07.27.21 Council Minutes

THE STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD

At the City Council
In and For Said City
July 27, 2021

Minutes of the Richfield City Council meeting held on Tuesday, July 27, 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. TECHNICAL TRAINING EDUCATION AT SNOW COLLEGE DISCUSSED
5. LEASING A BACKHOE TABLED
6. DESIGN FOR THE NEW PARK DISCUSSED AND PURCHASE OF PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT APPROVED
7. PUBLIC HEARING FOR REZONE OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 500 SOUTH 1100 WEST
8. PUBLIC HEARING FOR REZONE OF PROPERTY AT APPROXIMATELY 645 EAST 200 NORTH
9. BID FOR THE SEWER LAGOON PROPOSAL AWARDED
10. INSTALLATION OF AN AIR CONDITIONING UNIT AT THE POOL FOR $50,500 APPROVED
11. JUDGES FOR UPCOMING ELECTION APPOINTED
12. BUDGET FOR MISS RICHFIELD SET
13. NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE AND SERVICE DISCUSSED
14. PROPOSAL FOR THE RENTAL OF THE OLD ELK’S LODGE APPROVED
15. OTHER BUSINESS
16. EXECUTIVE SESSION
17. RECONVENE & ADJOURN

1. OPENING REMARKS were offered by Kip Hansen.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Kathy Christensen.
3. ROLL CALL. Present: Mayor Ogden (Not voting), Bryan Burrows, Kathy Christensen, Todd Gleave, Kip Hansen, Connie Nielson, Michele Jolley, Tyson Hansen.
4. TECHNICAL TRAINING EDUCATION AT SNOW COLLEGE DISCUSSED. Stacee McIff explained that Snow College has been given a new role to provide technical training. This means that is the technical college for central Utah. Ms. McIff is excited about the technical education initiative is because superintendents in the region report that up to 70% of high school students do not see themselves as college-bound. She discussed the programs that are available and that most of them are offered in Richfield and/or online. The students will receive college credit for every class. The programs are designed to be aligned with workforce needs. They focus on knowledge and training for businesses.

Ms. McIff stated that because of the federal COVID money that came to the State, they applied for some programs that are designed to get back to work. All of the programs she listed will be completely covered except for a $25 application fee. There are some programs that, while they are offered at no cost, would not be for credit such as meat processing or new miner training.

Mayor Ogden noted his excitement for this program because he felt that it would great for our whole area.

Councilmember Hansen stated that he is happy to see us going back in essence to the original mission of this campus. He felt that this is a wonderful thing. Ms. McIff stated the merger intended to offer college credit for technical programs, but trying to fit a technical program into a complicated academic model was difficult. Then it just became a program of what industry needed so that people could receive training. If they wanted to move on, then they would have to start over. Now, with this program, if students want to move on after completing a technical course, they can. If not, they could still get a great job.

Ms. McIff stated that technical education works are if there is a demand in an industry with high-paying jobs, those are the jobs that are funded by the legislature, so they expand to include that program. On the flip side, if there is a program that is offered where no one is getting a job and it is not in high demand, then they need to transition that out and help the faculty re-skill and re-tool to offer something that is in high demand.

5. LEASING A BACKHOE TABLED. Mr. Mogan explained that they are not quite ready to make a decision and he asked the Council to table this. Motion: Table the lease of a backhoe, Action: Tabled, 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.
6. DESIGN FOR THE NEW PARK DISCUSSED AND PURCHASE OF PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT APPROVED. The pickleball courts were added and an additional pavilion. Mayor Ogden stated that there was some discussion about moving the pickleball courts more toward the middle of the park.

Councilmember Burrows stated that several years ago there was some discussion about ballfields at this park and the discussion was that the neighbors did not want the lighting. He believed that pickleball courts would be better at the other location where we have lighting and he thinks that if we do not put in a water feature at the new park we are missing the boat.

Mary Conder wanted to know why we could not put the pickleball courts at the tennis courts. Councilmember Burrows stated that the tennis courts are owned by the school district and they are not in favor of having pickleball courts there. He hoped that the Council would reconsider their decision because he does not feel that we are serving the populous that needs to be served and that is the children.

Councilmember Nielson stated that when we last discussed a splash pad, it was noted that it would use as much water as 60 o 70 homes. Being that we are in a drought, she felt like this affected the decision not to do it. As we go forward, whether we like it or not, that is something we need to consider. Councilmember Burrows stated that he was not for a recirculating system at first, but he felt that we should put that kind of a system in.

Councilmember Hansen stated that he visited with an elected official from Monroe City and he asked him about the splash pad they recently put in and how much water it uses. He did not have any idea, but he explained to Councilmember Hansen why he thought this was one of the poorest things he had been involved with. They do have a recirculating system and they have to chlorinate it up to swimming pool standards and the maintenance and repair costs are high and it is at a park where there is not a lot of traffic so they have problems there. He felt that this was a poor decision.

Councilmember Hansen noted that he is still not in favor of this and he does not think this is the time we should do it and he would like to see us put a feature like this as an expansion of our pool where it is monitored and the water could be recirculated because we already have a process in place to do that.

Councilmember Christensen talked with an elected official from Central and they said if they could, they would get rid of the splash pad. They have to test the water 3 times a day, they have to keep track of what it uses and every 3 months the Board of Health comes and looks through their records. It breaks down a lot and is vandalized. If they had to do it over again they would not invest that money in a splash pad.

Councilmember Burrows has a hard time putting it at the pool and increasing fees.

Councilmember Nielson stated that Central Valley changed their mind about having a splash pad and Mayor Peterson had asked her if Richfield would want to take it over. They changed their mind and put it in, but they have had a lot of maintenance problems. She is concerned about the drought and it is supposed to continue and she felt that this would not be the wisest choice at this time.

Rick Porter is surprised at the number of people from Richfield that use the splash pad in Central Valley.

Tanner Thompson indicated that he is hearing two sides; one that there is a drought and the concern about the amount of water it would use, and the other that our water system is in good shape. Which is it?

Councilmember Hansen stated that the fact that we are in pretty good shape with our culinary water compared to some of our neighbors right now is a good thing, but he does not think we need to take a caviler approach to water because of that. We need to be vigilant and careful in all that we do and erring on the side of caution with that. It is a poor time to be talking about somewhat frivolous use of a precious resource.

Councilmember Nielson understood from our last meeting that we are seeing a decline in the about of water we can pump to the tanks. She asked Mr. Mogan if that was a fact. He stated that we have had a harder time this summer than in the past maintaining our tank levels. They have been running at about half capacity. We are utilizing all of the water we have available.

Larry Blake stated that with the water table in Richfield, we used to be able to pull water at 10 feet for a well and the last one they drilled by the golf course had to go 160 feet to get good water.

Terry Barney stated that he used to have an artisan well on his property until about 5 years ago. He felt that what the City pulls from the wells affects the water levels of other wells in the area.

Blake Zobel wondered if we were trying to keep up with the Jones or would it make more sense to partner with Central Valley, use some of our funds to keep theirs viable and then put something different in.

Candy Giddings stated the when they posted their article about the pickleball courts on the Reaper’s Facebook page, there were a lot of negative comments against pickleball courts. She wondered why are we pushing pickleball courts.

Councilmember Nielson stated that pickleball is for everyone and there have been a lot of people requesting pickleball courts.

Ms. Giddings said that it seems like this is just a fly-by-night sport and not a solid sport. Councilmember Nielson noted that this is the fastest-growing sport in the United States and there are a lot of people who are playing it and looking for opportunities to play with family and friends.

Ms. Giddings suggested that this is entertainment for the adults. She stated that she lives by the City Park and it is an absolute nightmare every single night. People cannot go there from 5:00 p.m. on because of the riff-raff. She says that there are drugs pedaled there every night. Now the new park will be something that is not lit and it is going to draw adults.

Paula Michaelson stated that are hundreds of people who want pickleball. In the tournament, young people were playing with older people. She thinks having people there who are responsible would keep the riff-raff away.

Michelle Olsen stated that she went on tour with the One Voice choir and the kids in the choir were not familiar with pickleball. They had about a half-hour and they learned how to play pickleball. When they had free time, they had a lot of different options of things to do, but they wanted to play pickleball.

Motion: Approve the design for the new park and approve the purchase of the playground equipment for $246,500 with the pickleball courts moved more to the center of the park, Action: Approved, Moved by Todd Gleave, Seconded by Connie Nielson. Vote: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 4, No = 1, Abstain = 0). Yes: Connie Nielson, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave.
No: Bryan Burrows.

7. PUBLIC HEARING FOR REZONE OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 500 SOUTH 1100 WEST. At 7:50 p.m. Mayor Ogden opened a public hearing to receive comments on a request to rezone property located at approximately 500 South 1100 West from multi-family residential (RM-11) to high-density multi-family residential (RM-24).

Larry Blake presented the council with a signed petition against the zone change. They are concerned about crime, devaluing property, traffic, etc. He does not think that this valley is so congested that they need to stack people on top of each other. There are concerns about being able to dredge the canal and there are concerns that the fire department could not get in there.

Arlie Green stated that they are asking for the rezone to help accommodate the size of the site more accurately. They are not planning to build 100 units. They plan to develop 2 buildings of 36 units each. The north portion of the property is not usable. The site needs a lot of grading. This would help them mitigate the costs by allowing them to build a higher density on just the lower three-quarters of the site which would be a more efficient use of the property. As for traffic, 530 South is already designated as a minor collector so it should not be an issue. If the property is rezoned they would have to have a traffic study completed. The fire truck would be able to pull in and go all the way around the project.

Councilmember Nielson asked how many acres there are on this site. Mr. Green noted that there are 7 acres and they are proposing to build 72 units there. He noted that there is just not the demand in the community for more than that.

Councilmember Burrows stated that if the project was built with the current zoning of RM-11 they would be able to build 77 units there. Mr. Green stated that they would have to build on the north portion of the property. Mr. Green stated to build the 77 units they would have to use all of the property to meet setbacks and parking.

Councilmember Hansen thought that RM-11 would accommodate this project as long as this is one parcel. Mr. Green indicated that it is two parcels.

Councilmember Christensen asked about the access and felt that it would be so congested that it would be difficult to get in and out of.

Dustin Christensen wondered if we were considering the easement for the canal company because they need to be able to get in there and dredge the canal. Mr. Green was aware of the easement and said that it was outside of their parcel. Mr. Christensen was also concerned about kids getting in the canal.

Councilmember Burrows is concerned that the council approved a rezone to high-density for these kinds of developments six or eight months ago and nothing has happened. We approved another one after that, and nothing has happened. He would like to see one built before we keep approving the high-density RM-24 zones.

Teddy Lewis noted that we are talking about how many units but he asked how many stories they would be. Mr. Green stated that they would be 3 stories with the higher density zoning.

Jeremy Johnson

Stacie Porter asked why this site and if they have looked at other sites. Mr. Green stated that they had looked at another site that was zoned commercial, but that was denied. This site was already zoned for multi-family which is why they were looking at it. Ms. Porter asked why they could not build this out by Flying J. Mr. Blake stated that there is another site by the Romanico Inn.

Councilmember Burrows noted that the property by the Romanico was already zoned RM-24, but it is a different project.

Their intention would be to build this next year.

Jade Shepherd lives down the street and there is not one street light on that street. We have the Events Center up there, ballfields up there, schools up there and now this? There are traffic issues there and we do not need more. Mr. Shepherd needs to start investing in our kids.

Kristie Shepherd stated that their house has been broken into twice.

Mike Snow asked about the Centennial Park and if that is zoned RM-11. It is zoned R1-6 and was developed as a PUD.

Councilmember Christensen can see that we need housing here, but we have all these people that keep coming in and requesting this, but nothing is being built. She felt that this would be a terrible location. There is not a good accessible way to get out of there.

Tanner Thompson asked if this is subsidized housing and Mr. Green stated that it is not. It is considered rent-controlled.

Councilmember Burrows has talked to some developers and they are not going to put a development in here until there is something for people to work at and people are not going to businesses here until there is somewhere for people to live.

Mr. Green explained that they would build the first phase of 36 units next year.

Rick Porter asked if they were going to put another access onto College Avenue. Mr. Green stated that if it was required and they could get an easement from the canal company.

Mike Snow stated that this property was specifically mentioned to them so they are just doing what they were asked to do. Councilmember Burrows stated that we did tell them of this property and that it was zoned for multi-family, but nothing was said about RM-24.

Janae Blake fears for the safety of people who walk on the bike path and for the safety of people coming in and out of there.

Mayor Ogden closed the hearing at 8:12 p.m.

8. PUBLIC HEARING FOR REZONE OF PROPERTY AT APPROXIMATELY 645 EAST 200 NORTH. Mayor Ogden opened the hearing at 8:13 p.m. to receive comments on a request to rezone property located at approximately 645 E 200 N to multi-family residential (RM-11).

The property is currently zoned commercial and the parcel is .53 of an acre. Mr. Barney stated that they have had opportunities to sell, but there is no interest at all in commercial development.

Russell Buetler stated that he lives in that area and tried to build a house there and they were told that they could not because it was commercial. There is a daycare right across the street from this lot.

Mr. Buetler is concerned about the increased traffic and the noise. If it is a rental property, he would be concerned about the maintenance of the property. He would have no problem with a single-family home being built there. There is the house on the corner from him that has been turned into a multi-family unit by enclosing in the garage. The intersection at 700 East and 200 North has no traffic control there.

Nicole butler also is concerned about the traffic.

Jeremy Johnson stated that the way it is zoned they could put a tire shop in there. he stated that we need housing. One house is good, but 4 houses are better.

Mayor Ogden closed the hearing at 8:25 p.m.

9. BID FOR THE SEWER LAGOON PROPOSAL AWARDED. Derek Holmstead of Jones and DeMille Engineering stated that the proposals were reviewed and scored and WW Clyde was the best value contractor. This award is just for the preconstruction portion of the project which was $90,000. They will be working with Jones and DeMille and the City in evaluating a plan. They will give input and if they can see any way that they can improve the value of the project, save costs, but improve quality.

Councilmember Nielson asked when the preconstruction would begin. Mr. Holmstead indicated that the preconstruction would take place starting now and they will work with WW Clyde until September 21 to go through and review the plans and make suggestions for cost savings, etc. Depending on the changes, if any, it may require that we rebid the project.

Councilmember Nielson asked what this process entails. Mr. Holmstead discussed how the process would work noting that the whole idea is to avoid change orders.

Councilmember Hansen stated that they already brought some well-thought-out proposals to the table that would save money. Motion: Award the bid to WW Clyde as the best value contractor for the sewer lagoon preconstruction project, Action: Approved, Moved by Todd Gleave, 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.

10. INSTALLATION OF AN AIR CONDITIONING UNIT AT THE POOL FOR $50,500 APPROVED. Mayor Ogden noted that one concern was if we were to build a new pool, would this be of any value to us or will we get our value out of it if we were to build a new pool in 2, 3, or 4 years. Janet Siggins discussed how hot the temperatures are in the pool area. The guards have a hard time staying awake in the guard chairs because it is so hot. They have to be rotated more often and that still does not help a whole lot. It is a105 degrees in the pool. We have people working on the deck to paint the walls and they are just dripping with sweat. We have had a big problem with the swim team and regulating the temperature on the deck for them.

Councilmember Hansen stated that there has been a real problem with the roof because of the humidity.

If the Council chooses not to do approve this, Ms. Siggins stated that there needs to be a least a garage door or another door on the north side of the building so they could at least get a cross breeze.

Councilmember Burrows asked if we were to do some work on the outside walls on the pool if we could still maintain the air handling system and not take it down. Ms. Siggins stated that it is separate from the building so we should be able to keep it if the building was remodeled. Motion: Approve the installation of an air conditioning unit for $50,500, Action: Approved, Moved by Kip Hansen, 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.

11. JUDGES FOR UPCOMING ELECTION APPOINTED. Sharmie Crowther, Marsha Busk, and Amy Meyers have agreed to serve as election judges for the upcoming municipal elections. Motion: Appoint Sharmie Crowther, Marsha Busk, and Amy Meyers to serve as election judges, 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.
12. BUDGET FOR MISS RICHFIELD SET. Mr. Hansen stated that Miss Richfield is important enough that it should have a separate budget from the Fourth of July budget.

To determine what kind of a recommendation he should make, he contacted Steve Wall and the County. The budget for Miss Sevier, not including the scholarships, was $6,000. Mr. Hansen also talked to Darlene Robinson who is over the Miss North Sevier Pageant and their costs run between $4,000 to $5,000, excluding scholarships.

Councilmember Nielson stated that this would be a good idea to have a budget, excluding the scholarships. She stated that over the years they have needed to get everything in one location, so a storage unit has been secured to store things in.

She noted that there is a lot of time and money and donations that go into this pageant. This year they also did the float and they try to do it every 4 years. She also stated that the women who take part in this spend a whole year putting this together and it is all volunteer.

Councilmember Nielson would like to find a way to acknowledge their service or reimburse them for their service. She wanted to be sure that we recognize that costs go up every year and the budget has not changed. We have sporting events, academic events, and those who are involved in the arts. This is the one way for the girls in our area to be able to perform and to display their arts with the opportunity for a scholarship. The girls have to complete service hours to get the scholarship. Councilmember Nielson felt that we need to provide a pathway so that it can continue to grow and if it does not grow then we need to cancel it and go a different direction.

Councilmember Burrows asked what our scholarships cost. The queen gets $3,000, 1st attendant $1,500 and 2nd attendant $1,000. If there is a 3rd attendant she would receive $500. The budget for scholarships should be $6,000. Councilmember Nielson stated that they also award for Miss Congeniality and most photogenic and they are each $100. She indicated that they have been running between $11,000 and $12,000 for the last 10 years, but that has also included the scholarships.

Councilmember Hansen stated that Miss Richfield has a committee and it is a stand-alone event so he thought it made sense to have a budget separate from the overall Fourth of July budget.

Councilmember Nielson also stated that when the girls do their platforms, the City has paid for some expenses, like the supplies for the project at the Juvenile Justice Center.

Motion: Approve a budget for the Miss Richfield program for 2022, excluding the scholarships, not to exceed $12,000, Action: Approved, Moved by Kip Hansen, 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. Kevin Arrington stated that we should set a budget for the 4th of July for other activities.

13. NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE AND SERVICE DISCUSSED. to be held on September 11, 2021. The City is involved in planning service projects for the National Day of Remembrance and Service. The Youth City Council will be planning service projects for the youth and then there will be projects for adults to participate in. We have identified some projects and we will be giving them to the interfaith council to decide what projects they are going to do.
14. PROPOSAL FOR THE RENTAL OF THE OLD ELK’S LODGE APPROVED. Tanner Thompson and Houston Holt have an internet business that he runs out of the basement of his business the Shirt Stop. He will continue to do this, but he would love to be able to use the old Elk’s Lodge for the storage of boxes and supplies for their online business. He felt like this would be advantageous for the City because there would be someone going in and out of there every day and that would help with vandalism. He noted that they would be happy to take care of the grounds. They proposed either a month-to-month rental agreement or they could do some sweat equity such as put plumbing in or a bathroom.

Councilmember Burrows indicated that the money from the lease could go into a capital project fund to help with the improvements of the building. Councilmember Hansen thought this was a great proposal.

They are willing to pay $800 per month to rent the building. Mr. Thompson would prefer to put in a bathroom for the rent. Councilmember Nielson was concerned about the safety of that. Councilmember Gleave did not feel that there would need to be a bathroom in the building if they are doing what is being said and just going in there for a couple of hours.

Mr. Thompson stated that they would just use it for storage, come in, grab what they need, and take it back to the shop. Councilmember Hansen felt that it is probably best not to accept the property of sweat equity because it shows good faith on everybody’s part that what we are doing with the building is using it for storage.

Motion: Approve a month-to-month lease for $800 a month for storage for Mr. Thompson and Mr. Holt and the money will go into a capital improvement fund for the building, Action: Approved, Moved by Bryan Burrows, Seconded by Kathy Christensen. Vote: Motion passed (summary: Yes = 3, No = 2, Abstain = 0). Yes: Bryan Burrows, Kathy Christensen, Kip Hansen. No: Connie Nielson, Todd Gleave.

15. OTHER BUSINESS. Councilmember Burrows discussed the semis that are parking on the street in commercial areas, but parking and doing business out of them are two different things. Chief Lloyd stated that the way the law is written, they are allowed to park in commercial areas and they are not on the public right-of-way, they are actually on private property. He is not breaking the law, but Councilmember Burrows thought we should look into this.

Councilmember Christensen thanked the Lions Club for having a Meet the Candidates Night last Wednesday. She also thanked Mike Snow who recorded it and put it on YouTube.

16. EXECUTIVE SESSION. At 9:07 p.m., Motion: Adjourn and convene an executive session to discuss the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of individuals and the sale of real property. 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.
17. RECONVENE & ADJOURN. At 9:34 p.m., Motion: Reconvene and Adjourn, Action: Adjourned, Moved by Kathy Christensen, Seconded by Todd Gleave. 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 24th day of August 2021.