HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_07182023 CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING
IONA CITY HALL
JULY 18,2023 6:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Mayor Dan Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael
Thompson, Council Member Peter Wadsworth, Council Member Evan Mann, Public Works
Director Zech Prouse, City Attorney Andrew Rawlings and City Clerk/Treasurer Keri West.
ABSENT: None.
VISITORS: Kevin Harris, Shawn Branson, Delos Stenquist, Alma Stumpp, Trina Stumpp and
Rob Wood.
ITEMS OF BUSINESS:
Discussion of Annexation Plans for Green Valley and Nu'R Subdivisions — Attorney
Rawlings introduced this discussion as the current draft for the proposed Annexation Plan that,
once approved by the City Council, will be sent to all residents in the Green Valley and Nu'R
Subdivisions. He asked the City Council to review and give their feedback on the written plan.
Council President Geray stated he would like to emphasize the importance of a small local
government and the protection being part of a city can provide that counties cannot provide, such
as having a direct say in the changes that government makes. Council Member Wadsworth
agreed and stated another point he would like to add is that annexation of most county properties
in this area is inevitable. He stated the other nearby cities are growing and expanding rapidly.
Council Member Wadsworth continued and stated in the near future all of these nearby
subdivisions that currently reside in Bonneville County will be annexed into either Iona, Ammon
or Idaho Falls. Council President Geray agreed and reiterated the benefit of being part of a small
government such as Iona, rather than a larger municipality. He continued and proposed the
question hypothetically if the residents of these subdivisions were to be absorbed into a city,
which of the surrounding cities shares their same ideals and vision for growth of the area.
Council President Geray stated the main reason the City of Iona is considering annexation of
nearby subdivisions is to control the growth and to protect the ideals of our small-town
community with smart planning of residential and commercial areas.
Attorney Rawlings stated he attended the Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Meeting last week and has
included many of their ideas on this current draft of the Annexation Plan. Some of those items
include details about recreation, parks, public works, etc. He continued and stated one item that
is required and will be very important to landowners is the spreadsheet that compares the
difference in tax levies between the different entities. Council President Geray stated that should
not be too difficult to put together because levy rates are all accessible to the general public.
Council Member Mann stated he has begun working on a spreadsheet that compares levy rates
between Bonneville County, and the cities of Iona, Ammon, and Idaho Falls. He continued and
stated from the information he has gathered he feels the difference in property tax is negligible.
Council President Geray stated he also feels it would be helpful to compare the past few years'
tax bills to illustrate the decline of Iona's tax bill. Clerk West asked if the spreadsheet is allowed
to have other municipalities. Attorney Rawlings stated he thinks there needs to be one
spreadsheet that only includes Iona and Bonneville County for the "Changes in Taxation and
Other Costs" section that is mandatory in the Annexation Plan.
IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—JULY 18, 2023
Clerk West stated she feels the police protection portion of the Annexation Plan should describe
the difference between having a police presence with a dedicated officer that actively patrols for
40 hours/week in your community and an area that is only covered by law enforcement when
they are responding to calls. Mayor Gubler agreed. Clerk West also specified the Code
Enforcement aspect of law enforcement and what that provides to city residents. Council
Member Wadsworth asked for clarification between enforcing city code and Homeowners
Association (HOA) rules. Mayor Gubler stated our law enforcement does not enforce HOA, but
does enforce city code. Clerk West clarified that all neighborhoods will have city code enforced,
but if a neighborhood has an active HOA with stricter rules than the city code, those residents
and members of their HOA can still uphold their rules and enforce as their HOA allows. Mayor
Gubler then stated the subdivisions just outside of Iona were specifically built to meet the Iona
City Code as far as subdivision standards because the intent was for those subdivisions to be
annexed into the city once they were contiguous.
Clerk West stated there has been discussion in the past regarding the park in Green Valley and
the possibility to have the City take over maintenance of that park, if annexed, which could
decrease HOA fees for residents of Green Valley. Mayor Gubler stated that is something that
could be offered to residents in Green Valley during this annexation process, but it doesn't need
to be part of the written Annexation Plan. Attorney Rawlings stated it could be mentioned in the
Annexation Plan, but not listed in the requirements or statutes. Mayor Gubler asked if anyone
from the audience had any questions or comments they would like to make about this topic of
discussion. One audience member stated Bonneville County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) does
enforce their covenants. Mayor Gubler stated BCSO will enforce their county ordinances, but
they do not enforce HOA covenants. Audience member Shawn Branson stated most of their
HOA covenants match Bonneville County, so BCSO does enforce them.
Audience member Alma Stumpp stated he is completely against this annexation. He continued
and stated he lives in the Nu'R Subdivision and the City cannot offer them any additional
benefits if they were annexed into the City. Mr. Stumpp stated he is already breaking several
City ordinances because he operates a business out of his home and has several animals on his
property. Mayor Gubler clarified that any ordinances that are currently being broken are
considered a non-conforming use or "grandfathered". Tina Stumpp then stated if they sell their
property that grandfathered status ends. Mayor Gubler stated that is not true. Attorney Rawlings
stated the "use" that is being grandfathered has a right to continue to new owners, as long as the
use itself is continued without pause. Mr. Stumpp stated this process has been attempted before
and he still hears stories about what took place then and most of them are untrue. He encouraged
the City to attempt the process differently this time with open communication, information and
mutual respect. Mayor Gubler stated the City is following the process that has been outlined by
state law. Mr. Stumpp requested to be on the record as being opposed to this annexation and
stated he has taken a poll of the 22 residents of the Nu'R Subdivision. He continued and said 20
of them are opposed, 1 is in favor and 1 did not respond. Clerk West stated the City Council
understands the way this process was attempted in the past was not the best way to approach this
topic. Discussions continued regarding the process itself and growth of the area. Mr. Stumpp
asked what would happen to their well system if they were annexed into the City. Mayor Gubler
stated no changes would be made to their well system unless the residents requested to be added
onto the City's water system in the future. Attorney Rawlings stated this discussion has been
productive and allows him good input on what information should be put in the Annexation Plan.
2
_s....vu,,,,nss•.sa �zr5 rae `k:m,.« �-;.. +,+r.... ,.., ., ,. . _.,,, _.
IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING—JULY 18, 2023
Attorney Rawlings continued and stated the City is drafting the written Annexation Plan that will
be mailed to all residents within the proposed annexation area.
Audience member Rob Wood from Green Valley stated he understands the reason the City wants
to annex their subdivision is for the additional funding. He continued and suggested a "ramp-up"
business approach that could waive their increased property taxes for a certain number of years.
Clerk West stated the financial side of this discussion deals with the maintenance and upkeep of
our City facilities. She continued and stated the City pickleball courts and parks are constantly
being used by non-Iona residents that are not paying into the maintenance of them. She further
explained the City takes pride in our facilities and it takes a lot of money and time to maintain
the standards and sense of community that we are offering to residents that reside in the city and
beyond. Mayor Gubler thanked the audience members for their input into this discussion.
Discussion of Open Park Space Ordinance in New Developments —Mayor Gubler stated this
proposed ordinance has been discussed in previous City Council meetings. Attorney Rawlings
stated most of the updated changes to this version of the ordinance reflect suggestions that were
made by the P&Z Commission. He continued and explained it has been changed to require 8%or
1 acre per 50 Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDU) to be used as an Open Park Space in new
developments. Attorney Rawlings stated the P&Z also suggested that the Open Park Space does
not necessarily need to be in the development itself, but somewhere in the City. He also stated
that he has added a reference to the Community Forestry chapter of the City Code for the Open
Park Space to abide by those specific rules also. Director Prouse stated the"buffering" section of
this proposed ordinance needs more detailed information.
Discussion of Water Connection Fee—Mayor Gubler stated this is a continued discussion from
last month's City Council meeting. The discussion began regarding the water rights the City
developed, but did not purchase, and whether their value should be part of the total valuation of
the water system. Council Member Thompson stated he read through the valuation that was done
5 years ago by our previous City Engineer and it did include those water rights. Discussion
continued regarding the developed water rights' value and whether it depreciates, appreciates
and its potential replacement costs. Clerk West asked why the Council would remove the value
of the developed water rights from the new valuation if it was used in the last valuation. Council
President Geray stated the ordinance needs to be amended to explain the process of valuation so
it can be done consistently each time, regardless of who the City Engineer is at that time. After
much discussion the Council determined to not include the value of the developed water rights in
the total valuation of the system because that individual value can only be determined by a costly
appraisal and it will not need to be replaced.
Meeting Adjourned: 6:59 p.m.
COUNCIL APPROVED: August 15, 2023
Dan Gubler, Mayor
ATTEST:
)Jj4_ t
eri est, City Clerk/Treasurer
3