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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_06152021 CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING IONA CITY HALL NNE 15,2021 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 and City Clerk/Treasurer Keri West. ABSENT: None. VISITORS: None. ITEMS OF BUSINESS: Discussion of Iona City Code § 10-1; Iona Subdivision Ordinance, regarding plat requirements for properties adjoining new developments—Mayor Gubler stated he requested this discussion because he does not feel it is appropriate for an adjoining property owner be required to submit a Preliminary Plat when a neighboring property is being developed. He continued and stated the City Council has the responsibility to manage growth and future development in the City. Mayor Gubler stated he would like this section edited to remove the requirement for the adjoining property owner to submit a Preliminary Plat. He continued and stated this is the time for the Council to discuss, with the actual vote occurring at the Regular City Council Meeting following this Work Meeting. Attorney Rawlings stated the only situation where the adjoining property owner is required to submit a Preliminary Plat is if the development has a dead end street that is longer than 400 feet. However, he believes the code was written to satisfy the road requirements in situations where the same owner is doing a development in multiple phases. Attorney Rawlings highlighted the proposed Ordinance and explained the three options and requirements for a developer to have a dead end street. Discussion began regarding various properties in the City that are or could be affected by this scenario. Council Members all agreed with the potential benefits of this amendment. Discussion of Franchise Fees — Council President Geray stated he requested this discussion to determine if the City has the correct franchise fees in place and whether there is additional information that should be discussed. He continued and stated he understands franchise fees to be a reimbursement to the City for the wear and tear of companies that use our roads to provide various services to our citizens. Council President Geray asked whether other companies should be paying a franchise fee, or if the current charges are excessive. He continued and stated if these companies are not causing any additional damage or maintenance to the roads, he considers these fees to be a backdoor tax on the citizens and without a real purpose. Mayor Gubler stated he believes franchise fees represent an agreement of exclusivity for companies to be the only service provider for the City. He continued and stated if the City eliminated franchise fees, the companies would not reduce the amount they bill their customers in the City. Mayor Gubler also stated the amount of revenue the City collects in franchise fees does help with maintenance costs. Director Prouse stated he considers the franchise fee a rent to use the right of way for companies that provide services in the City. He continued and stated if the City views them as such, the solid waste hauler companies should be paying a franchise fee as they cause the most damage to the roads. Attorney Rawlings agreed franchise fees should be treated as a source of income to IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—JUNE 15, 2021 address the wear and tear of the public assets that companies utilize to provide their services in our City. Clerk West did dispute the earlier statement that franchise fees are tied to exclusivity and stated the City could require franchise fees from multiple solid waste hauler companies without giving them exclusive access to the City. Council Member Wadsworth stated when the City charges franchise fees,the companies pass that cost onto their customers. He then suggested the possibility of having an exclusive solid waste hauler company or including that as a City service and charging for it with the monthly water bill. Mayor Gubler stated he has discussed this with Director Prouse and stated the City is not in the financial position to begin trash collecting as a City service. He also stated the City has discussed the option of contracting with one solid waste hauler company in the past and was informed this would open the City up for litigation by any company that was being excluded. Discussion continued regarding the cost of starting and maintaining a City trash service. Mayor Gubler instructed Clerk West to research agreements to begin charging solid waste hauler companies franchise fees. Discussion of Iona Sports & Recreation —Clerk West stated she is looking for feedback from the Mayor and Council regarding the City's Recreation program. She continued and stated the program has been growing and the City receives frequent questions about why we do not offer additional sports. Clerk West explained the Recreation Director position is currently seasonal and adding additional sports would require this position to become full-time. She continued and stated she believes the additional sports could sustain the added payroll expense, but would like feedback from the Mayor and Council. Mayor Gubler stated the problem with growing the program is the lack of City facilities. Clerk West stated the City does have an existing contract with District#93 to utilize their facilities for the basketball season. Mayor Gubler stated he is not opposed to Clerk West reaching out to the school district to see what the possibility is of utilizing their fields for a possible soccer or flag football season. Clerk West also informed the Council of an idea the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) discussed at a recent meeting pertaining to recreational land. She continued and stated there is a lot on 49th North where the old dump used to be and is still owned by Bonneville County. Due to the past use, building would not be possible on the land. Therefore, the county has never entertained selling the lot. The P&Z discussed the possibility of the City acquiring the land from the county to develop it into another City park or soccer fields. Clerk West continued and stated the majority of the people that are moving into the City are young families and she believes another park or field to play at would be a huge asset to the City. Mayor Gubler agreed and stated he has an upcoming meeting with the Bonneville County Commissioners to discuss other items and will present this idea to them as well. Discussion of The American Rescue Plan funds and Fiber Internet options — Clerk West stated she has received confirmation from the state that the City will be receiving a deposit of $253,168 in the next few days, as well as an identical amount next year from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). She continued and stated the funds will be deposited in full, with a report due in October to show how the funds were or will be used. Mayor Gubler stated the available uses are very broad. Council Member Wadsworth asked if the City can use it to pay down the debt on the water project. Mayor Gubler stated he would agree with paying down the debt and potentially lowering the water bill. Director Prouse stated he would recommend keeping the water bill the same to ensure there are always enough funds available to maintain the infrastructure of a growing water system. Clerk West stated she will research the ARPA 2 IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—JUNE 15, 2021 guidelines to see if paying down the water bond is a possibility. Mayor Gubler requested feedback from the Council on other ideas regarding how the City could use the ARPA funds. He continued and stated he has had a conversation with Director Prouse and is open to entertaining the idea of broadband. Mayor Gubler also stated he feels there are many streets in the City that could use improvement and suggested this as an idea on how to use ARPA. Director Prouse agreed and stated he is already planning on putting together a cost estimate on rebuilding a few of the roadways in the City. Mayor Gubler encouraged the Council to come up with ideas for next month's Work Meeting to further discuss ARPA funds. Discussion of Fiscal Year 2022 Preliminary Budget — Clerk West stated she has made some changes to the format of the budget, including eliminating some budget lines and adding additional ones. She continued and recommended adding a "Fund Balance Carryover" revenue line item that allows you to carry over unused revenue from the previous fiscal year. Mayor Gubler agreed with this change. He also stated the "Grants" revenue line item is hard to predict but has instructed Director Prouse to put together a cost sheet to restore the tennis courts so that Clerk West can begin applying for grants. Mayor Gubler also stated he has discussed the possibility of remodeling the City Park bathrooms with Director Prouse and estimates the cost to be approximately$40,000. Clerk West continued discussing budget line items and explained her desire to streamline multiple Recreation expense items into one "Recreation Expenses" line item. She also stated the need for a separate revenue line item for"Business Licenses"because they are currently included in the "Building Permit Fees" budget category. Clerk West continued and stated she has discussed it with Director Prouse and they both agree the expenses for the Public Works Department need to be separated into categories such as streets and parks. Currently, all non- water maintenance costs are lumped together in a general "Maintenance" expense category. Mayor Gubler agreed. Mayor Gubler stated the recently passed House Bill 389 will affect the budgeting numbers and the amount we receive from new construction. He continued and stated this bill reduces the amount of property taxes cities receive from new construction from 100%to 90%. Mayor Gubler continued and discussed the process to receive and/or add to the City's forgone amount. He stated he does not think the City is in a position to take any forgone because there is not an immediate need. Mayor Gubler then stated the City needs to be careful to keep the levy rate consistent with the current growth. Council President Geray asked if the current fiscal year's budget will need to be opened to include the immediate funds coming from ARPA. Clerk West stated the current budget will need to be amended by Ordinance at the July City Council Meeting. Council President Geray then asked when the first payment for the Water Bond will be due. Clerk West stated she has reached out to get a payment schedule for the bond and should have it by the next City Council Meeting. General Water System Discussion — Mayor Gubler stated he had a meeting with one of the owners of the private road to the new water tank and was told they are not interested in having the City turn the road into a public road. He continued and stated there would need to be a different access spot if the City decided to move forward with the bike park near the water tank. 3 IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—JUNE 15, 2021 Meeting Adjourned: 6:59 p.m. COUNCIL APPROVED: July 20, 2021 fle4// Dan Gu ler, Mayor ATTEST: Keri West, C ty Clerk/Treasurer 4