What was said · Salt Lake City
LBA, CRA and Council Formal Meeting
Wednesday, May 20, 2026 — the full transcript. Click any sentence to hear it.
Don't get scared Welcome everybody to today's meeting we are happy to Have you here whether you are joining us in person or online and We hope you continue to participate in whichever manner you feel the most comfortable I would like to highlight that in addition to our business tonight as a city council will have some business items In our roles as the local business authority and as the community reinvestment agency board So we're gonna start with those two meetings close each of those and then go to the city council that are quite quick
moving to item number two is the Pledge of Allegiance, please join me with the Pledge of Allegiance
Thank you for joining us tonight before we continue through the agenda I want to quickly go through registration information and share the reasoning about how and why we share these meetings the way we do We welcome everyone regardless of your opinion opinion or side of an issue because we will help people with varying opinions on important issues the council's goals is to make the meetings meeting place feel safe and comfortable participating This is the most local level of government and it is key value of ours to ensure that we have created created a respectful and safe environment so no one feels intimidated out of free participation This is this also allows us to ensure that the meeting can continue and we can conduct this conduct the
Schedule City business We invite each of you to contribute to this space to speak your mind and to welcome others to do the same In order to create this welcoming and safe space We'll pass the meeting at any action that causes a disruption to our ability to conduct a meeting or any safety concern involving threats or unprotected speech if there are repeated actions or comments it may result in removal from the meeting to avoid intimidating order others Please avoid the use of threatening and discriminatory language Do not insult others based on religion ethnicity race color gender sexual orientation or physical ability Whether you agree or disagree with someone's comment clapping cheering shouting booing snapping gesturing
obstructing or discouraging others from commenting is not allowed as a reminder as Council members were afraid from reacting or responding to allow everyone to share their opinions freely and To keep our reactions from affecting your ability to share your opinion If you would like to follow up with any of us, please see Council staff on Or use the zoom chat to for the contact information When making your comments, please address the body and not any individual elected official If you have a handout for the council, please raise your hand and council staff will assist you Council staff are also available during and after the meeting to help with any questions or information Sharing the full mean rules are listed at the door and our staff will post the link in zoom as
a reminder of our public comment registration process Individuals may register to comment on schedule public hearing items until the hearing is closed You made it better and better every second For the general comment section will accept sign-ups until 7 30 p.m The general comment section is limited to a maximum of one hour and will only include Commanders who register before 7 30 p.m So if you're if you're here to give general comments, please sign up and remember that it is possible that not everyone Who sign up may be able to speak?
Now this brings us to the LBA public hearing section of our agenda Your comments should pertain to the hearing item And if you go off topic, we will ask you to stop your comment item B1 There's a resolution for the budget of the capital project fund of the local building authority for fiscal year 2026 2027 and before we begin to public taking public comment I will turn the time over to Jennifer Bruno console executive director to give us a short introduction Jennifer. Thank you, mr. Chair The first hearing will address the fiscal year 27 budget for the local building authority The LBA is the city's financing mechanism to build facilities such as Glendale and Marmalade libraries And this budget is the tool to pay off those bonds each year while the title references capital projects
This does not include any of the capital projects reviewed and recommended by the mayor In the general fund CIP log those projects will be addressed at a hearing later this evening An additional public hearing on the local building authority budget will be held on June 2nd at 7 p.m. Thanks Thank you, Jennifer Taylor, please begin with the first public comment Thank you, mr. Chair. We do not have anyone registered to speak to this item So no one sign up to speak about the LBA agenda public hearing And then I'm looking for a motion mr. Chair. I move at the board close the public hearing an additional public hearing will be scheduled for June 2nd 2026 second I Have a motion by board member Dugan and seconded by Borma McCarleson
Any questions on comments? Okay, all of those in favor say aye aye any opposed? This motion carries unanimously Now we have the LBA consent agenda. I need a motion for approval second I have a motion by Council member Wharton and a second by Council member Dugan all of those in favor say aye aye aye aye aye any opposed This this motion carries this motion carries unanimously. I'm sorry. We are in the middle of the motion I There is a section for public comment This is about the LBA agenda We're gonna go to the C area agenda that is Public hearing items and you need to sign up for them. So if you need assistance signing up Council staff will assist you right now This concludes the local building authority meeting and we now need to adjourn as the LBA
Authority so the local building authority and convene as the Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency board so I need a motion Mr. Cherry move that we adjourn as the local building authority board and reconvene as the Community Reinvestment Agency board second I Have a motion by board member Wharton and a second by board member Pietro All of those in favor say aye aye any opposed This motion carries unanimously and now we are convene as the community reinvestment agency board And we have a hearing and it's a hearing number e1 which is a resolution For the budget of for the community reinvestment agency of Salt Lake City for fiscal year 2026 2027 The please note that the same rules Apply to these hearing
Before we take comments. I will turn the time to Jennifer Bruno again Council executive director to give us a short introduction Thank You, mr. Chair this next hearing pertains to the fiscal year 27 budget of the community reinvestment agency or CRA of Salt Lake City For strategic investments in housing and tax and current reimbursements in specific previously adopted CRA project areas If there are comments about the proposed general city or library budgets those comments should be presented to the Council and Mayor in the public hearing Item later tonight. This budget was actually discussed at a work session earlier today and recordings and a staff report of that discussion Can be found on the Council's budget website, which is link dot s lc dot gov forward slash s lc
FY 27 An additional public hearing on the CRA budget will be held on June 2nd at 7 p.m Thank You Jennifer the Let's turn the time for public comment on the CRA
Budget Taylor please begin Thank You mr. Chair. We have one person registered to speak to this item that will be David Norton David you may not unmute
Yes Okay Generally, I just have a something to propose here and it may not Fit in two minutes. I'm sorry I left a comment there in the chat I'd be happy to follow up with the presentation because I didn't plan this till last minute but I'm a graduate student just just actually finished got my MBA and finance and I have a lot of computer science background and I've started a non-profit Help develop a training folks. I've got a class There's a lot of web material, which has been active and then I have a class that I'm calling robotic programming methodologies Which I'm gonna necessitate I've taught the class many times before it's based on Stanford curriculum anyway, I think it could produce I
Hope it like my vision is that this is a nonprofit right now, but I think it could produce jobs in the terms of full-time equivalents in terms of People required to make this what it can be in other words hiring some people to make it what what it can be and make it better and also of course producing people who were capable of creating web applications and iPhone application and stuff like that and mobile and robotics is kind of a catch so anyway I'm just curious like if the city is the right place to ask for help or to seek sponsorship I Appreciate your cancer and vice-law That was the final register comment or for this item Okay, thank you Taylor this public hearings are
Are required when we are making When the budgets are presented we are not making a decision on these budgets right now We are just allowing the community express themselves on on this individual budgets for the individual Agencies in this case was the coming of reinvestment agency Budget and there is going to be an additional public hearing on June the 2nd as 7 p.m So if there's more comments about the reinvestment agency more on the on the budget for the upcoming Please feel free to join us then or send us your comment ahead of time I need a motion to To move on mr. Chair I move that the board close the public hearing and an additional public hearing will be scheduled for June 2nd 2026 second I
Have a motion by board member calls and seconded by both board member Dugan any discussion? All of those in favor say aye aye aye aye any opposed? This motion carries unanimously and I need a motion to approve the consent agenda
Motion by council member warden and seconded by council member Dugan any discussion all of those in favor say aye aye any opposed this motion carries unanimously now we need to do that jumping between meetings now again we're gonna Conclude the CRA board meeting and we're gonna convene as the Salt Lake City Council finally mr. Chay move that we adjourn as the community reinvestment agency board and
Reconvene as the Salt Lake City Council I have a Motion by board member warden seconded by board member Pietro all of those in favor say aye aye aye any opposed This motion carries anonymously and now we are reconvene as the Salt Lake City Council I think as a reminder for everyone these formal meetings are usually Follow a full day of you know discussion and you know for the work session Today we started the work session at 2 p.m. We had meetings right here where we discuss and in depth the items for the budget with the help of the administration and There is many opportunities to get involved and learn more about the budget So again, thank you. Thank you for Join us today our next item is h2
The council will consider adopting a joint ceremonial resolution with mayor Mendenhall celebrating June 2026 as pride month and I will turn the time to council member warden who will read the resolution Thank You mr. Chair This I feel like my mic keeps going in and out. So hopefully it stays on This is a joint ceremonial resolution celebrating June 2026 as pride month in Salt Lake City Whereas June serves as a global testament to the resilience and spirit of the LGBTQ plus community marking the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising a definitive turning point in American history that transformed a courageous a courageous stand against injustice into a nationwide then global movement for liberation an authentic self-expression and
Where as Salt Lake City thrives because of its diverse residents including those who identify as lesbian gay Bisexual transgender queer two-spirit intersex asexual and those whose identities transcend traditional labels all of whom contribute to the cultural economic and social vitality of our neighborhoods and Where as Salt Lake City strives to reflect a government that looks like the community it serves having achieved a historic majority of openly LGBTQ plus members and Whereas we honor the pioneers and activists Specifically black indigenous and people of color as well as transgender and gender nonconforming individuals Who stood at the forefront of the movement reminding us of that the fight for equality is incomplete until it encompasses the most marginalized among us
And whereas Salt Lake City endeavors to remain a beacon of progress in the inner mountain west codifying its values by officially adopting the sego belonging and sego visibility flags as municipal emblems to ensure that symbols of pride and transgender visibility fly over our public spaces and Whereas pride is more than a commemoration of the past It is a living pledge to foster a future of inclusion where the dignity of every resident is protected and the brilliance of our LGBTQ plus youth is nurtured and celebrated and Whereas the 2026 Utah Pride Festival and parade hosted by the Utah Pride Center Will bring together tens of thousands of Utahns to affirm that love in all its forms is a fundamental and unifying force in our community
Now therefore be it resolved that the Salt Lake City Council and the mayor of Salt Lake City officially proclaimed June 2026 as pride month in Salt Lake City be it further resolved that we call upon all residents of this great city to stand as allies to listen to the stories of our LGBTQ plus neighbors and to join in the festivities with empathy and joy Reaffirming our collective promise that in Salt Lake City you are seen you are heard and you belong
Thank you, Councilor Worton. I will look for a motion Mr. Chair, I move that the Council adopt a joint ceremonial resolution with Bearman Hall celebrating June 2026 as pride month second I Have a motion by Councilmember Dugan and seconded by Councilmember Yang is there any discussion? Okay, I'm gonna call the question all of those in favor say aye aye aye any opposed this motion Carries unanimously and I would like to welcome Chate Call executive director of the Utah Pride Center here with us today to receive the resolution Thank you for being here. We would like to say a few words
good evening members of the Council Mayor Mendenhall and Of course our incredible community members here with us tonight on behalf of Utah pride in the community we serve. Thank you Thank you for this resolution for your leadership and your continued commitment That this city has shown not just Salt Lake City's LGBTQ community, but your commitment you've shown to the entire state of Utah Pride month is of course a time to celebrate to look back and see how far our community here in Utah has come from the first official pride back in the 90s and shortly thereafter the first official pride festival held right here on Washington Square It's inspiring to see how far our community has come in such a short amount of time
And while so much progress has no doubt been made Pride still matters because visibility still matters safety still matters and belonging still matters This year's theme for Utah pride is pride elevated. It's a theme inspired by Utah's own identity but more importantly by people and communities who continue to elevate what pride can mean to them and When we at the Utah Pride Center think about pride elevated we of course think of cities like Salt Lake City We think about a city that has time after time chosen compassion over fear a city that has chosen representation over exclusion a city where LGBTQ people are not just tolerated not even just welcomed but represented in our schools in our businesses in our
Neighborhood and of course in the very leaders sitting before me This resolution speaks loudly to that representation It recognizes that the strength of Salt Lake City comes from the diversity of the people who call it home And it acknowledges something deeply important that the work of inclusion is never finished especially now At a time when LGBTQ people across this country continue to face attacks on their rights their health care their visibility and in some cases Even their humanity moments like this matter They matter to the young person wondering if they belong They matter to the parent trying to learn how to support their children and they matter to the early leaders in our community who never imagined
They would one day see pride flags flying from government buildings in Utah They even matter to those of us younger leaders who wondered just last year if we would ever see our flags fly again From buildings like this in our state These gestures send a strong and clear message to our community that in Salt Lake City our LGBTQ community is not an afterthought We're part of the story of this city And in just a few weeks we get together right outside these doors and welcome our community members across the state Some come to celebrate some will come to find community some will come to more and friends They've lost and some will come because they are finally ready to be seen and that is what Utah pride has always been about
Not just a festival not just a parade but a community So on behalf of Utah pride in the community that we represent Thank you for continuing to stand with us Thank you for creating a city where our community doesn't just fit in but a city where we belong We can't wait to celebrate pride this June with each one of you and let me be the first to wish you all a happy pride Thank you Thank you. I would like to receive the resolution and take a photo with us Yeah
So now this brings us to the public hearing section of our agenda These are specific proposals before the council that require public hearing your comments should pertain to the hearing item And if you go off topic, we'll ask you to stop your comment in order to create this welcoming and safe space We'll pass the meeting at any disruption of our ability to conduct a meeting or any safety concerns involving threats or unprotected speech If there are repeat reactions or comments it may result and removal from the meeting
As a reminder a board comments that include profanity personal attacks and discriminatory language Such comments can be intimidating for others and not persuasive or compelling to the council if you're in soon Please unmute your microphone when your name is called Each person will have two minutes if you reach the two-minute mark the host will announce time and your microphone will be muted We will be calling the names in the order of sign-ups and if you need a staff assistant in the room Raise your hand and someone will be with you if you're having technical issues in zoom or you need assistance message staff support Actually from our staff can assist you if you are unable to finish your comment in the two minutes that you have
Please share the rest via email mail or call our office Contact information is listed at slc.gov slash council If you have a handout for the council, please notify the council staff who will assist you Now we're moving on to item I one public hearing for the significant parcel Combarians for Mountain View Corr or construction
Before we begin before we start taking cop public comment I will turn the time to Brian former council policy analyst to give us a short introduction Thank you mr. Chair This is an initiative to transfer city owned right of way to you dot for construction of a portion of the Mountain View corridor The proposal calls for you dot to exchange property of similar value it owns for the city property As a reminder the only required council action is to hold a public hearing no council vote is needed. Thank you Thank you, Brian Taylor please be in with the first bullet comment regarding the parcel conveyance for Mountain View Corr or construction Thank you mr. Chair. We don't have anyone registered to speak to this item. Okay
I'm gonna need a motion mr. Chair. I move that the council close the public hearing I have a motion by council member Dugan and second day by council member young is there any discussion? All of those in favor say aye aye any opposed This motion carries unanimously. We're gonna move to item I 2 which is an ordinance for the indefinite indefinite closure of 7200 West between interested Interested 80 and California Avenue We're gonna be welcome Brian former again our council policy analyst to give us a short introduction Brian This is a proposal to continue the closure of 7200 West that has been in place since 2024 Prior to the closure there was significant illegal dumping in the area which caused environmental impacts
The closure has been effective at mitigating unsafe conditions The proposal is to close this section of Street to public use but the city would retain ownership. Thank you Thank you to Brian Taylor. Can you begin with a first comment regarding the closure of 7200 West? Mr. Chair we don't have anyone here just to just keep to this item Mr. Chair, okay, I move that the council close the public hearing and adopt the ordinance
Having motion by council member Dugan and seconded by council member Pietro is there any discussion? Okay, all of those in favor say aye aye aye any opposed This motion carries unanimously. We're moving on to item I 3 which is an ordinance for the indefinite closure of 200 South between Montgomery Street approximately 1640 West We're gonna Welcome again our good friend Brian former council policy analyst to give us a short introduction This is a proposal to indefinitely close a portion of 200 South between Montgomery Street and Approximately 1640 West to create a railroad quiet zone under the proposal the street would be closed to the public But again the city would retain ownership
Thank You Brian Taylor can you begin with a first public comment regarding the closure of 200 South? Thank You, mr. Chair. There is no one registered speak to this meeting Council members motion Mr. Chair I move that the council close the public hearing and adopt the ordinance any a second second
Okay Board member Dugan council member Dugan made the motion and it was seconded by Council member Carlson Sorry about that Is there any discussion? I will like to say something quickly It is a big deal to the community to expand the quiet zones This area of of my district and you know portions of yours can hear the the horns from the trains and blood blasting the for you know very loudly at all times of the day, so Well, this is a little bit of a minor inconvenience to have this closure of the street I think the the positives outweigh the the negatives and Creating this quiet zone In this part of town will be a big deal for a lot of our neighbors. They will be able to sleep better Which all of us appreciate I believe so I'm very thankful for that
So the motion was from Dugan seconded by Carlson All of us in favor say aye aye aye any opposed This motion carries unanimously our next item as I for Which is the ordinance for the lost and mislaid property at airports text amendment? I'm going to welcome Nick Torvitt council deputy director to give us a short introduction This is a proposal for the ordinance that would amend city code pertaining to lost mislead property the airports Recommended changes are necessary to comply with Senate bill 172 past this year in the legislative session and to codify the process by which the Salt Lake Department of airports Disposes of lost or mislaid property left at the airport
Thank you Nick Taylor can you begin our first public comment regarding the lost and mislead property at airports text amendment? Thank you, mr. Chair. There's no on register to speak to this item. Okay. I need a motion mr. Chair, I move the council close the public hearing and adopt the ordinance I have a motion by council member young seconded be council member Pietro is there any discussion?
I'm gonna call the question all those in favor say aye aye aye any opposed This motion carries unanimously moving on to item I 5 which is an ordinance for the compensation for elected and statutory officers and Executive municipal officers for fiscal year 2026 2027 Before we begin taking comments. I'm gonna turn the time to our Executive director Jennifer Bruno to give us a short introduction Thank You mr. Chair this public hearing is Required by state law as a result of a legislative change made several sessions ago to require a separate public hearing to receive comment about compensation for elected and statutory officers as well as elected executive municipal officers This includes the city's elected officials as well as department directors and other statutory
Officers as required by state law Closing this hearing does not adjust pay for any of these officers in any way That happens when the council adopts the final budget in June Thank You Jennifer Taylor can you begin our first comment on this item? Thank You mr. Chair there is no one I just start to speak to this item Okay, mr Chair I move the council close the public hearing an additional public hearing will be scheduled for June 2nd 2026 second I have a motion by council member Dugan seconded by council member Carlson is there any discussion?
All of those in favor say aye aye any opposed this motion carries unanimously and now we're gonna
Hear the items I6 through I 21 and there are ordinances and resolutions They are associated with the implementation of the mayor's recommended budget of select city Including the library fund for fiscal year 2026 This is our first out of two budget public hearings with a second opportunity 2027
Being scheduled for Tuesday June the second before we begin taking comments I will first turn the time to Jennifer Bruno our council executive director to give us an introduction Thank you. Thank you mr. Chair The council considers all ordinances related to the fiscal year budget in one public hearing as they are all needed collectively To implement the mayor's recommended fiscal year 27 budget Including which includes the library tonight's public hearing addresses ordinances I6 through I 21 the various ordinances set property tax rates and budget levels It they address fees and compensation among other items for the public's information
Departments are discussed in more detail at each of the council's public work sessions through May and June Which typically start at 1 p.m. On Tuesdays or Thursdays? More information as well as the exact timing of those meetings can be found at our city's Budget hub which is link SLC dot gov forward slash SLC FY 27 an additional public hearing on the city's annual budget and these related ordinances will be held on June 2nd at 7 p.m Thank you Jennifer Taylor can you begin with our first public comment?
Thank You mr. Chair we have about 14 people registered to speak to these items the first will be Jacob Johnson followed by Chris Butler and Then David Norton Jacob you may not onion. Okay. Yes
I was just thinking over the mayor's recommend budget
One of the things I saw was listed as a city wide camera system and This I've I bought up some kind of similar concerns in the past. I think that any sort of camera system
Sorry, I think that any sort of camera system has high potential for misuse and low benefit I I submitted more detailed comment using the form I Would definitely recommend using any money if our goal is public safety We have a lot more injuries and deaths from traffic accidents than from crime and There's a lot less potential for misuse if we put this money into things like public transit
pedestrian safety that sort of thing so I oppose
this sort of camera system on the grounds that has high potential for misuse and Lower impact to public safety than a lot of other things we could be doing. Thank you
Next will be Chris Butler followed by David Norton and then Carlos Burmocha Chris you know and you Hi So I was looking at the budget and just noticing that the police budget is just continuing to rise more and more And we're just not actually getting true like safety from the police Just increasing officers like for the West side and things isn't like increasing officers doesn't lead to more safety Otherwise we would be seeing just dramatic decreases in crime because of how much we're spending I'm also concerned similar to the first person's camera mentions that the police are adding in more drones and using drones which feels terrible for like just public privacy and
I just don't think we Can like know what the footage is being used for If that footage captures private property what happens to it? All these things that just it feels like it's just going to be violating people's rights And so I would urge the council to just you know look into more Ways that are not the police to improve public safety Things like more better funding transit better funding street lighting there's so many ways that we can improve public safety and
That are not the police and are going to be much more budget friendly because you know It's just how long until a half our budget is the police or more Because they keep just asking for more and more So thank you, and I hope you take this into consideration
That's is David Norton followed by Carlos Vermo Chea and then Jen Henninger David you may know unmute
Okay, can you hear me? Yes I'm following up on something I mentioned earlier and I apologize. I don't know where to interject this I'm not actually I'm in favor of the police. I'm in favor of spending on responding to those last two guys I just I hope that we'll spend more in fact invest in in other areas of the arts And that's why my own interest is I'm trying to put some people to work and also create Kind of a culture of creativity and then create some some qualified people. I've got a course that I'm calling robotic Programming methodologies using Stanford curriculum and there's some people interested. So I mean my effort is a nonprofit I'm interested in serving In the areas of authorship and coding and healthcare so specifically authorship means writers and artists and AI agents
As it turns out will be a part of that and it should be interesting I mean I'm expecting to have some fun in this category and I can explain more detail to if somebody will contact me But if there's a writer's guild in a publishing house, so which is a fairly unique feature I believe and we don't it should create an interesting culture of the original Kind of the background will be based on a trilogy that I wrote and then it will go from their coding is And another area programming engineering robotics I've got a retired electrical engineering inventor and a video production expert who want to help and I've just so I'm been reaching out to see if they're if I can get any Support from the city or whomever to help me with this
The third part is is related to healthcare and I won't go into that here, but anyway I just want to throw it out there and hopefully it would be considered a Positive thing for our culture
Next will be Carlos Vermocha followed by Jen Henninger and then Amber Pond Carlos is here in person
Carlos
No, no, okay next comment
Next is Jen Henninger followed by Amber Pond and then Bob Nelson Jen's here in person
Thank you so much for this opportunity over the past five years I've tracked my monthly water bill and my monthly property tax What the data shows is important Especially because I've had no major change to my yard waste or house that would require a significant change in my monthly bill While our property tax has actually decreased by 14% over the last two years Our utility bill has gone in the opposite direction We've already absorbed a 75% increase in water rates in 2024 and now the city is proposing an additional 20% increase I want to be clear. I'm not opposed to paying my fair share I've accepted the property tax adjustments because they've been reasonable and in fact are trending downward
But the utility rate increases are far beyond what most households can sustain Typical income growth is about two to five percent per year and these utility hikes dramatically exceed that I Understand the need to maintain and improve our water infrastructure that is essential But I'm asking the council to prioritize water over discretionary projects Especially beautification efforts that can be delayed without harming residents Before placing more financial burden on households. I urge you to exhaust alternative funding options Reprioritizing existing budgets phasing projects more gradually or pursuing state and federal infrastructure grants A modest increase aligned with residents income growth would be understandable, but increases of this magnitude or not
I'm asking you to reconsider another proposed 20% hike to utilities and adopt a more balanced approach That protects both our water system and the people who rely on it. Thank you for your time
Next will be Amber Pond followed by Bob Nelson and then Cassie and your come save Amber is here in person Good evening everyone My name is Amber Pond. I'm a volunteer with no med Alliance. I'm here to speak about the police budget I Actually was unsheltered for five for five years. I was on the streets. I was an active addiction I'm clean now for four years just over four years But the one thing I have to say when I was on the streets was Policing extra policing did not help me. It didn't help me get clean. It didn't help me get off the streets It just in you whatever the word is it made me feel less of a human I Woke up multiple times to police waking me up giving me camping tickets telling me to move on
the only thing that did help is Loving people like no matter lions that gave me support One time on one of their first supply drives. They gave me a coat and I would have frozen to death if it wasn't for that I Believe that the increase in the budget for the police is not good. We need to put it towards something else
sanctioned campgrounds Save camping sites For the unsheltered anyway, thank you
Next is Bob Nelson followed by Cassina commissava and then Lila burrows Bob is here in person Do appreciate you letting me speak? I Do a lot with the homeless and I understand that this is a budget meeting and And there's a huge increase in the police budget. I see that as
Kind of interesting because I So much of that money is designed to
Arrest prosecute judge a homeless community and it does not seem like it is the best choice for the amount of money that they're Going that they're asking for and the bigger police force bigger police force requires is probably there to justify and Further enhance some of the issues that are going on with the homeless there is
There has to be a better way there has to be at a better avenue to Take care of the homeless population Make adding criminalization for those that live out of their vehicles It's just ridiculous because some of these people actually live out of vehicles Have jobs they work, but they can't spend $1,200 for Rent they just don't have it so Two things find a better use for the money and do not add additional criminalization to the homeless because They do not deserve it. They're humans just like the rest of us There are issues don't disagree with that, but there are better avenues to pursue I believe Thank you Next will be seeing a comma civa followed by Lila burrows and then Lily burrows to see me as here in person
Hi everyone, because he knew with the no-mat alliance I'm mainly here to thank you After the last meeting you guys tabled the ordinance that would further criminalize homelessness, and I appreciate you listening to the people Thank you for working to provide a safer city for us all But thank you for also having compassion and I hope that you may have more As others have said, you know, I've heard it's a rough budget year I've heard your sport you have to increase property taxes and yet You're increasing the police budget by over 5% and that to me doesn't make any sense when in the last five years six years alone We've increased the police budget by 64% and That is insane when one fully 45% of the police work in Salt Lake City right now is going to arresting the same
Thousand chronically and sheltered folk over and over again and if the of the highest of these high utilizers
That had about 10,000 crimes in the last year 87% of those crimes were misdemeanors and only 2% of those crimes were violent crimes And so I'm really asking you doesn't make sense to increase the police budget when there are alternatives that would save taxpayers money And those alternatives is giving people a place to go rather than go out and commit crimes You know 30% of these crimes that they were arrested for Were for trespassing if people had a safe place to go at night They wouldn't need to trespass if people didn't need to trudge through a snowstorm They wouldn't need to reach for the the drug that they have on hand that keeps them going We presented a safe parking proposal to you And we really hope that you consider it for only $27 a night. You can house somebody
It's $55 a night and a regular shelter and a jail costs $106 There's easy ways to not increase property taxes while also taking care of the people we ask you please safe camping sites sanctioned campgrounds safe parking sites fine Next is Lila burrows followed by Lily burrows and then Michael Coxford Lila is here in person. Are you here? I don't think so next comment Next will be Lily burrows followed by Michael Coxford and then Thomas wall Lila should be here in person Are you here?
That's not there's no possible
Next comment Next is Michael Coxford followed by Thomas wall and then John Westy Michael's hearing person. Hi, my name is Michael Croxford. Um, just want to talk about increasing the police budget You know, it always seems to me and I'm watching through a national level state level city level We always seem to have money for war We always seem to have money for more police forces We always seem to have more money to arrest people for the littlest minorist things Are we going as a society towards a police state?
Because this budget is crazy. How much you guys keep increasing and increasing increasing want to have cameras on Everybody and their dogs. When's it gonna stop? It's crazy. You can take this money like the scene. It was talking about help the homeless. That's where your biggest Lot of it's going towards helping out in prevention Every dollar for prevention is worth three dollars or more for incarceration or for cops Sorry, it just it seems like this nation the city is just turning towards a police state I don't want to see it I'm a free American. I should be able to walk down the street and whatever time and I not have a cop Question what I'm doing and I've had that happen Just walking doesn't matter. I
Have that freedom. I have that right. I shouldn't be stopped and it seems to be happening more and more and more and it's Disgusting to me It's appalling. It's not what my forefather's fought for my father went to war for my grandfather All that's just appalling to live in such a police state It's I'm leaving at that. Thanks
Next will be Thomas Wall followed by John Westie and then Daniel niche Thomas is here in person
Thank you for listening in advance. It might not be too popular what I'm gonna say
I happen to be a resident in the Murray holiday area The water line goes out to that area. So that's why I'm here as a resident of a surrounding city
We had a quadrupling actually more like of the water rate last year if you consider the tax they've placed on The way the blocks are structured
They've lowered the amount of gallons by half for the first block then second block the same thing and then quickly you're into the third block and you're paying a fortune and This is nothing but a tax and that's all it is and as This tax is basically all aimed at the homeowner. I don't see the amount of regard that's given to apartment owners and the behavioral habits of apartment dwellers. I was a landlord At one time. I know they do not conserve water. I I think the growth of the population has has increased by 247% over the last few years and even more I would question
The Area serving the salt
Yes, you can continue to give us your your comment, you know, Council staff will help direct you with that
Next comment Next will be John Westy followed by Daniel niche and then Jerry the Aragon John is here in person. Thank you for the opportunity to present tonight presenting about the Texas Street CIP Redo program our our street is absolutely in shambles like many of them are around town and You saw me last year. We did a CIP I met with Dan doing and thank you again Dan for that support last year I'm in talking to this the engineer He said we were like the second from the top of the ones that weren't funded So boy, we it was a near miss or a near hit George Carlin might have said So really close the street has gotten noticeably worse in the last year the street like Nevada Street to our west Has deteriorated a lot like I say and it's it serves a
host of neighborhood activities near three schools last year we The Nevada Street guy and I kind of presented with by referring to one another because we're just a block away So it would be economy of scale So I'm told by the engineer that Nevada Street Project was funded through your if I'm not mistaken the liberal livable streets that has been funded through that pathway So he's off the table for the CIP So again, I would appeal to you in improving this in terms of economy of scale that would still exist even though That's another funding source perhaps with the livable streets program again, it's a whole lot of damage on our street a whole lot of kids and walkers and and just really appeal to
Approve this one this year. Thank you very much
Next is Daniel niche followed by Jerry the Aragon and then guy ream Daniel's here in person And are you here in person next comment?
Next is Jerry the Aragon and then guy ream Jerry is here in person
Thanks for the opportunity to let me speak today. I'm Here to talk about the CIP application that I recently submitted to the City Council This one is titled seven hundred East beautification So all of us have driven past 700 East when you go South past Liberty Park. This is beautiful Boulevard of trees and then when you cross 1300 South It becomes a barren island of asphalt and it looks very industrial right as humans We've managed to lay so many layers of asphalt and made it a very very bad heat island there Starting from 1300 South all the way down to 21st South Right that is the South entrance of the city and it looks very industrial. So this CIP application proposes to Continue the same Boulevard of trees in the median
It's quite a bit of space. So the city calculated that we could have an opportunity to plant about 200 trees in that space and Obviously the mayor and the council are very supportive of Reducing app illusion the heat island effect and all of this that bogs are city down, right? And I see this as a very good opportunity to
Reduce the heat island effect one if you look at the heat index that part of the city is the hottest and So this gives us an opportunity to address all of that The second thing is water conservation. It gives a percolation pit in the middle of that big vast road It straddles district 5 and district 7 this road and it'll be a great opportunity
It is quite a bit on the expensive side, but I think it's an investment Towards our future and the health of the city So I'd ask you guys to consider funding that application
Thank you Next is guy Reem followed by Thomas wall guys here in person
Okay, I'd just like to say that since 2019 I've been fighting the first degree felony In the state of Utah timed out by the five years mandatory for first degrees not brought federal and I think that the false accusation and demeanor of the officers on a general scale is Abrasive and I think that it's just an inclination for for a successful fraud within the police I think the good officers are sitting there in their car waiting for an actual crime to occur or be observed If they're on street observance, and I just think that maybe they should get the pay raise You know rather than than just encouraging more officers or a greater staff You know to impress people like me that are homeless and that are on the park strip and that do have more than two hours to be there
You know because they are homeless because they are trying to abide peacefully and in the spirit of brotherhood as described in the universe Declaration of Human Rights this first article and Having said that I would just like to say that the these officers that do this That they should go internal if they didn't do any Budget increase or anything they should go internal with the officers that are doing actual crimes and not both accusations convicted in abuse of process and I just man I I've gone up to my neck with it I've lived in a few states that seem Almost heavenly compared to the Utah officials and the locals that are that are new to what they're doing and what they're doing People and I just think it should be reconsidered
for all causes to be in positive and mutual benefit of all Utah citizens Thank you And next is Thomas wall. Who's here in person?
Thomas are you here in person? Oh?
The next comment then That is the last register comment, okay? Thank you For all of those that share their comments This brings us to I heard something over there. So I just
Want to take a brief moment of privilege the you know today we got a little briefing regarding the the Partnership between you epa the Indian poor authority and Salt Lake City, which is you know the reason for the police Department of Growth that is going to and is meant to service the inland poor authority area And it's this is money that is coming to from the inland poor authority to the city to fund this police so and As many of us know that follow the municipal drama we had thoughts about the inland poor authority in the past and You know and in part because
This authorities take the tax revenue from cities and municipalities like ours deviated for other purposes And in many cases cities are left hanging there and many times providing the services anyways without the correct funding and And in this case the the inland poor authority and the current iteration Is partnered up with us to actually service their area within the inland poor authority, which is a huge improvement from where we started years ago, so This is not money that can be move around and is not you know reflecting all the attacks increase This is money that is coming from the inland poor authority area to fund service within the area and I wanted to highlight that as well That the discussion was
We were brief today about that and I am thankful for neighbors advocating for CIP funding There is a lot of them every year community Our capital improvement projects within each neighborhood not every time able to fund All of them every neighborhood has needs and We have a board that scores them and suggests us Suggested the administration which one should be funded with the resources we have each year and we do really our best to try to spread And highlight the most important projects Every year so we're very thankful for you advocating for your projects Now we are moving on on the agenda unless there is any anybody else council member motion I motion I move that the council closed the public hearing for items I
6 to I 21 and additional public hearing will be scheduled for 2 June 2026
second I have a motion to close the public hearing by council member Dugan and a second by council member Carlson any discussion All of those in favor say aye aye any opposed This motion carries unanimously. We're moving now to potential items Action items which is J1 and it's an ordinance for Fortune Road Partial Street vacation and I need a motion
Mr.. Chair I move the council adopt the ordinance
second Have a motion by council member Dugan and a second by council member Pietro is there any discussion I
Would like to highlight that this is in my district. This is a big deal to
For public safety reasons, so I'm excited that we got here today, so I'm gonna call the question all of those in favor say aye aye any opposed this motion carries unanimously I Am going to move to item J2, which is a ordinance for the Mansell manner Soning map amendment and I need a motion
Mr.. Chair I move the council adopt the order I
Have a motion by council member Dugan and the second by council member warden remember when I used to make all the motions and now it's account so Any discussion on this item? Okay, this motion. I'm gonna call the question all those in favor say aye aye aye aye aye this motion carries unanimously and Moving on to item J3, which is an ordinance for the sonim app amendment at approximately 2020 22 and 22 60 22 70 22 90 east 1300 south I need a motion mr.. Chair I move that the council adopt the ordinance second motion by council member Dugan second by council member Pietro any discussion All of those in favor say aye aye. Aye. Any opposed motion carries unanimously Mr.. Chair I just want to say on this ordinance
I really just want to see my gratitude to find former one of the council staff the developer and the community on on
I'm making this motion and making this ordinance and alive and well, and this is a affordable housing, for sale along with market rate, and it's one of the first of its kinds on the east side, so I'm very appreciative of the collaborative effort by everybody involved, so thank you. Thank you, Council Member Dugan. Would the K portion of the agenda, which is the new business, this is a motion for the Code of Conduct Review, an investigation status, and I need a motion.
Mr. Chair, did we vote on J2?
Oh, I thought. Yes, we did. Sorry. Sorry about that.
Motion by Council Member Dugan. Yes, okay. Now we are in item K1, which is the motion for the Code of Conduct Review and Investigations. Mr. Chair, I move that the Council update the purpose of the working group we established earlier in May, to focus on reviewing the existing Code of Conduct Policy, identifying opportunities for improvement, and working with the City Attorney's Office to consider options and prepare amendments.
While the original intent to investigate was in response to serious allegations, using Council resources to retain an independent investigator is no longer an appropriate role for the Council. Second. I have a motion by Council Member Carlson, and a second by Council Member Young. Is there any discussion?
I'm gonna call the question, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? This motion carries unanimously. There is no unfinished business, but there is a consent agenda. Is there any motion? Mr. Chair, I move that we approve the consent agenda with the exception to... Item 6 and 7. Yes. 6 and 7. Second.
Okay, there's a motion to approve the consent agenda, removing item 6 and 7
by Council Member Wharton, and seconded by Council Member Dugan. Is there any discussion?
All of those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Now we are at the comments section of the agenda. Are there any questions for the mayor? Mr. Chair. May I reverse the table for a moment? There's questions from the mayor to the council. I don't have a question. I wanna thank you for passing the quiet zone. The road closures associated with that.
Silencing the trains on the West Side has been a passion project for my administration. You've supported the funding that we would have to do to engineer crossings that UP would pass off to stop blaring their horns. And I think this has gone largely unnoticed this whole process over the years of funding and taking the actions to get these trains to be quiet finally.
But I hope that we're very close now and tonight was a step closer to silencing those trains. And I hope we could have a very quiet party when it finally happens. Thank you Mayor. Your leadership on this issue has been noticed for many of us and this might actually be the last portion of the city that still has this issue.
So thank you.
We're now at the general comment section of our agenda. This section is for the public to comment on any city business not scheduled for public hearing. It is limited to a maximum of one hour and only individuals who have registered before 7.30 can speak. Our meeting rules apply to those to this general comments section.
Avoid disruptions or threats and ask any staff member if you need any assistance. As a reminder, please avoid comments that include profanity, personal attacks, intimidation, discriminatory language or because there are no persuasive or compelling to this council. They are not helpful to create a respectful or safe environment.
We'll be calling the names in the order that they sign up. If you are in Zoom, please unmute your microphone when your name is called. Each person will have two minutes. To help make sure that as many people as possible can speak during the hour, anyone in person should feel free to come up and stand in line when you hear your name called.
Avoid disruptions so we can use the time for as many people to comment as possible. If you reach the two minute mark, the host will announce time as it was done before and your microphone will be muted. If you need staff assistance in the room, you can raise your hand and someone will be with you. If you have technical issues in Zoom, you can message staff support and action from our staff can assist you.
If you are unable to finish your comment, you can share the rest of your comment via email, mail, or you can call our office. The contact information is listed at slc.gov-cancel. Taylor, can you begin with our first public comment? Thank you, Mr. Terry. We have about five people registered to speak. The first will be Kim Potsuru followed by David Norton and then Daniel Bolton.
Kim, you may now unmute. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay, fabulous. Good evening. My name is Kim Potsuru and I'm speaking in regards to CIP Save Side Streets, North Extension. I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak again on behalf of more than 120 neighbors. This is now our second year seeking the city's support for completing traffic calming in our neighborhood.
The block requesting safety improvement spans 1700 south to 2100 south, 900 east to 1100 east. The southern portion of this block has already received street calming measures, speed bumps and traffic circles. We are simply asking for the continuation of those same measures to the north portion of the block. Right now, safety stops halfway.
Our streets function is byways. They are heavily used by bicyclists, walkers, joggers, lost dogs and cats and families. At this time, they sit between major arterial roads. As a result, they are increasingly used as cut through routes, wide straight stretches, make them feel invited to speed on. We are zone 46 and livable streets program.
If we wait for the full rollout, we are looking at five to seven years. Meanwhile, development in our area continues to grow as you all know. As of last year's data, which still holds true, there were 3,384 units built under construction or operational between 1700 south and 1300 east with approximately 1,500 more planned.
Growth is here, traffic is here and the need is here. We are not asking for something new, just consistency. We are asking to complete what has already been started so that the entire block, not just half can feel safe. I really thank you all for your time, your consideration and your continued work to make our streets livable for everyone.
Please remember to be for next year. And next is David Norton, followed by Daniel Bolton and then Paul Lloyd. David, you may now unmute.
Hey, thank you for letting me speak. I've been listening to everybody and I'm interested in the problem of policing as well. I think it can be overwhelming, but I'm in favor of the policing. I'm in favor of empowering the police as needed, but I also feel like there tends to be a problem. I see it from a different angle.
I think that we need to create more opportunities in the arts. Case in point, you know, you've got people who go to college and there's artists, first of all, there are artists who can't afford to live. And that's something, I don't think that's okay. I think that artists, even beginning artists who are slow and can't sell their artwork, if they're creative and if they're producing, then they should be able to survive.
And I mean, I guess I'm proposing a kind of socialism, but anyways, that's beyond the scope here. You know, you've got people who graduate from college in the arts. They become theater, they become actors and actresses. And then a handful of them go on to become the joint official groups. They might join dance companies or join the theater or whatever.
They're successful in that way. And then the rest are like looking for jobs. And so, you know, what's available in Salt Lake City? Well, there's a very strong policing effort and you can be, you know, hey, why not become a private investigator? And you know, it just says created this culture of like, of a lot of suspicion, a lot of two-faced, and most people, you know, being paid to do undercover work and it's kind of humiliating, I think.
Anyways, I'm in favor of the arts. I'm in favor of authorship and healthcare and coding. I have a program that I'm proposing and I talked about it. It's Silver Medal. And I can talk more about it. I think we should create a new culture of creativity. And next is Daniel Bolton followed by Paul Boyd. And then you say our Audrey, guys, Daniel's here in person.
Thank you for your time tonight. I'd like to speak on the camping ordinance that's being proposed. A couple of things, just to lay out some facts. I am on SSDI and received $1,600 a month. A one-bedroom apartment average goes for $1,400 in Salt Lake now. A studio is $1,100 out of that $1,600. I'm fortunate enough to live with my father, but when he passes away, it's gonna be seven to eight years for me to qualify for housing, from what I understand.
I'm not the only person who may need to rely on their vehicle for a night's rest, let alone seven to eight years as I figure out what that's gonna look like for me when the time comes. I'd like you to consider what that does to somebody who is either just getting ready to be homeless and out on the streets or somebody who's trying to find their next house.
I don't know whether we're talking about citations or possible vehicle empowerment and a night in jail, but that would sure be awful for anybody in that scenario with not much in their last asset to have that impounded and possibly lose it that way. Thank you for considering that.
Next is Paul Lloyd followed by Isaiah Rodriguez, Paul is here in person. Always good to see you, all, Hundra. It's been a minute. I was here less than a year ago about an issue that's happening in our in my father's neighborhood over on 8th South and 8th West. We have a gentleman who is running a scrap metal business and the city has come in and give notice and order, but no fines have started.
It's now turned from a scrap metal business to an auto shop to where multiple vehicles are now parked and now trailers full of scrap metal. And I mean full, I mean eight to 10 feet off the ground of refrigerators, washers, anything scrap metal, people are coming in the middle of the night drop off it. We have homeless people coming through the neighborhood like to park on Genesee that are now going through the trailers.
Not only is it affecting us as homeowners, it is also affecting the businesses. Counding cabinets, which is on Genesee Avenue, consistently at 730 in the morning when they show up, have to tell this resident to move his vehicles and his trailers. There's been situations where they've been unable to unload their trucks because it's left there.
And we've turned into a situation of concealment rather than compliance.
I, after doing my homework, the city zoning and business offices have told me they never intend on giving this person a business license because there is over 18 years of documented enforcement issues
that have happened. And so I'm asking at this time, the city stand up and I mean running a business without a license, especially when it impacts the neighborhood is a class B misdemeanor. And we're asking at this point that enforcement started this because it's, you guys have done a great job at bettering our neighborhood.
You guys came through and read it all of our streets, that this is a consistent issue that is now causing rodent problems and has been for the last several years to the point where we have 15 to 16 rodents a week that we are catching with this problem. Alejandro, if you reach out to me, I know my time's about to be up.
If we can move forward with something that would be helpful. And next is Isaiah Rodriguez. Isaiah, you may not want to be. Hello, can you hear me? Yes.
The city council, C-Sire Rodriguez, I wanted to get on here tonight. I guess, motion the fire out on the west side of Salt Lake City today. I'm a little bit surprised at the response. At least the way the city's handled it. It seems as talking to my neighbors that there has not been very adequate. That's what I would consider adequate.
Information regarding what the fire was
and the health risks that we're putting our communities at, with them being so close to that said fire. I was an electronics recycling center. So we have lots of batteries, computer parts, Mercury, Lend, whatever else that's in PCB and other things like that. I mean, fire retardant, you name it. But I'm kind of shocked because there's plenty of community out here that have children that spend a lot of time outside.
And not only that, but kids that were walking home while the fire was still fully going. If it's still not going right now, I know they've still been working on putting it out. But to not see anything go out, in terms of a more serious acknowledgement, in terms of like some sort of emergency service from like radio or television or our phones
or anything like that. And not to mention, but the lack of information that was given to me when I called even my own fire department, non-emergency number and even the city. I had to find out from an actual firefighter. I ran into Acosco. I was getting pizzas for them while they're out fighting the fire. So I just want to bring that to our attention because it's really important.
Also, I stand with the ask me workers, give them a fair contract. And that was the final register comment. Thank you everyone for sharing your comments. This concludes our select city council meeting for today. The council formal meeting now stands adjourned.
So who won?
Right there.
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