City Council Regular Meeting

Star City Council Meeting Minutes December 16, 2008 A regular meeting of the Star City Council was held on December 16, 2008 at Star City Hall at 7:05 pm. Mayor Nathan Mitchell called the meeting to order and all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call: Council persons Tammy McDaniel, Dustin Christopherson, Tom Erlebach, and Chad Bell were all present. Approval of Agenda: Christopherson moved to approve the agenda, McDaniel seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Approval of Minutes: Christopherson moved to approve the December 2, 2008 Regular Meeting Minutes, Bell seconded the motion. All ayes: motion carried. Presentations / Public Input: Star River Walk Discussion – Gary Smith: Gary Smith, Chairman, Star Economic Committee, presented slides for the vision of the River Walk at Star. The vision for phase one is for a trail from Star Road and passing through Heron River along the river. The plan is to keep the trail as natural as possible with some improvements, such as clearing the trail, having accesses for boaters, floaters, fishing and swimming, and possibly developing fishing and swimming holes. It will be a partnership between developers and landowners. It is estimated costs for the project will be between $35,000.00 and $50,000.00. They are looking for a contribution from the City of $5,000.00, as well as grant funds and other contributions to fund the project. There have already been some contributions committed totaling up to $9,000.00. The design and planning group will consist of members of the Economic Development Committee, citizens from Star, planning and zoning staff, and a consultant from the Land Trust. They also will need to plan for the maintenance of the trail. Erlebach asked what private land they were talking about for the pathway. Smith stated they are looking at the Heron River Subdivision. Tim Breuer with the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley stated they will be contacting other landowners to be included in the trailway plan. Bell asked if they were planning to not put gravel along the path and getting volunteer labor, what was the $35,000.00 for. Breuer stated it was for the landscape architect, community planning workshops, the master park site plan, and items listed on the priority list. Smith stated it would also be for concept drawing plans for the fishing hole, which they propose to develop in phase two. Erlebach asked about them talking about plans for a pathway and a park plan. Breuer stated the plans could be separated out or both done at one time. Mayor Mitchell noted 1 of 4 that if they are putting costs into a concept plan, he felt it made more financial sense to create a concept for the whole park, including the trail. Breuer noted they will also be working with the required agencies to get approval and permits to develop the pathway in the wetlands. The Mayor encouraged the Council to partner with this group for cost effectiveness; and stated he would hate to miss out on an opportunity. This plan would give the Council a strong foothold when dealing with future annexations. Erlebach stated he had talked with the City Clerk about using park impact fees for this plan and she stated it would be possible. Mayor Mitchell stated that was true and he felt they also could find the $5,000.00 in the budget. Smith stated they are looking at matching grants, which are more open to granting funds when they see they have committed contributions from the City. McDaniel asked if there were any plans to go west of Star Road. Smith stated that right now they were just planning east of Star Road. Christopherson asked if they were willing to expand the plans to include more area. Breuer indicated they were open to it. Smith noted they realized they would need to work with the City’s park and recreation committee and they have included their council liaison in discussions. McDaniel asked if they had a date certain to start. Smith stated they were aiming for the first part of January for a group meeting of a cross section of citizens for input. They are looking for authorization from the Council to engage the Land Trust in the process. Christopherson stated he thought they already had someone on board. McDaniel asked how long the proposed trailway would be. Breuer stated they were looking at approximately a mile. Mayor Mitchell noted the group would like a firm commitment from the Council and stated he would like to have this as a consent agenda item on the next agenda. Bell stated he felt they needed to plan for more than a mile. Mayor Mitchell agreed and stated he would rather spend more to expand the plan to a larger geographic area. He felt the City should have a plan even if all the land owners were not currently open to it. Christopherson stated he would like to see the plan include the City’s whole area of impact. The Mayor agreed and stated he would like to see a concept plan encompassing from Lansing Lane to the west through the Sundance property to the east; and realized they may need to change the dollar amount the City contributes. Breuer asked if there would be city staff available to help with the expanding concept. The Mayor stated he felt the City Planner would be available to help. Committee Reports: Gary Smith, Economic Development Chairman, stated they have split into three committees: one to look into curb, gutters, and streetlights, one for the 2 of 4 River Walk Trailway, and one for the revitalization of downtown. Smith then asked John Tomlinson to speak regarding the City’s priority list to the Ada County Highway District. Tomlinson stated he had an appointment to meet with Sally Goodell with the Highway District on Friday to find out their process and how to get active projects onto their list. He noted ACHD has made a commitment to do a project in every City every year. He noted the City Clerk had given him a list of the City’s top five priorities and he wanted to make sure this was still the Council’s priority list. He stated the list included (1) a pedestrian light at Main and State Street, (2) sidewalks on Star Road, (3) sidewalks on Main Street, (4) sidewalks on Third Street to North Star Road, and (5) a landscape buffer at the bridge on Star Road. He noted a deceleration lane on Plummer Road had also been discussed. Tomlinson asked if any Councilman would be available to attend the meeting with him on Friday. Mayor Mitchell stated he would make himself available. He also noted that if the list could be reprioritized he would like to see added the improvement of sidewalks on State Street and that something could be done with the rocks stored at the bridge. Public Input: Denice VanDoren, 11071 W. Frost Street, Star, stated she felt the flashing pedestrian light at Main Street and State Street should remain a priority. The Mayor stated it was their top priority. He noted that ITD has no opposition to the flashing light but also has no funding. Mayor Mitchell announced that he had a verbal commitment for Dave Jones that he would send someone to change the speed limit signs on State Street, but he had nothing in writing. Bell stated he would also be available to attend the meeting with Tomlinson on Friday, and agreed there was a need for the flashing light. Public Hearings: Annexation & Zoning – F&S Park Hampton: Mayor Mitchell asked for a motion to have this public hearing tabled as it was not contiguous due to the Sundance application being tabled. Christopherson moved to table the public hearing for the Annexation and Zoning for F&S Park Hampton to March 3, 2009, at 7:00 pm at Star City Hall, McDaniel seconded the motion. Bell asked if they didn’t need to open the public hearing to table it, to which the Mayor informed him they did not. All Ayes: motion carried. New Business: Attorney Discussion: Mayor Mitchell pointed out the Council had before them three firms who were interested in providing attorney services to the City. He asked how the Council would like to proceed in making a decision. Bell indicated he would like to have each firm scheduled to come and interview with the Council at a meeting in January. The Mayor stated this was appropriate and asked if they would prefer scheduling the interviews at a pre-council meeting or hold a special meeting. 3 of 4 Erlebach asked about the fees, does the City or the firms set the fee amount. Mayor Mitchell stated it would be appropriate to ask them what their fee ranges are. Bell and Christopherson stated he would like to hold a separate meeting for the interviews. Mayor Mitchell noted that essentially only these three firms knew the position was open as there was never a formal notice put out. If the Council would like to interview more applicants a formal notice could be put out, but the process would take longer. Bell stated he would like to interview these three firms first and then make a decision as to whether they wanted to consider more applicants. Mayor Mitchell asked that interviews be scheduled the week of January 8, 2009 on a Tuesday night at a special council meeting. Reports: Council – Christopherson stated he had attended the Economic Development Committee meeting this past week at which they discussed the information presented by Gary Smith. Mayor – Mayor Mitchell informed the Council that there should be a new Zoning Ordinance, prepared by the City Planner, for them to review in January. At the COMPASS Executive Board Meeting they authorized the hiring of a facilitator regarding land values. In Lakeshore, Brice Gates is working to mediate the code violation issues. The City is looking at having to mow the weeds at Orion Park. The other two code enforcement issues the City is dealing with will be reviewed and handled when a new attorney is on staff. Christopherson asked about the dates for the council retreat. The Mayor stated they are looking at the end of February or first of March, but no definite date has yet been set. Mayor Mitchell noted there will be some major legislative issues that impact cities in the upcoming legislative session. He informed the Council about the COMPASS Legislative Reception that is scheduled for February 19, 2009. Adjournment: McDaniel moved to adjourn the meeting, Erlebach seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 pm. Approved: Respectfully submitted: ________________________ Nathan Mitchell, Mayor __________________________ Kathleen Hutton, Deputy Clerk 4 of 4