THE STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SEVIER
CITY OF RICHFIELD
At the City Council
In and For Said City
June 9, 2026
Minutes of the Richfield City Council special meeting held on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Richfield City office building located at 75 East Center, Richfield, Utah. Mayor Bryan L. Burrows presiding.
- CALL TO ORDER
- OPENING REMARKS – Kevin Arrington
- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE by invitation
- ROLL CALL –
- APPOINTMENTS
- OATH OF OFFICE –Richfield Youth City Council.
- MINUTES APPROVED
- CONFLICT OF INTEREST
- BUSINESS
a. Shelter Mitigation Funding
b. Rezone request Winkle
c. Rezone request Hunt
d. Water line contract update
e. Bike/walking path bid approval
f. Planning Commission Report
g. Public hearing tentative budget for 2026/27, including a proposed property tax increase of $500,000 - CLOSED SESSION & ADJOURN MEETING
a. Strategy sessions - CALL TO ORDER
- OPENING REMARKS – Kevin Arrington
- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE by invitation mayor
- ROLL CALL – Present: Brayden Gardner, Kevin Arrington, Kip Hansen, Andrew Chappell, Mayor Bryan Burrows (Not voting), Rob Jenson (not voting), Michele Jolley (not voting).
Excused: Kendrick Thomas.
Also, in attendance, Corey Winkel, Teresa Winkel, Steven Marshall, Isaac Steele, Cory Morrison, Staci Morrison, Mara Morrison, Russ Brightwell, Michael Snow, Kirby Gardner, Jacob Miramontes, Brooke Roundy, Tim Hunt, Amy Hunt, Kyler Nielsen, Kimberly Jensen, Anna Jensen, Courtney Larsen, Casey Bertelson, Brandon Harrison, Micklane Farmer, Michelle Olsen, Jason Reitz, Terry Christensen, Trent Lloyd, Keith Mogan, Adam Robinson and David Anderson. - APPOINTMENTS – Consider appointing Daryl Friant to the Planning Commission Motion: Appoint Daryl Friant to the Planning Commission, Action: Approve, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Brayden Gardner.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Andrew Chappell, Brayden Gardner, Kevin Arrington, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Kendrick Thomas. - OATH OF OFFICE – Swearing in of the Richfield Youth City Council for 2026/2027. City Administrator Michele Jolley administered the oath of office to the members of the youth city council.
- MINUTES APPROVED – Consider a motion to approve the minutes of the special and regular meeting held on May 26, 2026. Motion: Approve the minutes of the special and regular meeting held on May 26, 2026. Action: Approve, Moved by Brayden Gardner, Seconded by Kevin Arrington.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Andrew Chappell, Brayden Gardner, Kevin Arrington, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Kendrick Thomas. - CONFLICT OF INTEREST – None noted.
- BUSINESS
a. Sherrie Thompson to report on the Shelter Mitigation Funding the City receives for New Horizons. Thompson said New Horizons Crisis Center received $137,640.53 in homeless shelter mitigation funding. These funds have been used for emergency housing for sexual assault, homelessness, and domestic assault. The funds have been used to provide shelter assistance and hotel placement for 245 individuals – accounting for 5,059 shelter nights. Participants also received case management services to help participants address barriers to permanent housing, increase self-sufficiency, and connect individuals and families with community resources. Support groups also assisted clients to obtain and foster long-term housing stability. NHCC focuses on dignity of clients, offering choices, honoring confidentiality and access to resources. Program expenditures have been used in a way that is consistent to help address the cost of homelessness in the community. Services will continue through the remainder of the fiscal year. Collaboration between agencies remains strong. A grant for the upcoming year has been applied for. This collaboration will help continue the work and mission of NHCC.
b. Consider approving a request to rezone property located at 1170 North and 700 East from the current RR-1 to R1-10. Corey Winkel addressed the council, and asked public works director Keith Mogan about the water quality. Currently, the waterline along 1170 North has to be flushed three to four times a year with up to 20,000 gallons each time due to it being a dead-end line. This keeps the water from stagnating, and also helps the sewer function better as the current load isn’t enough to have it move solids efficiently.
Winkle presented an alternative to rezoning the entirety of the 1-2-92 parcel from RR-1 to R1-10. Winkel said some of the neighbors did not like that proposal, so Councilmember Thomas suggested just rezoning the two acres on the northwest portion of the parcel. This will allow for a road to be built, extending 1170 to the east, and then to the north to help service the new subdivision Winkel is working on to the north. This would create two lots measuring .91 of an acres, the other would be .88 of an acre according to what is measured currently. The two lots created by this would then be deed restricted to being no less than .86 of an acre. Winkel said he felt like this is a good compromise. These two lots would be the only part of the property to be changed to R1-10, instead of 8 acres, it would be 2.25 acres changed. This allows the waterline to be looped, and adds additional load to the sewer line so it can flow more effectively. Winkle said the neighbors he has talked with are in favor of this proposal.
Mayor Burrows asked if Winkle would still be subdividing the lots to the north in addition to the ones he spoke about tonight. Those are still be planned, but are part of a different parcel. Mayor Burrows also asked what the two lots should be called. Winkel stated they should be lots 9 and 10.
Councilmember Gardner said he is concerned that the City is kicking the can down the road concerning the acreage to the east of the proposed rezone. He said in the future those lots may be less than an acre, which could cause problems in the future.
Councilmember Arrington said he feels it is OK to address the other lots at a later point and just make a decision on what is in front of the council tonight.
Councilmember Hansen felt that Mr. Winkel had found a way to arbitrate this with his neighbors and come up with a reasonable compromise. He stated that we need to look at the item on its own merits and if it meets the current planning. So many factors change all the time, including real estate pricing, planning documents and even the law. It’s a great proposal, but it’s not the people’s business today to deal with the other portion of the parcel.
Winkel said he doesn’t want to saddle his children with something that will not be feasible in the future. Besides, someone may want a larger 1.86 lot at some point.
Councilmember Arrington expressed appreciation for all those who reached out and discussed the issue with him. He said the willingness to discuss the issue and reach across the aisle come up with a compromise. The nature of compromise is that no one is as happy as they want to be, but everyone gets some of what they want.
Mayor Burrows said property owners should be able to do what they want within the zoning regultions and that Winkel didn’t ask for anything out of the ordinary. Motion: Approve the proposed rezone with modifications for 2.5 acres with deed restrictions on lots 9 and 10 making them a minimum size of .86 acres, Action: Approve, Moved by Kevin Arrington, Seconded by Kip Hansen.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Andrew Chappell, Brayden Gardner, Kevin Arrington, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Kendrick Thomas.
c. Consider approving a request to rezone lot 3-9-11 located at approximately 730 N Crestview Drive from the current R1-10 zone to R1-6 zone.
Councilmember Gardner asked what the planning commission’s vote was on this rezone. It was a 5-1 vote against approval of the rezone request. Motion: Deny the request for the rezone, Action: Approve, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Brayden Gardner.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Andrew Chappell, Brayden Gardner, Kevin Arrington, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Kendrick Thomas.
d. Consider amending the City’s contract with Jones and DeMille on the culinary water line project, funded through Rural Development, to include replacement of lines on 500 East and a new line on Cove View Road for an increase to the contract of $58,200. Kyler Nielson explained what has been done to date and that the City has some additional funding from the project, so some line replacement was added on 500 East from 500 to 700 North replacing some four-inch cast iron line and a new 12-inch line on Cove View Road was also added. This will help some redundancy as well as improve fire flow and water quality. There were some environmental clearances that had to be completed as part of the project’s added scope. Design, construction management services and easements for the waterlines were also included in the amendment. The amendment allows for the addition to the scope of work. For all the additional work, there would be a contract modification for $58,200. The original agreement was for $238,000, so with the amendment it would bring the new contract price up to $296,200. Sufficient funding is already in place to cover the additional scope. Motion: Approve amending the City’s contract with Jones and DeMille on the culinary water line project, funded through Rural Development, to include replacement of lines on 500 East and a new line on Cove View Road for an increase to the contract of $58,200, Action: Approve, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Kevin Arrington.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Andrew Chappell, Brayden Gardner, Kevin Arrington, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Kendrick Thomas.
e. Consider approving the bid for the repair of the bike/walking path from Main
Street to 300 West using the grant received from Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant [UORG]. There were two bids submitted. The grant was for $69,400, according to Public Works Director Keith Mogan. One bid was from C&M sealcoating, LLC $60,900 and one from Brazil Contracting $54,272, which includes a seal coat. Mogan recommending the seal coat as it would protect the improvements. The City will go in before them and trim some of the trees that are in the way. Mogan recommended the City move forward with the project and award the bid to Brazil Contracting. Motion: Approve the bid for the repair of the bike/walking path from Main
Street to 300 West using the grant received from UORG and award the bid to Brazell Contracting , Action: Approve, Moved by Brayden Gardner, Seconded by Kevin Arrington.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Andrew Chappell, Brayden Gardner, Kevin Arrington, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Kendrick Thomas.
f. Planning Commission Report. Deputy Clerk Dave Anderson reported that commission approved Ryan Shaddix his youth refuge program to the former Brown’s Boots building. The commission also recommended to the council approving the RM-11 amendments with the modifications suggested by City Council members.
The commission approved the use for the four-plex project on 500 South. The units will face the road, single entry parking lot, drainage retention. Evans Capital Holdings LLC was approved for a landscape business out in the commercial park that they purchased. This building will include an office area plus storage for equipment.
The Commission discussed removing fire suppression on flag lots with Fire Chief Dustin Anderson. Chief Anderson researched fire code and other communities’ ordinances. Some communities don’t allow building at all in flag lots. Chief Anderson’s suggestion was to create some stipulations so that fire suppression is required when it makes sense, but not when the fire trucks can reasonably access the building and access to a fire hydrant. Mayor Burrows stated that years ago it was put in because the fire trucks could not get back into the middle of the block. There was conversation about doing away with flag lots at that time. Deputy Clerk Anderson said with the price of land and the number of deep lots in Richfield City, this could be something that is pushed for with increasing frequency. He said there was one flag lot development on east Center Street that he thought wasn’t required to do the fire suppression system, but upon reviewing the zoning permit, it was noted as a condition. Whether that happened or not, he doesn’t know, but it was required.
Mayor Burrows said that particular development is bad because it’s two story, crammed in the lot and it reduces the neighbor’s backyard privacy. Deputy Clerk Anderson said that is another note to consider adding into the ordinance is not allowing two-story developments on any flag lot.
The planning commission also discussed amending the City’s master transportation to extend 380 East to the north. The road is already stubbed out, but it’s not on the plan. However, if a road isn’t placed there in the future, it landlocks several properties from future access. The planning commission will hold a public hearing on that in July.
g. Public hearing to receive comments on the tentative budget for fiscal year 2026/27, including a proposed property tax increase of $500,000 to be used as set forth on the Proposed Property Tax Increase Schedule. Mayor Burrows opened the hearing opened at 8 p.m.
Financial Director Jenson gave a slideshow presentation explaining the rational for the budget and the proposed increase. This is Richfield City’s first step Truth in Taxation, and is a public hearing hosted on June 9, 2026, due to a proposed increase of $500,000. He also provided a property tax increase schedule, which explains the current certified property tax rate, which is .001821. The current revenue from property tax the City receives currently is $1,028,648. The proposed revenue with a tax change would be $1,528,648 accounting for a $500,000 increase. The estimated increase would be a 48.6 percent increase to the property tax revenue received by Richfield City. A property tax increase hearing is scheduled for August 11, 2026, at 6 p.m.
Financial Director Jenson presented a slideshow that illustrated the costs increases the City has borne without raising taxes. Items like fuel, parts, supplies and employee insurance have all increased in costs each year, while revenue has been flat. The slideshow also illustrated how the proposed increase would be utilized across the City’s various departments. One thing to keep in mind when it comes to the police department is that Richfield City competes with other law enforcement agencies.
Road maintenance has also seen significant costs increases. With more than $100,000 in crack seal used this year, less than half the streets in Richfield have seen repairs effected upon them this year. The City also has to fund matches for grants. The slideshow also explained the process for proposed tax increases.
Mayor Burrows stated Richfield City keeps a conservative budget. The City has opted to keep it utility rates low, to the point that items like garbage collection are going in the hole due to fuel costs.
Councilmember Hansen stated that he is always surprised by how small the percentage of the budget is used for recreation costs. It’s a very important thing, but at the same time are not classified as critical services. If the City were to have to cut budget, it would be the recreation department that would be impacted first. The tax increase is wise and actually does espouse conservative principals when one accounts for the quality of life that needs to be preserved.
Mayor Burrows said he has been very conservative with his budgets. If maintenance is neglected it results in larger, more expensive projects. If a car’s engine oil isn’t changed, it will eventually be ruined. The City’s infrastructure all requires maintenance and has a lifespan.
One resident asked what share Richfield has in the property tax. Mayor Burrows explained that the school district gets the largest portion of the property tax, followed by Sevier County. Richfield City receives some 19 percent of the property tax.
The resident asked if the other entities are considering a raise in property tax this year.
Financial Director Jenson said he knows Sevier County is not considering truth in taxation this year, but he doesn’t know about what the school district’s plan is.
Councilmember Hansen pointed out that even things like public safety dispatch have increased in cost. Police Chief Lloyd said in his time at the City, dispatch services have grown in cost from $65,000 a year to over $130,000 a year.
Resident Michael Snow said some of those costs are driven by the state Legislature. Mayor Burrows closed the hearing at 8:16 p.m.
- CLOSED SESSION & ADJOURN MEETING. Motion: Adjourn the meeting and move into a closed session, Action: Adjourn, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Brayden Gardner.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Andrew Chappell, Brayden Gardner, Kevin Arrington, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Kendrick Thomas.
The closed session, in accordance with state code 52-4-205, included strategy sessions to discuss the purchase, exchange, or lease of real property, including any form of a water right or water shares, or to discuss a proposed development agreement, project proposal, or financing proposal related to the development of land owned by the state or a political subdivision, if public discussion would:
(i) disclose the appraisal or estimated value of the property under consideration; or
(ii) prevent the public body from completing the transaction on the best possible terms.