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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_07212020CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING IONA CITY HALL JULY 21, 2020 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Dan Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael Thompson, Council Member Peter Wadsworth, Council Member Kathy McNamara, City Attorney Andrew Rawlings, Public Works Director Zech Prouse (via teleconference) and City Clerk Keri West. ABSENT: Treasurer Amy Sullivan. VISITORS: Amy Crump and Kevin Casper. ITEMS OF BUSINESS: Mayor Gubler requested an item be added to the agenda due to an email from a resident that was just received today pertaining to an irrigation ditch along their property. Mayor Gubler entertained a motion. Council Member Wadsworth made a motion to add to the agenda a discussion pertaining to a ditch that runs along the north side of the old Iona City property lines, south of the new Freedom Field Estates property line, due to an email from an Iona resident that was received today. Council Member Thompson seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried. Discussion of Irrigation Ditch along south property line of Freedom Field Estates — Mayor Gubler read aloud the email received from residents stating their concerns regarding a fence that was erected at a new home in Freedom Field Estates, close to the irrigation ditch. Mayor Gubler stated utility ditches are the responsibility of the users of that ditch to maintain. He continued and stated the City is not required to reserve or designate access to the ditch. Council Member Thompson asked if there is a 6' required easement on both sides of the ditch. Mayor Gubler stated that is designated by state law, depending on the type of utility and use. Clerk West stated the recorded plat with Freedom Field Estates shows a 50' easement for this irrigation ditch. Mayor Gubler confirmed the City issued Quitclaim Deeds after that plat was approved that deeded the property to the middle of the irrigation ditch back to the homeowners that utilize the ditch. Council Member Wadsworth asked what the easement requirement is for an irrigation ditch. Director Prouse stated the required easement is 20'. Director Prouse also stated the 20' easement is encompassed entirely by the properties that utilize the ditch. That is how it was designated on the Quitclaim Deeds. Mayor Gubler also stated in this situation, the homes in Freedom Field Estates are not serviced by the ditch at all, so they are not required to allow any of their property to be designated as a utility easement for the irrigation ditch. Council President Geray asked if there are any other utilities there, or if it is just an irrigation ditch. Director Prouse stated as far as he knows, the irrigation ditch is the only utility designated by this easement. He continued and stated there are power poles nearby, but they are encompassed by the public right- of-way. Director Prouse continued and stated on the Bonneville County Parcel Viewer it shows an easement for the irrigation ditch approximately 20' wide. Mayor Gubler stated there is nothing the City needs to do regarding this matter. He continued and stated he would draft a letter to the concerned residents and explain the situation. Attorney Rawlings stated the City is not required to respond. He continued and stated this is the responsibility of the homeowner and 1 their right to research and have it surveyed, because this is a privately owned ditch. Attorney Rawlings continued and stated it is up to the private ditch owners to enforce their easement to whatever extent they want and the City has no interest or role in determining where the easement is located. Mayor Gubler stated he would prefer to at least respond and correct the misinformation. Discussion of Filing a Proof of Claim in the Purdue Bankruptcy — Attorney Rawlings stated this is pertaining to a class action settlement that the City may have claims to receive funds. Mayor Gubler asked if anyone had questions. No questions were asked. Mayor Gubler instructed Attorney Rawlings to continue with filing a Proof of Claim as advised. Discussion of ADA Celebration Campaign and Proclamation of Recommitment— Mayor Gubler stated this is the 30th year of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They have contacted the City to invite us to issue a Proclamation of Recommitment. He continued and said he does not see the need to create a proclamation for something that is already law. Council President Geray stated he believes the intention is to raise awareness for persons with disabilities. Council all agreed to not move forward with the proclamation. Discussion of Stop Sign on Olsen Avenue — Mayor Gubler stated we have discussed this in the past and had mentioned the possibility to add a stop sign to Olsen Avenue because of the amount of speeding in that area. He continued and stated Bonneville County agreed to maintain the stop sign, but they would not install it because the location does not adhere to their regulations. Council Member Wadsworth stated the speeding problem has significantly declined since Bonneville County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) has been pulling drivers over at this location. All Council Members agreed to table this discussion until or if it needs to be addressed in the future. Discussion of Water Accounts for Part -Time Residents — Mayor Gubler stated he received a call from a resident in Iona that only lives here six months out of the year and does not feel they should be paying for water for the months they do not live here. Council Member Wadsworth stated we have already discussed this in detail and the water rate is not based off usage, it is based off the opportunity to have water at their property. He continued and stated this is the way it needs to be, unless the City chooses to use meters. All Council Members agreed. No action needed at this time. Discussion on Applications and Fees — Attorney Rawlings stated he has been working with Clerk West to modify all applications and permits for the City. The included applications are the only ones in the City Code that need to be updated with a fee specified. Application for Permit to Excavate (Water) per § 8-2-13(B) — Mayor Gubler stated he does not think a Permit to Excavate Water is necessary. He believes that can be included in the following application. Application for Permit for Public Right -of -Way Construction per § 8-3-2 through 8-3-5 — Mayor Gubler stated he thinks we do need to have a fee associated with a Public Right -of -Way permit due to the amount of time the process takes the City to complete. Director Prouse stated he agrees with a fee schedule for this permit, but he would suggest it be a floating fee schedule with a set of base rates depending on the size of the project. Council Member Wadsworth asked if this would be required if the construction company is bonded. Mayor Gubler stated he has no problem including a fee waiver for companies that can provide proof of bond. 2 Application for Permit for Extended RV Use per § 11-11-24(C) — Attorney Rawlings stated this application is mentioned in the City Code and requested this discussion to establish a fee if a resident wants to get a permit for extended recreational vehicle (RV) use on their property. Mayor Gubler suggested removing this from the City Code to disallow extended RV use. Council President Geray stated this was included in the City Code for rare situations such as a relative's job loss and the need for temporary housing. He continued and stated he thinks the permit and fee is important to maintain control and to impose regulations. Council President Geray also stated a $50 application fee should be sufficient. Clerk West agreed. Application for Private Access Road Permit per § 11-11-26 — Attorney Rawlings stated this application is also referenced in the City Code with no permit or fee specified. Director Prouse stated he does not recall ever giving a permit for a private access road. Mayor Gubler stated he thinks this section needs to be removed from the City Code. Attorney Rawlings agreed and said he does not see the need for this permit. All Council Members agreed to remove this section from the City Code. Discussion of Iona City Code § 10-1-9: Small Subdivision Process — Mayor Gubler stated he requested this item to discuss and possibly change the definition of a subdivision from 5 lots to 2 lots. He would like this change to require developers to adhere to the same standards in the Iona Subdivision Ordinance if they have less than 5 lots. Attorney Rawlings stated there is already a section reserved in the Iona Subdivision Ordinance for a small subdivision. He continued and stated this can be used for subdivisions under 5 lots that need to meet certain standards of the Subdivision Ordinance, but not necessarily all of those standards. Council President Geray asked if this could be dictated by the size of the property, rather than the number of lots. Mayor Gubler stated if someone has a large piece of property and only puts in 4 lots, he believes it would be beneficial to require them to meet certain standards of the Subdivision Ordinance. Attorney Rawlings stated other municipalities require the same standards beginning at three lots and up, while others have enacted a small subdivision process. Council President Geray agreed with enacting the small subdivision process because he believes there are aspects to the Subdivision Ordinance that would not be reasonably applied to a smaller development. Mayor Gubler permitted Attorney Rawlings to work with Director Prouse to draft an updated Subdivision Ordinance, enacting the Small Subdivision Process. Discussion of Code Enforcement — Clerk West stated she has received calls from concerned citizens regarding the lack of City Code Enforcement. She continued and stated she has spoken with Lt. Casper with BCSO and he has advised the City to establish a list of top code enforcement priorities that Attorney Rawlings can add to the Odyssey software for BCSO to fully enforce. Lt. Casper added that this is to help BCSO be more efficient, and to have a fee schedule for our ordinances on their software. Clerk West stated at this time, she is looking for feedback from the Council on which codes they feel need to be more readily enforced. Director Prouse stated he would suggest Iona City Code §§ 5-5-7 and 5-9-12 during the summer months. He explained those sections pertain to obstructions in the right-of-ways and weeds. Director Prouse suggested during the winter months the City Code sections he would actively enforce are § 6-4-8 and § 6-4-9 pertaining to homeowners removing snow from the sidewalks and also pushing snow from their personal property into the road. Council President Geray added the sections regarding RV use need to be enforced also. Lt. Casper stated from the enforcement perspective, he would also suggest adding anything pertaining to dogs to the Odyssey system. He also stated the City has the option to enforce their own fines that are payable directly to the City 3 Office, but this may cause contention among the City employees and the residents. All Council Members agreed. Meeting Adjourned: 6:56 p.m. COUNCIL APPROVED: August 18, 2020 ATTEST: Keri West, City Clerk Dan Gubler, Mayor 4