All present included Mayor Hart,
Council Member McDonald,
Council Member Johnson,
Council Member Elliott,
and
Council Member Densley.
STAFF:
City Manager/Attorney Dale Coulam,
Parks and Recreation Director Benny Sorensen,
Public Safety Director Bob Flowers,
and
City Recorder Kari D. Jimenez.
EXCUSED:
Council Member Mehr
Audience: Bob Nickerson, Sue Gordhammer, Jack and Jackie Scully, Rich Svien, Becky and Chuck Warren, Lisa Rutherford, Dan and Jan Brown, Brian and Leslie Hill, C.J. Horlacher and others who did not sign in.
Mayor Hart acknowledged there was a quorum present. Council Member Mehr was excused.
Council Member Johnson led the Flag Salute
Council Member Johnson gave the Invocation
There were no disclosures or conflicts of interest with items on this meeting's agenda.
Parks and Rec Report
Public Safety Report
Benny Sorensen provided an electronic report to the Mayor and City Council, a copy of which is available by request through Ivins City Hall and available on Ivins website at www.ivins.com He reported that with the amount of rain the City has been receiving, his office and a portion of the storage room flooded yesterday. Basketball is done and they held the Dirty Hurty 55k, 30k and half marathon in the rain. Their department is busy with baseball. There was one (1) burial in February and there have been two (2) so far in March. Mayor Hart commented that the water shed in the Kolob area is 140% of normal. Benny Sorensen commented that Gunlock reservoir is overflowing so Gunlock Falls is running.
Randy Hancey reported that they are keeping an eye on the water with all of the rain. They have a new fire recruit academy with six (6) new recruits, three (3) of which are female. They are in the process of getting ready for the wildland fire fighting season and will have five (5) full-time seasonal fire fighters.
Chief Flowers reported that they have hired a new officer that will start in a couple of weeks after graduating from POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training). Officer Matt Stoker has retired and SCI's K-9 has graduated, working with SCI and is doing really well. There have been some construction burglaries the last couple of weeks that they're working on. They are putting together some grants for the new traffic control trailers that you can include a message on and that have adjustable lighting. Speed enforcement is up and they are watching for people who are texting and driving. He reported that one officer had a significant job offer to work for the federal government but she decided to stay with SCI.
| B. |
Planning Commission Report |
Amended Development Agreement
Site Plan info
Dale Coulam indicated that in the original site plan there were villas, hotel central, two types of casita buildings that had multiple units in them, a spa, suites with meeting rooms and exterior parking. With the Preliminary Plan, the villas were all to be privately owned but could be rented in a rental pool and treated as part of the hotel. There was the option of subdividing the casita buildings to become hotel/condo type units. Initially those were just owned by the hotel and the subdivision process would come later. The updated site plan has additional hospitality suites, hotel central has been shifted a little to be in line with the spa suites, there are still some meeting rooms, traditional villas and the casitas look different in that they have been replaced with a series of twin homes that can be rented out and are counted as hotel keys. The end result of that is the possibility for greater transient room tax to the City. The parking is also now going to be underground. The Amended Development Agreement indicates that an amended Preliminary Plan is necessary because the layout is different. One of Ivins' duties when a developer files a Final Plat, is to make sure the Final Plat matches the Preliminary Plan. Under paragraph 3 of the amended agreement, no Certificates of Occupancy for For-Sale units will be issued prior to the issuance of a building permit and commencement of construction on hotel central and no more than 15 Certificates of Occupancy will be issued for For-Sale units prior to the completion of the restaurant, lobby, meeting space, fitness center, trail gathering area, loading dock and support space of hotel central. This is just on for discussion because the first question for the City Council is if they feel that this proposal has changed so much that they have to go through an amended conditional use process. Staff still sees the same use and sees the changes as a benefit as opposed to a negative. The Mayor and City Council agreed that it was an improved plan and that they did not need to go through an amended conditional use process. The Amended Development Agreement will be on the next City Council agenda to consider approval.
Staff Report
Dale Coulam stated that Kari (the City Recorder) did a thorough job looking into this issue and on Monday of this week he confirmed with other City Managers what is stated in her staff report. At the current time, Ivins is the only municipality in Washington County that hasn't made the decision to go Vote-by-Mail. There is no change or departure from what Ivins has done in the past with working with the County for Ivins elections so this doesn't require a formal resolution. He pointed out the realities and benefits of Vote-by-Mail which are outlined in the staff report. Mayor Hart indicated that elections have become progressively more complicated through the years and that the Vote-by-Mail process has proven to be a very reliable. Council Member Johnson inquired if there will be an opportunity to drop off ballots at a location that is closer than the Santa Clara Library. Dale Coulam stated that they can be dropped off at Ivins City Hall and Kari will then take them daily to the County. Council Member McDonald indicated that he has researched Vote-by-Mail and felt that it reaches out to voters and works well.
MOTION: Council Member McDonald moved to approve Vote-by-Mail for our Municipal Elections
SECOND: Council Member Elliott
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member McDonald |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Elliott |
AYE |
| Council Member Densley |
AYE |
| Council Member Mehr |
ABSENT |
Mayor Hart stated that he's talked briefly about this previously. There is a group headed by current Planning Commissioner Mike Scott who are working with others and researching the possibility of Ivins obtaining the Night Sky designation. They have drafted a sample ordinance and he suggested that be reviewed by the TRC (Technical Review Committee) and then move it onto the Planning Commission for discussion. Ivins is in good shape to qualify for the designation but there are some things the City will have to do like replacing some of the street lighting and addressing commercial development lighting. Mike Scott contacted the Vista School Arts department and they held a contest for the kids to draw Ivins night sky. The results would be hanging in the lobby at City Hall for a short time. He inquired if the City Council agreed to move this onto the TRC and Planning Commission. The City Council agreed but Council Member McDonald had a concern with this shutting down Ivins City park lights and wanted to make sure that doesn't happen. Mayor Hart indicated this wouldn't do that and that UNITY Park already qualifies but would just need to add a timer. There is a big educational component to this and that the Night Sky committee has taken that into consideration and will be addressing through the newsletter, Heritage Days and other events.
SHAC Sand Hollow Aquatic Center Use by City of Residence
SHAC Sand Hollow Aquatic Center Revenue & Expenditures
Council Member McDonald - no report
Council Member Johnson - no report but commented that it was nice to see the community present at the meeting.
Council Member Elliott - no report
Council Member Densley referred to the handouts he provided regarding the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center (SHAC). A copy of the handouts are available on Ivins website www.ivins.com and by request through Ivins City Hall. The percentage of individuals from Ivins using the SHAC is up and residents can go for free for Ivins Heritage Days. A new cover is planned to be put on in April of this year. The SHAC is still subsidized by the participating municipalities but revenue is up. He reported that he met with the Ivins Irrigation Company and they are willing to pay for a nice bronze plaque to be placed at Ivins Reservoir that provides a history of Ivins Reservoir. He suggested that plaque be placed under the pavilion. Mayor Hart commented that the corner of the interior of the peninsula has been designated for a pavilion and the Shivwits Band would like something in place as well. Council Member Densley will contact the Parks and Recreation Director Benny Sorensen regarding the plaque that the Ivins Irrigation Company is going to pay for.
Mayor Hart reported that he attended a meeting with a regional group regarding air quality and limiting dust distribution. Washington County enjoys relatively good air quality but as the County grows and as the influence of larger metropolitan areas increase, the idea of this group is that it would include communities, the county and commercial entities who are interested in maintaining or improving the air quality here. He would like to see a newsletter article promoting this. There is only one air quality monitor in Washington County and it's located in Hurricane. He also reported that he was invited to Vista Schools presentation of Little Mermaid and stated that it was great.
Dale Coulam reported that he, the Director of Finance and the Treasurer met with Moreton Company recently. By way of history, a few years ago the State Fund PTIF was earning only about a half percent interest so the City didn't budget interest as a revenue item but those have come up now and PTIF is now paying over 2% and Ivins investment portfolio is performing over 3%. Moreton Company meets with Ivins a minimum of four (4) times a year and provided the City with some indicators that point to a leveling off in the economy and a possible slight recession, although indicators still show strong growth in Washington County.
| D. |
Items to be placed on future agendas |