LaVerkin City Council Meeting

Wednesday, February 1, 2012, 6:00 p.m.

Council Chambers, 111 S. Main, LaVerkin, Utah

Present: Mayor Karl Wilson; Council-Members:  Randy Reeve, Richard Hirschi, Phil Jensen, Brandon Stephenson, Ray Justice; Staff:  Kyle Gubler, Kevin Bennett, Chief Lloyd Watkins;  Public:  Boyd Earl, Gary Kuhlmann, Chester Hardy, Georgia Hardy, Ann Wixom, Jake Buckley, Russ Funk, Jenifer Winward, Doug Gubler, Blair Gubler.

A. Meeting Called to Order - Invocation by Invitation; Pledge of Allegiance by Brandon Stephenson at 6pm.

Troylinn Benson, Derek Imlay, and Christy Ballard were excused from the meeting.

Mayor Wilson reminded Council members of the appointments that have been made and that Councilman Reeve would need a letter from Kevin for the Mosquito Abatement, stating that he had been appointed to that position.   The next Mosquito Abatement meeting will be February 9, 2012.

Presentations:

1.  Jenifer Winward (Recycling Coordinator for Washington County)                                                                     Jenifer went over the 2011 Recycling Program.  Currently there are 51 collection sites in  Southern Utah with more sites planned in the coming months.  The WCRP has a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the items placed in those binnies are shipped to Salt Lake City where they are then sold and the money is given back to the Washington County Big  Brothers Big Sisters.

Cardboard is accepted at some locations now.

Collections are up a quarter million this year from last year, with no additional sites.

La Verkin City collected 72,466 pounds of material in 2011.                                                                                     Jenifer played the commercial that was aired in September for the Washington County Recycling Program.

La Verkin used the money earned for the Tree City USA Fund and will continue to use it there in 2012.

Jenifer Winward presented Mayor Wilson with a check in the amount of $2,203.79.

There will be monthly information sent to Kyle Gubler to put on the La Verkin City  website.

People are still not reading the signs that are on the binnies and there has been an issue with littering at some locations.

The Binnie Mascot that Council-member Phil Jensen came up with was a huge success, not only with the children but also with the adults.

Council-member Jensen stated that Mayor Wilson's wife designed the Mascot.

Washington County has a lot of opportunities for proper waste disposal. The challenge has been educating the people interested in recycling to where those opportunities are.     Education is how Washington County will get increased recycling resources.

Mayor Wilson gave an update on the trees.  They have been inventoried and the city has about 179 trees, with the recycle check we should be able to get about 20 more this year.

Council-member Jensen thanked Jenifer for all that she does for La Verkin.

B. Consent Agenda: (Items on the consent agenda may not require discussion.  These items will be a single motion unless removed at the request of the Mayor or City Council.)

1.       Declarations of conflict of interest

2.       Agenda

3.       Minutes:  January 4, 2012 regular meeting minutes

4.       Review Invoices and Checks:  $239,969.08

Motion was made by Council-Member Phil Jensen to approve the consent agenda as it is written including the checks and invoices in the balance of $239,969.08, second by Council-Member Richard Hirschi.  Roll Call Vote:  Reeve-yes, Hirschi-yes, Jensen-yes, Stephenson-yes, Justice-yes. Motion carried unanimously.

C. Committee Reports:

1.        Planning Commission - Council-member Richard Hirschi reported that there was a discussion on the Hillside Overlay Zone, a discussion on dwelling concepts and a review of the 2012 priority list.  Anna Andregg was elected Chair and Michael Hinckley was elected as Chair Protem.

2.       Water Board - Mayor Wilson reported that the Board unanimously recommended the approval of the Irrigation Facilities Upgrade with one comment that will be brought up when discussed later in the meeting.  The level of the water tanks have been adjusted, the lower tank is 23.5 feet and upper tank is 14-17 feet.

3.       Sewer Board - Blair welcomed Council-member Justice to the Sewer Board.  The inspection crew has been busy; there are a lot of infrastructures going up right now.   The Sewer District is currently involved in four big projects; Hurricane City approved the Sand Hollow 840 lots, Also a 24" Out Fall line into the lagoon, the new school in Hurricane that is being built and Diamond Ranch Academy is putting in a 30 inch and 24 inch line.  These projects are either starting or have been started.  Upcoming projects include the new school in La Verkin and two lines in Hurricane that will be replaced this year.  Half of the young goats were sold today for $10,000, that's $1.65 per pound.  The other half will be sold on Monday or Tuesday.  Council-member Hirschi asked about getting more goats.  Blair answered that they keep the number pretty much the same.   The goats eat the hay that is grown and then lock them in the lagoons during the weekend to keep the weeds down.                                                                                                                                                                   Council-member Justice commented on how interesting the video was that was shown at the Sewer Board meeting.  Blair explained some of the equipment that the Sewer District has.

4.       Fire District - Chief Kuhlmann has been excused from this meeting.

D. Citizen Comment & Request for Future Agenda Items:

None

E. Business:

1.        Discussion and possible action to approve the 100 East Study Plans and Specifications                                      This has been discussed in the last two meetings.  Russ Funk is here to answer any questions. This is final approval of this plan up to this point.  These are the preliminary sheets so there will need to be a little more work done on the storm drain design but this is basically how it will be.

Motion made by Council-member Richard Hirschi to approve the 100 East Study Plans and Specifications with consideration of changing those things discussed, second by Council-member Phil Jensen.

Council-member Justice asked if Boyd Earl and his Attorney had their questions answered.  One of the main concerns that Mr. Earl had was getting the elevation back down to the approximate original elevation.  Russ stated that one of the goals of the design was to get that elevation down, which Sunrise did their best to do that.  The other              concern is the curb and gutter.  Mr. Earl had not seen the specs for that; Russ thought that they had been forwarded on to him.  Mr. Earl also commented on how difficult it was getting in and out of his property.  Russ stated that there will be curb, gutter and sidewalk on the west side of the street and that they based the design on how the original area was laid out. Sunrise did not change the center line of the road from how it was originally laid out.  In order to provide access to people on both sides they put the road where it is.

Mr. Earl commented that he does not want the five feet for the curb and gutter taken from his property.  Russ explained the current standard right of way for a street in La Verkin is 18ft of asphalt on each side of the center line.  In this situation, because there is not enough room, it has been reduced to 14ft on both sides. An additional reduction was pulling the sidewalk off of the East Side.

Mayor Wilson mentioned that the discussion was getting technical.  There is a motion and a second on the floor.  He asked Council-member Justice if he wanted to continue, pointing out that this should have been picked up in the plans.  Council-member Justice stated that he wanted to get it resolved; making sure it is the right thing for the citizens of La Verkin.

Gary Kuhlmann, attorney representing Boyd Earl explained that from the plans it was difficult to understand what amount of property may be required on Mr. Earl's side of the street.   Russ answered that he understood that there is still an issue with the right of way but that the way the original road was laid out had not been changed.  The road     between Center Street and 100 South has been narrowed, which was the best solution Sunrise could see to get the elevation back down to where Mr. Earl requested.

Boyd Earl stated that with the original elevation and taking five feet for sidewalk and curb and gutter that will basically put him back over into the steep area and that still needs to be addressed.

Mayor Wilson explained that the motion is "with some adjustments if necessary".

Boyd Earl would like the property taken from the other side because it makes a difference on how he gets down his driveway.

The curb, gutter and sidewalk will tie into within an inch or two of where Mr. Earl's driveway pad comes up to the road.  Mr. Earl explained the location of a different pad and bridge.  Mr. Earl is worried about the deep approach getting in and out of his property.  Russ suggested making a modification to the driveway.

Kevin stated that the motion needs to include content on passing an ordinance to have exceptions that allow that small of a right of way.

Russ explained the issue that Mr. Earl's property has.

Motion made by Council-member Richard Hirschi to approve the 100 East Study Plans and Specifications with consideration of changing those things discussed with the ability to amend the City Code, second by Council-member Phil Jensen.  Roll Call Vote:  Justice -yes, Stephenson-yes, Jensen-yes, Hirschi-yes, Reeve-yes.  Motion carried unanimously.

2.       Discussion and direction on the Alex Chamberlain and Derral Eves Presentation.

Mayor Wilson gave a brief overview of the presentation Alex gave at the last City Council meeting.  The City spends $10,000 a year on economic development.  Does the Council want to keep it that amount or do they want the Mayor to budget more money for economic development next year.

Council-member Stephenson stated that he would like to see numbers showing that businesses do look at websites.

Kyle Gubler explained that Derral Eves was not able to attend the last meeting and he is the marketing person.  Alex creates the videos.

Mayor Wilson replied that most of the new expense would be the videography.  The initial proposal without the studies is that the budget would need to double to cover Derral and Alex. That would be three or four initial videos and then one a quarter to keep it updated.

Council-member Justice explained search engine optimization, how it works and the benefits that come from it.  Stating that he thinks this would be a great way for laverkincity.org to stay at the top of the list.

Kyle will have Derral get something set up for either a work meeting or a City Council meeting and go over the marketing.

Council-member Jensen stated that he would like Doug Beecher, with the Economic Development Committee to be involved in this decision as well.

3.       Discussion and direction of Animal Control.

Chief Watkins discussed the committee meeting that was held to get a general direction for a resolution that needs to be written and is now bringing it before the council for their input.

The services that Animal control is trying to provide are first a quick response to citizen complaints.  Right now the animal control officer, Kelly King works about 30 hours a week.  The police officers are being trained to be able to respond to animal control but we don't want them unable to patrol because they are tied up with Animal control issues.

Officer King is also responsible for other animal related investigations such as animal abuse, animal cruelty and apprehension of dogs running at large.  The priority of animals at large is to try and get the animal back to the owner as quickly as possible.  Chief went over the policy of animals running at large, when warnings will be given and when     citations will be issued.

Another issue is how many dogs are allowed on one property.  La Verkin does have zoning laws that prohibit too many dogs being on a property but that is one of the things that needs to be looked at, making sure that it is clarified in the code.

Chief also commented on not wanting to be in competition with the local veterinarians with the services that the shelter provides.  The services they would like to provide are to adopt out the animals, education and advice.

Chief went over the owner release policy, stating that there is limited space to offer  owner release animals and that citizens need to take responsibility for their animals.   However if it is an adoptable animal and there is room at the shelter then the shelter would like to help.

Chief went over the fee schedule that the committee had come up with and also animal codes.  Chief would like an Animal Control Code so they are all in one place. He discussed issues with kennels and with licensing.

Mayor Wilson brought up allowing the veterinarian office to issue dog licenses.  Chief Watkins had talked to both of the veterinarians and they are willing to do that for La Verkin.

Council-member Reeve stated that at the meeting the committee had talked about providing traps.  Chief Watkins answered that they had talked about purchasing traps but the shelter has no way of taking care of those animals right now because they are not certified to euthanize animals.  Chief went over the process of getting certified saying          that it is a service that he would like to provide eventually.

Council-member Hirschi commented that he is glad for the service the Animal Shelter  provides the city and that it is a learning process.

Chief mentioned how helpful Kelly King has been in getting the shelter set up.

Council-member Justice commented that the State is now allowing auto shops to do take automobile registrations so it should be ok to allow the veterinarians to give out animal licenses.

There was a discussion on possibly waiving the late fee for dog licenses.  Mayor Wilson commented that it would require council action and will need to be put on the agenda.

Mayor Wilson commented on the excellent animal shelter service we had with Hurricane but that was all the city had.  Now we have great service from Kelly in other areas as well.  There were a couple of examples given of that service.

Animal control is on Facebook so Kelly can post pictures of animals that need to be adopted.  Chief Watkins will put a link under the police tab on laverkincity.org.

4.       Discussion and possible action on a capital improvements resolution to authorize and fund the proposed Irrigation Facilities Upgrade 2012 Capital Facilities Project.

Mayor Wilson went over the first project, the boring under SR-9.  With the experiment the city did with Ash Creek on cleaning out the water lines it was discovered that the 10" line necked down to a smaller size.  This project will be putting in a 10"HDPE pipe so the pipe will be the same size on both sides of the city.

The second project will be installing the clean out connections.

The third project will be installing quick disconnects on the filters.  Mayor Wilson explained the problem the new filters have every time they need to be cleaned.

The fourth project will be done in conjunction with the Celtic Bank property.  There will be a clean out installed to clean towards Zion View and back towards SR

The fifth project will be a clean out at 100 East with a 15" line that will go back down and meet with the line from the clean out on SR-9.

Mayor Wilson explained why these projects are done as capital projects.

From the financial standpoint the irrigation fund is healthy.  There is approximately $132,000 in the old savings account, Mayor Wilson explained the agreement that the city had with the Canal Company, that the money in that savings account could only be used in improving the old part of the system, improving the new part would have to       come from new money.  Mayor Wilson stated that the board recommended approval of this project. The only concern was that money was coming from the savings account.  Mayor Wilson mentioned to them that a lot of the repairs that had been done previously on the old system were paid for out of the operational budget.  At that point they suggested moving that money out of the old account and putting into the new one. The intent is that by the time the old savings account is gone, the new savings account will have been built up. He also stated that he does agree with the principle in putting money aside each year especially for the irrigation system because it is a self-sustaining fund.

Doug Gubler explained a different project that the Conservancy District is working on with him.  At the filter station the city will be connecting to a line that the Conservancy District will be putting in.  The only cost to the city for this project will be Doug's labor.

Council-member Hirschi asked where the money that goes into the irrigation fund comes from.  Mayor Wilson answered; mainly two sources, the old shareholders that have a contract in lieu of shares and people that have a delivery contract that are renting the water.

Mayor Wilson stated that the city inherited almost $250,000 from the Canal Company.                              Everything that the city has spent out of that savings account has been upgrading the system.

Chester Hardy commented that the three months needs to be almost up on the irrigation his fruit trees are dry.  Mayor Wilson explained the agreement that the city has with the Water District stating that the city leaves it in as long as possible.  March 15^th is the scheduled turn on.  Then it will be off and on for a couple of weeks while Doug and his crew get everything fixed.

Council-member Hirschi asked if the improvements would be done by the time the irrigation gets turned on.  Mayor Wilson answered that they would.

Mayor Wilson commented that the city will be putting the irrigation back in on March 1, 2012 to give Doug time to get the breaks fixed before the scheduled March 15 turn on.

Chester said his water has been out since the first week in November, actually three  weeks before that on his side of the highway.  Mayor Wilson replied that is why the city is repairing the old system, to make it more dependable.

Council-member Justice stated in answer to the question asked earlier, part of the money that goes into the irrigation fund is from people that had the ability to hook onto the irrigation but haven't yet.  Mayor replied that the fee is only charged where water is accessible.

Motion was made by Council-member Richard Hirschi to adopt Resolution R-2012-01, Approving the purchase, construction, and/or installation of the "Irrigation Facilities Upgrade 2012 Capital Facilities Project"; and providing an effective date, second by Council-member Phil Jensen.  Roll Call Vote:  Reeve-yes, Hirschi-yes, Jensen-yes, Stephenson-yes, Justice-yes.  Motion carried unanimously.

5.       Discussion and possible action on an ordinance amending and making minor technical corrections to Ord. No 2011-13 (concerning the Hillside Development Overlay Zone)

Kevin explained the errors found by the Codifier that needed correcting and reviewed the corrections made.

Motion was made by Council-member Ray Justice to approve the corrections to Ord. No 2011-13, second by Council-member Brandon Stephenson.  Roll Call Vote:  Reeve-yes, Hirschi-yes, Jensen-yes, Stephenson-yes, Justice-yes.  Motion carried unanimously.

F. Staff. Mayor & Council Reports:

City Administrator-Kyle Gubler

1.       Six month review of employee vacation hours.  The directors are responsible in making sure employees get below the 320 hours.

2.        Silver Acres road, Kyle went over where the road is located and the issue the city has had with the water lines.  The best alternative to fix the issue is to do a complete infrastructure and road replacement.  The cost of that project is $550,000-$650,000.  The other option would cost about $90,000.  It is to do a road mill and chip seal.  That would replace the road and the water lines from the main line to the water meter, including the meter.  The city has applied for a grant that will help with this project.  Kyle explained the grant and how it will help.  Some of the issues will be coming up with the money and also maintaining the roads that we have right now.  Mayor Wilson gave another option and that was to crack seal the whole city and do less of the overlay, which will buy some time with those roads.  Next year instead of doing any crack seal, buy a crack sealer for the city then staff will be able to take care of it.  The annual slurry will still be contracted out.  That whole budget could go toward Silver Acres.  Mayor Wilson also discussed the budget.

3.       The staff had Harassment training which will happen every year and CPR training.

4.       There was a utility meeting with Celtic Bank.

5.       Signature cards at Zions Bank.  Doug Beecher, Phil Jensen and the Mayor are on the signature card.  Kyle will replace Doug with Richard Hirschi.

6.       Passed out Derek's report.

Council-member Jensen asked about the Celtic Bank property.  Kyle answered they are trying to get the property split.

Mayor Wilson gave an update on the meter replacement.  January meters have been put in but the February and March meters will wait to find out about the grant Kyle talked about.  That will put the project ahead by two years.

Public Safety-Lloyd Watkins

Chief handed out the 2011 Year End Report and described the circumstances regarding an arrest that Deputy Richmond had made earlier that day.  The individual had a warrant for aggravated robbery in Arizona.  It was great police work from everyone involved and handled very professionally.

Mayor Wilson commented that just because we are a small town some career criminals may think we do not have the sophistication or the expertise that we have.  Hopefully the message gets out that La Verkin does.

Council-member Stephenson commented that we do still need to make sure the police officers have the equipment that they need to make these arrests.

Mayor Wilson

A concerned citizen called the Mayor regarding a cougar in the area.  Mayor Wilson checked police reports, no one had called it in.  Mayor and Chief Watkins looked but could not find any traces of a cougar.  Chief Watkins went door to door and did get enough evidence that they do believe there is a cougar in the area; however there has been no evidence of aggressive behavior.

Council-member Justice stated that he has seen a coyote in town.

The Mayor has a Council of Governments meeting right before the Mayors Association meeting.  Mayor discussed the purpose of that meeting and the approval of purchasing the property west of the sewer lagoons for a future interchange.  This was the second property purchased through the COG.

HCAC, Mayor Wilson explained the issue between the land owners and the Desert Tortoise Habitat.  There has also been a large business approach the HCAC wanting them to lower their impact fees.  Mayor Wilson described what those fees actually are and stated that the HCAC decided that it was not worth pursuing.

Confluence Park will be starting another restoration project. DWR did get a grant for another restoration project.  With help from the prisoners, the group managing the prisoners and the extra grant last year, it puts the restoration project ahead a year.  There is fire wood available from that project if anyone is interested, just keep track of  the hours spent harvesting the wood because it can be used toward matching grants in the future.

Mayor welcomed Council-member Justice to the Sewer Board.

Council-member Jensen wondered about a fun run at Confluence Park and inviting different entities and cities to introduce Confluence Park.  Mayor Wilson answered that Hurricane does their July 4^th run and it goes into their side of Confluence Park so it is doable. Kyle stated that he had received a phone call regarding an obstacle course/run in      Confluence Park.

Mayor Wilson commented on Hobe Call, a runner originally from La Verkin that has been receiving national publicity.

Jensen:

La Verkin has supported the recycling really well, and needs to keep doing that. We do get a little bit from it.

Justice:

Did go to the Confluence Park meeting, the ZC3 meeting, the Sewer Board meeting and What's up Down South.  He took 11 year old scouts camping on the BLM land here in town.  The scouts did do a service project while they were up there.

Hirschi:

The city has been trying to get the area around the animal shelter cleaned up and someone has dumped used cement there.

Mayor Wilson had just found out about that and had asked Derek to get in touch with AT Asphalt; they are the ones putting it there.

Reeve: Nothing

Stephenson:

Reported that he did go to the Beautification meeting that was right before City Council and had met with Derek on the Public Works.

Council-member Justice asked about the Shooting Sports Park meeting. Mayor Wilson stated that La Verkin did not have a representative at that meeting and asked Council-member Stephenson if he would be able to attend future meetings.  Council-member Stephenson can so Mayor Wilson will have Commissioner Drake get him the schedule.

G. Adjourn

Motion was made by Council-member Phil Jensen to adjourn, second by Council-member Brandon Stephenson.  Motion carried unanimously at 8:06pm.