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Record of Proceedings

Lehi City Council Meeting - June 10, 2025: Budget, Roads, and PARC Tax Decisions

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, June 10, 2025
BodyLehi, Utah
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, June 10, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

The others will get here soon enough.

0:12

I got council here.

0:13

That's all I need to make all the key decisions here at the city.

0:17

So I'd like to welcome everybody to our Lee Lehigh City pre-council meeting.

0:22

It is 531.

0:25

The date is June 10th, 2025.

0:29

This is roundup month, by the way.

0:31

Didn't have to remind anybody of that, but uh most awesome month of the year for us around here.

0:37

Uh as a matter of roll call, all the council members are here uh uh present today and and ready to vote.

0:44

So that's always awesome.

0:46

I've asked Paul if he would uh lead us in the opening prayer or give us the opening prayer rather.

0:51

So our dear help me father grateful for this uh day that I was given us.

0:58

We're grateful for the opportunity that we have to gather together as a city council and uh staff and the residents that uh we'll be here uh to discuss the needs of the of that great city.

1:08

We'd ask though, please bless that we will be uh mindful and what wise in our decisions that we'll be respectful to the presenters and to uh each other as we discuss uh various things that uh come before us.

1:23

Uh we're so grateful for uh bounty us blessings in our lives, and we see these things in the name of thy son Jesus Christ, amen.

1:31

Thank you, Paul.

1:34

Okay, uh we have three items under uh item number two.

1:39

Uh 2.1 is a financial report, uh and item 2.2 is the fraud risk assessment.

1:45

Both of those are gonna be done uh by Dean, he'll present those, and item 2.3 is a presentation on the pack apart tax recommendation.

1:59

You need glasses, Dean, I guess.

2:02

Well, I actually have contacts, but okay.

2:04

They don't allow me to see things close.

2:07

I can see things here and I can see things far, but I can't see things.

2:10

My wife actually has one of the bifold things.

2:13

There are bifolf bifold ones.

2:14

I have not how they work.

2:17

So that could be next.

2:20

Can you get me on the screen up here?

2:27

Nice.

2:44

Okay.

2:45

Yeah, so we try to do this quarterly, and I apologize for not getting that uh quarterly report out sooner.

2:51

I had it ready yesterday and I forgot to email it.

2:54

Um if you have any questions on that as I'm presenting, you can bring those up.

2:58

I didn't see anything necessarily too abnormal.

3:01

Things are revenues and expenses are generally in line where we would anticipate.

3:06

Um so when I do the slideshow, sometimes I wonder what information to put on there.

3:10

I try to put things on there that might be of use.

3:14

Uh if you have any other questions, I'm happy to discuss those or questions on these things.

3:19

Um first graph is just our sales taxes year to date.

3:22

So we've received up through our March distribution.

3:26

March was much higher than anticipated.

3:29

I believe it had two months worth of the online sales for whatever reason.

3:35

So it was kind of abnormally high.

3:38

I think I gave you an update on those online sales that we weren't getting for a time.

3:44

Um I sent an email up today.

3:47

They identified the amount that's about 700,000, and they said we should be getting that in a check, but I keep I've asked them about that today.

3:55

What's that?

3:55

In the mail.

3:57

It's in the mail.

3:58

So this does not include that.

4:00

It does not have that in yet.

4:01

So it's been a really odd year as far as how did the like if you look at the red line our actual for this year, it just hasn't followed what you would normally anticipate.

4:10

It's very, very unusual that March would be higher than December.

4:17

Like I've never seen that before.

4:18

But again, realize when the we're this is the amount they give us in a distribution.

4:24

There are times when uh a big company might report two months at once and it would be in the same distribution.

4:30

But year to date, we're a little ahead of schedule.

4:33

I think we'll end up 500-ish thousand ahead of our budget.

4:36

So I suspect that may have that peak uh demand there may have something to do with uh car sales and a few other things because they're doing it.

4:50

So it did spur some buying, right?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety███████████████████████████████31%
Procedural█████████████13%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████11%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████11%
Public Engagement███████7%
Planning and Zoning█████5%
Arts And Culture████4%
Noise Control███3%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Lehi City Council Meeting - June 10, 2025

The Lehi City Council met on June 10, 2025, starting with a pre-council session at 5:31 PM and a regular session at 7:00 PM. The council addressed a wide range of items including financial reports, a fraud risk assessment, PARC tax committee recommendations, multiple road projects, a road closure, budget amendments, zoning code changes, and board appointments. Several public comments were heard on traffic safety and neighborhood concerns.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved purchase orders, city council meeting minutes, and surplus items (including a steel casing pipe from the Flight Park well project) unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Dean Kazarin (1184 W., 2100 North) expressed concern about UDOT's rejection of noise barriers for the 2100 North project, noting that 14 barriers were proposed but only one pre-existing one was approved. He requested the council review the report and investigate further.
  • Brad Sunderland (1835 Triniman Lane) supported closing the 1870 North State Street intersection for safety but worried about increased traffic on 1800 North and Triniman Lane, mentioning narrow road widths and lack of sidewalks. He urged careful traffic studies.
  • Brace Specknell (Stone Gate community) echoed concerns that closing 1870 North would divert traffic through his neighborhood, where children play, and noted that 1500 North is already congested.
  • Chad Perry (1400 South) supported the closure and highlighted dangers from a nearby dealership's truck unloading in the center lane.
  • Mike Bentley (1400 West) strongly backed the closure, citing multiple near-misses and a recent incident where he pulled a child from the road. He emphasized the need for data collection before finalizing improvements.
  • Amanda Paris (neighborhood resident) agreed that the intersection is dangerous and urged thoughtful solutions to prevent cut-through traffic on 1600 North.
  • Dean Kazarian (1870 North) asked about park-and-ride access and suggested that stop signs on 1800 North could make it hard for residents to exit during rush hour.
  • Jordan Becknell (1700 North, 1200 West) worried about children's safety on 1600 North and suggested speed bumps or other deterrents.
  • Steven Swillow (nearby resident) asked if staff had worked with Google Maps to restrict routing; staff confirmed they had but it was not fully effective.

Presentations and Reports

  • Financial Report (Dean Lundell): Sales tax receipts through March were ahead of budget, with a 500k surplus expected. Impact fees are trending upward but not back to 2022 levels. Classy Road funds (gas tax) continue to grow. The sewer fund cash reserves dropped from 262 days in 2023 to an estimated 118 days due to TSSD rate increases. The certified tax rate for 2025 is 0.001163, down 5.9% from 2024, reflecting a 5.9% increase in overall property values. Lehi's taxable value ($13.4 billion) is the highest in Utah County.
  • Fraud Risk Assessment: The city scored 375 out of 395 points (low risk), missing points only for lacking an internal audit function (budgeted for 2026). Council members were reminded to complete the state auditor training.
  • PARC Tax Committee Recommendations (Lindsay): The committee recommended $556,848 in funding for 23 projects (partial funding for 2, denial for 7) from 14 organizations. Highlights included support for Heritage Arts Foundation statues (but not the fundraising program), Lehi Arts Council’s show rights and set building, Lehi Historical Society staffing and supplies, Grassroots Shakespeare Company, Wasatch Theater Company, and several others. Four projects were flagged for council discussion: Wrap the World with Quilts, Chabad of Utah County’s Jewish festival, United Angels Foundation camps, and Wasatch Contemporary Dance’s immersive dinner experience. Councilmembers discussed the timing of PARC tax allocations relative to the budget process, with a preference to move PARC decisions earlier. Council also requested a review of past funded projects and a public-facing website for accountability.

Discussion Items

  • Salt Storage Building (Resolution #2025-39): Approved an agreement with Outback Metal Buildings for a new salt storage building at Willow Park. (Vote: 5-0)
  • Pony Express Parkway Extension (Resolution #2025-42): Approved an interlocal agreement with Utah County for design and environmental work to extend Pony Express Parkway (1900 South) from Lehi to American Fork. The road will be built as a two-lane pioneer road with right-of-way for five lanes. Construction expected in 2027-2028. (Vote: 5-0)
  • 2300 West Widening (Resolution #2025-41): Approved an interlocal agreement with MAG for widening 2300 West from Pioneer Crossing to Main Street, including two new signals and a trail. Funding of ~$12 million. (Vote: 5-0)
  • PARC Tax Allocation (Resolution #2025-35): Approved the committee’s recommendation of $556,848. (Vote: 5-0)
  • Road Closure at 1870 N State Street (Resolution #2025-38): After a public hearing and extensive discussion, the council voted to close the intersection to vehicular traffic, with staff directed to evaluate traffic patterns after the closure and before the signal installation in 2026. (Roll call vote: 5-0)
  • Budget Amendment #3 (Resolution #2025-37): Approved transferring excess general fund reserves to capital projects, including insurance proceeds for a damaged vehicle and emergency work on the Low Hills tank. The amendment allows flexibility to comply with the 35% fund balance cap. (Vote: 5-0)
  • Impact Fees Facilities Plan Amendment (Ordinance #2025-38): Updated the facilities list for culinary water, storm drain, sewer, road, power, and public safety fees without changing the fee methodology. (Vote: 5-0)
  • Certified Tax Rate (Resolution #2025-47): Adopted the 2025 certified tax rate of 0.001163. (Vote: 5-0)
  • Retirement Contribution Pick-up (Resolution #2025-36): Approved the city paying the 4.73% employee contribution for public safety and firefighter retirement systems (corrected from 4.3% in the draft). (Vote: 5-0)
  • Geneva Rock Agreement (Resolution #2025-40): Approved a contract for road construction and improvements, with Geneva Rock as the low qualified bidder. (Vote: 5-0)
  • Utah Valley HOME Consortium (Resolution #2025-43): Approved continued participation in the consortium for down payment assistance and housing programs. (Vote: 5-0)
  • Zoning Amendments: Passed three ordinances: Chapter 5 (comprehensive update to zoning districts and bulk regulations), Chapter 11 (clarifying concept plan public hearing requirements), and Chapter 39 (definition clarifications, especially for ADUs). (Each vote: 5-0)
  • Appointments: Approved Matthew Lee to the PARC Advisory Committee, Stacey Bateman to the Library Board, and Alyssa Smiles and Bryce Packer to the Parks, Trails and Trees Advisory Committee. (Each vote: 5-0)

Key Outcomes

  • All consent agenda items, resolutions, and ordinances were approved unanimously (5-0) with roll call votes on resolutions.
  • The 1870 North State Street road closure was approved with a directive to monitor traffic and adjust as needed.
  • The council directed staff to explore moving the PARC tax allocation process earlier in the budget cycle and to create a public-facing webpage for accountability.
  • The council noted the need for further study on the Triniman Lane corridor regarding road width and safety improvements.
  • The meeting adjourned around 9:15 PM after a brief plug for the Waterwise Landscape Tour on Saturday, June 14.

Meeting Transcript

The others will get here soon enough. I got council here. That's all I need to make all the key decisions here at the city. So I'd like to welcome everybody to our Lee Lehigh City pre-council meeting. It is 531. The date is June 10th, 2025. This is roundup month, by the way. Didn't have to remind anybody of that, but uh most awesome month of the year for us around here. Uh as a matter of roll call, all the council members are here uh uh present today and and ready to vote. So that's always awesome. I've asked Paul if he would uh lead us in the opening prayer or give us the opening prayer rather. So our dear help me father grateful for this uh day that I was given us. We're grateful for the opportunity that we have to gather together as a city council and uh staff and the residents that uh we'll be here uh to discuss the needs of the of that great city. We'd ask though, please bless that we will be uh mindful and what wise in our decisions that we'll be respectful to the presenters and to uh each other as we discuss uh various things that uh come before us. Uh we're so grateful for uh bounty us blessings in our lives, and we see these things in the name of thy son Jesus Christ, amen. Thank you, Paul. Okay, uh we have three items under uh item number two. Uh 2.1 is a financial report, uh and item 2.2 is the fraud risk assessment. Both of those are gonna be done uh by Dean, he'll present those, and item 2.3 is a presentation on the pack apart tax recommendation. You need glasses, Dean, I guess. Well, I actually have contacts, but okay. They don't allow me to see things close. I can see things here and I can see things far, but I can't see things. My wife actually has one of the bifold things. There are bifolf bifold ones. I have not how they work. So that could be next. Can you get me on the screen up here? Nice. Okay. Yeah, so we try to do this quarterly, and I apologize for not getting that uh quarterly report out sooner. I had it ready yesterday and I forgot to email it. Um if you have any questions on that as I'm presenting, you can bring those up. I didn't see anything necessarily too abnormal. Things are revenues and expenses are generally in line where we would anticipate. Um so when I do the slideshow, sometimes I wonder what information to put on there. I try to put things on there that might be of use. Uh if you have any other questions, I'm happy to discuss those or questions on these things. Um first graph is just our sales taxes year to date. So we've received up through our March distribution. March was much higher than anticipated. I believe it had two months worth of the online sales for whatever reason. So it was kind of abnormally high. I think I gave you an update on those online sales that we weren't getting for a time. Um I sent an email up today. They identified the amount that's about 700,000, and they said we should be getting that in a check, but I keep I've asked them about that today. What's that? In the mail. It's in the mail. So this does not include that.

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