City Council Meeting - ARCHIVED

SOUTH JORDAN CITY CITY COUNCIL MEETING February 15, 2022 Present: Mayor Dawn Ramsey, Council Member Brad Marlor, Council Member Don Shelton, Council Member Jason McGuire, Council Member Tamara Zander, Council Member Patrick Harris, City Manager Gary Whatcott, Assistant City Manager Dustin Lewis, City Attorney Ryan Loose, Strategic Services Director Don Tingey, CFO Sunil Naidu, Director of Administrative Services Spencer Kyle, Police Chief Jeff Carr, City Recorder Anna Crookston, Director of Public Works Jason Rasmussen, City Engineer Brad Klavano, Director of Government Affairs Melinda Seager, IT Director Jon Day, GIS Coordinator Matt Jarman, Planning Director Steven Schaefermeyer, Fire Chief Chris Dawson, Meeting Transcriptionist Diana Baun, Communications Manager Rachael Van Cleave Others: Sam Bishop, Shari Harris, carol, Emily, Tracy Miller, CEO South Jordan Chamber of Commerce Brian Synan, Frank Montoya, Rowena Montoya 6:52 P.M. REGULAR MEETING A. Welcome, Roll Call, and Introduction to Electronic Meeting - By Mayor Dawn Ramsey Mayor Ramsey welcomed everyone present and introduced the electronic meeting. B. Invocation – By Director of Strategic Services Don Tingey Director Tingey offered the invocation. C. Pledge of Allegiance – By Director of Public Works Jason Rasmussen Director Rasmussen led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. D. Minute Approval D.1. January 26, 2022 Special Budget Meeting D.2. February 1, 2022 City Council Study Meeting D.3. February 1, 2022 City Council Meeting Council Member Marlor motioned to approve the January 26, 2022 Special Budget Meeting minutes as printed, February 1, 2022 City Council Study Meeting minutes as South Jordan City 2 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 printed and the February 1, 2022 City Council Meeting minutes as printed. Council Member Harris seconded the motion; the vote was unanimous in favor. E. Mayor and Council Reports Council Member Don Shelton attended the Chinese New Year Celebration at Herriman High School. That same night, he attended a retirement party for former Council Member Mark Seethaler. He also attended the Jordan River Commission meeting, a few Western Growth Coalition Legislative Updates, a few Legislative Policy Committee(LPC) meetings for the League, and an Association of Municipal Councils meeting. He had a discussion with some of our senior staff about bike lanes and signage on Skye Drive, and he thanked them for making the time to discuss that with him and figure out some good solutions. Mayor Ramsey said the Chinese New Year Celebration at Herriman High School included students from Bingham High, Mountain Creek Middle, and Eastlake Elementary; it was mostly South Jordan residents participating in the program. Council Member Patrick Harris met with the Hindu Temple Presidency and spoke with them about their future plans, nothing immediate but they will need to have additional discussions with them in the future. He joined the Saturday morning legislative update electronically. He said in a past meeting with Representative Susan Pulsipher, he mentioned daycare and the importance of getting more people into the workforce and the childcare involved; one of the solutions he mentioned was getting the businesses involved, and she mentioned that during the legislative update. He feels that these meetings they have ahead of time to provide feedback are very valuable. He also felt Ken Ivory was very well prepared while speaking about his concerns with energy, Council Member Harris shares some of the same concerns. He, along with other council members and staff, attended a SoJo Race Series event. These races are great, allowing everyone at every level to participate by running, walking, or carrying a weighted backpack (rucking). He also attended a Make a Wish Foundation fundraiser at the Embassy Suites here in South Jordan as well. Council Member Brad Marlor appreciates the updates from staff and ULCT regarding current legislation, allowing him to participate where he can. He attended an Architectural Review Committee meeting on February 9, there is a new professional type office building going up on Redwood, at about 11000 South on the east side. He also joined other staff and council members at the recent SoJo Race event and enjoyed it. There was a group of ex-pats, primarily ladies who live here in South Jordan, who got together and dressed up in fun outfits for the race; he thinks that’s what this is all about, getting together while having fun and getting some exercise. Council Member Tamara Zander talked about the race she and the others attended. She thanked Program Coordinator Brad Vaske who runs the SoJo Race Series, Mr. Vaske and his staff do such a wonderful job. She talked about rucking, carrying a backpack with weight, which she did for this race and she was able to get the patch for it. She also mentioned that this morning she was at the county pool here in South Jordan, after her aerobics class she was in the locker room and a darling lady, Sandra Griffin, was doing what we would hope everyone would do; following the Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Ms. Griffin spent about 45 minutes of her personal time scrubbing the female showers that were in very poor condition. There was mild South Jordan City 3 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 bacterial growth in the showers, and when Council Member Zander walked into the locker rooms she could smell Clorox and cleaning detergent. She asked Ms. Griffin what she was doing and she had cleaned five of the ten showers by that point. When Council Member Zander was ready to leave, Ms. Griffin had cleaned nine of the ten showers by herself, as a resident, wanting to leave it nicer for the person behind her. She asked to get a picture with Ms. Griffin, who has lived here in South Jordan for about 15-20 years; she goes to the recreation center a few times a week and attends Council Member Zander’s water aerobics class. She is a wonderful example of thinking about how we can make the path brighter for someone else, how we can make life better for someone else, and service that doesn’t necessarily get noticed but matters. Council Member Jason McGuire attended the Chinese New Year celebration at Herriman High School. He shared that Ms. Chen, who is the Chinese teacher who put the program together, actually started at Eastlake, then moved to South Jordan Middle, and now she’s at Herriman High. This means she has had the opportunity to watch some of her students’ progress in the program, and has a strong desire to help the kids pass the AP test. He attended some of the LPC meetings and legislative updates on Saturday mornings. He met with the Arts Council, a lot of good things are in the works including the art show that’s coming up with more information on the city website. They are still trying to secure the rights for the play but that appears to be a very common problem this year, trying to get the licensing companies to release the rights. He had the opportunity, with his wife, to meet with Representative Pulsipher concerning an issue they feel will probably end up in the legislature and they wanted the opportunity to bring that before her. He is grateful for her, she is always very welcoming and wanting to help the residents. Unfortunately, due to redistricting, she will no longer be his representative, but at least she will still be representing a part of South Jordan and he’s sure Representative Teuscher will do a good job as his new representative. Mayor Dawn Ramsey spent nine days in Washington, DC, it was an amazing and busy trip with a full schedule. She went there to represent us and represent the municipalities in the state of Utah in her role as President of the League of Cities and Towns and for the Wasatch Front Regional Council. She attended two different conferences with a lot of good information about the new bipartisan infrastructure law; specifically, how to access those funds and what to do to maximize those for the state and cities. At the National League of Cities it was very municipal based, how to help cities access that money. For the National Regional Councils it was more transportation project related, how to access those funds. She had the opportunity to meet with every member of Utah’s delegation, to make sure they understand that not only is South Jordan one of the ten fastest growing cities in America, in the fastest growing state, but how much that infrastructure money is needed here and how much we’d like to take advantage of it. Regardless of whether they voted to approve it or not, it has been approved and it is now law; that money is now available and it is going somewhere, we want that money to come here. As a group, they acknowledged the great needs across our state and why it would be a benefit; she sees that money as our children and grandchildren’s money in the future, as they are the ones that are going to be paying it back. It is critical that since that money is being given out, we get as much of it as we can to do projects that are going to benefit our children and grandchildren. We really need to think long-term and be wise with that money, make sure it benefits those that are coming after us. She asked specifically for letters of support from our delegates, if there is a project that comes across their desk they have our assurance that it is on the Regional Transportation Plan, prioritized and vetted; our Transportation Plan is data driven, a good plan, and if they see a project plan from us they have committed to send those letters of support. She South Jordan City 4 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 feels her trip was busy, but very productive. Today she spoke at a combination West and South Jordan Rotary Club meeting where scholarships for local students were awarded. One of those recipients was a young woman who, when the schools were shut down and moved to online, took on the role of being the teacher for her five nieces and nephews while their parents worked. She spent her day homeschooling them with their online curriculum, then she started hers at night after their parents got home. Mayor Ramsey was able to watch part of the Chinese New Year celebration electronically. She went to the Eastlake Elementary Science Fair and appreciated the invitation to be there, she loves science fairs. There is a lot going on during this busy legislative session right now. She thanked those who have reached out and asked to stay involved because they will need more engagement as a few more of these significant bills, including the housing bill, come up. Director Seager and City Attorney Ryan Loose have done so well and she appreciates that we have a good system here in South Jordan of dividing and conquering; it is working well, allowing us to cover all the bases we need to and it is a big project. Many other executive staff members have been involved, and she thanked them for all their hard work. Lastly, while back in Washington, DC, she had the chance to be there while Congressman Owens did a presentation on the house floor for Black History Month. He gave a fantastic presentation, sharing stories of his own family and upbringing, his own history and background. She had been on the plane with him on the way to Washington, DC and on the way back Sunday she received a text from him with a link to a recording of the presentation. Once a week, the party in the majority gets one hour of floor time to do whatever presentation they would like, and then the party in the minority gets an hour after that. F. Public Comment Mayor Ramsey opened up the public comment portion of the meeting. Frank Montoya (Resident) thanked the mayor, council and staff for all they do. He and his wife are parents to five children and grandparents to 17 grandchildren. Their oldest daughter and three of her children are being subject to abuse, it has been brought up with Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Unfortunately, with the children it is sexual abuse. This has also been brought to the police, but both DCFS and the police have shut them down. It is very frustrating as a father and grandfather to see their family members subjected to this. The father, who has been accused of doing this, as it has not been proven yet, is very articulate, conniving and convincing. Unfortunately, he has spent some time with police officers, detectives, and has convinced several people that this is a custody battle; this is not a custody battle. There are residents of South Jordan, specifically children, who are at risk and being abused. This is a child protective issue, it is not a custody battle. He wants everyone to know there have been five to seven cases opened, and each one has been directly from a divulgement from a child to either their mother, grandparents, their uncle, and a therapist. Unfortunately, their testimony is not viable as they are not expert opinions. He has 17 grandkids, he has watched them grow and his oldest is 21; he knows how grandkids act, they do quirky things and say silly things, these three children are being sexually abused. Most recently, the father has gained 50% custody, and because of his abuse Mr. Montoya has pushed to have them transfer the kids here, in front of the police department to the east; normally that has worked out. Now, the older child is going to school, and according to the court paperwork, the exchanges have to be done at the school. This last week, the father decided that he was going to agree to go to the school, but he didn’t. He South Jordan City 5 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 came here to the police department, made a complaint with Officer Phillips, who then contacted his daughter who was with Mr. Montoya at the school to make the exchange; the officer told her he was going to cite her because she was not allowing the father parent time. Again, there are cases open with DCFS that are still open, they are now bypassing South Jordan. He was told by Detective Williams that in talking to the prosecutor, South Jordan was unwilling to prosecute because his four year old granddaughter could not sit on a stand, point at her father, and say the sexual things that he had done to her and be able to withstand a cross examination. However, they said they would keep a record of it, so that if and when the father did leave physical evidence, or one of the three daughters were able to divulge information to a forensic person or someone of authority, the courts would take their testimony and get the father as a habitual. To him, that says “we’re okay to give these children back to this predator and let him do more, let’s get him caught so then we can prosecute him.” There is something very flawed with that, and as a grandfather he wants to stand there and scream obscenities and pound on the table, and obviously he doesn’t want to do that. Everyone here has children and grandchildren, where would you be in this situation. He has talked with Chief Carr who has asked Lieutenant Hansen to talk with Mr. Montoya. This last Friday, Officer Phillips was very rude and brash and ignorant with his daughter while she had him on speakerphone. They tried and tried to explain that they had agreed, and that she was following court paperwork, yet he still told her he doesn’t believe her and was going to call DCFS; he said if there wasn’t a case in the works right now he was going to cite her. He called DCFS, they have refused to file a case with South Jordan City because of the fact that every time they’ve done so, they want a forensic person to be able to interview or get that testimony out of a four year old girl who has been taught don’t talk to strangers, don’t deal with strangers. Now they’ve had to try and reprogram her to tell her it’s okay to talk to policemen. They can’t coach her to say things, but she has divulged to him information, and she has also divulged information to her therapist, and DCFS has now decided to bypass South Jordan because of that. That has to be wrong, what are we doing in South Jordan to protect our children, protect our citizens; something needs to be done and changed. Fortunately or unfortunately, the council will be seeing a lot of him and his wife, they will see the Montoya’s trying to push for change and he would love to get feedback on what they can do differently, who they need to contact, what they need to do to change laws or procedures to protect our grandchildren and citizens. Mayor Ramsey thanked him for his comments, she requested that our City Attorney Ryan Loose speak with him after the meeting tonight. Rowena Montoya (Resident) explained a little bit about her daughter. She was in her late 20s and abused by this man for over a year and a half, physically, mentally, verbally, any way you can think of; she has done things she would have never done, and there are pictures of things she would have never done. This man is something they didn’t teach their children to deal with out in the world, so for a three and four year old to continue to go back to this man and told all these stories about what is going to happen to them if they tell the truth, we have to do it because that’s the law. It is crushing them, killing them, they are behaving differently. These children came to the Montoya’s when they were really small. Their daughter finally, after six months of therapy, decided not to go back because she realized she was being abused by this man. Now she is in her South Jordan City 6 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 late 20s, there is no way a three and four year old can withstand it. She begs everyone to support the children, they are our future. Shari Harris (Resident) thanked everyone for their reports today, she found that particularly delightful and very creative. It is amazing how when you participate in government and what’s going on, how much more enjoyable it is and how much more engaging it is. She also appreciates the grace and dignity by which the council offers help to people who come forward to participate in government, especially as we protect our children. One thing that we all share in common, is the ability to learn for ourselves; that is something we can do individually and also collectively. She is encouraging that we all take a moment right now to put forth the effort to recognize two paths that have happened in our nation over the right we have to vote. We can learn from our own experience that the process of freedom and voting, and the power by which our government gets the power from the people is causing a lot of division. Because freedom, the power and the government is an ongoing process, a continuing process, that process could continue to get worse or we could take action in a way that would encourage community and peace. She doesn’t know if everyone is familiar with ranked choice voting, but ranked choice voting is something that can be done in multiple ways. For example, one way is an open primary and then a secondary vote that has a range of four. A fringe benefit of that is that it allows a development of a person, just like the office of vice presidency is a functional but also developmental office, it helps develop a person for the future who will be a unifying force. Division is fine and it can be useful in learning, but polarization is not and ranked choice voting allows the development of a person who was kind of in the middle and helps unify and brings peace. Mayor Ramsey closed the public comment portion of the meeting. G. Presentation Item G.1. 2022 Community Survey and Final Report. (By Y2 Analytics, Kyrene Gibb) Kyrene Gibb reviewed her prepared presentation (Attachment A). Mayor Ramsey noted that the one in four who declined to answer haven’t lived here long enough to feel like they can answer specific questions. Ms. Gibb continued with her presentation (Attachment A). Mayor Ramsey pointed out that the last time Ms. Gibb was here, she said if they took out everyone who said they hadn’t lived here long enough to answer the questions the approval rating went up to 92%. According to the numbers this time, Mayor Ramsey said she believes if we took those who didn’t answer out, the approval rating this year would jump to 93%. South Jordan City 7 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 Ms. Gibb agreed and said that if they took those who declined to answer out, we would have an approval rating of nine out of ten. She continued with her presentation (Attachment A). Mayor Ramsey said, while discussing improvements needed, that this survey gives them great information; it’s telling her that we need to improve in communicating the policies we have in place to efficiently use our city resources. We also need to find ways to improve communicating that South Jordan is actually known across the state as probably the best city at planning for long-term growth. We know what we are doing, others in this industry know what we are doing, but we need to find ways to help our residents understand that better. Ms. Gibb continued with her presentation (Attachment A). She mentioned that this year, water pops up as a much more substantial issue when we think about the next three to five years, rather than something residents are thinking about right now. Given the drought conditions this past year, she is surprised not to see that be more prominent in current concerns, but it is certainly something that’s on residents’ minds looking towards the future. Mayor Ramsey said this tells us we need to make sure and maximize our media opportunities when we kick off our Pure SoJo project. Ms. Gibb continued with her presentation (Attachment A). Council Member Harris brought up the water conservation issue, this summer we had one-third less water usage. While we did put some of that information out there, we may need to double down in getting additional information out; especially during the summertime, as that’s when it’s going to be on people’s minds the most. Mayor Ramsey said that South Jordan saved the most money of any of the users in the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District; so much so that it put us in violation of our agreement to the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District because we took so much less water than we committed to. Council Member Marlor said he believes this is reflective of the concern that we, and all the residents, are sharing right now; that we are in a drought and wondering if we will have drinking water or green lawns in the future. Mayor Ramsey believes secondary water played a bit into that number as well. People had a lot of questions about secondary water, but it is working really well. Ms. Gibb continued with her presentation (Attachment A). Council Member Harris noted that, in regards to parks maintenance this past year, because of the drought the city had to make choices about how to responsibly maintain their parks while conserving water. This wasn’t neglect, it was a choice after the governor came out and asked South Jordan City 8 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 everyone to start conserving water; we listened to our governor and made choices to get behind him. Mayor Ramsey said we chose to save our trees over the grass, as the trees would cost a lot more to lose over grass; those decisions were deliberate in regards to what we were going to keep watering. Ms. Gibb continued with her presentation (Attachment A). Council Member Harris said that obviously people who participated in the survey were people who get emails, so he wondered about the findings that the majority of residents prefer, and are already using, email for communication. Ms. Gibb said that is all true, and why it’s important to note that city newsletters are the second most popular source of information and the second most utilized. She continued with the presentation (Attachment A). Mayor Ramsey said our city newsletter is sent as an “insert in water or other municipal bill.” She asked if there is any chance that insert is being considered the same thing as the “city newsletter” category. Ms. Gibb said it possibly could be, but on the survey it is framed as the “additional insert,” which she assumes is why it’s so low on the ratings. Council Member Harris wonders if some are getting the city newsletter confused with things like the South Jordan Journal, which is not a city owned paper. Ms. Gibb said that’s why they don’t have the Valley News on the survey, because it’s not a channel the city controls. She did include newspaper, because it could include the Valley Journal and other similar publications. She continued with her presentation (Attachment A). Council Member Marlor asked Ms. Gibb if she was commissioned to only ask questions about 11400 South. Ms. Gibb said they added the 11400 South questions to this year’s survey in the interest of providing quality data and partnership with the UDOT planning group; now the city has representative data to use in the future regarding 11400 South. Mayor Ramsey thanked Ms. Gibb for her presentation. She hopes their comments didn’t sound like they’re trying to justify anything, they are just trying to sort out what the causes are and to pinpoint what they can improve on and/or what might be factoring into some of the current issues. She wants to be able to take this data and analyze it to figure out ways we can make improvements in different ways and communicate that to our residents. South Jordan City 9 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 H. Action Item H.1. Resolution R2022-16, Appointing members to the Arts Council. (By Associate Director of Recreation Janell Payne) Associate Director of Recreation Janell Payne gave a quick background on Janice McClellan’s history. She has been on the Arts Council for eight years, and been a great resource. Mayor Ramsey thanked Ms. McClellan for coming tonight and for her service over the last eight years. Council Member McGuire motioned to approve Resolution R2022-16, Appointing a new member to the Arts Council. Council Member Zander seconded the motion; vote was unanimous in favor. I. Public Hearing Items I.1. Ordinance 2022-04, Re-adopting the City’s Construction Standards and Specifications. RCV (By Director of Engineering Brad Klavano) Director Klavano reviewed background information from the Staff Report. Mayor Ramsey opened the public hearing. There were no comments and the hearing was closed. Council Member Shelton motioned to approve Ordinance 2022-04, Re-adopting the city’s construction standards and specifications. Council Member Marlor seconded the motion; Roll Call vote was 5-0, unanimous in favor. I.2. Ordinance 2022-08, Vacating a portion of Right-of-Way along the North side of Lake Avenue (5215 West to 5340 West) and a portion of Right-of- Way along the West side of Lake Run Road (10965 South to 11120 South). RCV (By Director of Planning Steven Schaefermeyer) Director Schaefermeyer reviewed background information from the Staff Report. Mayor Ramsey pointed out that this vacation is for very narrow pieces of land that are right now South Jordan City’s, but those small pieces of land are needed to go along with the development; they are not currently part of our roads. Council Member Zander asked if this was going to decrease the width of the road. South Jordan City 10 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 Director Schaefermeyer said no, the road will stay the same width on both streets. There is a wider sidewalk through that area, but the owners dedicated more than was needed for the roads. Mayor Ramsey opened the public hearing. There were no comments and the hearing was closed. Council Member Zander asked, now that Daybreak is under the direction of Larry H. Miller, who the counterpart is at Larry H. Miller that would come to these kinds of discussions. Director Schaefermeyer said that would be John Warnick. He was planning on attending but had something come up, so they spoke beforehand to make sure Director Schaefermeyer understood their side of the request. Council Member Zander motioned to approve Ordinance 2022-08, Vacating a portion of right-of-way along Lake Avenue and Lake Run Road. Council Member McGuire seconded the motion; Roll Call vote was 5-0, unanimous in favor. I.3. Ordinance 2022-09, Vacating a portion of Right-of-Way along the North and South sides of Docksider Drive, East of Bingham Rim Road (11320 South 6850 West). RCV (By Director of Planning Steven Schaefermeyer) Director Schaefermeyer reviewed background information from the Staff Report. Mayor Ramsey opened the public hearing, there were no comments and the hearing was closed. Council Member McGuire motioned to approve Ordinance 2022-09, Vacating a portion of right-of-way along Docksider Drive. Council Member Zander seconded the motion, Roll Call vote was 5-0, unanimous in favor. J. Staff Reports and Calendaring Items City Manager Gary Whatcott asked the council to think about suggestions for a parade Grand Marshall and email those to him before the next council meeting. He also reminded everyone about the Special Budget Meeting next Wednesday, February 23 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. City Attorney Ryan Loose said Representative Teuscher has been texting him frequently about several bills, getting input and thoughts, and letting Attorney Loose know if something might impact the city. Senator Fillmore has also reached out a few times. He also mentioned that Representative Pulsipher has done a good job keeping in contact with us this South Jordan City 11 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 session. Mayor Ramsey noted that she serves on the advisory board for the Major Brent Taylor Foundation, and at a meeting about a month ago they mentioned having the huge flag they fly over Ogden canyon; they would love to come and have the first parade their foundation participates in, outside of the Weber Basin area, be the South Jordan parade. They would love to come and bring a bunch of volunteers with the giant flag. Jenny Taylor asked Mayor Ramsey if she could help her find a corporate donor for around $500 for T-shirts to wear. Also, she and some of our city staff will be going to North Ogden to meet with Ms. Taylor and see their Gold Star Families Monument, to help us in preparing to work towards getting one for our city. Director of Government Affairs Melinda Seager said League staff has asked her to get everyone’s input regarding the St. George mid-year conference. They will be showcasing South Jordan this year, they want to know if we would like to have a South Jordan booth. If so, she will coordinate what we would like to have featured at that booth, and whether or not we would like it in the vendors’ area or near the registration desk. Either way, the event coordinator really wants to be able to showcase South Jordan. Mayor Ramsey said there has never been a city with a showcasing booth before. Director Seager said there will be a showcasing video that will feature South Jordan as well. She asked them to share any input with her regarding the booth. Mayor Ramsey said they also suggested a President’s Activity, an activity to for attendees to spend “Dawn with Dawn.” This has never been done before, but she was told that this would give people access and a chance to visit with her and possibly ask questions. Her suggestion was a walk in the morning, but they are working on that. If we are going to do a city booth, it should probably be in the foyer next to the registration area. She reached out to the First Lady about being the keynote speaker at their Women in Local Government Lunch, but she has another commitment in Northern Utah at 4:00 p.m. that day and they can’t work out the logistics. The governor is coming to speak the following day. She reached out today to see if they could get Gail Miller, however she has two other things on her calendar that day as well; they are going to do everything they can to see if there is any chance she could make it to St. George to speak. If Ms. Miller can’t, they will find someone else. Director Seager sent an email with the clip of Senator Fillmore presenting his amendment on the floor for Senator Harper’s HB140, the housing and transit reinvestment zone bill, so the council and mayor can watch that. In the clip, he speaks very favorably for South Jordan. Council Member McGuire motioned to adjourn the City Council meeting. Council Member Zander seconded the motion; vote was unanimous in favor. South Jordan City 12 City Council Meeting February 15, 2022 ADJOURNMENT The February 15, 2022 City Council meeting adjourned at 8:34 p.m. This is a true and correct copy of the February 15, 2022 City Council Meeting Minutes, which were approved on March 15, 2022. South Jordan City Recorder SOUTH JORDAN CITIZEN SURVEY 2021 PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH 5 1 A large majority of residents believe the city is generally going in the right direction, consistent with prior years’ evaluations. Only 12% view South Jordan as heading in the wrong direction. 2 Residents’ major concerns continue to be focused on managing growth and its related issues. Water and infrastructure concerns are especially common looking toward the future. 3 Regarding infrastructure improvements and future planning for the 114th South corridor, residents’ highest priority is ensuring reasonable east-west travel times. 4 City code enforcement stands out as a significantly improved category this year, and recycling ratings are continuing to rebound as well. Satisfaction with the code enforcement increased by 10 percentage points. 5 Over half of residents (54%) say they prefer to receive information about the city via email. THINGS TO REMEMBER SURVEY METHODOLOGY  SURVEY METHODOLOGY @ Survey interviews were completed January 8-24, 2022. The sampling frame of South Jordan residents came from an updated panel list consisting of contacts from a South Jordan City utilities list and from the official Utah Voter File. 99% We emailed 2,176 invitations. 17 bounced due to either incorrect email addresses or high spam filter settings, resulting in a deliverability rate of 99%. 38% 998 citizens responded. 823 of them completed the online surveys and had addresses in South Jordan. This results in a response rate of approximately 38% overall. Each email address could respond only once. 823 interviews among an estimated adult population of 78k results in a margin of + - 3.4 error for the survey of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Responses were weighted on age, gender, and city council district to better approximate city demographic composition. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION þ We have significant representation in each of South Jordan’s five City Council districts with roughly 150-250 panelists residing in each district. CITY DIRECTION & PERCEPTIONS CITY HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION Nearly two-thirds of residents (62%) say the city is headed in the right direction. Just 12% say things are headed in the wrong direction, and about 1-in-4 residents are unsure. Excluding those who decline to express an opinion, more than 8-out-of-10 respondents feel the city is headed in the right direction. Q Overall, would you say the city of South Jordan is headed in the right direction or the wrong direction? Right Direction Don’t Know/Unsure Wrong Direction 84% 16% CITY HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION Statistically, the share of residents who say the city is headed in the right direction is consistent with previous years, though the proportion of residents who say things are headed in the wrong direction is up slightly compared to 2021. 70% Q Overall, would you say the city of South Jordan is headed in the right direction or the wrong direction? 64% 63% 63% 62% 66% 60% 60% 53% 50% Right Direction 40% 30% Wrong Direction 20% 14% 12% 11% 12% 9% 9% 9% 10% 0% 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022 OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE: 82/100 Residents reported a high quality of life consistent with past years (although slight decrease in average, -2, from 2021). Q All things considered, on a scale from 0 to 100, with 0 being very low and 100 being very high, how would you rate your overall quality of life in South Jordan? Average = 82 Average Quality of Life Scores by District 2019 2020 2021 2022 District 1 83.9 83.4 84.6 84.3 District 2 84.7 82.5 82.6 81.9 District 3 82.6 83.1 84.9 82.3 District 4 81.5 81.3 80.4 79.1 Earlier District 5 83.7 82.8 84.2 82.9 years 2022 HIGH MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL 69% of residents approve of how the Mayor and City Council are doing their jobs; this approval level is up 10 points from last year. Mayor approval is highest in District 1. Q Do you approve or disapprove of how the South Jordan Mayor and City Council are handling their jobs? Neither/Don’t know Strongly approve Approve Disapprove Strongly disapprove enough SOUTH JORDAN BETTER THAN 5 YEARS AGO 33% of residents say that South Jordan is better than it was 5 years ago. 14% say they have not been here long enough to make the comparison, and 20% say South Jordan is somewhat or much worse than it was 5 years ago. Q How would you rate the City of South Jordan today compared to five years ago? Would you say it is... Don’t know, I Somewhat Somewhat Much better About the same Much worse haven't been better worse here that long POSTIVIE VIEW OF SOUTH JORDAN REMAINS CONSISTENT 33% of residents say the city is better now than it was five years ago, while a record high 20% say that is worse. 40% Q How would you rate the City of South Jordan today compared to five years ago? Would you say it is... 35% 34% 33% 33% 29% 29% 30% 30% 30% Better 25% 19% 20% 20% 20% 18% 16% 15% 15% 15% Worse 10% 5% 0% 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022 SOUTH JORDAN FAVORITES: SAFTEY AND COMMUNITY Residents commonly cite the clean, good, safe neighborhoods and the community of people as the best things about living in the city. They also frequently mention the convenience of living in South Jordan and its proximity to the services and amenities they need. Q What do you like most about living in South Jordan? *Only words mentioned >2 times are shown in the visualization above GOOD SERVICE VALUE THROUGHOUT THE CITY 79% of residents feel that the value of their tax dollar is good or excellent. Only 4% think that it is poor. District 1 continues to rate the service for their tax dollar the highest. Q In general, how do you rate the service you receive from South Jordan for your tax dollar? Excellent Good Fair Poor SOUTH JORDAN HIGHLY RECOMMENDABLE Likelihood to recommend South Jordan as a good place to live is very high–91% of residents say they would recommend South Jordan to family and friends. Q How likely are you to recommend the City of South Jordan to friends and family as a good place to live? Excellent Good Fair Poor COMMUNITY PRIORITIES AND CITY SERVICES IMPROVEMENT NEEDED ON GROWTH PLANS Residents reported improvement in performance for all community priorities. Planning for long term growth continues to be rated the lowest. Q The elected officials of South Jordan have set priorities that they use to help them make decisions. Officials would like to know how well they are doing at meeting these priorities. To the best of your knowledge, how would you rate South Jordan’s performance in each of the following categories? Excellent Good Fair Poor CITY METRICS SHOW IMPROVEMENT SINCE 2020 The following city performance metrics below decreased an average of -2.5 percentage points of their ratings in 2021. Communicating effectively with residents and providing opportunities to participate in city events remained consistent.. 50% Q How would you rate South Jordan's performance in each of the following categories? (% rated as excellent) 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022 Providing a safe community Providing opportunities to participate in city events Creating accessible recreation Communicating effectively with residents Establishing orderly but not burdensome laws Promoting commercial and residential growth Developing reliable utilities and transportation Effectively using city resources Planning for long-term growth TOP ISSUE TODAY & TOMORROW: GROWTH Topics revolving around growth management, especially traffic, housing, and infrastructure remain the most frequently cited issues facing the city today and in the next 3-5 years. Q In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing South Jordan today? Q What is the most important issue facing South Jordan in the next 3-5 years? *Only words mentioned >2 times are shown in the visualizations above FIRE & EMS, GARBAGE SERVICES RECEIVE TOP MARKS Residents give the highest service ratings to fire and emergency medical, garbage collection, drinking water, police, and parks: all over 80/100. They give the lowest ratings to recycling and planning, zoning, and building services. Q The elected officials of South Jordan have set priorities that they use to help them make decisions. Officials would like to know how well they are doing at meeting these priorities. To the best of your knowledge, how would you rate South Jordan’s performance in each of the following categories? Average Score for City Services TOP TIER SERVICES: MAJORITY CONSISTENT, BUT DECLINING Fire & EMS continues to be the highest-rated city service. All top services except police and drinking water saw a slight decrease in rating this year, with this year’s biggest loss for Mulligans golf and games. Q South Jordan provides a number of services to its residents. Please rate each of the following city services using a 0 to 100 scale with 0 meaning you are completely dissatisfied and 100 meaning you are completely satisfied. If you are unfamiliar with a service, select Not applicable. 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022 Fire and emergency medical services Garbage collection Culinary (drinking) water Police Parks and open spaces Community events City outdoor recreations Mulligans golf and games Surface maintainance on city streets SECOND TIER: CITY CODE ENFORCEMENT REBOUNDING After a slight downturn last year, satisfaction with city code enforcement improved by 10 percentage points, and recycling continues to increase since 2020. Other services like planning and zoning, senior citizen programs, street lighting, and water conservation efforts see slight decrease since last year. Q South Jordan provides a number of services to its residents. Please rate each of the following city services using a 0 to 100 scale with 0 meaning you are completely dissatisfied and 100 meaning you are completely satisfied. If you are unfamiliar with a service, select Not applicable. 90 85 80 City code enforcement 75 70 65 Recycling 60 55 50 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022 Water conservation efforts Planning, zoning, and building services Animal control services City code enforcement Snow removal services Recycling program Street lighting Senior citizens programs Sidewalk maintenance SERVICE NEEDS FOCUS ON ROAD CONDITIONS & SNOW REMOVAL Majority of citizens cite issues such as parking and snow removals as large parts of their experience with South Jordan City services in the past year. Q If you have any comments you would like to briefly share about your experience with any South Jordan City service in the past year, please enter them here. “Snow removal on the side streets is very poor.” “Parks are not being maintained very well” “I would love to see some programs for water conservation and recycling “The snow plows with monetary incentives.” can do better. Our neighborhood has not been plowed as well as previous “Street parking years.” violations really need to be addressed.” *Only words mentioned >2 times are shown in the visualization above NEWS & CONTACTING SOUTH JORDAN EMAIL RANKED AS TOP INFORMATION SOURCE 54% of respondents said that email from the city is their preferred method to receive information. Other social media accounts are least used and least preferred. Q From which source do you currently/would you prefer to receive most of your information about South Jordan City? Please rank each of the following information outlets in order where (1) is the source where you get the MOST information and (7) is the source where you get the LEAST information about the City. Preferred Method Current Method Preferred Info Method Current Info Method Average Rankings Average Rankings 2 2 3 3 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 5 8 8 CONSISTENT NUMBER OF RESIDENTS CONTACTED CITY OFFICE 38% of respondents contacted a South Jordan office within the past year, consistent from last year. 60% Q During the past year, have you contacted any South Jordan office to seek service, information, or to file a complaint? 52% 50% 50% 43% Yes 47% 46% 40% 38% 38% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022 CONTACT RESOLUTION CONSISTENT OVERALL 48% of residents say the issue or question about which they contacted the city was resolved on their first contact and 34% had their question or issue addressed in one transfer. Overall, we see consistently high, efficient issue resolution from year to year. Q When you have contacted South Jordan offices to seek service, information, or to file a complaint, were you able to have your request answered on the first contact or did it require a transfer(s)? First contact One transfer Multiple transfers Not answered HIGH PROFESSIONALISM OF CITY OFFICIALS 89% of respondents say that they were treated with courtesy and professionalism when they contacted the city offices. This has remained relatively constant since 2017. 100% Q To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: I was treated with courtesy and professionalism when I contacted the South Jordan City offices? 88% 88% 88% 89% 89% 90% 86% 80% 80% Agree 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% Disagree 12% 8% 8% 10% 4% 5% 3% 4% 0% 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022  UDOT: IMPROVEMENTS TO 11400 SOUTH MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS HIGHEST RATED Over half of respondents believe that the current system of active transportation and usable multimodal (walking, biking, transit) options is good or excellent. Efficient traffic flow east-west and north-south across city boundaries lowest rated in terms of current condition. Q UDOT, in coordination with South Jordan City and Draper, has identified a few future priority areas to focus on as it seeks to improve transportation along the 11400 South corridor. Thinking about 11400 South today, how would you rate the current conditions in each of the following areas? Excellent Good Fair Poor RESIDENTS WHO LIVE ALONG 11400 CORRIDOR SLIGHTLY LESS SATISFIED WITH CURRENT CONDITIONS Residents along the corridor are less likely (-7 points) than those who do not to say that the current conditions for balancing transportation solutions with existing and planned land use is excellent or good. Residents along the corridor are also slightly less satisfied with active transportation options and east-west traffic flow. Q UDOT, in coordination with South Jordan City and Draper, has identified a few future priority areas to focus on as it seeks to improve transportation along the 11400 South corridor. Thinking about 11400 South today, how would you rate the current conditions in each of the following areas? (Top 2 box shown below) Respondents who do NOT live along 11400 Corridor % Excellent + Good 60 56 49 EFFICIENT REGIONAL TRAVEL TRAFFIC FLOW MOST IMPORTANT Majority of respondents cite “providing for efficient traffic flow east-west and north-south across city boundaries for regional travel” as either very important or somewhat important for future priority areas to focus on. Q How important are each of the following priority areas to you personally? % Very + Somewhat Important RESIDENTS WHO LIVE ALONG 11400 SOUTH HAVE SAME PRIORITIES AS THOSE WHO DO NOT When it comes to importance ratings for projects along 11400 South, residents who live along the 11400 South corridor respond almost identically as those who do not, rating efficient east-flow traffic as the most important. Q How important are each of the following priority areas to you personally? (Top 2 box shown below) Respondents who do NOT live along 11400 Corridor % Very + Somewhat Important 99 95 83 REASONABLE EAST-WEST TRAVEL TIMES ALONG 11400 SOUTH MOST IMPORTANT TO RESIDENTS An almost unanimous proportion of respondents (98%) rated allowing for reasonable east-west travel time along 11400 South as an either somewhat or very important objective. Q The following graphics provide a summary of current and projected travel times for the 11400 South corridor and highlights the areas that experience the greatest congestion. These growth forecasts account for converting Bangerter Highway and Mountain View Corridor into freeways. Given this information, how important do you consider each of the following objectives? Somewhat Very important Not very important Not at all important important RESIDENTS WHO LIVE ALONG 14000 SOUTH FOCUS ON KEY PRIORITIES An almost unanimous proportion (98%) of those who live along 11400 corridor rated allowing for reasonable east- west travel time along 11400 South as either somewhat or very important. Residents along the corridor are less likely than those who do not live along the corridor to rate all other objectives as important. Q The following graphics provide a summary of current and projected travel times for the 11400 South corridor and highlights the areas that experience the greatest congestion. These growth forecasts account for converting Bangerter Highway and Mountain View Corridor into freeways. Given this information, how important do you consider each of the following objectives? (Top 2 box shown below) Respondents who do NOT live along 11400 Corridor % Very + Somewhat Important 99 98 97 91 85 89 79 REASONABLE EAST-WEST TRAVEL ALONG 11400 SOUTH CONSISTENTLY IN TOP 2 IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES ACROSS ALL DISTRICTS Allowing for reasonable east-west travel time along 11400 South and adjusting signal spacing are seen as important priorities by nearly all residents, across all districts. Resident priorities differ across districts when it comes to providing walking and biking facilities, providing a crossing at the District, and accommodating for east-west traffic. Q The following graphics provide a summary of current and projected travel times for the 11400 South corridor and highlights the areas that experience the greatest congestion. These growth forecasts account for converting Bangerter Highway and Mountain View Corridor into freeways. Given this information, how important do you consider each of the following objectives? (Top-two box scores by District) DISTRICT THREE PRIORITIES DIFFER FROM DISTRICTS 3 & 4 FOR THOSE WHO LIVE ALONG THE CORRIDOR Compared to residents living along the 11400 South corridor in districts 4 and 5, those who live in District 3 are more likely to say that accommodating west side growth is important. They are also more likely to say that providing a mix of land uses is important but are less likely to say that increasing vehicle capacity at key intersections is an important priority. Q The following graphics provide a summary of current and projected travel times for the 11400 South corridor and highlights the areas that experience the greatest congestion. These growth forecasts account for converting Bangerter Highway and Mountain View Corridor into freeways. Given this information, how important do you consider each of the following objectives? (Top-two box scores by District) TRAFFIC LIGHTS AND CROSSING POINT IMPROVEMENTS SUGGESTED TO HELP FLOW OF TRAFFIC When asked to provide ideas for improvements to the flow of traffic along the 114000 South corridor and connecting areas, residents both in and outside of the 11400 corridor suggested to optimize traffic light synchronization and crossing points and reduce housing density. Q Do you have any additional suggestions for improvements that should be considered as the City of South Jordan works with UDOT to improve the flow of traffic along the 11400 South corridor and connecting areas? Respondents who live along 11400 Corridor Respondents who do NOT live along 11400 Corridor “Reducing crossing points would greatly increase traffic “Reduce the housing density!!! It will solve a lot flow. The side-by-side intersection at Bangerter and of transportation issues.” 4000 West are a mess.” “Continue to provide road “Why hasn’t an east- “Improve timing of traffic timely maintenance, fixing “Traffic in South west freeway ever been signals to increase east west potholes, stripping, etc.” Jordan is dangerous. planned in this part of traffic flow during rush hour.” Traffic is the single the valley? It’s always most important “Traffic light factor to determine north-south.” synchronization is whether our family vital and probably remains in South “Better mass transit and the best opportunity Jordan or relocate to alternative options (bike, for better flow of another city.” walking paths, etc.) will do traffic.” “Optimal timing of lights more than adding more will be important.” lines or changing traffic signals.” “Less neighborhood and commercial connections, there should only be a couple between occasional stop lights.” SAMPLE COMPOSITION DEMOGRAPHICS Q (Age)- Please select the year you were born (Gender) – Which of the following best describes how you think of yourself? DEMOGRAPHICS- CONTINUED Q (Income)- What do you expect your 2022 family income to be? (Ethnicity) – Are you (American Indian/Native American, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Pacific Islander, White/Caucasian, Other please specify): DEMOGRAPHICS- CONTINUED Q (Time Lived)- How long have you lived in South Jordan? (Home ownership) – Which of the following best describes where you are currently living? Nearly all respondents own or are buying their own home Kyrene Gibb – Partner & Kelly Patterson, PhD – Founding Partner Salt Lake City, UT 801.406.7877