Summary of Action | Meetings on October 26, 2021

PROVO MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
Work Meeting
1:00 PM, Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Hybrid meeting youtube.com/provocitycouncil or 351 W Center Street, Provo, UT 84601

Summary of Action

Approval of Minutes

October 12, 2021 Work Meeting

Approved by unanimous consent.

Business

1.  A presentation regarding the review of Annual Fraud Risk Assessment. (21-106) Presentation only.

2.  A discussion on percent for the arts programs. (21-098) A motion to create an ad hoc committee to explore and develop a recommended policy regarding a percent for arts program, and to defer selection of the committee chair and vice-chair until January, with a target date of April to report back to the Council was approved 7:0.

3.  A presentation from the Kem C. Gardner Institute: "A Time to Build: Physical, Human, and Social Capital" (21-094) Presentation only.

4.  A presentation on proposed Chapter 9.90 On-Street Parking Management. (21-028) Presentation only. This item is still open for additional feedback on Open City Hall and will return to the Council at a future meeting.

5.  An ordinance on towing fees (21-105) Presentation only. This item was already scheduled for the Council Meeting on October 26, 2021.

Citizens Agenda for Meetings on October 26, 2021

Citizens Agenda

Council meeting agendas are often difficult for people to navigate. Filled with jargon and legal requirements on how an item must be listed, it can be a challenge to determine what Council members are actually discussing or deciding on. 

What follows is a staff interpretation of the agendas. 

The official published agendas and supporting materials can be found here:  http://agendas.provo.org 

This meeting will be conducted as a hybrid meeting, with some in-person components as well as continued virtual meeting access. The meeting will be available to the public for live broadcast and on-demand viewing on YouTube and Facebook at: youtube.com/provocitycouncil and facebook.com/provocouncil. The in-person meeting will be held in the Council Chambers. For information on how to view the meetings and how to contribute public comments without attending in person, click here.

PROVO MUNICIPAL COUNCIL

Work Meeting Agenda

1:00 pm, Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Work Meetings are designed to be a less formal venue for discussion among Council Members. Generally, no public input is taken during the meeting.

Business

1. A presentation regarding the review of Annual Fraud Risk Assessment. (21-106)

• Utah State Auditor's office requires this assessment be completed and shared with the Municipal Council in a public meeting. 

2. A discussion on percent for the arts programs. (21-098)

• The Council at the September 21, 2021 meeting heard a presentation on the concept of a Percent for Arts program, why public art matters, how they are funded, and some Utah examples. Direction was given to begin the outline of a Percent for Arts program for Provo City. 

3. A presentation from the Kem C. Gardner Institute: "A Time to Build: Physical, Human, and Social Capital" (21-094)

• As part of the Gardner Policy Institute's presentation series for the Provo Council, this third discussion focuses on the benefits of building and maintaining social capital within neighborhoods and communities. Additional information on housing and economic conditions in Utah will be provided. 

4. A presentation on proposed Chapter 9.90 On-Street Parking Management. (21-028)

• The Parking Committee proposes a new parking paradigm called the On-Street Parking Management (OSPM) program that would be created with the proposed Provo City Code Chapter 9.90 and applied to the Joaquin Neighborhood with Provo City Code Chapter 9.91. The Parking Manager would have the authority to apply the solutions in Chapter 9.90 within a Council-approved OSPM area without returning to the Council for every change, though they would have to notify residents in affected areas. The Parking Manager could create parking zones where one of two parking management strategies could be applied: 1. Paid timed parking 2. Permit parking with paid timed parking 

5. An ordinance on towing fees (21-105)

•  In 2013, the City adopted City Municipal Code 9.31.110 which included a limitation on the maximum fees and charges a towing company operator may charge for: (i) booting or otherwise immobilizing a vehicle, and (ii) towing a vehicle. The fee limits in question only apply to patrol type tows at residential properties. Provo does not impose a fee cap for any consent tows or for non-consent tows (1) at non-residential properties or (2) at residential properties where the property manager or designee calls for the tow. In an attempt to prevent predatory towing, in 2013, Mayor Curtis proposed, and the Council approved, rules requiring patrol tows of residential properties to be done under a contract that meets certain requirements. One of those requirements is a cap on the fees. A local towing operator is requesting a change in the rates to help address costs increases (vehicle, employment, insurance, equipment, etc.). The Council directed staff to bring for its consideration an ordinance setting the non-consent, non-police towing and booting at 80% of the state limit. 

Summary of Action | Meetings on October 12, 2021

Citizens Agenda for Meetings on October 12, 2021

Citizens Agenda

Council meeting agendas are often difficult for people to navigate. Filled with jargon and legal requirements on how an item must be listed, it can be a challenge to determine what Council members are actually discussing or deciding on. 

What follows is a staff interpretation of the agendas. 

The official published agendas and supporting materials can be found here:  http://agendas.provo.org 

This meeting will be conducted as a hybrid meeting, with some in-person components as well as continued virtual meeting access. The meeting will be available to the public for live broadcast and on-demand viewing on YouTube and Facebook at: youtube.com/provocitycouncil and facebook.com/provocouncil. The in-person meeting will be held in the Council Chambers. For information on how to view the meetings and how to contribute public comments without attending in person, click here.

PROVO MUNICIPAL COUNCIL

Work Meeting Agenda

1:30 pm, Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Work Meetings are designed to be a less formal venue for discussion among Council Members. Generally, no public input is taken during the meeting.

Business

1. A presentation regarding GRAMA in relation to public and confidential records retained by the city and how the process on how they are made public. (21-006)

• A presentation regarding GRAMA in relation to public and confidential records retained by the city and how the process on how they are made public. (21-006)

2. A presentation regarding an update on the Bridal Veil Falls Feasibility Study (21-031)

• The Utah State Parks Department is completing a feasibility study of Bridal Veil Falls (to be designated as State Monument or State Park) and will report back to the legislature this fall with a report evaluating whether it should be a state park or a state monument. CRSA, an architecture firm, is working on the stakeholder study. They are about 70% done with background research and ready to hold a Workshop with the leadership team with initial findings. They are also working on the Public Engagement Plan, which includes an online survey and public meeting(s). An update for the City Council, which earlier this year adopted a resolution in favor of protecting Bridal Veil Falls, regarding progress has been requested.

3. A presentation from the Housing Committee regarding an ordinance change for ADU’s to comply with Utah State Law. (21-102)

• In the 2021 Utah General Legislative Session, lawmakers passed a bill regarding accessory dwelling units and conditions of their permitted use in cities throughout the state. All cities in Utah must adjust their city ordinances accordingly to align with the new state law.

Council Statement

The Provo Municipal Council is committed to the rule of law. We encourage all citizens to abide by existing laws and welcome advocacy for changes to laws that citizens may disagree with.  We support city employees involved in educating citizens about municipal laws – including our police officers and zoning and parking enforcement staff. We support their efforts to help citizens come into compliance with those laws through enforcement actions, as needed. Due to resource constraints, enforcement investigations are often initiated as a result of information obtained from citizen complaints. Often, citizens are only willing to offer such information if they trust city staff and elected officials to maintain their privacy and an appropriate level of confidentiality. City employees, including elected officials, should not share personal information contained in enforcement records publicly.

The Utah Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) in Utah Code Section 63G-2-201 provides citizens the right to request records from any government entity. However, some records are restricted and any record returned to a citizen through such a request may have some confidential information that is redacted. The GRAMA process has built-in safeguards to balance the public’s right to information against individual rights to privacy and confidentiality. Government records related to enforcement should be obtained by interested citizens through the GRAMA process. The Council will have a Work Meeting presentation on October 12^th to further educate city staff, elected officials and interested citizens on privacy issues related to enforcement records and on the GRAMA process and its purpose.

We ask that city employees involved with enforcement treat citizens respectfully during investigations. We also encourage prioritization of citizen complaints based on the impact to the community of the alleged offense and based on the strength of evidence supporting the complaint.

We encourage citizens to be civil and respectful in civic discourse. Even where there are strong differences of opinion regarding policy or political ideology, we hope that citizens will use language that is respectful of the opinions of others and avoid words and phrases intended to personally discredit or embarrass.  Our hope is that we can disagree without being disagreeable. We wish to have vigorous policy discussions and debates without showing contempt for the opinions of others or the way they choose to serve their community.


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