[0:00] Y'all set?

[0:01] Okay.

[0:03] 5:00 somewhere. Welcome to the

[0:05] Springdale Town Council regular meeting.

[0:07] Today is Wednesday, April 8th, 2026.

[0:11] We are at the Canyon Community Center in

[0:13] Springdale, Utah. With us from the town

[0:16] we have Kendal Sagers, Nile Connolly,

[0:19] Tom Dansie, and Robin Romero. And on the

[0:22] dais from council we have Pat Campbell,

[0:25] Randy Aton, Barbara Bruno, Jack Burns,

[0:28] and Kyla Topham. And the time is 5:00.

[0:31] We'll start by reciting the Pledge of

[0:33] Allegiance.

[0:38] I

[0:38] >> I pledge allegiance to the flag

[0:41] of the United States of America

[0:43] and to the republic for which it stands,

[0:46] one nation under God,

[0:48] indivisible, with liberty and justice

[0:51] for all.

[0:54] I'll next entertain a motion to approve

[0:57] the regular meeting agenda.

[0:59] I would like to amend the agenda to

[1:01] strike item four, Natalie Britt's

[1:03] presentation from Zion Forever.

[1:06] Thank you. Which yeah, which one was

[1:08] that, Kyla? I'm sorry. Uh number four,

[1:10] the presentation from Zion Forever. Got

[1:12] it. Thank you. She cannot make it and

[1:14] may be here next month instead. Do we

[1:17] have a second on the motion?

[1:19] I'll second. Motion by Kyla, second by

[1:21] Randy.

[1:23] Kyla, oh, who are we starting with?

[1:25] Which way?

[1:25] You start, Pat.

[1:26] >> Pat, I. Randy, I. Barbara, I. Jack, I.

[1:29] Kyla, I. Okay. And we'll start with any

[1:32] general announcements.

[1:35] Uh yeah, I think Ryan is going to make a

[1:37] few announcements on behalf of the town.

[1:43] Yes, I've got quite a few things.

[1:45] April's kind of a busy month for us.

[1:47] So, after uh

[1:49] talking about for a long time, uh it's

[1:50] now April, so we have Zion Chautauqua

[1:52] Fest coming up. That'll be held on April

[1:54] 18th and 19th, and that's a Saturday,

[1:56] Sunday.

[1:57] And we want to make sure it that we're

[1:59] as clear as possible. This is going to

[2:00] be held here at the town field for the

[2:02] first time. The last few years it's been

[2:04] held down at um

[2:06] Zion Canyon Village at the entrance to

[2:07] the park. Not this year. It's going to

[2:09] be here. So, don't go there.

[2:12] Um both days of the event will start at

[2:15] 10:00 a.m. and end at 8:00 p.m. Uh it

[2:17] will feature chalk art, live

[2:19] entertainment, food, a beer garden, and

[2:21] then we'll have vendors both educational

[2:23] and commercial vendors. So, it's it's

[2:24] the same as years past. It's always a

[2:26] good time.

[2:27] We are still looking for volunteers. So,

[2:28] if anybody is interested in

[2:29] volunteering, uh they can reach out to

[2:31] Robin Sanders and we'll we'll put you to

[2:33] work. So.

[2:35] Um this next one, this is on behalf of

[2:36] the park, so I wrote it down so I didn't

[2:38] mess up. Jeff's back there, he'd

[2:40] probably smack me or something. So.

[2:42] on April 20th, Zion National Park

[2:44] will host Navy Day as part of the

[2:46] America 250 anniversary and as an

[2:48] outreach effort led by the Navy Office

[2:50] of Community Outreach. As part of this,

[2:53] the Navy Brass Band will be performing

[2:55] at the OC Tanner Amphitheater on Monday,

[2:57] April 20th at 6:00 p.m.

[2:59] This concert is for all ages and is

[3:01] completely free to attend.

[3:03] And then, as an addition to that, the

[3:04] following day on Tuesday, April 21st,

[3:06] that same Navy Brass Band will be

[3:08] performing down at the Town Plaza

[3:10] located at 680 Zion Park Boulevard. This

[3:13] performance will also be free and will

[3:14] also begin at 6:00 p.m. And just worth

[3:16] noting, there will be no event parking

[3:19] at this time for the performance at the

[3:21] plaza. So,

[3:22] take your bike or walk or whatever.

[3:25] Uh and then last, uh as part of the

[3:27] America 250 anniversary, the town will

[3:29] be hosting country singer Eric Dodge for

[3:31] a free community concert just here at

[3:33] the town park out by the gazebo. Uh that

[3:35] will be held on Friday, April 24th. Uh

[3:38] it will start at 6:00 p.m. and there

[3:39] will be a food truck. So, it should be a

[3:41] lot of fun. So, if you

[3:43] have people in town, bring them out. Be

[3:45] a

[3:46] good time. So.

[3:48] Any questions for me?

[3:51] Okay. Thanks,

[3:53] Any other announcements?

[3:57] Lisa Um

[3:59] I wanted to let make sure everyone know

[4:01] that in conjunction with

[4:03] excuse me with Earth Day the Z Arts will

[4:06] be doing the

[4:09] Wild and Scenic Film Festival

[4:12] on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. for a

[4:15] feature length film.

[4:17] Um I think it's

[4:19] American Southwest and then there'll be

[4:21] on a Saturday at 11:00 and Saturday at 7:00

[4:28] will be shorts 2 hours of shorts of each

[4:32] at a time period. This is being

[4:34] supported by the town wrap tax so we

[4:36] very much appreciate it. We want to make

[4:38] sure you guys come. It's I've already

[4:40] seen some of the films and they're

[4:41] fabulous. So please if you if you need

[4:43] to know the schedule it is out on the

[4:45] zarts.org website. Thank you.

[4:47] >> And the location Lisa?

[4:48] >> Oh thank you very much. It's at the

[4:49] Boberry this time. So you can bike or

[4:52] ride there maybe find a parking spot

[4:53] downtown.

[4:55] Um but for all three times and Z Arts is

[4:57] also looking for some few volunteers to

[4:59] help us at the event during those times.

[5:02] Um so if anybody wants to help us out

[5:04] with just getting people there that

[5:05] would be great. Thank you so much. Thank

[5:07] you.

[5:08] And not to compete with Lisa's request

[5:10] for volunteers I know that Robin Sanders

[5:12] is still looking for volunteers for the

[5:14] Chalk Fest with um

[5:17] parking and

[5:20] stuff like that right? Okay.

[5:23] Any other announcements?

[5:26] Okay. Superintendent Brady Bud do you

[5:28] want to give us an update on Zion

[5:29] National Park?

[5:37] Good afternoon.

[5:39] Uh to build on on Ryan's announcement

[5:41] relative to Navy Day there will be um

[5:44] some activities in the park as well.

[5:47] All of them will be at the human history

[5:50] museum area.

[5:52] Um, starting at 10:00 a.m. there'll be a

[5:55] formal flag raising

[5:58] um,

[5:59] including sailors from the historic ship

[6:02] the USS Constitution.

[6:05] And there will be a flag lowering at

[6:08] 3:00 p.m.

[6:10] And in between there'll be several other

[6:13] activities going on. We'll have some uh

[6:16] sailors from the USS Utah here as well as a rear admiral from the

[6:22] Pacific Fleet, so

[6:25] looking forward to those events.

[6:27] Watch our social media pages. That's

[6:29] where we'll have all the activities

[6:31] listed.

[6:34] Um, busy busy out there as you see and

[6:38] uh

[6:39] um At least there are no bikes.

[6:43] >> [laughter]

[6:44] >> I was counting the bikes as I drove

[6:46] over. I you know

[6:48] >> Did you see any real bikes or were they

[6:49] mostly

[6:50] bikes?

[6:51] >> No. Okay.

[6:52] >> [laughter]

[6:53] >> No, lots of lots of folks out um

[6:56] enjoying the area.

[6:59] Um, building on from March when we're up

[7:02] over 8% compared to March of 2025

[7:07] uh or February 2025, sorry.

[7:10] Uh March was also very busy. We're up uh

[7:14] 15%

[7:17] compared to March of 2025.

[7:22] And uh year to date through March 31st

[7:26] we're up uh 10.9%.

[7:30] Uh obviously that's carrying into

[7:33] to April, so we'll see how that goes

[7:36] going forward. Um, a few other things of

[7:40] note, uh the pedestrian entrance at

[7:42] Springdale

[7:44] um

[7:45] was the busiest that it's ever been in

[7:48] five the last 5 years at least.

[7:51] Um up 23.4%

[7:54] um so a lot of people

[7:56] uh coming in through the pedestrian

[7:58] entrance using the shuttle system and those sorts of things.

[8:03] Backcountry campers actually doubled

[8:06] between uh March last year and March

[8:09] this year.

[8:11] Again, the weather's been super uh so

[8:14] folks have been getting out and camping

[8:16] and those kinds of things.

[8:18] Um just few other notes um

[8:21] continuing to wrap up the

[8:24] construction project in South

[8:26] Campground. A few uh things yet to clean

[8:28] up.

[8:30] Probably won't open till uh mid-May uh

[8:33] to the public but um

[8:36] trying to get everything uh finished

[8:38] off. So.

[8:40] Happy to answer any questions folks may

[8:42] have.

[8:45] I have a question about Navy Day. Is

[8:47] admission free on Navy Day?

[8:50] Um with your park entrance fee, of

[8:52] course. Okay.

[8:53] >> [laughter]

[8:56] » The events are free.

[8:58] But yes, uh So you pay to get in the

[9:00] park but the events are free. Yeah. And

[9:02] all of those events are open to the

[9:03] public, I presume.

[9:04] >> They are at the Human History Museum,

[9:06] yep. Okay. Can you save us a parking

[9:08] spot?

[9:09] Um we're encouraging the use of your

[9:11] bicycle and your uh

[9:14] walking on the Pa'rus Trail to get

[9:16] there.

[9:19] Parking is a challenge.

[9:22] Thank you.

[9:23] Okay, thanks.

[9:26] Are there any questions or comments

[9:28] about the council reports?

[9:33] Okay, your next item is presentation by

[9:35] Nancy Cousins and Ava Pecora regarding

[9:38] Zion Canyon fiber optics.

[9:41] I think they are both with Kim Lee Horn.

[9:43] Is that correct? Okay.

[9:48] Thank you for letting us be with you

[9:50] this evening. I'm I'm Nancy. This is Ava

[9:53] and you'll hear a little bit from both

[9:55] of us. Just wanted to give you a

[9:57] high-level overview of this project and

[9:59] that it's coming. We have yet to choose

[10:03] a contractor. Uh bids closed on Monday

[10:06] or Tuesday this week. So, give us

[10:09] another week or so and we will have a

[10:12] contractor. Once we have a contractor,

[10:14] then we will have a schedule that we'll

[10:16] be able to come back and tell you when

[10:18] construction is going to start.

[10:20] Um

[10:21] we have

[10:23] worked with the park through all of the

[10:25] environmental clearance. Everything is

[10:28] good and ready to go as far as the

[10:30] design elements and we've been able to

[10:32] factor in a lot of specific things for

[10:35] the communities along the corridor to

[10:38] help the construction be as easy and

[10:40] simple as possible even though we're

[10:42] going to be with you all summer.

[10:45] So, with that I'll turn some time over

[10:47] to Ava.

[10:50] So, this is just a general project area

[10:53] map. Um it spans from just a little bit

[10:56] west of Hurricane over to the Mount

[10:58] Carmel Junction. And you'll see that

[11:00] there are several gaps between the

[11:02] actual highlighted work zones um between

[11:05] the towns. Those are where there's

[11:07] actually existing fiber conduit. So,

[11:09] part of the mission of this project is

[11:11] to just fill in the gaps between um

[11:13] these areas along SR-9 and the Mount

[11:15] Carmel Highway. So, we'll start a little

[11:18] bit west of Hurricane. Um there's a UDot

[11:20] maintenance facility um located there.

[11:23] We'll pause once we cross SR-7 and then

[11:25] we'll pick up just a little bit east of

[11:27] Virgin and heading into Rockville,

[11:30] Springdale, and then the south entrance

[11:32] of the park.

[11:34] Um we'll finish the project by exiting

[11:35] out the East entrance um along SR-9 and

[11:38] we'll hook up to another UDot

[11:40] maintenance facility that's located

[11:42] um on along US-89 um just south of the

[11:46] Mount Carmel Junction. Ava, can you back

[11:48] up just a little bit and talk about what

[11:50] the project is? I think I think some of

[11:52] us know and some of us don't what the

[11:54] purpose is.

[11:55] >> So, it's um the fiber installation

[11:57] project. It's part of a broader UDot

[11:59] initiative to bring fiber optic

[12:01] connectivity to rural parts of the

[12:03] state. Um the fiber that will be

[12:06] installed will be supporting intelligent

[12:08] transportation systems devices. So,

[12:09] traffic cameras, um emergency management

[12:12] systems. So, for UDot?

[12:14] >> Yes. Yes.

[12:18] And this is just a little highlighted

[12:19] piece of the work that will be going on

[12:21] in Rockville and Springdale as well. Um

[12:24] I want to take a minute just to talk

[12:25] about specifically what types of work

[12:27] you'll be anticipating to see once we

[12:30] arrive in Springdale. We'll be limiting

[12:32] our work zones um to 1,500 ft, which is

[12:35] a little hard to visualize, but that's

[12:37] roughly the equivalent of just over four

[12:39] football fields if that gives you an

[12:40] idea.

[12:41] Um we'll also be um remaining in the

[12:44] shoulder um as much as we can, um but

[12:46] when we do have work in the roadways,

[12:48] we'll have flagger staff in and

[12:50] directing traffic out on site. Um we'll

[12:53] also be having mobile equipment that is

[12:55] kind of moving along the roadway. It's

[12:57] not going to be stationary. So, kind of

[12:59] a recurring um

[13:01] theme of our outreach that we've done

[13:02] actually to a lot of the businesses in

[13:03] this area today has been, you know, you

[13:06] won't see equipment parked outside your

[13:07] business for

[13:09] you know, hours um or for days at a time

[13:12] rather. You only really see them outside

[13:14] of your business for hours. So, it's

[13:15] going to be moving very fast as we

[13:17] progress into the park and then back

[13:20] along SR-9.

[13:24] And then I'm actually going to play a

[13:25] short video here. Um this was a result

[13:28] of collaboration between U Dot Central

[13:30] Communications Department

[13:32] and the park. We just wanted to nail

[13:34] down our messaging about what the

[13:36] impacts and benefits of the project

[13:38] would be, what people could expect to

[13:39] see. So, without further ado,

[13:44] U Dot presents, Our Future Runs on

[13:48] Fiber.

[13:49] Amid towering canyons shaped by the

[13:51] Virgin River, State Route 9 and the

[13:53] Zion-Mount Carmel Highway connect iconic

[13:56] landscapes with millions of visitors and

[13:58] link together thousands of full-time

[14:00] residents in nearby communities.

[14:04] To meet growing connectivity needs and

[14:06] prepare for future demand, U Dot, in

[14:08] partnership with the National Park

[14:10] Service and South Central

[14:11] Communications, is installing over 50

[14:14] miles of high-speed fiber optic cable

[14:17] along State Route 9 and the Zion-Mount

[14:19] Carmel Highway.

[14:22] This project strengthens

[14:29] » [laughter]

[14:44] » Any questions so far?

[14:45] >> Yes, a quick question.

[14:46] >> [laughter]

[14:47] >> And maybe you said that, so I might have

[14:48] missed it, but when will this start?

[14:51] Uh, so we don't have an exact

[14:53] construction start date yet. We're

[14:54] anticipating May, early June. Okay. And

[14:58] you this

[14:59] your notes say you anticipate completing

[15:02] December? Yes, end of end of December, 31st.

[15:06] >> So, you will be

[15:11] May, early June,

[15:14] etc. You you realize that's going to be

[15:17] Yes, absolutely.

[15:19] >> traffic.

[15:20] Not that it isn't right now, but

[15:24] relatively unusual for it to be this

[15:26] crazy but right right and and we'll touch on that. We have our next

[15:30] section is just about the construction

[15:32] notifications that will be deploying and

[15:34] I'll talk a little bit more about some

[15:35] of the Outreach work that we've been

[15:37] doing in the town today to get people in

[15:39] the loop about what's coming maybe if

[15:41] you could just mention the fund source

[15:43] and and

[15:45] when it ends which kind of is driving.

[15:48] Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So due to some

[15:52] unanticipated delays with the government

[15:53] shutdown and the environmental

[15:55] assessment getting past

[15:57] that kind of pushed our construction

[15:59] time like back a little bit.

[16:01] Not sure.

[16:04] So if I could

[16:07] I mean we've already got

[16:09] some fiber optic in Springdale. Mhm.

[16:13] Did you say you're going to fill in the

[16:14] void?

[16:17] Yes. So the I can go back to the project

[16:20] area map too, but you'll see kind of

[16:22] some of the gaps between the areas that

[16:25] we're doing in Hurricane Rockville

[16:26] Springdale.

[16:27] So we're installing I like to liken it

[16:29] to a backbone of conduit and fiber optic

[16:32] cables and then it's up to kind of the

[16:35] internet service providers to connect

[16:37] into that and further provide that

[16:38] connection to locations. But this is

[16:41] being done for UDOT specifically for

[16:43] their own use and then they'll my

[16:45] understanding is that they'll lease the

[16:46] conduit to other providers as well, but

[16:48] this is not for residents. This is for

[16:50] UDOT.

[16:52] And they own the road, so

[16:54] they get to do it.

[16:57] But I mean it is going up Zion Canyon,

[16:59] right? Yes. Yes. And But they want the

[17:02] fiber in the they don't have it in the

[17:03] park. So but this is being driven by

[17:05] UDOT and federal funds that were

[17:08] available to do this kind of project. So

[17:11] nationwide there are a lot of fiber

[17:13] projects taking place and this is to

[17:16] provide the backbone. So, we're getting

[17:19] your basic trunk line in and then that

[17:22] last mile connectivity will be up to

[17:25] individual communities and residents and

[17:27] businesses. Whatever

[17:30] businesses are

[17:32] available in your area to do that last

[17:34] mile connection, you will get to have

[17:36] that choice. So, UDOT's job is to get

[17:39] that initial backbone structure in

[17:42] throughout the whole corridor and it

[17:44] benefits UDOT for a lot of reasons.

[17:47] That ITS networking system,

[17:49] traffic signals, messaging boards. It'll

[17:52] also benefit buses and

[17:56] safety

[17:57] transportation type things and

[18:00] ambulances, things things like that that

[18:03] we need to have in place. So, the whole

[18:06] purpose is that this big long trunk line

[18:09] corridor and the the federal funds that

[18:12] are available to do to do this expire at

[18:15] the end of the year. So, there are a lot

[18:17] of fiber projects taking place all over

[18:20] the state.

[18:25] Um so, as I mentioned, we've already

[18:27] been doing a lot of in-person outreach

[18:29] today with business owners letting them

[18:31] know what will be coming up in May,

[18:34] potentially early June. But once

[18:36] construction starts, we fully intend to

[18:38] make full use of our website, email, and

[18:41] hotline. We'll be pushing out weekly

[18:43] updates through our email address to

[18:45] folks that are signed up for our email

[18:47] list and then also reposting those on

[18:49] our website. Our hotline is available

[18:51] for residents, businesses, visitors of

[18:54] the area to contact 24/7. Um a member of

[18:58] the public involvement team will be

[18:59] answering that hotline and getting

[19:01] information for any questions that

[19:03] people may have.

[19:04] Um this is just an example of one of the

[19:06] handouts that we've deployed in our

[19:09] outreach. But once we have that

[19:11] construction start date with a

[19:12] contractor signed on, we'll be sending

[19:14] out another mailer. It'll be going to

[19:16] kind of the entire city limits of

[19:18] Springdale, Rockville, the entire length

[19:20] of the project area

[19:23] to let them know this work will be

[19:24] starting you know, May 10th 15th, you

[19:27] know, what have you once we have that

[19:29] date set in stone.

[19:34] You mentioned that the project is like

[19:36] it's a moving project. So does that mean

[19:40] you don't really have to open up

[19:42] holes in the ground or are you

[19:46] We'll still be trenching.

[19:47] So Nancy can speak to the filling

[19:49] process a little bit in more in detail

[19:51] than I could, but um

[19:54] There are several procedures that we're

[19:56] going to have in place and once we have

[19:58] the contractor on board because of our

[20:01] tight schedule, we anticipate that they

[20:03] could have multiple crews working all at

[20:05] the same time. So we likely will have

[20:08] someone in Hurricane. We may have

[20:10] someone here. We may have another crew

[20:12] in the park. One of the

[20:16] ways that they can do the trench quickly

[20:18] is like a giant wheel and that wheel

[20:21] comes in, it digs a trench, it vacuums

[20:23] out that trench at the same time. The

[20:25] fiber lays in right behind it and then

[20:28] concrete goes on top of that. So the

[20:30] moving operation can happen really quick

[20:33] especially with that with that kind of

[20:35] equipment and the contractor will need

[20:38] to have

[20:40] a close batch plant. Right now the

[20:42] closest one is down in Hurricane and the

[20:45] type of concrete we need to use, the

[20:47] high early rapid set concrete, it won't

[20:50] make it that far. Um so they will be

[20:55] approaching different areas to lease

[20:57] land for them to put a a batch plant and

[20:59] that will be up to the contractor to

[21:01] negotiate. Once we know where those

[21:03] locations are, we'll share that with you

[21:04] as well, but they will be mixing and

[21:08] batching on site so that we can get out

[21:11] of your way as quick as possible. Do you

[21:13] expect this to be a daylight only or you going to be

[21:17] working 24 hours?

[21:18] >> They have permission to work day and

[21:20] night, weekend.

[21:21] >> Okay.

[21:22] We won't know exactly how they're going

[21:24] to do that until we get their schedule.

[21:27] And again, once we have that, we will

[21:30] let you know well in advance of of

[21:32] what's going to take place. There's give

[21:35] and take of

[21:37] um how to work best with the with the

[21:39] park. And so there's some specific

[21:42] limitations of when and where we will be

[21:45] in the park for both the bridges and the

[21:47] tunnels. So, one of the things that we

[21:51] have been able to coordinate is doing a shutdown to protect the the bats

[21:57] nesting. So, that will take place doing

[22:00] a during a full shutdown

[22:02] just to help protect the endangered

[22:04] species that are up there. So, all of

[22:06] those things have been factored in to

[22:08] when and where and how it all fits into

[22:11] the timeline. And once we have that

[22:13] secured, part of our job is to come back

[22:15] and let you know what that looks like

[22:17] from now and and through the end of the

[22:19] year.

[22:21] You had mentioned earlier today that um

[22:24] one lane traffic would remain open.

[22:28] I'm trying to

[22:29] help us realize really what this is

[22:31] going to start to look like in

[22:33] Springdale.

[22:34] Um especially with all of the traffic

[22:36] that we're you everyone's going to have

[22:38] to deal with. And and you had mentioned

[22:41] that it would be helpful if the town

[22:43] could share some information

[22:45] such as parking park parking meter data

[22:49] to help

[22:50] inform expectations.

[22:52] That will help a lot because it is going

[22:55] to be congested. And even though it's

[22:57] moving operations, when you've got

[22:59] equipment in one place, we're going to

[23:02] have to take single single lanes around

[23:04] it wherever they're working. So, there

[23:07] will be delays and that'll be part of

[23:09] our job to message as everywhere we can

[23:13] anticipate delays as you're driving

[23:15] through SR 9. Um but knowing where those

[23:19] hot spots are is going to be really

[23:22] helpful for us to get the contractor on

[23:25] board to watch out for those areas and

[23:28] make sure we're thinking ahead of the

[23:30] best ways to utilize them. We with all

[23:33] the businesses we've been talking to

[23:35] today, there's street parking. There are

[23:38] so many things that are going to have to

[23:39] shift when the crews are coming through

[23:42] a certain area. And I think people will

[23:45] get frustrated cuz they're going to see

[23:47] barrels and they're not going to see

[23:48] anything, but we can't let anybody park

[23:50] there because it's going to come

[23:52] through. So, we're trying to think ahead

[23:55] of how to say that message. Um

[24:00] There's There's going to be some

[24:02] learning curves and some Good luck.

[24:04] >> frustration as we go, but we're going to

[24:07] do our best to be in front of it

[24:09] wherever we can. And your input of

[24:12] things that you might see that we don't,

[24:14] that's invaluable to us.

[24:17] How long do you anticipate the

[24:19] Springdale only section to take? Do you

[24:21] have a feel for that?

[24:26] Uh to echo Nancy, once we have a

[24:28] contractor kind of on deck, we'll be

[24:30] able to We'll be attending um all of

[24:32] their weekly kind of look ahead

[24:33] meetings. And so, they can look at their

[24:35] schedule or we can look at their

[24:36] schedule up to 3 weeks in advance. Um

[24:39] so, it's just a matter too of what

[24:41] number of crews will have working at the

[24:43] same time, um time of year, what's going

[24:46] on in other sections of the project, but

[24:48] all those factors will filter into

[24:50] exactly how long.

[24:51] >> Okay. We'll look forward to hearing more

[24:53] as it goes then. Yeah, absolutely. Will

[24:55] it also affect the sidewalks and the

[24:57] road? Because like you said concrete, so

[24:59] it's going under the side.

[25:01] Yes. Okay.

[25:04] We We know that there are areas where

[25:06] we're going to be able to utilize your

[25:08] trail system on the side of the road for

[25:11] some of the trenching. Some will be on

[25:13] the shoulder of the road. I know UDot

[25:16] worked with I'm not sure who at the city

[25:18] to try to preserve your beautiful new

[25:22] asphalt as much as possible and not have

[25:25] to dig things up again. So, you're going

[25:27] to see sometimes they're going to be on

[25:29] one side of the road, not particularly

[25:31] in Springdale. I think we'll all be on

[25:33] the east side of the road for what we're

[25:34] doing here.

[25:35] But, we're trying to move the design to

[25:38] protect as much of the area as possible

[25:41] and disturb the least amount possible.

[25:47] It really does seem like night time

[25:49] operations are probably going to be

[25:52] best.

[25:54] As much as possible. That would be That

[25:55] would be really Yeah.

[25:58] helpful for everybody involved, I

[26:01] Yeah, and and correct me if I'm wrong,

[26:02] too. But, um night time operations will

[26:06] we plan to make full utilization of when

[26:08] we are especially working in the Mount

[26:09] Carmel Tunnel um just to minimize those

[26:12] environmental impacts, but we can also

[26:13] plan some work just outside and uh on

[26:16] the other side of that tunnel while we

[26:18] do that work as well.

[26:21] And I I think I think we all have

[26:23] concerns on when we see how quickly

[26:26] traffic backs up. Mhm.

[26:36] Well,

[26:37] there's nowhere for anybody to go.

[26:39] It's just

[26:40] >> [snorts]

[26:42] >> Yeah. Yeah.

[26:43] bad real fast.

[26:49] Yes, so we're we're working closely and

[26:51] we've already had a couple of meetings

[26:53] with UDOT's Roads to Recreation. Um so,

[26:56] we've been working with them closely to

[26:57] communicate where exactly the work will

[26:59] be taking place.

[27:01] Um our plan currently is once we get

[27:04] inside of the park, we'll be working

[27:05] very closely, and we already have with

[27:08] the park to message those impacts, those

[27:10] larger scale um traffic shifts that are

[27:13] going to be taking place. But, outside

[27:15] of the park, Roads to Recreation is

[27:16] going to kind of be our main go-to point

[27:18] of contact um as far as how we message

[27:21] where traffic impacts will be happening.

[27:23] Um we'll also be when our contractor is

[27:26] uh signed on, we'll also be working with

[27:28] a traffic management app. It's called

[27:30] One Network. Um so, our public

[27:32] involvement staff is trained and briefed

[27:34] in how to uh

[27:36] kind of put up those updates. It's a

[27:38] traffic management software um that will

[27:40] work directly with the contractor to

[27:42] implement. Um they'll be able to kind of

[27:45] on-site label where the closures will be

[27:48] um in real time. So, that's another just

[27:51] tool that people will have to use to

[27:53] learn more about what the traffic

[27:54] impacts will be.

[27:55] Trying to reach every driver and visitor

[27:58] is really a challenge. So, we have put

[28:02] together a a large

[28:05] database of uh

[28:07] all throughout the Salt Lake Valley and

[28:11] Southern Utah, every recreation outlet,

[28:14] every

[28:15] fishing group, guide, every recreation

[28:18] business that we can find, we are adding

[28:21] them to our list as well as Convention

[28:25] and Visitors Bureau. Every outlet that

[28:27] we can think of to get the message out

[28:29] in advance, we're trying to do that. And

[28:32] then, we're relying on all of our

[28:33] partners once we have social media or an

[28:36] update, please share that broadly with

[28:40] everyone that you can think of because

[28:42] if we can really plant the seed that it

[28:46] is going to be impactful this summer.

[28:52] I don't know if it'll help or not.

[28:53] >> It's It's sounds to me like you've covered as many bases as you can.

[28:57] Yeah. Probably gone above and beyond.

[29:00] And in my estimation, coming from places

[29:02] where this kind of thing happens all the

[29:04] time, this is the price of doing

[29:05] business.

[29:06] I think we're just going to have to grin

[29:07] and bear it.

[29:09] Thank you. And yes, we have, but we may

[29:11] have missed something, so feel free to

[29:13] share.

[29:20] Any additional questions, things we can

[29:22] speak to?

[29:24] Okay.

[29:26] Sounds like we're good, and we'll look

[29:27] forward to hearing more. Thank you.

[29:29] Absolutely. Thank you guys all so much.

[29:34] We'll We'll leave some of these info

[29:36] cards for you, too. Okay. That'd be

[29:39] great.

[29:40] Thanks again.

[29:41] And the next item on the agenda is

[29:43] community comments. Um if you have a

[29:45] comment, please step up to the

[29:47] microphone, state your name, and we'll

[29:49] time the comments for 3 minutes. So,

[29:52] um

[29:53] we will not be taking questions. We've

[29:55] made a change in our policy, and it's

[29:57] too much like deliberating to be

[30:01] answering questions. So, if you have

[30:02] questions, we look forward to answering

[30:05] those one-on-one outside of the meeting,

[30:06] or you're welcome to contact staff. But

[30:09] you're welcome to make any comments

[30:10] you'd like now.

[30:15] Looks like there are none. We'll go to

[30:17] the consent agenda. Entertain a motion

[30:19] to approve the consent agenda, which

[30:21] includes a review of the monthly

[30:23] purchasing report,

[30:25] minutes of January 28th and February

[30:27] 11th, 2026,

[30:29] proclamation 2026-01,

[30:32] a proclamation designating April 24th,

[30:35] 2026 as Arbor Day in the town of

[30:38] Springdale,

[30:39] proclamation 2026-02,

[30:42] a proclamation designating April 13th to

[30:45] April 20th, 2026 as Dark Sky Week in the

[30:47] town of Springdale,

[30:49] proclamation 2026-3

[30:52] proclaiming April 2026 as National Child

[30:55] Abuse Prevention Month in Springdale,

[30:57] Utah,

[30:58] and proclamation 2026-04

[31:02] proclaiming April 20th, 2026 as Navy

[31:05] Day.

[31:07] I move to approve the consent agenda.

[31:10] Second it. Motion by Jack and second by

[31:12] Pat. Pat, I. Randy, I. Robert, I. Jack,

[31:15] I. Kyla, I.

[31:17] Okay, our next item is in legislative

[31:19] item. It's ordinance 2026-11,

[31:22] an ordinance enacting the Utah Community

[31:25] Clean Energy Program in the town of

[31:27] Springdale. And I think this will be a

[31:29] joint presentation by Tom Dansie and

[31:31] Randy Eaton.

[31:33] And Kyla is on the committee, also.

[31:37] That's correct. And and my portion of

[31:39] this presentation is saying

[31:42] Randy and Kyla

[31:43] >> Take it, Randy.

[31:44] >> to be giving the presentation. So, go

[31:46] ahead. Okay.

[31:48] I

[31:50] We've got some slides uh that the Utah

[31:52] Renewable Communities

[31:55] put together. There's a [clears throat]

[31:56] lot of

[31:58] information in these slides.

[32:00] And as we go through these slides,

[32:02] you're

[32:03] you might have some questions.

[32:05] I would suggest that you wait till the

[32:08] end because some of the questions you

[32:10] might come up with

[32:12] could be answered by some of the later slides. So, if we can go

[32:17] through it, if you can kind of

[32:19] remember your questions, if your memory

[32:21] is better than me, write them down if

[32:24] you're like me,

[32:25] uh and then we'll try to answer them at

[32:27] the end.

[32:30] Okay. So,

[32:33] the Utah Communities Renewable

[32:34] Communities

[32:36] is an organization of 19 different

[32:38] communities that have come together to

[32:42] um

[32:44] to address

[32:45] uh statute passed by the state in 2019,

[32:49] which allows these communities to come

[32:52] together with

[32:53] our local uh provider, which is Rocky

[32:56] Mountain Power,

[32:58] and

[33:00] uh

[33:01] create renewable energy so that in those

[33:05] 19 communities

[33:07] >> [snorts]

[33:07] >> uh

[33:09] we will put it we will

[33:11] contract with renewable developers

[33:15] to create enough energy so that all the

[33:17] energy in Springdale

[33:20] will be coming from renewable sources.

[33:24] Uh so uh

[33:26] this has kind of jumped

[33:29] uh to different names and in 2024, the

[33:32] legislature decided that they like the

[33:35] name Community Clean Energy Program.

[33:39] Uh so that's what it is. We still

[33:42] uh will still be talking about maybe the

[33:44] renewable

[33:46] the Utah Renewable Community Program.

[33:49] They're they're sort of interchangeable,

[33:50] but that is what the state legislature

[33:53] 2024 came up with.

[33:56] Uh we will be

[33:58] um

[34:00] hopefully approving an ordinance

[34:02] tonight.

[34:03] And that ordinance name and number is

[34:06] the ordinance number is 2026-11.

[34:11] It's an ordinance of the town of

[34:12] Springdale enacting title and chapter 7,

[34:15] title 8, and chapter 7 to the Springdale

[34:18] Town Code. Community Clean Energy

[34:22] Program.

[34:24] So this these

[34:27] slides hopefully will uh educate

[34:30] everybody on that program, answers

[34:33] questions that you might have about that

[34:35] program.

[34:36] Uh Kyla and I have been

[34:38] uh on

[34:40] all of the meetings. We uh

[34:43] Springdale had decided early on there

[34:45] were three different committees that we

[34:47] set up with the uh

[34:49] with the Utah renewable communities.

[34:53] Uh one was a program design, one was low

[34:56] income, and the other one was

[34:57] communications. I kind of felt like the

[35:00] best input I could have and we could

[35:02] have was be in the program design. So,

[35:05] we've been attending all the program

[35:07] design except and also all the the board

[35:10] meetings, which are

[35:11] once a month. The program design

[35:13] meetings are twice a month.

[35:16] Except Well, that's pretty recent. We

[35:18] were meeting weekly for a while.

[35:21] Cuz I feel like you deserve that credit.

[35:23] Yeah, we have

[35:24] >> that for 7 years, every week. Yeah, so 7

[35:27] days, yeah.

[35:28] So, we've earned our money.

[35:31] All right, next slide, please.

[35:34] Okay, so this is kind of an outline of

[35:37] what I'm going to go through. The rest

[35:38] of the slides are going to cover this.

[35:40] Uh

[35:40] what is a community clean energy

[35:43] program?

[35:44] Uh

[35:45] PSC is the Public Service Commission.

[35:49] We had to get this program approved by

[35:51] them and we did.

[35:53] Um

[35:54] and it was a combination of Rocky

[35:56] Mountain Power and us presenting that

[35:59] program to the PSC.

[36:02] Uh

[36:03] I'll talk about the uh anticipated

[36:05] timeline.

[36:06] Uh the program ordinance

[36:09] uh we'll discuss that and then

[36:12] um

[36:14] we will

[36:15] as a council discuss and whether this is

[36:18] the right thing for Springdale to do.

[36:20] There as it says, there are 19

[36:22] communities involved in this.

[36:24] Uh Uh this statute was passed in 2019.

[36:29] >> [clears throat]

[36:29] >> Originally, 23 communities expressed an

[36:33] interest in doing and being part of this

[36:35] program.

[36:36] Uh

[36:37] and then when it came time to adopt the

[36:42] utility agreement,

[36:44] uh there were only 18 communities that

[36:46] stayed in it.

[36:48] And the statute read that the program

[36:52] was going to close at a certain time.

[36:55] And then in 2024,

[36:58] they decided to open it up again. So,

[37:00] one more community, Midvale, joined.

[37:04] Next slide.

[37:06] All right.

[37:07] It's It is a brand new program.

[37:11] Uh it's giving Utah an stability to

[37:13] choose clean energy, clean, reliable,

[37:16] and affordable energy through our

[37:19] electricity provider. This is Rocky

[37:20] Mountain Power.

[37:22] It is a partnership between Rocky

[37:26] Mountain Power and the Utah

[37:29] renewable community.

[37:31] And we have been working together with

[37:33] them

[37:34] all 7 years. We've been having

[37:36] uh

[37:38] frequent meetings with them

[37:40] uh to to get this program put together.

[37:43] Uh we finally

[37:46] felt like we had the program right. We

[37:49] uh we took it to the Public Service

[37:50] Commission on

[37:52] in March.

[37:54] And on March 4th, they approved it, the

[37:57] program.

[37:59] Um so,

[38:01] the way this program works

[38:03] is in all these 19 communities, what we

[38:06] decided to do was have an opt-out

[38:09] program.

[38:12] What happens is once we sign this

[38:16] ordinance,

[38:17] every resident and business in the the

[38:21] is automatically going to be opt in to

[38:23] this program.

[38:26] And I will talk about you will have

[38:28] opportunities to opt out.

[38:30] Uh I'll talk about that, but that's an

[38:32] important part of this is uh everybody

[38:36] in these communities once each community

[38:39] signs this final ordinance will be opted

[38:42] in to the program automatically.

[38:46] Um so

[38:48] clean energy uh Utah is

[38:53] I mean the whole country probably, but

[38:54] Utah specifically is uh their their

[38:57] energy needs are growing.

[38:59] And Rocky Mountain Power has a portfolio

[39:02] now

[39:03] that's uh a combination of fossil fuel

[39:07] uh power stations and renewable sources.

[39:12] Uh renewable sources could be solar,

[39:14] could be wind, could be hydro. Uh there

[39:18] are a number of new renewable sources,

[39:19] but

[39:20] uh the um

[39:22] their portfolio

[39:25] uh

[39:26] and I will talk a little bit later about

[39:28] what that is, but it's a combination of

[39:30] those two things, fossil and renewable.

[39:34] Next slide.

[39:37] Okay.

[39:39] So

[39:41] uh our goal is

[39:44] uh to develop clean energy

[39:48] uh and still keep the program accessible

[39:53] to our residents and businesses.

[39:56] And we need to build enough resources,

[40:00] renewable resources so that we can cover

[40:03] our part of the energy

[40:06] uh that is not

[40:07] uh being covered by renewable sources

[40:11] that Rocky Mountain Power already has in

[40:13] their program.

[40:16] So

[40:18] when you look at this graph and you look

[40:21] over at year number one, is going to be 2027.

[40:28] That's when the program um starts, when

[40:32] ratepayers are going to start seeing

[40:34] uh a charge on their bill for this.

[40:38] So, in year one,

[40:40] we're we're basically looking at

[40:44] uh this the portfolio that Rocky Mountain Power

[40:48] now has.

[40:50] Uh you can see the traditional sources

[40:52] there are again fossil plants,

[40:55] coal-fired, oil, gas,

[40:58] that sort of thing.

[41:00] Uh the renewable

[41:02] uh

[41:03] in the grid, that's approximately what

[41:06] they have right now, and then we're

[41:08] going to add

[41:09] this little bit of renewable and we're

[41:11] going to increase,

[41:13] as you can see in the green, we're going

[41:14] to be increasing

[41:16] uh because we won't the whole idea is

[41:20] that the the rate

[41:22] uh the extra charge that we are going to

[41:25] be uh charging all of our customers

[41:29] is [clears throat] going to help us pay

[41:32] uh for these developers

[41:34] to build these uh renewable plants,

[41:37] whether they're

[41:39] solar, wind, whatever.

[41:42] And because our program will be be new

[41:45] in 2027, we're only going to be uh

[41:48] collecting a certain amount that uh it

[41:50] will be indicative of the amount of

[41:53] renewable that we will be able to bring

[41:54] online that year. And then, as you can

[41:57] see, we will be increasing each year,

[42:00] we'll be increasing the amount of

[42:02] renewable energy we will be adding to

[42:05] this.

[42:06] Uh the goal is by year four, which is

[42:08] 2030,

[42:10] that we will have uh in Springdale and

[42:14] in all the 19 communities that are part

[42:16] of this program uh, we will be putting

[42:19] enough uh, renewable in the system to

[42:22] cover our energy that's not already

[42:25] covered by what Rocky Mountain Power

[42:27] uh, has in their system already.

[42:30] Can I Can I clarify two things, right?

[42:32] >> Yeah.

[42:33] Um,

[42:34] even though the amount of energy that we

[42:37] are going to be procuring is going to

[42:41] increase, the bill

[42:43] will not increase.

[42:45] The rate on that we pay as residents is

[42:48] not going to increase. It's going to

[42:49] stay stable. At $4, if anything, we

[42:51] might see it go down after a while.

[42:53] Yeah, and we'll get there. But But you

[42:56] said something that kind of

[42:57] increase It doesn't increase the bill.

[43:00] It

[43:00] >> It doesn't increase That's a good point.

[43:01] That's a good clarification.

[43:02] >> being seen the um the what what

[43:04] resources we can um get. And then the

[43:07] second thing that I don't want people to

[43:09] be mistaken about is

[43:11] there are not solar or wind farms coming

[43:14] to Springdale.

[43:15] These These uh,

[43:17] resources are not located in Springdale.

[43:21] Yeah, yeah, they probably generally

[43:23] won't be in any of these 19 communities.

[43:25] They will be on the West Desert. Uh,

[43:28] places like that where solar and wind

[43:31] were where there's land available, where

[43:33] there's um sun and wind available.

[43:38] Okay, next slide.

[43:42] Okay, so right now, Rocky Mountain Power

[43:45] does have some has some renewable energy

[43:50] uh, options. Uh, one of them is Blue

[43:53] Sky.

[43:54] Uh, and Blue Sky allows participants to

[43:58] voluntarily contribute $1.95 per 100 kW

[44:03] hour block

[44:05] uh, to support renewable energy. And the

[44:08] way they do this is

[44:10] uh that goes to grants to help

[44:12] organization

[44:14] offset the cost for rooftop solar.

[44:18] Uh

[44:18] and it also funds the purchase of

[44:21] renewable energy credits. Now, RECs are

[44:24] something that are

[44:26] I don't want to get into that cuz that's

[44:27] very complicated and they could be

[44:30] buying these RECs from Missouri

[44:33] or some other state.

[44:36] Uh but that's what Blue Sky does.

[44:39] Subscribe Solar is another renewable

[44:42] option that Rocky Mountain Power has

[44:44] right now.

[44:45] Uh and [clears throat] it's specifically

[44:47] for one 20-MW solar farm in southern

[44:50] Utah.

[44:51] Uh and right now the

[44:53] participation is capped in that.

[44:57] Um so,

[44:59] if you're somebody who wants to do

[45:02] renewable, who wants to support this,

[45:05] what can you do? Well, you do what I did

[45:08] back in 2013. I bought solar panels and

[45:12] I got on their program at that point,

[45:15] but for a lot of people, that's very

[45:18] uh

[45:19] financially prohibitive to do. Even if

[45:22] you want to

[45:24] uh if you wanted uh support renewable,

[45:26] it's it's expensive to go down that

[45:29] route.

[45:30] Um

[45:31] so, what this program does, it allows

[45:35] you for a very

[45:37] small price to support renewable energy.

[45:42] And and I'll talk more about the price.

[45:45] Uh we're going to get to that in one of

[45:46] the other slides, so you'll have some

[45:48] idea of what that is.

[45:52] Okay, next slide.

[45:55] Okay, this is kind of the process that

[45:58] we've been going through as

[46:00] uh as this got started, uh, number one was

[46:05] uh, the Utah State Legislature in 2019

[46:09] passing this

[46:11] uh, program, the statute that allows

[46:15] communities to get together with uh,

[46:17] with Rocky Mountain Power and put some

[46:19] sort of program together.

[46:21] Uh, a good friend of mine used to live

[46:23] around here.

[46:25] Um,

[46:29] Julie Haddock. Sorry.

[46:31] Uh, she she called me and told me about

[46:34] this program and I went, "Wow." And I

[46:36] looked at it and uh, I thought this was

[46:40] perfect for Springdale. So, I brought it

[46:42] to the council in December of 2019

[46:46] and uh, the council decided this was a

[46:50] good idea, so we passed a resolution in

[46:53] 2019

[46:55] signaling that we wanted to be part of

[46:57] this program.

[47:00] So, that's how we kind of got into this

[47:02] and how I got started for us.

[47:05] Um, so that was

[47:07] item number two.

[47:09] Uh, then we got to uh, the point where

[47:12] we were signing a governance agreement

[47:15] and the utility agreements.

[47:17] And this was another serious step to

[47:20] take.

[47:22] And uh, there obviously was some time

[47:25] involved in this and you know, as we

[47:29] know uh, councils change personnel and

[47:35] uh, it's very possible of these

[47:38] uh, 23 communities and the five

[47:40] communities of those 23 that originally

[47:43] didn't want to be a a part of this

[47:45] uh, the council might have changed or

[47:47] they might have looked at it a little

[47:48] bit more and gotten feedback.

[47:50] And those communities did not sign the

[47:54] governance agreement and the utility

[47:55] agreement. We did.

[47:58] Uh we signed the utility agreement

[48:02] in 2021,

[48:05] I believe.

[48:12] May May 12th, 2021. Thank you.

[48:16] I did tell you that number. I just

[48:18] couldn't remember it that day.

[48:20] So,

[48:21] 2029, we signed the utility agreement

[48:23] saying, "Yep, Springdale wants to be

[48:26] part of this."

[48:27] Uh

[48:28] and then

[48:29] the uh URC, I'm just going to cuz that's

[48:33] easier than Utah Renewable Communities

[48:35] for me. URC uh

[48:39] then sat down and really started

[48:43] going through uh the detail of uh

[48:47] figuring out how this program's going to

[48:49] work.

[48:51] And anybody that's ever dealt with a

[48:53] utility before knows that there is

[48:58] a lot of

[49:00] crossing t's and dotting i's and

[49:05] commas and semicolons and

[49:08] exclamation parts points involved. So,

[49:11] uh it was it was a lot of work.

[49:14] But finally, we both

[49:18] uh URC and Rocky Mountain Power both

[49:21] felt like we had a good program that we

[49:25] could bring back to the Public uh

[49:27] Utility Commission

[49:28] or Public Service Commission, excuse me.

[49:30] So, we finally in March uh we brought it

[49:34] to or we

[49:36] uh excuse me, and it

[49:40] in

[49:41] 2025, we we filed it with the RMP

[49:45] or excuse me, filed RMP and us filed it

[49:50] with the Public Service Commission. And

[49:53] they, of course,

[49:55] uh went through a lot of rigmarole, but

[49:59] finally on March 4th, uh the Public

[50:02] Service Commission

[50:03] uh

[50:04] signed and approved the agreement, and

[50:08] that started the clock.

[50:12] Each of the 19 communities now have 90

[50:16] days, or by June 2nd, in which they

[50:20] finally they have to approve this final

[50:22] ordinance.

[50:23] Uh we're

[50:25] we could be the very If we pass this

[50:27] tonight, we'll be the first community uh

[50:30] to pass this ordinance.

[50:31] Others are scheduled, some of them this

[50:34] month, some of them next month.

[50:36] Uh but we could be the first one to pass

[50:38] this.

[50:40] So, that's where we are at uh step

[50:41] number seven right now. Next slide,

[50:43] please.

[50:49] Okay, that's kind of what I've been

[50:52] saying.

[50:54] Um

[50:55] uh they approved the order on March 4th.

[50:58] It

[50:59] went through all the details of how this

[51:02] program's going to work. It set a rate

[51:05] uh

[51:06] of how much

[51:08] uh or is going to be charged both

[51:10] residents and non-residents. I'll talk

[51:13] about that in a in a few minutes.

[51:16] Uh

[51:17] and um

[51:25] So,

[51:29] we are at the point right now where

[51:31] um

[51:32] we have um

[51:34] as the Utah Renewable Communities

[51:38] our part of this was to go out and

[51:43] uh create an RFP to get

[51:47] um

[51:48] developers

[51:49] to bid

[51:50] for this program to be to supply energy

[51:53] for this program.

[51:56] Next slide.

[52:00] So, here's the timeline I've kind of

[52:02] been talking about.

[52:04] Ordinance adoption.

[52:06] Um

[52:08] we've got we've got some bids. Uh we've

[52:11] gone through a process of weeding those

[52:13] bids down us and Rocky Mountain Power.

[52:16] Uh

[52:17] so

[52:18] uh

[52:19] the

[52:21] implementation date that they're talking

[52:23] about here right now.

[52:28] All of us, as I said, are going to be

[52:31] opted into this program.

[52:34] Uh

[52:34] probably starting November 2nd.

[52:38] All of us

[52:40] as residents in these communities are

[52:42] going to bill get a bill from Rocky

[52:44] Mountain Power

[52:46] and it's going to say

[52:48] uh

[52:48] >> [snorts]

[52:49] >> this

[52:51] URC program

[52:53] uh is starting at going to be starting

[52:55] up at in the first of next year.

[52:58] Uh it's going to cost this much extra

[53:00] for you.

[53:02] Uh

[53:03] if you don't want to do it,

[53:05] you can opt out.

[53:07] And at that point, you can opt out for

[53:09] free. So, you're going to get a notice

[53:11] on your November

[53:13] uh bill. You're going to get a notice on

[53:15] your December bill from Rocky Mountain

[53:17] Power.

[53:18] Two notices

[53:20] that

[53:22] uh let everybody give everybody

[53:25] a the

[53:27] possibility to opt out if they don't

[53:28] want to be part of this program.

[53:31] And there will be no

[53:33] uh

[53:34] termination charge.

[53:36] In addition to that,

[53:38] once the

[53:40] uh

[53:40] January 1st, your next bill then will

[53:44] have the rate on it.

[53:46] And your next bill will include that

[53:48] rate.

[53:50] And so,

[53:52] for the four months after that,

[53:57] if you start

[53:58] um

[53:59] and you're paying this and you decide,

[54:01] you know, I'm just not comfortable with

[54:02] this,

[54:04] then you can still opt out for free.

[54:09] After that four months,

[54:11] you can opt out, but there's a

[54:13] termination fee and we'll talk about

[54:15] that.

[54:17] Okay, next slide.

[54:22] Here's the meat of it. What's this going

[54:25] to cost?

[54:27] So,

[54:29] uh

[54:31] the Public Service Commission

[54:34] has decided that they want a flat rate

[54:37] for residential customers in these 19

[54:40] communities.

[54:41] And that flat rate is going to be $4 a

[54:45] month

[54:46] above your normal fee. And what what is

[54:49] that How they get that $4? Well, $3.88

[54:54] of that

[54:56] goes toward the program, goes toward

[55:00] uh

[55:01] getting renewable sources, uh solar power, wind power, whatever we decide.

[55:10] 12 cents of that is a surcharge

[55:13] for the low-income

[55:16] customers.

[55:17] And what's that mean?

[55:19] So, in all of our communities,

[55:22] there are certain people that are part

[55:24] of heat or or here It's help.

[55:28] Heat and help. Heat and help to

[55:31] low-income

[55:33] for utility customers that help them

[55:35] with their bills to be able to pay their

[55:37] bills.

[55:39] We don't want those low-income customers

[55:42] to have an additional $4 on their bill.

[55:46] So, what we have said and what the

[55:48] Public Service Commission has said is

[55:50] that all the eligible customers

[55:53] uh who are not in one of these

[55:55] low-income programs,

[55:57] you will help pay their bill so that

[56:00] they don't see any income in or any

[56:03] increase in their bill.

[56:06] So,

[56:07] they can be part of this program for

[56:09] nothing.

[56:10] And we want the we want the more people

[56:12] we can we want in this program.

[56:17] Okay, next slide.

[56:25] And this just talks about who the

[56:28] low-income

[56:30] uh

[56:30] people are and what what programs they

[56:32] might be in.

[56:34] And how they qualified uh

[56:36] to be low-income. And if they're not in

[56:38] one of those programs right now, you can

[56:41] as Skyler said, you can apply directly

[56:42] to Rocky Mountain Power

[56:44] uh in their help program

[56:46] and get into it.

[56:49] Next slide.

[56:52] All right, how about businesses?

[56:55] Non-residential customers. This is what

[56:58] they're going to be paying.

[57:01] Um

[57:02] less than

[57:04] a cent a kilowatt hour.

[57:07] Uh

[57:09] plus

[57:10] well, actually

[57:11] more than a cent. A cent plus point

[57:14] 0.0069.

[57:16] So, if they put their

[57:18] uh low income in.

[57:20] And and this this is just gives kind of

[57:23] an example scenario of what that means

[57:27] for a business. Say medium office

[57:29] building using

[57:31] uh 6880 kilowatts

[57:34] uh

[57:34] per month.

[57:36] Um without their program, their bill

[57:38] would normally be 847.39.

[57:41] With the program, they would have to pay

[57:43] an extra $42 for the program for being

[57:46] in the program.

[57:48] And that's approximately a 5% increase

[57:50] from what they're paying right now.

[57:54] Next slide.

[58:02] Now, I want to

[58:04] I'm going to talk a little bit and it's

[58:06] not quite on this.

[58:08] Um

[58:10] but I'm going to talk a little bit about

[58:11] this

[58:12] program rate.

[58:15] Um

[58:17] Rocky Mountain Power and uh the Public

[58:21] Service Commission and the Utah

[58:23] renewable communities

[58:25] recognize

[58:27] that as that one

[58:30] slide showed with we're going to build

[58:32] up be building up resources

[58:34] uh that at some point we will have all

[58:37] the resources we need.

[58:39] So, we don't need a lot of money

[58:42] in the program rate

[58:44] uh to get more resources cuz we got

[58:46] them. We still will need some money to

[58:49] keep the program running.

[58:51] Um so

[58:55] this is what the P Public Service

[58:57] Commission's order said. I'm going to

[58:58] read this. While further program rates

[59:01] may diverge from those under a Rocky

[59:03] Mountain Power's

[59:05] proposed proposal contingent

[59:10] under as proposed against later

[59:12] determinations

[59:14] regarding resource valuation and changes

[59:17] to other and underlying program. This is

[59:19] the

[59:20] important. No evidence in the records

[59:22] suggests that the program rates are

[59:25] likely to meaningfully increase from the

[59:29] initial rates the $4

[59:32] that's approved by this order.

[59:34] Instead, under Rockingham Power's

[59:36] proposal, they would decrease rather

[59:40] significantly after the first two and I

[59:43] would add maybe three years depending

[59:46] on what we had to do for resources.

[59:49] So,

[59:51] we have one of the costs that

[59:54] or one of the things that we've done as

[59:56] a

[59:56] um

[59:57] the URC has done, we hired two

[1:00:02] entities that kind of help us cuz one

[1:00:05] was a law firm to help us through the

[1:00:07] intricacies of getting this thing drawn

[1:00:10] up. The other one is was called uh

[1:00:14] Energy Strategies, is that

[1:00:16] And these are the guys that got down

[1:00:19] with the nuts and bolts and said,

[1:00:22] "This is

[1:00:23] what your program's going to cost. This

[1:00:25] is how much per month is probably going

[1:00:28] to cost to do and and to get these

[1:00:30] resources, this is what you're going to

[1:00:32] cost." So, when Energy Resources

[1:00:36] kind of ran through the numbers

[1:00:38] of

[1:00:39] uh and and

[1:00:41] you know, these these rates are kind of

[1:00:43] determined on one of the things that uh

[1:00:46] that Energy Strategies

[1:00:50] found uh with similar programs is they

[1:00:54] said,

[1:00:55] "We think that you can expect an 80%

[1:00:58] residential

[1:01:00] um

[1:01:03] participation participation. Thank you.

[1:01:05] Looking for the word. Participation in

[1:01:07] this program. 20% won't for one reason

[1:01:09] or the other.

[1:01:11] Um

[1:01:12] and there was like a 5% or something

[1:01:16] five if it was a small

[1:01:17] smaller percentage of businesses and and

[1:01:20] industry that would be staying this

[1:01:23] program, but

[1:01:24] um

[1:01:25] so

[1:01:27] Energy Strategies then took those

[1:01:29] numbers and took the the $4

[1:01:32] and kind of figured out, "Okay,

[1:01:34] by

[1:01:35] 2 years, maybe 3 at the most,

[1:01:38] uh we will be done

[1:01:41] for the majority of this, and that $4

[1:01:44] they say will probably go down to 25

[1:01:46] cents a month to stay in this program."

[1:01:51] Uh Public Service Commission is not

[1:01:53] saying that

[1:01:55] uh officially. I'm not saying that's

[1:01:57] exactly where they're going to happen.

[1:01:59] I'm just telling you that's what our

[1:02:01] consultant, when they looked at

[1:02:02] everything, that's what they thought

[1:02:05] that residents would be looking at after

[1:02:07] two, maybe three years of dropping down

[1:02:10] to that kind of thing. So

[1:02:13] if you want to support renewable energy,

[1:02:16] you know, I put solar panels on. I paid

[1:02:18] thousands of dollars put those solar

[1:02:20] panels on cuz I was committed to new

[1:02:23] renewable energy. It would cost most of

[1:02:26] the other people in Springdale,

[1:02:28] uh if you want to stay in this program,

[1:02:31] 150 bucks

[1:02:34] to be part of this program.

[1:02:37] I think that is a a small amount um

[1:02:41] to do what we can to uh offset climate

[1:02:46] change.

[1:02:48] Next.

[1:02:49] Stop.

[1:02:54] So, I've gone over this one, the the

[1:02:56] opt-out.

[1:02:58] Um

[1:02:59] two months, first two months billing

[1:03:00] cycles, November, December,

[1:03:02] you can opt out for nothing. The four

[1:03:04] months, once the bills start coming in

[1:03:07] with the rate increase on them, you'll

[1:03:09] have four billing cycles uh where you

[1:03:12] still can opt out

[1:03:14] and not have a charge. After that,

[1:03:17] uh the cancel to cancel

[1:03:20] there will be a $30 termination fee for residential customers.

[1:03:29] And the termination fee for businesses

[1:03:31] kind of depend on on their rate

[1:03:33] schedule.

[1:03:37] What if you move? Or what if a new

[1:03:39] customer comes in?

[1:03:41] Uh

[1:03:43] you know, you're not going to get if you

[1:03:44] move, you're not going to get a

[1:03:46] termination fee.

[1:03:54] Okay, next slide.

[1:04:00] Okay, our ordinance,

[1:04:03] as I said,

[1:04:06] is each community has to has to pass

[1:04:09] this ordinance and and we have one on

[1:04:12] the books tonight. And what we're going

[1:04:14] to be discussing and what we want to

[1:04:16] pass is ordinance 2026-11.

[1:04:22] Um and hopefully the other communities

[1:04:24] will

[1:04:25] have theirs by June 2nd. Next slide.

[1:04:33] Uh I talked about

[1:04:35] uh our attorney, the attorney we've been

[1:04:38] using Dodge Russell and

[1:04:43] something we started out with.

[1:04:45] Uh

[1:04:47] I can't remember Dodge's first name, but

[1:04:49] he was very experienced in uh energy

[1:04:53] related matters and then his uh one of

[1:04:56] his

[1:04:57] um

[1:04:59] partners, Phil Russell, has been the one

[1:05:00] that we've been working with on this.

[1:05:03] URC has been working with and and he's

[1:05:06] handled all the drafting of the

[1:05:07] ordinance.

[1:05:08] Uh and

[1:05:10] uh all the different municipal attorneys

[1:05:12] have have looked over these ordinance.

[1:05:14] Our attorney was on one of the meetings

[1:05:17] when we finally had an ordinance uh that

[1:05:19] was sort of finalized. They looked over

[1:05:22] the ordinance. They've approved it. It's

[1:05:24] gone through them.

[1:05:26] Uh they're fine with us

[1:05:27] uh doing this tonight.

[1:05:37] Okay, next slide.

[1:05:43] So, this is just kind of the details of

[1:05:44] the ordinance of the

[1:05:46] you know, anybody that's looked at

[1:05:47] ordinances before

[1:05:49] um

[1:05:52] it it this ordinance has a bunch of

[1:05:54] whereases.

[1:05:56] And these whereases

[1:05:58] it tells you all this. Tells you about

[1:06:00] HB 411 that the state's passed in 2019

[1:06:05] which allowed us to come together and do

[1:06:07] this.

[1:06:08] Uh

[1:06:10] it told the different things steps that

[1:06:12] we had to do to stay in this. The

[1:06:15] utility agreement which we we passed uh

[1:06:19] 2021.

[1:06:20] And um

[1:06:22] and then some other details about what

[1:06:24] we feel that this program is doing for

[1:06:27] the communities health, safety, and

[1:06:29] welfare. Certainly the environmental

[1:06:31] stewardship

[1:06:32] aspect of this of this program should be

[1:06:35] pretty obvious.

[1:06:38] Next slide.

[1:06:45] The one um

[1:06:47] thing that

[1:06:49] uh first thing I'll point out on this is

[1:06:51] some of the details

[1:06:53] in exhibit A of this ordinance says that

[1:06:56] all customers

[1:06:59] in Springdale are eligible for this

[1:07:02] except people on schedule 135 which

[1:07:07] is me.

[1:07:08] That's the

[1:07:10] you know, and other people in

[1:07:11] Springdale, but that's the net metering.

[1:07:14] So, I think people have heard of net

[1:07:16] metering. That's what schedule 135 is.

[1:07:19] It's the net metering program.

[1:07:23] As I said, I I um

[1:07:27] I put my first panels on in 2013.

[1:07:31] And I added some more uh couple years

[1:07:33] ago.

[1:07:39] Again, the ordinance kind of goes

[1:07:40] through these details of what I've been

[1:07:42] talking about. Um

[1:07:45] and

[1:07:54] I'm not sure that there's uh

[1:07:57] anything else that we have to

[1:08:00] talk about in this one.

[1:08:02] Okay, next slide.

[1:08:05] But, here's some more details, just in

[1:08:07] case you

[1:08:08] didn't get them all.

[1:08:10] So, we have signed the utility

[1:08:12] agreement.

[1:08:13] Um

[1:08:14] we have

[1:08:16] by state statute

[1:08:19] we

[1:08:20] not only had to

[1:08:23] uh we our communities set up a fund

[1:08:29] and paid for a fund to to hire our

[1:08:32] attorneys, to to hire energy strategies,

[1:08:35] to do some work with Rocky Mountain

[1:08:37] Power, but we also, by state statute

[1:08:42] when Rocky Mountain Power sends out

[1:08:44] these two notices

[1:08:46] to customers

[1:08:48] we have to

[1:08:50] all the communities have to pay for

[1:08:51] that.

[1:08:52] This is something we haven't paid yet.

[1:08:53] We've paid the other cost already, but

[1:08:56] we will have to pay approximately

[1:08:59] uh 900 little under $970.

[1:09:03] Uh so,

[1:09:04] sometime

[1:09:06] this year we probably will

[1:09:08] uh

[1:09:09] get billed for that since those notices

[1:09:11] will go out in January and December and

[1:09:15] maybe they'll send a bill for that at the end

[1:09:17] of the year. But, um

[1:09:21] we

[1:09:23] the amount that

[1:09:25] uh each community is pay paying into

[1:09:27] this is dependent on the number of

[1:09:30] customers that they have. So, we we are

[1:09:33] contributing a very small percentage of

[1:09:36] the money that's going to these

[1:09:37] different things. The original $700,000

[1:09:42] uh for

[1:09:44] uh

[1:09:44] our attorneys and energy strategies and

[1:09:47] other

[1:09:48] like I said, we paid $910

[1:09:52] $42, I think, was our part of it.

[1:09:56] So, and that's already been paid.

[1:10:11] Okay, next slide.

[1:10:19] Okay.

[1:10:20] Um we are in

[1:10:22] Rockingham Power & Energy District.

[1:10:24] Uh our community

[1:10:28] options for supporting clean energy. We

[1:10:30] have I've talked about that. There's the

[1:10:31] Blue Sky.

[1:10:33] Uh there's subscribed solar, which is

[1:10:36] been

[1:10:37] um

[1:10:38] uh is not open anymore.

[1:10:40] Uh there is

[1:10:42] uh getting on the net metering program,

[1:10:44] which costs thousands of dollars

[1:10:46] to do. Just as an example, I put $15,000

[1:10:50] into this

[1:10:51] uh for my

[1:10:53] uh panels.

[1:10:55] And I don't have a very big house.

[1:10:59] So this is a very cheap option for our

[1:11:02] residence to support renewable energy

[1:11:05] and clean energy.

[1:11:08] And and and that's what this program is

[1:11:11] all about. It's allowing everybody to be a part of this.

[1:11:18] And we feel like this program is the

[1:11:21] best choice for our communities

[1:11:23] to be part of

[1:11:26] providing renewable energy.

[1:11:30] And and uh

[1:11:32] just looking at our general plan,

[1:11:34] looking at

[1:11:35] in general this community I think has

[1:11:38] always been because

[1:11:41] Jeff's little organization surrounds us

[1:11:44] on three sides. We've always been I

[1:11:48] think a community that's been very um

[1:11:52] oriented to the park and and their

[1:11:54] philosophy on

[1:11:57] resource protection.

[1:11:59] And I just think that we have uh

[1:12:01] this is something that really aligns

[1:12:03] with what we've done with our general

[1:12:06] plan

[1:12:07] and what most of our

[1:12:08] residents feel. Next slide.

[1:12:17] Okay, this is the

[1:12:22] getting down to it. This is our our

[1:12:25] choice tonight whether we we pass this

[1:12:28] ordinance.

[1:12:29] Um

[1:12:30] it's going to sign our

[1:12:33] residents and businesses.

[1:12:36] Um it'll allow them to be part of

[1:12:39] a renewable energy program.

[1:12:41] Um we've got until June 2nd to do it.

[1:12:45] Uh I think it's it'd be good to to get

[1:12:47] it done tonight.

[1:12:49] And um

[1:12:57] Next slide.

[1:13:03] That's the organization that we're part

[1:13:05] of.

[1:13:06] Now,

[1:13:08] all those questions you had.

[1:13:11] You answered all of them.

[1:13:12] No, I have some.

[1:13:14] I knew. I knew. No, he didn't. Jack and

[1:13:18] Pat would have questions.

[1:13:19] >> Are they coming from the community? How

[1:13:21] are And either one. We'll we'll start.

[1:13:22] Either one. We but we I would start with

[1:13:24] you and the council. I think it's

[1:13:26] probably the best way to start. Fire

[1:13:27] away. Jack, rock, paper, scissors, who

[1:13:29] goes first?

[1:13:31] Go for it.

[1:13:33] Um

[1:13:34] five things.

[1:13:35] What if

[1:13:37] you

[1:13:38] RMP estimates 80% initial participation.

[1:13:41] What if it drops below that?

[1:13:44] How far down does it go before the

[1:13:46] program collapses? If that even happens.

[1:13:48] In other words,

[1:13:50] say 80% of the people do sign on, but in

[1:13:53] a year only 50% are on. Or more people

[1:13:56] opt out of it, pay that 30 bucks and opt

[1:13:58] out. What happens then?

[1:14:01] Do do do do the rates go up for the

[1:14:03] people that are in the program?

[1:14:05] No.

[1:14:06] The the Public Service Commission has

[1:14:09] said this is the rate.

[1:14:11] So, the rates do not go up. It means

[1:14:14] what it means possibly is that the it

[1:14:17] will take us longer to

[1:14:20] uh

[1:14:21] get the amount of renewable energy that

[1:14:23] we need to satisfy our 100%. So, if

[1:14:26] initially only

[1:14:27] This is crazy, but if initially only 20%

[1:14:30] of the people sign up, it's going to be

[1:14:31] the rates we saw here.

[1:14:34] Yeah, but the reality is, I mean, if 20%

[1:14:38] of all the communities sign up, the

[1:14:41] program won't work. Okay. And the Public

[1:14:43] Service Commission would probably

[1:14:46] and and and URC would probably pull the

[1:14:48] plug on the program. Also, in the slides

[1:14:50] it talked about we get the first notice

[1:14:53] in the bill in November and the next

[1:14:54] notice the bill in December.

[1:14:57] But the ordinance

[1:14:58] currently shows that there's 15 days

[1:15:00] between the first and second notice. So,

[1:15:02] how does that How does that

[1:15:04] reconcile?

[1:15:07] Well, I think

[1:15:10] Yeah, I'm not sure why the ordinance is

[1:15:13] 15 days because First opt-out

[1:15:16] >> It's when your bill is

[1:15:17] >> notice

[1:15:18] Uh

[1:15:20] Where did you see that? It's in

[1:15:23] 872

[1:15:25] C

[1:15:27] one and two.

[1:15:29] In the ordinance.

[1:15:31] You see it up here.

[1:15:35] Can you pull the ordinance up?

[1:15:39] Section 87-2

[1:15:48] Should be at the Yeah, the beginning of

[1:15:50] this.

[1:15:52] All right, where

[1:15:54] What page is it on? Let's start with it.

[1:15:56] Oh, you're you're down into the that

[1:15:59] into the exhibit.

[1:16:00] >> It says that the first opt-out notice

[1:16:03] shall in all material respects

[1:16:06] da da da

[1:16:07] No, that's not the right one, Tom. Go

[1:16:09] down one.

[1:16:10] Is that Is that Is that 872 or 871?

[1:16:15] Uh

[1:16:16] Go go up. 872, okay.

[1:16:18] This paragraph talks about the first

[1:16:20] opt-out

[1:16:20] >> I see what you're talking about.

[1:16:21] Paragraph second notice is 15 days after

[1:16:24] the first opt-out notice. Separate from

[1:16:26] the bill. At least 15 days. Separate

[1:16:29] from the bill. It says it's separate

[1:16:30] from the standard monthly bill.

[1:16:31] >> one in the bill in November, one in the

[1:16:33] bill in

[1:16:34] November, one in December, and you get

[1:16:37] other notices that are 15 days apart?

[1:16:40] I mean, I'm sure the notice

[1:16:40] >> No, I

[1:16:42] the same thing.

[1:16:43] >> Well, the first of all it says

[1:16:46] to each eligible customer within

[1:16:48] Springdale at least 15 days after the

[1:16:51] first opt-out notice

[1:16:53] uh was provided or at least 7 days

[1:16:55] before the customer

[1:16:57] But it specifically says these

[1:16:58] >> the second. So, that

[1:17:03] But these notices are separate from the

[1:17:05] bills. They're not tied to bills. They

[1:17:07] specifically say separate from standard

[1:17:09] monthly bills. So, they go out as a

[1:17:11] standalone item 15 days apart, sounds

[1:17:15] like. At least 15 days apart.

[1:17:18] I'm sorry, at least, yeah.

[1:17:19] At least, right. At least 15 days.

[1:17:22] And so, also, you will everybody will

[1:17:26] receive a mailer even if they only do

[1:17:30] electronic billing.

[1:17:31] Everybody will receive a paper And

[1:17:33] that's part of the $970 that we're going

[1:17:36] to be paying for. And then their

[1:17:39] additional notice will be sent to you in

[1:17:41] your preferred

[1:17:44] method. If so, if you prefer paper,

[1:17:46] you're going to get another paper. And

[1:17:47] if you prefer electronic, then it will

[1:17:49] be electronic.

[1:17:51] And is there a specific reason why

[1:17:53] schedule 135 is out, like why you can't

[1:17:55] do it? Is it just Because I think what

[1:17:58] they did is they looked at how much

[1:18:00] money that people have

[1:18:02] uh spent on this.

[1:18:04] And that's why.

[1:18:06] And and I don't know um

[1:18:08] I heard some talk about eventually they

[1:18:11] might let

[1:18:13] uh schedule 135 in, but at this point,

[1:18:15] no. And I think this is going to be

[1:18:18] listed as schedule 100. Is what this

[1:18:21] will which you'll see on your bill,

[1:18:23] schedule 100. And my last question is is the town keeping track of who's in

[1:18:27] and who's out? Will we know

[1:18:31] like Pat Campbell was in and Pat

[1:18:33] Campbell opted out in February or I I

[1:18:35] don't know that we will uh individual I

[1:18:38] doubt it because we don't send the bills

[1:18:41] out. Rocky Mountain Power does.

[1:18:43] Absolutely. So your your bill we don't

[1:18:45] » [music]

[1:18:45] >> we might be able to call Rocky Mountain

[1:18:47] Power and say how many people Okay. uh

[1:18:50] from Springdale are in and how many are

[1:18:53] you know what kind of participation but

[1:18:54] at this point

[1:18:55] >> concerned about what the

[1:18:56] how we verify our participation. Yeah

[1:18:58] and uh I'm I'm assuming we will be able

[1:19:02] to call Rocky Mountain Power and just

[1:19:03] say

[1:19:04] you know I would I would say probably

[1:19:06] after the

[1:19:08] you know once it starts in 2027

[1:19:11] uh we would wait until that four months

[1:19:14] is up because people can still opt out

[1:19:16] without a termination charge and and at

[1:19:18] that point I think everybody will be

[1:19:21] sort of committed to the program and at

[1:19:23] that point it we could

[1:19:25] get a hold of Rocky Mountain Power and

[1:19:27] ask.

[1:19:28] And I think the URC would do that. I

[1:19:30] mean I don't I don't see the town

[1:19:32] specifically doing that. I maybe we

[1:19:34] could or maybe we couldn't. But I do

[1:19:37] think that URC is invested enough to

[1:19:39] kind of know okay

[1:19:41] we've done all this legwork where did

[1:19:43] the cards fall and giving us that data

[1:19:47] because I imagine that we're going to be

[1:19:49] aboard for quite a while as we make

[1:19:51] decisions about resources that we're

[1:19:53] obtaining and power purchase agreements

[1:19:56] and all that good stuff.

[1:20:00] Maybe if the opt-in is too low they'd

[1:20:02] open it up to schedule 135. Who knows?

[1:20:05] But Jack you had some questions.

[1:20:07] >> Yeah I think uh

[1:20:10] Pat covered my questions. Good job Pat.

[1:20:13] You know I think my one

[1:20:16] um I know that this is is not the first

[1:20:18] time we've heard this. I think the

[1:20:19] biggest hit on this will be for business

[1:20:21] owners. And I think Well I think the

[1:20:23] only question I've got is

[1:20:26] um

[1:20:27] uh

[1:20:28] do we really feel like we've given

[1:20:30] adequate notice to residents that by

[1:20:33] passing this ordinance, if you're not

[1:20:36] paying attention, you know, we just

[1:20:38] increased your

[1:20:40] power bill.

[1:20:41] Well, but we're not increasing. We're

[1:20:44] Well, I guess we are.

[1:20:45] >> No, we are.

[1:20:47] I you know, Jack

[1:20:51] No, I'm just asking that question.

[1:20:52] >> It's a It's a good question and it's one

[1:20:54] of the reasons

[1:20:56] that we have

[1:20:59] made an attempt

[1:21:01] uh

[1:21:01] and what I've made an attempt

[1:21:04] at every meeting of

[1:21:06] We've got a

[1:21:07] um a report on this on where we are on

[1:21:10] this.

[1:21:11] And

[1:21:12] uh I couldn't really fill much in

[1:21:15] because we were still kind of putting

[1:21:17] the program together. And until

[1:21:20] uh

[1:21:21] for instance, as far as the program rate

[1:21:23] until the Public Service Commission said

[1:21:26] on March 4th of this year that this is

[1:21:29] going to be the program rate and they

[1:21:31] decide cuz we we heard

[1:21:33] uh we were hearing from Energy

[1:21:34] Strategies that would probably be

[1:21:37] somewhere between two to five dollars.

[1:21:40] And but we our two to seven dollars. We

[1:21:43] didn't know where it was going to fall

[1:21:44] in there. Public Service Commission said

[1:21:46] flat rate four dollars until you

[1:21:51] have enough

[1:21:53] uh a reserve built up to then have uh

[1:21:56] paid for enough to get this program

[1:21:58] going.

[1:21:59] And I I think, you know, if we put this

[1:22:01] out in the town newsletter, we have it

[1:22:03] on the website.

[1:22:06] Um

[1:22:07] then I think, you know, we put

[1:22:08] >> Well, and and yeah, and I think that um

[1:22:11] what you we should be doing with maybe

[1:22:13] the town newsletter every time is just

[1:22:16] put a little blurb in there and giving a

[1:22:19] link to the URC website because that has

[1:22:23] a lot of detail and a a of uh good

[1:22:26] information on it. This is a lot of information, but

[1:22:31] there's a lot more

[1:22:32] on there.

[1:22:33] Uh so,

[1:22:35] that in my opinion

[1:22:37] I hear you, and it's what we are challenged by with

[1:22:42] everything that we do

[1:22:44] is trying to get the information out to

[1:22:46] the residents that

[1:22:48] "Hey, we're passing an ordinance

[1:22:50] tonight."

[1:22:51] And uh I don't other than

[1:22:56] putting big red signs up and shooting

[1:22:59] fireworks off and

[1:23:01] I I like the number of opportunities

[1:23:03] >> Exactly. You have.

[1:23:06] termination fee is more than reasonable.

[1:23:08] If you miss, you know,

[1:23:11] don't get the memo. Um so, Yeah.

[1:23:13] >> And the low-income option that that

[1:23:16] doesn't charge. I think I think there's

[1:23:18] every opportunity for someone who just

[1:23:20] can't do this to not do this. But

[1:23:22] >> And and Yeah. the the other thing that I

[1:23:25] think was on there, but uh for the

[1:23:27] low-income customers, you know, maybe

[1:23:30] uh

[1:23:31] you know, they're a couple of years into

[1:23:33] the program and they read something they

[1:23:35] don't all of a sudden they don't like

[1:23:37] renewable energy. They can opt out

[1:23:39] without any termination fee.

[1:23:41] Um

[1:23:43] so, that's that's really for the people

[1:23:45] who

[1:23:46] uh

[1:23:49] you know, have been

[1:23:51] There's a lot of work, I guess, for

[1:23:53] Rocky Mountain Power to take people

[1:23:56] There's work to put them into the

[1:23:57] program, and there's work to take them

[1:23:59] out, and that's what that

[1:24:01] $30 covers.

[1:24:06] It's good questions. I mean,

[1:24:08] it's important, and and

[1:24:11] you all have any questions, please ask.

[1:24:14] Um

[1:24:15] Yeah, if any of you out there want to

[1:24:17] ask questions, follow the same

[1:24:18] procedure.

[1:24:19] >> Yeah.

[1:24:20] If anybody has questions this program

[1:24:24] Looks like not. So, do we want to

[1:24:26] discuss or do we feel ready to make a

[1:24:28] motion?

[1:24:30] I will just add that, you know,

[1:24:36] kind of to your concerns, Jack, if we say no to the program, then nobody

[1:24:43] has the opportunity.

[1:24:45] There's no individual

[1:24:47] choice if we make the choice tonight to

[1:24:50] say no.

[1:24:52] The only way anybody gets individual

[1:24:54] choices if we say yes.

[1:24:56] That's a good point.

[1:25:00] And inevitably, but there will be the

[1:25:02] people who are caught off guard because

[1:25:03] their bill is on auto pay or or however

[1:25:06] it works for individual house individual

[1:25:08] households.

[1:25:10] Um

[1:25:11] and it is a shame that we've been

[1:25:12] working on this program for so long and

[1:25:14] it's coming out of time at a time where

[1:25:16] everybody's feeling

[1:25:18] tight, you know, and like and everything

[1:25:20] is increasing, right? That's

[1:25:22] really unfortunate, but we do know

[1:25:26] just within the last couple months that,

[1:25:29] you know, gas prices are going up.

[1:25:32] Fuel is an issue.

[1:25:34] This is a way for us as a community to

[1:25:36] say, well, we have sunshine and we have

[1:25:39] wind and we're willing to put forth a

[1:25:41] little bit of investment to maybe um

[1:25:45] gain some

[1:25:47] reliable, sustainable

[1:25:50] choices that aren't dependent on the ups

[1:25:52] and downs of coal and fuel prices.

[1:25:56] Um and and so for those few reasons, I

[1:26:00] beside the point that I've been working

[1:26:02] with Randy on this for quite a while, um

[1:26:04] I'm supportive of the program and

[1:26:08] wish that it were free, but it's not and

[1:26:10] that's just the way that good things

[1:26:12] are. We have to put forth a little bit

[1:26:13] of investment in hopes that we do get

[1:26:16] that 80% uh or maybe more.

[1:26:19] Um, you know, as a as the group of

[1:26:23] communities, we're 25%

[1:26:25] give or take a little bit

[1:26:28] of the grid's capacity or you know,

[1:26:30] we're 25% of the users. That's a chunk.

[1:26:34] That's a For the state, you mean?

[1:26:36] >> state.

[1:26:36] yeah. We're we're a considerable

[1:26:39] amount of energy and people who are

[1:26:42] getting together who are saying this is

[1:26:44] important to us.

[1:26:46] Um,

[1:26:47] so

[1:26:49] I think signing on is sending a message

[1:26:52] to the people who

[1:26:55] you know, with Project Gigawatt and all

[1:26:57] of the things that are kind of happening

[1:26:59] in our state.

[1:27:00] Uh,

[1:27:01] sending a message that people want clean

[1:27:03] reliable energy and I think Springdale

[1:27:07] is uniquely

[1:27:09] positioned to kind of support that

[1:27:12] endeavor.

[1:27:14] Yeah, and I

[1:27:15] we are very small player

[1:27:17] in this whole thing. It's Salt Lake, County, Ogden,

[1:27:22] uh, Park City, Moab, Summit County,

[1:27:26] you know, we're we're a a small little

[1:27:28] player in all this and and we are the

[1:27:31] only community in Southern Utah

[1:27:33] that's signing up for this program,

[1:27:35] which I'm

[1:27:36] uh, I'm pretty

[1:27:37] proud of us for making that step. I

[1:27:39] think that's a it's a huge

[1:27:42] uh, step, so

[1:27:44] uh, I I very much want us to

[1:27:49] be a part of this and to pass this

[1:27:50] ordinance tonight. Well, the thing about

[1:27:53] it is is

[1:27:54] nobody's in a headlock

[1:27:56] to to sign No, no. No. If you don't want

[1:27:58] to do it, you don't do it. If you want

[1:27:59] to do it, you do it. If you later you

[1:28:01] want out, you can get out. If you want

[1:28:02] to get in later, you can get in. I mean,

[1:28:04] this is not

[1:28:05] nobody's being pressured to do anything.

[1:28:07] The only concern I had and you've

[1:28:09] answered that question is noticed. Yeah.

[1:28:13] Unless you

[1:28:15] change the banner and the sign over

[1:28:16] there.

[1:28:17] >> [laughter]

[1:28:18] >> And Carla mentioned that this will go

[1:28:20] out by a US mail, Yeah. not just an

[1:28:23] email that you might miss, so I feel

[1:28:25] comfortable passing this resolution.

[1:28:29] Does anyone want to make the motion? I

[1:28:31] would like to.

[1:28:32] Really? Yeah, because I've brought this

[1:28:34] same program up. After all this, you're

[1:28:36] going to make the motion?

[1:28:38] >> Please.

[1:28:40] I move we approve ordinance 2026-11, an

[1:28:43] ordinance exacting

[1:28:45] uh enacting title eight, chapter seven

[1:28:48] to the Springdale Town Code, Community

[1:28:51] Clean Energy Program, and direct the

[1:28:53] mayor to sign.

[1:28:55] Can I add some findings?

[1:28:57] Yes.

[1:29:02] Um that our town general plan

[1:29:07] has several um supporting lines that I

[1:29:12] will mention.

[1:29:14] Um

[1:29:16] public and municipal I'm sorry,

[1:29:18] municipal and public services, the

[1:29:21] general goal states that either directly

[1:29:24] or through partnerships, the town will

[1:29:27] ensure excellence in utilities such as

[1:29:30] power.

[1:29:32] Then we have sub goal D, encourage the

[1:29:35] implementation of renewable energy and

[1:29:37] conservation, use reduction, and the

[1:29:40] practice of sustainability in power

[1:29:43] utilities,

[1:29:44] which is supported by D1.

[1:29:47] It says the town will adopt policies and

[1:29:49] participate in programs that promote the

[1:29:52] use and development of renewable and

[1:29:55] sustainable alternative resources as

[1:29:58] solar such as solar, wind, and

[1:30:01] geothermal.

[1:30:02] Um and then our natural and cultural

[1:30:04] resources general goal talks about the

[1:30:07] natural resources in and around

[1:30:10] Springdale, such as the dark night sky,

[1:30:13] clean air and water,

[1:30:15] um will be protected and conserved, will

[1:30:19] be healthy, and will enhance the quality

[1:30:23] and life or the quality of life and of

[1:30:26] residents and visitors.

[1:30:29] I will second I accept it those. Thank

[1:30:31] you.

[1:30:31] >> Thank you.

[1:30:33] Do we have a second?

[1:30:35] I'll second.

[1:30:36] Motion by Randy second by Kyla,

[1:30:38] appropriately.

[1:30:39] And I. Randy, I. Barbara, I. Jack, I.

[1:30:43] Kyla, I.

[1:30:46] After all that work, you finally get to

[1:30:49] put it to rest. No, I don't. And we're

[1:30:52] first.

[1:30:52] >> We have a lot more meetings and we have

[1:30:54] a lot more

[1:30:55] to do, but this is this is awesome.

[1:30:57] Good.

[1:30:59] Next item is invasive species removal

[1:31:01] project, Utah Conservation Corps

[1:31:04] Services Agreement, and this is Kindle.

[1:31:08] Yes, thank you. So, with the town is

[1:31:10] continuing the work on the invasive

[1:31:11] species removal project, removing

[1:31:14] invasive Russian olive and tamarisk

[1:31:16] trees from the Virgin River watershed in

[1:31:18] Springdale and Trees Ranch.

[1:31:20] Most of the work has been accomplished

[1:31:21] in the 2025 season. The specialized

[1:31:24] services agreement will allow the Utah

[1:31:27] Conservation Corps, the UCC crews, to

[1:31:30] perform 5 weeks of treatment,

[1:31:32] re-treatment, and revegetation in

[1:31:34] Springdale and Trees Ranch.

[1:31:36] The UCC charges $5,750

[1:31:40] per week for a technical treatment crew

[1:31:42] and $5,500 per week for a non-technical

[1:31:46] crew.

[1:31:47] The total for 5 weeks of treatment is

[1:31:48] $28,250.

[1:31:51] Funding for this project is coming

[1:31:53] through the landscape scale restoration

[1:31:55] grant from the US Forest Service

[1:31:58] that Springdale was subawarded in 2024.

[1:32:02] The town attorney has reviewed the

[1:32:03] agreement and he has approved the form.

[1:32:06] So, staff recommends that town council

[1:32:08] approve the specialized services

[1:32:09] agreement with UCC and authorize the

[1:32:12] mayor to sign the document.

[1:32:15] Questions for Kendall? Yeah, a question.

[1:32:17] I noticed that um

[1:32:19] there was matching fund contributions

[1:32:22] from Trees Ranch property and from the

[1:32:25] Nature Conservancy and some other

[1:32:27] partners. Is the Springdale is the town

[1:32:31] uh

[1:32:32] have any financial input into this

[1:32:36] other than getting the grant

[1:32:38] and your time for doing that?

[1:32:41] Um yes. So, the

[1:32:44] >> 28,000?

[1:32:46] So, so the 28,000 it's it's easiest to

[1:32:49] think of this as as a project as a whole

[1:32:51] and not the specifics of the 28,000. So,

[1:32:54] the at the project as a whole, the grant

[1:32:56] is about a $609,000

[1:32:58] project.

[1:32:59] Um so, we we that's that's the total

[1:33:03] bucket of funds. Of that $609,000

[1:33:07] um the uh State Forestry Fire and State

[1:33:10] Land, we we we were awarded 50% of that

[1:33:13] in in grant funding. So, $300,000. Of

[1:33:16] that, the Forestry Fire and State Lands

[1:33:19] took $60,000 for their administration of

[1:33:22] the grant. They the Forestry Fire and

[1:33:24] State Lands is actually the grant

[1:33:26] recipient. As Kendall mentioned, we are

[1:33:27] the subrecipient.

[1:33:29] So, right off the top, Forestry Fire and

[1:33:31] State Lands took 60,000.

[1:33:33] That means that we have $240,000

[1:33:36] in cash from the grant,

[1:33:39] but we also have to match that grant

[1:33:40] 50/50. So, we need to provide about

[1:33:42] $300,000 in matching funds.

[1:33:45] Those are coming um from Trees Ranch

[1:33:48] who's um

[1:33:50] providing about $150,000 in matching

[1:33:52] funds.

[1:33:53] The Nature Conservancy, which is

[1:33:55] providing about $20,000 Well, not about,

[1:33:57] exactly $20,000 in matching funds.

[1:34:00] Um, the town of Springdale has committed

[1:34:01] $10,000 in cash matching funds. The

[1:34:04] remainder of the match comes from

[1:34:07] um

[1:34:07] soft match. So, that is the town's labor

[1:34:12] that we put in on the on the um grant.

[1:34:15] Um, Lisa Zumpf is here and she's she's

[1:34:18] our our volunteer, what started as our

[1:34:20] council representative on this grant and

[1:34:21] now is our volunteer head volunteer on

[1:34:23] the grant and her time counts as match.

[1:34:25] Um, and another big chunk comes from the

[1:34:27] Hurricane Valley Fire Protection

[1:34:28] District. They're the ones that are

[1:34:30] helping us dispose of the slash piles

[1:34:32] through chipping and burning. All that

[1:34:34] goes towards the grant matching funds,

[1:34:35] as well.

[1:34:36] So, this $28,000

[1:34:38] comes out of that

[1:34:40] bigger, larger project where we have all

[1:34:42] this cash.

[1:34:44] Um

[1:34:45] and and so, that's where that money

[1:34:47] comes from. That is matched

[1:34:49] as a whole by these other sources I've

[1:34:52] talked about. So, we don't really need

[1:34:53] to worry about how is this particular

[1:34:55] $28,000 being matched because it's all

[1:34:57] part of the larger project.

[1:34:59] Does that make sense?

[1:35:04] And it's all funded. It's all fully

[1:35:06] funded.

[1:35:07] Correct.

[1:35:09] I have a question for you, Kenda. You

[1:35:11] said that the majority of the work has

[1:35:12] been completed. So, does that imply

[1:35:14] there's still some work that will be

[1:35:17] completed? Yes, there's some parcels

[1:35:19] within the Springdale town that needs to

[1:35:22] be completed. Yeah, I just wanted to

[1:35:24] mention, I noticed um

[1:35:26] down at the river park the other day

[1:35:28] where they where they did work on the

[1:35:31] east end of it, or I mean the I guess

[1:35:33] the north end. Is that right?

[1:35:36] Upriver.

[1:35:38] Where they had to go back and

[1:35:40] gather up the scattered material.

[1:35:42] There's Russian olive from that point up

[1:35:44] to Canyon Springs.

[1:35:47] Yes. So, anyway, yeah, there's

[1:35:48] definitely still some pockets.

[1:35:52] There's a little bit of tamarisk in the

[1:35:54] dry wash up above Anasazi, but I think

[1:35:56] you I think we've reported all of that

[1:35:58] to you.

[1:36:00] That's what remains.

[1:36:03] Yes, so having the UCC crews come back

[1:36:05] and take care of all of that and then

[1:36:07] also do some retreatment on some of the

[1:36:09] sprouts that have come up in Springdale

[1:36:12] and Trees Ranch is is why we need them

[1:36:15] to come back up.

[1:36:20] Questions? Want to make a motion?

[1:36:23] I have a motion ready. Okay.

[1:36:26] I move to approve the specialized

[1:36:27] service agreement with Utah Conservation

[1:36:29] Corps in regards to invasive species and

[1:36:33] direct the mayor to sign.

[1:36:35] Second. Motion by Kayla, second by Jack.

[1:36:37] Pat, aye. Brenda, aye. Barbara, aye.

[1:36:41] Jack, aye. Kayla, aye.

[1:36:44] Next item is review and possible

[1:36:47] selection of Bike Utah as a partner with

[1:36:50] the town of Springdale for community

[1:36:51] engagement services regarding trails in

[1:36:53] Springdale. Contact is Ryan Gubler and I

[1:36:56] see that Stan Pleasure is here

[1:36:59] um

[1:37:00] maybe participating as well.

[1:37:03] Thank you, Mayor.

[1:37:05] Sorry.

[1:37:07] Um so as the staff report

[1:37:11] Okay. Sorry. Let me know when I'm ready

[1:37:13] to go.

[1:37:14] As the staff report says, back in 2025

[1:37:16] we were awarded an outdoor recreation

[1:37:18] planning assistance grant for $20,000

[1:37:21] from the Utah Division of Outdoor

[1:37:22] Recreation.

[1:37:23] Um as part of our application, uh we

[1:37:26] were very specific that we wanted this

[1:37:27] money to cover two phases of this

[1:37:30] effort. The first phase to be really

[1:37:32] healthy, robust community engagement

[1:37:34] process, public involvement to

[1:37:37] help us understand um the feelings

[1:37:39] surrounding our current trail network

[1:37:41] and the community's appetite for the

[1:37:42] potential for more trails in town.

[1:37:45] Um and then once that phase was

[1:37:47] completed, that would help guide us uh

[1:37:50] into the next phase of master planning

[1:37:52] and planning of specific trail projects.

[1:37:55] Um, and so we issued the RFP and we were

[1:37:57] lucky to receive three proposals. All

[1:38:00] three submissions were from very

[1:38:02] qualified applicants. Uh, very

[1:38:04] impressive. Um, and so, uh, we had our

[1:38:07] work cut out for us.

[1:38:09] Um, and one thing I did want to note

[1:38:10] because this was an RFP, uh, we were not

[1:38:13] in a situation where we were forced to

[1:38:15] take the low bid. We were able to take

[1:38:17] other things into account. Obviously

[1:38:18] cost was one of those things, but it

[1:38:21] gave us some flexibility. Um, so that

[1:38:24] differs from other projects like the

[1:38:25] River Park, another example where we

[1:38:27] are,

[1:38:28] you know,

[1:38:29] we are forced to take the low bid. Uh,

[1:38:31] this was not that situation. So, um, we

[1:38:34] had our group gathered together which

[1:38:35] included myself, Tom Dansie, um,

[1:38:38] Councilmember Burns, Councilmember

[1:38:39] Eaton, and Robert George, our street

[1:38:41] supervisor.

[1:38:42] And we spent roughly two hours

[1:38:44] deliberating and going back and forth on

[1:38:46] the pros and cons of each applicant. Um,

[1:38:49] eventually we landed on Bike Utah.

[1:38:52] We felt good about that as a group.

[1:38:55] And, um,

[1:38:56] so our recommendation is that the

[1:38:57] council approve the partnership with

[1:38:59] Bike Utah for community engagement

[1:39:00] services for this effort. I will note

[1:39:03] that as of right now there is no

[1:39:04] contract, there is no agreement. That is

[1:39:06] not what we're here for today. Um, that

[1:39:08] will come later.

[1:39:10] Once, or assuming this gets approved by

[1:39:12] the council, um, Bike Utah will then

[1:39:14] draft or start drafting a contract which

[1:39:16] will then come to the council for

[1:39:17] approval, probably in the April 22nd

[1:39:20] meeting.

[1:39:21] Um, and so attached to the staff report

[1:39:23] were the, uh, was the RFP and the, uh,

[1:39:29] application submitted by Bike Utah.

[1:39:31] Later I sent both, uh, other the other

[1:39:33] two applications to the council as well

[1:39:35] for their review, but they, uh, welcome

[1:39:36] any any questions.

[1:39:39] That was helpful to see the others, too.

[1:39:41] It would have been a tough decision.

[1:39:43] They were all three really good. They

[1:39:45] were three really good choices. And this

[1:39:47] is probably a stupid question. I'll just

[1:39:50] say this is a stupid question. So, Bike

[1:39:52] Utah works on multi-use trails, not just

[1:39:55] bike trails. I mean, these trails are

[1:39:57] multi-use, right? We're not We're not

[1:39:59] just talking about a trail plan for

[1:40:01] bikes.

[1:40:02] Yeah, correct. They They Yeah, and if

[1:40:04] you look at the jobs they've done, work for the Utah Lake

[1:40:07] Authority, they've done

[1:40:09] trails master plan for Eagle Mountain.

[1:40:10] So, they

[1:40:12] I think people see the name Bike Utah

[1:40:13] and think, "Okay, this is bike trails."

[1:40:16] But, they do more than that.

[1:40:18] Okay.

[1:40:21] That's not a stupid question. It was We talked about that in our in our

[1:40:25] meeting. So, Ryan, most of the the

[1:40:27] operative RFP language is about I'm

[1:40:29] going to read this directly. Community

[1:40:31] outreach

[1:40:32] and and planning input, but not the

[1:40:34] actual physical or technical design of

[1:40:36] the trails. Correct, yeah.

[1:40:37] >> So, we're not asking Bike Utah to design

[1:40:39] this. We're asking him, "Go out to the

[1:40:41] community, find out if we want it." Yep.

[1:40:44] This first phase is strictly community

[1:40:47] engage-

[1:40:47] >> So, it's intended to move a like a

[1:40:49] future trails plan forward. That That's

[1:40:51] Yeah. if that happens. Yep, exactly. So,

[1:40:57] when I read the the the public face of

[1:41:00] Bike Utah,

[1:41:02] I didn't get the sense that they had a

[1:41:03] whole lot of expertise when it comes to

[1:41:05] non-paved trails. So, are we expecting

[1:41:08] them

[1:41:09] to do hiking trails or just bike trails?

[1:41:11] All trails. That's paved trails, natural

[1:41:13] surface trails, different user groups,

[1:41:15] all the entire trail network. So, when I

[1:41:17] read their their website and went

[1:41:19] through some of the documents, I I

[1:41:20] didn't see a whole lot of

[1:41:23] expertise in in non-paved trail work.

[1:41:27] Do they have it?

[1:41:30] You know, that's we only saw it We saw

[1:41:32] the same things you saw in the

[1:41:33] application. We didn't do any follow-up.

[1:41:35] We felt that

[1:41:37] >> How do you think I I again I'm I'm just

[1:41:39] curious.

[1:41:40] How would a company or a group that

[1:41:44] doesn't have experience in what

[1:41:46] hiking trails do or how they should be

[1:41:51] calculated, where they go, what where

[1:41:52] they consist of. If they have no

[1:41:54] experience doing that, then how do we

[1:41:56] expect them to ask questions

[1:41:58] of the community

[1:42:00] if they don't know what kind of

[1:42:01] questions they're going to ask. I mean,

[1:42:03] the example I use is

[1:42:05] I had a 1971 Barracuda years ago before

[1:42:08] they became, right?

[1:42:09] If I were to ask people

[1:42:12] tell me

[1:42:14] um tell me about how this car works or

[1:42:16] tell me about what I should do to keep

[1:42:18] the car maintained.

[1:42:19] You'd ask people that knew something

[1:42:21] about cars, right?

[1:42:23] So, tell me what Bike Utah has in their

[1:42:25] background that that will enable them to ask the right

[1:42:29] questions. And I'm I'm certain they can.

[1:42:31] I'm just curious. Yeah, so that's a

[1:42:33] great question. And Randy and Jack, feel

[1:42:35] free to jump in if you feel the need,

[1:42:36] but

[1:42:37] me looking at it, I looked at their

[1:42:38] experience working with you Moab in the

[1:42:40] Safe Streets and Roads program, the

[1:42:43] off-street trails master plan with Eagle

[1:42:45] Mountain talked about to the Utah Lake

[1:42:47] Recreation Access Plan. So, it is I

[1:42:49] think their experience is

[1:42:51] more broad than just paved trails for

[1:42:54] bikes. I think that that especially with

[1:42:56] the Utah Lake Recreation Access Plan,

[1:42:58] you look go through and read it. I feel

[1:43:00] like it's a little more encompassing

[1:43:01] than just paved trails.

[1:43:04] Um you know, there were pros and cons to

[1:43:06] each applicant, you know, we there were

[1:43:07] certain things that maybe they weren't

[1:43:09] as strong as as another applicant. We

[1:43:12] looked at it holistically um

[1:43:15] and and to to be frank, cost was a big

[1:43:18] factor. Mainly we're focused on a

[1:43:19] company that can tell us whether people

[1:43:21] want trails or not.

[1:43:24] Basically. Not designing these things.

[1:43:26] Gauge the community's interest in more

[1:43:28] trails. We that that was very clear.

[1:43:31] Uh we were we were just looking for

[1:43:34] um, the survey, not a not an

[1:43:36] organization that can sign

[1:43:38] uh, the trails master plan or trails.

[1:43:42] So, it's just we want community outreach

[1:43:45] for this.

[1:43:47] Yep.

[1:43:50] Any other questions for Ryan?

[1:43:52] Is the group that looked over the RFP?

[1:43:54] And maybe maybe you do or don't need a

[1:43:56] group. May That's my first question.

[1:43:58] Will you need a group to

[1:44:01] direct Bike Utah? Or is that going to be

[1:44:04] just you, you and Jack? We have an

[1:44:06] internal trails team and then we've also

[1:44:08] got Council member Eaton and Council

[1:44:10] member Burns who are the liaisons for

[1:44:12] each of those departments. Okay.

[1:44:14] So, they'll stay involved in the

[1:44:16] project.

[1:44:16] >> want to.

[1:44:17] >> You guys will continue to work like as a

[1:44:19] group. There's multiple of you. Correct.

[1:44:22] Yes. Helping Bike Utah set up

[1:44:24] >> Yes, they'll be working very closely

[1:44:26] with staff. Okay. Cool. And this will

[1:44:28] happen pretty quickly. This is short

[1:44:29] term. We'd like it We'd like it to start

[1:44:31] as soon as we can. And as I mentioned,

[1:44:33] the contract has not been They've not

[1:44:35] begun drafting the contract. That is

[1:44:36] something That will come to you guys for

[1:44:38] final approval.

[1:44:39] >> Bike Utah were to come back, say we we

[1:44:42] approve this and they come back and say,

[1:44:43] "Yes,

[1:44:44] you know, 80% of the people here in town

[1:44:45] want trails."

[1:44:47] We don't necessarily have to use them to

[1:44:48] do that, right? No. Oh, they don't.

[1:44:51] >> all.

[1:44:52] I don't Again, I I don't want to speak

[1:44:54] out of turn, but

[1:44:55] No, that's a that will be

[1:44:57] >> Logan Simpson Yeah, that would be a a

[1:44:59] different Yeah. Correct. And that was

[1:45:01] very clear in the RFP. This was strictly

[1:45:03] for community engagement. If we wanted

[1:45:04] to move forward with the

[1:45:05] master plan, we could we could put it

[1:45:07] out again. We could do it internally. We

[1:45:08] have a lot of options. We're trying to

[1:45:10] make real good use of this $20,000 we

[1:45:14] got and get our money's worth

[1:45:16] with that and not have to really

[1:45:19] step outside of that again.

[1:45:22] And you And you might want to mention

[1:45:23] that the The

[1:45:27] uh, can also be applied towards creating

[1:45:30] a master plan. Correct. Yeah. In

[1:45:33] addition to any

[1:45:34] >> Yeah. Well, then then

[1:45:36] And that's why the the price did make a

[1:45:38] big difference because we had a pretty

[1:45:40] big

[1:45:40] >> Saving $22,000 to do that in the future.

[1:45:42] I got it. I mean, 12,000

[1:45:43] >> Yeah, so that saves us gives us an extra

[1:45:46] $12,000 if we want to put that towards a

[1:45:48] master plan.

[1:45:51] We ready with the motion?

[1:45:55] Um so, we're we're making a motion just

[1:45:58] to enter in a project agreement.

[1:46:03] >> Um I don't know the wording. Not an

[1:46:05] agreement, but just yeah, selecting Bike

[1:46:07] Utah as a the partner with the town of

[1:46:09] Springdale.

[1:46:11] The contract will come later.

[1:46:12] >> Okay, I move to

[1:46:14] uh hire Bike Utah as the consultant for

[1:46:19] the Springdale Trails Community

[1:46:21] Engagement.

[1:46:23] Um

[1:46:25] and direct the mayor to sign.

[1:46:28] I second.

[1:46:29] I

[1:46:30] Sorry.

[1:46:31] At this point, there's nothing to sign.

[1:46:33] Yeah, there's no signing. That that will

[1:46:34] come Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. in the

[1:46:36] next month. In the next month.

[1:46:39] I still second. Okay, so we've got a

[1:46:41] motion by Jack and a second by Kyla. And

[1:46:44] I. Randy, I. Barbara, I. Jack, I. Kyla,

[1:46:46] I.

[1:46:48] Next item is review and possible

[1:46:50] approval of an independent contractor

[1:46:52] agreement for the Zion Regional

[1:46:53] Collaborative Coordinator position. And

[1:46:56] Tom, this is yours.

[1:46:58] Thank you, Mayor. This is a contract

[1:46:59] that we have entered into um about the

[1:47:02] last four or five years. Um and it funds

[1:47:04] the ZRC Coordinator position. The ZRC or

[1:47:09] Zion Regional Collaborative, as the

[1:47:10] council is aware, is a group that does

[1:47:12] regional planning and coordination

[1:47:14] throughout the Zion region. It provides

[1:47:16] an excellent opportunity for the town to

[1:47:17] network with our regional partners, to

[1:47:20] uh work on issues of shared interest, to

[1:47:23] communicate across jurisdictional

[1:47:25] boundaries,

[1:47:26] and to help promote projects that

[1:47:28] improve and enhance the quality of life

[1:47:30] in Springdale and the other

[1:47:33] communities in the region. So, it's a

[1:47:35] really valuable organization that the

[1:47:36] town's been participating in for a

[1:47:38] number of years.

[1:47:40] The ZRC coordinator

[1:47:42] is is really crucial to the successful

[1:47:45] operation of that group. The ZRC

[1:47:47] coordinator manages meetings,

[1:47:50] coordinates meetings, provides all the

[1:47:51] administrative support for the group, as

[1:47:55] well as maintains

[1:47:57] relationships with important regional

[1:47:59] partners, and facilitates conversations.

[1:48:03] And so, it's a pretty critical role. So,

[1:48:05] that's why we've felt really strongly

[1:48:07] about funding this position for the past

[1:48:08] four or five years.

[1:48:10] Unfortunately,

[1:48:12] in in the last few years, the town or

[1:48:15] excuse me, the ZRC has lost some of our

[1:48:18] funding partners for this position. Um

[1:48:24] we are

[1:48:26] working on on solutions to to be

[1:48:28] creative with the funding that we do

[1:48:30] have left to make this a viable

[1:48:32] position, and we're fortunate that the

[1:48:34] incumbent in this position, Emily

[1:48:35] Freedman, is is very willing to work on

[1:48:38] creative solutions with us. So, this proposed agreement that's before

[1:48:43] the council tonight is very similar to

[1:48:45] agreements that have been proposed in

[1:48:46] the past, except for the total amount of

[1:48:48] compensation to the ZRC coordinator is

[1:48:50] significantly lower than what it's been

[1:48:52] in the past. Springdale's contribution

[1:48:54] remains the same,

[1:48:56] as do the contributions of our other

[1:48:58] funding partners. In in fact, Iron

[1:49:00] County has increased their

[1:49:01] participation. Um but other communities

[1:49:03] have or excuse me, other funding

[1:49:05] partners have dropped out. And so, the

[1:49:07] total compensation is less than what

[1:49:09] we've been able to offer in the past. In

[1:49:11] order to compensate for that, we've

[1:49:12] adjusted the scope of work of what the

[1:49:14] coordinator um, offers or what the

[1:49:17] services that she will be providing. Um,

[1:49:19] and we've also coordinated with one of

[1:49:22] our our local ZRC champions, Patty

[1:49:26] Weiss, who was a former council member

[1:49:28] in La Verkin. She's no longer a council

[1:49:30] member, but is willing to pick up a lot

[1:49:32] of the slack on a volunteer basis for

[1:49:34] what, um, Emily used to provide under

[1:49:37] her expanded scope with the with the

[1:49:38] larger sum. So, that's what this

[1:49:40] agreement does, um, and uh

[1:49:43] just asked that if the council wants to

[1:49:45] support the this position to have the

[1:49:47] mayor sign this. And once all the other

[1:49:49] communities have signed, we'll have a

[1:49:50] complete

[1:49:51] um, agreement, so the ZRC can continue

[1:49:54] to function.

[1:49:56] Any questions?

[1:49:58] I do want to note that the two entities

[1:50:02] that are no longer funding this position

[1:50:03] are still participating in our ZRC

[1:50:06] workshops.

[1:50:08] And, um, they're just not on the

[1:50:10] steering committee. And also that there

[1:50:12] are a lot of groups beyond the funding

[1:50:14] partners that participate. So, it's a

[1:50:16] good opportunity for us to

[1:50:18] find out what they're doing in Kane

[1:50:20] County, what they're doing in Iron

[1:50:21] County, um, all the municipalities in

[1:50:24] Washington County. It's a it's a good

[1:50:25] [clears throat] group, and we, as you

[1:50:26] see from my council reports, learn a lot

[1:50:28] about what's going on outside of

[1:50:30] Springdale. We also just completed the

[1:50:33] quarter management plan to, um, extend

[1:50:36] and renew the scenic byway scenic byway,

[1:50:39] um, SR-9 and

[1:50:41] still working on the Guadalupe trail had

[1:50:45] NEPA, and we have a lot of great

[1:50:46] projects going on, but it would be very

[1:50:48] difficult to do this relying on just the

[1:50:50] members that are on council in various

[1:50:52] communities because we have too much on

[1:50:55] our plate to be planning meetings and

[1:50:57] making the arrangements that Emily

[1:50:59] makes.

[1:51:00] We're lucky to have her. The grant

[1:51:02] funding, doesn't she secure quite a bit

[1:51:04] of grant

[1:51:05] >> She does. She's gotten us a lot of grant

[1:51:07] money.

[1:51:08] She's amazing. She's one of those people

[1:51:10] that

[1:51:12] uh, ZRC has come a long way and much of

[1:51:15] it is due to her credit for all the work

[1:51:18] she does in the background for us. So,

[1:51:21] she's pretty amazing. She is amazing.

[1:51:25] Questions?

[1:51:30] You want to make a motion? I move to

[1:51:33] approve the independent contractor agree

[1:51:36] agreement for the Zion Regional

[1:51:38] Collaborative Coordinator position with

[1:51:40] Emily Friedman.

[1:51:42] Um, with the

[1:51:44] uh, the town of Springdale committing

[1:51:47] $11,680

[1:51:49] towards that.

[1:51:51] And direct the mayor to sign.

[1:51:54] I'll second. Motion by Jack, second by

[1:51:56] Kyla. Pat, I. Randy, I. Barbara, I.

[1:51:58] Jack, I. Kyla, I.

[1:52:00] Okay.

[1:52:01] Next item of business is discussion of a

[1:52:03] potential blanket allowance to disturb

[1:52:05] the Anasazi Plateau Conservation

[1:52:08] Easement by trimming native vegetation

[1:52:11] for the purpose of wildfire mitigation

[1:52:14] and possible [clears throat]

[1:52:14] ratification of prior approval of fire

[1:52:17] mitigation work already completed. And

[1:52:20] this is Tom Dansie. And I do want to

[1:52:23] disclose that I live on the Anasazi

[1:52:25] Plateau, but that won't impact my

[1:52:27] position on this.

[1:52:30] And I'll make the same disclosure.

[1:52:34] And I I

[1:52:35] disclose Three of us live up

[1:52:37] And I live over the hill from Anasazi.

[1:52:39] >> Yeah, you're you're as much as you're

[1:52:41] just about there. We've already mowed

[1:52:43] our side.

[1:52:46] Thank you, Mayor. Um, as the council is

[1:52:47] aware, there's been a recent emphasis on

[1:52:50] wildfire preparedness and wildfire

[1:52:53] mitigation. Um, and a lot of that is is

[1:52:55] being brought on by um, a state mandate

[1:52:59] to adopt the Wildland Urban Interface

[1:53:01] Code. In fact, we had originally

[1:53:02] intended for the council to be acting on

[1:53:04] that tonight. Um,

[1:53:06] I

[1:53:07] let the council know why why we didn't

[1:53:09] do that tonight in a separate email, but

[1:53:11] that will be coming to you

[1:53:13] um, shortly.

[1:53:14] Um, but one of the one of the

[1:53:18] uh, results of all that emphasis that's

[1:53:20] been put on wildfire preparedness and

[1:53:21] wildfire mitigation um, is that

[1:53:24] uh,

[1:53:26] many homeowners want to be proactive in

[1:53:28] protecting their properties and taking

[1:53:30] steps necessary to to ensure their homes

[1:53:33] are fire safe.

[1:53:35] Um, also insurance companies are taking

[1:53:37] note of the wildfire hazard and are um,

[1:53:43] in many cases mandating homeowners to

[1:53:46] uh, proactively

[1:53:47] do some uh, wildfire mitigation in terms

[1:53:50] of visit vegetation treatment around

[1:53:52] their homes.

[1:53:53] In Anasazi Plateau, that can present a

[1:53:56] problem because in order to do some of

[1:53:57] this wildfire mitigation, that requires

[1:54:00] treating vegetation or modifying

[1:54:02] vegetation which is in the conservation

[1:54:04] easement. The conservation easement

[1:54:06] obviously is established to protect the

[1:54:08] conservation values of the property

[1:54:10] which include the native vegetation. And

[1:54:12] um, so there's a kind of a a baseline

[1:54:17] don't touch anything in the conservation

[1:54:19] easement uh,

[1:54:21] directive in the easement itself.

[1:54:24] However, the easement does provide some

[1:54:26] uh, exemptions to that. The easement

[1:54:28] does provide some allowances for

[1:54:29] disturbance in the conservation

[1:54:31] easement. Um, and some of those

[1:54:34] allowances are to uh,

[1:54:36] the conservation easement allows the

[1:54:38] right of homeowners to maintain native

[1:54:41] vegetation in the conservation and also

[1:54:43] to remove hazardous

[1:54:45] uh, flora or hazardous vegetation from

[1:54:48] the conservation easement.

[1:54:50] And so there is there is some allowance

[1:54:53] in the conservation easement to that

[1:54:55] would support um,

[1:54:58] treating or modifying vegetation in the

[1:55:00] conservation easement.

[1:55:02] In the past, uh, but but the

[1:55:04] conservation easement also requires the

[1:55:07] town council to

[1:55:09] homeowner to give notice to the town

[1:55:10] council or to the town.

[1:55:12] >> To the town of that proposed action and

[1:55:14] then the for the town to approve that.

[1:55:16] In the past, we have had the town

[1:55:18] council be the approval body for that

[1:55:20] action. However, there's nothing in the

[1:55:22] conservation easement that requires the

[1:55:23] council to to provide that action. The

[1:55:25] conservation easement just says the town

[1:55:28] needs to be

[1:55:30] notice needs to be provided to the town

[1:55:32] and then the town needs to give that

[1:55:33] approval. Doesn't specifically require

[1:55:35] the council to do that. Because this is

[1:55:37] a significant issue, the conservation

[1:55:39] easement is so important. In the past,

[1:55:40] our practice has been to have the town

[1:55:42] council give that authorization. But

[1:55:44] that again, it's not legally required.

[1:55:47] Um so,

[1:55:49] a couple of things that are are

[1:55:50] pertinent to this. With all that

[1:55:52] background, a couple of things that are

[1:55:53] pertinent to this request.

[1:55:55] Uh there will likely be a number of

[1:55:57] properties, perhaps the majority of

[1:55:58] properties in Anasazi Plateau that will

[1:56:00] need to do some type of wildfire

[1:56:02] mitigation by modifying fuels around the

[1:56:05] property in the conservation easement to

[1:56:07] comply with wildland urban interface

[1:56:09] code requirements or to preserve and or

[1:56:12] to preserve their insurance.

[1:56:14] If each one of them come before you

[1:56:16] individually to make such a request, it

[1:56:18] could be very cumbersome.

[1:56:20] Um it could take a lot of of of time and

[1:56:22] it could be difficult for these

[1:56:24] homeowners that often times have very

[1:56:25] short timelines imposed on them to to do

[1:56:28] this mitigation. Um for instance, an

[1:56:31] insurance company could say, "You've got

[1:56:33] 60 days, 30 days to do this

[1:56:35] modification, otherwise we're going to

[1:56:36] cancel your insurance." That doesn't

[1:56:38] give them a lot of time to provide the

[1:56:39] required notice.

[1:56:41] Um so, the home the Anasazi Plateau

[1:56:43] Homeowners Association has suggested

[1:56:45] that you could grant a blanket

[1:56:47] authorization for property owners in

[1:56:50] Anasazi Plateau to to do that um

[1:56:52] preventative wildfire mitigat-

[1:56:54] mitigation by treating vegetation in the

[1:56:57] home in the conservation easement. If

[1:56:59] you want if you choose to do that, in

[1:57:01] the staff report there are some

[1:57:02] recommended conditions that I would

[1:57:03] recommend you attach to such an

[1:57:05] approval.

[1:57:06] Um all that work all the work needs to

[1:57:08] be done by a trained professional, a

[1:57:10] licensed arborist or or some other tree

[1:57:12] professional that is knowledgeable not

[1:57:14] only about how to appropriately trim

[1:57:15] trees, but also is knowledgeable in what

[1:57:18] the requirements of the wildland urban

[1:57:20] interface code are.

[1:57:22] Um another uh proposed requirement um is

[1:57:26] that the uh

[1:57:29] the only work the the only vegetation

[1:57:31] that can be modified is the vegetation

[1:57:34] that

[1:57:35] would need to be modified for compliance

[1:57:37] with wildland urban interface code

[1:57:38] requirements. So, this isn't a blanket

[1:57:40] oh yeah, go out and and take out all the

[1:57:42] trees you want in the conservation

[1:57:43] easement. It's no, only those trees that

[1:57:45] really need to be modified for WUI code

[1:57:48] compliance can be can be treated. And

[1:57:50] the third requirement is that um

[1:57:53] in instead of coming to you as a council

[1:57:54] for approval 60 days in advance, uh the

[1:57:58] property owner would just need to come

[1:57:59] to the community development department

[1:58:00] and say, "Here's my plan. Here are the

[1:58:02] trees that I want to modify with a with

[1:58:04] a sketch plan of sufficient um detail

[1:58:07] that the community development

[1:58:08] department knows what trees are going to

[1:58:10] be modified and can um do a uh kind of a

[1:58:13] truth check to make sure that that's realistic for WUI code

[1:58:17] compliance. So, those are the those are

[1:58:18] the

[1:58:19] >> [clears throat]

[1:58:20] >> So, that's that's one item tonight. The

[1:58:21] other item is that um

[1:58:24] there have been instances where

[1:58:26] vegetation is already property owners

[1:58:28] have already gone out and and trimmed

[1:58:29] vegetation for WUI code compliance in

[1:58:31] Anasazi Plateau. And in at least one of

[1:58:34] the well, in in only one of those

[1:58:35] instances, property owner came to me and for full disclosure, um

[1:58:39] Councilmember Burns, I I I think it's

[1:58:41] important to to note that that this was

[1:58:43] you that that came to

[1:58:44] uh came to me and said, "Hey, I'm in

[1:58:47] jeopardy of losing my insurance. I need

[1:58:49] to do do right now, uh otherwise my

[1:58:52] insurance is going to cancel my my insurance. Um

[1:58:56] I I met with with the property owner,

[1:58:58] Councilmember Burns, as well as the uh

[1:59:01] representatives from the homeowners

[1:59:02] association, looked at the conservation

[1:59:04] easement, looked at at the reality of of

[1:59:07] Councilmember Burns' situation, and as

[1:59:08] town manager said, this is this qual-

[1:59:11] qualifies as an emergency as as defined

[1:59:14] in the conservation easement that

[1:59:15] provides an allowance for exemption from

[1:59:17] the 60-day notice requirement, and as

[1:59:19] town manager approved that request. So,

[1:59:21] that the the second part of this is um

[1:59:25] a- again, whereas town council approval

[1:59:26] is not a requirement, um if you feel

[1:59:29] that approval was appropriate, you could

[1:59:30] ratify that approval so that we are

[1:59:32] consistent with previous approvals for

[1:59:35] the conservation easement that the town

[1:59:36] council approved that, and we're not

[1:59:38] setting a precedent that this is a town

[1:59:39] manager approval, but this remains a

[1:59:41] town council approval.

[1:59:44] That's a lot of talking. I apologize.

[1:59:46] [laughter] Now, it's time for you to

[1:59:46] talk.

[1:59:47] >> I I want to clarify that this is only

[1:59:49] trees in the easement. I think I mentioned to you, I had a tree

[1:59:54] removed today that was on my property

[1:59:57] that the um

[1:59:59] that Dave Harmon recommended that we

[2:00:01] take out. Do we need to notify you of

[2:00:04] those? Should I have notified you of

[2:00:06] those? I did notify you of that.

[2:00:07] >> did notify me, and I I confirmed that

[2:00:09] you had planted the requisite two

[2:00:11] replacement plants, which you had. Nice

[2:00:13] work. Um so, there is no process in the

[2:00:15] code that requires uh a property owner

[2:00:18] to notify the town if they are removing

[2:00:20] vegetation. There is, however, a

[2:00:21] requirement that if vegetation is

[2:00:23] removed, you need to replace it at a

[2:00:24] two-to-one ratio. So, it would be nice

[2:00:27] for homeowners that that are removing

[2:00:30] vegetation on their properties

[2:00:32] to notify us saying, "Hey, I'm taking

[2:00:34] these trees out, and here are where my

[2:00:35] replacement plants are going." That

[2:00:36] would be great. There's nothing in the

[2:00:38] code that requires it. Okay.

[2:00:41] And so, what if trees have to be removed

[2:00:45] um

[2:00:45] in the conservation easement?

[2:00:48] That's that Yeah, I mean, are we still

[2:00:50] at the two to one?

[2:00:52] No.

[2:00:54] Or are we?

[2:00:55] Well,

[2:00:56] the the code says yes. Are even in Okay.

[2:00:59] Yes, it

[2:01:00] >> I thought that was just in conjunction

[2:01:01] with projects.

[2:01:02] >> It it doesn't differentiate between uh

[2:01:05] between a an a juniper tree on a private

[2:01:08] I mean, the the conservation easement is

[2:01:10] privately held property, right? But, it

[2:01:11] doesn't it doesn't differentiate between

[2:01:13] um a a homeowner's lot and and the

[2:01:16] conservation says, "If any native

[2:01:18] vegetation is removed, you need to

[2:01:20] replace it at a two to one ratio."

[2:01:22] That's the

[2:01:23] >> same type tree, though? Because if if

[2:01:25] junipers are a problem, do we really

[2:01:26] want to plant more junipers? So, so yes,

[2:01:29] of the same or similar species. This is a a discussion that I think um

[2:01:34] the planning commission has already

[2:01:35] identified as as something they want to

[2:01:37] work on.

[2:01:39] Um recognizing that we we we have a

[2:01:42] potential

[2:01:44] uh clash of competing goals. One is we

[2:01:47] want to preserve native vegetation, we

[2:01:48] want to preserve the community

[2:01:49] character, we want and I place an

[2:01:51] emphasis on natural features.

[2:01:53] And the other goal, we want to make sure

[2:01:55] that

[2:01:56] we protect people from wildfire.

[2:01:58] And and

[2:02:00] what changes to the land use code are

[2:02:02] necessary so that we can continue to to support both of those goals. And that

[2:02:07] may be one of the changes. Are we going

[2:02:09] to continue to require two trees of the

[2:02:11] same or similar species to be planted?

[2:02:14] Are we going to get rid of that

[2:02:14] requirement? Are we going to modify that

[2:02:16] requirement? I think that's something

[2:02:17] the planning commission has already

[2:02:18] identified as a work item. Okay. So,

[2:02:20] they'll answer that question.

[2:02:21] >> that's a very good thing to do because

[2:02:23] it you know, from what

[2:02:26] Dave Harmon a while and fire chief told

[2:02:29] me,

[2:02:30] junipers

[2:02:31] are much more flammable than

[2:02:35] say ponderosa

[2:02:37] or other deciduous and deciduous trees,

[2:02:40] he said, are not a real concern.

[2:02:44] Although we would want to make sure

[2:02:45] they're

[2:02:46] indigenous deciduous trees. I mean,

[2:02:49] that's Yeah, and and again, these are

[2:02:51] all things that policy considerations

[2:02:53] that I I I think what the the commission

[2:02:54] would want to consider.

[2:02:56] Yes, we want them to be fire-safe and

[2:02:58] fire-wise. And mayor, yes, we want them

[2:03:00] to be consistent with the community

[2:03:01] character. And so, we're not planting

[2:03:03] things that are completely foreign or or

[2:03:06] out of place in Springdale. And so, what

[2:03:07] that looks like, um

[2:03:09] I I think allowing the planning

[2:03:11] commission to hash that out and bring a

[2:03:12] recommendation to you would be a good

[2:03:13] idea. So, what our issue tonight is to

[2:03:16] consider a blanket approval for removing

[2:03:18] trees that are a problem under WUI

[2:03:22] with getting permission from the

[2:03:24] community development department rather

[2:03:26] than having to come to council and

[2:03:29] ratifying the action you took in an

[2:03:31] emergency to to allow some trees to be

[2:03:33] trimmed. Correct. Okay. And not really

[2:03:36] discussing that

[2:03:38] uh if you do this not discussing the

[2:03:40] replacement.

[2:03:42] Tonight, we're not discussing that,

[2:03:44] right? Well, you you you can discuss it,

[2:03:46] but you can't take any action on it.

[2:03:47] >> Right. Um that's that's a that's in

[2:03:50] code, that's an ordinance change. It has

[2:03:51] to go through the ordinance revision

[2:03:52] process.

[2:03:54] So, we might as well not discuss that.

[2:03:56] We might as well just discuss what we

[2:03:58] can act on tonight.

[2:04:01] Yeah, knowing that I mean, planning

[2:04:02] commission's going to work on it and

[2:04:03] Right.

[2:04:06] look at it from all angles.

[2:04:08] And then we'll get to see it. Um Tom, I

[2:04:10] did have a question about your

[2:04:12] the three conditions or I guess um

[2:04:17] in the three conditions

[2:04:19] WUI is mentioned.

[2:04:21] And that, you know, if WUI code requires

[2:04:23] it, is the insurance always going to

[2:04:25] comply with WUI?

[2:04:27] Or could the insurance be asking people

[2:04:29] to do things that are beyond what the

[2:04:32] wildland inner urban interface would

[2:04:35] require? That's a great question. And we had a really good presentation last

[2:04:39] night from um Fire Marshall John

[2:04:41] Hennessy in Jamison Valley

[2:04:44] um who's who's an expert in these

[2:04:46] situations, and and he said, "Yes,

[2:04:49] WUI is one thing, um and oftentimes

[2:04:52] insurance companies will want

[2:04:54] [clears throat] above and beyond what

[2:04:56] WUI requires."

[2:04:58] Um

[2:04:59] and

[2:05:01] his and for those council members who

[2:05:04] were who were there last night, you can

[2:05:05] correct me if if I'm misstating him, his recommendation was stick with WUI

[2:05:11] because WUI is is defensible, WUI is

[2:05:13] what the adopted code is, um and and

[2:05:16] sometimes you can even use WUI to push

[2:05:18] back on insurance companies, but he that

[2:05:20] that's if I heard him correctly last

[2:05:22] night, that was his recommendation.

[2:05:24] I wouldn't want to open this up too

[2:05:26] much, and I like I like the idea that

[2:05:30] they the the remover would still need

[2:05:32] permission from the town. I don't think

[2:05:35] council needs to get involved, but we've

[2:05:37] got a great board now, and we have an

[2:05:39] arborist who happens to be our

[2:05:40] president, but

[2:05:41] you know, we've got to think about what

[2:05:43] would happen if somebody decided to use

[2:05:45] that excuse just to start taking some

[2:05:47] things out. But, we don't want that to

[2:05:48] happen.

[2:05:49] And I completely agree with that. Like I I have real concerns that like the

[2:05:54] knee-jerk reaction is just to take it

[2:05:57] all out, right? Like

[2:05:59] if junipers are a problem, let's just

[2:06:00] take them all out.

[2:06:02] But, what I do see is that with the

[2:06:04] conditions that specifically mention

[2:06:06] WUI, if Jack were in the same situation

[2:06:09] after we've passed this, he's still in

[2:06:11] an emergency situation, and maybe his

[2:06:13] insurance company is asking him to do

[2:06:15] something above and beyond what the WUI

[2:06:17] would say, and then he goes to community

[2:06:19] development, and he's still going to be

[2:06:21] told that maybe he can't do it unless

[2:06:24] I'm understanding

[2:06:26] misunderstanding

[2:06:28] the conditions.

[2:06:29] Like I want to make sure that we're minding the emergency situation

[2:06:34] where somebody's going to be losing

[2:06:35] insurance coverage because their

[2:06:37] insurance is asking for something

[2:06:39] we have not

[2:06:40] accommodated. That's a that's a very

[2:06:43] good point. The second

[2:06:46] um finding only vegetation modification

[2:06:48] necessary for compliance with the WUI

[2:06:51] code defensible space requirements

[2:06:54] as you said, insurance companies

[2:06:57] might come back and say, "No, I won't

[2:07:00] put that one down, too."

[2:07:02] Well, and I mean, I know you know, at

[2:07:03] the Rose Cottage before

[2:07:05] WUI was even mentioned, I had an

[2:07:08] insurance company who said, "You've got

[2:07:10] a tree too close to the cottage." I

[2:07:11] mean, they're looking at what is a

[2:07:13] potential claim.

[2:07:15] And you know, they said, "You're going

[2:07:17] to have to address that tree."

[2:07:20] But I don't want somebody to come to

[2:07:23] the town and say, "Oh, my insurance

[2:07:25] company said they'll cancel if I don't

[2:07:26] take that tree out when that's not the

[2:07:28] case." WUI is dependable. In those

[2:07:31] situations, we could address those

[2:07:33] individual situations. I think we're

[2:07:36] going to have people

[2:07:38] using insurance companies an excuse.

[2:07:42] I don't know. I I think we need to be

[2:07:43] careful here. I agree. I completely

[2:07:45] agree because it is a loophole, but if

[2:07:48] we don't address it, we're leaving it to

[2:07:51] Tom doing these emergency things.

[2:07:53] And if we're okay with that, then maybe

[2:07:55] that's the procedure.

[2:07:57] But

[2:08:00] we're kind of with these conditions

[2:08:03] not addressing the emergency situation.

[2:08:06] Well, do we do we have a requirement

[2:08:09] that there's something in writing

[2:08:12] for both WUI and insurance companies?

[2:08:15] >> I would say you should be able to show

[2:08:18] documentation from your insurance

[2:08:19] company, but I will tell you from my

[2:08:21] recent experience, I requested the

[2:08:23] inspection report twice. They never sent

[2:08:26] it.

[2:08:27] The agent requested it from corporate.

[2:08:30] They didn't send it. They just sent me

[2:08:32] photos.

[2:08:33] So, how did

[2:08:34] >> But but I had in writing the initial

[2:08:38] email from them saying here's where you

[2:08:40] failed.

[2:08:41] So, I mean So, you did have something in

[2:08:43] writing.

[2:08:44] Yeah.

[2:08:45] and and I don't know that I

[2:08:47] honestly trust an insurance company to

[2:08:49] have

[2:08:51] the conservation easement and

[2:08:54] Oh, I Absolutely. They do. I guarantee

[2:08:56] you. Well, they won't. And they're

[2:08:58] looking for reasons to cancel people in

[2:09:00] certain areas. So, I think I think what

[2:09:03] Tom said that we we gives us something

[2:09:05] to push back on insurance companies

[2:09:07] with. But what I don't want to do I I

[2:09:10] want to do some kind of a blanket

[2:09:12] approval. I I just don't want to go too

[2:09:14] far. I think we can we can step toward

[2:09:17] more liberal policy. I don't think we

[2:09:19] want to start with a liberal policy.

[2:09:22] Cuz I'm afraid

[2:09:23] of what could happen with

[2:09:25] the easement. Frankly, I mean that's why

[2:09:27] we all live there is because we have this natural environment.

[2:09:32] And I I think that's that's important,

[2:09:34] but

[2:09:35] why are we passing this ordinance?

[2:09:38] We're passing this ordinance so that our

[2:09:40] residents

[2:09:42] keep their home owners insured or able

[2:09:43] to

[2:09:45] uh keep their home owners insured.

[2:09:46] >> I'd say keep their homes. And and keep

[2:09:49] their Well, the we goes

[2:09:51] Well, we're going to pass for them to

[2:09:52] keep their homes.

[2:09:54] That that's a

[2:09:55] um

[2:09:58] And I I think that's when we're really

[2:10:00] going to I think this ordinance

[2:10:02] is more

[2:10:06] geared toward

[2:10:08] uh the home owners insurance.

[2:10:16] That's the way I look at it. Now, yes,

[2:10:18] it is

[2:10:19] something that we are doing because

[2:10:23] we have been We're made aware of this

[2:10:25] because we're going to have to pass a

[2:10:26] way code.

[2:10:28] Uh but what ultimately what's the goal?

[2:10:31] Um I think the goal is to help

[2:10:34] our

[2:10:35] um

[2:10:35] residents keep their homeowners

[2:10:37] insurances as much as possible. Give

[2:10:39] them

[2:10:40] a way of being able to keep their

[2:10:42] homeowners insurance. So, I'm

[2:10:44] um

[2:10:45] you know, I think Kyle raised some

[2:10:46] really good points.

[2:10:48] And and and Jack has had some experience

[2:10:51] with this.

[2:10:52] Maybe we also add something to the

[2:10:55] effect that

[2:10:56] uh if

[2:10:58] somebody

[2:10:59] uh can come with a

[2:11:01] insurance company's inspection report

[2:11:05] that

[2:11:05] >> even that far. It just needs to be maybe

[2:11:07] documentation that says notified

[2:11:10] >> However the However the homeowner was

[2:11:12] notified that this particular thing is

[2:11:14] out of compliance and will result in

[2:11:16] loss of insurance.

[2:11:18] I think if they can prove that

[2:11:21] then

[2:11:22] that's what they would bring to us

[2:11:25] right at a council meeting instead of

[2:11:27] meeting that making them wait the 30 to

[2:11:29] 60 days to come to council and let us

[2:11:31] look at that same thing. Let's have them

[2:11:34] take it to staff.

[2:11:35] Um

[2:11:36] and and just make I don't like I said, I

[2:11:40] don't think the insurance company has

[2:11:42] the conservation easements uh best

[2:11:45] interest at heart, right? They're

[2:11:46] protecting themselves and in in the name

[2:11:49] of protecting you.

[2:11:51] I don't always buy it, but I also see

[2:11:53] that if we pass these three conditions

[2:11:56] as they are

[2:11:57] it does not address the actual emergency

[2:12:00] situation that we've been in.

[2:12:03] That's my opinion. Tom, if you see it

[2:12:04] differently, if you think the way it's

[2:12:06] written is fine, then maybe I

[2:12:09] there's not a an issue. I I think there

[2:12:11] is an issue and I think it's just a a

[2:12:13] matter of how much um

[2:12:16] risk the council is is okay with. When I

[2:12:20] say risk, that's maybe the bad word

[2:12:22] because this isn't wildfire risk, this

[2:12:24] is risk of damage to the conservation

[2:12:26] easement, right? Um you know, if an

[2:12:28] insurance company comes to a a homeowner

[2:12:30] and says, "You have to clear-cut

[2:12:32] everything within 150 ft of your of your

[2:12:35] house."

[2:12:36] And there's 16

[2:12:39] uh juniper trees in the conservation

[2:12:41] easement that come out.

[2:12:43] And are you are you okay with that?

[2:12:46] I that that that's that's a kind of an

[2:12:48] extreme you know, hyperbolic situation.

[2:12:50] I mean that that that may never come to

[2:12:52] pass, but it could. And would you would

[2:12:54] you be okay with that?

[2:12:56] Or not? The the

[2:12:58] um Well, I was asked that. I mean, the

[2:13:01] one guy I I kept getting mixed messages.

[2:13:03] The one guy said, "You need to clear

[2:13:05] vegetation 100 ft from your house." I

[2:13:07] said, "I'm not going to do that. I'm

[2:13:09] going to look for a different carrier."

[2:13:12] And and and so you you were successful

[2:13:14] in pushing back on that. A different

[2:13:15] homeowner may say, "Oh my goodness, this

[2:13:17] is what my insurance carrier is telling

[2:13:19] me." And and not have that ability or or that desire to push back. And they

[2:13:23] come to the town and say, "I got to

[2:13:25] clear-cut everything within 100 ft. I

[2:13:28] got to take out all these trees."

[2:13:31] Would the council be okay with that?

[2:13:33] If so, then yes, we we we could add in

[2:13:35] something about documentation from the

[2:13:36] insurance company. If not, then we leave

[2:13:38] that out and we're in the situation that

[2:13:39] you that you described where we are

[2:13:41] potentially not addressing all of the

[2:13:43] emergency situations. It I I don't think

[2:13:45] there's there's a perfect

[2:13:48] uh solution either way. It is one of

[2:13:50] those

[2:13:51] challenging

[2:13:53] Well, we know what Wooey is trying to

[2:13:56] do. Wooey is trying to protect our homes

[2:13:58] and protect the state and and all those

[2:14:01] things. Insurance companies don't

[2:14:03] necessarily have our best interests in

[2:14:06] mind. They're trying to protect

[2:14:07] themselves. I just

[2:14:10] I think there's a lot of room between

[2:14:12] giving blanket approval for woo

[2:14:14] e-compliance and giving blanket approval

[2:14:17] for someone because they

[2:14:19] their insurance company wants them to do

[2:14:21] something. I think that's a that's a big stretch.

[2:14:25] >> Well, maybe that maybe that falls

[2:14:27] outside of the blanket approval. You

[2:14:29] know, that's when it does kick in the

[2:14:31] 30-60 day notification.

[2:14:33] >> Well, we could we could

[2:14:36] keep keep it outside the blanket

[2:14:38] approval, but give someone give the

[2:14:40] community development

[2:14:43] uh department authority to look at these

[2:14:47] emergencies on a case-by-case basis and

[2:14:49] make a decision

[2:14:51] and hold them harmless from the

[2:14:52] decision. We could do something like

[2:14:54] that, couldn't we?

[2:14:55] You Yes, you could. An an another thing

[2:14:58] that you could do is is to say, "We are

[2:15:01] going this

[2:15:03] if if someone has a

[2:15:05] uh

[2:15:07] threat of cancellation of their

[2:15:08] homeowner's insurance, we're not going

[2:15:10] to require the full 60-day notice

[2:15:12] and we're going to expedite their review

[2:15:14] to get on a town council meeting." Yeah.

[2:15:16] And

[2:15:17] >> Yes. Okay.

[2:15:17] >> And and that way you retain that

[2:15:19] approval authority

[2:15:21] and you make sure that you get to review

[2:15:24] all these difficult situations rather

[2:15:25] than putting the onus on staff.

[2:15:27] And and that too could be something that a homeowner could use to push back

[2:15:31] against the an insurance company.

[2:15:34] So. I mean, I I I guess I'll just use my

[2:15:36] experience that was like I asked them to

[2:15:38] wait until the HOA had their meeting on

[2:15:41] the 14th.

[2:15:42] They said, "No.

[2:15:44] We're not going to wait." Then they came

[2:15:46] to me

[2:15:47] um after that and they said, "If we

[2:15:49] don't have a response from you by the

[2:15:51] 7th, we're going to cancel your policy."

[2:15:55] And so,

[2:15:56] they kind of set their own time frame,

[2:15:58] you know, and I I I said, you know, "Can

[2:16:00] I have some wiggle room?" They said,

[2:16:03] "No." You know, so.

[2:16:05] Well, I don't I don't think the council

[2:16:08] necessarily makes better decisions on

[2:16:10] these things than the community

[2:16:12] development department anyway. I don't I

[2:16:14] don't know that I think we have to make

[2:16:16] that decision, but I think that there

[2:16:18] ought to be a higher standard of proof

[2:16:21] when someone says they're in danger of

[2:16:23] losing insurance

[2:16:24] and

[2:16:26] then if it's a wee thing cuz wee thing we can

[2:16:30] look at we we can see we know what wee

[2:16:33] says, right?

[2:16:35] It's standard. It's written. Maybe we

[2:16:37] don't understand it, but we can sure

[2:16:39] try.

[2:16:39] >> like it. We don't like it, but insurance

[2:16:42] I mean there's different brands.

[2:16:44] >> It's arbitrary. Yeah.

[2:16:45] >> they can there's different inspectors.

[2:16:47] It's it's very um it's all over the

[2:16:50] place. So I think

[2:16:53] that yeah, how can we can retain some

[2:16:56] control

[2:16:58] uh but still allow for people to to make

[2:17:01] action quickly when they need to.

[2:17:03] >> And someone I know who lives in the

[2:17:05] middle of Hurricane and not

[2:17:08] in an area like ours was dropped by the

[2:17:10] same insurance company.

[2:17:12] They're sometimes they want they tell

[2:17:15] you to do drastic things just because

[2:17:17] they want to drop you.

[2:17:19] And so I don't I don't want everybody to

[2:17:22] start raising the whole conservation

[2:17:24] easement because insurance companies are

[2:17:26] trying to get you to to find a new

[2:17:28] carrier. And that's a possibility. So is

[2:17:32] community development comfortable with

[2:17:33] making the decisions when it comes to

[2:17:35] insurance companies?

[2:17:42] I think we Welcome to your new job.

[2:17:44] Yeah, thanks.

[2:17:46] >> [laughter]

[2:17:46] >> Day one.

[2:17:49] I think we could become comfortable.

[2:17:53] I think if we had some parameters to

[2:17:55] work with and

[2:17:58] you know set up a process for ourselves.

[2:18:01] I think it is something that we could do

[2:18:03] if we define the process.

[2:18:06] You know, I know with residential DDRs,

[2:18:09] unless there's something different or

[2:18:12] controversial, you approve those. But if

[2:18:15] they're if they're tricky, you go to

[2:18:17] planning commission. We could have a set

[2:18:19] up something like that.

[2:18:21] Yeah, I think it's something we could do if we

[2:18:24] established a process. I think you're

[2:18:26] more expert at this stuff than we are.

[2:18:28] And I don't want to I don't want to slow

[2:18:32] down the process, but I don't want to

[2:18:33] give a blanket approval for

[2:18:36] just everything.

[2:18:38] Yeah, I I think we could definitely have

[2:18:40] kind of

[2:18:40] >> Jeff Jeff has something to say. He might

[2:18:42] know something about fire.

[2:18:47] Yeah, the WUI standards are national and

[2:18:50] were developed by, you know, state and

[2:18:53] federal agencies.

[2:18:55] Um one suggestion might be to go to

[2:18:58] state insurance commission office and

[2:19:01] see if they've wrestled with this

[2:19:03] question of WUI and

[2:19:06] private property, um

[2:19:10] it would seem like this has come up

[2:19:12] before, maybe not relative to the

[2:19:14] conservation easement, but um it might

[2:19:17] be worth checking with the insurance

[2:19:19] commission.

[2:19:21] Thank you.

[2:19:22] Yeah, my insurance agent said they are

[2:19:24] being absolutely bombarded

[2:19:27] with questions about this.

[2:19:30] So, [clears throat] what if we were to

[2:19:32] grant this blanket approval for WUI code

[2:19:35] and ask Niall to check with the

[2:19:39] insurance commission and come back with

[2:19:41] a recommendation on insurance

[2:19:45] and company requests.

[2:19:48] >> I mean, if he gets an answer that it's

[2:19:50] like, well, now we need to craft a whole

[2:19:51] new

[2:19:54] I think either way they're crafting a

[2:19:55] whole new thing, but so so

[2:19:59] I'm comfortable granting the blanket

[2:20:01] approval to comply with WUI code. I

[2:20:03] personally, and I may be outvoted, but

[2:20:06] I'm not in

[2:20:07] I'm not comfortable granting permission

[2:20:10] because somebody says they're going to

[2:20:11] lose their insurance if they don't do

[2:20:13] something.

[2:20:16] Yeah, and in the meantime, I mean, could we at least in the meantime say

[2:20:22] that the 60-day 60-day notice isn't

[2:20:25] required? That they if they need to

[2:20:27] come, you know, they need to get on the

[2:20:29] agenda next. Like if that way this the

[2:20:31] process is still in place. It's still

[2:20:33] coming to us.

[2:20:35] Um But you you separate issue though,

[2:20:37] right?

[2:20:39] The 60-day thing would have to be a

[2:20:40] separate issue than this, yes? Yeah, but

[2:20:42] it it really so this wouldn't have

[2:20:43] solved the problem that Jack had. Well,

[2:20:45] you're talking about though um

[2:20:49] uh someone being threatened to lose

[2:20:51] their insurance

[2:20:53] outside of trying to meet the WUI

[2:20:56] standard.

[2:20:56] >> Right.

[2:20:57] >> Yeah, I agree with that.

[2:20:58] Right, so it wouldn't have solved but

[2:21:01] I'll say again that you know, when we

[2:21:03] talk about making people come to us, are

[2:21:05] we really

[2:21:07] more expert than community development?

[2:21:10] No, I'm saying like as a quick band-aid

[2:21:12] while community development is figuring

[2:21:13] out what a good policy would be for

[2:21:16] insurance issues. Because Tom, am I

[2:21:19] right in thinking in order

[2:21:21] for somebody to do work in the

[2:21:23] conservation easement right now, they

[2:21:24] need to give us 60 days notice. That's

[2:21:27] correct.

[2:21:28] I thought it was 30.

[2:21:30] Uh

[2:21:31] let me

[2:21:33] It might be 30.

[2:21:33] >> Yeah, here it says 30. There's a 30-day

[2:21:36] That's right. And then we have to we

[2:21:37] have to act on it in 60 days. So we have

[2:21:39] 60 days to act. That's Yeah, that's what

[2:21:41] it is. They they have to give us 30 days

[2:21:43] and then we have to act on it in 60

[2:21:44] days. Thank you.

[2:21:47] I I don't know. I mean, I I I guess if

[2:21:50] Tom has the ability as the manager to

[2:21:52] make and and then ask come come back to

[2:21:54] ask and us and ask us to ratify. Maybe

[2:21:57] that's just the way it's going to have

[2:21:58] to be until we can figure out

[2:22:01] this middle ground.

[2:22:04] Since that

[2:22:05] we're in just a tight spot.

[2:22:09] There are going to be emergencies and

[2:22:11] I'm not willing to let insurance

[2:22:12] companies just run roughshod over that

[2:22:15] land.

[2:22:16] So if if it's an insurance issue and

[2:22:19] they have to come to council, that does

[2:22:21] add an extra layer of

[2:22:25] caution, if you will.

[2:22:27] Even though we're no more expert than Nile, but at least it does add an

[2:22:32] extra layer of caution

[2:22:35] and makes the homeowner think about

[2:22:36] whether it makes sense for them to

[2:22:38] pursue it or just pursue a new insurance

[2:22:40] company.

[2:22:43] Yeah, anything that comes to us is is

[2:22:46] going to go through staff. Mhm.

[2:22:48] And you know, I think With the

[2:22:50] recommendation.

[2:22:51] >> With the recommendation, yeah.

[2:22:53] And staff would I don't think staff's

[2:22:56] going to come to us with somebody's

[2:22:58] say-so. They're going to want something

[2:23:01] some kind of proof that, you know, some

[2:23:03] kind of notice from the insurance

[2:23:04] company. So

[2:23:05] I think

[2:23:07] it seems like we're kind of landing on

[2:23:11] It feels [clears throat] to me like

[2:23:12] we're kind of landing on giving the

[2:23:13] blanket approval for wooey code, but

[2:23:16] still requiring

[2:23:18] that

[2:23:19] someone

[2:23:21] who's just complying with an insurance

[2:23:22] company request and not not meeting

[2:23:25] wooey code

[2:23:27] goes to community development who then

[2:23:30] brings it to us, but we waive the

[2:23:33] uh the

[2:23:35] 30-day period? Is that what we're

[2:23:36] saying? I mean, are we going to have a

[2:23:37] special meeting? Is that what we're

[2:23:39] saying?

[2:23:42] Well, you you could say that or the part

[2:23:45] of the problem with the 30-day period is

[2:23:48] like if um

[2:23:50] say somebody came in

[2:23:53] a week and a half before your meeting

[2:23:54] and said, "Oh my goodness, I'm in this

[2:23:55] problem." Well,

[2:23:57] absent the 30-day notice period, we

[2:24:00] could put that on your agenda, no

[2:24:01] problem. But the 30-day notice period

[2:24:03] says, "Oh, well, you're going to have to

[2:24:04] wait until the next month's agenda." Oh,

[2:24:07] okay. So, that that's the advantage of

[2:24:09] waiving the 30-day period. Okay.

[2:24:11] Obviously, if somebody comes in the day

[2:24:12] after your meeting and says, "I just got

[2:24:15] this notice and I'm going to lose my my

[2:24:17] insurance in 2 weeks." Waiving the

[2:24:19] 30-day notice period doesn't do anything

[2:24:20] because they're not going to You're not

[2:24:22] going to have another meeting. So, in

[2:24:23] that case, you could also um

[2:24:26] have a discussion as a council on your appetite for special meetings.

[2:24:32] As well as involve the clerk in that

[2:24:33] discussion.

[2:24:35] You were getting daggers.

[2:24:40] I think as long as they're after April

[2:24:41] 21st, she doesn't care.

[2:24:44] Yeah.

[2:24:45] I What What do How do we feel about

[2:24:47] having a special meeting in a case like

[2:24:50] that?

[2:24:52] I'm okay with it, personally.

[2:24:53] >> Everytime someone has an issue with

[2:24:54] their insurance company?

[2:24:56] On the conservation easement.

[2:24:58] >> I I I think these are going to be rare

[2:24:59] instances because

[2:25:01] I we we keep on referencing Jack. Jack's

[2:25:03] instance was an insurance issue, but it

[2:25:05] was also a WUI code issue. Everything

[2:25:06] that Jack did was was a WUI code

[2:25:08] requirement and I I think most of the

[2:25:11] time, again, I could be wrong, I could

[2:25:13] be out, you know, but I think most of

[2:25:14] the time the solution that satisfies

[2:25:17] WUI, hopefully, will also satisfy the

[2:25:20] insurance. And in those instances that

[2:25:22] are not,

[2:25:24] I think a large portion of them, if you

[2:25:26] waive the 30-day notice period, could be

[2:25:28] accommodated in your next regularly

[2:25:30] scheduled meeting. I think it's going to

[2:25:31] be an outlier where somebody comes to

[2:25:33] you and says, "I've got this issue. It's in excess of WUI and it doesn't fit

[2:25:38] your regular meeting schedule." I I

[2:25:40] those are going to be outliers. I do

[2:25:41] too.

[2:25:44] So, do we feel ready to run a motion?

[2:25:48] I've got one there, but

[2:25:50] Want to do that?

[2:25:52] Be great.

[2:25:52] >> Tom, I pre-apologize.

[2:25:54] The training you gave us many years ago

[2:25:56] about keeping this brief

[2:25:58] ain't going to happen.

[2:26:00] >> [laughter]

[2:26:02] » Town Council has reviewed the request to

[2:26:04] treat juniper trees in the Anasazi

[2:26:06] Plateau conservation easement based upon

[2:26:09] the following findings.

[2:26:10] The Wildland Urban Interface Code WUI

[2:26:13] requires property owners to provide

[2:26:14] defensible space around structures on

[2:26:16] their property.

[2:26:18] In many cases, native vegetation in the

[2:26:20] CE is also within a defensible space

[2:26:23] area associated with structures

[2:26:25] on individual lots required by the WUI

[2:26:27] code.

[2:26:28] The conservation easement allows

[2:26:30] property owners to conduct certain

[2:26:31] activities in the CE which could have an

[2:26:34] impact on the conservation value

[2:26:37] of the property, but only after notice

[2:26:39] and approval from the town.

[2:26:40] Specifically, sections 4.1B

[2:26:43] and 4.1C of the conservation easement

[2:26:46] allow owners to maintain native

[2:26:48] vegetation and to remove hazardous flora

[2:26:51] from the conservation easement property.

[2:26:53] To comply with the WUI code defensible

[2:26:55] space requirements, many of the property

[2:26:57] owners on the Anasazi Plateau will need

[2:26:59] to modify native vegetation in the CE.

[2:27:03] It would be cumbersome and inefficient

[2:27:05] for each of these property owners to

[2:27:06] make individual requests to modify

[2:27:08] native vegetation in the CE near their

[2:27:11] homes for the purpose of compliance with

[2:27:13] the WUI code defensible space.

[2:27:16] And finally, a

[2:27:19] we find that a blanket approval for the

[2:27:21] homeowners to perform defensible space

[2:27:24] vegetation modification in the

[2:27:26] conservation easement is the most

[2:27:28] efficient way to accomplish this.

[2:27:30] As such, the Town Council approves the

[2:27:32] request with the following conditions.

[2:27:35] All vegetation modification must be

[2:27:36] performed by a licensed arborist or

[2:27:38] other qualified tree professional who

[2:27:41] has been briefed on the Woo E code

[2:27:42] defensible space requirements. Only

[2:27:45] vegetation modification necessary for

[2:27:47] compliance with the Woo E code

[2:27:48] defensible space requirements is

[2:27:50] allowed. No other impact modification,

[2:27:53] removal, or destruction of vegetation,

[2:27:54] whether deliberate or incidental, is

[2:27:56] permitted.

[2:27:57] And prior to modifying modifying any

[2:28:00] vegetation in the conservation easement,

[2:28:03] a property owner must first submit a

[2:28:05] sketch of the proposed vegetation

[2:28:07] modification to the community

[2:28:08] development department.

[2:28:10] The sketch plan must be of sufficient

[2:28:11] detail, clarity, and accuracy for the

[2:28:14] community development department staff

[2:28:15] to determine which specific vegetation

[2:28:18] is proposed to be modified and whether

[2:28:20] such modification is necessary for Woo E

[2:28:22] code defensible space compliance.

[2:28:25] And further, the town council hereby

[2:28:27] approves and ratifies the town manager's

[2:28:30] prior early authorization of emergency

[2:28:33] vegetation modification undertaken to

[2:28:35] preserve a homeowner's insurance

[2:28:37] coverage

[2:28:39] and authorizes the mayor to sign.

[2:28:41] Do we want to add something about waving

[2:28:43] the 30-day notice for

[2:28:47] I think I think we should.

[2:28:48] >> we should. Yeah.

[2:28:50] somebody have some language for

[2:28:52] that?

[2:28:54] Um

[2:29:02] It's 30.

[2:29:06] I was just looking at the staff report

[2:29:08] and I too

[2:29:10] Would you like to

[2:29:11] >> a minute, there's a loud section five.

[2:29:14] >> Tom, do you have recommended language? I think Randy's got it. Okay.

[2:29:17] >> Yeah.

[2:29:18] Okay. So,

[2:29:21] 5.1 of the conservation easement

[2:29:23] requires

[2:29:25] a uh

[2:29:27] homeowner

[2:29:28] to advise the town

[2:29:31] to give the a 30-day notice

[2:29:33] and

[2:29:34] we will waive that 30-day notice.

[2:29:39] Is that sufficient? Does that do it? In cases of In cases of

[2:29:44] >> that that don't fall under the blanket

[2:29:46] approval because they

[2:29:48] um, the requirements are imposed by an

[2:29:50] insurance carrier in excess of woody

[2:29:52] code requirements, you still want that

[2:29:54] to come to the town council, but you're

[2:29:55] waiving the 30-day notice period as

[2:29:58] allowed by section 5.1 of the

[2:29:59] conservation easement.

[2:30:01] Do you accept that? Accept accept. Okay.

[2:30:03] And I have one question. Uh,

[2:30:05] would we want to add on the sketch the

[2:30:08] distance from the home?

[2:30:11] To you know, because that's what's to

[2:30:13] meet the woody standard, it really is

[2:30:15] based on distance.

[2:30:18] I think that's the intent of the sketch

[2:30:20] is simple. Well, my concern though as

[2:30:22] somebody who just wants to get rid of a

[2:30:24] bunch of vegetation. That that's a good

[2:30:26] idea. It should be scaled or or have

[2:30:28] distances marked on it so you so that we

[2:30:30] can confirm that this is a woody code

[2:30:32] requirement.

[2:30:33] >> I think that's implied in sufficient

[2:30:34] detail, but it it doesn't it is always a

[2:30:37] good idea to tell it what's sufficient

[2:30:39] is.

[2:30:40] Right? What is sufficient?

[2:30:41] >> So, how about if we add uh, sketch plan

[2:30:44] with With With

[2:30:46] >> measurements.

[2:30:46] >> With dimensions.

[2:30:47] >> To scale. Yeah. Okay. Accepted. Okay.

[2:30:49] So, do we have a second? I'll second.

[2:30:52] Got a motion by Pat and a second by

[2:30:53] Randy. Pat, I. Randy, I. Barbara, I.

[2:30:56] Jack, I. Kyla, I.

[2:30:59] Is there any general discussion before

[2:31:01] we adjourn?

[2:31:04] Entertain a motion to adjourn.

[2:31:07] I move we adjourn.

[2:31:09] I'll second. Motion by Randy, second by

[2:31:10] Jack. Pat, I. Randy, I. Barbara, I.

[2:31:13] Jack, I. Kyla, I.

[2:31:15] thought this was supposed to be a

[2:31:16] quick

[2:31:18] I thought it was supposed to be that.

[2:31:20] It never is.

[2:31:21] I tried not to

04/08/2026 Town Council Meeting

Transcript