HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024.0917.TCRM.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL September 17, 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 Hannah Toth; Councilmember Allen Skillicorn Staff Present: Town Manager Rachael Goodwin; Town Attorney Aaron ❑. Arnson; Town Clerk Angela Padgett -Espiritu TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Post -Production File Town of Fountain Hills Town Council Meeting Minutes September 17, 2024 Transcription Provided By: e5cribers, LLC Transcription is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record ❑f the proceedings. Page 1 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS 5EPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MAYOR DICKEY: Good everyone, welcome. Please stand for the pledge and remain standing if you'd like for the invocation. ALL: 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. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Tonight, we have Director Carri Schneider from Promiseland Preschool. SCHNEIDER: Good evening. Will you join me in prayer? Wise and loving Father, first let me say thank you on behalf of everyone here tonight for life, liberty, and freedom that comes only from you. We thank you, Lord, for the wisdom of our forefathers who designed our government to run by, and for, the people who reside in our beautiful towns, cities, states, and nation. Lord, may our mayor and the council members understand that they are here by the consent of the people, and the responsibility is to govern in such a way that honors you and the people of our community. May our leaders conduct themselves tonight with honesty, integrity, respect, and concern for each other, and the citizens of our town. Lord, lead them in a way to make wise decisions that benefit the needs and best interest of the people they serve. It's in your name we pray, Jesus. Amen. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Roll call, please. TOWN CLERK: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Here. TOWN CLERK: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Here. TOWN CLERIC: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Present. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Here. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: ;-sere. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Skillicorn? Page 2 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SKILLICORN: Here. TOWN CLERK: Anyone wishing t❑ address the council regarding items listed on the agenda or under call to the public should fill ❑ut a request to comment card located in the back of the council chambers and hand it to the town clerk prior to consideration of that agenda item. When your name is called, please approach the podium, speak int❑ the microphone, and state your name for the public record. Please limit your comments to three minutes. It is the policy of the mayor and council t❑ not comment on items brought forth under call the public. However, staff can be directed t❑ report back to the council at a future date or to schedule items raised for a future council agenda. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, Angela, very much. We'll start as always with our reports. And we'll start with Rachae1, our town manager. GOODWIN: Great. Thank you, mayor, council. Thanks for everyone being here tonight. i just have a couple of quick updates. We are back into the full swing of event season. If you joined us a few minutes early, the homecoming parade was happening just outside here on the avenue. Later this week, we'll also have our Ballet Lender the Stars ❑n Thursday down at Fountain Park. So events are back. Thankfully, our weather has cooperated, as well, and cooled off just a bit. I'd like to welcome, officially, Angela. Angela Espiritu is ❑ur town clerk. She was in acting capacity. But as of Thursday, has taken the role on officially. So she is ❑ur new town clerk. S❑ we're very excited. We're excited t❑ have you there. And then lastly, just a reminder that for those that may be looking for ways to be involved in our community, we do have a number of boards and commissions. Later this fall, we'll have a number of openings, particularly for our Historic and Cultural Commission. S❑ if you're interested that's a great way to join us and be part ❑f our community and volunteer as one of those commissioners. For more information on that, you can find that online at our website. That's where you can find the application. You can fill it out and learn more about those recommendations, how that works, the timeline, and all the Page 3 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES details there. That's everything I got. TOTH: Well, piggybacking a little bit off Rachael. We do have events back. The Falcons' homecoming football game is this Friday. I hope to see you all there cheering on our Falcons. And it looks like ❑ur fall event guide is out. I wanted to give a shoutout to Amanda. This is maybe the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. This design is gorgeous. So stop by town hall or the chamber to pick one of those up. And that's all I got. FRIEDEL: Thank you, Mayor. And I had the privilege of attending the leadership kick-off that was recently this week, s❑ congratulations to all those in the new class and future leaders ❑f our town. And als❑ had the privilege of attending a pinning ceremony for the new fire department here in town. If you haven't been to one of those, it's quite an event. They all got a pin that say Fountain Hills Fire ❑epartment on it, so that was pretty exciting and a neat thing to be able to do. And I attended a few chamber events. We had a mixer and I met some of the new ❑wners up at ADER❑ CopperWynd. And I met David, the director of sales and marketing up there. So they're going to -- they flat-out said they plan to do a lot more with the town. So we're really excited about that partnership and being able to do a lot of work with them and a lot of town events. So that's kind of cool too. And then a couple of other ribbon cuttings that we went to. This one was really cool. It was a second -chance store in the school on the high school campus in Building G. What a vision and what a neat thing to be able to have for all the students in this town. So they are accepting donations and if you haven't been there, they'll give you a tour of it. So it's really exciting and it's packed with stuff for students that need things. And the other one was the International School of Arizona, which I learned they don't teach English and -- I'm sorry -- Spanish and French, they teach in Spanish and French, which is kind of different. And their enrollment is through the roof, they've got like 380 students in there. So it's kind of neat to hear them and they're a new member of the Chamber, as well. So that's all I have, Mayor. MCMAHON: Good evening, everybody. And thank you for attending the council meeting. First off, I would like to say congratulations to the town. They received the Page 4 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES national award -- the Silver Circle Award -- for our new branding. So congratulations, Amanda and Steph. I think that's a major honor. Also, I attended the Fountain Hills Save Our Youth Coalition meeting, the East Valley Partnership finance committee Board Meeting -- excuse me -- the Valley Metro, and the APS EVP Statesmen's Luncheon with Mayor Dickey, which was very informative. And also, I had the privilege of attending our Fountain Hills Fire Department pinning ceremony. It was really a family affair where the firemen were in their dress blues and they received their Fountain Hills Fire Department badge. And their wives and kids got to pin it on their uniform. So it was really a proud moment for everybody in the room. I also attended the Ragtime play, which was outstanding. J mean, our Fountain Hills theatre, it is just exceptional. There had to be more than 45 players and singers in that play, and it was amazing. The Peach Market, of course, was full, packed and amazing. And this morning, I attended my first board meeting for the Oakwood Creative Care Center that we hoped to have a satellite office here in town pretty soon. And of course, as Rachael mentioned, there's going to be Ballet Under the Stars at 5:30 Thursday night at the park. I hope you all attend. And our rotary is hosting Oktoberfest on the 27th and 28th at the park. So thank you. SKILLICORN: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Good evening, everybody and thank you all for coming tonight. Thanks for all the people attending our iivestreaming on You Tube and on Cox, Channel 11. We really appreciate you being there. If you were here in the room today, you'd see a very full audience, which we are blessed in Fountain Hills, to always have really good attendance in Town Council meetings. If you look at some of the other towns throughout the state, there's, you know, three or four people who show up and they might be just family members of the Council. So we're blessed in this town to have a really active public that cares about the future of our town, so that's great. My report will be a little bit short tonight because I -- I didn't go on vacation this summer. But i did plan, after the last town council meeting, the day after -- a seven - state trip. Unfortunately, before I went on my vacation, a friend of mine who was like Page 5 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES family, passed away of liver failure. And he was somebody I've known for half my life. And he was just a -- just a wonderful friend. He's being cremated tomorrow. The services will be following soon. And so that was kind of an auspicious beginning to my vacation. But the good news Is, it is fairly wonderful. We visited many of the National Parks, all the sights and the scenery that the Northwest has to offer and it's numerous. And it's so great to get away from Fountain Hills even though we love Fountain Hills and -- and see so much of the rest of the country. We live in this beautiful land. And so I did keep up with the constituent letters and all the town business while I was gone. But it was very nice to get away for a little while and I feel refreshed and I'm just happy to be back. And so this is my report. Thank you, Ms. Mayor. FRIEDEL: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Welcome, Fountain Hills. Thank you for attending tonight. I will be brief but I can't not do a shoutout for all the young entrepreneurs at the Peach Market this Saturday. So if you get an opportunity to come on down to that, that will be great. And on that note, from the events standpoint, there is a website called experiencefountainhills.org, literally just spell it out, experience Fountain Hills dot org, which has got to have the best calendar events in town. So if you're looking for whatever events going on, you want to -- you want t❑ participate, that's the first thing you can just go to. And, you know, literally, like every -- almost every day there is an event here in town, especially this time of year, that you can participate in, And I also want to do a shoutout to both the Stellar Students and their families, of course, and in tradition of someone that had departed us, feel free to stay for the rest of the meeting after you receive your award. Thank you. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you for that. We had our Greater Phoenix Economic Counsel Mayors Supervisors meeting. There's a lot going on in Phoenix, and in the Valley, so we're happy about that. The East Valley Partnership Statesperson Luncheon, the pinning ❑f the Fire Department, which Dave did such a wonderful job. And I had been t❑ a couple of those before when my son became a captain. And he was the one holding the kids and there were a lot of kids crying and laughing and it was just a really Page 6 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES wonderful first time event here for Fountain Hills. East Valley Mayors had their quarterly meeting in Gilbert. We had our meeting in Gilbert. The Leadership Academy, the opening kick-off, I was able to say hello to them. They all had special stories and reasons why they love Fountain Hills. The ribbon cuttings, International School -- a lot of school things this time, the International School, Fountain Hills Middle School, Second Chance school store. And then an assembly at McDowell Mountain, which was being recognized by-- there's a project called the --Be Kind Project. And they had been recognized. So it was a bunch of kids singing and dancing and giving little lessons a little bit. So it was neat. And then last -- the International Observe the Moon park Sky event was, I think, our first event at our new Centennial Circle. And they had red lights and it was really neat and enjoyed that. And looking forward to using that space more, especially now that the weather is getting better. So you mentioned Stellar Students. We have Stellar Students here. We don't have our little Falcons today, but we're going to start with McDowell Mountain. 1'11 read about the kids here. And our clerk will still do the plaque or the certificate job. And so when I say your name, I'll talk about you. You come on up and Angela will give you your certificate and please stay. And then a newspaper will take a picture when we're all done. And then after that, I have a couple proclamations that I'll d❑ while I'm down there. So we're going to start with McDowell, like I said. And Regan Dufour (ph.). Is Regan here? Yeah, come on up. First of all, Regan is incredibly helpful. She's always ready to lend a hand. Regan is also very kind. She treats everyone with respect. Her friendly attitude makes our classroom a warm and welcoming place. In addition, Regan is a brilliant problem -solver. She can tackle even the toughest problems with creativity and skill. She knows how to bring out the best in her group and makes projects enjoyable for everyone. Lastly, Regan is a wonderful friend. Her positive attitude and friendship make our classroom a better place. In summary, Regan Dufour is a stellar student because she is helpful, kind, a Page 7 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES brilliant problem -solver, a great teammate and a true friend. I'm so lucky to have her in the -- my STEM class. That's Regan Dufour. Okay. Next, we have Colt Castalanos (ph.). Is Colt here? Come on up, Colt. First of all -- you can tell this is the same teacher -- first of all, Colt is incredibly hardworking. He always gives his best efforts on every project and assignment, whether he's building an invention or solving problems with his team, Colt takes his time and makes sure he understands everything. He's also very kind. He's always ready to lend a hand to his friends if they need help. His helpfulness makes our classroom a great place to learn and work together. Not only is Colt hardworking and kind, but he's als❑ a great friend. He treats everyone with respect and makes sure that everyone feels included. I'm so proud of Colt and all the great things he has done. He is truly a stellar student and I know he will continue to do amazing things in the future. That's Colt. All right. We're moving up the middle school. Yolana Alvarenga Cardenas (ph.), are you here? Come on up, honey. Yolana has been a math student of mine and who has consistently demonstrated a high level of dedication, intelligence, and enthusiasm. She's a person of great character and integrity. She's respected among her peers and teachers alike because she always demonstrates the Falcon way: respectful, reasonable, safe, and kind. Yolana. Okay. I'm going to hopefully say your name right, Jackson -- Jackson Lagli-, Laglia (ph.). Are you here, Jackson? Come on up. As a dedicated student, Jackson works well with others and always does his personal best. He approaches his work with remarkable diligence and a genuine passion for learning. He consistently demonstrates what it means to be respectful, responsible, safe, and kind. He's very polite and a teacher's pleasure to have in class. Jackson. Now, we're at the high school. I know we just had the parade, so I hope they're here. Antigini Lawrence (ph.), is Antigini here? Come on up. All right. Antigini is a stellar student because she always stands up for what's right. She volunteers to go above and beyond what is necessary and expected. Recently, she Page 8 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES began a creative art project in response to reading Lord ❑f the Flies. Her unique perspective and contributions are valuable in and out of the classroom. Antigini. And our final student from Fountain Hills High School is Tyler Kolabianki (ph.). Is Tyler here? Come ❑n up. When Tyler faces challenges, like Spanish, he never gives up. He tries until he gets it right. He makes flashcards that helps him memorize and he looks for the chance t❑ use his Spanish he's learned in class. Furthermore, Tyler is kind, respectful, and courteous to absolutely everyone in the classroom. He definitely adds a positive element t❑ ❑ur class. That's Tyler. Okay. So now we're going to take a picture. And I want to -- since we talk about leadership, this whole thing is due to a leadership project from several years ago. So all right, you guys have to get a little closer, i think, for the (indiscernible) over there. Smile. Is that it? All right. Thank you guys s❑ much. ❑kay. i see Marie (ph.) here, And I think we have a new person from DAR to have Constitution Week. You want to come ❑n up? You can come. Anybody that wants to, can come. You're Rachel, right? MOORE I am. MAYOR DICKEY: All right. So I'm going to give this to you and you hold it and I'll read it. And then you can say a few words. ❑kay? So it's Constitution Week. Whereas the Constitution of the United States of America, the guardian of our liberties embodies the principles of limited government in a republic dedicated to rule of law -- rule of law. And whereas September 17th, 2024, marks the 2037th Anniversary of the Framing of the Constitution of the United States of America by the Constitutional Convention and whereas it is fitting and proper to accord to official recognition to this magnificent document and its memorable anniversary and to the patriotic celebrations which will commemorate it. And whereas public law 915 guarantees the issuing of proclamation each year by the President of the United States designating September 17th through the 23rd as Constitution Week. So now therefore, I, Ginny Dickey, mayor of the Town of Fountain Hills, do hereby Page 9 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES proclaim the week of September 17th through the 23rd as Constitution Week on this -- happens to be the 17th day of September, 2024. MOORE: Thank you so much, Mayor. We appreciate this honor. And behalf of the DAR, we are a nonprofit, nonpolitical service organization for women here in Fountain Hills and across the world. We're one of the largest women's organizations wh❑ participate and to promote our mission of education, historic preservation, and patriotism, So thank you for joining us today. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. MOORE: Can l take a photo? MAYOR DICKEY: Uh-huh. Would you like to? That's fine. Okay. I guess we got a picture. Don't be shy. All right. Thank you so much. MOORE: Thank you so much. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Have a great rest of the week. MOORE: You too. MAYOR DICKEY: Okay, Aaron. Come on down. This is a proclamation for Pitt Hopkins Syndrome Awareness Day, a very rare genetic disorder. And after I read it, Aaron will tell you why it's meaningful. Okay. All right. Whereas Pitt Hopkins Syndrome is a rare and severe neurological genetic disorder caused by a spontaneous mutation ❑r a deletion of a TCF4 gene. And Pitt Hopkins affects brain and nervous system development and is characterized by intellectual disability and developmental delay, breathing problems, epilepsy, lack of speech and distinctive facial features. And whereas children with Pitt Hopkins Syndrome typically have a happy, excitable demeanor with frequent smiling and laughter, fewer than 1,500 people worldwide have been diagnosed with Pitt Hopkins Syndrome. And even though the cause is known, there are currently n❑ pharmaceutical treatments available for this disorder. Whereas the Pitt Hopkins Research Foundation annually celebrates September 18th as Internation Pitt Hopkins Syndrome Awareness ❑ay to raise awareness and funding for research. This date was chosen to bring attention to the disorder's cause, which is a spontaneous musician -- mutation -- they call it the 18th chromosome. Page 10 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN BILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES And whereas the Pitts Hopkins Research Foundation is a volunteer organization of families and professionals dedicated to finding a cure through research funding, education, and advocacy, the goal is t❑ bring practical treatment into current medical use. So therefore, I, Ginny dickey, Mayor of the Town of Fountain Hills, do proclaim September 18th as Pitt Hopkins Syndrome Awareness ❑ay and encourage all citizens to increase their awareness and understanding in order t❑ assist those individuals and families who live with this condition every day of their lives. And we'll have Aaron explain why he wanted this special mention. ARNSON: Thank you, Mayor. I appreciate that. Mayor, thank you. And Council, I appreciate this proclamation. I also didn't know very much about Pitt Hopkins until we had one of our partners join our firm about a year back. He has a stepson who's now -- I think about to turn 30 wh❑ -- their life has been directly affected by Pitt Hopkins. And he requires 24-hour round-the-clock care. And his family has been very, very dedicated to taking care of him all these years. And it's difficult when there's not a lot of awareness of that condition. So I appreciate you giving the opportunity and for giving this proclamation on behalf of Joe, my law partner, and our firm. Thank you very much. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, everyone. So the next item, you can see I have our captain up here is our -- we do have a presentation from Captain Kratzer from MCSO. KRATZER: Good evening, Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the Council. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to come up and give a quarterly update. One of the first things I want to discuss -- and most residents of Fountain Hills have probably seen by now -- and I've talked about it before. But we do have ❑ne of our unmarked Mustangs that is out and about doing traffic enforcement in the community. And that's been a great tool for us for traffic enforcement and helping slow some of the speeders down. The traffic enforcement with that vehicle has been really successful. In addition to that vehicle, we also have a ghost mark -- that vehicle is ghost -marked, it's really hard to tell that it does have markings on it. They're reflective at night. You can see them a lot better when the light hits. But we also have a black Tahoe that's also ghost -marked that we use for our traffic enforcement. So you'll see that around town. Page 11 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN H3LL5 SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES You've probably seen it around town stopped -- with vehicles stopped. I know -- I've had two council members tell me that they've had people speed past them and thinking having a cop or a deputy here right now would be perfect, and then that Mustang has flown up and stopped that vehicle. So it is effective. So just reminding people to slow down. And then, one of the other things I want to talk about is just -- we'll take -- MCS❑ takes part annually in the Leadership Academy. We'll have a date with the members of the Fountain Hill Leadership Academy where we'll d❑ another -- we'll have our drone out -- our large drone -- we'll do a presentation with the drone. I've seen many of the council members through the Leadership Academy participate in that. And most of the participants enjoy the drone presentation. And then we'll do a presentation on the town contract, just so the people in the Academy understand kind of how the town contact looks and the way it's organized. The other thing I want to talk about -- over the summer we had three arson incidents over a period of -- a month period of time. The first one was the Ashbrook Wash fire that happened on June 4th. The next one was the Fountain Hills High School football field was damaged by someone damaging the 50-yard line of the field that was just installed. And then we had playground equipment damaged at the Golden Eagle Park on July 15th. I wanted to highlight the work of our detective unit, so our General Crimes Detectives came out for each of these three incidents and they assumed the investigations. And they are centralized. They used to be in-house, but they are centralized now. But I just wanted to highlight, you know, the fact and make sure that the town understands that even with them not being housed here, and the decision of the Sheriff's ❑ffice to centralize them, their dedication and persistency in investigating cases in the town. So in all three of these cases, all three have been solved. All three have charges submitted on suspects. The Ash brook Wash fire, they were three juveniles that charges were submitted ❑n arson. Two teens ages 13, one aged 14. It was situation where they were lighting some Page 12 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES leaves and shrubbery, playing with fire and it quickly got out of control. They couldn't stomp it out ❑r put it out. And then they took off running out of being scared. And that one we had to evacuate several homes and the fire got pretty close to some homes. Luckily, it didn't damage any structures. But charges were submitted on all three juveniles to the juvenile court for arson. The football field damage, $49,000 worth of damage to the football field. The suspect was a 16-year old student at the school. And charges or arson and criminal trespass were submitted to the juvenile court on that suspect. And he admitted t❑ it and wrote an apology letter to the school. And I'm sure through court proceedings, there'll be restitution. And then the Golden Eagle Park playground, $24,000 in damage and repair cost. It was a merry-go-round that was burnt and melted. The shade structure was burnt. And then the wood chips were burned. In that one, a 16-year old suspect who did not reside in town -- the other -- the other two incidents, the suspects lived in town. The football field one, the suspect lived on Fort McDowell, but was a student. This one, the suspect actually lived out of town in a neighboring city, but was here visiting friends. They were at the park with friends. But it was a 16-year old subject. He was charged with arson, criminal damage, and criminal trespass. So we just wanted to give an update on those cases. I know you were all aware of the cases when they occurred. But we wanted to give some closure to those and just -- -- and also thank the people who were involved in helping us identify suspects in those cases or investigative leads: the school officials, town park officials. Even some of the firefighters at one of the calls identifying one ❑f the kids and knowing who the kid was and letting deputies know. So those were big. Those are always obviously helpful. And those leads help solve the cases. So that's all I have. If there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. MAYOR DICKEY: Got a question? UNKNOWN: Just a comment. MAYOR DICKEY: Sure. Page 13 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES UNKNOWN: Larry, that's great news that you were able to salve all those cases. Thank you on behalf of the town. KRATKER: Thank you. MAYOR DICKEY: Any other questions or comments. UNKNOWN: Thank you. KRATKER: Thank you. MAYOR DICKEY: Thanks a lot, Larry. Next is our call the public. ❑o we have speaker cards? CITY CLERK: Yes, Madam Mayor. The town received one online written call t❑ public regarding stored materials. And then we have two that would like to speak. So first up is Steve, I think it's Baggio. BAGGIO: Yep, Baggio. CITY CLERK: All right. Thank you. And then next, we'll have Kim Bartman. BAGGIO: Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, esteemed members of the audience both here and at home, I'm Steve Baggio, founder and president of the Italian Club here in town, the Fountain Hills Italian Interest Group. And we awesome -- we have an awesome town that appreciates different cultures, ethnicities, and groups throughout the year. As we approach October, we ❑ften associated it with Halloween, ❑ia de Los Muertos -- if I said it correctly -- and other nationalities and events. Town of Fountain Hills also recognizes a lot of different groups. October is also Italian -American Heritage and Culture Month. And we're seeing if the town could possibly proclaim ❑ctober as Italian -American Heritage and Culture Month. And ideally, have the Fountain lit, perhaps, two nights or one night in the colors green, white, and red in honor of Italian American community here in town. I also believe that that would help businesses here in town because myself, and other members of the Fountain Hills Italian Group, would g❑ and celebrate the festivities and perhaps the restaurants could have some discounts. Although, I'm watching the pasta, so. And I'm hoping this can come to fruition because it's just not about Italian culture and Page 14 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES heritage but also about American culture and heritage. America, after all, the named after an Italian, Amerigo Vespucci. I know Your Honor is Italian heritage, several members of our community, hundreds, if not thousands, of residents are of Italian American culture. And I think this would be great for the town and I hope we can all pass this and it would be an ideal situation. And for those Italians at home and residents of Fountain Hills that are Italian, I say to you, grazie a tutti. Thank you. BARTMAN: Good evening, Kim Bartman, Fountain Hills resident. I went to the Fountain Hills homecoming parade, it was awesome. My daughter graduated from Fountain Hills High 2024, and she -- used to go to that parade when she was itty-bitty and watched all of those Falcons, you know, in the parade, so it was really cool to go and celebrate and go to Oka Sushi and be able to watch the parade from there. So what I'd like to -- I have a question for Allen Skillicorn. I was driving down to get some new running shoes down in Scottsdale. And I saw all these signs of yours all the way down way into the heart of Scottsdale, even off of Indian Bend and it said Skillicorn, safe neighborhoods. Are you running for something? Because it seems really odd that during this political season, your signs are everywhere, littering the Scottsdale roads. They already have enough signs without somebody that's not running. So just wanted to say that. Thanks. MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. For the future when -- we won't directly address -- we go through the chair, please. Appreciate it. Thank you. That was it, huh, for cards? TOWN CLERK: Yes. MAYOR DICKEY: Did you want to respond at all? No. SKILLICORN: Well, I believe that (indiscernible) allow us to respond. UNKNOWN: You're welcome to if you want to. SKILLICORN: That's fine. UNKNOWN: (Indiscernible). MAYOR DICKEY: We next have our consent agenda. Can I please get a motion? UNKNOWN: (Indiscernible). Page 15 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES UNKNOWN: Second. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Thank you. Roll call. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Mayor ❑ickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Consent items passed -- MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. TOWN CLERK: -- six to zero. MAYOR DICKEY. We're getting all used to this. Our first regular agenda item is a discussion with possible direction about filling vacancy and Councilman Skillicorn brought this forward. Would you like to introduce it? SKILLICORN: Yeah. ❑bviously, the statute says that we should fill openings in a timely basis. And that moving forward with that would definitely fill this in a timely basis. And we have an even number. Of course if -- we could have things are deadlocked. If three people voted a consent agenda, we wouldn't be able to vote that consent agenda. S❑ it would be a wise move to have an odd number here, s❑ we can always have a majority and to move things forward. TOWN CLERK: Town council? UNKNOWN: I'll just add -- just for those who might not know, although the election is only in 49 days, that new Council is not sworn in until the end of December. And Page 16 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES therefore the first meeting in January would be their first meeting. So we do still have the rest of the year, It's unfortunate that my neighbor here had to move. But with that vacant seat, we do have an individual who has already been elected in the primary, the people chose her. I think it's only logical to have that person be who HIS the role. And I believe that that's happened in the past. MAYOR DICKEY: I'll get speaker cards. But I just wanted to point out that the first meeting is actually December 3rd, so there will be three meetings. Because we only have one meeting in November. Yeah. So there's only three meetings between. Speaker cards, please. TOWN CLERK: Yes, Madam Mayor. The town received 72 written comments that you'll find in your -- on your pocket -- 5 were for, 67 were against. And then we have four that would like to speak. So first up, we will have Crystal Cavanaugh and then next will be Barry Wolborsky. CAVANAUGH: Good evening, Mayor, Council. Crystal Cavanaugh, Fountain Hills resident. I'm just going to lay this out, some of it's been said. But during the July 30th election period multiple candidates ran for the three council seats that were opening up in December. The people voted and only one candidate won a seat outright in that election. That candidate was Gayle Earle. So isn't it logical, and without question, that this Council should simply respect the vote of the residents by swearing in Ms. Earle early t❑ replace the vacated seat instead of waiting until December? Or worse yet, even considering replacing the Grzybowski seat with someone else entirely for this short period. Someone who was not recently elected by the people of Fountain Hills. Would anyone on this Council actively be seeking a replacement other than candidate -elect Earle? What would be the logic in that? And then that random person steps down in December and only then Ms. Earle is sworn in? Why not get her on the Council now s❑ that she become acclimated to the role that she will hold for the next four years? And I am curious to know whether seeking out other alternatives was simply a rogue decision by CounciImember Kalivianakis or whether this was a decision that was Page 17 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES endorsed by the Mayor or Councilwoman McMahon; were you even aware that she was working against the people and asking others if they were interested in being on the Council? Feel free to go on the record with your response to those questions, Thank you. UNKNOWN: I have a question. Are you kidding me? Were you working behind this Council's back, Brenda? MAYOR DICKEY: Let's keep going with the cards and then we'll discuss -- KALIVIANAKIS: Sir, I don't owe you any explanation. UNKNOWN: Yes, you do. MAYOR DICKEY: Let's just -- let's just keep going with the public cards. And then we can discuss the item. WOLBORSKY: I'm not as famous as Crystal, but I'm Barry Wolborsky and you know me. The only person on the primary election ballot to garner enough votes and win a position on the Council without having to run in the general election was Gayle Earle. Gayle was, and is, the choice of the voters of Fountain Hills. Some members of the Council, however, have consistently ignored the will of the voters. Anyone who does not vote for Gayle Earle to fill the position will be announcing to the voters of Fountain Hills that voters' direction to the Council is irrelevant. They will be announcing that politics and ego are more important to them than the will of the voters. If that occurs, the voters of Fountain Hills can remember the name of those who so easily ignored their will in the upcoming general election and in future elections, as well. If Gayle Earle is not elected tonight, I'm sure you will hear a lot of excuses for ignoring the voters and the voters' will. But regardless ❑f their justifications, facts are facts. CITY CLERK: Next we have Liz Gildersleeve, followed by Kim Bartman. GILDERSLEEVE: Good evening, Liz Gildersleeve, Fountain Hills resident. I have some of the same concerns. Tonight's discussion should be a short one and an easy decision for all of you because voters have spoken. Gayle Earle was the only candidate who was elected outright by Fountain Hills voters and the recent primary and is the only one who Page 18 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2424 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES should be considered for this vacant seat. That said, there are concerning and credibly reports that Councilmember Kalivianakis has been actively attempting to recruit other town residents to fill the vacant council seat. That is pretty outrageous and inappropriate, especially from someone who lectured us at the last meeting about laws and the need to follow rules. The question that I have for you tonight is whether Kalivianakis meddled independently to circumvent the Council and town staff as she's been known to do before or whether Mayor dickey instructed Kalivianakis to actively recruit others to fill the vacant Council seat. Which is it? Either way, this behavior is not a good look for the Council. And has anyone contacted Gayle Earlier about starting her term early? If not, why not? She is the most logical and rightful choice, at least where Fountain Hills voters are concerned. Thank you. BARTMAN: Kim Bartman. I -- I'm concerned about the early adding Gayle Earle early to the (indiscernible). I'm concerned about division. I'm concerned that her son wore a shirt to the meeting with a AR-15 and said I'm straight, white, and deal with it. You know? That's division that is really sad. And I know she's going to be on the (indiscernible) in December. But 1 recommend you not vote for her to come -- to start early. I also know that her family wears the go Skillicorn, you know, Allen Skillicorn stickers to the meetings. And he has something on Facebook about oh, our plan is coming together. So I vote no. Thank you. TOWN CLERK: That is it, Mayor. MAYOR DICKEY: Thanks, Angela. Further discussion on this item or -- yes, Councilman. And Vice Mayor, did you have something? I'm sorry. I don't know who was first here. TOTH: Well, first of all I find it unfortunate that Gayle wasn't here to defend herself for that list bit. But I actually have a question. This agenda item is put down as discussion with possible direction. Are we even able to take action on this tonight? We are. Okay. Great. Well, that's great. So obviously then I would just motion to therefore appoint Gayle to fill that vacant seat for the end of the year. FRIEDEL: I'll second that motion. But I have discussion -- I have questions. I know Page 19 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES what's going on. There's a process that has to be followed for this. And if we have councilmembers sitting on this (indiscernible) that went around the back of this council to do something egregious again, I want answers. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Can I say something before you do? The item was regarding filling a vacancy on the Fountain Hills Town Council. 5o how is -- if Vice Mayor asked if other people were interested, how is that going around process, Councilman? FRIEDEL: Were any of the other councilmembers involved; was it brought before this body? No, it wasn't. It was done in secret, not transparent. That's not how we should be operating. And I think you all know that. MAYOR DICKEY: 5o was the -- like I said, the item is regarding filling a vacancy on the Fountain Hills Town Council. 5o how is anything -- and, you know, we don't go back and forth on this. But I disagree that there's anything -- FRIEDEL: Mayor, were you aware -- MAYOR DICKEY: Excuse me? FRIEDEL: -- were you aware of the fact that she was doing that? MAYOR DICKEY: Was I aware -- FRIEDEL: Yes. That she was soliciting -- MAYOR DICKEY: -- that she was thinking of other people -- FRIEDEL: -- ❑ther people when we have a candidate that won -- MAYOR DICKEY: Excuse me. FRIEDEL: -- the election -- MAYOR DICKEY: Excuse me, sir, FRIEDEL: -- were you aware of the fact that she was doing that? MAYOR DICKEY: Excuse me. Was I aware that this was an agenda item -- FRIEDEL: No, that's not what I asked. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: -- to fill a vacancy and was I aware that she was interested in possibly other candidates, yes. FRIEDEL: There's a pattern of behavior here that is not good. First of all, this councilmember has gone behind this Council's back on numerous occasions and done Page 20 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS 5EPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES stuff that is not transparent and doesn't involve this entire Council and it's got to stop. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Council -- Vice Mayor, would you like to speak? KALIVIANAKIS: Yes, thank you, Ms. Mayor. I don't have to ask permission from this Council for doing my job. I don't have to consult this Council to do my job. And matter ❑f fact, if I had, I would be violating the open meeting laws. Wh❑ would I contact; who would I ask for permission to try to get community members to run for this temporary seat that was vacated by Sharon? I don't understand the argument that I have to get permission to seek members from the community that would run and serve on this Council. I've done a great deal of research online from the Maricopa Governments, from GPEC and from other thing, and they describe the process to get citizens that would be a good fit -- to have a process, that we interview them. That we put a committee together and we appoint. ❑o we have the ability tonight to put Ms. Gayle on? Of course. But is it compulsory, no, it's not. I had considered putting -- her on. I decided that that was not something that I wanted to do. I've been accused recently of living in a fairytale utopia. It was in the Fountain Hills Times. It was a letter to the editor. And my utopia -- yeah, ideally she would have run as a nonpartisan candidate, which I think we ail should do. We are not in the federal government. We are not fighting federal issues. We are not fighting state issues. We are filling potholes, we are directing money towards infrastructure, community center. We don't deal with partisan issues. Unfortunately, in this town, the past couple years, it has become nothing but partisan. You can look around this town at the signage and you can see, you know, leftists ruin towns, Mayor Dickey is corrupt. This is not the thing that small towns do. It's corrosive and -- and it's not good for our town. I wish that Ms. Earle and I have no doubt that she will serve well and serve the people well and not serve a party and not serve a PAC, but serve the 25,000 people that she will be sworn under oath to represent. They come first. They come before you donors, they come before your party, they come before your PACs. I have served the people -- and I know I've been called a lot of names Page 21 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES because I didn't follow the PACs. I've always voted my conscience and I will still continue t❑ vote my conscience. It's gotten me in trouble from both sides. And I will continue to do that for the next two years. Now, they said I don't live in Realville, in that letter to the editor. Well, I'm here to tell you tonight I'm living in Realville tonight. And Realville says that this is a very divisive election cycle. Realville tells me that we had someone who leaned left and that's who the people elected. This body With the leftists, with the rightists, with the moderates, If we were to put Ms. Earle in there, it would put the thumb on the scale and it would lean hard right. I don't think that would be fair. If we were replacing somebody that was far right with somebody far left, or somebody that was far right, I don't think it would be fair either way. So there's -- the election happened. She earned her seat. She'll be sworn in her seat. But there's still a lot to go here. We have two more seats to fill. And we have the Mayor's seat to fill. And that's going to be a big deal. It's going -- to turn the town one way or the other, right or left. That's for the people to decide. Now when we had the Sandor vote, the Political Action Committee said that it was too big for this Council to determine the rezoning and the revitalization of the Target Center, that it should be put to the people. And they filed a referendum. The papers weren't signed correctly and filled out correctly; it got thrown out. But that was the argument that was made. It's too big not to go to the people. And what I'm telling you tonight is the decision on this Council leaning right, leaning left, should be made not be these six people, it should be made by you. By the people on TV, by the people you make it -- because you're going to determine the next two years of what this Council is going t❑ be composed of. It could be Mayor Friedel, it could be Mayor Dickey. We know it's going t❑ be Gayle and Allen and Hannah and myself. But there's two people yet to be determined. And so I'm more than happy to wait until ❑ecember and we'll let the people decide what kind of a council they want then. And as far as recruiting candidates, I think we should all have been doing it. TOTH: Well, I agree. It should be chosen by the people. It already was. Gayle was the Page 22 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES one who made it over the line in the primary. She was chosen by the people of Fountain Hills, she will be on the Council. It makes sense considering yes, there are only three meetings left. This is the most logical decision and let's not forget because, you know, people sometimes can be very good at speaking for long enough that you kind of forgot what they were talking about. But let's talk about the very clear admitted political motivation. The reality is the people have already elected Gayle Earle. Now, let's close our eyes for a moment and pretend that someone else was who was elected in the primary. How many people do you think would be speaking at this meeting tearing me apart if I was against putting that person on the Council? We're all adults in this room. We understand that these things are political. We understand the political nature of our country right now. I see that the, you know, my fellow, current councilmembers may be reluctant to fill a vacant seat. But filling a vacant seat is something that we owe you. You are supposed to have six councilmembers and a mayor. It is not fair to have you wait for the rest of the year to have a full council that's able to get work done. Do a count, this a three - three vote right now. Whether we like it or not, whether we feel like it should be or not, that is the reality. So do we want a Council that is not able to be productive for the next couple months or do we want to go with what is objectively the most logical decision.? Now, the concerns where it comes to recruiting people for three meetings to fill a seat. It also kind of comes from that political motivation of well, if we find someone else, we still get a majority. And again, this is a nonpartisan council. 1 was not supported by the Republican party when I ran. But I don't hide who I am. I'm a Christian Conservative. I'm a registered Republican. My fellow Councilmember over here ran with me on that slate as a Republican. So this new preaching of we should all be nonpartisan and pretend as though we aren't running for a political ❑ffice, I'm sorry, but it's just dishonest. And I'm not going to -- I'm not going t❑ do that to you. I'm going to treat you like adults and explain exactly why yes, I support putting Gayle on the Council. She has already been chosen by you, not me. FRIEDEL: I just want to say, you talk about division in this town, Brenda. Page 23 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TOTH: You're supposed to be talking to the Mayor here? FRIEDEL: Mayor, you want to talk about division in this town, Mayor? This councilperson has not only gotten personal emaiIs on the Sandor project, number one, that was divisive because it wasn't shared with the rest of the Council. That -- that body of work in and of itself, is a pattern that continues to repeat itself. She tried to rewrite the SG ordinance -- and I know you said, well, amendments can be made on the fly. Not that type of amendment. That was nine different changes and they weren't just one word. Number three, there's a process that we g❑ through to elect somebody for that vacancy. And that process is they apply, we interview them, and we talk to them. Nobody knew behind the scenes what was going on with this. That's not right for the rest of this Council. And it's not right for the residents of this town. The people made the decision on that spot. Gayle Earle won that election. You don't get to judge for the rest of the people in this town. Nobody does. They vote -- they voted, they spoke for that. So I'm in favor of her going in. MAYOR DICKEY: Ms. Vice Mayor. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Yeah, just to address Gerry's concerns on the Sandor project. Boy, this is a tempest in a teapot. I literally got a letter after I told this Council that I wanted to get a copy of the parking agreement. I was on the record. I went to town staff and I said, I need the parking agreement in order to vote for the Sandor project. I received a total of one email from Sandor. This is the big conspiracy that they've written letters to the editor and has been all over Facebook. When one person at Sandor wrote me and said, Brenda is this your email address? And I responded, yes. That's what this whole thing is -- there were no back and forth. Matter of fact, had they known my email address, why would they have asked me for my email address to begin with? If you're writing your sister every day, do you say, hey, Carrie, is this your email address? I know I've been writing you for the last five years. I didn't -- they didn't have my email address because I hadn't been corresponding with them. Page 24 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES So that is what you guys keep accusing me of. That is a lie. And when I said, yes, this is, they sent me the parking agreement. And the very next day, I told you that there was a parking agreement. The very next day I was on record, I was transparent. They filed five ethics charges against me. It was litigated through an attorney and I won because people don't understand the ethics code, unfortunately. So that was the Sandor great conspiracy. One email. Is this your email address, Brenda? As far as last week I-- that's why I bring this book and this book to every Council meeting. So I know the rules of procedure that, apparently, Mr. Friedel, even though I think you've taken courses on this, obviously, don't understand. Any councilperson can amend a motion. If it's a simple amendment, you just d❑ it verbally. If it's a complicated amendment, then you -- it's encouraged you do it in writing. Joe Negiia, who's a personal friend of mine -- that Gerry I think you've met before -- is the number one parliamentarian in the State of Arizona. He's a parliamentarian that serves on all the Arizona -- everywhere. I consulted him. And the advice that he gave me -- the number one parliamentarian in the Arizona -- was if it's a complicated amendment, put it in writing, which I did. And I told staff ahead of time that I have an amendment. They suggested I put it in writing, which I did. And so that was all according to procedure. We don't have to just vote yes, no, up, down. We can make amendments. And that's what we d❑ all the time. Now i do a lot of homework and I do a lot of research. And I think people know that and they tell me that. That agreement fast week, and the amendments I made, would have made that a much better telecommunications amendment. I discussed that with John Wesley at length. I discussed that with Aaron at length -- if I'm permitted to do that -- talking to people behind the Council's back. And those were great amendments, like the slope line that we discussed last week. If you can put one tower up in place of four, I say why not? Nobody wants towers, nobody wants to see a tower. So when you put the one tower above the slope line, it could replace the possible four towers that would have to be down below the hill. And so maybe if we had petitions for 10 towers -- if we didn't do -- if we did them all below Page 25 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES the slope line there might be 40 towers. I think it was an agreement that nobody wanted extra towers, they wanted fewer towers. And so I did the work, I wrote the amendments and they were not heeded, unfortunately, because they should have been passed. And -- again -- I think Gerry's last point was, you know, did -- we have a right to have a process to fill this seat? Yes, we do. And that's what we should start on and that's what I started on because we only have three meetings left and I'd like to get that seat filled as soon as possible. MAYOR DICKEY: Any other comments or questions? Okay. We have a motion second. Roll call, please. And I do want to point out, I think that we had four speakers, three, for, one against. And then we had 67 against and 5 for in -- in cards that were -- and that were submitted. And I did get a couple of emails, but they were past the deadline -- TOWN CLERK: Correct, Madam Mayor. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: -- that were against. ❑kay. Roll call, please. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Nay. TOWN CLERK: Mayor ❑ickey? MAYOR DICKEY: No. TOWN CLERK: The motion fails, three to three. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Our next item is about a special use permit on Panorama. Page 26 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES John. WESLEY: Good evening, Mayor and Council. As stated, this is a request for consideration of a special use permit on Panorama, just north of Saguaro. This area is zoned C-3, was platted back in 1973. The lot in question, which is the lot highlighted here on the -- map, was developed in the late '80s -- 1980s -- that's an office building with two sides, twelve suites -- office suites total in the building. It's been vacant for a few years. And the current owner of the building is requesting a residential use for this building. The C-3 zoning district is a commercial district, does not allow residential use by right. So there's two options that are available. one would be to rezone the property to a residential multi -family district -- could be R-3 ❑r R-4 or could request a special use permit within the C-3 zoning. The applicant has requested the special use permit as the way to go for getting the use. This map shows the surrounding zoning, s❑ you'll see the area immediately around this building is all zoned. The C-3 district, which is our most intense commercial district. A little further to the north, along Panorama you can see we do have multi -family. And then also to the south across Saguaro there is multi -family. Land uses in the immediate area are shown on this one, (indiscernible) storage activities, auto repair, construction company -- those types of again -- more intense commercial type activities. Our general plan has a variety of statements we felt were relevant to this proposal. I won't read all of these. But there's some here that support the idea that we need a variety of housing types and locations within the town -- supports a mixed use. The character area for this portion of Saguaro does though speak to maintaining nonresidential uses. The zoning ordinance, Section 202, deals with special use permits and subsection (f)(1)(d) states the conditions that the planning and zoning commission would use, then those translate up to the Town Council in considering special use pe rm it. So looking at each ❑f those conditions -- those requirements for approval -- we see that the Commission determined that the residential use of this property would not be Page 27 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMSER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES detrimental to the surrounding uses, that it'll benefit the town to have this property actively used. And that the surrounding (indiscernible) of use will have a nominal impact on residents living in this building. Another requirement of the application for a special use permit is a good neighbor statement. This is a little bit odd way t❑ look at a good neighbor statement. Usually we're looking at the commercial coming int❑ a residential and how is it not going to affect that way. So again, it's a little bit odd to look at it in terms of how residents might be a good neighbor to the commercial, but it is important in this area where we want t❑ make sure we are maintaining that overall commercial use. And so while the good neighbor statement talks about managing the construction, the re -construction, (indiscernible) another building, its impact, managing its onsite parking, contributing the neighborhood safety, and maintaining the property. So in summary, overall we determined that the proposal meets the standards set in Section 202(f)(d)(1) for consideration of approval. It would utilize an existing building and would provide additional variety of housing options in the town and may stimulate use of property in the area. At the P & Z Commission meeting at August 12th when they held their hearing there were some concerns expressed by a neighboring property owner. The applicant explained the need for the use and the Commission voted 4-3 to recommend approval to the Town Council. So that is my presentation on this. Any questions you have for me at this time? MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. I'm going to open the hearing. And I don't know if there's a presentation from the applicants or should we take speaker cards? Do you guys want t❑ present or would you want to wait and see what -- UNKNOWN. Yeah. Wait and see. MAYOR DICKEY: ❑kay. Why don't we see if we have any speaker cards for this for the hearing? TOWN CLERK: Yes, Madam Mayor. The town received four comments in writing, which were all for. And then we have one that would like to speak in person, and that is Jerrad Trulson. Page 28 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TRULSON: Ladies and gentleman, my name is Jerrad Trulson. Thank you for the opportunity to address you tonight. As the owner of a heavy, civil construction company directly adjacent t❑ the property in question I must -- I must express my strong opposition to the proposal for converting the office building into residential apartments in a C-3 zoned area. Our business, along with several other adjacent companies, operate with early hours and generate considerable noise. We are involved in activities that are essential to the infrastructure development, which inherently involve significant noise and disruption. These activities often start early in the morning and can include heavy machinery, equipment, and construction processes that are not conducive to residential living. Excuse me. Allowing residential use in this commercial zone would introduce conflicts between our operational needs and the expectations ❑f future residents who may be unprepared for the realities of living next t❑ a construction storage yard. Additionally, our facility and neighboring businesses also operate during early and emergency hours. Those operations are crucial for maintaining public infrastructure and responding to urgent needs. But they come with unavoidable noise and activity that could severely impact the quality of life for residents. Residential units in close proximity to these types of businesses could result in frequent complaints, leading to potential Conflicts and disruptions that negatively impact both residents and businesses. Another significant concern is the visibility of our storage yard from the proposed residential units. Our property is used for storing equipment and materials essential for our operations. The presence of residential units with clear line of sight into our storage yard raising serious concerns regarding privacy, security, and potential liabilities. The visibility of our operations and assets could create security risks and compromise the efficiency and effectiveness of our business activities. The C-3 zoning district is designated to support commercial and office uses. And this -- this zoning classification is vital for preserving the economic character of our area. It ensures that businesses like mine can operate without encroachment from residential Page 29 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES developments, which are better suited for designated residential zones. A change in the usage of office buildings to residential would not only disrupt the balance of land use, but could also set a troubling precedent for further encroachment int❑ commercial uses. In summary, the conversion of the office building t❑ residential apartments in the C-3 zone poses several significant risks. It would create conflicts with the existing businesses that operate with early hours and generate noise, impact the quality of fife for residents who may not be accustomed to such environments and introduce security and privacy issues. Furthermore, it undermines the purpose of C-3 zoning designation, which is to support and protect commercial activities. I urge you to carefully consider these concerns and recognize that maintaining the integrity of our commercial zone is crucial for the continued success of our business. Thank you. TOWN CLERK: We have no other cards. MAYOR DICKEY: Thanks. Okay. So do you want to discuss now and then if we have questions we could have you come up or do you have a formal presentation? Please. ENOS: So hopefully everyone got the submission I emailed to everyone and I think you did. And if there are any questions in that regard, I'd be happy to answer then. But for the benefit of anybody else who's here, my name is Christopher Enos. I'm a Fountain Hills resident and I also have offices at 16235 East Glenbrook Boulevard. And again, this -- I'll address the concerns of the speaker in a moment. But basically the understanding has to be there that this is not anything that isn't already written into the statute. This is an option that is available to this Council when ❑ther existing uses have failed. And that's what happened here. There's been a disuse of onsite office buildings and this, unfortunately, is one of them who fell into that. So what is this Council to do; what was the Planning & Zoning Board to do? Well, you have choices and I laid them out. And those choices are, you can either do nothing, let the building continue to remain fallow. I don't know whether or not it would be able to be supported for very long. It's going to have upkeep and nobody there to pay for that upkeep or -- and part of that 1 guess you could wait for somebody to come along and hope that maybe somebody is Page 30 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS 5EPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES going to want t❑ buy this as offices again or rent it as offices again, which hasn't been the case. So the final is, I guess, as was suggested, you could have -- maybe the town could buy it and condemn it, and pay the property owner for that, and bulldoze it. And then God knows what you would put up. S❑ I don't think any of those options are really viable. I don't think they're advisable. And what we have here is we have a local resident and his wife, who wants to take a building that's available, that's still very good looking, very good shape, redevelop it for a use that's going to be beneficial to this town. It's a use that is specially permitted. That means that if this Council decides that we're going to be flexible, we're going to allow this local resident, Mr. Tolis and his wife to develop -- redevelop this parcel, then you'll be alleviating some ❑f the concerns for apartments and local apartments at that. So in that regard, we do have other available -- the engineers and architects from -- from the firm who's noted on the -- on the card and the -- also have Mr. Tolis and I believe Mr. Christensen the current owners also available. He indicated he would be here this evening. But after that, if there`s any other questions I'll be happy to answer them if I can. MAYOR DICKEY: Councilman Friedel. FRIEDEL: Thank you, Mayor. I just want to say that I've been out to that property three times. I met with Art, got a -- got a site visit inside, outside that property. And I know he's going to have a notice in his lease -- which we talked about -- for his tenants to -- that there could be noise on that property. He's also doing a lot of work to minimize that noise and -- with replacing ❑f windows and doors and -- and other things in there, There is residential, I believe, one block to the east and one block to the west, currently right now in that -- same area. And this building has sat empty like two or three years, I think. S❑ I'm in favor of this project. I think it's going to work ❑ut well. Is it -- is it an ideal location to have the construction company right next door, probably not. But I like the use, I like the idea of the apartments going in there. I think it'll -- fit in well in there. And as long as his ❑ccupants have notice that there could be noise, they can't come to Page 31 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES the Council looking for redress because they've been notified and they know what they're getting into. So i talked to Art about that at length. And I'm for the project. So I think it's a good project. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Councilwoman? TOTH: If it's okay, Art, I do have a question, or Mr. Tolis. And I do want to thank you, Art actually gave me a virtual tour today. I wasn't able to get out of the office, so he was kind enough to FaceTime me and give me a tour of the project. I did want to ask you though, what conversations have you had with the owner of the construction company that just spoke with us? TOLIS: Well, really we've had a phone conversation before the P & Z meeting. And he expressed his concerns, which is -- which would be a concern of mine, as well, as an investor in this project. The area itself, I have been walking daily and I walk in the mornings very early, that whole area. And I also have been over in the evenings. I go there late nights. And at the P & 2 meeting, the question was asked, how often do you actually have noise for this emergency response issues that you have with the utilities. And I don't want to speak for the business owner, however, I believe he had said it was maybe three times in a year. And it was -- one time in April was the last time that it happened. So in hearing that -- and what we discussed at the P & 2 meeting -- is that these are issues and noises that, I believe, that in many residential areas and areas that already have residential, we hear noises, we hear firetrucks, we hear emergency vehicles, we hear traffic. Saguaro Boulevard, which is right adjacent to this, you can see the other residential homes. So they hear anything that's happening in this area too. S❑ is the development that's right down the street -- when you stand outside of the building, and you look down the street, I showed you that on the video today. So there's already residential there. There's walkability in the area, there's sidewalks in the area. It's .3 miles from the park. It's right around the corner from the dog park, Desert Vista Park. So it is an area which is actually very conducive to that mixed use, which is what a strategic plan and what had Page 32 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2424 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES discussed for developers to look at these opportunities. So this opportunity -- when I met the owner, Alan, which has been a pleasure to work with -- we have been at this now for nine months. I mean, we went into contract in April, but prior to that, i was actually looking to invest in Fountain Hills. And I have a mortgage business and I have a fitness center. And we're looking for opportunities, where can we invest and ❑wn the buildings where we're actually conducting business. 5o this turned into an opportunity that we saw for housing and the need for housing, that it just worked very, very well. And those of you who have been there or if you've driven through the area, you'll see the other residential in the area. Matter of fact, one of the letters, I believe, that -- and I don't know whether it's appropriate to read it -- maybe you have read it. But one of the letters is from Monica who owns the storage facility, which is -- you can see the building right -- right out the front door of this building. And her mother has been living on that property for 12 years. And she has been there as the property night manager, let's say. ❑kay. But she's lived in that area for 12 years. And she wrote a letter that stipulated that the noise is not an issue. It's actually very peaceful and it's very quiet. And that's the same impression that I had when I was there. I talked to Jamie next door with the automotive dealership. I went over there and talked t❑ -- to him and his wife. I talked to them the night of August 12th. She had called, they were out of town. But i had a good, long conversation with them about the project. And they believe it would actually bring vitality to the area and actually safety when you have people that are around the area, just the opposite from having an issue that you're going to have people and you'll have more crime and things of that nature. I think it'll be a really nice project. We have the architect here, Ted Peterson. And we have a team here that's looked at this building, has designed a nice layout for two - bedroom, one bath, which will really be like a Melrose Place, so to speak. And I think one of the letters had represented that this is the perfect Melrose Place. We're going to have six of the units that are going to be handicapped accessible. We Page 33 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN BILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES don't have to do that. Only one would be required to be handicapped accessible. But the whole first floor is going to be handicapped accessible. So for seniors or for maybe veterans or for anyone, for that matter, that is looking for a single and double bedroom that is handicapped accessible, very easy access to the parking lot. And also incredible waIkability or rideabiIity that -- the bike path is right outside of the building, as well. So I think it's going to be a very, very nice project when we're done. I think it's going to be highly desirable and we're looking to create just a really nice livability far people that choose to live in Fountain Hills. MAYOR DICKEY: (Indiscernible). TOTH: Sorry, Mayor. I did have one other question if it's okay. D❑ you know how many windows would be facing the construction company? I just -- I agree that the proximity to the park is wonderful, the dog park. You explained to me you only needed to do one ADA unit, and you're doing six instead, the entire bottom floor. TOUS: Is the plan. TOTH: My concerns for the residents have been very much calmed down. I was right there on the phone with you, I didn't hear noise. I think it is very great for the residents. But I do want to ensure that we're looking out for the people who are already there by rights. So -- TOUS: Okay. So to answer your question -- TOTH: -- I know i gave you a lot of lead -up to that but how many windows? TOLIS: -- to answer your question -- to answer your question, the two upper units, the two upper apartments would be the ones that have the -- the view to the east. And I can promise you with that view, they will be enjoying the sunrise from Four Peaks and looking at the beautiful mountains. And € highly doubt they'll be looking in the backyard at the construction site. In addition, and something that may also help mitigate that visibility, that area behind the building, there was a utility easement that the town abandoned and now is part of this property. And that is an area where we are going to create a little bit of a pocket, kind of park area. And I'm sure that we can create some either a tree line of maybe Page 34 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMRER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES some Italian Spruce, or something that we can even give a little bit more blockage. But initially there are already quite a bit of vegetation that's in between the two properties right now. So there is already pretty significant buffer in regards to that. TOTH: Thank you. And thank you for offering that. I think maybe with a conversation with the owner, you might be able to help put some of those concerns at ease. Like l said, I'm just hoping to look out for those that are already there by right. I love your project. I think the proximity is great. I would, however, like to make a motion to table to give you time to coordinate with that owner. TOLIS: Well, 1 respectfully request that you don't do that. And the reason why is because time is of the essence on this project. This is a very important project that we need to close and transfer before the end of the year. I'm trying to be very sensitive to that in regards to my contractual obligations with this right now. We've put a significant amount of money already up front into moving forward with this. And the P & Z has already litigated essentially this situation. So it's almost as we have a double jeopardy here. If we're going to have a situation where I'm going to have to go back and try to mitigate, which -- something that I don't think needs to be mitigated because I'm already notifying the tenants. We're already putting it in writing. We've already agreed at the P & Z meeting that we'd have notification on property -- when we have an onsite property management that if there's an issue, that the first person that they are concerned with -- that they're going to address the concerns with -- is going to be us as the landlords of the property and under management. So we're going to do everything in our power to make sure. All the other businesses are also going to be required to adhere to the noise ordinances that our community already has. So any excessive noise or anything outside of the emergency response situations that that particular business does have those contracts. And it was already stipulated. It only happened three times in the last year. I don't think that those three times are going to be detrimental to people that are looking for a safe place to live that is adjacent to the parking area and the parks and is just a really, really nice project. I don't think it's going to be, personally, an issue, otherwise I would not be investing my money in this Page 35 of 59 TOWN Of F►?UNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES project. MAYOR DICKEY: I'm going to stop you here. TOTH: I understand. MAYOR DICKEY: So are you keeping in motion the motion? TOTH: Yeah. So I don't have a second on that yet. But I want to clarify the motion if I can, I'm not tabling you indefinitely. I understand you still have a deadline. But I would like to offer, as an option, to table for two weeks to give us -- to give you some time to coordinate with that construction owner. MAYOR DICKEY: Is there a second on that? SKILLICORN: Second. MCMAHON: Also, can I make a comment before we vote? Thank you. MAYOR DICKEY: I think you can only make a comment on the motion to table. MCMAHON: ❑h, okay. MAYOR DICKEY: Are you going to make a -- okay -- I have a -- oh, go ahead. Aaron. ARNSON: So if there's a motion and a second to table pending, the rules say that such a motion shall be used to -- it's actually a motion to postpone, but regardless, same principle -- used to dismiss an item on the agenda. The motion is debatable and because it can be applied only to the main question. Oh, it can only be made while the main question is immediately pending, a motion to second is ❑n the floor. So if you want to hold that motion in advance for a minute until there's a main motion pending, we can just hold it and then vote on that motion first, and then the main motion. TOTH: Okay. ARNSON: Sorry, I was just reading the rule and that -- TOTH: If it's all right -- yes, I would -- ARNSON: okay. TOTH: -- agree to putting a pin in it. The rationale behind this is simply that obviously this provided some new information. I still like the project. I just -- I understand concerns about if windows are facing his property and those assets -- construction equipment is insanely expensive -- the concerns that this person has, I would really Page 36 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES appreciate the consideration of them. He is already here by right, by zoning. I want to provide this special use permit, but I want to ensure our Council is doing everything we can to look out for who is already there. MAYOR DICKEY: Can I ask John a question, please? I'd like to ask you question about C- 3 zoning and what else could be by right. And whatever is in there, I know there's offices, retail, restaurants, so there could be offices, retail, restaurants, or other uses there that would also have the view of the -- of the other properties and has probably in the past. Is that not correct? I mean, the window is there. So no matter who is in would have the ability to look out and see the expensive equipment and such. WESLEY: Yes, Mayor, that would be true. Whatever use would be in there that's allowed by the code, they would have -- yes, they could look at the window and -- and see those things. MAYOR DICKEY: So the issue of security and such is not triggered because it's residential, it's just always been that way. That there has always been an ability to see the other properties, correct? WESLEY: Yes. MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. I'm sorry, Councilman. MCMAHON: Thank you very much. SKILLICORN: Can I just get a point of clarification before you speak? Thank you very much. My only point of clarification was former Councilmember Tolis, were you going to do a presentation tonight for the Council or is it just going to be more of a question and answer? Before we d❑ motions -- TOLIS: Well, we have -- SKILLICORN: -- I just want to know if you were going to do -- TOLIS: Sure. Yeah, you can -- we have a presentation. John, I don't know where you have it in the file for -- the P & 2 presentation would be essentially the same presentation we'd be providing here. And that issue came up in the P & 2 meeting. And I did speak with the owner of that construction company, prior to even that meeting. So we're going to have a situation where we agree to disagree. You know, if he's out there Page 37 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES with his construction company seven days a week pounding away, I haven't seen It. And I've been out there for last nine months observing this whole area. It just doesn't be the case. There's not really a lot of room behind that building except for storing things. And what was discussed at the P & Z meeting was when the generators turn on when they have an emergency situation they get fired up and they put their -- change out maybe a piece of equipment -- and then they're ❑ff to their job. So it's not -- it didn't sound to me as if it's -- that's where the activity is being -- happening. That's more like a service of our equipment, this is where we store it. But there's no construction happening in the backyard of that building. That's my impression. And then with the other neighbor, the automotive repair, Jamie -- Jamie's property you can see from the second story too. You can see all the cars in -- in his lot over there. And Jamie doesn't have a -- they don't have a problem with any of this. This building was an office building for -- since the '90s. And there's been offices upstairs that have been overlooking these properties. So there's always been that visibility. So that's not going to change. And so I don't think delaying this is going to make anything other than jeopardize the process that we have to go through in order to finalize this project based on our terms of our contract. MAYOR DICKEY: Councilwoman. TOLLS: And Alan -- this is -- MCMAHON: Thank you. CHRISTENSEN: I'm Alan Christensen, I'm the current owner. And we've been in that building -- we've owned it since'96. My office is the top office on the second floor, that looks right down on his property. It's never been an issue. I've never heard any noise. There's trees along there that block things. And I think, you know, we've been a, you know, a good tenant between the two of us. The two of us have worked well and never had an issue. So I don't see it as a big deal. We have cameras all over the property that we monitor things with. It's never been any issues going on, or noise, ❑r anything like that, so. Page 38 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MCMAHON: Thank you very much. I appreciate the presentation and I appreciate what your intent is. However, I have a hard time with this. This is strictly a commercial zoning, C-3. I don't see any mixed use allowed. There's no mixed use by right or anything. Putting apartment buildings in here does not make it a urban neighborhood. I appreciate that the construction company is having difficulties with it, they're adjacent to this. They're concerned about having problems with tenants. Now, one minute, let me finish, please. I know that you mentioned you're going to keep the fa4ade. It's a commercial building right now. It's within the zoning rights. And turning it into an apartment and keeping it looking commercial, doesn't make it a urban attraction to me. I don't know about the quality of the walkability, et cetera. You know, this is a really dense commercial area there. And that's what it's supposed to be. I think that you having it in there that you're going to warn -- warn -- the potential tenants of possible noise and that they're living in a high density commercial area, you know, people can sign agreements like that all they want. But tenants are tenants. They have a tendency t❑ complain about noise, et cetera, especially construction. What I haven't heard about this is what have you done to market or change the property in the sense that have you tried to change it or rebuild it into a storage facility or any other commercial uses besides office? I know based on the report by the Economic Director, we have condos, a few different buildings in the building phases and permit phases. 5o to me, it's not like we're really strapped for have -- for having additional apartments et cetera right now, given we have Park Place. We have the Target Center et cetera. 5o I don't mean to upset you about this, but I'm just having a hard time granting a special use permit for this. And I appreciate all the work you've done to it. I don't like to see vacancies either. But I don't see this as a urban neighborhood and a appropriate place for an apartment building. TOLLS: Mayor Dickey, may I respond or -- MAYOR DICKEY: Yeah. You can. Page 39 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMDER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TOLIS: ❑kay. Mayor Dickey, thank you. Councilman McMahon. I had sent an email to you and I sent a communication to everyone on the Council that you're welcome t❑ come to this building and to visit the building, and to see the building, and feel the building. And I believe that -- that that would convince you that this highest and best use of this building is residential right now. In the code and what I originally had studied and researched is what are the rights of this building right now and what could be done to this. And I concluded that the best, highest, and best use is residential and that special use permit is in the code to allow this Council to make that type of a decision. There is residential right -- you can see it -- they are already living in this environment that you portray as heavy commercial, C-3. This is nothing compared to a residential C- 3 -- or excuse me -- C-3 zoning in a larger municipality, a city. This is Fountain Hills, Arizona. And there is nothing happening over there except for storage units. And we have the T&T Construction, which is a generational building. They've been there probably since the '90s too, I would think, right? Is it your dad who started the business? UNKNOWN: Grandpa. TOLIS: Your grandfather. So this is a business that has been neighbors with this building as an office complex for 30 years. The change of use in this -- I don't believe is going to adversely affect their business or the tenants' enjoyment of this property. I think there's going to be noise, the same that there's noise in any other area except for if you live in a gated community and you are very, very private, Eagle's Nest, things of that nature. We are living in a community that has noise. And our noise ordinances protect the rights of everyone, whether it's C-3 or whether it's residential. So I believe that this Is still a good project that I'm willing to put my name on the line for. And I would respectfully request -- if you need to see the plans that we've already paid for and we have -- I don't believe that you must not have seen them. They were all presented to the P & Z. And they were all in that presentation, as well. And a lot of the concerns and issues were also addressed at the P & 2 meeting too. MAYOR DICKEY: Vice Mayor. Page 40 of 59 TOWN ❑F FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEM6ER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SKILLICORN: Do you have another follow up? MCMAHON: Well, I wanted to say that this is a small town. This is not a large municipality. So even the smallest development in town affects their surrounding neighbors, et cetera. And it is a commercial building. It's not a residential building. And like Hannah said, you have to respect and listen to the property owners that have been adjacent to this. TOLIS: We have letters from -- MCMAHON: I understand that. TOLIS: -- adjacent people that are in favor in MCMAHON: But the two -- completely right next to it are not pro this. So I can't ignore that. And I can't -- it's difficult to sit up here and make a decision about a zoning change even in -- on a good day. And I think that --there's a reason why this is zoned the way it's zoned. And I just -- I don't know -- this is to me, not a urban neighborhood. TOLIS: The neighbor that owns the auto repair -- MAYOR DICKEY: Let me just say one thing. This is not rezoning though, correct? TOLIS: No. It's MAYOR DICKEY: -- it's a special use permit, so it's something that -- MCMAHON: (Indiscernible) like that. MAYOR DICKEY: -- is -- -- I mean, it's in the purview. MCMAHON: Uh-huh. Okay. MAYOR DICKEY: Just real quickly, the idea of what could go there anyway. So -- MCMAHON: Uh-huh. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: -- something couldn't go there like a hotel, right, or -- so it's not -- it's not that kind of zoning. But again, it could be an office, could be a doctor's office. MCMAHON: Uh-huh. MAYOR DICKEY: Could be retail. MCMAHON: That's still commercial. MAYORDICKEY: I think --well, yes, it's commercial. But it's also sort of --okay, Mr. Trulson seemed primarily concerned with the welfare ❑f the people that would be living Page 41 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES there, which I thought was great and made sense. MCMAHON. Uh-huh. MAYOR DICKEY: The only thing that I think he was reflecting on himself was the security issue. But I think that would be an issue -- and I think as you pointed ❑ut -- you look out at that property already right now. All the other properties around there have -- seem to be in favor in this or not, you know, nobody else has been against it. I do think that having residential in different zones like this, is something that's in our -- our general plan. And I understand what you mean, that there are things in the pipeline. But I still think we have a very big housing need in the Town of Fountain Hills. This type may actually help some folks be able to live here and afford to live here. But also it's very walkable, it's by a couple of -- well, a bunch of restaurants. It's by the parks. UNKNOWN: The deli. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: The deli. You have little convenience stores. And then, when we have our events down at the fountain, they could, you know, walk to them. And I also want to talk about the area where Liberty Auto is, I think, and then the other car storage place. And there's condos -- ❑r apartments I think -- condos maybe -- right in between them too. 5o I don't think it's really ❑ut ❑f the purview of what we've done before or what -- would be, I think -- I think desirable. But anyway, I think Vice Mayor was next. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Thank you for your thoughtful comments, former Councilmember. I think this is very innovative. And I think our community is looking for more housing and I've been an advocate for that. And this really outside the box. And So I applaud you for the thought that went into this. I know you're a mortgage broker and a Snap Fitness owner. And I guess now you're going to be kind of mini - developer. So this is just another hat for you and congratulations to that. Without getting too deep in the weeds before I address your project, being a developer as some of the Councilmembers have expressed that had private conversations with you or what has been referred to ex parte communications with you. And I don't see anything wrong with that. Even though in the past people have accused this Council and this Councilmember of talking to developers. But tonight it seems like everybody is okay Page 42 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES with having private tours and communications with you, so I just want to point that out. It's fair game for us to talk to developers. And I don't think any untoward happened there. i did speak to the other business owners, the Breton's and the upholstery shop. And I did a walk-through and I talked t❑ people. And some of them were opposed to it because it might affect their business. But for the most part, the ones that I talked to were more concerned about the residents that are going to move in there. And our code states -- and it's kind of like turning our cone on our head -- because it talks about redeveloping existing buildings for the community, is it unlikely to have a detrimental impact on public health, safety, peace, or comfort of a surrounding neighborhood. And most of the people I've talked to were not concerned about the community because it's all C-3, but about the actual residential. Is it going to affect their public health, safety, peace, or comfort on the surrounding neighborhood. And so I do like the project and I'm going to vote for the project. But just -- one thing I just wanted -- and I feel I need to share this with you -- is, you know, when I went to the doctor last week, you know, they have you sign all this HIPAA forms and I'm an attorney -- I don't read them, just check -check -check -check -check. When you sign up for Facebook, it's 50 pages, check -check -check. We really don't read this stuff, And so all I would encourage you is -- I realize this is going to be in the lease that the -- this is a C-3 and some of the considerations that people are moving into. But I'm just hoping that you will make special notice that the people that are tentatively going to move in there are notified that these are existing businesses that have been performing there for years and you are moving into a residential -- in a mixed use -- and just make sure that's crystal clear. And I know you will because you're a good community member and it's a small town. And, you know, you don't want to make any enemies. But I would just encourage you, maybe in a stand-alone form, just let the people know. That would be my biggest concern. But I really applaud the project. And it's really outside the box and I congratulate you for it. Page 43 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEM6ER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TOLLS: Thank you. Thank you. SKILLICORN: Thank you, Mayor. I have several points I want to make. The visibility has always been there. It's not something that's new as indicated by your owner of the building. You have to get out and see this building. It does look like it could very easily look like an apartment building. I've been there a number of times. I went there twice after you and I talked, so. And they were different times of the day, I didn't hear any big loud booms or noise or anything like that. And for this Council not to consider this after all the talk about needing apartments in this town, I find that very interesting. Very interesting. And this is not a rezoning, it's a SUP. So again, it's a special use permit for that particular parcel. And it is in our general plan to have these sprinkled around. So again, I like the project. I think you put a lot of thought into it, a lot of time, and a lot of effort. And again, I'm for it. MAYOR DICKEY: Councilwoman? TOTH: I just wanted to address what was mentioned a moment ago. Art, did I ask you for any copies of contracts? Did I; yes or no? Did I ask you for a copy of a contract you had with any of the surrounding businesses? TOLIS: All of the contracts, Mayor, all of the contracts have been provided as part of our application packet that we submitted. TOTH: Let me rephrase the question. Did I ever ask you for any documentation that was not provided to the Council; did I ask you for anything that was not offered to the entire Council? TOLIS: Mayor, no you just -- TOTH: Yeah. TOLIS: -- you were very good. We had a nice FaceTime and we spent some time on the phone. And so that's a I I you -- TOTH: Yeah. TOLLS: -- asked is just a tour of the building. TOTH. Thank you. Thank you. And I'm sorry to put you in the middle of that. I wanted to point out the difference between talking to a potential developer and ensuring that Page 44 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024'I.OWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES I'm not getting any information that is not available to anyone else on this Council, and some other examples that were made. That's all. Thank you, Art. MAYOR DICKEY: Councilwoman? MCMAHON: May I please ask the -- Mr. Trulson, the construction person, t❑ come up, please? Thank you. As you've heard tonight from Art, and his wife, and his attorney, that they put a heck of a lot of work into this and research, et cetera. How difficult would it be if this special use permit got passed? Would -- do you really think it would be very detrimental to your business? Have you and Mr. Tolis and his wife spoken about if this passes, how you would handle it as far as your business, as far as potential complaints by residents, et cetera. So can you please shed some light on that before a vote is taken? TRULSON: Yeah. MCMAHON: Thank you. TRULSO N: S❑ I didn't personally speak to Art. My dad did. He coached some of his kids in wrestling, so they had a phone conversation, As far as line of sight and security I don't -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- I don't think you've necessarily slept there a lot. So it would be changing the use of the building from a commercial during the day to people staying there, could be the entire day or at night. I don't think it would be detrimental, but I do know that the town has the streets, maintenance yard, within close proximity, it's about 500 feet away. They start at 5:30. And I'm more concerned about the detriment that it could have on ❑ur business if it generates a lot of noise complaints, especially if it's within the noise ❑rdinance. Under our emergency response, we can operate at any hour of the day. Town of Fountain Hills has the same ability. ❑uring monsoon season, there's a lot of trees that blow down, block roadways, there's water line breaks. Yes, this year we've had three emergency responses. I can't tell you when they'll happen. I don't know what time they'll happen and I can't tell you the frequency. I'm just here because I'm going to be the person for the next 20, 30 years fielding these noise complaints whether they're from Art, or a sheriff, ❑r the town. And I want to Page 45 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS 5EPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES make it very clear, my position on it so that i can show those tenants exactly how we handled it and what was decided. MCMAHON: Okay. So I appreciate that. I appreciate the fact that you're adjacent owner and your concerns. Would you and Art sit down and iron this out and get it straightened -- and get an agreement or something in place so that you can deal with this to one another's satisfaction should any tenants complain? Because tenants do complain. And we all know that. It's a fact. So my concern is, I want to respect the fact that you're the adjacent property and recognize your concerns. But at the same time listening to the whole presentation and what has gone into this, you know, I hesitate -- I mean, I'm trying to balance the equities and the interests in this. TRULSO N: Yeah. As far as sitting down and coming to an agreement, I can pretty much tell you how we're going to handle a noise complaint. UNKNOWN: (Indiscernible). TRULSON: How we would handle a noise complaint because we're not going to generate noise outside ❑f the ordinance. It's going to be permissible. It'd be -- could be an emergency response. And we're just going to tell the residents, sorry, but there's nothing we can do. That's my big concern. As far as visibility into it, I don't think there's any way to really mitigate it. And there's going to be people staying there -- that building has direct line of sight and there's -- you could put 20-foot tall trees in. I don't know that it would. So I would defer the matter to Town of Fountain Hills Council. I grew up here. It is a small tightknit community. And so it's not my decision. MCMAHON: Thank you. And noise complaints would go through all the proper channels, et cetera, right, John, if there were any? Okay. And would they be immediately addressed, ❑r placated, or what? WESLEY: Mayor, Councilmember, any noise complaints that come in would be -- follow the complaint procedures and investigated and, you know, see what they were and addressed appropriately, if there's a violation or not. MCMAHON: Thank you. Page 46 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TOTH: 1 honestly lost my train of thought a little bit. Thank you, Mayor. Yeah. I'll pass for the next person. Sorry. MAYOR DICKEY: Hey, Art. D❑ apartments have -- ever have anything similar to CC&Rs that are, you know, pretty binding? You know, I mean, you can't -- you have to conform with CC&Rs. So -- TOLIS: Yes. MAYOR DICKEY: -- do you have -- can you have something like that? TOLLS: Mayor, yes, absolutely. Yeah. We will -- we will have CC&Rs rules for the apartment and for the tenants. And in addition to a couple of other mitigating facts, we're going to -- we're going to continue to have an exceptional security system on this building. And there's -- the beneficiaries of that will be Jamie and Mike next door with their place, that we can see what's happening with these cameras and same thing on the back of the building. So I think that's actually more of a safety aspect that we're going to be able to provide that, if necessary. And I'm sure T & T Construction has their own securities, as well. So I'm not concerned about safety. The comment that was just made in regards to that municipal lot, that municipal lot is on the corner down the street on the other side of the water company. And the other residential neighborhood is closer to that than my building is. So I think that the -- people have been living in that area already. There are -- there's a letter from a resident that lives within a stone's throw of the building. So while noise may be, at sometimes, an issue, I can tell you that I live behind the high school and I hear pickleball at 5 a.m, in the morning every day of the week. Every day. And I bought that home -- my wife and I bought that home -- knowing there was a high school behind us and knowing that we can hear Golden Eagle. And we have light pollution even in a dark sky. So we know where we bought and we enjoy that area. And we deal with pickleball on a regular basis. And whomever lives in this apartment, I would have been more than happy and blessed to live in this apartment compared to many apartments that I grew up -- when I was trying to buy in a community that I couldn't necessarily afford the homes. Page 47 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES I mean, my children are all here. I mean, I can have them all stand up. I think I've got four lease agreements already that we have -- we have that age bracket that, of course, fair lending and housing laws, I can't target the people I'm renting to. However, i do have lots of children and I know that they're renting -- one in Mesa and a couple living at home. And I'm certain that this is going to be a great project and a great property that they're going t❑ enjoy. So I'd be blessed at that age to live in a property that has walkability to the park and to the dog park and amazing views. And it's a safe -- property. And when you pull in, you get that sense that you're at a property that is safe and the area is safe. TOTH: Okay. Sorry, I found my train of thought. What I wanted to mention, were the Concerns of if tenants complain, which I do know happens, I have a little bit of a soft spot for it. I have a friend who's being pretty much harassed by her apartment neighbor with constant noise complaints. Something that I think is worthy of bringing into the conversation -- and it's okay, Art, you can sit, I'm mostly just talking to myself here. TOLIS: It's okay. TOTH: But something that's worthy of bringing into the conversation is that our noise ordinance is fairly subjective, if -- unreasonable noise, unruly group, we don't have that firm bar. And to some, I think that maybe construction noise that to us in the industrial area, it's business, it's fine. Somebody Galls, that police officer still needs to come. I know because I have my friend who lives here in town, her neighbor is knocking when she's walking up the stairs, when she opens her drawer to grab a toothbrush. It's just one of those things, sometimes you get a whacky neighbor, it happens. I understand that that is not the fault of Art or the fault of our architects ❑r the investors. But it is a reality to Consider and I appreciate that that concern has been brought up with the noise ordinance. And I think that's something the Council needs to consider. But I just wanted to make that note. I know it's a little bit of a sidebar but it is germane to the conversation. Something I want to add though, again, I like the project. I love its proximity to the park. I think that it could be very beneficial to the residents that, I think, we're looking at, Page 48 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES possibly, maybe, sort of. And none of you look like you'd be doing frivolous complaints, t❑ at [east there's that. JOLLEY: My name is Don Jolley. I'm the architect. If I was asked to design a noise -- noiseless building; I'm a noise expert. I know how to control noise. And ❑ne thing we would d❑ if we want t❑ build a building to be noise -proof, make a block and double - pane windows. Triple pane is like -- it doesn't -- doesn't help that much. But block building, which this is, and double -pane windows, would make this almost silent. You wouldn't hear the things outside unless you go outside. So I want t❑ concern -- if we're concerned about noise, this is not the building to be concerned about. TOTH: Thank you. I'm not concerned about your noise. I'm concerned about possible complaints from residents of the company. I feel as though that was a valid concern. And I'm just bringing it back up. And thank you. I know that the upgrades that you're doing to the building will be -- great. So I just want to clarify, it's not your building that I'm necessarily concerned about. I just think that these are things that we need to think about when we're putting further residential into an industrial zone. MAYOR DICKEY: Well, you're talking about the building itself would be fairly soundproof for lack of a better word, right, you said it's made of block already and you're going to have to put new windows in because these don't open, right? JOLLEY: Sound control is a factor of two things, mass and distance. And we block walls, several block walls behind these businesses and a long -- like a big parking lot. And then a block building. I'm not concerned about the noise people to people, maybe to neighbors inside the apartment. But the construction noise, you won't hear that inside unless you go outside. MAYOR DICKEY: We're doing a lot ❑f supposition of complaints from people. You know, we're concerned, obviously, but I think we're also saying well, this might happen, this might happen. Well, if it was a retail store, if it was a yoga place, or a spa -like place, or, you know, a retail store that likes to play classical music. I mean, they could complain too. So I think anything, you know, we could talk about anybody complaining and it would be a by -right use. So I'm not really concerned about that, whether it's residential Page 49 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEP0BER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES or whether it's something else, somebody will -- can always complain about something. So I don't have an issue with it at all. I think at this point, we don't have a motion for the actual project. And i would like to ask if somebody would like to do that? FRIEDEL: Yes. I'd like to move to adopt the ordinance. MAYOR DICKEY: Da I have a second? KALIVIANAKIS: Second. MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. We have a motion and a second to approve SUP24 -- bunch of zeroes dash and -- FRIEDEL: Mayor, real quick. Two things. Did we close the public hearing? I don't remember if we did or not. MAYOR DICKEY: Yeah. FRIEDEL: But there we go. Now closed. MAYOR DICKEY: Yeah, we did. FRIEDEL: And then Hannah, did you -- is your motion pending or did you withdraw it, the motion to continue -- MAYOR DICKEY: Well, she had to have -- UNKNOWN: She's writing notes to -- oh, sorry. TOTH: ❑o you mind if I -- was writing notes to figure out if that's still the case. I want to make sure I'm making the right decision. I think that I'm not going to make my motion to table. I'll withdraw what I would have had to make. MAYOR DICKEY: No, that's okay. I figured if she want -- that would be the time that somebody could do it, after the motion and the second. So we do have a motion and a second. Can we have a roll call, please? TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: No. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: You convinced me that this is a good project, so aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Toth? Page 50 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HiLtS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES UNKNOWN: Do it. Do it. Do it. TOTH: I swear I'm not stalling. I really am considering. I was a super firm yes walking into this. Yes. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Mayor Dickey. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Motion passed, five to one. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Thank you. Thanks very much. Our next item is also a public hearing for amending home occupation and regarding parking. S❑ I will open it and try to remember to close it. WESLEY: Okay. Mayor and Council, hopefully this a fairly easy item. A few months back, you considered amendment to Section 514 of the town zoning ordinance with regard to home occupations. As we reviewed that, the discussion at the Town Council meeting, there was a comment made from the public about desiring a further limitation to parking that could occur along the streets in association with the home occupation business. Staff did not pick up that the Council included that comment in the approved ordinance. Later we had some further discussion that that was an item that there was some interest in, adding to or including in the ordinance. So the staff has brought that back. Then with the addition of a statement that's shown in red here about the on - street parking associated with home occupation, that that needs to occur onsite if at all possible. ❑nly if there's n❑ ❑ff-street parking available could you then park on the street. So that's a simple amendment we have for you. P & 2 considered this at their last meeting and recommend an option of this, 7-0. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, John. ❑o we have any speaker cards? TOWN CLERK: No, we do not, Mayor. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Rage 51 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAiN HILLS SEPTLM8ER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FRIEDEL: You want a motion? MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Sure. FRIEDEL: I move to adopt ordinance 24-13. MCMAHON: Second. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Thank you. Any discussion? KALIVIANAKIS: Yes. MAYOR DICKEY: --no -- KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. MAYOR DICKEY: -- you're still ❑n here. So do you want to discuss? Okay. Vice Mayor. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Obviously, this would be for in -home businesses -- in -home businesses. Would sober living and elder care facilities -- are they considered businesses ❑r residential? WESLEY: Mayor, Vice Mayor, they are separately handled outside of the home occupation ordinance. KALIVIANAKIS: So this wouldn't affect them at all? WESLEY: That's correct. KALIVIANAKIS: Okay. And this -- another one of those ordinances that seems more aspirational than directive. An ordinance t❑ say that this is a no -parking zone, ordinance say a lot of definitive statements. Just so the people at home know what we've voting on. This says there shall be no on -street parking for any purpose during business hours if there is ❑nsite parking available. Street parking may only be used when onsite parking is full. Now if you do look in the packet, it says that the garage would be onsite parking. The driveway would be onsite parking. And if that's full, then they can park in the street. But this is an ordinance that, in my estimation, is completely unenforceable by our code enforcement officers. It's a word salad. And it's a bad ordinance. How would a code officer know if there was people parked in the driveway and then somebody saw it was full and then they parked on the street, and then people in the driveway left. How would the code enforcement officer know that there wasn't any onsite parking available Page 52 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES when they parked on the street? And so it'd almost have to be like, we'd have to hire a detective and do an investigation of who got there first. So I guess what I'm asking you is what prompted this ordinance and what is the upside of it? WESLEY: Mayor, Vice Mayor, again, it came from a citizen who spoke back in March at the Town Council meeting when the ordinance -- previous ordinance amendment was brought up. It was based on their concerns, I guess, maybe from experience of home occupation businesses and seeing too much parking on the street, and trying to put further control on that situation to limit that on -street parking as much as possible. KALIVIANAKIS: So it was driven by a resident? WESLEY: Yes. KALIVIANAKIS: In your estimation, would this be easy, medium, ❑r difficult to enforce for our code enforcement officers? WESLEY: Mayor, Vice Mayor, let me start with -- when a person applies for a business license and they're applying for a business license for home occupation -- there's a list that they go through. And part of that is the ordinance requirements. And so once this is adopted, that would be added then to what they're reading and they check a box at the end saying they've read this and understand the requirements. So the person operating the business should be aware then of this requirement. So we have that upfront. But then for the code officer, it would largely have to be complaint -based because just driving down the street, we don't know necessarily where the home occupations are and we don't know what their business hours are. And so just seeing cars parked in the driveways or on the streets isn't going to be a trigger by itself. Again, it would take a neighbor calling in the complaint and then the code officer investigating it. And then they have to do it ❑n multiple, you know, occasions. Come back and see what the pattern of activity is and Contacting the business owner and making sure they were aware of the code requirement. So it would be a bit ❑f a Challenge. It would take some time, possibly, to rectify. Page 53 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES KALIVIANAKIS: It seems like the only way this could be enforceable if there was some signage that was provided by the business owner to put out in front and say by city -- town ordinance, if there's parking available in the driveway you'd have to park there first. otherwise, you can park there on the street. It might be kind of a long sign. But I understand that the business owner would be familiar with our ordinance. But would the packers -- the people that are parking their car -- I don't think they'd be familiar with this ordinance at all. WESLEY: Mayor, Vice Mayor, so yes, it would be up to the business owner to be observant of the people that are coming to the property and making sure they follow the rule. And that's generally where our code officers go anyway with any citations, is to the property owner. KALIVIANAKIS: I can understand that. But then they would have to know if the driveway has got parking in there when the people parked on the street. And you'd almost have to hire an observer because otherwise, you know, they wouldn't -- they wouldn't know if the car was in the driveway first or the car was in the street first. Again, it just seems like a solution looking for a problem. And I don't like sloppy ordinances and I'm going to vote no against this one because I -- we did discuss this. 1 didn't tell the Council, but we -- we did discuss this in your office. And it didn't make sense then and it doesn't make sense to me now why we're putting this on the books. So yeah, that's -- SKILLICORN: I think it's pretty simple. Use your driveway and your garage first, then park on the street. And that's up to the business owner. And it's going -- maybe it'll take a little bit of education. But I like it. I think it protects the neighborhoods from at- home businesses. I'm not against at-home businesses, but use your driveway and your garage first. And then if there's overflow, you park in the street. And it's up to the business owner to make sure that that's what happens. KALIVIANAKIS: To me, it's just a over -regulation and I do promote business -friendly community. And this is just a layer of administrative that we just don't have to put on our books. Page 54 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN CouNCIL MEETING I."IINLITES MAYOR DICKEY: Any other questions or comments? My only thing is that since it's a complaint based, it's almost like the trips too, I mean, they are kind of impossible almost to know. But it is the business owner's responsibility to communicate that to their clients, you know, whoever they might be to say this is -- what we have here on ❑ur books. So I think it's ❑kay. Any other questions or comments? ❑❑ we have a motion yet? SKILLICORN: Yes. MCMAHON: Me to second. MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. Roll call, please? Oh,wait. Roll call, please. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Skiliicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. TOWN CLERK: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Nay. TOWN CLERK: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Aye. TOWN CLERK: The motion passes 5 to 1. MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Thank you. Our next one is not a hearing, but it is John. WESLEY: ❑kay. Mayor and Council, one more for me tonight. And so this has t❑ do with some amendments to Section 183 ❑f the Town Code that deals with civil penalties. So this was last updated a few years ago in 2021. And as we have worked with it and used it over the last couple of years, we've noticed a couple of things that are some challenges. First of all, when we added sanctions in Section 1-8-3(a), we forget to delete them from Page 55 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL. MEETING MINUTES 1-8-3(e). And so we need to do that. And that's one of the things that's included, is getting rid of the current E. One of the other thing that drove in bringing this modification back to you is some of the challenges our code staff has been having in getting notices of violations to the property owners. The ordinance provides for mailed noticed. But we've been having greater challenges with people not picking up their mail, addresses not being correct and they get returned. And so it delays the process of getting the violation into the hands of the property owner. So we are proposing that we add to the mail notice, that we would still do, the ability to also post the property with the notice of the violation. So that way we have the two means of letting people know so it lets us move forward quicker in that overall enforcement process. And then also as we were working on this, we noted that some of the wording in another Section 1-8-3(f) , could be construed that we don't allow for proactive inspections or enforcement in the absence of a recidivous situation. And while (indiscernible) admit that, it could be interpreted that way. So we thought as long as we're working on it, we might make that change. So the recommended modifications include combining sections 1-8-3 (a) and (e) on the penalties. And then adding to Section 1-8-3(b) just state that we can -- violations can also be done for a prohibited act, as well as for just regular actions. And then amending 8C4 to allow for the posting of the notice, deleting the current E and then redoing those words and adding a new F, which allows the town manager then to initiate non - complaint rased inspections. So that's a summary of the changes. Any questions? MAYOR ❑ICKEY: Did we have any speaker cards on this item? TOWN CLERK: No, Mayor. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Vice Mayor? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Thank you for the presentation. I really am proud to be on the Council that is part ❑f having our town staff clean up old ordinances and correct problems and make them better. And s❑ I commend you and your staff and everybody that's involved in this. Because there's been a number of times now that Page 56 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN BILLS SEPTEMHER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES you've come up here with corrections to prior code. And the lawyer in me, I just love getting the wording and the law correct. So it realfy scratched me where I itch. And so thank you very much for doing this. And on that note, I would like to move to adopt Ordinance 24-17. MCMAHON: I have a comment. John, in Section F -- one, two, three -- the third line, it says by law or upon on -- I think that a correction needs to be -- WESLEY: Okay. Thank you. We'll look at that. MCMAHON: I second. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you roll call, please. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. TOWN CLERK: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Motion passes six to zero. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, Angela. Our last regular agenda item is the approving an amendment to Top Leaf Tree Services. David. JANOVER: Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm your town engineer, Dave Janover. And I'm your swan song tonight. So this is a staff request to amend the town's contract with our landscape maintenance contractor, Top Leaf Tree Services, LLC to be amended. So the landscape maintenance in our town is a major function. Not only for -- is it used for aesthetics, but we als❑ need it for the safety of the public, as well as the pedestrians Page 57 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES and the motorists. So the Community Services Department actually has five parks and two trail heads that they oversee and maintain, totaling over 125 acres. And the Public Works Department has 38 acres ❑f medians and the town hall campus that we oversee and maintain. So why are we asking tonight to amend this contract? Well, the town has experienced recent wind and rain storms. And that caused significant tree damage town wide. As a result we have weakened, dead, ❑r dying branches that pose safety risks. And additional pruning and tree removal when required or when necessary is required t❑ address those -- risks and those hazards. So in March of 2023, we had a professional service agreement with Top Leaf Tree Services for $100,000 annual contract for five years. And that was meant to cover standard tree maintenance for all ❑f our town departments. So we have increased maintenance needs now due t❑ recent and anticipated future storms -- storm events -- storm damage. And the current budget, we believe is insufficient to cover that expanded scope of work. So staff is requesting to increase this contract by $50,000 annually for the remaining contract term. So our new contract total would go from 100,000 a year to 150,000 a year. And these additional funds are meant to cover the additional maintenance that's required t❑ address those anticipated storm damage. Just to be clear, only necessary funds will be expended. So just because we're asking for contract authority of 150,000 a year, does not mean that we're going to spend 150,000 the whole year. We're only going to spend what we need, but that will make sure that we have the anticipated -- we'll be able to maintain what we need to maintain with this extra storm damage. That will allow us to adhere to best pruning and maintenance practices. And that will allow us to address the storm -related damage timely which will minimize our risk. So with that, we request Council approval for the contract amendment. I'm happy answer any questions. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. D❑ we have any speaker cards? TOWN CLERK: No, Mayor. Page 58 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 TOKEN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Councilwoman? TOTH: I'd like to make a motion to approve. MCMAHON: Second. MAYOR DICKEY: Any other comments or questions? Okay. Roll call, please. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Toth? TOTH: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Friedel? FRIEDEL: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. TOWN CLERK: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Vice Mayor Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Mayor Dickey? MAYOR DICKEY: Aye. TOWN CLERK: Motion passes, six to one, unanimous. MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Our next item is the Council discussion direction to the Town Manager. I think we had one speaker talking about the Italian Heritage Month. And maybe light the fountain and do a proclamation or something like that. And should have him bring in some food though when we do it. UNKNOWN: Some cannolis. MAYOR DICKEY: Yeah, some cannolis. UNKNOWN: I would agree. I don't know if we need to have another country's flag, colors displayed, but we'll leave that up to the manager. MAYOR DICKEY: Well, I'm all for it. But, you know, I'm just a little biased to paisan. And do we have any future agenda items? Seeing none. Have a good evening. We're adjourned. Page 59 of 59 Having no further business, Mayor Ginny Dickey adjourned the Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council held on September 17, 2024, at 7:47 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Gin y Dickey, Mayor ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: Angela Padgett -Espiritu, Town Clerk :�I;IZ4dIal A11IQki 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 Hail Council Chambers on the 17 day of September 2024. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. 7DAp this 151" Day of October 2024. Angela Padg - spiritu wn Clerk �� AIN Efi _O" i