Draper City Council Meeting - August 19, 2025: Health Department, Station Area Plan, Garbage Services, Ethics Amendment, and Budget Adoption
Draper City Council Meeting - August 19, 2025
The Draper City Council met on August 19, 2025, for a study session beginning at 5:30 PM followed by a business session at 7:00 PM. Key topics included a presentation from the Salt Lake County Health Department, review of station area plan renderings, contracting garbage services for private streets, heavy equipment operator training, a proposal to purchase a Flock camera system, public hearings on a zoning map amendment and the FY2026 budget, and an ordinance amending the city's ethics code on employment of relatives. All votes were unanimous 5-0.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of July 29, 2025 City Council Meeting Minutes – Approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Shelley Goldberg (1574 Pioneer Road) – Expressed concern about three new no-parking signs installed near her home on Pioneer Road without prior consultation. She stated the signs removed a safe pull-off area, creating a hazard when turning onto Pioneer, and caused garbage pickup issues. She asked for a review of the decision. The city manager indicated staff would follow up.
Presentation: Health Department Coordination
- Dorothy Adams, Salt Lake County Health Director, provided an overview of the Salt Lake County Health Department’s services, including water quality, food safety, housing standards, immunization, emergency preparedness, and community coalitions. She emphasized the department's role as the city's health department and highlighted resources such as the household hazardous waste facility in Sandy, the health data dashboard, and a resource card. She also noted recent West Nile virus cases in mosquito pools in Draper and reminded residents to use repellent. Council members expressed appreciation for the department’s response to a recent water issue.
Discussion: Station Area Plan – Rendering Review
- Jennifer Jastremsky presented renderings for the remaining stations (Kimballs, Crescent View, and Vista) as the final document nears completion. Key points:
- Kimballs Station: Rendering focuses on the UTA site; includes a three-story mixed-use building and trail along the canal. Council discussed potential UDOT road widening on 700 East and Kimballs Lane, and the need to study straightening Kimballs Lane to 700 East for safety.
- Crescent View Station: Infill on the Harman’s property with a three-story mixed-use building; stepbacks on the west side adjacent to residential. Council expressed concern about increased traffic on 700 East and 123rd South, which are UDOT roads, and the lack of control over infrastructure improvements.
- Vista Station: Focus on placemaking, creating a central walkway, and improving access across the rail line for FrontRunner users. Council noted the potential for increased ridership with double-tracking. The plan will be presented for final adoption in September.
Discussion: Contracting Garbage Services for Private Streets
- Robert Markle reported that the city issued an RFP for private street garbage collection and received only one bid, from ACE. Current city rate is $15/month (unchanged since 2009); ACE proposed $22 more per month for basic service, with additional cans at $11 each. Key concerns: city liability on narrow private streets (backing accidents), driver shortages, and inability to service in winter. The council directed staff to move forward with ACE for the roughly five private street areas, pending final contract terms. Mayor noted that the city’s general fund subsidizes garbage collection and rates need adjustment citywide. Council also expressed interest in obtaining a quote for citywide contracted garbage service.
Discussion: Heavy Equipment Operator Training at the Andy Ballard Arena
- Robert Markle proposed hosting a two-day heavy equipment operator training (front-end loader, backhoe, skid steer, excavator) through Utah State’s LTAP program at the equestrian center. The city would provide equipment and site restoration, receiving two free training spots per session (valued at $1,000 each). Up to four sessions per year are anticipated in spring and fall. Council approved the proposal, noting the training would not be disruptive like monster truck events.
Discussion: Proposal to Purchase Flock Camera System
- Chief Ferguson presented a proposal to install 14 fixed Flock license plate readers at key locations in Draper. First-year cost: $45,780; ongoing: $39,000 (two-year contract). The chief cited successful cases solved using other cities’ LPRs, including a burglary ring and a gun call at Corner Canyon High School. The system only captures rear license plates, is not facial recognition, and data is purged after a short period unless linked to a crime. Council expressed strong interest and directed staff to identify funding and bring back a budget amendment.
Public Hearings & Action Items
- Ordinance #1667 – Zoning Map Amendment (Indigo Tech Center): Amendments to rezone 2.84 acres from CO2 to CR for an indoor golf simulator lounge. Planning Commission recommended approval 5-0. No public comments. Approved unanimously.
- Resolution #25-41 – FY2026 Budget Adoption: Adopted the final budget including five changes: adding a city prosecutor (no cost), replacing a parks maintenance technician with a city arborist (no cost), adding $25,000 from general fund balance for drug enforcement informants/stings, accepting a $50,000 grant from the State Office of Outdoor Recreation with a required $50,000 match, and adding $15,000 for ESRI/open value license updates. Certified tax rate set at 0.001022 generating $11,122,761. Approved unanimously.
- Ordinance #1669 – Ethics Amendment (Employment of Relatives): After reviewing options, council chose to amend Draper City Code Title 19 to give the city manager discretion to hire relatives of city officers when it serves the best interests of the city and does not create a conflict of interest, consistent with state law. The amendment replaces the blanket prohibition. Approved unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Zoning Map Amendment (Ordinance #1667) – Approved 5-0.
- FY2026 Budget Adoption (Resolution #25-41) – Approved 5-0 with five additions as discussed.
- Ethics Amendment (Ordinance #1669) – Approved 5-0 (option 3: city manager discretion).
- Garbage Services for Private Streets – Council directed staff to finalize contract with ACE.
- Heavy Equipment Operator Training – Approved; city will host at equestrian center.
- Flock Camera System – Council expressed support; staff to bring funding proposal.
- Neighborhood Study at 12200 South & 800 East – Council agreed to have staff (not a consultant) conduct a study and hold an open house, timeline early 2026.
- Storage Containers Ordinance – Staff directed to study potential regulations, including retroactivity.
- Nonpartisan Elections Clarification – Council asked city attorney to review.
- City Hall Landscaping – Council requested staff explore replacing rock with mulch to improve tree health.
Meeting Transcript
Ladies from Salt Lake County. Welcome all our study session order. And our first item is a presentation from the health department from coordination Dorothy Adams, Salt County Health Director. She's going to talk to us about the protocols for water that gets in a system that's not supposed to be consumed. Oh, ID. That never happened. Come on up. I am not going to talk about that. I like a little bit of that. Is there a clicker? Yeah, I was going to say there's a clicker up front, and then if someone's going to be able to do that. Oh, okay. I got that. Well, thank you for letting me join your meeting today. One of my goals, and I'm new in this position. I've been in the position about a year, but I'm not new to the health department. I've worked with the health department for 38 years. A lot of my time in water quality. So we have a lot of great stories about water quality. Oh goodness. Okay, thank you. I'm glad something. But one of the things this is taken before COVID, and I look a lot younger, so I'm glad we'll be using that. COVID took it out of people. Exactly. But I was the deputy director for a long time. But what I also did a lot of during the course of my career is I worked in the field. So I was immersed in the cities that I was involved in, so being an environmental health water quality. I worked a lot at the city level, and I understand the connection that's needed between our department and what the needs are of the communities. Because they're different. Every city is different. So it is a goal of mine to maintain that connection with the cities because we're your health department. We've had many different needs for the health department during the course of my career, Salt Lake City County Health Department when I first started, Salt Lake Valley Health Department, and now Salt Lake County. But I think sometimes by being called Salt Lake County, people don't understand. We are the city, we are the city's health departments. There are no other city health departments other than ours. So we are your health department. We need to understand what your needs are so that our programming is meeting those needs. We're the largest local health department in Utah, not surprisingly. We were accredited in 2014, and that was by national accreditation. So making sure that the services we provide really are up to snuff with national standards. And then we were named local health department of the year in 2019 by the National Association of City Income. Social determinants of health, and I'm just gonna kind of give you an overview of what we do and then get kind of into the specifics about services that we provide. Everyone's heard, I think, this term lately. Social determinants or health are things that affect people's health outcomes, like your education, your economic stability, neighborhood, availability of housing, health care in an area, and then social and community context. And what we find in this quadrant is social and community context, a lot of it is connection to your communities. That actually has a direct impact on your health outcomes. If you're connected to the communities, it helps guide you to make a good decision ultimately. And really, um, Whitney is with our coalitions. I'm going to get into that a little bit more, but we found that supporting coalitions, and there's 18 different coalitions throughout the county.
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