minutes OF A REgular
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
City Council Chambers
125 South Main Street, Vineyard, Utah
April 12, 2023, at 5:00 PM
_______________
Present Absent
Mayor Julie Fullmer
Councilmember Tyce Flake
Councilmember Amber Rasmussen
Councilmember Mardi Sifuentes
Councilmember Cristy Welsh
Staff present: City Manager Ezra Nair, City Attorney Jayme Blakesley, Chief Building Official Cris Johnson, Lieutenant Holden Rockwell with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, Community Development Director Morgan Brim, Public Works Director Naseem Ghandour, Water Manager Sullivan Love, Deputy Recorder Kelly Kloepfer
Others speaking: Residents Jordan Christensen and Daria and Russell Evans
1. CALL TO ORDER/INVOCATION/INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT/Pledge of Allegiance
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. Councilmember Flake offered the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Work Session
No items were submitted.
3. Public Comments
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called for public comments.
Play >> Resident Jordan Christensen, living in The Preserve, expressed concerns with the intersection of Main Street and Vineyard Loop Road and stated that he was a proponent of a roundabout there. He explained that he had collected signatures on a petition for a redesign of the intersection. Mayor Fullmer asked him to share the petition with the city.
Play >> Resident Daria Evans, living in the Villas, thanked the council for their hard work and for providing sandbags for residents and asked about the sandbags. She also asked about the possibility of a Chick-Fil-A coming to Vineyard.
Play >> Public Works Director Naseem Ghandour explained the process for residents to pick up sandbags.
Play >> Community Development Director Morgan Brim stated that Chick-Fil-A had approached the city a couple of years ago and at the time were considering a site, and that the city had talked to them about a location near the Megaplex. He added that there were a lot of good restaurants coming in.
Play >> Resident Russell Evans, living in the Villas, thanked the council for the city’s snow removal during the past winter. He felt that the city had done a good job keeping the snow off the roads.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called for further comments. Hearing none, she closed the Public Comments Session.
4. Mayor and COUNCILMEMBERS’ REPORTS/DISCLOSURES/RECUSALS
Play >> Councilmember Flake reassured residents that flooding was not a concern in Vineyard. He explained about the current soil content here and that it could absorb the water. He encouraged residents to help friends living in other cities where they may be affected. He stated that the city was watching it, was prepared, and was offering sandbags to other cities. Mayor Fullmer added that residents needed to make sure land drains were clear.
Play >> Councilmember Rasmussen reported that Community Garden applications were now being accepted for Sunset Beach Park and Gammon Park gardens. She attended the Healing Conversations Summit at Utah Valley University (UVU) recently, which was about diplomacy and collaboration. She also reported that she attended the Sustainability Summit at UVU earlier today.
Play >> Councilmember Sifuentes reported that the Bunny Hop Egg Drop held on April 8 had been successful. She stated that for Earth Day and that the city was planning a Vineyard Earth Day Beautification event at Sunset Beach Park, which would be held on Saturday, April 22 at 9:00 AM. The first 150 volunteers would receive a free t-shirt. She also mentioned that Principal Geovanni Guzman at Trailside Elementary was awarded the Best Principal Award for Alpine School District.
Play >> Councilmember Welsh reported that April 22 was National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. She said that Vineyard had a NarcX disposal unit in the city office lobby that was available every day. She also attended the Sustainability Summit earlier today. She also participated in a panel discussion about Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) at the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy. She gave a brief update on the Central Corridor Master Plan which would be discussed at the next City Council meeting. She emphasized that they had listened to public feedback and had made some adjustments.
5. STAFF, COMMISSION, and committee REPORTS
5.1 Play >> City Manager Ezra Nair reported on the recent water line break that occurred when
a contractor struck a water line, and how it had been resolved. He pointed out that next week was the Transportation Master Plan Facebook Live event at 11:00 AM on April 18. He also announced that the Impact Vineyard Community Fair would be on April 25 from 6:00-8:00 PM at Freedom Preparatory Academy, which BYU MPA students had helped to organize.
Play >> He mentioned that on April 21-24 UDOT would be striping 800 North at Geneva Road so that there would now be two lanes entering Vineyard and only one turning south onto Geneva Road. He ended with an update on the water tank.
5.2 Play >> Planning Commission – Mr. Brim reported on behalf of the Planning Commission on the following items, the first four of which would be on the April 26, 2023, City Council Meeting agenda:
- Central Corridor Master Plan
- Domestic Livestock and Fowl Ordinance – This would reduce the lot size requirements and would allow more residents to have chickens in their backyards.
- General Plan Amendment to the Public Facilities and Services element
- Sign Code Amendment
- Economic Development Strategic Plan – Mr. Brim stated that they were preparing for a Request for Proposal (RFP). He wanted to have an economic development plan consultant and a stationary plan consultant working concurrently.
- Stationary Plan – This included the Vineyard Downtown and east Geneva areas.
- Short-Term Rental Ordinance – This was currently being drafted.
- RFP for the Parking Master Plan
- Holdaway Road citizen request to make it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists – They were working with Mountainland Association of Governments on this plan.
6. CONSENT ITEMS
6.1 Approval of the March 8, 2023, City Council Meeting Minutes
6.2 Approval of the March 22, 2023, City Council Meeting Minutes
6.3 Adoption of Alternate Municipal Voting Methods Pilot Project Participation for the 2023 Municipal Election (Resolution 2023-14)
6.4 Approval of an Interlocal Agreement with Utah County for Election Services (Resolution 2023-15)
6.5 Approval of a Contract Award for the Installation of Wireless Irrigation Controllers for Main Street (Resolution 2023-16)
6.6 Approval of the Purchase of a Crack Seal Machine
6.7 Approval of an ILA with Utah County for Mass Notification Services (Resolution 2023-17)
6.8 Approval of an Agreement with Revize for website services
6.9 Approval of an Agreement with CRSA for fire station site plan assessments
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called for a motion.
Play >> Councilmember Sifuentes asked to remove Items 6.3 and 6.4 from the Consent Agenda for further discussion.
Play >> Motion: COUNCILMEMBER FLAKE MOVED TO APPROVE ALL OTHER ITEMS BESIDES 6.3 AND 6.4. COUNCILMEMBER WELSH SECONDED THE MOTION. MAYOR FULLMER, COUNCILMEMBERS FLAKE, RASMUSSEN, SIFUENTES, AND WELSH VOTED YES. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called for the discussion of Items 6.3 and 6.4.
Play >> Councilmember Sifuentes stated that she had attended some trainings for Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) and said there was value in it but thought that voting should be more straightforward. She proposed that the city not move forward with RCV.
Play >> Councilmember Welsh remarked that she appreciated the other side and gave a brief history of RCV in Utah, highlighting that Vineyard was one of the first cities to try it, and used RCV for the last two municipal elections. She added that the pilot program would run through 2026, after which the state would look at the data. She emphasized that of those surveyed, well over 50% had a positive experience using RCV. She offered reasons why she supported RCV, which were: she felt it was a much more positive election for candidates and residents, it saved the city money since there was no primary, and she felt that it encouraged more people to engage and encouraged candidates to run a more positive campaign.
Play >> Councilmember Flake commented that he had run for City Council twice. He explained that the first time there was name calling, lies, and charges, and he described it as abysmal. The second time, the city was using RCV and for him it was a very positive experience.
Play >> Councilmember Rasmussen felt that it was great to eliminate dichotomies. She shared that when she ran (in 2021), it was collaborative and cooperative. She added that knowing that she had to get fifty percent of the votes helped her feel confident that people wanted her in this position.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer stated that with RCV, the person with the most votes won in ranked order. She further explained that when Vineyard first used RCV, it was because it was cost effective. The city decided that each election year that they used it, they would look at the data to identify any problems with the method. Of the residents surveyed, the vast majority liked RCV. She concluded that Vineyard had had a successful outcome with RCV and expressed her support for RCV for this year’s election.
Play >> Councilmember Welsh added that if a voter only wanted to vote for one candidate, with RCV they still could do that.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called for a motion.
Play >> Motion: COUNCILMEMBER FLAKE MOVED TO APPROVE ITEM 6.3 rANKED-CHOICE VOTING PILOT PROGRAM. cOUNCILMEMBER WELSH SECONDED THE MOTION. mAYOR fULLMER, cOUNCILMEMBERS fLAKE, rASMUSSEN, AND weLSH VOTED YES. cOUNCILMEMBER SIFUENTES VOTED NO. tHE MOTION CARRIED 4-1.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called for a motion for item 6.4.
Play >> Motion: COUNCILMEMBER SIFUENTES MOVED TO APPROVE 6.4. COUNCILMEMBER WELSH SECONDED THE MOTION. mAYOR fULLMER, cOUNCILMEMBERS fLAKE, rASMUSSEN, SIFUENTES AND weLSH VOTED YES. THE MOTION CARRIRED UNANIMOUSLY.
7. Appointments
7.1 Library Board
With the advice and consent of the City Council, Mayor Fullmer will appoint members to the Vineyard Library Board.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer appointed Pilar Steele to the Library Board and called for a motion.
Play >> Motion: COUNCILMEMBER WELSH MOVED TO APPROVE THE PILAR STEELE APPOINTMENT TO THE LIBRARY BOARD AS PRESENTED. COUNCILMEMBER RASMUSSEN SECONDED THE MOTION. MAYOR FULLMER, COUNCILMEMBERS FLAKE, RASMUSSEN, SIFUENTES, AND WELSH VOTED YES. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
8. Presentations/recognitions/awards/PROCLAMATIONS
No items were submitted.
9. BUSINESS ITEMS
9.1 DISCUSSION AND ACTION – Appointment of the RDA to Administer the HTRZ Funds (Resolution 2023-18)
City Manager Ezra Nair will present a request to appoint the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) to administer the Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone (HTRZ) funds pursuant to Utah Code 63N-3-607(2)(c)(i). The mayor and City Council will act to adopt (or deny) this request by resolution.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer turned the time over to City Manager Ezra Nair.
Play >> Mr. Nair explained that this was a zoning area created around the Vineyard FrontRunner Station, which was provided by state law to help increase the amount of density around transit stations to increase ridership. The state HTRZ Committee made five requirements, one of which was that the HTRZ follow the statute regarding the overlay between the RDA and HTRZ. Mr. Nair stated that this HTRZ was in the RDA, and so this item was to appoint the RDA to administer HTRZ funds.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called for a motion.
Play >> Motion: COUNCILMEMBER FLAKE MOVED TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2023-18 TO APPOINT THE RDA TO ADMINISTER HTRZ FUNDS. COUNCILMEMBER WELSH SECONDED THE MOTION. ROLL CALL WENT AS FOLLOWS: MAYOR FULLMER, COUNCILMEMBERS FLAKE, RASMUSSEN, SIFUENTES, AND WELSH VOTED YES. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Play >> For the record Mayor Fullmer clarified the RCV statistics from the survey that she had cited earlier in the meeting:
- More than 86 percent of Vineyard voters agreed that RCV should be used again.
- 92% of Vineyard voters ranked more than one candidate.
- Approximately 60% ranked all seven candidates, which showed that they had an opinion about every candidate and understood how to use the method.
9.2 DISCUSSION AND ACTION – Affordable Housing Agreement (Resolution 2023-19)
City manager Ezra Nair will present an affordable housing agreement with Flagborough LLC. The mayor and City Council will act to adopt (or deny) this request by resolution.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer turned the time over to Mr. Nair.
Play >> Mr. Nair explained the details of the housing requirement placed on HTRZ and stated that Vineyard City staff would make sure that those requirements were being met.
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called for questions. Hearing none, she called for a motion.
Play >> Motion: COUNCILMEMBER WELSH MOVED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE RESOLUTION 2023-19 TO APPROVE THE ADMINISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPONENT OF THE HTRZ. COUNCILMEMBER RASMUSSEN SECONDED THE MOTION. ROLL CALL WENT AS FOLLOWS: MAYOR FULLMER, COUNCILMEMBERS FLAKE, RASMUSSEN, SIFUENTES, AND WELSH VOTED YES. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
No closed session was held.
11. ADJOURNMENT
Play >> Mayor Fullmer called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Play >> Motion: COUNCILMEMBER FLAKE MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 5:41 PM. COUNCILMEMBER RASMUSSEN SECONDED THE MOTION. MAYOR FULLMER, COUNCILMEMBERS FLAKE, RASMUSSEN, SIFUENTES, AND WELSH VOTED YES. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MINUTES APPROVED ON: April 26, 2023
CERTIFIED (NOTICED) BY: /s/ Kelly Kloepfer
kelly kloepfer, deputy recorder