City Council

Minutes of the Millcreek City Council September 27, 2021 5:00 p.m. Work Meeting 7:00 p.m. Regular Meeting The City Council of Millcreek, Utah, met in a public work meeting and regular meeting on September 27, 2021 at City Hall, located at 3330 S. 1300 E,., Millcreek, UT 84106. The meeting was live streamed via the City's website with an option for online public comment. PRESENT: Council Members City Staff Jeff Silvestrini, Mayor John Brems, City Attorney Silvia Catten, District 1 Elyse Sullivan, City Recorder Dwight Marchant, District 2 Kurt Hansen, Facilities Director Cheri Jackson, District 3 Mike Winder, Assistant City Manager Bev Uipi, District 4 Francis Lilly, Plaru'iing & Zoning Director Laurie Johnson, HR-Finance Director John Miller, City Engineer Rita Lund, Communications Director Dan Drumiler, Stormwater Engineer Attendees: Renee Plant (electronic), Rola Hajeb (electronic), Raed Salem (electronic), Pam Roberts, Thom DeSirant, Jeremiah Clark, Beverly Boyce, R. Boyce, Todd Budy, Marta Smith, Mary Aru'i Strong, Brian Strong, Shawn LaMar, David Allen, Officer JD Nelson, and Chief Steve DeBry. WORK MEETING - 5:00 p.m. TIME COMMENCED - 5:04 p.m. Mayor Silvestrini called the work meeting to order. 1. Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District Report; Pam Roberts, CEO Pam Roberts reported that a driver, Ryan Jones, earned the 2021 National Driver of the Year award in the public sector from the National Waste and Recycling Association. Council Member Marchant asked how many drivers competed. Roberts said in the government district, about ten thousand. She introduced Renee Plant to the Council as the new Administrative Manager. Roberts gave a report on the state of recycling. She noted that dollar values for recycling materials had fluctuated over the past year, but trends were improving with increased values for recyclables. The District had not seen revenue in recycling since 2017. The price per ton for recycling had most recently decreased from an average of $65.00 to $10.00 per ton. The savings had off-set the costs of the needed increases to drivers' wages. The salary markets continue to escalate and experienced CDL drivers were hard to recruit and retain. The District has been Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 2 of 16 increasing wages over the past three years to keep up with these rising markets, which increases costs for services. However, due to the ability to absorb costs from recyclables, staff did not anticipate a fee increase for 2022. Council Member Marchant commented that it was more efficient to keep drivers than train new ones. Roberts said the 15,791 homes in Millcreek are 18.3% of the approximately 86,265 homes in the District boundaries. Residents of Millcreek diverted approximately 22.2% of waste away from the landfill in the Ist half of 2021 compared to a District-wide total diversion rate of l 7.6o/o. She reported the District was also working on a b etter reservation system for the area clean-up dumpster sign ups. Mayor Silvestrini expressed appreciation for Robert's leadership. 2. Planning Mallys First Reading: ZM-19-012; Rezone from R-1-8 to R-2-6.5, Subject to a Development Agreement, at 1315 E. Magda Lane by Salem Holdings; Francis Lilly, Planning & Zoning Director Francis Lilly said staff had been working with the applicants for a couple of years. The property consisted of existing duplexes. The application began as remodeling and adding new duplexes to the property, but it was later determined, with input from the Planning Commission, that demolishing and starting over would be a better use of the property. He showed the Council the proposed PUD site plan. The plan showed updated landscaping per the Planning Commission's recommendation and screening from 1300 E. The proposed development agreement would include the following: 1. Height. The height of the buildings will not exceed 28 feet in height. 2. Setbacks. The setbacks for the building will be as established on the attached site plan, Exhibit C of the development agreement. 3. Parking. The project will include 58 parking stalls for the development. There will be 12 units with 3 parking spaces each, and 4 units with 4 parking spaces each, and 6 guest parking spaces. 4. Common Open Space. The project will consist of open space totaling 45% of the project site. 22% of the open space will be common, and 23o/o of the open space will be private. 5. Amenities. The open space will include the following residential amenities: Community Garden consisting of at least 16 garden beds. 6. Screening. Parking between 1300 E and the buildings fronting 1300 E shall be screened from view with an evergreen hedge. 7. Units. The project will consist of 12 four-bedroom units, and 4 five-bedroom units. 8. Private Open Space. The project will consist of open space totaling 46% of the project site. 22% of the open space will be common, and 24% of the open space will be private. 9. Lighting. The developer will install Street lights on the south side of Magda Lane as shown in Exhibit C of the Development agreement. 10. Fencing. The developer will install Wooden Fencing along perimeter of PUD. Fencing shall be subject to the requirements for fencing in the PUD ordinance. 11. Uses. Uses will be limited to 16 Residential Twin Homes. 12. Landscaping. Landscaping will be provided as provided in the attached landscape plan, and shall include an ornamental tree in front of each unit. Trees, cornrnunity garden space, resident's choice. Trees will be preserved per the tree preservation plan indicated in the attached exhibit. 13. Materials. The project will consist of the following materials. a. White Jerusalem Stone b Stucco  Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 3 of 16 c Wood 14. Arrangement of the materials and the windows wilI be as indicated on the attached renderings Lilly said the Planning Commission did forward a unanimous favorable recommendation for the rezone approval subject to the development agreement. He apologized to the applicant for not getting the application to the Council at their prior meeting. Mayor Silvestrini said the practice was to do a first reading of an application in one meeting and consideration of the application in a subsequent meeting. 3. Neffs Canyon Debris Basin Study Update; John Miller, City Engineer Mayor Silvestrini said there would be a public meeting on the topic at time and place to be determined. John Miller said about 20 years ago the County brought up adding a debris basin and there was public opposition to it. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) selected this alluvial floodplain to update old information on maps from the 1960s. Over the last 3 years, the hydraulic data was defined, and mapping was updated. The new map includes depths of flows and volume and velocities of water which did not exist before and it has created issues for residents who live in the area having to meeting certain building criteria. If residents in Olympus Cove wanted to remodel their home, they would have to do so under the new requirements. Mayor Silvestrini said as a result to the revisions of the FEMA floodplain map, the City is required to follow it to participate in the Federal Flood Insurance Program and give relief if there were to be an event. The map creates a large expense to the residents that live in the floodplain for flood insurance. There are building restrictions and remodel financial restrictions. Millcreek sought a grant and supplemented it with the General Fund to commission a study to reduce the map or the size of structure that might be required to retain the debris flow coming out of Neffs Canyon. One of the ways to get rid of the problem would be implementing measures to prevent flooding by using a debris flow and charu'ieling the runoff. The study was also to see if the map was accurate with the amount of rainfall projections. Miller said the Mt. Olympus Community Council asked about the flow and conducted a smaller study in which a private consultant said the flow should not be as high as FEMA indicated. Dan Drumiler said the study Millcreek commissioned was conducted by Bowen Collins & Associates. They researched the previous Neffs Canyon study, available stream gaging data, and the comparison of similar and adjacent streams and watersheds. The approximate size of the Neffs Canyon watershed was 4 square miles with a flow rate of 107 CFS versus 300 CFS of the original study (flow of 100-year storm event). They were able to remove the majority of the High Hazard Zone A and changed to Zone X for minimal risk on the map. With the 107 CFS, they proposed to construct a debris basin of 10-acre feet versus 20-acre feet needed for the 300 CFS. He showed the Council the amended maps from the study. He recommended a trunk storm drain trunk line be added too. He said there had been a lot of local flooding in the area and this would help that. Miller said Neffs Canyon's original channel was to the north of the existing charu'iel. The debris basin would pick up the old charu'iel in a large event. He said they were trying to get visual impacts of the proposed basin. The FEMA representatives have been pleased with the results. Drumiler said staff would get approvals which would lead to construction of the debris basin to mitigate the hazard. Mayor Silvestrini said the activity would result in a revised map. He said before a basin was constructed, staff would get FEMA's approval of the map revision. Drumiler said the FEMA Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 4 of 16 representatives had been supportive of the revised hydrology so far. Council Member Uipi asked about the timeline. Miller said staff was applying for another grant that would be for a debris basin and that deadline was in three days. They would still apply even though a ruling from FEMA had not been made yet. Staff would find out in the next three months whether the grant would be awarded. The environment documents would be done in 2-4 years. If a debris basin is installed, there would be no homes impacted by the floodplain. Mayor Silvestrini said he discussed the problem with Congressman Owens and Senator Romney. He had been having further communications with Barker Leavitt to reduce the fee for lobbying the federal governinent. He recommended retaining that firm. Council Member Marchant asked what the total cost of the project would be. Drumiler said the rough estimate was $5 million. Mirler said the extra expense was for storm drain in addition to the basin. He said $1 million had been set aside by other entities for a parking lot upgrade in the canyon. Mayor Silvestrini said the funding for that project had been earmarked by the budget bill that Congress would be considering, and it was supported by the other members of Utah delegation and Congress. Council Member Uipi thanked Miller because this also addressed some of the nighttime safety of the area. 4. Discussion on Resident Donations; John Miller, City Engineer Council Member Uipi said residents were willing to give private donations for a streetlight on Keller Lane. Mayor Silvestrini said this principle could also be about traffic calming. He said it could create equity issues with improvements being installed in more affluent parts of the city. He said when donations were made to the city, there were no strings to that donation. Council Member Jackson said input would end affer the donation was made for a project. Council Member Uipi requested a policy. Council Member Jackson asked about the 50/50 sidewalk program. Miller said it had been successful the prior year. Council Member Jackson asked about other cities doing it. John Brems did not know of any other cities doing it. He said the residents could create a special services district and tax themselves. Mayor Silvestrini said there was an administrative burden on the city with them. Mayor Silvestrini said there should be a policy for donations. There should be a consent percentage from the neighbors. Council Member Catten wanted a prioritized scale for projects. She recommended a cap per district to balance equity. Council Member Uipi recommended administrative criteria. The Council continued to discuss possible solutions and policy options. 3. Staff Reports Laurie Johnson reported that in April a grant administrator was hired and then left in August. The position was readvertised without any luck. As part of the process, a consultant was found who does grants though did not want to be an employee for Millcreek. Johnson would like to have someone assisting with finances in addition to grants. She thought about the structure of the Finance Department and decided to become a part-time accountant and hire a fulltime Finance Director. She would be available to guide a new hire through the City's finances. She would work in capital improvement projects and grant finances. She said it was financially a win-win to have a fulltime benefited position for grants and accounting. She would continue to work fulltime through the end of the year. Council Member Uipi asked about Human Resources. Johnson said the HR-Finance Assistant received her degree in Human Resources and had been taking on more of the responsibilities. Her title was changed to HR Manager and would still work under the Finance Director. Mayor Silvestrini said the Council valued Johnson and her work. Council Member Marchant highlighted three areas of substantial revenues: transportation Mfflcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 5 of 16 tax from the state, sales tax, and Class B & C road funds. He said every amount received exceeded the prior year. He said it was critical for the residents to know that. John Miller gave a report on pavement preservation projects from the last five years. He said three-fourths of 3900 S. will have been repaved. Highland Drive has been repaved up to the City Center where new utilities would be installed. In the coming year, 900 E. would be repaved from 3900 S. to 4500 S. and sidewalk would be put in on the missing sections. There will be a slurry seal on 1100 E. and chip seal on 2700 E. Also, 500 E. was repaved, and 300 E. was repaved and sidewalk would be added. In the next year, residents would see more local road work. The 3900 S. construction project ran into complications and needed 3-4 weeks to finish. He said zero local tax dollars were used on the project. On 1300 E., there is a grant to add sidewalk, a crosswalk signal, and new storm drain in the next year. The city is in the process of replacing all the incandescent streetlight bulbs with LED. All the new lights on 300 E. went in with dimming technology. They were still experimenting with two solar lights. Mayor Silvestrini said more funding would be put towards local streets pavement preservation since the major arterials had been hit first. The city had also made progress on sidewalks, especially the north side of 3300 S. between 2600 E. and 2700 E. There had been right-of-way issues on the south side of 3300 S. Miller noted five other sidewalk grant projects had been completed as well. He felt that Millcreek had passed the $50 million threshold of received grant funding since incorporating. Mike Winder expressed appreciation to the attendance of the Millcreek Common meeting. The tentative grand opening date for the Common and the 5-year anniversary of the city incorporating event would be January 15'. He recoinmended the Council meeting on December 27"1 be rescheduled to December 20fll. Mayor Silvestrini said the 27fh would be used as the City Manager's designated floating holiday. The Council agreed to that. Winder said a resident noted potential rust of the wiring in the skating ribbon. He said he consulted experts and none of them shared the concern. He said the concrete was poured in the Millcreek Common the prior week. He reminded the Council of the upcoming Utah League of Cities and Towns Conference. He said on October 5'h would be the first annual Business Council award luncheon. Mayor Silvestrini said Elyse Sullivan was recently designated as a Master Municipal Clerk by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. He and the Council congratulated her. 4. Discussion of Agenda Items, Correspondence, and/or Future Agenda Items There was none. Council Member Uipi moved to adjourn the work meeting at 6:43 p.m. Council Member Jackson seconded. Mayor Silvestrini called for the vote. All Council Members voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. REGULAR MEETING - 7:00 p.m. TIME COMMENCED: 7:00 p.m. 1. Welcome, Introduction and Preliminary Matters 1.I Pledge of Allegiance Mfflcreek City Councn Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 6 of 16 Mayor Silvestrini called the meeting to order then led the pledge of allegiance. He aru'iounced that the Elyse Sullivan was designated as a Master Municipal Clerk by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. 1.2 Public Comment Elyse Sullivan read a coinment submitted online by Marv Poulson, 3631 S. 1021 E. "Hello all, Since I am vmable to join you in the City Courrcil Meeting this evening, I want this comment included in the record and minutes of the meeting. I believe it is essential that The Planning Commission have sufficient funding to retain Conflict Counsel as theypursue their due-diligence in considering the broad scope of City Master Plan, City CenterMaster Plan, City Center Overlay Zone and Billboard Ordinance changes necessary to accommodate The Councils apparent desire to allow Regan Outdoor Advertising to expand the use of electronic billboards in Millcreelc, and the City Center specifically. As a matter of good public policy, I trust that The Council will provide thefunding for the Planning Commission to fully investigate and discover all of the information not yet in evidence that bares on such a weighty decision and so that the process affords the commurxityto fully underrated all of the ramifications of making such a radical change that portends generation of impacts. Thank you for your attention. I trust that you will vote irxfavor offully and adequatelyfundirgg the Plarming Commission Conflict Council as the continue their diligent work on behalf of the community with the great competenceand integrity these dedicated members of the commurtity volunteer on our behalf." 1.3 Unified Police Department Millcreek Precinct Officer of the Month for August 2021 Chief Steve DeBry announced Officer JD Nelson as the Officer of the Month for August 2021. Officer Nelson performed a traffic stop which yielded $6,634 cash, 1.92 pounds of heroin, 6.1 pounds of meth, I pound of cocaine, 2 magazines to a handgun, and a small amount of ammunition. Officer Nelson's proactivity made the community safer. Mayor Silvestrini thanked Officer Nelson for his work. The Citizens Advisory Board gave Officer Nelson a gift. 2. Planning Matters 2.1 Discussion and Consideration of Ordinance 21-39, Amending Title 19 of the Millcreek Code of Ordinances with Respect to Accessory Dwelling Units Mayor Silvestrini said the Council has a first reading of ordinances and zone changes and the Council was fully briefed on the proposed ordinance at their last meeting. Francis Lilly said the ordinance provides a policy for internal accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as mandated by the State in time for the October 15th deadline. The ordinance also creates a process for attached and detached ADUs. He said there is a minimum lot size for ADUs, 6,000 square feet for internal and 8,000 square feet for attached and detached. Every ADU requires one off-street parking space. The ordinance is a culmination of two years of public input and community engagement. He said it was a good faith effort to strike a balance of the interest of private homeowners who do and those who do not want ADUs. He said the ordinance created updates in the parking chapter, updates to definitions, and adds a new chapter in Title 19. He reviewed the ordinance changes since the last meeting. He noted that ADUS were subject to the Residential Compatibility Overlay Zone (RCOZ). For detached ADUs, the Council had recommended for a new dwelling unit side and rear yard setback of five feet and a minimum lot area of 8,000 square feet. The Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 7 of 16 significant change addresses how existing buildings are converted into an ADU. Per the City Council's input, he included language that read "...existing setbacks of the detached building are not further reduced, and the structure complies with or can be altered to comply with the applicable sections of the adopted building and fire codes of the city." It is a finding that the Land Use Hearing Officer can make, the condition cannot be made worse. He also added specific enforcement language that liens only apply to an existing internal ADU per state statute. The city can terminate an ADU if violates the Title such as for obvious violations of parking or use as a short-term rental. He noted a typographical error from parking "spaced" to "spaces." Council Member Uipi asked if there was a fine for property not being owner-occupied. Lilly said it would be a daily zoning violation. Mayor Silvestrini noted there was not statutory authority for liens on attached and detached AUDs. Lilly said it was important to note that most residents could do an attached ADU if they met the minimum lot requirement and had the required parking space. Mayor Silvestrini asked for public comment. Mary Ann Strong, 3 734 S. 2070 E., said her neighbors were upset about detached ADUs. She said it was confusing to have all of the ADUs combined in the same ordinance. She said H.B. 88 required the ordinance for internal ADUs, not external. She said the cornrnunity meetings did not allow for robust conversations with residents. She said there was not an at large meeting where everyone's' input could be heard. The feedback she has heard is that residents' voices were not heard when there was dissent to city ideas. She felt that external ADUs were a separate issue. She said it was not possible to fix the community and neighborhoods to make them affordable to everyone. Council Member Marchant asked how many of her neighbors would build a detached ADU if the ordinance passed. Strong did not have feedback from anyone in her neighborhood that wanted it. Council Member Uipi brought up affordable housing and schools closing in the next ten years because young families could not afford to live in Millcreek. She asked for feedback on how to attract younger families. Strong said her neighborhood had a lot of kids and felt that ten-year projections of slowing down were not accurate. Todd Budy, 3939 Honeycut Road, said it was human nature to see the process as being good when it goes your way. He felt the process was very thorough and remarkable. He felt there was more than ample opportunity for residents to provide input and that the majority of the feedback was positive. He pointed out that not many residences would be wanting to add ADUs and did not think the density would be felt. He said the ADU did not change the ownership market for young families, but they could save some money by renting. He said there were potentially more problems with rentals when owners do not live on site. He felt that internal, attached, and detached ADUs should be in the same ordinance and the perceived problems were fear based. Brian Strong, 3734 S. 2070 E., asked if there was no interest in ADUS, then why would the city go through the process. He said it would be easier to identify and address interior and exterior ADUs separately. He did not feel the code addressed safety concerns. He asked if a neighbor did not want an ADU on a neighboring property what happened. He said people did not want to change the character of neighborhoods. Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 8 of 16 Thom DeSirant, 718 E. Nibley View Court, said the ordinance added more affordable housing in the city and he voiced his support for the ordinance. Council Member Jackson said there were many public meetings where public input was received. She said in District 3, there were a lot of comments provided but they varied based on the neighborhood. She said ADUs were possible in narrowly prescribed parameters. She was sorry that people felt that they had not been heard. She commended staff for sifting through all the public comment received on the matter. Council Member Uipi said the community councils had seen the ordinance many times. She said the ordinance had taken two years of feedback from the general public. She noted that she purchased her home with the idea of converting her detached garage into an ADU for her senior parents, but under this ordinance would not be able to. Council Member Catten said ADUs already existed in her district so the city should reframe the issue to take control of it. She said the ordinance fulfilled a need for a lot of different people. It made sense that all the ADU types were together in the same ordinance because it helped with equity. She expressed that change was hard and felt this ordinance provided benefits that outweighed any detriments. Council Member Marchant respected the opinions given. He read a list of concerns he had heard from residents on parking off-street, access for emergency vehicles, access to utilities, and the desire to have single family dwellings in neighborhoods. He felt all those concerns had been addressed. He did not think there would be many ADUs because there would be owner occupancy. The Council put barriers in place to mitigate any problems the ordinance would create. Mayor Silvestrini said the concern was the quality of housing stock in Millcreek. He said ADUs were rampant in the city and there were no regulations in place for them. He felt added structure would help resolve problems and make them safer for residents. He was confident that he had heard from the public (60% in favor and 40% opposed). He did not think they would be an imposition to the neighborhood and was satisfied with the public process. He said the ordinance offered a solution to those that wanted them. As long as the housing stock appreciated, those on fixed incomes would stniggle. This would provide quality, affordable housing. Council Member Catten moved to adopt Ordinance 21-39, Amending Title 19 of the Millcreek Code of Ordinances with Respect to Accessory Dwelling Units with the amended typographical error. Council Member Jackson seconded. The Recorder called for the vote. All Council Members voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Business Matters 3.1 Public Hearing on an Appropriation to the Millcreek Senior Center Advisory Committee Mayor Silvestrini said the city had funded the Millcreek Senior Center Advisory Cornrnittee previously. This group provides programming to seniors at the Millcreek Community Center. He said in compliance with state code, with respect to the city distributing money to a third-party agency, a study was commissioned. That study confirmed that it would be in the interest of the general welfare of the residents of Millcreek to fund this program. The study was published online in advance of the public Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 9 of 16 hearing notice requirement. Rita Lund said the Advisory Council offered a booth to the city at their event on October 9. Council Member Uipi moved to open the public hearing. Council Member Catten seconded. Mayor Silvestrini called for the vote. All Council Members voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. There were no comments. Council Member Uipi moved to close the public hearing. Council Member Catten seconded. Mayor Silvestrini called for the vote. All Council Members voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. 3.2 Discussion and Consideration of Ordinance 21-40, Approving a Monetary Contribution of Up to $5,000 to the Millcreek Senior Center Advisory Committee Council Member Uipi said the Advisory Committee was becoming more robust and active in the community. Council Member Catten asked if they picked their own committee members. Council Member Uipi said there were bylaws and elections. Council Member Marchant asked if it was for the Committee at the Evergreen location. Council Member Uipi confirmed. Council Member Uipi moved to approve item 3.2, Ordinance 21-40, Approving a Monetary Contribution of Up to $5,000 to the Millcreek Senior Center Advisory Committee. Council Member Jackson seconded. The Recorder called for the vote. All Council Members voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. 3.3 Consideration of Planning Commission Request for Conffict Counsel Mayor Silvestrini said based on statements he had made in the past, and based on his former relationship with Reagan and his wife's relationship with Reagan, he would recuse himself from the matter. He turned the dais over to Council Member Uipi as Mayor Pro Tempore and left the meeting. Council Member Uipi said she received campaign donations in 2016 from Reagan Outdoor Advertising. She previously disclosed that donation in her financial disclosure form, there was no financial gain for her, so she would not recuse herself from the issue. She called Shawn LaMar up to address the Council. Shawn LaMar, Planning Commission Chair, said the current Commission was remarkable and publicly thanked them for their dedication. He said when he approached any application, his goal was to figure out how to make it work. He said at times there are questions about applications where the Commission asks questions from staff. The Commission's duty is to fairly evaluate applications without bias and their purpose is to represent concerns of diverse citizens groups as well as the broad interest of the community as a whole. He felt there was a conflict in asking advice from staff on this application (GP-21-001/ZT-21-007) since the City was the applicant. The application the Commission reviewed at their last meeting was looking to change two ordinances and review a memorandum of understanding (MOU). He felt that if a developer made a similar request with an application that would require changes to zoning ordinances, the Commission would want to get as much information as possible. He noted that the code Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 10 of 16 and the Commission's rules of order and procedure did not allow for the Commission to talk to an applicant, ex parte communication. He felt there was conflict in talking to city staff. He first talked to Zack Shaw with the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office, Jordan Cullimore with the Utah Property Rights Ombudsman's Office, and Ashley Carter with Utah Political Subdivision Ethics Review Commission and they all recommended that the situation warranted the use of conflict counsel. Due to the conflict of interest to receive input from the city, the Commission respectfully requested conflict counsel. Dave Allen, Planning Commissioner, reminded the Council that the MOU represented an agreement that would be for 40 years. He has a lot of experience as a land use attorney, a planning cornrnissioner, and a community development director and this experience had only happened once before in his career. The city had an application before the planning commission and they felt like they were not getting adequate information, so the cornrnission resigned on the spot. It was resolved by getting them conflict counsel and it was a good process. He said staff was acting like an applicant and applicants tended to present their side of the story. He said individual cornrnunity council members provided public input that they felt pressured by the city to recommend the MOU. He said staff presented that it would cost $1-1.3 million to remove the billboard when the Commission had data from comparisons in Salt Lake City and Holladay that it would only cost $2- 300,000 to remove a billboard. He felt that the numbers should be known by an appraisal to be able to make an informed decision. He said the Commission was asked to amend the General Plan, City Center Overlay Zone, and sign ordinance all at once. They needed to know all the details and had an obligation to evaluate them. He had never seen an applicant say that if the Cornrnission did not provide a recornrnendation on the applications in one meeting that the Council would act on the matter without it (firom the staff report). He felt that claim was absurd. He said staff and the City Attorney wore two hats and did not feel that it was fair to put them in that situation. He wanted the process to be done correctly and wanted an independent analysis of the situation. LaMar said this was a procedural request and not adversarial. Council Member Jackson noted this was not the only time the City had been an applicant. She asked why this was different. LaMar said plans and ordinance were changed for generalities across areas, not specific to certain projects. Alien said there were brief observations, and the applicant was selling the project which did not qualify in ordinance. He said digital billboards were not always part of the plan. The Commission felt that they were being pushed by the city after hearing the presentation. Council Member Jackson asked what discussions were had with Francis Lilly. LaMar said he was presenting the application. Council Member Jackson noted that staff worked for the Commission too. LaMar said it was conflicted. Council Member Marchant asked if Francis Lilly was involved in the MOU. Lilly said no. Allen said there were concerns about the right role for cornrnunication. He said staff had been actively pushing the issue for months at the bequest of the city administration. Council Member Catten said whatever the Mayor wants does not necessarily happen. She asked if there was evidence about conversations with John Brems or Francis Lilly that there was a true conflict of interest. She did not think the Commission's request was unreasonable, she just wanted to understand. Allen said he got calls from The Salt Lake Tribune wanting comments for a story. He asked John Brems if the Commission should participate in a dialogue and were advised not to. He said city staff and the Council did participate and that input was printed. Allen said the matter was before the Commission Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 11 of 16 so there was a concern about ex parte communication though the matter was at that time before the Council. He felt that with any other application, staff would have requested an appraisal or valuation of the billboard to be removed. Council Member Marchant said Mike Winder was denied opportunity to respond to the Commissions' questions in their meeting. LaMar said all the other parties he asked beforehand said conflict counsel was appropriate, so he did not want to ask legal questions of the City Attorney. He felt the city should be treated like any other applicant. Council Member Jackson asked what legal questions the Commission wanted to ask legal counsel. LaMar said it was not appropriate to say in this forum but wanted to know in what forum it would be appropriate per code. Council Member Uipi asked LaMar if all resources were exhausted that the City had offered. LaMar said he stopped using them because of the perceived conflict of interest. Council Member Jackson asked when that conflict was established. Allen said in the last Planning Cornrnission meeting. He said the staff report noted that if the Commission did not make a recornrnendation in one meeting that it would not be a timely response. Allen said the Commission followed their meeting procedure so hearing from Winder, the applicant again, did not follow their process. Council Member Jackson said staff was not able to fully communicate because they were asked so many questions on the onset without listening to the full presentation first as they had requested. She also did not understand how the City Attorney had a perceived conflict of interest when he was not part of the presentation. Allen said conflict issues were raised prior to the last Commission meeting. He said the Commission does not come up with values (gained through appraisals) and wanted independent analysis. Council Member Catten asked if the Commission got the answers to their questions if there would still be a perceived conflict. He said technically yes, but he was not sure they would have asked for conflict counsel. Council Member Catten asked if the pressure felt at the Commission meeting weighed into the decision to ask for conflict counsel. Allen said yes, and that the community council members had felt that pressure too. Council Member Uipi asked about how the information came to the Commission before the matter was an application presented to them. Allen said four commissioners came to city hall to talk to staff about the sign issue several months prior. He said the commissioners acted negatively at that meeting but felt that the rest of the Commission needed to know about the issue. At the next Commission meeting, the Commission asked the Council through a letter to slow down consideration of the issue in order to do it properly. He said the Commission hoped to get ahead of the curve. Council Member Jackson said they did get ahead of the curve by sending the letter out to the cornrnunity councils too. She felt their letter was trying to derail the process, which was inappropriate. She noted that she did not like billboards. She was concerned that the request of the Corninission came up late when the conflict had been felt for months. She respected the Commission and their work but felt disappointed at how everything had played out. Allen said the Commission was not trying to stall the process. He felt if the Commission had the information available to them, they would not have requested conflict counsel. Council Member Jackson asked what a reasonable timeline would be if conflict counsel was engaged because there were construction timeline concerns. LaMar said if the Commission had their questions answered, they could make a recommendation. The Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 12 of 16 whole Commission had not heard the application until September 15fll. Council Member Catten said she learned about the issue from social media because of the Cornrnission's conversation and not through the regular process of community council recornrnendation and Plaru'iing Commission recommendation to the Council. She asked if the issue was timing, then why was that not the emphasis of the conflict. She wanted to know what the main objective was in getting conflict counsel to get to where the Commission could make a recommendation. Council Member Uipi disclosed that she had a conversation with a commissioner on September 16"1 about the Commission's end goal. She asked what the desired outcome for the Cornrnission would be from getting conflict counsel that would meet the needs of everyone. LaMar said there was an undeniable conflict for the Commission to rely on the City Attorney who was also advising the applicant/the City. He was still gathering facts. Council Member Jackson said the Con'unission was not voting on the deal, just the plan and text amendments. Allen said if the Commission had better information on the price of the billboard, they could make better decisions. He said the Holladay one cost $400,000 and the one in Salt Lake City cost $200,000. He said the goal was hard to define without knowing all the details. He asked how long it would take to condemn a billboard at the Planning Commission meeting and did not get an answer. Council Member Uipi said the State Ombudsman had been offered to be the Commission's counsel. LaMar said the fair opportunity would be to talk to legal counsel not a mediator. Council Member Jackson said the Ombudsman had that role, to be fair counsel in land use decisions. She said the Ombudsman was a free solution. She noted that legal counsel and buying billboards cost money and the Council did not like to freely spend money. She said Salt Lake City's billboard situation was different than Millcreek's. Allen said the Ombudsman service seemed like training, not representation. LaMar asked about the negotiations in selecting which billboards would come down. Council Member Jackson said those billboards were based on the location of the ones going up. She said Reagan Outdoor Advertising could only release the ones they owned the lease on. LaMar did not feel that proximity mattered, it was an issue of fairness. Council Member Catten said the selection was subjective because Reagan gets to say yes, or no. Council Member Jackson said it did not seem right to put more billboards up in the City Center area and not remove them there. Council Member Uipi said the city went through a billboard ordinance rewrite because people do not like billboards. The MOU was a potential solution to get billboards down for free. The Council was offering an Ombudsman at no cost. She wanted city staff to be able to respond to questions since their character had been questioned. She asked if the Commission would be open to a special Planning Commission meeting. Allen asked if the Council had considered solutions that offered the city the time needed or if their only efforts had been spent on this one idea. He suggested spreading the digital billboards around the city instead of putting them all in the City Center. Council Member Jackson said the signs would be district digital signs on property that the city owns and that was the difference. She noted that these details could have been discussed with staff. Council Member Uipi said the Senate was two votes away in the Utah State Legislature from passing a bill allowing static billboard conversion to digital billboards. She wanted Mnlcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 13 of 16 to remove that potential if it came back to the Legislature. She asked if the Commission would meet with the Ombudsman. LaMar said he would suggest it to the Cornrnission but wanted the same access to legal counsel as would be available with any other application without bias. Council Member Jackson said the city was not any other applicant and should deserve some special accommodation because the Commission and Council were working together though she appreciated the desire for fairness. Council Member Catten offered that conversations could be had without permission and if the Commission really felt that legal counsel was necessary then she was fine granting that. She said she was not held to any timeline. Council Member Jackson said she did not want to pay money that did not need to be spent. She expressed concern for the Commission's distaste for billboards and Reagan and that influencing their decision on the matter. She said life was about concessions and they had to make them to be good stewards. She hoped that the Commission would work for a solution that works best, not necessarily what makes them happy. Council Member Uipi asked what recommendation the Commission was voting on. Alien said the three recomi'nendations they were voting on were dependent on the MOU, so they wanted more information on the MOU. He requested the Council be open minded too with whatever the Ombudsman had to say. Commissioner Catten noted that renegotiations of the MOU may not be possible if that is what came out of the Commission's meeting with the Ombudsman. Councn Member Jackson moved to at this point deny the request for conflict counsel with the understanding that you will work with the Ombudsman and seek counsel and advice through them and then we reevaluate following that. She asked that the Commission try and meet with them by the end of next week. Council Member Marchant seconded. The Recorder called for the vote. Council Members Jackson, Marchant, Uipi, and Catten voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. Council Member Jackson encouraged the Commissioners to talk to staff about some of the MOU details. Council Member Uipi apologized to Francis Lilly, Mike Winder, and John Brems for discussing their character in an open meeting. Council Member Uipi asked what the Commission was asked to consider. Lilly said the request was for an amendment to the City Center Master Plan, and an ordinance text to change to the sign code and the City Center Overlay Zone, not an amendment to the General Plan. He believes the General Plan is clear in the policy statement that was further adopted in ordinance that the City should reduce the number of square footage of billboards where possible. He said as staff, he follows the policy and evaluates applications on the basis of that. Winder read from the Planning Coinmission staff report from September 15, 2021. "The City Council requests to review this matter by 11 0ctober 2021. In light of the Planning Commission's policy statement rendered on August 18, 2021, staff requests a Plaru'iing Commission recommendation prior to the City Council meeting on 11 0ctober 2021. Pursuant to Utah Code Ann. 10-9a-302, the City Council may consider a planning commission's failure to make a timely recommendation as a negative recommendation." He stated that there was not a single person who worked for the City that would benefit financially from the transaction, so saying that staff was conflicted was not right. He encouraged the Planning Cornrnission to speak with staff. He said nobody had a personal interest in trying to solve this problem, staff was just making recommendations. The City is not just the applicant but was trying to work for the better good of the community in solving a problem. Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 14 of 16 Council Member Uipi asked about the Planning Commission's Rules of Order Procedure ex parte coinmunications playing a part in the Coinmission not speaking to the media. Brems confirmed. Council Member Uipi then read that section from the rules of order. "Section 3. Ex Parte Communications - No member of the Commission shall have any ex parte discussion regarding any administrative land use application or re-zone application pending before the Commission. Ex parte communication means any communication, including but not limited to electronic or social media communication, with interested parties of an administrative land use application or re-zone application pending before the Cominission prior to the Commission reaching a final decision. An administrative land use application means any land use application where by Utah Code or Millcreek Ordinances the Commission is the final decision-maker. A re-zone land use application means any land use application where by Utah Code or Millcreek Ordinance the City Council is the final decision-maker." She asked if ex parte communication applied if the cornrnunication originated from a cornrnissioner. Brems said it would be the responsibility of the Plaru'iing Commission Chair to determine if ex parte communication had taken place and what the consequence of it would be. Council Member Uipi asked if ex parte communication applied to the Council. Brems said the Council did not have the same rules as the Planning Commission as elected officials. Council Member Jackson said there was a larger timeline to consider that included bond payments and moving city hall because the lease was up on the current space in less than two years, not just the timeline of the removal of the billboard. Brems said he had set up a meeting on October 5'h for the Coinmission to meet with the Ombudsman, but it was canceled per the Commission's request. LaMar said they wanted representation and not a mediator and thought legal counsel could be sought quicker than the Ombudsman. Brems requested that LaMar set up the new meeting. 4. Reports 4.2 City Council Member Reports Council Member Jackson reported that the Salt Lake Public Utilities Advisory Council meeting and they reported that the water conservation efforts have resulted in a savings of 1.8 billion gallons of water. They were encouraged by residents' efforts to conserve water. She also noted that she had asked about the service area map and the Advisory Council said in order to include Millcreek in the service area and have that formally ratified to be guaranteed water service, they had to change ordinance and their attorney is working on that. Mayor Silvestrini resumed the meeting at 9:49 p.m. 4.1 Mayor's Report Mayor Silvestrini reported that the Unified Police Department (UPD) Budget and Finance Committee would be having a budget meeting the following week. The UPD Board may implement a mid-year raise to be in the fourth or fifth position of highest paid department in the County. The Millcreek Finance Director ran projections and there would be funds available in property tax surplus to pay that. That would result in an increase in the UPD fee for the remaining part of the fiscal year from November-June by $1+ million. To keep up with that, the city would be looking at a potential property tax Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 15 of 16 increase by 5.5% for subsequent years. He would present more to the Council after that meeting. Council Member Uipi asked about pay trends over the last 20 years and wondered about the sustainability. Mayor Silvestrini said the recent pay increases were fueled by the situation of Salt Lake City losing a lot of officers and a lot of retirements, so the department wanted to retain old and attract new officers. 4.3 Staff Reports There were no reports. 4.4 Unified Fire Department Report There was no report. 4.5 Unified Police Department Report Chief Steve DeBry said if there would be raises to be competitive with other agencies, he did not want to negate anyone in rank because nobody was more important that anyone else. He then reported statistics from July and August 2021. July had 3,616 calls for service, 1,045 total cases, 339 total citations, and 49 booking arrests. August had 3,309 calls for service, 981 total cases, 323 total citations, and 49 booking arrests. In July, there were 35 assaults, II burglaries, 32 drug offenses, 80 family offenses, 127 larcenies, 3 robberies, 6 sex offenses, and 35 stolen vehicles. In August, there were 34 assaults, 19 burglaries, 17 drug offenses, 76 family offenses, 1311arcenies, 2 robberies, 8 sex offenses, and 35 stolen vehicles. From August 1 7f'l to September 3rd, the Millcreek Traffic and Community Oriented Policing Units conducted pedestrian safety enforcement at elementary school crosswalks throughout the city. They issued 59 traffic stops, 27 warnings, 32 citations, 53 speeding violations, 2 pedestrian violations, and 2 stop sign violations. He reported that graffiti on 3900 S. and on Highland Drive was investigated and cleaned up. There was 800 pounds of garbage collected at transient encampments at Big Cottonwood Regional Park and on Murray Holladay Road in August. On August 3, UPD held their annual Night Out Against Crime. Council Member Marchant asked about the Millcreek Precinct's staffing level. Chief DeBry said they were down three officers. 5. Consent Agenda 5.1 Approval of August 23, 2021 Work Meeting and Regular Meeting Minutes Council Member Uipi moved to approve item 5.1. Council Member Jackson seconded. Mayor Silvestrini called for the vote. All Council Members voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. 6. New Items for Subsequent Consideration There were none. 6. Calendar of Upcoming Events * Mt. Olympus Community Council Mtg., 10/5/21, 6:00 p.m. TBD * Millcreek Community Council Mtg., 10/5/21, 6:30 p.m. TBD * Canyon Rim Citizens Association Mtg., 10/6/21, 7:00 p.m. TBD @ East Mill Creek Community Council Mtg., 10/7/21, 6:30 p.m. TBD * City Council Mtg., 10/1 1/21, 5:00 p.m. at City Hall Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 27 September 2021 Page 16 of 16 ADJOURNED: Council Member Jackson moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:02 p.m. Councn Member Uipi seconded. Mayor Silvestrini called for the vote. All Council Members Jeff Silirestrini, Mayor