January 10, 2024 | General Meeting

Voting

• 4-0 approving the Consent Agenda, which includes the following:
• Monthly financial summary for November 2023
• Accounting of recently approved project change-orders
• Receive $14M in state funds to construct Olympia Blvd.
• Minutes for Nov 8, Nov 15, Dec 5, Dec 13, Dec 15 City Council meetings
• 4-0 approving a maximum building height increase for hotels in the Anthem Commercial center

General Meeting

Recognitions

The Government Finance Officers Association and the City Council formally recognized the Finance Department for their Excellence in Financial Reporting award given by the GFOA.

Public comment

• One resident expressed support for the City to fully explore improving the City's water hardness. 

City Council board and committee reports

• Councilmember Ohrn, representing the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District board, reported that capital expenses are estimated at $470 million over the next ten years, noting that water delivery costs are extremely high. She encouraged smart water use and noted that state goals of accommodating population growth are at odds with the realities of water supply.

Anthem Commercial MDA amendment

The City Council granted a request from the Anthem Commercial (Winco area) developer to the master development agreement to allow the maximum building height of a hotel to increase from 45 to 65 feet.

Work Meeting

Water treatment and supply

The City Council asked staff members a few months ago to research options for treating the City's water for its extreme hardness. The City's water is safe and is well within all federal and state health requirements. However, the water is very hard and in some locations has an unpleasant taste. A significant portion comes from local Herriman wells, which have relatively cheap but extremely hard water. These sources are blended with a supply purchased from the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, which is less hard but also much more expensive. The Council reviewed several treatment options and sourcing combinations, which come with pros and cons and at various costs. Options include treating citywide through reverse osmosis, electrodialysis reversal, lime softening, and using more JVWCD water in off-peak seasons. The item will be discussed in future meetings, but due to costs, purchasing more less-hard water from the JVWCD may be the most likely option.

Columbus Adult Education Center and Youth Programs

The Columbus Adult Education Center opened in 2016 and has two campus locations in South Salt Lake and Ogden. They have expanded operations to Herriman, using space at Athlos Academy and requested to enter an agreement with Herriman City to use the basement of the old city hall to expand their services. The Herriman location is expected to be the largest of all the Columbus Adult Education Center locations. The program will work with the City to appropriately share costs of heating/cooling, internet, and so forth.

Budget revenue projections

The Finance Director presented anticipated revenue projections for the upcoming two fiscal years (July 2024-June 2025, July 2025-June 2026). Some ongoing funds (like sales tax and property tax) are expected to grow by a few percent. Other funds (like court fines, passport revenue) are anticipated to decrease by various amounts. Overall, revenue is expected to rise by 1.8% in fiscal year 2025 and 2.4% the following year. These revenues help the City know how to budget its operations 

Lobbyist priorities

Ahead of the state legislative session, the Council discussed which items to have the City's lobbyists prioritize. The lobbyists have been instrumental in securing state funding and for many local projects and communicating the City's concerns on other bills. The Council feels that focusing lobbying efforts on infrastructure to support growth will be the most successful. They identified a few key future projects to target possible state funding.

City Council board and committee assignments

Members of the City Council sit on various regional and internal boards and committees. The Council considered whether to re-assign boards and committees and decided to make no changes. The full list can be found on herriman.org/boards-commissions.

Video links

• Work meeting
• General meeting