06.22.21 Council Minutes

Published: August 11, 2021

THE STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD

At the City Council
In and For Said City
June 22, 2021

Minutes of the Richfield City Council meeting held on Tuesday, June 22, 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.

  1. OPENING REMARKS
  2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
  3. ROLL CALL
  4. MISS RICHFIELD 2019/2020
  5. APPOINTMENTS
  6. MINUTES APPROVED
  7. SMITH HOUSING PROJECT APPROVED WITH CONDITIONS
  8. TOURISM AND TRANSIENT ROOM TAX DISCUSSED
  9. DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
  10. DEVELOPMENT OF PICKLEBALL COURTS DISCUSSED
  11. PROPOSALS FOR THE NEW PARK DISCUSSED
  12. GRANT FOR A PROMOTIONAL VIDEO FOR THE CITY DISCUSSED
  13. OTHER BUSINESS
  14. EXECUTIVE SESSION
  15. RECONVENE & ADJOURN
  1. OPENING REMARKS were offered by Kip Hansen.
  2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Connie Nielson.
  3. ROLL CALL. Present: Mayor Ogden, Bryan Burrows, Todd Gleave, Kip Hansen, Connie Nielson, Michele Jolley, Tyson Hansen. Excused: Kathy Christensen.
  4. MISS RICHFIELD 2019/2020. Councilmember Nielson introduced Macey Madsen and explained that due to COVID she has served for two years. She would come home from Arizona State whenever she was needed. Her platform focused on the Children’s Justice Center. Ms. Madsen’s platform was to advocate for child abuse. She was able to help raise funds to get a medical facility in the Justice Center so that the children do not have to go to separate places and provides them with a safe haven for them.

Councilmember Nielson noted that Ms. Madsen has even gone in and built shelves herself for the Justice Center.

  1. APPOINTMENTS. Mayor Ogden proposed to appoint Glen Taylor to the Library Board, reappointing Kathy Lister and Jannalee Jeffery to the Library Board and appointing Wes Kirschner to the Planning Commission. Motion: Appoint Glen Taylor to the Library Board, reappointing Kathy Lister and Jannalee Jeffery to the Library Board, and appointing Wes Kirschner to the Planning Commission, Action: Appointed, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Bryan Burrows. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.
  2. MINUTES APPROVED. The Council reviewed the minutes of the meeting held on April 27 and the special meetings held on April 27 and April 29. Motion: Approve the minutes of the meeting held on April 27 and the special meetings held on April 27 and April 29, Action: Approved, Moved by Connie Nielson, Seconded by Todd Gleave. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.
  3. SMITH HOUSING PROJECT APPROVED WITH CONDITIONS. Brett Smith and Tim Soffe were present to discuss the housing project. Mr. Smith indicated that they had decided to build their processing plant here, but in so doing, they became very aware of the housing issues in our community. They wanted to discuss two of the issues that were recommended by the Planning Commission. Mr. Soffe indicated that one of the recommendations from the Planning Commission was to improve the streets. They are planning to develop 1500 South, but they also need to address 100 West. They are proposing to widen the road on 100 West and put in curb and cutter in phase I. They are proposing to wait on the installation of the sidewalk until phase II is built.

The second issue deals with fences and walls. Mr. Soffe noted that they understand the statue and they are going to do this on their eastern boundary. Around the commercial area, which is a future phase as well, they would like to delay that section of wall, which would be on the north side of the apartment project, until there is a commercial entity that goes in. They would then construct the wall at that time. In the interim, they will put up some other type of fencing just to secure the apartment project.

Carson DeMille indicated that the Planning Commission discussed a sidewalk along the UDOT right of way, but when the fence goes in the sidewalk would be on the opposite side of the fence from the apartments. It does not do any good for the right of way. He talked to UDOT and they do not have a plan for a sidewalk along that area. There is no sidewalk to the north or the south, so they wanted some clarification if the sidewalk along the highway would be required. UDOT would want to make sure that the sidewalk is set to grade so that if and when they do widen the road it would match in. Mr. Demille stated without designing the entire roadway now, the sidewalk would more than likely be torn out when they widen the road.

Councilmember Hansen wanted to know about the planter strip along 100 West and if it would be between the curb and the sidewalk. Mr. DeMille explained that the City standard does not require a planter strip. The sidewalk abuts the curb and gutter. They are just asking not to put the sidewalk in now. Even the curb and gutter will be a challenge to get set properly without having developed that phase.

Mr. Soffe suggested that maybe they should just do the road widening now. Mr., DeMille noted that this would be better because they have had a heck of a time trying to get the site to drain as it was, so when they do construct phase II it will take some effort and if the curb and gutter are installed now, it may or may not be in the right place.

Councilmember Burrows asked that they would pipe the ditch along 1500 South. Mr. DeMille stated that it would be piped because that road will be improved along with their property. Councilmember Nielson asked if they will have to haul fill dirt in. Mr. DeMille stated that they do have to raise the north end to get any kind of drainage. Councilmember Burrows asked if there was a decision made on the location of the sewer line. Mr. DeMille explained that it would run south along 100 West to the property line and jog to the east and eventually tie into the line on approximately 100 East.

Councilmember Hansen felt that the requests being made were reasonable and make sense. There is no sense to put those improvements in and potentially damage some of that. He is excited about this project and excited about their business relocating here to our valley.

Motion: Approve the Smith housing project with the condition that 100 West will be widened along the property allowing curb, gutter, and sidewalk to be installed when phase II is developed, the sidewalk along the highway is waived, and a wall between the commercial and residential will not be required until a commercial project is developed, but a fence will be installed now, Action: Approved, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Bryan Burrows. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.

  1. TOURISM AND TRANSIENT ROOM TAX DISCUSSED. Chad McWilliams, the Sevier County Special Events Coordinator, reported on tourism and transient room tax for Sevier County. Mr. McWilliams reported that so far in 2021, the transient room tax was almost $60,000 to $70,000 over last year and we have the highest on record in Sevier County. We lost about $18,395.45 in transient room tax due to COVID last year. He is anticipating good numbers overall for this year.

We will have 1,100 barrel racers in Salina this week and next.
We had the Balloon Festival last weekend; the Father’s Day Tournament before that and there is a mountain bike race scheduled this next weekend. The baseball Western Conference will be in Monroe for a week in July.

As a whole, we are doing great right now and the numbers reflect that. Right now, he is going after the weekend warriors and is focusing on the Wasatch front to bring people down for the weekend. They are spending a lot of money on advertising the bike trails.

They are also working with the Black Hawk and the SVC to bring in events to Sevier County. The Travel Council is using the transient room tax funds to pay for events. The advertising budget is about $50,000 to spend on events.

With being Utah’s Trail Country, they have started marketing this to everything like hiking, cycling, boating, paragliding, etc., so they are trying to market all aspects of life. The slogan is, “We’ve got your trail, in the air and on the ground.” They are building relationships with social media bloggers with good quality followers and they have been getting a lot of questions from these sites. They have been building itineraries and things like that. There was a family that came down last week from Ogden based on the scavenger hunt they are doing throughout the valley. They spent the week in Sevier County just to go to those places and have their pictures taken so they could be entered in a drawing for some shirts. He felt that it is fun to see our tourism grow in a different way than what we are used to seeing.

Mr. McWilliams currently has 450 people registered for the Jamboree and last year they only had 400 riders and 500 riders the year before. That is 200 more registered than normal for this time of the year for the Jamboree. He felt that we might be doing some things outside of the box, but we just need to throw things at the wall and see what sticks.

Councilmember Nielson asked if Mr. McWilliams thought the Jamboree had lost participants over the last 5 years. He indicated that the numbers are going up. The trend over the last few years has been staying in around 450 to 500. They are seeing a lot of family machines. The machines are getting bigger and wider. Also, school has started when the Jamboree takes place, so we are not going to get a lot of big families in September. Looking at the trends over the last several years, he is seeing a lot of empty nesters and retirees. He thinks it will always stay this way unless we change the dates.

  1. DEVELOPMENT UPDATE. Eric Mainord reported on their progress with the purchase of the property on Cove View Road. He explained that it has taken them some time to get the purchase of the 8.5 acres taken care of. He also told the Council that they are in the process of purchasing 30 acres in the north part of town for what they anticipate to be a single-family housing development.

Mr. Mainord explained that when this project is built out will be 28 million dollars and part of their problem is that as they underwrite this and have it appraised, there becomes a need for the underwriters to see something like it. There is not anything like this in the area, so it is almost like a chicken and an egg kind of problem. We all know it is coming and it is working, but this is the challenge they are facing currently.

  1. DEVELOPMENT OF PICKLEBALL COURTS DISCUSSED. Mayor Ogden explained that Kelly Crane came up with an idea to put pickleball courts on the Rotary Park. There would be the ability to put in 7 courts in that location if you put one just north of the pavilion. Mayor Ogden stated that this is one possibility and the Council is only seeing this for the first time tonight. We have discussed this briefly, but we can talk about maybe doing this here and what it might entail. He thinks this is a great location.

Janet Bird stated that if we can have that many courts, we would be able to have a tournament. If you have a tournament, you have people coming from all over to participate. Pickleball is one of those sports that everyone can play, especially the elderly because it does not require the kind of movement that tennis does. Ms. Bird stated that we could put pickleball courts at the new park if we put them in the middle.

Mayor Ogden felt that this could work if we have the help of a lot of different groups. He indicated that Cade Douglas would be happy to help and Dr. Zobel indicated that this would be a great project for IHC to participate in and they are into helping communities and this could be something they would participate in.

Paula Michaelson stated that there are a lot of people who travel who look to see if there are pickleball courts in a community before they chose to go there. She stated that it is not that noisy and it is not a horrible sound.

Ms. Bird has set up a site for Richfield Utah Pickleball and it has only been up for about a week and they already have almost 60 families that have an interest in play pickleball, that want to have courts in our community and would support that.

Councilmember Burrows was concerned about the surface of the court. He had a perception that it has to be high-density concrete, but it does not necessarily have to be. He asked Ms. Bird to find out if the temperature changes would change the tension of the courts.

Dr. Zobel felt that there would be a lot of people who would be willing to donate to build pickleball courts.

Ms. Bird stated that we do not currently have a place to play pickleball court and we cannot play on the tennis courts because we cannot put any lines down. However, they have purchased some rubber markers to mark the courts that could be used on the tennis court. A set is approximately $30. She suggested that the City purchase some of these kits so that people could go to the tennis courts and play. He said the tennis coach would love to have the tennis courts used for pickleball if they used these kits because the kit would not leave any residue on the court that could potentially void the warranty.

  1. PROPOSALS FOR THE NEW PARK DISCUSSED. Kelly Chappell discussed some designs for the new park. He noted that the park could be developed in phases and explained how that could work. The other options shown substitute a splash pad for the playground equipment given the current funds available.

Paul Foster discussed some options for an all-abilities playground. Councilmember Nielson asked if the City could choose different elements for the playground. Mr. Foster indicated that we could as long as all of the spacing and safety requirements could be met.

Councilmember Hansen stated that he has had some reservations about a splash pad because he has observed these in other places and is concerned about the long-term upkeep and maintenance on them, sanitation issues, monitoring that needs to take place and the space could be used by something that is more 4-season use than a partial season. The initial cost to build them is one thing, but the ongoing cost and the longevity of such a facility make him hesitant.

Councilmember Burrows was in Ephraim a few weeks ago and drove past their splash pad and it is heavily used. He noted that the Council approved one when Mr. Foster was the recreation director, but it never got built and he was not sure why. Mr. Foster noted that it was because of money. Councilmember Burrows felt that we need to put a water feature in there because that is what the public is after.

Councilmember Nielson asked Mr. Foster what his experience has been. Mr. Foster discussed the system he is proposing and the pros and cons and the benefits of this type of system. Fillmore City just completed one and you can go from it to the playground. If you plan to put something like this in the middle of the park, it would make sense to leave it open. Fencing could be a consideration.

Councilmember Nielson asked about the maintenance. Mr. Foster stated that they all require maintenance, but if you take care of it well, it will last quite a bit longer. The one he is proposing is just a place to start. Most cities are going to a flush-mounted type system with spray nozzles, so there is nothing above ground and nothing to get vandalized. He did a combination of below and above ground. There is a lot of discussion about a freshwater system versus a circulated system, especially in a drought. They prefer the freshwater system because it is lower in cost and maintenance. You do not have all the chemicals, you do not have to worry about testing the water and having certified as well as everything that goes along with that.

Councilmember Nielson asked about water usage. Mr. Foster stated that when it is moving in the middle of the summer you will hit peaks of 28,000 to 30,000 gallons a day. It is activated by an activator and it is a smart control system where if one kid is using the park it will turn on a lot less than when there are 30 kids in the park. This is all on a timer so it can start and shut off when the City wants.

The benefit is that there is nothing like this in the City and it provides a different kind of play from a playground. If we set protocols and a schedule for the maintenance and maintain it well, it would last 10 to 15 years. Mr. Foster also suggested that if the City does install a splash pad, he would encourage the installation of shade structures which would be approximately $60,000. If we were to just install some smaller shade on the side, we could probably get it done for half that.

Amy Meyer stated that kids like water regardless. There is one in St. George that does nothing more than just squirt up. It is always packed. The Gateway has the same thing. Some of the kids are fully clothed. It does not have to be elaborate, but it does add a key element to the area and one that would be sought out.

The cost estimates for the two options were discussed. The option with the playground would be approximately $900,000 and the option would the splash pad would be approximately $840,000.

Councilmember Burrows asked if there was a cost for just the splash pad. The option Mr. Foster showed was approximately $158,000. The playground was approximately $230,000.

Mr. Hansen stated that we did not discuss the cost of pickleball courts, but it was suggested that the cost would be about $350,000 to $400,000 for the 7-court complex.

There was some discussion about the restroom being premanufactured and costing approximately $190,000. Councilmember Burrows could not believe that would not build one for less than that. Mr. Chappell said that right now with the price of everything it would not be less expensive to build on-site. Mr. Foster stated that when you build one, there are engineering and other costs that go into it and that tends to make it even more expensive than the premanufactured.

Councilmember Burrows would like to scale back the playground and the splash pad back so that we could do both. There was some discussion about how much money should be spent on the new park. We currently have about $500,000 we could use for the park. Councilmember Burrows thought that it was going to cost at least one million dollars for this park. Councilmember Nielson thought we would be closer to 1.5 million or even 2 million.

Councilmember Hansen hopes that we do very little phasing because Lion’s Park needs some major upgrades and repairs and all of our parks do. If we say that we will accept this much, and then say we will come back and do a second phase, he is not sure how many of the Council will still be here. He felt that we should make this a premier feature in our City so we ought to be willing to roll up our sleeves and set a big enough budget to build the project. We need to get it done.

Mr. Foster pointed out that the public needs to understand that an all-inclusive park costs more than just a regular park. Councilmember Nielson stated that one of the biggest requests for this park was an all-abilities playground.

Councilmember Gleave wondered why we are looking at putting pickleball courts at another park. We are building a new park so why don’t we just put the courts there. He would like to see a splash pad.

Councilmember Burrows stated that when the Council held the public meeting for the park, the residents in the area did not want sports on this park because they did not want the ballfield lights.

Councilmember Gleave does not think it makes sense to spend $400,000 at another when we are talking about putting a million dollars at the new park. Mr. Zobel stated that there do not have to be lights on the courts. In the summer, people could play until 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. because it is still light.

Councilmember Hansen stated that if we are talking about $400,000 to $500,00 to get the full pickleball courts to host tournaments, the cost for the all-abilities would be an additional $200,000 and we need to do some refurbishing of the Lion’s Park. We could be the all-abilities equipment at one of the other parks. Maybe we need to prioritize. What are the objectives we are trying to satisfy? It does not all have to be at the new park.

Councilmember Nielson stated that there has been some debate about Lion’s Park and what is going to happen there too. That is beside the point right now, because we are in the middle of developing a park on land that was given to the City. She indicated that the community expressed an interest in n all-abilities playground and a splash pad. We need to be realistic and go back to the basics and these two things were the things that the people on the east side of town asked for. Councilmember Nielson felt that we needed to honor these requests and do an all-abilities and scale it down and then do a small splash pad and whatever else we can afford. If we think that the City can actually come up with 1.5 million then she felt that the bulk should be spent at the new park. She further stated that we are going to talk about this forever if we do not make a request.

Councilmember Burrows felt that we needed to decide and finish this park. Then we can do decide on the next project and finish that project instead of getting half done over here and part done up here and nothing done down here.

The Council discussed locating the pickleball courts in the middle of the park. Mayor Ogden stated that he thinks locating the pickleball courts at the new park was a mistake. Councilmember Hansen does not want to scale back the all-abilities play area because he felt it should be the main feature for this park and it should be done right.

Councilmember Burrows suggested setting a budget of 1.3 million and put the pickleball courts at the Rotary Park, do what we want to do at the new park, and see where we get to.

Councilmember Hansen stated that if we are going to do a pickleball facility of some sort, we ought to do it right also. We say we do not need to light it, but he does not agree with that. It is not just something to be played from June through September because we have relatively mild winters here. It can be played year-round. Tennis courts, ballfields, etc., have light and if we are going to do pickleball then we should talk about that as a stand-alone thing and set it aside for now. That ought to be on a recreation master plan for what we are going to do next. He thought we were trying to do too much with too little all at once.

  1. GRANT FOR A PROMOTIONAL VIDEO FOR THE CITY DISCUSSED. The Trails 360 program is what this grant is for. Councilmember Gleave would be in favor of this grant. Mr. Mortensen stated that they have arranged with the State to eliminate the matching funds for this.

Councilmember Gleave has some questions on the other grant, but on this grant for the Trails 360 mapping, he was convinced that this would be a good thing. Motion: Accept the grant funding for the Trails 360 program, Action: Approve, Moved by Todd Gleave, Seconded by Connie Nielson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.

  1. DONATION FOR THE RHS BOOSTER CLUB APPROVED. The Council discussed a donation to the RHS Booster Club and what the amount should be. Motion: Approve the donation to the RHS Booster Club for $750, Action: Approved, Moved by Bryan Burrows, Seconded by Connie Nielson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.
  2. BID FOR THE PAVING OF THE BIKE PATH AWARDED. Mr. Hansen explained that we had requested bids from Jackson Excavating, Rasmussen, Staker Parsons, and Baldauf Excavating. Staker Parson was the only company that gave us a bid. The others are just so busy that they did not have the time or they do not have the right equipment. Mayor Ogden asked if the bids were appropriate and where we thought they should be. This is an asphalt lay down on the bike path from the swimming pool to the cemetery. Mr. Hansen reminded the Council that we received half of the funding from GOED and the City will be paying the other half. Motion: Approve the bid of $52,660 from Staker Parsons, Action: Approved, Moved by Bryan Burrows, Seconded by Kip Hansen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.
  3. BID TO REDO THE WATER LINE ON 200 EAST APPROVED. The Council reviewed two bids to replace the waterline on 200 East from Center Street to 100 South. Mr. Mogan explained that this is only a 2-inch water line and the residents along that section of the road have complained for years about the extremely poor water pressure they have. A& D Jensen gave us a bid of $56,808 and Baldauf Excavating gave us a bid of $52,938.76. Mr. Hansen stated that if the Council decides to do this project that they use the American Rescue Act money. We will most likely be getting that in July. This is a project that qualifies as an approved use for these funds.

Motion: Accept the bid of $52,938.76 from Baldauf Excavating for the replacement of the 2-inch pipe on 200 East, Action: Approved, Moved by Bryan Burrows, Seconded by Connie Nielson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.

  1. PURCHASE OF A MOWER FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT APPROVED. The Council discussed the cost of 2 different mowers. Councilmember Burrows would like to see us stay local if possible. He asked if they need a mower. Mr. Hansen stated that the current mower is 6 years old and the useful life of the mower is only 5 years. Mayor Ogden would also like to see us purchase the mower locally if the bids are close. Councilmember Hansen noted that they are very close. Motion: Purchase a Dixie chopper mower from Jorgensen’s for $14,000, Action: Approved, Moved by Bryan Burrows, Seconded by Kip Hansen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.
  2. BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021 OPENED AND AMENDED. The Council reviewed the increases and/or decreases in the budget. Mr. Hansen reviewed the items that were increased or decreased.

We did not know how much CARES money we were going to get, but now we do so we increased that line item. Building and grounds, part-time janitorial were increased slightly. A little was added to employee benefits in the cemetery because we did not add enough. We also needed to add some to the equipment, supplies, and expense to cover the pump that went out. We did not budget for water assessments. For the golf course, we missed a zero in the line item for utilities and we need to increase that by $8,000. The swimming pool needed to have $11,000 added to the building and grounds operation and maintenance and the utilities needed to be increased by $20,000.

Councilmember Burrows asked if we were in the hole $367,000 in the pool. Mr. Hansen stated that this was the last number he saw, but revenue from passes and daily fees has gone up.

Mr. Hansen went on with the corrections to the budget noting that there was a transfer to capital projects to bring us in line with the legal requirements of what we can carry over. The line item for mountain bike trails was increased by $150,000 which was a donation from the County.

Miscellaneous revenue was adjusted because of the trade-in of a police car and the sale of commercial park land. In expenditures, we extended the sewer in the business park so we added some the budget was increased by that amount. The mountain bike trails and the new parks were increased. In the water fund, the depreciation expense needed to be increased by $17,000, and contributions from a developer which was money received in lieu of water rates was included in the water fund.

The sewer fund revenue was adjusted for the increase in fees and sewer impact fees. Depreciation was increased by $62,000 and the 2009 CIB sewer bond was refunded and we had to account for some additional fees.

The refuse collection fund had to be adjusted on a few line items and we had to add $600 to the municipal building fund.

Councilmember Burrows asked if we are still in the parameters on the fuel for garbage collection and if they were getting close to that being raised again. Mr. Hansen stated that they had already increased it by $.25 and they are probably going to raise it again. He noted that we are in the process of auditing the garbage cans in comparison with White’s to determine what we are collecting and what we are being charged.

Motion: Open and amend the budget for fiscal year 2020/21 as discussed, Action: Approved, Moved by Connie Nielson, Seconded by Bryan Burrows. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.

  1. BACKHOE DISCUSSED. Mr. Mogan explained that the rear-end axel on one of our backhoes broke. The estimated repair cost is $25,000 to $30,000. The backhoe has a value of approximately $32,000. Mr. Hansen noted that they have contacted the insurance company to determine if this would be covered, but we have not heard back yet. If we were to repair this backhoe it would be with used parts and there would not be a warranty on it.

Mr. Mogan learned that there would be a 90-day on the axel, but it is used. Mr. Hansen indicated that if we were to purchase a new backhoe, a New Holland would be $85,000 and a Caterpillar would be $96,500. A popular option that Monroe, Salina, and Aurora are doing is leasing a backhoe on a 5-year lease and it is a true walk-away lease. You are not locked into the 5 years. There is a residual value that it could be purchased for after the 5 years. The New Holland would cost $36,000 after the 5 years. Eric Mason explained to Mr. Hansen that the value would be more than the $36,000 and that equity could be rolled into a new lease so the annual payment would go down.

Councilmember Burrows asked if they had priced John Deere. The power company used CASE backhoes for years, but they changed to John Deere and they have been good machines. He would rather stick with a CAT or a John Deere. Mayor Ogden suggested they check into a John Deere before a decision is made. Motion: Table a decision on leasing a backhoe, Action: Tabled, Moved by Bryan Burrows, Seconded by Kip Hansen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen.

  1. OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. Hansen noted that we have discussed a variable frequency drive (VFD) for the deep shop because there is a $5,000 demand charge when it starts up. The cost of a VFD would be approximately $86,000. He suggested that we use some of the American Rescue Plan money to pay for and install the VFD on the deep shop well. Mr. Mogan explained that besides the energy demand this creates it also creates leaks. When this well is fired up we are at 110 psi, 3,500 gallons per minute.

Councilmember Gleave was asked by a couple of people about the Patriot Rentals and why we would allow someone to put equipment there to rent and conduct his transactions from a truck in the dirt when we have made other businesses do improvements. It was thought that this was going to be a rental store, but there is not even any gravel. They pull in there and stir up the dust and it goes flying across Main Street.

Councilmember Nielson wondered if we are going to allow fireworks because of the drought. Councilmember Burrows thought that the Sheriff is the County fire official and that he has the ultimate say. Mayor Ogden heard that it was up to the municipality to ban fireworks. He felt that if we had a lot of property right on the edge of our City that could burn up, then we should consider some requirements.

Councilmember Burrows stated that we are unique because we do not have any urban interface. Councilmember Burrows stated that the firemen are licensed to put the show on and they are protected for that. Councilmember Nielson wondered if we are just letting it go or what are we going to do? The Council was not in favor of a ban at this time.

Councilmember Nielson stated that the girls who do Miss Richfield are required to serve a certain number of hours to get their scholarships. This year, Macey Madsen has served 262 hours. She indicated that in the past, they have had girls who struggle to get their hours. Macey has almost tripled it and it is her second year. She has done a lot and Councilmember Nielson asked the Council to consider giving her something for a scholarship. The Council felt that she has served and given the hours so they felt that they would give her $3,000 to the university in Arizona that she attends.

Councilmember Burrows asked about wrestling coming to Snow College Richfield. They are wondering about training facilities and he wondered if Mayor Ogden had followed up on any grants. Amy Meyer from the Richfield Chamber of Commerce indicated that there will be a boys and girls wrestling team and she was not aware that they were asking for any financial support.

  1. MEETING ADJOURNED. At 10:17 p.m., Motion: Adjourn, Action: Adjourned, Moved by Connie Nielson, Seconded by Kip Hansen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Connie Nielson, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. Excused: Kathy Christensen. PASSED and APPROVED this 10th day of August 2021.