City Council

July 24, 2023, Council Work Session The City Council of the City of Idaho Falls met in a Council Work Session, on Monday, July 24, 2023, in the Idaho Falls Civic Center located at 501 S Holmes Avenue in Idaho Falls at 3:00 p.m. Call to Order and Roll Call There were present: Mayor Rebecca L. Noah Casper Council President Michelle Ziel-Dingman Councilor John Radford Councilor Hally Councilor Jim Freeman Councilor Jim Francis Councilor Lisa Burtenshaw Also present: Randy Fife, City Attorney Rick Cloutier, Airport Director Ryan Tew, Human Recourses Director Duane Nelson, Fire Chief Jake Durtchi, Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation Wade Sanner, Community Development Services Director Wayne Reiter, Aviation Planner- ARDURRA Nathan Cuvala, Project Manager- ARDURRA Corrin Wilde, City Clerk Mayor Casper called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. with the following items: Airport: Presentation and Discussion-Airport Master Plan. Director Cloutier introduced Nathan Cuvala and Wayne Reiter from ARDURRA. Director Cloutier stated that for the past 18 months, they have been working on the Master Plan and data collection and today you will be presented with the Master Plan alternatives which is the vision for the Airport as we grow. Director Cloutier stated our needs as we grow today and our needs as we grow over the next 20 years. He said today you will listen and ask questions and review the data presented. They will take the information received from Council members and start putting information together for public meetings anticipated for some time in August. There will be several public meetings and then it will come back to the Council for adoption. Wayne Reiter began the presentation by giving an overview of the items to be discussed including: • Master Plan Overview and Project Status • Forecast Review • Requirements Review • Draft Alternatives • Next Steps • Questions Master Plan Overview is a 20-year plan to meet aviation demand safely and efficiently at an airport. Mr. Reiter stated that there was a kickoff meeting in August 2021 and in October 2022 there was a Forecast and Facility requirements open house. Mr. Reiter explained that a Master Plan normally is a 2-year process and was originally intended to use 2020 as the baseline for the forecast, however because of COVID, using 2020 as the baseline for the forecast would not have given a good baseline to plan from. Mr. Reiter discussed the Master Plan Process 1  July 24, 2023, Council Work Session including the research and requirements as well as the implementation. Mr. Reiter reviewed the following with general discussion throughout: Commercial Forecast, Cargo Forecast, and General Aviation Forecast. Mr. Reiter discussed Design standards that are needed including Relocate Runway 3 windcone outside RSA, expanding runway shoulders and blast pads, expanding taxiway width and shoulders, and eliminating direct access to Runway 17/35 from the apron (a high priority to the FAA to increase safety), Relocate the deicing pad and VOR- DME, Reconfigure GA parking spaces, and add 41 hangars over 20 years. Director Cloutier pointed out that the first 3 items listed will bring us to design standards that we need and not future development. Requirements for Landside: Expand the terminal and add 2 gates, expand all parking lots (passenger, employee, rental car), Expand the cargo apron and processing facility, Expand the SRE building, and expand the terminal access road. Mr. Reiter stated that there are some recommendations. he noted that these are not requirements but are recommendations to help enhance the development and service levels at the airport. The recommendations are as follows: Relocate the ATCT and ARFF station, add approach lights to Runway 3, Assess storm drainage capacity and structural integrity, reconfigure the parking lot access point along Skyline, and Add EV charging stations to parking lots. Mr. Reiter listed Alternatives intended to address the requirements and recommendations. He said this is the creative part of the planning process, everything has been data-driven and now they can be creative in the process if they still meet the requirements and design standards. Alternatives can be a combination of alternatives if they fit with each other. Mr. Reiter stated that they had a concept that was presented to the airport and with the comments received they made some revisions and then submitted them to the technical revisory committee on May 3, 2023. Mr. Reiter stated they received comments from the committee and the Airport made some more changes and came up with the concepts presented today. Mr. Reiter presented some drawings of the concepts. Director Cloutier stated that the TAC committee includes Airport staff, general aviation users, commercial aviation users, and Community Development Services personnel. Mr. Reiter presented photos of draft Alternatives including 14 slides with general discussion throughout. Slide 1 – Terminal Expansion. Slide 2 – Loop Option 1. Slide 3 - Loop Option 2. Slide 4 – Terminal Phase 2. Slide 5 – Terminal Phase 2A. Slide 6 – Eastside Development Runway 17/35 Open or Closed. Slide 7 – East GA Option 1 Runway 17/35 Closed. Slide 8 - East GA Options 2 Runway 17/35 Closed. Slide – 9 South Quad Option 1. Slide 10 – South Quad Options 2. Slide 11 - South Quad Option 3. Slide 12 – West Side Cargo Phase 1. Slide 13 – West Side Cargo Phase 2. Slide 14 – West Side Terminal. Mr. Reiter outlined the Next Steps for the Master plan. He said the City/Airport selects the preferred alternatives and then holds a public open house to present those alternatives. Mr. Reiter stated that once the preferred alternatives are selected, we would move on to the next phase in the Master Plan process and that is to develop an implementation plan and complete ALP. He said once that is put together, we would prepare the Master Plan document and ALP in a draft form and then hold another TAC meeting and another public open house to present the full draft Master Plan document and allow and receive public comment for 30 days. Mr. Reiter stated next, they submit it to the FAA for review and comments. Incorporate comment from FAA then submit to the City Council for adoption. Mayor Casper asked if there was a timeline associated with this process. Mr. Reiter indicated that all these steps will be roughly within the next year. Presentation and Discussion: Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation: downtown parking strategies and enforcement options. Director Sanner introduced Jake Durtchi with IFDDC (Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation). Director Sanner stated that in October of 2022, IFDDC started a discussion to discuss parking strategies and at that time a couple of suggestions were presented. He said the Council asked IFDDC to come back and present them. Director Sanner stated that what is being presented today will require a code change so today they are looking for direction to go ahead and draft a code revision and bring it back to the Council later as to what is being proposed. Jake Durtchi stated that Downtown is growing and there are lots of new businesses and development and with that, more customers are coming in and there are more parking demands. Mr. Durtchi stated that over the last several years they have talked to lots of people that have experienced this type of growth for example larger cities that have addressed parking. Mr. Durtchi stated we are talking about a 3-zone parking system. He pointed out on a map 2  July 24, 2023, Council Work Session the different types of Zones; he said in the green are Zone A (on-street parking) Zone B (interior lots) and Zone C (free parking) requiring you to walk a couple blocks typically. Mr. Durtchi introduced the app that they are proposing to use called "Park Smarter" he presented a slide. Mr. Durtchi gives an overview of how the app works. He says you can park and scan a QR code that is on the parking station. The QR code opens immediately to the correct meter and allows you to enter your vehicle and plate number and the amount of time you wish to reserve (the app can store 10 vehicles per person). He says if people still want to pay with cash there will be a coin mechanism on the parking stations that we are proposing. Mr. Durtchi stated that when you get a notification on your phone that says, do you want to add more time to your parking spot, it’s a different experience than getting a parking ticket on your windshield. Mr. Durtchi explained that they would rather have a customer pay forty-five cents for a few more minutes instead of a $20 ticket. Mr. Durtchi says another thing they have considered is raising the fee after the car has been parked for 3 hours so it would be something like $2 an hour then after 3 hours it goes up to $4 an hour. Mr. Durtchi stated that the agreement that we have with the people that provide the parking stations is a 5-year lease agreement. He said the lease agreement can be terminated at any time and they will come and pick up the parking meters at any time that we ask them to during the term of the least. Mr. Durtchi stated that after 5 years we may then purchase the meters for 1 dollar if we choose to. Mr. Durtchi stated that each meter costs 55 dollars a month equaling 660 per year and the total cost for all the meters is $1925 a month and the total annual cost is $23,000. He noted that there is also the cost of operating the parking, enforcement of parking, and using the software as well as some other expenses. Mr. Durtchi says the total cost per station and installation is 236 thousand dollars. He said they are estimating the annual revenue at 315 thousand dollars and estimating the annual ongoing cost at 23,000 dollars. Mr. Durtchi feels that they will be able to break even on this in one year. He said this will all be done through the DDC (Downtown Development Corporation) however we will need the sidewalk which is city property and will require an agreement. Mr. Durtchi is also proposing a change in the Ordinance. Mr. Durtchi says that right now the city helps pay for the parking and would need that to continue but there is no additional request for funds. Councilor Freeman asked about the installation of the Kiosk, he wanted to know if it would damage the sidewalks. Mr. Durtchi explained that they would cut a little section out of the sidewalk. He feels that it is a good installation and looks nice. He says if you take the parking meter out next year cut the bolts off and remove it you would see a circular piece of concrete with bolt ends sticking out of it. Mr. Durtchi says the installation is not disruptive and is a quick installation process. Mayor Casper asked what kind of change would be made to the City Ordinance. City Attorney Randy Fife stated that the code will need to be adjusted to give notice to people that there is a connection between those meters and the enforcement piece and then we could either do an encroachment agreement or add it to a contract that IFDDC (Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation) can control those meters and we might even be able to do nothing because they are the city’s sidewalks. Mayor Casper pointed out that looking at the app shows the names of the parking areas and asked if there was a way to make it a little more user-friendly as far as identifying the lots with names rather than codes. Mr. Durtchi stated that the parking lots will have an identifying name however the street parking will not. He said the app would allow us to customize the name. Mayor Casper stated that there is interest in proceeding with this so we will see this in a future Council meeting perhaps in two weeks. Acceptance and/or Receipt of Minutes: It was moved by Councilor Francis, seconded by Councilor Burtenshaw, that the Council receive the recommendations from the July 11, 2023, meeting of the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission pursuant to the Local Land Use Planning Act (LLUPA). The motion carried with the following vote: Aye – Councilors Dingman, Radford, Francis, Burtenshaw, Hally, Freeman Nay – none. 3  July 24, 2023, Council Work Session Mayor and Council: Calendars, Announcements, Events, Reports, Updates, Concerns, Questions, and Discussion: Mayor Casper distributed calendar items for July and August. She stated that we have a Budget Tuesday meeting this week and we have a Council meeting on Thursday at the Civic Center. Thursday night will be the adoption of our tentative budget often referred to as the not to exceed budget. Next week on Monday the 31st we will have a swearing-in ceremony for IFPD. War Bonnet Round Up starts on Thursday the 3rd of August. On August 8th there is a Chamber luncheon with Governor Little. August 12th is the Duck Race and a Grand Opening for FunLand. Mayor Casper stated that we have received a request from the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) to be on an agenda. The mayor asked the Council if there is any interest in having a presentation from the FOP on a future work session agenda this year. Three Council members are not interested in having the FOP come forward with a presentation and three Council members would be willing to listen to a presentation. The mayor is not interested currently and feels that we have other means of managing our employees and owe it to all our employees to do a good job and not just a segregated unit. • Council President Dingman stated that Friday night is Council night at the War Bonnet Round Up. On August 19th is the Mut Strut fundraiser for the Snake River Animal Shelter at Freeman Park the theme is "Rescue me" and there will be a discount for all first responders and former first responders who want to participate in walking their animals. The following weekend on August 26th the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter will be celebrating the Idaho Falls shelters mascot and they will be doing some fun things to raise awareness of pet adoptions at our city shelter. • Councilor Hally had no items to report. • Councilor Radford stated that if you had bought bricks, he said they have been installed in the middle of FunLand if you want to go see where your brick is. Councilor Radford stated that when in DC for the policy makers conference there was one good piece of information from Governor Simpson's office and that is in mark up in the committee, they had 6 billion dollars set aside to fuel traditional nuclear power plants and that was an application process and no one applied. Councilor Radford indicated that it appears there may be billions that may come to the SMR project for UAMPS. He said it is within the committee and the budget is far from being done so we will see what ends up happening. • Councilor Francis stated that he has some items from the Chief of Staff on August 1st the public outreach planning tool (also known as POP) will be available on the city server and Eric Grossarth will begin working with different departments around August 8th so by the middle of August that should be a useful tool for departments planning their public engagement process. Sister Cities youth delegation is heading to Tokai- Mura, Japan on Wednesday for 12 days and the city committee is planning to have a booth at the farmers market on August 19th to promote the Sister Cities program and what it means. Councilor Francis stated that we have worked out a simplified version of the noise ordinance with Mr. Kirkham and will be on a Work Session agenda sometime soon. • Councilor Freeman stated that while attending ICUA (Idaho Consumer-owned Utilities Association) this past week, there was a lot of good information there and we made a lot of good contacts with other people in the energy industry and got reports from BPA and others and it was very well done and always is. • Councilor Burtenshaw stated that BMPO on August 16th is a combined TAC meeting and the policy board meeting and wanted to make sure people will be back in town. Mayor Casper will be back in town as well as Councilor Freeman and Councilor Francis. Councilor Burtenshaw stated that on the day of the duck race, the ducks drop at 4 p.m. and that is also the day of the Youth Jam down at the river. It was moved by Councilor Francis, seconded by Councilor Burtenshaw to move into an Executive Session being called to the provisions of Idaho Code Section 74-206(1)(j) to consider labor contract matters authorized under Idaho Code Section 74-206(1)(a) and (b), Idaho Code. The Executive Session will be held at the Idaho Falls Civic Center. The Council will not reconvene in an open session after the executive sessions. 4  July 24, 2023, Council Work Session Mayor Casper pointed out that the motion should state one Executive Session being called to the provisions of Idaho Code Section 74-206(1)(j) to consider labor contract matters. The Executive Session will be held at the Idaho Falls Civic Center. The Council will not reconvene in an open session after the executive sessions. Mayor Casper noted that we only have one department talking to us about labor contract matters. She stated that to be clear we are only going into Executive session for (1) (j) today. The motion was carried by the following vote: Aye – Councilors Hally, Burtenshaw, Dingman, Freeman, Francis, Radford. Nay – None There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:31 P.M. s/Corrin Wilde s/Rebecca L. Noah Casper Corrin Wilde, City Clerk Rebecca L. Noah Casper, Mayor 5