HomeMy Public PortalAboutMIN-CC-2019-02-12MOAB CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
February 12, 2019
Call to Order and Attendance:
The Moab City Council held its regular meeting on the above date in the Council Chambers at
the Moab City Center, located at 217 East Center Street. An audio recording is archived at:
http://www.utah.gov/pmn/index.html and a video recording is archived at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGkF7guvLE8. Mayor Emily Niehaus called the meeting to
order at 7:oo PM and led the Pledge of Allegiance. In attendance were Councilmembers Tawny
Knuteson-Boyd, Karen Guzman -Newton, Kalen Jones and Mike Duncan. Councilmember Rani
Derasary was absent. Also in attendance were City Manager David Everitt, Assistant City
Manager Joel Linares, City Attorney Chris McAnany, Finance Director Rachel Stenta,
Sustainability Director Rosemarie Russo, Police Chief Jim Winder, Development Services
Manager Sommar Johnson, Communications and Engagement Manager Lisa Church, Treasurer
Chantel Lindsay, Deputy Recorder Danielle Guerrero and Recorder/Project Specialist Eve
Tallman. One -hundred and twenty-two members of the public and media were present.
Approval of Minutes:
Councilmember Duncan moved to approve the minutes of the January 22, 2019 meeting.
Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-o aye, with
Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Duncan and Guzman -Newton voting aye.
Mayor and Council Reports: Mayor Niehaus reported that she attended the grand re-
opening of City Market as well as a meeting with Rotary Club representatives regarding the
restroom painting project. She stated she attended meetings of the Southeast Utah Association
of Local Governments, Mill Creek focus group, Winter Innovation Summit and Rural Caucus of
the state legislature. She noted that she hosted a luncheon for women mayors of Utah, went to
Local Officials Day, attended the Silicon Slopes event and the Council retreat.
Councilmember Duncan remarked that Councilmember Derasary was in Washington DC
lobbying for continued funding of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) project.
He noted he attended a meeting of the Grand Water and Sewer Services Agency (GWSSA) at
which rates were discussed.
Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd stated she attended Local Officials Day at the state capitol and
also participated in the Council retreat.
Councilmember Guzman -Newton reported her attendance at the Chamber of Commerce retreat
and announced the new Chamber president, Brendon Cameron. She mentioned Chamber
priorities and added she attended meetings on Commercial property -assessed clean energy
(CPACE) with Sustainability Director Russo, a transit meeting and a recycling meeting. She
remarked that she met with the solid waste district and the airport board and attended the
Council retreat. She noted her attendance with the Key Leader Board, a presentation of the Utah
Recycling Coalition and the Moab Business Summit.
Councilmember Jones mentioned his attendance at the Council retreat, meetings regarding
Dark Skies and the Housing Task Force, and participated in a KZMU program on recycling.
Administrative Report: City Manager Everitt informed the Council about the police sergeant
promotion ceremony. He also reported on a policy committee meeting of the Utah League of
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February 12, 2019
Cities and Towns (ULCT) which discussed upcoming possible legislation regarding sales tax in
Utah, a housing bill known as Senate Bi11 34 and commercial routes for All -Terrain Vehicles
(ATVs). He touched on a future trip with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to
Springdale to review transportation there and noted their Main Street is also a state highway.
Everitt next described progress made in the prior week regarding the franchise agreement for
waste hauling. He emphasized the goals of the agreement, which are for quality service,
sustainability and value for the customer. He reviewed the bidding process, from which there
was one qualified response. Everitt laid out the options and pricing for residential waste and
recycling and noted that mandatory recycling was no longer being proposed and that there is at
least one option for trash collection that is lower cost than existing service. He explained the
proposal for commercial waste hauling and recycling as well.
Presentations:
Students of the Month:
Mayor Niehaus presented the Mayor's Student of the Month Award for Helen M. Knight
Elementary School for January: Noah Laprade and for February: Ean Ellis; and for the Moab
Charter School for December: Jack Cloward and for January: David Bonfiglio.
Faith -Based Coalition: Dick Pacheco and Bruce Louthan offered material about the aids
local churches make to the community and stated the new sewer rates posed a considerable
hardship. Louthan stated he supports the new sewer plant and said the ten -fold increase in rates
is not proportionate.
Citizens to be Heard:
J.W. Nelson spoke in opposition to raising the trash fees.
Kiley Miller spoke about using Transient Room Tax (TRT) revenues to educate visitors and
cautioned about the School and Institutional Trust Lands (SITLA) development plans. She
spoke in favor of the new nightly lodging temporary moratorium.
Barbara Fincham spoke in opposition to mandatory recycling.
Carol Mayer spoke in favor of the new nightly lodging moratorium and noted several pitfalls of
tourism and world-wide marketing of the area.
Donald Kiffmeyer spoke in opposition to mandatory recycling.
Terry Howe and Lenore Beeson presented a citizen petition with 45 signatures requesting the
lowering of speed limits and increased signage on specific City streets located between North
Main Street and 400 East.
Kaki Hunter stated she was glad that the City responded to feedback regarding proposed
mandatory recycling and that she preferred opt -in rather than opt -out. She remarked that she
did not hear support for the Recycle Center and wants to see the City and County work together.
Jay Prentiss spoke about increasing City fees including trash collection. He noted that many
people recycle for free.
George Johnson spoke in favor of voluntary recycling. He added that the plastic bag ban hurts
the charity food back pack program in the schools. He also noted that the proposed Dark Sky
actions could make travel more dangerous.
Dave Sakrison submitted written comments in opposition to mandatory recycling.
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February 12, 2019
Jessica Faun spoke in favor of source -sorted voluntary recycling. She also recommended using
TRT funds to pay people to recycle and to educate the poor.
Wayne Hoskisson spoke in favor of the temporary moratorium on new nightly lodging.
Sue Allemand stated she believes in recycling and questioned the City's figures and asserted that
residents are carrying the cost of solid waste management and that services are duplicated.
Sara Melnicoff stated she wants the City to pause and fund a study.
Beau Peck, from the Utah Recycling Coalition, requested the City to adhere to the state-wide
standard of collecting the top ten items. He noted he does not like glass in the mix of single -
stream and declared it hurts the industry.
Terry Marsh spoke in opposition to mandatory recycling.
David Noorlander stated he would rather have opt -in than opt -out recycling. He added that
hotels should be required to recycle and pay their fair share.
David Olsen affirmed the recycling options that were presented. He said they seem fair and he
likes what's going on.
Charlotte Mates announced the Grand Green Ball to kick off the Citizens Climate Lobby on
March 16. She added there would be a training for the Lobby on February 20 at the Grand
Center. She said climate affects us all.
Ninarose Harmison thanked Councilmember Duncan for putting a hold on the recycling
decision.
Dell Keys stated she supports voluntary recycling and referred to Karla Hancock's letter. She
requested that the City not increase rates. She thanked Monument Waste for their good service.
She suggested the City should figure out how to have visitors pay.
Kevin Walker thanked the City Council and stated he was speaking as a proxy for Zacharia
Levine. He stated he was in favor of the temporary moratorium on new overnight lodging. He
also stated he was in favor of opt -out recycling over opt -in.
Kenneth L. Robbins pointed out he has lived in Moab since 1933 and mandatory recycling will
affect his budget. He said it takes away freedom of choice and he feels voluntary recycling is ok.
Steph Hamborsky stated she is new to the community and mentioned domestic recycling
markets and diversion rates in Denver. She stated she felt the City's intentions are good and that
mandatory recycling is wrong.
Bob O'Brien referred to the affordable housing High Density Overlay and noted it was a terrific
problem and that 3o percent of the local housing stock is not primary residential. He urged the
City to pass the temporary moratorium on new nightly lodging.
Crystal White mentioned the Dark Sky open house on February 20. She noted her Dark Sky
group wants to review the City's consideration of new lights on North Main Street.
Anna Sprout said that tourists make more trash and will recycle less. She suggested there is an
opportunity to hold commercial enterprises responsible. She said she is in favor of mandatory
recycling for all, and the City should subsidize residential users.
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Jesse Faircloth stated solutions are available and that he was in favor of mandatory education.
He said there are other options for recycling and mentioned picking pools.
Lee Kaplan-Unsoeld stated she read about the City's motivation toward carbon footprint goals.
She noted the huge number of tourists and placing the brunt on residents. She asked whether
the travel to dispose of the recyclables would really reduce the carbon footprint.
Josie Kovash submitted written comments: "As an avid reducer and re -user and a begrudging
(after all else) recycler, I don't see any difference between mandatory trash service and
mandatory recycling service. To make things more equitable, and to incentivize citizens to be
waste -conscious, I think there should be a fee scale with varying bin sizes for both trash and
recycling. If a small bin for each was the same fee as our current gargantuan trash bins (which
take me months to fill but I pay for weekly anyway) it would be fair to make both mandatory.
Additionally, I encourage the City to actively explore solutions around waste -stream reduction
on both the supply end and on the visitor economy end. Recycling markets are volatile and we
need to stop relying on "away." We need to reduce what is imposed on our waste stream on the
consumer end.
Old Business: (1:41 on audio recording)
Residential, Municipal, and Commercial Solid Waste and Recycling Collection
and Disposal Approved
Discussion: Councilmember Guzman -Newton stated she appreciated the progress made with
regard to low -volume users and less waste is the ultimate goal. She acknowledged concerns with
single -stream and said educating tourists is very important. She recognized that commercial
rates are going up 14-65 percent and said the infrastructure is not yet in place to require
commercial recycling. City Manager Everitt stated he appreciates the flexibility of Monument
Waste. He reiterated there would not be mandatory recycling for residential or commercial and
explained the Recycle Center is not free and is heavily subsidized by TRT and mineral lease
monies. Councilmember Jones stated he is glad the motion was tabled and the proposed trash
rates are good. He emphasized the Pay as You Throw approach and affirmed the new pricing is
less than any time in recent memory. He said the Recycle Center is not going away and he is
interested in the opt -out option. It was pointed out that Councilmember Jones serves on the
Solid Waste Special Service District Board. Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd thanked staff for
their work and thanked the audience. She reiterated the Recycle Center is not free and stated it
is a valuable part of our community. She reminded the audience the City is required to have a
waste hauling contract and there may be room for improvement. She mentioned unpleasant
conversations she had with residents who threatened to vandalize recycle bins. Councilmember
Duncan noted the hefty annual subsidies for the Recycle Center and curbside pickup in the City
of Grand Junction. He mentioned citizen letters and noted the sentiments expressed were that
recycling should not be mandatory, commercial entities should pay their fair share and the
Recycle Center should be kept open. He mentioned that single stream is not so weak a system
that the City should not try it. He acknowledged that trash hauling rates are going up as much as
65 percent for business customers. Assistant City Manager Linares explained the opt -out
procedure. Councilmember Duncan stated he felt all the Council members were on board.
Councilmember Guzman -Newton asked about bin buy-back and Dan Kirkpatrick of Monument
Waste explained how it works. Mayor Niehaus acknowledged the solution is a three-legged stool
involving government, the private sector and the non-profit community and thanked the
community for helpful input.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Jones moved to approve Resolution o7-2019 with the
following changes to the proposed Franchise Agreement: under residential number of polycarts
the third bullet shall read in its entirety: additional trash and recycling polycarts may located as
residents on a case by case basis request for ongoing additional or reduced polycarts at a
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February 12, 2019
residence shall be processed during the months of February and October only except that
requests will be also processed in the two months subsequent to the commencement of this
agreement. The recycling polycarts number shall be permitted to be reduced to zero; and direct
staff to develop and implement a communication plan by the usual channels and utility bills in
English and Spanish to thoroughly inform City utility customers of the new range of service
options, pricing and the option to opt out of recycling entirely. Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd
seconded the motion. Councilmember Duncan moved to amend the motion to require
commercial opt -out after one year and to direct staff to document proposed commercial costs
associated with waste pick-up. Councilmember Guzman -Newton seconded the motion.
Councilmember Jones stated he does not support this amendment. The vote to amend the
motion failed 2-3 with Councilmembers Duncan and Guzman -Newton voting aye and
Councilmembers Jones and Knuteson-Boyd voting nay and Mayor Niehaus breaking the tie with
a nay vote. The original motion carried 4-o aye, with Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd,
Duncan and Guzman -Newton voting aye.
Update on Walnut Lane Housing Initiative —Discussion
City Manager Everitt explained that Senior Project Manager Tracy Dutson was out sick and
updated Council by remarking that the Request for Proposals for architectural services would be
ready in a month and reported that the property management has been mostly positive.
New Business: (2:3o on audio recording)
Moab City Planning and Zoning Commission Appointment —Confirmed
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd moved to confirm the reappointment of
Kya Marienfeld to the Moab City Planning and Zoning Commission for a three-year term that
ends December 31, 2021. Councilmember Guzman -Newton seconded the motion. The motion
carried 4-o aye, with Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Duncan and Guzman -Newton
voting aye.
Appointment of City Recorder —Confirmed
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Duncan moved to approve Resolution 13-2019,
confirming the appointment of Sommar Johnson as the City Recorder; and authorizing the City
Manager to execute an Employment Agreement between the City of Moab and Sommar
Johnson. Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-o aye,
with Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Duncan and Guzman -Newton voting aye.
Temporary Prohibition of New Nightly Rental Uses Approved
Discussion: Mayor Niehaus stated she is in favor and cautioned Council regarding the short
time frame of the six-month moratorium. Councilmember Guzman -Newton stated she looks
forward to working with the County. Councilmember Duncan asked about the process and City
Manager Everitt described the future land use map and Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd noted
the cap at 18o days. Duncan asked about Ken Kolm's report to inform their decision and Mayor
Niehaus brought up the dilemma with C-2. Councilmember Jones remarked the moratorium is
the result of a successful lodging industry and pointed out there is no property tax in the City.
He brought up the need for economic diversification and noted this can't happen with too many
hotels. He cited the Nexus study and the need for affordable housing.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Guzman -Newton moved to adopt Ordinance 2019-06
Enacting a Temporary Land Use Regulation Prohibiting, for a Period of 18o Days, the
Development of New Nightly Rental Uses, Including Hotels/Motels, Bed and Breakfasts, and
Other Overnight Accommodations Pending Completion of Revisions to City Ordinances in
Zoning Districts where Nightly Rentals are Allowed. Councilmember Jones seconded the
motion. The motion carried 4-o aye, with Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Duncan and
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Guzman -Newton voting aye.
Smith/Mack Boundary Line Adjustment Adopted
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Jones moved to adopt Resolution 12-2019 approving
the Smith/Mack Boundary Line Adjustment for lots 1 and 2 of the Secret Cove Subdivision.
Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-o aye, with
Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Duncan and Guzman -Newton voting aye.
Roger Knight Construction Settlement Agreement Approved
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Jones moved to approve the General Release and
Settlement Agreement with Roger Knight Construction providing payment to the City of the
amount of ten thousand dollars as submitted. Councilmember Guzman -Newton seconded the
motion. The motion carried 4-o aye, with Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Duncan and
Guzman -Newton voting aye.
North US-191 Street Lighting Evaluation and Recommendations —Discussion
Annie Kuczkowski and Riley Rose of Clanton and Associates, a lighting engineering firm based
in Boulder, Colorado presented options for safe and efficient lighting along North Highway 191.
Approval of Bills: Councilmember Jones moved to approve payment of bills against the City
of Moab in the amount of $1,233,805.64. Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd seconded the motion.
The motion passed 4-0 aye with Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Guzman -Newton and
Duncan voting aye.
Executive Session:
Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd moved to convene a closed session to Discuss the Purchase,
Exchange, or Lease of Real Property, to Discuss Reasonably Imminent and/or Pending
Litigation and to Discuss the Character, Professional Competence, or Physical or Mental Health
of an Individual or Individuals. Councilmember Guzman -Newton seconded the motion. The
motion passed 4-o aye with Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Guzman -Newton and
Duncan voting aye. Mayor Niehaus convened the closed session at 10:15 PM. Councilmember
Knuteson-Boyd recused herself from the discussion of Real Property due to a possible conflict of
interest and left the Chambers. Councilmember Jones moved to adjourn the closed session.
Councilmember Guzman -Newton seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-o aye with
Councilmembers Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Guzman -Newton and Duncan voting aye. Mayor
Niehaus ended the executive closed session at 12:04 AM.
Adjournment: Councilmember Jones moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember
Guzman -Newton seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-o aye with Councilmembers Jones,
Knuteson-Boyd, Guzman -Newton and Duncan voting aye. Mayor Niehaus adjourned the
meeting at 12:04 AM.
APPROVED: ATTEST:
Emily S. Niehaus, Mayor Rachel E. Stenta, City Recorder
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