A logo for a company

 

 

 

MINUTES OF A BUDGET RETREAT

OF THE VINEYARD CITY COUNCIL

Millcreek City Hall

1330 East Chambers Ave, Millcreek, Utah 84106

February 18, 2025, at 8:33 AM


 

Present                                                             Absent

Mayor Julie Fullmer

Councilmember Jacob Holdaway (arrived at 8:52 am)

Councilmember Sara Cameron

Councilmember Mardi Sifuentes

Councilmember Brett Clawson

 

Staff Present: City Attorney Jayme Blakesley, RDA Director Josh Daniels, Lieutenant Holden Rockwell with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, Community Development Director Morgan Brim, Public Works Director Naseem Ghandour, Communications Director Jenna Ahern, Chief Building Official Cris Johnson, Parks and Recreation Director Brian Vawdrey, Human Resources Director Corrie Steeves, Finance Director Kristie Bayles, City Recorder Pamela Spencer, and Deputy Recorder Tony Lara

 

Others Speaking: Bill Hulterstrom, President & CEO United Way - Utah County; Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini

 

 

1.     Welcome, Breakfast, & Icebreaker Activity (30 minutes)

a.      Led by: City Manager, Eric Ellis

                   i.     City of the Future—Divide into small groups

                 ii.      Each group envisions the city 10 years from now

                iii.     Sketch on flip charts the biggest changes you have pictured in the city

                iv.     With that vision and write down two or three top budget priorities

 

City of the Future—Divide into small groups

Play >> City Manager Eric Ellis began the meeting at 8:33 AM and led a discussion and exercise in which the council envisioned the needs of the city in ten years. A discussion ensued. Ideas were; a second fire station, greater focus on transportation, need greater road capacity, public transit investment needed, focus on energy working with legislature, more schools and churches, public safety will change (businesses and mobility), Cemetery, amenities will need to be in place. preserving space, working with Union Pacific to add more access to the city, need a plan for city’s portion of the Vineyard Connector, continued focus on economic development, understand and plan air space in light of Provo Airport expansion, privacy in regard to air space, tourism opportunities.

2.     RDA Presentation

a.      Led by: RDA Director, Josh Daniels

b.     Q&A

           

Play >> RDA Director Josh Daniels gave a presentation on the RDA and highlighted key metrics in terms of what the agency has achieved so far.

 

Play >> Lieutenant Holden Rockwell asked for clarification on some of the data that had been presented and wanted to know if it included parcels that had not yet been triggered. A discussion ensued.

 

Play >> Councilmember Clawson sought clarification on some of the data presented that included a parcel from American Fork that was used for comparison purposes.

 

Play >> Councilmember Sifuentes had questions on RDA Taxable Values.

 

Play >> Councilmember Clawson had a question about the TIF Revenue Per Acre Comparison. A discussion ensued.

 

Play >> Mr. Brim had a question regarding sales taxes. Mr. Daniels replied that it was hard to predict sales tax revenue.

 

 

3.     Council Small Project ($1500) – Big Impact

a.      Led by: Mayor or Council member

b.     The Council may be provided with lifelines from staff if additional ideas are needed

 

Play >> Mr. Ellis led a discussion that involved the council brainstorming on possible small projects that the city could work on.

 

Play >> Councilmember Sifuentes initiated a discussion on additions to Grove Park.

 

Play >> Mayor Fullmer asked the council about the projects that had been suggested, and which ones seemed of interest to each member. Councilmembers Sifuentes and Cameron indicated that they liked the idea of enhancements on the Center Street pump track. A discussion ensued.

 

Play >> Mayor Fullmer asked for feedback on the proposals from councilmember Holdaway. He indicated that he was in favor of what was being discussed.

 

Play >> Councilmember Clawson expressed interest in working on a dog park as well as wrapping power boxes. Mayor Fullmer suggested reaching out to Rocky Mountain Power regarding the power boxes. There was a short discussion about the placement of a dog park.


 

Play >> Mayor Fullmer read off a list the ideas that seemed to get the most support. It was decided that the Center Street pump track Improvement was the most popular option.

 

 

4.     State of the City

a.      Led by Mayor Fullmer

Play >> Mayor Fullmer gave a brief State of the City.

 

                                                                                 

5.     Operations & Discretionary Budgets

a.      Department Directors:

1. Building, 2. Recorder, 3. Economic Development, 4. Finance, 5. Engineering/Public Works, 6. Parks & Rec, 7. HR, 8. Communications

 

Building

Play >> Chief Building Official Cris Johnson presented on the Building Department.

 

Recorder

Play >> City Recorder Pamela presented on the Recorder’s Office.

 

Economic Development

Play >> Economic Development Director Morgan Brim presented on the Economic Development Department.

 

Finance

Play >> Finance Director Kristie Bayles presented on the Finance Department.

 

Engineering/Public Works

Play >> Public Works Director Naseem Ghandour presented on the Public Works/Engineering Department.

 

Parks & Recreation

Play >> Parks and Recreation Director Brian Vawdrey presented on the Parks and Rec Department.

 

HR

Play >> Human Resource Manager Corrie Steeves presented on the Human Resources Department.

 

Communications

Play >> Communications Manager Jenna Ahern presented on the Communication Department.

 

 

6.     City Council Effective Roles Exercise

Bill Hulterstrom, President & CEO United Way - Utah County

 

Play >> Mr. Ellis introduced Bill Hulterstrom.

 

Play >> Mr. Hulterstrom gave his presentation on effective roles of City Councils.

 

 

Play >> Mayor Silvestrini’s comments.

 

 

7.     Big Picture Goals – Mayor and Council          

Play >> Mr. Ellis led the council in an exercise where they set out what long term goals they wanted to focus on. The four main goals the council wanted to focus on were: Public Safety (five votes), Economic Development (five votes), Infrastructure, facilities and Amenities (five votes), and Community Engagement and Communication (three votes).

 

Play >> There was further discussion about the goals.

 

Play >> Councilmember Sifuentes asked about Councilmember Holdway’s budget concerns. Councilmember Holdaway chose not to share his ideas at this time.

 

 

8.     Final takeaways & the Budget Calendar        

Play >> Mayor Fullmer in closing asked for any final budget asks and recapped the discussion.

 

 

The meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM.                   

 

 

MINUTES APPROVED ON:

A close-up of a signature Description automatically generated

 

CERTIFIED CORRECT BY:                     

A seal with text on it Description automatically generated               TONY LARA, DEPUTY CITY RECORDER