Meeting Minutes June 3, 2015

21 Jun Meeting Minutes June 3, 2015

Sugar House Community Council Board of Trustees Minutes

Meeting Minutes- June 3, 2015

Trustees Present: Teddy Anderson, Sally Barraclough, Amy Barry, Robin Bastar, Laurie Bray, Landon Clark, Deborah Henry, Topher Horman, Sue Ann Jones, Michael G Kavanagh, Benny Keele, Steve Kirkegaard, Susan Koelliker, Joedy Lister, Larry Migliaccio, David Mulder, Maggie Shaw, Judi Short, Rawlins Young, Bryce Williams

Trustees Excused Absent: Ed Dieringer, Lucy Hawes, Carole Straughn, Christopher Thomas

Trustee Absent: David Read

The meeting was called to order at 7:03 by Amy Barry, SHCC Chair

Approval of the May minutes: Joedy moved to approve, Bryce seconded. The motion passed with no corrections to the May meeting minutes.

Secretary Report: Sally Barraclough

There are no trustee petitions expiring this month.  Robin Bastar’s petition will expire at the end of August.

A new Sugar House Community Council Trustee Directory was distributed to the trustees.  The directory lists the trustees both alphabetically and by Sugar House area.  The last page of the directory is a map that shows the boundaries for each area and the number of trustees allowed for those areas based on population.  Teddy asked why there are no trustee numbers for Wasatch Hollow and Bonneville Heights.  Amy explained that those are historical areas but that if anyone from those areas wants to become a trustee they are welcome to do so.  She also explained that the three areas north of 1700 South are included in the 1975 Articles of Incorporation for the Sugar House Community Council.

Treasurer’s Report: Robin Bastar

A $1000 check was deposited from Salt Lake City Corp for the Sugarmont Plaza activities scheduled for the summer.  There was also a $60 donation.  Expenditures included $180 for the 4th of July booth and $15 for website hosting.  The account balance is $5223.

Chair Announcements: Amy Barry

• Mayoral Candidate Debates will be held on July 28th at Westminster College.Amy asked that we save this date and plan to attend.  There will be more information at our July meeting along with fliers to distribute regarding the event.

• The Sugar House Farmer’s Market will start on July 10th.  They are offering $10 booths for non-profits organizations.

• Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events are scheduled again for Sugar House Park at the Mt. Olympus Pavilion.  The collection dates are June 4th, July 2nd, and Aug 6th from 7-10 am.  They will be collecting paint, chemicals, and electronics for no cost.  This is the only location that will have police officers collecting expired pharmaceuticals.

• The City Council is currently taking comments regarding increasing the number of police officers and bike patrols.  Amy urged us to send our comments to www.council.comments@slcgov.com .  She also asked that we make a motion to send an official statement from the Sugar House Community Council requesting the return of the bicycle patrol in Sugar House.  She also said that we will be co-writing a letter with the Sugar House Chamber of Commerce making the same request.  Dave Mulder made a motion to write a letter supporting the return of the police bike patrol, Topher seconded.  Discussion followed.  Deb asked if this would be a budget process to add additional officers, noting that a web search of public employee salaries revealed that the top 20 salaries were police officers.  She feels there could be efficiencies within the department to save money.  Topher said it is the operational and scheduling budget that we are asking them to adjust, not necessarily the hiring budget.  Joedy thanked Amy and the Chamber of Commerce for addressing this topic.  Judy stated that we need to call every time we see a problem in SH because the calls are logged and tracked and that is the only way we are going to get the bike patrol back.  Teddy noted that there are motorized vehicles being driven on the S-Line and there are not enough officers to patrol the area.  Dave Mulder expressed that the additional housing units newly opened in SH justifies an extra police presence.  Amy called for a vote on the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

Fire Department Report: Excused

Police Department Report: Detective Tyler Lowe

Detective Lowe is spending some of his time every week circulating through the areas of Sugar House that are having the most complaints, which includes going to Fairmont Park at least once a week.  While he can’t single handedly make up for losing the bike squad, he is trying to spend time in those areas. He has not been able to catch the skateboarders on the Monument Plaza and is still trying to coordinate an operation for the officers at that location.  He thinks our letter writing campaign to the city council is a good idea.

This month Detective Lowe was able to  follow up on some drug activity intelligence, and arrested a person in Sugar House on which they have received multiple anonymous complaints.  He was also able to arrest of another suspect from our area that is frequently in trouble, on eight different charges.

4th of July Booth Update: Dave Mulder

Trustees have done an excellent job of signing up for booth times.  There are only two time slots left to fill and they are both “second trustee” positions meaning there is currently only one trustee for those times.  The two times are 3-4pm  and 4-5pm.  Sue Ann volunteered to move her time to 3-4pm. Dave will continue to look for someone to fill the 4-5pm slot.

Amy said that we will be conducting a donation fundraiser at the 4th of July booth to obtain funds for a Christmas tree for the Monument Plaza during the holidays.  We will be giving away small paper cutouts of a tree that contain wildflower seeds impregnated in the paper.  Maggie said that the paper tree with seeds is a thank you gift for a donation of $5 toward the plaza Christmas tree. Amy made a request for someone to make a chart that will show how much money we’ve raised toward the effort.  Laurie suggested that the Boys and Girls Club might be willing to do it as an art project, and that she may have a studio artist that could lead the project.  Topher said that his children and their classmates at Nibley Elementary could possibly help.

Public Comments for items not on the agenda:

Cabot Nelson, who lives near Fairmont Park expressed concern that the Parks Department chose to close the north playground near Simpson Ave back in October in anticipation of replacing the equipment by May.  He has spoken to Lee Bollwinkle, who has now informed him that they won’t start construction until the end of July with an estimated completion of September.  Unfortunately, the free lunch program starts next week in the same north area of the park.  Now the kids will not have a playground for the summer.  The barricade fencing was put in place because the parks department does not want children in the area while they are taking down the old equipment.  Cabot is asking if there is anything we can do to speed up the schedule.  Amy said that she expressed her concern to the parks department stating that the children could have been using the equipment while the department worked through the design and bid process.  While it is too late for this project, she is hoping to change the policy for future play equipment replacements that are taking place throughout the city park system.

Presentation

Computerized Program for Crime Statistics: Detective Tyler Lowe

The police department will no longer be distributing paper copies of the crime report because all of the information can be found online.  The monthly crime stats are usually available by the first Wednesday of the following month.  If the first Wednesday is the 1st or 2nd it may take a day or two longer to get them posted.

Start by going to the police website www.slcpd.com.  On the homepage  click on “Crime Stats” icon which will bring up a list of choices for looking at crime statistics.  Look at the various calls and locations by clicking on “Police calls for service”.  The police log can be sorted by type of crime, location, or time by clicking on the top of the column. Also on the log page is a tab at the top called “FAQ”.  Click on that to get information and definitions of police terminology and procedures.

• Larry asked what cleared time on the log sheet means.  It is either the time that the officer leaves the scene or the time that the report gets filed.
• Teddy asked how to look up stats by district.  Click on “Download A Monthly Offense Summary for All City Council Districts”.  Then choose a specific district or crime type.

• Lisa asked for clarification of the terms burglary, larceny, theft, and robbery.  Breaking into a home is burglary whether the occupants are home or not.  Having your wallet or purse stolen off your person is a robbery.  Buildings are burglarized, people are robbed.  Larceny is a theft that takes place not inside a building.  Breaking into a car is automobile burglary.  Theft stats include shoplifting cases.
• Rawlins asked if all offenses generate a report, which they do.   Most crimes are called in by the public. There are some exceptions such as DUI.
• Cabot asked about curfews and loitering laws.  He noted that there are no reported cases in District 7 even though he calls often about people in Fairmont Park after it closes.  Those incidents are reported as trespassing.

Click on the map at the bottom of the page to see reported crimes by area, street, and address. Lisa noted that crimes do not go on the map until an hour after the case is closed to keep people from showing up at active crime scenes.

Committee Reports

Land Use and Zoning: Judi Short

The parcel at 2855 South Highland Dr. was recommended by the Planning Commission to be rezoned from Residential to Commercial Business.  At the City Council meeting a member of the audience asked for a 40 ft setback from the Crandall Cove cul-de-sac directly east of the parcel. The cul-de-sac property  sits six feet higher than the parcel in question, providing some natural buffer.

Lisa stated that the new owner will most likely be building something over 15,000 sq feet, which will require another meeting with the Planning Commission to make sure that whatever is built will fit in with the surrounding neighborhood, and the Master Plan for Sugar House.  The developer has agreed to add more trees to screen the property from the homes to the east, which will be the side of the development.  The front of the development will face Crandall or Highland Dr.  Lisa noted that she had not previously heard from any of the homeowners in the cul-de-sac.

Amy reminded the trustees that the SHCC did an outreach project to all the residents in the area via flyers, inviting them to both the Land Use meeting and the SHCC meeting.  At that time, less than 5 people showed up for the meetings and they were supportive of the rezone and development.

Lisa conducted a straw poll vote from the trustees asking if they still support the rezone.  The trustees unanimously supported the rezone.  Lisa will inform the neighbors of our support for the rezone.

The Planning Commission reviewed a rezone request for a CVS store to be located on the corner of 21st South and 13th East at their May 27th meeting.  The developer is requesting that the two parcels located  north of the car wash be rezoned from RO (residential/office) to CB   (commercial/business) so that they can be used as a parking lot.  There were several public comments including one from Judi questioning why they need 40 more parking spaces than the building size requires.

The Planning Commission recommended that the parcel closest to the building site be rezoned to CB but the parcel further north remain zoned RO. Judi is not in favor of either parcel being rezoned because the RO zone provides a buffer for the neighborhood north on 13th East.  The city planner requested a denial from the Planning Commission but they moved to recommend the split rezone and send it on to the City Council for approval.

The City Council voted to approve matching funds for the TIGER Grant for the next phase of the streetcar construction.  Lisa gave an update later in the meeting.

Westminster College has submitted a petition to change the zoning on several homes that they own located on 13th East.  They are located south of the Shaw Center to Westminster Ave.  Westminster  presented the rezone to the SHCC last fall and also held an open house which was poorly attended.  They want to change them from “Residential” to “Institutional Use” zone.  This change would allow them to use the homes for smaller programs, such as the counseling center. They do not intend to tear down the houses.

• Teddy asked if there has been progress on the demolition of the car wash on 21st South.  Lisa is working to address the loopholes in the demolition permit, but unfortunately that will only help with future projects.
• Teddy also wanted to know why there is such a large vacancy rate in the retail level of the VU building.  It is felt that the rents are too high to attract small local businesses and the developer does not want to put in anymore restaurants.

The next meeting of the Land Use Committee will be on June 15th.  So far there is nothing for the agenda.

Parks, Open Space,and Trails: Sally Barraclough

There was not a POST meeting in May.  Sally made an announcement about the upcoming Heart and Soul Music Stroll taking place on Saturday, June 13th at the Imperial Neighborhood Park.  There will be 34 bands playing on 11 different driveways.  The event takes place from 3-8pm, and is free to the public.

Transportation: Deb Henry

The transportation committee, along with other groups, was successful in lobbying UTA to extend their hours of service.  The S-Line hours will extend both morning and evening service. Starting Aug 16th the S-Line will have the same hours of service as TRAX seven days a week, and bus lines 220 (Highland Dr.) and 54 will start offering 15min service.  UTA will extend Sunday TRAX service to make it the same as Saturday service, which will improve Sunday service to the International Airport.

This Sunday is the downtown Gay Pride parade.  TRAX will be running early to accommodate spectators for the parade.

The new HIVE pass is now available and there is also a discounted summer pass for kids.  UTA is announcing the continuation of the 20% discount for riders who use a FAREPAY card for TRAX and Frontrunner.  There is a 40% discount for FAREPAY card users on buses.

The City Council approved the local match for the TIGER Grant application.  If SLC is awarded the grant, the funds would pay for extending the S-Line to Highland Dr., improvements on McClelland including two HAWK light signals, additional lighting for Hidden Hollow, runoff and erosion control, and habitat landscaping in Hidden Hollow.

In 2013 the Federal Department of Transportation had a $600 million budget for which they received 15 times more in requests for improvement projects.  There were 585 applications in 2013, and 797 applications in 2014, and it is anticipated that there will be even more requests in 2015.

The next meeting for the Transportation Committee will be Monday, June 15th at 7:00.  They will be discussing the TIGER Grant and the matching funds provided by the City Council.

Arts and Cultural: Laurie Bray

Landon Clark, the new trustee from Dilworth, has expressed an interest in joining the Arts and Cultural Committee.

Laurie presented the painted aluminum cover that will be attached to the time capsule that will be buried on the Monument Plaza during the dedication scheduled for Friday, June 12th.  Topher provided the design for the cover.  At the event on Friday there will be a display of photos showing what is in the time capsule.  Topher requested a bottle of whiskey from Sugar House Distillery for the time capsule.  They provided a special bottle of whiskey, with a non corrosive label and stopper that is in a handmade presentation box.  The time capsule will be re-opened in 2054 on the bicentennial of Sugar House.

The time capsule will buried behind the large granite boulder located on the plaza during the Friday evening event which starts at 5:30.  At 6:00 there will be a live band and other activities.  This is also Sugar House Art Walk night which features local artists at various locations throughout Sugar House.

The deadline to submit stories or reflexions for the time capsule is this Friday.  Send your stories via email to Laurie.

The RDA is preparing posters advertising the event.  They should be available tomorrow for anyone who wants to help advertise the event.  There is also a Facebook page that can be shared with friends on Facebook.

Historic Signs:  Joedy Lister

This committee is working very hard to revive a handful of the historic signs located in Sugar House.  Their main focus is the Stark Steering, Snelgrove, and the New Crisp Popcorn signs.

The Snelgrove sign is being changed to read Dryer’s and Nestlé.  The Snelgrove panel portion of the sign will be stored and saved for the SHCC until it can be displayed.  The clock is being replaced with a plaque that will recognize the site as the location of the original Snelgrove store.  Kirk Huffaker and Lynne Olson are providing the wording for the plaque. Nestlé is also working to get the ice-cream cone rotating again.

Lynne is working on the Stark Steering sign.  The owners are very excited about the possibility of reactivating their sign and have started making inquiries to the companies that do the restoration work.

The New Crisp Popcorn sign is a challenge.  It is difficult to contact the owner of the building to determine who owns the sign and name New Crisp Popcorn.  The committee is continuing to work on this and other signs in Sugar House.

Sugar House Fireworks: Joedy Lister

At this time, the fireworks for Sugar House Park are not funded.  There are some students from Westminster that are working with the Chamber of Commerce to see if there is any way to get them funded, but at this point it is almost too late.

Bylaws Committee: David Read

Absent, no report

Spotlight on Business: Michael G. Kavanagh

Bank of England

Louis Parks,  Senior Loan Officer

The Bank of England was chartered in 1898 in England, Arkansas.  In those days, the banks were named after the town in which they were located, which explains the name.  There is not a brick and mortar building in Utah, but there is a mortgage division located in South Jordan. They offer all types of mortgage loans such as FHA, VA, Conventional, and HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) loans.  The HECM is a reverse mortgage loan that is available to homeowners age 62 and older.  It allows seniors to stay in their home with no mortgage payment and possibly update the home to accommodate senior living issues.  Louis left cards with his information for the audience.

Salt Lake City Council: Lisa Adams District 7

The City Council is currently working on the city budget.  The top priority for Lisa and several other council members is to increase the number of police officers in the SLPD.  She would like to see the bike patrol returned to the east side of the city and Sugar House in particular.  Four of the council members believe they have worked out a way to fund the additional 15-25 officers that they would like to see added to the force.

Yesterday’s City Council meeting went from 1:00pm to 10:00pm and a lot of time was spent on the S-Line extension and the TIGER Grant Proposal.  The grant will fund more than the S-Line extension as was outlined in the Transportation report.  Lisa sent out an email asking 500 constituents on her list, the SHCC  Trustees, and the members of the SH Chamber of Commerce for feedback regarding funding the matching portion of the TIGER Grant.  The comments she received were 20-1 against supporting the funding for the extension.  The council voted 4-3 in favor of providing the funding.  While Lisa would support a plan to extend the S-Line to Highland Dr and then a loop around the DI property to return to Fairmont Park, she is not in favor of extending up Highland and 11th East.  She feels that construction would be too disruptive to businesses.  She made that suggestion to the SLC Transportation Director, but was informed that we must request a certain amount of funding in order to get the grant. The abbreviated extension would probably not qualify us for the grant.  Lisa asked about funding the short extension if we don’t get the grant.  It will cost $17 million to take the streetcar one more half block to Highland, due to utility issues such as Parley’s Creek and the McClelland Canal that run under the streets.  We will know if we are awarded the grant in the fall.

• Dave Mulder asked why the City Council and Chief Burbank have a difference of opinion about hiring more officers. The chief does not feel that he needs more officers, but would certainly take them if offered.  Constituents in the east side of the city definitely feel the need for more officers.
• Joedy asked about the cost of hiring new officers.  The first year it costs $120,000 per officer due to training. It costs closer to $80,000 per year for salary and benefits every year after that.
• A member of the audience asked about the “special assessment area tax” that was proposed for property owners along the extension area of the S-Line to fund the project.  In order to approve the tax, 60% of the property owners would have to be in favor.  The State Legislature passed some laws last year making it harder to approve a special assessment area tax.  Lisa said that the larger developers are in favor of the tax, but the business owners are not.
• Larry asked about the 100 year old water and sewer lines under Highland Dr.  If the TIGER Grant is awarded some of the money can be used to update those lines.  Lisa asked the Public Utilities Director where the replacement project is on their schedule.  The project is not currently scheduled and they plan to continue with repairs as needed.  Lisa expressed her concern about the prospects of a catastrophic failure but was assured that they are closely monitoring the lines. They are waiting to find out what happens with the S-Line so that they don’t have to tear the street up twice.

One of the reasons that SLC is opposed to the prison relocation to Salt Lake is the capacity of our current sewer system.  If the prison is moved to SLC,  a $300 million dollar sewage treatment plant would have to be built to increase sewer capacity.  The state has offered no funds to build the plant.

• Teddy asked if the long term plans for the DI building are predicated on the streetcar extension.  It is RDA property and they are waiting to hear what will happen with the S-Line.  Many in the administration look at the S-Line as a development tool rather than a transportation tool.
• Michael asked if there will be further discussion about the 11th East route for the continuation of the S-Line.  Lisa said the the 11th East route was determined to be the “preferred alternative route” but that other factors may come into play after the environmental studies are done. Right now the push is to get the streetcar to Highland Dr.

Mayor’s Office Report: Shawn McDonough

Mayor Becker presented his 2015-1016 city budget to the City Council on May 5th.  Included in the budget was:

1. A 2% raise for all city employees, and a minimum wage standard of $10.10 per hour for those making less than that now
2. $1 million dollars to continue the HIVE Pass program, which provides subsidized prices for city residents for UTA public transportation.  Cost of the pass is $42.00 per month rather than the full price of $84.00 per month, and can be purchased one month at a time.  The pass covers buses, TRAX, and the S-Line but not Front Runner
3. $100,000 for youth programs and the Sorenson Center
4. Salary for an employee to help non-english speakers with disaster preparedness.  This would include putting out disaster information for non-english speakers
5. $500,000 for the Get Ready Salt Lake City disaster preparedness program
6. $750,000 to make our SLC Government Vehicles more energy efficient
7. $162,000 to upgrade our two, engine yard maintenance facilities
8. $750,000 to enhance our Urban Forestry
9. New positions for the SLC Police Department, some of which would be civilian employees to replace officers in desk jobs so that officers can go back out on the streets

The Transit Master Plan is currently being written.  Public comments on the plan are being taken until December 15th.  For more information go to www.SLCRides.com.  In the near future there will be an online survey and public open houses to make comments on the plan.

• Michael G. asked about a tree inventory that is being conducted by the city forester.  It is a city wide inventory that includes counting the trees and assessing their fitness.
• Lisa asked if they are still taking comments about the recreation bond.  They are still taking comments on Open City Hall regarding what the bond should include, and whether it will be on the fall ballot.  The public open houses have already been held.
• Lisa gave a reminder about the new parking app for smartphones. It’s called “Park SLC” and it makes paying for parking much easier. It also sends an alert when your meter is about to expire, so that more time can be added.

Sprague Library Update: Dolly Rauh

The summer reading program is in full swing.  They have reading programs for all ages including adults, teens, young people, and babies.

• Michael G. noted that there is a new book out called “Famous Musicians Who Rocked 1960’s Utah” by Brian Record.  It is full of photos of all the famous groups who played the various venues in the area.  The manager of the Barnes and Noble has volunteered to donate a copy to the Sprague Library.

Amy reminded trustees to keep an eye on the community calendar.  There are many events taking place in Sugar House this summer, and the majority of the events are free.

Meeting Adjourned at  8:44 pm