Garden City Staff Meeting

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  November 14, 2013.  Cindy Gooch from JUB reported on the progress being made on grant applications.  She reapplied for the Tiger Grant and wasn’t satisfied with the reason the grant wasn’t funded.  She had been told that she hadn’t interacted enough with regional leaders.  She contracted Senator Hatch’s office and sent copies of both of the previously submitted grants and asked why Utah is not getting any of the federal dollars that are available.  It was determined that there was no current funding for the Tiger Grant and that other grants could perhaps be pursued;  Gooch  gave a list of several possibilities and was encouraged to move forward with them.

There is an EDA grant that must be applied for prior to March.  Gooch indicated that she would get the papers ready and have the senators read the papers and introduce them.  She also noted there was a TAP fund due in January concerning trails and sidewalks.  They could be used to improve trailheads and sidewalk safety.

Jan Murray of JUB reported that the current water impact fees are not high enough to pay for the expense of connecting someone to the water system.  He indicated that the water study model is nearing completion and much better and more reasonable fees should be put into place.  Buildable lots on the hillsides are a smaller number than originally estimated.  There are about 4,000 possible lots currently in the hillside zoning area.  Of these, about 1200 to 1500 are in areas of under 25% slope.  This, of course, changes the number of units that will actually be needing water and will impact the fee schedule.

It was noted that reasonable water rates along with future replacement costs and future projects need special consideration to make things fair and equitable within the city.  Water distribution and storage are additional issues that need to be studied.

Riley Argyle reported that a MOU with the County has been signed concerning the gun range.  Additional studies dealing with sound issues on the gun range need to be undertaken.

The Bear Lake Water Company well is a dry well.  Nothing can be done with it.

Buttercup made a 2.9 acre trade with the City and the City now needs to fence the area that this subdivision has requested.

The roads in Buttercup need shoulders.  Currently, they edges are crumbling.  The Subdivision are willing to move the ditches so that the city had put in the required gravel on the shoulders and save the asphalt.  It will be done in phases so that everything won’t be in turmoil.  The first phase will be done this coming spring.

A pellet stove has been installed in the swimming pool area.  This has added to the comfort of the swimmers.

Water needs to be piped at Heritage Park.  Water will not flow down the current ditch, and it will require about 120 feet of pipe and a head gate to get water to flow to the right channel.  .  The Council Members didn’t think it was the City’s responsibility to take care of this problem.  It was noted that the Canal Company requires people with shares to be responsible for getting the water from the canal to their property, thus that should be the case in this situation as well. No final design has been completed for Heritage Park

The kiosk is complete except for the frame to be placed in the center of the structure.  .

The Council asked Argyle to look into the price of a large grader with an angled blade.  It would be good for pushing snow and other jobs around the city if the cost was reasonable.

Andy Stokes reported that something needs to be done concerning the city animal ordinance.  Dogs are often out and about, and he receives quite a few calls about them.  He noted that it costs $25 a day but feels the City needs to do something more in order to handle these animal problems.