City Council

CITY OF POCATELLO, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION JULY 14, 2016 AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Mayor Brian Blad called the City Council Study Session to order ROLL CALL at 9:01 a.m. Council members present were Roger Bray, Steve Brown, Jim Johnston, Gary Moore, and Michael L. Orr. AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: Nick Nielson, Chair Person; and Terri Neu, Staff Liaison; from HISTORIC PRESERVATION the Historic Preservation Commission were present to discuss COMMISSION UPDATE the Commission’s goal and projects, as well as Council’s policies and expectations. Mr. Nielson reported on the Historic Preservation Commission’s accomplishments over the past year. He noted the Commission continues to have design review of exterior alterations in the Old Town Historic District. Eight Certificates of Appropriateness have been reviewed thus far in 2016. Current/Upcoming projects: a) published two newsletters and plan to publish a third in October. The newsletters have focused on Frank Paradice and the Fort Hall Replica; b) promoting the Old Town Historic District; c) digital photo library; and d) Brady Chapel renovations. Events held during the Historic Preservation/Archaeology Symposium were reviewed. In response to a question form Council, Mr. Nielson feels the Symposium has been the Commission’s greatest accomplishment as an outreach in the City. The Symposium was very successful and there was good participation from City residents. Ms. Neu mentioned May is Idaho Preservation month. The Commission plans to hold Preservation Month events in April/early May to include the Idaho State University student base. AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: Jamar Brown, Chair Person; and Heather Buchannan, Staff HUMAN RELATIONS Liaison; from the Human Relations Advisory Committee were ADVISORY COMMITTEE present to discuss the Committee’s goals and projects, as well as UPDATE Council’s policies and expectations. Ms. Brown gave an overview of Committee’s monthly meetings and reported that various guests have participated in the meetings. She feels the Committee has garnered great information from the guests and many expressed their love of Pocatello. Ms. Brown explained the outreach program the Committee has for the community and identified items they believe are issues in the community. She announced Jennifer Seaich is the recipient of the Committee’s 2016 Annual Human Rights Award. Ms. Brown noted that law enforcement has been the topic of several unfortunate events in our community and nationwide. The Committee suggested additional training of Pocatello Police officers to help them work through situations with all types of individuals. The difficult relations with Idaho State University (ISU) students in the community were addressed and the Committee fells the situation is progressing forward. However, they would like Police officers to become more involved with the issues at ISU. In response to questions from Council, Ms. Brown feels the City is making great progress regarding human relation issues. She noted the community steps up when issues are identified and Scott Marchand, Police Chief, is continually putting forth the effort to understand human relation issues happening in the community. CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 2 JULY 14, 2016 AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: Logan McDougall, Chair Person; Kasi Beorchia, Presley Brown FLAG DESIGN and Matt Bloxham, Committee members; representing the Flag AD HOC COMMITTEE Design Ad Hoc Committee were present to discuss the UPDATE Committee’s progress and goals. The Committee’s next step will be to request submissions from the public regarding a new flag for the City of Pocatello. Mr. McDougall explained the Committee is looking to facilitate community-wide discussion, design, and selection of a new graphical image for Pocatello’s flag. He noted the image should be beautiful, meaningful, and representative of our shared ideas. Ms. Beorchia feels the City’s flag should provide a connection between members of the community. She noted fags, be they nation, state or city are significant symbols that should be beautiful and representative Ms. Brown feels flags represent group values and a flag is something people can rally around, Groups that have a flag symbol or logo experience an increased feeling of togetherness and cohesiveness. Mr. McDougall explained the City’s current flag was never designed to be a flag. However, now that it has been named worst flag, this has given the City an opportunity to move from worst to first. The Committee would like to create a beautiful symbol of our community’s values and generate positive local and national publicity. He mentioned they also want to educate and engage the public regarding the flag design. Ms. Beorchia reviewed the proposed three steps moving forward. They are: 1) public education/information; 2) submission; and 3) selection. She noted once these steps are completed, the Committee will submit the flag designs to the Council for review. In response to questions from Council, Mr. McDougall explained the City’s flag is an important part of the community and can be a huge symbol for Pocatello. The Committee hopes to have a new flag flying over City Hall by spring of 2017. It was noted that applications to submit a design are available on the City’s website and copies were distributed to the Council. AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: Chris Sorenson, Chief Information Officer, was present to PROPOSED CITY discuss proposed software to track City employee time and EMPLOYEE TIME AND attendance. Executime is the preferred provider for ATTENDANCE SOFTWARE Time/Attendance/Scheduling software for SunGard the City’s current provider. The proposed software includes electronic timekeeping capabilities that the City currently uses paper timesheets to accomplish. Mr. Sorenson reviewed the current payroll system to gather time and attendance of employees. The current schedule is: 1) IT department prints between 600 to 900 paper timesheets, 2) distribute to departments: 3) department payroll clerks distribute to employees: 4) employees fill out timesheet/sign and return to clerks; 5) supervisors review, approve and sign each timesheet; 6) clerks enter data into payroll system; 7) timesheets are sent to Human Resources where they are scanned and maintained electronically. CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 3 JULY 14, 2016 Executime Software is a workforce management solution for local government. Mr. Sorenson gave an overview of how the software would be designed for the City. The costs to implement and continue annual maintenance of the software were also reviewed. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Sorenson anticipates larger departments will have a significant cost savings and their call out hours will be accurately tracked. He mentioned the scheduling feature will provide additional cost savings. Mr. Sorenson will research pricing of the scheduling feature and how it may benefit departments. Council discussion continued and it was mentioned the elimination of paper timesheets alone will reduce error. Concerns with verifying the information submitted by employees and creating a process for implementation of the new system followed. Joyce Stroschein, Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer, explained employees will type in their hours followed by a review process. Supervisors will spend minimal time reviewing entries. She feels there will be a cost savings by having a more accurate employee log-in and log-out time and supports the move forward. Ms. Stroschein noted once the process is developed, the City’s auditor will be brought in to make sure the process is going to meet their guidelines. She noted funds to purchase the proposed software are included in the budget. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Sorenson explained if Council gives staff direction to move forward, he will make arrangements for Executime to give a presentation of the software. He anticipates 6 to 9 months to implement the software once it is installed. A majority of the Council supports the proposed software concept. A final decision will be voted upon at a later date. AGENDA ITEM NO. 6: Dave Foster, Associate Planner; and Mike Jaglowski, Public TITLE 16-SUBDIVISION Works Director; were present to review and discuss the ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS comprehensive re-write of Title 16, Subdivision Ordinance. This re-write is to update and clarify ordinance provisions in compliance with current Idaho subdivision and survey statues, zoning ordinance provisions and development practices. Mr. Foster reviewed the history of the City’s Subdivision Ordinance and the process to amend the Code. He mentioned information regarding the proposed amendments was presented to the Council during the March 20, 2016 Study Session. This is a follow-up to that meeting and a comprehensive rewrite of the code. Mr. Foster noted this is a subdivision code and not a development code and the proposed draft separates those two items. It was noted that Idaho Statute Section 50-1301(17) define a subdivision as “a tract of land divided into five (5) or more lots, parcels, or sites for the purpose of sale or building development, whether immediate or future...cities, or counties may adopt their own definition of subdivision in lieu of this definition.” The current City subdivision ordinance defines a subdivision to mean “any lot, parcel, or tract of land which is divided into two or more parcels…any parcel or tract of land which is divided into two or more building sites.” The proposed amended ordinance maintains the City’s current definition as “any lot, parcel or tract of land which is divided into two (2) or more lots, parcel or sites for the purpose of sale or development, whether immediate or future. However, the ordinance also provides an abbreviated CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 4 JULY 14, 2016 short plat process that is more flexible than the current version. Six major changes were reviewed. They include: 1) design development and improvement standards; 2) short plats of 4 or fewer lots; 3) perpetuates the “surety” requirements and provide specific detail regarding the option to record a subdivision plat prior to completion.. 4) requires a two year warranty period to be secured by either a designated warranty bond, or cash, or an appropriate contractor’s bond… 5) incorporates provisions that allows “early recording” and allows the issuance of a building permit for a recorded subdivision lot if the only “unfinished” improvement is the pavement of the street; and 6) amended subdivision ordinance contains specific details and requirements for the review and approval of property line adjustments. Summary – the overall objectives of re-writing the subdivision ordinance include: a) deleting outdated and conflicting provisions; b) promote options to subdivide properties suitable for infill development; c) providing an improved step-by-step organization of the application requirements and processes; d) clarify the final plat recording options and processes; and e) updating the existing “Development Agreement” warranty provision to require an actual warranty period surety to help protect the City from potentially incurring additional repair, replacement or maintenance costs associated with public infrastructure and improvements. A public hearing to discuss the proposed changes will be held during the August 4, 2016 Regular Council meeting. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Jaglowski explained the goal was to make the ordinance more of a checklist format so an individual can look at the ordinance and see the process and what steps are needed to achieve the desired outcome. He feels the proposed ordinance is more comprehensive. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Foster reviewed state codes and city codes. He explained there is a mix of how these guidelines are implemented across the state and from city to city. The proposed subdivision code will ask for a type of surety at a certain point of the development before recording of final plat. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Jaglowski reviewed the final steps of developments and potential problems that can occur. The proposed ordinance is a mechanism to correct these issues. He hopes this change will help with in-fill projects in order for the development to move forward and still provide infrastructure if emergency services are needed to respond to an incident in the area. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Foster clarified there is an added cost of the surety bond. He explained some of the developers have a contractors bond already in place and may just need additional wording to come into compliance. However, staff does not foresee any additional costs in the platting process. Mr. Foster gave a brief overview of the subdivision process and staff involvement. General Council discussion followed regarding the proposed process. Council expressed their appreciation for the hard work by City staff to put the proposed ordinance together. Mayor Blad called a recess at 11:02 a.m. Mayor Blad reconvened the meeting at 11:14 a.m. CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 5 JULY 14, 2016 AGENDA ITEM NO. 7: Joyce Stroschein, Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer; and Ashley FISCAL YEAR 2017 Linton, Accountant; were present to review the tentative Fiscal BUDGET REVIEW Year 2017 budget draft from the June 9, 2016 Budget Development meeting. This is the final review prior to submitting totals for publication and preparing materials for the public hearing scheduled for August 4, 2016. Ms. Stroschein reported the market evaluation information from Bannock County has not been received. She reviewed the timeline the County has to provide the market evaluation to cities. Ms. Stroschein announced that ON Semiconductor is scheduled to receive a $13 Million decrease in their tax assessment due to the depreciation values of their personal property. She explained the Bannock County Property Assessor hopes to have actual market evaluation available by July 18. Unfortunately, Ms. Stroschein must have the City’s publication request to Idaho State Journal on July 15 to property notice for the August 4, 2016 public hearing. She is looking for direction from Council regarding the budget amounts to publish. Mayor Blad suggested publishing the budget numbers high in order to meet the proper noticing timeline requirements. Ms. Stroschein mentioned there are new instructions cities must follow in order to take foregone taxes and this must be considered at this time, as well. Council discussion followed regarding issues with the notification process without having needed information from Bannock County. It was suggested that a revised process be discussed with Bannock County for future fiscal budgets. Ms. Stroschein gave an overview of the proposed Fiscal Year 2017 budget. Items were reviewed on the Fund Solution Ideas spreadsheet. Ms. Stroschein explained staff is in the middle of Fire Union negotiations so the actual insurance rates are still pending. She gave an overview of the Fiscal Year 2017 Property Tax Summary sheet. Ms. Stroschein explained she is seeking Council guidance in order to publish notification of the budget hearing to be held August 4, 2016. Council discussion followed regarding property tax information still needed from Bannock County. As a result, Council instructed Ms. Stroschein to publish the public hearing notice with high budget numbers at this time with the understanding that the final budget is subject to change. Once information is received from Bannock County, the Fiscal Year 2017 budget amounts will be modified based upon the information received. The Fund Solutions Ideas Spreadsheet and Fiscal Year 2017 Property Tax Summary Sheet are attached as a permanent part of the minutes (see Attachment “A”). AGENDA ITEM NO. 8: At 11:56 a.m. Mayor Blad and Council members Bray, Brown, WORKING LUNCH Johnston, Moore and Orr left the Council Chambers and participated in a working lunch in the Paradice Conference Room. Discussion centered on economic development and general City topics. No formal action was taken. Mayor Blad adjourned the meeting at 1:57 p.m. CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 6 JULY 14, 2016 APPROVED: BRIAN C. BLAD, MAYOR ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: RUTH E. WHITWORTH, CMC, CITY CLERK