City Council Special Meeting

CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 6:30 PM 1. WELCOME/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Chadwick called the workshop to order at 6:30 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. He stated staff and two committees will be present to make presentations. No decisions will be made tonight. 2. INVOCATION – Council Member Kevan Wheelock offered the invocation. 3. ROLL CALL Elected Officials Present: Mayor Trevor Chadwick, Council Member Jennifer Salmonsen, Council Member Kevan Wheelock. No quorum present. Council President Hershey and Council Member Nielsen absent/excused. Staff Present: Clerk/Treasurer Jacob M Qualls, Assistant City Planner/Code Enforcement Officer and Sports & Recreation Director Ryan Field, Buildings & Grounds Superintendent Bob Little, Sports Coordinator Ron Weston, Youth Recreation Coordinator/Grant Writer Annie Pew, Public Information Officer Dana Partridge, Information Technology Director Shane Dale, Building Official Kevin Pitt and Police Chief Zach Hessing. 4. PRESENTATIONS: A. Budget Workshop - Mayor, Council and Department Heads will discuss FY 2024 / 2025 Budget requests. Buildings & Grounds Superintendent Bob Little explained the roles and responsibilities of the Buildings & Ground Department and reviewed the facilities he is maintains including buildings and parks as well as snow removal for parking lots and sidewalks; approximately 7 miles of sidewalks are maintained. Maintenance also includes the splash pad, raking the dog park, inspection of playground equipment, greenbelt, flags & banners. Christmas lights at the park go up around October, they will change it up so that it is not a stagnant display each year. Bob has a staff of eight persons, he stated that he could not do it without these people. One of the employees is shared with the IT department. Bob reviewed his budget request stating that many items increased because of inflation, he is looking at a rekeyable padlock system, standardizing refuse/trash cans, seal coating the parking lot is on a rotation basis, it is now time for Hunters Creek. Fencing is being added at Riverhouse; it will be split rail to border it off near the new parking lot and some of the fencing is showing its age at River Walk Park. Additional portable toilets are needed due to an increase in events. Fuel increased because of inflation, with a tally system for logging it as well. He discussed the need for replacement and additional tool needs and safety equipment for employees. Vandalism repair increased from 8k to 10k possibly more. They have been successful in catching some with the new cameras. Bob discussed his capital items wish list which included a tilt trailer, 2 Kabota 520’s (asking for two to put more snow blades on them to move snow), grass landscape trailer – currently only able to haul one mower. Also included were a 48” mower pro, Kabota SCL – multiple attachments for them, bucket and claw digger, post hole auger and trencher. Not looking to get all of Page 1 of 5  CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 6:30 PM the parts but add through time for development of future parks. Bob mentioned HVAC units at City Hall that have issues and recommended repainting City Hall as it is faded and cracks in the stucco collect water. Councilmember Salmonson asked about funding for painting as well as a tree grant. Sports Coordinator Ron Weston discussed his budget request. He said the fields are getting overloaded, Hunters Creek was modified for parking through the housing complex. Sports participation is increasing. He discussed resident versus non-resident fees. Uniforms are being revamped; they have remained the same for some time. They are getting new uniforms they were $40 and have gone up to $52; he ran a sponsorship campaign that helped with the cost of the uniforms. Ron discussed his wish list item which is a foul ball net at Hunters Creek, it is also a shade structure, providing safety as well as comfort for the fans. Ron discussed cornhole teams and stated Pickleball will be as a new program with leagues and tournaments as requested by the public. Restrictions due to manpower. There are three people working for a sport type (football, soccer, cornhole, volleyball, softball) at Star Middle, Hunters Creek, Blake Park. Additional land/grass/space options were discussed. Recreation Coordinator & City Grant Writer Annie Pew discussed youth programs. She said she is trying to represent each age group; she is starting to see some age groups that don’t have offerings and are having to go to other communities for options. Types of classes and camps currently offered and being looked at were reviewed. Annie discussed Education multi-week classes; Before / After School Program; Camps and Recreation Fitness Adult Programs. She discussed registration numbers for some of the classes and camps. Annie discussed donations, sponsorships and grants that were obtained to help offset costs. She employs a lot of teenagers and stated that employee appreciation is part of the work life skills, she gives gift cards as motivation and encouragement. She likes to attend training including behavior management and STEM classes. Sports & Recreation Director Ryan Field mentioned the science trailer and bus or van that are on the wish list; he requested that the bus/van be purchased right away. He said there had been an arranged made with a neighboring community that was going to rent one to the city, but they sold it. He said they are running out of room. Utilizing all locations and moving kids, they have a need to move people around the community. Mayor Chadwick stated coming in June a van is being discussed to be purchased which will also be utilized for multiple city needs. Annie discussed the science trailer stating that STEM (science, technology, electronics and mathematics) is not offered in a lot of schools, they don’t have the budget for it. It would be helpful to provide the programs through grants; however, grants won’t pay for transportation. The trailer would be a basic enclosed trailer to transport the STEM equipment. Councilmember Salmonsen asked about the profit of $66,000. Mayor Chadwick said the goal is to get that to cover the two employee salaries. She also asked about adult classes that have a low number Page 2 of 5  CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 6:30 PM of participants. Annie said these programs were already in place that she took over. Increasing participation was discussed. Ryan stated that if minimum enrollment isn’t met the classes do not move forward. Information Technology Director Shane Dale reviewed his budget request. He put his budget together based on where growth has been in the last 9 months since he started with the city. He discussed the hardware needed including replacing 4-5 older computers, network switches, wireless access to have WIFI at every park, cameras the police have requested to help with vandalism, routers and other miscellaneous items. He is looking to upgrade to key card entry and Point of Sale devices to allow for sales at the Riverhouse, Mayor’s Youth Council to sell t-shirts, etc. Shane discussed software licensing including additional email accounts, permitting review software, Adobe licenses, remote access for computers, IWORQ could be used for more departments, UKG time management system and other miscellaneous software. He discussed ARCGIS mapping software, phone and data services, VOIP digital phone system and cell service that covers iPads and cell phones. Copier leases and public information software programs used by the city were discussed. Mayor Chadwick mentioned that Shane is shared with Star Fire and Star Water and Sewer. Gerri McCorkle discussed the Parks Art & Beautification’s mission statement and stated the committee has grown since its inception. She discussed income that is brought in which included Art by the River, which has increased, and they are looking at adding sponsors this year, dog bricks that can be purchased and they will be doing a campaign to help fund projects for the dog park. Gerri broke down the $31,000 budget request including funding for projects including the Paw and Pet Parade, veteran banner projects, Art by the River, Opera by the River, Star Library book drop, Star mural, art on traffic boxes, street banners, holiday light contests, Star Spirit and Courier ads, Hometown Parade Ryan Field added that the committee is currently using the barn at the Riverhouse to store their materials, he would like the PAB to take over a storage unit and have better access. Chip Sitton presented for the Historical Committee, they have accessed the priorities and production of the 2nd round of oral histories is the highest priority with the second priority being documentation of historical barns in the area. The barns are disappearing, they want to get them documented. He discussed a bid but has found a volunteer that has video equipment that can be used as well as royalty free music track that will reduce the cost if it is done that way rather than with the bid price. Identifying those to interview for the histories was discussed. Councilmember Wheelock asked Chip to bring a more definite cost for these projects to the June meeting. In addition to the oral histories Chip said they would like to get institutional memberships to some associations, State and Local History and California Oregon Trail. They would like to be able to access Page 3 of 5  CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 6:30 PM the resources. The budget proposal includes funding for up to 5 bronze plaques to memorialize structures including the house at 11070 State Street. Mounting of the plaques was discussed. Building Official Kevin Pitt began with a list of memberships for the city and building department for networking and training for the staff. Additionally, he added some training and continuing education for the clerks to gain confidence and knowledge. He said training train our staff helps residents and builders in working with city standards out of building codes. He included some certifications to help with knowledge and training and plans a lot of cross training to build plan reviews to save the city money and expedite normal residential plan review. He included request for general supplies. It was discussed that revenues would come from permitting and bringing this in house saves a substantial amount of money for the city. Kevin said that around 6,845 inspections have been done since January. City Engineer Ryan Morgan discussed his budget. He said that half of his salary budget is paid to the Water and Sewer District. His budget includes vehicle fuel, equipment and tools, area imaging and conference training. He discussed FEMA certification and aerial imagery that is completed annually. He discussed Storm Water Pollution Classes. The Water and Sewer District provides the vehicle and half of the fuel, and the city pays for half of the fuel. City Police Chief Zach Hessing discussed his budget request. He began with employees and the salary portion of his budget and vehicles. He believes the Ada County Sheriff’s office is looking at a 3% cost of living increase for salaries. Zach discussed increases in equipment, uniforms and operational expenses. This year he is asking for additional funding for operational items that may be needed during the year. He would like an additional speed trailer to help determine traffic flows and issues. Additionally, he discussed an option to add an administrative Sergeant. This would help for the POP Team to have a more direct supervisor, this admin Sergeant would help with grant writing, traffic safety grants, and grants for equipment could be targeted if they had the time to do that. This Sergeant would also coordinate training and assist with community events. Councilmember Wheelock discussed the number of officers for Star’s population. Another option Zach discussed was to add the admin Sergeant and a K9 position, he said adding this would help to keep the drugs off of the streets and would fall under the Administrative Sergeant. A 3rd option would be to add the Administrative Sergeant, a K9 and a School Resource Officer. The SRO is paid for 9 months but the other three months works on a county team. Mayor Chadwick said that property tax is paying for this, and this would put our property tax around $2M. He said this is why he has been working on the mitigation fee, it would allow the city to cover the cost to get the law changed to get the growth to pay for itself. Property taxes would pay a portion, and the Police Mitigation Fee would cover the rest of it. It would cover Option 3, and if we can get the formula changed then the mitigation fees would go away. Page 4 of 5  CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 6:30 PM Councilmember Salmonsen said it is really important to realize that the property taxes that are collected is all going towards police, plus the city is having to come up with additional income sources to provide that level of service. When we are talking about the large budget a very small piece is coming from property taxes and the rest of our budget is coming other sources. She added that it is very difficult to say no to building and if it meets everything it can’t be denied. It is appreciated that the Mayor and the Council is looking to find those sources to cover the police and other portions of our budget. Mayor Chadwick stated that it is only a temporary solution and the state needs to come to the table and help fix the problem. Councilmember Wheelock asked if an SRO would need a vehicle or if that would be provided by the county. He asked if an electric bike might be something to be used for this position. Chief Hessing said it works great to be able to sneak up on and crimes occurring. Would be nice to get around on and would use the same vehicle he already uses. Mayor Chadwick reviewed some of the items he is looking to include in the budget. This included a restroom facility as the Riverwalk Park, completing sidewalk at Hunters Park, playground for Pavillion Park that is fully adaptive, development of Roselands Park, plans to work on the center at the River House near the parking lot, plans for Trident Ridge Park in the foothills, fencing at the middle school pathway, electric bike at the River House area for patrol use, adding Treasurer position, middle school pathway park, foul ball net over the snack shack and the bridge over the river for the pedestrian path. Councilmember Salmonsen said the pathway master plan is being worked on this fiscal year, including it in the budget was discussed. Also discussed was including the impact fee committee and BLM land annexation plan. One more staff member will be added for Parks. Councilmember Wheelock discussed adding straight roads and may need to add transitions/speed bumps. That is something to be worked on with ACHD. Ryan Field for information on street light materials to have on hand so they can repair when they break down and make sure we have funds in those to keep them replaced / repaired as necessary, he would like that to be included in the budget. Mayor Chadwick said there is $5,000 in the budget for streetlights. 4. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Chadwick adjourned the meeting at 9:22 p.m. ___/s/___________________________ ATTEST: ___/s/_________________________ Mayor Trevor A. Chadwick Shelly Tilton, City Clerk Page 5 of 5