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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-04-18 Work Session Minutes Meridian City Council Work Session April 18, 2023. A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 4.30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, 2023, by Mayor Robert Simison. Members Present: Robert Simison, Joe Borton, Brad Hoaglun, Luke Cavener, Jessica Perreault and John Overton. Members Absent: Liz Strader. Also present: Chris Johnson, Joy Hall, Bill Nary, Steve Siddoway, Mark Ford, Joe Bongiorno and Dean Willis. ROLL-CALL ATTENDANCE Liz Strader _X Joe Borton _X_ Brad Hoaglun _X_ John Overton _X_ Jessica Perreault _X—Luke Cavener (5:03 p.m.) X Mayor Robert E. Simison Simison: Council, we will call the meeting to order. For the record it is April 18th, 2023, at 4.32 p.m. We will begin this afternoon's work session with roll call attendance. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Simison: First item up is the adoption of the agenda. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: No changes to our agenda that was published, so I move adoption of the agenda as published. Borton: Second. Simison: Motion and second to adoption as published. 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 the Minutes of the April 4, 2023 City Council Work Session Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 2 of 17 2. Approve the Minutes of the April 4, 2023 City Council Regular Meeting 3. Les Schwab Tire Center (LDIR-2022-0063) Water Main Easement No. 1 4. Revised Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law for Millwood Subdivision (H-2022-0089) by Epic Development, located at 1975 E. Victory Rd. 5. Development Agreement (Pinedale Subdivision H-2022-0001) Between City of Meridian and Piedmont Project LLC for Property Located at 3275 W. Pine Ave. 6. First Amendment to Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Meridian, Meridian Development Corporation, and Meridian Caddis, LLC for the Civic Block Urban Renewal Project 7. Professional Service Agreement with the Huckleberry Star Theater for Cast Fees and Three Promotional Performances of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for the Amount of $3,500 8. Professional Service Agreement with the Treasure Valley Children's Theater for Subsidized Youth Registration Fees and Production and Operational Costs of The Grunch Performance for the Amount of $3,500 9. Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Amendment in the Amount of $7,000.00 for Idaho State Liquor Division Grant 10. Subrecipient Agreement Between City of Meridian and Ada County Housing Authority For CARES Act Community Development Block Grant Funds 11. Resolution 23-2384: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Meridian to Amend City of Meridian Standard Operating Policy 3.4, Regarding Compensation Program; and Providing an Effective Date Simison: Now up 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. Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 3 of 17 Borton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to approve the Consent Agenda. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Those opposed nay? The ayes have it and the Consent Agenda is agreed to. MOTION CARRIED: FOUR AYES. TWO ABSENT. ITEMS MOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA [Action Item] Simison: There were no items moved from the Consent Agenda. DEPARTMENT / COMMISSION REPORTS [Action Item] 12. Resolution No. 23-2383: A Resolution of the Mayor and the City Council of the City of Meridian Appointing Patrick Gittings to Seat 3 and Debra Pitts to Seat 4 of the Meridian Historic Preservation Commission; and Providing an Effective Date Simison: So, we will move on to Department/ Commission Reports. Council, as always I sat down with the chair of the Historic Preservation Commission and we did our interviews for open seats and the resolution you have in front of you this evening is to fill that with two individuals. One of which is Pat Gittings. Pat is a long time Meridian resident, even though he spent a little bit of time out of the area, but having someone with that historical knowledge and perspective and remembering what the fields were that were there, the families that lived there, the locations that were there and someone has that passion and desire to get involved. He definitely has a different background in project management, but as they are doing some projects, whether it is the work that they are doing on, you know, trying to do something a little bit on preservation or have other things -- having that skill set -- skill set combined with the knowledge of the community would be really important. You know, goes back to living in Meridian in the '70s when it was a much different community than it is today, which is nice. The other one before you is Debra Pitts. Newer to the area, but definitely has a passion for historic preservation. In fact, you know, it was very interesting when we sat down and I -- I ran into her recently again where she's showing me the pictures of -- that she takes when she travels other parts of the country about what they are doing for historic preservation and coming with ideas about, you know, how -- how do -- how do we recognize the history and, you know, I -- and I think she also has another important concept. You know, it's nice to hear. History is people. That was something that was very big to her. You know, the -- the -- the stories of people that talks about a community and how do you make that be part of what you want to do. But she -- she's all in on Meridian from that standpoint and, like I, say she was just down in Texas and she took more pictures of historic -- historical markers and that -- and -- and, you know, was very inquisitive. Like why is the Roosevelt not on our history walk tour from that standpoint and -- you know. So, we are looking forward to seeing what she brings to the Commission and giving her involvement in the community. So, with that I would ask Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 4 of 17 for your approval of these two individuals, but I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: It sounds like you have some excellent folks to serve on the Meridian Historic Preservation Commission, so I move approval of Resolution No. 23-2383 appointing Patrick Gittings to Seat 3 and Debra Pitts to Seat 4 of the Meridian Historic Preservation Commission. Borton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to approve Resolution No. 23-2383. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the resolution is agreed to. Thank you very much. MOTION CARRIED: FOUR AYES. TWO ABSENT. 13. Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission Annual Update Simison: And, Mr. Johnson, thank you very much as well to get that -- those new members on the Commission. Next up is Item 13, which will be the annual update from the Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission, which will be delivered by Mr. Bevan this evening. Keith, how are you? Bevan: Don't know which one of these I should use, but I will use this one. All right. There we go. I think we have a deck. I'm Keith Bevan. I'm the president of the Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission for the city and we are here to talk to you a little bit about what we have done the last year, what our goals are for the coming year and what we are doing with accomplishments. Start by saying the Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission is a -- comprised of nine members, including a youth representative, who is a member -- a young lady that's in high school. Our meetings are open to the public and broadcast just probably like City Council meetings and they are once a month on the second Wednesday at 5.30 p.m. and we also have a member from the City Council, which is a Council member Overton, who is our newest member, who is the representative on our -- is our liaison. Thank you. All right. Here we go. All right. So, there is a picture. John Nesmith, who is the owner of Meridian Auto Right here, Dom Gelsomino, Mike Medellin, Jennifer Bobo, Brandon Simpson, Ellie Hood, who is our youth representative, Jo Greer, who was the previous, president of the Commission, Mandy Roberts, who is the current vice-president, and myself and Councilman Overton. And, again, we -- yeah. Let me go back. Again we meet the second Wednesday of every month 5.30 p.m. here in the Council chambers and we do sometimes hold off-site meetings. We will take tours where we go see one of the parks, the golf course, we will do tours of things so that, you know, we get a hands-on feel of what the parks look like, Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 5 of 17 the development of what's happening, so that we can have a better idea of the -- you know, input we are having on the parks and -- and -- and things we are having. I mean one of the things we do, obviously, is Parks and Recreation Commission is we want to be involved in community events, so we try really hard to get involved with things -- certainly the -- the Christmas events and 4th of July, the Kleiner Park events, all those things that we happen to have. You can see here the picture of Grinch, who is our Parks and Rec Commissioner and Dom -- Dom Gelsimino. Thank you. If you guys know Dom he is a dynamic guy. He is so much fun to be around. He loves the city and he -- he gets involved. Of course Jo Greer, who used to be the previous president of the -- this Commission and with the -- the Christmas in Meridian and the -- and the Santa stuff that she does. She's super involved with the Christmas stuff and, you know, we all try to get involved with all of the events that are going on, because we love Meridian and so that's why we are here. All right. As you know probably in this last year we -- in 2022 the City of Meridian had a -- a commissioned citizen survey to assess the community's perception of Parks and Recreation and some of the services that we provide and I'm proud to say that in every category we scored higher than the average nationally in terms of quality of athletic fields, the adult sports program special events, all those things and that just is a testament to the fact -- you know, as the Commission we don't run these things, we don't organize them, we don't run them, it's Steve and Mike and the staff of the Meridian Parks Department that just do a phenomenal job of running the events and organizing and scheduling the -- all the ball fields that we have for the sporting events and the HomeCourt and volleyball and all the stuff and that survey was the evidence that the citizens of Meridian said, yeah, you are doing a good job. Right? So, kudos to these guys and -- and, yeah, as the Commissioners, you know, it makes our job easy. So, with that said, you know, we don't want to rest on our laurels, so we want to continue to -- to focus on things that we think will help the city the most. So, these are our Commission goals for this year. Number one is to support the design and construction of Discovery Park phase two, including the skate park and bike park, which I'm going to talk about a little bit here, but if you guys know Discovery Park down there off of Lake Hazel and Eagle -- amazing park. You know, the phase one was done a year or two ago. Phase two is under design. Well, we are going to talk about that. The other big thing that we do as a Commission is the pathways. All the -- the -- the biking and the hiking and walking trails, we feel like connecting Meridian, all the parts, allow people to bike and walk through Meridian is an important thing and here is the crazy thing. I'm going to bring this up. Saturday my wife and I had -- we were down near -- more in Boise coming up Fairview past Eagle between -- and between Locust Grove and Meridian we are driving along, we look over, there is two guys on horses -- literally horses coming up the pathway there where -- the canal that goes from Cherry over to Pine down that little -- through those apartments, there is two guys on horses. I mean who -- who would think that, that, you know -- I mean Meridian is becoming a little more urban than it used to be, but there is two guys on horses because we have -- and they are on one of our pathways. So, it's not just bikes and -- and -- and walking, it's people on horseback, which I thought was amazing. So, it's pretty cool. Obviously, the new community center, which is, obviously, still in the early stages and trying to find a place and the design of that, but we have some -- you know, they are going to ask our opinion, we have some input on that. The development of the comprehensive park Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 6 of 17 system update master plan, which I'm also going to talk about that here in just a bit. We work with the Meridian Arts Commission on putting artwork at parks, either the entrances -- there is artwork around the different parks and we help, you know, get some -- our opinions and -- and -- and input on those things that -- that they need and we really appreciate being able to work with them on those different parks. Obviously the big thing lately in the last year or two, Lakeview Golf Course. We have had, you know, a little bit of input on that. Just they report to us. We have heard from the -- the consultants that help with the renovation and how we should about working with Lakeview Golf Course now the city took it over and we have some input on that and we will continue to -- to help with some of the input on that. Obviously continuing to engage with citizens, stakeholders and that. Provide feedback on Tully -- the -- the Tully Park. There is some specific parks that were making work at that -- that we are having input on. Another big one that's a big change for the city is the pool now the city took over the pool and that's a great operation and we are having some input on that and, then, just other partnerships. We talked -- we -- we have presentations from Eagle, Boise, Ada County parks and waterways. They come and present to us. We talk about how can we work together to improve both the parks, the -- certainly with Eagle there is a lot about the -- the pathways of how can we connect our pathways to Eagle, because Eagle, then, has the pathways that go all the way to Lucky Peak through Eagle, Garden City, Boise, all the way out and there is a challenge there trying to get past Chinden and down the hill over the river, you know, but that's what we are working on. And, then, of course, you know, our presence at community events and that thing that we can help. All right. So, obviously, big thing that we are doing right now is the Discovery Park phase two progress. You can see the pictures here. That really cool picture is the skate park that's being designed and we are going to literally have a world class skate park here in Boise -- here in Meridian, the Boise area. You know, obviously, we -- you know, the people designing that have designed stuff all over the world and -- and it's a world class skate park that we think -- not only will be a great amenity to the citizens here and the Treasure Valley, but also might, you know, lead to people coming here, right, to be able to use that. You can see the -- the picture there of one of the -- the -- I think restroom concession areas. Right now we were just out there last week. Phase two there is a lot of infrastructure as a part of that parking lots and sidewalks and that, as well as the skate park. There is also a bike park where people -- you know, you can use the bicycles and -- and tracks and jumps and that, which is going to be really awesome. Some basketball courts. Coming up this -- the rest of this year are pickleball courts, tennis courts, additional picnic shelters, more softball fields, lighting. You know, one of the things we are trying to do is add some things for teenagers that kids will go there and -- and use the basketball courts and the -- the skate parks and bike parks and some of those other things that, you know, gives them -- kids a place to meet and hang out and have fun and be kids I guess. So, last year we also had a review of our pathway systems by a group called the Urban Land Institute and they spent several days here and did some exploration of our park system, of our pathway systems and some of the things we can do better. Their recommendations -- although they -- they thought we did a great job with our pathways and need to continue to expand those things, some of the things are listed here -- wayfinding, which is just signage to let people know you are on a pathway, you are in the right place and, then, just the last thing, identity and branding, Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 7 of 17 letting people know this is a City of Meridian pathway and let them know where they are going, how to get back to where they were going, all those things. We don't want people to get on the path and get lost, right, out in the middle of -- you know, as you get further west it gets a little more less defined in terms of where you are. So, that was part of that is letting people know you are on the right path, you can stay here. The standards and amenities, that has to do with, you know, trash cans and benches and rest stops. We have some spaces where there are bicycle repair stations, so if people are on a bike and they get a flat tire or something happens they have ability to fix some of those things and that was some of the other stuff -- the recommendations that they had for us to continue to expand those items. The community center planning, you know, for us, obviously, this is still early stages. We are still in the place I think of trying to find a place for that community center. So, as the commission we -- I don't know that we have a lot of say in that, it's probably more the -- the -- the Council and other people. But in terms of how it can help the Parks and Recreation and our mission to help with those things in the city, we will continue to help with that in terms of the design and -- and how that -- how that works. So, next big thing, obviously, which I -- well -- okay. Parks and Recreation -- Parks and Recreation master plan, which was adopted here a couple months ago by the City Council, that was commissioned last year. It went on for a long time, was a lot of work going in to developing that for the next -- you know, the previous plan was from 2015, so it's been almost eight years since we updated that plan as to the goals and mission of the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Meridian. It was a great job. A lot of interviews with city -- citizens, the inventory of the space, the land, the equipment, the goals, everything that goes into running the Parks and Recreation Department was taken into consideration. We read it as the commission. We read it, we reviewed it, we had input into it. We liked it. We passed it on to you -- the City Council and I believe you guys adopted it back on February 7th. So, that should guide the work of the Parks and Recreation Department for the near future. I -- I mentioned earlier -- you know, one of the things that's on our goals and mission of our -- of the commission is to work with the Arts Commission on art -- art projects in city parks. As you can see here some of the things we are is Seasons Park, Ten Mile Creek hub -- trail hub and Discovery Park. Seasons Park needed some new signage. What they had there was old and worn out and -- and, then, we -- we designed some new stuff. You can see the picture here -- is kind of what we came up with with the lease. It's actually layers of colored acrylic, which was going to look really good and be a nice point of focus for people to know that's there. Ten Mile Creek trail hub, which is around Ten Mile, right there by the Maverick and the water treatment plant where there is the trail that continues out west, that design we thought would be good to have. It's sort of a native focus. The design has kind of native flora and fauna with some of the native birds in that design. You can see -- I think that's the -- is it the mountain bluebird? Is that what you can see on the -- on the picture there? And I think some of the flowers are like the Syringa and, obviously, we want to keep things local and -- and based in Idaho. And, then, Discovery Park, some new branding and -- and what we are doing out there in the south side of Boise -- why do I keep saying that? Man, I'm sorry. South side of Meridian there to tie in the -- we thought that -- you know, the whole branding with the Discovery was about, you know, being out there and some of the branding has to do with the south side of Ada county, the Birds of Prey and some Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 8 of 17 of those things, as well as wildlife and those things that we are focused on. All right. Another big item that's been on the city's agenda for the last year or two is Lake View Golf Course and the fact that the city took over responsibility, ownership of Lakeview Golf Course. We have had some input in some of the things there. Just, you know, you haven't been out there there is a new irrigation system that they had some issues with watering all the grass out there and they completely redid a lot of the irrigation process. I don't know if you guys went out there. We went out -- we took a tour last fall and the ability for them to -- the -- the machinery they have to put pipe in the ground and, then, cover it up, it's -- it's an amazing process that -- the company they hired to put in the new -- all that new irrigation system. The new well. Pumps. New cart paths. New golf carts. And, of course, what's coming up is some clubhouse renovations and some better shade on the east side of the clubhouse there between the clubhouse and the driving range. People can sit out there and eat and enjoy their time and not be quite in direct sun. So, that continues, you know, and we had some input on that. They -- you know, we review things and help with -- with some of that. Another interesting thing that's happened here in the last year is at Tully and Bear Creek Parks is we have replaced some of the playground equipment to make it a little bit more inclusive and accessible and what you will see in the pictures there is the old playground equipment and the new playground equipment. This was paid for with a Community Block Development Grant. So, that was a nice thing for us to be able to do. And the other cool thing is there is a company that will take old playground equipment, remove it and they do what they need to fix it up and they take it to less developed countries. So, the playground equipment you see in the before picture was taken and is used in less developed countries for parks in those places. So, it doesn't just get put in a landfill or -- or destroyed, it actually goes to a cool use in another place and, then, of course, we have our new playground equipment. In -- this year we are also looking at having a similar upgrade in Bear Creek Park and Tully Park. Of course another big thing is the swimming pool and the -- man, it's been a lot of work at the -- at the pool. You can -- I -- I won't list it. You can see from the list of all the things that were done. Some of those things allowed -- made better quality of the water in the pool, the UV system and all those things, as well as accessibility to swimmers. One of the challenges they had last year -- and I -- I think, you know, this year might be the same, is lifeguards. At a pool you need lifeguards and the ability for -- to have as many hours as we want to have that pool open is dependent on how many lifeguards we have that we can schedule to work hours and that's a continuing thing that the city -- that -- that the Parks and Rec is working on to have enough lifeguards so they can be open as much as -- as our citizens want. But, you know, we could only be open as much as we have lifeguards to -- to be on staff. With that said a couple things. We instituted a swim test that when you show up, if you want to swim in the deep end or go off the life -- the diving board now you have to pass a swim test and you -- you know, the lifeguards, you know, they stop and you have to swim and do certain things to show you -- you have the ability to swim and, then, you get a wristband get a wristband and that way they know -- if you don't have a wristband they see you on the life -- on -- on the diving board, they can say, hey, wait, wait, you shouldn't be there. You need to go to the shallow end and that has dramatically reduced the instances of lifeguards having to rescue somebody. I think -- I don't know the numbers, but before we took it over it was like a daily occurrence the Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 9 of 17 lifeguards were having to jump in and save a kid and now it's like once or twice a month. It's rare because of that, because we said, hey, kids shouldn't be in the deep end if they can't swim and, you know, that's a good thing. We want to protect our kids. And I have -- I have said this in the Commission meeting, both of -- I have two daughters. They are older. They were both lifeguards at a public pool and my older daughter, who was a lifeguard before -- we lived over in the Twin Falls area and she was a lifeguard and one of the duties they had -- they asked the lifeguards at the pool to go and be lifeguards for the Spud Man triathlon in Burley and so, you know, Saturday morning 6.00 o'clock she goes out there and she's standing on the bank of the Snake River and there is a gentleman who -- you know, all these swimmers are going by and she's looking and there is a guy out there -- she sees he -- he's floundering and -- and he, obviously, is having a struggle. She jumps in, swims out, she pulls him in. Well, he had had a new -- he had just bought a new -- like -- not life jacket. Wet suit. Thank you. And it was too tight and he couldn't breathe and he -- because he couldn't breathe he started struggling. She brought him in and so I'm almost like my daughter saved the guy's life because she was a lifeguard. This is a sales pitch. If any of you guys know teenagers -- anybody, Meridian pool, we need lifeguards. So, you know, send that out to anybody you know. It's a great job. It's fun. They get to be outside. They get to me in the sun. They learn a skill that, you know, someday they may help somebody save a -- save a life and that's my sales pitch for my for -- for the -- for the Meridian pool and lifeguards and -- and that it really does impact people. So, anyway, we are going to continue to -- to make changes. There is going to be some artwork put on the side of the building for our -- our relationship with the Arts Commission. There is going to be a big mural put on the side of the -- the building there at the -- the swimming pool and it's going to be fun, so -- all right. Oh. And it's scheduled to open on June 5th and they are currently hiring. So, if you know anybody that wants to be a lifeguard let them know. A couple new things at -- new amenities at -- Settlers Park has some new cornhole courts that are integrated with the horseshoe pits as you can see in the picture here. Obviously cornhole is a big thing. A lot of fun and that's a cool thing that's happening. And, then, Kleiner Park has four new pickleball courts, which was funded in a partnership with the city and Brighton and Ball Ventures and those are on the west side of the big hill where people sled and -- there and that's a -- a great new amenity that -- and there is -- I think Ball and Brighton built some condo apartments there that are a 55 plus community, which I think maybe ties into maybe pickleball and -- and that's a great, you know, opportunity for them. If you look at the picture I think that's kind of what that looks like. So, there we go. All right. Man, that's everything we have been doing in the last year, so -- I thank you for your time. Any questions or comments or anything you want to know? I may not know, but I got Steve here to provide detailed things, so -- Simison: Thank you, Keith. Council, any questions? Overton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Overton. Overton: No question. Just a huge thank you to you -- Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 10 of 17 Bevan: Thank you. Overton: -- and to the Commission. It was fun braving the cold last week and -- it was cold and we went out and looked at phase two of Discovery Park and you actually -- I think you missed a couple of amenities, but, then, I could say that -- and still miss a couple more, because I have never seen a park in my life that's a one stop shop for just about everything that you want to do. Bevan: Yeah. Overton: I don't think you mentioned the hammocks. Bevan: No. Probably not. Overton: Bocci ball. Bevan: Yes. Overton: Bocci ball. Sand volleyball ball. Bevan: Yeah. Sand volleyball. Overton: It's got one of everything at least, if not half a dozen. It's pretty impressive and, you know, my hat's off to you guys and your commission and our Parks Department for what's going to be a signature park in this valley. Bevan: It is. And thank you. And, again, I -- we are almost sort of on the back end of like -- the -- the Parks Department comes to us -- here is what we are going to do and we are like that's amazing. Yes, let's do it. So, it's not like we are kind of -- we don't necessarily come up with a lot of those ideas, it's Steve and his staff that -- there is something that -- and I'm going to throw this out there. A couple years ago there was a big tree over here in the park that was cut down -- Centennial Park, just the one that's just right a couple blocks away. Big elm -- oak. Elm. Big huge -- I mean big right foot diameter tree that was dying and they are like we have to take this tree down for safety reasons; right? So, we cut it down. But, then, the guys at the city are like, you know what, we have this big stump. You know what we are going to do? We are going to take that and we are going to make an amenity at Discovery Park where there is a water activity, we are going to take that stump, turn it on its side, carve it out and use this -- and that's the point is that you guys -- you have this Parks Department they care. The employees of the Parks Department they look at things to how can we use this. It's a historical tree. It means something. How can we reuse this? And it wasn't us. It wasn't the Commission. We looked at it and went that's awesome. It was Steve and his guys that -- you know. And -- and so I don't know who it was that did that, but I -- I'm going to brag every day about Meridian Parks. All right? That's just who I am. I -- Steve laughs. The Christmas parade I get a little crazy on the float about, you know, we Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 11 of 17 are literally the best parks in the world -- in the United States, you know. And a couple days ago I was watching the news and the -- the -- the parks director for Boise was on the -- the -- the channel talking about all the stuff they do. You know, Boise has great parks. We have great parks. Eagle has great parks. That's why people want to move here; right? That's why people want to come to the Treasure Valley is it's just -- you know, we care. We care. Simison: So, Keith, did you just say -- Bevan: Sorry. Simison: -- did you just say quit investing in parks and people won't move here? Is that what you said? I just want to make sure I got that correct. We won't put words in your mouth. Bevan: I just -- you know, I just -- I just know that -- that -- that the -- that -- between the commission and the Parks Department themselves, you know, we care about making things good for the citizens of Meridian, you know, and -- and -- and we try to listen what they like, what they don't like, what needs to change. You know, there has been challenges at HomeCourt and just -- and part of it was just so many people want to use it, how do we -- how do we manage that. And the -- all the softball tournaments during the summer, how do we manage that, you know, and it's just -- that's a good thing; right? When you have people that want to use our amenities in our city and we have to try to manage that, you know, it's a problem, but it's a good problem. It's better than, you know, people not wanting to be here and as the survey -- the survey we had people -- they like our parks and people are happy. So, they can't rest on our laurels. We will keep working, so -- Simison: Council, any additional questions for Keith? Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: Not a question. I just want to say thank you very much for your service. Special place in my heart for our volunteers. I had the opportunity to volunteer and I just -- just really appreciate all the commitment that the parks commissioners have made and how much they care about what happens. So, thank you very much. Bevan: Thank you. Appreciate that. Simison: All right. Keith, thank you very much. Appreciate you. Bevan: Thank you, Mayor. Simison: And we will look forward to seeing some more great things this year. Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 12 of 17 Bevan: Thank you. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. Thank you. 14. Request to Withdraw Application for Meridian OZ Apartments (H- 2022-0073), by Realm Venture Group Simison: Thanks. For the record Mr. Cavener got here at 5.03 p.m. With that we will move on to Item No. 14 -- 14, a request to withdraw application for Meridian OZ Apartments and turn this over to Mr. Nary. Nary: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council. We have kind of an unusual request on your agenda today. So, No. 14 is a request to withdraw. There is a letter from the applicant to withdraw this application at this time, but it comes on the heels of a decision the Council has already made and the findings of fact for that are on and so if you recall from a couple weeks ago we told them we would schedule it. They asked for it that day of the hearing. We told them we would schedule it. They could submit a letter, because they hadn't submitted anything in writing at that point and, then, the Council would consider it and, again, you -- you are free to deny their request and approve the findings or if you wish to grant their request, then, we can just vacate the findings. But it is unusual in the sense that -- I was trying to think of a circumstance that someone requested a withdrawal after the decision was already made, but prior to the findings being approved, and I couldn't think of once. Normally when we have had withdrawals it's because we have had a public hearing. The applicant can see that it's not going to likely get favored or approved. They will usually get a continuance to see if they can change it or fix it or do something different and if they can't within a short window of time they will usually ask to withdraw. So, that's the common one I have seen and we don't see a lot of those, but I don't think I have ever seen one requested after the decision was actually made. But it is within our code. It is allowed to be asked. There is nothing prohibiting it. I did raise the concern that the Council had raised in the conversation a couple weeks ago on what precedential value that would be and is that a wise thing to allow to have and so I did tell Mr. Parsons if he will include it on his list for conversation in the future of a UDC amendment on whether or not we are not going to allow application for it after the decision has been made. But in this particular case it's allowed. Again, it is a discretionary function. You don't have to grant it. You don't need to have -- even have a reason to not grant it. You are not required to grant a request to withdraw. So, any other questions? Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor. Mr. Nary, in -- in their letter they -- last paragraph they talked about applicant was not afforded an opportunity respond to public testimony at the hearing, et cetera, et cetera. Can you speak to that? Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 13 of 17 Nary: Sure. Mr. Mayor, Member of the Council, so, I -- I distinctly remember -- because there was some public testimony and they did get back up and they did have the last word and we are really good at that and -- and due process. But, secondarily, I have I recall -- and I didn't go back and look at the tape, but I believe the Council asked if they wanted a continuance, because they wanted -- if they wanted more time to consider it and consider some alternatives and they opted not. So, they had opportunity to respond and -- and they were afforded appropriate due process. So, again, they -- they could request reconsideration if they wish, but that's -- that's up to them. Borton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Borton. Borton: Bill. I thought it was unusual because the only -- correct me if I'm wrong, but the only substantive effect of allowing them to withdraw is it permits them to re-apply with a substantially similar project with what was just denied. Nary: Correct. Borton: And a denial would prohibit them bringing back what was denied. Nary: Correct. Borton: So, it doesn't make any sense to me why you would not complete the application, deny the withdrawal, and just approve the findings. Nary: That is certainly within the Council's discretion, Councilman Borton. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: Question for Councilman Borton. And so what you are saying is by denial there is that one year period where they can't come back, but since we know that they cannot do the project as they had planned. I mean we saw the problems with that. We denied it. They will come back with something different. That's not subject to the one year. Nary: Correct. Hoaglun: So, they can come back within that year's time with a completely different project. Nary: Yes. Hoaglun: I suspect that they want to do, so -- okay. Thank you. Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 14 of 17 Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Council Member Hoaglun, Council Member Borton really did a very succinct job of capturing kind of my comments and feelings. So, if you will, Mayor, maybe motion is in order. I move that we deny the request to withdraw the application for Meridian OZ Apartments, application H-2022-0073. Overton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to deny the request to withdraw. Is there discussion? If not, Clerk will call the roll. Roll Call: Hoaglun, yea; Borton, yea; Cavener, yea; Perreault, yea; Strader, absent; Overton, yea. Simison: All ayes. Motion carries and the request to withdraw the application is denied. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. 15. Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law for Denial of Meridian OZ Apartments (H-2022-0073), by Realm Venture Group for Property Located at 1475 E. Franklin Rd. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: It's appropriate to move on to Item No. 15 and I move that we approve the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law for the denial of the Meridian OZ Apartments, H-2022-0073. Overton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to approve Item 15. Is there discussion? If not, Clerk will call the roll. Roll Call: Hoaglun, yea; Borton, yea; Cavener, yea; Perreault, yea; Strader, absent; Overton, yea. Simison: All ayes. Motion carries and the item is approved. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 15 of 17 16. Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Amendment in the Amount of $167,732.00 for Motorola APX Radio Conversion Simison: With that we are on to Item 16, which is fiscal year 2023 budget -- budget amendment in the amount of 167,732 dollars. We will turn this over to Mr. Frazier. Frazier: Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and Council Members. We will talk a little bit about radio encryption to explain the back story here. So, every emergency responder in Meridian, including our friends in fire, use a radio network that's operated by the Ada County Sheriffs Office and I think we all remember back in the day when television signals went digital and you had to have a digital antenna, otherwise, you didn't get TV anymore after the cutoff date for that. This is kind of a similar situation. We need a radio to be able to decode the signal that is sent to us by the radio network. About six years ago now we started incrementally replacing all of our radios to catch up to the newest encryption standard that will be sent out in the future. COVID really set us back, because it was hard to get a hold of radios. It was hard to get them installed. You know, we all know that story. So, it set us back and we weren't buying units that we couldn't get and couldn't get installed anyway. The sheriffs office has escalated their timeline for putting this plan into action. They want to go live with this in the fall of 2024. Radios that we purchased last October are still not here and we have no timeline as to when we will get them. If the amendment is not approved we would have to purchase them in '24 with no guarantee we would even get them in our possession by the fall of '24. So, to have any shot of getting ready for this in the fall of '24 and being a good partner for the sheriff's office, we need to order them now. Hence the amendment. And, additionally, we just received word from Motorola that mid year there is going to be a four percent price increase on these products anyway and just like everything else, the price keeps going up. So, quick explanation. I would ask that you approve the amendment, but I will certainly answer any questions you have. Simison: Thank you. And we do have Fire support here to back up what he's saying from that standpoint if necessary. Council, any questions? Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Mr. Frazier, quick -- quick question. And I recognize maybe I'm quoting Council Member Zaremba -- a sideways question here. When you talk about encryption, does that prevent, then, the -- the public from, essentially, hearing the communication that's going on and recognizing this is being transmitted I would assume to the public airwaves, what are the -- what are the legalities around that and preventing the public from being able to hear that type of communication? Frazier: That's a good question. So, it's not every channel in the valley here. You can listen to police activity and fire activity on what are called primary channels with a scanner. The public -- the news media can hear that. But there is other channels in the Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 16 of 17 case of fire where protected health information is broadcast. Patient information. In the case of police there is criminal information broadcast that's subject to FBI and seizure rules. So, we have to be able to keep the general public from hearing those things. Not everything. And there are additional channels that are encrypted, like when there is a special operations taking place, SWAT operations taking place and things that for safety reasons the public should not be able to hear. By and large the public can hear the vast majority of things that occur on those primary channels in the valley. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Follow up for either Mr. Nary or for Officer Frazier. Those channels that, then, are encrypted and -- and the public is preventing -- prevented from hearing that, is that guided by federal law or department policy. Frazier: Some of it's guided by federal law. In the case of patient information or CJIS compliance. The rest of it is governed by a board that oversees all of the radio communications in the valley for one and, then, within Ada county. So, that board can decide which channels are or are not encrypted. Cavener: Okay. Thank you. Frazier; Yes. Cavener: Appreciate the education. Borton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Borton. Borton: It just sounds like we are accelerating an existing known expense -- Frazier: Basically. Borton: -- sooner. Are we going to have a similar request coming from Fire to accelerate that soon? Makes sense to get in front of it. Okay. Simison: Okay. Any further questions, comments or motions? Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: I'm Happy to make the motion that we approve the fiscal 2023 budget amendment the amount of 167,732 dollars for Motorola APX radio conversion. Meridian City Council Work Session April 18,2023 Page 17 of 17 Overton: Second. Perreault: Second. Simison: I have a motion and in two seconds to approve the budget. Is there any discussion? If not, Clerk will call the roll. Roll Call: Hoaglun, yea; Borton, yea; Cavener, yea; Perreault, yea; Strader, absent; Overton, yea. Simison: All ayes. Motion carries and the item is agreed to. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Frazier: Thank you. Simison: Thank you. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: I move that we adjourn our work session. Simison: I have a motion to adjourn. All in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it. We are adjourned MEETING ADJOURNED AT 5:17 P.M. (AUDIO RECORDING ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS) MAYOR ROBERT SIMISON DATE APPROVED ATTEST: CHRIS JOHNSON - CITY CLERK