20 Nov SHCC Meeting Minutes November 6, 2013
SUGAR HOUSE COMMUNITY COUNCIL BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
Meeting Minutes – November 6, 2013
Trustees Present: Sally Barraclough, Amy Barry, Russ Callister, Ed Dieringer, Deb Henry, Topher Horman, Michael G. Kavanagh, Benny Keele, Matt Kirkegaard, Scott Kisling, Steve Lester, Joedy Lister, Larry Miggliacio, David Mulder, Sheila O’Driscoll, Jack Perry, Maggie Shaw, Judi Short, Carole Straughn, Rawlins Young
Excused Absences: Robin Bastar, Laurie Bray, Annalisa Holcombe, Christopher Thomas
Meeting called to order at 7:00 by Maggie Shaw SHCC Chair
Minutes from Oct 2, 2013 were approved without correction.
Chair Report: Maggie Shaw
On October 1, the Salt Lake City Council adopted a resolution to authorize the Community Improvement and Outreach Grant Program. Go to slcgov.com for more information and applications. Application deadline is Dec 2.
Christopher Thomas has submitted a charter for an Outreach Committee for SHCC. It has become apparent that this committee is necessary to maintain our digital assets. Maggie will forward the charter for trustees to review before it is placed on a future agenda.
Secretary Report: Sally Barraclough
Trustees were reminded about the importance of attending the monthly SHCC meeting and requested that if you cannot attend, please notify a member of the Executive Council prior to the meeting.
There was a reminder to Trustees Scott Kisling and Annalisa Holcombe that their trustee petitions expire this month. Several other trustee petitions expire in the first part of 2014. If you are unsure of your petition expiration date, please contact Sally.
Treasurers Report: Robin Bastar – Absent
Fire Department Report: Absent
Police Report: Detective Willis
The crime report computer program is being changed so there was no written report this month. There will be a written report next month. The department conducted two burglary prevention operations on the east side of SLC this month. We are reminded to close garage doors, as that is a major factor in break-ins. The police have recently checked the Granite Furniture vacant buildings. The buildings were confirmed vacant and have been secured. Please report any transients you see in the area trying to access the buildings, especially as the weather gets colder. Idling cars are still a problem and in the cold weather more cars get stolen from homes and convenience stores because they are left idling. Detective Willis answered questions from trustees and audience members regarding various criminal activity in the area. There was a request by Trustee Judi Short that the police department conduct another sting operation for jay-walking on 21st south. She noted that we did see improvement after the last operation but that it is an ongoing problem. Our regular police liaison, Detective Mourtgos is working bike squad but will answering his e-mail if you have questions or concerns. He can be reached at [email protected].
Public Comments for Items not on the agenda:
Welcome Lisa Ramsey Adams new City Councilman for District 7.
A member of the public requested that the subcommittees of the SHCC meet consecutively rather than at the same times on the third Monday of the month in order for trustees and the public to attend more than one meeting. There was a concern expressed regarding vehicle parking for the streetcar riders. Residents are concerned about parking around their homes, especially the approximately 6 blocks surrounding the Smiths grocery store. Trustee Amy Barry responded to this citizen by clarifying the permit process for restricting parking. Parkings restrictions must be initiated by the homeowner in conjunction with home owners in their surrounding neighborhood and submitted to the SLC Transportation Department. After approval, individual homeowners can purchase restricted parking signs/and permits from the Transportation Department for a small fee.
Committee Reports:
Land Use and Zoning:Judi Short
CIRCULATION AND MOBILITY STUDY
The City Council will approve the Circulation and Mobility study on November 12, under “other business”. Soren’s last meeting will be December 10, and we should go and be in the audience to honor him. We have some motions that will be presented tonight to vote on so that I can give an update to the City Council before they vote.
BOULDER VENTURES GRANITE BLOCK PHASE 2
The SHCC held a combined meeting of the LUZ, Transportation, and Open Space Committees on October 21 to review the plan for Phase II of the Boulder Ventures parcel. That will be on our SHCC agenda in January. There were 21 people in attendance at this meeting, most of whom were trustees.
BLADE SIGNS
The Planning Commission tabled the discussion about Blade Signs in October, and it will be back on the agenda for November 13. A former Planning Director from SLC brought up the issue that the city had carefully tried to clean up its sign ordinance in the 1980’s, and systematically removed many signs throughout the city. I hope there will be a new staff report on Friday to discuss the issues. I still think there is a will to see that this gets passed soon.
RDA
Ed Butterfield gave us the review of the final Monument Plaza design, and you will see that tonight. He wants our input as to what to call the monument, said they will reinstitute the water feature on the plaza (summer only). Design is almost done, construction has to begin by April, the Johnson’s are going to remodel the Rockwood Building. That project will need to begin right away so they are through before the monument plaza is started. He also asked if there are any other things we want funded, like artistic elements that reflect the history of the area.
NEXT LAND USE MEETING NOVEMBER 18
We will have a presentation by Ivory Homes – Skylar Tolbert will present a plan to remove the house at 1019 East 2700 South and replace it with three homes with a shared drive. There may be other things on the agenda as well.
Parks, Open Space, and Trails: Sally Barraclough
This committee had a joint meeting with Land Use and Transportation in October. At tonight’s meeting there was an update provided by Lynne Olson from the POST Committee to the SHCC. These notes came from the October PRATT meeting.
REPORT ON THE SUGAR HOUSE PARK TRAIL:
From 17th to 13th East, construction is substantially complete. In response to public sentiment, Parley’s Trail meanders through Sugar House Park and misses mature trees. The new trail has already seen a lot of use – moms with strollers, joggers and bikers. A public sidewalk is provided from the southwest corner of the park, and the new trail is in to Wendy’s, with an asphalt path up to 21st South.
REPORT ON THE DRAW AT SUGAR HOUSE.
The contractor for Parley’s Trail and the tunnel, bridge and dam for the Draw at Sugar House will begin constructing the walls of the tunnel, then build the deck on top of the west bridge (south-bound lanes of 1300 East) within the next two weeks. They plan to finish by Thanksgiving. They will build the east bridge this winter, then wrap up by building the dam that will protect 13th East from flooding by Parley’s Creek. Next spring, a different contractor will add the artistic elements -the Hoodoos and the Living Wall- on the west side of the bridge.
The County has funding from the Parley’s Trail Coalition, the State of Utah, and the Redevelopment Agency of SLC to pay for the artistic components on the west side of the bridge. The artistic elements in Sugar House Park are unfunded at this time.
There is an article and historical photo posted by Lynne Olsen on the SHCC web-site that shows what the draw looked like when the railroad used to go through the area.
(correction made after the Nov 6th SHCC meeting: Walt Gilmore, Project Coordinator reported that the Draw Project has been delayed and will not be completed by Dec. as hoped. The southbound deck on 13th east will be finished and then work will stop for the winter. The northbound deck and the Draw will be completed in the spring of 2014.)
Transportation Committee: Deb Henry
The meeting with UTA representatives was rescheduled for Nov 18th. The Transportation Committee met with the Land Use and POST Committees.
Arts and Cultural Committee: No Report
Community Groups and Projects: No Report
SL Community Network: No Report
Sugar House Merchants: Judi Short reported for Annalisa Holcombe
The Merchant’s Association will become the Sugar House Chamber of Commerce starting in January. The Streetcar Celebration will be held on Saturday Dec. 7th from noon to 5pm. This will be a free fare day if you bring a can of food for the food bank. There will be events all around the Sugar House business district to encourage people to get out to ride the streetcar and to learn the history of Sugar House. The streetcar officially starts taking riders on Sunday Dec. 8th.
Presentation:
Monument Pedestrian Plaza Design
Ed Butterfield, RDA
Ben Davis, Project Coordinator for the RDA for SLC
Brice Ward, Design Architect
Ben Davis started the discussion by distributing architectural renderings for the design of the plaza. The history of this project goes back to the recognition for the need for a public gathering place in Sugar House as outlined in the Sugar House Master Plan. Starting in October 2012, when it appeared that a public space could be a reality, the RDA started by holding open house meetings and completed a general design. From there they developed a more specific detailed design that has been refined over the last year. There has been a lot of input from community members, the city of Salt Lake and the business owners in Sugar House. The design is now at 90% completion.
Brice Ward presented the design. He noted that the plaza design was expanded when the decision was made to close the right turn lane. They followed the style of the monument, which is art deco, in the colors and design. There will be public seating, bike racks, an interactive water feature, and new plantings. Existing trees will be removed for the construction period and replanted afterward providing the plaza with mature trees. The monument water features will be restored. There be four, art deco medallions representing the history of Sugar House, placed around the plaza.
A question and answer period followed the design presentation.
The Southeast Furniture compass will be placed on the plaza
The streetcar will not enter or turn around in the plaza
Wi-fi and charging stations are being investigated
Electrical outlets are being planned but still under design
Checker boards will be inscribed in some of the tables
No public restrooms are being planned at this time
Planters and bollards will provide a boundary from 21st South
Vehicles will be able to access the plaza for the setup and takedown of events
Precautions are being taken to mitigate skateboard abuse
Construction should start around March of 2014, and be completed by late summer but the timetable has not been set.
Trustee Motion #1
Sugar House Circulation and Streetscape Amenities Motion presented by Amy Barry
“I move we forward a recommendation to the city council to modify a provision in the Sugar House Circulation and Streetscape Amenities Plan referring to a specific realignment of Sugarmont to Wilmington and replace it with an East/West connection through the business district.”
The motion was seconded by Judi Short
Discussion was presented by Amy Barry. Amy supports the motion that does not necessarily exclude the Sugarmont/Wilmington realignment, but also allows for other options. Scott Kisling and Russ Callister gave opposing opinions. Mark Isaac from Boulder Ventures spoke in favor, Soren Simonsen, City Councilman from District 7 presented an opposing opinion.
The motion passed 13 to 4
Presentation:
Boulder Ventures Redevelopment of the Granite Block
Mark Isaac, Project Manager
David Brahams(sp?), Design Architect for Boulder Ventures
There was a presentation of initial renderings for the next phase of the Granite block redevelopment. The development will include a plaza north of the present day Leisure Living warehouse, near the termination of the streetcar and includes a walkway connecting this plaza to the Monument Plaza. The Leisure Living building will be redeveloped. There will retail establishments, approximately 356 residential units and 600 parking stalls that will be located below grade.
If Sugarmont is connected to Wilmington, the new street will cut through the middle of this development.
Soren Simonsen, SLC Councilman for District 7, presented an opposing view for the motion. He pointed out that this connection has been part of the Master Plan that has been worked on for the past 20 yrs. He used maps of the area to demonstrate what the smaller blocks and new street connections through the ShopKo shopping area would look like. The planning commission has already approved a ‘network of streets’ plan for this area. He will be presenting a motion to the SLC Council regarding increasing the number of streets in the Sugar House Commons.
Trustee Motion #2
Parking Authority for Sugar House Motion presented by Judy Short
“I move that language in the Sugar House Circulation and Streetscapes Amenities Plan be added that asks Salt Lake City Corporation to study the concept of a Parking Authority for Sugar House. Implementation should encourage parking terraces rather than surface parking to preserve valuable land for development and open space and a park and ride lot or two that would promote the use of the streetcar.”
Motion was seconded by Steve Lister
Discussion was presented by Judy Short. Scott Kisley offered a friendly amendment to read “to study the concept of a Parking Authority, to include paid parking for Sugar House.”
The motion was supported by Scott Kisling, Amy Barry, and Deb Henry. There were no opposing comments.
The motion passed unanimously.
Trustee Motion #3
Bicycle racks in the Sugar House Business District presented by Judy Short
“I move that more bicycle racks be added in the Sugar House Business District.”
Motion was seconded by Matt Kirkegaard
Discussion was presented by Judi Short. Scott Kisling offered a friendly amendment to read ” more bicycle racks including Green Bikes at the transit stations be added in the Sugar House Business District.”
The motion passed unanimously.
Judi Short made a recommendation that the Transportation Committee write a CIP application for the bike racks.
Community and City Presentations:
City Council Update: Soren Simonsen District 7
Welcome to Lisa Ramsey Adams to Salt Lake City Council District 7
Imperial Neighborhood Park CIP funds were approved by the SLC Council in Oct
Sugar House Tennis Court redesign funds were approved. The location for the courts has yet to be determined.
Vintage Sign Ordinance final draft should be done in the next few weeks, after which the proposal will go to the Planning Commission.
Blade Sign Ordinance will hopefully be compete by the first part of next year. The Planning Commission will be looking at it next week. They are taking letters from the public regarding this issue.
There was a question from the audience regarding whether or not there will be advertising on the streetcar. This subject is being negotiated with UTA. There may be small panel signs allowed.
Spotlight on Business: Michael G. Kavanagh
Michael Feldman – Feldman’s Deli
Feldman’s Deli Located on 20th East 27th South Hrs: 11-3 Tues-Sat for lunch, Fri and Sat 5:30-8:30 for Dinner
Events: Nov 22nd they will be celebrating their 1yr anniversary with live music on Fri
Dec 6th Old Jews Tell Jokes reservations required
Library Events: Dolly Ragh
The Foundation Collection will be holding a training session at 1:00 tomorrow at the Sprague Library. The purpose of the session is to help non-profits learn how to find funding. Call to register. Sessions are also held at the downtown library. There will be meetings at a future date.
Tess Epstein is retiring from the library after 15 yrs of service. There will be a retirement party for her on Nov 21 from 1-4 at the Sprague Library. The public is invited to attend.
Report from the Mayor’s Office: Shawn McDonough
The mayor’s office is looking for two volunteers to be on a focus group regarding the Salt Lake City sustainability program. The group will be looking at fee schedules and the recycle and waste cans. Matt Kirkegaard, Deb Henry, and Michael Kavanagh volunteered.
Mayor Becker has been appointed by President Obama to be on the Climate Task Force.
The Mayor’s one – on- one meetings will be held Nov 20th from 2:30 to 4:30
Call Nov 12th (801) 535-7704 to reserve your time. Call early as the appointments fill up fast.
Sugar House Streetcar starts runs on Dec 7th.
Extra leaf cans are available at no charge. Call (801) 535-6999 to have a can delivered. The cans are emptied on your regular trash day. They will be collected in early January after Christmas tree pickup.
Learn about the budget process by going to [email protected]/budget
Community Improvement Grants are available for small and large community projects. The grants must be matched with existing funds or in-kind volunteer labor valued at $18.91 per hour. Deadline for these grants is Dec 2nd. For more information go to [email protected] or call (801) 535-7712.
Meeting adjourned at 9:02pm
