Meeting
City Council · 2017-05-09
City Council meeting
Decisions
5
7 motions in all
Split votes
0
at least one no
Discussion
–
no recording
Residents spoke
–
introduced themselves
Agenda items and what happened
| Item | Outcome | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Apparatus In-Service Ceremony other session |
presented only | p.1 |
| DISCUSSION - Parks Master Plan work session |
discussed only | p.2 |
| DISCUSSION - Speed Limits on 400 East work session Direction: Staff (Mr. Davidson/Mr. Goodrich) to formally bring the speed limit increase item before the Council at the next scheduled meeting, having reached agreement with Vineyard City |
consensus | p.5 |
| Appointments to Boards and Commissions regular session |
approved | p.8 |
| Proclamation - Police Week 2017 regular session |
approved | p.8 |
| Proclamation - National Drinking Water Week 2017 regular session |
approved | p.8 |
| RESOLUTION - Adopt CDBG Final Statement of Projected Uses of Funds - 2017-2018 regular session |
approved | p.10 |
| RESOLUTION - Tentatively Adopting the City of Orem FY 2017-2018 Tentative Budget regular session Direction: Staff to set/hold a public hearing to adopt the final budget on June 13, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. |
approved | p.13 |
Items and outcomes were extracted from the agenda and minutes by Claude (Anthropic); each links to the minutes page. The minutes are authoritative.
| Motion | By | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| To approve the April 11, 2017 City Council meeting minutes and the April 13, 2017 Joint Orem/Provo City Council meeting minutes. | Sam Lentz 2nd Debby Lauret |
✓ Passed | p.8 |
| To appoint David Blackinton to the Arts Council and to appoint Russell Bird to the Recreation Advisory Commission. | Sam Lentz 2nd Brent Sumner |
✓ Passed | p.8 |
| To accept the proclamation. | Richard Brunst 2nd Debby Lauret |
✓ Passed | p.8 |
| To accept the proclamation. | Richard Brunst 2nd Debby Lauret |
✓ Passed | p.8 |
| By resolution, to adopt the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Final Statement of Projected Uses of Funds - 2017-2018. | David Spencer 2nd Debby Lauret |
✓ Passed | p.13 |
| Byresolution,to tentatively adopt the City of OremFiscal Year 2017- 2018 Tentative Budget and set a public hearing to adopt the final budget on June 13,2017, at 6:00 p.m. | Richard Brunst 2nd Debby Lauret |
✓ Passed | p.17 |
| To adjourn to a meeting of theRedevelopmentAgency of theCity of Orem. | David Spencer 2nd Sam Lentz |
✓ Passed | p.17 |
Text extracted from the minutes PDF (scanned pages via OCR). The PDF is the official record.
CITY OF OREM
CITYCOUNCILMEETING
56 North State Street Orem, Utah
May 9, 2017
3:00 P.M.FIELD TRIP -FIRE STATION #3
CONDUCTING Mayor Richard F. Brunst
Councilmembers Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, David
ELECTEDOFFICIALS
Spencer,and Brent Sumner
APPOINTEDSTAFF Jamie Davidson, City Manager; Brenn Bybee, Assistant
City Manager; Greg Stephens, City Attorney; Scott
Gurney, Fire Department Director; Chris Tschirki, Public
Works Director; Steven Downs, Assistant to the City
Manager; Pete Wolfley, Communications Specialist; and
Jackie Lambert, Deputy City Recorder
EXCUSED Council members Tom Macdonald and Mark Seastrand
APPARATUSIN-SERVICECEREMONY
Chief Scott Gurney and Chief Jason Earl with the Orem Fire Department introduced the history
and tradition of backing the fire engine into the fire house/station. For many years, fire engines
were pulled by horses that were specifically trained to back the engine in so they could pull
forward in times of emergency. It had become a modern tradition in the firefighting community
to christen a new truck by backing it in to the station, pushed by firefighters and/or community
members rather than horses.
Chief Earl thanked the crew that had prepared the truck for this ceremony. He said Orem had not
had a new fire truck in over 17 years, and this was the first time they would share in the tradition
of backing the truck into the station. He said firefighters were their own community, serving the
s n s t o
who diligently served the residents of Orem.
Chief Gurney said this truck was built in 2016 in Appleton, Wisconsin by Pierce Manufacturing
Inc. It was about 1,200 pounds lighter than a traditional fire truck, and the ladder was a 107 foot
straight stick. When fully extended, the ladder could rotate 360 degrees in one minute. He said
this truck would be a great asset in serving the City of Orem. He then invited the Mayor, City
Council, and Orem fire employees to join in pushing the truck into the station.
3:45 P.M.WORK SESSION-PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING ROOM
CONDUCTING Mayor Richard F. Brunst
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.1)
ELECTEDOFFICIALS Councilmembers Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, David
Spencer, and Brent Sumner
APPOINTEDSTAFF
Jamie Davidson, City Manager; Brenn Bybee, Assistant
City Manager; Greg Stephens, City Attorney; Richard
Manning, Administrative Services Director; Bill Bell,
Development Services Director; Karl Hirst, Recreation
Department Director; Scott Gurney, Fire Department
Director; Matt Pedersen, Police Department; Charlene
Crozier, Library Director; Chris Tschirki, Public Works
Director; Steve Earl, Deputy City Attorney; Jason Bench,
Planning Division Manager; Steven Downs, Assistant to
the City Manager; and Jackie Lambert, Deputy City
Recorder; Keith Larsen, Reed Price
EXCUSED
Council members Tom Macdonald and Mark Seastrand
DISCUSSION-Parks Master Plan
Mr. Bybee introduced Lisa Benson and Mark Vlasic from Landmark Design to present an update
on the City's Parks, Recreation, Trails and Open Space Master Plan. Ms. Benson shared a
presentation outlining the purpose of the plan and the proposed action to be taken. She said the
purpose of the plan was to:
Build upon other planning documents;
Establish new community goals and objectives;
Provide policy direction over a ten-year planning horizon and beyond;
Included specific, measurable and prioritized implementation strategies.
Ms. Benson said they had a public input meeting on November 20, 2016 and another on April
18, 2017. They had also conducted a survey through Y2 Analytics in January 2017. The 5
findings to remember from the survey were:
1. Two top priorities for Orem City residents are upgrading the fitness center and
developing more public trails. Other suggestions could be included in a fitness center
upgrade plan.
2. 46 % of residents either use the fitness center or the recreation programs of both (also
most likely to have children. 42 % of the city used trails but often not the fitness center.
Overall between the fitness center and trails, 88 % of residents have their rec desires
addressed.
3. The #1 reason for using a park facility is its proximity to home.
4. A significant portion of Orem City residents are opposed to most improvements for
financial reasons.
Quantity of bathrooms was a concern for many residents, particularly on city trails and at
5.
SCERA Park.
Ms. Benson said Orem was in an interesting place where the city was maturing and household
size was declining. They were looking to have more balanced and diverse facilities. She said the
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.2)
projected growth in Orem would take place within existing boundaries, so they wanted to be
wise stewards over existing assets and facilities.
Mayor Brunst asked how many participated in the public meetings. Ms. Benson said 30 or so
attended the first meeting, and 40+ were at the most recent meeting.
Mr. Lentz asked about the advisory committee connected with this Master Plan process. Mr.
Bybee said there were representatives from many of the existing resident advisory commissions
like the Arts Council and Recreation, Beautification, and Public Works Advisory Commissions
that made up the ad hoc committee for this Master Plan. Ms. Benson added that they also had
staff representatives and worked closely with city staff for accurate information.
Ms. Benson said there were three categories of parks: regional/community parks, neighborhood
parks, and mini parks. There were also private parks, but they were not a part of the Master Plan
study.
g
that years ago the City had helped care for the Orchard Elementary school grounds, which was
now done entirely by Alpine School District. However, the City still managed the pavilion there,
but that was it. To his knowledge the pavilion was only officially scheduled through the City a
few times a year. Ms. Benson said the cemetery fields were open space, and were handled a bit
differently.
Ms. Benson said determining the Level of Service (LOS) was to divide park acreage by the
current population, times 1,000. Orem's existing LOS was 2.77. Another way of determining
LOS was the distribution analysis. People tended to go the park that was closest to them and
good access and walkability was among their top priorities. They were recommending that gaps
in open space be filled with some 5 acres mini or neighborhood parks.
Mayor Brunst asked how Orem compared to other municipalities. Ms. Benson said that was
difficult to measure. Mr. Vlasic said based on national standards Orem was low for open space.
Ms. Benson then commented that the community said they were satisfied with city parks and the
LOS at those parks.
Mr. Lentz asked if they had the average distance from someone's home to a park, and if it was
walkable. Mr. Vlasic said they did not have that data yet.
Ms. Benson continued that meeting future LOS they should implement new “urban parks" as
described in the State Street Master Plan. These included mini/urban parks, urban plazas,
community gardens, and hybrid sports parks/plazas.
Mr. Davidson said the park infrastructure that Orem currently had was built without using any
impact fees to do it, and these were parks with relatively high LOs. They would not want to
forget existing assets and capitalize on that. Mr. Vlasic agreed, but pointed out that there were
not many large blocks of land left within the City. There were smaller areas that could be turned
into pocket parks or open space. Especially as high-density housing was on the rise in the
City Council Minutes -May 9,2017 (p.3)
Mr. Davidson also said that there was a kind of incentive for developers to keep their buildings
Mr. Vlasic said minimum park standards for the smaller parks would include amenities like trees,
picnic tables/benches, grassy play area, a covered pavilion or shelter/shade structure, and a small
playground, sport court, or playground. The amenities for a given park were dependent on the
acreage, and smaller parks did not often have options for sports or other niche uses like dog
parks or skate parks.
Ms. Benson said they had a few planned parks included in the Master Plan. The dog park was
underway, and they had also looked at adding small parks in the Southwest area, a pocket park at
the 800 North Trailhead, and a bike skills park. She said there was little public open space in
Orem, primarily because of the geography of the city. Residents supported the idea of acquiring
open space as it became available. Ms. Benson said the primary recreation facilities in the City
were the Orem Fitness Center (OFC) and the Scera Pool. Other recreational facilities included:
· Sleepy Ridge Golf Course
· Orem Senior Friendship Center
SCERA Center for the Arts
SCERA Shell Outdoor Theater
· Orem Heritage Museum
Ms. Benson said these facilities supported a variety of recreation programs and community
events and activities, including dance classes, swimming lessons, Boy Scout merit badge classes,
sport programs, classes, and camps, and much more. She said the OFC had, in many ways,
become more of a community event center than a gym or traditional recreation center. There was
also the issue of comparison to centers that had been built much more recently, but she said the
City had plans to address that.
Ms. Benson said they had 148 proposed miles for trails. One challenge in mapping the bike trails
had been creating connections from the mountains to the lakefront, so they had added some
routes to allow for that connection. The recommendations for trails and paths were:
·Focus on Regional Trails & Multi-Use Paths
Implement Mountain to Lakeshore Trail System
Provide connections to Bonneville Shoreline Trail
On-street bike facilities should be implemented as part of street and roadway upgrading
and implementation projects
for bike/pedestrian facilities from 10% to 20%
Increase: transit integration, education & outreach, lighting & safety improvements
Plan proposed 5 new trailheads/trail access points and upgrade of Provo Canyon
Trailhead
Address “Hot Spots" (intersections that pose challenges to bicyclists/pedestrians)
Establish dedicated funding source
Establish Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission
Mayor Brunst asked about the mountain to lakeshore trail system to Lindon. Ms. Benson said
that was in place, and was dovetailing with their system.
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.4)
s
National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) standards, which then showed areas where
there was existing excess or deficit. The City had an excess of pavilions and tennis/pickle ball
courts but deficits in sand volleyball, basketball courts, and skate parks. By comparing LOS they
could address the areas of deficit and monitor demand. Ms. Benson said people had been
extremely vocal about keeping courts to play pickle ball in Orem. She said that sometimes when
the city to overreact and then over-provide for something that could be a fad. Mr. Vlasic added
o q o s a r so e d s Po p
existing facilities or something like that, so they recommended a slower approach.
Ms. Benson said there were costs associated with upgrades and buildouts. She reviewed the
priorities, acquisition, and construction costs for upgrades in parks, open space, and trails. The
estimated total for probably costs was approximately $67 million, with $5-$10 million additional
in OFC improvements.
Mr. Lentz asked about a timeline for these upgrades. Mr. Vlasic said they were looking out to
2060. Mr. Lentz said he understood what Mr. Vlasic had said about going slow and not jumping
to overserve a given group, but he wondered if there was not some wisdom in overserving the
group while the “fad" activity was still at the height of its popularity. The problem was once the
popularity died down, for example the number of racquetball courts at the OFC that were now
hardly used.
Mr. Davidson said there was a facility in Ogden with 8 courts for pickle ball, which was busy all
the time. They believed that demand for this activity was increasing and if they were to put 8
courts in place, there would be a call for more. The acreage was the issue, and finding the land to
have the courts on. One option they had considered was the fields next to Orem Community
Hospital, and they would meet with them in the future. They were also looking at Sharon Park as
a potential place for a pickle ball court, but that was a neighborhood park and they were not sure
that was a compatible use for that park. It warranted further study.
Mr. Bybee said there had been some back and forth on the costs, and this was more of a
benchmark or overestimate that would help justify the need for further CARE funds and/or
impact fees. It would mitigate negative surprises in the end to overestimate initially.
There was subsequent discussion about pickle ball courts and the sizing and striping
requirements, lighting, and costs of building them.
Mr. Davidson said there was a benefit to having specific park uses being spread around the city
and having the parks be more specialized. Some parks had so much programmed in them, it
would make sense to spread out the events and activities more. He said Orem had a great park
best serve the residents.
DISCUSSION-SpeedLimits on 400East
Mr. Goodrich said this was a grassroots, self-started request that came from the neighborhoods
during the process of creating the Orem North and Sharon Park Neighborhood Plan. The requests
City Council Minutes -May 9, 2017 (p.5)
were to raise the speed limits from 25 mph to 30 mph specifically on 400 East from 1600 North
to Center Street, and on 400 South from 1200 West to the City of Vineyard limits. He said there
had been requests to monitor the area down near Vineyard Elementary because of high speeds.
He said part if the issue was that the area did not warrant a traffic control device at the current
speed limit, but may warrant a traffic control device if the speed limit were raised.
Mr. Goodrich said they studied the proposed area for speed limit increase and found that 85
percent of drivers were driving well above the speed limit. The standard practice when setting
speed limits was to set them around the 85"h percentile speed. Years ago they had raised the
speeds on 800 East to 35 mph, but 400 East was a different type of street as a minor arterial with
bike lanes. Because of factors like the type of road it was, as well as the proximity to the schools
and park, the recommendation was to raise the speed limit to 30 mph but not higher.
Mrs. Lauret said the 30 mph was a good compromise with what residents wanted and what made
sense for the road. They could still increase the speed in the future if they needed to.
Mr. Goodrich said when they made changes like these, the operation speeds did not really
change. People were going to continue to drive what they felt safe driving on a given road.
Mr. Lentz asked what the speeds where in the school zones, to which Traffic Engineer Keith
Larsen answered 20 mph when the speed was reduced by the presence of the flashing yellow
lights.
Mr. Goodrich reviewed the aerial map pointing out areas of significance. The request for the
traffic control device by Vineyard Elementary school seemed contradictory at first, that to
qualify for the device they would have to raise the speed limit. It took a long time for Vineyard
to come on board with that, but after Mr. Larsen spoke with them and they also conducted their
own separate study, they had come to a realization that State warrants could not budge and they
would have to raise the speed limit to get their signal.
Mayor Brunst asked if they had considered extending the area for the speed limit change to the
east. Mr. Goodrich said there had been a lot of discussion on raising that operating speed. One
crucial issue was that the area Mayor Brunst was referring to was a large hill, and hills were
difficult to enforce speed limits on.
Mr. Larsen added that the City was suggesting some additional traffic calming devices as well
near the elementary school.
Mr. Davidson said there might be some concern from parents about the speed limit being raised,
but they hoped to explain to them that by raising the speed limit they would then be allowed to
include traffic control and calming devices in the area.
Mr. Goodrich said that it did seem counter-intuitive initially, but they would try to educate and
reassure the public that this was the right thing to do if they wanted a flashing signal and calming
devices like bulb-out crossings and tree-lined park strips.
Mr. Davidson said they had reached an agreement with Vineyard to increase the speed in that
area, and they would formally bring the item before the Council at the next scheduled meeting.
City Council Minutes -May 9,2017 (p.6)
5:00P.M.STUDY SESSION-PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING ROOM
CONDUCTING Mayor Richard F. Brunst
Councilmembers Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, David
ELECTEDOFFICIALS
Spencer, and Brent Sumner
APPOINTEDSTAFF Jamie Davidson, City Manager; Brenn Bybee, Assistant
City Manager; Greg Stephens, City Attorney; Richard
Manning, Administrative Services Director; Bill Bell,
Development Services Director; Karl Hirst, Recreation
Department Director; Scott Gurney, Fire Department
Director; Ned Jackson, Police Department; Charlene
Crozier, Library Director; Chris Tschirki, Public Works
Director; Steve Earl, Deputy City Attorney; Jason Bench,
Planning Division Manager; Steven Downs, Assistant to
the City y Manager; and Jackie Lambert, Deputy City
Recorder
EXCUSED Councilmembers Tom Macdonald and Mark Seastrand
Preview Upcoming Agenda Items
Staff presented a preview of upcoming agenda items.
Agenda Review
The City Council and staff reviewed the items on the agenda.
City Council New Business
There was no new City Council business.
The Council adjourned 5:57 p.m. to the City Council Chambers for the regular meeting.
6:00 P.M.REGULAR SESSION -COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CONDUCTING Mayor Richard F. Brunst
ELECTEDOFFICIALS Councilmembers Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, David
Spencer, and Brent Sumner
APPOINTEDSTAFF Jamie Davidson, City Manager; Brenn Bybee, Assistant
City Manager; Greg Stephens, City Attorney; Richard
Manning, Administrative Services Director; Bill Bell,
Development Services Director; Karl Hirst, Recreation
Director; Chris Tschirki, Public Works Director; Scott
Gurney, Fire Department Director; Keldon Brown, Police
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.7)
Department; Charlene Crozier, Library Director; Jason
Bench, Planning Division Manager; Neal Winterton, Water
Division Manager; Steven Downs, Assistant to the City
Manager; Pete Wolfley, Communications Specialist; and
Jackie Lambert, Deputy City Recorder
EXCUSED Council members Tom Macdonald and Mark Seastrand
INVOCATION/
INSPIRATIONALTHOUGHT
Amanda Cluff
PLEDGEOFALLEGIANCE Bear Scout Group - Tagen Jensen, Winston Thompson,
Colin Thompson, and Colton Bevens
APPROVALOFMINUTES
Mr. Lentz moved to approve the April 11, 2017 City Council meeting minutes and the April 13,
2017 Joint Orem/Provo City Council meeting minutes. Mrs. Lauret seconded the motion. Those
voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The
motion passed unanimously.
MAYOR'SREPORT/ITEMSREFERREDBY COUNCIL
Upcoming Events
The Mayor referred the Council to the upcoming events listed in the agenda packet.
Appointments to Boards and Commissions
Mr. Lentz moved to appoint David Blackinton to the Arts Council and to appoint Russell Bird to
the Recreation Advisory Commission. Mr. Sumner seconded the motion. Those voting aye:
Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The motion
passed unanimously.
PROCLAMATION-Police Week 2017
Mayor Brunst read the proclamation declaring the week of May 14 - 20, 2017 as Police Week in
the City of Orem. He said the City of Orem publicly saluted the service of law enforcement
officers in our community and in communities across the nation, and urged all citizens to do the
same.
Mayor Brunst moved to accept the proclamation. Mrs. Lauret seconded the motion. The motion
passed unanimously.
PROCLAMATION -National DrinkingWaterWeek 2017
Mayor Brunst read the proclamation declaring the week of May 7 - 13, 2017 to be National
Drinking Water Week in the City of Orem. He urged residents join in extending appreciation to
the dedicated men and women of the Orem municipal water system and urge that Orem citizens
participate in National Drinking Water Week activities and become more informed about Orem's
water supply and system.
City Council Minutes - May 9,2017 (p.8)
Mayor Brunst moved to accept the proclamation. Mrs. Lauret seconded the motion. The motion
passed unanimously.
Mr. Tschirki and Mr. Winterton invited staff from the Water Distribution section to come
forward and be recognized. Mr. Tschirki said these dedicated staff members responded to calls
about leaks, burst pipes, etc. at any time, whether it was their day off and they were at their
daughter's birthday party or if it was Christmas Day.
Mr. Winterton added that these guys were the most knowledgeable and dedicated team definitely
in the state, and likely in the country. He expressed his appreciation for working with such a fine
team in a city that provided high-quality, affordable utilities services for Orem residents.
Mayor Brunst commended the Water team, and declared that Orem had some of the best tasting
water in the country.
PERSONALAPPEARANCES
Time was allotted for the public to express their ideas, concerns, and comments on items not on
the agenda. Those wishing to speak should have signed in prior to the meeting, and comments
were limited to three minutes or less.
Scott Stevenson, resident, first thanked the Mayor and Council for their service to the
community. He said he lived in the Lakeridge neighborhood and had been there since 2014. He
learned that there was a proposed development (PEG development) across the way that would
completely take away his view of the lake, but more importantly would disrupt the neighborhood
by rezoning a portion to be multi-family high-density housing. He knew the neighborhood was
not 1o0 percent supportive of this development, and he expressed concerns about having such a
development across from a junior high school. Mr. Stevenson said that to his knowledge the
S si
He felt like this looked shady, as if the deal was being made under the table. He asked the City
Council to take the time to research and consider this issue before voting on it.
Gary Tippets, resident, said he too lived in the Lakeridge area and had concerns about the
proposed PEG development. He said he had attended a meeting with the neighbors and
developers where several issues were discussed, including road access onto 400 West, parking
ratio concerns, height concerns, etc. He said the developer promised that there would not be
parking garage associated with the development, and now there appeared to be a 3-story parking
garage on the most recent plans submitted to the City's planning department. This was directly
contradictory to earlier promises made. He echoed concerns about the development being close
to a junior high school, obstructed views, and building heights. He also worried about the
increased traffic in an already busy area. Mr. Tippets also asked that careful consideration go
into any decision made on this development.
Sara Bateman, resident, wanted to extend an invitation to the Mayor and Council and all city
residents to attend the semi-annual Community Free SWAP. This event was like a flash-mob
garage sale/thrift store where everything was free! It helped benefit many families in the
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.9)
would be held at the City Center park pavilion on June 3, 2017, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. She
said volunteers were especially welcome, and volunteers usually got first pick.
Kevin Warner, developer, said he had been before the City Council in January for the Flying
Horse condominium project on Sandhill Road. He worked with Bruce Dickerson, the head
developer of that project, and was reporting to the Council on his behalf. Mr. Warner said they
had 40 of the 134 units under contract, and these were mostly young couples and young working
professionals. He said they had no issues with parking or over-crowding, and this was a valuable
asset to the City.
CONSENTITEMS
There were no Consent Items.
SCHEDULEDITEMS
6:00 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING - CDBG Final Statement 2017-2018
RESOLUTION - Adopt Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Final Statement
of ProjectedUses ofFunds-2017-2018
Mr. Downs, Assistant to the City Manager, presented recommendations that the City Council, by
resolution, adopt the updated Final Statement of Projected Uses of Funds for Orem's 2017-2018
Community Development Block Grant.
During the past few months, the CDBG Citizen Advisory Commission heard funding proposals
from various applicants who wish to receive CDBG funding. The Commission presented its
recommendations to the City Council in the first of two public hearings on March 28, 2017.
Tonight's public hearing is the final opportunity for public comment on the recommendations
before the City Council officially adopts the Final Statement of Projected Uses of Funds for
Orem's 2017-2018 Community Development Block Grant. Please see the allocation
recommendations below. Actual amounts are subject to change based on unspent money from
previous years and actual allocation from HUD:
Public Services - limited by HUD to 15% of new entitlement funding
Family Support & Treatment - $11,000
Project Read - $3,500
PERC - $2,000
Center for Women & Children in Crisis - $10,000
Community Action Services - $12,500
Mountainlands Community Health - $4,500
Literacy Resources - $0
RAH - $7,500
Friends of the Children's Justice Center - $13,000
Friends of the Food and Care Coalition - $7,000
Utah County 4-H - $1,750
Community Health Connect - $4,000
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.10)
KidsontheMove-$5,000
People Helping People - $5,000
Rocky Mountain University of Health Professionals - $4,000
Other
Habitat for Humanity - $185,000
House of Hope - $2,000
Code Enforcement - $130,000
Infrastructure - $304,250
Administration - $103,000
Section 108 Loan Repayment - $105,000
Mr. Downs stated communities with populations over 50,0o0 were eligible for Community
Block Development Grant (CDBG) funds to benefit low and moderate income families and
public service organizations in the community. This was the second public hearing regarding the
allocation of CDBG funds. Per HUD guidelines they followed a 30-day waiting period from the
first public hearing to the second to allow for input. He mentioned that several members of the
CDBG Advisory Commission were present, including Chair Tom Walsh who joined him to
present to the Mayor and Council. He thanked the commission members for their dedicated
service in making these recommendations.
Mr. Downs said they had allocation amounts for a total of $920,000. There had been some chaos
in Washington, D.C. this budget cycle, and there were questions on whether CDBG would be
funded. However the budget had been signed and CDBG was receiving the full funding amount
as from previous years.
Mr. Walsh reviewed the amounts that each applicant had requested, and the amount the CDBG
Advisory Commission recommended. (The recommended amounts were previously listed
above.) He specifically noted that the amount recommended to the Habitat for Humanity
program included rollover funding from the previous year. Habitat for Humanity had taken
charge of the HOME rehabilitation loan program previously run by the City.
Mayor Brunst said there were many great causes the City was pleased to donate to, and he
mentioned a few like the Food and Care Coalition, Kids on the Move, and the Women and
Children in Crisis program. These programs were to help those that may not be able to help
themselves.
Mrs. Lauret asked what guiding principles the commission used in determining their proposed
funding allocations. Mr. Walsh said it was a difficult task, and almost always they asked for
more funding than the City had to give. Their primary guiding principle was how a given
program or group would specifically help Orem residents. Mr. Downs said they also considered
how critical the service was, and whether they were the only of their kind. Another factor was
how able a program was in receiving outside funding and donations.
Mr. Sumner asked if the number of applicants increased year to year, or if it was a fairly standard
new group or program would come into the area, or alternatively a group may not need as much
funding from one year to the next so they may only apply every 3 or 5 years. For example House
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.11)
of Hope had gone a few years without requesting any CDBG funding, but they had that need this
year and so they applied.
Mr. Lentz asked for clarification on the items toward the bottom of the list, specifically those
designated “City of Orem" for code enforcement, public facilities, administration, and Section
108 loan payment.
Mr. Downs said the code enforcement portion was the Neighborhood Preservation Unit (NPU) in
the City's police department. NPU responded to various calls for code enforcement and other
neighborhood issues. One of the officers in NPU was specially trained to help those with mental
health issues. Mr. Downs said only a portion of the NPU salary came from CDBG funding, but
added that they were willing to give the full amounts requested because of the amount of work
the unit did in the community. The public facilities portion went towards projects in
neighborhood parks, like repairing or replacing equipment. The administration funds paid for
those that ran the programs, and Mr. Downs said there were many strings attached to that portion
of the funding - it was heavily monitored and reported on regularly. The Section 108 Loan
Payment was a commitment made to certain businesses years ago, that the City would continue
to make the loan payments as long as they remained in the city and met certain benchmarks in
regards to job creation and revenues coming into the City.
Mr. Lentz asked for clarification on how the amount for the administration was arrived at. Mr.
Downs said it was 20 percent of the entitlement amount, which in this case would have been
$120,ooo. They went through and determined what they would actually need, which was
$103,000 and the rest would go to other programming.
Mayor Brunst said the NPU officers were an invaluable asset for the community, and their good
efforts helped keep drug and other crime rates low by being so present in the community. He
then opened the public hearing.
Karen McCandless, executive director of Community Action Services and Food Bank, wanted to
thank the commission and the City for their work in allocating these funds. She was grateful for
the funding they would receive. She brought with her a small bag containing foods like instant
macaroni and cheese, granola bars, etc. and said bags like these were made at the Food Bank to
go to children who did not have food to eat over the weekends. They participated in free lunches
at school but would go hungry on the days they were home. Food bags were delivered to the
schools and teachers were able to place to meal bags in the backpacks of students that were in
need. Mrs. McCandless said she also served as the president of the Board of Directors for the
Family Support and Treatment Center, which provided therapy opportunities for low-income
individuals. CDBG funding helped with both of the programs.
Erick Jorgensen, with Habitat for Humanity, said he worked specifically in critical repairs for
homes. He often was helping replace roofs or fixing plumbing or electrical issues in homes of
low-income families or individuals - sometimes elderly widows and shut-ins. These people
usually had almost nothing to live on, and the generous support of CDBG funding to these
programs helped keep people in their homes and maintain their independence and livelihood.
This was a wonderful program for those in need.
Vic Morris, with Rocky Mountain University Health Professions, said this grant money went to
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.12)
the community rehabilitation physical therapy centers for those that would not otherwise be able
to afford those services. With the funding they received from Orem and other cities, they were
able to stay open longer hours and help serve even more residents. He thanked the City for their
support of these programs.
Mayor Brunst closed the public hearing.
Mr. Spencer moved, by resolution, to adopt the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Final Statement of Projected Uses of Funds - 2017-2018. Mrs. Lauret seconded the motion.
Those voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, David Spencer, and Brent
Sumner. The motion passed unanimously.
6:00 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING - Tentative Adoption of Orem FY 2017-2018 Tentative
Budget
RESOLUTION-TentativelyAdopting the City of OremFiscalYear 2017-2018Tentative
Budget
Mr. Manning and Mr. Nelson presented the City Manager's recommendation that the City
Council, by resolution, hold a public hearing then tentatively adopt the Fiscal Year 2017-2018
y s
p.m.
The City Council, through a series of work sessions, began reviewing the proposed budget for
Fiscal Year 20186. These sessions covered revenue projections, compensation, General Fund
operations changes, capital improvements, and the enterprise funds.
will be reviewed in the budget presentation.
The Tentative Budget is available for review and to download at Orem.org.
Mr. Manning said the State Legislature had passed a new law - HB 164 - in the recent
legislative session that dictated that there be a separate public hearing about the transfer of funds.
The City had been doing this for years, and the Council was likely familiar with this process, but
he wanted to clarify. He said city proprieties used utilities just like businesses and residences did,
and so those utilities needed to be paid for at the standard retail rate. They paid for those utilities
from the enterprise funds, and to repay those funds the City could either raise taxes to cover that,
or transfer the funds back from the utilities accounts. The same services the residents had always
enjoyed would stay in place, they would not need to cut services or raise costs, and this would
fulfill requirements set by theState Auditors.
Mr. Manning said this was the culmination of six months of work, with many work sessions and
discussions with the City Council to hammer out details. The FY 2017-2018 Budget was
proposed to be $112,262,109. There was no raise in taxes. There were adjustments to some fees
and requests for some new positions. They anticipated approximately $91 million in new
revenue, with approximately $18 million in transfers and $2.5 million in appropriation of
surplus. As the City Council had a “pay-as-you-go" approach to funding utility replacement and
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.13)
was not an appropriation of cash in a particular year, that would signal the City was saving a
particularly large capital outlay in a future year.
Mayor Brunst said the City Council chose “pay-as-you-go" as opposed to things being paid for
through bond debts. The idea was to appropriately charge those that used services, rather than
burden the whole city with debt.
Mr. Manning shared a graph of General Fund Sources of Revenue, and said the General Fund
was the largest fund in the City budget. He said the bulk of the General Fund came from sales
taxes at almost 59 percent. 23 percent was from franchise tax, and 18 percent was from property
Mrs. Lauret stated that Orem was especially sales tax dependent. She asked Mr. Manning how
conservative they were in their projections for the future. Mr. Manning said that sales tax was up
when the economy was strong. During the recent recession, the sales tax took a hit and it has
been a long time getting back to where it had been. They watched sales tax more closely than
any other revenue source, gauging the numbers by watching raises and unemployment. Watching
all of those factors gave them a fairly accurate estimate of sales tax. They tended to be more
ordown.
Mr. Davidson said this was a conservative but mindful approach to budgeting and ensuring that
the City will be taken care of. Mrs. Lauret agreed, and said she had wanted to emphasize that the
estimates were intentionally conservative.
Mr. Manning said the process was like balancing a checkbook 18 months out. Mr. Nelson
reiterated the attention that was given to the trends so that their projections would be as accurate
aspossible.
Mr. Lentz asked how many years in a row they had been successful in their projections. Mr.
Nelson said three years in a row, not including the current year which would make that four. Mr.
Manning said the only year where they had been taken by surprise was the year the recession
really hit. They had had to pull heavily from reserves that year but still ended over and under.
Mr. Davidson said the last time the budget did what it did 10 years ago was in the 1920s. In
terms of averages and getting things right, if this was baseball not budgets, Orem would be in the
Hall of Fame. Mayor Brunst agreed, and said he was impressed that Orem balanced their budget
Mr. Manning said sale tax was now being collected from purchases on Amazon.com. With only
two months of data collected, it was difficult to make any forecasts about how that would impact
the revenue stream. He said the most conservative growth was in property tax. Utilities were a
fairly stable source of revenue, with the only exception being the declining number of
phones/land lines. He said another stable source of revenue was from service contracts for police
and fire services with other cities like Lindon and Vineyard. Mr. Manning said they planned to
build and staff a fire station in the Vineyard area in the future. He showed a comparison of utility
rates in surrounding cities, noting that Orem's rates were very low.
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.14)
Mr. Lentz said Orem had flat rates for a long time, and that was finally starting to change to help
offset costs of capital projects. He asked about other cities looking at increasing utility rates. Mr.
Manning said Provo and Pleasant Grove had also considered similar changes in their utility rates.
utilization patterns for apples to apples comparison.
Mr. Sumner commented that he had heard some complaints about the changes in the Orem utility
rates, but when he showed them the side by side comparison to other cities people often took
their complaints back. Mr. Nelson said the rates were being raised to cover the costs of having to
Mr. Manning said Operations was the largest portion of the budget by expenditure type, at 46.7
detailing departmental stewardship. Mr. Manning then shared information about proposed budget
additions for FY18 from all departments and those technically that were "non-departmental".
Mr. Lentz asked if the information for compensation for new positions encompasses all salary
and benefits, to which Mr. Manning answered in the affirmative.
materials into city sewers. Mr. Tschirki said there had not been an occurrence in Orem since
March, but there had been a similar dump in the City of American Fork. Whoever was doing this
had started moving around. They had not yet identified who the “Phantom Dumper” was.
Mr. Manning said the outstanding bond debt was continuing to decrease, and there was a lot of
progress being made. He reviewed fund revenues for recreation, community development, and
solid waste. He then reviewed the recommended changes to the water tier and sewer rates.
Mr. Lentz asked for clarification on the increase for the %" meter. His understanding was that
rates for all meter sizes would increase according to the American Water Works Association
(AWWA) standard multiplier. Mr. Tschirki said that was the plan, and those increases would
come during the tiered phases. He explained that all of the rates were out of alignment but over
starting with %" meters and would continue up to 1" meters and so on.
Mrs. Lauret asked about the contract with Waste Management (WM) for the removal of solid
waste, and if WM helped offset some costs with roads because of the heavy loads they carried on
city streets. Mr. Manning said WM provided some funding to the City, but was through the rates
Mr. Davidson said he wanted to reinforce to the Mayor and Council the correlation of the utility
fees and capital improvement projects. They would build and upgrade as funding was collected
and saved. The plans would be modified over time to best suit the needs of the City and the
residents. The “"pay-as-you-go" philosophy was to avoid taking on more debt and still address the
capital projects that needed to be done. Mayor Brunst said this had been the specific direction the
Council had given to staff, and he was thus far pleased with their efforts to meet that. He agreed
that those who used the services should pay for them.
City Council Minutes - May 9, 2017 (p.15)
At this point Mr. Manning asked the Mayor and Council if they had any specific questions he
could address, or if they preferred that he go through every proposed change individually.
Mayor Brunst said he felt comfortable with the fees as listed in the tentative budget. He was glad
to get clarification on his question about the fees listed for outside groups to use city tennis
courts. Mrs. Sarvela had explained that the increase was closer to the standard fees that cities
Mrs. Lauret said she just needed clarification on one proposed fee, which was the overnight key
s s
returned, or if it was kept as a kind of a security deposit. Mrs. Sarvela said that there was a
refundable security deposit of $20o, the return of which was dependent on the state of the park
after its use. The overnight key fee was extending the time which the park was available,
Mr. Spencer asked about the money that had previously been earmarked for the Timpanogos
Storytelling Festival (TSF); he wondered if that would now go toward the library auditorium
because he could not find it in the budget. Mr. Nelson said that money was technically sitting in
a savings account. Mr. Davidson said it was such a small amount from years past that they were
allowing the funds to accumulate and then there would be flexibility on how it was spent.
Obviously there was less funding for that now that the TSF had moved to Thanksgiving Point.
Mr. Lentz said he had a few things he wanted to mention. (1) His first concern was the wording
used on page 94 of the physical budget document, where the phrase “recreation projects... need
to be done now" was used. He felt that strong language made it sound like a legal imperative that
a good idea to indicate that the energy savings program was through Siemens. He suggested
perhaps a footnote for that. (3) One page 138 he thought there might be a typographical error
where it mentioned CARE funds used to re-line the pool.
Mr. Manning agreed, and said it was probable that the line came from the budget last year.
Mr. Lentz's next item was (4) on page 190. He wondered where the donations to the City's All-
Together Playground were listed, if not under the City of Orem Foundation Trust. Mr. Nelson
said it was all run through the General Fund, though a small amount was specifically identified
to go through the Orem Foundation Trust.
Mr. Lentz continued that he was concerned with how the public had been notified about
transfers, listed in the budget (5) on page 196. He thought the way the information had been
presented this evening was helpful and explained the process well. He hoped that residents
would receive a plain-language explanation so they could understand the purpose of the
transfers. Mr. Davidson said that was the intention, to include a more simplified explanation in
the notice that was sent with the utility bill.
Mr. Lentz said his final question/concern was more specific and anecdotal, but he hoped for
some clarification. He had spoken to a resident trying to sell a strip of land valued at
approximately $2,00o. To go through the steps set forth by the City to have the land appraised
City Council Minutes -May9,2017 (p.16)
and approved for sale,he had to pay more than the $2,ooo the land was worth.Mr.Lentz
wondered if therecould notbesomecommonsensecompromisefor situations likethese.
Mr.DavidsonsaidtheCouncilhadultimatesayinmatterslikethesetodowhattheydeemed
appropriate, but he explained that often the work that city staff had to put into a $2,0o0 issue was
the same amount ofworktheyhad toput infora$25,000 issue.Noticingrequirements alone had
high costs,and theprocesses were the sameregardless of the size orvalueof theproperty.The
same stepshad tobetakenthat tookupthe same amount of time andduediligenceonthepart of
staff.Mr. Davidson said he appreciated the dilemma of this specific resident's process of selling
a strip ofland,butitwasverydifficult tosort things outonacasebycasebasis.
Mayor Brunst agreedwith Mr.Davidson’s point,saying that it ran theriskof lookinglike the
Citywas playingfavorites and it was betterfor everyone togo through thesame process.
As there were no further questions from the Council, Mayor Brunst opened the public hearing.
No one came forward to speak so Mayor Brunst closed the public hearing.
MayorBrunstmoved,byresolution,to tentatively adopt the City of OremFiscal Year 2017-
2018 Tentative Budget and set a public hearing to adopt the final budget on June 13,2017, at
6:00 p.m. Mrs. Lauret seconded the motion. Those voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret,
Sam Lentz,David Spencer,and BrentSumner.Themotionpassed unanimously.
COMMUNICATIONITEMS
TherewerenoCommunicationItems.
CITYMANAGERINFORMATIONITEMS
TherewerenoCityManagerInformationItems.
ADJOURNTOAMEETINGOFTHEREDEVELOPMENTAGENCYOFTHECITY
OFOREM
Mr.Spencermoved to adjourn to a meeting of theRedevelopmentAgency of theCity of Orem.
Mr. Lentz seconded the motion. Those voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz,
DavidSpencer,andBrentSumner.Themotionpassed unanimously.
Themeetingadjourned at8:01p.m.
CORPORATE
OsmaD.anen
SEAL
DonnaR.Weaver,CityRecorder
City Council Minutes-May9,2017(p.17)