SHCC Meeting Minutes – April 2003

From Sugar House

Attendance

Trustees

Su Armitage, Rich Bennett, Chris Bowler, Dolores Donohoo, Alice Edvalson, Deedra Hansen-Lambert, Claudia Holm, Justin Jones, Scott Kisling, Sheila O’Driscoll, Lynne Olson, Helen Peters, Ruth Price, Ray Pugsley, Judi Short, Martin Smith, Grace Sperry, Rawlins Young (18)

Trustees Excused

Michael G. Kavanaugh, Julie Nitzkowski, Claudia O’Grady, Susan Petheram, Gina Thompson, Gayen Wharton

City/State Representatives

Cheri Coffey, SLC Planning; Ranae Pierce, Sprague Library; Barry Esham, Mayor’s Office; Dale Lambert, SLC Council (4)

Others

Robert Cheney, Joyce Cheney, Ben Nielsen, Ryan Kolher, Michael Lane, Scott Jacobs, Emil Kmet, Milton Braeselton, Ben Burdett, Bette Maack, Kenner Kingston, Christian Bernard, Mike Murray, Shawn Graff, Stephen Morgan, Michael Bassis, David Corbett, Chad Menlove, Grace Mackey, Jennifer Jolley, Agnes Greenhall, Melissa Lichtenstein, S. Blackham, Derek Payne, Ron Weber, Ralph Vigil, Mary Lou Gotchal, Chris Carter, Mike Bernier (29) TOTAL – 51

Meeting Minutes

The meeting began at 7:00 PM with chair, Helen Peters conducting. The minutes of the March meeting were approved. The Treasurers Report indicated no activity during the month leaving a balance of $5,642.30. It was noted that last year we paid $50.00 for the booth at the 4th of July celebration and we made a $250 donation to help with the expenses for the celebration.

Chair Report

Helen noted that Trustee Chris Bowler and his wife Ada recently had a baby girl, Sadie, and Trustee Gina Thompson and husband Nephi had a baby boy, Joseph Nephi Thompson. Kathy Black, a SL District School Board Member is resigning because she is moving outside the SLC School District. Kathy will be at our next council meeting to introduce her replacement. Applications are being accepted for her replacement. The Bonneville Community Council has asked us to remove the Bonneville neighborhood from our organization. This neighborhood covers the area from 13th – 17th South and 17th East – Foothill Blvd. The Sugar House Park Authority has three vacancies on their board. Persons interested can call Rita Lund at 466-7711 or Amy at SLC Parks, 483-5473. Tree Utah has received approval to plant trees on the grass strip between the sidewalk and the parking lot of Blockbuster Video and Wherehouse Music at approximately 2107 South 700 East. They are also hoping to plant approximately four trees in the narrow strip where the UTA bus stop is located. They are also looking at the possibility of planting trees on the north side of 2100 South close to the Starbucks Coffee Shop at approximately 701 East 2100 South.

Public Hearings

A Public Hearing will be held April 8 regarding CDBG projects. The Fairmont Park Master Plan request was not forwarded by the CDBG committee so we will be lobbying to get it back for consideration. May 6, the City Council will receive public comment regarding the current state of housing in Salt Lake City. The SLC Neighborhood Cleanup Program is underway. We should receive notification in the mail of the schedule for our area. Chris Bowler is working on updating the by-laws. He passed out a draft copy of them to the trustees for review and asked for any comments to be returned to him by May 1. A workshop is scheduled to address the interface between the businesses north of 2100 South and the residential area on Hollywood Avenue. Derek Payne and Gayen Wharton will represent the Sugar House Community Council. The Sugar House Business District planning process will occur over the summer and will cover: 1) a monument restoration and plaza improvement plan, 2) design guidelines for new development in the business district, and 3) land use and mobility analysis for the business district. We will have three representatives working on this committee. There will be a workshop on April 14 at the Sprague Library to help residents learn about City Grants and other programs. The Public Safety & Education committee provided a handout with information regarding implementation of a neighborhood crime prevention project. Helen distributed copies of the letter from the Sugar House Community Council to the Millcreek Township Planning Commission regarding the proposed Home Depot at 3398 South Highland Drive. A copy of a letter received from Dreyer’s Ice Cream was presented stating that Dreyer’s is in the process of purchasing the three homes to the west of their plant on 21st South and would donate the homes to anyone interested in having them moved to some other location. If anyone is interested, they could contact Mike Bernier at 486-4456. Helen passed out two copies of a “Walkable Community” survey and asked people to give one to a neighbor and return both of them to Helen. She also included with the survey, a card noting the time and place of our community council meetings and encouraged each trustee to give the card to an interested neighbor in an effort to get more people attending our council meetings. Scott Kisling reported on the Mill Creek Planning Commission meeting regarding the proposed Home Depot. He noted that they voted 4-3 in favor of the rezone. Scott did some checking to determine what the impact of the Home Depot might be on the already existing businesses in the area and found that there are many local businesses that provide the same services as the Home Depot would. These included: 1)20 nurseries within 8 miles, 2) 20 plumbing suppliers within 2 miles, 3) 20 lumber suppliers within 8 miles, 4) 40 tooling and hardware suppliers within 4 miles, 5) 40 flooring suppliers within 3 miles, 6) 6 home improvement warehouse stores with 15 miles. Rawlins Young handed out information on the Neighborhood Conference & Resource Fair to be held the 3rd of May at the new downtown SLC Public Library.

Public Input

Ray Pugsley said that Kim Guest of the Police Dept. had asked him to note that the crime statistics report was on the table. There have again been auto thefts, robberies, and burglaries in the area but the biggest problem is car prowls. There were 93 in the past month which is the 2nd highest we have ever had in a month. Helen noted that the Sugar House Arts festival will be held on the 4th of July. The fee for a booth will be waived for non-profit organizations this year. It was suggested we give a contribution of $250 to help in the expenses for the festival. A motion to do this was approved. Sheila O’Driscoll would like to get flashing lights at 21st South and 21st East for the 2003-2004 school year for the Dilworth/Rosslyn Heights Elementary school. Helen asked Ray to work with Sheila to see what the best solution might be.

Westminster College Report

Steve Morgan introduced the new President, Dr. Michael Bassis. Dr. Bassis is originally from New England where they have a lot of Community involvement. He is impressed with what he has seen in the community and the city. He feels the college is in good shape and is a strong institution and plans for the college to be in the neighborhood for a long time. He feels it is important for the college to be a good neighbor. There is some continuing development on the campus. Steve has been working with the Westminster small area master plan. The Board has approved the addition to the fine arts building and work is planned to start in May. The addition will include a 250 seat recital hall and a black box theatre. A black box theatre is like a theatre in the round and provides a live performance facility. They hope to expand their music program. They are still working on the health and wellness building and additional parking.

21st South & Foothill Drive – QWest Communication Facility – Ralph Vigil

Helen explained that there are already procedures in place from the City that describe how these communication facilities are handled. Ralph explained the location and details for communication box. A motion was made to send a letter to the City approving the request. Voting was 12 in favor, 1 opposed, and 2 abstentions–

QWest Wireless Communication Facility at 2205 East 2100 South and 2797 South 800 East – Shawn Graff

Shawn explained that the Nibley & Dilworth schools are being demolished, necessitating moving the communication equipment located in those areas. The replacement for the Dilworth school will be moved to 2205 East 2100 South and will be placed on a flag pole. The replacement for the Nibley school will be located between 2775 & 2825 South and will be placed on an existing utility pole. A motion that we accept the proposal for the flag pole with voting 14 in favor, 1 opposed, 1 abstention. The motion to accept the one on the utility pole was approved with 11 in favor, 3 opposed, 1 abstention.

Citizen Adult probation & Parole Review Board Report – Joyce Cheney

Joyce explained this program and noted that there is a need for volunteers to work with this program. Volunteers need to be people that care about the neighborhood and people. You can contact Don Harwell at 509-4391 if interested.

City Council Update – Dale Lambert

The City Council has a lot on its plate right now. They have had to make budget cuts this year and anticipate even higher cuts next year. A high priority this year is the housing policies. They will have a hearing on these policies some time in May. They are also considering the water rates and there will be a public hearing for these on April 22 at 7 PM. There will be different categories of rates depending on the amount of water used. There will be an increase in the water rates for most of us. The neighborhood lighting policy is still being looked at. They are looking at a more city wide program instead of individual neighborhood programs. The Council is reviewing the CDBG funding applications. The mayor did recommend a reduced amount for the Historic District Nomination for Sugar House, but did recommend the request for the Business District Historical District plan. He did not favor the request for Fairmont Park. Dale feels that any planning applications are going to be really hard to get approved right now because of the budget constraints. The CIP funding requests are before the mayor now. The proposal for the new sprinkling system in Sugar House Park should be approved. He anticipates the issue with the Main Street Plaza will be back to the City Council sometime in May.

Mayor’s office – Barry Esham

Barry presented information on rodent control. The Health Department is asking our help with this program to help prevent possible rodent problems in our area. Norwegian fruit rats are found in our area. In order for the rats to live, they need a food source, a place to live and water to drink. Barry encouraged us all to be sure we are not providing an ideal environment for them to live in. The Health Department does not do anything to deal with rats, it is up to the property owners to take care of the situation. The Neighborhood Cleanup is beginning and we should receive notification by mail when the dates for our area are. The question was asked about scavaging from neighbors’ piles. Barry felt there are really not any guidelines for this but tried to discourage it because it really doesn’t get rid of things, it just moves stuff from one house to another.

Mountair Annexation – Cheri Coffey

Cheri was filling in for Everett Joyce of the Planning Department who has been called to active duty in the Iraq War. She showed maps of the area that is being proposed for annexation, which is south of the Highland Park area and expands to 33rd south the area from Highland Drive to 17th East. There is an area between 13th East and Highland Drive that is not included in the proposed area. This affects our community council since our area goes to the south city limits. Mike Murray, who lives in this area said they belong to the Canyon Rim Community Council and if this is approved, they would no longer be in that community council. The cost to the residents in this area would increase but the services provided would be more. The County fights hard against any annexation but it would be nice to square off the south boundary of the city. Ray Pugsley suggested that the area between 13th East and Highland Drive also be included. The city cannot actively ask for annexation. It must be initiated by the neighborhood. A motion was made that we approve this plan and write a letter to the Planning Commission noting our approval. Voting was 14 in favor, 3 opposed, and 0 abstentions. The Planning Commission will review this on April 23.

Utah Heritage Foundation –Mary Lou Gotchal

Mary indicated they are showcasing the Stratford area on their Historic Tour this year which will include from 13th to 15th East with most homes on Stratford Avenue. There are a lot of homes with a lot of character in this area. Their tour will be on Sat. May 17th from 10 AM – 6 PM. This is a private non-profit organization and they are advocates for historic preservation. Alice Edvalson asked for their support in any way possible for the restoration work that is being done on the old Willard Richards home on Hollywood Avenue.

Dreyer’s Ice Cream Expansion – Chris Carter

Chris reported that they had a hearing before the Board of Adjustment prior to this meeting. The board determined that the proposed construction was a storage use and a distribution warehouse and because of this use, they would be able to expand on this area. The original expansion some years ago had been approved by the community council. They want to demolish 3 homes. It was suggested that the homes either be replaced or moved. Senator Gene Davis has expressed his support of the request from an economic standpoint. Mike Bernier noted that Snelgrove’s Ice Cream has been here since 1929. They are eager to be good neighbors. The homeowners came to them wanting to sell their homes. The expansion would be west of the current buildings to the end of the block. Justin Jones suggested that they offer tours of the plant. Mike said they could do that for special groups. Snelgrove’s was purchased by Dreyer’s and then was purchased by someone else. Helen asked that their landscaping be xeriscaping. The 3 houses they want to demolish are zoned commercial and have been for a long time. Helen suggested that a community council trustee work with them on the landscaping and also in doing a CPTED study to look at crime prevention measures. She asked Ray Pugsley to work with them on a CPTED study and Lynne Olson to work with them on the landscaping. Water rate Structure & How to Save Water: Stephanie Duer was not here. We will reschedule for May. It was suggested that you can look at the city web site for information on the water rates.

Organizational issues

Trustee Issue -Helen reviewed the number of trustees in each neighborhood. She noted that we have made Su Armitage an at large trustee. It was pointed out that Fred Conlon should be in Garfield neighborhood instead of the Sugar House Park neighborhood. That leaves us with 4 trustees in the Garfield neighborhood which is one more than allowed. We have petition from another individual wanting to be a trustee in the Westminster neighborhood. At the present time, there is not room for any more in that neighborhood. We discussed options that would allow more people to be involved. One option would be to form a smaller neighborhood group with a representative of the smaller group as a trustee to the Sugar House Community Council. The number of trustees is currently set up so as to give each neighborhood representation in proportion to the population in that neighborhood. It was determined that we appoint a committee to look at the by-laws and determine if this is the best way of giving equal representation on the council. Chris Bowler will chair the committee with Claudia Holm, Su Armitage, and Martin Smith as a committee. They will look at the situation and see what alternatives there may be and report back at the next meeting. There was a discussion regarding the dropping of the Bonneville area. Some felt we should not change our boundary and others felt it was ok. Transportation report – Claudia Holm is doing a “walkability” survey on 7th East.

Adjourn

Meeting adjourned at 9:18 PM