City Council Regular Meeting

Star City Council Meeting Minutes May 6, 2008 The regular meeting of the Star City Council was called to order at 7:00 pm at the Star City Hall. Mayor Nathan Mitchell called the meeting to order and all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Councilmen Dustin Christopherson, Tom Erlebach and Chad Bell were present. Councilwoman Tammy McDaniel was absent. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Bell moved to approve the Agenda, Erlebach seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA: The Consent Agenda consisted of the following: Regular Meeting Minutes of April 1, 2008; Liquor License Approvals for: the Smoking Vine and Chapala’s; Claims Against the City for April 2008; Proclamation – Silver Stars; Land Use Time Extension Requests for: East Canyon Preliminary Plat, Waterview Estates – Phase 4 and Pinewood Lakes Estates – Phase 8. Bell moved to approve the Consent Agenda, Christopherson seconded the motion. Erlebach asked if there were charges for land use time extensions. The Mayor stated that there were. All aye: motion carried. PUBLIC INPUT/PRESENTATIONS: Star Police Monthly Report – Chief Ramage presented the March report and stated that it was an average month. There were person crimes, like assault and battery. Property crimes were about average. Erlebach asked about the dog and sheep issues. Ramage stated that the neighbors recognized the dogs and identified where they belonged. Charges were filed and restitution will be paid. The dog on Sunlight that bit the little boy was captured and the owner will be charged with vicious dog. The animal had bitten a man previously, but he did not want to file charges. Committee Reports - No committee reports were given. Public Input - Bob Moore, 4241 N. Cowboy Lane, Star, asked about Mule Days and how it was going. Erlebach stated that it was full steam ahead and will be the same thing as last year. Moore is doing the tractor pull next door to City Hall. The Mayor asked about the artesian wells. Moore stated that they were both capped. Moore asked how we are doing with speeding tickets, it appears things have slowed down. Ramage stated that it was getting better and people were slowing down. NEW BUSINESS: Rockbridge Crossing Landscape Discussion – The Mayor stated that the landscaping has been installed and are according to plans, but the plan never came before the Council as requested. Mary Shaw-Taylor, Planning and Zoning Administrator, stated that the Council had requested 1 more buffering between the commercial lots and the residential lot. Pictures of the area were shown to the Council. Bell stated that it was very poor buffering. Erlebach agreed and stated that they needed some six to eight foot arborvitae and the landscaping needs improved. Christopherson agreed and stated that it needed more buffering. Bell stated that he would like to see the entire landscape plan come back before the Council and get approval of the entire landscape plan. Christopherson agreed with Councilman Bell and would like to see a plan come back before the Council and would like to give them an idea of what Council wants. Legal Council stated that the Council has options; they can require the applicant to come back as required or follow the direction of the planner. The Mayor asked that the landscape plan that was submitted be shown to the Council and give the applicant an opportunity to present it to the Council. Contract – Web Page Design – The Mayor stated that we have involved Legal Council with this contract to prevent things in the last contract. Christopherson asked about the previous company being paid money. The Mayor stated that we can chase the $500 we paid, but it will cost $5,000 in attorney fees. Bell does not want to pursue the $500. Erlebach asked if we are getting a better package. Christopherson asked if we had gotten rid of the old site. The Mayor stated that we did change sites, but still have the old information. Bell moved to authorize the Mayor to sign the contract with ACN Designs, LLC for web page design, Erlebach seconded the motion. Roll Call: Christopherson, Erlebach and Bell – all aye: motion carries. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS: Ordinance No. 187 Enforcement of City Code – The Mayor asked that this be scheduled for public hearing. Review of Fee Resolution – Shaw-Taylor stated that she wanted to increase fees. There is no director determination right now, along with the zoning compliance certificate or design review fees. Bell asked about annexation and zoning and rezone. Bell agreed we need to adjust our fee schedule and take it to a public hearing. The Mayor asked why we are changing fees – because of the competition or because we aren’t recouping costs. The Mayor stated that we do recoup our hard costs of posting, publishing, attorney, and engineering fees. The Mayor stated that we cover our salaries with tax money received. Shaw-Taylor stated that the Galena Consulting study is not complete. The Mayor stated that the study would not affect the change in fees. Christopherson stated that he understands what the Mayor is saying, but if we do have reason to raise them we need too. Bell agreed, there are some things that we need to take a look at. Shaw- Taylor stated that the one application fee that stands out, historically is the annexation and zoning fee, these can be complex and can take a number of hearings. Shaw-Taylor stated that our fees are low. The Mayor stated that if we are not covering our expenses then we should raise fees. Christopherson asked if there was a way to look at some of these costs and find reasons as to why they need to raise them. It was decided to schedule the fees for public hearing. REPORTS: 2 Staff – Ward stated that the new web page is under construction currently. Council - Erlebach stated that the benches for Blake Haven Park are put together and up. Erlebach asked about the new contractor for maintenance on Blake Haven Park. The Mayor stated that we did go out to bid for new maintenance people. Erlebach received questions about a letter going out to people regarding school site requests. Bell stated that the School Advisory Committee sent out letters of interest. Erlebach stated that there is a movie under the Stars Friday night. Christopherson asked that Gary Smith give a brief report on the Economic Development Committee. Smith stated that the Committee met on April 10th. The Palmer Natural Products Company is moving ahead. Smith talked about opportunities for renewal in Star and how the SAGE organization is ready to help. The Mayor asked Gary to contact Terri Bath at the Eagle Chamber regarding some joint opportunities. Mayor – The Mayor stated that there will be a COMPASS Board Member Retreat on the 19th , with the agenda being the VRT merger, along with a conversation on past legislative session. This group will strive to find a way to frame the local option tax that will get it to a bigger debate and a discussion on what is the future of regionalism. If anyone has thoughts, please let Bell or the Mayor know and they will share it with the group. The Mayor attended the Boise Metro Leadership Conference, it was a good conference on infrastructure. The Mayor stated that the Mule Days celebration is coming up and will be a good event. There will be no Council meeting on May 20, it has been cancelled. The Mayor stated that he will be meeting with homeowners of Pinewood Lakes at 7pm that night. He will be discussing the zoning requirements of their commercial lots. ADJOURNMENT: Erlebach moved to adjourn the meeting, Bell seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 pm. Respectfully submitted: Approved: ________________________ _____________________________ Cathy Ward, City Clerk Nathan Mitchell, Mayor 3