30 May Meeting Minutes April 4, 2018
Sugar House Community Council Trustee Meeting Minutes
Trustees Present: Mike Bagley, Landon Clark, Mary Clark, Deb Henry, Michael G. Kavanagh, Benny Keele, Will Kocher, Eric Mcgill, Dayna McKee, Larry Migliaccio, Dave Mulder, Judi Short, Jason Smurthwaite, Adam Weinacker, Erika Wiggins, Rawlins Young
Trustees Excused: Sally Barraclough, Melanie Heath, Benjamin Sessions, Chris Sveiven, Sue Watson
Trustees Unexcused: Camron Anderson, Laurie Bray, Tina Escobar-Taft, Topher Horman, Sue Ann Jones, Steve Kirkegaard, Susan Koelliker, Shane Stroud, George Sumner
The meeting was called to order at 7pm by Landon Clark, Chair SHCC
A motion was made to approve last month’s minutes. The motion passed unanimously with no corrections to the minutes.
Chair Announcements: Landon Clark
Landon thanked Legacy Village for hosting the meeting and Lynne Schwartz for providing treats.
SHCC will have a water station for the Salt Lake City Marathon on Saturday, April 21st. Volunteers are still needed to help from 7:30-12:30. The station is located on 6th East near the I-80 overpass.
Secretary Report: Sally Barraclough
Sally was excused, Judi Short recorded the meeting.
Treasurer Report: Ben Sessions
Ben was excused. No report this month.
Items not on the Agenda:
Abe Smith ran for City Council District 7. He had funds left from his campaign and the donors agreed that they should be donated to the SH Community Council and to the park. Abe presented Landon with a check for $1000 for the SHCC. Thank you Abe!
Committee Reports:
Land Use and Zoning: Judi Short
The Planning Commission has approved the projects at 2473 South 7th East and 2965 Richmond St.
The SL Tennis Club is asking for a zoning text amendment related to signs and banners in the open space district. Judi has put it on the website and is collecting comments before the Planning Commission meeting on May 23rd.
The Crystal Ave (1249 East 2623 Highland Dr.) alleyway vacation will be on the Planning Commission agenda for April 11th.
The next LUZ meeting will be Monday April 16 at 6pm. On the agenda will be the SLC text amendment for lot width standards in multi-family (larger than a duplex) zones. This would include lots that are less than the current 70ft width standard, and pertains to lots in the RMF and RMU zones.
Transportation: Larry Migliaccio
The transportation committee has been looking at plans for McClelland St between 21st South and Sugarmont. There was an error in the number of parking spaces that was presented to the council as Option #2. There are far fewer spaces that originally thought. Option #2 was to include a one way street for one block, returning to two way at Elm heading south.
Because this option would be a reduction in 15 parking spaces, the whole plan is being re-evaluated. There is also a proposed bike path that connects the McClelland Trail to the Parley’s Trail on the east side of the street. There will be a meeting between the city and the transportation committee tomorrow to discuss the options. Larry will keep the council informed as the process moves forward.
Fire Station Report: Captain Brett Key
This month on April 19th is the “Great Shake Out” for earth quake preparedness. Go to the website http://www.shakeout.org for more information about how to get involved.
The paramedics have been doing work in the community health care area. This month the focus is on fall prevention. They will come to your home and assist you to make your home more safe. Since they have started this program, they have noticed a significant reduction in medical calls for falls.
This month they have also started working with the homeless population, providing them with information about how to obtain needed services.
Station #3 averages 180 calls per month, about 6 per day. Most are medical calls.
The new Station #3 is still on schedule to open July 15th.
Police Report: Detective Josh Ashdown
Burglary suspects from the Liberty Wells / Sugar House area have been arrested. Hopefully there will a decrease in burglaries with these two suspects off the streets.
There was a shooting in Fairmont Park on April 3rd around 4:50pm. It was juveniles and was random, having nothing really to do with the park. They have found all the parties involved and the weapon involved, due to the reporting of suspicious activity by an aware citizen.
The area around McDonalds on 21st South has been cleared of the folks hanging around committing petty crimes. The new owner has taken responsibility to improve the area.
The bike registration program has been delayed. Detective Ashdown will keep us informed when it gets rescheduled.
Construction Updates: Bill Knowles, Community Ombudsman
The McClelland St project contractor is going to come and fill the holes in the street to improve the road surface.
A plan has been submitted for the parcel just south of the Vue on Highland Dr. It includes 200 luxury apartments with retail on the street level. There will be a swimming pool on the third floor.
The Springhill Suites project is underway. They have started storm line connections to lines on Wilmington.
The Wilmington Street project has completed the sewer line. They are now starting the curb and gutter phases of the project with resurfacing to follow. The street will continue to be open one way at a time during construction. Please support the businesses in the area during construction, especially the restaurants as this construction really hurts their business. The project should be completed by the end of May.
The 10th East Apartment project is finished with their water line on 10th East and the street is back open. They were reprimanded by the city for their unnecessary prolonged street closures.
The Westport Capital (ShopKo block) project is progressing nicely.
The new CVS Pharmacy on 21st S 13th E has opened for business.
The Cowboy Partners complex is moving forward as is the Brixton Flats development on 7th East.
The 13th East water line project will start in early to mid June. Work taking place on 13th East now is being conducted by Dominion. They are finishing work left from last fall after their cable line instillation. They should finish this week.
There is a September deadline for Boulder Ventures to complete the sidewalk on McClelland so the city is moving forward to complete the street plan that was discussed in the Transportation Committee Report.
Presentations:
Funding Our Future-Sales Tax Increase and General Obligation Bond
Liz Buehler, Civic Engagement Manager – Dept of Community and Neighborhoods SLC
The Mayor’s Office and the City Council are seeking public feedback on the city’s critical needs as well as revenue options. They have sent out postcards asking for public input.
The city is growing exponentially and that presents challenges. Four critical need areas have been identified, including infrastructure (particularly streets), housing, transit, and neighborhood safety.
Because of deferred street maintenance, 2/3 of the city streets are now in poor or worst condition. 20% need to be completely rebuilt. We now need over 10 million a year for streets and are currently spending half that amount annually.
The city needs to increase the amount of affordable housing. Nearly half of the renters in the city are spending more than 30% of their income on rent. We are short 7,500 affordable units for those making $20,000 or less per year.
The first ever transit master plan for SLC was passed last year. UTA is a great regional service but the city is getting more requests for increased service within the city. This means longer hours of service, more routes, and decreased wait times between service, for SLC residents.
The city is going back to a community policing model which would put more officers on the streets. Last fall the budget to add 50 officers was approved. The funding will increase the police coverage in 23 areas of the city.
Revenue options to address these four critical need areas include an increase in sales tax by half a percent and a general obligation bond. The sales tax would create about 33 million dollars of revenue annually. Food purchases and large ticket items like cars would not be included. The general obligation bond would be an 87 million dollar bond, that would go for one time infrastructure needs. There are two bonds that are about to retire so that will offset the cost of the new bond.
Please provide the city with input. There is a city council meeting on April 17th and there is also a website, http://www.fundingourfuture.com where you can give your feedback to the four critical needs and the revenue options. All comments are being forwarded to the city council.
Library Update: Cherie Kofoed, Acting Manager Sprague Branch
Cherie announced that the new branch manager for the Sprague Library will be Heather Heart. She is coming to Sprague having previously served as the branch manager for the Marmalade Library. Cherie will continue at Sprague as the Adult Service Librarian.
Air quality testing for the building came back normal with no evidence of mold, so the building will remain open. The elevator inspection is scheduled for the 3rd week of April. If the elevator passes inspection, the lower level restrooms and children’s area will reopen by the end of April. There will also be computers located on the lower level.
The 4 million dollar renovation will start this fall. The library will be closed for 9 months to 1 year during the renovation.
City Council Report – Amy Fowler, District 7
At last night’s city council meeting they looked at a new bicycle registration ordinance which will make it easier to register your bike. This will be an on-line process and there will be no fee associated with the registration. This program will be available in the near future. Councilman Charlie Luke is moving the program forward.
The State Legislature passed the bill regarding the northwest quadrant of Salt Lake City. Hopefully there will be future meetings to discuss the structure and oversight of the Inland Port Authority.
Amy thanked Liz Buehler and her team for their work conducting a thorough public input process for the tax increase and the obligation bond and the city’s priorities for allocating the funds.
The city council has asked for a comprehensive inventory of city owned surplus properties, which could be possibly sold for revenue reallocation. This would be another funding source in addition to the tax increase and obligation bond.
Legislative Update: Brian King, District 28 House of Representatives, House Minority Leader, Jani Iwamoto, State Senator District 4
Brian King represents the entire area north of I-80 and east of 13th East. He has been in the legislature since 2008 and is the House Minority Leader. He is running for re-election this year.
One of the priorities for the legislature every year is to pass the state budget. The budget for the state is approximately 17 billion dollars and the majority (approx 40%) of that money goes to public education. Roads and social services also take a large part of the budget.
This year is the first year that they put in place a permanent structure for funding mass transit. This included increased registration for electric vehicles and a 10 cent per gallon increase in fuel tax. The mass transit bill should help improve our air quality.
Jani Iwamoto is the senate representative for the area south of 9th South and 15th East to Foothill. She also represents most of Mill Creek, all of Holladay and portions of Murray. She is in senate leadership and sits on 21 committees because there are only 5 democrats in the state legislature.
Jani sponsored a bill that passed to increase penalties for harming a police canine. Two of the K-9 officers that were killed this year came from her district.
She also sponsored a bill for more transparency in whistle blower cases regarding the statute of limitations, which passed. Her bill regarding retirement re-employment will be reintroduced next year.
She also moved forward an an appropriation bill for a Pediatric Trauma Network and another appropriation bill for a New Americans Initiative.
They were able to stop the Extraterritorial Water Bill that would have taken away Salt Lake City’s ability control the watershed outside of the east city limits. She feels this bill will be reintroduced next year.
The Utah Lake high rise development, the Oakland port, and the inland port in the northwest quadrant were all controversial bills. The first two will come around again next year. The northwest quadrant economic development bill passed.
Brian feels that the medical marijuana initiative will make it to the ballot this year and if it does it will pass. He feels the decision to use medical marijuana should be between a doctor and their patients. He also feels it will help with the opioid crisis.
The idea of an inland port (SB234) came about because the relocation of the prison will provide the infrastructure for northwest quadrant development. The problem with the bill is that it was controversial with the city and it was passed in 10 minutes with little discussion, and no public input on the last day of the session. There is no guarantee that there will be a special session to further flush out the details of this bill.
Deb Henry reminded the audience that the Salt Lake County Democratic and Republican conventions will be taking place on Saturday, April 14th. This is a chance to influence who moves forward in the elections and you do not have to be a delegate to participate. The state wide convention will be held on Saturday, April 28th at the Salt Lake Convention Center downtown, for national offices.
Mayor’s Office:
The new neighborhood bulk cleanup program is called “Call2Haul”. You can find details on the website http://www.slcgreen.com.
Meeting Adjourned at 9:00pm
