Park, retention basin, or pond?

The council tabled the agreement between North Ogden City and Double Ott Ranch regarding a detention basin and public park. They discussed removing all mentions of the recreational pond from the agreement. They also discussed waiving impact fees in exchange for the dedication of the facility for storm water and a park. They also considered choosing different property to relocate the basin but Call said “this property makes the most sense because it is downhill from the old detention basin.”

The council is considering moving the retention basin from its current location because it is located in a commercial zone. Finance Director Evan Nelson said lots of factors go into determining how much tax revenue a business will bring in with the sale of the current detention basin. He said the city gets $2.6 to $2.7 million of sales tax revenue annually and a new business built in place of the detention basin would increase in sales tax and property tax revenue.

Meeting agendas

The council discussed how they will organize and set the agenda for meetings. Councilman Phillip Swanson said he wants any council member to have the power to put an item on the agenda. He said he has seen other city councils require at least two council members to support an item before it is put on the agenda. The general conclusion was citizens can reach out to individual council members, the mayor, or the city recorder to request a item be put on the council’s agenda for city council meetings. City Recorder Annette Spendlove said public comments are better suited for some topics citizens want addressed at meetings.

City Personnel Policy

The council listened to the questions and suggested changes for the Personnel Policy.  Damage to city property is grounds to terminate an employee. They discussed the monetary value of the damage and what the grounds would be to write up an employee.

The council also discussed the benefit and cost for some supervisors to take vehicles home. Those employees would not have to come to the shop to pick up their vehicle before driving to the site where they are needed. They discussed how this is useful during an emergency which would save time.

Nelson said there is an actual cost that is associated with the benefit. He said this benefit must be taxed according to the IRS. It must be reported for $3 per day which would either be deducted from the employee’s paycheck or the city would be required to pay it.

City Prosecutor services

The council approved the agreement with Branden Miles for city prosecutors’ services. He has previously been paid $75 per hour by the city which has averaged out to $850 per month. He also recently became the city’s Administrative Hearing Officer. The council decided to pay him a regular amount of $900 per month with his additional responsibilities and to compensate him further if he works more than four hearings every month.

Maximum allowed lot percentages

The council approved an ordinance amending the maximum allowed lot percentages. Jean Stevens who represented RW Custom Homes said 25% is quite restrictive since homes seem to be getting bigger. Meg Sanders asked “Why do we need to make a sweeping change across the city?” Call said individual development agreements would make entirely new zones. He said it would be better to stick to the zones laid out in the city plan than creating new ones. Turner said he was not opposed since it would give residents more freedom to add on to their homes.