Board of Adjustment for Utah County to deny Snowbird's request for a conditional use permit. The resolution reads as follows:

WHEREAS, Cedar Hills has environmental, economic, social, and historical interests in American Fork Canyon; and

WHEREAS, Cedar Hills desires to establish best practices and policies regarding the management and care of the Canyon; and

WHEREAS, Cedar Hills has an obligation and a vested interest to protect the watershed, and the sources and quantities of water; and

WHEREAS Cedar Hills is committed to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of its residents, and

WHEREAS, there is a potential for a negative impact on the City water system; and

WHEREAS, there is a need to balance new development with existing recreational uses in the Canyon that value isolation and the natural mountain environment.

NOW THEREFORE BE IS RESOLVED:
The City of Cedar Hills believes that the proposed development by Snowbird does not meet the intent of the CE-1 zone listed in Utah County code sections 5-5-A-2 and 5-5-A-3 and does not meet the conditions listed in Utah County code sections 3-47-H-3 and 3-47-H-7;

The City of Cedar Hills urges the Utah County Board of Adjustment to consider the potential impact on area watershed and water supply and require the applicant to provide all applicable studies to address this issue, including the long term effect of any undesirable elements that could be transferred to the ground water; and

The City of Cedar Hills encourages the Utah County Board of Adjustment to maintain existing easements and public access to the land; and

The City of Cedar Hills encourages the Utah County Board of Adjustment to request Utah County staff and elected officials to obtain additional input from stakeholders that use the surrounding property and commission an independent developmental and environmental impact report that is free from bias of the developer; and

The City of Cedar Hills urges the Utah County Commission to establish a transparent, public, and collaborative process for coordinating the land uses in American Fork Canyon that brings together all interested stakeholders, similar to the Mountain Accord process that has been used successfully in Salt Lake County; and

The City of Cedar Hills urges the Utah County Commission to suspend further development in American Fork Canyon until such a collaborative process has been completed.

This was unanimously approved.

Discussion on Payment to Eric Johnson for Legal Fees
The Golf Course Committee requested legal advice while doing their research, though they did not have a budget provided to them. During those meetings, our current and former attorneys were in attendance to answer questions, and emails were directed to both of them as well. Our current attorney was paid for his time, but our former attorney's invoice was denied as there was not a current contract with them and three members of the Council expressed to the City Manager they did not want to pay for this invoice. It was requested this come to the Council for further discussion.

CM Geddes gave an example of the Parks & Trails Committee wanting funds for architectural designs for the roundabout. They had to come to the Council for approval. This is the same thing that should have happened with the Golf Committee. There was a breakdown in communication and not the fault of anyone in particular. I have requested that we have an agenda item for our meeting in two weeks on a policy regarding committee use of city funds, committees & council members authorizing work from others who are not staff members, and handling invoices for work that wasn't previously approved by the Council. The entire Council and staff agreed this is a good idea, we need to make sure we all understand how funds are being spent.

City Council Meeting - January 5, 2016

Council Meeting

Public Comment
Nobody signed up.

Consent Agenda
The minutes from the November 12th, November 16th, and November 17th City Council meetings were approved. Appointments for city recorder (Colleen Mulvey) and treasurer (David Bunker), and new members of the Planning Commission (Brian Miller and Jared Anderson), Parks & Trails Committee (Ben Ellsworth and Chris Fowler), and Board of Adjustment (Darin Lowder) were made and approved 4-1.

City Reports
David Bunker - Jr Jazz has a big turnout once again. Natalie Scott has resigned so we will be looking for a new person to replace her. A new theater class begins next Thursday, which has 75 signups so far. TSSD has approved their final budget. They will also be looking at modifying the rate structure over the next few months.

Rob Crawley - Thanked Trent for his work on the Council over the past four years.

Mayor Gygi - Spoke with the mayors from Highland and Alpine about their thoughts on a community pool shared by all three cities. We are currently partnered with them through our Arts Committee with regards to theater productions. Highland and Alpine do not have city-sponsored recreation programs and refer residents to ours. The mayors all recognize that they cannot build a pool on their own, but were open to the idea of the three cities working together on this. A section of the Utah Developmental Center land is planned for a community facility of some sort, so it's a possibility it could go there. This would also allow LP students to use a pool nearby instead of going to American Fork. The mayors all felt this should come from residents, not from elected officials, but they are willing to look at any studies our staff has done. He also attended a meeting of the Utah State Developmental Center regarding new roads going through their development as part of the master plan, and one would connect to Harvey Blvd. If approved by the State Legislature this year, they hope to start construction later this year. The County would need to build this road as it will be considered a regional road that connects two state roads.

He also met with Highland recently. They are interested in joining with us in building a maintenance shed where we currently have our golf trailers. Both cities would use it and pay for it. This is an ongoing discussion.

CM Zappala - He is working on pulling together information for the rewriting of our commercial zones and encourages resident feedback.

CM Geddes - Utah County Dispatch has broken ground on their new building, though it's on hold right now due to weather.

Review/Action of Mayor Pro Tempore
Consistent with UCA 10-3b-302 and City Code 1-5-3, MAYOR AS MEMBER OF CITY COUNCIL; the terms and scope of the duties of Mayor Pro Tempore are defined. In summary, the mayor pro tempore shall have all of the powers and duties of the mayor during his absence, disability or refusal to act. The election of a mayor pro tempore shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting. This year, it will be Councilmember Rob Crawley. This was approved.

Review/Action on Assignments for Staff and Resident Committees
City Councilmembers, staff and residents act as resources, liaisons, and on some boards and committees may be voting members. The Mayor, with advice and consent of the City Council, makes assignments to various boards, committees and entities. The Council assignments are as follows:

Rob Crawley - North Pointe Solid Waste, General Plan Committee

Daniel Zappala - Lone Peak Public Safety, Planning Commission

Mike Geddes - Utah Valley Dispatch, Finance Committee

Jenney Rees - Media Relations, Family Festival Committee, Parks & Trails Committee

Ben Bailey - Finance Committee, Cultural Arts & Events Committee

Staff, Council, and resident assignments were all approved.

Discussion on Driving Range Fence
Public Comment
Jason Harr - Thanked the Council for considering their concerns. They are building a house near the driving range and are finding a large number of golf balls coming over the fence and into their yard, as well as Mesquite Park. He does not feel that cameras or staff onsite will solve the problem. Feels raising the nets is the most effective option. His neighbor said that since the nets nearer to his house were raised, he has seen a reduction in the number of golf balls in his yard. Feels if the operations of the driving range were shifted east further, that would also help. Says it's not just an issue for him, but those going to the park, walking the trail, and driving down the street in that area. Golf course next to BYU has raised their nets.

This issue has been discussed during previous City Council meetings. Options that have been considered are, 1) Installing cameras, 2) additional employees to monitor driving range, and 3) additional netting. The cost for two solar cameras would be $6400. Greg doesn't feel hiring someone would make sense due to cost. Staff asked West Coast Netting to give us a bid for the home owner to install netting on their property since they have purchased a lot knowing the driving range was already there and living on any golf course may create problems for potential property damage. It would cost the resident $8,100 to install three poles 15’ high x 60’ wide (including netting). If the City does the netting on the driving range, our cost would drop to $5,200 instead of the $8,100 because they will already be on site. To increase the poles and netting for the entire driving range would cost $61,000 through West Coast Netting. Another company is willing to do a trade where they get a two year corporate pass as part of payment and we pay about $33,350. This would add 20 feet to the existing netting.

My concern is the potential liability we face if a golf ball goes over the fence and hits someone at Mesquite Park or someones backyard, especially as we know how many golf balls are ending up over the fence. It could be quite costly to defend against a lawsuit of this nature. My recommendation is we find a way to reduce the cost of the proposed maintenance shed by $33,000 so we can use budgeted funds for that to raise the netting for the entire range. It makes sense to me to do what we can to reduce the liability and protect our residents.

Discussion on Code Related to Zoning and Development
We placed a moratorium on any new applications for development in our commercial zone while the Planning Commission and City Council review and possibly make changes to our Design Guidelines, General Plan, and Zoning laws. By law, we only have six months to complete this process, so must be done by May 17th. CM Zappala recommended the first step is determining if we want to have multiple zones in that area, and what should be allowed in those zones. I'm feeling a sense of urgency to get this completed and have started reviewing the code for other cities to get a feel for what they have done. We don't need to reinvent the wheel but can take from others what makes sense for our city. I'd like us to all be on board and ready to approve in April. Mayor Gygi suggested that he and two members of the Council meet each week to move this along, as well as having it as a regular agenda item for our Council meetings. He will rotate Councilmembers for this assignment. The first meeting will be with CM Bailey and Zappala. Mayor will also invite a member of the Planning Commission to attend.