|
Utah Real Estate in North Ogden is directly impacted in a positive manner by our elected officials. from these pages you can read the discussion and how our city leaders voted on items impacting Real Estate issues in North Ogden. Minutes are Below
North Ogden City | Mayor Richard G. Harris | 505 East 2600 North North Ogden City, Utah 84414 (801) 782-7211 Fax: (801) 737-2219 | Council Wade Bigler Ronald B. Flamm Martha J. Harris Brent Taylor Carl Turner
| AMENDED CITY COUNCIL AGENDA DECEMBER 14, 2010 – 5:30 PM REGULAR MEETING 505 EAST 2600 NORTH NORTH OGDEN CITY, UTAH Welcome, Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance: Council Member Brent Taylor CONSENT AGENDA 1. Consideration to approve minutes of the November 30, 2010 City Council meeting. 2. Consideration and/or action to approve business licenses. ACTIVE AGENDA 3. Public Comments. 4. Public Hearing to receive comments on an annexation application for the Sentinel Storage Subdivision and Retail Project located at 2197 N. 400 E. containing approximately 5,380 sq. ft. Presenter: S. Annette Spendlove, City Recorder/HR Director 5. Discussion and/or action to consider an Ordinance annexing approximately 5,380 sq. ft. of property located at 2197 N. 400 E., North Ogden, Utah. Presenter: S. Annette Spendlove, City Recorder/HR Director 6. Discussion and/or action to consider an Ordinance amending Ordinance 2010-01 to set the annual meeting schedule of the North Ogden City Council. Presenter: S. Annette Spendlove, City Recorder/HR Director 7. Discussion and\or action to consider a Resolution amending Resolution 21-2010 the Consolidated Fee Schedule. 8. Discussion and/or action to consider a business license for Tom Baguley for an auto repair shop, a conditional use, located at 3590 N 575 E. Presenter: Gary Kerr, Building Official 9. Discussion and/or action to consider Conditional Acceptance for the Lewis Peak PRUD Phase I. Presenter: Gary Kerr, Building Official 10. Council/Public comments. 11. Adjournment. NORTH OGDEN CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES January 11, 2011
The North Ogden City Council convened in regular session on January 11, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. in the North Ogden 5 City Council Chambers, 505 East 2600 North. Notice of time, place and agenda of the meeting was delivered to 6 each member of the City Council, posted on the bulletin board at the municipal office and posted to the Utah State 7 Website on January 5, 2011. Notice of the annual meeting schedule was published in the Standard-Examiner on 8 January 1, 2011. 9
10
11
PRESENT: Richard G. Harris Mayor 12
Martha Harris Council Member 13
Wade Bigler Council Member 14
Brent Taylor Council Member (on the phone) 15
Carl Turner Council Member 16
Ron Flamm Council Member (left at 8:25pm) 17
18
STAFF PRESENT: Edward O. Dickie III City Manager 19
Annette Spendlove City Recorder/HR Director 20
Dave Carlson City Attorney 21
Debbie Cardenas Finance Director/Acting City Manager 22
Gary Kerr Building Official 23
Craig Barker Community Development Director 24
Julia LaSeure Deputy City Recorder (arrived at 7:03pm) 25
Jennifer Thomas Planning Technician (left at 7:05pm) 26
27
VISITORS: Joan Brown Nick Forney 28
Jason Hogge Jason Beal 29
Pete Buttschardt Matt Hartvigsen 30
Bob Napoli Emma Chambers 31
Shelby Miller Jessica Staley 32
Nan Searle Gerad Corbin 33
Thomas Sawyer Doug McGregor 34
Ned Malan Jeanne Kempe 35
Virginia Kendall Kurt Nygaard 36
Desi Malan Rocky Hayner 37
Scott Feller Jerry Holt 38
Rudy Fernandez Rachel Trotter 39
Dennis Glover Dani Ruiz 40
Tyler Whiteley Tyler Newy 41
Lauren Puzey Reed Mackley 42
Thomas Stowers Seth Hilton 43
Liz Messerly Nigel Masters 44
Greg Martin Lorin Gardner 45
Ken McCormick Tommy Saface 46
Dave Hulme Jay Johnson 47
Jim Mackley Josh Davenport 48
Gordon North Tiffany Turner 49
Katie Egbert Mark Benign 50
Mark Enders Debbie Pilkey 51
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 2
Natalie Teeples Jason Reed 52
Emily Passey John Crimm 53
Bill Treadway Alex Treadway 54
Rachel Snider Alyssa Cole 55
Chris Beseris Blake Pront 56
Rachel Kilgore Chelsea Nelson 57
Brandon Mason Carson Jones 58
59
WELCOME 60
61
Mayor Harris welcomed those in attendance and called the meeting to order at 5:30pm. Council Member Bigler 62 gave the invocation and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 63
64
Council Member Harris moved that Council Member Taylor be allowed to participate electronically by 65 phone Council Member Bigler seconded the motion. 66
67
Voting on the motion: 68
Council Member Harris yes 69
Council Member Flamm yes 70
Council Member Bigler yes 71
Council Member Turner yes 72
Council Member Taylor yes 73
74
Motion passed. 75
76
CONSENT AGENDA 77
78
Council Member Harris moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Council Member Flamm 79 seconded the motion. 80
81
Voting on the motion: 82
Council Member Harris yes 83
Council Member Flamm yes 84
Council Member Bigler yes 85
Council Member Turner yes 86
Council Member Taylor yes 87
88
Motion passed. 89
90
PUBLIC COMMENTS 91
92
Mayor Harris reminded those in attendance that there will be no public comments during the agenda. 93
94
Doug McGregor, 228 W 3450 N, Pleasant View, said he is the Utah Society President of the Sons of the 95 American Revolution, Vice-President of the Freeman Coalition and a Chairman of a constitutional study group. 96 He is here to make some comments concerning the trails and property discussion. As an individual that carefully 97 saved his money for 21 years and was able to buy a nice home in the Pleasant View area he is very aware of the 98 importance of being a property owner. As a matter of principle and thinking about our great country we know that 99 the 5th amendment tells us that property not be taken without due compensation. The Constitution exists for two 100 purposes, the first is for the protection of the public good and the second is for the protection of private rights. We 101
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 3
as American citizens are blessed to live in a country that allows us to own and have property. He is certain that as 102 the Council makes their decision on this they will remember the Constitution and the legacy of our Founding 103 Fathers. He said he is certain that in making the decision they will compensate those property owners. Let us 104 remember the great principal that something should not be taken for nothing. Please remember that if you are 105 going to take property it needs to be compensated for. He said he appreciates the City‟s efforts to make North 106 Ogden a great place to live. The Declaration of Independence tells us that our unalienable rights given to us by 107 God are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In the original drafts of the Declaration instead of happiness it 108 was possession of property. Our Founding Fathers knew that property was important to liberty and freedom. 109
110
Mayor Harris reminded the public to sign the roll to record attendance. 111
112
Pete Buttschardt, 2680 Foothill Dr., Ogden, said he is here to encourage the Council to amend the Subdivision 113 Ordinance. He said it is such a small effort for developers to accommodate the trails plan yet it is much harder to 114 develop trails after the development. He said they need to make sure there is something there for their children 115 and grandchildren and not make the same mistakes with regard to the foothills. 116
117
Rudy Fernanadez, 991 E Coldwater Way, said they have a trail in their area. This last year they have had nothing 118 but trouble. A homeowner had a break-in on Christmas Eve. There is no lighting in the trails. He lived there for 119 10 years and didn‟t have problems until the trail went in and the transients have come to live in that area. They put 120 up a fence and the problems went down but once it is opened up to North Ogden the whole trail is going to be 121 done and there will be nothing but problems. He said he understands that people like trails and he enjoys walking 122 every day. But there are plenty of trails already. He worries about the safety of the people that live right by the 123 trail. The police said the lighting problem is the homeowner‟s. Sooner or later someone is going to get hurt. The 124 kids are throwing rocks at the ducks and it is just a sad situation. He said North Ogden will have the same 125 problems unless they put lighting in there but it will be very expensive. We have a problem and we wanted to let 126 you all know of the potential problems for North Ogden. 127
128
Shelby Miller and Jessica Staley came to Council meeting. Shelby Miller is the President at Weber High School 129 for FFA. She said they want to inform the Council about a fundraising concert with the Bar J Wranglers and 130 mentioned they are always looking for sponsors. She wondered if any of the Council Members or anyone in the 131 audience would sponsor them. She said they can get a hold of them and the money will go to scholarships for 132 seniors. Mr. Dickie asked her not to give out her number because it goes on public record. She gave Weber High 133 School‟s phone number 801-476-3700 and said to contact Brynn Campbell or Mr. Shafer. She said it is a great 134 organization that she has been in for past three years and it has really helped her. The concert is February 26th and 135 the Bar J Wranglers are really good and fun to watch. 136
137
Greg Martin, 950 E 2650 N, asked if it is a possible that the City would take land without compensation. Mayor 138 Harris said they will not answer questions at this time but are ready to take comments. Mr. Dickie said the 139 Council still needs to hear the presentation. Mr. Martin asked if that did occur is there a potential that the City 140 would be sued and incur expenses that some of the residents would then have to pay for. Mayor Harris said the 141 issue will be deliberated; there is always a potential for someone suing but that will be discussed later in the 142 meeting. 143
144
Debbie Pilkey, 2220 Fruitland Dr., said we live in Utah; “Life Elevated” is the slogan. She said she puts on her 145 adventure gear and where does she go? In her dreams she goes on a trail and enjoys the air and points out fish 146 and birds to her toddler in the stroller. She said in reality, she lives on a busy street in North Ogden. She said she 147 goes to the Bonneville Trail, which is just outside the City limits or maybe she drives into Ogden to use their 148 trails. Why can‟t she just leave her house and be on the scenic Cherry Way loop, because right now it is an 149 imaginary line on the City‟s Master Plan. She said she supports the development of North Ogden trails. Trails 150 provide a safe, scenic way for people to get out and exercise. She said most residents of North Ogden go for the 151 occasional stroll around the block to the nearest park. Every day she said she sees joggers. She said the City has a 152
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 4
slogan “Making Life Better”; trails will make life better. It would be nice to have someplace away from cars and 153 exhaust and safe for kids. It would be great to take toddler our for a stroller ride someplace where we are not 154 dodging traffic and breathing in car exhaust. She said she knows if they are built they will be used. She applauds 155 the people who are working hard to bring trails to North Ogden. She said she wonders what is stopping us, where 156 are these trails, why can‟t we follow through with the City‟s Master Plan. It promised many things and she wants 157 the City to keep those promises. She doesn‟t want new development to step all over the planners and Council 158 Members. (Attachment A). 159
160
Dave Hulme, 513 E 1700 N, said he thinks trails are great. He said he is reminded about a time when we talked 161 about a swimming pool here. He said that he likes trails but doesn‟t want the City to pay for them. He said it is 162 great for the subdivision and he thinks it would be crazy for a developer not to put a trail in. He still thinks we 163 have an obligation to landowners. He said the City did perhaps make promises by putting out a Master Plan that 164 included trails. But that can‟t possibly supersede the promises made to every property owner in the City that they 165 would be able to develop their personal property and the City would not take away their property. He talked about 166 canals in England. He said he would discourage the City from taking property for canals in the same way he 167 would for trails. He said trails are fantastic and he thinks developers would be foolish not to include them. He said 168 he would like developers to voluntarily include them. 169
170
Jay Johnson, 981 E 2700 N, said he is not here to talk about trails. He said he came here about a year ago with a 171 problem with the road grader and nothing has been resolved. He sent an email to Mr. Blanchard stating his 172 frustration in regards to the snow storm on the 29th and never got a response, He said that he is frustrated because 173 he clears his drive and goes to work and then gets a call from his wife that they have a four foot berm of snow 174 blocking the driveway and she can‟t get out. He said when he doesn‟t get a response he gets more frustrated. He 175 wanted to bring this to their attention. 176
177
Jerry Hoyt, 992 Coldwater Way, said his back yard backs up to North Ogden City limits on 1500 N. He said he 178 has had some experience with canal trails; in the past year they had a child fall in the canal. He has seen mothers 179 on the trial and the kids are 500 feet ahead of them, sometimes even out of sight. They have had the HOA install a 180 gate that closes off the canal waterway. He would like to make a statement. If they live on the canal trail they are 181 not going got be in favor it. There are people walking by every five minutes, kids throwing rocks and people 182 teasing his dog. He said he thinks someone will drown in that canal. He said the Council should accept all 183 liability. 184
185
Chelsea Nelson, 366 E 3350 N, she said she thinks someone previously mentioned that the City made promises. 186 She said she didn‟t know that the City used the word promise when they did a Trails Plan; it was probably more 187 an idea than a promise. She said the thing stopping the City from going forward with this, hopefully, is the 188 constitutional legality. Private property is a right and it is protected. There should be compensation offers but if 189 people say no, don‟t push it, it is their land. Trying to find a loophole is wrong and immoral. It is their land; it 190 doesn‟t belong to the citizens of North Ogden. She said she will not walk a trail that has been taken by extortion 191 or by any other kind of force. Not one of us in this room has the right or a moral obligation to take their property 192 from them. 193
194
Tiffany Turner, 2673 N 950 E, said she is all for trails because as a mother she thinks they are good for kids. She 195 said there is no lighting on sidewalks either and people will be using the trails during the day so that isn‟t a 196 problem that even needs to be addressed. She said they will connect to Ogden, Clearfield, Layton, and Kaysville 197 and down the line; we don‟t want to be the dead end for the trail system. They talked about compensation and a 198 residential situation; they plan for sidewalks and streets. The compensation the developers get is the trails and 199 they sell the homes at better prices and there is a better value for them. She asked if other cities have lawsuits 200 because of trails. She said she would love to hear from developers and whether it is a benefit; if they felt like they 201 were blackmailed into it or if they made more money. She feels there is a need for trails and 50 years from now 202 they won‟t be able to complete them and then what will be left is eminent domain. 203
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 5
Brandon Mason, 1114 E 3300 N, said he loves the idea of the master plan and trails. Go trails! 204
205
Mayor said Mr. Martin can state his concerns but asked him not to ask questions at this time. Greg Martin, 2657 206 N 950 E, said he is a first time speaker. The issue is what is constitutionally founded. Is it the right of the Council 207 Members to take property from someone else? If it is not granted to you individually then it is not granted to you 208 as a Member of the Council. 209
210
Jason Reed, 494 E 3600 N, said that his streetlight is out and it‟s hard to see at night. 211
212
Mathew Glover, 993 E 2700 N, said he is here with some other neighbors. They are grateful for the service the 213 City provides but the way it is done is inconvenient to the people on the south side of the street. They don‟t have 214 enough sunlight so it has become an annoyance and nuisance; so if the Council can address the issue they would 215 appreciate it. 216
217
Mayor Harris thanked everyone for their comments. 218
219
PRESENTATION OF A 5-YEAR SERVICE PIN TO JULIA LASEURE 220
221
This item was pulled until a future meeting. 222
223
QUAIL PONDS SUBDIVISION DISCUSSION. 224
225
Joan Brown, 2010 N 775 E, read from a document (Attachment B). She discussed the vacating of Quail Ponds 226 PRUD. She said they need to get this done in a timely manner 227
228
QUAIL PONDS SUBDIVISION UPDATE. 229
230
Craig Barker, Community Development Director, referred to a staff report and stated that there are a lot of 231 additional items. There are six months of emails between him and the people interested in what has transpired 232 with Quail Ponds. He said he understands Mrs. Brown‟s concerns. The meeting with the engineer took place the 233 end of September not August. At that time Mr. Jones was informed that he did not meet the requirements for the 234 permit. Every five years the Corps updates their guidelines. Since we‟re beyond 2007 he was told he has to meet 235 the updated guidelines for the permitting process. What does that include? It does include some additional items; 236 he has to conform to the Environmental Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and dealing with historic 237 preservation. The Council Members have a copy of Mr. Jones‟ response. Mr. Barker said it is possible to move 238 forward with this. The approval of the Army Corps of Engineers is not a required sign off on the subdivision. The 239 City does ask for comments and requests of agencies. We ask the developer to discuss the conditions required by 240 other agencies. We investigate these as part of the review process. We attempt to address each item they get in 241 turn to make sure the property is suitable for future property owners so they can be informed about the ground 242 they are purchasing. 243
244
The Community Development Department received a petition from the Quail Ponds PRUD owners to vacate. We 245 didn‟t receive, until August 17, 2010, the information and the documents that needed to be recorded when a new 246 subdivision is approved. We went ahead with their request and scheduled a hearing. On July 13, 2010 the Council 247 did that and took action to vacate. There is a two track process. The Council has to get the vacating done and then 248 the Planning Commission considers approving the development of a new subdivision. The vacation was 249 approved; however no recording is to be done until the new plat is ready to be recorded. He said on the July 21, 250 2010 the Planning Commission took action to approve the new subdivision and that was moving forward. With a 251 new subdivision there is a new engineered and surveyed plat that has to be reviewed by the City and County to 252 make sure it conforms to the regulations to record. During that process the City Engineer had concerns with the 253 wetlands and floodplain areas. They wanted to put into portions of the new lots to be created when the new plat 254
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 6
was filed. Mr. Hartvigsen, from Jones and Associates, made a call to the Army Corps of Engineers and their first 255 response wasn‟t until August 31, 2010. Their response was that they thought Mr. Jones had met all the 256 requirements. The next day they said all of the requirements of the 2002 permitting process had not been 257 completed. They set a meeting in September with the City, Quail Ponds, and the prior developer who is also a 258 member of the HOA to discuss what had transpired and that his permit has expired. He has to reapply under the 259 2007 Act. Craig said there have been a number of conversations and he has talked with the Corps and Mr. Jones 260 on numerous occasions. Mr. Jones has indicated he has purchased wetland credits and that is one way of dealing 261 with this. That is a negotiation and they have to discuss it and agree on a price. Mr. Jones gave the names of the 262 people doing his surveys regarding archeology and endangered species. Mr. Barker said he doesn‟t know how 263 difficult they are but it can be very difficult or simpler. The Corps is waiting for the applicant to submit his 264 application. The application isn‟t a two page document; it is the information and the data they are asking for and 265 the data lists the studies. Mr. Barker said they are waiting for the approved plat. The Planning Commission has 266 approved it but it has to be signed by all the owners and reviewed by staff so it can be put on record. The vacating 267 Resolution, a vacating plat to accompany the Resolution and all that can be put together rather simply but we are 268 waiting for it to be submitted to us. He said he doesn‟t know how that will be done or who orders that. The 269 Council does have the ability to tell staff to ask the Land Use Authority to sign the plat and record it. There are 270 some reservations that staff has expressed but they are willing to do it under the Council‟s direction. 271
272
Matt Hartvigsen, Jones and Associates, he said he is trying to make sense of all of it. The original plat that was 273 recorded had an area of wetland that was in the common area. The Home Owner‟s Association (HOA) was 274 responsible to take care of the common areas which include the wetlands. He said there are restrictions on how 275 that land can be used. He said he thinks the HOA is trying to take on those responsibilities. He said that is a lot of 276 work and responsibilities to put on an HOA. He said he does not mean to be speaking for them but he is trying to 277 make sense of what he thinks is happening. The proposed plat puts the responsibility of those restrictions on the 278 individual home owners having property up against the wetlands. Then the individual homeowners would have to 279 take care of that. He said that makes some sense to him. The Corps of Engineers does not like that because they 280 would have more people to work with in order to take care of one wetland area. He said his concern is that the 281 common area is a public utility easement; there is a storm drain and a ditch that runs through there and some 282 spring lines in a common area. If the wetlands are put into individual properties they would have to work with 283 each person to maintain that. That is the big issue that he is seeing. He did talk to Joan Brown about options that 284 would make it easier for the City to maintain; one solution would be to divert the water through the storm drain 285 ditch out into the public right of way. Those are the issues he has with the plat and the way the property lines are 286 shown. 287
288
Council Member Harris said Quail Ponds has been around the whole time she has been on the Council. When it 289 comes up before the Council it has been because of the residents. The City doesn‟t desire the role of mediator or 290 clearing house but with the motion to vacate they have taken on that role. She said perhaps there is a learning 291 curve but it shouldn‟t have taken this long. She is in a trust but verify mode. She wants documents that have dates 292 with actions and completion, so it is not just whenever it will happen at whoever‟s convenience. She has asked 293 that the Council Members are copied with emails since they do take action on it. She thinks that it has a potential 294 of going on and on and on. In order to get it resolved in an expeditious manner she will make a motion with two 295 parts and there is probably a resulting action. The Council will have to be willing to proceed with. 296
297
Council Member Harris made a motion that the City sends a letter to Mr. Jones requesting the final plat be 298 delivered to the City by March 1, 2011. There may be an issue that they cannot complete the Corps’ 299 requirements but we know there is no legal obstacle to recording. Dave Carlson, City Attorney, said that is 300 correct. The second part of the motion is that until the plat is delivered there will be no building permits 301 issued for that development. The letter will act as a quasi-lien. Perhaps we need to have something to give 302 some teeth to it. Council Member Bigler seconded the motion. 303
304
305
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 7
Discussion on the motion: 306
307
Council Member Flamm asked, going back to the legality, is there anything that will come back to bite us. 308
Mr. Carlson said the only leverage the City would be asserting is that the City would not be issuing building 309 permits until the new plat is recorded. He thinks it is a reasonable thing to do because the status of that 310 subdivision is in limbo. The City has already agreed to vacate the existing subdivision plat. The only thing that 311 stands in the way of making that ordinance to vacate effective is the new plat. He thinks they shouldn‟t issue any 312 permits anyway and doesn‟t think they will get in trouble for not issuing building permits in that development 313 until the plat is recorded. 314
315
Council Member Bigler said he is 100% in agreement with Council Member Harris. In the spirit of fairness, this 316 has gone on and on and on and on. He has spoken with various people and asked once this is done will this be it? 317 He said he doesn‟t think it is one person that‟s dragged their feet on it. He thinks there is probably enough blame 318 to go around. He thought if there is money involved the people would have gotten together and it would have 319 been done. 320
321
Council Member Turner asked if there is a way they can take the Corps out of the equation. Can we move the lot 322 lines so they don‟t have the wetlands? He said there are only six lots. If they kept the property lines where they 323 were initially would it not be their issue. Craig Barker said it‟s still their issue, until the wetlands are taken out by 324 wetland credits. He said they bought wetlands out by the Great Salt Lake marshes, so then they can do whatever 325 they want 326
327
Council Member Bigler said if the homeowners are taking responsibility for those wetlands then what is the 328 problem. Craig Barker said the Corps has their reasons and he can‟t speak for them. He said the Corps said they 329 no longer approve that. 330
331
Council Member Turner said he has worked with the Corps and they do have some stipulations on their time 332 frame and what they can and can‟t do. He said five or six months with the Corps of Engineers is not a long time. 333 It is just the way the process is. He said it drives him nuts because it seems like they take forever. He said they 334 have 60 days to review anything and they can disagree and then they have another 60 days. 335
336
Council Member Taylor said he likes that idea and it is great putting emphasis about getting it done. He said what 337 if Mr. Jones does put forth the effort and it is tied up by the Corps of Engineers. He said he would hate to see the 338 City holding him up and not issuing permits because of the Corps. He said he likes the idea but is concerned about 339 that. Council Member Harris responded by saying she would refer that to Dave Carlson‟s comments that in order 340 to issue a building permit it has to be associated with a plat that has been recorded. That is probably our safety net 341 right there. Mr. Carlson said in order for the change in the subdivision plat to progress the ball is in their court 342 they have to provide the amended plat to the City. Until the City receives that there is nothing we can do. 343
344
Council Member Flamm said it seems to him that if they place the restriction on Mr. Jones he can come before the 345 Council on that and ask for adjustments to be made. It seems at this point the Council needs to do something. He 346 said the Council is very frustrated and if it slows down the selling of lots, maybe Mr. Jones needs to push towards 347 expediting this. 348
349
Mayor Harris said the problem is the City does not have a plat to approve. He said they need to have the plat and 350 they will sign it regardless. Dave Carlson, City Attorney, said if that is what the property owners want they need 351 to know that is the cost of getting it done quickly. They could have the Corps of Engineers and the 352 Environmental Protection Agency as partners in this subdivision for a long time to come. 353
354
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 8
Edward O. Dickie III asked if that is a final plat with signatures or just a final plat. Council Member Harris said 355 that is a time line and it has to come from Mr. Jones and then the new Corporation will get the signatures. They 356 are waiting for the City. Edward O. Dickie III said the City has agreed to pay for some of the recording. 357
358
Council Member Turner said the City has already vacated the PRUD so the plat will come to the City with all the 359 signatures. Craig Barker said the Land Use Authority chair will sign it. Edward O. Dickie III said the Council is 360 giving staff direction to ask the Planning Commission if they want it signed and recorded without the Corps. 361 Council Member Turner asked if the City would be done with it after that. Council Member Taylor asked for 362 clarification on the discussion about the Corps, does the motion ask if the City will sign it with or without the 363 Corps‟ approval. Mayor Harris said it will be signed without the Corps‟ approval. Council Member Taylor asked 364 if they know that all the homeowners will have to deal with the Corps of Engineers. He doesn‟t want them to 365 come back to the City to be involved if it gets worse with the Corps. He said he understands the need for speed. 366 He is concerned about moving forward without the Corps of Engineers; then the residents may have a bigger 367 problem. He said the developer should do everything he can do. Council Member Bigler said they all signed it and 368 are ready to go. Craig Barker said the HOA already owns the common space. Council Member Flamm said Mr. 369 Jones may make the property owners deal with the Corps and down the road that may be a problem for the 370 homeowners. Mayor Harris said the City is acting judiciously and the homeowners are pressing for a solution to 371 the issue so they need to vote. Council Member Taylor asked if they have anything from those six or if all those 372 six are present to acknowledge this. Craig Barker said Mr. Jones owns five of them and the other one is sold. 373
374
Voting on the motion: 375
Council Member Flamm yes 376
Council Member Bigler yes 377
Council Member Taylor yes 378
Council Member Turner yes 379
Council Member Harris yes 380
381
Motion passed. 382
383
PRESENTATION BY THE PARKS AND TRAILS COMMITTEE. 384
385
Joel Grasmeyer, Chairman of the North Ogden Trails Committee, said that he wanted to read the amendment they 386
are proposing tonight. He said they are talking about amending the City‟s Subdivision Ordinance so that every 387 developer has to abide by that when developing a subdivision. They are proposing the establishment of the trails 388 shown in the North Ogden City General Plan. He read the ordinance (Attachment C) that they are proposing 389 tonight. He said they have done research to make sure the trails are constitutional. It does not authorize eminent 390 domain. He said it has been used for road, sidewalks, etc. there are at least 14 other cities in Utah that have 391 ordinances with similar wording. He said that the City will not take land away from existing owners. He said that 392 it is just the new subdivisions. This will prevent future problems and will give people a choice if they want to live 393 next to a trail. He said there are studies that show trails increase the value of a lot and make sales happen faster. 394 He said for every dollar spent the developer can earn 15 dollars back. It is a win/win for everyone. He said they 395 are not proposing trails along open canals. He said before they put in an official trial the canal will be covered. He 396 said that is not what they are proposing. He showed the presentation (Attachment D). 397
398
Council Member Bigler asked about the definition of eminent domain. Mr. Grasmeyer said the Legacy Highway 399
is an example. The government has to put it in and can‟t just depend on voluntary donations. The government 400
compensates the landowners for their chunks of land. Dave Carlson, City Attorney, said the 5th amendment 401
requires that if the government is going to take land for public purposes there has to be just compensation. It is the 402
power of the government that it can take private property for public purposes. When government exercises that 403
power there must be fair compensation. 404
405
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 9
DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION TO CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY’S 406
SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE TO INCLUDE TRAILS. 407
408
Craig Barker said the City Council has a copy of the proposed ordinance that has not changed since it was first 409
submitted. There are many opinions on how to do this. Ogden City has a sensitive lands overlay zone that 410
requires developers to consider the trails in their plan. Layton City does it by development agreement; most of 411
the undeveloped land in the city is a zone that is not normally used for development so every development has to 412
go through a rezoning. Others use a trails ordinance, others use a subdivision ordinance. He said staff looked at a 413
number of communities around the area. 414
415
Council Member Flamm stated he has to leave soon but wanted to say he has used the trails here in town and 416
appreciates them. To put in some of these trails has been pretty minimal; a new trail is going to take more money. 417
There will be grading and fencing in order to be adequate. He said he personally doesn‟t think that even though a 418
property owner may benefit, he wouldn‟t have them incur the expense. He would like to try voluntary donations 419
or increasing our taxes. Those are the options. The City receives a very small portion of what is paid in property 420
taxes. He said he would be happy to pay his fair share toward having a trail system. One thing that bothers him is 421
the standards, those standards could change as time goes on and it could be very expensive for a property owner 422
to develop. He is in favor of a Master Trails Plan but thinks we need to figure out as a community if we want 423
trails, if we do, we need to pay for them. 424
425
Council Member Bigler said he appreciates all the work that Joel Grasmeyer and the Committee has done. They 426
spent some time to be really thorough. He would like to respectfully state his opinions. The summary says we 427
need to base this decision on factual evidence, sometimes when people mention the constitution there are some 428
people who take that as you are an extremist. He said he is not an extremist. Regarding the comment that trails 429
affect our ability to attract businesses; he contacted ten family members who are business owners and none of 430
them said they looked at the trail system when deciding where to locate a business. I don‟t think most business 431
owners come into a city asking if there is a trail system. He does understand that the court system has become 432
more lax over the years. The presentation states „people need trails for health and happiness‟. Council Member 433
Bigler said he is happy and doesn‟t need trails for health and happiness. As far as trails being more interesting to 434
use than a sidewalk; trails help motivate people to exercise and there could be a link between trails and obesity; is 435 that the role of government, to get people to exercise? He said he has read a lot of these court cases, at least 30 436
throughout the country; there is a common thread and which is due compensation is required. The city can make 437 an offer and the owner can accept it or reject it. Developers benefit big time here, spending $1 to receive $15 in 438
return. Council Member Bigler said he doesn‟t think we will need to be forcing developers to do this. We can 439 sell it on the fact that they will make more money. Developers will want to do this if that‟s true. The last thing is 440 regarding constitutionality, this is saying that it‟s not eminent domain because we are not taking developed 441 property. It doesn‟t have to be developed property. In the 5th amendment and other rulings, the word necessity 442 comes up over and over again. To compare this to streets or canals, those are more of a necessity than a trail. It‟s 443 like comparing an ambulance to a gymnasium. This is definitely not a necessity. Council Member Bigler said he 444 is not in any way against trails but this isn‟t about trails, it‟s an issue of taking private property without 445 compensation so we can have a trail system. A trails system is a nice thing but it‟s not going to take away cars. 446 He said he has had quite a few residents in the past year mention sidewalks to him. They‟ve asked if we could see 447 about getting sidewalks where there are none. He said he would rather take the funds and get sidewalks in these 448 areas. It‟s a matter of principle for him and he thinks it goes against the 5th amendment and the Constitution. 449
450
Council Member Harris said we have the ordinance before us and she said that she would easily vote for this. She 451
thinks it is appropriate for the City to have trails. The legal constraints have been addressed and Council Member 452 Harris said she would have no problem voting for this. She said she understands through some conversation with 453 staff members that there might be a way to sweeten the pot for a developer. She said when she thinks of 454 compensation she automatically thinks dollars and cents but there are other opportunities to compensate someone. 455 She asked Craig Barker to explain. 456
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 10
Craig Barker said there are also bonuses or reductions in lot size or standards. If we have an area available for 457
20 lots but the main trail goes through there, the City can offer a reduction in the lot size, 9,500 instead of 10,000 458
square feet, the left over property is used for trails in that development. The other system is that we use the bonus 459
factor. If the same situation occurs you have 20 lots, you may get 21 lots with the addition of the trail. 460
Another method is go through a review process and preserve that connection for up to 2 years to allow the City or 461
Trails Committee to purchase the trailhead or trail property. Salt Lake City uses this method. You don‟t take 462
anything away from the developer. You can also use easements for trails. Council Member Harris said we could 463
have if the end result is that there is a contiguous trail system it could be obtained without some of the concerns 464
being voiced tonight. We could still develop the land and have a functional trail system. Mr. Barker said he 465 thinks so. He said he has tried to take the view of a developer and the option of an additional lot gets the 466 calculator going. 467
468
Council Member Turner said he sits on the Trails Committee but is not a voting member. This Committee is 469
trying to protect the trails. He said he likes the idea of compensation to keep it within the questions and concerns 470 that Council Member Bigler has and others have brought up. He likes that idea and said Council Member Flamm 471 has a good point regarding the standards on these trails. Mr. Grasmeyer said the standards are included in the 472 General Plan. Council Member Turner said if you look at the Cherry Way Loop and most of our trails you‟ll see 473 they are in areas that are undevelopable. He suggested that the standards be addressed to be more clear and 474 realistic. He said he would like to see if the Trails Committee can tweak it a bit and bring it back to the City 475 Council. Craig Barker said any amendment would have to go back through the Planning Commission for review. 476 Council Member Turner said he would be interested in doing that. He would like to know how many people use 477 the trails, how many people have worked on the trails. 478
479
Council Member Taylor said he has been researching this the last few weeks, and his concerns were centered 480
around the lack of compensation for the developer. He still has some concerns about the disproportionate burden 481
on developers that lie in the path of these trails vs. those that don‟t. In a perfect world, he would like to see a 482
small impact fee for trail development that would be supplemented by the City, which would give some money to 483
be able to compensate for some of this land. If the developer would prefer a different type of compensation, those 484
should be options for them. Cash compensation, additional lots, smaller lot sizes, etc. could all be considered. 485
486
Council Member Harris said she doesn‟t want this to die, we have heard some great ideas. 487
488
Council Member Flamm said he likes the idea to give the community time to purchase the property; donations 489 could be used to come up with money for trails. That would take the burden off the tax payers. He still thinks the 490 trails are used by everybody in the City. If there are ongoing fees we need to find a way to take care of that. He 491 said he doesn‟t mind paying more in taxes for something that he uses. It is a difficult decision, how do we pay for 492 things? He would like to see that worked over a little more. 493
494
Council Member Turner said he wanted to thank the Parks and Trails Beautification Committee. There are 11 495
Members and they have literally had hundreds more people come and help. Barker Park, Lakeview Park, the 496
Wadman Soccer Complex, trees have been planted, it benefits all of us. He said it has been a great experience for 497
him to serve. 498
499
Mayor Harris said the Council will remand this back to the Planning Commission to take care of some of these 500
concerns and bring it back to the City Council in the near future. 501
502
Council Member Flamm left at 8:25pm. 503
504
505
506
507
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 11
DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION TO APPROVE A BEER LICENSE FOR 7-ELEVEN. 508
509
Annette Spendlove, City Recorder, said 7-Eleven applies annually for a beer license. They have done their 510 background checks and the Chief of Police has reviewed them, Staff recommends approval of a beer license for 7-511 Eleven. 512
513
Council Member Harris moved to approve a beer license for 7-Eleven. Council Member Turner seconded 514 the motion. 515
516
Voting on the motion: 517
Council Member Bigler yes 518
Council Member Taylor yes 519
Council Member Turner yes 520
Council Member Harris yes 521
522
Motion passed. 523
524
DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION TO CONSIDER A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY. 525
526
Dave Carlson, City Attorney, said Edward O. Dickie III brought this to his attention and asked him to create a 527
policy for social media. He said he did some research and came up with the policy that is before the City Council. 528
There is a memo on it as well. Basically this sets up some standards. The main concern is people on the outside, 529
citizens interacting with the government. We need to set some standards though, because some comments on 530 some of these sites don‟t seem very appropriate. There will be provisions for someone from the City to monitor 531 those sites and rules to govern the City‟s conduct as well. 532
533
Council Member Bigler said that‟s great. Communication is turning toward this. Page 2, #5 states that any 534
content removed based on this policy must be retained for a reasonable period of time. He said he would hope that 535
we put a specific period of time on that. Number 8 on page 2 states that the City‟s website will remain the City‟s 536 primary and predominant Internet presence. He asked what happens if the residents use this instead of all the City 537 Council Members emails. Edward O. Dickie III said the City‟s website will still be the main place for people to 538 go for information. Council Member Bigler said policy states that the purpose is to disseminate information about 539 the City. He said he thinks the City‟s website is more for disseminating information. He doesn‟t want anyone 540
thinking that the City Council Members are reading all of these things. He asked whether we could put a 541
disclaimer on there saying if you would like to talk to the City Council or Mayor you should contact them by 542
email or phone. Edward O. Dickie III explained where this came from and said there will be a dynamic piece to 543
that and we will have to work through those things. Annette Spendlove, City Recorder, will be the Social Media 544
Coordinator. 545
546
Council Member Turner said we all agree that we need to adopt something but is this document or do we need 547
to have it come back with some of these concerns addressed. Council Member Bigler said he would also like 548 some of these concerns addressed. 549
550
Mayor Harris said we will bring this back at the next meeting. Dave Carlson, City Attorney, said we could put a 551
disclaimer in there too. Council Member Bigler said he thinks that would easier. 552
553
Annette Spendlove, City Recorder, said this was brought up because some employees were having Facebook or 554
Twitter pages and they can‟t just do that without some policy in effect. This will always be a working document. 555
We were not going to start anything new. Council Member Harris said this is a policy to govern what employees 556 can do. Annette Spendlove said that is correct. 557
558
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 12
Council Member Turner moved to adopt the social media policy contingent on the items that were 559
discussed. A specific time period for retention, ensuring that someone is monitoring this and a disclaimer 560
that this is not a method to communicate with the Mayor and City Council. Council Member Bigler 561
seconded the motion. 562
563
Voting on the motion: 564
Council Member Bigler yes 565
Council Member Taylor yes 566
Council Member Turner yes 567
Council Member Harris yes 568
569
Motion passed. 570
571
DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION TO CONSIDER CHANGES TO THE EMPLOYEE PERSONNEL 572
POLICY. 573
574
Mayor Harris stated that this could be exceedingly lengthy. He suggested if there are editorial comments they be 575
given to Annette Spendlove and she will make those changes. He said he wants the Council to understand that 576
the highlighted items are totally new and being added. 577
578
Annette Spendlove stated that in Chapter 9 – Safety Procedures and Requirements a section titled „Protection of 579
Children and Vulnerable Adults‟ is new also. 580
581
Council Member Harris move to adopt the North Ogden Employee Personnel Policy as presented with any 582
editorial changes permitted. Council Member Turner seconded the motion. 583
584
Voting on the motion: 585
Council Member Bigler yes 586
Council Member Taylor yes 587
Council Member Turner yes 588
Council Member Harris yes 589
590
Motion passed. 591
592
COUNCIL/PUBLIC COMMENTS. 593
594
Carson Jones, 1106 W 4050 N, Pleasant View, representing Bruce Jones, said they are in full favor with the 595 landowners in Quail Ponds. He said they are not dragging their feet. They have been trying to contact the Corps 596 of Engineers and hired two engineering firms to guide them through this process. The only reason they don‟t 597 have a plat in the City‟s possession is that they want to make sure this is the last time they do this. He said they 598 want this to be over with and the fact remains that they own the majority of the lots that are affected and it‟s 599 costing them time and money. He said this is super expensive and he has a hard time with the City not allowing 600 any building permits. 601
602
Ken McCormick, 2073 N 775 E, said, regarding trails, we need to remember the law of unintended consequences. 603 He mentioned the muggings and rapes in Ogden on the parkway and the increase in taxes to the citizens due to 604 having to have a police presence. He said the law abiding citizens are only using the parks and trails during the 605 day; at night there is a whole other element that comes out. 606
607
Jim Mackley, 2803 N Hwy 89, President of the Freedom Coalition, said we just heard about unintended 608 consequences. The City has the power of force so any ordinance that affects the public is something that he knows 609
City Council January 11, 2011 Page 13
the City Council considers and they try to do what is best for the citizens. He said he appreciates that. He said he 610 like hiking and trails and he always has. Just as a doctor takes an oath that he will first do no harm. He knows 611 that we want to get involved and help things improve but maybe we need to step back and remember to first do no 612 harm. He thanked the City for all that they do. The Committee has been working on the trails for a long time and 613 the people have volunteered their time. The more we can volunteer rather than force people to do good, the better 614 off we‟re going to be. He suggested to the Committee that maybe as they start continuing to think how to get 615 trails in North Ogden City, it might take a mind shift to do it but how can it be done without passing an 616 ordinance? Mr. Mackley said Council Member Flamm said he would be willing to donate some money. He 617 suggested working with the landowners more. Hopefully we can become more knit together as a community. He 618 would have preferred that the City Council said they will never build trails by force. 619
620
Joel Grasmeyer thanked everyone for their participation. He said he thinks we made a lot of progress tonight, and 621 that we can reach a compromise. He asked for the Council‟s participation in the process of this revision. What 622 they need is for the emails to go back and forth and for participation from the City Council Members and the 623 public. If we are in a situation where people are just going to vote against anything the Committee does that is 624 going to be difficult. In response to Council Member Taylor‟s comment, he thinks that any developer should be 625 able to put in trails whether they are in the path or not. He said donations are fine but in order to build a trail 626 system you need a guarantee that you are going to make those connections. It is unfair for whoever is then 627 expected to go out and raise donations. Parks and baseball fields are not a necessity either but we do have an 628 impact fee for parks. So even though that‟s a recreation item we do it now and it is considered constitutional. 629
630
Council Member Turner said he will not be present at the next meeting and he will be unable to call in. 631
632
Council Member Harris said she will need to participate electronically at the meeting on the 25th. 633
634
Edward O. Dickie III said we missed out on the lift truck we were considering but we found another one that we 635 will be looking at for about the same price. 636
637
Mayor Harris said Local Officials Day is coming up and we need the registrations in soon. We will take the 638 Youth City Council to that and will need some drivers. 639
640
ADJOURNMENT. 641
642
Council Member Bigler moved to adjourn. Council Member Harris seconded the motion. 643
644
The meeting adjourned at 9:06pm. City Council August 24, 2010 Page 1
NORTH OGDEN CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 1
August 24, 2010 2
3
The North Ogden City Council convened in regular session on August 24, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the City 4 Offices. Notice of time, place and agenda of the meeting was delivered to each member of the City 5 Council, posted on the bulletin board at the municipal office and posted to the Utah State Website on 6 August 20, 2010. Notice of the annual meeting schedule was published in the Standard-Examiner on 7 January 24, 2010. 8
9
PRESENT: Richard G. Harris Mayor 10
Wade Bigler Council Member 11
Ronald Flamm Council Member 12
Martha Harris Council Member 13
Brent Taylor Council Member 14
Carl Turner Council Member 15
16
STAFF PRESENT: Edward O. Dickie City Manager 17
Annette Spendlove City Recorder 18
Julia LaSeure Commercial Development Coord. 19
Sue Richey Deputy City Recorder (left at 5:45pm) 20
Gary Kerr City Building Official (left at 6:30pm) 21
Mel Blanchard Public Works Director 22
Dave Carlson City Attorney 23
Polo Afuvai Chief of Police 24
Paul Rhoades Police Officer 25
Debbie Cardenas Finance Director 26
27
28
VISITORS: Justin Fawson Phillip Child 29
David Della Silva Liz Della Silva 30
Pam Trimble Mel Beus 31
Margaret Beus Ann Crezee 32
Beverly Gibson Danny Rogers 33
Inez Sparks Robert Sparks 34
Rowdy Irick Jeannette Moran 35
Brett Rogers Dennis Crezee 36
Brian Cleveland Jodi Cleveland 37
Jim Suhr Kent Packer 38
Wendy Packer Mike McCrea 39
Eileen Madsen Gordon Madsen 40
Robert Buswell Cal Heiner 41
Sandy Heiner Pia Aerisnieme 42
Beth Herschi Kim Lavigne 43
Tammy Titus Breanna Dreyer 44
Bruce Hall Karen Hall 45
Steven Russell Nancy Christiansen 46
Alan Christiansen Charissa Roach 47
Terral Morgan Karla DuVall 48
Fred DuVall Marilyn Harris 49
Ron Harris George Parsons 50
Helen Taylor Beth Miller 51
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 2
Dale Miller Denise Norris 52
Bruce Christensen Lee Ann Christensen 53
Sara Fawson Donna Walker 54
Reese Barker Fred Jackson 55
Jim Hicks Jerry Wood 56
Laurie Haines Sylvia Hunt 57
Lloyd Hunt Ann Schmitz 58
John Zurbuchen Rex Coleman 59
Heather Coleman Richard Krebs 60
Bill Norris Marva Norris 61
Anne Warner Dallin Warner 62
Colton Berube Richard Brimhall 63
Troy Herzog Dave Hulme 64
Lance Patterson Andrea Patterson 65
Marilyn Brown Fred Brown 66
Mary Shawham Chuck Merrill 67
Kevin Southworth Renee Erickson 68
Leland Erickson Shaun Welker 69
John Welker Carol Satterthwaite 70
Lynn Satterthwaite Gloria Gross 71
Wallace Gross Stacie Paraskos 72
Scott McKay Chris O‟Neill 73
Alan Mikesell Jeanie Mikesell 74
Kim Morgan Jeana Berube 75
George Evans Paula Evans 76
Elaine Hunt Roger Hunt 77
Chad Smith Kim Smith 78
Carl Grunander Ned Malan 79
Ray Squier Amy Squier 80
Merjam Barker Mary Settlemire 81
Bruce Jones Nina Wahlquist 82
Nina Slaughter Dean Slaughter 83
Ben Slaughter Natalie Nigro 84
Shirley Nigro Mike Westbroek 85
Brett Forsberg Nella Forsberg 86
Ruth Forsberg Cody Muirbrook 87
Bob Napoli Jim Harris 88
Cordell Perigo Shawn Ludlow 89
Allison Ludlow Robyn Turner 90
Alan Turner Bret Lawson 91
Ted Schroeder James Towery 92
Francis Jones Franceen Jones 93
Cara Gordon Nate Wood 94
Anne O‟Neill C. Stromberg 95
April Stromberg Craig Tracy 96
Michelle Tracy Chris Campbell 97
Brad Taylor Heather Taylor 98
Berth Miller Dale Miller 99
L.J. Berube Marge Berube 100
Gary Rands Matt Schueppe 101
Kent Bailey Francis Jones 102
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 3
Marilyn Carter Dan Nixon 103
Kristi Layton Neal Berube 104
105
106
WELCOME 107
Mayor Harris welcomed those in attendance. Council Member Flamm gave the invocation and led the 108 audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 109
110
CONSENT AGENDA 111
112
Council Member Taylor moved to approve the consent agenda. Council Member Harris seconded. 113
114
Voting on the motion: 115
Council Member Harris yes 116
Council Member Flamm yes 117
Council Member Bigler yes 118
Council Member Taylor yes 119
Council Member Turner yes 120
121
Motion passed. 122
123
PUBLIC COMMENT 124
125
Mayor Harris asked that any discussion regarding the Public Works building be reserved for item #8 on 126 the agenda. Any other items to be discussed can be brought to the Council at this time. 127
128
There were no public comments. 129
130
PRESENTATION OF A 15 YEAR PIN TO PAUL RHOADES, POLICE DEPARTMENT 131
132
Chief Polo Afuvai recognized Officer Paul Rhoades stating that he is the Resource Officer at North 133 Ogden Jr. High. Chief Afuvai said Officer Rhoades does a great job with our kids and the staff at the 134 schools. Officer Rhoades is also the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (DARE) officer; he 135 teaches DARE at Bates Elementary School. He is also over the GIS program and crime statistics and 136 writes all the grants for the Police Dept. He does a lot of things for the Police Department; he is that 137 talented. Officer Rhoades was joined this evening by his wife Shelly and daughter Amanda. Chief Afuvai 138 said that the City appreciates Officer Rhoades and all that he has done for us for 15 years. 139
140
PRESENTATION OF A 25 YEAR PIN TO MEL BLANCHARD, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR 141
142
Ed Dickie, City Manager, stated that he has been with the City for just over two years and has had the 143 opportunity to work with Mel Blanchard. Mr. Dickie said that they meet in staff meeting and talk about 144 things that need to be addressed by Public Works. By the time they get out the things they talked about 145 are already done. It‟s been a pleasure to know him. Mel Blanchard does a really good job and has been 146 with the City for 25 years. 147
148
PRESENTATION ON THE CHERRY DAYS PARADE 149
150
Mr. Bolar asked to do this another time due to the number of people attending tonight. 151
Mayor Harris reminded the public that we need everyone to sign the roll that is going around. 152
153
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 4
DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION REGARDING THE PROPOSED PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING 154
155
Mayor Harris reminded everyone to state their name and address. He asked that they be brief as there are 156 a lot of people here. All those who would like to come forward are welcome to come up. Please use 157 civility and good manners; no outbursts of applause or boos. We want a good town hall meeting here. 158
159
Steven Russell, Heritage Grove Subdivision, 2537 N 1550 E., read from a document. (exhibit #1) 160
161
Ed Dickie stated that the City must have a copy of anything that is read. 162
163
Bruce Hall, 2548 N 1550 E, said he is a lifelong resident of North Ogden and has lived in Heritage Grove 164 subdivision for the last 16 years. As a resident he would like to understand and see all the information 165 that the committee used to select the east bench foothills. He said he wanted to clarify the statements 166 from the Standard Examiner. Is this property no longer being considered for the Public Works complex? 167 Mayor Harris said the City owns property up there and he can‟t say that it will never be considered but it 168 is off the table right now. Mr. Hall said he is not here to dispute the need for an industrial maintenance 169 complex but he doesn‟t believe all relevant data has been considered. The outer perimeter of the east 170 bench location is a poor choice. Children walk to school along those streets. To have industrial 171 equipment on these roads will open the City to lawsuits. There is also increased mileage and 172 maintenance, the loss of productivity from travel times and increased maintenance on infrastructure on 173 2600 N and Mountain Rd. The Blalock study on page 35 states that a heavier road base is necessary for 174 heavy vehicles, there will need to be two access points, the facility will double as an emergency 175 operations center, animal control, and there is a place in the design for 15 tanks of liquid chlorine. The 176 study stated there are to be 100 various vehicles stored at this site. The initial cost in providing safe 177 sidewalks and additional operational costs would offset any perceived cost savings. The City Council has 178 failed to consider the financial hardship to the people who live in that area; substantial loss of property 179 land values; the negative impact from an industrial complex with close proximity to residents; the breach 180 of trust between the City Council and the citizens. He purchased his home 16 years ago understanding 181 that a lacrosse field would be constructed at this location. Mr. Hall said a lot of expense has gone into 182 preliminary design work. The current site is a good one; the site already exists. With a hub and spoke 183 configuration staff and equipment can be sent out across the City. The Blalock study states that 4 to 5 184 acres are required. The property west of the existing complex was under review for wetlands. It may be 185 possible to rearrange the site and reduce operations costs. Moving the complex is not in the best interests 186 of North Ogden citizens. He asked the City Council to honor their commitments and place the lacrosse 187 field or park in this location. The Blalock study shows that the South Jordan, and North Salt Lake City 188 sites were all references, they are all commercial sites. 189
190
Neil Berube, 1532 E 2525 N, thanked Mayor Harris for taking the time to take his phone calls. He said 191 this is almost like Groundhog Day. Three years ago we came down here and two or three of the current 192 City Council Members were serving at that time. He said he thinks there are two ways of doing things; 193 the right way and the right thing. This Council can hang their hat on doing things on the technicalities of 194 the law and be protected but doing the right thing is what we expect of our City Council. Three years ago 195 we felt that this may be readdressed so many of us have been watching agendas in the paper. The 196 December 22, 2009 City Council agenda, item #12, says presentation of the public works programming 197 study. Most people would think that had something to do with automation. He said he thinks that is 198 camouflage. The minutes of February 23, 2010 prior to the budget retreat talk about a final study on the 199 public works building. The agenda from the February 27, 2010 meeting, the budget retreat, there is 200 nothing on there that a public citizen would have any idea. There is a Jones and Associates presentation 201 and a Lewis Young presentation. How would we as citizens have any idea what was taking place. The 202 City Council agenda from July 13, 2010, item 11; tentative the City Council will consider a motion to 203 enter into a closed meeting for the purpose of a strategy session to discuss the purchase, exchange or lease 204
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 5
of real property to be held in accordance with the provision of Utah Code 52.4.204.5. Why couldn‟t the 205 agenda say to address the purchase, exchange or lease of land for a public works building? He pointed out 206 from minutes of the budget retreat; apparently this building will be paid for by increases in sewer and 207 water rates, garbage rates, etc. The first two years sewer takes a very steep jump in the first year and 30% 208 after that. This is not the time to talk about these things. People are out of jobs and on fixed incomes. 209 Interesting question, Council Member Flamm asked whether the bonds have to go to a public vote, Matt 210 Millis stated that if it is utility revenue they do not but there could be a public hearing to get feedback. 211 Not one Council Member said that‟s the right thing to do; once again, doing things right vs. doing the 212 right thing. We are in a city that expects open government. We have elected you as our City Council 213 Members, we hold you accountable for the decisions made in this City, and we understand you have to 214 have staff to give you information but you knew this would be a controversial decision. He said that he 215 would question who is running this City because as a businessman, if he got this far down the line on a 216 certain project and his staff did that to him, after all this controversy he would be really upset. To find out 217 that there is not enough land to build on. He said it is his understanding that this site has gone from the 218 bottom of the list to the top of the list. He has sought information on this but all he got is “that‟s 219 confidential”. He said he understands the law regarding property values and the need for the City to do 220 that but when questions are asked and answers aren‟t given it does create suspicion. Frankly he is going 221 to ask the City Council to respond sometime during this meeting what they feel their duties are. We hold 222 you accountable. He said he would hope that you would hear what we have had to say tonight. Woodrow 223 Wilson said the following: “Government ought to be all outside and no inside. Everybody knows that 224 corruption thrives in secret places and avoids public places and we believe in the fair presumption that 225 secrecy means impropriety.” After reading the minutes he said he can see how the City Council feels that 226 this was open to them in the way it was discussed in the budget meeting but in no way would a citizen 227 understand what was taking place. He publicly apologized if he caused Council Member Turner any 228 problems but he is in no way appreciative of the things that were said about him. He has a lot of respect 229 for Council Member Turner and Big D Construction; they do a quality job at a good price. 230
231
Justin Fawson, 2539 N 1600 E, said he has lived in North Ogden most of his life and also lived in 232 Clearfield. He said one reason he moved out of Clearfield and never wants to move back is because they 233 put large commercial and industrial zones right by residential zones. He heard it was tabled but have 234 heard that before. He shares the same sentiments as his predecessors. Residential mixed with Industrial 235 is a big issue. If Mountain Rd. is to be developed as a scenic byway, a route through our City there is no 236 place there for an industrial building. The City has promised that beautification would occur. It was 237 stated that this was a done deal and the only reason they were invited was to find volunteers to join a 238 beautification committee. Studies were referred to in this meeting that stated that property values would 239 increase. He really doubts that and would love to see those studies. This building should be placed in an 240 area of the City where it fits in. People don‟t want this in their backyard; don‟t put it in someone‟s 241 backyard; it doesn‟t belong in someone‟s backyard. It belongs in an industrial or commercial area. We 242 got into some discussion about closed meeting vs. open meeting. He doesn‟t think there was a need for 243 privacy or secrecy in this issue. His feeling was that there were a lot of people up for reelection and it 244 was tabled for further review. At that time this site was one of the only sites being discussed. He 245 understands that a selection was made of numerous sites but no one can tell him how the selection was 246 made. He asked why City Council Members were not involved in the selection process and some of them 247 were not. Mayor Harris stated that this never came to a vote but we did reach consensus. He is confused 248 by that statement; how do you meet consensus without a vote. It appears that closed meetings are held so 249 the Council doesn‟t face opposition. Violating open meeting laws come with a class B misdemeanor 250 offense. He would like to see something placed there that would beautify the area. 251
252
Ned Mahlan, 1055 E 1700 N, said for 56 years he has lived right off Mountain Rd. He has enjoyed the 253 City and would like to stay but he is having trouble finding money to pay taxes. If you don‟t have the 254 money why even consider building. There was an old Dutch lady that said if you don‟t got it, you don‟t 255
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 6
spend it. Why are we going into debt for a building? The old adage is fix it up, use it up, wear it out just 256 plain stay out of debt. His mother was raised in Denmark she went to a school that was 200 years old. 257 She could have got out of school at 14 or 15 but if you wanted to stay in you had to learn four different 258 languages. He said he appreciates what these other folks have said. Are we asking for more wants than 259 we need? Mel Blanchard would like a nice, wonderful new shop but the one there now is serving the best 260 it can. As you get some money then you can think about getting into more debt and more building. He 261 doesn‟t think we are living within our needs. Mr. Malan stated that the scriptures say that the government 262 is trampling on the heads of the poor; it says that in Amos. You look at the government buildings and 263 schools; they look like castles going up. We don‟t need all that. We need to back off on ordinances and 264 codes and let people live. Get off the people‟s backs. The City Council does a fine job. Thank you. He 265 said he knows the Council means well but sometimes our means aren‟t so well. Two employees of 266 Weber County were parked at 8:30 in the morning drinking their coffee at the burger stop on 12th street. 267 He talked with one of them and was told “I‟m not getting paid what I‟m worth”. Mr. Malan thinks that‟s 268 a terrible thing to say. Learn to live frugally, live like the Word of Wisdom says. This government stuff, 269 some employees need to be fired. Do unto others God‟s way. When he went to work, he did the best he 270 could, wished our government would do that. Be frugal, stand up and look alive, work in a proper and 271 feasible way. Stop borrowing so much to live on. 272
273
Alan Christiansen, 1305 E 2550 N, served twelve years on the City Council and suggested that the current 274 Council use the Obama/ Pelosi line and blame former administrations. He said “most of us are gone and 275 the rest are senile”. He said he has served on some committees and if he was giving advice to the young 276 ones he would say „follow the plan‟; the General Plan. There has never been a plan for this type of use to 277 be in this area. He showed a drawing of a proposed lacrosse park at this location. People bought their 278 homes based on this drawing on Jones and Assoc. paper. He mentioned the floods of 1982 and 83. 279 Coldwater Creek was a flowing river through there. Property lines were poorly defined after that. 280 Donated property for the equestrian park and made an area for a future park. How would you like to have 281 a developer come along with this plan and try to sell you a lot? We‟ll either have an industrial area with 282 salt piles, trucks, plows, etc. or a park. How would the sales be? This is Chapter 7 of our Zoning 283 Ordinance it reads Single-family Residential Zones. The purpose and intent of these zones is to provide 284 areas for single family, residential use at three different low density levels. The City can do public 285 buildings, public parks, and public recreation grounds and associated buildings. He said he doesn‟t think 286 that this qualifies as a public building. Can he pack a picnic lunch with his family and hang out? Play on 287 the equipment. Sat around this building and talked to people, could‟ve ordered a pizza probably. Do the 288 right thing, sell the land to a developer or build a park there. He said he and his wife hike there all the 289 time. 290
291
Bob Buswell, 962 E 3025 N, has a question and would like an answer. He has heard four main voices 292 contrary to the Mountain Rd. site but has not heard from anyone to the west of the current public works 293 site? Is there someone here to comment on that? Mayor Harris said apparently not. Council Member 294 Bigler asked if they could talk about that after comments. Mayor Harris stated yes. 295
296
Mayor Muirbrook, 1333 E 2550 N, there‟s only one thing he would like on there. There is a lot of snow 297 in bad years in that location. He has had his children in that area with 20 foot drifts, making snow huts 298 and playing in it. If we have bad snow years how will we deal with getting the emergency equipment 299 where it needs to be? He thanked the Council for all they do. 300
301
Brett Forsberg, 1463 E 2525 N, had a couple things to emphasize. Mountain Rd. is already what he 302 considers to be a dangerous place. If one child were to be injured because we got too much traffic on that 303 road or a truck couldn‟t stop; the safety concern outweighs anything else we are talking about. That is the 304 overriding issue for him. It is fraught with lawsuits for the City. He said he believes that area is 305 environmentally sensitive. Chemicals run down hill and could contaminate the water table. If this is 306
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 7
opposed it will likely require the City to do an environmental study. Those issues are substantial and 307 need to be fully investigated. He said the City should slow down, practice full disclosure; doing it 308 without hiding anything so we can hold our heads up high. 309
310
Mary Settlemire, 2701 Mountain Rd., said she has a problem with two things including the latest round of 311 how this was handled. She said she needs to clarify that most of the knowledge she has is second hand. 312 Since the Mayor Harris and the City Council only found it necessary to inform the Heritage Grove 313 community she was not at that meeting. She lives right across the street from the Equestrian Park and 314 whatever the City does in that area is really going to impact her. She said she is not happy about not 315 being notified. There are a lot of other people that feel the same way. When you are talking about this 316 area you are not just talking about a field somewhere. It is the side of a mountain; people use it for 317 hiking, biking, sleigh rides, there are deer too. If you build this complex here, for security, you will have 318 to light that area up at night. It is dark and beautiful; this will totally take away her peace and the beauty 319 of that place. She doesn‟t think that‟s fair. This will increase the number of big trucks hauling into the 320 green waste pit and that noise carries a long way. She has a friend that lives two blocks west of her house 321 and she can hear those trucks. Instead of noise just during the day we will also have it at night. She has a 322 husband with M.S. and she would not appreciate that. The City Council is known in this area for being 323 hard on the businesses. If someone wanted to come in and build an industrial thing in a residential zone 324 the City wouldn‟t even think about it. 325
326
Fred DuVall, 1470 E 2525 N, said he has lived in Heritage Grove for 20 years. He was informed that area 327 would be a green belt or park also. The principal is this; you should never ever build an industrial park 328 next to a residential area. Nobody wants to live with that noise, the mess. It‟s that simple; don‟t build it 329 in a residential area. 330
331
Ryan Berube, 1532 E 2525 N, said one of his favorite things to do is go around in his wheelchair and this 332 area is one of the places he goes. He said this is a terrible place to put it. 333
334
Nate Wood, 1225 E 2500 N, said he is a heavy equipment operator and knows that those trucks weigh 335 54,000 lbs when they‟re loaded with sand. There are little kids are out playing in this area. We are 336 walking our family dogs there. Would you want that in your backyard? To listen to 60 db every time 337 those trucks back up. He said he moved there because it is a neighborly neighborhood. People are 338 friendly and help each other. He thinks the City Council should reconsider. 339
340
Dave Hulme, 513 E 1700 N, said that he is on the Committee that made the recommendations. The 341 Committee doesn‟t make decisions; they look at the information and make recommendations to the City 342 Council. He explained that he wanted to serve the City and was allowed to join the Committee. He 343 wanted to tell everyone here that the kind of secretive back room deals that are being alluded to never 344 happened. None of that ever happened. When we looked at the selection process, you can see all the 345 sites. Yesterday he talked to his wife about the Committee, he has been on the Committee a year and that 346 was the first time. There is a sensitive nature to these things. We don‟t live in a democracy, we live in a 347 republic. You can‟t reach a consensus with that many people involved. This Public Works building is 348 absolutely necessary. How far would we be if every meeting was run like this? The Committee was 349 asked to take time that they probably didn‟t have to look at this information. He is proud to have been 350 involved. The trucks that would go down your road would go down your road anyway. If they don‟t you 351 won‟t have plowed streets. He understands this is an emotional topic but hopes the people that are so 352 upset will understand that in his opinion the proper process was followed. They have been working for a 353 year. He is here to tell the public that he joined this Committee so he could rest assured that he had done 354 everything he could and he feels that this Committee has done everything it could to deal with this. 355
356
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 8
Troy Herzog, 2522 N 1600 E, said it seems to him that none of the Heritage Grove folks were on the 357 Committee so they don‟t know what was discussed. As to trucks going up and down that road we are 358 talking about the trucks that would be there to plow. You won‟t have the same traffic downtown that they 359 have out there now. We don‟t put industrial sites next to residential areas. 360
361
Allison Ludlow, 2771 N 1275 E, said she wanted to address the government comment. She said she 362 understands that we do live in a republic and we vote for the people to represent us. Quoting someone 363 who is far smarter than I ever will be, “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain 364 that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the 365 people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln‟s Gettysburg Address. 366
367
Cobalt Stromberg, 2435 N Mountain Rd., said he lived here 3 ½ years; moved from Salt Lake City for the 368 beauty of that area. We stretched ourselves a bit to be able to afford the home in this area. At this time we 369 are doing ok. He thinks there are probably a lot of people in this room in the same situation. We need to 370 be really careful right now about the added burden on the people. One more reason not to build an 371 industrial site by a residential area is that property taxes will go down. People will fight with the County 372 to lower value. There will be less revenue for the City. This is a long term concern. It‟s a beautiful area 373 and if it‟s destroyed he said he doesn‟t know why anyone would want to live right there. 374
375
Dave Carlson, City Attorney, said he is probably the last person anybody wants to hear from. He wanted 376 to weigh in and say as the City Attorney part of his responsibility is to make sure that the City operates by 377 the playbook. The playbook is the Federal and State Constitutions, State laws, City ordinances, virtually 378 everything the City does is regulated by laws. His responsibility is to make sure the people you have 379 elected and the people they have appointed operate within the bounds of the Constitutions and the law. 380 That includes transparency and the way decisions are made. There have been some allegations that there 381 were improprieties in the way discussions were held regarding the public works building. He said he 382 wanted the public to know that as long as he has been around and observed the process that is highly 383 inaccurate, not true. The discussions that were held in the closed session a few weeks back were not only 384 lawful to be held in closed session but very appropriate. In his opinion it would have been foolhardy to 385 discuss those things in a public meeting. We can‟t go into details about the matters that were discussed; 386 for your City government to represent you well and protect your precious tax dollars and when they do 387 business they must do it wisely and prudently. There are certain discussions that need to be held in 388 confidence. That‟s why you have elected these individuals and put your trust in them so that they can 389 make decisions for you. I tell you that I can‟t go into detail but it had entirely to do with the City‟s 390 evaluation of a number of different parcels of properties that the City was looking at as a possible site for 391 public works. It had to do with a careful analysis the City had made of all of the plusses and minuses for 392 those properties and the City‟s relative value for those properties. In order for the City to be able to 393 negotiate with the owners of those properties in a fair way the City has to keep that discussion private. 394 He said he has only been representing government entities for about 20 years so there may be others in 395 this room that have more experience than him. He has never seen these types of discussions being held in 396 a public meeting and they shouldn‟t be. As the City Attorney it would be his advice not to hold these 397 kinds of discussions in a public meeting because it would be harmful to the City‟s interest. There was 398 nothing inappropriate about this; they were talking about the purchase of real property. State law 399 specifically allows that to be done in a closed meeting. There have been some comments that there was a 400 vote taken in a closed meeting that is not true. Everything that happened in that meeting was according to 401 the law. There was nothing to vote on. He is not a North Ogden resident but he wants to make one further 402 comment; representing North Ogden City as a client has been a very easy thing for him to do. The caliber 403 of people that you have elected is very high. They are smart and it‟s not hard to get them to follow the 404 law and the playbook. He thinks that they have gone the extra mile to keep things open and public. He 405 can‟t help that you may be uncomfortable with closed meetings, but it is necessary. 406
407
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 9
Alan Christensen stated that does apply when you are talking about public property. We are talking about 408 City owned property. It should have been noticed and made public. Dave Carlson said that he doesn‟t 409 want to get into a debate. Alan Christensen said he doesn‟t think there was an illegal meeting. When we 410 got to the point that we are talking about City owned property it is public and has to be opened up. Dave 411 Carlson said he doesn‟t want to get into a debate about that. The fact is the purpose of the closed meeting 412 was to discuss all of the properties that were identified and what were the plusses and minuses and the 413 potential cost to the City. The only reason the City‟s property came up is because one option was to not 414 purchase anything. That‟s the only way that it came into the discussion. Should we make an offer on any 415 of these properties or keep what we have. There was nothing illegal or inappropriate about that meeting. 416 As legal counsel for the City he said he will stake his reputation on that. 417
418
Chris O‟Neill, 2821 N1275 E, said you have had lawsuit upon lawsuit about street signs at businesses. 419 What do you think is going to happen if you try to go forward with this? You are opening yourself up for 420 problems that you just have no earthly idea about. The community is adamantly against this. He said he 421 doesn‟t want to see his City lose money on a frivolous, wasteful project that no one wants. Maybe this is 422 legal, maybe not. A lot of you shook my hand and said please vote for me because I will work for you. 423 You are not working for me and you are not getting my vote. I do not understand why you would want to 424 go against the very neighbors you live with. When he bought his lot 15 years ago he was told that it 425 would be a park and no more development would go in that area. You have been voted in and you can be 426 voted out. 427
428
Mayor Harris asked for responses from the City Council. He thanked Dave Carlson for his remarks. 429
Mayor Harris stated first of all we need a new Public Works facility, the one we have is unsafe and 430 inadequate; that‟s the first thing. We did not want to approach this in a shot gun or a scatter shot manner 431 so last year we undertook with Blalock and Partners to do a study. During that study we looked at all the 432 operations that are occurring within our public works facility now and will in the future. We looked at 433 our needs, now and in the future. Blalock came up with the type of facility we would need to go ahead 434 with. That turned out to be a site, we had different configurations, and according to the study we needed 435 4.5 to 5 acres. Mayor Harris said we decided to go with at least 5 acres; everything they looked at was 436 over 5 acres. Rather than go with the minimum we decided to go with 5 acres. We looked around the 437 City and there were a number of sites. We put some of those on a short list. All of them were privately 438 owned except one. We went through a series of meetings. During our budget retreat the public works 439 building was referred to no less than 13 times during the discussion. We knew we needed a new facility 440 and some ground to put it on. We had some sites that we were looking at. We had to go through the 441 process of negotiating with land owners, which we did. This is where I think we are having the problem 442 with each other. As we talked about those various parcels there were various reasons that we could not 443 acquire them. It was a process of elimination more than anything else. As we discussed one property if it 444 was not available we went on to the next and the next. We went through that process of elimination and 445 got to the one that the City owns. We decided to go with City owned property. At the beginning of this 446 process we were very concerned about letting folks know; we needed to study the sites in more detail. He 447 said he didn‟t want to have drilling going on without talking to the neighbors. This was the very earliest 448 moment to do that. A letter was sent out; it was critical that we retain the services of an architect because 449 we had to have some definitive cost data so we could look at acquiring some bonds. That is a whole other 450 process. We wanted to take advantage of some bonding opportunities that expire at the end of this year. 451 We involved the community as soon as we could. There was no intent to do anything behind anyone‟s 452 back or keep them in the dark. We had a very short time frame; we wanted to get going with some design 453 services. When we had our meeting, of course people were upset and allegations were made. The whole 454 purpose of that was to involve the neighborhood right off the bat. As we started looking at the site, the 455 residents asked us to consider other sites, specifically the north end of the pit and cancel the RFP for the 456 architect. I did both of those things. I agreed that I would look at the north end of the pit. After talking to 457 the Committee and with the understanding that we are putting ourselves in jeopardy with the bonds we 458
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 10
went ahead and cancelled the RFP. As we picked this short list of sites things could have been done 459 better than they were. A five acre parcel was overlaid on those sites in a two dimensional configuration 460 and we probably need to look at three dimensions. Kent Jones, City Engineer, had a concept plan of what 461 a public works facility might look like up there. It looked like it would be awful tight. Rather that wait 462 for an architect to get involved, the Mayor had the City Engineer go check it. This complex could not be 463 built at this site without major cost. We need to drop this site and move on to consider others. We are 464 right at the very beginning of the process. To do it over again he said he probably wouldn‟t involve the 465 neighbors so fast. It‟s moot at this point, the site won‟t work, and we are moving ahead. 466
467
Council Member Bigler, stated first of all I want to thank you all for coming and for caring. I realize that 468 we do represent you and I don‟t think the government is above the people. Hopefully all of you will know 469 what all has transpired and how it transpired. I was blindsided a little bit and frustrated. I talked to the 470 Mayor about this already, 100% agreement with you; basically everything that has been said from the 471 process to the site. For the record, I was not involved in that closed meeting. I was out of town and I did 472 join by my cell phone for another issue. The agenda had generically on it perhaps a closed meeting. I 473 didn‟t know what that was about; I never even knew they held it until my friend Neal Berube called, with 474 a concern. I‟m a Member of the City Council and I didn‟t even know that this was a done deal. That is a 475 concern that we need to address for the future; the process no matter what the issue is. If I had known 476 that this was being discussed I would have stayed on the phone longer. After the meeting I still was never 477 notified that this was discussed. As a Member of the City Council and as a citizen I was as frustrated as 478 you are. We do need to improve things and I don‟t think we need to try to put that under the carpet. The 479 closed meeting by law if you are discussing a purchase of property; when it went from the purchasing of 480 property to City owned property that shouldn‟t have been done in a closed meeting in my opinion. That 481 bothered me a lot because we weren‟t then discussing the purchase of property. No vote was taken but the 482 words were, it‟s a done deal and there has been a consensus with the Council. When the citizens were 483 met with and when the newspaper was called not once was it ever mentioned that I wasn‟t even present. 484 That bothered me, not for political gain or anything. I love this City and I want to do what is right for the 485 City but to try and group it together like there‟s comfort in numbers. Even if we did things a little bit 486 wrong, I wish it could have been more forthcoming. I don‟t know how there could be a consensus in a 487 closed meeting and I didn‟t know about it until Mr. Berube called me. I felt bad that I didn‟t have any 488 answers so that‟s why I met with you citizens. Also, the Committee that was formed; the Committee does 489 homework and makes recommendations to the City Council. On my end, back in February when we held 490 our budget meeting when this study was done I specifically asked that I be informed every step of the way 491 why each parcel wouldn‟t work. If the owner didn‟t want to sell a property that‟s a legitimate reason to 492 move on to the next site. I heard nothing from the end of February until Mr. Berube called. That‟s 493 troublesome. I wanted to be involved in this process and voice my opinion. I‟m against the location and 494 the process. The location for a few reasons, first one, it is a residential area. Somebody said what I‟ve 495 been thinking the only reason we are looking at that is because the City owns it. There has been talk in the 496 last few days that we already own this so it will save money. Not necessarily because you have to look at 497 excavation and all the long term things. If a developer wanted to build a commercial complex there, the 498 City would say no, that‟s residential zone. Just because we legally can build it there doesn‟t mean we 499 morally and ethically should. I don‟t live there and a lot of people in Heritage Grove area are my good 500 friends. I told them that there may be things that they don‟t agree on but this, I agree with them. My kids 501 take the bus and it stops all along there and there‟s no sidewalk there. These kids stand out there in the 502 snow. When I heard that this was the decision and it was a done deal, it blew my mind. I just think it 503 would be a disaster. Another area why I am against this is that there has been talk that when there‟s 504 development property values actually increase. That depends on the type of development. With this type 505 of development there is no way that property values are going to increase. It can be said that people will 506 complain wherever it is; another huge reason that I am against this, not just now but I will forever oppose 507 this site, is because I don‟t want a band-aid approach and then come back to it later. If it‟s too small now 508 it‟s going to be too small a year from now. A big reason for it is because some of these citizens they did 509
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 11
their homework and came to the City and asked what was planned for that area. On that premise they 510 went and purchased their property and built their home. It isn‟t ethical and I will never ever support that 511 site for this facility. It‟s not like a builder was telling them this then the City‟s hands would be clean. 512 They came to the City offices to see what was going to happen at the end of that street and the City 513 showed them the plan. For me it‟s not just a legal issue it is an ethical issue. It‟s not fair. It‟s not the 514 right site for that in a residential location. It‟s not morally right. What I would like to see happen is on 515 Pleasant View Dr.; where it currently is there are some possibilities. I would like us to slow down and 516 back up and have all of the City Council involved every step of the way. All of us together it‟s a check 517 and balance. There‟s wisdom in that. I might miss something that you catch and vice versa. On Pleasant 518 View Dr where there is less population if something like that could work out I think we would have a lot 519 less squawking because that‟s where it already is. They‟re already used to the trucks coming in and out of 520 there. It won‟t be a change for those neighbors. It‟s already near a main corridor. I would like to see us 521 do that. We went through the different sites and why they wouldn‟t work and a couple of them I wasn‟t 522 really satisfied with the answers. I would like to propose that we get everyone involved and take this site 523 off the possibilities for good; if not for legal reasons then for ethical reasons. If we don‟t have any 524 integrity then we shouldn‟t be trusted and we shouldn‟t be voted back in, for those that run again. We can 525 put our heads together and work hard and something will happen there. In the future I hope that as we go 526 through this process again all of the City Council Members and the public, that we‟re here to serve, are 527 kept abreast of all the information that we can. Keep them posted step by step in what this process is. 528 When it comes to a point when it is said that it‟s a done deal, all of us know what the deal is. Some might 529 not like me saying this but I apologize to you. I appreciate you coming. 530
531
Council Member Flamm said what is interesting to him; he is on several committees here including the 532 Public Works Committee and the Business Development Committee. Last week we invited Ron Kusina 533 out to try to give us some ideas on commercial development. We were told that in Weber County all of 534 the industrial parks in Weber County are full and they are looking for more space. We don‟t have an 535 industrial area in North Ogden City. We don‟t have an industrial park to put this facility in. I don‟t know 536 where we‟d go. Can you imagine driving from out by the interstate to bring the vehicles in to the City? 537 The other thing that was mentioned was let‟s put it in the commercial zone. Go up and down Washington 538 and you‟ll see that there are homes near every parcel over 5 acres in the commercial zone. Where can we 539 put it in the City that won‟t affect anybody? The current site is not big enough for the proposed complex. 540 The very last thing we talked about was putting this facility up at the gravel pit and we didn‟t expect to 541 see it come up. Personally he is grateful that it turned out that it shouldn‟t have been on the list. We have 542 to go back and take another look. Do we really need a new Public Works complex? That‟s the first 543 question. If you go to the Blalock study you can go through the first 30 pages that address our current 544 facility and the problems we have there. There are enough OSHA issues there we could end up with 545 horrific lawsuits. We are back to saying should we do something? They City spent $69,000 to do the 546 study and determine that we should do. Take a look at the proposal it is posted on the City website. We 547 have taken a very systematic approach to determine whether we need a new Public Works complex. If 548 you look at the study you‟ll find that their recommendation is yes, we need to do something different. The 549 dilemma is where to put it. If any of you have five acres that you would love to sell the City at a 550 reasonable amount and the neighbors won‟t complain that would be ideal, I‟d love to hear it. 551
552
Alan Christiansen, 1305 E 2550 N, stated that the Blalock study is flawed because you‟re doing apples 553 and oranges. If the City didn‟t own that property would Blalock have come up with different numbers? I 554 don‟t think it would have. Council Member Flamm said the gravel pit was not #1 there were several other 555 pieces of property looked at. 556
557
Council Member Taylor asked the public to give the City Council the same respect that they showed the 558 public. 559
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 12
Council Member Flamm said we paid a lot of money to have a company come up and tell us that our 560 current facilities are inadequate. We have a site that has some problems; you can‟t build a facility there 561 that will handle the City until build out. As we look ahead there will be a lot more homes built in North 562 Ogden and it will take more equipment and more buildings for the City for years to come. It‟s not easy, 563 we are struggling through it. There is not an ideal site; no matter where we go in the City there will be 564 problems and people who are not going to be happy. The process of looking at the gravel pit was to see if 565 it would even work. That„s why we did some more looking to see if it would work. It‟s off the table, it‟s 566 not five buildable acres and it won‟t work for the current facility. We are back trying to figure out where 567 to go. I appreciate you being here. I would like to respond to the comment regarding utility increases and 568 sewer increase. Those increases are the result of federal government changes in the laws. Weber Sewer 569 District is the one making those increases. The City has to pass it on to the residents. Those numbers you 570 heard are a result of federal legislation. It‟s strictly out of our hands. We are trying to figure out what is 571 best to do. We are more than happy to meet with you and listen to your suggestions. We‟re just moving 572 ahead one step at a time. Anywhere we go; it‟s going to be a problem. Thank you for coming. 573
574
Council Member Taylor said first, I would like to say that I agree with everything you‟ve said because 575 that‟s smart politically but I don‟t. I believe with what brought you here tonight and I will not support 576 that site. I hope you‟ll listen to me to say a few things some you‟ll agree with and some not. The process 577 that happened here, I am obviously pretty new, but I have been hearing about this since late last year. All 578 but one of these meetings have been public meetings. I wish more of you had come to those and seen that 579 this is not a secret discussion. Hours were spent discussing this publicly. A brief meeting was held to 580 discuss specific properties in private and for the reasons our attorney has said. I largely feel that we have 581 screwed up with the process here. As one of your elected officials I have to take responsibility for 582 problems something I learned that as an Army officer. If one of my soldiers has done something, even if I 583 wasn‟t there, I am responsible. It‟s me who sets up the parameters and the discipline in the unit. I am 584 upset that you are upset. Clearly we screwed up somewhere. I‟m going to take responsibility for that and 585 work with my fellow Council Members to make sure we do better in the future. I promise you that is 586 going to happen; it‟s already happening. I want to draw a distinction here, there was nothing done in 587 secret or maliciously here. We do need to look at this whole process and look at where we made mistakes 588 to see where we broke the confidence with our residents. It‟s disappointing to me when I read things in 589 the paper that the City is a villain; that the City is doing things maliciously. I can see where citizens 590 could get that perception looking back. Please know folks, there was not a conspiracy here against your 591 neighborhood, there is not one ongoing. At the closed meeting we discussed the properties from the final 592 study there were several that were ranked higher. This was a very highly ranked property. It has been put 593 out incorrectly that this was the lowest ranked property. That is not true at all, it was ranked #4 I have the 594 study right here in front of me. Once the cost of land was figured in as the last factor it became the 595 highest ranking. The information that this was the lowest property or one of the lowest properties and has 596 risen somehow through staff mischief is just not true. The City Council has been informed of every 597 property that was higher and what happened to it. I realize that you didn‟t know that; I hear you. When 598 you are buying a house that is not a public transaction; there are strict confidentiality rules with real 599 estate. We do not want to raise your taxes any more than necessary to build a building like this; if the 600 building gets built. We try to find the best possible property, and those other properties fell out. You ask 601 what the consensus was. Well, we have this property we don‟t have to buy it; let‟s use this as the 602 proposed property. The next steps to be taken are two things; Mayor Harris was going to meet with the 603 neighbors nearby first prior to the other public meetings that would normally be held for this, to let those 604 residents know first and then testing that Mayor Harris has said needed to be done. There was certainly no 605 decision made that this was the site for sure. The City slated in that meeting additional testing to be done 606 to determine whether it was going to be feasible. What happened next was the meeting with those of you 607 that were there; I wasn‟t at the meeting with the residents but clearly something was said that gave the 608 residents the impression that this was a done deal. That was never true. That was not correct, that was 609 never approved. This project hasn‟t been approved. Any decision like that will be made in a meeting 610
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 13
similar to this one. If this building is built there will be a tax increase and there will be a lot of people 611 here. There‟s no reason for us to have a conspiracy about this. There was no conspiracy. You can believe 612 me or not but that‟s all that happened. Things were said at the meeting with the residents that were not 613 accurate. That has created a lot of the perceptions. That was a genuine mistake. The project is not 614 approved. No site has been approved. We don‟t want you to have a lack of confidence in the 615 government. The last thing I wanted to say is that it‟s not fair at all for any Council Member to get up 616 here and say he was kept in the dark about this proposal. It is inappropriate to say that. In addition to the 617 meeting that occurred, I think that it‟s common procedure that if you are absent from a meeting you need 618 to find out what occurred during that meeting. That‟s what I do every meeting I miss. When I get back I 619 come in and found out what happened. The City Manager has sent 3 updates to the Council, one was July 620 24th, one on July 31th, and one on July 19th, the first topic on all updates is this very topic. There is not a 621 conspiracy to keep a Council Member out of the loop. I think my summary is I promise there was no 622 conspiracy, I agree that the process was wrong and we need to look at that and make it better, I hope you 623 all stay just as involved and continue to come to the Council meetings. 624
625
Council Member Turner said I can‟t say more than what‟s been said, other than the fact that I appreciate 626 Mr. Berube apologizing. In this process, Mr. Berube has said he has been called some things. I have too 627 but I have thick skin. So everybody knows, people have called my Mom and said things about me. My 628 extended family, in other cities, has been called things. Also, my work has been called. Obviously this is 629 not the site to build this building. I am really a little hurt by the fact that the residents that voted me in 630 would call me the things they did. That‟s not cool. Man to man let‟s talk; man to woman too. I told my 631 boss that if it turned out to be between my career and City Council I would resign today from the Council. 632
633
Council Member Harris said I would like to think I‟m a lifelong learner. I have learned some things 634 tonight. Number 1, when Rachel Trotter calls you on a Friday afternoon and says you are the only 635 Council Member she can reach it would be best to not talk to her. Rachel probably quoted me correctly 636 but they were taken out of context. Also, don‟t reply to an email in the heat of a moment. If I am a 637 developer I have learned that it would be wise to include a drawing of a park near my development and 638 that will help my property sell. I do know what we do and what previous Council‟s have done; it‟s very 639 difficult to bind a future Council. So I think we have had a great discussion tonight about the future of 640 that site. Is it appropriate for the five acres complex we envision? It doesn‟t look like it. What some 641 future Council may decide, I don‟t know. The City evolves, the General Plan is revisited. A document 642 like that will evolve. We do have some plans for review coming up soon. 643
644
Council Member Turner said the agenda says discussion and/or action; do we need some action here? 645 The Committee will go back and look at other sites some other properties; do we need a motion for that? 646 Mayor Harris said we can do what the Council desires. This site is off the table, we will be looking at 647 other sites. See if we can find some more properties that would be suitable. The site in this neighborhood 648 is off the table but we are looking at other portions of the pit. We have 30 acres up there. I can‟t say what 649 will happen but the portion that abuts the neighborhood will not be considered any further. We will go 650 ahead and look at other sites and see if we can come to an agreement. 651
652
Chris O‟Neill, 2821 N 1275 E, said the City has 30 acres; we just argued about 4.7 acres. It‟s not going to 653 change by just moving it north a bit. Can there be some discussion about what we want to do with this 654 land so we don‟t have to keep coming here every three years. Council Member Flamm said he doesn‟t 655 know that anything is cast in concrete for that site. There were some considerable donations made that 656 turned another gravel pit into a soccer park. If your neighborhood could raise enough money then we 657 could develop a park that would be something that we could certainly consider. 658
659
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 14
Bruce Hall, 2548 N 1550 E, said he wanted to restate that nowhere on the east bench is a suitable location 660 for an industrial maintenance complex. It belongs in a central located area like a hub and spoke 661 configuration. Keep it off the foothills. 662
663
Neal Berube said he asked Mayor Harris if the City would consider downsizing the proposal. Is that site 664 being considered for a building being downsized? Mayor Harris said he doesn‟t know. Mr. Berube said 665 he met with Council Member Taylor several times and he never indicated that he had been updated on 666 this. He confirmed what Mr. Bigler said that he didn‟t know anything about this. He feels there is a 667 conflict with Council Member Turner and Big D Construction. He said he takes strong exception with 668 what Council Member Taylor said in public tonight about the site not being #1. Council Member Taylor 669 said that is not what I said in your home, I said I could not give you all the information on the sites. I said 670 a site had been lost due to money; a site was lost due to wetlands. I did give you some of the reasons but 671 I said I couldn‟t tell you them all. As to it being the number 1 site, I just explained that in my previous 672 comments. There was a numbering list from Blalock on which this site was #4; with the City owning the 673 property it came up to #1. There is nothing I‟m trying to hide here. 674
675
Justin Fawson, 2539 N 1600 E, said Mr. Taylor uses „we‟ very loosely. In his conversations with Mr. 676 Bigler and Mr. Flamm he doesn‟t believe that Mr. Taylor knew the reason that each site was not chosen. 677 None of the Council Members have addressed each site specifically. Council Member Taylor said there 678 were only 3 sites higher than this site in the numerical rankings not in the final rankings. For all three of 679 those sites we were told why they were not chosen. Was every site gone over, no, but the sites that were 680 higher numerically we were told why they were not selected. 681
682
Mayor Harris, it is obvious that we need to come to a resolution. We will take a careful look at things but 683 cannot sit here and tell you that site will never be built on. Whatever comes forward you will have plenty 684 of say about. We will have public comments no matter where we put the site. We will come to some 685 resolution and you will know about it and we will go from there. 686
687
Neal Berube asked the City Council to put a deed restriction on that site and resolve this issue in that area 688 once and for all. 689
690
Council Member Taylor said he would be comfortable looking at that, we have heard public discussion; 691 clearly we have heard some things we have not considered. The sound off the mountains he didn‟t think 692 of. That‟s what we need from the public. He would certainly be willing to support a vote to not put that 693 complex up there. 694
695
Council Member Flamm said he thinks if you look at the large piece of property and analysis it, you‟ll see 696 that the southern end was the only area that appeared to have the room. He personally doesn‟t feel 697 comfortable looking at any portions of that site right now. He is on the Committee and that is his feeling 698 at this point. He would not personally do anything to try to put anything up there at this time. We need to 699 go through the process and keep looking at properties of 5 acres. As far as he‟s concerned that area is off 700 the table. I don‟t know anything about deed restrictions. It would take some time to try to do a deed 701 restriction and Council would need to talk about that. There are advantages and disadvantages of that. 702 He would not be comfortable moving ahead on that without more facts. 703
704
Council Member Bigler asked if this could be put on a future City Council agenda and in the mean time 705 get all the information to each City Council Member to study so we know what we‟re talking about there. 706 I hope this would be taken off the table permanently, in my mind, it‟s a disaster area. The other point is 707 it‟s not just a matter of a developer trying to sell property; they came to the City and were shown a future 708 park. I propose that we take it off the table completely. How binding is a motion made now? Can a 709
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 15
future council undo it? Mayor Harris said that‟s the way he sees it. This Council can take it off the table 710 but we can‟t bind future councils. 711
712
Council Member Bigler moved that we permanently take off the table that entire site for building 713 this Public Works facility or anything like it because of what they were told when they bought the 714 property. Council Member Taylor seconded the motion. 715
716
Discussion on the motion: 717
Council Member Harris said she is not opposed to the thought, I think we have discussed this, we‟ve 718 heard all of the comments, I don‟t think we‟re going to have a Public Works facility there. If we pass that 719 motion tonight, the Committee that is studying this needs to have some options for that site and what it 720 might be of value for the City. I don‟t want a motion that binds it too much, if there is some use for that 721 that would be compatible for the neighborhood. Let the Committee do their work. Let‟s not tie their 722 hands. Council Member Taylor said please show some respect. Council Member Harris said there are 723 things that are still coming up about that property. She said she would like to hear the motion again. 724
725
Council Member Bigler repeated the motion and added that if it is not specific it should be more 726 something that follows that landscape something similar. Council Member Bigler amended the motion. 727 Council Member Taylor thinks that is a potential legal problem, we don‟t have before us what they were 728 told. Let‟s say the Public Works building is not going there but leave off what is going there. He would 729 support taking the Public Works building off but need to leave future discussion for another time. 730
731
Council Member Turner said he is not sure what the property is there. He is concerned, about deeds, 732 restrictions, what was said. Did something say that it has to be a park? Could it be a subdivision? He is 733 all for not putting the Public Works building there but not the rest. 734
735
Annette Spendlove, City Recorder, showed a drawing of the properties in question. She explained that 736 the Fife property was donated with certain stipulations. The property south of the substation, the City 737 bought from the Barker Family in 1971 and was deeded to the City in 1977. Ed Dickie, City Manager, 738 stated that the Attorney will look at this to determine whether there are stipulations on these other pieces. 739
740
Mayor Harris said he is ok taking the Public Works building off that entire site but thinks we need to be 741 very careful with what we say so we don‟t prohibit something that we are already doing up there. 742
743
Council Member Bigler moved to take the Public Works facility off that entire site and use that property 744 only for uses that will fit into the residential zoning. 745
746
Annette Spendlove, City Recorder, mentioned that Alan Christensen had the zoning ordinance and certain 747 other things are permitted there so be careful of your wording. 748
749
Council Member Bigler moved to stop the Public Works facility from going on that site. 750 Council Member Taylor seconded the motion. 751
752
Voting on the motion: 753
Council Member Flamm yes 754
Council Member Bigler yes 755
Council Member Taylor yes 756
Council Member Harris yes 757
Council Member Turner yes 758
Motion passed. 759
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 16
CONSIDERATION AND FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE FERNWOOD ESTATES 760 SUBDIVISION PHASE 2 761
762
Annette Spendlove, City Recorder, stated regarding Fernwood Estates Phase 2 that all improvements are 763 in. Kent Jones, City Engineer, has signed off and recommends that the City Council grant final 764 acceptance. 765
766
Council Member Flamm moved to grant final acceptance to the Fernwood Estates Subdivision 767 Phase 2. Council Member Bigler seconded. 768
769
Council Member Taylor said we discussed the additional safeguards because of past errors. He asked 770 have there been some updates done. Ed Dickie stated that Gary Kerr has brought it for the Council‟s 771 approval which shows that it has met all the conditions for final acceptance. Council Member Taylor 772 asked if there were two sets of eyes on this to catch potential mistakes. Ed Dickie stated that the process 773 is a lot tighter for this approval 774
775
Voting on the motion: 776
777
Council Member Turner yes 778
Council Member Taylor yes 779
Council Member Bigler yes 780
Council Member Flamm yes 781
Council Member Harris yes 782
Motion passed. 783
784
CONSIDERATION AND FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE HIDDEN WILLOW ESTATES 785 SUBDIVISION 786
787
Annette Spendlove, City Recorder, stated that Fieldstone Homes Utah has completed all improvements 788 for the Hidden Willow Estates Subdivision. Kent Jones has signed off on it and staff recommends 789 approval. 790
791
Council Member Taylor moved to grant final acceptance to the Hidden Willow Estates Subdivision. 792 Council Member Turner seconded. 793
794
Voting on the motion: 795
796
Council Member Flamm yes 797
Council Member Harris yes 798
Council Member Turner yes 799
Council Member Taylor yes 800
Council Member Bigler yes 801
Motion passed. 802
803
CONSIDERATION AND FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE HALLTREE SUBDIVISION PHASE 804 13 805
806
Annette Spendlove, City Recorder, said that all improvements are in and have been inspected. Kent Jones 807 has signed off on this. Final acceptance will release escrow funds to the developer. 808
809
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 17
Council Member Taylor moved to grant final acceptance to the Halltree Subdivision. Council 810 Member Turner seconded. 811
812
Voting on the motion: 813
814
Council Member Harris yes 815
Council Member Flamm yes 816
Council Member Bigler yes 817
Council Member Taylor yes 818
Council Member Turner yes 819
Motion passed. 820
821
COUNCIL/PUBLIC COMMENTS 822
823
Kent Bailey, 859 E 2850 N, thanked the Council and stated that he came tonight because he was asked by 824 someone concerned about the Public Works item. 825
826
Justin Fawson, 2539 N 1600 E, thanked the Council. He stated that there were some pointed things said 827 and he appreciates the Council‟s service. Your job is challenging; I want to publicly thank you. 828
829
Bob Buswell, 962 E 3025 N, thanked the Council. He does have something to talk about that is far in the 830 future. When we talk about sidewalks, buses and trucks, Mountain Rd. in the long run is going to be 831 Skyline Dr. You all know that but he was hoping that there would still be some people here to realize that 832 things will be changing up there. 833
834
Bruce Jones, 750 W 4200 N, Pleasant View, said he doesn‟t want to belabor the problems discussed 835 tonight. You all read my name in the paper. I understand that you all know what it‟s like to have things 836 said negative about you. Mr. Taylor, in the evolving of Quail Ponds, if you examine the records, 837 everything that was expected of me, required of me, was done. There were some things that some select 838 people in that Phase didn‟t want to abide by. The motivation of those people began the process of 839 requesting the vacation of the PRUD ordinance. Knowing the atmosphere there, I felt it was the best thing 840 for everybody concerned. As to why I didn‟t come to the meeting, I didn‟t ask for the meeting, I wasn‟t 841 needed to lead the meeting. I was not in town. I believe the reporter called my office while I was out of 842 town for my input on the dispute. I have asked Mayor Harris if he could have a private meeting with you 843 and the Planning Commission Chairman. I guess I am just feeling from what I‟m hearing from you 844 tonight it‟s not fun to have your name in lights and in the paper. 845
846
Dave Hulme, 513 E 1700 N, also wanted to add his thanks for what the City Council does. Mr. Hulme 847 stated that Council Member Turner said he has thick skin and I am glad I lost to every one of you. I don‟t 848 want the citizens of this community to believe that the number one issue for decision making in this City 849 is public clamor. I don‟t think that emotions, certainly the kind of behavior that is regularly displayed in 850 something this emotional and complete lack of respect for rules of law should influence decisions. The 851 Mayor chairs this meeting and he gets to decide whether people applaud. He was disappointed in having 852 seen that. I would hope that everyone understands that we are going to move this from here to 853 somewhere else and the residents there are going to wonder why we gave more consideration to these 854 people than them. I hope as we move forward in the City we follow the rule of law, the Constitution, and 855 not ridicule someone for making a mistake or misremembering. More people will then be more 856 comfortable running for public office. I don‟t have the courage to do it again. I think that‟s too bad; I 857 think I have a lot to offer. Thank you again for what you do, it is appreciated. I know it‟s thankless but 858 you are in our thoughts and prayers. 859
860
City Council August 24, 2010 Page 18
Council Member Flamm stated that his father recently passed away and City staff sent flowers. He 861 wanted to thank them publically. 862
863
Council Member Bigler said for him the decision had nothing to do with public clamor. As he met with 864 the citizens, he told them that we will not always see eye to eye but on this issue I felt strongly that this 865 location was not the way to go. Thank you for coming out tonight. We appreciate you as citizens and we 866 realize that we are public servants and dedicated to listen to you, put our heads together and come up with 867 the best decisions for the City. 868
869
Council Member Taylor said he wanted to thank everyone who came to participate. Hopefully, maybe we 870 will see more people coming out. What disappointed him most is that if people want to blame the elected 871 officials, that‟s fine. They are the ones that the people voted to do that stuff. One major frustration for 872 him is accusations about the staff manipulating things or running this project, those things are not 873 accurate. We were all involved and made aware of what was going on. Where there have been mistakes, 874 and there have been, the City Council will take responsibility. 875
876
Council Member Bigler asked whether the next meeting has been changed to the 7th. Mayor Harris stated 877 yes, September 7, 2010. Council Member Bigler asked if the business license fees and Good Landlord 878 Program will be on that agenda. Mayor Harris stated that they will be setting the public hearing only on 879 the 7th. 880
881
Annette Spendlove, City Recorder, read a letter from a resident that reads as follows: 882
883
To the citizens, the Council, the Mayor and Staff, 884
885
I just wanted to express my gratitude to this great City for picking up our water bill while Corey is 886 deployed in the Air Force. He is miserable there and wishes he was home. I can’t say that I have enjoyed 887 having him gone either. It is so awesome to know I have one less bill through all this and I appreciate it 888 very much. It is a great thing the City supports the military in this community. We live in an awesome 889 place. Thank you once again, 890
891
Sincerely, Julie Baggs 892
893
Ed Dickie, City Manager, stated that there will be a ribbon cutting on Monday, August 30, 2010 at 894 11:45am for Yo!Gurt. It is at 428 E 2600 N just east of 7-11 across from Smith‟s strip mall. 895
896
ADJOURNMENT 897
898
Council Member Taylor moved to adjourn. Council Member Turner seconded. 899
900
The meeting adjourned at 8:55pm. 901
902
___________________________________ 903
Mayor Richard G, Harris 904
905
___________________________________ 906
City Recorder 907
908
___________________________________ 909
Date approved 910
September 23, 2008 North Ogden City Council Agenda and Minutes
This was an interesting North Ogden City council meeting read more about the meeting here.
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
AUGUST 12, 2008 - 5:30PM
505 EAST 2600 NORTH
NORTH OGDEN CITY, UTAH
Welcome, Invocation & Pledge of Allegiance: Council Member Jed Musgrave
CONSENT AGENDA
1. Action to approve the minutes of June 3, 2008.
2. Action to approve the minutes of July 22, 2008 City Council meeting.
3. Action to approve the business licenses.
4. Action to approve Ranch View Estates Phase II Conditional Acceptance.
5. Action to approve Ranch View Estates Phase III Conditional Acceptance.
AGENDA
6. Public comments.
7. Discussion and/or action to approve the business license application for Crossroads Academy, a group
home for boys, located at 2894 N. 400 E.
Presenter: Gary Kerr, City Building Official
6 pm
8. Public Hearing to receive comments on the proposal to create a Fire District.
Presenter: Lynn Froerer, North View Fire Agency Chief
6:30 pm
9. Public Hearing to receive comments on the proposal not to accept the Certified Tax Rate of .001997
and to adopt the tax rate of .002173.
Presenter: Debbie Cardenas, City Finance Director
10. Discussion and/or action to approve Resolution #09-2008. A Resolution adopting the tax rate of
.002173 for the City of North Ogden.
Presenter: Edward Dickie, City Administrator
11. Discussion and/or action to approve Ordinance #2008-14. An Ordinance adopting the Final Budget
with its Associated Forms, Schedules and Attachments for Fiscal Year 2008-2009.
Presenter: Edward Dickie, City Administrator
12. Discussion and/or action on Resolution #10-2008. A Resolution to approve changing signatures, on an
America First Money Market Account, to Debbie Cardenas and William Bernard.
Presenter: Annette Spendlove, City Recorder
13. Discussion on a proposal to draft Guidelines for the Sponsorship of Events in North Ogden.
Presenter: Gary Kerry City Building Official
14. Public/Council comments.
15. Adjournment.
RDA
1. Action to approve RDA minutes for the May 13, 2008 meeting.
2. Public Hearing to receive comments on the proposed Final Budget for Fiscal Year 2008-2009.
Presenter: Debbie Cardenas, City Finance Director
3. Discussion and/or action to approved the Final Budget for Fiscal Year 2008-2009.
Presenter: Debbie Cardenas, City Finance Director
4. Adjournment.
14. Adjournment.
|
