What's Up? - 9 July 2016

The City is reaching out to the public on a couple of important issues. Please read over these descriptions and put them on your calendar if you would like to learn more and have some input:

#1 Council is considering an urban deer control program. An open house will be held at 6 pm on July 12 at Timpview High School to allow residents to learn more about Provo's urban deer issues and options for the control program. We invite you to attend, ask questions, and contribute your feedback.

#2 (Of utmost importance, IMHO) The City is hosting five open houses to present the proposed changes to Vision 2030 and solicit public input.

• July 14, 6 pm, Provo Recreation Center multipurpose room (for Northwest Area)
• July 26, 6 pm, Location TBD (for Northeast Area)
• August 3, 6 pm, Lakeview Elementary (for Southwest Area)
• August 11, 6 pm, Spring Creek Elementary (for Southeast Area)
• August 23, 6 pm, Council Chambers (for Central Area)

What Was Up?

COUNCIL WORK MEETING

1:30 PM, Tuesday, July 5, City Conference Room, 351 West Center

1. A discussion on the proposed Keeping of Swine ordinance. (16-084)
   Council Member David Knecht moved this item forward to the July 19, 2016 Council Meeting. In addition, addressing the changes of use to be a distance of 300 feet from the property line. Seconded by Council Member George Stewart. Approved 6:0.  Council Member David Sewell excused.
   This item is a potentially complimentary or supplementary ordinance to the "farm animal adjacent to residential zones" ordinance that was discussed in the previous Work Meeting. Instead of addressing all farm animals, this one focuses solely on pigs. The proposal was to require all pig sties to be located at least 300 feet from any residence. This would include the residence of the property owner. After discussion, we are now contemplating language that would restrict sties away from any property line.
   As some of the leg work has already been done, I'd like to review if appropriate buffers are in place between agricultural and residential uses generally, something that the previous ordinance was intended to address.
2. A discussion on the Parkway Plaza Potential Redevelopment Area. (16-087)
   Council Member George Stewart moved this item to the July 19, 2016 Council Meeting. Seconded by Council Member David Harding. Approved 6:0. Council Member David Sewell excused.
   Many have lamented the closure of Shopko and the broader retail struggles in the Plum Tree Plaza. With new ownership and better access thanks to the BRT project comes a proposal to redevelop the Plum Tree Plaza. Here are details on the "The Mix" project. The investment of the new owners will revitalize this area and bring in new property and sales taxes. They will be asking the City to direct some of that increased revenue into helping pay for a parking structure in the development.
3. The funding of utility and infrastructure improvements at the Provo Municipal Airport for Duncan Aviation. (16-085)
   Council Member George Stewart moved to have a resolution to authorize Mayor John Curtis to sign a commitment letter on the part of the City for the infrastructure financing as defined in the Work Meeting today. This resolution will be prepared for the July 19, 2016 Council Meeting. Seconded by Council Member David Harding. Approved 6:0. Council Member Dave Sewell excused. Note: This item will also be heard at the next Work Meeting to receive from Administration the low, middle and high option for funding and other possible funding mechanisms.
   Several years ago we courted Duncan Aviation to be the location of their western operations. The negotiations were successful and their operation will bring several hundred well paying jobs. We committed to help pay for the infrastructure that would be needed for their expansion (as well as other development out by the airport). After a delay due to the recession, Duncan is now ready to move forward. Some capital has been saved up for the infrastructure, but more is needed. The Council discussed three options for funding the construction: delaying other infrastructure projects, borrowing against future federal grant money (Community Development Block Grants), borrowing from other City funds.
   After years of working towards getting on top of our pressing infrastructure needs, the first option looks like a non-starter with this Council. The second option makes sense as this type of infrastructure is one of the purposes of the CDBG program. But we are already making good use of the CDBG money each year funding things like sidewalk replacement. Another downside is that we would need to pay interest on the loan. And there are prepayment penalties. By borrowing against other City funds, we would be paying the interest to ourselves, and would have full flexibility about repayment.
   The administration will be bringing back some funding options to our next Work Meeting.
4. A discussion on updating the explanatory text for the 2016 Council Priorities. (16-015)
   Council Member David Harding moved to accept the 2016 Council Priority Sheets as currently formatted and to delete the section titled: “A budget in the following format” along with the bullet points underneath and to send to the Administration a letter reiterating this section as a formal request. The deleted section will be discussed further by the Council in a future Work Meeting.  Seconded by Council Member Gary Winterton. Approved 6:0. Council Member David Sewell excused. 
   Early this year the Council selected nine Priorities that we wanted to address this year. We developed a "Priority Sheet" for each of the nine. The sheets were a bit rough and some were incomplete (I know because I wrote much of them), but it was a good start and we needed to turn our attention to other issues. When we adopted the budget, we listed a URL for the public to go to learn about our Priorities. We took this opportunity to revisit the sheets and polish them up a bit.
   Most of the revisions were straightforward word-smithing and hole filling. This was complete two weeks ago. Additional time was taken to address the "Budgeting to Priorities" sheet. This sheet was unique because of the level of detail. Instead of discussing why the Council wanted to address the issue, this sheet contained specific requests from future budgets. Instead of discussing how to format the sheet, much of our discussion centered around the policies outlined in the sheet.
   The conclusion was to remove the detailed portion of the sheet so that it better matches the scope of the other sheets, with the explicit understanding that removing it from the sheet does not indicate that the Council is rejecting the policies contained in the section, and then bringing the policy question back to the Council for further consideration as its own item.
5. A discussion on Council Committees.(16-088)
   Council Member Gary Winterton moved to approve Council Member David Knecht as Chair of the Ad Hoc Housing Committee.
   Council Member [Gary Winterton David Harding] moved to approve Council Member David Knecht as a member of the Development Review Committee. Seconded by Council Member Gary Winterton. Approved 6:0. Council Member David Sewell excused.
   This adjusted the leadership and make up of a couple of committees in response to availability of Councilors.
6. A status update on commercial trampoline gym facilities. (16-089)
   Update Only.
   It sounds like some good progress has been made in the stakeholders discussions. The County Health Department tried to address this issue previously, but the effort stalled as a consensus proved elusive. This second go-around has many of the same stakeholders, but the prospects of success appear brighter.
   I requested that they consider public reporting of injuries. Imagine a sign, right next to the list of prices, which show the type and number of injuries that occurred in the last month and year at the gym. I see two benefits from this. First, the public will be able to make a more informed decision about the risks of participation, and may be more careful during their participation. Second, gym operators will have a distinct incentive to make sure their gym and practices are as safe as possible. Safer gyms will have an advantage over less safe gyms.
7. Closed Meeting
   A closed meeting was held.

COUNCIL MEETING

5:30 PM, Tuesday, June 21, City Conference Room, 351 West Center

1. Provo's Bike Challenge Awards
   
   Public Comment
2. A resolution authorizing execution of the Fifth Amended Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with Utah County relating to the Ice Sheet Authority. (16-080)
   Approved 6:0. Council Member David Sewell excused.From my write up after the Work Session: "This mostly is an update to incorporate new State regulations on interlocal agreements. It also recognizes the current way the facility is being managed. This is not expected to affect the operation of the Ice Sheet."
3. A resolution authorizing the execution of an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement to authorize Provo City's participation in the Utah Valley Home Consortium in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Home Investment Partnerships Program for Federal fiscal years 2017,2018, and 2019. (16-086)
   Approved 6:0. Council Member David Sewell excused.
   From my pre-meeting description: "This would create a consortium between Provo, Orem, Lehi, and Utah County to act as one local body to address the regional low to moderate housing needs. Provo City will act as the lead agency in the consortium."
4. A presentation on the process for implementing an Urban Deer Control Plan. (15-076)
   No Action. Information Only. [NOTE:  This item is information only. An Open House will be held on July 12, 2016 and the location to be announced. A public meeting will be held on this item at the July 19, 2016 Council Meeting at 5:30 PM in the Council Chambers, and at that meeting the public will have an opportunity to comment on this item. Please submit comments to your Council Members. Urban deer (deer who have taken up year-round residence in the city) are not as big of a problem in District 5 as in some other districts, but this may be an issue that you want to stay informed about. The open house next Tuesday has been set for 6pm at Timpview High School. We are very interested to hear from the public on this issue.
5. An ordinance amending Provo City Code Section 14.34.300 (Transitional Development Standards for Uses Abutting Residential Zones) clarifying restrictions on farm animals adjacent to Residential Zones. City-Wide Impact. (16-0006OA) (Item to be Continued to July 19th Council Meeting)
   Gary Winterton moved to continued to July 19, 2016 Council Meeting. Seconded by Council Member Dave Knecht. Approved 6:0. Council Member David Sewell excused.
6. An ordinance amending Provo City Code Sections 15.17.030, 15.17.040, 2.29.040 and 14.02.020 to reduce the notice requirements for public hearing before the Planning Commission for General Plan adoption and for General Plan Amendments from 14 to 10 days, as per Utah State Code, and to allow amendments to the General Plan more often than twice per year. City-Wide Impact. (16-0007OA) (Item to be Continued to July 19th Council Meeting)
   Gary Winterton moved to continued to July 19, 2016 Council Meeting. Seconded by Council Member Dave Knecht. Approved 6:0. Council Member David Sewell excused.