All present included Mayor Hart,
Council Member Elwell,
Council Member McDonald,
Council Member Mendenhall,
Council Member Roberts,
and
City Recorder Kari D. Jimenez.
STAFF:
City Manager/Attorney Dale Coulam,
Parks and Recreation Director Benny Sorensen,
Chief of Police Bob Flowers,
and
Building and Zoning Administrator Kevin Rudd.
EXCUSED:
Council Member Densley
Audience: Pat Evans, Christy Edwards, Gillian Papanikolas, DeAnne Hanson, Sue Ann Skudlarczyk, Dan Kendrick, Gayle Bray, Jenny Gough, Tom Skudlarczyk, Alan Rothenberg, Cheryl Rothenberg, Joyce Spinelli, Lanelle McCollen, George Stoddard, Blaine Dabb, Sonja Dabb, Judith Kapuscinski, Richard Kinsman, Mary Lee Brighton, Marcix Thzyne, Beverly Bell, Eve Blackburn, Roy Blackburn, Evan Erickson, Jeff Hafer, Brylee Mixon, Owen & Sandy Johnson, Ingrid Tabash, Steve Ritchey, Marianne Hammerschmidt, Cynthia Hutchinson, Jan Hansen, Ursula & John Reikes, Penny & Jeff Feldman, Rob Roush, Emily Northcott, Garry Morris, Pam & Brent Layton, Kim Bess, Sue Shives, Fletcher Shives, Tom Fabio, Pam Russo, Eva Wetten, Kathy Barth, Bettina Gebhard, Roger Roos, Mike Burkley, Gail Fulde, Delores Osborn, Susan Jager, Dean Platis, Aly Hansen, Susan Dint, James Broadhead, Diana Broadhead, Barbara Rusick, Jeanette Sneed, Jare Blackwell, Bruce Schroeder, Ginni Gerek, Maria D. Solorio, Cheryl Collins, Gary Collins, Wendy Bradley, Claudette Larsen and others who did not sign in.
Council Member Roberts led the Flag Salute
Council Member Roberts gave the Invocation
There were no disclosures or conflicts of interest with items on this meeting's agenda.
Mayor Hart reminded the audience that this item is not a Public Hearing. However, since he had asked for more information about traps when the issue was raised last meeting, Christy Edwards provided a PowerPoint presentation to the City Council. A copy of the presentation will be kept with these minutes and is available by request through Ivins City Hall. She reiterated concerns raised at the prior meeting about the hazards trapping poses to people and pets and also presented information to the Council about some of the common types of traps used when trapping coyotes. She then requested that Ivins City create an ordinance regulating trapping within City limits and made some suggestions to be considered in drafting such an ordinance. Mayor Hart indicated he received a number of emails in support of taking this type of action, as well as emails from licensed trappers, one of which was Troy Dennett. He requested that Troy Dennett speak regarding licensed trapping. Troy Dennett stated that trappers are encouraged to not place traps near trails but said some trappers have not followed that guideline. The State of Utah encourages the trapping of coyotes and recently increased the bounty from $20 to $50. He stated that coyotes are beautiful animals, but can become aggressive in large numbers when they are in populated areas. He told the Council of incidents where calves and over 1000 pheasants were lost to coyotes on his father-in-law's farm. He also stated that legal and responsible trappers use traps that are labeled and stamped which allows them to be identified. He brought a trap with him and demonstrated how it works and how it is released. He requested that legal and responsible trapping be allowed. Mayor Hart requested information from the City Manager and City Attorney Dale Coulam. Dale Coulam indicated there are a couple of cities that prohibit trapping outright and there are some that prohibit trapping in parks, including Ivins. This is a balancing act on the City Council's part, to balance safety issues and private property rights. Coincidentally this week, Channel 2 news reported about coyotes killing dogs in backyards in Salt Lake County and the residents expressed concerns about possible attacks on their children. Coyotes become aggressive, especially if they are fed by people. Mayor Hart opened the discussion. Council Member Elwell thanked Christy for the presentation and Troy Dennett for the information he provided. There were complaints a few years ago regarding coyotes on Center Street near the main roundabout at the entrance of the City. There was a walker on the trail that came across a coyote that stared him down and Council Member Elwell's daughter also experienced a similar incident. He lives next to what is known as the SITLA 120 property and he feels that his grandson's cat was caught by a coyote. He also respects the coyotes for keeping the rodents down. He is concerned with trapping and/or discharging a firearm in the City and would like to do more research and then discuss those issues. If traps are allowed in some way, he would like to see them away from trails and see specific signs or information prominently displayed to warn people in the area. He would also like there to be a provision that if a trapper inadvertently traps something, it is released within a certain time frame. He needs more time to be able to resolve what he would be comfortable with to meet the needs of both sides of the issue. Council Member Mendenhall stated she is 100% in favor of a total and complete ban of trapping. Predators are not vermin and are important to the natural environment. Allowing trapping in the City would do nothing but financial harm to the City. She referred to a story about a woman from Wyoming who had an experience where her dog was captured in a trap in Utah. The woman created a Facebook page with innumerable likes and shares and it affected her decision to not visit Utah again. If the City had an ordinance, the City would have recourse. Ivins is a destination community and agreed that people cannot feed predators because once they do, they lose their fear of humans and start to cause a problem. She needs more time to review this issue but would like to see something that completely and absolutely prohibits trapping in Ivins City limits.
Council Member Roberts read portions of several emails he had received and indicated that it seemed clear to him that those emails weren't about the safety of children and grandchildren but rather political statements to prohibit the trapping of coyotes. He also referred to several instances where humans had been attacked by coyotes. He also stated that he had done a lot of research to see if humans had been injured by traps and he couldn't find one (1) incident of injury to a human by traps. He concluded that traps are not dangerous to humans, but coyotes are. He recognized that traps are dangerous to pets and to individuals trying to release their pets from the traps. He referred to reports regarding attacks by coyotes on humans from the USDA Wildlife Services California Department of Fish and Wildlife and a University study. He related an incident he had a few months ago where he was jogging early in the morning near his home and came face to face with a coyote that stared him down, which is not what coyote behavior has been. He stated coyotes are becoming dangerous to people. He is concerned about the safety of the citizens, particularly children. He doesn't like to see pets in traps and agreed that traps should be kept off of trails. The City Council needs to discuss the real safety issues and not be part of a political movement to stop coyote predation across the state. Council Member McDonald stated he appreciated everything that had been said and sees both points of view. There is a reason the traps need to be hidden because coyotes are not dumb. If an alternative like a box trap is used, the odds are very low of trapping a coyote in a box trap. He lives in the middle of town and has had three (3) chickens removed from his property by coyotes. He thinks more research is needed before the Council can enact any type of a policy. He is in favor of tabling this issue for the City Council to review the information that's been provided. Council Member Elwell referred to SITLA and inquired if that entity had constraints on its property. Dale Coulam stated that he was contacted by a SITLA representative and was told that the land was open both hikers and trappers. They would not be involved in the enforcement of any ordinance limiting trapping; that would be left to the city. Mayor Hart stated he is in favor of some type of regulation being put in place.
MOTION: Council Member McDonald moved to table agenda item 5)A
SECOND: Council Member Elwell
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Elwell |
AYE |
| Council Member McDonald |
AYE |
| Council Member Mendenhall |
AYE |
| Council Member Roberts |
AYE |
| Council Member Densley |
ABSENT |
There were no comments or discussion.
MOTION: Council Member Elwell moved to approve Ordinance No. 2014-06, an Ordinance of Ivins City, Utah, adopting the 2012 International Residential Code, including Appendix G thereof regarding swimming pool enclosure requirements
SECOND: Council Member McDonald
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Elwell |
AYE |
| Council Member McDonald |
AYE |
| Council Member Mendenhall |
AYE |
| Council Member Roberts |
AYE |
| Council Member Densley |
ABSENT |
Roll call vote, all Council Members voted in favor.
Dale Coulam commented on the few minor department changes.
Mayor Hart commented on the bus service that is to be initiated. Dale Coulam stated originally it was a 10 year replacement time frame but with St. George adding on their route, it is now a 5 year replacement. So we replace one bus every ten years or half a bus every five. We still have the ambulance situation where we will need to budget for replacing our older vehicles. Staff will need some indication if we should start saving for that or plan on taking a loan and pay it; Alan Rae gave the example police cars been leasing on a 2 year lease with approximately 2% interest and can structure the leases where reflect the life of the vehicle where not paying all at once. Mayor Hart asked Bob what the realistic expectancy on ambulances is. Bob Flowers stated that the expanded area the 2nd ambulance would need to be replaced in a couple of years. The Council did not have any further changes and directed Staff to move forward to the preparation of the tentative budgets. The tentative budgets are scheduled to be presented in the first meeting in April.