Transcript — Eagle Mountain City Council, 10 August 2026

Speaker A: All right. Did Zach and Rich get on, by the way? I've only seen Craig.

Speaker B: No, we only have Councilmember Whiting so far.

Speaker A: We do have a quorum.

Speaker C: Yeah, we have a quorum, so we can proceed.

Speaker A: Okay. So I'm going to start before we go on with the prayer, and then Councilmember Wright will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Our Father in Heaven, we're grateful to be gathered today to conduct city business in this special council meeting, and we're grateful for all of our good citizens and those that we strive to help and to make this city a great place for all to live. We're grateful for all of our staff and all those who support us and help us in the things that we need and continue to do their best to help us and provide those needs in a good manner and with a good attitude. We're grateful for all of our blessings and the chance to work together and ask that we will be able to conduct this business with a good spirit and to always be kind to others and to remember to assume good intentions. And we say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Speaker C: Amen.

Speaker A: Councilman Bright. Uh, yeah, so we'll officially call this meeting to order at 3:32, and, uh, Councilmember Wright will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Speaker B: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Speaker A: All right, welcome. We did call the meeting to order already, but it is August 10th and we're in a special council meeting. We have present online Councilmember Whiting and Councilmember Hewish, and in person here Councilmember Wright, Councilmember Clark, and myself with some staff members. So I just Uh, first item, and I do— and Kiara is also online. So the first item is a resolution of Eagle Mountain City, Utah, approving the fiscal year 2026 Community Development Block Grant, CDBG, annual action plan and authorizing its submission to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. I do know that there's like 4 slides, and we'll turn it to Kiara.

Speaker D: Uh, thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Council, and everybody who carved out time for this special meeting. Um, I know you're busy. I am going to do my best to make this fairly brief. Um, let me share my screen.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker D: Alrighty, so we are going over the Community Development Block Grant. Um, as we've mentioned in previous meetings, We have a 5-year plan which goes through 2028, and we are currently in year 3. Every year we have to send a consolidated plan to HUD for approval, and so that's what we are working to do today. Just going over entitlement funds, so the CDBG is available for targeted households that are below 80%. We get those funds from HUD. And these are the limits per household, and those are updated annually as well. Um, so the big item here that we're here to review— so ultimately we would love, um, council approval on these funding buckets that we have here. So we've allocated, um, as you see, we have the guaranteed, the, um, automatic 15% and 20% for public service and administration. Those are caps that are set by HUD. Um, we We have allocated $200,000 to housing preservation and/or development. That can be fairly flexible. Uh, we don't have to, you know, we're not zoning in on projects specific right now. We're just simply wanting to allocate funds to these buckets that you see here. Um, this is just a little bit of a breakdown for how we are looking to potentially utilize funds. Again, that's not anything that's been solidified right now. Um, we have our administration and public services. We already have our utility assistance that's been going and it's going great. We do have housing preservation and development, nothing that's been spelled out right now, but we have had some conversations around maybe down payment assistance or home revitalization. Again, nothing that's been carved out specifically yet. And then as far as public facilities, And neighborhood improvements, we've talked with departments about ADA and sidewalk upgrades, maybe some senior improvements. We did have a public comment regarding school community resource center, and so we're working to learn more about that and any other eligible activities as well. And so this fulfills our public hearing we've had open for discussion. So now we are just looking to Adopt and submit to HUD, um, the items that you've seen previously. And that is all I have.

Speaker A: So, Kira, just for a clarification, that first slide— it's okay, it's gone now. Um, you can pull it back up. The— in the past, we have paid, um, MAG to do that, that 20% or that $39,000 roughly, and we're now currently keeping that in-house and you're managing that, correct?

Speaker D: We are working through some transition, and this is a great— actually great to bring up. So we're— while it is coming in-house, we have substantial items that we've needed to clean up with HUD that's taken— so we're kind of in the middle of, you know, going into new project year but also cleaning up and becoming compliant with a lot of items in previous years. And so Elizabeth has come in to help with some of that heavy lift that I've I'm just not equipped to dig into with the amount of stuff that we've had kicked back. Um, right now she is— we're contracting with Elizabeth for our CDBG services out of our administrative fund. If we wanted to keep that ongoing, um, as you've seen, we have that 5-year in 2028 where we should kind of maybe be looking at what we want to do with the new 5-year plan. Does that include Elizabeth, and is that fully in-house? My recommendation right now would be to keep Elizabeth on board while we clean up and make sure that we just get a good clean-running program and getting, you know, good graces with HUD.

Speaker A: So, so of the 20%, how— is it 50/50 that we're giving Elizabeth, or is it, uh, like, is all that 20%? Like, I'm just trying to help the, the council understand because I know this has been a conversation in the past.

Speaker D: Elizabeth, feel free to step in. We're— we are right. We haven't executed a new contract. We just had a lot of moving parts. We haven't really had the discussion yet. And so this is a great time to have the discussion. But Elizabeth, maybe you can speak to your fees.

Speaker B: Absolutely. So I think right now we're kind of in discussion about what that will look like over the next year or so. And I am really clear with the communities that I work with because I work all across the country that I am not a forever solution. I'm a solution to get through a period of time. So, you know, if that is over the next year or over the next 2 years through the rest of this consolidated plan cycle, then that's fine. You know, the management of these funds is tricky. There are a lot of moving parts and there are There are a lot of restrictions and requirements. So, you know, this would be something that if you were to manage this internally, you would want dedicated staff really working half-time on this activity. So right now there are some things we're in the middle of an environmental review monitoring because there were some challenges there. And HUD is actually— it's not just Equal Opportunity. HUD is Looking at every program that Meg had managed over the last number of years, including Lehi, Orem, and Utah County. So Eagle Mountain has it the easiest in the sense that they're only going back a couple of years because the program's new for Eagle Mountain. But some, they're going back to 2018. So there are some things right now that really need some concerted effort. and some specialization to kind of clean up, which I think is where, where I come in.

Speaker A: Okay, I, uh, is there any questions from the council? I did, uh, I know the record will reflect this, but welcome to Council Member Wood too. He was online. Um, I didn't see him earlier.

Speaker C: So, Mayor, this is Zach, if I could just ask a couple questions.

Speaker A: Go ahead.

Speaker C: It's more just for my own understanding of kind of who's doing what. So we— Kiara, you are a staff employee of Eagle Mountain City, correct?

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: Okay. And you're— are you kind of that half-time person right now?

Speaker D: Kind of trying to be. And PB&G is in no way, shape, or form fall under my purview or umbrella, obviously, for housing. There was just a scenario that I see needed tackling, and I decided to champion it.

Speaker B: Okay, totally regretted it.

Speaker D: So, here we are.

Speaker C: Okay, got it. All right, so we need staff. And then was it, was it Elizabeth?

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: And Elizabeth, could you maybe just share, just so, just so I kind of understand better, I'm imagining you've been brought to the table to help us run this program effectively, kind of train up Kiara. And Kiara is kind of seeing now this is a pretty big project. And you're training Kiara and kind of showing her the ropes. And, and can I ask, what is the fee that you charge and how is that paid? Is that paid out of these dollars that we're considering, or is it separate, a separate line item out of our city budget?

Speaker B: It's budget neutral. It's actually paid out of CDBG dollars. So I charge an hourly rate. I bill in 15-minute increments. I do have a couple of folks on staff. So, you know, the tasks that need to be performed, it depends on what it is. So if we are out, as there had been some discussion, doing some surveying in town to define areas that might be eligible for this funding, that's probably not a great use for my time because I bill higher than some of my staff does. Okay. I'm, you know, I'm actually, I do this all over the country. I've worked from Virginia to Oregon, Ohio to Texas, so, and lots of states in between. You know, it's very— go ahead.

Speaker C: Yeah, because you've come to a couple of our council meetings, I thought that maybe you lived in Utah.

Speaker B: I live in Oregon.

Speaker C: Okay. All right. So when you come out, we're basically paying for flights and travel and your time there.

Speaker B: You're sharing some of that because I also consult with Utah County.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker B: And so they are actually a larger client. I have taken on cleaning up an even bigger mess that was created in the county and some challenges with HUD. Yeah. So, and I also do ARPA. I do rescue plan work with Utah County through the end of this year. So you get economy of scale. I'm already here. I see. And so you don't have to pay for every flight. You don't have to pay for every hotel night or every car rental. There's definitely economy of scale.

Speaker C: Okay, thank you. And I believe that people should be paid what they're, you know, what they're for their time. I'm just more trying to educate myself.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: So what is that hourly fee? And then how long have we been working together? And do we have kind of like an annual— we're going through our budget. I know this is like neutral, but obviously we want to try and keep as much money in this program as we can. And, and, you know, if it makes sense for us to task somebody with a real half-time for this, then we, as a council, we probably need to consider Who would you train, or, you know, or things that we could lift off of Kiara's plate so that she can dedicate more time to this program?

Speaker B: Yes. Okay. So my hourly rate is about $130 an hour. That's fully loaded. And my staff is anywhere from 65 to about 80.

Speaker D: Okay, great.

Speaker C: And how many hours would you say— I guess, how long have we been working together?

Speaker B: We've been working together just a few months, and we've just kind of initially started to undertake kind of the unwinding and building process. So, you know, it's been A learning experience for me as I learn what's happened in the past. And so we're just kind of through that spot.

Speaker C: So it's probably a— you would, would you say it'd be a little bit heavier here in the first year as we're just like trying to build it up? And with other cities that you've worked with, what is that time requirement on your part in your experience?

Speaker B: So it really It varies. I mean, there isn't any one specific number. With Utah County, I would probably do somewhere close to, with expenses, $60,000 to $80,000 each year.

Speaker D: Okay.

Speaker B: Outside of the ARPA work that we're doing, because we have some other rules with them, we do some other federal consulting work with them. With Eagle Mountain City, it depends on You know, the tasks that I'm asked to do, and if I'm training someone, I am— I'm close enough to retirement that I'm not a long-term solution. So, you know, and I'm aware of that, and I want to be very clear about that. I'm not— I'm not a 5-year, 10-year solution.

Speaker D: No.

Speaker B: I'm a short-term, couple of years, getting something up and running, training someone. And I'm retiring. Got it.

Speaker C: That's awesome. Well, I work in the retirement industry, so anytime someone moves into retirement, I love it.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Well, well deserved. So is our load about equivalent to Utah County, would you say?

Speaker D: No.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker C: So we might anticipate $30,000 to $40,000 a year, something like that.

Speaker D: Okay.

Speaker C: Thank you. That's, that's kind of what I just wanted to wrap my arms around. Thank you.

Speaker B: Can I actually— I'll submit detailed timesheets for billings because that's required by 2 CFR 200 federal regulation. And I do those trainings around the country too. So I'll submit detailed timesheets. You'll know what I'm doing. Okay.

Speaker C: No, no. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. And then just going— thank you, Elizabeth. And then maybe just my last question for, for Kiara. Is this something that You feel like we should have somebody part-time doing this? I feel like if we hired somebody part-time, it would be about the same cost as what we're paying to Elizabeth to kind of manage the program. Or I guess this is just like a training opportunity, or are there more things off of your plate that need to be lifted?

Speaker D: I think, and it's kind of hard to say because it depends on how we, you know, execute our projects really. If they were all going externally, and I'm not making a recommendation, I'm just saying if they go externally, that heavy lift is more so on the organization versus if we have internal projects like ADA ramps and different things like that, that requires more internal tracking and compliance. efforts. Um, and so that doesn't really answer the question. In a nutshell, I would say yes, there should be a dedicated person to it. Um, while I'm kind of digesting it all, I think with my current workload it could work out, it could be fine. Um, Elizabeth's been great at training, and I'm definitely wrapping my head around other resources that we'll be able to tap into long term. But, um, yeah, so it would take— it would take a dedicated person. I don't know what my role entails of future-wise or what we're looking at as far as future housing planning or what that looks like as a division or a department. Um, but yes, it would need dedicated staff.

Speaker B: Thank you.

Speaker C: Those are all of my questions, Mayor. Thank you.

Speaker A: Um, Councilmember Wood or Whiting, any questions?

Speaker C: No, I asked my questions, uh, on Tuesday nights. Yeah, no questions.

Speaker A: You guys are good. If there's no other questions, um, one just to clarification, you mentioned a public hearing. We already had the public hearing.

Speaker C: Yeah, we had that on last Tuesday.

Speaker A: Yeah, so it's just on the notes. I just wanted to make sure. Um, so if there's no other questions, um, I'll accept a motion.

Speaker D: Mayor, I move that the City Council approve a resolution of Eagle Mountain City, Utah approving the fiscal fiscal year 2026 Community Development Block Grant CDBG Annual Action Plan and authorizing its submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Speaker C: Second.

Speaker A: Okay, we have a motion by Councilmember Clark and a second by Councilmember Wright. Any questions on the motion? We'll start voting with Councilmember Clark.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: Councilmember Wright.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: Councilmember Whiting.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: Councilmember Wood?

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: Councilmember Huish?

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: Okay, that motion passes, and I will call for another motion.

Speaker C: Motion to adjourn. Oh, second.

Speaker A: Okay, Councilmember Wood got the motion.

Speaker C: Good job.

Speaker A: Councilmember Clark with a second. All in favor?

Speaker D: Aye.

Speaker A: No opposed? Okay, we will adjourn the meeting at 3:00 And, uh, thanks for coming, guys. Appreciate it.

Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you, everyone.