Daniel Town Council Meeting and
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 5:30 PM
Wasatch County Services Building, Room 126
55 South 500 East, Heber City, UT
Quorum present: Mayor Michael Duggin, Council members Eric Bunker, Jon Blotter, and Kasey Bateman were present at 5:31 PM when Mayor Duggin called the regularly scheduled meeting to order. Council member Chip Turner was excused from the meeting. Recorder Merry Duggin was present to record the minutes.
Members of the public in attendance: Janet Robinson, Justin Robinson, Gary Walton, Lambert Deegan, Ryan Taylor, Lorie Hobbs, Mike Ashby, Teri Welch, Paul and Gina Stewart, Blaine and Juanita Webb, Rex D. Cummings, Jeff Heftel, Jeremy Heftel, Larry S. Ward, Bob Davis, Tom Rawlings.
Planning Commissioners present: Kim Norris, Barry Hobbs, Jaye Binkerd, Gary Weight, Blaine Smith. Commissioner John Glodowski was absent.
1) SWEARING IN OF NEWLY ELECTED COUNCIL MEMBERS.
Council members Eric Bunker and Jonathan Blotter received the oath of office from Recorder Merry Duggin, and after the oath, the two Council members were asked if they would like to publicly disclose any conflicts of interest. Both members stated that they were unaware of any conflicts of interest that they had not previously disclosed in their last term of office. Mr. Blotter could not think of any conflicts of interest, and Mr. Bunker’s long list is a matter of public record.
2) PUBLIC COMMENT CONCERNING ANY ISSUE NOT ON THE AGENDA
Mayor Duggin brought to the attention of the Council a request from Jeff Webb who owns property at 785 W 3000 S. Mr. Webb has received an offer for purchase of this property, but the prospective buyer would like assurance that he would be allowed to park a large truck on the property. Council members stated that several other persons are already parking large trucks on their properties on a regular basis, but Council member Bunker reminded those present that if the trucks present a nuisance to neighbors, the Council would have to address that issue. He also stated that if the truck is parked in the agricultural building located on this property, this could change the use of the building.
3) APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR DECEMBER 5, 2011 MEETING
Council member Bunker moved to approve the minutes as presented. Council member Bateman seconded the motion, and 3 members of the Council present voted to approve the minutes. Council member Blotter abstained. The minutes were approved.
4) UPDATE BY MAYOR DUGGIN ON MEETING WITH HEBER CITY ANIMAL CONTROL CONCERNING SERVICES FOR TOWN OF DANIEL.
Mayor Duggin met with Wasatch County and Heber City law enforcement officers, animal control, and Heber City and Wasatch County attorneys on December 13, 2011. He reported that Town of Daniel is being asked to pay for animal control services from Heber City Animal Control and to adopt the Heber City Animal Control Code to allow consistency for enforcement officers. Mayor Duggin responded that Daniel residents do not want to adopt such restrictive code. Daniel has already adopted ordinances for animal control that are better suited for a rural atmosphere, and the “one size fits all” Heber City Code would not be acceptable for Daniel residents. Mayor Duggin also stated (at the December 13 meeting) that Town of Daniel would prefer to have no animal control services except those mandated by state law rather than accept these conditions. Mayor Duggin will attend the Wasatch County Council meeting scheduled for January 4, 2012 at the request of County Council Chair Mike Kohler to be part of a discussion on this issue. Mayor Duggin stated that at this time Town of Daniel does not have any animal control services from Heber City.
5) DISCUSSION OF NEW COMPENSATION PACKAGE PROPOSED FOR HEBER LIGHT & POWER ( HLP) BOARD MEMBERS.
Mayor Duggin reported that he has been informed that a benefit package worth approximately $20,000 per board member has been approved by the Heber Light & Power Board. Mayor Duggin believes that the Town should show its displeasure since this seems in direct conflict with the assurance by HLP’s management that efforts would be made to keep costs “reasonable”. Mr. Tom Rawlings stated that other municipalities have their own power company, and perhaps Town of Daniel should look into doing the same. Mr. Kim Norris suggested that the Town Council should draft a letter suggesting that the Town may consider alternative power sources as per the franchise agreement with Heber Light & Power.
6)DISCUSSION CONCERNING TOWN OF DANIEL FINANCIAL AUDIT AND SINGLE AUDIT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010-11 PERFORMED BY GILBERT & STEWART. PRESENTATION BY MERRY DUGGIN OF FISCAL YEAR 2012 BUDGET SITUATION.
Clerk/Recorder Merry Duggin reported that the required audits have been completed and submitted to the State of Utah auditor’s office. The audit has also been emailed to all Town Council members and posted on the Town’s website. The audit showed a clean opinion of our Town finances and had no findings of misuse of funds. But the “significant deficiencies” from the 2010 audit remain. Our auditors suggest that the Town Council should continue to take responsibility for oversight of our financial transactions as they have been doing. If the Council requests the service, Mr. Ben Probst, CPA with Gilbert & Stewart, is available to present the findings of the audit and to answer questions at the next Town Council meeting.
Ms. Duggin then presented an update on the 2012 fiscal year budget (which was approved in June 2011) to inform the Council of the Town’s current financial situation. The Town’s budget is on track except for the income and expenditures involving street repair and maintenance. Town of Daniel has received approximately $30,000 in funds from the Utah State Emergency Management and Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist the Town in repairing flood damage sustained by the Town’s roads in Spring 2011. Ms. Duggin reported that the current budget does not reflect the additional income or expenses of these repairs since this was an unexpected flooding event. She requested that the budget be amended to reflect the additional $30,000 income from FEMA and to also appropriate an additional $30,000 from our Class C funds to pay for the required repairs. She then requested that the Mayor open the Public Hearing which had been properly noticed for the purpose of amending the budget.
7) PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING OPENING THE FISCAL YEAR 2012 BUDGET TO ALLOW ADDITIONAL REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION DR 2012-01-02 TO AMEND THE 2012 BUDGET FOLLOWING THE PUBLIC HEARING.
Council member Blotter moved to open the public hearing. With a second from Council member Bunker, the Council voted unanimously to open the public hearing.
Mayor Duggin invited public comment. Mr. Mike Ashby said that he appreciated the simple approach of this process. Ms. Lorie Hobbs agrees that the Town must pay its bills. There being no further comment, Council member Blotter moved to close the public hearing. Council member Bateman seconded the motion, and Mayor Duggin closed the public hearing with a unanimous vote of the Council.
Mayor Duggin read Daniel Resolution 2012-01-12 to amend the 2012 budget and asked if there was a motion. Council member Bunker moved to accept the resolution, and Council member Blotter seconded the motion.
In discussion, the Council agreed that the additional funds should be listed in the Class C “Repair and Maintenance” category and not in “Construction”. The motion then passed with a unanimous vote to amend the budget to accommodate an additional $60,000 in Class C revenue and expenditures of the General Fund.
8) COMMITTEE REPORTS
PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT
No report was necessary.
DANIEL MUNICIPAL WATER ISSUES
Mayor Duggin reported that the Fisher Spring has been examined after rocks and roots were found in the collection box. The project is not complete because the camera used could not accommodate the bend in the pipe, but it is hoped that this is not a major problem. The Town will probably require a second camera examination before it decides if any course of action concerning the spring is required.
The discussion turned to the issue of new meters. Mr. Kim Norris and Mr. Gary Walton are recommending that Daniel Municipal Water should convert to touch meters and repair a meter at the Fisher Spring. He requested that approval be granted for these items and to move forward on these issues. Council member Bunker stated that he would like to be sure that there are no problems with the Fisher Spring before money is spent on new meters.
Mr. Walton reported that the system has had one meter freeze so far and believes this is a result of no snow on the ground to serve as insulation for the meters in this untypically low snow season. He believes that there may be more problems like this.
Mayor Duggin reported that the system is using more water than in the previous months, and there is speculation that either a leak in the line or customers running hose bibs to avoid freezing is causing this additional usage.
FEMA/STORM HAVEN CULVERT REPAIR UPDATE
The repair of the southern culvert has been completed, and the road widened.
9) PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING A POSSIBLE ZONE CHANGE FROM P160 TO RA-5 FOR 3 LOTS IN THE BIG HOLLOW SUBDIVISION AND POSSIBLE ADDITION OF “ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOL” AS A CONDITIONAL USE IN THE P160 ZONE.
The minutes for this public hearing are separate but attached to these minutes.
10) RECORDER’S OFFICE: WARRANT APPROVAL, POSSIBLY SCHEDULE OPEN AND PUBLIC MEETING TRAINING, POSSIBLY SCHEDULE SECOND PUBLIC HEARING FOR DANIEL MUNICIPAL CODE ISSUES.
Recorder Merry Duggin presented the warrants for approval. Council member Blotter moved to approve the warrants. Council member Bateman seconded the motion, and the vote was unanimous to approve the warrants.
No second public hearing date is deemed necessary at this time.
14) ADJOURN
There being no further business, Council member Blotter moved to adjourn. Council member Bateman seconded the motion. There was no discussion, and after a unanimous vote, Mayor Duggin adjourned the meeting at 9:15 PM.
Merry Duggin,
Recorder