Logan Municipal Council Logan, Utah December 6, 2011 Minutes of the meeting of the Logan Municipal Council convened in regular session on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. in the Logan City Municipal Council Chamber, 290 North 100 West, Logan, Utah. Chairman Herm Olsen conducting. Council members present at the beginning of the meeting: Chairman Herm Olsen, Vice Chairman Dean Quayle, Holly Daines, Laraine Swenson and Jay Monson. Administration present: Mayor Randy Watts, City Attorney Kymber Housley, Finance Director Richard Anderson and City Recorder Teresa Harris. OPENING CEREMONY Council Elect Karl Ward gave the opening prayer and led the audience in the pledge of allegiance. Chairman Olsen welcomed those present. There were approximately 16 citizens in the audience at the beginning of the meeting. Chairman Olsen announced that prior to Council meeting an open house was held for outgoing Councilmember s Jay Monson and Laraine Swenson. He thanked Councilmember Monson for his four years of service and Councilmember Laraine Swenson for her eight years of service. Meeting Minutes. Minutes of the Council meeting from November 15, 2011 were reviewed and approved with minor changes. Meeting Agenda. Chairman Olsen announced at tonight s meeting there would be one public hearing. Meeting Schedule. Chairman Olsen announced that regular council meetings would be held the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 5:30 p.m. The next regular council meeting is Tuesday, January 3, 2012. The Council will not hold a meeting on Tuesday, December 20, 2011. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FOR MAYOR AND COUNCIL Realtor Lisa Edgington from Salt Lake City addressed the Council regarding an issue at the address of 461 East 300 North in Logan. She is working with a home buyer for this property and during the home inspection found the home is connected to a cesspool and not Logan City s sewer system. The appraiser would not continue because the home was connected to the cesspool and not the City and the seller refused to connect. She contacted City Engineer Lance Houser and she was told that in no way would the City allow the cesspool to remain and if there was a connection nearby it could be done. Mr. Houser said it was against City code for the home to be connected to the cesspool and the current owner would have to connect to the City line. She then talked with Public Works Director Mark Nielsen who stated there was a committee that met and they overturned the City Code and did not require the seller to connect to the City utility and stated the 1 P a g e
cesspool could remain. The buyer withdrew their offer and she feels the seller should be required to connect to the City line. Public Works Director Mark Nielsen addressed the Council and said there are several cesspools and septic tanks in Logan City. When a homeowner has a cesspool, Bear River Health Department is oversees them and the general philosophy is that if the cesspool is operating properly it can continue until it falls into disrepair. City Attorney Kymber Housley stated that the homeowner is charged the same fees as if they were connected to the City system. He said that rather than force people to connect, nothing is done unless there is a public health concern. There are a lot of things in the City Code that we don t enforce and it s a matter of prioritizing. In this case the connection is costly at $10,000 to $15,000 and most people cannot do this. He said maybe once every two years this issue comes to his office. Mr. Nielsen said his preference would be for the seller to connect to the City system. Mr. Housley said if this homeowner were to sell his property he would have to connect to the City, he could not afford to connect so he chose not to sell. Chairman Olsen said it s a surprise to him that not everyone in Logan City is connected to the City system. He suggested that the Realtor work with Mark Nielsen on this issue. Mr. Housley said it s not that we don t want to enforce the Code regarding cesspools but people cannot afford to connect. Councilmember Swenson feels the Code should be changed regarding this issue. Chairman Olsen said he would like the staff to review this issue and consider changing the Code. Mr. Housley said the City is not notified when properties are transferred and we will not know about a cesspool until someone brings it to our attention. The home buyer addressed the Council. She did not get the home loan due to the cesspool problem. She said this home is no longer an issue with her because it s been taken off the market because the seller had to connect. She feels the City should uphold the Municipal Code and a higher priority should be given to this issue rather than park strips. There is a health concern that should also be addressed. She asked the Council to make this a higher priority in the future. MAYOR/ STAFF REPORTS. Board Reappointments Mayor Randy Watts. 2 P a g e
Mayor Watts asked the Council for ratification of Christian Wilson to serve on the Historic Preservation Committee (reappointment) and Jeannie Simmonds to serve on the Planning Commission (reappointment). Both are four year terms. ACTION. Motion by Councilmember Quayle seconded by Councilmember Monson to approve ratification of Christian Wilson and Jeannie Simmonds as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Watts also reminded citizens that overnight parking is in effect and even though there is no snow, vehicles still need to be off the road. COUNCIL BUSINESS. New Council Chair and Vice-Chair for 2012 Chairman Herm Olsen. Motion by Chairman Olsen that Councilmember Dean Quayle be elected to Council Chair and Councilmember Holly Daines be elected to Vice Chair for the 2012 year. Seconded by Councilmember Monson. Motion carried unanimously. Update: Landlord Licensing James Geier. Neighborhood Improvement Manager James Geier gave an update on Landlord Licensing. According to Logan s Housing Plan there are 17,212 housing units and 8,111 are rental units with another 8,068 owner occupied units in Logan with a remaining 1,033 units that are vacant. Logan continues to trail most other cities in Utah as well as the statewide average in homeownership. The 2008 Housing Plan recommends increasing the number of homeownership opportunities, work with outer lying communities to share the burden for provident affordable rental units; especially when our zoning promotes high density. Ensuring that special needs and minority populations have an adequate understanding of housing resources and rights/privileges as tenants. Mr. Geier stated that rentals have a legitimate impact on neighborhoods and play a greater part in some neighborhood core zones. Landlord licensing was enacted on March 2, 2010 and required by July 1, 2010. The approach was to center on non-owner occupied parcels. The licensing began with 3,807 non-owner occupied parcels; 2,484 are now licensed and another 1,040 are outstanding (52 non-rentals). A number of reasons for the remainder not requiring a license are they are vacant, in foreclosure, family related occupancy, disclosure issue, etc. Field checks were done this fall with an intern and based on the remaining non-owner occupied list either by contact or visual appearance. The total rental units applied for were 6,508, approving 5,934; Nine percent (9%) not approved (574 units). Those approved units go to addressing the health, safety, and welfare, never legal, never inspected. From 2011 to date there have been 54 applications for grandfathering, 24 of which were the result of landlord licensing. The initial application period certified 751 applicants with the remainder not certified. License discount requires certifications are 3 P a g e
renewed every two years; most due in July 2012. The City will continue to make landlord licensing available. The Council thanked Mr. Geier for his presentation. ACTION ITEM. PUBLIC HEARING - Budget Adjustment FY 2011-12 appropriating: $6,600 for the K9 Training Program provided by the Police Department; $50,000 to transfer budget from Public Works improvements to fire buildings within the capital project fund to address storm water management issues and provide engineered fill under footings of Fire Station 72; $28,000 of Police Capital Equipment fund reserve for the purchase of police patrol vehicles for Fiscal Year 2012; $170,000 for the purchase of a Track Loader for the Landfill Resolution 11-87 Chairman Olsen opened the meeting to a public hearing. There was no public comment and the hearing was closed. ACTION. Motion by Councilmember Monson seconded by Councilmember Quayle to approve Res. 11-87 as presented. Motion carried unanimously. WORKSHOP ITEMS. Budget Adjustment FY 2011-12 appropriating: $9,975 for the Youth Alcohol Prevention Grant (#62) to assist the police in addressing the problem of underage drinking; $364,817 to transfer restricted sewer treatment impact fees from the Water Fund where the fees are collected to the Sewer Treatment Fund where the funds were used; $63,674 for donations received for the improvement of the Bridgerland baseball fields; $150,000 for electrical work for UDOT 10 th West North Section; $21,691 for fund reimbursement to the fire department for training and standby Resolution 11-90 Richard Anderson. Mr. Anderson explained each of the proposed budget adjustments. This will be an action item and public hearing at the January 3, 2012 Council meeting. Consideration of a resolution authorizing Natural Gas transactions and approving Natural Gas Master Agreement Resolution 11-88 Yugi Zhao and Chris Niemann. City Attorney Kymber Housley said this is an agreement that the Council doesn t necessarily need to approve but because UAMPS deals with so many different forms of government they assume they all function the same. The Council is not committing to any purchase, this agreement it sets forth the ground rules for when we want to enter into an agreement and it would again have to come before the Council. There is no monetary commitment and it allows us to buy and store natural gas and control our costs as we go forward. 4 P a g e
Mr. Niemann added that currently we are paying $4 dollars and the agreement is a ten year $10 dollar cap. If we operate within this agreement it will not need to come before the Council again. This is specific to power generation. This will be an action item at the January 3, 2012 Council meeting. Consideration of an ordinance amending Sections of the Logan Land Development Code regarding Definitions, amending Logan Municipal Code Chapter 17.62 Ordinance 11-89 Russ Holley. Community Development Planner Russ Holley addressed the Council. He said the proposed ordinance originated from the discussion regarding Electronic Message Display s (EMD) several months ago. Amendments have been made and definitions were added. He said the EMD and temporary sign sections should be further reviewed and it was suggested that committees be formed to discus and define those sections. The Planning Commission felt it appropriate to recommend approval of the definition section and bring it forward to the Council. A representative from YESCO Sign Company is on the review committee and is helping with the definitions. Councilmember Daines clarified this is an advisory committee and they are not making decisions, she feels they have reasonable suggestions. Councilmember Monson asked how many electronic signs are out of compliance. Mr. Holley responded approximately 15 signs are out of compliance at this time. This will be an action item and public hearing at the January 3, 2012 Council meeting. Consideration of a property sale to Cache Valley Transit District (CVTD) located on the Southwest corner of 500 North 200 East Kymber Housley. Mr. Housley addressed the Council and stated the proposed property sale at the Southwest corner of 500 North 200 east was originally purchased for the Cache Valley Transit District and they would now like to purchase these properties. There will be a public hearing on the property sale and a 14 notice will also be published. Councilmember Daines asked about the intersection in this area and will selling the property cause a problem for future use. Mr. Housley responded that unless we do a round-a-bout in this intersection we will not need additional property. This will be an action item and public hearing at the January 3, 2012 Council meeting. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS. Councilmember Swenson asked about an air quality resolution, she would like someone on the Council to follow up in the future and bring a resolution forward. 5 P a g e
Chairman Olsen asked that Kymber Housley talk with The Bear River Health Department and prepare a resolution. Councilmember Swenson also asked about time of day rates, she said this can provide a significant conservation boost. She is hoping that someone on the Council will have the interest to pursue this after she leaves. Councilmember Monson expressed his thoughts and how much he has enjoyed serving on the Council. He said that Logan is in very good hands and is run very well. He feels very fortunate to have served on the Council. Councilmember Swenson concurred and wished Tom Jensen and Karl Ward good luck as they serve on the Council. ADJOURN. There being no further business to come before the Council, meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Teresa Harris, City Recorder 6 P a g e