Utah’s Highlander again put together an excellent video summary of our previous council meeting. The Groundhog Day theme was brilliant. Earlier this week former youth city council member Halla Walch joined me for my monthly Meet with the Mayor broadcast. We discussed what she learned while on youth council and reviewed view city issues including some brand new information I had received about the county using the Equestrian Center park, located just off of 6800 W, as an immunization center starting March 1st.
Here are key items on the agenda:
- Agenda item 3 - Highland resident and American Fork High School senior Ryan Bazzelle will receive a mayor’s award. He has delivered flowers to every girl in his school each Valentine’s Day since the 8th grade. Click here to read about how he got started.
- Agenda item 8 - Final plat approval of The Hollows, a 68-lot subdivision located at approximately 6531 W 10250 N. The developer will be dedicating to Highland 5.9 acres of land in Mitchell Hollow.
- Agenda item 9 - The council will consider final approval of a request to water an alfalfa field outside of Highland using our pressurized irrigation system. There are pros and cons to this decision. It should be an interesting discussion.
- Agenda item 12 - Staff will review questions with council for our upcoming city survey at the end of the meeting. Survey questions are designed to provide input on general issues that can be used to gauge progress year over year and to solicit input on specific issues that the council may be dealing with in the coming year.
This meeting will be held at city hall but there will be limited space because of distancing requirements. We will also stream it on our YouTube channel (click here to watch). Note, individuals, especially those in a high-risk category, are strongly encouraged to participate in the meeting virtually!
You can find an abbreviated meeting agenda together with my thoughts below. The complete agenda (89 pages) which includes the staff reports associated with each item can be accessed by clicking here.
Highland City Council Agenda
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 6:30 PM council meeting
- Zoom: Call 1-346-248-7799 Meeting ID: 837 2743 0041
- Email comments prior to meeting: council@highlandcity.org
The time and duration listed at the end of agenda items is my guess as to the start time of this item and how long it will run..
CLOSED SESSION 6:30 (30 minutes)
The Highland City Council may temporarily recess the City Council meeting to convene in a closed session to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation, as provided by Utah Code Annotated §52-4-205UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES 7:05 (10 minutes)
Time has been set aside for the public to express their ideas, concerns, and comments. Comments are limited to 3 minutes.PRESENTATIONS 7:15 (5 minutes)
- Mayor’s Award – Mayor Rod Mann
The Mayor and the City Council will recognize Highland students for their acts of service and kindness to fellow students. American Fork High School Senior Ryan Bazzelle has given a flower and card to each young woman in his school every Valentines Day since the 8th grade. Reports 7:20 20 (15 minutes)
- Recreation/Fitness Center – Community Development Partners
Tony Johns with Community Development Partners will present to the City Council a proposal for a future recreation/fitness center. - CONSENT ITEMS 7:35 PM (5 minutes)
Items on the consent agenda are of a routine nature or have been previously studied by the City Council. They are intended to be acted upon in one motion. Council members may pull items from consent if they would like them considered separately. - Approval of Meeting Minutes for Jan 19, 2021 Administrative
- PUBLIC HEARING: PLAT AMENDMENT (Lot line adjustment) – HIGHLAND MANOR ESTATES Administrative. 7:40 (10 minutes)
The City Council will hold a public hearing to consider a request by M Brannon and Jenny Patrick to amend the Highland Manor Estates subdivision by adjusting the lot line between lots 14 and 15 that will transfer 0.12 acres of land from one parcel to another. PUBLIC HEARING: PLAT AMENDMENT – HIGHLAND MEADOW ESTATES Administrative 7:50 (10 minutes)
The City Council will hold a public hearing to consider a request by Courtney Belcher to amend the Highland Meadow Estates subdivision to amend Lot 11 located at 5359 W Woodland Drive. The owner of Lot 11 would like to combine this parcel of land with adjacent property owned to the north.FINAL PLAT: THE HOLLOWS Administrative 8:00 (20 minutes)
The City Council will consider a request by Millhaven Development for final plat approval for a 68-lot subdivision on 64.46 acres located at approximately 6531 W 10250 N to be known as The Hollows Subdivision. As a condition of preliminary plot approval ~5.9 acres of land on the east side of the property will be dedicated to Highland as conservation easement.ACTION: RON PECK – PRESSURIZED IRRIGATION CONNECTIONS OUTSIDE OF CITY LIMITS Administrative 8:20 (20 minutes)
The City Council will review a request by Ron Peck for two pressurized irrigation connections located outside City limits. Over a year ago the previous council agreed to have staff work with the Ron Peck to finalize the requirements related to his irrigate his alfalfa field and home using our PI system rather than the ditch system. Accommodating this request will enable the abandonment over one mile of the Harmon Ditch from 6800 W 5500 N to 6550 W 10250 N and will reduce the cost of the 6800 W widening project by about $50,000. The Pecks will provide the city with nearly 3X the amount of shares needed to water their property on a good water year and will pay a rate that will cover the increased cost to Highland to provide the service. There are pros and cons to this decision but it appears to me that the benefits outweigh the costs.
Peck Property
Ditch which can be abandoned if we provide waterACTION: FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL PARK EMPLOYEE EXPENDITURES Administrative 8:40 (15 minutes)
The City Council will consider a request to add an additional full time employee to the Parks Department and funding to allow for the training of a new employee to replace an employee who is retiring. In my view this is a well warranted request.SERVICE BID: LIBRARY CATALOG MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Administrative 8:55 (15 minutes)
The City Council will consider a request to approve a service bid with ByWater Solutions to provide the Koha open source library management and authorize the City Administrator and City Recorder to execute the necessary contract documents. The Koha library management system is used in multiple libraries in Utah including UVU and the Spanish Fork Library. The annual cost associated with the system is over 70% less than our current system. There will be a transition cost of $12,200 which is about equal to the $12,000 annual fee for the current system. Thereafter we will pay $3,400/year for support and maintenance. I applaud the library’s effort to improve service while reducing costs.MAYOR/COUNCIL AND STAFF COMMUNICATION ITEMS 9:10 (30 minutes)
- Review 2021 Annual Citizen Survey questions.
The survey does influence decisions. I read every comment and write a response to nearly every comment. Click here for my post on last years survey, which includes responses to each comment. Note, survey questions are not intended to drive a specific response nor should anyone assume that because a question is on the survey a decision has already been made on the associated issue. Please feel free to let us know how the survey could be improved. We have improved the survey over the years based on resident feedback - Future Meetings
- February 23, City Council Meeting, 7:00 pm, City Hall
- March 2, City Council Meeting, 7:00 pm, City Hall
- March 10, Lone Peak Public Safety Board Meeting, 7:30 am, City Hall
- March 16, City Council Meeting, 7:00 pm, City Hall
- March 23, Planning Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm, City Hall
ADJOURNMENT 9:40
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts regarding this post.