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Council Minutes 04/04/2002 CITY OF AMMON April 4,2002 Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Mayor and the City Council: The meeting was called to order by Mayor C. Bruce Ard at 7:30 P.M. in the City Building, 2135 South Ammon Road, Ammon, Idaho, with the following City Officials present: Mayor C. Bruce Ard Councilmember Karen Y. Anderson Councilmember W. Lee Bean Council member Leslie Folsom Council member Randy G. Waite Attorney W. Joe Anderson Engineer Bill Manwill Public Works Director David Wadsworth Fire Chief Clarence Nelson City Clerk Aleen C. Jensen Others Present: Dane Croft Kaleb and Skyler Hoffer Allen and Sandy Nellesen, 4183 Mirinda Lane, Ammon Roger and Toni Clements, 2615 Salmon Street, Ammon Raymond James, 2080 Falcon Drive, Ammon Dick Bybee, 2130 Ross Avenue, Ammon Tom Hunsaker, 2925 Carolyn Lane, Ammon Wayne Field Trevor Lind Randy and Cris Hurley, 2275 Avocet Drive, Ammon Councilmember Anderson led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Mayor Ard offered a prayer. The Boy Scouts were welcomed. Each Scout stated his name and what merit badge he was working on. Cris Hurley, 2275 Avocet Drive, requested a home occupation permit for New Concept Services. The service consists of delivering flyers door to door in Ammon to promote free software for a mortgage manager program. It allows people to sign up for a bi-weekly mortgage service that will save the homeowner money and years off their mortgage. There is no personal contact. Information is left on the door and the homeowner chooses whether or not to respond. Those interested send two dollars with a request for software from Cris. She mails the software to the interested party. The homeowner signs up with the company. Councilmember Anderson moved to approve the home occupation permit for Cris and Randy Hurley, 2275 Avocet Drive. Councilmember Folsom seconded the City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 2 motion. Roll call vote: Anderson - Yes; Folsom -Yes; Bean - Yes; Waite - Yes. The motion carried unanimously. Sandy Nellesen, 4183 Mirinda Lane, requested a home occupation permit to offer reflexology sessions in her home. She explained reflexology is a science, which deals with the principle that there are reflex areas in the feet and hands, which correspond to all the glands, organs and parts of the body. Stimulating these reflexes properly can help many health problems in a natural way, a type of preventative maintenance. Reflexology should not be confused with massage. The massage licensing requirements do not apply. She does not need to use much space in the home. She does it in her basement or she can travel to homes. She has purchased a special chair. The home occupation will not use 25% of the home. There will be no employees. She plans to do only three sessions on Tuesdays and three sessions on Wednesdays. The sessions are for one person for one hour at a time so the traffic should not be excessive. There will be no advertising signs or outside storage of materials. The State does not license reflexologists. <.-. ., ii: ~ Councilmember Anderson moved to approve a home occupation permit for Sandy Nellesen, 4183 Mirinda Lane, contingent upon her filling out a home occupation permit application. Council member Waite seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Anderson - Yes; Waite - Yes; Folsom - Yes; Bean - Yes. The motion carried unanimously. Raymond James, 2080 Falcon Drive, and Roger Clements, 2615 Salmon Street discussed a noise problem in their neighborhood. Raymond James explained that last year he filed a complaint about the street sweeper hired for maintenance in the Ammon Town Center parking lot. It is still causing a disturbance. It comes around extremely early in the morning, and it is very noisy. Mr. James called the Sheriff's office to report the problem, but he was advised that they could not respond. So he called Big Rocky who operates the service. Basically, Big Rocky did not have "an ear for the complaint." He did get a street sweeper that is quieter, but it is still noisy when it starts up at 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. City Code 5-2-8 states "It shall be unlawful for any person willfully, maliciously, intentionally, or unnecessarily to disturb the peace and quiet of another or of any neighborhood or family ..." Mr. James was of the opinion that the sweeper should start after 6:00 a.m. and it should not be allowed to make the noise in the parking lot to disturb the residents' sleep. It is constantly getting worse. Roger Clements agreed. The sweeper comes two or three times a week near 4:00 a.m. It wakes you up for the rest of the morning. It is not right. The sweeper could do the side by Albertsons and wait until 6:00 a.m. to do the part City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 3 by the houses on Falcon Drive. Residents believe that this is a reasonable request. Public Works Director suggested the best thing to do would be to contact Cantlon Properties. When they were building the Ammon Town Center, residents were promised there would not be any interfering noises during normal sleeping hours at night. Councilmember Anderson added that Tim and Amy Kaser, who were not present, also filed a complaint about the noise. Mr. James had two more complaints from other neighbors. Councilmember Anderson called Rocky before the meeting to try to talk to him. He was not responsive. The sound level was estimated to be 70 to 75 decibels. Rocky has to sweep when there are no cars in the parking lot, and he sweeps four times a week. The problem is there is an open space between Famous Footwear and Target where the parking lot and the houses on Falcon Drive back up to each other. There was a discussion on how to solve the problem. The sweeper operator should be able to adjust to sweep the area first where there are buildings to block the sound and later move over to the open area. Mayor Ard promised to call a representative of Cantlon to try to correct the problem by the end of next week. Dick Bybee reported on the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting held April 2, 2002. There were three main items of business. The first item was a review of the Preliminary and Final Site Plan of the Ground Round Restaurant. It is a restaurant of 4600 s~uare feet located on the southeast corner of Derrald Avenue and Hitt Road (251 East). Another general location for Ground Round is west of Sportsman's Warehouse and across the street south of Johnny Carino's. It is the first restaurant of its kind in the Rocky Mountains. The Commission recommended approval. Ground Round has a use agreement with Sportman's Warehouse for overflow parking. The sign on the business will show the name as Ground Round Bar and Grill. The second item of business was a Preliminary and Final Site Plan for an apartment complex. There are to be three buildings with six apartments in each building for total of 18 units. Sheldon Dance is the developer, and the units are located north of Kmart. The Commission recommended approval with the stipulation that the developer makes revisions to meet the parking requirements. The Council reviewed the procedure for the approval of site plans. The Planning and Zoning Commission will approve the preliminary site plan as a body. Next, a member of the Planning Commission will bring the approved City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 4 preliminary site plan to the City Council for review. Then two members of the Commission will sign off on the final site plan. Council member Anderson reviewed the parking for Sheldon Dance's apartment complex. Plans are for twenty-three required parking spaces and sixteen of them are garages. Generally garages at apartments are used for storage. This would probably mean that there are only seven available parking spaces, which would leave ten to twenty cars to park on the street every night. The plans meet the parking requirements, but Council member Anderson thought it would be wrong to allow an 18-unit apartment complex on a busy street and know there will be parking on the street every night. Other members thought the Council could not determine how a garage is used and the amount of street parking. She agreed, but the Council should consider not including garages in the parking requirements for apartments. The idea was deemed worthy of consideration, and it prompted a discussion. The Planning and Zoning Commission is working on revisions to the off street parking requirements. Citizens are alarmed at the number of apartments that are coming to Ammon, and they wonder if we are doing good planning. It was suggested that the Council consider a moratorium on site plans until the parking ordinance is revised. Instead, the Council encouraged the Planning and Zoning Commission to move forward with a public hearing for revisions to the off street parking requirements. The third item of business before the Planning and Zoning Commission was a site plan for Steven Pulley, 2800 Western Avenue, for a detached, residential garage. He wanted a variance to locate the garage in violation of the requirements. The site plan was denied because he has ample property to build a garage and meet the setback requirements. If Wal-Mart submits the required information on their project by April 3 or at the latest April 6, the Planning and Zoning Commission plans to call a Special Meeting for April 16, 2002. In addition to taking care of Wal-Mart business, they will allow time to consider ordinance revisions. The Council would like the Commission to consider eliminating garages from the parking space requirements. Councilmember Bean hoped Planning and Zoning could accommodate Wal-Mart because they have a closing date on the property set for May 1. They also have a bid opening to meet. There is a concern about holding a special meeting and the impression it may give to individuals. To satisfy this concern, it was recommended that notice of the special meeting be published. Council member Folsom commented on the Ground Round Restaurant that is coming in. Ground Round wants to serve liquor by the drink. They were one of the stores coming in when our liquor licenses were opening up. However, the City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 5 State has set up a waiting list for the available licenses, and Ground Round is down on the list. There is no reason to have a list. This indicates the State is breaking the law, which they established. The person in charge feels the State is following the rules. Mayor Ard received a copy of the rules and they are specific. The City has a business coming in that will be able to put one license into service, but the available licenses are on hold for an individual or individuals who do not have a business yet. Council member Folsom wants the liquor licenses to be released and to let them be put towards the laws of the State. We need to defend the right of all our citizens to have licenses under the laws of the land. Attorney Anderson offered an opinion. The City wants the licenses to be issued to a valid licensee and the State has reserved the licenses for someone who is not a valid licensee at this point. City of Ammon may have a standing to contest that because if we did issue a license to a valid licensee then we would have a going business. The licenses are available and valid businesses should be able to get the licenses. Councilmember Anderson contended the individual business should go after the State for the license rather than the City. An individual can not go after the license because of the waiting list. Mayor Ard asked the attorney what would happen if the City sends notice to the State that the City is not going to issue a liquor license to anyone on an illegal waiting list. Attorney Anderson interpreted that the State is giving time to individuals to try to get in compliance, but City of Ammon is contending that is not within the context of law. The waiting list has one license reserved for the husband and another license reserved for his wife. This is against the rules. Attorney Anderson was authorized to work on the problem with the State. Fire Chief Clarence Nelson reported that Bill Brotherson, Fire Marshal for the City of Ammon, has written letters to Bach Development and to Sheldon Dance to advise them of the sprinkler system requirements. Due to the population increase and the legislative redistricting, it has become necessary to add two additional election precincts for the Ammon area. The Bonneville County Election Office has requested to use the old City Building and the new Fire Station as election polling places. The Primary Election is Tuesday, May 28. Council member Folsom moved to allow Bonneville County to use the old City Building and the new fire station to set up polling places for two additional precincts. Councilmember Waite seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Folsom - Yes; Waite - Yes; Bean - Yes; Anderson - Yes. The motion carried unanimously. City Council Meeting, April 4,2002 - Page 6 Fire Chief Nelson proposed to adopt an ordinance to require businesses in the City of Ammon to install Knox Boxes. A Knox Box is a secured box located on the outside of the building with a key to the business locked inside. When the building is built, the box is actually built inside the wall. The Fire Chief has a key, and there is a key on the fire truck. In case of a fire emergency, this is a system to allow the Fire Department to access the business. Councilmember Folsom asked about the liability to the City. Fire Chief Nelson did not know about liability. However, Knox Boxes are used all over the world and the boxes are built by Fort Knox. The key system was explained. A number of businesses, schools, and churches in the Ammon area have voluntarily opted to install Knox Boxes. The Fire Department prepared a letter to be given with each building permit for a new commercial building or a major commercial building remodel requesting that a Knox Box be installed. Most businesses have been willing to participate. One new owner claims that he did not receive the letter. Woods Funeral Home does not want to put in a Knox Box because of the nature of their business. The Fire Department would like each business to have a Knox Box because it is faster to access and it saves damage to the building. The benefits to the owner, to the fire Department, and to the City were discussed. Council member Bean moved to establish an ordinance to require Knox Boxes on any commercial building. Council member Anderson seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Bean - Yes; Anderson - Yes; Folsom - Yes; Waite - Yes. The motion carried unanimously. A discussion followed on what to include in the ordinance. It was questioned whether or not to require a Knox Box on each building. For example, a strip mall has a row of businesses close together that may be able to share Knox Boxes. Another concern was whether the Knox Box should be in front or in back. Attorney Anderson asked if the ordinance should be retroactive to include established locations or only to include new construction or remodeling. It was decided to let the Fire Department work out the details with the individual owner on where to locate the box and whether every business should have their individual box or if units in a strip mall could share. The ordinance should apply to new commercial construction or commercial remodel. Fire Chief Nelson met with Wal-Mart last week on the grant money they are giving to the Fire Department. Wal-Mart has asked the Department to participate with public relations. They have something planned for each month. The first one is scheduled for Saturday, April 20 from 11 :00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is called Safety Awareness. They would like the Fire Department to bring the City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 7 new fire truck to the store with some of the volunteers to help with the event. Mayor Ard did not have a problem with participating, and the Fire Department thinks it is a great idea. Wal-Mart employees are excited about the monthly activities. Tie Breaker Village Division No. 10 was recorded without a street name for the cul-de-sac off John Adams Parkway. Originally it was to be Center Court but Bonneville County requested that name not be used because it was used elsewhere. We have been calling the street John Adams Circle or John Adams Court. Benton Engineering filed an Affidavit of Correction to name the street Katie Court. Bonneville County has requested approval from the City of Ammon for the name change. There is one house on the cul-de-sac, which is occupied, and the residents are in favor of the change of name. Engineer Manwill advised the existing house needs to be assigned a new house number. Councilmember Anderson moved to approve the change of name for the cul-de- sac in TieBreaker Division No. 10 called John Adams Court to Katie Court. Councilmember Folsom seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Anderson - Yes; Folsom - Yes; Waite - Yes; Bean - Yes. The motion carried unanimously. Bach Development has requested approval of the connection fees for the apartment complex (Eagles Landing) which they are building behind Edwards Theater. The water connection fees have been tentatively approved, but Bach needs an approved figure for the sewer connection fees and the fire suppression lines. The resolution, which has been adopted, states the "Sewer Line Connection for Apartment Buildings/Duplexes/CondominiumslTownhouses and similar living units" will be "$600.00 per connection plus $200.00 per living unit in excess of I unit." Connection fees are charged with the building permit. There was a discussion on the fee schedule. When Arave Construction obtained the permit for the apartment complex behind Sonic Drive In, their sewer connection fee was calculated in error, but it is too late to go back to recoup the additional money. Public Works Director Wadsworth explained the water connection fees as quoted to Bach Development. The City Council calculated sewer connection fees. Bach Development is to pay sewer connection fees as per Resolution No. 2001-06 and $500 for each of the fire suppression lines that is required. Fees are to be collected with the building permit according to the number of buildings that are included in the permit. The City Council still wants to send out a Spring Newsletter. The City Officials were each asked to submit some information for the newsletter. It needs to be mailed with the billing for April or about April 26. City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 8 The City Clerk reported that City of Ammon receives agendas with minutes from both Bonneville County and City of Idaho Falls for their Planning and Zoning meetings. She asked how long to retain these records. The City Council should approve destruction of records generated by the City. The City Council authorized keeping the City of Idaho Falls and Bonneville County Planning and Zoning agendas and minutes for one year unless they apply directly to City of Ammon development. After one year they may be destroyed. Attorney Anderson agreed. Idaho Code 63-802A requires Taxing Districts to notify the County Clerk of the location and date of the budget hearing for FY2003 by April 30, 2002. The City Council set the date for Thursday, September 5, 2002, at 7:30 p.m. in the City Building. County Clerk Ron Longmore is to be advised of the date. (The date was later changed to August 15, 2002.) The Association of Idaho Cjties Spring District Seminar has been scheduled for April 12 at the Shilo Inn f~Qm 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The agenda covers new legislation and budgeting. Council member Karen Anderson and City Clerk Aleen Jensen plan to attend. The State Tax Commission Budget and Levy Workshop is May 14 at 8:30 a.m. in the State office Building. Earth Day is April 22, 2002. A special recognition is planned for April 20 at the Grand Teton Mall. The organizers have invited City of Ammon to participate with a display or demonstration. We are not prepared to participate. Regarding the forced annexation of the County Islands, Mayor Ard received calls from Sieperts and Sants. Sieperts have already been talking to Jay Johnson about him extending a water line, but they had concern about the amount of increase for property taxes. Mayor Ard did some calculations, and he estimated it would cost an additional $66 per $100,000 of assessed property valuation. Sants would benefit mostly from fire protection because they are the last house on a dead end street and they are completely surrounded by City of Ammon. However, Sants have to be convinced that annexation is a good deal. Council member Bean talked with LeMoyne Johnston, and he is opposed. He wants to know how he will benefit. Details of annexing property were discussed. Attorney Anderson pointed out that the Legislature passed a new annexation law to be effective July 1, 2002. He has not studied the new law, but it gives more authority to annex property contiguous to the City. In order to proceed with the annexation of the County City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 9 Islands, the City Office needs to have good metes and bounds legal descriptions. Engineer Manwill and the Assessor's Office should be able to help with these. Mayor Ard explained that Ron Folsom has volunteered to help in the capacity of a City Planner. In our process of planning and zoning, frequently one or two members get involved studying the issue thoroughly. Then it appears, when the issue comes before the Commission that these members are already for or against. It is a natural thing. Ron feels maybe we should change our procedure to have one of the Commission members study the issue but not vote. He would be willing to do the initial preparation and bring the facts to the Commission. He would not vote to recommend approval or denial. If a developer came in, rather than coming to the City Councilor to the Planning and Zoning Commission, the developer would go to the City Planner to work out the details. A presentation would still be made at the meetings. The proposal has benefits for the City. Councilmember Anderson recognized the benefits, but thought the City ought to be prepared to fund a City Planner position because a volunteer may not always be available. Council member Bean pointed out that with what all the City Officials have gone through with the Wal-Mart development, a City Planner would have been a tremendous asset. As we go through the budget sessions, we can start building funds into the budget for a City Planner position. It appears the City of Ammon will continue to grow. Allen Nellesen, an interested citizen, just moved back in the area after being gone for seventeen years. The growth here is like he watched in Colorado. He wanted to know what is being done to bring in parks and schools. He did not think there was anything being done for the community where people are going to live. The City is working on areas to handle the growth, but it is hard for the average citizen to see. Councilmember Bean suggested that Ron Folsom come to a City Council meeting to explain his idea for a City Planner. Also, Council member Bean wondered if it would not be better to have a paid City Planner even if the pay would be minimal because of the liability. Attorney Anderson advised a volunteer City Planner could be a non-paid representative of the City just like members of the Planning and Zoning Commission and come under the immunity of the City as far as liability. Tom Hunsaker asked if there was information available on what other cities pay for a City Planner in comparison to their population. The City Council agreed that it would be good for Ron Folsom to come to City Council meeting to discuss his idea. Reports: Chief Clarence Nelson reported for the Fire Department. He circulated a checklist of areas to be checked to determine our fire rating. Plans City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 10 are to have a State Review on Monday, May 13, to rate the department. Our rating now is 5 and it is hoped it will change to 3. There has been no change in the dispatch problem. Councilmember Folsom reported that she observed and questioned how a volunteer department in Arizona handles dispatch. The system works for them, and they would be willing to supply us with information. Council member Anderson said Ammon's dispatch problem is both a Fire Department issue and a Police Department issue. Equipment does not appear to be a problem but personnel is. Scott Norman of the Fire Department needs to renew his certification as a Draeger SCBA Technician. Draeger requires all technicians working with the breathing apparatus to renew their certification every two years. There is a training workshop scheduled in Nampa later in April. Scott was authorized to attend the workshop to update his certification. David Wadsworth reported for Public Works. The crew is getting started on the water breaks found through the winter. Two were repaired during the week and two more need attention. It is time to start on the parks and to get them ready for summer. There have been no problems with the work on the bridges for the Sunnyside Road project, except for one day on the waterline. A line had to be cut under the bridge and more people were without water than there should have been. Councilmember Bean reminded that the residents are to be given notice, preferably 24 hours in advance, when their water will be off. Public Works Director Wadsworth explained the situation. There was no choice but to shut down the water. When Public Works is replacing waterlines, they will advise the office where they will be working. If a main line is broken, the office will be aware. Engineer Manwill reported on the bridge construction and the Sunnyside Road project. The project is moving along. It appears they will be ready to start the Hitt Road intersection in August. An update meeting on the Sunnyside Road project is planned for Wednesday, April 10, at 10:00 a.m. Council member Anderson reported about Animal Control. We went to Court over a dog bite, and the dog was put down. There was another dog that bit, but the City was not notified about the first offense. It was decided it would probably be good if that dog just disappeared. Jay Glick, Animal Control Officer, works on the garbage truck from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. each day. Councilmember Anderson helped Jay by preparing a synopsis of our animal control ordinance to give out to residents in neighborhoods where there are dog problems. The animal control City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 11 truck has some repair problems that need to be addressed. Other dog problems were discussed. There is a need for animal control at different hours. However, Jay is also needed to help with garbage collection. Garbage collection procedures were explained. Engineer Manwill said that Monday and Fridays are the biggest garbage days for the transfer station. He wondered if there was a reason. City of Ammon probably has a bigger day on Monday because that is the day we do dumpsters. Three garbage dumpsters have been built, and they are ready to paint. There is enough material on hand to build three more. Six dumpsters were made during the winter. Councilmember Bean inquired about how long it takes to build a dumpster. David Wadsworth explained the building process. Attorney Anderson has a Development Agreement for Briarwood Division No.6 to be reviewed. Jay Johnson postponed action on Division No. 6 until April 18. There was no reason to consider the agreement until the Council looks at the plat. Planning and Zoning approved the Division No. 6 plat with a provision to connect the streets, but they did not request the developer to include the unplatted strip between McDonald's Farm and Briarwood. The unplatted strip was discussed, but no solution was resolved. Councilmember Anderson pointed out that the law enforcement contract provides that the officer will attend one City Council meeting per month to report. Regarding background checks by the FBI, we are required to add language to our ordinance if we want such a background check. The language requirements were read and discussed. The deadline for compliance is May 1, 2002. The information was sent to the City through the Bonneville County Sheriff. The City Council needs to decide if we want to have FBI discretionary background checks or mandatory background checks. We can continue with background checks by the County, but they are very limited. We can decide later how strict we want to be with background checks but, if we ever want FBI checks, we better add the language to our ordinance now. Councilmember Anderson agreed to give the requirement information to Attorney Anderson. The City Clerk agreed to review the codified ordinances to determine when background checks are required. Applicants for licenses to sell door-to-door need to follow the requirements as stated in the codified ordinances. Claims were approved. Councilmember Bean moved to go into an Executive Session to discuss personnel matters. Councilmember Folsom seconded the motion. Voting on the motion by the City Council members was unanimous in favor. The Regular Meeting was adjourned to Executive Session. City Council Meeting, April 4, 2002 - Page 12 Following the Executive Session the City Council returned to the Regular Meeting. Council member Bean moved to create a position titled City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer, to advertise for applications for the position, and to advertise for applications for the position of Parks Director. Council member Folsom seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Bean - Yes; Folsom - Yes; Waite - Yes; Anderson - Yes. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned. Mayor Attest City Clerk