THE STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD
At the City Council
In and For Said City
January 22, 2019
In and For Said City
January 22, 2019
Minutes of the Richfield City Council meeting held on Tuesday, January 22, 2019
at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Richfield City office building located at 75 East Center, Richfield, Utah. Mayor David C. Ogden presiding.
at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Richfield City office building located at 75 East Center, Richfield, Utah. Mayor David C. Ogden presiding.
1. OPENING REMARKS
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ROLL CALL
4. WHITE’S SANITATION ANNUAL REPORT
5. RUSSIAN OLIVE TREES AT THE GOLF COURSE DISCUSSED
6. BICYCLE PUMP TRACK DISCUSSED AND CITY PARTICIPATION APPROVED
7. YEAR-END REPORT FOR THE POLICE DEPT DISCUSSED
8. UPDATED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT LIST APPROVED
9. ANNEXATION ORDINANCE 2019-1ADOPTED AND AMENDED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION APPROVED
10. OTHER BUSINESS
11. MEETING ADJOURNED
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ROLL CALL
4. WHITE’S SANITATION ANNUAL REPORT
5. RUSSIAN OLIVE TREES AT THE GOLF COURSE DISCUSSED
6. BICYCLE PUMP TRACK DISCUSSED AND CITY PARTICIPATION APPROVED
7. YEAR-END REPORT FOR THE POLICE DEPT DISCUSSED
8. UPDATED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT LIST APPROVED
9. ANNEXATION ORDINANCE 2019-1ADOPTED AND AMENDED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION APPROVED
10. OTHER BUSINESS
11. MEETING ADJOURNED
1. OPENING REMARKS were offered by Councilmember Burrows.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Councilmember Christensen.
3. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor David Ogden, Bryan Burrows, Richard Barnett, Kathy Christensen, Connie Nielson, Mike Langston, Michele Jolley. Excused: Kevin Arrington, Matt Creamer.
4. WHITE’S SANITATION ANNUAL REPORT. Chet white was present to discuss any concerns, questions, etc of future sanitation needs. The 4th of July will be on a Thursday and it will affect the west side of Richfield, but they will still be hauling. Just earlier so they will be able to get in and out and not affect the parade routes and lineup areas. Christmas will be in a Wednesday and they are not sure how they will be handling that at this point. That is the one of the few days they take off. They will be sure to coordinate that with the City.
Councilmember Burrows asked about the fuel prices the City is charging for the trash pickup. Mr. White said that the rate will be coming down to the base price. Fuel has dropped the last 2 weeks so they will be lowering the cost in February. When asked if he had any problems or concerns, Mr. White told the Council that they are having more people put a lot of stuff out which pushes the limits of what they have agreed to pick up. The worst offenders are the landlords. They try and take care of it the best they can. Mr. White will get with Mr. Creamer to schedule the town cleanup for this year.
5. RUSSIAN OLIVE TREES AT THE GOLF COURSE DISCUSSED. Mr. Jenkins explained that he is paid to do a lot of tree removal when he does fences out through the river basin. He said that Russian olive trees are classified by the State as a class 2 and by the County as a class 4 noxious weed. He feels that the City is violating the County and the State ordinance. Mayor Ogden stated that the Council has talked about the Russian olive trees a lot. Mr. Jenkins stated that we could cut the tree off and kill it with poison. Mr. Jenkins is being paid through State and County money to go take care of these trees and get rid of them so he can build fences for the ranchers. With the big push to get rid of them along the river, he thinks that the City should do the same. Mayor Ogden stated that we understand the problem and we are not propagating them. He wants to see the City making progress. Mayor Ogden stated that we will work at getting rid of them.
6. BICYCLE PUMP TRACK DISCUSSED AND CITY PARTICIPATION APPROVED. Brayden Gardner showed the Council an example of the bike park in St. George. They would like to build a pump track on the County property nest to the BMX track that they built. They are going to apply for CDBG funds through the County.
Councilmember Nielson asked about the other bike trails and if this would have an impact on the ones that we are planning. Mr. Gardner said that there would not be any negative impact, but they think there will be a lot of positive. He did meet with one of the members from the Trails Committee and this is not competing with that because this is something that is different from what they are doing. They actually do have a plan to do a pump track, but it is further down on their list. Mr. Gardner has the ability through the County to go after some funds that the Trails Committee does not have access to.
This is a way to take one of their bottom priorities that is a higher priority for those of us who ride a little more locally and bridge the gap. Councilmember Nielson wanted to be sure that this messed together with what the trails committee is planning. Councilmember Barnett stated that the Council had asked the trails committee to come up with a master plan for all of the bicycle related recreation opportunities in town. He stated that this needs to be part of that.
Mr. Gardner stated that they have to submit their application by January 31. Councilmember Barnett stated that there needs to be communication there so that it is tied together with a coordinated plan.
There is only $250,000 available from the grant so location was a limiting factor. So there were some advantages to locating it on County property. They want to asphalt the pump track which would be a 2 to 5 foot wide rhythm section. They do not have an exact design because it depends on the budget they have to work with. It will be mostly dirt with maybe a little landscaping around the edges.
Sevier County has committed $20,000 plus whatever they can get out of the application. Mr. Gardner has about $15,000 earmarked through private funding and he asked the City if they would contribute $5,000 to $10,000 in the event they are awarded the grant. They already have water and power, but they need to tie into the sewer.
Mr. Gardner had put some numbers together and was confident that they could build this track for $230,000. That allows for a substantial contingency fund, quality control, design, admin, etc. Councilmember Burrows asked about the power costs and Mr. Gardner stated that it includes trenching to get power to the restroom facility and potentially to the fence for a street light. Councilmember Burrows told Mr. Gardner that Rocky Mountain Power does grants for things like this and gave him the contact information for that.
He asked if the City would write a letter of support of donating money in the event they get awarded and then help the County with maintenance and keep the weeds down. Motion: Donate up to $10,000 with the County for a pump track contingent upon receiving the CDBG grant, Action: Approved, Moved by Bryan Burrows, Seconded by Kathy Christensen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yea = 4). Yea: Bryan Burrows, Richard Barnett, Kathy Christensen, Connie Nielson. Excused: Kevin Arrington.
7. YEAR-END REPORT FOR THE POLICE DEPT DISCUSSED. Chief Lloyd discussed amending the ATV ordinance so that it reads the way it is being enforced. He talked with the County attorney about this and he suggested at change to the wording so that a drivers license should be from a state drivers license division. He was concerned that someone with an ATV license could claim that it is a license and that they could drive legally, so this would eliminate that doubt. Councilmember Nielson asked about all of the riders who come in for the organized ride. Chief Lloyd stated that this would not affect it. A lot of them are street legal so he does not see this changing anything.
Councilmember Barnett asked if we have run into problems with children riding ATVs and causing accidents and if this could create liability to the city. Chief Lloyd stated that the ordinance was written so that a kid under 16 technically can. The officers will use discretion on this. If anything, Chief Lloyd felt that this cleans up the City’s liability by making the law come in law with what State law is.
Chief Lloyd stated that he would like to come up with an ordinance that shuts the parks down from midnight to 6 am and it could include the cemetery. He reviewed the case numbers and the stats for the year. It was another record year for case numbers. Arrests were down slightly approximately 10%. Councilmember Nielson asked about animals and Chief Lloyd stated that whoever is on duty responds to animal calls.
The DUI stats were discussed. Last year they had 117 DUIs. Of those, 98 were drugs and the rest were alcohol. He indicated that alcohol is not the problem. They have gotten 13 DUIs in the last 22 days. Last week they had 5 DUIs in one day and they were all drugs. When they did away with task force, they focused in on some of the big players and that has been extremely successful. In 6 months of the joint venture with the Sherriff’s office and Salina City, they have done more case in those 6 months than the task force did in the prior year and a half. Three of the cases were prosecuted as federal cases and when this happens then they go away and we can get around the State laws where nothing happens.
In 2018 they put in 1,100 man hours in DUI shifts and used the money from the State to pay for overtime. This money comes from impound fees from the cars impounded as a result of the DUI. In 2017, they did $20,000 in DUI shifts. Last year we did $28,000. So 48% of the police overtime came from those shifts. Another 17% came from alcohol money which comes from beer sales and it is distributed on population and alcohol licenses. That amounts to about $14,000 that we use for overtime and equipment. The third part of the distribution matrix is based on convictions. Our DUI convictions went from 25 one year to 140 last year and our funds went from $15,000 to just shy of $35,000. Basically the City paid for 35% of the overtime for the police department. That includes holidays and shift coverage and then if they get stuck out working on something. Chief Lloyd has been able to generally find a way to switch the overtime to State money as long as he is watching it. So they try to utilize the State money where they can and save. He is buying some new car cameras with grant money.
Chief Lloyd discussed youth court for last year. He pointed out that there were 60 who completed their service and 22 who did not. This is a direct result of the JRI bill. When the youth do not complete what they are required by youth court to do, those 22 are referred back to the school and then nothing happens to them. This is a loop hole in the JRI bill that we cannot fix.
Chief Lloyd said that every year he gives out 2 awards to his department. One is from him that recognizes the person he feels goes above and beyond. This year it was Kevin Christensen. Usually he gives the award to someone Chief Lloyd feels has changed and tried to make the department a better place. Last year he gave the award to Scott Hatch. Another award he gives is Officer of the year and this award is decided by the other officers. Last year it was Peter George and this year it was Colton Thompson.
8. UPDATED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT LIST APPROVED. The Council reviewed a proposed capital project list for 2019. If a project is not on the list, an application could not be submitted for funding. As long as a project is on the list, it can be moved up if the priority changes. Councilmember Christensen stated that the senior citizen’s building needs some remodeling. Motion: Approve the capital project list for 2019, Action: Approved, Moved by Richard Barnett, Seconded by Kathy Christensen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yea = 4). Yea: Bryan Burrows, Richard Barnett, Kathy Christensen, Connie Nielson. Excused: Kevin Arrington.
9. ANNEXATION ORDINANCE 2019-1ADOPTED AND AMENDED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION APPROVED. Motion: Adopt Ordinance 2019-1 annexing City-owned property around the airport, Action: Approved, Moved by Richard Barnett, Seconded by Connie Nielson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yea = 4). Yea: Bryan Burrows, Richard Barnett, Kathy Christensen, Connie Nielson. Excused: Kevin Arrington.
10. OTHER BUSINESS. Councilmember Barnett reported that the Legislature is looking at changing the 50/50 sales tax distribution. They are saying that the formula needs to change because cities are making zoning laws in favor of businesses rather than in favor of housing. There are some certain suburban areas in Salt Lake where that may be true, but if they change this it will bankrupt all of rural Utah. They are also looking at taxing services.
Councilmember Burrows had a conversation with Matt Christensen about the Russian olive trees. Mr. Christensen said they are on the noxious weed list. Councilmember Burrows would like to get a copy of the law. Councilmember Christensen talked to Jody Gale on Friday and talked to him about the Russian olive trees at the golf course. Mr. Gale said he had talked to Mayor Ogden about the City starting to plant trees at the golf course so that we could slowly start getting rid of those trees. Mr. Gale told Councilmember Christensen that nurseries cannot sell Russian olive trees anymore and you’re not supposed to plant them and that is the law not that they all have to be removed.
11. MEETING ADJOURNED. At 9:02 p.m., Motion: Adjourn, Action: Approved, Moved by Kathy Christensen, Seconded by Richard Barnett. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yea = 4). Yea: Bryan Burrows, Richard Barnett, Kathy Christensen, Connie Nielson. Excused: Kevin Arrington.
PASSED and APPROVED this 12 day of February, 2019.