City Council

River Heights City City Council Agenda Tuesday, July, 21, 2026 Notice is hereby given that the River Heights City Council will hold their regular meeting at 6:30 p.m., at the River Heights City Office Building at 520 S 500 E. Pledge of Allegiance Adoption of Previous Minutes and Agenda Mayor, Councilmembers, and Staff Reports Public Comment Public Hearing and Adoption of an Ordinance Providing for the Compensation of Elected and Statutory Officers of River Heights City Discuss Letter Regarding Steve and Susan Robert's Pond Advice and Consent for Appointment of a New Planning Commissioner Adjourn Poste4 this 18th d y of July 2026 Sheila Lind, corder Attachments for this meeting and previous meeting minutes can be found on the State's Public Notice Website (pmn.utah.gov) and at riverheights.gov. In compliance with the American Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations (including auxiliary communicative aids and services) during this meeting should notify Sheila Lind, (435) 770-2061 at least 24 hours before the meeting. 520 South 500 East River Heights, Utah 84321 Phone & Fax (435) 752-2646  River Heights City Council Meeting July 21, 2026 5 Present: Mayor Blake Wright 6 Council members: Kandi Evans 7 Mark Malmstrom 8 Chris Milbank 9 Lance Pitcher 10 Steve Roberts 11 12 Public Works Director Clayten Nelson 13 Recorder Sheila Lind 14 Treasurer Michelle Jensen 15 16 Others Present: Danny and Teri Peterson, Craig and JoDean Bailey, 17 Drew Scott, Beth Price, Susan Roberts 18 19 20 The following motions were made during the meeting: 21 22 Motion #1 23 Councilmember Pitcher moved to "approve the minutes from July 7, 2026, and the evening's agenda" Councilmember Milbank seconded the motion which passed with Malmstrom, Mathews, Milbank, Pitcher, and Roberts in favor. No one opposed. Evans was absent. 26 27 Motion #2 28 Councilmember Milbank moved to "approve Ordinance 6-2026, An Ordinance Providing 29 for the Compensation of Elected and Statutory Officers of River Heights City with the edit that the 30 council member over zoning would be paid as the other council members." Councilmember 31 Evans seconded the motion which passed with Evans, Malmstrom, Mathews, Milbank, Pitcher, 32 and Roberts in favor. No one opposed 33 34 35 Proceedings of the Meeting: 36 37 The River Heights City Council met at 6:30 p.m. in the Ervin R. Crosbie Council Chambers 38 in the River Heights City Building on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, for their regular council meeting. 39 Pledge of Allegiance 40 Adoption of Previous Minutes and the Evening's Agenda: Minutes for the July 7, 2026 41 meeting were reviewed. 42 councilmember Pitcher moved to "approve the minutes from July 7, 2026, and the 43 evening's agenda." councilmember Milbank seconded the motion which passed with 44 Malmstrom, Mathews, Milbank, Pitcher, and Roberts in favor. No one opposed. Evans was 45 absent. 46 Mayor and Staff Reports: c Recorder Lind 520 South 500 East River Heights, Utah 84321 Phone & Fax (435) 752-2646 48 • She asked if the Council would be okay with honoring Geoff and Peggy Smith for the 49 citizens of the year at Apple Days. All agreed. 50 Councilmember Pitcher 51 • Chip and seal road projects would be coming soon. 52 • He had attended the last Region 1 Road Meeting. They still had the intent of "Letter E" 53 being the best route for 200 East. He made it clear that the River Heights City Council was 54 unanimously not in favor of 200 East coming through River Heights. The process was 55 moving towards meeting with property owners and municipalities. Someone would be in 56 contact to set up a meeting with River Heights. Mr. Pitcher explained that the committee 57 was going with the "E" route because it had the least number of curves and made the 5s most sense. It was still in the preliminary stage and going through engineering. There had 59 been no environmental study done or car counts. 60 Councilmember Evans arrived at the meeting and gave her report. 61 • The ambassadors were planning to paint the picnic tables in the pavilion on July 27. She 62 would make arrangements with PWD Nelson. 63 • Mayor Wright asked if she had seen the notice from North Logan's mayor about a public 64 service activity she was putting together. He asked Ms. Evans to check into how River 65 Heights could be involved with it. 66 Mayor Wright 67 • He informed that Mary Disotell had been hired as the city's code compliance officer. He 6s and the city attorney had worked together on her contract. The mayor had asked her to 69 come to the next Council meeting to introduce herself, which she agreed to. At that time, 70 she would explain her process and answer questions from the Council. 71 • He had a statement prepared to ban fireworks for the dates surrounding the 24th of July. 72 Recorder Lind was going to post the statement tomorrow. He had included a map which 73 showed the restricted areas. He informed that the Logan ifre chief was extremely 74 concerned about the fire risk. Many fire-fighting agencies were busy supporting the large 75 fires throughout the state which spread them thin during a dangerously dry time of year. 76 Councilmember Milbank 77 • He asked Mayor Wright if there were ways the council members should prepare 7s themselves for the upcoming Truth in Taxation hearing. The mayor said he planned to 79 reach out to Russ Price, or someone else from BRAG to explain how property taxes work so before the hearing. Mr. Milbank suggested the preparation of figures showing how much 81 the city's expenses had gone up over the many years when there wasn't a tax increase. 82 Mayor Wright explained the issues River Heights had with Logan City with their sewer and 83 fire contracts, resulting in the ifre contract being raised from $44,000 not many years ago 84 to $140,000 at the current time. 85 • Mr. Milbank met with PWD Nelson and Jason Ellis at Stewart Hill Park to discuss the 86 location for the new pavilion. A purchase request for the GluLam pavilion, which they 87 agreed on at their last meeting, would be presented at the next council meeting. ss Councilmember Roberts 89 • He contacted City Engineer Rasmussen and scheduled a meeting with him and PWD 90 Nelson to discuss the water rate study and come up with a recommended increase for the 91 city's monthly water rate. 92 Treasurer Jensen 93 • She would be out of the country July 28-Aug 9. She wanted to get everything paid, that 94 was possible by Monday before she left. She asked the council members to be diligent 95 with their approvals. River Heights City Council Meeting, 7/21/26  • She announced that they had finally closed out the city's UDOT grant for the Transportation Master Plan. ns PWD Nelson. 99 • Chip and seal had been put off until probably sometime next week. The scheduled roads 100 were River Heights Boulevard between 400 and 500 East, 500 East between the 101 Boulevard and 600 South, and 500 South between 400 East and 500 East. Affected 102 residents would be notified. Typically, the chips would be laid and a couple weeks later the 103 fog coat (seal) would be added. 104 Public Comment: Craig Bailey said he was there to complain about taxes again. He said 105 his tax increase in the coming year would probably be over $700. This included Cache County, 106 the school board, and River Heights City. The city's increase would be about $120/year 107 ($10/mo.). He noted that since 2022, PWD Nelson and Recorder Lind's benefits had gone way 108 up. Fie said taxpayers were paying 100% of their benefits. He googled and found that companies 109 usually cover 11-20%. He reminded that at the last meeting he requested that the city's policy be 110 reviewed and was hoping it had been done and that amendments would be made. In looking at 111 benefits in 2025, he noticed the mayor and councilmembers received an 80% increase. He 112 challenged them to find ways to decrease impacts on households. He noted there were many 113 things that couldn't be adjusted, but salaries could be. 114 JoDean Bailey echoed her husband's comments to decrease things that were not 115 necessary. She brought up signage in the parks about dogs needing to be on a leash. Could the 116 city get the word out that there would be fines for those not following the dog ordinances? She 117 was very concerned with encountering dogs off leash while walking her own dogs. 118 Craig Bailey asked what the net beneift would be to the city for helping with Steve Roberts private pond. He was told it would be discussed later. Mayor Wright read a letter received by email from Shellie Giddings. She stated that there 121 were zero reasons to give city employees raises. In talking to residents, she had learned that 122 many were not receiving raises this year. She said the city was under no obligation to help with 123 Steve Robert's private pond and felt it would be a misuse of city funds to do so. It was the 124 Council's job to protect taxpayer dollars and not give themselves raises while asking for a 125 property tax increase. 126 Drew Scott discussed the city's water wells. They were not cheap and water was in short 127 supply this year. If the main well went down the city would be essentially shut down. He felt 128 infrastructure was a critical place to put the city's money, rather than parks and salaries., 129 Beth Price asked for justification on pay increases. She had lived in River Heights for.40 130 years. The attractiveness to River Heights had always been that residents didn't want to be run 131 like a big city. River Heights had had their own unique identity as a smaller community, which had 132 brought them close as residents. She had noticed in comments that there was contention about 133 raises and hoped the Council would help citizens understand their thinking. 134 Mayor Wright reminded that a truth in taxation hearing would be held on August 17. At that 135 meeting they would present their justification for the property tax increase. 135 Public Hearing and Adoption of an Ordinance Providing for the Compensation of Elected 137 and Statutory Offices of River Heights City: Mayor Wright explained that for several years the 138 councilmember over planning and zoning was paid slightly higher because he dealt with code 139 compliance and other extra things. Since the city had recently hired a code compliance officer, he 140 and Councilmember Malmstrom agreed that the position be dropped back down to match that of 141 the other councilmembers. The city would use that savings to put towards paying the compliance 142 ofifcer, who would earn $35/hour and put in 2-3 hours/wk. River Heights City Council Meeting, 7/21/26 143 Councilmember Evans asked about the code compliance process. Mayor Wright said she 141 would approach residents (usually by letter) first and give them a reasonable amount of time to 145 come into compliance. If they didn't respond, it could escalate to the citation level. Recorder Lind 146 informed that the compliance officer had a separate email account set up and access to 147 Sharepoint where she planned to keep track of the issues she was working on. The email 148 address was: codecompliance(a riverheights.gov. and would be posted on the city's website to ►49 allow residents to file complaints on their own. 150 Mayor Wright opened the public hearing. tsl Craig Bailey asked how they could move forward with salary increases when they hadn't 152 held truth in taxation yet. Mayor Wright explained that the pending tax increase didn't have 153 anything to do with salaries. 154 Councilmember Milbank explained that running a city was complicated and expensive. 155 There were a lot of rules, ordinances, and state requirements they needed to be aware of is6 following. He said if he figured how much he made an hour for the work he put in on the council it 157 would be a very low wage. He felt residents took for granted the benefits they enjoyed in River 158 Heights. He noted that the city employees were very experienced and knowledgeable. He 159 explained that the 2023 election was canceled because no one would run for office except those 160 who were already serving. It wasn't a job that residents were eager to fill. 161 Councilmember Pitcher said the number of meetings they were required to attend were at 162 times cumbersome and time consuming. They used their personal vehicles. If he turned in 163 receipts for compensation it would come to over the salary he received as a council member. He 164 encouraged Mr. Bailey to run for office. He reminded that the mayor and council members were 165 residents doing the best they could. He couldn't think of another part-time job where he could get 166 paid less. 167 Councilmember Malmstrom agreed that there was a lot of extra time involved that people 168 didn't see. 169 Councilmember Milbank noted that the time served and experience gained by Mayor 170 Wright over the years was invaluable. His knowledge and commitment were over the top. 171 Treasurer Jensen chimed in that most cities had a city administrator. Since River Heights 172 didn't, the mayor had to cover everything. She pointed out that River Heights was a small city but 173 still had all the same requirements as the large cities. Employees in River Heights had to do more 174 with less money. She also informed that council salaries were not the highest nor the lowest in 175 the valley. 176 Councilmember Milbank said over the years the city had shot themselves in the foot for 177 not allowing commercial because the residents didn't want it. They want a bedroom community 178 with all the benefits but not the costs. 179 Mayor Wright said he had sat in a lot of meetings where he was envious of the full-time 180 mayors, most of whom had a city manager. 181 Councilmember Milbank moved to "approve Ordinance 6-2026, An Ordinance 182 Providing for the Compensation of Elected and Statutory Officers of River Heights City 183 with the edit that the council member over zoning would be paid as the other council 184 members." Councilmember Evans seconded the motion which passed with Evans, 185 Malmstrom, Mathews, Milbank, Pitcher, and Roberts in favor. No one opposed. 186 Discuss Letter Regarding Steve and Susan Roberts' Pond: Councilmember Roberts said 187 he appreciated the earlier comments about his request. He explained that his wife Susan would 188 present their request and he would recuse himself of any decisions. 189 Susan Roberts asked the Council to consider helping with costs to remove silt from their 190 pond. When they created their pond in 2003, they were made aware that it would benefit the city 191 by settling the stormwater which traveled through the irrigation ditches and emptied into their River Heights City Council Meeting, 7/21/26  pond before reaching Spring Creek. She understood that most of the city's stormwater (and the silt it brought with it) ended up there. They had tried many avenues to remove the silt. Recently iya they had found a contractor in Tremonton who specialized in silt removal. He gave a general idea 195 of the cost to remove three feet. The pond was originally dug at four feet. She acknowledged that 196 all the silt probably didn't come from the city, but certainly a percentage. Removal was a big 197 expense, and they were requesting any kind of help they could get. She was aware that the city 198 collected stormwater fees from residents each month, so she knew the city had funds. 199 Councilmember Milbank brought up the $10,000 the city approved a few years ago to help 200 with the situation. The Roberts had brought this up in their letter and said it had not yet been 201 spent. PWD Nelson said the money had been spent on boxes at the west end of 600 South which 202 allowed the stormwater to be directed through the Cobblestone Development in Providence 203 (which was the path it had flowed historically). Mrs. Roberts said they had an agreement with 204 Cobblestone that they would take their extra groundwater and the tail of irrigation water which 205 they didn't have any use for. Mr. Milbank asked if the diversion through Cobblestone was being 206 used. Councilmember Roberts explained that it was not. 207 Councilmember Roberts said they weren't asking for a decision tonight. They thought they 208 would bring it up since they had found a contractor. He realized it wasn't an optimal time to bring 209 it up since he was new on the council. If they didn't do something soon, the fish and other animals 210 were going to be affected. 211 Councilmember Pitcher asked where the water went before the pond came to be. Mrs. 212 Roberts said it ran through a ditch along the west side of their property into the creek. Mr. Roberts 213 noted that the water had cut a 12-foot ravine which was full of silt. Once they built their pond, the 214 silt ended up in it. He said their pond had benefited the community by taking 1,000 yards of silt, now in their pond. Councilmember Milbank asked PWD Nelson about the state stormwater report he had to 217 fill out. Was the city required to document each retention area used by the city for detaining 218 stormwater? Mr. Nelson said the Roberts pond was not considered part of the city's stormwater 219 program. When Stone Creek Subdivision was installed, the stormwater system was a swale 220 design between the back of curb and sidewalk. The plan was meant to take the stormwater to the 221 southwest corner of the development to the city's outfall point. The other nearby outfall point was 222 at the east end of the Conservice parking lot, which dropped into the Cobblestone ditch and then 223 falls out once it gets to Spring Creek. 224 Susan Roberts asked for clarification on whether much of the city's stormwater ran into the 225 irrigation ditches. PWD Nelson affirmed it did. He said he had never seen anything signed or 226 documented by River Heights which approved the irrigation water going into the Roberts pond. 227 The pipe going into their pond was approved by ProLog Irrigation Company and Providence City 228 when Cobblestone was developed, not when Stone Creek was developed. At that time the city's 229 records showed it went through the ditch on the east side of Cobblestone. Mrs. Roberts said they 230 had a verbal agreement with Cobblestone. Mr. Nelson pointed out that the agreement they had 231 with Cobblestone was not an agreement with the city. Mrs. Roberts said Cobblestone gave them 232 tail water in exchange for taking their groundwater. Councilmember Roberts said everyone who 233 took water from the ditch received the silt that came with it. On individual properties it goes 234 unnoticed. 235 Councilmember Malmstrom asked if the silt was removed how long it would take to fill up 236 the pond again. It was unsure. Councilmember Roberts suggested the city could plan ahead and 237 increase the stormwater fee by a dollar, then they could save up the money to remove the silt 238 again in 10-20 years. Councilmember Pitcher tried to narrow down which entities should be involved in the discussion. Councilmember Roberts reiterated that it was stormwater and irrigation from River River Heights City Council Meeting, 7/21/26 241 Heights City, which by nature,-brought the silt. He didn't see it as an issue between Cobblestone 242 and the irrigation company because the water came from River Heights. Mr. Pitcher was trying to 243 understand the agreement the city had with ProLog, which wasn't for the water to go into their 244 pond. PWD Nelson said the city made the choice to divert the water at the boxes (by use of a 245 headgate) to go through Cobblestone and not through the Roberts' pond. 246 CouncilmemberMilbank said the Roberts wanted the water to go to their pond. Mrs. 247 Roberts agreed that it was to their benefit. They were excited to receive the tail water, not 248 knowing about the unintended consequence of the silt. Mr. Milbank was concerned that if the city 249 became involved there would be a level of environmental obligation the city could be held to. 250 Councilmember Roberts said that during the dredging they would close the headgate to prevent 251 water flow through the pond to the creek. 252 Councilmember Pitcher asked if they should have the city attorney review the situation 253 and give his opinion. He wanted to do what's right, but also what's right by the city. He didn't feel 254 the city should be responsible for a situation where their water was being diverted to another 255 place by someone else's choice. 256 PWD Nelson said if the city chose to use the Roberts pond (or any other area on private 257 property) for stormwater retention then there would need to be an agreement stating the 258 homeowner's responsibility for all the cleaning, annual inspections, and submittal of a report to 259 the city that all the requirements had been met, which the cityivould include with their report to 260 the state. 261 Councilmember Roberts pointed out that if the water didn't go into their pond and was 262 diverted into the creek through. Cobblestone then all the silt would be dumped in that area. He 263 wondered what the city would do then. Councilmember Pitcher said that was'a good question that 264 he would also run past the attorney. 265 PWD Nelson explained there were a lot of areas in the city where stormwater washed into 266 collection boxes and silt was collected before the water moved on through the system. The boxes 267 were cleaned out periodically. Not all the city's silt ended up in Spring Creek. 268 Advice and Consent for Appointment of a New Planning Commissioner: Mayor Wright 269 explained that he discussed the replacement of Steve Roberts on the Planning Commission with 270 Commission Chair Keenan Ryan and Councilmember Malmstrom and agreed with them to 271 extend an invitation to Morgan McKeown, who was willing to serve. 272 Each council member gave their consent for Mr. McKeown to take the assignment. 273 The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. 274 275 276 277 278 Sheila Lin , eco er 279 280 281 282 Bla ght, Ma River Heights City Council Meeting, 7/21/26 7122/26, 10:46 AM FW: Tonight's meeting - Sheila Lind - Outlook Outlook FW: Tonight's meeting From Blake Wright <blakewright@riverheights.gov> Date Wed 7/22/2026 9:43 AM To Sheila Lind <ofifce@riverheights.gov> Cc Kandi Evans <kandievans@riverheights.gov> Here you go, Sheila. included Kandi since Shellie sent it to Lana instead. v BLAKE C. WRIGHT :_ i Mayor Mobile: (435) 278-8169 520 South 500 East River Heights, UT 84321 (435) 752-2646 From: Shellie 6 <pacificbeaches14@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 202611:49 AM To: Blake Wright <blakewright@riverheights.gov>; Chris Milbank <chrismilbank@riverheights.gov>; Steve Roberts <steveroberts@riverheights.gov>; Lana Hanover <lanahanover@riverheights.gov>; Lance Pitcher <lancepitcher@riverheights.gov>; Mark Malmstrom <markmalmstrom@riverheights.gov> Subject: Tonight's meeting Mayor and Council Members, As I am unable to attend tonight's meeting due to a family obligation, I wanted to be email my connects. First, thank you for serving. Second, there is zero reason anyone whose wages are paid by tax dollars should be getting a raise this year. Even if it's a COLA raise. In conversations with other residents, there are many who are not receiving such a raise this year. The fact that you need to raise property taxes to cover wages, and benefits should be a signal that this is not the time for a raise. Third; regarding the Roberts pond. It's a private pond. The city is under no obligation to spend tax dollars for anything regarding that pond. I understand that the council approved $10,000 "several years ago." What's several? Why wasn't it completed then? It appears the cost has increased significantly. Too. bad. As the city is about to ask for a tax increase because you can't afford what you need now, it would be a misuse of tax dollars to provide funding for a private pond. Please be aware as you make these decisions tonight that it is your job to protect tax payer dollars and use them wisely. When asking for a tax increase you shouldn't be entertaining raises for yourselves or other city employees and you certainly shouldn't be entertaining giving tax dollars to a private citizen for a private pond. Thank you, Shellie Giddings about:blank 1/1  C 7 . X71 F. t; [ I ► Q► ' AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE COMPENSATION OF ELECTED AND STATUTORY OFFICERS OF RIVER HEIGHTS CITY NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE RIVER HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL THAT: Repealer. All previous salary of compensation ordinances regarding elected and statutory officers hereby are repealed. 2. Compensation. The monthly compensation of the elected and statutory officers shall be as follows: Mayor: $1,854.00 Council Members: $721.00 Treasurer: Ih5.35/Salary Recorder: $32.64/hr 3. Payment. The treasurer shall pay each elected official and the Finance Director monthly. All other statutory officers will be paid bi-weekly. Payments will be by automatic deposit or by delivery of a check drawn on the municipal checking account. 4. Per Diem. Each member of the governing body shall receive mileage and per diem for all trips approved by the governing body according to the schedules adopted by the Utah Department of Finance. 5. Effective Date: July 1, 2026 Adopted this 21St day of July 2026. Blake Wright, Mayor Attest: Sheila Lind, Recorder  July 14,2026 To Mayor Wright and River Heights City Council, The following is background information related to our request to be included on the July 21, 2016 City Council meeting agenda. In 2003, we created a pond as part of the Stone Creek Subdivision in River Heights. The pond was excavated to a minimum depth of four feet. Its water sources include groundwater, Prolog Irrigation water, and stormwater runoff from River Heights City. Unfortunately, the inflow has carried a significant amount of silt into the pond. Over the past 23 years, silt has accumulated, reducing the water depth to roughly one foot. This has negatively affected the pond's quality, including its wildlife and fish. On a positive note, the pond has served as a beneficial stormwater silt-settling basin, preventing that material from flowing directly into Spring Creek - a benefit to River Heights City. Nevertheless, the silt must now be removed. Several years ago, we met with.the City Council to discuss possible assistance. At that time, the City approved a budget of $10,000 to help with the project. The money was to come. out of the stormwater fund. We continued exploring the most practical and cost-effective solutions. We consulted multiple contractors (several of whom declined the job) and tested various pumping methods, none of which proved effective. We have now secured an experienced contractor who is available and willing to perform the work. The current estimate for the work is $15,000 to $25,000. We respectfully request to be included on the July 21, 2016 City Council meeting agenda to renew the discussion of this situation and to request that the City participate in the cost of silt removal. As a current city council member I am aware that I must recuse myself from any City council decisions regarding this matter. Respectfully, Steve and Susan Roberts  • :•.!, _____ ._ I ., r1/* a V Aye • 1 Tl►, Y T • r. 's;;", . .4+ : *_, y n r. 1 3 a SW ♦ 1. A .'1." ® .x t 7 {. 4&• r - a ••• r r.. i