02.22.22 Council Minutes

THE STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD

At the City Council
In and For Said City
February 22, 2022

Minutes of the Richfield City Council meeting held on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Richfield City office building located at 75 East Center, Richfield, Utah. Mayor Bryan L. Burrows presiding.

1. OPENING REMARKS
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ROLL CALL
4. MINUTES
5. NEW STREET LIGHTS DISCUSSED BY UDOT OTHER BUSINESS
6. FIRE DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION
7. SWIMMING POOL DISCUSSED
8. PUBLIC HEARING – CENTENNIAL PLAZA REZONE
9. PUBLIC HEARING – JORGENSEN REZONE
10. AGREEMENT WITH BAND FOR JULY 3RD APPROVED
11. ORDINANCE 2022-7 ALLOWING TATTOO SHOPS IN DOWNTOWN ZONE APPROVED
12. ORDINANCE 2022-8 REZONING PROPERTY ALONG COVE VIEW ROAD DENIED
13. ANNEXATION ORDINANCE 2022-7 ADOPTED
14. BID FOR NEW FURNACES AT THE LIBRARY APPROVED
15. NEW TANK FOR VACTOR MACHINE APPROVED
16. CAPITAL PROJECT LIST DISCUSSED AND APPROVED
17. KIOSK FOR OLD SPANISH TRAIL
18. OTHER BUSINESS
19. MEETING ADJOURNED
20. OPENING REMARKS were offered by Councilmember Street.
21. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Councilmember Gardner.
22. ROLL CALL. Present: Mayor Burrows, Todd Gleave, Kip Hansen, Elaine Street, Tanner Thompson, Michele Jolley, Tyson Hansen, Brayden Gardner.
23. MINUTES APPROVED. The Council reviewed the minutes of the meeting held on February 8, 2022, and made the following changes. Motion: Approve the minutes of the meeting held on February 8, 2022, Action: Approved, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Elaine Street. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.
24. NEW STREET LIGHTS DISCUSSED BY UDOT. Jared Beard was present to discuss the upcoming UDOT project that will make improvements in the City. They recently looked at some intersections for signals. As they went through the process there are certain criteria that an intersection has to meet before a signal can be installed. Two of the locations were able to be justified for a signal at 100 North and 300 South.

At 100 North there is a lot of traffic, especially pedestrian traffic there than in other locations in the City. The streets on either side are fairly tight to fit in the turning movements for the signal so to make this work, some adjustments to the parking will have to be made. The angle parking along the Little Wonder will have to be eliminated. There will be three lanes on the side streets; a through lane, a left-hand turn lane, and a right-hand turn lane. There is also some parallel parking next to the Post Office and that will not work there either. If this is not done, the signal will not function properly.

On 300 South there will need to be some improvements made at this intersection. There are a lot of moves coming in and out of the Maverik and Premium Oil. It is a dangerous intersection. They are proposing the installation of a raised median to block the access from left-hand movements into these 2 businesses.

Councilmember Thompson asked if parallel could be possible. Mr. Beard felt that we should get this in and see how it works and if we feel that we can sneak a parallel spot in there, we can look at it at that time. They are going to try and keep the angle parking in front of the cleaners, but if it seems to be a big problem, we may need to change that to parallel parking.

Mr. Beard explained that there are a lot of left-turn movements going in and out of Maverik and Premium Oil off of Main Street at 300 South. Technically those moves are illegal. When the counts were done, they took all of the movements and moved them to the intersection. They are proposing a raised median to block the accesses from left turns in and out. It will make it a whole safer intersection. They are looking at late summer, maybe early fall for these signals to come. There will be some other work going on at the other signals in town. Just some upgrades, maybe changing out some of the heads and working on the timing.

There will need to be some improvements made along the west side of 300 South to allow UDOT to fit the striping in for the signal. Mr. Mogan explained that Jones and DeMille put together an estimate for these improvements that will be needed. The rough estimate was $76,000. The unit prices came in quite high.

Councilmember Hansen suggested that we watch pricing on the major components of that project and when it looks like it will be better for our finances. Mr. Mogan stated that one of the recommendations would be that we get the design done and get it out to bid so we can see where we come in at.

6. FIRE DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION. Chief Worley explained how the Department operates and the requirements they have to complete to be fully certified. They are contracted with the County to cover areas in the County, just north of Sigurd and South to Austin. They also cover Koosharem when called. They had 116 calls last year. As the City grows, things are getting busier and it is taking a lot more time.

Councilmember Gleave asked what they are required to do to keep their certifications. Chief Worley stated that they are required to put in a minimum training every year with so many hours in each year. Volunteerism is becoming less and less, so they are having to cover a lot of other areas that they have not had to in the past. All of the departments around us are struggling because of this.

Councilmember Thompson asked how they keep staffed and what their recruiting is like. The last time they hired, they only had 2 applicants and this time they had 3. It used to be that you had to work in town and live in town. They had to lift that, so they 5% of the fireman to work out of town as long as they live in town. They are at 4% right now. Councilmember Gardner asked if Chief Worley knew the percentage of calls within the City limits compared to all of the surrounding area. He does not know the exact percentages, but their graphic gives us an idea. Rob Jenson stated that a lot of the calls in the County are ag-related.

The City has a contract with Sevier County that we cover Central Valley Annabella, Venice, Glenwood, Sigurd, Koosharem. We have a contract with Forestry Fire and State Lands for wildland fire coverage in the County as well.

Our ISO rating is 5 which is as low as we can get as a volunteer department. He explained what the ISO rating entails.

He discussed the trucks that we currently have and how much they get used. Councilmember Hansen asked how long it takes to refill the tenders. It depends on the water source, but they can be refilled in about 10 minutes.

The City usually purchases Pierce trucks because they are built 10 times better than those of their competitors. They are a little more money, but they are well worth it. They are also easier to work on.

Future needs are dependent upon what the current fire standard is to keep our department certified. He gave the example that all fire equipment has a shelf life. Personal equipment like the SCBAs is expensive, so we have been putting money away for this equipment each year. They are the same throughout the County so we can share if needed. Turnouts last about 5 years. Wildland gear is approximately $750 per man.

The new fire station was completed in 2015. It has a loft for future expansion and offices, one of which is rented by the fire marshal.

Mr. Jenson stated that they have a radio problem. The bandwidth is changing and none of our radios will work with the new bandwidth. One radio cost is $3,000.

Chief Worley stated that the County came up with a grant to put 800 MHz in 4 of our engines and Monroe and Salina and they received 2 handheld radios for each station. He pointed out that it does them no good unless he has 25 handhelds. That is coming and he does not know when it will be finished. He knows that the Sheriffs’ office has gone to the 800 MHz. Commissioner Ogden is working on getting additional funding to equip everyone in the County with the 800 MHz.

7. SWIMMING POOL DISCUSSED. Ryan Savage discussed some of the options he has looked at to fix the pool. Mayor Burrows has been looking into this for some time and at the end of the day we can put a 1.3 million dollar on it or we can spend 2 million dollars and fix it. One of the things that are not in this proposal is relocating the boiler. Mayor Burrows would like to see is the boiler moved into the building because he felt that would be more cost-effective. Mr. Savage stated that some of the beams have rust on them and the insulation on the roof is holding water. We will not know exactly what we will be dealing with until we pull the roof down. He believed that when it does come down, it will be rusted pretty much completely out.

The pool itself is in good shape, but the building around it needs to be replaced. The top part was built around the cinderblock walls that were there. The new building would include an upstairs with offices or classrooms and a training room. It would also include a party room and an area for a washer/dryer.

Mayor Burrows stated that by moving the boiler, the water line would not be located on the south side which would give us an option of putting in a splash pad to the south of that. He noted that this is just a starting point and we need to decide if we want to keep doing it.

Councilmember Hansen stated that we started the water down that row and he felt that we needed to do this. Otherwise, we just spent good money after bad.

Councilmember Thompson stated that optic-wise for the community to feel pumped about this we cannot just fix the old without having something else. If this is the direction we go, then we have to make sure that there are amenities added that make it feel like we built something new for the community.

Mr. Savage said that the stucco on the east side is not even connected to the wall. It moves close to one foot. It is needed. Something needs to be done or in 4 years we probably will not have a pool.

The question was asked where the money would come from and if it would be put to a vote. Mayor Burrows noted that the City has saved about $600,000 and we do have some other capital funds that could be used.

Councilmember Thompson asked if the current patio could be a small wadding pool for kids and moms to be out in the sun. Mayor Burrows stated that Mr. Savage had a smaller plan for a smaller thing like that with a slide and a few things for smaller children which he agrees with.

Amy Myers stated that the pool is used 9 months out of the year. Who cares if people go to Salina 3 months out of the year.

Councilmember Gardner agreed with Councilmember Thompson in that if we make it better, he would like to explore both. He does agree that we need to proceed with something, but he wondered if there are ways that are feasible to add something. He would like to know what an outdoor pool would cost or a splash pad. He would hate to focus that direction and have it just get tabled again.

Councilmember Gleave asked Mr. Hansen if this is doable. Mr. Hansen stated that it is doable. Mayor Burrows would like to see if we could get some funding from CIB in the form of a grant/loan.

Mr. Savage indicated that if we are going to go to CIB then it might be good to put both projects in the application. The best we could hope for would be the June application and getting the funding in October.

Councilmember Gleave asked how long the pool would be down. Mr. Savage thought it would be about 4 months.

Mr. Savage suggested that the Council look at the concept and determine if there is something else that should be added. Councilmember Thompson had mentioned concessions and Mr. Savage noted that he did not have any concessions in this. There are some things that maybe they did not think about that we may need. This was a combination of ideas from the pool, Mayor Burrows, Mr. Savage, and some plans from other pools.

Councilmember Thompson moved to table this discussion because he would like to look at the cost of some additional items. Councilmember Hansen would suggest that we not table it, but establish a committee comprised of some of those who are already working on it. He would like to add one member of the elected body to that committee and have them report back. He thinks this could be a starting point. Mr. Savage stated that if we get this building designed and in a month the Council decides to do an outdoor pool, that could always be added.

Councilmember Gardner likes the idea of having a committee including one or two members from the Council and not slowing this process down, but exploring more ideas.

Motion: Approve the concept of a new building for the pool and also come up with a plan for an outdoor feature, Action: Approved, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Elaine Street. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.

8. PUBLIC HEARING – CENTENNIAL PLAZA REZONE. Mayor Burrows opened a public hearing at 8:48 p.m. to receive comments on a proposed zoning amendment to the property located along Centennial Drive from commercial shopping to high-density, multi-family residential. Councilmember Street wondered about the settling issues. Councilmember Gardner asked if the Planning Commission approved this. Mayor Burrows noted that the Planning Commission did recommend the rezoning of this property. Councilmember Street asked if the developers are aware of the settling issues. Mayor Burrows stated that he hoped that they would hire someone to look at that. Amy Myers stated that the Planning Commission is very thorough, so she is sure that they talked about that. Mayor Burrows closed the hearing at 8:50 p.m.
9. PUBLIC HEARING – JORGENSEN REZONE. Mayor Burrows opened a public hearing at 8:50 p.m. to receive comments on a request to rezone property east of the golf course along Airport Road from general commercial (CG)to smaller-sized single-family residential (R1-6). Judd Hill is an airport consultant. He noted that this property is very close to the airport and it will be loud. He recommended the City have an Avigation Agreement with the developer. Mr. Hill also stated that there is a noise contour so an Avigation Agreement would help with noise issues going forward. The agreement states that the developer acknowledges that the airport is there. Councilmember Gardner stated that it would be smart to have this show up on the title report so that anyone purchasing the property would be aware of that. Mayor Burrows closed the hearing at 8:54 p.m.
10. AGREEMENT WITH BAND FOR JULY 3RD APPROVED. Kevin Arrington was approached by the band, Time Cruiser, who has performed here on the 3rd of July before and they would like to come back. The agreement is for $800. Motion: Approve the agreement for the Time Cruiser band to perform on the 3rd of July, Action: Approved, Moved by Tanner Thompson, Seconded by Brayden Gardner. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.
11. ORDINANCE 2022-7 ALLOWING TATTOO SHOPS IN DOWNTOWN ZONE APPROVED. The Council reviewed the ordinance which would allow tattoo establishments in the downtown zone. Motion: Adopt Ordinance 2022-7 allowing tattoo establishments in the downtown zone as a conditional use, Action: Adopted, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Tanner Thompson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.
12. ORDINANCE 2022-8 REZONING PROPERTY ALONG COVE VIEW ROAD DENIED. The Council discussed the ordinance and where the property is located. Mayor Burrows thought the property was going to be RM-11 and not RM-24. Councilmember Gardner stated that they are proposing townhomes, but if we zone the property RM-24, they could switch and built apartments there. Councilmember Thompson stated that he is a little nervous that we are getting ourselves in trouble because we are desperate to get housing here. If we approve a lot of these and they are scattered all over the City, is there any way that can have a timeline attached to it that it has to be built within 5 years?
    Councilmember Thompson thought that this would be a good location for RM-24 because it is next to the freeway. Mayor Burrows noted that there are high-end houses across the street. He does not think this is a great location for this type of development.

Councilmember Gardner stated that he is in favor of as much affordable housing as we can get, but he still believes in location. He has concerns about a high-density development here, stating that he does have a conflict because he was involved in the subdivision across the street, but there is agricultural land to the south and the golf course to the east. If you get that many people and that many children, they have to find somewhere to go. They are a long way from a park or other amenities. We would be concentrating a lot of people without a simple way to get them anywhere. That road is extremely busy. The infrastructure is not there to funnel the kids to the Rotary Park or anywhere else. He would be concerned with that much density there.

Councilmember Hansen stated that if we approve this for high-density and someone comes with a plan that is not townhomes but still fits in that zone, we cannot just deny it and say that we want townhouses.

Councilmember Thompson could see some of that property being developed with regular houses, but with it being right next to the freeway, would it get developed at some point. Councilmember Gardner stated that he has worked with some clients who have looked at single-family there. It works, but it is not as cost-effective. RM-11 was the consensus he and some of his clients had because it made sense. He would be curious to know why RM-11 does not work for these guys.

Councilmember Gleave stated that if the developer bails out after we rezone the property, then it opens it up for anybody to come and develop there. Councilmember Hansen stated that if the Council does not think this is a suitable zone for that area, then we should vote it down.

Motion: Deny Ordinance 2022-8 rezoning property along Cove View Road, Action: Denied, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Elaine Street. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.

13. ANNEXATION ORDINANCE 2022-7 ADOPTED. The Council reviewed the annexation ordinance. Motion: Adopt Ordinance 2022-7 Annexing property along 1500 South including City property, A&D Jensen property, and JKL Construction property, Action: Adopted, Moved by Elaine Street, Seconded by Todd Gleave. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.
14. BID FOR NEW FURNACES AT THE LIBRARY APPROVED. The council reviewed 2 bids submitted for the replacement of the furnaces at the Library. A bid submitted by SR Mechanical was $17,380.00 and a bid submitted by Sevier Heating and Air Conditioning was $15,000. Motion: Approve the bid of $15,000 from Sevier Heating and Air Conditioning, Action: Approve, Moved by Tanner Thompson, Seconded by Kip Hansen.
15. NEW TANK FOR VACTOR MACHINE APPROVED. Mr. Mogan explained that the Vactor Machine was purchased in 2004 for approximately $270,000. The truck itself is in great shape and only has 3,300 miles on it. It is used to clean sewer and do some hydro-vac with our other machine cannot. The tank works like a giant wet vac. The ball comes up and seals off, but that whole piece on the inside of the tank has rotted off. There is no way to weld it back and refabricate the inside of the tank. It needs a new tank that we have to get directly from Vactor because it is specifically fitted for that truck. The cost of a new tank is $88,000 and we are probably 4 to 5 months out on the tank. A new truck would cost just under $500,000 right now. If we buy a new tank, Mr. Mogan anticipates the truck will last us another 20+ years.

Without the tank, we can only use the vacuum side of it, so it needs to be replaced. This is the 3rd one the company has had to do in the past 3 years, so it is a problem, but our machine is 18 years old too.

Councilmember Hansen asked if this would be funded out of the wastewater enterprise fund. Mayor Burrows wondered about budgeting it for next year. Mr. Hansen stated that our sewer fund is not as healthy as he would like it to be. He said that taking it from the wastewater fund would be where it would come from. Mayor Burrows asked if some of it could come from the water fund. Mr. Hansen thought we could justify using some of the water funds for this tank.

Councilmember Hansen asked if we needed to have a deposit before they would start on that. Mr. Mogan was not aware of a deposit, he just needed to give them the go-ahead. Motion: Approve the purchase of a tank for the Vactor machine for $88,000 coming from the wastewater and water enterprise funds, Action: Approved, Moved by Brayden Gardner, Seconded by Elaine Street. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.

16. CAPITAL PROJECT LIST DISCUSSED AND APPROVED. The Council discussed items for the capital projects list. The swimming pool was added to the short-term list. The Senior Citizens’ building was also discussed. We have applied for funding from CDBG to remodel the building, but if this funding does not come through, we need an alternative because the remodel needs to be done. The skate park has been on there for several years and the Council wanted to leave it there.

The community center was included on the short-term list, but the Council determined to move it to the medium-term list. Instead of having a city-wide storm drainage study done, Carson DeMille suggested that we should put the water and sewer capital facilities plans should be on the short-term list because the water plan has to be done this year. Motion: Approve the Capital Projects List for 2022, Action: Approved, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Tanner Thompson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.

17. KIOSK FOR OLD SPANISH TRAIL. Councilmember Street told the Council about a kiosk that had been built for the Spanish Trail. It is free, but we have to go get it. It is 11 feet tall and 14 feet wide and it is steel. It goes with the figurines that we have at Centennial Park. The kiosk explains the Spanish Trail. She stated that there is about a one-foot strip across the top that has the same figurines on, and if we took that off, it would make it about 9 feet tall. It weighs about 1,700 pounds because it is all steel.

Councilmember Street and her husband have looked at moving it over here, but they just cannot do that. She asked the Council if they had any ideas on how we could get it here. Councilmember Thompson asked where the kiosk is currently. Councilmember Street reported that it is Cleveland.

Mr. Hansen asked why Cleveland it getting rid of it. Councilmember Street stated that they are the ones who made it for the Old Spanish Trail Society for Richfield. Councilmember Thompson asked where it would be located. Councilmember Street is picturing it to the north of the current kiosk. Councilmember Gleave stated that when they put the ATV kiosk in they talked with Brett Butler and he went and marked the sprinklers and the lines were.

The Council discussed having it cut in half because it would be much easier to transport. Then it could be welded back together.

Councilmember Gardner suggested checking with the local flatbed trucking companies to see if they would haul it home if they were coming home empty. Councilmember Street asked if there was anything in the City that would work. Mr. Mogan stated that we do not have anything large enough. The Council will look at ways to transport the kiosk and let Councilmember Street know if they find anything.

18. OTHER BUSINESS. Judd Hill was asked to introduce himself. He stated that he is with Armstrong Consultant, an airport planning and engineering firm. He is the Utah State manager, so he oversees all of the airports in Utah.

Councilmember Gardner was asked by someone who is bidding on the UDOT if the Council would be willing to consider a rezoning of the property to an R1-6 or R1-8 zone. Because of the timing, they do not have the time to do due diligence. It abuts R1-10 on the south. Councilmember Hansen felt that it seemed like that would be a reasonable request. He suggested that in the next 5 years we are going to need to reassess how we approach zoning to get a sliding density or transitions. He thinks those things are going to come to an end because of the price of property. No one expressed opposition to such a request.

Mr. Mogan talked to the Council about the City crew putting in new connections for new development. He noted that we are always less expensive than the contractors can do it for. It is difficult for the crew because we do not have the manpower. He would like to not install new connections. He felt that we should be here to maintain. We are taking away work from the local contractors.

Recently, they were asked to put in a new connection on the west side of town. The City charges $2,845 to put a sewer in and the contractor is between $3,800 to $4,000. It has always been that way. We do not have to charge for some of the items they include in their bid. They also have to give the City a warranty for the asphalt repair that they do. We do not have the necessary equipment to do the asphalt repair work. Councilmember Gardner asked if the crew has enough downtime to do this. Mr. Mogan stated that they do not have the time.

We charge what it costs us to put in the connection. When a contractor does it, the price has to include his worker’s comp and all of the other things that it takes to run that business. Councilmember Gardner agreed with Mr. Mogan. He thought it makes sense to let the contractor do the work instead of the City. He wondered if this is something that should be on a future agenda for a vote. We should set a policy for this.

19. MEETING ADJOURNED. At 9:59 p.m., Motion: Adjourn, Action: Adjourned, Moved by Tanner Thompson, Seconded by Brayden Gardner. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.

PASSED and APPROVED this 8th day of March 2022.