Town Council

MINUTES ALTA TOWN COUNCIL VIRTUAL MEETING Wednesday, November 9, 2022, 4:00 PM Alta Community Center (virtual), 10351 E. Highway 210, Alta, Utah PRESENT: Mayor Bourke Councilmember John Byrne Councilmember Sheridan Davis Councilmember Elise Morgan STAFF PRESENT: John Guldner, Town Administrator Mike Morey, Town Marshal Chris Cawley, Assistant Town Administrator Jen Clancy, Town Clerk Molly Austin, Deputy Clerk ALSO PRESENT: Cameron Platt, Legal Counsel Craig Heimark, Treasurer NOT PRESENT: Councilmember Carolyn Anctil TOWN COUNCIL MEETING 1. CALL THE REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING TO ORDER AND DECLARATION 00:00:00 Mayor Bourke welcomed everyone to the Town Council meeting of November 9 at 4:00 pm. Pursuant to his October 27, 2022 determination Mayor Bourke said that it is in the community’s best interest to hold this meeting virtually without an anchor location. 2. CITIZEN INPUT 00:00:20 The was no citizen input. 3. ALTA SKI AREA UPDATE, MIKE MAUGHAN 00:02:00 Mike Maughan reported an almost 60” base, which is probably the highest base they have had since the year 2000. The ski area will open November 18, 2022. He reported the new Sunnyside Lift installation is about a month behind schedule, they are hoping to have it online by Christmas but if the lift isn’t ready then they will use Albion Lift through the Christmas holiday. They have not had any progress with Utah Transit Authority (UTA) regarding their reductions in bus service and decision to not service the wildcat lot. Mike reported they have added Fridays to the parking reservation system. The Alta Town Council Meeting November 9, 2022 1 reservation system is open and they are accepting reservations, which are required Friday, Saturday, Sundays and peak holiday weeks starting on December 16. The parking lots will be closed daily from midnight to 7:30am. 4. CENTRAL WASATCH COMMISSION 00:15:40 Jeff Silvestrini, the Mayor of Millcreek introduced himself and said he served on the Central Wasatch Commission (CWC) with Mayor Bourke. He said he was here with Blake Perez and Lindsey Nielsen to provide an update on the commission and answer any questions. It was critical for Alta to be involved because the commission deals with our front, back and side yards. Jeff proceeded to provide background information on the formation and work of the CWC, including reviewing their role to convene various stakeholders that cherish these mountains and to try and resolve conflict where they can and achieve cooperation. They also assist congressional and state leaders in deciding how to manage these mountains in a collaborative way. Blake Perez reviewed the stakeholder’s council and their role. He called out the Mountain Transportation System as a key piece of work that the CWC does, focusing on regional transportation systems including short and long-term planning initiatives. He also touched upon the Visitor-Use Study. Lindsey Nielson provided an update on the Environmental Dashboard which started as a one-time report card for environmental heath but has evolved into website tool that has amassed existing data for five environmental elements (air quality and climate, geology and soil, vegetation, water, and wildlife) into one place. She reviewed the CWC short-term project grants as well as the Central Wasatch National Conservation and Recreation Area Act (CWNCRA). Mayor Bourke offered that he is anxiously awaiting the results of the Visitor-use Study. 5. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA 00:46:20 MOTION: Elise Morgan moved to accept the consent agenda and minutes from the October 12, 2022 meeting and Sheridan Davis seconded the motion. John Byrne commented that a prohibition of construction during the winter is not in the original PUD documents but that a winter prohibition is a viable option for HOA’s to follow. VOTE: All were in favor. The consent agenda and minutes from October 12, 2022 were approved. 6. QUESTIONS REGARDING DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS 00:51:00 There were no questions. 7. MAYOR’S REPORT Alta Town Council Meeting November 9, 2022 2 00:51:20 Mayor Bourke reported the reduction (to the tune of 70%) in UTA bus service and removal of wildcat bus stop is really a big deal for those coming to work and going skiing. He reported that he and Mike Maughan and others have been trying to compensate for this somehow. He has asked for a fraction of that money UTA would have used servicing the routes to provide for local service that we would fund. He has communicated with UTA executives but hasn’t gotten anywhere. The issue is not the absence of money but inability to hire drivers. The Mayor reported he and other Mayors have submitted letters to the CWC and UDOT opposing the gondola. He also had an opinion editorial piece included in the SL Tribune last month. Mayor Bourke reported that the Howitzers on the top of Peruvian Ridge would be retired in a few years. He is working to acquire one of them for display due to its historical value to the community. The Mayor asked if any of the council members opposed the acquisition of a rifle as a historical artifact for display in town. No council members voiced concern and it was determined they were all in support of moving forward with the Army. The Mayor has recently met with the chief of UFA regarding service. Salt Lake County has decided it won’t contribute to the canyons subsidy for UFA and so there are concerns we won’t be getting a 4th person at station 113 and property taxes may go up slightly. The Mayor shared a property tax pie chart showing a breakdown of taxes. He highlighted that the Town of Alta is about 7% of the total property tax bill. The Mayor added that an equivalently valued property at Snowbird had a property tax 15-20% higher that if it were in Alta. Mayor Bourke noted that nearly all of us in Alta are built over granite that slowly emits radon a radioactive gas. He suggested that the community to be aware of associate health hazards and encouraged radon testing and mitigation for the safety of inhabitants. Testing can be done by anyone and test kits are free. The next meet will be on December 14, 2022 at 2pm. Prior to the council meeting there will be a budget meeting where the results of the FY22 audit would be presented. There will also be a public hearing regarding amendments to the FY23 budget. 8. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON 2022-O-6 REGARDING CIVIL CODE VIOLATIONS 01:16:00 Cameron Platt said this was the last part of the legislative action needed to designate Interstate to be the code enforcement officer for the Town. The updates allow parking to be enforced civilly. MOTION: Roger Bourke motioned to adopt Ordinance 2022-O-6, and John Byrne seconded. The Mayor noted that at the end of the ordinance there was a paragraph that had to do with bicycles on trails. This section was disconnected with the rest of this section of the ordinance in dealing with parking. He recommends that section 6-1-4: Bicycle Operation be deleted as indicated. Alta Town Council Meeting November 9, 2022 3  VOTE: All in favor. Ordinance 2022-O-6 was adopted with the modification to remove section 6-1-4: Bicycle Operation. 9. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON 2022-R-19 MEETING PROCEDURES 01:21:20 MOTION: Mayor motioned to adopted Resolution 2022-R-19 meeting procedures and John Byrne seconded the motion. To clarify, John Byrne asked if abstaining counted as voting. Cameron responded that council members can vote, abstain, and recuse themselves, and that abstaining is considered a vote. VOTE: All in favor. Resolution 2022-R-19 was adopted unanimously. 10. ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET ADJUSTMENT FOR WAGE STUDY 01:24:00 Mayor Bourke explained that he didn’t have a good sense if staff was being over or underpaid, although he had his suspicions. Craig Heimark has found a qualified contractor (Mike Swallow) to conduct a wage study for the Town for less than $5,000. Craig articulated that John Guldner had started the work before him, and he felt it was important to get the work done as quickly as possible. He explained the reasons it was important 1) under the previous Mayor a salary adjustment was made in the Marshal’s department and not for the other departments 2) it’s important for the Town to work toward multi-year frameworks especially for staff planning and career path discussions and 3) using an outsider helps because they don’t have skin in the game and it’s a best practice to base any salary revisions or career path revisions on data. Jen Clancy identified that we didn’t anticipate the wage study when passing the budget. She explained that the amount for the study doesn’t reach a threshold within the Town’s purchasing policy to require extra bids or council approval. She explained that this item is on the agenda in order to ask for support of an administrative transfer within the same fund (ie the General Fund). Jen explained she would transfer $5,000 from GL Code 10-54-325 (legal exp) into 10-43-310 (professional service) in order to have the funds available for this study. She explained that the December budget amendment would bump 10-54-35 back up to $35,000. She doesn’t want this adjustment to come as a surprise to the council. Craig reviewed an example work product with the council. He explained what’s different about this contractor’s study is that he specializes in municipalities and does not use for-profit company data which is good for comparables. Additionally, Mike’s methodology adjusts for 4 factors 1) job knowledge 2) management responsibility 3) difficulty of work meaning judgement and deadlines, and 4) the work environment meaning hazards and physical exertion. Craig explained he felt Mike is uniquely qualified to do this study due to his database and his more detailed methodology. He went on to point out that in small organizations people wear multiple hats and this methodology appears to address that better than other studies he has seen. Alta Town Council Meeting November 9, 2022 4 Sheridan Davis expressed she was concerned because we are so unique in Alta. She added the institutional history and knowledge of our staff is so unique and she is curious how that will be valued. She would appreciate an expert opinion, but she isn’t sure he’s going to get it. Craig responded that this study is an input into the Town Council to make a decision about what they want to do with salaries. The Mayor stated we would proceed with the study, and that the budget would be formalized to reflect the study’s expense next month. 11. NEW BUSINESS 01:44:40 Sheridan Davis commented that the ballot box was quite full and asked if we needed a bigger one. Sheridan also asked about public bathroom facilities. Jen reminded the council that the town office has public restroom when open and that the Deep Powder House has a restroom that’s open to the public. The Mayor said he was working on better public restroom options at our trailheads. Mike Morey asked that if property owners on the interlodge notification list had any changes to their contact information to make sure and update Alta Central. 12. MOTION TO ADJOURN 01:49:25 MOTION: John Byrne motioned to adjourn, and Sheridan Davis seconded. VOTE: All in favor. The meeting was adjourned. Passed this 14th day of December, 2022 _____________________ Jen Clancy, Town Clerk Alta Town Council Meeting November 9, 2022 5