Recap! City Council 5/19/2020

See this meeting by visiting the city's Youtube channel or watch below!

Here is the agenda for this meeting:

•Coronavirus update: Mayor Jo informed everyone that Governor Gary Herbert has issued another executive order.  This order will expire May 29th.  Additionally, the phased guidelines have been updated, you can see the new document (version 4.4) here and the Governor's order here.  

She also gave some updated information about last week's announcement about the county doing random household testing.  2 communities in Davis County have been chosen, one in south Davis County and one in north Davis County.  Officials will knock on every door in these communities and leave information about where and how to be tested if you are willing to do so.  She also mentioned about the upcoming concert in Kaysville that Mayor Katie Witt has supported to put on.  The council of Kaysville is doing everything in their power to stop this concert.  The health department has said they can not stop the concert from happening, only punish violations that take place at the gathering. 

•Water Service Agreement with Job Corps: The Weber Basin Job Corps has learned they are out of compliance due to failed tests on their water and have been entered into corrective action.  South Weber City has agreed to join together two projects, one for the East Bench Transmission Project Line the city was planning to do and joining it with the Job Corps water line replacement.  Job Corps will reimburse the city fully for all expenses and as an incentive, Job Corps has agreed to pay for all professional services (design and project management) and a 15% administrative fee.  Below is table to demonstrate the proposed agreement.  The agreement passed with unanimous approval.  Donnika Bigelow from Job Corps was available on the call and expressed appreciation to South Weber for being good neighbors and agreeing to help them be able to get back into compliance and protect those that are at their facility. 

•Mutual Aid Agreement for Fire Department: The Fire Department wishes to enter into a mutual aid agreement with Morgan County.   This means our fire department will be called when needed without cost or liability to Morgan County and vice-versa.  The council had some concerns about the fire department being gone from our city during emergencies and therefore needing our mutual aid to cover our cities.  Dave explained that Chief Tolman, as fire chief, is the one who makes the call whether or not to answer calls from other communities knowing his responsibility lies to the citizens of South Weber.  It was also expressed that if we find the agreement is not suiting South Weber well, there is the ability to terminate the agreement.  The agreement passed with unanimous approval.  

•Agreement with Davis Dispatch: Davis dispatch has increased their rates for dispatch calls.  Price per call increased from $30.59 to $31.51 resulting in an increase for South Weber to $802.70.  The agreement passed with unanimous approval. 

New Business

Councilmember Alberts reported that a graduation ceremony is schedule to happen on May 26th at 3:00.  Graduates should meet at the church at 1814 E 7775 S.  Wear your cap and gown and decorate your vehicle.  The Sherriff's department and Fire Department will led the parade.  Details of parade route are in the flyer below:

Reports:

•Mayor Jo reported that she and staff met with Horrock's to work on the latest study for the best feasible route for the Weber Pathways Trail.  They are about half way through the TLC grant we received from the Wasatch Front Regional Council.  She also relayed that the county received $545,000 funds as part as the CARES Act to support Covid-19 supported related fund.  The committee chose these funds to go to the Bountiful Food Pantry and Davis Behavioral Health both for specific services those entities provide.  She also notated that before Covid Davis Behavioral Health had about 240 visits per month.  During Covid, that has increased to over 1100 per month. 

•Councilwoman Alberts reported that the County Fair Days committee met today with regards to upcoming plans CFD and restrictions that will be necessary.  They are working very hard on trying to find out differnt solutions and possibilities and will be deciding shortly if and how this could be possible.  These ladies are trying to pull of something great and I commend them for their persistence and dedication to our city.   Councilmember Winsor said that he wants them to know they have his full support in going forward with a version of CFD and feels that it is something the community needs right now.

•Councilman Winsor reported that the mosquito abatement is in the process of Ariel application via drones.   The mosquito season is expected to be early and strong due to the dry and warmth weather we have been having.  He also report they are looking for a UAV pilot to hire.  

•City Manager David Larsen reported the new development process put in place at the beginning of this year is working very well.  There has been lots of back and forth with the developer of the Lofts Project and is happy with the process of ensuring all code issues has been resolved and addressed before coming to the Planning Commission.  

Recap! City Council 5.12.2020

You can view this meeting via zoom through the city's YouTube channel or by watching below!

As you can see from our agenda there wasn't a lot to discuss and so this meeting was short and sweet.

•Coronavirus update:  Davis County will be implementing random household testing.  Each member of chosen households will be given two tests, a blood test to check for antibodies and a the PCR test (swab into the nostril).  It will help define how many cases and how many asymptotic cases we may have missed.  There will be roughly 8,000 test conducted in two communities.  The health department for Davis County does not anticipate a move to yellow by Friday but is hopeful it will happen by the end of the month.   Numbers for Davis County continue to look very good, we have no active cases in South Weber.

•Tentative Budget: Staff has been working with the tentative budget for the last 4 months.  A public hearing will be held June 9, 2020 to formally adopt the budget for fiscal year 2020-2021.  The tentative budget can be found in the packet.  There were a coupe of clarifications asked by the council, specifically towards a power lift gurney for the paramedic vehicle and future streetlights for existing neighborhoods (currently new neighborhoods will have the streetlights installed at the developer's expense - the city is moving from Rocky Mountain Power to South Weber owning and maintaining the lights).   Installation of lights for the new developments should be coming forth to the council towards the end of this month. 

As far as the public hearing we will have some sort of hearing ready to accommodate for it depending on what happens with restrictions due to Covid-19.  We are also awaiting further suggestions from the state for legal opinions and our options.  

Reports

Jo: Uintah City approached us about our shared boundary.  Uintah approached South Weber City about a piece of property on the east end of the city that is part of the Uintah Business Park but lies on South Weber's side.  Dave, Barry and Jo all met with representatives from Uinta and decided that a committee from both cities will meet together to discuss what should be done.  The reps from SW council will be Blair Halverson and the Planning Commission Chair Rob Osborne.  Wasatch Integrated Waste should have their sorting station to separate out green waste, plastic, paper ect. up an running by August.  It will start with 50% capacity in the beginning and will go to full capacity next year. 

Councilman Halverson:  Public Safety Committee continues to meet weekly.  The CERT program continues to move forwarded spearheaded by citizen Brandyn Bodily and Chief Tolman.   The bid for painting the curb for 2700 E has been created and is getting ready for quotes.

Councilwoman Alberts: Our first town-hall meeting is scheduled for July 7th of this year.  Accommodations for this will also depend on restrictions for Covid-19, more information coming soon.  Councilwoman Petty will be starting our Councilmember Corner in the newsletter for July with each council member taking a month for the rest of the year.  

Councilwoman Petty:  The Parks and Rec committee met and had several discussions.  Among these items was reviewing the rules for the dog park as well as new rules for all of our parks (will come before the council as a discussion later).  Our updates to our city parks are underway with tentative plans to begin work on Cherry Farms this August.  She praised the council's choice to open the parks for families in the city.  She has received a lot of good feedback from mothers who have really appreciated having this asset available to them. 

Dave - City Manager:  He mentioned that Brandon Jones will no longer be attending all the city council meetings unless he is needed.  

And that's a wrap everyone!  Hope you guys are all doing well and good.

Recap! City Council 4.28.2020

Man oh man do I wish this was our last zoom meeting.  I guess we just still don't know!  This one was a little bit of fun though.  We did a zoom background contest to spice things up a little bit, and the results were pretty hilarious in my opinion.  Take a gander and see who you think won!

Below is the agenda.  

 

You can watch the live streaming to Youtube below, or by clicking here.  

Alright, let's dive in:

•Covid-19 updates:  Mayor Jo related that Governor Herbert will likely be moving our state from a red zone to an orange zone starting May 1st.  More details will be forthcoming.  She also related that there has only been 1 confirmed Covid case from South Weber.  There was at one time 2, though the second turned out to be a false positive.  

•General Plan Timeline:  As discussed in early April, the general plan open houses were postponed due to Covid-19.  The council decided to plan for open houses to resume starting in late May.  While we won't know what measures will need to be in place at that time, it will be determined that some sort of adjustments will likely take place to maintain social distancing.  The council also received all the feedback from the survey participants and found their perspectives very helpful and changes are likely to be further made to the survey based off their suggestions.  

•Dog Park:  The retention basin for Harvest Park (near the Posse grounds) will be utilized as a dog park.  The 4 acre basin will be fully fenced and have a walking trail along the outside of it.  The council reviewed the rules and parking.  The Parks and Rec committee will continue to work on adjustments or changes as needed.  The park is planned to be opened sometime in late July or early August.

•No on-street parking on 2700 East: This discussion came before the council after being reviewed by the public safety committee - which was reviewing concerns of on street parking after a 'park-n-protest' was held in early September of 2019.  The committee decided to redstripe both sides of 2700 E from South Weber Drive to Deer Run as soon as possible.  The committee also determined there were other streets that needed to be looked into, specifically South Weber Drive in front of Highmark, Cottonwood Drive, and Canyon Meadows among others.  The council decided some changes in the city code will regarding parking to be changed, no longer allowing trailers/dumpsters and other large vehicles to be parked on the side of the street for longer than 24 hours (down from the original 48 hours).  The committee will be meeting shortly to further discuss the increase of parking on Cottonwood Drive due to the trailhead nearby.

•Davis County Sheriff's Office:  The contract that was signed with DCSO had the ability to renew for 2 more years at the same contracted rate as the previous year and original contract amount.  The council approved this renewal.  

New Business:

•Fellow resident Diana Hyer would like to add some cheer to the residents at Peterson Farms Assisted Living.   Diana is organizing a drive by wave to help ease the loneliness due to isolation measure resulting from Covid-19.  Come and wave hello and give encouragement.  Meet at Canyon Meadows Park at 1 pm.  Decorate the passenger side of your door and prepare to share some cheer!

Council Reports:

Mayor Jo:  She has recently met with Curtis and Dave regarding the Rec Center and plans that will be in place once they are given more direction.  More details will be forthcoming.

Councilwoman Alberts:  The Country Fair Days committee met.  The organizers are moving forward with what they can but have decided that they need clarification on whether large event gatherings will take place by June 1st.  They felt any time after that date would not give them enough time to get everything prepared and vendors and money raised.   In the event that we will not able to do large gatherings, fireworks will likely proceed with proper distancing measures in place.  However, anything else would likely be cancelled though they will continue to look into what they can.

Councilman Winsor: The Municipality Committee will be meeting soon to review the contract with Job Corp on the pipeline replacement.   He will be reporting details of that contract to the council when he has them. 

And that's a wrap my peeps!  Just a reminder the council will not meet again until May 12th at which time we may or may not be able to meet at City Hall.  Regardless of where we meet, live streaming will continue.  

Recap! City Council Meeting 4.14.2020

This meeting was once again done remotely through zoom and live streamed to YouTube.  Click here to go to the city's YouTube channel or see below.  

Alright friends - here we go!

•Procurement Policy: The newly revised Procurement Policy was approved by the council.  The procurement policy sets limits and other definitions/restrictions on spending amounts for department heads and the city manager.   To read the full report, you can find it in the packet. 

•SCADA bid:  The city has been working on implementing a cloud based SCADA system to monitor  our water systems.  5 bids were received.  The committee came back to the council with 2 bids with a recommendation for one company over the other.   The recommended bid was 50% higher than the other bid.  The council deliberated at length between the two bids/companies, seeking to understand why staff chose the higher bid.  A motion was made to choose the bid recommended by staff and passed 3-2.  

•Kennywood & Old Maple Farms Final Acceptance:  Staff presented the final inspections and work completed on these subdivisions and released the escrow money set aside for each of these. 

•Public Works New Truck Purchase:  Money for this year's budget was allocated for a new truck for the public works team.  This will allow everyone to have their own vehicle, currently 2 people are sharing one.  It was questioned why making a brand new purchase is better than a used one.  It was explained the state contracts are only applicable to new vehicles only.  State contracts are significant discounts and and come with warranties.  It also allows you to sell the vehicle for roughly what you pay for it.  It was also asked why only 1 bid was sought out.   The item was tabled until either more bids were sought or more information about the bids arose.  It will appear on next week's agenda. 

•Budget Workshop:  Staff has been working to prepare for the upcoming decrease in sales tax due to Covid-19 measures.  An overall budget summary was presented for next year's budget.  Staff reported that we as a city are actually doing quite well and should be able to get through what may come fairly well (other municipalities are having to let people go).   The council discussed future expenditures and capital projects.

•TUF Discussion:  Recently there was some confusion at the state level if a Transportation Utility Fee (TUF) implemented by cities was considered a tax or a fee.  Since South Weber has a TUF (the $15/month on your utility bill) we have been following this closely.  It has been determined the TUF *is* considered a fee and therefore requires no changes for us.  The TUF will continue on as planned.  

New Business

•Mayor Jo relayed that she had gotten a call from a resident about all NHS graduates.  In light of the Governor's expansion of keeping a soft closures on schools and the elimination of graduations.  It was discussed about the possibility of offering these seniors an ability for a drive-by parade of sorts.  Details will need to be worked out but the city was open to the idea and I am hoping we are able to do something amazing like that for them!

•Councilwoman Petty recently had a meeting with the Parks and Rec Committee to go over a contract with UDOT pertaining to the culvert that they will be placing underneath 89 to connect Bonneville Shorleline Trail to the Weber Weber Pathway trail.  While UDOT is going to pay for the culvert, it will fall on the city for numerous other costs including the wing walls on both sides, electricity, a parking lot as well as taking on all liability and future inspections.  This will come at a great cost to the city and she was seeking further direction.  It was decided that all entities who have a desire to connect these trails needs to come to the table and help participate in costs as well. 

•The Public Relations Committee met and had a few ideas we are hoping to implement and needed council's thoughts:

1. Allowing for citizens to join the zoom calls to speak public comment rather than email only: It was decided to wait until the end of April to see how much longer we will have to do this for.  If we must continue for the long run this option can be looked into.  

2. Town Hall Style Meetings: These meetings would tentatively happen quarterly and would include two council members and the mayor, most likely on the first Tuesday of the month.  More details will be forthcoming but it will allow for a question and answer format with the citizens.

3.  Councilman Corner in the newsletter:  Council Members will now offer a little bit about what they are working on in their individual committees in the newsletter about every other month. 

Reports

•Mayor Jo:  The landfill is back open to the public.

•Councilman Halverson:  He attended the latest PC meeting which only had one agenda item and that was a presentation from the developers for the property on the corner of 475 E and Old Fort Road  (the same developers that came before the council a few weeks ago).  The PC is needed more direction from the Council on Mixed Use. 

•Councilwoman Alberts:  The PR committee is hoping to get live streaming going so that when we return to city hall we can transition from the current live streaming to council chambers streaming.

•Councilman Winsor:  Covid or not, the misquitos are still out and about.  The misquoto abatement is out working to help diminish them.

Alrighty folks! That's a rap!  I hope you find these helpful and keeps you informed.  Please know the your elected officials are working hard to do their part to make South Weber a wonderful place to be. I am so hopeful we can start meeting in public again soon!

Recap! City Council Meeting 3.31.2020

Here is the agenda for this meeting:

Once again, this meeting was held remotely for each council member through Zoom and live streamed to Youtube.  You can watch the whole meeting by clicking here, or watch it below.  

Because of the quarantine, all public comments were received via email prior to the meeting.  I want to thank you all for your involvement.  We received by my count over 30 emails from concerned citizens.  I appreciate every one of you for taking the time to do so!

Highlights:

•Ambulance and Power Gurney Purchase for Fire Department: Chief Tolman reported that the ambulance we have is 20 years old and it shows.  There have been times that the ambulance was in the shop being repaired and they had to have someone else cover their calls during that time.  Quotes for replacement ambulances came in at about $110,000-$180,000.  However, they were able to find a used one that is 5 years old for $15,000 from Roy City.  The city has a vehicle replacement program with a capital projects plan where money is set aside each year for these purchases.  The council felt the price was good and approved this purchase.  The power gurney and its benefits and costs were discussed.  The council felt that at this time it is best to hold off on this purchase.

•General Plan Timeline: Due to the Coronavirus and the quarantine in place, a discussion took place about how to move forward with feedback for the general plan.  Initially, April was discussed to be a time for citizens to review the second draft.  This included open houses and a survey.  However, due to restrictions on gathering, things needed to be reworked.  The council had a lengthy discussion about moving forward and how.  In the end it was decided to essential put a pause button on the general plan.  We will spend the month of April working on the survey which includes a selection of randomized citizens reviewing the ease, user ability and general understanding of the survey.  This is to take place for 2 weeks in April.  The council will review the results of the feedback of the survey the last week of April at which time we are hopeful we will have further direction of the quarantine and how to move forward.

•Budget Workshop for Fiscal Year 2020-2021: We are currently underway on all our budget for next fiscal year.  A discussion that took place in the Admin and Finance committee about the future revenue of property tax.  There are essentially three different options.  The council chose to make no changes to the current property tax for this fiscal budget.  The discussion will take place again at a later date when the public can convene and weigh in.  If you are interested in learning more about these tax options, I did a video on it you can view here.  

•Procurement Policy: The Admin and Finance committee has been working on a procurement policy for our city for over a year and it was finally ready for council's review.  You can read more about this, and the policy itself in the packet.  The council made an adjustments to the authorizations amount for the department heads and city manager.  This will go back to the committee for revision and come before the council at a later date for final approval.

New Business:

•A discussion about the latest ruling on the TUF fee and the wording that was change to include that a transportation utility fee is a fee and not a tax will be coming back to the council at the next meeting.

•We had discussion about conducting nonessential business during the quarantine.  Deciding what is essential and nonessential can be hard to define.  It was decided that the mayor will set the agenda and if the council found that some items needed to be discussed at a later date, as what had happened in tonight's meeting, was a good balance.

•Preparation for future impacts on sales tax revenue.  In light of all that is going on with the economy due to Coronavirus, staff is looking at preparing for a decrease in sales tax revenue.  More information will be coming forth on the 14th.

•A question on the discussion of Fiber was brought up.  The municipality committee has not made any further steps at this time.  A extensive discussion needs to be had.  There are many choices that will need to be made that will have potential impact on every resident.  It will also come up at a later date when the public can be more involved.

Reports:

•The Public Safety Committee will be meeting with the Fire Department to discuss emergency preparation for Covid-19 and other emergencies.

•There are plans underway to have updates to the bathrooms at Cherry Farms.

•The Davis County Landfill will be closing to residents this Friday.  Regular curbside pickup will continue.  As of now, the Spring Cleanup is still underway but could change.

•Our grant submission application for placing sidewalks on South Weber Drive was approved and the city should be expecting a $300,000 reimbursement from the state coming soon.


And that's a wrap my friends!  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out!

#getinvolved #stayinvolved

Recap! Joint City Council/ Planning Commission Meeting - General Plan

Recap!

Due to the pandemic and all the other crazy stuff this past week, this meeting was done virtually through Zoom and live streamed to YouTube.    You can view this meeting by going to the South Weber City's YouTube Channel or see below.  

This was our final meeting before sending the general plan back out to the public for round 2 of public comment.  A few more items were discussed.

•Mixed Use.  As some of you may know, when the first general plan draft was released early fall last year, mixed use was something that was added but not yet defined (mixed use being some form of adding commercial with residential).  Starting at the new year, a committee comprising of two council members and two planning commissioners, along with the mayor and staff were tasked with defining what mixed use for our city would be.  After much contemplation, the committee returned to the council with a proposal to actually *not* offer any mixed use.  There are two main properties that were discussed with mixed us.  One is just off 475 E and Old Fort Road on the west end of town, the other is just west of Highmark Charter School off South Weber Drive on the east side of town.  The committee felt that a residential component would be far larger for these parcels of land and felt that keeping it commercial only would be the most beneficial for our city.  Both of these properties would require a development agreement and a design plan for the entire property.   The council and commission agreed with the committee's proposal and will go forward onto the general plan for further public comment. This discussion takes place about minutes 5:00-25:50.

•Annexation on the South Slopes:  In the first general plan draft, the south slopes were zoned Business Commerce.  However, the first round of the public comment indicated hesitation and safety concerns when developing these slopes.  This section has now been moved back to open lands.   There was some additional edits made to the general plan narrative to further indicate that annexation is meant to protect the slopes, not develop them.  You can hear this discussion on minutes 32:00-1:00:00.  If you would better like to understand annexation, you can read more about it on my blog post here.

•Land Use on West Side: There was some concerns discussed about the land use on our far west side, currently zoned Commercial Rec with some opportunities for Light Industrial.  The concern was the buffer zone between the commercial side to the nearest residential zone, which is low-moderate.   This discussion takes place approximately minute 1:01:00 - 1:13:00.

•Capital Facility Plan (CFP):  This conversation discussed not only the land use but also population buildout.  Our CFP is looked at after every general plan and helps us plan for future infrastructure and costs to the city due to growth, called impact fees.  By removing mixed use from the plan, our population decreased from 13,500 of the previous plan to 12,800.  Minutes for this discussion happens about minutes 1:14-1:38.

•HAFB & Contamination:  Concerns about the plume maps and the exact location of contamination was discussed and the city's responsibility when it comes to developing properties near the plumes or on potentially contaminated lands.  In the end it was felt this needed to be discussed further at another meeting and a committee will be meeting to review information to bring back to the council for a discussion in the future.  Minutes 1:42:00-2:00:00.

Future Timeline
The rest of the meeting talked about the next steps.  There are a few important things for the public to note.
 *In light of the recent events with the Coronavirus, this is subject to change.*

1.  The city is currently requesting for volunteers to beta-test the survey between now and the end of the month (5 days).  I encourage all who have the time and ability to volunteer.  You can do it online or on paper.  This will just help ensure the survey is easy to use and understandable.

2.  In the meeting it was mentioned the public houses would be cancelled in light of the quarantine.  Since then, the council and mayor have decided to discuss this at our meeting on Tuesday how we could do an open house and when.

3. Public Comment Period will start April 13th and end April 30th.  A joint meeting held with the CC/PC will again take place May 12th to review.  At that time we will decide if we need to do another round of drafts, or if we feel we are at a place where the plan can be approved.

This is all discussed minutes 2:00:00-2:05:00.

Phew!!  Ya'll still with me?  I know that is a lot of information.  I hope you will all take the time to participate in the general plan.  As citizens, the general plan is the most powerful tool you have in shaping your vision of the future of our city because it relies heavily on the public's feedback!  Thank you thank you for taking time to get involved and participate.

  It IS making a difference!

#getinvolved #stayinvolved

Live Video: Tuesday March 24th Meeting and City Ordinances for Dogs

Live Video: Upcoming Agenda Item Regarding Property Tax

While this meeting was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this will still be something to discuss for the future of the city at a later time.  I hope that this is informative and helpful to you to better understand the way we should structure the property tax for our city.  

#getinvolved #stayinvolved 

Planning Commission Meeting: Discussion of R7 and Commercial Recreation Zones

The Planning Commission's Agenda is available for this Thursday at 6:00. They will be reviewing the R7 zone (our high density zone) as well as commercial recreation. I encourage everyone to review these two zones as they currently stand and if you have specific feedback or suggestions to let the commission/council know.

Our R7 zone was recently changed from 13 units/acre down to 7. There are additional changes that need to happen with the change in density. This includes setbacks in height, distances, minimum acreage, restrictions and others.

The commercial rec zone is being proposed on our current land use general plan proposal. This is the light blue section that is mostly on the south-west side of the city. As most in the city are keenly aware, if a proposal fits the zoning, then it is hard to be able to deny it. We need to review our CR zone to ensure we are attracting the types of developments to the city we want. Below is a link to each of the codes. If there is anything in the permitted or conditional uses section you feel should be removed or included or any other changes, please make sure to make your voice is heard.

To review the R7/HDH zoning code click here.

To review the Commercial Recreation code click here. 

Recap! City Council Meeting 3.10.2020

City Council Recap 3.10.2020

As always, a huge thanks to Jeff Judkins who is volunteering time away from his family to come and live stream these meetings.  Also, a special thanks to those who came out to the meeting or tuned in otherwise.

•Presentation of Stephen’s property located at 475 E and Old Fort Road:  This development presentation included a hotel, a gas station, a strip mall of commercial, storage units and 200 apartments in one building.  The concept to the plan will be linked below as well as the information that was given to the council and shown at the meeting.  There was concerns brought up both by public comment and with the council concerning the apartments.  The developers responded that the residential aspect was needed financially in order to ensure the commercial.  There was also concerns brought up about the height of the hotel being 4 stories.  The developer mentioned that if a restaurant or some greater commercial would commit to coming in it would possibly bump the hotel or other aspect.  This is very early in the planning.  The council gave a few additional concerns.  Ultimately this will depend on what comes back with the definition of mixed use that is being determined by the council and planning commission currently.  Just a reminder that this was *only* a presentation.  Nothing has been finalized or even started at this point.  

•Waterline on Cottonwood Drive:  Uintah has met with South Weber staff and is on board with the latest agreement.   It was explained why this was a 12 inch line vs. the 10 inch line South Weber was previously looking into.  There is benefits to both cities to do the 12 inch line.   The council approved unanimously to approve this agreement.  This process will begin soon with the repavement of Cottonwood Drive coming shortly after.  

•Final Approval for Alpha Coffee:  Alpha Coffee is a coffee shop that will be just west of Little Caesar’s.  You can see the final renditions for this establishment in the packet.  

•Another item that was discussed was utilizing a company that will review any development plans to our code. This will not be a cost to the city but will rather be passed on to developer fees.  This will be an added measure to ensure that all plans meet every part of our code.  Currently we will use a pool of companies that best fit our needs and then will possibly slim down to one company if we feel it best fits our needs.

•Legislative Review:  HB273 which deals with public officials being held personally liable in the event that they refuse to develop land after being advised to do so but a state ombudsman passed the house as well as HB357 that deals with public education funds.   SJR9 that distributes tax revenue of income tax to children and the disabled and SB39 that is a continuation of affordable housing and SB34 passed the Senate.  There was also an update to the TUF – the words “or tax” have been removed from the definition. This will likely mean that the TUF as it is instated will continue without any foreseeable problems.  

•New Business: The council recommended that the Planning Commission review the commercial recreation zone.   The time of the meeting on the 24^th will likely be adjusted due to the caucus being that same night.  More details will be coming soon.  

•Reports: Mayor Jo reported there are citizens who are interested in raising funds to get a removable cover for the pickleball courts.  Councilmember Soderquist said that he has met with the Gravel Pits and were informed of their processes and daily plans as well as when they shut down operations and how they mitigate the dust.    Councilmember Petty reminded everyone about the Easter Egg Hunt that will take place April 6^th at Canyon Meadows park.  It will start at 5:30 on the dot.  Afterwards the train will be operational until 7:00.  Food trucks will be available as well.  Old Fort road will be starting repaving again starting about April 15^th but could be sooner weather permitting.  Another fun item for our city is we are now on the JustServe app for any service or volunteer opportunities within the city.  

And that’s a wrap! I hope I got everything that I felt you would want to know.  Thanks again for all those who are staying involved and for the comments coming in that are helping to shape South Weber to the best that we can be!

#getinvolved #stayinvolved

Recap! Joint City Council/Planning Comission - General Plan

Well, well, well....what do you know? I think we finished reviewing the second draft of the general plan!  We all deserve cookies I think.

•This meeting was shorter in nature as there was just a few final points to go over.   There was some discussion about the population numbers and buildable acreage that is left.   More information will be forwarded to staff to double check those numbers.  There was a few other questions and clarifications.

•Planning Commissioner Rob Osborne expressed his hesitancy to approve the general plan when the new R7 zone (our high density zone which was recently changed from 13-7) needs additional work.  It was determined that the planning commission will work on that zone on the 12th.  

•Mixed use was also discussed.  The mixed use committee (comprising of myself, Councilman Winsor, and Planning Commissioners Walton and Osborne) have had several meetings and will need additional ones.  This committee has tried to think of everything we need to consider before putting something out that will align with the vision the citizens of South Weber.  This is no small feat.  However, when it is defined, it will come before the Commission and the Council before final approval and the public will be able to make further comment on it.  It is also worth noting that the way the mixed use is being drafted will be an overlay and not a zone.  This means that the developer will need to request to be able to utilize the overlay and it will need to be approved by the council - a developer will not simply be entitled to it like it would if it were a zone (the case for the Lofts). 

**Important Upcoming Dates**

•Staff will be sending out a timeline soon for the next survey to go to the public.  There was some great suggestions during the last survey that we will be utilizing.   One of those will be a "beta-testing" from citizens on the survey before it goes out to the public to ensure it works correctly and is easily understandable.  We will also have another 2 days of open houses - tentatively set for April 7th and 8th.  It was determined this survey doesn't need to be quite as long of a time period as the first which was 6 weeks.  Council felt closer to 3 weeks would be reasonable.  The goal is to have the R7 zone completed as well as a definition for Mixed Use before the public finishes their opportunity for public comment so that they can review that new information.   I will keep everyone posted for when this information is available and I am certain all council members will be available to answer or help in any way.  

Please let me know if you have any questions!  A HUGE thanks to Jeffrey Judkins who is providing live video of the proceedings.  I know so many of you are joining in there as well as reviewing the audio and the minutes.  Keep at it!  Your involvement matters!

#getinvolved #stayinvolved 

Recap! City Council 2.1.2020

Tonights meeting was a great one.  We had lots of public involvement and public comment.  I appreciate everyone who took the time to come out and to those who gave their public comments.  I know it is not easy, but I appreciate the time and effort and I'm sure the rest of the council would agree.

•We had 19 public comments tonight surrounding many different things but a lot centered on the parks  priority list, the shared water line with Uintah and upcoming development plans that will be coming before the Planning Commission this Thursday.  

•RV Park: It was initially on the agenda to discuss the RV park and development but the developer requested for it to be tabled.

•Cottonwood Drive Waterline:  Just some quick background on this.  This is a line that is needed to be upgraded because it is currently under sufficient fire flow.  Uintah is also in need of upgrading their line as well, so staff started looking into a cost shared agreement with Uintah a few months back to upgrade to one line that will facilitate both cities.  However, some additional information has come forward regarding the county line.  On Feb 3rd, the Weber County Commissioners met with some members of both cities as well as Davis County Commissioners to discuss the boundary line.  While the line was initially following the river, there has been so much movement there it is hard to define.  Both Davis County and Weber County Commissioners agreed rather than have the boundary fall on a moving target like the river, they would like it to be a fixed line: I-84.   They directed their staff to go forward with getting that ready to be approved at the next level.  This could take some time.  However, just because the county is crossing its boundaries, doesn't mean that our city boundaries will follow as well.  Uintah and South Weber are both able to decide want we want to do with our own boundaries.   This will affect 8 residencies living in South Weber.  Staff has reached to them and a neighborhood meeting will be commencing next week to discuss with them their desires/concerns and answer questions.  Because of this concern, the agreement for the waterline was tabled until more clarity between our borders is received.  

•Parks Priority List: Councilwoman Petty sounded this discussion off with explaining some of the background to what brought about this list.  The Parks and Rec committee has 7 members.  2 council members, Quin Soderquist (Blair Halverson before this year) and Angie, 2 Planning Commissioner Wes Johnson, Department Heads for Public Works and Recreation, Mayor Jo and our city manager all attend.  Angie explained why some things that were high on the priority of the survey did not make it to the priority list and why others did instead.  Bathrooms for parks were not listed on the priority list because there are grants available for them, which they intend to pursue starting later this week.  Dave broke down the amounts of impact fees and when they will "expire."   $26,500 will expire at the end of June of 2020, $19,991 in June of 2021, $132,000 in June of 2022 and $217,000 in June of 2023.  If the impact fees expire, we will need to return them to the developer.  There was added discussion on why the parks committee chose what they did and some other questions posed by council members.  A vote was called to approve the priority list which passed 4-1 with Councilmember Winsor being the nay vote.

•New Business: There is a new policy on reading emails for public comment.  Moving forward, the council will no longer read aloud emails requesting to be read during a meeting.  If you are unable to attend a meeting but would like to have your comment a part of public record, you can have someone else read it for you (each of you getting a turn for your 3 minute comment), or if you would rather, you may ask the council to submit it for public record.  A copy of your email will go into the minutes as part of public record.  If you need to use this approach please make sure to send it to every council member so they can be aware of your comment.   This is a bit of a shameless plug here but please know your public comment matters and is important.  Even if it is not read aloud in the meeting, having it a part of public record is vital and important for a myriad of reasons. 

•Reports: Mayor Jo reported on several bills on the legislative floor right now that may have an impact/interest for our city to be aware of.   Council Member Soderquist requested to discuss the change of the agenda for this week's planning commission meeting.  What was initially slated as 5 separate public hearings (see more about that here), was changed to one public hearing.  Staff's intention of this change was to better facilitate public comment for residents.  Public hearings must strictly only be for the item being discussed at that time.  In an effort to save from someone commenting on the wrong one at the wrong time, and to prevent someone having to stand multiple times for each individual item staff felt it would be easier to make it one hearing for each item.  However, each item will be discussed and action taken on that item will be done individually with the Planning Commission.

I think that's everything.  If you have any questions please let me know! The audio should be available in a couple of days and the minutes will be available later in the month.  Have a good night South Weberites!

Recap! City Council 1.28.2020

Tonight's meeting was packed full of lots of discussion!  Thank you all to who were able to come out!  We had 13 public comments most of which centered on concerns with Riverside RV Park.   

•UDOT Presentation: He discussed future possible plans for the 89/84 corridor.  This was just a study only.  Currently there are not funds available for this project.  However, the mayor reported that she has been in contact with legislators to try and get funding for this project within this year.  This interchange has a lot of challenges.  This {pretty cool} website will show you a rendering of some plans, both long term and short term.  The most popular/viable/easiest to fund method for the long term is the Center Bypass and the SPUI for short term.  A SPUI is similar to the I84 on ramp in Riverdale.  

•Riverside RV Park CUP and Development Agreement:  There was much discussion on this. A lot of questions asked by the public were posed and answered.  The boundary concerns are enough that the CUP was tabled until Feb 11th, where it is hoped an official decision from the proper entity will be made.  The development agreement will also be reviewed on the 11th pending the boundary concern has been properly addressed.  

•Parks Priority Projects:  The parks committee has been reviewing and gathering information based on results from a 2018 survey sent out to the citizens about potential parks projects.  After reviewing many different projects, the committee has determined what they feel are the top priority projects.  These funds - minus the wetlands restoration - will be used with impact fees that the city has acquired for the specific use of upgrades to parks.  You can see a list of the priority projects, as well as other possible future projects below.

•Snow Plow Policy:  Public Works Department Head Mark Larsen was present to go over the new snow plow policy.  He said the policy is more a set of guidelines for the fact that every storm is different.  Depending on how long the storm will last and how heavy it will be may alter the policy slightly.  For example, it wouldn't be worth it to plow a small storm on non-priority roads if it will melt the next day because of the hardship on the plow blades.  Similarly, if a storm continues throughout the day, they may spend priority time on the main roads only to save on resources of drivers and spread out to other roads once the storm quits.   Keeping items off the roads (garbage cans, vehicles) really helps out the drivers a lot.  Of course, as a reminder, no one should be parking on the street per city code from November to March. 

•New Business: There was an inquiry on how to better get information out to the public concerning public notices and expanding from the current 300' of neighbors surrounding it.  Also there was a reminder to bring the red striping policy that was discussed in the public safety meeting to come before the council.  City Reporter Lisa Smith said every public notice must be posted on the Utah Public Notice website.  She recommended can sign up and get an email notification anytime a public notice is submitted for our city.    

Reports

•Mayor Jo: Met with Senator Stuart Adams and Brian Bean and neighbors about HB0253 and short term rentals.  They are looking into amending the bill to better protect surrounding residents.  She also reported there was a lot of committee meetings this past week and that a committee meeting to discuss the shared water line with Uintah will be on the 11th next month.

•Councilmember Halverson: The Public Safety Committee met with the fire department and discussed goals and an emergency preparedness plan, hazard mitigation and paramedic changes for the city. 

•Council Member Alberts (Can I just say me? Weird to speak in 3rd person right?):  We have a new committee - the public relations committee which will include myself and Council Member Petty.  We met last week and discussed goals and ideas to better involved and inform the public.  Staff was directed to look into options for live streaming meetings.  Also, the Mixed Use Committee met which Taylor Walton was chosen as chair but I will report on it at council meetings.  We discussed our mixed use overlay and what the goals and ideals for this specific use of a zone.

•Council Member Petty: Parks and Rec met with the train club this last week and had a great and positive meeting.  An amended agreement will the train club will be forth coming soon. 

•City Manager Dave Larsen:  The street lights on Old Fort Road are up and running.  Since the city owns and operates these lights (rather than Rocky Mountain Power) we can turn them on and off as needed to save money, so if you see some lights are out it is for that reason. 

Thank you for tuning in! If you have any questions I am happy to answer them.  

#getinvolved #stayinvolved

Priority Parks Project List

Recap! Joint City Council & Planning Commission Meeting (General Plan discussion)

Once again, a huge thanks to Jeff Judkins for coming and doing a live stream of this meeting.  I know that being away for hours at a time every week is a sacrifice to your family - make sure to send out a thank you to him for doing so!

Tonight's meeting was a long one with lots to discuss.  You can hear the audio of it here and here and see the packet here.  The packet will include the maps we were looking at during the discussion as well and an updated section of the commentary of the general plan about the parks and rec that was also discussed can be found here.  

Lots of discussion happened at this meeting.  The minutes will be up probably next week and I would encourage all to look at it or check out the audio to get the full details of everything.

Up first was digging right into our new mixed use overlay.  There was a question about why do an overlay over a zone.  The answer to that was that an overlay allows for denial, a zone does not.  The developer will be bound to anything within the overlay which is mostly based on form-based code.  (Form-based code is more of using specific and determined styles, exteriors, heights etc. for a developer to design around to create the desired look of a development -- think Park City)).  

The overlay can only be applied to Commercial Highway zones that are over 5 acres of land -- and will only be applied through a rezone request to the PC and CC.  This limits the amount of this overlay to really take place in two parcels in our community - the property off South Weber Drive near Highmark and the property at the corner of 475 E and Old Fort Road.   Included in the code are specific setbacks and heights of buildings, outdoor signage, percentage of open space, landscaping requirements among other things.  Also included in the code was the requirement of a development agreement. 

Most of the concerns the discussion surrounded was the "no limit on the number of dwelling units' in a single building" and the height restrictions on buildings.   The restrictions on height depend on how far the unit sits from a public right of way (street or sidewalk).  The further away from the ROW, the higher the building could be, with a max of 50'.  Since these two properties are very different, there was a discussion on what could work on one property would not work as well on another. 

After much deliberation, it was decided that a committee of 2 Planning Commission officials as well as 2 city council members would meet with staff to reword the code to better satisfy our concerns.  Rob Osborne and Taylor Walton from the PC and myself and Wayne Winsor from the council were chosen to work with staff.  

The next item was to discuss the General Plan which started with reviewing all the maps included with the general plan.  Included in the packet are the new ideas for the roads north of SWD that was formally South Bench Drive as well as the 1900 connection to Layton.  Other maps that had some discussion was the sensitive lands map which formally included the OU's from contamination from HAFB.   After a discussion of why it was a removed and the question of if it was needed, staff was directed to include the OU's on the sensitive lands map.  

The last item of business was concerning the new section of our Parks and Rec on the text of the general plan.  It removed the requirement that was a suggestion from the Nat'l Parks & Rec Association that for every 1,000 people 25 acres of recreational lands was set aside, 10 of which would be developed parks.  The new text focuses on not creating more and new parks, but on maintaining current parks.  The concern that we aren't financially able to update and add to current parks was discussed.  The cons to this would be that we would not set aside another large developable park in our general plan (although retentions basins will continue to be required and could be used for park space) but the pros would be that it allows us to update and add to our current parks and will overall cost the city less to maintain.

Just a reminder that this draft of the general plan will go back out to the public for further review and most likely another survey.  After that feedback is given, the council and planning commission will again review it and make changes if necessary.

Phew!  As I said, there was so much to this meeting and a lot of deliberation.  Being a recap, it contains just the bare minimum of information and if you would like to better understand the situation I would suggest listening to the audio.  I hope that this is helpful for everyone!

Thanks again for all you staying involved and informed!!

#getinvolved #stayinvolved

Recap! City Council 1.4.2020

We had our first city council meeting this evening for the year in 2020.  Thank you all who were able to come out and of course to Jeff Judkins for streaming via Facebook live!  

•We did not have any public comment for this meeting.  There was an audit presentation done by Keddington & Christensen of our budget.   You can find more information about that in the packet.  They reported a clean report.  There were some recommendations/findings but they did not affect the numbers of the budget.  You can see those on page 54 of the audit report.  It had to due with making sure meeting minutes are posted within the correct timeframe and deposits not matching up.  On page 54 you will also find the city's response to those findings.  

•There was a presentation schedule for a development of the property next to Highmark Charter school, however the presenter was not in attendance.  City Manager David Larsen will be reaching out to them.  

•City Councilor Halverson was chosen as the mayor pro tem.  He will stand in for the mayor if she is unable to attend meetings.   There was also a new appointment to our Planning Commission.  After serving for 5 years, Debbi Pitts time on the commission came to an end.  A public announcement was made and 6 applicants applied for the position to the Planning Commission.  Mayor Jo, City Planner Barry Burton and Planning Commission Chair Rob Osborne interviewed each applicant and relayed all the applicants were very impressive and did great in their interviews.  The mayor made a  recommendation that Gary Boatright Jr. be appointed to the position.  The mayor related that Gary is very level headed and has land use experience while serving on the Riverdale City Planning Commission.  The council asked some further questions about Gary and what he hopes to bring to the table and other information about him.  You can hear that on the audio if you would like to learn more about him.  I look forward to seeing him in action and thank Debbi Pitts for her service these past five years.  

•The West Side Reservoir is up and running! There was a leak that was discovered and due to quick actions of staff with Jones & Associates they were able to find it and fix it in a timely manner.   That added expense, as well as another expense for a needed upgrade to the city's server were approved.  

•Our snow plow policy has been revised and updated.  A new map will be available online soon, but you can also see it in the packet as well (last page).  The biggest change here will be to cul-de-sacs, where a pass through with one in and one out will be done instead of clearing the entire "bulb" area.  This is to save on time and resources as cul-de-sacs require the most amount of time and usually have the most problems.

•New Business:  Councilman Winsor was added as a voting member, along with Dave Larsen and Mayor Jo for the ULCT.   Concerns about parking and traffic on the east side of South Weber Elementary was brought up as well and the best course to address that.  It was also discussed how to best bring up any new legislation that will affect our city directly and to be involved in that.  

•Reports:  There has been some vandalism around the fisherman's access and the city is keeping it's eye out on it.  A meeting with Staker Parson's took place and they look forward to meeting quarterly.  They have showed interest in possibly making some type of donation of some sort for a possible pickle ball court in Canyon Meadows park.  If you would *not* like to have your property sprayed for misquitos, you can contact mosquito abatement for an exception on your property that will stay in place for 3 years.  Also the mosquito abatement has job openings which could extend to teenagers if anyone is interested.  There are some grants specific for outdoor children's activities that the parks and rec committee will be discussing soon.  There was some questions on the flag that was for an Eagle Scout project that we are still waiting on more info for as well as an update on the civic building (next to the fire department) and what the future for it holds.  More information should be coming forth soon.  

•The US census is coming up and it is imperative that all in the city participate.  Each person counted brings in thousands of dollars for the city! There will be more info coming soon and it is quite a process that we hope all will participate in.  

And that's a wrap for this meeting.  As always, please contact your city officials if you have any questions or concerns.  I am so excited about this upcoming year and working with the great people of South Weber!

#getinvolved #stayinvolved

Tuesday January 14th Agenda and Packet

Tuesday's agenda and packet are up! The development presentation is for the property between the charter school and the storage sheds. You can find the new snowplow policy in the last 3 pages of the packet. The packet also includes the audit report and more info on the server update and reservoir repairs as well as anything else on the agenda. Lots to discuss and talk about at our first meeting of the year. I am excited to get started! 

Link to packet: http://southwebercity.com/file/2016/11/0-CC-2020-01-14-Packet.pdf

East Gate & Falcon Hill Development

2 recent developments underway has caught the attention of many South Weber residents, but it's not located within the city.  So why do many citizens feel it is imperative others know about it?

Falcon Hill

In early 2012, news broke of a new development on the west side of Hill Air Force Base, the beginning of what officials say "will be a bustling retail center for years to come."   The Falcon Hill Project is a 550 acre private development, built under an Air Force Enhanced Use Land Lease (EUL - military land lease of under-utilized lands to a developer for 50 years).  It will feature over 2 million square feet of commercial space in its first phase, with additional phases planned for the future.  This development will bring additional jobs, infrastructure, new buildings, roads and utilities to the Base.  Buildings that are owned by different tenants and are located outside of the gate are open to the public.  

Falcon Hill, located on the west side of the base and running adjacent to I-15 will be the largest EUL in the United States.  The project is an Aerospace Research Park both inside and outside the fence of the Base, including 10,000 square feet of retail building outside the gate.  When our county commissioners visited our city on August 27th of this year, Commissioner Lorene Kamalu described a new facility involved in the missile defense program that will bring 2500 new hires with another possible 2500 hired later.  Other reports state the public retail centers off-base will bring upwards of 10,000 jobs to the area.  

In March of 2017, ground was broken for a 21,000 square foot Utah Science Technology and Research Innovation Center (USTAR) within Falcon Hill in what is hoped to kick start high-tech companies at "Silicone Hills" - Layton City's own version of the bustling tech industry in Utah County dubbed Silicone Slopes.  Chief Operating Officer at Woodbury Corp Taylor Woodbury stated "Our goal for this new USTAR building is to be the cornerstone of the Silicone Hill movement that will help create a thriving tech community in Northern Utah."  The new facility will offer space for 15-20 start-up companies.  As the companies mature, they will move on and be replaced by other start up companies.

East Gate

East Gate, another development within HAFB, is business and research park similar to Falcon Hill adjacent to the East side of the Base.  Surrounded by 2 18 hole golf courses,  East Gate is an economic development area that focuses on aerospace research, and defense.  Included within East Gate is a business park with a 100,000 square foot high-tech industrial building for its tenant, Janicki Industries which "manufactures sophisticated aircraft parts for the military and has 66 acres on which future industrial development is planned." 

 There is also the Runway at East Gate, a 90 acre project area and runway access marketing to private businesses which will run complimentary to Falcon Hill.  While Falcon Hill will focus on research and development, East Gate will focus on manufacturing and distribution.  The Utah Air National Guard may also be relocating to The Runway as they have outgrown their current space at Salt Lake City International Airport.  

With all this growth, new residential areas will also be sprouting up, like Vistas at East Gate, a Century Home's Community which touts of a "new subdivision in the desirable east side of Layton, tucked amongst existing development in the area that continues to see substantial growth" 

Why does it matter?

Many may be wondering why South Weber residents would be concerned about these developments.  They aren't happening in our city after all.  These residents are worried about the close proximity East Gate is to us, especially to 1900 East.

If you observe our annexation map, you will see the areas that are in blue-properties we are willing to provide services for should the property owner choose to develop - butt right up against this East Gate development.  


This is in part why annexation had such a engaging conversation at our general plan.  Currently zoned at business commerce, the probability of developers wanting this property is high, especially in the coming years.  In order to develop it, they will need access to a road and utilities, most likely offered by South Weber since it sits well below in elevation to Layton City.  While this business commerce means potential to add commercial for our city, it also will mean increased traffic to our roads - a residential road nonetheless.

When a development of this magnitude and scale comes in, bringing with it thousands of jobs and industry, the surrounding areas are bound to see significant growth as well.  Some residents feel that if the 1900 E connection to Layton is materialized, it will not only mean more traffic to a road many feel is not safe or wanted, it will also create a new traffic pattern for the thousands of people now making their way throughout the base and the surrounding cities.  The East Gate Development lies just above us on the edge of Layton's border to South Weber.  Many feel that traffic congestion, compounded by the upcoming construction on Highway 89, will mean more cars will be using our road as an alternate route.  Others worry that because HAFB is such a powerful entity in our state, if 1900 is opened, it will only be a matter of time before it is expanded and enlarged to serve as another very needed entrance to the Base.  

Many will have different opinions on whether or not this is good or not for our community.  Please make sure to let our elected officials know your thoughts and comments by emailing them and filling out our next survey of our general plan.  Your voice matters.

#GetInvolved #StayInvolved