Mayor Hart called the meeting to order
All present included
Council Member Scott,
Council Member Johnson,
Council Member Murphy,
Council Member Anderson,
and
City Recorder Kari D. Jimenez.
STAFF:
City Manager/Attorney Dale Coulam,
Public Works Director/City Engineer Chuck Gillette,
Parks and Recreation Director Benny Sorensen,
Public Safety Director Bob Flowers,
Fire Chief Andrew Parker,
and
Building and Zoning Administrator Mike Haycock.
EXCUSED:
Council Member Mehr
Mayor Hart acknowledged there was a quorum present. Council Member Mehr was excused.
Council Member Scott led the Flag Salute
Council Member Scott 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
Fire Report
Benny Sorensen provided a written report, a copy of which is available as an attachment to this agenda. He reported that Fire Lake Park continues to be busy every day. They did a chemical treatment at Fire Lake Park the last week of June to help control weeds and other potential problems. Tennis camp was held June 6th through the 9th with 56 participants in three (3) age divisions. Heritage Days will be held on September 9th and 10th and there were five (5) burials in June. Parks staff finished the landscaping at new police department, completed the corn hole court and switched out the rock to a softer wood material. There have been concerns about geese at Fire Lake Park, the mess they make and that increasing the bacteria in the water. The bacteria level is something staff is concerned with all of the time. The reservoir is fed from another reservoir and staff has always tested the water to monitor E.coli levels. Those levels should be no more than 206 MPN (Most Probable Number) and the last test they did on June 28, 2022 had an E.coli level of 3 MPN, which is well below the maximum. When the readings are higher, it is during the busy swimming time, indicating that people are contributing more than the geese that are always at the reservoir. They have tried several things to convince the geese to leave or stay on the other side of the reservoir but if they do not perceive a threat, they ignore what is being done. Other suggestions have been to use flashlights and loud noises but they would need to decide if the geese are that big of a nuisance. Another option would control the geese but would cause death to at least a few of the geese. They were speaking with an individual from the DNR (Division of Natural Resources) and they can relocate the geese but most of them were born here and would find their way back here. Regarding the citizen request for benches to be placed in landscaped areas, the thought is that the City should have a standard bench that is used. He provided a photo of a bench that he suggested. Each bench weighs 1800 pounds and is easy to clean. The Mayor and City Council liked the bench in the photo. Benny Sorensen indicated that they can also be engraved. Council Member Anderson commented that he liked that idea to be on behalf of someone or in memory of someone but not for advertising.
Fire Chief Parker provided a written report. A copy of the report is available as an attachment to this agenda. He reported that June was busy with several annual business inspections completed, a few requests for vegetation inspections in Kayenta and hydrant testing in Kayenta will start in the near future. Council Member Anderson referred to the removal of vegetation in Kayenta and commented that some home owners are getting carried away with that and there will likely be a dust and erosion issues. Chief Parker commented that they are encouraged to follow Kayenta's HOA (Home Owners Association) rules and City ordinances. He reported that the Fire Department has been involved with fireworks at Tuacahn, who has been doing those for approximately 18 years and there is a crew of 6 to 10 people watching to spot fire. The Fire Department is looking at sending a staff member to Paramedic school and EMT Basic school. They are also expanding their volunteer opportunities and starting a Fire Explorer program in the fall for individuals ages 16 to 21 that will work in conjunction with the adult volunteer staff. The new ambulance has arrived thanks to the allocation from Washington County. They are finishing up the repairs of the Center Street station and hope to have those completed by the end of this week.
Police Chief Bob Flowers provided a written report, a copy of which is available as an attachment to this agenda. He reported that it has been extremely busy. Last week there was an individual that went to one of the schools and was firing off a weapon late at night. The SWAT team was called in where they were able to disarm the individual who had intentions of going to a nearby grocery store. There have been instances of fraud against elderly citizens and Officer Ray has been handling the majority of those crimes.
Mike Haycock reported that the Planning Commission held a Public Hearing regarding a concurrent land use and zoning amendment for southwest corner of Black Desert Resort that abuts the SITLA parcel. They also approved Preliminary Plans for Falcon Park, Vista Estates, Kwavasa Phase 2 and Black Desert Golf Village, and considered a zone amendment for the SITLA property that is located at approximately Puerto Drive and 400 South. The Planning Commission also discussed moderate income housing, short term rentals and garage sizes, garage door heights, RV/Toy parking, garbage collection and driveway lengths.
Staff Report
Quote
Dale Coulam stated Chief Parker submitted a staff report, as well as an estimate of the costs. Chief Parker indicated that yesterday he met with the County Commissioners and Fire Chiefs to plan for a computer system for dispatch that will take approximately a month to build. The preliminary stages of the outline assigns what equipment is needed to go out based on time delays, locations and zones. All of the Fire Chiefs met because if there is a call on the border of Santa Clara, the City of St. George would be involved, which would also be true with Hurricane and Washington. It is about communication and networking. Washington City and Hurricane have an auto aid agreement and SCI Fire would like to join that but there are some things to work out before getting that accomplished, which could take 1 to 2 months. As far as the alerting equipment, everything is installed at the Rachel Station except for a few backordered items. The Ivins Station had a representative come to the station, take the measurements for the new equipment and make some adjustments based on the layout. Mayor Hart inquired if other agencies are doing this as well. Chief Parker indicated yes. The Ivins Center Street station is the last to have the system installed and still is a manual dispatch where tones go off with a lighting system and then a verbal person dispatches. In the future, a computer will handle all of that and it will be a computer automated voice. It will select the appropriate units, for example, if there was a fire at Harmons grocery store and if the SCI medic unit 31 is in Kayenta, the system would automatically dispatch St George 27, because they are closer. Dale Coulam clarified that Fire is managed by Santa Clara from an operating standpoint and the City of Santa Clara has made the decision that this is the direction SCI Fire wants to go. It is a capital expenditure where the system will be installed in the building and the Center Street building belongs to Ivins City. Under the current joint agreement, each City owns their own building and that is not a shared item, other than the use of the building. This is on the agenda tonight for approval of the expenditure in an Ivins City building. It was a capital expense for the City of Santa Clara when they put the system in the Rachel Station, which is a Santa Clara building. Each City is paying for their own system. Council Member Johnson inquired if the system was up and running yet or if there are still things to work out? Chief Parker indicated that there are minor things to work out, but the system is up and running. The agreements just need to be worked out. Mayor Hart inquired if the system and equipment being put into the Center Street station, exist in the other stations across Washington County? Chief Parker stated yes Mayor Hart referred to the central alerting or dispatch component and inquired if that was operational? Chief Parker stated that was being installed at the Washington County dispatch. Police, Fire and Medic are all on the same system. The equipment is installed at the dispatch center, but the programming of the equipment is what is needed to be done and that requires the agreements.
Council Member Scott indicated that he was in favor of this but worried about the risk of a cost overrun and if that occurred, would the approval be void? Chief Parker stated that prior to coming for work for SCI Fire, there was an original quote from MOPA for the fire station alerting & automation system, with different numbers. After the City of Santa Clara decided the second system could be done, MOPA came back to the Ivins Center Street Station and took exact measurements for an updated cost estimate. The bid for the Santa Clara Rachel station was exactly what was paid and the estimate is good for 90 days. Council Member Johnson indicated that she was not prepared to approve this amount, based on the fact that the system was not up and running in the County and it was unknown how long it would take or if it will even end up working and there isn’t enough staff to be available at the Center Street station. She proposed that they put this off for at least a month to decide. Council Member Anderson stated that he was in favor of getting this up and running because it could take a long time in today's world and the system is working right now. Council Member Johnson commented that the City Santa Clara, Ivins and Washington are using the program but the City of St George was not using the program yet. Chief Parker clarified that the system was currently working and is alerting and waking. The system will also be able to have an automatic vehicle locating system, which is a GPS based dispatching but that is not quite ready. It has been an 18 month process and one that started prior to him working for SCI Fire. The system and equipment are working and being utilized but it is just not to its full capability at this point. SCI Fire would build their stack and once SCI Fire’s information is in the system, it will dispatch to full capability. It will not however, automatically pull the City of St. George into the Santa Clara and Ivins area. That will need to be verbally done with the Battalion Chief and that is where the mutual aid agreements come in. The Fire Chiefs need to sit down and decide what equipment and staffing will be needed for each call. It takes time to have a template done for each City. Council Member Anderson indicated that he would like the same level and same system as the Rachel station or any other station. Everybody should have the same response time and he believed that is what the Center Street Station would be getting if this system was installed today. Chief Parker clarified that if a call were to come in at 1:00 a.m., the lights and speakers would come on and if the SCI fire fighters were in the backyard doing training at the Rachel station, there is a speaker that projects the sound and there is a doorbell system. The system has a lot of features. SCI Fire would put their load into the system and then use the partners GPS locations to provide the best level of service. Council Member Johnson agreed that in the future it would be a good thing but because the City of St. George would be the mutual aid response and they are not up and running in the same manner dispatch still needs to be used for everything. Chief Parker clarified not for everything, just the auto aid part of it. Council Member Johnson stated that from what she understood with the way it is currently set up, 90% of the SCI Fire calls require some type of mutual aid. Chief Parker indicated that was correct. Council Member Johnson stated if SCI Fire is not able to get a response from the City of St. George through the new system, it will still need to be done through the old-fashioned system and that is not any better currently. The system is great for the future, but she did not see it working for the next two to four months or much longer. She would hate to put a large cost into something until it is a for sure thing. Her concern was that even though it is said it's wanted and that it would be nice to make it work, until there is a certainty that the Center Street Station has a crew, she didn't see that it was fair for the Ivins citizens to have to pay for something that they're not going to use.
Chief Parker clarified that the alerting system could be installed within two (2) weeks and that is the programming part of the system. It would take approximately a month and a half to get the mutual aid agreements in place because they have to go through an attorney due to them being a long-term commitment. Council Member Johnson was concerned about the time that it was going to take to get the alerting system worked out for SCI Fire to use it properly. It is not going to affect how quickly firefighters respond, it's not going to affect any of those things currently. There still is the capability to have paging and all of those things. That will not change. She would like to put it off for one month until it is known what Santa Clara is doing as it relates to staffing the Center Street fire station. She felt that it was ridiculous to pay $48,000 into a system that may never be used. Chief Parker clarified that it is an alerting system that is computer based that will dish out calls quicker. Council Member Johnson stated seconds quicker. Chief Parker indicated yes. He couldn't give the data on the exact time but commented that seconds count. The whole intent is to improve the automation. Council Member Murphy commented that with this system, there needs to be continuity and Chief Parker is ready to go and is what's used in the Santa Clara Rachel station. It would match the other station. She doesn’t know why Ivins wouldn’t want to get it at this point. Council Member Anderson stated that it will be easier on staff to respond to calls if everything is similar and they can go between stations without having to remember where things are at each station. He would like to get this system approved.
MOTION: Council Member Scott moved to approve an expenditure for a fire station alerting system for the Ivins Center Street fire station in an amount of approximately $50,000
SECOND: Council Member Anderson
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Murphy |
AYE |
| Council Member Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Mehr |
ABSENT |
Council Member Johnson voted in the affirmative, indicating that she did so based on her objections.
Form
Dale Coulam indicated the black is the same as St. George City’s version of the acknowledgement and the changes in red are Washington City's version. The Mayor and City Council discussed suggested changes and determined that paragraph one (1) should read: "The City does not guarantee that sufficient water will be available to serve the zone project or permit for which this application is being submitted should the City accept or approve this development application." and that this should be continued to the next City Council meeting to review the changes before approving the form.
MOTION: Council Member Anderson moved to continue this to the next City Council meeting
SECOND: Council Member Murphy
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Murphy |
AYE |
| Council Member Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Mehr |
ABSENT |
Staff Report
Chuck Gillette reported that Ivins City last updated the Storm Drain Master Plan in 2016 and with the growth that has occurred since then, it is time to update the Master Plan, Impact Fee Analysis and Rate Study. Staff received one (1) proposal that was submitted by Bowen Collins and Associates. They also completed the 2016 Master Plan and after reviewing the proposal, Staff recommends selecting Bowen Collins and Associates.
MOTION: Council Member Scott moved to approve an expenditure for engineering services to prepare Storm Drain Master Plan, Impact Fee Facilities Plan, Impact Fee Analysis and Rate Study, in an amount not to exceed $65,000
SECOND: Council Member Anderson
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Murphy |
AYE |
| Council Member Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Mehr |
ABSENT |
Staff Report
Chuck Gillette reported that Ivins City last updated the Sewer Master Plan in 2016 and with the growth that has occurred since then, it is time to update the Master Plan, Impact Fee Analysis and Rate Study. The Water and Secondary Irrigation Master Plans were completed in 2019 and those plans do not necessarily require an update but one of the goals of the Sewer Master Plan update is to finalize decisions on whether the City should build its own waste water treatment plant, which could potentially provide a new source of water so it may be necessary to update the Water and Irrigation plans as well. Staff received one (1) proposal that was submitted by Bowen Collins and Associates. They also completed the 2016 Master Plan and after reviewing the proposal, Staff recommends selecting Bowen Collins and Associates.
MOTION: Council Member Anderson moved to approve engineering services to prepare Sewer, Culinary Water and Secondary Irrigation Master Plans, Impact Fee Facility Plans, Impact Fee Analysis and User Fee Analysis in an amount not to exceed $75,000
SECOND: Council Member Scott
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Murphy |
AYE |
| Council Member Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Mehr |
ABSENT |
Staff Report
Chuck Gillette reported that the City needs to commit the additional funds necessary to bid the project out and start advertising. Ivins City has already committed $1,716,000 to the project in 2021 and this approval would increase the City's commitment by $2,092,000. The City has received a $2,000,000 earmark for Old Highway 91 but that money cannot be used until October of 2023. The plan is to use the money to fund the next phase of the project. Council Member Anderson referred to the powerlines along Highway 91. He would like to see those powerlines go underground, rather than spend more money extending Highway 91. Mayor Hart clarified that the City of St. George City is not currently a willing participant. Council Member Scott had concerns about spending the money due to the situation with manning the Center Street fire station and potentially building a new fire station but these funds have to be spent on streets anyway and cannot be used for Fire and there is a Public Safety issue with road improvements.
MOTION: Council Member Scott moved to approve a Federal Aid Agreement Modification #3 and approve the commitment of additional funds for the Old Highway 91 widening project
SECOND: Council Member Murphy
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Murphy |
AYE |
| Council Member Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Mehr |
ABSENT |
Staff Report
Chuck Gillette reported that the State of Utah Division of Water Quality has implemented the Municipal Wastewater Planning Program to meet the reporting requirements of the new Utah Sanitary Sewer Management Program. The program allows the State of Utah to identify and solve potential problems before they become serious and costly. The Division of Water Quality requires that the annual report be reviewed and approved by the City Council.
MOTION: Council Member Scott moved to approve the Municipal Wastewater Planning Program (MWPP) Annual Report to be submitted to the State
SECOND: Council Member Johnson
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Murphy |
AYE |
| Council Member Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Mehr |
ABSENT |
Staff Report
Chuck Gillette reported that the Building Department and Public Works Department have been making do with old furniture from the old City Hall. There is a need to update the space with professional matching cubicles.
MOTION: Council Member Murphy moved to approve an expenditure for Building Department and Public Works cubicles
SECOND: Council Member Johnson
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Murphy |
AYE |
| Council Member Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Mehr |
ABSENT |
Plan
Mike Haycock reported that the Planning Commission discussed this and would like affordable housing to be included in the General Plan. The City Department Heads have also been discussing recommendations to be included in the General Plan. The Planning Commission would like to obtain public input and hold more open houses on the Land Use Plan and the General Plan, which can be done concurrently. Council Member Anderson referred to the map and commented that it would be helpful to see circles over the areas that are being proposed to be changed because the map they have is difficult to read. Council Member Scott agreed and indicated he would like to see what is different in the Sandbox. Mayor Hart suggested side-by-side maps. Council Member Anderson commented that he has heard comments about a walkable community and stated that he did not think that Ivins has a place for that because it is difficult to get commercial development in Ivins. Mayor Hart commented that walkable communities happen on a grand scale now and one area that would work in Ivins is the Town Center. The Mayor and Council agreed that they would like a better digital version of the map but that they do not need the whole map because the Planning Commission did not recommend a lot of changes. They would like a map with a clear overlay so that it is easy to understand the Planning Commission's recommended changes. Council Member Scott recommended that this discussion be continued so that they can review maps for them to be able to more easily understand the changes the Planning Commission is recommending, as well as the flow chart. Regarding the Land Use Plan, that should derive from the General Plan and he personally did not think that Ivins' vision was much different than it was 5 or 6 years ago. Mayor Hart indicated that Chuck Gillette and Mike Haycock will work on providing an updated and clearer map. Mike Haycock requested that they discuss short-term rentals. He would like to hear how they feel about short-term rentals and the Land Use Plan, which will be helpful for the Planning Commission so that they can better send a recommendation to the City Council. The Mayor and City Council were not in favor of short-term rentals being allowed everywhere, even if they were licensed. They preferred that short-term rentals are contained to a zone or overlay because people buy into that and they know what they're buying into. They also did not like them located next to residential without a buffer.
Council Member Scott referred to the Munsell Book of Color that the City has obtained and what other communities have used to be objective. There are 1100 different color swatches that you can pull out from the book and that are a true color. Springdale, Utah, Sedona, Arizona and Scottsdale, Arizona have used this book to assist them in their communities. There is a cutout template where you put the template over the colors they choose and you then have the appropriate range of colors that would be allowed. He did not know what Ivins color template should be, but the objectivity is pretty simple. Ivins' current ordinance is very subjective with a huge burden being put on the Building Department. The question now is, how do they figure out and what color pages are they going to use? His idea was that the Arts Commission could at least look at this and what other communities have done that have used this book. Michele Adams who is on the Arts Commission, commented that she was very familiar with this. Mayor Hart stated that the challenge for the Arts Commission would be that there are different areas of the City where appropriate coloration is different like Black Desert, Red Mountain and similar. Council Member Scott indicated that this book gives the City the ability to match things better with more flexibility. He stated that the Arts Commission has a meeting next Wednesday and if the City Council would like him to hand this Munsell Book of Color over to them to review, he will do that. The Mayor and City Council agreed.
Mayor Hart commented that the City Council heard a presentation from Roger Timmerman with UTOPIA Fiber regarding some understanding of how systems work. Tyler Hunsaker is an Associate Manager for TDS and requested that TDS be given the opportunity to provide a presentation as well. The Mayor and City Council agreed. Mayor Hart indicated that the City Council meetings are held the first and third Thursdays of each month and requested that TDS let the City know in advance as to the date that they would like to provide the presentation to the City Council.
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Mayor Hart commented that Michele Adams with the Arts Commission had a thought. Michele Adams stated that she has been thinking about Ivins Heritage Park and referred to the Center Street fire station. She indicated that the City could have a mural on two of the walls on that building that reflects the history of the Ivins community. She provided photos, copies of which are available as attachments to this agenda. The thought would be to hire an artist and make it a historical and community event. The Mayor and City Council agreed and provided comments regarding contacts in the community and artwork, including the parents of Marc Christensen, a book published by Emma Fife and the Ence family. Mayor Hart suggested a newsletter article inviting residents of the City to become involved in this idea. Council Member Anderson indicated that they need a timeline to get this done and suggested that be part of the discussion. Mayor Hart suggested that the mural idea be turned over to the Historical Society. The Mayor and City Council agreed.
MOTION: Council Member Murphy moved to continue this discussion to the next City Council meeting
SECOND: Council Member Scott
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Johnson |
AYE |
| Council Member Murphy |
AYE |
| Council Member Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Mehr |
ABSENT |