HomeMy Public PortalAboutMIN-CC-2020-05-26
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May 26, 2020
MOAB CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
MAY 26, 2020
The Moab City Council held its Special City Council Meeting on the above date. Per Executive
Order 2020-5 issued by Governor Gary R. Herbert on March 18, 2020, this meeting was
conducted electronically. An anchor location was not provided. An audio recording of the
meeting is archived at http://www.utah.gov/pmn/index.html. A video recording is archived at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl00z0Zgdmz4y1FoI0l7CJA.
Pre-Council Workshop – Incremental Development Alliance Workshop
Mayor Niehaus started the workshop at 6:05 pm. Participating remotely were Mayor Emily
Niehaus, City Councilmembers Mike Duncan, Rani Derasary, Kalen Jones, Karen Guzman-
Newton, and Tawny Knuteson-Boyd. Staff participating remotely were City Manager Joel
Linares, Assistant City Manager Carly Castle, City Attorney Laurie Simonson, Senior Projects
Manager Kaitlin Myers, and City Recorder Sommar Johnson. Also participating remotely were
Jim Kumon and Neil Heller with the Incremental Development Alliance.
Senior Projects Manager introduced Jim Kumon and Neil Heller with Incremental Development
Alliance and explained that they did a series of events about small-scale developments in March
2020. She said the session planned for elected officials did not go as planned due to the
changing situation with COVID-19, so it was rescheduled for a Pre-Council Workshop.
Jim Kumon with Incremental Development Alliance gave a presentation explaining that
Incremental Development Alliance provides small-scale developer training as well as technical
assistance to city and county governments and nonprofits interested in creating small-scale
developments in their communities. Among topics discussed were key questions for small-scale
developers, challenges with local zoning codes, and an overview of potential redevelopment
parcels within the City.
At the conclusion of the workshop, it was decided that Senior Projects Manager Myers and
Planning staff would develop code revisions to promote affordable housing developments and
schedule a Pre-Council Workshop to discuss the code revisions with the City Council.
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING 7:00 P.M.
Regular Meeting Call to Order and Attendance: Mayor Niehaus called the Regular City
Council Meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Participating remotely were Councilmembers Mike
Duncan, Tawny Knuteson-Boyd, Rani Derasary, Kalen Jones, and Karen Guzman-Newton. City
staff participating remotely were City Manager Joel Linares, Assistant City Manager Carly
Castle, City Attorney Laurie Simonson, Finance Director Klint York, and City Recorder Sommar
Johnson. City Engineer Chuck Williams and Grand County Active Transportation and Trails
Director Madeline Logowitz joined the meeting at 8:26 pm. Assistant City Treasurer Marcy
Mason joined the meeting at 9:02 pm.
Approval of Minutes: Councilmember Derasary moved to approve the minutes for May 8,
2020, and May 12, 2020 with corrections. Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd seconded the
motion. There was no discussion. The motion passed 5-0 with Councilmembers Guzman-
Newton, Knuteson-Boyd, Derasary, Jones, and Duncan voting aye in a roll call vote.
Mayor and Council Reports:
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May 26, 2020
Mayor Niehaus reported continuing to work with staff to create the market on center idea and
working with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and the outdoor gear industry to
obtain additional PPE for visitors and businesses for Memorial Day weekend. She thanked the
Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Utah Office of Tourism, and various other
companies for deploying 85,000 masks to our community and thanked Theresa at the copy
center for help with distribution. She reported regular Thursday meetings with City Manager
Linares and Assistant City Manager Castle and reported the Governor’s Office of Economic
Development put out a commercial rental assistance grant program explaining that it was a
separate grant from the PPP. Councilmember Guzman-Newton said the Governor’s Office of
Economic Development was inundated by applications and experienced slower processing times
than anticipated. She offered congratulations to the graduating seniors and the parents of
graduating seniors. She said a special joint meeting with Grand County is scheduled for Friday,
May 29, 2020, to sign a letter of support in coordination with the National Park Service for a
timed entry system at the national parks. [2:09–16:36]
Councilmember Derasary reported the UMTRA steering committee meeting was canceled and
the next one is scheduled for July and she will email an update to the Council. She reported
attending an EMS Board meeting on May 18 and call volume was down by 40% for April but
significantly increased in May. She said overall call volume is only down 4% from this point last
year. She reported the Board is working to cut the budget given anticipated losses of around
$400 thousand. She said they continue to work on the new building with the County and
Municipal Building Authority because the County plays a pivotal role in the CIB loan. She
reported Grand County held a public hearing for the bond on May 19. She reported attending a
System of Care Regional Advisory Council meeting for Grand and San Juan counties, Water
Now Alliance, and Open and Public Meetings Act training. She thanked Orion and Braydon with
the Health Department for responding so quickly to questions from the community. [16:36-
22:58]
Administrative Reports
COVID-19-19 Updates:
Mayor Niehaus moved the COVID-19 administrative report up during Mayor and Council
Reports in order for Moab Regional Hospital CEO Jen Sadoff to provide an update to the City
Council. Mayor Niehaus mentioned a conversation with Orion Rogers from the Health
Department who said there were three new cases, four recovered, and some violations over
Memorial Day weekend that the Health Department is working on.
Moab Regional Hospital CEO Jen Sadoff said they are seeing patients in the clinic and urgent
care and still doing telemedicine. She said they resumed elective surgeries and moved the
respiratory evaluation area to the front of the hospital and moved the COVID-19 hotline in-
house with a nurse staffing the hotline to help individuals navigate how to get tested and seek
medical care. She said the hospital is working with regional hospitals on the Wasatch Front and
Grand Junction to determine capacity if there is an increase in COVID-19 cases with the ability
to transfer patients that need transferred. She explained that they have conducted 1,043 PCR
tests which tests for current active virus and 362 IgG antibodies tests which tests for exposure to
the virus in the past and are working with the Health Department on building a program for
asymptomatic testing for high-risk businesses. She said the program allows for early
identification of asymptomatic spread and then allows good conduct tracing with the hopes of
slowing down transmission in the community.
[24:25-34:25]
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May 26, 2020
Mayor and Council Reports (continued):
Councilmember Duncan reported attending Arches Hotspot committee meetings with an
additional meeting scheduled for tomorrow and settling in on two broad projects including
downtown improvements and dispersed north and south recreation parking. He said those
facilities will need some way to shuttle individuals parked in those areas to downtown and plans
to ask Monte Aldridge with UDOT if they would consider funding two years of operational costs
for a shuttle service. He also said Councilmember Guzman-Newton suggested small
contributions to the School District in order to utilize their bus barn facilities for maintenance
and storage of potential shuttle busses. He reported attending a sewer coordination meeting
between the City and County. He also said the Mayor and City Council should encourage
business owners to require masks.
[34:38-38:10]
Mayor Niehaus clarified that we are following the Governor’s order that says masks are optional
for patrons and mandatory for workers and his orders supersede the local health department
and local government. Councilmember Guzman-Newton said based on the inundation of emails
from concerned citizens that it was best to emphasize that requiring masks cannot come from
the local government or local health department and that only the Governor has the ability to
require mandatory facial coverings for everyone. Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd said she
requested an educational piece explaining that requiring facial coverings is outside the authority
of local governments. Mayor Niehaus asked if it should be an ad in the paper or a post on
Facebook and Councilmembers agreed with both and asked to have it included on the City’s
website as well to get the message out that it is not up to the Council to require facial coverings.
Councilmember Duncan clarified that he is aware the City cannot require or order facial
coverings but said they could encourage business owners to make that call for the greater health
of the town. Mayor Niehaus said she feels that has been done through providing masks to
businesses but likes the idea of having a post or video that explains the tools the City Council has
as we go through this pandemic.
[38:10-42:33]
Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd reported that HASU cancelled their May meeting because there
was not enough for the agenda but wondered when City Hall will open up to the public as they
are following our lead. She reported attending a museum board meeting and that Dennis Brown
was elected to his third and final term as the museum trustee. She said the museum finance
committee held a meeting to discuss their budget and approved a transfer of $100,000 from
their endowment fund. She said they discussed ideas to increase the museum’s digital or virtual
programs and presence as well as exhibit refinements and the campaign to recapture past
museum members to help with financial contributions. She said they also submitted an
application to the Utah State Historical Records Advisory Board to digitize the Burns collection.
She also reported attending a Canyonlands Healthcare Special Service District meeting
discussing the COVID-19 precautions to keep residents safe in the care center. She also said they
asked the CIB to push back the loan payment and that request was approved to push the loan
payment to 2022. She reported that the board is working to partner with a non-profit that allows
the special service district to piggyback off of a non-profit as another revenue source.
[42:43-46:37]
Councilmember Guzman-Newton reported attending the Arches Hotspot Region Coordinating
Committee where committee member Wes Shannon provided a presentation on the goals on the
Downtown Mainstreet Alliance. She said those goals were reducing the speed limit downtown,
retaining Main Street parking, developing side street parking, developing consistent downtown
right-of-way aesthetics with future transit in mind, and increasing economic opportunity for
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May 26, 2020
expanding the pedestrian friendly zone. She said Councilmember Duncan’s report included the
different projects could accomplish and said the majority of the meeting was spent discussing
the criteria for the funding which include reducing congestion and the sub-criteria for ranking
proposed projects. She reported that the Committee will be meeting Friday for a field trip and
encouraged interested individuals to attend. Councilmember Niehaus cautioned
Councilmember Guzman-Newton to have the group maintain social distancing requirements.
Councilmember Guzman-Newton reported listening to the May 18 Town Hall and said
unemployment insurance numbers are the greatest data for the State to understand COVID-19
impacts and said in the last few months it has wiped out three years of job growth. She said Utah
has close to 140,000 claims and said accommodations, food services, and retail are the leading
losses. She said the data points for cities like Moab help tell the story to federal delegates about
what is happening to our community during discussions of a fourth stimulus package. She
reported that Vicki Verela, head of tourism for the state of Utah, said international travelers will
not be coming here until mid-year of 2021 and said they are focusing on promoting Utah to
neighboring states in an effort to build a tourist economy welcomed by the local community. She
reported listing to a Town Hall on May 19 with Lt. Governor Cox where it was stated that
minorities are being hit harder with COVID-19. She reported that Kristin Cox, the Executive
Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, discussed the unintended
consequences of the closures outside of economics including mental health, domestic violence,
elective surgeries, and long-term chronic health issues. She also said enrollment for higher
education is down and there are concerns about reopening elementary schools in the fall.
Councilmember Guzman-Newton said the data used by the state in determining the risk status
for our community is closely studied with guidance from the local health department and local
healthcare facilities and their ability to handle cases without being overwhelmed.
[46:45-53:42]
Councilmember Guzman-Newton asked Mayor Niehaus if there was discussion of moving the
community to the yellow phase. Mayor Niehaus said she believes the County is talking with the
Health Department and asked City Manager Linares to speak from the task force aspect. City
Manager Linares said his understanding was that a request was made to the Governor to allow
us to take a different course than the rest of the state but there has been no response. Mayor
Niehaus said she is not aware of what was included in the Health Department’s proposal to the
Governor but understands it is a blend between the orange and yellow phase. City Manager
Linares clarified that it was not guaranteed that would happen. Mayor Niehaus said we will have
to see where the Governor stands on the proposal from the Health Department.
[53:42-55:46]
Councilmember Guzman-Newton said outside of masks, ATV’s have been a hot topic and
wanted to let people know she is reading their emails. She asked Mayor Niehaus if she had any
information she wanted to share. Mayor Niehaus said she had a meeting with UTV Utah, Rally
on the Rocks, Blue Ribbon Coalition, Cliff Koontz with Ride with Respect, Kent Green, and Scott
McFarland with High Point Hummer to discuss the issue of noise in the community and said
there was movement that could be made to work with the industry to make quieter machines.
She said several of the groups she mentioned were interested in helping to put together funds to
do a noise study in order to have a fact-based conversation about idling noise and group
traveling noise and how the valley is an acoustic sound garden in order to leverage the industry
to make a quieter machine, perhaps a quiet Moab model, to be more compatible with other types
of recreation in our community. She said she is encouraged by the individuals she spoke with to
have allies within the industry to work toward a solution to noise. Mayor Niehaus said she is
encouraged that we are understanding the quality of life as residents and there is a role that the
private sector can play in working with us and advocacy groups. Councilmember Derasary
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May 26, 2020
requested a larger discussion about noise after COVID-19 to revisit our noise ordinance and
discuss valuing quiet as one of our community values. Councilmember Duncan said he asked
City Attorney Simonson about the legality and possibility of enforcing a noise-based ordinance
with an acoustic calibrated loudness meter. City Manager Linares explained that the noise
ordinance needs to be reviewed and redrafted but there is nothing straightforward or simple
about using a handheld device because there is ambient noise coming from everywhere. He said
it can create a dispute in the enforcement because there is never an optimal situation where
there is only one thing making noise and his preference would be to have a quiet time that limits
the noise decibel level during certain times. Mayor Niehaus stated when she met with the group
the topic of curfew came into the conversation because some enjoy night rides and said it may be
better to have a curfew with permitted night rides. City Manager Linares said there is a
difference between curfew and quiet time where a curfew does not allow noise and quiet time
could limit the noise level during certain times.
[55:46-65:44]
Councilmember Jones reported attending a Moab Dark Skies meeting and said there are now
dedicated pages on the City and County Planning Department sections of the websites for dark
skies and both are linked to the application for households that would like financial assistance to
replace existing fixtures to dark skies compliant fixtures. He reported attending the Solid Waste
Special Service District meeting and the recycling center is reopening to full hours which should
improve safety by not having crowds due to limited hours. He said they are moving forward with
plans for a large contract drum grinder to process thousands of yards of organics that have
accumulated at the Moab Landfill. He reported attending the Arches Hotspot Regional
Coordinating Committee which was covered by other councilmembers and said better utilization
of downtown parking, both on-street and in parking lots, was still in the mix as well as the
Spanish Valley multimodal path. He reported meeting with City Engineer Williams and Susie
Becker with Zions Bank Public Finance to discuss water rates which may or may not result in
another option. He said it was interesting because part of the intention is to encourage
conservation and after double-checking old information, there are two incentive programs that
Moab residents can participate in. He said the first is for toilet replacement if the existing fixture
was installed before 1994 and uses more than 1.6 gallons per flush and the second is for
installation of smart water timers which can save 30% per year. He reported attending a County
Council meeting and said they have a couple of significant lodging developments (campgrounds)
along North Highway 191. He said he has also had conversations about individuals about how
Arches can reopen safely and said the meeting on Friday is not to rehash the timed entry system
proposed a year ago but a temporary approach to reopen the park safely for park staff and
visitors and still allow social distancing. He said the current plan is to close the park when it
reaches capacity and if there are lower capacity levels closures may happen more often which is
not good for businesses. He said the proposed plan should provide confidence to visitors that
they can access the national parks safely and it is part of our bigger message that Moab can be a
safe place to visit.
[66:15-71:08]
Administrative Reports
City Manager Linares reported that the original goal was to open City Hall by the first week in
June but we received a grant through FEMA to install protective glass and sneeze guards in the
Treasurer’s Office and we are waiting for construction to finish in order to protect the employees
and public. He said once construction is finished in that area, we plan to open the doors to the
public.
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Mayor Niehaus asked about an estimated date for reopening City Hall and asked members of the
City Council to think about whether they would like to continue electronic meetings based on
risk level or underlying conditions for the safety of council members. City Manager Linares
clarified that even under the guidelines of the state reopening phases, we are still recommended
to continue having employees work from home if possible. He said employees in high-risk
categories and those that qualify under the Family First Coronavirus Response Act will still work
from home even though the doors are unlocked. He said until there is clearance from other
government agencies to bring everyone back, we will continue to follow their guidelines to keep
people working from home.
City Manager Linares clarified that decisions to require facial coverings is up to the Governor or
individual business owners. He said business owners have the right to require facial covering
and it is not considered discriminatory. He said if patrons do not comply then business owners
have the right to ask them to leave and if patrons refuse to leave, business owners have the right
to call police or dispatch for assistance to remove the individuals from their property.
City Manager Linares said over the last week there have been reductions in staff by nine full-
time employees, two furloughed employees, a reduction in force of two positions, and part-time
positions were created for two other employees. He said at this time ten full-time employees
were riffed, eight full-time employees were furloughed, and 60 part-time employees were
reduced out of the work staff. He said prior to COVID-19, staff worked to reduce their budgets to
address financial problems and staff reductions was a last resort to address financial issues amid
the pandemic. He explained that the City started taking steps in March to reduce expenses and
there has been a 20% reduction in staff over the course of the last two months and the City is
taking steps in order to sustain financial viability. He hoped for a financial rebound and better
times ahead to be able offer those positions back to the employees.
Councilmember Derasary asked for a reminder of when the next agenda item related to budget
would be provided to the City Council. City Manager Linares said the budget must be adopted by
June 22 so it will be on the next agenda.
Councilmember Derasary mentioned that the City Council should discuss their compensation
given the citizen comments and everything else going on but said it could wait until the next
budget discussion.
Citizens to Be Heard
Mayor Niehaus summarized the process for submitting Citizens to be Heard comments and said
that one comment was received for this meeting.
Sara Melnicoff said, “I am deeply concerned about the bike skills area planned for 100 East at
the Parkway. The parkway is a gem of an oasis within city limits but is getting littered with
"thrill" sites that are pushing people out who want to enjoy the calm, the sounds of water and
birds, and, a very real concern, be able to walk without fear of being hit by a bike, many of whom
are riding way too fast on the "slow biking" parkway system.
The ever-expanding bike jumps near the hospital almost displaced folks who have walked in that
area for years and years. Moab Solutions, in coordination with Trail Mix under Sandy Freethey,
built a trail from the parking area down to the walking path so that bikers and walkers would
each have safe use of that area. We also maintain it as needed. (Side note: Moab Solutions
installed, and maintains to this day, recycling at the bike jumps.)
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In August of 2004, Moab Solutions entered into an agreement for a partnership with the city
when we formed Friends of the Parkway. Since that time we have removed thousands of pounds
of trash and recycling, pulled and removed tons of weeds, (which were hauled to be recycled
with Jeff Adams of TerraSophia, who uses the organic material to build up land around his
dwelling), and worked extensively with the homeless, whose camps were all over the parkway at
one time, causing endless headaches for law enforcement and sparking fear in many citizens.
We had hoped that we would be, at the very least, personally informed of any huge changes
planned for the parkway. And that our knowledge, based on 16 years of volunteer work and
improvements on the parkway, would count for something.
I am opposed to turning yet another natural area into a playground. With pandemics accelerated
by human-caused climate disruption, the more naturalized we can keep areas, or restore them,
the better for all of us. Thank you.”
Presentations:
Presentation and Discussion Regarding an Update on the Bike Skills Park on the
Mill Creek Parkway near 100 East
City Engineer Williams and Grand County Active Transportation and Trails Director Madeline
Logowitz provided an extensive presentation on the Bike Skills Park on the Mill Creek Parkway.
City Engineer Williams showed the overall location and said it was chosen because it is city-
owned property near the bike trail.
Grand County Active Transportation and Trails Director Madeline Logowitz began her
presentation with background information and funding sources for the project. She said Grand
County Active Transportation and Trails (GCATT) began working with the City Engineering
Department in January/February 2019 and the project was awarded the 2019 Utah Outdoor
Recreation Grant. She explained that other funding sources include $30,000 from GCATT
through an Interlocal Agreement, $30,000 from the City for the restroom facility, and the
remaining 50% is provided by the Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant. She said the goals of the bike
park were an in-town, accessible, standalone attraction for kids and families and a gateway for
families to be exposed to technical biking. She said most beginner biking areas are far enough
from town that it requires vehicle travel and the primary audience for the bike skills park is for
youth ages 8 to 18. She said the park is accessible from schools along bike lanes and the Mill
Creek Parkway, it is ADA accessible and includes seating, it can be enjoyed with any type of
bicycle, and multilingual signs will provide information about mountain biking opportunities.
from all the schools and the park will be ADA accessible and allow the use of any type of bicycle.
She said the bike park is separated from the pathway and has both a beginner and intermediate
area. She said the beginner area is wider and the intermediate area is skinnier and a little more
challenging. She clarified that the project is different from the bike jump park in that it is
smaller scale, slower, and is designed more for developing skills such as balance and biking
techniques like wheel lifts. She showed an overview of the proposed trail features explaining that
they focus more on precision than speed and they integrate features that might be encountered
out on the trails. She said when the project is complete it will be a mix of progressive bike ramp
and rock features to help people build skills to use on the trails. She said the next steps for the
project are site preparation and park installation and finalizing the park name.
Mayor Niehaus requested a “coming soon” sign with pictures of the project to inform people
throughout the duration of construction.
Councilmembers asked follow-up questions about the potential user groups of the bike skills
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May 26, 2020
park, ongoing operation and maintenance costs, discussions with Friends of the Parkway,
drainage and irrigation, noise, and parking.
GCATT Director Logowitz explained that most people coming to Moab to mountain bike will
probably not be attracted to this location. She emphasized that this was ADA accessible, family
focused and does not foresee any noise or disruption to others using the Mill Creek Parkway.
City Engineer Williams addressed operations and maintenance stating the park has a low
maintenance cost estimated at less than $10,000 per year. He also said they have 100% design
plans for the 100 South green infrastructure project and drainage and irrigation for the bike
skills park were designed based on those plans as well as the parking layout. Both City Engineer
Williams and GCATT Director Logowitz said they were open to collaboration and discussion
with Friends of the Parkway.
Mayor Niehaus and Councilmembers thanked City Engineer Williams and GCATT Director
Logowitz for the presentation.
New Business:
Proposed Resolution 31-2020: A Resolution Confirming the Appointment of
Marcy Mason as the City Treasurer
Discussion: City Manager Linares explained that State Code 10-2-916 requires a city of the
fifth class to appoint a treasurer and that appointment comes from the Mayor with approval of
the City Council. He said Marcy has been with the Treasurer’s Department for a year working
under the direction of former Finance Director and City Treasurer Rachel Stenta. He praised
Marcy for the quality of her work and her dedication to the City of Moab. Mayor Niehaus also
expressed her excitement about appointing Marcy to the City Treasurer position and expressed
her gratitude for Marcy’s kindness and grace throughout these difficult times.
Motion and vote: Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd moved to approve Resolution 31-2020
confirming the appointment of Marcy Mason as Moab City Treasurer. Councilmember Guzman-
Newton seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0 with Councilmembers Knuteson-Boyd,
Duncan, Derasary, Jones, and Guzman-Newton voting aye in a roll call vote.
Approval of Bills Against the City of Moab
Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd moved to approve the bills in the amount of $110,866.52.
Councilmember Duncan seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0 with Councilmembers
Jones, Knuteson-Boyd, Duncan, Guzman-Newton, and Derasary voting aye in a roll call vote.
Adjournment: Councilmember Guzman-Newton moved to adjourn the meeting.
Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Mayor
Niehaus adjourned the meeting at 9:08 PM.
APPROVED: __________________ ATTEST: ___________________
Emily S. Niehaus, Mayor Sommar Johnson, City Recorder