City Council Announcements
August 14, 2012
Information Needed by Council Staff 5:02:28 PM
A. Paint the Pavement
Paint the Pavement is an art installation for street intersections. It is intended to promote community building where residents, business owners and others create a design they feel embodies the neighborhood and then paint it on an intersection in the neighborhood. Other cities including St. Paul, MN have also created venues for farmers markets, concerts, festivals, etc. through this program.
Council Member Simonsen would like to pursue this idea which will require amendments to City code.
Are there two additional Council Members who are interested in being co-sponsors? A majority of the Council was in support.
B. Council Retreat September 25
The Council has identified September 25, 2012 as the date for the upcoming Council Retreat. The Chair and Vice Chair are wondering if 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. would work for the Council or if the retreat should be scheduled to start in the afternoon similar to a normal Council Meeting?
What time on September 25 would Council Members like to meet? A majority of the Council was in favor of 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
C. ULCT 105 Annual Convention,
Center, Sheraton City Center
Wednesday, September 9 – Saturday September 15
Wednesday, September 12 – 11:30 – 1:30 pm
Opening Lunch - Keynote Speaker will be George Will (America’s Foremost Political Columnist)
Wednesday, September 12
Mobile Workshops (City Creek and Cycling Safety Bike Tour)
September 3 - ULCT Board Nominations accepted through this date, contact Lincoln Shurtz
Thursday, September 13 – 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Night at the Museum (buffet dinner and shuttle service to the museum)
Friday, September 14 – Business Session – 8:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Gubernatorial Debate
Early Registration ends August 31. Please let staff know what events/ sessions you
are interested in attending. Ms. Gust-Jenson said early registration ended on August 31 and staff needed to know which Council Members planned to attend. She said traditionally, members of the Planning Commission and other key boards were invited to attend. She said notices would be mailed to those people. Councilmember Christensen said he had a conflicting meeting on Tuesday and would probably be late.
D. Dog Off-Leash Policy (Attachment 1)
The Administration submitted a written
update on the status of the dog of-leash policy public process – a copy is
provided.
It is anticipated by the Administration for the public process
to last almost a year. This is the first update from the Administration, and
they plan to provide regular updates to the Council throughout the public
process.
Written update includes:
•Articles, editorials, letter to the editors, and opinion editorials on this topic.
•Open City Hall (OCH): a new question on this topic will be posted on OCH every three weeks for public feedback
•Administration has started to attend community council meetings (upcoming meetings are outlined), plans to hold a panel discussion in the fall, and has been attending and will identify upcoming large public gatherings where there would be an interested audience on this topic, such as the Doggie Olympics held on July 21st
•On June 27, the Administration met with FIDOS
•Research is taking place regarding: additional volunteer programs for monitoring off-leash parks; fees associated with various programs; and potential sites for off-leash trails.
The Administration plans to provide the Council written periodic updates on the dog off-leash policy issue – please let Council staff know if the Council wishes to continue to receive periodic written updates on the public process? A majority of the Council was in favor of written updates. Councilmember Love said written briefings were ok but at some point she wanted to hear how the process was working and what feedback they were getting.
E. Grants for the Council’s review. (Attachment 2)
The Administration has forwarded information about the following grant opportunities that they are pursuing. Following is a quick list of the items. A memo with more information is attached. If the Council does not have any objections, and the City is awarded the grant, these will come back through the Consent and Budget Amendment process. Ms. Gust-Jenson said there was some confusion because there was a donation that did not come through the process. She said staff would be working with the Administration to consolidate the grant process regarding donations. She said the process was streamlined so funds could be expended without delay.
16) Jordan River Nature Education, Outreach & Resource Development
a) Purpose / Goal of the Grant: benefit from technical assistance to facilitate stakeholder engagement and community outreach meetings to discuss the Jordan River Nature Education, Outreach, and Resource Development project. Collaborating agencies include the Natural History Museum of Utah, “NeighborWorks” Salt Lake, Salt County Parks & Rec, University of Utah Bennion Community Service Center, and YouthCity. Requested by Public Services.
b) Grant amount: U.S. National Parks Service will provide technical assistance to help organize the engagement meetings through their Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program.
c) Match Requirement: 0%
17) Silver Lake Nature Center Exhibits
a) Purpose / Goal of the Grant: production and installation of 10 interpretive educational exhibits from an experienced exhibit production firm. Exhibits have been developed with funding from Public Utilities and the US Forest Service. Other collaborating agencies include the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation and Wasatch Watershed Legacy Partnership. The funding would be received and spent through the Salt Lake City Foundation.
b) Grant amount: $40,000 from the Coca-Cola Foundation Community Support Grants program
c) Match Requirement: 0% required, but additional funds were necessary and the design and production of the 10 exhibits comes from Salt Lake City Public Utilities (already approved budget) and the US Forest Service.
18) “Jurisdictions with Halfway Houses” Grant
a) Purpose / Goal of the Grant: increase the ability of the Police Department to provide services and mark crime trends associated with areas around halfway houses.
b) Grant amount requested: $238,377 from the State of Utah Commission on Criminal & Juvenile Justice – Jurisdictions with Halfway Houses Grant
c) Match Requirement: 100% Councilmember Garrott asked about the match relating to this item. Lehua Weaver said she understood grant money would help the City enhance what they already provided, so the match would be met by existing police resources used to respond to calls and track information from incidents around half-way houses. She said it was not new money that needed to be found in the Police Department budget.
Councilmember LaMalfa asked if that included parole violator centers as a half-way houses. Ms. Weaver said she did not know but would get the information. Ms. Gust-Jenson said there was another issue staff needed to check on. She said the City received some State funding already and she did not know if that could be used as the match. She said staff would bring the Council more information including tracking/statistics. Councilmember LaMalfa asked for feedback on whether this included hiring a consultant or bringing on a new staff member.
F. A.18 COUNCIL DISTRICT COMMUNICATION BUDGET (08/12)
a. Each Council district will have a communication budget to be used by the Council Member for communicating with constituents within his/her district. Funds in the district communication budget will be expended at the Council Member’s discretion and may include, but not be limited to:
1. District meetings
2. Newsletters, postcards, mass mailings, flyers (District mailings of 25 pieces or more will also be tracked, with one exception. Mailings relating to citywide issues which are distributed to all Council districts will not be counted as a district expense.)
3. Refreshments, lunch meetings with constituents, etc.
4. Community building activities: activities sponsored by city-associated agencies including community councils, county government, non-profit agencies, or community organizers working within the community to provide a non-political event open and free to the residents of the specified council district.
i) For events organized or hosted outside the Council Office the funding limit is not to exceed $300 per event, and requires inclusion of the Salt Lake City logo on sponsor-related material.
ii) For events organized or hosted by the Council Member, there would be no limit other than the funds available in the communication budget.
b. Each district’s communication budget will total $3,700 per calendar year to coincide with terms of office as new Council Members are elected This amount can be amended annually by a vote of the full Council. Liaisons will track all district expenses during the calendar year and offset Council Members’ budgets accordingly.
c. Council Members may not supplement their communication budget balances through personal contributions nor through independent fundraising so that the amount available to each Council Member remains equal.
1. If a project, which is usually funded from these communication budgets, such as a district-wide mailing, is more expensive than the available funds (such as booklets, multi-part mailing, etc.), the Council Member may either use carryover funds (as described below) or may petition the full Council to consider the project for each Council District and identify alternate funding. (An example may be a City-wide Emergency Booklet mailing.)
2. For fundraising efforts related to other projects, such as Capital Improvement Projects, please see Policy Manual Section A31. Solicitation of Funding from Private Parties.
d. Accounting and carryover of communication budgets
1. Council staff will provide a quarterly accounting to each Council Member on the status of funds in the district’s communication budget.
2. If a district’s communication budget is fully expended prior to the end of the calendar year, it will remain at a zero balance until the beginning of the next calendar year.
3. If a district’s communication budget is not fully expended by the end of the calendar year, and the Council Member is continuing in office, the remaining budget amount will automatically be carried over and available to the Council Member in the first six months of the next calendar year or allow remaining funds to go toward capital needs of the Council Office.
4. If the Council Member is not able to utilize the amount carried over by June 30 and has a project in mind or started, the Council Member may include a request on Budget Amendment No. 1 to re-allocate that funding to the Council Office for the district communication budget.
i) Staff will work with Council Members in advance of June 30 to plan for the use of carried over funds.
ii) The Budget Amendment request should provide information to the Council on how and when the funds will be used.
iii) The reallocated funds will expire at the end of the calendar year.
iv) The funds to be re-allocated should be related to the cost of the pending project and shall not exceed one typical year’s district communication budget ($3,700).
v) The Council may elect to give preliminary approval informally in the Announcements section of a Council Meeting, and follow-up with formal Budget Amendment approval. The project may move ahead once preliminary approval is granted.
e. For Council Members going out of office, all use of the district communication budget should be completed entirely by December 31. Any remaining funds in the communication budgets at the end of a Council Member’s term will not be carried over to the incoming Council Member since the new communication budget starts in January of each year. To help assure a smooth transition and to recognize the degree to which staff resources need to be focused on the Induction, under no circumstances should a mailing or distribution of materials take place after January 1 of the year end for an outgoing Council Member unless the City Council grants an exception in advance and the incoming Council Member is notified as a courtesy.
Does this revised policy meet Council Members’ needs? Yes. Ms. Gust-Jenson said a pending newsletter for Councilmember Simonsen which was ready to go if there was Council support. A majority of the Council was in favor. Councilmember Penfold said he would work with staff to resolve some funding issues he had. Councilmember Love asked about the $300 per event policy. She said some of her community councils had asked for help to cover mailing costs. She asked about going over the $300. Ms. Gust-Jenson said she understood it was $300 per event which she thought should be adequate but staff would do a couple of samples to see. She said staff would come back to the Council with mailing calculations.
G. South Davis Transit Study
The South Davis Transit Study is funded with a federal grant. Matching money needs to be committed before September 30th. Salt Lake City’s portion is $30,000. The scope of work and agreement were finalized in late May, which was late for the last budget amendment, and the next one would not fund our matching portion until October 30th. What UTA needs in order to keep their $370,000 grant is a commitment of match, not the actual money, by September 30th.
This Scope of Work is for a transit Alternatives Analysis from Salt Lake City to Bountiful that will satisfy the federal requirements and allow the project to proceed with a federal action environmental impact statement in the future. Goals of this study include:
· Engage the community and analyze technical data to define the purpose and need for a transit project in South Davis County and Salt Lake City.
· Advance the understanding of the choices for a transit project, not necessarily a major capital investment, and further project development if supported by technical data and community members.
· Understand the financial possibilities and constraints of funding a transit project in the area.
· Provide data to educate policy makers and the public on the interaction between sustainable land use and transportation policies and decisions
· Complete the Alternatives Analysis per FTA requirements.
Funding for this study is provided through FTA Section 5309 Grant Monies for transit planning. The total amount of the grant for this project is$380,000. A 20% local match is required, and Salt Lake City’s portion of that match, is $30,000.
Relationship to Salt Lake City Plans and Benefits to Salt Lake City
Streetcar Planning The original Alternatives Analysis recommended the following Salt Lake City alignment; Beck Street, 400 West, and connection to TRAX at North Temple. Since the completion of that study, new discussions of a Downtown Streetcar have occurred, which may suggest other routes connecting to Downtown may be more beneficial. This study will provide additional analysis of routes connecting to downtown.
West Capitol Hill Neighborhood Development Additional development proposals have been moved forward in the West Capitol Hill neighborhood, some of which are under construction that should be re-considered in this new Alternatives Analysis. New developments may change the ridership generated along this corridor, and could enhance justification for the project.
Reduction of Auto Traffic Accessing Downtown Regional travel demand patterns show a strong connection of work trips between South Davis County and Downtown Salt Lake City. Additional benefits of study involvement will come from the possibility to transport commuters to Downtown from the north via increased transit options, versus single occupant vehicles. This is consistent with the Downtown in Motion Plan.
Does the Council support providing this match for the study? Ms. Gust-Jenson said funds were not needed until the end of October and would be handled through a budget opening. A majority of the Council was in favor. Councilmember Christensen asked if this was a broad transit study. He said he was concerned about putting money toward a failed direction. Ms. Gust-Jenson said they would get more information for the Council.