04 Dec SHCC Meeting Minutes December 4, 2013
SUGAR HOUSE COMMUNITY COUNCIL BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES
December 4, 2013
Trustees Present: Sally Barraclough, Amy Barry, Robin Bastar, Ed Dieringer, Deb Henry, Annalisa Holcombe, Michael G. Kavanagh, Benny Keele, Matt Kirkegaard, Scott Kisling, Steve Lester, Joedy Lister, Larry Miggliacio, David Mulder, Sheila O’Driscoll, Jack Perry, Maggie Shaw, Judi Short, Carole Straughn, Christopher Thomas, Rawlins Young
Excused Absences: Topher Horman, Laurie Bray
Trustees Absent: Russ Callister
Meeting called to order at 7:00pm by Maggie Shaw, SHCC Chair
Minutes from Nov. 6, 2013 were approved without correction.
Chair Report: Maggie Shaw
The Sorenson Unity Center will host a Health Care Fair and Open House on Saturday, December 7, from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Sorenson Unity Center, 1383 S. 900 W., Salt Lake City. The fair will include free flu shots; diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure and STD testing; and vision screenings. Navigators will provide Affordable Care Act information and enrollment assistance. Visit each information booth to be eligible to win a prize or gift certificate. The event is free and open to the public.
There will be a public grand-opening and celebration of the Streetcar on Saturday December 7, from 10:00 to 5:00. There will be many activities taking place in Sugar House. Bring a can of food for the food bank and you can ride the S-Line Streetcar for free.
Secretary Report: Sally Barraclough
Scott Kisling and Annalisa Holcombe have expired trustee petitions. Annalisa announced she will not be renewing her petition at this time, but may resubmit her “at large” trustee petition in the future. Scott is working on his petition. There was a reminder to Dave Mulder that his petition expires Feb 1, 2014.
Treasurers Report: Robin Bastar
There was a donation of $54.00 since the last meeting. As of today there is an ending balance of $4165.07.
Fire Department Report: Chris Milne/ absent
Police Report: Detective Scott Mourtgos
The new crime report program is back on-line. The program unfortunately does not break down crimes by the individual areas of Sugar House.
Comparing Nov. 2012 to Nov. 2013:
- Motor vehicle thefts are way down.
- Shoplifting incidents were up, possibly due to businesses being more proactive about catch shoplifters than an actual increase in shoplifting crimes.
- Burglaries are down.
- Thefts from buildings are about the same.
- Petty larcenies showed a small decrease.
- Simple assaults were up, the majority of these being domestic violence issues.
- Aggravated assaults were about the same.
- Robberies were exactly the same.
Stolen motor vehicle incidents are up compared to Nov. last year but down overall for the year.
Of special note: 55% of home burglaries in District 7 were due to unlocked windows, doors, and open garages. Please talk to your neighbors about locking up their property and please call in suspicious activities in your neighborhood. Do not leave cars idling in the cold weather as this is a common source of auto thefts.
The Chief’s Message is regarding holiday safety and is included in the crime report.
Kudos to District 7 for assisting with a drug bust that happened this month due to residents in the area reporting suspicious activity in the neighborhood around 21st S. and 7th E. The bust recovered over an ounce of meth and a stolen gun. Detective Mourtgos confirmed that shoes hanging over power lines is NOT an indication of a drug house in the area.
Rawlins expressed concern that the crime report is broken down by SLC Districts rather than by neighborhoods. We are only getting a report on District 7 when Sugar House is also made up of District 6. The police department is looking at a new program that will not only break the report down by neighborhood and addresses, but will also be available on-line for the public to access.
Michael G. noted that cars are turning left crossing double yellow lines on 21st South and holding up traffic. Also, cars coming out of businesses are crossing over sidewalks before stopping to enter the street, almost striking pedestrians in the process. Detective Mourtgos will pass those comments on to the Police Motor Patrol division.
Public Comments for Items not on the agenda:
There was a public comment about the construction barriers that are still in place on 21st South. Construction is done but the barriers narrow traffic to one lane eastbound, and they really need to be removed for holiday shopping. Maggie said it would be checked into.
Committee Reports:
Land Use and Zoning: Judi Short
We had at least 18 people in the room, most of whom were trustees, along with various guests who came to hear about the proposals. There were close to 30 total in attendance.
Rinaldo Hunt presented a plan to renovate the Boys and Girls Club and build a mixed-use project on the land now occupied by the tennis courts on Sugarmont. He wants to renovate the B and G C, they will revise their lease to include the tennis courts land, then he will sublease that space from them. His proposed development will include town homes, live/work units, a restaurant along 900 East, and the community garden on the roof. After he meets with the neighbors, he will be back at SHCC to present his plants. He is hoping for January.
1019 East 2700 South McClelland Court: Skylar Tolbert- Ivory Homes / This is currently one lot with one house in the middle. The lot would be subdivided into three lots, the original house would stay and two more would be added, one on either side.. They showed us some drawings of houses they will probably use, and we made some suggestions. We are worried that the middle house won’t be visible from the street, and suggested they try to copy the roof line of the old house on the other two, so the development looks like it was meant to be together.
Hotel on the site of the Cowboy Grub: This project would be something like a Home 2 Suites by Hilton (idea is a hotel where people could stay for a week or more visiting family, a sick patient in a hospital, or a ski vacation) Lots of demand for that type of hotel. This is a mid-priced product, 109 rooms with 109 parking stalls on site. Cowboy grub was built in 1968. They would have a cross-access easement with Walmart. We talked about the access issues on Foothill, and the overflow parking from the developments on the east side of Foothill. This was just an exploratory meeting. They will meet with other community councils along Foothill and come back to us after they have filed a permit.
There is a unit legalization request at 2316 South 1800 East. We got a letter from a concerned neighbor, and a land use subcommittee has been talking to neighbors. The unit is a basement apartment and it is in question as to how long it has been a separate housing unit. We will probably go to the Planning Commission hearing on December 11th and speak against the legalization, unless we find any new information. Sheila asked for clarification of the address and who owns the property. Steve Lester said the address of concern is 2316 South and the owner’s name is Chad. He lives at 2309 South 1800 East.
Next Land Use meeting is December 16th @ 6 p.m. So far, on the agenda will be a proposal from DPS skis. They are on 1500 South 1100 east next to the Jewish synagogue. This is a mountain lifestyle type of store, they what to have a retail space, showroom space, a reception center where they can share the concepts. They are considering using the old Campos building on Highland Drive, which isn’t quite big enough. They want to show what they are up to and pick our brains.
Ed Butterfield says work will start on the plaza about March.
Work on the Canal between Mecham and Rockwood will be January.
Remodel of Rockwood will begin January.
Parks and Open Space: Sally Barraclough
We held election of officers for 2013-2014. I was reconfirmed as chair of this committee and the secretary position still remains vacant. We would like to see more trustees join the POST committee.
We set some goals for the coming year. Those include our continued oversight of the Draw at Sugar House, the Streetcar Greenway, Parley’s Trail, and the Imperial Park Project. A new project for 2014 would be the beautification of the I-80 freeway exits at 1300 East. We plan to contact UDOT to see what can be done to improve what essentially is the gateway to Sugar House. The only other exit into Sugar House is at 700 East.
There has been a CIP application submitted for signage for a portion of the McClelland Canal Trail.
Construction of the Draw has stopped for the winter and will start again in the spring of 2014. They were unable to complete the project due to construction delays and do not want to have to deal with snow removal while there is ongoing construction work.
Transportation: Deb Henry
UTA representative Christopher Chestnut was a guest speaker. He did a survey with the trustees to determine our priorities for UTA. Out of a 100pt total, 38 pts went to expanded time and area of service, 24 pts went to controlling fares, 21 pts for frequency of service, 17 pts for reduced travel times. Mr. Chestnut will be attending other community council meetings to assess priorities for UTA. He will then take the information back to UTA to assist them with their service priorities and spending. He was asked to look into expanding late night service of the S-Line so that riders from Sugar House can get home from downtown before the service stops for the night. Currently the S-Line stops running at 9:00pm.
There is a new Transportation e-mail list being developed. If you would like receive updates regarding transportation issues in Sugar House give your e-mail information to Deb.
The City Council adopted Amy’s motion from last month regarding the realignment of East/West connections through Sugar House as it pertains to Sugarmont and Wilmington.
A road diet for Highland Drive from 21st South to I-80 was also approved. Deb stated that studies have shown that reducing traffic lanes while providing a center turn lane actually improves traffic flow, and provides safety for pedestrians from both bikes and cars. Sheila asked if there will be bikes lanes on both sides of the street and if there will still be parking on both sides.
There will be a bike lane added to 21st South from 13 East to Highland High (17th East). Deb confirmed that the bike lane will be on the south side of the street because bikes go slower as they climb going eastbound. At this time it is not necessary to have a bike lane on the north side of 21st South through this area. Parking is still included in the design.
Arts and Cultural: Laurie Bray /absent
Laurie is taking photos for Santa in the new Santa Shack. The hours are weekdays from
3-7pm and Saturdays 11am-7pm. After December 18th the hours will be 11-7pm.
Community Groups and Projects:
SL Community Network: Judi Short
Soren gave a report on his tenure on the Salt Lake City Council over the past 8yrs. There were many accomplishments during this time.
Sugar House Chamber of Commerce: Annalisa Holcombe
A new Santa Shack was donated by the construction companies working on the Granite Block projects. They did this as a gift to the community recognizing that the construction projects have been disruptive to the area merchants and the community. This was their way of thanking Sugar House. The old Santa Shack could no longer be moved because is was literally falling apart. The new Santa Shack design and construction is valued at $25,000. The SH Chamber of Commerce will be placing an ad in the SL Tribune recognizing and thanking those who worked on the project.
The lights are up on the plaza and the opening for the new Santa Shack was featured on three news channels on Saturday which brought good publicity to Sugar House.
Streetcar Party will be Saturday December 7th 11:00-4:00. There has been multiple distributions advertising the event, including door -to-door flyers and press releases. The event is also featured on the SH Chamber of Commerce website and Facebook page. There are currently about 16,000 who are reached through social media regarding Chamber events. They received a $3000 grant from SL City to help sponsor this event. Because the weather is expected to be very cold, the RDA has donated the building on the Sugarmont Plaza for the day so that some events can be held inside. There will be vendors selling things, live music, and children’s art activities. There will be a bon fire on the plaza and s’mores. The jingle bus will be moving people around the business district for the bingo event. There will also be a window decorating contest. Bingo cards will be submitted for a raffle and prize drawing. Several thousand people are expected to attend, and they are still looking for volunteers to help with the event.
Annalisa thanked two Westminster students who received some scholarship money to help with this event.
Motion #1
Adopt a Christmas Light Pole – Michael G. Kavanagh
“I move that the SHCC adopt a light pole for $250.00 for the Christmas display on the Plaza in Sugar House, as we have in previous years.”
Motion seconded by: Judi Short
Discussion
Motion passed unanimously.
Motion #2
Establishment of an Outreach Committee – Christopher Thomas
“I move that the Sugar House Community Council adopt the charter of the Communications and Outreach Committee, as drafted, and further, that this charter be entered into the minutes.”
Motion seconded by: Scott Kisling
Discussion: Christopher led the discussion stating that in the past, most of the outreach/community communication has been conducted by one of our trustees. We now have a website, facebook page, community newsletter, and a calendar of events. The SHCC communication process is too large to be the responsibility of just a couple of trustees. Community outreach is one of the fundamental purposes of the SHCC and this committee would be responsible to move this effort forward. The charter describes the scope of responsibility for members of this committee.
Christopher is looking for volunteers to serve on the new committee. Scott asked what skills would be needed to be a volunteer. Web skills would be very helpful but are not a requirement to serve. Committee coordinators are also needed.
Larry asked about the role of the Westminster student consultant. The consultant looked at other community councils and how they deal with community outreach. He made recommendations and suggested our web page could be improved and that we need more branding. He did created some mockups of some home pages for our web page. Annalisa works directly with the Westminster student consultants. While they are paid, they are also critiqued and graded on their work. This particular consultant did extensive research on community communication including breakdown by zip codes and the types of communication that work best for the particular demographic in those neighborhoods.
Ed asked about budgeting for this committee. Christopher said that an outreach grant was applied for with the city of Salt Lake to pay for web costs etc. Right now the SHCC pays the fees associated with the website. Rawlings expressed concerns about the exclusionary aspects of electronic communications in regards to socio-economic status. There is currently no budget for mail delivery of paper communications.
Motion passed unanimously.
Presentations:
Ivory Homes Project 1019 East 2700 South
Skyler Tolbert
Ivory Homes would like to build two new homes on this lot while retaining the existing home. The lot is currently zoned R 1-7. One home would sit in front and one in back of the existing home. All three homes would share a private driveway.
Amy Barry asked about adding a garage on the existing home. Skyler stated that that will most likely not be possible. Amy also asked about the street facing facade on lot one. Judy asked about the roof line in regards to matching the existing homes roof line. Skyler said they are looking at both the facade and roofline but have not made a decision on those issues raised by the Land Use Committee.
Benny asked about square footage, price range, and attached garage for the existing home off the rear of the home. The kitchen and windows are on the rear of the home so it is not possible to place a garage on the back. The rear lot home size ranges from 2200–3000 sq ft depending on the design and the front lot home size is 2200 sq ft. The price point is currently undetermined. It was confirmed that the front house will block the street view of the existing home.
Rawlins asked about which direction each house faces. The front house will face the street, the others will not. He expressed concern about the deviation away from street facing homes. Sheila asked if the new homes will look like the existing home and Skyler confirmed that the elevations look similar. There will be a renter living in the existing home during the construction phase. It will be sold at the end of the project. A member of the audience asked about street parking along 27th South in front of the lot in regards to residents exiting the driveway and safety for bikers on the street. It was determined that no parking signs could be requested from the city if this becomes an issue.
Deb asked if Ivory Homes owns the existing home and for how long. It was confirmed that they have owned it for several months.
Sally asked about the width of the driveway and access for fire trucks , other emergency vehicles and garbage trucks. Garbage cans for all three residences will be put out on 27th South. The private drive will be 20 ft wide. Each new home will have two parking spaces in their driveway in addition to a two car garage. The existing home will have two parking spaces, no garage.
Community Gardens
Jessica Hatch and Nicole Bisonette
Discussion was led by Nicole Bisonette.
The Community Garden located on the corner of 900 East and Sugarmont on the old tennis courts has one more year left on their lease from the city for this space. The garden will be managed by Wasatch Gardens this year. The garden was started in May 2011 with 56 plots /49 gardener families. The plots are 4ft by 12 ft raised beds. By 2013 there were 96 plots / 86 gardener families which produced 1,900 lbs of produce. In 2012 and 2013 extra produce was donated to the St. Marks – Millcreek Senior Community for low income seniors. The Mission of the garden is to inpower people from all backgrounds to grow food for their homes while strengthening the local community. It served mostly families from the 84105 and 84106 zip codes.
They are requesting a letter of support from the SHCC to submit with their “green growers” application. Amy asked about the Education program with the Boys and Girls Club that was submitted as part of the garden’s 501 (c) 3 application. In 2012 the B&G Club had a plot that was maintained for a time. Nicole did not know what the club was doing to maintain the gardening education program. Amy also asked about the locked gates and the public parking. Nicole stated that midway through the year they were informed that the gate was to remain unlocked and they complied by removing the locks. They will inform gardeners for the following year that they are to park in the parking lot and not on Sugarmont.
Deb asked where the water comes from that is used for the garden. The garden was given permission to use the canal on the south border to water during certain hours. They are investigating a drip irrigation system with culinary water for next year. Deb also asked about reported conflicts within the gardening organization. Nicole deferred to Jessica Hatch who explained that because this is an evolving organization with various groups who are not necessarily all working with the same expectations. It has taken 2-3 yrs for those groups to become aligned behind the concepts of open space, casual theft and issues regarding the water rights. It is Jessica’s opinion that if they can resolved the water issues that it will be a successful season for the garden.
Dave asked if the proposed development for the property will effect this years season. Amy confirmed that whatever development happens on the property, the garden will have time to complete one more growing season.
Amy asked if they plan to increase the number of boxes this year. Nicole said it will depend on funding and community interest in expanding.
Motion #3
Support Letter for the Community Garden – Amy Barry
“I move that the SHCC Chair writes a letter of support for the Sugar House Community Gardens highlighting the issues raised and the satisfactory play by the community garden to address them.”
Matt seconded the motion.
There was no discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
Summary and Farewell
Soren Simonsen
This is Soren’s last report to the SHCC as our representative on the SLC Council.
He updated us on activities surrounding the Streetcar Opening. Tomorrow there will be a ribbon cutting, and reception for officials to open the streetcar. It will start on State Street and end up in the Fairmont Aquatic Center parking lot where several dignitaries will make remarks. Saturday will be the public celebration. This has been a long time coming as the original master plan that talked about a transit system for this corridor was started in either 1985 or 1986. Soren started working on the project about 15 yrs ago, before he was on the city council. In 2005 he was encouraged to run for city council representing District 7.
Since his report last month, the Streetscape and Amenities Plan was adopted by the City Council. Some of the plan is already funded and the projects are moving forward. In the last month the CIP budget has been approved and the Imperial Neighborhood Park Project has been fully funded.
The Residents Bus Pass Program was adopted a couple of weeks ago. This program was first envisioned in 2006. Right now it is only for residents of Salt Lake City but it is available to everyone who lives in SLC without any restrictions. It is anticipated to start early 2014. The Council also adopted a legislative intent that would extend the Eco Passes which are only available to businesses with 35 or more employees. Currently the average business size is 15 employees. It is a pilot program and the cost is $30 per month so if you use UTA systems more than 6 times a month the pass has paid for itself.
The blade sign ordinance will go before the planning commission next week and then will move forward to the city council. The vintage sign program petition will be filed in the near future with the planning division.
The following items are highlights that Councilman Simonsen focused on during his eight years on the city council.
- Streetcar
- Parley’s Trail
- Support for the small business community through the small business grant program
- Transit and parking program
- Zoning changes that reinforces small business commercial nodes
- Sign and advertising ordinances
- Expanding public transportation
- Historic preservation plan
- Form based zoning ordinance that helps preserve historic buildings
- Well designed, neighborhood compatible development
In closing Soren thanked the Sugar House Community Council and the citizens of this community for being the most active and engaged community council in the city. “Thank you to all of you who are so engaged and inspire me everyday and in the work I have done”.
He announced that in the future he will stay involved with the SHCC. He is working on a new downtown project that is a co-working space called Impact Hub. He will be presenting the project to community councils throughout the city. Their website is www.hubsaltlake.com.
They have a goal to launch 100 new sustainability oriented businesses in SLC by 2020.
At the close of Soren’s address, Maggie Shaw SHCC Chair, presented Soren with certificate thanking him for his service to the city and to the Sugar House community. Soren extended an invitation to an open-house next Tuesday in the City Council Chambers to say goodbye to the three outgoing council persons who represented Districts 1, 5, and 7. All were long serving public servants who chose not to run for re-election.
He also announced that the Friends of the Streetcar are looking for more members to join their organization to help support the S-line and the greenway. He left packets with information to join on the back table.
Michael G made an announcement thanking Soren for his support of the Sister City program with Thurles Ireland.
Snow Removal
Parviz Rokhva-Director of Streets Division
Joe Aguilar
John Pedia
There have been changes in the snow removal program. There is a new phone number for the department (801) 535-2345 and their web site is www.streets@slcgov.com.
They presented a map showing the new snow removal districts. The map was revised based on street surface area vs regions that was used on the old map. This resulted in an better utilization of existing trucks with increased efficiencities and actually decreased the number of trucks needed. The city used to utilize 49 trucks and are now down 10% to 45 trucks, which has reduced fuel consumption and helped improve air quality. Their top priority is keeping the streets clear for safety.
John Pedia explained the particulars of the map in regards to prioritizing streets in the Sugar House District. Larry asked a question regarding the use of salt vs sand on the streets. The primary reason for not using sand is that it plugs up storm drains. Salt is available and inexpensive because we live near the Salt Lake. Deb added that the salt also keeps the snow from bonding to the roads making them easier to plow.
Michael stated that sometimes the bus stops are not plowed/salted. It was confirmed that the stops are UTA’s responsibility.
Joedy asked if they use dry salt or liquid saline and if the department uses staging areas to prepare ahead of a storm. The crews use dry salt and sometimes meet at the salt loading areas before the storms. On occasion salt is spread before the storm hits giving the crews extra time to get ahead of the removal.
Scott asked what the crews do in the off season. They are responsible for filling potholes and crack sealing the streets. They also paint striping and maintain the signs.
Business Spotlight: Michael G. Kavanagh
Platinum Dental Care / Wasatch Family Dental
1963 South 1200 East (Irving School Apartment Complex ground floor)
Promotion Director – Jay Kindle
Research has shown that a large number of people do not get regular dental care. Platinum Care provides an outreach program to reach those citizens. They accept all forms of insurance. They are also Medicaid providers. They will work with individuals who are paying cash. Platinum Dental Care partners with established dental offices to provide outreach and business services. They also help dentists upgrade their equipment and services.
Michael G. announced that Feldman’s Deli has been very busy since presenting at SHCC and they wanted to thank us.
Jolly’s Pharmacy has started a new program after their presentation at SHCC that allows you to fill all your prescriptions in one visit rather than scattered throughout the month.
Library Events: Dolly Ragh
Dolly encouraged us to take the flyer that outlines all the downloadable programs offered by the public library. This includes books, movies, and a new site that lets you download tutorial training sessions on a large variety of subjects. The flyer also has the library schedule of events for the month.
Report from the Mayor’s Office: Shawn McDonough
Open City Hall has a lot of topics on which the city wants more input from citizens, including
a proposed business and multi-family recycling program.
The city recently announced the development of a solar farm which will be located at 1995 West, 500 South on the site of an old landfill.
Christmas trees will be picked up again this year. It is requested that if possible put them in the brown cans, otherwise they will be picked up curbside.
Meeting adjourned at 9:00
