HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDApacket__12-17-24_0848_640
NOTICE OF MEETING
REGULAR MEETING
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
Mayor Gerry M. Friedel
Vice Mayor Hannah Toth
Councilmember Gayle Earle
Councilmember Brenda Kaliviankis
Councilmember Rick Watts
Councilmember Peggy McMahon
Councilmember Allen Skillicorn
TIME:5:30 P.M. – REGULAR MEETING
WHEN:TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2024
WHERE:
FOUNTAIN HILLS COUNCIL CHAMBERS
16705 E. AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS, FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ
Councilmembers of the Town of Fountain Hills will attend either in person or by telephone conference call; a quorum of the
Town’s various Commission, Committee or Board members may be in attendance at the Council meeting.
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to A.R.S. §1-602.A.9, subject to certain specified statutory exceptions, parents have a
right to consent before the State or any of its political subdivisions make a video or audio recording of a minor child.
Meetings of the Town Council are audio and/or video recorded and, as a result, proceedings in which children are present
may be subject to such recording. Parents, in order to exercise their rights may either file written consent with the Town
Clerk to such a recording, or take personal action to ensure that their child or children are not present when a recording
may be made. If a child is present at the time a recording is made, the Town will assume that the rights afforded parents
pursuant to A.R.S. §1-602.A.9 have been waived.
REQUEST TO COMMENT
The public is welcome to participate in Council meetings.
TO SPEAK TO AN AGENDA ITEM, please complete a Request to Comment card, located in the back of the Council
Chambers, and hand it to the Town Clerk prior to discussion of that item, if possible. Include the agenda item on which
you wish to comment. Speakers will be allowed three contiguous minutes to address the Council. Verbal comments
should be directed through the Presiding Officer and not to individual Councilmembers.
TO COMMENT ON AN AGENDA ITEM IN WRITING ONLY, please complete a Request to Comment card, indicating it is a
written comment, and check the box on whether you are FOR or AGAINST and agenda item, and hand it to the Town
Clerk prior to discussion, if possible.
TO COMMENT IN WRITING ONLINE: Please feel free to provide your comments by visiting
https://www.fountainhillsaz.gov/publiccomment and SUBMIT a Public Comment Card by 3:00 PM on the day of the
meeting . These comments will be shared with the Town Council.
NOTICE OF OPTION TO RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION
Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.02, notice is hereby given to the members of the Town Council, and to the general public, that at
this meeting, the Town Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, for legal advice
and discussion with the Town's attorneys for legal advice on any item listed on the following agenda, pursuant to A.R.S.
§38-431.03(A)(3).
1.CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Mayor Friedel
2.INVOCATION - Pastor Rod Warembourg
3.ROLL CALL – Mayor Friedel
4.STATEMENT OF PARTICIPATION
5.REPORTS BY MAYOR, COUNCILMEMBERS AND TOWN MANAGER
A.RECOGNITION: Stellar Students for the Month of December
6.PRESENTATIONS
A.PRESENTATION: Quarterly update by the Public Works Director
7.CALL TO THE PUBLIC
Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.01(H), public comment is permitted (not required) on matters NOT listed on the
agenda. Any such comment (i) must be within the jurisdiction of the Council, and (ii) is subject to reasonable
time, place, and manner restrictions. The Council will not discuss or take legal action on matters raised
during Call to the Public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action. At the
conclusion of the Call to the Public, individual councilmembers may (i) respond to criticism, (ii) ask staff to
review a matter, or (iii) ask that the matter be placed on a future Council agenda.
8.CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS
All items listed on the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine, noncontroversial matters and will be
enacted by one motion of the Council. All motions and subsequent approvals of consent items will include all
recommended staff stipulations unless otherwise stated. There will be no separate discussion of these items
unless a councilmember or member of the public so requests. If a councilmember or member of the public
wishes to discuss an item on the Consent Agenda, he/she may request so prior to the motion to accept the
Consent Agenda or with notification to the Town Manager or Mayor prior to the date of the meeting for
which the item was scheduled. The items will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its
normal sequence on the agenda.
A.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving the Minutes for the Town
Council Regular Meetings of November 19, 2024, and the Town Council Special Meeting of
November 20, 2024.
B.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Ordinance 24-21 amending Zoning Ordinance
Chapter 12, Sections 12.02 C and 12.06 reinstating language allowing members and
nonmember.
9.REGULAR AGENDA
A.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Appointment to the Planning and Zoning
Commission
B.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Appointments to the History and Culture
Advisory Commission
Town Council Regular Meeting of December 17, 2024 2
C.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: A waiver of the standards set forth in Section
5.03, Cut and Fill Standards, of the Subdivision Ordinance to allow fill in excess of 10' in
height on property located at 15325 E. Westridge Drive.
D.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: proposed 2025 Town Council Meeting Dates
and Summer Break.
10.COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION to the TOWN MANAGER
The Council may (1) request the Town Manager to follow-up on matters presented at that
meeting; and/or (2) a consensus of the Council may request the Town Manager to research
a matter and report back to the Council.
11.FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
12.ADJOURNMENT
Dated this 11th day of December, 2024.
_____________________________________________
Kandace French Contreras, Town Clerk
The Town of Fountain Hills endeavors to make all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Please call 480-816-5199 (voice)
or 1-800-367-8939 (TDD) 48 hours prior to the meeting to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in the meeting or to obtain
agenda information in large print format. Supporting documentation and staff reports furnished the Council with this agenda are available
for review in the Clerk's Office.
On the day of the Council Meeting, the Council Chamber doors open at 5:15 p.m. for public seating.
Town Council Regular Meeting of December 17, 2024 3
ITEM 5. A.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: 12/17/2024 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting
Agenda Type: Reports Submitting Department: Administration
Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Town Clerk
Staff Contact Information: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Town Clerk
Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language): RECOGNITION: Stellar Students for
the Month of December
Staff Summary (Background)
Mayor Friedel will recognize the Stellar Students for the Month of December.
Form Review
Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 08/14/2024 03:35 PM
Final Approval Date: 08/14/2024
ITEM 6. A.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: 12/17/2024 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting
Agenda Type: Presentations Submitting Department: Public Works
Prepared by: Justin Weldy, Public Works Director
Staff Contact Information: Justin Weldy, Public Works Director
Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language): PRESENTATION: Quarterly update by
the Public Works Director
Staff Summary (Background)
Mission Statement
The mission of the Public Works Department is to provide essential services that sustain and enhance
the quality of life for the citizens of Fountain Hills. We do this in a prompt, professional, courteous,
safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner. Through the dedication of our employees, Public Works
strives to plan, build, maintain, and operate public infrastructure that respects the environment,
preserves assets for future generations, and fulfills the goals established by the Town Council.
Commitment to Innovation and Excellence
Public Works is committed to implementing innovative technologies and processes to improve and
maintain the Town’s streets, drainage systems, transportation networks, open spaces, washes, dams,
facilities, fleet resources, and solid waste collection. Our focus is on providing reliable, superior service
to the community.
Key Activities and Accomplishments
This report highlights the significant accomplishments achieved in recent months:
Paving Projects
Completed Phase I of the FY 24-25 Council-approved paving projects on schedule and
within budget.
1.
Sidewalk Gap Infill – Palisades and Saguaro Federal Grant
The project has surpassed the 50% completion mark and is expected to be finished in the
spring of 2025.
2.
Enhanced Pavement Marking
Added enhanced pavement markings on Golden Eagle Boulevard and Palisades Boulevard
to Bainbridge Avenue. This initiative creates additional parking for Golden Eagle Park and
improves safety for all road users, including cyclists.
3.
Wash Maintenance
Completed maintenance on 15 acres of wash areas.
4.
Capital Improvement Projects
Completed infrastructure improvements for four Town Center marked crosswalk locations.
Construction began on Phase I of the Golden Eagle Impoundment Project.
Completed the Eagle Mountain Parkway SW & Mid-Block Crosswalk.
Eliminated the sidewalk gap on Tioga Avenue on the east side of Desert Vista Park.
Launched the long-anticipated Wayfinding Sign Project.
Environmental Programs
Hosted a successful Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event. The event successfully
eliminated the following items from improper disposal:
344 lbs of Lithium-Ion Batteries
1,400 lbs of Batteries
135 lbs of Bulbs
800 lbs of Oil
9,100 lbs of Paint
525 lbs of Flammable Aerosols
900 lbs of Pesticides
700 lbs of Gasoline
612 lbs of Various Chemicals
95 lbs of Propane
Ongoing Efficiency and Cost Savings
Throughout all of these efforts, our team continuously seeks ways to improve efficiency, reduce costs,
and enhance the operation and maintenance of the Town’s infrastructure.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our gratitude to the Mayor, Town Council, Town Manager, and the entire
Town staff for their unwavering support. Their collaboration helps us deliver high-quality services to
the community. We also thank our team members for their dedication, and we look forward to
continuing our partnership across the organization to support the Town’s activities and events.
Form Review
Inbox Reviewed By Date
Public Works Director (Originator)Justin Weldy 12/04/2024 04:08 PM
Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson 12/10/2024 08:46 AM
Town Manager Rachael Goodwin 12/10/2024 01:02 PM
Form Started By: Justin Weldy Started On: 12/04/2024 08:55 AM
Form Started By: Justin Weldy Started On: 12/04/2024 08:55 AM
Final Approval Date: 12/10/2024
ITEM 8. A.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: 12/17/2024 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting
Agenda Type: Consent Submitting Department: Administration
Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Town Clerk
Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language): CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE
ACTION: Approving the Minutes for the Town Council Regular Meetings of November 19, 2024, and
the Town Council Special Meeting of November 20, 2024.
Staff Summary (Background)
The intent of approving meeting minutes is to ensure an accurate account of the discussion and
action that took place at the meeting for archival purposes. Approved minutes are placed on the
town's website and maintained as permanent records in compliance with state law.
Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle
N/A
Risk Analysis
N/A
Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s)
N/A
Staff Recommendation(s)
Staff recommends approving the Minutes for the Town Council Regular Meetings of November
19, 2024, and the Town Council Special Meeting of November 20, 2024.
SUGGESTED MOTION
MOVE to Approve the Minutes for the Town Council Regular Meetings of November 19, 2024, and the
Town Council Special Meeting of November 20, 2024, as presented.
Attachments
Verbatim Transcript 2024.1119TCRM
Verbatim Transcript 2024.1120TCSM
Form Review
Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 10/22/2024 10:00 AM
Final Approval Date: 10/22/2024
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL November 19, 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 Hannah Toth; Councilmember Gerry Friedel; Councilmember Peggy McMahon; Councilmember Brenda J. Kalivianakis; Councilmember Allen Skillicorn (by phone)
Staff Present: Town Manager Rachael Goodwin; Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson; Town Clerk Angela Padgett-Espiritu
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
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Post-Production File
Town of Fountain Hills
Verbatim Transcript TCRM
November 19, 2024
Transcription Provided By:
eScribers, LLC
* * * * *
Transcription is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not
be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
* * * * *
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
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MAYOR DICKEY: Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming. Please, stand for the
pledge. And if you choose, remain standing for the invocation.
ALL: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic,
for which I stands, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you all.
We have Vicky Dersken here, a Fountain Hills resident.
Come on up, Vicky.
DERKSEN: Good evening. Mayor Dickey, council members, and town staff. As we
gather this evening, we the residents implore you to conduct the business of local
government with earnestness, careful logic, and respect from a heart of service. And
while each resident represents diverse traditions, demographics and beliefs, we are all
so fortunate to call this beautiful community of Fountain Hills home. What unites us
here today is our common humanity, our desire to make our community the best it can
be. And the pursuit of happy, fulfilling lives. And so it is incumbent upon this council --
council to make the best decisions for our community. Wisdom, reason, and empathy
are your tools, and they propel cooperation, control the tone of deliberations, and lead
to decisions that are right not just for today, but also for the months and years ahead.
I think about the construction of International Dark Sky Discovery Center behind us here
and understand that community building is not so much different from that project. A
good community takes shape through much planning, back and forth discussions,
compromises and ideas, and finding a way to reach a consensus in order to make the
blueprints actionable. The result is something beautiful that we can all be proud of.
May this meeting be constructive and produce something beautiful that residents of all
stripes can appreciate and feel proud of. And just so I don't end with a preposition, I'll
add, thank you for your service.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. The vice mayor rotation is actually before the roll call, I
see. So I want to thank Brenda for serving so well and doing all those ribbon cuttings
and going to -- we had a lot of events this time. So I really appreciate you going and
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always doing an honorable job. And we'll be having our new Vice Mayor, Hannah, will
be taking over today. And I just really appreciate your help and your service. And I think
they already did the signs, right -- is that right? Okay, perfect. Roll call, please.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Thank you. Mayor Dickey?
MAYOR DICKEY: Here.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
TOTH: Here.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember Friedel?
FRIEDEL: Present.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember McMahon?
MCMAHON: Here.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: Here.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: And Councilmember Skillicorn?
SKILLICORN: Here.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Thank you. Anyone wishing to address the council regarding items
listed on the agenda or under call to the public should fill out a request to comment
card located in the back of the council chambers, and hand it to the town clerk prior to
consideration of that agenda item. When your name is called, please, approach the
podium, speak into 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 to not
comment on items brought forth under call to the public. However, staff can be
directed to report back to the council at a future day, or to schedule items raised for a
future counsel agenda.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you so much. We start as always with our reports, and we'll
start with our town manager.
Rachel?
GOODWIN: Thank you, Mayor, Council. Everyone here tonight, thanks for coming out.
It's been a while since we've had a council meeting, so I have a little list of things, I'm
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going to try to be brief. But first and foremost, I wanted to address Angela. Angela is
our current town clerk, but as many of our staff know and as well as our council, Angela
gave it a test drive and decided it wasn't a fit for her. And we are actually going to be
transitioning to a new town clerk starting Monday. I know I've been sharing a lot of the
details behind the scenes, but for the good of the public, Angela is a tremendous asset
to our staff. She's been with us for six years; is that right? But she has decided that her
previous role was a better fit for her and her -- her skillset, so we are happy to keep her
on board. She's just not going to be serving as our town clerk. So we will be welcoming
Kandace French Contreras as of Monday, so you will be seeing her up on the dais
starting in December. So wanted to let everybody know that.
We also have had a very, very busy last month. We hosted the Touch-a-Truck last
weekend, which is an event over at Desert Vista Park. It hosted more than 300 kids and
family members. Super cool to see all of the big trucks and vehicles out there, so special
thanks to both MSCO and Fire, as well as the sanitary district, public works, our park
staff, our school district, Republic Services, and Valley Metro. And so if you have not
seen it, it's worth checking out online to see all the happy faces, and all of the really
neat vehicles over there.
Coming up a week -- just about a week from now we have our Turkey Trot. Turkey Trot
is Thanksgiving morning on the Avenue. It starts and finishes on the Avenue, runs
around the fountain. We have over 2,000 folks registered right now; it is a big deal. It's
a big event. This is the first year we may potentially have to cap it, so if you aren't
registered, get registered. We do not take day of, it's just too much -- too much
confusion, too much going on that morning. So if you would like to sign up, please do
so, you can do that online. Or you can pop into the Community Center next week and
we'll get you signed up there. But it is a super event. If you aren't going to participate,
but happen to be around that morning, just remember there will be some road closures
in effect along the avenue and around the Fountain area. Followed, of course, after the
Turkey Trot is the Chamber Parade. That is, obviously, a very popular tradition as well.
So we always say come for Trot, stay for the parade. It's always a very popular day.
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Moving and looking at the same weekend as Thanksgiving, so it's a very busy weekend.
We have our Breakfast with Santa, which is sold out. We will hosting a Sensitive Santa
experience which is designed for special needs residents of all ages who may enjoy the
holidays, but maybe not the noise, and the sounds, and the lights and the other things
that come along sometimes with events. So Sensitive Santa is open and free to the
public from 11:30 to 12:30 for our special need community.
And then lastly, December 14th, hold the date, it is our Season's Celebrations at the
Community Center from 5 to 7. If you haven't been to the Community Center during the
holiday season, it is beautiful. With more than 25, 30, Christmas trees set up.
Decorated in all types of themes, it's really very neat to see. So be sure to pop in, and
then if you can make it, December 14th, they have lots of activities, crafts, prizes,
games, food -- lots of food. So there's a lot going on. Any questions or more
information can always be found online. I think that's everything.
TOTH: Well, I got to do my first ribbon cutting last week. Thank you, Mayor. And we
got to celebrate Guardian Training and Consulting, collaborate right across the street
here. I am so thrilled by the community involvement that is shown from Rachel's report
of all of our events, Turkey Trot having 2,000 people, our Santa being sold out --
Breakfast with Santa. And on top of that, we had over 90 percent turnout for this year's
election. That shows that community involvement that we need in this town. That love
for Fountain Hills, and I could go on for another ten minutes about how important that
is. But you all get the idea, and I just want to thank everyone in this room for your
involvement and your passion for this town.
FRIEDEL: Thank you, Mayor. I also attended that ribbon cutting, and I want to just say
Hannah did a wonderful job on behalf of the town. And like Rachel mentioned, the
Turkey Trot and the parade I think they've got, like, over 80 registrants so far. So it'll be
a outstanding parade again this year. And don't we have a lighting coming up too on
December 7th?
GOODWIN: We do. I overlooked that. You're right. We have our Stroll in the Glow will
be on December 7th down on the Avenue.
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FRIEDEL: Right. So -- perfect. There won't be a train, but there'll be a whistle stop.
That's all I have Mayor, thank you.
MCMAHON: Thank you. Although I've been really, really, busy I'm going to pass on a
statement of participation. But thank you, Rachel, for mentioning all of those events
coming up.
KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Yeah, I'm just getting over a cold, so thankfully,
my voice came back today so I can speak because for last three days, I've been in bed.
I'd like to greet everybody and thank everybody for coming here tonight. To the people
on Youtube livestream and Cox Channel 11 for participating in your town council
meeting. As I always say, informed citizenry is a pre-requisite to maintaining the social
contract between existing government, and those governed by it. And to echo Hannah's
point, the over 90 percent participant shows what a great community we have, and
great community involvement.
Just one little aside, I've done the home delivered meals a couple of times since we've
last met. And the one thing that the people keep telling me is, could you please tell the
people to speak into the microphone for the call to the public and even for our town
staff. Because if we -- even though we can hear you, you know, the people at home
can't hear you. And so it's very irritating, they tend to just it off because they can't hear
the back and forth. So please, speak into the microphone.
On October 24th, we had our Fountain Hills Cares. Finally, the meeting was a -- tips on
how not to be a victim in a dangerous world. Special thanks to Maricopa County
Sheriff's Office for presenting it, for resident Kathy Marks (phonetic) for presenting at
that meeting. It went over very well, it was well attended. And it was very informative
on how not to be a victim in a dangerous world. I did my last ribbon cutting for the
mayor, which was Fountain Hills Cards, which was a couple weeks ago. And then I, too,
joined Gerry and Hannah when Hannah did her ribbon cutting at Guardian Training with
Josh and Karen Logan, two treasures of our community.
I did the -- a couple of kids events, which were always really special. Especially since
we're having Stellar Students here tonight. They -- the Target Center had a Halloween,
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which had the fire department, the police department, and then they had stations all
over the store for kids to get candy. There was probably hundreds of kids there. A
candidate -- one of the kids that's here tonight, Clayton Corey, was with me and the
mayor and we were set up in a couple of those stations. It was great, a lot of happy
kids. And I don't know if you've been to Target lately, but in all their aisles where they
have the listing of what's down that aisle, in the bottom, all of the aisles are now listed
by streets in Fountain Hills. And so you'll see, like, Fountain Hills Boulevard, Avenue of
the Fountains. And so when you ask them, you know, where's the deodorant? Oh,
that'll be in Fountain Hills Boulevard. And so it's really neat, Target is a great partner in
our community. And so if you haven't checked that out, do it. It's professional signage,
it looks great.
Again, we did the Make a Difference Day. Now the mayor was out of town for her 50th,
so I did get to fill in for her. And I asked to be on, like, a committee, I didn't get assigned
to shovel and gloves. But they asked me to go to all the different stations, and to thank
the participants from the mayor's office from the town council, and for the staff and
residents of Fountain Hills, which I did. Now we had over 400 participants, and it was an
overwhelming success. One of the older ladies, they did so much work. It was a
Leadership Academy house. And she said that she was thinking about selling her home
until they went there that day, Clayton can verify this, and she said I'm going to keep my
house now. It looks so good since you guys got here. And she's literally going to stay
here because of us making a difference in her life. So that's a really wonderful thing.
I also attended the Leadership Academy, had their graduation. This time around, I won't
list all the names. But I do want to thank them for participating. I do want to challenge
them to be future leaders in our town, we do have eight commissions and board
openings right now that need to be filled. And so they can participate by being the
leaders they want to be and filling those boards and positions. And also I want to thank
for all the people that organized that -- this years' class, it was amazing.
Lastly, I'd like to thank the three mayoral candidates and the eight council candidates
for running in this election cycle. Congratulations to the winners, thank you for the
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people that ran and came up short. It's just one setback, and if you want to serve, there
is many -- going to be many other opportunities, we're all young, right? and to those in
the bubble, hang in there. I know there's still a recount being done, so hang in there,
we'll see what happens in the future. So thank you, Ms. Mayor. I know it was a little bit
long, but we did a lot this time.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you.
Allen, do you have anything?
SKILLICORN: Yeah. I just want to say congratulations -- congratulations to democracy.
Two weeks ago we had the big election, and it -- you know, it appears, we'll look at the
results, that Fountain Hills, Arizona and America won. I have -- it's great to experience
democracy, and it's great to experience our wonderful town.
MAYOR DICKEY: Awesome. So Spooky Blast happened, and the Target trick-or-treat
ribbon cutting at our centennial circle, that stuff seems so long ago, but it was in
between. So that was really nice at the beautiful new benches. Clean Air Rewards with
Valley Metro, that lunch-in where you are on the board there for Valley Metro, so we
went to that. TAMA Happy Hour, The Avenue Merchants Association. The Great
Phoenix Economic Counsel had my mayor's supervisor's meeting there. I had my last
meeting at the League Executive Committee that I was appointed to, and I got a nice
recognition there from the Mayor of Chandler, he's -- Kevin Hartke, he's the president.
And then Ed Belshe, who's the ED at the League. Leadership graduation was really
great, they put out a great program this time, they got everybody's pictures and they --
they did a great job on the projects, and I look forward to them moving forward with
those.
I was able to go to the State Conference for Sister Cities, which was in Sedona. And
there were several mayors there, and many people from Fountain Hills had a very good
showing. And you know, we have councils who live here, and we have people that are
very involved with Sister Cities there. And a lot of great ideas, and Sedona is about to
get their first in Canada.
I will be going to the Mesa City Hall grand opening on Thursday with Mayor Giles. I
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wanted to mention the annual report came out, so if you can, grab one. It's a really nice
summery and good information about our community in the last year. And I -- it might
be online, I'm not sure. But it's really worth looking at. And then I was asked to urge
the residents of the community to support small businesses on Small Business Saturday,
celebrating its 15th year in 2024, so we always have Black Friday after Thanksgiving,
everybody goes shopping and Amazon and all that. This is for small business and to
support our own businesses here and in the valley.
So we have Stellar Students, what I do, kids, is I read what your teachers said about you
up here. When I read your name, you'll come up, and we start with the little Falcons.
And Justin, our director, Justin Weldy, is going to do the honors. So you -- if you walk up
to him, he'll give you the certificate, then you stay up here. When everybody is ready --
when everybody is done, I'll come down, take a picture. And then I ask for -- we have --
I also am going to be doing some recognitions of commissioners who are leaving. So
just to be aware, David Corlett, he's not here. But Bill Meade, Dave Peterson from
History and Cultural Advisory Commission, and Jeremy Smith on Board of Adjustment, if
you're here. I'll do that I'm down there too, and then I've got two proclamations to do
when I get back up here, so it's a big day.
So I'm going to start, like I said, with little Falcons. I think I might see a couple of them
here. And the first person is Kaiya Rogers (phonetic), is Kaiya here? Come on up, Kaiya.
Come right up to that guy. Right there, honey. There you go. Kaiya is a leader; the class
looks up to her. She loves learning and completes her work with care. Kaiya shows
excellent creativity in art project and enjoys using all sorts of art materials. Kaiya is a
thoughtful student and a kind friend. She's very helpful to her friends and teachers. She
has great problem-solving skills and often figures out solutions independently. She has
good manners and treats the property of the classroom and others with respect and
consideration. She contributes significantly to our classroom community and is a joy to
have my class this year. Kaiya Rogers, you stay right there.
Now we'll get you some company. Is Wyatt Evans (phonetic) here? Wyatt, come on up,
honey. We'll get your -- Wyatt really enjoys school. He's a thoughtful student, kind
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friend to his peers, Wyatt takes turns and communicates his feelings and ideas clearly.
He shows focus and attention during circle time and loves listening to stories. He
completes tasks and uses classroom materials with care. Wyatt has good manners and
is always willing to help. Wyatt is a delight to have in my classroom this year, Wyatt
Evans.
Now McDowell Mountain. Kellan Bryant (phonetic), is Kellan here? Come on up, Kellan.
Kellan is a standout student who consistently goes above and beyond to make a positive
impact of our school. As a dedicated member of the Star Club, he plays a key role in
keeping our playground clean and welcome for everyone. Kellan is not only responsible
and hardworking, but also a kind and supportive friend to his peers. His helpfulness and
positive attitude make him a true asset to our school community. Kellan Bryant.
Our next student from McDowell is Aiden Wood (phonetic), is Aiden here? Come on up,
Aiden. I know you. Aiden has great qualities both inside and outside of the classroom
that exemplify the best of the Falcon way. Aiden is a thoughtful and diligent leader who
consistently gives his best effort in every project and activity. And approaches every
task with enthusiasm and determination to succeed. Whether it's hands on or
challenging engineering task, woah, or a group collaboration. He has natural curiosity; it
drives him to ask insightful questions and explore solutions with creativity and
perseverance. He's an absolute pleasure to have in class due to his kind and respectful
nature. Interacting with his peers with empathy and patience, and willing to offer help.
He makes everyone feel valued and fosters a supportive learning environment for all.
Aiden not only exceeds academically, but embodies the values of teamwork, kindness,
and respect that we hope to cultivate in all of our students. That's Aiden Wood.
Now we're going to go the middle school. Aniyah Lewis (phonetic) is Aniyah here?
Come on up, Aniyah. Hope I'm saying that right. Aniyah consistently demonstrates
exceptional curiosity and dedication in her academics and inspires her peers with her
enthusiasm and love for learning. Her character sets her apart, she's compassionate
and always ready to lend a helping hand or offer support to those in need. Her kindness
and integrity shine through in every interaction making her a role model for others. She
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is an actual Falcon all the way, Aniyah.
Our next student from Fountain Hills Middle School is Angel Rivera (phonetic), is Angel
in here? No? I'm going to read about him anyway. It's an honor to recommend him as
an eighth grade stellar student, I have had the pleasure of teaching him for three years
in math, and have consistently been impressed with his academic abilities, positive
attitude, and dedication. Angel is a motivated, bright, young individual who is kind,
respectful, and always willing to help others. Another one of our genuine Falcons, and
we'll make sure we get him his certificate. That's Angel Rivera.
Now I'll move up to the high school. Sohan Alvaranga Sandoval (phonetic), are you
here? Hi. Sohan is an English language learner. She's a new student at Fountain Hills,
but she is already soaring like a falcon. I saw her quickly make friends with classmates in
the trimester, and she was very engaged in my digital communications class. Not only
into the school year -- I'm sorry, not long into the school year I started noticing that
some of my other students would go out of their way to return a compliment to Sohan
after she had said something nice earlier to them in the hallway. She is a role model
student with her dedication to the class and friendliness around campus, Sohan.
And from Fountain Hills High School, Conrad Skinner (phonetic). Is Conrad here? Come
on up, Conrad. Conrad Skinner is an exemplary student who consistently turns in all of
his assignments on time. He demonstrates great focus in class and maintains
outstanding grades. His dedication and work ethic make him a standout in every way.
We're happy to recommend Conrad Skinner to be recognized as a 2024 stellar student.
Conrad Skinner.
All right. Smile. Good, all right. Congratulations, everyone. Thanks.
All right. Now we're going to recognize some grownups. We have Board of Adjustment,
is Jeremy Smith here? No, okay. Well, we will get his -- his plaque to him, but I'm going
to read what they -- his colleagues said about him. On behalf of the town, we would like
to express our deepest gratitude to Jeremy for his outstanding service on the Board of
Adjustment from 2019 to 2024. Jeremy has consistently demonstrated his commitment
by writing well-prepared with thoughtful questions and insightful inquiries. His strong
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work ethic and collaborative spirit have been greatly appreciated by his fellow board
members and the community. Jeremy's dedication to his role made a lasting impact,
and we're truly grateful for his contributions. We thank you Jeremy for your exceptional
service and unwavering commitment to our community. And that's for the Board of
Adjustment. Thank you, Jeremy.
Now -- and I know that Dave isn't here, David Corlett, from the History and Cultural
Advisory Commission. Town council would like to formally recognize David for his
exceptional service to the commission, his deep knowledge of the history of Fountain
Hills combined with his unwavering dedication has made a significant impact on the
work of the commission. His commitment is really commendable, and the Town
Council, his fellow commissioners, and the entire Fountain Hills community are deeply
grateful for his leadership and contributions, and we extend our sincerest appreciation
to David Corlett for his invaluable service.
All right. Somebody better be here. Bill Meade, are you here? All right. Come on up,
hooray. Thank you for coming. If you hold that and I'll read about you. And then you
can say a couple words. Okay, Bill tonight we'd like to take a moment to recognize you
for your outstanding service on the History and Cultural Advisory Commission. Bill
served since November of 2022, during that time your dedication and hard work make a
lasting impact on both the commission and the town of Fountain Hills. Bill's
commitment to preserving and promoting our town's history and cultural has been
evident through his countless hours and volunteer service. His contributions have been
invaluable, and his support has helped further the goals of the commission and the
broader vision of the town. On behalf of the council, the fellow -- your fellow
commissioners and the residents of Fountain Hills, we sincerely appreciate your tireless
efforts and positive influence on our community. We're grateful for your service and
look forward to your continued involvement. There you go, Bill.
MEADE: Thank you very much. No, the only thing I would say is we were a brand-new
commission, and I wish David was here because David provided great, great, leadership.
And I'm not sure how much I gave, but I learned an awful lot about the town and its
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history, so thank you.
MAYOR DICKEY: You're welcome. Is Dave Peterson here? Okay. We'll put that right
there for him. So Dave, tonight we're pleased to recognize Dave Peterson for his
outstanding for his outstanding service on History and Culture Advisory Commission.
Dave's dedication and support for both the commission and the Town of Fountain Hills
has been truly remarkable. Through his many hours of volunteer service, he's made a
significant impact, and his contributions are deeply appreciated. We thank Dave for his
commitment and look forward to his continued involvement in enriching the history and
culture of our community. Thank you to Dave Peterson.
So as it sometimes happens, we get asked to do proclamations and then folks can't
make it to come and collect them, but I'll just read a little bit from one because this is
cancer -- lung cancer awareness month. So I'll -- I'm just going to read a little bit -- the
language for both of these is in our packet. Whereas screening for lung cancer low dose
computed tomography can lead to earlier detection and save lives and funding for lung
cancer research trails far behind funding for research of other cancers. And additional
research is needed in early diagnosis, screening and treatment for women, as well as
lung cancer health disparities among African Americans and other racial minorities. And
whereas the proportion of lung cancer diagnosed in people who have never smoked in
the U.S. with radon, the leading cause among individuals who never smoked. And
research is leading to breakthroughs in the identification of associated genetic
alterations and in the development of treatments including immunotherapies, and
targeted therapies. And whereas organizations working in Arizona, such as the
American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative and Women's Lung Cancer forum are
committed to educating about lung cancer and working to increase screening rates in
Arizona. Therefore, I Ginny Dickey Mayor, do hereby proclaim November 2024 as lung
cancer awareness month and encourage all citizens to learn about early detection
through screening. And we'll get that proclamation to the -- I think it was the Lung
Association, yeah.
And then this one, a totally different note. Is -- I want to honor and request from my
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colleague, former Mayor Kenn Weise, of course from Avondale, even though it's after
the fact. Says a NASCAR Championship Month. Joey Logano won his third in six years
on a gorgeous Arizona afternoon that generated a lot of business activities, likely new
residence to Arizona. I've been to a ton of races myself, Kansas City, Pocono, New
Hampshire, Charlotte -- the Indy, actually the Indy Car 500 at Brickyard. Watkins Glen,
Sonoma. My husband Jim, a ton more. We kind of hit them all. In fact he's going to the
Formula One in Vegas this weekend. And you all thought I wanted to take your cars
away, didn't you? I like NASCAR. Anyway here it is. Whereas auto racing provides an
exciting sporting experience to be enjoyed by families across generations, and whereas,
the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, was founded in 1948. And
each year, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,500 races in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil,
and Europe. And whereas NASCAR has had a presence in the valley since 1977, and in
2020 Phoenix -- we used to call it PIR, Phoenix Raceway was selected to host the
championship weekend at the newly remodeled, state-of-the-art track. And as such,
would crown drivers in four different series culminating in the NASCAR Cup
Championship, which just happened. And whereas Championship Weekend, attendees
number around 100,000 and local communities, businesses in the entire region made
such an impression that NASCAR is awarded the Championship Race, started in 2021,
and is going to be going through at least to 2025. And whereas these championship
events are broadcasted to tens of millions of people around the world, generating
473,000 each year in revenue for Arizona and local economies, while also generating
billions of social media impressions worldwide. So therefore, I Ginny Dickey, as my last
final proclamation do hereby claim the month of November as NASCAR Championship
Month. So we will get that to them, and I appreciate your indulgent on all of these. But
we do like to say thanks to people who ask us to do these so.
Our next item is -- let's see is our -- we have some presentations as well tonight. So
we're going to start with our public services grants. I think Amanda is going to handle
that. And we have Emma Reyes here who is our Municipal Manager covering the east
valley. So I'll hand it over to you, Amanda.
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JACOBS: Good evening, Madame Mayor, members of Council. I'm just going to warn
you now, almost two weeks ago I had sinus surgery. So if I sound a bit rough, I ask for
grace. Mayor Dickey, you're not getting out of this. If you could come down here,
please. And then Emma, our representative with Republic Services, if she'll come up.
But for the past several years the town and Republic Services has partnered on a
nonprofit grant program. And so Republic Services provides the town $10,000. It's
administered by economic development, but we ask for four representatives from our
various departments as well as Republic Services to review the applications. We
received 11. And then we are pleased to announce. So if Falcon Fiesta Graduation
Celebration will please come up. They have received $5,000. And then the Fountain --
okay, if you guys want to come this way. I'm not sure if this mic is on or we'll use this.
And then the Fountain Hill Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition also received
$5,000. So what we'll do, because our groups are very, very excited and want to be able
to share photos on their own social media, is we'll first have Falcon Fiesta, if you want to
say a few words. And then we'll have you do a photo op with Mayor Dickey and Emma.
And then we'll have representation from the Fountain Hills Coalition, they came the
army.
MAYOR DICKEY: Do you want to say something?
REYES: I'll -- sure.
MAYOR DICKEY: You looked like you wanted to say something.
REYES: Oh, yeah. No worries. I've only used a microphone for karaoke so give me --
[LAUGHTER]
REYES: -- give me some grief. So -- but no, congratulations on behalf of Republic
Services to both groups. We're just happy to be a partner and to partner with your
beautiful community of Fountain Hills. So just on behalf of Republic Services, thank you
to the beautiful community of Fountain Hills for your partnership so.
MAYOR DICKEY: All right. This is -- I'm going to let her talk.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: You owe me -- so thank you so much for this. For those of you
who don't know what Falcon Fiesta is, this is a lock in event for our graduating seniors
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from the Fountain Hills High School. It runs from 10 o'clock at night to about 3 or 4 in
the morning. We have community volunteers that help. We have karaoke, we have
inflatables, we have tons of prizes. We give two computers away for any of the seniors
that come, they are entered into a drawing. And it's a great way to keep our youth safe.
They are locked in so we know that they won't be out on the street causing trouble and
that we keep them safe. This is only -- this only happens because of parent volunteers
from the high school, and monetary donations. So thank you so much.
JACOBS: Mayor, just a second. If we could take a picture.
MAYOR DICKEY: Oh, okay. Like -- oh, okay. I guess we'll do this first and then we'll give
you your check. Okay. All right. We're good.
Thank you. All right. Thank you, guys. Are you going to fit that into your wallet? All
right. Come on over.
JACOBS: I brought this real fast.
MAYOR DICKEY: Yeah, please.
JACOBS: And then just P.S. you guys get to keep these paper copies. And the real
checks will be mailed tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We would like to thank the town of Fountain Hills and also
Republic Services for awarding us this generous grant which will benefit our Red Ribbon
Week in 2025. So thank you so much. We also brought, tonight, our Falcon Five High
School Senior interns, and we thought that you might like to hear directly from our
youth. And they've just been doing an incredible job, and I would like to ask, why do
you believe that the coalition is valuable to the Town of Fountain Hills?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I think the coalition is important to the Town of Fountain Hills
because it's extended -- it goes beyond the students and through, like, the ripple effect
it educates parents and other adults in the community.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I believe the coalition is important to the Town of Fountain
Hills because it advocates for safe medication storage for our senior citizens.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We -- we not only educate kids about dangers of drug --
dangers of drug use, show them how to live life healthy and drug free.
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UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yeah. So I have a little sister, so I want to be a good role
model to her. And just for the youth community as a whole.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: The coalition has helped me become a better leader for my
teammates and coaches.
UPHOFF: I'm Shawn Uphoff, I'm the program manager for the coalition. We love Falcon
Fiesta, we're a signature sponsor for them. So it's all about keeping our youth safe for a
drug and alcohol-free night. So we absolutely love that. And I'd just like to reiterate,
we'd just like to thank the Town of Fountain Hills, we'd like to thank Republic Services
for your continued support for the important work that our coalition does here in the
Town of Fountain Hills.
MAYOR DICKEY: Picture?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER 7: All right. One, two, three.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. We've had a really long and good relationship with
Republic Services. This is, I think, the 10th or the 11th year of the $10,000 grants, and
they also help out with make a difference day and some other things that we do here in
town. So they're like that good old-fashioned corporate partners that help with our
public, private, partnerships. So thank you so much. And congratulations to the
winners.
Now we're going to have I think a video and some other information speaking of Make A
Difference Day.
GOODWIN: Yes. Yes, we are. Make A Difference Day was held back in October, I know
that feels like a -- you know, a long time ago. But when you have more than 400
volunteers come out with more than 30 projects undertaken, it's a big deal for our
community. So Kevin Snipes is going to share a little bit of the detail and highlight our
new video, I think.
SNIPES: Certainly, we'll give that a whirl. Mayor and Council Members, so again, Kim
was -- Wickland was planning on being here tonight to give this. And unfortunately, she
got sick over the weekend. And so she was not able to be. And so sadly she won't be
able to give this. So I'll do my best to -- to share the highlights. So this year we did 37
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residential projects. Which is one of those things where you don't see the day to day of
what people go through and when you can help out 37 individual residents who can't
help themselves anymore and need a little extra assistance it goes a long way to helping
the town and helping those individuals know that people care about them. We also did
three town-wide initiatives. At Desert Vista Park we hosted our inaugural Arbor Day
Event, and we planted 16 new trees at Desert Vista Park. We had over 100 volunteers
at the high school helping to clean up the high school. At town hall we planted several
shrubs that had died through the heat of the summer, and we had a valve failure that
took out a whole row. So we -- we replaced those. We had 200 holiday care cards that
were created at The Community Center. DAR was in the centennial circle having letters
written to the vets. In all, we had over 400 volunteers serving a total of 1,800 service
hours, which contributes to a value of $59,000 when you -- when you translate those
hours. So that's extremely impressive in a -- in a one-day event. I'd like to say a special
thanks to everyone that was involved from the planning committee who worked a lot of
hours going around and looking at all these sites, figuring out what we needed, how
many people needed to be there to make it so it was a job that was doable in the
timeframe allotted. And going above and beyond. I got to sit in on several of those
meetings, I've always been on the back half of this where I've been on the -- picking up
the piles at the end of the day. So it was really interesting to see the front side of it and
see all of the work that was put in by our planning committee, and they did an
outstanding making sure that everything went really smooth on the day of the event.
We also had a lot of help from staff, the Public Works Department and park staff both
were there picking up the piles and cleaning up. Which was very much appreciated. It
made things go a lot smoother, I think this was -- in the years that I've been here over
the last eight or nine years I've been doing this, it felt like it was one of our smoothest
make a difference days we've had yet.
Finally, I'd like to think Michael Pelton who came for his -- I don't know, I think he
started two days before or something, it seems like. And he was there, and he shot this
video. And did an amazing job with it as well. He kind of had to jump into the fire when
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he got here. We put him to the test, and he's been fantastic. And then last but not
least, Kim Wickland, huge thanks to her as our volunteer supervisor. She does an
amazing job making sure that everything is in order. There's the proper amount of
snacks for all the -- the people that are helping. Which is the most important part in
case anyone was wondering. But just wanted to make sure that she gets mentioned and
is appreciated for all of her hard work in this event. It's not small task to plan 37
different events with 400 people working. So thank you for that. And with that, we'll
show you our video.
[VIDEO]
WICKLAND: Today is our 16th annual Make a Difference Day. Make a Difference Day is
really about neighbors helping neighbors. Fountain Hills is a community of volunteers.
So it's a day where we can give back. There's really like a common shared mission to
help improve the lives of others. It's a community wide event. Our primary focus is
residential, so we have 38 residential projects this year. Mainly homebound seniors that
are, you know, needing resources.
MITCHELL: Actually helping our friend Tony (phonetic) out he's got a lot of stuff that he
needs moved and not a lot
of hands and so we've all decided to come together, there's about 30 of us, and we're in
his backyard just kind of getting stuff out of the backyard and into this rollway that you
see here. This small town takes care of its own and so we come together and rally
around our family and we just want to help.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: This yard has gotten away from me. Doing a wonderful job.
Thank you, you've touched my heart tremendously.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: When it comes to all heavy work like this -- no more I can't do
it no more, very faithful. I think it's a great thing to do for people.
WESLEY: It's giving back to the community. It's
the best way we can use our time to help others. I'm just here what -- doing what I
think is right and getting to help other people out. That's -- I don't do it to feel good or
for any other reason than that. And I like being a part of the community, being able to
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help one another. Knowing that someday I hope there will be a team and when I'm in
this position they'll be able to help me. Just because it's the right thing to do.
WICKLAND: That's amazing it's inspirational, really, to be a part of it. The impact we can
have collectively when we work together, it's immense.
MAYOR DICKEY: To help improve the lives of others in our community representing
over 1,800 service hours I'm Mayor Ginny Dickey and maybe no other
event illustrates how special Fountain Hills is than Make a Difference Day.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We are declaring October 19th today
the Arbor Day so that these trees have a chance to establish over our nicer Winters,
before they then have to survive our summer. So with that, Mayor Dickey has
proclaimed today, Arbor Day.
WICKLAND: Go and visit these homes and they're out there crying because they -- this
means so much to them, you know, and until you've really experienced that then it's
hard to really explain.
SNIPES: All right. So that's it. So again just wanted to say thank you
to all the volunteers and the people that were willing to give up a Saturday to make a
huge difference in so many people's lives. I really appreciate it. So thank you.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you to Kevin and to Kim and everybody that put this together. It
was wonderful. Thank you.
Now our next presentation is our next presentation is our annual financial audit -- do
you have to kick it off or Paul?
GOODWIN: See, I think Paul is going to introduce us, we're going to go from Make a
Difference Day to finances. It's a hard shift, but that's all right. It's also good news.
SOLDINGER: That's a good way to introduce it. Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council we're here
to present the most important topic of the night, the fiscal year 2024 financial audit
results. Everyone's favorite topic. So just some brief information for your knowledge
we had an unmodified or clean opinion on our audit reports. And no audit findings
which was a good thing, and we have our partner from Heinfeld Meech here to present
information about the audit. And if you have any questions, please, let us know.
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JUMPER: Good evening, Mayor Dickey, members of council. It's my pleasure to be here
tonight to present the audit results for the fiscal year end June 30th, 2024. I have a few
slides, but the presentation will be brief but if you do have any questions for me don't
hesitate to ask. So why am I here? Well -- and why does the town have an annual audit?
Well State statute dictates an audit be done over the town's finances and in 2021 the
state legislature added to Arizona Revised Statute that the auditors must present audit
results and any findings to the council in a regular meeting without the use of consent
agenda. So that is one of the reasons I'm here tonight. So it wouldn't be an audit
presentation if I didn't state the importance of the annual audit. So we are auditing and
verifying management's representations over the town's finances, and the audit
demonstrates stewardship and accountability to a host
of citizens, the governing body grants or state agencies and other agencies. And it also
includes a review of compliance over laws and regulations. So I'll just speak briefly to
the audit process. So the engagement letter, which is signed, which starts the audit was
signed in the spring. Preliminary audit procedures were performed over the summer
and then final audit procedures were performed in September after the fiscal year
ended and the general ledger was closed out. The draft of the audit reports were sent
to management in October for their review and approval. And then on October 31st
Halloween the audit reports were issued. Excuse me. So what audit reports are issued
each year for the annual audit? So included in the agenda packet are all
these item, so the communication to governance I'll touch on in a minute. But the
Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the ACFR, that includes the town's audited
financial statements.
Additionally, a report on internal control over financial reporting and compliance is also
Issued. A report for the town's compliance to the annual expenditure limitation report
is issued. Pleased to report the town was under the statutorily dictated limit for the
Year. And included and filed to the state auditor general is the town's
compliance over HEERF requirement. So the town receives State HEERF monies and has
to spend those monies for certain things, and we looked at that compliance please
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to report no findings over that area. So just a few key items, Paul
already stole my thunder and gave the big highlights. But the financial statements had
an unmodified opinion, and that's the technical accounting term. The non-technical
accounting term is more of a quote, unquote, clean opinion. So that and our opinion
date was October 31st. So pleased to report that. That internal control report had no
deficiencies noted, so no findings included in that report, which is -- also I'm pleased to
present. And then additionally, so in prior years a single audit report was issued and
that was required for all entities that spend over $50,000 of federal monies. So in the
prior few fiscal years due to the COVID-19 grants that the town received
that triggered a single audit having to be completed and filed to the federal
government.
So those monies were completed in fiscal '23 so in '24 that single audit was not required
to be performed. Additionally, the letter of governance included in your agenda packet
so just a few things I want to notate from that letter to you in this meeting. We had no
difficulties in performing the annual audit, there were no uncorrected financial
misstatements. So no misstatements that we caught that had to be corrected. And we
had no disagreements as part of our audit procedures. Included in there is a copy of the
engagement letter signed the beginning of the audit and the representation letter
signed at the end of the audit. Also included in that letter is just some information
about fraud so just that we inquire about fraud and non-compliance as part of our
annual audit responsibility of fraud at the organization ultimately rests with
management and council. And an audit is designed to provide reasonable but not
absolute assurance. So always have to say that as part of the audit as well. And the
financial statements that are issued are ultimately management's responsibilities. Kept
it short and sweet the audit was an efficient process and uneventful which is good news
to report back. But if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Does any -- council have any questions? Doesn't look like
that I guess we just thank you and we thank our financial folks and our town manager
and all the staff that I know got -- gather all that -- all that good information for you.
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And we're in good shape as always. Thank you.
JUMPER: Thank you.
MAYOR DICKEY: I don't -- that's not next. So next we have our economic development,
right? Yes, okay.
GOODWIN: We weren't sure if Amanda was going to make it tonight. So -- but I'm glad
that you're back, Amanda to --
JACOBS: Thank you.
GOODWIN: -- offer the update.
JACOBS: And then given what I told you earlier, I won't be reading everything off the
slide. So again, hopefully you'll give me grace on that. Madame Mayor, members of
council, this is our economic development first quarter update. So it's from July through
September. Last quarter I had introduced our new economic development specialist.
Now I need to tell you she was recruited back to not her prior employer, but back to
tourism. So I'm a woman's shop again. So just wanted to give that update. As always, if
there's stuff that is most recent, I'll also bring it up here. But for business attraction we
had a total of eight new businesses open during the first quarter. The last several
months I've provided employment numbers. Given I'm now short staff and had some
surgery, I will get back to council with those numbers but did want to highlight Regis
Management Group, which I sent a note to Mayor and council last week. So this is a co-
working space that property owner David Racich, who is also a resident, was able to
attract. It is part of our community Economic Development strategy, and the positive of
this is in the strategy we were hoping to do a public private partnership. And so usually
with public private that means some taxpayer dollars are provided and so this was
attracted 100 percent privately and there are now 23 corporations within the Broker's
Alliance. But I think two weeks ago right before surgery they added new signage, which
is Regis. Coming soon, continue -- we're not holding up coffee roosters they're just
building up their own pace. Good Living Greens will be relocating from Parkview to the
Avenue of the Fountains, we're excited about that. And then Club Pilates, given its
name Pilates, will be opening in the Bashas' shopping center.
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Town staff, so Economic Development Development Services continues to work with
the new owner of the former Vu Restaurant. We've been brainstorming ideas and then
they just notified us over the weekend they're actually looking at auctioning off this
property.
The Walgreens it says it's dark -- this is the former Walgreens that's off of Shea. And so
a few weeks ago we were contacted by a new owner, they're under escrow and what
they do is they redevelop properties. And they have a couple of national tenants
Interested. And they did share with director Wesley and I that the only reason that they
were interested are under escrow that there are national tenants looking is because of
the revitalization and redevelopment of the
Target Shopping Center. And so again when you have a population of the 316 units
multiply that by -- by two that tells a business there's workforce, and then people are
going to either shop or dine. So we're extremely excited about that and hope that all
comes to fruition. Business retention and expansion MCO Realty still has their main
property off of Shea, but they've opened up a shop -- the space is 2,400 square feet
along the avenue. Aesthetic Elegance and Wellness was in the executive suites on the
Avenue and they've relocated into Parkplace. With that relocation it has increased the
square footage as well as employment, but something like this although we're very
excited for this property owner when we jump from space to space we're not
generating new economic development wealth.
We continue our business retention and expansion program. Council Member Friedel
and I attended four site visits. And now Council Member McMahon is joining me for the
next round. There has been no new trends to report, I just also wanted to highlight that
obviously there's been some construction behind -- well, at Fountain Park and behind a
Fountain View Coffee. Which is not the town of course it's a different agency. But
several tenants reached out and were a little frustrated, so Economic Development
Development Services and Public Works partnered together and paid for signage to just
say open for business. And in talking to the owner of Fountain View coffee she's like I'm
not actually tracking if it's -- if it's working or not asking customers. Isn't because the
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sign -- but she's like the fact that I call town staff and within a matter of days you
responded, you reacted, I'm seeing more staff by coffee as well as the construction
workers, just meant the world.
And then Chocofin Chocolatier, so several of you participated in the Arizona League of
Cities and Towns. And I contacted the owners of Chocofin to say we wanted to shop
local, and actually pay for some bars. And I asked the owners if they were interested in
using our new logo. Which they shared, actually, Amanda don't tell her I'm saying this --
but this public she's like our mold -- their molds are 10 years old, so we were actually
going to need to buy new molds. So could we cost share? I'm like absolutely and so
Council Member Toth did see the bars. Unfortunately Mayor Dickey and Council
Member Kalivianakis, by the time they made it to -- to the booth, they were gone. But
at the League conference they opened the door 30 minutes early. And people were like
are -- are these chocolate? Do you know that there's a fountain on it -- do you know it's
a logo? I'm like yes, we know all of this. And yes, it's free. So it was nice to -- to
promote a local business.
Continuing on business retention expansion we, of course, again did our fall event
guide. And that is based off of feedback we did hear during business retention site visits
that again our businesses and residents don't care who's putting on the events. Just let
us know what is happening, especially for our restaurants who are continued to be
short-staffed. They want to be able to staff up. And then something new this year is we
had Arts and Humanities Month, Mayor Dickey did a proclamation in early October. We
did a naturally artistic guide that's the -- the cover. We did a public art video with
DayLite Films which is a local business and resident. And then we partnered with the
Fountain Hills Times Independent. And so wanting to raise awareness arts and culture
was brought up during our branding process.
And then to raise awareness that architecture, our Dark Sky, culinary, that
is part of arts and culture. And so we thank Bob and Cyrus they highlighted
Culinary Curator, Night Sky Tourist, did I already say it was architecture?
So several and so we appreciate that.
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Council, of course, knows all of this, but in case there's someone watching online or is
new in the audience just want to remind everybody that council unanimously approved
the new downtown strategy. You also authorized $100,000 of budget authority. You
hopefully saw Friday night that we lit not 52, but 60 palm trees and receiving lots of
positive feedback. So check and then I already received the bill today Kevin didn't
hesitate. So we did ask for $25,000, it was actually less than $20,000. So we're good
negotiators.
And then the 3D designs and entryway sign package is in progress and then we'll start
working on events and marketing. We also through our downtown fund were able to
install six new murals. There's one in front of Town Hall, we finished the Avenue and
then there's several on Palisades. We did a call to artist process last year and had 18
artists submit, and we brought back three. And again these are people that are known
one, statewide, they've got social media and so they're putting plugs in about Fountain
Hills.
And so we'll just quickly show some of this so just again, cacti, our dark sky, the beauty,
cacti, we've got a mountain lion, a rabbit. So pretty fun -- and you have
to -- it is kind of hard to get to in our Palisades. But this does not give it
justice, you really should like physically go up to it it's -- it's gorgeous, and the level of
detail. Again our Greening of the Fountain and then Dark Sky.
And so staff is on track for Thursday, December 5th I believe is the date of our next
Council Retreat to provide the proposed budget and get Council direction on how fast
or slow we go. And show you those -- those budget numbers and so some of that will
be capital projects and some will be under the downtown fund. And then also want to
give a shout out to Mr. Wesley with development services, he's on track too with some
of the proposed ordinance changes. So providing that flexible zoning within our current
business district. Looking again at the retail, having some of the apartments mixed use
by right. We are on track. We met with TAMA at the beginning of the month he's
reached out to plot 28 and has also reached out to some other property owners to,
again, start getting feedback. And we'll present that to Planning and Zoning -- not a full-
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blown presentation, but to just give them an update in December. And so we're hoping
to bring that to Planning and Zoning for official action in January to Council in February.
Or it could be February or March just depending on the feedback that we get.
Apartment occupancy rate remains in the 90 percentile. Apartment pipeline, again, I
had brought this forward in a January meeting. Council asked for us to continue to bring
this forward. Just to -- as a reminder although Council and Planning and Zoning may
have approved some of these, it doesn't mean that all have even submitted an
application or are under construction.
Vacancy rate, in case somebody, again, is new we have CoStar that populates
a percentage. But we actually have to cross reference because some of our property
owners actually just relies on a piece of paper, or a post a board to say that they're
open. So the actual numbers are in the right vacancy rate, first quarter staff. I do want
to point out -- I've been here, what, over two and a half years when we first showed the
office. It was almost at 50 percent, but because of the flexibility of Planning and Zoning
and this Council, we've again just seen the trade -- the trends and aftermath of COVID-
19 where we're having to look at office in a different matter. So again, that has helped
lower some of those vacancy
rates.
Marketing, again, a couple months ago the town did receive the 3CMA
Silver Circle award for our branding initiative. So we didn't get gold, but we got silver
and it was nice to be on the national stage. The Arizona Office of Tourism contacted us,
and Property Brothers. Which is a national TV show two twin Canadian Brothers were
looking at Fountain Hills and our assets. That is about the most that I know. If we hear
anything else or if we're part of the show, I'll keep council updated. We have a new
partnership with ON MEDIA through grant funding and then we've had lots of media
coverage through our PR Company on our events. The unanimous decision by Council
on the downtown strategy, and then Fox 10. I sent you guys some clips -- did a live
segment at our very own Fountain Hills Theater, which was fun. And then I have been
paying attention being at home recovering on the -- the local news that this anchor
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keeps saying during the weather Fountain Hills, Fountain Hills, Fountain Hills I'm like
that's what I'm talking about tell everybody about Fountain Hills. We'll not read all of
this, but have fabulous partnerships, of course.
Our tourism hotel occupancy remains in the 60 percentile. Social media, we're killing it
over 138 percent our Fountain live feed at 71,000. Our website is still down a bit. But
as you know, it's still been quite a bit toasty here in AZ and in Fountain Hills. Almost
there. Tourism continued, again, this is viewership, the top five is Arizona statewide.
On the right is the top five national. Again, I won't read through all of that. And then
continued, of course you guys have been seeing that they're pouring concrete with the
International Dark Sky Discovery Center, so very exciting. We're also partnering with
Vicky Derksen, so she is standing up her very own business Night Sky Tourist. I shared
with the first Council I started with, I think this Council that when I started and the
phone would ring for Experience Fountain Hills of where we can stargaze, or where are
various events. We're having, unfortunately, to be very reactive. And so we're working
with Vicky to be more proactive, so she of course is our guru. So different full
moons and other stargazing events for next year we're asking for her to provide that in
advance, so we're prepared and aware.
We've also printed our 2025 visitors guide, you may recall too in the past the town used
to publish it in April, which is when we lose the winter visitors. And so I kind of sped up
that process but also to have it in time for the Fountain Hills Festival that's hosted by the
chamber. So those are being pushed out Adero Resort staff has been working with
some of the new staff. About a month ago they did share with myself, as well as Council
Member Friedel. We also did a site visit. That, unfortunately, they're still under
receivership but fingers crossed someone's going to pick them up and someone that
has experience in the hospitality industry. And just wanted to point out they are a
Marriott Autograph Collection and it is because of our dark skies. And they've shared
that they want to do more. They're working with Star Dudes, as well as Night Sky
Tourists to host events.
And then we're working with them too on just cross promotion PR. So when we
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announced the Turkey Trot, the Thanksgiving Day Parade, we also packaged it as a
staycation. That why not stay here in Fountain Hills? Stay specifically at Adero and
they're actually doing a Thanksgiving Day buffet. And then we're looking to work with a
social media influencer to specifically through grant funding highlight Adero. With that,
I made it. Any questions? Be nice.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Thanks for suffering through there, I know it's been a bit of
rough couple of weeks.
Questions, vice mayor?
TOTH: I really don't have a question I just want to plant a seed in your very creative
mind. 2026, America's 250th birthday I think that we could do something very special in
Fountain Hills. Maybe a little collaboration with the Parks and Rec Department, get
some tourism in town, get our town on the map. Anyway I figure that's a seed to plant
now, you got plenty of time to think of something. But I think we could make it really
special.
JACOBS: I appreciate it. And Mayor Dickey, Vice Mayor Toth, do I hear a budget
request? I'll just plant that seed.
TOTH: Maybe.
KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. This is somebody else whose voice challenged
tonight I'm glad you made it, and I'm glad you're on the mend.
JACOBS: Thank you.
KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. We all were saying our prayers for you that sinus surgery is really
nasty stuff. I want to thank you for such a comprehensive report today, for such a
professional report. And even though you've been sick, you've done -- you've got so
much accomplished, and I just want to tell you how impressed I am with the -- the
work that you're doing and what you're doing for this town. When you mentioned that
the Walgreens building has -- was being purchased and is going to be put back into use,
that that's the best news I've heard in the month. And that was something again that
you initiated with the Target Revitalization Center, you told us that there were
developers and businesspeople that were waiting to see how that turned out. And it did
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make it favorably through and now we are -- you and this town are bearing the -- the
fruit from good decisions. So thank you very much. You're a visionary regarding that,
and I'm just -- I'm just so happy to hear that it's working out good for us. So thank you.
JACOBS: Thank you.
MCMAHON: Thank you, Amanda. You always do an excellent job. It's really great to
see what -- and you've accomplished as economic director. It's very much appreciated.
You've brought so much value to this town, supported all the businesses, and have --
you know -- increased business as a result of that. So I really appreciate all that you do.
So thank you.
JACOBS: Thanks.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Alan, did you have anything?
SKILLICORN: Not at this time.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. We do appreciate this very much, as you know, and it just
keeps getting better and better every day. And it's all because of your drive and all of
our staff and counsel who really -- really want to support and be behind everything that
you're doing. We appreciate it very much.
JACOBS: Thank you. Appreciate it.
MAYOR DICKEY: The next item is call to the public, do we -- do we have cards, please?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes. We do, Mayor. First up will be Betsy Hess, then followed by
Kim Bartman.
HESS: Hello, council members and Mayor Dickey. My name is Betsy Hess, and I'm the
manager organizer of the Fountain Hills Farmer's Market on the Avenue on
Wednesdays. Also the Fountain Hills Sweet Corn Market and the Fountain Hills
Peach Market at Tractor Supply. I came here to talk to about two little issues. First one
is feather signs, and I know they're not allowed in Fountain Hills but in the two fairs that
the chamber does, there was lots of feather signs there. I'm assuming that the chamber
has temporary special use permit like -- like we do -- well, for those 3 days. I have that
also for the five hours that we're on -- on Wednesdays and I have some very passionate
vendors that would love to use their feather signs. They use them in all the other
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markets, many of the vendors go to four to five markets a week and all the other
markets are available to use that. It's a sign that attaches usually to the front leg of their
ten-by-ten tent and so that you could see it above the tent. The way the Avenue is and
the way that the market is set up, it's kind of like a straight line and so if a customer is
looking for a specific business, sometimes they can't find it. Many of them come to me
as like oh where's Paula's Food at? Or where's -- you know, this vendor at. And I'll tell
them, or I'll walk them up there because between all the white tents and the different
things, they can't find it. And the ten that have the feather signs that would like to use
them, it's an area -- I mean, it's a specialty like oh, hot dogs or donuts or micro greens.
And it's just a good visual for the customers and the visitors that we have that come up
to the market. I just think it would be great for me to be allowed to tell them that they
could use their signs.
The second thing I want to talk to you about is please, don't give up on getting a
bathroom public -- bathroom on the Avenue. The market, the way it is right now, this is
our third year and we're just going to continue to grow bigger and bigger. And if you go
to any of the farmers markets all over the valley, everybody has a nice public bathroom
that has a water station, a hand station. It's not all portables, many of them have very,
very nice bathrooms. And, like, again the market's just going to get bigger, people need
a bathroom. And then since I only have three minutes, just a special reminder that next
Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, the market is open and it's one of the biggest
markets that we have because it's also the Children's Entrepreneur Market which that
brings 50 tents of kids, ages five through sixteen that sell -- and this is a nonprofit
organization. That sell all their things considering crafts, baked goods, jewelry, plus my
64 food vendors. Judi Yates' 40 artists, the whole avenue will be full from swirl all the
way to the roundabout. So I encourage everyone to come and enjoy the day, it's going
to be fabulous. Thank you.
BARTMAN: Hello Mayor and Council. First off, I'm -- there's so much positivity when we
talk about the make a difference day. My daughter who's a ASU freshman used to help
clean the equipment at Golden Eagle Park when she was itty bitty. So Make a
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Difference Day is really awesome and so I'm not going to go with too much negativity,
but just to start off with just a tad bit. I -- with all the negative political signs and all that
negativity in our town, you know, the voters have spoken and negativity won overall.
But I encourage all of those folks that won to have Fountain Hills and all of the residents
in mind. And I know you guys also love the town, I hope you bring everybody together
and I hope that you -- you know, fulfill all of those things that you promised. I also
encourage -- I also am grateful for Mayor Ginny Dickey and all your service to this
community and I hope that you stick around and help us still make this the best town
ever. And I thank all of the candidates who ran and I'm still hopeful that there'll be
some positivity. And I'm grateful for Clayton for also running. You have such a positivity
about you, and I hope you still thrive, and help our town, and appreciate you. Also just
to let you all know that on Sunday, November 24th, there's an interfaith Thanksgiving
service at The Fountains United Methodist church at 2 o'clock Sunday, November 24th.
Everyone's welcome, all face, because we all want to give thanks. Thank you.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Next up is Gene Slechta followed by Lori Troller.
SLECHTA: My name is Gene Slechta, a 30-year resident. Thank you, Mayor, Council.
Elections have consequences, we've all heard that. And boy, election consequences
brought us Decades of Mayor Dickey to our community. With her love her dedication
and hard work. She's been on school board, the council, she's mayor all types of valley
involvement, as well as State. Your touch is everywhere. It's a loving touch. So I'm
trying to take this as a celebration of our lucky stars that we had Ginny Dickey around
for these decades. And I've been here 30 years, so I thank you from the bottom of my
heart. Jerry, you got big shoes to fill. I mean that in the best way. So you're now free to
pursue your next adventure. So again, thank you.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Lori Triller, resident. This is this is a great book if you guys haven't
seen it, there, it's in the back. And there's a section in here it's public safety. A lot of
pictures, tiny little paragraphs, not one of those says hey, we put our broadband
underground, and we're protecting our town. And we're really happy about this.
Peg, would you like to listen? Thank you. Thank you.
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So on address 60 or 16709 East Hawk Street there is a 25-foot microwave tower being
installed in the ROW, that's within 100 feet of that house. Happen to know the
ordinance, how did that get passed? There was -- there -- there that had to be an SUP,
John. I'm not asking -- I'm just -- I will be asking; I'll call you tomorrow. But I just found
this out tonight. And I've said this all along. Property values. Now when these folks go
to sell their house, her husband just died, this is going to happen. She's got an industrial
piece of microwave emitting tower literally on her property. It's in the ROW, it's on her
property. How did it get approved? Can we have some transparency. I'm suggesting,
maybe, John gives a presentation about how many more applications he's approved,
and where they're going. Because I want a heads up if this is going in my yard. And if
you think you saw the last of Campanelli, I'm going to help him sue the town if anything
is wrong with that application, and she's got 30 days to do it. You didn't get rid of him;
he's coming after you. You had the opportunity to work with him, now you guys got to
do this right. Please, you can put -- I don't know if this is cellular or broadband. Two
different things, I've always been saying that I don't know yet because I only just found
out I got to do a lot of FOIA. If it's broadband it could have gone underground. If it's
cellular it's going where it is, and it's way too close to that house. Way too close to any
of those homes. That's a multi-million-dollar home, you just knocked that value down.
Ask questions about this application, ask to see John's decisions through the application
because there's all these questions you have to go through. I've asked him before on
other things that he's approved. He can't tell me how he answered those -- you know, is
it even a good application? I don't know, I haven't seen it yet. These things are going up
and they're in line of sight so get ready. I don't know if we're just now going to populate
there's some timing that went on for the last two and a half years I'm suspect of. But
please start asking questions. Thank you.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: There are no more, Mayor.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
The next item is our consent agenda. And unless anyone has anything they'd like to
remove, can I get a motion, please?
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FRIEDEL: Motion to approve consent agenda.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Roll call, please?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Counsel member Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Counsel member Friedel?
FRIEDEL: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Counsel member Skillicorn?
SKILLICORN: Yes.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Counsel member McMahon?
MCMAHON: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
TOTH: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor Dickey?
MAYOR DICKEY: I, thank you.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Motion passed.
MAYOR DICKEY: All right. I'm going to open up a public hearing for our next item which
is a consideration of a special use permit. And I'll ask John, you're going to kick it off?
WESLEY: Yes, Mayor. I will. Let me get this up.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. So we have the staff report, and then we'll take public
comments. And we can -- we can ask questions, of course. But then when I close the
hearing then we can discuss.
WESLEY: Okay. Mayor Counsel, this is a request for a special use permit. That property
along the avenue -- let me back up here. 16622 East Avenue of the Fountains. It's
highlighted on the map here just to basically cross the street here from Town Hall. It's
property zone C2, with two overlays. An entertainment and planned shopping plaza
overlay. It was plotted in 1971, developed in 2000. It was developed as an office
building, a commercial building. It's got eight suites, four on the ground floor, and four
on the second floor. Over the last year or so the rear four units, two top, were
reconfigured and repurposed as hotel rooms. The applicant or the owner of the
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property is now wanting to have five apartment units in the building. The zoning
ordinance that's in place allows residential on the second floor by right, up to eight
dwelling units per acre. What is being proposed, again, will have two residence units on
the ground and three on the second floor. And five units on the small property that
equates to 36 units per acre. So for both of those reasons we're requesting the special
use permit. So again looking at the zoning in the area and the property is in this location
here across from Town Hall. The area along the Avenue here is zoned C2 we have the
Keystone PAD (sic) up here to the west and the TCC District to the east. And again, the
overlay districts in the plot 208 area. Land uses in the area include a mixture of office
and retail uses. Some residential to the west, post office, Town Hall and the Parkplace
mixed use development. General plan has a couple of different statements in there that
can be applied in this request to help evaluate it. We are looking for a variety of housing
options a broad range and quality housing types in the Town Center. In particular,
looking for a highly integrated mix of uses and encourage an active ground floor with
residential above.
Section 2.02 F(1)d sets forth a criteria for review of special use permits. In particular,
we're looking for impact on the public health, safety, and welfare of persons living in the
area, working the area and how it impacts the town. So breaking those down into some
specific review questions. Will the proposed use be detrimental to public health, safety,
and welfare? We see the use of this building for residential purposes is unlikely to have
a detrimental impact to the health, safety, peace and welfare of the adjacent
neighborhood. Will allowing residential use of this property be detrimental or injurious
to the current commercial property improvements? So again the existing mixed-use
environment that we have in our town center, will be consistent with that. The retail
and entertainment uses in the area will benefit from expanded customer base and
potentially a place for workers to live close by.
There's been some concern and review in terms of when you have a commercial area
like this it wasn't necessarily planned for residential upfront, there could be some
conflicts that might occur. Residents and how they park for sale commercial customers
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would park and then somehow the way the trash is set up for pickup. But they're all
things we've been working with plot 208 on -- the property owner on and feel like are
easily resolved as we go forward.
And then finally will creating residential here create a desirable living environment?
Again for those people who are looking for an urban environment, yes, it will. It will
help provide that balance of housing and commercial needs. And we have walkable
streets with urban amenities here, so it does provide a good place for urban housing.
They did provide a good neighbor statement as required with a couple of key items that
they will try to accomplish as they fit into the neighborhood. They did have a citizen
participation meeting. They didn't have any attendees, but we did receive an email and
have heard the support for this with everyone we've talked with.
In summary, this request, we feel meets the requirements set forth in zoning ordinance
for approval. It will provide additional support for downtown businesses, additional
housing -- housing options. Both the planning and zoning commission and staff
recommend approval.
Any questions for me at this time?
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Can we have speaker cards first and then -- do we have
any?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes, Mayor, we do. The town --
MAYOR DICKEY: We'll do that, and then we'll -- then we'll discuss.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Okay. The town received 13 comment cards with the position as
for, and we received two that wish to speak to the agenda item. So first up will be
Alcincio Sanchez (phonetic), followed by Carl it's -- Krawczyk. Okay. Well, that is it then.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Going once, going twice. I'm going to close the hearing.
Oh, go ahead, sir.
KRAWCZYK: Mayor Dickey, council members, my name is Carl Krawczyk. I know it's very
difficult to pronounce when it's on paper, but I've lived with it a long time you get it one
time. But I've actually had the opportunity to walk through the units that is being
proposed and they are not a slum type of apartment. They are a quality engineered
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product with an exclusive elevator to those units. So I'm in favor of that proposal going
through as passed. Thank you.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thanks a lot. So I'm going to close the hearing, and then we can ask
questions of John and discuss.
Councilwoman, you were --
MCMAHON: Hi, John. Thank you for the presentation. I'm having difficulties with the
parking. I'd like it explained a little bit better because this is residential, it's in a
commercial parking zone. Usually there's coverage required et cetera, so how is that
going to work out?
WESLEY: Mayor -- Council Member McMahon, with all of plot 208 the parking that
exists in that common parking field is there for all uses that occur on the lot within this
area. With the exception being the couple of the larger corner lots. So regardless of
what happens on these lots from residential to commercial office, they don't have to
provide any parking. It's already there through that common parking field. So the
current ordinance, if this were a new development on a Greenfield site, it would require
covered parking but here we're dealing with a basically a grandfathered situation where
the parking already exists.
MCMAHON: So do you have faith that they're going to -- might provide some
designated parking and not allow them, like, to park in the commercial area on Avenue
of the Fountains, et cetera? Or is that just something that's their responsibility and
they're going to have to deal with it? Are we going to have to look at it and approve it
later or anything?
WESLEY: Mayor, Council Member, we will be going through a formal site plan review on
the staff level following this if it's approved. But the -- the parking will be provided on
the plot 208 parking behind the -- the building, not the on street parking. That is public
parking there. While it's not regulated today for any limitations on parking, you know,
any signs -- you know two-hour parking or whatever like that or overnight parking on
the public streets. So somebody could as a resident park there all the time. That may
be an issue the council will have to consider at some point in the future with regard to
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parking along the Avenue. But it's not being planned right now. I know that the
applicant here and other applicants we've been talking with looking for more residential
in plot 208 have been working with the plot 208 board on how they're going to handle
overnight parking. And they are discussing various solutions and options for how they
will do that so the residents can have adequate nearby parking while still respecting the
needs of the businesses.
TOTH: Well, based off John's comments I guess I do have a little bit more to say than I
thought I did. I would use this opportunity to encourage our Council to consider putting
something in for preventing overnight parking on the Avenue of The
Fountains because that is meant to be business parking. And I think as we
continue to encourage mixed uses, which are wonderful, we do need to make sure
we're not blocking up all that very important business parking with our cars. With that,
I'll move to approve SUP 24 dash lots of zeroes 5, for up to five residential units.
Maintaining the two first floor commercial slash office suites along the Avenue. And
providing agreement from plot 208 regarding solid waste services prior to issuing a
remodel permit.
MCMAHON: I'll second.
MAYOR DICKEY: Councilman?
FRIEDEL: Thank you, Mayor. John, we never had any parking issues when they were
Apartments. That -- that were brought to our attention, did we?
WESLEY: Mayor -- Council Member, I'm not aware of any.
FRIEDEL: Okay, me either. And those units are going to be on the back of building
anyway, right?
WESLEY: Correct.
FRIEDEL: Okay, thank you.
MAYOR DICKEY: We have a motion on a second. Any further discussion?
Roll call, please.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Counsel Member Friedel?
FRIEDEL: I.
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PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Skillicorn?
SKILLICORN: No.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member McMahon?
MCMAHON: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
TOTH: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor Dickey?
MAYOR DICKEY: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Passes five to one.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you.
TROLLER: Okay. As I said, I found this out today and I didn't have a chance to pull any
FOIAs. My apologies to everyone. That -- Justin told me that that's an SRP radio tower.
It's a different frequency, it's not a microwave frequency, it's an FM frequency. It's a
way lower -- the harm is way different very little. Very sorry. Just want to make that
clear. That that is an SRP, and those are -- those have been going up. There's -- he
explained there's two different kinds. But I just wanted to clarify that, thank you.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you very much.
Okay, our next item is similar. I'm going to open a hearing for -- this is a rezone request.
And we'll -- again, we'll hear the presentation, we'll ask for cards. And then we'll
discuss. Thanks.
WESLEY: Yes, Mayor. So this one is at 15225 North Fountain Hills Boulevard. Location
map here shows the property at the northeast corner of Fountain Hills Boulevard in
Glenbrook. The property is plot 430, it was plotted in 1972. First building was built in
198, there's been no additional development in this particular area since 2006. So
almost 20 years. Zoning pattern for the area, this block is Zone C1 which is our low-end
neighborhood commercial district. Got some CC which is similar to the south with
common parking. And then a variety of residential zones surrounding the area. The
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development pattern is very similar, a school, some churches and residential uses and a
little bit of commercial to the south. The C1 zoning District that exists on the site, here's
a description of what the intent of that district is. But basically, again, it's our lower end
meant to be a near residential uses and provide commercial activities that are typically
useful to the nearby residents. When we move up to the C2 zoning district, the scale of
uses in the area it serves also steps up and is meant to serve a larger market with a
wider variety of uses. Here's a sample of some of the additional uses that would be
permitted with the C2 zoning. Let me interject here, the applicant has requested the
use -- the zone change because they currently operate a golf cart sales business in that
center. In the C1 zoning District all the display has to be indoors. They've been wanting
to and have been sometimes displaying the golf carts out in the parking lot, again that's
not allowed in C1 zoning district. It is in a C2, with approval of the special use permit so
that's why they have requested the rezoning. But we need to understand that if
rezoning is approved it's not just for the use it allows anything in the district to happen,
so that's why I'm presenting what else could happen in the area. So here's a list of some
of those things that could happen, as well as with C1. There's some things such as the
limited limitation on hours that occur that don't -- that doesn't happen in the C2 district.
Again the general plan for this area we have the mixed-use neighborhood character
designation. And so this designation recognizes we have some of these little pockets of
commercial around town that are really -- are integrated in with residential. And so
they're meant to stay fairly small-scale commercial areas to respect that neighborhood.
And so with this particular one we would expect any development or redevelopment to
be compatible with that adjacent neighborhood. And maintain that low-scale
commercial type pattern.
So in terms of the review and analysis of this, again the general plan would anticipate
maintaining low intensity uses. The change to C2 would increase the allowed uses and
increase the amount of time or the hours of the day that those uses could operate. So
that's a little bit of a of a negative for the request. However, we have noted that this
commercial center has struggled over the years to stay viable and keep tenants. So
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changing use and opening that window could help it be a little bit more viable center
than it is today. They held a neighborhood meeting, they had no attendees, staff had no
neighbors contact us with any questions or concerns. Staff recommendation because a
change in zone we feel would be inconsistent with the goals of the general plan, would
be consistent with the intent of the C2 district, and would introduce uses that we feel
like are too intense for the area. We recommended denial to the Planning and Zoning
commission meeting. And at their meeting -- at their hearing after discussion with the
staff and the applicant, the commission also recommends denial. But they also felt that
the use that's there, the golf cart use, is an appropriate use it hasn't been an issue for
the neighbors. And the display of the vehicles really hasn't been an issue either. So
they are as part of their recommendation also encouraging the council to direct staff to
prepare a text amendment that we can bring back through that would then allow the
golf cart sales in the current zoning district. And anticipating that the council may take
that direction, we've already been working on that text amendment and have it
prepared for the December PNZ commission meeting if you give us that direction.
Any questions for me?
MAYOR DICKEY: Very good, thank you. Let's see if we have any cards first.
WESLEY: The applicant is here if you have questions for the applicant.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes, Mayor, we do. First up is Larry Meyers followed by Crystal
Kavanaugh.
MEYERS: Mayor, Council. This Council -- maybe the last time. Planning and Zoning had
a pretty intense discussion on this. And they actually -- in the beginning thought, oh,
you know, I'd like to see this guy sell his golf carts. The center is not getting used, C2
sounds pretty good. And then you start looking at the uses. And, of course, a guy like
me who just spent two and a half valuable years of his life trying to keep this crap out of
this town. Number 26, substance abuse or addiction treatment center stuck out and I
thought to myself this is just another complete example of doing a rezone to make some
sort of accommodation because the original plan of the town just wasn't quite working
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out. And I have nothing against the golf cart guy, I want him to sell his golf carts and so I
actually brought up the text amendment in the planning and zoning meeting. Because
why can't we just tell the guy he can sell his golf carts? Nobody cares, no neighbors are
bothered. He's only putting a couple of them out there. It's not any worse than one of
our used car lots, certainly, way worse -- way less, because golf carts are small. And he
only has a couple of them. So staff, and Planning and Zoning, and they were very
thoughtful about this. They went through this thing ad nauseum, a couple hours, right?
And the text amendment helps the golf cart guy, helps the town because he -- we get
sales tax revenue from him selling golf carts. The people from Rio Verde that drive by
buy the golf carts, helps them. And we don't have to face a bunch of intense uses that
were never intended to be next to a church, down the street from a school, or in a
neighborhood. So I would encourage you to take the staff's recommendation.
Hallelujah, let the angels sing, John and I agree. It's rare but it is Christmas so. Please
follow John's recommendation and the text amendment is probably
already done. You can get this out of the way, and the golf cart guy can sell some carts
for Christmas. Thanks, bye.
KAVANAUGH: Good evening, Mayor and Council. I will be brief and also be giving John
a Christmas present. I also agree with staff, and I support a text amendment to allow
this business to display its golf carts during business hours. There's no need to take the
bigger leap of a C2 rezone because when you do look at the list you find the unintended
consequence. And so simple is best in this situation, and I also support business and I
want this guy to be able to display his product. Thank you.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: That is it.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you very much. I'll close it and then Gerry can -- have a
question.
FRIEDEL: I was at that Planning and Zoning meeting, and I thought that the agreement
of have direction given to staff with a text amendment was good. And so I fully support
John's recommendation here on this.
KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Yeah, I would also like to concur. And with what
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Jerry and Mr. Myers and Ms. Kavanaugh said. An up zone, you never know in the future
if he sold the business, you know what mischief might be moved into that
neighborhood. And so when I saw that the text amendment was proposed by the
Planning and Zoning Commission, I thought it was just stellar work, outstanding work
that they did and it's kind of getting everything done that we want to do. It's helping
the business owner sell his product, but it's not going to fundamentally affect the
neighborhood. And we won't have any disastrous consequences down the road with
another business coming in there and opening something that wouldn't fit within the
neighborhood. So I think this -- I would be for this with the text amendment myself.
TOTH: Yes, I agree. Thank you, John, for the very succinct, reasonable suggestion. And
thank you Planning and Zoning for doing all of that hard leg work for us. Your efforts do
not go unnoticed, and I do not envy you. I love the positivity from the crowd too. Merry
Christmas, everybody. Anyway, move to deny rezoning case R2 -- RZ24 lots of zeros 2.
The motion could also -- the motion does, sorry, let me fix that because I just started
reading it. I move to deny the rezoning case, include -- and include direction to staff to
process a text amendment that would allow golf cart display in the C1 and CC zoning
districts. Thank you.
TOTH: Is there a second, I think -- they might have just wanted it for C1. I mean, that's
what I think I just read. It's for C1, C2 and Counsel McMahon has a question.
KALIVIANAKIS: I'll second by the way.
MAYOR DICKEY: Okay.
WESLEY: Excuse me, just a second, I'm going to go back here on one thing. Just to make
sure I'm --
MAYOR DICKEY: It's just at the end there, right there.
WESLEY: Yeah. See how I said it in here. But yes, the C1 and the CC are really the same
except the CC allows the common parking. And so it would be appropriate in both.
MCMAHON: Okay. My question would be, is this amendment going to come back to
council for approval?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes.
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MCMAHON: Okay so it's going to be rather detailed, it's just not going to be -- it's not --
not going to say that this can happen in these particulars districts? So we'll have an
opportunity to look at that and see how it's going to fit within that?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor, Council Member, yes. Just like any other text amendment,
like your next item on the agenda, it'll go to PNZ for their review and recommendation
first. And then to the Town Council, it should be on your January meeting.
MCMAHON: Okay. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
MAYOR DICKEY: It's just for the ability to ask for a special use permit. So it's nothing by
right.
We have a motion and a second, can we get a roll call, please?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Skillicorn?
SKILLICORN: Yes.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member McMahon?
MCMAHON: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Counsel Member Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Counsel Member Friedel?
FRIEDEL: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
TOTH: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor Dickey?
MAYOR DICKEY: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Motion passed, six to zero.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. You're still up. And let's see, it's another hearing, right?
WESLEY: Yes.
MAYOR DICKEY: Three in one night. Thank you.
WESLEY: Okay. Mayor and Council, this is a text amendment. At this time it's section
2.07 of the zoning ordinance. Over this last year or so we've been working our way
through chapter 2 of the zoning ordinance, which has all the procedures for the
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different types of applications that you see -- that come before you. Rezones, special
use permits, temporary use permits, site plans. So this is the last of those that we are
processing. And with that, we'll have that chapter updated and consistent and across
the board in the way that it addresses various types of applications. So again, tonight is
2.07 which deals with appeals and variances.
So this particular section in order -- again, partially to be consistent with others and also
to provide some clarity for what happens within the section we're proposing to add a
new "A" to this. And describe the purpose of appeal and variance applications, and
that's what that paragraph states. And then because we're introducing a new "A", it
causes then a ripple effect through the rest of it. Of the A's become B's and B's become
C's that creates a little bit of confusion sometimes in talking about it, but it is really
mostly just renumbering. Just for some context, again, the first part of it is appeals to
the Board of Adjustment so I as a zoning administrator in charged with interpreting and
implying the zoning ordinance. And if someone doesn't like the way I interpret or apply
the zone ordinance, they can choose to appeal that interpretation to the Board of
Adjustment. So appeals to the Board of Adjustment in the five plus years that I've been
here, we've had none. I didn't go back to see -- prior to that, but I'm not aware of any
that have occurred but it's in the ordinance in case it's ever needed. And so the existing
1A now becomes B. And the ordinance stays the same and then from there we move
into the same order and consistency that you see in the other sections of the code. So
we talk about next in in section 2 about the application requirement.
And this, again, is going to be the same as we've done in the other sections with
electronic filing, we need a filing narrative and a filing fee. Again the same thing
consistent throughout. What was 3 becomes 2, stay of proceedings with no changes to
that. And then there's a new 3 about review so this is a section about adding -- a piece
we went and added each of these sections of the code the describe kind of those basis
steps. You submit your application, we review for completeness, go back and forth with
the applicant until we have a complete application. And then it starts really though that
review process. And then we move into notice, there's some minor modifications as we
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move some things around, but essentially, the same in terms of notice. And similarly,
with hearings, a slight reorganization. Moving some language over -- around, but no
real change in the application there. And so that's really it with regard to appeals to the
Board of Adjustment.
The next section then deals with variances. A little bit more change here, but again,
mostly its reorganization. Over the last five years we've had six variance applications, so
we do get a few, not a lot. The -- those are largely governed by State statute and some
requirements there that have to be met for approval of variance. These are similar to
appeals but in this case, everybody agrees that the ordinance is being applied correctly
but there's something unique about the property in the situation where the code just
doesn't work. And so we need to vary the code.
So again mostly some reorganization, move some sections around. We created an
application section similar to the others in terms of here's what we need to be applied
and review -- the section, again, is very similar. As I was going through this and getting
some review and some questions one of the current conditions is that the ordinance
only requires notice by posting on the property and publication of the paper. But by
practice and policy since prior to my time we also mailed notice to everyone. We think
that's better, make sure everybody gets a chance to have their comment and say on
what's going on. And so the intent was to add that in here we required in all other
sections that go -- go to a board. But I noticed in going to this last review I didn't
actually say that in the ordinance. So what you see here on his slide in section four that
underlined language in there and mailing to notes to owners within 300 feet, that's
added over what was in your -- your code. That's what I meant to say in here but had
omitted it.
The key change in this section of the code is now what's going to be in number 6. So the
code currently lists the different items as required by State statute and used here in
other jurisdiction of what a board must find in order to approve variants. In the current
code they're kind of scattered and a little bit hard to find and to make clear to
applicants. In rewriting it, we've pulled them all together so they're very easy and clear
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for anyone to see and understand. Here are the things you must prove, or the board
must find in order to grant your variance. There's no real changes to those, just
organized and clarified a little bit.
And then related to those also is this item 6B about how you can't use adjacent non-
conformities or what's happened on another property to justify your variance. Then
existing 4 was changed to 7 in State's action that can be taken by the board existing 5
through 7 had been relocated someplace else, otherwise, then eliminated. The last
section -- or last piece of this section is appeals from the board, so somebody isn't happy
with the decision of the board, it doesn't come here, it goes to court. They're a quasi-
judicial body and so that's where those things get appealed to. So this section deals
with that. There's no changes other than the renumbering of it. And so those are the
proposed changes to this section. Any questions or comments?
MAYOR DICKEY: Thanks so much. Do we have any speaker cards?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: No, we do not.
MAYOR DICKEY: All right. I'll close the hearing. And we can discuss and ask questions.
Anybody have any questions -- make a motion?
MCMAHON: I'll make a motion to move to adopt ordinance number 2420.
FRIEDEL: Second.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you.
Roll call, please?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member McMahon?
MCMAHON: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Friedel?
FRIEDEL: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Skillicorn?
SKILLICORN: Yes.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
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TOTH: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor Dickey?
MAYOR DICKEY: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Motion passes.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, Angela.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Sure.
MAYOR DICKEY: Our next item, Justin is going to be up probably for the next three. So
welcome and -- yeah.
WELDY: Madame Mayor, Council Members, we're back tonight to discuss pavement
management and maintenance. Prior to the summer break, staff presented numerous
options and received directions from the mayor and council related to the paving. Oh,
we're going to start with Hazen and Sawyer, the one on top instead of the one I'm
thinking of. Madame Mayor, Council Member. Excuse me for that brief interruption
while I was thinking out loud. This contract is to provide support to the town staff to
ensure that we are in compliance with mandates from the Federal and State
government related to storm water runoff. It includes an incredible amount of complex
testing and sampling of waters. And also inspections of not only our facilities, but
several other facilities in town that may or may not be unintentionally and occasionally
intentionally discharging illicit items into our storm drains. For those of you that have
been here for a while you know that the majority of the storm water runs down the
streets prior to it entering into our washes. The intent of the Federal and State
Government is to minimize or eliminate all of those illicit discharges into the nation's
waterways. We have to stay in compliance with that based on their guidelines and
recommendations.
I will let you know that for the last 18 months we've attempted to address this in-house
while we were looking to secure a new agreement. And it is very, very complicated and
time-consuming to just enter your reports into the process. It took the engineering
department hours a week for several weeks to ensure that all of the documentation,
including but not limited to photos, wet weather testing, dry weather testing, facilities
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inspections and recordkeeping, all of that stuff was up to date. Submitted to the town
manager for review, which is an incredible amount of information that she needs to
absorb and read and understand prior to signing it online as it's submitted. We have
had one other contract for this in the past that lasted for multiple years. That contract
was exhausted, did not have any more renewals. So again, we spent the last 18 months
kind of on our own. I would like to note that during that time frame we did not have
any disciplinary actions. We did have some corrective actions that we needed to take
care of, and we have addressed those as part of our annual report.
With that said, we do have some mandates that we are behind on simply because we
don't have the staffing and the technology and this contract will take over and help us to
meet those requirements not only for the rest of this fiscal year, but as you can see from
this agreement there is an increase in next year's contract amount. The primary reason
for that is the implementation of additional policies, plans, and procedures related
either to the Federal Government or State Government mandates revolving around
storm water. With that, there's a lot of information to digest here, we did our best to
get all of it into the staff report for you to understand, including the associated
documentation. If you have any questions related to those or the staff report, I will do
my best to answer them.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, Justin. Do we have any speaker cards on this item?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: No, we do not.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. I remember when we had to -- when we started doing this
because it was just getting to be way too much for us to spend that much time doing
this to comply. So as far as going for five years then that's -- you know, I -- it seems
reason for each year. Does -- is that a big change from before? I can't remember.
WELDY: Madam mayor it's -- it's not a substantial change. With the previous
contract, which was renewed and then had several renewals, there were some years
that were a little bit higher and some that were lower. If we have unusual storm events
that may or may not produce additional flows, there are some fees, and we have some
owner allowance built in here to address that. It also includes critical training for the
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staff, which is also a mandate.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. If Sharon was here, she'd say if we could still have our
environmental fee we would -- this is what we would use. Any questions or
comments?
Councilwoman?
KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah, I just one. This -- I don't if this would be for you Director Weldy, or
for you, Rachel. But do we still have any money in the environmental fund to
supplement financial '25?
WELDY: Madame Mayor, Council Member, yes. We have funding available in the
environmental fund adequate funding to cover this. And other things that we would
typically use that fund for -- for this year.
KALIVIANAKIS: Okay, good. Thank you.
WELDY: You're welcome.
MAYOR DICKEY: Oh, we did get rid of it, right?
GOODWIN: We did. So that's a -- that's a one-time answer. In that we have it for this
year, but it'll be sunsetting and we'll need to absorb all of the things that the
environmental fund paid for in next fiscal year's budget. So put a pin in that, we'll be
talking more about that on December 5th.
MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. Can I get motion, please?
FRIEDEL: Move to approve Professional Services agreement 2025-025 between the
town and Hazen and Sawyer PC.
MCMAHON: Second.
KALIVIANAKIS: Second.
MAYOR MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you.
Roll call?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member McMahon?
MCMAHON: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: I.
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PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Friedel?
FRIEDEL: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Skillicorn?
SKILLICORN: Yes.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
TOTH: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor Dickey?
MAYOR DICKEY: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Motion passes.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Now we can talk about streets.
WELDY: Madame Mayor, Council Members, as earlier stated, we were here just before
the summer break with some difficult discussions and decisions that had to be made.
We advanced from that did all of the necessary field work, related to geotechnical,
reviewed the roads that had been selected. During that process the contract that we
had utilized for multiple years was up for renewal by the City of Chandler, and they
elected not to renew that one but rather go out for a new contract. As a result of that,
the one that we had used expires on December 31st of this year. Having that
information in hand staff worked with the town manager we made a decision to
encumber 1.5 million dollars against that contract and get started on the north central
section of paving the streets that the council had selected.
This contract that we have before you tonight is very, very similar, it's just from a
different agency, but the underlying agreement is similar. I would like to note that
during this process I reviewed all of these types of solicitations and there's really about
five in the valley and some from other neighboring states that submit for these types of
projects, that are multiple year. And on each of the ones that I've read that were issued
over the last -- let's go with three years, M.R. Tanner was on the top of the list for each
one of those. So not only are they competitive for the City of Chandler but also for
Scottsdale and Buckeye. But they're competitive with the county as well for other
outlying agencies. And the reason I'm bringing this up is we have used M.R. Tanner in
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cooperative use agreements for multiple years. I just want to remind the mayor and
council and those folks that listen and read the papers that someone else is doing the
majority of the leg work. And getting these bids out and the town of Fountain Hills is
benefiting from that -- from all of that leg work that's being done by
others.
Having said that, as you can see, we're asking for approval for a new contract tonight.
We are also asking for some budget transfer from capital projects. Let me be clear here,
when I stood here prior to the summer break and gave you all the information we had, I
did my best for provide accurate information for what we had at that time. Obviously,
doing the geotechnical reports and compiling all of the change of scope of work, which
simply requires in several areas that more work is required. We have to go deeper into
the existing subgrade and replace that and put in a little bit thicker layer of asphalt.
That, along with the ongoing increasing costs for everything that we need to survive has
driven the cost up. So we're going to be asking for that additional money tonight. As
you can see, it's a pretty substantial amount even after we're doing a million dollars'
worth. We're still going to be asking for -- and let me pull this up here to make sure that
I'm accurate -- I haven't read this in quite some time, $3.7 million to finish off the roads
that were selected. And I think it's important at this time to note while we were in the
process of discussing the selection of roads, one of the sections in the North Central
Area was Kim Drive. And on Kim Drive there were two short sections that did not
complete it. Best pavement management practices allowed me to go out and look and
take the total square yardage from that and apply those square yards to somewhere
else on those previously approved maps that would allow us to finish a street. With that
said, the two short sections of Kim that will not be done this year part of that square
yardage was moved to Marathon, which will allow us to finish that street from one end
to the other. The other one was moved to Gunsight which will allow us to finish
Gunsight. Lots of information. Any questions up to this point?
GOODWIN: Justin, can I offer one clarification?
WELDY: Yes, ma'am.
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GOODWIN: All right. In your report, and you covered a lot, I just wanted to make sure
that the Mayor and Council were aware that the contract request is for the 3.7 million.
The budget transfers are roughly 250,000 to cover the difference is really -- I just want
to make sure that that was clear.
MAYOR DICKEY: I'm not seeing any questions so -- oh, go ahead.
MCMAHON: No, to make a motion.
MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. Oh, wait. Do we have any speaker cards?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: No, Mayor.
MAYOR DICKEY: Oh, thank you. Okay, sorry.
MCMAHON: Motion to approve cooperative purchase agreement, 202536, with M.R.
Tanner Development and Construction Incorporated in the amount of $3,700,000 and
any associated budget transfers.
KALIVIANAKIS: Second.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Roll call, please.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Friedel?
FRIEDEL: I,
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Skillicorn?
SKILLICORN: Yes.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member McMahon?
MCMAHON: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
TOTH: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor Dickey?
MAYOR DICKEY: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Motion passes.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, Angela. All right. Our last item.
WELDY: Madame Mayor, Council Members, this last one is also directly related to
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pavement -- related to pavement management. You'll note in that past asked -- came
and asked for council to approve an agreement to do a preservative seal for Shea in the
town limit from Scottsdale to the county border, which is on the east end. And also
Saguaro Boulevard, from Shea to Fountain Hills Boulevard. That preservative treatment
is to protect the previously agreed to investment in the town's roads. During that
meeting, staff noted that we would begin construction on a grant project totaling
$4,000,000 to eliminate gaps along Saguaro Boulevard. And some of those gaps would
be starting on the southern area of -- well, midsection of Saguaro near Colony Drive. At
that time, staff noted that we would not do any preservative treatment or any
pavement maintenance north of Colony Drive to Fountain Hills Boulevard, because the
sidewalk would damage that work. And we would have to come back and do it all over
again. With that said, we are approaching the time when that sidewalk will be finished.
So it's time to do that preservative seal on that section of Saguaro. There is a slight
increase due to, again, rising costs for everything necessary to do this kind of work.
There's also a little bit more of an owner's allowance in there, and I think that this next
part is important.
After the agenda was released, we discovered, and when I say me -- I'm going to single
myself out, I discovered an error. And I'm going to read to you the difference between
the staff report and the contract right now. In the staff report it is noted that there is a
15 percent owner's allowance to address anything that we may or may not come up
against. The contract is different. The contract actually has a 25 percent owner's
allowance in it. Please note that the total amount that we are asking for has not
increased, it just allows staff to take care of an area at Ashbrook Wash on Saguaro,
that's just north of Grande, where the pavement is badly deteriorated, and that section
needs to be replaced. Again, the contract total has not changed, we've just reallocated
some of it to allow for some additional owner's allowance. With that said, if you have
any questions?
MCMAHON: It says 15 percent.
WELDY: It says 15 percent in the staff report?
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MCMAHON: Yes.
WELDY: Yes, that is correct.
MCMAHON: Okay.
WELDY: In the contract --
MCMAHON: Just wanted to make sure because you're putting out a few numbers in
there like 20 percent, and I'm like, wait a minute.
WELDY: The contract calls out for a 15 percent owner's allowance -- or the staff report.
However, the language in the agreement that is attached to the staff report states the
following: "The town shall pay consultant an aggregate amount not to exceed $1.6
million dollars. This is an increase of the contract amount by $299,768.99. Of which,
some includes an owner's allowance of 25 percent or $76,650 for the total. And it is
included -- again, that correct contract, and the language is included in the staff report.
The contract that goes before the mayor and the town manager for approval will include
that language. The total amount is going to be -- is not going to change, $344,775.
MAYOR DICKEY: And so the 25 percent is what you want?
WELDY: Is built into that total amount.
MAYOR DICKEY: All right. Any other questions or -- we didn't have any comments, did
we? We do, okay.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes, Mayor. We have one speaker card, Hirress Miller (phonetic).
MILLER: Well, I -- in the back didn't catch everything this gentleman said, but it has to --
I think part of it, I did hear my name mentioned. But I talked to Justin, which I think is
ahead of you --
WELDY: That's me.
MILLER: That's you, all right. Well, good. So I'm -- I don't have a nice whiteboard, but I
did a real cheap little diagram of where we have marked out. I think that your team has
came in and marked out Palmer, and then Nicklaus. Is that still on the board, then to
do?
WELDY: That is correct.
MILLER: It is correct? Okay. Well, I have a little diagram here of where they have
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marked out where they're going to start and where they're going to stop. And I just
have a proposal, I don't think it'd be that much more -- I have a background, I just
retired here four years ago. I had a trucking business for 42 years. Qualified myself as
doing a construction -- done a lot of paving underwork for grounds. I have really good
background in construction overlay of pavement. So I know what the cost is to
piecemeal, I know what the cost is to get the job done, do it right maybe the first time.
If you have -- sorry, here's where the project (indiscernible) Palmer, and here's the
where the design comes in, the stop sign comes right here on Nicklaus. And my home
sits here, a line is here to stop the pavement here, and that's when the new comes
around here and stops right here at (indiscernible) and Nicklaus. There's only about a
little over half a mile -- it's .6 to finish the job. If you do the root from where it ends
here, it comes up and runs into Indian Wells right at the golf course. That's all new
pavement in here. And all these cul-de-sacs are fairly newer pavement. And there's
newer pavement in here. So we're talking about .3 of a mile where your line stops to
where ends at Indian Wells for new pavement. That's where the whole project is
stopped. So if you're piecemealing from here, and stopping here, you're not finishing
the job over here. I was in the construction business, as much as it takes to bring in
traffic control, peace meal and bring in extra equipment for different times, different
years. If you do a whole -- about a little over half a mile, it's .6 more. If you did a
complete loop from Nicklaus to Indian Wells on both sides, instead of just doing this
section here, and it end. And I have pictures all out in front of where we walk every
night of how bad this pavement is and broken up all along the sides. And so I'm just
seeing the council has, you know -- when it's done an awful lot of work in construction
and doing paving, and equipment to bring -- traffic control, bring it in and out. If you
just about a little over half a mile here to finish a complete loop, that services your golf
course, that ends right in your golf course. And I think it's a pretty unique piece of
property to have nice pavement running both directions and finishing the loop from --
on Nicklaus.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you.
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MILLER: That's what I'd like to say.
MAYOR DICKEY: Okay.
MILLER: And I know there's a budget control purpose. I worked with a lot of budgets, a
lot of framing back and forth and so but -- you only do stuff back and forth, you piece
meal from here to here, and you're not finishing the loop here, and you're not finishing
the loop here. And it comes up to about -- almost about .6 more to get the job done
and done right. So you're doing a complete loop.
MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Yeah.
MILLER: Great, thank you.
MAYOR DICKEY: Any further questions about the item from Council? Can I get a
motion, please?
Oh, Vice Mayor?
TOTH: Thank you. I just -- Justin, I wanted to -- because I know you're always very
prepared with these things. I wanted to give you the opportunity to respond. So what
is our reasoning for not completing that .6 whereas -- what would -- what is instead
being fixed besides that .6 mile?
WELDY: Madame Mayor, Vice Mayor, as part of the discussion before the summer
break Vice Mayor, we discussed how the areas are selected using our -- the software.
And the algorithm built into that. Because we have relatively narrow, but mostly long
residential streets we have to make some difficult decisions on which section of a
residential street we are going to do. And in this case, we simply do not have the
funding to complete that and accomplish the other ones. And again it's -- we're taking
care of some of the backlog.
TOTH: Uh-huh.
WELDY: And at -- while we're addressing the backlog, we're eliminating some of our
day-to-day concerns related to potholing or -- and unraveling. The bottom line is we
just don't have enough funding to complete that loop and several others that were
Requested.
TOTH: And if you could refresh my memory because I remember our charts. I believe
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the remainder of that loop is still on a plan for future years, just not this time?
WELDY: Madame Vice Mayor, all of them are on a plan for a future year. In this
particular case staff is going to strongly recommend as we speak to the town manager
and the Mayor and Council about next year's budgeting, for those types of areas where
we only have a section to do, we prioritize that one along with Kim to
give us completed sections.
TOTH: To get it done, okay. Thank you, Justin.
WELDY: You're welcome.
TOTH: I appreciate you.
KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Ms. Mayor. I think this comes to a larger issue I would like to
bring up and discuss tonight. And I am going to vote yes for -- on this vote. But it's just
like in the previous agenda item that we looked at the BOSS system, which is telling us
what roads we should fix and what roads we should put off to the future. You know,
just for the people out there the BOSS system is like Landru was in Star Trek. It's a
computer, it's a system. And it's just telling us what it thinks we should be doing. And
at the council meeting where we discussed this earlier, we were going to fund Indian
Wells with any excess funding that we found. And specifically, we were going to fix El
Lago, which is for the memorial -- the Veteran's Memorial is -- and we discussed this
today, by the way. So this is something me and Justin had actually -- Rachel, we
discussed too. But I think the gentleman's point is well taken. That we have to use our
own eyes and our own ears to see what roads need to be fixed. I don't think that we
should always be putting the machine and the machine's recommendations ahead of
what our constituents are requesting. Or in this case, what the Council requested.
Because the re-pavement of El Lago was based on the Council. So what my problem is,
is we're replacing the machine's recommendations over the one's of the Town Council
and what we wanted to get fixed. It's not your fault, it's a funding issue. We wish we
could fix everything. But just -- as we go along in future years, I just hope that the
council, working with the citizens, working with the streets and committee can have
some input on what needs to fixed out there. You know, actual eyes, actual ears
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reporting back what needs to be fixed and what doesn't. I don't necessarily always trust
the machine. Particularly when it comes to what our residents want, who elected us
and are trusting us to do their needs. And so I think just relying on the BOSS System is
kind of CYA (phonetic) of well, it's not up to us. The machine told us what to do. And so
to me, you know, regardless of what the machine tells us to do next year, I'd like to fix
Palomino, and Indian Wells, and El Lago. And take BOSS and he can -- take a side share
for a year, because that those are the things that I've been hearing from the people that
want to get fixed. Palomino is something every time I think we go out as council people,
when are you guys going to fix that -- when are you going to fix that? So anyway, just a
cautionary tale. I think we -- the citizen's input, it should be very important in these
decisions. Not just the BOSS Program.
TOTH: Move to recommend -- move to approve amendment 1 to professional services
agreement 2022-075, M.R. Tanner Development and Construction Inc. for pavement
preservation treatments. Increasing the aggregate amount by $344,775 and the
necessary budget transfers.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Before we vote I just want to say that we -- you know we
did have the chart that Hannah was talking about, and we had the two sides and
Palamino was there and Kingstree was there. And they pretty much wiped out the 30
other things that we could do. So we as a body decided and you know I was one of the
Palamino people, but the -- as a body the majority of us sitting here decided to go with
that. But then we said, if possible, and we were a little confident about it and it's
probably going to end up not being true. But we were like, okay, we want to do El Lago,
that was number one then Indian Wells. But I think we're going to find out we may not
be able to do that. But I just wanted to get back to your point that we talked about this
a lot. We did have the things that you can look at, think you really want to fix. And we
decided majority, and I think it might have been all of us that decided we need to go
with the left side a little bit. Hopefully add those two Palomino and Kingstree may have
to capital improvement projects in the future. Not that we have the money for both of
them anyway. But in other words, I believe we definitely did take a lot of the input into
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our hearts. But we decided as a body to do what we are doing. So I appreciate what
the gentlemen was saying. It's not exactly what our agenda item is right now, but it's
important to hear as we go forward. So I thank you, Brenda.
And we do have a motion and a second, so could we get a roll call, please?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Friedel?
FRIEDEL: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Skillicorn?
SKILLICORN: Yes.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member McMahon?
MCMAHON: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Council Member Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
TOTH: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor Dickey?
TOTH: I.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: It passes.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, Justin.
WELDY: You're welcome. Thank you. Our next item is council discussion, direction of
the town manager. I don't -- what -- yes, sir.
FRIEDEL: Is it possible that we direct staff to take a look at the feather flags for the
farmer's market?
MAYOR DICKEY: Absolutely.
FRIEDEL: All right. Thank you. Can we let Betsy know that we're going to take a look at
that?
GOODWIN: We'll reach out to her tomorrow.
FRIEDEL: All right. Thank you.
Mayor, if I may, I had one other item I wanted to bring up. I know, generally, you guys
talk with me this time -- at the meeting. But I find it important just to pause for just a
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second. Previously in our consent agenda item 9D talks about -- it's some HVAC work
we need to have done. Nothing -- nothing out of the ordinary, but what I wanted to do
is pause and recognize our staff for a second. Because when we first tackled this item,
when they first brought it forward it was significantly more expensive than what we
approved tonight. Staff took it upon themselves to go out, to talk with vendors, to work
with vendors to identify ways to bring the cost down to something that was more
feasible. And save the town significant dollars so I think it's just -- I wanted to take the
minute to kind of recognize Marc Brewer and Paul Brenman (phonetic) who are our
facilities guys that take care of this building, the Community Center, the library, as well
as other buildings around town. They do a great job and often get unsung. So I wanted
to just take a moment to give them some kudos up here.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Consider them sung. Any future agenda items? Anything
else with regard to the order? All right. We're adjourned.
Having no further business, Mayor Ginny Dickey adjourned the Regular Meeting
of the Fountain Hills Town Council held on November 19, 2024, at 8:00 p.m.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
______________________
Gerry M. Friedel, Mayor
ATTEST AND PREPARED BY:
__________________________________
Kandace French Contreras, Town Clerk
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the
minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the
Town Hall Council Chambers on the 19 day of November 2024. I further certify
that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present.
DATED 17 day of December 2024.
_____________________________
Kandace French Contreras, Town Clerk
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL November 20, 2024
A Special Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened at 16705 E.
Avenue of the Fountains in open and public session at 5:04 p.m.
Members Present: Mayor Ginny Dickey (by phone): Vice Mayor Hannah Toth; Councilmember Gerry Friedel; Councilmember Peggy McMahon (by phone); Councilmember Brenda J. Kalivianakis
Members Absent: Councilmember Allen Skillicorn Staff Present: Town Manager Rachael Goodwin; Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson
(by phone); Town Clerk Angela Padgett-Espiritu
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
NOVEMBER 20, 2024 FOUNTAIN HILLS SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
Page 1 of 5
Post-Production File
Town of Fountain Hills
Special Meeting Minutes
November 20, 2024
Transcription Provided By:
eScribers, LLC
* * * * *
Transcription is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not
be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
* * * * *
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
NOVEMBER 20, 2024 FOUNTAIN HILLS SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
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MAYOR DICKEY: Are we ready to go?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes, I believe so, Mayor.
MAYOR DICKEY: Okay. Let's call this meeting to order, please. Can we have a roll call?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor Dickey?
MAYOR DICKEY: Here.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
TOTH: Here.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember Friedel?
FRIEDEL: Present.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember McMahon?
MCMAHON: Here.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: Here.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember Skillicorn? We have a quorum.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. We have a regular agenda. We have one item. And I will
turn it over to Christina Estes-Werther to please explain, and then we'll see if you have
any questions and take a motion.
ESTES-WERTHER: Thank you, Mayor and Council.
Yes, Christina Estes-Werther with Pierce Coleman. I work with Aaron. And I'm going to
give you just a brief overview of how this process is going to work. Obviously, we're
here today to canvass the election, but we're also going to need to -- the Council will
need to order a special -- or a automatic recount.
And this is a statutory process. Essentially, everything is outlined in statute and the
state Elections Procedures Manual, which has the force and effect of law since it's been
approved by the Governor and the Attorney General's Office. And so I'm just going to
kind of walk through that process, and then, again, we'll be happy to answer any
questions.
So essentially, there is a formula and statute that when you have two candidates for a
particular office where the margin is equal to or less than one half of one percent of the
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
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number of votes cast for both of those candidates, it triggers an automatic recount. So
when the official canvass documents were submitted to the Town, we did have -- that
formula was triggered, essentially, for Peggy McMahon and Mathew Corrigan, and so
we're now beginning that process of the automatic recount. So this is specifically a
court process, so tonight, when the Council approves the canvass, we'll take this
information and file a petition for automatic recount in the court.
Now, we do have a little bit of additional component here because there's also going to
be a county supervisor's race that needs to be recounted as well as a state legislative
district, and so because we have other parties that are going to be a part of this, we've
been working with the County Attorney's Office and the Attorney General's Office, and
we are going to be filing jointly. It's better that way. It helps to facilitate the process if
the county, essentially, has one order from one judge about how to conduct the
recount. But as part of that, it is going to take a little longer than it normally would if it
was just a town recount because, again, they have to recount many ballots, not just the
town ballots, so they're looking at -- that process is probably going to go through
December 8th, which is a Sunday.
Just so that you know though, as part of that, the county is working every single day, so
they will -- you know, Friday morning, we're planning to go 8 a.m., get the court order
from the judge to start that recount. They'll start what they call the logic and accuracy
testing. They have to test the machines before and after each election. So they just
finished their post testing for the current general election, and they're going to have to
test the machines again right before they start the recount.
So that's planned already for Friday afternoon. Again, we anticipate we'll get the order
in the morning. They'll start the testing, and then they'll immediately start the
tabulation. They are working, again, every day, Saturday, Sunday. They are even
working half-day on Thanksgiving. So they are working every day until they can get this
tabulation completed. They are hoping it'll be done by December 7th, but again, they're
trying to give themselves a little bit of time just in case they need an extra day, which
would be the 8th, which is a Sunday. And then, we are planning to ask the court on
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Friday to return to court on December 9th, likely in the afternoon, and at that point,
we'll get the results.
And the way that the statute works is that they actually have to give the results to the
Town Clerk, and so the Town Clerk will have to be present at that return hearing in
court, and then the Clerk is required to, then, obviously, present those results to the
court. Those results, when they're given to the Town Clerk, are sealed. They cannot be
opened. Nobody can look at those.
And so we'll probably just coordinate to have the county give them to the Town Clerk at
the court hearing. That's usually the easiest process. And then the Clerk will provide
that to the court. They will open the sealed envelope. They will then announce all the
results. And so at that time, we usually have a proposed, you know, order that they fill
out where they, essentially, declare the winners, and then they order the Clerk to issue
the Certificates of Election.
So that's essentially, I guess, the process in a nutshell, but I'm happy to answer any
questions.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. So I'm not seeing anybody, so if someone has any
questions, please ask Christina.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor, there doesn't appear to be any questions.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, Angela, very much.
Could I, then, get a motion, please?
TOTH: Move to approve Resolution 2024-42, declaring and adopting the results of the
general election held on November 5th, 2024 certifying the facts requiring an automatic
recount and authorizing the filing of a petition in Superior Court for an order requiring
the recount.
FRIEDEL: Second.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you, Vice Mayor and Gerry.
Could we -- is there any further discussion? If not, could we get a roll call?
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember Kalivianakis?
KALIVIANAKIS: Aye.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
NOVEMBER 20, 2024 FOUNTAIN HILLS SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
Page 5 of 5
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember Friedel?
FRIEDEL: Aye.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Councilmember McMahon?
MCMAHON: Aye.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Mayor Toth?
TOTH: Aye.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Mayor Dickey?
MAYOR DICKEY: Aye.
PADGETT-ESPIRITU: The motion passes.
MAYOR DICKEY: Thank you. Thank you, Christina, for all your help.
And if there's nothing else, we are adjourned. Thank you.
Having no further business, Mayor Ginny Dickey adjourned the Special Meeting
of the Fountain Hills Town Council held on November 20, 2024, at 5:10 p.m.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
_______________________
Gerry M. Friedel, Mayor
ATTEST AND PREPARED BY:
__________________________________
Kandace French Contreras, Town Clerk
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the
minutes of the Special Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the
Town Hall Council Chambers on the 20 day of November 2024. I further certify
that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present.
DATED 17 day of December 2024.
_____________________________
Kandace French Contreras, Town Clerk
ITEM 8. B.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: 12/17/2024 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting
Agenda Type: Consent Submitting Department: Development Services
Prepared by: John Wesley, Development Services Director
Staff Contact Information: John Wesley, Development Services Director
Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language): CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE
ACTION: Ordinance 24-21 amending Zoning Ordinance Chapter 12, Sections 12.02 C and 12.06
reinstating language allowing members and nonmember.
Staff Summary (Background)
On January 3, 2023, the Town Council adopted Ordinance 22-08 adding provisions to the zoning
ordinance allowing indoor gun ranges. This ordinance added several provisions in Chapter 12,
Commercial Zoning Districts, addressing this use. This ordinance was adopted to address the needs of
a local business and was recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
At the same time, staff was also preparing another text amendment, Ordinance 23-01, which also
amended portions of Chapter 12. This ordinance was approved by Council on February 21, 2023.
Unfortunately, staff failed to correlate the changes in the two ordinances and some provisions in
Ordinance 23-01 overrode and replaced two provisions adopted in Ordinance 22-08 with new
language. Staff recently recognized this error and has prepared the attached ordinance to reinstate
the two provisions which were eliminated from the ordinance.
The attached ordinance adds back the following two sections to the Zoning Ordinance as previously
approved by the Town Council:
Section 12.02 C. (uses permitted by right in the C-2 and C-3 Zoning Districts)
27. Member-based indoor shooting range for gun calibers designed to be withstood by an
AR500 steel grade or equivalent bullet trap design standard. Exceptions to member-based
requirement include law enforcement and military personnel, and special event participants.
Section 12.06 (uses allowed in the C-3 Zoning District subject to approval of a Special Use
Permit)
G. Nonmember-based indoor shooting range or range for gun calibers designed to be withstood
by a steel grade rating greater than AR500 or equivalent bullet trap design standard.
Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle
N/A
Risk Analysis
N/A
Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s)
N/A
Staff Recommendation(s)
Staff recommends adoption of Ordinance #24-21.
SUGGESTED MOTION
MOVE to adopt Ordinance #24-21.
Attachments
Ordinance 24-21
Form Review
Inbox Reviewed By Date
Development Services Director (Originator)John Wesley 12/02/2024 11:27 AM
Form Started By: John Wesley Started On: 11/20/2024 03:25 PM
Final Approval Date: 12/02/2024
ORDINANCE NO. 24-21
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA, AMENDING THE
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS ZONING ORDINANCE,
CHAPTER 12, COMMERCIAL ZONING DISTRICTS,
SECTION 12.02 C. TO ADD 27. MEMBER-BASED INDOOR
SHOOTING RANGES AND SECTION 12.06, USES
SUBJECT TO SPECIAL USE PERMITS IN C-3 ZONING
DISTRICTS ONLY BY G. NONMEMBER-BASED INDOOR
SHOOTING RANGES
ENACTMENTS:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 12, Commercial Zoning Districts, Section 12.02
C. Additional Uses Permitted in C-2 and C-3 Zoning Districts, is hereby amended as
follows:
27. MEMBER-BASED INDOOR SHOOTING RANGE FOR GUN CALIBERS
DESIGNED TO BE WITHSTOOD BY AN AR500 STEEL GRADE OR
EQUIVALENT BULLET TRAP DESIGN STANDARD. EXCEPTIONS TO
MEMBER-BASED REQUIREMENT INCLUDE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND
MILITARY PERSONNEL, AND SPECIAL EVENT PARTICIPANTS.
SECTION 2. The Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 12, Commercial Zoning Districts,
Section 12.06, Uses Subject to Special Use Permits in the C-3 Districts Only, is hereby
amended as follows:
G. NONMEMBER-BASED INDOOR SHOOTING RANGE OR RANGE FOR GUN
CALIBERS DESIGNED TO BE WITHSTOOD BY A STEEL GRADE RATING
GREATER THAN AR500 OR EQUIVALENT BULLET TRAP DESIGN
STANDARD.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be unconstitutional by the decision of any court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of this Ordinance.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Fountain Hills,
Arizona, this 17th day of December 2024.
FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS: ATTESTED TO:
Gerry Friedel, Mayor Kandace French Contreras, Town Clerk
REVIEWED BY: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Rachael Goodwin, Town Manager Aaron D. Arnson, Town Attorney
ITEM 9. A.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: 12/17/2024 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting
Agenda Type: Regular Agenda Submitting Department: Administration
Prepared by: Kandace French Contreras, Town Clerk
Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language): CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE
ACTION: Appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission
Staff Summary (Background)
The Planning and Zoning Commission shall be composed of a total of seven members. The members
of the Commission shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject to the approval of the Council. These
appointments shall be for a period of three years each, with the terms of members staggered such
that the terms of no more than three members shall expire in any one year.
Recruitment was conducted in October. There is one vacancy as a result of the election of Planning
and Zoning Commissioner, Rick Watts, to the Fountain Hills Town Council. The appointment to the
Planning and Zoning commission will be for the remainder of a 3-year term, beginning immediately
and ending April 30, 2027.
The Council Subcommittee A for the Boards, Commissions, and Committees held a meeting to conduct
interviews of residents who applied for the vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Commission and
made recommendations for appointment.
Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle
Chapter 2(A) of the Town Code.
Risk Analysis
N/A
Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s)
Recommendations to the Mayor have been made by the Council Subcommittee A.
Staff Recommendation(s)
Appoint a recommended resident for a term to start immediately and end April 30, 2027.
SUGGESTED MOTION
MOVE to approve the Council Subcommittee recommendation for the appointment of a member to
the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Form Review
Inbox Reviewed By Date
Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson 12/11/2024 08:05 PM
Interim Town Manager
Clerk Kandace French Contreras 12/12/2024 02:07 PM
Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson 12/12/2024 02:15 PM
Interim Town Manager
Town Attorney
Town Manager
Form Started By: Kandace French Contreras Started On: 12/11/2024 02:59 PM
ITEM 9. B.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: 12/17/2024 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting
Agenda Type: Regular Agenda Submitting Department: Community Services
Prepared by: Kevin Snipes, Community Services Director
Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language): CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE
ACTION: Appointments to the History and Culture Advisory Commission
Staff Summary (Background)
The Council Subcommittees for the Towns Boards, Commissions, and Committees conduct interviews
and make recommendations for membership based on the term expiration, vacancies from
resignations, or changes in membership eligibility status.
History and Culture Advisory Commission
The October recruitment consisted of three vacancies due to the expiration of terms and the fourth
opening is due to the resignation of John Gibson. The appointments to this commission will be for a
3-year term starting on January 8, 2025, and ending on October 31, 2027. The final opening will be for
a partial term ending on October 31, 2025, once an application is received and interviewed.
The Council Subcommittee A for the Boards, Commissions, and Committees held a meeting on
December 3, 2024, to conduct interviews of residents who applied for the vacancies on the History
and Culture Advisory Commission and made recommendations for appointment.
Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle
Chapter 2A of the Town Code.
Risk Analysis
N/A
Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s)
Recommendations to the Mayor have been made by the Council Subcommittees A.
Staff Recommendation(s)
Make the following appointments of citizens, as follows:
Make the following appointments of citizens, as follows:
History and Culture Advisory Commission
Appoint ____________________________ for a 3-year term (1/8/2025 to 10/31/2027)
Appoint ____________________________ for a 3-year term (1/8/2025 to 10/31/2027)
Appoint ____________________________ for a 3-year term (1/8/2025 to 10/31/2027)
SUGGESTED MOTION
MOVE to approve the Council Subcommittees' recommendations for the appointment of members to
the town's boards, commissions, and committees, as presented:
Form Review
Inbox Reviewed By Date
Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson 12/10/2024 08:45 AM
Town Manager Rachael Goodwin 12/10/2024 01:05 PM
Form Started By: Patti Lopuszanski Started On: 12/05/2024 02:56 PM
ITEM 9. C.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: 12/17/2024 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting
Agenda Type: Regular Agenda Submitting Department: Development Services
Prepared by: John Wesley, Development Services Director
Staff Contact Information: John Wesley, Development Services Director
Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language): CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE
ACTION: A waiver of the standards set forth in Section 5.03, Cut and Fill Standards, of the Subdivision
Ordinance to allow fill in excess of 10' in height on property located at 15325 E. Westridge Drive.
Staff Summary (Background)
Section 5.03 of the Town's Subdivision Ordinance sets Cut and Fill Standards. With a few exceptions,
the maximum cut or fill that can occur with the construction of a building on a lot is 10 feet. When a
development proposes a cut and/or fill in excess of 10 feet, a Cut/Fill Waiver may be requested from
the Town Council. The goal of the ordinance requirement is to encourage buildings to follow the
contours of the land, avoid over-use of retaining walls, and maintain the natural desert topography to
the greatest extent possible. The standards and limitations on cut and fill have been in the Town's
Subdivision Ordinance without change since 1996.
The property owner at 15325 E. Westridge Drive (Lot 26, Westridge Estates), is preparing plans for the
construction of a new home on their property. The design being drafted includes a main living level of
approximately 2900 sq. ft. and a lower level under a portion of the home of approximately 1000 sq.
ft. With the covered patio area and the garages, the total footprint of the home will be around 4460
sq. ft.
The lot is rectangular, is 19,848 sq. ft. in size, and slopes down from the street at an angle under 20%
(therefore, it is not subject to the hillside protection requirements). Compared to other lots in the
area, and generally for Fountain Hills, there is nothing particularly unique about the property.
The owner of the property desires to have the primary living area of the home on one level with no
stairs (see attached letter from the owner). The main floor includes the kitchen/dining area, a great
room and den, utility and pantry, and a primary and a second bedroom. The garages and a covered
outdoor patio space are also on this level. There is a proposed lower level under a portion of the
home that includes a bedroom and a game room and opens to a lower level patio.
This lot slopes down from the street. The natural slope of the land where they are planning to
build the house drops 13 feet from elevation 1866 to 1853. They are planning the finished floor of the
main level at 1860 feet. An attached illustration shows the area of fill in excess of 10 feet. The area of
main level at 1860 feet. An attached illustration shows the area of fill in excess of 10 feet. The area of
excess fill is 744 square feet under the house, 311 under the garage, 544 square feet under the patio,
and 311 square feet around the pool. The total area with excess fill is 1,910 square feet. The
maximum area of fill is around the pool area where the fill reaches 15' in height.
The ordinance allows an exemption for an area up to 5% of the floor area of the home. In this case,
the allowed exemption is for 207 square feet. The area under the house with excess fill is 1,055
square feet.
To build up the ground to provide for the level building pad, the applicant is proposing three terraced
retaining walls. Town codes limit the height of each retaining wall to a maximum of six feet with a
distance between the walls equal to the height of the wall. This is to keep from having massive walls
for neighbors to look at and improve the connection to the natural terrain. The separation distance
between walls provides room for landscape material that can screen these walls.
The properties most impacted by the proposed design will be the lots to the south across the wash
which are over 700 feet away. The impact of the three retaining walls should be minimal.
As designed, the overall height from the bottom of the lowest retaining wall to the top of the house is
over 39'. As an alternative to exceeding the maximum fill and using the three retaining walls, the
house and outdoor patios could be designed to step down the hill. It appears that the overall height
could be reduced to around 30' and one or two of the retaining walls could be eliminated. This design
change, however, would not fit the needs of the property owner as described in their letter.
Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle
Subdivision Section 5.03 Cut and Fill Standards
Risk Analysis
N/A
Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s)
N/A
Staff Recommendation(s)
The area of excess fill will be under the home and the patio, it will not be exposed. The design of the
proposed house appears similar to others in the area and the nearest homes to the south are at least
700' away. Staff does not find any significant negative impacts to the proposal and, therefore,
recommends approval.
SUGGESTED MOTION
MOVE to the fill waiver CFW24-000002 for 15325 E. Westridge Drive.
Attachments
Vicinity Map
Owner's letter
Site Plan
Cross Sections
Elevations
Area photographs
Form Review
Inbox Reviewed By Date
Development Services Director (Originator)John Wesley 12/02/2024 11:27 AM
Form Started By: John Wesley Started On: 11/13/2024 05:15 PM
Final Approval Date: 12/02/2024
Cut/Fill Waiver Request
CFW24-000002
15325 E. Westridge Drive
May 2, 2024
Greg Hazdra
The Craftsman Design
16550 E. Avenue of The Fountains
Fountain Hills, AZ 85268
Dear Greg:
I would like to meet and discuss building a home on a property that Cheryl and I have purchased in
Fountain Hills. As you may know we have owned our current house in Fountain Hills for over 15 years. It
is a large house with two floors and a pool on the lower level. What you may not know is that I was
recently diagnosed with a rare neurological disease, Spinal Cerebellar Ataxia.
Unfortunately for me this is a progressive disease that affects all aspects of mobility including balance
and walking. Due to the timing and nature of my handicap we are planning to build a ranch-type or
single-level home on the lot we own in Fountain Hills. We love living in Fountain Hills and due to the
difficulty of finding a suitable flat parcel we purchased a sloping lot on Westridge Drive.
The goal in design is to minimize the steps and stair lengths while trying to get the main living/outdoor
spaces and bedrooms on one level. Our thoughts on design would be a “soft” desert contemporary
(2,600-3,000 sqft.) that will fit within the neighborhood. We would like to start the design phase of the
project as soon as possible. I know that lot may be a challenge but since you and your brother built our
first house 35 years ago and I am looking for the same quality in design and construction, I am confident
that you are the person to take on this project and would like to know your thoughts.
Please let me know if you have any questions and the best day/time to meet.
Best regards,
Craig Allemand
Approx. location of lot
View from lot across wash to the south
House to the east
House to the west
ITEM 9. D.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: 12/17/2024 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting
Agenda Type: Regular Agenda Submitting Department: Administration
Prepared by: Kandace French Contreras, Town Clerk
Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language): CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE
ACTION: proposed 2025 Town Council Meeting Dates and Summer Break.
Staff Summary (Background)
This item has been placed on the agenda to provide an opportunity for the Town Council to discuss
the proposed 2025 Town Council Meeting Schedule and timeframe for the Town Council Summer
Break as suggested in the attached meeting schedule draft.
Staff would like to point out that there is a conflict between the Tuesday, August 19, 2025, Regular
Town Council meeting and the Arizona League of Cities and Towns Annual Conference being held
Tuesday, August 19 through August 22, 2025. The Council may consider holding the regular Town
Council meeting on Monday, August 18, 2025, move it to Tuesday, August 26, 2025 or another date
acceptable to the Council.
Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle
N/A
Risk Analysis
N/A
Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s)
N/A
Staff Recommendation(s)
N/A
SUGGESTED MOTION
MOVE to approve the 2025 Town Council Meeting dates and recommended summer break, as
MOVE to approve the 2025 Town Council Meeting dates and recommended summer break, as
presented.
or
MOVE to approve the 2025 Town Council Meeting dates and recommended summer break, as
amended.
Attachments
2025 Draft TC Meeting Schedule
Form Review
Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 10/23/2024 11:47 AM
Final Approval Date: 10/23/2024
2025.Meeting Schedule Draft.docx
2025
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULE
AND SUMMER BREAK
Pending Council Approval
MEETING DATE TYPE OF MEETING
01/07/2025 Regular Meeting – No Meeting
01/21/2025 Regular Meeting – Day after MLK Day
02/04/2025 Regular Meeting
02/11/2025 Work Session (Tentative – If needed)
02/18/2025 Regular Meeting Day after Presidents Day
02/25/2025 Council Retreat
03/04/2025 Regular Meeting
03/18/2025 Regular Meeting
03/25/2025 Council Special Work Session – CIP Projects
04/01/2025 Regular Meeting
04/08/2025 Council Budget Workshop (4/10 if needed)
04/15/2025 Regular Meeting
05/06/2025 Regular Meeting, CMD & EMCFD
05/13/2025 Work Session (Tentative – If needed)
05/20/2025 Regular Meeting
06/03/2025 Regular Meeting, CMD & EMCFD
06/10/2025 Work Session (Tentative – If needed)
06/17/2025 Regular Meeting, CMD & EMCFD
06/18-08/18/2025 Summer Break
07/01/2025 No Meeting
07/08/2025 No Meeting
07/15/2025 No Meeting
8/5/2025 No Meeting
8/12/2025 No Meeting
8/19/2025 Regular Meeting – CONFLICT WITH LEAGUE CONFERENCE
08/19 - 22/2025 League of Arizona Cities Towns Annual Conference –
Fairmont Princess, Scottsdale, Arizona
09/02/2025 Regular Meeting – Day after
Labor Day
09/09/2025 Work Session (Tentative – If needed)
09/16/2025 Regular Meeting
10/07/2025 Regular Meeting
10/14/2025 Work Session (Tentative – If needed)
10/21/2025 Regular Meeting
11/04/2025 Regular Meeting
11/18/2025 Work Session (Tentative – If needed)
11/25/2025 Regular Meeting
12/02/2025 Regular Meeting
12/09/2025 Work Session (Tentative – If needed)
12/16/2024 Regular Meeting
SUMMER
BREAK