HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_05192021 CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING
IONA CITY HALL
MAY 19,2021 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/Treasurer Keri West.
ABSENT: None.
VISITORS: Rylea Farrens, Kevin Casper, Chris Williams, Bill Koester and Daren Long.
ITEMS OF BUSINESS:
Discussion of American Rescue Plan Recovery Funds — Clerk West stated the American
Rescue Plan (ARP) includes funds that will be allocated to all cities in the United States. The
allocation amounts have not yet been released, but she felt it was important for the Council to
discuss their intentions on how they would like to use the money prior to the application
window. Clerk West continued and stated she has received a lot of requests from residents for
the City to look into fiber funding. She continued and stated with the amount of people working
and doing school from home, fiber would be a great asset to the community. Clerk West also
stated she has discussed this with Director Prouse and he has expressed concern over the
continued maintenance and service after the infrastructure is installed. Mayor Gubler explained
the City of Ammon's process of acquiring interest from the majority of a neighborhood prior to
installing the fiber. The homeowner is then required to run the fiber to their home and pay for
their own service provider. Mayor Gubler continued and stated the City then bills the residents
monthly to pay off the amount paid for the infrastructure. Clerk West stated she is not intending
for the City to pay for the infrastructure and explained the ARP specifically includes broadband,
sewer and water systems as approved uses for these funds. Mayor Gubler agreed and stated there
are additional grants available for broadband the City can look into also. Council Member
Wadsworth stated he thinks the majority of the residents would be on board with this type of
project. He continued and stated from his experience fiber is a lower costing solution for much
faster internet. Mayor Gubler agreed and said it would be worth looking into and doing a survey
or a town hall meeting to see how many residents would be interested in fiber. He also stated this
would disrupt yards throughout the City to get the lines dug for the conduit to be placed.
Discussion continued regarding options to get the fiber from the street hub to the house. Mayor
Gubler added the residents would also need to pay a monthly fee for the maintenance of the
infrastructure. Council President Geray agreed and stated the fees should be commensurate with
the cost to maintain the system,just like the water system.
Clerk West reiterated her desire to hear from the Council what their interests would be on how to
use the funds so she can begin researching and be ready when the distribution process is open.
She continued and stated the funds could also be used for the water system and asked if there
were any expenses the Council would prefer to use ARP funds that relate to the water system.
Director Prouse asked Clerk West to research if the funds can be used for streets. Clerk West
stated she would look into that. Council President Geray mentioned the possibility of using the
funds towards the water project or for meter pits. Council Member Wadsworth suggested the
possibility of using ARP funds on the City Building. Clerk West stated she will continue to
research the ARP and will let the Council know when the allocation amount is determined.
IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—MAY 19, 2021
Discussion of City Facebook Page, Rylea Farrens — Assistant Rylea Farrens stated she has
done some research and found that 86% of adults get their news and information from smart
phones or tablets. In addition, 52% get their news from social media. She continued and stated
she knows the City Council has discussed a City Facebook page in the past and decided against
it. However, she continued and explained the benefit and restrictions the City can place on their
own Facebook page. Assistant Farrens stated the City can turn off commenting and use the page
as a way to only get information out, without allowing discussion. She continued and stated the
employees currently post City information on a non-regulated page from their personal profiles,
which does not protect the employees. Council Member Thompson asked Attorney Rawlings his
opinion on moving forward with a City Facebook page. Attorney Rawlings stated if there will
not be any commenting, it would be just like a newsletter, but on social media. Mayor Gubler
pondered how many residents in Iona still read the physical newsletter, and whether it was time
to discontinue it. Assistant Farrens stated there is still a demographic in Iona that likes to read the
paper newsletter and does not use social media. Clerk West stated she feels the paper newsletter
is still necessary for many long-time residents.
Lieutenant Casper with Bonneville County Sherriff's Office (BCSO) stated they have a
Facebook page and most of the time it is beneficial and a quick way to get information out. He
continued and encouraged Assistant Farrens to look into the requirements associated with a
government page. He stated they are different than other group and organization pages.
Mayor Gubler stated he would recommend having posts on the Facebook page that link to the
official City website, rather than posting actual public records on the Facebook page. Council
President Geray agreed and advised using caution to prevent someone mistaking the Facebook
page as the official public record for the City. Mayor Gubler stated he approves a Facebook page
for the City and asked the Council for their thoughts. Council Members Wadsworth, Thompson
and McNamara all agreed it was a good idea to move forward. Council President Geray
expressed hesitation, but will not oppose if the rest of the Council collectively agrees. Clerk
West stated the sports program has a Facebook page and it is a very helpful place for parents to
find teams and to get information on the league.
Discussion of Arbor Day Celebration and other City Events — Clerk West asked the Council
if they would like to have an Arbor Day Celebration. Council President Geray stated he wouldn't
be opposed to it if the City can obtain a grant to plant a tree. Director Prouse stated there is a
place in Iona Park behind the grandstands that would be a good location to replace a dying tree.
Council agreed to that location. Director Prouse also stated the annual cleanup is scheduled for
the end of May with 2 large dumpsters scheduled to be delivered at the City Building.
Clerk West stated Assistant Farrens has been working with the Iona Day Chairperson, Meridee
Wobig and has asked her to give an update on the planning taking place. Assistant Farrens stated
the City has received over $9,000 in donations thus far. She also discussed the various events
that will take place for Iona Day, such as a talent show, parade and 5k. Council Member
Thompson stated Melaleuca has offered to donate a large tent for the events, but it will need to
be set up by Signature Rentals. Discussion continued about options for the run and the location
of the vendors and games throughout the park. Assistant Farrens also stated there will still be a
breakfast, but there will be no lunch or dinner. Instead,there will be food trucks around the park.
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IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—MAY 19, 2021
Discussion of FY2022 Property Taxes —Mayor Gubler stated there have been new rules passed
by the state legislature that affects property taxes. He stated he would like to determine the
budget by working backwards from the property values. Mayor Gubler continued and stated the
City is experiencing unprecedented growth and if the levy rate is not adjusted, it will go down.
He explained further the amount of taxes are spread out over more homes, which does reduce the
levy rate. Mayor Gubler instructed Clerk West to do a study on the total number of houses and
apply the current levy rate to it. He then recommended her to apply the levy rate to last year's
total number of houses to determine the difference. That difference needs to be commensurate to
the increase the City is seeking from property taxes. He explained this is the only way to keep
the levy rate flat and allow the growth of the City to benefit all the residents. Clerk West agreed.
Clerk West also stated based off last year's property taxes, an increase of 3% is around $8,600.
She continued and stated this is not a lot of money from each person, but it is enough to make a
dent in projects like the tennis court reconstruction. Mayor Gubler agreed and added the City will
be hiring a new Public Works employee that also needs to be included in this year's budget.
Clerk West also stated as of last year, the City had approximately $81,000 in forgone. She
continued and encouraged the Council to decide if this is something they would like to discuss
and withdraw for any upcoming projects. Mayor Gubler stated the City needs to pass a
Resolution if they would like to reserve any existing or new forgone.
Clerk West stated she is working on changing the format of the budget and various income and
expense accounts. She continued and stated she would have a few different options for the
Council to review at the June City Council Meeting.
General Water System Discussion — Mayor Gubler said the water project is back up and
running and has a completion date of August 1, 2021. He is considering having a party to
celebrate the completion of the project. Mayor Gubler also stated he is still trying to
communicate with the two landowners to acquire Quitclaim Deeds for the City to take ownership
of the road to the tank.
Meeting Adjourned: 6:59 p.m.
COUNCIL APPROVED: June 15, 2021
Vial—
KeriDan Gubler, Mayor
ATTEST:
West, City Clerk/Treasurer
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