MINUTES OF THE
MEETING OF THE
TOWN COUNCIL
OF GARDEN CITY, UTAH
The Garden City Town Council held their regular scheduled meeting on
February 10, 2005 at the Garden City Office, located at 145 W. Center (Logan
Road). Mayor Hansen opened the meeting
at 7:00 p.m.
Council Members Present:
Kenneth Hansen, Mayor
Mike Leonhardt
Arlo Price
Sharlotte Wride
Larry Gray
Others Present:
Kathy Hislop
Sharlene Millard
Randy Erickson
Kelly Allen
Mike Sobieski
Curtis Moldenhauer
Brandon Moldenhauer
Troy Peterson
Margaret Satterthwaite
Terry and Jeannie Willis
Troy Andersen
STATE OF UTAH DIVISION OF SOVEREIGN LANDS, Kelly Allen
Mayor Hansen explained that Mr. Allen is attending this meeting to
discuss beach accesses and use of the beaches.
Mr. Allen explained that sovereign lands are lands that lie below the
high water mark. Mr. Allen presented a
slide show. The Division of Forestry,
Fire and State Lands, has authority to manage sovereign lands. Mr. Allen showed where the sovereign lands
are in Utah; Green River, Utah, Jordan, Great Salt Lake , Bear River and Bear
Lake, south of the state line.
They will look at all considerations before they decide on a benefit to
be derived for a proposed use. The
current uses of sovereign lands include motorized vehicles, sea walls,
business, boat docks, ramps and marinas.
There is a noxious weed problem in Bear Lake because of low water on
beach. One of their employees found
tamarisk existing on the beach. If
anyone wants to do weed abatement, they need to work with the Division of State
Lands.
Last year the Division of State Lands came up with some guidelines for
the use of the beaches, i.e. no camping
between certain hours, no parking, etc.
They thought they could enforce the rules through law enforcement, but
courts don=t accept that rule dealing with a state law. They are now in the process of drafting a
change to the rule.
They talked about maybe changing the times of use for motorized
vehicles from at 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. Mayor Hansen suggested leaving it at
6:00 because that=s the
best time to ski on the lake.
Council Member Gray talked about law enforcement around the lake from
the perspective of the State Parks. It=s a large area they have to cover. There is sometimes over 600 people in the
campgrounds and more than 400 inside the park.
His opinion is that the boat launch applications didn=t work.
Mr. Allen said that periodically they have someone come up and check on
the use of the beaches. Mr. Allen comes up on the holidays. It=s next to impossible to enforce the use of the beaches. He suggested that someone volunteer to go
around and talk to people and educate them about what is expected on the
beaches. Most problems are averted when
people are educated about why things aren=t accepted.
Someone suggested signage. Mr.
Allen said they had a few signs and brochures, which were either given back or
buried. Mayor Hansen said that people don=t really care if signs are there or not, they will do what they want
anyway. Education is the biggest part
of this project. Council Member Wride
said that they are also working on accesses for people to get to the
beach.
Mr. Allen said when the lake is full, there isn=t as much beach and there won=t be so many problems. Everyone will go to Rendezvous Beach
instead.
Mr. Allen said they will put more toilets by the beach and have them
serviced more often. He very rarely
finds garbage on the beach. He would
like the dumpsters emptied every day.
Most of the people understood the issues regarding the beaches and the access. Most people were favorable for the law
enforcement. The non-resident property owners were in favor of a user fee but
most of the residents weren=t in favor of a user fee. Mr.
Allen stated that a user fee may happen later and the money would go to Bear
Lake.
Council Member Gray said that he doesn=t envy what Mr. Allen is trying to do.
He has to work with many different people that have different
interests. He can=t keep either group happy and he doesn=t want to make everyone mad either. Mayor Hansen said that they should
understand that the lake is a resource for everyone. Mr. Allen said that the public has a right to use the land and he
would hate to regulate it so much that the public can=t enjoy it.
He=s trying to deal with the issues with limited
staffing and resources. Hopefully,
working with the communities, we can work this out.
Mr. Curtis Moldenhauer suggested that when people check into places to
stay some of the rules are explained to them.
That wouldn=t take
very long and it would help get the word out.
Mr. Allen agreed that would help with the education.
Mayor Hansen said that he appreciates the efforts they=re putting forth to make it work for
everyone.
AGREEMENT AND COVENANT TO RUN WITH THE LAND
Mr. Sobieski is requesting to encumber lots 34 and 35 in Buttercup
Mobile Home Subdivision to place a residential home over the property
lines. He purchased 3 adjacent
properties and wants sufficient room between himself and the closest
neighbor.
Council Member Wride has talked to the Buttercup Management Committee
and they indicate that they don=t have any problems with this request.
She suggested that the approval be contingent on the HOA approval, which
should be done in the next couple of days.
Their biggest concern is to encumber the property and then make a non
conforming lot.
Council Member Leonhardt made the motion to approve the Agreement and
Covenant to Run with the Land for Mr. Sobieski for lots 34 and 35 of Buttercup
Mobile Home Subdivision with the condition that we get the approval from
Buttercup HOA. Council Member Price
seconded the motion. All in favor and
the motion carried.
SUBDIVISION OF PROPERTY
Mayor Hansen showed the plat map of area by Harbor Village and Elk=s Ridge.
The county recorder brought to our attention that there is property
being subdivided and changing hands without going through the proper
procedure. These properties could be
considered non- conforming pieces of property.
Mayor Hansen stated that according to the ordinances, if you divide any
parcel of property into two pieces then you need to come into the town for
approval. He explained that we are
just trying to tell them that when it shows up like that it is red flagged. We
just need to bring this to their attention because they may not have known.
They can do the special provision for a small subdivision but they still must
go through the process.
BIKE PATH EXTENSION
Council Member Wride explained that they had a meeting with the Town
Engineer, Mr. Dennis Bullock and the Mayor regarding the bike path
extension. Mr. Bullock is involved
because it involves his property that he is donating to the town, which was
appraised at $300,000 for the entire piece of property. Council Member Wride said that Mr. Bullock
would like to do something with the property that will be next to the bike path
and some of the changes will impact his plans so they need suggestions. We are on a time crunch and must have all of
our paperwork done and signed by next Tuesday.
If Mr. Bullock donates what is written up right now it is more than what
he wants to give us. Moving the bike
path further to the west leaves very little room to do anything between there
and the townhomes. He wants to be able
to use the remaining property.
Originally the bike path was designed to go further east but had to be
moved because of the wet lands.
Mr. Frank Smith suggested that the townhouses purchase part of the
property and use it in their HOA. He
said that he has dealt with the HOA and they may be willing to purchase the
property for their use. Council Member
Wride said that UDOT required us to move the bike path, it wasn=t a considerable amount but it was moved
further to the west.
Mayor Hansen said that if we can satisfy Mr. Bullock, he is willing to
donate the property to the town but he would like enough money to offset the
cost for the other owner. That property
is within the RDA so we could use some RDA money to establish the bike path and
make a park at the north end of the property. Council Member Wride said that we
still want to do the project, we just need to work through the details. We do have the option of forgetting the
project all together, but then we couldn=t extend the bike path at all further north.
Council Member Price said that we want the bike trail but the RDA funds
are pretty tight right now. We will
have a hard time coming up with any money right now. Mr. Smith suggested that the property be donated to the town and
issue a short term note then they could approach the HOA to purchase the
property.
Another issue that the town will have to deal with is maintenance for
another piece of property. The council
agreed that there are a lot of issues to discuss. Everybody will think more about this issue and try to come up
with a solution tonight. Mr. Smith said
that he will talk with the HOA and see what they are willing to do.
The deadline is still Tuesday.
The ideal thing would be for Mr. Bullock to donate the entire piece of
property and then we can donate back the property that we don=t need for the bike path. If we don=t come up with a solution by Tuesday then we loose the grant money.
ANNEXATION PETITION
Some of the parcels have changed property owners in the annexation that
was approved last month. We called Mr.
David Church, Attorney for the League of Cities and Towns, and he said we can
do what we want as far as the annexation, it is still property that was
approved for annexation. The Council
agreed that we need to write a letter to the people listed as the new property
owners and have them respond that they are in favor of the annexation.
SIGN ORDINANCE #05-02
The ordinance has been to the Chamber of Commerce, the Planning &
Zoning Commission and a planning meetings a couple of times. We have not had a public hearing yet. There has been only one business owner that
has given any suggestions for this ordinance but he didn=t come to this meeting. This ordinance has been worked through a
lot.
During the last meeting the off premise signs was changed to not be
allowed in any zones. No off premise
signs. We are finding it very difficult
to deal with the off premise signs because they are showing up in residential
zones and they are not being maintained, etc.
The off premise signs that are up already will be grandfathered and we
can=t do anything about the signs that are in the
county. The state won=t let
the signs on the highway be repaired or replaced. They don=t want
the signs along the scenic byway.
The amount of signage that can be on the property has been increased.
Council Member Price said that he has a problem that the signs have to
conform to the International Building Code.
That makes it so we automatically have to be subject to the IBC. That section of the ordinance was changed to
state Aby the current adopted building code@.
Council Member Price also said that everything that we are doing is
making it harder for the businesses. Council
Member Leonhardt said that this ordinance has been to the chamber and not one
of them had any comments. We had it go
back to the chamber so they could suggest changes.
Mayor Hansen asked if we addressed signs with electronic wording, is it
a changeable sign or animated sign.
That is addressed in the ordinance and they are a permitted sign.
Council Member Leonhardt made the motion to send the sign ordinance
#05-02 to a public hearing with the corrections. Council Member Wride seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried. Mayor Hansen suggested that they really look
at this ordinance before the Public Hearing so we are ready.
#B. UTILITIES - WATER
Mr. Troy Andersen and Mayor Hansen would like to recommend to the
Council that they work on the utilities section of the ordinance. They feel that we need a change so we can
allow the town to use it=s own backhoe to make repairs, etc.
The ordinance 13A-5-BB really limits what we can do with our own
equipment.
When they extended the water line out to Mel Maynes the ordinances did
not allow us to use our own equipment to do that. Mr. Maynes donated property to the town and in lieu of that we were
going to extend the line out to his house, but because of the ordinance we were
not able to do that so he had to pay to have the line ran to his house.
If we were building a new road and we want to put in the utility lines,
we can=t do that.
The impact fees are to provide the extensions and updates for the
town. We can=t use the backhoe to put in new water lines,
only for repairs.
Council Member Leonhardt suggested that we look at other towns and
cities and see what they do. Council
Member Gray said that we also need to be cautious about the business aspect of
us running the lines and not allowing a contractor to do the work.
Mayor Hansen and Mr. Andersen will do some investigating to see what
other towns do.
Mr. Andersen said that we also need to look at the section that sets
the fines. He explained that a customer
contacted him to turn the water off at the main valve because they didn=t have their own shut off to winterize their
home. Mr. Andersen told them that they
couldn=t use the valve they had to install their own
shut off valve. That was all he heard
until he was called and told that there was a leak. The property owner shut the valve off but it was still leaking so
they disconnected the meter. That made
a major cross connection. If we ever
lost pressure then it would suck the water back into the main lines. Mr. Andersen called the property owner and
told them that we would fine them but the maximum is $299 and a separate
offence could be $299 per day. The Council agreed that according to the
ordinance we can charge him $299 per day until it is fixed. We need to send the customer a copy of the
ordinance and write them a letter stating that.
The ordinance states that they need their own shut off. Also, the connection agreement, that they
sign, states that they will install their own shut off. This is a continual problem throughout
town.
Mayor Hansen suggests that we have something to put on the water bill
stating that any violators will be subject to that ordinance and the fines. The council agreed.
SWAN SPRING UPDATE
Mr. Andersen said that we started monitoring last month for the State
Bilateral Agreement. We received the
results from Utah State and there is nothing to report. We are taking the water samples for fecal
coliform. Our turbidity meters are running great and they are recording way
lower than the limit. Mr. Andersen
checks the meters 3 times a week. He is
doing a great job getting the samples done and keeping track of the
system.
Mr. Andersen is requesting permission to go to St. George for the Rural
Water training. He should take his own
vehicle so we have the truck in case we need to do a repair.
Council Member Leonhardt made the motion to allow Mr. Andersen to go to
the training in St. George. Council Member Price seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
DISCUSSION FOR GRANTS
Community Development Block Grant
Council Member Leonhardt explained that we did receive approval for
some funding for the CDBG but it was a lot less than what we requested, we were
awarded $61,295. We are having a public
hearing to discuss what we want to do with the library and the grant. We just
need to decide what we can do with the money and what kind of community support
we can get. If we accept the portion we
were awarded we will be required to complete the project.
National Scenic Byway
Town Clerk Kathy Hislop and Council Member Leonhardt reported that it
didn=t look very good on getting this grant. We met with some of the state
representatives who are in favor of the grant.
We then met with Wayne Jagger from UDOT and it didn=t sound like the grant got a favorable
rating.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
Appointment of Planning & Zoning Commission Member
Mayor Hansen explained that Mr. Nate Parry has agreed to serve on the
Planning & Zoning Commission. Mayor
Hansen presented his name to be considered for a Planning & Zoning
Commission Member. Mr. Parry has lived
in the valley since he was 16 yrs old.
He is running the New Freedom Mortgage in town, leases Quick-N-Tasty and
also owns a property management company.
Council Member Gray made the motion to accept the appointment of Nate
Parry to the Planning & Zoning Commission. Council Member Price seconded
the motion. All in favor and the motion
carried.
Youth Council Trip to the Legislature
Mayor Hansen stated that the trip was worth everything that we hoped it
would be, it motivated the youth. It is
an investment that we are making to create leaders for our community.
Funding for Cami Hodges to go to Cheerleading Camp
Mayor Hansen said that we haven=t heard from the Laketown Town Council. We would like to see Laketown do something.
Council Member Wride talked to Utah League of Cities of Towns for a
suggestion on how to handle these type of issues. They said that we should have a policy of what we want to do for
these type of requests. We don=t have a policy. We just need to be careful.
Mayor Hansen will contact Mr. Gary McKee from the Laketown Council.
Request for donation from the Rich County Rodeo Club
The Council agreed to do a half page ad for $50. We will do the logo with the theme and state
that we are supporting our youth and their future.
Council Member Leonhardt made the motion to donate $50 for a half page
add. Council Member Gray seconded the
motion. All in favor and the motion
carried.
Rich Education Foundation Donation
Council Member Leonhardt made the motion to donate $200 to the Rich
Education Foundation. Council Member
Price seconded the motion. All in favor
and the motion carried.
Easter
The Council suggested that the Youth Council under the direction of
Tammy Calder be responsible for the Easter activity.
Council Member Price made the motion to appoint Tammy Calder and the
Youth Council for the Easter activity.
Council Member Leonhardt seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
Street Lights in the park
We received a letter from Utah Power giving us two billing options for
the lights in the park. One is to
purchase the lights and be responsible for all the maintenance. Then the lights would be on a meter. The second option is to pay a flat rate of
$36.06 per month for both lights and Utah power would be responsible for the
maintenance. The Council agreed to pay
the flat rate of $36.06 if it is for both lights.
Culvert at Kimball Lane
We have outstanding bills relating to the culvert at Kimball Lane. The remaining bills amount to approximately
$3,000 and are from Sunrise Engineering and Lutz Construction. Council Member Wride suggested that we pay
for those costs because it is benefitting the town greatly. Mr. Brian Burr and the Sweetwater HOA did a
lot of work to get that road paved. Mr.
Burr contributed about $85,000 and Sweetwater contributed about $25,000.
Council Member Leonhardt made the motion to pay the remaining bills for
Kimball Lane at approximately $3,000.
Council Member Gray seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
KOA Business License
KOA would like to do ATV rentals this year. They have it listed on their business license but they want to
make sure that it is okay. The council
agreed that it was okay because it is listed on their business license.
BUILDING INSPECTOR REPORT
Mr Erickson said that we have more permits than we have ever had
before. Trendwest will be here next
week with their drawings and application.
Mr. Erickson said that we need to re-do the building code resolution to
adopt building codes. He talked with
the Mayor and he does not want to adopt a blanket ordinance. We have to follow the codes that the state
adopts but we can make amendments that will apply just to Garden City, but there is a process to do that. We can either adopt a new resolution every
year or follow what the state has adopted and their amendments.
Council Member Leonhardt said that there is no reason to keep doing new
resolutions if we have to follow the state anyway. Council Member Wride and Council Member Price agreed. Mayor Hansen said that he hates blanket
coverage. Council Member Wride said
what if something gets overlooked and we allow it by the old codes.
Mr. Erickson said that he would like to see the ordinance changed but
either way is okay with him. It is
easier to just go by what the state adopts.
Builders that come here to build will be following the same codes. Mr. Erickson would like the building codes
approved by ordinance so they are on the internet.
The Council asked for a month to think about this.
Mr. Erickson said that he has a problem with people getting their final
inspections. He suggests charging a
$2000 refundable deposit to make sure that they get the final inspection. The money would be refunded after the final
inspection. He said that it is a huge
problem not only with the final inspection but the county does not get the
information for tax purposes. Mr. Troy
Peterson suggested that we don=t go to the extreme of $2000.
He suggested starting with a lesser amount and see how that goes. Mr. Erickson said that out of 172 permits he
has done 5 final inspections, so it is a huge problem. Mr. Petersen said that he hates to see it
hurt everybody.
Mr. Erickson said that he has been doing a lot of extra inspections
that he does not charge for. There is
16 different inspections that he has to do on each job. Last week he went back 6 times to one job
for the same inspection. He is
suggesting that he do the first inspection and a re- inspection at no
additional charge. If he has to go back
for a re-inspection of the re-inspection then we need to charge them a
fee. The purpose of the permit fee is
to pay for the inspection time and if they are creating extra work then we need
to be reimbursed.
Council Member Wride made the motion to allow the building department
to charge a $2000 deposit that will be refunded upon final inspection which is
payable at the time the building permit is issued. Council Member Leonhardt seconded the motion. Mayor Hansen asked if we should charge $1000
instead of $2000. Council Member Price
agreed with charging $1000. Council
Member Leonhardt said that if we are going to do a deposit we need to do it
right. All in favor and the motion
carried.
Council Member Leonhardt made the motion to charge $50 for a re-reinspection
of a re-inspection. Council Member Gray
seconded the motion. All in favor and
the motion carried.
It was explained that Trendwest would like to have their plat recorded
after the structures are built. They
said that is the way all condo units are done.
It is an as built plat. That way
the plat shows exactly what is built.
Council Member Leonhardt made the motion to allow Trendwest to build
the structures and then record the plat.
Council Member Wride seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS
Council Member Leonhardt explained that Bryce Nielsen is in charge of
the Home Lands Security for the county.
He had a meeting with the other counties and he received money for the
town to buy an ArcView system, which includes all the hardware, the software
and training. It will cost approximately $16,000. He also bought a welding cascade system which is used for the
Fire District and the Search and Rescue.
This will be about $12,000. He
is buying a boat that will have a pump to fight fires on the lake, etc. He is working hard to get the money we need
to take care of the emergency needs of this county. Mr. Nielsen, Council Member Leonhardt and Sheriff Stacey went to
a FEMA and Home Land Security training.
It was an excellent course and very valuable. Council Member Leonhardt suggested that we write Mr. Nielsen a
letter thanking him for what he is doing for the community.
Mayor Hansen said that we have some glitches with the Architectural
Ordinance. He feels that we need to
have an industrial park somewhere. He
said that it doesn=t make
sense to follow the architectural standards in a part of town where the other
buildings are metal buildings. The
issue is that we have people that need an industrial zone and we have not
addressed it. Mr. Troy Petersen wants
to build in a commercial zone and he said that he is willing to conform to what
is already in that area. A building
that is built to the architectural standards probably wouldn=t fit in that area. Council Member Price suggested that we change the ordinance so
that we can allow a waiver on a case by case basis. We are putting a hardship on the businesses with the
architectural standards, and there are places that it is not appropriate. Mayor Hansen said that we do need to raise
the bar in town. The architectural
standards ordinance took almost a year to get approved. Mayor Hansen said that
we had a lot of public meetings to discuss this ordinance but we didn=t have hardly any public input. Council Member Price said that there are a
lot of cases that really don=t fit this ordinance. There was
a lot of people from the business sector that was in favor of that
ordinance.
The council all agrees with the principle of the issue but we don=t know how to fix it. We would have to rescind the ordinance and
then everyone that brought in their plans in the mean time would be allowed to
build according to the old ordinance.
One suggestion was to re-zone that one lot to manufacturing, which would
allow a metal building.
There was a lot of discussion regarding a meeting for the Planning
& Zoning Commission and the Town Council to help fix this issue. The
council discussed the time limit for getting on the agenda and special
meetings.
Council Member Gray encouraged the Council to not do anything that we
wont do for someone else. Council
Member Wride said that we created the problem so we need to try to fix it. Mr. Petersen said that the new ordinance really
limits everything.
Council Member Price made the motion that we work with Mr. Petersen as
fast as we can to resolve this. Council
Member Leonhardt seconded the motion.
All in favor and the motion carried.
Mayor Hansen said that we all need to be cautious about the use of
attorneys and engineers. The cost is
extremely high. If it is something that
we can deal with internally then we need to deal with it internally. Also, we need to stick to the duties that we
have been assigned.
Mayor Hansen said that we need to set some goals. He would like Council Member Gray to work on
the business licenses, coordinating with Mr. Bryce Nielsen on the Homeland
security and the park. He would also
like to see an audit on the sales tax.
Council Member Price is over the budget. Council Member Wride is over the roads, the bike path, sidewalks
and beach accesses. Mayor Hansen would
like her to finish 3rd west, going north and the Hodges Beach
rights-of-ways. Council Member
Leonhardt is over the Planning & Zoning Commission and Raspberry Days.
Council Member Wride reported on the last County Commission
meeting. They are looking into
purchasing large cans for trash. Mayor
Hansen said that we need to fight that because the trash cans will be out all
week. They also want to do a controlled
burn around the Landfill as soon as the weather would allow.
Council Member Wride said that UDOT will require us to do a traffic
study for the 3rd west entrance onto the state highway. The study will cost several thousand dollars
and then we will have to put in a left hand turn lane that will cost us about
$200,000. We need to talk to our
legislature and tell them that they can=t indebt small towns that way. Council Member Leonhardt said that they
are not thinking that we are trying to alleviate some of the traffic issues
there on the highway. We need to
schedule a meeting with UDOT and the legislature as soon as possible. There is
also an issue with the drainage on 3rd west. Council Member Wride is working on
that.
Council Member Wride said that we have a draft copy of the Transportation
Master Plan. If we adopt this program
then we are eligible for grants.
Council Member Gray asked about a business license for businesses such
as Avon or Mary Kay. He is trying to review and determine what types would need
a business license or which ones would not.
Mayor Hansen said that the new sales tax law would change that
requirement because all businesses would collect sales tax. As of today, Mayor Hansen said that we
usually require anybody in town to get a business license and make them file
for a sales tax number. The council
said that they do need to have a business license because we want to know what
they are doing and where.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Council Member Price made the motion to approve the minutes of the
Public Hearing held on January 13, 2005 at 6:15 p.m. as presented. Council Member Leonhardt seconded the
motion. All in favor and the motion
carried.
Council Member Leonhardt made the motion to approve the minutes of the
Public Hearing held on January 13, 2005 at 6:30 p.m. as presented. Council Member Wride seconded the
motion. All in favor and the motion
carried.
Council Member Wride made the motion to approve the minutes of the
Public Hearing held on January 13, 2005 at 6:45 p.m. as presented. Council Member Leonhardt seconded the
motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
Council Member Price made the motion to approve the minutes of the Town
Council meeting held on January 13, 2005 as presented. Council Member Leonhardt seconded the
motion. All in favor and the motion
carried.
PAYMENT VOUCHERS
Council Member Price made the motion to pay the bills as
presented. Council Member Wride seconded
the motion. All in favor and the motion
carried.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to discuss, Council Member Price made
the motion to adjourn the Town Council meeting at 11:15 p.m. Council Member Leonhardt seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
APPROVAL:
___________________________________________________
Kenneth Hansen, Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________________________________
Town Clerk