Minutes - March 13, 2001

The City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, met in Regular Session on Tuesday, March 13, 2001, at 6:30 p.m. in Room 315, City Council Chambers, City County Building, 451 South State.

The following Council Members were present:

Carlton Christensen Van Turner Nancy Saxton Dave Buhler Keith Christensen

The following Council Members were absent:

Tom Rogan Roger Thompson

Rocky Fluhart, Chief Administrative Officer; Cindy Gust-Jenson, Executive Council Director; Roger Cutler, City Attorney; and Bonnie Ferrin, Deputy City Recorder, were present.

Councilmember Buhler presided at and conducted the meeting.

#2. Councilmember K. Christensen moved and Councilmember Turner seconded to approve the minutes of the Salt Lake City Council meeting held March 6, 2001, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.

Edward Lewis Jr., Salt Lake City, said he was the President of the NAACP for Idaho, Nevada and Utah. He said he represented the NAACP and the community. He said they wanted to recommend naming the 900 East Trax Station in honor of Rosa Parks. He said it would be symbolic to represent how the United States felt about public transportation and the freedom of Civil Rights which should be exercised by all citizens. He asked for the Council’s support on the issue.

Maurica King, Salt Lake City, said she represented citizens in District 2 who were displeased that a license had been issued to a private club on the west side of Trax. She said the club had bikini dancing and liquor. She said young people in her area took Trax to go into town and this was unacceptable to her. She said citizens would picket the business when they opened to let them know they were displeased. She said there was a crime increase when this type of establishment came into an area.

Jasone Rose, Salt Lake City, said he represented the Utah Animal-Rights Coalition. He said he wanted to bring up the issue of traffic safety regarding horse-drawn carriages, not only for horses, but also for people in the area. He said the group did not want to abolish horse-drawn carriages, but wanted to see restrictions put on them. He said they wanted the Council to look at how long the horses were in service, at extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, and pay more attention to the animals health. He said no one kept track of the horses condition throughout their service. He said because horses walked on hard asphalt, they had a lot of problems with their joints.

Erica Burr Valenti, Salt Lake City, did not wish to speak, but felt the downtown area was unsafe for horse-drawn carriages.

Victoria Orme, Salt Lake City, said she supported the ordinance to regulate train whistles and horns. She handed out a petition signed by other citizens who felt the same. She said tourists told her they would not come back to her RV park because train whistles kept them awake all night.

Jon Robinson, Salt Lake City, said he represented the Fairpark Community Council regarding train whistles. He said he was also on the board of Neighborhood Housing Services and West Side Alliance and a resident in the neighborhood. He said these organizations supported the proposed ordinance restricting train whistles. He said whistles were used more now than they used to be. He said at times a train would start to blow their whistle at 500 North and blow at every intersection until they were out of town. He said some engineers were more aggressive than others, blowing for two or three minutes straight, going through the entire stretch of town.

Mary Lee Peters, Salt Lake City, said she represented the Friends of Gilgal Garden, Board of Trustees. She urged the Council to consider naming the 900 East Trax station “Gilgal Garden.” She said it would underscore the importance of the garden, as the newest City park and underscore the cultural and historical significance of the garden. She said it would also help in their efforts to make the name more visible in the community and encourage people to visit. She said it would show that the City considered Gilgal Garden an important land site.

Julia Robertson, Salt Lake City, Chair of the East Central Community Council, said they discussed the station naming and supported the name “Gilgal Garden” for the 900 East station. She said community members saved the garden and the name needed to be put in the community station. She said the station should represent its neighborhood. She asked the Council for their support to name the 900 East Trax station the “Gilgal Garden Station.”

Matt Wolverton, Chair of the Central City Neighborhood Council, said he supported the name “Central City Station” for 600 East, as well as the “Library Station” for 200 East. He said there was a neighborhood identity movement in Salt Lake City which they were working on with Edie Trimmer from Poplar Grove, representatives from Sugar House, the Greater Avenues, the East Central, and Central City Community Councils. He said they felt that having a neighborhood identity within the station name provided a sense of place and pride. He asked the Council to consider the two station names.

Douglas Cotant, Salt Lake City, said he was concerned that the UTA Sunday evening schedule, from 7:30 p.m to 11:45 p.m., had been removed. He said there was a sign which read “effective April 8, 2001, no more evening Trax service.” He said he was concerned because citizens voted to expand the service with an additional quarter-cent sales tax. He said UTA said they wanted to expand bus service.

David Berg said he was on the board of the Central City Neighborhood Council and with the Utah Animal Rights Coalition. He said drivers of horse carriages were required to hold a chauffeurs license. He said he understood the State of Utah was getting rid of chauffeurs licenses and it would be a step down for the requirements of drivers of horse carriages. He said if this happened, it would allow any 21-year old to get a job driving horse carriages without any prior training or experience. He said horses were country animals and there were a number of dangers for them in urban downtown settings. He said the number of accidents had increased, some with very near fatalities to the animal, as well as serious injuries to vehicle occupants. He said there should be strict regulations if horse-drawn carriages continued on downtown streets.

#1. RE: Adopting an ordinance enacting Section 5.37.008, Salt Lake City Code, pertaining to the definition of animal services, and amending Sections 5.37.080, 5.37.105, 5.37.110, 5.37.115, 5.37.120, 5.37.125, 5.37.150, 5.37.170, 8.16.025, 8.16.035, 8.16.045, 8.16.055, 8.16.060, pertaining to horse-drawn carriages.

DISCUSSION: Councilmember C. Christensen asked if a briefing had been scheduled.

Cindy Gust-Jenson said a briefing had not been scheduled, but they could do so.

Councilmember C. Christen-sen said a briefing would be helpful to better understand some of the issues involved.

Ms. Gust-Jenson said instead of referring the ordinance to the consent agenda, she asked if the Council wanted to refer the proposed ordinance to a briefing session on March 20, 2001.

Councilmember Buhler suggested taking no action at this time and schedule the item for a briefing.

#2. RE: Adopting an ordinance enacting Section 14.44.090, Salt Lake City Code, relating to restrictions of railroad horns and whistles.

DISCUSSION: Councilmember K. Christensen suggested taking no action. He said the train whistle issue had been discussed briefly and it was the right of the railroad to do certain things, but there might be some limitations the Council could look at.

Councilmember Saxton said the City had tried to get Federal money which came to the State. She said the City did not get many of those dollars which could alleviate part of the issue. She suggested looking into what the new Administration had planned for the money. She said that information could change what the Council decided to do.

Councilmember K. Christen-sen asked Mr. Fluhart if the Administration would get back to the Council with a briefing or written summary to determine if the City had gone as far as possible to help these people.

Councilmember C. Christen-sen said he supported the ordinance, but would not mind taking another look at it. He said it would be helpful to understand the budgetary implications if the ordinance was to be effective. He said he thought there was a real quality of life issue.

#1. RE: Adopting a resolution confirming the sale and authorizing the issuance of up to $24,000,000 principal amount of general obligation refunding bonds of the City; and providing for related matters.

ACTION: Councilmember K. Christensen moved and Councilmember Saxton seconded to adopt Resolution 14 of 2001, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.

DISCUSSION: Dan Mulé, City Treasurer, said the sale was held today and the Council was provided a pricing summary which Wells Fargo Public Finance had prepared. He said the bonds were rated and the AAA rating was reaffirmed by Moody’s and Fitch. He said the City was probably the best credit issue in the market today from the comparables which they looked at for the City. He said the City had a strong credit rating. He said George K. Baum and Zions Public Finance were the two underwriting firms. He said the debt service savings came in close to the preliminary figure given to the Council during the briefing. He said the City had a net-present value savings of about $2.5 million and a gross savings over the life of the issue of about $2.9 million.

ACTION: Councilmember C. Christensen moved and Councilmember Saxton seconded to approve the Consent Agenda, which motion carried, all members present voted aye.

#1. RE: Setting the date of April 3, 2001 at 6:00 p.m. to accept public comment and consider adopting an ordinance amending portions of the Salt Lake City Zoning Code regarding the Residential Office (RO) Zoning District, pursuant to Petition No. 400-00-33.

#2. RE: Adopting Ordinance 13 of 2001, granting to Sierra Pacific Communications and its successors, a telecommunication franchise.

#3. RE: Adopting Ordinance 14 of 2001, granting to Adelphia Business Solutions Operations, Inc., and its successors, a telecommunication franchise.

#4. RE: Approving the reappointment of Nano Podolsky to the Youth City Government Advisory Board for a term extending through January 1, 2004.

#5. RE: Approving the reappointment of June Wang to the Board of Appeals and Examiners for a term extending through March 3, 2006.

#6. RE: Approving the appointment of Ross Romero to the Board of Adjustment for a term extending through December 31, 2005.

#7. RE: Approving the appointment of Lavon Liddle Gamonal to the Mosquito Abatement District for a term extending through December 31, 2004.

#8. RE: Approving the appointment of Donald Hartley to the City & County Building Conservancy and Use Committee for a term extending through July 1, 2002.

#9. RE: Approving the appointment of Shirley McLaughlan to the Housing Appeals and Advisory Board (HAAB) for a term extending through December 31, 2004.

10. RE: Approving the appointment of Katharine D. Deiss to the Recreation Advisory Board for a term extending through January 17, 2005.

#11. RE: Approving the appointment of Jerome Johnson to the Capital Improvement Program Citizen Board for a term extending through June 3, 2002.

#12. RE: Approving the appointment of Kent K. Nelson to the Planning Commission for a term extending through July 1, 2002.