[0:05] Welcome.
[0:08] Thank you. Welcome to city council
[0:10] meeting. We are glad that you're here.
[0:14] This is way more than we normally have
[0:16] and that's okay. This is all part of the
[0:18] process. Um, sorry. I'm just trying to
[0:21] make sure that I'm connected so that I
[0:23] can see who's online also.
[0:28] One second.
[0:42] I know everybody's done.
[0:49] Okay. Um we're just going to follow the
[0:51] agenda. Our first um thing on the agenda
[0:54] tonight is an invocation and pledge of
[0:57] allegiance um given and led by Council
[0:59] Member Peterson.
[1:03] » Father God, we are so grateful for this
[1:05] amazing country and a
[1:08] wonderful city
[1:11] >> that we live in. We are grateful for the
[1:13] opportunity we have to speak up and
[1:16] share our opinions.
[1:19] We pray for an added measure of kindness
[1:21] and civility and understanding this
[1:23] night. That we'll be able to express our
[1:25] concerns in a kind and respectful way
[1:28] and that we will be have a greater
[1:30] capacity to listen and to learn from
[1:32] each other so that we may best serve the
[1:34] needs of our community today and
[1:36] tomorrow. We are grateful for this
[1:39] amazing
[1:41] opportunity and ask that thou will bless
[1:44] it with
[1:45] thy grace and thy love. And we say these
[1:47] things in our savior's name, Jesus
[1:49] Christ. Amen.
[1:50] >> Please stand.
[1:54] Ready to begin.
[1:57] >> To the flag of the United States of
[2:00] America and to the republic for which it
[2:03] stands. One nation under God,
[2:07] indivisible, with liberty and justice
[2:09] for all.
[2:23] Okay. Um, so our agenda tonight is
[2:27] fairly simple. We have fairly simple. It
[2:31] looks long. Um, there's a whole bunch of
[2:33] things that we have to uh follow by
[2:36] statute in order to go through this
[2:38] process and make sure that we check all
[2:40] the boxes so that we've followed what
[2:42] the statute is. Um but really um we have
[2:46] two items. We have the presentation of
[2:49] our fiscal year 27 budget and um then
[2:53] the truth and taxation process which
[2:56] will include a public hearing. So with
[3:00] that um
[3:03] let me just kind of outline the way that
[3:05] it's going to work. We're going to I'll
[3:06] turn the time over to Bryce Hatterley,
[3:08] our city administrator, and he will walk
[3:11] us through the presentation.
[3:13] um when he and and we won't take it's not intended to be a public comment
[3:17] period or have questions during that
[3:19] presentation. Um this is the part where
[3:22] he goes through and make sure we check
[3:23] all the boxes. When we get done with his
[3:26] presentation,
[3:28] um then we will have the public hearing
[3:31] and I will outline some of um just our process of how we'll go through the
[3:37] public hearing to make sure that
[3:39] everybody can have their voice heard. um
[3:42] when we get done with the presentation.
[3:44] So with that, Bryce, I'm gonna turn the
[3:48] time over to you.
[3:50] Thank you, Mayor. Let me get my
[3:54] screen shared here.
[3:57] As you said, this evening, we have a
[3:59] series of steps that we have to go
[4:01] through according to the state law to
[4:02] comply with um those requirements. So
[4:05] I'll begin with the first one which is
[4:07] agenda item 2A presentation of the
[4:10] proposed FY27 final budget for the
[4:12] general fund and other funds. I'm not
[4:14] going to force you to go through each
[4:16] page by page because it's the interim
[4:18] budget with the following changes. Uh in
[4:21] line 1031100
[4:23] we had a reduction in revenue of
[4:26] $75,198.
[4:29] Um that's the state tax commission as
[4:31] they do the final calculations.
[4:33] It's always a fuzzy number that moves up
[4:35] and down and um it reduce by that amount
[4:38] of money and I can share that in a
[4:41] little bit. Um item line item 10311 is a
[4:46] requirement by state law that we
[4:47] continue to hold the $995,285
[4:51] in a uh reserve revenue account and that
[4:54] continues to be there. However, um
[4:57] because of the way the state um tax
[4:59] commission website calculates the
[5:01] percent the rate, um it's slightly
[5:04] higher than the $994,249
[5:07] that we had in the interim budget
[5:09] because we just didn't have that number.
[5:11] So, it's a little over $1,000 more, but
[5:14] that's because the state tax commission
[5:16] website does that final calculation.
[5:18] 1031300
[5:21] uh is an anticipated $25,000 increase in
[5:24] sales tax revenue that as Brian's been
[5:26] looking at our end of year um believes
[5:29] that we will increase by that amount
[5:32] over what we projected earlier in the
[5:33] year. Uh line item 1032100 is a $5,000
[5:38] increase in business license fee
[5:39] revenue. And then the final number um 10
[5:44] I'm sorry 1039300 is a $29,358
[5:48] increase in the general fund from other
[5:50] funds. This is where the water fund,
[5:53] this um garbage and storm drain all
[5:57] contribute money to the general fund
[5:59] because we provide services for them. So
[6:01] we have a calculation based on the
[6:03] budget sizes that dictate uh that amount
[6:06] of money. And so when we had the final
[6:08] wages and everything, Brian was able to
[6:10] make that final calculation and so that
[6:11] increased the general fund revenue. Um,
[6:15] continuing on, adjustments to salaries,
[6:16] retirement workers compensation, group
[6:19] health insurance. So all of the benefits
[6:21] u were finally adjusted once we had the
[6:24] final uh rates from the trust for our t
[6:27] uh workers compensation and other
[6:30] insuranceances and the final salaries
[6:32] were set. So there was adjustments in
[6:34] each one of the budgets for those. We
[6:36] made a slight increase of $20,000 to
[6:39] computer system support based on what
[6:41] our expenses are coming in at the end of
[6:43] the FY26 budget. We made an increase to
[6:47] insurance lines per Utah local
[6:49] government's trust. Uh $500 decrease in
[6:52] the post office expense. Capital
[6:54] projects increases were u appropriated
[6:57] each budget based on the last meeting
[6:59] where you approved those that list and
[7:01] that's attached to the budget. Uh line
[7:04] 1062310
[7:06] is a $38,57
[7:09] increase from the fire department.
[7:11] That's the annual uh payment that we
[7:13] make to them and we just got that number
[7:16] after the interim.
[7:17] >> That's in addition to what we
[7:19] >> to what we paid the previous year. Yes.
[7:22] >> And then as a result of that and all the
[7:24] capital projects, the fund balance um
[7:27] came down to $157,335.
[7:31] So you will see that in the um
[7:36] final budget that's in your packet and
[7:39] you can see those lines identified as
[7:41] you go down through. Now there's also
[7:43] some other increases and some of the
[7:44] utilities and things for the same types
[7:46] of things like wages and things of that
[7:48] nature.
[7:50] So any questions on that
[7:53] budget adjustments? Okay. No.
[7:56] >> The next requirement under 2B is a
[7:58] statement of the dollar amount of the
[7:59] additional adorum tax revenue that would
[8:01] be generated each year by the proposed
[8:03] increase in the certified tax rate.
[8:06] Early in the year, we had to estimate
[8:08] with the best information we had and
[8:10] knowing what we anticipated the bond
[8:13] payments to be for the building uh if
[8:15] this is approved. We had set an amount
[8:17] of $994,249
[8:20] and that was what was identified in the
[8:22] property tax impact schedule. Again,
[8:25] when we calculated to the closest digit
[8:29] um and it's six digits long in the
[8:31] property tax rate, um the closest number
[8:34] that came to is 995,285.
[8:38] So, there's that slight variation, but
[8:41] we can't change what the state tax
[8:42] commission tells us that number is going
[8:44] to be. So, we just want everybody to be
[8:45] aware that it is slightly higher than
[8:48] what we had projected with the best
[8:49] information we had.
[8:53] The revenue generated um was identified
[8:56] in the notice that um taxpayers received
[9:00] and that has been advertised as you see
[9:02] here. Uh again this statement um that
[9:07] was this statement is created the white
[9:09] document is created by the Utah State
[9:11] Tax Commission identifies the amount of
[9:13] tax on a single family residence and on
[9:16] a commercial property and um it shows
[9:19] the $995,285
[9:22] that would be generated by the proposed
[9:25] tax rate. Um, I took the liberty of
[9:28] creating the small table down below that
[9:30] shows for a primary residence what the
[9:33] taxpayers would pay current year if
[9:36] there was not a property tax increase
[9:37] both for the total year and then the uh
[9:40] by monthly amount the proposed increase
[9:43] and what that would add and then what
[9:45] the total would be the same for
[9:47] business. Um, if our citizens are not
[9:50] aware, a business and a second home are
[9:52] both considered the same. they pay 100%
[9:55] of the value. Um those who have primary
[9:59] residents get a 45% reduction on the
[10:01] value uh when the property tax is
[10:04] calculated.
[10:07] This is another form that is created by
[10:09] the certifi the Utah state tax
[10:11] commission. Um it's kind of hard to see
[10:14] because it's so small, but there's some
[10:15] yellow oval circles there. The 2,124 802
[10:19] is what's referred to as the auditor
[10:21] certified tax rate. That's telling us
[10:23] that if we did nothing, that's how much
[10:26] property tax revenue we would receive
[10:28] for the year. However, because we
[10:30] submitted the paperwork and went through
[10:32] the truth and taxation process and the
[10:34] numbers that we uh provided to them for
[10:36] the 995,000,
[10:38] the final rate, if approved, and I need
[10:41] to reiterate, if approved, would be
[10:44] 3,12087.
[10:46] The city council can approve a lower
[10:49] rate for lower revenue, but they cannot
[10:53] adopt anything higher than this rate or
[10:55] this revenue by law. Um just for
[11:00] interest I did put over here to the side
[11:03] um just what some of our budgets this is
[11:05] not the total general fund but just to
[11:07] give an idea um you know if we collect
[11:10] this year $3,120,000
[11:13] how does that relate to some of our
[11:15] larger general fund budget uh
[11:17] categories. Our police department as you
[11:19] can see is 3,581.
[11:21] our fire assessment. For those who
[11:23] aren't aware, the South Davis Metro Fire
[11:26] Service Area, they collect property
[11:29] taxes through an assessed rate. And then
[11:32] they also send each agency that they
[11:34] support an invoice based on um criteria
[11:39] that's been established when the agency
[11:40] was created. And our portion this next
[11:43] year is 914,000. And you asked Julie
[11:46] earlier that adjustment that I had in
[11:48] there. That's what that came up to this
[11:50] year. Um, our streets department
[11:53] 529,000.
[11:55] Um, that doesn't include any of the
[11:56] maintenance that comes out of our class
[11:58] C road funds. Our parks is 762,000
[12:02] and our recreation is 121,000. So, these
[12:06] are just some of the larger budgets that
[12:09] the general fund supports. Our full um
[12:12] general fund budget is like 10,44,000
[12:15] overall. So, I just want folks to get an
[12:18] understanding of what property taxes go
[12:19] to and how much of that is used within
[12:22] the city.
[12:24] Moving on,
[12:26] item 1 C of the agenda requires a
[12:29] presentation for the reasons of the
[12:31] proposed tax increase, including the
[12:32] taxing entity's intended use of
[12:34] additional ad valorium tax revenue. So,
[12:37] this all focuses on one thing, a new
[12:40] city hall and park reconstruction. And
[12:43] the question is why this project and why
[12:46] now? So I'll just share some information
[12:50] that we have shared in the pamphlets,
[12:51] we've shared in our meetings, we've
[12:53] shared in um the um city newsletter and
[12:57] things of that nature, but for those who
[12:58] may not have been aware of it. Our
[13:01] primary reason is our police department.
[13:03] As you can see from the photos, our
[13:06] evidence storage is pretty much maxed
[13:09] out. Um, if you were to walk into our
[13:12] basement, and I know that the chief and
[13:14] uh Michelle Roelly have taken people on
[13:16] tour so they can see this, uh, we are
[13:18] required to, uh, hold on to more and
[13:21] more evidence all the time. State laws
[13:22] are requiring longer, uh, retention of
[13:26] storage or u evidence storage. Um, the
[13:30] picture on the far right is our general
[13:32] evidence. The pictures on the lower left
[13:35] are boxes that have several cases, as
[13:38] many as Michelle can pack into each one.
[13:40] But what you can't see is those are
[13:43] literally stored in a storage area that
[13:45] has a locked door underneath the stairs
[13:47] going to the basement. So, it's kind of
[13:49] a Harry Potter storage kind of thing.
[13:51] We're just cramming boxes in many places
[13:53] that we can lock and secure as part of
[13:56] evidence um requirements in any nook and
[13:59] cranny that we can we can find in the
[14:01] basement.
[14:04] Another situation that we have in our
[14:06] police department is our officers are um
[14:10] because of that portion of the building
[14:12] being the earliest part of the building
[14:14] that was finished in the late 1960s.
[14:17] Um we have one large room that is our
[14:20] patrol room where our officers are
[14:22] literally booking evidence. And I'll
[14:24] move my mouse over. Here's the evidence
[14:27] table where they put the evidence in. Um
[14:30] right over here is to the right of that
[14:32] table you can see the microwave where
[14:34] they cook their meals and the table um
[14:37] that's across the room right here. Our
[14:40] officers are literally cooking and
[14:42] working and eating in the very same room
[14:44] that they have to bring drugs and other
[14:46] contaminated things in as they book them
[14:48] into evidence. And we just don't feel
[14:50] that's a a suitable thing. But we don't
[14:53] have anywhere else to conduct these
[14:54] things. So, this is part of the reason
[14:56] why we feel that there is a necessity
[14:58] for this new building. Um, here's
[15:01] another photo of the patrol room for the
[15:03] back corner. So, you can see where the
[15:05] officers sit to do their reports and
[15:07] things of that nature. Here's the book
[15:09] evidence uh table where they have bags
[15:12] and boxes to put things in. And then in
[15:14] this corner over here is where the
[15:15] microwave and plates and things like
[15:17] that are. So again, not optimal
[15:20] conditions for people to um also bring
[15:23] suspects in for blood draws uh for DUIs
[15:26] and things of that nature. We have two
[15:29] detectives right now. They're working on
[15:31] these um small desks. Again, you can see
[15:34] they have to put their printers on the
[15:36] floor. They have their u vests and
[15:38] things on the floor because we just
[15:40] don't have enough room. Um, this office
[15:44] area was originally intended to be the
[15:47] window into the um, interrogation uh,
[15:51] room where they would take suspects in
[15:53] to question them. Um, again, we're using
[15:55] rooms the way they weren't intended and
[15:57] our interrogation room is normally
[15:59] filled with boxes of storage and things
[16:00] of that nature. So, we're just working
[16:03] over ourselves to to try to accommodate
[16:06] things. Another example of this
[16:10] is
[16:13] Um downstairs um we have rooms uh
[16:17] starting up here in the upper left and
[16:18] then in the center and to the right are
[16:22] actually in the bottom left are is one
[16:24] room where all evidence has to be
[16:26] brought into for our uh evidence clerk
[16:29] to entered into the computer, make sure
[16:32] everything's correct, and then to move
[16:33] it to other rooms where it's stored. Um,
[16:37] we're supposed to have a drug room, a
[16:40] weapons room separate from the general
[16:42] evidence room. Uh, Chief might be able
[16:44] to explain what the reasons are for
[16:45] those separations, but right now,
[16:48] because of the way our basement is
[16:51] structured, and there's just no other
[16:53] way to change it, we're moving evidence
[16:55] back and forth between things. And so,
[16:57] there's what's referred to as a chain of
[16:58] custody. And so, a future building would
[17:01] allow all of those things to be in a
[17:03] central location. And then within the
[17:05] evidence room, we can create separated
[17:07] rooms for drugs, weapons, and valuables
[17:10] so that we comply with the optimal
[17:12] intent of the state law. Chief, is there
[17:15] anything you want to add to that?
[17:18] >> No, it's just the the nature of the
[17:21] weapons. They need to be secured
[17:23] separately away from the drugs for for
[17:26] obvious reasons and that that's the
[17:28] intent of the state law.
[17:29] >> Okay. The other thing to remember is
[17:32] that again um people think well you seal
[17:35] everything up in a bag but we have
[17:36] marijuana, we have methamphetamines and
[17:38] all types of drugs. We don't always know
[17:40] what those health effects are and we
[17:42] don't have an air evacuation system in
[17:45] that old part of the building. In fact,
[17:47] we don't even have heating and cooling
[17:48] ducted into the basement um uh where we
[17:51] have our two of our sergeants. And so
[17:55] again, we don't know what those effects
[17:56] are, but we feel it's important that we
[17:59] start to make those changes. In the
[18:01] bottom right corner is another room on
[18:03] our upstairs where you can see that we
[18:05] have boxes for evidence, storage, um
[18:08] other things that need to be used by
[18:10] patrol officers. And so we're just
[18:12] making do with the room that we have um
[18:15] to function the best that we can. So our
[18:17] police department is an area that's uh
[18:19] severely struggling because of the lack
[18:21] of uh room. We also have all of u not
[18:24] all of our weapons, but a large majority
[18:27] of our um weapons that would be used for
[18:30] specific and specialized police actions,
[18:33] they have to be kept at the public works
[18:35] building in a secured room because we
[18:37] don't have room for that here. And we
[18:39] also have to have our um gunsmith u we
[18:43] have an officer who is the gunsmith who
[18:45] has to take weapons down there to work
[18:46] on them because we don't have room here
[18:48] for those things to be worked on. So
[18:50] again, it's not optimal um that we have
[18:53] to keep those weapons under secure lock
[18:55] and key and we don't have room here in
[18:57] the building for that um type of
[18:59] storage. We also have to take um
[19:02] vehicles and things of that larger types
[19:04] of things that have to be stripped down
[19:06] for evidence uh searching to the public
[19:08] works building. So again, the new
[19:10] building would have a location in the
[19:12] building where those types of things
[19:13] could be done here and it keeps the
[19:14] chain of custody of evidence more secure
[19:17] and uh without question of how it's
[19:19] being handled.
[19:21] The current building again as I've
[19:23] mentioned uh we don't have any more room
[19:25] for PD growth. Our admin all of our
[19:28] offices are filled in other spaces. Uh I
[19:30] mentioned no heater AC in the basement
[19:32] of the PD offices or ventilation. Uh we
[19:36] don't have a fire sprinkler in this
[19:37] building. So if we did for some reason
[19:39] have a fire, it could be a potential
[19:41] complete loss. Um the building is not
[19:44] designed for the current seismic
[19:46] restraints and uh earthquake codes. Um
[19:49] we have subsidance in this area where we
[19:52] are noticing the building cracking and
[19:53] moving in places. Um adequate meeting
[19:56] and training space. Our police
[19:58] department has to go down and use our
[19:59] public work space for for training. Um,
[20:02] our IT is literally a closet right here
[20:05] behind the council chambers and we don't
[20:07] have room for storage of u IT equipment
[20:10] that we need to I mentioned reliable um
[20:13] AV system. Um that's the sound system
[20:15] here. Every Tuesday morning we have to
[20:17] come in here and if Sam and I or Curtis
[20:19] and I can't do it, Sam has to come up
[20:21] and do a Jurassic Park start to get the
[20:23] system working for the court clerk. So
[20:25] it's taking hours of staff time. uh and
[20:29] we've had the the uh people come in, the
[20:31] contractors to work on it, and they're
[20:33] doing the best they can to work it. But
[20:35] it they've explained that because we're
[20:36] trying to run our system from two
[20:38] different locations, we're causing the
[20:41] system not to work the way it's designed
[20:43] or intended. So, that's another thing
[20:45] that would be resolved in the new
[20:46] building. We don't meet all the ADA
[20:48] accessibility requirements uh in the
[20:50] building. uh our I mentioned our
[20:53] interview and interrogation rooms,
[20:55] mentioned the PD weapon storage and the
[20:58] separation of weapons and drug evidence
[21:00] and the evidence storage, ventilation.
[21:03] Um we have chemicals that officers use
[21:06] for cleaning their weapons. Right now
[21:08] that's just in the end of a hallway in
[21:09] the basement and so again we have odors
[21:12] and things that are going through the
[21:13] building. Um, our HBAC we've had several
[21:16] times when large sections of the
[21:18] building, excuse me, are not uh working.
[21:21] We had no air conditioning in the admin
[21:24] here earlier this summer. Um, the police
[21:26] department's gone for a couple of weeks
[21:28] without heat and so we've brought in
[21:30] portable heaters. So, the whole building
[21:33] is not on one heating furnace or air
[21:36] conditioner. It's on several, but if any
[21:38] one of those go down, large sections of
[21:39] the building quit functioning. and then
[21:42] uh longer evidence storage.
[21:45] This is the
[21:48] concept drawing of the proposed um city
[21:51] hall and Hogan Park uh building. And
[21:53] many of you have already seen this. So
[21:55] what what are we doing for the next 50
[21:57] years? This street here is 1500 South.
[22:00] Here's 800 West. So the proposal again
[22:03] as a cost savings and we've seen schools
[22:05] and other government agencies do this
[22:08] would be to leave the current city hall
[22:09] in this location so that we don't have
[22:11] to relocate. We would build the new city
[22:14] hall just to the east of our current
[22:15] city hall literally right out the back
[22:18] door of our city hall on the east side.
[22:20] There would be a fence along the
[22:21] sidewalk and the building would be about
[22:23] halfway through the parking lot. It
[22:26] would not go all the way to the log
[22:28] cabin and the uh cemetery. Um, this is a
[22:31] slightly different uh version of this
[22:34] gray mass that you see here compared to
[22:36] what we currently are because staff has
[22:38] been working with the architects to
[22:39] continue cutting down square footage
[22:41] anywhere we can to not overbuild, but to
[22:46] uh maximize the utilization of the
[22:47] building, but this would be the general
[22:49] footprint. We're still working on
[22:51] locations for pavilions and restrooms
[22:53] and things in this area, but the council
[22:55] has met on this and talked about it. And
[22:57] this is the general layout. Um, assuming
[23:00] this is passed, the new building would
[23:03] be constructed while we work out of this
[23:05] building. We would move into the new
[23:06] building and then demolish the old and
[23:09] then build the parking lot at this
[23:10] location. There would still be the
[23:12] parking on 720 West uh diagonal parking
[23:16] that we currently have. And the parking
[23:19] lot areas for the new parking of the new
[23:21] building would be about the same as what
[23:22] we have here at city hall. Now,
[23:27] this is the latest floor plan up till
[23:30] last week. And I realize things are
[23:31] really small, so you can't see it, but
[23:33] again, I've listed out the first floor
[23:36] plan, first floor concept plans. Again,
[23:38] these are not final designs. Um,
[23:42] one of the things that was being
[23:43] discussed is the size of the community
[23:44] room, and that's this room right here.
[23:47] And this would be a room that would kind
[23:49] of be like a homes family room that
[23:51] would go around to a covered patio so
[23:53] that things events and things could move
[23:56] back and forth. Um the council made the
[23:59] decision at the last meeting to cut that
[24:01] down to 3500 ft from 4,000 um and remove
[24:05] this center partition door. So again,
[24:08] we're trying to rightsize the building
[24:09] but also leave ourselves room for future
[24:11] growth. We've accommodated um the judges
[24:15] um security issues. We've allowed for a
[24:18] larger kitchen than we've had in the
[24:20] past and even larger kitchen than we
[24:22] have in the public works building to
[24:24] accommodate summer recreation cooking
[24:26] activities. If you just seen the number
[24:28] of children in our public works kitchen
[24:30] this morning as they were all in there
[24:31] learning how to cook things, they were
[24:33] just standing on top of each other. So,
[24:35] this would allow recreation programs to
[24:37] function here at city hall and to have
[24:39] more space for those. It also allows for
[24:42] a classroom for the police department so
[24:44] they can do their training of things
[24:46] here and not have to travel back and
[24:47] forth. Um, this building is also being
[24:50] designed to meet the uh emergency
[24:52] operations center requirements for
[24:54] earthquake soundness um and uh backup
[24:58] generator power and things so that in
[25:00] the event of a emergency or catastrophe
[25:03] this building could function on um
[25:05] independent power.
[25:08] Um, as I mentioned for the police
[25:10] department, we are doing things with
[25:12] larger offices for the detectives, the
[25:16] sergeants. They're not going to have
[25:17] independent offices. They'll be combined
[25:19] into one room. The detectives in one
[25:21] room, sergeants in another. The patrol
[25:24] room for um our patrol officers, we're
[25:27] allowing for more um locker space for
[25:29] them. So again, we're not trying to
[25:31] build this large behemoth building.
[25:34] We're just trying to make sure that it
[25:36] can accommodate the needs for the
[25:37] anticipated growth going into the
[25:39] future. Um, I'll point out that um,
[25:42] after double-checking our plans here in
[25:44] the uh, current building, our chief and
[25:47] our assistant chief's offices are
[25:49] smaller in the new building than the old
[25:51] building. Um, not by a large amount for
[25:54] your 50 ft, but again, you know, every
[25:57] foot counts. So,
[26:00] we've also on the second floor um double
[26:03] checked our office sizes against the
[26:05] current ones that we have and no
[26:07] director is getting an office any larger
[26:10] than 9 in on the width and 9 in on the
[26:12] length. So, it comes I think about 24
[26:14] square foot of area. Um so, we're not
[26:16] trying to big big huge office or
[26:19] anything. Uh the mayor's office is going
[26:21] to be shared to the judge's office. Um
[26:23] so that we're trying to make sure we
[26:24] don't have rooms just sitting empty. But
[26:26] we also have a conference room upstairs
[26:29] and again where more and more data is
[26:32] stored digitally. Um we don't think we
[26:35] need as much storage uh of papers but we
[26:38] still need to have storage. So um we've
[26:41] accommodated that. Then we have room for
[26:43] more uh cubicle spaces in the center of
[26:46] the building u on the administration
[26:48] side and we're going to work with the
[26:50] architects. We have about 20 feet that
[26:53] the second floor is behind the first
[26:55] floor. And while we could build that
[26:58] straight out over it, it would cost
[27:00] about $600,000.
[27:02] If we choose not to, we can still work
[27:04] with the architects to make sure the
[27:05] structural design is such that if we do
[27:07] need to enclose that in the future, that
[27:09] would open us up about another 1,200
[27:11] square ft that we would ask that the
[27:13] walls and everything be structurally
[27:14] designed now so that that could be
[27:16] enclosed um without additional cost. So
[27:20] that gives us some room for growth if we
[27:22] need that.
[27:23] >> Okay.
[27:24] >> Um in the basement um again we're trying
[27:29] to maximize the foot or keep the
[27:31] footprint as minimized as much as
[27:33] possible so that the park can stay as
[27:34] large as possible. So this is a
[27:36] three-story building. You can see here
[27:38] in this bottom leftand corner is where
[27:40] the evidence preparation and then the
[27:43] evidence storage long-term and a drug
[27:45] and a weapons room. And this will all
[27:47] have special ventilation that evacuates
[27:49] the air and uh more locker space and
[27:53] four times the storage that we what we
[27:55] currently have. We are also leaving room
[27:57] for unfinished uh future office space
[28:00] for support personnel like it or others.
[28:03] Uh more police storage down here, an
[28:05] unfinished area for administrative
[28:07] storage. Um Lacy has a lot of things
[28:10] that she has to store. So we'll have
[28:11] storage in the basement on the first
[28:14] floor near the community room. And then
[28:16] as we design the um park bathroom slash
[28:21] um equipment room, it will have a
[28:24] storage room also for community
[28:26] services. Um our officers have a
[28:28] requirement for um physical fitness and
[28:31] we feel it would be a wise thing for all
[28:33] of our people to have. So we've got a
[28:34] small weight room here and treadmill uh
[28:37] where people can exercise right here on
[28:39] site. And then this area here in the
[28:42] center is where we would have our gun
[28:43] smmith uh gun cleaning and armory so we
[28:46] can keep it all in one roof.
[28:50] Park space. Um we're working to have
[28:53] shaded covers over the pickle ball
[28:55] courts because the location of the
[28:56] pickle ball courts will be moved over
[28:58] here to 800 West and to have shade
[29:01] covers uh installed between the courts.
[29:04] Um, we'll have some ADA equipment in the
[29:07] playground space so that we can
[29:09] accommodate children of all needs. Uh,
[29:11] more gathering spaces and pavilions and
[29:13] shade structures. The park is designed
[29:16] to have more of a passive use with
[29:18] trails, open fields. Uh, we want to have
[29:20] food trucks uh, able to pull in and come
[29:23] in and park and have more events of that
[29:26] type. We've talked about a water feature
[29:28] and while we don't have a final design,
[29:30] um we are anticipating it being over
[29:33] here on the east side somewhere close to
[29:35] the playground so the children um can
[29:37] play between water and playgrounds.
[29:39] Mothers can be close enough or parents
[29:41] can be close enough to keep an eye on
[29:43] the children and and make sure they know
[29:44] where they're at and to have a bathroom
[29:46] somewhere close by so that they're not
[29:48] out of view. Uh we're working to have a
[29:50] centralized space for Memorial Day.
[29:53] Those of you that have attended know
[29:54] that we have the flag on one side of the
[29:56] park and the breakfast on the other
[29:58] side. We're working to try to locate all
[30:00] of those things here in this uh east
[30:02] corner of the city hall near the
[30:04] pavilion. That way we can utilize the
[30:06] kitchen and things for that. I mentioned
[30:08] the diagonal parking remaining on 720 uh
[30:11] west. So,
[30:16] um during Memorial Day, we had um these
[30:20] boards and they're out in the foyer that
[30:22] identify the reasons why it's actually
[30:25] cheaper to build a new building than it
[30:27] is to rehabilitate the current building.
[30:28] And we've used Hogan Construction, who
[30:31] is um been contracted to be our CMGC
[30:35] contractor. Um, and we had them do an
[30:39] evaluation of this building and again to
[30:42] dig around the foundation to do the
[30:43] stabilization and then the seismic work
[30:45] and all the things that would need to go
[30:47] into fire sprinklers and everything
[30:48] else. It would be estimated $18 million
[30:51] to rehabilitate a building that we would
[30:53] have no more square footage than what we
[30:54] started with. The estimate is that we
[30:57] could build a new building of
[30:58] approximately 24 to 26,000 ft for about
[31:02] 13 to 14 million. I know that's a hard
[31:05] thing to understand and it was difficult
[31:08] for me when I first got into government
[31:09] to say, well, if my own home, I would
[31:11] just wait, save my money and build an
[31:13] addition. But in commercial buildings,
[31:16] because of the types of construction and
[31:19] the way construction uh standards change
[31:22] so quickly, it's actually cheaper to
[31:26] start with a new building. Now, this
[31:28] building has been added on to two times
[31:30] since it was first built. Um the oldest
[31:33] part of it is almost 60 years old, about
[31:34] 57 years old. So we've definitely got
[31:37] good use out of it, but to try to
[31:39] rehabilitate is financially more
[31:41] expensive. Another thing I struggled
[31:43] with when I first got into government is
[31:46] I save my money and I pay for things as
[31:48] I go. However, government can borrow at
[31:50] a much cheaper rate than um the standard
[31:53] consumer. And so with inflation
[31:56] increasing about five% a year in
[31:59] construction costs um and us being able
[32:03] to borrow between four and 4 and a.5%
[32:06] we would have to save
[32:09] far more than what we would make in just
[32:11] payments and and that took me a long
[32:13] time to understand why with the time
[32:15] value of money it made more sense to
[32:16] borrow. Uh Ryan, you've dealt in
[32:18] finances for years, so you could explain
[32:20] that a little bit more, but we would be
[32:22] losing ground for each year that we wait
[32:25] uh rather than moving forward today.
[32:28] This is just a copy of the brochure that
[32:30] was mailed out to folks last week that
[32:32] gave them information. I won't go into
[32:33] any details on that. It's the same
[32:35] information we've covered tonight. Uh
[32:38] this is a page that uh Hogan
[32:40] Construction in April provided to us.
[32:42] Now again, we're still working in very
[32:45] big numbers. We've said, "Okay, based on
[32:47] the needs assessment, um, we need about
[32:50] 24 to 26,000 square ft." They, with
[32:53] their experience and having built
[32:54] buildings like this, have put together
[32:56] an estimated budget. Um, they're
[32:58] estimating that the building would cost
[32:59] about $13 million and the park and site
[33:03] would be about $11 million for a total
[33:05] of $24 million.
[33:07] If you could see um these smaller
[33:10] numbers, we have $3,727,000
[33:14] in contingencies set aside by the city
[33:17] that if unforeseen things come up, we
[33:20] have some money there. And then also in
[33:22] our um furnishings package and other
[33:25] things that we have to pay for, we have
[33:26] another almost $1.5 million set aside. I
[33:30] believe I can speak for the council that
[33:32] our goal is to not have to use that
[33:34] money. that to me that's that there has
[33:38] to be some pretty extreme reasons why we
[33:40] would touch that. Now there there may be
[33:41] and that's why we have contingency is
[33:43] because you just never know if we're
[33:45] going to run into site conditions, soil
[33:47] conditions, things of that nature. Um
[33:50] but we are trying to keep the goal of
[33:53] building a building for around 24 $25
[33:55] million and we will continue to strive
[33:57] for that. But there's also in addition
[34:00] to that 25 million, let's round it to
[34:02] that. Uh what's referred to as soft cost
[34:04] of 4.9, let's round that to $5 million
[34:07] of things that we have to pay for. So
[34:10] civil surveys, financing, uh
[34:12] furnishings, uh inspections. So anyway,
[34:15] there's a list of things that are not
[34:17] under the contract that we would need to
[34:18] pay for. So we believe that we have
[34:21] contingency to cover any foreseen
[34:23] unforeseen costs and we are striving to
[34:26] stay within that budget.
[34:29] We have put together a package of the
[34:31] revenue and the anticipated
[34:33] expenditures. So in the blue boxes you
[34:36] can see that we believe that through
[34:39] money that we've been putting in savings
[34:42] um as of July 1st or the very end of
[34:46] June after the budget was being closed
[34:48] out, we had about $4 million of capital
[34:50] fund money for capital projects. We'll
[34:53] want to keep about 500,000 in that
[34:55] budget. Um we have
[34:59] in the past transferred about a million
[35:01] dollars at the end of the year into that
[35:03] capital's budget. So um we're estimating
[35:06] that this next year we hopefully can do
[35:08] that again. Um we are selling property
[35:10] at two locations. The old post office
[35:12] that's been closed and we made about
[35:14] $445,000
[35:16] and then we're in the process of selling
[35:18] the old public works building for
[35:19] approximately 2.5 million. Um, we also
[35:23] have the wrap tax because the park will
[35:25] be a large part of this project. We have
[35:28] not quite a million dollars, but it'll
[35:29] be close to a million dollars soon.
[35:31] We'll want to keep about $250,000 in
[35:33] reserve. So, we believe that we can
[35:35] contribute towards this project $8.2
[35:37] million, and we will need to borrow
[35:40] approximately $25 million to come up for
[35:42] a full total of 33,210.
[35:45] Now again, that 33 million still has
[35:47] that 5 million in contingency um that we
[35:50] may or may not have to use. So we'll
[35:53] just keep those numbers in place and
[35:56] work towards those with the goal of
[35:58] coming in lower than that. Below you can
[36:00] see the expenses and this is Hogan
[36:03] construction, park site work, um other
[36:07] soft costs and so we come up with a
[36:09] total of 33,889.
[36:12] They don't exactly add up, but again, we
[36:14] believe that with that contingency, we
[36:16] can close the gap on that approximately
[36:18] $600,000.
[36:20] Also, within the financing uh package,
[36:22] the debt service, um we have funds
[36:26] currently with the um road bond money
[36:29] that we're paying that if we enact a a
[36:32] transportation utility fee, we can make
[36:34] up $250,000 of that. We have wrap tax
[36:38] revenue that's almost $600,000 a year.
[36:41] We estimate it'll be $600,000 in this
[36:43] next year. We could apply as much as we
[36:45] want, but we're right now just
[36:47] estimating 350,000 of that towards bond
[36:50] payment. And then this proposed property
[36:52] act property tax increase of 995 would
[36:56] bring us to 1,595,000.
[37:00] And then again, the bond payment would
[37:02] be approximately 1,592.
[37:05] Now, if anybody that's keeping an eye on
[37:07] the news knows bond rates are going up
[37:09] and down all the time. So, we're just
[37:11] continuing to stay in touch with Zans's
[37:13] Bank, who's our financial adviser, and
[37:15] asking them um where they anticipate
[37:17] those rates, and we won't know the final
[37:20] until if the tax increase is approved.
[37:23] We go out on them open market and find
[37:24] out what we can get the bonding for.
[37:29] Okay. Um, in closing, people have said,
[37:32] "Well, what does the city council know
[37:35] about buildings?" And I took a little
[37:36] liberty of looking at your um,
[37:40] information on the website and what I
[37:41] know of you. I think we are at the best
[37:44] time with the group of people that I
[37:46] know to really work on this project. And
[37:49] I've just took liberty of putting down
[37:51] your credentials. If I've made any
[37:53] mistakes, please correct me. But as you
[37:55] can see, Ryan, you're educated in
[37:58] government finance and you've worked in
[37:59] government finance for years. Uh you've
[38:02] done capital projects, uh and worked
[38:05] with multiple boards, Eric Jones, a
[38:07] licensed architect. Um you have
[38:09] extensive project manage experience. Um
[38:12] you've served on the planning commission
[38:13] board of adjustments, and you're also a
[38:14] small business owner, so you understand
[38:16] how this affects our small businesses.
[38:19] Julie, you have worked with our police
[38:21] officers closer than anybody that I know
[38:23] and you've witnessed and seen what
[38:25] they're dealing with on a regular basis.
[38:27] You also have experience in the
[38:29] elementary education and you spend every
[38:31] month with our senior lunch bunch so you
[38:33] know what their needs are. Uh Jim, yes,
[38:37] >> I'd also add that I am a small business
[38:39] owner and I am a licensed general
[38:41] contractor.
[38:42] >> Thank you.
[38:44] Um, yeah, I was trying to keep things
[38:46] within space, but both excellent points.
[38:49] Jim, you have extensive economic
[38:51] development background. You've worked
[38:52] for the state of Utah and helping to
[38:54] bring businesses to the state of Utah.
[38:56] Um, and I know that you're helping us as
[38:58] a council member identify things that we
[39:01] can do with the airport and other
[39:02] things. Um, your understanding of
[39:05] business and what businesses rely on and
[39:08] government services is phenomenal.
[39:10] You're also a small business owner.
[39:12] you've had experience in that and you're
[39:14] a certified government finance manager.
[39:16] Not a lot of people have that kind of
[39:17] certification. Uh Rachel, you have I
[39:20] don't know how many decades and I want
[39:22] to date you here of uh education
[39:24] experience. You understand about
[39:26] childhood development, the importance of
[39:28] experiential education for children. So,
[39:31] you know, we've had many conversations,
[39:33] you and Julie, about what mothers are
[39:35] looking for children, the importance of
[39:37] children having these experiences. So
[39:40] again, I just feel it's this wealth of
[39:42] knowledge. Wall-E, your IT background,
[39:45] you see things from the perspective of a
[39:46] retired citizen. You have extensive
[39:48] knowledge in the SER program. Uh you're
[39:51] active in the mental health and suicide
[39:53] prevention organizations. I just want to
[39:55] compliment each one of you for what you
[39:57] bring to the table as elected officials
[39:59] that I don't know a lot of people
[40:00] realize and know. Um, in my case, and I
[40:04] know that our staff, I could go on about
[40:06] each one of them and gush about their
[40:08] knowledge, but my background is I
[40:10] started out in commercial construction
[40:12] and did that for 10 years, six years.
[40:16] Anyway, took that, became a building
[40:18] official, and then during my close to 30
[40:21] years in government, I've been involved
[40:23] in multiple construction projects, um,
[40:26] building buildings, new buildings. Um,
[40:29] so I think that we bring a vast wealth
[40:32] of knowledge to this project to make
[40:33] sure that we're using funds correctly
[40:36] and protecting the the citizens dollar.
[40:39] Um, the other thing that we've done
[40:40] right is we put together a bid package
[40:44] for a construction manager, general
[40:46] contractor package, some people might
[40:48] call it a design build where we hired an
[40:51] architect and a contractor at the same
[40:53] time. And we've made those two firms
[40:55] work together from the very beginning
[40:57] through what's referred to as a needs
[40:58] assessment to say what do we need and
[41:00] are we sizing it correctly and then what
[41:03] is the price going to be. That's allowed
[41:05] us to make adjustments as the contractor
[41:08] says well we can do this cheaper or this
[41:10] will work better and they're at the
[41:12] table every week as we're working
[41:13] through this design process. And so it's
[41:16] a very collaborative process much better
[41:18] than b a design and then bid it and find
[41:20] out you can't afford to build it. And
[41:22] I've witnessed that. So, I think we're
[41:24] using the most efficient system and one
[41:26] that the state of Utah and other
[41:27] agencies are using regularly.
[41:30] There's been some questions about wages
[41:31] and so I just want to put uh to rest
[41:34] that um
[41:36] all of our staff have um each year we
[41:42] look at the cola cost of living that's
[41:45] set by um the western region um based on
[41:49] economic factors. This year was 2.4. or
[41:51] I think last year was 2.4. All employees
[41:55] um receive that COLA. That's to keep
[41:56] their wages on par with um inflation.
[42:00] And then if they meet the requirements
[42:02] of their job um under satisfactory
[42:05] performance, then they can receive a
[42:07] merit increase. And we have a plan that
[42:10] has steps. It's not based on years. It's
[42:13] just referred to as steps. And those
[42:15] steps, depending on where they're at,
[42:17] start out at the bottom at about 4.1%
[42:20] and at the top go to about 2.5. Um, so
[42:24] all employees are receiving the same
[42:26] merit steps as everyone else. So, um, an
[42:30] inference that directors are getting
[42:32] bigger wages. Well, 2.4% of a director's
[42:36] wage compared to 2.4 of anybody else's
[42:39] wage. It's always 2.4. and where they're
[42:41] at on the merit uh steps, it's the same
[42:45] percentage. So, um I hope people realize
[42:49] that our directors are not getting some
[42:51] big fat wage more than others. The
[42:54] dollar amounts higher, but it's always
[42:56] the same percent. Um, also I just want
[42:59] to make sure that people understand that
[43:00] we have a wage survey that was done by
[43:03] an independent company and they provide
[43:05] data to us each year that we refer to
[43:07] and make sure that our wages are staying
[43:09] comparable. And our goal is to stay in
[43:11] the middle of the pack, not the high and
[43:13] not the low. And so we use that data
[43:15] each year. That company is uh personnel
[43:18] systems and services. And so we use that
[43:22] and I've left a list of the cities here
[43:24] that um they chose to make our
[43:27] market-based wage evaluations. Some
[43:30] people say, "Well, you should only find
[43:31] cities that are the same size as you."
[43:33] Well, there's not a lot of cities in the
[43:34] state that are exactly 11,000 to 12,000.
[43:38] But we also have to look at that we're
[43:40] not competing against those cities.
[43:41] We're competing against the cities
[43:43] around us that want to steal our
[43:44] employees. So, it's an amalgamation of
[43:47] these. and then we work to find the
[43:48] median and that's what we're using to
[43:50] set the wages but it's all done by the
[43:52] assistance of a third party that helps
[43:54] us put that data together and then we
[43:56] evaluate it annually. So, um, people can
[44:00] have their opinion, but I think we've
[44:02] done a very good job of using the same
[44:04] system that are used in most of our Utah
[44:06] cities of making sure that we're paying
[44:08] our employees fairly. And I think we've
[44:11] done a good job because when I first got
[44:12] here four years ago, we were losing
[44:14] employees, police officers like crazy
[44:16] and we had to make several wage
[44:17] increases. We are now fully staffed with
[44:20] our police department. And so I think
[44:22] that's a credit to the council's support
[44:24] of making sure that we're compensating
[44:26] our employees uh fairly and accurately.
[44:29] >> Right.
[44:30] >> Yes.
[44:31] >> I just want to make one comment there.
[44:33] The company that we use as we used them
[44:36] for that wage survey, they went through
[44:38] and evaluated each position, the job
[44:41] duties, um the different requirements of
[44:43] those positions so that they could
[44:45] compare those same positions with a like
[44:47] position at another agency. It might be
[44:50] that at our agency, at our city, we call
[44:53] them one thing. At another city, they
[44:56] may call them a different job title, but
[44:59] they may be doing the same duties. And
[45:01] so rather than just say police officer
[45:04] and police officer, they look at those
[45:06] individually um the way that we have
[45:08] them categorized and make sure that it's
[45:10] the same at the other city, not just
[45:12] based on title. So, as we did that, they
[45:15] took this all-incclusive look of all of our employees and mapped them out
[45:20] and then compared them with the similar
[45:22] employee at the other cities, not just
[45:25] similar in job title.
[45:27] >> Thank you. Good point. Um, and yes,
[45:30] there's a lot of science and research
[45:32] that goes into all of that and we take
[45:34] it very seriously and we evaluate that
[45:36] and there's times when some wages in
[45:39] some areas are increasing faster than
[45:41] the market. So, we make market
[45:42] adjustments, but I would say during this
[45:44] last year, we did not find the need to
[45:46] make a market adjustment with any of the
[45:48] wages, which again tells me that we're
[45:50] staying kind of a sweet spot in the
[45:51] median. And so, uh, very pleased with
[45:54] how that's going.
[45:55] >> And, and we didn't just offend the young
[45:56] men's group. They when they called and
[45:58] asked if they could come, they told me
[46:00] that they probably wouldn't stay for the
[46:02] whole meeting. Was it okay if they
[46:04] excused themselves partway through? So,
[46:06] just want to make sure that
[46:08] >> I'm sure there's others that would
[46:10] probably like to sneak out if they have
[46:12] to talk much longer, but I want to
[46:14] assure you I'm about done. By state law,
[46:16] we have to also show the impact tax
[46:18] increase or I'm sorry, the tax impact
[46:20] schedule. Um, that is a document that's
[46:22] on the back table um for those who want
[46:25] to get a copy of that and we have to
[46:27] make it available to you. I'm showing
[46:29] you here and uh so we've complied with
[46:31] that state law requirement. We also have
[46:34] to show the Davis County notice of tax
[46:36] increases. This is every agency in the
[46:38] county that is proposing a tax increase.
[46:41] And again, state law says that we have
[46:43] to make that available to you. This was
[46:45] the only thing last year that tripped us
[46:48] up on not making the tax increase. We
[46:50] went through the full truth and
[46:52] taxation. We submitted to the state,
[46:54] submitted at the county, and they came
[46:56] back and said, "Oh, sorry. You didn't
[46:57] show this paper in your county in your
[47:00] council meeting the night of the truth
[47:01] and taxation." Well, we never received
[47:03] it, so we couldn't share it.
[47:06] >> Yeah. We hadn't received it from the
[47:08] county in order to be able to share it.
[47:09] >> And so, while we went through the
[47:11] process, taxes were not increased in
[47:13] woods cost last year, in spite of what
[47:15] people were led to believe that we went
[47:16] through the whole process. So, this
[47:19] year, this is like the last thing that
[47:21] we have to do to comply with the law. We
[47:24] also, under a new law change, have to
[47:26] make sure that everybody's aware of how
[47:28] to participate. And so Annette and
[47:31] others put this notice together that was
[47:33] on the website and it tells how you can
[47:36] participate here in person tonight. You
[47:38] can participate uh virtually uh by
[47:42] signing in on Zoom or if people want to
[47:44] email, they can also send an email and
[47:46] that's down here at the bottom of this
[47:48] and you email to apwwoodscross
[47:51] uh.gov. And then on the pamphlet there
[47:53] was my email. Although due to a typo
[47:56] error, it wasn't really my email. But if
[47:58] somebody types that in and sends it, it
[48:00] will come to me. We created the pseudo
[48:01] email. So it will arrive. We've tested
[48:04] that. So folks can participate by
[48:06] speaking tonight uh submitting something
[48:09] virtually or participating virtually
[48:12] signing in on Zoom. Now everybody right
[48:13] now is locked out. So, you cannot uh
[48:17] join the meeting and speak until you
[48:19] have um indicated to Sam and Curtis by
[48:22] you're raising your hand on Zoom that
[48:23] you want to participate. And then at the
[48:25] end uh mayor of the inperson and the
[48:28] virtual um we'll ask Annette if we've
[48:30] received any written comments. We did
[48:32] not anticipate to read those verbatim,
[48:34] but they will be available to you and
[48:36] all the citizens on a link where you can
[48:39] read those. And because people may type
[48:42] things in on the Zoom, we can't really
[48:44] pull those off until after the meeting.
[48:46] So, those will be added as we go back
[48:48] and pull those off. They'll be added to
[48:50] the written records. So,
[48:53] I think I've about wore out. Oh, sorry.
[48:56] Um, agenda item number three. Oh, it is.
[48:59] It's your turn, mayor. Property tax
[49:01] public hearing. I will turn the time
[49:03] over to you.
[49:04] >> Okay. Thank you, Bryce. Um, it's been
[49:07] quite a process as the legislature put
[49:10] new legislation in place a couple of
[49:12] years ago and then strengthened it and
[49:15] clarified to make sure that um that
[49:18] we're complying with all of their
[49:20] different requirements and checking all
[49:21] of the boxes. We thought that we had
[49:24] done that last year and there um was
[49:26] that one piece that was missing because
[49:29] it hadn't been provided to us. Um
[49:32] anyway, let me go through kind of the
[49:34] outline of how we're going to go through
[49:36] our public hearing. We want to make sure
[49:38] that anyone that wants to make a comment
[49:41] has the ability to do that. Um so
[49:45] first of all, let me just read this
[49:47] statement. And this is something that
[49:48] we've been doing now for
[49:51] >> years three or four years now as a
[49:54] council. Um you'll see it as you come. I
[49:58] think it's on the podium still. Is our
[50:00] old paper still on the podium?
[50:02] >> It is.
[50:02] >> Um we we at a conference that we had
[50:06] attended um we listened to um a
[50:10] presentation about the dignity index and
[50:13] as we came back we felt that it was
[50:15] important that as a council um and as a
[50:18] community that uh that we abide by this
[50:21] and um and treat each other with
[50:24] respect. So let me just read this
[50:26] statement. Woodscross City is committed
[50:28] to civility. We strive to act and speak
[50:31] with dignity, courtesy, and respect at
[50:33] all times. And as participants, um we're
[50:37] asking that you would join us and act
[50:39] and speak accordingly. Um we are happy
[50:42] to have each of you that would like um
[50:45] to come and make your comments. We what
[50:49] we'll do is we'll start with those that
[50:51] are in person first and then once
[50:54] everyone in person has had a chance then
[50:56] we'll go to those that are um attending
[50:59] electronically through Zoom and we'll
[51:01] allow them the same process. So in order
[51:05] to be on the record what we'd like you
[51:08] to do is to come to the podium and if
[51:11] you will state your name and the city
[51:14] that you reside in. Um, we know that we
[51:18] may have some that are from outside of
[51:19] Woodscross and that's totally fine. Um,
[51:22] but if you will do that for the public
[51:24] record and then the the way that we're
[51:26] going to do it, our ground rules are
[51:28] going to be um you'll be limited to one
[51:30] comment. We're not going to make it and
[51:32] have people just keep coming back up the
[51:35] same people. Each person will get their
[51:37] chance. Um, we're going to limit those
[51:40] to three minutes so that we're not to to
[51:43] 3 minutes each, not to a total of three
[51:45] minutes because that would be really
[51:46] fast. Um, to 3 minutes each just so that
[51:50] we can keep it moving and so that we can
[51:52] eventually go home and go to bed. But we
[51:54] are prepared to stay as long as um we
[51:58] have people that have not had their turn
[52:00] that would like to make a comment.
[52:03] Um, then we'll go to those that are
[52:05] virtually. Um, again, Bryce has said
[52:09] that if uh people that are online would
[52:13] like to make a comment or even I guess
[52:15] if you're here, if you don't want to
[52:16] come up and make a comment, you're
[52:18] welcome to send an email um to AP like
[52:24] Apple
[52:25] >> without the pool
[52:28] >> AP woodscross.gov.
[52:31] Um, and we'll get those at the end of
[52:34] the meeting. My suggestion would also be
[52:38] if you're going to make an electronic
[52:40] comment through typing it out, um my
[52:43] plan would be to have you again make one
[52:46] comment, not a whole string of comments,
[52:48] just so that we can keep them together
[52:50] and keep them concise. Um I'd also just
[52:55] request that we keep a good decorum. Um
[52:59] we're here to listen. It will make it
[53:01] easier for us to listen if everyone else
[53:04] will listen while someone is at the
[53:07] podium speaking. Um I I don't want
[53:10] cheering and applauding and we'll we
[53:12] will understand if you agree with that
[53:14] person by what you say. Um we will not
[53:18] interrupt. We will listen while each of
[53:21] you speak. You may see us taking notes.
[53:24] Um we're not ignoring you. We're just
[53:26] writing down some notes so that we have
[53:28] some um something to jog our memory as
[53:31] we think about things. Um and then at
[53:34] the end once we put and and again it's
[53:36] not intended to be a dialogue back and
[53:39] forth. This is your time to speak and
[53:41] our time to listen. We'll take some
[53:43] notes at the end of that. then I will
[53:46] turn the time over to the council and if
[53:48] they have um comments or clarification
[53:52] or um anything from what they've heard
[53:56] then we'll have that discussion. Um at
[53:59] the end of that we do have the
[54:01] possibility of an action item and that
[54:03] action item would be to go ahead and
[54:07] adopt um the certified tax rate and
[54:11] approve the budget. Now, with that, as
[54:14] Bryce mentioned multiple times, um we
[54:17] have the ability to go up to that
[54:20] percentage amount and the dollar amount
[54:22] that was noticed. We can't go higher
[54:25] than that. That's our ceiling, our cap
[54:28] of what we can go to. That 99
[54:32] what was it? 995,000 and some change. Um
[54:36] we also have the ability um to go lower
[54:40] than that. And so that will be things
[54:42] that we consider as we listen, as we
[54:44] hear comments, and as we have
[54:46] discussion. There's also the possibility
[54:49] that we may want to stew on it a little
[54:51] bit. Um, not make a decision tonight. If
[54:54] we get to the end of the night and after
[54:56] our discussion, we're not feeling ready
[54:58] to make our decision tonight, then what
[55:00] we'll do is we will um have some
[55:02] discussion about when we would do that.
[55:05] We have to do it between now and the end
[55:08] of August.
[55:10] Sorry, I'm getting a little dry. Um, by
[55:13] law, we have to have those um in place
[55:16] by the end of August so that it can make
[55:18] it through the process. So, we would
[55:21] have another meeting two weeks from
[55:22] tonight. So, I'm betting as long as we
[55:26] would have a quorum that if we don't do
[55:28] it tonight, we would do it on that
[55:29] night. I can't say that for sure because
[55:31] I haven't asked everyone on the council
[55:34] if that works, but so we'll get to that
[55:36] point. and um and kind of feel where
[55:41] we're at as far as that decision tonight
[55:43] and we will let you know before we close
[55:45] the meeting. Bryce,
[55:46] >> could I just add one thing? If you
[55:48] choose not to adopt tonight, there would
[55:50] not be another public hearing on correct
[55:53] the 18th or whatever date you chose to
[55:54] do that. This is the night for that.
[55:56] >> That is correct. Tonight is the night
[55:58] for public comment. Um there's the
[56:00] possibility that if we don't do it
[56:01] tonight, we would get back together as
[56:04] the council at that future meeting. We
[56:07] might have additional discussion, but we
[56:09] would not solicit additional public
[56:11] comment at that meeting. Tonight is the
[56:13] night for that. That's the the reason of
[56:15] the public hearing. So, did I miss
[56:19] anything or does anyone on council want
[56:21] any clarifications of that?
[56:24] >> Great.
[56:24] >> Okay. Who's our timer?
[56:28] >> Chief, um,
[56:31] >> how are we going to do this, Chief? when
[56:33] they've got 15 seconds left, do you want
[56:35] to make a motion,
[56:38] something to where they know they're
[56:40] coming up on the the the end of their
[56:42] time?
[56:44] >> I can do that.
[56:45] >> Okay.
[56:47] >> I just don't want somebody to get
[56:50] flustered at the end because all of a
[56:52] sudden we cut them off and um we want
[56:54] you to be able to say what you'd like.
[56:56] When we get to the online folks, we're
[56:58] not going to just make it so that
[57:00] everyone can take themselves off mute.
[57:01] What we'll do is there's the ability to
[57:05] >> raise your hand and we can explain more
[57:08] about that when we get there. But for
[57:10] those that raise their hand, then um
[57:13] Curtis or Sam will go through and unmute
[57:16] that individual and we'll um we'll let
[57:19] you do that when we get to that point.
[57:22] So,
[57:23] >> okay, with that, we'll go ahead and open
[57:26] the public hearing. if there's someone
[57:28] that wants to get us. Dennis it looks
[57:30] like is going to get us started. So, um
[57:33] again, don't be offended if we're um if
[57:37] we're up here taking notes.
[57:42] Good evening, Woodscross City Council.
[57:43] I'm Dennis Hooper. I live on 1250 West
[57:46] for the last 34 years. And I would like
[57:49] to quote some statistics from the US
[57:52] Census Bureau that I looked up um
[57:55] concerning Woodscross and why I'm
[57:58] against this increase. Um the estimated
[58:01] population of Woods Cross for 2026 is
[58:04] 11,432.
[58:06] The last census in 2020, the population
[58:10] was 11,371.
[58:13] That's only an increase of 61 people.
[58:16] The current rate of population growth
[58:18] for Woods Cry City is 0.03
[58:22] less than 1%.
[58:24] Long-term estimates growth of 2% which I
[58:27] think is really stretching it. Everybody
[58:30] that would currently own horse property
[58:32] or vacant property would have to sell to
[58:34] a developer and that's not going to
[58:36] happen. The poverty rate in Woods Cross
[58:38] is 4.8%.
[58:40] That means there's 549 people in this
[58:43] city living in poverty and that's based
[58:46] on the population estimate of 2026.
[58:49] Woodscross properties the Woodscross
[58:52] property tax rate is currently is the
[58:55] highest in the county at 62%.
[58:59] Um, according to Google,
[59:02] this building originally was built in
[59:04] 1968 and the flyer says 1969.
[59:08] So, it's either 57 years old or 57 58
[59:11] years old. It's not 60 years old like
[59:14] the journal that came out in the city
[59:16] journal. And it's not um close to 60
[59:20] years as in the newsletter.
[59:23] Um, as per an article in the city
[59:25] journal, preliminary cost for the new
[59:28] city hall and the park was $33 million.
[59:32] The newsletter says $18 million. Um, and
[59:36] now in according to this meeting, it's
[59:38] $25 million. That's really
[59:42] not good information to put out there.
[59:44] Woodscross is very is a very slow
[59:47] growing city with a limited area for
[59:49] development unless large land owners
[59:52] decide to sell. Um yes, the police
[59:55] department needs more space. I agree
[59:57] with that. We have a large gathering
[59:59] space in the public works building
[1:00:01] already. We don't need another one. Um
[1:00:05] Hogan Park is just fine. I feel Hogan
[1:00:08] Park is just fine the way it is. If you
[1:00:10] do anything as the drawing shows, it's
[1:00:12] going to lose its current character.
[1:00:15] The city paid a million dollars or more
[1:00:17] for the Duna property on 1500 South next
[1:00:21] to Mills Park. No development is
[1:00:24] mentioned in this plan of that property.
[1:00:27] >> Seconds.
[1:00:28] >> 20 seconds.
[1:00:29] >> Oh, okay. Um I was a convention delegate
[1:00:32] for the county. I'm not going to mention
[1:00:34] which property. the the came it came up
[1:00:37] many many times about people that are in
[1:00:39] fixed on fixed incomes that can't afford
[1:00:42] tax increases and this would be one of
[1:00:44] them and thank you.
[1:00:46] >> Thanks Dennis.
[1:00:57] » If you'd like you could bring the the
[1:00:59] microphone to her.
[1:01:00] >> I'll need to. Yeah.
[1:01:03] >> Okay. Thank you.
[1:01:05] Uh, I'm Ruth Payne.
[1:01:08] I moved into Woodscross in 1955.
[1:01:15] I have been involved with the city in my
[1:01:18] younger years until I couldn't walk.
[1:01:22] Anyway, I just want you to know that I
[1:01:25] was here when this building went up. My
[1:01:29] husband was on city council at the time.
[1:01:32] The mayor was Walter Moss
[1:01:35] and it was a thrill to see something go
[1:01:38] up on this property.
[1:01:41] I'm thrilled to see what the city does.
[1:01:44] I've been pleased.
[1:01:46] I have not been a great critic because
[1:01:48] I've tried to be involved so that I, you
[1:01:52] know, could learn from all of you. But I
[1:01:56] just wanted you to know that I'm for the
[1:02:00] tax increase. I want to see the building
[1:02:03] improved.
[1:02:05] I want to see Woods Cross improved. And
[1:02:08] I think
[1:02:10] where you want to build it is perfect on
[1:02:14] this spot because it's it used to be the
[1:02:18] middle of the city. Now it's we're on
[1:02:19] the tail end.
[1:02:22] But it it's fabulous. And I love the
[1:02:25] park. I've worked with recreation. I've
[1:02:27] worked with the kids.
[1:02:30] I've loved the city. The police people
[1:02:33] have been great. I have I just don't
[1:02:36] have any complaints. I know that we have
[1:02:39] to re uh we have to raise taxes. I know
[1:02:44] we enjoy everything we get from it. And
[1:02:48] I just just want you to know that there
[1:02:53] are still people here
[1:02:56] who admire and love this place
[1:03:00] and and I'm for it. I hope that
[1:03:05] people will appreciate.
[1:03:08] You know, I've lived through a lot of
[1:03:10] mayors and a lot of people and I don't
[1:03:13] think we've ever had a bad one. So keep
[1:03:16] it up you guys. I'm all for you.
[1:03:20] >> Thanks
[1:03:37] » She said throw me in jail.
[1:03:50] I guess
[1:03:54] » great comment.
[1:03:56] >> My name is Greg Johnson. I've lived in
[1:03:58] the city for 27 years. Um I'm totally in
[1:04:01] favor of the um city center getting
[1:04:06] redone and everything like that. I I
[1:04:08] have some problems with the park.
[1:04:10] However, um I noticed the park plan.
[1:04:13] We're getting rid of the baseball park
[1:04:15] and that kind of bothers me because my children had great memories. I see
[1:04:20] people out here, you know, and like this
[1:04:23] brother said back here, I don't think we
[1:04:24] need to uh fix the park. I noticed too
[1:04:27] the way it's configured, it has all
[1:04:29] these bushes around in a circle and it
[1:04:32] just
[1:04:33] >> trees. What?
[1:04:34] >> They're trees. They just look like
[1:04:36] bushes.
[1:04:37] >> I know.
[1:04:38] I just Anyway, I just one other thing I
[1:04:42] just want to say is that I I think I
[1:04:44] would like to see the city center be
[1:04:47] done one year and the park the other
[1:04:49] because I'm retired and I'm going to fix
[1:04:51] income with two disabled children and
[1:04:54] these taxes are crazy for this year and
[1:04:57] I didn't know if you could resubmit it
[1:04:58] for like the next year and kind of split
[1:05:00] it up so the citizens of the um of Woods
[1:05:03] Cross don't have to pay an exorbitant
[1:05:05] amount of taxes one year, you on. It's
[1:05:08] kind of split up a little bit. So, thank
[1:05:10] you.
[1:05:11] >> Thanks, Greg. Greg.
[1:05:12] >> Thank you.
[1:05:18] » Hi. Um, I'm Ron James. I live here in
[1:05:20] Woodscross. Um, I think that the
[1:05:23] proposal as is should be tabled. And the
[1:05:25] reason why I say that is because I
[1:05:27] believe that this community deserves a
[1:05:29] separate police department, their own
[1:05:31] building, and to be able to organize all
[1:05:34] that, have the space and everything
[1:05:36] because I I do agree it's totally
[1:05:37] overcrowded, but I think there should be
[1:05:40] a separation there. And I think that's
[1:05:41] it's long overdue. Uh most communities
[1:05:44] do have that with their judicial area
[1:05:46] and police department separated that
[1:05:49] way. Um, I also believe that, you know,
[1:05:52] prior proper planning prevents piss poor
[1:05:55] performance. And that's it's an army
[1:05:57] anacronism some people might understand.
[1:05:59] U but I don't think we've planned
[1:06:01] properly. Uh meaning that this is not a
[1:06:04] surprise. We know we've been busting at
[1:06:06] the seams for how long? And this is not
[1:06:09] a surprise. So now all of a sudden it's
[1:06:11] bam, we're going to hit the tax lo the
[1:06:13] tax code higher and we're going to do
[1:06:15] all these things when incrementally we
[1:06:17] could have increased those taxes
[1:06:19] yeartoear to build the war chest that we
[1:06:21] would have needed to do these things we
[1:06:23] want to do now. And I just think that
[1:06:25] the planning just was not there. I think
[1:06:27] we need to reboot this thing, understand
[1:06:29] what the priorities are, and the
[1:06:31] priorities based on what I've seen with
[1:06:33] the presentation all lie in the people
[1:06:36] that serve and protect this community.
[1:06:38] And we should keep that separated and we
[1:06:40] should get give them the every
[1:06:41] opportunity to have the facilities they
[1:06:43] need. And that's my take on it. Thank
[1:06:46] you.
[1:06:46] >> Thanks, Ron.
[1:07:03] My name's Leanne Hansen. I live in a
[1:07:06] townhouse.
[1:07:08] Um, I am not a tree hugger, but I could
[1:07:11] become one.
[1:07:13] I think this needs to be divided in
[1:07:15] half. I think the building should be a
[1:07:17] separate issue from the park.
[1:07:20] just re rearding the park. It just seems
[1:07:24] like everything you're doing is tearing
[1:07:26] up what's already there and then moving
[1:07:28] the same things a little different
[1:07:31] place. We currently have parking and a
[1:07:35] pavilion and pickle ball, basketball,
[1:07:38] restrooms, playgrounds, and we're going
[1:07:40] to keep all that stuff. We're just going
[1:07:42] to move it all in a different place,
[1:07:44] which is just a lot of money. And we're
[1:07:47] going to lose baseball. Like Greg said,
[1:07:51] we're going to lose a lot of shade and
[1:07:53] we're going to lose all of that open
[1:07:54] grass that's right there. I think if we
[1:07:57] have to rebuild a building, I think it
[1:08:00] should be on the location where we are
[1:08:02] right now. And I think the police, if
[1:08:04] they need another building, it should be
[1:08:06] somewhere else. I like this city. I like
[1:08:09] this park the way it is. There's big
[1:08:12] trees here. There's a pavilion that you
[1:08:14] can park close to and you can have
[1:08:16] shade. There's shade on that pavilion
[1:08:18] right now. I think that's one of the
[1:08:20] biggest things about a park or the
[1:08:23] trees. And this plan is just going to
[1:08:26] tear them all down and plant new ones,
[1:08:29] which will be great in 20 years or 50
[1:08:32] years when we're all gone.
[1:08:36] And I know that some of these trees on
[1:08:37] this side are going to be retained
[1:08:39] hopefully, but they're going to be on
[1:08:40] the front side of the building. I mean,
[1:08:42] people aren't going to be using the
[1:08:44] front side of the building for any of
[1:08:46] their activities. That's just going to
[1:08:47] be an ornamental part.
[1:08:49] Also, the role of city government is
[1:08:52] messy. Your job is
[1:08:55] garbage and sewage and exploding
[1:08:57] refineries and potholes and nasty things
[1:09:00] like that. And a lot I know Bryce didn't
[1:09:03] mention any of this tonight, but in the
[1:09:05] article in the paper and in other
[1:09:07] promotional
[1:09:09] um literature, you know, they're talking
[1:09:12] about Easter egg hunts, pumpkins in the
[1:09:14] park, Santa Claus, baby showers,
[1:09:16] weddings, birthday parties, even
[1:09:18] concerts. Please don't do concerts here.
[1:09:21] This is way too close to where people
[1:09:24] live. I think the city needs to focus on
[1:09:28] city things. build a building that's
[1:09:30] adequate to city needs. You're proposing
[1:09:33] a 46% tax increase. And these are all
[1:09:37] the people that showed up. This space is
[1:09:41] >> what?
[1:09:43] >> This space is adequate for what we need
[1:09:45] for city functions. And if we can use city
[1:09:50] buildings for other extraneous things,
[1:09:52] that's fine. But we should not build the
[1:09:55] building for things like Easter egg
[1:09:57] hunts and birthday parties and wedding
[1:10:00] receptions and other extraneous things.
[1:10:04] Um, also Utons are dumb.
[1:10:08] Utons will vote for any tax. It's your
[1:10:10] job to protect us from ourselves. Thank
[1:10:13] you.
[1:10:14] >> Thanks, man.
[1:10:26] Hi, Michelle Hooper. Uh, 1250 West. Um,
[1:10:30] as Dennis said, we've lived here for 34
[1:10:32] years. So, we watched
[1:10:35] almost all of the growth west of us
[1:10:38] except for Duna's house and one little
[1:10:40] tiny house by the airport. Everything
[1:10:42] else was built up since we moved here. I
[1:10:44] have always said when we retire, I
[1:10:48] wanted to move somewhere that was really
[1:10:50] country. I love the feel of our town.
[1:10:54] Um, we really really missed our huge
[1:10:57] trees on 1500 in front of Kahun and
[1:11:00] Peters and you know those all went down
[1:11:03] because we widened the road which was
[1:11:05] wonderful but we miss our huge trees.
[1:11:09] We would really miss these wonderful
[1:11:12] trees that are here at the park.
[1:11:14] Um, but we are a big supporter of the
[1:11:17] city. I worked as a crossing guard for
[1:11:19] 12 years. My children were all in city
[1:11:22] council. Two of them were mayors. We
[1:11:24] love and support the city. It is not
[1:11:27] this is not saying anything bad about
[1:11:31] the council or the city, but
[1:11:34] this is something I feel that should be
[1:11:37] put to all of the citizens
[1:11:40] um decision making. It needs to be on
[1:11:44] the ballot in November to see if the
[1:11:47] city wants to go into this much debt,
[1:11:50] the 46% increase. It's massive for one
[1:11:54] year. Um, it should be on the bond or on
[1:11:57] the bill on the on the election in
[1:12:00] November as a bond issue. Um,
[1:12:05] so, oh, and then, um, yes, I agree that
[1:12:09] the police department, they are bursting
[1:12:11] at the seams. I've been back in the back
[1:12:14] two rooms eons ago. Um, and yes, they
[1:12:18] are small and I understand. So, put them
[1:12:21] in a separate building. There's an empty
[1:12:24] building just down 8th west on the way
[1:12:26] to the freeway. Everybody knows that
[1:12:28] huge building that I don't even think
[1:12:30] has ever even had anything in it since
[1:12:33] it was built. Um, that's there. But yes,
[1:12:38] put them in a separate building. The
[1:12:40] park is wonderful the way it is. It's
[1:12:43] going to lose so much of its character
[1:12:46] when all these trees are gone.
[1:12:49] Um, yes, it'll take 30 years for the new
[1:12:52] trees to grow because we've done that
[1:12:54] and it does. It takes almost 30 years
[1:12:56] for trees to grow and become huge and
[1:12:58] wonderful and shady.
[1:13:00] Put it to the citizens on the election.
[1:13:04] Every single citizen.
[1:13:06] >> Um, thank you for everything you do for
[1:13:08] us. We are grateful for your time. It's
[1:13:11] a lot of time. Thank you.
[1:13:12] >> Thanks, Michelle.
[1:13:36] Hi there. My name is Leola Mickelson. I
[1:13:39] live on Current Drive. Have done for 68
[1:13:43] years.
[1:13:45] Um, the one thing I think you need to
[1:13:48] consider, those of us that are on
[1:13:52] retired income, which is not much,
[1:13:55] believe me,
[1:13:57] this is a huge raise for us. And I think
[1:14:00] you really need to consider the amount.
[1:14:04] It's like double of what we've been used
[1:14:06] to.
[1:14:08] So I think this is something that should
[1:14:10] be considered
[1:14:12] because we can't afford it.
[1:14:16] >> Thank you.
[1:14:17] >> Thanks.
[1:14:34] I'm R Cleverly. I live in Woodscross.
[1:14:36] We've lived here for 20 plus years.
[1:14:39] I'm not totally against needing a new
[1:14:41] building, whether it's a police
[1:14:43] department all on its own or a combined
[1:14:46] building, but I think community space is
[1:14:48] not a need. It's a want and we need to
[1:14:51] take care of our wants at another time
[1:14:53] and not at a percent a 47% tax increase
[1:14:57] that will never go away. You're going to
[1:14:59] put that on us and that will stay on us
[1:15:01] for the rest of our time that we're
[1:15:03] here. You guys never lower taxes. you
[1:15:05] only raise them, they go up. On top of
[1:15:09] the 47%, you are receiving another 3%
[1:15:13] increase because of property value
[1:15:14] increases that the county doesn't say is
[1:15:18] an increase. Even though they're
[1:15:19] increasing our value on our homes,
[1:15:21] another 3% on top of what you're
[1:15:25] getting. So, you're going to get 3%
[1:15:27] increase in our tax, our property tax,
[1:15:30] just based on the fact that they're
[1:15:32] increasing the values of our homes. And
[1:15:34] then you want to add 47% on top of it
[1:15:37] for a building that half of it is want
[1:15:40] not need. I understand the need some of
[1:15:42] the needs that we yeah the building is
[1:15:44] old but I don't think all old buildings
[1:15:46] are bad but there are some needs and I
[1:15:49] get it we need either a police
[1:15:50] department on its own or a new building
[1:15:53] that will house all that but we don't
[1:15:56] need all the community center part and I
[1:15:57] don't think we need to redo the park
[1:15:59] either. So it is overly being done and
[1:16:04] that is like I said those are wants that
[1:16:06] are being done not all needs.
[1:16:10] >> Thanks Rhett
[1:16:14] » Margie Shank. I live just a block from
[1:16:16] here. Uh my house taxes have gone up
[1:16:18] $200 more this year.
[1:16:21] And um Colorado 70 and over you don't
[1:16:23] have to pay house taxes. And wouldn't
[1:16:25] that be lovely here? Also, the I'd live
[1:16:28] on this street here, 1500. I mentioned
[1:16:30] to the police chiefs years ago, if you
[1:16:32] ticketed those race car drivers from the
[1:16:34] stop sign or the light on in 3 to 5
[1:16:37] years, you'd pay for this new building.
[1:16:39] It's ridiculous the way people speed.
[1:16:42] And I'm just surprised that someone and
[1:16:44] children haven't been killed because one
[1:16:47] time a truck lost its pup and hit my big
[1:16:49] cherry tree and five kindergarteners had
[1:16:52] just walked by and that was just an
[1:16:54] accident. But here again, those of us
[1:16:56] who have homes that are paid for aren't
[1:16:59] going to be able to live there because
[1:17:01] we can't afford the house taxes. So, I
[1:17:03] wish you'd adopt what Colorado does when
[1:17:05] you're uh a certain age. No more house
[1:17:07] tax so that you can live comfortably
[1:17:09] till you die. And uh let's see. Another
[1:17:12] thing I have a problem with is these
[1:17:14] weeds across the street. That's a real
[1:17:16] problem to my home and we've been trying
[1:17:18] to work on it. And of course, the church
[1:17:20] owns it and they were a no-show Tuesday
[1:17:22] for Courtbait. Now, maybe there's a
[1:17:24] volunteer system here of somebody who
[1:17:27] can cut down four and five feet weeds.
[1:17:30] It's it's a danger to my home and every
[1:17:32] summer we go through that. Thank you.
[1:17:36] >> Thank you.
[1:17:44] » My name is Spencer McBride, resident of
[1:17:47] Woodscross.
[1:17:49] Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of
[1:17:52] more taxes, but I also try to take a
[1:17:55] long view and I think about the
[1:17:57] residents of the city who agreed to pay
[1:18:01] more taxes when Mills Park was built,
[1:18:05] when this building was built,
[1:18:07] when Hogan Park was built.
[1:18:11] And it meant more taxes then,
[1:18:14] but it meant
[1:18:16] a better community long term.
[1:18:19] And I I think that matters. I I think
[1:18:21] two things can be true at once.
[1:18:24] That it's hard to pay more. We feel it
[1:18:28] in our budgets. It hurts.
[1:18:32] And if we do it for the right things,
[1:18:36] it's worth it. So, I for one am in favor
[1:18:39] of this plan. I was part of the citizen
[1:18:42] group that was asked from time to time
[1:18:44] over the last couple years, their
[1:18:47] opinions, and their thoughts. And what I
[1:18:49] saw was a city council that was taking
[1:18:52] its time, that was thinking this
[1:18:54] through, that was not acting hastily.
[1:18:58] And I appreciate you guys for doing
[1:19:00] that. And I I hope as much as I won't
[1:19:06] enjoy
[1:19:07] paying a little more.
[1:19:10] Um
[1:19:11] I think I will benefit from it as a
[1:19:13] community member now. But I also think
[1:19:16] of the people 20, 30 years from now who
[1:19:19] are enjoying better spaces.
[1:19:22] Um, a safer, better police department
[1:19:26] because we take care of our officers and
[1:19:29] give them the facilities they need. Not
[1:19:31] just to do their job, but to do it with
[1:19:34] comfort and a sense of appreciation by
[1:19:37] the citizens that they protect.
[1:19:39] People 20 years from now may be asked to
[1:19:43] raise taxes. They certainly will. I hope
[1:19:46] they will think of us and what we were
[1:19:49] willing to give for a better community,
[1:19:53] not just for me, but for the people who
[1:19:55] live here 20, 30 years from now. So,
[1:19:58] that's why I'm in favor of this.
[1:20:01] >> Thanks, Spencer.
[1:20:02] >> Thanks,
[1:20:11] » Tyler Parkin. I live in Valentine
[1:20:13] Estates. Um, council mayor.
[1:20:17] Residents deserve a complete transpar
[1:20:19] transparency picture of the city's
[1:20:21] financial decision before asking to take
[1:20:24] on a greater tax burden. A property tax
[1:20:27] increase should not be considered
[1:20:28] without first reviewing all the spending
[1:20:30] and ensuring that the taxpayers's
[1:20:32] dollars are being used as efficiently
[1:20:35] and responsibly as possible.
[1:20:38] Understanding the full cost of the
[1:20:40] government. One of the part of one part
[1:20:42] of this decision is employees
[1:20:44] compensation. Bryce, you purposely left
[1:20:48] out the bud the wages. You alone since
[1:20:52] you've gotten here, $21,000 is your
[1:20:55] salary with the $36,000 benefit package.
[1:20:59] The police chief, $147,000
[1:21:03] with an $80,000 691 benefit package. On
[1:21:07] top of that, $227,000
[1:21:09] total. We are paying benefits for the
[1:21:12] police chief. Public works director
[1:21:14] 143,000 with benefits package of 62,625
[1:21:20] HR risk management 161,878
[1:21:25] community development director 157,968.
[1:21:30] This is not meant to criticize these
[1:21:32] individuals. I understand that they need
[1:21:34] to make a a living, but I believe these
[1:21:37] wages are excessive for the size of our
[1:21:39] city.
[1:21:42] At the same time, residents are being
[1:21:43] asked to approve a significant property
[1:21:45] tax. The city is moving forward with the
[1:21:47] major capital project
[1:21:49] which is as spoken tonight, Hogan Park
[1:21:53] and the city hall. I'm not against a new
[1:21:56] city hall,
[1:21:59] but it needs to be within reason. And I
[1:22:01] believe that the citizens need to have a
[1:22:03] vote. I believe that you guys have
[1:22:06] started a good process, but I think it
[1:22:09] needs to be tabled. Let the citizens
[1:22:11] vote on that. We don't need a new park.
[1:22:16] looking at the pictures and I agree that the police department needs
[1:22:22] a little bigger needs a bigger facility
[1:22:24] for their operations to handle safely.
[1:22:31] The citizens can't afford this long
[1:22:33] term. This this tax will never go away
[1:22:35] as go away as citizens have stated. We
[1:22:39] will have tax after tax after tax.
[1:22:42] >> 30 seconds.
[1:22:46] I really strongly ask you and consider
[1:22:50] tableabling this to the ballot in
[1:22:51] November.
[1:22:53] >> Thanks, Tyler.
[1:23:03] » Greg Morris, uh, Wood Cross resident.
[1:23:06] I just want to, uh, come to this at a
[1:23:10] different perspective.
[1:23:12] Um, I think we haven't analyzed.
[1:23:16] So, I'm I only come here once in a
[1:23:18] while. I I come here as a citizen to for
[1:23:22] fun activities, whatever. I'm not here
[1:23:24] on a day-to-day basis, so I don't know
[1:23:26] the operations as far as what goes on
[1:23:29] where. I think we need to audit
[1:23:33] the areas being used or all the offices
[1:23:37] or all the spaces being used in this
[1:23:39] building.
[1:23:41] um
[1:23:42] are are they every single day are they
[1:23:44] in use and if not can we somehow make a
[1:23:49] alternate use for them? Also um another
[1:23:53] thing can can the
[1:23:57] police
[1:23:58] uh use storage in an alternate location?
[1:24:02] Does that have to be within the police
[1:24:04] station? Um and can that area be used
[1:24:08] for something else? Um, I'm not against
[1:24:12] uh expanding the police station,
[1:24:15] separating it. I think we need to look
[1:24:18] at different perspectives to save money
[1:24:21] um and pursue our needs as a city
[1:24:24] instead of our wants.
[1:24:27] And
[1:24:29] I think I think by looking from
[1:24:31] different perspectives like that um
[1:24:34] we'll be able to
[1:24:37] uh be able to use space like right now
[1:24:41] we're in a large room here but there's
[1:24:43] also on the other side of the wall a
[1:24:45] large room. Can that be one? Um that's
[1:24:48] another option. Um can we put that
[1:24:51] separation in and make one room instead
[1:24:54] of two? I I don't know what all the
[1:24:55] plans are. I haven't looked super far
[1:24:58] details, but but we need to analyze what
[1:25:01] we're using in space and and what is
[1:25:05] used
[1:25:07] on a day-to-day basis instead of just
[1:25:10] once a week types things.
[1:25:14] >> Thanks, Craig.
[1:25:26] Uh Josh Child. I'm a resident of
[1:25:28] Woodscross. Just live right here east of
[1:25:29] the park. Um grateful for the
[1:25:31] opportunity to come together. Grateful
[1:25:33] for a council and for a community where
[1:25:35] public comments are welcomed and thought
[1:25:36] through. Um I am I'm always supportive
[1:25:39] of positive change. I think that there's
[1:25:41] a great need for replacement of this
[1:25:43] building. I agree with some of the
[1:25:44] comments that have been made um about
[1:25:47] how are we using the current park space
[1:25:48] and are we considering trying to leave
[1:25:50] things as they are or make fewer
[1:25:52] adjustments and less of an overhaul. Um,
[1:25:55] but I wasn't here for all of the
[1:25:57] conversations that were had there. I
[1:25:58] trust each of you. Uh, you have my
[1:26:00] support and I trust that those
[1:26:02] conversations have been had and if they
[1:26:03] haven't, then have them. Um, and and
[1:26:06] think about them. If they've been had, I
[1:26:07] trust that they're there and there's a
[1:26:08] reason we're doing it. Um, the the
[1:26:11] overall takeaway for me and and I'd like
[1:26:13] to just be a little bit critical, but I
[1:26:15] think there's a good reason for it. To
[1:26:17] me, there's a lot of information
[1:26:19] and there's big numbers being thrown
[1:26:21] around. I work a a day job in finance
[1:26:24] and in banking. I work with big numbers.
[1:26:27] I understand that there's a lot going
[1:26:29] around and there's many revenue sources
[1:26:31] and expenses. There were many, many, errors in the data that was both
[1:26:37] sent out and presented this evening.
[1:26:38] Formulas that didn't tie out and things
[1:26:41] that don't math and numbers that
[1:26:42] changed. Um, not again, I'm just saying
[1:26:46] how I feel when when the brochure that
[1:26:48] comes out with the utility bill doesn't
[1:26:50] fold on the picture line. and it and
[1:26:52] it's got typos on an email address. I I
[1:26:55] feel that we need to put more thought
[1:26:57] and and time into what is being
[1:26:59] presented to to the citizens. As
[1:27:02] somebody who I I would consider myself
[1:27:04] efficient and proficient at reviewing
[1:27:06] the data, and it was very unclear to me.
[1:27:09] Um in addition, I would add I'm grateful
[1:27:11] that the city has put resource into
[1:27:13] making the website a little bit more
[1:27:15] usable. I appreciate that a lot. Um, the
[1:27:19] generation that I'm a part of, not that
[1:27:21] any of you are not, while they may not
[1:27:23] be, but the rest are,
[1:27:26] the generation that I'm a part of finds
[1:27:29] things on social media and finds things
[1:27:32] in advertising. The city page, the
[1:27:35] Facebook, and the Instagram don't
[1:27:37] include the brochure. They don't include
[1:27:39] the data that was sent out. They don't
[1:27:41] market to us in that way. Had I not
[1:27:44] opened my utility bill or worked closely
[1:27:47] with Wall-E, I may have missed this. And
[1:27:48] I'm grateful for the opportunity to
[1:27:50] come, but we need to make sure the
[1:27:51] exposure is to the people who are coming
[1:27:54] to Woods Cross and carrying it forward
[1:27:56] and that they have an opportunity to get
[1:27:58] that data in a clear and concise way in
[1:28:02] a way that they consume it.
[1:28:04] I think I think there's great
[1:28:05] opportunities for the city as a whole,
[1:28:07] not just in this matter, but to cater
[1:28:09] more to the way that people consume
[1:28:11] information and to turn away maybe some
[1:28:14] of the efforts and energy being put into
[1:28:16] what has been done. Um, because I think
[1:28:18] that a lot of again the steps that
[1:28:20] you've likely taken were missed by many
[1:28:22] of us because we weren't exposed to them
[1:28:24] along the way and excited as you have
[1:28:26] been as you've seen these plans come
[1:28:28] together because I believe they're well
[1:28:29] thought and I do support them.
[1:28:32] Thanks, Josh.
[1:28:43] Uh my name is Dio Diego. Uh live on 875
[1:28:47] West. Uh been a resident since 97. Quite
[1:28:51] a while.
[1:28:52] >> Will you just give us your last name
[1:28:53] also?
[1:28:54] >> Cardinus.
[1:28:55] >> Okay. So, um I think just looking at
[1:28:58] these plans, I I think there's a lot of
[1:29:00] communication that hasn't been um put
[1:29:03] out there. Um I agree with a lot of uh
[1:29:06] my fellow residents
[1:29:08] as far as um wants and needs. Um you
[1:29:12] know, the park is a great thing. I see
[1:29:13] baseball out here again, which I haven't
[1:29:15] seen. I've seen softball, there's a
[1:29:17] soccer field there. You know, there's a
[1:29:19] lot of green space here that gets used.
[1:29:22] Um, you know, I drive up and down 1500
[1:29:24] all the time. See kids and practices
[1:29:27] being put out here in the grass area and
[1:29:30] so forth. Baseball practices, soccer
[1:29:32] practices, so forth. Uh, pickle ball,
[1:29:35] that's not that old of a court. We want
[1:29:37] to tear it up and move it
[1:29:40] 300 ft. I mean, how much what's the cost
[1:29:43] of that? You know, I agree the police
[1:29:45] department does need probably its own
[1:29:47] space. You know, we built a public works
[1:29:50] building down there. Why was that not
[1:29:53] considered
[1:29:55] in that? Or maybe it was and and I'm
[1:29:58] speaking out of terms, so I apologize if
[1:30:00] I am, but it just seems like the
[1:30:02] planning needs to be a little bit
[1:30:04] better. You know, the communication
[1:30:05] needs to be a lot better. I mean, 40%
[1:30:08] increase and our taxes. I got family
[1:30:12] that lives in here, retired family that
[1:30:15] I don't know how they can absorb that,
[1:30:17] you know, with groceries, utilities,
[1:30:21] everything, all the other taxes we have
[1:30:22] to pay, you know. So, I just just
[1:30:26] consider all that in your guys'
[1:30:27] decision, you know, going forward, you
[1:30:30] know, and and have better communication
[1:30:32] because it sounds like there's a lot of
[1:30:33] people in this room that are confused.
[1:30:36] 33 million, 40 million, 20 million.
[1:30:39] That's a lot of money to ask for the
[1:30:42] citizens of of this city to pay. That's
[1:30:47] it's a burden on a lot of us. I have
[1:30:49] neighbors, retired, fixed incomes, 80
[1:30:53] years old. I don't know how they can do
[1:30:54] it.
[1:30:56] So, just consider all that stuff.
[1:30:58] Consider the green space that we already
[1:30:59] have, the mature trees, the pickleball
[1:31:02] court that's already here, the
[1:31:03] basketball court, the baseball field,
[1:31:05] the playground, the foyer, all that
[1:31:08] stuff. Just consider it all. It's great.
[1:31:11] I don't know. Revamp this building. Try
[1:31:14] to do the best you can. I I know old
[1:31:16] buildings are hard. I mean, I live in an
[1:31:18] old house.
[1:31:19] >> I'd love to have $180,000 to revamp my
[1:31:22] house,
[1:31:24] >> but we have to be responsible with that.
[1:31:26] I just can't go and do it, you know. So,
[1:31:29] just be responsible.
[1:31:30] >> Thanks, Diego.
[1:31:46] » Hey there, everybody. David Lewis. I
[1:31:48] also live here in Woodscross. I uh want
[1:31:51] to do a quick acknowledgement to say
[1:31:53] thank you, mayor, um for not saying
[1:31:56] probably my number one pet peeve when
[1:31:58] there's ever a public hearing, which is
[1:32:00] don't repeat what other people have
[1:32:01] said. You know, we all have a voice and
[1:32:03] it's it's important and uh hearing it
[1:32:06] more often helps show the seriousness of
[1:32:09] it. So, thank you. Thank you for doing
[1:32:11] that. I've been way too many of them
[1:32:12] where they say that. Um, I was also on
[1:32:14] the citizen group that was asked to do
[1:32:16] the parks and and to look at the
[1:32:19] different things and we we what we were
[1:32:21] asked is come up with ideas of things
[1:32:24] that you'd like to see. There's no
[1:32:25] discussion of of money and we knew that
[1:32:28] at the time and come up with, you know,
[1:32:30] where where would they maybe want to be
[1:32:32] and we kind of refined it from there.
[1:32:34] Now we have the costs and I think that
[1:32:37] the tone has changed and the tone should
[1:32:39] change because 46%
[1:32:42] um while you none of you are probably
[1:32:45] actually targeting that number that's
[1:32:47] still that that's crazy and um you know
[1:32:51] it's I like the some of the ideas that
[1:32:53] have been said that I didn't even think
[1:32:54] about on on splitting
[1:32:57] uh you know the park and the building
[1:33:00] and we probably should look at that. I
[1:33:04] would say that we should also look at
[1:33:06] some private solutions um for bridging
[1:33:09] some of the gaps. I would not be in
[1:33:11] favor of moving forward with the
[1:33:14] proposal as we have it both with the
[1:33:16] building and with the park. I would say
[1:33:18] that we target next year for the
[1:33:21] building and that we do a small or
[1:33:23] modest tax increase this year. We all I
[1:33:27] think every person in here knows
[1:33:28] inflation's real and we get that t that
[1:33:32] costs go up. However,
[1:33:34] these huge spikes are crazy and we
[1:33:37] talked about this a couple years ago
[1:33:38] when we did the adjustment for the taxes
[1:33:41] for the police and we said I we haven't
[1:33:44] raised taxes in quite a while but we
[1:33:46] have to now so we can be competitive and
[1:33:47] then we'll just try to have it be even
[1:33:49] kill and here we are again at 46%. So,
[1:33:52] let's I would encourage you to please
[1:33:54] just do a just do a small modest one now
[1:33:56] that can increase some of our revenues,
[1:33:58] help some of that war chest as we
[1:34:00] further refine the plan and then next
[1:34:03] year we can try to execute on that
[1:34:05] without the park and then we can look at
[1:34:07] the park. I'm not in totally sold on
[1:34:10] that we need need a new park but um with
[1:34:14] that
[1:34:17] 30 seconds.
[1:34:19] >> Thank you. I would just like to expound
[1:34:22] when I say that we look at private
[1:34:23] solutions for bridging the gap. Um I'm I
[1:34:26] don't know all the rules and laws
[1:34:28] necessarily around securing the
[1:34:30] evidence, but there's a lot of storage
[1:34:32] areas that are very secure and there's
[1:34:35] probably some sort of private industry
[1:34:36] and that can free up a lot of the space.
[1:34:38] It's those sorts of ideas that I've
[1:34:40] heard and that I was also thinking about
[1:34:41] that I think that we should be able to
[1:34:43] explore. So, uh, mayor and council, I'd
[1:34:45] ask you to please on the last item table
[1:34:48] this until your next meeting to choose
[1:34:50] the tax mattest and then next year for
[1:34:52] our full one. Thank you.
[1:34:54] >> Thanks, David.
[1:35:04] » My name is Linda Snar and I'm just a new
[1:35:07] resident. Just lived here two years. So,
[1:35:10] I'm I'm new. I don't feel like I should
[1:35:12] say much and I really appreciate though
[1:35:15] being able to be here and hear
[1:35:17] everything that's been said and and I
[1:35:20] agree that some of the things in the
[1:35:22] numbers had been confusing. I moved from
[1:35:24] a nice little city to the south of you
[1:35:28] lived there for 43 years in
[1:35:30] Taylor'sville. Nice little farming area.
[1:35:33] Had nice piece of land, beautiful home.
[1:35:35] Now with the demise of my husband, I'm
[1:35:38] here. But I'm just saying I agree with
[1:35:42] so many people that maybe we should look
[1:35:45] at different resources and I I since I'm
[1:35:49] new, I did feel though like I should
[1:35:53] call my neighbors as many as I could
[1:35:55] because um I was when we had our
[1:35:58] elections back here, I was um nominated
[1:36:02] because I was about the only one that
[1:36:03] showed up as my precinct chair. And I
[1:36:06] couldn't believe the lack of apathy
[1:36:08] because where I lived, we had people
[1:36:11] show up. But I just think I live in a
[1:36:14] beautiful neighborhood that Mountain
[1:36:15] View Estates, it's not been around that
[1:36:18] many years, I think. So my neighbor
[1:36:21] right over here, Valentine. Um, and I
[1:36:25] just agree with these people that maybe
[1:36:28] I support the police. I love the police.
[1:36:30] I see you driving through my
[1:36:32] neighborhood through the park in our
[1:36:34] Mountain View estates and I'm so
[1:36:37] grateful for that. But um so I want to
[1:36:39] support the police and the needs that
[1:36:41] they have, but I just don't want
[1:36:44] government to do too many things for us.
[1:36:46] I think it should be
[1:36:48] um just our our neighborhoods and our
[1:36:52] churches and our you know other things
[1:36:53] that support some of these different
[1:36:56] activities and and private groups. So,
[1:36:59] um I just wish you'd look at this also
[1:37:02] and make sure that we're doing the right
[1:37:06] thing. That's it. Thanks.
[1:37:08] >> Thank you.
[1:37:14] » Hello. Uh my name is Evan Carson. I've
[1:37:17] lived here for two years, give or take
[1:37:19] two years. Um so I'm kind of new to all
[1:37:23] this. Uh just wanted to say that uh I I
[1:37:26] do think there are some things that
[1:37:28] definitely need to be upgraded like the
[1:37:30] police need more space. Absolutely. Um
[1:37:34] but yeah, adding all this these changes
[1:37:37] to the park is a lot of unnecessary
[1:37:40] stuff. As has been said many times
[1:37:42] before, just like shifting the pickle
[1:37:44] ball courts a few hundred feet seems
[1:37:46] like a massive uh waste of money. Um,
[1:37:49] also losing these massive shade trees
[1:37:52] would be uh devastating. Um, as I've
[1:37:55] looked forward to uh uh raising kids
[1:37:58] with like such a a a park with such
[1:38:01] large shade trees and there's it's just
[1:38:03] not as fun with the small trees, you
[1:38:05] know. Um,
[1:38:07] and uh yeah, it just seems like a a
[1:38:10] large waste to uh basically be
[1:38:12] rebuilding the park more or less how it
[1:38:14] is. Obviously, there's other upgrades
[1:38:16] and stuff, but um yeah, and as has been
[1:38:20] said before, the uh having space for
[1:38:22] community events uh I think would be
[1:38:24] good. Um it would necessitate there
[1:38:27] being community events, and maybe there
[1:38:28] are that I'm just not aware of, but um
[1:38:31] last I checked on the website, the
[1:38:33] calendar hadn't been updated and had
[1:38:35] just showed nothing for months on end.
[1:38:37] Uh maybe that's been fixed since, but um
[1:38:41] yeah. And then uh um what was I gonna
[1:38:45] say? Oh was mentioned earlier that the
[1:38:49] increase to wages
[1:38:51] doesn't really matter much because it's
[1:38:53] just a small percentage increase which
[1:38:55] on paper seems fine but hearing uh the
[1:38:58] actual totals from uh the gentleman
[1:39:00] earlier uh is very concerning to uh not
[1:39:04] disclose that publicly and just say oh
[1:39:07] it's just a small percentage increase
[1:39:08] when it is such a large uh total number.
[1:39:12] Um, so these are just some concerns I've
[1:39:15] had. Um, but thank you all for what you
[1:39:18] do and I appreciate what you're doing.
[1:39:21] Thank you.
[1:39:22] >> Thank you.
[1:39:23] >> Thanks, Evan.
[1:39:32] All
[1:39:40] right. My name is Cole Chickens and I
[1:39:43] have lived in Once Cross for 25ish
[1:39:46] years. Um, I wish you guys could talk.
[1:39:50] Since Julie is my wife, I've kind of had
[1:39:53] an inside look at this. The big trees
[1:39:56] that we've got and Sam, you can tell me,
[1:39:58] have got a disease. They got a boar in
[1:40:01] them right now and they're going to have
[1:40:02] to come out regardless.
[1:40:05] So, I wish you guys could say that
[1:40:07] because everybody wants the trees, but
[1:40:08] they're kind of it's kind of a moot
[1:40:10] point at this time just cuz they're
[1:40:13] >> going to fall over if we don't take them
[1:40:15] out. Um,
[1:40:18] so I did a little bit of research. I
[1:40:21] freaking hate taxes. Like really bad.
[1:40:24] Um, I do see a reason to increase them.
[1:40:28] Um, I'm going to lay some of this on the
[1:40:31] previous administration if you want to
[1:40:33] pull call it that. Um, I did some
[1:40:35] looking since I've moved in. Um, between
[1:40:39] well I did 20 years but between 06 and
[1:40:42] 21 there was only three tax increases in
[1:40:46] those years and then since 22 we've
[1:40:48] tried to catch up on how this is
[1:40:50] working. So the 40some% increase
[1:40:54] probably we should have increased it
[1:40:55] quite a while ago and there's nothing we
[1:40:57] can do about that. So I understand why
[1:41:00] the increase needs to happen right now.
[1:41:02] Um I'm very much in favor of changing
[1:41:06] buildings. Um the police have needed
[1:41:10] more room for years and years at this
[1:41:13] point and I'm very grateful to the
[1:41:16] people that have stuck around long and
[1:41:18] you know for a while live or dealing
[1:41:20] with crappy um situation over there. Um,
[1:41:25] so anyway, but just as a thing, I mean,
[1:41:29] if it's really um a difference of like
[1:41:32] $15 a month, I'm willing to skip out on
[1:41:35] a McDonald's Happy Meal for my 15 bucks.
[1:41:39] Um, so anyway, I am in favor. Um, like I
[1:41:42] said, I've had a lot of time to think
[1:41:44] about this and look over everything. Um,
[1:41:47] so yeah, I appreciate you guys.
[1:41:50] >> Thanks, Cole.
[1:41:50] >> Thanks. Your flashlight's on, dear.
[1:41:54] Thank you.
[1:41:57] >> Oh yeah,
[1:42:00] sorry about that.
[1:42:08] I'm Robert Stall and I live in Witch
[1:42:10] Cross here. I've been here forever. I've
[1:42:14] lived down on 1250 for 23 years and then
[1:42:18] other places
[1:42:20] also. Um,
[1:42:23] I really appreciate what the police do.
[1:42:26] They deserve to have what they need to
[1:42:28] uh be successful and have the space they
[1:42:32] need. And I don't know if the answers to
[1:42:35] put them in a separate building, maybe
[1:42:37] down where you guys purchased Luna's
[1:42:40] property
[1:42:41] and then kind of wait on some of this
[1:42:43] other. But first, we're talking $18
[1:42:46] million for renovating it. And I
[1:42:49] understand that old buildings are a real
[1:42:51] pain in the neck to redo certain things
[1:42:55] because you're working around things
[1:42:57] that's in the way or whatever. And then
[1:43:01] they're saying 13 to 14 million to build
[1:43:04] new.
[1:43:05] Now they're up to 33,
[1:43:08] but is that actually going to go up to
[1:43:10] 50? Maybe.
[1:43:13] And
[1:43:14] it's I got two kids that serve on the
[1:43:17] Woodscross Council and I really
[1:43:19] appreciate it and they really love it
[1:43:21] and you guys do a good job. Um,
[1:43:26] is it uh, you know, 47%
[1:43:30] actually 46.8% is what the tax rate
[1:43:33] would be. Is it possible to apply that
[1:43:37] to your city bills, reduce them
[1:43:40] or leave them the same? But like other
[1:43:43] members have said that taxes always go
[1:43:46] up and you probably do need certain
[1:43:49] increases at times, but you know that
[1:43:53] percent at this time is kind of high.
[1:43:56] And they said there's like 500 and
[1:44:00] some people that's living in poverty.
[1:44:04] And you might could say that would be
[1:44:06] all of us because we don't have the
[1:44:08] luxury of having a government job making
[1:44:12] 200,000 a year or 150. It'd be really
[1:44:16] nice to make that much and everybody
[1:44:20] that would get up would probably say,
[1:44:21] "Yeah, let's do it." Or if we had the
[1:44:24] money in savings to build it, it
[1:44:28] wouldn't even be a question. People
[1:44:30] just, "Yeah, go ahead. If it's not going
[1:44:32] to cost us anything, build it. Um,
[1:44:37] the evidence rooms and that looks like
[1:44:39] they're pretty full, but
[1:44:41] >> 30 seconds.
[1:44:42] >> If there's a place they could separate
[1:44:44] them, I agree with that. But new is
[1:44:47] always nice, but is it the right choice?
[1:44:50] Thank you.
[1:44:51] >> Thanks, Robert.
[1:45:01] Charlene Chogy, Woodscross.
[1:45:04] Um, I agree with so many of the things
[1:45:06] that they have said and I was looking at
[1:45:09] the average market value of our houses
[1:45:12] and we are the lowest except for the
[1:45:14] city of Clearfield on your list and we
[1:45:17] have this huge tax increase. So, that
[1:45:20] doesn't quite balance out. But the other
[1:45:22] point is when we were talking about the
[1:45:25] reasons for a new building, most of it
[1:45:28] had to do with the police department.
[1:45:30] Hardly anything was said about the rest
[1:45:33] of the building other than having a
[1:45:36] children's area. And so I'm I think that
[1:45:39] it would be a wiser use of our money to
[1:45:43] have a separate building for the police
[1:45:46] as some people have said. and you have
[1:45:48] other land for that so we don't have to
[1:45:51] take away from the parks down 15 South
[1:45:54] for instance you spend a lot of money
[1:45:56] for that land too and so there are other
[1:45:59] places you could put it that would still
[1:46:01] be convenient to but the police
[1:46:04] definitely needed a place but I didn't
[1:46:06] hear very many reasons for the rest of
[1:46:08] this building the other thing is that
[1:46:11] you have had in in Woodscross city a
[1:46:14] mandate to have parks close to people
[1:46:17] within a mile of everyone. And now we're
[1:46:20] kind of trying to make this a smaller
[1:46:23] area so that we can have a bigger
[1:46:26] building here. So I'm thinking maybe
[1:46:28] this needs to be rethought out about
[1:46:31] what are the needs of Woodscross.
[1:46:35] Is it the whole big building or is it
[1:46:37] just for the police? What about the
[1:46:40] parks? Are we going to decrease the
[1:46:42] parks or is that still one of our
[1:46:44] mandates like Tree City Woodscross? My
[1:46:48] neighbor took out our two front trees
[1:46:50] and you said put them back. We are Tree
[1:46:52] City and now we want to kind of decrease
[1:46:55] the park, decrease here in this area.
[1:46:59] And so I'm thinking we need to kind of
[1:47:01] rethink what are the needs. Definitely
[1:47:06] the police need to have better
[1:47:09] facilities. They probably are so out of
[1:47:13] compliance with everything that we
[1:47:15] probably
[1:47:17] couldn't even have a police department.
[1:47:19] We should go with the rest of the
[1:47:21] county, but we don't want to do that.
[1:47:23] I'm presuming. So I think that we need
[1:47:25] to rethink this also because our taxes
[1:47:29] would increase so much compared with
[1:47:31] other cities with our same uh um market
[1:47:38] uh value of our houses. So I think the
[1:47:41] police need a new place but I don't
[1:47:43] think we want to decrease our park area.
[1:47:46] Thank you.
[1:47:49] » Thank you Charlene.
[1:48:12] Is there anyone else here attending the
[1:48:14] meeting in person that would like to
[1:48:16] make a comment before we close it off
[1:48:19] here and open it to those mind.
[1:48:33] Okay, then we'll um be done with those
[1:48:36] that are here in person and we'll switch
[1:48:40] over to those that are participating
[1:48:42] online. Looks like we've got a hand up.
[1:48:44] Casey O'Hara,
[1:48:46] Curtis, if you can
[1:48:57] Thank you. Can you hear me?
[1:48:59] >> Yes.
[1:49:00] >> My name is Casey O'Hara. Um, I have
[1:49:02] lived on Sorto Drive for almost 24
[1:49:05] years. Um, I really appreciate the first
[1:49:08] gentleman who spoke and shared some
[1:49:09] statistics about our community and um,
[1:49:14] how many people we have in our community
[1:49:16] that live in poverty. We also had
[1:49:18] multiple people um with more advanced
[1:49:21] years that have mentioned how
[1:49:24] unaffordable it is to raise taxes for
[1:49:26] them because of limited income. Um I
[1:49:30] think that we need to enable everyone as
[1:49:34] others have mentioned to have a vote on
[1:49:36] this and take this to the ballot in
[1:49:38] November. I think that would be only
[1:49:40] fair and very important to get feedback
[1:49:42] from all of the citizens of the um city
[1:49:46] and the community. Um I also am
[1:49:49] concerned about some of the things that
[1:49:51] I've heard today. Um
[1:49:54] from the pictures that were shared, yes,
[1:49:56] it looks like uh our police force needs
[1:49:59] some additional space. Um,
[1:50:03] but that felt like it was very much the
[1:50:05] focus of a new building and it wasn't
[1:50:07] really building a community building.
[1:50:10] Um, which is unfortunate. So, if if
[1:50:14] we're building something for our
[1:50:16] community to improve and get better and
[1:50:19] enable more activities, which one
[1:50:22] gentleman mentioned, we don't even see
[1:50:23] those on the calendar anymore. So, how
[1:50:25] do we know what's happening? Um, I think
[1:50:28] that we could improve our community and
[1:50:30] reduce the need for all that storage for
[1:50:32] evidence. Uh, and maybe we could more
[1:50:35] proactively help our community get
[1:50:36] better without, you know, needing
[1:50:39] evidence storage to make it better. Um,
[1:50:43] I am concerned about redoing a park
[1:50:45] that's recently been renovated with new
[1:50:47] pickle ball courts and the the um
[1:50:50] playground. it feels like a real waste
[1:50:53] of community money and all of our taxes
[1:50:57] to redo something that's relatively
[1:50:59] recently been done um just to put it
[1:51:02] somewhere else. So, I think we need to
[1:51:03] be more efficient with what we're doing,
[1:51:05] think through what we're doing a little
[1:51:07] bit more. Uh, and the one other thing
[1:51:09] that I heard that actually caused me a
[1:51:11] lot of concern was the mention of all of
[1:51:14] the potential
[1:51:16] um fallout that the police department
[1:51:19] could be experiencing from storing drugs
[1:51:23] or whatever um other contaminants and it
[1:51:26] would be better to vent that out of the
[1:51:28] building. So, if we are going to vent
[1:51:31] contaminants out of the building into a
[1:51:34] very dense, populated neighborhood,
[1:51:37] maybe the police department needs to
[1:51:38] live somewhere else where we're not
[1:51:41] contaminating our contaminating our
[1:51:43] neighborhood so that our police
[1:51:45] department isn't contaminated.
[1:51:49] » Again, I think this should go to the
[1:51:51] ballot and every citizen should have an
[1:51:53] opportunity to provide feedback. Thank
[1:51:55] you.
[1:51:57] >> Thanks, Casey.
[1:52:00] Next. Next I show Brian Crawford.
[1:52:07] » Hey um Brian Crawford, socross resident.
[1:52:09] Um I don't know what what I have to say
[1:52:12] has much bearing. It sounds like the
[1:52:14] decisions already been made based on all
[1:52:16] the promotional materials, but um my my
[1:52:20] thoughts are pretty simple. It doesn't
[1:52:21] sound like we have the money to do it.
[1:52:23] Uh, so it shouldn't be approved, but you
[1:52:26] know, if we if we save up the money,
[1:52:28] let's do it in the future. Uh, I also
[1:52:30] remember the bountiful city hall debacle
[1:52:33] and you know, they ended up spending
[1:52:35] more by remodeling their original city
[1:52:38] hall, but at least they listened to
[1:52:39] their cit citizens and didn't go forward
[1:52:41] with the proposal. That's just all I
[1:52:43] have to say.
[1:52:46] >> Thanks, Brian.
[1:52:57] Is there anyone? Oh, there's another
[1:52:59] one. Alicia.
[1:53:05] Hello. My name is Alicia Ditto. Um, I
[1:53:07] have only lived in Woodscross for about
[1:53:09] one year, so I can't speak for all of
[1:53:12] the history things that everyone has
[1:53:14] said, but I have four young kids, and I
[1:53:16] just want to say that they love Hogan
[1:53:18] Park. they would be very sad to see. I
[1:53:21] mean, I'm sure if they saw the changes,
[1:53:22] they would love it, but they don't need
[1:53:24] it. So, I guess I'm echoing what a lot
[1:53:26] of people have said today that the park
[1:53:29] is fine and the kids don't need a
[1:53:32] change. So, that's all I had to say.
[1:53:36] >> Thank you, Alicia.
[1:53:56] Melanie Crawford.
[1:54:01] » Hi. Um I'm Melanie Crawford, a resident
[1:54:05] of Woods Cross and I've lived here um my
[1:54:09] entire life, 33 years. Um I grew up
[1:54:14] going to Hogan Park before it was
[1:54:16] redone. I love um the park. I love the
[1:54:20] city. That's why I chose to move here um
[1:54:25] with my family now. I have four kids and
[1:54:28] just like Alicia had mentioned, my kids,
[1:54:32] my three boys um cuz my fourth is a
[1:54:34] baby. My three boys love Hogan Park.
[1:54:37] They beg to go all the time. Um I am in
[1:54:40] support of a new city building. I'm okay
[1:54:43] with that. I understand the needs of the
[1:54:45] police department. Um, redoing a
[1:54:48] building is cheaper than renovating. Um,
[1:54:52] from what I've read and what I've seen,
[1:54:54] um,
[1:54:56] I have concerns about redoing the park
[1:54:59] just like a lot of other people. Um,
[1:55:03] I don't think it needs to be done or at
[1:55:05] least done the way that it's planned so
[1:55:08] far. Um, I have concerns about adding
[1:55:11] water features and just moving a bunch
[1:55:14] of things around. Um, and so I guess I
[1:55:17] would like to see um if we could like
[1:55:23] change plans on the park. I don't I know
[1:55:25] it costs money every time you kind of
[1:55:26] you change plans and um look at
[1:55:29] different options, but for me um being a
[1:55:33] mother of young kids who already love
[1:55:35] the park, it just seems unnecessary to
[1:55:38] have to redo a park that's already great
[1:55:41] um and a park that's already loved by so
[1:55:43] many kids. And um but I also I
[1:55:47] understand that sometimes it's not
[1:55:49] possible when you're redoing a building
[1:55:51] to not impact the park. So, I understand
[1:55:54] it's really hard and it's a hard line.
[1:55:56] Um, I I just also would ask you to
[1:55:59] consider what's needed and what's more
[1:56:02] of wants because I don't think the kids
[1:56:05] need a different park. And that's those
[1:56:08] are my thoughts, but I appreciate your
[1:56:10] time and um all that you guys do for us
[1:56:13] cuz I know that you spend a lot of time
[1:56:15] um trying to make the city better and
[1:56:17] taking care of things so that we don't
[1:56:19] have to worry. So, um thank you for your
[1:56:21] time.
[1:56:22] Thanks, Melanie.
[1:56:26] Our next one on here is just listed as
[1:56:28] iPhone.
[1:56:43] Oh, they can unmute.
[1:56:47] Yeah. Whoever is listed as iPhone with
[1:56:49] your hand up, if you um hit your hit the
[1:56:52] mute button and take yourself off mute,
[1:56:54] you can go ahead and talk.
[1:56:59] Mine says they're joining. So, don't
[1:57:02] know if yours shows that.
[1:57:07] » They're working on it.
[1:57:08] >> Oh,
[1:57:12] » yeah. There there were
[1:57:21] Let me refresh my
[1:57:36] » Sorry, I had a technological uh
[1:57:38] difficulty there.
[1:57:40] >> That's okay.
[1:57:41] >> Uh my name is McKenna Child. I'm a
[1:57:43] resident of Woodscross. Um, and I have
[1:57:47] really enjoyed this whole commentary
[1:57:49] that's been happening. I agree with a
[1:57:50] lot of what's been said. I am also a
[1:57:52] young mom with little kids who adore
[1:57:54] Hogan Park. It is their their top park
[1:57:56] in in in the area. Um, and I don't love
[1:58:01] the idea of complicating the park. I
[1:58:03] like how simple it is. Um, and it it has
[1:58:06] baseball fields and it has a playground
[1:58:07] and it has grass to play in. Um, and I I
[1:58:11] think that's perfect. I don't feel a
[1:58:12] real need to change the park. Obviously,
[1:58:14] when you're building a new building and
[1:58:16] you got to move some things around, but
[1:58:18] I don't feel the need for a water
[1:58:20] feature or I would like to keep as many
[1:58:22] trees as possible. I I think all that's
[1:58:24] good. Um, but I am in full support of
[1:58:27] anything the police department needs,
[1:58:29] anything city hall needs. I don't think
[1:58:31] we need to add anything on for um like
[1:58:35] public events. I I have a hard time
[1:58:38] putting a lot of money into something
[1:58:39] that's six times a year as opposed to,
[1:58:42] you know, the rest of the year where
[1:58:43] people are mostly just playing at the
[1:58:45] park. Um, I would also love to see sort
[1:58:49] of a a part of the police station go
[1:58:51] across the railroad tracks. My children
[1:58:52] go to Legacy Elementary and I have
[1:58:55] concerns about safety over there because
[1:58:57] if there was an event, the police have
[1:58:59] to get across the train tracks. Um, so I
[1:59:01] would love for them to have a home base
[1:59:02] across there as well. Um, and I think
[1:59:05] that's everything. Thank you you guys.
[1:59:08] >> Thank you.
[1:59:32] Is there anyone else attending uh online
[1:59:36] that would like to make a comment?
[1:59:52] I don't see any my hands.
[1:59:59] Yeah, I don't see I don't see any other
[2:00:01] hands. We'll give them just a second
[2:00:12] if you don't know where to find it. On
[2:00:14] mine, I know each platform is just a
[2:00:18] little different, but on mine, if you
[2:00:19] click on the react button kind of down
[2:00:22] in the middle at the bottom, then it
[2:00:24] gives you the ability to raise your And
[2:00:51] okay, it doesn't look like we're getting
[2:00:53] any movement there. Um, with that we
[2:00:56] will go ahead and close the public
[2:00:59] hearing.
[2:01:01] Um,
[2:01:04] yes. I have a request to take just a
[2:01:07] quick break for just a second.
[2:01:13] » A motion to saunter. Is that the
[2:01:15] >> If if you need if you need to take a
[2:01:17] restroom break, now is your chance.
[2:01:19] >> There you go. That's what the guys
[2:01:20] downtown call it. We'll uh we'll we'll
[2:01:21] take a five minute break to just make it
[2:01:24] so people can
[2:01:26] >> take care of that if they need to
[2:01:43] » live comments.
[2:01:57] That
[2:01:57] >> was my first counselor.
[2:01:59] >> Josh
[2:02:02] gives me a bad time all the time.
[2:02:05] child. Childhood
[2:02:33] doesn't mean that
[2:02:37] That's
[2:02:40] actually
[2:02:59] when they like
[2:03:02] whatever.
[2:03:07] I guess
[2:03:14] it was the trailer park
[2:03:17] intended to be next.
[2:03:23] » So I have two important plats. One's in
[2:03:26] one.
[2:03:28] >> Thank you.
[2:03:28] >> Oh good.
[2:03:34] Can we just give it to them?
[2:03:49] » Just me.
[2:04:17] That's what I'm talking
[2:04:40] She said
[2:04:53] please.
[2:04:59] for
[2:05:22] sorry
[2:05:28] Mr.
[2:05:39] Say
[2:06:05] I can't
[2:06:08] really
[2:06:34] It's cold.
[2:06:36] I just
[2:06:46] » since
[2:06:55] I almost
[2:07:01] like
[2:07:01] >> No, I appreciate it. really great. It's
[2:07:03] my No, she's like I'm out of
[2:07:07] >> So now my
[2:07:10] >> That's okay.
[2:07:12] >> I appreciate it. It is
[2:07:16] » pretty comfortable right here. He must
[2:07:18] be right in the
[2:07:21] >> right corner.
[2:07:23] >> Yeah. Well, he's also got an officer
[2:07:26] standing there. They and they warmed up
[2:07:28] some cocaine water and
[2:07:31] >> so we'll see.
[2:07:34] >> All right, let's finish this.
[2:07:36] >> Well, we got to wait for Oh, Wally and
[2:07:38] Jim are just out here all
[2:07:40] >> Yeah, thanks.
[2:07:43] >> Stop talking.
[2:07:47] » Some of us want to go home.
[2:08:12] I know. I turned it up. Do you want to
[2:08:14] turn back one more? Turn off.
[2:08:17] >> Okay.
[2:08:22] » Uhhuh. Good to know. It just got holes.
[2:08:24] >> Kill you. Yeah, the mayor just controls
[2:08:27] that.
[2:08:29] >> All right.
[2:08:35] » Where's Curtis
[2:08:37] outside?
[2:08:40] >> Are we Are we still recording over
[2:08:42] there, Sam?
[2:08:43] >> Okay.
[2:08:44] Thank you for giving us just a
[2:08:47] minute to refresh ourselves. Um, thank
[2:08:51] you for all of the comments. Thanks for
[2:08:53] those of you that have stuck around.
[2:08:54] It's uh um we we appreciate the
[2:08:58] comments. We go through this process um
[2:09:02] to be able to listen. Um I think that we
[2:09:05] all
[2:09:06] um in one way or another
[2:09:10] ran for city council and for um elected
[2:09:13] office to to listen and to try to
[2:09:17] represent those that have elected us.
[2:09:19] And um so we I'm I'm appreciative of the
[2:09:23] comments. I think I can say that for all
[2:09:25] of the council.
[2:09:27] >> Um anyway,
[2:09:31] >> comments discussion.
[2:09:32] >> Well, did you want to ask Annette if
[2:09:34] there were any
[2:09:36] >> uh comments?
[2:09:37] >> Were there any uh mailed in emailed in
[2:09:40] comments?
[2:09:49] Damian, what's
[2:09:51] >> Glendel?
[2:09:51] Yeah,
[2:09:55] » there was an email that came to the
[2:09:57] whole council. There was an email that
[2:10:00] came to the whole council from
[2:10:03] >> a couple of days ago
[2:10:04] >> agenda and
[2:10:06] >> the there's that's a document that I'll
[2:10:08] be adding to when we save the chat.
[2:10:10] >> Yeah,
[2:10:11] >> I'll put that on there. Checked both my
[2:10:14] and Bryce's emails just in case they
[2:10:16] come to him during the meeting and we
[2:10:18] have not received any others
[2:10:19] >> that you re received one Rachel and the
[2:10:21] council members did that we did not. Is
[2:10:23] that what I heard you saying? We got one
[2:10:26] >> shipping
[2:10:27] >> a couple of days ago. Someone that said
[2:10:29] that they weren't be able to attend.
[2:10:31] >> Would you like me to forward that to
[2:10:32] you?
[2:10:33] >> And Bryce as well or just you?
[2:10:35] >> Thank you.
[2:10:36] >> Yeah, you can. Okay, done.
[2:10:38] >> I'll get it in there.
[2:10:39] >> Thank you.
[2:10:40] >> Very.
[2:10:40] >> So, yeah, I don't I don't have
[2:10:44] >> any others that have come to to my own
[2:10:47] Woodscross email address. So, I did um I
[2:10:51] did close the public comment period one
[2:10:53] before we went to our but I mean I can
[2:10:55] do it again.
[2:10:56] >> No, I just we cover all of these bullet
[2:10:59] points.
[2:10:59] >> Yeah. But
[2:11:00] >> um uh just to make sure that we've
[2:11:03] officially closed the public hearing. Um
[2:11:08] okay. Does uh
[2:11:12] clarify anything?
[2:11:13] >> Absolutely. The way it's written this
[2:11:15] year is that they may email comments or
[2:11:18] chat comments
[2:11:19] >> through the end of the meeting.
[2:11:20] >> End of the meeting. Okay.
[2:11:21] >> So, we won't close that part of it.
[2:11:23] >> So, while you're taking it comment in
[2:11:27] person or online, it is closed. That's
[2:11:31] >> they can still do it through the through
[2:11:33] the email address.
[2:11:35] >> Okay. Thank you.
[2:11:38] Um,
[2:11:42] » can I give a suggestion?
[2:11:44] >> Sure.
[2:11:45] >> I think uh we you know there's um
[2:11:49] usually when there's misunderstanding
[2:11:51] it's either lack of information or
[2:11:53] miscommunication. And I what I'm hearing
[2:11:55] is that we have done both. And so what
[2:11:58] I'm hoping we could do is actually
[2:12:00] address some of the issues that were
[2:12:02] brought up tonight where maybe we can
[2:12:03] provide a little more clarity and
[2:12:05] understanding. Uh just since you're here
[2:12:09] and you've made the effort to be here,
[2:12:11] >> I'm all about transparency. I think that
[2:12:15] if you want to know something that's
[2:12:16] going on in the city, please contact me.
[2:12:18] I'm happy to share. I'm happy to give
[2:12:20] you a tour of the building. I'm happy to
[2:12:23] discuss things with you. Um one the one
[2:12:27] of the comments was brought up of the
[2:12:29] building down the street that sat
[2:12:31] vacant. So some education about that
[2:12:34] building. um that building is currently
[2:12:36] tied up in a legal lawsuit about over
[2:12:38] water rights. So that's why it has sat
[2:12:41] vacant for so many years. So
[2:12:44] unfortunately that's not an option. Um
[2:12:47] but now you know why it has sat vacant
[2:12:50] and unused for so many years is they're
[2:12:53] fighting and we don't want to be a part
[2:12:56] of that. Um Dennis, unfortunately it is
[2:12:59] almost 60 years old. It's 58. It's
[2:13:02] weird, isn't it? But then when I look
[2:13:04] and think I'm almost 50, that's weird. I
[2:13:06] know, right? It seems like 30 years ago
[2:13:09] was like 1980, but unfortunately it
[2:13:12] wasn't. So, um, in regards to the
[2:13:15] baseball field, we have, uh, set up new
[2:13:18] baseball fields at Mills Park that will
[2:13:21] be accommodating that overflow or the,
[2:13:26] uh, baseball games that are currently
[2:13:28] played here. Um,
[2:13:32] and then the trees. I guess my husband
[2:13:34] spilled the beans.
[2:13:36] Um, we did learn from an arborist. We
[2:13:38] have had a full report done by an
[2:13:41] arborist that unfortunately many of the
[2:13:43] trees that are lining 1500 South, we
[2:13:46] just found out about this uh last night,
[2:13:49] >> Thursday.
[2:13:50] >> Oh, Thursday. Thank you. It all blends.
[2:13:52] um that unfortunately when you plant the
[2:13:55] same tree and so many of them they're
[2:13:57] they share bugs and they just hop the
[2:14:00] diseases and so unfortunately several of
[2:14:03] those trees are going to have to be
[2:14:05] removed. Uh my recommendation to the
[2:14:08] city was that we save the wood and use
[2:14:11] it for the new for different aspects of
[2:14:14] new city hall. Maybe we do a tree as you
[2:14:17] know an in the entry that is made out of
[2:14:21] those old trees or maybe we use it for
[2:14:22] the council das or a background to
[2:14:25] repurpose that wood that kind of carries
[2:14:27] on that honor of those trees that have
[2:14:29] shaded so many generations of of
[2:14:33] families that have grown up in
[2:14:34] Woodscross. Um, so I know our goal has
[2:14:38] always been to save the trees and then
[2:14:41] uh when we had a branch fall and
[2:14:43] thankfully not hit someone, it was a
[2:14:45] rather large branch that fell and
[2:14:47] exposed uh what was actually going on
[2:14:50] inside those trees. Um we've had to uh
[2:14:53] proceed on looking how we're going to
[2:14:56] hand you know that those are going to
[2:14:58] have to come down and we're talking and
[2:15:00] not all trees will be coming down.
[2:15:02] There's just a a portion of them. They
[2:15:04] gave us the the independent arborist
[2:15:07] gave us a report
[2:15:08] >> and they've visited each tree. They
[2:15:11] visited the trees. So,
[2:15:12] >> and the reason we weren't ready to talk
[2:15:14] about that tonight is because we're
[2:15:15] having our park uh manager who is an
[2:15:17] arborist also put together a report with
[2:15:20] everything so that we can share that
[2:15:21] with the public. So, we're not hiding
[2:15:23] anything. We just didn't have
[2:15:26] >> prepared. But again, it's
[2:15:29] >> it's information that we're aware of.
[2:15:31] I'm we will give the public more
[2:15:34] information as it becomes available.
[2:15:36] >> Yes.
[2:15:37] >> Um
[2:15:39] Tyler, I'm going to address your wages
[2:15:42] if you don't mind. Um I know that you
[2:15:45] are are set on the size of our city. The
[2:15:49] competition that we have is the
[2:15:50] surrounding cities when we're trying to
[2:15:52] retain our employees.
[2:15:55] Were you on Were you on the Zoom?
[2:15:59] Okay. Well, we can totally print it out
[2:16:01] and and get it to you.
[2:16:05] >> Okay.
[2:16:06] Okay. I'm just I'm just going to
[2:16:08] remind everybody this this is our we we
[2:16:10] gave you your time to talk. We're we're
[2:16:13] going to I I I'm reminding her also um
[2:16:17] that that this is it it's not a dialogue
[2:16:20] at this point. We gave the public their
[2:16:23] turn and and it's our turn to make some
[2:16:25] comments and to try to maybe answer some
[2:16:27] questions or clarify things.
[2:16:28] >> Do some education. Um
[2:16:31] the website and calendar, we need to
[2:16:34] work on that. That obviously is
[2:16:36] something that is lacking as well as
[2:16:39] better communication on social media. Um
[2:16:42] there is a page called Woods Crossers.
[2:16:44] Unfortunately, that's not an official
[2:16:47] city uh Facebook group and so you won't
[2:16:50] see information from the city. I know
[2:16:53] that uh Lacy tries to share some
[2:16:56] information on there, but uh the
[2:16:58] Woodscross City Facebook page and
[2:17:00] Instagram is our official uh where she
[2:17:03] tries to keep as much uh posted. But it
[2:17:06] looks like we can do some improvement in
[2:17:08] our websites
[2:17:10] um and better communication. And then I
[2:17:13] agree Josh has left, but uh we need to
[2:17:16] have better attention to our data and
[2:17:18] what we're sending out. My concern with
[2:17:20] separating the police department is
[2:17:22] eventually city hall is going to be need
[2:17:24] to be replaced. So then are we looking
[2:17:27] at building having three city buildings
[2:17:29] versus two where we can keep city hall
[2:17:32] in with the police department? And I
[2:17:34] know that the chief and Bryce work
[2:17:36] together a lot um going back and forth
[2:17:39] and so I don't know what that would look
[2:17:42] like as far as inconvenience for the
[2:17:46] everyday business of uh the city.
[2:17:50] >> Um and then Bryce, will you address what a needs assessment is?
[2:17:54] Because I heard a lot of comments about
[2:17:57] us looking at what we really need. Will
[2:17:59] you just explain what a needs assessment
[2:18:01] is and and kind of what we've done to
[2:18:04] assess?
[2:18:05] >> Yes.
[2:18:06] >> So, it's common for uh an agency that's
[2:18:09] looking to construct a building or
[2:18:11] determine what's needed is to bring in
[2:18:13] independent agents. Um and in this case,
[2:18:16] we chose to hire the same architectural
[2:18:18] firm who we intend to do design work if
[2:18:22] this proceeds.
[2:18:24] So the very first thing they did is sat
[2:18:26] down with independent uh employees,
[2:18:28] directors, and went through each agency
[2:18:31] to determine what our current use is,
[2:18:34] what our future anticipated use is, and
[2:18:37] to give us square footages of those
[2:18:38] spaces. And so I don't recall, did they
[2:18:41] meet with any of you? Um I I don't
[2:18:43] recall there, but I know they went
[2:18:44] through the police department, admin,
[2:18:47] met with courts. So, they've gone
[2:18:49] through every
[2:18:51] space and they give us a report that
[2:18:52] says, "This is what we believe you need
[2:18:54] for the future." So, that's what we're
[2:18:56] basing things on. Um, it's been
[2:18:59] commented that our city won't grow to
[2:19:01] that capacity. Um, no, we're not going
[2:19:04] to double next year. We're not going to
[2:19:05] double in 5 years. I don't think the
[2:19:07] city will ever double in population, but
[2:19:10] we have anticipated about a 25%
[2:19:13] increase. And so as we've worked with
[2:19:15] the architectural firm, they have
[2:19:18] assisted us in trying to determine what
[2:19:20] those numbers are.
[2:19:21] >> A 25% increase over what amount of time?
[2:19:24] >> Current. Yeah. And and again, I'm all
[2:19:27] parking amount
[2:19:28] >> like within time frame.
[2:19:30] >> Within the 50 year and look at our
[2:19:33] census data and the state puts together
[2:19:35] projections. So I'm I'm kind of
[2:19:37] spitballing a number out there. I could
[2:19:38] be off a little bit, but there are
[2:19:41] estimates of what they anticipate the
[2:19:44] city to grow to.
[2:19:44] >> So, just to make sure my brain is
[2:19:46] processing that correctly. So, 25% over
[2:19:48] the next 50 years. Is that correctish?
[2:19:51] In a ballpark in a roundabout way.
[2:19:52] >> Let me let me say this to be more
[2:19:55] accurate. Let me go to the census data
[2:19:57] and give you more accurate information.
[2:19:59] But as we look at the population, as we
[2:20:01] look at the area of the city that is
[2:20:03] undeveloped, and it's true, has been
[2:20:04] stated tonight, there are people who are
[2:20:06] not willing to sell their property. So,
[2:20:08] who knows when that may happen. I
[2:20:11] >> it may not.
[2:20:12] >> But we also do have property that is
[2:20:15] adjacent to the city that is looking to
[2:20:17] be annexed into our city. It's about 34
[2:20:20] 300 How many acres is it?
[2:20:25] >> 34.
[2:20:26] >> Okay. 32 acres. Sorry, I was way off.
[2:20:29] Um, that's looking at to annexing into
[2:20:33] our city and then that would increase
[2:20:35] our need for roads, police officers,
[2:20:38] other infrastructure that comes along
[2:20:40] with new development in those areas.
[2:20:43] >> Yeah. So, we've used their skills to
[2:20:46] help us analyze and determine what those
[2:20:48] future projections are.
[2:20:50] >> And then another uh comment that was
[2:20:52] brought up was um are all the spaces
[2:20:54] being used at city hall currently? Yes,
[2:20:57] we are at capacity. Every space is used.
[2:21:00] All of the offices, we have several
[2:21:02] cubicles. We've moved cubicles. We've
[2:21:06] tiny cubicles.
[2:21:07] >> They're Yeah, they are. They're small
[2:21:08] cubicles. We've really I feel like uh
[2:21:13] we we're kind of bursting at the seams
[2:21:15] uh as a city. And I know that there are
[2:21:18] spaces that do sit empty. Um, I mean,
[2:21:22] this room is one that isn't used every
[2:21:25] day, but it's still a a required space
[2:21:29] for a city to do our government to have
[2:21:32] our council meetings, our planning
[2:21:34] commission, and our court. We are
[2:21:36] combined. I know that North Salt Lake
[2:21:38] has a separate courtroom that is only
[2:21:40] used once a week that we, you know, our
[2:21:43] city has tried to be more conservative
[2:21:46] in comingling those spaces so that we
[2:21:50] aren't wasting uh the resources.
[2:21:54] >> If I could also just add, there was a
[2:21:56] lot of questions about the cost of
[2:21:58] things and there was 18 million and 13
[2:22:00] million. Again, we've had a challenge in
[2:22:03] trying to help compare apples to apples.
[2:22:05] And so, I won't argue that you're seeing
[2:22:08] different numbers, but the 18 million
[2:22:11] was to reconstruct this building for the
[2:22:13] same space. The 13 to 14 is to take a
[2:22:16] city hall irregardless of the other
[2:22:18] spaces like the um the uh park and
[2:22:22] things of that nature. So, we're trying
[2:22:24] to compare apples to apples in those
[2:22:25] things, realizing that there's a larger
[2:22:28] total for other spaces and other things.
[2:22:31] Again, some could argue that we're
[2:22:33] trying to play with numbers. I'm happy
[2:22:35] to sit down with anybody to show them,
[2:22:37] and I showed that budget tonight that
[2:22:38] Hogan gave us. Those are numbers that
[2:22:40] have been around since April. So, we're
[2:22:42] not changing those numbers, but I can
[2:22:44] understand where people could be
[2:22:45] confused as we're saying, well, we're
[2:22:47] comparing this and this. So I'm happy to
[2:22:50] meet with anyone who would like to have
[2:22:51] a better understanding if they would
[2:22:52] truly like to.
[2:22:56] >> All right. So just to make sure my brain
[2:22:58] understood that the 18 is just for the
[2:23:00] building that if we were to for this
[2:23:03] >> to renovate
[2:23:04] >> renovate this building and that's an
[2:23:06] estimate
[2:23:06] >> an yeah a a good guess. And then the
[2:23:09] 1314 would be just to build this
[2:23:11] building. And then the 33 is this
[2:23:14] building plus
[2:23:15] >> the park furnishings. That also includes
[2:23:18] the approximately 5 million in
[2:23:20] contingency that again we don't know
[2:23:22] that we will or won't use that. We
[2:23:24] obviously
[2:23:25] >> don't want to. No, but you have
[2:23:28] contingency for reasons. But yes, we've
[2:23:31] always had the goal of keeping the park
[2:23:33] and the city hall regardless of the
[2:23:36] furnishings and stuff in that $25
[2:23:38] million range for those components alone
[2:23:41] knowing that there's other expenses
[2:23:43] >> that will go on top of that.
[2:23:44] >> Okay. And maybe that's where the
[2:23:47] confusion was is by having that 18 and
[2:23:50] then the 13 we understood what it meant.
[2:23:54] >> It took me a minute. Um, but I think
[2:23:57] maybe
[2:23:59] you know more information sometimes can
[2:24:02] get more muddy and uh I think just this
[2:24:06] is our opportunity to educate more on
[2:24:10] >> uh really what I mean we we honestly we
[2:24:14] don't know the total cost right now
[2:24:16] because we've been adjusting and
[2:24:17] changing and and trying to take in
[2:24:20] feedback. We did have an open house uh
[2:24:23] we had one person that came
[2:24:26] >> um that showed all of you know that we
[2:24:29] all were there available to answer any
[2:24:31] questions to discuss you know all the
[2:24:35] whole project and unfortunately we we
[2:24:39] had one person. So um I'm grateful
[2:24:42] you're here tonight and hopefully you'll
[2:24:44] stick with us as we continue to roll
[2:24:47] this ball forward.
[2:24:49] >> Yes. break.
[2:24:50] >> Maybe just to clarify, you said we don't
[2:24:52] know what it's going to cost. It's true
[2:24:54] that as we continue to meet and revise
[2:24:56] and refine things, we don't know the
[2:24:58] exact cost of the building. We won't
[2:25:00] know until the bids are out, but we do
[2:25:01] know that we have a cap of 33 million
[2:25:04] that the council has said go forward and
[2:25:06] if you can do this project completely
[2:25:08] for $33 million or less, go forward. But
[2:25:12] also keep your hands off a contingency.
[2:25:14] In fact, you are the ones that have to
[2:25:16] decide if that contingency is used. So,
[2:25:18] I think we've got some pretty tight
[2:25:20] parameters and we will continue to work
[2:25:23] on those numbers and keep them within
[2:25:25] that amount of the 25 million for parks
[2:25:28] and city hall. Now, if you come back and
[2:25:30] say change the scope, less park things,
[2:25:33] great. We can do that. But, um, for
[2:25:35] people to be frustrated that we aren't
[2:25:37] giving them accurate numbers, they're
[2:25:39] the best numbers that we can come up
[2:25:41] with at this time with the professionals
[2:25:42] that are serving us.
[2:25:44] >> Yeah.
[2:25:45] >> Thank you. Thank you for those
[2:25:46] clarifying answers.
[2:25:48] >> Um, was that the comments you had,
[2:25:52] Julie?
[2:25:53] >> Well, just for the education and
[2:25:56] hopefully giving a little bit more
[2:25:57] clarification.
[2:25:58] >> Okay.
[2:25:59] >> Um, what I'm hearing is
[2:26:01] >> so so hold on because I've got just a
[2:26:03] few of the that go along with those um
[2:26:05] some of those same things. Um, it was
[2:26:08] mentioned that that Woodscross has the
[2:26:11] highest property tax rate in Davis
[2:26:12] County. That's That's not true. From the
[2:26:16] form that was presented, that is a
[2:26:18] notice of all of the entities in Davis
[2:26:20] County that have a proposed tax increase
[2:26:23] for this year. Um the rates that are
[2:26:26] listed on that form are the increases
[2:26:30] proposed over um what the rates are
[2:26:34] currently. Um but if you if you look at
[2:26:37] it and say okay well the city of
[2:26:39] Clearfield an average home price is
[2:26:42] 510,000
[2:26:43] currently their residential rates are
[2:26:47] 329 to 351 and Woods Cross's um 543,000
[2:26:52] and our residential rates are 387
[2:26:56] um
[2:26:57] would go to 569. So our 387 and their
[2:27:01] 329 and there's a difference in
[2:27:02] valuation there. We're similar, but over
[2:27:05] the years um for a long time until we
[2:27:09] did our in our increase because it it
[2:27:13] when I started on the council and our
[2:27:15] very first tax increase that we did
[2:27:17] years ago, it had been 25 years since
[2:27:19] taxes had been raised in Woodscross. And
[2:27:21] at the time, we were the very lowest
[2:27:24] property tax rate in Woodscross. And we
[2:27:27] were able to do that because our sales
[2:27:29] tax was so strong. Um, in 2009 in the
[2:27:33] economic downturn when nobody was buying
[2:27:36] vehicles and a bunch of other things,
[2:27:38] that really changed that balance between
[2:27:41] sales tax and property tax. Sales tax
[2:27:44] went way down and all of a sudden the bigger piece of pie was property
[2:27:49] tax. But as Bryce pointed out in one of
[2:27:53] his um very first slides, it had public
[2:27:57] safety. It had our police wages. It had
[2:27:59] the our assessment to the fire district
[2:28:02] um property tax. The intention of it is
[2:28:05] to at least cover your public safety
[2:28:09] needs. And ours is less than half of
[2:28:13] what our public safety costs are between
[2:28:16] fire and police. And so we've been
[2:28:18] supplementing that with sales tax
[2:28:20] because we are very fortunate with the
[2:28:22] sales tax that we have because we have
[2:28:24] these large car dealerships and a
[2:28:26] grocery store now that help to
[2:28:28] supplement that.
[2:28:29] >> Um it so that's um let's see that was
[2:28:34] one um a 3% value increase by the
[2:28:39] county. Um, the way that property taxes
[2:28:42] are supposed to work, and it's not
[2:28:43] always perfect, is that as values of
[2:28:46] homes go up from your assessment, the
[2:28:50] property tax rate goes down to keep the
[2:28:53] revenue neutral to the city. It's not
[2:28:56] always exact. It's a calculation that
[2:28:58] happens on a county or a state level.
[2:29:02] Um, and then there's different
[2:29:05] valuations each year where the county
[2:29:08] takes a section of homes and it might be
[2:29:12] I don't know if they do it randomly or
[2:29:14] if it's a neighborhood, but as they do
[2:29:16] that, those are adjusted and as those
[2:29:19] values go up, the rates are supposed to
[2:29:22] drop within the city to accommodate
[2:29:24] that. Now, there are times when there's
[2:29:26] a little a bump in that and there's an
[2:29:29] adjustment. Um,
[2:29:31] that that's the way that the state has
[2:29:34] set up property tax in the state of
[2:29:36] Utah. It's intended to hold the cities
[2:29:38] harmless if there's a decrease in value.
[2:29:42] It's also intended to hold the property
[2:29:45] owners harmless if there's an increase
[2:29:47] in home value. Um,
[2:29:51] let's see.
[2:29:53] Um
[2:29:55] there was a a I mentioned that we've not
[2:29:58] been transparent with wages. Um we
[2:30:00] didn't go through all the entire budget
[2:30:04] line item by line item tonight because
[2:30:06] we went through all of those things at
[2:30:09] our interim budget in more detail and
[2:30:12] that's when we're required to do that.
[2:30:14] If we did that tonight, the meeting
[2:30:16] would have gone on for another two hours
[2:30:18] because we're rehashing all of the same
[2:30:20] details. And so we didn't go through
[2:30:22] each one of those tonight. That's
[2:30:24] correct. Um
[2:30:26] I there's been comments about um large
[2:30:30] increases to administration and director
[2:30:34] level positions. We have several of our
[2:30:37] director level positions that are newer
[2:30:40] to the city. And it may be that their
[2:30:42] first year they were paid less. And
[2:30:44] that's probably because it was a partial
[2:30:46] year. And the next year may have been a
[2:30:48] 30% increase because that was a full
[2:30:51] year of wages plus a cost adjustment for
[2:30:55] um the cost of living that was in there.
[2:30:58] Those are on par with all of the rest of
[2:31:00] the employees. Like Bryce said, when an
[2:31:03] employee is newer and in the lower
[2:31:06] levels of those step positions, the that
[2:31:11] step increase is on the higher end, it's
[2:31:14] a 4% or whatever. As they get further
[2:31:17] along in their career and they're
[2:31:19] further up that wage scale, the
[2:31:20] difference from one step to the next
[2:31:22] goes from that 4% down to about a 2%.
[2:31:26] And so, um, but those those are set and
[2:31:30] that was helped, um, to be decided on by
[2:31:33] the consultant that we hired to do that
[2:31:35] whole wage survey to try to keep us
[2:31:37] competitive with those that are, um,
[2:31:40] marketing to and trying to steal our
[2:31:42] employees.
[2:31:45] Um
[2:31:46] the amounts one we talked about. Um the
[2:31:50] community space was not mentioned a lot
[2:31:52] in Bryce's presentation about the budget
[2:31:55] and the tax increase. Um our most
[2:31:58] pressing need for sure is the police
[2:32:01] department and having adequate space for
[2:32:03] the police department. The new building
[2:32:06] as the um designs are right now in the
[2:32:10] stage that they're at, it does include
[2:32:12] community space. It includes a city
[2:32:15] council chamber which then has an
[2:32:18] overflow into a community room. That
[2:32:20] community room is big enough to hold
[2:32:22] events in and that community room then
[2:32:25] flows out onto a plaza and into the
[2:32:27] park. So the idea is to have it be a
[2:32:30] gathering space for the community
[2:32:31] whether it's for a meeting, whether it's
[2:32:34] for a meet the candidate night, whether
[2:32:36] it's for any any kind of a city meeting
[2:32:39] or a city celebration or activity. um if
[2:32:43] we build it for that, it also makes
[2:32:45] sense to make it available for residents
[2:32:47] to be able to use in the off times. And
[2:32:51] so that's part of the idea behind that.
[2:32:54] Um the people that we haven't heard from
[2:32:57] tonight that aren't here are people that
[2:32:59] have talked to me and I'm sure to others
[2:33:03] over the last years as we've talked
[2:33:05] about this. And there are people that
[2:33:07] have said, "Hey, as you're redoing City
[2:33:09] Park or as you're redoing City Hall,
[2:33:12] will it have a a good community space, a
[2:33:15] space that we could use to rent out for
[2:33:18] a family celebration or a meeting?"
[2:33:20] Because the space that you have right
[2:33:21] now is not adequate for that. And so as
[2:33:25] we have people that have spoken against
[2:33:28] it here, um I know that I have heard
[2:33:31] from people that have said, "Please,
[2:33:33] please look at these things as you redo
[2:33:35] this because those are things that we're
[2:33:37] interested in."
[2:33:40] Um
[2:33:41] >> and address the needs of the city side
[2:33:44] of business because he didn't talk about
[2:33:46] forefront of that.
[2:33:48] >> Um like what? Well, the the comment of
[2:33:53] like you've talked about did you show
[2:33:56] the um the part of I know you you
[2:34:00] skimmed over the city offices part
[2:34:03] >> but do you want to talk about how much
[2:34:05] smaller that is compared to the police
[2:34:08] department area?
[2:34:09] >> Yes. Do you want me to go back and show
[2:34:11] you it? Yeah.
[2:34:12] >> Okay. Let me jump back to that.
[2:34:14] >> We're we're we're not taking p We're not
[2:34:16] taking public comment, Tyler. We're
[2:34:17] happy to talk to you. We're we're happy
[2:34:20] to talk to you after the meeting.
[2:34:24] » Now you're going over to pretend again.
[2:34:26] How is that fair? You had your chance to
[2:34:28] present it.
[2:34:29] >> I'm just asking clarification for a
[2:34:32] question that I have.
[2:34:33] >> We we put the information out there the
[2:34:35] way that the meeting was going to go. So
[2:34:39] here is the second floor. I'm going to
[2:34:41] jump back to the first floor. The second
[2:34:44] floor kind of occupies.
[2:34:46] >> Can you put it in slideshow so it's
[2:34:48] bigger? If you go to slideshow at the
[2:34:52] top and then present.
[2:34:55] >> Uh, it's covered up on my thing. So, let
[2:34:57] me figure out how to make it visible
[2:34:58] where I can click slideshow. There we
[2:35:00] go.
[2:35:02] >> Okay. So, um the way that the um
[2:35:08] second floor aligns with the first
[2:35:10] floor, this is the elevator right up
[2:35:12] here in this upper left kind of area
[2:35:14] right there where my cursor is. So, I'm
[2:35:17] going to jump to the next slide
[2:35:20] and you can see darn it where the
[2:35:23] elevator is right here. So, here's the
[2:35:26] set of stairs and I'll jump back again.
[2:35:30] Here's the set of stairs right here. So,
[2:35:33] the
[2:35:35] second floor will kind of occupy a
[2:35:38] similar space over the lobby. Um, and
[2:35:42] then it goes over most of the police
[2:35:45] department. It ends about 20 ft short of
[2:35:48] the full depth of the police department.
[2:35:51] I don't have the exact square footage.
[2:35:54] >> That's fine. I just wanted to show that
[2:35:56] we we are uh also being cognizant of the
[2:36:01] police. We realize the police is our
[2:36:04] biggest department of the city and they
[2:36:06] do require more space, but we're not
[2:36:08] building a necessary square footage
[2:36:11] above it to make it, you know,
[2:36:14] >> right? Y
[2:36:15] >> now, can we occupy that extra 20 ft that
[2:36:18] the Edmond building has built back from
[2:36:19] the east face of the police department?
[2:36:22] We believe that there are ways that
[2:36:23] their design could accommodate that in
[2:36:25] the future. In fact, we've even talked
[2:36:26] about do we make a shell now and then do
[2:36:28] it later. Those are still costs and
[2:36:30] things that we'll talk about, but we're
[2:36:32] trying to be conservative and not spend
[2:36:35] money that we don't need to. Um, we've
[2:36:38] also, as I went to the site plan at the
[2:36:41] very beginning, I said, "This is a
[2:36:43] bigger area footprint." And that's
[2:36:45] because we learned that we could move
[2:36:47] more of the police department things
[2:36:48] into the basement like the wait room and
[2:36:51] the gun cleaning and those kind of
[2:36:52] things so that we can make that
[2:36:54] footprint bigger and cover three
[2:36:56] stories. the footprint smaller.
[2:36:59] >> Footprints smaller, but yes, we still
[2:37:02] maintain
[2:37:04] >> to still accommodate
[2:37:05] >> the use. Yes. And then the question
[2:37:07] about why would we keep admin and police
[2:37:10] department as you mentioned, Julie,
[2:37:12] we're working together on a regular
[2:37:14] basis. Sam knows how often he's running
[2:37:15] up here, I'm running down there. And so
[2:37:18] it just makes sense for heating,
[2:37:20] cooling, um the crossover of the
[2:37:23] employees that work together, our HRs
[2:37:25] here. We are constantly in each other's
[2:37:28] spaces
[2:37:29] >> and it just makes sense to
[2:37:32] >> continue having those as close together
[2:37:34] as possible.
[2:37:36] >> Have a question.
[2:37:38] >> Um so someone mentioned something about
[2:37:41] um filtering the air and it was a
[2:37:43] thought that I had as well.
[2:37:46] >> Venting the air. Will that air be
[2:37:48] filtered as it's vented? Do we know that
[2:37:51] yet or is that part of the process or
[2:37:54] >> I think we'll need to look at what
[2:37:57] >> potential hazards are on that air. Um I
[2:38:00] don't think we're going to send out a
[2:38:02] cloud of contamination that's going to
[2:38:03] make people ill, but the more it's
[2:38:05] concentrated in areas, the more
[2:38:06] potential. Chief, I don't know. Do you
[2:38:08] want to elaborate on that?
[2:38:11] >> Yeah, I don't think it'd be anything
[2:38:13] harmful. It's more, you know, if we get
[2:38:15] a lot of marijuana over the weekend,
[2:38:19] just
[2:38:20] >> direct inhalation. I've Yes, we've done
[2:38:22] the field trip. We've been down there
[2:38:23] and we've smelt the smells.
[2:38:24] >> We're not going to be releasing meth or
[2:38:26] heroin or stuff just to ventilate it.
[2:38:29] >> Just ventilator. Okay. Thank you for the
[2:38:31] clarification.
[2:38:34] » Anyway, those were those were just some
[2:38:36] of the ones that I had just gone
[2:38:38] through. I took I took two full pages of notes. of my thoughts and the things
[2:38:45] that I heard. Um, does anyone else have
[2:38:49] comments or clarif Bryce? Do you have
[2:38:52] something else?
[2:38:52] >> There were a lot of comments on the
[2:38:53] trees and we absolutely agree that we do
[2:38:56] not want to remove any more trees than
[2:38:58] are necessary. Um, so we have mapped all
[2:39:00] of the trees, GPS them, and those are on
[2:39:03] the plans and we are working to keep
[2:39:05] every tree that we can. We do have some
[2:39:08] here next to the parking lot that have
[2:39:09] been a nuisance tree. We've anticipated
[2:39:12] removing those. Um we just learned on
[2:39:14] Thursday the issue with the ash trees.
[2:39:16] We will take out as few as possible, but
[2:39:18] realizing that not only have the the
[2:39:20] bore, but Rocky Mountain Powers trimming
[2:39:22] of the trees on the north side of the
[2:39:24] trees has also had a huge impact on the
[2:39:27] livelihood of those trees. So again,
[2:39:29] we'll provide that information as soon
[2:39:31] as we can compile that and make it
[2:39:32] available to the public. And I love the
[2:39:34] idea of utilizing that wood any way that
[2:39:36] we can.
[2:39:40] I uh I was entertaining um some of the
[2:39:44] population data here for a few minutes.
[2:39:46] And as we start thinking about uh our
[2:39:48] city um in 50 years of what a building
[2:39:52] is supposed to support, um I went to
[2:39:55] Wasatch Front Regional Council. Um what
[2:39:57] they do is a a group that basically does
[2:40:00] uh long range planning. They do
[2:40:02] community development. Uh they do a lot
[2:40:05] of transportation studies for us.
[2:40:07] Um the numbers here are pretty eye
[2:40:11] opening. Um basically, you know, we know
[2:40:14] we are right now is about 12,000. Um the
[2:40:17] way that they look at projections is
[2:40:20] that uh by the next uh 10year cycle,
[2:40:24] like in the first 10 years, if we do
[2:40:26] choose to build this building, um we're
[2:40:29] projected to be servicing um 19,41
[2:40:34] um number of population here in the
[2:40:36] city. I mean, we know that there's going
[2:40:38] to have to be some large land that has
[2:40:40] to come up and available for sale, but I
[2:40:43] just was just thinking about like, well,
[2:40:45] okay, that's that's 10 years out of a
[2:40:47] 50-year building. Um, what does it look
[2:40:50] like um potentially in in 20 years in in
[2:40:54] 2046? Um, it's roughly 21,000. And so I
[2:40:59] mean I just think of um you know our our
[2:41:01] current needs especially with our police
[2:41:04] like this is a building that uh is
[2:41:08] capable to support population of that size. Um we all know that we are
[2:41:13] just live in an incredible place that's
[2:41:16] really close to downtown
[2:41:18] access to tremendous amount of uh job uh
[2:41:22] capacity here. It's a fantastic place
[2:41:25] and people are discovering Woodscross
[2:41:27] and I I want to be able to support the city and the police with that
[2:41:32] >> and and I think um I mean we don't have
[2:41:35] a ton of open land left that will
[2:41:38] develop that's currently within the
[2:41:39] boundaries. We have I think about 400
[2:41:41] acres. Um but the pressure from the
[2:41:44] state is that uh the more and more
[2:41:47] development that happens the higher
[2:41:49] density they're going to require it to
[2:41:51] be. Um and and that's just the reality
[2:41:54] of where we are in Utah because of the
[2:41:57] housing shortage and the population
[2:41:59] that's continuing to grow and they're
[2:42:02] putting requirements on cities to um
[2:42:06] increase density and to do that. And as
[2:42:08] areas of the city of of cities
[2:42:11] redevelop, those will most likely also
[2:42:14] have highdensity housing elements
[2:42:17] because
[2:42:18] there's only so many places to build and
[2:42:22] um that's just the way that things are
[2:42:24] going. It's the pressure that we're
[2:42:26] feeling from the state. It's not that that's what we want, but that's the
[2:42:31] reality of the way things are heading
[2:42:33] now. And so I think that is where Wasach
[2:42:36] Front Regional Council is taking those
[2:42:38] numbers.
[2:42:38] >> Yeah.
[2:42:39] >> Because they're looking at it saying
[2:42:41] that's how it's going to develop. The
[2:42:43] closer you are to Salt Lake, the the
[2:42:45] more that's going to happen because it
[2:42:47] just has to go up.
[2:42:50] So,
[2:42:52] >> um, Bryce, what would it be possible for
[2:42:56] the city to if we did decide to do this
[2:42:58] in two two phases and maybe let's focus
[2:43:02] on the building and getting the building
[2:43:05] and I know that that's going to tear up
[2:43:06] the parks in areas because obviously the
[2:43:10] building's going to go in the park. Um,
[2:43:14] if we were to look at doing two bonds,
[2:43:17] one for the city and then one for the
[2:43:20] parks
[2:43:22] in a couple years or after the city is
[2:43:24] built has built city hall, is that
[2:43:26] something we could do? Um,
[2:43:30] like
[2:43:32] brainstorm with me on that.
[2:43:34] >> Yes. So, the answer is yes. if we chose
[2:43:37] to literally phase two different things
[2:43:39] and just say, "Okay, we're only going to
[2:43:40] spend this much money during this
[2:43:42] portion of the project and that's all
[2:43:45] we're going to do and whatever the part
[2:43:47] looks like for the remainder of that."
[2:43:49] Um, but I talked to Mark Anderson, our
[2:43:52] financial adviser, and said, "Could we
[2:43:55] No, let's just say we did say we want to
[2:43:57] go for a $33 million or a $25 million
[2:44:00] bond." Um, could we borrow a portion
[2:44:03] this year and then a port and a higher
[2:44:05] portion next year? And the answer is no.
[2:44:07] Just like any of us going to the bank
[2:44:08] and saying, "Hey, I need a loan on a
[2:44:10] house. Here's my income this year, but
[2:44:12] by next year when the payments are due,
[2:44:14] I promise I'm going to have, you know,
[2:44:16] 25% more, whatever that amount is." And
[2:44:18] he confirmed no, uh, to go to the
[2:44:21] bonding and through that process, you
[2:44:22] have to be able to show that you have
[2:44:24] revenue sufficient to cover that. Now,
[2:44:26] with that being said, we still are
[2:44:29] working with some big numbers. We're
[2:44:30] still trying to estimate the best we
[2:44:32] can. And so, you know, we have to make a
[2:44:35] decision before the end of August what
[2:44:37] this rate's going to be. If between now
[2:44:39] and next year, we get the building done
[2:44:42] and let's say we build the whole entire
[2:44:44] project and we find out that we don't
[2:44:46] need to borrow $25 million. Let's say we
[2:44:49] could borrow $20 million or something
[2:44:51] and the payments don't need to be that
[2:44:52] high. Then the council could lower that
[2:44:55] tax rate to cover the debt that we need
[2:44:57] to cover. So it's unfortunate that we
[2:45:01] have to say we have to make a decision
[2:45:02] by the end of August. But if we are
[2:45:05] fortunate in, you know, doing this
[2:45:08] project for less, there are ways that we
[2:45:10] can give the citizens relief in other
[2:45:12] ways. I hate to promise that, but we're
[2:45:15] not
[2:45:17] binding the city or ourselves to that
[2:45:20] higher tax rate unless there's a
[2:45:22] legitimate need for it. So what is the
[2:45:24] cost when of setting up another bond if
[2:45:27] we were to split them? Is it cost
[2:45:30] effective to look at that or are there
[2:45:33] fees and
[2:45:34] >> there are fees? Yes. Just like if you
[2:45:37] were to go get a mortgage and then get a
[2:45:38] second mortgage. You're going to pay
[2:45:40] Yes. a lot of fees on that. Please don't
[2:45:43] put me on the spot to give you what
[2:45:44] those dollar amounts are, but you would
[2:45:46] have to ask yourself the question, is it
[2:45:48] really worth the additional money to go
[2:45:50] through that bonding cost and paying for
[2:45:53] those issuing costs
[2:45:55] in two loans versus doing it in one? But
[2:45:58] yes, that is a additional cost.
[2:46:04] » Okay.
[2:46:06] There were there were also comments
[2:46:08] about um let's wait and save up money to
[2:46:12] pay for it in the future. Um which is an
[2:46:15] option um in order to save up sufficient
[2:46:18] funding. we would still have to increase
[2:46:22] property taxes in order to accumulate
[2:46:25] enough. Or what we're doing is we're
[2:46:28] accumulating and the cost is going up
[2:46:30] and we're accumulating and the cost is
[2:46:32] going up and we're chasing a number that
[2:46:33] we can't get to at the rate that we're
[2:46:36] able to accumulate cash at this point.
[2:46:38] Um it's just it's it's
[2:46:43] we look I look at Bountiful. Bountiful
[2:46:45] years ago went to um paying everything
[2:46:48] with cash, but to do that they raised
[2:46:51] their property taxes and they collected
[2:46:54] way more in property taxes than what
[2:46:56] they needed to operate and they stuck
[2:46:58] that into a capital improvement account
[2:47:00] that they grew over the years. But they
[2:47:02] made a decision 20 plus years ago to do
[2:47:06] that and raised their property taxes at
[2:47:09] this point at that point. So, we
[2:47:11] probably would still end up having to go
[2:47:13] through actually we I mean that we would
[2:47:15] have to run the numbers, but we'd
[2:47:17] probably have to increase the taxes more
[2:47:19] than this because we would accumulate
[2:47:22] it, but the cost of construction is
[2:47:24] going up at least 5% a year. And so, as
[2:47:28] we're accumulating, we're just never
[2:47:30] catching that number. the the number is.
[2:47:33] So if we waited for 10 years and I mean
[2:47:36] if right now if we're we're able to save
[2:47:39] a million dollars a year right now
[2:47:41] that's without any costs going up and
[2:47:43] with no tax increase. So no inflation at
[2:47:46] all to the city. So in 10 years we would
[2:47:49] have saved $10 million plus some
[2:47:52] interest each year. But the cost now of
[2:47:56] the building instead of being 14 million
[2:47:59] um if it's going up 5% a year, you're
[2:48:02] now
[2:48:05] however many million 7 8 million higher.
[2:48:08] So you've accumulated a little bit more
[2:48:11] than the increase in cost of the
[2:48:13] building. And it just without doing a
[2:48:15] sizable tax increase, you can't ever get
[2:48:18] to the point that you can do it in cash.
[2:48:20] cities don't have a rich uncle that's
[2:48:22] going to pass away and give an
[2:48:23] inheritance someday.
[2:48:25] >> It just doesn't happen.
[2:48:27] >> The other the other piece too is, you
[2:48:29] know, we're required um the state of
[2:48:31] Utah is very conservative.
[2:48:34] We will bank our money with the state of
[2:48:37] Utah's treasur's office and that's at
[2:48:40] best two or 3%.
[2:48:42] >> Yeah, that's going to ask how much
[2:48:43] percentage would we get on our savings
[2:48:45] if we save anything?
[2:48:46] >> We we really we we don't I can go find
[2:48:49] that. Let me share one piece of
[2:48:50] information. I just looked up the
[2:48:52] estimates that we received in February
[2:48:54] from uh
[2:48:58] >> um Z's Bank giving us an estimate and
[2:49:02] the cost of issuance was approximately
[2:49:05] $200,000 to borrow $15 million. So, um
[2:49:10] let me jump to the cost of issuance for
[2:49:13] $25 million on a 25-year loan.
[2:49:18] That estimate again was
[2:49:24] um
[2:49:27] $278,000
[2:49:29] approximately in issuance cost. So
[2:49:32] >> $78,000 increase for more than double
[2:49:34] the amount
[2:49:35] >> um for $10 million more because 15
[2:49:38] million, this is 25 million. So
[2:49:40] >> $10 million.
[2:49:41] >> Don't ask me to do the math on that
[2:49:42] right now. for uh Rachel's question. Let
[2:49:45] me jump to my monthly finance and I can
[2:49:49] tell you what our last PETIF that's
[2:49:53] public treasures impact public treasures
[2:49:56] investment fund.
[2:49:58] >> Um this is a secure investment place
[2:50:01] where we can put our money. We can
[2:50:03] choose other instruments but this is a
[2:50:05] very secure
[2:50:07] >> and typically does better than a lot of
[2:50:09] commercial institutions can offer us.
[2:50:13] And our finance report for June of 2026
[2:50:21] was
[2:50:27] Hold on a second. Sorry,
[2:50:35] Bryce. While you're looking that up, I
[2:50:37] did have a resident ask um why we don't
[2:50:40] invest money in like stocks or or things
[2:50:45] like that. And um it's against state law
[2:50:48] for us to use taxpayer dollars for any
[2:50:52] sort of uh
[2:50:54] >> public public
[2:50:57] corporation
[2:50:59] investments. uh it's like us gambling
[2:51:02] the residents money if there's a crash
[2:51:05] in the market or different things. So
[2:51:06] state law pres that states that we have
[2:51:09] to do our savings through the state
[2:51:11] treasury if anyone's wondering
[2:51:14] >> about that.
[2:51:15] >> Brian just text a friend Brian just sent
[2:51:18] the text and said it was 3.9% um was
[2:51:21] last our last uh pediff interest rate.
[2:51:25] And the rate on the bond would be
[2:51:28] approximately the estimate was 4
[2:51:31] something right was around 4%.
[2:51:34] >> The when they gave us this estimate they
[2:51:36] said that the interest rate was
[2:51:38] estimated to be
[2:51:41] net interest cost 4.12 true interest
[2:51:44] cost 4 3.99
[2:51:47] uh average coupon 4.49.
[2:51:50] Can you explain that Ryan? is I mean
[2:51:52] there's there's a lot there's a lot that
[2:51:54] goes into those numbers.
[2:51:57] >> Also, can you be looking up the
[2:51:59] construction increase per year that
[2:52:02] Hogan has?
[2:52:03] >> 5% is 5%. So, it's a percent more than
[2:52:06] what our savings would get give us.
[2:52:10] >> That's a few%.
[2:52:12] >> And if we go back to Hogan's estimate
[2:52:14] they gave us, they had a 5% of project
[2:52:16] that was about $1.4 million. So, if we
[2:52:19] keep adding on $1.4 4 million, but then
[2:52:22] that also is going up. It's going to get
[2:52:25] higher every month, every year. Yeah.
[2:52:27] You're looking at potential costs of
[2:52:29] about a million and a half every year
[2:52:30] that you're waiting.
[2:52:32] >> In fact, we were told that if we didn't
[2:52:33] get this project bid and sealed the deal
[2:52:37] before January 1st, that's when most
[2:52:40] corporations, suppliers, and everything
[2:52:42] just automatically put in that increase.
[2:52:45] So, we could expect that if we don't get
[2:52:47] a bid out before January 1.
[2:52:56] Brian's texting
[2:52:58] Sam to just remind us that if you keep
[2:53:01] an eye on bond rates and stuff in the
[2:53:03] news, I mean it's based, you know, they
[2:53:05] kind of follow treasuries and things. I
[2:53:06] mean, that that market is just
[2:53:08] whipsawing up and down every day. So,
[2:53:11] >> okay, the whole economy is
[2:53:13] >> Yeah. Yeah.
[2:53:14] >> Yeah. So, as the kindergartener
[2:53:17] um this
[2:53:19] >> I'll get myself the first grader on
[2:53:22] >> it to like as a first
[2:53:23] >> Okay, there you go.
[2:53:24] >> There we go. Well, we'll get in my terms
[2:53:26] in my world. Um I've done it, you know,
[2:53:28] as the newbie on this on this council.
[2:53:30] Um I've come in at a very massive
[2:53:35] disadvantage because I've not been a
[2:53:38] part of the discussion that um I know at
[2:53:41] least has been happening. you know, as I
[2:53:43] went back through records, it was like
[2:53:45] 2023 where I saw it start consistently
[2:53:48] appear on city council agendas and
[2:53:51] minutes. Um, I've had to do a lot of
[2:53:54] learning and I've had to go find out
[2:53:58] where these things are. And as I've
[2:54:03] when we went to the training in St.
[2:54:05] George. Um, they sat down with me and
[2:54:09] told me what what the rate was going to
[2:54:11] be and I about passed out. I'm like,
[2:54:13] there is no way. I cannot I cannot
[2:54:17] raise taxes that much. That is that is
[2:54:20] that's a no. Um, but as I've come to
[2:54:23] learn,
[2:54:24] um,
[2:54:29] we've kicked a can down the road for
[2:54:31] years and years and years. We have an
[2:54:33] aging infrastructure that we are not
[2:54:35] taking care of and this building is one
[2:54:37] of them. And I can understand why past
[2:54:40] city council and mayors have not passed
[2:54:44] a tax increase because it does it does
[2:54:47] hurt our citizens. It hurts it hurts
[2:54:49] them in a way that um we we don't know
[2:54:53] and we don't understand because we're
[2:54:55] not in their daily lives and we're not
[2:54:56] seeing their personal finances and their
[2:54:58] personal struggles.
[2:55:01] But the longer we kick it down the road,
[2:55:04] the longer we avoid doing this,
[2:55:08] the more it's going to hurt us.
[2:55:11] And so I am absolutely just in abject
[2:55:15] horror at the thought of 46%.
[2:55:19] But I am at an even in more abject
[2:55:22] horror of not taking care of this city
[2:55:24] that I have adopted as my home.
[2:55:28] Um, as a school teacher, I have to
[2:55:30] differentiate the needs of 25, 30, 30
[2:55:33] students. And it's hard because this
[2:55:36] student needs this and this student wants this and
[2:55:40] someone's need is someone else's want
[2:55:43] and someone's want is someone else's
[2:55:44] need. And so, as I've listened to all
[2:55:47] these amazing individuals in our
[2:55:50] community talk about their needs and
[2:55:52] their wants and their fears and their frustrations. I'm like, how do we
[2:55:59] balance all of these things? And I have
[2:56:02] said several times, I wish I had a
[2:56:04] crystal ball so I could see what the
[2:56:07] future is going to bring.
[2:56:09] And as a protector, a daily protector of the future and those little lives, I
[2:56:17] want this city to be something that my
[2:56:21] students
[2:56:23] are proud of. And I fear that if we
[2:56:27] don't do this now, it won't be and we
[2:56:32] will continue to
[2:56:36] fall apart at the seams.
[2:56:40] And so, yeah, I do not do not want to
[2:56:44] raise this 46%.
[2:56:46] And I hope with the fervor of my soul
[2:56:50] that we don't.
[2:56:53] But I recognize that if I want a city
[2:56:57] that is good for tomorrow and that
[2:57:00] tomorrow's tomorrow,
[2:57:02] then I guess we have to make the
[2:57:04] decision that other Pacity counselors um
[2:57:10] also struggle to make and and chose not
[2:57:12] to. And so we're between a rock and a
[2:57:15] hard spot. And we have to
[2:57:18] cuz if we don't,
[2:57:20] it's going to get worse.
[2:57:23] And I don't want that. I don't want that
[2:57:25] for my future. I don't want that for the
[2:57:28] future of the kids that pass through my
[2:57:29] classroom. And I do not want city to
[2:57:34] lose its its viability and its future.
[2:57:46] Thanks Rachel.
[2:57:50] other comments or discussion.
[2:57:54] >> I've appreciated u being involved from
[2:57:57] day one. Um I think we can look at that
[2:58:01] citizens committee that was initially
[2:58:03] contacted and asked to be involved to
[2:58:06] give us ideas as kind of a steering
[2:58:08] committee. And I think those initial
[2:58:11] citizens pointed us in this general
[2:58:14] direction.
[2:58:16] and in looking and and hearing hours
[2:58:19] upon hours of their comments and ideas
[2:58:22] and then of course talking with um
[2:58:27] uh those that attended Memorial Day and
[2:58:29] the displays we had out there and to see
[2:58:32] the excitement on so many of our
[2:58:34] citizens and families of citizens that
[2:58:38] uh look forward to changes. And then
[2:58:41] there's two comments that were made here
[2:58:43] tonight that has stood out particularly
[2:58:46] for me. I can't remember his name, but
[2:58:50] it's the gentleman with the white shirt
[2:58:51] and tie.
[2:58:52] >> Spencer McBride.
[2:58:53] >> Spencer.
[2:58:55] And he said when he goes to the park
[2:58:58] with his kids, he's grateful for the
[2:59:01] decisions that were made by those that
[2:59:04] came before.
[2:59:06] And I think, okay, are there going to be
[2:59:09] individuals that are going to be
[2:59:10] grateful 20 years from now for decisions
[2:59:13] that we make tonight,
[2:59:15] or are they going to regret the
[2:59:17] decisions we didn't make?
[2:59:20] And then little Ruth Payne standing up
[2:59:24] there. I think she's a great
[2:59:26] representation
[2:59:29] of a stage of life that I'm entering
[2:59:31] into. Um, I'm on a fixed income, too.
[2:59:36] I've loved my retirement for this last
[2:59:38] year and a half, and I hope to have
[2:59:40] many, many more years yet in the future.
[2:59:44] And so, this is a burden that I am
[2:59:47] willing to take upon myself along with.
[2:59:51] I I can't be willing not to do that and
[2:59:53] vote it for the others that are fellow
[2:59:56] citizens in this city. So, it's a burden
[2:59:58] I'm willing to take upon myself as a
[3:00:01] retiree.
[3:00:03] and and share that.
[3:00:09] » Don't necessarily need to have the last
[3:00:10] word, but I should probably say
[3:00:12] something.
[3:00:14] Been very quiet here. Um,
[3:00:18] I I've also been involved very early on
[3:00:21] before I was in this chair. Um, I
[3:00:24] actually participated in in the the the
[3:00:27] citizens committee as a citizen and on
[3:00:30] the planning commission. And so I've
[3:00:31] seen the early process of this and I
[3:00:34] it's I see the difficulty
[3:00:38] of people who haven't been as involved
[3:00:41] because it's very difficult to convey
[3:00:44] information in a way that's effective.
[3:00:46] Uh especially when there really aren't
[3:00:47] any decisions that are being made. It's
[3:00:49] all we don't know and we're and we're
[3:00:52] figuring it out. Um I also think we are
[3:00:56] in a bit of a tough situation because
[3:00:58] like was mentioned I don't remember who
[3:01:00] exactly mentioned it but saying hey if
[3:01:02] we had the money saved up and we just
[3:01:04] had to spend that money to build the
[3:01:06] city hall is a lot different
[3:01:07] conversation than having to raise taxes
[3:01:09] to do it right that's what Bountiful did
[3:01:12] 20 years ago they decided we're going to
[3:01:15] create this huge bank account of money
[3:01:18] of citizens money we're going to put it
[3:01:20] away for 20 years and then we're going
[3:01:22] build a city hall or well then we're
[3:01:24] going to renovate our city hall and we
[3:01:27] don't need to go into that as described
[3:01:29] as a debacle by someone but um
[3:01:33] in my opinion and this is this is just
[3:01:36] me speaking here but I like the way that
[3:01:38] Woodscross has done it because
[3:01:41] Woodscross hasn't burdened citizens for
[3:01:43] the past 20 years not seeing any benefit
[3:01:46] to then having a city hall built now
[3:01:49] instead Woodscross has said no we're
[3:01:52] going to
[3:01:53] allow the citizens who are going to see
[3:01:55] benefit from this project also fund the
[3:01:58] project, right? Um because the
[3:02:00] alternative is to raise taxes anyway
[3:02:03] and then tell you, "Yeah, but wait 20
[3:02:06] years and then we'll build a city hall."
[3:02:08] And and
[3:02:10] that doesn't sit well with me at all.
[3:02:13] But that's the only alternative because
[3:02:15] we need new facilities. we need um this
[3:02:19] infrastructure is important, but the
[3:02:21] city hasn't
[3:02:23] done the front-end work to pay for it.
[3:02:25] We don't have the money in the account.
[3:02:28] And so, um and so that's where that
[3:02:32] that's that's that's my thoughts on it.
[3:02:34] Um I do I I'm we're part of the the
[3:02:37] day-to-day process in the in the um
[3:02:40] working through the designs of the
[3:02:41] project and the designs of the building.
[3:02:43] I really appreciate all your comments
[3:02:45] and thoughts.
[3:02:47] um on the on on that level as well as
[3:02:50] far as well what what can we do this or
[3:02:52] could we maybe look at it this way or
[3:02:53] can we approach the park a little bit
[3:02:55] different way. Those are all very
[3:02:56] helpful as we work through this process
[3:02:58] because it is our intention to be
[3:03:01] responsible
[3:03:03] and to make the best decision for the
[3:03:06] community. Um and we're all the
[3:03:08] community, right? It's not just us. It's
[3:03:11] not just the people in those meetings.
[3:03:13] It's all of us. And so that's why that's
[3:03:15] why all these comments are so valuable
[3:03:16] to to me personally as I as we work
[3:03:19] through this. Um because one thing I I
[3:03:23] can attest to is that our intention is
[3:03:28] to make the best decision for all of us
[3:03:30] as a community as a whole. Um there's no
[3:03:36] um you know we don't really have
[3:03:37] personal egos involved or or it's not a
[3:03:40] pet project for any individual person.
[3:03:43] It's really more about what's going to
[3:03:45] serve citizens of Woodscross and without
[3:03:48] that input from you all, we we don't we don't have that direction. So, we
[3:03:53] really appreciate all the comments that
[3:03:55] we got. Um, and um, I am, as as Bryce
[3:04:01] had mentioned, I am hopeful that
[3:04:03] whatever decision we make at this point
[3:04:06] with the taxes, we'll have more clarity
[3:04:09] in the future and we can look to make
[3:04:11] adjustments in the future as well. And
[3:04:13] so, um, so I am hopeful that that that
[3:04:16] process will present itself and then
[3:04:18] next year we see where things set out.
[3:04:21] We have the actual numbers and we can
[3:04:22] make those those adjustments at that
[3:04:24] point, too. But um
[3:04:27] but yeah, I I wish they would have
[3:04:29] raised taxes 20 years ago because that
[3:04:31] would make my job a lot easier, but they
[3:04:34] didn't do that. And so we are we are
[3:04:36] where we are.
[3:04:41] » There's a couple
[3:04:44] on Zoom. Do you want to address or do
[3:04:47] you need to?
[3:04:49] >> Um I don't know if we need to. Okay. I
[3:04:55] Okay.
[3:04:55] >> It's it was a public comment period and
[3:04:59] public are allowed to make comments and
[3:05:02] >> um
[3:05:07] » I disagree with the comment.
[3:05:11] I don't have control over what my
[3:05:12] husband said.
[3:05:16] >> Nor nor should we.
[3:05:17] >> Yeah. Exactly. Um,
[3:05:21] we're we're up here as as
[3:05:25] we're each one of you. We're we're your
[3:05:27] neighbors. We live in your
[3:05:30] neighborhoods. We drive by and see you
[3:05:32] um in your neighborhoods. We go to
[3:05:34] church with you. Our kids go to school
[3:05:36] with you with your kids. Maybe they
[3:05:38] don't because maybe we don't all have
[3:05:40] kids that anymore that line up.
[3:05:41] >> Maybe they come to my classroom. But um
[3:05:44] we're we're it what what we do applies
[3:05:48] to you and applies to us the same way.
[3:05:51] Um I've been
[3:05:54] um sitting up here in these seats for a
[3:05:58] while. Um some would maybe say too long
[3:06:00] and maybe that's true. Um years ago I
[3:06:03] got involved because I
[3:06:06] um wanted to make a difference. I felt
[3:06:09] like there were some things in
[3:06:10] Woodscross that um needed to be improved
[3:06:13] and so I got in involved and got asked
[3:06:16] to be on the planning commission and I
[3:06:18] did that for a while and then I ran for
[3:06:20] city council. Um I was on city council
[3:06:22] for 12 years and for most if not all of
[3:06:25] those 12 years we've had discussion
[3:06:28] about needing to do something with city
[3:06:30] hall. Um there's it's it's an aging
[3:06:34] property that is having more and more
[3:06:36] issues. It's costing more and more each
[3:06:38] year for upkeep, um, for maintenance,
[3:06:41] for repairs, and it's it's found us
[3:06:45] where we're at. In those years, 12 on
[3:06:47] city council and four as the mayor. Um,
[3:06:50] I've been involved in each of those tax
[3:06:53] increases in one way or another. I've
[3:06:55] been sitting up here in one of these
[3:06:56] seats. Um, some of them I have supported
[3:07:00] wholeheartedly because it was time and
[3:07:03] we needed to do it. Um the very first
[3:07:06] time that it happened and I was up here
[3:07:08] and we raised one after not having
[3:07:10] raised it for 25 years. Um I scolded the
[3:07:13] city council that had been here and I
[3:07:15] said this should have happened sooner
[3:07:18] because it put us in a really difficult
[3:07:20] position at that point. Um I've also
[3:07:25] been hesitant to raise taxes.
[3:07:28] these folks can tell you that I've um
[3:07:31] sometimes been the voice that says um we
[3:07:34] probably shouldn't raise it this year or
[3:07:37] I've advocated for a lesser amount. Um
[3:07:41] I'm pretty conservative by nature. Um
[3:07:44] but I can see that the longer we put
[3:07:46] this off, the more expensive and
[3:07:49] detrimental it will be to the city. And
[3:07:53] I I feel for those that um that things
[3:07:57] are tight. I have been there. I lived
[3:08:00] there for a lot of years. And um and I
[3:08:04] know what it's like to have your budget
[3:08:06] be really tight. I know what it's like
[3:08:08] to be paycheck to paycheck. And to have
[3:08:11] to make decisions of should I pay this
[3:08:14] or should I pay this because I can't pay
[3:08:16] both. And I know what that feels like.
[3:08:19] So that a lot of times helps guide the
[3:08:24] way that I approach these things.
[3:08:28] Um it is a large increase and
[3:08:33] it's
[3:08:35] um
[3:08:37] and I know that it's it's hard for some.
[3:08:40] My my recommendation and and I I don't
[3:08:43] get to vote unless there's a tie. It's
[3:08:46] just the nature of being the mayor. Um,
[3:08:49] my recommendation would be to to press
[3:08:52] forward at this time with city hall and
[3:08:55] with the park. I think it makes sense to
[3:08:58] do them together. Um, if we do city hall
[3:09:03] and if we do it on this same property
[3:09:05] where we're at, we have to move out of
[3:09:07] this property and lease space somewhere
[3:09:10] for um, a period of time and that adds
[3:09:14] cost. Um, if we remodel
[3:09:18] this city hall, I watched what happened
[3:09:20] with Bountiful and they spent more money
[3:09:23] to remodel an existing building and make
[3:09:26] it seismically safe than they would have
[3:09:30] to build a larger city hall from
[3:09:33] scratch. They were still constrained
[3:09:37] with the limits of the building. They
[3:09:39] didn't change the footprint. They
[3:09:41] weren't able to design it to the needs
[3:09:44] that they had. They lived within what
[3:09:47] was there. They moved some walls and
[3:09:48] they did some things, but it wasn't the
[3:09:50] ideal design for what they needed
[3:09:52] because they had constraints of the
[3:09:54] building.
[3:09:56] If we remodel this, make it seismically
[3:09:59] sound, um, do all those things, it's
[3:10:02] still the same size. We still have those
[3:10:04] same constraints. we still have things
[3:10:08] that will continue to be issues for
[3:10:11] years because we haven't solved the root
[3:10:14] of the problem. And for that um
[3:10:19] that's that's why I would be supportive
[3:10:21] of it. And um I think as we continue on
[3:10:26] and and I've been involved through all
[3:10:29] of the design process um we are trying
[3:10:33] our best to minimize the the total cost
[3:10:36] of the project but still make it viable
[3:10:40] for hopefully the next 50 years. And
[3:10:43] like Wall-E said, I was going to written
[3:10:46] down a note from what Spencer said, and
[3:10:49] I just had written, "Previous residents
[3:10:50] looked ahead to the future and paid more
[3:10:53] for the betterment of the community to
[3:10:55] make it so that we could enjoy what we
[3:10:57] have now." And I think
[3:11:01] that's why we're we're here is people
[3:11:04] have put us in place to try to make
[3:11:07] Woodscross better for the future. And
[3:11:11] anyway, those are my those are my
[3:11:14] thoughts.
[3:11:16] Do we need more discussion? Are we ready
[3:11:18] to make a decision tonight or do we want
[3:11:21] to sleep on it and think about it for a
[3:11:25] couple of weeks and come back in two
[3:11:27] weeks and make a decision in two weeks?
[3:11:29] What are your thoughts?
[3:11:30] >> I' I've got a question short for Bryce.
[3:11:32] do you feel like
[3:11:35] um we would have any more clarity in two
[3:11:37] weeks than we do today on construction
[3:11:39] of costs for the project?
[3:11:41] >> I don't. No, I in two weeks. And Eric,
[3:11:44] you probably know this better than
[3:11:45] anybody. You know, if we're progressing
[3:11:47] on this project, we're trying to tighten
[3:11:48] things up. We're not at a point of
[3:11:50] having firm plans. We we have months of
[3:11:52] that. My biggest fear is is that by
[3:11:55] delaying this, we're not telling the
[3:11:58] contractor. We're not telling the
[3:12:00] architect. we're not telling others that
[3:12:02] we are moving forward with this and
[3:12:04] those days are ticking away. I would
[3:12:07] hate to see us pay another million and a
[3:12:09] half dollars because we couldn't meet
[3:12:10] this timeline. In fact, we're having
[3:12:13] another meeting on Thursday night for
[3:12:14] the very reason that we've got to nail
[3:12:16] down some big questions to keep this
[3:12:19] going. So,
[3:12:21] if I thought waiting would be a benefit,
[3:12:24] I would tell you
[3:12:26] I can't see it. It would it hurt if we
[3:12:29] wait until after Thursday though cuz
[3:12:33] which is a public meeting. It's a work
[3:12:35] session.
[3:12:36] >> Um so if on Thursday you chose to tell
[3:12:40] the public tonight that your next date
[3:12:42] and time to do that. Yes. You will have
[3:12:44] a public meeting. We would have to
[3:12:45] notice it tomorrow
[3:12:47] before
[3:12:49] 4:00 p.m.
[3:12:52] >> Yes. That's cutting it.
[3:12:54] >> That's about as high as we can get it.
[3:12:55] Well, I mean, if we meet on Thursday, is
[3:12:59] it detrimental if we wait until our for
[3:13:04] till our next council meeting?
[3:13:06] >> Um, the 18th of August.
[3:13:08] >> Yeah. So, to have the decision made the
[3:13:11] 18th of August, but use Thursday's
[3:13:13] meeting to kind of finish um
[3:13:16] >> processing.
[3:13:18] >> Thursday will definitely help to get
[3:13:19] these answers in place. No question
[3:13:21] about it.
[3:13:23] I would intend that the architect and
[3:13:26] contract will continue to work in good
[3:13:27] faith that we're moving forward. But you
[3:13:29] got to remember, and I don't think
[3:13:31] they're not working, but if they know
[3:13:33] they've got bonding and stuff in place
[3:13:35] that we're moving forward with this, it
[3:13:37] sends a different message than well,
[3:13:39] give us another two weeks. So, you tell
[3:13:42] me if you were in their shoes.
[3:13:46] I would not recommend it.
[3:13:49] I think
[3:13:50] >> Yeah. I I I think that Thursday we may
[3:13:53] have a better understanding of the
[3:13:55] project.
[3:13:56] >> I don't think we will have any different
[3:13:57] understanding of the finances.
[3:13:59] >> No.
[3:14:00] >> But then I think I might be able to make
[3:14:02] a
[3:14:04] >> more educated
[3:14:06] >> decision
[3:14:08] that just yes more time to process and
[3:14:12] make make understanding for my
[3:14:15] kindergarten brain.
[3:14:18] >> Can I ask a question? Would you be of a
[3:14:23] mindset that meeting on Thursday and
[3:14:26] getting some of these bigger questions
[3:14:28] firmed up would give you enough
[3:14:30] information to make a decision at the
[3:14:32] end of that meeting to set the tax rate
[3:14:35] >> and approve the budget.
[3:14:38] Two days is a lot different than two
[3:14:40] weeks.
[3:14:41] >> Two days is a lot different than two
[3:14:42] weeks. I would also say that I don't
[3:14:45] know that there's anything that we're
[3:14:46] going to talk about
[3:14:49] Thursday that's going to have this
[3:14:50] monumental saving millions of dollars.
[3:14:54] >> Well,
[3:14:56] my my what I've hearing from people is
[3:14:59] they don't feel there's a need for the
[3:15:01] park to be redone
[3:15:03] >> with all of the amenities.
[3:15:05] >> Yeah. So perhaps in on Thursday when we
[3:15:10] have a work session, we could look at if
[3:15:14] we don't do all those amenities, how
[3:15:16] much is that going to save?
[3:15:19] >> Yes. My challenge with that is and we
[3:15:22] could invite Hogan to be there.
[3:15:25] But again, as I showed you earlier, I'll
[3:15:28] make that document available. They've
[3:15:29] got some big numbers. If you suddenly
[3:15:32] said, "We don't want the water feature,
[3:15:33] we don't want this, or we don't want
[3:15:35] that." We're just kind of crossing out
[3:15:37] big numbers, and we don't know how
[3:15:38] that's going to exactly translate.
[3:15:41] So,
[3:15:42] it's not as precise as sitting in a car
[3:15:44] data and saying, "Well, take off the
[3:15:46] chrome trim and take off this, and you
[3:15:48] can see an exact dollar amount." I mean,
[3:15:51] Eric, you've done this enough times as
[3:15:53] an architect. Would you dare
[3:15:56] make those kind of commitments
[3:15:59] that early?
[3:16:01] And then that's where I say I I don't
[3:16:03] know that any discussion we have on
[3:16:04] Thursday in my opinion would
[3:16:06] dramatically impact the finances of the
[3:16:09] project. Now we can make decisions
[3:16:12] moving forward that will impact the
[3:16:14] finances of the project.
[3:16:16] >> But I don't I don't know that I would be
[3:16:18] comfortable in coming and saying no we
[3:16:20] don't want to do 47%. We want to do 25%
[3:16:23] because we're doing X and Y in the park
[3:16:25] at this point. I don't want to tie our
[3:16:29] hands and and and restrict us. I'd
[3:16:33] rather make sure we can do what needs to
[3:16:36] be done and then when we have
[3:16:38] opportunity and know what those numbers
[3:16:40] are next year say, "Okay, nope. It
[3:16:42] really is x amount." And we adjust.
[3:16:45] So maybe another way of saying that is
[3:16:49] I don't think there's any way that if
[3:16:51] you want to go for this project
[3:16:53] that I would dare counsel you to do a
[3:16:57] lower tax increase. However, in the next
[3:17:02] 3 months if we can get some better
[3:17:04] numbers that we can say guess what we're
[3:17:06] not going to spend 33 million we're
[3:17:08] going to spend 30 million or 28 million.
[3:17:10] Therefore, next year we can say
[3:17:13] taxpayers, thank you for entrusting us
[3:17:16] to make this decision with the best
[3:17:17] information we have today. Now that
[3:17:19] we've secured the financing and the
[3:17:21] bonding and we know what we have in the
[3:17:22] savings, we know what we need.
[3:17:25] Therefore, we can lower that tax rate
[3:17:27] next year if we don't need that money.
[3:17:30] But I don't think there's any way that I
[3:17:32] would counsel you to go for a lower tax
[3:17:35] rate with the the large picture things
[3:17:39] that we're still talking about.
[3:17:42] >> Way of explaining it.
[3:17:43] >> Better state than I did. But yeah,
[3:17:44] that's what I was saying.
[3:17:45] >> And and Bryce, if I'm correct, to Zans's
[3:17:48] Bank, if we don't have the the money set
[3:17:51] up and the financing where we're going
[3:17:54] to be able to actually bond for that
[3:17:56] money, they they won't even set the bond
[3:17:58] for it.
[3:17:58] >> No. If we don't have a tax rate set, it
[3:18:00] doesn't matter if you want to borrow 15
[3:18:02] million, 20 million or 25.
[3:18:04] >> Yeah.
[3:18:04] >> They're going to look at you and say
[3:18:06] >> 25%. Right?
[3:18:08] >> If we are not able to show that we
[3:18:09] needed 30% or 35% then doesn't matter.
[3:18:12] >> Then it doesn't matter. We would we
[3:18:14] wouldn't get the bond.
[3:18:15] >> Yeah.
[3:18:19] » We do have a list of rough costs from
[3:18:22] Hogan.
[3:18:24] >> Yeah.
[3:18:24] >> Yes. Yes.
[3:18:26] So on Thursday, we could review what the
[3:18:28] rough costs would be
[3:18:31] of eliminating
[3:18:34] parts of the park, whether we do them
[3:18:38] down the road. Like my point is is
[3:18:41] if we're just going to do 46% because we
[3:18:45] want a building, but we're not going to
[3:18:47] do a park, why are we just doing 46%?
[3:18:50] Why? If we're just going to focus on
[3:18:52] doing a building
[3:18:54] first,
[3:18:56] why are we
[3:18:59] looking at taxing for money that I mean,
[3:19:02] yeah, it's nice to say, okay, we we may
[3:19:06] not use it, but if we if the majority of
[3:19:09] the residents don't want
[3:19:12] Hogan Park redone,
[3:19:15] that's going to save us half of the
[3:19:17] cost. we don't have to bond that much
[3:19:20] because
[3:19:21] depending on what features are cut,
[3:19:24] that money is not money we have to bond.
[3:19:28] >> So that means our percentage doesn't
[3:19:29] have to be 46%, it could be lower. And
[3:19:33] so I think we need to look at the
[3:19:36] itemized list by Hogan and really try to
[3:19:40] figure out here's the, you know, it's
[3:19:43] not the exact because we don't have
[3:19:44] exact numbers, but here's the ballpark
[3:19:46] of the building and here's the ballpark
[3:19:48] of the park at this phase or this phase
[3:19:52] or all of it. Mhm.
[3:19:54] >> And then we can make a better decision
[3:19:57] on what percentage we actually
[3:20:01] really need to approve tonight or not
[3:20:03] tonight, but for this year
[3:20:07] versus yeah, we're just going to build
[3:20:09] it all. And
[3:20:11] >> so I I see what you're saying.
[3:20:14] >> Mhm. Personally, I think that
[3:20:18] um I wouldn't be comfortable in cutting
[3:20:20] that amount with two days or two weeks
[3:20:25] thought
[3:20:27] when so much has gone into the decisions
[3:20:29] that they made at this point. I'm not
[3:20:30] saying that we don't cut the park
[3:20:34] ultimately, but I don't think that's a
[3:20:36] decision that I'm comfortable in making
[3:20:37] so quickly. And so I don't want to
[3:20:41] require that
[3:20:43] by the decisions we make in the next two
[3:20:45] weeks
[3:20:47] and then in a two months we say oh you
[3:20:49] know what actually it is a better idea
[3:20:52] but then we can't do it. I'd much rather
[3:20:55] like Bryce had mentioned if in two
[3:20:57] months we say we're not doing the park,
[3:21:00] that's great, right? We don't bond for
[3:21:02] that much and then next year we come
[3:21:04] back and say, you know what? Yep. We're
[3:21:06] adjusting our tax rate. We're lowering
[3:21:08] it because we didn't need that money
[3:21:09] because we decided not to do the park.
[3:21:11] That's great, but I don't want to tie
[3:21:13] our hands and say, "Nope, this is Yeah,
[3:21:18] I I'm not comfortable doing that in such
[3:21:20] a short period of time."
[3:21:23] if if I could just share. Well, and can
[3:21:27] I still share my screen? Let me see if I
[3:21:31] can
[3:21:33] Where's my Zoom at? I got so many things
[3:21:35] open here. I'm lost.
[3:21:40] Um, let me go here. Um, let's go back to
[3:21:44] the Hogan
[3:21:47] project list
[3:21:50] because I hear what you're saying,
[3:21:52] Julie, that look, we may just decide to
[3:21:54] take certain things off the table, and
[3:21:55] that's absolutely correct. However, the
[3:21:58] uh exterior improvements right here,
[3:22:01] 5,264,
[3:22:03] without knowing from Brian Taylor what
[3:22:05] is in that, would that be like not doing
[3:22:07] the trees? Would that be like not doing
[3:22:09] the water feature? So, I I would just
[3:22:12] need to get more information, and I'm
[3:22:14] certainly happy over the next 24 hours
[3:22:16] to do that so that I could come to the
[3:22:19] meeting on Thursday with more
[3:22:20] information,
[3:22:22] but I would hate to have that
[3:22:23] expectation today because if you think
[3:22:26] about it, if we're committed on the
[3:22:27] location of the building, well, the
[3:22:30] pickle ball court's going to go, so
[3:22:32] we've got to build a pickle ball court.
[3:22:33] Well, how much is that? Um, we don't
[3:22:35] have to build a water feature. We could
[3:22:37] do that in the future, but we are going
[3:22:38] to have to put in electrical, plumbing,
[3:22:40] and some things so that it's there and
[3:22:42] we're not tearing up half of a site. So,
[3:22:45] that's where I'm being very careful to
[3:22:48] caution you that it's not just as easy
[3:22:50] as just scratch this, scratch that, not
[3:22:54] knowing the implications of what else
[3:22:55] would have to be done. And then, you
[3:22:57] know, even tearing a park up, we don't
[3:23:00] get to just say, "Well, we only cut it,
[3:23:02] you know, the line right down the middle
[3:23:03] right here, and this part we're not even
[3:23:04] going to touch because there would still
[3:23:06] be utilities or things." That's why I'm saying we don't have to build it
[3:23:12] all. I just can't tell you what we
[3:23:14] wouldn't have to build if you said
[3:23:16] scratch these five items. So,
[3:23:20] >> it would be interesting to have that
[3:23:23] vision of the whole if you give a mouse
[3:23:25] a cookie and all the dominoes that fall
[3:23:27] because of it.
[3:23:28] >> Happy to get Brian on the phone tomorrow
[3:23:30] and just say be prepared to come help us
[3:23:32] and maybe he can even come to the me
[3:23:34] meeting. Um,
[3:23:37] and if it end up cutting one or two
[3:23:39] million dollars off, okay, so you know,
[3:23:43] we can maybe lower that from 25 to 22.
[3:23:46] But the other thing that I don't have
[3:23:47] is, you know, I can ask um Mark
[3:23:50] Anderson, how quickly could you prepare
[3:23:53] us new updates on the bonding? Maybe
[3:23:56] they could have something done by
[3:23:58] Thursday.
[3:24:00] My biggest fear is if we can't be
[3:24:02] prepared to tell the public and these
[3:24:05] institutions that are working with us
[3:24:06] that yes, we're committed and going
[3:24:08] forward,
[3:24:11] do we just have the full faith and buy
[3:24:12] in on them? And maybe we do, maybe we
[3:24:15] don't. But we're burning daylight is
[3:24:18] probably the best way I can say it.
[3:24:30] So where you at? Couple move forward.
[3:24:34] I say move forward.
[3:24:37] I'm comfortable moving forward.
[3:24:42] more information but
[3:24:46] still
[3:24:47] >> I share personal experience with you if
[3:24:49] this helps.
[3:24:50] >> Sure.
[3:24:50] >> I've built three homes with my wife.
[3:24:52] They tell you if a marriage can survive
[3:24:54] one new home, you've done amazing
[3:24:56] things. My wife is and like we didn't
[3:24:58] just hire somebody to do it. We were the
[3:25:00] general contractors. Um
[3:25:04] we always bid high. We always estimated
[3:25:06] high and said this is how much we're
[3:25:08] going to have to be prepared to spend.
[3:25:10] And then we just work like crazy not to
[3:25:12] spend that money. In the end, when we
[3:25:14] went to borrow the money, we always
[3:25:15] borrowed less than what we committed to
[3:25:17] the bank. But I had to be able to show
[3:25:19] that we had the income to support the
[3:25:21] higher loan. I'm taking that very same
[3:25:24] mentality into this project right now.
[3:25:27] We have to tell high, but we will work
[3:25:29] like crazy to come in
[3:25:33] as tight as we can. Now, that's going to
[3:25:36] also result in you making some decisions
[3:25:38] like how fancy is the woodwork going to
[3:25:40] be and how nice of a water feature do we
[3:25:42] want or maybe we scratch the water
[3:25:43] feature.
[3:25:45] What I'm telling you today is I think
[3:25:47] we're in a position that we have to tell
[3:25:49] the bank here's how much money income we
[3:25:51] have in order to qualify for this much
[3:25:54] of a loan and then we work like crazy to
[3:25:56] lower that amount. And I know that's a
[3:25:58] very tough thing to say,
[3:26:00] but we only have three weeks until the
[3:26:03] end of August. And I don't think we're
[3:26:04] going to have any better data by then
[3:26:07] than we have today on what we need to
[3:26:09] take for a tax increase to support that
[3:26:13] highest loan. But I will guarantee to
[3:26:16] you that I will work like crazy to keep
[3:26:18] that amount as low as you want to work
[3:26:20] with me on.
[3:26:37] I can't make a motion.
[3:26:40] >> Are you ready for a motion?
[3:26:41] >> If If someone's ready to make a motion,
[3:26:43] I'm ready for a motion. If we need more
[3:26:45] discussion, I'm happy to entertain more
[3:26:48] discussions.
[3:26:58] Mayor, I'll make a motion to cons to
[3:27:01] pass resolution 2026-1010
[3:27:05] adopting the final budget for fiscal
[3:27:07] year 2026 2027 and certifying the 2026
[3:27:13] property tax rate.
[3:27:15] And do we need to designate that as part
[3:27:18] of the motion
[3:27:19] >> be at at the rate that was presented
[3:27:22] with the budget?
[3:27:23] >> Correct.
[3:27:24] >> Yeah. If you want the exact dollar
[3:27:26] amount
[3:27:27] if
[3:27:30] uh 0001906
[3:27:32] for a total revenue of 3,120,87.
[3:27:39] » I'll second that motion.
[3:27:41] >> Okay. I have a motion from Wall-E and a
[3:27:43] second from Eric. Since this is a
[3:27:45] resolution, we'll do roll call vote.
[3:27:48] We'll start with Wally. I I
[3:27:51] >> nay.
[3:27:58] » I
[3:28:01] 3 to two. Motion passes. Thank you.
[3:28:04] for everyone's participation
[3:28:07] and comments and for the the discussion
[3:28:11] among council.
[3:28:14] We uh
[3:28:16] will continue to have discussion as we
[3:28:18] move forward and try to to
[3:28:22] contain costs and make it the best
[3:28:23] project we can.
[3:28:26] Um with that I need a motion to adjurnn.
[3:28:31] >> I move
[3:28:32] >> second.
[3:28:33] >> I have a motion from Rachel and a second
[3:28:37] from Wally. You're here. All in favor?
[3:28:40] Hi.
[3:28:40] >> Hi.
[3:28:42] >> Thank you.
[3:28:44] >> Saying I'm still waiting interview. I
[3:28:46] just