City Council

APRIL 20, 2015 The City Council of the City of Idaho Falls met in Special Council Meeting (Council Work Session), Monday, April 20, 2015, at the City Council Chambers in the City Annex Building located at 680 Park Avenue in Idaho Falls, Idaho at 3:00 p.m. There were present: Mayor Rebecca L. Noah Casper Councilmember Michael Lehto (arrived at 3:47 p.m.) Councilmember Thomas Hally Councilmember Sharon Parry Councilmember Ed Marohn Councilmember Barbara Ehardt Also present: Mark McBride, Police Chief Brad Cramer, Planning and Building Director Chris Fredericksen, Public Works Director Dave Hanneman, Fire Chief Randy Fife, City Attorney Craig Rockwood, Municipal Services Director Melanie Marsh, Human Resources Director Michael Kirkham, Assistant City Attorney Kerry McCullough, Public Information Officer Kami Morrison, Mayor’s Assistant Kerry Beutler, Assistant Planning and Building Director Jackie Flowers, Idaho Falls Power Director Isabella Liu, Planning and Building Intern Bryan Clark, The Post Register Tyler Berg, Local News 8 Dave Radford, County Commissioner Roger Christensen, County Commissioner Sam Hulse, Captain - Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office Greg Warner, Director of Emergency Communications – Bonneville County Paul Wilde, Bonneville County Sheriff Derek Bates, GIS Coordinator Kathy Hampton, City Clerk Mayor Casper called the meeting to order and proceeded with Mayor and City Council Reports: Mayor Casper distributed the Clean & Green flyer regarding the May 1st-10th, 2015 city-wide cleanup and briefly shared additional activities planned in conjunction with Clean & Green. She also indicated the Budget Calendar will be completed in the near future. Mayor Casper gave an update on visual identity/signage & way-finding and indicated Hunt Design will be involved in bringing an internal cohesive look to the city. With regard to Ammon and the Council Committees, Mayor Casper stated there is public approval of the improved relations with the surrounding cities. On May 1, 2015, the Idaho Water Resources Board will be meeting in the Idaho Falls City Annex Building, all Councilmembers are invited to attend. Mayor Casper also shared some up-coming events including; SAUSA meeting on May 15, 2015 in Pocatello, Association of Idaho Cities (AIC) training on April 30, 2015 in Idaho Falls, Idaho Consumer and Utilities Association meetings in July 2015 in Boise, and 1  APRIL 20, 2015 Idaho Gives. Mayor Casper distributed a list of items to be considered at the April 23, 2015 Regular Council Meeting. Councilmember Hally stated April 28, 2015 will be free Golf Day at all Idaho Falls Courses. Councilmember Marohn and Councilmember Parry will meet with Public Works regarding a maintenance agreement prior to establishing a MOU with Ammon officials. Councilmember Ehardt stated that progress is continuing with Ammon. Councilmember Parry stated she and Councilmember Hally met with Chief McBride regarding the Dog Ordinance and will have discussion at a future work session. She also stated there will be future discussion regarding liquor served on sidewalks with regard to dining establishments. Councilmember Parry stated EIRMC and the employee wellness program is working well together. Mayor Casper stated along with visual identity is the need to become uniform as a city. After prior discussions with Division Directors, the following items are being presented by the City Attorney: MEMORANDUM To: Mayor Casper From: Randy Fife, City Attorney Re: Proposed change of designations in Idaho Falls City Code (IFCC) As part of the continuing effort by the City Attorney’s office to make the IFCC more usable and clear, attached please find an ordinance which proposes various changes to the IFCC. Because it is common practice to refer to the main unit that an appointed officer is in charge of as a “department” (and not a “division” as is Idaho Falls’ practice), the ordinance proposes changing the word “division” to “department” throughout. Consistent with that change is the change from “department” to “division”. Additional name changes, as requested by respective Division Directors, are as follows: “Planning and Building Division” to “Community Development Department”; “Fire and Public Safety Division” to “Fire Department”; and “Electric Light Division” to “Idaho Falls Power.” The Airport has had various names such as “Airport Division, Fanning Field, and Idaho Falls Municipal Airport.” The proposal is to refer to the Airport as “the Airport, Airport Department, Idaho Falls Regional Airport, or IFRA.” The change from “Planning Commission” to the “Planning and Zoning Commission” is meant to better inform the public about the varied functions of the Commission. There are other minor changes in grammar and punctuation. Change is proposed to allow some Directors to make internal assignments as necessary and without needing to seek an ordinance to do so. The following is a short summary of major changes: 2  APRIL 20, 2015 Current Proposed Change “Division” “Department” “Department” “Division” Planning and Building Division Community Development Department Fire and Public Safety Division Fire Department Electric Light Division Idaho Falls Power Airport Division/Fanning Field/Idaho Falls The Airport/Airport Department/Idaho Falls Municipal Airport Regional Airport/IFRA Planning Commission Planning and Zoning Commission A general discussion was held regarding the proposed name change from Planning and Building Division with Director Brad Cramer. Councilmembers Parry and Ehardt would prefer to have ‘Planning’ remain in the department name. Councilmembers proposed Community Planning and Development Department. The City Attorney will prepare a draft ordinance for the April 23, 2015, Regular Council Meeting. MEMORANDUM To: Mayor Casper From: Randy Fife, City Attorney Re: EMS Division relocation in the Idaho Falls City Code. During work on a recent ordinance that proposes changing various designations of departments, divisions, and some division titles within the City Code, the Fire Chief requested that the EMS Division regulations be relocated to the part of the IFCC that contains other fire-related regulations. As a result, the proposed ordinance removes the EMS Division regulations from Title 4, Chapter 4 of the City Code and relocates them to Title 3, Chapter 2. A brief discussion was held and it was decided by the Mayor and City Council to move forward with the Ordinance. The Fire Chief appeared to explain the following item: To: Mayor and City Council From: Dave Hanneman, Fire Chief Re: Architect/Engineer Contract The contract between CRSA architect/engineering firm selected through committee for design and construction management of the Idaho Falls Fire Department fire station has been finalized. The contract outlines the scope of work, fee structure and necessary indemnification clauses as directed by City of Idaho Falls legal. Attached is the contract that the City of Idaho Falls legal team has prepared working with the fire department and CRSA and as shown has been signed and agreed upon by CRSA personnel. The Fire Department requests approval of the contract between the City of Idaho Falls and CRSA as outlined and agreed upon and to authorize any necessary signatures. s/ Dave Hanneman 3  APRIL 20, 2015 It was moved by Councilmember Hally, seconded by Councilmember Parry, to approve the contract between the City of Idaho Falls and CRSA as outlined and agreed upon and to authorize any necessary signatures. Roll call as follows: Aye: Councilmember Parry Councilmember Ehardt Councilmember Hally Councilmember Marohn Councilmember Lehto Nay: None Motion Carried. The Planning and Building Director, Brad Cramer and Isabella Liu appeared to review the following item: MEMORANDUM To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Brad Cramer, Planning and Building Director Subject: Area of City Impact Training-Extension of City Services and Growth Historically, one of the key questions between the City and County regarding the Area of City Impact (AOCI) and growth in general has been whether or not the City will extend its utility services beyond City boundaries. One of the purposes of planning as stated in the Local Land Use Planning Act is to "ensure that adequate public facilities and services are provided to the people at a reasonable cost." Further, the act states that planning is intended to, "encourage urban and urban-type development within incorporated cities." A standard urban service is provision of municipal sewer and water systems. Growth and development are dependent upon the availability of these services. The City of Idaho Falls has had varying policies on extension of services. On a large scale, sewer service was provided to the Iona Bonneville Sewer District and the City of Ammon. On a smaller scale, the City has extended sewer and water services to individual parcels. Sometimes agreements to annex to the City upon contiguity were included as conditions of service. Other times the service was provided at an agreed upon rate. Today, though there have been rare exceptions, the City's policy is that it will not extend services outside its boundaries. In the case of electricity, the courts have established that the City cannot extend this utility outside its boundaries. The Planning and Building and Public Works Divisions have worked together for the past few months to show the effect of extra-territorial utility extensions on growth. Today, there are 279 parcels currently receiving City services outside City boundaries. 250 (89%) of those parcels are contiguous either with existing City limits or with other properties receiving services which are contiguous. 67 (26%) of these contiguous properties have some type of agreement consenting to annexation. In addition, there are 267 parcels which do not receive services, but which are enclaved by City boundaries. All of these parcels total 1,388.2 acres. Each of these parcels represents various challenges to growth. There is little incentive for property owners already receiving services to annex into the City. They already receive the primary benefits of being in the City (utilities, access to roads, parks and services, etc.) but do not have to pay the City tax rate. For those that do annex, there are potential required buyouts from Rocky Mountain Power. 4  APRIL 20, 2015 Annexation of properties where the owner does request annexation is challenging and potentially costly. For utilities other than the City, they must continue to provide services and maintain infrastructure to small parcels located away from their main service areas. There are also additional costs the City to provide services outside its boundaries. Discussion of the extension of utilities outside of City boundaries is not a simple topic. It extends beyond just the utility question. It is also a discussion about annexation, the real costs of receiving services, and the real value of being incorporated into City jurisdiction. Staff understands these questions will not be fully answered in a 20 minute work session. The purpose of introducing this topic is for the Mayor and Council to have the background to be able to consider these questions and be prepared to engage with County officials when the Area of City Impact (AOCI) process begins. A larger map was provided at the work session because it was not possible to print a useable 8.5" 11" map for this packet. Currently, based on the results of past extensions of services beyond City boundaries, it is staff’s recommendation that the City continue its current policy of not extending services. If the City develops stronger tools and agreements for future annexations, a willingness to enforce those agreements, and a consistent annexation policy; and if the County grants the City some level of review authority if utilities are extended into the County, there may be limited cases where extension of services could be warranted. Mayor Casper requested Director Cramer to briefly describe the parcels on the ACOI map. The foremost concern of the Council appeared to be 19 parcels which are contiguous to the city, all have services and the original owner who signed the annexation agreement is currently the same owner. After some discussion regarding these specific parcels and the history of decisions made by previous Mayor and Councilmembers, Mayor Casper and the current Councilmembers requested a summary of the ACOI map describing said parcels and all related information. Director Cramer explained the process of ACOI – the Council and Planning Commission will meet with pertinent questions which are then forwarded to Planning and Zoning Commissions from each jurisdiction, recommendations are then presented to Councilmembers to decide which ordinances, maps, etc. are passed and established. After further discussion, Director Cramer believes the ACOI could be completed in the next few work sessions and would like timelines to proceed with County. Mayor Casper invited Greg Warner, Roger Christensen, Paul Wilde, Dave Hanneman, Mark McBride and Jackie Flowers to discuss the following item: Presentation – Discussion and consideration of request for fiber services for 911 Emergency Operations. In Mr. Warner’s opening remarks, he wanted to clarify that although the County is within the jurisdiction and oversees the Emergency Communications Center, the Center is not part of the County. The Emergency Communications Center is funded by the cell phone tax as listed in Title 31, Section 48. The purpose of such funding is to look out for the best interest of all first responders. Their goal is to have the safest, most secure private network to transfer proprietary information to these responders. He stated we have two communities, Idaho Falls and Ammon, with a robust solid fiber optic system but there is no interface between the cities. Mr. Warner further explained the request to interface for a unified map solution to replicate data between the two systems by using a fiber 5  APRIL 20, 2015 connection. A suggested location for the fiber connection would be Falls Valley School which could be minimal cost although technical research would need to be performed prior to determining a specific location. Fire Chief Dave Hanneman commented he has had previous discussion with the Fire District regarding shared costs as this fiber request would also involve the CAD system with Ammon. Commissioner Roger Christensen stated this private fiber link is for the purpose of exchanging any data that goes into the map for first responders but there are also possible governmental uses. The fiber could be limited and controlled with a MOU. He also stated there is no desire to marry the Ammon fiber and City of Idaho Falls fiber, this is just for the link to provide to emergency responders. Mayor Casper posed the question regarding the legalities of having an agreement with other cities. City Attorney Randy Fife offered his explanation regarding risk of unsuccessful litigation because Idaho Code is not specific on cities running a fiber system. The current city policy does not allow extension outside of city limits. Mayor Casper proposed the idea of challenging the State Statute but those present were not in favor of such action. Commission Christensen stated there is a section in the code that allows for emergency response. He stated 911 is not a county function, their responsibility is to gather, compile, and forward information on to emergency responders. The cooperation between the law enforcement entities and the fire department has always been extremely well. The fiber will transmit the information to those making the decision at a faster pace. Mayor Casper directed the question of cost of the proposed fiber connection to Idaho Falls Power Director Jackie Flowers. Director Flowers stated before a cost could be determined, it would be necessary to know the location of such connection. The current city ordinance has summarized the purpose and restrictions and believes an ordinance change would be required. She believes Bonneville County is defined as a customer in the city ordinance. The council had previously discussed modifying the ordinance to allow demarcation points but ultimately the legality of demarcation prevented the change. Director Flowers specifically stated the demarcation point at Falls Valley School is not acceptable for safety reasons as no one has jurisdiction over the space at Falls Valley for accessibility and restrictions. Commissioner Christensen stated an alternate solution would be air fiber which is not as reliable but it would leverage the amount that everyone would pay. It would cost approximately $3000 and would have limitations on band width. Councilmember Parry questioned the costs of dispatch and 911 with regard to other communities, the option of hard fiber, and the cost of relocating the 911 center. A brief discussion followed. Sherriff Paul Wilde stated the fiber is needed to share information with all first responders in a timely manner and it would also allow the transfer of secure data, medical data, and crime scene data. He too agrees that Falls Valley School is not the most secure location. After further discussion the Mayor and Council requested Bonneville County to perform a study with security risks, location for point of connectivity, costs, and additional information. Greg Warner stated he will meet with Jackie Flowers regarding the requested information from the Council prior to the next discussion. 6  APRIL 20, 2015 The City Council of the City of Idaho Falls met in Special Council Meeting (Executive Session), Monday, April 20, 2015, in the Council Chambers located in the City Annex Building at 380 Constitution Way in Idaho Falls, Idaho at 5:55 p.m. There were present: Mayor Rebecca Casper Councilmember Thomas Hally Councilmember Ed Marohn Councilmember Sharon Parry Councilmember Michael Lehto Councilmember Barbara Ehardt Also present: Randy Fife, City Attorney Craig Rockwood, Municipal Services Director Melanie Marsh, Human Resources Director Dave Hanneman, Fire Chief Jackie Flowers, Idaho Falls Power Director Kathy Hampton, City Clerk It was moved by Councilmember Marohn, seconded by Councilmember Hally, to move into Executive Session at 5:55 p.m., pursuant to the provisions of Idaho Code Section 67-2345(1)(c) to conduct deliberations concerning labor negotiations or to acquire an interest in real property which is not owned by a public agency, and not return to Regular Session at the conclusion of the Executive Session. Roll call as follows: Aye: Councilmember Hally Councilmember Marohn Councilmember Parry Councilmember Lehto Councilmember Ehardt Nay: None Motion Carried. There being no further business, it was moved by Councilmember Marohn, seconded by Councilmember Hally, that the Mayor and City Council retire out of Executive Session and that the meeting adjourn at 6:45 p.m., which motion passed following a roll call vote as follows: Aye: Councilmember Ehardt Councilmember Parry Councilmember Marohn Councilmember Lehto Councilmember Hally Nay: None Motion Carried. 7  APRIL 20, 2015 _______________________________________ _____________________________________ CITY CLERK MAYOR 8