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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-03-14 Work Session Minutes Meridian City Council Work Session March 14, 2023. A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 4:33 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, 2023, by Mayor Robert Simison. Members Present: Robert Simison, Brad Hoaglun, Luke Cavener, Jessica Perreault, Liz Strader and John Overton. Members Absent: Joe Borton. Also present: Chris Johnson, Joy Hall, Bill Nary, Keith Watts, Darren Brasseur, Charlie Butterfield, Shawn Harper, Mike Barton, Berle Stokes, and Dean Willis. ROLL-CALL ATTENDANCE Liz Strader Joe Borton _X_ Brad Hoaglun _X_ John Overton _X_ Jessica Perreault(a:sapm) _X—Luke Cavener X Mayor Robert E. Simison Simison: Council, we will go ahead and call this meeting to order. For the record it is Tie Day, 3/14/23, at 4:33 p.m. We will begin this afternoon's work session with roll call attendance. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Simison: Next item up is adoption of the agenda. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: No changes for this afternoon's agenda, so I move approval of the agenda as published. Overton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to adopt the agenda. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the agenda is adopted. MOTION CARRIED: FOUR AYES. TWO ABSENT. CONSENT AGENDA [Action Item] 1. Approve Minutes of the March 7, 2023 Regular Meeting Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 2 of 25 2. Jump Creek No. 6 Sanitary Sewer and Water Main Easement 3. Ten Mile Creek Apartments Private Road Sanitary Sewer and Water Main Easement 4. WaterWalk Hotel Sanitary Sewer and Water Main Easement 5. License Agreement Between the City of Meridian and Nampa & Meridian Irrigation District for a Portion of the Ten Mile Pathway and a Pedestrian Crossing at Outer Banks Subdivision 6. Development Agreement (Matador Estates Subdivision H-2022-0043) Between the City of Meridian, Nicholas Gifford, and Quantum LTD, Inc. for Property Located at 1235 E. McMillan Rd. Simison: First item up is the Consent Agenda. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: I move approval of the Consent Agenda and for the Mayor to sign and Clerk to attest. Overton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to adopt the Consent Agenda. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the Consent Agenda was agreed to. MOTION CARRIED: FOUR AYES. TWO ABSENT. ITEMS MOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA [Action Item] Simison: There were no items removed from the Consent Agenda. DEPARTMENT / COMMISSION REPORTS [Action Item] 7. Procurement Month Proclamation Simison: And for the record Council Woman Perreault is here. We will move on to Department/Commission Reports. The first one up is a proclamation for Procurement Month. If I could have Darren and Keith join me at the podium that would be great. So, it's -- it's great to once again come together and have everyone in the audience be here for this momentous occasion, since you are purchasing -- for many of them -- for the work that you do. But we -- we truly do have the best procurement team in the state of Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 3 of 25 Idaho. They are -- they are leaders in legislation and leaders in getting work accomplished. I think we do as much work, as quite frankly, anybody in the state of Idaho. But this is Procurement Month, so we will go ahead and do -- read the proclamation, then, turn it over for any comments you would like to make from that standpoint. So, whereas the public procurement profession plays a significant role in the efficiency and effectiveness of both government and business and whereas in addition to the purchase of goods and services procurement adds value to the organization by performing such functions as executing, implementing and administering contracts, developing strategic procurement strategies and cultivating working relationships with suppliers and departments within the organization and whereas Idaho government procurement professionals dedicate themselves to providing the best value for every taxpayer dollar and continue to expand their knowledge, skills and abilities and whereas the Idaho Public Purchasing Association, IPPA, through its members, is committed to providing high caliber strategic, logistical and operational support of all agencies associated with the chapter and whereas the IPPA recognizes, supports and practice the public procurement values and guiding principles of accountability, ethics, impartiality, professionalism, service and transparency established by the Institute for Public Procurement. Therefore, I, Mayor Robert E. Simison, hereby proclaim March 2023 as Procurement Month in the City of Meridian and urge the residents of our community to join the Idaho Public Purchasing Association in recognizing the role of the purchasing and materials management profession within business, industry and government, dated this 14th day of March 2023. So, Keith, Darren, thank you for all you do and appreciate this and with this proclamation and I will turn it over to you. Watts: Thank you. I just want to say thanks to all the employees and our Council. You guys have always been good supporters of us. I also want to introduce Darren, because a lot of you probably haven't met Darren. This is our buyer Darren Brasseur. He started -- came on in July. He hasn't had the opportunity to come up and speak or present anything yet, but we are getting there. But, once again, thanks to everybody. Thanks for your patience. We know that it's been a tough year last year and things are looking up for us. So, appreciate the support. Thank you, Mayor. 8. Solid Waste Advisory Commission: Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Amendment in the amount of $9,400.00 for Solid Waste Advisory Commission Community Recycling Projects Simison: Okay. With that we will move on to Item 8, which is Solid Waste Advisory Commission fiscal year 2023 budget amendment in the amount of 9,400 for Solid Waste Advisory Commission community recycling projects. I will turn this over to Mr. Cory. Cory: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Members of Council. I stand here before you representing the Solid Waste Advisory Committee. My name is Steve Cory and I'm chair. On behalf of SWAC we are recommending the use of some of the community recycling fund program funds to cover costs for the squishy water bottle and glass programs that are run over at the Meridian Transfer Station. You have been given a Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 4 of 25 pretty good background memorandum with a lot of the -- the item -- discussion about the two programs and I want to thank Public Works for putting that together for you. We have -- we, as SWAC, have come to understand that there are many citizens that appreciate these programs and we think that they ought to continue in FY-2024 I guess it would be and with that -- I'm not going to go ahead and dwell on the details, I'm going to just make myself available for questions if you have any questions on the memorandum. Simison: Thank you, Steve. Council, any questions at this time? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Not a question, just a comment. I think it's great, Chairman Cory, that we are using the recycling fund revenue to help support the recycling programs. It makes logical sense to me. My only question was just the contamination situation kind of at the transfer station. Are we seeing that in the glass and squishy water bottles or are those still working out pretty well? Cory: On the glass, yes, it's been pretty clean on that. That works out rather well, because they have got to go ahead and crush the glass to go ahead and load it to ship it out of the city. So, it does get a pretty thorough check on it. The plastic had some issues last year. One load had to be diverted, but four of the loads went across and got included in the system and we do indeed think we have got it under control now with the signage -- new signage and regular checks out there and that the stream has cleaned up and is clean enough. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: That's good to hear. Just the memo says that this is a budget amendment for FY-23 and, then, I'm assuming you will continue something similar for '24, but just wanted to check that since you mentioned it. Cory: You are correct. Yeah. I probably misspoke on that. We are talking about FY- 23 and we will take a look at it through this year. There may be other ways to look at this, but, yeah, if there is nothing else on it I think this is a good recommendation for use of CFRP funds. Strader: Okay. Thank you. Simison: Council, any additional or do I have a motion? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 5 of 25 Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: I move that we approve Item E, the fiscal year '23 budget amendment in the amount of 9,400 for the community recycling projects. Cavener: Second. Overton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a couple seconds. Is there any discussion? If not, Clerk will call the roll. Roll Call: Hoaglun, yea; Borton, absent; Cavener, yea; Perreault, yea; Strader, yea; Overton, yea. Simison: All ayes. Motion carries and the amendment is agreed to. Thank you, Steve. Cory: Thank you very much. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. 9. Meridian Fire Department: Fire Stations 7 and 8 Construction Update Simison: So, with that we will move on to Item 9, which is the Meridian Fire Department Fire Station 7 and 8 construction updates and we will -- see that we have Deputy Chief Butterfield here for an update. Butterfield: Good evening, Mayor, Members of Council. I have a brief update for you to bring you up to speed on where we are at with Fire Station 7 and 8 in the construction phase. So -- so, I will start with the Fire Station 7. Right now we are looking at 46 percent completed as you can tell by the picture on your screen we do have a -- the roof sheathing is -- is being completed down there. MEP, mechanical, electrical and plumbing roughed in on the interior. Most of the interior stud walls have been built and so we are moving through that phase and we are starting the site grading all around for parking lots and getting prepared for what will be the future landscaping. We are currently on budget with Station 7 and no concerns with where we are at budgetarily on that and our completion schedule for Station 7 late September, early October 2023. So, we are still tracking pretty well from where we initially started out as well on that and Recreation Ave., which is that road that will access this and also access the park on the east side of the station is currently being constructed as well. Fire Station 8 we are at 41 percent complete. Trusses are being installed right now. MEP, mechanical, electrical and plumbing is being roughed in as well on the inside and we are going to start the grading on that site at the end of this month. Budget. We are tracking on budget. No concerns with the budget from my perspective. Completion schedule. We did have about 20 days delay on the CMU delivery, the block, just with supply chain issues. So, we are doing our best to kind of catch up, but right now we are tracking Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 6 of 25 about two weeks -- a little over two weeks behind. But we still are on track for a late September, mid-October 2023 opening for that station as well. As it relates to our onboarding of personnel -- I know this isn't necessarily the construction piece, but I do want to update Council, because we are bringing on a total of 30 personnel for these stations. So, two lateral fire academies have been completed. So, we do have 15 personnel that have been onboarded and, then, the next 16 that we have -- we did have one -- one person that did resign, so we did pick them up to add them to our academy. That academy will start in April and that is a 16 week full academy for those people. So, we are tracking really on board for the schedule as it relates to the onboarding of staff and getting these new stations built on time as well. And certainly I want to give a lot of thanks to the training division, which is working exceptionally hard to make sure that we are getting all of these people -- the right people on our department trained and ready. So, once those stations are up and running we will have all the personnel that we need. And, then, in closing multiple teams of people every day working a lot of hours to make sure that these projects are coming in on budget, on time as best as we can, and -- and working to make sure that we do ultimately have the finest fire stations in the state of Idaho in my opinion. But that's just one guy's opinion. So, with that I would be happy to stand for any questions. Simison: Thank you, Charlie. I know it's pretty quick, but I think the pertinent information was hopefully delivered. Council, questions for the Fire Department or members of the team that are here supporting them? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Thanks. Just curious how are we utilizing this enhanced staffing in the meantime? Are we, you know, ramping up our teams on kind of a pilot for certain stations to see if having larger crews is helpful or how are we deploying the extra staff between the time that they are trained and the time that we open? Butterfield: Yeah. Absolutely, Council Member Strader. We are actually moving to four person staffing on the engines. So, minimum is three staffing. So, most of our engines right now are running at four staff. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: It would be great if you guys could track the data along with that on our responses and stuff just to see if having that enhanced staffing helps. Thanks. Butterfield: Certainly. We can look at that. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 7 of 25 Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: I don't have any questions. I did receive an update on this from Chief Blume yesterday and just want to get a big kudos to the Fire Department as they are being creative about the resources that have been needed to train these individuals from transportation to the different facilities to trying to get them showered and changed and all the things for the -- that they are doing as part of their training. So, I know you guys have been really resourceful and try to minimize the cost associated with that as much as possible. So, thank you for being efficient and effective in that process. Butterfield: Absolutely. Simison: And if -- and if I could just add one little thing. Well, we are not over the finish line yet. I would say we are 95 percent with the county on being able to have the agreement in place that will put in there ambulances that will run from this -- these two locations. So, we are looking forward to seeing that implemented as well, which is a great advantage to all of our community to be able to have that deployment. So, hopefully we will be seeing that sometime in the not too -- too distant future. Okay. Butterfield: Thank you. Simison: Thanks, Charlie. 10. Nationwide Opioid Settlement Funds Acceptance Simison: So, Item 10, Nationwide Opioid Settlement Funds acceptance. Harper: There we go. Mayor, Members of Council, we are here just to quickly talk about the latest opioid settlement and this is a second one. We approved one last year. Yeah. Last year. And while I'm talking about that I would like to introduce Hailey Blogg. She is our Anti-Drug Coalition coordinator and the first settlement is actually funding her position. So, it's great that we have these funds available to support this position, which was once a part-time position and now a full-time position and it's really benefited our community for sure. So, a little bit on the opioid settlement. It is a multi-year with over 90 million dollars coming into the state of Idaho on this settlement. As you can see the disbursements are separated out between six years all the way up to 15 years. So, calculating what it's going to look like for the city each year is a little bit challenging, but fortunately with a great Finance Department they were able to sort through the minutia and figure it out sort of for us. So, we are looking at -- as long as everybody is participating we are looking at about 1 .226 million dollars over the 15 year period. So, it is a chunk of money, which I think will be very beneficial as we move forward with our strategies that we are looking to implement with this funding if approved. I would like to quickly turn this over to Kendall Nagy. You guys all know her. And she's going to give some high level. Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 8 of 25 Nagy: Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council, so we had extensive conversations with a variety of partners while we reviewed the strategies. The strategies have remained the same from the first settlement funds to these ones that we are considering up next and we were really looking to identify gaps, enhance the partnerships that we have and, then, make the best selections for the strategies that we are looking at for the use of these additional settlement funds and so one of the first suggestions that we have in conversations included with our crisis intervention team at the Meridian Police Department and we are looking at the additional -- the addition of a clinician and -- and possible CIT officers as well. So, as I go through these strategies they are in order of the way that we have had the conversations and we think that they would be best used to serve the community with our existing partnerships and perhaps filling some of those gaps. In other cases it's enhancing services that are already there. In addition to that, we had conversations about the community paramedic program in partnership with Meridian Fire Department and what that might look like as well. Harper: So, are you guys familiar with the community paramedic program, what that entails or would you like a quick little synopsis? Okay. The community paramedic program would be actually something that is added on to enhance our CIT program by putting a PA onto the team, so that we can better serve the community for those who are in crisis and alleviate space in our hospitals. So, getting them medically evaluated so that we can ultimately get them to the resources and help they need. So, that would be something that ultimately we would have to partner with the Fire Department for. Nagy: And, then, next up, one of the reoccurring topics that came up in our conversations with partners is really how limited funding can be to those that need to receive treatment or mental health treatment, whether it's substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, funding can be a prohibitor to moving forward to receive those services and so one of the things that we talked about is coming up with contracting with community providers who already exist and provide those services and the possibility of creating scholarship programs to identify those needs and gaps and help get those services and make those possible for our community members. In addition, under the prevention -- preventing misuse of opioids, we kind of have that laid out in the definitions up above or on the top, but partnering with education based organizations to provide drug prevention and prevention opportunities and a big part of this conversation was checking in with West Ada School District and seeing -- you know, again, identifying gaps, enhancing services that may already be in existence and how we can help leverage those. And, then, one additional I guess possibility that we wanted to highlight and share with you is to further support the work of the Meridian Anti-Drug Coalition and the community efforts that we have as far as specific to opioid misuse. So, that is kind of the gist of it and, then, we stand for any questions. Simison: Council, any questions? Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: Mr. Mayor, thank you. Fantastic work on -- on finding opportunities for us. know there is no lack of opportunities to fight this difficult situation. So, it looks like spread out over 15 years it's about 81, 82 thousand a year. Are -- are the -- the Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 9 of 25 opportunities that you presented and prior -- did you present them in priority of -- of where you will start first and, then, does -- does that funding on an annual basis support one, possibly two additional staff in a long-term way? Harper: Council Member Perreault, that is -- when it was broken down to -- we -- it looks like a larger number initially, but once you break it down over 15 years the 81 ,000 or so -- looking at that, that would probably fund three-quarters of an FTE for a clinician position fully funded. So, once we looked at that -- we wanted to give you guys and show you guys that we are looking at a lot of different options and based off of the funding and once we actually see it that will really dictate which direction we go and, obviously, my bosses will help me decide that. Simison: Yeah. And I -- I would -- I would echo that. I mean I have not had any conversations with the chief about any one of these individual positions as being a priority one over the other. This was just more of a -- since the funds are being out there we do have contracts to be signed to give you ideas about where we could be looking at deploying the use of these funds based upon the limitations of the settlements first and foremost. But some ideas, but nothing is concrete. Council Woman Strader. Strader: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. My only question was is there an alternative path to settlement? Are there other cities that are joining litigation or is this just the most straightforward path and we haven't been involved in any sort of legal discussions around that? Harper: All I know is from the last set of money and this one -- this -- these have been two funding mechanisms to help us get to where we want to be. I do -- actually as of today I have noticed there is a couple of other grant opportunities through the COPS grants that are opening up funding for additional CIT-related positions. So, there is some additional funding out there. But in regards to settlements, you know, we kind of find about -- find out about it in the 23rd hour and, then, we are, you know, scrambling to get it done. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Yeah. Understood. That -- that makes sense to me. So, given that it's like a limited number of pharmacies, et cetera, maybe there are more coming our way. So, you could sort of rank your priorities and if more come, then, you could fund more; right? I really appreciate the work here. It's a terrible problem in the community and I guess my question is, you know, does this -- does this kind of core team think that the clinician is really the most critical or have you guys kind of -- sort of to Council Woman Perreault's point -- had a discussion on where to spend the funds, where do you think they are most needed or right now it's just a menu of options? Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 10 of 25 Harper: Council Member Strader, we have had some discussions and I have generally talked with the captain and the chief and our CIT team is being heavily worked and we know that's a problem between substance abuse and mental health. They -- they coexist in a lot of these situations and I will say that that is one of our top priorities, but it hasn't been finalized. Strader: Thank you. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Well, Lieutenant, Kendall, appreciate the -- the presentation here. Are we required to identify a use prior to receiving funds? Nagy: Councilman Cavener, no, we are not. Cavener: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Mayor, maybe just a quick follow up. Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: So -- and recognize, lieutenant and Kendall, I'm maybe putting you guys on the spot here. Is it your intention to bring back something as part of the -- the budget process for this year or you are waiting until you receive funds and, then, come to us with a -- with a budget amendment. Help me forecast a little bit about what -- what you intend to do next. Nagy: Mr. Mayor and Councilman Cavener, so these are the preliminary conversations that we have had with partners to -- and, then, a deep dive analysis into the approved strategies that come with these settlement funds and so the next step will be -- now that we have kind of prioritized and had those conversations is to look at what that really looks like given the yearly allotment of the funding and, then, yes, we would present additional information to Council and the Mayor. Cavener: Okay. Simison: And, Councilman Cavener, I can't say if it would be a budget -- part of the FY- 24 or it would be offset, because this also has long-term implications that -- are they -- these the priorities of the department when these funds go away. Those -- those are things for the two gentlemen that are over here. You know, the value of this long term versus the value of other needs within the department has to be identified. So, are these contracts? Are these employees? I think those are conversations to -- yet to be had. Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 11 of 25 Cavener: Well, Mr. Mayor, I appreciate you anticipating my next questions and reading my mind. So, that -- that's very very helpful context. Look forward to future conversations. Overton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Overton. Overton: It's an awesome opportunity to have funding like this that's not completely structured on how it's used and I'm assuming this doesn't have a lot of reporting or any reporting at all, as long as you follow the guidelines on how it has to be spent. Harper: Councilman Overton, the guidelines -- or the reporting requirements are actually pretty minimal. We are going, obviously, based off the first settlement and it hasn't required a whole lot. We assume the -- through the AG's office they will provide us more instruction, but it looks like it's going to be similar to the first one, which will be very nice. Overton: Mr. Mayor, follow up. Simison: Councilman Overton. Overton: And I think this is where Councilman Cavener was discussing, but in year two, year three -- this is 15 years and you decide that you want to do something different along these lines, no issues, just come in front of Council, come in front of the command staff of the Police Department, decide how best you want to use these funds. You are not locked into any one use. Nagy: Mr. Mayor and Councilman Overton, it's my understanding through multiple conversations with legal and the AG's office in reviewing many documents, that as long as they are from the approved list of strategies that we are good and, then, that would be a conversation that would be had, obviously, with Council, Mayor, and other leaders to make that decision if we decided to change route, you know, mid process. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: Yeah. I want to -- you know, this is a pool fund that comes in. We have identified our needs certainly and we will put them to good use. And every community that is accepting these funds are -- are doing something similar. Just wanted to step back and get your thoughts on are -- are we able as one entity working with other entities able to leverage any of these funds to -- to support some of our larger needs? I mean we can -- we have -- every community has their problems with -- with substance abuse. But yet there are larger needs that -- we aren't going to build a support facility in Meridian just to serve Meridian residents. There are those places, like Allenbaugh Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 12 of 25 House and others, that we have collaborated with. Can you just briefly tell me -- is there a good working relationship among everybody to try address these collectively to -- and I don't know if it's leveraging these funds, but maybe just as a whole are we making progress as a valley on working together to -- to help people in need? Nagy: I can go ahead and address some of that. So, Mr. Mayor and Councilman Hoaglun, part of those initial conversations was exactly that and recognizing that there are a lot of municipalities participating in receiving these fundings and how do we best use them for our community members and so, yes, those conversations were had and will continue to be had not only here within the City of Meridian, but the state and across the nation. We were just at a -- a national training for prevention and those conversations are being had and there is being research and additional conversations into how that best works for communities. But, obviously, within each community we have unique needs and so if there is something specific, then, maybe I could address that. But at this point definitely those things have been considered and that was why we wanted to reach out to our partners and, again, identify those existing providers in our communities and I spoke with legal on, you know, we are not going to reinvent the wheel, but can we help support what already exists and is -- and -- and leverage that and we -- yes, we can. Simison: Council, any additional questions? Were you looking for action on the agreement? Because someone provided me documents to sign right here in front of me. Harper: Yes, Mayor. So, to move forward in the settlement we will, obviously, need each one of those -- I think there is five, Mayor. Five I think. Five forms that I will need you to sign to show that the city is wanting to move forward and participate in this opioid settlement. Simison: Mr. Nary, do you have direction on what type of motion is necessary? Nary: Mr. Mayor, I don't think it requires a Council action. I think you can -- we have already agreed to it ultimately. Certainly, if the Council wants to, at least acknowledge on the record that we have previously approved this. But we don't need a vote on the Council for this particular part. We have already accepted the original agreement, so -- Simison: So, this is just coming in under the second agreement? Nary: Yes. Simison: Okay. Interesting. All right. Harper: Thanks for your time. Simison: Council, would you like to take any -- make any formal statement on this topic? Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 13 of 25 Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: It seems prudent just to make a motion on it, to be honest. I move that we sign the sub items under Item No. 10, the various participation forms that we discussed. Overton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second. Is there discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Any opposed? Okay. No opposed. So, we will go do that. Thank you very much. Gives me a little bit -- makes me feel a little bit better, so -- okay. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. 11. Parks and Recreation Department: Lakeview Golf Club Clubhouse and Course Improvements Simison: With that we will move on to Item 11, which is our Parks and Recreation Department Lakeview Golf Club clubhouse and course improvements. Welcome, Mr. Barton, not Borton. Mr. Barton to the podium. Barton: Thank you. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. Happy to be here to have a discussion on some longer range capital improvements at the golf course. Do you remember when we took over we commissioned the National Golf Foundation to -- to look at the operation and perform a -- give us a strategic plan and along with that strategic plan came with a capital improvement plan that identified not only start-up cost, but different tiers, tier one, two and three and, then, also some longer range improvements. So, we have done our -- we have done start-up costs, which were golf carts and some maintenance equipment. Tier one had the remainder of the maintenance equipment and some other items. Tier two and tier three -- the bulk of those -- the biggest priority, of course, is the irrigation system that you are familiar with and, then, also the cart paths. A lot of the items -- the other items, after living with the course for a while, are items that we can either do in house or we don't feel are really needed at this time. So, based on some feedback that we got from golfers and the surrounding neighborhood, you know, some of the reoccurring themes are, of course, the irrigation and the cart paths. You know, lower fees, especially for residents. We just did a resident, non-resident fee, which -- and reduced the trail fee, which I think addresses that. The restaurant management -- we are contracting that out, so that's been highly successful and then -- and, then, in the restaurant, just the ambiance, you know, welcoming for non-regulars and some of these improvements -- this kind of ties into this conversation. And, then, the need for permanent restrooms on the course was kind of a reoccurring theme as well. So, what I would like to do is we have -- we have done some schematic drawings and, hopefully, you have had a time to -- time to look at them. We started with some interior improvements in the clubhouse, some of those ambiance things. I mean the clubhouse has been there since 1995 and -- and really Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 14 of 25 hasn't had any work done at all to the inside or the outside, other than the items that were deferred maintenance that we went and repaired, you know, plumbing, electrical that kind of stuff. So, we -- we put together a plan of some improvements and what it could look like and what I'm going to do is just kind of click through these slides real quick and if there is a question, please, stop me, because we will -- we will get through this here pretty quick. So, we had an interior decorator do this stuff with kind of a golf theme in mind. Flooring and, you know, doing some paint on the cabinets, furnishings, that kind of stuff. So, really modest improvements really. I mean not a lot of heavy remodeling where we are removing walls and -- and doing that kind of stuff. So, again, furniture -- so, everything we want -- and even if we do phase this we wanted to have a plan. So, if we go -- let's say we go put flooring in and, then, come back a year later or two years later and we pick out furniture, we want to -- we want it to be consistent and and compatible with one another, so it doesn't look like a bunch of stuff that was just you know, different ideas over the course of time. So, one consistent idea. And, then, with that we went out and got actual prices for this stuff. We had a contractor group come out and give us pricing. We did add some contingencies to that for unforeseen conditions and also, you know, cost escalation, depending on what we do -- we don't -- definitely don't want to underestimate, but, again, these are -- these numbers are -- are good as of a couple of months ago. It took a little time to assemble the whole thing. So, it gives you a pretty -- really good accurate idea of what these improvements may cost. So, then, moving to the outside, one of the things that we hear all the time quite often is the lack of shade on the back patio. Kind of that ambiance thing. So, came up with a system of vinyl shade coverings in three different spots. These can be -- these have louvers that can be opened and closed, so if you want a little sun there you can get sun. You don't have to engineer it for snow load. The louvers can just be opened up in the wintertime and it can leave there -- live there without a lot of effort and, then, again, the furniture out there -- a lot of times the patios are really crowded. I mean it's not -- you know, it's -- it's there is high volume times a year out there and low volume. During the high volume time of year it's super crowded out there and so furniture underneath the shade coverings and, then, some fire tables -- again that -- kind of that ambiance theme. And, then, with the pricing, patio shade system and, then, all the other items. The -- the furniture was -- was probably one item that jumped out at me, but I think that if you are going to invest in some furniture for outside that it should be somewhat durable. There is nowhere to pull it in and store it like you would at your house, so the stuff you see at Lowe's and Home Depot would just deteriorate in a short period of time and we don't want to have to revisit this in five to ten years. Hopefully it's a 15 to 20 year solution. Again, the, you know, contingencies for both the exterior improvements and the -- the furniture. One of the things that's maybe not an upgrade, but it needed heavy maintenance item is the building needs some stucco repairs and, then, probably a different color put on it. The color is -- is pretty outdated right now and -- and just bring it up to -- up to snuff. So, then, the other thing that we have been -- that we have been hearing from people and we have had issues with a lack of restroom on the -- restrooms on the course is right now we have -- we have one on-site restroom that's built in. The other restrooms are -- are porta potties and they are out there all year long. There is one that's out in the open. There is a couple that are behind fences and that's the -- the picture on the left just kind of depicts what that looks like from the street. So, Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 15 of 25 it -- it works. It's definitely not -- I mean if it -- it functions and that's about it. It's not -- doesn't fit with the neighborhood. It's not hard to keep clean. It's just -- it's a porta potty. So, what we did is come up with a plan for -- to replace those porta potties with three built-in restrooms and, then, add another location that currently doesn't have one and this is a location that we feel is necessary just due to the flow of play in the course and some of the feedback that we have gotten from the neighbors. So, again, another picture of that restroom across from the clubhouse. Here is the one that's on Black Cat. Kind of disguised, but still -- still a porta potty. And, then, here is a picture of the existing on-course restroom. This one in the -- in the capital improvement plan was designated to be upgraded for ADA compliance and there is this one -- if we -- if we do go forward with the other ADA compliant on-course restrooms there isn't a need to upgrade this one. There is almost no way to do it. It's -- it's removing -- there is -- there is no way to make this restroom ADA compliant without removing the front wall and just turning it into a single user, single occupancy restroom. So, the -- the amount of effort that you would have to put into this little building is almost not worth it. It's -- it's old. I mean it functions. It works great. If we have other ADA facilities on site we are -- more than 75 percent of our facilities would be ADA compliant, so -- so we feel we are good there. And, then, this is an example of some of those restrooms, what they could look like. They -- you know, when you talk prefab restrooms you automatically think campground, trailhead, those brown CTX buildings that are at all the trailheads. But they are actually really nice. They are very affordable. You need to go out in the street and grab water and sewer, bring power to them, build a pad and put concrete around them and they can -- you know, they have a ton of architectural selections. You know, you can have drinking fountains on the front. So, they are definitely not those brown trailhead restrooms that you see. And, then, that's just another picture. That's a pretty good floor plan of what it is. So, there is single occupancy restrooms and they have a janitor's chase on the side for utilities. So, then, again, some pricing for the restrooms and locations. You can kind of see the breakdown of where all the cost would be for these and, then, the other two right here and so one thing we wanted to talk about -- oh, there is -- there is another heavy maintenance item out there that I think we might have -- there has been some talk about the range hood and the kitchen being super hot and not functioning properly and as of a couple of days ago I think we have got it solved with -- there was a couple of relays not working and some motors. We had to dig into the thing and just do some really heavy maintenance. So, the need for upgrade -- I know that that was brought up in a past meeting. I think Councilman Borton brought that up to -- to us, a question, you know, are -- are you aware of this kind of thing. So, I wanted to at least mention it and -- but we think we -- we didn't put it on the list, because I think we have it solved. So, process and -- and timing. We haven't closed the irrigation project out yet, but we are -- we are right at the end. It looks like we are going to have a remaining contingency that is unspent. So, it would be -- it would be our preference to use that remaining -- some of that remaining contingency to at least fund the patio cover, the shade cover, before this summer and it's something that we talked to a couple of contractors that do this stuff. The lead time on it is about a month. We can bid it, give them the go ahead, I -- I'm -- I'm pretty confident that not only will we have the -- the money now in our current budget -- we don't have the spending authority, but that's what we would be asking for this evening. But we -- we will have the -- the budget Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 16 of 25 and we think that we can get it done prior to like June 1st before the -- before the hot weather sets in and then -- and, then, just the remaining request would be submitted through the budget process and, then, just as far as -- as far as timing, you know, bid and construct the exterior clubhouse improvements in the fall and, then, bid and construct the interior clubhouse during the winter, because if you are going to do flooring in there you got to -- you got to uproot the entire business and basically move it out and floor it and paint it and so there is a period of time of a couple of weeks where you would basically be closed or it would be sequenced such that you would have the golf shop and the restaurant and the restaurant would be closed. The details to work out. And, then, the on-course restrooms are something that could -- could come in a variety of -- of, you know, timing. Could be two in FY-24, two in '25, one a year, all next year, all in '25. 1 mean I think that there is some conversations with -- that we have had with the Mayor and -- and how -- how this may fit into the CFP and -- and that -- the balancing of that. So, that's where these suggestions have -- have come from those conversations. So, I think with that I will stand for questions and -- Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: So, I think what I'm struggling with personally -- it looks like if you add all these things up it's like definitely two million dollars worth of expenses. I would like to see the sources of revenue. So, I would love for us to start treating the golf course as a business that should support itself. Maybe I'm -- it may be premature. I understand that we just took it over not long ago. We have raised our course fees. But I want us to start kind of getting away from treating it as a park and treating it more like something that should pay for itself and so I think what I would be interested to see would be sources of funding that could come from these investments. So, maybe it's -- if we have revenue sharing under our food contract, you know, this occurs to me like the tenant improvements that would happen under a lease; right? So, if we had -- we have a new -- we know we have a -- obviously a contract in place. I don't recall when it expires. But, you know, with any kind of real estate normally if a tenant took over a space we would fit it out with tenant improvements and, then, we would get some kind of either lease payment or revenue sharing back. So, I want to look at if we make these enhancements to the venue itself where they are serving food, you know, are there potential revenue opportunities from weddings, events, something under the contract. The restrooms do seem like something that's needed, but they seem extremely expensive. So, I think it would be tough to bite that off all at once. I guess -- so, just from my perspective I would like to see a -- we have had a very conservative model so far on what we have been thinking the golf course would do. I would like to see a more ambitious revenue projection model of what we think the golf course could do and the revenue that it could generate. That would help justify the investment in these upgrades. Barton: So, excellent feedback. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council Woman Strader. So, the -- the restaurant -- our restaurant concessionaire or contractor, tenant, pays us Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 17 of 25 two percent of the gross. So, as their gross goes up we are -- theoretically our -- our payment goes up as well. So, we get a little revenue with that. It's not -- it's not a lot and the -- there hasn't been, over the course of time, at least in my opinion, that the investment in the facility or the property that -- that should over time, so it almost feels like we are playing a little bit of catch up. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: I have four or five questions. Is it okay for me to just go for it? Simison: Go ahead. Perreault: Okay. So, similar -- similar things stuck out to me as what Council Woman Strader mentioned. I don't want to get too much in the nitty gritty, but just curious if the interior designer and contractor group that was used primarily focuses on residential. The -- the -- as you mentioned, the quality of the products are really important because of the heavy use, but these really strike me as very residential feeling and so I don't know if this is really a -- a commercial type of approach to this. Like carpet tile. Every time I have ever seen it used it tears up real fast. There is just a variety of concerns I have about the products that are displayed on here, about -- I'm curious if any of the servers were actually, you know, involved in the choice of -- of items, because it seems to me there is issues with -- you know, anytime you have a table that has a bunch of crevices in it it's a nightmare to clean. There is just a variety of things that I saw that I thought would actually be -- be time -- time consuming with the products that were chosen. So, we don't have to get into that too much in this. I can certainly set up a meeting with you and ask those questions. But were the -- were the bids based on those exact products that you received or were they like and kind? Barton: Yes. They were -- so, a couple of things. The -- the material choices were Insight Architects, who has -- I mean they are an architect that designs -- I mean they designed our maintenance shop and they have done other things. It's their interior design group that made these choices and -- and these choices were a result of a meeting that we had with the golf course personnel and, then, also Rhonda with Roosters Eatery and catering. So, she was at the table for these. Now, that I'm -- I'm not a hundred percent sure that she picked up on what you did as far as -- but can you -- can you clean the -- you know, like the cracks get in there. I mean I don't -- I don't know, but I think that -- I think those are the exterior tables; correct? And if I -- if I had to guess I would say they are open so rainwater can go through, but I'm not a hundred percent sure. But those are -- those are great points, something to -- Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 18 of 25 Perreault: Thank you. The same question with the pergolas. They -- they look like residential patio covers. Are they -- are they warranteed or are they designed for commercial use? And just wondering why there wasn't a design to cover the entire patio, why there is gaps. Was that purposeful? You know, just kind of wanting to -- to understand a little bit more about -- I'm not trying to pick apart what was done. I just -- I see all of these and I just see a lot of -- maybe it's being in the industry I see a lot of challenges with use and where -- with the level they are going to be. So, I don't -- I just want to understand that. Barton: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council Woman Perreault, that's -- those -- those are good points and, honestly, I think that the -- the next -- so, if it was if it wasn't vinyl for the shade coverings it -- we -- we wouldn't probably put wood in because of the maintenance and, then, you would go to steel. So, then, you would have something that would be so heavy that you -- structurally you couldn't place it on the roof, so you would have posts near the building and, then, post out towards the edge of the patio and, then, the cost of that -- it would be solid, so, then, you don't have the luxury -- and I see what you mean, the vinyl is -- you know, you see vinyl products and they -- they -- they are not 50 year products for sure. I mean they are going to be -- it's 15, 20 years. You -- you get what you pay for. And so that was some of the thought process behind that. Why there is three sections just design aesthetics to break it up. Have some open areas. I mean it wasn't anything -- it -- it was the plan they came up with and I -- I think recalling it was like -- I saw it and I said, oh, that looks pretty cool. I mean it's -- all right. I don't have anything better in my mind. So, yeah. Perreault: So, as Council Woman Strader mentioned, it seems the cost of the restrooms are the price of a small house. So, is that -- is that because you are -- you are running water and sewer long distances? Is that a good part of the cost? Because the structure itself doesn't seem like it would be -- with concrete pad doesn't seem like it would run that high. Barton: Yeah. So, water-sewer needs to come from the -- so, we have to cut into the street and we need to go down and grab the water and sewer. There is a couple that are very deep and, then, we need to bring power over there. There is -- there is that Idaho Power line on there. It is -- it is a budget that I can stand here and confidently say we can execute the project for that price. I don't want to -- I don't want to lead anyone to believe that it would be any less and then -- and, then, stand up here and -- and say, you know, I -- I know I told you this, but we need more money. So, there is contingency in there. It does seem very expensive. You also have concrete that needs to come from the cart paths and around and so there is -- you know, it's all the parts and pieces of that. They are just -- they are just expensive. I mean the -- the -- the good thing is I guess is there is -- there are utilities close by, but we got to go out in the street and get them. So, it's not -- it's not cheap. Perreault: Can you quickly go over again the restroom placement? It seems to me like there is not a restroom kind of on the whole north side. Did you happen to -- was there a need to run that -- those -- that placement by GreenPlay or how did you get -- was Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 19 of 25 that just recommendations from survey of golfers or how did you come to those locations? Barton: So -- so, three -- three of the four locations are where we have -- currently have porta potties. It seems to be a -- kind of a -- like a -- in the middle or a compromise of where people would -- would need that convenience. The other one is on -- at the beginning of number 11 tee and, theoretically, people should stop at the clubhouse and use the restroom between eight and 11 -- and eight and 13, but they don't, because they think that they are going to get -- they are going to get leapfrogged if -- if -- if the course is busy, which it -- it is quite often. So -- and number 11 we have had complaints of people not using any restroom. So, that was -- that was that -- I mean that's the -- the reasoning behind those locations. Replacing the porta potties -- those have been tried and true. They have been used and they have been in those locations for years. They seem to work and, then, we are adding one at 11 -- an additional one where -- we tried to get a porta potty over there, but the neighbors didn't want it. Some did, but most didn't, so -- Simison: A couple comments just for Council's consideration and, you know, I don't disagree with Council Member Strader. You know, in the context of -- we do want this to function like a business and that's part of the reason why -- at least I couldn't say let's do all four restrooms in a year. As we see the -- the -- the income stream with improvements will hopefully give us an idea. There is also the -- we still are in the agreement phase with WARD where we are seeing some income coming in from WARD. I didn't want them to line out every dollar that WARD is coming in, because ultimately it has to be operational and we are moving towards coming off -- that is also swimming pool money. You know, there -- there are some costs -- there is some income coming in for additional things, but I just wanted them to present the information so that you could see what was out there. You know, the -- the shade structure came up during our budget conversation this last year with Council. It was -- it seemed to be identified as a priority. That was the one thing that we want if we had the funds to try to move that forward as quickly as possible. The rest of you will see through the budget process. I can't say, you know, exactly -- I look at these numbers and I think some of them are high, you know, in that regards. I completely agree, even from the furniture costs, but I think they will -- they will just be introduced as prioritized and go from there. Now, if we want to get to the point where this is one hundred percent paid by users of the course, I think that's a -- that is a different level of conversation. Are we to that point in time? Should it be that or should that be the expectation once we get it up to a certain level that, you know, the course revenue can be regenerated back into the course for those type of improvements and that is that cost of service level conversation. I just don't know that we are -- that we have a product yet to be able to put on the market to be able to justify that from my perspective. Maybe some of it, but maybe not all of it. But if we make the interior better, then, perhaps it is talking to Roosters say instead of two percent it should be higher -- it should be higher because of those tenant improvements as was mentioned in that regards moving forward and I think those are great conversation points to have. Maybe it's two percent, but if your revenues go up 30 percent, then, there should be an escalator that says, you know, a Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 20 of 25 flat fee or that percentage increases as their revenues go up as well. So, I think there is a lot of good points in conversations, but just wanted to point that out. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Mike, a question for you. On the bathrooms, because that is an expanded use, is that eligible for impact fees to cover the cost? Barton: That's a great question. We would -- we would have to get back to you. Cavener: Okay. I -- Mr. Mayor, if I may? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: I -- I think that's -- that's helpful. I -- I think to Council Member Strader's earlier question, what is the department's plan to -- to pay for these recommended expenses close to two million dollars? If the answer is that it's all falling on the General Fund, then, I'm going to probably be pretty reluctant to be supportive of these requests. I think that the city has made a fairly sizable investment in the course and continue to do so on things that are important to the course operations, like the irrigation system. look at the bathrooms as a little bit of a public health and so I may be open to a further conversation about restrooms. But everything else is largely fit and finish and I think that it's an opportunity for the course to perform. To -- kind of to the Mayor's point, to Council Member Strader's point, let's see the success before we start investing more millions of dollars into furniture and sound systems and -- and things of that nature. And, then, just for -- for what it's worth, I think I would prefer that we complete the irrigation process -- progress -- or, excuse me, irrigation project and not necessarily utilize any savings to do items in addition to than what we budgeted for. If -- if we want to bring the shade structure back as part of a budget item this year, I'm supportive of at least considering that. But I -- I would prefer that we get out of the habit of trying to utilize cost savings to do projects in addition to than what was approved through the budget process. Simison: Okay. And just for clarification, I'm -- I -- I do think that some of these are necessary personally. I'm just saying that not all of them need to be done right away and some of it we can look at some of -- some of these moving forward, but -- Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I agree. I think that improvements will bring -- will bring profit in quicker. There -- there are folks that -- that don't use this course because it's aged. So, I think that -- you will see a return on that more quickly. So, my one last question I didn't -- I didn't get to ask is, you know, I'm hesitant to -- to look at Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 21 of 25 contributing, you know, a half a million dollars or so to interior-exterior upgrades if there is the potential that -- that the clubhouse would be expanded at some point. So, where are we at as far as capacity? It seems to me like when I have been at events there, when I have gone to -- when I have been there, you know, at -- at a variety of different things, it's pretty full. So, how is that working and -- and is there an anticipation of an expansion on the clubhouse and should we consider doing that structurally rather than doing interior upgrades first? Barton: Yeah. That's a great question. Great thought. I mean there has been some conversations of a -- an expansion, so you can put -- there is -- there is a trend in golf right now of installing simulators for winter revenue and so that's a thing, but we have never specifically even -- we haven't talked about expanding the clubhouse building itself. It's -- I think that some of that just from -- from being out there I think that the -- that if the patio was a little more friendly that expanding the patio is going to be way more cost effective than expanding the building, because during the -- during the colder months you -- you -- you want to be indoors and, then, there is the indoor -- has -- the indoor space has a capacity issue, but there aren't as many golfers when it's cold out, obviously. So, I think during those really warm, nice summer days an expanded patio -- so, we are not -- we are not -- anything that we are doing here wouldn't jeopardize a future expansion to the patio. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: Yeah. I think we -- we -- there is a lot of good things here. You know, if we want to increase revenue, like a patio shade system, that's going to bring in more people. You don't want to sit out when it's hot and not have shade. So, those are types of things that make sense to increase revenue, to have more people there in the summertime and -- and do that and that would come back as a budget amendment at the appropriate time I'm assuming, Mike, to -- to take a look at that? Barton: Yeah. Councilman Hoaglun, so the -- so, the -- the -- the question was if we have contingency savings from the irrigation project would you want us to pull the trigger this spring and do the -- do the shade covering and, then, just -- and not -- not do a budget amendment, but -- but, then, the rest of it could come back during budget processes, whatever those are. Next year or in following years, whatever that looks like. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: So, Mike, on that patio shade system, 67 nine -- so, 68,000. Then there -- I notice there is electrical ceiling fans at eight three. Is that considered part of that patio shade system and electrical ceiling fans together? Okay. So, about 75, 78 total. And Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 22 of 25 so if you have the fund savings there to be able to pull the trigger on that, you would want us to act -- let you know that, yes, we should move forward on -- on something like that, which -- I mean for something like that if -- if we want to see increased revenue, more use of the restaurant, it makes sense to do that, to take those savings and move forward and -- and make that happen and make it a -- a better location for people to eat and enjoy the -- enjoy of our long Idaho evenings that we have, albeit it can be hot at times. So, that shade will help keep that cooler during the day as well. So, not only for people sitting out there, but even in the evening, so you don't have radiating heat off the -- off the concrete. So, I'm -- I mean I would be certain -- certainly in favor of doing something like that, but I -- I don't know if Council wants to pull the trigger on that. But we talk about revenue, we want to see revenue, we have to make an investment and -- and expand and if we aren't making investments in this I certainly don't see an expanded clubhouse, so -- or -- or anything else. But something like that makes sense. And, then, when the budget session comes and we can talk about various things that we can do step by step to -- to make these other things happen, so -- but that's -- that's where I'm coming from and I think we should probably make that decision if we can tonight on the patio system. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: I -- I have a couple of issues with the approach. I think similar to Councilman Cavener. So, I am concerned that if we create an incentive for departments to have larger contingencies, so they have a -- not saying that this is the case, but I don't want to create an incentive in the city that departments perceive that there is an advantage to having larger contingencies to than be reused for something else, if that's an easier path. I don't think that's the way to do it. You have a 15 percent contingency, for example, on your exterior and furniture. I know part of it is -- it's always better to under promise and over deliver. I get that. But I don't want to get in the habit of using contingencies for things when maybe it should be a budget amendment and go through that process. I'm not -- I'm -- I -- I'm much more allergic to redoing the interior right now than putting in the patio shade system, because it looks like it will Increase the number of tables available by quite a bit. But I would like -- I would like to hear some feedback about the revenue that could be generated from the patio, understanding that it's a guess and that's what we do when we make projections, we are making an educated guess. I personally would like an educated guess about what we think that could do for us. It could come from our vendor or from where ever. But I just -- you know, I think there is a right way to go about doing it and I also would like to know for the contingency where are we at? Are we completely certain we won't need that contingency for what it's meant for? That's the other issue. Barton: Yeah. So, to answer that -- to answer that question first, we are -- it's -- we haven't closed the project out yet, but we are -- we have tallied the final cost and there will be contingency -- there will be enough contingency there to fund the -- the shade and, you know, that -- that increased users or revenue -- I know that one of the things Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 23 of 25 that people like to do is they like to have a shotgun start at a golf course instead of tee times when they have a tournament and I know the women's association do and a lot of times they will have a shotgun start at 10:00 o'clock and they will come back and -- and, you know, you want them to stay for lunch and you want them to hang out and socialize. They can't. It's too -- it's so hot out in the back that they go home. So, I know that I have seen that. I don't know how we could -- actually, you know, volume over time I think is -- just little -- little step, parts and pieces, add all -- all the things that we can do to create a successful business are going to all add up to that sum, but I know from experience that one of the -- you know, the -- the -- the conversations about shotgun starts and tee times and, you know, you want to give people a shotgun start where they all go out together, they all finish together and, then, they stay and eat lunch and they hang out for a while, but they don't tend to do that, because it's not desirable, it's not -- the patio is not friendly in the afternoon at about 2:00 o'clock when they are finishing. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: If I could make a suggestion. I would just start with what do we think our two percent cut is of gross revenues from -- you know, take the time period that we have owned the course and your -- understanding this is -- it's -- it's going to be really iffy; right? But here is how -- here -- here is our two percent. If we take, you know, six months of the year and adjust for seasonality, if we take that and create a 12 month projection here is what we think we are getting from the food service now. We are increasing the capacity of the restaurant by whatever -- 15 percent. That only applies to a certain percentage of the year, because it's terrible to be outside part of the year. Just take a swag at it for me. I -- that -- that's what I'm asking. I'm not asking for -- I'm not going to hold you to it. I'm not -- I'm not going to be mad if you don't meet that projection. But I just think we need to get in the habit with this golf course of thinking about it more like a business and saying, okay, we can increase -- like Liz, we are going to increase the capacity of the restaurant by X percentage by adding this shade structure. These are now usable tables. Like just -- I need a little more meat on the bone. Barton: So, yeah. And that's a good thought. So, the food and beverage operation when we had it grossed about 550,000. So, we get two percent of gross. So, we are going to -- we will get an 11 ,000 dollar payment at the end of the year. So, is it -- is the enhanced patio -- that comfort for the patio -- it translates into other areas, because people want to come back and they want to play a round of golf, which that helps -- that helps the portion of the business that we are directly -- we are -- we are -- we are realizing all the profits from that, as well as they are going to rent a cart, they are going to buy a shirt, get a bucket of balls and warm up -- warm up ahead of time. So, it's all about, you know, the whole -- all the parts and pieces. The other thing is that during the pandemic golf has been -- golf had really a surge in popularity, so I think that we should position ourselves to have a course where people want to go to as a destination when Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 24 of 25 golf maybe isn't so popular. So, we don't -- we don't feel a downturn in that -- in the popularity of golf that still -- it's still there, but -- Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Barton: Yeah. Hoaglun: Mike -- Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: -- I -- I -- what I would suggest is you guys have further conversations on what, you know, Council Woman Strader is looking for. Those are good questions. But when you do rough calculations -- however you want to do it, let me know and we can get you back on a work session and talk about this further and go through some numbers and whatnot. We are just -- we have got an executive session coming up and we are pressing up against the time frame and just want to move forward with -- with what we can get done here in this work session. Simison: And if I could just add one last thing. You know, we are here because of the time of year before the golf season. Yes, there was contingency. We were not going to recommend the departments come back to you because of necessary leftover dollars. Budget amendment -- however we want to call it or process it. But this was discussed at the budget hearing last year. This specific item was identified by the Council even as something to look into. That's why we are really here for that one item at this point in time. The rest of it was just so you are aware of the bigger picture and when you may start seeing things, understanding the long term. Council may have different viewpoints on what is a priority when, how, where and why. I think this is good feedback and good for future conversations, but we will be back. Barton: Appreciate it. Thank you. Simison: Thank you. EXECUTIVE SESSION 12. Per Idaho Code 74-206 (a) To consider hiring a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, wherein the respective qualities of individuals are to be evaluated in order to fill a particular vacancy or need and 74-206 (d) To consider records that are exempt from disclosure as provided in Chapter 1, Title 74, Idaho Code Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Meridian City Council Work Session March 14,2023 Page 25 of 25 Hoaglun: I would move that we go into Executive Session per Idaho Code 74-206(a) and (d). Strader: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to go into Executive Session. Is there discussion? If not, Clerk will call the roll. Roll Call: Hoaglun, yea; Borton, absent; Cavener, yea; Perreault, yea; Strader, yea; Overton, yea. Simison: All ayes. Motion carries and we will move into Executive Session. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. EXECUTIVE SESSION: (5:48 p.m. to 6:19 p.m.) Simison: Council, do we have a motion? Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor, I move we come out of Executive Session. Simison: Have a motion to come out of Executive Session. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? We are out of Executive Session. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: I move we adjourn. Simison: Have a motion to adjourn. All in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and we are adjourned. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 6.19 P.M. (AUDIO RECORDING ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS) Mayor Robert E. Simison 3-28-2023 ATTEST: CHRIS JOHNSON - CITY CLERK 3-28-2023