March 10, 2021 | General Meeting

Voting

5-0 approving the Consent Agenda, which includes:

• Minutes from February 10^th City Council meeting.
• Minutes from special City Council meetings (regarding the City manager recruiting and hiring process) on January 22^nd, February 11^th, 22^nd, 25^th, 26^th, and March 1^st.  

5-0 tabling a discussion and approval of an amendment to City code Title 6. This was continued as towing company and homeowners association management companies reached out in recent days to be included in conversation to help improve the City's drafted ordinance related to towing rules within the city. The Council wants to continue to see if there are ways to improve the current draft by including towing entities and HOAs in the conversation.

General Meeting

City Council comments and recognitions

Councilmember Smith expressed gratitude to City staff for working hard to facilitate the City manager recruitment process. 

In light of the recent one-year anniversary of the death of Herriman Police K9 Officer Hondo, Councilmember Shields expressed gratitude to public safety officers.

Mayor Watts complimented City staff for working hard to comply with any and all COVID-19 related mandates and precautions throughout the last year.

City Council board and committee reports

Councilmember Ohrn, reporting for the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District board, noted that despite recent snow storms, it is still very dry. As of the latest projections, Jordan Valley Water anticipates about 57% of a normal snowpack. Due to good planning and conservation, water restrictions are not anticipated, but public conservation is strongly encouraged to avoid any water shortage.

Councilmember Shields, reporting from the Mosquito Abatement District, observed after a recent conference that Utah has played a prominent role in development of mosquito abatement programs and mitigation procedures.

Councilmember Smith, reporting from the Conference of Mayors, noted a recent presentation from a representative from the Utah Department of Health. There has been positive progress in vaccination efforts and UDOH continues to hope and plan to open vaccines to all Utahns by April 1.

Councilmember Henderson, reporting from the Southwest Mayors Caucus, observed that the SWMC has shown to collectively benefit all participating cities by working together rather than competing with each other.

Work Meeting

Legislative session recap

Assistant City Manager Tami Moody, Herriman Police Deputy Chief Cody Stromberg, and the City’s contracted lobbyist gave a recap of the busiest Utah state legislative session on record. Several bills were proposed that posed a significant impact on local controls and public safety. Additionally, there were bills that addressed mental health, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, business assistance, economic development, and voting procedures. The City’s administrative staff, in conjunction with our local lobbyists, met regularly throughout the session to monitor bills, share information, and work with the Council on the City position on pieces of legislation. Staff and Council members also participated in policy coordination meetings with the Utah League of Cities and Towns, Wasatch Front Regional Council, Council of Governments, Utah Redevelopment Agency, and more, working closely with state senators and representatives and the City’s lobbyists on issues, attended committee meetings, and testified before committee on items as appropriate. 

Budget report—revenues

With the beginning of the City’s annual budget creation season, the Director of Finance reported on revenues to date in the current fiscal year compared to initial projections. Revenue from property taxes, sales taxes, franchise taxes, engineering and inspection fees, transportation funds from the State, and park fees is mostly up (in some cases, significantly) from initial projections last spring. However, revenue from impact fees and building permits—a significant revenue source—is under projections significantly. Despite the impact from the pandemic, Herriman City maintains a healthy financial situation due to years of fiscal restraint and conservative spending.

Bonneville study update

In 2018, Herriman City contracted with Bonneville Research to provide an evaluation of the impact of the proposed Olympia Hills Development on Herriman City. Since that time, the development has been approved in Salt Lake County with a lower housing density than was originally studied. The Council directed staff to ensure with Bonneville Research that the City’s current situation is analyzed to include Herriman City’s capabilities and responsibilities regarding the future growth with and without potential annexation of Olympia Hills into Herriman City.

HiCountryNet franchise agreement

HiCountryNet LLC has approached the city and requested a franchise agreement for internet services, which essentially is permission from the City to serve residents inside Herriman boundaries. The City Council requested further information about the company and to speak with the applicant at a future work meeting. Another expressed concern was the company using underground space to serve customers and potentially limiting future services with taking up space in underground infrastructure. The item will be discussed in a future meeting.

Planning Commissioner reappointments

The three-year service terms of three members of the Planning Commission are expiring on March 28, 2021. The three have expressed interest in being reappointed and City staff recommended the reappointments. Simply as a measure of due diligence, the City Council requested that staff look into City records to see if they can find any issues regarding the members from the public. Barring any unforeseen negative feedback, the Council would generally be supportive of the three commissioners, who have been regularly participating members, being reappointed.

Wasatch Front Waste Recycling District creation of local district

As noted in previous meetings, the Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District board, which includes Herriman City Councilmember Ohrn, is beginning a process to move WFWRD from a Special Service District to a Local District. It is not anticipated that that change would result in any change regarding fees or services, but will simply eliminate inefficiencies. Unanimous consent among board members (comprised of representatives from participating municipalities) is required and anticipated. After that, Salt Lake County needs to approve the action. The City Council directed staff to put its official approval up for a vote at the next meeting on March 24^th.

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