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2/2/2024 - DON'T CAUSE A "HOT TRUCK LOAD" FIRE; MILLCREEK UNCOMMON; COFFEE WITH A COP; etc. View this email in your browser A scary and dangerous recycle truck fire that happened in Millcreek on Thursday should serve as an urgent reminder of why residents need to be very careful about what they throw in their blue recycle bin. Announcements Public Meetings Mt. Olympus Community Council Mon., 2/5/24, 6pm Churchill Jr. High Library Millcreek Community Council NEWS Be Very Careful What You Throw in Your Blue Recycle Bin MILLCREEK. On Tuesday, January 30th, a fire occurred in the cargo bed of one of the Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District trucks on the east side of Millcreek. We are grateful that the driver was only shaken up and not injured and for the quick response of the Unified Fire Department to extinguish the ---PAGE BREAK--- Tues., 2/6/24, 6:30pm Granite Credit Union Adventure Hub 1354 E Chambers Ave Canyon Rim Citizens Association Wed., 2/7/24, 7pm Granite Credit Union Adventure Hub 1354 E Chambers Ave Historic Preservation Commission Thurs., 2/8/24, City Hall, 1330 E Chambers Ave Community Room, 2nd Floor See agenda below flames. The damaged truck was towed to the salt pile area along Wasatch Boulevard to allow the fire department space and time to completely extinguish the fire. Pam Roberts, the General Manager & CEO of wants to say "I am so thankful that our driver was not injured and I thank the Unified Fire Authority and Millcreek teams for acting so quickly dosing the flames and keeping everyone safe." She adds "This is an example of why waste and recycling collection is such a dangerous job. The truck got so hot that the CNG Tanks off- gassed as they are designed to do, so the tanks did not explode." Ms. Roberts has informed us that their inspectors have determined that the cause was not mechanical or some type of truck malfunction. The cause appears to be an item that was placed in a recycling can that should not have been in there. They have not yet been able to identify the item but common causes for fires in recycling trucks are batteries, which may spark as the truck compacts the materials. Any type of battery can cause this issue. Other items that have been known to cause fires in garbage trucks are empty propane tanks, hot ashes from fireplaces or barbeques, or chemicals such as household hazardous waste (HHW). Residents should remember that everything that is marked recyclable are not always recyclable through the blue bin pickup. You can find information on how to take care of hard to recycle materials on the guide below. ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- Batteries in particular, the probable culprit in this case, are difficult to dispose of. Although recyclable, they should not be placed in your blue or black can. There are locations that accept used batteries, such as Home Depot. Please take the extra time to dispose of them properly. The action of a resident who thoughtlessly or unknowingly placed the wrong item into their recycling can has caused a very dangerous and expensive problem. The initial estimate from the manufacturer for repairs to the truck body is $110,000 to $125,000. A new truck body is roughly $189,000. A new ---PAGE BREAK--- truck runs around $400,000. This does not take into account the need for to reorganize their recycling pick-ups with one of their trucks out of service. We also cannot say enough about how grateful we are that this fire did not cause injury to the driver, any bystanders, or property damage besides the truck. We encourage everyone to think carefully about what you are putting in your garbage, recycling or green waste bins. Ms. Roberts tells us this type of fire, called "Hot Truck Loads," happens more often than we know, please help keep it from happening in your neighborhood. You can find guides to what you should and should not place in your recycling bin on the website. Millcreek Hosts a "Millcreek Uncommon" Event MILLCREEK. Millcreek was pleased to co-sponsor, along with the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC), the American Planning Association-Utah Chapter, and the Utah League of Cities and Towns an event titled "Millcreek ---PAGE BREAK--- Uncommon" last Tuesday in The Grandview on the sixth floor of City Hall. The mission of the WRFC states, "The Wasatch Front Regional Council builds consensus and enhances the quality of life by developing and implementing visions and plans for a well-functioning multi-modal transportation system, livable communities, a strong economy, and a health environment." This brown bag event was the first in a lunch-time series that WFRC is planning to explore uncommon successes of the transportation and land-use planning industry in Utah. Over 100 people attended, including representatives from Cottonwood Heights, Pleasant View, Draper, Orem, Midvale, Spanish Fork, West Jordan, Lakepoint, Bluffdale, Murray, North Salt Lake, Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Clearfield, Hurricane, and Davis County. The audience also was made up of representatives from the construction and land-use planning industry. Faciliated by Ted Knowlton, the Deputy Director of WFRC, the panel included Millcreek Mayor Silvestrini, Mike Winder, Millcreek City Manager and Economic Development Director, Aimee McConkie, Millcreek Common Executive Director, Peggy McDonough and Ryan Wallace from MHTN Architects, Tyler Morris from Cottonwood Residential, and Tim Baird from Fehr & Peers. Mayor Silvestrini gave a brief history of why and how Millcreek moved through the public engagement processes, grants and bonding details, property acquisition, and other required steps leading up to the construction of Millcreek Common that includes an ice/roller skating rink, splash pad, and soon, an outdoor climbing wall. The mayor also explained the need to build a city hall as the lease in our first offices was running out and how public engagement assisted in determining the city hall be owned by the city rather than leased. Funding came through bonds that were acquired at the low interest rate of 2.4% and are being repaid by tax increment funds from development in the area costing the taxpayers of Millcreek nothing. The panel also explored the various aspects of how Millcreek Common and City Hall came to be through an ambitious five-year plan to develop this place that Millcreek residents call home. Topics covered the envisioning process, implementation of the vision, how to use events and iconic spaces to make a place, and a new approach for shared parking. ---PAGE BREAK--- Many thanks to the Wasatch Front Regional Council, the American Planning Association-Utah Chapter, and the Utah League of Cities and Towns for their participation in making this event successful. Millcreek Hosts Interfaith Harmony Music Night MILLCREEK. Millcreek’s Interfaith Council, made up of local religious leaders and volunteers, helped organize an Interfaith Harmony Music Night event held on in the Grandview Room on the sixth floor of city hall. The performers represented many faiths and churches that have places of worship in or on the border of our city including a quintet from the Bell Ringers at Christ United Methodist Church, violinist Kelly Richardson from Congregation Kol Ami, and the trio High Point Harmony and the harpist Katie Ann Powell from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millcreek hosted its first Interfaith Harmony Music Night and invited musical artists and performers from different faiths and congregations within the community to share their talents in celebration of World Interfaith Harmony Week. Designated by the United Nations in 2011, and observed the first week of February, the celebration promotes harmony, dialogue, cooperation, and mutual understanding between all people regardless of religion. ---PAGE BREAK--- TUESDAY ---PAGE BREAK--- SAVE THE DATE ---PAGE BREAK--- Register HERE ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Switchpoint Residential Support Program at 1871 E 3300 S MILLCREEK. The city has developed a FAQ sheet to help explain what is happening regarding the Switchpoint Residential Support Program to be located at the facility located at 1871 E 3300S, formerly known as The Haven. PERMIT PARAMETERS 1. Will the Switchpoint facility be a homeless shelter? No. A homeless shelter is designed to provide free overnight sleeping accommodations for the homeless, typically on a walk-in basis. Switchpoint is proposing to operate what they call a “supportive housing facility” which will be licensed as a Residential Support Program by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Residents will have to be referred to this program by a clinical team and will be expected to sign a long-term lease and pay a portion of their income as rent. Sometimes that income is disability income, Medicaid, or other public benefits. 2. Will the Switchpoint facility be a behavioral health hospital? A Residential Support Program is not designed to provide acute mental health care. Clients will be on the path toward stability before they become residents of the facility. The Health and Human Services license for Residential Support Programs requires wraparound support services, above and beyond what, for example, a drug treatment program provides. The program will be subject to inspection multiple times per year by insurance providers, Salt Lake County, and the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure compliance. The status of Switchpoint’s other licenses is regularly monitored by the State. 3. What is the property zoned? Is a Residential Support Program permitted in the zone? The property is zoned Multifamily Residential (RM), and Residential Facilities for Persons with a Disability are permitted in the RM zone. Both the previous assisted living facility and the proposed residential support program are defined in Millcreek’s Code as Residential Facilities for Persons with a Disability. Furthermore, Millcreek’s Code requires that any residential support program be licensed as such in order to qualify as a residential facility for persons with a ---PAGE BREAK--- disability. 4. Can Millcreek deny a permit for a use that is permitted in the zone? No. As long as the proposed use meets the requirements in the code, Millcreek cannot deny a permit for a use that the RM zone expressly permits. 5. Are we obligated to accept a Residential Facility for Persons with a Disability in our neighborhood, even if the facility treats people with mental health challenges, or who were previously homeless? Yes. Federal law and Millcreek’s own zoning ordinance protect the rights of disabled Americans to live in residential neighborhoods, and this includes people who suffer from mental health or substance use disorders. Disabled Americans have as much a right to live in a Millcreek neighborhood as anyone else does. Denial of a permit for a Residential Facility for Persons with a Disability is a violation of both the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and would violate our own zoning code. In 2016, the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a Joint Statement that clarified that denying, delaying, or adding unreasonable conditions to a permit based on stereotypical perceptions about a protected class of disabled people is a likely violation of the Fair Housing Act. 6. What are the consequences of denying a permit? The consequences of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act are dire. Millcreek would be subject to a civil rights action from the Department of Justice, the applicant or potential residents and it would imperil many grants and appropriations we have received from federal and state agencies, because in those grant agreements we commit to further fair housing and protect the rights of all who live in Millcreek. 7. Can we impose conditions on a permit? Millcreek can impose limited conditions on a permit that are not unduly burdensome and are not discriminatory. We can regulate, within reason, parking and operational considerations, as long as they are not discriminatory against a disabled person. For example, because the Residential Support Program is reliant on state licensing, we can impose a condition that requires Switchpoint to maintain their state license for a Residential Support Program in good standing. Any operational commitments Switchpoint makes to remain compliant with insurance reimbursements can also be imposed as conditions on our permit. ---PAGE BREAK--- 8. Who approves the permit? Millcreek’s municipal code states that the Planning Director, with the assistance of the city attorney, shall approve permits for a Residential Facility for Persons with a Disability. The municipal code does not contemplate a role for the City Council, or a process of public hearings, in the permit approval process. SAFETY AND NEIGHBORHOOD COMPATIBILITY 9. Does it make sense to have this type of use near homes, schools, and parks? Millcreek and Salt Lake County have a long history of permitting assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities in residential zones, because we value having these uses in residential areas. Federal law is clear that any zone in a city that permits residential uses of any kind must also accommodate residential facilities for persons with a disability in that same zone. If we permit an assisted living facility or a skilled nursing facility in a zone near homes, schools, and parks, we must also permit any residential facility for persons with a disability in that same zone. 10. Are there Residential Support Programs and other facilities for persons with a mental health disability in other Millcreek neighborhoods? Yes. While this type of project may be new to the Canyon Rim neighborhood, it will not be unique to the Canyon Rim Neighborhood. The Mount Olympus Community District hosts three group homes. The East Mill Creek Community District hosts a residential substance use treatment facility. The Canyon Rim neighborhood hosts a facility that supports people with a developmental disability. The Millcreek Community District, which includes everything west of Highland Drive, hosts five residential substance use treatment facilities, four residential mental health treatment facilities, and at least three group homes serving residents who have either a mental health or substance use disorder diagnosis. These uses are embedded within, or are immediately adjacent to, single-family residential neighborhoods. 11. Is the facility suitable for use as a Residential Support Program? Is additional green space required? This facility was legally constructed in 1999, and it has been subject to regular inspection by the Department of Health and the Fire Marshal ever since then. The building is well suited for a Residential Support Program, and received an inspection by city staff earlier this week. The facility complied with the ---PAGE BREAK--- standards for open space in effect at the time it was initially permitted as a residential facility. That use is not changing, and we cannot require as a condition of approval the addition of any “green space.” 12. Will there be security at the Switchpoint Residential Support Program? Yes. There will be on-site and off-site security, and a code of conduct. As the provider, Switchpoint will be providing 24/7 on-site security in the form of professional staff who are trained in de-escalation and trauma informed care in a clinical setting. At least one member of staff will be uniformed security, and will monitor the front doors of the facility at all times. Guests will be limited to one at a time per resident, and visiting hours are limited to 8 am to 10 pm, and will be subject to a background check. 13. How will Switchpoint work with the Unified Police Department? Switchpoint, the City and the Unified Police Department will meet at least to discuss what is working, and what is not working, at the facility. This proactive relationship between UPD, the City, and staff is a proven model we used for the Temporary Overflow Shelter last year, that helped reduce adverse impacts to the surrounding neighborhood. Active drug use and violent behavior are grounds for eviction from the program. 14. Will convicted sex offenders and violent criminals be admitted into the Residential Support Program? No. Switchpoint will perform screening and background checks of every potential resident. Individuals with sex offense, murder, or manslaughter convictions at any time in the past, violent criminal charges within the last seven years, or distribution or theft charges within the last three years will not be admitted into the Residential Support Program. FACILITY OPERATIONS AND TREATMENT PROTOCOLS 15. How will residents be treated? The Residential Support Program is not a behavioral health hospital, and Switchpoint will not provide acute behavioral health care. To participate in the Residential Support Program, residents must be accepted into and participate with an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team. An ACT Team is comprised of qualified medical, and social work professionals who work with these individuals based upon a prescribed ratio of residents per team. They ensure these individuals are receiving and maintaining treatment regimens, including medication, to stabilize them and address their mental ---PAGE BREAK--- health issues. The ACT Teams will be inside the facility every day, or nearly every day, to help residents on site. ACT teams operate in addition to the on-site staff. Residents may have the capability of going off-site for some aspects of their treatment, depending upon the individual and their need. Most of the residents will receive their treatment on-site from these outside professional team members. This is not unlike healthcare professionals who come on site to attend to residents of an assisted living facility for the elderly. It's just much more intense. In addition, the facility will provide programming to occupy residents during waking hours. Some of that may be field trips but it will be mostly on-site. For example, residents will be encouraged to assist with communal cooking, cleaning, etc. to the extent they are able. 16. Can residents come and go as they please? Yes. The proposed residential facility is not a jail or a lockdown facility. Participation in this residential facility is voluntary, as it is in any other assisted living or skilled nursing facility. Because the residents are paying rent and, in some cases working, Switchpoint cannot legally prevent a resident from leaving at certain hours. However, Switchpoint is including a code of conduct in their lease agreement that stresses the importance of being a good neighbor and respecting the property rights and privacy of their neighbors. In addition, the facility will be monitored at all times with staff at the front door. THE HAVEN 17. Why did The Haven Assisted Living Facility go out of business? The Haven is one of a number of assisted living facilities that have ceased operations in the last five years. Other facilities that have shut down include the Pacifica (777 E 3900 Millcreek Meadows (1624 E 4500 All Seasons of Millcreek (3681 S 2300 and the Osmond (950 E 3300 This is part of a statewide and national trend of privately-owned assisted living facilities shutting down due to limited Medicaid reimbursements and a new focus on the part of Medicare and other insurance providers to pay for in-home care, as opposed to long-term care in a dedicated facility. Coupled with an end to CARES Act funding and increased labor costs, many assisted living facility providers are looking to sell facilities that are not profitable. According to the owner of the Haven, at least half of the residents at that facility were on Medicaid. 18. What happened to the residents of the Haven? The owner of the Haven informed us that every resident received a thirty-day ---PAGE BREAK--- eviction notice once the sale of the property commenced. The owner negotiated with four other assisted living facilities in or near Millcreek that their residents could move to the new facility at the same rate that they paid at the Haven. The Haven also negotiated waivers for move-in fees and community fees, and paid for moving expenses as well. Most residents availed themselves of available space at nearby facilities. OTHER RESOURCES Scan this QR Code for HUD/DOJ Joint Statement on Fair Housing Scan this QR Code for State Monitoring and Licensing Reports MILLCREEK IN THE NEWS Two Millcreek Culinary Establishments Recognized in 2024 James Beard Awards MILLCREEK. On January 24th, the semi-finalist list for the 2024 James Beard Foundation (JBF) Awards were announced, and two Millcreek establishments made the list! ---PAGE BREAK--- The James Beard Awards are among the nation’s most prestigious culinary honors. The James Beard Awards honor those who are creating exceptional food, food media content, and better food systems, while demonstrating a commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive. Dave Jones of Millcreek Canyon’s Log Haven was announced as a finalist in the Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY) category. Log Haven routinely tops local lists for best places to clink glasses and celebrate, and so. Jones’ menu is always a reliable one, drawing on global inspiration to infuse big bold proteins. Table X Bread was nominated in the Outstanding Bakery category, which recognizes "A baker of breads, pastries, or desserts that demonstrates consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, hospitality, and operations while contributing positively to its broader community." Open Tuesday through Saturday, the Table X Bread is the offshoot of the fine dining sit-down spot upstairs (itself a previous nominee). Nominees will be announced on Wednesday, April 3 and winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 10 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. CONGRATULATIONS to Dave Jones and to Table X Bread for such an outstanding culinary achievement! ---PAGE BREAK--- Check out this great feature on Millcreek Common from At Your Leisure (AYL)! Join the Millcreek team! Economic Development Assistant (FT) Senior Accountant (FT) Grants Manager (FT) Public Market Sales Associate (PT) Meetings with the Mayor Mayor Silvestrini is out of town enjoying a short vacation. Friday afternoon meetings with the Mayor will begin again on February 16th. ---PAGE BREAK--- VISIT us at Click here to subscribe to this weekly newsletter Millcreek Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Agenda Public Notice is hereby given that the Historic Preservation Commission of Millcreek will assemble in a regular public meeting on Thursday, 8 February 2024, at City Hall, 1330 E Chambers Ave, Millcreek, Utah 84106, commencing at 6:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. – Regular Meeting 1. Updates from Sub-Committees 2. Update on 2000 E Ditch Project 3. Staff Updates 4. Approval of December 19, 2023, Special Meeting Minutes 5. Adjourn In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Millcreek will make reasonable accommodation for participation in the meeting. Individuals may request assistance by contacting the ADA Coordinator, [PHONE REDACTED] or [EMAIL REDACTED] , at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting. The meeting will be live streamed via the City’s website at: Public comment can be submitted before or during the meeting via the City’s website at: The Commission may convene in an electronic meeting. Commissioners may participate from remote locations and may be connected to the electronic meeting by GoToMeeting, Zoom, or telephonic communications. The anchor location will be City Hall. THE UNDERSIGNED DULY APPOINTED CITY RECORDER FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF MILLCREEK HEREBY CERTIFIES THAT A COPY OF THE FOREGOING NOTICE WAS EMAILED OR POSTED TO: City Offices City Website Utah Public Notice Website Those Listed on the Agenda http://millcreek.us http://pmn.utah.gov ---PAGE BREAK--- DATE: February 2, 2024 DEPUTY CITY RECORDER: Alex Wendt Agenda items may be moved in order, sequence, and time to meet the needs of the Commission. 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