THE STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD
At the City Council
In and For Said City
June 8, 2021
Minutes of the Richfield City Council meeting held on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, 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.
- OPENING REMARKS
- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
- ROLL CALL
- OATH OF OFFICE
- EXPENDITURES APPROVED
- PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT
- GRANT FOR ATV TRAIL MAPPING AND PROMOTION DISCUSSED
- PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT CALLED PATRIOT STORAGE DISCUSSED
- ORDINANCE 2020-12 ADOPTED
- ORDINANCE 2020-13 ADOPTED
- GOED GRANT AGREEMENT AND SINGLETRACK TRIALS AGREEMENT APPROVED
- GOED GRANT AGREEMENT AND SINGLETRACK TRIALS AGREEMENT APPROVED
- AGREEMENT FOR LEGAL SERVICES APPROVED
- TENTATIVE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2021-22 FOR ALL FUNDS ADOPTED
- OTHER BUSINESS
- EXECUTIVE SESSION
- RECONVENE & ADJOURN
- OPENING REMARKS were offered by Chief Lloyd.
- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Councilmember Nielson.
- ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Ogden, Bryan Burrows, Kathy Christensen, Todd Gleave, Kip Hansen, Connie Nielson, Michele Jolley, Tyson Hansen.
- OATH OF OFFICE. Erin Thompson introduced the Youth City Council for the upcoming year 2021/22. Hannah Steele is the Youth Mayor, Alvin Gomez-Perez, assistant to the Mayor; Shelby Sorenson, Activities Chair; Emery Sorenson, Social Media/Publicity; Hayden Rickenbach, assistant project manager; Spencer Thompson, Councilmember; Leisel Steele, Councilmember; Dillion Barclay, Councilmember; and, Bruce Gomez-Perez, Councilmember. Those who were absent included Gabby Bruse, Clerk/Recorder; and Charlee Sorensen, Publicity Chair; Easton Water, Project Manager; and Cason Damron, Councilmember. Those present took the oath of office.
- EXPENDITURES APPROVED. The Council reviewed the warrants for May 2021. Councilmember Christensen asked about the two side by sides that were purchased from Jorgensen Honda. Mr. Hansen stated that they were purchased with the grant money from UORG for the mountain bike trails. Motion: Approve the warrants for May 2021, Action: Approved, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Connie Nielson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave.
- PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT. Rick Robinson reported on the Planning Commission meeting held June 2. Dan Farley was on the agenda to discuss the development of storage units at 75 East 1300 South, the improvements on 100 East and the finish of metal buildings. Mr. Farley was not present so there was no discussion.
The Planning Commission approved plans for the CJM Smith Apartments located on the south side of 1500 South between Hwy 118 and 100 West.
They discussed the proposal to create a soda shop at 300 North 700 East. They recommended the Council approve a drive-up for this business.
They discussed dog kennels in commercial zones. They are going to check and see what other communities are doing and what the trend is.
Short-term rentals were discussed. The Planning Commission looked at how other communities are regulating them. There is concern about putting some limits on the number of short-term rentals in the community.
- GRANT FOR ATV TRAIL MAPPING AND PROMOTION DISCUSSED. Kevin Mortensen discussed a grant the City received for the Trails 360 program. He noted that the City also received a grant that the City is getting for development of a promotional video for Richfield City. He explained that the funds come from a surcharge that is attached to the licensing of OHVs because of the needs for management of trails, infrastructure, law enforcement, etc. The more people you bring to town the more it costs.
He discussed some of the things that the money could be used for. The funds can be used to manage tourism. It can be used for infrastructure such as maintaining trails, hiring people to maintain trails, putting bathrooms at trailheads, and signing trails. He explained that these funds could be applied for quarterly. We have people over utilizing areas and not maintaining them. The Trails 360 maps are on www.outsiders.zone. Trails 360 is important because it shows the trails before people come so that they know what to expect. They can see what it would be like to ride the whole trail. The towns that are the most proactive are more responsible at managing this.
Mr. Mortensen would like to see Richfield become the Mecca off-roading hub. If you plan for it, then it is much easier to prevent the things you do not want.
Councilmember Nielson stated that we have a tourism council for Sevier County and she wondered if they were aware of this money. Mr. Mortensen stated that they have tried to get the County to use the money, but they only want to promote biking tourism.
He indicated that different riders use different machines. Those who ride 50” machines do not want to be on trails with the 60” machines. Our trail system is a 50” system and he does not see it switching any time soon. Councilmember Gleave said that our system is really not a 50”. Very few miles are 50” compared to what is out there. People from the Wasatch Front shy away from us because they think it is a 50” system, but it is not. The 50” trails on the system cannot be changed because they are in roadless areas and under the rules under the Forest Service and BLM programs, once the trail is taken away the area would be closed off. The 50” trails in our system have to remain 50” trails.
Councilmember Hansen can see that this could be our special knitch. Mr. Mortensen stated that we want to promote our area as a scenic, family-friendly destination.
Councilmember Burrows asked what we need to do. Mr. Mortensen suggested that we need to tell our story because we have an amazing story to tell and we are going to tell them what we flat out do not want.
Councilmember Hansen said this is not different than any other business. We have the chance to train our customers because we are not so far down that road so we could effectively train them to be the way we want them to be.
The grant the City is receiving is for $12, 775. Mr. Mortensen said that this is for the Trail 360 mapping. The paper work does shoe that the City would have to match the grant at $2,275. Mr. Mortensen said that there is another grant for about $30,000 which would pay for the City to tell its story. Councilmember Hansen asked how long it would take to complete the Trail 360 mapping. Mr. Mortensen stated that it would take about one week per trail.
Councilmember Christensen is not in favor of this. She does not believe there is any benefit to the community from the ATV jamboree.
Councilmember Gleave said that we need to be careful because we need to develop our economy, but we can create a monster if we are not careful. Marysvale did that which is why they are to the point they are. If you have ridden the trails down there, locals can no longer ride because there are so many people. We need to grow, but we need to somehow control it. There has to be a balance, so we need to be careful. He does agree to a point with Councilmember Christensen in that during the week of the jamboree it does not necessarily boost our economy, but what it does is showcase is area. Then they will come back and hopefully bring friends and tell other people.
Amy Meyers from the Chamber of Commerce pointed out that our trails are already mapped. The Trails 360 is a different kind of mapping, but she wanted people to know that the Forest Service have new maps out and all the trails are newly mapped.
Councilmember Gleave stated that if there is not a deadline and because some of us are just hearing about this for the first, he would like to see everyone watch “At Your Leisure,” get a better idea of what we are talking about and then come back and decide whether or not we want to do this.
- PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT CALLED PATRIOT STORAGE DISCUSSED. Trent Brown of Sunrise Engineering discussed the project to be located on the corner of 1300 South and 100 East (next to Tractor Supply). The plan is to construct 6 buildings of storage units and they are not planning on having a full-time office there, just a kiosk there. At Planning Commission meeting they discussed the improvement on 1500 South such as curb, gutter, sidewalk, and asphalt shoulder that would wrap around the corner onto 100 East. They are proposing do to half of 100 East, but the Planning Commission thought it would be okay not to do curb, gutter and sidewalk on that street. Mr. Brown wanted to get the Council’s thought on this while they are going through the design because he would just as soon do it that way and not have to change it.
Councilmember Hansen understood that there was also some discussion about the surfacing of metal buildings. Mr. Brown indicated that they are proposing to leave the side along 100 East as just the metal siding since it will be the backside of the units. He indicated that the owner is wanting to do a partial veneer on the face of it with some doors that will break it up.
Mayor Ogden suggested that they would have to do the improvements when the area develops.
Councilmember Nielson felt that it would be a mistake to not require them to put in the improvements along 100 East. There was some concern about not getting the right of way from the properties to the north that have already developed. The development to the east is putting in curb, gutter and sidewalk along the frontage of their property. The City did have an agreement with Larsen’s for the development of their property.
There is some property along 100 East that is not in the City limits, but the majority of the property is.
Councilmember Nielson stated that the Council needs to decide if they want curb, gutter and sidewalk along 100 East and if they require it of this development then we should go back to Larsen’s and enforce their agreement.
The Council discussed the requirements for the finish of metal buildings in a commercial shopping zone. The ordinance states that, “100% of the Street facing walls shall be finished with brick, stone, block, stucco, glass or a combination there of. All sidewalls shall have at least 25% of the same material as the street facing wall.”
- Mr. Brown stated that the owner was planning to do 30% on the south side and then he learned that we required 100% which is why he wanted to discuss this. Mr. Brown also pointed out that they make metal panels that have a stucco look to them. If that would be acceptable then the ordinance would not need to be changed. Councilmember Christensen and Councilmember Nielson thought the 100% requirement was a little excessive. Councilmember Nielson felt that the Council should re-look at this ordinance and if they want to work within the current guidelines that is up to them.
The Council would like to have the Planning Commission look at the metal building ordinance and make some changes to it.
Councilmember Burrows felt that we need to be conscientious of these agreements going forward because we do not want to get too many out there and make it difficult to track.
Councilmember Hansen noted that metal construction is becoming more frequently used for a lot of reasons. Conventional building materials are changing and they are not the same as it was 10 years ago.
Councilmember Nielson felt that they should be all of the improvements in along 1500 South and that we should have an agreement for 100 East requiring it to be developed at such time as the improvements, including curb, gutter, and sidewalk to the north are installed and that they will give the property needed for the width of the right of way.
- ORDINANCE 2020-12 ADOPTED. The Council reviewed an ordinance to amend Table 31-1 of the Zoning Code, to allow short-term rentals in the residential zoning districts R1-6 and R1-8. Motion: Adopt Ordinance 2020-12 amending Table 13-1 of the Zoning Code to allow short-term rentals in the R1-6 and R1-8 zones, Action: Adopted, Moved by Bryan Burrows, Seconded by Kip Hansen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave.
- ORDINANCE 2020-13 ADOPTED. The Council reviewed and ordinance rezoning the property known as Lot 2 of the Royal Inn Subdivision to high-density multi-family residential (RM-24). Councilmember Burrows noted that since we created the high-density zone. We have had two other requests and now this one, and we still do not have a shovel in the ground on any of them. Motion: Adopt Ordinance 2020-13 rezoning property known as Lot 2 of the Royal Inn Subdivision to high-density multi-family residential (RM-24), Action: Adopted, Moved by Kathy Christensen, Seconded by Todd Gleave. Vote: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 3, No = 2, Abstain = 0). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Kathy Christensen, Todd Gleave. No: Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen.
- GOED GRANT AGREEMENT AND SINGLETRACK TRIALS AGREEMENT APPROVED. Carson DeMille stated that this is the grant for $333,000 for the construction of the mountain bike trails. As part of the project, we have a contract with Singletrack Trails to design and flag the new 8.6 miles of trails. Mr. Demille stated that the project will go through this year and next. Motion: Approve the grant with GOED and the contract with Singletrack for construction of the mountain bike trails, Action: Approved, Moved by Bryan Burrows, Seconded by Kathy Christensen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave.
- AGREEMENT FOR LEGAL SERVICES APPROVED. The Council reviewed an agreement with Blaisdell, Church, and Johnson, LLC., for legal services beginning July 1, 2021. Motion: Approve the agreement for legal service with Blaisdell, Church and Johnson, LLC, Action: Approved, Moved by Kathy Christensen, Seconded by Bryan Burrows. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave.
- TENTATIVE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2021-22 FOR ALL FUNDS ADOPTED. Mr. Hansen went over the changes that have been made to the budget. He noted the changes that were made to the capital projects fund. The budget does include an extra patrol officer and capital outlay for that and another full-time employee at the golf course. It also includes funds for significant maintenance and upgrades at the library and significant maintenance and upgrades at the golf course. There are some extra funds in the cemetery for re-seeding and aerating.
- Mr. Mogan explained the increase to the sewer budget to include the videoing of the sewer lines. The majority of the videoing will be done this year because we have the funds and next year we will start the payment on the sewer lagoons. Councilmember Christensen felt that it would be good to have the lines videoed so that we would know where the problem areas are. Motion: Adopt the Tentative Budget for Fiscal Year 2021-22, Action: Adopted, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Kathy Christensen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave.
- AGREEMENT WITH TWIN D APPROVED. The Council reviewed an agreement with Twin D for cleaning the sewer lines over the next 3 years. Motion: Approve the agreement with Twin D for cleaning and TVing of the sewer lines, Action: Approved, Moved by Kathy Christensen, Seconded by Bryan Burrows. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave.
- OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. Hansen informed that Council that we will need to hold a special meeting to adopt the certified tax rate before June 22. The Council decided to hold a meeting next Tuesday, June 15 at 5:00 p.m. The public hearing for truth in taxation will be held on August 3, 2021.
Ice cream social for Miss Richfield will be held on Monday, June 14. The Miss Richfield pageant will be held on June 26.
Councilmember Burrows noticed that A&D Jensen was cleaning of the detention basin in flat canyon and he wondered if we were aware of this. We were notified by the County they were going to do this project and we have budgeted $25,000 for this based on our agreement with the County.
Councilmember Burrows mentioned the new park and suggested that we may want to rethink putting a splash pad at this park. He saw one in Ephraim that was well-used and he thought it was well done. Councilmember Christensen does not want to see a splash pad at the park because of all the maintenance issues they have. Councilmember Burrows just thought it could be something simple and it would be something that the other parks do not have.
Councilmember Hansen congratulated Michelle Olsen for being the Chamber’s Customer Service Superstar for June.
The Council discussed the drought and the suggestion that we need to encourage our residents to not water during the hours of 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. Monroe City has implemented fines, but the Council does not want to go there yet. Councilmember Christensen thought that if nothing else we could put something on the water bill about being conservative. Carson DeMille stated that the City does not have a water shortage. The deep shop well is really deep. The irrigation water, according to Dustin Christensen, is expected to be a real small stream. At that point, we will not be able to get anything out for the irrigation. Councilmember Hansen suggested getting some cards that the utility workers could hand out to the property owners reminding them what the ordinance. He is not interested in going beyond that right now.
Councilmember Gleave asked about blocking off his street, Willowbrook Drive, on June 22. They will be holding Block Party and it will not be completely blocked off. The neighbors will be able to get in and out. If any of the neighbors are against this, they will not do it. The Council did not see any problems with this.
- EXECUTIVE SESSION. At 9:10 p.m., Motion: Adjourn regular session and convene an executive session to discuss the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual(s) to serve on the Library Board and Planning Commission, Action: Adjourned, Moved by Kathy Christensen, Seconded by Connie Nielson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave.
- RECONVENE & ADJOURN. At 9:30 p.m. Motion: Reconvene and adjourn, Action: Adjourned, Moved by Kathy Christensen, Seconded by Bryan Burrows. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave PASSED and APPROVED this 13 day of July, 2021.