SHCC Meeting Minutes July 2, 2014

30 Jul SHCC Meeting Minutes July 2, 2014

Sugar House Community Council Board of Trustees Meeting
Meeting Minutes – July 2, 2014

Trustees Present: Teddy Anderson, Sally Barraclough, Amy Barry, Ed Dieringer, Deb Henry, Michael G Kavanagh, Steve Kirkegaard, Scott Kisling, Joedy Lister, Larry Migliaccio, Maggie Shaw, Judi Short, Christopher Thomas, Rawlins Young
Trustees Excused Absent: Robin Bastar, Laurie Bray, Topher Horman, Benny Keele, David Mulder, Carole Straughn
Trustees Absent: Jack Perry

Meeting called to order at 7:00 by Maggie Shaw, SHCC Chair
This was the first SHCC meeting to be held outdoors. The public was welcomed to the Sugarmont Plaza.
Approval of the June minutes: Amy moved to approve the minutes, Michael G seconded. The motion passed with no corrections to the June meeting minutes.

Secretary Report: Sally Barraclough
There are no trustee petitions expiring, and no new petitions submitted.

Treasurers Report: Robin Bastar
Excused Absent

Chair Report: Maggie Shaw
Maggie has sent a link to each trustee that shows the census data for the various areas of Salt Lake City. Of interest was the daytime vs nighttime census. There are almost 200,000 more people in the city during daytime hours which accounts for the increase in both automobiles and mass transit during those hours.

Police Report: Detective Stuck

• Auto thefts – they are still having cars stolen due to “hidden keys” which are found inside the car. The stolen car is then very often used to commit other crimes. Please do not leave keys anywhere in or around your car.
  Secure your property – remember that anything that can be stolen, eventually will be stolen. If you leave it out it will get taken.
• New Police Bureau – the police department is reorganizing their Intelligence Unit. They will be doubling up districts so District 7 will be combined with District 5 for investigations. There will be seven officers, the top three will be out in the field and the other four will be assigned to districts. All seven will be able to handle concerns from your neighborhoods. If you have concerns or comments contact Evette at 801 799-3625.
• Bike Patrol – Detective Stuck’s unit has spent the last couple of weeks patrolling Sugar House and
  Fairmont Parks by bike and on foot watching for problems.

A member of the audience wanted to inform the council regarding an attempted home invasion robbery at her home on 22nd South and 9th East on Friday, June 27th. At 3:00 am a man attempted to open the locked front door and then proceeded to kick at the door. The occupants called 911 but in the mean time a second man tried to gain entrance through the back door. The occupants turned on all the lights and the men left before the police arrived. The occupants have been distributing fliers in the neighborhood, informing people of this incident and providing them with information on how to report crimes and suspicious activities to the police. You can view a recent crime map of your neighborhood by going to www.slcpd.com.
Detective Stuck added that the the new bureau should help by putting more officers on the streets and provide a faster response to crime calls.

Fire Department Report: Captan Silverthorne

• Fire Safety– Reminder that we are in a high fire season. Please be careful with fire around your property. Areas that are restricted for fireworks are listed on a map located on the fire department web site.
• Ready, Set, Go Program – This program focuses on the urban domain/wild plant zone. Homeowners are encouraged to maintain a defensible space between their property and the natural lands surrounding the area. This would include using landscape plants that have a high water content such as succulents, avoid fire ladders which are plantings that can spread fire from the surrounding brush to your home. When there is a large fire in a neighborhood, the fire department determines which homes are defensible and can be saved versus which homes they just have to let burn. Ready: be prepared, be fire wise before the wildland fire season arrives. Set: situational awareness. Pack your emergency supplies ahead of time and pay attention to the media broadcasts for fire emergencies in your area. Go: act early. Be sure you have an action plan for fire evacuation and practice the plan.
• Safety Fair – Station 7 took part in the fair which took place in the spring.
• Historic Exhibit – Located in the downtown public safety building on the ground floor. It includes historical items from both the fire and police departments.
• Fireworks Schedule – July 1st -7th from 11am to 11pm and until midnight on the 4th of July. For the Pioneer Holiday you can have fireworks July 21-27 from 11am to 11pm and until midnight on the 24th of July.
• Station 3 Stats – In the month of May they had 163 calls. Year-to-date they have had 789 calls. For the entire SLC department there were 2009 medical calls and 456 fire calls in May. YTD there have been 9010 medical calls and 2104 fire calls.

Joedy asked if 789 calls YTD for Station 3 is average. It is actually a little below average, but calls can come in waves so it is unpredictable.

Public Comments for items not on the agenda:
Amy– Amy welcomed us to Sugarmont Plaza and acknowledged the work of Mark Morris and herself in establishing the Plaza as a public gathering place. She reminded us that there is live music on the plaza on Monday evenings from 6:30-8:30 with food trucks providing a variety of food items.
Amy also reminded us that the next Household Hazardous Waste disposal event is this Thursday at the Olympus pavilion in Sugar House Park from 7:00-10:00 am. Hazardous waste, electronic waste, and medications will be accepted. Please be good citizens and don’t leave waste after the hours of the event. In the past the county has had to send in crews to clean up the mess left after the event. If this continues, our site will be cancelled and the next closest site is in Holladay.
Maggie – A reminder to anyone that would like to receive our newsletter, please sign up on the email list.

Committee Reports
Land Use and Zoning: Judi Short
3336 S 2300 E is the new address for Cowboy grub. They will be open near the end of the summer. The old restaurant is now closed. I assume demolition will begin soon, if not already, for the new hotel planned.

A family from the neighborhood has purchased the tudor home at 1707 South 2100 East and plan to renovate and live in the home.

The City Council is still working on revisions to the Form-based code. They are talking about height of buildings adjacent to residential zones, particularly the single family zones. I don’t know when we will even see a draft. They have been touring the area, looking at problem parcels, trying to come up with some ideas and solutions.

The Land Use Committee had a meeting with a group that wants to put a new development at 21 and 21 on the NE corner. It would be mixed use, apartments, with retail on the first floor. Blue Plate Diner would stay but probably in a different location on the street. Because the parcel is zoned CB Commercial Business, which only allows 30 feet, they need a rezone, but there is not really a zone that easily fits what they want to do. A subcommittee is working on some language for a new zone, perhaps called SHBD-3. We hope to see a proposal next month at LUZ meeting on July 21. The ground is contaminated due to dry cleaners that were located in the area over many years. It will be expensive to clean up the problem, so the developers need the higher density development to help cover the costs of the cleanup.

The other item on the July 21 LUZ meeting agenda will be a new proposal from Boulder Ventures for the south end of the Granite Block. That will also be shown at our SHCC meeting August 6. Come and see what is proposed.

The orthodontist office on the corner of Highland Drive, Richmond Street and 1300 East is almost finished, if you haven’t driven by, you should do so. It looks pretty nice, although I have still not seen any vegetation on the street triangle.

Construction on the Monument Plaza begins Monday July 7.

Sally volunteered the POST Committee to follow up on the landscaping of the street triangle near the new orthodontist’s office. Amy wants to make sure that they are not just doing the park strip but will be removing the asphalt and replacing it with vegetation. Judi will get the contact information to Sally.

Parks, Open Space, and Trails: Sally Barraclough
This committee did not meet in June. Things on the agenda for July 21st will include an update on the funding for Parley’s Trail and also the McClelland, SLC, Jordan Canal Trail.
Amy asked when they are starting construction on the Imperial Park. After a brief report on the Music Stroll event held on June 14th, Sally said that the city is in the construction bid process now, and that construction should start in August.

Transportation Committee: Deb Henry
This committee did not meet in June.

Arts and Cultural: Laurie Bray
Excused Absent

Communications and Outreach: Christopher Thomas
This committee did not meet in June, however they are continuing to do a lot of work on the new website. It was noted that many of the trustees have visited the new site at www.sugarhousecouncil.org. Christopher thanked Amy for posting all the old archived meeting minutes to the new site. The google calendar is constantly being updated and if you have a gmail account, you can easily copy any of the events to your personal calendar. The committee is gathering photos of each of the trustees to post with your contact information for the website. If you do not get a photo to the committee, they will post a picture of a sugar beet in place of your photo.
Teddy noted that the subcommittee meetings are not posted on the calendar. Christopher would like other members of the executive committee and subcommittee members to post to the calendar also. He will be giving other trustees access to post on the website, so that in the future it is not the sole responsibility of the Communications Committee.

Community Groups and SLC Network: Judi Short
No Report

Sugar House Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber did not meet this month, as they are preparing for the Sugar House 4th of July Street Fair. The event runs from 10:00 -6:00. The SHCC will have a booth. There will be food, art and music so plan to come and spend the day.

Presentations:
Stan Holmes, Utah Citizens Advocating Renewable Energy
Proposed Fees by Rocky Mountain Power for Solar Panel Users
This group was organized in February 2014 after Rocky Mountain Power announced that they were going to pursue an across the board rate increase and place a special surcharge on users of solar panels. RMP is requesting a 5% rate increase starting in September for residential users. Solar panel users initially were going to be charged $4.25 per month but that has been increased to $4.65 per month. The rate increase must be approved by the Utah Public Service Commission (UPSC). The deadline for public comment is July 29th.

The reason Rocky Mountain Power is requesting rate increase is because energy demands are down due to customers being more efficient in their use of power. The profit margin from their mostly carbon generated power is down and RMP needs to increase their revenues. To meet the new EPA standards for fossil fuel plants, RMP will need to make improvements to their emissions controls at several of their facilities. They are also planning to expand their gas facility in Utah County.

Rocky Mountain Power feels that there is unfair cost shifting in the rate system when solar users utilize a net-metering system for free. RMP claims that the costs associated with solar power outweigh the benefits. Utah Citizens Advocating Renewable Energy (UCARE) will be challenging that premise before the Utah Public Service Commission. They are taking their concerns to the public through meetings such as the SHCC meeting and asking for support for their cause. Stan distributed a packet of letters showing who is supporting the effort to stop the rate increase which will affect all users. He asked that we join them by sending a letter to the UPSC opposing the increase.

One impact of the increase on solar users will be to discourage new solar projects. After a similar rate increase in Arizona in January, solar installation projects plummeted. Rocky Mountain Power would like to discourage investments in renewables because they strongly support their fossil fuel production. Another concern of the group is that RMP is investing more in fossil fuels and ignoring the benefits and future of renewables.

Stan distributed a small flyer with information about how to make our voices heard. The Utah Public Service Commission will be hearing the case at the end of July.

• Teddy asked about the Blue Sky Program that Rocky Mountain Power is promoting. RMP has not made a commitment to renewable energy in our state. They do not own any wind or solar power production in Utah. They act as a conduit for private funds to go to Blue Sky which is also a private operation. Through the donations to Blue Sky, RMP gets energy renewal credits without actually building renewable energy infrastructure. RMP does own windmills in Wyoming but the Blue Sky Program here masks the fact the RMP is utilizing fossil fuels to provide energy in Utah. Two months ago, RMP announced plans to build a solar farm in Utah which was not previously planned. This was due to the pressure being applied by the citizens of Utah. However, it is a small project that will produce 2 megawatts of power which is equivalent to one of the windmills in Spanish Fork Canyon. It will come on line in 2016.
• Larry asked if the Utah Public Service Commission (UPSC) has proposed a tax increase for the fossil fuel industry (carbon tax). As of now, they have not. Larry suggested that the motion being presented by Christopher include a statement to charge a carbon tax on fossil fuel production.
• Maggie asked if the tax increase is to increase their profits because she had heard they are not at their for-profit-allowable level. Stan said that because they are publically owned stockholder company, they are allowed to make a profit for the company. Of the 76 million dollars that they hope to raise by this increase, 40 million is questionable. Some of the increase is legitimate because they have to pay for the EPA required improvements to their coal powered plants, however there is a large portion that is in question by organizations such as Utah Clean Energy. They along with others have submitted testimony to the UPSC.
• Rawlins asked if there is something that can be done at the legislative level. Curtis Bramble passed HB208 in the last legislative session that required a study of the full range of costs and benefits of solar net metering. It is the feeling of Utah Citizens Advocating Renewable Energy (UCARE) that Rocky Mountain Power inflated the costs while virtually ignoring the benefits of solar and other renewables on the grid. RMP did not consider the costs of bring power from a long distance, vs the short distance of your neighbor putting power in the system from his solar panels. They also did not examine the social costs of fossil fuels including our air quality and the health costs associated with breathing dirty air. With HB208, the UCARE group is asking that a neutral party perform a complete analysis of the issue. They are asking that the UPSC authorize an independent report on the true costs and benefits of renewables including solar.

Christopher Thomas introduced a motion for the Sugar House Community Council. He intentionally wanted the motion short and did not mention the fossil fuel issue because the UPSC has already been getting a lot of public comment on coal and fossil fuels. Christopher wanted our motion and comments to the UPSC to only address the solar panel fee. The motion was presented as follows:

“The Sugar House Community Council supports residents who install solar panels on their homes and participate in net metering programs. We oppose efforts that would impose additional fees on current rooftop solar owners and will discourage others from installing solar panels on their homes. We request that the Utah Public Service Commission determine the full benefits of solar power to the utility and other utility customers as directed in state statute.”

Sally seconded the motion. Maggie called for discussion. Rawlins would like to see HB208 so that he could read it for himself. Christopher is willing to provide links to the bill or it can be looked up on the state legislature website. Scott Kisling who has solar panels on his home and owns a small solar company, spoke in support of the motion.

Maggie called for a vote on the motion which passed unanimously. Maggie will send a letter to the UPSC.

• Teddy asked if we should send personal letters to the UPSC. Christopher said yes and in addition, HEAL Utah has joined with UCARE to set up an online petition that we as individuals can sign. It will be forwarded to Rocky Mountain Power and the UPSC. The petition / comment web address is www.my-energy-choice.org. They have already collected over 800 signatures and comments.

Spotlight on Business: Michael G Kavanough
Smith’s Grocery Store 922 E 2100 S
Brian Loosli- Manager
Brian is married with 2 children and has been with Smith’s for 13yrs, 2 of those years in Sugar House. The store has been in Sugar House since the 1970’s. In the beginning the stores were about 20,000 sq feet. The first Smith’s Superstore was the one in Sugar House and is now approximately 45,000 sq feet.
Smith’s grocery stores are committed to giving back to the community. They are doing that in the following ways:

1. They’ve added new child safe loading to their shopping carts. It is a way to secure a car seat inside a shopping cart which keeps the child from falling from the cart.
2. They support the Boys and Girls Club by making donations of school supplies. Employees of Smith’s donate time to the B&G Club once a week for two months.
3. They supply drinks and snacks to the Highland High rugby and football teams.
4. During poison control month, Smith’s handed out stickers and magnets containing the number for poison control.
5. They held a fundraising event for an employee whose family underwent hardship due to a death in the family.
6. They collect donations for Primary Children’s. During a one month period they collected $6000 which was double what they collected last year.
7. They are helping sponsor the Sugar House 4th of July street fair.

The new S-Line has brought a 3% increase in customers to the Sugar House Smith’s. The equates to 14,000 more customer visits this year to date.

Smith’s is currently doing 3.5 million dollar remodel and decorating project. They are remodeling the bathrooms and changing the paint color scheme inside the store. There will be a new larger cheese island with more specialty cheeses. Murray’s Cheese from New York is providing cheeses. Starbuck’s is going to locate within the store. There has been an increase in natural nood and organic food purchases, so they are expanding those product lines. They are adding a large wrap around sushi bar with employees to provide sampling.

Brian’s goals as a manager at Smith’s are to:
1.Take care of the customers.
2.Treat the sales associates well so that they are happy to be there doing their jobs   for the customers.
3.Have Smith’s be a great member of the Sugar House community.

Teddy requested bike racks be available for customers. Bike racks are available but not very visible due to the construction. Smith’s is addressing this issue with the construction team.
Amy requested more locally produced food, and information regarding how far the food had to travel to reach the store. Smith’s is adding more signage regarding locally grown/produced foods in the store. Murray’s cheese with be working with local cheese producers. They investigating adding artisan breads to their product line.

Salt Lake City Council – Lisa Adams
Excused Absent

Sprague Library – Dolly Rauh
Dolly invited us to come to the library and sign up for the summer reading program. The library will be getting new computers soon.

Maggie encouraged everyone in attendance to sign up with Judy to receive emails from the SHCC.

Sally moved that we adjourn the meeting. Larry seconded and the meeting adjourned at 8:03pm.