All present included Mayor Hart, Council Member McDonald, Council Member Mendenhall, Council Member Densley, and City Recorder Kari D. Jimenez.
STAFF: City Manager/Attorney Dale Coulam, Director of Finance Wally Ritchie, Fire Chief Randy Hancey, Parks and Recreation Director Benny Sorensen, City Engineer Chuck Gillette, and Building and Zoning Administrator Kevin Rudd.
EXCUSED: None.Audience: Judith Kapuscinski, Debbie Hafen, Emma Fife, Lance Anderson, Venda Kemple, MaryAnn Smith, Keith Smith, Claudette Larsen, Jenny Johnson, Jeff Fisher, Aaronee Cottam, Richard Bryant, Elizabeth Mackay, Dave & Susie Appel, Mr. and Mrs. Hilton, Lynne Ecker and others who did not sign in.
A. Acknowledgement of Quorum Mayor Hart acknowledged there was a quorum present. Council Member Elwell and Council Member Roberts were excused.
B. Flag Salute Council Member Densley led the Flag Salute
C. Invocation Council Member Densley gave the Invocation
D. Disclosures There were no disclosures or conflicts of interest with items on this meeting's agenda.
A. Department Reports: Parks and Recreation, Public Safety and Finance Parks and Rec ReportBenny Sorensen provided an electronic written report to the Mayor and City Council. A copy of the report is available by request through Ivins City Hall. He reported that the City will have a second pickleball court at UNITY Park in the near future. The splash pad is a busy place everyday and but people have to be reminded not to plug the drains or climb on the water features. Baseball has ended and flag football registration began on July 1, 2015. There were two (2) soccer camps held at UNITY Park in June where approximately 200 kids participated. They have had some irrigation water and controller issues at UNITY Park that they're working on resolving, which is why residents may see watering during the day. Additionally the City is using irrigation water when it can and that water isn't always available to the City when the City at times it would prefer so the City uses that water when it's available. The City is concerned about water conservation and will continue to do its best to conserve water and still keep the parks healthy. There were no burials the month of June.Chief Bob Flowers was not present but provided an electronic written report previously to the Mayor and City Council. A copy of the report is available by request through Ivins City Hall.
Fire Chief Randy Hancey reported that the 4th of July is coming up and explained that there were some fireworks restrictions in place. Fireworks are not allowed west of 400 West and the State Forester announced today that fireworks/fires are not allowed in unincorporated areas and all State and Federal Lands, with the exception of developed campground areas. Mayor Hart referred to debris from the work that is being done at the Ivins Reservoir by the contractor and inquired if something had been worked out for the contractor to burn the debris. Randy Hancey clarified that the contractor asked about burning the debris but the State is currently not allowing burning at this point.Wally Ritchie reported that the City received the CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) award from GFOA (Government Finance Officers Association) and the budget year was completed on Tuesday, July 1, 2015.
B. Planning Commission Report Chairperson Loris reported that the Planning Commission discussed requirements for a short-term rental overlay and approved Amended Final Plats for Ivins View and Ivins View 2 as well as a Final Plat for Taviawk XI-J.
| 3) | CITIZEN COMMENT & REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS - NONE |
Mayor Hart indicated that the purpose of Public Hearing is for the public to inform the City Council and to provide opinions and information so that an eventual decision can be an informed one. Mayor Hart opened the Public Hearing. David and Kathleen Preston reside in the area of the Discovery subdivision and opposed this because of increased traffic, concerns regarding safety/crime and they did not feel that the project fits in with existing single family homes. They would like to see the parcel to the west be re-zoned from multi-family to single family. Lance Anderson would like to see the front portion of their property included in the short-term rental overlay. Debbie Hafen owns the property adjacent to the property where the short-term rental overlay is proposed. She was not opposed to growth but was opposed to the short-term rental overlay and the property being zoned multi-family residential. She was concerned with individuals staying for a night or two, bringing ATV's and riding them on her property, which already occurs and traffic congestion and lighting. She indicated that if the short-term rental overlay was approved, she would request that there be a tall wall and that the drainage be taken care of so it does not drain onto her property. Elizabeth Mackay resides on 675 South just off of Main Street. She stated that she was very disappointed with the Ivins General Plan because Ivins would be evolving into a resort destination. When she purchased in Ivins, it was her perception that Ivins would remain a community and was unsure about all of the short term rentals being located in one portion of the City. She was opposed to the short-term rental overlay and the multi-family zoning. Emma Fife was opposed to the short-term rental overlay for the reasons stated. She referred to the General Plan revisions and noted that the History had been deleted. She indicated that needs to be in the General Plan and stated that Ivins is not a resort town, that is not what Ivins is about. Ivins is about families. Dale Coulam indicated that Council Member Roberts brought up the History portion of the General Plan being removed and clarified that there were duplicate sections of history in the prior version and that the history was now just in Chapter 4. Mayor Hart stated that he had proposed language that would brings the history to the front of the General Plan. Aaronee Cottam indicated that the overall feel of the community should remain in tact and disagreed with commercializing for profit. She agreed with the concerns stated and felt that their voices were not heard at the Planning Commission because it was brought forward to the City Council for approval. Dave and Susie Appel reside on 200 West near Highway 91 and indicated they understood that the property wasn't going to be high density, rather they were going to be larger lots and open space. They were concerned with the proposed high density, traffic, ruining the views along that corridor and the location of the proposed short-term rental overlay where homes already exist. If the short-term rental overlay is passed, they requested that the City Council consider the overall design and if RV parking is allowed in the community, they would like to see it located in the middle of the community and not where they would be looking at it from their property. Alan Hilton owns the property next to Dave and Susie Appel and stated he was unaware that it had been zoned multi-family. He opposed the short-term rental overlay and had the same concerns as the Appels regarding views, safety and traffic. Richard Bryant indicated he attended the Public Hearing at the Planning Commission meeting and opposed the short-term rental overlay. He stated that the City shouldn't chase development but let development come to Ivins. Mayor Hart clarified that the property owner was the one proposing this. Lynne Ecker opposed the short-term rental overlay and added that it already noisy in that area because of the labor and lawn maintenance people who store their equipment at the storage units on Main Street. Mayor Hart indicated that the process of going through a land use change and particularly the General Plan, takes a very long time and any resident in Ivins should pay attention to what shows up in the newsletter as to what is coming up on the Planning Commission and City Council agendas because once the changes are made and are in place, the Planning Commission and City Council do not have a choice but to approve the requests for development if they are allowed. Mayor Hart closed the Public Hearing.
B. Discuss and consider approval of Ordinance No. 2015-11, an Ordinance of Ivins City, Utah, amending the Text of the Ivins City General Plan and also amending "Figure 5" (Land Use Plan" thereof 2015-11 Ordinance Planning Commission Minutes re proposed amendments Land Use Map General Plan 2015 Proposed ChangesMayor Hart stated that two of the Council Members are not present that would likely have thoughts on this agenda item. He had some text revisions for the City Council, a copy of which are available by request through Ivins City Hall. Council Member Mendenhall indicated that she will not make a decision without Council Member Elwell or Council Member Roberts present but commented overall that she was on the Planning Commission for six (6) years and the General Plan that is in place now, which was put in place in July of 2008, she participated in that re-write. Her biggest issue with what's in front of her at this point in time is that Ivins made a very specific idea out when the General Plan was written and she felt very strongly that the City deliberately left out the word "Resort" because Ivins is not that. She's not saying that it won't be that in the future but Ivins has something to offer that no other City in the County has and people come to Ivins because of the beauty. Ivins is a destination for the people who live in Utah, Washington County and surrounding municipalities and it's important to distinguish the difference between resort and destination. The City should not alienate the residents in this County and when she compared the General Plan written in 2008 with the proposed General Plan, Ivins is a destination community and not a resort destination community. Mayor Hart stated that most of the public comments made at the Public Hearing tonight related to the Land Use Map and clarified that the proposed short-term rental project is a project where individuals could purchase homes and they may be available for short-term rental or a permanent residence. Council Member Densley requested Kevin Rudd to educate the public on the short-term rental project. Kevin Rudd indicated that there are two parcels, one being a 10 acre parcel that is zoned R-1-7.5 which is Single Family Residential, minimum lot size 7500 sq. ft.; the second parcel is 12 acres and is zoned Multi-Family where townhomes, condos or apartments could be built. An overlay zone would give the City more control over what can be done with the property and the underlying zone dictate the density. Council Member McDonald stated he heard a lot of negative public comments about the multi-family zoning but that is what the zoning already is. The same is true with the single family where the minimum lot size is 7,500 sq. ft. He can see the advantage for the City for transient room tax which will help keep property taxes to a minimum. He inquired as to the difference between short-term rental and long-term rental. Kevin Rudd clarified that a long-term rental is 30 days or more and anything less than 30 days would be a short-term rental, which is not allowed unless the owner is qualified and licensed as a Bed and Breakfast. Susie Appel inquired if the developer would be able to build condos for nightly rentals and if he could build three (3) or four (4) story buildings there. Kevin Rudd clarified that if the short-term rental overlay is approved, the developer could rent the units nightly and the maximum height of any building is 25 feet. Mayor Hart complimented the Planning Commission on thoughtfully and thoroughly going through the General Plan text. He provided written recommended amended language for the General Plan and read the following: "Introduction- Ivins City is located in southwestern Utah not far from Zion National Park. Situated beneath its iconic Big Red Mountain and adjacent to Snow Canyon State Park it is home to the Tuacahn Center for the Arts, Red Mountain Resort and Spa, Movara Fitness Resort and Spa and Kayenta's Cresent Moon Inn and Coyote Gulch Art Village with other resort properties underway including Encanto and the luxury resort complex Sentierre. Emerging as a resort destination Ivins City is first and foremost a peaceful family and retirement friendly bedroom community with just over 7,500 residents in 2014. It is estimated that it will attain a build out population of approximately 20,000. The purpose of the Ivins City General Plan is to steer development toward a well conceived future preserving the city's magnificent natural assets and desirable lifestyle by avoiding the pitfalls of reckless growth. With nearly two thirds of its area as yet undeveloped Ivins City has the enviable opportunity of becoming precisely what it foresees by taking charge of its own destiny through this General Plan and accompanying Land Use, Zoning and Development Maps and Ordinances. Chapter 2 - The Economic Future for Ivins City - Ivins City was settled by thirteen hardy farmers and their families who moved to the arid Santa Clara bench between 1922 and 1926 after manually carving an irrigation canal originating three miles upstream on the Santa Clara River in exchange for an acre of ground. They built their own homes, scratched the ground to plant gardens and dig ditches, built roads and eked out a meager existence raising a variety of crops many of which did not grow well here. The original Ivins town site now known as the historic township remained a small farming community for decades. It was granted a post office in 1924 and the residents built a one room church that doubled as the school in 1926. In 1930 electricity was brought to the town with the residents providing the pole and labor. In 1933 the Civilian Conservation Corps completed the Windsor Diversion Dam at the head of the irrigation canal to control flooding and ice damage. In 1935 Ivins was incorporated and the Town of Ivins named after Anthony W. Ivins, a prominent early civic and religious leader in the area, was created. By 1950 the residents had together constructed a pipeline across the lava beds from the Johnson's Arch spring bringing culinary water to the town and oiled the gravel road connecting it to Highway 91. The completion of Snow Canyon Parkway in 1998 provided a critical second convenient access to Ivins City, Snow Canyon State Park, Red Mountain resort and Tuacahn. Ivins achieved "city" status in 1998 and became a Class 5 City from 1,000 to 10,000 residents in 2003 as defined in a new State statute. It is now the fourth largest city in Washington County. Ivins City grew very slowly until the early 11980's when the Kayenta subdivision, a unique desert community focused on preserving the natural landscape with large lots and low profile southwestern styles homes was created bringing a new image and interest to Ivins City. Retirement communities began to locate here a few years later establishing another trend that remains to this day. The National Institute of Fitness later renamed Red Mountain Resort and Spa began construction near the entrance to Snow Canyon in 1978 followed by the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Padre Canyon in 1995 and the development of Coyote Gulch Art Village located in Kayenta. These attractions along with Fitness Ridge now Movara Fitness Resort and the Cresent Moon Inn also in Kayenta that came later have over time brought national and international recognition to our city. Steady growth and our developing image as a resort destination and arts community has lured additional businesses, restaurants, galleries and shops to locate here along with Vista Charter School focused on arts and technology and the Southern Utah Veterans Home. The Encanto resort complex is now under construction as is the Kayenta Center for the Arts due to be completed in 2016 and Sentierre, a world class luxury resort, is in the final planning stages with construction scheduled to begin in the spring of 2016. It is likely that these enterprises will attract additional resort related businesses with others coming as our population continues to grow. The vision and work ethic of the early settlers combined with the planning of new generations of residents has established a beautiful and thriving city with a wonderful heritage and a bright future. Conclusion - The quality of life currently enjoyed in Ivins City coupled with the potential magnitude and pace of growth demands the attention of all its residents. The City Council, Planning Commission, appointed boards and committees, City Staff, developers and residents will do their greatest work in defining and promoting Ivins City as an ideal place to live and retire and as a world class resort destination. This will not occur without consistent efforts to protect our scenic views and preserve our unique character that have made Ivins City great."
MOTION: Council Member Densley moved to continue this to the next City Council meeting when we have a full Council
SECOND: Council Member McDonald
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
A. Discuss and consider approval an Agreement for Municipal Advisory Services AgreementDale Coulam indicated that agenda item 5)B relates to refinancing bonds and the City has been in that process using Zions Bank. The Municipal Services Agreement allows for a number of financial services and advice from Zions Bank on this and other financial issues that arise.
MOTION: Council Member McDonald moved to approve an Agreement for Municipal Advisory Services
SECOND: Council Member Mendenhall
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
2015-16R Ivins Sales Tax Revenue Refunding BondsWally Ritchie, Director of Finance stated that this would allow the City to refinance the 2010 Revenue Bonds from a variable rate to a low fixed rate and save the City approximately $15,000 a year in interest.
MOTION: Council Member Mendenhall moved to approve Resolution No. 2015-16R, a Resolution of Ivins City, Utah, authorizing the issuance and sale of not more than $3,100,000 aggregate principal amount of Sales Tax Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2015 and related matters
SECOND: Council Member Densley
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
Roll call vote. All Council Members present voted in favor.
C. Discuss and consider approval Ordinance No. 2015-10, an Ordinance of Ivins City, Utah, establishing regulations for issuing Conduit Financing Obligations 2015-10 Conduit FinancingDale Coulam indicated that Zions Bank helped write ordinances for Salt Lake and Weber Counties for conduit financing. This type of financing is allowed by the IRS for profit and non-profit entities and the concept is for business entities to access the government tax free bond market. He suggested that Ivins have an Ordinance in place that outlines the process. If the Council approves this, the next step is to prepare an Application, identify the applicable fees and amend the Consolidated Fee Schedule. Mayor Hart stated that this accomplishes what was discussed at the previous City Council meeting.
MOTION: Council Member Densley moved to approve Ordinance No. 2015-10, an Ordinance of Ivins City, Utah, establishing regulations for issuing Conduit Financing Obligations
SECOND: Council Member McDonald
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
Roll call vote. All Council Members who were present voted in favor.
D. Discuss and consider approval of Resolution No. 2015-15R, a Resolution of Ivins City, Utah, appointing Chuck Gillette as Public Works Director 2015-15R Appoint Public Works DirectorMayor Hart indicated that Chuck will continue as the City Engineer but things would be structured around him to make that possible for him to oversee that most important part. Council Member Densley inquired if the City would be advertising for an Engineer. Chuck Gillette indicated no but that they would likely advertise for an Assistant Public Works Director.
MOTION: Council Member Mendenhall moved to approve Resolution No. 2015-15R, a Resolution of Ivins City, Utah, appointing Chuck Gillette as Public Works Director
SECOND: Council Member McDonald
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
Roll call vote. All Council Members that were present voted in favor.
E. Discuss and consider approval of Resolution No. 2015-17R, a Resolution of Ivins City, Utah, appointing Jennifer Chapman as Ivins City Deputy Treasurer 2015-17R Appoint Deputy TreasurerDale Coulam indicated that Dave Glenn has been acting as Deputy Treasurer and with his retirement, Jennifer Chapman has agreed to do that.
MOTION: Council Member McDonald moved to approve Resolution No. 2015-17R, a Resolution of Ivins City, Utah, appointing Jennifer Chapman as Ivins City Deputy Treasurer
SECOND: Council Member Mendenhall
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
Roll call vote. All Council Members that were present voted in favor.
F. Discuss and consider ratifying First Amendment to Agreement to Commission an Artwork Ratify AgreementDale Coulam stated that the status with Rick Hughes and Ed Hlavka has changed and this agreement recognizes that as well as allowing Ivins to pay the foundry directly and receive credit towards the final payment owed on the art work. it also moves the installation date to the week prior to Heritage Days, to be ready for the unveiling at Heritage Days. Mayor Hart indicated that the art pieces are completed but the foundry is struggling with finishing all of the pieces by July 24th but there are now penalties associated with not meeting the completion and installation deadlines.
MOTION: Council Member Mendenhall moved to approve ratifying First Amendment to Agreement to Commission an Artwork
SECOND: Council Member McDonald
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
G. Discuss and consider long-term support for Tuacahn using RAP tax proceeds or other revenues Mayor Hart indicated that the reason this appears before the City Council for consideration is that the situation with Tuacahn is different than exists with other applicants or potential applicants. Mayor Hart read the following statement: "The reason that the request for a commitment of financial support for Tuacahn has been brought forward to tonight's agenda is that Tuacahn's needs are very specific, they're immediate and they have a critical timetable attached. Celebrating its twentieth year Tuacahn finds itself in need of critical maintenance, upgraded equipment, and additional seating, rehearsal and retail space. Unable to secure all of the needed funding through private sources they have come to us for help. We have discussed some options including RAP tax revenue in a previous meeting but deferred any final decisions till later. For them it's later. One idea discussed was to contribute an amount to be determined annually. As generous as that would be it does them little good in their effort to bond for the needed improvements and pay them off over time. As you are well aware a bond requires a committed revenue source over its duration. In addition Tuacahn is operating under an extremely tight schedule with the window of opportunity for work to be done extending only from November through April. Their hope is to have a groundbreaking in late October and begin construction but there's a long way to go to get a bond in place in time for that to happen. Why not next year? Sadly a substantial portion of their committed private funding will disappear if the October deadline is not met. Since its inception Tuacahn has required revenue beyond that which ticket sales generated to remain in operation. That money has historically come from donations large and small. Their major donors have been called upon numerous times, perhaps too often, and that resource is no longer viable so they are forced to appeal for public support. Why should the public be willing to provide any funding to a seemingly profitable enterprise? In the first place Tuacahn is not a business like Home Depot or Walgreens and in the second place it is not profitable. It is a 501(c)3 not for profit arts organization with a self declared mission to provide high quality family entertainment to all who come. It fulfills that mission very well, but the very patrons they serve have limits on their entertainment budgets so ticket prices cannot be raised beyond a certain point or Tuacahn will lose them as customers. They analyze prices every year with that in mind they're set at the highest level that the market will bear. Musical productions and concerts are not necessities like bread or gasoline. Disposable income will simply gravitate elsewhere if their product is overpriced. Perhaps the answer can be found in this analogy. It is as though a certain generous benefactor approached a city and county and declared that he was willing to donate an economic engine to them worth over twenty five million dollars with the promise that it would produce three times that amount in economic impact every year from then on. He would even set up a non-profit organization to run the engine since they knew nothing about that particular kind of equipment. All that they would be required to do to receive this gift is to agree to maintain it and put fuel in its tank. What governmental entity in its right mind would not jump at the change to receive such a gift? In reality that is precisely what Hyrum and Gayle Smith among others have done for Ivins City and Washington County. Beyond paying to construct the facility they stepped in and rebuilt it after a devastating flood and have infused needed capital over a period of years to keep it in operation. Now Tuacahn has found the magic formula with Disney productions and is able to generate sufficient revenue to cover all of its operating expenses through ticket sales. The shortfall is in the area of critical infrastructure that is left in need of repair or replacement and long overdue expansion remains impossible without outside help. Across the State virtually every significant arts organization receives State and local public support, some to the tune of several hundred thousand to well over a million dollars annually and none of them, yes none of them comes close to providing the economic benefit that Tuacahn does. And yet Tuacahn has long been overlooked by both State and local governments as a worthy recipient of their support. That needs to change and hopefully it is changing at the State level but Tuacahn's need goes well beyond what the State can provide. Enter the RAP tax. Ivins like other cities has many needs and more places to use the revenue than there is revenue. In other counties where a similar tax has been approved by the voters forty to sixty percent of the revenue has gone toward arts related causes. Here it is much different and Tuacahn will be competing with many other 501(c)3s for the fifteen percent that has been designated for that use. The County will most certainly help but not to the level needed for Tuacahn to remain sustainable. So they are looking to the cities for additional support. Arguably St. George City and perhaps Washington City are the greatest beneficiaries of hotel room tax and restaurant sales tax so they ought to be footing the bill right? In theory yes but they too have other needs and will be under great pressure to spend their RAP revenue locally. Hopefully they and other cities will pledge support but with some it is highly unlikely. We need to look at it differently anyway. Sales tax is not the only benefit Tuacahn provides to us. In fact Ivins City receives very little financial benefit from Tuacahn but the other less tangible benefits are enormous. I've attached a letter from Stan Castleton the developer of Sentierre who states that Tuacahn is a major reason his group chose to locate their facility here. They will not be alone. Other exclusive resort development groups looking Ivins direction will reach the same conclusion. Since resort related development is the key to Ivins economic future Tuacahn becomes a major contributor to our long term success. so how then should we respond to Tuacahn's request for funding? How should we treat the "gift"? Well, whatever we do all eyes are on us and the decision we make tonight will resonate across the county. I've sat in meetings with other elected officials and I assure you there is great interest in how Ivins City will treat this asset. Even though our share of rap tax money is small compared to St. George or Washington City they will be looking our way when they have their discussions about RAP distributions. Like it or not we are the lead horse in this race. I realize that roughly twenty five thousand of our anticipated seventy five thousand dollars in RAP revenue each year will not accomplish everything the arts community needs but we must look carefully at the benefits to the city and its residents as we determine where it should go. I'd like to see at least a ten thousand dollar commitment annually over twenty years go to Tuacahn Center for the Arts and urge you to seriously consider that. Anything less in my mind is inadequate given what Tuacahn means to our city." Copies of the Mayor's statement and letter from Stan Castleton are available by request through Ivins City Hall.Council Member Mendenhall stated that this is a much bigger agenda item than it has been presented as and she was uncomfortable making a decision without Council Member Roberts and Council Member Elwell present. She referred to Utah Code section 10-8-2 and quoted the following: "A municipal legislative body may appropriate money for corporate purposes only That section does go on to state: It is considered a corporate purpose to appropriate money for any purpose that, in the judgment of the municipal legislative body, provides for the safety, health, prosperity, moral well-being, peace, order, comfort, or convenience of the inhabitants of the municipality…It then requires: Prior to the municipal legislative body making any decision to appropriate any funds for a corporate purpose under this section, a public hearing shall be held." She indicated that the City has already received an email from an individual that questions the purpose of this agenda item. There's a significant amount of information that she would like to see before making a decision. Regarding the RAP tax, at this time, she is against making a guaranteed distribution using the RAP tax revenue. There's no track record and the City Council previously discussed what the City was going to do which was take applications for the RAP tax distribution in December and allocate funds in January. The primary reason the City discussed that was for transparency of how the RAP tax money was going to be distributed and currently the proposal to use RAP tax for long-term support for Tuacahn leans to unfairness to her. Mayor Hart indicated that the RAP tax is a mathematical formula that is based on sales tax. The City budgets using estimated sales tax and the RAP tax is an extension of that. He doesn't buy the idea that Ivins doesn't know where it's going to go. There's a long history of sales tax and distributions and he's not asking the City Council to be reckless but stated that Ivins has a significant entity in Ivins that is responsible for much of the image of Ivins and will be responsible for much of what happens to Ivins in the future, particularly in the area of resort development. It has been the object as his entire term as Mayor, to try and develop an economic base within Ivins which Ivins will never have based on population. It's going to be based on the means by which Ivins draws people into Ivins and invite them shop, eat at restaurants and vacation in Ivins. He has expressed clearly why this needs to be brought forward to the City Council now and not go through the procedure where the Council waits until December and treating Tuacahn as another application. There are going to be other applications come forward and he would hope that the City commits a similar kind of thing to the construction of the Kayenta Arts Center. That's a very appropriate thing for the City to invest RAP tax resources into. The consequences of Ivins failing to act on behalf of Tuacahn in a timely fashion are serious and he clarified that the City Council has the authority to decide whether or not it wants to continue with the procedure that was outlined earlier on or to vary that. The idea that this should be stalled out just because of that, to him falls short of reasonable. Council Member Mendenhall stated that the whole point of what the City Council does is to be as fair as the Council possibly can to everyone. The City is ran like a business and she is not going to support providing someone a recurring annual chunk of money before the RAP tax procedure even begins. The Council discussed making the RAP tax distributions equal and even and being generous to everyone in the same fashion and not benefiting one more than the other. She referred to City Staff and their compensation. She indicated that for the past eight (8) years there has been Staff that has doubled and tripled up on job duties with no compensation for that and Ivins kept themselves in the black, did better than just about every other City in Washington County and Staff stuck with the City, worked hard, accepted the responsibility and did a fabulous job. The City was not able to give them anything else because of the budget constraints that Ivins has. Additionally, Ivins budget ended two (2) days ago with the new budget in place. She inquired how the City turns around and hands $10,000 to a single business entity and yet the City wasn't able to do anything for Staff. She's not handing money to somebody unless she sees complete due diligence. The full Council needs to discuss this at length, the financial ramifications of it and do the due diligence.Mayor Hart indicated he wasn't suggesting that the City not do Ivins due diligence and suggested that if Council Member Mendenhall has a series of questions and considers herself a specialist in this area, that she write out what information she would like to review and make that available to the Tuacahn Executives so that they can provide that. Council Member Densley stated that he sees there being a window that Tuacahn is trying to meet. He indicated that there are a lot of Ivins youth and residents of Ivins that are employed by Tuacahn and that Tuacahn brings a lot of notoriety to Ivins. He thinks that the Council should move forward tonight so Tuacahn can start developing and was fine with an amount of $10,000. Mayor Hart clarified that the City does need to proceed with this carefully and agreed that there needs to be some security to the City in what the City does and would assume there would be conditions placed on this as well. He has asked Tuacahn Executives Kevin Smith and Jeff Fisher if the funds would be dedicated exclusively to projects or can they be used for salaries and similar. Regarding salaries, he indicated that the RAP Tax has nothing to do with the salaries of City employees. Dale Coulam clarified that Council Member Mendenhall's point was that if General Funds were to be used to support Tuacahn, then that could take away from other City services and the section of Utah Code she quoted would require a public hearing. RAP tax distributions, however, are already budgeted and would not require a separate public hearing. Regarding the volatility of the RAP Tax, normal sales tax revenue is based state wide and the RAP tax is based on Washington County sales tax. He suggested that Ivins Director of Finance Wally Ritchie meet with the County Treasurer and establish what a track record for RAP tax would have been. Council Member Densley inquired if the City has to commit to a dollar amount. Mayor Hart clarified that is what Tuacahn has to have in order to secure a bond. Dale Coulam indicated that part of his concern about cutting Parks and Recreation short, there has been discussion and planning to use some of the RAP Tax money for trails that would also help Tuacahn and the Sentierre development. Mayor Hart stated that his point about Ivins over committing is well taken and he encouraged Wally Ritchie to meet with the County Treasurer and see what has occurred with sales tax. Council Member Densley inquired about the opportunity for Tuacahn to look at conduit financing. Mayor Hart indicated that is an option. Dale Coulam referred to Mayor Hart mentioning that other cities should contribute and suggested that may be the way to increase the leveraging possibility for a bond if those contributions were pooled together. Mayor Hart agreed and stated that would be necessary for any kind of governmental conduit finance bonding. Council Member McDonald agreed that the City runs like a business and with that in mind, as he thought about the benefits that Tuacahn provides for Ivins City, from a business stand point, it makes sense to commit money to them because of the advantage to the City as a whole. However, he struggled with committing RAP Tax now because of prior discussions about the proposed distribution process. He understood and respected the position and stated that he could support some type of commitment but indicated that he did not think the Council should make a decision tonight without the input of Council Member Elwell and Council Member Roberts.Mayor Hart stated the urgency here is brought about by the fact that over a period of years, Tuacahn has applied for grants, approached a variety of private entities for support of the expansion project and similar. He inquired of Kevin Smith, CEO of Tuacahn, how devastating would it be if they did not break ground by October. Kevin Smith stated that Ivins will be the ones to set the stage for the other cities. Tuacahn has had dozens of discussions with the Mayor of St. George, the County Commissioners, the Mayor of Washington and some of the other communities in Washington County. The consensus is that they want to see a commitment from Ivins, even if it isn't $10,000, they just want to see some type of commitment because that's where Tuacahn is located and then they'll likely commit. The Eccles Foundation and an anonymous donor have committed $250,000 each to the expansion project, along with another potential donor that would be $1 million dollars. The first two (2) have said that if Tuacahn doesn't break ground by November, their commitments will be gone and Tuacahn will lose $500,000. Tuacahn has been planning this for 4 1/2 years. They don't want to be a burden on the City and contributed $5,000 towards the Ed Hlavka center piece for the Snow Canyon roundabout. If Ivins can commit something, the other cities and County will move forward with commitments and then an interlocal agreement would take place after that. He expressed their appreciation for the City considering this and indicated that Tuacahn is the most underfunded arts organization in the entire state and yet they are number one (1) in every category. They need to remain competitive and maintain the asset that is here. The money would not go to salaries but would go to capital improvements. Mayor Hart indicated that this is an important enough item that should be discussed with all of the Council Members present. He requested that Council Member Mendenhall provide a list to him or Dale Coulam of things that she would like the Mayor and City Council to review prior to the next City Council meeting.
MOTION: Council Member Densley moved to continue this discussion to next City Council meeting
SECOND: Council Member McDonald
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
A. Approval of City Council Meeting Minutes for June 18, 2015
MOTION: Council Member McDonald moved to approve the Consent Agenda
SECOND: Council Member Mendenhall
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
| 7) | CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION |
| 8) | REPORTS |
A. Council Council Member McDonald - no report
Council Member Mendenhall - no report
Council Member Densley- no report
B. Mayor Mayor Hart reported that he attending a meeting with Rocky Mountain Power regarding their renewable energy option. He invited them to write a description of how the program works and he intends to include it in a future newsletter article.
C. City Manager/Attorney Dale Coulam Dale Coulam reported that Rocky Mountain Power removed the pole on 200 East and curb and gutter will be installed in that area in the near future. The Chevron sign at Lightfoot's should also start to be replaced the week of July 6, 2015.
D. Items to be placed on future agendas
| 9) | CLOSED MEETING |
| 10) | ADJOURNMENT |
MOTION: Council Member McDonald moved to adjourn
SECOND: Council Member Mendenhall
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member McDonald AYE Council Member Mendenhall AYE Council Member Densley AYE Council Member Elwell ABSENT Council Member Roberts ABSENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Respectfully,
Kari D. Jimenez, MMC
City Recorder