City Council Meeting Minutes, Feb 19, 2023

Minutes of Fairview City Council Meeting held Thursday, February 16, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. at 85 South State Street, County of Sanpete, State of Utah. Mayor Brad Welch called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Councilmembers present were Shirlene Rasmussen, Mike MacKay, Jim Cheney, Casey Anderson. Councilman Matt Sorensen was excused. City employees present were Cameron Thompson, Steve Gray, Jan Anderson, Greg Sorensen along with citizens Erna Lee Sorensen, Steve Clark, Messenger reporter, and Jason Mardell. The invocation and Pledge of Allegiance was offered by Councilman Casey Anderson  

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Councilman Casey Anderson moved to approve the minutes from January 19, 2023, with the second by Councilwomen Shirlene Rasmussen. The voting was unanimous in favor of.  

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

Planning Commission

Road Cut Review and Discussion to Place into Ordinance. Mayor Brad Welch will review with Councilman Jim Cheney. Item tabled.

Resignation of Gilbert DeWolf; Approval of Lindsay Barker as Replacement. Commission Member Gilbert DeWolf is in the process of moving. He is no longer able to be on the Commission. Councilman Mike MacKay moved for approval to replace Gilbert with Lindsay Barker. Councilman Casey Anderson seconded the motion. The voting was unanimous in favor of. Councilman MacKay mentioned that the Planning Commission is working on an ordinance for short-term rentals. The City does not have anything in place at this time. Utah Property Rights Ombudsman’s staff came and trained with the Planning Commission. The training was very beneficial. A name for an alternate will be given to Mayor Welch.

Power Department Update: Power Superintendent Greg Sorensen updated the Council on activities within the department. There were no major call outs. Waiting on meters to finish service hook ups. The second feeder is all but done just need to hook up jumpers, waiting on the weather.   Bank has been contacted, and the City is looking at $6,000 to update all utility impact fees.  

Legal Counsel Engagement Consideration. Johnson, Patterson, & Yellowhorse are willing to take Fairview City on as the City’s legal counsel. The rate is $150 per hour. There is no monthly retainer fee. No travel expense within the State of Utah. No additional cost for work done in their office. Billing is on monthly bases. Councilman Jim Cheney moved to approve the engagement agreement with Johnson, Patterson, & Yellowhorse. Councilman Casey Anderson seconded the motion. The voting was unanimous in favor of.  

Follow Up on Dance Hall Rental-Fee Rates. The current rental rate for the dance hall is $200 per day. If kitchen is not needed then it is $150. The Council talked about increasing the rate up to a $100.  They discussed an hourly rate but then decided that it becomes tricky on how to manage the hourly rate. 

After some discussion, Councilman Mike MacKay moved to increase the dance hall rate an additional $100 for non-residents and for residents the rate will stay the same at $200 with kitchen and $150 no kitchen. Those who have made previous arrangements and filled out contracts will be grandfathered at the previous rate. Councilwoman Shirlene Rasmussen seconded the motion. The voting was unanimous in favor of (note: non-resident rate $300 with kitchen and $250 no kitchen; resident $200 with kitchen and $150 no kitchen.) 

Discussion of Updating Ordinance for Selling Beer for On-Premises Consumption. Mayor Brad Welch asked if the Council was in favor of allowing the sale of alcohol during the 24^th of July events held in the Keller Arena. Need to create a license class, probably have two license classes. The current ordinance will need to be reviewed and updated to include selling of alcohol at public venues, etc. 

City Manager Update. Mayor Brad Welch announced the resignation of City Manager Cameron Thompson. He has accepted another position in his field of expertise, geology. Is last day will be March 2, 2023. Mayor Welch expressed his appreciation for his service and his professionalism and making Fairview City a better place. 

City Manager Cameron Thompson updated the City Council on what he has been following on the legislative session. There are some bills that will affect the City, for instance, elections, first responder mental health, modification in resignations and filling of Mayor/council seats, peace officer training, public safety retirement, GRAMA, and food tax. The food tax could reduce what the City brings in on sales taxes. A chair for the kids rodeo still needs to be filled, looking into concession help, may need to look into getting another city manager, there is the option of sharing a manager. Six County has a pilot program with sharing managers with cities within the six county area. It would be in the best interest of the City to keep moving forward then to revert backwards. The annexation is moving forward as of December 12, 2022, 32.85% of the area and 38.63% of the value have filed protests. The snow is causing strain on the City equipment. The red dump truck has major engine problems the estimated cost to fix it is $20,000. The orange International has had the injector replaced. The City finally received the new one-ton. The dance hall tank-less water heater was replaced, the water fountain pressure adjusted, the ceiling heater replaced, and the kitchen faucet was repaired, along with the followspot, still waiting on a quote for the gutters. A proper baseball infield skin quote was received form Rocky Ridge in Cedar City, both infields receiving a two-inch infield mix would cost $15,600. Officer Logan Ludvigson was involved in an accident on Milburn Road while on duty in his patrol truck. No injuries reported, but significant damage was sustained with the truck. Power costs soared in the November/December billing cycle. The cost to purchase the power was over $0.14/kW. Power sales revenue in January was $116,077.64 but still was enough to cover the cost of the power bill of $161,857.67, net loss of $45,780.03. Since the ice rink opened the usage has been great, several youth groups, families, and individuals have taken to the ice. Still waiting on one more permit and one more easement. 

INTRODUCTION AND ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES:

Resolution No. 2023-01R, A Resolution of the Fairview City Council Approving Government Records Access and Management Act “GRAMA” Request Fees. The City does not have this fee in place. Councilman Casey Anderson moved to approve Resolution No. 2021-01R; A Resolution approving fees for GRAMA requests. Councilman Mike MacKay seconded the motion, and the voting was unanimous in favor of. 

Resolution No. 2023-02R; A Resolution Approving the Continuation of the Participant’s Entitlement Share Under the Carbon Free Power Project Power Sales Contract for Phase 1B of the Licensing Period for the Carbon Free Power Project; and Related Matters. Councilman Casey Anderson stated that this was seen to be a very problematic in the past, now we have it in black and white. We are feeling a little more comfortable with what information we are receiving back, now there is an option. If the cost reaches a certain level, then the City can request to pull out of the project. The City can stay in with very little risk, this is clearly the City’s best option. The UAMPS Committee passed a resolution that if this project is dissolved there is an off-ramp– the cities can reduce their allotment, stay the same or withdraw from future power usage for years out. Does the Council want to continue with this the next phase of this project, or do you want to change the numbers; the safe guard is to stay on as we have allocated. Councilman Anderson’s recommendation is to go with is presented in the exhibit that is part of this resolution where you have options along the way.  Councilman Casey Anderson moved to approve Resolution No. 2023-02R; A Resolution approving the Continuation of the Participant’s Entitlement Share under the Carbon Free Power Project Power Sales Contract for Phase 1B of the Licensing Period of the Carbon Free Power Project; and related matters. Councilwoman Shirlene Rasmussen seconded the motion. The voting was unanimous in favor of. 

MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS:

Mayor Brad Welch – General City Business. Note: down one police vehicle. 

Councilman Casey Anderson the December power bill was rough the January bill should be a little less challenging. Appreciate the employees for their efforts in keeping the cemetery open, it has been a challenging winter. The military flags are looking pretty rough, need a solution, tried all kinds of flags, they will need to be replaced again in the spring. Lean towards spending a little more to get a better quality of flag.  

Councilwoman Shirlene Rasmussen the City Easter egg hunt is seven weeks out, it will be at the museum. The museum board appreciated City Employee Greg Sorensen coming and fixing the back light. Committee meeting coming up,

APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS:

Councilman Casey Anderson moved to approve the vouchers from January 1, 2023 to February 14, 2023.Councilman Mike MacKay seconded the motion, and the voting was unanimous in favor of.

ADJOURNMENT:

Motion by Councilwoman Shirlene Rasmussen moved to adjourn meeting at 8:25 p.m.