Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-12-05 Work Session Meridian City Council Work Session December 5, 2023. A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 4.31 p.m. Tuesday, December 5, 2023, by Mayor Robert Simison. Members Present: Robert Simison, Brad Hoaglan, Joe Borton, Luke Cavener, Jessica Perreault, Liz Strader and John Overton. Others Present: Chris Johnson, Bill Nary, Caleb Hood, Brian McClure, Crystal Campbell, Kyle Radek, Tracy Basterrechea, Kris Blume and Dean Willis. ROLL-CALL ATTENDANCE _X_ Liz Strader _X_ Joe Borton _X_ Brad Hoaglun _X_ John Overton _X_ Jessica Perreault _X_Luke Cavener X Mayor Robert E. Simison Simison: Council, we will call the meeting to order. For the record it is December 5th, 2023, at 4.31 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: I move that we adopt the agenda as published. Borton: Second. Simison: Motion and a second to adopt the agenda 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: ALLAYES. CONSENT AGENDA [Action Item] 1. Approve Minutes of the November 14, 2023 City Council Work Session 2. Approve Minutes of the November 21, 2023 City Council Work Session Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 2 of 26 3. Approve Minutes of the November 21, 2023 City Council Regular Meeting 4. Chipotle Sanitary Sewer and Water Main Easement No. 1 (ESMT- 2023-0136) 5. Idak Short Plat Water Meter Easement No. 1 (ESMT-2023-0169) 6. Meridian Home2 Suites Sanitary Sewer Easement No. 1 (ESMT-2023- 0172) 7. Meridian Home2 Suites Water Main Easement No. 1 (ESMT-2023- 0173) 8. Records Apartments Sanitary Sewer and Water Main Easement No. 2 (ESMT-2023-0170) 9. Shafer View Terrace Water Main Easement (ESMT-2023-0166) 10. Skybreak Subdivision No. 3 Sanitary Sewer and Water Main Easement No. 1 (ESMT-2023-0171) 11. The Oaks North Subdivision No. 13 Pedestrian Pathway Easement (ESMT-2023-0164) 12. Final Plat for Pinedale Subdivision (FP-2023-0014) by Ackerman- Estvold, generally located at the east terminus of W. Newland St. in the Chesterfield Subdivision 13. Final Plat for Skybreak Subdivision No. 3 (FP-2023-0017), by Conger Group, generally located in the southeast 1/4 of the northwest 1/4 of Section 4, 12N., R.1 E (Parcel# S1404233662) 14. Final Order for Aviation Subdivision (FP-2023-0013) by Jadon Schneider, Bronze Bow Land, located near the northeast corner of N. Black Cat Rd. and W. Franklin Rd., to the north and northeast of Compass Public Charter School 15. Final Order for Sagarra Subdivision No. 2 (FP-2023-0016) by Sagarra Phase 1, LLC., generally located at the southeast corner of N. Bergman Ave. and W. Orchard Park Dr. 16. Final Order for The Oaks North Subdivision No.13 (FP-2023-0015) by Kyle Prewett, Toll Brothers, located near the intersection of W. Gondola Dr. and N. Black Cat Rd. Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 3 of 26 17. Final Order for TM Center No. 2 (FP-2023-0018) by Brighton Development, Inc., located at the northwest corner of S. Vanguard Way and S. Wayfinder Ave. 18. Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law for 1-84 and Meridian Road (H- 2021-0099) by Hawkins Companies, generally located at the northwest corner of S. Meridian Rd. and 1-84 19. Findings of Fact, Conclusion of Law for Tanner Creek Subdivision (H- 2022-0048) by Engineering Solutions, LLP., generally located 1/4 mile west of S. Meridian Rd. on the south side of W. Waltman Ln. 20. Approval of Task Order 11230 with Brown and Caldwell for Services During Construction to Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility Aeration Basins 1-4 Retrofit & 9-10 Upgrades for the Not-to-Exceed amount of $1,958,470 (3 fiscal years), including a Fiscal Year 2024 total of$789,229.00 21. Approval of Task Order for Design, Fabrication, and Delivery of Discovery Park Artwork: Peregrine Bike Racks Between Colin Selig LLC and the City of Meridian for a Not-to-Exceed Amount of $9,950 22. Fiscal Year 2024 Net-Zero Budget Amendment in the amount of $70,000.00 for Ada County Highway District Fivemile Creek Pathway Transfer of Reimbursed Funds for Pathway Construction 23. Resolution No. 23-2426: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Meridian Signifying Final Acceptance of "Wildlife Benches" Art Installation by Colin Selig Sculpture LLC and Providing an Effective Date 24 Resolution 23-2427: A Resolution of the Mayor and the City Council of the City of Meridian, Directing the City Clerk to Enter in Meridian City Council Meeting Minutes the Tabulation of Votes and Election Results for Meridian City Mayor and Meridian City Council Seats 2, 3, and 5, Pursuant to Idaho Code Section 50-412; and Providing an Effective Date 25. Resolution 23-2428: A Resolution Amending the City of Meridian Records Retention Schedule; and Providing an Effective Date 26. City of Meridian Financial Report - October 2023 Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 4 of 26 Hoaglun: We have a lengthy Consent Agenda and I'm confident everyone has looked through things and there are no questions and with that. Mr. Mayor, I move we approve the Consent Agenda and for the Mayor to sign and Clerk to attest. Borton: Second. Simison: Motion and a second to approve 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 is agreed to. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. ITEMS MOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA [Action Item] Simison: There were no item moved from the Consent Agenda. DEPARTMENT / COMMISSION REPORTS [Action Item] 27. Community Development Block Grant Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report Simison: So, we will move on to Department/Commission Reports. So, first item up is Item 27, which is the Community Development Block Grant Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report and I will turn this over to Crystal. Campbell: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council. As you mentioned, this is our Consolidated Plan overview for the year. It's a review of program year 2022, which ran from October 1 , 2022, to September 30th 2023. So, the purpose of this presentation is to share with you our annual accomplishments, our expenditures and the evaluation of progress toward our goals. We are currently working under our '22 through 2026 Consolidated Plan and the goals that we have established for that are public facility infrastructure improvements, public services, housing and program administration. For our first goal we had a five year objective of providing non-housing community development that benefits 2,000 individuals and we have currently exceeded that with the projects that we completed during PY-22. The first one was Public Works completed the installation and modernization of four streetlights for one project and the planning and design for three additional projects, all of which are for walking routes to Meridian schools. There were also -- Parks and Recreation actually was able to complete the installation of the Chateau Park playground that they started last year as well. Under housing our first objective is to provide homeowner repairs to 20 households and we are currently at 30 percent of that goal. We worked with NeighborWorks Boise for the homeowner repair program and they had two projects that carried over last year and they were able to approve an additional six projects for this year. They completed the repairs on six of the homes. It says seven on there, but that's a typo. It was only six homes and they will have two additional ones that they will complete during this current program year. The second goal under housing is to Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 5 of 26 provide homebuyer assistance to two households and we are at 50 percent of the way there on that one and NeighborWorks Boise again worked with their homebuyer assistance program and they provided assistance to one household. For public services our first objective is to provide public services to 165 individuals and we have exceeded that. Some of that was with our Cares Act funds, but these accomplishments on this screen is only for our regular funding and I will talk about our Cares Act funds a little bit later. The first project was the Boys and Girls Club scholarships. They were able to provide access to extended care programs for 52 youth and Meridian Senior Center provided transportation to 193 seniors. Our second objective under public services was to put out -- provide homelessness prevention to 90 individuals and we are 40 percent of the way to that total goal. This year Jesse Tree provided emergency -- or, I'm sorry, they provided rental assistance to 36 individuals. So, our Cares Act funds, we were awarded these in June 2020. That's when our first program started. And we have utilized all of them during our last program years. So, we do not have anymore and over the course of the three years that we had that we worked with NeighborWorks Boise mortgage assistance to assist 76 individuals. Ada County Housing Authority provided emergency rental assistance to 209 individuals and, then, we worked with Allumbaugh House for case management services to 23 individuals and ID EYC provided childcare scholarships to 45 children. We also for our final goal there is not really any objectives for that, but we provided sub recipient management, which includes monitoring, technical assistance, oversight of construction projects to ensure compliance, administering the additional Cares Act funding, ensuring deadlines are met, ongoing training, process improvements, coordination with local communities and helping to facilitate the Idaho Fair Housing forum. So, this year we had a little bit over a million dollars for total resources, which includes our current year's allocation, about 47 -- 40 percent of that was from the current year, 29 percent was from our remaining Cares Act funds and, then, we had about 16 percent of it was PY-21 funds and about seven percent was PY-20 funds. During PY-22 we spent a total of 729,881 dollars. This is broken out on -- as you can see by the colors, the goals and, then, Cares Act funds. So, under administrative costs we spent roughly 40,000 dollars. Public services was around 77,000 dollars. Housing 178,000. Public facilities and infrastructure improvements were 115,000. And, then, the Cares Act funds were 320,000 almost. So, this leaves 357,000 in unspent funds. The majority of this is for projects that are continuing the Homebuyer Assistance Program. I mentioned that they are wrapping up two of the homes that were previously approved and, then, we have three streetlight projects and the Homebuyer Assistance Program is scheduled to end at the end of this program year. We did have a few projects that were completed under budget and this left about 32,000 dollars that's going to be reallocated to our low mod walkability project. We have some ongoing efforts with housing affordability. We are focusing on programs to purchase housing or remaining housing that's affordable and we also work to provide services to offset basic living expenses for homelessness and special needs. We collaborate with agencies that specialize in those areas, like Our Path Home, the Behavioral Health Board and Neighbors United. For public housing we coordinate with Ada County Housing Authority and other actions that we take on include coordinating with the other communities, fair housing and lead based paint. So, our timeline for this CAPER, the public comment period opened on November 28. We have a presentation Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 6 of 26 today and, then, the public comment period will close on December 15th and by the 19th I should be able to have this submitted to HUD. If anybody has any questions or comments that they would like to share, then, they can reach out to me directly. They can also find a copy of the draft document on our website and my contact information is also there and with that, I will stand for questions. Simison: Thank you, Crystal. Council, any questions? Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Crystal, as always appreciate the presentation overview. Do a lot each year. As we go into the public comment period can you just refresh me -- what do you do -- what does the city do to communicate to the public that we are seeking comment and feedback? Campbell: So, we put it on our website and, then, I have a distribution list that I send it out to. There is some citizens that have sent me messages when we have done outreach throughout the years, so that they can provide comments, and also our stakeholders that we work with and that we also work with our sub recipients to ask them to share it with people that they work with as well. Cavener: Mr. Mayor, follow up. Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: You are -- currently or Mr. Clerk, do we notice it like a public hearing or do we notice it just like a comment period? And does that shift how we communicate to the public that we are looking for feedback? Campbell: I did notice this -- sorry, were you talking to me? Simison: Go ahead, Crystal. Campbell: Sorry. I -- when I noticed it, then, I sent it out as just a public comment period and, then, referenced this presentation tonight. So, our citizen participation plan does not require us to have a public hearing. So, there is no actual public hearing. Cavener: Okay. Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Sorry. Now a little more confused. Is there a difference between if we were to do this as a public hearing versus a public comment period and from an operational Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 7 of 26 standpoint, if there is any difference, can we just default to this being more of a public hearing and following that same process? Campbell: That works for me. I would take the comments anyway, so, yeah, that works perfectly for me. Simison: Council, additional questions? Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: I don't have any questions, but I do want to say thank you and good job. This is fantastic. It was really great to see the Cares Act funds go for helping residents specifically with rent and other needs that are individual to members of our community and I really appreciated that. So, I -- I'm amazed at how far we were able to get this year. I know sometimes it is really difficult to get those funds executed in a specific fiscal year. So, you have done a fantastic job. Thank you. 28. Linder Road, Pine to Ustick Concept Report Update Simison: All right. Thank you very much, Crystal. Up next is Item 28, which is the Linder Road, Pine to Ustick concept report update. This should be a very exciting conversation. I don't know how many of you may have received something from ACHD with some of the proposals earlier today or not. I know they have got my opinion and feedback already, but I will turn this over to -- is this going to be Caleb or Brian to start off? Turn this over to Mr. McClure for comments. So, what happens when you give someone a promotion is they no longer know how to use technology. McClure: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Members of Council. This is an informational briefing on Linder Road, Pine to Ustick corridor study. I also have Brooke, the project manager from ACHD and Pierson from HDR, who is the engineering consultant here if you have any questions that I can't answer. We are here to give you an overview of some unique elements of the concepts going out to the public today. There are three concepts for the public to view, which include enhancements for the whole core. Today's presentation, however, will only focus on the segment between Sandalwood and Chateau. This segment is a pinch point between five lane sections to the north and south. To address this constraint ACHD has approached us with a fairly unique solution -- at least Ada county. The study area here is no further north than Ustick and no further south than Pine. Some of these areas have already seen widening improvements and are being preserved in part or in whole. Local attractors along the corridor include Tully Park on the east side, Barbara Morgan Elementary School on the west side and Meridian High School at the corner of Pine and Linder. As previously noted, the focus of this presentation will be on the segment between Chateau and Sandalwood. To review the project area, please, check out the online open house website. It sounds like some of you already received that. We will be back next year to provide updates on that and I Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 8 of 26 will have that link at the end of the slide as well. Linder Road is a regional corridor with one of the few Boise River crossings. With the 1-84 overpass it will be the longest continuous north-south road in Ada county. As noted, the road serves many uses -- users, including multiple schools and the city park. The ACHD project team seeks to improve the corridor for all users and including bike and pedestrian enhancements that result in a level of traffic stress, one or -- one of two. Outreach has been and continues to be a huge component of this project. Brooke has held evenings one on one twice with all the residents in the local segment or will have made these twice. Any concept put forward is very likely to impact existing residents in this area. Just pause there to note the reason for that is many homes, not just front on here, but they have very short driveways and any -- even a three lane road impacts homes because their parking pads would be deficient. ACHD staff, ACHD Pedestrian -- Pedestrian Advisory Group and a few ACHD commissioners and city staff attended a walk out at -- of the corridor in early September. Not sure why that keeps doing that with the mouse. This segment of Linder Road, Pine to Ustick, was probably number seven for Meridian in the 2024-2025 integrated five year work plan. The project is a middle segment falling behind projects to the north and south. South is Linder Road, Overland to Franklin, with the overpass that has been designed as a four and five lane road with construction slated for 2026 to 2027. North is Linder Road, Chinden Boulevard to State Highway 44. That is also designed with construction yet to be determined. That segment is five to seven lanes. And just, again, to highlight the area for this project. Three concepts have been developed in total, two of the alternatives incorporated shared residential street or what some would consider a frontage road that is shared. ACHD currently has a similar treatment on Whitewater Park Boulevard in Boise. A shared road is exactly what it sounds like and accommodates vehicles by pedestrian use in the same space. Safety is important and incorporate traffic calming, additional signage and textured surfaces to get distinguished spaces. Many details would need to be worked out in construction design. For Linder and the focus segment showed each road would have new roundabouts at Sandalwood and Chateau. These roundabouts ensure local easy access, while removing backup parking concerns, not just on the roadway, but what would otherwise be multi-use pathways. A little note. We gave this presentation to the Transportation Commission last night and we had some presentation issues, so you are seeing more than they did. An important note for this in the next few slides is that these are not necessarily final graphics. For those please see the website. Don't dwell too much on the areas outside of the cross-section footprints that you will see when -- in the actual cross-section. Concept one, what you see here is a three lane -- is three lanes, one in each direction and a center turn lane. It also includes shared use roads on both sides of Linder between Sandalwood and Chateau and a couple that hook in -- as noted previously by one lane roundabouts. Summarize. Benefits include the fewest impacts to existing properties, reduce congestion as -- as designated left lane and enhanced speed management with medians and roundabouts and landscaping with city cost share participation. The City Council previously prioritized Linder with the overpass to the south for cost share participation. Summarize challenges include required merging for drivers on the north and south of the focus segment and changes to how residents use their property. And also want to note in case it comes up in a future project phase, city staff have some concerns with missing inputs into the regional long range Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 9 of 26 transportation model. That isn't anything the engineering team did wrong, but limitations in the base data that everyone uses. Congestion capacity are not -- are not the only important factors here, but some of the forecast turning movements gave Meridian staff a pause. What you see here for concept two in the hatched gray -- hatch brown areas is all of the property impacts. Concept two is a fairly standard five lane configuration and includes two lanes in each direction, center turn lane and multi-use pathways. The crossed-out areas, as I just noted, are full -- full property acquisitions. Summarize benefits include slightly improved travel times along the study area and reduced conflicts and improved access for local residents. Summarize challenges include the largest footprint of the three concepts, the largest property impacts, reduced effect on congestion and may realize increased driver speeds -- increased driver speeds. Concept three is similar to concept one in that it includes a couplet, but it is a five lane configuration with two lanes in each direction. A shared use road only on the west side, a multi-use pathway on the east side and a couplet with multi-lane roundabouts. Multi- lane roundabouts are two lanes north-south and one lane east-west. Summarize benefits include slightly improved travel times along the study's corridor area. Fewer property impacts in a traditional five lane cross-section and enhanced speed manager with medians and roundabouts and landscaping with city cost share participation. Summarize challenges include a wider footprint and more property acquisitions in a three lane concept. This includes acquisitions for all properties on the east side between the roundabouts. It also changes how residents use their property, provides reduced effect on congestion and may realize increased driver speed. We will also note the reason the east side is impacted, as previously noted -- previously noted is because of the driveways, they are already deficient in some cases and any improvements will make them more so. You will note here that this timeline began in December of last year. We are now in the middle of this -- of this timeline on December 5th and as previously noted public outreach has begun today. After a public outreach sometime next year there will be another City Council check in. City staff will also make sure that the Transportation Commission has an opportunity to provide their thoughts leading up to that. With that I'm here to answer any questions and, again, we have Brooke and Pierson from ACHD available and the project website is on the screen. Seal: Council, questions, comments, feedback? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Thanks, Brian. Help me understand the shared roadway concept a bit more or maybe ACHD can. Like how is that safe for pedestrians and different users? I'm not following that at all. It's just -- and just background, which I'm sure you have already, Brooke, is Meridian as a city has really championed the detached multi-use pathways and I know that that makes me feel more confident with my kids next to the road. So, help me understand how this concept is different and how it would be acceptable? Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 10 of 26 Green: Certainly. And good evening. Brooke Green for the record. I'm the senior transportation planner with Ada County Highway District. Mayor and Council Woman Strader, that's a very good question. The way in which we can design a shared use space -- there is ways in which we can add treatment elements and we usually do that in a design phase. It can include the pervious pavement, which is one element. So, essentially, what you are looking at, rather than a road that looks like asphalt, you are looking at something that looks more of a -- kind of -- it's -- how do you put it? It's like tile'ish and so it's pervious pavement, it allows the water to seep through, but in addition to that it adds an additional friction. You can add other elements, like curb cuts, you can add other elements such as a chicane through that space. One way to look at it is if you were coming out of a cul-de-sac, essentially, it's only used for those who reside around the cul-de-sac and they are going very slow when you come out of that space. We want to design that space for that same level of friction that allows people to be -- drive very slow, but people can use that space together. In addition to that, as you are going to see here, we have a curbed ribbon -- a concrete ribbon, which is kind of our smooth space. We do want to consider adding that element to kind of emphasize this is where people could walk if they like, if they don't feel comfortable taking the rest of that space. Essentially, you have got 16 feet, so a car can still traverse through this area. In addition to that, this will only serve about ten homes and if you take into account how many vehicle travels takes place with one single detaches, it's about ten trips a day. So, it's not going to be utilized very often come and go. Kind of like a long driveway. But it's a very good point. It's something we haven't necessarily have done before, but with our new standard approach with all the buffered space, we were trying to come up with an innovative approach to ensure that we could preserve as many homes as we could, while still providing a space that's comfortable for young children to navigate. As we recognize Barber Morgan is right around the corner, so we want to ensure that whatever design elements we incorporate into that that we really are emphasizing bikes and peds first, vehicles, you are -- you are just using this to get out of your driveway. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: How -- now help -- walk me through -- so, let's say that traffic does get backed up on Linder. How do you avoid drivers using this shared use road as a shortcut? Because I can see that happening easily, like traffic's backed up and they see, oh, this is wide open, I'm going to zip through there. Simison: Near a high school? Are you crazy? Strader: It is crazy. But, you know, human behavior. Green: Mayor and Council Woman, that's a very good question. While if they were to cut through that they are going to find themselves constrained at the second roundabout proposed here. So, essentially, they are not going to be buying that much space and they are still going to have to try to merge into a congested environment. In addition to Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 11 of 26 that, the idea is to be able to put -- to -- I would say give it a driveway apron. So, you are actually pulling off into a space that doesn't look like a road. Essentially, you are kind of going into a driveway and in addition to that it will all be at grade at that level, whereas Linder will be asphalt at a lower level. So, you will know you are in a space that you are not supposed to be in. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: If -- if you can help me understand, looking at this graphic here -- I don't know how that translates to that actual street, but how much of the driveway, then, is taken up? You talk about access to driveway, but I'm thinking there is not much of a driveway left, but I could be wrong. Green: Mayor and Councilman Hoaglun -- is that pronounced right? Hoaglun: Uh-huh. Green: Yes, actually, it's a very good question. Currently right now the driveways are approximately a little over 20 to 30 feet and it's because many of those driveways are utilizing public right of way -- approximately ten feet of public right of way they have grown into. So, we will be using that ten feet that we have preserved for public right of way for this actual shared use roadway and concrete ribbon. So, they will still have their 20 foot driveways, so they can still park there, but they will be pulling out into a shared use road, as opposed to pulling out onto Linder Road. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: And I'm just curious if this is in all the designs. You have the buffers on the sides of five feet, whether it's sidewalk or a shared use road, and the median island is eight feet. Just curious is why -- if five feet is adequate, why that isn't eight -- five feet in the middle, just -- you know, square footage just cost. I mean that's -- so just curious about that. Green: Mayor and Councilman -- and that's another -- you guys have a phenomenal question. Actually, the eight feet is our standard for us to provide class one trees in there. The five feet buffered space, that is allowing probably class two trees to be put into those spaces. It is greatly reduced because we are trying to preserve as much space as we can. But for us to have the landscaped median, ACHD's policy is it has to be eight feet and actually it's 11 feet, including the curb and gutter. We have more wiggle room in the buffer spaces along the road itself. Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 12 of 26 Simison: Well, I think technically the tree on the right-hand side is too far into the roadway and doesn't have enough clearance, but we won't criticize this one. Sorry. We will -- Councilman Cavener, do you have a question? Cavener: Yes. Thanks. Ms. Green, appreciate you being here. Always nice to have you in our presence. Brian touched on -- in the timeline about the survey that was conducted in '22. What were the findings of that survey and how is that helping to kind of guide where -- how these recommendations were formed? Green: Mayor and Councilman Cavener, I don't have the survey with me. I would certainly be happy to get back to you what those specific findings are, but what I can attest to is that you have a lot of people who want us to provide for congestion mitigation through the corridor. A lot of people who want to see an expansion of the roadway. But in addition to that a lot of the survey respondents highlighted that they also want safe access for their children to walk to and from Barbara Morgan, including Tully Park and so you have a lot of people who are -- give me space so I can get from point A to point B. In addition to that, ensure that I have enhanced bike and ped facilities and, lastly, you have the residents who reside along the corridor who I have had the privilege to meet with -- countless evenings meeting with them who have also said, you know, this is our home, can we do what we can to preserve as many as we could. But to your point about that specific request -- details and data, I will gladly send a link to that that will highlight -- in addition to that the survey that's out there today has that link included in it. Cavener: Okay. Great. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: I appreciate the renderings. Much easier for us to -- to understand. So, just a couple of questions. First, I want to make sure I'm understanding that this is just for the section between Washington and Cherry. So, how will this tie in to the design of the rest of Linder on the north and south side? Green: Mayor and Council Member Perreault, what we have right now is we are just showcasing one segment along the corridor, because this is the pinch point along the corridor. If it's three lanes and we reflect the three lanes, it will be three lanes throughout the corridor. In addition to that, the other two alternatives have five lanes reflected, it would be five lanes for the rest of the corridor. So, on the survey that's out there today it will highlight concept one being that it's two lanes or three lanes through the corridor and, then, concept two is the five lane standard and, then, concept three is the five lanes with a shared use road. The shared use road only applies at this segment, because we are trying to preserve homes. The actual pedestrian facilities would be a multi-use pathway in all three options through the whole corridor from Ustick to Pine. Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 13 of 26 Perreault: Mr. Mayor, follow up? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: I apologize. I should have clarified. I was specifically meaning a shared use. So, it will tie into the ten foot pathways that already exist, then, on the north and south of this section. Is the -- I don't -- I don't think there are ten -- ten foot pathways on the north side of Cherry Lane. So, that's -- I guess that's what I'm trying to understand is how this puzzle pieces together, the shared use designed specifically. Green: Certainly. And, Mayor and Council Woman Perreault, ACHD standards have grown over time and what we had before north of Ustick was your standard attached sidewalk. Well, since that -- and in particular in this area, because you have so many local attractors, a multi-use pathway is appropriate, especially with a buffered space. So, we will have to tie at the intersections to allow folks to traverse off the multi-use pathway onto an existing bike facility. To your point we don't have a multi-use pathway on the other side at all. This is the corridor where we are emphasizing the multi-use pathway. Tully Park, the middle school, the high school, we anticipate a lot of people using that space. But it's just policies over time and the road has grown over time and that's where we are at today. Perreault: Mr. Mayor, I have one more question if I may? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: Thank you. Can you tell us about the homes that would be needed? Any -- any of the three designs, how that process works for the homeowners? A lot of those homes are small single level homes that were built in the 70s or '80s and how those individuals would, then, go about relocating to another area that probably would be quite a bit more expensive than -- than what they would be able to sell their homes for or -- or receive from negotiations. Green: Mayor and Council Woman Perreault, what I have learned through this whole process is how much depth there is to it and what the compensation package looks like. So, should we find ourselves having to purchase a home as a result of this, we do do an assessment of it. Third-party assessor comes in, we will evaluate it. We either pay for market value or we pay for the assessed value, which one of the two is higher. In addition to that, we look to relocation costs. So, for instance -- or we hire a third-party relocation company who will go and find that home elsewhere, three of them, like homes, and if there is a cost difference between their home and for them to acquire a home that's like buyers now, then, that's another piece of the package. In addition to that -- and especially with the interest rates being what they are for folks who have found themselves refinancing at that really nice low interest rate, but yet having to purchase at a higher interest rate, we also take that into account and say they had 25 years left on that loan, we actually pay them out that 25 years' worth of difference in the interest rate. I have had an opportunity to meet with these and I have met with at one Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 14 of 26 time -- and multiple times I have had whole families sitting in the living room and to your point these are people who live there, who have lived there since the beginning. Actually, a majority of them on the west side have lived there essentially since it started -- the homes were built and we have talked through that. We had two meeting. The first one was to introduce them to the project. The second meeting was to introduce them to the concepts. What I didn't want and what we want to ensure was they were not blindsided in a public outreach. I will tell you at this level of concept we don't do this typically, but because the number of homes that are impacted, we found that it was the most appropriate way to ease this conversation. Overton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Overton, Overton: Brooke or Brian, could you bring up the map that shows version from roundabout to roundabout? Green: Did you say concept one? Overton: Concept one. Yes, please. So, when we are talking about people driving on the non-roadway, what's going to prevent them coming out of the roundabout? I'm assuming that when they come out of the roundabout from Sandalwood heading north, it's one lane, so they don't really have a way to get onto that protected space and the same goes for the roundabout at Chateau coming south; is that correct? Green: Mayor -- yes, I think -- yes, I think that's correct. Overton: And under this version, if this is the choke point, if this is the pinch point that's causing us the grief, are we, then, looking at a five lane road south of Sandalwood? Green: Mayor and Councilman, each concept is different. So, if it's concept one we are proposing three lanes through the whole corridor Pine to Ustick. If it's concept two the standard five lanes. We are proposing five lanes from Pine to Ustick. And, then, lastly, for the concept three, same scenario, five lanes from Pine to Ustick, with the exception of the shared use road only at this location to preserve the homes. Overton: Thank you. Mayor, follow up? Simison: Councilman Overton. Overton: Thank you. So, I just -- that helps me a lot, because I think what I'm understanding now is if we went with version one that's going to dictate the width of road through the entire area, not just through this pinch point. Green: Mayor and Councilman, yes. When you do the survey you can choose between concept one and two. We just wanted to highlight this pinch point today, just because Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 15 of 26 we anticipated this was going to be where a lot of the questions were and it's a little bit innovative approach to being able to preserve some homes. Simison: And this kind of hits on the -- the -- my comments that I did when I went online and did it was, you know, to me this road is an important, as Brian mentioned, north- south corridor connecting not just the overpass, looking at all the schools that are on this corridor, having two travel lanes in each direction to me personally is an important part of what needs to occur. What else? I don't know. But dropping this mile and a half segment down to one lane where you are going to have two lanes on each side of that feeding into that and maybe even -- well, I don't want to say more coming from Linder up from Eagle, but that becomes a real challenge. I mean I think, you know, how many -- how many of us enjoy driving down, you know, Meridian Road right now when it -- you have to -- it's supposed to be able to handle it. That's what the data tells you, you know, but it doesn't really, you know, especially during the high traffic time periods and being around a high school, you know, I have seen the value and benefit of the two lane roads around, you know, Mountain View now where you have eliminated all your congestion in the morning, but you create a one -- you create the one way into this. You are back to congestion during those times of day when you have extreme amounts of usage. So, that was my, you know, rough feedback on the survey I did was four lanes of travel I think it important. This to me is an important conversation and I won't ask you to share our conversation offline, because I think there is a lot more work for yourself to do, but some other solutions through this proposition that can work I think for all parties involved. Green: Yes. Thank you, Mayor. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener, Cavener: Some more questions for Mr. McClure if he is willing. So, Brian, I hate to put you on the spot. If you don't know the answer it's okay. I remember from an application we had at one point -- I think there is a bus stop on the corner of Linder and Chateau. Do you know if that's still the case? And if not have we flagged this for West Ada for their feedback as well? McClure: Mr. Mayor, Councilman, West Ada is very involved in this. This was Miranda's project. Tracking this now. She was here last night for the Transportation Commission. I do not know the answer to your question, though, as to whether the bus stop is still pending or not. I can get back to you, though. Cavener: Okay. And, then, Mr. Mayor -- Simison: Councilman Cavener. Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 16 of 26 Cavener: Brian, I appreciate that you shared this with the Transportation Commission yesterday. Was there any feedback from them that you think is pertinent for Council to hear about this evening? McClure: There were several comments about the appropriateness of three lanes and mixing up the -- I think that was probably the big takeaway there. I had two presentations and I'm mixing them up in my head right now. Sorry. Cavener: Thanks. McClure: Well, no, I did commit to them to coming back after the public comment period and with next steps with ACHD and making sure that their comments make their way to you. So, I won't forget next time. Simison: Brian, can you elaborate on the appropriateness of three lanes, where they saying three lanes is appropriate or were they questioning whether three lanes was appropriate? McClure: Mr. Mayor, it was the latter. It was questioning whether three lanes was appropriate. Simison: Thank you. Borton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Borton. Borton: Brooke, can you put up concept number two again? So, is it fair to say that the -- one of the trade-offs with this option is -- I mean ACHD is going to have an extra six to eight million dollars in -- in condemnation costs. So, that's a big trade off. And so the question would probably come if -- if the City of Meridian wants to pursue this path I wouldn't be surprised if we are asked to forego something else. But -- but am I correct in the -- in the acquisition costs as being one of the considerations for concept two? Green: Mayor, Councilman Borton, yes, the acquisition costs are certainly significantly higher with concept two. What will -- in the end how what that's going to play out and look like for the actual costs associated with what two concepts we are bringing back in the future -- I can't ascertain that, but I certainly can tell you we will be taking two concepts out of this. So, whether we have one concept and, then, we blend two of them together to create another one -- we will go through that process within the next five months and, then, we will come back before you in the springtime to highlight what are the two options that we would take to our commission and we will let our elected officials make the decision whether -- which one they would like to go with. Borton: Perfect. Mr. Mayor, one other question. Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 17 of 26 Simison: Councilman Borton. Borton: You had mentioned and shown us the Whitewater Park. Are you aware of any other examples in Boise or elsewhere where there is the shared driveway in place that we may choose to visit? Green: Mayor and Councilman Borton, that is the only one that really encompasses what we are trying to do here, because we are really trying to emphasize this is only to access your homes. Other areas that might be somewhat similar would be frontage road scenarios. We have got one there on State Street at -- I think it's 28th and that is our frontage road. It's one way. It enables those people to get out onto the State Street. But this was an attempt to be able to preserve homes and really emphasize bikes and peds and only access to your house, that this isn't a way for you to cut through. Borton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Borton. Borton: One more question. Back on concept one there was a four foot sidewalk in this rough design on -- I don't know if that's the west side. There is not one on the north -- or the other side. Is the 12 foot shared drive intended to satisfy just for those few homes -- not only the car traffic, but also pedestrian and, if so, would you need the four foot sidewalk? Green: Mayor and Councilman Borton, that is a concrete ribbon where we are trying to highlight that that's where they can walk. For the east side we are out of space. They have non -- any alternative put forward is potentially going to create nonconforming driveways and that's -- we are trying to minimize the best we can by being able to preserve their homes. The concrete ribbon is something that we can do in a design. We -- it's somewhat of a sidewalk, but as we move this forward into phase two the feedback we receive from the public, we can fold that into it and what I'm hearing is this big emphasis to ensure that we have a designated space. I'm hearing that's incredibly important. And so certainly it's some feedback we will take back to the team. Borton: Thank you. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: Now I have more clarity, but the section of shared use was just a -- one small section of this and we didn't have access to any of these renderings before we came. So, I'm trying to fill in the gaps between what we have writing and what you are presenting here. So, is there not going to be any on-street parking in this section and where would folks have guests park? Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 18 of 26 Green: Mayor and Council Woman Perreault, that is the trade-off. For concept one to preserve the homes their parking would have to be on adjacent neighboring streets. For concept -- let me see if we can track -- for concept three. So, for concept three, if you can see here those hatch markings you hit at the roundabouts, we are likely to have to purchase all four of those properties, because of the roundabout footprint in that case with a shared use road being on the west side, those two booked-in properties next to the roundabouts will have a dual purpose. It will be stormwater and parking. So, we will be able to provide parking for that space. Primarily it's because we want to emphasize a shared use road for bikes and peds and lessen any of those other types of interactions. Simison: Okay. So, next steps go to the Commission again or -- and, then, be back here sometime after that or will you go back up to the public and redefine before you go back to the Commission and Council? Green: Mayor and Council, so what we anticipate the public survey will be open for the next two weeks. I encourage you to send that out to your folks to participate, concluding that our team will meet prior to January. In addition to that we will take all the public comments. We will leave our consultants, who work diligently for the three months to come up with an alternative. We will be back before you in the springtime. There is two options and two paths we will take, dependent -- if we make a lot of modifications to the proposed concepts, we could find ourselves going back out to the public again. If we don't make a lot of modifications and we are comfortable with the response, then, we might just take it straight to you as an update and, then, back to the Commission for a vote. We do provide an opportunity for us to engage with the public once more. I will tell you we will be having a second round of evening meetings with the property owners once we narrow it down to the two, because I definitely don't want them to find out about where their house stands in these projects without talking to me first. So, we will have that between April and May we will be engaged with the property owners once again. But there is two paths. We will either go back out to the public if we make a lot of modifications based off of feedback or we will go straight for a vote upon our commission. Simison: All right. Thank you very much. Green: Well, thank you. It's been a privilege to be before you. Certainly reach out to me if you have any questions. Thank you. Simison: Thank you. With that, Council, we will stand in recess until 5.15. 5.30. Sorry. (Recess: 5.15 p.m. to 5.34 p.m.) 29. Light My Fire Check presentation Simison: All right. Council, we will go out and come back from recess and continue on with tonight's work session. Since the podium was already turned around, we just went Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 19 of 26 ahead and came on down and the first item up is Item 29, which is the Light My Fire check presentation. If you would get up, Mary, and whoever else is coming on up and I would -- if you would come over here and make some comments. Cahoon: Okay. Thank you, Mayor. So, today is a fantastic day for us at Light My Fire. It's a pleasure to be able to bless the Meridian Fire Department and the citizens of this great city. Our 2023 Gala marked the 29th anniversary of raising funds for Meridians fire safety education and prevention programs and emergency assistance to families devastated by fire right here in Meridian. Firefighters used to have to grab money out of their back pockets in the middle of the night when you had a family that was out there without shoes and sometimes not much at all and this fund helps them to be able to immediately get them help, so that they can get a hotel, they can get shoes, they can get medicine, that type of thing and so it is just a pleasure to help in this way. During this time span over the 29 years nearly three quarters of a million dollars has been given to these worthy causes, which is a huge thing. It takes a hard working dedicated team to raise these funds. Several of our committee members are here and I would like to introduce them to you. Bob Ricketts. Ricketts and Associate. Been here from the very beginning. Father of Light My Fire. Over here we have Andrea Bradshaw with Belfor. Behind us there is Corey Langdon with CRS and Pam Orr, an amazing woman, man, I'm just telling you, she is a goer. She does it all. We -- and she's continuing helping us, because she's got that fire in her belly to do good in the community and I'm so proud to -- to work beside her. It's truly a labor of love where competitors lay lances down. You know, we have all kinds of people in the insurance industry, in the restoration industry and we lay those lances down of competition to accomplish our mission. This year Light My Fire will be donating -- donating a combined total of 102,200 dollars that was raised at our Gold Rush Gala. The majority of dollars donated are split between Boise and Meridian, including a small donation to the Idaho First Responders Wellness Collaborative. Light My Fire has set aside 20,000 dollars this year, because we were able to raise a bunch of money and so, Pam Orr is like spearheading this, but it's to facilitate a micro grant program for smaller Idaho fire departments in 2024, which is a big deal. So, without further ado, if Chief Warmuth would come up. For you, chief, I have 15,000 dollars. Yes. And, then, to Engineer Ona, representing the Meridian Firefighters Association for the burnout fund, I present you with another 15,000 dollars. And to Chris Verkerk -- I should do another -- so, this is for the Idaho First Responders Wellness Collaborative and we were able to raise 2,200 dollars and I know that this is really important, because first responders experience so many different things during their career that it's important to be able to help them with some sidewalls for those things that they experience. So, it's our privilege to give you this money. And to close out I'm going to turn my mic around. Mayor, City Council Members, our 2024 Gala event will be held at the Riverside Hotel Grand Ballroom on February the 16th. This marks our 30th anniversary and the theme is Cheers to 30 years .007 Bond, James Bond. So, we have a save a date for each one of you and we double dog dare -- no, triple dog dare you guys to attend and when we did the Boise City Council presentation I did a little job saying Mayor Simison was there last year. All right. And our goal for this year is 120,000 dollars. So, thank you. Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 20 of 26 Simison: I will just say thank you and congratulations and, yes, it was -- it's an amazing event for everyone. I encourage you to consider going. My only advice to the rest of Council is be prepared to get into a theme, because I was not. So, that -- that will be my own advice. But thank you. We appreciate all the work that you do and look forward to seeing you there. 30. Meridian Stars Awards Simison: So, with that we will move on to Item 30, which is our Meridian Stars presentation for the evening. So, Council, if you want to go ahead and come on down. But Meridian Stars recognizes Meridian residents and businesses that demonstrate a commitment to preserving, maintaining, improving the quality of life and safety in neighborhoods and the wider community. We are presenting in six different categories. We have the Youth of the Year, Senior of the Year, Neighbor of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Large Business of the Year, Mayor Star of the Year. I think we are going to have to add one more just so we make sure we give each Council Member an opportunity to do one for the future. So, we will have to think about that for next year. But the winners will be announced one by one as the Council and myself go through and read the information about each winner and, then, after the winner is announced ask them to come up and share a few words, get their award and get their picture taken. And, then, winners and guests are welcome to enjoy cake and punch in the lobby outside of Council Chambers once the ceremony is over. So, with that, we will go ahead and begin with our first one, which is our Youth of the Year. So, I will invite up John Overton. Overton: Our Youth of the Year stands out as an exemplary young leader in this community. He is a wonderful musician, active in his orchestra, a swimmer, a youth commissioner on Meridian's own Transportation Commission, and last year he served as a leader in Meridian's MYAC, which is the Meridian Youth Advisory Council. He played an important role in introducing his fellow students to learn more about and get involved with local government. For his dedication to our community and his persistence in making sure youth voices are heard, Hoyoon Song is our Youth of the Year. Hoyoon, please come up and share a few words about what motivates you to make your community a better place. Song: Hello. My name is Hoyoon Song and I'm a senior from Bishop Kelly High School. To be honest, I was actually quite surprised in getting this award, because if I think back to when I was in 10th grade, you know, first joining MYAC, meeting the Mayor for the first time, I would never have imagined that I would one day serve on the Transportation Commission or one day become one of the leaders of MYAC and really how much MYAC would even change me as a person. I was very shy. I was not very good at giving speeches or talking to a roomful of people and MYAC's helped me to become a better version of myself by learning to connect with many people and learning to serve my community in ways that I never have expected before. So, this is just a tremendous honor. Thank you so much to -- to the Mayor, Members of the City Council Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 21 of 26 and, of course, my -- my mom sitting right there in the back. Thank you. It's a tremendous honor. Hoaglun: I'm Brad Hoaglun. It's a pleasure for me to introduce our Senior of the Year. One of the things I -- I have had a great advantage learning about public service, because I grew up in Meridian, and that was something where you saw it all around you, people were giving back to their community. They wanted to support their community. They wanted to support one another. And I think that's why we are growing like we are, because we still do that to this day -- is people care about their neighbors, they care about their community and making things better and I think one of the great examples I had was -- was someone who served on City Council for many, many years, Keith Bird, late Council Member, gave back to his community. He started a long time ago. I remember I was on his optimist football team. I think I was his second -- second team he coached. He did that for many years and my dad was a counselor at the high school and -- and my dad knew he could go to Keith and say, hey, I have got a kid who needs some help. He needs a job. He needs -- we need to keep him engaged. We need to keep him involved in school and -- and this is where you can help and Keith would -- he helped countless young people. So, you know, those are the types of examples we have here at Meridian and we have that today, even though Keith is gone, there are still people who are committed to that type of service to our community today. This person who is in her mid '80s and she is serving our community through the Meals on Wheels program and she goes and delivers meals twice a week to people who are much younger than her. Imagine that. I think I qualify now age wise for Meals on Wheels, but not yet. Not yet. So, anyway, we do want to recognize her for her commitment, her continuing service to our community and I want to introduce to you our Senior of the Year, Patsy Gardner. So, Patsy, please, come on up. Gardner: Nobody told me I was going to say a few words. Having taught kindergarten for 19 years I have a lot of words and, then, I did preschool for 11 after that and that's how I got in Meal on Wheels. I needed something after I wasn't teaching, but yet I still like to talk with people. You know, little ones, big ones. So, my daughter-in-law says why don't you check on the Meal on Wheels and so I did and they need to -- they always need volunteers and I can still drive. Thank the Lord. I can -- I got a good attitude. I got good health. Again thank the Lord and -- and so they become family, which is wonderful, because I have family also here in Idaho, but they do -- but, then, there is the disappointment as sometimes their health isn't good and you worry about them. So, it becomes every time they come to the door and they are upright, it's -- it's a good one -- good day and I have learned so much about people and -- and, then, I get my fill of how I like to share talking. So, thank you. This is -- this is very humbling. Very humbling. So, thank you all. Thank you all. Borton: All right. Yeah. We are going to do this next one as a team. So, there is a lot of things that are really fun about this evening every year and part of it is to recognize the folks that you have heard about already and part of it is to see everyone else in the room. The folks -- the family and the friends and the neighbors that come and care about those that we take some time to celebrate them, because those we recognize are Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 22 of 26 certainly loved. We can tell with the crowds that come today. Elizabeth Strader and I are going to tag team this next one, because we have got two individuals to recognize. This is the neighbors of the year and if you have lived in Meridian for some time, some longer than others, you have come to realize that community means a lot and taking some time to go and visit those in your neighborhood who live next door or across the street, getting to know them, caring about them, checking in on them is a big part of what makes Meridian Meridian. It's sort of in our DNA. And tonight we are going to recognize a husband and wife couple who have been doing that for over 50 years in our community. A lot of it is -- is, you know, quietly done without asking for any recognition, but it means the world to those that they care for and they spend time with. They have earned this year's Neighbor of the Year Award by the example and the impact that they have had on the -- with small acts of kindness that have a huge impact on those they care for. Over these 50 years they have shared their home with friends and family and strangers. They have thought of others when they need a place to stay and asking for nothing in return. It's not really complicated. It's a very simple recipe and it comes with a very huge heart that this husband and wife couple are recognized as Neighbors of the Year. Strader: So, they plant a huge vegetable and flower garden and they share their produce with friends and family. They keep everyone they know well fed, whether they are hosting a huge family dinner, the class reunion lunch or a Bible study. Their neighbors say they are grateful to consider them honorary grandparents of everyone who lives on the street. I know we can always all use an extra honorary grandparent. So, that's fantastic. In honor of their decades of neighborly warmth and kindness, this year's Neighbor of the Year Award goes to Carol and Elden Leavitt -- Leavitts. Please come up. Leavitt: You can't be a neighbor without a neighborhood. Come on. Stand up, neighborhood. Come on. Come on. There. And family. Well, when we were surprised -- he left me a text message -- a message and so I called to see what we were supposed to do and he said there would be cake and punch and -- Hoaglun: Few words. Leavitt: But few words is like giving me a bag of potato chips and telling me to eat one. So, I went on Al so I would have something worthy of this gala occasion. But so much has changed in the 50 years that we have lived here. Some of you weren't even alive when we moved in Meridian. E.Leavitt: Yep. Everybody thought we were out of our mind moving way out in the country. So, we have been out here now 51 years. The same location. We have raised four kids. They went to Southside Elementary. They went to the one Meridian Junior High and all four of them went to the one Meridian High School. So, yeah, remember when Seven Mile Road was a two lane road. I don't know whether any of you even know what Seven Mile Road was. That is now Eagle Road. So, we have seen tremendous growth in this country and area and I have loved it very much. Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 23 of 26 Leavitt: When we moved to Meridian the feeling of community was what was so good. You know, when you went to the blood drawing, Mrs. Aschenbrenner took your information. Bill Berg was keeping everybody entertained. And, you know, you bought corn from, you know, the corner, Mr. Wheatley right there at Overland and Eagle Road. At Locust Grove. Pardon me. And it's grown. When we moved out we were the young people with the young children and, then, for many years we were the oldie moldies and the whole lane was dead and, then, God blessed us with young families. So, all you had to do to be loved was have plenty of Jolly Ranchers and that's what we did and we have a real strong HOA in our community, helping one another and that's what we do. So, thank you, neighbors. Cavener: Well, that's a -- that's a hard act to follow. I think in the big occasions I think this is the first time in my tenure on Council we have had somebody come speak so favorably about a homeowner's association, so wow. Check the temperature someplace. Events like this for those of us that are -- that are Gen Xers, I go back to my -- my childhood watching Sesame Street and that's that these are the people in our neighborhood, in our neighborhood, in our neighborhood, these are the people in our neighborhood that we meet when we are walking down the street each day and I just -- Mayor and Sahand, thank you for doing this event each year. It's just -- it's a good reminder that no matter how big our population is we still are this neighborhood community really working together. My seven year old thinks that I get to do a lot on the City Council. The fact is it's very, very little, but I did petition to be able to present this award tonight. So, thank you for honoring my request, because I don't know if you know this, but small business is thriving in Meridian and this year's award winner has gone above and beyond, continually proving itself to be a huge advocate for our community. The owner is a husband and wife team, took ownership of their brewery in 2022 and their first order of business was to create a family friendly experience for neighbors to enjoy and for groups to gather in, with an unwavering commitment to our community and to philanthropic endeavors. This company focuses on supporting local businesses around them, whether it's through their amazing vending machine that spits out amazing books for our community to take part in, to host a variety of different trivia events and one of my favorites Thursday bingo. They do live music from local musicians on Friday as well. This business is seemingly always present in our community and that's a testament to how many people are here for them tonight. So, for providing a welcoming place for families, the neighbors, including the Caveners to gather in from time to time, and bring so much to give back to our community. This year, Small Business of the Year goes to Loose Screw Brewing and Mike and Pam, would you, please, come up and if you want to bring your staff, everybody to really celebrate all you do for our community. Garcia: Mike. This is my wife Pam. Truly honored, surprised to -- surprise that, you know, when staff called our tap room and talk to Natasha, you know, she texted me, hey, we won this award and I was like just forget it. It's a scam, you know. Next thing they are going to do -- they are going to want you to purchase a plaque for 400 dollars. I get these a-mails all the time. But, then, you know, after Googling the phone number back I realized, oh, no, this is -- this is for real. So, you know, truly honored. Surely -- I Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 24 of 26 mean just beyond blessed in getting this recognition from the Council, city staff, citizens and being able to allow this today. It's not the reason why we do it, though. You know, we really do this -- we are a firm believer of giving back and, fortunately, we have got this cool brewery to be able to do that through and a cool brewery that we are going to be adding on to. As probably many of you know, we are going to be opening up a new brewery tap room just down the road here, which we are really excited about to open up next year. None of this would be possible without an awesome support staff and team behind me, including my wife, but I would like my team actually to stand up if you could. Our head brewer Marcos. We have got Mason. Got Rebecca and Natasha. You know, it's not really me, it's -- it's this team that really makes all of this possible. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Perreault: Good evening. My name is Council Member Jessica Perreault and I echo my fellow Council Members excitement about what we get to do here this evening. This is my last month on Council, so this is an extra special opportunity to share my appreciation -- our appreciation with you in our community. Our business community is really important to the City of Meridian. We are incredibly grateful for our business owners and our large companies, they have a powerful impact on our local economy. So, I have the opportunity of presenting the award to the Large Business of the Year to receive a Meridian Star and this business does not just build houses, but what makes them stand out is their enduring commitment to supporting the community. Whether it's sponsoring an outdoor picnic area at the new Ronald McDonald House, Charities, which is downtown, donating to the pediatric cardiology clinic at St. Luke's Children's Hospital, or even building a playhouse for a young boy with cardiomyopathy through the Make-A- Wish Foundation, all of this -- as if all of this wasn't generous enough, this company is especially well known for building the St. Jude dream home every year and I'm sure you are all familiar with that. For 11 years they have built the St. Jude dream home at no cost to the public and in doing that they have raised millions of dollars for the treatment and research of young cancer patients. So, as a real estate broker here in Meridian it is my extra special honor to announce that Berkeley Building Company as our Large Business of the Year. Thank you for your exceptional spirit of giving service and business excellence. Please come up and take an opportunity to share some words. Englund: I didn't have the opportunity to know that I might be saying a few words and otherwise I definitely would have gotten on Al with my friend over there, who I have learned a lot from and I'm currently shopping for -- what did do say Jolly Ranchers is how we gain friends and influence people. I just wanted to say first and foremost what an honor hearing the stories of everyone that came before us. I mean we are a large company. In theory. We might -- we might not be so big, but just the students and seniors and neighbors that are putting so much out into the community that's a personal sacrifice that's so great and we are honored to be among you. So, thank you for all that you do. All that you do is part of why it's so important for our why to give back to the community that we serve. We have been building in the city of Meridian since we began 15 years ago and take very seriously our commitment to building so much more than homes, but by -- to building the community that we live in and supporting what's important to all the people who end up living in our homes. So, thank you so much for Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 25 of 26 this honor, Mayor and City Council. You have been a great partner to us to help us with building in the community responsibly and -- and are part of why we are able to give back in such a big way, because if we weren't able to build homes we couldn't do what we are able to do. So, thank you so much all around and we appreciate this. What a great honor. Thank you so much. Simison: One more to go and, then, there is cake. So, I will -- I will do the Mayor's Star of the Year and really this gives me the opportunity when -- because when you get submissions and you have, you know, different categories and maybe some very deserving people in a similar category, it gives you an opportunity to pick that one other person or group or individuals in order to do that. So, we will go ahead and do the Mayor's Star of the Year and this, too, is for two people. A couple. But this year that recognition -- recognition goes to a couple who are an example to all of us when it comes to being kind neighbors. When the couple were in the process of changing their landscaping, they not only offered to give away their beautiful plants to a neighbor, but actually went above and beyond and did the work in digging and replanting them for their neighbors in ideal locations. They provided jumbo size road food to a neighbor who was going on a lengthy car trip in unpredictable weather, so they wouldn't have to worry about making stops. I'm going in January, just throwing that out there. They keep a close eye on the homes of neighbors when they are on vacation and as longtime local business owners they personally nurture young professionals in their field to help them succeed and encourage them to stay in Idaho, so that we can all benefit from their valuable skills. This couple actually goes out of their way to make their neighborhood and Meridian as a whole a better, safer and far more enjoyable place to live. For these reasons and more this year's Star of the Year -- Mayor's Star of the Year Award goes to Tom and Bonnie Carns. Tom and Bonnie, if you would, please, come forward. We have got to recognize you. Carns: If Tom is lucky I will give him an opportunity to talk, but this is a very humbling award. I wish everybody could have neighbors like we have. We sit at the end of a cul- de-sac and we are such introverts -- we sit way back at the end of the cul-de-sac. But little did we know we were going to be blessed with such great neighbors. So, I'm going to keep it short, because I know everybody is waiting for their cake and ditto everything that everybody has said, but I would like to thank the City Council. I would like to thank the Mayor. And most importantly I would like to thank our neighbors. Tom, if you could say thank you. T.Carns: Thank you. Carns: That's it. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor, I move that we adjourn our meeting. Simison: Motion to adjourn. All in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it. We are adjourned. Meridian City Council Work Session December 5,2023 Page 26 of 26 MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 6:07 P.M. (AUDIO RECORDING ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS) MAYOR ROBERT E.SIMISON 12-19-2023 ATTEST: CHRIS JOHNSON - CITY CLERK 12-19-2023