City Council Regular Meeting

Star City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2012 The regular meeting of the Star City Council was held on February 21, 2012. Mayor Nathan Mitchell called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm and all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call: Council persons Tom Erlebach, Gary Smith, Tammy McDaniel and Chad Bell were present. Approval of Agenda: Erlebach moved to approve the agenda, Bell seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. Approval of Minutes: McDaniel moved to approve the minutes of February 7, 2012, Bell seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. Public Input/ Presentations: Police Report – Chief Laraway – Chief Laraway reviewed the Sheriff’s report for December and asked the Council what their priorities for the report were. Mayor Mitchell informed him that property and person crimes were a higher priority than traffic violations. Chief Laraway noted there had been eleven vehicle burglary incidents and they believe they have a suspect. Erlebach asked about tire slashing incidents in December and Laraway informed him there were no new incidents. Committee Reports – Alex Joye, EDC Chairman, stated they had their monthly meeting this past Saturday and he is looking to present to the Council for consideration two issues. The first consideration is for hanging baskets off the light poles along State Street. This would be a streetscape project that would help accomplish the goals of the Downtown Revitalization Plan. Joye read a letter submitted by Judy Tomkinson and Mini Victory as to why streetscape is important. He reviewed the bid they are requesting, (they received four) stating the cost the first year would be $1,078.00 which would include the basket, plants and planting. The second year they estimate a price increase of two per cent. Watering the plants would be the responsibility of the City. The second item for consideration is for the City to participate in sponsoring a booth at the “Gold Buckle Champions & Idaho Cutting Horse Association” to be held at the Idaho Center on March 20-24. The booth space is $250; Joye is asking the City to contribute $125.00 and the Chamber of Commerce will match the contribution. EDC and Chamber members will man the booth. The EDC Committee felt this was a low cost opportunity to present the City to outsiders. The Mayor explained that procedurally the items needing approval need to be put on the agenda. McDaniel moved to amend the agenda and add item 7E Request from EDC to participate in the Idaho Center Gold Buckle Champions & Idaho Cutting Horse Association, Bell seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. A discussion regarding watering baskets was held and it was 1 decided it was probably best and least expensive to have the City take care of it. The request for funding hanging baskets will be placed on the next Council Meeting agenda. Public Input – No public input was given. Public Hearings: Resolution No. 2012-01 Amended Copy & Return Check Policy Fees – The Mayor explained that State requirements for copies have changed and Resolution 2012-01was to bring the City policy into line with State requirements. Mayor Mitchell declared the public hearing open and reviewed the fee schedule. Smith asked for clarification, that this is required by the legislature and the City must follow. If the City were to disagree with them then we must go to court. The Mayor stated that was correct. Mayor Mitchell asked for public input; hearing none declared the public hearing closed. Bell moved to approve Resolution No. 2012-01, a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Star, Ada and Canyon Counties, Idaho, establishing fees for copying documentation for the City; repealing Resolution No. 01-9; establishing a procedure and fee for returned checks; and providing for an effective date, Erlebach seconded the motion. The Mayor explained that State Code also addressed someone requesting multiple requests to avoid paying for copies in excess of one-hundred copies. All aye: motion carried. Resolution No. 2012-02 Amended Fee Schedule for Parks & Recreation and Planning and Zoning – The Mayor explained the need to adopt fees for park and recreation programs and with the adoption of the Unified Development Code there are new kinds of applications and they require new fees or an adjustment of fees. Mayor Mitchell declared the public hearing open and reviewed the fees proposed or to be amended. Smith asked if the fees would get the City in line with other cities and where did the suggested fee amounts come from. The Mayor explained the fees are based on an assessment of time in processing the applications, and some are in line with other cities. The fees being requested do not deal with building homes, but are direct costs to the person submitting the request. McDaniel asked if there had been any consideration to offer discounts to government employees or the military. The Mayor stated that at this time there had not been any discussion regarding offering discounts, but the City does offer scholarships as needed. Mayor Mitchell asked for public input. Ray Stokes, 10166 Arrowleaf Court, Star, Idaho, stated he was in favor of the park and recreation fees and noted the fees are nothing compared to other leagues. He felt the fees were in line with other City programs. 2 Alex Joye, 1977 N. Willow Glen, Star, Idaho, stated the Park and Recreation program is a great program and a success. He asked why the City needed to raise fees. The Mayor explained the only fee being raised was the $5.00 for non-residents, so they are not participating at the expense of tax payers. Mayor Mitchell declared the public hearing closed. Bell moved to approve Resolution No. 2012-02 a Resolution of the City of Star, Idaho, adopting new Planning and Zoning fees; adopting new Park and Recreation fees; and providing for an effective date, Erlebach seconded the motion. All aye: motion carried. Ordinance No. 223 Amended Unified Development Code – The Mayor explained that the UDC was a work in progress and while working with the document some things have come to light. Mayor Mitchell declared the public hearing open. He explained a couple of changes are for adding definitions and a couple changes were for changing definitions. Smith asked if this would be the last amendment for while. The Mayor stated he believed this would put us on solid ground. Some of the changes came up due to someone submitting an application the code didn't address, some changes were from Sterling Codifiers, and some were from working with the document. Smith asked if this would take us from draft to document being codified. The Mayor stated it would and that Sterling is currently working on the codification to get it back up on the website. Mayor Mitchell asked for public input; hearing none declared the public hearing closed. Bell moved that pursuant Idaho Code Section 50-902, the rule requiring an Ordinance to be read on three different days, with one reading to be in full, be dispensed with and that Ordinance No. 223 be considered after reading once by title only, McDaniel seconded the motion. Roll Call: Erlebach, Smith, McDaniel and Bell - all aye: motion carried. McDaniel moved to approve Ordinance No. 223, an Ordinance of the City of Star, Idaho, amending Ordinance No. 215, the Unified Development Code Ordinance; amending Sections 8-2 B-1 Definitions; Section 8-3 B-2(a)/8-3 C-2(a)/8-3 D-2(a)/8-3 E-2(a) Schedule Of Uses In All Districts; Section 8-3 E-2 Uses In Multiple Use District; Section 8-3 E-3 B2 Standards Applicable In Mixed Use District; Section 8-3 E-3 B4 Uses In Mixed Use District; Section 8-4 A-11B Drainage & Storm Water Management; Section 8-4 D-12 Standards For Vehicle Emissions Testing; Section 8-5 A-3(10) Campground; Section 8-5 A-3(24) Golf; Section 8-5 A- 3(31) Junkyard; Section 8-5 A-3(33) Manufactured/Mobile Home Guidelines; Section 8-5 A- 3(34) Manufactured/Mobile Home Park; Section 8-5 A-3(53) C4 & C5 Wireless Communication Facility; Section 8-8 A-13 Non Conforming Signs; formatting changes throughout the document; and providing for an effective date, Erlebach seconded the motion. Roll Call: Erlebach, Smith, McDaniel, Bell – all aye: motion carried. New/Old Business: Star Fire Department Lease Discussion - The Mayor explained that within a half percentage point the Fire Department has right at 50% more space than Water District 63, which would work out the possible rent to $300.00 a month. Currently the City does not charge the DMV for 3 rent as they are a government entity and provide a service to the City. The Water District is a privately funded organization and pays $200.00 rent a month. Bell asked if the $300.00 rent was for the square footage of the three offices only; the Mayor stated that was correct. McDaniel stated that in the event of an emergency, that space would be used to coordinate emergency operation services. The Mayor explained the meeting room upstairs is set up as a resource for emergency services for the City, the Fire Department or any other emergency responders. The Fire Department only has total occupancy of the three offices. Erlebach asked what the impact to the City would be if the Fire Department were to move out. Smith stated the City would be out $300.00. He noted that if we charge more, the Fire Department might have to go for an increase in taxes from the citizens. Mayor Mitchell stated he felt this was a fair price per what we are charging the Water District and felt there is a benefit to the public to having the Fire Department in the same building. Smith stated that if there is an emergency, the public would come to City Hall and he felt $300.00 seemed fair. Bell moved to approve the lease agreement with the Star Joint Fire Protection District, and inserting $300.00 rent into the lease, Smith seconded the motion. All aye - motion carried. Council Decision On S. Main Street Sidewalks – The Mayor reviewed the history regarding the sidewalk project on S. Main Street and gave an update on last week's meeting. He is looking for direction from the Council to take back to the Highway District. From the last meeting the Main Street residents are still opposed to the sidewalk being installed, but there were citizens from the community who spoke wanting the sidewalks for the good of the community. The Mayor noted they have a letter from Chris and Ray Stokes stating they are for approval of the sidewalks on Main Street and listed four reasons why the sidewalks should be built. Erlebach stated he would like to have the sidewalks installed and have them go all the way to Star Road. He has weighed the pros and cons and feels the seniors would benefit, the Church would benefit, the two senior residential communities would benefit, the community would benefit, and it would increase the look of the street and properties. Bell stated he had gone back and forth and this was a hard decision. He came to the conclusion he would like to see the project go forward, but would like to see the City mitigate losses to homeowners for trees. He would like to see the City participate in beautifying the street when the project is complete and to have the City work on increasing parking downtown. He would like to see the City move forward with the project due to availability of funding and felt it will be a benefit to the community, but the City needs to do everything they can to mitigate the impact on the citizens. 4 Smith stated he had received calls and e-mails from citizens. Smith read an e-mail from Dick Tinsley. The property is public property and the citizens on Main Street have had the benefit of it for many years. He believed this falls into the City's beautification plan. Money is available now and may not be in the future. The City has spent money for improvements for the park and a safe light and he believes this ties downtown with the river. The City has invested time and money into the master plan and gathered citizen input. Smith noted that a year ago the Council approved the Master Plan and it included sidewalks on Main Street. The City has spent a lot of time gathering comments. Smith agrees with Erlebach and Bell's comments and felt they should move ahead with installing sidewalks down Main Street. The Mayor explained to the audience that they could not take public input at this meeting as this was not a public hearing. It was a time for discussion between the Council. McDaniel stated she was concerned with the cost of the project and whether it made sense. When considering the encroachment impact on citizens on Main Street, the fact there will be a benefit for safety and the cost, she has reservations as to whether it warrants spending tax payers money. The Mayor noted that even if the City recommends stopping the project, it doesn't mean the Ada County Highway District will recommend stopping the project. They should be aware that some residents on Main Street have acknowledged the property belongs to ACHD and are concerned with the impact to the overall street, the traffic and whether the sidewalk should extend to the corner. Bell moved to move forward with the Main Street sidewalk project and to have the Mayor inform ACHD it is their intent to move forward with the project, Smith seconded the motion. The Mayor stated he was asking for guidance on their intent. Bell amended his motion to include they go by the current plan with sidewalk, curb and gutter on the east side and bike lanes on both sides; the sidewalk to go to Sam's Saloon; the City to participate in mitigation of loss of large trees only (not shrubs or bushes); and they extend project south to Star Road, Smith amended his second. The Mayor noted it was out of the norm for ACHD to participate in replacing landscape loss, so the City would have to participate one-hundred percent. Smith asked if they could put mitigation into the grant as part of the Downtown Plan. The Mayor stated he just wanted to clarify that ACHD will not participate. Bell stated he understood that any compensation would be upon the City; he's just looking to have them look at the process. Erlebach asked if they needed to put a dollar value on the mitigation and clarify what they'll do. The Mayor state he was not ready to state what they'll mitigate and they cannot commit future funds at this time. They are simply making a promise they'll mitigate, but they need to be aware of their limitations, as well as the fact they and the property owners may not agree on what the mitigation entails. Smith asked if they could propose a plan as part of the beautification plan. Bell stated he would like to do what they can and realized they can't commit a dollar amount and that it will come from future budgets. The Mayor stated they can set funds aside in future budgets for mitigation on Main Street. He also noted that there have not been any discussions with ACHD to have sidewalks from the City property west to Star Road, but there has been for a sidewalk at Sam's Saloon. Affordability of project is already in question and the original request 5 was from Highway 44 to the river property. The Ada County Highway District will not be surprised with inclusion of Sam's Saloon, but will be with inclusion along the property to Star Road. Bell amended his motion to not include sidewalks from the City property west to Star Road, but include to Highway 44. His intent is to see how we can help with a mitigation process but not to committing a dollar amount. He would like to complete the design from Highway 44 to 1000 S. Main Street with curb, gutter, and sidewalk on the east side and bike lanes on both sides and they work on mitigation of landscape, Smith amended his second. Smith wondered if Sam's Saloon could look at the parking lot 50 feet away that Helina Marie's uses. Bell and the Mayor noted the property was privately owned by the property owner of Helina Marie's and has not opened it up to public use. Bell, Smith, Erlebach - aye; McDanial - nay - motion carried. Website Discussion – The Mayor stated he would like to delay this discussion as he was not prepared. Council Retreat – The Mayor asked the Council to decide if they wanted a retreat to be off site or at City Hall. There were items they needed to discuss and he felt they needed some uninterrupted time. Bell stated he would like to see the Council go off site as he feels they are more productive uninterrupted and the cost has been low. Smith stated a citizen has raised the question to him as to why they do not have the workshop here. He wanted to verify the workshop is a public meeting and noted that having it away makes it difficult for citizens to attend. He felt they could talk openly on site and get a lot done. The Mayor clarified the workshop is an open meeting, the public is welcome to attend, but the intent is for it not to be interactive with citizens. He stated he sees a huge value to locking themselves into a room and that it is not as productive here because they tend to take interruptions. Smith agreed that he could see the benefit, and company's hold meetings at other locations all the time, but he was concerned that with three or more Council people together it was considered a quorum and they need to follow quorum rules. The Mayor stated he was correct and an agenda must be posted, but at the workshop no decisions could be made, they would only participate in discussions. The public would be allowed to participate in the follow-up meeting. Erlebach suggested they could estimate the expense based off past costs and stated he had no problem with going to Cascade. Bell moved to approve going off site for a Council Workshop with expenses not to exceed $1500.00, Erlebach seconded the motion. Erlebach noted to the public that the Council received no per dium. A discussion of dates ensued with a decision of March 16-17, 2012 with a Friday night stay. All aye; motion carried. EDC Request Gold Buckle Champions & Idaho Cutting Horse Association - The Mayor stated they have a request before them for $125.00 to co-sponsor with the Chamber a booth at the Gold Buckle Champions & Idaho Cutting Horse Association event on March 20-24, 2012 at the Idaho Center. McDaniel asked Joye if EDC would be seeking out other events to participate in, to which Joye stated they would, but will always bring before the Council for approval. Erlebach stated he would like to have some feedback from their participation. Bell moved to approve the expenditure of $125.00 to co-sponsor a booth with the Chamber at the Gold Buckle Champions & Idaho Cutting Horse Association event on March 20-24, 2012 at the Idaho Center, McDaniel seconded the motion. All aye - motion carried. 6 Reports: Council – Erlebach stated there seems to be many people using the River Walk. Idaho Power's tree trimming company donated wood chips for the path and they have been spread. Smith stated he attended the Senior Center Board Meeting and they would like to attend the planning meetings for the Hometown Celebration. He attended Eagle's State of the City address, Boise Transportation Meeting at which ACHD gave a budget presentation, went to the Boise City Club where Mayor Dave Bieter spoke, and attended the District 14 Coffee. He asked about the vehicles parking overnight at the Qwest building and believed that during their discussions there would not be any parking. The Mayor stated he would check the conditions. McDaniel stated she received an Emergency Management notice that the national weather service was predicting wind gust of up to 60 miles an hour Wednesday. She also noted she had been selected to participate in the development of new software programs for the DMV and ITD. Bell stated he attended the Valley Regional Transit Board Meeting and the new chair is Dave Bieter and had attended the EDC meeting. He has had a man approach him regarding putting a roof over the stage at Blake Park. He has had three boys approach him for Eagle Scout projects and they would like to bring a design for the cover to the Council; would like to see if the Council will provide materials and they will build it. Smith stated that when he goes over the bridge at the river he has noticed the canal is a mess. The Mayor stated the canal is the property of the United States Corp of Engineers and they are not in favor of clean-up. We would have to go through a permitting process to get approval to clean up the canal. Mayor – The Mayor stated he overlooked stating a disclaimer regarding Resolution No. 2012-01 for copy fees. It needed to be clarified that copies made at City Hall were of documents generated out of City files - copiers were not for public use. He stated he will wait till the next meeting to give a report. Adjournment: Bell moved to adjourn the meeting, Erlebach seconded the motion. All aye - motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:45 pm. Approved: Respectfully Submitted: _________________________ Nathan Mitchell, Mayor _____________________________ Kathleen Hutton, Deputy City Clerk 7 February 17, 2012 Mr. Alex Joye, Chairman Star Economic Committee 9712 W. State Street Star, ID 83669-5766 Dear Mr. Joye, Re: Hanging flower baskets for State Street City Light poles As per discussion during the last EDC meeting on 01/10/2012 Judy Tomkinson and I have compiled information regarding cost of 44 hanging baskets. Our scope of research was limited to finding a nursery that is willing to participant and reasonably priced. First of all, Judy and I thank you for giving us an opportunity to get involved with EDC’s project that is worthy of our community. During our research, we have found that many surrounding cities have similar program in place and they are well received by all community members. As proud members of Star business community, we feel that Star is a great place to work, live and play. We have a business community that is growing, residents who are willing to support local businesses and we also have a city government that is conservative yet progressive. These are the qualities every community looks for but not every community is lucky enough to have. Our city has the potential to grow and improve as other Idaho cities have. We can improve many things to make our city more attractive, livable and enjoyable community by doing small things such as Streetscape. Although, we cannot measure in dollars, the great benefit Streetscape provides, we can certainly measure it in community pride. That is why City of Star’s “Down Town Revitalization Plan” includes Streetscape. We have found Streetscape plays a huge role in the psyche of both visitors and residents. It gives a visual cue that this city cares enough of their citizen to provide a pleasant, peaceful and livable community. It also signals to the commerce prospects that this is a community that has potential! We thank you very much for your time and consideration of this worthwhile project. Sincerely, Judy Tomkinson Mini Victory 8 Page 2 We have received several bids from 4 different vendors. These are Edwards Green House, Kings Nursery, The Lawn Service Company and Franz Witte. We have chosen to present the bid from Edward Green House because they had the best price and selections. We also did some research on caring for these baskets and it is best to water them daily and fertilize them every other week. We have decided to defer the decision of how to handle the cost of caring for the baskets to the City of Star as they already have a local company caring for city owned properties such as city parks. First year pricing Qty Size Plant – 1 variety / multi color Price per unit Total price 44 14” Monoculture hanging basket $24.50 $1,078.00 Pricing includes basket, plants and planting mix. 2nd year pricing Qty Size Plant- 1 variety / multi color Price per unit Total price 44 14” Estimated price increase 2% $24.99 $1,099.56 Pricing includes plants and planting mix, as we would already own the baskets. 9 10 11