City Council · 2018-12-11

 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.1)                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
CITY OF OREM 
CITY COUNCIL MEETING 
56 North State Street Orem, Utah 
December 11, 2018 
 
3:00 P.M. WORK SESSION – CITY COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM 
 
CONDUCTING 
Mayor Richard F. Brunst  
 
ELECTED OFFICIALS 
Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom Macdonald, Mark 
Seastrand, David Spencer, and Brent Sumner 
 
APPOINTED STAFF 
Jamie Davidson, City Manager; Brenn Bybee, Assistant 
City Manager; Steven Downs, Deputy City Manager; Greg 
Stephens, City Attorney; Karl Hirst, Recreation Department 
Director; Richard Manning, Administrative Services 
Director; Bill Bell, Development Services Director; Scott 
Gurney, Fire Chief; Gary Giles, Police Chief; Ryan Clark, 
Economic Development Division Manager; Jason Bench, 
Planning Division Manager; Kirby Snideman, Long Range 
Planner; Kena Mathews, Community Services Manager; 
and Jackie Lambert, Deputy City Recorder 
 
  
PRESENTATION – Special Project at University Place 
 
Mr. Clark began by saying that Orem was the center for the arts, and was the first city in Utah 
County to adopt a Cultural Arts and Recreation Enhancement (CARE) Tax. The Hale Center 
Theater of Orem (HCTO) played an important role in the City’s cultural arts offerings, and the 
proposal they would discuss was to relocate the HCTO to University Place. Mr. Clark introduced 
special guests from the HCTO organization, the Woodbury Corporation, and Utah Valley 
University (UVU). Mr. Clark then asked Cody Swenson, HCTO Executive Director, to share 
some information about the history of the organization. 
 
Mr. Swenson gave a brief history of how his grandparents came to open their own theaters. The 
HCTO was opened in 1990, and since that time over 250 productions had been staged. Mr. 
Swenson said they were known for providing a quality theater experience in an intimate space, 
and most shows were sold out most of the time. They had great support from the community, and 
hoped to preserve their unique legacy in the proposed new theater. 
 
Mr. Clark shared conceptual renderings for the proposed new theater, and said that the HCTO 
organization had been looking for a chance to expand since 2008. The economic downturn had 
changed those plans again and again, but there was now an opportunity for a special 
collaboration with the HCTO, the Woodbury Corporation, and the City of Orem. Hale had 
approached the City on this project, and had been open and transparent with their finances. Mr. 
Clark said the project had been “stress tested” and evaluated by Lewis Young Robertson & 
Burningham (LYRB), as well as Woodbury, and a project like this would not work without a city 
financing component. They wanted to have the best protection possible for the City, as well as a 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.2)                                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
situation that HCTO could afford and made sense for their theater. Mr. Clark said there were 
many partnerships like this between cities and theater organizations throughout the state. He said 
this would be an affordable product for the area with the same intimate feel. 
 
Arty Woodbury said they agreed in principle on the location with HCTO, and to show how 
committed the Woodbury Corporation was to this project they would pledge $1 million to kick 
start the fundraising efforts. 
 
Mr. Clark showed proposed plans for the interior of the theater, which included a black box 
theater. Mr. Swenson explained that the black box theater would mainly be used for the youth 
theater productions, as it was harder to find time to schedule them on the main stage. Mr. Clark 
said the current theater had 11,000 square feet, with between 280-303 seats and 83 parking stalls 
with 77 additional stalls as overflow. The proposed main theater would be more like the now 
“old” Hale in West Valley with approximately 64,000 square feet, with 568 seats and 200 in the 
black box theater, and 316 parking stalls. Mr. Clark reviewed the steps required to realize the 
proposed project, including a zone change, street vacation, and removal of the rental homes 
Woodbury owned that would allow for the necessary parking. 
 
Mr. Clark said this would add to Orem’s identity and the place making of University Place and 
as a regional draw would help stem the outward migration of businesses, retail, and other arts 
programs to other cities. It would add to the mixed use of the development at University Place, 
and there would be indirect benefits as well. As a 28-year tenant in the city, HCTO was a known 
entity and the new theater was projected to attract 300,000 patrons annually. Mr. Clark said 
finally that this would be a great legacy project to move forward with in Orem’s centennial year. 
 
There was continued discussion on the proposal, including the details on the scope of the new 
Hale Theater in Sandy, questions on the timeline if the project were to move forward, and on 
fundraising. Jeff Fisher, with HCTO, said they hoped to be aggressive with moving forward on 
fundraising should the project be approved. He said the fundraising would be easier with a 
specific project and location to present. Mr. Swenson added that they would be approaching state 
legislators in the upcoming legislative session. Mr. Woodbury said once the project was 
approved they could begin to prep the land and work on other projects already in motion 
including a hotel, but the fundraising would also dictate the timeline. 
 
Mr. Macdonald asked UVU Dean Stephen M. Pullen for his thoughts. Dean Pullen said they had 
met with Hale to hear the proposed plan, and they were delighted to see this collaboration 
between the involved parties. In response to a question about UVU’s relationship with the 
SCERA organization, Dean Pullen said it was a comparable relationship to that with the Hale 
organization. For all those students in the arts programs, it gave them more opportunities to get 
professional experience.  
 
In response to a question posed by Mr. Seastrand, Mr. Davidson said the City would be open to 
partnerships of this kind with other organizations like SCERA and in fact already had a 
partnership with SCERA. There was a cooperative relationship for the SCERA Shell outdoor 
theater, and through the CARE tax. Mr. Davidson said this project had been in discussions for 
several years and while it had always been open it had not always been easy.  
Mr. Macdonald said his feeling was the more fundraising that could be done by HCTO and 
Woodbury, the better. Laura Lewis, with LYRB, said it was unrealistic to expect them to raise all 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.3)                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
the money. She said a 501c3 nonprofit organization had the opportunity to work through a 
municipality as a conduit to take advantage of the tax exemption savings, which would be 
significant. There was a benefit to that collaboration. 
 
DISCUSSION – Multi-Jurisdictional Automatic Aid, Mutual Aid, Fire Training, 
Emergency Medical, and Other Services Agreement  
 
Fire Chief Gurney and Deputy Chief Jason Earl presented information to the City Council on the 
Multi-Jurisdictional Automatic Aid, Mutual Aid, Fire Training, Emergency Medical, and Other 
Services Agreement (an inter-local agreement), which outlined the rights and responsibilities for 
mutual aid and other related services between the Orem City Fire Department and other fire and 
emergency medical service providers throughout the state of Utah.  
 
Chief Earl said there was a kind of informal agreement with neighboring communities to help 
with fire services as needed. The agreement being discussed would formalize the terms. He 
reviewed some of the specifics of the agreement, saying that there would be no obligation to 
cover for others if the City was unavailable or short staffed.  
 
Mr. Davidson asked about the possibility of disproportionately being called out to communities 
other than Orem, and subsidizing fire services for others. Chief Earl said it was a non-binding, 
non-obligatory agreement and they could opt out if necessary; he did not anticipate that being a 
problem. There were some emergencies that smaller communities could not handle on their own, 
in terms of equipment, personnel, and other resources. Hopefully that would be a rare 
occurrence, but they wanted to be available in those circumstances. 
 
Chief Gurney said agreements like this were win-win. One of the benefits of the agreement was 
to outline how many offices and engines of what type were needed at specific incidents, which 
took the guesswork out of what resources were needed to respond. He said they would bring the 
resolution for the agreement forward to the first City Council meeting in January of 2019. 
 
DISCUSSION – Section 108 Loan Refinancing Opportunity 
 
Ms. Mathews said there was an opportunity to refinance the Section 108 Loan, which would 
result in a savings in excess of $50,000. They were contacted by HUD about a public offering in 
February to move from a variable rate to a fixed rate.  
 
Mr. Lentz asked if this would extend the life of the loan. Ms. Mathews said it did not. They 
would bring a formal resolution to the Council in January but they had a deadline of midnight on 
December 11th to indicate if they wanted take advantage of the refinancing option. The general 
consensus of the Council was to move forward with refinancing the loan. 
 
UPDATE – Neighborhood Plans  
 
Mr. Snideman provided an update on the neighborhood plan process. He said there were 21 
neighborhoods in Orem that had been put into nine groups for the purpose of neighborhood 
plans. They had completed five of those plans and had four left to do; they were going to try to 
do two plans concurrently. He explained that the major components of neighborhood plans were 
not necessarily neighborhood specific, so they could use a template to start. Once a volunteer 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.4)                                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
neighborhood committee was formed, they could get more into the specifics. This would also 
give them the opportunity to combine public meetings. Mr. Snideman said they would do the last 
two plans concurrently as well, if the initial trial went well. They hoped to complete all nine 
plans by 2020. 
 
PRESENTATION – Imagine Orem: Geneva Road Area-Wide Plan  
 
Mr. Snideman invited consultant Katie-Rose Imbriano to join him to provide an update of the 
progress of the Geneva Road area-wide plan. Ms. Imbriano defined the boundaries of the plan 
area, and explained that “brownfield” areas were those with contamination of the soil, 
groundwater, etc. Geneva Steel had been a contributor to that issue in the area. She continued to 
review the processes of gathering data, contacting land owners and business owners along the 
corridor, and the public outreach process going into the development of the plan. Mr. Snideman 
said there would be a workshop with property owners on December 12th to show them what had 
been done with their feedback. They would discuss potential zoning, development, and the risks 
and benefits of having a master plan in place. 
 
Ms. Imbriano reviewed the efforts made in public outreach over the past 12 months, including 
phone calls and personal visits to properties and businesses along Geneva Road, open houses in 
the spring and fall, and a survey conducted through imagineorem.org. Mr. Snideman said the 
addition of food and activities at the open houses had invited a variety of people from differing 
backgrounds to participate.  
 
Ms. Imbriano shared some of the survey responses, and the three major concerns business 
owners had responded with: land use, neighborhood character, and transportation. They wanted 
to make sure the area was going to grow in the right ways. Major concerns were residential 
encroachment, adequate parking for businesses, and the expansion of the road. Many industrial 
businesses used vehicles that had different transportation needs. Mr. Davidson said those 
concerns stated by business owners seemed incongruous with attempts the City made to clean up 
or make any changes on Geneva Road, as there was usually push back. Perhaps this showed that 
those pushing back in public meetings may not be the majority opinion. 
 
Ms. Imbriano presented the three districts that were proposed in the plan, which were the 
Gateway District, Geneva Crossing District, and Geneva Center District. She elaborated on the 
specifics of each plan, and said one important recommendation for all three districts was to 
improve the internal connections along the corridor. In response to a question about residential 
developments, Mr. Snideman said there may be some areas within the districts were residential 
was permitted, but there would not be an area that was 100% residential – it would have to be 
mixed use. 
 
DISCUSSION – Rank Choice Voting  
 
Mr. Lentz said he wanted to discuss the option to conduct a Rank Choice Voting (RCV) election 
for the 2019 Municipal Elections. He had pros and cons he wanted to share on the subject. He 
informally polled followers on his social media regarding RCV with no context or educational 
information, and found responses to be 50/50. After adding some more detailed information 
regarding the process, the feedback shifted to 90% in favor. The pros and cons Mr. Lentz 
identified were: 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.5)                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
 PRO 
o Improved representation 
o More civil campaigns 
o Money savings (eliminate the need for a Primary election) 
 CON 
o Reduced vetting of candidates 
o Greater need for education on election processes 
o Potential costs for new equipment 
 
Mr. Lentz said greater control was an idea that grabbed people, and RCV elections would more 
likely represent the electorate. The risk of conducting a Vote By Mail (VBM) election had paid 
off, and in his mind the pros outweighed the cons. 
 
Mr. Davidson shared that the deadline to contact the Lt. Governor’s office to run an election with 
RCV was January 1, 2019. He said City Recorder Jody Bates had contacted the Lt. Governor’s 
office earlier that day and no municipality in Utah had yet said they would be conducting a RCV 
election. 
 
Council members had continued discussion on the benefits of RCV as well as the potential 
concerns. One major concern many shared was the need to educate voters on the new process 
which could potential be confusing; voters were just starting to be more comfortable with VBM, 
older voters in particular. Another main concern was the dysfunction of the Utah County 
Clerk/Auditor office, though the hope was that new leadership in that office would lead to better 
run elections. Some voiced concerns about eliminating the Primary Election as a valuable time 
needed to vet the candidates, and the costs saved in not conducting a Primary Election would 
likely be needed elsewhere. 
 
Mayor Brunst shared information he found in researching RCV. He echoed some of the concerns 
shared by the others, though he appreciated what Mr. Lentz had shared on his pros and cons. He 
felt this was not the right time to move forward with RCV, and wanted to see what changes the 
newly elected Utah County Clerk/Auditor would be implementing before changing the process. 
 
All City Council members but Mr. Lentz said they were not for conducting a RCV election at 
this time. Mr. Lentz hoped it would be something to consider again in the future. 
 
Preview Upcoming Agenda Items 
 
Mr. Bench gave a brief overview of planning items that will be coming before the Council in 
future meetings. 
 
Agenda Review 
 
The City Council and staff reviewed the items on the agenda. The Mayor and Council discussed 
appointments to boards and commissions, as well as the appointment of a new Mayor Pro Tem. 
Mayor Brunst reviewed the upcoming events as listed in the agenda packet. 
 
City Council New Business  



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.6)                                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
 
With no new business to discuss, the City Council adjourned at 5:50 p.m. to the City Council 
Chambers for their regular meeting.  
 
 
 
6:00 P.M. REGULAR SESSION – COUNCIL CHAMBERS 
 
CONDUCTING 
Mayor Richard F. Brunst  
 
ELECTED OFFICIALS 
Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom Macdonald, Mark 
Seastrand, David Spencer, and Brent Sumner  
 
APPOINTED STAFF 
Jamie Davidson, City Manager; Brenn Bybee, Assistant 
City Manager; Steven Downs, Assistant City Manager; 
Greg Stephens, City Attorney; Karl Hirst, Recreation 
Department Director; Richard Manning, Administrative 
Services Director; Bill Bell, Development Services 
Director; Scott Gurney, Fire Chief; Gary Giles, Police 
Chief; Charlene Crozier, Library Department Director; 
Chris Tschirki, Public Works Director; Steve Earl, Deputy 
City Attorney; Jason Bench, Planning Division Manager; 
Sam Kelly, City Engineer; Brandon Nelson, Finance 
Division Manager; Ryan Clark, Economic Development 
Division 
Manager; 
Pete 
Wolfley, 
Communications 
Specialist; and Jackie Lambert, Deputy City Recorder 
 
INVOCATION /  
INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT 
Jim Jacobs 
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 
Weeblo Troop 990 
 
 
APPROVAL OF MINUTES 
 
Mr. Seastrand moved to approve the following sets of meeting minutes: 
 November 13, 2018, City Council meeting  
 November 14, 2018, Joint City Council/Alpine School District meeting  
 November 20, 2018 Special City Council meeting.   
Mr. Spencer seconded the motion. Those voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam 
Lentz, Tom Macdonald, Mark Seastrand, David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The motion passed. 
 
 
MAYOR’S REPORT/ITEMS REFERRED BY COUNCIL 
UPCOMING EVENTS 
 
Mayor Brunst reviewed the upcoming events, as listed in the agenda packet. 
 
APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.7)                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
 
Mayor Brunst moved to appoint Mattathias Westwood to the CDBG Advisory Commission, 
and to appoint Catherine Whitaker to the Summerfest Advisory Committee. Mrs. Lauret 
seconded the motion. Those voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom 
Macdonald, Mark Seastrand, David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The motion passed. 
  
PRESENTATION – Fire Department Citizen Award – Carlos Rodriguez 
 
Chief Gurney and Deputy Chief Earl recognized Orem resident Carlos Rodriguez for his 
willingness to act with boldness and courage, and in so doing saved a child’s life. Mr. Rodriguez 
had taken it upon himself to learn some CPR basics to be prepared if ever needed with his own 
children. Responding to the plight of a distraught neighbor, Mr. Rodriguez was able to perform 
CPR on the neighbor’s one year old child and provided care until the emergency responders 
could arrive. The child survived, and was released from the hospital the next day. Since that 
time, Mr. Rodriguez has become CPR certified and encourages others to do the same. 
 
Chief Gurney also wanted to commend the bravery of the child’s mother, who sought the needed 
help to save her child.  
 
Mr. Rodriguez was presented with the Fire Department Citizen Award and received a round of 
applause. Mr. Rodriguez and the Fire Department representatives took a photo with the Mayor 
and shook the City Council’s hands. 
 
PRESENTATION – Comprehensive Annual Financial Reporting Award 
 
Paul Jerome, state representative from the board of the Utah Government Finance Officers 
Association (UGFOA), presented a certificate of achievement in government reporting to the 
City of Orem. Mr. Jerome said this was the 30th consecutive time this award had been presented 
to the City of Orem, which was not an easy thing to achieve, as nationally only 6% of 
municipalities received this award. Mr. Jerome said this showed a commitment to excellence and 
credited Orem’s staff for their outstanding work in receiving the award year after year, 
particularly the work of Jeff Petersen and Brandon Nelson, the City’s former and current Finance 
Division Managers respectively.  
 
 
PERSONAL APPEARANCES 
 
Time was allotted for the public to express their ideas, concerns, and comments on items not 
scheduled as public hearings on the agenda.  Those wishing to speak should have signed in prior 
to the meeting, and comments were limited to three minutes or less. 
There were none who signed up to speak during personal appearances. 
 
CONSENT ITEMS 
 
ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULE 2019 
 
Mr. Lentz moved to approve the Annual Meeting Schedule for 2019, with the amendment of 
rescheduling the November City Council meeting from November 12 to November 19 to 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.8)                                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
accommodate the Canvass after the General Election. Mr. Spencer seconded the motion. Those 
voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom Macdonald, Mark Seastrand, 
David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The motion passed. 
 
MAYOR PRO TEM – January 1 through June 30, 2019 
 
Mayor Brunst moved to approve the appointment of David Spencer as Mayor Pro Tem from 
January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019. Mrs. Lauret seconded the motion.  Those voting aye: Richard 
F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom Macdonald, Mark Seastrand, David Spencer, and 
Brent Sumner. The motion passed  
 
 
SCHEDULED ITEMS 
 
6:00 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING 
RESOLUTION – Establishing a Residential Parking Permit Area on 400 East between 212 
and 260 South 
 
Chief Giles invited Lt. Craig Martinez to present a recommendation that the City Council 
approve of the resolution establishing a Residential Parking Permit area on 400 East between 212 
and 260 South, changing the area from a 'no parking during school hours' zone to a Residential 
Parking Permit area. 
 
Lt. Martinez said the west side of 400 East between 212 South and 260 South was across the 
street from Orem High School. The area was currently marked for “No Parking During School 
Hours”, but the neighborhood residents were asking that it be changed to a Residential Parking 
Permit area. The proper studies and contact with all residents in the area had been conducted.  
 
Lt. Martinez said that all the homes were requesting to be included with permit parking, though 
one home was in the process of being sold. In response to Mr. Lentz’s question, Lt. Martinez 
said that home would be included in the permit area, but could easily be removed if the new 
owners did not want to participate. It would simply be a matter of moving signage. 
 
Mayor Brunst opened the public hearing. No one came forward to speak, so he closed the public 
hearing. 
 
Mr. Macdonald moved, by resolution, to approve the resolution establishing a Residential 
Parking Permit area on 400 East between 212 and 260 South, changing the area from a ‘no 
parking during school hours’ zone to a Residential Parking Permit area. Mr. Spencer seconded 
the motion. Those voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom Macdonald, 
Mark Seastrand, David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The motion passed.  
Mr. Davidson took this opportunity to recognize Lt. Martinez on his acceptance into an elite FBI 
10 week training course that would begin at the end of December. Mr. Davidson said this was a 
difficult and prestigious program to be accepted in, and he commended Lt. Martinez on his 
exceptional work and dedication to his field. Mr. Davidson said Chief Gary Giles had also 
participated in this program, and felt that spoke to the caliber of individuals in Orem’s Police 
Department. 
 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.9)                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
 
RESOLUTION – Authorizing the execution of an amended Interlocal Cooperative 
Agreement by and between the Board of Education, Alpine School District and the City of 
Orem providing for School Resource Officers in certain Alpine District Schools Staff 
recommends that the re-updated Interlocal Agreement - a revision of the Interlocal 
Agreement for SROs with Alpine School District adding one additional SRO to the Junior 
High Schools and updating the agreement as per recent state law - be approved 
 
Chief Giles said this was an updated Interlocal agreement between the City of Orem and the 
Alpine School District which added one additional SRO to the junior high schools and also 
updated the interlocal agreement to be in compliance with new state law. An updated agreement 
was approved and signed at the September 11, 2018 meeting, but additional changes were made 
by the School District after that and have been approved by the City Attorney’s Office. 
 
Chief Giles shared a redline strikeout version of the agreement with the Council outlining the 
changes to the agreement. He clarified that they were mostly issues of wording and not 
necessarily substantive changes. 
 
Mayor Brunst moved to authorize the execution of an amended Interlocal Cooperative 
Agreement by and between the Board of Education, Alpine School District and the City of Orem 
providing for School Resource Officers in certain Alpine District Schools Staff recommends that 
the re-updated Interlocal Agreement - a revision of the Interlocal Agreement for SROs with 
Alpine School District adding one additional SRO to the Junior High Schools and updating the 
agreement as per recent state law - be approved. Mrs. Lauret seconded the motion. Those 
voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom Macdonald, Mark Seastrand, 
David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The motion passed. 
 
 
6:00 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING 
ORDINANCE – Amending portions of Section 22-24-1 (City Center District Zone) 
pertaining to the City Center District Zones 
 
Mr. Bench said that with the recent adoption of the North Village District, Canyon Crossing 
District, the Arts District, and the HUB District, staff recommended the City Center District be 
amended to be consistent with the ordinance requirements outlined in the four new districts. Mr. 
Bench reviewed the minor changes that were recommended so the code matched the other 
district code language for consistency. 
 
With no further questions from the Council, Mayor Brunst opened the public hearing. Seeing no 
one come forward, he then closed the public hearing. 
Mr. Lentz moved, by ordinance, to amend portions of Section 22-24-1 (City Center District 
Zone) pertaining to the City Center District Zones. Mr. Seastrand seconded the motion. Those 
voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom Macdonald, Mark Seastrand, 
David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The motion passed.  
 
 
RESOLTUION – Authorizing the execution of an Interlocal Agreement between the City of 
Orem and Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.10)                                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
 
City Engineer Sam Kelly said this was an agreement with MAG to move forward with a 
roundabout improvement project at approximately 400 West and 1200 South. He said this was a 
project identified in the 2015 Transportation Master Plan, and now MAG money had been 
approved for the project. Those funds would become available in October 2019, so now was the 
time to begin the design process. Mr. Kelly said the estimated cost for this project was 
approximately $2.3 million, and Orem’s would contribute about $155,000 as a 6.77% match, 
though that would essentially be paid by UTA to improve the route for the bus rapid transit 
system. 
 
In response to Mayor Brunst’s question about land purchasing, Mr. Kelly said the design was not 
yet set, though one idea that had been discussed was to purchase property around the area 
including the home, the LDS church parking lot, and UVU to make the roundabout larger. Mr. 
Kelly emphasized that that was a preliminary idea, and until the agreement was in place they felt 
it premature to speak to land owners about that possibility. 
 
Mr. Seastrand asked about the possible need to increase capacity out of the roundabout on 400 
West before the light onto University Parkway. Mr. Kelly said that particular intersection had a 
lot of turning movements, and they had already added dual left turns and an extended right turn 
pocket. It was something they could continue to watch. Mr. Kelly spoke to the timeline of the 
project, saying that the construction goal was for spring of 2020. 
 
Mr. Spencer moved, by resolution, to authorize the execution of an Interlocal Agreement 
between the City of Orem and Mountainland Association of Governments. Mr. Seastrand 
seconded the motion. Those voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom 
Macdonald, Mark Seastrand, David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The motion passed. 
 
 
RESOLUTION – Accept Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Audit 
 
Mr. Nelson presented information regarding the FY 2017-2018 Audit. Mr. Nelson said in 
accordance with State Law, the City was required to have a complete financial audit performed 
by an independent auditing firm on an annual basis. Over the past several months, the accounting 
firm of Gilbert & Stewart CPA, PC had been reviewing the City’s financial records and had now 
completed their audit. All of the audit information was included in the Comprehensive Annual 
Financial Report (CAFR).  
 
Mr. Nelson said Ron Stewart from Gilbert & Stewart CPA, PC would review the CAFR in their 
presentation to the City Council. The City ended the fiscal year at June 30, 2018, in sound 
financial condition and received an unmodified auditor’s opinion (a “clean” opinion). 
 
Mr. Stewart said there were four things that they did as auditors. First, they gave an opinion on 
financial statements for the City; they came to the conclusion of an unmodified or “clean” 
opinion by reviewing the City’s books and perform tests to assure that the information is 
materially correct. He then reviewed that process. Second, they looked at internal controls to 
make sure they were in place, designed correctly, and working. He said while they did not give 
an opinion on that area, they had not found anything that needed to be brought to the City 
Council. Third, if the City spent more than $750,000 in federal money a single or individual 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.11)                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
audit was conducted to ensure they were in compliance with federal grant procedures; no issues 
were found. Fourth and finally, the auditors checked that the City was compliant with state 
requirements and procedures. The only finding they had was that the General Fund balance 
exceeded the maximum amount, but that would be easily remedied with the next scheduled 
budget amendment. 
 
Mr. Seastrand asked about how many years the City had been working with Gilbert & Stewart 
for audits, and the amount of the fund balance overage. Mr. Nelson said it had been four years 
with a maximum of seven years with the same firm, and the overage amount was approximately 
$2.3 million. It was common practice to make the necessary amendments to the budget for the 
overage amount in the General Fund. 
 
Mr. Stewart said he appreciated working with Orem’s staff on the audit. Mayor Brunst added 
that over 150 hours was put into the process of the audit. 
 
Mr. Macdonald moved, by resolution, to accept the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Audit. Mrs. Lauret 
seconded the motion. Those voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom 
Macdonald, Mark Seastrand, David Spencer, and Brent Sumner. The motion passed.  
 
Mr. Nelson asked if he should continue to review the highlights of the presentation that he had 
not yet presented before the vote. Mayor Brunst said what had been shared already was 
sufficient. 
 
 
COMMUNICATION ITEMS 
 
The Monthly Financial Summary for October 2018 was included in the packets distributed to the 
Council. 
 
 
CITY MANAGER INFORMATION ITEMS 
 
Mr. Davidson shared that Bill Bell, the Development Services Department Director, would be 
retiring early in the 2019. He shared some of the professional contributions Mr. Bell had made in 
the City of Orem, and thanked him for his dedication to serving and improving the city and 
surrounding community. 
 
Mr. Davidson then said that there would be many bills introduced in the upcoming state 
legislative session that would affect municipalities. He mentioned some of the topics that may 
come up including affordable housing, referenda laws, and a recent State Supreme Court 
decision regarding the legislative vs. administrative functions of city councils. He recommended 
that the Council pay close attention to the legislative session that would begin in January 2019. 
 
Mayor Brunst said the discussion on the one quarter (¼) cent of sales tax for roads was still 
ongoing at the county level. He briefly reviewed the details of changes since the issue was voted 
on at a state level, and said the Orem and the surrounding cities had road improvement needs that 
this increase in funding would go to. He then said the Utah County Commission would be 
making their decision on the subject the following week, and he recommended that the City 



 
City Council Minutes – December 11, 2018 (p.12)                                      A complete video of the meeting can be found at www.orem.org/meetings 
Council call a special council meeting to voice their support for the Utah County Commission to 
approve the ¼ cent increase.  
 
A special meeting was then scheduled for Thursday December 13, 2018 at 5:30 p.m. in the City 
Center Conference Room 107. 
 
 
ADJOURNMENT 
 
Mayor Brunst moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Seastrand seconded the motion. Those 
voting aye: Richard F. Brunst, Debby Lauret, Sam Lentz, Tom Macdonald, Mark Seastrand, 
David Spencer, and Brent Sumner.  The motion passed.  
 
The meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
JoD’Ann Bates, City Recorder 
 
Approved: January 8, 2019