The City Council met in Work Session on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at 2:11 p.m. in Room 326, Committee Room, City County Building, 451 South State Street.
In Attendance: Council Members James Rogers, Luke Garrott, Erin Mendenhall, Lisa Adams, Charlie Luke, and Stan Penfold.
Absent: Councilmember Kyle LaMalfa (present electronically for Item #9)
Staff in Attendance: Jennifer Bruno, Executive Council Deputy Director; David Everitt, Mayor’s Chief of Staff; Margaret Plane, City Attorney; Libby Stockstill, Council Constituent Liaison; Lehua Weaver, Council Policy Analyst; Sean Murphy, Council Policy Analyst; Brian Fullmer, Council Policy Analyst; Nick Norris, Planning Manager; Chris Lee, Planner; Neil Lindberg, Council Legal Advisor; Jeff Snelling, City Engineer; Jill Love, Community and Economic Development Director; Tom Ward, Deputy Public Utilities Director; Mike Akerlow, Housing and Neighborhood Development Manager; Tammy Hunsaker, Community Development Programs Administrator; Elizabeth Buehler, Outreach Programs Administrator; Nora Shepard, Planning Director; and Cindi Mansell, City Recorder.
Guests in Attendance: Siobhan Locke, Langdon Group (Engagement Consultant) & Hank Rothwell (property owner)
Councilmember Garrott presided at and conducted the meeting.
The meeting was called to order at 2:11 p.m.
AGENDA ITEMS
#1. 2:15:01 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING ON A PROPOSED INTERLOCAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH SALT LAKE COUNTY TO PROVIDE ELECTION SERVICES FOR THE 2015 MUNICIPAL ELECTION. The elections will include a combination of vote center locations (4) and vote-by-mail ballots. View Attachments
Cindi Mansell briefed the Council from attachments. She outlined the two available election methods (Vote by Mail Election or Consolidated Polls Election) and requested the Council clarify their previous selection.
Discussion followed regarding voting methods, costs, geographical considerations, logistics, poll workers and polling locations (versus vote centers), increase voter turnout and participation, absentee versus vote by mail ballots, various marketing and outreach efforts to inform constituents of the voting method, comparable Move to Amend vote by mail election process and statistics, concept of mailing reminder or information postcards or notices (possibly one before the election and one during the voting period), etc. The Council requested an outreach briefing when Ms. Mansell returned prior to the primary election for Council approval of poll workers and vote center locations.
#2. 6:01:20 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING ON PLAN SALT LAKE, A CITYWIDE MASTER PLAN DESIGNED TO CREATE HIGH LEVEL POLICIES AND VISION THAT WILL GUIDE THE COMMUNITY FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS. PETITION NO. PLNPCM2011-00682 View Attachments
Nick Norris, Sean Murphy, and Nora Shepard briefed the Council from attachments. Mr. Norris reviewed the Plan intent and said it was purposefully a high-level visioning document that did not include much detail. He said the effort was intended to provide broad direction on key areas, guiding principles, and identification of implementation tools. Ms. Shepard said the Council indicated the need to include digital equity and Staff also considered statements relative to the importance of education and anything else the Council wanted to include in the document.
Councilmember Adams expressed concern about construction design and the building design environment. She requested a list or specific examples of implementation tools. Additional comments were business districts/nodes and need for naming consistency or distinction; elaboration on how to connect nodes to each other and how to connect residents to nodes; consideration of creating a specific package in the context of economic development; support of housing proposed clarification to increase diversity of choices and availability at all income levels; support of the Plan process; clarification or addition relative to the economy target and job creation; and ability for the plan to be changed/adapted/updated according to the times or current scenario.
The Council commended Staff on the process, pictures, and end result, stating it appeared a great platform for a broad vision. Mr. Murphy said Staff would combine the suggestions and formulate straw poll votes; there was no policy direction at this time.
#3. 3:47:45 PM HOLD A DISCUSSION ON: (a) CITYWIDE ALLEY CLOSURE POLICY AND (b) ALLEY CLOSURE ITEM.
a) Discuss the City’s approach to alley vacations – which occur when City-owned, public alleyways are sold to private property owners. Discussion will center on how the Council wants to approach alley vacations going forward. View Attachments
Brian Fullmer and Sean Murphy briefed the Council from attachments. Mr. Fullmer outlined the current policy and criteria to be met for alley closures. He inquired if the Council was in favor of continuing with the current policy or if there were changes to be discussed. Councilmember Penfold said he was not necessarily opposed to alley closures, but expressed concern the current policy offered a property independent consideration and not an entire/whole area investigation in context of a neighborhood or larger plan component.
Discussion followed regarding vague definition of criteria; alternative ideas to save historic homes; build additional housing units; improve alleys; plant gardens; install gates; offer a community based section within an alley; need for alley inventory locations; usability/potential for future usability; existing alleys in bad shape; lack of funding to maintain alleys; retaining access; great deal of work/improvements to be made; transit or alley use, etc. Councilmember Mendenhall suggested creating an “adopt-an-alley” cooperation. Mr. Murphy said he saw models where blighted properties were condemned by the City and then a small amount of funding was made available to applicants who were willing to invest sweat equity to create pocket parks and perhaps this model could be utilized in a similar manner for alleys. Ms. Bruno indicated Staff would work with Administration on these issues and return.
The Council conducted a 5-1 straw poll indicating interest in potential ordinance changes. (Councilmember Adams opposed/Councilmember LaMalfa excused)
The Council conducted a unanimous straw poll relative to review of the list of current criteria for alley closures; to include larger context items such as bike and pedestrian network consideration; alternative use by cyclists if alley was close to a busy street; urban walking path; potential Accessory Dwelling Unit or residential access or infill; parking in alley access (if available); consideration of available City budget for installation of improvements and maintenance; evaluation for other funding tools, such as Special Assessment Areas to fund improvements; and consideration relative to legal non-conforming areas where people have built buildings into the alley and whether there was a way not to disrupt or affect current property owners.
a) 4:04:01 PM receive a briefing about a proposal to close and vacate a portion of a City-owned alley adjacent to 762 S. Post Street pursuant to Petition No. PLNPCM2014-00141. The proposal would create better access to Fire Station No. 6 (948 West 800 South) for fire vehicles to maneuver safely and easily. (Petitioner – Salt Lake City Property Management)(Item H1) View Attachments
Brian Fullmer, Nick Norris, and Chris Lee briefed the Council from attachments. Mr. Lee explained this alley was adjacent to Fire Station property and the purpose was to combine parcels, alleyway, and parcel to the north into one larger parcel to service Fire Station activities and function. He said this would also eliminate one home on the parcel and clarified the City would contribute to the housing mitigation fund. Discussion followed regarding setbacks and the potential to require landscaping or buffering on the north border of the new property line.
The Council conducted a unanimous straw poll which indicated interest in requiring mitigation along the north property line such as landscaping/buffer/community use.
#4. 4:15:01 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING ON A ZONING PROPOSAL THAT WOULD CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC A 5,500 SQUARE FOOT PORTION OF CITY-OWNED STREET AT THE INTERSECTION OF COMMERCIAL WAY (1160 SOUTH) AND MERIDIAN PARK ROAD (4230 WEST) PURSUANT TO PETITION NOS. PLNUB2014-00469 AND PLNPCM2014-00470. View Attachments The right-of-way would be sold to the owners of the abutting property at fair market value. The right-of-way was originally designed to provide multiple lots sufficient space for maneuvering vehicles, but the subdivision configuration has since changed and the extra street frontage is no longer needed. The closure would not affect traffic or accessibility. Related provisions of Title 21A, Zoning, may also be amended as part of this petition. (Petitioners – G&H Investments, LLC and Gloria B Rothwell)(Item H2)
Nick Norris and Brian Fullmer briefed the Council from attachments. Mr. Norris said the subdivision configuration had changed and the extra street frontage was no longer needed. He said this closure would not affect traffic or accessibility.
Hank Rothwell, representing property owners, addressed the proposal.
#5. 4:38:20 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING BY THE ADMINISTRATION ABOUT HOW IMPLEMENTATION OF BID REQUIREMENTS HAS AFFECTED PROJECT BIDS FOR ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS IN 2014. Adopted in 2012, the bid ordinance incentivizes companies to provide insurance for their employees, as well as other requirements. View Attachments
Lehua Weaver, Neil Lindberg, Jill Love, Jeff Snelling, and Tom Ward briefed the Council with attachments. Mr. Lindberg provided background and said the ordinance appeared to be working and did not appear detrimental in obtaining bids. Mr. Snelling reported on day-to-day application of the ordinance and said there had not been a large sway in bid responses or increased costs. Inquiry was raised as to whether the health care requirement was still necessary, following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Ms. Weaver said staff could investigation that question.
Councilmember Luke inquired whether a contractor could sub out work to a nonqualified contractor. Mr. Snelling explained the system was an honor system that was self-policing; however, the contractor would have to certify compliance which included the subcontractor. Discussion followed regarding verification methods or an annual sample of compliance. Mr. Snelling suggested the group that was involved during the establishment/incorporation of this bid/procurement process get back together to consider this option and any hurdles involved.
Jill Love expressed concern that these types of stringent stipulations/extra steps put up constant roadblocks for economic development in the City. She requested the Council weigh values and consider balances in making ordinances more user-friendly to reduce hurdles for doing business.
The Council conducted a unanimous straw poll indicating interest in discussing/receiving information from the original group relative to a verification method of the self-certification process when Staff returns after the July 1, 2015 reporting deadline.
#6. 2:33:26 PM RECEIVE A FOLLOW-UP BRIEFING AND DISCUSS THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE 2015 PRIORITIES IT ESTABLISHED AT ITS RECENT PLANNING WORKSHOP. The priorities are: View Attachments
•capital improvements;
•economic development;
•the City’s urban forest;
•impact fees;
•funding for the goals and projects in the West Salt Lake Master Plan; and
•Exploring bonding options for recreation needs in the City - this would include improvements that are needed in parks, golf courses, trails, and other open spaces.
Lehua Weaver, David Everitt, Sean Murphy, Libby Stockstill, and Siobhan Locke briefed the Council from attachments. Ms. Weaver explained the Council would be finishing up discussion on priority work plans and Council Staff workloads. She addressed the idea of a large recreation bond and said the project was delivered to Administration to discuss what a bond would include and for handling of the engagement process. She said they hired an outside consultant and were considering options and appointment to a steering committee. Mr. Everitt said staff was moving quickly and wanted to ensure they were meeting Council needs relative to direction, process, or content specific to projects. He said discussion related to “initiative” included broad ongoing maintenance and funding and not just the capital side.
Ms. Locke addressed the framework of public engagement for this process. She said due to the tight timeline, the Langdon Group considered engaging the public responsibly and thoroughly. She said methodology was based on existing plans (Plan Salt Lake, Master Plans). She said with the City’s focus on Civic Engagement, staff had already heard a great deal from constituents as to values. Ms. Locke discussed specifics relative to stakeholders, interest groups, events, and outcomes. She outlined a potential vision statement: Salt Lake City is Urban City that values connection to nature and outdoor recreation. She said there were three components to frame the discussion, including: reprogram/grow open space; creating connections; and enhance environment and efficiency. Mr. Everitt clarified there was a large steering committee as well as a group of public engagement experts with vast real-world/City experience. It was requested the Council provide any additional names to Ms. Locke; Nichol Bourdeaux, Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff; or Ms. Weaver.
Ms. Weaver said discussion and updated work plans had been completed for Urban Forestry, Impact Fees, and Economic Development Strategy; unless the Council had additional feedback.
2:56:15 PM Mr. Murphy addressed campaign finance reform options and the ability to set restrictions in this arena. He said in addition to consulting with the Attorney’s Office, Council Staff began looking into other suggestions such as conducting various studies to measure the impact of limits. He said Staff reached out to The Utah Elections Commission as well as the Campaign Legal Center; recommendation was to contact Paul Ryan, a legal expert on campaign limits for municipal elections. Mr. Murphy raised several policy questions for Council, including questions for a consultant or expert, and potential strategy.
Concern was expressed as to the opportunity to truly validate limitation numbers. Discussion followed regarding existing candidate limitations, free speech limits, potential expenditure cap, volunteers versus funding, cost of scope determining whether or not there would be a bid requirement, cost concerns/issues, no history or significant problems, bringing in an expert consultant, level/limit of personal funding, and the public perception of system integrity. There was apparent Council approval of the initial strategy concept as well as inviting the consultant to be present on April 28, 2015 to discuss policy or research issues with the Council. Ms. Weaver said the body of work would return to the Council to make decisions based upon the information provided.
3:17:06 PM Mr. Murphy discussed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) process, funding, and areas of Staff work. Ms. Weaver said there should be discussion about how to set aside a certain percentage of the CIP budget for District-special allocations. Discussion followed regarding the need for public process, enabling public access to information (i.e. street conditions), transparency, fairness, ability to prioritize and enact differing flavors through the individual districts, etc. Ms. Weaver suggested Staff return with phase 2/in-depth questions to better coordinate with Administrative Staff who could advise relative to individual components.
3:32:50 PM Ms. Weaver addressed Staff workload and the desire to outline a successful plan to move ahead encompassing priorities work, base work, and other projects. She said Staff was proposing (in order to better define the long list the Council had seen) to divide up into active and inactive project lists. She clarified Staff would need help from the Council getting to a comfortable number relative to that list. She said there were 77 projects to divide into active and inactive; and discussed the difficulty in having so many projects on the list.
Discussion followed regarding methods to remove items from the list; annual retreat prioritization; option of zero-based budgeting or reset each year; not setting goals (being too general or vague); how did Staff know when a topic was complete; meeting needs; and additional clarity to assist Staff. Ms. Weaver said Staff wanted to ensure respect to individual Councilmember interests yet retain the ability to work on new items or grouping items of multiple Council Member interest. She requested Council agreement as to the 13-item active list as outlined. The Council requested continued discussion of how to scope out the number and type of active projects. They discussed the concept of items of combined interest actually facilitating the removal of other items from the listings.
#7. 5:57:27 PM INTERVIEW CENCIRA TE'O PRIOR TO CONSIDERATION OF HER APPOINTMENT TO THE SORENSON MULTICULTURAL CENTER ADVISORY BOARD. (ITEM H3)
Councilmember Garrott said Ms. Te’o’s name was on the Consent Agenda for formal consideration.
#8. 5:59:25 PM INTERVIEW THEODORE (TED) BOYER PRIOR TO CONSIDERATION OF HIS APPOINTMENT TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (ITEM H4)
Councilmember Garrott said Mr. Boyer’s name was on the Consent Agenda for formal consideration.
#9. 5:05:28 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING THE MAYOR’S FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS AND AN APPROPRIATION RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE FIVE YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN AND THE ONE-YEAR ANNUAL ACTION PLAN FOR 2015-2016, WHICH ALLOCATES HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD) FUNDS TO PROJECTS THAT BENEFIT THE RESIDENTS OF SALT LAKE CITY. View Attachments
The plan includes Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, HOME Investment Partnership Program funding, Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) funding, for Fiscal Year 2015-16 and approving an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement between Salt Lake City and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Councilmember LaMalfa was available electronically for this agenda item.
Mike Akerlow, Sean Murphy, Tammy Hunsaker, and Liz Buehler briefed the Council from attachments. Mr. Akerlow said Staff made improvements on the Grant Logs in effort to be effective. Mr. Murphy suggested inclusion of a quick reference as to how (historically) effectively those funds were spent. The Council suggested including impact to clients/accomplishments for each year. Mr. Murphy said the Council would review CDBG – Public Services; Emergency Shelter Grants; and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS.
Councilmember Penfold said there were a couple of large projects that were not funded and asked Staff to work with them applicants to find an alternative grant. Discussion included options for alternative funding (General Fund) for Percent for Arts (versus CDBG), HUD grant funds and the grant amount percentage/cap, and method for aligning applicants through either the CDBG or CIP funds (or both).
Ms. Buehler outlined three categories of emergency shelter grants. She explained Part 1 was limited to shelters and outreach yet allowing traditional funding limits with the remaining being allocated to housing programs. Inquiry was raised relative to unspent dollars, with Ms. Buehler stating they rolled over to the following fiscal year. Inquiry was raised relative to housing vouchers and how they are distributed throughout the County. Ms. Buehler explained there was no physical map but the information was available due to required environmental reviews and could be provided to the Council. She said this housing was spread throughout Salt Lake County and involved placement within affordable rental units for individuals and families. Councilmember LaMalfa inquired as to qualitative assessment relative to low income housing locations not being in the same place or in areas where families could be at risk/susceptible.
Ms. Hunsaker discussed housing opportunities for persons living with aids and supportive services. She noted changes to the program and applicants, and stated this group had particularly difficult administrative requirements. She said HUD was pushing to utilize this funding more effectively, including strategic planning and coordinating both prioritizing vouchers as well as tracking supportive services, medical care, etc. She said the Utah Aids Foundation could use an additional $5,000 and that could come out of cost overrun and program cap administration would require adjustment. There appeared to be Council consensus to include the additional $5,000 as recommended by Staff.
Mr. Akerlow addressed CDBG – Public Services categories of homelessness, early childhood education, job training, health, and transportation. He said there were over 30 additional requests submitted this year and $1,000,000 in additional funding requests. Discussion followed regarding shifts or changes in the recommended amounts. Councilmember Mendenhall suggested cutting $20,000 elsewhere and allocating $10,000 each to Utah Health and Helping Hands. Councilmember Luke said he wanted to fund the Legal Aid Society. Mr. Akerlow said unfortunately, this group did not meet any of the five objectives for Public Services funding. The Council discussed 15% cap amount, and determined to flag various items for additional information, those to try to find funds, or categories to borrow/shift from.
Councilmember LaMalfa recommended funding for Boys and Girls/Club Tec and Spyhop Productions. Councilmember Mendenhall suggested flagging Utahns against Hunger as a potential funding source to roll into a more needed area. Councilmember Luke requested flagging the Refuge Immigrants Center job training request for $62,667; he suggested discussion with this group to see if a lower funded amount would suffice yet still have a meaningful impact. Councilmember Adams requested flagging the Community Health Centers under Health and Public Services to determine whether funding could be appropriated (specifically for prenatal care or children). Staff indicated they would return with renovations or information based on Council input.
#10. 2:11:24 PM REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INCLUDING A REVIEW OF COUNCIL INFORMATION ITEMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. The Council may give feedback or staff direction on any item related to City Council business.
See file M 15-5 for announcements. View Announcements
#11. REPORT OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. No discussion was held.
#12. CONSIDER A MOTION TO ENTER INTO CLOSED SESSION, IN KEEPING WITH UTAH CODE § 52-4-205, FOR ANY ALLOWED PURPOSE. Item not held.
The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
This document is not intended to serve as a full transcript as other items may have been discussed; please refer to the audio or video for entire content.
This document along with the digital recording constitute the official minutes of the City Council Work Session meeting held April 7, 2015.
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