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Home My Public Portal AboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_04162019CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING IONA COMMUNITY CENTER APRIL 16, 2019 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Dan Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael Thompson, Council Member Kathy McNamara, Council Member Peter Wadsworth, City Attorney Andrew Rawlings, Public Works Director Zech Prouse, Chief of Police Karl Bowcutt, Treasurer Amy Sullivan and City Clerk Keri West. ABSENT: None. VISITORS: LoAnn Belnap, Evan Belnap, Brooklynn Stolworthy, Sydney Stolworthy, Alyssa Fames, Heather Marley, Kaleb Gubler, Tim Solomon and Ted Hendrix. ITEMS OF BUSINESS: Presentation of Donation to the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) from Rocky Mountain Power — Tim Solomon with Rocky Mountain Power presented a check for $1,000 to the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council as a donation to go towards attendance at the annual youth conference hosted by the Association of Idaho Cities (AIC) in Boise, ID this summer. Discussion of Belnap Christmas Light Show — Mayor Gubler welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Belnap and invited them to discuss their Christmas Light Show with the City Council. Mayor Gubler stated the Christmas show has caused some safety concerns and suggested possibly moving the Christmas show to the City Park. Mr. Belnap stated it is not possible to move the show due to the amount of electricity, time, money and security the show requires. Mr. Belnap suggested reducing the speed limit on their road during the month the light show is displayed. He continued and said they bought the orange traffic signs last year and they didn't make any difference. Mr. Belnap further stated that he has spoken with Bonneville County Commissioners and they advised that the City communicate with the County to lower the speed limit during the month. Mr. Belnap said he is aware that the Christmas show creates a safety hazard and the only way he believes to mitigate the hazard is to slow down the vehicles and prepare them to stop. Mrs. Belnap asked for the City's support to continue the Christmas light show. Council Member Wadsworth stated the idea to move the Christmas show to the City Park was intended to help support the Belnap's by creating a safe space for more people to enjoy it and give them freedom to make it as big as they want. He also stated the City Council had ideas to possibly include a hot chocolate vendor to make it a great event in the City for Christmas. The intention to move it was not an alternative to cancelling the show altogether. Mr. Belnap stated he doesn't believe moving the show to the City Park is a way for the City to support them. Chief Bowcutt stated the City is doing what they can to support the show. However, the area is not sufficient for the amount of people it brings. Chief Bowcutt continued saying it may only be 1 block, but it is one of the busiest roads in the City. Chief Bowcutt further explained that there is not sufficient parking for everyone to watch the show, so vehicles park on the road or just stop in the middle of the road to watch. Mrs. Belnap argued that people do not park on the road, they line up their cars and wait for a spot to open up. Chief Bowcutt stated there was an incident last year where there were cars parked on the road and the officer had to go track down the drivers to get back in their vehicles and move them off the road. Chief Bowcutt stated this is not a safe situation. Mr. Belnap stated they have never had an accident, but he wants the speed limit reduced to create a safer situation. 1 Chief Bowcutt stated he is not opposed to trying out the reduced speed limit signs. Mrs. Belnap stated most people that live on that street just go around during the month of December. Chief Bowcutt said it is a busy road with people that are unaware of the show and are just trying to get through. Council Member Wadsworth asked if the City has the right to re-route traffic during the show. Director Prouse said that could present problems with the emergency response vehicles. Mayor Gubler advised to table the discussion to give everyone time to consider the options and meet together in the future to discuss. Discussion of Amendments to Water Service Ordinance — Attorney Rawlings stated he has updated the Water Service Ordinance to reflect changes discussed at the last meeting. Attorney Rawlings stated the biggest section that needs to be addressed is the EDU Classification Chart. Director Prouse stated according to his research, the City of Iona uses about 3x more water than what the EDU Chart is based upon. Director Prouse also stated there was a misinterpretation as to the actual use of the EDU Chart. He stated we originally thought it was based on domestic only, but that was more related to waste water than potable water. That means we do need to factor in irrigation with domestic use and that changes his calculations. Mayor Gubler stated the EDU Chart is the best tool we have to use right now without knowing actual consumption of each lot. Mayor Gubler stated he understands that the City may want to meter in the future, or just meter certain areas of the City. Attorney Rawlings stated if you are only going to meter certain areas, that needs to be part of a plan to eventually meter the whole City. Attorney Rawlings continued saying the updated Water Service Ordinance includes a section on metering that would make it easier to add the fee if the City decides to meter. Ted Hendrix with ECIPDA stated, according to the 20 households in the City that are part of the water data collection, the 12-month average per household is 30,000 gallons per month. Ted Hendrix also stated the City should be charging itself for water consumption for green space. According to the City data, the City usage equates to 14 EDUs. Based on similar numbers, Iona Elementary would equate to 60 EDUs for domestic and irrigation usage. They are currently only being charged 20 EDUs and the EDU Chart shows they should be charged 30 EDUs, based on student and faculty numbers. Mr. Hendrix continued by saying according to the City's demographics and available data, the EDU Chart is conservative compared to flow. Mr. Hendrix stated the EDU Chart is the best tool available today without factual data from meters. Attorney Rawlings stated if the Council approves use of the EDU Chart, they cannot pick and choose which items to follow. If the chart is going to be used, it needs to be used for all businesses and commercial buildings represented on the EDU chart. Attorney Rawlings stated, if we pick and choose which items on the chart to follow, we are ignoring part of the law we are enacting. Council Member Wadsworth stated he does not like the EDU Chart provided and believes it is very inaccurate. Council President Geray stated he thinks the City needs to figure out a proactive plan for the future to install meters in the long run. He believes that is the only way to keep it fair for all residents. Council Member Wadsworth stated he does not support meters because he thinks there will be people that can't afford to water their yards, so every other house will not look as nice. Council President Geray disagreed with Council Member Wadsworth's statement. Council President Geray also stated if we define 1 EDU as 30,000 gallons of water, we are assuming the churches are using 240,000 gallons of water per month over the course of 1 year. Director Prouse stated the churches average 174,000 gallons per month. Mr. Hendrix stated without metered data, the EDU Chart is the best way to estimate usage and charge accordingly. Director Prouse asked Mr. Hendrix if the City Council raised the rate up to $50 max, without implementing the EDU Chart, would that be sufficient to pay the bond back? Mr. Hendrix said yes, but that would eliminate the potential reserves. However, if the EDU Chart is implemented, the Council would only need to raise the rate up to $46-$48, and still have enough for reserves. Attorney Rawlings stated the updated 2 Water Service Ordinance will be voted for at a Public Hearing at the next City Council Meeting. At this point, he needs to know if he should keep the EDU Chart in the Ordinance. The Council further discussed pros and cons of the EDU Chart. Council Member Wadsworth stated he really does not like the EDU Chart, but does not see another way to more accurately bill. Council President Geray suggested adopting the EDU Chart as is, realizing the limitations, but proactively work towards a better long term solution, which includes meters. Director Prouse stated the cost to install a meter is about $2,000. Mayor Gubler asked the City Council if they are all in agreement to move forward with the updated Water Service Ordinance, including implementing the EDU Classification Chart. A11 Council Members agreed. Meeting Adjourned: 6:59 p.m. COUNCIL APPROVED: May 21st, 2019 ATTEST: Keri West, City Clerk Dan ubler, ayor 3