MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
THE TOWN OF MANTUA TOWN COUNCIL
HELD SEPTEMBER 17, 2015
Mantua Town Hall at 6:30 pm
Attending: Mayor Mike Johnson, Council members Jan Palmer, Phil Facer, Steve Howard, Margo Miles
and Recorder Lori Hurd
Others Attending: Gini Newman, Jon Sorensen, Hillary Udy, Scott Ross, Kim Birch, Dave Derricott, Janis
and Harper Johnson
Invocation: Steve Howard
Pledge of Allegiance
Approval of the Town Council Minutes for August 27, 2015
Steve: Insert number of homes for water connections left as of now is 106 homes
Margo: Correct CPU to CUP
Minutes: Jan motioned to pass minutes with corrections. Steve seconded. All in favor.
Building Permit:
Sierra Homes 300 S. 80 E. Jon Sorensen for Jeff Chamberlain
Jan motioned to grant the building permit and water connection. Phil seconded. All in favor
Kim Birch – Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan
Section 5 pages 99-103 of the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan cd is the specifics for Mantua. The original
pre-disaster mitigation plan was adopted 2008. No major changes. Flooding, earthquakes, fire and
landslides were mostly touched on. Page 103 talks about mitigation strategies for the community. Do
we need pictures of our flooding weak points? Kim will confirm. What are our major obligations? BRAG
is asking the Town Council to read through it and adopt it so in the event of a disaster the Town would
qualify for funding. If we don’t adopt the plan we will not qualify to apply for funding. Kim
recommended to adopt the plan.
Jan motioned to accept the Mitigation Plan for 2015. Phil seconded. All in favor. Adopted Resolution
No. 2015-9-17
Kim also presented a CERT plan. Do we want to adopt the CERT plan? We need to do more training and
get more funding. Second page of plan states objectives. The Town needs to agree to the certification
policy. Need to include an inventory of items the town has for insurance purposes. Mike asked Kim to
prioritize the inventory list so the Town can start planning on items needed. Would it be practical to
involve the members of the fire department in the CERT training? Other communities have issues with
which direction to go if a fire fighter is also CERT certified. Dave would consider having some of the
1
members on the fire department be CERT trained. Next Friday Kim is meeting with the people involved
in the CERT program in Cache Valley to start up a new class.
Building Permits applied and paid for:
Lori stated all impact fees had been paid and transferred to the water fund. Little Valley Store has
applied for a permit for the cabins but have not come back yet with their paper work.
Steve wanted to know how much money was paid for impact fees. Lori told Steve as of July 1, 2013
through now there was a total of $261,720 collected. Steve and Lori discussed transferring that money
into the PTIF account so that it is set aside. Steve does not want to mix the water and impact fees in the
same bank account. Lori stated the PTIF interest is a bit less than the checking account. Maybe we can
open a separate bank account at Bank of Utah.
Lori also presented a report of the Town’s bank/cd balances as of September 17, 2015. She also
presented a Profit and Loss statement for the General fund. Lori will run a report for the sewer impact
fees.
Sewer: Steve asked what we can use the sewer money for. Harper said they can be used for the
upsizing of the lines. Can’t use it for repairs or cleaning.
Lori also presented a 2014-2015 Court Budget vs Actual report for the court and other court information
was provided by Janis. This information is required in order to re-certify the court. The Judge will be
reviewing this information with the council at another meeting.
Lori also reviewed the professional fees that have been spent in the General fund.
Jan thanked Lori for the work that has been done to provide the council with good financial reports.
Maintenance:
There was another leak on Main Street and Meadow Road.
Brigham City culverts – Town had to lower the transition line from the pump house going up to the tank.
It is not finished but the line was lowered and Harper was able to get the water back to the reservoir.
Harper has a couple concerns about the Land Use Code. He is concerned about building on half roads
as well as maybe something happening on an improved that we have that would cause the citizens to
pay for an improved road to a given point. Main concern is the homes that may go in on Indian Trail.
Harper wants a moratorium for any new home construction short of those two lots on Indian Trail Road
unless it is in an improved subdivision until we can get the Land Use Code straightened out. It is not fair
to the taxpayers of this community to have to fix a road that is not up to standard because maybe
someone wanted to subdivide a piece of property or build homes down a road that would further
impact the other residents. Developer is required to bring the road up to standard in front of its
property. Bruce’s understanding is the whole road needs to come to standard. Still have to pave road
at one point. Traffic will increase for a subdivision. Harper is requesting if someone wants to put in a
subdivision, it should be their responsibility to not only bring that road up to standard but the closest
connecting road to it as well. Jan said it is unfair because everyone on the south side of Indian Trail
Road had to give up 24.75 feet of property. No one on the north side had to give up any property. Can’t
2
build on ½ road. Right now the land is agriculture. Harper’s goal is if building takes place, we need to
protect the current residents. Bruce Jorgensen is looking at it.
Mike asked Harper about whether he spoke with Bruce Jorgensen about the billings from other
attorneys.
We have had several different attorneys representing several different people. Citizens are calling our
attorney asking about particular situations that are going on with their clients and then the Town gets
billed from Bruce. We need to draft a letter to Bruce asking to bill those people who call up on behalf
of other clients. Harper said it is uniform that if anyone calls our attorney regarding something in our
Town, we will get billed. We need to let Bruce know if any communications are not authorized by the
Town of Mantua we will not be responsible.
Indian Trail Road - What trumps what: Having a 66 foot right-of-way or 30 foot setbacks? Might have to
find a happy median. Homes went in before the setback requirements. We need to set how much road
is required. As soon as a piece of land is separated, it is a subdivision.
Impact fees collected for roads can be used to improve the roads. Steve thinks Main Street needs to be
improved. Harper thinks the road impact fees need to go on Willard Peak Road first. There is a lot of
damage on the road.
Harper went through Town and found six street lights out.
Wyatt Park and Town flag lights are on. Robert Watters worked on them. We need to give him a gift
certificate for his help. Leslie raised $75.
Court: Janis went to a seminar in St. George regarding Bureau of Criminal Identification. There are
some changes regarding recertifying to be a court clerk.
Planning and Zoning: Jan said they are still reviewing items for Frank Fulmer and Little Valley Store.
Dave Derricott and Corey met with Matt Flynn regarding the new bath facility. No sprinklers are
required. They do not need sprinklers for the grill. If the whole building is 80-90 percent store, no
sprinklers are required. Just a fire suppression over the grill and fryer. They will not be refilling propane
bottles. Ordinance says we cannot sell propane. Hood is sufficient enough for the grill. They need a
special fire extinguisher.
Cemetery: Steve Lauder presented a bid for $4,200 to cut down the trees.
Law Enforcement: Alternator went out on the police car. The cost was $800 for the alternator and
$250 for the battery.
Water: Steve wants to secure the location for the tank. Chris said it will cost a few thousand dollars to
do the exploratory on the property. Dennis Spyers said he is willing to sell the land but at what cost?
Have him come to the next Council meeting. Chris does not have the geological outlay of the property.
Will there be bedrock? Can we put the tank on top of the hill? Can’t be above a certain line. Steve
would rather pay cash for the property. No trades. Harper will talk to Steve Jeppsen and find out for
sure if he is not interested in selling his property. If so, Harper will get a hold of Dennis.
3
Approval of bills:
Chris Hansen – Culvert billing. Steve thinks Brigham City should pay for the billing.
Olsen & Hoggan – attorneys fees. Mike feels we need to pay the bill because we did not have a previous
agreement to not charge and move forward with a new understanding. Margo, Phil and Steve wants the
attorney to pass on the cost. We will call Bruce and talk to him.
Steve motioned to pay the bills except for Olsen & Hoggan and Chris Hansen. Jan seconded. All in favor.
Council comments:
Steve: Appreciates the town employees.
Phil: Received a letter from a resident regarding the nuisance ordinance and wants to know where the
ordinance says we can help out a family member in their time of need. They have gone to lengths to
clean up their yard and put up a fence. Mike asked Phil to discuss it further in a executive meeting.
Margo: Concerns about Brigham City’s culvert project. The culvert is causing flooding. They are going
to have to pump the water with the spring runoff. It is dangerous. There is standing water and
mosquitos. Harper is going to ask them to address the flooding. The Town needs to put something in
writing with all the facts with solutions and present it to Brigham City. Pumping for two years is not
going to work. Because they lowered the culverts, the water run is slower. Road crew out front is
missing diesel out of their equipment. Farm equipment is also missing diesel.
Phil motioned to adjourn. Steve second. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:50.
Council adjourned to an executive meeting.
4