March 22, 2023 | General Meeting

Voting

• 5-0 approving eminent domain proceedings regarding improvements to Main Street
• 5-0 approving the Consent Agenda, which includes the following:
• Amendments to Planning Commission rules of procedure and ethical conduct
• Auto Mall governing documents amendments
• Master services agreement with Strata Networks
• Agreement with Salt Lake County for corridor preservation reimbursement
• Participation in a Southwest Waterways Visioning Plan with the Wasatch Front Regional Council
• 5-0 to continue the Olympia master development agreement amendment discussion

General Meeting

City Council recognitions

• The Council formally recognized Jesse Edgal for dedicating hours of service to the Arts Council in helping select and set up a new sound system.
• The Council also recognized sixth-grader Jaxson Allen for his initiative of Jax's Toy Drive to donate to children at Primary Children's Hospital.

Public comments

• Members of the Herriman Youth Council thanked the City Council for the opportunity to attend the recent Leadership Conference in Logan and gave a brief report on what they learned
• A Jordan School District Family Engagement teacher highlighted work she has been done in teaching English as a second language and suggested there is room for an expansion of the program.

New Judge Lisa Garner

Herriman's new judge, Lisa Garner, was introduced. Her services will be shared between Herriman City and Draper City. Judge Garner was selected from a variety of qualified candidates after an extensive interview process. She brings a wide background of experience, having served as a public and private defender, a prosecutor, and a city attorney.

ESGR award for Chief Troy Carr and Cmd. Brent Adamson

The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense that promotes cooperation between National Guard servicemembers and their employers. A Herriman police officer, who serves as an aviation warrant officer for the Utah National Guard, nominated Chief Troy Carr and Commander Brent Adamson to the ESGR for recognition. The ESGR presented the Freedom Award to Chief Carr and Commander Adamson for going out of their way to create an environment that is inclusive and accommodating to servicemembers within the department. It was noted that both have taken the time to cover shifts for officers who were absent because of duty.

Eminent domain action public hearing

The Main Street widening project is underway. There are a few properties that the City needs to finish acquiring to complete right-of-way acquisition. The City and those property owners have been in conversations but are at an impasse regarding where the property line is. Based on documentation and records, the City Council made the decision to file for eminent domain action—a legal route to force a fair-market-value sale of land for public uses. In a public hearing, several residents expressed frustration over both the property line dispute as well as the City's process to acquire the property. They felt the City was not transparent. The Council and City Attorney confirmed that all legal procedures were followed leading up to this action.

Hamilton Farms storm drain improvements

A contract was awarded to a contractor for work on an upcoming stormwater project in the Hamilton Farms neighborhood. The project will include installation of or upgrading storm drain pipe and re-routing stormwater flow to a larger detention basin.

City Council board and committee reports

• Councilmember Ohrn, reporting on the Youth Council, noted the recent Leadership Conference in Logan and recommended youth across Herriman apply to be in the Youth Council, commending it as a place to grow and learn vital leadership and civic skills.
• Councilmember Ohrn, representing the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District board, reported on a recent Water Users conference in St. George. She will present a slide deck at the next Council meeting. She highlighted very high levels of snow pack and noted it will lead to increased runoff this spring, but helps reduce the intensity of Utah's drought conditions.
• Councilmember Shields, representing the Mosquito Abatement District board, reported an upcoming retirement for the district's director. The district is expecting a large increase in mosquitos this year with heavy winter precipitation
• Councilmember Shields noted a recent "We The People" competition at a local middle school, in which he judged a mock senate hearing. How was impressed how well students researched and developed answers to challenging constitutional questions.
• Mayor Palmer reported a recent meeting for a branch of the Friends of Herriman in which its Student Advisory Board was launched. Students from each of Herriman's four high schools comprise the board, which will help to unite youth across Herriman in various ways.

Work Meeting

Dumpster rental program

The City has historically had a dumpster rental program between May-October each year. The program covers staff costs with its $150, but not equipment maintenance, and can be disruptive to normal work duties. The Council agreed the program is redundant since Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling has a similar program and decided to discontinue the service. Note that this isn't the same as the semiannual Spring and Fall Citywide Cleanup, which is scheduled for April 17-22nd at Butterfield Park.

PID policy discussion

Public infrastructure districts (PIDs) are methods made legal by the state that allow development companies to bond to pay for public infrastructure (roads, major waterlines, storm drains, etc.) in new developments and repaid by either building fees or area-specific property taxes. PIDs have to be approved by the local city council. Herriman's PID policy was initially approved in 2020 to only allow a PID in the Auto Mall district, and amended in 2021 to allow the Olympia development to have non-property-tax PIDs. Two developers have proposed PIDs in areas outside the Auto Mall and Olympia, which are not currently allowed by the City's policy. Individual Councilmembers expressed different stances on PIDs. Further discussion will take place in future meetings, but the Council agreed they're willing to at least consider a policy amendment.

Legislative session

The Council discussed a summary of bills from the recent legislative session that will impact (or would have impacted, if passed) the City and its operations. A written summary can be found at herriman.org/government-affairs.

Meeting video links:

• Work meeting
• General meeting