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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024.0305.TCRM.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL MARCH 5, 2024 A Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened at 16705 E. Avenue of the Fountains in open and public session at 5:30 p.m. Members Present: Mayor Ginny Dickey: Vice Mayor Brenda J. Kalivianakis; Councilmember Gerry Friedel; Councilmember Peggy McMahon; Councilmember Sharron Grzybowski; Councilmember Hannah Toth; Councilmember Allen Skillicorn Staff Present: Town Manager Rachael Goodwin; Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson; Town Clerk Linda Mendenhall Audience: Approximately one hundred and ten members of the public were present. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Post -Production File Town of Fountain Hills Town Council Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Transcription Provided By: eScribers, LLC Transcription is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. Page 1 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MAYOR DICKEY: Good evening, everyone. Please stand for the pledge and remain standing if you choose for the invocation. ALL: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Karen Henner. HENNER: Yes. MAYOR DICKEY: Hi. HENNER: Father God, thank you so much for every person here invested in our community. We pray an extra blessing for integrity, respect, honesty, and some good dialogue that promotes our community with safety and prosperity. Thank you. Amen. ALL: Amen. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Roll call, please? MENDENHALL: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Here. MENDENHALL: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Present. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Present. MENDENHALL: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Here. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Grzybowski? GRZYBOWSKI: Present. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Present. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Here. MENDENHALL: Anyone wishing to address the council regarding items listed on the agenda or under call to the public should fill out a request to comment card located in the back of the council chambers and hand it to the town clerk prior to consideration of Page 2 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES that item. When your name is called, please approach the podium, speak into the microphone, state your name for the public record and the city you're located. Please limit your comments to three minutes. It is the policy of the mayor and council to not comment on items brought forth under call to the public. However, staff can be directed to report back to the council at a future date or to schedule items raised for a future council agenda. MAYOR DICKEY: And thank you. And yes, she said vice mayor. So I want to thank Sharron for her service as our vice mayor for the last eight months. And thank you for doing that so well. And welcome our mysterious vice mayor tonight. Do we have to keep the light out of your eyes for a while? And welcome to getting copied on all my emails now. So I wanted to mention our one of the presentation items listed was 6B, and that's not going to proceed. We have been informed that the petitioners are challenging this matter in court. So generally the town won't comment on pending litigation matters. So we won't be discussing this tonight, but we will have more on that later. Thanks. So we'll start with our reports and activities. We'll start with our town manager, please. GOODWIN: Mayor, council, residents, thanks for being here. I just wanted to do a quick update, as I usually do, to mention the events that we've had going on, as well as the events that are coming up. Last weekend we hosted the Memorial disc golf event down at Fountain Park. It's always a really, really high-vis event. It's a fun event. It's really different to see our disc golfers out there and the disc golf community. For those of you that don't know, which I learned, the disc golf community references playing here at Fountain Hills and in Fountain Park as the Pebble Beach of disc golf. So that's high praise. We also had the Mountain to Fountain, which is a road race that begins up at McDowell Mountain Regional Park and runs down to the fountain. Again, beautiful morning for it. Several hundred runners out there, so that was great. This weekend we will be hosting the kite festival down at the park, which is again a very beautiful -- hopefully, there's a little breeze. Not super windy, but just enough for some Page 3 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES great kites. There's also the watch and clock event going on at our community center. So again, no shortage of activities here in Fountain Hills. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. TOTH: Thank you, Mayor. I have no report this week, but hi, everybody. GRZYBOWSKI: We had a really successful art fair two weekends ago -- I've lost concept of time because the whole retreat in-between the things. Every time I went, I swear I felt like there was more people than I've ever seen at our art fair weekend. So that was very exciting to see. Hopefully, we had some successful artists as well. And then the only other council related thing was the retreat that we all participated in last week. Thank you. FRIEDEL: Thank you, Mayor. I, too, was down at the disc golf and heard nothing but glowing comments about how great the course is. And yes, there's water, so there's a challenge there. But I'm sure we'll find a few discs when we replace that liner. And as you mentioned, the kite festival is coming up. Brenda Kalivianakis and I sat in on a couple of discussions with town staff helping get that organized, and so that was that was well worthwhile. So we'll see how that turns out this year. Excited to see that as well. I want to mention that I spent several hours with our town staff and ADOG down at our dog park this past couple of weeks. And I want to compliment Kevin Snipes and his team. You know, we've got a great facility there. That dog park is really well -recognized in the dog community, and they've got several other projects on tap that they're going to do to enhance some things down at the dog park. So again, I think it's one of the best in the County, isn't it, Kevin? Pretty much. Yeah. And then one other thing I'll bring up tonight, Mayor, if I can, is I talked to our town manager a little bit about this. There's been a lot of chatter and a lot of comments on social media about the robberies going on over in Scottsdale. And the reason I'm bringing this up is because I'd like to see the town issue some kind of a press release or update our residents, not trying to scare anybody, but to give people -- empower our residents and give them some knowledge as to what they can do maybe to secure their Page 4 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES properties and their valuables a little bit more. I know Capt. Kratzer is going to be giving an update tonight, so maybe he can work that into his update a little bit as to what's going on. And Rachael, I have been reached out to by one of the HOAs in town, so I'll give you that contact information, so we can get them involved in this as well. I think it's important to let the residents know what's going on with the crime in surrounding areas that may spill over here, because there was actually a robbery here in Fountain Hills as well. So again, it's dealing with people coming across the border. There's been a lot of activity in Scottsdale. I know they're on top of it. They're doing extra patrols and that sort of thing. So maybe there's something we can do on the town level, to support that effort and get the word out to our residents and let them know what's going on here. That's all I have, Mayor. Thank you. MAYOR DICKEY: Thanks. Councilwoman? MCMAHON: Thank you. Good evening, everybody. I attended the Valley Metro board meeting to represent our town as far as our valley -wide infrastructure and light rail is. And also, I wanted to remind everybody that this Thursday, as part of the dementia - friendly committee, we are having an educational hour and a half forum on how to afford to care for a person with cognitive impairment and dementia. And also Fountain Hills Cares presents we're going to be having on March 21st from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the community center a seminar on civility in Fountain Hills. It's a discussion worth having in our town, so that is why we're doing it. Thank you very much. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Vice mayor? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Yeah. Thanks, everybody for coming out. Another just wonderful attendance tonight. And for all you people on YouTube, live streaming, thank you. And of course, for all you people that came here in person, it's most appreciated. That's how good government is made by citizen participation. Just to explain just briefly, these glasses are not meant as a sign of disrespect to anybody in the room. I'm fresh off of eye surgery, and the doctor recommended I don't come to the meeting tonight. I didn't think I wanted to do that, so he said, you can either come as a Page 5 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES pirate or a rock star. I chose a rock star. And so yeah, I didn't think the pirate was going to be a real good look. And so but anyway, so that's the explanation. Pardon me for having to wear these tonight. I also did go to the Fountain Hills Fine Arts Festival. I don't know if we have numbers, but it just seemed like it was just bursting at the seams, there were so many people there. Everybody seemed to be carrying things and so happy. A big thanks to our town staff, to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department, to the Rotary Club, and to the Chamber of Commerce for putting that on. I can't imagine the work that it took to put that on. So thanks to everybody for making this a spectacular event. Again, we attended the council retreat within the past two weeks. And just so you guys know, we did have more of an attendance this year than normal. But when we talk about big projects coming in the future, like maybe the Target Center and other things, they usually start out at these retreats, and unfortunately, people don't attend these things. And so we have -- unlike tonight, there's just a few scattered people in the audience. And of course, Bob Burns. And if you want to know what's going on and what's coming down the pike, that's when we plant the seeds. You want to see the tree, but the seeds are planted in these retreats. So I really strongly encourage you to come or at least to read the agenda. So you know what's coming up in the future council meetings. It's really important for you guys to know what's going on. Also we attended a ribbon cutting for Linda (sic) Murray and the Lyon Sotheby's Realty; congratulations to them. Like what our former vice mayor said, with the Fountain Hills Cares meeting is going to be on March 21st. Evan Lowe, PhD, is a facility member at Arizona State University School for Civil and Economic Thought and Leadership. He will be one of the presenters. And also Patrick O'Grady is editor in chief for the independent newspapers. He will provide an overview of the civility pledge and how, in many cases, the lack of civility discussion is occurring not just here but all across the country. So I know some people ask about the civility pledge in the newspapers, so they'll be here to explain that. And this event was not meant to marginalize or minimize anybody. It was simply meant to try to bring people together so we can talk to each other, not at each Page 6 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES other, and that we can be more civil with each other. And I think we all want that in Fountain Hills. And so I encourage everybody to go there. The last thing -- well, I wanted to also appreciate Gerry for mentioning the dog park and all the work that's been done and all the work that Gerry has been doing, and our town staff, the mayor, Rachael, and Kevin; you know we are proud of that dog park. And it takes a lot of work, though, and a lot of coordination with ADOG. The last thing is the legislative update that we go to on Monday mornings. Of particular interest this week was high -density housing in the state and the legislature right now is discussing doing residential high -density housing, 25 homes per acre. And so if that is a concept that you don't like -- high -density housing -- I know we have a lot of watch dogs in this room and a lot of concern over that in our community. The state might be taking that away from us, where the developers can do that by right. So if you're a watch dog and you want to look out for this town, turn your sights to the state legislature too, because there's a lot of things going on there that are going to affect this town, and not in a good way. So anyway, thank you very much, I appreciate it. SKILLICORN: Thank you, Madam Mayor. So what do I begin? Everyone kind of talked about the fair quite a bit. So I want to point out that the volunteers, the people that made it happen, the Rotary, all those organizations, there was so much work, yet they cleaned up so fast. So Monday morning, you couldn't even tell the fair wasn't there. I mean, you didn't even see the blades of grass disturbed. It was really impressive to see how one, the volunteers cleaned up, but also staff cleaned everything up. And that road was open and Avenue of the Fountains was open for normal business again, bright and early, at sunrise. So that was really impressive to see. I also had opportunity to see a little bit of the frisbee golf. It was kind of neat to see them kind of setting up at the same time. So that's really all I have. I was really impressed with how fast the town turned around from that fair. Thank you so much. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. It was like the Cat in the Hat. You were kind of prescient about the report that we're going to get from Capt. Kratzer, because we'll be talking about that. The fair -- they had Good Morning Arizona there I think for the whole time Page 7 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES they were on TV that morning. And so I was able to just chat a little bit, but I went to the booths and such and I was able to kind of squeeze in about the green fountain and a couple other events coming up. So it was nice to be able to do that. And then we had students from Zamosc, and actually, there was one from Germany too. I met with Lisa Restuccia (ph.), who is actually hosting a couple of those kids. So we had some kids from our sister cities here, and I think they're going to be here for a couple of weeks. We have a Red Cross proclamation, and I believe we have a board member here, Jim Olson. So meet me down there and I will present it. Hold that right there and then. I'll read it here. Thank you. "Whereas, during American Red Cross Month in March, we recognized the compassion of people in Fountain Hills and reaffirm our commitment to care for one another in times of crisis. And whereas this generous spirit is woven into the fabric of our community and advances the humanitarian legacy of the American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, one of the most honored women in our country's history, who nobly dedicated herself to alleviating suffering. And whereas, today, kind hearted individuals in our community exemplify Barton's commitment as they step up through the Arizona New Mexico region to provide a beacon of hope for our neighbors in need, they make a life-saving difference in people's darkest hours, whether delivering shelter, food, and comfort during disasters, providing critical blood donations for hospital patients, supporting military families, veterans, and caregivers, and saving lives with first aid, CPR, and other skills, or delivering aid and reconnecting loved ones separated by global crisis. And whereas, we recognize this month of March in honor of those who lead with their hearts to serve people in need and ask everyone to join in this commitment to strengthen our community. So therefore, I, Ginny Dickey, mayor of the town of Fountain Hills, proclaim March 2024 as Red Cross Month and we illuminate our famous, iconic fountain in red today and encourage all citizens of Fountain Hills to reach out and support humanitarian missions. Thank you. OLSON: Thank you very much. Really appreciate the support of the town and the Page 8 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES fountain turning red. I've spent a lot of time over the years in Fountain Hills, and I love your community. One thing I want to add about the Red Cross is we are based on volunteerism. 95 percent of people that do work in service for the Red Cross are volunteers. And one of the things that I don't think everybody knows is in Maricopa County, we respond to three home fires and help people in need every single day. So every day across Maricopa County, three families lose their homes. They're often underprivileged people. They're often people in trailers and think of them losing literally everything. So all their medication, all their money, all of their loved items, photos of family. And because of volunteers, we're able to respond and help. So if anybody's interested in helping out with the American Red Cross, we're always looking for volunteers. There is a site that's basically called Volunteer Connection, but if you are interested, we would love to have you join our team. Thank you very much. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you so much. So our presentation that we're having tonight is going to be our Capt. Kratzer from MCSO. He's going to come up and talk to us about law enforcement and give us a report. Thank you. KRATZER: Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the council. I always appreciate having some time at the council meetings to just go over some updates or some things that we believe are important to the community. And Councilmember Friedel touched on the topic earlier in his report to the mayor about the burglaries that are going on and not just in Scottsdale, but across the Valley. And the group that's involved, I just wanted to talk about some of what the group is, what they've - at least, what the FBI's identified them as, and then some of their M.O.'s, and what residents can do to try to help ensure that they're not a victim and what MCSO is currently working on. So the group's been named the South American Theft Group. You may have also heard it referred to as the Chilean Burglary Group. Scottsdale refers to them as the Dinnertime Burglary Group. And that's because of the hours of thefts or the burglaries are usually between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. and again, usually on Friday through Sunday Page 9 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES evening. There obviously have been deviations from that, but that's typically the target time. So this group is a large transitional South American criminal organization. The FBI believes the group to be over 1,000 people involved in the ring. They first hit on the radar in 2016, but over the last year, there have been 111 burglaries in Arizona Valley cities alone. And those burglaries have occurred in Gilbert, Chandler, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Peoria, and Phoenix. They usually target high -end homes, affluent communities. They're looking for homes that are along golf courses or washes or greenbelts for easy access to park a vehicle and walk up to them. To date, the FBI's estimated $3 million stolen in money, jewelry, and other items. They typically don't target firearms. They typically leave firearms behind. The ring also engages in frauds, trafficking, and stolen property. And they've been coined as, like, a more professional, sophisticated group than just your typical burglar. They usually have maps and plans, and they scope out communities to see which target they want to hit. And they try to hit when somebody's not home. They usually have a method to check and see if there's a resident home. So with that, moving into the group's M.O. They, like I said, they focus on high -end homes and affluent neighborhoods. They like the access to golf courses or washes or green belts. What they have found in some of the trends is that they will rent an Airbnb or short-term rental near the home that they would like to hit. And they plan the burglary out quite a bit in advance with surveillance. One of the things that they tend to do is the vehicles that are typically involved are rental vehicles. They're seeing a trend in rental vehicles out of smaller car companies out of California. So not your Hertz or your Budget. Some of the smaller named companies, and they choose to use high -end vehicles like BMWs, Porsches. And the belief behind that is so that they blend in a little bit more in the community that they're in. They have a tendency to approach the home from the rear and try to enter through a slider, like a Arcadia door or a window. And they'll try to get a reaction to see if anybody's home. Sometimes throwing a rock either through the window or at the Page 10 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES window to make a loud enough noise that they'll wait and see if there's a response from a resident. They've been known to enter a home -- with probably the size of some of these homes, the resident may not hear the glass break. And residents have confronted burglars in their home on several occasions. Typically if that happens the group will flee and get to the getaway car. The getaway car is usually parked nearby where they could walk up. The groups usually consist of two to four male subjects. And usually a getaway driver. And that getaway driver is found, more likely than not, to be a female. If law enforcement has contact with them or a resident they'll flee back to the getaway car, typically pretty quickly. They will engage in a pursuit with law enforcement. And they've had several cases where the vehicles crashed out and they've been able to then make an arrest and get some data from cell phones and other evidence that they've been able to secure. So I wanted to talk a little bit about what MCSO is doing. So MCSO's property crimes detectives, they have been working a couple of cases in MCSO's jurisdiction. Those have been in the Chandler area, but it's technically Sun Lakes with the Chandler mailing address. There's a community down there that's been hit a few times. Detectives have done a couple of sting operations, and one evening over New Year's holiday they were able to catch a group in the act trying to scope out. It was actually an active resident who saw something abnormal, called there deputies in the area for the sting. And they got in a pursuit with the subjects. The vehicle crashed out and they were able to -- they usually have fake IDs. They all had fake IDs. They usually have a pretty well -organized story. In this one, they didn't get into the home or burglarize it. So they didn't have the burglary charges yet but they did get cell phones and they did do data dumps, and they did find a lot of associated information for other residents in the Valley and in California. And they're working with other local agencies to share that Intel. We have gotten calls here in Fountain Hills from Scottsdale police and their detectives, just keeping us up to date on some of the breaks in their cases or some of the things Page 11 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES they're doing. Fountain Hills obviously fits the mold for these burglaries. Fortunately, to date, and I verified this again with our property crimes detectives, there has not been an identified burglary in Fountain Hills that meets this M.O. that they're associating with that. That may change, but that's where we're talking about ways to try to help; educate the public, make them aware of the group and the methodologies. They see anything suspicious. They see vehicles parked out that looks like they're doing surveillance. Typically, just sitting out on a public road is not a crime, you can do that. If something looks out of place, if there's a vehicle that, maybe, meets some of this, you can always call MCSO. A resident can call MCSO and we'll just check it out. We'II go and make a consensual contact with the individual and just make sure there's nothing going on. Our property crimes detectives have also been committed to making sure if there are any burglaries in the district that seem to meet the M.O. or trends of areas that need to have increased patrol due to the trends, that we're increasing our personnel in those areas and during the times that those are occurring. Going back to how to avoid being a victim. Some of the basic things, and I know some of it sounds very elementary, but be sure to lock your windows and doors. One of the things I did skip over and I want to go back to it because it is important. The group has been known, and the intel from the FBI is that they do have some technology that seems to block or impede surveillance or security systems. And so one of the recommendations is obviously to have security systems, detection devices in your home, and hopefully, those do the job. But there have been situations where they've been found to have devices that block those sort of security devices. Work with neighbors to keep an eye on your home or eye on the community. I heard that there was a call from an HOA, we're happy to speak to them as well. Rachael, if they want to set something up with MCSO, we're happy to give them tips and work with them, set up a watch program. And then again, just call MCSO to report anything suspicious, we're happy to look into it. One of the things I want to hit on before I end and take any questions is, we see a lot of Page 12 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES posts on Ring or social media when there might be something suspected of going on. Where, maybe, there's someone who -- we see it all the time, I see it in my neighborhood on a Ring; someone tried to open my door and there's a video of someone trying the door. The part we don't see is the follow up, where if we are able to contact that individual or they are and find out the end result of the person was at the wrong house and I know people can argue, well, maybe that was their guise. But we would encourage for MCSO to be called so we can investigate those things. And the posts on there, tend to sometimes bring up the concerns that maybe the crime is in their community, people are getting burglarized or there's people casing their neighborhood, and I don't know, that could be the case. But that's where we're asking for residents to call us so we can look into the matter. And that it's reported to us, and that we could provide the caller with the end result of the contact. So that's all I have. If there's any questions from the council, I'd be happy to answer it. MAYOR DICKEY: Councilman? SKILLICORN: Thank you, Madam Mayor. And so I thank you so much, Captain, for explaining the crime, the gang effectively. I did speak to a resident that has posted videos and pictures online. Do you think that that incident that's here in town has any relation to that group, or is it a different M.O.? And if it's an active investigation, you don't want to comment on things, I understand that too, but I just want to make sure the people here are at ease. KRATZER: It is an active investigation. But what I can tell you in talking to the property crimes detective is that it's not believed to be the similar M.O. and the group responsible. I mean, again, there could always be deviations. And down the road, when and if the investigation comes to an arrest, that could change. But right now, it's not believed to be associated. But they are working diligently. They inform me, they keep me up to date on the information or any breaks in the case so that we know. So that if it is, we're able to educate the public and put the awareness out there. SKILLICORN: And Mayor and Captain what can we do? What can that resident do to aid the investigation? You talked about preventing -- lock doors, but what can we all do to Page 13 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES actually aid in that investigation? Because we want to see a conviction here, we want to see it stop. KRATZER: Sure. The key thing for us is timely reporting. So if there is any evidence left behind, fingerprints, shoe impressions, surveillance video. Surprisingly, even if they have these jamming devices and it blocks the signal where, maybe, it doesn't alert the security company, usually the video still captures. And some of these burglaries that -- I think it's the one you're discussing or other ones that we've had recently, there has been helpful evidence that's been left behind that detectives are able to use. One of the other things I forgot to mention and the property crimes detective did ask me to share it is one of the things that they're taking pretty regularly, and the logistics of this have got to be challenging, is they're taking safes. So they'll just take an entire safe that's locked. They'll take it to a location. And they'll get into it. So their request or their suggestion and recommendation is if you have the ability to bolt your safe down, do that. It makes it, not impossible, but close to; they're usually not going to take the time to try to get around that. And then the other thing I was going to say that I did forget too, was a lot of the property that's stolen, the jewelry and the goods, they're not usually sold locally at pawn shops. They usually are shipping it out of the United States. So that's where the trafficking and stolen property is coming from. Any other questions? MAYOR DICKEY: Councilwoman? KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Yeah. I just have one question, and that is just given the name of these organizations, they sound like they do have either regional or national flair. Are you getting federal resources to help with the investigation? KRATZER: I can't answer that. I tried to have my property crimes sergeant come out tonight because I knew he probably could answer some more questions. So I don't know if in our jurisdiction with having, I think, three, if we're getting that FBI help or not. I don't know if Scottsdale is with more burglaries and PV. But I do know the FBI, with an organized crime group, typically will provide resources. So sorry, I don't know the answer if MCSO specifically is getting help on our cases or not. KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. If you could let us know if that's the case, I would appreciate it Page 14 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES because it sounds like if they're victimizing people all over the country and they're shipping this stuff out of state, we should really be getting some federal help on this problem. KRATZER: I'll look into that and I'll get you an answer. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you. FRIEDEL: Larry, you gave some great tips tonight, so thank you for that. Can we make sure we get those to our town manager. And then you can get Bo to do some kind of a social media post or website post or something. GOODWIN: Sure. FRIEDEL: That would be great. Thank you. KRATZER: Thank you. MAYOR DICKEY: Thanks. I know sometimes we're shy to call the police, but it's probably the best bet when you see something like this. Our next item is our call to the public. And remind everyone to please tell us what city you live in, but not your address. MENDENHALL: Okay. Mayor, first we're going to talk about what is in your packet. We have some people who have provided written statements. One is from James Kirk, and you can read them in your packet. There's another one from Jennifer Brown, and then five people commented on the referendum. Now we have our speaker cards in person. First, we have Pam Cap, and on deck we have Liz Gildersleeve. CAP: Good evening. Pam Cap, eight -year resident. First, I would like to apologize to Mayor Dickey, Town Attorney Aaron Anson, Town Manager Rachael Goodwin, Town Clerk Linda Mendenhall, and the majority of this town council. I disrespected these council chambers last time I stood before you. I disrespected the process and the rules that helped this council function, and I am sincerely sorry, and I will try to do better to remain respectful in the future. Now, when I read that Councilmember Friedel was running for mayor back in December, I sent him an email regarding Councilmember Skillicorn's attacks. His response was, and I quote, "Pam, thank you for sharing this with me. Let me make one thing clear, please. Page 15 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Councilmember Skillicorn and I are polar opposites when it comes to our town. I don't condone this kind of behavior and I have very little tolerance or control over his personal behavior. I will have a conversation with others about this. Respectfully, Gerry Friedel." End quote. This gave me hope. Fast forward to February 6th council meeting. Councilmember Friedel, during his council reports, spoke about his involvement with the fight against domestic violence. He spoke about being a champion for young women and girls who are caught in this horrible cycle of violence against women. Once again, it gave me hope that he would stand up for women who had been battered and abused. I spent 30 years as a police officer investigating thousands of domestic violence incidents, and hundreds of sexual assault crimes, so I understand the horrors of it all. After hearing that, I thought, this guy gets it. So imagine how ambushed I felt when Councilmember Friedel pulled the pre -planned attack. I felt like I got sucker punched. How could a champion for women be offended by a picture of a fully -adjudicated rapist being humped by a donkey? It's not like I belittled, demeaned, and slandered a rape victim. I mean, a champion for women's safety would be appalled by that type of behavior, wouldn't he? Yet, instead, Councilmember Friedel decided to attack my character as a private citizen. He stated I have come before this council four times. I have, because of the bad behavior kept escalating. He also implied I caused disturbances each time. That's completely false. Then, to add insult to injury, Councilmember Friedel stated, take it somewhere else. Really? I ask where? The attorney general or maybe a civil rights attorney, perhaps. One thing about crime victims, especially domestic violence, and sexual assault victims, they are fearful to report offenses. Why? Because they fear being subjected to invasive and accusatorial questioning about their background when they are only seeking help. Councilmember Friedel thinks he is a champion for women who are caught in the cycle of violence. The truth is, he is still part of the problem. Thank you. FRIEDEL: I will respond. Thank you for apologizing. And as I stated before, I asked one question, you came before this council and you asked us to adjudicate against Page 16 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES somebody when you're doing the same things on social media that he's doing. That's all I said. So again, I am a champion for women. You ask any woman in this town and they'll tell you that. This has nothing to do with that, and it has everything to do with our process and our procedure. And I think I made that clear that night. And I still stand behind that decision. And again, thank you for apologizing. GILDERSLEEVE: Good evening. I'm Liz Gildersleeve, Fountain Hills resident. I wanted to bring to the public's attention about a public records request that I submitted to the town following the January meeting, where four of you approved Sandor's high -density requests for the target property. During that meeting, Councilmember Kalivianakis mentioned that she was shown a document from Sandor and Target reflecting a parking agreement. I requested a copy of that document from the town following the meeting, and I was told by the town clerk just last week that the document didn't exist, at least as part of the town's record. This is troubling for a couple of reasons. First, it suggests that Councilmember Kalivianakis was in fact consulting independently with the developer, something she denied doing at the January meeting. Secondly, by not securing a copy of this document for the town's records, it could be a problem in two to three years for homeowners and businesses, particularly those behind the Target property if this high - density apartment building gets developed and there are parking issues. No one is going to remember in two or three years from now that some random councilmember, quote, "saw a document". I would encourage the rest of you to do what Councilmember Kalivianakis should have done, and that is secure a copy of this agreement now, if it even exists, and add it to the town's document database while it's fresh in everyone's minds. That would be a more effective way to protect residents and businesses should a problem with the parking issue arise in the future from this development. Thank you. KALIVIANAKIS: I would like to address. MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. I appreciate your concern about the parking in the Sandor project. Just for the record, I've received that request two days ago, if I'm Page 17 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES correct. Is that correct, Linda? MENDENHALL: I forwarded it for your emails. KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. So I received it this week. Of course, I told everyone here I was having surgery and preparing for this council meeting, and so that was something I was going to address. But I think if you're going to be reasonable, you have to give me more than two days to do a records request. And so the document does exist and it'll be forwarded in a normal and appropriate fashion. Thank you. MENDENHALL: Next we have William Ray. And on deck, Ed Stizza. And that is it for public comment. RAY: Good evening, folks. I am. Here to talk about, just very briefly, this Target project. And I will say to you, honestly and without any rancor, we need to vote all of you out. You've betrayed us. MAYOR DICKEY: Please don't applaud or do anything like that. Thanks. STIZZA: Good evening, Madam Mayor, town council, staff, Aaron, and public of Fountain Hills. I'm a Fountain Hills resident. My name is Ed Stizza. And it's just absolutely appalling what's happened over the past three months within these chamber walls here. I've never been more embarrassed for our town than over the past several weeks. And we don't have to belabor what you did with the vote over at the Target Center redevelopment, but I can tell you right now what you did was incorrect, at least in the process it took. You should have taken the time; we've all said this to you. And you should have been more informing of the public. And for instance, a major question that should have been asked is, Sandor, why on earth do we have infill going in all around town? As far as with our businesses, there are several that are coming in to our empty spaces, and this is one of the biggest complaints that was about the Target Center. Well, you know what? For ten years, why didn't Sandor get rid of the KFC building? That's an eyesore, as everybody has said, and made a big point about. And why are all those spaces empty? Well, they were purposely left empty, and those prices were purposely jacked up to keep that center looking as bad as it is. And who do you blame for that? Do you blame the town of Fountain Hills? Do you blame Sandor? Who Page 18 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES do you blame? The whole point of it was or is, is that there wasn't anything else tried. And you guys pushed this through so quickly there wasn't even any discussion about it. Your own planning and zoning commission told you exactly what to ask, and you didn't -- not one of you asked any of the questions. And it's appalling and it's insulting and should be insulting to the residents of Fountain Hills. And as far as -- there were several comments that were made that the biggest investors are the developers and everything else. Well, I beg to differ. I think the biggest investors are the residents of Fountain Hills. And you supersede all of them. Over the past couple of weeks you totally overlooked their opinion and their viewpoints and the referendum. It's not right. I mean, it's just not right. And you should be the speakers for the actual Fountain Hills residents. And basically, the way that vote went, and the process, the way it went, you kind of made your own decisions without the input of the public. And that was wrong. I mean, it was just wrong. And now what's going to fall on your shoulders is everything that's about to happen, and that's sad. Thank you. MAYOR DICKEY: Thanks very much. Our next item is our consent agenda. Could I please have a motion? FRIEDEL: Mayor, I'd like to pull one item off of there. I have a couple of questions on -- MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. FRIEDEL: It's 8C. MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. So motion to approve 8A and B? SKILLICORN: Madam Mayor, I'd like to pull item A off. So why don't we make a motion for just B? MAYOR DICKEY: I'm sorry? SKILLICORN: I'd like to pull A off. MAYOR DICKEY: Oh, make B. SKILLICORN: So I'd like to make a motion for just B. MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. Second for that, please? FRIEDEL: Second. MAYOR DICKEY: For the B item. Okay. Roll call? Page 19 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MENDENHALL: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Grzybowski? GRZYBOWSKI: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Nay. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. MENDENHALL: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. MENDENHALL: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. So we'll go with the first one which is 8C? FRIEDEL: 8C, yes. So my question on this is that in the notes of the attachment it had on there, that Sanderos is developing this property. I thought that the church still owned that property, and I wasn't aware of the fact that that had happened. And then the second question is we're replacing a 10-foot easement with an 11-foot easement? WELDY: Madam mayor, Councilmember, there's actually an abandonment of an existing sidewalk and landscape easement behind the existing sidewalk. Many, many years ago for the master -planned area, they had wide sidewalk easements and an additional landscape easement. The property owner is simply asking us to abandon that unused portion that the town does not need. In regards to your first question related to the ownership, I'm not aware, tonight, who the new owner is or whether or not the property is in escrow. FRIEDEL: Okay. All right. So we don't know if there's been any -- MAYOR DICKEY: John may. FRIEDEL: Oh, John? Oh. WESLEY: Mayor, Councilmember Friedel, the church processed a land split application Page 20 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES to split that tract into two pieces, and I believe they either have or will be selling that piece to Sandor. By virtue of them making this application that indicates they are moving forward with that purchase of that piece. FRIEDEL: Okay. So that's the second parcel that was part of the original agreement. So they split that parcel in half? WESLEY: Yes. FRIEDEL: Okay. And you know what kind of numbers we're talking as far as the split is, is it in acres or is it -- WESLEY: Mayor, Councilmember, not exactly; it's basically in half, but I don't remember what the numbers would be exactly. FRIEDEL: All right. Thank you. MAYOR DICKEY: Councilman? SKILLICORN: Madam Mayor, and I don't know if this director wants to, but what is that zoned for right now? WESLEY: Mayor, Councilmember that zoned R1-10, so it's for single family. SKILLICORN: Madam Mayor, Director, what's the minimum lot size for that? WESLEY: 10,000 square feet. SKILLICORN: Okay. MAYOR DICKEY: Any more discussion on that item? Can I get a motion, please? FRIEDEL: So moved. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. FRIEDEL: So moved. KALIVIANAKIS: Can I second? MAYOR DICKEY: Can I get a second, please? KALIVIANAKIS: I second. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Roll call? MENDENHALL: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Grzybowski? Page 21 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES GRZYBOWSKI: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. MENDENHALL: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. MENDENHALL: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. Thanks. Councilman, did you want to say why you wanted the minutes removed, please? SKILLICORN: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Actually, I was going to ask if we could table that to next meeting. I just want to go over the audio one more time. So I'd like to make a motion to table that to the next meeting. MAYOR DICKEY: Can I get a second, please? TOTH: Second. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Roll call? MENDENHALL: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Grzybowski? GRZYBOWSKI: Nay. MENDENHALL: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Nay. MENDENHALL: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? Page 22 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. MENDENHALL: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. Thanks. So it's out there, but they'll be -- I mean, it's in our packet, but we will be looking at that. Okay. ARNSON: Yeah. We'll bring that back at the March 19th meeting. MAYOR DICKEY: Yeah. Okay. Great. Our first item is a public hearing, a continuation of a public hearing that we had started before. And I would, with the consent of the applicants this item, which is about extending the hours of the dispensary, would be continued until 3/19. And if council agrees, could we just do that, please? Can I get a motion? MCMAHON: So moved. TOTH: Second. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Is there any discussion? Great. Roll call, please? MENDENHALL: Councilmember Grzybowski? GRZYBOWSKI: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. MENDENHALL: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. MENDENHALL: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. Thank you. Our next item is a discussion of the sanctions against Councilman Allen Skillicorn for sustained ethics violations. We'll hear from our attorney, and then we'll take speaker cards. Page 23 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES ARNSON: Thank you, Mayor, and council. I'm sorry, Councilman Friedel, I see you had a hand up. FRIEDEL: I have something I need to bring up. Should I wait until after you're done, Counselor, or should I -- MAYOR DICKEY: Go ahead -- FRIEDEL: Point of order? MAYOR DICKEY: -- if it's about procedures? FRIEDEL: Yes, it is. It's a point of order. I want to remind this council that in our rules of procedure, which we just re -adopted on September 6th, 2023, page 32, section 10.4, it says right in our rules of procedure that once the review slash investigation is concluded, outside council will provide the town attorney with a determination whether the complaint is sustained or not sustained. If the complaint is sustained, which is the case here, the town attorney will schedule an executive session for review and enforcement by the town council. It does not say anywhere in our rules of procedure that this should be done in an open session, in a regular council meeting. So are we going to violate our own procedures here? I think we need to -- I'd like to make a motion that we move this to an executive session, whether it's tonight or at the next council meeting, to discuss this. TOTH: Second. ARNSON: So I'm not totally sure what the motion was for. To recess into executive session tonight isn't possible, except for legal advice, because it's not agendized for executive session. And we have to provide, under subsection Al, the employee or the public officer with twenty-four hours written notice that there's going to be an executive session, et cetera. So mayor, sorry? MAYOR DICKEY: I was just going to say can we -- I would say it would be legal advice because he's questioning the process as relates to our rules of procedure. So it would seem okay with me to go -- ARNSON: Yes. MAYOR DICKEY: -- into executive session. Page 24 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES ARNSON: So if we want to talk about this aspect of it in executive session for legal advice, you can always recess into a E-session for legal advice. We have it agendized that way. So if that's the motion then -- MAYOR DICKEY: Yeah. Well, it has to be so, right? I mean, we go into executive session, we can discuss whether this needs to be in -- whether the whole discussion needs to be in executive session, which I think is your point. And then we would have to either reschedule or do something else. FRIEDEL: Yeah. ARNSON: I'm happy to give my legal advice in executive session. Any discussion about whether the discussion should be open or in executive session really should take place here. Because that has to do not with my advice to you, but rather your substantive policy about what should be done. If that makes sense? MAYOR DICKEY: We have a motion and a second to go into executive session. Do we have to vote or can I just rule on it? ARNSON: We have to vote on it. We have to vote. MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. Can we have a roll call on going into executive session, please? MENDENHALL: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Nay. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Skillicorn? ARNSON: Councilmember Skillicorn's indicated that he won't be voting on this matter. MENDENHALL: He abstains? ARNSON: Yeah. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Grzybowski? GRZYBOWSKI: Nay. MENDENHALL: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? Page 25 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. MENDENHALL: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. We will adjourn into executive session. [CLERKS NOTE: ADJOURNED INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 6:22 P.M. RECONVENED REGULAR MEETING AT 6:51 P.M.] MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you all for your patience. The discussion was a consensus that we will have an executive session on the 19th and an action item also on the 19th, to just to clarify and make everybody comfortable with what we were doing. Everything is totally legal, but I think we will respect the wishes of some of the folks here. And so it will be an executive session on the 19th, followed by an action item at the meeting, which would be the public part of that. So what I would need now is a motion to continue this item until the 19th. FRIEDEL: So moved, Ma'am. TOTH: Second. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Roll call? MENDENHALL: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember Skillicorn? Oh, he can't vote. I'm sorry. Councilmember Grzybowski? GRZYBOWSKI: Aye. MENDENHALL: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. MENDENHALL: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. MENDENHALL: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. Thank you. And our last action item is a related to the League of Cities and Towns. Again, thank you all for coming. We really appreciate your interest. Page 26 of 27 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MARCH 5, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES And we're all going to do the best that we can going forward. Does anybody have anything? I know that Brenda, you mentioned some of the stuff at the call. Is there anything you wanted to specifically mention? KALIVIANAKIS: I know that went to the third reading. Has that going to the governor yet, that particular house senate bill? MAYOR DICKEY: Actually, I think they're getting third read in their origin. So they have to -- KALIVIANAKIS: Okay. MAYOR DICKEY: -- be heard in the other committees. So there's probably sometime on that. KALIVIANAKIS: Okay. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you. MAYOR DICKEY: Yeah. There's still a lot of bills out there that are paying a lot of attention to cities this year. But we have had the opportunity to weigh in on a lot of them, and a lot of them do have to do with zoning. And I know a joke about it, but this whole discussion would be kind of moot if some of those laws passed, and when it comes to zoning and rezoning and density. So there were some other things about removing voting by mail and things like that. So we just have to kind of see how all of that shakes out. But I don't think we have any new items to weigh in on, on any of the bills that I heard anyway. So you all agree? All right. Next, we have direction to town manager. I don't think I heard anything to follow up on future agenda items. All right. Again, thank you so much for your patience and your interest. We're adjourned. Page 27 of 27 Having no further business, Mayor Ginny Dickey adjourned the Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council held on March 5, 2024, at 6:54 p.m. ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS 1U( Gin y Dicke , Mayor inda G. Mendenhall. Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 51' day of March 2024. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATE7"' Day of May 2024. Linda G. Mendenhall, Town Clerk