City Council 17-Nov-2015: Family Cemeteries, Park Bond Refinance, Final Election Result Certification

We had over 40 scouts from various units plus 12 interested residents attend the meeting. We had healthy discussions about most items but concluded with unanimous votes on the final outcomes. The next council meeting (Dec 1)should be interesting. We will make a final decision on whether or not to allow family cemeteries on private land. This issue was discussed in an article in the Provo Herald and in two news segments on ABC4 (this was the top news story – it must have been as slow news day) and Fox13. Since then the city has had some calls from residents on this issue. The responses have been split. My experience has been an initial negative response but after talking about it a little most people say yes, I wouldn’t do it, but if someone else wants to I don’t really care.

Council Meeting AGENDA / MINUTES

Public Comment

• None

CONSENT ITEMS

1. Meeting Minutes for the City Council Regular Session – September 1, 2015. See agenda page 3. Unanimously approved.

2. MOTION: Meeting Minutes for the City Council Regular Session – October 20. See agenda page 20. Unanimously approved.

3. MOTION: Formally Certifying the Election Canvass for the 2015 General Municipal Election – Including Additional Votes from Provisional and Timely Absentee Ballots. See agenda page 27. I recommended that and a member of council or two meet to discuss what went well and what we could do better for future elections. Including looking at the sign ordinance and considering whether we should limit the public locations on which signs can be placed. Additionally, we should also discuss allowing signs to go up given that that more people are voting using absentee ballots (vote by mail). We agreed it was a good idea but did not set a date since the recorder was absent. Approved the motion unanimously after agreeing that in future elections we would collect election data by precinct.
   

ACTION ITEMS

4. ORDINANCE: Amending Chapter 13.48 City Cemetery Policies and Regulations – Cemeteries on Private Property. Refer to agenda page 32. Council unanimously tables this agenda item because there were still lots of questions but no answers. I pointed out that since the property by state statute needed to be divided if a family cemetery were to be created it raised a number of issues. Who would be responsible for maintaining the cemetery, would there be an easement, would a separate meter need to be installed to provide water … . These issues would all need to be addressed via city regulations and I wondered if in the name of not over-regulating we were creating a lot more regulations.  Later in the meeting I asked that staff follow-up on the questions and that this be taken up at the next council meeting. We also agreed to have a work session prior to the Dec 1 council meeting to discuss this issue with staff.

5. MOTION: Authorization to Proceed with New City Logo – Web & Social Media Committee. See agenda page 35. As staff and the communications committee worked on the new website it became apparent that with the cleaner “modern website” look and feel we were trying to develop that a new logo would look better. Brian Parrish developed several prototypes and the group selected a logo to bring to the council for approval that fit the new site.
   The logo was developed at no cost and will be implemented in as we need new letterhead, cards, or signage so there is essentially no dollar cost to adopting it. The council approved the logo.

6. MOTION: Agreement for Temporary Gravel Parking Lot - Alpine School District for Lone Peak High School: See agenda page 39. In addition to providing extra parking for the High School this will also serve as parking for the soccer fields north of the lot and bike park (which is currently under construction to the NW of the parking lot). Approved unanimously with the stipulation that the school district be responsible for removing the gravel if the land ever was not used for parking.
   
   

7. MOTION: Discussion and Approval - Storm Drain Maintenance Plan.  See agenda page 44. The council unanimously approved a 10 year maintenance plan for the Strom Drain system. This plan identifies components of the system and the associated maintenance costs out to 2025 it also shows estimated operational capital expenses (replacement equipment) out to 2035. We asked that a 3% inflationary cost be used instead of 4% and that table 2 be restructured to be similar to table 2 in the PI plan. Note, while the plan was approved this does not constitute the approval to fund the costs listed. This plan along with the capital plan will be used when we analyze the current fees charged residents to ensure that they are not too high or low.
   
   

8. MOTION: Discussion and Approval - Pressurized Irrigation Maintenance Plan. See agenda page 54. The council unanimously approved the maintenance plan for the PI system. This plan identifies components of the system and the associated maintenance costs out to 2025 it also shows estimated operational capital expenses (new or replacement equipment) out to 2050. We asked that a 3% inflationary cost be used instead of 4%. Note, while the plan was approved this does not constitute the approval to fund the costs listed. This plan along with the capital plan will be used when we analyze the current fees charged residents to ensure that they are not too high or low.
   
   

9. RESOLUTION: Consideration of a Resolution for a Bond Refinance – 2007 Park Bonds. See agenda page 67. The city can refinance the current park bond which has an outstanding balance of $5.25M and save between $300,00 to $380,000, depending on the new interest rate. The refinanced bond will have the same payoff date as the original. Most of the savings would accrue to the city between 2016 and 2019. The council unanimously approved giving the mayor the authority to proceed with steps necessary to execute a direct placement bond.

10. MOTION: Approval of a Bid for the Construction of a Fence – Around the Splash Pad. See agenda page 86. Earlier in the year I requested and the council agreed that staff should look into the cost of putting a short fence around the splash pad as a safety measure. Staff received for quotes from 4 vendors that ranged from $20K to $38K. Council agreed to take the the issue in Feb or Mar of next year when we have a better picture of where we stand financially as this would be outside the current budget. In conversing with a couple of council members after the meeting I’m quite sure we will get this in prior to the splash pad opening in 2016.

    

11. MOTION: Authorization to Purchase Work Order Software – Mobile 311 with Facilitydude. See agenda page 88.

MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL & STAFF COMMUNICATION ITEMS

• Park Maintenance Update – Justin
  Most of the equipment has been put away in the temporary storage facilities. Some is still out because winter fertilizing is still being wrapped up. Most of the equipment and material in the old part building has been moved. What remains will be put in the Maintenance Building at the mouth of the canyon. The transition will be done by the end of the year.
• Road Maintenance Repair Update - Justin
  Bids are out for next year’s maintenance projects. We should have them back within a couple of weeks.
  

STAFF AND COUNCIL ACTION ITEM LIST

Description	Requested by / Owner	Due Date	Status
Road Capital Improvement Plan for FY 15-16. Prioritize and Communicate to Residents	City Council		Continued discussion
Determine Park Use for Recreation	City Council Parks Staff	2016	Staff to make recommendations
Building Use Policy - Fees	Rod Devirl Barfuss	Dec 1 2015	Staff gathering information
HW Bldg. – PW Storage Status	City Council Mayor/PW	End of 2015	In progress
Moratorium for the Town Center Overlay	City Council	Jan 2016
Urban Deer Control Plan Report	Council City Recorder	Jan 2016	Scheduled for Jan 19th

LINKS:

• Council agenda with my notes. If you click on the comment button on the top right of the Adobe Reader application or in the Tools Menu, depending on the version of Adobe Reader you are using, you will see a list of all comments in a panel on the right side of your screen. Note, this is a large file and may take a minute to download.