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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 06 2017 CM Study SessionCITY OF CHUBBUCK COUNCIL STUDY SESSION MINUTES SEPTEMBER 6TH' 2017 — 4:00PM CALL TO ORDER: Mayor England COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Kevin England, Melanie Evans, Josh Ellis, Annette Baumeister, Ryan Lewis and City Attorney Tom Holmes STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Public Works Director Rodney Burch, Paul Andrus, Devin Hillam, Bridger Morrison, Deputy Clerk Joey Bowers, and City Clerk Rich Morgan GENERAL BUSINESS: 1 Discussion on Integrity Estates Div. 2 Park Fees Public Works Director Rodney Burch presented information for the Integrity Estates Cash in Lieu fees. Mr. Burch stated that he and mayor England had meet with Mr. Peterson before this meeting. Mr. Burch presented to the Council that City staff with accordance to its current ordinance would calculate cash in lieu fees as a single lot of .39 acres instead of 2.6 lots as the land value. Mr. Burch believed this was a more accurate calculation for cash in lieu fees moving forward. He did not see this new cash in lieu calculation affecting any previous agreements with developers. Councilmember Evans wanted to know if staff felt like this new calculation was going to set a precedence for Council to follow with other developers. Councilmember Lewis wanted it known for the record that this discussion and agreement had been created by City Staff and Mayor previous to this meeting. Councilmember Ellis wanted to know if this would affect any previous cash in lieu agreements. 2 General Discussion of Cash in Lieu Fees Councilmember Ellis stated that since the City Council is wanting to go a different direction with City parks that cash in lieu fees need to be fair to developers. So that they were not being penalized for paying the cash in lieu instead of building a park. Councilmember Ellis wanted to know what procedures the Council needed to go through to change the current ordinance. He also wanted to know what the time line was for the City's parks master plan to be completed. Councilmember Ellis wanted to know if the master plan would be able to be applied to the shifts in City growth. Councilmember Ellis felt like that designation parks help sell and market growth. He would also like the builders and the builders association to take a look at cash in lieu fees and designation parks as well so that the City and its developers can work together for growth. Public Works Director Rodney Burch didn't feel like there was a worthy change to the current Ordinance until the City finishes its parks master plan. Mr. Burch stated that if Council wanted to make some intermediate changes that City Staff would need direction from the Council. Mr. Burch was under the impression that the parks master plan was still 4-5 months away before the City would be ready to finalize the impact study. Mr. Burch felt like the master plan is a need and helps provide a standard to all areas of the City. Mr. Burch stated that the master plan would have an impact on developer fees but that it would help set up a city standard to apply those fees. Councilmember Lewis believes that the current ordinance states that the City decides if a developer will build a park or pay the cash in lieu fees. Councilmember Lewis just wants to make sure that the Council doesn't rush things just to get it done but to take the appropriate time needed to make the correct changes. Councilmember Lewis felt like Ordinance fee interpretation needs to be signed off by the Council. He suggested that the park fees could be part of the plat for approval. Councilmember Lewis stated that cash in lieu fees go in an account that is dedicated for new parks. City Attorney Tom Holmes felt like that Council would not need to assess every cash in lieu unless the developer disagreed with City staff. Mr. Holmes stated the current Ordinance has been around since 1992, so it's not a new fee to developers. He thought what other cities do is irrelevant, but he felt like the City shouldn't fee the City out of being developed. Councilmember Evans had a hard time basing fees on other cities numbers because of all the differences among cities, but didn't want to be so high that developers didn't want to build. She agrees that the City needs to look more at grants and other avenues to help promote and finance growth. Councilmember Baumeister wanted to know if the impact study would shift the developer's contributions from what it would cost to build a park to the impact/portion the development would have on the current parks. Councilmember Baumeister felt like City staff and the Council is working with the developers while they are trying to make the appropriate changes to the current City Ordinance. She asked to hear input from the developers in the audience. Councilmember Baumeister felt like that the Council should look at how surrounding Cities fund there parks. She feels like the Council and City staff is progrowth. Nick Jensen liked that the city is willing to work with the developers. He was wondering why the City charges developers a park fee when surrounding Cities do not have that fee. He also wanted to know if the City used only new development fees or if the City also used the general fund for building and maintaining parks. Mr. Jensen stated that he looks at what a development is going to cost from one city to another city before deciding to develop. Rockwell Homes stated that the City of Idaho Falls and Ammon fund there city parks with taxes. They also fund improvements and developments to parks through grants. Rockwell uses Homeowners Associations to help maintain and upkeep on retention ponds. They also stated that Bonneville County, and City of Ammon has turned them down for donating land for a park because it was too small. These cities do not want small parks because they cannot maintain these parks. Rockwell committed to present to the Council a side by side comparison of the same development and cost in the City of Chubbuck and other surrounding cities. Rockwell felt like the Council needed to decide if they wanted to promote growth or have the developers leave and develop somewhere else. They suggested that the Council should also look at scouts/eagle projects, organizations, and clubs to help with the costs with these projects. Mayor England would like a copy of numbers presented by developers for review and consideration to help make the best decisions. Planning and Development Director Devin Hillam stated that City Staff is currently looking at city code to make the city more competitive. 3 Parks Master Plan Discussion Public Works Director Rodney Burch introduced Bill Jackson from Jackson land design, who is helping with the City's parks masterplan. Mr. Burch presented the organized circle of communication to help build a parks master plan. He also went over the steps moving forward with this plan. Mr. Burch stated that Jackson Land design will present council three options for consideration as a master plan when all the steps have been completed. Council suggested that the City needs to look at building a park on the east side of the tracks. They also felt like they need to look at the needs of the City and surrounding areas so they are not duplicating what is already available. They would like to use existing canals as bike and walking trails to connect parks. They would also like to see a disk golf course, sledding hill, soccer fields with covered bleachers, and a skate park. They would also like to plan for site locations as the City expands north. 4 Rec Center Study Councilmember Evans wanted to follow up on moving forward with a feasibility study on a recreation center. She feels like the City and Council cannot make a good decision without doing a feasibility study. Councilmember Evans has talked to the representatives of the senior center about combining the senior center and a recreation center, and they liked the idea. She also thinks that the best way to move forward would be a recreation district, but feels like they need to do the study to determine the best way to move forward. Council felt like the study could correlate with other efforts that the city is already doing. They also believed it could tell them how much the city needs to grow if any before moving forward with a recreation center. Council would like to have a step by step proposal and the costs associated with those steps before moving forward. ADJOURN: MAYOR KEVIN ENGLAND X, Rich Morqan ON Clerk X Kevin Enql nd Mavor