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June 1, 2010Minutes of the Centerville City Council meeting held Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Centerville City Council Chambers, 250 North Main Street, Centerville, Utah. MEMBERS PRESENT Mayor Ronald G. Russell
Council Members Justin Y. Allen STAFF PRESENT
Steve Thacker, City Manager VISITORS Interested Citizens PRAYER/THOUGHT Councilman Ken Averett OPEN SESSION No comment. PRESENTATION Delane England, Sylvia Perkins, and Phil Wright from Freedom’s Light Foundation gave a short presentation regarding the up-coming Celebration of the Constitution on September 17th and 18th at the Bountiful City Park. The purpose of the celebration is to encourage individuals to read the constitution and learn what it means. There are many learning opportunities and activities during the event, including books, pictures, games, stage production, etc. Ms. England asked the Council for support through participation, advertisement and financial contribution. She said most cities have been willing to donate $500 for the event, but they would be happy with any donation. The event is free to the public, but there are operating costs. This is what the donations are used for. City staff will work with Ms. England in retrieving information that can be placed in the next City newsletter. The City Council will discuss the possibility of a contribution and report back to the Foundation at a later date. MINUTES REVIEW AND APPROVAL The minutes of the City Council work session, Council meeting, and closed meeting held May 18, 2010 were reviewed and amended. Councilwoman Lindstrom made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Councilman Averett and passed by unanimous vote (5-0). PUBLIC HEARING - FY 2011 TENTATIVE BUDGET Mayor Russell opened the public hearing regarding the FY 2011 Tentative Budget. There was no comment; he closed the public hearing. Steve Thacker, City Manager, reviewed the Tentative Budget for FY 2011. Mr. Thacker provided highlights regarding revenues, employee compensation, capital projects, etc., and the strategies used to balance the budget. At 7:25 p.m. Councilman Averett made a motion to move into a Municipal Building Authority meeting to discuss the FY 2011 Tentative Budget. The motion was seconded by Councilman Cutler and passed by unanimous vote (5-0). At 7:25 p.m. a Municipal Building Authority meeting was conducted in order to hold the necessary public hearing for the FY 2011 Tentative Budget. See respective minutes for details. At 7:27 p.m. a Redevelopment Agency meeting was conducted in order to hold the necessary public hearing for the FY 2011 Tentative Budget. See respective minutes for details. At 7:30 p.m. the regular City Council meeting was reconvened. CODE AMENDMENT – Section 13-3-060 regarding the discharge of firearms within the city, Section 13-3-062 regarding the discharge of missiles or projectiles Ken Nessen, resident, distributed copies of several sections of State statutes. As he read through these sections he provided argument as to why he believes cities do not have the right to regulate the discharge of firearms on private property. He encouraged the Council to throw out the current ordinance or at least consider an ordinance that he prepared which states that the discharge of firearms is permitted on private property as long as it does not leave the person’s premises. Councilman Cutler said he has read through these State laws and understands them differently than Mr. Nessen. He understands them to give cities authorization to regulate the discharge of firearms within their city. He has also never found anyone who agrees with Mr. Nessen’s interpretation of the statutes and asked if Mr. Nessen has ever had anyone agree with his views. Mr. Nessen said there was a lawyer with whom he was acquainted that agreed with his views, but he would not give his name. He asked the Council, as a courtesy, to provide their views and understanding of the statutes in writing so he could review their arguments. The Council, the Mayor, and the City Attorney, assured Mr. Nessen they have provided written argument to him on several occasions. Lisa Romney, City Attorney, said State statute gives express power (not implied power) to municipalities for the right to regulate the discharge of firearms. It does not allow cities to regulate possession of firearms, only discharge of firearms. Ms. Romney reviewed the two proposed versions (1a and 1b) of the proposed revisions to Section 13-3-060 and Section 13-3-062 of Title 13 as provided to the Council prior to the meeting. Version 1a allows discharge of certain items (BB gun, slingshot, bow and arrow, etc.) on private property if the object is “not capable” of firing more than fifty feet. Version 1b allows the use of such items on private property if the projectile does not exceed fifty feet. Neal Worsley, Police Chief, said he prefers version 1a (“not capable”). There are many who believe they can safely discharge a weapon and contain it within fifty feet, but it does not take much misjudgment for projectiles to go beyond that. He said anything can exceed fifty feet, evening throwing an object, but it is safer to state that the object should not be capable of exceeding fifty feet. This is safer than saying an object must be stopped at fifty feet. He feels the public would comply with this ordinance. Councilman Wright said he is a believer in personal liberty and freedom to govern one’s self. He believes both options require judgment and obedience to the law from the individual discharging the weapon. He feels option 1b is sufficient and the judgment should be left up to the individual. Sometimes too much power is given to law enforcement. He suggested adopting version 1b and giving it a trial run before becoming more restrictive. As long as the discharge is kept within an individual’s private property, it is sufficient. He does not want to get into the enforcement of deciding which weapon is capable or not capable of firing fifty feet. He also suggested adding a clause stating that minors must be accompanied by an adult when firing a weapon. Councilman Averett disagreed. He has no intention of allowing the discharge of weapons within a neighborhood. Firing ranges have been established for a reason and the discharge of weapons should be done under that guide, not in backyards. This ordinance was established to keep neighborhoods safe. Councilman Cutler agreed. There are many regulations that are set in order to keep people safe, this is one of them. Councilman Averett made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2010-04 (version 1a) amending Section 13-3-060 of the Centerville Municipal Code regarding the discharge of firearms within the city, and enacting Section 13-3-062 of the same regarding the discharge of missiles or projectiles. The motion was seconded by Councilman Cutler and passed with a 4-1 vote. Councilman Wright opposed. WHITAKER HOME RESTORATION PROJECT Steve Thacker, City Manager, said this item has been postponed until a future City Council meeting. Staff is still awaiting information regarding the project. Mr. Thacker provided a brief report on the project. Staff recently met with the General Contractor, Museum Director, Museum Board Chair, and Council liaison in an effort to give direction regarding the many aspects of the project, including plans, funding/grants, compliance with regulations, etc. CURBSIDE GREEN WASTE PROGRAM Blaine Lutz, Finance Director, reported as of today there are about 600 households signed up for green waste disposal. This is 160 shy of the needed 760 or 20%; however, ACE Disposal is willing to move forward with the 600 for $3.13, but will likely request that those cans be placed for pick-up on only one side of the street. This will help ACE keep their costs low. This will also keep the total cost at the threshold of $5.50 for each resident ($3.13 to ACE, $2.00 to landfill, and remaining $0.37 to the City for maintenance). Once the 20% is met, then the price can be renegotiated. Mr. Lutz said ACE Disposal is committed to passing along any savings in the future. Mr. Lutz suggested moving forward with green waste disposal, he feels the 20% will be easily reached as the program is implemented and more residents are made aware. Councilman Cutler said it is in the Waste District’s (landfill) interest to have this program implemented; it improves the efficiency of the Burn Plant and also provides them with the material to create a product. He questioned whether they could lower their price. Councilwoman Lindstrom, liaison with the Waste District, said they are unwilling to lower their fee, but are helping Centerville implement the program by donating the first batch (600+) of cans. They are also willing to help administratively by advertising/educating the public through mailings and/or phone calls. The Mayor and Council agreed that as the program is implemented, more will sign-up. The Council agreed to move forward with the program and directed staff to proceed. DISCUSSION – UTOPIA Todd Marriot, UTOPIA Executive Director, updated the Council regarding UTOPIA and the infrastructure to be built in Centerville. He referred to a list of questions from staff and the Council as listed in an email from Steve Thacker dated May 25, 2010. He discussed the proposal for Centerville to join the Utah Infrastructure Association (UIA) which will help with bonding. There are currently millions of dollars worth of stranded infrastructure (conduit) in Centerville that could be connected; once the financing is in place this can move forward quickly. The build-out of Centerville is in UTOPIA’s new five-year plan. Mr. Marriot said the UTOPIA Stimulus Grant application is moving forward and they are in the “due diligence phase” of the process. He said UTOPIA is still working with RUS and dealing with those issues. UTOPIA would prefer a settlement and avoid a lawsuit, but will proceed if necessary. Mr. Marriot explained UTOPIA has reviewed the needed infrastructure, footprint by footprint in each city. The model for financing the construction of the infrastructure has changed, and would allow any service provider to use the infrastructure for free. The infrastructure will become a utility of the City and will be billed to households on their utility bill. Households will be free to choose their own service provider. He explained the new model, including the five-year plan, will be available for review mid-June. UTOPIA is willing to explain the details of the new model to those who will sign a non-disclosure statement. Councilman Wright expressed the importance of UTOPIA being upfront and forthcoming with information. He reminded Mr. Marriot that UTOPIA is representing Centerville and the open meeting laws apply, and he believes it is important that UTOPIA be generous with their information. Mr. Marriot agreed and said UTOPIA would like to be transparent, but also needs to make sure those seeking information are doing so in the interest of the project and the taxpayer. Mr. Marriot said the five-year plan requires UTOPIA to reach certain benchmarks and cover portions of the existing tax pledges. He said he is hoping to allow cities options in the bonding process, making it possible for cities to bond for only those items they wish to, and pay other expenses directly. He explained when the bonds are paid off the assets will be owned by Centerville. He also explained the long-term maintenance of the infrastructure can be done by the City’s Public Works Department or managed by UTOPIA. UTOPIA will maintain a department which will manage and facilitate network operations. Mr. Marriot said as soon as the five-year plan is ready for review, cities will be asked to approve that plan and bond for the improvements. He said that in a practical sense, the risk of the new bond is only 5-7% even though the first $20 million would increase the total debt service by about 12%. He said this is a small risk considering that Centerville is planned to be built-out in this plan. Councilman Cutler said the same argument has been made in the past. Centerville has been promised build-out more than once and has yet to see any progress. Things change and funds get used for other costs. He questioned what other assurances are there that Centerville will see progress. Councilman Averett agreed. He said he would like to see how Centerville was derived as a priority, what changed? What is the price per household? How do the models look, and how were the numbers developed? Mr. Marriot said this time priorities have changed, funds are now being allocated to specific areas. In the past there were very few service providers, now UTOPIA has fifteen service providers. Centerville’s priority is based on demographics and effectiveness. Centerville will take less to build-out than other communities, and the return on the investment will be greater in Centerville. He said he would like to walk through the model with the Council and discuss the numbers, the take rates, the variables, the assumptions, and how they were developed. UTOPIA wants all of the City officials to review the information and evaluate the plan. This will help UTOPIA progress and move forward to the benefit of the cities involved. Steve Thacker, City Manager, said staff will be in touch with UTOPIA and will be setting up several meetings for further discussions. MAYOR’S REPORT No report CITY MANAGER’S REPORT Steve Thacker, City Manager, used this time to report on a few items, including recent hires and upcoming meetings. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS Councilman Averett made a motion to approve the contract with the Utah Department of Community and Culture, Division of Housing and Community Development, for the 2010 Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $149,500. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Lindstrom and passed by unanimous vote (5-0). At 10:10 p.m. the meeting was adjourned.
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