HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 05-23 SpecialMeridian City Council Special Meeting May 23, 2000
The special meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order by Mayor Robert D. Corrie at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23, 2000.
Members present: Robert D. Corrie, Tammy deWeerd, Cherie McCandless, Ron Anderson, Keith Bird.
Others present: Bill Nichols, Gary Smith, Bill Gordon, Will Berg.
Corrie: Okay, I’ll open the special meeting of the Meridian City Council on Tuesday, May 23, 2000, at 7:00 p.m. and have roll-call, please, Mr. Berg.
Item 1. Development Agreement: AZ 00-005 Request for annexation and zoning of 20.26 acres for proposed Stratford Park for residential and professional offices from R-T (Ada County)
to R-8 by Howell Murdoch Development Corp:
Corrie: Okay, Item No. 1 is the Development Agreement, AZ 00-005, request for annexation and zoning of 20.26 acres for proposed Stratford Park for residential and professional offices
from R-T (Ada County) to R-8 by Howell Murdoch Development Corporation. Mr. Clerk, do we have the Development Agreement that has been signed?
Berg: Mr. Mayor, members of the Council, we do have a signed Development Agreement that I have in my hands.
Corrie: Any questions on the agreement, Council? Okay.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I move that we have the attorney – I move that we approve the Development Agreement request for annexation and zoning of 20.26 acres for proposed Stratford Park for
residential and professional offices from R-T (Ada County) to R-8 with the Mayor to sign and the Clerk to attest.
Anderson: Second.
Corrie: Motion’s made and seconded to approve the Development Agreement, AZ 00-005, on the Stratford Park. Any further discussion?
deWeerd: Mr. Mayor, I have some real concerns about this. I don’t know if I can approve it.
Corrie: Okay, as long as it’s only one.
deWeerd: I’m just kidding. I wanted to get a reaction. I have no comment.
Corrie: I told them, I said, there goes my lunch tomorrow. Any other discussion? Hearing none, Mr. Clerk, roll-call vote, please.
Roll-call: deWeerd, aye; McCandless, aye; Anderson, aye; Bird, aye
MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES
Item 2. Ordinance No. : AZ 00-005 Request for annexation and zoning of 20.26 acres for proposed Stratford Park for residential and professional offices from R-T (Ada County) to R-8
by Howell Murdoch Development Corp:
Corrie: Item No. 2 is an Ordinance, AZ 00-005, request for annexation and zoning of 20.26 acres for proposed Stratford Park for residential and professional offices from R-T to R-8
by Howell Murdoch Development Corporation. Mr. Clerk, what Ordinance Number would that be?
Berg: Mr. Mayor, 875.
Corrie: Mr. Clerk, would you read Ordinance No. 875 by title only, please.
Berg: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the Council, Ordinance No. 875: An Ordinance finding that certain land lies contiguous or adjacent to the City limits of the City of Meridian,
County of Ada, State of Idaho; and finding that the owner has made a request for annexation in writing to the Council; and that said land be annexed into the City of Meridian and zoning
designated medium density residential district (R-8); and declaring that said land by proper legal description as described below be part of the City of Meridian, County of Ada, State
of Idaho; repealing all ordinances, resolutions, orders or parts thereof or in conflict herewith; and directing the City Engineer to add said property to the official maps of the City
of Meridian, Idaho, and directing the Clerk of the City of Meridian to file a certified copy of the Ordinance and map of the areas to be annexed with Ada County Recorder, Auditor, Treasurer
and Assessor and the State Tax Commission of the State of Idaho pursuant to Idaho Code Section 50-223 and Section 63-2215.
Corrie: Okay, you’ve heard the reading of Ordinance No. 875 by title only. Is there anyone from the public that would like the Ordinance read in its entirety? Hearing none, Council,
I’ll entertain a motion on Ordinance No. 875.
deWeerd: Mr. Mayor, I move that we approve Ordinance No. 875, AZ 00-005, request for annexation and zoning of 20.26 acres for proposed Stratford Park and to have the Mayor sign and
the Clerk to attest with suspension of the rules.
Corrie: Okay, motion is made and seconded to approve Ordinance No. 875 as stated in the motion by Mrs. deWeerd. Any further discussion? Hearing none, Mr. Clerk, roll-call vote, please.
Roll-call: deWeerd, aye; McCandless, aye; Anderson, aye; Bird, aye
MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES
Item 3. Public Hearing: Residential curbside recycling program with new rate schedule and a monthly household hazardous waste collection program by Sanitary Services Company:
Corrie: Item No. 3 is a public hearing. This is the public hearing of residential curbside recycling program with new rate schedule and a monthly household hazardous waste collection
program by Sanitary Services Company. Open the public hearing. Do we have any staff comments at this point? Okay, I'll entertain a representative from the Sanitary Services Company
to come forward.
Slonaker: Good evening Mayor and members of the Council. I think you’ve met me before. My name is Nancy Slonaker. I am a citizen of this City of Meridian. I do not work for Sanitary
Services Company. I am a taxpayer in this city, and I live in this city, and I became interested in working with this program about 15 months ago when I was asked by Mayor Corrie if
I would be the citizen-at-large on the Solid Waste Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, and I said yes I would because recycling for some reason is a passion of mine which started, I think, when
I was a child. I grew up in a Pennsylvania Dutch German family, and we never threw anything away. My father died 20 years ago, and it took my mother 20 years to clean out the basement.
So following in those footsteps, I was raised that you just didn’t throw anything away. About 15 years ago, I made a commitment on Earth Day that I was going to become an avid recycler,
and I have been ever since. I moved to Meridian five years ago, and one of the first phone calls I made when I got my phone hooked up was to call down here and find out where I could
get my recycling in. The answer I got was we don’t recycle here because people don’t like it. We tried it and people don’t like it. So that kind of got me fired up, and ever since
I’ve been trying to do something about it. So when I had this opportunity 15 months ago to get on this committee, I jumped on it because I felt like I wanted to do something positive
for my community. We’ve been here talking to you for the last few months about how this program would look, and tonight I think we are at the point where we’re looking for a commitment
form the people of Meridian and the City Council that Sanitary Services can move forward to put together a really nice curbside recycling program. Eighty-one percent of all Americans
currently recycle. So that’s a pretty large percent of them. I think that with the way that this city is growing, we kind of need to jump on that band wagon and join the populous in
general and recycle our wastes. I think this is a topic that most people don’t really ever think about. People don’t want to think about what to do with their trash, but we all make
it and we have to do something
with it. It’s not going to go away. I think if anything as time goes on, people are going to generate more solid waste. It just seems to be the way our society seems to be going.
To my dismay, I wish it was the other way, but this is something that we all have to deal with, and it’s not going to get any less expensive over time to dispose of our waste. It’s
going to become more expensive as our landfills become more crowded, and as we know, our landfill here is getting full. We have to make some positive decisions about how we deal with
that. I believe if Steve will back me up, I think we know that we can divert about 15 percent of our solid wastes with the curbside recycling program. It is not a huge piece, but it
is going to eliminate the bulk going to the landfill. The way we’ve put this program together, and Steve can give you more details when he gets up and speaks, but this is hopefully
going to be a win-win situation for the City. The citizens are going to win because we are going to be able to divert trash into the landfill, solid waste, that’s the term we like to
use. But also there is going to be a benefit to the citizens because the way we’ve put this program together and the choice that we made a month ago when we talked to you was the commodity
revenue, the money that will actually be collected from selling our recyclable materials, that money will directly go back to the City. So I don’t know how anybody could be not say
yes to this program, because I think it’s just going to benefit everybody in general, and it’s going to be commodity revenue that’s going to be put in to parks or community programs,
whatever the Council decides. We do hope that it is earmarked for a specific purpose. We’re hoping that the citizens in the City of Meridian are going to be encouraged to recycle because
they know that every time they put recyclable materials out, this money is going to go back to the City. The challenge that I think we all have is that people just don’t understand
how programs like this work. People don’t understand that it costs money to recycle. It costs money to do everything that we do in this society, and I mean, I think that if most citizens
realize that every time they roll their trash can out to the curb, they’re throwing something away, but it’s still costing them money to get rid of that. It’s just a fact of life that
you accept that you have to pay the trashman to take your trash away. Well, it costs money for a truck to drive down the street to pick up those recyclable materials. They have to
be transported and that costs money. Sanitary Services is going to have to purchase equipment, recycling bins, they’re purchasing trucks, they’re paying a driver to go around and pick
everything up, and I think the general public has not been educated to the fact that it does cost money to do this. We can make a little bit of money, but we can’t make enough money
to actually pay for the program. So we are looking at, you know, different fee structures to support this program. As you know, there are many communities around us that are already
doing this successfully, and we’d like to be one of them, too. As you know, we did do a survey back in December, January – December ’99, January ’00, and we did get a very positive
response rate. We got a 40 percent response rate of surveys coming back, and 50 percent of the people definitely said, Yes, we do want a recycling program, and another 20 percent said,
Yes, we want one, but we don’t want to have to pay for it. There, again, I think it just goes back to public education. If people understood how this works, maybe they would
change their minds and we would get more people hopping on the bandwagon with us. I think it’s just a very responsible program to roll out, and I hope that we’ll get a positive vote
from you so that we can move forward on this. I’ll probably chime in more a little bit later, but I’m going to let you hear your peace, too.
Sedlacek: Mr. Mayor, members of the Council, my name’s Steve Sedlacek. I met you all many times before. I don’t know if we want to rehash where we’ve been in terms of the options
that were presented to you regarding how much this program could cost, what to do with the recycling commodity revenue. We can go into that issue. I think where we’re at right now
just for those who are here and haven’t heard us before, we’re looking at a program that will cost $2.10 a month. Six percent of that fee goes right to the City as a franchise fee.
The 94 percent comes to Sanitary Service. The commodity revenue that comes out of this program would then be going to Sanitary Service for a very short time. What our intention is
to pay for the household hazardous waste program which would become a monthly event, every fourth Tuesday, our first one today, and the remaining money goes to the City. So this is
a proposal not just to do curbside residential recycling, but also household hazardous waste collection. An important program that we need to – we would like. Of course, the other
option is not to do any program. I’m not here to say I’m for or against recycling. You know, we’d love to do it if the City wants to do it, but this is the City’s choice, and we’re
here to help you, and we’ll implement the program professionally and very well with a lot of public education if you decide to move forward. Just to tell you how the program works,
we’ve got one visual aid here. I’ll go through it. (inaudible) these are 14 gallons, 18-gallon bins. Before I do this, let me put that down. Let me introduce a few people here.
We’ve got Dave Neals here. He’s the Ada County Solid Waste Director. Rick Gillihan is here from Western Recycling. His company will be taking all the commodities and paying for them
or reimbursing us for the value of those commodities. So if you have any questions about why isn’t glass collected or why do we only collect certain kinds of plastics, Rick can answer
those kinds of questions. Then we’ve got Billy Cecil here. Billy’s our maintenance manager and can tell us all about the trucks that we’re going to have to buy and that sort of thing;
the productivity of the trucks if we get into those kinds of questions. As far as recycling on a day-to-day basis, everyone gets a bin. You sort your recyclables into basically four
paper sacks. In one sack you put your milk jugs and your plastic pop bottles. These are actually from my house. So that’s the only kind of plastic that we do. They go into a paper
bag. Junk mail goes into another one. We all get a lot of junk mail. Cans go into another one. Those are aluminum cans and tin. Magazines and catalogs, basic glossy literature goes
into the fourth paper sack. In the bottom of the bin are newspapers and then below the bin is cardboard. So that’s sitting on the concrete with the recycling bin on top. You put that
out on your trash day. A separate truck comes and gets it, we sort it into the truck, and then the truck bins are full, we have a particular bin that’s full so we can’t collect anymore
recyclables, we drive the truck to Western Recycling and dump it on Rick’s floor,
and he sorts it out and weighs it and pays the City what it’s worth. So that’s how the program works. If there’s any –
Anderson: Why are you putting it in the paper sacks? It seems like they’re handling twice. You’ve got it in the bin and you’ve got to take it out and then you’ve got to take it out
of the sack again.
Sedlacek: Well, what happens is there’s an opening on the truck, You can take a whole sack like this and shove it in there. You don’t want to spend your time throwing one can in at
a time.
Anderson: You can’t do that with the bin?
Sedlacek: Well, if we had five bins for everybody, then yes.
Anderson: Oh, they’re all going into one?
Sedlacek: They’re all in one bin here.
Anderson: (inaudible) if I lost one like it got mixed in my camping gear or something.
Sedlacek: If you find your kids sledding in the bin, that’s a bad thing. There’s – that’s not an uncommon use for recycling bins. We would give you a new bin for free. That’s all
part of the program. If they break, we get you new ones. It’s like the (inaudible). If they break, you get one for free. I mean, unless we think that you’re really abusing it or
something, but I don’t know how people could do that.
deWeerd: Mr. Mayor, Steve, on the sacks, they’re not as commonplace anymore. How do people obtain the sacks? I know how I do because I prefer sacks, but –
Sedlacek: people will – this program will start in October, and people will have to be told or educated to go to the store and ask for paper, not plastic. Albertson’s will give it
to you. Fred Meyers will give it to you. You just have to ask for it. WinCo, when your new WinCo comes in, you bag your own groceries. You need to bag with paper. These paper sacks,
these I have are from my house. I have probably had them for four or five months. They’re getting a little ratty, but they last fine. They don’t get thrown away. They get left with
the bin. The only exception to that is if it’s a super windy day and we feel like these things are going to blow all over the neighborhoods, we’ll recycle them. So there might be a
few days in the year where your paper sacks are gone. That’s because we’ve made that decision that it could be more of a mess if we left them.
deWeerd: Have you been talking with Albertson’s and Fred Meyers to kind of forewarn them that this is coming up?
Sedlacek: We have not – depends on what happens tonight. That was an important part of the Boise program, and it will be – we will talk to the store managers about it. They should
expect a run on their paper sacks. That’s – they’ll accommodate us. That shouldn’t be a problem. We have many months to get ready for this.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, Steve, this is going to be on our regular pickup day? This will also be picked up that same day?
Sedlacek: Yes, sir. And I guess as far as the implementation schedule goes, we’ve talked about having the public hearing in May so that we could order equipment if you so choose to
move forward with the program, and we’ll start the program in October starting the fiscal year. Just a couple things that are going to occur in October that we need to bring out. If
we decide to go forward with this program, that’s an additional fee on everybody’s bill. Everybody that currently gets charged $7.20. We’re to get an additional $2.10 out of everyone’s
bill. The other thing that’s going on on October 2nd is our contract to the City, we have a cost of living allowance which is going to be two or three percent, but that’s after we remove
the disposal fee part of our bill or our – of the $7.20, we take out the disposal fee part. So that leftover chunk goes – it will be escalated by two or three percent. Also, there
may be a landfill increase in the fall. Landfill’s running out of space, so there may be – there will be if you want to move forward with this, more than the $2.10. I just want to
make everyone aware of it. These are all things – we don’t control the landfill. The cost of living is just an issue we all deal with every day, and the increase in cost of living,
and, of course, adding the program, household hazardous waste and recycling takes money. I guess two more things I wanted to bring up just while we’re here in the public hearing. One
was the City of Boise’s program. We got a lot of comments that it’s cheaper to recycle in Boise because you get a dollar off of your bill. If you’re in Boise and you recycle, ,you
pay $7.35 a month right now. If you don’t recycle, you pay $8.35. They’re in essence giving you this rebate. That’s what everybody thinks, but that’s not true. What happened was
the City of Boise started recycling, they added $1.80 to everyone’s bill. It went from $5-something - $5.15 to $6.95, and it’s gone up a little bit since. If you didn’t recycle, they
penalized you. They charged you an extra dollar. It was meant to be a penalty for those who don’t recycle. But now everybody thinks that it’s cheaper to recycle. It doesn’t. The
fact of the matter – or it isn’t. The fact of the matter is just looking at this – the Ada County numbers from last year from BFI, they received in commodity revenue about 12 cents
per house per month. That’s what it’s worth. The aluminum and newspapers. But it costs about $2.00 to run that truck down the road per house per month. Intuitively, this makes sense
because if I could pick up everybody’s recyclables and break even, I would never even come to you guys. I’d do it. I’d be doing it 10 years ago if I could make a nickel doing something,
I’d try it. But it’s got to be subsidized, and that’s the deal. One of the things about recycling programs, and you can look at these numbers for fiscal year ’99. There are some commodities
that generate revenue. Newspapers,
aluminum cans. You get money. To get rid of plastics, you’ve got to pay money. To get rid of cardboard boxes, you’ve got to pay money. So the way the recycling program works, some
things generate revenue, some things reduce that revenue. But in total, you need to do the whole spectrum. Not just cherry-pick the best ones and just have a one- or two-commodity
recycling program. What you don’t want to do is pick so many that your revenue is diluted so you really don’t get any commodity revenue. This – newspapers in 1999 were paying $18.20
a ton, and last month they were over $75 a ton; is that right, Rick? Something like that. So that’s some big money. If you’re the receiver of that commodity revenue, there’s a huge
amount of commodity revenue. Now that might go to zero next month. (inaudible) NASDAQ stock market (inaudible). So anyway, that’s really all I had. If there’s any questions, I’ll
be happy to answer them. Open it up further.
Corrie: Okay. This is a public hearing. Is anyone here that would like to issue testimony on this curbside recycling program? Okay.
Bockleman: This is just a real quick comment. I work at the Meridian Library. We subscribe to something like 100+ magazines. Every once in a while we weed these out, and I hate to
see them go to the dump. It just – you know. We do recycle a few into nursing homes and that kind of thing, but there are some that are not good for anything after the one month it
came out. I just would like to say Yay, go for it. One question – no glass recycling at this point?
Corrie: Anyone else? Yes, sir.
Bockleman: May name is Larry Bockleman. I just have a quick question. You say junk mail. We have a shredder, and we do a lot of shredding. Well, how would be package that so it
doesn’t blow away on those windy days?
Corrie: Good question.
Sedlacek: I guess I’ll turn it over to Rick to answer the glass question which a lot of people ask and also the paper.
Gillihan: My name is Rick Gillihan, I’m the general managing partner with Western Recycling. To answer the gentleman’s last question about the shredded paper, my suggestion would be
to package it in a brown paper bag and (inaudible) and just throw the whole bag and everything because that goes to a mill that can handle the items as well as the mixed bag. In response
to the glass question, we still take some glass, and we’re probably the only ones in the state that do it on any kind of a basis. There are a few operations that take in some glass
and grind it for sandblasting and things of that nature. But because of the amount and volume, we continue to send it to consuming glass mills (inaudible) on the coast. We do it as
a public service more than anything else. We don’t encourage people to bring it to us, but if they want to bring it into us, we feel like
we’re obligated to take it as part of our services. You know, right now, with glass, I sell it to a glass mill like $3 to $10 a ton for this stuff. That’s delivered into Portland.
My freight costs alone are $24 a ton, so any labor, time, sorting that we put into it above and beyond that is just an added deficit for us. So it’s something that we try to stay away
from at this point in time. I don’t know whether it will ever become a viable commodity again. I think the jury’s still out on that because we see plastic become more and more proliferated.
My suspicion is that glass market sure continues to dwindle, and unfortunately, that’s the reality of it. I don’t know whether it will ever change. That’s something that remains to
be seen. If it does, we’re certainly more than happy to add that to our active commodity list again. At this point in time, it’s not a good thing to do.
Corrie: If we went to collecting glass and it costs you $24 to get rid of it and you’re only getting $8, we would be adding to your loss of revenue.
Gillihan: Exactly. It’s like Steve said. It would have to be subsidized through lower pricing on something else. It’s a doable thing, but sometimes even (inaudible) evaluated on
a case-by-case basis.
Corrie: Thank you. Anyone else that would like to testify? Okay. Council, questions of the applicant, people.
Bird: I have none.
McCandless: Mr. Mayor, Steve, did you include newspaper and that (inaudible) magazines?
Sedlacek: (inaudible)
deWeerd: They’re on the bottom. You put your sacks on top of them. I remember the sequences.
Bird: Cardboard, you sit the bin on it.
Corrie: Okay, any other comments? In that case, I would entertain a motion on the public hearing.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I move that we close the public hearing on the recycling program.
McCandless: Second.
Corrie: Motion made and seconded to close the public hearing on the recycling program. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor of the motion say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES
Corrie: Discussion, Council? Motions? Have the attorney do his thing.
deWeerd: I have no comment.
Bird: Ordinance. Prepare an Ordinance.
Corrie: Prepare an Ordinance. We don’t need the Findings of Facts on this one, just prepare an Ordinance? So we just need to have an Ordinance prepared by the attorney. Okay.
deWeerd: Mr. Mayor, I move that we instruct the City Attorney to draw up an Ordinance to approve the new rate schedule on monthly household hazardous waste and residential curbside
recycling program.
Bird: Second.
Corrie: Motion made and seconded to have the attorney draw up the Ordinance for the curbside recycling program. Any further discussion? Hearing none, Mr. Berg, will you give the roll-call
vote, please.
Roll-call: deWeerd, aye; McCandless, aye; Anderson, aye; Bird, aye
MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES
deWeerd: Mr. Mayor, it might help if Steve could work closely with our front office. They’re the ones that will be taking probably most of the phone calls on this and making sure that
we really get the education out about the rates and that sort of thing.
Corrie: Just in case, Nancy and Steve, I’ve got an office set up for you with a phone there and you can answer those questions that come in for the next 50 to 75 days. If it’s longer
I still have the office.
deWeerd: Let’s just forward our calls to your office.
Bird: I think we can solve a lot of that by how well we present it to the public before October 1st. There’s no reason that it can’t be once this Ordinance is out it can’t be put out
in the papers, right Frank? Explain it and I think you’ll solve a lot of your phone calls right there.
Howard: Leslie Howard, Billing Manger with the City of Meridian. I think that if we educate our children through the schools, and we talked about that in our Solid Waste Committee
meetings that (inaudible) I think the kids will educate their parents, and we (inaudible) as well as sending out information with the bills.
deWeerd: You need to recruit this Mrs. Nordquist who had a 4th grade class write letters supporting recycling help you with that.
Sedlacek: We responded to every one of those letters. (inaudible)
Corrie: Thank you.
4. Resolution No. 320: Repeal Resolution No. 140:
Corrie: Item No. 4 now is a resolution repealing Resolution No. 140, so this resolution will be number what, Mr. Berg?
Berg: 320. All right. Resolution No. 320, repealing Resolution No. 140. This is a resolution of the City Council of the City of Meridian setting forth certain findings directive
to the Treasurer and repealing City of Meridian Resolution No. 140 concerning revenue of funds for building expansion and improvement. Council has had – have you had a chance to read
the prepared Resolution No. 320? Okay. I will entertain a motion on the Resolution No. 320 to repeal Resolution No. 140.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I move that we approve Resolution No. 320 repealing Resolution No. 140 for the Mayor to sign and the Clerk to attest with suspension of rules.
Anderson: Second.
Corrie: Motion has been made and seconded to approve the Resolution No. 320 for the repealing of Resolution of 140 and to have the Mayor sign and the City Clerk to attest with suspension
of rules. Any further discussion? Roll-call vote, Mr. Berg.
Roll-call: deWeerd, aye; McCandless, aye; Anderson, aye; Bird, aye
5. Resolution No. 321: Policy Regarding Overtime Compensation:
Corrie: Item No. 5 is Resolution 321. This is a policy regarding overtime compensation. Council, have you had a chance to see that resolution? I believe the City Attorney just got
us the new one on this.
deWeerd: Dated May 18th? Is that correct?
Berg: No.
Bird: No. Dated today, May 23rd. We just got it in our baskets today. Mr. Mayor, on this, after talking to the Human Resources and the Clerk and with the
approval of Mr. Nichols, No. 2.A., we would like to add at the very end “as per current union contract.”
Corrie: Okay.
Bird: If there’s no discussion, I would move that we approve Resolution No. 321 with the suspension of rules and for the Mayor to sign and the Clerk to attest with the addition of 2.A
at the bottom as stated.
deWeerd: Second.
Corrie: Motion is made and seconded to approve Resolution No. 321. Resolution setting the policy regarding compensation of overtime. Any further discussion?
Anderson: Mr. Mayor, just a question for our legal counsel. I think adding the words “as per current union contract” could be confusing. The current contract that’s in effect right
now today may not be the one that’s in effect three years from now. But our language in this article already is the exact same language that – as in the union contract. So you’ll have
one language in here and if the union contract changes a couple years from now, you almost have contradicting statements.
Nichols: Mr. Anderson, Mayor, members of the Council, I think that potential for confusion would exist whether this language was in here or not if the future union contract changes.
I think the important thing is that when the next firefighters’ contract is negotiated, and that tentative contract comes before the Council, then it’s subject to Council approval at
that time. So to the extent that this is inconsistent with that future contract, that future contract would override it. So the purpose for putting notes Fire Department personnel
in this was to set out what the current policy was on overtime for all members or employees at this time. I think if it changes in the future, it won’t make any difference whether we
put as per current union contract or not because it will still be inconsistent with what this says if it does change.
Anderson: I think there needs to be some clearing up in the language as per current union contract to me and an attorney could probably argue the case, but the current contract is the
one that is in effect at the time when this Resolution is adopted. Our language should read something about possibly “or as adopted in the contract that is in effect as of such-and-such
date or as of the date” – I think we’re asking for trouble. It’s going to be a point of contention two or three years from now the way this language is in here or take out all that
and just put in the – as per current union contract or the contract in effect at the time of –
Nichols: You mean to take out the body of the language, Mr. Anderson?
Anderson: Yes. I think it’s just going to cause some problems.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, Ron, even though we’re passing on May 23, 2000, ten years from now if this ordinance is still in effect, all these things, unless they have been changed, is done.
So all that statement is if you change in 2005, which is current at that time, the union contract, then you’re under the union contract.
Anderson: But it doesn’t say that. It says as per current contract or (inaudible)
Bird: Current contract in 2005 is 2005. It’s not 2000.
Anderson: But it can be interpreted as the contract, the date as when this thing was signed.
Bird: But this doesn’t last but for 2000 unless we change this resolution every year. Are you going to go back on your sworn law personnel enforcement if we give them a change? Are
we going to have to change that every year? Once we make this resolution, all that first A does to me means does the union contract that’s negotiated every year or every three years?
Whatever we’re under that time is what that resolution is under.
Nichols: Mr. Mayor, members of the Council, if it would help, let me ask Councilman Anderson if this language would satisfy him. If under A it said Fire Department personnel, colon,
as specified in the applicable union contract, period. It would highlight that we would need to look to the contract for what that overtime was whenever it was. Would that satisfy
you?
Anderson: I think that’s more on track of what I’m saying because I think we could have this resolution and our contract at some point in the future, it could be in conflict, and as
Councilman Bird talked about, as he interpreted it that everybody interprets something different, and I’ve experienced that through the negotiation process with them that if they decide
if they interpret that differently, then it’s a point of contention and we spend hours and hours and hundreds of dollars on legal fees figuring out what the intent was. I would just
as soon clarify that at this point than go through that in negotiations.
Nichols: Then I would ask Mr. Bird, would that satisfy you?
Bird: That’s fine with me.
deWeerd: Second agrees, too.
Corrie: So, under A, it would be Fire Department personnel, colon, add applicable to present union contract. Is that what you said?
Nichols: Let me write out the exact language, Mr. Mayor, and I’ll make sure that Mr. Bird and the second agree to this. The language would read A, Fire Department personnel, colon,
according to the applicable union contract, period.
Bird: That’s okay with me. Is that okay with you, Tammy?
deWeerd: That’s fine with me.
Anderson: Mr. Mayor.
deWeerd: We should have asked Ron. Is this fine with you, Ron?
Anderson: You guys are going to love me for this one after the last meeting. As much as I love to argue with Chief Gordon about things, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time looking
at 8-hour and 10-hour and 12-hour and 11- and 12-hour shifts and things like that and maps some stuff out on the calendar, I hate to say I agree with you, Bill, but I would actually
like to see us take Item B out and make Item C just say all other personnel and all time worked in excess of 40 hours in a 7-day work period be paid the time and-a-half, and when you
calculate it out over any time period at all, it does not make that significant amount of difference, and if it causes morale problems in the Police Department and it becomes easier
for our bookkeeping people, that would be my suggestion. So I’ll leave the room now.
McCandless: Mr. Mayor, I whole-heartedly agree with Councilman Anderson.
Corrie: Okay, Bill, comments? I can do the commenting for you. I know what’s going to come. I’ll let you –
Gordon: Is there anybody on this Council who doesn’t clearly understand exactly where I stand? Okay.
Bird: We –
Gordon: My whole issue was you guys did this to make everybody the same. Just make them all the same; everybody in the City is a 7-day, 40-hour workweek. Now, that was my whole argument,
Councilman. I agree with you 100 percent, believe it or not. It’s on record.
Corrie: Thank you.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I have to – Councilman Anderson, I thought we were on a 40-hour, and at the last meeting when you came up and threw in the 160-hour FSLA, and I thought maybe I didn’t
understand which I don’t. I think they ought to work 40 hours a week, 7 days a week, and if they work 41, they get paid one hour of overtime, but if they’re off six hours of sick leave
or something –
*** End of Side 1 ***
deWeerd: And that is how it’s going to work, the new way. Now Cherie says yes and you say no.
McCandless: Now, if they work 40 hours a week, they get paid – 42 hours a week, but they’ve taken 2 hours off of that week for one reason or another, they don’t get paid the 2 hours
overtime.
Gordon: That’s correct. It’s hours worked, not scheduled.
Bird: I tell you, we’re making Mr. Nichols some good job security because he’s got to go back and rewrite this thing. Mr. Mayor, I pull my motion if the second will pull and I’ll
make another one. Who made the second?
Corrie: Tammy did.
deWeerd: Okay.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I move that we have the attorney – we approve the Resolution 321, but we have the attorney re-draft it with 2.A being stated, the Fire Department personnel according
to the (inaudible) union contract as only – that’s good pronunciation. Section B being completely stricken –
Anderson: Paragraph C strike the word –
Bird: And Paragraph C to say “all other personnel.”
Nichols: Point of order. I would simply say just have Item B read: All other non-exempt personnel because your exempt personnel you don’t pay overtime. So you simply strike what
is currently B and make the existing C the new B, and that’s all you have to do.
Bird: That’s part of my motion from the attorney. This will be effective, for clarification, the pay period of June which starts May 26th. Clear? Chief?
Gordon: Mr. Mayor, President Bird, yes.
Bird: That’s fair? That’s what we agreed upon, right?
Gordon: That’s what the Treasurer is working on, yes, sir.
Bird: With that, I’m done.
McCandless: I second.
Corrie: I’m glad that you had that all other non-exempt personnel in there because I thought I was going to get a raise. I guess not. Okay. Any further discussion? Hearing none,
Mr. Berg, roll-call vote on Resolution 321 as we stated for the attorney to draw up.
Roll-call: deWeerd, aye; McCandless, aye; Anderson, aye; Bird, aye
6. Department Reports:
Mayor Robert D. Corrie:
Appointment of the Deputy City Clerk:
Corrie: Okay. Mayor Department Reports, Mayor, appointment of Deputy City Clerk. I would like to appoint the name of Shelby E. Ugarriza. She’s been with us for almost a year now
in Will’s office. We had a – here’s her resume. We had the Human Resource, the City Clerk and myself interview from in-house. We had two that applied for it. Shelby has been working
in that position since October of ’99. Very good lady. She gets the job done. She’s helped Will. Will, have you got any comments that you want to mention on this one?
Berg: Mr. Mayor, just that, members of the Council, we had some pretty good selections from inside the City to choose from, and I think this is a good choice.
Corrie: Shelby Ugarriza. That’s how it’s pronounced.
Nichols: Mr. Mayor, since my wife taught with her dad a few years back, it’s Ugarriza.
Corrie: Thank you, Mr. Attorney. Okay.
Berg: And he goes by “Mr. U.”
Anderson: Mr. Mayor, just a question because I don’t know any better, and is it that we’re looking for somebody specifically from Will’s office? I guess the only thing that bothers
me is that the tenure of this person, we’re talking about someone who has worked for the City from September of ’99, so they haven’t even worked for the City a year and we would be putting
them into a Deputy Clerk position I guess that would function in Will’s absence if he’s not here. I mean, it just doesn’t seem like a very long enough time to know much of the inner-workings
of the City that we have people who work here at City Hall that have much more tenure. Is it something particular to that office that makes sense that we need to have somebody else
from that office?
Corrie: Actually, nobody else from the City wanted it, too. She’s been doing this mainly with Will, and I might add that she’s doing a very good job. She’s getting
things in and done, and she has a training also as a court reporter, so she is very good as far as listening to tapes and things and getting them done. She has been helping Will as
a Deputy City Clerk without the title. I would recommend her very highly, which I am, because she does get the job done. She does and has helped Will’s office considerably as Will
knows, and some of you know I’ve been on his fanny quite a bit for getting things done, and it’s beginning to get done. That’s no reflection at this point on Will, but it’s taking some
of the work that he’s had and out of his hands, and she’s doing a good job. She has had the experience there, and I would – that’s why I recommended her for appointment. It isn’t a
large-paying job, but it’s somebody there that can take over when Will’s gone and knows where the files are. That’s an important part of this as far as I’m concerned.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I would move that we approve your appointment of Shelby Ugarriza as Deputy City Clerk.
McCandless: I second.
Corrie: Motion’s been made and seconded to appoint Shelby as the Deputy City Clerk. Any further discussion? If none, all those in favor of the motion say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES
City Engineer – Gary Smith
1. Easement Agreements for Five Mile Creek Parallel Pipe:
Smith: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the Council, we’ve got three easements before you this evening that are for the sanitary sewer line that will be our parallel pipeline for Five
Mile Creek Interceptor, and I’m just requesting your initial approval of these easements so that we can get them recorded.
Corrie: Any question?
Bird: Do we do them separately, Mayor, or all at once?
Corrie: You can do them all at once, I think, if you want unless there’s any specific ones that you want to pull out. We can do all three of them.
Smith: Mr. Mayor, could I have their names read into the record, please?
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I would move that we approve these easement for Five Mile Creek Parallel Pipe; agreements with E.L. Bews, the Young Land, Ltd., and the third one is Young Lands, Ltd.
Three easement agreements. The Mayor to sign and the Clerk to attest.
Anderson: Second.
Corrie: Motion has been made and seconded to approve the three easements of E.L. Bews, Young Lands, Ltd., and Young Lands, Ltd., as well, for three total. Any further discussion?
Hearing none, all those in favor of the motion say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES
Smith: Thank you. May I have another moment of your time? I had received a phone call today from Ramon Yorgenson who is a land developer. His company is called Capital Development.,
Inc. He did the Crossroads Subdivision. He owns a parcel of property that fronts, it’s a narrow parcel of property north-south, east-west, I mean, long dimension is north-south. Fronts
on the Chinden Boulevard. It’s in the very northeasterly most corner of our area of impact. I’ll pass out a little drawing for you to look at. This parcel of property is adjacent
to the west boundary of Bristol Heights Subdivision which is a Boise area of impact subdivision. The east boundary line of this parcel that Ramon Yorgenson is wanting to develop is
the same line for the – it’s a separating line between the Boise area of impact and the City of Meridian area of impact. Where I’ve labeled the lift station, that exists in Bristol
Heights right now. That’s Boise City lift station. What Mr. Yorgenson is proposing to do is to sewer this parcel of ground into the Boise lift station on a temporary basis. He’s going
to provide a gravity sewer line south from that lift station that would flow into where I’ve marked at the very bottom of the development, future gravity sewer line that would flow into
our system eventually, and he’s also willing to pay the assessment fees for each lot to the City of Meridian as well as the assessment fees to the City of Boise. Boise has agreed to
allow him to transfer those fees to another development at such time that he connects to Meridian’s sewer line or at least a portion of those fees. So the fees – and that’s been one
of the things that’s been a stumbling block in these border subdivisions is the payment of fees once the switch-over is made. I told him that it was really kind of – I wanted you folks
to be aware of what his proposition is. I don’t have a particular problem with it as long as he provides the gravity sewer at the south end that we can eventually hook to, and he’s
willing to pay the fees to us. I don’t know if there’s a legal problem with that: paying the fees on a future connection. I assume that once you pay the fees, you have the right to
connect, but not being in the City I don’t know.
deWeerd: How are they getting water?
Smith: They’re probably getting water from the Bristol Heights Subdivision, and I assume that’s United Water.
Bird: Once they get in there, there’s no guarantee they will be –
Smith: Well, we would need to have some kind of agreement between the subdivision either in the protective covenants that would say once City sewer is
there that they will connect, and the fees – if the fees being paid now are acceptable, then that doesn’t become an issue. We still do have an issue of the water that we probably need
to address also. There will need to be an agreement between the City of Meridian and the City of Boise as far as the treatment of the sewage goes, too, so that at such time they connect
to the City of Meridian, then Boise eliminates the need to treat their sewage. So I think we’ve got a couple of memorandums of understanding, maybe, with the City of Boise and some
kind of a language that needs to be in the covenants so that the property owners understand it. They could probably care less as long as the sewage goes down the pipe away from the
lot whether it goes to Boise or goes to Meridian.
Corrie: (inaudible) something to work out with United Water? We have to meet with them so that they would come under our water system after we get the sewer?
Smith: I think it would be a similar situation there, yes.
Corrie: We wouldn’t do it unless they did?
Smith: Well, we’re going to have to have some way to charge them sewer, and that’s off of the water meter readings. We had a verbal agreement. I don’t think there was ever a written
agreement with the Aposolitic Church on Meridian and Chinden about a temporary service. That was done on kind of a verbal basis. So that when we get there with our water, they will
disconnect with United Water and connect to us. But there was never anything written. So I don’t know how far that’s going to go.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I have a couple questions. The water thing really bothers me because as you’ve told me, the State Water Board has the final ruling over it. We have areas, but if
they get into it, they can move those areas. Second thing, are you willing to get all the other developers out there – are you willing to make the agreements with Boise sewer and water
on the rest of them? There are other developments right out there by that that would be happy to do that. It’s been brought to the Commissioners’ attention. Are we – is that a policy
that we want to set?
Smith: Well, that is a fair question. I don’t know.
Bird: I think that once you have water getting in there, you’re not going to get an out. I think (inaudible) church thing is going to be a real test.
Smith: I agree with you.
Bird: I have a doubt that once the sewer gets going in there that I doubt – we might get some fees. I think the court’s going to prove that it can’t be. I think the
court thing got into this kind of a thing. I don’t know. If we are going to do it for this one developer, we better be prepared to do it for everybody out there from Locust Grove east.
McMillan to Chinden. You can’t treat one parcel any differently than the others. We, as the City of Meridian, we (inaudible) when we did Vienna Woods.
Anderson: Mr. Mayor, I think this whole thing just stinks really bad to me, Gary. I don’t know why we look at this proposal. When you look at the layout of this subdivision for all
practical purposes, it’s going to become part of that Bristol Heights. We’ve done nothing to secure because we can’t do spot annexation. It doesn’t do anything to help us secure our
border. From an emergency standpoint, you might as well give it to Boise. Their access is through Bristol Heights. It makes no sense for the Fire Department to go out of their district,
go into Boise’s district to gain access into this when police and fire are going to be quicker to service it from the other area. I don’ t know. This whole thing to try to accommodate
this one developer makes no sense to me, and I agree with Keith: All we’re going to do is open the floodgates to everybody in that area that is willing to pay these fees, and there’s
nothing to say that we can’t be overturned on it later that would make us keep from paying back fees for our service that we didn’t provide.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, Mr. Anderson, I don’t – looking at your response, our map, I’m not – fire map, I’m not positive that this little lot isn’t in Boise’s, north Ada.
Corrie: I think it’s in Ada County.
Bird: I think it’s in North Ada. I don’t think the fire – the fire doesn’t have anything to do out there.
Corrie: They might.
Bird: They might, but I don’t know. If you look at the map –
Anderson: I don’t think North Ada has any land –
Bird: Anyway, I think if you’re going to do it for one, you better be prepared to do it for all of them or do none.
deWeerd: Mr. Mayor, you know, I think when Edinburgh Subdivision came in front of us, we attempted to kind of draw a line in the sand, and this would be again scratching that line out
and being fuzzy again. So I agree with the other two Council members that I know he’s kind of answering some of the issues that you had, but it still is spot, leap-frogging around and
not growing in that orderly and logical way that the engineers like to see us grow.
Corrie: I’d like to give my comment, but I won’t. I agree with you 100 percent for a different reason.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I have no problem with bringing it in and helping them, but I mean you just can’t pick out one developer and do it. That’s what we’re seeing here. Until we get our
utilities ready, but I don’t think this is going to stop. I think that there’s enough people out there right now that – and the Commissioners are guaranteed getting pressure.
Smith: Okay. I’ll take that word back to them tomorrow if that’s – that’s the consensus of the Council, then, from what I hear. Not any kind of a motion at all.
Bird: We don’t need a motion.
deWeerd: I think those would be our general comments. The only one we haven’t heard from is Councilwoman McCandless.
McCandless: Mr. Mayor, I’ll go ahead anyway. I think we’d be opening ourselves up for trouble, too, since we did turn down Edinburgh project in somewhat of the same area. I would
vote against it myself for those reasons.
Corrie: Pretty well got your margin, Gary.
Smith: Thank you. By the way, Edinburgh is coming back. I guess you’re aware of that. Fifty-six lots coming back through the County.
Bird: Fifty-two, wasn’t it?
Smith: Fifty-six.
Corrie: They presented it.
McCandless: Increased it again?
Smith: No. They increased it from the 50 approximate lots, and the County wanted those border lots on the northwest corner that he was going to leave out where the road connects to
Vienna Woods. So that is coming back as 56 lots.
McCandless: So they’re going through P & Z again?
Smith: County, yes.
deWeerd: But it’s still as ugly as it was before us.
Smith: Same arrangement. Mr. Mayor, one other thing, next Tuesday on the 30th we have a workshop at the Wastewater Treatment Plant with Planning and
Zoning to talk about the sewer and transportation. One of the things that I wanted you to be aware of is we’re about three months behind schedule on the White Drain. That’s – we’ve
been waiting for a land developer for location of the trunk at the headworks. Basically at Ten Mile Road. We can’t get that layout. I just would like your thoughts on this how you
want to proceed because I don’t know where it is in terms of getting it. I haven’t heard.
Bird: Is this through the Bews’ property?
Smith: Yes, sir.
Bird: Why don’t we just go – we know which way we want to go, don’t we? Why don’t we just go and let him go around us?
Smith: Well, we have to have the easement. We either have to have a signed easement or we have to go through condemnation process in order to get the right to get the line where we
want to put it.
Bird: It’s not getting done? I mean, Brad and I had lunch with him two months ago, and he said it was – I keep getting different stories.
Smith: No. We don’t have it. I hear rumors, but we don’t have the alignment. So we do have a set of plans for his development on the mini-storage that Brad and I are going to talk
about in the morning. Those final comments. Pipes on the ground out there for that extension through his mini-storage. It’s different pipe than what we specified. It showed up.
The pipe supplier is saying he’s taking responsibility because the estimator hasn’t the ability to distinguish between different names. Anyway, we’re going to accept the pipe assuming
they can make one more proof type to us and let it go at that.
Bird: Is it the specs on the pipe or the brand name?
Smith: It’s the brand name and right now a spec is in question. If they can verify the specification of the pipe, and if it’s the same as what we specified originally, then we’ll accept
it.
Bird: If it got any state – has that got any state or public money in it?
Smith: No.
Bird: This thing does not have any public money in it?
Smith: What he’s building is his own money other than he will ask for latecomers agreement and refund as latecomers connect.
Bird: So there is going to be state money in it? City money?
Smith: That money will be paid by people that connect to the system, not the City. I just wanted you to be aware of the status of the projects. Next Tuesday when we talk about sewer
system, you’ll know where we are on that project. Okay. Thank you.
Corrie: Before we leave, I would like you to know that on the web page, other people that we had, the only one that came back was $85 an hour straight time, and I think they’re going
to talk about the web page being on another system. So if it goes down, our whole City system goes down. The other one, the gentleman, he’s never called us back. I called him and he
never called us back. If we think about it, we might just discuss it Friday night real quick. Thursday night. They’re not calling me back or anything else, and we asked three of them.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, I want to let you get out of here in five minutes, but do you know anything about the boundary impact area for Star and Meridian? I have been told, I talked to a Commissioner,
and on our northwest corner, I understand that Star thinks we want to give them some stuff south of Chinden. I’m one Councilman that doesn’t want to give anything south of Chinden.
Corrie: Okay. I talked to Gussie. It was not in our conversation, and I have a call into her that if they want to go south of Chinden that we are not going to approve it, I’m not
going to approve it, so I’ve got another Councilman here. We talked about in our meeting, she came, was a square area around Star which wasn’t even close to Chinden nor where they had
first done it. I said I would help her get that, but then this other one came back that’s in our south of Chinden over to the west, and that was not discussed, and she gave me a letter.
If you want to read it, it’s in my office, and I turned it down because first off, it’s not going to do them any good to call the County Commissioners of what they’re saying, and I
need to talk to her about edifying her letters and also how to get things done. That’s not the way to do it. That was not in there. That’s consequently, I’m going to tell her that
I don’t agree to her letter and I won’t support that either. Did everybody get that letter, by the way?
Bird: I did not get it. I talked to – I’ll be truthful. I thought that Grant was quite concerned that we were – that they were even thinking about coming there. He did not say that
you had agreed to it. He just said that you guys better watch out.
Corrie: And I saw the letter. I became almost furious because that was not what we talked about. I wasn’t going to approve it.
Bird: I think he was just trying to tell us heads up.
Corrie: Right. The way that she wrote that letter, I’ll put it in your box, but that was not the way to win friends and influence enemies. But it is the way to influence enemies.
Bird: Mr. Mayor, Clerk’s got something.
Berg: Mr. Mayor, just to follow up on that, Shari mentioned that at our meeting before about the application of the area of impact for Star. Maybe we can have her bring that up next
meeting just to give us an update of what the application is for.
Bird: Next Thursday?
Berg: Tuesday.
Bird: This Thursday is just goal setting. That’s going to be us guys.
Berg: Next Tuesday when we’re at the Wastewater Plant. I’m sure she’ll be out there. I don’t know what the headline is for our response to the Ada County Development Services when
she said that application came up. I know they’re in the Committee of Nine, but she said that she had gotten some information from the Ada County Development Services.
Bird: This has evidently come out in the Committee of Nine meeting that they wanted this area south of Chinden.
Corrie: It did? That wasn’t what I was understanding.
Bird: That’s what I heard.
deWeerd: That’s what I heard.
Corrie: We definitely need to have it clarified to me and to you. As soon as I get the clarification, I’ll get it to you, but I’m not going to give her south of Chinden Boulevard because
she can’t even sewer it.
Bird: No. Don’t back down.
Corrie: I guess that’s it.
Bird: Mr. Bird, I move that we adjourn.
deWeerd: Second.
Corrie: Motion made and seconded to adjourn. All in favor say aye.
MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:39 P.M.
(TAPE ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS)
APPROVED:
ROBERT D. CORRIE, MAYOR
WILLIAM G. BERG, JR., CITY CLERK