City Council

COUNCIL WORK SESSION Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. City Hall – Council Chambers AGENDA 1. Council Meeting Follow-up 2. WYOSports Ranch: Minimum Setbacks 3. Part 2: Ice Arena Expansion 4. Part 2: Fire Safe Rooms 5. Flag Lots in Residential Areas 6. FY23 Budget Amendment #2 7. Boards and Commissions 8. Legislative Agenda 9. Agenda Review 10. Council Around the Table Mayor Knell called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. with the following Councilors present: Pacheco, Cathey, Pollock, Gamroth, Engebretsen, Jensen, Haskins, and Bond. 1. Council Meeting Follow Up City Manager Napier began by seeking direction from Council on what process they would like to see take place for leadership appointments at the end of every calendar year and if that process should be formalized. City Manager Napier added that should Council want to have a work session where discussions can take place that would be of great benefit. Councilor Pollock agreed and said this would be optimal as there are additional issues that constituents had brought up recently as well as leadership appointments. Mayor Knell received agreement from all Councilors to add the topic to a work session. 2. WYOSports Ranch: Minimum Setbacks Next, City Manager Napier introduced Community Development Director, Liz Becher, to discuss the WYOSports Ranch and the need for Council’s direction on an ordinance concerning setback changes. This would pertain to not only the WYOSports Ranch project but also all City park zoned properties. Ms. Becher further explained that historically the City has property park-zoned with setback requirements of 30 feet. The WYOSports Ranch developers recognized a need to maximize the lot size, and in doing so, the site design staff felt it appropriate to request a setback reduction from 30 to 15 feet. Ms. Becher continued explaining that staff had researched other potential solutions including a variance, but this brings extreme challenges and is often difficult to gain approval, given the stringent legal findings required. Another option was in the form of a zone change from park historic to commercial zoning, but this was not a preferred option when heard by the Planning and Zoning Commission in December. Councilor Gamroth asked Ms. Becher for confirmation that this would not have an impact on other properties if the setback rule were to change. Ms. Becher said that staff has no current concern about negative effects on any of the other park-zoned properties and that Council would be in the loop if anything were to arise in the future. Councilor Cathey expressed concern over the corner lot located on 21st Street and Outer Drive/Wyoming Boulevard and any future developments there, explaining a 15-foot setback would be a safety concern for park users, especially given that playground equipment could then be placed 01/10/2023 Casper City Council Work Session Minutes Page 1 of 9 closer to the road. Councilor Cathey also added the same concern for the park located at 21st Street and Kingsbury. Ms. Becher agreed to the validity of these concerns. Councilor Engebretsen asked the Director of Parks Recreation and Public Facilities, Zulima Lopez, if this change would benefit Washington Park. Ms. Lopez responded that this could potentially give more flexibility with plans, but stated she understands Councilor Cathey's concerns. She added that the City has complete control over where structures, including playground equipment, are placed and that the safety of citizens and park users would be a priority when doing so. Mayor Knell asked Ms. Becher if a conditional use permit is possible for this specific setback request. Ms. Becher asked City Planner, Craig Collins to explain. He told Council the process is a variance and reiterated the difficulties posed in getting approval. Mayor Knell then asked for confirmation that the Planning and Zoning Commission had already approved this and forwarded it to Council, to which Ms. Becher confirmed. Councilor Pollock agreed this is a good option to move forward with and stated that Council should allow and trust Parks Department staff to implement internal policies to place structures in safe areas and not near roadways. Ms. Becher asked for direction from Council to move forward with this plan. Councilor Engebretsen and Vice Mayor Pacheco agreed with Councilor Pollock to trust in staff making appropriate decisions with this setback rule in place. Mayor Knell then asked Councilors to give direction, and all Councilors gave their thumbs up. Ms. Becher asked to bring up one last topic before moving on concerning the topic of a modified lease agreement and explained its correlation to this project. Ms. Becher began by explaining that when the creating the plat for the City-owned property around the Ford Wyoming Center, Council zoned the property across the street from the site of the WYOSports Ranch as M1 and M2. Ms. Becher further stated in 2022 the lease agreement between the City of Casper and WYOSports Ranch was drafted, and it contained a small overlap of lease lines with what the City owns, and what the WYOSports Ranch wants to lease. Ms. Becher explained to Council that the City Attorney’s Office would be bringing a modified agreement forward in a future memo that will show the adjustment needed with those property lines. 3. Part 2: Ice Arena Expansion Next, City Manager Napier discussed follow-up action that needed to take place after the Council directed staff to work with local user groups to come to an agreeable approach for a project concerning the Ice Arena adding a second sheet of ice. Staff hopes that if Council feels comfortable with tonight's information they will give the green light for the project to move forward, as well as identify means of leveraging some funding opportunities that staff has presented for the project. He continued that even with the Council agreeing to move forward tonight that more discussions would need to take place concerning the funding options. He said that this is a rare opportunity that a public project receives this base type of private funding partners. The private funders also notified staff of an aggressive and ambitious timeline of 18 months to complete the fundraising. As well as ensuring that if the funds were not raised within that period, the project would cease and the City would not be left to solely fund the project. This project would also require consideration of operational needs in order to reduce or remove the subsidy which Council had concerns over. He explained that if the Council's goal is to eventually eliminate the subsidy in that facility, the only means by which that will be accomplished is expanding the amount of ice to sell, and that only comes in the form of making a second sheet of ice available. With the ice currently being sold out a singular rate increase will not eliminate the subsidy. He pressed the importance of the role Casper can and will play in the future of the sports tourism industry in Wyoming and that sports tourism is an economic pillar of the Casper community. This second sheet of ice is 01/10/2023 Casper City Council Work Session Minutes Page 2 of 9 something that could be of huge benefit to Casper. Vice Mayor Pacheco asked for clarification, that if Council says yes tonight is that an agreement to go into further discussions, or is the Council agreement tonight a commitment to the dollars as well. City Manager Napier responded that the objective tonight is to equip Council with the information needed to decide on moving the project forward, along with approving the investment floor of $3 million and not to exceed $4.4 million. He further explained that after the initial approval, further discussions on the funding options, which may include money the City has on hand, a Capital Construction Loan, Certificates of Participation, bond possibilities, or a combination of these options. Next, Director of Parks, Recreation and Public Facilities, Zulima Lopez, expressed her support of the project, emphasizing her belief that this is the only opportunity to eliminate the subsidy at the Ice Arena and the further hope of improving the City's position in the sports tourism industry. She continued explaining that there are critical operational strategies that would need to take place as well to completely reach that zero-subsidy position, and those would include expanding concessions to allow beer sales by utilizing a Special Malt Beverage Permit. Selling beer along with other food item enhancements is projected to double revenue. In addition, being able to attract a junior hockey club with a second sheet of ice along with locker room facilities could generate $25,000 annually in rental fees. Another point Ms. Lopez made included corporate sponsorships. These partnerships would need to be in place to zero out the subsidy. The sponsorships include multiple naming rights, including ice naming and building naming rights. This would create a reliable and constant stream of revenue for the facility. Finally, Ms. Lopez discussed some small rate increases, including admission, rental fees, and merchandise sales. Councilor Pollock asked if the City is in a good position to retain a club or replace a club to create this sustainable source of revenue. Ms. Lopez related it to Mike Lansing Field and the baseball clubs that have utilized the field location over the years. Ms. Lopez expanded that Casper is a highly desirable location to these clubs. Councilor Pollock then asked out of all the subsidies currently, would spending the $4 million have the biggest impact on the subsidies as a whole. City Manager Napier responded that the highest subsidy Casper has is the Ford Wyoming Center. He added that the Ford Wyoming Center and Hogadon subsidies and the ways those facilities could be leveraged are not consistent with what has been discussed with the Ice Arena. The major factor making the Ice Arena project such a great opportunity is having a private group collaborating with the City, and that group providing much of the funding needed for the Ice Arena's second sheet of ice. Councilor Engebretsen said Casper is becoming a hub for sports and with the WYOSports facility addition as well as the tennis facility, and the City should keep this momentum going. Councilor Jensen asked if the City would have help from organizations like Visit Casper to put force behind bringing more people and groups to Casper to utilize these sports venues. The President of the Casper Hockey Club, Travis St. John, explained that all of the advertising and push to bring tournaments in town comes from the Hockey Club. The ice time is currently being maxed and sold out, so bringing more events to Casper does not seem possible currently. Mayor Knell added that Visit Casper does help with these types of events. Councilor Jensen asked if the current ice machine would cover what is required for the second sheet of ice, and City Manager Napier confirmed this. Councilor Gamroth made note of an announcement recently made by Cheyenne's Mayor referencing a new Sports Complex in the works. He said with other municipalities looking at the large interest in sports tourism and taking actions to increase their positions we should as well. Councilor Pollock asked the Council to give a bit of attention to the memo referencing loans for the facility funding, and explained that the pros outweigh the cons. Mayor Knell then asked 01/10/2023 Casper City Council Work Session Minutes Page 3 of 9 Council for a thumbs-up vote to move forward with the project, and all councilors gave their thumbs up. 4. Flag Lots in Residential Areas Next, City Manager Napier addressed issues with certain blocked-in property lots not having direct access to adjacent streets or street corridors. Council would discuss whether utilizing flag lots as well as setting footage requirements to flag lots, would benefit the City. Liz Becher, Director of Community Development, explained this came from a citizen requesting a look into the minimum required widths for residential flag lots. Ms. Becher utilized a diagram showing a main street, and a curb cut to allow for a 12-foot width “pole” on the flag lot, which is staff's recommendation. She explained this allows maximization of the lots, but can have a downside of creating additional curb cuts and, therefore, a loss of street parking. She said discussions with Casper Fire Department had taken place in order to understand the footage required for Fire personnel to gain access during an emergency. After determination of the footage requirement, staff is prepared to bring an ordinance to Council for formal approval if that is Council’s direction tonight. Councilor Engebretsen said with this being particularly for the downtown area and lots that have two homes, she was concerned of elimination of setbacks with this proposal. City Planner, Craig Collins, said the front setback requirement is approximately 15 to 18 feet, and the driveway can be included in that figure. Councilor Cathey asked if this would be an easement or property ownership. Mr. Collins said every lot is required to have frontage on the street so it has to be part of the lot, which is ownership. Councilor Cathey added concern about snow removal in an emergency and not having enough room for fire trucks. Mayor Knell asked Fire Chief, Jacob Black, if there are instances where fire trucks have limited room, and may have to park away from the scene and then run a fire hose. Fire Chief Black confirmed this is something Fire personnel train for often. Councilor Cathey expressed concern about making this citywide, because developers could bypass making streets and sewers and using flag lots to expand their profits. Councilor Gamroth expressed similar concern and said if this is more for the downtown area, that wording within the ordinance should identify that. Mayor Knell asked Mr. Collins if this can be restricted to the downtown area, and Mr. Collins identified Cul-de-sacs that face similar situations, and that it does have application in other areas besides the downtown area. Mayor Knell directed Council to finalize the discussion. Councilor Haskins asked about specifications on single residences versus four-plex buildings. Mayor Knell and Mr. Collins responded by informing Council that zoning handles these types of situations. With the Council's direction tonight, this ordinance would allow for 12-foot width on single residential properties. Mayor Knell asked Council for their direction, and all Councilors gave their thumbs up to moving this item forward for formal approval. 5. Part 2: Fire Safe Room Next, City Manager Napier said this item is a follow-up regarding the possibility of safe rooms in fire stations or other security options including cameras, phones, or a combination of those. He continued by saying staff had researched a multitude of points around this topic. Some of the items were crime statistics and data on incidents happening at or near fire stations throughout the last three to five years. They also researched general cost figures. Fire Chief Black began by stating installing "safe rooms" in fire stations could potentially bring dangerous situations to fire departments that fire personnel are not trained to handle. He then stated he had gathered cost estimates for camera installations on the perimeters of all the fire stations and ring down phones 01/10/2023 Casper City Council Work Session Minutes Page 4 of 9 outside the front entrances to the stations. The rough estimate that put was together by the City of Casper IT Department included six cameras, and one ring-down phone per station, with one central server totaling an estimated $67,000 and annual maintenance being an additional $900 per year. Councilor Gamroth added that the cost of technology would be ongoing due to routine replacement of equipment and maintenance. The cost is not justified at this time with only one major incident, occurring in the past twenty-five years, Councilor Gamroth stated. Mayor Knell and Councilor Engebretsen stated that this investment protects the City’s multimillion-dollar properties and assets. Councilor Bond asked if the cameras would require 24-hour monitoring or be solely for recording purposes. Mayor Knell responded that they are only for recording purposes. Councilor Pollock voiced concern of the discussion pointing to two different points and mechanisms. The first point was citizen protection with safe rooms and ring down phones to contact authorities, the second point was cameras for property and asset protection of those buildings and needing clarification on what the goal is. Mayor Knell clarified that the cameras came into the conversation from the specific domestic violence incident that happened at Fire Station 3. The further mentions of property protection were justifying additional advantages to the camera investment. Next, Police Chief Keith McPheeters was introduced to present to Council the research conducted by running five years of data on Police calls to all Casper Fire Stations. Mr. McPheeters stated there are only about forty calls for police services in that period. This does include calls for traffic accidents and found or located property. Removing those calls from the equation there are roughly eight or fewer calls in five years of what would be potential police involvement-type incidents and only one vandalism instance with a community service officer vehicle last year. Wrapping up, Chief McPheeters emphasized that in reality the criminal incidents that are on record make the Casper Fire Stations some of the safest places in the City, and in his opinion there are plenty of other locations in the city that would benefit more from the use of cameras, adding that having video when anything happens is crucial. Mayor Knell asked Council for their direction. Council voiced interest in the prospect of discussing adding cameras in the areas Chief McPheeters mentioned. Vice Mayor Pacheco and Councilor Engebretsen, voted yes and all others voted no. The Mayor announced this project will not move forward at this time but did ask that cameras in the city be added to the agenda for a future work session. 6. FY23 Budget Amendment #2 City Manager Napier began by stating that amendments are a necessary part of keeping track of budget activity. Financial Services Director, Jill Johnson began by identifying a few specific items she wanted to discuss, some adjustments made as well as corrections. When the budget rolled over for capital expenses, the appropriations or expenses were rolled but not the revenue received. This amendment will show those adjustments. Ms. Johnson said. Items like the CBG Grants that Council approved last year. One for Food for Thought and one for The Housing Authority are projects that are starting to move forward so the $1.25 million expense will beaded in for that as well as an offsetting revenue, as soon as the money is spent for those, the money will be received back she explained. Another being the old landfill showing the expense, but not the offsetting revenue that would come back from the State, equaling $2 million in revenue. Then the $1.4 million from water and sewer user fees in revenue. Ms. Johnson exclaimed one thing that sticks out in the finical considerations is the total net impact, which is an overall $2.2 million increase in revenue. City Manager, Napier confirmed the total overall increase is in fact in net revenue, which Ms. Johnson confirmed. Mr. Napier said this is very unusual and is great news for the City. Mayor Knell confirmed Council was in favor of Budget Amendment No. 2, and City Manager Napier 01/10/2023 Casper City Council Work Session Minutes Page 5 of 9 informed Council this amendment would come to the floor for formal adoption in the next Regular Council meeting. 7. Boards and Commissions Next, Mayor Knell asked to go over the board appointments for new Councilors. He added that for transparency's sake, there is a leadership meeting before every work session and regular Council meeting. Each week one Councilor will be included in these meetings. These have been scheduled and given to Councilors detailing dates and times. The Mayor began by announcing some exchanges in board seats between Councilors as well as the addition of Councilor Jensen to the OYD Advisory and OYD Architectural Committee. Mayor Knell continued with additional appointments of new Councilors including Councilor Bond sitting on the Solid Waste Committee, and the Code Enforcement Appeals Committee, both meeting as needed. He advised placement of Councilor Haskins to The Casper-Natrona County Health Department Board per her interest, the Council Finance Committee as well as the currently defunct Natrona County Liquor Dealers Association the Mayor stated there are hopes in streamlining that board. Councilor Engebretsen asked if Councilor Bond would be interested in taking her spot on the Central Wyoming Senior Services Board to which he agreed. Councilor Gamroth pressed the importance of being diligent liaisons on these boards. 8. Legislative Agenda Next, City Manager Napier began with the discussion of legislative matters. Councilor Pollock asked to note abstaining from all liquor discussions following. City Manager Napier explained that the staff strives to make sure representations made with WAM Wyoming Municipalities Association, and legislators both state and locally are in line with Council’s collective view. Furthermore, the goal tonight is to review the legislative agenda, particularly how it relates to WAM’s efforts. So when Council representatives go to the WAM conference and engage with legislator's staff feel discussions are in line with the Councils views. Mayor Knell introduced Assistant to The City Manager, Jolene Martinez to give an overview of the legislative matters and to get a feel of what the Council's priorities are. Ms. Martinez began by announcing that this year there are 30 freshman legislators and 5 are from Natrona County. In the spring, the staff submitted multiple issues to WAM then a robust membership went to the WAM convention in Laramie and developed these WAM resolutions. Unfortunately, there was not a large success in the resolutions brought forward developing into bills, except for the matters surrounding Liquor Licenses. The Fair Market Value when dealing with Bar and Grill licenses. This bill proposed Bar and Grill Licenses revert to the City once the businesses are sold and the City can re-sell the license for $1500, the original license cost. Thus ensuring the business does not turn around and sell the liquor license for a highly inflated cost. This bill did not pass as is and only allows the City the ability to establish the original license costs of Bar and Grill Licenses between $300 and $1500. WAM had nine priorities three liquor license bills and an abandoned buildings bill in draft form, which may not be the right fit for Casper and needs work. Ms. Martinez directed attention to the direct distribution bill saying the Governor of Wyoming had included a $15 million increase in direct distributions to cities and towns how great this would be for the City of Casper. The joint appropriations committee suggested half that amount, this is one to keep an eye on she said. Councilor Gamroth asked Ms. Martinez to remind Council of the dollar amount of direct distributions the City currently receives, to which she replied almost $4 million, and it is a significant part of the City's funding. WyoLink funding came forward as a priority as well she said. WyoLink funding is the interoperable radio communications system used for public safety service 01/10/2023 Casper City Council Work Session Minutes Page 6 of 9 agencies across Wyoming they are proposing to put an estimated $8 million appropriation to fund the operation every year in addition to that they are looking into a WyoLink trust fund to place $100 Million that would pay for equipment for state and local government use. Next Ms. Martinez discussed the planned interim topic of Amendment A and that it will be held off on as the City of Casper is not in favor of the WyoStar-type program and would rather allow City Council the ability to choose a money manager themselves. Also bringing attention to HB0002 concerning city officials not taking salaries, HB0048 $40 Million being put into a Transportation and Recreation Grant with 90% of funds going to safe routes to schools, granted through WYDOT, and 10% going towards planning and or construction of natural trails for hiking, horseback or mountain bike riding. HB0054 Homestead Exemption on property tax would exempt the first $100,000 of a home's fair market value. With expectations, local government would be reimbursed by the state for the losses. HB0071 sales tax holiday for back to school, HB0072 lowering the state sales tax to 2.5% removing all exemptions, and taxing all services, but counties could have the ability to vote to add tax exemptions. Lastly, HB0074 Creation of a Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. Councilor Gamroth encouraged new Councilors to attend and get involved in WAM and even participate in the winter conference, then asked Ms. Martinez what is the timeline for bringing items in front of WAM for the next session. Ms. Martinez clarified that would happen between March and April. Councilor Gamroth asked if now would be a good time to discuss a topic he would like to see taken to WAM. Ms. Martinez responded that the sooner the better and Mayor Knell asked Councilor Gamroth to proceed. Councilor Gamroth expressed his concern over the WAM priorities dealing primarily with alcohol, which he explained he is on board with although finding it hypocritical, how supportive WAM is of those initiatives while cannabis remains illegal in the state. He continued by stating cannabis criminalization was never based on any scientific findings or rationale and seems to have coincided with the rise of racist sentiment towards Mexican Immigrants in the 20's and '30s, he continued that if it was the propaganda and fallacies that justified its criminalization what reasons are there to keep it illegal now. He continued that if the intent of keeping a drug’s use illegal is based on the level of danger it presents to our society then alcohol should be criminalized to a greater extent than cannabis. He discussed and compared the dangers from alcohol vs cannabis including statistics on crimes and accidents. Councilor Gamroth proposed cannabis decriminalization be brought as a priority topic to WAM. A small discussion took place between Mayor Knell, City Manager Napier, and Council about gathering information and preparing for these issues. Next, were discussions concerning a draft bill by legislators regarding tighter regulations on gaming systems in Wyoming. Councilor Engebretsen asked if the Council would be discussing limiting these systems at all. She went on to detail that there are 634 machines in 30 locations within the Casper area this being the highest in the state. Mr. Napier responded saying there may be legislative solutions pursued if Council was concerned about this. He did say conversations about gaming could happen and as a part of the legislative process, there is a large opportunity to weigh in on what interim topics are proposed. Councilor Pollock asked for an update on the Pharmacy Benefits Manager topic. Ms. Martinez replied that it went to interim topic, but the pharmacist group withdrew the bill. Councilor Jensen asked about language in the current liquor ordinance about hotels and the ability to sell liquor in the establishment based on the number of people in the hotel with conference rooms used as an example. City Clerk, Fleur Tremel explained how language changes with ordinance are addressed. This would be state law, and would need to be something addressed with 01/10/2023 Casper City Council Work Session Minutes Page 7 of 9 Council and if they wanted, then take the topic to WAM. City Manager Napier did explain to Council that they could take the opportunity of the strategic planning session set on January 31st as a time to discuss these topics, as they could fit into safety and wellness goals for Council over the next few years. Councilor Pollock recommended topics be discussed early and prepared as the sessions are short and they go by very quickly. Ms. Martinez asked if it was ok to bring the items discussed tonight forward in minute action at the next meeting, all Councilors gave thumbs up, except for Councilor Pollock abstaining from all liquor items discussed. 9. Agenda Review Next, City Manager Napier introduced the grid, and addendum to new Councilors. He went on to discuss items coming up including the lease agreement with The Spuds Baseball Club for use of the Mike Lansing Concessions stand as well as mentioned multiple teams wanting to make Casper their home in the coming years. Mr. Napier asked to add a land topic to the Executive session on January 17. As well as discussing work session topics, and guests from the State who will be at some of these meetings. 10. Council Around the Table Mayor Knell asked the staff members attending tonight to introduce themselves to the new Councilors. Councilor Pollock discussed the Amoco Joint Powers Board meeting and discussions about the future of Three Crowns Clubhouse and the surrounding area and the potential that exist with that facility and working towards lowering their subsidy as well as sustainability. Councilor Cathey asked to add snowplowing picking up the windrows and the excess snow removal process as an item on the agenda. Councilor Engebretsen mentioned being the liaison for Visit Casper Board and completed the CTA class making her a certified tourism ambassador. She encouraged other Councilors to become engaged in this. She also mentioned that patrons of the library have voiced concern with there being no bus route going to Natrona County School District Central Services Facility on Glenn Road, as well as the Historic Trails Center. She then asked to discuss the Purple Heart parking at City Hall and its location not being accessible to the doors, as well as adding nine parking spaces for Council. Mayor Knell agreed on the parking spaces and asked City Manager Napier to discuss the bus and route topics with Director of Community Development, Liz Becher. Councilor Jensen reiterated the transit routes and said this has been a topic among the community recently, as well as routes to hotel locations in the same vicinity. Ms. Jensen also shared the same sentiment as the other new Councilors and thanked City staff for a wonderful orientation and tour. Next, Councilor Gamroth was in agreeance with the parking spots but said they should have signage indicating they are reserved for Council only on Tuesday nights. Next, Councilor Gamroth asked to discuss home rule, publishing requirements, and applications within the City. The Mayor asked to have this added to a February work session. Councilor Gamroth then asked for an overview of current camping ordinances, as well as discussing this in a work session. Interim City Attorney, Jacqueline Brown said she would send a copy of that ordinance out to Council for review. Mayor Knell discussed the CNFR board meeting he said they are anticipating this to be the biggest year yet. He then asked two items be added to the agenda. One is to discuss the opioid fund disbursement and the possibility to use those funds for the drug detox center that has been part of previous council discussions. He would like to invite the County Chairman to pull County and City funds together for this dire project. City Manager Napier elaborated that it is on the agenda, but said he is waiting on word back from the Attorney’s Office on specifics surrounding rules for spending the funds. Mayor then asked that one more item be add to the agenda discussing solid waste and residential passes. 01/10/2023 Casper City Council Work Session Minutes Page 8 of 9 There being no further business, the work session adjourned at 7:40 PM. 01/10/2023 Casper City Council Work Session Minutes Page 9 of 9