County Commission - Regular Meeting

I agree, I don't want the people to come home and find a dead dude in their basement.

I fixed it. It's no longer related to you, sorry.

All right, I guess we'll go ahead and get started. We're September 15th, 430, budget session with the sheriff's office. Appreciate everyone being here. We'll just go ahead, Corey, with you.

So I put in for an extra $5,000 in our training budget with the increase of the deputies and plus all the trainings that are coming live again next year. I think it'd be good to get them some good training, get them out there to some of the trains, and they cost money, some of the better ones. So that's why I'm asking for that for this next following upcoming year.

Is that the only one?

That's my only one. The only other thing I would ask is with having the newer deputies, more of our deputies are newer, I'm asking for another sergeant position, not to hire outside, but hire within. And I only have two people that qualify for that. And so I would ask that for the wages that we had last year to remain in effect for this next year. So if I do happen.

You're good.

Thanks.

Now it is. We're up. We're hot. So if you are getting a new sergeant, would the budget, that line item disappear?

Well, so if I got a new sergeant position, so the two people that qualify, one is he would be at step 13, which would mean nothing to our current budget. But if the other one happened to get it, it would be another $4,000 on top of that. And that would be...

But we don't know if that's going to happen.

So I think we ought to put that in there so we're not...

So we fixed it this year to where department heads and elected officials could not change their permanent and temporary employee line because last year... They did all types of crazy stuff with it. So it's blocked out for that reason. Leslie has made a spreadsheet with all those changes in there to include the payroll that they couldn't put in there. And so it'll be on that spreadsheet. But we did not give the department heads or elected officials the opportunity to change payroll and benefits.

So what do those two lines look like on your spreadsheet?

Are you asking for this particular spot or what he's asking for?

just wondered what what the it looked like comparatively to last year if you're not allowing them to put it in there and we can't see it i'm just wondering what that looks like so we've even last year the ones that changed it we went back in and we put everything as it was the year before because the commission goes through payroll as a separate item this year you asked to do that at the beginning of the budget instead of the end of the budget so that discussion is Monday it's your first budget discussion of the year except for except for Corey except for Corey won't be here um because he's special but that but we'll know that Monday when for Corey as well yes okay do you

Since he's here, yeah.

Can you take over the screen? Yeah. Okay.

You guys gonna be moved out by then?

By next week?

Mm-hm. Really? We can't move into our . Might make for a fun few days.

So what's been discussed?

Oh, he's asking for $5,000 in training. What's the code? That's it, unless he gets a new sergeant, which could be $4,000.

It could be $4,400.

So why a new sergeant?

With all our newer deputies.

So 172 is the change from one year to the next?

No. Sorry. So if you look on the left side, this is with the new sergeant put in at 13 years. And it's a $2,000 decrease from last year. And then this $172,000, that's the decrease in benefits from last year to this year. That's not a final number because we have not gotten our medical renewal back yet. But just with what we have in there currently, versus what was budgeted last year, it's a $172,000 increase.

Why is that?

We have a lot of our deputies not taking our medical insurance. We have some that are not on family insurance, some that are on single or two-party.

So it's mostly from benefits then, huh?

Yep. Okay. And the FICA wages went way down because we did hire a lot of newer deputies like... was talking about and so those went quite a bit down quite a bit last year so wait is the $4,400 just for the benefits or is that for the salary but that's included in there he said

So this $9,000 is just an increase in what you had, or is that because you're not going to have the new sergeant?

Yeah, so that $9,000 would be an increase to one of our eligible deputies.

Okay, all right.

So it's $9,000, not $4,400 is what you're saying?

No, it could be. So it could be a decrease of $2,000 if they've got the lower step. But if the one that's topped out gets it, then he would be an increase of $4,400. Okay.

So what you're showing us here is the increase of...

He's got you on a lower one right now.

Which one?

9,048.

No, I'm looking over here. I'm calling P. P, okay. P, what does that represent? Is that an increase or what?

You can see this is... So 2027 benefits are $842,000 as they stand right now. In 2026, we budgeted $1 million for benefits. $1 million... 15,000, so that it is decreasing by 172,000 as things stand.

And that is because of the single, non-family, and they don't need insurance, is that right?

In part, yes.

Yeah, so then what happens if we hire somebody that is, I mean, because maybe they're not all gonna stay, if we hire somebody, then we're gonna have to have a budget adjustment again, right?

Which, that's why we keep that 50,000 line, a non-departmental for adjustments.

All right.

Well, I appreciate it. I don't think you're asking me for much.

And so all we're looking at then is the step increase, the normal step increase that we gave you guys quite a few years ago, and COLA, if by chance everybody gets COLA. COLA's not in there because we don't know what it is yet. So this is current, 2026. So the new step, can we see what that might be with the new step and no increases to that step? Because that'll make a difference in that bottom line. So what you're putting in then is this step increase?

Yeah.

Well, we got sergeants and a couple deputies that are.

So why would that go up if they're at the top? because that's less than what they're making now.

Sorry, say that again?

I say that's less than what they're making now.

Where?

913, you got 94.913 versus 94.969 on line 16 or 15. And then that one went higher. So 1041 is not topped out yet. Sheriff's not even topped out?

I'm topped out. Oh, you are? Yeah, I'm not even topped out. That's my salary.

So line 14, 13, 12 are less, or not less, but... That's the top amount of the step, is that correct?

I believe so, yeah.

It's about 20 grand. Yeah, OK. And you have one of these, Casey, for all of the departments.

Yeah, I'm working on getting, so I just pulled all the data. Okay.

Beautiful.

Very beautiful.

Well, I don't have any other questions.

I don't for that one. What about the animal control and records?

Just keeping everything the same on those.

Same. Okay. So we're just going over salary now, or are we going over the rest of your budget?

He already did.

He asked for $5,000 in training. That's it?

Yeah. Okay.

At least you're not the old man around here. Casey knows what I'm talking about.

I was with your buddy Scott the other night. He was telling me about you. Who? Stokes.

Oh, yeah. I used to ride bulls with him.

Wow. It was all good. He's a good guy. It's not a problem.

Well, thank you, and have fun at your conference.

Okay, will do. I appreciate it. Are you going to?

Enjoy it. Where's it at? St. George. St. George.

Wrong time, we need to go in two months. When it's cooler.

See ya.

See ya later, be safe.

While I'm in the budget, is there anything you wanted us to walk you through before you get into it next week or?

No.

Can you usually, yeah.

Yeah.

good awesome can you just show us the overall county budget yes because i always get confused like this is your overall budget but then it's like so right now you're requesting 671 thousand more no that's how much you have left over oh okay after everything's spent we're in the grid we're in the green

So each fund, you'll have what we're projecting to your projected expense and revenue from that year, your projected fund balance of that account, and then next year, your projected revenues, your projected expense, and then obviously like we're 671, almost $672,000 in the green, so that just adds it to the fund balance. So like an easy one is your economic development. So we had 17,686 left over from a previous grant, but it's usually every year it's $200,000. So we spent 217,686. That's what we had to spend. There's nothing left at the end of the year in fund balance. We're receiving 200,000. We're budgeting 200,000. There should be nothing left in fund balance. Okay.

But this doesn't show any wage increase or anything?

This shows no wage increases. This is just the asks outside of wage increases. So the ones you'll see that are negative, which are habitually negative, is your recreation fund, and that's after the $200,000. So the $200,000 from RAMP is included in that. So it usually has a shortfall. So you have that one. capital projects and what? And health in your health department. Well, technically that one isn't gonna show negative because we still have a fund balance to pull from. So anything that's negative, you would have to find, that money would have to come from fund balance.

I thought our goal for REC was to break even. Yeah, we were supposed to get down to 100,000.

Correct, but she hasn't increased her fees. She has to do a fee study in order to increase the fees. So that's with the existing fees.

Why do we have to do a fee study? Why can't we just do it?

State law?

I don't think so.

1,000% yes. That's why we just hired that firm to go through all of our fees.

Well, how come it's taken us a year?

It's your impact fee study and analysis. It's not just the analysis.

Yes.

And it's expensive. It's that one that we approved that we were choking on.

A year ago. Yeah. $150,000 or something. Or was it?

I don't think it was that much.

No, it was $70,000. And that includes the full transportation impact fee.

That was the one that Kate was able to get down.

So it ended up being $90,000 plus.

No.

With the two.

Nope, it's combined at $74,000 because they credit us.

You got to work your magic and got to download it.

I am a little tight on the budget, yeah. Okay. any other questions on so um when you're in there there's two main lines right there's the dashboard and that shows you your overall total and then there's the worksheet that'll show you by line item and then if like right now i have the code for the sheriff's office in so if you wanted to pull up where's public works that's not in the negatives what i know when you show them how to look at an attachment So let me look at your cheat sheet.

We didn't have any snow. We have a thing full of salt too.

She asked for something in fund 20.

We have our two-year storage.

20, 4,400, 300. So actually all, quote unquote, and I say this now, all of Brett's asks except for the fairgrounds are already within his budget, but he has to ask because it'll, it'll have to go, it's a vehicle, so it'll trigger on our USIP for insurance. 20, 24.

So why do we need a new truck?

That is up for him to tell you, not me.

Okay.

Okay, so he asked.

I can recite it to you by heart.

Right? All those things are expensive. If you go to the far left, it'll show you if there's an attachment. The hard part is it brought over all the ones from last year, too. But here's the, it'll show when it was uploaded. Oh, boo. Okay, this is why we pre-did it in the packet. Well, here's his big description. Newton truck with dump bed.

Time to replace one. And that's what I would have said he was gonna say.

But it's not a budget increase, but it is a request for a purchase of a vehicle. So that's why it's an attachment.

You don't know which vehicle it is?

I have no idea. Half the stuff, it was like today years old when I was like, oh, we're... Because he asked for like $47,000 to do... upgrades to the food stands at the fairgrounds, and I was like, but of course, didn't actually put it in the budget, he just sent the attachment, so I was trying to fix that, but.

Now when it comes to, I have a request within his budget, put in those highway projects, those highway monitoring signs on Morgan Valley Drive and I-66.

We gave Brett, we learned our lesson, we're giving Brett an hour. So, okay, any other questions on budget?

No.

Okay. I lost two bucks, Matt. Didn't I, Leslie? She bet me that your first question was gonna be what's your password for the budget.

hear this mike it can yep okay welcome mike thank you yeah if you haven't signed in if you could go in the back corner room and sign your name on the That would be appreciated. We're going to go ahead and get started. This is our Morgan County Commission meeting, September 15, 2026. We just finished with our budget session with the sheriff's office. Now we'll start in our regular commission meeting. I want to welcome those that are online as well. Appreciate them. And one of our commissioners has parent-teachers conference tonight. He'll try and... Join us a little later when he's done with that. And Commissioner Newton is on line with us as well, so appreciate him being here. I'm gonna start by an invocation, I'll give that, and then I'd ask you to join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Our Father in heaven, we bow our heads before thee this beautiful evening. We're thankful, Heavenly Father, for all the blessings we receive in this valley. Thankful for the moisture that we have received and pray that they'll continue to bless us with the moisture that we need for the upcoming year. Bless us with the snow in the mountains. and some rain this fall to soak into the ground. Grateful Heavenly Father for the things that have transpired and all the people who work so diligently to make this a beautiful and safe community. We ask you to watch over and bless us all. Help us to do those things that would be good in thy sight. We're grateful for all the people who work so diligently and in our behalf, and we're thankful that we have friends and neighbors that look out for each other in this community. We ask that Thou would bless us this evening, that we can make good decisions, that we can have good discussions, and that we can listen to one another. We appreciate all that Thou has given us and does for us in every day of our lives, and we say these things in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. to the flag of the United States of America. OK, thank you for joining us in that. Do we have any declarations of conflict of interest this evening? I guess I would say I have one conflict of interest on Jenny Adams is a relation of mine. I don't know if you can get away with that in this county without having things like that, but I'll make that.

I live in the Cottonwoods. Cottonwoods DA is on the agenda.

OK.

I have none. OK.

Thank you. All right. Now is the time for public comments.

Consent agenda. We need to do the consent agenda.

Oh, sorry. Sorry about that. Yes. I already changed that. Has everybody had a chance to look over that? OK. I'll look for a motion then.

Mr. Chair, I move that we approve the Morgan County Commission meeting minutes from September 1st, 2026. I'll second it.

Okay, I have a motion by Commissioner Fackrell, second by Commissioner Blocker. All in favor?

Aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. You're going to hear those two names a lot tonight.

Yeah, we're not changing.

Okay, so now's the time for public comment. So anybody that has... A comment of anything on the agenda that's not a public hearing item? If you want to come forward, you have three minutes. State your name and where you live, and I'd love you to come up and speak. Pardon? OK.

Hi, my name is Ray Nettleton. I live in Kaysville. I just learned that the planning development department is considering issuing a building permit or they're in the site plan review process for a water tank above phase six and phase seven that is on land that is zoned as F1. It is my complete understanding that F1 and MU160 for that matter IF YOU NEED TO BUILD A WATER TANK ON THAT PROPERTY, YOU NEED A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. OUR GROUP, PART OF THE DA, NUMBER THREE PEOPLE, WE WENT THROUGH ALL THE PROCESSES AND WE OBTAINED A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR A WATER TANK ABOVE OUR PROPERTY, WHICH IS UP THE HILL ABOVE PHASE EIGHT. SO IF THEY ARE GOING TO BUILD A WATER TANK ON PROPERTY, But in that zone, I just, I think they need to follow the conditional use permit requirements and go through that whole site plan review just like we did.

Okay.

Thank you for your time.

Thanks, Ray. Any others? Okay. Seeing none, we will move to our F1 action item, Jenny Adams. I didn't... Oh, it's a different Jenny Adams. I guess she wouldn't be an Adams. She's married.

There is another Jenny Adams in Morgan that I've run into with appointments. I show up and they say, no, you're not the Jenny Adams I was picturing. So I wondered if that was the case. Okay, we do have the slideshow. So... And before I start, a little disclaimer. I work with preschoolers and babies, and I work in a star pattern. And so I get a little squirreled out, so I'm going to try to make sure that everything makes sense by the end of my presentation. But you can ask questions so I can make sure to fill in all of the gaps. And I also want to let you know I'm not here to sell my business. I'm not here to sell myself. I'm here to offer my services. your community and I'll share more about that I'm also here because I'm passionate about giving kids the best opportunity that they can have you have an incredible community with fabulous people it's growing and there's a need for childcare and I've seen that for years so I'll share more about that Do I tell you just to click to the next one? Great. Okay. So, again, my name is Jenny Adams. I own Love and Learning Child Care over in Colville. I have worked with kids for years and years in a lot of different settings, one of them being foster care, and that gives me a little foundation of how I work and the program I run. I was watching kids in my home for a long time until we outgrew it, and I was looking for a solution. I was not looking to open a childcare center, but when God tells you to do something, I listen. He's a smart guy. So I said, I can do that, but be with me along the way, and we've done nothing but grow in the three years that we've been open in Colville. And in that time, I've been watching Morgan, the parents on Facebook, ask for help with child care. And every time I see it, my heart goes out to them. I know what the struggle is, and I wish I could do something about it. I felt that there would be a time that I could come to Morgan and help with that. But I knew that I needed to wait for the right opportunity. Yeah. And I had just kind of thrown out some feelers, thrown out some comments, and one day one of my guides came to me and she said, Jenny, I've got the perfect building. It is absolutely perfect and you've got to come see it. My family owns it. And I didn't know if I was ready for that, but we went, we toured the building. She was right. It's absolutely perfect. So I threw a survey, a public needs survey out on Facebook. Unfortunately, something I ran into was that it gets buried if it doesn't get 20 engagements in two minutes. And so I wasn't able to really rely on the information I was getting from that, but I have tried a few times since then. But one of the people that found that survey, luckily, they were working with the Morgan Child Care Coalition that was working with a Boulder Way Forward initiative. And so she grabbed me, she introduced me to the coalition and the initiative, and they have been behind me to help me just find resources and see what I can do to get help to open this service to your community. That is why I'm here today, one of the reasons. So let's go ahead and move on to the need for child care in Morgan County. This is some of the information I found and this is current as of 2023 and this shows how much of the percentage that is needed for child care, like how much need there is, how much is actually being met. And you can see Morgan is one of the lowest, only 3% of the childcare need was being met three years ago. And you can imagine the growth that has happened since then. When I did this research, I found that almost 4%, you've had 4% growth in the last few years. I actually recently found something else that was almost 7% growth. Yet nothing has really happened with child care. And that hasn't really changed a whole lot. So let's go ahead. So some more facts. Access to quality child care is limited statewide. And right now, because there isn't a lot of access in Morgan County, parents are leaving the county to go work and to go find child care. And, of course, what that does, if I were leaving to, you know, okay, basically parents are having to go where they can find the jobs but find the childcare to support it. and if that's not here they're doing that outside of the county but what also happens when they do that is they're also buying gas and they're buying dinner and they're buying groceries and going to the bank somewhere else because they it's not supported here in the county um if that continues Businesses will suffer, government. There won't be a local workforce that is going to be sustainable. So if we can go on to the next one. Let me just make sure I'm on the right track here, yeah. So who suffers when we don't have sufficient childcare? First of all, households. When there isn't sufficient childcare, someone needs to stay home, it's usually the mom. Now, I found through my foster care experience that when someone is able to work, especially mothers, their self-worth goes up, their self-esteem goes up, because they're contributing not only to their family and being responsible for them and helping in that responsibility, but they're also contributing members of society. If they're able to do that, they're better examples for their kids. They're helping a lot of things work better. So if they have the proper childcare, they're able to contribute more. Businesses, if there isn't sufficient childcare, They suffer. Retention of employees goes down, so they have higher turnover, which costs businesses more money because they're training more people. Their revenue is lower, all of those things. So then tax revenue goes down, which weakens the economy. There's less tax dollars for the governments to be used to improve community services, roads, sidewalks, all of those things. So you can see how if there's proper childcare, that's a good place to start for there to be a stronger economy. Okay. So enter love and learning. We're here. We're ready to help. We have a proven business model. We have quality staff who they're all committed to making professional development a priority. Leaders who know what it takes to build a successful community resource. We're not just looking. Here's my thing. This is my soapbox. I do not have a box where people get to bring their kids and pick them up at the end of the day. Love and Learning is a quality program. Kids leave happier, more educated. Parents love that they get to see what the kids are doing all day long. They get to hear what their kids did during the day, what they learned. I'll share more about what we do during the day. But it's a quality program. And we're willing to provide what Morgan needs. I'll be honest, this may not have come up in the past just because no one's crazy enough to do it. I've already spent a lot of time on it and with no pay. I just am doing it because I'm passionate and I have the opportunity. And again, when God tells me to do something, I'm going to do it. And we have our premier location. It's already being updated to meet child care regulations. on the owner's dime and they are also showing that they are committed to having a quality resource and being part of that solution they're excited to have Fun families, cute kids, great staff right next door. And we're excited to be able to provide that to them.

So this is a non-profit organization?

It is non-non-profit. It is not non-profit. And I'll tell you why. When I say that I'm not making anything, it's because... I focus on making sure that my people have jobs and that they are being paid well for their time. I like to be paid for my time, but I'm willing to take a hit so that our babies and our kids can be taken care of very, very well, and so can our guides. So what makes Love and Learning unique? Our mission, we found, like I said, part of our story is my foster care background. We know that a child cannot learn until they feel safe and loved. So our mission is to build quality relationships first and then build on those with experiences that they can learn from. Our values are love, growth, excellence, creativity, respect, and community. Community is really, really big. We love to build a community for our families so that they can have connection outside of just our program, that they can build relationships outside of our program. We're very, very proud of our 100 percent compliance with state regulation. We love it when our licensors show up because it's a great big report card for us. We love it. We also use what's called the pyramid model. It's a research-based program that teaches us how to teach our kids social-emotional skills and problem-solving skills. So along with academics, our kids are going into the school systems more ready to more ready to learn. And we know that if we can give them that basis of learning and those social skills, they're going to carry that throughout their school years and into adulthood. So we're giving them the best foundation that we can give them. Our vision is to bring premier high-quality childcare and early learning to families across northern Utah with a special commitment to rural communities where access to exceptional care is limited, exactly like Morgan County, and hopefully we can give them an option so they don't have to choose. Since I have put out a survey and trying to gather community input, I've found several families that say they have to make decisions on work because of child care and that they've had to accept jobs close to child care. And that makes it very hard for them because they're leaving the community. It's hard to get back for their kids' social events and everything like that. So they would very much, the people that I'm hearing from, It would save their lives pretty much it would be a lifesaver Okay So how Morgan County benefits the Grove and let me explain why we're calling it the Grove is love and learning is our base program and It also has a tree in our logo, and our roots are in Colville. But roots grow underneath the ground, and they come up in the right place. They come up in fertile soil in the right place where it's able to grow. So we see that in Morgan, and we see the trees in the grove the families were able to serve, and the people who were able to really help them. And that's what we're here for, is to serve your community and their families. So we're going to be able to add up to 65 new childcare spaces. We're going to be able to expand critical infant and toddler care. I will tell you there is a daycare at the high school as part of their tech program. It is serving primarily the staff of the district and it has very limited spots and for limited time. So this would expand a lot of those really needed spots for infant and toddler care as well as preschool. So we'd be able to strengthen Morgan County's workforce participation and employee retention. create local jobs we are a small business woman-owned business we're providing jobs for people who want to grow it's a safe nurturing place to work um obviously high quality early learning and kindergarten preparation we have heard from our kindergarten uh teachers in summit county well, in North Summit, that they can tell what kids come to them from Love and Learning. And so that's what we would want to do for Morgan County. And then obviously build long-term child care infrastructure for Morgan County. So in a nutshell, there's a local need, a proven provider, an actionable solution. We're ready to go. We're not asking Morgan County to fund an idea or a business. We need partnerships to be able to open the doors. We have a place to do it. We do not have the funds to fill it with the cribs and the mats and the toys and the shelves. Outdoor spaces are a really big deal. I am excited to tell you about that. So, next one. So we're looking for those community partnerships. We're looking at needing $285,000, and that comes in two phases. I hope you've been able to receive the budget outline that has it in two phases and with our class breakdowns. So we do have other fishing lines out there that hopefully we'll be able to get more funding, but we're looking for as much help as we can get. And what this is going to do is help us fund two expansive nature-based outdoor classrooms. Like I said, we're not just keeping kids alive. We're looking for the best possible childhood adventure that they can have while learning. Fun fact, outdoor spaces are not required. Funny. for childcare centers. And so I hear from a lot of parents and even staff that come and work for us that say that their outdoor yard is a five by 10 piece of concrete with a few balls. Ours are very beautiful, they have a very play in the field kind of a feeling. Our kids go home dirty, they play, they risk, it's beautiful. It's going to fill the center with the furniture and equipment and supplies that we need. The building does have a few more upgrades we need like flooring and noise reduction panels. Part of the space we're going to be occupying is a really big room. It used to be used as a shop and so there's a lot of echo. So you can imagine how that might be when we get kiddos in there. And then some of the feedback we've gotten from the community is they would really like to see security. and be able to have that peace of mind. So we want to be able to put those safety and security systems in place. In return for whatever you can do, because I know this is kind of sticker shock, and like I said, we're looking in a few different places, but anything helps. Something that we do over in Summit County that we've partnered with them since we opened is that they help fund our arts program. And we have saved spots for them to be using for their employees so that their employees are ready to come to work. They're calling in less. They're able to be more productive. And then they have priority registration for infants and toddlers, which are really big huge. Usually, we would have to be on a wait list. But if we know that someone's going to be having an infant, we hold a spot for them. And then free registration. So we would be open to being able to see how we can help. Obviously, the county has lots of departments, probably young kiddos. Something that Summit County was also facing is that because the younger generation isn't working because they don't have child care, The knowledge of the more seasoned employees have no one to pass their knowledge to. And so that's why they are really paying attention to childcare and how they can help that and support that. So I may have left some, you know, there's probably places for questions, but just wanted to end with this thought. Funding the Grove isn't simply an investment in a childcare center, it's an investment in Moraine County's children, working families, employers, and future growth. And I just want to add that I'm here because I'm following the nuggets. There's been lots of things. I say I go on green. And so there's been lots of things that I thought were going to stop this progress. I've been working on it for over three months. And every time something happens that we're like, oh, this might be it, this might be the red light, it's barely yellow and we're able to get past it. So I will go until I hit a red light. And so that's where we are. I'm ready for questions, whatever you got for me.

Let's let Mike go first. Mike, are you there?

He's texting me. Excellent. Love it.

Go ahead, Blaine.

Yes, sorry.

Okay, you're with us. Okay.

Um, so I'm very familiar with childcare. My, my wife and I owned a daycare in Cache Valley for about eight years before we moved back home to Morgan. I'm very familiar with the grant programs that are offered by the state. Um, Morgan County does have a small business grant program, which I think could be a, you know, this could be an excellent thing there. I don't think it's a county's responsibility to provide daycare for its residents. or to fund a daycare for that matter, especially a for-profit business. If that were the case, I think it would be more appropriate for us to send out an RFP and have multiple businesses come in and present their proposals, but I don't see this as an appropriate use of county funds. Economic development funds through our small business grant, absolutely, but not just a handout from the county as that's what this appears to be.

Do you want to respond to that?

Well, I would hope, I agree, absolutely. Unless you're looking at it as the development and the economic development that can help, I completely understand that it's not on the county's agenda, it's not their responsibility, absolutely. That's why I would be looking at ways for you guys to be able to benefit also. So that would be something that, yeah, you would definitely have to decide if there's a way that you can support and be able to even it out with what you can benefit from it.

I'd also add that the school district recently opened a child care at the high school. They actually had trouble filling those spots. So I don't know. And that's a non-profit type of a thing. Again, the county is not in the business of subsidizing private entities and private businesses.

For sure. OK. Lane?

Yeah, I've got quite a few questions. How did you start in Colville?

So I grew up in Colville, and I got my first childcare job when I was 18 there. It was the only center that had been there. And when it closed a few years later, I started watching kids in my home and different places, different ages. And I took a brief, well, about 10-year stint that I was working in other places with kids, church and the community and everything. But when we decided to do foster care, you actually can't do foster care and childcare at the same time, different licenses. And so we took a break to also do foster care. And after we adopted our second, our last, we decided this was us. And someone on Facebook asked for help with kids. And I said, oh. I can do that. So I started watching kids in my home, and we outgrew it. I said, first of all, that I was not going to get licensed. I didn't want too much of my home being taken by kids, but the need was big. I couldn't say no, so I got licensed. We doubled in size. I had to get more staff and everything. We started to look at how to remodel the house to be able to fit the kids, and that's when I went... it's a little crazy and heavenly father said um you're going to open a Center and I had thought about a place in colville that I knew of I contacted the landlord, it was it was available they renovated it and we've been there for three years.

Okay, so when you started it, what kinds of funding did you get?

I'm so glad you asked. Because Commissioner Newton said that there's grants available through the state. There is nothing right now. At the time there was a startup fund, a startup grant that programs could partner with businesses and then the state would cover all the startup funds. So all of that furniture and the playground equipment and all of that was coming from the state but we needed to partner with a business and that's when we started partnering with Summit County. And so that's how we originally got all of our setup and our first agreement with Summit County, and then we've just renewed that agreement with them.

So what was that agreement with Summit County?

Just that they would fund our arts program. We get about $300 a month for art supplies, and we hold infant and toddler spots and don't charge their employees any registration fees. So the funds to actually set up the center and everything, that came from the state. But they wanted to see those business collaborations.

OK. And I'm like Mike, I don't want to, and probably these guys, we don't want to use taxpayer money for it if we can help it. But there are grants, and I think Janet, or not Janet, Candace in the audience, we've been on a working committee together, and... We've been in those discussions and there's a lady there from Weber State University. I don't know if you want to come up also and just tell us some of those things that you guys have discussed as far as what grants were available that the lady from Weber State University was talking about. Anyway, along with that, You can do that in a minute if it's okay with the chair. But there are some grants available. There's also laws that came out for childcare this last year from the Senate, from the legislature. And those grants, are available, no, they're not really a grant. They're a credit with partnering with different companies. And so my idea in this whole thing is that you could go and get grants or partnering with different entities and going out and trying to find the businesses that will help to build this or to get the money that you need to start this. And that's the reason I asked, how much money did it take for Summit County? Because they didn't come up with $285,000 to begin with. And we're not going to come up with $285,000 either. However, we do have the business grants, small business grants that I think could be an appropriate place to use some of that grant money. However, to do that, you have to talk to Andrew Willis at our BRC, our Business Resource Center. You need to talk with him and come up with some different kinds of ideas for that and where you could possibly find the funding. And within that funding, there may be available monies to get enough to get this started and off the ground. $285,000 is a lot of money. Yes, sir. Now, we've got other entities throughout the county that are, I don't know if the DAF is available for any of that kind of stuff.

So if I could speak to those, I'd love to share with you. I am working with Andrew. He's been fantastic. And so he is helping me. We were also told that we could look into the COG fund. They wanted us to come and talk to the commission board first. So like I said, I have a few lines in the water. I have applied for the Wasatch Peaks Foundation grant. The house bill you're speaking of, I actually work with two of the three writers of that bill. And so I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything with that. And it is not something that we can use for startup funds. And they themselves are actually admittedly having a hard time selling that bill and being able to use it with businesses. So yeah, I'm looking at different things. I've also applied for an SBA loan, to be honest. And that's no one else's worry, but I would like to not go in debt. For my vision, I would love to be able to help work with grants and communities and anything that I can do. So I'm absolutely open, and if it works out, it works out, honestly. So this is my first step, and I appreciate the consideration. Anything else, though?

Yeah. So have you talked with the school district to potentially use, instead of the funds that they put into it, see if they would be willing to partner with you in providing those funds from their employees that they're spending on that? These are just different ideas. That's an idea. I don't know, the biggest thing is find out who wants to, where they work, if they work here in town, is there a business that would like to support them in doing this? Because in that bill, in those legislative bills, you can use that money to partner with businesses to get them so they get the credits. There's a lot of different ways to work it. And I'm just looking at, okay, there's ways. This is a good start. However, we need to go further. We need to continue the efforts of doing and going further. There's other grants out there, I know worldwide, nationwide, that we can probably get some grants to fund something such as this. It's just a matter of We're going to have to look for it.

I'm open to those.

Or you are going to have to work for it.

Yeah, so I'm willing to look at anything. I know that the school is using their daycare for not just their staff, but it's for their CTE program. So they're having the students do that. so that's kind of on their own i have been in communication with them and they're kind of they're doing their thing and they're totally good with it but anyway i'm totally open to talking to more people and seeing i know that the house bill is not going to be able to be used to get the initial funding yeah and and things to fill it yeah and that's well that's what we would have to do too is

If there's employees within our county that need the child care, then maybe we need to look at that as a benefit item from the county to assist. That's just a thought. That's not a concrete or anything. That's just a thought that could possibly happen within the county benefit program. Absolutely. And that way people could bring there because I've heard of some of the people within our county that work here that say they would love to have it here instead of going to Ogden to drop them off.

Right.

So these are just different kinds of things that I think we need to be looking at. As far as I go, $285,000, I can't afford it. And I don't want my taxes to go up just because of that.

Right.

Oh, absolutely. I'd rather have kids in my house and take care of them before I go and spend that kind of money.

That's understandable.

Anyway, I'm done. Okay.

Jenny, thanks for your presentation, and thanks for taking such great care of our children. They are heritage from the Lord, and we as commissioners, we are supposed to take care of the health, safety, and well-being of our community, and we do that with the homeless, with those that need food, we donate. And our children, we should take care of them, too. I agree we can't fund $285,000, but maybe there's something we can do, like Summit County did, like fund your arts program. something like that. Do you have your itemized?

Yeah, so it should be on there. And I've broken it down with phase one costs and phase two. So phase one is what we would need to open up. Now, given time, I can absolutely get creative with that. I've been told I am a Facebook marketplace pirate. So I can cut down on some of those costs. But this is initially to set up the rooms and everything. That is what they would cost. So, I mean... If there were someone that had a fund somewhere that wanted to fund, say, safety and security, they can look on there and say, hey, I can do that and be able to have part in that. So these are some costs that we have, and that's why I've broken it down like that and in two phases. So like I said, I mean, this is initial. This is my first step to look for outside resources and partnerships in the community. So I'm going to keep going and see what I can do and any suggestions, I'm open.

So where is your building located?

It's the old Polaris building. Do you know where that is? Up on the, I tell them it's the highest building on the hill below the M.

That's right. Oh.

Wilkinson Construction.

Wilkinson Construction.

Okay. I'll have to go and look at it.

Another item for you to think about is the Office of Outdoor Recreation. Yes. If you haven't gone to them, they fund education classrooms. Yep. And they will give you some funds.

I have looked into that.

So file the grant. It's on right now. Yep.

I just want to say also, I've been to a lot of the meetings. I've been to the Boulder Way Forward. There's some amazing women in this community that actually really do need child care. It's a need for sure. So we appreciate you coming in and I would, you know, maybe we can fund safety and security, do something for you, and see how our employees in the county could utilize you as well. I don't know if the other commissioners are open to something like that.

I think this is a great, personally, I think, I've been trying to wrap my head around the a for-profit business asking for funding. I'm grateful that you came and presented because if I would have just gone off your presentation off the thing, I would have just said, eh. But no, I appreciate what you're trying to do. I think it's awesome. And I think we could support something with help. And it's our budget season. It's a great time to be talking to us, to tell you the truth. we can talk about it as a commission and look at maybe something that we could provide like Summit County has to help out. From what I gathered from you, you're open to any type of help. You are correct. You would have rather us give you 285, but any help is probably not going to happen. I understand. And so I appreciate that. Absolutely. And it sounds like you're doing your homework and background and you know what you're doing. And we do need great places for our kids.

Thank you.

So how would this look moving forward when she gets to a stage when she needs a safety and security or something like that? Would she come back and ask?

So I think we ought to just put it on our agenda to talk about during our budget session next week. And we can talk about it. We can discuss it. we can get back with you and have you come back.

Absolutely. Yep. And if you have questions in the meantime, you'll be able to find me, I'm sure.

Okay. I appreciate your time. I bet I can remember your name.

I bet you can. Just the right one.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Is this all your employees that came with you?

This is my husband, Sam, and then my director, Jill. my lead preschool teacher, Paige, my support guy, Joss, and my fabulous soon-to-be landlord, Miss Judy. That's it.

And she is fabulous. Thank you.

So do we need an action item or just... It's on the action list. Do we have to say anything on it?

That's just how it was requested.

I think we can just postpone it for budget time if you want to make a motion to do that.

I move that we postpone this to a later time.

I'll second it.

Okay, I have a motion by Commissioner Fackrell and a second by Commissioner Blocker. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Penny.

Penny Butler from clerk auditor's office. So I'm just here to follow up on the work session in July on homesteaders. I was asked to get the cost of living for Social Security and add to the amount that we have for the total amount to qualify for homesteaders. That amount is, it's 5.3% cost of living increase for 2024 and 2025. So that would come to $2,650. So that would increase the amount to $52,650 to qualify for homesteaders. So if you would like to do that, we would need to amend exhibits A and B in CR 2477.

It would just technically be exhibit A. It's not listed on exhibit B.

Good job. Thanks for doing what we asked you to. I think that's a great program.

However, may I ask a question?

Sure. Is it positive or negative?

It's a question, not a statement.

Yes, go ahead.

You came up with a figure of 5.3%. What average is that based upon? Since we started the program?

She said over two years, over the last two years, she just said.

Yes, so since we started, so from 2024 and 2025.

And we're down at three years?

Just the two. This will be the third year.

Well, this is 26, and so there's no SSA increase.

If anybody believes chat GTP, The average increase over the last three years was only 3.0%, 3.2%.

So it depends on what you're averaging. If you're just averaging food, if you're averaging fuel, what you're averaging. I went off of Social Security because that's what you requested. That's what I did. So if you go to Social Security, I think it's in the minutes. I think you put it in there. That's where I got my 5.3%. It wasn't an average. It was the two years added together.

The last two years are not very high. I went back further and ended up with a 4.4% for four years, a 3.2% for three years, and a two year I did not do because I thought we had done it for three years.

No, we started in 2024.

Okay, so if that's the case, then at that point it's even less. So why are we going at 5.3? That's my only question.

So she took the increase of Social Security from 23 to 24, and that percent, not the average, that's not why you asked. You didn't ask for the average. And then the increase from 24 to 25, added them together just for Social Security, and that was the 5.3%.

And that's what we asked her to do.

Right. I'm just saying it's a little high.

Well, it isn't. It's the Social Security increase.

I know, and I've been on Social Security for more than three years, and I know exactly how much.

So you're saying you didn't get 2.5 and 2.5? No. What did you get?

I got 2% one year.

Where did you come up with the number? I don't have a problem with the number.

I just got off Social Security's information.

Information website. Okay. I think I'm good with it.

So if, I mean.

We're talking about the elderly, Blaine. Yeah, I know. I'm one of them.

If you want to do a different amount, that's completely up to you guys.

No, I appreciate you researching it and figuring it out, and I'll make a motion. Okay. Okay, I move that we approve Resolution CR26-42, Homesteader's Credit, to increase amount based on Social Security's COLA 5.3% from $50,000 to $52,650.

We don't need the new resolution. We just need to amend.

You do need the resolution. the resolution amends, correct? Because you're abating, it's an abatement. Oh, sorry, did I say it right?

Yes, you did.

Correct, yes. Okay, I have a motion by Commissioner Blocker. Commissioner Newton, are you a second?

He dropped off at 5.30.

Oh, he had to leave?

Yeah.

Are you not a second?

I'll second it, but I won't vote for it.

Okay, that's fine. Okay, so we have a motion by Commissioner Blocker, a second by Commissioner Fackrell, who's gonna hold us hostage tonight. So, motion doesn't pass, we'll continue it.

Okay. I'll come back later. Okay. Thank you.

Why wouldn't it pass? Because there's only two of us. We needed corn. Oh, you needed three of us, sorry. Okay.

Unless you want to change your vote.

No. Okay, we'll wait until the next one. Janet.

So with the Comcast franchise agreement, we went back and forth. We have it pretty much hammered out. There is only one provision that we couldn't agree on, and I said, well, we'll just take it forward to the county commission. My recommendation, I'll make my recommendation, and I guess they can... make theirs, but the only provision I would change on this is 5.1 under franchise fees. They're asking that if another cable system comes into the area and gets a better deal on the franchise fees that they get to match it automatically. I don't like the provision because I have some utility companies that are operating within our county without a franchise agreement. And I don't believe we're getting that franchise fees from them. And so I do have a provision later under eight that if they come across like a different utility that's getting a better deal, the same type of utility company, then they can ask for a meet and confer and we can address it then. and make them consistent. But I also think when we're looking at different service providers, some have better reputations than others, some do a better job than others, and I think that's where we do a little bit less in what we're collecting or bonds or things like that.

So can you do that in a little bit easier terms for HICC to understand. Tell me a real life situation. How does that work?

So the 5% franchise fee is actually a federal Minimum, I think it's the minimum for cable service communication type utility. As a county, we get 5% of their gross or net. I think it's their net revenues from a year. So we'll be getting a little bit of money every year from them.

Okay.

What they're asking is that if another cable service company comes in and gets a franchise agreement and say we go oh you only have to pay 2% that they automatically get 2% I don't want to do that because we have some companies operating without a franchise agreement and are not paying their franchise fee percentage and it's they're my next people to work on but I don't want this provision to automatically be In effect, if they find out, oh, hey, these guys aren't paying their franchise fees, we should automatically not pay ours.

Gotcha.

Does that make more sense? Is the version before the commission today? I understand what you're saying.

But we're going to ask for five on all of them. Yes. To be fair.

Yes, 100%.

Gotcha.

So the only thing is under 5.1. Can you pull that up? Oh, Lordy. Oh, okay, 5.1. So I think we just take out, put a period after franchise area, and delete the rest.

Okay, and that's what we're approving, and you're gonna have to finish negotiating.

Is that what I'm understanding? Yep, that's what I will tell them, and I think they're gonna be okay signing it.

Okay.

All right. Okay. Can I just get a little bit of a, or not, I'm going to give just a little bit of an insight since this was something I've worked on. There's been many companies that have come to us and asked for basically to put in cable or communication systems in the county. And as I sent to you guys this day, and Janet and Kate have it also, is the other one, I'm going to go out and say Comcast is doing this with their own private money. They have not asked for any federal, state, or any other kind of money. Anyway, they've gone about and they have decided they want to take and do as much as they can in Morgan County to provide super fast internet for anybody. However, also there is the other that I've already told Comcast about that they are also, they've received a grant from the NTIA, and that's Liberty Broadband, and they will be also asking for that franchise agreement. He sent that over so that way we can start looking at that, and it looks very similar. And so I just want And since this is a non-exclusive franchise agreement, which is a good thing, that way we can have competition. And it's not like Utopia that is, I think, completely exclusive. I don't know. Do you know, Janet?

I don't know, other than that's where I get my fiber.

Yeah, okay. So basically, that's the different things. And then we've got All West that's in the county also. And they're in a couple of different locations. We've got AT&T and another one. And so those are some of the different companies I think we're going to have to go after if we're going to have a franchise fee. And so just for the public to understand, there will be many options for people to get internet. Whether or not you're building a new development or what you're going to be doing, it's an opportunity for us to be able to choose who we want for fast internet, which those of us that have been around since dial-up, you know, it's pretty nice even just to have Wi-Fi. And, I mean, I'm pleased with 300 and 400 megabytes per second right now. And I'm getting that through Starlink. So there's different ones that are available. And I just want the public to know. And Comcast has gone and told me, yes, we might have to go and sharpen our pencils to make it work. to be competitive. So we'll find out whether or not they're competitive or not. But they're going to put $29 million into this project or $20 million into this project throughout the county. It's going to be countywide, giving them options. They said that they will probably not go to some far off places. But then again, they don't have to. It's their private money. and where the NTIA has told the other company that they are going to have to go to those places and make sure that everybody gets it. So just for the information, that's all it was for.

Okay, thank you. Did you have anything you wanted to say? I forgot your name already. Kyle. How old I am. Kyle? Thank you.

And you know, Kyle just got married. Yeah.

Wow. And he came home today.

Today's my first day back in the office afterwards. Lucky to spend it with you all. I guess I'll just start by thanking Janet for all the help on this. We've went back and forth on that competitive equity piece, and I think that our team is going to be fine just signing that. I just did want to clarify that that 5% is the maximum fee that you can ask for, and we are willing to sign that as we have across the entire industry. that we serve today. Just want to clarify a couple of things. So it is going to be about a $14 million private investment. So that's going to take no funds from the federal government or the state government. This is Comcast looking at this, the growth in the area and looking at the area now and making a long-term investment that we want to build out this area and be a partner to the county for many decades to come. As a part of this overall project, we are going to be building out Morgan City as well. We've already passed our franchise and pull attachment agreement with the city and working really closely with their public works department to start submitting permits to start building out. So this is all encompassing of both the city and the county, which we're really excited about. Like we mentioned, or I don't know if it was mentioned, but this is the project is gonna reach approximately 4,700 homes and businesses. So we're saying now over 99% of homes and businesses in the county Like was mentioned earlier, there's going to be a few one-offs that don't make sense costing, but very, very confidently, you could say over 99% of the houses and businesses are going to be reached with this private investment project. And as you all saw in the franchise agreement, it gives a lot of rights to the county as well as to Comcast in this partnership that we're going to have together. And our construction team is really excited to work with Ural's public works team, public utilities, to make sure that as we come through and build out the county, we're doing it as seamlessly as possible. And when and if things do go wrong, that we take accountability immediately and we work together to write any restoration or things that we may need as we build out this massive project. And I think the only other thing that I'd add is for timing-wise, we're hoping that this entire project will be done in 2028. We're kind of phasing it out right now. I've heard five phases. I've heard seven phases. So our construction team, we wanted to get through the franchise agreement first. But we're willing to sit down with whoever on the county staff to really map out exactly how we're going to go about this. Great.

And I'm sorry, Kyle. Dealing with the head cold. No, you're good. You're perfect. Thanks. He's been great to work with. They have really been, yeah, great responding back and forth. And we got this done pretty quick.

So I just only had one question as I read through it. I don't know how much you're going to turn to our roads and things like that. Is $50,000 bond sufficient? Is that what you normally do? Is that standard?

That's pretty sufficient across the board of the ones that we've already done.

And Kyle assured me that they will come in and leave our county better than they found it. Correct. As compared to maybe a different company. that I've been working with.

They've been extremely easy to work with compared to other companies that I've tried to.

You know, and we have a grade A construction team. And I know that everybody that's going to come in for a franchise agreement is going to say that, right? But I've got to see firsthand them work with folks. And everybody on our leadership team here in the construction team has been in the industry for 20 plus years. And we actually have an individual, his name's Greg Miller, that's going to be the manager for this, you know, the entire project encompassing both the county and the city. And he's really excited to

to get to know the county just to figure out how he and and our partners can be the best partner to to you all in your residence well i'm sure they're going to use more boring than anything so yeah okay all right thank you thank you mr chair i move that we approve this agreement for

at the non-exclusive franchise agreement for Morgan County and Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC.

With the changes?

Yeah, with the changes.

I'll second it.

We have a motion by Commissioner Fackrell and a second by Commissioner Blocker. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Okay, motion passes. You're up again, Janet.

Okay, so for the Enbridge easement agreement, Garrett hammered that one pretty much out. We've made a few more changes. They went back and forth. They're okay with them. I think everything in it is good to go.

I think we only have one change we were waiting on, right?

Yep, when they decided they were okay with it. So we're good on that. The only thing is we do have in the agreement I caught today where we warrant title. And so prior to signing, I would request that maybe Sean or someone in the recorder's office run a quick title search to make sure that our warranty provision, we're not saying something we can't back up.

Okay.

But I think we've got time because I think they need to pay us before we're going to sign, too, as well. So, yeah, it's good to go.

Good.

So I have a question.

Sure. Janet, so I sent an email out to you today as a question to all of us. Did you read it?

I did.

She was sick today.

Yeah, I was on here.

It's basically says, okay, we've got two different easement grants here, one for Enbridge and one for Mountain West, whatever.

And I responded.

Okay.

It's the same parcel number. It's different legal descriptions on that same parcel number.

So it's not the same, it's not two entities partnering?

No. No.

but yet one's one and one's the other on the same piece of property? How's that?

It's different legal descriptions. It's the same big parcel.

It's the same piece of property right there, but one's right by each other.

They're buying this chunk. They're not buying. They're getting an exclusive, isn't it? They're getting an exclusive.

Then I had one other question for you, Janet. Okay. That's in here. And where it says on the first part, the one that's showing right here, it says make connections to, remove, replace, and abandon in place, whether above or below ground. That one later on, let me get to it.

We have a more specific provision, I believe, later on.

Yeah, where it says that they only have five years. And so here it's telling us that they can abandon it at any point. because it's in perpetuity within this area, but yet later on it says only five years. So what is that?

The more specific provision is the one that's going to apply. This is the introduction and the general layout of what the easement entails. Okay, because I just don't want that to be a problem later on. There's also a page number off that we'll have to fix, but that's only other things I caught.

Okay, then I'm fine with it.

You ready for a motion?

Go ahead.

OK. I move that we approve the final revision of an exclusive right-of-way and easement grant between Morgan County and Questar Gas Company, DBA Enbridge Gas, Utah.

Second.

I have a motion by Commissioner Blocker and a second by Commissioner Fackrell. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion's unanimous. Janet.

Okay, on this one we have made changes and communicated with their representative regarding it. We wanted both easements to track the same language and this one didn't. For some reason in the back and forth it got missed. So basically there's just minor revisions like I added in the easement property definition in this one just like the Enbridge. There's a provision about compliance with laws, regulations, or ordinances. We changed that to an and. Then when it comes to assignment of rights, we added in that they can't assign without written permission from the county. So that'll track the same as the Enbridge one. They are way okay with that. Then the only other thing was it was exhibit B, they had the wrong name of the company. It was Mountain West Overthrust Pipeline. They updated that exhibit and so I have all those updated documents. I forwarded them to Kate like right before the meeting. But those are the only changes and everybody's in agreement with it.

Okay, so we'll need to make the motion with changes.

Okay, I move that we approve the final revision of an exclusive right-of-way and easement grant between Morgan County and Mountain West Pipeline.

Second.

Do you have a motion by Commissioner Blocker and a second by Commissioner Fackrell? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Thank you, Jana. Yes. May I ask for a recess real quick for all of us? We need one. Okay. We'll take a five-minute recess. Okay, we're going to go backwards on our agenda here just for a minute to action item number two. And I'll turn the time over to Commissioner Blocker to make a motion.

Okay, I move that. Yes, thank you.

Okay.

I move that we approve Resolution CR26-42 Homesteaders Credit to increase amount based on Social Security's COLA 5.3% from $50,000 to $52,650. Second.

I have a motion by Commissioner Blocker and a second by Commissioner Fackrell. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Okay, motion passes. Okay. Is it you, Josh, or are we just going straight to Ray? Okay.

I really didn't plan a presentation or have any slides or bullets or anything. I think you guys have seen it several times now, and I thought we'd just... open it up for questions or go to the public comments or whatever you need to do. I have some questions. Go ahead, Blaine.

Okay, I have a question on page, I thought I'd written it on the page. Anyway, somebody just needs to explain it to me. 4.2 and 4.3. Okay, there we go. And then above that, it says 40% for open space, and here it says 47%, and here, on 4.3, it says 87%. So can somebody just explain?

So there's three kind of areas in the, there's phase six, which consists of Max Wilkinson's property and the Pliers property, kind of lump those together. That was close to follow up with what was on the original development agreement. then there was ted's property which is mgi phase nine um and then there's mcc which is the the new property being added so each landowner uh we separated our individual commitments as part of joining the da So Eric promised 40% plus a one and a half acre park with all the amenities. Ted also promised a one and a half acre park with all the amenities. He was original. In the earlier development agreement, he had a park. Eric's park is new. And then MCC is primarily new. guaranteeing the trails and the open space in perpetuity.

So then where does the 87% open space, is that because of the 50 acres that are in agricultural protection still or what?

The 87% for as far as MCC is like 170 acres of the 193 that we're bringing into the development agreement.

So you're seriously going to have 87% open space in that one phase of MCC, phase 9 of MCC property?

That's true.

And in the MGI, you're having 47%, and at least 50 acres of that is required to be open space as an agricultural open space.

Correct.

And overall, you're providing...

60 percent 57 if you take the 434 acres that is part of development agreement number three we're promising 67 on average across the whole site wow okay and then the there was a part in there that talks about the

I know you were asking like 260 some odd, and yet in this one, it's now in 6.0, it's 222 total developments. Is that correct?

Correct. Last November, it was 253. We did an addition of 240 that still didn't meet muster. And so we're down to 222 without any town homes and without any lots that are smaller than 10,000 square feet.

Okay, and then on the, there's a portion in there that if the MOA does not accept this new HOA that you guys can then go and have your own HOA, is that correct? So when does that have to be done by, is it before the first one is platted? Is that what it was? Or how does that work?

They will have to have an HOA or join the MOA prior to platting. Okay, so before the first one can plat. Can be recorded.

So Phase 6 revised, they call it, and Phase 9 MGI, they were always within the Master Homeowners Association's legal description. So they will naturally, they're just automatically, unless somebody says, no, we don't want you, they're automatically in the Master Homeowners Association, no ifs, ands, or buts. uh... mcc the phase phase nine mcc we're new we're not in their dick declaration area so their master homeowners association house taps to vote by a seventy five percent margin to allow us to join that's something that the as soon as they do that we're going to join to we just want the same we just want to be listed like a declarant like everyone else it should be really easy they just have to do a resolution or a motion, but it's outside of our control, it's outside of the county's control, it's in their court.

Okay. Is it possible to talk to our president of the MOA? Or not president, but the representative of the MOA and Zach?

They would be able to talk in public comment, but they're not the applicant.

I didn't think we had public comment. We do. Oh, we do. Okay, never mind then. Okay, I'm fine. That's all I have.

Okay, my favorite people, I get to see you like every two weeks. It's awesome. No, thanks for coming back. Okay, I've gone over it again. And in item number three, joined during the master HOA 3.1, there's a phrase in there that I'm not in love with. And it's commercially responsible, or reasonable, not responsible. Commercially reasonable and good faith efforts to cause phase nine MMC property to become annexed. So commercially reasonable, what does that mean to you?

I think we'll probably have our lawyer draft them a letter and say, hey, we would like to join under the same conditions. This is our understanding. Do you accept us?

Okay, because to me that says you'll take the steps if it's a good business move. If it's not, then, oh.

not commercially reasonable so i don't know if we can drop that phase that phrase i'm fine with dropping it i guess the way i read it is that if i'm a developer wanting to join the moa i need to do it in the context of a developer joining the moa that's the commercial way like i'm not just a personally reasonable way.

Well, I'm reading it as a business. It's a business, right? Yeah, as a business. So if it doesn't make financial sense, I did my part.

No, I think it's their efforts. The commercially reasonable is defining efforts, not whether it's commercially reasonable for them and their business constructs. The commercially reasonable is defining efforts.

Either way would be fine striking it.

I was gonna say, what about just taking out commercial? And that way it's just reasonable and good faith efforts.

Are you okay with that?

Yeah.

Okay. All right. Okay, and then in 3.3 HOA functions, are you talking here which HOA, like the existing master HOA or possibly a new one? What's that referring to?

I believe that's either. I mean, if the alternate, it would apply to either. Those are the basic accounting requirements of an HOA period.

That's correct.

Sorry, I've gone through this like. Step by step. All right. And then throughout the amendment, it uses applicable HOA, alternative HOA. Is that the same thing?

Yeah, we probably could have tightened up that language and just had applicable HOA or MOA. OK. Yeah, they mean the same thing.

OK.

Going on to 4.1, revised phase six property. Let's see. So talking about the agricultural, and this will apply to phase nine MDI property as well. Such acres is deeded restricted substantially in accordance with the form of restrictive covenants attached as Exhibit G. And as I read through Exhibit G, it didn't discuss what happens to the agricultural land if it stops being farmed on, if nothing's happening in agriculture. What happens to the land?

I'm pretty positive we had that somewhere.

Yeah, I thought so, too.

It's in the room 42 and 43, I think.

I know it's in the original DA, that it needs to then go to the HOA, applicable HOA. But I'm pretty positive we had it. We didn't see it in Exhibit G. We had it somewhere else.

I saw it in the old Exhibit G that we had last week, but not this one. And the old one, it said after 24, well, the one we had two weeks ago. I don't know if that was yours or was that someone else's? Was that the HOAs?

Yeah, they asked that if it wasn't farmed for two years that we deed it to them. And we said that that was a no-go and we wouldn't do that. I mean... I don't know. If someone stops, someone gets hurt or something and can't farm their land for two years, do you have to give it to somebody?

No, you shouldn't.

But are you getting the tax savings?

Ours is under Greenbelt for being in pasture land. I mean, that's what it's going to stay as, is pasture land.

Yeah.

Or, you know, grazing.

And if it's not used for one year, you can actually be taxed on it. So you have to make sure.

I mean, I'm just being practical here.

I'm just giving you something you might want to be aware of.

I mean, if we drag one sheep out there and take a picture of it.

It's not going to work. Not on 50 acres. That's about 50.

Nice. John, if you find that, will you tell me?

It would be 250 animals you'd have to have in there.

Because I do recall it. Yeah, just let me know. And then I just was wondering, if you go down, it says the balance of the required open space shall be designated as common open space and conveyed to the master HOA or if applicable pursuant to the alternative HOA. Just curious why we need that if phase six already is automatically going to be joining the master HOA.

And it can be just applicable HOA.

And then the same thing down in 4.2, it says the same thing. So maybe also say applicable.

There's not a lot of wiggle room, and we don't want to try and get out of joining the master aid, specifically for those two parcels. So you're right, those are a little bit different than 4.3.

Yeah, it's just a fail safe too in case something happens and they're unable to join the MOA. I don't want to leave a phase without an HOA to take care of the open space or amenities. So I don't have any control over that MOA. The county has no control over it. And so there needs to be a backup to make sure that the stuff is going to be taken care of.

Okay, 4.2, at least 50 acres of required open space shall be designated as agricultural open space. At least, so he could do all of it as agriculture?

He's got more than 50 acres.

That's how it's written. I mean, it's more open space. That's what everyone wants, right? Perpetually preserved open space.

Well, this is agricultural. Well, it's still open space. Not native open space. Where the plier says up to nine acres. So we know they're not going to go over nine, but we don't know if Ted's going over 50.

He might go.

I mean... I know it's written in the document is what they're, I mean, Ted could come up here, but he's always said, I probably am going to go with less lots than 87. He wants to go fewer. So this is, I don't know.

Ted, would you be comfortable with that said up to 50 acres? No. Instead of at least?

Well, do you want less?

And so then you could have one acre. We want more. So that's why the least is there.

i'm reading it a different way it can be more than 50. but that's agriculture we want Native.

With the property that's there, my intent is to keep as much of it open as I can, but I don't want restriction on it. I'm allowed so many lots for homes, and if I choose to do those, that should be fine in keeping with what agreements have been made. And then the other space that's there, the open space, I should be able to use that for farming or grazing or whatever the case may be, as long as I don't. go different than what we're talking about. I don't wanna have any restrictions. How'd you like somebody to tell you how to plant your backyard?

Well, you're in a DA that has overlay and does have a restriction.

Yeah. And so there should, if I'm keeping within the other part of it, as far as with the number of lots or whatever. Well, yeah, I'm not talking about the lots.

I'm just talking about at least, not, you know, at least you want 50 acres to farm. But what if you want all of a sudden all of your acres to farm?

What's wrong with that?

Yeah, I don't know how else you'd want to read that.

I would breed it the same way the pliers have it, up to 50 acres, because the Cottonwoods DA requires, you have native open space and you have agricultural open space. They're two different things.

If I may, if you refer to the concept plan, There's specifics. The western portion of his property is listed as common open space. Then it's just the east side near where I think his kids' houses are going to be that they want to have the farming. So it's not like I'm limited. There's clearly lots of spaces in the concept plan that are clearly labeled as common space. I think that should be good enough, I hope.

I'm not comfortable with it. I know you're not going to do anything, but I know I trust you, but I don't know who's taking over it after you, right? I don't know down the road where they could say, oh, at least, but I can have more than that.

And that's why we have the 47% catch-all. It's still 7% better than the minimum. 40% is the minimum for the DA zone, and he's promising to be have more open space than the minimum.

Right. Open space. There's a difference between the agricultural and the native open space.

Tell me how it works. May I ask that question to you? Yeah.

Agricultural open space belongs to the landowner, and he can farm it and keep it open space and, you know, keep ag on it. Where native open space is for native animals and deers and its natural habitat, and it's deeded to the MOA for their open space.

I'm not sure on that one. Janet?

So the original development agreement had a provision in it that said, oh, it's under that ICI 2.6.4, which has so much wiggle room. It says that if the developer stops using the agricultural space for farming purposes, the developer may elect to deed the agricultural open space to the master HOA at no cost. And the master HOA shall be required to accept it. once conveyed, then it must remain either agricultural or native open space. However, we got to look at that May. The developer may elect to deed it. So even in the original one, if the property quits being used for agricultural purposes, it just sits there unless they choose to deed it over.

Which is what happened. In the past, in the Cottonwoods.

Well, it was sold in the past.

It was sold to another private person. It was sold.

Which they are allowed to do.

Do we have a provision in there that says they can't sell it or not? Because it's their property, huh?

It's their property.

Yeah.

And we're already having all the covenants on it that it has to remain as agricultural open space. I mean, it's going to be plotted.

Yeah, the covenants would survive the sale.

So are you wanting to farm more than 50 acres?

i don't know exactly how everything will plat out or what area is going to do right now i have the ability to do a certain amount of lots and then the agricultural part and so i'm just looking for some flexibility if i'm within the guidelines you have there i might have larger lots instead of 10 000 square foot because there's more property there and then it wouldn't be as much to farm, but the houses wouldn't be 10 feet apart.

So would you be comfortable changing to at least 50 acres to up to 50 acres?

Okay, I'm going to recommend against that because then they can only have one acre of open space.

What do you mean?

If you say up to, there's no minimum.

Up to 50 acres, that's the minimum, right?

Right now, the minimum is 50. What you're wanting it changed to would make it cap at 50, and then the minimum would be a whole lot of nothing.

Is that right, Josh?

I'd rather have 50 acres minimum. Yeah, the catch all is the 47%. So what happens?

Tell me what at least means.

If you're required to have at least a certain acreage, then you can't go below that. If you require up to, then that's a maximum.

That's what I was saying.

So you're saying maximum of 50, up to 50, maximum of 50, you can have anything less than that.

Mm-hmm. which could be zero acres.

That's not what you want. You want at least 50 acres or more. No.

Yeah, you do.

You want more open space, my understanding is.

Right, I want more open space but not more agricultural space. It's different in the DA.

But in a rural community.

Because one is deeded to the MOA and one is not.

But it's still open space.

They're two different open spaces in the DA.

So if you wanted to change it so at least 50 acres of the required open space shall be designated as acre cultural, what you're saying is you want a certain acreage that is native open space of that 50 acres?

No.

How many, do you know what the acreage is in phase nine MGI property?

Yeah, do you know what your total acreage is? Do you know what your total acreage is of your two parcels?

125, so 47% of 125. I guess I can't do math because my head hurts.

58.75.

58, so 50 acres would be agricultural and eight acres would be designated something else. I think further in the paragraph it says common open space. The balance is common open space. If you want of that 50 acres to be not agricultural, all of it, then I think you need to specifically state how much you want as native. And then again, that's taking away property if it has to be deeded or it has to be turned over to the HOA or MOA. and they're gonna have to maintain it. And if you don't have as many houses on it, you're not generating as many HOA fees to maintain that native open space. The nice thing about the agricultural open space, when it's privately held, is the private owner is doing all the maintenance on it.

And they're taking care of it, too.

We like how it's written now. Yeah, in the original development agreement, there was never any point differential between agricultural open space and common open space or native open space. Open space is open space, and we felt like we've met that. And when we started looking at this a year ago, we looked at the 2.6.4, and we studied that and said, yeah, we can do that. That's what we want. We want what the original developer had. That's about where we stand. I mean, it is a little bit different, but this is the periphery of the property. It's not like we're doing islands of agricultural. Those areas are part of the common open space. They're clearly going to get deeded straight over. So it's just where Ted draws that line, it's like, okay, this is where the backyard ends and the farm starts. We'd like to leave it up to Ted. You're guaranteed the open space in perpetuity, 47%.

So a question on that. Ted dies and he still keeps the property. His kids don't want to farm it anymore. Then what happens to that 50 acres?

If they choose not to farm it, 2.6.4 said we can gift it to the Master of Ritual and they shall accept it.

Okay, so that means that's free.

They want it anyway, right?

They may gift it.

I thought it was shall.

No, it's may.

It's may now.

But either way, the covenants, you know, provided everything's recorded at that point, they prevent you from doing any kind of development on it. We tried really hard to make this as restrictive as possible. I appreciate that.

What was the reasoning with 50 acres and not 49 or 47 or do you?

50 acres is what's drawn on the concept plan.

Okay. I was just curious because, you know, there's a lot of in my heart agriculture that, you know, we pass it on to generations and those generations don't want to keep it in agriculture. And I'm worried that at a later date, of course, as I was told two weeks ago, you know, Blaine, you're not going to live forever. And that's true. I won't live forever. So for me in agriculture, I want to keep it in as much agriculture as I can, or at least even open space. However, as we saw with ground that was not grazed or taken care of properly, that burned up. This year, the last two years, they basically took out agriculture. And because of it, there was no stopping the forest or the fire, which in a few years before that, when we had the first fire up in that same area, where the livestock had been grazing, the fire never went into that area. If we had done that, if they had done it, the owners of that had done that without environmental fanatics, if they had done that, we would not have had such a devastating fire. So to me, agriculture is a big thing. I think we need to use it for agriculture, and I'm hoping that as long as Ted's alive or as long as he owns the ground, that it will stay in agriculture. And if it doesn't, I'm hoping within his last wishes that he might turn it over to the MOA.

Okay, we better move on. If I may just add something. So we're arguing over the 50 acres or whatever. It's 125 total acres. There's a restriction he has to provide at least or a minimum of 47% open space. That's equivalent to almost 59 acres. He's asking for 50 of that to be agriculture. Almost nine of it would be the common required open space to get to that 47%. so he would and then this also there would be the other phase nine open space that's already there or whatever that wasn't kind of taken out so okay thank you

OK, now I'm jumping over to 6, residential density. So this says the agreement shall be 222 dwelling units. with 104 dwelling units in the revised phase six property, 118 dwelling units in the revised phase nine property. Me personally, I'm not comfortable with the 104 in the revised phase six property. with the three bonus densities that we gave for the park in that area i am comfortable at 94 for phase six and i don't know if you guys are gonna like that um and how you distribute that if that's 45 for the pliers 49 for the wilkinsons i'm not sure but that's where i'm comfortable with i don't know about the other commissioners

Do you want to explain that, Raylene? Yeah. How you come into those numbers?

So in the maximum overlay, it should be 91. But then we gave, well, in the regular, then we gave the three for the bonus density, which makes it 94. But what you're actually allotted is 35 for the Pliers and 56 for the Wilkinson before the...

So if you look at the total amenities brought by everyone in this DA Amendment 3, and you put it into the points charge for the bonus density, it came out to $877. That's exactly what it was before the language says, well, at least the people that vote yes for it are believing that the amenities that we're bringing in are equal to the amenities that were taken out. So I mean, I guess that's our proposal.

I think what she's saying is that you're taking all the bonus density, correct? basically it's equally spread but everybody else it looks like on their numbers from what i've seen there is is stuck to the overlay amounts except for that area that's how i'm seeing it no i mean uh phase five they didn't do what was in the overlay report they did a whole much more

condominiums than it was originally.

I'm talking about future. I'm not talking about past. I'm talking about future.

Yeah, no, we really.

It looks like everybody else, you're saying, hey, you're stuck with the overlay amounts, but we get the extra density.

Because we brought additional amenities. that's the whole reason then a phase eight they we said they we counted 57 lots we carried that forward in the future count make sure that we're under the 868 we're we're well with underneath the 868 if they want to do something different if they want to propose a park or additional amenities they could do so and they'd still be under the 877 but Our amenities are our amenities. They apply to our properties, and that's why we're here together. It's kind of a joint thing.

I know you just said in the last meeting, well, if this doesn't work, then we're out. We'll just go back to the original, which I thought was like craziness, but... Because that doesn't even give you half of what you're asking for.

Well, actually, Relene said that there was 91. It's kind of weird because Phase 6 and Phase 7 don't follow the parcel lines. Phase 6 actually includes part of Phase 7. So 91 from 104, what's that, 15? But we're given a park and a pickleball, more trails.

It's just a hard situation because I know because I've been in the meetings that they don't feel like it's a fair trade for what they were getting to what they are getting now. I'm just trying to... be open and honest and fair about everything.

We've tried. We added the view corridors, you know, for Zach and for many other people that they just don't want to feel like wall-to-wall houses. We've accommodated in lots and lots of places, and we feel like 104 is completely justified for 114 acres. I mean, it's a big parcel. I mean... Okay. Actually... Our fallback plan would be to install an equestrian center. The equestrian center, if you look back in the DA, it counts as open space. So you're gaining more actual open space with what we're proposing than if you were to hold the line at 91 or whatever it is. Fine, we'll build an equestrian center and we'll stick with it. 91. You're losing a park. You're losing the trails. Look at the trails in old phase six. It was a bunch of horse trails. Do you want to walk next to horse poop? I mean, what we're proposing is better. It's clearly better.

OK. Do you have any other things before we go into public hearing?

I know you kind of addressed this, but it's still a little fuzzy for me. Is there any bonus density left if you got all 222 for other developers that may come in?

We tried to keep that bonus density from the amenities that we've added. We've tried to keep it locked onto our land. For instance, if Ted does only 80 lots out of 87, we can't transfer any of those lots to anywhere else. So the density goes down. I mean, it's a win-win. They take out the provision to move density around, because that's always been the confusion before, and that's been removed now.

So I tried to do some calculations, and I don't know if mine are accurate. They're based off of some of the calculations you provided earlier that other phases had as well. And so when I went back and was redrafting or changing parts of this, I wanted to make it super clear that 222 is just for them. Right. And it comes off the actual agreed upon maximum density was the 868. That's what the county originally agreed, even though they talk about more, less, but it was 868 with the golf course, right? Yes. So without it, then it goes down. Now, so if we take it, the 868, I think if they plotted everything they wanted to plot and with everything that has been plotted already or is in the works, I think it's around 78 left for the other,

That sounds about right. There's a good table in the overlay report supplement, and it shows that if phase eight does the 55, which is on the concept plan, and Brant does eight, which is kind of a stretch, but there's like between six and eight on his property, then it should It should finish at 856, which is below 857.

But does it leave them any bonus density? Like if they were to get a huge park or something and the county wanted to give them extra lots, is there no wiggle room there to give them bonus density?

They're still under the original development agreement.

But will we reach the max amount?

So they'd have to come back in and amend the development agreement to get bonus density. I mean, they're just like the Nettleton's.

To make it higher? Yeah. See, that's my problem. We don't want it higher.

We have no control over what they may or may not do in the future.

Well, if we don't give all the bonus density away, we do.

So the way I redrafted this is that there's no transferring density between them or anybody else. So it's delineated in that six is that each of the current owners get that amount just for them. They can't transfer back and forth between each other. So that's how it's drafted.

Which is what we wanted.

Yeah.

Any more pink items?