County Council - Regular Meeting

meeting in Twilla County. Um we're grateful to have everyone here. Those who are new, those who have not been with us before, those who have been elected and now are feeling an enormous burden, we mourn with you. So the new mayors, council members, uh we will start with a roll call. And if we could do that, what we've noticed in this room is going to have the sound re uh redone over the next year. But those sitting closest to the end on that side, our microphones pick you up pretty well. Those sitting down here, they do not. Okay. And so, uh, if we could start with roll call down there and just pass the mics along on these edges, that would be great.

Dave McCall to city. Marica Manzio in Twilla City. Eric Strawber, Twilla County. Jared Hamner, Twilla County. I'm Scott Wle with Twilla County. Cameron Deal, the director of the Utah League of Cities and Towns. Kyle Jensen, legislative policy analyst, Utah Association of Counties. I'm Andrew Gruber. I'm executive director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council. And I guess this is the mic for this side of the room. Thank you. I'm Kathleen Vonhattan, Lake Point City Council.

Joe Johnston, the town of Stockton, Mayor John Olsson, Vernon Brian Johnson, Rash Valley Sheldon Burch, Erda City, Heidi Hammond, Grantsville City.

Christomore, Dougway Proving Ground. Alrighty, we are thankful for everyone here. We want to say welcome to those who are new and and uh as we talk tonight, I I hope you'll see that and I appreciate John your efforts last year. Um and we saw this really develop as a a place that we can come together to solve problems together. And John's leadership has been so instrumental in that over the last two years as we've navigated some hard waters and we're going to navigate more. Um we look forward to those. Uh this is the time for public comment. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to make a comment by hand?

By raise of hand. Thank you. Seeing no one raised their hand, we will move to item four, minutes from the December meeting. Um I'm hoping that everyone who had the opportunity has looked at those minutes. I'll entertain a motion regarding them. Second. Okay. So, we have a motion by Mayor Manzion, a second by uh Mayor John. Why did you say John Olson? And so Jared and I have separate, we're reversing roles right now. So in our council meeting, all in favor say I.

Any opposed? Motion passes. We'll move to item number five, recognitions, presentations, and board appointment. We are grateful to have the Utah League of Cities and Towns, the Utah Association of County. We know Jeff may be on his way from UDOT, and Andrew Grubler from the uh Wasatchfort Regional Council. One of the things that that hit as we were really looking at last year as we talked transportation growth and other issues is we have an opportunity to have a voice on the Wasatch Front Regional Council. It's very important that we have our voice there. And so Andrew, will you take a few minutes give us a presentation about what the role of the Wasatch Front Regional Council is? What does it look like for us? and uh what the board positions look like or the committee positions and how we can be of best assistance in those areas.

You bet. Thank you so much, Councilman. And um hello to everybody. I I'm thrilled to be here and I know that um my counterparts from the other organizations, the league and UAC and uh UDOT on the way. We're we're all very happy to be able to be here with you. Um, we want to work with you and your communities to support you in accomplishing your objectives. Um, I I will admit I don't live I I don't think any of us live in in uh Tuila County. There's Jeff. Jeff Dupe from UD do. We don't live here. So, we would not ever seek to try to tell you what to do. Okay? You know your communities the best. What we want to do is provide support and assistance to you. resources that can be funding that can be staff time uh and help you to achieve your objectives. That's why we're all here. Um and it was really nice of you to invite the our four organizations to be here with you tonight. Um so the the actual agenda item for this is making appointments as Councilman Ward said to WFRC uh and its committees. Well, the Wasatch Front Regional Council, just a very brief background, is an organization that works mainly on the Wasace front from southern Boxelder County, Weber, Davis, Salt Lake County, and then we also work with Towilla County and Morgan County to plan for the future and to allocate resources and funding to help invest for the future. Um and and uh several of you know this really well. The role that Tuella County plays in the Wasatch Front Regional Council is sort of a partial role. And that's not our decision. That's a federal issue. We have resources that um we have federal dollars that we can allocate to transportation projects that

actually we can't use in Tuella County. However, some of those same sources of funding are available through UDOT. Um, and Jeff can talk about that some later if he wants to. Uh, what we try to do is support you, uh, first and foremost in thinking about your long range transportation needs. Uh, most of your communities are involved in what's called the rural planning organization or RPO. Um, Wayne Benion from WFRC. Oh, hi. Madison's here too. Um, from Madison, also from WFRC. Uh Wayne Benian staffs the uh rural planning organization where you work together as communities to identify what are the highest priority transportation projects. Um and we were just talking about this. The more that your communities can reach consensus about what your priorities are, the better you are able to advocate and seek support from you. WFRC. Um we you have this sheet in front of you. It's in your It's in your packets. Okay. The the action item that you have actually on the agenda tonight uh is to make uh is to take a vote and and Mr. Chair, I think the the probably the um simplest way to do this would be to do one vote. go through this list, fill out, you all make your recommendations on who's going to who you would like to have serve on WFRC and its committees and then take a vote um to make those appointments. What I'll do here is um let me explain what's on this sheet here briefly uh and then you all can talk about and uh who wants to serve in which in which roles. Um, and as you look at this sheet, on the left side of the sheet, uh, is the people that were serving in roles in 2025 and the right side of the sheet is tenative

appointments for 2026. Uh, what you'll see is that there are some um, slots that are highlighted. Those are because there was somebody who was in office and is no longer in office. So, that's a known vacancy. Um, however, other positions can change. uh that's up to the cog. What we do is we presume if somebody's in office and they're still interested in serving, then they would continue to serve in that role, but that's for for you to discuss. Um so what I'll do is I'll run through this quickly. We have a a lot of committees because we work to build consensus on issues and I'll run through these and maybe um uh Councilman, Mr. Chair, what what it would be best for me to give you a quick overview of what these committees are and then we could go through and talk about who's going to serve. Okay,

that would be great. Thank you.

All right. So, the first one at the top there, the Wasatch Front Regional Council, that's the governing body uh for our organization, which again, WFRC is made up principally of local elected officials, city, town, county. We work with UDOT and UTA, and we do this this transportation planning, allocating transportation uh dollars. The next one down is the economic development district. um that's actually a a mix of public and private sector stakeholders that work to integrate economic development with infrastructure investments. The relationship between a thriving economy and infrastructure. The next one is the CDBG. That's the federal program community development block grant regional review committee. Um and that allocates some um a modest amount of of federal dollars uh for near-term community development projects. Uh continuing down the list, the regional growth committee. This is a a group that looks at the big picture long range actually of decades to come. What growth are we anticipating and what do we need to do today uh with transportation, with housing, with land use to make sure that we have the kind of community for our children and our grandchildren that we want in the future. And if regional growth committee looks big picture and long range, the next one, the transportation coordinating committee looks at the next four to six years and actually allocates funding to transportation projects. The next one is the active transportation committee. Uh that's specifically by active transportation we mean uh trails, paths, biking and that works on planning and implementing those types of active transportation. Uh not for recreational purposes. So don't think dirt trails, think uh paved trails for transportation. Uh mainly for

transportation, but it's fun also. Uh and then finally the joint policy advisory committee. This one is a little different than the others in that it's actually a statewide group uh that brings together all the key transportation stakeholders in the state to work on state and federal transportation funding and policy issues. Okay, that's all of them. That's a lot of committees. I understand that. You may be wondering um uh what kind of commitment is this? Each of these groups meets about five times a year. Uh they meet our at our office which is in um the west on downtown Salt Lake on the west side of Salt Lake easily accessible from I80. We also have um uh a hybrid option. So there's always a Zoom option um for people to participate. I will also note maybe one more thing which is you see on this list members and alternates. Um the way we look at this is whether you are a member or an alternate on a committee, we welcome your full participation. I like to say that uh when you come to WFRC, you will always have a a seat at our table literally and figuratively. So whether member or alternate, you um you we welcome your full participation. Councilman, maybe I'll stop there and see if anybody has any uh questions, needs further explanation, or we can jump right in. Are there any questions from the members of COG or comments from our partners from UAC or UD do or the league? All right. So, I I'm going to propose that we go forward first. Those who are serving on committees already, um if any of you would like to make committee changes or not serve on that committee anymore for any reason, let's just walk through those first. I I'm think I I I would like to stay on as the

Wasatch Front Regional Council uh board member for us. Um and I'll say council council member Wardle has been very engaged and representing the county. So we appreciate that very much.

Thank you very much. Uh I would recommend we had Mayor W serve as the alternate to that. I'd recommend that we continue to have the mayor of Twilla serve as the alternate to that. Is everyone okay with that at this particular time? [snorts] Okay, moving down to the Wasatch Front Re Economic Development District. Uh that spot is is blank right now. I I mayor Win served as our uh liaison to that last year for the last five years. Um again, having a mayor serve in this role I think is very important. One of our largest economic districts, not that they are more important than another, I want to make that clear, is Grantsville City right now. Uh you you are the nexus of almost a billion dollars worth of possible investment in that area. Um, plus I think you Gransfield City has one of the biggest challenges and that is you've got a transportation corridor going three transportation corridors for economic development that go in and out of your city at two interchanges and one possible going down to Stansbury. And so, uh, Mayor Hammond, would you be willing to serve on that?

Um, I actually would like to nominate, um, Jake Thomas, who is a council member for that position. Is that okay? How's the council feel about Are there any other nominations for that? Everyone good with Jake? Should Jake good? You know what? We have a policy on our council that if you don't show up to a meeting, Jake, I haven't seen you forever. Way to represent, by the way. Thank you. You look good. Jake, are you okay with that? 100%. And as long as you continue to wear that jacket, you will rule. And I'm just kidding. The black sheep of my family. [laughter]

I can interchange this for a while. Jake, don't ever say that because your brothers will not be happy. Okay. Uh Jake Thomas, thank you. Ty is not here on our council. If you're not here, we tend to nominate you for things. Um do we want to keep Tai as the alternate that alternate on that? Is anyone opposed to that? [snorts] Okay, let's go down to John CDBG re regional review committee. I'm willing.

Okay. Uh Michelle Kuster is our staff representative. Thank you so much both of you for attending last year and getting all that teed up. There's we we literally get hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars out of CDBG. It's very important to us and we've seen great impact there. uh the regional growth committ and they've been very involved in great participants in that in that discussion. So, thank you. Regional growth committee has been spearheaded by uh Councilman Thomas. I got a [clears throat] comment and Andrew, we had our meeting this morning and I participated by Zoom.

I've been on this thing for six years, maybe eight years, seven getting close to eight years. That stops, the discussion always stops at the Salt Lake Tilla County line. I'm I'm not sure. I mean, I go to it faithfully. I don't always stay to the end because it never talks about Tilla County. Why would Why do we have a position on that committee? I mean, I'm happy to continue to hear about the hubs and everything that's going on in the other valley. I really don't know what we represent on that. Do you want me to take that or you go ahead?

Okay. This is a great question that we've talked about and um I've actually talked with some of you about right now the way that the under the federal guidelines, Tilla County is um not part of the Wasatch Front Regional Council's TRA official transportation planning responsibilities because Towilla County is officially under the Census Bureau definitions a rural area and so we have we have the responsibility of developing the official transportation plans for Salt Lake County and then they stop at the county boundary. Now you know that Wayne works with you and the rural planning organization and supports you but the the work of the regional growth committee to do transportation plans does not extend to Tilla County. the work of the transportation coordinating committee to allocate funding to projects. We can't use the federal the $50 million or so in federal money that we get every year. We can't spend that money in Tuella County. Now, UD do a great job working with Tuella County. But one of the things that we've talked about and I think maybe not now, but it warrants some conversation as we go forward is is there a way that Tilla County could be more formally engaged in WFRC? so that we can provide more assistance and more support to you. We've talked about this over the years

and and I think one of the things as we've talked in the last five months about this is the next census may push us out of where we are that we're starting to grow to that point that we may be joining those other areas. It's important that we have a voice today because our voice needs to be heard for tomorrow on those committees and to see how we we work within that understanding. Am I speaking out of turn on that? Well, I agree with you. Yeah.

And so, Kendall, you've been a great voice. I think it's important because we we met this afternoon on Mid Valley Highway. uh other priorities at the legislature today or for this next session that we we really help the Salt Lake Summit County areas, the the Davis County area understand that our growth fuels their economic development.

Housing does that. However, we have to fuel our economic development too with housing and transportation. We're going to talk about that on item number six. And so, uh, with that explanation, as a cog, what would you like to do?

Well, I'd like to have to account be on the agenda. I mean, if we're not on the agenda, we are on no discussions, why in the heck are we there? Now, I appreciate you do Wayne's been great on on the RPO, but I'm just saying for that committee, we never talk class. We never talked past Black Rockck. So, Scott, I appreciate the comments and helping us, but I'm I'm glad to whatever you asked me to do, I'm glad to continue going to sitting in the chair and I bitched and moaned about the tax and I didn't make comment today. Yeah.

I said, "Don't cut that road tax back the way they're proposing it." So, I did speak up. So, but I'm happy to still serve on that, but it's only five times a year as I would. So, anyhow, might I I might offer um given given the councilman's comments, we would be happy to put together some ideas for you all to consider about ways that um it wouldn't stop at the county boundary. If you want us to explore that, we are happy to explore that, options that we can consider. We'd love to be able to award funding in uh Tula County candidly. So if if you're making that as a request, we'll put together some concepts for you to consider and I'm happy to represent the county on that stuff

as a cog. How do we feel about that? I'm seeing a lot of heads nod this way. Positive about that. Wonderful. Uh so you did make a difference. [laughter] [clears throat] Can't wait to stand up. It's okay to continue unless somebody else wants to hear. Um do you know if Ed Ed is willing to continue. Ed is willing to continue. He make the same comments though.

So when we get to item six, we're going to talk about some of these issues. Um when we talk about growth, when we talk about transportation, you'll see us start to address uh because as we've learned in the last three years, we are at a nexus almost. I don't know if we're at the pinnacle yet, but we're at a nexus. And in that we've we we really need to start having a voice in terms of what we do and in terms of what our our strategic plan will look like as a COG in the next three to five to 10 years. Okay. Um just Mayor respectfully Mayor Hammond, you also raised you said that you were potentially interested in serving on the regional growth committee as well. Yes, I am. Just listening to what you had said before.

Kendall, how do you feel about all of that? Hey, I'm happy to be there. I'll be back on quarterback to the new mayor. Mayor, I'm not trying to push you out like Tyson, the quarterback of the Saints. How's that? He is a good quarterback and he played for a school that Jake is not wearing a jacket for. [snorts] So, Mayor Manzion, do you feel like we should make a switch there or do you think we should keep Ed there? I think he's happy with whatever happens. [snorts] Okay. Mayor, what would you like to do? I I would love to serve in any way I can. I think that we're in just as you said, we're in important conversations right now. And

would it be okay if we appointed Mayor Hammond as the alternate? I'd recommend that we do that. Is there anyone opposed to that? So Heidi's Kendall will be the alternate. And do you want to do that, Kendall? Are you okay with that? Let's do that. Make Mayor Hammond would be the uh member. Kendall is the alternate. Okay. And there and and again, whether you're a member or an alternate, you're very very welcome to participate, even if you just yell at the meetings. Okay. [laughter] Thanks. All right. Let's You're a great contributor, though. Let's move to the transportation coordinating committee. Uh, Councilman Hamner, do you want to continue serving there?

Well, with my full-time job, it's been difficult to reach up there and do that. Um, but I I [snorts] would rather have somebody that could be there on a regular basis and be able to have a voice. And I'm talking with Eric. If everybody's okay with Eric uh serving on that, if he's not there, then he really gets in trouble at [snorts] the council level. He does. So, are we okay with Eric Strongberg or is there someone else who wants to sit on that? So, Eric Strongberg, but we do need an alternate for that committee. like ought to fill that one. Sheldon, would you guys be okay with that? Sure. So, we'll have Eric Strongberg

and we'll have Sheldon Burch as the alternate. Okay. You you okay? Yeah. Yeah. I'm I'm also very interested in the next one. So, the next one is the active transportation committee. Uh currently we have uh Mayor Manzion sitting on that from Tilla City. We've had two people express interest. How would you like to resolve this? I'm not I'm not actually able to attend those meetings. They're at a time that I cannot attend anymore. So Way to go. Okay. So Jul

Okay. So alternate. So Lake Point City will be appointed as the member or Sheldon, do you want to be the city member and Lake Point the alternate member? I do not have a preference. So both I don't know enough to know the answer to that question. So I'm good either way. Tell us what you'd like to do. Either way is fine. I I can be the next. Sheldon will put you as the me sitting member and Joan as the alternate. Okay. Dave, are you okay staying on the joint policy advisory committee? If someone else wants to do it, they're more than welcome. Um I I don't have a problem doing that. Is there anyone else who would like to sit on that? Jared, are you okay being the alter? Yes.

Okay, Andrew, I think we filled out every position. That's great. Okay. I'd like to to uh first take entertain a motion on approving the recommendations for the WFRC members and board appointments. Can I receive a We have a motion by John Olsen to accept those. A second, please. Second by Brian. Um, good heavens. Why am I Johnson? You just it I'm getting old. Okay. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed?

Okay. The motion carries. Mr. Chair, thank you so much and all of you, thank you so much for your um participation. We will, if you are now new to a committee, we will follow up. We will send um calendar invites to you and the staff, our staff person who is the lead for each of those committees will be in touch with you to do orientation. So the balls in our court to take the next step.

The orientation is fantastic. I think I've been through it two or three times. I think it's really good. It helps us build an idea of how we can help. Uh you're going going to hear this in a few minutes, so I'll just say it now. The better the information we have about how things function, the better the information we have about issues, the better our decision- making and ability to come together. And so thank you for being willing to serve. Uh, we need to appoint the 2026 COGS transportation subcommittee members. Uh, currently we have Eric Strongberg. I would ask not to serve on that committee. John Olsen, Neil Critell is no longer on that committee. Ma Debbie W is no longer and Craig Smith is no longer. Kathleen, you are on that committee.

We We do need other members to serve. This will be the third quarter sales tax uh and quarter preservation fund committee. Okay. So, Mayor Manzion, I'm also going and Mayor Hammond. Is there anyone else and Sheldon Burch? Councilman Burch. Okay. Is there anyone else who'd like to be nominated? And Eric, you'll stay on that. Kathleen, you'll stay on that. Okay. We're going to ask Well, let's first take a vote. All those in favor of appointing these folks to that committee, would you please say I? I.

I. Are there any opposed? Okay, I think we can do that by acclamation. I may have done it wrong. Um, could you meet together within the next month and come with a timing plan and starting the the scoring worksheets so we can get in front of this before cities have to submit budgets. So, would that be okay? So, kind of put the plan together, tell us where we're going to be, and then we will come back and approve that in our next meeting in COG. Okay. This last one is you you've all been given a sheet and it's part of your packet for tonight. Um, Boxelder County for the last several years has had a UTA representative that has represented Tilla County and Boxelder County on the local advisory council. Boxelder County in their graciousness have said that they believe it's our turn to do that. I would agree with them. Uh UTA is a significant issue um in a good way and it's a a part of our transportation plan. Here are the responsibilities. The person has to be appointed by the COG. They will attend uh quarterly and an open public meeting with the board of trustees to consult and advise regarding the operation and management of public transit. there there's no formal vote that's needed on consultive duties topics you can see in that second part of the general role uh service plan and routing this is absolutely critical for how we look at what we do with the Salt Lake Valley and our commuters going in uh [clears throat] transit oriented development Kendall you talk about a lot about those on the regional growth committee and what that looks like transit oriented developments budgeting and bonding the strategic plan and fixing fairs They represent and advocate the concerns of those in the UTA service area to the to the board of trustees and set compensation packages for the board

of trustees. They talk they also deal with mobility and constituent services. A quorum requires five people. Now we need to appoint someone from this committee to serve on that. Who would be interested? Does that have to be the onogg? Preferably an elected I believe it has to be an elected official from the cog individ. All in favor of coun or is there anyone else besides councilwoman goas? I think she'd be tremendous at it. Okay. So all in favor councilwoman goas. Well I'll entertain a motion on councilwoman Gochas's name. So move.

Is there a second? Second. All in favor, please say I.

I. Any oppose? That one is now taken care of. Megan, would you make a note of that and respond to that, please? This next item um is one that that has built itself over the last year. And you you'll notice I entitled it um we are all part of the solution for 2026. uh this is part of the COG's role is to create solutions that address today I think in the immediiacy 3 to 5 years 10 years and 25 years out and so what I'd like to do is just open this with the principle that I I suggested a few moments ago and that is the better the information we have regarding the issues we we face the better our decision- making will be and the more unified we will be at the end of the day. The first model I saw done of this in government w was really interesting and it was at a time of great tension in our county. Uh Gransville City and Twilla City, Stockton City were in a lawsuit. We were struggling with a education issue about Salt Lake Community College switching from Salt Lake Community College to Tilla Tech, which wasn't Tilla Tech at the time. We were also facing a problem because our students were being busted into Salt Lake uh to do education for uh whether it was welding, construction, all these other areas and that was causing considerable constrnation. So what we did with the USU deans council at that point and with the chamber of commerce was part of that, Twilla County Education was part of that. uh each we had the governmental entities. We sat down and undertook a six-month education about differing topics that we needed to get our heads around to make decisions. And so I I would love to approach this

the same way as we look at some of the issues that we're facing. Uh we can bring in subject matter es experts. We've got UAC here. We have the Utah League of Cities and Towns. They are our voices on the hill in many instances. Jeff UD do we have had a great partnership. Uh we're at again a place where we we really have to work on some of these issues that just don't involve UD do but involve us in solving transportation problems and Wasatch Front Regional Council. On top of that, we are growing to a point that the COG and what we do on Wasatch Regional Council will be growing out of the model sooner than later as a as a rural county possibly. So, we need to be prepared for that. So if I could just take five 10 minutes and ask you what are the topics, concerns or issues regarding growth that you feel we need to get a better we need to be better educated on, gather more data on, bring in subject matter experts to help us, and we'll build that over the next few months in COG so we can make decisions going into the summer and fall. uh as COG members, what are your thoughts?

Well, transportation is always a good one. Okay. So, when you say transportation, what are your concerns, mayor, and and members of the cog regarding this? Well, when you say bring the experts, I don't know something, but we clearly have transportation issues in the valley. connectors and you know the longterm plan we get together and work together the better that turns out in the end for the whole I love that. So can I ask you a question as mayor? Sure. Maybe I'll have an answer or maybe I won't.

When you look at residential growth and commercial growth does that impact your transportation vision? Yes. So would you like to discuss for instance four years ago we had uh the gardener policy come out with Envision Utah to teach us what trending look like on a state and local level so that we could get our heads around that from their metrics. Would that be something you would be interested in? Sure. Council members, residential and housing growth, commercial growth are those topics we'd like to address. Okay. What else? [snorts]

John and Brian, I I am gonna say something that's really during that part. [laughter] What what's really appealing to you is that many of these in issues will be Twilla Valley here centric versus outline community centric. We'll be like Kendall. We'll say why are we even coming [laughter] stops at Stockton Bar. Everything stops at the Stockton Bar. Um, so

I I think that's I think we need to be more specific than just say transportation. I mean, Mid Valley Highway is huge thing that needs to take place. It's got to happen. [snorts] And then we've also talked the last year or so about our east west corridors that also need to be at the top of our list especially uh in the Twilla Herda Stanbury areas having some other routes east and west through the valley. Um I think those are [snorts] major concerns for even us out in the south end of the valley or in the county. um being able to uh bypass Twill if we want to go to Salt Lake or something and and and get these big road

get these big trucks [laughter] get these big trucks out of uh off of Main Street. Twilla I think is a huge huge thing. So well also think UTA plays a big role in it. Our routes are horrible in our senior citizens to get them the microtransit. We just, you know, or even connect in between cities if we can. We're trying to build the growth of our roads connecting Grantsville and Tilla if we can get some bus routes too that can take some citizens off the road and move people around the county a little bit better and into Salt Lake. Love these topics.

Sure. I think with that I think you know as we stay on the transportation we've seen what UD do has you know proposed and what they shared I think this is a big thing for for COG as we think about transportation is we need to know what everyone is doing and looking forward right so when you get to the you know the grants city limits and it maybe touches uninccorporated or it might just go straight into to IDA straight into Tula city that we're talking and hopefully we can plan that and it's no one continuous road um through not every entity has their own plan. So I think as we look at you know transportation we've talked about I think it's coming together looking at what are those corridors and how do we work together and make him a priority. So then we're going to WFRC with the same voice where, you know, when we think third quarter quarter preservation, we're all aligned. You know, I think that'll make it the process a lot easier.

It'll also help as we consider on that uh uh COG subcommittee on third quarter sales tax develop priorities. We have a project that Grantsville and Erda would like to see done and they want to combine a proposal or something that should take precedence I think over something else.

I I think you know one of one of the things that I I've loved about our valley and as we've been growing up and I'm not from here. I I grew up in Draper Sandy Border when it became the about 10 years before the explosion and I I really wish that our valley leaders on that side and I knew many of them but we weren't thinking about explosions. They become problematic if we don't plan well and proper planning is our I I think we have an opportunity right now where we are to really to unify. That doesn't mean we're going to agree on everything. And I I think that that's been one of the hardest things for me politically to learn is the tension that comes in the debate doesn't have to be personal, but we have to present different policy measures to get to good policy. And I don't think I and those who have worked with me would tell say that wasn't his value 8 10 years ago. And it wasn't because it seemed to be win or lose. And I don't believe win or lose works. Um it it just doesn't. And and I've acted that way. And I've tried to share over the last three to four years that yeah, we're going to disagree. And when we're in the arena, that's our job. We got elected to do that. But we also got elected to solve problems. And we can't let the problem to be solved go away because we disagree. We've got to find solutions to the problem. But we have to be clear and concise and honest about the problems too. I think education helps us do that. I I know we were speaking earlier today in a meeting about Natalie uh Gawkner from the the uh Gardner Policy Institute. She provides some incredible data and data the better the data the better the decision-m and so are you okay if we massage this? I

come back with a plan for everyone and kind of set out uh an idea to have presentations. We want them to be 20 minutes long. Not we don't want to spend all night doing this, but we and I would invite your city councils that aren't here to come to them because if we've learned anything is that we are replaceable. and the drinking from a fire hose in your first four months and not knowing the history can become very problematic. And so let's build deep leadership that's principled and unified in the same principles. Does that sound good to start? Andrew, is this helpful as we discuss things? And Andy, okay, we're good to move in that direction, Jeff.

Absolutely. In fact, um we are revising um our local government um outreach. We're Thank you. we're putting together what's called the the UD Transportation Academy. Um so, one of the specific things in in some of our other conversations in COG that that I've been involved with is specific to funding. So that that's that that's something that we're we're currently working on right now is to refine. We had several workshops um for the uh as part of the Utah Transportation Conference last fall. We learned a lot from doing that. We're trying to hone that down. And really what we're trying to do is we're trying to create information that everyone can access that simplifies how we do what we do and why we do what we do so that everybody knows how to how to work with us, how to work together um amongst yourselves and let alone with um with WFRC um as that as some of that those planning efforts move forward in the future.

Thank you so much. Kyle, what would you add from a UA perspective?

Um, one one of the things that I've been pushing since being hired 7 months ago, I love transportation and transit. And Utah grows by the population of the city of Taylor'sville every single year. And there are going to be people moving into your communities. So it is so essential to have these plans and work together to plan for that development and that growth. I think that that is what is going to make you all successful as counties, as your cities is that planning and developing altogether because growth is coming whether or not we want it.

Thank you. Cameron, what would you add? You've been I and knowing just different positions. I I first met Cameron Good heavens. Yeah. Eight, nine years ago. a as we started to address some of our infrastructure problem difficulties when I was on Twilla City Council when we talked sewer and water and trying to to get ideas that would help us to meet those needs. So, you're very good at this.

Well, thank you for the opportunity to join you. And for those of you who are newly elected, uh both congratulations and well done that you're into week two and still so far so good, right? And those of you who are who are ongoing either in a different role or in the same role, thank you for your willingness to serve. This I think we are living in uh the hardest time of my lifetime of being an elected official. I think the level of distrust and frustration with government is at an all-time high and there's plenty of blame to go around for that. But I'm we don't really have time to focus on blame because we've got to focus on where we go from here. And I, Mayor Hammond and I were actually chatting about this a little bit before this meeting started because there are so many new faces within this county at the city level. You actually have a bit of a honeymoon period that is unique. I sat in this building a few years ago for a very similar opening conversation. You you were there. Uh, council member Juel Allen from Gransville was on the league board at the time and it helped put it together and it was an introductory conversation like this that shortly fell apart, right? And it numerous reasons for that, but it was a a bit of a missed opportunity and part of that I think was due to a lot of the baggage people brought with them. Well, looking around this room, there are a lot of new faces. And I think the people of Tuella County are hungry for cooperative leadership. That's both at the cityto city relationship, city-tocounty relationship, city-tost state relationship, county to state relationship, and most importantly, elected official to resident relationship. So, I've sent a lot of these meetings in different places around the state, and some have succeeded and some haven't. But the the ones that have succeeded,

the the common factor that they've had is figuring out what success looks like. And you don't need to define that today. I think the the brainstorming will help you will help you answer that question of what does success look like here in our region. And then once you figure out what success looks like, then you start building out the plan to get to that success. And I think because there are so many new faces, you have a a window of time right now over these next few months to be able to report back to your residents. Here's what we're doing that is different. Here's what we're doing that is innovative for our area. And here's what we're doing that is going to set our region up for success in the years to come. Thank you so much. As a cog, I I think that we're we're talking about getting our heads around something together. Are we all in agreement that we go forward in this manner or would you like to change and go in a different not change but add to subtract from other ideas?

Sheldon,

I have a couple things that have occurred to me and uh one of the things that occurs to me and [clears throat] forgive me you all know that I don't have the most experience in this room so I am ready and willing to be educated. Um but as we talk about commercial development, we talk about many of us are talking about the need to increase our our tax base uh through commercial development and how we do that. And a part of that in my mind seems like we ought to be doing it in some sort of a cooperative manner. Um, and I realize that's a little bit a little bit strange because we are all municipalities competing with each other for tax revenue, but at the same time, I would love to see us uh work together on a plan for commercial development for the valley [clears throat] as a whole and how this works around this transportation plan or or works with this transportation plan that we develop. um recognizing that my community of course is in the center of the valley and most roads lead through us and I at least would like to try and be cooperative and helpful and and make that work and function for all of us. Um, as you know, we're a little bit contentious in Erda sometimes and it'll be a little bit of a challenge, but

never. Uh but if if we could if we could work together to grow commercial tax base and I actually look at Tilla City perhaps as an example of some success in that in that uh over the last 20 years and how can we take that type of a model and apply it countywide perhaps to some degree. um recognizing that we all want the the the tax base, but in reality it serves all of us better uh to simply encourage an organized plan uh that then generates taxes for our our safety and emergency services. I'm worried about that. That's that's a that's a caveat of this is uh I I think we need to worry about that and make sure that we're up to date and staying up to date there.

So here based on what you just said, can I repeat back what I've heard so far? So topics that we need to talk about are transportation connection east west corridors a plan residential growth and infrastructure issues that are combined in that some of those don't have to do with the county but they always deal with the cities um and coordination possibly uh commercial and I wrote down broader economic development um because we do have commercial development that does create jobs but I also think when we talk about long s sustainable economic development, it's building new sectors of the economy that allow for that uh that we merge transportation issues when we're talking about them. Sometimes our transportation issues don't end at borders. In fact, they very much continue across and how do we address that? And then principles for our valley to align together with that we can get behind together. Uh Jeff, I'm really interested in this Utah Transportation Academy. I'm looking forward to having you come in and I think getting understanding UD do helps us all. Uh I I joke about this, but it's not a joke. My dad worked for UD do for 30 years. I never understood UD do. He was the controller for UD do still never understood UD do. I just know he was angry for 50 days. Okay. [laughter] When he was dealing with the budget and going through committees. So, and he was he was angry for 50 days. He ran a lot during that time. Okay. Um, but I think we need to get that Cameron.

Yeah.

There was an anecdote that I wanted to share that I think may help as you're putting together your next steps here. I have the great privilege of working with more than 1400 mayors and council members across the state from 257 cities and towns. And because of that, I get to hear about great projects. I get to see lots of great plans. I get to see things come to fruition. I've also been able to see what what works and sometimes where the where the gaps are. So, one topic you haven't listed yet is parks, open space, recreational opportunities. I represent the league on the Utah Outdoor Recreation Commission and it's of all the boards and committees I sit on, that one is my favorite because every year we get dozens and in last year's case, hundreds of applications from city and county governments looking for state matching dollars to help with recreational amenities. So last year when we were evaluating these proposals, Desert Peak brought a massive regional facility or it is a massive regional facility and then it brought some trail connectivity as part of the pro as part of the proposal. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Grantsville brought a regional park and both of you were making the same arguments. Our region is growing. Our region is underparked. our region doesn't have enough access for uh people to ride their bikes. There aren't safe sidewalks everywhere. Well, there were 250 applications, not enough money to go around. And we found ourselves in on the committee having the conversation of which one's more important to Tula County. I would have loved as part of that application process for this group or

equivalent to say this is the one that's most important to county this year because ultimately then you left me in that capacity on that state board trying to decide based on the limited information that I had. Now, I'm better positioned than other people on that state board because not only through my day job am I out and about all over the state looking at projects, but my father-in-law now lives in Grantsville. So, I knew the exact spot of both of those spaces. And I've hiked Desert Peak this summer. Andrew and I did it this summer with with Bridgetger Bolander. And nobody knows Tola County better than Bridgetger Bolander. So he was, you know, he was giving us all sorts of information, but the rest of the committee didn't have that background of what Tula County would prioritize if he only could have one. And that committee, it was really important to that committee to make sure we were spreading dollars around, but we had incomplete information to make that make that decision. So to me, this that's the sort of effort in these different contexts when you're looking for state dollars or or elsewhere, federal dollars, other coordination is what's most important and maybe that means today the group rallies around Grantsville and tomorrow they rally around Desert Peak because you've weighed all and you've come together as a region.

I I I'm watching people nod. I think that that's the kind of commitment and and consensus building that builds our community long term. Um, I I've stayed up nights at times trying to figure out how do you fix the contention in our valley. I I really have because I've been a great source of it. [laughter] Not going to lie. Um, I helped entrench the culture. I helped divide the culture. And one of the things I've learned over the last several years, and it was on my last year on Twill City Council, um, never had I seen the long-term effect of the damage like I did there and realized we I had to do different. I had to be different. When I ran for county council, one of the things that we all talked about is how do we disagree and get along and how do we be okay with it? And I've appreciated my council members and this committee, this this board, because I think we've gotten much better at it in the last two years. We're not perfect. We're not going to be perfect. Uh my doctorate is in strategic leadership in business. And one of the things that I go back to is one of the most simple teachings about teams. There are only 20% of any organizations in the United States who reach high performance. They just don't get there. And you can go back to the second step in team development. Cameron, you hit it. And that is how do we get on the same page and keep it going? the inertia and how do we resolve our different perspectives and I think that I feel from this group

and I've seen it from the character of the people in this group. This is different. This is just different now. We have to be different and we've shown that. And John, I I really appreciated how you led last year and the year before. Kathleen, we had a tough vote one night. It was hard. And I don't I I remember walking out that night saying, "We've got to be better. We've got to figure this out better, including myself." And that's my commitment to you, my commitment to education, Jeff.

So, this is like sitting in, you know, sitting around the table with my my own family, you know, with I'm the youngest of 15 kids. So,

wait, what? [laughter] Um, but I I wanted to [clears throat] I wanted to ask you um based on based on our interactions and we had some tough conversations um regarding that Twilla Valley area study that we're wrapping up, but but listening to the conversation tonight, I want to ask you one question. Where do boundaries exist? on a map and in your heads living living in another county that's not Salt Lake but maybe a little bit further south. [laughter]

That's why you were late.

But no, I I actually my meeting my meeting went late so I got stuck. But I I actually grew up in Salt Lake County and I and I and I've seen communities over time be very very resistant to change. So how talking through these things is how everybody manages change. It's going to happen whether you want it or not. So that's why I asked the question, where are your boundaries? Because your constituents, unless you unless you put a a moniker right there at the edge, they're not going to see it. So wi with that with that in in mind, I I've and and I've I'm on my city's planning commission and I have ticked people off at times because I'm like, have we talked to our neighbors next door about what what we're doing with our development? How is that connecting? because th this this very thing we got to protect we got to protect we got to you know make sure our our community is X those boundaries I I if if if everyone's committed to we are all part of the solution those boundaries won't exist. So I just I just wanted to support you um with that. I I agree with that. But some of the solutions to our problems

exactly, John,

and the people who control the money, the people who control the money know where the boundaries are. And that's our problem. you know, it's um why would we spend dollars on the other side of the mountain when we have issues here? Even though I mean I'm at the south end of Vernon's way out in the middle of nowhere, but probably 80% of our problems come from your county and the county to the north because there's such easy access out there. So they'll come and cut fences and drive their four-wheelers and wreck their side by sides so that our emergency crews have to take care of them. Our ambulance crews and stuff. Uh we're the ones that have to put the cows back in or deal with a cow that gets hit on a highway because someone's cut a fence. I mean, I sat [clears throat] in they for a couple of meetings they had on parks and trails. I'm not sure what it was. We first meeting was there at uh right off of I215 just before you get to 35th South. I can't Decker Lane somewhere out there. [clears throat]

You know, and they put us on tables and they said, "Okay, talk about parks and trails and all this stuff." And I sat there and finally the one the head of the table that was said, "Well, mayor, aren't you going to say anything?" I said, "We that's not the recreation issues that we're dealing with. You want to you want trail connectivity and things like that. The recreation I'm dealing with are four-wheelers, side by sides, uh people that come out and just bang bang bang and shoot up street signs and uh cut wires and stuff like that. So yeah, you say there's not boundaries, but I mean, as far as we are as community, I know what you're trying to do, and I believe we should be unified, especially on issues like Mid Valley Highway and stuff. We've got to be. But I also think from another perspective that uh they definitely know where the boundaries are and we're the ones that pay the price. And

I I can support, you know, I I think that's where the nexus of tension is. And that's that second part of becoming a team and how we work through that and and that's why how we work through is as important what we work through. I I just want to give a another Oh, there we go.

Wait, one. So to that to that point, you know, when you when [snorts] you talk long range plan, you know, regarding the transportation plan, when when it comes to the state, we do the the longrange transportation plan for the area and our focus is on what the state routes. We actually had a meeting today to say are there are there some key are there some key transportation routes on as part of the local network

that we need to start including as part of the long range plan to at least identify how these pieces are are connecting to each other. that that that was not a conversation that that that we were having previously, but as as as late as as this afternoon, we had a conversation specific to that. So, you know, it's it it's going to take some time and and and and there's always going to be tension,

but to have to have that h be willing to have the conversation even though we disagree on on the approach or whatever it we can still move that ball forward. Yep. So, I'm going to wrap this part of it up tonight. We have a direction. I'm going to bring back a model for our next meeting. Does that sound good? Please think about how you define success. I really like that question. How do and success may recording in progress

look at one thing, it may look at another. Please be creative in that. And then I think the second thing is what are the principles that you think we can unite on together in decision making. So, for instance, I at my office uh where I deal with 3,500 students at the University of Utah, our our values are this in our decision-making tree. Students first, program second, employees third, and then the fourth one is innovate like crazy and fail fast. And and we do that that we want to innovate. So, okay, let's move the last item.

Councilman, can I offer a brief concluding endorsement of what you're talking about doing here? Um, I know that your areas are growing really fast. Um, Mayor Hammond, you said that when you uh graduated high school, you had 4,000 uh people and now you got 16,000 people. You're growing really fast. And I think from our perspective dealing with communities all over the state, the the where Tilla where the Tilly Valley ends up, there's still a lot to be determined. Yeah, right.

The decisions that you make are going to have a huge impact on the future and you still have a lot of control in your hands and the growth is coming and it's going to come and how do you want that to unfold? You have a lot of power to shape it. Um, so it's just fantastic that you're embarking on this and um, I know I speak for all four of our organizations. Uh, we will all do anything we can to help you and support you. Thank you. Thanks for having us here.

Um, the last item that I had on the discussion tonight for new business is to change the time of cog a and for a couple reasons. We have a lot of people who come late. You're driving distances to get back home and our staff members tend to stay late. We're already having our staff members stay one or two nights a week because of our separate meetings that we hold. Uh whether they're our council meetings, our planning commission meetings, and others. How would you feel about moving the time from COG to 6 or 5? From 6 to 5.

From 6 to 5:00. Yes. I voiced my opinion against this simply because I have another conflict with the to education foundation at that time for me to step down from that position anyway. So maybe maybe I can make make it work. Well, we don't want to force you to step down from anything, but if that is okay um if the if we decide that then uh Kathleen, what are your thoughts? for me. Uh, Mayor George, by the way, San Francisco fan, right?

Joe, Mayor Joe, if I get it wrong again, Sheldon will buy us all donuts for the next car, [laughter] except him because I'm a Seahawks fan. So, I work in Salt Lake, uh, and I work for the FAA, and it's really hard to change schedules, uh, to do what I want to do. Uh, and this is one of them, moving it to 5:00. I may or may not be able to make it right on time, but it's probably going to be late. If we were to go 5:30, maybe. Okay. It might work. Um, John, what are your thoughts? Five is fine with me.

Heidi, five is fine. 5:30 is fine. Six is fine. I'm I'm good with whatever. Five would work for me.

Oh, all right. Um, I'm okay with either one of them. Um I am but I but I will say that even though we don't have um that many citizens that come to this meeting um [clears throat] I still feel that moving them the meeting meeting time up to five that basically prohibits any of them from coming because they'll just now be getting off work. And so even though it's recorded and they can look at it online, but it seems like it may be depriving someone the right to voice their concern about what we're talking about at that time that other than that I'm down with whatever you guys say cuz I retired in so I'm good. [laughter]

Come to Mayor Manzion. [laughter] I was hoping you'd say 7:30 here. No, at 5:00 I'm good. Mayor Manzone, I'm good with So, do we want to address this tonight or do you want to sit for a month and then come back? What are your thoughts?

Make a decision. Let's make a decision. Okay. I'll entertain a motion on our meeting time then. Make a motion for 5:00 start. We have a motion by Councilman Hamner, is there a second? One second. There's a second by Kathleen Bon Hatton. All in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? By the way, I like opposed. I love it when we split. I'm not going [clears throat] to lie. I think it's an important part of the democratic process.

Okay, the motion passes. Uh sometimes I don't like to end the meeting because they all want to. Uh with that, we will move the time to five o'clock, Megan. Okay. Uh our let's start on the right side of the room, my right side. Uh committee reports. Do we have anything tonight? So yes,

so I did want to thank uh everyone for the support for our industry day that we had at Dougway Proving Ground. I thought it went very very well. We had excellent representation from the state and county government of and other agencies uh which was very useful. Additionally, we had three individuals from the secretariat to the army which was very helpful from my perspective. Uh, and I'm told that we get to do it again on the 4th of February, which I am interpreting to mean that they didn't get the bids that they were looking for. I don't know that. Uh, unfortunately, uh, I have a conflict that day, so I won't be there. Instead, I'll be at the state capital for the legislative meet the military day. Uh but my team will be having another uh event uh where we're looking where we're proposing to allow corporations to do an enhanced use lease to develop a data center on US Army property, but it will be a private data center. Uh other than that, I have nothing. Mr. Chairman,

thank you so much. would that uh so Dougway hasn't been chosen as a site yet. It's just so the army proposed four locations and private industry are bidding on

locations. Now nothing says that all four locations can't have a data center. Does that clarify? I don't think I have anything to address at this point beyond what has been discussed, but it's good to be here for my first meeting. So, thank you. Chairman, it just occurred to me that Dr. Ernst will have the same conflict with the Tula Education Foundation that I do. He can't step down from that. Uh so, I will see what I can do about getting that meeting changed.

Okay. Thank you so much for that. Nothing from Rush Valley. Just a reminder that CDBG grants are due at the end of this month at 5:00 p.m. So, [laughter] don't miss it. And there, done that.

So, I just want to say from the town of Stockton, uh, thank you for allowing me to come here and and learn. Uh, I've learned a lot in the last two meetings. Um, uh, Nando has, uh, given over the rings. He's still helping me out quite a bit with water and what have you. But, uh, uh, there's a lot to be still learned. And I like learning because I come from a a long list of family members who learn people, a bunch of educators. So, uh, I was born at night, but not last night, but I'm not as smart as a lot of other people. So, thank you for everything.

Late point. We don't have much of anything right now going on. Um, but I want to thank everybody for trying to work together. I'm excited to see what the future brings. Thanks for having us here tonight. And the only other thing I want to do is I want to make sure everybody knows Madison Ais. Madison works with Wasuch Front Regional Council. She is our local administrative advisor and with the League of Cities and Towns and WFRC. She supports the smallest communities. She's the best. Yes, she is the best. We should log in for her. [laughter] Thank you. Wow. Okay, that's terrific. Good job, Madison. That's the best thing that WFRC has ever done. [laughter]

Grantsville, Tilla City. Sorry. Okay. And then also Wayne Benion, who I already mentioned from WFRC, who many of you all know. I have nothing more to add. Thank you all for um having us here. Um just for my county people, County Day on the Hill is the second day of the legislative session. All county folk are invited. So, [snorts]

two quick things while I have you. Number one, I'm glad you pointed out Madison, the local administrative adviser, and the local administrative advisor program is the first of its kind in the country. And the way it started was a conversation with some mayors in small communities around the state who would call me and say, "How do I do X, Y, and Z?" And I could tell them, "Yes, you need to do that." But unfortunately didn't have the bandwidth to roll up my sleeves and actually do it for all of them. That in turn led to conversations with our associations of government like WFRC, which then led to conversations with the governor's office, which then led to state funding. And now we have the local administrative advisory program where we have a Madison in all of the AOGs around the state and the league coordinates that program. And it's a phenomenal example of collaboration of identifying the problem which was the Stocktons and the Vernons and the Rush Valleys of the world that don't have full-time staff but have full-time needs and then figuring out the best way to do it in collaboration with the AOGs, the league, and the state of Utah. And in fact, the local administrative advisory program has been so successful that we have more and more cities and towns, including the Grantsfields and the Tulsa of the world are saying, "How can we access some of those resources in the LAA program?" And we have other state leagues around the country that are asking us, "How did you do that to help your small communities and we can build it out?"

Just a concern. I mean, we got a little survey or something about, you know, write this, write a note if you want to keep this program. That's where I was going next. Yep. So, we're okay on the funding then? [laughter] No, I quit. This is a this is a public meeting, right? Uh I'm not going to overpromise anything in a public meeting. It is a top priority of the league to get our funding fully restored for the local administrative advisor program and for WFRC.

Yeah. But for WFRC and all the AOGs, we had a strategy call about it right before Christmas with all of the all of the stakeholder groups. In fact, before uh I left my office this afternoon for a variety of meetings, I approved our letter that we will be circulating next week on day two of the legislative session because in addition to county Dan Hill, it's also city day on the hill. So, it's a great local government day. It's our local local um officials day. So, we'll have all the youth city government folks and usually in Grantsville bring your youth city councils and and it's an awesome We don't have one. Oh, you don't just Grant. Okay. Well, I hope someday you do have one because I I grew up going to Murray City Youth Government and so it's it's my favorite event that we do every year.

So, it's a year-by-year funding based on

So, it is and it is ongoing funding, but last year the legislature cut a third of the ongoing funding. So, we're trying to get that third restored this year. So, that because right now the program has been running on on twothirds of fuel. Yeah. and medicine's done a phenomenal job. Even with those restraints, it's still keeping the program top-notch and we're we plan to get that money restored this year. So, that's a top priority. So, hopefully we'll see you at local officials day. And then for all the cities in the room, our policy committee meets every Monday during the session. Every city's invited to participate. Last year, we averaged about 300 attendees both in person and online, which was fantastic. We use surveys, slido surveys to gather feedback. I was reviewing some of it earlier and so please please please join us in person or online and buckle up. Here we go. The session ends in 50 days, but who's counting?

Thank you, Councilman McCall. I I really don't. Uh Mayor Menzion, I'm happy to be here. We're together. [snorts] Thank you, Chairman. He's my chairman. Council member, I'm good. I just want to say please tell your family and loved ones thank you for letting you sacrifice. We're not going to go this long every meeting. So, uh, I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. Motion to adjurnn. Motion to adjurnn. Second. All in favor? I. Any oppose? Okay, we're journ.