City Council - Regular Meeting

I don't know. Um,

I'm just

How are you?

It's just what it is. They're just trying to Funny, I guess. I don't know. I'll have you know, ever since you said that, they all started.

Not much. I'm not a real iPad, but Britney does. Brittney does. ask can't start until obviously you're starting late because Janelle finally it's like we can't start without you. [laughter]

It happens to all of us more than one time. start. Okay, we're ready to start if everybody wants to be seated.

Okay, we'd like to welcome everybody who come to our council meeting tonight. We'd like to recognize council member Saxton, council member Jackson, and council member Hullbert. And council member Jackson is gonna give us a moment of silence in the pledge of allegiance. Would everyone uh please join us in a moment of silence.

Thank you. And uh everyone rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay. Thank you, Council Member Jackson. Um, we would like we have some consent items. It's our financial October, November statements and December 26 the um December 2nd 2026 the meetings and so uh we need a motion to everybody okay with those minutes and any questions on those and so we have a motion to I received a few adjustments

oh okay Britney received a few adjustments so so according to Britney these adjustments. Anybody have a motion? I I propose we adopt the consent items with the adjustments that have been made. Thank you, Brian. We have a second. I second. Okay, those are approved. All in favor say I. I. I. See, I'm learning. Okay, now we have a presentation. We have employee of the month for officer Barry. So I don't know who's so Chief Gwyn is going to do that presentation it looks like.

Thank you mayor. You're about to find out. Um I'm going to invite officer Barry and Sergeant Taylor up. So, since we have new members on the council and as a reminder to others, whenever we have uh supervisors who nominate officers for employee of the month, specifically on the city side, we actually ask that that officer or the supervisor to come in and talk about the nomination. So, I'm going to briefly speak about Officer Barry and then I'm going to let Sergeant Taylor take over. So, um Officer Barry is one of our newest officers. Uh he was hired in March of 25. and uh he graduated the academy in August. Um he graduated or completed FTO just in November and he's already in here for an employee of the month uh nomination. So um that's going to speak to the caliber of officer Barry. Uh he's uh a lot bigger than me, but he's also a lot quieter than me. And so we really appreciate him. I can tell you we have a lot of young folks coming in this department. They want to be here. They want to learn. um and and and they're aggressive which we like. And so I'm going to turn the time over to Sergeant Taylor.

Thank you everyone. I am going to not read through this entire thing but just kind of hit some of the the things that really stand out. So as you heard from Chief Gwyn, um he's not been an officer with us for very long. Um he's only been by himself for about two months. Um part of this was actually written because during his field training he excelled so well. Um he within the first few weeks I got a call from the trainer that was training him who was confused on what to do because he was he's very smart. Officer Barry is very smart. Um and was picking things up so quickly that it was abnormal. It was out of the usual for training and so they were kind of unsure if they should just jump ahead or try and keep it back there. But um some of the things that really stood out um just [clears throat] during his last couple weeks of field training, he got information of a drug dealer operating within the city of Roy. Um and he got permission to work with a confidential informant to investigate the case and eventually successfully arrest the the drug dealer here in Roy. Um and in my entire time here with the city, uh very rarely does an officer go out of their way. I don't want to say go out of the way, but are able to build a confidential informant and then use that information to make an arrest. So for officer Deary to do that while he's on his field training and he's taking that initiative and really stepping out and and doing that, he really just is phenomenal phenomenal at that. Um, and he really does just care about the city as a whole. And he has made this place his home as far as the city goes. And he loves getting out there every single day and looking for things to do. And he's constantly driving around during graveyards and trying to find people out and about doing nefarious things. So, um, he is a a huge asset to the city, um, to the police department, and we're very thankful to have him. So, that's why we nominated him for employee of the month.

Thank you. [clears throat] So, Officer Barry, do you have family members here you'd like to introduce? No, ma'am. No, you just came solo. Well, it sounds like you're an asset to Roy City and you must have been very impressive to get employee of the month after two months. So, thank you so much for your service, council members. Do you have anything to say? Just we're happy to have him. We really are. Thanks. Thank you. [applause] Thank you guys. Thank you very much. And so now we have the just serve award presentation by I think Pat. Are you gonna

Oh, okay. Okay. [laughter] Hello, Mayor. Hi, Melanie. How are you? Good. How are you?

Congratulations, Mayor City Council. Thanks for having us. Uh the Just Serve family have shown up tonight to uh present the Roy City as the newest just served uh city. We are honored to be citizens of Roy as well. Uh so thanks for having us. Um we are grateful for the hard work and dedication of the city, especially for Matt Andrews for putting everything together and the and the the work that went into becoming the just serve city. Um it it does take a little effort and we're grateful for that, but the rewards are very beneficial. Uh throughout the community, there's lots of work happening. Uh Just Serve is able to support that. Roy City is a wonderful place to live because of neighbors serving neighbors and [clears throat] we're able to work with with Travis and and Michelle as far as the uh day of service. Thank you, honey. Um, and a a lot of work gets done year after year after year and we're very grateful to be part of that. Um, as a just serve city, you now qualify to give the Just Serve Hero Award and the Just Serve Hero Award recognizes outstanding community volunteers and is given by the city. We would certainly love to help on that uh front as well. Uh, on behalf of the Just Serve family, we thank you for your time and dedication to the city. Uh, Pat, do you have anything to add?

I don't. We have we have a plaque that you can display. Um, and of course we're here to serve and if there's anything we can do, please let us know. Okay. Thank you very much. Questions or comments? Yeah. I I think it's a great program, you guys. I mean, Pat Mell, how many years have you been doing this? Long time. Yeah. And it it's great anytime you can get service for your community. I just think that it's a such a great reward for our city and to get the kids involved and and service is the best kind of trouble you can get into. Amen. Thank you so much. And and we do have to recognize Pat. She has done a wonderful job and has us under her thumb. So we we will not let her down.

Wing under her wing. We will not let her down. [laughter] Thank you, Mike. Thank you. [applause] And mayor, can we can we grab the city council and just have a quick picture? Sure. Okay.

Yeah. You want us to come down here? Good morning.

[clears throat] Plenty to pick from. movie star. [laughter]

Okay, we now want to go into our um public comment period. I just had a statement I wanted to read first. Um, it says, "We value public input and appreciate everyone taking the time to be here tonight. Public comment is an important part of our meetings, and we want to make sure everyone has fair opportunity to be heard. To help us manage the agenda and respect everyone's time, we ask that the comments be limited to three minutes per speaker. If you are unable to finish your comments this evening or if you prefer to submit them in writing, you are always welcome to email the city council at council royutah.gov and your comments will be shared with the full council. Please remember this is a council meeting, not a debate. So we ask that comments be directed to the council as a whole and that everyone remains respectful. We truly appreciate your participation and engage in the work of the city. And so we have up where you give your public comment period. If you want to go um into further questions of anything that has to do with anything that the city does um you can leave your either your phone number or your email address and then we will pick them up after and then give them to the appropriate people who run that department. So anybody want to come up and give a public comment period. You can talk about anything you want that's going on in Roy City. We just ask that you state your name.

Hi council. Hi Ann. Hi Dennis. You're doing a good job. Dennis Brown. [clears throat] I just thought on the way over here I would make a quick comment. Janal, you're new. Alexis, you're new. I think I met your brother as the mayor of Far West or brother-in-law. Anyway, I'll just I'll just uh keep going.

A lot of times I I get up and speak and make comment to the city and council because of um things relating to property tax. And I just want to talk to you just a moment about that. To me, property tax is a 52 day a week process. It doesn't happen just when it's time to set up a budget. So, I ask you as a council to um when someone asks you to do something, is there money in the budget? Is it worth increasing the the property tax for that? And uh keep those things in mind. And if you need to increase the budget, is it worth how much it's going to cost? I think it's important that you understand how much it costs. I'm going to just give you a quick example of something that happened about two months ago and I was neither for the item or against the item, but the previous council was asked to put a crosswalk on 2200 West 6000 South. That's one block from my house. And um I've been living there for 48 years on that street, one block from that intersection. Some of my neighbors requested to have a where you push the button to cross the street. And I wasn't either opposed to that or against that. Uh it's probably a good thing to h happen now because 6,000 South is more busy now than it was years ago. But 5600 has been widened now and so is when that's completed there'll be more traffic on that. I would have liked to heard some of the council members say, "Why do we need to have a crosswalk now when we haven't had to have one for since I've been there was 48 years? Why didn't the council member ask that question?" Or, "If 5600's been widened, we'll have less traffic on 50 on 6,000 now. Do you think it's necessary?" Those are some of the questions I would ask the qu the council to consider. And I think it's probably a

good thing. I mean, I use that crosswalk a lock and I I pushed the button two days ago and I I like the car stopping for me, especially I'm getting old. I can't I can't run across the street as fast I used to. But please keep in mind um your decisions in in relationship is it going to cost the city more money and it will increase the property tax and what is it justified doing that? Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Hi, Cindy Winnham. uh as last year was coming to an end, uh Mayor Dandoi responded to a need and and you were the one who said, "Let's leave it for the new council this year." So, I'm just going to bring up those points that were mentioned that were be going to be brought up this year. And the first one is nepotism. We need to have the council discuss and make firm guidelines to make sure that this city does not have crossing the line of people who work in different areas or working within the city benefiting from that particular issue from their job one place and then coming to the city and also benefiting because they have a position here at the city. And the other one is uh oh um which one was it? There was there were two of them. Oh yeah, the pay grade the chart you talked about we'll do it this next year to make sure that when you do the co-as or the pay raises it is adjusted so that the lower level gets the majority because the upper levels are already and I experienced this. I was married to an officer for 30 years. The people who work and you can testify the people who are at the top end up getting a majority of the pay raise because the percentage that goes on their pot is much larger than the percentage of the lower income because they're just starting out so to speak.

So I guess I'm bringing to your point first nepotism and second to let's get that pay raise evaluated and restructured so that you want to keep the family together then you do so by making sure the ones in the lower end of the pay raise get those good raises and not minimal compared to the people who already making a lot of money. Thank you.

[snorts]

I really hate doing this, but I'm going to. I should have sent an email. It would have been easier. Um, Chris Lewis, uh, 5126 South, 35, uh,50 West. Yes. 38 years. I can't remember. Okay. Hello. Um, thank you for the opportunity to speak during this meeting and congratulations to new members of the city council. Thank you to Brian for your [clears throat] continued service and for the desire each of you has to serve our community. Um, since we have some brand new council members who haven't served before and as some of them have stated um you all have a desire to listen to the public and vote accordingly. Um, I do hope that is what really happens in Roy. It was obvious from results of the last election, people in our city are looking for change. We saw a virtual unknown in politics lose his bid for mayor by a little more than 200 votes. That says something. We also saw an incumbent lose in a landslide. I think that speaks volumes as to the will of the people. With the vacancy on the council, you all will be appointing a new member and myself and many people in this room hope you will take the elections results seriously. I want to share an example. Um there was a planning commission meeting in December of last year up in North Ogden and we have some friends that live up there and he attended it. They have a 30 acre parcel right next to their development kind of over by Smiths where that is off in Washington Boulevard and it was going to be reszoned sold to a developer and reszoneed from our agricultural to residential. Um the problem was the developer wanted to put in a lot of highdensity housing. Well 100 people showed up at that planning commission meeting. I think I've seen 10 people show up for a planning commission meeting here. So, it was it was pretty substantial. Anyway, the end result was after three hours of listening to comments from everybody, they decided to table it and the planners, the city planners said, "We need to re-evaluate this and listen to what's going on." So, that's that's kind of I think what most everybody hopes for in city government

and municipal government. Um, you know, I think that's that's what you all have been elected to do. Um anyway, in conclusion, um Roy residents, we don't want more of the status quo. We want to move this city in a more positive direction. And I hope that all of you can can work together and and make that happen because I think it's important to not just listen to us standing here, but actually really consider it as a serious, you know, matter. Thank you. Thank you.

[clears throat]

Shellyley Pston, it's nice to see you. I'm glad I can still come to these. Um, just a couple things. And I know you're not supposed to talk because it's my time. Please explain after we're done why they changed from four minutes to three. who made the decision and why was that decision made? That's a change from last year. It decreases the time allowed for someone who has more information that they would like to share. So, I'd like to know why the reduction in time allowed for the public comment. The other thing too, as we've all been watching across our country, the theft of money that's been going on from taxpayers, I think it's really important for us to be able to have confidence in you that you remember every dime you spend belongs to me and these people and everyone else here. It's not your money to spend, it's our money. And so every penny needs to be spent properly. And if there are things that are extravagant and not needed, we don't want you spending that money on them. There there's no money tree. Property taxes are out of control as it is, and they should be less, not more. Well, I think they should be abolished, but that's my opinion. Um, I think you need to learn to do more with less. So, if it doesn't benefit everybody in Roy, we're not doing it. We're I I made a comment last week to a lady. She don't like my comment, but I said, "Why are the Christmas lights still on? Why am I

paying this light bill? Christmas is over. the holiday is done. Why are we still running up an electric bill? It's my money and I that was just my opinion. But I want to give you guys a good chance. I hope you do well. Hope you remember who you're working for. It's our agenda, not yours. And we the people are the ones that have you here. And so hopefully you'll do right by all the people in Roy. Thank you. Thank you. [clears throat]

Anybody else have any comments? [snorts] Hi, my name is Minuette Gren with New Hope Lutheran Church and I just wanted to take a moment to tell you all thank you. You've been so extremely kind and we are so so blessed by you all and the city. So, thank you so much.

Thank you. Anybody else have any more comments? Okay. Then we'll go out of our public comment period and then we have action item um consideration of resolution 26.1, a resolution designating individuals to act on behalf of Roy City in transactions concerning the public treasures investment fund. And Matt is going to talk about that.

Yes. Thank you, mayor. This is a very easy resolution. This is actually a requirement for the PTIF. That's the public treasures investment fund. Um, as you know, we do our general banking with Bank of uh, Utah. This is where we house the majority of the funds in Roy City is at the PTIF or public treasures investment funds. They require us to do a resolution to redesate the authorized signers for this. As you know, with Mayor Jackson on board, she'll be an authorized signer on that account now. So, that just authorizes that to be done.

Okay. Any comments? Oh, okay. Do we have a motion to approve? Yeah. A motion to approve the uh resolution 26-1. So, she doesn't need to read the whole thing, does she? Okay. And so, do I have a second? I'll second. Okay. Second. And so, that's a roll call vote. Britney. Council [clears throat] member Jackson. I. Council member Halbert. I. Council member Saxton. I. Okay, that's approved. And so now we have city manager report.

So just one thing for you. I did mention this last time and as you know, you heard this in public comment. We have the vacancy. Um please keep your schedules a little more open for February 3rd. That's when we're going to be doing the interviews. Those haven't obviously been set up because we don't know the cabinet pool. Um but we'll be setting those up once we get that information available and make that appointment that night. Okay. Thank you. And do you have any comments? Just a question to clarify. Um when you say keep your schedule open like starting from 5:30 and on, it just may be a longer night or like the whole day. Um more than likely it will be before the city council meeting. So in in advance council meeting be available. Okay. Thank you. Yep.

So we interview him that day and then at council meeting we vote for who we would like to fill that vacancy. And so um Janelle, do you have any comments you need to make? And No, I was a part of the last process so I remember it well. Yeah, I remember. And so I just want to thank everybody for coming. And it is like you Yes, I've got Okay, Brian.

Yeah, just kind of an announcement. Talk to Wells Fargo. They'll be moving into their new building come June. So, if you if you pass it and the lights aren't on yet, it's not been forgotten. Wells Fargo is coming and it'll be in June that they hope to be operating out of that new location. Anyway, I thought I'd share that with you.

That has been a long process. [laughter] So, I want to um just thank everybody for the opportunity for this new council and my new position. Um I know that we won't be perfect and we'll all learn together. I think with uh our new council member who he or she might be, we will have a great group of people and and I want full transparency and I want to be able for anybody to ever reach out to me or any of our council members that uh we are open to hear anything that you have to say. We do not know all and we are all learning and we want to do what's best for the citizens. I've lived in Roy pretty much my whole life. I I love Roy and I'm proud to serve in this position and and um and so I just want to thank you for this opportunity. So now do we have um anybody want to make a motion to adjurnn?

I'll motion to adjurnn. Second. I'll second. Okay. Now this council meeting is adjourned. I'll say I in favor say I. I. I. Thank you. haven't requested.