TOWN COUNCIL will hold a Regular Meeting
at 7:00 pm on WEDNESDAY
APRIL 22, 2009
The pre-meeting work session will begin at 6:30pm
WORK MEETING: 6:30 pm Town Hall
1. Reports from ULCT Convention – Bill Adams, Lee Ballard & Bruce Densley
2. Discuss upcoming projects
REGULAR MEETING: 7:00 pm Virgin Town Hall
4. Call to Order – Mayor John Grow
5. Pledge and Opening Remarks
6. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
NEW BUSINESS:
7. Close Public Meeting and Open Public Hearing on the following item:
a. Amending the 2008-2009 Budget
8. Close Public Hearing and Open Public Meeting.
9. Review with possible action item covered at the public hearing:
a. Amending the 2008-2009 Budget
10. Review with possible approval of the Liahona Expansion – Vince Blackmore
11. Discussion with possible adoption of the 2009 Town Council Meeting schedule.
12. Introduction of new Domestic Violence Coordinator for Eastern Washington Co. – Chief Wright
13. Discussion with possible approval of the Planning Commission recommended approval, subject
to opinions by the Town Attorney and Town Engineer and Virgin Town Fire Chief, Sandra
Grow of the Leaming Cove Subdivision, Division of Land Waiver. (Gene Sturzenegger)
14. Discussion with possible adoption of an ordinance providing standards and permitting process
for the temporary occupation of an RV in commercial zones.
15. Discussion with possible approval of appointments to the Board of Adjustments
16. Discussion with possible approval of the March 25, March 31, and April 6, 2009
Town Council minutes
OPEN FORUM: Limit to 2 minutes each.
COUNCIL COMMENTS: Discussion with Approval of:
17. Review of Invoices & Checks for March 2009
OPEN: Executive Session
ADJOURN:
18. Public Meeting
Karri Olds, Town Clerk
Posted at the following locations on this 21st day of April 2009:
1. Virgin Town Hall Office 2.Virgin Post Office 3. Red Coyote Café
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations (including auxiliary communication aids and services) during this meeting should notify Karri Olds, Town Clerk, at (435) 635-4695, at least 24 hours in advance.
*****
FINAL
VIRGIN TOWN COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Present:
Members:Mayor John Grow
Bill Adams
Lee Ballard
Bruce Densley
Luke Stevens
Others:Karri Olds, Town Clerk
Ray Golata, Town Treasurer
Darcey Spendlove
Adele Pincock, Planning and Zoning Commission Chairperson
Larry Amodt, Planning and Zoning Commission Member
Bonnie Timmerman
Tiffany Welch
Kurt Wright, Chief of Police
Ann Wixom
Tani Alger
Chad Atkinson, Town Auditor
Vince Blackmore
Gail Drennan
Gene Sturzenegger
Sandra Grow, Town Fire Chief
Bob Kelly
Kathy Kelly
Bill Swensen
Susan Swensen
WORK MEETING
The Work Meeting commenced at 6:30 p.m.
- Reports from ULCT Convention – Bill Adams, Lee Ballard, and Bruce Densley.
Bruce Densley reported on the ULCT Convention and stated that he was impressed by a quote about how local government is the most intrusive form of government. It brought to his attention the fact that the Town has a serious responsibility. He explained that there is no other form of government with the authority to require such things as specific types of lighting fixtures and the ability to specify where a home can be located on a piece of property. He stressed the importance of the Town Council being aware of the rights of individuals.
Lee Ballard stated that the Council Members are each supposed to participate in Open Meetings Training once per year. Although she had attended the presentation on numerous occasions, she noticed there were changes made to the law this year. Although minor, she stated that they will affect staff. For example, unedited recorded minutes need to be available for public listening within three days of a meeting. In addition, the Town is supposed to establish a formal policy to approve minutes. The Council should specify how long it will take to make the written minutes available, when they will be approved following the meeting, and make the draft minutes available to the public. Council Member Ballard stated that meetings can only be closed while in open meeting and a vote must be taken to close the meeting with a specific legally allowable reason to do so. She explained that the Council cannot adjourn a public meeting and then open an executive session.
Lee Ballard reported that she attended a presentation by Craig Call who is the Executive Director of the Utah Land Use Institute. Mr.Call said that there is a lot of litigation underway because developers who are hurting because of the failing market are looking at municipalities as a source of income. For that reason, the Town needs to be careful about how impact fees are used. Council Member Ballard reported that the legislative review in the state is going to establish summarizations and information that will be made available to Towns.
Lee Ballard stated that she also spoke to Mr.Call about what how the Town can be sure they are doing things correctly. Mr.Call informed her that the Utah Land Use Institute should make consultant recommendations for towns like Virgin. He recommended Council Member Ballard keep in touch with him in that regard.
Lee Ballard stated that she also attended a session taught by Mr.Call about encouraging dialogue with the public. Most of the suggestions pertained to how inadequate public hearings are when comments are received from the public but the Council does not respond. It was suggested that the Town have less structured sessions and perhaps even roundtable discussions about issues that will impact the community. Council Member Ballard clarified that a public hearing is a time for the public to speak and a public meeting is when the Council conducts its business.
Lee Ballard stated that the senior population is expected to outnumber families with children in the next few years. In addition, Utah home ownership is also expected to drop significantly with two-thirds of all new housing in Utah being built to accommodate renters to meet the new demand.
Bill Adams found David Church to be very entertaining and informative.
Lee Ballard announced a Five Counties Association of Government Board of Adjustment Training to be scheduled for May 12 in LaVerkin.
Council Member Ballard stated that a hard copy of the USU study was available. Arrangements were made for it to be picked up.
- Discuss Upcoming Projects.
Lee Ballard commented on an upcoming land use training in Toquerville and a water rights training in St. George on May 5. She reported that she spoke with Town Engineer, Jason Smith, recently about how water impact fees can be used to develop water sources. Mr.Smith suggested the Town try to get first rights of refusal on water owned by property owners with more water than their property requires.
Maintenance and repair issues were discussed. Mayor Grow asked that Town Clerk, Karri Olds, obtain bids on slurry seal work to be done on Town roads. Bruce Densley suggested the slurry be done only in areas where it is deemed necessary. He suggested that all other jobs be done one at a time rather than all at once. Lee Ballard suggested the Town work toward engineering Kolob Road when possible.
With regard to water projects, Lee Ballard stated that it was confirmed that water impact fees cannot be used to bring substandard facilities up to Code. Items that were already below standard at the time of adoption of the Capital Facilities Plan cannot be paid for using impact fees. Impact fees can only be used to pay for improvements over and above what exists. Since most of the projects proposed have already been done, she stated that any remaining water impact fee monies can be used for projects not on the list, such as increasing fire flow and adding hydrants. She explained that they would qualify as additional facilities needed at build out. The Mayor stated that once a fire hydrant is installed, the water line will have to be upgraded to an eight-inch line. Council Member Ballard stated that the entire system should be upgraded to eight-inch. She pointed out that impact fee monies can be used to upgrade the system to eight-inch lines. Mayor Grow stated that Chris was in the process of checking fire flows. Once complete he will provide the figures to the Town Engineer.
Town Treasurer, Ray Golata, discussed the draft budget and impact fee issues.
Lee Ballard stated that after reading the Capital Facilities Plan it seemed like the Town can use money from the Parks and Open Space Fund toward at least a portion of the master plan that was bid out. An architect and engineers were chosen to work on it; however, the Town was unable to fund it. The Town’s Streets and Roads Committee adopted the plan approximately one year earlier. She stated that the Town’s failure to act was theoretically preventing developers from doing their part. Luke Stevens recommended that a Member of the Streets and Roads Committee update the Council at a future meeting.
REGULAR MEETING
- Call to Order.
Mayor Grow called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
- Pledge and Opening Remarks.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Mayor Grow asked that item 13 be addressed prior to item 7. There were no objections.
- Declaration of Conflicts of Interest.
Lee Ballard stated that she potentially could have a conflict with agenda item number 14 dealing with the temporary occupancy of RVs in a Commercial Zone because she owns both commercial property and an RV.
NEW BUSINESS
- Review with Possible Approval of the Audit Report for 2007/2008. (Chad Atkinson).
Chad Atkinson from Hinton Burdick presented the Audit for the year 2008. With him was Tani Alger who also helped prepare the audit. Mr.Atkinson first reviewed the financial results for the General Fund and the Water Fund. He began on page 16 and described the results of the General Fund. The net change in fund balance was shown to have decreased by $63,186. There was a transfer made during 2008 for $74,270, representing a transfer to the Capital Projects Fund of impact fees collected in prior years that needed to be transferred in order to be tracked. That transfer represented a majority of the decrease in the General Fund. He stated that the General Fund actually had an increase of $11,084 as revenues were higher than expected in 2008.
Mr.Atkinson stated that graphs were provided to the Council with the first two relating to the General Fund. The trend for the General Fund was shown along with the asset trend, fund equity, and total liabilities. He explained that liabilities remained flat with about the same amount of liabilities at the end of the year as the prior year. Fund equity and assets decreased relative to the transfer described previously. Cash trends were shown where cash decreased in the General Fund from $134,926, to $118,566. Mr.Atkinson explained that the unrestricted cash remained flat between 2007 and 2008. He suggested the Town determine whether adequate reserves are set aside for monthly cash requirements. Currently $22,173 was set aside in the fund. Mr.Atkinson recommended the Council determine what a proper reserve should be. He suggested the monthly cash flow be examined to ensure that the Town has four to six months’ worth set aside.
Mr.Atkinson referred to the Town’s total obligations for the year. The total expenditures in the General Fund were $284,637. He explained that that amount could be divided by 12 to determine the monthly figure. It was noted that last year the Town spent $11,000 less than was taken in. Mayor Grow was congratulated for coming in under budget.
Mr.Atkinson pointed out that more revenues came in than were budgeted for, which was a positive. The difference between the amount budgeted and received was shown. It was noted that property taxes were less than budgeted. Other revenues and donations were $25,000 over budget.
The Water Fund contained on page 18 was reviewed and discussed. Mr.Atkinson referred to the Income Before Contributions and Transfers line item, which showed the budget for the Water Fund. Revenues exceeded expenses by $6,099. He explained that the Capital Contributions-Developers line item includes a situation where developers donated water infrastructure to the Town to be maintained by the Town. He clarified that the $65,880 was not cash receipts but rather the value of capital property turned over to the Town. He suggested that be excluded from any cash flow calculations.
Mr.Atkinson referred to the seven-year graph on Operating Revenues and Expenses. It showed that operating revenue flattened out between 2007 and 2008, most likely the result of citizens trying to conserve water. During the same time period expenses continued to grow. Mr.Atkinson found that the increased expenses were due to water line repairs and other maintenance performed in 2008 as well as increased payments to the Washington County Water Conservancy District. Bill Adams pointed out that water fees were increased in January 2009, which would help equal the two out. Lee Ballard asked if money should be amassed through that fund to pay for necessary system improvements. Mr.Atkinson suggested funds be accumulated gradually. He recommended some reserve be set aside to make system improvements in the future being careful not to tax users to the extent that water rates become unreasonable. He stated that most likely the Town will also have to borrow money. Typically a portion is financed in-house and another from a lending institution. It didn’t seem to Lee Ballard that much can be set aside under the current fee schedule.
In response to a question raised by Council Member Ballard, Mr.Atkinson stated that it is common for a Water Fund to operate and show no profit at the end of the year. He stated that unrestricted cash in the Water Fund is increasing gradually, which is the proper way to set aside funds. From a cash flow point of view, cash is being increased but with regard to operations of the Water Fund, there is depreciation that is not a cash flow item. That in turn decreases the overall figure in the fund. He characterized the Town’s situation as very common and healthy.
Mayor Grow commented that the Town received a water increase some time ago from the Conservancy District that was not passed on to the public. The Town covered the difference out of other funds rather than passing the increase on to the public.
Mr.Atkinson stated that the Town was given a clean opinion on the financial statements. They saw no material adjustments needing to be made. The three types of findings were described. Material weaknesses found were identified as well as deficiencies. Reissues from prior years were reviewed. Fraud risk management issues were discussed. He noted that the governing body is required to have a fraud risk management program in place that is appropriate for the Town’s size. It involves brainstorming items that are at risk and how best to mitigate them. Mr.Atkinson stated that his office could provide the Town with establishment guidelines. He also noted that they conduct a training session annually.
Compliance issues were discussed. Mr.Atkinson referred to page 47 and stated that the annual financial report is due 180 days after the end of the fiscal year. There were several items that delayed the audit that were included on a list provided the Council by Town Treasurer, Ray Golata. Mr.Atkinson stated that if the audit is not completed in a timely manner, typically the state will first send the Town a letter and then cut off sales tax revenue. He stated that the audit should begin early with their preference to start in July if possible. He stated that they have had some of their staff in the Town Office assisting Mr.Golata and working in partnership with the Town to address some of the findings.
Mayor Grow asked if some of the delay could be attributed to a misunderstanding of Caselle. Mr.Atkinson described the various delays including computer issues and explained that once they began work, the audit seemed to go fairly smoothly. Mayor Grow asked if the Town should invest in more Caselle training. Mr.Golata explained that training is not offered on the Town’s current version of Caselle. They were trying to work with what they have using the resources available to them. Advantages and disadvantages of Caselle were discussed. Mr.Atkinson stated that the Town has already paid for Caselle and was confident that it will be serve the Town well once the issues are addressed.
Mr.Atkinson thought progress was being made and the Town was headed in the right direction. The intent was to send Ms. Alger to help Mr.Golata as often as is necessary. He noted that the fee for audit services for the following year will remain unchanged and he asked that the Mayor sign an agreement for next year’s service tonight. No Members of the Council objected.