04/17/2018 - Work Session - Minutes MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
The City Council met in Work Session on Tuesday, April 17, 2018,
in Room 326, Committee Room, City County Building, 451 South State
Street.
In Attendance: Council Members Erin Mendenhall, Chris Wharton,
James Rogers, Andrew Johnston, and Derek Kitchen.
Absent: Council Members Charlie Luke, and Amy Fowler.
Staff in Attendance: Jennifer Bruno, Council Executive Deputy
Director; Jacqueline Biskupski, Mayor; Matthew Rojas, Mayor' s
Director of Communications; Jennifer Seelig, Mayor' s Director of
Community Empowerment; Simone Butler, Mayor' s Executive Assistant;
Allison Rowland, Council Office Budget & Policy Analyst; Patrick
Leary, Mayor' s Chief of Staff; Greg Daly, Information Management
Systems (IMS) Chief Information Officer; Kimberly Chytraus, Senior
City Attorney; Lily Gray, Housing and Neighborhood Development
Deputy Director; Elizabeth Buehler, Civic Engagement Manager;
Roberta Reichgelt, Economic Development Manager; Ben Kolendar,
Economic Development Deputy Director; Mary Beth Thompson, Finance
Director; Sylvia Richards, Council Public Policy Analyst; Lehua
Weaver, Council Office Associate Deputy Director; Melissa Jensen,
Housing and Neighborhood Development Director; Julianne Sabula,
Transit Program Manager; Tim Doubt, Salt Lake City Assistant Police
Chief; Jonathan Larsen, Transportation Director; John Vuyk, Budget
Director; Daniel Rip, Real Property Manager; Benjamin Luedtke,
Council Public Policy Analyst; Russell Weeks, Council Senior
Advisor; Margaret Plane, City Attorney; DeeDee Robinson, Deputy
City Recorder; and Kory Solorio, Assistant City Recorder.
Guests in Attendance: Peter Bromberg, Executive Director of Salt
Lake City Public Library; Jana Ostler, Library Board President;
Jace Bunting, Library Finance Director; Dana Hernandez, Public
Arts Program Manager; Jerry Benson, Utah Transit Authority (UTA)
Chief Executive Officer; Nichol Bourdeaux, UTA Vice President of
External Affairs; Heather Bennett, Board of Education President
Salt Lake City School District; Lindsey Ferrari, Wilkinson Ferrari
Company; and Siobhan Locke, The Langdon Group Senior Project
Manager.
Councilmember Mendenhall presided at and conducted the
meeting.
The meeting was called to order at 2 : 16 p.m.
18 - 1
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
AGENDA ITEMS
#1 . 2:16:08 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING AN ORDINANCE
GRANTING MCI METRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES CORP A
TELECOMMUNICATION FRANCHISE AGREEMENT. The company would do
business as Verizon Transmission Services Corp. The agreement would
allow the company to place and maintain its facilities within the
City rights of way. The company would be governed by certain
conditions, would need to secure appropriate permits, and pay the
telecommunications tax under state law. The Council received a
general overview about franchise agreements by the City Attorney's
Office. View Attachments
Kimberly Chytraus, Ben Luedtke, and Dan Rip briefed the
Council with attachments . Comments included five main categories
of franchises : railroads, power, gas, telecommunications, and
cable companies . Discussion included franchises regulated by City/
State/Federal law oversight, City Code required franchise
agreements (before anything was installed in the public right of
way) , and updating/modernizing the current franchise ordinance.
Councilmember Mendenhall inquired about the creation of
recreation areas in company corridors, and if the Council had
approved of these things in the past. Mr. Rip said to his knowledge
that had not occurred. Councilmember Johnston said this was a big
topic in the State Legislature this year and a bill was introduced
to "unify" (standardize) common practices across all cities in the
State. Ms . Chytraus said a law was passed regarding small cell
wireless communications that would change current rules including
more antennas, and pole installations in the City.
#2 . 2:35:17 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING AN ORDINANCE THAT
WOULD INCREASE THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS SERVING ON THE ART DESIGN
BOARD FROM FIVE MEMBERS TO SEVEN, AND CLARIFIES LANGUAGE FOR BOARD
MEMBERS AND APPLICANTS. View Attachments
Dana Hernandez, Sylvia Richards, and Ben Kolendar briefed the
Council with attachments . Discussion was held regarding proposed
changes to the ordinance such as increasing board members from
five to seven, no-more-than three members being professional
artists, arts administrators/art teachers involved in the
administration (or teaching art at a recognized institution in the
City) , no more than two members from the same Council district,
and the addition of the phrase "or the director' s designee" in
Section C.
18 - 2
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
Councilmember Rogers inquired what the current makeup of the
board was and what districts were not represented. Ms . Hernandez
said there were no representatives for District 1, 2, or 6 .
#3. 2:38:40 PM FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION ABOUT AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
THE FINAL BUDGET OF SALT LAKE CITY, INCLUDING THE EMPLOYMENT
STAFFING DOCUMENT, FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017-2018 . Budget amendments
happen several times each year to reflect adjustments to the City's
budgets, including proposed project additions and modifications.
The proposed amendment includes adjustments for a revenue
shortfall due to understaffing in parking enforcement, funding to
move the City Prosecutor 's Office to the new County District
Attorney's Office, and many other changes. View Attachments
Ben Luedtke, Mary Beth Thompson and Greg Daly briefed the
Council with attachments . Discussion was held regarding creation
of a reserve account should the City wish to terminate the
Prosecutor Interlocal Agreement with the District Attorney,
proposed amount of $500, 000 to cover costs to the City (office
space, computer/furniture equipment, software, additional staff) ;
and including a re-appropriation of funds for each fiscal year. It
was also discussed the Council might wish to consider alternative
funding options such as maintaining a Fund Balance greater than
the current 10o minimum or adding the $500, 000 as a contingent
appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2019 City Prosecutor' s budget.
Councilmember Wharton expressed concern with the cost
involved if the Interlocal Agreement was to be terminated and
explained the difference between City-owned facilities versus a
non City-owned facility and the risk potential as tenants in that
situation.
Mr. Daly provided a brief history of the record/document
management system proposal . He said this was a City-wide Enterprise
Document and Records Management System, in which the Council
provided a contingent appropriation of these funds as part of the
Fiscal Year 2018 IMS budget. He said the goal was to converge four
different document storage systems into one single platform.
Discussion was held regarding a staffing update for a grant funded
Consumer Protection Processor.
Discussion was held regarding utilizing street impact fees
for the 1300 East reconstruction. It was discussed that the
original proposal was to use $618, 000 by repurposing funds that
were originally identified to reconstruct 700 South (State funds) .
18 - 3
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
The revised proposal was to use $378, 000 from those State funds
and also $239, 000 in street impact fees .
Councilmember Rogers inquired if the City could use street
impact fees to repair/re-do streets . Mr. Luedtke responded that
impact fees could never be used to improve the level of service;
however, if a bike lane was added where there previously was not
one, then street impact fees could be used for "new growth" .
Further discussion was held about the Administration
preparing to finalize a contract to reconstruct Gladiola Street .
Mr. Luedtke said impact fees were not encumbered until there was
a contract signed and the street impact fees would not expire until
October, 2018 .
#4 . 3:02:46 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING AN ORDINANCE
AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE LIBRARY FUND FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017-18 .
View Attachments
Russell Weeks, Peter Bromberg, Jace Bunting, and Jana Ostler
briefed the Council with attachments . Mr. Bunting said the Library
was asking for amendments to both the Capital Projects Fund budget
and the General Fund budget, (some funds overlapped) . He further
described three goals : a $90, 000 increase in the General Fund;
$400, 000 out of the General Fund and transferred into the Capital
Project Fund balance to pay for remediation costs for the Sprague
Library; and an additional $140, 000 for building maintenance to
repair the leaking roof at the Main Library.
Councilmember Johnston inquired if the libraries were self-
insured, or had flood insurance. Mr. Bunting said they did not
previously have flood insurance but had since acquired it on three
libraries (Sprague, Day Riverside, and Chapman) .
Councilmember Kitchen inquired about the status of the
Sprague Library. Mr. Bromberg reported that the upstairs had been
open since January 2018, and final inspections were scheduled for
April 19, 2018 . He also noted that the elevator was replaced and
staff hoped to have the public bathrooms and new Teen-Study space
open shortly after the final inspection. He said he anticipated
the Sprague Library to close later this year for one year for
renovations . He said they would seek out temporary locations to
continue to provide library services while Sprague was closed.
Councilmember Rogers asked if they considered sump-pumps for
18 - 4
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
future floods . Mr. Bromberg confirmed they had multiple pumps,
back up pumps, and added that the pumps never failed during the
Sprague flood.
#5. 3:13:12PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING THE LIBRARY BOARD' S
RECOMMENDED OPERATION AND CAPITAL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018-19 .
View Attachments
Russell Weeks, Peter Bromberg, Jana Ostler, and Jace Bunting
briefed the Council with attachments . Mr . Bromberg informed the
Council they had recently completed their "Strategic Road Map
Process" . He said it was accomplished within six months and
included participation of over 60 community & government agencies .
He went on to say they identified six areas of focus that reflected
the aspirations and needs of the community: arts & creativity,
civic engagement, critical literacies, economic success, being
healthy together, and inclusion & belonging.
Discussion was held regarding the Library' s priorities for
the proposed budget including the Sprague Library renovation,
fundraising on behalf of the library, offering passport services,
compensation increases (where applicable) , safety, cleanliness,
maintenance for all locations, hiring of an in-house security
officer, and health premium coverage for couples and families .
Mr. Bromberg spoke about the Restroom Attendant Pilot Program
that started in the Main Library last April . He said the program
was successful and they would be moving out of the pilot phase and
look to fully fund the program in this proposed budget .
Councilmember Wharton detailed a resident' s bad experience
with the restroom attendants and asked what the attendants looked
for and how long they allowed patrons in the restroom.
Mr. Bromberg explained the restroom attendants were employed
by Advantage Services and were not directly supervised by Library
Staff. He said the attendants were trained on the Library' s
standards and tried to maintain the same high quality of
performance . He said they were evaluating their services, staffing
models, processes, looking for efficiencies, moving to use data &
analytics to utilize staff and resources more efficiently,
maximizing public spaces, and creating more flexibility.
Councilmember Johnston said he was impressed by the
dedication to salary & benefits . Mr. Bromberg said they minimized
18 - 5
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
the per-capita cost of materials by "right-sizing" their materials
budget (based on other similar-sized Cities) .
Councilmember Johnston inquired about the space utilization
reviews for various branches and if the intention was to renovate
the Chapman and Day-Riverside branches through fundraising or as
part of the on-going budget for the next few years . Mr. Bromberg
said the desire/intention was to address the Chapman and Day-
Riverside branches next and he anticipated it would be funded
through the Fund Balance and fundraising. He said he was open to
any possible funding mechanisms .
Councilmember Rogers stated that around 88% of the Library' s
revenue came from property taxes . He inquired if the Library had
a timeline for a tax increase in the future. Mr. Bromberg said he
wanted to see what new growth would look like, what their capacity
for private fundraising might be, and look at renovation needs to
determine future tax increases .
Councilmember Mendenhall thanked Ms . Ostler for her service
as the Library Board President, and thanked the rest of the Library
panel presenting to the Council .
#6. 4:06:32PM HOLD A BRIEFING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FEDERAL
OPPORTUNITY ZONES PROGRAM. This was established by Congress in 2017
to spur long-term private sector investments in low-income
communities nationwide. Under the program, state governors
nominate certain areas of low-income/high-poverty as opportunity
zones and investors are given incentives to put their capital to
work rebuilding these economically distressed communities. View
Attachments
Allison Rowland, Ben Kolendar, and Roberta Reichgelt briefed
the Council with attachments . Ms . Rowland explained the process of
designating Opportunity Zones and new opportunity funds that would
invest private, public, or mixed-sourced money into capital
projects . She said of the 17 City recommended census tracts
submitted to the County, 14 were selected (along with the County' s
recommended census tracts) . She said "The Federal Opportunity
Zones Program" would be designated by the Governor on April 20,
2018 .
Mr. Kolendar said the provision for Opportunity Zones was
created during tax legislation in December of last year. He said
the Governor would appoint 25% of the low income tracts for the
18 - 6
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
State (also known as special investment funds) , which deferred
taxes for investment in those zones . He said Salt Lake City had 33
zones and considering a balanced approach, would have eight to
nine designated slots .
Ms . Reichgelt explained the purpose of the program in that it
offered tax incentives for investors to reinvest their capital
gains into opportunity funds that were dedicated to investing in
designated opportunity zones . She went on to say only low-income
census tracts were eligible and used as the primary basis for
determining which were qualified as Opportunity Zones . She said
the State of Utah would recommend 46 low-income tracts .
Ms . Reichgelt said the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) ,
acting as the Association of Governors Administrators reached out
to local municipalities and informed them the Governor was
requesting recommendations . She said the WFRC asked counties and
cities to provide their recommendations and rationale for each
recommended tract. She said the analysis provided by Salt Lake
City was based on guidance received from WFRC. She said the City
selected priority tracts that overlaid with Redevelopment Agency
(RDA) project areas, new market tax credit areas, and Community
Development Block Grant eligible areas . She said analyses was made
on new market tax credit successful projects : 72 of the 95 projects
(since 2004) were found in Salt Lake County and 25% of those were
in Salt Lake City, which helped form their decision. She said other
important considerations were economic need, infrastructure in
place to support investments, access to job markets and population
centers, workforce, and habitability for new entrepreneurs .
Councilmember Kitchen inquired about the definition of
habitability for entrepreneurs . Ms . Reichgelt explained access to
infrastructure, accessibility (public transportation) , along with
opportunities for new or rehabbed buildings, created the potential
to house new entrepreneurs .
Ms . Reichgelt referenced a map of ten Opportunity Zones
recommended by Salt Lake City (including seven alternates/new
market tax credit eligibility/CDBG eligibility) . She said the goal
was to prioritize targeting of resources within zones over
maximizing geographic coverage to allow sufficient investment of
resources . She said guidance was still needed from the Federal
Government on creation of the Opportunity Funds . She said the City
would work to identify existing or new project opportunities,
market/recruit investment from qualified Opportunity Zones (in the
18 - 7
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
form of creating the data platform for investors to easily access
information on local needs, qualified investments, and
complimentary state and local initiatives) , and work with other
City departments to streamline the process . She said creating
workforce programs would be key to new companies that were created
out of this program, along with building local capacity to support
investment activity, and working with educational institutions,
community organizations, foundations, and large and small business
support centers that all had a stake in making them successful .
Councilmember Kitchen inquired if housing was considered. Ms .
Reichgelt said housing was considered as part of the selection and
there were a wide variety of investments that could be done (with
the majority in the form of real estate) . Councilmember Kitchen
said that affordable housing was critical for the City to be
competitive.
Councilmember Mendenhall inquired about the timeline (when
the Council could expect to hear back from the Treasury
Department) , and if there would be any delay or if implementation
would be immediate. Ms . Reichgelt said the City should hear back
by May 20, 2018 and that implementation should be immediate
depending on Federal regulations . Councilmember Mendenhall
requested an update from Staff when the information came back from
the Treasury Department.
#7 . 4:28:27PM FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CITY' S FUNDING
NEEDS AND REVENUE OPTIONS, INCLUDING THE PROPOSED SALES TAX
INCREASE, AND THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT TO DATE. New revenue could be
used toward streets maintenance, road reconstruction projects and
other infrastructure needs, transit, neighborhood safety, and
affordable housing. The potential sales tax increase would raise
Salt Lake City's portion of sales tax by 0. 5 percent, or 5 cents
on a $10 purchase. Additional sales tax would generate about $33
million per year in additional revenue. Sales tax is paid on most
purchases made in the City, except groceries such as unprepared
food, and about 60% of sales tax revenue is paid by nonresidents
such as office workers, visitors and tourists. View Attachments
The discussion had the following components:
A. Information on the proposed sales tax and a public engagement
report.4:28:43 PM
B. Information on housing. 4:45:50 PM
C. Information on public safety, police resources, and similar
discussion items.5:25:26PM
18 - 8
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
D. Information on transit.5:56:28 PM
Lindsey Ferrari, Siobhan Locke, Elizabeth Buehler, Lehua
Weaver, Melissa Jensen, Tim Doubt, Mary Beth Thompson, Jon Larsen,
Jerry Benson, Nichol Bourdeaux, Russell Weeks, Heather Bennett and
Julianne Sabula briefed the Council with attachments .
Discussion for topic A:
Ms . Ferrari described a three-part approach for public
engagement: reintroduction of the four needs (including transit,
affordable housing, roads, and neighborhood safety) ; introduction
of public to the possible revenue sources being considered by the
City and Council; and to introduce to the public how the sales tax
could be used to meet the four needs .
Ms . Ferrari provided an overview of the initial feedback
received: 3, 200 website visits within one month; 2, 151 surveys
taken; 33 calls on the comment line; and 70 emails or comments
from the online comment webpage. She said there were also two
postcards sent to all residents and businesses . She said the online
survey/public opinion poll provided 68% in support of the sales
tax and 32% opposed. She said they were also asked for opinions
concerning needs for street repair, east-west transit, affordable
housing, and neighborhood safety.
Ms . Locke said 60 neighborhood businesses were visited and
the City received support from these groups; however, there was
concern from retail businesses about the sales tax increase.
Ms . Ferrari said they also reached out to business development
leaders and business organizations : The Downtown Alliance, Kim
Gardner Institute, and Downtown Merchants, regarding their issues
concerning more advance notice on issues like roads, homeless, and
threatening the competitiveness of downtown (which were strong
areas of concern) .
Ms . Locke said they met with other "opinion-leaders" such as
church leaders, American Federation of Labor-Congress of
Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) , and others who had a stake in
this throughout the community. She said most groups agreed
affordable housing was a big need for both low-income and middle-
income levels . She said the "opinion-leaders" were generally
supportive, with the accountability piece being very strong.
18 - 9
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
Ms . Ferrari said the last groups surveyed were Community
Councils . She said there were concerns over east vs . west spending,
how spending for critical needs had been deferred for so long, and
going forward, how they would know the money was spent the way it
was intended.
Councilmember Mendenhall inquired about the equitable
distribution and if this was a sentiment heard City-wide. Ms .
Buehler said it was a City-wide sentiment however, the people
wanted to see relative to bonding, improvements in their
neighborhoods .
Councilmember Rogers inquired as to why only 18 people
attended the workshops . Ms . Locke said despite social media posts,
mailers, and many other opportunities, only 18 people attended the
workshops . She said in her experience this might indicate there
was not much opposition.
Discussion for topic B:
Ms . Jensen briefed the Council regarding the implementation
of Growing SLC, a Five-Year Housing Plan. She said stable housing
produced nearly $7, 500 . 00 in income that was invested in families'
health and the economy. She went on to say regardless of housing
demand, the market would not provide housing for 40o area median
income (AMI) , leading to a market gap. Ms . Jensen described a
multi-faceted approach to include three goals : increase all
housing, create affordability, and equitable & fair distribution.
She said sales tax revenue presented an ongoing reliable funding
source to support long-term investments .
Ms . Gray spoke about the $5 million investment proposal and
what the first fiscal year could look like. She said focus was on
a wide impact across the income spectrum as well as a diverse tool
kit of strategies, and a sustainable model . She said resources
were not keeping up with population growth and by creating new
housing opportunities (both affordable rental and homeownership)
it translated to roughly 160 new housing opportunities within the
first year and served over 1, 100 Salt Lake City households over a
period of about 50 years . She added that funding to stabilize and
support low income households was needed, would give households
the opportunity to advance, and within the first year 350
households could be served.
Ms . Gray spoke about tracking and reporting on the progress
18 - 10
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
as requested through the community engagement work and quarterly
reports (received for the Federal funding from grantees on
households served/dollars expended) . She said annual reports were
received from the Housing Trust Fund with affordability compliance
and property financial information.
Councilmember Wharton asked for an explanation of the number
of units per year. Ms . Gray explained that for land discounts and
financing, this was the amount of units that could be created
through loans for new development. She said in some cases, it was
a household served through rental assistance and supportive
services .
Councilmember Wharton inquired about less units and less
money allocated within the report. Ms . Jensen said that on average,
there was about $10, 000 allocated per unit for construction and
stabilizing families . Councilmember Wharton asked how they would
increase homeownership of 13 people or families with only $175, 000 .
Ms . Gray said that would require 20o down-payment assistance.
Councilmember Wharton asked for an explanation of the
$500, 000 increase to the rental pool for low-income renters and
the to-be-determined (TBD) column of units for an offset to General
Fund impact and building services . Ms . Gray said the $500, 000 was
incentive for landlords to rent to low-income households and
estimated it would provide over 100 units . Ms . Jensen added they
looked at best practices around the country to determine
implementation of the program and the City would be the steward of
the dollars and rely on the community through a public process to
apply to access the funds .
Councilmember Rogers said Rapid Rehousing was giving
landlords double the deposit (paying sometimes twice the amount of
the rent per month just to get people in homes) . He went on to say
when an individual was going to be evicted there were negotiations
to pay them an additional two months of rent to keep them in the
home. He said this was a waste of taxpayers' money. He said that
once people were on Section 8 Housing it was hard for them to get
off. He said this should be a program to allow for growth and not
keep them in the system forever. Ms . Jensen said there was
opportunity (with these being non-Federal dollars) as they managed
these contracts they understood the problems and wanted to work
with the community to assist families and not penalize them. She
said it was imperative to create a new way of doing business in a
way that advanced people economically with job training and allowed
18 - 11
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
them to move off the voucher with very clear time parameters .
Councilmember Rogers said this should be a policy discussion
and inquired what a good amount of time was to help subsidize ones
rent. Ms . Jensen said that time limits and making sure this was an
incentive for people to become stable was very important.
Councilmember Johnston clarified Rapid Rehousing to say it
was by definition immediate up front and time limited to no more
than three months . He said to be clear when critiquing programs
because they were designed for a specific purpose and if Rapid
Rehousing was not used effectively, it would be abused. He added
that if it was used the way it was intended, it would be a jump
start back into the housing market for those who could not get in
otherwise. He went on to say some Section 8 Housing subsidies were
set up permanently for those with disabilities and not able to
meet certain market rent . He said he did not want to throw certain
programs under the bus because they became the only stop-gap
measure for some people in the community. He said programs should
be set-up with specific outcomes attached to them, and some
outcomes might be that it was cheaper for the community to help
somebody out long-term than to pay for the homeless services for
them. He said as programs were set-up, there should be outcomes in
mind, a target, and expectations .
Councilmember Rogers said it was not in the short-term of
helping one person, but in the long-term of building and
stockpiling affordable housing. He said there was always a place
for programs and whether it was a voucher or to make sure someone
was not going homeless, there was the Housing Trust Fund that the
City could place funding into for affordable units .
Councilmember Johnston inquired if there was a way to quantify
the potential program income . Ms . Jensen said potential program
income meant dollars in the door (revolving loans) . Councilmember
Kitchen inquired what the average down-payment assistance dollar
amount was . Ms . Jensen said historically it had been quite low and
among the community partners it varied from $5, 000 to $7, 500 .
Councilmember Mendenhall asked about the $1 million that was
placed towards the Renovation Pilot Program. She inquired about
the reality of building a pilot program, the work it would take,
length of time, etc. Ms . Gray said they met with the Housing Trust
Fund Advisory Board in March to present their draft parameters and
process for the pilot and received their approval . She said once
18 - 12
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
the Council reviewed it they would be issuing a notice-of-funding
availability for the pilot program. She said stakeholder
interviews were performed with developers to ensure they were
creating a funding source that could be utilized and expected the
funds to be available before the end of this fiscal year.
Councilmember Mendenhall asked how perpetuity played out in
the short-term and to provide some context to the funding proposal
on the spectrum of very short-term, to in-perpetuity. Ms . Jensen
said the general recommendation was for 50 years, with the
exception of the Community Land Trust which was the largest one-
off subsidy at a 99-year-lease. She went on to say for any sort of
loans or financing there would be a finance mechanism and a deed
restriction.
Councilmember Mendenhall inquired about expectation with
spending $10, 000 per unit on the spectrum of perpetuity. Ms . Gray
said there were roughly 160 units in long-term affordability which
included 143 units in the Housing Trust Fund, three community land
trusts, and 13 units for the Down-Payment Assistance Program.
Discussion for Topic C:
Ms . Thompson briefed the Council regarding the Public Safety
and Police budget . Comments included the Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS) grant expiration and the need to be funded
by the General Fund or the sales tax for between $300, 000 and
$350, 000; $3 . 7 million needed for 50 new police officers; $526, 000
needed for an additional 13 full-time employees; $287, 000 for
Justice Court costs; $501, 657 for nine dispatchers; a $500, 000
place holder for possible full-time employees; reconstruction
costs or updating equipment; $4 million to place all police
vehicles on a cash basis/three year rotation; and $2 million for
raises or incentives for police officers .
Councilmember Mendenhall said the Council was passionate
about fully staffing the 23 beats the Police Department identified.
She said this kind of community policing model (and having it
adequately staffed) was the highest priority of the Council . Mr.
Doubt said they recently finished an International Association of
Chiefs of Police (IACP) study that would provide more information.
He said a strategic plan was finished in which the community and
stakeholders were involved and received feedback on three
different goals, 11 different objectives, and 84 action items with
a measurement attached to them to determine their outcomes and
18 - 13
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
effectiveness . He added that they did not tie a fiscal note to any
of these items .
Councilmember Mendenhall inquired as to the spectrum of
supportive staff and if the City was getting the most out of the
investment of 50 officers . Mr. Doubt said the added civilians were
to help with current issues such as more crime lab technicians
trained in finger print examinations to help with officers wait
time and back-log prevention. He said more victim advocates were
needed, intelligence analysts to assist with the current work load,
and whatever the Council allowed would be placed towards patrol .
Councilmember Wharton relayed a question from Councilmember
Fowler (who was not present) . He inquired if the money would go
towards de-escalation training. Mr. Doubt said there was currently
a robust training program and he did not foresee needing more money
for training. He said he felt the topic of de-escalation was
adequately covered in the current training.
Councilmember Rogers inquired what the difference would be if
the number dropped from 50 to 27 officers and what the savings
would be without other employees and vehicles . Ms . Thompson said
it would be $1 . 9 million for 27 officers .
Discussion for Topic D:
Mr. Benson discussed the value of UTA' s partnership with the
City, how transit improved quality of life, and not just getting
people to work. Councilmember Mendenhall inquired if the Council
had an opportunity to make decisions about specific funding for
specific routes . She said costs could change with the transition
in UTA and if the Council were to wait too long to execute on those
decisions .
Mr. Benson said the current Board of Trustees was in place
until a new Board was implemented in November. He said if the City
placed their objectives into the mix with what was happening
County-wide, or State-wide, it would be harder to call the shots .
He said with City' s willingness to fund/contribute to transit
service placed Salt Lake City in the driver' s seat.
Ms . Bourdeaux briefed the Council regarding the Transit
Master Plan Implementation Scenarios including Frequent Transit
Network (FTN) corridors, continued local bus service, and capital
investments . She said Scenario I included focus on east-west
18 - 14
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
connections, downtown, and East High School, with an $8 million
cost annually; Scenario II included additional east-west
connections, Rose Park, Poplar Grove/Glendale, University of Utah,
Downtown, and East High School with a $12 million cost annually;
and Scenario III included Central City, Sugarhouse, north-south
connections, and Highland High School with a $16 million cost
annually.
Councilmember Mendenhall asked what measures led to the
selection of routes in Scenario I, versus II, versus III, and how
Transportation or UTA prioritized service potential . Ms . Bourdeaux
said UTA looked at the feedback received from Council, their
community partners, and the Administration and focused on
prioritizing east-west routes .
Ms . Sabula said they needed partnerships to extend beyond the
boundaries of the City. She went on to say 200 South was critical
for the network to function, had been the busiest route in the
system on a per mile basis, was key to going from hub and spoke to
a grid-based system.
Ms . Bennett said the biggest opportunity the School Board had
was to take young people who were currently enrolled in public
high schools and teach them to use public transportation. She said
in working with UTA for a portion of the West High boundary area,
where students were issued transit passes and billed by a tap on
basis, it had evolved into a valuable partnership. She said they
had not been able to extend to other parts of the City because of
the lack of convenient service.
Councilmember Kitchen inquired if the arrangement with UTA
for West High could be replicated with 900 South and 2100 South in
the current proposal . Ms . Bennett said it possibly could, and
looking at the ridership numbers they currently had for the
schools, there were around 1, 450 kids on school busses, and around
350 on UTA passes . She said if there was a way to make the routes
match up, they could continue that conversation.
Councilmember Kitchen added that Transportation should look
into any opportunities for a shared operational cost at any level
for the bus routes . He went on to say he wanted to see the Transit
Master Plan take the place of needing to run school busses . Ms .
Bourdeaux said conversations should continue with the University
of Utah and Salt Lake City School District to provide transit
services for people coming into the City.
18 - 15
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17 , 2018
Councilmember Johnston asked if these scenarios included fare
subsidies for City residents . Mr. Larsen said the creation of a
task force was recommended to view fares and potential partnerships
and see more passes in more pockets, citing the Hive Pass
successful program.
Councilmember Rogers said he supported aspects of Scenario
III which would be the difference for District 1 and would
dramatically change people' s lives .
Ms . Sabula said there were many neighborhoods where empty
busses were running, which did not maximize resources, nor help
air quality. She said trips-to-transit partnerships with
residential and business areas were being sought out for those who
currently relied on transit to not be left without options . She
said partnerships with ridesharing (Uber and Lyft) were also being
considered. Mr. Larsen added that an app might be developed for
pick up/drop off options and predesignated transit hubs with no
additional fare.
Councilmember Mendenhall said there was opportunity to phase
the preferred scenario, starting with $8 million and progressing
to $12 million via other partnerships or additional tax
opportunities .
Councilmember Johnston said if more could be done internally
for east-west routes and rely on external funds for north-south
routes, that would be better for the long-term and accomplish all
that was desired.
#8 . 5:50:09PM INTERVIEW ALAN GALLEGOS PRIOR TO CONSIDERING HIS
APPOINTMENT TO THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR A TERM
EXTENDING THROUGH APRIL 17 , 2021 . View Attachments
Councilmember Mendenhall said Mr . Gallegos' name was on the
Consent Agenda for formal consideration.
#9. 5:54:17PM INTERVIEW ZACHARY ANDERSON PRIOR TO CONSIDERING
HIS APPOINTMENT TO THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR A TERM
EXTENDING THROUGH APRIL 17 , 2021 . View Attachments
Councilmember Mendenhall said Mr. Anderson' s name was on the
Consent Agenda for formal consideration.
#10 . 8:29:07 PM REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INCLUDING A
18 - 16
MINUTES OF THE SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018
REVIEW OF COUNCIL INFORMATION ITEMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. The Council
may give feedback or staff direction on any item related to City
Council business, including but not limited early advertising and
scheduling items.
See File M 18-5 for Announcements .
#11 . REPORT OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR
No discussion was held.
#12 . CONSIDER A MOTION TO ENTER INTO CLOSED SESSION, IN
KEEPING WITH UTAH CODE §52-4-205 FOR ANY ALLOWED PURPOSE.
Item not held.
The meeting adjourned at 6 : 51 p.m.
COUNCIL CHAIR
CITY RECORDER
This document is not intended to serve as a full transcript
as other items may have been discussed; please refer to the audio
or video for entire content pursuant to Utah Code §52-4-203 (2) (b) .
This document along with the digital recording constitute the
official minutes of the City Council Work Session meeting held
April 17, 2018 .
dr
18 - 17