Please Note: There is another function taking place in the Cafeteria of the East Capitol Building (the room immediately inside the parking lot East doors). We have been asked to enter the building through the West doors – through the Capitol Courtyard – so as not to disturb this event. If you cannot go around the building to the West doors due to health reasons, please do not disturb the other function. THANK YOU

AGENDA*

• Welcome – Richard Starley, Chair – 10 minutes
  • Announcements
  • Introductions

• Reports – 30 minutes
  • Fire Department – Fire Station #2
  • Police Department – Det. Charli Goodman
  • Elected Officials – City Council, State Rep. & Senator (if attending)
  • Mayor’s Office – Joyce Valdez
  • Mobile Watch – Georg Stutzenberger & Robert King
  • Meeting with Robin Hutcheson, SLC Transportation – Richard Starley

• Redevelopment Agency Presentation – 20 minutes
  • Ed Butterfield

• Neighborhood Reports & Updates – 10 minutes
  • Neighborhood Meetings

• Upcoming Events and Important Issues – 25 minutes
  • Annual Fund-raising Event — Marmalade Festival
  • Application for City Arts Project Support Grant — Due June 14, 2013

• Other Business/Q and A – 5 minutes

• Adjournment

*The Agenda is always subject to change.

Click on the blue pointer for more information on the location of the meeting:

View Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council Meeting in a larger map

Next Council Meeting – Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 6:30 PM – Copper Room

Next Trustee Meeting – Monday, June 3, 2013, 6:30 PM – Place TBA

The much anticipated Marmalade Branch of the city library system is due to break ground sometime in the fall of 2013 with completion planned by the end of 2014. Its location at the northeast corner of 500 North and 300 West is intended to reach out to the adjacent Marmalade, and nearby West Capitol, and Guadalupe neighborhoods.

The property on which the library will be located is the southern end of the “Marmalade Block”, as defined by Salt Lake City’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA). The block is actually a four-acre property located along 300 West, between 500 and 600 North. Originally intended as a part of a mixed-use project flanking both sides of 300 West as envisioned by the RDA and Howa Construction, the company that held the option to develop the property for several years, the plans for the mostly residential part of the project on the east side of the street, fell apart in 2010 as the “Great Recession” tightened its hold on the economy. Howa Construction did complete the commercial/retail space on the west side of the street as originally planned, but the east side of the street, which was to consist mainly of residential property, has languished undeveloped for over a decade.

After Howa construction let their option on the “Marmalade Block” expire in 2010, the RDA took the opportunity to reassess their vision of the property and with the help of a consulting firm, Citiventure Associates, proposed that the east side of the street be developed within the block as a mixed use project, combining residential with commercial property, rather than the former, mainly residential idea. After settling on this strategy, the agency approached the City Library System with the idea of anchoring the project with a long wished-for neighborhood library, an idea the Library seized upon with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the RDA in March of 2012.

After a committee consisting of representatives from the Library’s administration, members of the RDA, and three representatives from the nearby neighborhoods, including our own CHNC St.Marks-Swedetown trustee, Nephi Kemmethmueller, settled on the architectural firm Blalock and Partners to design the new building, the Library held two well-attended community workshops in November 2012 and January 2013 (in addition to the two meetings held by the RDA to discuss the whole Marmalade Block project) specifically looking for neighborhood input with regard to the anticipated use of the new library with an eye toward developing the final concept, design, and materials.

Using this information and the new “Design Guidelines for Historic Commercial Properties & Districts in Salt Lake City”, which was amended and formally adopted by the city in the fall of 2012, the designers have arrived at a forward-looking design that reflects the transition from the industrial/commercial feel of the 300 West area to the residential feel of the “Marmalade” district to the east. It is designed to hold its own with and anchor the remaining mixed-use buildings which will eventually comprise the balance of “Marmalade Block”.

The main floor of the building holds the children’s and young adults’ areas of the library along with considerable space reserved for public computers in the center, and space for a public cafe in the northwest corner. The second floor holds the Adult Collection and a large, community multi-purpose room, and a proposed small roof terrace with outdoor seating designed to overlook the plaza and the green space situated just behind the library.

While there have been various reactions to the design of the building, some negative, but most positive, it is clear that the designers have put a great effort into making the building work inside and out and within the context of the “Marmalade Block” and helps its transition into the neighborhood. The four-million-dollar, three-story building has been thoughtfully designed with consideration for the use of its inside space as well as its impact visually on the neighborhood with its modern exterior.

For more information, the latest updates, including more renderings along with proposed floor plans and a copy of the “Design Guidelines”, please take a moment and visit the website/blog set up for the new library at: http://marmaladelibraryslc.wordpress.com/. As always, anyone can and is welcome to leave their comments on the proposed new library on either site.

Richard Starley called the regular monthly meeting of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council to order at 6:30 on April 17, 2013 in the Copper Room of the Senate Office Building at the Utah State Capitol.

6:31 PM, Introductions/Roll call

Richard Starley conducted an introduction roll call. The following persons were present: Robert King, Vicky Collard, Adam Dahl, Kimberly Burkart, Parley Jacobs, Robert McCarthy, Betty Lorenz, Alan Schulz, Geoffrey Fitzwilliam, Melanie Fitzwilliam, Beth Jones, Chris Valdez, Scott Lampau, Vince Kerzman, Charli Goodman, Georg Stutzenberger, Melissa Jensen, Shirley McLaughlan, Analee Apgood, Michael Measom, Erlinda Davis, Minta Brandon, Katherine Gardner, Polly Hart, Nephi Kemmethmueller, and Richard Starley.

6:35 PM, Announcements:

Richard Starley made several announcements including:

• The replacement lighting for the 600 North viaduct is nearly complete.
• Several architectural students from the University of Utah have finished a display called “People and Place”, which can be viewed at 569 North 300 West,  Suite B, showing their development solutions for the “Marmalade District”.
• Salt Lake City will hold a downtown development workshop at the Salt Palace on 5/9/2013.  Please see http://www.downtownplanslc.com for details.
• The annual Japanese Festival will be held on April 27, 2013 along First South between 200 West and 300 West.  Please see their website http://www.nihonmatsuri.com/ for details.

6:42 PM, Reports:

• Fire Station #2:  Liason Officer Scott Lampau spoke for the crew at Fire Station #2 regarding canvassing the neighborhood with an eye for fire safety and fire prevention.  Please see their website for more information http://www.slcfire.com
• Police Department: Liaison Officer Charli Goodman informed the group of the latest crime statistics for the community and advised on ways to prevent crime.  Please see their website for more information http://slcpd.com/
• Elected Officials: State Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck is looking for new issues for the next legislative session, and would like those with ideas to contact her by email at: rchouck@comcast.net
• Mobile Watch: Georg Stutzenberger advised everyone to keep an eye out for suspicious activity near 600 North at Wall Street, as a stolen car had been found nearby.
• Mayor’s Office: Joyce Valdez reminded everyone of the upcoming SLC Marathon on Saturday, and spoke of the opening of the new performing arts center downtown, as well as letting us all know that the neighborhood cleanup for our community will begin on 9/16/2013.  She fielded several enforcement issues regarding a couple of parking strips in the West Capitol neighborhood, and told the council that the recent parking tickets passed out along Wall Street were mistakenly written and subsequently dismissed.  The Mayor’s office still has a few slots left for the monthly citizen meetings with the mayor; for more information please see the city’s website at: http://www.slcgov.com/

7:01 PM, Petitions:

• Proposed Development: Nathan Anderson, a local developer, is proposing a 10 unit two-bedroom condominium project located on the vacant property at 300 North and Reed Avenue.  It will consist of 10, three-story town homes each with an attached two car garage.  There are some fence and property line variances proposed within the project.  The council decided to wait and take voting action on the project at next month’s meeting.  
• Call for Volunteers: Adam Dahl and Kimberly Burkart of Comcast requested and were granted time to speak to the council regarding the upcoming West High School Comcast Cares Day – Saturday, April 27, 2013, and asked for volunteers from the neighborhood to help clean up the school, inside and out.  They are offering free breakfast and lunch, along with tee shirts to all comers. They  explained the project and passed out volunteer forms.  Please see their website for more information at http://utahcomcast.com/tag/comcast-cares-day/.  To download a  registration form (these are required) please click here: ComcastCaresDay at WHS registration

7:35 PM, Neighborhood Reports and Updates:

• Traffic Committee:  Melanie Fitzwilliam reported for Laura Arellano that the committee had met on Thursday, April 4 at Laura’s home and had decided to reach out to our local representatives for a more inclusive role in the traffic-planning process with special regard to the heavy commuter traffic from Weber and Davis Counties coursing through the neighborhood via Victory Road and State Street.  The committee, with Laura’s help, has set up a meeting with various representatives from the city and the state to be held on Monday evening at the Capitol.
• Capitol Neighborhood: Michael Measom, trustee for the Capitol Neighborhood reported that he had held a neighborhood meeting in the Salt Lake Acting Company building and had had a fair turnout.  There was discussion about trees in along the street concern about cars crashing into the property at the bottom of Zane Avenue, which was directed to Joyce Valdez from the Mayor’s office for further review.
• Desoto/Cortez: Katherine Gardner mentioned that she intends to hold a block party meeting on DeSoto when the weather warms up.

7:58 PM, Final Business/Survey of Various Issues:

Richard Starley closed the meeting with a quick survey of the issues before the council and reminded everyone of various upcoming volunteer opportunities:

• The Annual Memory Grove Spring Cleanup
• The Proposed 600 North Overpass Cleanup
• Comcast /West High Cleanup     

8:04 PM, Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned by Richard Starley after a motion by Polly Hart was seconded by Katherine Gardner.   Our next meeting will be held next month at 6:30 PM, Wednesday May 15, 2013 in the Copper Room of the Senate Office Building, at the Utah State Capitol Complex.

Minutes submitted by: Geoffrey Fitzwilliam for Laura Arellano

The end of 2012 brought major change to the administration of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council. Not only was I elected the chair for 2013, other officers are also new to the Council leadership: Melanie Fitzwilliam and Laura Arellano. Our first Vice-Chair, Polly Hart, has been an officer before and has a wealth of information about our Council and a deep love for our neighborhoods. What Melanie, Laura and I don’t have in experience, we make up in heart and desire to serve the residents of Capitol Hill.

In addition to our four officers, we have a wonderful slate of trustees, each of whom represents their distinct neighborhood and brings their own expertise and experience to the Council. For a complete listing of all our officers and trustees, please see the council page here on our website.

I have been a resident of the Capitol Neighborhood, living on the corner of Zane Avenue and Wall Street in the Capitol Heights Condominiums, for twenty years. And in that time I have seen a lot of changes, some good, some not so good. Our air quality is worse as is traffic through our narrow streets. Services have not improved. I’ve seen Victory Road re-constructed as well as the Capitol buildings and grounds. It was much quieter in the neighborhood when Victory Road was closed that summer. But now that the Capitol renovations are complete and Victory Road is open, our neighborhoods are directly in the path of students, professors, business people and politicians all driving to points on, east and south of Capitol Hill.

Marmalade Block:

I am personally pleased that the empty block on 300 West is being developed as the Marmalade Block with a public library and townhomes, apartments and stores. The plans are in the works with development to begin as early as later this year. For those of us who use the public library, it will be great to have one in the neighborhood. Our Council has had representation on the library planning group and will participate in the selection of the developer for the rest of the project through SLC Redevelopment Agency.

Beautification on 300 West from North Temple to 900 North:

Third West Street is a state-operated highway within the jurisdiction of the Utah Department of Transportation. It also intersects with city streets at each intersection and with UDOT maintained 600 North to I-15. As early as next year, 300 West will be beautified with the addition of mid-road berms, plantings and trees. This road construction may add to traffic congestion on Capitol Hill and around the Marmalade Block. We will post more information about this on our blog and website as it becomes available.

600 North and I-15 Interchange and Overpass:

For the better part of the last 6 months, our Council has been working with the SLC Transportation Department about the lights outage on the overpass and interchange on 600 North. Thieves had stripped the copper wires out of the lights there (several times, actually) and the City has been looking for a long-lasting solution. Finally, with a solution that they hope will thwart these thieves, the City is currently working on the lights. At this time, some of the lights are on, while others are still being reconfigured. Our Council plans an annual clean-up activity to maintain the overpass for students who attend West High. We will invite the Rose Park and Fairpark Communities Councils to participate with us.

Neighborhood Meetings:

I’ve also initiated a series of neighborhood-specific meetings. I hope that these meetings will serve several purposes for the Council:

• Increase participation in, and understanding of, the Council and its work on behalf of the nine neighborhoods that make up Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council,
• Provide a ground level source of information on what each neighborhood feels are its issues and concerns, and
• Provide new leadership for the Council as we move into the coming years by increasing the role of residents in committees and other Council activities.

To date, two neighborhood meetings have been held: the Capitol & Ensign neighborhoods. I’m working with other trustees to establish dates/times/places for the other neighborhoods. I hope to have this process completed by end of summer 2013.  We will post the times and places for these meetings here in The Bulletin.

Traffic Committee:

In late 2012, a Traffic Committee was established and chaired by Laura Arellano. This committee is charged with looking for solutions to the traffic flow and congestion around the Capitol. Pedestrians and drivers from many neighborhoods have complained about the steady stream of traffic from Victory Road to State Street and reverse that inhibits their ability to enter and exit their neighborhoods. Ensign Downs and the Desoto/Cortez neighborhoods are being especially impacted by the current traffic patterns. The committee meets outside of Council meetings and is working with UDOT and SLC Transportation for solutions. Some of the ideas being discussed are a semaphore signal at the intersection of 500 North and Columbus Street, regulating flow onto Victory Road from Beck Street, one-way traffic streets and others.

My Background:

Personally, I bring 35 years of nonprofit experience to the Council. I also have extensive education in nonprofit administration with a BS in Organization Behavior (University of San Francisco) and an MBA with a concentration in Organization Development (Boston College). I also have a Certificate from Harvard Business School in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management and am currently working toward a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology (University of Utah). I have directed start-up to multi-million dollar nonprofit organizations in Utah and elsewhere. I am currently directing a senior services organization called Utah Senior Village (www.utahseniorvillage.org) and have my own nonprofit consulting company: RStarley Consulting (www.rstarleyconsulting.com).

Thank you,

Richard Starley

Chairman, Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council

Increased Refinery Traffic

AGENDA

• Welcome – Richard Starley, Chair – 10 minutes
  • Announcements
  • Introductions

• Reports – 30 minutes
  • Fire Department – Fire Station #2
  • Police Department – Det. Charli Goodman
  • Elected Officials – City Council, State Rep. & Senator (if attending)
  • Mayor’s Office – Joyce Valdez
  • Mobile Watch – Georg Stutzenberger & Robert King
  • Development:  New condos 735 N. 300 W. – Nathan Anderson

• West HS’s Comcast Cares Day – Saturday, April 27, 2013 – 10 minutes
  • Volunteers Needed – Kimberly Burkart

• Neighborhood Reports & Updates – 10 minutes
  • Traffic Committee – Laura Arellano
  • Neighborhood Meetings – Michael Measom & Steve Haycock

• Discussion On Important Issues – 25 minutes
  • Residents: Elderly, Families & Children
  • Annual Fund-raising Event
  • Clean-up Projects

• Other Business/ Q/A – 5 minutes

• Adjourn

Click on the blue pointer for more information on the location of the meeting:

View Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council Meeting in a larger map

Next Council Meeting – Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 6:30 PM – Copper Room

Next Trustee Meeting – Monday, May 6, 2013, 6:30 PM – Place TBA

If you’d like to see more of Randall Lake’s artwork please follow this link: http://www.randalllakeart.com/ to his website or feel free to check it out on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RandallLakeArt and be sure to “like” his page.

After languishing for the past few years, we may finally see the property come to life this fall with a formal ground-breaking for the new Marmalade Library, which will serve as the anchor for the proposed development.  (see artist’s rendering above, map of property below)

View Larger Map

The four acre property, owned by The Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, was originally to be developed by Howa Construction along with their development on  the west side of  300 West and 600 North.  But, while in the planning and early development stages for several years from roughly 2006 to 2009, the plans for the east side of the street finally fell apart due to the recession.

According to a 2010 article in the Salt Lake Tribune, “Howa [Construction] had an option to purchase the four acres on the east side from the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, but the recession intervened. Rick Howa said that after it became clear that his original plan — 82 condominiums and nine townhomes, priced from the low $300,000s to high $600,000s — wasn’t going to work, he still tried to make a deal with the RDA to do something of a retail nature, such as build a grocery store.

But he said he couldn’t come to an agreement with the agency, whose board is the Salt Lake City Council. As a result, Howa’s option expired in 2009 when “It all went down in a ball of flames,’ according to Rick Howa.”, as expressed in the article written by Lesley Mitchell.  In the same article, RDA executive director D.J. Baxter, while calling Howa’s original proposal “fantastic,” said the developer’s alternative ideas didn’t do much for him or the board.”

But that was then and this is now: for the past three years as the recession has wound down, the RDA, starting from scratch, has been plugging away on a new plan for the property.  The city agency has already written a “memorandum of understanding” with the Salt Lake City Public Library providing them with the land for a new neighborhood library, and hired MIG Planning, a city planning and consulting firm, with whose help they have held several meetings within the community for neighborhood input on the development.

Now that the first four community input workshops have been held at West High and Washington School, which the planners used to develop input from the community with regard to space planning wishes, parking, building materials, etc., the next step is to let out the “RFQs”, which are the formal “Request for Qualifications” to various interested developers who would essentially apply for consideration to be included based on their past work and their ability to handle their part of the project financially.  With respect to the RFQs, the RDA says that they intend to break the block up into five parcels for the purpose of development, rather that letting it all go to one developer.  The intention is to allow for a variety of design ideas to go up side by side, rather than build a hasty and  monolithic looking project, with an eye to keeping the overall look and design of the project within the scale of the neighborhood.  Further, the RDA intends to develop the park and plaza parcel itself, which, once complete, would come under the care of the city’s parks department.

Once the RFQs have been returned to the RDA with more specific proposals later this summer, the agency intends to hold additional meetings this coming fall to bring the neighborhood up to speed with the direction and timing of the project.  The Bulletin staff will certainly post this and any other upcoming meetings regarding the project here on the blog in as timely a manner as possible.  In fact, we will have another article coming in the next several days specifically about the new library and its design and current progress.  As always, we value your comments and questions.  More to come….

Kasper Kubica, 2013 Sterling Scholar in Mathematics. Congratulations everybody! — with runners-up Tommy Fang of Logan and Ethan Swanson of Clearfield.

The Bulletin would like to congratulate West High senior, Kasper Kubica, on his winning this year’s Sterling Scholarship Award in Mathematics. The annual scholarship, sponsored by The Deseret News and KSL-TV, is awarded to thirteen Utah high school seniors each year to recognize excellence in thirteen categories: English, Mathematics, Social Science, Science, Foreign Language, Computer Technology, Trade and Technical Education, Family and Consumer Sciences, Business and Marketing, Speech/Drama, Visual Arts, Music, and Dance. The award is based on academics, leadership and citizenship.

The winner in each category receives a cash award of $1,000, and is eligible for a variety of scholarships, including tuition waivers, awarded by a long list of Utah’s best colleges and schools, as well as a chance to win the all around “General Sterling Scholar” Award granted to one of the 13 category winners, which includes an additional $1,500 cash award.

For more information on the Sterling Scholarship Awards, please follow the link below:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700093466/Sterling-Scholar-Awards-Introduction.html

For a full list of this years finalists and winners, please visit:

http://www.sterlingscholar.org/files/2013/03/Finalists-reduce.pdf