City Council - Regular Meeting

Recording in progress.

OK, thank you for your patience. We went a little over in our other meeting. We welcome you and call to order the regular meeting of the West Valley City Council this July 28, 2026. We're beginning our meeting at 6.37 PM in the council chambers of West Valley City Hall. Councilmember Norfeldt is excused this evening. In person we have Councilmember Wood, Councilmember Whetstone, Councilmember Harmon, Councilmember Huynh, Councilmember Christensen, and myself. We're also joined at the dais with our City Manager, Mr. Pealey, and our City Recorder, Ms. Kamik. Our opening ceremony tonight will be Councilmember Huynh. Turn the time to him.

Thank you, Mayor. I would like to invite all of you to stand up and do a pledge of allegiance with me. Thank you.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

Thank you. We'll now go to our minutes of July 14, 2026. Turn that to the council for discussion or a motion.

Move to approve those minutes.

Second. We have a motion and a second. Ms. Kamik? I'm sorry. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? OK. And those pass unanimously. We'll go to our awards and ceremony, and we will turn the time to Council Member Christensen for our proclamation.

We have a proclamation declaring August as our Neighborhood Nights Month and August 4th as National Night Out 2026 in West Valley City. Whereas West Valley City strives to reinforce the importance of community building as a means of crime prevention awareness in the city and crime prevention and community building events have been planned throughout this month of August. And the National Association of Town Watch is sponsoring a unique nationwide crime, drug and violence prevention program on August 4th, 2026 entitled National Night Out. And whereas the 42nd annual National Night Out provides a unique opportunity for West Valley City to join forces with thousands of other communities across the country in promoting cooperative police community crime prevention efforts. And whereas police community partnerships, neighborhood safety, awareness, and cooperation are important themes of the National Night Out program, and the Mayor and City Council of West Valley City do hereby determine that it is essential that all citizens of West Valley City be aware of the importance of crime prevention programs and the impact that their participation in building a well-connected neighborhood community can have on reducing crime, drugs, and violence in West Valley City. Now, therefore, the Mayor and City Council of West Valley City do hereby proclaim August as Neighborhood Nights Month and August 4, 2026, as National Night Out. in West Valley City and encourage residents to participate in the various activities taking place throughout the city in the month of August, dated this 28th day of July, 2026.

Okay, thank you. We'd like to invite the National Night Out Block Party organizers that are here today to come up and go around and shake the hands of the council. and then receive the proclamation. And then we'll get a group picture in front of the dais.

Thank you.

Who wants to accept the proclamation? And then stay up here for the picture.

Craig, let's have you talk. That would be in the picture. This looks great if we're taking a picture. There we go. That is, we'll add it. That's cool. We'll keep it. No, I like it. Everyone else, just a little tighter. I am very, okay. Yeah, still not. Let's cover it. We love it, but thank you. Yes. Oh, that's fantastic. Okay, ready, one, two, and three. Thank you.

Thank you for all you do. We really do appreciate all your efforts. Okay, we will now accept public comment. Comment period is limited to 30 minutes. Any person wishing to comment shall limit their comments to three minutes. Upon recognition by the mayor, you will approach the microphone. If you did not sign up, please give us your name and address. All comments shall be directed to the mayor. No person addressing the city council during the comment period shall be allowed to comment more than once. Comments shall be limited to city business and matters within the purview of the city council. Speakers should not expect any debate with the mayor, city council, or city staff. The mayor, city council, and city staff may respond after the comment period has concluded. Speakers shall refrain from personal attacks against fellow citizens, city staff, or members of the city council. So speaker one. Karina. Oh, nobody filled in speaker one. Okay.

She wants me to take one. All right.

Jim Visak. I was glad to hear in the study meetings that it sounds like the 41 Bangler Highway $4 million option is not going to happen. I didn't like it when the $2 million one we got roped into, but that was a different council than it is now. We need to be watching our money instead of spending money, possibly spending $60 million for a sports complex. Once again, it's ridiculous. We have streets and sidewalks that need repair. We need streetlights up throughout the city. We've got kids walking in the dark. Spend that kind of money, $4 million. Heck, I bet you can put a lot of streetlights in, a lot of curbs and sidewalks in for $4 million. And... the water table now, like they were saying in there. Oh, it's automatically, it's dropped a lot. Well, of course it has. We're in a dry spill. What happens if for some reason you guys are passing, it was built and all of a sudden we had flooding. Now we've got a major thing that could be millions and millions of dollars. So I want you guys to think every single dollar that is We're taxed and my tax bill on my home just went up over $3,000. It went up to $3,000. I was shocked when I saw it. It's hurting some of our elderly, even some of our new homeowners. We want to get people in the homes, but then they can't pay the property taxes. You know, when it's $250 a month just in property taxes, it's kind of ridiculous. So I think we need to be making cuts and be a little bit more financial responsibility instead of going out and spending millions and millions of dollars on things that we don't need.

Thank you.

Okay, speaker two.

Hello, Council and community. It's always a pleasure to be here. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Karina McClellan, and I am the Development Director at Ability Inclusion Services. We are a nonprofit that supports adults with disabilities. First of all, I want to thank you for your continued support of our organization over the years, whether you've attended one of our events or celebrating the opening of our new residential building or just simply spreading awareness of our mission. That means a great deal to us. For over 65 years, Ability Inclusion Services has created opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through programs that promote independence, community inclusion, personal growth, and meaningful connections. Every day, we have the privilege of helping the people we serve build skills, stay active and healthy, volunteer throughout the community, and develop lasting relationships. We're proud to call West Valley City home and grateful to be part of a supportive network. This year, we've created a brand new fundraising event that I'd like to share with you, and I'm super excited about it. On Saturday, August 15th, we're hosting our very first speakeasy murder mystery fundraising event, and I'd like to invite you, as well as the community, to attend. This isn't your typical fundraising event. Upon arrival, guests will receive a secret password to gain entry into the event. Cocktail hour will begin in our courtyard with unique activities and photo opportunities, and then it will move inside where everybody becomes a suspect. I like to describe it as garden party on the outside, speakeasy on the inside. Once inside, guests will become part of an interactive murder mystery performed by professional actors that are coming in all the way from Denver. Guests will enjoy R&R BBQ. They will try their luck at secret drawings and see if they can solve a crime before the night is over. We encourage everyone to dress in their favorite 1920s attire and fully embrace the whole experience. I already have my outfit and it looks pretty cool. In years past, I've had the pleasure of bringing complimentary event tickets to the council. However, this is a much smaller event with limited seating, so I wasn't able to do that this year. But I truly hope you will consider joining us this year. Tickets are $75, and I do promise it'll be an amazing, memorable evening for you all. The event will be held at our center right here in West Valley, and we'd love to see you there. Thank you for your continued support of Ability Inclusion Services and for everything you do to make West Valley such a wonderful place to live and work. Thanks. Thank you.

Speaker 3.

Thank you, Mayor. Members of the City Council and staff, I'm here to express gratitude. Tonight we've had this wonderful proclamation about National Night Out and I want to say that we're excited to host our 14th National Night Out event in our local park. The park hasn't always been there, but it became part of our neighborhood thanks to the efforts and cooperation with the city. And I've been a resident for almost 30 years. My wife and I bought a home out here on the recommendation from my brother who lived here. And he said, come out to West Valley City. This is a proactive city. They are very responsive to to their residents. They are doing proactive things different from other cities. And I was intrigued by that. And I have found that to be true, and I'm very grateful for that. I have found wonderful staff. I have found responsive council members. I find a very respectful and professional police department and other professions, especially our fire department, that I've gotten to know through the National Night Out visits. But I just wanted to express thank you and gratitude to the city for all that they do And especially highlight, because I don't know if they get recognized enough, the Neighborhood Services Department, Division, whatever they're calling themselves. But Craig and Tom and Alex and others whose names I don't quite know or remember are no longer part of that office. But over the years, they've been so important to us as residents and supporting us and really being the face of the city as we've expressed needs, as well as our community. Council representative from District 4. I've always found very responsive there, whether it was Steve Vinson or others, it goes back quite a ways and I'm grateful for Council Member Wood as well. So I just wanted to express that and we're excited to have our event coming up here in a couple weeks and to having continued proactive, interactive things with the city, improving the life for us as residents and building communities like was mentioned in the proclamation. So thank you, Mayor and City Council and staff.

Thank you. Is there anyone else that wish to speak that didn't have an opportunity to sign up? Okay, we'll move on to our resolutions. Oh, first, is there anyone on the council that wish to comment? Okay, thank you. We'll move on to our resolutions. Resolution 2687. This resolution would authorize the purchase of a Timeco 600 regenerative air sweeper from Intermountain Sweeper Company in the amount of $400,750. The Public Works Department operates a fleet of four street sweepers that sweep every street eight times per year. Turn this to the Council for discussion or a motion.

Motion to approve Resolution 26-87. Second.

Thank you.

We have a motion and a second. Council Member Wood. Yes. Council Member Whetstone.

Yes.

Council Member Harmon. Yes. Council Member Huynh.

Yes.

Council Member Christensen.

Yes.

And Mayor Lang. Yes. Motion passes unanimously.

Thank you. We'll move to our consent agenda. We have four items on our consent agenda this evening. The first is an interlocal agreement with Salt Lake County for funding for substance abuse prevention. The second would allow Kennington and Chris's son to provide auditing services to the city. The third is a franchise agreement with Forged Fiber 37 LLC. And the last item is one of our usual purchase agreements and acceptance of an easement. Turn these to the council. We can take them all at once or one at a time.

Motion to approve the four items of the consent agenda.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Ms. Kamik? Council Member Wood? Yes. Council Member Whetstone?

Yes.

Council Member Harmon? Yes. Council Member Huynh?

Yes.

Council Member Christensen?

Yes.

And Mayor Lang? Yes. Motion passes unanimously.

Thank you. After adjournment, we will have one more short meeting this evening for our redevelopment agency that will begin immediately after this meeting adjourns. So we have one more action item.

Motion to adjourn.

All in favor say aye. Aye. And we stand adjourned. One quick note is Our next meeting, which is August 11th, we can only hold our budget discussion and approval or whatever action that takes. So we will not have a study meeting on August 11th. We will have our regular meeting that begins at 8.30 that deals with just the budget. I mean 6.30. No, I don't want to be here at 8.30. 6.30. Okay, we'll turn the time over to the redevelopment agency.

I'd like to call to order the special meeting of the West Valley City Redevelopment Agency on July 28th, 2026 at 6.54 p.m. It's in the Council Chambers of West Valley City Hall. All members of the agency are present except Mr. Nordfeldt, who is excused, Ms. Wood, Mr. Whetstone, Mr. Harmon, Mr. Hune, Ms. Lange, and myself. We're also joined with Ivo Pili, our city manager, and Nicole Kamak, our city recorder. We have the minutes of June 23rd, 2026 for the agency.

Move for approval of said minutes. Second.

All in favor of approving the minutes, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Sounds like it was unanimous. We have Resolution 26-10 to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Utah Microloan Fund. This agreement would authorize the Redevelopment Agency to give a grant to the Utah Microloan Fund for their Small Business Catalyst Grant Fund. in the amount of $200,000 for a small business revolving loan fund for West Valley City businesses. The funds would be restricted for use in only West Valley City businesses. To the agency for discussion or a motion.

I'll move for approval of Resolution 2610. Second.

Moved and seconded. Ms. Kamak?

Ms. Wood? Mr. Whetstone? Yes. Mr. Harmon? Yes. Mr. Hune? Yes. Ms. Lang? Yes. And Chairman Christensen? Yes. Motion passes unanimously.

We have one final item on the agenda. Motion to adjourn.

All in favor? Aye.