Council Minutes – 4.26.11

1. OPENING REMARKS                 
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE                 
3. ROLL CALL                 
4. MINUTES APPROVED                 
5. RAMP FOR POOL APPROVED                 
6. INSTALLATION OF TRANSIENT SPIKE SUPPRESSORS REVIEWED                 
7. MAIN STREET LANDSCAPE AGREEMENT REVIEWED                 
8. QWEST CONTRACT FOR PHONE SERVICES APPROVED                 
9. PURCHASE OF PROPERTY FOR WATER TANK APPROVED             
10. RENTAL OF PASTURE GROUND DISCUSSED             
11. OTHER BUSINESS             
12. MEETING ADJOURNED

1.                  OPENING REMARKS were offered by Michele Jolley.

2.                  PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Mayor Ramsay.

3.                  ROLL CALL was answered by Mayor Brad Ramsay, Councilmembers Kris Allred, Richard Barnett, Bryan Burrows, Dan Chidester, Mike Turner, City Manager Mike Langston and City Recorder Michele Jolley.

Others present:  Lorraine Gregerson, Scott Mason, Bruce Mehew, Paul Foster and Chief John Evans.

4.                  MINUTES APPROVED.  7:08:10 PM  The Council reviewed the minutes of the meeting held April 12, 2011 and made the following corrections.  On page 3 at line 38, the word “she” was changed to “Debbie Hansen.”  Councilmember Turner moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held April 12, 2011as corrected.  Councilmember Chidester moved to second.  The motion carried on the following vote:  Councilmember Allred, aye; Councilmember Barnett, aye; Councilmember Burrows, aye; Councilmember Chidester, aye; and Councilmember Turner, aye.

5.                  RAMP FOR POOL APPROVED.  7:09:53 PM  Paul Foster explained that there is a need to replace some of the ADA access equipment at the pool.  In order to allow handicap access, the City currently has an ADA lift chair and some fiberglass stairs.  The chair has lasted longer than its lifecycle.  The chair was expensive and breaks down a lot.  The staff is proposing to purchase a ramp that would replace the stairs and the lift chair.  The ramp is removable and has a five-year guarantee.  The fiberglass stairs we have had for several years.  They have been repaired and patched so many times that the next time they break they will not be repairable.  The chair lift is not working at the present time.  The stairs and the chair could be replaced at a cost of $8,800 to $11,800.  If we were to do the ramp, we would not need the stairs or the chair.  The actual cost of the ramp is $5,800, but with the cost of shipping, the cost would be approximately $6,500 to $6,800.   

Councilmember Turner wanted to know how much it would cost to repair the chair.  Mr. Foster indicated that the chair has been repaired six times.  There is a problem with this model and the battery it takes, so that each time we have to repair the chair and purchase a new battery; it has cost of $180 to $320.  The battery only has a certain amount of life and we have been replacing it about every six months.  We have put so much money into the chair now and Mr. Foster does not think it is worth putting any more money into it.  The chair is sporadic at best, so a ramp would enhance the functionality of the pool. 

Councilmember Barnett moved to approve the purchase and installation of the ADA access ramp for the pool.  Councilmember Allred moved to second.  The motion carried on the following vote:  Councilmember Allred, aye; Councilmember Barnett, aye; Councilmember Burrows, aye; Councilmember Chidester, aye; and Councilmember Turner, aye.

6.                  INSTALLATION OF TRANSIENT SPIKE SUPPRESSORS REVIEWED.  7:21:33 PM  On the March 2011 Warrant register, there was a charge for $5,957.22 that the Council questioned because it paid from the Recreation Tax fund.  Mr. Foster explained that this was a charge for golf cart batteries and had nothing to do with any projects at the pool. 

Further, the Council also questioned the payment of $2,023.75 for surge protectors.  As Mr. Foster read through the minutes of the meeting where this was presented, he was under the assumption and the Council was too, that only one spike suppressor would be installed.  However, when it came to installing the spike suppressors, there were four access points in our equipment that we felt it would be good to install these.  Each suppressor cost approximately $324. 

Councilmember Burrows indicated that he was under the impression that we were only going to install one at a cost of a couple hundred dollars.  He does not believe in them and he was willing to be humored for a couple hundred dollars, but a couple thousand is not that funny.  Councilmember Burrows noted in Mr. Foster’s memo that there have been some costly repairs and he wondered what they were.  Mr. Foster indicated that the circulation pump motor has been rebuilt three times since he has been here and all three times he was told that this was due to surges or spikes that caused it to go down or stop.  Mr. Foster stated that the large air handler has also gone down several times for unexplained reasons.  He did not know that he needed to come back to the Council and let them know that four spike suppressors were going to be installed and not just one.  He thought we were good to go.

7:24:40 PM  Councilmember Turner indicated that the bid approved by the Council was for a lighting project, but no spike suppressors were mentioned.  Mr. Foster stated that there was not a bid for the spike suppressors.  Councilmember Turner was under the impression that the cost of the spike suppressors was minimal, about $200 or $300.  Councilmember Barnett noted that they were approved in the minutes.  There was no price listed, it just said “for minimal cost.”  Councilmember Turner wondered if $2,000 was a minimal cost.  Councilmember Barnett stated that if it is going to save $20,000, then $2,000 is minimal.  But according to Councilmember Turner, that is only if they work.

Mr. Foster indicated that he met with Mr. Langston and reviewed the purchasing policy and procedures.  Again, he did not question this, because he thought the project was ready to go, so he moved forward on it.  Councilmember Burrows stated that according to the minutes that was if we were to install one.  Councilmember Chidester noted that the cost to install one was $324, so that is not that far out of line with what everyone thought.  Mr. Foster’s impression was that Councilmember Burrows would have like to have known if we were going to install four. 

7:26:21 PM  Mr. Langston stated that the City spent $80,000 on the air handling system and for us to be worried about spending $500 on this piece of equipment does not make a lot of sense.  Mr. Foster stated that the circulation pump was really the big thing, but we also have several chemical pumps that continue to go down, which is very frustrating.  Councilmember Burrows questioned that an $80,000 equipment should already have protection in it.  He does not buy that.  Mayor Ramsay asked if the spike suppressors were on each piece of equipment.  Mr. Foster stated that he does not know specifically where they are.  He does know that there is one on the air handler near the main power source, but he does not know the exact location of the other three, except that they are near the power sources. 

Councilmember Burrows stated that where we are worrying about the budget and then we are getting hit with this.  Councilmember Burrows wondered what our policy is.  Mayor Ramsay stated that in the future we need to be more specific about how many we are getting and the reason for it.  Mayor Ramsay stated that it is important that we do not micromanage our department heads.  We do need to know if there is anything major.  Our budget is where we manage our department heads.  We have to stay within the budget, but we do have major pieces of equipment at the pool and to allow things to go without surge protection is not good either, if in fact they are not built in.  7:29:58 PM

7.                  MAIN STREET LANDSCAPE AGREEMENT REVIEWED.   7:30:11 PM  Scott Mason reviewed the Landscaping Agreement for Main Street and the parking lot improvements.  Mr. Mason stated that Mr. Langston had asked him to keep track of the man hours that have gone into what he was doing.  He compared the hours he had estimated in his bid to the hours that were actually spent on the project.  His bid was for 578 hours and he actually logged 845 hours in order to keep the properties looking nice.  He also included equipment in his bid and divided the cost by 5 years since that is how long the contract is for.  He gave the Council a description of the work that was done on the flower pots, parking lots, flower beds and bulb outs and stated that they had to begin at 5:00 a.m.  He purchased a side by side so that he could drive down the sidewalk to water the pots instead of driving down the street.  Because it is a State highway, he would be required to have flags, flaggers and permits to drive down the street.

7:32:27 PM  The pots were fertilized every two weeks and he explained that the watering schedule was tied to the temperatures.  If the temperature was about 90 degrees the pots had to be watered every day.  They cleaned up all of the trash and dead blossoms in the pots.  He never heard a complaint about the pots once the pots were planted. 

As for cleanup of the parking lots and the bulb outs, he has been working in conjunction with the street sweeper.  There is so much wind that comes up through Main Street with the traffic, that it blows everything right back to where they just blew it off.  He has found the best thing to do is to go in after the sweeper so they get what the sweeper cannot get.  Mr. Mason has found that the biggest issue he faced has been the trash.  They start at 5:00 a.m. to water the pots and then every Friday at 6:00 a.m., they do the cleanup.  Using 5 employees, it takes about 3 to 3½ hours to go through all of the parking lots and the bulb outs.  That means that every Friday they put in at least 15 hours just on cleanup.  Mayor Ramsay asked if Mr. Mason was able to water all of the pots with one tank of water.  Mr. Mason indicated that it takes four tanks of water, one tank per block, because each pot takes about 51/2 gallons.

Councilmember Turner understood that when Mr. Mason first looked at this, he thought it would take approximately 1/3 of his time to take care of the pots and Councilmember Turner wanted to know if that was still about right.  Mr. Mason said he originally thought that would be the case, but what has actually happened is that there is more trash clean up. 

Councilmember Turner wanted to clarify that planting the pots was part of the contract.  Mr. Mason stated that per Mr. Langston’s request he sent out request to all local growers for the pots.  He only had one local grower want anything to do with it and that was Anderson Floral.  7:38:09 PM  Mr. Mason indicated that they have worked out a few things so that there is not the yearly expense by growing the plants in a plastic pot and reuse the pot each year.  Last year it was about $20 more per pot initially to set this up, but it should save money of the next four years.

7:38:34 PM  Mayor Ramsay stated that at one time the Council talked about doing some plants in the pots that would come back.  Mr. Mason stated that the original contract is for the planting of plants for the summer.  If we start planting annuals or shrubs, etc., how will they get watered?  Mr. Mason stated that this is not included in the contract, so they would need to increase the price of the contract.  There really is not anything that could be planted that would go dormant and come back in the spring. 

7:39:25 PM  Councilmember Allred thinks it is a great thing and our Main Street is beautiful like it should be.  He expressed his opinion that Mr. Mason does a great job.  Due to our budget constraints, Councilmember Turner had asked at the last meeting what the cost of the flowers was.  He thought it was around $10,000, but Mr. Langston found that last year it was about $3,800.  Mr. Mason reported that the cost to plant the pots this year will be $3,838.  No one was sure where the $10,000 figure came from, but Mr. Langston noted that initially we had to buy gravel and dirt to put in the pots.  That cost, along with the $3,800 probably came to about $10,000.  Mr. Mason noted that they are huge pots and in order to save money and make sure we have the drainage we need, the pots have 12 inches of gravel in them.  When the plants go in, a decorative bark is put all the way around them so that it holds the moisture better.  This year we are going to wait until Memorial Day to plant the pots.

8.                  QWEST CONTRACT FOR PHONE SERVICES APPROVED.  7:42:38 PM  Donnell Spencer has analyzed the City’s phone bills.  He indicated that there is a State contract with Qwest for local phone service that would save the City approximately $209 a month.  As for long distance, the contracted rates would save the City approximately $15 to $20 dollars a month.  He suggested the City sign a three year agreement that would include the City’s 25 lines, but would only require the City to keep 10 of those lines if the City wanted to make a change.  The DSL and a point-to-point line are still under contract.  Qwest was just purchased, so a new State contract will be out in September and the rates should be even more competitive.  Councilmember Burrows moved to approve a contract with Qwest for phone services, including long distance.  Councilmember Turner moved to second.  The motion carried on the following vote:  Councilmember Allred, aye; Councilmember Barnett, aye; Councilmember Burrows, aye; Councilmember Chidester, aye; and Councilmember Turner, aye.

9.                  PURCHASE OF PROPERTY FOR WATER TANK APPROVED.  7:53:01 PM  Chet Thompson discussed his property that the City wants to purchase for the new water tank.  Tristan DeMille gave the Council a map showing the amount of property the City needs to purchase from Mr. Thompson and where it is located.  Mr. Langston made Mr. Thompson an offer of $3,000 per acre and the amount of property the City needs is .621 of an acre.  Mr. Thompson stated that there is a drainage problem that needs to be addressed as well.  He thinks it could be handled by bringing in some big rocks around the base of the hill to control the direction and exit of the water.  Mr. Langston was asked to talk with UDOT on this drainage and to do some research to see what can be done.  Councilmember Burrows moved to purchase .621 acres of property from Chet Thompson for $3,000 an acre.  Councilmember Allred moved to second.  The motion carried on the following vote:  Councilmember Allred, aye; Councilmember Barnett, aye; Councilmember Burrows, aye; Councilmember Chidester, aye; and Councilmember Turner, aye.

10.             RENTAL OF PASTURE GROUND DISCUSSED.  8:18:37 PM  Mr. Langton addressed an aerial photo of the ground near the sewer treatment plant that Terral Dunn has been using since he was an employee of the City.  The property Mr. Dunn uses is approximately 30 to 35 acres.  He made a verbal agreement with the City many years ago that as long as he would fix and maintain the fences, he could put his horses there.  The City has not received any compensation for the horses being there other than any repairs that have been made to the fences. 

The Council talked about bidding this property out to the general public for use as pasture.  8:20:58 PM  Mr. Dunn has no place for his horses since this has come upon him so suddenly.  Mr. Langston suggested waiting until next year to bid this out and bid it out earlier in the year.  There is only salt grass there, but there is an artesian well so water does not have to be hauled in.  Mr. Langston rents a pasture in similar condition, but he believes he over pays for what the value of the feed is.  Mr. Langston thought there should be a $500 minimum bid on the pasture.  There was some discussion about this being a multi-year lease with an annual payment.  Mayor Ramsay thought that fence maintenance should be the renter’s responsibility. 

8:23:29 PM  Councilmember Turner wanted to know how long Mr. Dunn had been using the property.  Mr. Langston thought about 17 or 18 years.  Councilmember Turner wondered if there was a possibility of any right-of-way issues.  Mr. Langston did not think there were any right-of-way issues there.  It was suggested that this property be bid on the fiscal year, but Mr. Langston stated that they would really want to utilize what grass is there from about mid May on.  He thought if we are going to bid it out, we ought to get it in the paper so it could take effect June 1 and continue until May 31 of next year.  It could be done on a three year agreement with an annual payment.

8:24:58 PM  Councilmember Allred thought we ought to let Mr. Dunn finish out this year.  Mr. Langston suggested that we negotiate with Mr. Dunn for the rest of this year and then bid it out next year.  Councilmember Barnett thought this would be a more reasonable approach.  Mr. Langston suggested that we ask him for $500 until March of next year and then we will bid it out the first of the year.  If Mr. Dunn says no, then we move forward with bidding it out.    

Councilmember Turner asked about the other property.  Mr. Langston was also told there is a lady that has 3 or 4 horses on the other property, but he drove out there and there were no horses on that property.  8:28:04 PM  Mayor Ramsay stated that we could put both pastures out for bid to see if someone wants to rent it. 

8:28:16 PM  Councilmember Burrows stated that he was approached by an individual who felt like this should be bid out and he wants to bid on it.  So he is just passing along the wishes of his constituents and he is of the opinion that the pastures need to be put up for bid.  8:28:38 PM  Mr. Langston asked Councilmember Burrows if it would be okay to negotiate with Mr. Dunn this year, but Councilmember Burrows felt that it needs to be put out for bid now.  Mayor Ramsay thought that it would not be right to pull the pasture out from under Mr. Dunn real quick because we are getting to this rather late.

Mr. Langston stated that if we advertised in the paper next week for two weeks, we could probably have the award of the bid by June 1.  Councilmember Burrows asked Mr. Langston if he thought it would be better to bid it January 1, so that the bidder would have it for the full year.  Mr. Langston stated that with Mr. Dunn, where he has not been worrying about this and it is just sudden, he would like to accommodate Mr. Dunn and be fair with him.  He has been treated fair because he has not paid for the pasture, but he does not have anywhere to take his horses right now.  So if we were to negotiate the rest of this year and then bid it out for next year, then it treats Mr. Dunn fair.

8:32:37 PM  Councilmember Barnett moved to negotiate with Terral Dunn for a lease on the pasture land he’s using for the remainder of this year and that as of January 1, 2012 we put this property and the other property out for bid as pasture land on a 3-year lease with a minimum bid of $500.  Councilmember Chidester moved to second.  The motion carried on the following vote:  Councilmember Allred, aye; Councilmember Barnett, aye; Councilmember Burrows, aye; Councilmember Chidester, aye; and Councilmember Turner, aye.

11.             OTHER BUSINESS.  8:34:35 PM  Councilmember Turner questioned why the agreement with Mr. Mason was dated July 31 when the Council did not accept the agreement until August.  It was noted that the agreement went out with the RFP and those who bid on the project signed and dated the agreement before they submitted their bids to the City.  Since it was dated by the bidders, it does not reflect the actual date that the City accepted and signed the bid.

8:35:55 PM  The Community Covenants is being signed on May 12 along with the ribbon cutting at 6:00 p.m.  The signing of the Community Covenants will be prior to the ribbon cutting.  The resource guide will be printed sometime around May 5 or May 10.  Curt Spencer is working on the street sign.  They would like to have that in place on the Centennial Park before the signing ceremony. 

8:39:08 PM  Councilmember Turner talked with Troy Torgerson from UDOT and they are going to do another traffic study to see if it warrants any additional crosswalk signing on Main Street.  They are limited on what they will allow, so they will give us a report and let us know what they will allow the City to do to increase pedestrian safety. 

8:40:09 PM  Councilmember Burrows reported on a meeting he had about a design for the fire station.  The geo tech study was discussed and Mr. DeMille indicated that the City would have to spend some money up front to get the project out to bid so we can have a loan closing.  These expenses will be reimbursable through CIB. 

8:46:36 PM  The Council’s next meeting will be held on Monday, May 9, because the Council will be meeting with Jake Garn on Tuesday, May 10. 

8:54:58 PM  Chief John Evans reported that DARE graduation was held tonight.  Roughly 2,800 students have graduated from this program.  It is a good program and we need to keep it going.

12.             MEETING ADJOURNED.  8:56:12 PM  At 8:56 p.m., Councilmember Turner moved to adjourn.  Councilmember Barnett moved to second.  The motion carried on the following vote:  Councilmember Allred, aye; Councilmember Barnett, aye; Councilmember Burrows, aye; Councilmember Chidester, aye; and Councilmember Turner, aye.

PASSED and APPROVED this 9 day of May, 2011.