All present included Mayor Hart,
Council Member Mehr,
Council Member McDonald,
Council Member Johnson,
Council Member Elliott,
Council Member Gordhammer,
and
City Recorder Kari D. Jimenez.
STAFF:
and
City Manager/Attorney Dale Coulam.
EXCUSED: None.
Mayor Hart acknowledged that there was a quorum present. Council Members Mehr, McDonald and Johnson were present via the electronic "Zoom" platform. Mayor Hart and Council Members Elliott and Gordhammer were present in person at Ivins City Hall. Mayor Hart requested a roll call of the City Council Members. Each City Council Member acknowledged their presence.
Council Member Gordhammer gave the Invocation
There were no disclosures or conflicts of interest with items on this meeting's agenda.
Council Member Elliott commented that she serves on the board of the Dove Center and she is part of an initiative at the Dove Center to engage more with local elected officials so they can understand what the Dove Center does and what the community is experiencing when it comes to domestic violence, sexual assault and the services that the Dove Center provides. Lindsey Boyer reported that the Dove Center has been serving Washington County and Kane County domestic violence and sexual assault survivors for the last 26 years. Historically the Dove Center has been seen as a safe shelter for women and children but has expanded and grown beyond that with the addition of their outreach office. The Dove Center recently acquired the Erin Kimball Memorial Foundation, which served the community for 17 years before the acquisition. The Dove Center has been making presentations a couple of times per year to City Councils, providing them with updates on what the trends and needs are. They have made adjustments due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are using technology to provide for individual meetings with clients and are working on integrating that for groups over the next couple of months. They are still serving the community and are still able to provide support. Mayor Hart indicated that he and the City Council are supportive of what the DOVE Center does.
Parks and Rec Report
SCI Fire Monthly Report
Animal Shelter Report
Benny Sorensen indicated that an electronic report has been provided. A copy of that report is available on Ivins website www.ivins.com as part of this agenda item. He reported that Fire Lake Park is extremely busy. They finished car bingo, which was a lot of fun. Mayor Hart stated that he has received comments about how beautiful Ivins parks are. Council Member Elliott referred to Fire Lake Park and inquired if a Public Safety Officer is stationed there on the weekends. Benny Sorensen indicated that they are out there a lot but not constantly. Mayor Hart indicated that Officers are there frequently, every 15 minutes to half an hour, on the weekends and they get out of their vehicle and walk around.
Mayor Hart stated that the SCI Medical, Fire and Animal Shelter reports have been provided electronically. Those reports are available on Ivins website www.ivins.com attached to this agenda. Public Safety Officer Reed Briggs reported that they have placed important information on social media regarding the rules and expectations at Fire Lake Park and have received positive feedback regarding that. There is no Public Safety Officer stationed permanently at Fire Lake Park but they are frequently patrolling there and have issued more than 30 citations each for animal issues and parking violations. There was a business burglary this past weekend that sustained approximately $200,000 in damage and that is currently being investigated. They have seen an increase in traffic, as well as speeding. The Santa Clara Ivins Public Safety Department will be hosting training on Tuesday, June 9th in the banquet meeting room at Santa Clara City Hall at 4:30 p.m. and invited the Mayor and City Council Members from Ivins and Santa Clara to attend. They will be talking about topics relative to George Floyd, use of force and introducing a new product.
Commissioner Anderson reported that the Planning Commission held a Public Hearing on a proposed amendment to Table 33-2 of the Table of Uses and recommended that move forward to the City Council for a discussion and Public Hearing. The Planning Commission also discussed density allowances for multi-family.
Staff Report
Application
Plat
Draft Planning Commission Minutes
Mike Rodriguez indicated that this subdivision consists of approximately 22.51 acres and is being subdivided into 71 lots. The application is complete, the proposed lots and improvements are in compliance with City Ordinances and the Planning Commission has reviewed and recommended approval of this plan. It is planned to be developed in phases and a Development Agreement will be required. Council Member Elliott referred to a letter previously submitted by Logan Blake regarding a concern relating to the road and inquired if that concern had been addressed. Chuck Gillette stated it had and that the concern was that the road did not line up with 200 South the access was moved and it now line up with the future intersection of 200 South. Council Member Mehr referred to the Planning Commission discussing drainage on the property and inquired if the Planning Commission approved this as-is or as amended. Chuck Gillette clarified that a storm drain basin would be required but there is also a provision that if there's capacity down stream, a storm drain basin would not be required. With the pipeline installed on Highway 91, that creates capacity in the line so the City is looking at an option that would allow the developers to omit the detention basin and take it to that pipeline. He suggested that the City Council approve this with a technical option allowing staff to make a judgement call on whether or not that will work. Council Member Mehr inquired if there was any potential negative implication to the neighboring property owner. Chuck Gillette stated that there was not and that the neighboring property owner is donating the storm drain easement because it is in their best interest as well and that may potentially allow an additional lot.
Council Member Johnson moved to approve the Preliminary Plan for Anasazi Vista subdivision located at approximately 250 South 600 West with the amendment of allowing staff to allow either option of storm water as mentioned. Council Member Gordhammer seconded the motion.
Mayor Hart clarified that would translate into potentially another lot added if the pipe system was put in place. Council Member Mehr requested a discussion and requested that if there's any kind of conflict or concern between staff and the property owner, this will come back to the Council. Chuck Gillette stated that he did not have a problem bringing this back to the City Council if there was an issue. Council Member Johnson amended her motion to include this being brought back before the City Council if a conflict arises. Council Member Gordhammer seconded the amended motion.
MOTION: Council Member Johnson moved to approve the Preliminary Plan for Anasazi Vista subdivision located at approximately 250 South 600 West with the amendment of allowing staff to allow either option of storm water as mentioned and if a conflict arises, this would be returned to the City Council
SECOND: Council Member Gordhammer
Mayor Hart requested a roll call vote. All Council Members were in attendance via the Zoom meeting platform or in attendance at Ivins City Hall and voted in favor.
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mehr |
AYE |
| Council Member McDonald |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Elliott |
AYE |
| Council Member Gordhammer |
AYE |
Staff Report
Application
Plan
Survey phase
Mike Rodriguez stated that the proposed plan for this project is to construct 81 lots on 9.12 acres. The Planning Commission and City Council have previously seen the Concept Plan and approved the Preliminary Plan. The reason for this amendment is the developer is choosing to build in phases and relocating the commercial unit from a four-unit building, to a six-unit building that will be constructed in Phase 1. Council Member Mehr referred to the thought on phasing developments and excavation of the entire property, rather than excavating only what's being developed. Chuck Gillette commented that he has been thinking about an ordinance or something to bring forward regarding mass grading and what would be required to reduce the disturbance as much as possible for dust and erosion control. Once excavation starts, that should move right into revegetation. Mayor Hart commented that as far as this project goes, they would be grandfathered by what is currently in Ivins code. He inquired if he has the authority to determine what is allowed to be disturbed. Chuck Gillette indicated that the City has a grading permit and can restrict or allow what is graded and that could be included in a Development Agreement. Dale Coulam clarified that in his legal opinion, if the City does not have an ordinance or policy in place, that cannot be required to be in a development agreement but the City can negotiate with the developer and encourage limiting the extent of grading of the development. Mayor Hart commented that the SWPPP (Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan) permit has its own EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) requirements and conditions to minimize dust and erosion. Council Member Gordhammer referred to the five (5) phases and inquired what the time frame was to complete all of the phases. Representative Rob Reid was in attendance via the Zoom meeting platform and commented the time frame would be an approximate six (6) year project.
MOTION: Council Member Mehr moved to approve an amended Preliminary Plan for Kanta Village subdivision located at approximately 343 West Highway 91
SECOND: Council Member McDonald
Mayor Hart requested a roll call vote. All Council Members were in attendance via the Zoom meeting platform or in attendance at Ivins City Hall and voted in favor.
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mehr |
AYE |
| Council Member McDonald |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Elliott |
AYE |
| Council Member Gordhammer |
AYE |
Development Agreement
Dale Coulam stated that was brought about due to the phasing. The owners have approved and signed off on it and staff was involved in drafting this and recommends approval.
MOTION: Council Member Mehr moved to approve a Development Agreement for Kanta Village
SECOND: Council Member McDonald
Mayor Hart requested a roll call vote. All Council Members were in attendance via the Zoom meeting platform or in attendance at Ivins City Hall and voted in favor.
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mehr |
AYE |
| Council Member McDonald |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Elliott |
AYE |
| Council Member Gordhammer |
AYE |
Lane Mecham commented that unless they have questions, the budget is the same as it has been. Council Member Elliott inquired if the City has budgeted any money for the Arts Commission. She would like the City Council to consider and discuss a budget for the Arts Commission. Mayor Hart commented that he recalled funding a couple of projects with the RAP (Recreation Arts and Parks) tax revenue and inquired if a budget for the Arts Commission is addressed in the budget. Dale Coulam recalled a Council discussion regarding that and the Minutes can be researched to add what was discussed as far as budgeting, to next year's fiscal year budget. Mayor Hart suggested that the budget ought to be something that allow them some discretion. Council Member Elliott agreed and suggested discretion for advertising, arts contests, engaging kids, a travel budget and similar. Mayor Hart commented that he couldn't imagine that any request the Arts Commission would make would be an extreme amount of money and suggested that they inquire of the Arts Commission to provide the City with some kind of idea of what they would need. Council Member Johnson inquired if a set amount could come from the RAP tax funds, rather than the general budget. Lane Mecham indicated that could be done where a certain amount could be assigned the RAP tax funds to the Arts Commission each year, similar to what occurs with Tuacahn and the Kayenta Arts Foundation. Council Member Mehr commented that he wants to be sure that they do not overlook this in the budget and as far as the amount, he thought the Council had a fairly decent discussion regarding that and suggested going back and reviewing the Minutes of those discussions and then incorporate that into the budget and place it on a future agenda for discussion if needed. He suggested that this years budget use RAP tax funding as a backup and then request in successive budgets that the Arts Commission present the Council with a request. He was concerned with the budget coming from RAP tax because he indicated that this feels administrative and it should be a budget line item rather than from the RAP tax. Council Member Johnson commented that this is similar to Tuacahn and the Kayenta Arts Foundation. It's arts and arts based so she didn't see why it could not be funded by the RAP tax. Dale Coulam reminded the City Council that the City itself can file applications for the use of RAP tax funds so as a Commission of the City, they qualify for RAP tax funds. Council Member Elliott agreed with Council Member Mehr and commented that it may be more appropriate to come from general funds, especially because the Arts Commission is charged with reviewing the submitted applications. Council Member Mehr suggested that the Minutes be reviewed and revise the budget for the next meeting, based on that. The City Council Members agreed.
Resolution
Lane Mecham stated that every year the City adopts a property tax rate that is normally provided by the Washington County Auditor, although that rate hasn't been posted yet. This has to be passed by June 15, 2020 so they need to adopt the rate. The estimated rate is 0.001324, which is slightly below last years rate and is the current estimated property tax rate. The Council could adopt this rate and then hold a special meeting if the tax rate provided the County ends up being different than identified. Mayor Hart commented that the State is requiring the City to adopt something that hasn't been established and the City was hesitant to do that. Council Member Mehr inquired if the rate is going up, remaining the same or going down from last year. Lane Mecham clarified that it is going down. Council Member Mehr referred to the to "Whereas" statements and inquired if those are implying that because the City held a Public Hearing, the City now has to adopt this, or are those statements just implying revenue that is going to fund the expenses contemplated in the budget? Dale Coulam clarified that the tax rate is calculated to provide the same level of revenue. When property values increase, the tax rate goes down. He recommended that the City Council adopt this and if the tax rate changes, they can call a call a special meeting. The Mayor and City Council agreed.
MOTION: Council Member Elliott moved to approve Resolution No. 2020-06R, a Resolution of Ivins City, Utah, approving the Certified Property Tax Rate for Calendar Year 2020
SECOND: Council Member Gordhammer
Mayor Hart requested a roll call vote. All Council Members were in attendance via the Zoom meeting platform or in attendance at Ivins City Hall and voted in favor.
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mehr |
AYE |
| Council Member McDonald |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Elliott |
AYE |
| Council Member Gordhammer |
AYE |
Presentation
Mayor Hart reported that the closing on the sell of the City property on Center Street, took place yesterday. The deed was recorded and the funds from the sale are in the account. Nathan Leavitt and Tyler Froelich with VCBO Architecture provided a presentation regarding the update of the replacement City Hall. A copy of the presentation is available on Ivins City's website www.ivins.com as an attachment to this agenda. They reported that they started this process six (6) months ago, in December of 2019. The needs assessment has been done and it is currently in the design development phase and Hughes General Contracting is currently estimating the package. Gene Madsen with Hughes Construction reported that the initial bore testing came back and looks the site look good for the heating and cooling system and they are currently investigating the night air flush option. Council Member Mehr commented that what they saw looked cool and inquired if there is any need to try and blend the existing City Hall and the new City Hall. Gene Madsen commented that one of the things that is possible, is to look at some sort of exterior upgrade to match the color tones. There is an exterior insulation product that looks like stucco and is fairly inexpensive to apply and blend. Council Member Mehr requested that they consider that in the future. He inquired if there is going to be a place for indviduals that are arrested and will be held at the current City Hall when it becomes the Public Safety building. Nathan Leavitt indicated that there is no intent to book people at that building. Council Member Mehr referred to the new City Hall not using or including any natural gas and inquired what the thinking was on that. Regarding solar panels, he inquired if they are going to guard against shining panels because those are not attractive. Nathan Leavitt stated that they looked at natural gas closely but using natural gas puts them behind the curve because it is a combustible gas that emits emissions. They did discuss running a gas line to the building for the future but the gas company did not want to do that. Regarding the solar panels, they won't necessarily be a glare issues, but they will be visible. Tyler Froelich indicated that there will be an emergency generator for the building. Mayor Hart commented that the City will not be using the current City Hall as an emergency operation center. That will be at the new City Hall and they will not need a generator backup so they could put that money towards a solar option backup. Council Member Mehr requested that they keep the solar panels in mind and what the impact of those would be on the surrounding neighbors. Mayor Hart commented that the newer solar panels can be placed flat on the roof because they are more efficient and require less of a tilt. Council Member Elliott curious how that works and inquired if the City owns the panels after they are paid for. Mayor Hart clarified that the City would own them. Council Member Mehr referred to the concrete flooring and inquired if any of the floors that will be polished. Nathan Leavitt stated that the lobby area has been identified as an area for polished concrete and a lava aggregate. For acoustical reasons, the office spaces and the Council Chambers will have carpet. Council Member Mehr referred to the proposed parking around the building and noticed that the new City Hall is taking out quite a bit of the existing grassy park area with no plan to replace it. Where there are 22 proposed parking stalls to the left, he suggested that they City make that a grassy area and not create parking. Mayor Hart indicated that the City has a written agreement with the LDS Church to share the parking lot but one of the issues is that the utilization of the existing City Hall as a Law Enforcement building, expands the needs for parking beyond what is permitted under that agreement and the City cannot use on-street parking for staff. The City is required to provide a certain number of stalls based on square footage of the building. He also spoke with LDS Stake President Kevin Smith regarding revising the agreement but the proposed parking stalls are needed and obligated. Dale Coulam commented that the current agreement with the LDS Church is also revocable on 30 days notice. Council Member Mehr commented that he wished there was a way to preserve some of the existing park. Council Member Elliott stated that it looks exciting and the landscape plans can help with a unique usability for the residents that we don't have right now. Mayor Hart indicated that the monument has to be relocated and the concept to him is the thought of a garden area but with a special purpose of featuring the monument and a bronze statute of Anthony B. Ivins. He also stated that he would be happy to lead a seeking donation cause. Council Member Gordhammer loved the concept that has been presented and referred to the landscape. She inquired if there has been thought given into labeling some of the plants so that it feels like an extension of the park. Nathan Leavitt indicated yes. There has been a lot of interest in how the Red Hills Desert Garden has been landscaped and the educational experience that provides to residents and that is something they are considering as well. Gene Madsen acknowledged how great it has been to work with VCBO Architecture and suggested that when they are talking about landscape, that they put into perspective know how much that garden is going to cost. They could also look at a phased opportunity and putting some budget numbers together for that. Nathan Leavitt stated that they could keep the concept, but scale back the density. Council Member McDonald inquired if there is a reason that the parking lot is so far away from the building on that west side. Nathan Leavitt clarified that the space is reserved space to accommodate an addition to the City Hall if need be and it is advantageous to have a separation because there is a grade change between the two and they need to address ADA access and similar issues. Council Member Mehr referred to the concrete floors and indicated that he was aware of a product called Magic Slab that reduces concrete cracking and inquired if they had looked into that. Gene Madsen stated that they are the inventors of Magic Slab, which is a concrete trademarked and patented product that reduces cracking up to 900%. They have used it in grocery stores on the Wasatch front and they may do a portion of the new City Hall where magic slab could be used. Mayor Hart referred to lava aggregate and commented that he would love to see that featured because it is native material here. Mayor Hart referred to articulation and rooflines and commented that the Council needs to address the current ordinance regarding those. The ordinance was originally intended to take an extraordinary plain building and enhance it but that ordinance ended up being generalized not just to multi-family, but also to commercial and the problem is, Ivins current ordinance doesn't allow for the new City Hall and no church can comply with it. The Planning Commission needs to look at localizing those requirements where they were intended, which was multi-family. The City Council agreed that needs to be moved onto the Planning Commission. Nathan Leavitt commented that he was happy with the process of building a new City Hall and with the way it's coming together.
Mayor Hart indicated that the City is requiring masks at City Hall and he appreciated Dale Coulam, Lane Mecham and staff for installing the screens. There has been a spike in COVID-19 cases and the interesting nature of that is that they are due to larger family groups transmitting the virus within the household. Council Member Mehr commented that he thought there would be more of a surge right now at the hospital, but that hasn't happened. They are starting to open some of the operating rooms and labs and he has seen distancing occurring in the parks. Council Member Elliott appreciated staffs willingness to adapt and inquired as to how staff is feeling about the opening of City Hall and if residents are using masks. Dale Coulam stated that staff is pretty comfortable with some being allowed to work from home, with social distancing, and with the use of masks. He has been impressed with staff as to how efficiently the City has operated through this and the drive-thru has been helpful. Council Member Elliott thanked those involved with testing the technology for the Council meetings. Dale Coulam indicated that they pulled the numbers for those that are on shut off and it has gone from approximately 17 individuals, to approximately 50 and staff has asked how long they will not be shutting people off. Mayor Hart suggested until the State goes green. Council Member Elliott suggested that she recommended continuing not shutting people off even after the State moves to green status. Council Member Mehr remembered what Dale Coulam indicated previously regarding this; the longer people are not shut off, the bigger that bill gets. He was okay with not shutting them off until the State moves to green. Council Member Elliott commented that an individuals economic status likely won't be any different when the State goes green and inquired if this could be handled on a case-by-case. Mayor Hart inquired if the City would be able to differentiate those chronically on the shutoff list, from those who are new on the list. Dale Coulam indicated that they could by experience. Staff continues to speak with people and try to work with them to see what they can pay and remind them that if they just don't pay, it will be a problem. The City will continue to evaluate that and report back with Lane Mecham including this as part of his finance report. Mayor Hart referred to the Good Samaritan Fund that was created when the Special Assessment Area (SAA) improvement project was done. It was intended to assist those who were unable to pay for their portion of the SAA improvements and there was an invitation for people to donate to that fund. He requested that that fund be reinstated to assist with those who are having difficulty paying their Ivins utility bill. Council Member McDonald suggested that it be mentioned in the newsletter and a post placed on the website, inviting people who might be doing well, to take an opportunity to help out a neighbor. Council Member Elliott also suggested social media. Mayor Hart suggested figuring out a way for a payment to be made on an account, that keeps the City from taking action. The City Council agreed.
Mayor Hart reported that the action taken by the Washington County Solid Waste District board was inexcusable to him and stated that publicly and requested that Council Member McDonald mention briefly the action that the board took. Council Member McDonald indicated that Neil Schwendiman, the District Manager of the landfill, had a qualified study done and found that there would ultimately be a huge savings potential for the District if they ran the landfill rather than having a private entity run it. The cost for the private entity to run it is approximately $16 million more over the next 10 years, and then increases over time. He encouraged the District Manager to continue forward, presenting it to the board. The District Manager sent out a comparison, line item by line item, but not many people have responded. Mayor Hart stated that he did not think that people know about this and there has been no media attention about it. He inquired if Council Member McDonald would be willing to speak out about it. Council Member McDonald indicated he absolutely would and commented that he approached the District Manager doing what he has so far. There needs to be attention to this. Six (6) members on the board are from the St. George City Council and at least one of those Council Members has family in the trash business. There is a huge opportunity for the County to save a lot of money by managing it themselves and the Washington County landfill is the only landfill in the State of Utah that operates the way that it currently does so it isn't like the landfill would be going out and doing something different than what other counties are doing. Washington County is the actually the odd duck out. Neil Schwendiman is extremely capable of managing it. Council Member Mehr inquired if it's too late for it to be managed by the District. Council Member McDonald stated that it's not too late and he's encourage Neil Schwendiman to not back down. Council Member McDonald was hoping that the media would reach out to him regarding this and get the ball rolling. Mayor Hart commented that the entire population of Washington County will be affected.
Council Member Mehr inquired how the grass at Fire Lake Park is being irrigated. He also referred to a parking stall that is blocked off for Public Safety that appears to not be used. He requested that Public Safety use that stall when they're out there. Mayor Hart indicated that the irrigation question would be for Benny Sorensen to address.
Council Member Johnson - no report
Council Member Elliott - no report
Council Member Gordhammer - no report but inquired as to what the target date was for the installation of the gate at Fire Lake Park. Mayor Hart stated that would be for Chuck Gillette to answer.
Dale Coulam reported that the big news was that the recording of the sale of the property took place today and he complimented Ivins Agent Neil Walter and thanked the mayor and City Council for allowing him to list the property with him. The City now has the funding and will know what proceeds will be needed for the new City Hall before the City goes before the CIB (Community Impact Board). Because of the sale proceeds, the City has to move funds around, which will amend this years budget to complete. Anytime you amend the budget, it requires a Public Hearing. There will be a Public Hearing at the next City Council meeting on this years' budget to complete.
The Planning Commission is to review ordinances regarding rooflines for buildings.