“A few illegally parked cars were nicked by the wing of a snowplow last winter,” said John Call, the City Attorney. He continued, “We recommend we be strict.” The council considered different ways to protect all the residents in the city. Mayor Brent Taylor said, “The city’s insurance will not cover any damages when cars are parked on the road when the vehicles shouldn’t have been there in the first place.” Call said, “Our policy says vehicles cannot be parked on the street between 11 pm -6am or during a storm event during the day.” The council considered policy changes in how the city should handle illegally parked vehicles on the roadside during the winter months. They discussed when it is appropriate for police officers to issue warnings, write tickets, and have vehicles towed, but no official decisions were made to change the existing policy concerning fees.

The council is favoring the idea that the city itself will not charge a fee for cars being illegally parked; but the fee will be the cost associated with getting the car after it has been towed. If residents get a ticket from the police, they will have to pay for the ticket. If their car is towed, they will have to pay to get their car back. Taylor said the city itself won’t be making a penny off this. The council discussed that they should avoid towing companies that have excessive fees and use towing companies nearby.

The council wants to give police officers further direction of how they want to handle clearing the roads during the winter. Call said, “A vehicle cannot be towed until a police officer calls it in to dispatch and dispatch calls the [tow] truck.” He advised to leave it up to the discretion of the Police officers and Councilman Lynn Satterthwaite supported this recommendation. He said there were inconsistencies in the past, “Some people were given warnings, some people were not.” They will counsel with the Chief of Police John Call before making a change to the policy.

Barker Park Amphitheater

The council approved the design of the barker park amphitheater after much discussion. Taylor said the park will be paid for with park impact fees, external weber grants, the sale of the existing detention basin for 1.5M, charitable foundations, and community donations. Taylor said the funding from impact fees, which are fees collected on new homes being built, is significantly higher than was expected this year with all the new homes being built in the city. Taylor said many charities and foundations focus on the arts and he is confident this project will get necessary funding to be completed.

One concern that was discussed was the annual operating costs for the project. One third of their annual 2M ramp grant is given to the arts which will be put towards the operating costs of the amphitheater. Ticket sales, roadshows, concession revenues will also pay for operating costs. Mayor Taylor said it will take “some city sponsorship but it will be a small amount. There are so many other sources that other amphitheaters are using to cover their operating costs.”

Urry suggested to cut the concessions building and bring in food trucks for events. Satterthwaite said he was concerned when the cost was higher than expected. He said they have a theater if that’s all they can afford. People can use blankets and porta potties. The council was unified in the decision to take it as the city can afford it. The council accepted the design and requested Urry to be on the committee to help move this forward. Taylor said he will reach out to foundations and charities and submit applications for grants now that they have a design for it. The project will be built in phases and they will be starting the first phase of the development.

Business licenses

The council discussed their policy on business licenses for children, at home businesses, and food trucks. Call said state code says “any business operated by individuals under the age of 18 do not have to get a business license.” In North Ogden’s policy clarifies by saying adults can’t hire kids to do the work. The profits go to the children unless it is a repayment of goods. Call also said, “If you are a home business, you don’t have to pay a fee. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to have a license. Anything that attracts more than 10 vehicles per day will require a business license.” Food trucks can operate in commercial areas as long as they stay at least 80 ft. away from any crosswalk and fire hydrant. They have to be at least 10 ft. away from each other and they must orient truck so it faces the sidewalk side. The license fee costs 25% of the cost for a regular license. Call added languages to grant exceptions to parks for special events.

Annexation Petitions 

Annexation Petitions for Fernwood, Woodfield Farms, Canyon Vista subdivisions were granted conditional acceptance.