City Council

WOODS CROSS CITY STRATEGIC PLANNING MEETING Held at Utah Local Governments Trust Building – 55 S Highway 89, NSL, UT 84054 January 30, 2025 beginning at 4 pm CONDUCTING: Ryan Westergard, Mayor COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Ryan Westergard, Mayor Wally Larrabee Julie Checketts Gary Sharp Eric Jones Jim Grover STAFF PRESENT: Bryce Haderlie, City Administrator Cassandra Hart, HR/Risk Management Director Curtis Poole, Community Development Director James Bigelow, Chief of Police Sam Christensen, Public Works Director Corey Boyle, Police Sargeant LaCee Bartholomew, Community Services Coordinator Brian Passey, Finance Director Annette Hanson, City Recorder The annual Strategic Planning work sessions of the Woods Cross City Council began the first of two days at the Utah Local Governments Trust building located at 55 South Highway 89, North Salt Lake, UT 84025, on Thursday, January 30, 2025, beginning at 4 pm. It was noted that the purpose of the annual Strategic Planning Work retreat is for the City Council and staff to strategize priorities and projects for the FY2026 budget process. No voting or formal action was taken by the City Council during the meeting. The Mayor opened the meeting by welcoming all present and thanking them for their contributions to the city and for their time invested in the annual Strategic Planning process. He then turned the time over to Staff to provide details of what is happening in their areas of service, including successes, challenges, future goals, and projected needs for the future. Police Department: Chief Bigelow highlighted the Police Department’s successes and progress over the past year, including improving department morale, obtaining accreditation with the Utah Chiefs of Police, replacement of body cameras and laptops, implementation of uniform patrol vehicles and a new uniform policy and allowance for officers, revamping of requirements for Senior Officer, Master Officer, and Sergeant, and intentional stepping up the department’s recruiting and retention efforts. With the recent hiring of Officer Brandee Downes, the department is now only down one officer, morale has greatly improved, and the team is more unified and efficient overall. He recommended the Council consider funding a new sergeant/officer position, continued camera/taser and ballistics vest replacement, along with less lethal firearms/ammunition, crime scene screens, dash cameras for patrol vehicles, and ongoing medical training and supplies. Public Works – Parks, Streets Solid Waste and City Facilities Sam Christiansen presented statistics in relation to miles of roads, number of streetlights, snow plowing routes, and acreage of parks that are under the care and management of the Public Works team. He shared department accomplishments, current challenges, and key objectives for the future in conjunction with upcoming projects for the FY2025-26 fiscal year. He emphasized the importance of offering competitive pay for full-time employees, addressing the growing need for maintenance and repairs at the current City Hall, and the physical maintenance demands at the public works shop including replacing the roof over the OFFICIAL MINUTES WOODS CROSS CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 30, 2025 PAGE 2 multipurpose room, the need for a water softener and increased security for the building. He went on to recognize key requirements for the city’s ability to continue to provide quality parks for the residents, sports events, and other activities in the city and flagged items recommended to be funded through the operational budget and those that could fall under the RAP tax budget in FY2026. Community Development Department Curtis Poole shared accomplishments for the Community Development Department including implementation of a new building inspection service and new building permit business licensing software. During 2024 code enforcement duties were returned to Community Development and a part-time Code Enforcement Officer was hired. The Moderate-Income Housing Report was accepted by the state. The Airport Overlay Zone was established, the Land Use Table and other code references were updated for clarity, and two residential subdivisions, The Audrey and The Crossing, received final approval. The Station Area Plan is underway and is scheduled to be completed in the next year. He then outlined future priorities and requested funding to be considered in the next three years for various items, including making the part- time Code Enforcement Officer position into a full-time Planner/Code Enforcement position to meet the city’s code enforcement needs and free up director time to focus on economic development and business attraction. Because of the dynamic nature of development, the General Plan will also need to be updated within the next three years. Finance Department Brian Passey presented detailed information on the city’s budget process and outlined the uniform fiscal procedures which are in place for municipalities under Utah Code 10-6, the funds that make up the city’s budget, and the sales tax process under which the city operates. He also gave an overview regarding the different funds in the city’s budgets, revenues verses expenses, the difference between ongoing and one- time projects, and the debt the city holds. Administration Department Bryce Haderlie reviewed progress on priorities identified in last year’s Strategic Planning sessions. He highlighted many accomplishments, including, the hiring of a new Police Chief, Community Development and Human Resource/Risk Management Directors, the 800 W 1500 S Traffic Signal, the Parks and City Master Plan, Requests for Proposal (RFPs) and contracts for IT and Solid Waste/Recycling Services. He also apprized the Council on a list of short-term, long-term, and ongoing projects. He shared how the strategic priorities and objectives had been laid out in the past couple of years and asked the Mayor, Council and Staff to consider how we might collaboratively approach and reframe Woods Cross priorities and objectives in the future to ensure an even more unified message that is clear and direct across the organization and in the messaging communicated with those outside of the organization. At 7:54 pm Council Member Checketts made a motion to adjourn the work session. Council Member Sharp seconded the motion, and all voted in favor of the motion through a roll call vote. _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Annette Hanson, City Recorder Ryan Westergard, Mayor Approved by City Council February 18, 2024