02.13.2014CouncilMinutes
CITY OF AMMON
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES – WORK SESSION
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014
AGENDA:
CITY OF AMMON
2135 SOUTH AMMON ROAD
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA – WORK SESSION
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014 – 4:30 P.M.
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
1.Ball Ventures – Discussion of Development of Ammonside
2.Budget and Strategic Planning
3.Misc.
MINUTES
City Officials Present:
Mayor Dana Kirkham
Councilmember Brian Powell
Councilmember Rex Thompson
Councilmember Sean Coletti
Councilmember Russell Slack
Councilmember Brad Christensen
Councilmember Byron Wiscombe (arrived at 4:50 p.m.)
City Administrator/Planning Director Ron Folsom
City Clerk Rachael Brown
City Treasurer Jennifer Belfield
City Engineer Lance Bates
Public Works Director Ray Ellis
Building Official Charlie Allen
City Officials Absent:
None
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
Mayor Kirkham opened the meeting at 4:30 p.m. at the City Hall building located at 2135 South
Ammon Road.
1. Ball Ventures – Discussion of Development of Ammonside:
Ron explained where the property is located.
Eric Isom, Ball Ventures said there are two items he would like to discuss today. The first item is the development on
Sunnyside Road. Eric displayed the site map and explained how the box stores would be laid out, and where Cabella’s would be
located in the development. Eric said it is his understanding that City staff would like Judy Street to become a dedicated City street.
Eric explained that Ball Ventures has a hard time paying for a city street section, and adding the expense on the backs of the new
businesses. Ball Ventures does not feel as a retail development, that Judy Street is needed. There is access to the site off of Hitt Road
through the use of a drive aisle. Ball Ventures feels the road will benefit the homes and the residents to the east and it will benefit
traffic going through, but would not be necessarily beneficial to the project.
Mayor Kirkham asked for clarification from Eric about calling Judy Street a drive isle. Eric said it would look like the other
entrances coming into the shopping center. It would gain access into the shopping center, people would have the ability to drive in,
move around and shop, but would not necessarily go all the way through. Mayor Kirkham asked what the cost was to go that far. Eric
said the rough figures are $750,000 for the entire Judy Street with a commercial street width. Mayor Kirkham asked Eric if they are
not opposed to it being a commercial street; they are just opposed to paying for it. Eric said yes. Mayor Kirkham she remembers when
the Stonehaven subdivision was developed; the promise has always been that Judy Street would be punched out. The residents in that
subdivision have difficulty getting onto Sunnyside Road especially when school is in session. Mayor Kirkham said for her she feels
like this has to be a commercial street, because the promise has been made to the constituents living in that area. She is in favor of
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sharing the cost with Ball Ventures. Discussion ensued regarding Judy Street. Councilmember Thompson said he can’t see that the
cost would be $750,000 to put Judy Street in. Sunnyside Road was twice that, five lanes wide and a mile long. Eric said the cost is
only an estimate based on their experience. Councilmember Coletti asked if Ball Ventures would share the cost of Judy Street if it was
a through street. Eric said yes; they are aware something needs to be done with the lane. The difference between what they have
planned for it and the cost of putting in a commercial street is quite significant. Mayor Kirkham said the trouble with making it a
drive through is that people are going to use it as a street. Councilmember Thompson said it is a street and it needs to be a street.
Councilmember Powell asked if Ball Ventures have discussed Hitt Road with the City of Idaho Falls. Eric said yes. Councilmember
Powell asked if they are participating in the cost with the City of Idaho Falls. Eric said in the development agreement with Idaho Falls
they have an obligation to pay for it. Councilmember Powell asked if there was any discussion with regards to a signal light. Eric said
there has been discussion, but a conclusion has not been reached. Ron said they are expecting a traffic light on Hitt Road. The City of
Idaho Falls is resistant to have Judy Street come through where it is and they would prefer it goes down 200 feet outside of where the
guidelines are. To put a jog in Judy to bring it down 200 feet doesn’t really seem practical just to line it up with a different street in the
City of Idaho Falls.
Councilmember Powell said the Council had anticipated putting in money to improve Hitt Road when it was going to be
Costco; if that is now off the table, we can help out with Judy Street. Councilmember Thompson said the funds would have come back
from Costco in the form of frontage fees, and in this case it won’t be coming back. Mayor Kirkham asked if it is just not financially
feasible for Ball Ventures to make Judy Street a commercial road. Eric discussed the financial feasibility and how do they make sense
of it since they do not need it and it does not benefit them and the added cost makes it difficult. Councilmember Thompson said a
street would benefit Ball Ventures. Eric said it would not benefit anymore than a drive aisle. Councilmember Thompson said you need
to have dedicated streets in the parking lot. He used malls as an example and said they have streets around the parking lots you can
call them drive aisles but they are dedicated streets. It does not matter to the Council as long as you can get lanes of traffic through
there. Mayor Kirkham asked the Council if they were all in agreement that this needs to be a road. Mayor Kirkham pooled the Council
and they all concurred that this needs to be a dedicated street. Mayor Kirkham asked the Council if Ball Ventures should bare all the
cost or should the City partner with them a little bit. Councilmember Thompson asked Mayor Kirkham to give an example where the
City has partnered on a situation like this in the past. Mayor Kirkham said it is the same discussion they had about Costco. We have
not partnered in the past but, a concession was made for Costco because of the impact Costco would have on economic development.
Councilmember Thompson said they were not paying for it with Costco. They were putting it off until someone else paid for it. Would
they be able to make that kind of arrangement that would be great but, he does not see that kind of arrangement being possible since
Ball Ventures owns both side of the road. The City would not be able to get reimbursed. Ball Ventures will get money from the
developments going into the project. Councilmember Powell asked if a frontage fee could be placed on the other side of the road.
Councilmember Thompson said it is not possible because Ball Ventures owns both sides. Councilmember Christensen asked Eric to
continue explaining the proposal.
Eric explained they are proposing a park. They have 5.03 acres; the northern 2 to 2.5 acres would be used for storm water
retention. It is a large grassy area that can be used as a park. Erik displayed graphics pertaining to the park. If they valued the land at
$4 a square foot it would be worth $850,000. They would also be dedicating Judy Street to the City. If they were to donate the park
area to the City, they would landscape, install sprinklers, and probably half of that in exchange for the two traffic signals that are a
requirement of them. The traffic signals would be installed at Eagle and Judy Streets. Eric proposed Ball Ventures would donate the
park and the City would cover the cost of the two traffic signals. This includes 5 acres of property with half of it landscaped, sprinklers
and irrigation. They would like to put that on the table. According to the numbers this is a good deal for the City. It is an $800,000
value and $200,000 of landscaping. The City could put money in for the parking lot and some grass. Discussion ensued regarding the
site plan. Eric said the land set aside for the park is not worthless land. They could put the storm water under ground and build homes
or apartments. Councilmember Thompson asked how that would work without a storm pond. Clint Boyle explained they would use
filtration chambers. They have many options, but it is basically a filtration system that can be under parking lots or landscaping. They
are used in Boise a lot. Discussion ensued regarding underwater storm water drainage and water retention ponds.
Councilmember Christensen asked Lance if the project could do without the traffic light at Judy Street. Lance said it depends
on how fast you intend to see the growth happen. Councilmember Thompson said when Wal-Mart came in they put in both lights
without any help from the City of Ammon; the traffic signals were required and have been a good thing. If they get two or three stores,
there will be 200,000 sq ft of retail spaces that will have the same kind of traffic as Wal-Mart. Mayor Kirkham said Wal-Mart put in
the lights on Hitt Road and Curlew Drive. Those are two arterial roads, Judy is not. Councilmember Christensen said he thinks we
could do without the signal light on Judy Street. Lance said there has been discussion if the light was needed immediately, and it
probably isn’t. The light will be needed when the pad north of Judy is developed. Discussion ensued regarding the traffic light on Judy
Street.
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Councilmember Powell asked when the first store will open. Eric said the summer of 2015. Councilmember Slack said a
residential developer is required to put in a spider web of streets versus a single street in a commercial development. Eric said that is
to get access. They have all the access they need at the site. Clint said for this development Judy Street is not necessary; a drive
entrance like on Eagle Drive is necessary. It is a 24-34 ft drive aisle verses 40 ft of asphalt, curb, gutter, sidewalks and landscaping; it
is a much more costly expense for a public street. Councilmember Christensen said completing the road will reduce the pressure of
traffic from Hillcrest.
Mayor Kirkham said the question is, does the Council dig their heels in and let the developer do it all. The next question is
the park, and is Council willing to make a trade for the proposed acreage, fully landscaped and irrigated in exchange for the two lights.
Councilmember Powell said he is not too excited about the park and the cost to maintain it. Councilmember Christensen said Ball
Ventures would landscape two acres. The City would be responsible to landscape the other three acres. Councilmember Thompson
said every other park that has come into the City; the developer completed the park and turned it over to the City. Councilmember
Powell said we are not asking them to do that; they can put the storm water under ground and build on the acreage. Councilmember
Thompson asked about the requirement for the buffer strip. Ron said the requirements are a 60 ft wide landscaped park strip, which
runs north and south through the entire development, and is required to have a 6 ft fence on the property line, and a 6 foot high berm
landscaped with possible trails to access the sewer lines. Councilmember Powell asked what Ball Ventures would do if the City did
not want the park. Eric said they would reconfigure what they are doing now, or develop down the road. He said the park is a benefit
to the City and the residents. Councilmember Thompson said we have always gotten the parks free. We did not have to trade anything
for them. The City of Ammon does not have a lot of extra funds, and when a developer comes in, they need to pay their own way; it
may be a lot upfront but, you will not have to pay for the next guy that comes in down the road. There is no place in town that has had
a street go through their property, and not paid for it. Eric said if you look at the value of the donation of a million dollars plus for the
piece of land, it would cost the City $300,000. Councilmember Thompson said we changed the parking ordinance which already saved
Ball Ventures $1.5 million. Eric said the big box stores on the site plan don’t make them any money. They pretty much give the land
away to bring in the retailer and get the project started. They make their money in the lots around the outside. They will have to go
back to the drawing board if they cannot make some of the proposal work. They could sell the ground and it could sit for several
years. They want to do something beneficial for us and the community. Mayor Kirkham said she agrees ideologically with
Councilmember Thompson on what has been done in the past, but the economic climate has changed significantly and Ammon can
choose to be a player and make concessions that they would not have made in the past.
Councilmember Slack said the Ammon budget is tight with only $250,000 budgeted for streets. The park would be nice, but
he doesn’t know where we would come up with funds to construct a street or pay for the traffic lights. Eric said they want to
cooperate, and they do not want to make demands. Mayor Kirkham asked Ray to bid the section of road, figure out what work the City
can do and what we would need to contract out and get an actual number to work with. We can look at our budget and see what is
feasible. Councilmember Slack asked if it has to be a full size road, or is there a concession that can be made on the size and scope of
that piece. Clint said he agrees there are some options. Does the street need a wide commercial street, or could the street be developed
at different times. Mayor Kirkham asked Eric if he can wait ten days for the Council to figure out what they can do, and we will
negotiate at that time. Eric said yes.
2. Budget and Strategic Planning:
Tabled
3. Misc.:
Ray Ellis displayed some photos of the Bridgewater Subdivision. Ray said as they looked at the issue today
they did not know where the storm water went or where it was supposed to go. They learned that the developer was allowed to put in a
temporary drainage ditch. The drainage ditch is not adequate enough to handle the additional asphalt and homes. It filled up and began
to spill onto Greenwillow Lane. The Public works department used the Vacuum truck to get some of the water out, but it was not
adequate. They were able to get a trash pump, and pumped water for about five hours. The water was close to flooding a house, is hard
on the streets, and poses a danger to the residents and school children. Discussion ensued regarding storm water drainage. Mayor
Kirkham request a letter be sent to the developer Hal Wright outlining what needs to be improved.
Ray explained that another issue is the field behind Cortland Ridge and Woodland Hills subdivisions. The field flooded two
years ago and it flooded again last night, but public works was able to prevent any property damage. Ray will also send a letter to
Brent Johnson of Rockwell Homes about improvements to his development to prevent flooding.
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Ray said as of this afternoon the canals are about a third full with runoff water, and the police department will be monitoring
it. Mayor Kirkham said someone should be checking with Progressive Irrigation to make sure the gates are open. Discussion ensued
regarding flooding trouble spots.
Mayor Kirkham asked the Council how many of them had read the City’s comprehensive plan. Ron will email it to the
Council for them to read. The transportation and the future land use section are worth review before they discuss strategic planning so
they are consistent with the comprehensive plan. Mayor Kirkham passed out a packet to the Council. She reviewed the 2025 BMPO
UZA Roadway map and said this is the classification as it stands for federal dollars. The map is worth paying attention to. If the
Council thinks something is not correct, let her know so she and Lance can advocate for changes and corrections. Discussion ensued.
Mayor Kirkham said the second map is the Comprehensive Land Use Map which includes the area of impact. Ron explained the map
to the Council. Mayor Kirkham said this gives the Council an idea for the City growth pattern, and a point of reference to study as
they are determining what the City of Ammon is supposed to be in twenty or thirty years. The area of impact has jumped in priority.
Mayor Casper has requested that after the Council’s talk about the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on Hitt Road, they address
the area of impact with the County Commissioners. Mayor Kirkham said she does not know why the impact area is important since it
will be economically driven. Ron explained the importance of the area of impact as it pertained to annexation. The impact area is
important so the City has some control of what happens in the County. Mayor Kirkham said to be aware that Stafford Smith is driving
the discussion. What is happening on Sunnyside Road is driving their concern regarding the area of impact. They are more concerned
about the southwest part. Mayor Kirkham said be aware as the discussion involves the motivation in that area of Sunnyside, but it may
turn into a battle with the City of Ammon because it may come back to the same discussion held four years ago which was, does
Ammon expand its area of impact to the City of Shelley along the regional sewer line. The City of Idaho Falls is not in favor of that,
and the Council needs to be prepared for that. Councilmember Slack said our specifications are close to the City of Idaho Falls
specifications, and he does not think they need to have that argument.
The next map is the zoning map. Mayor Kirkham asked the Council to review it one more time, and become familiar with
where the different zones are located within the City. The last map is the pedestrian bicycle map. The idea is eventually there will be a
trail system throughout the whole region. Mayor Kirkham assigned the Council to review the maps and the comprehensive plan. The
goal is to identify projects that are a priority. The next will be to find funding for the projects in the budget.
Jennifer said last April the investment policy was submitted to the APTUSC (Association of Public Treasures of the United
States and Canada). They have reviewed the policy and thought it was great. They will send a certificate and present a plaque to the
City at the annual conference in July/August in Salt Lake City.
Councilmember Slack said he had a very interesting conversation with Scott at economic development. They discussed why
Madison County has chosen not to join the regional coalition. The issue was how it was presented to them. He felt it was a good
conversation and he will share more at a later time. Mayor Kirkham asked how it was presented. Councilmember Slack said what they
were presented was all economic development of the different entities would be consolidating into one person; that is how they
understood it. They are in favor of working together as a region.
Councilmember Wiscombe asked if there is any reasons why these entities feel like it is in their best interest to just do it.
Mayor Kirkham said there are no reasons they cannot do it. Some worry about the $35,000 that goes to “Grow Idaho Falls” but, she
thinks the model they are settling on is going to work. We will see the ideal of one RFP being presented but, the spirit of competition
will always remain.
Councilmember Thompson said we are all excited for Cabella’s to come in, but he thinks we should not change the way we
do business for one developer. We have had others approach the City with request for help on projects, such as John Adams and
Curlew and we need to be careful with that. Councilmember Slack said we will have this discussion next week. Mayor Kirkham said
we will have figures then, and Councilmember Thompson’s point is very well taken. Councilmember Thompson said his philosophy is
growth has to pay for itself in Ammon. The property taxes barely cover the police protection for the commercial businesses with
shoplifting trouble. It does not take many shoplifting calls per year for the money they pay for police to be gone. An example is if their
project is a $12 million project the City receivers $25,000 a year for that. Mayor Kirkham said Councilmember Thompson has given
us good food for thought, it is worth consideration; philosophically she agrees with Councilmember Thompson and eight years ago
she would have said the same things. She believes there is an element of risk taking that has to occur if you want to be competitive. If
our vision is to let growth pay for itself, than we have to acknowledge what our role will be in the region. We need to remember our
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fees are not what they were eight years ago and because of our fees we have become comparable to Idaho Falls. It is no longer a deal
to build in Ammon.
Councilmember Powell said the Quail Ridge Home Owners Association wanted to know the amount set aside as a matching
grant for the play ground. Mayor Kirkham said $10,000
Councilmember Christensen said he spoke with a constituent that said when he comes in the pay his bill, the City has the
nicest ladies that work in the office. He would like that passed on to April and Shari.
Councilmember Slack moved to adjourn.
The meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
__________________________________________
Dana Kirkham, Mayor
______________________________________________
Rachael Brown, City Clerk
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