Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024.0813.TCSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL AUGUST 13, 2024 A Special 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 Peggy McMahon; Councilmember Sharron Grzybowski; Councilmember Hannah Toth; Councilmember Allen Skillicorn Attended Telephonically: Councilmember Gerry Friedel; Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson Staff Present: Town Manager Rachael Goodwin; Town Clerk Linda Mendenhall Audience: Approximately 30 members of the public were present. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 13, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Page 1 of 8 Post-Production File Town of Fountain Hills Town Council Special Meeting August 13, 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. * * * * * TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 13, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Page 2 of 8 DICKEY: Good evening, everyone. I think it's 5:30. We'll call this meeting to order, please. Roll call. MENDENHALL: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Here. MENDENHALL: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Here. MENDENHALL: Council Member Friedel? FRIEDEL: Present. MENDENHALL: Council Member McMahon? MCMAHON: Here. MENDENHALL: Council Member Gryzbowski? GRZYBOWSKI: Present. MENDENHALL: Council Member Toth? TOTH: Here. MENDENHALL: Council Member Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Here. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. This is a special meeting. So we're going to go right into our regular agenda. And I don't know, Rachel, if there's anything or if Aaron or you have any sort of an opening or if it goes straight to Linda? GOODWIN: No. I'm going to turn everything over to Linda. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. MENDENHALL: Hello, Mayor and Town Council. This item before you today is a canvass of the July 30th primary election. This election saw a remarkable 56.44 percent voter participation. I'll have you note, it was the highest amongst all the municipalities that held elections. Out of 18,060 registered voters, we had 10,193 cast their ballots. We had three candidates running for mayor, and eight candidates running for town council. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 13, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Page 3 of 8 For the council seats, one candidate, Gayle Earl, met the majority threshold. So now she's Council Member Elect Earl. In the race for mayor, we had no candidates receiving the required majority. Therefore, the top two candidates, which are Ginny Dickey, our current mayor, and Gerry Friedel, our current council member, they'll advance to the general election. As for the two remaining council member seats, we have four candidates with the most votes after Gayle Earl, and they'll move forward to the general election. And they are Peggy McMahon, current council member, Rick Watts, Matthew Corrigan, and Clayton Cory. I'm happy to answer any questions. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Do we have any questions for Linda? No? All right. Well, the motion is out there, so if someone would like to make that, I'd appreciate it. GRZYBOWSKI: Move to approve as written. TOTH: Second. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Roll call -- roll call please. MENDENHALL: Okay. Council Member Toth? TOTH: Aye. MENDENHALL: Council Member Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. MENDENHALL: Council Member Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. MENDENHALL: Council Member Grzybowski? GRZYBOWSKI: Aye. MENDENHALL: Council Member McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. MENDENHALL: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 13, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Page 4 of 8 MENDENHALL: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. MENDENHALL: Passes unanimously. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, Linda. So before we adjourn, I wanted to mention that the community probably read in the Times that tonight is our clerk, Linda Mendenhall's final meeting with the Town of Fountain Hills. You may recall that Linda was named to the honorable -- municipal clerk's honor roll just about a year ago from June. I said at the time, our town is so fortunate to have someone of Linda's qualifications as our clerk. She's recognized among her peers as one of the best, and being named to this national honor roll is another clear recognition of that fact. We all know that Linda fully embraced her vital role as clerk here in our town. She has energy and knowledge, and she demonstrated a positive, very much of a welcoming demeanor. She managed elections in a reassuringly calm way and was impeccable and accurate in her actions and her words, deserving of our complete and rock-solid support. Our former clerk, Bev Bender, has graciously agreed to come out of retirement to help us all through this transition. And as has been the case with several critical staff changes in the last couple of years, Fountain Hills has been fortunate to have dedicated professionals stepping up. A true asset to our hometown, Linda will share her talents and certainly will shine and be that same positive force in her new position as the clerk, and I think it's about 100,000 people or so, in Sugar Land, Texas. We want to thank you for serving Fountain Hills so well. I want to see if Rachel and Council have any comments they'd like to make, and then Linda would like to say, so long as well. Rachel, would you like to start? GOODWIN: Yeah. That'd be great. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 13, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Page 5 of 8 GOODWIN: Linda, I almost asked you to bring a prop, but I didn't, so you'll know what I mean when I do. So as we just heard, this is our final meeting with Linda as our town clerk. I want to take a moment to express our gratitude from our staff for your dedicated service and your time and attention to our community ensuring that meetings, elections, and everything in between runs smoothly and dependably. Your hard work, attention to detail, and commitment have not only kept our town in order, but also helped us grow and adapt to the ever-changing needs of our community. Your enthusiasm for elections in all the ways our residents can participate is contagious. There is no one more excited about the civic process than you. While we are sad to see you go, we are also excited for your new chapter that lies ahead. I know you will be greatly missed by many, including me. Who will get cutie rocks with me, and who will bring their Scary Monster mugs to morning meetings. On behalf of the entire town, thank you for everything you've done and we wish you all the best in the Lone Star state. TOTH: Linda, you have been such a ray of light since you started. You are so passionate about what you do and we're going to miss you dearly, but Sugar Land is very lucky to have you, and I couldn't think of a better name of a town for you to work in because you're such a sweet person. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Sometimes you have the honor to work with somebody who not only has a beautiful soul and personality, but somebody that is at the height of their profession. Not only did she win the 2023 municipal clerks award, she holds a master's in municipal -- as a municipal clerk, State of Arizona certified elections officer, Arizona Municipal Clerks Association, certified elections official. Has a certification in public administration. Is active in the Arizona Municipal Courts Association holding multiple positions with the Association in the past and currently. She's also served as board member for the Arizona Chapter and Association of Records Manager and Administrators. Like Hannah said, everywhere she goes she's a ray of sunshine. She always has a smile TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 13, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Page 6 of 8 on her face. She's passionate about her job. Sometimes when you're lucky enough to work with somebody that sets such a high bar it makes you a better person, it makes the staff a better staff, council people better council people and a better town. And so thank you for what you brought to this town. We really appreciate it. God's speed and good luck in Sugar Land. MCMAHON: Linda, I love working with you. It's been such a joy. You know, I want to thank you personally for your exceptional service and dedication as our town clerk. You have really made a difference in participating in the staff and on council and in our town. Thank you. You're always smiling and willing to help and support the staff and council whenever asked. I've observed you, and your work product shows that you are a perfectionist and you take your responsibilities very, very seriously. You came to us in 2022 with impeccable credentials, and I'm going to state them since they are so impeccable. Again, certification in Master Municipal Clerk, State of Arizona certified elections officer, Arizona Municipal Clerks Association, certified elections official, and a certified in public administration. You are also active in the Arizona Municipal Clerks Association, holding multiple positions within the association, serving as chairperson of the elections committee. You have also served as a board member for the Arizona Chapter of the Association of Records Managers and Administrators. If you think about all these accomplishments, they are nothing short of amazing and they demonstrate your dedication and your integrity as an election official, records manager, and an administrator. It is very, very unfortunate that we are losing you and losing such an experienced and valuable employee. And I can't help but think that part of your decision to leave was how you were treated by Gerry Friedel, Skillicorn, and Toth, who voted to not defend you in that lawsuit and other -- and not defend even themselves, other council members in the town in a frivolous lawsuit brought by ROT PAC. Basically, Friedel and then they threw you under the bus. I don't care what they say; they did. Thankfully, the judge TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 13, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Page 7 of 8 saw through that and ruled in the Town's favor, basically supporting you and recognizing you that you followed the letter of the law with the strict compliance statute. I wish you good luck and much success in your new position and future endeavors. And again, thank you, Linda. I appreciate it and I hope you enjoy your new position and experience. MAYOR DICKEY: If no one else, we'll hear from Linda herself. FRIEDEL: Ginny? MAYOR DICKEY: Oh, yes. I'm sorry. On the phone. Yeah. I'm sorry, Gerry. Go ahead. FRIEDEL: First of all, I'd like to thank Linda for her dedicated service to our town. And I will just say this, it's beneath my dignity to respond to McMahon's comments. It's unfortunate that she had to take a pleasant evening for Linda and recognition for Linda to make a statement like that, and it shouldn't be accepted. So thank you again, Linda. MENDENHALL: I just want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to work here. During my time, I've had the privilege of meeting some truly wonderful people. I'm deeply grateful for the friendships I've made, the support I've received from over the past two years from my coworkers, the management team, the mayor, the town council, the Fountain Hills Chamber, the community. I've received so much, you know, emails for best wishes and that they'll mill me and that they really enjoyed working with me. And I -- you know, I've enjoyed that as well. And it's just so nice and overwhelming to receive so many best wishes. And I'm grateful for that. It means a lot to me. It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve in this role. I'm truly passionate about what I do. I do love the clerk's role. I didn't just wake up one morning and say, I wanted to be a clerk. I've worked very hard for this, you know, this in my career and, you know, talking about the certifications. I did it because I love it. I love elections especially, and I'm not too pleased that I didn't get to put a shiny little bow on this election that someone else is going to get to do this in November, but that's okay. You know, I love to see that people were participating in voting, and I hope that they show up in November, because that's just as important. Look all the way down on your ballot. Make sure you vote in your municipal election. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 13, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Page 8 of 8 So, you know, really just thank you. I've grown a lot since I've been here. I haven't (sic) had an opportunity, even though I've been in the clerk's world for a while, to do certain things, and I'm fortunate for that. I love the experience. I look forward to those experiences. And so just thank you and thank you for all the nice, wonderful comments. I appreciate it. It means a lot to me. And -- [APPLAUSE] MAYOR DICKEY: Thanks, Linda. We have no more business, so we are adjourned. Thank you.