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MINUTES OF THE
VINEYARD TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
Vineyard Town Hall, 240 East Gammon Road, Vineyard, Utah
July 8, 2009, 7:02 PM
PRESENT: ABSENT:
Mayor Randy Farnworth
Councilmember Grant Holdaway
Councilmember Sean Fernandez
Councilmember Norman Holdaway
Councilmember Nathan Riley
Staff Present: Planner Nathan Crane, Planning Administrator & Development Coordinator Melinda Manley, Engineer Don Overson and Town Clerk/Recorder Dan Wright
Others Attending: Dennis Astill of Anderson Geneva and Paul Christensen of The Lakes at Sleepy Ridge
The Vineyard Town Council held a regular meeting on July 8, 2009, starting at 7:02 PM in the Vineyard Town hall. The prayer was offered by Councilmember Grant Holdaway.
Regular Session; 7:02 PM
Minutes
COUNCILMEMBER GRANT HOLDAWAY MOVED TO THE APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MAY 27, 2009, AS WRITTEN. COUNCILMEMBER NATHAN RILEY SECONDED THE MOTION. ALL WERE IN FAVOR. NONE WERE OPPOSED. THE MOTION CARRIED.
Planning Commission Update: Liaison Norm Holdaway
Due to the cancellation of the Planning Commission meeting on July 1, 2009, Liaison Norm Holdaway had no update to report to the council.
Staff Reports
Planner Nathan Crane reported that the building permit for Marble and Granite Solutions was almost complete and construction on Phase 2 would soon begin. He said there may be some movement on the second phase of the Lakeside Power Plant.
Engineer Don Overson reported that Gammon Road/Center Street had been closed. He thought better locks would be needed. He felt there would be a need for more signs at a cost of approximately $1,000.00. He said one barrier had been eliminated, so he believed the installation of only one sign would still bring the council within the approved budget. He sought the permission of the council. The council gave their consent for the placement of one additional sign.
Engineer Don Overson reported that the retaining wall for the intermodal hub would be installed on Vineyard Road. He said the installation would cause an increase in traffic. Councilmember Nathan Riley wondered if the road would be worn leaving the town with the cost of repairs. Engineer Don Overson didn’t feel enough traffic would be generated for damaged roads to be a concern.
Attorney David Church reported that the trade with the LDS Church had been completed, and the church would now be responsible for the weeds on the former Wynn property. Mayor Randy Farnworth added that there had been other areas of concern regarding weed removal. He discussed the possibility of permitting a nearby fire department to burn down the old Gammon Home. Dennis Astill of Anderson Geneva stated that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) no longer allowed that practice, but otherwise welcomed the activity.
UTAH DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (UDOT) GENEVA ROAD/400 SOUTH PROJECT
Engineer Don Overson reported that UDOT would accept the town’s proposal for landscaping, as discussed on June 24, 2009. He said UDOT decided to make the overpass a design-build project that would include more of Geneva Road. He said the contractor had the option to change the design of the overpass as it was being constructed. He believed that change in plans would give Councilmember Grant Holdaway additional time before his home was demolished. He said UDOT still wanted the town to sign the betterment agreement to be included in the package. He and Attorney David Church thought the water line installation would still be an unknown factor and he would be concerned about signing the agreement without the knowledge that the water project would be funded in the amount of $300,000.00. There was discussion regarding the Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) survey in application for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to acquire a grant for the water line. Engineer Don Overson said he would distribute an email of the landscaping plan submitted by UDOT. Mayor Randy Farnworth requested that the discussion be tabled until July 22, 2009.
RAILROAD ORDINANCE APPLICATION - ANDERSON GENEVA DEVELOPMENT, INC.
Attorney David Church stated that the railroad ordinance had been proposed by Anderson Geneva. At that time, he recommended to Anderson Geneva that their request be scheduled for discussion with the council. He said he would be concerned with the Federal Railroad Act regarding the regulation of rail lines. Planner Nathan Crane reported that he spoke with a representative of the Federal Railroad Commission in Sacramento, California, and Attorney David Church felt the town may receive some pressure from that commission regarding railroad regulation. Mayor Randy Farnworth felt the railroad ordinance could be approved, but may be disputed in the future. Mr. Astill said the ordinance had been created based on allowances found in the Utah State Statutes. He felt regulation would be acceptable. He said, if challenged, the town could always refrain from enforcement of the ordinance. Councilmember Nathan Riley felt the ordinance was loaded with traps. He believed the town would become responsible for the enforcement of the ordinance on behalf of Anderson Geneva. He cited the example on page 4 entitled Fencing:
“Effective July 1, 2009, railroad companies shall fence the side or sides of their respective railroads of portions thereof which are located in the municipal boundaries of the Town. The location and materials design of railroad fencing shall first be approved by the Town Council.”
Councilmember Nathan Riley felt cooperation from the railroad company would be difficult. Mr. Astill felt flexible language could be added to the ordinance. Councilmember Grant Holdaway hoped to see what the history of the rail lines was in surrounding municipalities. Mayor Randy Farnworth said he had discussions with Mayor Johnson of Lehi City regarding the rail line situated on the main road through Lehi. He said Mayor Johnson had received no cooperation from the rail line. Councilmember Nathan Riley felt it would be reasonable for the council to flex their political power, but felt the language of the ordinance would not be the best method. Mayor Randy Farnworth’s experience with the railroad was that the rail line was untouchable. Attorney David Church thought more information could be gathered by staff, and a decision could be made at a future council meeting. Councilmember Nathan Riley agreed. Attorney David Church believed the rail companies should be invited to offer their input regarding the ordinance. Attorney David Church said the federal railroad regulations may preempt the state’s authority. Planner Nathan Crane said there was a permitted quiet zone that could be enforced on the rail line. He found various websites that showed the costs for improvements necessary for a quiet zone. Mayor Randy Farnworth felt that if the ordinance was backed by state statute, it would be worth consideration. He moved to postpone the discussion to the July 22, 2009 council meeting.
IMPACT FEES
Mayor Randy Farnworth said a meeting had been held prior to tonight’s council meeting where ideas were thrashed out regarding impact fees. Attorney David Church said he had been asked to explore ideas to jump start growth by reducing impact fees. He spoke in rounded numbers. He said there were minimum amounts that needed to be collected in order to honor current obligations and contracts for the old area of Vineyard. He said the amount due by each residential unit for the Anderson Homesteads Reimbursement Agreement would be approximately $6,000 per unit including the infrastructure and roadways. He said this amount would exclude the public safety facility. He reported that the town spent $1,500,000 on the water tank, sewer lines and roadways. He estimated that approximately $685 per residential unit would need to be recovered north of 400 South and south of 400 South. He stated that the Orem Water agreement necessitated $3,665.00 per residential dwelling unit. He said the Sewer treatment agreement with Orem City was $3,120 per unit. He stated that north of 400 South $3,120 was due to Timpanogos Special Service District. He said those were the minimum amounts that would need to be collected which would be approximately $13,000 in the Old Vineyard area. He said the town could choose to not collect approximately $900 of those fees due to the town. He said the fees collected would not include the installation of anything new, but would pay for things already approved. He felt the reduction would be significant enough to invite construction activity. He said materials and land were the only things the public safety fee could be used for. He said there would be no issue with the collection of those fees because the money had already been spent. Councilmember Nathan Riley felt that the minute 162 lots began to be constructed in The Lakes at Sleepy Ridge, the town would need to be ready to build 400 South. Paul Christensen said The Lakes at Sleepy Ridge only hoped for an exception on a few lots, not all 162 lots. He felt raising the fees back to where they should be in the near future would be possible. He felt the reduced impact fee amounts, as presented, were reasonable to begin construction on a few homes immediately. Attorney David Church felt negotiations could be made for a few homes with Paul Christensen from The Lakes at Sleepy Ridge. Paul Christensen hoped that if the amounts were held to for 20 - 25 lots, it would make a substantial difference in their ability to move forward. He said there would be no profit on the first 20 – 25 lots, but hoped that construction would stimulate construction on the remaining lots. Councilmember Sean Fernandez and Councilmember Nathan Riley hoped all of the council’s decisions wouldn’t be market driven. They feared services would be demanded by residents, and the town would have no resources to provide those services. Attorney David Church said the town couldn’t exceed 500 homes without the acquisition and cost of more water storage. He said it would be difficult during the slow growth times to encumber impact fees. He said if fees for future encumbrances were collected now and not spent, the town would have further complications in the return of those funds. He reminded the council that the collection of impact fees had not always been the standard practice. Mayor Randy Farnworth additionally reminded councilmembers that taxes would be helpful in the cost of expenses. Attorney David Church hoped the council would not let the approved subdivisions diminish. Engineer Don Overson felt that people needed to be living in the subdivisions to help pay for roads and infrastructure. Councilmember Nathan Riley felt the town was justified in the collection of current impact fees in order to make the town a livable, comfortable community. Councilmember Sean Fernandez felt the town needed to be firm about what would happen after 20 – 25 building permits had been issued. Mayor Randy Farnworth thought the impact fee reduction could be made on a trial basis. Attorney David Church believed the approval of one more subdivision would push the town over the 500 household limit for water storage. Planner Nathan Crane stated that the water storage issue was common to most towns. He said impact fees could be phased over a period of time until the acceptable impact fee amounts were collected. Engineer Don Overson said that there would be different impact fees issued for different subdivisions. Attorney David Church said he only proposed the changes for the Lakes at Sleepy Ridge. He said another developer would have to be granted a different exception. He said the money not collected for the first homes needed to be recovered through another means, because those funds would need to be collected in order to complete the subdivision. Engineer Don Overson thought this exception could only be granted for The Shores and The Lakes at Sleepy Ridge. Attorney David Church said the council should only approve a reduction in fees if the developer would meet certain stipulations placed by the council. Paul Christensen said that 20 – 25 lots would only be built upon if things were really moving. He felt momentum would catch at that point, or would dissolve long before 20 – 25 homes were built. Councilmember Sean Fernandez felt the exception for even 20 lots was too great to compensate for in the future. Paul Christensen said there were other alternatives to the collection of infrastructure fees. Attorney David Church said approximately $200,000 in fees would not be collected, and those parts of infrastructure would have to be acquired by some other means. He said that if the town’s costs were recovered, the town would have money to acquire additional water storage. Councilmember Nathan Riley felt enormous pressure would be put upon the town by the proposed construction, and the town would not have the finances to install the infrastructure and facilities for those residents.
COUNCILMEMBER NATHAN RILEY MOVED TO AUTHORIZE STAFF TO CALCULATE WHAT ACTUAL REDUCED IMPACT FEES WOULD BE TO COVER CONTRACTUAL EXPENSES, AND FEES WOULD BE REDUCED ON UP TO 25 BUILDING PERMITS IN THE LAKES AT SLEEPY RIDGE DEVELOPMENT TO BE ISSUED BY DECEMBER 31, 2010. COUNCILMEMBER SEAN FERNANDEZ SECONDED THE MOTION. ALL WERE IN FAVOR. NONE WERE OPPOSED. THE MOTION CARRIED.
The council agreed that they would consider a negotiation with other land developers based on differing issues in various developments.
VINEYARD RECYCLING
Mayor Randy Farnworth explained that recycled material had been piling up and was being shipped to landfills regardless of a citizen’s decision to recycle. He said other nations were not purchasing recycled materials. He didn’t feel it would be good to place the additional cost of recycling on families in Vineyard. Councilmember Nathan Riley confirmed that the cost would not be $5 to $6 per month, but would be an additional $10 to $12 per month because trash would be collected bi-monthly. Councilmember Grant Holdaway agreed that the option was impractical at this time.
Open Session
Attorney David Church reminded the council that the deadline to file a candidacy declaration for the upcoming municipal election would continue until July 15, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.
Councilmember Reports
Councilmember Norm Holdaway reported that the dispatch special service district was operating.
Councilmember Grant Holdaway discussed the burden of weeds in the park strips. Mayor Randy Farnworth felt the end of the rain would help to slow the growth of the weeds. He said he would be mowing the weeds this weekend.
Councilmember Sean Fernandez believed the mosquito abatement contractor wasn’t spraying enough solution. He also felt there were more weeds this year than last year. The council was concerned about the speed of the contractor while he was on Holdaway Road. Mayor Randy Farnworth instructed Town Clerk/Recorder Dan Wright to call the contractor to report the concerns of the council. He reported that the Timpanogos Special Service District (TSSD) board purchased 20 acres of property for an expansion which attributed to the recent rate increase. He said they had not yet established what type of facility the expansion would be. He reported that he would be out of town for the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) board meeting on Monday, July 13, 2009.
Attorney David Church instructed the council to invite Jeff Holdaway to appeal for reduced impact fees.
Mayors Report
Mayor Randy Farnworth reported that Anderson Geneva gave a presentation that was being reviewed by Utah County Commissioners. He said there would be another meeting with Utah County Commissioners on July 14, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. and July 22, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. where the plan would be reviewed further. He had a short meeting with Anderson Geneva regarding the property purchase for the Vineyard Connector. He also reported that he met with Lincoln Schurtz regarding the RDA.
ITEMS FOR THE NEXT AGENDA
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:52 PM. The next Council meeting will be a regular Town Council meeting held on July 22, 2009.
MINUTES APPROVED ON AUGUST 12, 2009
CERTIFIED CORRECT BY M. MANLEY, PLANNING ADMINISTRATOR & DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR | 
