RD’s Moab City Council Meeting Preview 2020-07-28

[Editor’s note: Both Rani Derasary and Mike Duncan have graciously agreed to let MADAR reuse their regular email updates to constituents. Despite the overlap, we are running both versions of the MCC previews. Readers can choose to read both, either or neither of the previews.]

Tuesday, July 28 City Council meeting – 7:00PM, online only.

As a reminder: Per Executive Order 2020-5 issued by Governor Gary Herbert on March 18, 2020, this meeting will be conducted electronically and an anchor location will not be provided, but you can watch this meeting online live (or after the fact) on the City’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl00z0Zgdmz4y1FoI0l7CJA.

How to submit Citizens to be Heard comments for these electronic meetings

Since we won’t all be at one physical location where you can come read your comments to us on July 28, staff have put the Citizens to be Heard form online. There is a link to the form – which you can use to submit a comment of up to 400 words before 7:00PM on July 28 – under item “6.” on our agenda here: https://moabcity.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07282020-954. PLEASE NOTE I tested the link tonight and it doesn’t seem to be working; I’ve let staff know and hopefully it will work come Monday morning! As noted in the past, comments will not be read aloud at our online meeting; however, Council members have committed to reading all submitted comment forms before 7:00PM, July 28. Please note that any comments received will be attached to the meeting record. Submitted comments for past electronic meetings can be read here: https://moabcity.org/151/City-Council (see date links in right column).

Packet and Agenda

The 58-page packet for the July 28 meeting is here: https://moabcity.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07282020-954?packet=true.

If you prefer the 3-page agenda only, with links to packet parts, that is here: https://moabcity.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07282020-954. 

Here are Agenda highlights:

COVID-19 Updates

There are no pages in our packet for this item, but presumably City staff, the Mayor and/or Southeast Utah Health Department and Moab Regional Hospital staff will be offering an update with the latest information on the pandemic.

New Business

• Approval of change orders for and briefing on North Sewer Line Project Construction. This is on our agenda as a briefing and possible action asking us to approve contract change order reductions of $69,874.96. Packet pages 10-18 explain the project was completed in mid-June and lay out the 3 change orders submitted since January 2020. Some items in the change orders appeared to simply ask for additional time or funds due to unforeseen findings or complications; others explained that the contractor would not being doing certain work formerly assigned to them, as said tasks had already been completed and/or taken on by the City itself. 
• Improving ADA accessibility to downtown recreation facilities project construction contract. Pages 19-20 explain that in 2019 the City got a Community Development Block Grant to help the City fund wheelchair lifts at the Center Street Gym. The City received 2 bids for this construction work, but both were over budget. As a result, staff reduced the number of bid items involved and is suggesting that Council accept the lower of the two bids. It appears this work will cover upper and lower platform lifts, as well as some concrete patch and repair work at handrail posts, and related electrical work. This is on our agenda for discussion and possible action.
• Proposed Ordinance 2020-12: an ordinance approving a Zoning Map Amendment for property owned by James Nelson, located at 191 Walnut Lane, Moab UT 84532, amending the split-zoned parcel from R-2 Single-Household and Two-Household Residential Zone and R-4 Manufactured Housing Residential Zone, to only R-4 Manufactured Housing Residential Zone; and amending the City of Moab Official Zoning Map.  We’ll be briefed on this and are also being asked to vote on the ordinance. The agenda summary, draft ordinance, plat, parcel survey and maps showing current vs proposed zoning, and surrounding zoning make up packet pages 21-30. They explain the property currently houses a mobile home park, but is split zoned R2 and R4. R2 doesn’t allow mobile home parks, so the proposal is to zone the entire property R4 to correct the nonconforming existing use of the mobile home park being partly on R2. Maps on pages 29-30 show the location of the parcel (just west of the now City-owned Walnut Lane housing), as well as existing and proposed zoning, and show adjacent zones. 
• Temporary outdoor dining due to COVID 19. This is on our agenda for discussion, and staff are also asking direction moving forward. If you tuned into our July 14 meeting, you know that under administrative reports City Planner Nora Shepherd asked if Council would be interested in having her come back with ideas about how we might be able to allow on-street dining for local restaurants; under COVID-19, offering this flexibility to local eateries is helping many physically distancing their diners. Council asked Nora to pursue this, so pages 31-47 of the July 28 packet lay out some of the options we have moving forward, and what questions staff need clarification from Council on in order to move forward. Included in the packet are examples of other communities’ emergency proclamations, info packets for interested businesses, and related forms and requirements that we may want to use in building our own application process. Please note the explanations in the packet that this would only be a short-term experiment under COVID-19 and that a more detailed process would be involved if the community wanted to keep this expanded outdoor dining option going after COVID-19 ends. Input Council is being asked to give on Tuesday includes: what days of the week and times of day we’d want to allow this; where we’d want to allow it; what notification of neighboring property owners would be involved; when the temporary program would end; etc. 
• Request for City Council direction on establishment of City administrative procedures for a change in use of City real property in non-emergency situations. If you followed our June 9 and July 14 Council meetings, Council asked staff to come back to us with a process we can follow in future when requests are made for a “change in use” – or expansion in the use – of City property. This emerged out of discussion about the bike skills park on June 9 about the desire for a clearer process in future that spells out how/when the Council and public will be informed and involved, as all parties appear to want more transparency and public participation in future. Pages 48-58 of the July 28 packet explain that staff needs clarification on several initial questions to draft such process. Please see the agenda summary on pages 48-52, and related State and City code on pages 53-58 for more detail. 

That’s it for our July 28 City Council meeting, except: aside from what’s listed above, the meeting will contain standard items such as: reports from Council, Mayor, City Manager and selected staff; approval of minutes – this time for July 14 (covered on pages 4-9 of our packet); Citizens to be Heard (please see above for how this works under electronic meetings – you can submit your comments on any topic); and payment of the bills. 

Two Miscellaneous Other Items

COVID-19: local case count up to 38 – as of tonight, the Southeast Utah Health Department (https://www.seuhealth.com/) is reporting we’ve had a total of 38 positive COVID-19 tests for folks living here, 5 of which are active, and there is 1 currently hospitalized.  

Latest UDOT update on Highway 191 widening – the latest email from UDOT came in July 23 and I’ll paste it below in case you missed it. [Editor’s note: Rani’s copy of the email from UDOT cannot be incorporated into this post, but you can get the info at the link below.] www.udot.utah.gov/go/moabnorthmain

• Project Summary: This U.S. 191 road widening and Storm Drain project extends from 400 North to the Colorado River Bridge. It will reconstruct the existing roadway to accommodate five lanes of traffic, two thru lanes in each direction with a two way left turn lane and 6-foot shoulders. For most of the project there will be a center turn lane. Where we cannot provide a center turn lane, there will be two lanes in each direction with a painted double yellow line separating traffic.
• The project will also add curb, gutter, and sidewalk on the west side of US-191 from Motel 6 to the Colorado Bridge. In addition, UDOT has partnered with Moab City to construct a Storm Drainage System to address storm water from rain events starting at the Stewart Canyon area, above Cermak Drive. The system will collect storm water from Stewart Canyon, US-191 and adjacent properties, depositing the water in a collection pond west of the intersection at 500 West and US-191.

That’s it for tonight. As ever, my apologies should I have made any errors herein, and please let me know if I can offer any assistance.
Rani