CITIES OF PROVO AND OREM JOINT CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION Neighborhood Housing Services 39 West 300 North, Provo, UT February 13, 2008

This meeting was for discussion purposes only. No action was taken.

CONDUCTING: Cindy Richards, Provo Council Chair

PROVO ELECTED OFFICIALS: Councilmembers: Cindy Richards, George Stewart, Midge Johnson, Cynthia Dayton, Cindy Clark, Sherrie Hall Everett, and Steve Turley

OREM ELECTED OFFICIALS: Mayor Jerry Washburn; Councilmembers: Shiree Thurston, Karen McCandless, Mark Seastrand, and Margaret Black

PROVO STAFF: Wayne Parker, CAO; Neil Lindberg, Provo City Attorney, Terry Ann Harward, Executive Director; Melissa Bennett, Legislative Assistant; and Barbara Bassett, Executive Assistant

EXCUSED: Provo Mayor Lewis Billings; Orem Councilmembers Dean Dickerson and Carl Hernandez

Call to Order Provo Council Chair Cindy Richards opened the meeting at 12:16 p.m.

DISCUSSION - Items of Common Interest

State Legislative Issues Mayor Washburn commented on the enormous amount of work that has been put into the water bill. The bill has approximately sixty supporters in the House. Mayor Washburn also addressed the Form of Government legislation, SB20. He advised this will not affect Provo or Orem.

Councilmember Thurston mentioned that residents from other communities are upset about SB20.

Neil Lindberg, Provo City Attorney, explained the legislation and stated that SB20 is trying to strike a balance of power.

Justice Courts Mr. Lindberg addressed the proposal regarding justice courts. There were concerns about the constitutional issues related to justice courts. Specifically, people are concerned that a justice

Joint Orem/Provo City Council Minutes – February 13, 2008 (p.1) court judge is paid based on the number of cases they hear. This proposal would make judges function in a similar role to district court and appeals judges. The salary range of a justice court judge would be between fifty and ninety percent of what a district court judge is paid. Additionally, judges are assigned a percentage of that salary based on their work load.

Renting Loopholes Chair Richards read portions of a newspaper article regarding the tightening of renting loopholes in Orem.

Councilmember McCandless mentioned that Orem consistently uses the accessory apartment ordinance to enforce rental units.

Mayor Washburn commented that prior to the accessory apartment ordinance, the City was being inundated by complaints. Neighborhoods are in support of this ordinance and are being patient with the City.

Chair Richards stated that Provo is finding creative ways to address similar issues.

Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Mayor Washburn advised in reference to the widening of I-15, there is an assessment being done that will probably affect Option A. There are also concerns about the wetlands, so there will probably need to be another option provided by UDOT. Mayor Washburn commented that there is no question that they need to have the corridor, and it seems that the frontage road is no longer an option. The EIS was due on January 11th, but extensions were requested. Mayor Washburn noted as far as he is aware, Provo City will still be getting the requested SPUI (Six Point Urban Interchange) at Center Street.

Utah Valley University (UVU) Various Orem Councilmembers commented that they do not know much about the projects UVU is currently working on. Mayor Washburn stated that the Council has had an excellent relationship with them in the past, and they have general discussions every one or two months. He indicated they had just met last week regarding transportation issues.

Councilmember McCandless noted there is a big celebration on June 30th in honor of the change to university status. They will also celebrate the new library opening.

Affordable Housing Councilmember Seastrand asked about Provo=s affordable housing. Council Chair Richards responded that affordable housing used to mean affordable rental housing. Provo Housing Authority, operating under Housing and Urban Development (HUD), coordinates with Provo City. Renters are able to pay the landlord a percentage of rent, and the Housing Authority pays the rest. There are also several houses available for low-income elderly people. The Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) helps with home ownership through down payment assistance programs, revitalizing homes, and other programs.

Councilmember Stewart stated that in the next five years they will erect approximately 100 homes. In the last five years they have done about fifty or sixty.

Chair Richards said that banks are major partners. The Community Revitalization Act (CRA)

Joint Orem/Provo City Council Minutes – February 13, 2008 (p.2) requires them to participate in low-income programs. There is also CDBG money that is contributed.

Councilmember Stewart informed the Orem Council that Provo is buying the Action Target site. The new forty-two residential unit development will completely revitalize that neighborhood.

Chair Richards stated the County is not involved because Provo has NHS. In regards to creating the program, Chair Richards said that the City has realized the need to interact with business lenders to make the program work.

Chair Richards then stated that owner occupancy is a critical issue in Provo. There are six neighborhoods that do not even have fifty percent owner occupancy, and there are many problems that stem from that situation. She indicated that Orem probably has different issues that need a different type of non profit organization.

Councilmember Stewart advised that the Council approves the Provo Housing Authority board members, and other than that they are very independent.

Chair Richards indicated there are approximately thirty-two units for low-income seniors in the newly renovated Maeser School, which is now owned by the Housing Authority. She commented that Provo has programs to help young families get into homes. She said that NHS is a key program. There is also Crown Homes that allows people to rent a property for fifteen years and then they own it. Provo has very interesting demographics, with a very narrow range of moderately priced homes. The west side has the most, and they still have a lot of starter homes because it was zoned about ten years ago. Chair Richards also noted that one of the struggles in Provo is constantly educating a whole new population because of the mobility of the residents.

Councilmember Thurston noted that Orem is about seventy years younger than Provo.

Council Chair Richards also talked about Central Neighborhood Revitalization Coordinating Committee (CNRCC).

Set date and time for next joint meeting: The next meeting was scheduled for April 22, 2008, at noon in Orem.

The meeting adjourned at 1:22 p.m.

Donna R. Weaver, City Recorder Approved: March 11, 2008

Joint Orem/Provo City Council Minutes – February 13, 2008 (p.3)