July 22 2010 City Council Minutes ST. GEORGE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING July 22, 2010 4:00 p.m. PRESENT Daniel McArthur, Mayor Gary Esplin, City Manager Gil Almquist, Council Member Ben Nickle, Council Member Gloria Shakespeare, Council Member Gail Bunker, Council Member Shawn Guzman, City Attorney Miriam Palma, Deputy City Recorder Marc Mortensen, Asst. To the City Manager Deanna Brchclachich, Budget and Financial Officer Larry Bulloch, Public Works Director Rick Crosman, Airport Manager Keisha Greenwell, Director, St. George Housing Authority Marlon Stratton, Chief, St. George Police Department Johnny Heppler, Police Officer Pastor Dean Huering EXCUSED Jon Pike, Council Member WELCOME Mayor McArthur welcomed those present. He excused Council Member Jon Pike and asked that all rise to Pledge Allegiance to the Flag. INVOCATION Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Pastor Dean Heuring gave the invocation. Mayor McArthur thanked Pastor Heuring and acknowledged that the Council needs Divine help to make the best decisions for the City. Following the invocation, Mayor McArthur turned the time over to Rick Crosman to present the first three agenda items. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING - FAA Mr. Crosman asked that the Council consider approval of a Memorandum of Agreement with the FAA to allow them to construct, operate and maintain FAA-owned navigational aides at the Replacement Airport. St. George City Council Minutes July 22, 2010 Page Two He explained that the FAA will own the equipment and this agreement will give them access to the airport and ground space for the equipment. These navigational aids will create an airport with a 287 ft. Height Above Terrain (HAT) approach and ½ mile visibility. Mr. Crosman gave a brief update of construction progress. Following the presentation, Mayor McArthur called for questions. Hearing none, he called for a motion. Motion: Council Member Bunker made a motion to approve a Memorandum of Agreement with the FAA, to allow them to construct, operate and maintain FAA-owned navigational aides at the replacement airport. Second: Council Member Shakespeare seconded the motion Vote: All voted “aye” and the motion passed unanimously. AGREEMENT- VAISALA, VOR/DME TECHNICAL TRAINING Mr. Crosman asked that the Council consider approval of an agreement with VAISALA, Inc. In the amount of $26,500 to train two technicians to operate and maintain the VOR/DME equipment at the replacement airport. He explained that each VOR/DME is built to the specifications of the airport at which it will reside and technicians must be trained on individual pieces of equipment. The equipment is non-federally owned, but training costs will be covered under the FAA grant. Mr. Crosman explained that the technicians will be deployed out of Cheyenne, Wyoming and can be on site within four hours. Mr. Bulloch noted that if the VOR is out of commission, so is the airport. Schedule passenger service cannot land or take off without it. Mayor McArthur called for questions. Council Members questioned whether or not the City would be required to pay to train new technicians should the original technicians leave VAISALA . As this is not clearly stated in the agreement, it was decided that the agreement should be amended. They felt it should be clearly stated that the City will pay to train two technicians and if they leave the company within the three-year period, VAISALA, Inc. will be responsible for the costs to train new ones. Following the discussion, Mayor McArthur called for a motion. Motion: Council Member Shakespeare made a motion to approved an agreement with VAISALA, Inc. In the amount of $26,500 to train two technicians to maintain and operate the VOR/DME equipment at the St. George Replacement Airport, with the provision that language be added to the agreement to read that “the City of St. George will pay to train two technicians and if they leave their employ within the three-year period, VAISALA, Inc. will be responsible to train new ones.” St. George City Council Minutes July 22, 2010 Page Thrree Second: Council Member Nickle seconded the motion. Vote: All voted “aye” and the motion passed unanimously. AGREEMENT - VAISALA, Inc., VOR/DME MAINTENANCE Mr. Crosman asked that the Council consider a three-year agreement with VAISALA, Inc. in the amount of $18,900/year to maintain the VOR/DME equipment at the replacement airport. He explained that this is an annual maintenance agreement to provide on-call services for three years. Mayor McArthur called for questions. Council Member Almquist asked if there was a plan in the future for airport staff to be trained to take over the VOR/DME maintenance. Mr. Crosman told him there was not. He indicated that the amount of this agreement is slightly less than what the State has been paying for maintenance on the VOR at the existing airport. He spoke of new technology that would replace the VOR in years to come. The Council questioned the fact that, in addition to the base maintenance agreement, other charges could apply depending on the circumstances. They concluded that this was a standard option for maintenance agreements. Following the discussion, Mayor McArthur called for a motion Motion: Council Member Shakespeare made a motion to approve a three-year agreement with VAISALA, Inc. in the amount of $18,900/year to maintain the VOR/DME equipment at the replacement airport. Second: Council Member Bunker seconded the motion. Vote: All voted “aye” and the motion passed unanimously. Larry Bulloch suggest that the Council take a tour of the replacement airport to see the progress being made. It was decided that the tour would be scheduled for the first part of August. SHADE TREE BOARD Due to a miscommunication with the Chair of the Shade Tree Board, this item will be reschedule at a later date. ST. GEORGE HOUSING AUTHORITY - PRESENTATION AND UPDATE - KEISHA GREENWELL Shawn Guzman introduced Keisha Greenwell, Director of the St. George Housing Authority. He explained that she has done a great job of stabilizing and upgrading the office. He told those present that Ms. Greenwell would like to update them of the progress being made in the St. George Housing Authority and introduce them to the a new housing option program. St. George City Council Minutes July 22, 2010 Page Four Ms. Greenwell told Council Members that she has worked with the Utah Housing Authority for 10 years in the Cedar City Office. She introduced the Council to the CROWN, Credit to Own, housing project. This program targets underprivileged families who want to own a home. It is a 15-year program in which potential home owners rent the home and then purchase it at the end of that time. She said there will be five, four bedroom, two bath homes with approximate 1420 sq. ft. on one level. These homes will be built in one location, although in the future she would like to see them scattered around the city. Construction will begin in May 2011. Ms. Greenwell explained the criteria to qualify for the program. An applicant must be capable of owning and caring for a home and must be at or below 60% of median income. Applicants will be screened rigorously, including credit and criminal background checks. They must present three landlord references for consecutive years. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if their background check turns up convictions for violence, sex crimes, drugs arrests or any other felony. Misdemeanor charges will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The Utah Housing Commission (UHC) will monitor the upkeep of yards and homes and education will be provided to help tenants progress toward home ownership. She noted that the family must consist of at least two people and not more than eight. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and preference will be given to Utah residents. The UHC will pay taxes and insurances. Ms. Greenwell asked the Council to consider waiving or deferring impact fees. Council Members felt they would not be willing to waive the fees, but would consider deferring them until the end of the 15 years. Mayor McArthur thanked Ms. Greenwell for her presentation and asked that she bring a proposal to a Council meeting regarding the deference of impact fees. Ms. Greenwell then gave the Council an update of a Section 8 family self-sufficiency program that is in progress. The program is a five-year project in which the tenant promises to try to become self-sufficient. She said that applicants must find their own rental, but their rent is then subsidized by Section 8 monies. Matching funds are put into a tenant account which, at the end of five years, can be used for a mortgage payment. Participants will have to quality for a loan on their own with a private lender. Rental homes are inspected monthly and there is no tolerance for damage and sloppy upkeep. Council Member Shakespeare asked if it would be possible to find out how many subsidized housing units there are in St. George and their locations. Ms. Greenwell indicated that she would get the information. St. George City Council Minutes July 22, 2010 Page Five AIRPORT TERMINAL Marc Mortensen updated Council on a problem with the rock facade of the replacement airport terminal building. The contractor had installed the stone in a way which made the pillars look more narrow at bottom than the top. He has talked to the contractor and told them they must fix it. POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION Mayor McArthur called on Chief Marlon Stratton to update the Council on Police Department activities. Chief Stratton told Council Members that last night a window in the K-Mart store was smashed and thieves entered and stole approximately $30,000 worth of jewelry. He updated them on a group of scouts from Las Vegas who had been hiking in Zion Canyon on the Hop Valley Trail. One scout was apparently overcome by the heat and fell behind and was lost. They found his body today. In confidence, Chief Stratton updated Council Members about some Marijuana “grows” which were taken down today by members of the department, DEA and Washington County. He indicated that several thousand plants had been confiscated and that there will probably be several of these raids this summer. Chief Stratton stressed that this a very dangerous assignment as the grows are defended by armed attendants. He has offered the City SWAT team to assist the County SWAT Team in these activities. Council Member Almquist informed the group that the piping and tubing used to irrigate these plants, can be traced to the store in which it was purchased. He felt stores should be notified to call the Police about any large orders of these materials. Chief Stratton turned the time to Officer Johnny Heppler to give a presentation on Operation Community Shield, a multi-jurisdictional street gang task force. Officer Heppler began his presentation with a Spartan Warrior Proverb which read, “My shield is not my own, but it shields my brothers and sisters”. He told Council Members that the Police Department has partnered with ICE and other entities to identify and develop intelligent to deter, disrupt and dismantle gangs. Since 2005 over 15,000 gang members were arrested in the United States and 23 in St. George. In addition, task force members have confiscated weapons, drugs , money and other gang-related possessions. He noted that, at this time, most gang members in the area are from Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador. St. George City Council Minutes July 22, 2010 Page Six Officer Heppler showed pictures of a recent sting operation conducted by Operation Community Shield. He indicated that gangs have a hard time finding structure in this community because, through this program, we are able to keep “cutting off the head of the snake”. He stressed that community education, especially for parents , is an essential part of the program. Chief Stratton interjected that John Lines, Director of ICE, has expressed appreciation for the cooperation the St. George Police Department has given them. This program has also come to the attention of federal officials who are amazed by the results being seen in this area. ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION Following Officer Heppler’s presentation, Mayor McArthur asked if there was a need to adjourn to executive session. Gary Esplin indicated a need to discuss pending litigation and property purchases. Motion: Council Member Bunker made a motion that the Regular St. George City Council Regular Session be adjourned to an Executive Session at 5:45 p.m. Second: Council Member Almquist seconded. Vote: A roll call vote was taken as follows: Benjamin Nickle - Aye Gil Almquist - Aye Gloria Shakespeare - Aye Gail Bunker - Aye Mayor McArthur - Aye The voting was unanimous and the motion passed. RECONVENE The July 22, 2010 St. George City Council Regular meeting reconvened at 6:00 p.m. Mayor McArthur asked if there was any further business to bring before the Council. Hearing none, he called for a motion to adjourn Motion: Council Member Almquist made a motion that the July 22, 2010 St. George City Council Regular meeting be adjourned at 6:05 p.m. Second: Council Member Shakespeare seconded. Vote: All voted “aye” and the motion passed unanimously. ____________________________________ Miriam Palma, Deputy City Recorder