City Council

Thursday, December 28,2000
Minutes



MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE ST. GEORGE CITY COUNCIL DECEMBER 28, 2000 4:00 p.m. PRESENT Daniel D. McArthur, Mayor Robert Whatcott, Council Member Larry Gardner, Council Member Rod Orton, Council Member Suzanne Allen, Council Member Sharon Isom, Council Member Gary Esplin, City Manager Jonathan Wright, City Attorney Miriam Palma, Deputy City Recorder WELCOME AND INVOCATION Mayor McArthur called the meeting to order at 4:00p.m. and welcomed those present. He indicated that as there was no flag in the conference room there would be no flag salute, but he would still like to have an opening prayer, which he gave. RENOVATION OF LEISURE SERVICES BUILDING City Manager Gary Esplin asked that the Council consider award of bid to Commercial Design for renovations to the Leisure Services Building in the amount of $215,121. He explained that this bid had been discussed at previous meetings, and had not changed. This is Phase II of the renovation and will include repair of the foundation and walls, renovation of the heating/cooling system, a new electrical system and carpeting. He told Council Members that Phase II will include renovation of the third floor. Hearing no more comments or questions, Mayor McArthur called for a motion. Council Member Orton made a motion to award the bid to Commercial Design for renovations to the Leisure Services Building in the amount of $215,121. Council Member Isom seconded and the motion passed with a vote as follows: Council Member Allen Aye Council Member Gardner Aye Council Member Isom Aye Council Member Orton Aye Council Member Whatcott Aye CART PATHS City Manager Gary Esplin asked that the Council consider award of bid to Western Rock for the construction of cart paths at various City golf courses, in the amount of $210,100. Having discussed the matter previously and hearing no more comment or concerns, Mayor McArthur called for a motion. Council Member Whatcott made a motion that the bid be awarded to Western Rock for renovation of cart paths at various City golf courses, in the amount of $210,100. Council Member Gardner seconded and the motion passed in a vote as follows: Council Member Allen Aye Council Member Gardner Aye Council Member Isom Aye Council Member Orton Aye Council Member Whatcott Aye As a note of interest, Mayor McArthur indicated that the new Sunbrook Golf Course clubhouse would be opening tomorrow. Sunbrook Development, Norm Olsen, will be St. George City Council Minutes December 28, 2000 Page Two dedicating their new clubhouse facility and amenities in February and would like the City to participate with them at that time. LAND DONATION City Manager Gary Esplin asked that Council Members consider acceptance of donation of land for the round-about at the Bloomington Interchange. This act would officially accept the donation of several small parcels of property from Tri-Valley (406 sq. ft.) and Winter Quarters (325 sq. ft.) to be used for the Bloomington Interchange round-about. Hearing no comments or questions, Mayor McArthur called for a motion. Council Member Orton made a motion that the City accept donation of 406 sq. ft. of property from Tri-Valley and 325 sq. ft. of property from Winter Quarters Resorts to be used for the Bloomington Interchange round-about. Council Member Allen seconded and the motion passed in a vote as follows: Council Member Allen Aye Council Member Gardner Aye Council Member Isom Aye Council Member Orton Aye Council Member Whatcott Aye APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS Mayor McArthur announced that two elected officials are needed to fill positions on the Employee Appeals Board and asked that Council Member Orton and Council Member Whatcott accept these positions. They graciously accepted and Mayor McArthur called for a motion. Council Member Gardner made a motion that Council Members Whatcott and Orton be assigned to fill two positions on the Employee Appeals Board for a term of 1 year each. Council Member Allen seconded and the motion passed in a vote as follows: Council Member Allen Aye Council Member Gardner Aye Council Member Isom Aye Council Member Orton Aye Council Member Whatcott Aye Mayor McArthur announced that no more official business would be transacted that evening and asked the Council to turn their attention to the discussion items. INCREASED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT Mayor McArthur told Council Members that due to their request, the Police Department had stepped up traffic enforcement with the result that although the population continues to increase, traffic accidents have decreased 3%. He said no "ticket quotas" have been prescribed, but officers had been encouraged to write more warning tickets to increase public awareness of safety. He also announced that incidences of burglary have decreased this Christmas season and he felt that this was due, in large part, because of the bike patrols. He congratulated the Police Department on its efforts. FIRST NIGHT 2001 Marc Mortensen, Public Information Officer, announced that First Night this year will be in the form of an end-of-year party as it will not be celebrated on New Years Eve (Sunday). He reported that plans are coming along well and he felt, that although pre-event button sales are down, the event will draw a large crowd. In response to lessons learned from last year’s event, this year there will be more food booths, stages, performers, and an St. George City Council Minutes December 28, 2000 Page Three expanded children’s area. The City is partnering with other entities to bring more events to the celebration. Snow Canyon High School students will be handling the children’s play area as a fund raiser for their school, Dixie Medical Center will sponsor a swinging seniors big band dance, Xtreme Edge Graphics will be making and selling t-shirts, the news media donated advertising, and the Electric Theater will show many of the Eclipse Film Festival films. There will also be a climbing wall and mechanical bull and line dancing in the Post Office parking Lot. There will be 70 volunteers and 120 City staff members helping with the event. Law enforcement will also be increased with lots of foot patrol and bike officers working the crowds and motor squads on the periphery. Mayor McArthur congratulated Marc Mortensen on his hard work and expressed his assurances that this will be a great event. WASHINGTON COUNTY PROJECTS Mayor McArthur welcomed Gayle Aldred, John Willie and Alan Gardner from the County Commission to the meeting. Mayor McArthur indicated that they would like to talk to the Council about some of their projects and see if the City and the County could work together to find some solutions to problems. Commissioner Aldred greeted Council Members and told them that John Willie is now Administrative Assistant to the Commission. He told Council Members that the first project they would like to discuss is the Senior Citizen Center expansion. There is not enough room to expand the center at its present site. Commissioner Aldred wondered if it would be possible for the Senior Citizen Center to move into the library and build a new library or whether they could build a new center on the property being shared by the City and School District at 100 West. The Commission and Council discussed the possibilities and decided that the two best courses of action were to: 1) Try to buy more land near the present Senior Citizen Center site and expand that building there, 2) Build a new Center near the new School District Building and share the parking lot. Gary Esplin agreed to check with the School District to find out how big their building will be and how many parking spaces they will need in order to see if the Center could be placed near there. Commissioner Aldred agreed to see if it would be possible to buy more property near the present site. It was agreed they would report back during the January 9th meeting. COUNTY ROAD By way of information, John Willie told Council Members that the road running near Nautilus is a County dedicated road. COUNTY YARD EXPANSION The next item for discussion was the expansion of the County Yard. Council Member Gardner indicated that the Council would be opposed to expanding the maintenance facilities on the hill, but he thought he had a plan that would work. He wondered about giving the County the acreage they need in the Ft. Pearce Industrial Park in exchange for the acreage on which their present yard sits. A discussion ensued regarding the amount of land needed, the amenities on each parcel of land and future needs of each entity. City Manager Gary Esplin felt this could be a good long-term solution and one that should be pursued. St. George City Council Minutes December 28, 2000 Page Four OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST The group that could possibly help the City design a dinosaur museum will be in town January 19. Commissioner Aldred indicated the shooting range is being built. Approximately half of the funds allocated have gone to build a Milk Vetch fence. Commission Members and Council Members expressed their appreciation for one another and the good working relationship that has been developed. 3050 SOUTH/PINE VIEW HIGH SCHOOL/COSTCO AREA STORM DRAIN Mr. Esplin explained that the Public Works Department is planning to rebuild 3050 East next summer. There is a considerable drainage problem in the area which needs to be addressed. He explained that the best alternative is to put in a storm drain as indicated in the Master Drainage Study. The City would need to find $165,000 to make up the cost of the project, however, it is felt about $200,000 will be saved by installing it before the road is rehabilitated. Discussion regarding a storm drain project in the 3050 South/Pine View High School area. Council Members agreed to think about the plan and address it formally in an upcoming meeting. REUSE CENTER Larry Bulloch, Public Works Director, addressed plans for the Reuse Center on Brigham Road. He told Council Members that in addition to green waste recycling, City staff had been recycling asphalt, concrete and sweeper tailings for reuse on City projects. This has saved the City a great deal of money. Mr. Bulloch reported that staff would like Council Members to consider expanding the asphalt/concrete recycling program to private entities. He told Council Members that nine contractors had been polled about possible use of the Reuse Center. Of those nine, eight indicated they would be willing to pay $4/ton to dump their materials and would be willing to buy the crushed product back at a price, but they were not willing to name the price. Council Members indicated they felt the expanded operation would be good for the City, but asked that Mr. Bulloch work up a formal proposal to present to them in a future meeting. OTHER ITEMS Mayor McArthur asked if there were any other items to come before the Council. Council Member Whatcott and Council Member Orton indicated they will be out of town for the January 4th meeting and asked City Manager Gary Esplin to notify those on the agenda to see if they would like to postpone their items for another time. Council Member Allen indicated she may have a conflict of interest with one of the items as her husband is the electrical contractor for one of the businesses. She will review the situation with the City Attorney and decide if she will be eligible to vote. ADJOURNMENT Council Member Isom made a motion that the meeting be adjourned at 5:50 p.m. Council Member Gardner seconded and the motion passed unanimously. __________________________________ Miriam Palma, Deputy City Recorder