HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-08-27 Work SessionMeridian City Council Work Session August 27, 2019.
A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, August
27, 2019, by Mayor Tammy de Weerd.
Members Present: Joe Borton, Luke Cavener, Genesis Milam, Anne Little Roberts and
Treg Bernt.
Members Absent: Tammy De Weerd and Ty Palmer.
Also present: Chris Johnson, Bill Nary, Kyle Radek, Sonya Allen, Mark Ford, Mark
Niemeyer, Joe Bongiorno and Dean Willis.
Item 1: Roll-call Attendance:
Roll call.
X__ Anne Little Roberts X _ _Joe Borton
___ Ty Palmer X__ Treg Bernt
__X___Genesis Milam __X___Lucas Cavener
_____ Mayor Tammy de Weerd
Borton: Good afternoon. It is Tuesday, August 27th. 4:30 p.m. We will start up our
workshop agenda. Welcome, everybody. Big crowd. Chief. We will begin tonight's
meeting with roll call attendance. Mr. Clerk.
Item 2: Adoption of Agenda
Borton: Item No. 2, adoption of the agenda.
Cavener: Mr. President?
De Weerd: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: I don't see any proposed changes. So , I move we approve the Consent -- or
we adopt the agenda as presented.
Milam: Second.
Borton: It's been moved and seconded to adopt the agenda as p ublished. All those In
favor say aye. Thank you much.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. TWO ABSENT.
Item 3: Consent Agenda [Action Item]
A. Approve Minutes of August 13, 2019 City Council Work Session
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B. Approve Minutes of August 13, 2019 City Council Regular
Meeting
C. Approve Minutes of August 20, 2019 City Council Work Session
D. Final Plat for Sky Mesa Subdivision No. 2 (H-2019-0083) by
Engineering Solutions, LLP, Located NW of the intersection of
S. Eagle Rd. and E. Taconic Dr.
E. Final Order for Burlingame Subdivision No. 1 (H-2019-0080) by
Engineering Solutions, LLP, Located at 1923 N. Black Cat Rd.
F. Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law for Rackham
Subdivision (H-2019-0081) by BVABC Eagle View, LLC, Located
at 1020 S . Eagle Rd.
G. Revised Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law for Verona Lot
12, Block 12 (H-2019-0070) by Jacksons Food Stores, Inc.,
located at 4870 N. Ten Mile Rd.
H. Development Agreement for Razzberry Villas (H-2018-0130)
with Integrity Partners, LLC located at 1434 and 1492 Star
Drive
I. First Addendum To City Utilities Reimbursement Agreement -
Meridian Costco
J. License Agreement Between City Of Meridian And Meridian
Library District For Non-Exclusive Use Of Walking Path In
Julius M . Kleiner Memorial Park
K. Professional Services Agreement for Community Art Projects
Artwork Licenses Not-to-Exceed $600
1. Andrea Harris, "Reserved Parking" $300
2. Tena Rogers, "Splash Pad" $300
L. Professional Services Agreement for Meridian Art Week Not-
to-Exceed $500
1. Lisa Johnson, Musical Talent $200
2. Hanover Park Entertainment, Movie Screening $300
M. Resolution 19-2162: A Resolution To Amend The City Of
Meridian’s Citywide Records Retention Schedule; And
Providing An Effective Date.
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N. City Financial Report - July 2019
O. AP Invoices for Payment - 08/21/19 Special $4,106.45
P. AP Invoices for Payment - 08/28/19 - $2,019,785.65
Borton: Item No. 3, the Consent Agenda.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: I move we approve the Consent Agenda, for the Council President to sign and
the Clerk to attest.
Milam: Second.
Borton: It's been moved and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. Any discussion?
If not, Mr. Clerk.
Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, yea; Cavener, yea; Palmer, absent; Little Roberts, yea;
Bernt, yea.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Item 4: Items Moved From the Consent Agenda
Borton: Nothing moved from the Consent Agenda.
Item 5: Department/Commission Reports
A. Fire Department: Station 6 Change Order Update [Action Item]
Borton: Moving along. Item No. 5, Department/Commission reports. We are going to
start off with Station No. 6 change order update. Chief Niemeyer.
Niemeyer: Council, good afternoon. I am here to present what we anticipate is some
future budget amendments with regard to Station 6. We knew going into this project of
its size we were going to have some change orders, but for us change orders are
scrutinized within the department, certainly with Stacy and Keith Watts, kind of like budget
amendments. We want to make sure we are presenting for the right reasons. That said,
we knew we were going to go into them. I learned this lesson the hard way, as a little
story telling. When Cheryl and I built our house five years ago we spen t hours on the
weekends planning every detail to that house and the bet I had with the builder was no
more than three change orders. By the time the project was done we had lost the bet.
We had eight. So, we know change orders are a part of a process, but I did want to talk
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about them and answer any questions. We do have one action for this evening. We are
hoping are hoping you will consider it and that is the fire hydrant and I want to go into a
little bit of detail on that, because it is a pretty spendy cost to a fire hydrant add. So, with
that I sent out the spreadsheet earlier today. Hopefully you all received it. Councilman
Cavener, I apologize that it came out today. We just got an update on it today, so we tried
to get that out earlier. So, I apologize for that and I hope you had enough time to look at
it. We are here tonight primarily to request funding -- a change order in funding that's
already been allocated for a second fire hydrant that will be located on the rear of the
station. Each of our other stations has a fire hydrant in the back and the purpose of that
is to not meet fire code, but, rather, to provide for training -- water supply for training. This
lot is big enough that we can actually do some training on the backside of this parcel in
the backside of this lot. We also use that hydrant when we come back from a fire, our
engineers pull up to that hydrant and fill up their tanks, so that they are ready to go for
the next call. That was not put in the initial design. We were trying to limit cost and so
we took out things that we felt we could take out. We have funding available and so for
discussion tonight is the second hydrant in the back side of the fire station. This would
come out of the contingency dollars that you had in the spreadsheet that I sent to you . A
couple other things that we are looking at that will come before you if we need to. Big
ticket -- you will see the 50,000 dollars for the design emergency signalization. Keith
Watts is currently negotiating through that and I don't want to go into too much detail,
because he is working through that with the architect , the subcontractor, on this. The
design of the emergency signal is that arm that goes across the road that signals stop for
traffic that's coming through when we respond to a call. Where they had proposed to put
that there are underground utilities right in the spot that they proposed to put that and we
feel that the design folks should have caught that . So, Keith is looking through that. We
are hoping that this cost does not come before you. We feel that that's on them. So,
Keith is working through that. The doors -- the folding doors -- this was actually a
discussion -- I'm sorry to see Councilman Palmer not here. We discussed this during --
way back on the design phase of this project. The folding doors are something that has
been incorporated in many fire stations around us. Boise in particular. They are really
neat looking. They have a lower maintenance cost, but outside of that when we designed
this station we didn't know of any other benefit to them . Chief Butterfield has been
researching this and as I spoke with our Council liaison about my intrigue in these doors
is they open in about seven seconds. Standard garage doors open in anywhere from 21
to 35 seconds. So, it doesn't seem like a lot at all, but in our business when seconds
count getting out of the station it's a big deal and Chief Butterfield is looking at that. Again,
that would come before you for consideration and discussion, so I wanted to make you
aware that we are looking into it. Tonight we are asking for a change order approval for
the second fire hydrant and it is a cost of 37,000 -- I'm getting older. 37,678 dollars. Why
the cost to put in a fire hydrant? It's 331 linear feet that this line would be laid to put in
the hydrant. I worked with Stacy to get more information, because I kind of asked the
same question. Why -- why so high. What's the cost involved. This is four feet down
that you have to bury this and what you have to do with the hydrant line is jacket it,
meaning there has to be a pipe around the pipe to protect it. That's a big part of the cost.
So, this cost includes labor and materials, all the above. So, I'm certainly happy to stand
for any questions on the f ire hydrant.
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Borton: Thank you, chief. Council, any questions?
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Question either for chief or Bill. It seems like you're bringing us kind of like a
provisional vote, then, before you bring us a budget amendment. Is that what we are
doing here?
Niemeyer: Councilman Cavener, I can chime in and certainly Bill can as needed, too.
This isn't a budget amendment, this is within the contingency funds that have been
approved. So, it's not a budget amendment, it's not asking for new dollars.
Cavener: Mr. President. So, just basically asking us for our approval to spend dollars
that are in a contingent budget that have already been allocated.
Niemeyer: In a nutshell, yes. Yes, sir.
Cavener: Okay.
Borton: I think we -- we brought this up a while back on a different project with trying to
have change orders brought to us and presented, to have us on the record affirm approval
of them.
Cavener: Great.
Niemeyer: And, Mr. President, that was -- that was why we pulled it from last week. It
was on the Consent Agenda. The Mayor and I had a discussion. We didn't know that --
that you like to hear the change orders, so that's why we pulled it and brought it tonight.
Cavener: Great.
Borton: That's great.
Milam: Mr. President? Just a quick question. Has this been compared, the price, to what
we have done at previous stations? Is the price in line? Is it more because it's a
contingency, because it's later in the process or because they can -- because they can I
guess?
Niemeyer: Yeah. I haven't researched our other projects. The last time we built a fire
station was ten years ago. Certainly we rely on Public Works and some of their input on
what -- what the cost is to put in lines like this and hydrants and there was nothing alerted
out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, materials have gone up in ten years, the cost of
them --
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Milam: Sure.
Niemeyer: -- and especially now that even home builders are finding that out. So, we
didn't hear anything that alarmed us that this is out of -- out of line with previous.
Milam: Thank you.
Borton: Any other questions, information needed?
Little Roberts: Mr. President?
Borton: Mrs. Little Roberts.
Little Roberts: Mr. President, I would like to move that we approve the 3 7,678 dollars for
the change order.
Cavener: Second.
Borton: Moved and seconded to approve Item 6 -- 5-A. Any discussion? Mr. Clerk,
please call roll.
Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, yea; Cavener, yea; Palmer, absent; Little Roberts, yea;
Bernt, yea.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Niemeyer: Great. Thank you. And we look forward to coming back and updating you.
The good news is we are on time and on budget, so --
Borton: While you are here, the venting system is a part of this as well; right? In Station
6?
Niemeyer: That's included in our original design.
Borton: Sure.
Niemeyer: As far as our other stations go --
Borton: Right.
Niemeyer: -- chief, correct me if I'm wrong, but the last update I got is they have all been
installed. They are all attached. We have one fire engine that had to have a modification
to their exhaust system to attach, but everything's been done.
Borton: Okay. Great.
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Niemeyer: Yes, sir. Yeah. Good news.
Borton: Good to hear. Thanks.
Niemeyer: Thank you.
B. City Council: Proposed Amendment to Meridian City Code 6-2-
8(D) and (G) to Increase Fine Amounts
Borton: Item No. 5-B. This is kind of the continuation of our process if Council has
questions and ideas they want to bring forward for discussion . This one came up from
Council Woman Milam, who is -- oh, she's going to the podium. I love it. So, if you recall
a couple of months back there was remarks that -- that surrounded dogs off leash and
the consequence of dogs off leash and there are better ways to address it or deter it and
making sure that stayed on the radar. Genesis, the floor is yours.
Milam: Council President, Members of the Council, good afternoon. Thanks for having
me this afternoon. It feels really weird being over here and I wrote some stuff down,
because you guys are really intimidating. All right. So -- this seems really loud. I'm here
to -- to discuss with you today a possible amendment to the City Code 6-2-8(d)(e), which
are, basically, dog at large. And maybe G, which is dog rushing. To increase the fine
amounts. The reason I feel that we need to increase the fines is due to the extreme
number of people who do not abide by the law and I have seen so many -- what brought
this about to me is I saw so many posts on NextDoor and hearing people's stories that
are getting attacked by dogs. Their kids are getting attacked by dogs, their dogs are
getting attacked by dogs, and just going taking their -- just walking down the street being
rushed at and either scared, you know, and psychologically -- have psychological trauma
or physical harm. I have got a couple -- okay. So, I have two pages and just a very quick
couple minute search of all of these different quotes from different people who have been
attacked by dogs just within the recent month or so and I'm just going to read a couple of
them to you. Today my children and tiny dog were attacked by a dog. A man walking
three dogs, one unleashed, could have caused my children lots of harm. We are animal
lovers, but also responsible pet owners. I don't want to turn this into a long rant, but I
simply feel that people need to be responsible pet owners . My daughter is very brave to
fight the dog, but it could have been tragic for all involved . That's just part of one. My
puppy and I were charged three times today by the same dog racing toward us teeth
bared. The dog came around the corner the first time . Owner not in sight. The last two
times he raced across the street toward us. We were on the sidewalk. He said no worries,
he won't bite. Well, that wasn't the impression the dog was giving us. And another one.
I was running with my dog this afternoon around 3:00 and we were both attacked by a
dog. The owner had his dog off leash and was 20 plus feet behind the dog. So, this is
just -- it's becoming more and more. I was -- I go for a walk every day and I see this
firsthand. I personally haven't had any run-ins, but I see it -- I see it all the time and it
could happen and especially for children. So, this is a matter of public safety and they
are crying for help. They are asking on the NextDoor they are saying why aren't -- why
isn't anybody doing anything about this. So, my hope is if we increase the fine enough it
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will prevent many of the circumstances that are causing the incidents, because less pet
owners will let their dogs roam without a leash. The current off-leash penalty is 25 dollars
for the first offense, 50 dollars for the second offense, and a hundred dollars for the third
offense and I am proposing like 300, 500 and a thousand at a minimum. And the point
isn't really to make a lot of money, it's to be high enough that people will be discouraged
from doing it in the first place. If we could prevent dogs being off leash, then, we can
prevent dogs attacking people. I would like the city to use all of its media resource outlets
to -- to publicize it and educate our citizens, so they know that this is what it is and really
it's about prevention. However, if fees are collected I would like the money to go towards
our contract with the Humane Society, which we already have, which would, then,
potentially save taxpayer dollars that we allocate towards that every year. There is also
in 6-2-8(s), removal of dog feces. Now, this one is a little bit in jest, but it doesn't have to
be. So, we could include a penalty of picking up dog feces in public parks or other public
places if you get caught not picking up your own.
Bernt: The owner's or the dog's?
Milam: Your own dog's. Thanks, Treg. Councilman Bernt. I'm not asking for any action,
just simply want to see if you as a body -- I think this would be something to discuss
further and have a public hearing on. And I will stand for questions.
Little Roberts: Mr. President?
Borton: Mrs. Little Roberts.
Little Roberts: Mr. President. Councilman Milam. Which one were you referring to
regarding the -- is it the dog -- were you referring to (e), dog at large on -- would that
impact (e), dog at large on public --
Milam: The private property -- Councilman -- sorry. Mr. President, Council Woman Little
Roberts, The (e) is not your own private property, it's somebody else's private property.
And it's if you don't have permission to allow your dog on that property. So, I think that it
should -- again, this is all -- we can discuss all of the particulars on how that would be at
a later date, but I did put it in there because it's still a dog at large off of leash and I don't
think -- I mean if they can't be on the sidewalk why would it be okay for me to let them
into my neighbor's yard.
Little Roberts: Follow up. Well, like community parks that are owned by the subdivision
-- we live right across the road from one and we have got a lot of people that off leash
very safely work their dogs in that park and I'm just worried that -- because it's really kind
of fun watching them. We have never had one single complaint and I'm concerned that
that would impact the opportunity that these people , including myself, have on working
their dogs in the park that's within a community.
Milam: So, that's private property. Oh, sorry.
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Borton: You bet.
Milam: Council Member Little Roberts.
Borton: Genesis.
Milam: That's the hardest part. That is private property; correct? So, if the HOA allows
that would be my assumption and, again, I appreciate you bringing that up, because those
are details that we do need to look into. However, personally, same thing goes for me
when I'm on my walk, there is somebody that's constantly out there with a dog off leash
and the dog comes chasing up at me pushing the stroller with the baby. It doesn't bare
teeth or attack me, but it's a little startling sometimes and the owner yells at them and
they usually retrieve, but, you know, personally I think that we have amazing an dog park
and -- and, you know, we need more. We have another one at Discovery now, so there
are a couple places to -- to do dog training, but it's definitely something to consider.
Borton: If I understand what you're saying as to, (d), (e) and (g), any or all of those, it's
not an ask to make a new prohibition, to ban something that otherwise was lawful, but
just to raise the fine on what is already prohibited --
Milam: Sure. Yes.
Borton: -- for the deterrent effect. I think (d) prevents me going to your HOA and bringing
my dog, but I don't think it prevents you. That's probably a Mr. Nary question. I think it's
great to have a public hearing on raising these amounts for that purpose and getting some
awareness to the problem and perhaps it may be a chilling effect on folks even with good
intention who let their dogs run up and down the street. We have been attacked. Our
dog's been attacked. Same thing. Multiple times. Happens all the time. So, it's -- I think
it's worthy of a discussion. Increase the fines and people say, oh, my God, that's so
expensive. Good. Have that conversation.
Milam: Thank you, Council President Borton. And that's exactly the -- the purpose is
really to just discourage it from happening. It's happening too much and, hopefully, we
can get some people that have been -- like yourself who have actually been attacked to
come and share their stories and -- and give their feedback on -- on that as well.
Nary: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Nary.
Nary: Mr. President, Members of the Council, Council Member Milam, the only thing I
was going to mention on the fines. So, currently our dog at large in public place is an
infraction. So, the -- the maximum fine for an infraction in the state of Idaho is 300 dollars.
So, if you want to leave it as an infraction , just understand that's the maximum fine. If
you want to leave it as a graduated fine you can certainly go 50, 100, 300 or whatever
you want, as long as you understand the max is 300, unless you wanted to make it a
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misdemeanor on the third offense or something like that, then, it becomes a jailable
offense and that's concerning -- you know, we were asked a number of years ago by the
state legislature to try to eliminate as many city misdemeanors as we felt reasonably
possible and so this is one that I think has always been an -- well, I take that back. It
hasn't always been an infraction, it was a misdemeanor, but this is one that we did
downgrade to an infraction. So, you can still use the fine as a deterrent, just understand
what your maximum is. On the other ones, they are misdemeanors at a certain level. I
mean some of them require a second offense, but the maximum on misdemeanors are a
thousand dollars and six months in jail. So, you do have more flexibility to change the
penalty on the ones that are already misdemeanors and that would still align with state
code.
Milam: Council President?
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Good job.
Milam: Thanks.
Cavener: Real proud of you. You did so good with this. I just -- it was awesome to see.
And thanks for bringing this. This is something that you look at it and it's like, oh, maybe
there is some inconsistencies here in our code that we can fix and clean up. It wasn't on
my radar, but I am one hundred percent in support of having a public hearing on it. I'm
not sold on this 300, 500, 1,000 dollar business, but some conversations, hearing from
the public, is something that I'm -- I'm supportive of. I don't know if you know and if you
do I would love to hear it and it's not, then, I think this is a topic to be covered at the -- at
the public hearing is how many citations have been written . I appreciate your
recommendation that the funds go to the Humane Society. I have been pretty vocal on
the record about what I think is kind of the lack of -- of their service that they are providing
to us and our citizens. If I'm wrong on this particular piece, this is going to be a great
place to see it, but if I'm right I don't know if any change is going to warrant the intended
outcome that we want, except for the people are going to be educated and if our goal,
then, is education, well, then, let's work with our public information officer and just start
educating the public. So, that's where I am. I -- nobody knows this. When I was five
years old I got attacked by a dog. His name was Rooster. Tore my butt. I still got a scar.
I won't show it to any of you, but it's there. My younger brother was attached by a pit bull
on his face when he was 12 years old. Both were well behaved according to the owners.
Very nice, friendly dogs. That weren't those two days. And so anything we can do to
educate the public on something I support. I'm going to need a little more information
about where we head in terms of code before I can be fully behind it.
Milam: Council President?
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Borton: Mrs. Milam.
Milam: So, a couple of things. And I -- I agree with you about the education part. I mean
that is -- that is a lot of this, but also it needs to be education that is scary enough that
you don't want to have the consequences , which is why the large fine. I don't want to
make it a misdemeanor. We don't want to go backwards. We did just change this. I did
speak with the chief and he's willing to speak at the public hearing as well . I don't think
he would support it becoming a misdemeanor and I don't know if there is a way to just do
like -- maybe just -- maybe on your third offense it becomes -- at the thousand level it
becomes a misdemeanor or something like that. I don't think starting out too low is a
good idea either and I agree most dogs -- I'm an animal lover and most dogs are nice
dogs -- are nice until they are not and you don't know what it's going to take to antagonize
them or get them off that day and make them attack, so --
Cavener: Mr. President? One thing that -- I don't know if you're looking for other people
to help you with this, though I'm happy to help and assist if -- if you're looking for a set of
hands on this.
Milam: Thank you very much, Councilman Cavener.
Cavener: I think it's a good idea.
Milam: Appreciate it. Thank you for your time.
Bernt: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Bernt.
Bernt: So, I'm in agreement with Council Member Cavener. I think he explained it
perfectly. I also -- you know, I think most people don't even register their dogs, let alone
want to pay 500 bucks to pay it as a fine of some type when they bite another person or
a dog and so I -- the only thing that I'm concerned about is the -- the amount. So, maybe
you bring back some information in regard to -- you know, increase the last five years,
three years, last year, whatever from the Humane Society. I'm sure they have that data.
That would be really interesting to know.
Borton: Awesome. So, it sounds like there is some consensus to bring this back for a
public hearing, to gather info, discuss it more and, then, make a decision.
Milam: All right. Thank you very much.
Nary: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Nary.
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Nary: I take it from the tenor of the conversation the Council isn't requesting we draft a
draft ordinance to have a public hearing, but merely advertise a public hearing on the
subject matter --
Borton: Correct.
Nary: -- and, then, decide at that point whether a change is necessary.
Borton: Correct.
Nary: That's what I thought.
Borton: If there is going to be a change it's pretty minor to the existing language.
Nary: Okay. That's what I thought.
C. Community Development: Draft Ordinance Prohibiting Use of
Compression Brakes within the City of Meridian
Borton: This will come back. thanks, Genesis. Item 5-C, Community Development, draft
ordinance on -- back with compression brakes.
Nary: So, Mr. President, Members of the Council, I offered to present this, because it's
really at the draft ordinance stage that's in your packet. You may recall a number of
months ago we had a discussion with you regarding compression brakes and we had
some people that had an interest in the Ten Mile-Chinden area about a compression brake
ordinance and part of the conversation was that the ACHD will post in cities where there
are compression brake ordinances a no compression brake use sign and the City of
Meridian doesn't have one, so we didn't have a sign in the city. The sign is literally on the
edge of the city on Chinden near Highway 16, but not within the city limits. So, we drafted
this ordinance. We actually took it to the transportation commission. The chair, Mr.
Ballard, of the commission works very heavily with the trucking industry, so he had some
good insight and some good suggestions for the ordinance, which we have incorporated.
There are two exclusions and those are really for public transit. So, we are talking about
buses and things like that, as well as the Fire Department, because our fire engines -- all
fire engines have compression brakes. So, we want to make sure that those two types
of vehicles are excluded from this, but the ordinance is in front of you for your review.
Again, we are -- if we want to schedule it for other public hearing or passage or both. We
certainly can do that.
Borton: Thanks, Bill. Council, any questions?
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
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Cavener: And maybe this is for the public hearing, but as I recall from being at the
Transportation Commission, it was pretty clear that we don't have the resources , nor the
ability to enforce an ordinance like this. Get the sign up. You educate the public. But
unless you have got an officer that's there that witnesses it that has nothing else on their
plate for them to enforce, this -- this largely goes unenforced. I -- I think like all of us often
weigh enabling or enacting new ordinances for the sake of doing it . I'm one that typically
leans towards passing due to the public health benefit. I haven't heard yet what the public
health benefit is. So, I'm -- I'm a little reluctant to head down this path, although we would
at a public hearing have the opportunity to learn what, if any, public health benefit an
ordinance like this has and maybe it would allow the chief or PD to come and provide
testimony about their ability to enforce this. As I understand in a lot of municipalities that
have this it either falls one of two categories. It's very very heavy-handed or it's not really
addressed at all. So, I think those are some areas we should be concerned with.
Bernt: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Bernt.
Bernt: If I'm remembering correctly, I think Chief Lavey in his testimony to us said that --
I think if I'm remembering correctly he wasn't in favor of it, because of the difficulty of, you
know, managing it, you know.
Cavener: Transportation or City Council.
Bernt: Yeah. So, I think -- I think that Chief Lavey mentioned that he probably wasn't a
big fan of this ordinance. Maybe he's changed his mind. Maybe he's a hundred percent
behind it.
Borton: And you're the Council direction if you want to see this to come back or just end
it and move on.
Bernt: Mr. President?
Cavener: Just --
Bernt: Oh, sorry.
Cavener: Mr. President. I believe because this came from our Transportation
Commission it's worthy of landing on the public hearing. I'm not I don't think at this time
in support of it, but I believe in trusting the process and allowing something that comes
from our -- one of our commissions to land before the public for consideration . So, I'm
-- I'm supportive on that aspect -- in that aspect.
Borton: Any other direction up or down? Bring it back for a first reading and see what
happens? It's drafted. Sound good?
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Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Yeah.
Cavener: Even if we get a draft at a point in time that Transportation Commissioner
Ballard is back in town -- I think he's out of town right now -- it might be beneficial to have
someone from the Transportation Commission -- because it kind of just closes the loop
on that entire process.
Borton: At the first reading.
Cavener: The first reading. Yeah.
Milam: Mr. President?
Borton: Yeah.
Milam: We could ask our lieutenant in the room if he has an opinion on this either way.
Ford: You know, I don't have a huge opinion on it. It's not something that we have got a
lot of calls on for people in the community complaining about. It would be something that
would be hard to enforce unless we focused on like a directed for a day in reference to it.
But I know there hasn't been a lot of complaints from the community that I'm aware of in
reference to the compression brakes.
Nary: Mr. President? If I recall from Ted Baird from my office who is the one that staffs
the Transportation Commission, I think the chair, Mr. Ballard, is out of the country I think
almost the entire month of September. So, it maybe towards the end of September or the
first of October if you're okay with that. But we would be happy to coordinate that with his
schedule.
D. Benefits Trust Agreement Discussion
Borton: October it is. Any other questions for Council on this one? Okay. Thanks, Bill.
Item 5-D. This is coming back to us. The benefit trust agreement discussion. In the
packet the trust agreement and I believe the bylaws are uploaded for our review and, Bill,
I think you're going to kick it off.
Nary: Yes. Mr. President, Members of the Council, so what you have in front of you is
two documents. One is seeking Council's approval and one is for all your information in
regards to the -- the bylaws. So, the trust agreement is the founding document to
establish the benefits trust that's necessary for the Department of Insurance to approve
the city being a partially self -funded trust. The bylaws are the operating rules for the
trustees and so the intent is with -- as you can imagine with a lot of these, the benefits
trust agreement would likely be approved at -- approved and, then, not likely amended
much. Again, it's supposed to be the founding document to begin a trust. The bylaws
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may change as processes change or procedures change . We had one issue that was of
concern to the Finance Department and we did reach out to our outside counsel Mr. West
about it and part of it is is the current process for the city and how we fund benefits is
done in a way that it's -- it's paid at the -- the employee pays at the end of the month and
so the state requires that the payments be uploaded at the beginning of the month and
the state, of course, is wanting to ensure that any trust that's out there has the financial
capability to pay the claims that are going to be forthcoming and so that the -- so, I got an
e-mail from Mr. Lavoie this afternoon saying, okay, now they understand that we will have
to sit down and figure out how we are going to make that work, but we will -- we will figure
out a way to make that work. It isn't the way we currently do things, but if we have to
comply with the statute, we have to comply. So, the agreement -- I think our
recommendation from outside counsel was the way it is currently draft ed in front of you
is compliant with the state code and that is his recommendation is to move that forward
and, like I said, we will work out the details with the Finance Department, anticipating at
a future point there will probably come another agreement that will come in front of you
between the benefits trust and the city for those services and how they are going to get
done, completed and paid for, whatever -- how that's going to be done, so -- so, you
probably will see something about the operational piece later, but this intent was simply
to get the -- the basics of the agreement, the foundation of the benefits trust moving
forward, so we can submit it to the Department of Insurance for their review. They have
already -- they have already reviewed the trustees and this is another step in the chain .
As with any agency of that size it does take a little bit of time , so we want to try to keep
this moving as much as possible. So, we were asking for your approval of the trust
agreement tonight. If you need some time to digest that -- I know I sent it to you I think
last Thursday. Certainly one week won't really delay things, but we would like to keep
this moving, so we can make sure this gets approved timely.
Borton: Sure. Thanks, Bill. I saw Christena pop in the back. Did you have anything you
wanted to add or comment on it? Okay. Any questions or concerns raised by any of the
trustees about any of its language of either document?
Nary: Mr. President, Members of the Council, great question. So, we -- actually, the four
of us met with Mr. West. We had a few questions about some of the language and some
of the way it was originally drafted, because he used sort of a model they have used
before and so we tried to craft it and customize it to Meridian and so we had a -- he made
all those changes that were requested, so they have been seen. This issue with Finance
did come up in the Finance's review and so, again, we have to comply with state code,
so we will work out those details and make that work. So, that isn't -- it isn't a hurdle that
we think we can't overcome.
Borton: Is it any potential change to the language that would come from Finance that
necessitates us waiting a week and making sure that's totally buttoned up?
Nary: So, Mr. President, Members of the Council, we actually asked Finance for language
that would suit them. Unfortunately, that language would be noncompliant with the code.
So, that's why I think Mr. Lavoie's view was we will figure that out. Well, we are going to
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have to meet and figure that out, so we are going to have to do that, but it wouldn't be a
change to the agreement, because the agreement has to comply with the statue.
Borton: Council, any other further questions?
Little Roberts: Mr. President?
Borton: Mrs. Little Roberts.
Little Roberts: Mr. President, Mr. Nary, I was just kind of surprised in reading the trust
membership regarding the term the trustees would serve until death, incapacity, dah, dah,
dah, but nothing about leaving the city, because that seemed to be a major concern that
it only be employees serving as trustees to start with. So, Section 2, 2.2.
Cavener: Of the trust or of the bylaws?
Little Roberts: Of the trust. Bylaws. Sorry.
Nary: So, Mr. President, Members of the Council, Council Member Little Roberts, so we
talked about that and we were looking at originally some trust agreements have terms,
but Mr. West didn't recommend term periods, because, again, most of these are -- the
same people tend to just do it until they don't want to do it anymore . We -- we can certainly
add, if you prefer, resignation from the city. We presume, obviously, if they are resigning
and they are not eligible any longer they are not eligible, so -- because they have to be
part of the trust to be a trustee. So, they can't be a trustee -- in the trust if they are not an
employee. But certainly if that would make you more comfortable we can ask him to add
that addition, because we have, again, felt they weren't going to be a member of the city,
they weren't eligible to be in it, so -- but we can add that.
Borton: Good to clarify that.
Little Roberts: Thank you.
Borton: Couldn't hurt to add that. I think see Section 3 point --
Nary: 3.4.
Borton: -- four of the trust, yeah, would cover that.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: I did have a question -- Section 3.6 in the agreement to me appears to conflict
with 2.4 in the bylaws. 3.6 says that a trustee can be removed from office by majority
vote of the City Council. In the bylaws it says it is removed by a notice from the Mayor.
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Nary: So, thank you. Thank you for pointing that out. So, the -- and what was the number
of the bylaws?
Cavener: Mr. President. Bill, it's 3.6 of the -- of the agreement to 2.4 in the bylaws.
Nary: Mr. President, Members of the Council, Council Member Cavener, thank you for
that catch. We had discussed that originally with Mr. West, because some benefit plans
have that authority with the mayor. We suggested it should actually belong with the
council. So, the agreement is correct, that's the intent was the council. So, I will ask him
to change the bylaw one to reflect and they be the same. We felt that since the Council's
approving the trust, approving the agreement, approve the original trustees and any
subsequent trustees, that it would be the same reason for removal, that it would all flow
through the City Council, not the Mayor. So, we will fix that. It was just an oversight,
because I know we talked about it with him.
Cavener: Mr. President. An additional question, more just about process. In the bylaws
it talks about that these are public meetings, so my assumption is we would post them
like we would post any other commission, committee meeting that we have here at City
Hall.
Nary: Yes, but, Mr. President, Council Member Cavener, they are -- they do fall under the
open meeting law.
Borton: Any other questions, Council? Bill, one question on the t rust agreement, Section
4.2, references the amendment process where the trust and -- the agreement can be
amended by the trustees, as opposed to by the Council.
Nary: So, Mr. President, Members of the Council, I don't recall us discussing that, so
what I think would make more sense is it would be, then, with approval of City Council,
because, again, every amendment to the agreement I think would come back to the City
Council. The intention of the bylaws was to have the trustees manage that piece of the
agreement itself, which, again, is the foundation of the -- of the benefits trust itself I think
should have to come back to the Council. So, we could definitely amend 4.2.
Borton: Any other questions of counsel? Good work by the crew getting this put together.
This is a lot of structure and bones to make this thing successful.
Bernt: Almost there.
Borton: Would it make sense, Bill, that with these changes to have it come back on
September 4th?
Nary: Yeah. Mr. President, that was our intent. We would bring it back next Tuesday.
Borton: Okay. Allow it to kind of be cleaned up and make those few corrections. Okay.
Great. Any other questions, Council, on language, operations?
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Cavener: Good work. Appreciate bringing this back to us.
Borton: Great.
Nary: Thank you.
Borton: Thanks, Bill. Thanks, Christena. December 4th. 3rd? 3rd. Perfect.
Item 6: Executive Session per Idaho State Code 74-206(1)(d) To consider
records that are exempt from disclosure, and (1)(f) To communicate
with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal
ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or
controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigate
Borton: That's the end of the work session agenda. We have an Executive Session.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: I move that we go into Executive Session per Idaho State Code 74-206(1)(d)
and (1)(f).
Milam: Second.
Borton: It's been moved and seconded to go into Executive Session as stated. Mr. Clerk,
will you call roll.
Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, yea; Cavener, yea; Palmer, absent; Little Roberts, yea;
Bernt, yea.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: (5:09 p.m. to 5:35 p.m.)
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: I move we come out of Executive Session.
Milam: Second.
Borton: It's been moved and seconded to come out of Executive Session. All those in
favor say aye.
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MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Cavener: Mr. President?
Borton: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: I move we adjourn our work session.
Milam: Second.
Borton: Moved and seconded to adjourn. All those in favor?
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 5:35 P.M.
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