26 Sep SHCC Meeting Minutes Sept 3, 2014
Sugar House Community Council Board of Trustees Meeting
Meeting Minutes – September 3, 2014
Trustees Present: Teddy Anderson, Sally Barraclough, Amy Barry, Robin Bastar, Ed Dieringer, Deb Henry, Topher Horman, Benny Keele, David Mulder, Maggie Shaw, Judi Short, Carole Straughn, Christopher Thomas, Rawlins Young
Trustees Excused Absent: Michael G Kavanagh, Joedy Lister, Larry Migliaccio
Trustees Absent: Laurie Bray, Steve Kirkegaard, Scott Kisling, Jack Perry
The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Maggie Shaw, SHCC Chair
Approval of the August minutes: Deb moved to approve the minutes, Ed seconded. The motion passed with no corrections to the August meeting minutes.
Secretary Report: Sally Barraclough
There is a new petition being submitted by David Read from Grandview. Unfortunately he had a work emergency and was unable to attend, so we will consider his petition next month. Judy Short and Larry Migliaccio have petitions that will expire at the end of September and Benny Keele’s petition will expire at the end of October.
Treasurers Report: Robin Bastar
There was no activity in the account this month. We have an account balance of $4132.
Chair Report: Maggie Shaw
Monday October 6th is the date for the forum for all the candidates running for office in the November election. It will be held on the Westminster Campus but the exact place and time have yet to be determined. Maggie will post more information as it becomes available, to our website.
Maggie has tried to contact Diamond Parking regarding the new signs in Sugar House, but has not been able to reach them. She will continue to work on this issue and report back to us when she has more information.
There will not be an Executive Committee meeting in September.
The October SHCC meeting will have a very full agenda, so some items may be dropped in order to make time for presentations.
Benny Keele elections committee chair, reported on the upcoming SHCC elections scheduled for the October meeting. There are still two weeks remaining to place your name on the ballot for SHCC offices. As of now the names on the ballot are:
Chair: Amy Barry
Vice Chair: Judy Short, Maggie Shaw, Carole Straughn, Deb Henry
Secretary: Sally Barraclough
Treasurer: Robin Bastar
None of the candidates chose to speak.
Fire Department Report: Jeff Kauffman
Jeff recently joined Station #3 and he plans on staying with this station for the foreseeable future. He used to live in Sugar House on Simpson Ave.
September is Disaster Preparedness Month. You can find tips for being prepared on their website, www.slcfire.com. Tips include: Be Prepared to shelter in place -how to make a 72 hr kit, Be Informed – how to create a family emergency plan, and Be Involved-how to get involved in community preparedness.
In August Station #3 had a total of 173 runs, including fire and medical calls.
We were reminded that school is back in session so be careful around the school zones.
Police Report: Bill Manzanares
Bill has been with the department for eight years but this is a new assignment for him.
The SLC Police Dept has requested that in lieu of distributing crime stats in a paper format report, that we go to the new website that has been set up for that purpose. The web address is www.slcpd.com. You can look up crime stats by area or type of crime and compare stats from other years or months.
Judi asked for Officer Manzanares’s phone number which is 801 799-3625 and his email is [email protected].
Dave expressed his opinion that the paper crime statistics report was better. Lisa Adams also thinks the paper report is faster to read and you don’t have to be in front of a computer to see the various crimes by location.
Amy is working with her neighbors in the area of 21st South and McClelland regarding noise and trash issues. She requested that Officer Manzanares attend a neighborhood meeting to discuss the problems in their area.
Topher stated that they are organizing a Neighborhood Watch Group in his area. He wanted to make sure that the department is aware of the selling of “spice” that is going on in Fairmont Park. The activity seems to mostly involve younger, street kids. Officer Manzanares said that they are assigning a bike squad to the area around Fairmont Park.
Sally asked for some clarification about the services that are available to the homeless community by the SLC Police Dept, Volunteers of America, and HOST (homeless outreach). The police department has assigned officers to assist the homeless in finding resources to help them with their particular needs. The officers have been very successful working with the Volunteers of America and the Road Home to meet these needs. They are also working with Elizabeth Buehler, City Homeless Services Coordinator (801 535-7122) email [email protected] and Police Sergeant Gill Arnez, who is over the squad of officers who are over the various districts. Officer Sam Wolfe is over District 4, which has the shelter and he is part of the group of officers that is over HOST.
An audience member expressed concern about parents who are making U-turns in front of Bonneville and Clayton schools during drop off and pick up times. Officer Manzanares said that he can assign a motor officer to monitor the situation and write tickets. Amy reminded us that those schools are actually located in District 6.
Lisa Adams recommended that we have the schools send a notice out to parents through the schools’ newsletters warning them that they will be ticketed for U-turns in front of their schools.
Maggie and various other members commented on the number of cars that are making a left hand turn after the traffic light has turned red. Officer Manzanares asked that we email him with addresses that we find are particularly bad locations for running red lights and the time of day. Deb wanted confirmation about red lights, noting that in many states a yellow light means stop, not proceed into the intersection. In Utah, as long as you are in the intersection when the light turns red it is legal.
Amy asked Lisa Adams if she knew why school crossing guards are paid out of the CIP funds. Lisa will find out why they aren’t paid out of the general budget.
Public Comments for Items Not On The Agenda:
Maggie wanted us to take note of the images that had been brought to the library showing what Sugar House was envisioned to be in the mid 1980’s. The images are of the 13th East and 21st South area.
Christopher gave us an update on the Public Service Commission’s decision to not impose the new fee on residential solar panel users. The vote was 2 to 1 against the fee. There will however, be a new debate involving an ongoing cost and benefit analysis which might trigger a fee or possibly a new credit for those who have solar panels. He thanked the SHCC for supporting the rejection of the fee.
Committee Reports
Land Use and Zoning: Judi Short
Judi reminded us to call the police whenever we see suspicious behavior within the community. Her stepson noticed someone trying to break into the new Santa Shack and he was encouraged make a report with the police. Calls need to be made in a timely manner.
The Land Use Committee met in August.
The condo project on 2442 South 900 East has a stop work order because the foundation that was poured extends 6 inches into the required 4 foot side yard. The project is going back to the Planning Commission. The Land Use Committee agreed to let the project move back to the Planning Commission because it was in the pre-approved paperwork that the side yard would be 3 feet 6 inches rather than the required 4 feet.
The Land Use Committee reviewed the 2nd draft of the new zone called “Sugar House Business District – Neighborhood”. An architect from VCBO presented the 2nd draft. The LUZ Committee wants more time to compare the new zone with the master plan to make sure that they are compatible. Current zoning does not allow for a mixed use building (residential and commercial) to be higher than 30 feet if it’s located outside of the core Sugar House Business District. The new zone would allow buildings as high as 45 feet with possible exceptions up to 55 feet to accommodate such things as an interesting roofline or to camouflage HVAC units. Judi would like more comments from the trustees regarding the new zone. Soren Simonsen has been asked to make comments. VCBO has hired Louis Zunguze, the former planning director for Salt Lake City, to put the language for the new zone into the proper zoning code format before it is presented to the Planning Commission. The new zone will be on the SHCC agenda for October.
Ed commented that this new zone will really affect the future of building in Sugar House and that we need to carefully look at the code before it’s approved. He suggested that we hold another meeting, similar to a work session, that would include some key people like Soren Simonsen to critically look at the zone. It will set a precedence for future construction throughout other areas of Sugar House and we need to take this responsibility very seriously. He also feels that the neighborhood should get a chance to weigh in on the changes that the new zone could bring regarding future building projects.
Judi said that the trustees from the first impacted area need to get the word out to their neighborhood that a new zone is being proposed. Larry, Joedy, and Scott are the trustees from the area. Lisa Adams and Soren Simonsen also live in the area. There is pressure from the developer to move forward with the new zone although Judi feels that because there was a dry cleaner previously at this location, it will take some time for remediation before any construction can begin.
Christopher reminded us that the Communications and Outreach Committee has suggested that we have teams of people willing to go door to door disseminating information for exactly this type of situation. He would need some materials that could be distributed to neighborhood that would include where they could get more information or attend meetings on a particular topic. They are looking at door hangers that could be left at homes where no one answers the door.
Westminster College has made a proposal to rezone 5 houses that they own from “residential” to “institutional”. The homes are located between the campus and Westminster Ave (1900 South) on 13th East. They would be using them for small office functions such as the counselling center. They are currently being used as faculty housing. Topher asked if the houses could be torn down and replaced with new offices. Judi said that is the issue. Westminster has decided to meet with members of the neighborhood before proceeding further.
Judi is also looking for someone who is willing to represent Sugar House at the Foothill Corridor Study meetings being held at the Anderson Library on the last Monday of the month from 6-7pm. This study has been on-going for several years and they are getting toward the end.
Parks, Open Space and Trails: Sally Barraclough
The committee met in August. The first topic of discussion was cleanup and maintenance at Hidden Hollow. Teddy had agreed to head this project. She will be contacting Emy Maloutus from SLC Open Space and Wendy Fisher from Utah Open Lands to get more information. Utah Open Lands holds the conservatorship for the Hollow.
Michael G is working with the city to get repairs made to the skate park located in Fairmont Park. There is cracked and broken concrete making the park dangerous for skaters. He will be addressing the issue of funding the repairs with the SLC Parks Department.
Sally is contacting UDOT regarding the freeway on and off ramp areas at 13th East on I-80, especially westbound in the area that borders Sugar House Park. There are several dead trees, dried grass, and weeds. Because this is the gateway into Sugar House it is felt that it should be better maintained. Amy suggested that Sally should take photos of our interchange and other freeway interchanges that look better, and then present them to Joel Risco who is our representative so that he can take them to UDOT on our behalf. Deb commented that she used to work in Central Maintenance for UDOT and the problem is that they budget for landscaping with new construction but don’t provide funding to maintain the landscaping once construction is completed.
Amy Barry, Chairwoman for SLC Parks, Natural Lands, Urban Forestry, and Trails (PNUT) reported on the plan for Parley’s Trail from Tanner Park to 17th East. She distributed a map that shows the trail as it exits west out of Tanner Park, extending in the easement on the south side of I-80, and proceeding west to the 17th East overpass. The trail will utilize the 17th East overpass for access to and from Sugar House Park , and from there along the south boundary of the park. The project will go out for bid in October or November. All the access points and approvals have been gathered. The last area to be finalized was along the residential area near the Redeemer Lutheran Church. This map was completed last week so it is current and final. We should start to see work being done on the trail in the spring. The only section of the Salt Lake City portion of Parley’s Trail that is left to complete is the Hidden Hollow to McClelland section which won’t be completed until future redevelopment of this area is planned. Currently the trail will run along the east side of the Wilmington Gardens development with a second spur running through the west side of the complex.
Joedy asked for confirmation that there will not be a bridge over 17th East, and that there will not be a tunnel under 23rd East but rather a crossing on the street possibly with a light, which is correct. Rawlins asked which side of the 17th East overpass will be used for the trail and Amy explained that bikers will use both sides depending on their direction of travel. Lisa Adams wanted clarification on the trail near 20th East. The city owns the easement in this area so the trail will be north of the Redeemer Lutheran Church and south of the freeway. Deb asked about the funding which Amy said is coming from the city and the county through the county bond.
Sally gave a reminder about the grand opening for the S-Line Greenway Corridor taking place on Friday, September 19th. Both city mayors and the county mayor will provide a press conference in the morning and there will be a variety of activities throughout the afternoon and evening. She will forward a schedule of events to the trustees. Judi suggested that we put it on our website and in the newsletter.
Transportation: Deb Henry
Construction has started on the new plaza at 21st and Highland Dr. with a scheduled completion by the end of November. Travel through the area by bike or pedestrians is difficult.
The city is applying for a 10.4 million dollar TIGAR grant that will fund construction of the S-Line from McClelland to 21st South on Highland Dr. We will know if we get the grant by mid October. The City Council voted 4 to 3 to support matching funds of 3 million. Voting for the matching funds were Charlie Luke, Erin Mendenhall, Stan Penfold, and Kyle LaMalfa. Voting against it were Lisa Adams, Luke Garrott, and James Rogers. Lisa made a comment in the meeting that until UTA improves service we should withhold funding new projects. The community of transit oriented citizens are trying to find ways to hold UTA more accountable.
UTA was recently cited during an audit for paying a developer 10 million dollars to build a parking structure, and then using a second developer to actually build it. UTA has been unable to recover the money from the original developer. Senator Wyler has called for a criminal investigation of UTA regarding the lost money.
There is a petition with 3,000 signatures asking UTA for extended hours of service for transit and another petition with 1,800 signatures asking for Sunday Front Runner service. UTA is asking for 75 million in capital to develop a BRT (bus rapid transit) bus service to and from Davis County, but have not committed to improve existing transit service.
Deb asked the trustees to consider purchasing the HIVE pass which gives SLC residents access to all bus and rail transit for $30 per month. Even if you don’t ride much it, would demonstrate our commitment to this program. There is a Facebook page for the SH Transportation Committee. Please join.
- An audience member wanted to know why UTA doesn’t offer the HIVE pass to outlying communities because those people drive further to get in to work. Sally clarified that the HIVE pass is subsidized by taxes from Salt Lake City and that other cities need to do the same. Maggie stated that the city was looking for a more economical way for it’s citizens to use public transportation. As the fee scale works now, someone traveling a long distance pays the same as someone only going a few blocks. There are other citizens who get a free pass if their employers support the program. Deb stated that employers can petition UTA to get a discounted ECO pass for their employees.
- Dave asked why the numbers of HIVE pass purchases is down. Deb feels that there has not been enough publicity for the pass. Lisa also pointed out that the pass can be paid for on your water bill or by credit card, but if you don’t have either of these you don’t have a way to pay for it. Rawlins stated that he has a HIVE pass but he doesn’t have a bus east of 13th East. Maggie stated that she can get to the University faster using UTA but they don’t run late enough to get her home.
Arts and Cultural: Laurie Bray
Absent
Communications and Outreach: Christopher Thomas
Christopher invited us to the first “Sugar House Talks” being held on Tuesday, September 9th from 5-8pm at Joffie’s Coffees located at 2121 McClelland #103. Brad DiIorio from the SH Chamber of Commerce arranged the first event. The event is posted on the google calendar and the slider on our website www.sugarhousecouncil.org. The concept behind these gatherings is to bring trustees and neighbors together in an informal setting to talk about issues in our community. Sugar House Talks will be held in a different location each month to provide exposure to businesses in Sugar House.
- Judy asked how the community is being informed about the event. It went in the newsletter so people on the email list have been contacted and Brad sent out a press release. It was also on our Facebook page.
- Teddy asked if the purpose is to coordinate voices from the community to bring issues to the council or more for people to get to know each other. Christopher feels that it will be a little bit of both. The events were a recommendation made by the student consultant from Westminster that worked with Christopher.
The new Sugar House zone is a perfect opportunity to start the Outreach Committees idea of door to door contact teams to inform the targeted neighborhood. Christopher is asking for volunteers who are willing to work in teams of two to distribute information. Sally pointed out that some of us did the same thing prior to the start of the S-Line construction. It was organized by Lynne Olson. She used a map and assigned areas for each team. We knocked on doors and distributed informational flyers provided by SLC.
Salt Lake Community Network: Judi Short
No Report
Sugar House Chamber of Commerce: Judi Short
Their discussion was mainly about the Sugar House Talks at Joffie’s Coffee.
Presentations:
Lead Safe Salt Lake – Bonnie Christiansen
This is a Salt Lake County organization that is working to make sure that low and middle class families with children are living in a lead safe environment. The goal of making sure kids are growing up in a lead safe environment is accomplished through painting houses that have lead based paint, and replacing window and doors where friction can cause lead paint dust. They have made approximately 24 homes lead safe in the first year of funding. There are another 50 applications for remediation pending, and they have funding for another 176 homes. The remediation is free of charge to the homeowner but they must meet the following qualifications.
- The home must be located in Salt Lake County because it is a SL County program
- The home had to be built before 1978 because after 1978 lead was taken out of paint.
- There must be children living in the home because lead affects children ages 5 or under and pregnant women the most.
- The program is for people of moderate or low income. That is $54,950 or less annual income for a family of four.
The family in the home can be either renters or owners and the financial qualification is based on who is living in the home, not the income of the landlord. This is because the goal of Lead Safe Salt Lake is to make sure the home is safe for all children regardless of home ownership.
An audience member, who owns a home mortgage business, stated that many times the home has to have remediation prior to lenders qualifying potential buyers for their loan. Bonnie confirmed that the free program only applies to the current residents and cannot be used to get a home ready to sell. She said that when Lead Free Salt Lake remediates a rental property they strongly encourage the owners to rent to families with children for the next three years.
Dave made the observation that by using the 1978 criteria they are looking at almost every house in Sugar House. Bonnie noted that in looking at a map and survey of Sugar House, there is an area along the northwest border where many of the homes would qualify based on age of the homes and residential income. Amy said this is most likely the Nibbly area because it is also the only CBDG qualified area of Sugar House.
Teddy asked if she painted the interior and exterior of her house, would that eliminate the risk and Bonnie confirmed that lead based paint does not leach through new paint. However, if you later decide to take down walls you need to go to the EPA’s website for more information regarding lead paint. The greatest risk is to children from either eating or breathing paint particles.
Spotlight on Business: Amy Barry
Family Storehouse
Address: 2236 S 1300 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84106
Phone:(801) 467-6115
Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00am to 6:00pm
(Two locations in American Fork)
The Sugar House store opened in May this year, specializing in emergency preparedness. The motivation for starting the business was a Christmas Eve fire that destroyed the home and all contents including food storage, of the business owner.
The State of Utah has declared this, Emergency Preparedness Month. They are strongly encouraging businesses to get involved because people are just as likely to be at work or school as they are to be at home when we have a disaster like an earthquake. Every 350 years there has been a major earthquake in this valley and we are now past the 350 year mark. Businesses are being asked to have water purification systems and food storage. Individuals and businesses are asked to have the following four items.
- A water purification system
- Food storage
- 72 hr kit
- Shelter
There was a discussion regarding the new water filter that utilizes a hollow fiber membrane similar to what is used for kidney dialysis. The filter is the size of a candy bar and attaches to any bottle with a universal screw cap. It is capable of filtering 100,000 gallons of water. There is no prefiltering required.
Trustees were told they could get a discount on food storage and water purification by going to the store and identifying who you are.
Salt Lake City Council: Lisa Adams, District 7
Lisa distributed information regarding the city golf courses. It is still likely that at least one will have to be closed and the mayor is thinking possibly three. There is still time to comment on Open City Hall. There is no truth to the rumor that Fairmont Park is going to be opened up to developers to build homes and turn Forest Dale Golf Course into a park. For their semester project, some of the students from Westminster are working on a business plan for each golf course with suggestions for making them financially stable and profitable.
The contract has been awarded for the construction of Imperial Park located in the south area of Sugar House.
The council voted to give matching funds for the TIGER grant for the streetcar extension. If the grant is approved we should get the funding in about a year. Lisa voted against the matching funds, not because she opposes the extension, but because she feels UTA needs to extend their hours of service for the S-Line in order to increase ridership. She also feels that the merchants along Highland Dr, who have endured 4 years of construction, need more time to rebuild their businesses before we start more construction. They were promised by the mayors office that they would have more time. Lastly, she would like to see how much the ridership increases as the surrounding apartments start to be inhabited and that will take some time.
The council voted to fund the construction of two new tennis courts at Fairmont Park. There are currently no public tennis courts in District 7, so this is very exciting.
The Sugar House rezone project has slowed down. This summer the council members took a tour of the S-Line corridor and surrounding neighborhoods. They looked at why an 105 ft building on the corner of 700 East and 2100 South might be too tall and addressed the fact that a 45 ft building might make a lot more sense than 50-55 ft buildings in the surrounding areas. They also discussed setbacks. The area on Green Street behind PepBoys was felt to be most suitable for townhomes rather than something taller.
An audience member suggested that pickle balls courts might be more feasible than tennis courts. Lisa said the council is aware of that and some pickle ball courts have recently been installed in the avenues area.
Maggie asked what will happen to any golf property owned by the city if they decide to close the course. Lisa stated that the city council is absolutely committed that the land will remain open space, and it will not be sold to developers. She thinks if any course is closed it will most likely be Wing Pointe because of accelerated payments required by the FAA. This course could be closed and the payments stopped until the city conducts further negotiations with the FAA. It could be mothballed for a period of time because there is no surrounding neighborhood. She feels is would cost a lot more money to close and redevelop Forest Dale into open space uses and in addition, those uses unlike golf, would not bring in any income.
An audience member asked about the city’s vision for the Sugarmont / 900 East corner. That parcel is on hold while the city decides whether it should remain open space or be developed.
Mayor’s Office Report: Shawn McDonough
Maggie distributed a written report from the Mayor’s Office. Shawn’s next report will be on the agenda for the Oct. meeting.
Sprague Library – Dolly Rauh
Dolly encouraged us to use our library cards, and to go to the website www.slcpl.org for a list of current events taking place at the library.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm
