City Council Minutes May 21, 2020

Minutes of the Fairview City Council Meeting and Public hearing held Thursday, May 21, 2020, at 85 South State Street, City of Fairview, County of Sanpete, State of Utah.

Mayor David Taylor called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. City Council members present were Michael MacKay, Brad Welch, Casey Anderson, Cliff Wheeler, and Matt Sorensen. City Employees present were Justin Jackson, Jeremy Wright, and Jan Anderson. Citizens present were Mike Godfrey, Lachelle Cook, Lynn Anderson, David Dillman, Drew Geiger, Gerald Peahl, and those via bridge telephone – Evin Jensen, Jason Mardell, and Richard Cox.

The invocation and Pledge of Allegiance was given by Councilman Matt Sorensen.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Councilman Mike MacKay moved to approve the minutes from the budget work meeting held May 5, 2020. Councilman Matt Sorensen. The voting was unanimous in favor of. Councilman Matt Sorensen moved to approve the minutes from April 23, 2020, as amended. Councilman Casey Anderson. Voting was unanimous in favor of. 

PUBLIC HEARING:

Citizens Input with Respect in Seeking Funding from Community Impact Board (CIB), Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and Rural Development in the form of a Grant/Loan for $2,960,000 for Sewer Reuse Water at Cemetery. Mayor David Taylor opened the public hearing at

7:35 p.m. He asked Drew Geiger and David Dillman to present the plan for meeting state requirements for the sewer reuse water. The current plan is to run a line directly from the wastewater plant to the cemetery. The project is projected at $2,960,000. Refinancing Fairview City’s current debt was discussed. Two loans could be refinanced. With the other debts, it would be hard to refinance due to the current terms. Local financing agencies will not carry out a 40-year loan, etc. If the City refinances the two bonds, the interest rate would be 2.75 percent which would save a sewer user $1.74 per month on the original bond. The sewer rates would increase approximately 60% if a grant of $1,200,000 was received. This would increase the sewer rate $6.02 a month and the refinancing would drop it down to $4. Currently, the Council is looking for support in seeking funding for the project. All funding agencies require that the project(s) go with the cheapest route or minimal requirements.

The floor was then opened for public comment. The only comment received was from Evan Jensen–  the flow that comes out of the plant it isn’t going to require all that to water the cemetery. Not sure the cemetery could use that much. / This is only to meet the requirements mandated. 

Evan Jensen–  cost will increase the bill roughly $4.18 through the processing with the existing loans and with a 60 percent grant. 

Evan Jensen—why was this not put in the monthly newsletter to let the people in on what is going on.  Need to involve the citizens more. / All requirements were met per state statue. Notice was not available when the newsletter went out.

There were no more comments received. Mayor David Taylor closed the public hearing at

7:51 p.m. and reconvene into regular session. Motion to close public hearing was made by Councilman Brad Welch, with the second by Councilman Cliff Wheeler. Voting was unanimous in favor of.

APPEARANCES/COMMUNICATIONS:

Donna Seager, Rural Senior Adult Services DBA Attached, Donation Request. They are a charitable organization that gives cost-free in-home assistance to home bound or vulnerable senior adults in Sanpete County. Services include companion care to build self-esteem, light housework, creative activities such as art, crafts, knitting, crocheting, etc., socialization, reading books, computer training or repair. They visit twice a month and in some cases every week. There are five volunteers. They are seeking a donation. The City had donated $300 in prior years. Councilman Brad Welch moved to donate $300 to Rural Senior Adult Services. Councilman Cliff Wheeler seconded the motion. The voting in favor was as follows: Cliff Wheeler, Matt Sorensen, Brad Welch, and Casey Anderson. Councilman Mike MacKay abstained. His wife is on the Board.  

Mike Godfrey; Pickle Ball Court Discussion Regarding Gray Lines. The gray lines are hard to see. It is hard to play pickle ball. There are several citizens who go play down in Ephraim. The colors they have on their court is a yellowish/orange. Connor Sports put the lines down for no cost to the City. Mayor Dave Taylor asked if Mike would get a group of friends/players and try and raise some money. Mayor Taylor will put in a call to get a price and get back with Mike with what he finds out. The long-term goal would be to build pickle ball courts. Councilman Casey Anderson mentioned that the surface on both the tennis and basketball courts are chipping. Need to look at this sooner than later.

REPORTS/ACTION ITEMS – BOARDS/COMMITTEES/STAFF/OFFICERS:

Planning Commission

Business Approval for Brandon Cook, Cabin/RV Rental, 315 East Canyon Road. The Cooks purchased the property awhile back. He met with Planning Commission. All zoning requirements have been met. He is wanting to get started on the cabins. While the cabins are being built, he plans on allowing RV trailers to stay there. He has been working with UDOT on the ingress/egress. He has angled the ingress north to south and 300 East to west. There is plenty of room, for truck, trailer, etc. to pull in. There will be a pavilion with a fire ring in the corners. One concern from the Council was how are you going to keep people from dumping their sewage there. They did not think that was a concern.  It was asked if there is enough room for all they have planned. To look at it now, it is deceiving. There will be six cabins, they will be 364 square feet, 14’ by 26’, the size of a big hotel room. There will parking on the side of each building and should accommodate a truck or trailer. They will provide a sketch of the project. Mayor Taylor will send it out to the Council. Councilman Mike MacKay moved to approve the business license for Brandon and Lachelle Cook for Canyon Road Cabins. Councilman Cliff Wheeler seconded the motion. The voting was unanimous in favor of.

Cemetery.

Trees Bushes, etc. Prior to City Council Meeting, the City had a grave to prepare for, a tree was in the way of where the grave was. It took over a day to remove the tree. It was time consuming. People are planting trees and shrubs by their loved one(s) grave which makes the cemetery hard to maintain. In a previous meeting, a discussion on trees, shrubs, etc. was had. It was agreed at that time, that the Council would support the Mayor in removing them. Mayor Taylor stated that people are more supportive of change if there is a plan. He would like the Council to go out to the cemetery and view the different issues with the cemetery and to come back next meeting with a plan in making the cemetery more appealing. Need to address cracks in the road, new pump, sidewalks, and burn pile.

Debris Pile East of Cemetery. There are getting to be citizens who are dropping off yard waste. The debris pile is for city use. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came down and said no burning. This was brought to the attention of the Mayors at their Mayors and Commissioners meeting.

Spring Line Collection Box Report Progress Report. Drew Geiger updated the public and Council on the progress of the spring. The area around the spring has been excavated. Spring source is exceptionally good, can take care of much of the City’s needs. Should have it up and back in the system before high usage starts.

24^th of July – Discussion on Holding Event(s). With the coronavirus virus, holding the 24^th of July events has been on hold. Guidance Councilman Brad Welch is receiving from the State is that if it is on the 4^th of July then cancel the event. He would like to have until the second week into June to make decision. The celebration will not be the same. There is a possibility but need to know the parameters. There are contingencies. Can have fireworks. Shoot them out at the cemetery. The car show could be done with social distancing. Parade is a no go. There is a chance the Governor will move the State from yellow to green which would open doors for more events. Lace Days have been cancelled.

Discussion on Combing Bond Payments. Mayor Taylor and Councilman Casey Anderson had prior conversation regarding refinancing the City’s bonds. Councilman Anderson reached out to different funding agencies. Only four of the City bonds have interest tied to them. Because the debt structure on the bonds are different then what a bank can offer, it makes it hard to convert them. He has visited with a representative from Zion’s bank. He will email the presentation he has from him on to the Council for them to review. 

Discussion on Four-Day Work Week. Mayor Dave Taylor asked Councilman Brad Welch to look in to a four-day work week for the office. There are many ways of collecting payments, bill pay, drop box, mailing, etc. without having the office open. With the coronavirus, the City was able to carry on business with some normalcy. The public adjusted. When a person needed to come into the office, arrangements were made to accommodate them. Phone calls have been tracked on Fridays and most Fridays they were very few. The Council was asked if they would support the four-day week. The City Council was in support of this.

Comp Time Discussion. When an employee leaves employment, the City owes that individual their comp hours plus their annual leave. This is not budgeted for. Discussion ensued. Mayor Taylor would like to have the City Council come back next meeting with a plan on how to treat comp hours. What is best for the employee and the City.

Approve Tentative Budget Ending June 30, 2021. Councilman Brad Welch moved to accept the tentative budget that was worked on at the work meeting. Councilman Casey Anderson asked if there should be some discussion on pioneer day budget items. With no revenue brought in and no expense made, at the end of the day, it will not affect the budget. Councilman Cliff Wheeler seconded the motion. The voting was unanimous in favor.

Set Public Hearing Date for Final Budget Approval for Budget Year Ending June 30, 2021. Councilman Brad Welch moved to set the date of the public hearing for June 18, 2021. Councilman Matt Sorensen seconded the motion. The voting was unanimous in favor of.

Retirement of Police Chief Jeremy Wright. June 15^, 2020 is Jeremy’s last day with the City. Best wishes to Jeremy with his new endeavors. Applications have been received and interviews set up.

Memorial Day Flag Ceremony. May 25, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.

Mayor Reports: 

Final inspection on the spring line project is scheduled June 16^th contingent there are no issues. The bacterial test will take another week. The contract is just shy of $200,000. The bond money received was $240,000. The question to the Council is do you want to use the additional money left over or apply the $40,000 to the end of the grant. As was mentioned, there is the opportunity of developing additional water source(s). The consensus of the Council was to use the money to bring in the additional water.

APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS:

Councilman Mike MacKay moved to approve the vouchers from April 18, 2020 to May 19, 2020. Councilman Casey Anderson seconded the motion. The voting was unanimous in favor of. 

ADJOURNMENT:

Councilman Brad Welch moved to adjourn meeting at 9:44 p.m. Councilman Mike MacKay seconded the motion. Motion carried.