November 12, 2008 Council Minutes
November 12, 2008
7:00 P.M.
Council Present:
Cleo Gallegos, Dee Ray Bailey, Rocky Baker and Leann Smith.
Employees Present:
Scott Spevak, Linda Dayley and Steve Tuft.
Visitors Present: Marion Wadsworth, Ed Evans, Rose Schmitt, Casey Hermansen, Laurie Welch, Janet and Darrell Tilley, Gina VanTassell, George Warrell, Daniel Keller, Scott Briscoe, Jeremy Briscoe, Stanley Zielinski and Karen Pratt.
Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Anderson.
Amend agenda to include Discuss/Approve the Elk Meadows Project and in Mayor Time Discussion on the Bold Ridge Property.
Meeting Conducted by Mayor George A. Anderson.
Approve Minutes of the Council Meeting on October 22, 2008 and the Special Council Meeting on October 29, 2008.
Motion by Cleo Gallegos to approve the minutes for the Council Meeting on October 22 and the Special Council Meeting on October 29, 2008 as written. Second by Dee Ray Bailey. Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Dee Ray Bailey - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye.
Approve Paying the Bills Except the Bailey Oil Bill.
Motion by Leann Smith to approve paying the bills except the Bailey Oil Bill. Second by Cleo Gallegos. Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Dee Ray Bailey - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye.
Approve Paying the Bailey Oil Bill.
Motion by Rocky Baker to approve the Bailey Oil Bill. Second by Cleo Gallegos. Roll Call Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye: Dee Ray Bailey - Abstained.
Discuss/Accept Audit for Fiscal Year 2007-2008 Audit - Ed Evans, Evans and Poulsen.
Ed Evan from Evans and Poulsen presented a summary of the audit for the City of Heyburn to the Mayor and Council, stating that the audit went smoothly and thanked the city personnel. All of the funds operated within budgeted expenditures and the revenues exceeded the expenditures in all of the funds. I’ll bring your attention to the two page letter handed out with the audit. Professional auditing standards which keep revolving based on things, most of it happening at a national scene level. They keep doing things trying to rein in bad things that can happen, so this letter is a requirement that we communicate directly to you what are called the governess. Things aren’t kept from you from management or middle management but we don’t have that here. This letter describes the main elements of the audit even when there was nothing significant. We still have to tell you that they are there and that we looked at them. We think that it is a kind of a funny letter but that’s why it’s there.
In reference to the second to the last paragraph, it was in the audit last year, another new requirement. If a governmental entity does not have, in your own accounting staff, the ability to prepare these financial statements including disclosures. That technically is a weakness in your internal control system, so it’s a finding that you don’t have those people. It doesn’t make sense to hire a CPA for a city this size and then you can shift it back to us and we say okay fine just so that it is out in the open. To me it is nothing significant but it has to be in the findings.
Your balance sheet looks great and your totals in your cash reserves are excellent.
Motion by Leann Smith to accept the audit by Evans and Poulsen for 2007-2008. Second by Rocky Baker. Vote: Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Dee Ray Bailey - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye.
Discuss/Approve Retaining Evans and Poulsen for Fiscal Year 2008-2009.
Motion by Leann Smith to retain Evans and Poulsen for 2008-2009. Second by Dee Ray Bailey. Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Dee Ray Bailey - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye.
Elk Meadows Public Hearing Continuation.
Mayor Anderson opened the Elk Meadows Public Hearing explaining that it is a presentation of additional information in regards to traffic issues for the proposed Elk Meadows Planned Unit Development submitted by Terra Firma Properties, LLC. The property is located west of H Street and east of the railroad tracks between 19th and 20th Streets, Heyburn, Idaho. This hearing is a follow-up hearing so that the applicant may present information on traffic and ingress and egress issues.
Scott Briscoe, (Applicant)
Partner with Terra Firma Properties. Basically before we get any more invested in this property we want to make sure that we were not going to be shut down with an additional road. We hired a couple of professionals in this area to let us know if we were going to overload the existing roads. In your packets is a letter from Mori R. Byington, AICP form Bannock Transportation Planning Organization. Typically they figure approximately 10 in and out visits from each unit. This would mean 900 visits per day in an out of the development. From all of the classifications for these types of roads they said it would hold at least 2000 to 2500 vehicles per day. So through our development it’s not even half of the capacity for these roads. Another thing I found interesting in visiting with the City Engineer in Chubbuck and Mr. Byington on the roads like 21st Street they do not want accesses coming into those heavier traveled roads. Chubbuck right now is doing a pretty expensive project to eliminate access to Yellowstone Avenue. Everything that we have found supported not putting in another road, not having another route out. The cost of installing another road, for Richard and me, we do not feel that is going to be in the cards. We would love to do the project but it has to pencil out. What we are requesting is that the access road be removed so we know that we are not spending more money drawing up engineering and then find out that we have to buy land to put another road out.
Mayor Anderson asked if there were any questions.
Attorney Steve Tuft : Asked Scott Briscoe, for the record, I want to make sure that it is clear what you submitted to the council for consideration is:
*A Preliminary Plat of Toscano Subdivision in Rexburg
*Letter from Mori Byington - Bannock Transportation Planning Organization
dated 10/13/08.
*Letter from Moon and Associates Dated 10/2/08 directed to Richard from Chris King.
*A Google diagram.
*Scott Briscoe: I believe that is the other subdivision that Moon and Associates are talking about.
*Attorney Steve Tuft: Then there is a Toscano Phase 1A with an attachment of a final plat and with various diagrams of the final plat. Does this constitute the documents that you want the City Council to look at?
*Scott Briscoe: Yes they do. That’s just to show you how other subdivisions have same or similar situations.
Comments in favor of:
*Marion Wadsworth: I’m with Mountain West Realty. I requested Moon and Associates who engineered our beautiful Elk Meadows PUD to come and address you and answer any questions you might have but that is not their policy to do that. But I did get them to write the letter that you all received. I’ll direct you to the second paragraph, I guess the buzz word for the night for Terra Firma and Richard, who is out of town, wanted me to reiterate is the controlled access is what it is all about for them. We have the Elk Meadows situation traffic from the project must use 20th Street to H Street, then north one block to 21st Street. Other options alternate traffic can continue on 20th Street, which can absolutely more than handle that this would create. Richard wanted to really hit that point. That not only is it not cost effective for them to put another street through from 21st Street to 20th but that it becomes a liability for them. They really want controlled access, we want to be able to control who comes through this PUD and they want it to be the residents of the PUD or their visitors. As you go through this letter from Moon and Associates, which is our local expert, and they are doing PUD’s all over the state like this. Bigger PUD’s that only have, like us, we have three private drives onto a public street. That is how it is in Sugar City and Rexburg as well and they are much bigger than this PUD. I quote “It seems to us that to build yet another street from 20th to 21st would be rather pointless.” Who wants to throw money away? They really wanted me to bring that to your attention. Also, I took a little road trip and went to Spring Park, which is in the community that Terra Firma did in Chubbuck. I was impressed, as being someone in the profession, it was so wonderful to see these new apartments and they’re not that new, two years old, just absolutely clean, green. I have pictures if the council wants to see them. Again there is only one ingress and one egress.
*Attorney Steve Tuft: I just want to remind you that the hearing by law has to stay on the issue of ingress and egress so that the character and the beauty of the facilities really are outside the
*Marion Wadsworth: But back to Spring Park there is only one ingress and one egress and in fact to the north of this property is another PUD and they have combined and they use just one in and one out and the same street is also used by an existing subdivision there.
Terra Firma very much wants to go to the final plat they are very excited about this project but it has to work and we are hoping that the ingress egress issue does not keep Elk Meadows from Heyburn.
*Daniel Keller: I’m a business partner with Richard Wood; since he is away he wanted me to relay some of his thoughts. Basically he does want to do this but the situation with the extra road is a deal breaker for him. He does want to do it but if that second entrance is required then that would be the end of the road. I just wanted to relay his message and echo what Scott said. Richard said on no uncertain terms this would end it if we have to spend out more money on it.
*Lloyd Smith: I’m the broker owner with Mountain West Realty in Burley and myself and Marion and the brokerage of Mountain West represent Richard Woods in the purchase of the property of Mr. Tilley’s who has hired us to do a job. In regards to the traffic, I’m going to keep this as focused on the agenda as possible, it is my opinion and I hope everybody here that the more traffic to Heyburn would not be a bad thing. I remember the day that there was a nice little grocery store over here, a little car wash and businesses were doing well in Heyburn and that day is gone. To have this project here, with this type of money, sitting in Heyburn and being right here and having the traffic here would be a real plus for this little community. As far as the ingress and egress; Is it okay if I ask some folks here some questions that would be a little more in the know of things that I’m concerned about and I think everybody should be?
George Warrell (Chief of Police) may I ask you is there would be an issue with you verses an ingress and egress other than what is proposed based on traffic issues? Do you have a problem with it.
*George Warrell: I’ve not been following what’s been happening with it. I can’t see a real problem with it but without looking at what the particulars are I don’t know.
Mike Brown (Fire Marshall) you are the fire guy do you have any problems with the ingress and egress?
*Mike Brown: I can’t have any problems with it. I can only enforce the codes and the code says you will have this much room distance, width etc. and they meet that.
Paul Aston (Planning & Zoning) any issues with the roads?
*Paul Aston: Not as far as Planning & Zoning goes.
Lloyd Smith: I see that there is no issue. I hope this happens because Heyburn could use it, your Minidoka County could use it. I ran some tax numbers today. It would be pretty nice to see the income as well as the need for the housing for the people that need it. There is an absolute need for this. If it doesn’t happen here it will happen somewhere else. So let it happen here.
Comments of those against:
*Karen Pratt: I have property right next door to this property. I have a letter, but I will cut out a little bit of it because it doesn’t all pertain to the traffic, but it is something that Janean and John Hendricks, which are my brother in law and sister, and myself have written. We understand that the meeting tonight is to consider the question of traffic congestion and access to the project. We would again like to reiterate that Section 8-9-4-6 of the Heyburn Code states that the uses be located and so designed as to provide direct access to a collector or an arterial street without creating congestion or traffic hazards. Without the benefit of any of the materials that they have tonight. We didn’t quite know where to go from. We assume that they would try to say that direct access to the project to Alfresco by means of an additional street that counts would be too low and would not create any problems. The problem is that this is single-family dwellings in this area. This is not low-income family dwelling at this point. The streets were designed for single-family dwelling. The code clearly requires provide direct access to a collector road regardless of direct access. We do not believe that the City Code allows you to waive that requirement. Traffic counts are somewhat meaningless unless taken into context with the surrounding normal traffic patterns in a community, 20th Street and H Street maybe physically able to handle the traffic from the development but the traffic generated will still be many multiples of what it has been and we suspect multiples higher that any of the surrounding roads except Alfresco. H Street is not a direct access to Alfresco from the PUD and the storage units. These roads were built with single-family dwellings in mind not to accommodate higher traffic count. Was a study done? The study that he mentioned was done in Bannock but that’s not here. I would like to know. Has there been a study done by the city for the increase of traffic in that area for the type of roads that we have?
Direct access to a collector road preferably Alfresco from the development must be required other than H Street. The code requires it and it’s the right thing to do for the residents in the area and in the long run the PUD. They say they want it self contained what better way than a direct access into the PUD instead of around through a residential area.
Mayor asked if there were any more comments in favor of.
Steve Tuft asked if there were any other comments from anyone if not the applicant has an opportunity for a rebuttal.
*Scott Briscoe: This property while it is in a residential setting is zoned commercial. I go over to these other apartments a lot and if you look at the pictures, I don’t know if they planned it or not, but you don’t see a single car on those roads. There are 52 families living there, currently, and I go over there almost every day and there is never any congestion. It is a similar situation the same as this. I did the map using 18 hours and the 920 cars it looks like 1.2 cars a minute. That’s using 18 hours not 24 hours. That is not a lot of traffic. It’s more than there is now but it is less than what the road was designed for. I want to mention I do feel that this is controlled access. Just because there is not a direct road that goes straight from that subdivision straight to the main road does not mean that it is not controlled. I feel like this will be a benefit to the community. I think that it’s a good project. We are committed to do it right, to make it nice and I think that everything will be beneficial for everybody and I don’t think traffic is going to be the problem that it might seem to be. I know that 92 families sound like a lot but when you look at the traffic I don’t think it is going to be a big deal at all.
Mayor Anderson asked if there were any more questions? Hearing none Mayor Anderson closed the hearing.
Discuss/Approve the Elk Meadows Project.
*Councilperson Leann Smith: Planning and Zoning have a positive recommendation?
*Attorney Steve Tuft: The question that is before the council is whether or not as planned in the preliminary plat, we haven’t seen a final plat, that the ingress and egress is appropriate to the city and that you don’t have any additional concerns about traffic that the developer has to meet. That is really the question that is before you.
*Councilperson Leann Smith: It is zoned, it meets the Fire Code, it meets the Zoning Code, it is a $3,000,000 project that is going to come into our city and expand our tax base. We have been building the roads throughout the city for years, it seems that we’ve built them to adequately service the city and I think that this is a positive thing for the city. I think that we should accept their plan and let them move forward with it.
*Cleo Gallegos: You mean the whole plan or just the road plan?
*Attorney Steve Tuft: You‘ve already approved the preliminary plat. The question is we’re half way between the preliminary plat and the final plat. The question is, are we going to require anything further as far as ingress and egress or litigation for traffic if that needs to be, because they want to know the answer to that before they submit a final plat for consideration. So it is not a final approval of the subdivision it is just a question of do you have any further concerns about ingress and egress and traffic.
*Councilperson Cleo Gallegos: So if I have concerns in another area that can wait for another time.
*Attorney Steve Tuft: Actually, it’s the only question we have before us. Because that is the scope of the hearing. It doesn’t mean that other things can’t be addressed but this isn’t the time.
*Paul Aston (P & Z) Steve, it deals with traffic issues.
Attorney Steve Tuft: Yes, anything that deals with traffic, ingress, egress that’s what is before you.
*Cleo Gallegos: I have a concern about how they are going to get the fire truck in and out without coming into the park at all, that is what my concern is.
*Councilperson Leann Smith: Mike said that it meets it the way that it is.
*Councilperson Cleo Gallegos: Is that on their side of the fence?
*Mike Brown (Fire Marshall) All that we require is that you have to have a 20 foot roadway, it can only be so long enough without having a turn around, this is long enough so we have to have a turn around so it has to have a cul de sac or a loop to turn around so it meets the code. It has to be big enough that I can get in there with any of my engines and completely turn around without having to back up and that turn around will met that.
*Councilperson Cleo Gallegos: The map looked like they come in through where that fence is and that they were taking some of that easement.
*Paul Aston: The loop does take a little bit of that easement on 19th Street.
Councilperson Cleo Gallegos: That is my concern that you are going to let them take a loop to where that fence is.
*Attorney Steve Tuft: That is a question that will have to come up with the final plat.
*Councilperson Leann Smith: I feel that if you were a resident that lived there 50% would possibly be going to Burley; 50% would possibly be going to Rupert or WalMart on the other end of 21st Street. If that’s the case only 50 % of the traffic is going to go out on H Street the other 50% is going to come on down and take J Street and go on into Burley so really it is cutting the numbers of what we are talking about on H Street. I would say in half.
*Councilman Rocky Baker: I’ve got my concerns but I do not want to see the project stop because of access. I don’t know how far we can push the access when people say that it is enough.
*Councilperson Cleo Gallegos: I don’t really have a problem of the building of it. I think to see nice apartments go in would be better than a lot of other things that could go in. It is zoned commercial and you’re not going to be able to pick and choose.
Councilman Rocky Baker: My daughter lived in one in Burley with just one access and there was not a lot of traffic.
Motion by Leann Smith to accept the ingress and the egress as planned for Elk Meadows PUD as set forth on the preliminary plat. Second by Rocky Baker. Roll Call Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Abstained; Dee Ray Bailey - Abstained; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye.
Discuss/Approve the Mayors Signature on the BPA Contract Agreement.
Attorney Steve Tuft refreshed the Mayor and Council explaining that the Power Sales Contract for 2011 has to be signed and delivered to Bonneville Power no later than December 1, 2008. Delivery is affective if it’s placed on Larry King’s desk in Burley.
I think the question that you were concerned about is that the last go through with the BPA contract and we signed early, as did most of the utilities and there were some hold outs who threatened not to sign and they got a better deal that was not offered to those who had already signed. Just to make sure that there isn’t anything else out there being offered I suggest that you consider authorizing the mayor to sign the contract wait till no later to sign and deliver it December 1st before close of business. BPA says that they are not going to offer any last minute signing enticements to anybody but they also said that last time.
Motion by Cleo Gallegos to approve the Mayor’s signature on the BPA Contract Agreement and to date and deliver the agreement on November 25, 2008 to Larry King with BPA. Second by Dee Ray Bailey. Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Dee Ray Bailey - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye.
Informative Discussion on Child Abduction Response Teams - George Warrell.
George Warrell informed the Mayor and Council about the Child Abduction Response Teams that have been combined with the Task Force Team from the surrounding communities involving various departments. The Child Abduction Response Team training program is designed for professionals from a variety of disciplines within a community that may be involved in the immediate response to a missing or abducted child incident. This course is designed to provide law enforcement investigative and supervisory personnel with the critical skills on how to conduct effective canvassing investigations and operations. Amber Alert program will pay for the training, motel and the airline tickets. George will be attending the training in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Mayor Time:
**Discussion on the Bold Ridge Property - Roy Belnap.
Discussion on issues involving Lincoln Blvd and the Walking Path. This will be on the next Council Meeting.
Executive Session for Litigation, Personnel and Acquisition of Land as Authorized by Idaho Code Section 67-2345.
Motion by Leann Smith for an Executive Session for Litigation, Personnel and Acquisition of Land as authorized by Idaho Code Section 67-2345. Second Dee Ray Bailey. Roll Call Vote: Cleo Gallegos - Aye; Dee Ray Bailey - Aye; Rocky Baker - Aye; Leann Smith - Aye.
Council Meeting adjourned to Executive Session at 8:16 P.M.
Executive Session Minutes.
Council Present:
Cleo Gallegos, Dee Ray Bailey, Rocky Baker and Leann Smith.
Employees Present:
Steve Tuft and Linda Dayley. Linda Dayley later excused.
The executive session commenced at 8:16 P.M. and ended at 8:30 P.M. The executive session consisted of a discussion of confidential matters of commerce. No decisions were made.
George A. Anderson, Mayor
Linda L. Dayley, City Clerk/Treasurer