Public Comment
Ken Cromar – Has great interest in legal services.
Congratulates the Council on seeking new legal services. Has concerns with
Stirba & Associates. They represented Eric Richardson and Konrad
Hildebrandt in 2012 in a series of allegations made by Cedar Hills Citizens for
Responsible Government. Mr. Cromar alleges that Peter Stirba did not properly
file a conflict of interest and filed a complaint against Mr. Stirba. Feels
city attorney has been working for a few people instead of the Council and
citizens of the community.
City Reports
CM Rees – Planning Commission met last week. The Lakeview
Trails Subdivision final plans were approved and will next go to Council. The
Blu Line development was tabled as there were several concerns with the new
renderings; however, the Planning Commission agreed to hold a special meeting
to review updated plans.
Family Festival plans are going well and the details are
going into the newsletter and on the city website. We are adding a teen night
and a car show.
Cultural Arts Committee met to discuss plans for the summer.
They would like the city to consider purchasing a stage for plays and other
events, as well as for rental for weddings. Current bids for renting a stage
range from $1201.73 to $2706.25. One bid has been received for the purchase of
the stage for $4760.59 but are waiting on more. Natalie has indicated that they
have had about 5 events where stages were brought in and another who has asked
about a stage, so she feels we could recoup some money on renting it out.
David Bunker – TSSD met last week. They are looking at
refinancing another set of bonds to reduce debt amount. Coed soccer team
started last night. Tot soccer starting now. T-ball registration going on now.
Junior Jazz recognized Cedar Hills for having the largest number of
participants for a city of our size. Golf resident appreciation day occurred and
seven residents participated. Our first play through the recreation department
was successful. First IFA class was last week and another one is scheduled for next
month.
CM Zappala – LPPSD board met. Discussed sustainability of
the budget in the future. Budget was approved for the fire department and does
not have an increase for this year. Lone Peak Police is discussing wearing body
cameras.
Mayor Gygi – At MAG meeting they discussed new gas tax.
Money will start being collected in January 2016. This will be about $150,000
each year in increased B&C road funds. County is discussing the local
option and when it get it on the ballot.
CM Augustus – North Pointe met and approved a budget and
the annual audit.
CM Geddes – Utah County Dispatch continuing with new
building in Spanish Fork. Preliminary plan was approved and will go out to bid.
Parks & Trails met and has scheduled Beautification Day for May 2nd.
More info is available on the city website. Lunch will be provided to residents
who participate.
CM Crawley – Received an email from an attorney he worked
with last year who is interested in submitting an application if we don’t
select an attorney tonight.
RFQ’s for Legal Services
Douglass Ahlstrom
Lives in Lehi. Has been the Draper city attorney, also
worked as the Tooele city attorney. His entire career has been in municipal
government. Has also worked with state and local officials. He is a one-man
shop. He works out of his home with no other attorneys or paralegals. Would
always advice based on state and city code. His goal is to keep city off the
front page of the newspaper. Doesn’t know the city politics. He would guide us
through trouble spots. He doesn’t have any other clients right now.
Highlights to questions asked:
·
No conflict of interest with Local Government
Trust.
·
Has dealt with sovereign citizens. He says
judges know who they are. Understands their tactics. Treats them as courteously
as you can.
·
He served as the city attorney on his own for
Draper, which is much larger than we are.
·
Considerable experience with GRAMA, has not
appeared before State Records Committee. He feels cities lose most of the time when
they appear before the Records Committee.
·
Approve developments that comply with the law.
Feels many developers are right in their arguments.
·
He is looking for a job with benefits so if
another city offers him a full-time job, he doesn’t know what he would do.
·
Feels he is offering a good price.
Stirba & Associates
Was city attorney for Gunnison for 10 years and also for
Centerfield. Has dealt with many issues with regards to municipal issues. Has
represented many cities on legal issues. Interacts with Council, Mayor, and
staff. Has been asked many times to provide an opinion or legal counsel on
specific issues that cities deal with. Has had experience with Cedar Hills in a
Board of Adjustment hearing and when allegations were filed against former
Mayor Richardson and former city manager Konrad Hildebrant.
Highlights to questions asked:
·
Addressed Mr. Cromar’s allegations. Has done
work for Utah County for 25 years. There was no conflict of interest because there
was nothing wrong in representing Mr. Richardson. The County Attorney was
responsible for the investigation. Mr. Stirba contacted Mr. Buhman (county
attorney) to let him know he had been hired, but there was nothing adverse
between Mr. Richardson and the County as the County wasn’t the one filing
complaints so there was no conflict of interest.
·
Does not represent the Utah Local Government
Trust. He does have a couple of cases where a few cities he represents have
coverage through the Trust.
·
Difficult to deal with sovereign citizens.
Judges are somewhat reticent to preventing people from going to court. You have
to go through the process. It’s difficult and wasteful. City attorney should
work to avoid problems and there may be times you can communicate to avoid too
much conflict.
·
Has not appeared before the State Records
Committee. Responds to GRAMA requests quite often. Works with staff to identify
what should and should not be provided on requests.
·
Without understanding what issues we are dealing
with, it’s difficult to determine how many hours will be needed each month. Is
willing to review fees after 6 months to a year to determine if it needs to be
adjusted.
·
Currently not representing another city as city
attorney.
·
City action is through the Council and sometimes
through the executive officer of the city. Has no issue with council members
going directly to him with questions, but ultimately the power resides with the
collective body of the Council.
Smith Hartvigson
Won’t find another firm with the depth of expertise they
have. They represent cities as general counsel, but also in land use,
development, elections, water rights, eminent domain, planning, impact fees,
etc. Work to keep clients out of trouble. Takes a team approach so that the
best person is handling the issues in which they excel. Broad base of
experience. Has litigation and transactional experience as well. Firm has been
around since 2002.
Highlights to questions asked:
·
Represent about 5 cities as city attorney.
·
No conflict of interest with Local Government
Trust but has dealt with them on behalf of their clients. Do not represent
insurance companies.
·
Has dealt with sovereign citizens. You can’t
talk them out of their conduct, just go to court and show the court what they
are doing. Courts will handle those issues.
·
Has about 12 attorneys working for their firm.
For communication we’d have a key contact, but behind the scenes each issue is
assigned to those who have that area of expertise. Would need further
information on issues we are dealing with before knowing who to assign.
·
Has dealt with GRAMA. Never appeared before the
State Records Committee.
·
Has a good relationship with Eric Johnson. Eric
does a lot of bond work and they’ve worked with him for their cities who are
refinancing bonds. Feels the difference is that they take a team approach where
Eric wanted to focus on his clients.
·
Does not have a relationship with anyone within
the city.
·
Understand tight budgets and work with cities on
those issues.
·
Estimating 15-20 hours per month, but needs to
know our issues better.
·
Appearing before the State Records Committee
would be viewed as administrative.
·
Has dealt with developers who sue if they don’t
get approval. This law firm has a reputation of not being easily pushed around.
Don’t govern themselves by fear of litigation.
Heideman & Associates
Local firm with members who live in Utah County.
Highlights for questions asked:
·
Don’t represent any cities. Have been involved
in litigation involving cities as both plaintiff and defendant.
·
No conflict of interest with Local Government
Trust, has sued them many times.
·
Has dealt with sovereign citizens. Be direct,
honest, and blunt. Tend to be litigious and not very reasonable. They want to
be heard but sometimes don’t want to listen.
·
Would like to be on the side of a city because of
governmental immunity act.
·
Because we would be their only city client, we
would be a focus.
·
Sue cities quite often.
·
No relationship with anyone within the city.
·
Has a flexible billing schedule. Don’t charge
for quick phone calls.
·
Never appeared before State Records Committee.
Has filed many requests for records.
·
Will dedicate as many hours as it takes each
month, but anticipates about 25-32 hours per month for administrative matters.
·
Will work to compromise when client wants less
hours than what is quoted for a project.
Callister, Nebeker & McCullough
Located in downtown Salt Lake. Has spent a considerable
amount of time representing cities during his 20 year career. Worked in land
use, development, GRAMA, municipal bonds, utilities, policies, etc. Has worked
on many interlocal agreements and employee issues. Has formulated codes and
ordinances for cities. Always remembers he is about the public’s business. Local
government practice within the firm is substantial. Have experts in employee benefit
matters. Expert litigation support is available.
Highlights to questions asked:
·
No conflict of interest with Local Governments
Trust.
·
Never has dealt with a sovereign citizen.
·
Has appeared before the State Records Committee
and has extensive experience with GRAMA.
·
City attorney for Cottonwood Heights for past 10
years and still acting in that capacity. Also served as city attorney for
Holladay.
·
Anticipate 50-60 hours a month for
administrative legal services.
·
Works with city recorder on GRAMA requests. Appearing
before Records Committee would be viewed as administrative.
Kirton McConkie
Provide many key benefits including the fact that many
members of the team live within 10 minutes of Cedar Hills. Has experience of
three former in-house city attorneys. Sensitive to budget issues. Mr. Wright
has served as a former council member in Cedar Hills. Has attorneys who have
served as bond attorneys, worked with special service districts, defended local
political subdivisions. Has no conflicts of interest with regards to our
issues. Understand development issues and feels they can protect the interests
of the city.
Highlights to questions asked:
·
Has functioned as a city attorney. Represent
about a dozen cities on various matters.
·
Not aware of any conflicts of interest with
regards to Local Governments Trust.
·
Has dealt with sovereign citizens and has
defended a city against them. Have to be firm, blunt, and defend against them.
·
Lead attorney would be Mr. Shaw, Mr. Wright, and
Mr. Bramhall.
·
Treats every client like they are the only
client.
·
Willing to negotiate on fee structure. Doesn’t
have to be retainer, can be hourly.
·
Defending GRAMA issues for 16 years. Has not appeared
before the State Records Committee.
·
Approach is to negotiate and find compromise
before litigation.
My two choices were Smith Hartvigson and Callister Nebeker. I liked Smith because they have an extensive background in municipal law and currently serve in the role as city attorney. I like Callister because they also had extensive municipal law experience but have also appeared before the State Records Committee and prevailed in the cases. Because we have been forced to appear before the State Records Committee multiple times and have prevailed, I wanted someone who could continue with those issues.
CM Zappala made a motion to award the legal services contract to Kirton McConkie. This was seconded by CM Augustus. Voted 3-2 in favor of Kirton McConkie with myself and CM Crawley voting nay. CM Crawley indicated he would have voted for them if Mr. Wright had agreed to not serve as legal representation as he would prefer to not have a Cedar Hills resident serving in that capacity; however, CM Zappala did not share that concern and did not make it part of the motion.
CM Zappala made a motion to award the legal services contract to Kirton McConkie. This was seconded by CM Augustus. Voted 3-2 in favor of Kirton McConkie with myself and CM Crawley voting nay. CM Crawley indicated he would have voted for them if Mr. Wright had agreed to not serve as legal representation as he would prefer to not have a Cedar Hills resident serving in that capacity; however, CM Zappala did not share that concern and did not make it part of the motion.
Review/Action to Amend the Current Fee Schedule
Recently the City of Cedar Hills authorized the
Mayor to negotiate a professional services contract with Sunrise Engineering
for building inspection and plan review services. The City has reviewed the New
Construction Fee rates for residential plan review, Gas line, and General City
Inspection Fee rates. These fees are not in line with the actual cost for the services
provided or the proposed fee rates of the new contract. Staff also recommends that a Temporary power
and Permanent Electrical Connection inspection fee be added. The following
modifications/changes are recommended to the City Fee Schedule:
Gas Line Inspection:
Current - $35.00
Proposed - $53.00
Residential Plan Check:
Current - 53% of Building Permit Fee
Proposed - 65% of Building Permit Fee
General City Inspection Fee (1hour/minimum 1hour):
Current - $47.00
Proposed - $ 53.00
Temporary Power and Permanent Power Inspection /
each:
Current - $ 0.00
Proposed - $ 53.00
This was approved.
Review/Action on Municipal Wastewater Annual Report
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. We have 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 2014 report and 2)
If applicable; City
Council has taken
all appropriate actions
necessary to maintain
effluent requirements contained in the UPDES Permit. This was approved.
Review/Action on Lease Agreement with Vivint
See notes from the last meeting for more detail.
Staff met with Vivint on concerns mentioned last time. Some of those items
include:
·
Has limited space to 100 square feet on rooftop
·
Vivint agrees to get required permits
·
Changed term to being renewable every four years
·
Provided expectation of service for city buildings
·
Termination with cause added
·
Added agreement on coverage for damage
·
Access to the building after hours will be paid for
by Vivint and will notify staff before accessing
This was approved.
Review/Action on Service Agreement with American
Fork Police
The City of Cedar Hills currently has a Police
Services Agreement with American Fork City. Police matters including animal
control activities are provided within the framework of the contract. American Fork Police Department has proposed
that an updated Police Services Agreement be executed with changes as
follows:
1) Contract length will be 24 months with an
automatic renewal unless written notice is given by either party no later than
180 days prior to renewal date.
2) An increase
in contract rate shall include a 3.5% adjustment once per contract period.
The modification to the Police Services contract
gives additional stability to the Police department through a multi-year
contract. The contract also reduces the overall contract rate charged to Cedar
Hills by allowing for one increase of 3.5% during
the contract period, rather than annually as is stipulated in the current
contract. This was approved.
Discussion on Water Restrictions
Governor Herbert indicated he wouldn’t be surprised
if cities implemented water restrictions because of low snow pack levels. We
have done odd/even restrictions in the past but saw an increase in usage. Whatever
is implemented has to be enforceable. Numerous ideas were discussed, whether it
is odd/even or a two day per week schedule and how it would be enforced. This
will be an ongoing discussion.
