City Council Meeting - August 6, 2013

The good news is school is starting soon so I'll be able to update my blog more timely. The bad news is that my two-year-old deleted all of my pages files from my iPad so I do not have my notes from the July 16th Council meeting. The official City minutes from that meeting should be available within the next few weeks. Sorry about that.

Here are my notes from the August 6th meeting.

Work Session

Public Works Report - Baseball diamond off of Cedar Hills Drive was setup to be a retention basin for storm runoff. It can take a long time for the water to be absorbed into the ground. We’ve added additional drainage but when we have repeated storms then it can build up. We have started to pump some of that water out when it becomes a problem. As for projects, Public Works has been focused on the CoRec basement. It should be completed this week. Tile and brick are slightly different from original building. Street project working on Bayhill Drive to Ironwood is almost ready to go out to bid. Mesquite Park restroom is being modified to stay within budget as we didn't receive a grant we had applied for. Started on Avanyu projects after HOA has listed their priority concerns. Had an employee quit to work for Lehi Police Dept so they will be hiring a new employee. Seasonal employee contracts are almost up for the year. Repaired a bridge at Heritage Park. Working to eradicate poison ivy found in the area of Heritage Park. OSHA recently did an audit of the City and we had some items that needed to be addressed. Public Works is working on these items. These were related to training and documentation we needed on file, no safety violations. Now that school is almost starting they will be working on painting crosswalk stripes and getting flashing lights working. State Division of Environmental Quality is requiring each city to have a sanitary sewer management plan so Public Works is working on this. Created new program to monitor night time PI pressures (not just day time pressures) and issues we had a month ago have been resolved.

Planning & Zoning Report - New zoning official started and is doing well. Working on implementing new rental code that goes into effect January 1st. Working on notifying rental owners. Early voting is occurring. 140 absentee ballots turned in and 16 early voters. Tomorrow night is the Meet the Candidates in the Vista Room. Crossing guard training starts soon. No Planning Commission Meeting last month as there were no agenda items. Working with developers who have stated they are coming to an agreement on the Smart property. Working on moderate income housing plan and updated parks and trails plan. Garbett Homes has started construction in Bridgestone. 

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Nobody signed up for public comment.

Consent Agenda

Minutes from June 18, 2013 and July 2, 2013 Council meeting. Approved 4-1 with CM Augustus voting nay.

City Reports

David Bunker - ULCT annual conference in September. Front doors have been changed on CoRec and basement will be complete this week. Upstairs conference room and offices will be complete in about a month and elevator will go in after that. Have had a lot of interest by various groups in using the basement.

CM Augustus - North Pointe's next meeting is in September and will be discussing whether or not they will require a buy in or a fee if a city wants to leave. Planning Commission meeting later this month and will be talking about commercial zone. Will also discuss how feedback from the Planning Commission goes to the Council. Is upset that he feels he was treated poorly at the last Council meeting and wants everyone to be treated with respect. Mayor Gygi agreed and said that should also include email exchanges.

CM Martinez - YCC had annual retreat and new positions were given and year of activities have been planned. Lacrosse just finished season. Lego League teams are finalized and equipment has arrived. Coaches meeting is coming up. Soccer league schedules are finalized and each player has received a uniform. Tot soccer registration closes this week and flag football registration ends next week. Several events have been booked in the Vista Room and December is already filling up. Golf had another great month with revenue. Parks and Trails committee met and are working on parks and trails master plan.

Mayor Gygi - Spoke with Karen Smart and they are anticipating they will be under contract soon with developer.

CM Jackman - Meeting this week with LPPSD board. It is too late to have the special service district on the ballot this year.

CM Rees - State of the City has been sent to graphic designer and will be sent to residents in September. One press release sent regarding the new budget application. Working on branding goals and outline of projects.

Review/Action on Renaming Bridgestone Plat D

There was an amended Plat D and Utah County let us know there cannot be an amended plat. The three plex, which is the amended plat, is now being called Plat H in order to be in compliance with County. There are no changes to the plat. Approved unanimously.

Review/Action on Interlocal Agreement

Three cities joined together to purchase debris basin, Cedar Hills, Highland, and American Fork as all three had assets nearby that needed to be protected. The basin must be maintained to be a basin for debris and flood control. This agreement determines how the basin will be maintained by each city. Public Works Directors from each city sit on board. This includes clearing out basin, fixing erosion, fixing gates, etc. Cities want to set up annual expense account to pay for these items. All costs are split evenly between cities. The agreement defines the specific provisions for operations and maintenance of the flood control basin. American Fork has already approved and Highland is also discussing tonight. Fund would include $5000 from each city to pay for maintenance expenses. If expenses went over $15,000 then each city would be equally responsible to pay for excess. Approved unanimously.

Review/Action on Changing Date of Next Council Meeting

The next City Council meeting needed to be changed from August 20^th to August 27^th in order to be in compliance with 2013 amendments to the election code, which says that a military overseas ballot is valid if it is received up through 13 days after an election. If there are any outstanding ballots then we cannot canvass the votes until 14 days after the primary election. Changing the date allows up to be compliant and canvass will occur at that time. Unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Appointment of Planning Commission Members

Tonya Edvalson resigned from the Planning Commission so we have an opening. The City received an application from Jeffrey Dodge. CM Jackman has no issue with Mr. Dodge but is concerned that we have so many alternates. Chairman Dodge stated he feels it is necessary as attendance is low at times and alternates are needed for votes. CM Augustus was upset that he just found out a few days ago of this application as he is the Council representative on the Planning Commission. New appointment approved unanimously.

Discussion on Name Change for Clubhouse Drive

Discussed in April but no action was taken. CM Augustus offered to head up this project. The financial commitment is approximately $2000 for new letterhead, business cards, etc. Some events for December have already been booked and have already been advertised. County would need to record new name but staff doesn’t think they would charge us. Staff at golf course would like the name to stay the same. We have not yet talked to Sammy's or Tree Fitness about their views on this. CM Jackman feels it should wait for next budget year as we already cut so much out of the budget and we'd need to find money for this. I don't feel we should move forward as I've heard from a few residents who are adamantly opposed to this, staff is opposed to it, and there isn't a benefit to changing it. CM Augustus and Martinez would like to change it to better reflect the use of the building. I requested that we reach out to Sammy’s and Tree Fitness and see how this affects them as all of their print materials have Clubhouse Drive as their address. This item has been tabled.

Discussion on Branding

Radi8 completed their portion of the branding portion. Currenty logo was well liked and will be kept. No specific tagline has been selected. I provided a list of branding goals and discussed the branding standards guide that was provided by Radi8. YCC will be helping gather email addresses and cell phone numbers from residents for greater communication. The purpose of the branding project is to 1) attract and retain residents; 2) attract visitors for recreation and events; 3) change any negative perceptions, and 4) help with commercial development. All of the ideas I generated are available on page 11 of the Council packet, which can be found online at http://www.cedarhills.org/sites/default/files/agendas/city-council-agenda-2013-08-06.pdf The next City Council Work Session will be devoted to a discussion of these branding ideas.

Council Meeting - June 18, 2013

Work Session

Presentation from Chief Freeman from Lone Peak Public Safety District (LPPSD). Gave brief history of how Cedar Hills joined LPPSD. Cedar Hills joined LPPSD in 2000 as city wasn't pleased with services received from Pleasant Grove. Cedar Hills is a partial owner of the district. LPPSD was first agency in North Utah County to combine EMS and fire services and to go to a paramedic service. Now has new transport engine that combines fire and paramedic truck into one. Has ordered an mobile emergency command center. Has created a flex squad program where if they are short staffed they will have a roaming until that unit is needed at any station. There will never be fewer than eight firefighters on duty ready to respond. Working on fire cadet 6th grade academy to work on educating kids on drug abuse and suicide concerns. Went through log for last year. 283 days had three staff members in Cedar Hills facility and only 46 days of two firefighters, 36 days had four firefighters. If we have three people call in sick on any given day then one of the fire stations would have to be closed down. Adopted budget for 2014 is $626,328, which is a 2.4% increase from last year. If we increased staff to four at all times then budget would increase to about $670,000. Eight firefighters from LPPSD live in Cedar Hills.

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Nobody signed up.

Public Hearings

Nobody signed up for public hearings.

Consent Agenda

City Council meeting minutes for May 7, 2013, May 21, 2013, and June 4, 2013 unanimously approved.

City Reports

David Bunker - Construction for CoRec is underway. Foundation has been poured and framing should start next week. Rest of basement has been framed. 3-4 weeks and the project should be complete. County and State working on who should update and maintain Canyon Road. They would like cities to look at snow plow services for Canyon Road and come up with cost. Tomorrow night is a candidate orientation for anyone running for office.

CM Zappala - Working on budgeting app for the city. Has a functional site that is almost ready to publish. Will next be working on ability for city staff to add notes to answer questions on budget issues.

CM Rees – Parks, Trails, Beautification and Recreation committee met last week. July 13th will be community breakfast.

CM Martinez - worked with Greg on Recreation portion of the State of the City. Did YCC interviews for next year. Nineteen applications were sent in. Family Festival committee had wrap up meeting. Success was amazing. Greg has finalized numbers and with all sponsors and other revenue we spent about $20,000 less than budgeted. Committee has recommended that we change date to July.

CM Augustus - Upcoming meetings for Planning Commission and North Point. Looking for slips of paper where ideas were written down for Clubhouse Drive name change.

CM Jackman - Finance committee met to finish budget.

Review/Action on Preliminary Plans for Bridgestone Plat D

Garbett Homes submitted plans to the Planning Commission. Plat D is a three-plex instead of four-plex unit. This change was due to a sewer lateral just west of the building site that cannot be disturbed. Rich from Garbett came to answer questions. Everything else is the same as was previously approved by the Council. Unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Final Plans for Bridgestone Plat F&G

Planning Commission made recommendations to change three items:

• wanted fence along Harvey Drive (staff feels this would hide the changed made to the building to improve look and is opposed);
• wanted to add sidewalk along 4380 West (Staff is opposed to this sidewalk should terminate at crosswalk as we have issues with cars queing up to drop kids off and pickup from Deerfield. There is a sidewalk on the other side of the street on this same road, which serves as the Kindergarten pickup area. Staff is concerned this is a safety issue. This is also private land so cannot build a public sidewalk);
• Wanted to increase setback between two buildings. This was OK with staff and shown on new drawings.

Motioned passed 4-1 with CM Zappala voting nay.

Review/Action on FY2013 Budget Amendments

• Line item 10-40-305: Legal expenses exceeded the budgeted amount by $75,000. Money needed will be pulled from line item 10-31-100 (property taxes of $11,000 that exceeded planned collection rate), line item 10-31-300 (sales tax revenue higher than anticipated), and line item 10-35-100 (Family Festival expenses less than anticipated).

• Line items 10-44-110 (salary and wages), 10-44-150 (employee benefits), and 10-60-150 (employee benefits) were over budget as severance costs and unemployment costs were higher than anticipated. The money needed will be pulled from line items 10-60-110 (salary and wages), 10-60-120 (part time salary and wages), 10-40-510 (insurance prepaid in prior fiscal year), and 10-60-215 (reduction in contract labor as there were less building permits issued than anticipated).

• Line item 10-65-120: Salaries and wages of events staff is being moved to general fund so that golf course items are separate and can be more transparent and line item 10-65-401 for $12,000 is for recreation equipment. Money will come from recreation programs line item 10-65-400.

• Line item 10-69-910: CARE tax revenue will be transferred to the Capital Projects Fund to pay for portion of basement construction.

• Line item 10-69-910, there will be a transfer from the General Fund to the Capital projects fund if our unrestricted fund balance exceeds 18%. This is required by law. The anticipated transfer amount is $300,000.

• Line item 75-80-250: Increase in golf cart rent of $24,800 as we replaced the lease with rented carts. Money will come from line item 75-80-300 (cart lease interest) and line item 75-80-900 (difference between undepreciated asset and liability for golf carts traded in).

• Line item 10-69-913: Additional golf subsidy of $150,000. This will come from the general fund.

• Line item 40-96-115: Transfer of $2,069,385 from the Capital Projects Fund to the Community Recreation Fund to zero out the internal loan. This wasn’t an actual transfer of money as the loaned amount was already being paid from this fund. A more detailed explanation will be provided in the State of the City newsletter.

Review/Action on FY2014 Property Tax Rate

Because property values have increased, Utah County has recommended the tax rate reduce from .003183 to 002873.  With this new tax rate most residents will pay the same amount this year as last year. This item was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Public Safety Contracts

The City received bids on four different scenarios. Option 1: Status quo with AFPD as police, LPPSD and fire, and Utah Valley Dispatch. Budget would be $993,100. Option #2: Lone Peak fire and police with their dispatch. Budget would be $1.085 million. Option #3: Pleasant Grove police, fire, and dispatch. Budget would be $1,125,682. Option #4: Our current setup but with an additional firefighter paid for by Cedar Hills and community policing efforts. Budget would be $1.085 million. CM Jackman explained that there is no concern with quality of service. Board meetings show that the board is not in agreement on public safety issues. Dispatch is also an issue now that LPPSD is leaving Utah Valley Dispatch but AFPD is staying with them. One of the benefits of Option #3 is that is solves the border issue with Pleasant Grove with regards to dispatch calls. Concern is that Highland always gets better quality of service. He has concern that us adding our own firefighters will just break down the board. If we did add a fourth firefighter to our building the funds could come from increase in property tax due to growth and increase in sales tax revenue. We left revenue numbers the same from the FY2013 budget yet we know revenue is coming in higher than original estimate. Additionally, there has been discussion to move Family Festival to July, which would mean for FY2014 there would be no expense for Family Festival. Franchise fees are also increasing. From an expense side we could reduce sidewalks by $2500, parks by $2500, and legal expenses by $5000. If we have three firefighters in the building (current situation) and have roaming unit then response time is 60 to 90 seconds longer than always having four firefighters on site.

Some board members do not view this is a district but are focused on just the needs of their individual city. LPPSD is trying to become a taxing entity so that budget goes directly from line item in property tax and not through each city. Current average response times are less than four minutes. After discussing each option and the pros and cons the Council unanimously approved Option #1.

Review/Action on Adopting FY2014 Budget

After meeting with the finance committee, Mayor Gygi had staff go back and change revenue numbers to be more consistent with actuals for the past several years. We also increased the expected subsidy to the golf course. The LPPSD fees are accurate based on their recently passed budget. YCC has a new line item so that we can better track donations made to the YCC program. The FY2014 budget passed 4-1 with CM Augustus voting nay.

Review/Action on YCC Fundraising

In order to be compliant with governmental accounting yet have the ability to properly track and utilize YCC contributions, a new line item has been created to track these revenues and expenses. This allows YCC to keep fundraising money for Santa's Workshop program. This item was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Business Licensing for Residential Rentals

Staff recommended a business license fee be required for all non-owner rentals in the City. Currently we have 225 rental properties, many of them owned by corporations. Problem we are having is that homes are not being maintained per zoning ordinances. We have a hard time finding some of these owners to fix these issues. We would notify landlords through notices and newsletter over a period of months letting them know of the new fee. Would be enforced January 1^st and license would be valid for calendar year. CM Zappala recommended we look to see if we can charge non-residents a higher business license fee since these are the main owners causing us issues. Chandler will discuss with Eric Johnson. Add to Application of License section that we add wording “and other items required by the City” so we don’t have to change ordinance if we make changes. This will also help us more quickly address zoning issues since we’ll know who owners are. Approved 4-1 with CM Jackman voting no.

Review/Action onResolution Regarding Restricting Open Fires & Fireworks

Because of dry weather conditions, LPPSD recommended that the city prohibit aerial fireworks and open fires on the east side of Canyon Road. This was unanimously approved.

Discussion on Roles of Council Serving on Boards (Added Item by CM Augustus)

Councilmember Augustus had concerns on how members of the Council were voting on boards they are assigned to. Are they supposed to vote based upon their own thoughts or the desires of the Council. This is a complex issue because many times members don't know what items are going to be discussed on these boards. We determined that each member should always vote based upon what they feel is in the best interests of the City and we have to trust that is happening as these issues can’t come back to the Council each time.

Council Meeting - June 4, 2013

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Melissa Willie - Issue with soccer games at Mesquite park. Cars are being parked on both sides of the street at corner of Mesquite and Cottonwood. Wants to know if there is protocol before we paint red on one side. It gets crowded and very dangerous. Has seen that there is ample parking in the parking lot during these times.

City Reports

David Bunker - Sent an email to the Council regarding the purchase of some used fitness equipment - spin bikes and audio system. Recommends we purchase these in this fiscal year. Money that has been sent aside for Mesquite restrooms could be used for this as this restroom won't be built until FY 2014. Had a request from a resident who lives on Timp Cove to purchase some property next his home. Will get us more info. Insurance company is giving a one-time equity distribution to its members. Have to be a member at time of distribution, which will be in October. Could be up to $10,000. Working with Sam Schultz to do a summer concert series. Would be held the second Saturday of each month July - September. Need sound equipment in order to do this. Would be about $325 per event to rent equipment. Recommends we budget for this in FY 2014 budget.

CM Rees - One press release issued, one city statement, working on another press release. Working on State of the City and need to have to graphic designer by August 9th. Will send all articles to Council by July 19th and need feedback by the 26th. Please share City Facebook statuses as it greatly increases the number of views.

CM Zappala - Continuing to work on budget app for the City.

CM Martinez - Family Festival started this week. About 300 people showed up to swim night. Today we had 27 teams for golf tournament. Thursday at 8pm is the Fun Run at Cedar Ridge Elementary, this is a free event. Tot soccer ended last week. Tball and lacrosse have started. Currently taking sign-ups for K-2 soccer league. Basement addition at CoRec has started.

CM Augustus - Had Planning Commission meeting and some info was discussed regarding Bridgestone and will come before Council. Working on info to rename Clubhouse Drive.

Discussion on FY 2014 Budget 

• Staff recommends we charge a business license fee of $65 for a non-owner rental of houses. We are finding that corporations are purchasing properties to rent. We do have paperwork associated with this and there are some zoning issues so these fees will cover these increased expenses. This is common in other cities. Line item 10-32-190 shows this increase in revenue. Will come before the Council at next meeting. 

• Parks, Trails, Beautification and Recreation committee items of $3000 added to line 10-64-240.

• LPPSD fees were reduced for FY 2014. 

• Administrative departments went up slightly as one full-time employee was added to the benefits plan. 

• Line 10-40-350 includes funds for community events such as the Christmas event held last year. 

• Line item 40-30-700 shows grant revenue but we won’t know until July if we receive that grant. 

City Council Meeting - May 21, 2013

Work Session

The Pleasant Grove royalty and Rodeo royalty presented. Invited the Council and residents to Strawberry Days. They will have a parade, concert in the park, strawberries and cream, carnival, Huck Finn Days, baby contest, princess party, and more. Rodeo is June 19-22.

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Larisa Powell - Loves the Family Festival and thinks it's a good opportunity for residents to come together. Her children sell popsicles at parks and at festival. She is being told now she has to pay $50 to get a booth in order to sell popsicles at the festival. She feels that bringing in outside vendors makes it more commercialized and less family friendly. Kids aren't allowed to participate because they don't have ability to pay vendor fee. They've been doing this long before festival started. Wants city to bring it back to more of a family outing and give kids opportunity to sell items and participate.

Dave Latham - Running in walkway under Canyon Road and neither tunnel is lit. Feels this is unsafe. Feels that lights should be added.

Consent Agenda

Minutes for the April 23, 2013 Council meeting were approved.

City Reports

CM Rees - Working on State of the City and need feedback from Council on any items they want included.

CM Augustus – Planning Commission meeting this week. Working on renaming of Clubhouse Drive.

CM Martinez – Parks, Trails, Beautification and Recreation committee is meeting this week. Yard of the Month starts in June. YCC applications are due this week. Tball begins June 4th. Lacrosse starts June 13th. Soccer registrations are happening now. Family Festival committee doing a fantastic job. 19 kids are signed up for Lego League. We have 100 volunteers signed up for Family Festival. Community has really embraced call for volunteerism.

CM Jackman - LPPSD board met and approved budget, which should have lower cost than we originally planned on.

CM Zappala – Utah Valley Dispatch board met and approved budget. Looking at building a new dispatch facility.

David Bunker - TSSD not yet able to bring east side processing online. Continuing to work on this.

Review/Action on Ordinance Adjusting Earl Property into Pleasant Grove

In April the Council adopted a resolution the Earl property to be boundary adjusted into Pleasant Grove. Public hearings were held in both cities and there were no protests filed. This ordinance was unanimously approved.

Discussion on Commercial Zone

Blu Line Designs approached city regarding commercial zone by Walmart. Presented plans to Planning Commission, which was really receptive to it. Has worked on large projects in other areas, such as Draper, Herriman, and South Jordan. Has one of the largest residential communities under development right now in Daybreak. They are interested in the Smart property and city property. Want to build a multi-use facility where bottom floor is retail and upper floors are housing for 55 and older community. Would like to put a movie theater on city property. Wants to create a family-friendly retail community. Center would have splash park and gathering area for community. Would need buffer behind movie theater so as not to affect those residential homes. Would also meet with those homeowners to talk about ideas for buffer and landscaping. Similar to Gateway Center in Salt Lake City. There are about 300 residential units. Would like to start this fall. Start with multi-use building, which would attract businesses to also build in the same area. Would be a phased approach.

Discussion on FY 2014 Budget

• Public Works projects for 2014: Street maintenance - estimated costs are above what is budgeted but we won’t know actuals until bids are received. Sugarloaf, Ironwood, 3900 West are big projects. Resurfacing Bayhill and parts of Cottonwood, Ferguson, Harvey, Cedar Run, 4000 West - these portions are smaller projects. 

• There is $30,000 budgeted for a restroom at Mesquite Park, but this is contingent on receiving grant money to pay for a portion. If the grant is not received then the amount will do down and the restroom facility will need to be redesigned to be smaller. 

• Funds were not allocated to the Parks and Trails committee, but members of the Council asked for $3000 to be added into the budget so this committee can complete some of their requested projects. 

• Added in $10,000 for a Decisions Survey to be performed this fiscal year as it was skipped in 2013. 

• Planning Commission funds cut as some committee members have chosen not to be compensated for serving. 

• Training funds were cut from every staff department. 

• Library reimbursement was cut by $3,800. 

• Golf course maintenance was cut by $20,000 as most of the sand traps that needed repairs were completed in two years instead of three.

• Legal expenses were cut $35,000 in anticipation of less litigation this year.

If additional items need to be cut from the budget then staff suggested the cuts come from the following areas: the State of the City newsletter, Mayor & Council training, library reimbursements, and the Family Festival.

Review/Action on Polling Place for 2013 Elections

The recommendation was made to the Council to have all polling places in one location and at the Community Recreation Center. This change saves about $450 per election and would allow the City Recorder to be at the voting site during the election. If we were to change we would use all communication options to get the word out about new polling places. YCC would be at elementary schools giving out maps and directing to people to the Community Recreation Center. Also encourage early voting. There were some concerns about this change. 1) Is there enough parking at the CoRec to handle this? 2) With having one big room how are we going to accommodate 5 different lines that may get very long? 3) If the County still requires us to use the schools for non-municipal elections then this is going to cause confusion and frustration to residents when the voting location is different every other year. The vote was 3-2 with Rees, Jackman and Zappala voting nay and Augustus and Martinez voting yea. A new motion was made to keep polling locations at the schools. This passed 3-2 with Augustus and Martinez voting nay.

Review/Action on Contract for Fitness Coordinator

Increase in pay from $15 per class to $20 per class. Rest of contract will remain the same. Unanimously approved.

Discussion on Family Festival

Jerianne Conroy doing a great job as chair of the volunteer committee. In good shape for volunteers. Training meeting scheduled for next Tuesday for volunteers. Macey's and Sammy's will donate treats. Melissa Willie, Michael Stuy, and Angela Johnson have done a great job assigning volunteers. Michael has also lined up photographers for each event. Magazine went out this week.

Discussion on Conditional Use Permit Process

The current city code requires that conditional use permits go before the Planning Commission, including items such as business licensing. Staff created a list of suggestions on what should go before the Planning Commission and what should be handled solely by staff, such as business licensing and zoning issues. Staff will work to get input from Planning Commission as well.

Review/Action on Ordinance Regarding Alcoholic Beverages in Public Parks

Mayor Gygi feels there is a sharp distinction between a private party event and allowing alcohol in public parks. Feels Cedar Hills should create a policy that prohibits alcoholic consumption in parks. CM Zappala looked at ordinances for other cities and all prohibit alcohol in public parks. This item is being sent to the Parks, Trails, Beautification, and Recreation Committee for review and to create a suggested ordinance.

Council Meeting - May 7, 2013

May 7, 2013

Work Session

Rich Welch with Garbett Homes presented regarding Bridgestone Plat F & G. He has worked with staff and CM Augustus to make some changes. All space behind buildings is common area and will be maintained by HOA. Added more brick and siding to buildings. Background fencing can go on sides of yard but not fully enclosed (back) as those areas are common areas.

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Joel Wright - Thinks Cedar Hills is great and is proud of the city. Happy with general direction. May 18th Murdock Canal opening and encourages Council and others to attend. Cedar Hills used to be a leader with recycling but it has fallen by the way. Would like the City to move it up on priority list.

City Reports

David Bunker - On Murdock Trail Grand Opening each participant will get a passport and can get a stamp from each City. Cedar Hills stamp is also a coupon that is buy one get one free golf. Will also be giving out Sammy's pie shake coupons.

CM Augustus - Planning Commission has talked about nuisances such as weeds. Will be recommending changes in ordinance regarding care facilities and the distance from each other.

CM Jackman - Finance Committee met last week and talked about budget. LPPSD board met last week about their budget. Fire department is looking for a 5% salary increase and social security money to be moved to a 401k at same percentage. Board is not thrilled with increase in costs so will meet again to finalize the budget with ideas of 2%-5% salary increase. One option is to reduce part time staff but that would also affect service. CM Jackman feels that is an unacceptable option. Need to approve budget soon as it affects each city's budget. Our increase would go up about $30,000 if the 5% is approved.

CM Rees - One press release issued and a few more being worked on. Starting to gather data for State of the City.

CM Martinez - Construction on CoRec basement will start in about a week. Youth and Women's golf clinics will be starting soon. Starting our own soccer league for grades K-2. North Utah County Soccer will no longer be using our fields as we will have all of our games in the city. Every year we will plan on adding another age group. Each participant gets a uniform and soccer ball. Lego League registration is open again. There are 40 open spots for four total teams. There are 2-3 weddings scheduled each week through June and two per week through August. Thirteen golf tournaments have been secured. Radio ads have been effective. Sammy's had a great first month. Family Festival is coming up June 3rd-8th.

Review/Action on Preliminary Plat for Bridgestone Plat F&G

See notes from work session. Garbett has been great to make changes that were requested by staff and Council. Item unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Policy for Alcohol Being Served at Events at CoRec

Last meeting a supplemental agreement was approved allowing consumption of alcohol in CoRec at private events. Updating agreement to state the alcohol can only be consumed in the Vista Room and with a drawing showing where the alcohol will be served.

Public Comment

Rob Crawley - Agrees with Joel Wright that this is a great city to live in. He believes this is because of the great people. We serve our neighbors and have high standards and expectations for ourselves and our kids. This includes avoiding vices such as alcohol, drugs, pornography, etc. Last week was first time in our city that alcohol was approved to be consumed in a public building. Believes in Libertarian principles but feels this affects his kids.  City leaders are allowed to limit things in city buildings. Feels this policy goes against what most residents want and wants city to do a poll to find out what residents think.

Ken Cromar - Wants to know why last meeting audio is inaudible. Alcohol was discussed and passed at last Council meeting but he feels it wasn't noticed properly so feels city did something against the law. People voted for golf course because they thought it would be closed on Sunday and not allow alcohol. He resents that tax dollars are used against an individual’s morals. Did not come to vote of the citizens like he thought it should have.

Joel Wright - We are a republic and Council has to make hard decisions. We are referendum happy in this city. Majority of residents are tired of the fights. Appreciates that there might be 5-10% portion of population that is against this. LDS church does not keep others from purchasing alcohol on the properties they own. We have standards in LDS religion but don't force those on others.

Angela Johnson – Does not want us to allow alcohol to be served in a public building. Understands it can bring in more revenue but does not want us to lower our standards. Would like the city to do a survey with pros and cons so residents can give feedback. This issue is frustrating people and stirring up a hornet’s nest.

Michael Stuy - Feels this is a safety issue. Lives in Forest Creek area and there are many kids in that area. Had a teacher whose family was destroyed by a drunk driver. There are two streets to get to CoRec and are heavily traveled by kids. Feels that it is a safety hazard if people who are drinking may hit a kid while leaving the center.

Jerry Dearinger - Was surprised that the ordinance was passed at last meeting. Very opposed to it. Fine with people doing what they want on their property but not in public buildings. Has same concerns as Mr. Stuy and Mr. Crawley. If city would do a survey on updated logo then they should also do one on alcohol at CoRec.

Jared Bradley - Is a businessman and looks at everything from cost benefit analysis. This new policy may bring in more revenue but additional risk of human loss or property loss would be overwhelming and surpass any revenue benefit. He assumes we would need an increase in law enforcement or city personnel.

Discussion

Mayor Gygi stated this is not a simple issue. A lot of thought has gone into this. He grew up in SLC and doesn't look differently on those who drink. Feels we need to be a welcoming type of city. Our personal freedoms and liberties are important and doesn't like when government intrudes on these freedoms. It is important how our city is portrayed. If it is favorable then businesses want to come here. Some businesses he has met with have expressed concerns that they would be boycotted if open on Sundays. Feels this policy is trying to do the right thing. Recent survey comments showed that many felt we are a closed minded city and that if you aren't LDS you don't have a voice. Strength lies in our diversity and differences.

CM Jackman stated he agrees with what Mayor Gygi says. He thinks it's a bad idea to legislate on beliefs. Doesn't think risks are as high as some might feel. Has no problem with people serving alcohol in their private events. Concerned about surveys because they can become biased. Electronic surveys are biased towards those who are more technology inclined. Feels it would be expensive to survey all these items. This why we have elected officials. Doesn't think majority of residents would want us to legislate morality. While some may be offended if alcohol is served in the building, there may also be other residents who want to serve alcohol at their private event at the CoRec and are told they aren’t allowed to.

CM Martinez - City is not selling or serving alcohol, not getting license. This will be private party who uses third party vendor. Grill was told that alcohol could not be sold there. This is a policy for a room in the building, not an ordinance.

CM Augustus - Agreed with everything that has been said. We are elected to represent those in our community.

I stated my concerns. I do not come from an LDS family so I am around alcohol and it doesn’t bother me. However, this is a public facility so it is different than a private business or private home. It is first and foremost a Community Recreation Center and I am concerned about alienating even 10% of our residents who are going to be angry and opposed to this policy. We’ve only had one person in 12 months request that alcohol be allowed so I don’t see that it is going to benefit or hurt us financially, regardless of what is decided. I doubt we would have many residents who would be upset if we didn’t allow it but we know we are going to have several who are upset if we do. I would hate for anyone in the city to feel that they do not want to be at the CoRec because there is a chance that alcohol is being consumed. There are several shared areas, such as bathrooms, hallways, parking lot, and driveway so we can’t guarantee that alcohol will only remain in the Vista room. I’m also unclear why we would allow alcohol to be served in the Vista room but then tell Sammy’s they cannot serve alcohol in the Grill. There was some concern expressed that we shouldn’t be limiting personal freedoms, however, we do that all the time based upon standards wanted in our community. We have laws about what types of animals people can own and how many, what types of fencing they can have, what kinds of signs can be in yards, what kinds of trees can be planted, how many weeds there can be and how tall, what kind of businesses can be operated out of a home, where residents can park their cars and at what times, what types of materials can be used on the exterior of homes, etc. It is difficult to base this decision on personal freedoms when we restrict so many others on private property. If we are focusing on allowing more personal freedoms then we should be willing to look at eliminating some of these other restrictions that people have complained of. Also, for me this isn’t a morality issue. I don’t think many would be opposed to Starbucks opening up in our commercial district. The hard part for me is that this is a public building built and maintained with public funds so I think we have to give more credence to public opinion on this issue. I hate to see more contention in our city, especially when there has already been so much over this building, for the few weddings each year that want to serve alcohol.

The new agreement was approved 4-1 with me voting against.

Review/Action on Boundary Adjustment of Flinders Property

On April 2^nd the Council adopted a resolution indicating the intent to boundary adjust the Flinders property from Cedar Hills to Pleasant Grove. This makes the most sense for this property in order to get utilities. A public hearing was held an no protests were filed. This item was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Polling Place for 2013 Election

The City Recorder has indicated that she would prefer to have all voting take place at the CoRec instead of using elementary schools. YCC will be involved in helping with this. Will do an aggressive campaign letting residents know that the polling place has changed. This will cut down on number of poll workers needed and reduces costs. It also allows the city recorder to be onsite at the entire voting location. There are some concerns with parking and space available at the CoRec for all five voting areas. The Council has asked the City Recorder to do some more research and come back to the Council.

Review/Action to Adopt Tentative FY 2014 Budget

Some of the highlights since the last meeting:

• Legal services are projected to decrease by $50,000,
• Administrative salaries is decreasing by $43,688 as we are no longer paying severance to former employees,
• This is an election year so those expenses are anticipated to be $13,500,
• There is an increase of $15,900 for fire services and $12,688 for police services,
• Employee health insurance premiums will increase 5.2% overall,
• There is an overall pay increase of 4%,
• Building and zoning contract labor is decreasing $35,000 as there are less building permits being requested,
• Curb maintenance of $25,000 is being moved from the General Fund to the Water & Sewer Fund,
• Golf Course subsidy is increasing from $65,000 to $117,000 in the budget based on more realistic revenue numbers,
• Events and recreation has been taken out of the Golf Fund and moved to the General Fund (this is so residents can better see how golf is doing),
• Line item 40-96-115 shows a transfer from the Capital Projects fund to the Golf Fund to pay off the loan, which now shows the actual fund balances in both funds,
• The increase in Water, Sewer, and Storm Drain revenue is due to an increase in utility rates as recommended by the BC&A audit done earlier in the year, and will be used for expenses in this fund.

The preliminary budget was unanimously approved.

Discussion on Family Festival

Greg Gordon gave an update on the Family Festival plans. He continues to work with the Family Festival committee on having everything ready.

Discussion on Harvey Blvd

This expansion is very important for Cedar Hills and surrounding cities. Mayor will put together a letter to encourage the state to allow this road to go through.

Council Meeting - April 23, 2013

Work Session

The Council and staff took a tour of the CoRec to where the expansion plans will take place.

Council Meeting

Public Comment

Don Brown - Lives in Bridgestone community. Sewer line goes down to retention basin and he is concerned about the depth of sewer line being buried. City engineer didn't have this line on the city drawings. When connecting they stopped this line and he went without water for 2-3 weeks. Now there is a new unit going into Bridgestone and he is concerned about further issues on this sewer line.

Scarlet Wright – Asked the Council to build a fun place downstairs in the basement for kids to play.

Audrey Wright – Wants the city to build a fun place in the basement for art classes and story time and a gym.

Marisa Wright – Says there are so many reasons to finish the basement and she thinks we should do it for the kids.

Tonya Edvalson - Wants City to finish what has been started with CoRec. There is need for inside equipment. Some like solitary exercise activities. Lego League was great for a few weeks for her son but teams got kicked out of CoRec facility a lot because of other events scheduled. If we have money to do it then we should do it.

Robert Chesworth - President of the Bridgestone HOA. Wants to back up Mr. Brown's concern with the sewer line. Until issue is fixed there will continue to be problems.

Angela Johnson - Really encourages Council to consider the decision on the basement. Feels like we've only portrayed whether or not the basement should be finished, not what else the money could be used for. Nobody is talking about the $3m recreation impact fees already spent. There is a $1.1m deficit on utility bond, we had to settle a lawsuit, and other expenses have come up. Asked the Council to please not spend any more money. Realizes that we'd have more classes, but we need to decide if two extra rooms are really worth $400,000 and will this facility ever really make a profit. There will be ongoing costs with utilities, additional staff, and equipment. Asked the Council to please try to reduce costs.

Paul Hales - Anxious to get involved and hear details on the building. Look at building and it's hard to imagine it used to be a tent and double wide trailer. We've overcome a lot of hurdles to get to this point and feels like giving up now is like stopping at the ten yard line. Home values are going back up. Local economy is strong. Would love to have a resource in Cedar Hills for exercise.

Ken Cromar - Congrats to Lone Peak and Coach Lewis. Appreciated the autism awareness day information. Says city published documents that golf course was profitable but it isn't. Golf Course Finance Advisory Committee showed golf course is being subsidized $550,000 per year. He says the record has never been corrected. Wants to know if City ever intends on putting golf course losses on the front page of the newsletter. Wants mayor to correct the record and publicize.

Review/Action Recognizing Quincy Lewis as Cedar Hills Champion

From the press release - As part of the Cedar Hills Champions program, the City Council will recognize Quincy Lewis for his role as the boys basketball coach at Lone Peak High School, where he has been the coach for 10 years.

Mr. Lewis led the Lone Peak Knights through an impressive season this year, which ended with the Knights crowned as the national basketball champions for 2013. He has also led the basketball team through five state championships in the past six years. In 2012 Mr. Lewis was inducted into the Wagner College Athletics Hall of Fame where he played basketball from 1991-1993.

Quincy has been recognized nationally as Naismith Boy’s High School Coach of the Year and MaxPreps 2013 National Coach of the Year at the same time that the Lone Peak Knights were named the MaxPreps 2013 Xcellent 25 National Champions. In Utah Governor Herbert has declared March 8^th as Lone Peak Basketball Day.

“Quincy is an inspiring leader,” said Mayor Gary Gygi. “He has shown an incredible amount of commitment to the sport, but especially to the boys he coaches. We appreciate the time and effort he gives to the youth in our city. We are honored to have him represent our community and are pleased to recognize him as a Cedar Hills Champion.”

The resolution recognizing Quincy was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Declaring Autism Awareness Day

From the press release - On April 23^rd the City Council proclaimed April 25, 2013 as Autism Awareness Day in Cedar Hills. April is known nationally as Autism Awareness Month.

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a “spectrum disorder” that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known single cause of autism. In March 212, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that the prevalence of autism had risen to 1 in every 88 births in the Untied Sated and almost 1 in 54 boys. Currently, the Autism Society estimates that the lifetime cost for caring for a child with autism ranges from $3.5 million to $5 million, and that the United States is facing almost $90 billion annually in costs for autism. The Autism Awareness Ribbon, which consists of several colorful puzzle pieces, is the most recognized symbol of the autism community in the world.

"We are happy to make this proclamation as a small way to raise awareness in our community," stated Mayor Gary Gygi. "Autism affects millions around the world and even many in our city. We encourage residents to learn more about autism and to find ways to support those in our community who struggle with this disability."

The Autism Society is the nation’s leading grassroots autism organization and exists to improve the lives of all affected by autism. This is done by increasing public awareness about the day-to-day issues faced by people on the spectrum, advocating for appropriate services for individuals across the lifespan, and providing the latest information regarding treatment, education, research and advocacy. Additional information may be found online at http://www.autism-society.org.

Resident Tonya Edvalson spoke and gave further information on autism. This resolution was unanimously approved.

City Reports

CM Martinez - Family Festival underway. Rec programs are going well. YCC has openings so youth should submit applications.

CM Zappala - Working on app for budget and will work with CM Rees to issue a press release.

CM Augustus - ULCT conference was great. Next work session he would like to talk about some of the information given. North Pointe is going to start taking green waste soon. On the Planning Commission Tonya Edvalson has asked to be removed from committee. Waste Management will be coming to meet with Council soon.

CM Rees - Issued press releases and working on more for Arbor Day activities and Murdock Trail grand opening.

Consent Agenda

The minutes from the March 26, 2013 and April 2, 2013 Council meetings were unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Preliminary Bridgestone Plat F & G

Planning Commission approved plans for Plat F & G with condition that Garbett Homes add more brick to the buildings. They are aware of the sewer line issue brought up by Mr. Brown and will work to avoid that line. Rich with Garbett Homes presented. Is excited that Garbett is coming to Utah County. Purchased these lots from Perry Homes. Planning on building nine buildings between Harvey and Bridgestone Drive. One building that already has foundation will stay consistent with old design, but newer buildings will not have underground garages. Because there were some drawings not previously submitted to the Council for review this item was tabled until the next meeting.

Review/Action on Amendment on City Code Regarding Assisted Living Facilities

The code was updated to remove the minimum distance requirement from similar facilities. This was required to be compliant with State laws. This was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Resolution to Adjust Common Boundaries (Earl Property)

The City received a request from the Earls to boundary adjust into Cedar Hills from Pleasant Grove. A public hearing was previously held and a request has also been filed with Pleasant Grove. This was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on Amendment Regarding Elections

The City Recorder had found some outdated information in the city code with regards to campaign finance disclosure requirements and definitions. The updated ordinance will bring the code into compliance with state code. She also recommended a Declaration of Candidacy Filing Fee of $35.00 be added to cover the cost of staff and supplies. This is common in other cities. This item was unanimously approved.

Review/Action on CoRec Basement Bid

Public Comment

Jill Griffiths - Really enjoys having recreation here. She teaches rec classes at the facility and is also a golfer. If we want to support our community then we need to stay true to the name of the building. Numbers have dropped because no classes on Fridays or Saturdays because of events. Basement would give more freedom, cleaner place to be, and an actual fitness schedule. Zumbatonic numbers have dropped but kids who attend love the class. Amazing place for kids and families. Suggestion is to facilitate a fitness room and maybe not build other room right now. Maybe we don't need office space or conference room. Fitness room would be creating recreation and meeting goal of making this building a rec building.

Emily Flygare - Wants to encourage finishing basement. Loves fitness classes and wishes there were more. Floor is very slippery and no mirrors and not enough equipment. A fitness room that is more usable and safer would increase numbers. Doesn't have time to attend AF or PG classes. Son takes karate classes. Would be sad if classes were cancelled. Thinks city needs and deserves this. Thinks it will be profitable. Hopes there will be a sidewalk of some sort going to rec center.

Laurie Johnson - Likes the area and loves the center, it is beautiful. Concern is that things promised to residents when moved into area have not been finished, such as park on her street. Little kids who could be playing in park are playing in streets. Would like to see some of those projects being finished with this money. Would like it if we would not spend all money on basement or take more time to consider other options. Would like to see other projects and promises fulfilled before rec center.

Anna Mitchell - Enjoys rec center and grateful it has been built and we have classes. Building is used for fitness classes, golf, story time, dinner, council meetings so it's not just a recreation center. Loves coming because it's a great place and has a wonderful feeling. If there is more to offer through the basement then numbers will increase. Provides a sense of community.

Discussion

The low bid for the buildout came to $364,000. This includes the finish of approximately 3,200 sq ft of existing basement area and 1,600 sq ft of new construction including a storage area, conference room, two offices, and elevator. Also included are store-front style main doors with additional walkway and railing installed at Sammy’s. There is an alternate addition of $3,194 to replace the existing counters and sinks in the restrooms.

Finance Director Charl Lowe presented on how this would be funded. He is estimating the entire project will be around $410,000, which includes furnishing for the new conference rooms and offices. This does not include any recreation equipment. He estimates $20,000 for architecture fee, $370,000 for construction, and $20,000 for furnishings. The funds that will be used are $120,421 from previous CARE tax and current year projected CARE tax, and $289,579 from unrestricted funds.

CM Martinez stated we’ve been talking about basement for over a year. Had townhall meeting and has been on agenda many times. Has been a discussion on the forum. It's been good and bad that basement wasn't finished when building was originally built. We've had issues because of conflict between recreation and events. She has high expectations for recreation.

I was opposed to awarding the bid at this time. Here is an outline of my reasoning:

1.      Expansion

a. Last year we had a public hearing on the basement and solicited feedback on 4 options.
b. Overall, the majority of residents preferred Option B.
c. At the December 18th meeting we as a Council decided to send out to bid Option B, which included a basic finish of both sides of the basement and an optional elevator.
d. We were told the goal was simply to move recreation downstairs so the upstairs could be used exclusively for events.
e. The item sent out to bid was not what the Council had voted on and includes not only the basement finish but an expansion of the main floor and several changes to existing features.
f. We were given this information on Friday and have been given 4 days to now vote.
g. The information being relayed to residents is that the $374,000 bid is for the basement and to increase our recreation. In truth, it includes more than finishing the basement and some of it will not bring additional recreation to the building. In fact, the only thing the basement construction does is allow us to move existing classes downstairs.

2. Financials

a. The final approval for the existing building was $2.1m, yet the analysis David performed this week shows that we spent over $2.7m on the building as is.
b. Residents were told the building as is would serve as a rec center, an events center, and a golf clubhouse but are now being told we have to spend more money to make recreation work.
c. Our outdoor recreation classes are doing very well. The indoor rec classes are struggling and losing money. Now we are considering adding more cost, both one time and ongoing to the portion that is struggling already.
d. The $374,000 does not include any furniture or any recreation equipment.
e. Even if we were to spend additional funds for equipment, it will always be difficult to compete with Anytime Fitness and PG rec center who charge about the same per month as we do yet offer much more with regards to fitness.

3. Resident Feedback

a. We recently passed an ordinance that would require any new building exceeding $400,000 to go to a vote of the citizens in order to get feedback. This expansion is going to cost $410,000 by Charl’s analysis (this includes construction, architect fees, and furniture for the new offices and conference room) so we should attempt to get as much feedback as possible through an online survey.
b. While we had a public hearing last year to show 4 different options for the basement we have never put together an analysis showing how much money we have available in unrestricted funds and all the options on how it could be spent. We should do so and give residents an opportunity to give feedback on how it should be spent.
c. On a recent survey performed we received 366 responses from residents. It would be nice to get a similar number of responses on a project of this size.
d. On the Facebook recreation page a resident asked to see the plans in advance of the meeting and was told they would only be made available once the Council approves. Where is the transparency we have been pushing for?
e. In the Decisions 2011 survey when asked if the City should provide adult recreation programs 35% said yes and 60% said no. When asked if they were provided if residents would participate 29% said yes and 65% said no. These numbers align with what we are seeing happening with classes.

4. Conclusion

a. The existing building is already way over budget and we do not have any recreation impact fees left. Not only has it cost more financially than was planned, but it has caused upset feelings among many in the community who felt they didn't have a voice on how the funds were spent. Some were even on a committee and made a recommendation for these funds and feel the Council ignored the recommendation.
b. Using our unrestricted funds for this will be at the cost of other projects. For example, three years ago the residents on Bayhill presented the Council with a petition asking that the Bayhill park be completed before their kids were too old to enjoy it. They were told that there were not funds for this project. You can imagine the frustration being expressed that there are unrestricted funds available to keep working on the rec center but not for this park that has been promised for some time.
c. During our campaigning we all talked about communication and getting resident feedback. This is our opportunity to prove we are serious about that.
d. This basement may be the best option and what our residents want over any other projects. We should take two weeks to do a survey and at least give residents an opportunity to let us know. We know that asking residents to attend Council meeting or public hearings has not usually been effective as we get a handful of residents who come. It doesn’t make sense to me that we continue to use that as the primary option for resident feedback knowing it doesn’t work. Let’s at least try to get more feedback via an online and anonymous survey.

5. Suggestion

a. Prepare an analysis of what unrestricted funds we have set aside and all the ways they can be utilized.
b. Create an online survey with this information and highly publicize.
c. Come back in two weeks and make a decision with more resident feedback.

This item passed 4-1.

Resolution on Changing Clubhouse Drive to Recreation Drive

A request was received to change the street name of Clubhouse Drive to something that would more accurately reflect the use of the Community Recreation Center. The suggestion was to change it to Recreation Drive. CM Augustus would like more community involvement in the renaming of the street. Would like to have a contest with schools and also put it in the newsletter. He will work on this so the item was tabled.

FY 2014 Budget Presentation

A few highlights:

·         Health insurance premiums are increasing 5.2%

·         Average pay increase was 4%

·         Anticipated decrease in legal services - $50,000

·         This is an election year so we need to budget for election expenses - $13,500

·         Fire services are increasing by $15,900

·         Police services are increasing by $12,688

·         Golf subsidy is staying at $65,000

·         Planned subsidy for library reimbursement, Family Festival, and YCC is $41,800

·         Planned subsidy for recreation classes is $49,500

·         No funds for a Decisions Survey this year

·         Administrative salary and wages are down as we are no longer paying severance for past employees

Resolution to Create Family Festival Committee

Earlier the Mayor put together a citizens advisory committee to oversee the annual family festival celebration. This will reduce the amount of time staff will be involved, which frees them up to focus on other city items. Some changes to the wording will be made (changing vice chair to committee member, changing chair-elect to future chair, clarifying how a new chair is selected if they resign). This item was unanimously approved with the suggested wording changes.

Review/Action on Events Center Contract

The City was approached by someone who wishes to serve alcoholic beverages during a private event in the Vista room. The proposal was made to allow private groups to serve alcohol. Alcohol will not be served by the City and the City will not be obtaining a liquor license. The event agreement would be updated to include the rules with allowing alcohol to be served.

The entire Council agreed that there wasn’t a concern with people abusing alcohol at the events. Most felt the Council should not restrict personal freedoms by prohibiting alcohol consumption. I don’t have any issue with people drinking alcohol and do not think we are going to have issues at the Vista Room. My reason for voting no on this is because it is a public building built with public funds and also used as a family gathering spot. It is different than Walmart or Harts, both private companies. I would hate to alienate any resident who decides not to use the facility because alcohol may be served in the next room, especially since tax dollars keep this building going. Secondly, this is the first time we’ve been asked to allow alcohol in the 12 months the facility has been open. I know there are going to be many residents in the city who will be upset if alcohol is served at the CoRec, regardless of who is serving it, and it doesn’t seem worth the contention or negative PR for the few events that may want alcohol.

This item passed 4-1.

Discussion on St. Andrews Property

We have been approached by a developer who may be interested in purchasing this property. Currently the area is zoned residential. The Council asked for this item to go the Planning Commission to review the possibility of rezoning it to a mixed use or commercial development.

Discussion on Sale of Lots on Cottonwood Drive

There are seven residential lots located on Cottonwood Drive that are owned by the City. The lots are fully developed and can be marketed for immediate sale. We have seen a rise in interest in building in Cedar Hills so the recommendation is that we have a market analysis performed to determine the value of the lots and possibly put then up for sale. No decision was made as this is a discussion item only.