THE STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD
At the City Council
In and For Said City
May 17, 2022
Minutes of the Richfield City Council special meeting held on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Richfield City office building located at 75 East Center, Richfield, Utah. Mayor Bryan L. Burrows presiding.
- ROLL CALL
- APPLICATIONS TO THE CIB APPROVED
- MAYOR’S PROPOSED BUDGET DISCUSSED
- OTHER BUSINESS
- MEETING ADJOURNED
- ROLL CALL. Present: Mayor Burrows (Not voting), Todd Gleave, Kip Hansen, Elaine Street, Tanner Thompson, Michele Jolley (Not voting), Tyson Hansen (Not voting), Brayden Gardner.
- APPLICATIONS TO THE CIB APPROVED. Carson DeMille explained that currently, CIB has a very limited amount of grant funding available so if we go in with both applications, we run the risk of getting all loan. The water purchase will probably be all loan anyway. If we want grant money we could consider waiting until October funding because there will be a chance that they have more funds come in which would increase the likelihood of getting some grant money.
Mayor Burrows stated that we have pretty much decided to wait on going to CIB until October for the water purchase. He thought it was a mutual agreement with the people we are purchasing it from. He wondered about the ARPA funds and if we would be able to use them until fall. Mr. Hansen stated that we have until 2024 to use the funds.
Councilmember Hansen would like to see us move forward with the spring project. He would like to not kick this one down the road much longer. It is kind of the keystone to allow us to do other things that have been put on hold. He would like to find a way to get this project going. is concerned about waiting just to see if they improve.
Mr. DeMille stated that he went through and updated the cost for the piping and we are pushing $5MM for the spring and the line replacements.
Councilmember Gleave asked if Mr. DeMille had a preliminary cost for just the spring rebab. Mr. DeMille stated that the spring will be just over $2MM.
Mr. DeMille stated that CIB always asked if we have talked to the Drinking Water Division and we will, but the City will not qualify for a grant from them. He will discuss the application with the Department of Environmental Quality to see if there would be any funding available.
The water purchase could wait until October. Councilmember Gardner would also like to move forward with the spring project now, but he would like to start the process on the change application on the water rights given the delay with the Division of Water Rights. We can start that process even if we do not have a validated contract, with the sellers’ approval. That process can be canceled at any time.
Councilmember Hansen stated that right now there is so much focus on water issues throughout the country. He felt that there might be some more sympathy if we are trying to do some things to develop our existing water.
Mr. DeMille asked the Council if they wanted to make an application for funding for a water study. We do have this on our short-term capital projects list. The application would go just to the staff and not to the board. Councilmember Gardner asked what a water study would include, all of our water rights, infrastructure? Mr. DeMille stated that the last time we did a water study it went through all the water rights, water storage, water distribution, and looks at demographics, and growth rates, and gives us projections for all these things. It can also look at the user rates as well. He spoke with Cody Dieter today and he could do a more in-depth rate study. The State does one for free, but it is a basic one. A more in-depth study would get more into overage rates, and base rates and coordinate relative impact fees.
The replacement of the waterlines was discussed and Councilmember Thompson wondered if we have any idea of how much water we are losing from the old lines. Mr. Mogan stated that whenever they have to dig up these lines, which is quite often, the joints are always seeping. Mayor Burrows stated that this is something we need to get taken care of. It has been dragging on for too long.
Motion: Approve a $5MM application to CIB for the repair of the spring and replacement of lines throughout the city with the ARPA funds being used as a match for the project, Action: Approved, Moved by Todd Gleave, Seconded by Kip Hansen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.
- MAYOR’S PROPOSED BUDGET DISCUSSED. The Council discussed the Mayor’s Proposed Budget. Mr. Hansen reviewed the highlights of the narrative. He stated that putting the budget together is part art, part science, part philosophy, and part luck. You have to predict all your revenues and all your expenditures and make them equal. Mayor Burrows feels like we may be in for a little rough patch and that our growth might be coming to an end with energy prices, inflation, and higher interest rates. Mr. Hansen agreed with this, so we have tried to be somewhat conservative in our revenue projections. A lot of the larger sources have been projected on what we have collected over the past 10 months, even though there are still a couple of months left in this fiscal year to receive revenue.
Councilmember Hansen asked about the transient room tax (TRT) revenue stream and if we are getting all we can of this, especially with anything that is under 30 days like the new RV park. The motels that are no longer operating as motels are a diminished revenue stream from what we have historically had. He just wanted to be sure that any temporary lodging, less than 30 days, is paying the TRT. Mr. Hansen stated that this is one revenue stream that we have no idea what it will be. It can be up one month and down the next. You just never know.
Councilmember Hansen asked about the other non-traditional temporary lodging and wondered if we are capturing those as well. The Assessor’s office tracks these very carefully because the County receives more of the TRT than we do.
Mayor Burrows noted that we did try to put money into the capital improvement fund for the departments and if they come under budget in their budget, we are going to try and put those funds in capital improvements as well.
Councilmember Gleave noted that under economic development, there is $7,000 set aside for the Trail Days event. The Chamber of Commerce no longer does that event, so there is no need to designate these funds for this.
Councilmember Thompson noted the $2 per hour raise for the full-time employees and $3 for the police officers. He stated that he knows that this is not near what the Highway Patrol is paying, but how much does this help the officers. This is something that he thinks about quite often. Chief Lloyd stated that everything will help. Councilmember Hansen asked if the officers leaving are going to other public safety agencies or are changing their careers. Chief Lloyd will be losing an officer he hired last year. He is still under contract and he will owe us about $9,000 on that contract, but he does not care because if he gets hired by the Highway Patrol, they will give him a $9,000 sign-on bonus that will pay this off. We cannot compete with this.
Mr. Hansen noted the expense set aside for the Richfield Business Park street project and the FAA project. He also explained that we will finish the mountain bike trails that have been permitted. There will be ongoing maintenance so the Trails Committee would like to bring on a small crew every summer that goes and maintains the trails. It would be a six-man crew and the budget for the summer would be about $30,000. We could also ask the County if they would split the cost with us.
Councilmember Hansen noted that sometimes are wildland fire crew goes to other areas to help fight fires and he wondered if there is a surcharge or something that we can collect given the high cost of fuel and if this will be a viable option as it has been in the past. Mayor Burrows indicated that the federal government sets the fees depending upon the type of engine it is. We do not have any control over this. We do not have to go or allow our firemen and crew to go.
Councilmember Gardner and Councilmember Gleave both want to see funding to maintain the mountain bike trails. When we took this on, it should have been obvious that there would be some ongoing maintenance along with that. Councilmember Gleave felt that the County should be willing to step up and help pay for part of the maintenance.
Councilmember Thompson asked when the CCC road project is going to take place. Mr. DeMille stated that it will be sometime in July.
Councilmember Gardner noted that there was something in the budget about restrooms at the Rotary Park and he wondered how critical this is and if it is something that we need to look at. Mr. Hansen stated that we rent a porta-potty to put over by the pavilion and playground so it is not so far to go to the restroom. It is as not as a priority as other items.
Mayor Burrows asked if we have all of our franchise taxes maxed out? Mr. Hansen stated that he would check on this. Councilmember Gardner asked Mr. Hansen if he learned anything at the summit we attended about additional revenue that we could procure. Mr. Hansen stated that he talked to staff about verifying where a business’s sales tax number is registered before issuing a business license.
We are still working on a recreation and public safety impact fee.
Councilmember Street had a question about the mention of brochures and maps in the narrative and what that had to do with. Mr. Hansen stated that this is for community and economic development. There are funds set aside in the 1050 fund for industrial and tourism promotion, and the maps we have at the visitor’s center and a good example of this.
Councilmember Gleave asked about the library and if we are fixing that up some. Michelle Olsen stated that she is in the process of getting bids for painting. Councilmember Hansen asked if we are still monitoring the settling situation. Ms. Olsen stated that we have this on our long-range plan and she would like to put aside some money each year toward this study. Councilmember Hansen wondered if there would be some grant funding available because it is a historical building. Ms. Olsen stated that there is and that there was one open in October, but you had to have all of the paperwork done so when she got the email on October 18 there was not enough time to get all of the paperwork together before the October 26 deadline. She is working with the library board to have some of the paperwork completed in advance so she could apply for grant opportunities when they come. In the next 5 years, they will need to have new carpet and paint on the inside since it has been about 18 years since we have done anything on the inside. The front door does not open right now because the wood swells. Mayor Burrows asked if we just needed to have someone with a planner take some off it. Ms. Olsen stated that someone has done this, but in the summer, it works just fine, just not in the winter. They are also going to need something done with the plumbing.
Councilmember Gleave asked if we are limited to what repairs, changes, or upgrading we can do because it is a historical building. Ms. Olsen stated that we cannot do any major structural changes to the outside or additions that change what the building looks like. You cannot put new materials on it. When we apply for grants or funding, there are specifications about what can and cannot be done to the building.
Councilmember Street was asked if we do bids when we need to have trees pruned. We do, so Councilmember Street wanted us to be sure that we are putting the bids out because she had a complaint that this is not happening.
Mayor Burrows told the Council that he thought we are getting the trees on Center Street taken care of. He is not sure when it will happen, and Mr. Mogan was told it could be anywhere from a few weeks to 3 months. Mayor Burrows wondered if we are going to try to remove the stumps. Mr. Mogan stated that we will have someone grind the stumps. There is a gas line there also so we will have to have blue stakes come in before we do anything.
Todd Mullen stated that he is still trying to get a rough mower at the golf course.
Mr. Mogan stated that he needs to have a dump truck with a plow and sander replaced. There is one we could get within the October/November timeframe because the person who ordered it backed out of the purchase. If we cannot get one of the 2 currently available, we will be at least a year out. Mr. Hansen stated that we have $60,000 budgeted for capital outlay equipment for streets which would not cover all of the cost. We would need to appropriate fund balance from capital projects to pay the balance. The total cost of the truck is $108,000 with the sander and the plow. Councilmember Gleave asked if ours is worth anything. Mr. Hansen stated that we could sell ours. Mr. Robinson asked if the airport could buy it. He knows that there are issues with the sander, but he could use the plow. Mayor Burrows said we just need to move this truck to the airport.
Mr. Robinson stated that in the next 4 years or so we need to get a new backhoe. He uses it and so does the golf course. Mayor Burrows noted that this is why we need communication. If we can get a piece of equipment and move the other around to the other departments that need it, that would be the best-case scenario.
- OTHER BUSINESS. No other business was discussed.
- MEETING ADJOURNED. At 7:40 p.m., Motion: Adjourn, Action: Adjourned, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Elaine Street.
PASSED and APPROVED this 14th day of June 2022.