08.23.22 Council Minutes

THE STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD

At the City Council
In and For Said City
August 23, 2022

Minutes of the Richfield City Council meeting held on Tuesday, August 23, 2022,
at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Richfield City office building located at 75 East Center, Richfield, Utah. Mayor Bryan L. Burrows presiding.

1. OPENING REMARKS
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ROLL CALL
4. MINUTES APPROVED
5. PUBLIC HEARING – ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS
6. PUBLIC HEARING – REZONE 642 SOUTH 100 WEST
7. BID FOR SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT AWARDED
8. BRIDGES FOR REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT PROJECT DETERMINED
9. CHANGES TO THE AIRPORT GROUND LEASE APPROVED
10. REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT WITH LARSEN’S ACE HARDWARE FOR IMPROVEMENTS ON 100 EAST
11. OTHER BUSINESS
12. MEETING ADJOURNED
13. OPENING REMARKS were offered by Councilmember Street.
14. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Councilmember Gardner.
15. ROLL CALL. Roll Call. Present: Mayor Burrows (Not voting), Brayden Gardner, Todd Gleave, Kip Hansen, Elaine Street, Tanner Thompson, Michele Jolley (Not voting). Excused: Tyson Hansen.
16. MINUTES APPROVED. The Council reviewed the minutes of the meeting held on August 9, 2022. Councilmember Gardner noted a misspelled name that needed to be changed. Motion: Approve the minutes of the meeting held on August 9, 2022, with the noted correction, Action: Approved, Moved by Brayden Gardner, Seconded by Tanner Thompson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.
17. PUBLIC HEARING – ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS. Mayor Burrows opened a public hearing at 7:02 p.m. to receive comments on a proposed amendment to the zoning code to allow accessory dwelling units (casitas or guesthouses) on single-family residential lots having 10,000 square feet or more. Councilmember Gardner had a question about the proposed language that would require style, materials, and colors. He has run into this before with protective covenants and felt that it would be hard to enforce. We will have the attorney look at this.
    The Planning Commission has proposed some other restrictions that were discussed.

The purpose would be to house quests without compensation, so they could not be rented. This means they could not be used as a short-term rental. It could not be subdivided from the primary dwelling and one or the other would need to be owner-occupied. Only one accessory dwelling unit per lot would be allowed and only on lots of 10,000 square feet or more. The square footage of the accessory dwelling unit could not exceed 1,000 square feet, would have to be set back from the primary dwelling at least 6 feet, and comply with the side yard setbacks. The rear yard setback may be reduced to match the side yard setbacks. A minimum of one off-street parking space has to be provided for the dwelling unit.

Mayor Burrows noted that his concern is parking because we do not want to be intrusive to the neighbors. Councilmember Gardner thought that utilities should be separately metered. It was explained that the City has an ordinance that states there can only be one connection per lot.

Councilmember Street suggested that policing this will be interesting.

Mayor Burrows closed the hearing at 7:06 p.m.

6. PUBLIC HEARING – REZONE 642 SOUTH 100 WEST. Mayor Burrows opened the hearing at 7:07 p.m. to receive comments on a proposed amendment to the zoning code rezoning the property located and 642 South 100 West from RM-11 and CS to RM-11 (multi-family). According to the current zoning map, this property appears to lie in 2 different zones. Our code states that a property cannot be located in 2 different zones, so we need to determine which zone it should be in. A portion of the lot appears to be in an RM-11 zone and the owner would like the entire lot to be zoned RM-11. Hearing no comments, Mayor Burrows closed the hearing at 7:08 p.m.
7. BID FOR SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT AWARDED. Mayor Burrows stated that this project is for the area behind the buildings located on the east side of Main Street between Center Street and 100 North. Keith Mogan stated that we only received one bid. We have some concerns because the bid was approximately $78,000 over the engineer’s estimate and we do not know if the project will be able to finish the project before winter sets in. The estimate was $600,000 and the bid was $678, 886. There are some penalties in the contract if they do not, but the contractor felt that they would be able to complete the project. Mr. Mogan explained that there is the possibility that we could rebid this in the winter and get some better bids for spring construction.

Mr. DeMille stated that they went through the bid and there are a few items that were a little higher than they should have been. Some of the items are just high anyway. We do not know what will happen 6 months from now, but we would think we would probably get better prices. However, the City crew is cleaning that sewer line monthly and Mr. Mogan stated that they could continue to do that through the winter.

The contractor has the stipulation that they have to be done before winter hits and if they are not they will have to pave over the parking lot through the winter and then tear that asphalt up and then finish the project. They are asking for us to change our spec for paving which is that normally it has to be 50 degrees and rising. They are asking that we reduce this to 40 degrees and rising. The only issue when it is cold is the compaction and they are committing to get the compaction, even with the lower temperature. The big item is the paving because you can do everything else all through the winter for the most part. If you do not get compaction on the asphalt then the asphalt falls apart in 5 or so years instead of 20 years.

Mr. DeMille stated that we would have 3 options. We can award it now and get the project going. Staker Parson/Hales said they can do it, but it will be a tight schedule, and if there is bad weather they say they will take that risk. Other options are that we would rebid it for a spring project or we could keep this bid and let them start the project in the spring.

Mayor Burrows stated that he would be concerned about the business owners having a mess all winter long. Mr. DeMille stated that the stipulation is that they have to do some sort of paving to get through the winter even if it is temporary. We should not be left with open trenches or graveled parking lot.

Councilmember Hansen was inclined to move ahead with the project as soon as possible. Councilmember Thompson stated that he would rather wait until spring. Councilmember Gardner is mostly concerned about the businesses and trying to get this done in the timeline. Councilmember Street would also like to wait until spring. Councilmember Gleave would like to see it get done. He is also concerned about the businesses and what would happen if there is an emergency and someone has a backup in their building. Councilmember Hansen felt that would be a bigger inconvenience. Councilmember Gleave asked if we are getting ahead of cleaning the sewer line or if we are waiting until someone calls and says that they have a problem. Mr. Mogan stated that we are ahead of it and that we have not had any issues since we have been cleaning this monthly.

Mr. Mogan stated that the schedule is going to be tight and he would like to see it done, but spring might be better. He does not feel that there will be a backup. Mr. DeMille noted that spring is not always a good time to do a project either. Things are melting and we tend to get a lot more soft spots. Mr. Mogan stated that there are a lot of unknowns with this project that could add to the time.

Councilmember Gleave stated that either way we are gambling because we do not what is going to happen in the spring. Councilmember Thompson stated that we would potentially have more bids. Mayor Burrows felt that the ground is going to be wet in this area no matter when the project is done. When they did Main Street, this area was just a soup bowl.

Councilmember Gleave asked Cade what his argument is and how confident he is that this will be completed in that time. Cade stated that he has talked with the subcontractors and they can start on this project in September and have the water and sewer mostly done by mid-October.

Councilmember Gleave stated that we are famous for kicking things down the road so if someone is willing to come to work then let’s get something done. move to award bid Motion: Award the bid of $678,886 to Staker Parsons/Hales for the parking lot sewer project, Action: Approved, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Todd Gleave. Vote: Motion carried on the following roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4 No=1). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Todd Gleave. No: Tanner Thompson.

8. BRIDGES FOR REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT PROJECT DETERMINED. Mayor Burrows explained that the City and the County are working together to apply for federal funding to replace and repair bridges.
   Mr. DeMille stated that the bridges the staff have identified and that they have prepared estimates for included the bridge on 300 West, the bridge on Upland Drive, and the bridge on 100 East. Councilmember Street stated that she agreed that the bridge on 300 West needed to be included.

Councilmember Hansen also felt that the 300 West bridge would be a priority because there are so many safety issues involved with how narrow the bridge is. He thought that the one on Upland Drive is fine. He stated that the difference is that 300 West is a designated collector and it does carry a lot of traffic to school.

Mayor Burrows stated that the bridge on Upland Drive had a big hole in it. Mr. Mogan stated that this bridge is the one we have done the most maintenance on. Mayor Burrows stated that when we look at bridges it is not just about traffic flow because some of it has to be about the integrity of the bridge.

Councilmember Thompson wondered if the bridge on 300 West is more important than the one on 100 East. Councilmember Gardner sees the one on 100 East being a bigger issue.

Councilmember Hansen wondered how much we want to bite off. He has mentioned that the 300 West bridge should be fixed and we are not going to spend $900,000 of our own money to do that. This is an opportunity to do that and he thought that we should seriously look at this bridge for this project.

Councilmember Thompson wondered what the master plan is for 100 East. Is it supposed to be a major road? It is designated as a collector road. It needs to get done at some point.

Mayor Burrows stated that there is a lot that has to be done with the 100 East bridge. The City is going to have to purchase property for the right-of-way.

Councilmember Hansen stated that if we do the bridge on 300 West and the one on Upland Drive there would be some potential cost savings in doing it as part of the same contract.

Motion: Approve an application for federal funding for repair or replacement on the bridges on 300 West, Upland Drive, and 100 East if we can take it out if we are not able to secure the right-of-way, Action: Approved, Moved by Tanner Thompson, 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.

9. CHANGES TO THE AIRPORT GROUND LEASE APPROVED. The Council reviewed recommended changes proposed by the City Attorney to the Airport Ground Lease. Mayor Burrows wondered if we would have to go back and get everyone who has one of the leases to sign a new one. Adam Robinson stated that we would just implement this moving forward. The changes made were done by the City Attorney to better protect the City.

Mr. Robinson noted the language in section 5 of the agreement that requires compliance with Federal, State, and Local laws which make it a lot easier for us to enforce the lease.

Councilmember Gardner reviewed the lease and felt that it was great and he did not see any concerns.

Councilmember Hansen also read the lease and there are some things that he does not fully understand, but he has confidence in our legal counsel.

Motion: Approve recommendations by the City Attorney to the Airport Ground Lease, Action: Approved, Moved by Brayden Gardner, Seconded by Tanner Thompson. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 5). Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kip Hansen, Tanner Thompson, Todd Gleave.

10. REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT WITH LARSEN’S ACE HARDWARE FOR IMPROVEMENTS ON 100 EAST. Mayor Burrows stated that we had talked about this at the last meeting and that the Larsens were present.

Lyle Larsen stated that they have been here for 50 years and they have done their part to help build the City of Richfield and the area. The City purchased the property behind Ace Hardware and traded it to Larsens for the property where the fire station sits now. The City paid approximately $120,000 for the property and they gave the City their $400,000 piece of property.

They also owned the property where the women’s shelter is and they gave that to build the shelter. They put the improvements in for the road to come off from Main Street to their business.

When Tractor Supply came in they had to pay $90,000 to put the road in to connect the road to the south. The road was $60,000 and they were told they would get $30,000 back. When the car wash came, Larsens were thinking that they would get their $30,000 back, but they were told that they did not have an agreement to do that. So, the car wash got the benefit of their $30,000 and they only had to put in the curb and gutter.

Then they have been asked to pay for 100 East when it is absolutely no benefit to them. They had to give up 16 feet of property along 660 feet along their property line which is equivalent to a good-sized building lot. They took the fence out and put a temporary fence back in there to protect their property.

That is the point that we are at now. They propose to put the fence back in for the $40,000 or $50,000 it will cost, they are giving the City the right of way for the road, and then they will pay $50,000.

They could not pay anything, but there would be a restriction that when they develop they would have to pay it all back. They do not know what they want to do with that property going forward. They do not want that hanging over their heads.

Mr. Larsen also pointed out that they have contributed over $100,000 this year alone in sales tax. He does not know how much more blood the City wants from them.

Landon Larsen stated that since Tractor Supply has come to town that has prohibited some growth and one they want to do is to make some improvements to the outside of their building. Having to come up with this other money, has cut the money they have for improvements in half.

Councilmember Gardner does not like the idea of this agreement floating for 15 years. He thinks it should be resolved now. He also hates to think about this floating and causing challenges in growing.

Councilmember Thompson felt that we should get the deal done and he wondered if there would be any room for compromise.

Lyle Larsen indicated that he does not know what the future holds and right now they can come up with $50,000.

Councilmember Hansen wanted to clarify what the Larsens are asking the City to agree to. At Larsens’ expense, they will put the fence back in and they would give us an additional $50,000 and we would be done with this. He felt that leaving something out there to be dealt with 15 years in the future is not something he wants to see. He thought this was a reasonable offer.

Motion: Approve an agreement with Larsens that they will pay for and install the fence along the back of their property and they will pay the City $50,000, Action: Approved, Moved by Kip Hansen, 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.

11. OTHER BUSINESS. Impact fees were going to be discussed tonight, but as staff, we went back at looked at the police part of the impact fee and we made some changes. Mayor Burrows was surprised at the cost per person for recreation in our community.

Chief Lloyd reported on a meeting the staff had with UDOT about safety concerns along Main Street. He noted that the intersection at 1500 South and 500 North was discussed. The intersection at 500 North currently warrants a light. We discussed some of the changes that could be made. An application for a safe sidewalk grant to install a sidewalk along the south side of 1300 South. UDOT has some contingency money that they are willing to use to help the City clean out the Cottonwood Detention basin, so we are working on getting an estimate for what that would cost.

Chief Lloyd is also working with UDOT to get some crossing lights at the corner of 400 West and 400 South. UDOT has to approve them, but he has been able to find them for less money. We are also looking at putting some warning lights on 200 West.

Mayor Burrows reported on the Council of Government meeting he attended. He did not realize that our ambulance service is self-funded. It is getting harder for them to try and keep a team together. They are looking for ideas and they have hired 12 full-time employees. They are looking to hire 6 to 12 more and they are to the point that if they continue to provide that service, they are going to have to do something with funding. They may have to do it through a special service district.

Mayor Burrows reported that we hired a couple of new employees in the public works department. Mike Ross was hired full-time and Javier Torres was hired part-time for now. We have a couple of employees that are getting ready to retire, so we need to get some employees trained.

Councilmember Gardner said he had a complaint about the bike trails. They held their big annual BMX race this weekend. Their rider count dropped by like 25 kids because they chose to go ride the mountain bike trails instead of race.

12. MEETING ADJOURNED. At 8:14 p.m., Motion: Adjourn, Action: Adjourned, Moved by Tanner Thompson, 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.

PASSED and APPROVED this 13th day of September 2022.