Mannkind Perspectives: Highland City Council Preview for 7-Dec-2021

There are a number of interesting items on the agenda for our last scheduled council meeting of the year including:

A report on pressurized irrigation usage for 2021.
An ordinance to govern the use of the recently passed Park Tax.
Approval of a contract to drill a new deeper (1,200 ft) culinary water well adjacent to an existing well that is underperforming.
Continued discussion on the disposal of open space property.

This meeting will be held at city hall but we will also stream it on our YouTube channel (click here to watch).

You can find an abbreviated meeting agenda. The complete agenda (160 pages) which includes the staff reports associated with each item can be accessed by clicking here.

Highland City Council Agenda
Tuesday, Dec, 7th 2021
6:00 PM executive (closed) session
and 7:00 pm council meeting

The meeting will be broadcast on YouTube Live. For those not attending, comments may be emailed to council@highlandcity.org. Please let us know if you wish them to be read during the public comment portion of the meeting.

The time and listed at the end of agenda items is my guess as to the start time of this item.

6:00 PM WORK SESSION:

The City Council enter into closed session to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation, and the purchase, exchange, or lease of real property, as provided by Utah Code Annotated §52-4-205.

7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING:

UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES 7:05 PM
Time has been set aside for the public to express their ideas, concerns, and comments. Comments are limited to 3 minutes. Note, there may be a large number of residents commenting on Blue Bison fencing their property in Draper. If you plan to comment on this issue please ensure that your remarks are differentiated from previous comments or simply state I agree with the those who previously commented.
RECOGNITION ITEMS 7:30 PM

Mayor Recognition Awards
The mayor will be presenting awards to residents who have contributed in a significant way to Highland City.
Recognition Award for the Mayor
Mayor Elect Kurt Ostler will thank the mayor for his years of service to Highland.

PRESENTATIONS 7:45 PM

Parks
Parks Superintendent Josh Castleberry will report on the status of parks and open space maintenance for the 2021 growing season.
Pressurized Irrigation
Assistant Public Works Director Jeff Murdoch will present an update to the City Council regarding the 2021 pressurized irrigation water usage.
Youth Council
A member of the Highland City Youth Council will report on their activities and service during the last month.
Traffic Data
I will be reviewing with the council a unified approach to sharing traffic information with the public. We have collected traffic data on 13 roads at 26 locations. Here are sample reports from a recent collection on Canal Blvd.

This report shows the location of the radar counter, summarizes key traffic info in a table, and then highlights important data in a variety of charts.

The “heat map” below shows the average number of trips at the indicated speed ranges for each hour of the day. Trips that 5 MPH over the speed limit or less are green, 5 to 10 MPH over the limit are yellow, and 10 MPH or more over the limit are red. Note, the police department has access to this information and can use it to determine where and when to look for speeders.

CONSENT ITEMS 8:30 PM
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 Council Meeting Minutes for Oct 19th and Nov 16th Administrative
On Nov 16th we certified the election results – click here to review the results.
Action: Award Contract for the Murdock Irrigation Pump Station & Pheasant Hollow Sewer Lift Station Administrative
City Council will consider a request to approve a bid to Nelson Brothers for $2,877,000.90 for the construction of the Murdock Irrigation Pump Station and Pheasant Hollow Sewer Lift Station Projects and authorize the City Administrator and City Recorder to execute the necessary contract documents for the project.
- The Murdock Irrigation Pump Station is a planned new facility we will be adding to our Pressurized Irrigation system. It will be located on on North County Blvd near the Murdock Canal Trail crossing. It will help us meet the city’s growing demand for PI. Budgeted cost: 1,314,868.
- The Pheasant Hollow Lift station upgrade. This a planned upgrade that is needed to support the development (Ridgeview) south of Lone Peak HS. Budgeted cost: $1,562,133
Resolution: Highland Blvd – Intent To Annex Legislative
This resolution will confirm our intent to annex section of Highland Blvd that was not previously incorporated in the city.
Plat Amendment: Peck Hollow Plat B Lot 2 Amended (PA-21-11). Administrative
The City Council will consider a request by Ezra Lee Design + Build on behalf of Vess Pearson to amend the Peck Hollow Plat B subdivision to combine Lot 2 with a portion of the property behind 6387 W 9600 N.
Resolution/Action: Disposal of Equipment from Public Works Department Administrative
Staff is requesting that the City Council approve the surplus sale of a utility dump truck bed from the Highland City Public Works fleet. The disposal will not take place until after Jan 1, 2022.
Voter Participation Areas Administrative
City Council will consider reaffirming the City’s Voter Participation Areas until updated Areas are available for the purpose of signature collection for initiatives and referendums as required in Utah Code 20A-7-401.3.
During the 2019 Legislative General Session, HB 119 was passed. This bill required the creation of Voter Participation Areas which play a role in any initiatives or referendum that are filed. These Areas are not precincts, but do follow precinct lines. For our size of a City, state law requires that we make 4 Areas out of our 10 precincts. Beginning in 2020, any initiative or referendum filed in Highland needs to obtain legal signatures equal to 11.5% of the number of active voters in the City and 11.5% of the number of active voters in at least 75% of the City's Voter Participation Areas.

As Highland is a fourth-class City, we were required to adopt these Voter Participation Areas prior to 2020, which the Council did on October 15, 2019. The state law also requires to the City to again adopt Areas prior to 2022 as new census and precinct data can be taken into account.

PUBLIC HEARING/ORDINANCE: RIGHT-OF-WAY VACATION – MILLERS ACRE SUBDIVISION PLAT B Legislative 9:00 PM
The City Council will hold a public hearing and consider a request by Highland City to vacate approximately 1,385 square feet of right-of-way in the Millers Acre Subdivision Plat B.
When the developer of Spruce Subdivision Plat G had to continue the road west, the property owner to the north was not agreeable toward selling any property to the developer for the road. The developer had to then adjust the direction of the road to avoid this property owner’s land. This adjustment created a portion of right-of-way that would no longer be used as part of the roadway.
PUBLIC HEARING/ORDINANCE: GENERAL PLAN TEXT AMENDMENT – TRANSPORTATION Legislative 9:15 PM
The Highland City General Plan was adopted in 2008 and included a Transportation Element. State law requires each city to have a section of their general plan that addresses transportation and traffic circulation and identifies major transportation options and connections. Utah Code § 10-9a-403(2)(a)(ii). State law also provides, “After the legislative body has adopted a general plan, no street, park, or other public way, ground, place, or space, no publicly owned building or structure, and no public utility, whether publicly or privately owned, may be constructed or authorized until and unless it conforms to the current general plan.” Utah Code § 10-9a-406. Accordingly, ensuring that the Transportation Element of the City’s General Plan remains current and reflects City policy is crucial for future development and planning.
The proposed amendment to the transportation element of the City’s General Plan ensures that the General Plan conforms to the Council’s adopted policy regarding external, inter-city road connections by limiting future external, inter-city connections to those that are already identified in the City’s general plan or those that meet the standards described the City’s municipal code.
RESOLUTION: ADOPTION OF THE DESIGNATION OF DISPOSABLE PROPERTIES Legislative 9:30 PM
The City Council will review and discuss the open space requests that were deferred on November 9th, 2021. The City Council will also consider the adoption of a resolution designating specific parcels of public real property as orphan parcels that may be disposed of. Here is a question the council should consider as they make their decision. What city problem are we trying to address by selling open space?There are three affected subdivisions:
1. Beacon Hills Plat I (3 requests + 1 concerned/interested party)
  There are two key issues that the council will need to resolve. The first is how to mitigate the additional demand on our PI system if property is sold. The second is how to deal with existing encroachment issues. In this area 18 out of 20 home owners (or previous home owners) have encroached to some degree on city property. Below is a snap shot of the southern section of the area.The faint white line that runs north and south represents the property line which separate city owned property from the residential property. At our previous council meeting staff was asked make recommendations with respect to where the western boundary would be should the council decide to sell the open space. The council’s recommendation was that it should be 10 ft from the scrub oak.
2. Highland Hills Plat C.
  Four homeowners would like to purchase the open space between their home and the trail to the west. Personally, I am opposed to this as this land is part of the larger park area which is currently maintained by the city. Selling it would violate one of our guidelines for evaluating purchase requests: “Property should not be disposed of if it adds to the open space feel of an open space neighborhood.” The city property is highlighted below.
3. Horseshoe Trail
  A homeowner on the eastern corner submitted a request to purchase up to within 5 ft of the trail. Staff believes all home owners along the east should purchase or none. I agree.
ORDINANCE: PARKS TAX ORDINANCE Legislative. 10:15 PM
City Council will consider the proposed ordinance to institute the Parks Tax and govern the use of the funds. The key provisions in the ordinance are:
All funds collected by the City from the Parks Tax shall annually be paid into the Parks Tax Fund, which is hereby created as an established fund in the City budget. Parks Tax revenues earned shall be used to fund City-owned recreational facilities, as the term is defined in state law including, but not limited to, capital projects and
equipment replacement or additions.

Each year the Parks, Trails, and Trees Commission shall make a recommendation to the City Council on the projects that should be funded from the tax based on parks needs analysis and anticipated revenues. The City Council shall then make the final determination on the annual projects to be funded. This approval shall not constitute the necessary approvals outlined in Municipal Code 3.08 Purchases and
Encumbrances.
SITE PLAN AMENDMENT: HIGHLAND MARKETPLACE PHASE 2 Administrative 10:30 PM
The City Council will consider a request by MNG Management LLC for master site approval for five (8) commercial buildings located at northeast corner of Alpine Highway (SR74) and Timpanogos Highway (SR92). Below is a before and after summary of the requested change and a copy of the new layout.
ACTION: AWARD CONTRACT FOR WELL #4 Administrative 10:45 PM
City Council will consider a request to approve a bid to Lang Equipment for $1,439,292.00 for the drilling of the Culinary Well #4 Project and authorize the City Administrator and City Recorder to execute the necessary contract documents for the project.
Here is some background. Well #4 was originally drilled in 1978. An inspection showed that the well currently has a 16” casing which has been reduced to a 12” casing at the 490-foot depth level. This is known as necking down. Necking down inhibits the lowering of the well because it reduces the capacity of the well to produce the amount of water needed. Due to this feature we are unable to add additional depth to the well at the current location. Additionally, since the drilling in 1978 the water level in the aquifer has experienced a 100-foot drop. Staff has been working with a hydrologist to determine the best approach. Through work with a hydrologist a recommendation was given that a new well be drilled and that we extend our pumping depth to the 1200-foot level.
DISCUSSION: FY2022 Q1 FINANCIAL STATEMENT Administrative 11:00 PM
Staff will review with City Council the financial statements for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022
MAYOR/COUNCIL AND STAFF COMMUNICATION ITEMS 11:20 PM