City Council Agendas & Minutes

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING FRUIT HEIGHTS CITY 910 South Mountain Road March 4, 2025 WELCOME: Mayor John Polman called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. PLEDGE & OPENING CEREMONY: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor John Pohlman with Council Member Mark Cottrell conducting the opening ceremony by prayer. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor John Pohlman, Council Members, Gary Anderson, Mark Cottrell, Eileen Moss, Florence Sadler, and Shon Stevenson. CITY STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Darren Frandsen, Public Works Director Layne Leonard, and Deputy Recorder Hailee Ballingham. VISITORS: Mary Monson, Lane Monson, Todd Stevenson, Blake Winslow, Landon Jacobs, and Diane Anderson. DECLARATION OF CONFILICT(S) OF INTEREST: None CITY COUNCIL TRAINING: None PRESENTATIONS: YCC Report. The report was given by Landon Jacobs. The YCC did a tour of Farmington Fire Station, they had a great time. They are getting ready for the annual easter egg hunt on April 19, 2025, at 10 a.m. They have some members of the YCC attending a Youth Council Leadership Conference at Utah State University later this week. PUBLIC COMMENT: Todd Stevenson: I want to express my gratitude for the hard work you all do. I particularly want to compliment the city Ridgerunner, which is very engaging and well-written. He supports curbside recycling in the city and believes it's essential, especially as the landfill is filling up. Many people worry about costs, but if we don’t recycle, we will face much higher expenses later to manage waste. He thinks recycling should be mandatory in every district, as it would make a significant impact. He also wants to address the election ordinance. He feels it might be being rushed to set a public hearing for the ordinance. It worries him, as it could change a tradition in Fruit Heights that has lasted for 85 years. He suggests taking a slower approach, form a task force to evaluate current issues in the caucus system, and make gradual adjustments. With elections coming up, there's a chance to implement these tweaks and assess their effectiveness afterwards. He believes taking your time would lead to better outcomes. Blake Winslow: Wants to express my gratitude to the staff and share two concerns. First, as we approach budget season, he is worried about the intersection at 400 North and County Lane, which has a poor line of sight. This worries him because he was hit by a car on Main Street in high school and is grateful to be alive. He doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt. The mayor suggested speaking with city council member Moss, as she oversees road safety suggestions/initiatives. City Manager Frandsen told him that Kaysville has started widening 200 North from Main Street to the Kaysville/Fruit Heights border. This will help with the line of sight. Second, he is interested in the electoral process in our city and is considering running for an open seat. He likes the primary process, but believes more public discussion would be beneficial, especially regarding city elections. Diane Anderson: She shared her thoughts on the caucus. She believes it has been effective for us historically. In today's heated political climate, it's vital to represent our community as a whole without intense political agendas. The caucus meetings allow caring residents to participate, and we need to encourage more community members to run for local positions. It has worked for us for many years, and she thinks it can continue to do so in the future. DISCUSSION ITEMS: 5.1 Election Process This was put back on the agenda to see if the city council wants to hold a public hearing to hear from the residents about the election process. If they decide to change it, we will have an ordinance prepared. The public hearing would allow residents to share their opinions. The staff has discussed with Davis County that the deadline for any changes is at the end of April, which means we need to advertise the public hearing and finalize the ordinance in the weeks leading up to it. City Manager Frandsen feels it’s essential to get the information out so that the community can voice their thoughts to the council. The council talked about the pros and cons of changing from the caucus to a primary. A pro of the caucus is it gives residents a chance to see and hear what individuals are about before they are even on the ballot. If you don’t agree with any of the candidates, you have time to step up and put your thoughts out there. The caucus gathers names for the ballot and if there are not enough individuals who step forward the chairperson will go out into the community and talk with people to get individuals to run. This helps with the worry of not filling the ballot. One of the cons of the caucus systems is on average 56 individuals attend the caucus meetings. With a primary the individual who wants to run for office comes and files and their name is on the ballot. This allows every resident a chance to vote for who they would like to see in the general election. Changing to a primary election would cost between $4200-$5000. This depends on whether different entities (Benchland Water District/Central Davis Sewer District) are also holding an election. They would share the cost with us, and it also goes off of how many registered voters our city has. 5.2 Recycling Survey City Manager Frandsen asked, “Do we want to move forward with the recycling survey? We've shared a lot of information on social media and in the Ridgerunner and have received many comments over the past few weeks. The survey is ready, and the Council has had the opportunity to read it and give input. Questions were developed with input from Wasatch Integrated Waste. If we proceed, it will impact our budget planning. He values residents' opinions from the survey and appreciates the staff's efforts. Feedback from past surveys showed that comments provided valuable insights.” Council members appreciated the residents’ responses. Council Member Cottrell thinks the Ridgerunners have done a great job of getting residents to talk about the recycling program and thinks it’s a good time to get the survey out to hear from more residents. Council Member Moss states, “We are elected to make decisions. We have attended several meetings with Rich and Colette from Wasatch integrated Waste. The council has received good statistics and information. The council needs to stand up and make a decision.” She supports not doing the survey and doing a public hearing. 5.3 Budget Working on the budget with the staff involves breaking it into smaller parts for better management. This approach aims to help the council better manage and understand it without an overwhelming amount of information all at once. The Sewer and Storm Drain budget that is being worked on compares with last year’s approved budget with the proposals for this year, showing minimal revenue growth due to a lack of new housing developments in Fruit Heights. We’ve only received two building permits recently. We expect to have six new permits next year. Revenues from the storm drain fund are on track. The Storm Water Audit is complete, and engineering costs have decreased significantly. There is no increase in maintenance and repairs, although we do have some cracked pipes scheduled to be fixed this summer based on Public Works estimates. The administration and general fund costs remain stable, and the vehicle cost share is about the same. We've increased the budget for capital projects related to curb and gutter repairs due to growing needs. There is also a final payment due on the Orchard storm drain. Next year, we are expecting sewer revenues of around $906,000, the majority is a pass through to the sewer district. Drafting the budget for the water fund is being done. We’re planning smaller but essential water projects this year. Davis County is planning a new animal control center, and the city is coordinating the water line installation in conjunction with this project. We are also ensuring our general fund revenues align with expenditure, including necessary transfers for capital projects. Lastly, necessary ADA upgrades for the front of the city building will incur higher costs due to current code requirements. ACTION ITEMS: 6.1 Approve/Deny Having a Public Hearing for the Election Process Council Member Mark Cottrell made a motion to approve having a public hearing for the election process. Council Member Shon Stevenson seconded the motion. This motion passed 3 to 2. (1:07) Council Members Mark Cottrell, Florence Sadler, Shon Stevenson (Yes) and Gary Anderson, Eileen Moss (No) 6.2 Approve February 16, 2025, City Council Minutes Council Member Florence Sadler made a motion to approve February 18, 2025, City Council Minutes with the recommendation changes. Council Member Mark Cottrell seconded the motion. It was unanimously approved by the council (1:07) TABLED ITEMS: None CALENDAR: 8.1 March 18, 2025, City Council Meeting 8.2 March 25, 2025, Planning Commission Meeting PAST DISCUSSION ITEMS: CITY COUNCIL REPORTS: Council Member Anderson: He has been working with City Manager Frandsen, and it has been a great experience. Council Member Cottrell: He has talked with the individual running the Christmas in Our Community. The date they have picked is December 14. The Veterans Memorial Rock has a water stain going up them. The rock installer will come and wash the rock and seal them to better protect them. We will have this done when the weather warms up, sometime possibly in May. Council Member Moss: She has continued to meet with the cemetery committee to look at different options in regard to the cost. MAYOR REPORT: CITY STAFF REPORTS: Public Works Director Leonard: Nicholls Park now has Wi-Fi that is available to the public. The users must agree to the terms and conditions our IT has set up with a firewall. Now that the Wi-Fi is in place, we will be getting an automatic lock and cameras for the bathrooms to help prevent vandalism. City Manager Frandsen: Continue to work on the budget. He will be finishing with the auditor this week. He and the city attorney met with the individuals who wanted to do the micro school. The law is new and there isn’t a lot to go off of. We explained how we interpreted the law. This is something that we will continue to work on. ADJOURNMENT: Council Member Gary Anderson made a motion to adjourn the meeting with Council Member Florence Sadler seconding the motion. It was unanimously approved by the Council. (8:17) Not approved until signed. /S/: _____________________________ Hailee Ballingham, City Deputy Recorder Date approved by City Council: March 18, 2025