City Council Agendas & Minutes

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING FRUIT HEIGHTS CITY 910 South Mountain Road April 20, 2021 WELCOME: Mayor John Pohlman called the meeting to order at 7:06 pm. PLEDGE & OPENING CEREMONY: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Jeanne Groberg, and the meeting was opened with Council Member Gary Anderson offering a word of prayer. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Council Members Diane Anderson, Gary Anderson, Julia Busche, Jeanne Groberg, Eileen Moss and Mayor John Pohlman were all present. CITY STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Brandon Green, Public Works Superintendent Darren Frandsen and City Recording Secretary Amy Gardiner were present. VISITORS: City Attorney Brad Christopherson and Fire Chief Paul Erickson. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None. TRAINING: Council Member Eileen Moss presented a training to the Council on the history of the possible City cemetery and possible ways for the City to receive more funding for a cemetery. She reviewed the 100 acres of Forest Service Land Congress gave to the City for the use of a cemetery and noted the monetary situation of Fruit Heights -- it is at the top of the limit with taxes, and if there is any change to increase tax revenue, it will need to be done with a new ordinance. One idea she mentioned is implementing a Transient Room Tax -- although the City doesn’t have a hotel, it could potentially collect this tax from Airbnb and VRBO short term rentals. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: Kaysville Fire Report (Fire Chief Paul Erickson) Fire Chief Paul Erickson presented information from the 2020 Kaysville Fire Department Report and data for the first quarter in Fruit Heights. The 2020 report and presentation had previously been provided to the Council to review before the meeting. Fire Chief Paul Erickson reviewed several aspects of the 2020 report including, staffing at the station, current and anticipated vehicle needs, the annual training plan, fire prevention and public education, safety health and wellness, meeting requirements and standards, 2020 response data, and the impact of Covid 19 and Cares Act money. Ethics Training (City Attorney Brad Christopherson) City Attorney Brad Christopherson presented an ethics training to the City Council Members on the Utah Open & Public Meetings Act. The training included information on: • All meetings being publicly open unless lawfully closed • Requirements of a public meeting • Electronic meetings being allowed • Minutes and recording being required of all public meetings • The purposes and record of closed meetings • Emergency meetings • Other issues, including chance meetings at social situations, penalties for violating the Act, and electronic messaging The City Attorney also briefly reviewed the Municipal Officers’ and Employees’ Ethics Act. He concluded by reminding the Council that civility is important, and he pointed out it is important to know what a concern is and what a need is and to get to the underlying issue of what may be driving any animosity. CITY BUSINESS: Review/Discuss/Approve/Deny Request to Order City Equipment and Vehicles (Public Works Superintendent Darren Frandsen) Public Works Superintendent Darren Frandsen, City Manager Brandon Green and the City Council members discussed the vehicle and equipment quotes that previously had been provided to them for the City Council meeting relating to the potential purchase of vehicles. The discussion included: • The sale price of the City’s existing vehicles • Price of carpet versus vinyl flooring in the new vehicles • Resale price of new vehicles - will they hold their value well • Public perception of city vehicles • Leather versus fabric • Ford versus Chevy • A bobcat utility vehicle and accessories • Funds for the purchases Following discussion, Council Member Gary Anderson made a motion to approve the purchase of three vehicles. The motion was seconded by Council Member Eileen Moss. Council Member Julia Busche asked if the motion included the purchase of a utility vehicle. This led to the Council Members, City Manager Brandon Green and Public Works Superintendent Darren Frandsen having a discussion about the need for the utility vehicle (Bobcat) and accessories. After further discussion, Council Member Gary Anderson amended his motion to approve the purchase of three vehicles and a bobcat with accessories. Council Member Eileen Moss seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously. Review/Discuss Office Phone System (Brandon Green) City Manager Brandon Green reported that the already old and failing phone system at the City Building was really damaged in the most recent wind storm. He has engaged in the process of getting bids for a new phone system, and now he is looking for guidance from the City Council. The City Council agreed that a new phone system is needed and said that they would call an emergency meeting if needed once bids are received for the new phone system. City Council members were also encouraged to let City residents know that the phone system at the City Building is down and they are working on a solution. Discuss Municipal Energy Tax (Brandon Green) City Manager Brandon Green reported that he had done more research on the Municipal Energy Tax. He said the State of Utah is already collecting 1%. The City could collect up to 6% and all other cities in Davis County are already doing that. An ordinance would need to be approved to start collecting the tax. The ordinance would need to be in place quickly to be able to start collecting in October 2021. The payment would come to the City from the utility providers. Council Member Jeanne Groberg was concerned that this tax, if adopted, could work out to be significant for each resident. CONSENT CALENDAR: None. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS: None. CITY COUNCIL & STAFF REPORTS: Mayor John Pohlman reported that last year Fruit Heights City held a Memorial Day Celebration with the American Legion’s Ceremony. He reported that both Kaysville City and Farmington City will be holding Memorial Day Celebrations this year, and the City Council decided to encourage residents to support one of those celebrations. Mayor John Pohlman discussed the mask mandate within the City Building. City Manager Brandon Green reported that he and his staff are comfortable not wearing the masks while they work, but if someone walks in with a mask they are happy to put one on. Council Member Julia Busche brought up the Caucus Meeting that will be held in the building next month. It was decided that since it likely will be crowded, masks should be worn. Mayor John Pohlman also reported that he is working on the new contract with the Fire Department but has been unable to meet with Farmington City and is still in negotiations. Council Member Diane Anderson confirmed that Mayor John Pohlman will do the next City Council Training. She also led a discussion on newsletter articles in the Ridgerunner that are written by City Council Members. Council Member Julia Busche asked about adding a third page so they would not need to be edited for content and length. Others had ideas of including a “Council Corner” on the City’s website and posting it on the City’s Facebook page. City Manager Brandon Green confirmed that the printed newsletter needs to be kept to two pages to accommodate the machine that stuffs the envelopes. Council Member Julia Busche reported the results from The Great Utah ShakeOut held on April 15, 2021. She said it was successful and all 15 areas actively participated, although the numbers were down a bit from the 2020 event. She said the City has an amazing system of area coordinators and a dedicated Citizen Corps Council staff. There were yellow cards planted in 13 areas and they were all found and reported. Some black cards as well. Council Member Julia Busche also reported that long-time City resident VaLynn Rigdon had passed away on April 16, 2021 after battling a serious illness, and her funeral was being held Saturday, April 24, 2021. She was the District Coordinator of the Citizen Corps Council. City Manager Brandon Green said that flowers will be sent from the City to the family. Council Member Jeanne Groberg reported that the meeting with the Kaysville Civics Committee was challenging because they are still deciding on what will happen with the 4th of July celebrations. Also, the Youth City Council is looking for new recruits for next year and the Legislative Session is over. Council Member Diane Anderson commented that she would like direction for Founders Day, and said she would keep the celebration like last year’s unless told otherwise. The Council discussed issues around the celebration and agreed to put it on the agenda for the next meeting. Council Member Eileen Moss reported on her findings for the Pine Cone party for the upcoming Caucus Meeting on May 20, 2021 at 7 pm. She discussed the details with the Council including Diane Anderson’s responsibility for the leadership of the Sage Brush party. Council Member Gary Anderson reported that the City Staff had dismantled a fire pit. Public Works Superintendent Darren Frandsen and City Manager Brandon Green explained to the City Council the progress the City is making on projects they are involved with, including an update on UDOT’s progress on the Highway 89 Project and the improvements being made to the area at the North end of 1800 East by the Forest Service. Council Member Eileen Moss made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Council Member Julia Busche seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true, accurate and complete record of the Fruit Heights City Council Meeting held April 20, 2021 Not approved until signed. /s/ Brandon Green Brandon Green, City Recorder Date approved by City Council: May 4, 2021