THE STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD
At the City Council
In and For Said City
May 24, 2022
Minutes of the Richfield City Council meeting held on Tuesday, May 24, 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
- SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT DISCUSSED WITH BUSINESS OWNERS
- MEETING ADJOURNED
- ROLL CALL. Present: Mayor Burrows, Todd Gleave, Kip Hansen, Elaine Street, Tanner Thompson, Michele Jolley, Tyson Hansen, Brayden Gardner.
Others present: Julia Parslow, Kaley Loveless, Gabe Miller, Carson DeMille, Peggy Roundy, Randy Johnson, Lee Bennett, Marva Nielson, Rhett Utley, and Anthony Shoop.
- SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT DISCUSSED WITH BUSINESS OWNERS. Mayor Burrows explained that the sewer lagoon project also included the replacement of old sewer lines in the City. He noted that one of the old lines runs behind the buildings of the businesses on the west side of Main Street between Center Street and 100 North. He asked Mr. DeMille when we might start this project. Mr. DeMille stated that we have ordered the manholes because of the delay in getting them and they have been working on the survey. He hopes we would be able to advertise this in a month so it would be the end of summer or the first of the fall before it starts. We are probably 2 to 3 months out before we can start if we can get a contractor on board.
Mayor Burrows asked if that will give us enough time to resurface the parking lot before winter. Mr. DeMille stated that he hopes this will be the case. Mayor Burrows asked Mr. DeMille to explain the project to the business owners in attendance.
Mr. DeMille stated that one of the sewer lines identified to be replaced was this one because the City is cleaning this line monthly. Marva Nielson stated that when the City cleans the line it comes up in their toilets. Mr. DeMille stated that the line is under the sidewalk and the water line is also there as well as the downspouts that run under the sidewalk as well. He noted that the sidewalk is not worth saving, so the decision was made to just get it all fixed while we are in there. The plan is to take out about half of the parking lot over to the back of the stores. The water and sewer lines are going to be pulled out into the parking lot and the storm drain will be redone as well. Currently, the two buildings on the north have their sewer running out to 100 North, but this project will connect those two buildings to this line running south. One of the biggest issues which are why we held this meeting is because of the current shape of the facia on all the buildings. There is a lot of it that is falling off.
When we start the project, the contractor will be taking the sidewalk out by sawing and compacting the ground and it will cause that facia to fall off. They will be taking pictures of the buildings before the project begins and documenting how the facia is before and after. There was no money put into this budget to redo the backs of the buildings. The City is paying for all the improvements to the parking lot, so hopefully, the businesses are willing to work on doing their part. Now if they hit the building with their equipment, that would be a different story.
Councilmember Hansen stated that just looking at the state of the buildings it was a project that was probably done in the 80s.
Peggy Roundy stated that she has been trying to get a contractor to stucco their building and they have not been able to get anyone to do it. If we are going to do this project, she would hope that the City would help facilitate someone to fix the buildings.
Councilmember Hansen thought that if the scale of the project gets bigger and more are participating, hopefully, the cost per linear foot would be a little better.
Mr. Shoop asked if the project would include handicap access onto the sidewalk. Mr. DeMille stated that none of the businesses they saw currently have handicap access. They all have a step up and it would be difficult to make them handicap accessible. Councilmember Hansen noted that there would be enough time for them to look at their thresholds going into their business and see if there are some changes they might want to make while this project is going along. It would be a good opportunity to assess that.
Mr. DeMille also stated that the peninsula coming out into the parking lot on the north end that has some benches along it is going to be taken out. Two of the business that these effects were happy to see that gone and someone noted that it would provide a couple of additional parking spaces.
Intermountain Computers said that he shares a downspout with Thomas Music and every time it rains he gets water in his building. He wondered if there would be time to have work done on that once the sidewalk is removed. parking in the parking lot is an issue. Marva Nielson on accent salon said that the corner of their building is falling off and she wondered if the city is going to help replace that. Mr. DeMille stated that they would have the contractor try and coordinate that with the business’s owners. He noted that the owners would be responsible to install new downspouts if needed.
Councilmember Hansen and Councilmember Gleave went and looked at the back of those buildings and they could see that the facia was not solid. Mrs. Nielson stated that the water from the roof comes in behind the awning.
A business owner noted that it sounds like this project is in the early stages. She thinks it would be nice if the store owners were informed when the project begins. She does not think that she can stay open with the noise level and the dust and she does not how many days it is going to be and she does not know when it is going to start. She wants to know all these things in advance before we begin. She thinks the back of the buildings should look the same. She thinks that is part of the look of Richfield City. She does not know if Richfield City could find a grant or go into a partnership with the owners. She would not like to see each owner do whatever. She felt that they should all pitch in and make it look like it was a City thing.
There was some discussion about the disruption of services. Mr. DeMille stated that the project should not affect the gas unless they accidentally hit a line. As for sewer and water, the contractor will be required to give the businesses 24 hours’ notice. Mr. Mogan stated that it would only be off when the services are being tied to the new line. They should always access through the front of their buildings, so they should not have to shut down.
If something were to happen, would the City provide a porta-potty? Mayor Burrows said that the City would.
Mr. Bennett stated that he is grateful that the City is making this a priority. This is something that is needed. Mrs. Roundy that she also appreciates what the City has done for the businesses with the parking lot and the backs of the buildings.
Mr. Bennett stated that the storm drains do need to be addressed because they freeze up and back up. Mr. DeMille stated that this is the reason they do not pipe the stormwater. There will be trenches that run through the sidewalk to the curb with the downspout going into that. That way there is no question about if there is a plug or frozen.
Mrs. Roundy heard that the City was going to take the trees out of the bulb-outs on Main Street. She encouraged them to do this because the water lines running to those trees pose a real problem. Last year, one line broke and filled her basement with water. She thinks this will be a bigger issue down the road that we do not want to deal with.
Mayor Burrows was curious about how many business owners wanted the trees removed. Those who would like the trees out were in favor of this because the trees block their signs. Councilmember Thompson wondered if they would like to have a sign that runs perpendicular to Main Street rather than running parallel with Main Street. They would like to see this type of sign.
Mayor Burrows felt it is important to make Main Street business-friendly. We want to do things that will help and not hinder the businesses. Councilmember Thompson asked if we could make it so we could keep the trees, but still make their signage visible, he wondered if that would be an option.
- MEETING ADJOURNED. At 6:51 p.m., Motion: Adjourn, Action: Adjourned, Moved by Brayden Gardner, 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.
PASSED and APPROVED this 14th day of June 2022.