City Council Announcements
February 9, 2010
A. Information Needed by Council Staff
1. Provided the new process the Council utilizes to approve grant funding within the Consent Agenda, an outline of the grant applications is below. The details of each grant are also attached. If you have any objections, please speak with a member of staff.
|
Grant Reference Title |
Grant Amount |
Grant Program |
|
YouthCity After-School & Summer and Employment Program |
$10,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
ADDITIONAL City Council Announcements
February 9, 2010
B. Information Needed by Council Staff
1. Council Member Simonsen has visited with Walmart representatives regarding the property at 2705 Parley’s Way and has proposed design ideas for neighborhood compatibility. The representatives have indicated that they do not have the authority to consider the suggestions Council Member Simonsen is proposing, and have invited him to visit with the Executive Committee for Real Estate in Bentonville Arkansas.
Would the Council support funding travel for Council Member Simonsen to visit with the committee? Yes.
Additionally, Council Member Simonsen has proposed that two community members also attend the visit and provide community feedback to the Committee.
Would the Council support funding travel for two community members to attend the trip? No.
2. The Administration has shared the following attachment, which is a draft of a process by which the Special Events Fund ($150,000 on-going and $75,000 one-time) can be distributed to various events. This was discussed in general during the Council’s last work session briefing on the interim budget study items. The attachment outlines an overall process for the on-going event money and a general list of requirements to be a “signature event” eligible for larger grants. The overall process for the on-going event money would be generally similar to the CDBG or CIP application process, albeit in a shorter, 1 month time period, with a Feb 5, 2010 deadline for event applications, and an end-of-February deadline for the Mayor and Council to decide.
Council Member Simonsen has already responded with the suggestion that the deadline be at least two weeks from when the information/process is distributed to special events organizations.
The City has already received inquiries from events, and would like to know from Council Members if there are concerns, or if this process outline is generally headed in the right direction so that they can begin to respond to these inquiries. Council Members wanted to be sure adequate notice was given, preferably not less than two weeks.
3. Small Group meetings with the Administration – If the Council is interested in setting aside time for recurring small group meetings with the Administration, could you indicate some specific times we could set aside? The meetings could be held once per month, perhaps on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and/or Fridays depending on the Council Members’ availability. This would be an opportunity for the Administration to do some preliminary check-in with Council Members on pending or upcoming projects. Ms. Gust-Jenson said the meeting would not be held if the Administration did not having anything. She said meetings would not be held in lieu of public briefing. Most Council Members were available for Tuesdays or Fridays. Fridays mornings were preferable. She said the staff would work with David Everitt.
Tuesday – Noon
Tuesday – 1:30
Friday Noon
4. Council’s Policy Discussion Luncheons – As discussed during the Council’s retreat, is the Council interested in setting up a monthly Council Policy discussion? This could be scheduled as a lunch meeting on the last Tuesday of each month if that works with Council Members’ schedules. Ms. Gust-Jenson said they would schedule the meeting around 3:00 on the last Tuesday of the month.
5. Vacancies on the City’s Boards & Commissions – several Council Members have asked which boards currently have vacancies. The Administration has provided a list of vacancies, and would be interested in assistance from the Council Members to encourage interested residents to submit an application to the Mayor’s Office. The list of vacancies, as well as a complete list of the City’s Boards & Commissions is attached.
Some Council Members have asked for this to be included with their periodic email to constituents – would it be alright to add this to the email for each District? Yes.
6. Salt Lake County Legislative Caucus meeting – Just a friendly reminder that Salt Lake City is ‘hosting’ this Thursday’s County Legislative Caucus meeting – it is at 7 a.m. in the Copper Room of the Senate Building.
7. American Planning Association (APA) National Planning Conference – April 10-13, 2010 in New Orleans. Early registration ends February 18, 2010.
Are any Council Members interested in attending? Councilmember Martin said he was interested.
8. Attached is a memo prepared by Council Staff that outlines the recommendation for the City’s annual financial audit contract. Four firms responded to the RFP. The recommendation comes from a staff subcommittee (comprised of Administrative Staff from every department as well as enterprise funds), and the memo outlines the concerns and issues raised from this subcommittee regarding each firm. Council Staff will be listing this in announcements for the Council’s next meeting.
Would the Council like to interview any of the respondents to the Audit RFP, or is the Council comfortable with the recommendation from the Staff subcommittee? Council Members were in favor of following the subcommittee’s recommendation.