At the City Council In and For Said City March 25, 2025
Minutes of the Richfield City Council meeting held on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Richfield City office building located at 75 East Center, Richfield, Utah. Mayor Bryan L. Burrows presiding.
- OPENING REMARKS
- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
- ROLL CALL
- MINUTES APPROVAL
- BUSINESS
a. SITLA MEMORANDUM
b. LANTERN FEASTIVAL MEMORANDUM
c. CIB PROJECT LIST - OTHER BUSINESS
- EXECUTIVE SESSION
- MEETING ADJOURNED
- OPENING REMARKS were offered by Kip Hansen
- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE by invitation Elaine Street led the pledge of allegiance.
- ROLL CALL – Present: Bryan Burrows (Not voting), Brayden Gardner, Kip Hansen, Elaine Street, Kendrick Thomas, Michele Jolley (Not voting).
Excused: Tanner Thompson, Rob Jenson.
Also, Kylee Boyter, Heidi Stringham, Sheri Thompson, Brooke Roundy, Carson DeMille, Keith Mogan and David Anderson. - MINUTES APPROVED – Consider a motion to approve the meeting minutes held on March 11, 2025. Motion: Approve the minutes of the March 11, 2025 council meeting. Action: Approve, Moved by Brayden Gardner, Seconded by Kip Hansen.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kendrick Thomas, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Tanner Thompson. - BUSINESS
Mayor Burrows recognized representatives from New Horizons Crisis Center and allowed them to present a new campaign the organization is launching. Brooke Roundy, volunteer coordinator for the Crisis Center and Sherri Thompson, prevention and lethality assessment coordinator, spoke on behalf of the Crisis Center. Roundy explained the Crisis Center is a domestic violence service provider for a five-county area. This includes a list of services including safe shelter, crisis hotline, transportation, classes, civil orders, stalking injunctions and many other services. The month of April is set aside as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Another awareness campaign the Crisis Center participates in is called, “Start by Believing.” Advocates are often asked what to do when a friend or acquaintance is assaulted. The best answer is to start by believing, Roundy said. She said reassuring the victim that they are believed and will have help going forward is vital. Each year she goes to different people and asks them to take the pledge of believing sexual assault victims. Last year Police Chief Trent Lloyd took the pledge and had his picture taken to help spread the message. Roundy said that was a very impactful. Roundy asked if the City Council would be willing to take the pledge and take a picture with a plaque promoting the message of believing survivors.
The council posed for a photo with the plaque showcasing the believe survivors mission statement.
a. Consider approving a Memorandum of Understanding between SITLA and Richfield City for the Documentation Preparation and Continued Management of the Richfield Mountain Bike Trail System near Richfield, Utah.
Councilmember Gardner said it appears to be a pretty straight forward agreement and asked if the city attorney had reviewed it. The attorney did not have any concerns, City Administrator Jolley said. Gardner asked if the 1.1 miles includes the acreage that is in the process of being transferred from SITLA to Richfield City. It doesn’t, but either way the City will be responsible for the maintenance.
Councilmember Hansen said he feels it is a simple agreement.
Motion: Approve the memorandum of Understanding between SITLA and Richfield City for the Documentation Preparation and Continued Management of the Richfield Mountain Bike Trail System near Richfield, Utah, Action: Approve, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Elaine Street.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kendrick Thomas, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Tanner Thompson.
b. Consider approving a Memorandum of Understanding between Richfield City, Snow College, and Sevier County for a sky lantern festival (Light Festival) on April 11, 2025.
Mayor Burrows clarified that this is the second year of the festival.
Motion: Approve a Memorandum of Understanding between Richfield City, Snow College, and Sevier County for a sky lantern festival (Light Festival) on April 11, 2025,
Action: Approve, Moved by Brayden Gardner, Seconded by Kendrick Thomas.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kendrick Thomas, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Tanner Thompson.
c. Discuss priorities for the Capital Projects list and consider approving three projects to be submitted for potential funding.
Administrator Jolley said that the City needs to submit three projects to the R6 by March 31 to be considered for potential Utah Permanent Community Impact Fund Board funding in the next year.
Councilmember Hansen suggested the swimming pool project be taken off the list as it is currently funded and underway. He then asked about the water looping project, which is also in the process of being completed. He suggested it also be taken off the list. The planning grant is also something the city has achieved in the last year, which means it can be removed from the list.
Hansen said he would favor adding bridge replacement projects on 300 West and Highland Drive. While Highland Drive isn’t as critical, both bridges will need to be addressed. The 300 West bridge, even it if is sound structurally, has other issues that need to be dealt with. One issue is the new development at the north end of 300 West, which will add traffic on the road, which has already been identified as a north/south corridor, and the bridge is a bottleneck. The pedestrian/bike trail crosses at the same location, which adds to the safety issue of the narrow bridge. This creates a situation where drivers are paying a lot of attention to the vehicles headed the opposite direction, and may miss seeing someone crossing on the pedestrian/bike path.
There is a federal application submitted through the county to address the bridges, but there has not been any feedback on it since, said Administrator Jolley.
Hansen said the City may need to consider adding a front-end loader to the City public works’ equipment arsenal. He said new gyms are on both the short term and medium term lists currently. The City has spent a lot of money on recreational items recently, and Hansen said he’d like to see it moved to just the long-term list at this point.
Mayor Burrows said it’s on the list due to the fact it’s going for a grant. Hansen said he’s OK with it on either the medium or the short term, but not both.
Mayor Burrows suggested keeping the 100 East property acquisition on the short term list. He also said the underground water rights purchase that is on the short term doesn’t appear to be on the horizon, so perhaps it could move to the medium term as well.
Administrator Jolley asked if the council would like to include an item that was discussed in executive session as a possible property purchase.
Mayor Burrows said he thought that item could be placed on the medium, but that the 100 East is pending currently with the bridge portion of it moving forward.
Councilmember Gardner asked if there is a problem with having more than three items on the short-term list. Administrator Jolley said there is not.
Councilmember Thomas asked if the top three are for CIB. They are all technically for CIB, but the City can only submit the top three, Administrator Jolley said.
Councilmember Gardner said he’d be interested in moving either the purchase or the concept to the short-term list.
Councilmember Street asked about the bridges and what differences there are between the 300 and Highland crossings. Councilmember Hansen said the Highland street ends right after the bridge, so people are already slowing down, while the 300 West bridge is a straight shot through the area that was designated as a north/south collector. He said he’d be happy not to include Highland Drive.
Mayor Burrows said Highland is in worse shape, but the 300 West bridge is the worse situation.
Councilmember Thomas said the difficult thing with the Highland Bridge is there is no pedestrian access, even though there is not as much traffic on it.
Councilmember Hansen said there would be a benefit to keeping both of the bridges on the list.
Administrator Jolley asked if the council would considered putting sewer lagoons on either the short-term or long-term list. Councilmember Hansen said the lagoons could be added to the medium term.
Mayor Burrows asked about the water smart grant. It is currently on hold due to changes at the federal level, Administrator Jolley said. It’s a $5 million grant the city will have to match.
The underground water rights item could be moved down to the medium term as it won’t likely progress until after another funding cycle, Councilmember Hansen said.
Councilmember Thomas asked if there have been changes made, as in the past if the items appeared anywhere on the list could be eligible to be applied for. However, that has changed, Administrator Jolley said. However, the city has always had to submit a top three for CIB consideration.
Councilmember Hansen feels that the bridge should be the top priority on the list. Someone is going to be hurt due to how the approach is currently designed. The chain link fence sometimes causes more visual problems than it helps with other issues. The City should be conscious of those issues if nothing else. Infrastructure projects generally have a bit of an advantage going into the CIB application process, so it could have a better chance at being funded.
Councilmember Gardner said he is in favor of putting the bridge issue on the top of the list. He said he would like to see the other item previously discussed in executive session added to the short-term list.
Councilmember Thomas asked about joint highway funding for the bridges. Currently the joint highway funding is being focused on areas other than bridges, Administrator Jolley said.
Councilmember Hansen asked about the costs.
The bridge project would likely be a minimum of $3 million, at least $1.5 million per bridge.
Councilmember Thomas said there is some advantage to using CIB funds for the bridge instead of joint highways as the specifications are not as stringent.
Mayor Burrows says he feels a roadway improvement project should be included on the short-term list as well.
Councilmember Gardner asked for a summary of the short-term list.
Administrator Jolley said currently is has bridges and a front-end loader. Jolley said the City may be able to fund it on its own or through other means, and put it on the medium-term list. Councilmember Thomas asked if it could be on the short-term list, but not in the top three.
Continuing the short-term list, Jolley said it also includes the possible property aquisition that was discussed in executive session, roadway improvement, golf course irrigation replacement project, and the 100 East property acquisition.
Mayor Burrows said the property acquisition could be pending sooner than later. The acquisition was moved to the second position.
Councilmember Gardner said he sees the need for 100 East more than 300 West. Councilmember Thomas said 300 East is more of a safety issue, while 100 East is more of a functionality issue.
Councilmember Hansen said he likes the idea of the golf course project being in the third slot as the water smart money may start flowing again. There is money that has already been set aside for the golf course irrigation project, so it’s a good candidate for the third spot.
Mayor Burrows asked about the town’s detention basins. The Dairy Canyon detention basin may need some city funding in the future. The basins will also need to be cleaned out at some point. One challenge is that there is no place to put the dirt from cleaning them out.
Administrator Jolley said the state is willing to help with the manpower to clean them, but there is still a concern as to where to put the dirt.
There is also a 400 West reconstruction project, which will start next year as state joint highway funding becomes available, Administrator Jolley said. That money won’t be available until September, so phase one won’t start until next year, so it may need to be put on the short-term list at that point.
Councilmember Gardner asked about another property location that was brought up in executive session as a possible future property acquisition. It is currently included on the short-term list, just not in the top three.
Motion: Approve the top three projects on the CIB list – Bridge replacements, 100 East property acquisition and the golf course irrigation project as well as the other adjustments discussed. Action: Approve, Moved by Kendrick Thomas, Seconded by Brayden Gardner.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kendrick Thomas, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Tanner Thompson.
- OTHER BUSINESS –
Public Works Director Keith Mogan gave an update on the Cemetery gate project. He said he is working on getting some bids for grout work and asked if the Council favors keeping the natural stone look. It took a lot of work to get the paint off. Councilmember Hansen said that would be his preference.
Councilmember Thomas asked if there is some type of clearcoat that could help protect it from graffiti. - EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion: Close the open session and move into executive session, Action: Enter Closed Session, Moved by Kip Hansen, Seconded by Kendrick Thomas.
Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kendrick Thomas, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Tanner Thompson.
a. Discuss the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual(s).
- ADJOURNMENT Motion: Adjourn the meeting, Action: Adjourn, Moved by Brayden Gardner, Seconded by Kip Hansen. Vote: Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote (summary: Yes = 4).
Yes: Brayden Gardner, Elaine Street, Kendrick Thomas, Kip Hansen.
Excused: Tanner Thompson.