City Council

December 12, 2016 The City Council of the City of Idaho Falls met in Special Council Meeting (Council Work Session), Monday, December 12, 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 Barbara Ehardt Councilmember John B. Radford (arrived at 3:05) Councilmember David M. Smith Councilmember Ed Marohn Councilmember Michelle Ziel-Dingman Councilmember Tom Hally Also present: Ryan Tew, Human Resources Director Dave Hanneman, Fire Chief Kerry Hammon, Public Information Officer Randy Fife, City Attorney Kathy Hampton, City Clerk Mayor Casper called the meeting to order at 3:03 with the following items: It was moved by Councilmember Dingman, seconded by Councilmember Ehardt, to receive recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission pursuant to the Local Land Use Planning Act (LLUPA). Roll call as follows: Aye – Councilmember Ehardt, Hally, Smith, Marohn, Dingman. Nay – none. Motion carried. Mayor’s Report, Calendar Items, and Announcements: December 14, Regional Eclipse Meeting December 15, Chamber Legislative Priorities Breakfast December 15, Airport Holiday Luncheon December 15, Chamber Holiday After Hours December 15, City Council Meeting December 16, Mayor and Council Holiday Brunch December 19, Library Christmas Brunch December 20-21, UAMPS (Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems), Salt Lake City December 22, Annex Building Holiday Lunch December 22, City Hall Holiday Party December 25, Christmas Day December 26, City offices closed December 26, Aquatic Center Birthday Party January 1, New Year’s Day January 2, City offices closed January 9, Council Work Session January 9-11, ICUA (Idaho Consumer Owned Utilities Association), Boise January 12, City Council Meeting Mayor Casper stated community feedback has been received for short-term rentals as well as definitions of a single- family household. She indicated although these items are legislative in nature, Councilmembers are allowed to interact with and respond to the community concerns. Mayor Casper stated the residents in Prestwich County Estates, a recent annexation, have submitted an official request to Idaho Falls Power to transition from Rocky Mountain Power. 1  December 12, 2016 City Council Reports: Councilmember Hally commented the Chamber Holiday After Hours will be located at the Bank of Idaho. Councilmember Marohn stated Anthony Doerr, an Idaho Pulitzer Prize Fiction author, will be at The Shilo Inn on April 20. Councilmember Radford stated the Festival of Lights is ongoing and has been very successful. Councilmember Ehardt believes snow removal will be tricky with the unpredictable weather. Councilmember Dingman stated the 20th year of Shop with a Cop was recently held with several entities of Law Enforcement participating. She expressed her congratulations to three (3) new officers who have recently graduated from Idaho State University (ISU) Law Enforcement Academy. Councilmember Smith stated a UAMPS finance meeting as well as the regular UAMPS meeting will be held in the near future in Salt Lake City. Council Meeting Procedures Discussion: Mayor Casper stated due to recent training from the Association of Idaho Cities (AIC), there may be possible changes for public hearings. She believes the current process is best practice and will follow up with Council after staff discussion. Mayor Casper reviewed the several meetings which are currently being online streamed and requested Council input regarding the streaming. Councilmember Smith believes the expense and purpose of online streaming should allow any Council item be considered and voted on at a Work Session. He believes Work Sessions may not be productive and it appears Council Meetings are being considered as ‘rubber stamped’. He believes Consent Agenda and routine day-to-day items could be approved at Work Sessions while more important items continue to be approved at Council Meetings. Councilmember Radford believes there should be a balance between discussion items and voting. Councilmember Marohn stated the notice and agenda for meetings are distributed 2-3 days in advance and it is the responsibility of Council to be prepared. He concurs with Councilmember Smith. Councilmember Hally reminded Council that the online streaming is recorded and the decision of meeting attendance is left to the citizens. Councilmember Ehardt stated she has been in favor of online streaming for several years and believes the cost is minimal. She prefers to vote on items at regular Council Meetings realizing unexpected items may occur that require approval at Work Sessions. Mayor Casper proposed a transition to find the balance between Work Sessions and Council Meetings. Mr. Fife reminded the Council that properly-noticed meetings allow Council to take any action, no matter if online streamed or not. Mayor Casper believes the Council Meeting decorum and respect can be improved, such as addressing staff by their title. She stated Councilmembers should be commended for being as transparent as possible. Pay for Performance Status Report: Director Tew introduced Mindy Moore, the new Human Resources (HR) Analyst. Director Tew stated Pay for Performance has been described as pay/salary that has connection with how well the employee is performing their tasks. The emphasis is on work performed, not the tenure of employee and therefore may involve putting pay at risk. He stated private sector and public sector vary in several ways and may not be driven the same way. Director Tew believes in order for the Pay for Performance process to be successful it needs to be a fit for the City, and it needs to be accomplished gradually as most employees will accept it as a take-away. He stated consensus from majority of other Department Directors is they are not ready for Pay for Performance. He believes consensus and support from Council, Directors, and Sr. Management needs to occur for success. He stated values need to be delineated for the City, and measures discussed that are precise, commonly understood, and tied to performance for salary increases. Additional involvement of management training would also be required as well as a fair amount of oversight by HR to divide available funds evenly. Director Tew indicated the Pay for Performance process will begin in January 2017. A Boise consulting agency is scheduled to meet with Council and Department Directors on February 1, 2017 for the next steps and process. Councilmember Marohn believes this is a professional development process which will encourage employees to work even better and be held accountable. Councilmember Hally believes job descriptions should be well written and managers should be well trained and believes this process needs to move slowly. Councilmember Smith believes a hybrid process may be more appropriate as the City is ‘not for profit’. He believes quantifying core values to employees may be difficult and 2  December 12, 2016 education to all levels of management will be important. Councilmember Ehardt believes great people should be awarded and recognized as an example. Councilmember Radford stated the extra time commitment should be recognized and believes this is viewed as an investment. Mayor Casper indicated the timeframe could be flexible. Approval of Fire Station Alerting System Purchase: Chief Hanneman stated this item requires immediate approval due to a construction timing project. He indicated this item, which has been piggybacked onto a group purchase, was approved in the budget but due to the considerable value Council approval is required. It was moved by Councilmember Marohn, seconded by Councilmember Radford, to approve the authorization to purchase the necessary equipment and services from US Digital Designs for a total cost of $108,635.41. Roll call as follows: Aye – Councilmembers Marohn, Dingman, Ehardt, Hally, Radford, Smith. Nay – none. Motion carried. Discussion of February 2017 Recruit Academy: Chief Hanneman stated he is trying to right-size the department staff to minimize overtime as much as possible for unanticipated time off (injury or sick leave). He indicated it is difficult to maintain staff between cycles of retirements/resignations as the process for replacement of staff takes approximately four (4) months. Chief Hanneman reviewed the cost comparison of full-time employee (approximately $5,000 per month) versus over-time costs (approximately $10,000) per month. He stated Municipal Services staff will be performing a trend for injury leave. He indicated he will move forward to fill the four (4) current vacancies but believes there is a balance of hiring ahead or paying overtime. Brief general discussion followed. Chief Hanneman stated he will present data regarding sick leave and injury usage prior to budget discussions. Approval of Resolution Accepting Donations for Heritage Park: Mayor Casper stated the City has received a $200,000 donation for the Heritage Park project from Ball Ventures. She indicated Ball Ventures believes this is a good investment in the community and is hopeful other individuals/entities will contribute as well. It was moved by Councilmember Radford, seconded by Councilmember Hally, to approve the resolution accepting donations for Heritage Park in the amount of $200,000. Roll call as follows: Aye – Councilmembers Ehardt, Marohn, Hally, Radford, Smith, Dingman. Nay – none. Motion carried. Independence Day Events Update: Mayor Casper stated the City has provided basic support for the Independence Day activities over the course of several years. The announcement of Melaleuca moving the fireworks from the traditional Snake River location prompted Department Directors to begin planning and finding alternate steps for relocation. She indicated staff has been working with Melaleuca for the feasibility of three (3) locations as Melaleuca did not have intentions of leaving the City. Mayor Casper stated discussion with Melaleuca has been ongoing as this decision will take a signification amount of research, evaluation, and planning. She indicated additional analysis also needs to occur with other City entities, the County, and possible private entities. There is no location decision at this time. Mayor Casper stated a public survey, regarding Independence Day events, has been completed with approximately 2491 responses. She turned the survey results presentation to Ms. Hammon. Ms. Hammon commented this is the first electronic survey with the highest number of responses. She briefly reviewed survey results including participation in the Independence Day Parade, participation with Liberty Festival on the Falls, attendance of Melaleuca Freedom Celebration, mode of transportation to Independence Day events, preference for current location of Liberty Festival and Melaleuca Freedom Celebration, length of time spent at the River Walk, and important factors influencing the decision to attend the fireworks show. She stated preference for the three (3) locations: Current location (John’s Hole Bridge) – 54.07%, Sandy Downs – 16.18%, and Snake River Landing – 29.75%. Mayor Casper reminded the Council that all events being surveyed are private events and the City has no direct control over these events, this was information collecting only. She stated the City of Idaho Falls is no different than other communities as large-scale events are always challenging and will involve congestion. She believes that typically the entity that takes control bears the greatest costs. Public and private partnership, economic impact, and community support are political factors but does not impact staff’s ability to deliver support services. 3  December 12, 2016 Councilmember Hally stated the eclipse and the air show will also be large events for 2017. Councilmember Smith believes the City should try to accommodate Melaleuca as best as possible. Councilmember Marohn concurred. Brief discussion followed regarding the January 9, 2017 Work Session schedule due to ICUA. There being no further business, Mayor Casper adjourned the meeting at 5:00 p.m. s/ Kathy Hampton s/ Rebecca L. Noah Casper CITY CLERK MAYOR 4