City Council

September 19, 2016 The City Council of the City of Idaho Falls met in Special Council Meeting (Council Work Session), Monday, September 19, 2016, in the 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 John B. Radford (arrived at 3:05) Councilmember Barbara Ehardt Councilmember Thomas Hally Councilmember David M. Smith Councilmember Ed Marohn Councilmember Michelle Ziel-Dingman (departed at 6:30) Also present: Pamela Alexander, Municipal Services Director Jackie Flowers, Idaho Falls Power Director Chris Fredericksen, Public Works Director Brian Cardon, Street Superintendent Dana Briggs, Economic Development Coordinator Dave Hanneman, Fire Chief Kerry Hammon, Public Information Officer Randy Fife, City Attorney Michael Kirkham, Assistant City Attorney Kathy Hampton, City Clerk Mayor Casper called the meeting to order at 3:00. Mayor’s Report and Action Items/Announcements and Calendar Items: Mayor Casper distributed the following calendar items: September- 19 Sister Cities Meeting 20 Idaho Falls Police Department Media Day; training annex 22 Idaho Falls Power (IFP) Board Meeting & Old Lower Plant Ribbon Cutting 22 City Council Meeting 23 City Club Luncheon 24 Community Recovery Celebration; Freeman Park 24 IFP Open House 24 Walkabout Tour; Sportsman's Park 26 Culture Training; Council Chambers 26 Special Council Meeting 26 Sister Cities Meeting 29 Airport Tenant BBQ 29 11th Annual Span Memorial Walk; Community Park 30 Habitat's Hoedown for Humanity; Pinecrest Event Center October- 1 National Federation of the Blind Book Fair; Barnes & Noble 3 Tokai-mura Delegation City Day 3 Tokai-mura Welcome Reception; Catered Your Way 1  September 19, 2016 6 Distinguished Under 40 Awards Dinner 7 10th Annual Policeman's Ball; Pinecrest Event Center 10 Columbus Day 10 Tokai-mura Farewell Reception Mayor Casper stated due to the timeliness of the power pole relocation in conjunction with the Hitt Road and 17th Street intersection, a Special Meeting will be scheduled for Monday, September 26, at 4:30 p.m. Acceptance and/or Receipt of Minutes: It was moved by Councilmember Marohn, seconded by Councilmember Ehardt, to accept receipt of actions from the Planning and Zoning Commission September 6, 2016 meeting. Roll call as follows: Aye – Councilmembers Smith, Hally, Dingman, Ehardt, Marohn. Nay – none. Motion carried. City Council Reports: There were no items to report from Councilmembers. Cayenta Go Live Orientation: Director Alexander stated the Executive Committee for the Cayenta software conversion consists of herself, Director Flowers and Director Fredericksen. Director Alexander stated the conversion process began in spring of 2015. Director Flowers stated the Cayenta team has been very dedicated and thorough to ensure a top notch product. Director Fredericksen concurred with Director Flowers and stated staff has spent a great deal of time in addition to their regular duties. He is very excited for the new software and new opportunities. Additional Cayenta team members include: Thane Sparks, Jana Windmiller, Brigette Sanow, Derek Bates, Matt Evans, Mesha Hudman, Van Ashton, Trent Galbraith, and Loren Honeycutt. Director Alexander turned the presentation to Mr. Evans for Phase I orientation with brief discussion throughout. Mr. Evans stated Cayenta is replacing the former AS400 software system which was written in-house over thirty years ago. He indicated Cayenta will allow enhanced customer service and will streamline the process for customer accounts. A newsletter explaining the new utility statements will be mailed in the near future. It was noted the Utility, Treasurer, and Credit Offices will be closed for transition of the software on Friday, September 30. Water and Wastewater Ordinance Change Discussion: Director Fredericksen stated definition changes in the Water and Wastewater Ordinances will be required to align with Cayenta. These ordinance amendments will be presented for Council approval at the September 22, 2016 Council Meeting. Snow Removal Discussion: Director Fredericksen introduced the new Street Superintendent, Brian Cardon, and announced Jamie Burrows as the new administrative assistant for the Street Department. Director Fredericksen stated the department began snow removal discussion beginning in March through email, social media, survey, and phone calls. Several concerns received regarded residential snow removal as opposed to arterial and collector street snow removal. Director Fredericksen and Mr. Cardon presented the following information with general discussion throughout: Key issues: Effectiveness/Efficiency/Frequency Ice buildup Driveway approach snow removal – important service, cost expenditure deemed beneficial 2  September 19, 2016 Public notification regarding snow removal activities – when & how Steps to optimize activities performed: Review other snow removal procedures with cities of comparable size and snow accumulation No changes to the budget Staff utilization changes with additional Public Works staff in two (2), 12-hour shifts Equipment usage and future purchases, including multi-use of equipment Use of qualified and competent contractors will still be needed Pickup and haul versus plow to side costs (approximately 5:1 cost) Snow removal pilot program for 2016-2017: Establish a snow and ice control policy and procedures (to be posted on website) Prioritize all street snow removal- Priority One – arterial and collector Priority Two – minor collector streets and special needs (schools, care centers and emergency response facilities) Priority Three – residential and minor streets Maximize utilization of City employees and City equipment (two (2) graders with gates have been purchased for use with driveway approaches Minimize haul (update mapping on all routes) Update snow removal parking restrictions (Title 9, Chapter 5) Review and update annually Director Fredericksen stated the next steps will involve coordination of proposed changes to procedures, mapping, ordinance, and public notification/involvement with follow-up discussion occurring in the upcoming months. Community Support Grant Discussion: Mayor Casper stated there is a strong desire to offer a better process for the City to demonstrate support for the non- profit sector. She believes non-profit entities should provide benefits to the entire community including arts, social services, public safety and welfare and there is ample reason for the City to be involved. She recommended a subcommittee of Councilmembers review all applications and offer guidance for future council discussion. Mr. Briggs briefly reviewed total funding of community support data from the previous four (4) years and provided the following information for the current year funding support: 2015-16 Budget 2016-17 Budget Total Community Support Budget $331,998 $379,500 Council Approved Agency/Program Funds 209,800 202,500 Airshow 0 102,000 Utility Write-offs 24,298 0 Remaining $97,900 $75,000 Ms. Briggs stated the City currently has obligations with Senior Citizen Center, 911 Dispatch Center, Bonneville County Historical Society, Art Museum and Serenity Hall. Director Alexander reviewed previous utility assistance data which included City and County entities. She indicated the Community Support Grant funds were previously allocated from non-departmental funds, and, for the majority, is now included in the Council budget. Mr. Kirkham briefly reviewed utility write-offs with perspective to taxpayers versus ratepayers. Mr. Fife stated the business purpose needs to be defined to determine any utility write-off or support grant funding. General discussion followed. 3  September 19, 2016 Ms. Briggs reviewed the current application and timeline, the overview of the application process and eligibility, and application criteria/additional information. She indicated a scoresheet, based on the applicant and description, will be provided to the subcommittee for assistance with recommendations of funding. It was consensus of the Council to form a subcommittee. Councilmembers Dingman, Ehardt, and Radford volunteered as subcommittee members. Sister Cities Youth Delegation Report: Melinda Cebull, President, stated the Sister Cities is an exchange program with Tokai-Mura and provides an opportunity for youth to travel but not necessarily through the school system. The youth participate in fundraising events but the majority of costs are deferred by home stays with host families. Youth Delegates presentation: Julia Peck, student at Compass Academy. Ms. Peck stated she appreciated learning Japanese culture, experiences, foods, and activities. She believes the Sister Cities is an amazing organization and the City of Idaho Falls is lucky to have the program. A'maurie Duckwitz, student at Idaho Falls High School. Ms. Duckwitz believes the Sister Cities has created a bridge between the two cultures as it provides an opportunity for youth. She stated she learned a lot and enjoyed the experience. Garrett Corbridgem, student at Hillcrest High School. Mr. Corbridgem stated there is a historical parallel between the two cities with each City having a strong background in nuclear engineering. He indicated the opportunity to stay with a host family allows an in-depth experience into the culture. Rachel Cebull, student at Idaho Falls High School. Ms. Cebull stated she has participated in the Sister Cities organization for six (6) years. She has become semi-fluent in the Japanese language and has been given the opportunity to use her language skills. She believes the opportunity has changed her life goals. Mayor Casper stated the Sister Cities (Adult and Youth Delegation) is formally being transitioned as City Committees. Fire Department Citizen Review Committee (CRC) Report: Mayor Casper stated the CRC members consist of citizens who have dedicated numerous hours analyzing the effectiveness and operations of the department. Members of the Idaho Falls Fire Department (IFFD) CRC consist of: Chairperson Julie Foster, Nancy Carlson, Kathy Nave, David Haderlie, Steven Besse, Stephanie Willoughby, and Ronald Tallman. Ms. Foster stated the process began in February 2016 with a scope of review and tour of all facilities. Committee objectives and scope review areas included: Budget, Operations, EMS (Emergency Medical Services), Training, ISO (Insurance Services Office) Rating Goals, Fire Prevention, Guidelines and Procedures, and Administration. CRC members also attended a promotional ceremony and participated in Fire OPs day. CRC members presented the following findings and recommendations with general discussion throughout: Budget – The IFFD budget process is based on a forward-looking IFFD Business Plan aligned with an IFFD Five-Year Strategic Plan. Taxpayers can be assured their IFFD allocated tax dollars are spent to save lives and property. The department’s complex budget covers the following unique budget areas: Administration, Fire Alarm Training, Fire Prevention, Fire Fighting, Bonneville Fire District #1, Fire Stations and Buildings, Auxiliary Services, and Ambulance Fund. Recommendations –  Modify job descriptions and budget personnel services element object codes to clearly show exempt, administrative, and represented positions  Establish a performance-based pay grade and salary structure for IFFD Fire Chief 4  September 19, 2016  Be provided uniform, City-wide rates and the basis for those rates by the Municipal Services Department General Services Equipment Maintenance Division for IFFD Repair & Maintenance Auto Equipment expenses  IFFD Training Chief serves as the City of Idaho Falls Safety Officer and must be paid for his services via inter-department fund transfers  Establish a training budget for the Training Division  Establish "MERF" (Municipal Equipment Replacement Fund) for station upgrades, renovations, and/or new builds in Fire Stations and Buildings portion of IFFD budget  Provide a listing of the number of full-time and/or part-time employees covered in a unique budget area  Provide Administration Deputy Chief with part- to full-time administrative assistance focusing on budget data entry and tracking  Update Fire Prevention (FP) Division rates  Right-size "extra" services requested at no cost by some entities in town Operations – Operations provides firefighting services in the City of Idaho Falls as well as Bonneville County Fire District #1; thus, their service area covers 350 square miles and a population of approximately 87,000 people. 115 Operations personnel work shift rotation of 48 hours on and 96 hours off. IFFD Operations is responsible for the firefighting and EMS equipment as well as staff vehicles. The Operations Special Teams include Swift Water/Ice Rescue, Regional Response Haz-Mat Team and Idaho Technical Rescue (ITR) Team, and Aircraft Rescue Firefighting. Recommendations –  Maintain span of control in optimum range  Include MERF funds in the FY 2017 budget to cover need for additional staff vehicles  Establish a truck company sufficient to meet the firefighting demands of multi-story structures  Proactively work to reduce the number of false alarm calls  Explore options to reestablish funds for Haz-Mat and ITR  Work with the County Sheriff to explore ways to receive budget assistance to cover swift water/ice rescue training costs  Work with Idaho Falls Police Department (IFPD) to provide basic swift water rescue skills training to patrol officers  Continue the practice of Rapid Intervention Teams (RIT) to back up fire fighters in buildings  Move forward with the IFFD Strategic Planning process  Provide 24/7/365 coverage of the Idaho Falls Airport Emergency Medical Services (EMS) – EMS have a regional response area that includes Bonneville County, Northern Bingham County, and East Jefferson County. The total EMS response area covers 2,500 square miles and a population of 140,000 people. Recommendations –  Establish response time standards in alignment with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710 within the City of Idaho Falls to optimize saving lives  Work collaboratively with counties to improve county EMS response times  Continue the practice of requiring all fire fighters to be certified as EMTs (Emergency Medical Technician) and equipping engines with Advance Life Support (ALS) kits  Budget for sufficient ambulances to adequately cover the IFFD EMS service area to minimize putting engines out-of-service  Reduce time spent on handling short falls by a proactive education program  Review the EMS user fees annually to insure that the fees are adequate to cover rendered services and that fees are being collected in a timely manner 5  September 19, 2016  Expand the ambulance fleet, as services calls warrant, and train or hire adequate paramedics to staff new ambulances  Equip ambulances with power gurneys and loaders, including reserve ambulances, to reduce IFFD personnel lifting injuries  Purchase a "sim man" for use in EMS training Training – The newly created IFFD training division is a long overdue and a necessary addition for a vibrant future for the fire service in Idaho Falls. Centralizing training insures that IFFD staff can perform their jobs efficiently and safely under the very challenging situations they face. All training, including that conducted at the Fire Stations, is recorded in the Target Solutions System. Recommendations –  Complete preparation of a department-level, formalized Training Plan and update annually  Establish job descriptions aligned with Training Plan  Increase training staff to a minimum of three (3) training captains  Build on the collaborative partnership with Idaho State University (ISU) and Eastern Idaho Technical College (EITC) to provide academic learning and career development opportunities for IFFD staff  Evaluate the need for an upgraded IFFD training facility  Provide Training Division with a shared administrative support person to handle clerical chores, maintain schedules, coordinate required training with Fire Prevention and EMS  Continue use of the National Professional Development training model ISO Rating Goals – The ISO has set forth guidelines to analyze a community’s ability to fight fire based on specific criteria, such as water supply, communications dispatch, staffing, firefighting apparatus, etc. Property insurance rates (both commercial and residential) are based on this ISO rating. The rating system is from 1 to 10, with 1 being the best. Currently, the ISO rating in Idaho Falls is 3. Recommendations –  Improve emergency dispatch operations receiving and handling times in collaboration with IFPD  Fully implement CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) system  Approve IFFD FY 2017 staffing requests so Ladder 1 can be manned 24/7/265 and Ambulance 7 fully-staffed  Complete and implement IFFD Strategic Plan  Develop public education approaches to inform businesses and homeowners of the new Idaho Falls ISO 2 rating Fire Prevention – The IFFD Fire Prevention Division (FP) function enforces codes and standards established to limit the devastating effect that fire can create. The newly appointed Fire Marshall’s strategy focuses on four (4) discipline areas: Plans Review, Inspection, Investigations, and Public Education. Recommendations –  Right-size permit and inspection fees  Receive monthly inter-departmental transfers from Community Development Services for FP portion of building permits  Staff Fire Prevention Division with a minimum of five inspectors  Proactive notification of FP when commercial buildings undergo change of ownership, use, or occupancy  Acquire Community Development Services digitized Idaho Falls commercial building plans and enter into CAD system  Educate business owners, homeowners, and the public about the vital importance of fire and life safety systems 6  September 19, 2016  Ensure 100% of all new commercial construction building plans are populated in CAD by embedding FP certified inspector in Community Development Services division  Provide FP Division with a shared administrative support person to handle clerical chores, maintain FP schedules, coordinate FP required training with Training and EMS Divisions  Modernize the permit/license processes to e-processes Guidelines and Procedures – IFFD Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) were reviewed and discussed. Guidelines and procedures must be current, relevant, correct, and instructive. Recommendations –  It appears that the department has not done an update on several of the guidelines and/or procedures for several years. A thorough review of all documents needs to be completed and updates made to bring them current in content and establish a review baseline.  A review system needs to be put in place to establish a yearly review cycle and assign stewardship/ownership to the various documents. The Fire Chief is the owner and approves them, but a Deputy Chief or Division Chief responsible for the content should be identified on the documents.  Driving documents, e.g. NFPA standards, International Fire Code, International Building Code, Idaho Falls City Code, IFFD 5-Year Strategic Plan, Citywide Emergency Operations Plan, etc., associated with the procedure/guideline needs to be placed in the associated document so when there is a change to a driving document impacted SOGs/SOPs can be identified and modified in a timely manner.  A procedure detailing an appropriate, yearly review schedule needs to be written and include review assignments to the responsible person for each document.  Currently names (both IFFD and other city employees) are being used in some of the documents instead of positions. An appendix should be created with the position title and the appropriate individual's name and referenced in the document(s). This will allow a quick change to the appendix and the procedure/guideline can remain untouched until its yearly review.  Acronyms need to be defined, and there is a need to be consistent within the documents on how they are used. AMB and AB are both currently used to identify an ambulance.  Training documents should reference the applicable IFFD procedures/guidelines.  Job descriptions are needed for all positions detailed in the IFFD organizational chart.  Scrub all documents and replace outdated IFFD titles with titles aligned with the current IFFD organizational chart, e.g. replace Duty Chief with Battalion Chief.  Have a contracted document control professional review revised, new, and proposed guidelines and procedures for content completeness and correctness. Administration – Administration covers logistics, EMS billing, and Fire Prevention. Additionally, Administration handles the IFFD Budget, agreements between IFFD and other entities for firefighting and EMS services, and the IFFD grievance process. Recommendations –  Implement a tracking/inventory system for IFFD consumable equipment and components  Pay competitive rates for professional services  Review the IFFD grievance process  Work proactively to maintain existing relationships and to establish new relationships for IFFD firefighting and EMS services Chief Hanneman stated he agrees with and has implemented approximately 75% of the CRC recommendations as best practices. He stated several budgetary items discussed during the CRC evaluation were in the process of Council approval. 7  September 19, 2016 Mayor Casper believes the first responders are asked to perform a variety of tasks. She stated the CRC recommendations are helpful although realistic options need to occur at a realistic pace. On behalf of the citizens and Councilmembers, Mayor Casper expressed her appreciation to the members of the IFFD CRC. There being no further business, it was moved by Councilmember Marohn, seconded by Councilmember Radford, that the meeting adjourn at 6:34 p.m. which motion passed following a unanimous vote. s/ Kathy Hampton s/ Rebecca L. Noah Casper CITY CLERK MAYOR 8