City Council

Minutes of the Millcreek City Council January 18, 2024 8:00 a.m. Special Meeting The City Council of Millcreek, Utah, met in a special public work meeting on January 18, 2024, at City Hall, located at 1330 E Chambers Ave, Millcreek, UT 84106. PRESENT: Council Members City Staff Jeff Silvestrini, Mayor (left at 8:43am) Mike Winder City Manager Silvia Catten, District 1 Alexander Wendt, Deputy Recorder Thom DeSirant, District 2 Kurt Hansen, Facilities Director Cheri Jackson, District 3 John Miller, Public Works Director Bev Uipi, District 4 (arrived at 8:51am) Chief Petty-Brown, Unified Police Department Jim Hardy, Director of Building Services Francis Lilly, Assistant City Manager Aimee McConkie, Millcreek Coinrnon Director Lisa Dudley, HR-Finance Director Attendees: None WORK MEETING - 8:00 a.m. TIME COMMENCED - 8:23 a.m. Mayor Silvestrini called the work meeting to order at 8:23 a.m. 1. Welcome A quorum is present with Mayor Silvestrini, Council Member Jackson, Council Member Catten and Council Member Uipi. Mayor Silvestrini gave a small summary of Local Officials Day at the Capitol, that meeting was a success. The Millcreek Youth Council had a great day at the Capitol. The group took a break to take a picture at 8:33 a.m. The group ended their break at 8:43 a.m. 2. Budget Overview Lisa Dudley, Finance Director gave the budget overview. Ms. Dudley reviewed the core values of Major League Baseball as a metaphor for good government, they are integrity, teamwork, excellence, diversity, and inclusion. Ms. Dudley talked about baseball cliches, such as one cannot steal first base. This expression shows that baseball has precise limits, first base must be earned. Ms. Dudley spoke about tagging up in baseball and the importance of foul lines. Council Member Uipi ariived. Some baseball rules are user friendly, and others are not. Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 18 January 2024 Page 2 of 8 Ms. Dudley reviewed attributes that are similar and different between government entities and private sector entities. Government is owned and operated by the public, the private sector is owned by the shareholders and individuals. Private sector entities have a profit motive, and the public sector provides services and is not for profit. Risk tolerance in a governrnental entity is far lower than in the private sector. The budget of a governinental entity is the primary tool to carry out policy and in the private sector it is a guide to spending. The reward for excellence in government is less tangible and less financial, while in the private sector there are bonuses for corporate leadership. Mr. Winder spoke about the reasons why the Millcreek staff works so well. They want to make the Millcreek community greater. In local government the budget is law. State law and city code give guidance, auditors make sure the game of local government is being played equitably. Mr. Winder said governi'nent exists to give services to the community, or city, by spending money, and spending it responsibly and efficiently. Ms. Dudley reviewed the Millcreek Mission Statement, "Millcreek provides superior and responsive municipal governance and services in a fiscally conservative and responsible manner that sustains and improves the quality of life for residents and stakeholders of the city." Key points from the Millcreek Vision Statement include the ideas that Millcreek is a diverse community, residents and businesses are empowered to respectfully engage with each other in governance and volunteerism, and to maintain a fiscally responsible, environmentally sustainable city that provides a welcome home feeling to everyone. Council Member Uipi spoke about how happy she is that the Millcreek City Council is one of the more diverse City Councils in the state. Mr. Winder said that Millcreek government has a diverse group of people working for the city, they come from all backgrounds. Ms. Dudley reviewed unofficial core values of Millcreek taken from the mission and vision statements. They include integrity, teamwork, excellence, diversity, and inclusion. Former City Manager John Geilman used a baseball analogy of baseball foul lines of budget and city policy and when you operate within the foul lines of budgets and policy then all is well. Foul lines also represent internal controls. Mr. Winder spoke about swinging for the fences, being a problem solver not a bureaucrat. There is a huge area where Millcreek can play to win. Mr. Francis Lilly said that when he was a new employee at Millcreek there was a huge amount of open space to opetate because Millcreek was a new city. There is a difference between a policy that is enforced by city code and a policy that is just something that a city has always done. It is important to discern the difference between the two policy types. Council Member Uipi said there is space to push boundaries within the space between the budget and policies. Mr. Winder spoke about how city budgets are more liberating than restrictive. Ms. Dudley talked about how as the city gets closer to June, the budget and policy lines get closer together like the foul lines do at home plate. It is important to know exactly where you are on the budget. Ms. Dudley explained budget process rules and foul lines. The budget begins with preparation of the tentative budget. Tentative budgets must be created for the general fund, special revenue, capital improvement projects (CIP), and stormwater fund. Tentative budgets must contain estimated revenues and expenditures, the tentative budgets must balance. In state code the budget fonnat is prescribed. It must show the prior year actual, current year estimates, and the ensuing year budget. It also says that revenues and expenditures must be identified with reasonably descriptive classifications. The tentative budget must be filed with the Council by May. The Council must review and consider the tentative budget and adopt the tentative Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 18 January 2024 Page 3 of 8 budget. Compliance with public hearing rules is dealt with by the City Recorder. Purchases with Federal and State Funds must follow Federal or State regulations. The term professional services are specific to auditing, architecture, engineering, surveying, appraisals, legal, and counseling. This is not something that an employee would do. The Department head or city official needs to be aware of what the rules are. There is a legislative (City Council), executive (Mayor, City Manager, Department Heads and City Departments), and judicial branch (Justice Court) at the local level. Ms. Dudley spoke about how the strategic plan establishes budget goals, this feeds into budget preparation, budget adoption, budget execution, reporting and finally the audit. Monitoring is ongoing tmoughout the cycle. Ms. Dudley ended with budgeting is 'fun. Mr. Winder thanked the Department Heads for being passionate about what they do. Council Member DeSirant moved to recess at 10 a.m. Council Member Catten seconded the motion. Mayor Pro Tempore Uipi asked for the vote. Council Member DeSirant voted yes, Council Member Catten voted yes, Council Member Jackson voted yes, Mayor Pro Tempore Uipi voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Pro Tempore Uipi reconvened the meeting at 10:15 am. 3. Looking back at 2023 Mr. Winder said that 2023 was huge for Millcreek and the department goals help maintain focus. Staff members have individual goals that are different from these bigger goals. The idea of big rocks is to help the city focus on a few big things. Plaru'iing and Zoning Mr. Lilly spoke about continuing the code and process update, funding for the arts and policy plan, and working on the sidewalks and trails master plan. Mr. Lilly anticipates the creation of a Millcreek Art Board in the future. The sidewalk and trails master plan has been funded. Robert May, Planner, is working on creating a plan for where Coinrnunity Councils would like sidewalks and trails. The Code update is the most challenging project. Mr. Lilly said it has taken staff a lot of work to fix the drafts the consultant has delivered. Plani'iing staff is on the downward slope of that project. This has been an enormous amount of work and staff time. The new landscape code has been very helpful for helping dozens of Millcreek residents get funding for making water-wise front yards. Mr. Lilly gave his 2023 year in review and highlighted some items he observed. Planning is not approving as many single family and duplex homes, which is a function of the economy. Instead, people are fixing their windows or creating accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Planning sent out 16,993 notices for the R-1 and R-2 Zone update, 55,000 square feet of commercial space was approved on Wasatch Boulevard, 30,000 square feet of coininercial space was approved in the city center, 1,200 Utahns received overnight slielter at the temporary winter overflow shelter in 2022-2023, 6 compliant moderate income housing strategy reports were approved by the state of Utah, making Millcreek eligible for priority transportation funds. Two master plans were initiated, these are the Murray North Station Area plan, and the Millcreek Sidewalk and Trails master plan. Council Member Jackson asked if Mr. Lilly had a number on how many basement ADU's there are. Mr. Lilly and Mr. Jim Hardy said there is not a good way to tell how many there are out there. Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 18 January 2024 Page 4 of 8 Corni'nunication Department Mr. Winder gave the report from Comi'nunications. The electronic newsletter sent each Friday has almost 8,000 subscribers with an average of 50% or greater open rate. Seven printed newsletters are distributed to 32,0000 homes in Millcreek. In 2024, this will be a monthly newsletter. Corni'nunications has been working closely with the Coinmunity Life Department to prepare and send press releases and distribute event infori'nation. They have answered too many calls to count and have ired a new part-time employee. Council Member Uipi asked for more quantifiable numbers from the Corninunication Department. Community Life Ms. Aimee McConkie spoke about how successful the public market has been already, the coinmunity room is getting 12-15 inquiries a day for renting the 6f') floor of City Hall, and the Coinmunity Life Department held 3 pilot project street parties in 2023. Street parties are still a 2024 plan. 2023 was the first full ice skating and roller-skating seasons. Ice skating revenue was far higher than roller skating. They were $414,514 and $200,034 respectively. Room rentals brought in $65,834. Holiday shoppes in the public market brought $5,018. The vendors feat it was very successful. The ground floor is a business incubator. Community Life held 159 events at Millcreek Cornrnon. There were 102 sport development events at Millcreek Common. There were 2 public market events. There will be far more events in 2024, 28 city wide events were held outside of Millcreek Common. Coinrnunity Life received $148,963 in event contributions. Millcreek Cornrnon social media reached out to 119,500 people or social media accounts. Millcreek Common has 10,336 followers on Instagram. City Facilities Mr. Kurt Hansen said that the big goal was to finish City Hall. $46 million has been spent on City Hall to date. Millcreek Common staff have been a big help. Facilities have set up QR codes in key places in case they need maintenance. Facilities helped moved 76,000 square feet of stuff into the new building. They streamed 45 different meetings. There were 32 oil changes, 5 sets of new tires, 3 requests for proposals, and 1 new vehicle added to the fleet. Legal Mr. Winder gave the report because Mr. Brems is out for the day. The justice court has been set up in Holladay, this move is saving Millcreek money over working with the County courts. Mr. Brems has done a good job at keeping the city out of trouble. Building Services Mr. Hardy gave the report. Building Permits generated $3.3 million. They issued 1,501 perinits, with 87 solar permits. They conducted 3,401 plan reviews, 9 substantial improvement determinations, 7160 inspections, 390 hours of training, 94 GRAMA requests processed, and 2 board of appeals. Code Compliance received $40,605 in revenue. This number will go down in 2024. 1,212 code cases happened and 97% of these were resolved. 41 cases went to the Administrative Law Judge, 10 cases went to default. 45 stop work orders were issued, and there were 8 emergency callouts. They have a complete code enforcement process. They have an administrative assistant with a direct line to the public. They established a board of appeals. Saratoga Springs, Lehi, and Herriman came to watch the hearings. Notable projects include City Hall, the St. Marks Hospital Tower, and the Cottonwood Highland Building. Council Member Jackson said it is interesting that stop work orders have gone down. Mfflcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 18 January 2024 Page 5 of 8 Public Works Mr. John Miller gave the report for Public Works. They issued 650 pennits, 42 audits out of 376 and 34 of tl'iem have been rectified. 1 new roundabout on Upland Drive has been built. 44,197 visits to the map hub page. This is up from 32,243 in 2022. 12 million square feet of ground sample distance orthomiagery was flown, 253,971 square feet of asphalt is to be reconstructed on 900 East, and 1 agreement for ten pickleball courts that are coming soon, have been made. Council Member Uipi asked about how much the roundabout cost. Mr. Miller said it was $2.3 million total and the city paid $233,000. City Recorder Deputy City Recorder Alex Wendt gave the City Recorder's Office year in review. 15 ordinances were codified, 23 boxes of paper records were smedded after meeting their retention, 13.1 gigabytes of electronic records on the M:Drive were destroyed after meeting their retention, I new city record room was added, 1 successful election held, 76 public meetings were noticed and minutes taken for, 2 all staff GRAMA and record trainings were held, 193 GRAMA requests were answered, 84 documents notarized, and 30 public hearing dates were noticed. HR/Finance Ms. Dudley gave the report and noted that they made huge strides in setting up accounting software. They have also made efforts in accountability, collecting sales tax, using the tax- exempt status of the city to save money. They have worked with RMP on stornnwater billing, they implemented an internal audit process. A lot of work was done on compliance and meeting statutory requirements. The fund balance classifications were corrected for Class C funds. Finance is tracking rent payinents that are due to the City from the new restaurants at Millcreek Coinrnon. They will be creating an employee census to record who is full-time, part-time, and how this changes every year. The new employee handbook is complete, adopted, and approved. Josie Showalter has done a great job working on grants. Mr. Winder noted that Ms. Laurie Johnson will be phasing out of the finance department and a senior accountant position has been created. Economic Development and Promise Mr. Winder gave the report. Ongoing Promise funding was found, and this has helped give two interns full time jobs and still have two part time positions. Mr. Winder said that as of July 1 they would like to make the Promise Program its own department. The Chambers Avenue to Highland Drive entrances are now complete. They are still figuring out details for Millcreek Common Phase 2. A great deal of money towards Millcreek Common Phase 2 has been found through grants. 76 people attended free tax clinics at Bud Bailey Apartments, 28 community agencies attended a Bud Bailey resource fair, 53 participants at the Bike Rodeo at Moss Elementary, 60 people gave blood at Promise Sponsored blood drives, 58 families at Holladay Hills were helped with housing-related resources. In Economic Development there will be one new Porsche dealership that will bring $250,000 in sales tax per year. Three new restaurant leases in the Millcreek City Center, 500 pounds of garbage cleaned up at the Jordan River Canoe Clean Up, 30 new committee members of the business council, 40 business council events, $11,971,840 in sales tax generated by Millcreek Businesses, 250 new residential units opened in the city center (Cottonwood on Highland), and 1 new Millcreek business market with 45 Millcreek businesses. Alyssa Henrie has been fantastic working with Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 18 January 2024 Page 6 of 8 tlie Business Council. 4. 2024 Planning Discussion Mr. Winder and Mr. Lilly led this discussion. Mr. Winder said the Millcreek staff is lean and mean. For example, Salt Lake City has 35 people in economic development. Millcreek has 2. 2024 is a good year to improve processes and slow down where it is appropriate and speed up or rearrange when appropriate. Mr. Lilly said now that we are in the new building it is time to make processes that are the equal of the new building. Ms. Dudley agreed and added that employees feel like there needs to be more of the human element. Mr. Hardy said he wants to go through process validation to make changes when necessary. Ms. McConkie said that it sometimes feels like there is less cohesion in the new building because you do not see people and run into them as much as you did before in the old building. Mr. Miller said that some processes have slowed things down, to be nimble and creative deciding on the processes needs to be better overall. Mr. Lilly said the skills to start a city are different than keeping a city going. Mr. Winder said that Millcreek is a hotshot city in only seven years, but we need to make sure that Millcreek does not burn out and rest on our laurels. Ms. Dudley said that improving the process for one department needs to improve the process for the next user. Council Member Catten asked how the Department Heads are maintaining creativity. Mr. Winder said having big goals helps this. Then you can look back and say, "wow we came a long way". Council Member Catten asked if employees feel like they are being heard. Ms. Dudley said they will be adding an anonymous suggestion box for one person from HR and Administration to open and read together. Ms. McConkie spoke about how the focus has shifted and employees were feeling burnt out. Council Member Uipi asked how the suggestions will be evaluated, some will be more of a complaint and others will be less of a complaint. People will still need to feel validated. The suggestion box cannot just be a black box where suggestions go to disappear. An employee survey is a valuable tool here. Council Member Jackson said in 2023 everyone had a goal and a purpose of getting ready to move to the new building. She asked what smaller goals there were for the departments; find out what people want to achieve this year. The group broke for lunch at 12:23 p.m. 5. Looking Ahead 6. Lunch The group began work again at 12:46 p.m. at Marie Callender's. Mr. Winder led the discussion to pick big rocks (goals) for the Department Heads. Mr. Lilly said he was going to ask for a new software to help with Planning reviews. Robert May and Jim Hardy had been talking about using iWorQ again for planning reviews. In the end, Planning is going to make another run at using iWorQ for plaru'iing review. Part of the reason why this may work this time is because iWorQ has improved how their software works. Ms. Dudley explained how different software in the Finance Department for revenue tracking leads to problems so sticking with iWorQ is a good idea. Mr. Winder asked the elected officials what they think staff should focus on. Council Member Jackson asked staff to focus on great customer service. It would also be a good idea to do a monthly walkthrough at city properties to see what needs to be fixed or maintained better. Mr. Miller said that park equipment must be inspected at a minimum every year. Council Member Uipi said she wants the Millcreek staff to be a priority. Preventing burnout is very important. Internal staff Mfflcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 18 January 2024 Page 7 of 8 connectivity is important. Ruru'iing too lean is a problem. The city might need to reinvent what it means to connect with each other. Mr. Winder said the All-Staff meetings will continue and they are more important than ever. Council Member Catten said that the city needs to work with the corninunity councils and develop better processes with them, energizing them and training them. Ms. Dudley said at one point the community councils were quasi city councils before the city was incorporated, and now their. jobs have changed. Mr. Lilly said that the Planning staff work with the coinmunity councils the most in the most potentially contentious way. The Planning staff suffer the most burnout from the coinrnunity councils. Ms. Dudley said that frustration with employees comes from not knowing what their role is. Starting with a fundamental document that defines the role of coinmunity councils is important. Council Member Catten related that the Promise Health Committee found that kids in the coinmunity lack connection to their community. There needs to be a better web to connect the kids to the coinmunity. Council Member DeSirant said that staff issues keep coming up and it costs so much more money to hire someone than retain them. Staff quality of life is important to Council Member DeSirant. He also noted that it is important to him to finalize an app where residents can report issues. Furthermore, more bus shelters would help city residents when it is cold and rainy. More bus shelters may help more people take the bus. Mr. Miller spoke about his big rocks for 2024. Funding of roads has been challenging. The cost of public works services goes up every year. Millcreek will eventually need a public works yard. Public Works staff will research how a transportation utility fee would work. Promise Program Big rocks are to update the City Council quarterly. Economic Development's big rocks are to have a hotel contract inked by the end of the year where the Paletti parking lot was, make sure Millcreek Coffee Roasters, Noodlehead and Millcreek Pizza House are very successful, host two successful business markets on the Coinmon and revamp connections with the Wasatch Business Series. The Planning Department intends to finish the code update, work on the iWorQ project to create a streamlined online application and create a neighborhood stabilization plan. HR/Finance goals are to purchase software for purchase orders, software for accounts receivable, update the purchasing policy emphasizing accountability for budgetary compliance, create the statistical reports before transitioning to the comprehensive financial reports, and do an employee survey. Building Services wants to focus on process validation and make sure the processes are still worthwhile, prepare for the DOPL audit for building inspectors, assist other departments in using software, and improve the business license process for inspections. Facilities has goals of getting electric vehicle charging stations at the new city hall, finish the last items needed at the new building, figure out if staff can be called upon to remove snow from Millcreek Common or a plan for making sure snow is removed. Coinmunity Life goals are to make sure the public market is programmed appropriately, March 23rd is the launch date for the climbing program, and finally get more grants and sponsorships Mr. Winder spoke about making sure that everyone speaks with their department head colleagues to help each other with their roles and responsibilities. Decisions will be made about how the communication department works and how the new emergency manager will work. Their job may change to some extent. Previously the policy in the city was to not react to trolls online, but perhaps there sliould be a city Facebook account that responds with truthful accurate information, said Mr. Winder. The Deputy City Recorder said that in Saratoga Springs tl'iere is a section of the city website where they respond to rumors. Mr. Winder spoke about how tlie Community Life Department does a great job at bringing the Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 18 January 2024 Page 8 of 8 coinmunity together, they are part of the Millcreek magic. Council Member Uipi said she is so proud of the city staff and of the hard work they put in. 7. Adjourn ADJOURNED: Council Member Catten moved to adjourn the meeting at 2:31 p.m. Council Member Jackson seconded. Mayor Pro Temp Uipi called for the vote. Council Member Catten voted yes, Council Member Jackson voted yes, Council Member DeSirant voted yes, Mayor Pro Tempore Uipi voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. Jeff Silvestrini, Mayor Attest: E'ge, City Recorder