SHCC Meeting Minutes Nov 5, 2014

02 Dec SHCC Meeting Minutes Nov 5, 2014

Sugar House Community Council Board of Trustees Meeting

Meeting Minutes – November 5, 2014

Trustees Present: Sally Barraclough, Amy Barry, Robin Baster, Laurie Bray, Ed Dieringer, Deb Henry, Michael G Kavanagh, Benny Keele, Steve Kirkegaard, Joedy Lister, Larry Migliaccio, David Mulder, David Read, Maggie Shaw, Judi Short, Carole Straughn, Rawlins Young

Trustees Excused Absent: Teddy Anderson, Topher Horman, Christopher Thomas

Trustees Absent:  Jack Perry

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Amy Barry, SHCC Chair

This was Amy’s first meeting as chair.  She introduced the council to members of the audience by noting that we are an independent 501(c) 3 non-profit organization.  We are not part of the city organizational structure, and are all volunteers who live within the boundaries of Sugar House.  We have three main responsibilities including:

1. Providing accurate information to our neighbors in the community so that they have the facts necessary to form their opinions.
2. Help citizens effectively participate in the public process.
3. Give advice on how to participate if they want to.

SHCC collects comments from area residents, and while we do not have the authority to make decisions for the city, we work with the planning department and other city departments providing our input on a variety of topics.  The city recognizes the Community Council as one voice among many that provide opinions regarding city projects and programs.

In the case of the 21st and 21st rezone, the developer approached the city with the request for a rezone at which point the time began for the SHCC to start collecting public comments.  The rezone of 21st and 21st will be formally presented to the SHCC during the December 3rd meeting.The comments will be  forwarded to the planning commission staff by Judi Short, to be put in a report for the Planning Commission.The Planning Commission is also a volunteer organization. Each member is appointed by the mayor and must be approved by the City Council. The planning commissioners have the authority to make decisions regarding land use and zoning issues.  They take public comments at each of their meetings.  Their recommendations regarding zoning issues are then sent to the City Council.  The City Council sets their own agendas so something like a rezone issue can take many months depending on how many other items are on their agenda.

Approval of the October minutes: Maggie moved to approve the minutes, Joedy seconded. The motion passed with no corrections to the October meeting minutes.

Secretary Report: Sally Barraclough

There was a trustee petition renewal presented by Benny Keele.  Benny has been representing the Forest Dale area for six years.  He is the chair of the election committee and has spent many volunteer hours helping with such things as the 4th of July booth.  Sally moved to accept his petition, Ed seconded.  The motion passed unanimously.

There were three petitions presented from the County Club area, and there are three openings since Scott Kisling resigned from the council last month.

The first petition was presented by Susan Koelliker.  Susan grew up is Sugar House and graduated from Highland High.  She lived for a time in the mid west and the east coast before returning to Sugar House to raise her family of five children.  She has spent most of her life in Sugar House and is passionate about the area and now has the time to give back to the community.

The second petition was presented by Sue Ann Jones who has lived in Salt Lake for 25 yrs, the last 12 residing in Sugar House.  Her four children have attended schools in the area including Dilworth, Hillside, and Highland High School.  She would like to be more informed about the changes in Sugar House so that she can best represent her area.

The third petition was presented by Lucy Hawes who grew up and attended law school in Salt Lake and later at Penn State. She has been back in Salt Lake City for 10 yrs.  Her four children attend Beacon Heights and Hillside.  Her experiences of living in walkable communities in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia give her an insight into some of the many changes happening in Sugar House.  She no longer practices law and would like to devote time to SHCC.

Sally moved that we accept the petition from Susan Koelliker, Dave Mulder seconded.  The motion was approved unanimously.  Ed moved that we accept the petition from Sue Ann Jones, Maggie seconded.  The motion was approved unanimously.  Joedy moved that we accept the petition from Lucy Hawes, Deb seconded.  The motion was approved unanimously.

Amy reminded the new trustees that they will become voting members at next month’s meeting.

Treasurers Report: Robin Bastar

Last month there was a disbursement of $100 for our solicitation permit.  We have a balance of $3947.55 in the checking account.  Today Robin received a $20 donation to SHCC from United Way.

Chair Report: Amy Barry

The Mayor’s Office Update was submitted to Amy by Shawn McDonough who attends our meeting every other month.  Amy circulated a paper copy of the report for trustees to read.  There are seven topics currently on the open city hall web site.  Go to www.slcgov.com/opencityhall to make comments to the Mayors Office.

Amy has started working with three Westminster students who are doing a redesign of our logo. They are updating the design and making it more readable.  Amy is looking for a few volunteers to form a small committee to evaluate and make suggestions for the design.  Contact her if you would like to be involved.

Fire Department Report: Captain Bob Silverthorne

Excused

Police Report: Detective Bill Manzanares

District 7 Crime Report for the past 3 months:

Aug    Sept    Oct

Assaults                  15    20    20

Burglaries                13    11    21

Larceny (all theft)     138    116    145

Property Damage    13    29    26

Robberies                   1    0    8

Stolen Vehicles        19    13    30

Traffic Incidents       54    56    77

including citations

Detective Manzanares received several emails and phone calls about the recent shooting that took place at Club Karumba.  The police responded to shots fired just after 1:00am.  According to the bouncers it started with a disagreement between two groups.  The groups were separated and escorted to their cars at which time it was revealed that there was a gun and it was retrieved by one of the parties involved.  The suspects all left in their cars only to return later and shoot into the crowd.  An innocent bystander was hit.  The police have a very good lead on the suspected shooter but as of now there has not been an arrest.    Detective Manzanares took questions about the incident, but reminded us that it is an open investigation so he may not be at liberty to answer certain questions regarding the details.

• Dave Mulder asked if it was gang related.  It is felt at this time that it most likely was gang related.
• A member of the audience asked if there is a protocol that the bouncers should have followed regarding calling the police.  The department discourages bouncers from acting like officers.  They should get witnesses and call the police before taking any action.
• Amy asked how the victim is doing.  Although he was shot in the chest, his injury is not life-threatening and he should recover.

Other questions not related to the shooting included:

• An audience member expressed concern about the spike in daytime robberies and burglaries in the Country Club area including a recent bank robbery. He asked if there are any plans to increase patrols etc.  The department is tracking crimes by area and increasing patrols as much as possible.
• Amy asked if we could get a crime report broken down by neighborhood. Detective Manzanares  asked Amy to email him with the specific areas so that he can get us the report.
• Deb asked about pedestrian related accident reports.  She said she is having trouble finding that information on the website.  She would like to be able to track problem areas to look for solutions for those areas.  Anytime an officer is called there is a report generated.  Detective Manzanares is not certain if there is a report specific to pedestrian and bicycle accidents but he will check into it and get an answer to Deb.

Public Comments for Items Not On The Agenda:

An audience member who lives on Hollywood Ave, one block from where the shooting happened at Club Karumba is organizing a group to work on issues that are happening in the area.  Those issues include noise, litter, and safety.  They hope to work with SHCC and the club to find resolution to some of the problems.

Sheila O’Driscoll, former SHCC trustee, wanted to publically thank Christopher, Joedy, Ed, Amy, Judi, and others who arranged the public meeting held at Dilworth to discuss the 21st and 21st area rezone.  She appreciated the council’s work to get the word out and stated that the neighborhood is trying to become more informed about all the issues concerning the property and the possible rezone.

Audra Sorenson from Westminster Avenue wanted to express her apprehension regarding the redevelopment at 21st and 21st.  She and her neighbors are quite concerned and want to continue be involved in the process.

George Chapman wanted to inform the audience that he has heard that the city wants to relocate the Sugar House Fire Station to the parking lot at Forest Dale Golf Course.  He feels this will be a detriment to the neighborhood and the golf course.  He stated that the City Council will be addressing this in their Nov 18th meeting.

Annalisa Holcomb wanted to announce that the Chamber will be sponsoring a 5K race in Sugar House Park the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  There will be a person dressed as a turkey for the race.  Registration is taking place at the Fairmont Aquatic Center.

Also, Santa will be arriving at Sugarmont Plaza at 12:00 noon on Saturday, Nov 29th.  This will also be the opening of the Santa Shack for the holiday season.

Presentations:

Annalisa Holcomb, Advisor to the President of Westminster College

Derek Paine, Architect working for Westminster College

Westminster Housing Rezone Proposal

Westminster College owns 5 homes located on 13th East between Westminster Ave and the southern boundary of the campus.  They have been owned by the college for quite a long time and are zoned residential (R1, 5000).  They are currently used to house students, and visiting professors.  The college is located on 27 acres and the space is full.  As such, the college would like to rezone the houses as institutional so that they can be used for offices to support other campus activities such as, the Counseling Center, the Diversity Center, and the Scholars Program.  The rezone of the homes was addressed in the Westminster 2010 Master Plan and they have completed a site survey as required by the city of Salt Lake.

• Sally asked if the footprint or height of any of the houses would be increased.  There are no plans to change the buildings other than basic remodeling to make them ADA compliant. The master plan calls for them to remain as houses to provide a transitional zone and to blend into the surrounding neighborhood.
• Rawlins stated that if the zone is changed to institutional, the buildings could eventually be changed to an institutional zone height which can be as high as 55ft.  While he recognized their good intentions, it doesn’t mean that those changes would not be implemented to the houses which are located right on 1300 East.
• Dave Mulder wanted confirmation that regardless of intent, the zone would allow the height to go as high as 55 ft.   That was affirmed, but Derek also stated that it would be very difficult to do that because there isn’t enough room on the lots to provide the setbacks required to build a 55ft building.
• An audience member wanted to know if they have done an traffic study because the traffic on 13th East is already terrible and the increased uses of these homes will make the traffic worse.  Annalisa stated that they don’t feel that traffic will increase because the buildings will be accessed by students who are already on campus.  The audience member feels that many other students will be parking along 13th East and side streets to access the services located in these homes.  It was noted that there was a public meeting regarding the zoning change that was not well attended.
• Another member of the audience was concerned that just because the plan to retain the character of the homes is in the Master Plan now, that could change in the future.  Annalisa explained that it is not easy to change a Master Plan and that it would require a lot of public input.
• Joedy asked if there is any plan to change the look of the houses to make them look more like the buildings currently located on the campus.  Annalisa said that other than making them ADA compliant, there are no plans to change how they look.

Amy told the trustees and members of the audience that they can send their comments to Judi Short at [email protected].  This is a public comment time and the comments Judi receives will be forwarded to the planning commission prior to the rezone being on their agenda.

Stan Holmes

Utah Citizens Advocating Renewable Energy (UCARE)

Stan thanked the council for their support opposing the fee being proposed by Rocky Mountain Power (RMP) for solar panel users.  Thanks to letters from many of the community councils like ours, in addition to comments by thousands of citizens, the Public Service Commission (PSC) in August opted to put the the solar fee on hold pending a full cost/benefits analysis.   There was a PSC meeting this morning to discuss how Rocky Mountain was going to conduct the solar panel cost/benefits analysis, which was also required by the Utah legislature.  In the meeting, which also included Pacific Corp, UCARE proposed that the report include an analysis of all solar users. That would include all public and commercial solar power users in addition to the 2700 residential users, in order to provide a better data base of the true costs and benefits. They also want RMP to include externalized costs of not using solar power.  These would include such things as increased health care usage, poor environmental quality and economic factors.  These things are not usually included when a utility looks at a rate increase and UCARE wants to see all variables included in the cost/benefits analysis.  Utah is heavily into carbon fuels because we have so many coal mines in this state and it is felt that RMP is trying to protect those investments.  Solar power makes up only 1% of our power production in spite of our very sunny, desert climate.

Stan brought a letter from UCARE thanking the Council for our support of a full analysis.  UCARE is working with HEAL Utah, Utah Clean Energy, the Sierra Club, and other clean energy /clean air advocates to promote better energy options.   He distributed a flyer with 4 action plans that citizens can take in support of clean air, prior to the next Rocky Mountain rate increase meetings scheduled for January 2016.  RMP is currently conducting a capacity study which is all they want to do.  The PSC is taking public comments now and UCARE is asking individuals to weight in the on the subject.  The flyer also included a list of web addresses that are resources for following this important subject.

• An audience member asked if the surplus energy that is produced by the solar panels on his roof  is sold by Rocky Mountain Power to other customers.  Stan confirmed that yes and it is sold at higher price because it is typically being used during peak daytime hours.  It was confirmed that solar producers pay the same base charge as non-solar producers in addition to providing surplus energy to RMP.  The fee would be an addition charge to the solar producers’ monthly bill.
• An audience member asked about the cost of adding solar panels.  The price of panels is going down on both American and Chinese made panels.  The U of U just concluded a solar program to help citizens find resources, but there are some really good installers in the area.  The website www.utahcleanenergy.com has a lot of resources regarding cost of panels and local installers.
• Deb added that she and Scott Kisling have a solar panel installation company.  In general the costs runs between $8,000 and $16,000 depending on the size of your roof.  There are incentive programs for installing panels that end in 2016, unless they are extended.  She gave an example of someone who installed an $8,000 system but after rebates and incentives paid $3,600 out of pocket for 25 yrs of solar produced power.  Deb reminded us that the solar fee is a regressive fee that will de-incentive people from installing panels.
• An audience member stated that he installed his system in stages over several years and they were easily tied together.  With all the state and federal tax credits and incentive rebates he paid about ⅓ of the actual cost and is saving about 75% on his power bills.
• Amy said she will put the resource information on our website and that we will continue to carefully watch this issue as it works it’s way through the various agencies involved.

Carole encouraged us to go to the website www.envisionutah.org and play the game that allows you to provide input on how we want our area to look by 2050.  They are hoping to get 50,000 responses.  By 2050 there will be 2.5 million more people living in the area.  This gives you a chance to look at topics such as clean air, transportation, jobs and recreation.  It takes about an hour to complete, but you can to it in stages.  Each choice you make has an impact on taxes or carbon footprint etc. so it is a very interesting exercise.

Amy announced that the city is hosting a meeting on November 12th regarding the ground contamination in the 21st and 21st area.  It is being conducted by the State of Utah Department of Environmental Quality. They are going to have officials from DEQ and EPA present, as the city does not have the rights to conduct their own surveys or clean-up.  The location and time of the meeting have yet to be announced, but it is likely to be held at Dilworth Elementary in the evening unless there is a large crowd expected, in which case it will be moved.  Amy provided email addresses to the city of all those that attended the meeting held at Dilworth last month.  She also sent the newsletter to all of the people who signed up that night to receive emails,  but 31 bounced back because the email addresses weren’t legible.  If you know of anyone who thought they were going to start getting emails from the SHCC but have not, please have them re-submit their address to us. Amy will send a second notice once she knows the location and time of the meeting.

Committee Reports

Land Use and Zoning: Judi Short

1. The old Tap Room location on Highland Dr. has been demolished and the parcel is being filled and paved to provide parking for the construction workers who will be building the Legacy Building on the south side of Wilmington.  This will be a 2 to 3 yr project, after which something else will be build on the parcel because it is a prime piece of property on Highland Dr.
2. Construction of the professional building located at 2816 Highland Dr. and Richmond is completed.  An orthodontist has the upper level and they have leased the lower level to an high-end construction firm that builds very upscale homes. The city encouraged the property owner to put in one electric car charging station but that would have cost $15,000 so he didn’t do that.  The SHCC asked him to landscape the asphalt triangle at the street intersections and he had a crew out there for three days digging up the weeds until the public utilities asked them to stop.  As a council we all agreed, that even if some vegetation has to be dug up at a later time to make utility repairs, it is still better than the current broken asphalt with weeds.
3. The Planning Commission gave the go ahead for the contractor to continue with the multi-family complex being built at 2204 S 9th E.  This was the project that the inspector had stopped because the footings were 6” to close to the property line.
4. The meeting held at Dilworth regarding the 21st and 21st rezone drew 300 attendees with over 90% expressing opposition to the rezone.  Their concerns included:  too many housing units, too much traffic, and the zone would allow for a building that is too tall.  There were a lot of questions and answers.  The proposal has been put on the SHCC website, with comments going directly to Judi’s email.  She is putting those comments into a document that will be forwarded to the Planning Commission.  At this time the document is 25 pages long.  The majority of people are opposed to the new zone and would like a walkable area such as 15th and 15th. They feel the existing 30ft height is reasonable for the area.
5. The View at Sugar House is open and by mid November half of the units will be occupied.  The Wasatch Pub and Mellow Mushroom are open.  Pot Belly, Coveys(?), and Standard Optical will be opening soon.
6. Boulder Ventures is holding off on their plans for the south end of the block until they meet with the RDA at the end of the month.  The RDA is talking to the City Council about the possibility of extending the RDA for another two years.
7. Liberty Village located on the west side of McCelland will have their first tenants moving in by December 11th.  This project was built by Cowboy Partners.  Of 171 units, there are 37 affordable housing units.   All of the affordable units are already rented and there is waiting list.  50 other units have also been reserved and no one has seen or toured the interior. The developer is waiting to get their certificate of occupancy.

A member of the audience inquired about the income level in order to qualify for the affordable units.  A single person can make no more than $24,350 to qualify.  If their income goes up, the rent goes up on a sliding scale.

There will be a LUZ meeting on Nov 17th at 6:00pm.  The 21st and 21st rezone will be on agenda.

Parks, Open Space and Trails: Sally Barraclough

The POST committee did not meet in October, however, Joedy Lister gave a report from the Sugar House Park Authority (SHPA) regarding a land swap that is pending between the park and Highland High School.  He distributed a map showing the locations of the two pieces of property involved.

For years, Highland High School has been granted temporary use of a parcel of land at the south-center edge of the park for their baseball games. This is their home baseball field. It’s never been an ideal situation because they’re not thrilled about not having a field closer to the school and the SHPA hasn’t been happy because it sacrifices a valuable piece of land that could be used for other park activities. When Highland came looking for an open field in the park that they could use (this was over a decade ago) that spot was deemed the best choice available.

A few months ago the School District came to the park authority and they worked out an agreement for a mutually acceptable land swap. The SHPA is giving them a strip of land just west of their softball/football fields and they are giving the park an equal parcel along the south boundary of their property. They almost have enough land west of the football field to build a baseball field but not quite, they needed another half acre. The actual recorded land swap is .55 acre. A contract is getting written up and will likely be done in the next few months. The school will begin construction in the spring if there are no hitches between now and then.

Sugar House Park has been owned by the Sugar House Park Authority ever since the state prison was relocated.  Any decisions made by the Park Authority must have the approval of the SLC Council and the SL County Council.

• Sally asked if the SHPA will retain the current baseball field as a city field.  The park authority plans to tear out the baseball field but have yet to determine what the future use of the space will be.
• An audience member asked what the likelihood is that the SHPA will approve the swap. Joedy feels it is very likely as it is really a win-win for everyone concerned.

Transportation: Deb Henry

Deb provided follow up on the parking situation in the large parking lot located directly east of the Sprague Library.  Diamond Parking has been contracted by the land owner to provide 24 hr enforcement of a 2 hr parking limit.  This is the result of construction workers parking in the lot for extended periods of time, which inhibits shoppers and diners from finding parking.  Diamond Parking is marking tires.  Anyone found parking more than 2 hrs will get a $35 ticket which goes up to $70 if it’s not paid in two weeks.  Other lots that are starting to have parking enforcement include the Post Office lot and the lot behind Smash Burger.

Deb has spoken to Mark Call who is in charge of the enforcement for the property management company.  They will discussing this issue at the next Transportation Committee meeting on Nov 17th at 7:00pm in the Sprague Library.

Deb has also been in contact with UTA to start the discussion regarding extending the service of the S-Line, and for better transit service in our neighborhoods.  Lisa Adams from the city council and Deb will be meeting with Matt Sible(sp) from UTA to discuss structurally and financially what can be done to improve service.  People are reluctant to give more money to UTA because of the bonus structure that they have in place for their executives and employees.  Approximately 700 UTA employees currently receive bonuses to their annual salaries.The feeling is that we need to support UTA in order to get better service, regardless of the bonus situation.  There is a non partisan group called the Transit Riders Union that is also working to improve transportation options in Sugar House and the rest of the city.

• Laurie inquired about getting better marked crosswalks and flags near the east end of the S-Line by Fairmont Park.  Deb stated that the flags and striping have faded so the Transportation Dept has told her she can pick up new flags and they are going to be placed on all four corners.  Amy reminded us that the flags cost 50 cents each and they disappear fast.  She and Michael G. both sponsor crosswalks in other parts of Sugar House. Anyone else who would like to be a sponsor should contact Amy.
• An audience member asked if we would have to shorten the SHCC meetings in order to stay within the 2 hr time limit for parking.  Deb said this is one of the things they will be talking about at the Transportation Committee meeting on the 17th.  They are hoping to come up with some solutions, as the parking time constraints may actually get tighter as we approach the holidays.
• Dave Mulder asked for feedback regarding the HIVE pass.  As of now the program has been terminated and the city is in the process of evaluating the six month pilot program.  If you bought a pass it is still active but no new passes are being sold.

Arts and Cultural: Laurie Bray

Santa will be arriving at Sugarmont Plaza on November 29th by fire truck.

Also on November 29th, the Art Walk will be sponsoring a fundraiser to raise money to repair the Santa Shack that was badly damaged by vandals in August.  Emily who owns Sugar House Coffee will be donating 10% of their profits on the 29th.  Santa will be at Sugar House Coffee from 7-9pm that evening and Laurie will be there taking pictures.

On Saturday, December 6th the SH Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring a winter carnival.  It starts at 10:30am with Santa arriving on the S-Line.  There will be arts and crafts such as a steam roller at Salt Grass Print Makers.  Other participants include Zaniac doing 3D printing, Sugar House Coffee, and various food vendors.  There will be plenty of activities, food and drinks.  Melo Flores is the co-chair with Laurie for the event.  They are looking for donations for prizes, sponsors, and volunteers.  Go to the Sugar House Chamber website www.sugarhousechamber.org to donate or volunteer.

• Amy requested that Melo contact Brad Dilorio and ask him to submit a piece regarding the Winter Festival  for the Sugar House newsletter.

Communications and Outreach: Christopher Thomas

Christopher was excused this evening but Amy reported that Joedy and others provided a lot of outreach to the community regarding the rezone meeting held at Dilworth.  Amy has a goal of developing a template for fliers.  Maggie, her husband, and Amy provided fliers in the area around the Westminster rezone prior to the public meeting.  The template for fliers will provide a guideline for what information should be on a flier without starting from the beginning every time.

Salt Lake Community Network: Judi Short

Jennifer Bruno from the Salt Lake City Council Office came and talked about how the city budget process is conducted.

Spotlight on Business: Michael G Kavanagh

Randall Curtis – Harbor Seafood and Steak Company

2302 Parley’s Way (on the corner of 2100 South, 2300 East)

5-9:30pm weeknights,  5-10:00pm weekends, Sunday brunch 9:30am – 1:30am

They have recently completed a major remodel of the old Rino’s Restaurant building, keeping the gardens to raise their own herbs and vegetables.  Fresh seafood is flown in daily and all their beef comes from Utah.  The beef is grass fed and organic. They want to provide very fresh, local food options.  Their chef came from the St. Regis in Deer Valley.  They have been open two months and business has been great.

Salt Lake City Council: Charlie Luke District 6

Charlie lives in the Dilworth area which is part of the Sugar House Community Council area.  As the District 6 Councilman he attends multiple community council meetings each month.  Lisa Adams from District 7 has only our community council meeting to attend but she asked to be excused tonight and Charlie agreed to fill in for her.

Sugar House Redevelopment Agency (RDA)

There has been a request from the Sugar House RDA to get a two year extension.  That would give the RDA more time to work with the county and state to figure out how to take care of the funding mechanisms once the RDA expires.  The plan for the next two years is that 95% of the tax money collected for the RDA will pass back to the state and county taxing entities.  5% will be retained for  administrative costs.

• Rawlins asked if they function under the state tax code.  Charlie said that they do and that they must work with the tax commission that handles the revenue and distribution of funds.  They do not have to go through the state legislature at this time.
• An audience member asked for clarification regarding the Sugar House RDA boundaries and function. The RDA district extends from 13th East to 8th East and from the 10th South to the S-Line. The RDA was created as a tool for redevelopment by funding projects and providing loans to developers.  It is set up for a specific amount of time after which the tax funds revert back to the other taxing entities.
• Sally confirmed with Charlie that the City Council acts as the RDA board.
• Amy asked about the loan process to developers.  As developers repay the loans, the money goes back to the specific RDA, to be loaned out again to someone else.  Even after the RDA expires, as loans are repaid that money stays in the specific geographical area that it came from. Amy asked Charlie to find out where we can go to look at that budget after the RDA expires.
• Laurie asked why some of the neon signs located in Sugar House, such as the Snellgroves sign did not qualify for the RDA grant for sign restoration when they are located within the RDA zone.  We have not been able to find any owners who are willing to do the matching grant for sign repair and Laurie asked what will happen to those funds once the RDA expires. She asked if the grant money could be redirected to another project in Sugar House prior to the expiration of the RDA.  Charlie will address this with DJ Baxter of the RDA and have him report back to Amy.
• An audience member asked if it is possible that developers be required to make space affordable for local small businesses, if they are getting low interest RDA loans. Contingencies can be attached to the loans but it can be complicated.  The SHCC has been successful in getting affordable housing in both the Liberty Village and the Wilmington Gardens developments by attaching those contingencies to the loans.
• Rawlins asked if there was an aspect of the RDA that deals with residential housing that is out of the commercial boundaries.  There is a residential housing component to provide loans to individual homeowners if they fall within the geographical area of the RDA.  This is happening in the 3rd west area of Salt Lake City under a different RDA.

21st and 21st Rezone

• Joedy asked Charlie’s opinion on the 21st rezone.  Charlie thinks it’s important that we make decisions based on fact rather than rumors and innuendo.  One thing that was not included in recent newspaper articles was that the City Council last year approved $50,000 for a small area business plan for this area.  There have been two other small area plans conducted in the Glendale area.  The process would be similar for the 21st and 21st area. They are about to start on the plan which will be going on at the same time that the developer is pursuing the rezone.  He personally feels it would be wise to see what the small area plan looks like prior to approving any kind of rezone.  He does feel the area needs some kind of redevelopment as several of the buildings in the area are abandoned and in bad shape.  The small area plan will take several months to complete.
• An audience member asked how residents can provide input to the small area plan.  As the plan is developed there is a public process to allow for larger participation by the residents of the area.  The council and mayor’s office recognize that better communication with the residents is essential to the process.

Sugar House Fire Station

There is a budget amendment that is currently in the works.  The Golf Enterprise Fund is being looked at because there have been 20-30 yrs of neglect in management of the fund. There is currently a one million dollar shortfall in the golf fund.  The council is looking at how to manage the immediate shortfall and made the golf fund sustainable into the future.  They are looking at selling slivers of land located adjacent to the courses back to the city, to provide income for the Golf Enterprise Fund.  They can not directly transfer money from the general fund to the golf fund.  The sale of the land located near the Rose Park, Glendale, and Bonneville courses would meet the immediate shortfall in the golf fund.  These slivers of land which are located near creek beds and act as riparian areas, could then be opened up to the public for trails etc. and they would still retain their open space statis.  These are the only areas being looked at with the current budget amendment.

The salt storage area near the Forest Dale Golf Course is being looked at as a possible place to relocate the Sugar House Fire Station, which needs to be rebuilt to accommodate larger fire trucks. The Forest Dale parcel is currently zoned open space and would require a rezone before this could happen, so it is not part of the current budget amendment.

• An audience member asked why they don’t use the old DI building to rebuild the fire station. Charlie said they have looked at that option.  The Fire Department feels that as Sugar House grows this would not be a good location for them.  There are a number of other sites that are being looked at as possible relocation sites for the fire station.  Concerns should be addressed to the mayor’s office.
• David Read asked why the general fund can’t loan money to the golf fund.  Because of the way the Golf Enterprise Fund was set up it isn’t possible.  About 25 years ago the Golf Enterprise Fund was set up to protect golf funds from being used to support the general budget.  Now, golf isn’t as popular and funding is lacking. The only way the Golf Enterprise Fund could borrow from the general fund would be if there was a guarantee of repayment which doesn’t look likely considering their current shortfall.

Sprague Library – Dolly Rauh

In conjunction with the Winter Carnival, the Sprague Library will be celebrating 100 years of service to the city library system.  The library was not always in this location, but they have been providing service in the Sugar House area for 100 years.  There will be more information about the celebration at the next SHCC meeting.

Meeting Adjourned at  9:00 pm