Council Meetings - 5 December, 2017

Last Council meetings of the year! The big news is the change in the Medical School proposal (see the last item of the day). There won't be any suspense, but it's not every day that we apppoint an interim mayor. Parking is always a hot topic, we'll be considering the adoption of a strategic plan.

The "Background" information is "staff interpretation" of the items. The "Preview" information are my personal thoughts on the items. The official published agendas and supporting materials can be found online.

PROVO MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
Work Meeting Agenda

12:00 PM, Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Work Meetings are designed to be a less formal venue for discussion among Council Members. Generally, no public input is taken during the meeting.

Approval of Minutes

• June 6, 2016 Budget Retreat
• October 18, 2016 Work Meeting
• September 19, 2017 Council-Planning Commission Joint Meeting
• November 14, 2017 Work Meeting
Approved by unanimous consent.

Business

1. A presentation on Wastewater planning (17-131)
   The Public Works Department will be presenting on financing options for either upgrading the current wastewater treatment plant or building a new wastewater treatment plant. This is the $200,000,000 question. Presentation only. The models show that we can save many tens of millions of dollars over the next 30 years if we build the new treatment plant in phases and pay as we go, instead of bonding. But the timing will be tricky, and our rates will need to continue to rise sharply to pay for the construction without bonding.
2. A discussion on Police fees (17-142)
   Acting on a request from the Budget Committee, Council has asked for a regular review of city fees to compare them to actual costs. This item will focus specifically on a review of Police Department fees. There are no documents for this item in our packet. Public safety, and specifically our police force is our largest expenditure from general monies. Only a very small amount of police services are paid for by fees. And there are good reasons for that. Presentation only. Police fees are mostly inline with the cost to provide the service (though we don't charge fees at all for core police services). One fee was identified as a candidate to increase, and the police may request a false alarm fee similar to the one the Fire Department is requesting (see the next item).
3. A discussion on proposed new Fire Department fees for false alarms (17-133)
   The Fire Department will be presenting their recommendations for an ordinance regarding false alarms. This item came from past fee review efforts. Some business owners have faulty fire alarm systems that frequently call out the Fire Department. Because there is no charge for the Fire Department responding to alarms, these business owners have no motivation (besides common decency) to fix their system and end these false alarms. The proposal is to start charging fees after THREE false alarms in a year. A new addition is that the Department is requesting that commercial fire alarms be registered with the City, including a 24-hour contact person. Presentation only. This proposal makes sense. One new wrinkle is that it will be based on a rolling 12-month time frame, rather than a calendar year.
4. A discussion on adopting the Provo Parking Strategic Management Plan as a guide for decision making and policy formation (17-126)
   This is a follow-up to a series of discussions Council has had with Provo City’s Parking Administrator. Council will be discussing whether they would like to officially adopt the Provo Parking Strategic Management Plan, developed byKimley-Horn Associates, at the Council meeting as a guide for decision making and policy formation. As I've written here before, I want to follow the recommendations of the Parking Strategic Management Plan which was written a few years ago by a consultant. The plan calls for a mission and vision statement, as well as guiding principles to be adopted. It doesn't call for the plan itself to be adopted. I think it is prudent to stick to that level of detail in our adopted policies. A motion for the Council to proceed at the December 5, 2017 Council Meeting with the option of considering adopting chapters 1 and 2 of the proposed Strategic Parking Management Plan was Approved 7:0. See the report for item 8 in the later meeting
5. A discussion on proposed Neighborhood Program changes (17-138)
   The Neighborhood Program Review Committee has worked with the Neighborhood Advisory Board to update the ordinance language in Provo City Code regarding the Neighborhood Program. The Neighborhood Program Review Committee reviewed input received from Council members and Neighborhood Chairs and Vice Chairs after the first presentation at the November 21 work meeting.. Proposed changes include transforming the Neighborhood Advisory Board (NAB) into the Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC), a Council committee; defining the membership and duties of the NAC; outlining the matching grant application process; and reverting the Downtown Neighborhood back to the standard neighborhood structure of electing a Chair from its residents. I'm still uncomfortable treating the Downtown Neighborhood like every other neighborhood in the City. I met with Downtown leaders and attended the last Neighborhood Program Review Committee meeting. It sounds like we will get more input from Downtown stakeholders before making changes, but I curious how that will show up in the proposed language. A motion for the Council to proceed at the December 5, 2017 Council Meeting with consideration of a version of the ordinance which continues to use “Neighborhood Advisory Board” and omits the sections with changes to the Downtown Neighborhood and neighborhood meetings for the land use development process. See the report for item 9 in the later meeting.
6. A discussion on proposed Council Handbook amendments (17-037)
   The Council Handbook contains information like background information, rules and procedures, intended to assist Council members in their duties. Council intends to review and revise the contents of the Handbook as needed, or at least every two years. As a member of the Rules Committee, I had the opportunity to work on this update. Some Council initiatives seem to go on forever, so it was great to be apart of something that is so near completion. It was a large undertaking, mostly by our Counsel and Staff. I'm impressed that we were able to get it out of committee before the end of the year. Now the question becomes, will it pass before the end of the year. A motion to approve the Council Handbook update was Approved 6:1, with Council member Kim Santiago opposed. A few months back, Mr. Sewell set a fairly lofty goal to complete a rewrite of the Council Handbook by the end of the year. With this vote we accomplished the goal. I've enjoyed being a part of the committee assigned to this task, but all of the heavy lifting was done by our wonderful staff.
7. A discussion regarding the Provo City Audit Report and Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017. (17-134)
   Council is presented with the audit report and comprehensive financial report each year. These reports will be explained during the work meeting before considering a resolution at the Council meeting to accept the reports. The CAFR itself hasn't been provided. It does take some time to get through Presentation only. The take away is that the audit is complete and we passed.
8. A discussion on the Accessory Apartment Overlay Zone, the Supplementary Residential Overlay Zone, and related zoning topics(17-137)
   At the request of various Council members, Gary McGinn from Community Development will go over the differences between the Accessory Apartment Overlay Zone (A Overlay), the Supplementary Residential Overlay Zone (S Overlay), and the provision allowing citizens who are 65 years and older to have accessory apartments. The goal is to provide Council members with a clear understanding of the differences between specific overlay zones in the City Code. I've been at this for years and every time I think I understand the occupancy regulations in Provo, I learn of a new wrinkle. I hope the presentation also includes information on occupancy regulations for areas not under the overlays to give context for what the overlays do. Presentation only. I'm almost to the point of just giving up on trying understand Provo occupancy rules. It's hard to expect residents to choose to follow the law if it takes a law degree to understand what it is. I hope to be able to address this next year.



Policy Items Referred From the Planning Commission

9. A discussion on a request to amend Provo City Code Subsection 15.03.020(3) to update 2017 standards to 2018 standards. City-Wide Impact. (17-0022OA)
   The Public Works Department operates based on a series of standards set at federal, state, and local levels. The City Code needs to be updated to reflect 2018 standards, and this item will allow that update to happen. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the update, though I noticed some differences between the version they voted on and the one we are considering. Presentation only. This item was already scheduled for the December 5, 2017 Council Meeting. I requested that next year the presentation include an outline of changes being made.



Closed Meeting

10. The Municipal Council or the Governing Board of the Redevelopment Agency will consider a motion to close the meeting for the purposes of holding a strategy session to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation, and/or to discuss the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property, and/or the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual in conformance with § 52-4-204 and 52-4-205 et. seq., Utah Code.
    Closed meetings (aka executive meetings) are held without the public present and must meet one of the conditions listed above. No closed meeting was held.

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PROVO MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
Regular Meeting Agenda

5:30 PM, Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Opening Ceremony

• Roll Call
• Prayer
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Neighborhood Spotlight: Provo Bay Neighborhood
• Approval of Minutes
  • October 17, 2017 Council Meeting
  • November 14, 2017 Council Meeting
  Approved by unanimous consent.

Presentations, Proclamations, and Awards

Items in this category do not involve legislative action.
1. A presentation of the Provology graduates
   Provology is a course offered to Provo residents to gain a better understanding of how Provo City functions. Presentation only. Congrats to the current batch of graduates! I look forward to working with them in the future.
2. A recognition of Provo City Employees
Presentation only. A group of officers were recognized, as was Janene Weiss, our retiring City Recorder. Provo is a great place to live, work, learn, and play due in large part to the remarkable employees who serve the community.


Public Comment

This public comment period is intended to allow comment on matters that do not appear on the agenda. Each speaker will generally be limited to two minutes. Fifteen minutes has been set aside for this comment period.

For items on the agenda requiring a public hearing, time to comment will be provided, after the item is presented, for all those who wish to speak.

For items not requiring a public hearing, public comment will still be taken following presentation of the item, but will be limited to a ten minute total comment period.



Action Agenda

3. A public meeting to appoint an individual to the office of Provo City Mayor to fill the remaining portion of the unexpired term vacated by Mayor John Curtis until January 1, 2018. (17-132)
   Each qualified applicant will be allowed a time-limited opening statement to the Municipal Council. The Municipal Council will ask questions of each applicant and then a vote will be held (if needed) to narrow the candidates to two individuals. A vote will be held to select the final candidate and the Council will vote on a resolution appointing an individual to the office of Provo City Mayor to fill the remaining portion of the unexpired term vacated by Mayor John Curtis until January 1, 2018. The Council previously passed an intent statement indicating that we would likely appoint whoever became the mayor-elect. The application period has now closed and our Mayor-Elect was the only one who applied. There won't be much suspense on this one. Approved 7:0
4. Administration of the oath of office to the mayoral appointee
   The Provo City Recorder will swear in the person appointed as the interim mayor. Presentation only. Congratulations to Interim Mayor (and Mayor-Elect) Kaufusi.
5. A resolution accepting a Provo City Audit Report and Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017. (17-134)
   Council is presented with the audit report and comprehensive financial report each year. These reports will be explained during the work meeting before considering a resolution at the Council meeting to accept the reports. See item 7 in the meeting above. Approved 6:0, with Council member Kim Santiago excused. See the report for item 7 in the earlier meeting.



Redevelopment Agency of Provo

6. A resolution approving the appropriation and budgeting of $3.8 million to purchase the property located at 57 West 500 South in Provo and to loan an additional $2.2 million to Intermountain Farmer's Association to purchase the property at 898 South University Avenue in Provo. (17-141)
   Intermountain Farmer’s Association (IFA) has had a presence in Provo for many years. They are currently located at 57 West 500 South. Over the last several years the store has not lived up to its potential and has struggled with parking issues as other businesses and meeting venues in the area have expanded. The OfficeMax building, located at 898 South University Avenue, has been vacant for a year and half since the company closed their store in Provo as a result of changing market conditions. Previously the owners of the building were looking to lease that space but have recently included a sale as an option for the property.
   
   IFA owns their location and has had several discussions with the OfficeMax building’s owners and representatives about purchasing the property and relocating the IFA Provo store into the OfficeMax building. This potential move would expand their store from 10,000 square feet to 23,000 square feet as well as give them ample parking . The move would also give IFA better visibility on a more traveled street, as well as a more easily recognized and accessible location. IFA feels if they could purchase this space it would allow them to expand their offering and increase their sales.
   
   Due to prior commitments and restrictive covenants from their financial institutions, IFA is unable to provide their own financing to acquire the OfficeMax building for approximately 5 years. IFA approached Provo City about short-term assistance in helping them maintain their store in Provo and expanding their operations.
   
   Staff is proposing the following to assist IFA maintain and expand. The Redevelopment Agency of Provo City Corporation (Agency) would purchase the existing IFA store for at $1,600,000. In addition, the Agency would provide a loan of $2,200,000 to IFA for 5 years to make up the difference in the purchase price of $3,500,000 for the OfficeMax building. This loan would include $300,000 for some costs to relocate the IFA store and do some work on the OfficeMax location. The loan would be secured by a Note and a Deed of Trust on the OfficeMax property with a stipulation that the Agency note would be the only lien on the property as long as the note is in place. The loan would be amortized over 25 years and due and payable in 5, giving IFA time to arrange financing with their existing lenders and keeping a long time business running in Provo.
   
   This option would allow the Agency to own approximately a quarter of a block in an area that has seen a great deal of activity recently and success with the Startup Building and other business newly opened in the area. Additionally, there is an opportunity to participate the redevelopment of the entire block and the Agency could leverage their ownership of the existing IFA building into a larger development. The $2,200,000 loan would be repaid over the 5 year period at an interest rate of 4% resulting in monthly payments of $11,612.41 and a balloon payment of $1,916,301 as shown on the attached spreadsheet. The Agency would not charge a prepayment penalty if IFA is able to arrange financing to pay off the loan sooner. There is a timing issue as IFA needs to close their transaction with the OfficeMax ownership group before December 20, 2017. Whoa, that was a lot of background. The money would be taken from a fund that was established for purposes like this. Making this loan ties up a significant amount of money for 5 years which reduces our ability to participate in other proposals. I do think this proposal is worth doing, and I'm particularly excited that our RDA will be able to take an active role in redeveloping this block. Approved 6:0, with Council member Kim Santiago excused. This is a good move, for the reasons I explained in the Preview.



Action Agenda

7. An ordinance amending Provo City Code to update public works standards to meet 2018 criteria. City-wide Impact. (17-0022OA)
   The Public Works Department operates based on a series of standards set at federal, state, and local levels. The City Code needs to be updated to reflect 2018 standards, and this ordinance will allow that update to happen. See item 9 in the above meeting. Approved 6:0, with Council member Kim Santiago excused. See the report for item 9 in the earlier meeting
8. A resolution adopting the Provo City Strategic Parking Management Plan for decision making and policy formation in regards to parking management within Provo City. (17-126)
   Council has been discussing updates to the Provo Parking Strategic Management Plan, developed by Kimley-Horn Associates, and adopting it as a guide for decision making and policy formation. See item 4 in the above meeting. Approved 6:0, with Council member Kim Santiago excused. We decided in the Work Meeting to consider approving only the first two chapters containing the Vision and Mission Statements and the guiding principles. This is what was passed. The consultant's report is still available for reference. I'm open to approving the Action Steps when they are ready.
9. An ordinance amending Provo City Code related to the Provo City Neighborhood program and clarifying sections related to City Boards. (17-138)
   The Neighborhood Program Review Committee has worked with the Neighborhood Advisory Board to update the ordinance language in Provo City Code regarding the Neighborhood Program. The Neighborhood Program Review Committee reviewed input received from Council members and Neighborhood Chairs and Vice Chairs after the first presentation at the November 21 work meeting.. Proposed changes include transforming the Neighborhood AdvisoryBoard (NAB) into the Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC), a Council committee; defining the membership and duties of the NAC; outlining the matching grant application process; and reverting the Downtown Neighborhood back to the standard neighborhood structure of electing a Chair from its residents. See item 5 in the above meeting. Approved 6:0, with Council member Kim Santiago excused. The default motion that we voted on was changed in the earlier meeting (see the results of item 5 in the earlier meeting). I'm grateful that the Council held off on making changes to Downtown and the meeting timeline for developments. We'll be able to work out the details and bring them back when we are really ready.
10. Public Comment on the Rocky Mountain University proposal to build a medical school on a portion of the East Bay Golf Course (17-136)
    Provo City has received a proposal that would involve building a medical school on a portion of the East Bay Golf Course. Presentations were made at the November 21 work meeting and Council has been gathering public input. The Council will receive public comment on this item at the Council meeting. Council members could potentially decide to schedule a public hearing at a future Council meeting to decide whether or not to place the property on the surplus list. News broke today that Wasatch Educational is no longer asking for an option on the "Southern Wedge" after 15 years. This means that decades from now, if they want to expand, they will have to go to the current City Council to make the request. Most of the opposition that I heard was okay with phase 1 (because the displaced holes can be relocated on the site, but were concerned with phase 2 because the City would be bound to sell, and there was no clear way to replace the holes at the current site. This really becomes a "eat your cake and have it too" proposal. We get a new medical school, and we get to keep our golf course, with the same number of holes and an upgrade to three of the holes. A motion to schedule the surplus hearing on January 9, 2018 and hold an open house on January 4, 2018 in advance of that meeting was Approved 6:1, with Council member Kay Van Buren opposed. There were some good questions raised that need to be answered. There will be a public open house on January 4th for the public to learn more and make their preferences known.



Adjournment

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