City Council

1 CITY OF POCATELLO, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION OCTOBER 9, 2014 AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Mayor Brian Blad called the City Council Study Session to order ROLL CALL at 9:05 a.m. Council members present were Craig Cooper, Jim Johnston, Gary Moore and Michael L. Orr. Council member Eva Johnson Nye arrived at 9:08 a.m. Council member Steve Brown was excused. AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: Terri Neu, Assistant Planner and staff liaison for the Planning PLANNING AND ZONING and Zoning Commission was present to discuss the COMMISSION UPDATE Commission’s goals and projects, as well as Council’s policies and expectations. Mrs. Neu explained the Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Person was not available to give the update and she reviewed the various members that serve on the Commission. Mrs. Neu reported the Commission has held 8 regular meetings and 7 work sessions over the past year. The work sessions were held to begin the process of updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan. She noted that public hearings will follow in order to gather more information from citizens. Mrs. Neu mentioned the Commission has also worked with Bannock Transportation regarding the Plan. Council member Nye arrived at 9:08 a.m. AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: Sunny Shaw, Executive Director; and David Packer, Chair HOUSING AUTHORITY Person; from the Housing Authority of Pocatello were present OF POCATELLO UPDATE to discuss the Authority’s goals and projects, as well as Council’s policies and expectations. Ms. Shaw reviewed the criteria tenants must meet to have an apartment at Christensen Courts. She reported Christiansen Courts received new washing machines and dryers in the laundry area and a renovated shop. Ms. Shaw noted that Portneuf Towers is for elderly or disabled tenants. The Towers building has an onsite hair salon, pet washing facilities, exercise room and game room. The use of Housing Choice vouchers was reviewed. Ms. Shaw noted the Authority has the capacity to assist 680 families, but inadequate funding has limited the number of families they can help. The Authority has a waiting list of about 791 applicants and runs at a pace of approximately 3 years. Ms. Shaw explained the Homeownership Program and the Homeless Preference Program. Other housing unit programs were also reviewed. Mr. Packer feels Ms. Shaw has done a great job as Executive Director of the Housing Authority. He noted she is now involved in some of the Regional Housing Authority programs and HUD. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Packer explained the policy to review their buildings periodically for safety and structural soundness while still providing affordable housing for the area. Funds used to maintain the buildings do not come from an increase in rental rates. CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 2 OCTOBER 9, 2014 AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: Diana Livingston-Friedley, Chair Person, from the Pocatello POCATELLO ARTS Arts Council was present to discuss the Arts Council’s goals and COUNCIL UPDATE projects, as well as the City Council’s policies and expectations. Ms. Friedley displayed photos and reviewed projects the Arts Council has accomplished over the past year. She gave a quick overview of the Art Inventory project and noted photographs will be available for viewing on the Arts Council’s website. Ms. Friedley announced Pocatello Rocks! Stone Symposium 2014 was currently being held. She explained the Arts Council is trying to make functional art in the community. The Symposium will allow different artists to create bench sculptures. Ms. Friedley reported the Arts Council was approached by representatives from Old Town Pocatello to create more functional art such as bike racks and trash receptacles. In response to questions from Council, Ms. Friedley explained they are researching different areas and will determine locations for the sculptured benches at a later date. Ms. Nye acknowledged Ms. Friedley as a recipient of the Individual Award for the 2014 Mayors Award for the Arts. AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: Deirdre Castillo, City Engineer; Mike Jaglowski, Public Works ALAMEDA/JEFFERSON Director; and Larry White, Project Manager; and Jeff Jones, INTERSECTION UPDATE Project Engineer; from Six Mile Engineering were present to discuss proposed designs for the Alameda/Jefferson intersection project. Mr. Jaglowski feels the consultants from Six Mile Engineering have taken comments from the Council to heart and drafted alternate intersection plans, with time frames and different movements for traffic. Each solution path has alternatives to address the project need. Mr. White apologized that they did not address the Council’s concerns at the June 5, 2014 Special meeting. The goal of Six Mile Engineering is to get direction from the Council to move forward from this point. He stressed the need to move forward in order to give notice and hold public meetings regarding the proposed intersection. Mr. White reviewed traffic operations, safety and proposed access changes at the intersection. The alternatives discussed were: -Alternative 12A utilizes conventional left-turns for the I-15 business route traffic on Pocatello Creek and Alameda Roads, with thru-turns for Hiline Road and Jefferson Avenue traffic. An additional thru-turn intersection is proposed at the Ridley’s approach to provide U-turn opportunities for large trucks because the Hiline thru-turn is designed only for passenger cars to minimize property impacts. The signalized thru-turn at Ridleys would also provide U-turn access for Deon Drive traffic. -Alternative 12B modifies Alternative 12A by adding a free right-turn movement for northbound Jefferson Avenue traffic. -Alternative 14A utilizes conventional left-turns for all four roadway approaches, with a free right- turn for the northbound Jefferson Avenue traffic, and bulb-out at the Ridley’s approach to enable U-turns on Pocatello Creek Road. Alternative 14B modifies Alternative 14A by adding U-turn bulb-outs on Hiline Road and Jefferson Avenue. CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 3 OCTOBER 9, 2014 In response to questions from Council regarding a signal at Ridleys, Ms. Castillo explained staff approached the State Transportation Department and asked for an exception to IDAPA rules to allow additional traffic lights for the new Winco Store on Yellowstone Avenue. Their request was denied and staff does not feel the proposed intersection project would meet the requirement for a signal at Ridleys. Mr. Moore feels the best/safest solution may require drivers to learn new habits to navigate through the busy intersection. Mr. Jaglowski reviewed the process and understands the challenges for the intersection. He added that any solution is going to be there for next the 100 years. Staff is looking forward to today’s discussion so the project can move forward. He reminded the Council there are time constraints for funding. In response to questions from Council, Mr. White stated the intersection needs to be aligned into a square because it is best for pedestrian crossing and improves safety. Discussion and comparisons of Alternatives 12A and 14A continued. Mr. Jaglowski suggested having public meetings so citizens can see the proposed designs and share their thoughts. He feels one of the items that should be considered, if 12A becomes an acceptable choice, is an unconventional signalized intersection be made available. Mr. Jaglowski explained Alternative 14A has limited access and homeowners on Deon and Patsy need to be able to get in and out of their subdivision. Council discussion continued regarding the school playground property and safe pedestrian crossing for students. In response to questions from Council, Ms. Castillo stated the safest plan for school children crossing the street is Alternative 12A. It was the consensus of Council for staff to schedule public meetings and display Alternatives 12A/12B and 14A/14B to receive input and comments from the public. Ms. Castillo stated there are 35+ properties on Deon and Patsy streets and she also feels individuals need clear access to these homes from the interstate. At 10:55 a.m. Mayor Blad announced that Council would recess in order to participate in a tour of the new Wellness Complex located near the Bannock County Fairgrounds at the invitation of Portneuf Healthcare Foundation staff. Council would participate in a Working Lunch in the Paradice Conference Room at City Hall immediately following the tour. Council members Johnston and Nye participated in the tour. AGENDA ITEM NO. 6: At 12:50 p.m. Mayor Blad and Council members Cooper, WORKING LUNCH Johnston, Moore, Nye and Orr participated in a working lunch in the Paradice Conference Room. Discussion centered on economic development, health coverage programs and general City topics. No formal action was taken. CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 4 OCTOBER 9, 2014 Mayor Blad adjourned the meeting at 2:01 p.m. APPROVED: BRIAN C. BLAD, MAYOR ATTEST: RUTH E. WHITWORTH, CMC, CITY CLERK