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HomeMy WebLinkAboutagendapacket__05-20-25_1253_699       NOTICE OF MEETING REGULAR MEETING FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL      Mayor Gerry M. Friedel Vice Mayor Hannah Larrabee Councilmember Gayle Earle Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis Councilmember Rick Watts Councilmember Peggy McMahon Councilmember Allen Skillicorn    TIME:5:30 P.M. – REGULAR MEETING WHEN:TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2025 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     Instructions The public is welcome to participate in Council meetings. TO SPEAK TO A CONSENT OR REGULAR AGENDA ITEM, complete a Request to Comment card and hand it to the Town Clerk prior to discussion of that item. Include the agenda item NUMBER on which you wish to comment. A separate submission is required for each agenda item. Request to Comment cards will not be accepted once the Council deliberations begin. Submit a Request to Comment card prior to a public hearing agenda item. TO COMMENT ON A CONSENT OR REGULAR AGENDA ITEM IN WRITING ONLY, complete a Request to Comment card, indicating that it is a written comment, check the box on whether you are FOR or AGAINST a consent or regular agenda item, and hand it to the Town Clerk prior to discussion on that item. A separate submission is required for each agenda item. TO SPEAK TO CALL TO THE PUBLIC, complete a Request to Comment card and hand it to the Town Clerk. 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 IN WRITING ONLINE: Visit https://www.fountainhillsaz.gov/publiccomment and submit a Request to Comment card no later than 12:00 PM on the day prior to the meeting. These comments are shared with the Town Council.  This Request to Comment card, and any information you write on it, is a public record subject to public disclosure.          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 Dee Pavia, Christ's Church of Fountain Hills   3.ROLL CALL – Mayor Friedel   4.REPORTS BY MAYOR, COUNCILMEMBERS AND TOWN MANAGER   A.MAYOR'S BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT - Guardian Training & Consulting   B.MAYOR'S VETERAN OF THE QUARTER - Capt. Bruce E. Kosaveach, SC, USN (Ret)   C.RECOGNITION OF - MCSO Deputy Sheriff Wade Voeltz   D.PROCLAMATION: Designation of May 18 - 24, 2025, as National Public Works Week.  5.PRESENTATIONS   A.Mayor's Youth Council year in review   B.Q3FY2025 Revenue Update   6.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.   7.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 Meeting of April 1, 2025, and for the Town Council Budget Workshop of April 8, 2025, and for the Minutes of the Town Council Regular Meeting of April 15, 2025.   B.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving Resolution 2025-17, abandoning the 10' Public Utility and Drainage Easements along the north and west sides of 11414 N Pinto Drive (Application A25-000003)   Town Council Regular Meeting of May 20, 2025 2   8.REGULAR AGENDA   A.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving of Ordinance 25-05 amending Town Code Chapter 9, Article 9-7 (Trees)   B.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving Resolution 2025-07, a Project Agreement with the Maricopa Association of Governments to accept grant funds for Design Assistance of Sidewalk      C.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving additional funding for Capital Improvement Projects D6057 Golden Eagle Impoundment Project, as proposed by staff, as well as, associated budget transfers and Contract Amendment 2025-026.1 with B2 Enterprises.      D.DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION: Review of Existing Town Travel Procedures   E.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Relating to any item included in the League of Arizona Cities and Towns' weekly Legislative Bulletin(s), or relating to any action proposed or pending before the State Legislature.     9.COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION to the TOWN MANAGER Item(s) listed below are related only to the propriety of (i) placing such item(s) on a future agenda for action, or (ii) directing staff to conduct further research and report back to the Council.   10.FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS   11.ADJOURNMENT       Dated this 15 day of May, 2025.  /s/ Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk   The Town of Fountain Hills endeavors to make all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Please call 480-816-5100 (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 May 20, 2025 3   ITEM 4. D. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Type: Reports                  Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant, TM/M/TC Staff Contact Information: Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language):  PROCLAMATION: Designation of May 18 - 24, 2025, as National Public Works Week. Staff Summary (Background) Mayor Friedel will designate the week of May 18 through 24, 2025, as National Public Works Week. Attachments PROCLAMATION: Designation of May 18 - 24, 2025, as National Public Works Week.  ITEM 5. A. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Type: Presentations                  Submitting Department: Community Services Prepared by: Patti Lopuszanski, Executive Assistant Staff Contact Information: Kevin Snipes, Community Services Director Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language):  Mayor's Youth Council year in review Staff Summary (Background) The Mayor’s Youth Council will present a year-in-review video highlighting their activities and accomplishments over the past year. ITEM 5. B. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Type: Presentations                  Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Paul Soldinger, Chief Financial Officer Staff Contact Information: Paul Soldinger, Chief Financial Officer Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language):  Q3FY2025 Revenue Update Staff Summary (Background) The Chief Financial Officer will provide a Fiscal Year 2025 quarter 3 update on local sales tax revenues and State shared revenues. Attachments Presentation  FY25 Q3 Revenue Update Paul Soldinger, Chief Financial Officer May 20, 2025 3rd Quarter FY25 Revenue Update Net Taxable Activity •Total Net Taxable Activity for Quarter 3 of FY25 was $192.6M •Decreased by $5.6M, or 2.8%, from the same period in FY24 3rd Quarter Revenue Update $0 $20 $40 $60 $80 $100 $120 Jul 1 Aug 2 Sep 3 Oct 4 Nov 5 Dec 6 Jan 7 Feb 8 Mar 9 Apr 10 May 11 Jun 12 Mi l l i o n s Net Taxable Activity by Fiscal Year & Period 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total TPT Collections •Includes all TPT reporting categories for all funds •Projected $4.49M •Collected $5.50M •$1.01M more than projected •Decrease of 1.54% compared to FY24 3rd Quarter Revenue Update $- $0.50 $1.00 $1.50 $2.00 $2.50 $3.00 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Mi l l i o n s Total TPT Collections by Fiscal Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Change from FY24 3rd Quarter 6,058,005 5,582,509 5,496,543 -1.54% TPT Revenues Retail Sales •Includes Local and Online Retail Sales and Use Tax •Projected $2.67M •Collected $3.00M •$0.33M more than projected •Increase of 1.88% compared to FY24 3rd Quarter Revenue Update $- $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 $1,200 $1,400 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Th o u s a n d s Retail - TPT Collections by Fiscal Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Change from FY24 3rd Quarter 2,904,402 2,945,812 3,001,273 1.88% Retail Sales Retail Sales – without food sales •Retail sales excluding food tax may better indicate local shopping trends •Increase of 2.54% compared to Q3 of FY24 3rd Quarter Revenue Update FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Change from FY24 3rd Quarter 2,308,398 2,296,515 2,354,760 2.54% Retail sales - without food sales $0.0 $0.5 $1.0 $1.5 $2.0 $2.5 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Mi l l i o n s Retail TPT - without Food Tax 3rd Quarter Retail Sales – Remote Sellers •Remote sales (within retail sales) may better indicate online shopping trends •Increase of 17.02% compared to Q3 of FY24 3rd Quarter Revenue Update FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Change from FY24 3rd quarter 433,190 455,512 533,043 17.02% Total Remote Sellers Construction •Includes Prime Contracting and Speculative Builders •Projected $471K •Collected $598K •$127K more than projected •Decrease of 26.32% compared to FY24 •Audit collection and large taxable event in FY23 skews prior comparisons 3rd Quarter Revenue Update Large Taxable Event & Audit Collection in FY23 $- $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 $1,200 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Th o u s a n d s Construction - TPT Collections by Fiscal Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Change from FY24 3rd Quarter 1,232,115 811,500 597,941 -26.32% Construction Utilities & Communications •Includes Water, Sewer, Electricity, Cable, Natural Gas, and Internet Services •Projected $418K •Collected $364K •$54K less than projected •Decrease of 0.61% compared to FY24 3rd Quarter Revenue Update $- $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Th o u s a n d s Utilities - TPT Collections by Fiscal Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Change from FY24 3rd Quarter 343,844 366,577 364,324 -0.61% Utilities & Communications Real Estate •Includes Long-Term Residential and Commercial Rentals •Projected $158K •Collected $299K •$141K more than projected •Decrease of 39.48% compared to FY24 –Due to State elimination of long-term residential rental tax 3rd Quarter Revenue Update $- $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Th o u s a n d s Real Estate - TPT Collections by Fiscal Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Change from FY24 3rd Quarter 401,081 494,045 299,016 -39.48% Real Estate First month without long-term residential rental tax Restaurants and Bars •Includes Local Restaurants (drive thru, sit-down, and delivery) and Bars •Projected $359K •Collected $430K •$71K more than projected •Increase of 8.64% compared to FY24 3rd Quarter Revenue Update $- $20 $40 $60 $80 $100 $120 $140 $160 $180 $200 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Th o u s a n d s Restaurants/Bars - TPT Collections by Fiscal Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Change from FY24 3rd Quarter 445,697 396,098 430,328 8.64% Restaurants & Bars Services •Includes Hotels, Golf, Tours, and Short-Term Residential Rentals •Projected $419K •Collected $765K •$346K more than projected •Increase of 34.61% compared to FY24 3rd Quarter Revenue Update FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 Change from FY24 3rd Quarter 730,880 568,398 765,103 34.61% Services $- $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400 $450 $500 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Th o u s a n d s Services - TPT Collections by Fiscal Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 State Shared Revenue 3rd Quarter Revenue Update •Projected $907K •Collected $930K •Projected $1.28M •Collected $1.26M $400 $350 $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 Jul 1 Aug 2 Sep 3 Oct 4 Nov 5 Dec 6 Jan 7 Feb 8 Mar 9 Apr 10 May 11 Jun 12 Th o u s a n d s State Shared Revenue - Sales Tax 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 $600 $550 $500 $450 $400 $350 $300 $250 $200 Jul 1 Aug 2 Sep 3 Oct 4 Nov 5 Dec 6 Jan 7 Feb 8 Mar 9 Apr 10 May 11 Jun 12 Th o u s a n d s State Shared Revenue - Income Tax 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 State Shared Revenue 3rd Quarter Revenue Update •Projected $462K •Collected $469K •Projected $305K •Collected $346K $210 $190 $170 $150 $130 $110 $90 $70 $50 Jul 1 Aug 2 Sep 3 Oct 4 Nov 5 Dec 6 Jan 7 Feb 8 Mar 9 Apr 10 May 11 Jun 12 Th o u s a n d s Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 $150 $125 $100 $75 $50 $25 Jul 1 Aug 2 Sep 3 Oct 4 Nov 5 Dec 6 Jan 7 Feb 8 Mar 9 Apr 10 May 11 Jun 12 Th o u s a n d s State Shared Revenue - Vehicle License Tax 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Questions? ITEM 7. A. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Type: Consent                  Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language):  CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving the Minutes for the Town Council Regular Meeting of April 1, 2025, and for the Town Council Budget Workshop of April 8, 2025, and for the Minutes of the Town Council Regular Meeting of April 15, 2025. 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 Meeting of April 1, 2025, and for the Town Council Budget Workshop of April 8, 2025, and for the Minutes of the Town Council Regular Meeting of April 15, 2025. SUGGESTED MOTION MOVE to approve the Minutes for the Town Council Regular Meeting of April 1, 2025, and for the Town Council Budget Workshop of April 8, 2025, and for the Minutes of the Town Council Regular Meeting of April 15, 2025, as presented. Attachments VERBATIM TRANSCRIPT 2025.0401  VERBATIM TRANSCRIPT 2025.0408  VERBATIM TRANSCRIPT 2025.0415  TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR L MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL APRIL 1, 2025 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 Gerry M. Friedel; Vice Mayor Hannah Toth; Councilmember Gayle Earle; Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis; Councilmember Rick Watts; Councilmember Peggy McMahon; Councilmember Allen Skillicorn Staff Present: Town Manager Rachael Goodwin; Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson; Town Clerk Bevelyn Bender CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 1 of 45 Post-Production File Town of Fountain Hills City Council Meeting Minutes April 1, 2025 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. * * * * * CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 2 of 45 MAYOR FRIEDEL: I'd like to call this meeting to order. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and stay standing for the invocation. ALL: I Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And we have Pastor Tony Pierce from Cornerstone Family Church to lead us in the invocation. PIERCE: Mr. Mayor, council, can I say thank you for the years that you've allowed me to serve in this community? This year I'll be retiring, which make some people happy. Make some others sad. But anyway, thank you for allowing me to lead you in prayer tonight. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your goodness. Thank you for the way that you love us. Thank you for the way you bless us. And Father, help us to see that, to recognize your hand in our lives. I thank you for those who lead our community. I pray your hand be upon them, that you would guide their decisions. Father, I pray for our community, that it would be a place where people would look to you and trust you. Again, thank you for your goodness. I thank you for your son, Jesus. And Father, in this month that we celebrate his resurrection, we thank you for the promise of eternal life. And I pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Before we take roll call tonight, I have one quick announcement. We just concluded an executive session where we talked about communication and decorum. So I expect that that decorum will carry on into our audience and we have respect for each other. Town clerk, would you please take roll call? BENDER: Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Present. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Present. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Present. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Here. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 3 of 45 BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Present. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Here. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Here. BENDER: All present. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Statement of participation, please. BENDER: Anyone wishing to address the council regarding items listed on the agenda or under the 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. Once the agenda item has started, late requests to speak cannot be accepted. When your name is called, please approach the podium. Speak into the microphone. State your name for the public record. Please limit your comments to three minutes. It is the policy of the mayor and the council to not comment on items brought forth under a call to the public. However, staff can be directed to report back to the council at a future date or to schedule items raised for a future council agenda. It is also requested that applause be kept to a minimum to avoid disruption of the meeting, to maintain decorum, and provide for an equal and uninterrupted presentation. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Now we'll move on to our reports by mayor, councilmembers, and town manager, Rachael Goodwin. GOODWIN: Thank you., Mayor. Good evening. I just have a couple of quick recognitions I wanted to share. I know a number of us participated in the volunteer reception last week. I'd like to give a big thank you to Kim and her staff that put that event on. It's a wonderful time that we pause and thank all of our hundreds and hundreds of volunteers that join us every year and make such a difference in our community. A special recognition our volunteer of the year was Paul Appledorn (ph.). He was able to join us and be recognized. So that was it was a great evening. Upcoming CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 4 of 45 this Saturday is the annual music fest. It looks like weather is going to be fantastic. So it is a 4 to 9:30. It is music through the different decades, so we look forward to seeing everybody out there. There's something for everyone as they say. And then we won't be meeting again before the upcoming extravaganza egg hunt, which is scheduled for April 12th over at Four Peaks Park. Event starts at 8. The hunt starts at 9. If you're planning to go, don't be late, because the moment they say go, 15,000 eggs are gone in a heartbeat. But it's a great event and we always welcome a big crowd. So looking forward to that. Yeah, that's what I have for my update. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Councilwoman? Yes. EARLE: Excuse me. There was a lot of events the last two weeks, but in lieu of me talking about what I've gone to this because I'm sure everybody else will be talking about it, I would like -- I want to reaffirm my commitment to the reasons I ran for town council, to serve with integrity, transparency, and dedication to our community's best interests. That commitment has not wavered. I remain focused on accountability, responsible spending, and ensuring every decision benefits our residents. While disagreements are inevitable and recent council discussions have been challenging, I believe in moving forward with respect, forgiveness, and grace. Public service is a responsibility I take seriously. I will continue to ask tough questions, advocate for transparency, and approach my work with an open mind, a willingness to listen, and a commitment to understanding different perspectives. Above all, I will lead with honesty and stay true to my word. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Councilwoman Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and I appreciate that. Hello, everybody. Welcome. I always like to greet our live audience and our audience on Cox Channel 11, YouTube, and live streaming. That's the key to good governance is having a the public that looks and is engaged in their local affairs. And we have that in spades. I'll make an abbreviated report tonight. But I did attend the volunteer reception that I am myself a volunteer for the home delivered meals, and it was spectacular. Like the mayor has pointed out on numerous occasions, Fountain Hills is just blessed to have CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 5 of 45 such a great volunteer community. And so it was good to see those people get recognition, but also just recognition to everybody that volunteers all thousand or whatever is what I'd like to say tonight. I just did get a memo in the mail that said we need more home delivered meals volunteers. So if anybody's out there who'd like to participate in that program, please call Kim Wicklund (ph.) at the community center. I attended the lookup event. Will Graham gave a message of hope. There was Christian bands and worship. It was just a wonderful event. Fountain Hills is so blessed to have that here. And so I had to acknowledge that it was just a beautiful night. Lastly, on the 29th, it was National Vietnam War Veterans Day. We served the legacy of those who served. We always served the legacy of all veterans. But on that day, we congratulate our brave Vietnam veterans who came back, not to parades, but to scorn. The VA estimates that 22 veterans commit suicide each day. This means approximately 8,000 veterans kills himself each year. If you are in crisis or you know somebody in crisis, please contact (844) 317-1136 immediately. This is an emergency line. If it's a crisis, call 9 - 1. But we have to take care of our veterans, and a lot of them are in need. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Councilman Watts? WATTS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I attended my first GPAC meeting. Found it interesting, and there was probably 30 or 40 people there. It was the introduction of the board of directors and some of the initiatives, and how they're promoting business in the community is pretty interesting, and hopefully, getting more involved in that. Dark Sky Festival, attended that, and I found that fascinating, not only because of the Dark Sky and the observatory, but also because of all the naturalists that were there, all the outdoor stuff, and animal life, and so on. And I attended two of the Arizona League of Cities, one I found interesting, the other one I found boring because after 15 minutes it had been canceled. So I sat there quietly. And that concludes my report. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Skillicorn. SKILLICORN: No report, Mr. Mayor. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Councilwoman McMahon? CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 6 of 45 MCMAHON: Thank you. I just want to say the volunteer reception was pretty awesome. And thank you, Kim, for putting that together. And the staff. You know, it's nice to be able to take some time, recognize our volunteers, because we have hundreds of them in town, and we wouldn't be as successful in our community and helping one another out without the volunteers. So thank you to all of you people in our community who volunteers. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: And I'll echo that as well. The volunteer reception was absolutely beautiful, and it's -- I apologize, I don't have much of a voice today, so bear with me, everybody. The reception was beautiful. We have such wonderful people and giving people in this town, and it was really cool to see them all in the same room. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And like the others, I also attended the flutter event that was going on at the same time as the Will Graham look-up event. And that was spectacular as well. I did make it to both events, so I kind of cut myself in half and did half and half. I also attended the Dark Sky Festival, which was the largest Dark Sky Festival in the world. So now we're known for our Dark Sky Festival as well. Very well attended. I mean, thousands of people, hundreds of people were there. The volunteer reception has been mentioned. Thanks again to the staff who put that on and all the volunteers. That was a very nice evening as well. I also attended the MCG mayor's meeting where we appropriated -- or we gave direction to spend $150 million on arterial road work. Arterial road work would include things like Shea Boulevard, which we're going to be working on. I know that's been on our schedule for quite a while. So they're going to spend more money to widen and further maintain those arterial roads in the county. I attended the State of the Schools put on by the chamber. That was an interesting event and well attended as well. And then we had our council workshop and CIP capital improvements project list that we went over as well. With that, I know, Rachel, you mentioned the music fest is coming up. That'll be a blast. And like you said, there's going to be all kinds of genre there, so it'll be attractive for everybody. So make sure you get out and enjoy that. It's really well attended and really CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 7 of 45 well done, too. So thanks for the staff's participation in that as well, too. So that's all I have on that report. So now we'll move on to proclamation. And I'm going to turn this over to the vice mayor, who is going to do our proclamation tonight. TOTH: And I know I just said I don't have a voice, but this is something that's really special to me. So CASA is a program that allows a court advocate to be provided to a child, usually, in probably the most stressful times of their lives, where their living situation or something to that effect is being decided. So whereas Arizona's children are among our state's most precious resources, their health, safety, and well-being are fundamental to the state, sharing the same basic needs, desires, hopes, and dreams of every child. And whereas each year, thousands of Arizona children enter the child welfare system due to abuse or neglect, experiencing uncertainty, instability, and a lack of consistent support during a challenging time in their young lives. And whereas a court-appointed special advocate is a trained volunteer appointed by a judge to advocate for the best interests of children living in foster care, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are met in court proceedings, placement decisions, and other critical areas. And whereas CASA volunteers provide an invaluable service, build trusted relationships with their appointed youth, advocate for stability, promote positive outcomes, and help the child hold on to their own dreams and thrive. And whereas in Arizona, CASA volunteers work diligently in partnership with judges, attorneys, social workers, and community partners to ensure these children have support, resources, and opportunities now and in the future. And whereas the work of CASA volunteers has a profound and lasting impact on the lives of vulnerable children, providing them with a consistent, compassionate presence to help restore a more hopeful future. And whereas CASA Volunteer Week provides an opportunity to recognize and honor the dedication of CASA volunteers raise awareness about the urgent need for more individuals to step forward and make a difference in the lives of children in foster care. Now, therefore, I, Gerry Friedel, mayor, along with the with the Town Council of Fountain Hills, do hereby proclaim April 5th through 11th, 2025, as CASA Volunteer Week, and I encourage all residents of Fountain Hills to learn CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 8 of 45 more about the cost of volunteer program, applaud the extraordinary contributions of CASA volunteers, and consider becoming CASA volunteers themselves. In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand and cause to be affixed the official seal of the Town of Fountain Hills. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Now we'll move on to the call to the public. Town Clerk, are there any speaker cards? BENDER: Yes, mayor. We have four cards. We'll start with Melissa Guido (ph.) And then followed by Beth Culp. GUIDO: Good evening, Mr. Mayor and councilmembers. My name is Melissa Guido. I've been a resident of Fountain Hills for 25 years. At the March 18th, 2025, town council meeting, the town held their first ever recognition of a veteran. Mayor Friedel started this new initiative by recognizing veterans. The room was filled, and everybody stood. But one councilmember that is always disrespectful decided to sit this one out. Just so disgusting and disappointing. We expect better from our elected representatives. This is not political. It is respectful. A man who could hardly walk stood up and walked with help to receive his plaque because he realized how this ceremony should be respected. Do we want people like this to represent this town? I say no, but we have to put up with this councilmember for another three and a half years. This is not the first time that this councilmember disrespected the residents of Fountain Hills. When people show you who they are. Believe them. Thank you. MCMAHON: Gerry, I'd like to respond. BENDER: The next speaker will be Ed Stetzer. MCMAHON: It's a personal attack on me, first. Yes, it is. CULP: Thank you. Well, that was good timing, I guess. Or bad. Whatever. Whoever you're sitting with. Before I get started, I would just like to point out that this is not the first time that we have had councilmembers attacked during the call to the public, and I very clearly have read in the rules of procedure that that will not be allowed. And in the past, when personal attacks have been made on councilmembers, the gavel has gone down. And I would ask respectfully that that happen again in the future. It isn't right to CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 9 of 45 let that happen. Having said that, I anticipated that Councilmember McMahon might be attacked today based on an unfounded statement that she failed to stand when Mr. Catania was honored. That is not true. It is not true, and I don't know if the camera will be able to pick it up, but here is the photograph for the audience to see as well. Of Councilmember Catania being honored and Councilmember McMahon standing, it is not appropriate for attacks to be leveled on false information, particularly where members of the council join in in those attacks and say that they were humiliated, embarrassed, ashamed when in fact Councilmember McMahon did stand. She later explained that she had pain and had been advised by her physician when she experienced pain to be seated. There is no requirement. I checked it out in terms of military protocol or courtesies, or in common regular etiquette, that requires people to remain standing the entire time that someone is being honored or while they are speaking. No disrespect was intended, and only someone who is prepared and desirous of leveling personal attacks against Councilmember McMahon would have perceived it that way. That's all I have to say. Thank you. And if anybody wants to look at the picture, I'm going to put it on the back on your way out. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Next speaker, please. BENDER: Ed Styzer (ph.), followed by the last speaker, who is Crystal Cavanaugh. STYZER: Good evening, Mayor. Good evening, town council, vice mayor, and staff, and all the residents and businesses of Fountain Hills. I haven't spoken in quite some time, and I've probably got about 20 things to go over as far as different items that are happening in Fountain Hills. So one of them we just heard and I just boy, oh, boy, I hope in your executive session that you guys found a way to come together. I mean, it's got to end as much as the public and people of the past want to continue to say that the negativity is coming from a group called Rot and Reclaim Our Town. And all the negativity is coming from the from the majority of people up there. It seems that the bad -- how can I say. I don't want to say bad people, but certainly the bad comments and negative comments are continuing to just kind of demean Fountain Hills and just all CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 10 of 45 around. And I think it needs to stop. And for somebody to have to get up and actually you know, as far as defend Peggy McMahon on this, I mean, it just goes to show you where we've all went. And it's really sad to see you guys. I've watched everything from afar, every, every moment, every meeting. And it just doesn't set well. And hopefully, you guys are all going to come together. It's time. I mean, it's really time. So and to be stating out political parties, and while you're up there, it's not for the benefit of the people and the residents here, nor the businesses. So I would hope that the public starts to back down on this also. The stuff I read in the Fountain Hills Times is disgusting. And we know who all those people are. So I'd like to say a couple things about I watched the CIP meeting or workshop the other night from Tuesday, and there were a couple of things that happened. And one of those was actually regarding what's going to be our second shade structure almost identical. That seems to be already ordered before it was greenlighted by this town council. And that goes in the median of right on the Avenue of the Fountains. I really strongly suggest that you guys take a second look at this. I know Kevin Snipes said that he already ordered it, whatever, a couple hundred, 100 grand, but I hope everybody takes a look at actually what's going on when -- if this were to be installed and you're going to break up the Avenue of the -- wow, was it three minutes already? Oh, my God, I am so sorry. So I'll write to everybody. Wow, it went quick. KAVANAUGH: Good evening, Crystal Kavanaugh (ph.). So I reviewed the March 25th work session, and I found the Operation Clean Sweep discussion wiping out all current and pending ethics complaints. Fascinating. And you may be surprised that although I was part of filing the recent one, that I can support this, especially with the frivolous complaints and politically motivated lawsuits, and our ethics process was inconsistent and dependent on a costly outside investigator anyway. Being fiscally responsible, I didn't like the cost to the town. Our own attorney has witnessed the blatant unethical behaviors from the dais spelled out in section 8, and could have dealt with them in- house, in my opinion. A slap on the wrist would have sufficed. The clean sweep CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 11 of 45 solution appeared to be supported by the full council in order to refocus on town business. The town attorney was directed to contact the outside investigator to stop the current process against two of you, even though it likely was nearly completed. The one-year- old Skillicorn sanctions were to be included in the Clean Sweep agreement, but a couple of you were not happy about that part and seemed to want their cake and eat it too. Meaning stop the complaints against us, but don't remove Skillicorn sanctions. That's apples and oranges. If backpedaling is going to be attempted at the April 15th meeting, it seems that calling off the investigator may have prematurely interrupted the process. Hopefully, they stick to the agreement. I can accept wiping them out in the name of free speech, even without applying vindictive sanctions. That same grace was not given to Councilman Skillicorn. But going forward, I fully expect this council to be accountable and correct any lies spoken from that dais about each other or members of the public. And with regards to the March 18th veteran presentation, that was indeed an embarrassing lack of respect and optics demonstrated by a councilmember who chose not to remain standing with the other councilmembers and the audience for the duration, briefly sitting, more like briefly standing. It was witnessed by all who were present to those who weren't in the room that night, such as the one that just commented, you have no first-hand knowledge of what went on, and you can't see it on the video. You know what you can see on the video, though? A 92-year-old veteran who was honored to receive such an award, who physically struggled to get out of his wheelchair with assistance from others in order to stand and remain standing for the entire seven-minute period. And that tells you everything you need to know. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Is that it, Town Clerk? BENDER: Yes, sir. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Thank you. Now we'll move on to consent agenda items. if nobody has any issue with that, can I get a motion? KALIVIANAKIS: Move to approve. Consent agenda. SKILLICORN: Second. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 12 of 45 MAYOR FRIEDEL: Roll call, please. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, seven to zero. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. We'll move on to our regular agenda. And item A is consideration and possible action and approval for recommendations and appointments for members of the town's boards, commissions, and committees. So I'm going to -- I'm going to make a motion to approve Nick Proctor (ph.) for a term of from April 2nd, 2025, to April 30th, 2026. And then I'm going to need a motion and a vote on the next -- actually, all of them. The next one is to reappoint Dan Kovacevic (ph.) to planning and zoning for a term of 5th April -- I'm sorry -- May 1st, 2025, to April 30th, 2028. And also Clayton Corey and then Phil Sveum. Can I get a motion on those, please? TOTH: So moved. SKILLICORN: Second. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Roll call vote, please. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Aye. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 13 of 45 BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Aye. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: And I'd like to explain my vote. I want to thank all these individuals who are stepping forward to serve on our Planning and Zoning Commission. Thank you for your time and your effort. And it's a lot of work. So we appreciate that and I'm Aye. Is that all? Thank you. Okay. And now we have a consideration of a T-Mobile hometown grant. Rachel? GOODWIN: Mayor and council, this is a an item that was actually removed from the last agenda and directed to be replaced this evening. Director Snipes is going to do a brief overview of the application, and then we'll take any comments or questions. SNIPES: All right. Good evening, Mayor and council. This is a T-Mobile hometown grant that we're discussing. It maxes at 50,000, and that's the amount we would like to ask for. There is no match by the town. And what we're looking to do with the funding is to put Dark Sky compliant lighting on the new Centennial Pavilion shade structure. We've talked about that for a capital improvement project. We talked about the need for lighting over there. The Dark Sky event is another example. Other than this one here, which is the Octoberfest of where they had to add extra lighting to make that functional at night time. As I said, this is a zero town match. We'll just be responsible for getting the permitting set up and selecting the lighting that we're looking at using. This is a once a quarter grant that they're doing for a total of $25 million. And it's all set up for small CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 14 of 45 towns like ours. With that, I'll take any questions on this one. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman McMahon? MCMAHON: Thank you. If you notice the dates, that it expired yesterday. So is there a new round for this to be selected? SNIPES: Yeah. So it happens once a quarter. And so we just missed the last one. MCMAHON: Okay. SNIPES: We were trying to get it on that one, but now we'll go for the next one. MCMAHON: Okay. And thank you. And I'd like to move to authorize the application as stated in the agenda item. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Do we have any speaker cards on this? BENDER: Yes, Mayor. We do. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. BENDER: We received 41 online speaker cards for wanted to indicate that they were for this item. There were 36 that were against. And we have three speaker cards. Okay. Starting with Virginia O'Brien (ph.) O'BRIEN: Good evening, town council, Mayor Friedel, staff. My name is Virginia O'Brien, and I have been a Fountain Hills resident for 24 years. My neighbors and I oppose Fountain Hills town government applying for $50,000 in grant monies from telecommunications corporation T-Mobile for lighting, sight furnishings, banquet tables, and chairs for the Centennial Pavilion shade structure. For the last four months, my neighbors and hundreds of Fountain Hills residents have awaited the scheduling of the public hearing to us, by procedure, to voice our opposition to the T-Mobile antenna permit. Imagine our shock to learn that instead of the public hearing, we find out that the town now urgently wants to ask for money from T-Mobile to accessorize a pavilion. The town Staff Planning and Zoning Commission and town council are fully aware that T- Mobile wants approval of a special use permit for permission to waive the zoning ordinance so they can erect a 65-foot high multi-antenna fake palm cell tower on residential property at Generation Church on Fountain Hills Boulevard. A tower which is prohibited near our homes under the existing ordinance. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 15 of 45 Firstly, the ongoing T-Mobile 65-foot high cell tower permit request and the Fountain Hills T-Mobile grant. Application matters are definitively interrelated. The decision to approve or deny the special use permit lies in the hands of town council, and the decision to apply for a $50,000 grant from T-Mobile also lies in the hands of town council as the deciding officials in both matters. You are creating a conflict of interest and the appearance of impropriety. That is, if you decide to seek grant money from T- Mobile. It gets worse. T-Mobile decides if Fountain Hills gets $50,000 in grants. Town council decides if T-Mobile gets a cell tower in our town. Again, the deciding parties in these interrelated matters are the same in both parties could stand to benefit from each other. By its very definition, this situation would be an instance of quid pro quo. My neighbors and supporters who I'd like to stand right now, if you would, has my-- secondly, this grant application has denied us Fountain Hills residents our opportunity to communicate the reasons for our opposition to the T- Mobile tower before we were forced to be here tonight and speak about this. Again, the town is fully aware of the ongoing T-Mobile tower permit ask, yet now this seemingly urgent pursuit of gift money from the very exact company whose request we oppose has been prioritized and fast-tracked. Overhearing from the hundreds of concerned constituents who have signed petitions opposing the T-Mobile tower. Tonight, we ask town council to do the right thing. Let's avoid public perception of impropriety, conflict of interest, quid pro quo -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Time is up. O'BRIEN: Please respect the voices of your constituents and, in doing so, deny approval of the T-Mobile grant application. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Time is up. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. BENDER: Mayor, the next speaker is Larry Myers, followed by Laurie Troller. MYERS: Mayor, Vice Mayor, councilmembers. Well, that was rather detailed. First, I'd like to say that I really appreciate grants that have no match and especially grants that aren't for studies because they're more useful than studying something you can't afford. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 16 of 45 However, I think town management should have told this particular employee to go find his money somewhere else in the current time period, and that would be because A, planning and zoning has already recommended denial of the increased height of the flagpole, which is rather innocuous at the church, which is zoned residential. It hasn't come before you yet. So how will you decide that? I think that it's somewhat similar to taking a campaign contribution in an election year from a service provider whose contract is up. Same thing to me. You're asking money from a service provider while you're judging them, or while you're going to judge whether they get approval of a variance. If you want to call it that, to do something that they want to do. And that's just one instance. What else might they want? I think asking for it isn't the problem. It's if T-Mobile says, yeah, we're going to give you the money. Now, how do you look? Look yourselves in the mirror and ask yourselves, how will you look when this -- all of this, we have a councilman working on updating our wireless ordinance. You're going to have to decide something on that that's in the process. The church's 65-foot antenna array upgrade is in the process. I don't think it's fair to T- Mobile either. Why should we ask them for money and then maybe you'll decide not to give them what they're asking for based on the hearing from the residents? I don't think it's fair all the way around. So I personally would recommend and hope that you would just not even bother to apply for this. Seek the $50,000 from somewhere else. Wait until all of this wireless stuff is settled, and then ask for the money after that. There's no harm, no foul. Thank you very much. TROLLER: Good evening, Mayor, council. Lauri Troller. At the risk of being repetitive, but you know, pretty much everybody I talked to feels the same way on this, so we're all coming up with the same verbiage. So here we go. So like Larry said, T-Mobile currently has a controversial application with the town. It's controversial because the application is asking for an exception to be given to them to violate our current law. The application is in mid-process. It's between P and Z who denied the application in the council. You guys haven't seen it yet. So number two, this town is still in the process of rewriting the ordinance that governs T-Mobile and the other telecommunication companies in the CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 17 of 45 town. And you want to take grant money from the company. We're doing this in the middle of that process. You've got over 200 angry, angry residents that want to make sure you're signing with one hand their fight on behalf to keep T-Mobile out of their -- out of their residential properties, while you're taking money from the same company with the other hand. And when you read the verbiage of this grant, it's unlike other grants. There's no noble requirements. There's no requirement to lower pollution, or you know, fund the vets or anything like that. It's basically money without requirements. So T-Mobile puts this money out there because they know their infrastructure harms public safety. And it's akin to a predator driving past a school with candy. There is a smart and ethical thing to do here. So pick any other grant. And if you have to set the agenda to continuance and bring it back when Kevin or whoever finds a grant that isn't coming from a company that has an application in with the town. Also, if you didn't know, Kevin wants these monies to light up Centennial Circle like he said and like he showed. When did the plans for Centennial Circle ever turn into a lit structure in the middle of our Dark Sky Center? So what you'll vote on when T-Mobile -- what are you going to vote on? What are you going to vote when T-Mobile wants to put an antenna on the top of that really cool picture that Kevin had? Wait until they want to put an antenna up there, right on the structure. You guys took the money to put the light up. Avoid the appearance of impropriety. Thank you. And take the chance to have some strength and show some ethical character, so we can go forward and say, yeah, this town didn't take that money. We're doing fine without it. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Any other speakers? BENDER: No, Mayor. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Thank you. Councilwoman McMahon? MCMAHON: Thank you. I appreciate it, Kevin. And maybe, Aaron, this is a grant through in partnership with Main Street America. It really has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not there is a planning and zoning issue. If there is a request. It's completely two different things. Correct? CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 18 of 45 SNIPES: Correct. MCMAHON: Right. It's not like somebody who is applying Cox, who is applying for the Sup, has anything to do with this. It's to me, it seems like a very neutral. I don't personally see a conflict of interest. I think that this is lighting. It's in compliance with Dark Skies specifically. So I don't see a conflict of interest in this, so I'm for it. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: Thank you, Mayor. I have a couple questions. I know at one point that T-Mobile Palm Tower was on the agenda and it was pulled. Is there a reason for that and what are we waiting for on that? Who? GOODWIN: I'm going to ask John to actually chime in on that. EARLE: Okay. GOODWIN: You can probably share a little more detail about the process between P and Z and then to council. WESLEY: Mayor and council, yes, there was an application over at Ironwood and Fountain Hills Boulevard for replacement of an existing flagpole cell tower to a palm tree cell tower that would be taller. After the P and Z hearing, where they recommended denial, the applicant asked to put that on hold while they, yes, while they study their options there and regroup and decide if they want to move it forward or not. We have not heard any more from them since that time. EARLE: Okay. So I still have a little more, if you don't mind. I just want to say to everybody, as I said earlier, and people that may not know me, but you will learn if you know me. You know I'm honest and true to my word. I was a no on that palm tree. If that comes back, I will be a no. Just trust me. I will be a no. But I also see our town needs money. We're struggling. Well, not struggling. We're doing well. But we'd like to get things done without taking money -- things away from other projects like getting roads done. When we have the opportunity to get $50,000, I'm going to be a yes on this, but I will be a no on them doing any palm tree. I feel that is my strength and ethical character that I can say, you want to give us money, go ahead. Doesn't mean that I'm going to say yes to anything that they want, in that sense. Thank you. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 19 of 45 MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts? WATTS: Kevin, has this lighting plan been reviewed by the Dark Sky people? SNIPES: Yeah, we met with them when we first started, and we're working with several Dark Sky lighting experts. WATTS: So I assume from that that no spillage of light -- SNIPES: Correct. WATTS: -- out from underneath that structure. SNIPES: Correct. WATTS: And just for the record, I've read the application in detail. I've read the 92 pages that T-Mobile puts out that talks about what their programs are. And there, is in that 92 pages, a reference to DEI, but there is no connection on the application to what it can be used for other than the specifics of what we've applied for, which is lighting, table furnishings, et cetera. There's no quid pro quo. It doesn't exist. Now to say that we're going to be unethical to accept their money, maybe T-Mobile is not real smart in offering the money, because if somebody is handing me money knowing that I'm going to be against that tower on Generation Church in the present format. Well, I can't -- I would say at least we should apply for the $50,000. We've got it in the CIP. But why would we want to spend the money when we can get it for free? So if that's being unethical and taking advantage of a multinational, billion-dollar corporation, I'm going to do it again. So I'm going to be a yes for it and a no, just for the record, for the tower on Ironwood. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And as I recall, I think planning and zoning did decide that we should not go ahead with that additional tower. And I see two members, two honorable members, from planning and zoning here tonight and thank them for their service. And I trust planning and zoning that will not lead us astray. So I would definitely go along with planning zoning and oppose any additional tower. But I do wonder, you know, would it be prudent for us to delay this until after we codify what planning zoning did? Is there any discussion on that? I mean, if I made an amendment CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 20 of 45 to postpone this until after we vote up or down on that tower, would that make any difference? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts? WATTS: To answer your question, Councilman Skillicorn, it's projected that the ordinances 1617, the combination of, are going to take somewhere between six and eight months. So that might put us even towards the end of the year, maybe even into next year. And it may not be available at that time. I think we should apply now. See where the dice fall. We don't have to take it. So if by some chance we ended up getting the ordinances completed before it was approved, we can turn it down. So I don't see any harm in applying now and seeing what the outcome is. But it's going to take six to eight months to finish the ordinances and the consolidation. That helps answer the question. SKILLICORN: May I be more specific, Mr. Mayor? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yes. SKILLICORN: I think my specific thought was postpone it until after we vote up or down on the church antenna. Not the entire piece. That was my -- that was my intention. Does that change any thoughts? EARLE: May I answer that, Mayor? John Watts -- John Wesley. I'm sorry. John Wesley just said to us that the T-Mobile or whatever, they pulled it so we can't vote on it because they pulled it forward. MAYOR FRIEDEL: John, do you want to weigh in? Do you have any idea as to whether they're going to bring that application back? WESLEY: Mayor and council, no. At this point, we have not had any further communication. We have no expectations of when that will come back. It could be next week. It could be next year. Maybe never. We don't know. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm a little uncomfortable with this conversation. And I guess since we're all weighing in on the future project, you know, when I ran for the seat, I promised everybody that before they came before this council, I would listen CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 21 of 45 to every applicant and keep my mind open until my vote. And that is still my position today. I find it disheartening that three members of this council have already voted. I've already said how they're going to vote on something that has not even been before this council yet. I find that very disconcerting. To say that this grant has anything to do with their proposed replacing a 50-foot flagpole with a 55 or 65-foot palm tree is ludicrous and ridiculous on its face. T-Mobile is a company that employs hundreds of thousands of people that has nationwide service. They have one little program called Main Street America. What? They're offering some grant funding to help small towns of under 50,000 people. Shovel-ready products proposal must include plans, budget, time line, anticipated impact, and letters of support, which I think we've already done, and any elected officials, town managers, employees, tribal leaders, nonprofit community leaders, even nonprofits can apply for this money -- can apply for this application. To think that the engineers that decided that we needed a new tower to replace the existing tower, and then contacted the boys at Main Street America and said, hey, let's push through this application, and it's going to grease the skids is a ridiculous proposition. And I will vote for this tonight. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor? TOTH: Sorry. Have to collect myself here. If this were accepting money, and then next week, I'm voting on something having to do with this company, I would fully be on board with the concerns that have been brought up, and I still do understand them. However, given that this is an application for the grant, which can still be denied by the company, and then on top of that, the project that has been referred to has been paused. If it comes back in the exact same way that it came to PNC, I would be a no. I'm comfortable in saying that if they amended, if they change it where it's fitting to our code, we'll take a look. I'm nervous. I'm nervous. I don't like it. But that's for a conversation in the future. I consider it two different issues. I'm completely okay with accepting grant money and then still voting according to my conscience on an issue. And I can assure you that no amount of money given to the town would ever affect my CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 22 of 45 vote on a separate council issue. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts? WATTS: Just so it's clear, I voted no for the tower on the Generation Church. It would be improper for me to change that vote just because of the $50,000. Whether I state it here or not is irrelevant. I've already made my case, my position clear to the public, and I'm going to retain that. So concerned or not, I'm still going to vote no for that tower, and I'll vote yes for the $50,000. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And Kevin, this is just an application, so we don't know whether we're going to be approved. SNIPES: Correct. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And if we are approved and there's something going on, we can always reject the funding, right? SNIPES: Correct. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. I just want to be on record. I fully support our planning and zoning and have voted, I think, 99.9 percent of the time with them. So my point is clear on that as well. WATTS: Did we get a second? MCMAHON: I made a motion, so I don't know who seconded. I think Brenda might have. I don't know. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We need a second. WATTS: I second the motion. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Oh, we have a motion and a second. Roll call, please. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn. SKILLICORN: Mr. Mayor, permission to explain my vote? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yes. SKILLICORN: So I think I'll probably lean to supporting this. I don't have any problem with the lights. I don't have a problem with, you know, paying for it from a third-party. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 23 of 45 But I do want to say that I respect and honor the wishes of planning and zoning. I want to thank you, Director Wesley, for clarifying that it was pulled by the applicant. So you know, in a way, I think this is moot. I do want to appreciate the people for coming to the meeting. I mean, heck, most of the people that usually attend the meetings are staff or, you know, relatives of people on council. So the fact that we have, you know, ten people here, I really respect that your voice is heard. And I personally will honor your voice when any of those applications come before us. And frankly, I think that planning and zoning is doing a great job representing you guys. So thank you very much for coming. And I vote aye. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: I also want to reiterate, I appreciate all of you residents coming here and hearing your concerns about that tower. I know that I do support you with that. And with that said, I am an aye for the -- going for the grant. Thank you. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: No explanation, just an aye. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Aye. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth. TOTH: Ditto to what they said, so you don't have to hear my voice too much, aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: And I've made myself clear, too. I'm an aye. BENDER: Mayor, seven to zero. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Now we'll move on to item C. This is the amendment of the public art master plan. Rachel? GOODWIN: We're going to keep Director Snipes on the hot seat for this next item. This has to do with our public some updating, particularly our funding rubric for the public art master plan. SNIPES: Mayor and council, it's me again. We'll do this one more time after this. So in a recent point that was brought up in that when the public art fund the payments done. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 24 of 45 It is based on the valuation of the property. We've always used the International Code Council to come up with those valuations. However, recently, someone saw that there was a spot that said that you could bring in all your receipts for the cost of construction, and show what the cost of construction was, and then base it off of. That happened to be about half of the value that was shown in this. This is updated every six months. It's what we've used for every single other building that's been built in the town, and determining the amount that they owe towards the public art fund, or that they have to provide the art piece, the sculpture for. And so what we'd like to do is just make it a level playing field to where that everybody's 2,500 square foot building is compared to a 2,500 square foot building, and they both pay the same. So that's what this is for. It just makes it to where that this is the only way that the value of the property is determined is, is using this ICC. And therefore everybody ends up paying the same towards the public art fee. With that, I'll take any questions. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Do we have any speaker cards? BENDER: Yes, Mayor, we have one card. It's Steyzer. Council? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Can we get a motion? MCMAHON: I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2025/14, the amended public art master plan and public art guidelines. EARLE: I'd like to second that. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. We have a motion, and a second roll call, please. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 25 of 45 EARLE: Aye. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, seven to zero. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. And now we'll move on to item D, which is consideration for approval of community center improvements. I guess Kevin's on the hot seat again. GOODWIN: Kevin's going to go with third time's the charm here. This item is actually -- this item has come before a lot of discussion at the staff level, particularly with our finance team identifying a number of improvements that are necessary, as well as what funding sources we may have available. And this is a result of those conversations that I'll let Kevin bring all the details out. SNIPES: Certainly. So Mayor and council, this is round three. First we're just -- we've noticed that we're starting to see more and more issues with our divider walls, the great big, tall walls that separate our ballroom into four separate rooms. We've had several incidences of them coming off the tracks and having to be replaced. This is critical to the operation of the community center. If it was only one big ballroom, we would certainly lose a lot of revenue and have a lot of really strange events that have 30 people in them in a space set up for 500 people. So what we'd like to do is, is replace the dividing walls. You can see some pictures of there's definitely wear and tear on them as well. The biggest thing is their performance. You know, if we were getting over just the way they look, that's one thing. But when they're creating issues of failure, that's another. And it's certainly something that would take us a while to get if we waited until it completely failed to do the purchase. And so doing it before it completely fails, I think, is critical, as well as having to call out vendors over and over again to do similar repairs on the walls that are failing. Another thing that we're looking at is the lights in the lobby and down the hallway. You can see there in the picture; the globe is broken on the light there on the left. The lights in the CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 26 of 45 lobby there on the right, we're looking at replacing two of those lights and replacing three of those lights with fans. The biggest thing for that is we need air movement out there. If you've ever been in there in the summer, the lobby is the worst place to be. And it's where everybody goes. When you walk in the building, first thing you notice is that you're in a really hot room. And so we're working to correct that by getting some seven-foot fans that will move a considerable amount of air to help move to help keep that area cooler. Here's a look at some of the dividing walls. We're going to go all one color top to bottom, because we think it just darkens up too much. But you'll notice it is a carpet- type material that's on them. One of the big complaints that we get in the ballrooms is that they're very echoey, as well as hearing from one ballroom to ballroom to another, the things that are going on. The idea being that this should help with both of those issues and provide a safe way for us to keep those rooms divided and quiet. On the top left, there is some of the lighting that we're looking at. We're still working on pricing on the entirety of the lighting. I was hoping to get that today, but I don't have that back yet. The fans are a very large, air moving, slow spinning fan that will look good as well as keep air movement. And then the final thing there on the bottom right is getting motorized blinds. If you've ever been in the community center in the afternoons, we have a lot of people that go in there and play cards in the lobby; a lot of people that do that every day of the week. And when you go in and you see them physically having to move the tables to hide behind a pillar, to block them from -- block themselves from the sun or wearing sunglasses while they're sitting in the lobby. And then the amount of heat that comes through those windows, because it's the sun shining straight through into the lobby. It just makes it to where that keeping that area cool and usable is very difficult. And so with that, we're looking at a total of 550,000 to do all of this. A large majority of that, of course, being the large divider walls. And with that, I'll take any questions that you have. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Are there any speaker cards, Town Clerk? CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 27 of 45 BENDER: Yes, Mayor. We have one. Barry Waboltsky (ph.) WABOLTSKY: Once again, I apologize for the muffled voice. I don't know much about moving walls. However, I do know a bit about blinds, ceiling fans, and light fixtures. I have a question. Is the life expectancy of the walls only about 20 years? It seems kind of short to me. That's when they were installed, about 20 years ago. Number two, $50,000 for blinds seems pretty high to me. And $100,000 for ceiling fans and lights seems ridiculous to me. Like most of the rest of you, I've had to replace a few ceiling fans in my home. Now, I know these are bigger, but the cost of me replacing a ceiling fan was about $350, including the electrician. Big difference between that and $100,000. I understand that doing this on a large scale may cost 10 or even 20 times as much, but 100 times as much. That's kind of amazing to me. They were budgeted at $450,000 for this. That seems really generous to me. Now they want to raise that by 22 percent to $550,000. I think the town has to take a good look at what's necessary and what's not. And at the very worst, stay within their budget. Maybe the town of Fountain Hills needs their own version of Doge, as it seems that spending is out of control. I think the citizens of the country and the town want to end big government and big spending. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: Thank you, Mayor. I had the same questions as Mr. Waboltsky. First, I was going to ask, what is the warranty on those divider walls? And then -- okay, go ahead. SNIPES: So the divider walls have a life expectancy of 25 years, and those are about 26 years old. And so I don't know, off the top of my head what the warranty is on that. I'd have to look, but I can certainly get that. EARLE: And I've replaced ceiling fans and stuff, too. So this does seem astronomically expensive to me. Can you explain why the lights and fans and the blinds would be so expensive? SNIPES: Sure. It has to do with several different things, one of which is the size of them. Of course, that makes them cost more, but then it also is how they need to mount to hang down as far as they hang. And then the other thing is the connection to the CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 28 of 45 building's control system is another expense. And when you're working at those heights and bringing in extra equipment to do that, that increases the labor, is about half of the cost of doing everything in there. EARLE: Is there any way to reduce that cost, or are you expecting it to be that, or are you just trying to cushion it? SNIPES: Both. I'll always fight this to get this as low as we can get it. But this is where there that, I think, is going to be close to this. But we are working to lower it right now with the company that we're working with. But we are under a tight window to get it done. And so that's where we're trying to get here before all those negotiations are done, so. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts? WATTS: Thank you for the presentation. Kevin, are the -- is the diameter of the blades or the individual blades seven feet? SNIPES: The -- it's the total width. It will be seven feet. WATTS: The diameter then is seven feet. And have you taken into consideration the strobe effect you're going to get for the can lights above? And what are you going to do with those? SNIPES: So it's not so much the can lights that are above that we're concerned about. It was the lights that are going to be hanging next to it. And so we're going to stagger. The fan will be just above where the lights are that are down the center. The can lights are far enough away that they don't think they'll be an issue with the strobing effect. That was certainly something that we talked about with our lighting experts. WATTS: I know the style of fans are expensive. They're not your Casablanca fan for 350 bucks. So no, they're very expensive, very slow-moving. And I didn't understand you were going to integrate it into the existing lighting and control system as well. SNIPES: Yes. WATTS: So there's some cost there. Labor is high. When I first heard about the divider wall issue, my understanding was, it was the hardware only. You were going to retain the carcass, the skeleton of the walls. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 29 of 45 SNIPES: This is a total replacement. WATTS: I understand it is now. Is there a reason that we can't keep the skeleton of the of the walls and replace the hardware and then resurface the partition walls themselves? SNIPES: So they've been resurfaced once already, and they're at an age where getting work done on them is getting tougher. And so by coming in with, you know, something that's not 25 years old, makes it to where that's a much easier task to do and getting parts. WATTS: But couldn't you just replace all the hardware in total? SNIPES: I don't know the answer to that. WATTS: Because if you could and you could retain the skeleton, the frame itself, then it would seem to me there'd be a whole heck of a lot less than $400,000, maybe half of that. And I think that's something we ought to at least explore before ordering them. SNIPES: I'll check into it. WATTS: The blinds, I don't have as much angst with the blinds because the -- I assume there's going to be a remote panel somewhere that's going to -- SNIPES: Yeah, those will be -- WATTS: They're going to be automated as well? SNIPES: Motorized, yes, they are. WATTS: Okay. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yes. Thank you for your presentation, Kevin, as always. My take on this is, I think, the blinds for the south lobby. That's a need to have, you know -- to have our users have to move the tables around and stuff, it seems really ridiculous. And so that's when I would have approved, ten years ago, the ceiling lights. And the lighting fixtures, once again, they do become dated. If you look at the Fountain Hills Unified School District, you know, at one point, I'm sure that lighting was very adequate for the students. But right now it's a joke. And if anybody's gone in the school system, the lighting is a mess. You know, before we get to that point, I think it's a really CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 30 of 45 good idea to upgrade the lighting with monitors and standards, and look better, be a much better appearance. And so I'd definitely be for that. My bot is that the community center has been very expensive to maintain, as we all know. We had the mold mitigation. We have the roof that's going to have to be repaired soon. And that number is going to be just astronomical. The windows and the glazing, it's still a work in progress. There's still some windows that are leaking. The grading, which whoever designed that building to -- so the rain flowed towards the building, has been ridiculous. We're having to do a lot of trenching and a lot of retrofitting. And so as I see the other two is kind of need to have going forward. You know, I would really be for the divider wall maybe in a couple of years from now, after we get a handle on cost containment for the community center. And so if I were going to do a motion, it would be to approve the community center improvements minus the divider wall at this point, with the expectation that will come up in the future after we've got cost containment on the repairs done. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: You said you're on a tight time line. What is that time line? SNIPES July 1st. TOTH: Okay. SNIPES: The end of the fiscal. So we have funding right now in the capital fund to do this project. And so that's -- that's the tight schedule. TOTH: Got it. And just for the sake of the public, at what point would they be seeing results of the project? Also July 1st? Okay. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Skillicorn. SKILLICORN: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Director Snipes, what was the bidding process for this? SNIPES: We're using current companies that were -- that the town is currently using that are -- that have been vetted by the town for other projects throughout the town for the lighting and for the walls. SKILLICORN: So Mr. Mayor, Director, it wasn't bid out to multiple vendors? CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 31 of 45 SNIPES: Correct. SKILLICORN: Okay. And Mr. Mayor, Director Snipes, is that maybe why we have some questions on what the cost might be? I mean, if it was inflated, you know, we wouldn't know since we haven't bid it out. SNIPES: Yeah, sure. And like I said, that's something that we can absolutely dive into further. There's not a whole lot of companies out there that do giant divider walls, but there's a few. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman McMahon? MCMAHON: Thank you, I appreciate it. Kevin, thank you for your presentation. I've been in the, you know, community center, we all have, with those walls up. And they're not soundproof. I mean, in fact, you can be having a meeting in there and there could be the chorus or other things in music going on. And it is so distracting because they do not buffer any of the sound. These would be an upgrade buffer -- they would buffer the sound, correct? In addition, my concern is the safety of the staff, and I've seen and watched them have difficulty moving these back and forth. And they really do, in my opinion, need to be upgraded at least. So you're saying that this is in the budget already? We have the funds. It's not going to be in conflict with the improvements, correct? So if for some reason we find to improve this, could we go into this asking that this is the ceiling, the absolute ceiling amount on it that you, as usual with your staff, will do your best to work to lower it as best you can and proceed that way? If anything changes in that, you can come back and give us an update, you know, before July, if this is that, if that's how long this particular process is going to take. That's what I would ask, you know, if this is approved in moving forward, if you don't mind. SNIPES: Yeah. The goal is always to come in below. And you know that I've been very successful at that over the years of coming in below where we're maxed out at. This one had a lot of unknowns. And at the time when we were doing this, as well as to today, we're still doing some investigation. And so that's why I wanted to make sure that I didn't go, oh, we were this close, but we didn't have enough, and we don't have CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 32 of 45 time to come back to council to ask for more. My hope is 100 percent to come in well under, but I can't say that I will for sure. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Town manager. GOODWIN: Mayor, if I may, Kevin, I'm going to put you on the spot for a couple of questions that I think might help with the discussion process, if that's okay. So sorry in advance. SNIPES: Go ahead. GOODWIN: Based on what, you know, in your assessment and working with Jen and the staff over there, how many times a day would you say those doors are open or closed or moved around that ballroom's manipulated? SNIPES: That's a great point. Those walls could be changed three times a day by staff, depending on what we have going on. There's a lot of times when there's something going on in the morning, then it changes to a bigger setting for midday, or a smaller setting for midday, and then the evening having something else come back in. So it would -- it's my biggest concern is that something happens catastrophic. And we're not able to -- we'll have to cancel all the events that are going on in the ballrooms for a period of a few months to be able to get the problem fixed. And knowing that they've come off several times over the last year and had issues with tracking on them, it's just something that it takes a lot to move those now. They're not as -- they're not as lined up as they once were for sure. And so all of that creates different issues. And like Councilmember McMahon said, there's definitely -- they're not the best soundproofing. These would be a lot better than those, just in those being vinyl wrapped, and these being the carpet wrapped, it's really going to help soak up that echoey sound in the one that you're in, as well as the noise coming from the other side. And the way that they lock together helps prevent that sound as well. GOODWIN: Okay. So that was kind of my question. Obviously, the rooms are used multiple ways throughout the day, so it's not a one-and-done kind of situation. Additionally, the timing of this, while there is a bit of a time line, as mentioned by our CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 33 of 45 vice mayor, the conversation kind of came to a head when we understood that to do this work will impact the use of those rooms too. So trying to time this during our slowest season, aka the summer, is beneficial to again the use of the space so that we're not displacing anybody or hopefully minimizing that impact. If you had to guesstimate, do you know how much those panels weigh in those doors? I have to assume a lot. SNIPES: They are not light. GOODWIN: Yes. So if they do come off the track or there is a point where they are out of commission, it's not something that we can just sort of manually, yeah, manipulate and drag them to and fro, so to speak? SNIPES: Yes. GOODWIN: Okay. I just wanted to clarify that. Lastly, for Councilmember McMahon, you mentioned having a ceiling. The way this is agendized is a not to exceed, particularly for that exact reason. So thanks for mentioning that. Thank you. Mayor. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Again, I would kind of just put this, and it would be nice to have a -- I want to have, not a need to have. And I agree with Mr. Waboltsky. I think we have to be a little more fiscally conservative. And so at this point, I'd really just like to make a motion to approve the community center improvements and budget authority transfers, minus the divider wall replacement. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts. WATTS: How much would we save if they weren't electric? And they were manual like the existing ones are? SNIPES: That's what we're -- one of the things that we're looking into right now. WATTS: About half price maybe? SNIPES: It's about 100,000. WATTS: Okay. And you mentioned something about firewalls. Are they firewalls or are they fire-rated? SNIPES: I did not mention firewalls. WATTS: I could have sworn you said firewalls. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 34 of 45 SNIPES: I'll say firewalls. WATTS: Okay. Good. So you said firewalls. That's good, that's good. So not fire-ready. And it says two-year warranty on it. Now, I assume that the two-year warranty is on the structural as well as the electrical operators themselves. But I think I have some heartburn over not having multiple bids. You know that IGA -- I think we have to look at the IGA as it's nice to have three approved bidders, but we got to find a way to get competitive bidders. IGA bidders are not always competitive because they know one another. It makes it a little bit challenging. But I would look at making the systems manual. I'd look at replacing hardware only. And then I could be a supporter and going forward with IGA contractors. And I would like to talk about getting third-party contractors as well. SNIPES: And I am getting both manual and automatic bids coming in. WATTS: And I think there's only $100,000 difference between the two? SNIPES: Yes. WATTS: Okay. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I'll weigh in now. I like the nonelectric option. If we can -- if we can do that, and if we approve this, is there some way, some mechanism that we would know whether you got another bid from somebody else for replacement parts only, which was brought up, I think, by the councilman. That interests me as well. I like the recovering and the soundproofing aspect of the new ones. So if there's a way we can do that and accomplish everything and save 100 or $200,000, I think we need to investigate that. But is there a way to structure this conditional approval of some sort? GOODWIN: Mayor, if I may. I apologize. I'm not jumping the line. I just wanted to clarify that if it's approved or -- and in whatever capacity it may be, it would be considered a CIP. So we would want to update you through the CIP process when we bring back all of our updates on the CIP. So I think that's agendized. I want to say in May so we can give you an update of where we're at, at that point, both in time line financial and those types of things. Kevin, to -- we were talking about the difference between the manual and the electric CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 35 of 45 operations. And I know the electric had a couple other hang-ups for us, and that we were kind of leaning towards that. The mechanical or the manual process may be a better fit for us, not just fiscally, but for operational use too. Is that still true? Is that still something we're leaning towards? SNIPES: Correct. That's certainly something that as we've gone through the process, and seeing that they need some more width in the doors in the closet that they go into. And so we're still looking into that side to see what that would take. I'm absolutely leaning towards the manual for that reason as well, as then we don't have to pull electric up there. And so it definitely reduces the pricing. The main reason that we started out looking into the motorized was our workforce, and their opening and closing those all the time, and the workload that it takes to do it -- do that. But it's been leaning towards doing the manual anyway. And so like I said, I don't have any problem with that. And I think that that would be a very acceptable way to get this project done. MAYOR FRIEDEL: So do you have enough time? I know you're under a time constraint. SNIPES: Street. Yeah. We've already got -- we already have the installation crew scheduled to come in the last -- I think it's the last week. Don't quote me on this, but I think it's last week, last two weeks of June. We've already looked to make sure that we didn't have a whole lot of things scheduled for that time so that we can get them in there and get them out. And the manual ones are much quicker to put in as well, and they're easier to get quicker. For all of those things, I think that that would work well. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: I don't know if it's too soon, but I would like to make a motion to accept this with the manual. But can I somehow put in there that you'd go out for some more bids? Can I put that in the -- SNIPES: Yes. EARLE: Okay. Then that's my motion. SNIPES: That other people will respond. But we will absolutely reach out. Okay. EARLE: But that's my motion then. TOTH: I'll second that. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 36 of 45 BENDER: Mayor, there's a motion on the prior motion. MAYOR FRIEDEL: No, they didn't -- it didn't get a second. Councilwoman Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just would be more comfortable if we were to approve my motion as stated so we can get the projects for the blinds and the ceiling fans the green light. And then to bring the divider wall up and set a conditional right now, loosey goosey. Can't we just bring that up as a separate agenda item in the future as a standalone? MAYOR FRIEDEL: That would have worked, but you didn't get a second on your motion. So I think we can still move ahead with those other projects while you're investigating the bidding and the manual part of this. Am I correct? GOODWIN: So based on the motion that is currently on the table and seconded, we will take the direction to move forward with the blinds and the lighting and the fans and whatnot, and then reach out for additional quotes based on the door. That being said, I did not hear that we wanted to bring it back for approval again. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I didn't either. GOODWIN: Okay. Based on that, we would take that direction to do some more due diligence on the pricing of the door based on what we can find and best practices. Move forward and begin -- EARLE: Comes with manual. GOODWIN: Yes. On the manual side, yes. And get an additional price. Once we get the best price, move forward and complete the project on the time line, which is before July 1st. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And you have time to do that, you said. So we -- I think we're in good shape. Does everybody understand? What -- we have a motion and a second. And the motion is to -- and get some more bids on the manual doors, which is probably at least $100,000 less. Go forward with the lighting, the fans, and the blinds so we don't have to wait on those. EARLE: Yes. WATTS: I still have a question. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 37 of 45 MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Councilman Watts? WATTS: So we're -- you're still going to get pricing on the blinds and the fans, competitive pricing? You said you only had one from IGA and contractors? SNIPES: Correct. That's what we have right now. WATTS: That's where you're at right now. But if you opened it up to other than IGA contractors and got second and third bids, you won't have time? SNIPES: Correct. WATTS: What are you doing on weekends? SNIPES: So it's not me. WATTS: All right. Thanks. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle, did you have something else? No. Okay. Councilwoman McMahon. MCMAHON: Thank you. Clarification, please, on the motion. What we're moving forward with is the motion and consent to the amount of money within the parameters that we've all discussed here, so that we can move forward and you can get bids, et cetera, within the budget that's already available for this. Correct? I want to make sure about that. Okay. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: So we have a motion and a second roll call vote, please. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Aye. BENDER: And Vice Mayor Toth? CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 38 of 45 TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, seven to zero. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. SNIPES: Thank you. Appreciate it. Now I'm done. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. E is consideration, possible action, and approval of resolution 2025-06, modifying the town of Fountain Hills' political sign free zone map established by resolution 2012-21. Rachel? GOODWIN: Thank you, Mayor. This is a return of an item that was requested by Councilwoman Earle. If you recall this, as was discussed in partnership with the sign code revisions, as a note for the public, the -- this map, the sign free zone does not live in the sign code. It is adopted by resolution. So it's two separate items. That's why we're dealing with this one on its own this evening. So with that, I'll turn it over to Director Wesley. WESLEY: Mayor and council, good evening. Move through this, I think, relatively quickly, and see what questions, comments, directions you want to take with this. So just some background first. ARS allows for the establishment of -- well, it allows for political signs be posted in public rights of way 72 days before primary elections, up to 15 days after. These can be up to 16 feet in residential areas and 32 feet in other areas. During election times, sign message are allowed within those areas is not really regulated. So whatever message somebody wants to put on one of those signs is not a condition of the sign being there. And also want to point out that this does not address any signs placed on private property. The allowance by the state statute is just for signs placed in the right-of-way. So that's what we're going to be looking at this evening. So also ARS section F, it allows cities and towns to designate sign free areas. So they -- those areas would not then be allowed to have those signs, or the town would be in a position to be able to remove signs in those areas. In 2012, the town council did approve following a public hearing, establishment of sign-free zones that met the CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 39 of 45 requirements of the statute. This is the map that was adopted at that time, and the map that we've been using over the last number of years during election periods. The areas in red are the sign-free areas, places where the signs cannot go in the public right- of-way. At the February 18th council meeting, council directed staff to consider reductions in the area to be included in the map. Following that, Councilwoman Earle did provide staff with her idea of what the area should be that would be included in the sign-free zone, and that's depicted here in map 1. Staff used that as a place to start and look at the options that we may have. We appreciate Councilwoman Earle taking the time to put together her ideas. So we have that to work from. But it is a council decision. And also, the public may want to weigh in. So to help discussion with the options that may be available, we put together two other examples of what we could include and be consistent with state statute, and move between what we have now and the map provided by Councilwoman Earle. So here's map 2 that adds in the main streets that come off of Shea Boulevard into the town center area, Palisades Hills Boulevard, and Saguaro. And then map 3 adds a few more streets going out up a canyon over to Golden Eagle Park and a few other golf courses. Again, main tourist areas that we have in town. So this evening we're looking for input and direction from council and what the map that gets attached to the resolution should actually be. We could retain the current map. We could choose one of the other options that I showed this evening. Or you can come up with a totally different option as you discuss it and hear from the public, and decide what streets really should be a part of that sign-free zone. And so again, just so you have it in one place in front of you, you have your discussion. Here's all four of the options going from the existing to the in-betweens. Any questions you have for me at this time? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Town Clerk, do we have any speaker cards on this? BENDER: Yes, Mayor. We have one speaker card. We did receive a total of seven online cards. For, there were six. And against, there was one. Crystal Cavanaugh. CAVANAUGH: So just briefly, I wasn't planning to speak on this, but I figured there'd be CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 40 of 45 some question I had. So if you go with map 1, that would just eliminate Shea between the start of the reservation into Scottsdale city limits. And then it would just be the big rectangle around the park, circling all the way to Fountain Hills Boulevard. And then does that cut back up at El Lago or where's -- I'm a little unclear about the area there. So to me, my thoughts are obviously eliminate everything all around the lake, down Palisades. And if you want to go all the way to Fountain Hills Boulevard, fine. Cut over to El Lago, go all the way back up to Saguaro, and all the way around. I don't really care about the rest of Fountain Hills Boulevard and all those other areas. I don't actually care about Shea, because it's already totally junked up at the corner where the reservation is. And then we all cross over into Scottsdale city limits, including our past council and our past mayor and everybody who made all these rules. But we still had signs right over the border. So to me, the biggest protected area should be our downtown area, which is the Lake Palisades, Fountain Hills Boulevard, El Lago, back up to Saguaro. And I just want it easy. That's the biggest, you know, problem we all had. How many feet off of this and how many feet off of that? And then how far can we go on this road and not that road? Just make it easy. That's all I request. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'd like to make a motion to approve 9E and specifically, map 1. EARLE: I second it. WATTS: I got a question. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor Toth. TOTH: I just had a question real quick. Aaron, if I'm allowed to put you on the spot. Senator Kavanaugh had mentioned the bill that this is referring to that allows us to draw a sign-free zone. And there's something where it needs to be, like, connected areas. I just want to make sure we're above board on that. AARON: Mayor and council, great question. We're looking at ARS 16-1019, subsection F, and it does say that the sign has the -- whatever zones you designate, it can't exceed in total three square miles and so on and so forth. And then it says they have to be CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 41 of 45 contiguous. But you can have a maximum of two zones. So as long as you've got the one and then the other, you're square. Okay. TOTH: Thank you so much. I just wanted to be extra sure. And then now, if I could put Director Wesley on the hot seat. One difference that I'm noticing is in the existing map. Fountain Park is colored in. I don't mean to be ticky tacky, but I just want to make sure I'm not accidentally approving something different for Fountain Park. WESLEY: Sure. Mayor and Vice Mayor. I wasn't surprised about getting that question. And so very, very observant of you. So just to point it out here. So you see around the park, colored in over here and none of the others, do we see that same thing up here for McDowell Mountain Park. I don't really know why they included the park areas before, because the statute is very clear that the sign-ups are allowed in the public right- of-way. And so they don't -- they aren't allowed around the park anyway. That's why we didn't color them in on these other maps. TOTH: Got it. Okay. Just want to make sure. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle. EARLE: No. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Councilman, what's in the -- WATTS: In the spirit of continuity or continuing, Eagle Mountain, Summer Hill, and Fountain Hills Boulevard don't look like they're continuous. They look like they are arterial. On 1 -- I'm sorry. Yeah. On 1. Right. WESLEY: Mayor and council, I'll read the statute, and you draw your own conclusion. And I'm actually not agreeing or disagreeing. It's just a question of interpretation. The statute says the total area of those zones shall not be larger than three square miles. And each zone shall be identified as a specific contiguous area, where by resolution of the municipal governing body, so on and so forth. WATTS: Then I would ask that we amend who made the motion. I forget. You did? MCMAHON: No, we did. WATTS: That we amend it by eliminating Eagle Mountain and Fountain Hills Boulevard as -- and just identify the area around Palisades, El Lago, around the park, and back up CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 42 of 45 to Fountain Hills Boulevard, as well as Shea, as it's eliminated. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. That suggestion sounds workable, but my one question is, we're trying to make it one area, how are you connecting the downtown area to Shea, or did you -- WESLEY: Or not. If you can identify two areas, each of those two areas must be contiguous. Does that make sense? So like, you can't have any breaks along Shea. You can't have any breaks. And then along the downtown, you can't have any breaks. But you can identify two areas. In fairness to statutes is not the best word. SKILLICORN: Mr. Mayor, is there a break? And Mr. Watts, is there a break on Shea that -- no? Because it looks continuous to me. WATTS: Shea looks continuous. But the arterial streets, Eagle Mountain, Summerhill, and Fountain Hills Boulevard where those little fingers come off, I think we should exclude those fingers and look solely at Shea as being the contiguous path. And I think that would make -- for the sake of simplicity, that would make it much easier rather than we've got a couple little areas in addition to Shea. SKILLICORN: So Mr. Mayor, Councilman Watts, I am definitely agreeable to that. I'm not sure if Councilwoman Earle, who seconded the motion, would be agreeable, but that makes it clear. And just so everyone else in the dais knows, that would be amending the motion. Which I'm agreeable to amending the motion to just having Shea, not having that stub of Fountain Hills Boulevard and Eagle Mountain. I'm agreeable to that. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: The reason, like, on the Fountain Hills Boulevard, I was trying to make it a little not so congested at the corner. If you couldn't have it on Shea and just up to the fire station, trying to help with the entrance there. And I wasn't sure on Eagle Mountain, if that's a -- I'm confused if that's an HOA or not. If that's part of the HOA, because -- does someone know, down the road here, is it part of the HOA? It doesn't matter. I'm asking Peggy, do you know? CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 43 of 45 MCMAHON: That's a public street, right? EARLE: It is a public street. MCMAHON: Up to where the gate is, there's -- just knows that answer, but right where the end of the median is, right before the gate, you'll see the pavement changes. And that's from that pavement forward is HOA from Summer Hill up to is public property. EARLE: I know there the HOA is doing all these repairs and the median and all that kind of stuff. MCMAHON: It's not. That's a public street. EARLE: Okay. But I mean, they do. Okay. That's good. MCMAHON: Do you understand? I mean, Summerhill, when you come down like to where? We're in our neighborhood. That street's public up to where the guard gate is. EARLE: Okay. MCMAHON: Yeah. EARLE: All right. So sure. If you want to amend that, Allen, that's fine. I'll second that. Yeah. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Any other questions? We have a motion and a second. Roll call, please. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Nay. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 44 of 45 BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, six to one. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Okay. There was no legislative meeting this week, but does anybody have anything they want to bring up? Okay. We'll move on then to council discussion and direction to the town manager. Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: Yes. On purpose. Thanks. Thank you, Mayor. And I respectfully request that an executive session be scheduled for our upcoming council meeting on April 15th to conduct a performance and/or financial review of the town's contract with the law firm, Pierce Coleman. I would like the opportunity to present my findings and discuss them in a closed session to facilitate a thorough and candid conversation. Additionally, please include a corresponding agenda item for the regular council meeting that day in case any action's needed to be taken based on the discussion. And I guess I need a first and a second, or second and third. TOTH: I'll third it. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. So we have a first request and then second by Allen and third by Hannah, Vice Mayor. And then I just wanted to make sure that everybody was aware that the last meeting we had there was a question about an outstanding balance that was owed by Reclaim Our Town. And the town manager sent us an email that they did take care of that outstanding debt within, I think, ten days of the date of the invoice that they were sent. So I think everybody can clear their calendar on that one. So that's good that you collected that. Thank you. Anything else from anybody? Any future -- will we have the future agenda item? Can I get a motion for adjournment then, if that's it? WATTS: So moved. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Second, please. EARLE: Second. MAYOR FRIEDEL: All in favor? ALL: Aye. CITY OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 1, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 45 of 45 MAYOR FRIEDEL: Meeting adjourned. Thank you. APPROVED: ____________________________________ GERRY FRIEDEL, MAYOR ATTEST: ____________________________________ BEVELYN BENDER CERTIFICATION I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING MINUTES ARE A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, TOLLESON, ARIZONA HELD ON APRIL 1, 2025. I FURTHER CERTIFY THAT THE MEETING WAS DULY CALLED AND HELD AND THAT A QUORUM WAS PRESENT. ________________________________ BEVELYN BENDER Having no further business, Mayor Gerry M. Friedel adjourned the Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council held on April 1, 2025, at 7:12 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS _______________________ Gerry M. Friedel, Mayor ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: __________________________________ Bevelyn Bender, 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 1st day of April 2025. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED 6th day of May 2025. _________________________________ Bevelyn Bender, Town Clerk TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION – BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL APRIL 8, 2025 A Work Session – Budget Workshop Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened at 16705 E. Avenue of the Fountains in open and public session at 3:00 p.m. Members Present: Mayor Gerry M. Friedel; Vice Mayor Hannah Toth; Councilmember Gayle Earle; Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis; Councilmember Rick Watts; Councilmember Peggy McMahon; Councilmember Allen Skillicorn Staff Present: Town Manager Rachael Goodwin; Town Attorney Aaron Arnson; Town Clerk Bevelyn Bender TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 1 of 90 Post-Production File Town of Fountain Hills Town Council Work Session Meeting Minutes April 8, 2025 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 APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 2 of 90 MAYOR FRIEDEL: Call is to order. This is our work session budget workshop. Town Clerk, could we get a roll call, please? BENDER: Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Present. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Present. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Present. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Here. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Here. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Here. BENDER: And Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Here. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Rachael? GOODWIN: Good afternoon, everybody. It's 3 o'clock. Thank you for being here. We appreciate it. I've had a couple of questions as to, how long is this going to take? Well, that's really up to you guys. Just as a reminder, this is our final budget workshop for the FY26 budget before it's brought forward for formal adoption. This is really -- you know, I've been a labor of love for Paul and company down there, Bea and Michael. Over the past several months, they've dedicated significant time and effort to developing a balanced budget that reflects the council's priorities, supports essential services, and addresses the diverse needs of our community, so those are the three, kind of, driving pieces of this. As with every year, the processes required, it requires thoughtful evaluation of competing priorities and the careful allocation of limited resources. Today represents that final opportunity for the council to propose any additions, deletions, or changes to the draft budget before it's finalized. Please note that a majority of the TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 3 of 90 council will be required to give us direction on any of these modifications at this stage. That doesn't mean there isn't still time. We will still be bringing the budget back for formal, right, council action, right, where we'll actually propose the resolution, and you'll pass it at a council meeting. But ideally, those changes at that point are hopefully at a minimal -- at a minimum, if not zero. The idea today is to kind of get us through any last things. So we appreciate your continued engagement, and we look forward to a productive afternoon. With that being said, Paul is going to lead us through the review of the budget. This is kind of a culmination of things that we've talked about, the directions you've given, the CIP conversations we've had. I know there are a few of you who have mentioned a few questions about particular items. We can do a couple of things. We can pause when we get to those items, if that's the right time to talk about them. If we do not get to them, we can bring them up at the end. That's certainly fine too. There's not really an assigned time, but we do want to make sure that we get clarity on everything. And there will be a couple of questions proposed for you guys to give some direction particularly about cost of living for staff, as well as a number of conversation pieces and clarifications for, I think, a couple of CIPs. So Paul, with that? Yes. SOLDINGER: All right. Good afternoon. Thank you for being here at 3 p.m. I appreciate it. And like Rachael mentioned, this is the culmination of all our efforts on discussion so far for the fiscal year 2026 budget. So this is the time to make changes, if necessary, before we come forth with the tentative budget next month. So just for everyone's knowledge, our proposed budget book is on our website, and we can refer to it as needed. If you want to get into the nitty gritty or talk about departments or divisions at all, we can go look at the budget book a little bit, so I'll leave that up for us as well. When we're talking about budget authority, it's not the same as fund balance. Really, the budget is the permission to use money. We have the fund balance, or cash, in the bank, but today, when we're talking about budget, we're talking about the permission to TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 4 of 90 use the money. So mayor and council provides that permission to us, town staff, to be able to carry out town initiatives. Contract authority is simply the terms and conditions agreed to by the town and the vendor within the contract; so that's a little bit different as well. So again, today, we're talking about budget. The proposed budget that we're discussing today includes $50.37 million so far, and the expenditure limitation for next year is 36.58 million. So there's a difference, and so the difference and the way we can get underneath that has to do with exclusions. So some exclusions are allowed. In fiscal year '26, we're projecting exclusions of about $7.7 million. And as we've discussed, the town has saved or carried forward about $10.6 million of one-time exclusions from previous years, including HURF investment earnings and other exclusions. Now one thing to note is that if our projected revenues do not come in as we expect, we'll have to restrict spending, basically. We'd have to look at our contingency first, restrict the spending -- or requesting the use of contingency first in our general fund, and if our general fund revenues are lagging even more than that, we'd have to look at other budgetary restrictions as well. So that's just something to consider. So this is just another way to illustrate that for the expenditure limitation. So that 50.371 million, how do we get under the expenditure limitation? Those first four items are our projected exclusions for fiscal year '26, $4.3 million of grants, 1.89 million of HURF revenues, 967,000 of projected investment income, and 625,000 of other exclusions, and to be able to get underneath the expenditure limitation, we're projecting to spend about $6 million of that $10 million we've saved up to budget to be a dollar under the expenditure limitation. Any questions on that? No. So staff remains conservative in our revenue projections. We use a 95-percent confidence level. And as we recently emailed you, recent flattening local sales tax revenues required us to reduce our preliminary projections for local sales tax revenue by about $250,000, and now, our general fund is projected to bring in about $26.05 million next fiscal year. Also, we just recently received some state shared revenue estimates from the Arizona League, which we do every year in March, and that slightly TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 5 of 90 increased our revenue projections. It positively impacted our general fund by 20,000 and about 70,000 our streets fund. So this is just illustrating that. State shared income taxes went up by about 100,000, state shared sales taxes went down by about 80,000, so 20,000 of increase in the general fund. Our HURF revenue projection went up by about 40,000, and our vehicle license taxes went up by about 30,000. Now we talk about contingency a lot. I'm very thirsty. Excuse me. So when we talk about contingency, when we come to council and ask to move contingency if we need it to do things that are unforeseen or unexpected, that's in our general government department and our general fund. And so this year, based on the budget today -- and it only provides budget authority for unforeseen expenditures if the revenues come in as projected. So as of today, we have $1.23 million of this contingency in the budget that we're discussing today. That would be reduced by any amount related to staff pay adjustments discussed today. So let's say there is a $300,000 impact to the budget for staff pay. That would reduce our contingency by that amount, the $300,000. So again, the contingency is our wiggle room. That's what we have if something goes wrong. It also is our buffer in case our revenues aren't coming in as projected. It's a very important part of our budget, so I just want to emphasize that. And everything discussed today, all the figures are going to include the recommended budget supplements that we'll discuss in just a little bit, so the amounts you see include the budget supplements. So this is simply just an illustration of that, of the general fund. We projected $26.05 million of revenues, and we've budgeted 24.82 million of department expenditures so far. And the wiggle room, or how we balance our budget in the general fund, is that contingency right there of $1.23 million. And again, that would be adjusted by any staff pay adjustments. So in total, across all funds, our proposed budget includes $50.37 million of budget. It's about a ten percent increase from the current year, and a lot of that has to do with increase in capital projects. We're talking about doing that Palomino reconstruction, as well as some of the other projects, so we've budgeted about $12.7 million in that fund, which is about $3.6 million in the prior year. So most of that $5 million increase is TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 6 of 90 related to that, but there are going to be other things as well that we'll walk into and discuss. Our total projected revenues are going up by four percent, but a lot of that has to do with our change in methodology for projecting investment earnings. That right there is about $800,000 of the increase in projected revenues, as well as our special revenue fund increase that we'll discuss in a little bit. So for the most part, we're basically projecting about level revenues next year or similar to this year other than those two factors. So recommended supplements. In the general fund, these are ongoing supplements, which means they would be included in the budget next year and going forward. Of course, they can be adjusted based on discussions and needs. Yes, Councilmember. Did you have a question? MCMAHON: Yup. Sorry if I'm interrupting you. SOLDINGER: You're fine. MCMAHON: You just got done saying that you're projecting level revenues, et cetera, and given the economy right now -- I know nobody has a crystal ball -- SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. MCMAHON: -- is what's going on right now changing anything? I mean, I know you're presenting this, you're saying this, but at the same time, there are the things going on in the economy that might adjust this somehow. SOLDINGER: Yeah. So Councilmember, basically, that's why we have our contingency at least as our starting point. That's our wiggle room. So if things start going south, we can start there. We have policies in place to restrict our spending and things like that. So we actually had a pretty good March, which I'll discuss at one of the next council meetings. So it's kind of funny. It's kind of going up and down right now, so we'll have to -- we monitor it every month, so really, we have a lot of protocols in place to manage that and keep track of that. But yeah, we don't have a crystal ball, so we'll have to see how it goes, absolutely. GOODWIN: If I can just tag on to that really quickly. You're absolutely right. I mean, the economy and all of the headlines that we've been watching over the last couple of TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 7 of 90 weeks are concerning, and it's also why we take the conservative efforts that we do, right? We've had some really good years the last couple of years, right, because we've said, we don't want to get too far over our skis. The same policies apply now so that we will make sure that we kind of stay in tune with that. That is what the contingency is for. That is why we do have policies so that we don't get -- you know, we are able to kind of pull those levers if needed. But yeah, we continue to watch that, but our conversative estimates help us out to make sure that we're hopefully in line with that. MCMAHON: Thank you. SOLDINGER: Yeah. And we also have general fund -- in our policies, we have general fund reserve requirements, which is just to protect us from being able to continue operating, and so if we can't meet those reserve requirements, that's another thing that would require us to restrict our spending and look into things like that. So yeah, it's a little of an uneven time. I'm not saying I'm extremely confident, but I'm saying that we have protocols in place to evaluate that. So I appreciate the question. MCMAHON: Well, thank you. SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. So in the general fund -- so we talked about the environmental fund or program supplements at length a few times, but basically, we used to use another fund, the environmental fund, for these expenditures, and this year, we're moving them to the general fund. So it looks like we're adding a lot to the general fund, but we're really just shifting a lot of the spending. The only thing that's really changed a decent amount is the wash maintenance amount. That has increased from prior years at 450,000. That's actually more than we discussed at the last retreat. We increased it just because of recent discussions and recognizing a need for wash maintenance. So the proposed budget includes $450,000 for that purpose. But in total, environmental program supplements is over $700,000 in the general fund, right there in the red box. One other thing to note is the ballroom movable wall maintenance, if we are able to install a new one this fiscal year, we would remove that from the fiscal year '26 budget. And the other ones we haven't really discussed. If you have any questions, we have department TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 8 of 90 directors here available to answer any questions, or I could try to respond. Some of them just relate to increasing budgets for increased cost for maintenance, an upgrade for windows, and putting a little more money into our parks for new amenities, like at Desert Vista Park; our pocket parks include Panorama Park, which should be done pretty soon, Centennial Circle, and the planned new Stargazing Park as well. Yes, Councilmember? WATTS: I know we briefly talked about this yesterday. The MS4 permit and inspection fees, what are they? Just a new, better -- SOLDINGER: I kind of know, but I'll probably butcher it, so -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: So the MS4 is our stormwater requirement that we need to meet per ADEQ and the county and the state. It essentially requires us to have that consultant on board that helps us with the reporting, annual reporting as well as wet and dry monitoring, wet and dry season monitoring, and training for the staff. WATTS: So what's MS stand for? UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Municipal -- let's see. It's four Ss. Municipal storm -- WATTS: I think you just got -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: -- sewer -- WATTS: I think you just got saved by the bell. WELDY: Municipal storm sewer is what it is. WATTS: Municipal storm sewer, MSS? WELDY: Yes. WATTS: Thank you. SOLDINGER: Saved by the bell. We discussed all these supplements in length. I didn't really mention that. So we, again, are staying of them, and per our discussion with Public Works, most of these are absolutely required things that we need to do that we've been doing from another fund. Vice Mayor, did you have a question? TOTH: I did. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 9 of 90 And I'm really sorry to put him on the spot, but Kevin, would you mind explaining the new amenities operations and maintenance, how we got to that 37,000 number? I see a difference in the recommendation there. SOLDINGER: So the 15,000 is what we're including in the proposed budget based on discussions. SNIPES: Yeah. So what happened was is because we -- this was first being talked about when we were still talking about completing the Stargazing Park before -- TOTH: Got it. SNIPES: -- and since it's not there, there's no sense in having this much -- TOTH: Okay. SNIPES: -- funding in it. So -- TOTH: Thank you. SNIPES: -- that's why I got confused. Sure. SOLDINGER: All right. These are our ongoing supplements and other funds in the general fund. The first three we talked about on one of the council retreats at least. From the Economic Development Division, Amanda, she'd like to do more things with some of the downtown funding, including event programming, the downtown façade improvement program, and banner replacements. This will increase the downtown fund to about 165,000 per year. We're bringing in -- our projections are closer to 135,000 per year, but we're bringing a little more than that. So we feel comfortable because we have about $700,000 saved up in this fund to budget that much, and these are the items that have been discussed with council. The last one we haven't discussed with council, the downtown digital marketing, that would be paid out of the economic development fund with -- I think the idea is a retention for businesses, but really, it's related to the downtown and marketing for the downtown. So Amanda is here if you have any questions on those. Councilmember Watts? WATTS: The downtown façade improvement program, can I get a description of what that is? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 10 of 90 JACOBS: Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Councilmember Watts. So we talked about that back in December, as well as our February 25th retreat. So with the downtown façade improvement, we're budgeting 50,000, and we'll come back to council in September with a policy. But we're hoping, specifically within the full downtown boundary, that we'll have what we'll call a grant program, is what some municipalities do, to basically do a facelift of the exterior façades for some of our older buildings. So it could be paint, it could be installing awnings, but there'll be a process. So right now, we're asking council for the 50,000. Right now, staff, so development services, Economic Development, we are working on a policy that we're hoping to talk one-on-one with council in August, we'll then present it in September, and then if council gives the green light, it'll probably take 30 to 60 days to then go live and promote it. WATTS: So I appreciate the reminder on the dates and the number of time we've talked about this, but I don't remember what I had for breakfast, so bear with me. Do we have an issue -- And this is probably for the town attorney. Do we have an issue related to gifting? If we're going to do façades and give money for façades, do we have an issue there, or is that one of the budgets we're trying to work out? ARNSON: So the answer, Mayor and Councilmember Watts, are in part -- there's always a concern when you have a subsidy issue, right, where you want to be careful with what you're doing, but one of the nice things about façade improvement programs is that the legislature has identified those as districts and programs that can be appropriately undertaken, so that cabins that risk a little more. WATTS: Thank you. Thank you, Amanda. JACOBS: You're welcome. And we always make sure that Aaron makes sure we're dotting our Is, crossing our Ts before it goes to council. Any other questions on the digital marketing? I heard there may have been a question or saw a light. Are we good with that? KALIVIANAKIS: I actually -- TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 11 of 90 JACOBS: Okay. KALIVIANAKIS: I have a question too. Again, it's on the downtown façade improvement program. It does seem like this is the kind of cart before the horse, and I know we've talked about this in the past. I think programs like this are fraught with possible fraud with businesses getting the money and not getting the work done, and specifically today, as far as budgeting is concerned, to give the authorization for $50,000, and then later you're going to tell us what the policy is and go into the weeds, the deep dive, I don't know why we have to approve the $50,000 today. Why can't we do it later after you show us what we're going to get for the money and that actual program? JACOBS: Mr. Mayor, Councilmember Kalivianakis, two responses to that. One, it's making sure -- so this council, there have been times -- as you well know, in November or December, I'll come back and ask for a budget transfer, and you guys have been supportive, so again, thank you very much. But sometimes you get questions from the residents of, why wasn't staff planning this ahead? Why are they coming? Do we have money for this? So it's a placeholder. So even though it's July 1st, doesn't mean it's Christmas time, we start spending it. It's then doing the policy and then being able to implement. Otherwise, then we're having to come back to council and ask. The other point to that is, again, since we have talked about it in December and February, I feel like the majority of council has directed staff to move forward with this, so if there's a different direction from the council, we can certainly remove it and approach it a different way. KALIVIANAKIS: And again, just to follow up, it seems to me that with some of these projects like this, today's placeholder becomes tomorrow's directive. You told us six months ago to go ahead; we went ahead and did all this kind of stuff, and then it's not a placeholder anymore. It's like, well, we were given direction six months ago to proceed. So I just hope, in six months from now when we do go forward and actually allocate the funds, that we remember that we did not direct you to do anything other than give us a policy. Does that make sense? JACOBS: Absolutely. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 12 of 90 KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you. Okay. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And maybe that policy has in it that the work gets done before we disburse the funds. That -- WATTS: Reimbursement. MAYOR FRIEDEL: That would take care of -- JACOBS: That's all -- yes. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. JACOBS: That is all part of the -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. JACOBS: -- policies dotting the Is -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: I -- JACOBS: -- and crossing the Ts. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I figured it would be. JACOBS: Any other questions on these funds while I'm up here? Seeing none. SOLDINGER: Thank you, Amanda. JACOBS: You're welcome. SOLDINGER: Great. So the court security, that one we discussed, I think, at the first council retreat. It was recommended by, I believe, the county court system that we bring on security, which we will start having next fiscal year part time in front of the municipal court. And the last time is just for our special taxing district, the Cottonwoods Maintenance District, for increased landscaping costs, so it's included in that budget for the extra $1,000. With personnel supplements, there are six total. I think the descriptions are a little bit misleading. We're not adding any staff for any of these except for the final one, which relates to a street maintenance technician to give the Public Works Department another streets person to help, you know, maintain the streets and clean up and things like that. All the rest relate to community services and parks. Those two, so -01 and -05, that relates to either providing additional shifts or additional -- it's basically additional shifts TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 13 of 90 for staff during high season times. When there's more people at the Community Center, we need more help with events and things like that. The middle two relate to the fire department. The first one, the captain and the battalion chief item, that relates to next year's impact for the fire department revised command structure for the automatic aid application. It's about 222,000 based on our calculations. One thing to note is that the full plan is to also add another $110,000 the following year to complete that revised command structure. We do have Fire Chief Ott here to discuss as needed. We also have a couple of visuals in case that helps, but those are the fire department supplements right there. Any questions or discussion? Yes, Vice Mayor? TOTH: If it's all right, I would like to see the visuals on the fire department. SOLDINGER: Give me a second. It's not the most advanced visual, but it is a visual, and I think it does help. Where did I save that? Michael, would you mind actually coming to explain this? Because Michael's been our finance expert working with the fire department on this. It's somewhat complicated, so he would explain it most accurately. STELPSTRA: Mayor, Council, this is a organizational chart for the fire department. The actual blue there is the current organization, and what's showing there in the red boxes is basically what we're looking at doing. It would add three new battalion chiefs in next year. Those are above the captain level, so we'd have promotions of captains into the battalion chief position. It would also -- sorry. Going back down to the bottom box there to finish out '26 -- sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. So we create the battalion chiefs, the captains are moved up to battalion chief. That creates vacancies in the captain spots, so we have engineers that move up into captains. Likewise, it vacates spots in the engineers, so firefighters move up into the engineer's spot. So that's the cascading promotions that we're seeing in the current year for '26. '27 is the next step that Paul referred to, is adding the battalion safety officers. Those are below the captains and go along with the battalion chiefs. That, again, could see some cascading promotions of engineers and firefighters. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 14 of 90 So ultimately, when this is all done, you'd have -- looking at this chart here, you'd have a new box there for the battalion chiefs, a new one for the battalion safety officers, and our number of firefighters -- because we are looking to do this with the same number of people, so not adding people, just moving different positions -- it would reduce the number of firefighters at Station 1 to just six. The total number of people still at the station are the same; they're just in different positions because you'd have three battalion chiefs, three captains, three battalion safety officers, three engineers, and then the six firefighters. So that's in total over the two years, but this first step is just the battalion chiefs and then backfilling the promotions to fill the vacated captain and engineer spots. TOTH: Thank you. And I'm sorry, but -- STELPSTRA: Okay. TOTH: -- to clarify, this is not adding any staff over the two years. This is fully promotions and the new role? STELPSTRA: Correct. This is to be done with our existing staff, number of people. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: That was my question. TOTH: Thanks. SOLDINGER: One other thing I'd like to -- Sorry, Michael. One other thing I'd like to note, there was another supplemental request, is that training captain below the assistant fire chief to create two of those positions instead of having that training captain position. We evaluated from a budgetary perspective, and it's pretty much a breakeven. That's why it shows up as $1. But it would create a little bit slightly revised command structure above them as well, and we are including that in the proposed budget as well. So those are the two fire department personnel supplements. TOTH: Okay. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: That's a big jump, over 200,000, 200 whatever it was for promotions all at once. This may be an odd question, but if we didn't have our own fire department, would all TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 15 of 90 these fire people get these same promotions? I mean, is this just -- SOLDINGER: I would probably bring up Fire Chief Ott to touch on the command structure. OTT: Good afternoon. If we did not have our own fire department and it was still through our metro, we would be greatly understaffed in the command side of things. If we did have another provider providing our fire service -- when McGrath did a study, Scottsdale was an option to look at to provide fire service here -- we would have that command structure. EARLE: Were we aware that we might have this big jump, and would this happen again? I mean, this is a -- like, is it customary to give so many people an increase at the same time -- OTT: Well -- EARLE: -- or promotion at the same time? OTT: -- Councilmember, currently, they're filling those positions as bump-up positions, so we're just moving them into that. There is a little bit of added cost that goes with that when you make that a full-time position with the benefits and the rest of that, and that's where Paul and Michael have helped a lot with being able to get that where it needs to be. We also had a little disparity on our last year budget where all of the salaries were not really included the way that they should have been in there, and had that happened, I think we would've seen a little bit less of a jump in there just because it would've -- the different line items and the salaries would've compensated for some of that. But in the grand scheme of things, it's not -- and what we're doing, we're really moving three people up and then replacing those three people, so it would be the captains being promoted to battalion chiefs and then engineers or other acting captains are being promoted into the captain spots. So it does have a trickle up effect with it. I think that this is the most cost effective way that we've been able to kind of create what we need to do to have that command structure through here so that we can kind of keep everything rolling safely, and we can give the best quality of service to the residents, business owners, and visitors. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 16 of 90 EARLE: And are they increasing their hours of work? OTT: Not their hours of work, their responsibilities. My hours of work may go down with this new structure, but you don't pay for me working 120 hours a week, so -- EARLE: Okay. Thank you. MCMAHON: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you, Chief Ott. I think I recall you saying that these inner promotions recognize the services and the talents that we have. Promoting from within, it's going to be safer, it's going to be more in line with other departments as far as commanding out on the field, having the firefighters be safer, and having it be more time cost effective, correct -- OTT: Correct. MCMAHON: -- with these promotions? OTT: Correct. MCMAHON: I mean, that's what I remember you saying about these, right? OTT: Yes. MCMAHON: Okay. Thank you. OTT: Thanks to Paul, we kind of worked this out a little bit earlier, so he served me a watermelon up here. So a battalion chief really kind of has the incident command responsibilities on any fire or medical scene that is more than a one-unit response. So if we had called because you felt your house or you have a snake or whatever, that captain is fully capable of managing that incident with that single unit. Once you get above two units, it's really difficult for that captain on that engine to be able to manage that incident safely, and the battalion chief ends up being the incident commander for those. And as we build, an example is the fire that we had last week, we ended up with 12 units on there. Through our mutual aid partners and the automatic aid system, we ended up with three different battalion chiefs there, which once you go to multiple units having an incident commander and then the safety officers be part of that, that just ensures the best outcome for the person on the scene, for the homeowner that has that, and the homeowners that are adjacent to it. That added command structure is TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 17 of 90 really what keeps that scene moving and moving safely to where it's very hard for one person to be in control of a dynamic scene that keeps moving like that. It's the same with multiple vehicle crashes. We don't see a lot of them in town, but we also supplement on the B Line. And for us, in my opinion, one of the most dangerous things that we do right now is go on a vehicle collision. Most other valley departments, if it's a crash related to one of the highways or freeways, they always have a battalion chief on that because that adds one more layer of safety into that scene so, for both the people in the crashes and the people on the scene, police officers included. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Chief Ott, listen. We all love you guys and the service you provide. You're very efficient and very safe all the time. But I think, personally, myself looking at this, I think it's a big jump the first year, a little over a year in, and maybe that we need to think about maybe waiting a year on this because we have a lot of questions with our budget going forward. We've discussed that. We've talked about the uncertainty in the marketplace and some of the driving factors that make up this budget and our income. Is it something that we could wait a year on? OTT: Mayor, I'll tell you that it's your money, and you can wait as long as you want. I think that the increase in service that it gives us and the increase in our value to the automatic aid system is well worth it, and the 220,000 in this first year, I think we will see benefits from that by our inclusion in the automatic aid system. At some point, when we get down to it -- our volume of calls is going up, and I'll go back to the fire last week as an example. During that fire, we had three additional EMS calls during that fire. Mutual aid, we might not always get that backup unit to be able to provide service to it. Automatic aid, they're going to automatically dispatch a unit for those EMS calls. So from my standpoint, it's hard to say, who do we respond to? Do we pull a unit from the fire to respond to EMS calls in town in case we're not getting a mutual aid unit to respond to us, or will we be an automatic aid and the next closest unit will respond regardless of where they're coming from? I don't have to pull a unit from it; I don't have to pick which EMS calls that we don't run on; I don't have to pick which EMS calls that we say, we'll just let them wait for an ambulance and ambulance only make that call. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 18 of 90 We're still providing a high level of service to our residents who, for whatever reason, need us when we're depleted at that point. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We can still apply for automatic aid, though, right, even if we didn't do these promotions right now? OTT: We can apply for it, but our inclusion in the auto aid system is probably more attractive to be able to say that we're offering a service that doesn't already currently exist on this side of it. The closest BC on the Scottsdale side is coming from about 96th Street or 94th Street, so there's a delay on that. And again, if it's not in automatic aid, it would be a mutual aid, and if they were doing something else, then that would be -- we would not get that response. The inclusion is -- I don't want to say contingent on having BCs, but it definitely makes that decision a whole lot easier for the rest of the valley departments to say that we can include Fountain Hills in there, and they're not a drain on the system, so -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: How long does that application process take? OTT: They don't happen all the time. New departments don't start up all the time. It's kind of contingent on the presentation to the Central Arizona Life Safety Council and Executive Board when they meet and when they would make that decision to bring it back to the rest of the Life Safety Council. So it could take three months, it could take six months, it could take a year, but a year would be on a worst case scenario. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is another one of those -- And Rachael, I might want to bring you in on this as well. We have workshops, and then we have retreats, and then we have agendized items. This appeared on a workshop, and that would be the initial kind of, go ahead, not go ahead. I was at the meeting. I remember the meeting. Something people were for; some people were against. When I left, I didn't have a clear indication of what our guidance was at that time, and then so now, we are here at the retreat. And so I would call on you, Rachael. Do you recall what guidance we gave at the time TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 19 of 90 during the workshop? GOODWIN: Yes. I will say I took quite a bit of notes about this topic in particular because it was confusing, and there's two questions sort of at play here. We have the application to automatic aid, right, and that is a part of this process, and we have the promotions that support that, although it was called out that they can stand separately, i.e., to your point, just as Chief Ott said, yes, we can make the application without the promotions. They do not have to go together. Though as he just explained, it makes it more attractive if they do. That being said, the direction, the majority felt like they wanted to move forward with automatic aid. I think there may have been some confusion as to, does automatic aid mean all of these other fees and costs, you know, budgetary impacts? And so I've had a number of conversations with a number of different councilmembers offline since that meeting, which is why we took a little extra time to talk about it today because there was some confusion. So at the meeting, there was direction, yes, we want to do this. Well, okay, that's fine. We can do that. As Chief Ott said, if that's what we want to do and that's the priority, we can certainly budget that in and make that happen. However, if we don't, today's that day to make that direction. To your point, we get a couple bites at the apple, but this is sort of the last bite at it. So if there is a different direction, now is the time. If the direction is stay the course, apply for automatic aid, initiate these two years of promotions, then so be it. That's exactly what we'll do. But we do want to -- we want to make sure that everybody understands that automatic aid and the promotions, while they complement each other, they don't necessarily have to go together, so -- And if I am misstating anything, Chief, please correct me because I know you and I have talked about it quite a bit too, so -- OTT: You did an excellent job. KALIVIANAKIS: And so my last question would be, since we don't take votes at retreats -- GOODWIN: Uh-huh. KALIVIANAKIS: -- or at workshops, then how do we divine the tea leaves? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 20 of 90 GOODWIN: Oh, I'm going to go right down the line. KALIVIANAKIS: Okay. GOODWIN: I need a head nod. I need a something. I need a -- if this is something you want to see included, because when it comes back at a regular agenda item and there is a aye or nay, it should be consistent with what the direction was today. KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. I would be for that because it wouldn't -- once again, it gets brought up several different -- like you said, bites of the apple -- GOODWIN: Uh-huh. KALIVIANAKIS: -- and then all of a sudden, the last bite is on the agenda. And we get this large number, and then we all said, well, now, that's too much money. And I'd like to avoid that by -- if we're going to give guidance that we're going to go ahead with this, I'd like to give the guidance now so we -- GOODWIN: I would too. KALIVIANAKIS: -- can move ahead as compared to letting it go and having it in a gray area. So that's what I'd like to -- GOODWIN: I feel very much the same. Thank you. KALIVIANAKIS: Okay. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? WATTS: Yeah, Captain, I recall the conversation very similar to how our town manager described it. We said we could, but this would be a better way to go to make the promotions. But I also think that maybe we should roll the dice, but my concern is how much of this has been conveyed to rank and file so far? Are they anticipating the promotions? OTT: Councilmember, I'd say not necessarily anticipating, but we are a pretty open department. We talk about the direction of the department and how things are going and what ideally is the best scenario. Bumping people up, working them out of their title to get the job done, I don't think, in the long run, is the best way to move through that. And people want to know because we have a process for promotion that is somewhat different than maybe a lot of other departments, not fire departments, but TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 21 of 90 other municipal departments, in that there are task books that the firefighters need to complete. They need to do some education. They need to work through that. So the question is, if we're going to promote BCs, what does that process look like? What do I have to do to be eligible to do that? So we've started that process so that at the point where if this does become a reality, we've got people that are ready to go, and we can say, as an example, if you would agree with this, the first part of July, we would start our interviews for the battalion chief. All of those candidates already have all of their task books done with all of their requirements for it, so much like a prerequisite if you're trying to advance yourself in a college career. So that process has already started. It's not something that we could've done July 1st and said, oh, those positions were approved. Now we have people that could be nine months behind on trying to be eligible to promote. So that's there. I'm pretty open about telling people that I don't believe that the check's good until I actually have the cash in my hand, so with that being said, that even if it was approved, until the budget's signed and the money is still there, it's not a done deal in my mind. It doesn't matter whether we're talking positions or equipment or other services, so -- WATTS: But there is some degree of anticipation? OTT: I think that in any fire department, there's always the anticipation for the people that are motivated that want to promote and look at where they're at. With our structure the way it is, you're kind of topped out as a captain, but if those BC positions open up, that's motivation for our longer term employees to kind of move out of their current positions as a captain. But I don't think that -- and I can speak for myself -- that guarantee of a promotion is never in any line of work that you go into, so I think that there are some people that are very hopeful that at some point we would have battalion chiefs that they could promote into, and battalion safety officers. That has more inward movement for people to promote to engineers, and it kind of gives you some place to go. That's one of the downsides of a small department, is that if you have people that are going to work 15 or 20 more years in a captain's position or in a position above you, you're always looking at, well, I'm going to be a firefighter, and unless I go TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 22 of 90 somewhere else, I will never have the chance to promote. But that's just the downside of a 30-person department, so -- WATTS: I don't think it's only the downside of a 30-person department. It's the real world, if you're in a small company and you've got 20, 30 people, and you only have so far up the ladder you can go, and you're always looking for going from an apprentice to a journeyman and so on and so forth. To tag onto the coattails of Councilmember Toth, I'm not real clear. I've heard we're adding people, firefighters; we're not adding them. What's the actual headcount going to be when we're done as compared to it is today? OTT: We would still be at 31 in the field. If we promote the training captain to a assistant chief, which is kind of a negligible dollar amount, we would still end up with the 30 people in the field. The only time that we're adding new employees is if we have someone leave and we have to fill that position. WATTS: But that's a replacement, not an add, right? OTT: Correct. WATTS: Okay. OTT: I think that we're pretty safe in the next couple of years of not having to add people. There are the conversations that we've had previously, and again, I don't really want to be standing up here and asking you to start an ambulance company. I've had a recent meeting with AMR. They are fully committed to being around and providing 911 service for us, so hopefully, before I retire, I won't have to come to you and ask for money for ambulances and personnel. Outside of that, unless I've got it on good knowledge that the state trust land's got a lot of interest in it, we may need to add a fire station. That would be another cost, but we're doing that to increase the level of service to the community. And if the state trust land was developed, I think that that's going to be the tipping point of saying that we need to add more people for another station. With the other potential development coming in, I think that we can handle that call or those calls with the current staff that we have. Again, automatic aid is going to be a key to that when -- if we do have an increase in volume of calls, that we have our regional partners here to support us. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 23 of 90 WATTS: Okay. So I see no reason not to go forward with the automatic aid, at least the application. Two questions, then I'll let you go. So we have said that this will make the town safer. By not doing it, would we be less safe? OTT: I would say that maybe not less safe, but not as safe. I know it's splitting words there, but I think that this is the best and safest structure for the town. It provides the best level of safety for the residents. It also provides a better quality of life for our residents in the fact that we've got the best command structure in place for any multiple incidents that could go on. WATTS: Okay. And this may be for our town manager. Are the COLAs included on top of this, or they're not on top of this, so they're inclusive in these numbers? SOLDINGER: So Councilmember, the 222 is -- Michael, correct me if I'm wrong. The 222 is before adding any costs because we don't know the cost of living adjustment yet. That would be on top -- WATTS: Right. That's -- SOLDINGER: Yeah. GOODWIN: So I had it backwards. WATTS: Right. SOLDINGER: Yeah. WATTS: So -- SOLDINGER: Right, Michael? Yes. Okay. WATTS: So it seems to me like it's -- anyway, I shouldn't say it. SOLDINGER: Well let me -- it's a challenging conversation. I really appreciate you all having it. We've talked about it extensively internally, so it's a good conversation to have in the public. There's a lot of challenges with the fire department. We've learned that this year. I personally have learned it. It's a lot different than the rest of our staff and how they work, and they have a lot of backfill requirements, where if someone calls in sick, you have to have another guy to cover the shift, and that creates additional TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 24 of 90 overtime, so there's a lot of challenges already. But the intention of this is really just to create a better command structure to be aligned with other local governments providing similar levels of service. So that's the ideal, but yes, there is a cost. And the reason it costs so much is not only -- because really, when you look at that chart, it's like you're adding three battalion chiefs and just backfilling, but all the backfilling where people are filling in for higher positions, that creates assignment pay in a fire department. You can't just tell them to do additional duties without paying them. There's a lot of regulations around that, especially from a fire department perspective. So yes, it's a big number, but there's a lot of thought that has gone into the number and why it's that big. So I think we've covered what needs to be covered in our calculations, and we're bringing you what we believe it will cost. WATTS: So maybe this year, we consider something like we make the promotions but don't include them in the cost of living increases, and that's kind of a median so that we temper it somewhat for the year. SOLDINGER: If mayor and council directs the budget and approves the budget, we can make whatever changes -- WATTS: I don't know if that's discriminatory or not. If we do it -- It's not. Okay. So we could do something like we said, okay, these promotions are all applicable, but you're not included in the whatever, the two and a half, three and a half percent, whatever we come up with as far as cost of living increases. SOLDINGER: We could calculate that based on the direction, yes. So if it's the nine -- so it would impact nine positions next year, right, the three battalion chiefs and backfilling and backfilling -- I believe nine positions? Yes. So then if that happened, if that were to happen, yes, we could not add the cost of living adjustment to those individuals that get those promotions, so we could do something like that if that's the direction of mayor and council. WATTS: Well I don't want to pick on the nine. I'd probably pick on the entire department. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 25 of 90 SOLDINGER: So if that were the case, Councilmember, those nine would get a promotion which would increase their pay, and the remaining would have the same pay next year. So that's how that would work out. WATTS: Well I want to know if somebody's going to pay a price here. If there's going to be some -- SOLDINGER: Right. WATTS: -- turmoil of some sort, somebody's not going to be happy about it, is really what it's going to come to. So I think it's going to be more talk, more consideration. So thank you. SOLDINGER: All right. And it's understandable because the fire department, it's our biggest department. It has a third of the town's staff, a third of our payroll costs, so when we're talking about anything going forward involving the fire department, which is relatively new to the Town of Fountain Hills, there's going to be a large cost associated with it. That's just the truth of the matter. And yes, the 222,000 is a lot. It's also out of a $5.9 million budget. So there's perspective from any direction you look at it, but -- WATTS: I understand. SOLDINGER: -- that's just my perspective. WATTS: Thanks. SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? MCMAHON: Thank you. Chief Ott, you're up again, please. I think that when we were talking about this last time, it averaged out to about $30,000 a person, but I have a question. I mean, I'm for this because of safety, and that's why you're serving our town, to provide the absolute amount of safety that you can for our town's health and welfare, and of course for the firefighters. But when I look at this chart and it says promoting three people, et cetera, can you -- and hopefully, I'll ask this appropriately -- can you maybe point a point or you know, move one of them up, one or two, and then wait a year to promote another one, et cetera? Will that, you know, lessen the cost for this year, and then you know, have TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 26 of 90 that other cost for the '27? Do you understand what I'm saying? Instead of -- OTT: Yes. MCMAHON: Instead of promoting three or four or five people, what -- if you promote one person, or et cetera, to battalion or whatever it is, that's still going to help -- that's going to make it safer, but you may not have to request so much money this year, right? OTT: That's a good question. If we did -- because we work three different shifts, it would be the three different battalion chiefs. So we could do three and then do the battalion safety officers either as a bump up or -- because there would be some training involved in that -- MCMAHON: Uh-huh. OTT: -- so it wouldn't necessarily be six right away, but we would have three to go to battalion chiefs. We could also work a little bit of time in there with bumping acting captains up, whether they're engineers or firefighters. We've got a number of acting captains that are firefighters, so -- but all of those spots would be filled. They would just be backfilled. I know Michael had done a lot of work on some of it to where there's some disparity, if you will, between the current wage and that bump up, which is typically ten percent to fill that spot -- MCMAHON: Okay. OTT: -- on a daily basis, or where it breaks even to do the promotion to put them in that spot opposed to what the increase for -- how the title pay would be. MCMAHON: Okay. OTT: And -- MCMAHON: Okay. So -- OTT: And one other thing on the COLA, if I can add to it, and I don't mean to step on Paul's toes, but depending on when the COLA increase goes in, it might not affect those positions as promotions because if they were in that position when the COLA went into place, then they would get that added percentage to it. If they were in a captain's position, they might get that COLA on their captain's wages, not necessarily on that upper wage as a battalion chief. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 27 of 90 WATTS: So we got to do this quick? OTT: We can do it quick, or we can do it slow. Rip the Band-Aid off however you like. MCMAHON: Thank you. SOLDINGER: Let me touch on it real quick and respond. I hoping I'm not confusing the conversation anymore. It is a very complicated calculation when we're calculating how much this would affect the budget. So what Chief Ott was talking about with, you know, bumping up staff to fill in some of those positions, that creates cost too because we have to pay them assignment pay. So in some cases, it actually costs more to bump someone up with assignment pay than to do the promotions. So it's an extremely convoluted conversation, and we couldn't really estimate that cost without going back through the calculation process depending on what mayor and council's direction is today. So I just wanted to make that clear. TOTH: I'm trying to back track, and I think I'm realizing you've answered my question. But I'll still say it out loud in case someone else is still confused, if that's okay. I think several of my fellow councilmembers are trying to find some level of middle ground. It's sounding as though you have your three shifts, so it would need to be three and three, and it's sounding as though this amount includes training as well as the pay for the promotion. If it averages out to 30,000 per person, is there a way to make it average out to 15,000 per person? Where -- SOLDINGER: Yes. TOTH: Is there wiggle room? SOLDINGER: Vice Mayor, so the amounts we're presenting today are for the salaries and benefits, so the payroll, not the additional training. And he can speak to this, but I'm guessing the fire department has sufficient training budget to take on those needs, but he can talk about it. But it's payroll that we're talking about. TOTH: Okay. This is strictly payroll? SOLDINGER: Payroll and -- TOTH: Okay. SOLDINGER: -- benefits, health insurance, things like that are all included in that TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 28 of 90 amount. TOTH: Then I'm really glad I asked my question because I misunderstood it. But Chief, I guess my question still remains. Do we have wiggle room on this? OTT: I think we always have wiggle room. And did I congratulate you on your upcoming wedding yet? TOTH: Oh, thank you, Chief. Now that you're asking for money, huh? [LAUGHTER] OTT: Again, there's always a little bit of wiggle room in there. It would take us a little bit of time to do the process, and we can -- there's still the costs involved in bumping the people up, and we really have to that to make sure that we have the coverage that we need. Regardless of if we're in auto aid or not, this is still the safest structure for the department here and especially in the mutual aid setting where we won't always get a battalion chief to come in, so we will have people functioning in those positions but not at the promotion rate. So there's, I think, enough room to cover some of the bump-ups into that position, but we still have that level in there. So this just makes it that we're not bumping somebody up -- that we're working them out of title more than they should be and putting them in a titled position, if you will. TOTH: If I can follow up, I guess my concern is obviously, I don't want you having to work 120 hours a week, and I want to pay our people fairly. However, it is a tough year to do it, and understanding that it's much more complicated than saying, oh, we'd just pay the promotion less, I really would love to hear some alternatives because I want to find a way to make it work. It's hard for me to just say, okay, apply for the automatic aid, and we're not going to do anything. Anyway, I guess I'm kind of thinking out loud, but I want to find a way to make you and your guys as happy as we can but also keeping an eye out for what's looking like a very tight year. OTT: I appreciate that. And keeping the guys happy is not -- I don't want to say this in the wrong way, but in being able to run the department in the most efficient cost effective way is what the important part is here, okay? The crews that are up here, they're great. They understand a lot of things. They do things because they like being TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 29 of 90 up here. It's kind of a -- and if you've known me over the last years that I've been able to manage the budget here, I don't spend money that -- we don't have a lot of wants that I buy. The majority of everything is a need, and I don't really come to you unless it is a need. And we can work within the parameters that you give us. At some point, this is the best structure to serve the town regardless if we do automatic aid or mutual aid. At some point, part of the automatic aid process has a overall plan in it and what your plan would be and how are you going to do that. I personally have a hard time going in saying that we would -- using these positions as an example, in my automatic aid application to say, oh, in next year and the year after that, we're going to have battalion chiefs and battalion safety officers. Again, if the money's not in my hand, I have a hard time committing to a group of regional fire chiefs to say, this is where we're going to be. Everybody deals with a budget. They understand budget cuts. They understand when money comes in, when money doesn't come in, but it's just the going in and saying, this is what our plan is, in a year or two years, we're going to have this structure to support the rest of the region. And without having some kind of direction on that, I would have a hard time to include that, but they're going to want that in the application, what our overall plan is. So -- EARLE: Yes. I want to know -- pardon me -- if it was just a year ago, why did we not start with this format with all these positions, and why a year later? OTT: The overall plan was to come in as close to what the original structure had been under the previous budget, and to use Director Weldy's words, the previous town management and really not knowing what was going to be affected or how we could best serve the town. We're still kind of in that growing process, right? There's some other things that we had to do this year and probably coming into next year that we might not have to do in FY28 or 29. So it is a growing period, and I think it was just kind of an eye opener on my side to how maybe inefficiently we were able to work under the private company that we were previously under. There were some things that were not necessarily in the best interest of the town, but were not in the town's control to improve or maintain without what would have been -- I just know that they couldn't TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 30 of 90 have done it. EARLE: Okay. OTT: So we're at a point now where we're finding out, even though we thought it worked very well, that it didn't work as well as it should work or it could work. EARLE: And I understand you're here asking us if it's okay. We're not asking you if it's okay, which some of you are asking if it's okay to him. You're here to ask us. I'm comfortable with, like, half the increase, but this is a huge increase right now. So I don't know how that would work for you, if you guys will work that out, but if these promotions weren't as big a promotion for each one or down the road or -- OTT: I'm open on our side to -- EARLE: Okay. OTT: -- see what we can do to kind of -- EARLE: Okay. OTT: -- make that work. If we've got a happy medium and you're telling me where -- EARLE: Yeah. OTT: -- you think we should be budget-wise, I think that there's some very smart people on Paul's side, and with Dave Trimble's help as well, I think we can kind of maybe massage that to where it's getting us to where we need to be. EARLE: Okay. OTT: Maybe not July 1st with all of that, but -- EARLE: Uh-huh. OTT: -- we can take a look at the numbers. And again, as the town manager had said, this is not the last bite at the apple, but we're getting closer to where we want to have it polished -- EARLE: Uh-huh. OTT: -- and a little bit -- EARLE: Okay. OTT: -- better, so -- SOLDINGER: Councilwoman Earle, we can do the best we can looking at the numbers TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 31 of 90 again. The challenge is all the backfilling requirements. You know, we can't just do the three promotions. And we have three shifts. I mean, Chief Ott, if we're able to just do an actual battalion chief in one shift, I don't know if that would really serve the residents well. That would be the way we'd find saving, but really, we've looked at all avenues, and what the fire department would like to do, that's the cost. EARLE: So it's a set -- you're saying that there's no adjusted price for each position, that if you're a battalion chief, you have to get a certain amount? SOLDINGER: There's a range. And we actually conservatively looked at those ranges based on the possible staff that would move up, and they're all relatively in the same place on the range that they would be in the higher range, which is towards the lower end. There's not a lot of wiggle room to find savings in those calculations at this point. EARLE: And if there's no middle road, then the other option is we don't do it this year, and we wait another year. You're saying you're better off doing that than -- SOLDINGER: It's a -- EARLE: -- doing it a little -- SOLDINGER: Yeah. Sorry. I -- EARLE: -- less expense to us? SOLDINGER: Right. I mean, if we don't do it this year, it would be $222,000 less in our budget that would likely result in general fund savings and hopefully excess reserves if our revenues come in well. I think the key thing to know is I think the fire department will be back here next year asking for the same thing -- EARLE: Uh-huh. SOLDINGER: -- and you know, we'll have to see how the revenues look year after year just like we do. So it's the fire department's position that this is important for the town. It will better serve the residents. The money is the hard part, right, because we're in a challenging financial position. I just looked at our sales tax revenues, which I'll present to mayor and council at some point soon. We had a good month, so we have had a couple good months. We've had a couple bad months recently. So it's really fluctuating TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 32 of 90 a lot more than it has, and the future is hard to predict. So you know, but again, Chief Ott's going to be here next year asking for the same thing if it doesn't move forward this year. EARLE: My other question is, once you fill the structure the way you want it now, it will always be this structure, so we wouldn't have a -- somewhere down the road where we're going to have this huge changing six or nine positions? OTT: No. And that's a good question too. And the only time that that would change is if we end up developing more -- EARLE: Right. When you said -- OTT: -- like the state -- EARLE: -- if we have another -- OTT: -- trust land or -- EARLE: Yeah. OTT: -- that. But as a whole, unless something drastically changes and we double our call numbers in the next three or four years, I think that we can kind of handle what we have, looking at it. And thanks to some collaboration from one of the other team members on the director's side of things here, we can also cut this in half by starting it in January. EARLE: Well, that's a good option. OTT: So -- EARLE: January of 2027 -- 6. Yeah. OTT: '26. EARLE: Even though -- OTT: We're in '25 -- EARLE: -- this is '26 -- OTT: -- so '26. EARLE: -- in July, it's still the 25th. OTT: FY26. EARLE: I get confused. Yeah. That's an option. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 33 of 90 OTT: So like I said, you know, we're willing to work and pull our share and take cuts where we need to, but -- SOLDINGER: Yeah. That was an option I didn't think of, so I mean, that's -- MCMAHON: Yeah. But didn't you just say, Chief Ott, this was a need, and even if we put it off like a year or whatever, we still have the need, and we're still eventually going to spend the same amount of money? And it might even be more if we put it off -- OTT: Well -- MCMAHON: -- depending upon, you know, if the salaries and range change and increase, so -- OTT: It would be -- there would still be some cost there -- MCMAHON: Yes. OTT: -- true, yes. MCMAHON: Right. Thank you. OTT: So it might not be that full 220, but it's still cutting it down if we did it and we worked the same system we're working right now until January or so, so -- MCMAHON: It doesn't sound like it would be significant. OTT: I'm sorry? MCMAHON: It doesn't sound like it would change significantly. OTT: I would defer that to -- MCMAHON: Okay. OTT: -- my numbers people because my fireman math doesn't always get the decimal point in the right place. STELPSTRA: Mayor, councilmember, the -- as far as costs, what was suggested here, delaying it to January would cut our cost in the current budget because we'd only have six months, but as you indicated, this is the cost annually. So if we make these promotions, that 220 carries forward into next year's budget, so by delaying it, we are reducing the amount we're spending next year. But ultimately, the promotions for these individuals, the amount that they're getting once they're promoted is the same, and to something Paul was alluding to earlier, we are looking mainly mostly going to the TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 34 of 90 minimum level of the range so that there's really not a lot of flexibility there in the salary positions there. MCMAHON: Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? SKILLICORN: Thank you. Well in six months, we'll know a little more of what our sales tax revenue will also be, so -- GOODWIN: Mayor, if we're ready, I definitely need to get a little more information from each of you about what you would like to do. If you're okay with it, I'd like to ask each of you if you would like to pursue the automatic aid application and if you would like to authorize the budget to include the promotions, and each question would be -- it would be two questions to each of you so I get an idea of what our majority is thinking. I think we've had quite a bit of discussion on this, and I appreciate the willingness of each of you to kind of look at this in different ways to try to find a happy medium. I think at the end of the day, I can tell you Dave and Paul and I and Trimble and number of other staff have looked at it to try to figure out, is there a way to do this? This is the number. Whether we delay it by six months, it's still the number. Next year, it gets wrapped into the budget and another 111 -- SOLDINGER: Yeah, 110, 111. GOODWIN: 110. SOLDINGER: With the six-month delay, it would be about half for next year, but then the full amount, the 330, would be included in the -- GOODWIN: Yes. SOLDINGER: -- budget year after that -- GOODWIN: Yes. SOLDINGER: -- to do everything. GOODWIN: So to, I think, what Councilmember Skillicorn was saying, we can budget for it and then come back and seek authorization in January, if that's what you'd like to do, so that there's still the conversation to say, well, if the budget's not going well, if the TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 35 of 90 economy's not going well, maybe we delay again. But at the end of the day, this is the cost, so I'd like to get some direction of how you'd like to proceed. I'm -- Oh, go ahead. MCMAHON: I'm good with proceeding with it because it's a need. From what's being said, the cost is the cost, and it's going to increase the safety and health and welfare of our town, as well as take care of the firefighters, and it's going to match up with other -- GOODWIN: Okay. MCMAHON: -- fire departments. GOODWIN: Okay. So to confirm, then, you're supportive of both the application and the budgetary? Okay. Great. Councilman Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: A six-month delay would be prudent. I don't see a downside to the application though. GOODWIN: Okay. Sounds great. Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Me next? I approve of the application and also doing the six-months' delay. GOODWIN: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah, I would approve the application. And you know, when we decided to take fire in house, I anticipated there were going to be further expenses from when we initially got the fire department kicked off. I don't see any reason to delay having adequate staffing for the automatic aid application, so I would vote for proceeding yes, yes. GOODWIN: Okay. Councilman Watts? WATTS: I don't want to. [LAUGHTER] SOLDINGER: Hard decision. It really is. WATTS: Well believe it or not, I understand the hierarchy, but I feel bad for the 18 or the 24 guys that are not going to be at the BC level. How do we handle them if they TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 36 of 90 have nowhere to go, or is that just an issue of attrition and replacement, and we don't worry about it? OTT: Councilmember, yeah, there is some of that. There would be 27 that would not be battalion chiefs, again, if my fireman math's right, so we'll only have three battalion chiefs. But -- WATTS: Uh-huh. OTT: -- in that, for the other movement for the rest of the 27, at some point, there's going to be some attrition. There's also going to be, if we go through with the -- when we go through with the whole plan, there'd be basically six more moves in there, so there's always going to be that chance for that younger guy that's motivated or younger girl that's motivated to kind of move up and fill one of those other spots in there, so -- WATTS: Kind of like the real world. OTT: Pardon? WATTS: Kind of like the real world. OTT: Correct. WATTS: Yeah, basically. So I'm a yes on the application for the aid -- GOODWIN: Uh-huh. WATTS: -- and I'd like the six-month delay to January. GOODWIN: All righty. Vice Mayor? TOTH: I agree. I'm for the application for automatic aid, and I think the six-month delay would be prudent just to keep an eye on our sales tax revenue. But I think that we should prioritize our guys, so -- GOODWIN: Mayor? MAYOR FRIEDEL: I would concur with that. And also, we're very safe, and we appreciate the fire department, so we're going to find a way to get this done. So we'll budget for it, wait until January, and we'll do the automatic aid application as well. GOODWIN: Okay. Great. Thank you. SOLDINGER: Well, that was a marathon discussion. We're not even halfway done. [LAUGHTER] TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 37 of 90 SOLDINGER: That's only 14 slides in. Okay. So back into supplements, we have some one-time supplements. If you did look in the book, which it's kind of hidden, so you might not have seen it, we do have -- we had several other. We had 47 supplements we considered this year, and actually, a lot of the one-time supplements had to do with the fire department, but we're trying to get some of them done this year. We actually also applied for a grant to hopefully get some additional funding to replace some equipment. So there's not many one-time supplements this year we've included in the proposed budget, and you'll see that we've reduced the amounts. And it's mainly for Kevin Snipes' department with parks and Community Center operations, so he can answer any questions. But -- Yes? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Paul, I'm sorry. I hate to backtrack, but I had one more question. We were hiring a streets -- additional street -- SOLDINGER: Yes. MAYOR FRIEDEL: -- street maintenance technician. I don't see Justin here to ask this question. SOLDINGER: Yeah. Where'd he go? I have the document he submitted, or we could always come back to it. MAYOR FRIEDEL: So my question was, is that full or part time, and can that job be done on a part-time basis? SOLDINGER: It's full time, I'm pretty sure. Does that sound right? Yes. We can ask him that when he enters in, and we'll put him right on the spot whenever he shows back up. So the 90,000 is all inclusive of benefits too -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Right. SOLDINGER: -- so -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Right. And that's strictly street maintenance; is that right? SOLDINGER: Yes. As far as I understand, yes. And that would be paid out of the streets TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 38 of 90 fund. MAYOR FRIEDEL: There he is. SOLDINGER: Oh, there he is. Hello. GOODWIN: Welcome back. WELDY: (Indiscernible) everybody. [LAUGHTER] MAYOR FRIEDEL: Sorry, Justin. WELDY: Pardon me. I was outdoors with Economic Development discussing some strategies. What was the question, and who asked it, please? MAYOR FRIEDEL: So the question is, you're looking to hire an additional street maintenance technician? WELDY: That is correct. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Can that job be done on a part-time basis? WELDY: No, sir. Currently, one of the street technicians was moved into facilities locating simply because we have so many tickets that come from the 811 center trying to divide that up amongst other folks is just too challenging to train and keep trained with the proper equipment, leaving the street department with two and a half persons to fill potholes, put up signs, and do everything else. We had originally, through attrition, worked this individual up two years ago now, and we've been making do. The last year when we requested this position in the budget, it was denied. We simply need this person to continue functioning at a bare minimum level of service in streets. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And I know our streets need the attention. Okay. Thank you. WELDY: You're welcome. SOLDINGER: Thank you, sir. EARLE: Can I ask a question? SOLDINGER: Oh, Justin -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Sorry. Councilwoman? EARLE: Well, this might be for Kevin. Additional part-time park attendant? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 39 of 90 SOLDINGER: I have the document if you want me to pull it up. SNIPES: Yes. So we're looking at adding some more times in -- this is more of a, like Paul was saying, adding hours to wherever we can get additional help with all the activities that are going on in the parks, as well as with the tournaments that are going on, and making sure that we have enough staff to continue to perform at the level that we're at. EARLE: How many do we have now? SNIPES: That's a good question. GOODWIN: Kevin, more specifically, how many work on a -- SNIPES: At a time? GOODWIN: Uh-huh. SNIPES: So we'll have two on each shift and so then extras as needed depending on what's going on on that day. I think we have six total right now. And so like, for example, if we were having -- if there was an event going on from an external group, then we would add an extra person to where that event space was to help mitigate trash and help out around the event. Like the Look Up that we just had, we had extra staff on hand to help take care of that, but when you only have six people to move around, it gets creative in how you do that. EARLE: (Indiscernible) at one time? SNIPES: Not at one time, yes. EARLE: Are they all part time? SNIPES: They are, yes. EARLE: So they basically don't have benefits? SNIPES: Correct. EARLE: And is this something you -- like, three years ago, did you have as many, or six years ago, did you have -- SNIPES: Close -- EARLE: -- as many? SNIPES: Close to this many, if not the same, I would say. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 40 of 90 Rach, I don't know if you -- EARLE: But then you wanted to add -- SNIPES: We're right around six, usually. GOODWIN: So I think -- EARLE: So you're going to go to seven? GOODWIN: No. So it's not necessarily bodies. Thinking of it as additional shifts, so on a Saturday, you have someone that comes in and opens the parks and works the morning shift, and then you have someone that comes in in the afternoon, works the afternoon and closes in the evenings, right? So you have two shifts that may be two different people on a Saturday, and then two more do it on Sunday. The hiccup comes when you say, well, we have an event in the park on Saturday night, and then we have a ball tournament going on at Golden Eagle all weekend. Well that park attendant can't be two places at once, and so we're running into demands for services at multiple parks throughout that shift. So being able to say, okay, kind of, sort of divide and conquer, you take these three; I'll take these three. Make sure that the trash is picked up and the restrooms are maintained and whatever else is going on. And oh, by the way, can you run over here and make sure that this power outlet is working and this sprinkler is turned off, and can you drag this ballfield? So it's a matter of we just have more demand going on in the parks, plural, throughout, and then you have two more parks getting ready to come online, that while they won't really have -- well I mean, the Stargazing one may have events at it, but the other one just needs to have, again, trash checked and things like that. EARLE: So when we have these events, like the Look Up, did they pay -- they have to pay a fee, so all these fees with all these events, are they helping to pay for these employees, these part-time jobs? So are we having more events to have more income to pay for these jobs? SNIPES: Yeah. The events do the special event application, and they pay for the rental which helps to cover all the staffing that we have. Kind of like what we did for adding -- last year, we added some part-time help to run our pickleball leagues and our cornhole, TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 41 of 90 and those are pretty much self-sustained by the events that are being run. EARLE: Because I might -- unless I'm not -- I'm trying to follow the numbers. We say we need to cut our expenses because we're worried about not having enough money, am I not correct with that, but then we're adding jobs because we are having more events and getting more money. So what am I missing? GOODWIN: No. Actually, you're spot on. I think the -- I'm just going to sort of pack it differently in the idea that with the exception of Justin's staff, each of these come with some level of offset in that -- for instance, we'll use the park attendant. Park attendants, the ballfields are being paid to be used, so there is an income so that we can then say, okay, well, we have additional income coming in. It makes sense that we can then pay to have more staff out there to support that income. So there's an offset. Same thing to be said with the part-time seasonal operation staff at the Community Center. We wouldn't need those staff if we weren't having more programs, more rentals, more activity happening. So there is a -- it may not be dollar-for-dollar, but the idea that there is a revenue offset coming with each of these, that's -- at least those are the -- those two particularly have that direct usage. And again, it comes back down to the service that's expected in the community. If someone arrives to our parks on a Sunday afternoon and it is trashcans overflowing and there's sticky stuff all over the picnic tables, there's an expectation that those need to be cleaned and not, you know, left in that manner. When you only have one staff person available to do that, that becomes a problem. So there's a service element that goes along with the additional usage that's being paid for too. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Rachael, let me add to that. GOODWIN: Uh-huh. MAYOR FRIEDEL: The number of tournaments, maybe I'm wrong, but those ballfields at Golden Eagle Friday, Saturday, Sunday -- GOODWIN: Uh-huh. MAYOR FRIEDEL: -- they're packed all the time now. I don't know if that's something new, but I just happened to notice that in the last couple of months, really. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 42 of 90 GOODWIN: Oh, yeah, no. They're pushing almost 30-something tournaments. MAYOR FRIEDEL: So Gayle, they're renting out those fields every weekend, so there is an offset for this. SNIPES: We're about 35-plus weekends a year where we have tournaments going on. But then we also have a calling card of a park that brings in a ton of people just in general, and our usage of the parks has certainly increased a lot since I've been here. The parking lots prove that, and the amount of people that are parking in the street on just a regular day show that. And with that comes the need for more staff to help make sure that things stay the way that they should be. And the people that are coming in are eating out more and helping with that revenue as well, so you know, it's a vicious circle of the more we do, the more people come in, the more they use our facilities, the more that we have to make it so that they want to come back and tell their friends to come back, and so this will help with all of that. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? SKILLICORN: Thank you. As I recall, the Community Center operates at a pretty healthy loss, so how much revenue are these special events actually bringing in? SOLDINGER: I can give some examples. I don't know -- I might have to -- SKILLICORN: Well I mean, we're expected to approve a certain dollar amount here. SOLDINGER: Sure. SKILLICORN: You know, I'm curious of how much revenue that these special events actually bring in. I think that's important. SOLDINGER: It's a great question. We actually track them separately in our financial system, but we categorize them in certain categories. So in our -- oh, I'm actually jumping the wrong way. Yeah, general fund, I can show you a couple categories these revenues roll into and the total amount that we bring in a year. GOODWIN: While he does that, I did want to touch on -- we had this conversation exactly about the Community Center and the events or the fees associated, and based on that conversation that we had back in February, we will be moving towards a more TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 43 of 90 consistent cost recovery model, i.e., moving towards using the fees that are set based on that direction, i.e., we will not be having additional offsets, additional reductions, additional incentives, so to speak, and we will be moving to that model as of this next fiscal year, so July 1. That will help somewhat to your point. I can't give you the exact dollar amount, but I do know when Kevin presented that, it was somewhere in the wheelhouse of $30,000 -- SOLDINGER: Yeah. GOODWIN: -- if we move to that model. SOLDINGER: Yeah. So -- SKILLICORN: Which is only a couple percent. I mean, it's -- GOODWIN: Correct. SKILLICORN: It doesn't really move the needle much. GOODWIN: Well if we're bringing in $30,000 more and we're spending 10 on our staff, we're still at a net positive in order to do that. SKILLICORN: Well, the total we're spending on parks is significant. I mean -- GOODWIN: Uh-huh. SKILLICORN: -- now we changed the slide here, but you know, what we were talking -- a six-figure, you know, adjustment here and the total we're already spending is very, very significant, so it's not small. GOODWIN: Yup. You're right. SOLDINGER: Yeah. So Councilmember Skillicorn, to that thought, the general premise of government is when you operate programs, you're not going to make a profit for the most part. You're usually bringing in other revenues either from the state level or local sales taxes to support those programs. But it's understandable to look at those types of revenues. On this slide with the general fund -- that's not working for me. There's probably no batteries. SKILLICORN: Is it 260,000? SOLDINGER: The 260,000 is the charges for services. That's a lot of our programs. Like, I believe our Community Center membership goes in there. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 44 of 90 SKILLICORN: Does that include permits and things also though? SOLDINGER: What kind of permits, like special event permits? SKILLICORN: Well I'm thinking -- like, let's say a permit to put in a water heater that most people don't pay. SOLDINGER: No. That would be licenses and permits. SKILLICORN: Okay. SOLDINGER: Most of that's made up of development permits. Some of it has to do with business licenses and things like that for a majority of that. SKILLICORN: Okay. SOLDINGER: That's actually what I talked to Councilmember Watts about at one of the recent retreats. See fiscal year '24, we brought in almost 1.4 million of that revenue. It was a great year all of a sudden, but a lot of that was a one-time kind of situation where we brought in a lot of encroachment permits. But getting back to the Community Center -- SKILLICORN: Uh-huh. SOLDINGER: -- most of the programs that we run and things that are going through the Community Center are going to be going through that charges for services, or the leases and rents, a lot of times when you're renting a Ramada and things like that, that's where those revenues -- so combined, yes, they're not a huge part of our general fund, you know, around 600,000 or so, but we are supporting, you know, some of these services with that revenue. And to some of the changes we're making, we have made several changes to the fee schedule this year to increase some fees to stop -- you know, we're not going to make that a practice of doing fee waivers as much. That should increase our revenue. We haven't reflected that in our projections yet because we don't really know the full impact, but next year, we certainly will look at that as well. SKILLICORN: Thank you. SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. I'll go back. WATTS: So Paul, I think that this is a good time where we would be able to capture what the cost per park, per community center, et cetera, would be, rather than putting TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 45 of 90 them into one single bucket. To Councilman Skillicorn's point, we were kind of fumbling last year in saying what is it, what could it be, what should it be, and even the comment, we're going to waive less special fees, maybe we should not waive any special fees. But what we really ought to do is make sure that somewhere in this grand chart of accounts that we've got -- SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. WATTS: -- be able to identify the particular facility, park, community center, whatever, and say that particular facility generated this amount of fees -- SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. WATTS: -- and it is X amount of dollars under what the operating costs are. So do we need to adjust it because of the increase in PBT, maybe? SOLDINGER: Yeah. WATTS: We don't know, so we're speculating to some degree. SOLDINGER: Absolutely. We keep track of most of -- so we keep track of our revenues by where they're coming in, for the most part, throughout the town, so we are able to pull that information. It's a molecular level type of information that we don't necessarily include in these presentations. It is something our staff look at every day. I don't want to overstate this, but we're busy every day just scrambling around. There's so many things going on even at our small town as far as revenues coming in every day and expenditures going out the door. So we can pull that information, and I will definitely be mindful of your comments in trying to integrate some of that. WATTS: I think for next year it'd be a great thing to be able to have something concrete that says, here's what it costs us, here's what we brought in, here's what we need to do, if anything. I mean, we don't have to do any adjustments, but on the other hand, we shouldn't be running way upside down on what it costs to operate, so -- SOLDINGER: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I appreciate that. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You know, this conversation comes up a lot. And you did address it today, Paul, and I TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 46 of 90 appreciate that very much. This private sector versus public sector, what we can expect on investment is something that we really have to drill down on. Fountain Hills isn't a corporation as such that we have stockholders, and we're looking for return on investments. In the private sector, there's shareholders, and they expect a return on the investment of the money they put in. Our shareholders are the people that live in Fountain Hills. When they have good services, when they have street maintenance technicians, building inspectors, a fire department, the people coming to put out the fires, the park attendants, this is generated on staff's observations of what a expectation is of the people of this town, and if we don't provide adequate services or staffing, then it affects the property values of the town, and it makes the town look like it's a town in decline. You know, even if the Community Center is working at a 90-percent loss, that doesn't bother me at all -- SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. KALIVIANAKIS: -- because we don't have a budget like a home budget or like a corporate budget. We get money in; we put money out. We try to provide the very best services that we can. If there's programs we need to cut, we cut them, but the programs that we have, they're adequately funded, and they are there for our people, the residents, our shareholders, to enjoy. And that's a -- like Rachael said, how come the garbage cans are always full? You know, when we have festivals, the garbage cans are full, and people are very put off by that. And so you know, to me, I don't think we should look at this as we're running a private company. It's a public company, and if, you know, we need a new street maintenance technician or a parking lot attendant, if you guys say that we need it, I mean, you know, I just think it's our job to give it to you because you know, we're not out there in the field like you guys are. So I have no problem with any of these expenditures. SOLDINGER: I appreciate the comments. Let me just touch on that a little bit, just some governmental accounting background. Sometimes I talk too much, and this is probably one of those times. But so the town doesn't have any enterprise funds, and that is the one time in a government that you TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 47 of 90 are trying to technically be self-sustaining or maybe turn a bit of a profit to sustain operations. For example, if we were running a landfill in town or if we were running a water utility, that's where you hear about some of these municipalities raising rates astronomically because it's meant to make a profit or at least self-sustain itself and be able to pay for all of its expenses. And so when you go into the governmental accounting or governmental fund world, like our general fund, that's the general principle. There is an element of cost recovery, though. You should be charging a somewhat market rate for services, and we did a lot on that this year. Our fee schedule has been updated quite a bit, and it's posted on our website with the updates. So we spent a lot of time on that this year, and we'll continue to do so as long as I'm here, so yeah. All right. Anybody want to talk more about these items? No? Okay. Nonpersonnel one-time supplements. Again, a lot of this is in the Community Services Department. We are recommending lower amounts. We kind of discussed each one. We're kind of getting to that point where we've included a lot of supplements already. Some of these do seem like needs. I know the soccer field renovations relate to the soccer field at Desert Vista that needs a lot of work. The park amenity pane deals with some of the equipment that just needs to be repainted throughout the park, so things like that. So we have $60,000 there. And our vehicle replacement fund, so this is a fund we use to replace vehicles, not the initial purchase. And what we do, it's a simple accounting concept. It's called an internal service fund where we're basically just charging departments that have vehicles. So it looks like an expense, but we're just taking that money and putting it in this fund to save up, to save up for when we need to replace the vehicles, whether it's 10 or 12 years down the line. So that $390,000 for the brush truck is for the fire department. That vehicle is 12 years old, about. OTT: 13. SOLDINGER: 13 years old. It's in need of replacement, so that's why it's here at that amount. We do have about $2.7 million saved up in that fund at this time. So those do TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 48 of 90 look like big numbers, but that's kind of the concept behind them. Anybody have any questions about those? No? EARLE: Does it include sales tax? SOLDINGER: It does, it does, yes. Great question. And there's a little bit of contingency built in that fund in case something goes wrong in trying to procure the vehicle, but yes. All right. Another one that we'll ask for direction on from mayor and council -- let me get some water real quick. It's been a while since I've had some. GOODWIN: (Indiscernible) drinking water. SOLDINGER: I know. I got the biggest one I could find. MAYOR FRIEDEL: There's several more bottles under there. [LAUGHTER] SOLDINGER: Oh, I don't know whose water that is. Okay. So for the past three years, we've accumulated data for cost of living adjustment considerations for mayor and council, and you'll see in the right side of the table, that's the data we've accumulated for this year. I've tried to kind of highlight what they are. The first one relates to inflation for last calendar year, that 1.6 percent in the Phoenix- Scottsdale area; the next one's a local government and state and local government index -- basically, that's the expected pay raises for state and local government workers; I believe it's across the country -- the next one's a private sector index, which is five percent; then you have a State of Arizona minimum wage increase and Social Security cost of living adjustment increases; and the next three relate to broad compensation surveys that are either nation- or maybe even worldwide; and then the last one is our deputy town manager conducted a survey, and we've received responses from 15 other municipalities. And so I talked to Councilmember Watts the other day about this, and so a lot of them are some of the bigger municipalities in Maricopa County, but there are a lot of outer-lying local governments too. And this is just based on kind of -- they're at the same point we are, right? We're preparing the budget, and this is what we think it will be. So it's a little bit of a guess on our part, but that's that 4.63 percent that we TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 49 of 90 accumulated. So in total, all these indicators are at the bottom average at that 3.53 percent. And the only other thing to mention is on the lefthand side, you'll see that for every one percent that mayor and council directs us to add to the budget, that would cost a additional $107,000 in budget, and most of that's in the general fund, $98,000, with a little bit in the streets fund and economic development fund. So at this time, we'd like your direction or discussion on what you'd like us to include in the budget for staff pay. EARLE: So what are you asking here? We go eeny, meeny, miny, moe? GOODWIN: So -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: No, you go to moe. [LAUGHTER] GOODWIN: So the COLA is at your direction. The cost of living -- EARLE: Okay. GOODWIN: -- adjustment for staff salaries is at your -- EARLE: Because -- GOODWIN: -- direction. EARLE: -- I thought I'd heard two and a half percent. I don't see that here. GOODWIN: That's -- EARLE: Well, I do, I guess. GOODWIN: Well, that is your decision. That is what we're asking for. What number do you -- EARLE: Oh -- GOODWIN: What number do you want? This is data so that you can say -- EARLE: Uh-huh. GOODWIN: -- well, what's the average? What are other cities doing? What's the Social Security -- these are all just data points so that you can kind of compare them. EARLE: This is done annually? GOODWIN: Correct. SOLDINGER: Yes. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 50 of 90 EARLE: And what did you do last year? GOODWIN: If you look at the bottom -- EARLE: Oh, I see. GOODWIN: There, the bottom. SOLDINGER: Yeah. So the very bottom shows it -- EARLE: Oh, I see. It was seven percent in '24. SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. There was high inflation, I believe, around that period, and you'll see, like, some of the higher indicators above. Yeah. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? WATTS: I knew I saw the BLS, Bureau of Labor Statistics, somewhere, and here it is. SOLDINGER: Yes. It's the third one, the private sector index. WATTS: So it's in Phoenix-Scottsdale consumer as well. That must be a regional -- well, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provided that as well, as well as the Employment Cost Index -- SOLDINGER: Yes. WATTS: -- and the average sector, so a couple of different places. But I think along the lines of what the Social Security Administration has provided this year, I'd be a supporter of two and a half percent, not three and a half percent. That's been their cost of living adjustment coming up for this coming year. SOLDINGER: Okay. TOTH: I wanted to state my agreement to that and somewhat explain why we just spent a significant amount of time realizing that there's very little wiggle room in the budget that we currently have, and any of this amount as stated cuts into that 1.23 million contingency. In a time where we are seeing fluctuation and there are some unknowns, I would be very uncomfortable with taking out nearly 400,000, 380,000 of that contingency, so I'm a little bit more amicable to 2.5. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. In my research on this topic, it seems like federal employees earn 4.3, 4.5 percent. If TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 51 of 90 you look around the state, I know there's a great deal of variety, but a lot of the cost of living for the different municipalities are based on average income and average worth of the community. In Fountain Hills, I think the average person makes $100,000 a year here -- SOLDINGER: That's about accurate, yes. KALIVIANAKIS: -- and when I go to Mesa, I can get my car washed for $5; I come here, and it's $22, and so we're on the road to the automatic wash. And so it's kind of expensive to live in Fountain Hills. We've tried to encourage our employees to work and live in Fountain Hills, and so I think anything less than the average cost of living at 3.53 percent would not be acceptable to me. I think 3.5, 3.53, would still be less than many of the more affluent municipalities are getting, also less than the federal government employees are getting, and so I think -- I know it hurts. I know that these over $100,000 a year for one percent -- or you're doing three percent, but you know, people have to live, and I would encourage a more generous cost of living to try to keep and maintain employees to stay here and work here. SOLDINGER: Okay. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? WATTS: I need to revise my number. SOLDINGER: Okay. WATTS: I just looked; 2026 is 2.2 percent, is what the cost of living adjustment is, but I'd still stay with the 2.5 percent. But I think that that is consistent with what we're going to see in the market, particularly this coming year, particularly because of the volatility in the markets today. So 2.5 percent. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor? TOTH: I just wanted to shout out, if you do need your car washed, the one on Shea, you can do it for five bucks, just saying. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you. I'll look into it. TOTH: I use it all the time. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 52 of 90 MCMAHON: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. And staff, you're always appreciated for what you do. You guys practically work 24/7, so thank you. We appreciate it. We do live in an expensive place, gas expensive, things are more expensive, food, the whole nine yards. And even though we're coming into a rocky period, if we have money in the budget for this now, I think that I would be good between 2 and -- 3 to 5 -- 3 to 3.5 percent raise. So because as everybody knows, once you're hired in, you have the salary, then you're praying every year to get a decent raise, et cetera, whatever that might be, but I think that recognizing all that you bring to our town -- and it's a lot because we have a lot more events and things like that, and it's a great place to come. And I just feel that a decent 3 to 3.5 percent increase is appropriate and won't break the bank. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: Oh, yeah. I'll make it short. I support 2.5 percent. SKILLICORN: Yeah. If senior citizens have to only contend with the 2.2, I'd have to go with the lower 2.5, and frankly, I'm still more concerned about increasing headcount than this particular one number. MCMAHON: The staff that's working isn't senior citizens. It's staff working every day. No offense to senior citizens. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And I would fall in the three to three and a half percent range too. MCMAHON: Thank you. GOODWIN: Okay. So that puts us at four of you guys supporting a two and a half, and three of you with the three to three and a half. So at this point, the two and a half would be the direction. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Unless anybody wants to revise theirs to three? GOODWIN: If you want to split the difference, we can go at -- WATTS: Did you say that it's four-three for two and a half? GOODWIN: Correct. WATTS: Yeah. I'm going to stay there. Thank you. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 53 of 90 MAYOR FRIEDEL: All right. Okay. SOLDINGER: All right. Let's move on. Okay. TOTH: If I may -- SOLDINGER: The final -- TOTH: Sorry. SOLDINGER: Oh, go ahead. TOTH: I'm feeling the pressure here, so I wanted to say, obviously, we love our staff. We love everything that you do. I hope that you feel how much I appreciate what you do. To be very honest, I make 50,000. I'm not getting a cost of living raise any time soon. I'm sorry, but we do do this every year. 2.5 percent is perfectly reasonable. We love you. Thank you for all you do. But I just am already feeling the, oh, you guys don't love our staff thing, and that's not the case. We're just trying to do what we can to be smart about our budget. So we love you all. If I'm okay, you'll be okay. MCMAHON: Clarification -- KALIVIANAKIS: And if you need a cheap car wash, ask Hannah where to get it because that's probably where you'll be going. MCMAHON: Yeah. Well, I wasn't putting down the staff or anything or saying that anybody else wasn't, so there's no misunderstanding. And if other employers aren't giving raises, well, that's not our responsibility. I think that we're recognizing the fact that we want to give you a raise, and I'm still good with 3 to 3.5 percent. I think that is appropriate. Thank you. SOLDINGER: Okay. All right. So now, we're going to get into the funds. So we're just going to talk about the major funds we typically talk about during council meetings. And I think we can maybe speed through them, but I'm sure there will be some questions. So we're going to present the funds today. If you want to look at any individual department in particular and look at their budget specifically, feel free to let me know, most appropriately in the general fund because that's where most of them live. I have a link where I can just jump to the budget book, and we can look at that. But for our general fund, we're going to start with projected fund balances. We've TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 54 of 90 already talked about this so many times, but it's a good reminder. We're projecting to have about $14 to 15 million in the general fund after fiscal year end, so beginning next fiscal year, fiscal year '26, probably closer to that 14 million, I'm thinking, based on what we've been seeing lately, but that would allow us to keep our -- we have our reserve requirements in the general fund. That is actually going up by about a million dollars this year because our last five years had increased revenue, so our rainy day fund will be required to have a little over 5 million. And for our rainy day fund, just a reminder, we're unable to spend that out of the general fund unless certain things come up like a huge drop in state-shared revenue all of a sudden that's unexpected, we're able to access that under policy with mayor and council approval. So we also are required to keep another 5.01 million in the unassigned fund balance, which just means we can use that for general fund operations, so we have that reserve requirement. After that, we're projecting to have about $4 to 5 million left over of excess reserves which policy would be required to send over to the capital projects fund. So as we've discussed, in the general fund, we're projecting a very slight increase of one percent of revenue for next fiscal year up to 26.05 million, and we have our balanced budget with the same amount of expenditures. We've talked about the general fund revenues quite a bit. Here's some charts just to kind of show you, and what's kind of helpful is it also shows actual amounts in the prior two years so you can see how our revenues have played out the last few years. As you can see in the pie chart, most of our revenues in the general fund are related to taxes, most of that local sales taxes, and then state-shared revenue, which we've talked about as well. So right there, that's 90 percent of the revenues going into our general fund, and the rest of the revenues are there below, as we've discussed. If you look at the table below, I think it's helpful, and it really shows our conservative budgeting practices. When you look at the tax revenues, we've brought in about $17 million a year the past two years. We're projecting 15.3 million in total for next fiscal year, two years later, so that's a good indicator, showing you the wiggle room we do have if there is economic pressures next year, that we'll be able to still hopefully be able to operate as a town TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 55 of 90 efficiently and effectively. So in total, the 26.05 million, and that's the revenues. General fund expenditures I'll talk about a little bit more on the next slide, but -- EARLE: Can I -- SOLDINGER: Oh, yes. EARLE: -- ask a question? SOLDINGER: Of course. EARLE: Sorry. What do you -- where are you collecting the fines and forfeitures? What is that from? That's -- SOLDINGER: That -- EARLE: -- a lot of money, 200,000. SOLDINGER: That's from the municipal court. EARLE: Oh. SOLDINGER: Yeah. All that is coming from the municipal court, like speeding tickets and things like that, so yeah, things like that. General fund expenditures, this comes up a lot, but in that left chart, our public safety is about half of our general fund budget this year. It's budgeted for about 45.5 percent, with the fire department being the biggest department, and law enforcement is mostly our MCSO contract within that department, then Community Services is our third biggest department going on down the line. One thing to note about Community Services and Public Works is they use multiple funds. Community Services uses the general fund primarily, but they're also managing projects out of the capital projects fund. And Public Works, the street paving and all the other streets expenditures, the Public Works Department manages that as well. In the right chart, it just shows you that about 44 percent of our general fund budget is payroll expenditures and another 35 percent is contractual services, mostly the MCSO law enforcement contract. And so this is just helpful, again, because it shows you the actual expenditures we spent out of the general fund the prior two years. What's important to know about fiscal year '23, though, if you are looking at that, is that was the last year we spent federal grant revenues, those ARPA monies, on our public TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 56 of 90 safety expenditures, and that was paid out of a different fund. So if you add all that up together, it's like 19.6, 19.7 million we spent on all the same types of things in fiscal year '23; the next year, 21.7; and last year to this year, our budget is relatively similar. The things I tried to spell out on the right are the things that substantially changed in the general fund budget. The MCSO contract reduction will lower our law enforcement department by six percent. Our contingency going down, which is our wiggle room, that reduced our general government and our contingency amounts. The environmental program supplements that used to be paid out of a different fund, that increased the Public Works Department by about that amount, as well as our maintenance repair line item. And then the command structure supplements, obviously, that's going to change based on the changes we'll make before the tentative budget based on the direction today, but that increased the fire department budget, as well as the payroll expenditures. One other broad thing that affected our budget is -- well, two things, our insurance estimates went up in the general fund and streets fund, and our benefit rates increased. Our health insurance and vision went up by about five percent so that all those things kind of accumulate in some of these changes within the budget. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? WATTS: Do we have a -- do we carry our own workman's comp equivalent, or do we have -- do we go to a third party for workman's comp? SOLDINGER: Yes. The insurance pool -- he'll explain it better. He's in charge of that. I just see the numbers. TRIMBLE: We do get worker's comp through AMRRP, the Arizona Municipal Risk Retention Pool -- WATTS: And how is -- TRIMBLE: -- the same way that we get our regular insurance. WATTS: How's our experience modification looking year over year? TRIMBLE: We do pretty well. I don't think we've had major increases in the past few years. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 57 of 90 WATTS: That means we haven't had major accidents -- TRIMBLE: We haven't had -- WATTS: -- the past few years. TRIMBLE: -- major stuff happen. We have small stuff, thankfully. We kind of budgeted a little bit more for when we brought on fire department -- WATTS: Uh-huh. TRIMBLE: -- so I think we're doing pretty good. Nothing that's going to -- WATTS: So no increases in the modification at this point? No increases in the experience modification at this point that you're aware of? TRIMBLE: No. WATTS: Okay. TRIMBLE: Nothing -- WATTS: Thank you. TRIMBLE: Nothing major. Yeah. WATTS: Thank you. TRIMBLE: Yup. SOLDINGER: Thanks, Dave. All right. Any other questions? No? Okay. So that was it for the general fund. Our streets fund is actually very similar to last year. We are projecting to have about $11 to 12 million left in that fund to begin next fiscal year. And one thing we've talked about kind of extensively but I just want to make it clear is we are budgeting out of this fund for our streets pavement management program, but the Palomino reconstruction project, it's budgeted out of the capital projects fund, but it will be paid by the streets fund on an ongoing basis. So that $11 to 12 million, you know, depending on how that project goes, it will be lower the next year. I think I just want to make that clear because we are increasing our ability to do some capital projects, including that project for Palomino, but we are spending money to do it. So depending on how that project goes, we might have to revert back to just doing our street pavement management program next year or the following year. We're just TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 58 of 90 going to have to determine how much money we have left in the fund to be able to do those things. So our revenues have increased a bit. A lot of that has to do with our change in investment earnings projection, methodology, and our state-shared revenues, but our projections for revenues have increased by 7.7 percent. And our budget expenditures went up by 138,000. Most of that has to do with two things, the insurance increase and the payroll for the additional streets maintenance technician that's included in this fund now. Yes? EARLE: This is for Justin -- SOLDINGER: Sure. EARLE: -- I think. Yay, he's here. So Justin, is there a chart somewhere that we can all see what streets have been recently done this past year, what's under construction right now, and what's coming up in the next few months? Is there a place to see all that? WELDY: Mr. Mayor, Madam Councilmember, yes. In our presentation last year to the mayor and council -- EARLE: Uh-huh. WELDY: -- are all of the proposed streets that were selected by the mayor and council. So it's in the agenda packets which are available to all. If you would like some dates, I will look those up and get you the dates where you can go pull those packages. EARLE: That'd be great. WELDY: Yup. EARLE: Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? WATTS: Justin, don't run away. WELDY: Okay. WATTS: Along with that, I know it's somewhere online, but wasn't there supposed to be a project management chart, like a Gantt chart, for each project so we knew what the process was, where it stood at any particular point in time? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 59 of 90 WELDY: Mr. Mayor, Councilmember Watts, I'm not sure I fully understand the question. And are you referencing each individual project and its cost to date? WATTS: No, no. Its completeness. So you've got, for instance, mobilization and then you got staging, and you got different aspects of a project, and a Gantt chart will show you where you're at on a timeline in each of the projects. And I know we talked about this last year, and we were going to have all of the capital improvement projects and then corresponding timelines for each, so when they started and when they were -- what stage they were in. WELDY: So in regards to the street paving, we don't have a chart like that exactly. But I can tell you that everything that was approved was completed Saturday night at 3 a.m., and the work that is happening right now is the direct select of El Lago. The last outlier from that is the crack fill and preservative seal on Saguaro, north of Colony to Fountain Hills Boulevard. All the balance of the projects that were selected for paving have been completed, but I don't have a daily hour breakdown chart for that. WATTS: Well, it's not daily, hourly, and it's not exclusive to paving either. It's any capital improvement project, and maybe Rachael and I should talk about what happened to it. A Gantt chart is pretty easy to put together. It's a little bit harder to establish, but -- GOODWIN: Well, and just to kind of stay on topic, we're talking about streets for next year. We have a whole agenda item coming back for streets as part of our upcoming council meeting, so where we'll talk about streets that have been done this year, streets that are on -- what streets you'd like to get done next year, and the timeline associated. If we're talking about Gantt charts for the entire CIP process, no, we've never had them, and if that's something we want to do, we definitely need to talk offline because that's not how they're structured in our system, i.e., we don't have a set start time on most of them. They're all highly dependent on A, if they greenlit -- WATTS: Uh-huh. GOODWIN: -- B, when we go out to bid, what the cost factors are because they're super sensitive to those different pieces. If a Gantt system and a timeline system is something TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 60 of 90 we want to develop, we did talk about having each CIP -- excuse me -- each CIP listed online and the current process of it, but to your point, if you're looking for something sort of month by month or what the entire project timeline is, it will probably not be to that level. If I recall, we talked about that back probably in December when you guys first came on, right? WATTS: We did, right. GOODWIN: So that's intended for this next coming, FY26's, CIP process. WATTS: So maybe we ought to take a look at that and see, to Councilwoman Earle's question -- GOODWIN: Uh-huh. WATTS: -- something that you can get a quick picture in time of what it is. You could actually click on each of the projects and see in more detail, but there's a timeline that shows when it's projected to start, what the status is in progress, and then when it's going to be completed. GOODWIN: Correct. And that's a little -- yeah, that's a much less intensive and subjective in that I'd hate to put something out there that says, we're going to start your street in October, and then Justin says, well, there was a run on -- WATTS: Right. GOODWIN: -- you know, asphalt, and now we're not going to start until January. And he says, well, you told me -- yes, we know. You know, it's a -- WATTS: Right. GOODWIN: -- variable. To what I think you were asking, and maybe I'm confusing the two, is that when Justin comes back with the streets item -- June, first meeting in June; is that when we have it -- WELDY: I believe so. GOODWIN: -- set up? That's when we'll be able to show you, okay, these are the streets that have been done, these are the streets that we're proposing for next year, this is what the budget has. We know Palomino. We know that that is an identified street based on our capital TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 61 of 90 improvement conversation. The rest of the streets, what I'll call the RAS-recommended streets, which is our data analyzing system that usually tells us, how much can we get done with whatever's left? Usually five million? WELDY: That's what we ask them to budget. GOODWIN: Okay. So roughly with five million, what streets can we knock out? And we give you guys sort of a breakdown of the ones that RAS recommends, what we've heard from the community, and then which ones you guys would like to identify. WATTS: So let's not belabor it too much at this -- GOODWIN: Uh-huh. WATTS: -- point. Let's have a conversation offline and maybe I can give you some examples of a typical project management chart, AKA a Gantt chart, so that we can look at it and see if it's something that's doable, if it's reasonable or not. Some happen very quickly; some don't. But then there's at least this list that we know what we're doing, and you can see where it's at. So we'll talk offline. GOODWIN: Sure. That sounds great. EARLE: I just want to verify that I still would like that from Justin now, not wait until June, what's been done. Thank you. WELDY: We'll get you that. EARLE: Thank you. SOLDINGER: All right. So for the streets fund, some of the revenues have increased relating to state-shared revenues. Our local sales taxes, we're projecting a very slight increase, but as you can see in prior years, you know, we brought in over $1.4 million in this fund. So hopefully, we can continue on that trend of outpacing with our projections. I alluded to March revenues. I just look at those and report to the town manager. Even with some of the challenges this year, we are still -- I just want to clarify, we are still 14 percent above our local sales tax projections for this year. We've had a couple good months that had buoyed that, but just to make it clear, we are above our conservative projections still at this point. Yes, it could start looking less like that in the TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 62 of 90 future, and we look at that every month. But we are still able to do that and operate in our budgetary capacity using those numbers. The streets fund budget didn't change much. We still have $5 million earmarked in that maintenance and repair line item for the street pavement management program that Justin will be bringing our plans for in June for next fiscal year. Really, the other substantial increase is that the streets technician staff member supplement was included in the payroll expense line item. So for the most part, same thing, adding a few -- adding another staff member, for the most part. Capital projects fund, so our capital improvement plan, we just spent two hours, three hours on a couple weeks ago. You know, we do project to have about $8 to 9 million in this fund. I guess when I'm thinking of it, I would like us, after our reserves are met, to have around $10 million in this fund, kind of like on an imprest basis as much as possible, so we'll look at that this coming year. But basically, including all the projects we've discussed, we're budgeting $12.01 million in the capital projects fund to be reimbursed from other funds for certain projects, including another $700,000 for contingency in case there are unforeseen things that have come up, which you've seen throughout this year with some of things we've brought to mayor and council, but that pie chart kind of does show you where the money will actually be spent from for these projects. And remember, that 12 million is the maximum we'll spend next year, so of that, 5.4 million will be -- up to 5.4 million will be spent from the streets fund for the Palomino reconstruction project. Only $2.8 million would be spent from the capital projects fund in total based on what we have budgeted right now because $2.3 million we'd expect in grants, grant revenues back into the fund, and then another 1.5 million of development impact fees that we'd be using for a couple different projects. So when we talk about green light and yellow light projects, just to recap, green light projects are projects that we'll hit the ground running on, start working on and even on some of them during the summer, and we will only bring them back to mayor and council if there are substantial changes in scope or cost. So for the Community Services Department, based on our discussions in the last meeting, we have the 895,000 of TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 63 of 90 normal capital projects and another $700,000 of alternative funded projects from the development impact fee funds. So 1.595 million in green light projects for Community Services. Green light projects in Public Works, 1.415 million to normal Public Works projects. One thing to highlight is that we took direction at the last CIP work session and used option 3 from the discussion on the streetscape improvement program, so what we're budgeting for, that 515,000 includes design for both Parkview and Verde River. So that's what we're budgeting for next year for that project, and it's included in that amount. EARLE: Can I -- sorry. SOLDINGER: Yes. EARLE: I just want to shout out to TAMA if they're watching. We just got something sent to us that they wanted us to discuss at the budget, an hour before the meeting at this budget meeting, that we don't have time to go over three and a half pages, so I apologize. Should've got it sooner, but hopefully, we're covering what you guys want. WATTS: And Paul, the 515,000 for the improvement, you said it includes design. Does it also include the modifications, or is that purely design? SOLDINGER: Purely design? Yeah, design for both, so both of those projects. So at first, we were staggering it more where it'd just be -- WATTS: Uh-huh. SOLDINGER: -- the design of just one of the streets. We're doing both streets, and that's the estimated cost for design. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Also, isn't there a grant that we're getting, about $100,000? SOLDINGER: Yeah. MAYOR FRIEDEL: 90 -- SOLDINGER: Yeah, about 95,000 -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: 95,000, yeah. SOLDINGER: -- towards the design. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 64 of 90 WATTS: And just to go back one slide -- SOLDINGER: Sure. WATTS: -- I'm still lost on Pleasantville. Where is Pleasantville? I thought that was a movie. [LAUGHTER] SOLDINGER: Kevin, do you want to -- SNIPES: Yeah. So that's the new park that's going in at Bainbridge and Golden Eagle Boulevard that we've been talking about for the last couple of years. It was supposed to have been activated this year, but we moved some funds around and -- or some -- SOLDINGER: Budget. SNIPES: -- budget authority around -- SOLDINGER: For streets. SNIPES: -- for streets, and so it's got moved to this coming year instead of this fiscal year. WATTS: Who came up with the name? SNIPES: I've named it that since -- WATTS: Since day one? SNIPES: -- I saw it. Yeah. This is many, many years ago. GOODWIN: To be -- WATTS: Maybe you can help Rachael with the ChatGPT stuff. GOODWIN: To be clear, sometimes it's been called the Stargazing Park -- WATTS: Yeah. GOODWIN: -- if that helps. We have joked internally that the name needs to be decided, and we do not have a name necessarily settled on. So therefore, Kevin said, well, it's his park, so he got naming rights, unless and until someone exercised higher authority. WATTS: Call it Gazer Park. SNIPES: And at that time, the idea of it was more yoga, tai chi type classes, and things like that that made more sense with that, then now -- TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 65 of 90 WATTS: Pleasantville. SNIPES: -- we've moved it over to -- WATTS: Okay. SNIPES: -- the Stargazing side. But enjoy your movie. WATTS: Oh, absolutely. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. If we could go to the next slide, please? SOLDINGER: Sure, of course. KALIVIANAKIS: Again, I would just like to renew my objection to the $500,000 to the downtown streetscape improvement project. I understand that it's going to be significantly more this year because we're going to be doing Parkview and Valverde [sic]. You know, when I was elected a couple years ago, it was all just roads first. That's what our directive was, and when this council came in, it seemed like our direction was on roads. One of the biggest chastisements that we've received, and at least I've received, was, you know, just too many studies, too many designs, you know, roundabouts, this, that, and the other. You know, once again, as I look at the streetscape improvement project, you know, I did have an opportunity to meet with residents of Park Place and with people that live in that area. The biggest thing was they didn't know about it, even though I know we had two work sessions that had maybe 60 or 75 people there, but it's going to be a lot of inconvenience. It's a lot a lot of money for a study, and particularly in light of the fact of all the cost cutting we've done here today -- you know, it seems like we're putting off funding the fire department, and our cost of living adjustment for employees is low -- and then for us to spend 515 just on a design study, it just seems out of whack with our current budgeting. And then when you put on top the $10 million that's going to be on top of that, which is, again, not going to be to improve the roads that I hear about constantly, but it's going to be to expand sidewalks maybe six feet to eight feet and to do café seating in downtown when there really isn't very many cafés. So you know, at this point, I just want to renew my objection to this expenditure and the TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 66 of 90 expenditures that come thereafter. Too much money. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman, we're not talking about putting cafés on Verde River and Parkview, and I think -- KALIVIANAKIS: No. That was downtown, yeah -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: I know. So our -- KALIVIANAKIS: -- for the -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: -- focus now -- KALIVIANAKIS: -- future, yeah. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Our focus now is on Parkview and Verde River, and I thought you had a leadership project that dealt with lighting and crosswalks in that area as well. Are you still against this? KALIVIANAKIS: Actually, my leadership project was for the whole town -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Oh -- KALIVIANAKIS: -- for the downtown area and also for going into all the parks and the highly used traffic areas, and I still think that'd be a really good idea because Fountain Hills is very unsafe at night -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: So -- KALIVIANAKIS: -- with people walking around. But no, I would be for the lighting, and I think that's a very good idea. And actually, I've discussed this with Amanda, that there's a lot of merit in some of what we're doing with the improved lighting, with some of the kitschy upgrades and improvements. You know, I'm all for that. I'd like to see the downtown area improved. It'd be a little more friendly. But it just seems to me that a lot of this is just sidewalk improvement, and I just haven't heard the people of this town request it. MAYOR FRIEDEL: So I think the direction that we've heard from when we had those public meetings -- maybe Amanda wants to comment on this -- was that we were going to wait on downtown -- the avenue, and our focus now is on Parkview and Verde River. And there's no sidewalks -- there's very little sidewalk there to widen, so I think it would be new sidewalks. But the design is for that, and we have a grant for 95,000 that are TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 67 of 90 going to offset a little bit of this as well. Amanda, do you want to comment? JACOBS: Sure, because you're dragging me into this. Mr. Mayor, Councilmember Kalivianakis, so again, in 2024, we held six focus groups with key stakeholders, Plat 208, TAMA, et cetera. We then had four electronic surveys that went to the entire community, and we had an open house in May of 2024 where over 100 folks attended -- it was more of an open-house style -- and so what you're seeing is based on that. We were asked last month to hold a public meeting. We did that, and so we want to make sure -- like I mentioned a few weeks ago, some of that was met with emotion and fear, and some of the businesses followed up with me with that. So we now don't want to meet that response with fear, and we shouldn't do this or negate all of last year's process based on a 90-minute meeting, is my professional recommendation. And so what we are doing is we're starting in year 1 with Verde River and Parkview, and we've put the avenue to year 4 or 5, and what I respectfully requested from this council was to keep that until we had more conversations with TAMA. As Councilmember Earle said, and I was actually on the phone with one of the representatives of TAMA, and she's like, if you can represent us, and I said, with all due respect, I can't. It's an hour and 30 minutes away from a meeting, and I haven't digested. I'm good at multitasking, but listening, reading, can't do. So again, we're just looking at this. And I would also ask this council -- again, we've been talking about this since 2009. Two years ago, staff requested we start Parkview, and we did nothing. And we can't continue to do nothing. This is an investment in our economic development to position us and to be attractive and to work on the mayor's initiative to attract a major employer. And I told John I may go here today, so last night at 5 o'clock, he had plans set out on his desk, he still has to review it but on Parkview and Verde River, someone proposing an automobile gallery. So this is what we're getting if we continue to do nothing, if we don't do an overlay district or make improvements, because our developers and businesses aren't seeing a vision. The downtown strategy and vision that was unanimously approved is going to get there. But Parkview, right now, it looks TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 68 of 90 like an industrial area, so we're going to get industrial-like uses, just to be very frank, if we continue the path of doing nothing. And to Councilmember Kalivianakis, you have been very upfront, open, and transparent, but again, what we've heard from this council is to move forward. And so again, we're here today with the town manager's recommended budget, Paul's budget of are we moving forward and green lighting, or do we need to remove this? I saw Councilmember Watts and then Councilmember Skillicorn -- EARLE: I was -- JACOBS: -- Mr. Mayor. EARLE: I was next, after Watts. JACOBS: Okay. She's going to -- WATTS: Okay. So -- JACOBS: -- check me. MCMAHON: That's why we're up here. WATTS: So my question is, the 515 is for -- and it really is probably not for you. It's probably for Justin. The 515, can you give us some idea of the scope -- it's not a study; it is a design -- and the depth and the breadth and the width of the scope of the design? JACOBS: Yeah. So we're going to defer that to Justin. And I'm also happy -- WATTS: Right. JACOBS: -- to send -- we had provided to council, I think back in February, the breakdown of two where everything is including -- WATTS: Right. JACOBS: -- and so I appreciate Councilmember Watts, you saying it's not a study -- WATTS: Yeah -- JACOBS: -- because it's not. WATTS: -- it's not. And the other thing is that the four-page letter that we got today from TAMA, all of the signatures were dated 4/8/25. That means they collected them today. We've had how many meetings prior to today? And while we'll take it into TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 69 of 90 consideration from the council's perspective going forward, it's kind of like, where were you in the last four, five, six meetings voicing your opinions? This is the 11th hour, so Justin, if you could give me a little bit of scope, depth, and breadth? WELDY: Mr. Mayor, Councilmember Watts, so the analysis of the intersection for (indiscernible) or the area is already completed, and that was done by the staff and a little bit of work from a consultant. That's when we found out what people were thinking and what they wanted. The next phase, this money represents design, and there is a relatively large scope that goes with that design, including all of the necessary infrastructure, meaning any state or federal requirements in regards to accessible routes. We want to look at lighting. We want to look at seating. We want to look at an area that's inviting to those that are going to come. As stated earlier, on the rejection list, we received $95,000 from MAG for 15 percent, so that's the design concept report. The town engineer and I have been on the phone with MAG and the on-call engineer that will be conducting that, kind of streamlining things. We want to do the best we can to utilize MAG's money to get us as far down the street, for lack of a better description, on this as we can, including some of the critical data about survey and existing utilities or any conflicts. The money that we are asking for for next year is just for the design with an offset of $95,000 from MAG. Please note, we do not know what that cost is because we have not yet solicited our on call. We will do that as part of the budget process and ideally be back here before the council goes to break in the summer and ask for an agreement for our contract. At just before that time, we will actually know the cost for the design for this phase. WATTS: So that design is inclusive of aboveground, underground utilities so we don't run into something unintended when we actually start physical construction? WELDY: Correct. WATTS: Thank you. EARLE: Now may I go, Mayor? JACOBS: Can I just add, too -- TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 70 of 90 EARLE: Thank you. JACOBS: -- Mr. Mayor, to Councilmember Watts? We are also hoping -- so Public Works and Economic Development had a meeting last week -- that in doing this too, it's preparing us by the spring, hopefully, to also prepare construction documents. So I just wanted to add that, that again, it's not a study. It's much more entailed. WATTS: This spring? JACOBS: Next spring. WATTS: Thank you. JACOBS: You're welcome. We're not that good. EARLE: So I just want to follow up with I don't think we're going to draw a lot of people to our town if all we have is beautiful streets. Yes, the streets need to be done, and we are doing that. I appreciate that we're doing that, but we also want to attract them here for fun things to do, going out to dinner and enjoying time downtown -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: And all of our events. EARLE: -- and the events and whatnot. So very briefly, TAMA is very excited about what we're doing, the planned improvements for the avenue, and they all do agree that they support -- excuse me -- support beginning their construction phase with Parkview and Verde. So they're happy that we're doing that, and I just want to say -- I don't know. If you just fix up the inside of your house or whatever, you're not going to draw people if the outside isn't nice, so you need to do everything all at once, and I think we can walk and chew gum at the same time. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? SKILLICORN: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I just want to instill that I support the vision of, you know, what we have for a bunch of these capital projects. We've worked on this. I think we know where we stand on it. My only thing is that because I haven't seen the upcoming sales tax numbers, I'm very much like a yellow light. Well we talked about the, you know, red, yellow, green. I'm very much a yellow light on everything until we see trends on sales tax revenues, which TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 71 of 90 we may or may not see a lot of those trends before we have to vote on this budget. So even though I'm -- at this point in time, we're far enough in the process. I do not support pulling anything off of this, but I would like things to come back to council before we actually start signing checks. GOODWIN: On that note, if that's what we want to do -- and Justin actually mentioned bringing this one back -- traditionally, if it's greenlit, it doesn't come back, so I know that that is -- so if we want to do that, I'd like to make sure that if there are others that we can -- if you want to see them all come back, we can do that. If you want to see just this one or particular ones, I will tell you, the logistic challenge that comes with that is that once this council takes a break in June, we don't meet again until September. That means July, August, and most of September is now unusable time to accomplish any of these things. So we've now shortchanged ourselves, and we have nine months to try to get everything done. I get it. I do. And I think that projects of high concern or that need oversight or have changing variables, absolutely. If there are other ones that the council agrees that are a priority and give the green light to, I'd like to at least get some of these moving in July, but I would like your feedback on what those may be. KALIVIANAKIS: And if I may, yeah, I'd like to green light everything and just take Councilmember Skillicorn's caution of going yellow for the downtown streetscape until maybe the fall and revisit it then. It's not in a -- there's no hurry, so we can get our financial house in order and see if this is something that we can afford. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? MCMAHON: We gave this a green light, and revisiting it time and time and time again, I don't -- we gave the green light on it. She did the whole presentation. She's done all the studies, et cetera. It's been before us, and I think it should be kept a green light. I do. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor? TOTH: Hold onto your chairs, everybody, because I agree. [LAUGHTER] TOTH: For the downtown project, we have had lots of conversations about it, and I TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 72 of 90 greenlit it before; I'll green light it again. I believe that this is a can we continue to kick down the road, and somebody's got to do it. And I think we almost risked that being the case with the fire department an hour ago, right? That's something that we need to do, and we came to a solution to make sure it got done. We have not given our downtown that same consideration, and I know it's two very different priorities, but my point is downtown has been kicked down the road for a long time. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I'm going to interject and say I'm a green light too. Next slide, please. No, I'm just kidding. [LAUGHTER] JACOBS: Mr. Mayor -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: She wanted to hear from all of us. So yes, we decided green light. Let's do green light. This back and forth is -- we're not going to get anywhere, so let's just stick with green light. I think Allen said green light on this. Did you say that, Allen? SKILLICORN: So my position is that I want to see sales tax numbers. But I was curious, what's the posting requirements for a special meeting? GOODWIN: That's a good Bev question. BENDER: 24 hours. That's our minimum. GOODWIN: That's what I thought -- SKILLICORN: So -- GOODWIN: -- it's a minimum. SKILLICORN: -- realistically, I mean, I don't take the summer off, guys. So I don't have a problem with that. I mean -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: I don't think a lot of us do. So your question about trends, I think we see the trend right now. It's volatility in both our sales tax revenue -- it was up the last couple of months; it was down a month or two before that. The market's the same way. So I think the trend that we're seeing is going to be volatility going forward. JACOBS: Could I just add real quick? It was -- TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 73 of 90 Thank you. I know you're being funny. So Councilmember Kalivianakis said there's not a hurry, so again, just want to paint the picture for the public and for council that we have our internal policies where we have to put things out to bid, there's 30 days, there's 60 days, and again, we're trying to get construction documents by April so that, too, we can respect what the community is saying, which is also our business community, to try to start some of this construction during the summer. So there is that little bit of a hurry, so just wanted to make that note, that if we delay it, now we're going to be in October, and if we start doing this construction, I'm not just going to hear about it. I'll make they have your guys' email and phone numbers since Councilmember Skillicorn doesn't take off. He's 24/7. [LAUGHTER] SOLDINGER: All right. Next slide. SKILLICORN: There was four to green light, so -- WATTS: I think it's going to be a green light. I think, comparatively speaking, $10, 12 million, we're going to give $500,000 -- $450,000-some, that we will have it. And this is much like the traffic light at Palisades and Palomino. We've still got the design. We've still got the result of that design. So I think worst case is we get to the final, we get the design, and we say we're going to hold off because the revenues aren't going to be there. So -- SOLDINGER: So to that point, we do regularly update mayor and council on progress of capital projects, and we've built that into our green light process. Yes, it's still kind of new, but if we get bids and they're well above what we were expecting, or it's completely different than what we presented to mayor and council, we would be required by our own policy to come back and explain it to you to get that additional green light. So there's some safeguards built in. So based on the CIP work session, there were two yellow light projects where we will kind of research what needs to be done and bring them back to mayor and council next fiscal year, and so that's $600,000. The Golden Eagle area improvements project, that one's a little bit harder to explain, but we do have an anticipated grant from the Flood Control District. But we kind of TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 74 of 90 have to see how much the dam that we plan to construct will cost, so that will be a good opportunity to bring it to mayor and council at that time. So that's why I interjected and thought it could be a good yellow light project for the town. So with that, I will bring Justin up one more time. There's kind of been something that just recently came up that's not included in the proposed budget, so I'll have him come up. WELDY: Thank you, Paul. Mr. Mayor, Councilmembers, as part of planning, we have to try and determine whether or not the projects approved in this year are going to be completed before June 30th. For any work completed on or before June 30th, we can pay those invoices provided that they are delivered to Bea and her small group ideally by the end of July, August at the latest. This money is a placeholder for any work that may be necessary after June 30th. We don't intend to spend it, but we certainly don't have the ability to do so if we don't ask for it as part of the budget, and that's what this ask is for. A little bit of uncertainty on the wayfinding that I'm not certain about, and we've had a lot of discussion about it internally with the town manager. And this is the best case, is to simply ask for some money, understanding that we will not use it if it's not needed. SOLDINGER: And just to clarify, it's not additional money we're requesting. It's just the permission to spend next year in case we need it because it doesn't get done this year. WATTS: I'm good with that. EARLE: I approve. SOLDINGER: Great. Thank you. WATTS: And just to be -- TOTH: I'm good with it too. I just had a quick question. SOLDINGER: Sure. TOTH: Sorry. SOLDINGER: Justin? TOTH: It's always me, right? With the 50k, I understand that we're not -- it's not technically extra money for the project. However, as far as the expenditure limit goes, I TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 75 of 90 know the goal is to be a dollar under that. Is that 50,000 -- although it would be a small chunk, is that coming from our contingency that you mentioned? SOLDINGER: Yeah. So Vice Mayor, the way I was thinking of doing it was, our capital projects contingency, we built 700,000 there. I will say I'm a little bit nervous that's a small amount because we're doing so many projects, but we are at a point where I don't feel too comfortable adding more to our budget. So we can discuss -- I can discuss internally with the town manager. We would either just add it to the budget, another $50,000, and just use it -- plan to use it a little more carryforward or reduce our capital project's contingency a little bit to make that happen. TOTH: Okay. Thank you. And again, I am for it. I just wanted clarification. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? WATTS: And Paul, I thought that the wayfinding sign project from '25 was already paid for or budgeted. So is this in addition to the money that was budgeted previously, or is this the remainder that we just want to rollover into '26? SOLDINGER: Remainder to rollover. It's just -- WATTS: Okay. SOLDINGER: -- in case we don't -- because the county standards require us to pay when the services or construction is provided, we can't pay fiscal year '25 budget if it's done in fiscal year '26. WATTS: Right. SOLDINGER: So it's just to make sure we have the budget to do it. WATTS: Thank you. SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. All right. Getting closer. Facilities reserve fund, we bring this up a lot in council meetings. This is where we're saving for the lake liner. Right now, it's all in the same fund, but we keep track of it separately. So right now, we have about $5.4 million, including accumulated investment earnings towards that lake liner project. We also have another 1.8 million, approximately, for other repairs and maintenance as needed. And since I've been here, we've found that there's an increased need to basically use this fund, and some of the projects that we've brought forth to mayor and TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 76 of 90 council in the CIP plan would probably better fit in this fund. This fund is supposed to -- we created this fund as a town to be able to -- let me explain it this way. Our CIP fund is to build long-term improvements, build parks, build things like that, build facilities, maybe extend the useful life of a facility. This fund is for the repairs, maintenance, and replacement of those facilities. So some of the things we've discussed are a little bit counterintuitive in the CIP plan, like the roof design of -- that's a replacement, right? We should be using this fund -- the chiller project, we should be using this fund to replace a chiller. So we found a need to increase the budget here. We've probably been underbudgeting, and there was actually a capital reserve study done in 2016, so almost ten years ago, that recommended we set aside about $960,000 a year for this purpose. So we're here today to propose an increase to that budget to up to a million dollars, and we would do some of these projects that are now in the CIP plan going forward, you know, more so from this fund and try to catch up on some of these repairs and maintenance that are needed as well. So that's what we're proposing. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And I agree with that. I did have one question. Do we have any idea as to a dollar amount that we're going to add to the lake liner reserve? I don't want to put you on the spot, but -- SOLDINGER: Right. So Mayor, let's say the likely scenario, what I'm looking at now is three and a half to four and a half million, somewhere in that range is what we're going to have in general fund reserves. It depends. Like, if the next few months all our local sales tax revenues plummet, maybe not. If we have four million, I would probably recommend budgeting about either half a million or a million dollars to go into that. I think it's prudent to save for it, especially now that we're planning to start spending towards our projects in fiscal year '28, but it's like a day-by-day thing. So I recognize that's a priority and something we need to save for, so it's just left to be seen. One other point to make is we probably need to budget this much in this fund. We need more ability to do these things, but that also means we need to fund it. Because one thing that our team was talking about earlier when we were looking at this chart, you see that the revenues are very small because all we really budget for revenues in this TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 77 of 90 fund are investment earnings, and most of those investment earnings are actually for the lake liner because that's the bigger balance. So we actually put money in this fund through our general fund reserves. So we have to make sure we continue to do that to a reasonable level, but we do have that wiggle room with the 1.8 million of savings we already have in this fund for that purpose. So anyways, all I'm trying to say is we need more money -- or we need more budget, but we also need to make sure we're putting money in there to accomplish that, so it's kind of a give and take. We might have to look at it year by year, but we're definitely -- we discuss it all the time, really, on the needs with this fund. So that's what we're proposing. We would like your direction on if you'd like that included in the tentative budget, but that's what we're proposing today. MCMAHON: Thank you. The lake liner, I know we've all spoken about this, and we were hoping to put at least a million dollars. And I don't have it in front of me, but I think in the year '27 or '28, we're going to be adding like 3 million or whatever, so hopefully in a couple years we'll have $10 to 15 million in it. But I think last year, we waited until the end and saw that we had extra money, for lack of a better word, and we were able to transfer a million into it. So do we wait on that, or can we earmark it if there's any way possible to put 500 or a million dollars in the lake liner? GOODWIN: I think what -- I think that's exactly what Paul was just talking about, is we don't know how much we have to put into that until this fiscal year concludes. So that'll be a discussion this fall when we know how much available funds we -- you know, any reserve that we have available. And that's what the conversation is, is let's just say -- and I think you mentioned three and half to four million is where you're estimating, but again, that's a scary estimate because we still have a quarter -- you know, we have the last quarter to get through, and we just talked about the volatility of sales tax, right, so we don't really know what that number is. But if you say 4 -- for conservative purposes, let's just say it's $4 million. Well generally, part of that goes into our CIP, part of that goes into streets, some of that has gone into the facilities reserve, and some of that has gone into the lake liner, so it's going to be, how do we want to divvy up those funds? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 78 of 90 SOLDINGER: In my opinion, it would be -- And thank you, Town Manager. It would be prudent to wait until after the audit's complete to make some of those decisions. Maybe we could budget some of these transfers in the final budget. But the reason for that is because there is uncertainty and because we increased our projection for investment earnings in the general fund. So if we keep those monies in the general fund until we make that decision in the fall, that gives us a little bit more wiggle room with our investment earnings. So that's kind of my preference for this year. MCMAHON: Thank you. SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. Definitely thinking about it, I promise you. Conversations all the time about that. But getting back to the budget, does -- EARLE: I do -- SOLDINGER: -- anybody have any issues with the one million? EARLE: I support you doing this. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And I just have one other question, and that would be -- I know sometimes you can use funds for some things, not for other things. SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. KALIVIANAKIS: Since we do have 5.4 million saved for the lake liner, and we have 1.8 million for other repairs, for that other repairs money, since this is going to be a major project, maybe a two-year project, can we use those funds to at least fund the study to determine how to replace the lake liner so we can avoid all the problems with sludge removal, hiring a company to do the lake liner? I mean, because 25 years ago, it was kind of rough -- SOLDINGER: Uh-huh. KALIVIANAKIS: -- and I don't think we're going to be hiring that company again. So I think it's working on the big bills just to design this thing, and if we could use that TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 79 of 90 money, then we could leave the money alone, at least the 5.4 for the lake liner and not the study. GOODWIN: So the answer is, you're going to rob Peter (ph.) to pay Paul if you do that. KALIVIANAKIS: Okay. GOODWIN: You are correct. We want to begin a plan, and we need to. Sorry, Paul. I don't -- SOLDINGER: No, no. Perfectly accurate, so -- GOODWIN: So the 1.8 is made for the rest of our maintenance, whether that is -- you know, whether that's a roof that goes down, a chiller that goes down, a irrigation leak that happens, a sinkhole that happens in the middle of a road, whatever that is, that is for -- and really, that should be much higher, is where we're going with this. That number has been underfunded because it's supposed to be taking care of all of our maintenance needs across our entire town, and we just haven't -- since 2016, we've underfunded it. That being said, as we continue to put money into the lake liner, our first -- let's call it a withdrawal from that lake liner fund is scheduled for FY28 -- SOLDINGER: Yes. GOODWIN: -- and that's when we would get the plan, when we would start contracting with a company to help us devise a how-are-we-going-to-do-this plan so that when we're ready to implement it, it's good to go, but so that we'll continue to build up those savings up until that time. KALIVIANAKIS: All right. Okay. Great. Thank you. SOLDINGER: Yeah, yeah. So we're good with this budget? Okay. Yeah. Another major fund we sometimes talk about relates to our special revenue fund. It's where we basically record our grant revenues and expenditures that are not related to capital projects that we've already planned for. A good example is the Four Peaks restroom project. So it's actually similar to our general fund. We basically budget the revenues to the expenditures, and any grants that we bring in and we spend them, that doesn't count toward the expenditure limitation. So we can actually -- we could increase this by five or ten million, and it really wouldn't make a difference other TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 80 of 90 than the fact if we got the grant and we spent it out of this fund. So all we're trying to do -- we are proposing an increase of $500,000 to this fund just because of the increased grant discussions. If we do receive grants next year, it gives us a little bit more ability to spend them and complete some of those projects. We did apply for a grant for our fire department, trying to replace some outdated equipment. So just trying to give us a little more wiggle room in case we do get grants, so that's really the explanation for the increase in this fund. Anybody have any comments or questions? No? Okay. Good. That was easy. Economic development funds, so the Economic Development Division and the director, when we're talking about any of her initiatives, they come out of these three funds, economic development fund, downtown strategy fund, and the tourism fund, and the estimated beginning fund balances for those funds are at the top right: about 850,000 in economic development, $700,000 for downtown strategy, and 250,000 for the tourism fund. There have been a couple of moving parts in these funds I just wanted to touch on. Number one, the increase to the overall budget that you're seeing relates to those supplements that we've discussed, the $111,000, and most of them are in the downtown fund, one of them is in the economic development fund. We also have had kind of an interesting practice for the economic development specialist that works with Amanda, Lisa. Her position is paid -- it's been paid out of the tourism fund, but all we've been doing has been transferring money from the economic development fund to cover the cost. It's kind of a practice we don't really need to do. It's really being paid from the economic development fund, so all we're doing in the budget is moving payment of that position into the economic development fund instead of the tourism fund. Kind of a convoluted explanation, but we're just paying it from the same place but not making it so complicated, basically. So that's why you'll see that the budget for the economic development fund went up quite a bit, and the tourism fund went down by a similar amount. Any questions? It's kind of hard to see. Sorry. I did put a lot on one slide. Okay. Moving on. Almost done. We have 11 other nonmajor funds across the town that we sometimes talk about in council meetings, like the impact fee funds, vehicle TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 81 of 90 replacement funds. So really, the main things to point out here that are included in the budget, the $25,000 for the court security, that would be coming out of the court enhancement fund, and $479,000 for the vehicle replacement fund, that's for the two vehicle replacements with a little bit of contingency built in. So with that, last slide, what's next, we're just going to make the few changes we've discussed today in the budget, and we'll come back on May 6th with the tentative budget for your consideration in a regular meeting for adoption. The important thing to know about that is that would set the maximum amount the town can spend next fiscal year, and the only changes that can be made after that point, from there to the final budget, would be to make any reductions to the budget. There's no more moving up at that point. And on June 3rd, we're scheduled for the final budget adoption with a public hearing where council -- I mean, by that point, we've already discussed so many things, so like the town manager alluded to, hopefully we're all on the same page by that point and then consider it for adoption. And with that, that's all. Any other questions or discussions? GOODWIN: This -- SOLDINGER: Yeah, no problem. WATTS: I got -- SOLDINGER: Yeah. WATTS: -- one question. Paul, so does it -- do the changes that we made today change that $50 million? Does it reduce the $50 million or the $36 million? SOLDINGER: Yes. So the two and a half percent COLA will increase the budget by about $270,000 -- WATTS: Uh-huh. SOLDINGER: -- the fire department changes for the automatic aid supplement will reduce the budget around $111,000, so you can expect to see a slightly higher budget. Is there anything else that I'm missing? I think those are the two main ones. WATTS: I think it's going to be close, so I don't think it's dramatic either way. SOLDINGER: Okay. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 82 of 90 WATTS: Thank you. SOLDINGER: Well thank you for your time. GOODWIN: Paul, thank you. SOLDINGER: Yeah. GOODWIN: This was a big lift. I know this is always sort of your spotlight every year, so we appreciate it very much. You're not done yet, but we're almost there. The end is near. SOLDINGER: I appreciate it. GOODWIN: Now is the time -- if any councilmembers have any other items or things we didn't discuss that you'd like to bring forward, now is the time. EARLE: The stipend for the council, which I think everybody received that information, and you all have hard copies on that -- SOLDINGER: I think I have a copy -- EARLE: -- or -- SOLDINGER: -- too. Do you want me to bring any of it up, Rachael, or -- GOODWIN: If we need to -- everybody has a copy here. I think it's also on your -- I'll call it your tabs on your right screen so that you can see that as well. This is really -- and I'll just sort of kick off the conversation. This is really a decision for the council body. This is not an administrative -- or excuse me. This is not an operational discussion, so we'll take whatever direction you guys would like to take on this. EARLE: Does anybody have questions, or do you want me just to explain -- I know Allen doesn't like this, but Allen and I don't agree. But if you'll see here, I did a Excel spreadsheet in your paperwork, if you see it somewhere. My suggestion was increasing our pay to equivalent to what it was -- the last time anything was increased was in 2000, so it's been 25 years. The first time they did a pay was 1992, and then it was -- for council, it was $300; 2000, then went to $400. And if you do equivalent of what $400 was in 2000, it is -- if I can find that paper. If somebody sees it, they can say it for me. I don't know. It's 700-and-something here. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 83 of 90 WATTS: At the bottom. EARLE: On the very bottom? WATTS: No. The bottom left on your screen. EARLE: On my screen? WATTS: Was it? EARLE: Oh, not on my screen. Which one? GOODWIN: Right there. EARLE: Oh, my name's there. GOODWIN: Uh-huh. There it is. EARLE: Oh, okay. So and today, the same amount of money, as you guys see, for council would be 737.91, and the mayor would be 1,099.67. My recommendation was to round that up to mayor, 1,100, council, 750, and that's -- if you want to discuss that at all -- Oh, what? Sorry. KALIVIANAKIS: I don't see it over here. EARLE: That -- well, here. KALIVIANAKIS: Oh, okay. EARLE: That was option A and B, if somebody wanted to go higher, but if we were just being across the board same as we were, basically, in year 2000, what money was worth then, keeping it at the same, we do have some more expenses now. Everybody uses their own cell phone, not that we have a cell phone anyway, but we are using things for council. And that was my thing, I felt like we needed to look at it since it's been 25 years. I did reach out to -- well through Rachael to Aaron and asked questions regarding the last time we discussed this, and he sent an explanation why he recommended it not be done right away. Although, if you look at council in 1992, they did adopt it right away, and also council in 2000 adopted it right away. And if you look at the meeting minutes, if you're using these pages, you go to the seventh one, you can see the rationale from their attorney, why it was okay to do it right away, and he gives his whole explanation on -- it was in their meeting, his explanation why he recommended that TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 84 of 90 they could do it right away. So and then also, it is in Title 9 for councils that the council determines what our stip -- or salary -- they call it a salary -- is. So it doesn't have, in that area, a time constraint of when it can or can't be done. So it's open for questions or discussion. It's not me. I'm just suggesting and then just for us to discuss. MCMAHON: I have a question, please. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Go ahead. MCMAHON: I have a question of Aaron. I think we spoke about this two or three years ago, and it came up that if we -- if council did agree to a increase, it couldn't be imposed for a certain amount of time or term or whatever the case may be. Is that still the case? Because I want to understand the whole parameters of it, please. ARNSON: Yeah. Mayor and Council, that continues to be my interpretation. Obviously, past attorneys have done it differently in '92 and -- was it 2000 -- 2000. I don't know why they advised what they advised. I don't know what their basis for it was. I know what my basis for it is. The council's received it. So ultimately, there's precedent for it if you choose to have it take effect sooner rather than later, so there is precedent that's been done in the town. I don't necessarily agree with the interpretation, but ultimately, this is the council's call. EARLE: On that note, I think whether we decide to do it right away or with the recommendation of when the next council is seated, I think it's prudent that we do update this. It's been 25 years, and it seems almost selfish to me for people saying, well, I'm not going to be on council anymore so the new people can't have it. But I don't know if that was a reason for just letting it go, but I just think we need to do that. And even maybe it would be prudent for our council to look at this when you're looking at the increase for the town, if it's a time for us to do a -- if it's a COLA or not so we don't wait 25 years, okay? MCMAHON: I think one of the reasons was because of the budget. I think in the past years, there wasn't a budget, and -- I mean, not a budget -- there was issues with the budget. We didn't have a lot of income and offset, and so for us to say, okay, we're going to give ourselves a raise, per se, I don't think we felt that it looked good. But the TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 85 of 90 budget is pretty prudent, it looks really good, so maybe now is the time to take a look and consider it. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor? TOTH: I understand that, that I don't think there would ever be a year that it feels comfortable to give yourself a raise. I mean, that's a -- I mean, it is; it's just an awkward thing to do. And obviously, I talked myself into a corner, literally just having talked about that I'm not going to get a raise anytime soon, so I mean, for the sake of -- KALIVIANAKIS: Reality. TOTH: Well yeah, reality. And what I'm trying to say is that I'm trying to avoid any semblance of impropriety. I mean, I just talked about how I do want to tighten our belts for this year, so I would recommend that if we do it, that it's for the future council, so after my term at least, but I am supportive of it. Councilwoman Earle is absolutely correct. It's been 25 years, and you know, things that costed a dollar in 2000 now cost five. I mean, that's oversimplified, but you get my point. I agree with Councilwoman Earle, but I'm scared to do it for myself, so -- EARLE: I understand that's uncomfortable. I know it's really uncomfortable to ask for money for ourselves. Just note the increase is 31,200, so basically, with other expenses for what we spend on a lot of other things, it's pretty minimal. I will go -- whatever, I'm happy with what we do, but I'm comfortable with doing it like the other two councils did, right away, with the precedents of those two councils. WATTS: Nobody wants to talk. It's refreshing. [LAUGHTER] WATTS: If you did the equivalent future value calculation for $400 back in 2000, it comes out to the same two and a half percent that we gave to staff. In the grand scheme of things, what has happened in the market the last few days, this is inconsequential. But there is a principle here, and somebody has to set the precedent. So if we do that, I would vote for doing it immediately and move forward with it, and it is what it is, so -- but at least there's a basis. There's fundamental to it. It's the same thing that staff is getting. It's the same future value based upon 2000. I'm for moving TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 86 of 90 forward with it, so -- GOODWIN: Who wants to talk next? How do you feel about it, Brenda? Well if you don't want to go on the spot, I know you mentioned that Councilmember Skillicorn disagreed with you. Do you want to share your thoughts? SKILLICORN: I like the way Paradise Valley does it. TOTH: $0. [LAUGHTER] KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah, I'll weigh in. Yeah. At $400 a month, this is definitely a job that we're losing money every month on. When you look at the expenses, you know, maybe I could get better about turning in gas mileage and all that kind of stuff. I never do. And so I wouldn't mind having a cost of living adjustment to the council stipend. I wouldn't be opposed to that. Whether it is reactive from before, I know that this council has discussed past precedent a great deal, but we've also discussed the law a great deal. And so for me, that's kind of a difficult decision. You know, whatever the council's comfortable with, I would be comfortable with. Whatever the consensus is, I'd be willing to go with either implementing it now or later depending on what you think, Mr. Mayor, and the rest of the council's input. WATTS: Why don't you make it one-three, and then I'll be the tie breaker? MAYOR FRIEDEL: You know, this is a tough one. Personally, I would wait, I think. We just gave the town staff a two and a half percent increase. I can't see going any more than that. If we do anything, it would be a COLA increase, and we'd match whatever the town staff got. That's what I would say. Whether we do it now or for the future council, that doesn't matter to me, but I just can't see doing it after we just gave them a two and a half percent increase. And we're asking the fire department to wait until January to implement a big part of their plan, so -- WATTS: But those numbers are two and a half percent. The numbers that she's presenting are two and a half percent. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I get that, I get that. I understand that. So -- TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 87 of 90 EARLE: We just gave the staff 269,717, and we're talking about about 31,000 here. I'm just saying. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Point taken. SKILLICORN: Is there an option to not receive pay? Is there a way to opt out of it? Okay. So maybe -- EARLE: That would save us -- SKILLICORN: -- we could save us a few dollars. EARLE: For just you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Do we have to decide this today? GOODWIN: So what I need to know today, ideally, would be whether I need to budget for it -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Oh -- GOODWIN: -- because ultimately, regardless of whether -- if we do it immediately, i.e., as part of next fiscal year, I got to budget for it. If you'd like -- if you like the idea of it but you want it implemented as part of the next seated council, that impacts the budget differently. That's really why the conversation is being had. And Councilmember McMahon, I don't have you noted as whether you'd want to do it now or later. Perhaps I missed that. Can you share your thoughts? MCMAHON: To do it now, but at the same time, we did tell the fire department that we were pushing them back, et cetera. So I would appreciate a little bit more time to consider it, you know? I just would. And then bring it back, you know? KALIVIANAKIS: Well would a good compromise just be instead of immediately or waiting for the next council, just do it next fiscal year? EARLE: Well that's why we were talking about July. Next fiscal year would be July. KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. TOTH: (Indiscernible) fire department? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. EARLE: In July. WATTS: Yeah, why don't we just -- TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 88 of 90 TOTH: Just to get that on the mic, if we do agree to do exactly what we asked the fire department to do and wait until January, I'd be amicable to that. GOODWIN: Okay. So with that noted, it would be, what I'm hearing -- I was going to say I've got -- Hannah, you said yes, you'd like that. EARLE: I like going forward with it in July fiscal. GOODWIN: You like July. SKILLICORN: I like waiting another 25 years. [LAUGHTER] GOODWIN: Noted. Thank you. WATTS: You're not going to get now. EARLE: I said -- WATTS: You said January? EARLE: No. I said July 1st. WATTS: You got three votes that say in January. EARLE: That's fine. WATTS: So you're not going to change to January? You're going to forego the whole thing instead? EARLE: Is that what will happen? GOODWIN: Right now, I have three for January, I have you for July, I have one for never. MCMAHON: I'm for January. GOODWIN: Okay. WATTS: January, January, January. EARLE: And what are you -- WATTS: January. EARLE: No. What about -- the mayor has to weigh in. KALIVIANAKIS: Well, he said January. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I said January. GOODWIN: All right. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 89 of 90 EARLE: You said January -- GOODWIN: So I -- EARLE: -- and Hannah said January. You've got all the votes you need. GOODWIN: Okay. So we'll do that. What we'll have to do -- so you will still need to take action on this formally, so we will bring it back at a council meeting upcoming so that you can make the formal motion and kind of memorialize it. Is that right, Aaron? ARNSON: Correct. GOODWIN: Okay. Thank you. WATTS: Can we forego the public comments during that? [LAUGHTER] GOODWIN: Oh, I don't think so. If I can have one other point of clarification -- And Councilmember Kalivianakis, you brought it up, and it kind of rung a bell. Originally, when the stipend was introduced, it was to cover those expenses like cell phones and mileage. If we are going to do this -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). GOODWIN: In 2000? Well somewhere along there. A lot of printing. How about that? A lot of hard copy printing. We've shifted to that to digital. You know, and we do work to provide whatever you guys need, whether that is hard copy or you know, iPads and things like that, but I would like to get away from doing mileage reimbursements with the town. We have a budget set aside for, you know, registrations, participation in -- I'll use the Chamber Gala upcoming and some of the other meetings and business meetings and things like that that require a registration or fees and things like that. We certainly have all of that. But the stipend would be to cover any incidentals additional. Is everybody okay with that? EARLE: You're asking us? GOODWIN: Yes. I'm making sure everybody's comfortable with that. EARLE: Do people use it for the -- TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 8, 2025 TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES Page 90 of 90 GOODWIN: It really wasn't ever -- EARLE: -- mileage for where -- GOODWIN: It actually wasn't implemented -- I'm sorry -- until about two years ago with the seating of the last council. It's actually been a practice to not do reimbursements until somewhat recently within -- EARLE: Okay. GOODWIN: -- the last couple of years. WATTS: I thought you had talked about having a mileage minimum if it went over like 30 miles? GOODWIN: Yes. We had talked about that as an option as well. There's been some other discussion about the idea of having a mileage minimum threshold of -- I think it's 50, but I can't remember that. Paul and I have talked about it. That was actually also for our staff because we do have staff -- we have town vehicles available for you as well if you need to take one of those as opposed to your personal vehicle. KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. I guess since you directed that to me, I'll answer. Yeah. I could live with the day-to-day incidental expenses being covered by the revised stipend -- GOODWIN: Uh-huh. KALIVIANAKIS: -- but still extraordinary expenses, like when we go to the yearly meetings, like in Tucson, and GPEC, and those type of things, if those are deemed extraordinary events, that we could get mileage -- GOODWIN: Sure. KALIVIANAKIS: -- room service, whatever. [LAUGHTER] GOODWIN: Don't push it. EARLE: But that wouldn't go in effect until we get the increased stipend, yeah. GOODWIN: That's right. Okay. I think that's -- unless there's anything else out there, going once, going twice -- EARLE: We're done. GOODWIN: Thanks, everyone. Having no further business, Mayor Gerry M. Friedel adjourned the Special Work Session (Budget Workshop) Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council held on April 8, 2025, at 6:05 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS _______________________ Gerry M. Friedel, Mayor ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: __________________________________ Bevelyn Bender, 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 8th day of April 2025. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED 20th day of May 2025. _________________________________ Bevelyn Bender, Town Clerk TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL APRIL 15, 2025 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 Gerry M. Friedel; Vice Mayor Hannah Toth; Councilmember Gayle Earle; Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis; Councilmember Rick Watts; Councilmember Peggy McMahon; Councilmember Allen Skillicorn Staff Present: Town Manager Rachael Goodwin; Town Clerk Bevelyn Bender TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 1 of 75 Post-Production File Town of Fountain Hills City Council Meeting Minutes April 15, 2025 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 APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 2 of 75 MAYOR FRIEDEL: I'd like to call this meeting to order. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance, and stay standing for the invocation. ALL: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And our invocation tonight will be Carri Schneider from Promiseland Preschool. SCHNEIDER: Good evening, Mayor and Councilmembers. Thank you for the opportunity to come and open up your meeting in prayer this evening. Before we pray, I'd like to invite the entire council and the community to come to worship at Christ's Church of Fountain Hills tomorrow for our worship night as we celebrate our risen King this Holy Week. We'd love to have you come. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you this evening thankful for the unique town of Fountain Hills. We are blessed to live in your gorgeous creation full of life and beauty. We thank you, Lord, for these elected leaders who have chosen to serve. Bless them as they lead with honesty and integrity. Lord, may we, as a council and community, come together this evening seeking your wisdom to make the best decisions that honor you and give dignity and value to the citizens who live here. May your will be done in Jesus' name. Amen. ALL: Amen. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Town Clerk, roll call, please. BENDER: Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Present. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Present. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Present. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Here. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 3 of 75 WATTS: Here. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Here. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Here. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Before we get started with our Statement of Participation, there's going to be some changes on the agenda tonight. Items 9C and D will be addressed separately, and item 9E has been removed from the agenda for tonight. Town Clerk, Statement of Participation, please. BENDER: Anyone wishing to address the Council regarding items listed on the agenda or under the 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. Once the agenda item has started, late requests to speak cannot be accepted. And when your name is called, please approach the podium and speak into the microphone and state your name and if you are a resident for the public record. Please limit your comments to three minutes. It is the policy of the Mayor and the Council to not comment on items brought forth under the Call to the Public. However, staff can be directed to report back to the Council at a future date or to schedule items raised for a future council agenda. It is also requested that applause be kept to a minimum to avoid disruption of the meeting, to maintain decorum, and provide for an equal and uninterrupted presentation. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. And before we start our reports by Mayor, Councilmembers, and Town Manager, the Town Manager and the Town Attorney will be joining us shortly. So we'll start our reports with Councilwoman Earle. EARLE: I have nothing to report. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Kalivianakis? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 4 of 75 KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good afternoon. Good evening, everybody. It's so nice to see such a full audience here again tonight to be here with us for your Town Council meeting. I'd like to greet the people on YouTube and streaming and on Cox Channel 11. Thank you, also, for attending our meeting. We have a new, kind of expedited program for the beginning of your meeting, so instead of going through a report of what I've done the last couple weeks, I would just like to bring everybody's attention to something I think is critically important. In the back of the room, I put these little flyers. It says, Making Every Day Awesome. Fountain roots (sic) and Iron Roots Strength have a blood drive scheduled for the ongoing months coming up to the summer all the way to November. It's very important that people give blood. There's a new gentleman named Paul Heintz, who is running this program now. He asked me if I could be kind of their spokesman and get the word out that there is a critical need for blood in our community. Blood donations are -- they're for transfusions, for cancers, for surgery, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries. It's up to us, the healthy people, to give blood so the people that aren't so fortunate will have that resource available. And so like I said, these are at the back of the room. Pick them up, get the date, schedule an appointment, and you'll be making a difference to people whose lives need it. So thank you, Mr. Mayor. That was my report. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Councilman Watts? WATTS: It's a quiet week. Nothing to report. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Councilman Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: No report, Mr. Mayor. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Councilwoman -- MCMAHON: Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: -- McMahon? MCMAHON: I would like to thank Ted Blank and his group. His volunteer group TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 5 of 75 completed the repainting of the black parts of the bollard lights in Fountain Park the other day. It took three Sundays and a total of about 12 hours, roughly 20 volunteers. We think the lights look pretty good, he said, and we successfully eliminated 90 percent of the upward reflected light without reducing any light on the path around the lake. Neighbors on the hill overlooking the park said they could immediately see the -- where we stopped painting a couple of weeks ago, and the difference was obvious. Now, all 287 lights are refreshed. So thank you very much, Ted, and your volunteers. It's appreciated. Thank you. Also, I attended Oakwood Creative Care open house in Chandler showcasing their new large building that will include a medical clinic. They provide help and assistance for families on the dementia journey, and they are looking to come out to Fountain Hills, to have a satellite facility here. We're helping him -- them facilitate that, so hopefully, that will be happening hopefully sooner rather than later. So thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor? TOTH: No report this week. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Thank you. So I had the pleasure of attending the Dark Sky reception at the Artists' Gallery on the Avenue. It was really successful. And if you haven't been in that artists' gallery, they have some nice little handmade artwork that they're actually selling on behalf of the Dark Sky Discovery Center, so make sure you check that out. I attended the mayors' lunch in Apache Junction. Our Law Enforcement Committee met. I spoke with a group of realtors in town dealing with our capital projects and what we're doing on Parkview and Verde River. I attended the Our Community is Unity kickball and barbeque event that was hosted by Brandon Wise and his Wise Agents up at Four Peaks, and it was a great community event, and it was well-attended. We also had Music Fest this past week. We had music on the Avenue as well. We had a budget workshop, and I was able to do a Friedel Friday video with Dr. Cain from our school district where we highlighted some of the great things that are going on in our school district. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 6 of 75 I also had the pleasure of attending the scholarship awards ceremony that was hosted by our own Fountain Hills American Legion Post 58. They literally gave out almost $20,000 worth of scholarships. So the American Legion Post, the Marine Corps League and the American Legion -- Sons of the American Legion Post 58 were all the presenters of those awards, so we had a lot of great honorees, and those students really deserved it. And then I held my third Coffee with the Mayor that was well-attended. That was yesterday. And we had about 50 people there. So we talked, again, about capital improvement projects, road work, and there were a lot of good questions asked by the audience. And now, we'll move on to Proclamation. So we have an outstanding achievement that our Vice Mayor is going to read and present. Is Ava Bourne in the audience? Okay. There she is. TOTH: Okay. You can come down here, but I'll just say congratulations to your mother. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It's good to meet you. TOTH: It's good to meet you, too. We're recognizing Ava Bourne for her outstanding achievements in wrestling. Whereas, Ava Bourne, of the Fountain Hills High School wrestling team has demonstrated exceptional athletic ability, perseverance, and sportsmanship through the 2024 through 2025 wrestling season; and whereas, Ava Bourne competed in the Girls' Sectional State Qualifier showcasing her remarkable wrestling skills and earning third place overall in her division; and whereas, Ava began her season with an impressive performance winning all three of her matches in her first tournament and receiving the Outstanding Wrestler Award among approximately 80 participants; and whereas, Ava's versatility in wrestling, including her expertise in grappling and powerful takedowns, has established her as one of the top competitors in the state; and whereas -- there's a few more. Bear with me. Whereas, under the leadership of Fountain Hills High School Head Coach Luke Salzman, Ava has displayed unwavering dedication and toughness securing a historic victory as TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 7 of 75 the first Sectional champion in the Fountain Hills wrestling program's history; and whereas, Ava entered the Sectional tournament with a 13-2 record, pinned her opponent in the championship match, and advanced to the state tournament with a 15-2 record earning a second-seeded placement in her bracket; and whereas, Ava achieved an extraordinary feat by securing second place at the 2025 Arizona Interscholastic Association Wrestling State Championship bringing pride and recognition to Fountain Hills; and whereas, Ava's achievements serve as an inspiration, not only to female wrestlers, but to all athletes and members of the Fountain Hills community. Now, therefore, I -- well, Gerry, along with the Council, on behalf of the Town of Fountain Hills, do hereby recognize and commend Ava Bourne for her exceptional accomplishments in wrestling and extend our best wishes for continued success. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and caused the official seal of the Town of Fountain Hills. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you, Vice Mayor. Now, we'll move on to the Mayor's Business Spotlight. Tonight, it's my pleasure to recognize Vicky Derksen and the Night Sky Tourist business here in our town. Vicky has created and hosted several events to educate and promote the dark skies on behalf of the Town, to include the International Moon Night (sic) Geminid meteor shower watch party, which I was at, and that was very good, the planet gazing. She serves on the board of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center. Vicky is one of the Star Dudes -- maybe we need to change that name to -- a group of local night sky enthusiasts who give stargazing experiences at ADERO Resort and partners with the Sonoran Conservancy to offer stargazing hikes. Vicky is so well-known that last year, she met with journalists from Spain who were spending a month in Arizona and Utah to write a story about the dark sky movement. She drove them all around Fountain Hills one night -- of course, it had to be at night -- met them for an interview the next day, and then a couple weeks later, they came back to do a photo shoot, and the article has now been published in a Norwegian and Italian TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 8 of 75 magazine. So we want to congratulate her. And I'm going to read this, and then I'm going to have you come up and get this and then say a few words about your business, Vicky. Okay? In recognition of your outstanding contribution to the Town of Fountain Hills, this certificate celebrates your dedication to excellence, innovation, and community engagement. Your commitment to quality and service has not only strengthened our local economy, but also enriched the lives of residents and visitors alike. The Town of Fountain Hills is proud to honor you as a business -- your business as a vital part of our community's growth and success. So congratulations. Come on up. DERKSEN: Thank you. Well, what I do here in Fountain Hills would not be possible were it not for our very special and precious dark skies and that we have had unanimous support in this community for years -- I believe, what, seven or eight years now, Joe (ph.) -- of the efforts to protect the dark skies here. And so I want to thank the Council, the councils that came before this who had the foresight for it. And we're thrilled to provide stargazing up at ADERO Scottsdale Resort on Friday nights, as Gerry said. And we do private stargazing events if anybody wants to host something at their home or, you know, for a private party, something like that. It's really, really fun. So we've got a couple of Star Dudes here tonight, other than myself. I got dubbed a Star Dude. Ted Blank and Tony Pistilli, if you guys could just kind of stand up and say hi to everybody. You guys have probably seen them at events. We have two other Star Dudes, Scott Adams and Ken Cotter, who couldn't be here tonight. And Geoff Yazzetta is kind of our backup, and you guys have probably seen him around here. So thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. So now, we have -- it's kind of a theme, I think, this week for our meeting. So now we have a proclamation, and this is going to be accepted by John Craft, but this proclamation is for International Dark Sky Week. So I'm going to start with, whereas, the aesthetic beauty and wonder of a natural night sky is shared heritage of all humankind; and whereas, the experience of standing TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 9 of 75 beneath a starry night sky inspires feelings of wonder and awe and encourages a growing interest in science and nature, especially among young people and out-of-area visitors within the local communities; and whereas, light pollution has scientifically established economic and environmental consequences which result in significant impacts on the ecology and human health of all communities. And whereas, Arizona hosts ten percent of the world's largest telescopes, including the world's largest optical telescope and many of the world's most revered observatories, including the Lowell Observatory, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Whipple Observatory, the University of Arizona's MMT and Large Binocular Telescope Observatories, Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Vatican Observatory, and in the future, the International Dark Sky Discovery Center, right here. And whereas, the optical astronomy, which is both hindered and endangered by unfettered light pollution, represents a statewide capital investment of more than 1.3 billion and an annual economic return of over $250,000,000, including an indirect attachment to more than 150,000 jobs through the aerospace and defense sector; and whereas, Fountain Hills Dark Sky Discovery -- I'm sorry, Fountain Hills Dark Sky Preservation Committee provides free education, resources, and solutions to the public to encourage the protection and enjoyment of dark skies and responsible outdoor lighting. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Mayor Gerry Friedel, on behalf of the Town of Fountain Hills, proclaim the week of April 21st through 28th, 2025, as International Dark Sky Week. And I ask each resident to join me in not only observing this important week, but also in raising the awareness and support for protecting our precious dark skies. In witness thereof, I have signed this, and it's got the Town seal on it. So John, if you're here, come on up. CRAFT: I think Vicky already pretty much explained what we're doing. Let me just reinforce and thank all of you and the Town. The dark sky certification that we enjoy is the Town's certification. Our organization is merely here to support, to educate, and to raise awareness, and it's because of what we have done that soon, we are going to TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 10 of 75 enjoy a very comprehensive discovery center complete with telescope planetariums and many other things. So thank you, again. We look forward to continued support. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. And now, I see Justin lined up for a presentation. Rachael, do you want to -- GOODWIN: Director Weldy is going to be giving us a presentation tonight on the wash maintenance efforts that have gone on all spring and give us a forecast of what's coming next. Director, I'll turn it over to you. WELDY: Thank you. Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councilmembers, anyone that has had an opportunity to visit Fountain Hills and/or lives here can certainly recognize The Founding Fathers' commitment to preserving open space. There is an incredible amount of open space within the town limits. There are numerous locations in this community where you can walk right out your backyard into practically undisturbed natural environment. One could arguably say that after the town's incorporation and prior to the wash ordinance, that they attempted to put together some guidelines for maintenance and how that maintenance should be followed through with. Unfortunately, over the years, funding for that has been limited, to say the least. Over the past few years, we have certainly made some progress, and we have encouraging news for this year and good news for next year because the current council has approved funding that will allow us to keep going. Please note that we do not take wash maintenance lightly, and it can be challenging, and one of the challenges that we face more often than not is the amount of debris, washing machines, couches, bicycles, concrete, brick block, and just everyday trash along with tree trimmings that have been dumped over walls or fences, or sometimes, if a road crosses through a low-flow crossing, someone might stop there and shovel it out of the back of their truck into that wash. These types of things drive up the challenges we face and the costs that we face to ensure that we have a reliable natural resource that allows for the conveyance of stormwater from the McDowells, through the town, into the Verde River and, eventually, the Salt River. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 11 of 75 We're going to look at a few slides here related to some of the work that has been taking place since October of 2024, when the Council approved the most recent contract. This is a map of our washes and all of our dams. This is, obviously, not a blown-up one, but for anyone that has had an opportunity to see this exhibit, you will see that there is an incredible amount of drainage that passes through this community. Please note that this is townwide and includes the unincorporated, now incorporated, area of the state's trust land. We do not do any maintenance in that area. And there are several areas that are privately owned or the responsibility of neighborhood property owners' associations and/or homeowners' associations or gated communities, and some of them are maintained by private landowners behind the gated communities. I've done, already, a considerable amount of talking, but imagine, if you would, that the town has a little bit over 200 acres of undisturbed land, for lack of a better description. In the second half of this year, we have managed to do maintenance on approximately -- this slide is about five weeks old. We have made some progress. So we're up to about 55 acres that we have done. The ones that we're going to discuss tonight are clearly shown there, which is Powderhorn and Cereus Wash. Each one of those are south of Shea. As we get closer, we get into Hagen Wash, Jacklin Wash, Malta Wash, and Ashbrook. Now, the area of Ashbrook that we're going to be discussing later in this presentation is primarily between Hampstead and Bayfield Drive. There is a little bit of additional work that's going to take place that's east of Bayfield heading towards Saguaro later on. This first video right here is basically a before and after of one of those washes that shows what it looked like prior to us getting there and the material removed. Keep in mind, for some of these areas, you'll see what appears to be a clear cut or everything removed. In fact, what we've done is we have just cleared the flow line, which is our primary objective here: make sure that the flow line is clear, and take any measures necessary in regards to fire mitigation. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 12 of 75 This is Powderhorn Wash. This is south of Shea just off of Saguaro. The photo on the left shows the wash prior to us being in there. Obviously, the one on the right shows the after. Here is another little section of Powderhorn Wash, the before and after. This is Oxford Wash, and we're showing you this section right here because this is the area where water is conveyed from numerous neighborhoods down the streets and into a couple of small drainage pipes, and then it enters into Oxford Wash and makes its way to the east. But we wanted to show you the before and after. As you can see, there's organic material and/or growth that's covering the inlet and/or completely covering the riprap that protects that inlet. This is an area of Ashbrook Wash. This is just east of Hampstead. You'll see on the left that there is a considerable amount of growth, and the one on the right is what we've been doing as we get started. I think it's important to note that the areas that we'll be working on later on this fall and into the spring are going to be primarily focused on Ashbrook Wash and a couple of others around the town center. There is an incredible amount of illegal dumping in Ashbrook Wash that's going to require, for lack of a better description, hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove. Some of it has built up for decades and could be anywhere from 20 to 30 feet wide and 150 feet long and contain tree branches, used or unused appliances, bicycles, brick block. The Mayor and I have taken a few field trips out and taken a look at this material. We've taken pictures. We are working on an outreach and some educational material for the homeowners that not only back up to each of these washes, but the homeowners in Fountain Hills as a whole will put out a flier. One of the things that we are focusing on here -- and the Town Manager, and duly noted, was concerned about some of the things that I'm going to say. Whenever I say that we are going to stop wash maintenance during the warmer part of the months, and there is a considerable amount of pushback on that, the primary reason for that is safety. For those that are able to enjoy the wash on a regular basis walking their dogs or maybe TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 13 of 75 riding their bicycle on one of those areas, you can hear and see pretty much everything that's around you. When you get into the densely vegetated areas and there are chainsaws and tractors and other stuff running, you cannot necessarily hear what's going on around you. And there are a considerable amount of snakes and other venomous creatures that live in and around the washes. When you have to reach down and pick up debris in and around shrubs, you certainly may not see and you're not going to be able to hear a rattlesnake. There are also, during this time, the Sonoran breeding season that, believe it or not, if you go down into these washes this time of year, you'll see that they are very, very busy. We are, in fact, flying a drone on what I refer to as the hardest-working couple in Fountain Hills, some owls that are raising two owlets right now. We're monitoring them because they're living in a dead tree that needs to be removed for safety, but we are going to allow them to raise their family, and once they have flown and everything is all clear, which will probably be later this fall, we'll remove that tree. We're not going to describe the location of that tree or those creatures for obvious reasons. When we get back in here in the fall, there is going to be a considerable amount of work done. We will have a brand new budget. We already have a plan put together. There are going to be substantial changes to several of the larger washes. I think it's important to note that wash maintenance does not include a clear cut of everything, and we -- I routinely do not go up on the slopes or above the slope because the trees and shrubs and bushes that are growing there stabilize those slopes and minimize erosion in that area. We will, however, be removing any dead or dying brush that may or may not create any fire hazards to the best of our ability. We've got a couple more slides here, and this one right here is a pretty important one. This is the defensible space. As we are working through all of these washes, we are keeping in mind that not all of the homes that back up to the wash have the clear 30 feet between the dwelling, the home they live in, and the wash. We will take that into consideration as we do maintenance there. As people contact us, and there's been a considerable amount of communication back TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 14 of 75 and forth between the elected body, the Town Manager, myself, and other staff members related to wash maintenance, it is very, very difficult to explain to someone that the conditions in Fountain Hills are not similar to other areas in the U.S. where there are wildfires. Their concerns are legitimate. We have a fire department, and they are absolutely capable, and when we have questions in regards to fire safety, I do not answer them. I do not forward them to the Town Manager. We forward that information to the fire marshal and/or the fire chief. They are the experts, and they have the ability to answer those questions. I can tell you, recently, that they have visited numerous homes at the request of that homeowner and given them some guidance and/or provided guidance to Town staff in regards to their observations. With that, in the interest of time, if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Just a comment. I appreciate the fact that we've done some -- a lot of on-site visits to see the scope and the size of this job. It's monstrous. So I -- and I appreciate the Council's support in giving additional funding toward this project because it is serious, and we want the residents to know that we do take it seriously. Councilwoman Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just one thing for the public's sake. And one of the things -- what I hear from constituents the most is, I have a very dangerous wash at my house, and I'd like to take priority, and numerous people say that. And so just for the townsfolk, so we can just put this on the record tonight, what is the procedure how we pick which washes and what's the pecking order so that they kind of have an idea of the process? Because understanding that everybody thinks that, you know, they want their wash done first, and we simply can't do that. WELDY: Mayor, Councilmember Kalivianakis, we intentionally do not publish a schedule for where we are going to be and for how long because the conditions are really going to dictate that. I will tell you that every Town-owned wash that was shown on the TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 15 of 75 second slide of this presentation will receive some attention. Please bear in mind that we've only had a few months and adequate funding to get started, and we've made incredible progress. And arguably, wash maintenance has been behind for probably 25-plus years. We're going to need a couple of years to get caught up and to a manageable condition. But we simply do not publish times or schedules because we don't want to be caught off guard or, more importantly, if we're not there on Tuesday, have the Mayor and Council receive criticism. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you. WELDY: You're welcome. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts? WATTS: Justin, there's a wash that's Fountain Hills Boulevard and then Sherwood, and I was looking on the map to try to find the name of that. Do you know what that name of that wash is? WELDY: Mr. Mayor, Councilmember Watts, I believe that's Legend Wash. WATTS: Legend? And it'll be done next year sometime? It's a disaster right now. WELDY: The intent is to try and accomplish everything in a two-year period, so we will do our best to get to it. If not, we'll get it in FY '27. But we're going to continue to work. WATTS: Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. WELDY: You're welcome. Thank you for the opportunity. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. We'll move on to the Call to the Public. Town Clerk, do we have any speaker cards? BENDER: Mayor, we have four cards. We'll start with Pam Cap followed by Nancy Ordowski. CAP: Good evening. Pam Cap, nine-year resident of Fountain Hills. For months, we have heard from the ROT councilmembers that DEI is bad. DEI gives an unfair advantage to those not worthy. Yet, it's no surprise that the ROT majority will give themselves an unfair advantage that they are not worthy of. The plan is to erase all ethic violations TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 16 of 75 that are on the record for past and present councilmembers. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I'm sorry. That's a -- that's an agenda item and for the Call to the Public. CAP: I could speak about anything at the Call to Public. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Not an agenda item. I'm sorry. Next speaker, please. BENDER: Nancy Ordowski followed by Shelby Blecker. ORDOWSKI: Hello. My name is Nancy Ordowski. I've owned property here in Fountain Hills for 29 years and been a full-time resident for 27 years. I want to thank the Mayor and the Council for your voting on the care, excuse me, of the Community Center and the updates that you spoke of last -- two weeks ago. I think it's vitally important that we do take care of our property and not let it deteriorate and make it such a huge expensive item. But I also have a concern with that and the fact that in that meeting, except for Councilmember Skillicorn, nobody was concerned about how many bids you had for any of that project. It's vitally important, and I think that the Council needs to make it a policy, that at least there be three bids on any project where any money is being spent. It was stated, well, we have the money in the fund to do this. That's great. But I'd rather see $100,000 saved than all of the funding spent. So please, whatever way or direction that you can take this in, I think it's really important. And it doesn't always have to be one group that does the entire job. There are people who install fans and lights. There are people who install blinds. There are people who install the doors and things for the Community Center to divide the rooms and things. So I think that you should take that into consideration and, please, expect more than just one bid to make a decision about how the money is to be spent. Thank you. BENDER: Shelby Blecker, and then the last speaker is Ed Stizza. BLECKER: Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councilmembers, Town staff. My name is Shelby Blecker, a resident for a little over a year now. I'm going to tell you a little story, TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 17 of 75 and I promise I will tie this into Fountain Hills, so bear with me. A segment on 60 Minutes that ran on March 30th talked about the hazardous waste generated from the fires in Palisades and Altadena in L.A. County. The article talked about batteries from cars, cell phones, e-bikes, power walls, et cetera, but I'd like to speak about the EVs that they had found. 60 Minutes' segment talked about over 600 EVs that were found in Palisades alone, and just one car requires over six drums to dispose of the batteries from that car. So this is what happens. After these drums are plunged into a saltwater brine for three days to try to remove any energy from in them, the batteries have little or no product that can be recycled. The battery material is scooped out, shoveled onto a steel plate, and then it's steamrolled. Chris Myers from the EPA spoke to 60 Minutes and stated that there's not a lot of value still left in what they have there. Now, it gets complicated. What's left is technically still hazardous material under California's strict environmental regulations. There are only two landfills in California that are certified to take hazardous materials, and they were pretty much out of capacity before the fires. So half of California's hazardous waste gets trucked out-of-state to Utah and to right here in Arizona. My question -- my comment, really, is why should we, in Arizona, take this hazardous waste from California? Just because we have lower federal EPA standards for hazardous waste in Arizona means we should allow our state to be polluted like this from California? I still need to drive often to and from Los Angeles, 406 miles one way, and when crossing into California, most of that drive is wide-open desert, not even a single tree, a lake, or a river to be seen. California certainly has enough room to handle their own hazardous trash. Now, I'd like to ask you, the Fountain Hills Town Council, to take the lead on this and let our legislators know what's going on and that it's not okay to be the dumping ground for California. Please put this on your legislative calendar and discuss how we can stop this. Let's keep Arizona and Fountain Hills beautiful and clean. We should only need to deal with our own waste, not everyone and anyone else's trash. Thank you. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 18 of 75 BENDER: The last speaker is Ed Stizza. STIZZA: Good evening, Mayor, Town Council, staff, and the public. Very disappointing that we removed the agenda items 9D and E from speaking about it tonight and going over it, but I'm actually here to talk about the shade structure that's about to be installed down on the Avenue of the Fountains within the median. I don't think that there has been a solid enough look at this, and certainly, designs have not -- they haven't been presented correctly to the public, certainly, in a tremendous amount of detail. There are so many people I talk to that have absolutely no idea what this is. I think -- and I'm actually pleading with this Town Council and -- to actually retake a look at this before you install this on the Avenue of the Fountains. This is actually something that -- I don't think it was presented correctly, and there are very few people that actually know the scope of what this design is going to do and at what cost. We are absolutely filling in our open spaces within Fountain Hills, and this is really going to do that. Let's leave the Avenue open. And we just had talk about dark skies and presentation or a proclamation, and boy, we're going to cover up our dark skies even more again. And this shade structure is going to sit there for 90 percent of the time empty, and it's going to block the views to the fountain. And I certainly understand the need for shade in this town and Arizona in general, but at what cost? Look at -- please, look at some different designs before the installation happens at the end of June. It's coming quickly. And most of the public does not know about it, so I am also pleading with the public to please, please look at exactly what they are about to do on the Avenue of the Fountains, and please comment on it and write in to the Town and let everybody know how you feel. I appreciate it. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Let me make sure everybody understands that 9C and D were just separated, and we will hear discussion on both of those agenda items tonight, Ed, so you're aware of that. Next, we'll move on to -- is that it, Town Clerk? Okay. Thank you. We'll move on to our Consent Agenda Items, which is just approving our minutes from TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 19 of 75 the last meeting. I need a motion, please. TOTH: So moved. KALIVIANAKIS: Second. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Roll call, please. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, seven to zero. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Our first regular agenda item is consideration for possible action for the approval of a subcommittee recommendation for -- to our Strategic Planning Advisory Commission to a partial term from April 1st, 2025, to April 30th, 2026. And with that, I'm going to move to appoint Polly Bonnet to a partial term from April 1st, 2025, to April 30th, 2026, to serve on our Strategic Planning Advisory Commission. Are there any comment cards on that? BENDER: No, there aren't. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Thank you. So I would need a second for that. TOTH: Second. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 20 of 75 MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Roll call, please. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Aye. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, seven to zero. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. And then our next agenda item is consideration of possible action for a request to apply for Congressionally-directed spending on behalf of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center. Rachael? GOODWIN: Thank you, Mayor. Our Economic Development director, Amanda Jacobs, is going to take the lead, but I would like to kind of preface some of the statements that -- I think many of you know that our agenda this week, getting it out to -- not only to the Council but the public was held up. This was the item that we've been working on. It kind of came in sort of at the eleventh hour, so we wanted to make sure that we had done our due diligence and didn't put something out there without having proper review and whatnot. There's a lot to this. There's a lot of questions. I've had a number of questions from each of you -- most of you. So please, make sure you have -- if you have questions TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 21 of 75 tonight, this is the time because there is a deadline for this, which is why we did have to put it onto tonight's agenda. The application would be due the 25th, I believe, so that is why there was a sense of urgency and the time line associated. With that, I'll hand it over to Ms. Jacobs. JACOBS: Thank you, Manager Goodwin. Mr. Mayor, members of Council, I do not have a PowerPoint tonight. I'm going to give a brief overview, and then I'm going to talk about some motions. There's one in your packet, but I'm going to go over two, and, through that motion, talk about next steps. So on March 26th, I met with Nancy and Joe Gill to talk about some upcoming grants. We got the Fort McDowell, Republic Services, et cetera. During that meeting, they shared with me that Senators Gallego and Kelly had invited the Dark Sky to apply for fiscal year '26 Congressionally-directed funding. The caveat this year was nonprofits could not submit on their own. They strongly encouraged -- really, it should be it's strongly required to go through a town. So here we are. On April 8th, last week, so Tuesday after 3 o'clock, we were all here together at a workshop, and so we received some follow-up from Jeff Esposito informing us of the deadline, as Manager Goodwin mentioned, of April 25th. So I did ask, because I saw that it was just strongly suggested, is this really required? So they provided us some backup information on April 9th. And so we're here before Council. The request is for two and a half million dollars. It's to outfit a scientific exhibit, for example, for STEM education. So the Council could, tonight, move to approve, and what that entails is you would be directing staff to complete that form. Then there is a waiting process. So it could be this time next year. It could be in September of 2026 that we may find out if we receive it. We will then have to -- if we are considered, we then will have to complete a separate grant process. We could have to come before Mayor and Council for approval. But then the Town staff would act as the grant administrator. To Manager Goodwin's point, if we take on that responsibility, just an estimate, it could take about 100 hours to process. So taking Manager Goodwin last week, the sort of TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 22 of 75 scramble between several members of the Finance team, my time, her time, the attorney's time, that was approximately 25 to 30 hours combining our time because we can't just -- sometimes people think we can just put this on an agenda. We have to do our due diligence, look at guidelines, make sure we're not violating the gift clause, et cetera. Also with this approval, if you approve it tonight, our Finance Director will have to increase the Special Revenue Fund by approximately three million dollars just planning and anticipating if we are awarded. Now, that does not do anything to our expenditure limitation because federal revenue funds are excluded, so don't let that shock you. Now, over the last couple of weeks, one of our councilmembers has gently said that sometimes she feels like I'm just presenting you an option to approve, so there's also the option two, moving to deny. If you deny, that means all staff work stops. We don't complete anything. We don't get to submit the application. However, we will never know if we potentially receive those monies. With that said, I think I covered everything. Getting the nod from our CFO. I will open it up, Mr. Mayor, to any questions the Council may have for staff. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman McMahon? MCMAHON: Thank you very much. This is really a interesting grant. I have not seen anything like this before. And it's a lot of money. It's a lot of administration. I do have some financial questions. And I would like to know if this is approved and if Council agrees with the management of it, is there going to be a legal agreement between Dark Sky and the Town outlining everybody's responsibilities, releasing liability, et cetera? Is the staff -- does the staff want to do this? Do they have enough time? Will a person need to be hired to manage this? Do you have any idea how much maintenance and administration it's going to require, et cetera? What is it going to cost the Town? And I know it's a lot of questions, but I'm asking them at once so that we -- you guys -- and why are we transferring three million, and what's the cost to the Town, if anything, TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 23 of 75 whether it's awarded or not awarded, please? JACOBS: Mr. Mayor, Councilmember McMahon, I will tackle some of those and then defer it to our CFO. So your first question regarding a legal agreement. It's too premature to do that now, but that is something if, again, we receive Council approval, we do get awarded, where we would come back with the grant application and then an agreement. It would include the legal aspect of it. And then Councilmember McMahon puts us on the spot of what does staff want to do here? You know that I'm always honest with you. So we're all extremely supportive of the Dark Skies. With what the manager described, we were in reaction mode, although we spent many hours looking at this. As the Economic Development Director, I -- if it was just totally up to me, and it's not, it's a team, I most likely would say no, and just because I want to treat people fairly. So if the Chamber of Commerce came to us and asked us to do this with the U.S. Department of Commerce, would we do it? I don't know if we -- if we would. And then last week, you guys know we had our budget workshop. The next day, again, members of our Finance team had to stop work on our budget to tackle this project. So if we receive Council direction, we will not have to hire new staff. Will we make it work between the Economic Development, the Finance Department, the Manager's office? Absolutely. But we do want to make sure -- time is money. Staff is money. So when we're working on this -- and I'll just say, you guys know I administer many grants. There's lots of federal requirements, so it takes a lot of staff time and quiet time. You don't want to mess up. You have another question? There's other questions I want to -- MCMAHON: Yeah. Getting back to your Chamber comment, there's a caveat with this that the senators will not accept the CDS project request in which a nonprofit is the applicant. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Right. MCMAHON: And it basically is stating it has to be a government or a town that supports TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 24 of 75 this endeavor, and Dark Skies in this case, in order to make the application or it basically goes away. So I think that's a heavy consideration in approving or not approving or staff wanting or not to do it, so to speak, and it kind of puts the staff on the spot, actually. JACOBS: It was a little bit of a pickle. SOLDINGER: I'll add to that real quick. So it will take time and effort on staff's part. We would be the administrator. Also, we'd basically be the grant recipient and the Dark Sky Discovery Center would be the subrecipient, so the money would pass through us, and we would be responsible for ensuring they're complying with the requirements. The nice thing about that is with our direct costs, if we're spending time, we can get reimbursed from the federal government as part of this grant application process for that time, so there will be recovery of costs, but it will take time. I think that is a fact. And there's going to be shared responsibility, which is outlined in the staff summary. MCMAHON: So the Dark Sky Discovery Center, in your agreement, will be helping with the administration or -- for lack of a better word, or be involved in some way, shape, or form, or that has yet to be determined based upon the grant parameters, right? SOLDINGER: I can't say for sure because this is the first step of this process. It's a request for funding, but typically with a federal grant, and it's a reimbursement basis. So the Dark Sky Discovery Center would be responsible for purchasing appropriate -- in this case, it's a STEM exhibit, so paying for an appropriate STEM exhibit expenditure, and we would be responsible for reviewing that and drawing down the money -- taking the money from the federal government, if it is approved, and ensuring that it's being disbursed to them appropriately as well. So we have the -- we have the primary responsibility as a town in this case, in this type of situation. JACOBS: Thank you. SOLDINGER: Yes. JACOBS: And Councilmember, I just want to add, so the full 100 percent administrative part of it will solely be on staff for those checks and balances, but we would work in partnership with the Dark Sky Discovery Center, but they would not act as an TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 25 of 75 administrator. MCMAHON: Okay. JACOBS: And just -- again, just with my experience of our other grants that I have to administer and, a couple of years ago, through the ARPA funding, working with the feds and the state, the prime responsibility is on staff. MCMAHON: Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts? WATTS: Paul, you said an interesting word, we get reimbursed. That means that we got to front three million dollars? SOLDINGER: No, no, no. I'm sorry if that was what it sounded like. So Councilman Watts -- or Mayor, Councilman Watts, in this case, the Dark Sky Discovery Center would work through the Town to request two and a half million dollars for the STEM exhibit. They would be paying for the direct costs of that -- to putting together that exhibit, and they would simply be submitting the receipts and evidence that they paid for it, the invoices to the Town. We would use that to collect the money from the federal government, and so draw down the money. The money would go into our account for a short time period. And that's why we need to increase the budget to be able to make the payment -- or the reimbursement back to the Dark Sky Discovery Center. There's no cost to the Town other than the time and effort. Also, audit costs. We have to get a federal audit, which we -- sometimes we do have to get or not, and we would be able to get reimbursed from the federal government for those direct costs. WATTS: So there's no intention of the Dark Sky group to do anything with the STEM displays and interactive things that they've got until they get the grant approved? So no money out-of-pocket until we get the grant approved? SOLDINGER: We did have that discussion last week, to make it clear, because the federal requirements are very particular. Yeah, you have to wait until the grant is approved, awarded, and at that point, then you can start -- there's -- they call it a period of performance, it's usually a year or two years, where you have to carry out the TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 26 of 75 objectives of what you stated in the application and what's allowable for the grant money, and as long as they do that, they follow the rules -- we're the administrator of that, so we have to ensure they are doing that, and if not, we -- unfortunately, we would not be able to submit reimbursement requests if they're not following the federal guidelines, so there could be some tough conversations with those types of things. WATTS: But again, it's a little confusing when you say they have to do certain things and carry out certain functions. They need money to do that. Where are they going to get the money to do that, whatever those things are? SOLDINGER: It would be the money the Dark Sky Discovery Center has in their coffers. They'd be spending that. The Town would not pay for those exhibit costs upfront. WATTS: Okay. And from a liability standpoint, as the administer, are we going to be having somebody specific as a project manager so we can approve whatever is done and so on, or has that not been worked out yet? You? SOLDINGER: Me and him. WATTS: And -- yeah. I'd get Justin involved, too. SOLDINGER: Justin (indiscernible). WATTS: Justin's got a good background, and so -- SOLDINGER: He's got a lot of time on his hands. WATTS: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Justin would be a good one. But from a liability standpoint, we have -- we got to carry the load with whatever expertise we have in-house; is that fair? SOLDINGER: It is fair. Yeah, that's what it boils down to, I think, for me. The question for you is if you believe it's in the best interest of the Town to take on that time and effort that we will spend on it. And ultimately, the other thing I want to emphasize, it is the first step. I mean, this is just to request the funding be appropriated in the federal budget, and if it is, we still have to take several other steps before the money could be even approved. WATTS: Are we going to have the opportunity to review the application prior to being submitted? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 27 of 75 SOLDINGER: Yes, Councilman Watts. We would actually be the one submitting it, so we've already worked that out. If the Council does approve this first request, they -- the Dark Sky Discovery Center would prepare a grant application draft, and we would review it, make revisions as needed, and we would be the submitter of that request. WATTS: Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: You mentioned if they weren't compliant with something, and you -- we are the ones -- the Town, I should say, are the ones that are going to have to watch over them for that, and if they don't get in compliance and we are -- what would happen if they weren't? What would happen to the Town, then, and that money, then? SOLDINGER: So Mayor, Councilwoman, that's a good question. So we would both be subject to a federal audit. And we don't always get those. You have to spend over a million dollars of federal funds to trigger that threshold, and you get a federal audit, and so whatever they find -- in this case, let's say the two and a half million, full amount, is awarded. Two and a half million would go through the Town, and we would be the -- like the gatekeeper or the keyholder for that money. Whenever the Dark Sky Discovery Center spends money, we have to make sure it's appropriate and within the confines of the grant agreement requirements, and so as long as we're doing that -- and I will say that our accountant and myself, we have a lot of experience with audits and federal audits, so we're very familiar with the criteria. I wouldn't say the criteria is very difficult. But going back to the liability, we would be responsible for findings from our perspective. The Dark Sky Discovery Center would also have to get a federal audit done on their own -- on their own accord, and it -- we wouldn't technically be responsible for their audits, but since the money is going through the Town and we're sending the money to them, we would be responsible for those audits. So let's say, worst case scenario, there is a big audit finding where it was an inappropriate use of federal funds. We could have an audit finding, and the worst-case scenario is the feds could try to recover the monies directly from us and/or the Dark Sky TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 28 of 75 Discovery Center. EARLE: And up to this point, what has the working relationship been between the Town and the Discovery Center? SOLDINGER: I'll let Amanda answer that. I haven't worked too much with them. I did recently work with one of the board members discussing this topic, but I'll let Amanda maybe touch on that. JACOBS: Here I am. SOLDINGER: There you are. JACOBS: I'm on the other side now. Mr. Mayor, Councilmember Earle, I would say good. One -- I mean, we're here, right? And earlier, the conversations with the Night Sky Tourist, the proclamation week, it goes really well with the Dark Sky Discovery Center. Beginning last year, we have an internal project team, and if something comes up -- so a couple weeks ago, I was able to contact Jerry Butler and his contractors, and I said, hey, there's been some questions. Rather than separate meetings with our directors, which is inefficient, let's just get in a room, roll up the sleeves, answer the questions, make sure we're all on the same page. And so some of that is timely. So I would say it is good. You're welcome. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Let me just quickly add that it's a big responsibility, and there is liability if there's something that's done wrong, but I trust our staff to oversee this, and we fully support the Dark Sky Discovery Center initiative. So with that, Councilwoman Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah, thank you, Mr. Mayor. And yeah, what the Mayor said is absolutely right. I think that there's a unanimity of the Council and the Mayor to wanting this money because we all love the project, but it does come fraught with risk. It's funny this comes up on Tax Day because I've been dealing with the federal government for, like, a week trying to figure out what I owe, and it's been really difficult. And I've gone to a few different people on what I owe, and they disagree. So dealing with the federal government is -- it's not to be taken lightly. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 29 of 75 And that's what they're -- that's what they're asking us to do. Now, Councilwoman McMahon talked about contractually, can we obligate the Discovery Center to do what they're supposed to do and what we're supposed to do. Technically, you can, but we're going to be the personal guarantor as the Town. That's why they are not going to accept anything other than a town to back this up. If you look at the request, nonprofits wishing to participate in this program are strongly encouraged to partner with a public entity, such as local government, as project sponsor. That's because we are going to be the personal guarantor. That's something that we can't take lightly. Now, there is also the issue of we're going to be spending funds, and again, let me go to the agenda package here. Direct costs, actual time worked, audit costs. The Town would request the federal government for actual time spent providing grant administration services. So we are going to spend the money, and then we're going to ask for it back. We're going to petition, it says, for the money to be returned to us. I think -- do I have a good read on that? Because we are going to ask for the money that we spent, and then it's going to be reviewed by the same government that's going to review my tax return. SOLDINGER: Mayor, Councilwoman, yes. So the grant is a reimbursement basis, and the direct costs that we've -- there could be more that come up. We just really don't know. Like, for example, if we feel we cannot handle it as a staff, we could hire a consulting firm to do that and get reimbursed from the federal government. But yes, the Town would outlay the monies first. And in this case, most of that has to do with the audit cost, and our audits -- and a lot is nominal. Ours is $3000 a year. And then, other than that, it would be -- let's say the accountant -- the senior accountant and myself, we spend 15 hours in a month. We'd have to calculate our blended, you know, cost to the Town, whether it's our payroll and our benefits, and we'd have to say, okay, we spent this 15 hours based on these rates, this is how much we could draw down. And technically, it's -- once it's approved, that process is not that difficult. You're TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 30 of 75 drawing it down. So in the staff report, we kind of explain the two and a half million would be for the Discovery Center, and we'd put in $100,000 for the Town, and so we'd have, like, that wiggle room to request those direct costs up to $100,000, if approved. It would likely be a lot less than that, depending on the amount of time we spent. KALIVIANAKIS: Again, just to clarify, as I read the document and the language, I don't think they're going to give us that $100,000 as a slush fund because the Town will also work with the IDSDC to include another $100,000 in the request to account for direct costs. But once again, that's going to be a request. So we are going to be providing the money upfront, and then we will be requesting the money down the road, and that's what I'm a little concerned with because if the federal government deems that we didn't do it right, our audit costs are too great, our attorneys overcharged us, whatever, then they will deny those expenses, including how many expenses were created by our Town staff, which, after consulting with our Town Manager, might be substantial. And so again, you know, I don't want to be a wet blanket on this, but as we, as a body, deliberate this -- this is a very difficult decision because we are literally going to partner up with a nonprofit, and we're going to put our signature on the line. And so I just want the people to know that no matter which way we go on this tonight, you know, this is not an easy decision. We are definitely earning our $400 this month. SOLDINGER: Yeah, 100 percent valid considerations that you stated. The federal government is undergoing a lot of changes, obviously, and their guidance changes year to year. But typically, in my experience with federal grants, if they award you up to $100,000 for direct costs, typically you just -- you're able to draw them down, but you have to provide documentation. So the way that's alleviated is through the audit. They look at what you submitted to the federal government, and if there's issues, they can write you a finding, which the federal government receives, and if there's significant issues, they can come after those monies. So typically, getting the money is not too hard, but if you make mistakes along the way, you can be held responsible for it at a later date. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 31 of 75 KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you. SOLDINGER: Yeah, of course. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts? WATTS: So Paul, if I looked at this a little bit different, if I had a construction loan, and I had a two-and-a-half-million-dollar construction loan, I'd have a certain amount of money upfront, whether it was buying down points, whether it was just putting the business model together, and a quick back of the envelope says that your upfront costs are going to be somewhere around 15,000 to maybe $20,000 in preparatory work in conjunction with the application, which I don't have any issue with at all. My bigger concern is the liability and the application deadline of the 25th, not being -- having the opportunity to look at the underlying documents, and the federal government is notorious for having gotchas in those underlying documents. That's my bigger concern. So how do we overcome that on such a short time line? SOLDINGER: Councilman, I know our accountant did review -- did you review the form drafted? So he knows more about the detail. He can speak to that a little bit. Thank you for the question. STELPSTRA: Mayor, Councilmember, part of it will go back to what Amanda said. What we're -- what we're filing right now is just a request for the funding. And yeah, there's not much documentation to it. It's just a form providing basic information. If that does actually make it into the appropriations bill and pass, then there's going to be a period of time between when that passes and before the federal agency opens up the grant -- the actual grant application. At that point is where we're going to get all the documents that could have the gotchas in there that you're concerned about. So that's when we're going to get -- then that's when we're going to have to do the due diligence and make the decision like, okay, they wrote this into the Congressional budget, but do we really want this, and that's where we will be back before Council here once we actually have those documents. We are not obligated to go forward with applying for that grant. It is possible that it gets written into the bill, and when we get to that point, decide we TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 32 of 75 don't want this. And so that's why we will definitely be back before you if it gets to that point where we have actually been able to review the documents that are going to be, you know, part of that grant agreement, so -- but right now, we're not to that step, and those documents aren't even available to us. WATTS: Okay. So even the 15, $20,000 of staff time really won't be incurred. This -- the application sounds like it's relatively simple at this point. STELPSTRA: Yeah, well, and -- WATTS: Just to get into the loop, the -- kind of the rotation for who may and may not apply. STELPSTRA: Yeah. And part of it, too -- like, Paul spoke of a period of compliance -- or sorry, period of performance. All of this upfront pre -- you know, what we're doing now, what we do to apply for the grant, none of that's reimbursable. That's outside the period of performance. WATTS: Right. STELPSTRA: So we're not going to get any of that money back. What we can charge as direct costs is within that period of performance where we're actually monitoring the compliance of the Dark Sky Discovery Center. That's where we have the direct costs, while we're in that period of performance that we can, then, charge. But yeah, all the time we spent last week, what we'll spend to complete this request, once we -- if it does get approved, all that time that we spend to do our due diligence on the documents for the grants as well as just filling out the grant application, going through that process, none of that is stuff that we'll be able to charge to the grant. WATTS: No, I understand. I mean, that makes -- STELPSTRA: Yeah. WATTS: -- a lot of sense -- STELPSTRA: Yeah. WATTS: -- going forward on it. Any time you have an application on a draw-down for a line of credit, you can have mobilization overhead and so on, so we would fall into that category along with whatever portion was completed that we're applying for. As long as TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 33 of 75 we've got kind of a get out of jail free card after the simpler application to get into the rotation, then I could be a supporter. So thank you for the answer. SOLDINGER: And just to close the loop for you, Councilman Watts, we did at least scan through the request form. On the surface, it seems pretty long. There are a lot of questions, but we have already discussed that with the Dark Sky Discovery Center. They're going to draft it all for us, and then we're going to revise it as necessary to alleviate some of that staff time, especially during budget season. So we've taken some steps to alleviate that. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The way I look at it, I just see the federal government uses the state to pass through funds all the time. This type of procedure is not new. This is not uncommon. It might be uncommon to us, but it's not uncommon for the people we're working with. So I want to say thank you to Amanda, thank you to Rachael, thank you, Michael, thank you, Paul. This is the proper form of government. I make a motion to approve. TOTH: I'll second, but I think we need speaker cards. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Town Clerk, do we have any speaker cards? BENDER: Mayor, we received two online cards. They were both for. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Thank you. So we have a motion and a second. Can we give a roll call vote, please? KALIVIANAKIS: If I may, just before we vote? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Go ahead. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, I guess since we do have an out later, you know, that might affect my vote, but I just -- again, I just wanted to reiterate that this project was sold to this town as not being a taxpayer-funded project, and with the 30 hours or so that we have in it and the hours that this town will have in it in the future, which we won't be reimbursed for, once again, I just want people to know that this is going to be partially taxpayer-funded because a lot of the funds did come from the state, and then now with the Town doing TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 34 of 75 in-kind donations with our Town staff, you know, the taxpayers in Fountain Hills, if they support this, you know, are supporting it with their money, not just with their good intentions. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I'll just make a comment to that. I don't think I've heard from one person in this town that isn't supportive of this project. KALIVIANAKIS: Of course, not the project. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. So anyway, so we have a motion and a motion and a second. Roll call, please. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: Aye. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, seven to zero. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. And Jeff, before you leave tonight, I have this for you. ESPOSITO: Okay. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Maybe I'll just bring this down to you right now. ESPOSITO: Thank you. Appreciate it. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. So we'll move on, now, to item 9C, and that is consideration with possible action relating to Resolution No. 2025-15, approving updates to the Town TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 35 of 75 Council Rules of Procedure, amended and restated April 15th, 2025. Rachael? GOODWIN: Mayor and Council, this was -- this item is a result of the discussion that we had at our recent work session. We had that maybe two weeks ago. There was quite a bit of discussion -- over an hour, actually, of discussion about the Rules of Procedure changes that were requested. We have taken those -- that feedback. We have drafted an updated version for your review and potential adoption tonight. If the draft in front of you needs further work or further changes, we can take that direction and bring it back again. If it meets all of your expectations, it's open for adoption as well. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Town Clerk, are there any comment cards? BENDER: Yes, Mayor. We have 14. We did receive 37 online, and they were all against approving it. We start with Dianne Price followed by Pam Cap. PRICE: Good evening, all. I'm Dianne Price. I've been a resident of Fountain Hills for about 15 years. And first, I want to thank you for that really in-depth conversation you just had and all the hard work that I know you put into protecting our community. Why would anyone want to rid themselves of a code of ethics? Why would community leaders not want to be held accountable to the people they represent? I think the answer to that's really clear. A code of ethics is a set of principles that help people understand what is considered morally right, responsible, and acceptable behavior. It protects us. It protects you. Nearly every profession has a code of ethics that they abide by. But hey, we wouldn't want any of that here in Fountain Hills, now, would we? Why are we considering this change now? Could it be because Mayor Gerry Friedel has told a little bit of a white lie when he took credit for gaining reduction in our town's MCSO costs? Could it be because it's okay for this group to harass and intimidate Fountain Hills residents? Why now? Because Allen Skillicorn intends to continue with his unwarranted attacks on the citizens of this town, if only to make a name for himself as he aspires to higher office. For those who may not be aware, I was one of Mr. Skillicorn's first targets. I wrote a TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 36 of 75 letter to the editor that was somewhat critical of the new council people making decisions with very little information and having to take those decisions and remake them and remake them, basically wasting our time and money. I wrote a letter that used the phrase ready, fire, aim. That's a common phrase that people use when they're referring to some kind of haphazard sort of behavior. Well, Mr. Skillicorn thought that my letter to the editor was equal to brandishing a gun. He actually filed a criminal complaint against me with the MCSO. After he did that, a few days later, MCSO made it clear that this complaint was without warrant. Now, figure this one out. A month later, Mr. Skillicorn sent out a national press release with my name in it fully knowing that this had already been considered without merit, his complaint, and he wrote in that press release, with his flack from Illinois, that Dianne Price has taken to social media and letters to the Fountain Hills Times to use gun and threatening language in reference to Skillicorn. Now, I'm a 15-year grandmother, resident. I never -- a letter to the editor is not a gun, and it was rather ridiculous. He -- I wanted to also say that there's a couple of things that he's been doing in terms of just covering his bases with social media. BENDER: Time. PRICE: So thank you. That's the end. I just want you to realize why a code of ethics is important. CAP: Hello again. Pam Cap, nine-year resident. Let's try it again. For months, we have heard from the ROT councilmembers that DEI is bad. DEI gives an unfair advantage to those not worthy. Yet, it's no surprise that the ROT majority will give themselves an unfair advantage that they are not worthy of. The plan is to erase all ethic violations that are on the record for past and present councilmembers. The plan also includes removing the complaint process. This affects every resident and only benefits the Council. Sound familiar? Skillicorn was and still is guilty of violating Fountain Hills' ethics requirements, but this lets him off the hook. He and the Council will willingly deny us -- and that's everybody in this room -- deny our First Amendment rights which states we, the people, have the TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 37 of 75 right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. You are the government. Without the complaint process, residents will lose this. Councilmember Allen Skillicorn is a politician who started his CAS campaign back in Illinois. While serving as an Illinois state representative, Skillicorn had an ethics violation and criminal fraud complaint filed against him. He was caught lying about being present in Springfield on June 1st, 2019. Skillicorn claimed he was present on the floor of Springfield voting on various bills when he was actually 220 miles away walking in a parade. He even posted photos on his own Facebook page. Skillicorn voted on 23 of the 26 bills. That is fraud in Illinois. Soon after, Skillicorn fled Illinois for Arizona. Before Councilmember Skillicorn was even elected, he was thrown out of Town Hall for causing a disruption over his illegally placed and unregistered PAC signs. Skillicorn broke Arizona law and the Fountain Hills sign ordinance. And that was just the beginning. On September 16, 2023, Skillicorn chased down our Code Enforcement Officer. I'm sure we all saw the police video. During that incident, not only did Skillicorn break traffic laws, his ethics clause, he also lied to the Maricopa County sheriff's deputy seven times when he was asked if he was flashing the lights and honking the horn in an attempt to stop the Code Enforcement Officer. After every excuse under the sun, his answer was no, which was an absolute lie. Because of his actions and unprofessional behavior, Skillicorn was sanctioned and required a responsible adult be with him when interacting with Town staff. He has aggressively confronted department heads, accusing them of lying without evidence. He made veiled threats against Town staff placing them in fear. Don't take away our right. We have a right to address you. BENDER: Mayor, Beth Culp followed by Liz Gildersleeve. CULP: Good evening. Beth Culp, Fountain Hills resident for nine years now. I have to say that I am very, very concerned that the Town Attorney is not in attendance here tonight because I think that this Town Council is -- has got very, very serious conflicts here. Four members of the Council. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 38 of 75 Councilman Skillicorn, who's going to get a clean slate and have his past sort of magically wiped away. He shouldn't vote on this. If Section 10 is coming out and the magical thinking -- it is magical thinking -- is that if Section 10 goes away, it retroactively applies to Skillicorn, and he is -- can go forth and say, see, I told you I was -- there was a witch hunt, and now I've been vindicated. And for you, Mayor Friedel, you clearly have a conflict of interest. You know you do. There is a pending claim against you. It was referred to outside counsel by the Town Attorney because he found my complaint to be facially valid. And Councilmember McMahon and Councilmember Kalivianakis, you, too, have a conflict voting on this. There are pending claims against you. The Town Attorney does not have the power or the authority to place those on administrative hold nor does he have the authority to dismiss them, consider them null and void. He found them all to be facially valid. They need to be taken forward to the end process before you can vote on eliminating Section 10. As to the other, you know, proposed revisions to the ethics code, I say you're throwing the baby out with the bath water, and the baby is worth saving. You could have taken more time looking at these provisions. Put some definition into the issues that are presented in it, as Councilmember Watts suggested. But throwing it all away under this situation, I mean, every meaty provision, throwing it away, the optics are terrible. They are terrible. The Mayor has a very, very serious complaint in the -- on the -- in Fountain Hills Times. He made a misrepresentation. This just looks bad. And the press is going to pick it up, and they're going to say something stinks in Fountain Hills. Do the right thing. Put this aside now. Take some time. Look at the -- put some meat into it that means something. But don't take away the people's rights, please. GILDERSLEEVE: Good evening, all. Liz Gildersleeve, Fountain Hills resident. I do like the changes presented to the Rules of Procedure tonight, especially eliminating the current ethics code. The ethics code, unfortunately, has been weaponized against some and completely ignored by others on this council and previous councils, so it seems a waste TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 39 of 75 of taxpayer money, not to mention your time, the public's time, and expecting fairness and uniform application. Like, for example, just a couple of meetings ago, Councilmember McMahon and Councilmember Kalivianakis disparaged fellow councilmembers from the dais along with members of the public, which is a direct violation of the current ethics code. I was one of those people who Kalivianakis not only disparaged but also spouted out wrong information as fact during a council meeting. Because of chamber decorum rules, neither I nor the other members of the audience who were openly disparaged were allowed to respond in the moment to correct Kalivianakis because Kalivianakis did so cowardly from the dais. As I understand it, the two -- or the ethics complaints against Kalivianakis and McMahon are still pending as you debate these Rules of Procedure tonight -- or changes tonight, and I'm all for that. Frankly, though, I think most residents would rather you all spend your time taking care of substantive Town issues, such as creating an ordinance for code enforcement, sober home inspections, 5G, rigorous road repairs, and looking for ways to be better fiscally responsible and not grow the size of our town government as has been happening the last five years. These are just a handful of significant issues needing immediate attention. So get rid of the ethics code and the noise. That's all it is. People will decide at the ballot box whether your behavior is acceptable or not, pure and simple. Thank you for your time. BENDER: Mayor, we have Barry Wolborsky and Kim Wolborsky. WOLBORSKY: I'm the Barry half of that. So I'm going to talk not about number 10. Sorry, guys. It's not exciting. I'm going to talk about item 42B-1, which conflicts with item 42A. 42A says agenda items must be posted on the Thursday prior to the meeting, but 42B-1 says on Monday prior to the meeting. I don't think you can do both. I am opposed to the change to make it back to Monday again, especially since now, people have to get their written comments in by noon on Monday. So what if you post something at 12:01 on -- a new agenda item at 12:01 on Monday? Nobody can comment on it, right? Is that what you want? Residents will have no chance to TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 40 of 75 comment because the deadline is already gone. This is not open government. My argument is the same for item 44 regarding changes to the agenda items, that the changes should also be posted in a timely manner so residents can read them and respond. Item 52E-2, public comment time limits. This changes the antithesis of democracy and the one-person-one-vote principle. It could lead to cronyism, which allows people who support the Council, Mayor, or the Manager's position more time than those people who oppose it. It is the opposite of what each of you proposed as your goals in office when you ran for this office. You said that you wanted to make the Mayor and the Council more responsive to the voters. This ain't that. This is making you the decision of who gets to talk how long and not everyone is equal. It kind of reminds me of George Orwell in that some animals are more equal than others. This is the kind of thing that energizes your opposition, and the next election cycle is only a little over a year away. Please omit this rule from your changes. Let's keep this council responsive to the people. WOLBORSKY: Hello. And I'm the Kim half of the Wolborskys. Can you hear me through this crazy mask? I also want to speak about the time changes on this. Section 2.1 -- oh, Mayor, Council, Section 2.1 proposes the change the content of the agenda may not be changed after 72 from -- after -- 72 hours prior, and then it's going to change it to the Thursday prior. Now, this assumes that the meeting will always be on a Monday. It doesn't allow for holidays or special meetings. I think this should continue to be X hours, X days, or X business days. Section 4.2.B1 is the same issue. It says changes from two business days to Monday. Let's see. Section 5 -- item 5.2 under the agenda, same thing. It changes 48 hours to the Thursday prior to the meeting. And Section 6.6.A2, same thing. Changes 48 hours to the Thursday prior to the meeting. Now, you guys may have a reason for that, but I don't understand it. The other thing is on Section 43C, this proposes changing addenda change due date TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 41 of 75 from 72 hours prior to the Council meeting to 24 hours. I think this is fine for removing items, but I don't think it's good for adding items. It doesn't allow time for residents to review and research proposed changes, such as the 35-page document attached to this. It took me a couple hours to get through it, which I can't believe I did that. I need -- clearly, I need more -- something else to do. Actually, I'm incredibly busy. I don't have that much extra time every day. For example, over the weekend, I was extremely busy, frantically getting my project ready for the recycled art project, and I -- there's no way I was looking at this. So thanks, everybody, in the Community Center for putting that on. And then last, this section -- item 52E-2, which -- allowing for extra time during the Call to the Public. I'd like you to clarify this, if you can. I really, really have appreciated the short and more even-handed Calls to the Public that have been instituted lately, and I don't want to lose that. I understand there may be a use for waiving time limits to allow for clarification or to let someone finish a sentence, and if this is for that, can you please -- can you -- could you maybe specify an additional time limit, such as one to three minutes here. Again, I don't see need for it, and I think it's a slippery slope. I'm not clear on what is the purpose of allowing people to ask for extra time beforehand from the Town Manager, but I do want to say I really like the following section where it says, speakers may not, A, reserve a portion of their time for a later time, or B, transfer any portion of their time to another speaker. And so out of this 35-page document, this is what I found to complain about, so overall, I'm good. Thanks. BENDER: Mayor, Cindy Couture followed by Ryan Yari (ph.) and Linda Somo. COUTURE: Mayor Friedel and Council, I'm Cindy Couture, and I'm a longtime member of this town. When a candidate wins the position of councilmember, he or she begins to represent all of us in this town. You surrender a certain amount of liberty when you're sworn into this position. The people of this town expect all of you to represent us, in person as well as on social media, with respectful and ethical behavior. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 42 of 75 Currently, the people in this town are being heinously misrepresented on social media by some members of this council. I have just two hateful examples. And you'll excuse my words, but they were posted. A current councilmember posted the phrase, damn Jews. That person also posted the phrase, Black lives don't matter. That is not an appropriate representation of our town. The ethics policy needs to remain intact. The possibility for sanctions when ethics are violated needs to remain intact. And some day, the tables may be turned, and you may need to file an ethics complaint to be heard. Thank you. YARIAN: Mayor, Council, my name is Renee Yarian, and I'm a long-term Fountain Hills member. A code of ethics is a professional conduct that outlines the principles that govern decisions and behaviors. A code of ethics is broad giving employees or members a general idea of what types of behavior and decisions are acceptable and encouraging. The towns around us all have codes of ethics. Scottsdale has a code of ethical behavior. The City of Phoenix uses three different significant policies. The City of Mesa has a separate ethics handbook for elected officials, and they hold appointed boards and commissions accountable to those. The City of Peoria has a separate code of ethics handbook and a code of conduct. The prologue of the City of Surprise has the Policies and Procedures Manual as the Athenian code followed by written rules of conduct and demeanor requiring the City of Surprise to uphold, promote, and demand the highest standards of ethics from all of its officials, whether elected or appointed. The Gilbert Town Council also has a formal code. The current Fountain Hills code of ethics contains Sections 8.1 through 8.10. This resolution that's proposed guts the last half of that. It completely eliminates the compliance and enforcement. And that's a vital part of an ethics policy. An ethics complaint is the only tool that citizens have to hold councilmembers accountable for their decisions and actions. There are clear rules about how complaints are to be filed. The Council is asking to completely eliminate that. And why is that? It's due to blatant violations. The sanctions that have already been filed and put in place should be TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 43 of 75 honored and continued. The new complaints that were filed according to current rules should be investigated and treated accordingly. In fact, it seems totally unethical to erase the rules that erases the violations. Changing the rules after the fact does not change the fact that lying is wrong. Lying is always wrong. Holding people accountable for lying is a responsible action. Fountain Hills deserves no less than ethical and responsible behavior from all members of city government. Ethics matter. It is a violation of public trust to believe that merely erasing that part of the code makes unethical behavior acceptable. There's free training in ethics in city government available and even required by some cities, so I believe that Fountain Hills needs to maintain their code of ethics and, for sure, to have the compliance and enforcement enforced. BENDER: Linda Somo followed by Alan Magazine, and then Crystal Cavanaugh. SOMO: Thank you. Mayor Friedel, Councilmembers, my name is Linda Somo, and I have been a resident of Fountain Hills for seven years. The previous speaker made all the points I would make, so I could just say ditto and sit down, but, you know, why waste three minutes? So I would like to say that trying -- when I vote, one of the first things I look for in a candidate is ethical behavior. To say that our town will do away with the standard of ethics for this council is unbelievable to me. It's -- I can't even fathom why you would consider doing that other than trying to do away with certain ethical accusations that have been made recently or have been made in the past. As to Mr. Skillicorn, that has already been adjudicated. He was found guilty of misbehavior and unethical behavior. He was given sanctions. And to try and remove those after the fact when it doesn't appear that he has learned at all from previous behavior and tried to change it in any way is just ridiculous. Mayor Friedel, I will compliment you that when I wrote to you after seeing the article in the Fountain Hills Times, you responded very quickly to my email and told your side of the story. However, you kept saying in your emails that because of the meeting or a TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 44 of 75 direct result of the meeting was to save the city of Fountain Hills money is an outright misrepresentation of the truth. I won't call it a lie, but it certainly wasn't accurate. You knew very specifically that that savings had been made previous to your meeting with MCSO and that maybe you just found out about it at that time, but there's a cause-and- effect relationship. If you say something is the result of a meeting, that means that the meeting was the cause of the effect, and you know that it was not. Thank you. MAGAZINE: Mayor, members of the Council, Alan Magazine. I want to look Mr. Skillicorn in the eye and say I'm a damn Jew. Let me go on from there. Citizens need a code of ethics that are precise and understandable. This one absolutely is not. And citizens badly need a redress of their grievances. Otherwise, it's going to be absolutely free range here to say anything you want. Let me give a -- fixing the existing code, in my view, is a waste of time since it's so vague as to be meaningless and misunderstood. Here's a few examples. Mutual respect and trust. Some of you would likely be in violation, in my opinion. How does one define mutual respect and trust? Maintain public confidence in town government. How does one go about doing that? Shall conduct our official and personal affairs in such a manner as to give clear impression that we cannot be improperly influenced in the performance of our official duties. How does one do that? What would a suspected violation look like? Refrain from making disparaging remarks about other members of the Council, staff, et cetera. How does one determine what is a disparaging remark? Many of the parts of the code are just open to interpretation, and I don't think the citizens should put any faith in this code of ethics, and I would urge you to write a new one. Thank you. CAVANAUGH: Good evening. I am in support of clarifying our town code procedures and removing Section 10. My initial reaction to Section 10 ethics revisions was that it seemed pretty self-serving. In full disclosure, I had an ethics complaint filed against both Kalivianakis and McMahon that was in the active investigation stage and nearly completed. But after further consideration, I fully support just getting rid of Section TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 45 of 75 10, which would also wipe out pending complaints, active investigations, future complaints, as well as current sanctions, hopefully. Our ethics process was often not carried out fairly anyway, in my opinion. Our code that defines conduct uses pretty broad terms. But part of the community's frustrations have involved those ethics complaints that have been filed in good faith, that were not nit-picky, and had clear justifications per our code. These were routinely sent out to hand pick costly outside attorneys, taking longer than necessary with billable hours only to usually come back unfounded and sometimes rationalized with semantics or word games, such as she requested that staff remove it, she didn't direct staff to remove it. Then there have been other decisions, such as Skillicorn's, that have addressed perceived trumped-up threats towards code enforcement or allegations of fear-filled staff that seem almost to have had a predetermined outcome. And even when proof was uncovered that a question to fellow councilmembers was, indeed, legitimate, sanctions harsher than ever issued before were still applied and remain in effect even now. A simple apology from Skillicorn would have been sufficient, just as it had been requested from former Councilman Alan Magazine after his second episode of founded ethics violations. I'm very supportive of clarifying any town code procedures that are hazy. I also strongly support removal of Section 10 regarding ethics complaints. And let's hope any resulting frivolous lawsuits get tossed swiftly. Then we just let the chips fall where they may. We can all embrace and celebrate free speech. Of course, proper decorum from the dais would be a welcome bonus, but if you'd rather show us other ways, go for it. The public can make their own judgments about what is or isn't acceptable behavior. Thank you. BENDER: Mayor, our last two speakers have marked may speak. So Elijah Norton? NORTON: Well, I was speaking about the next resolution, but can I go ahead and do it now? BENDER: D? Okay. I'll move you there. NORTON: Okay. Thanks. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 46 of 75 BENDER: That's the end of the speakers. NORTON: Actually, know what? I'll just speak about this because it kind of goes into what I was saying, if that's okay. Sorry. My name's Elijah Norton. I am the former treasurer of the Arizona Republican Party. I'm here on behalf of myself. I just want to say that people have the ability to make their decisions at the ballot box, and we should not be stripping elected representatives who were elected by the thousands of people in any town in this state of their abilities to serve or diminishing their ability to serve once they're elected, and that's, in my opinion, what happened, and I think that we should allow our citizens to make their decisions for who represents them at the ballot box. That's why I'm here today. So thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Town Clerk, that's it? Vice Mayor? TOTH: I feel as though there's been a slight misunderstanding, so for the sake of clarification, we still have our ethics code, and should there be egregious issues, our recommendation, as discussed at a previous meeting, would be you can complain to the ombudsman, which is the purpose of that office, you can recall a person on this council, or you can make that decision at the next election on the ballot box. Personally, I feel as though this horse was fairly thoroughly beaten at the last meeting, so I would like to motion to approve. EARLE: I second that. MCMAHON: Could we please have discussion? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? MCMAHON: Okay. There have been allegations, and we have conflicts of interest. Our town attorney is not here to legally advise on that and advise on withdrawal or the status, and so I'm wondering if -- and it's not particularly stated on this that they would be erased, on this document and in the motion, so I'm wondering if we should bifurcate Section 10, deal with all the rest of the changes, and then when Aaron's here, address Section 10. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 47 of 75 MAYOR FRIEDEL: I don't agree. Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: Oh, sorry. MAYOR FRIEDEL: No? Okay. EARLE: I didn't mean to do that. MCMAHON: Because I'm concerned because of the ethics complaints against the four of us, and I want to make sure that it's not a conflict of interest to address this. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? KALIVIANAKIS: Yes. Thank you, Gerry. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I do have some mundane points of -- that I'd like to discuss before we just vote on 10 because we still have many other items in this topic to -- changes to the code that I would like to discuss just briefly, but it was -- since we're going to do C and D separately, it was my understanding that the Skillicorn sanctions would not be relieved with a yes vote to option 1, but they would be litigated or talked about separately. Is that your understanding, Mr. Mayor? Okay. Yeah. So tonight, whether we do vote for option number 1 or we do vote for option number 2, it'll still go -- the Allen Skillicorn sanctions will still be an agendized item to be discussed separately, and so whether we eliminate Section 10 in its entirety or if we just direct the Town Attorney to come back with a better code, that's still what we're just talking about right now. And so I hope this doesn't get too super-heated like it seems to have been because we're just working on what many of the councilmembers perceived is possibly serial offenders for filing ethics complaints that -- maybe some of which weren't done legitimately but to do damage to one side or the other, and so I think all of us, with the work session, kind of agreed to tamp that down. We wanted to change the way we're doing it. And so that's where we are today. As far as the things that I did want to talk about was, you know, Section 2.7, to remove newspaper notifications. You know, I think that I would still like to do newspaper notifications to the public and items that goes before the Town and not just do it TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 48 of 75 digitally. Section 4.2. It says an agendized item that is put on the agenda by three councilmembers has to be put on the agenda within three meetings. I have no problem with that, but if the Town Manager runs into a circumstance that it's not ready, it's not ripe, it's not ready to go, I think that the three-meeting rule should be -- she could put a memo out saying we are going to have to do this at a later date because we are not prepared to put this on the agenda to the Council, it's just not ripe yet. And so I'd just like a slight amendment to say the direction is to put it within the next three meetings unless that is impossible to be deemed by the Town Manager, and then we will -- she can issue a memo why it's not possible. So that's the other thing. And then the last thing is as far as the Call to the Public, we're changing that from three minutes to three minutes except for if the Council, the Mayor, the Manager, or the Attorney want to give the Call to the Public people more time. I'm a little uncomfortable with that because even though we are supposed to have nonpartisan elections and be nonpartisan in this council, it's proved pretty clear that there's a lot of partisanship going on, and so, you know, when one party is perceived to take over, they'll let those speakers speak longer when the other party speaks. So I think the fair rule, the way that everybody knows it's being treated fairly, is to take the discretion away from the Council and the Mayor and the Town Attorney and, again, give that to the Town Manager; we have an important speaker, they are requesting more time, could you be the arbiter of that so that we leave the politicians and people that are perceived to be partisan out of the decision-making process and have a neutral person say, yeah, this is an important issue, let's give them seven minutes instead of three. So those are the modifications I'd like to make. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? SKILLICORN: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. My direction actually is for the Town Manager. Would you mind talking about the posting requirements that were mentioned in public comment and just give us a rundown? Because I have a feeling that we discussed this TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 49 of 75 pretty thoroughly, but want to give your intention so it's part of the debate. GOODWIN: I can do that. Hang on one second while I find that section because I have the -- SKILLICORN: One of them was 43C. There was 2.1 -- I didn't write down the letter. GOODWIN: Hang on one second. SKILLICORN: And then there was another one. The amendments was at 52E, but there's a specific reason for why we have that timing. GOODWIN: Correct. That one I'm more familiar with just because it's -- it is consistent with what we've had in the past. The first one you said was 43C. As it's written, amendments, posted agenda may be amended up to 24 hours prior to the meeting. An exceptional circumstance, an agenda may be amended up to but not less than 24 hours prior to the meeting unless otherwise authorized by state law. SKILLICORN: And there was another question about the Thursday versus Monday that was -- GOODWIN: Correct. In general, we have moved -- previously in our Rules of Procedure, it was noted that deadlines were on -- were 24 hours before Thursday. Thursdays used to be our meeting nights. If you were a longtime participant of our council meetings, council meetings used to be on Thursdays. Obviously, they are now on Tuesdays. The Rules of Procedure just didn't reflect that change of meeting day, so that is where -- why that has been moved. The 24-hour rule is consistent with what state statute requires, and so we just kind of -- we stuck with that to be consistent. If that wants -- if you -- if there's a request to change there, we can certainly do that, but it was designed to be consistent with state. Does that answer your question? SKILLICORN: Yes. Thank you very much. GOODWIN: Sure. Thank you. SKILLICORN: I'd like to make a motion to call the previous question. TOTH: Second. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: No discussion. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We have to vote on that question. The question's been called, so we TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 50 of 75 need a roll call vote on that, please. MCMAHON: Is that -- voting on what? Brenda? MAYOR FRIEDEL: No. The question's been called to stop discussion, and then we go back to the original motion. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Well, I would obviously be against ending debate. This -- every Town Council meeting, we have this coming up. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We're asking for a vote, not discussion. KALIVIANAKIS: But we're talking about being weaponized. This is being weaponized because we are here to debate these issues. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We're ask -- we're asking -- KALIVIANAKIS: I asked for three minor amendments that would make this section just go better. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We'll get to that. KALIVIANAKIS: No, we're not going to get to it -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah, we will. KALIVIANAKIS: -- because we're going to end debate. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We'll ask for an amendment to the -- to the motion. MCMAHON: But does that prevent -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: What's your -- KALIVIANAKIS: Nay, nay, nay. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: No. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: No. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 51 of 75 BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, four to three. MCMAHON: Can we continue with discussion? MAYOR FRIEDEL: No, we can't. TOTH: Yes, we can. MCMAHON: Yes, we can. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Well, yeah, on the original motion. MCMAHON: It's not a debate. It's -- I want to discuss what I want added into this. TOTH: Call to the question (indiscernible). MAYOR FRIEDEL: No, it passed four to three. WATTS: It passed. TOTH: Two-thirds. Two-thirds vote. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Oh, that's right. Two-thirds. Yeah, you're right. Okay. Councilwoman? MCMAHON: Thank you. I appreciate it. I have a question about 1.6 and changing it. Rachael, can you -- GOODWIN: (Indiscernible). MCMAHON: -- explain the difference? Is there any difference in that, in the calculation, or what does it do to those having served, or -- I mean, I'm trying to understand why the change, please. GOODWIN: This has to do with the Vice Mayor rotation. MCMAHON: Yes. GOODWIN: So this is consistent with how we have applied the Vice Mayor. The Vice Mayor serves in eight-month increments. MCMAHON: Okay. GOODWIN: It rotates. And it's based on the number of votes -- TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 52 of 75 MCMAHON: Okay. Thank you. GOODWIN: -- received. MCMAHON: Okay. GOODWIN: So this just clarifies that if you were voted outright in the -- for -- in the primary, you take priority over anybody that came in via the general -- MCMAHON: Okay. GOODWIN: -- if that makes sense. MCMAHON: Okay. Thank you. In addition, on 6.6, casting a vote, it says, if there's a conflict of interest, the Town Clerk shall include a statement as abstained due to declaration of conflict, and the Councilmember shall file a conflict of interest form. The Attorney General's rules and the state statute goes on to say that you make your substantial interest known, and then for the members of the Council, this can be done by either declaring, in a Council meeting, that a conflict exists, and having declared officially in the minutes, filing a written declaration with the Town Clerk and/or making the declaration, asking that the minutes be copied, and use that -- and use that as the claim versus making a separate claim, writing up a separate claim. So I would like the -- that section to coincide with the Arizona statutes, and the Attorney General statute to be more thorough and clear, and have it be and/or. And also, I would like to keep in Section 8. I think that it's still the code of ethics. I thought when we were talking in the work session about these amendments that we would keep Section 8 in our code of ethics. So I would like the motion to include a more thorough conflict of interest in concert with the Attorney General and the Arizona statutes, and also, to include our code of -- all of Section 8, 8.1, 8.2, et cetera, in our code of ethics so that we have a code of ethics. KALIVIANAKIS: I believe Section 8 was just being amended, not eliminated. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Not eliminated. MCMAHON: Well, there's a lot of things that are crossed out of it that I don't want to see crossed out of it. I think that they're necessary. I think that they provide guidelines for us. And I -- again, when we were talking about this at work session, it was my TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 53 of 75 understanding that this would -- the whole section would remain intact. I don't recall any discussion going through these individually. I think that without these, that we don't really have a code of ethics or necessary guidelines for us to follow, for us to have a reference point to, as the Town Attorney said as well, and I believe it was his understanding that all of these were staying in, too. He said, when I asked him -- GOODWIN: Well, given that he approved this agenda item, he knows exactly what the draft presented before us tonight is. MCMAHON: No, I -- GOODWIN: It's consistent with what was provided during that discussion based on Vice Mayor Toth's draft, and it was discussed there. It's really a Council decision of whether we take it out or we leave it. I will say, during that discussion, the majority gave the indication that they wanted it removed. It doesn't have to be. It's still open for discussion. That's why we're here tonight. MCMAHON: Yeah. I don't want it removed. I would like it to remain in. I think that it is a good reference point for us and guideline. It's a good reference point and guideline for our public. And in fact, we have heard them state that they don't want this section omitted. And I think that it's important that it stays in. I don't think there's any harm in it. Again, I think it provides us with guidance and a touchstone for our conduct and understanding how we conduct in accordance with our oath of office, and provides more depth and clarity. So I would like the motion to include all of the section in the red lines, add them back in. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts? WATTS: I think that there -- a lot of the speakers had a lot of good points, that -- some inconsistencies in the document itself that we should look at again. I also think that we did not provide enough information as to your alternates as opposed to what is in Section 10. You can go to the state ombudsman, you can go to the Attorney General, you can recall, you can sue the Town, so you should promote -- you should at least offer options. If you're going to eliminate one way to do something, you should option -- give an option to do the other way. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 54 of 75 I think that -- in lieu of doing that, I think that we ought to give it back to counsel -- not our council, but our attorney -- and include more definitive descriptive definitions as well as specific violations and specific punishments for those violations as opposed to the ambiguity that we've got now. When we get to the next issue, the ambiguity is what drives me crazy. There are so many things that occurred that were -- they weren't worthy of the punishment that was received, and I think that goes to the lack of definition as to what the violation or the infraction was, so it would go to that. So I think we're missing definitions. I think that we're missing making sure that we're provided options, and I think we ought to look at it in more detail and review in consideration of the comments that were made by the public as well. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: I just want to clarify. I thought we had a motion, and it was seconded to approve as is, correct? And then we had a call to the question. Doesn't that end -- KALIVIANAKIS: That was voted down. TOTH: It was -- it was a two-thirds -- KALIVIANAKIS: (Indiscernible). GOODWIN: (Indiscernible). EARLE: Oh, it did not pass. Okay. Can I call the question again? KALIVIANAKIS: No. TOTH: No. EARLE: Can we vote now, please? TOTH: Second. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman? KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. TOTH: I seconded the call to the question. KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. I mean, what I'd just like to do is in lieu of what Councilmember Watts just stated -- and we do need clarification when we vote for this, an option 1 or option 2. But I would like to file an amendment to the main motion to amend my three minor upgrades to the rest of the code and to vote -- and to put option 2 on my TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 55 of 75 amended motion, which would mean sending it back to the Town Attorney to clear it up, give it some meat on the bones to avoid the problem of the harassing complaints, but to do something that people out there still want to be able to file complaints against the Mayor and Council if we merit it. And so my motion to amend would be my three amendments plus option 2. And can I get a second? MCMAHON: Second. KALIVIANAKIS: Can I get a third? MCMAHON: And I have a clarification, too. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We have not dealt with the original motion and second that are on the table right now. SKILLICORN: (Indiscernible) would go first. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. MCMAHON: I have an amendment, too, what I previously stated as well. With including all of Section 8. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Make your motion. MCMAHON: I make a motion to amend the motion and include all of Section 8, our code of ethics. [CROSS TALK] KALIVIANAKIS: You can't -- you can't -- MCMAHON: And I still haven't had my question answered about a conflict of interest. KALIVIANAKIS: You can't second a second -- it's already -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). KALIVIANAKIS: -- it's already in the amendment -- we have to vote on the amendment. MCMAHON: I'm making a different amendment. I'm adding an amendment. KALIVIANAKIS: You can't lay your amendments. You have to vote on the one. MCMAHON: Oh, okay. Well, okay. Let's vote on yours. I wish the Town Attorney was here to provide guidance. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. He's not, so -- MCMAHON: Pardon me? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 56 of 75 MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor? TOTH: I assume we'll be voting on the motion to amend shortly, so I'll keep this short. I -- excuse me, please. I have a question, if I'm allowed to ask through the Mayor, to Councilmember Kalivianakis. I know that's not standard. Is that okay? My question is, would that, therefore, continue the pending complaints given that that was the previous discussion? If we do keep 10 in and whatnot, would we, therefore, be calling back that attorney and continuing the investigations? Is that your understanding? KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah, thank -- that's a very relevant question, and thank you for asking it, Hannah, because the pending complaints have been dismissed. Had they not been dismissed, then this council would all be conflicted, Councilmember Skillicorn, the Mayor, myself, and Peggy, Councilmember McMahon. The only reason we are allowed to vote on this -- and this was discussed prior to this meeting at length is the only reason we can vote on this is because, otherwise, we would have literally had to file a motion to table to a point that we would have a quorum because with four people not being able to vote, we wouldn't have a quorum. And so I did talk to the Town Manager. I talked to the Town Attorney. He did call Sarah (ph.), the ethics complaint attorney, and told her that they were dropping all the complaints, send us the bill. TOTH: So just to, sorry, but super-duper clarify, although they have been stopped, should we approve these amendments tonight, would we be calling that attorney back to continue, yes or no? KALIVIANAKIS: No. They've been dismissed with -- TOTH: Okay. KALIVIANAKIS: -- prejudice. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We need to ask that question. TOTH: Understood. In that case, I'm against any amendments. [CROSS TALK] WATTS: I got one more question. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Town Clerk, can you weigh in on these proposed amendments? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 57 of 75 BENDER: Mayor, you should vote on each amendment by themselves. They stand alone. MAYOR FRIEDEL: That's what I thought. Thank you. I wanted clarification. GOODWIN: So just so I can clarify, there was a -- there was a motion on the table and seconded, then Councilmember Kalivianakis made an amended motion, and I believe it was seconded; is that correct? So that takes the priority. That's the one you need to vote on first, and then, depending on how that goes, take the next steps. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Roll call, please. BENDER: So this is the amendment made by Councilmember Kalivianakis. Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Nay. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: No. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: I still have a question. Was the -- were the infractions paused or stopped? The last I heard, they were paused. GOODWIN: No, you guys gave direction. WATTS: They stopped completely? Nay. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Nay. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Nay. BENDER: Mayor, the nays have it five to two. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Now, we have to vote on the Second Amendment, which was -- MCMAHON: Right. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 58 of 75 SKILLICORN: No, the actual motion. GOODWIN: (Indiscernible). MAYOR FRIEDEL: Oh, the actual motion. MCMAHON: No, I -- SKILLICORN: She makes a motion. MCMAHON: I made a motion -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. MCMAHON: -- to amend to include all of Section 8 -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. Section 8, yeah. MCMAHON: -- and the Section 6.6 about voting and including the alternate way to file a conflict of interest statement. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. TOTH: Is there a second? MCMAHON: Just use the record. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Did you -- was there a second for that? BENDER: I did not hear one. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I didn't, either. BENDER: Did someone second? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Motion, no second. Now, I go back to the original motion. We have a motion and a second. KALIVIANAKIS: Again, if I can just make a point of order, I'm not sure if we're voting for option 1 or option 2. That's got to be made clear. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor, do you want to weigh in on that option 1 or 2? TOTH: Yes. I'm scrolling up. I apologize. Okay. Sorry. My motion was to approve -- okay. Yeah, let me go to page 62 to make sure I'm speaking correctly. Approve eliminating Section 10 of the Council Rules of Procedure. Is that what option 1 is? UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes. TOTH: Yes. And then the other corrections as shown in our packet, the other red-lined items. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 59 of 75 KALIVIANAKIS: Yes. TOTH: Correct. Okay. Option 1. GOODWIN: If I may, I'll -- if I can restate -- if you want me to restate option 1 -- TOTH: Please do. GOODWIN: That's okay. It's move to adopt Resolution No. 2025-15, approving updates to the Town Council Rules of Procedures, amended and restated April 15, 2025, and to approve the elimination of Section 10 in its entirety with the effect of eliminating the complaint procedure for alleged violations of the code of ethics. MCMAHON: I confirm my second. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Roll call, please, Town Clerk. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: We doing option 1 or option 2? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Option 1. WATTS: It is option -- sorry. I get lost here. I still think we need definitions and more discussion. But aye. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Nay. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: Yes. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Nay. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Aye. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, five to zero. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Five to two. Five to two. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 60 of 75 TOTH: Five to two. BENDER: Oops. Sorry. Yeah, five to two. I'm sorry. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Agenda item D, consideration of possible action, review and remove the sanctions previously imposed on Councilmember Allen Skillicorn. MCMAHON: I make a motion to accept that. TOTH: Second. MCMAHON: I'd like discussion, please. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Hold it. Are there any comment cards, Town Clerk? BENDER: Yes, Mayor. We received 23 online, all against, and then we've received six speaker cards. First speaker is Dianne Price followed by Beth Culp. PRICE: Thank you. Dianne Price. Again, a Fountain Hills resident for 15 years. This has been, really, a clown show. I mean, honestly, all -- you lost all of us. We don't know where you're going with this. Where's the attorney? Is there no longer a complaint procedure? I didn't finish what I talked about in 9C, so I will finish that. There was a time when I went ahead and communicated directly with Councilman Skillicorn. He never, ever gave me the courtesy of responding personally. I know that Councilmember Kalivianakis and McMahon are always open to talking to people that might have disparate points of view respectfully, not filing a criminal complaint against somebody who wrote a Letter to the Editor. So he does hide behind his social media. I wanted to mention that this was going to be my closure for me of this whole horrible situation that he put me in. He defamed me. He defamed my business, and he defamed me nationally. It's created tremendous trauma in my life as a citizen of Fountain Hills who cares about Fountain Hills. That's why I'm here. I want you to know that this is closure, but he does respond on social media. One of the things I want to share with you is one of the things he posted is, I don't want unity, not on the establishment terms. I want to beat them and humble them, and then I want them to kiss my ring. Does that sound familiar? Sounds familiar to me. He also wrote TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 61 of 75 another pejorative statement on social media. Someone needs to introduce these transvestites and fags to an AR-15. SKILLICORN: Mr. Mayor, can you stop her from saying blatant lies of social media posts that she very well may have created? PRICE: No, these are not lies, and I did not create them. Why did you not answer me -- SKILLICORN: Point of order. This is violation of our -- PRICE: No, it's not. SKILLICORN: -- public comment rules. PRICE: No, it's not. SKILLICORN: This is a personal attack. PRICE: You personally attacked me, and you deserve this. So I'm going to finish. I filed a complaint -- an ethics complaint, and even though it was extraordinarily valid, it was dismissed. My complaint was unfounded. Allen won. He won this one. But he did not and should not escape the sanctions that he received when he intimidated Town employees. Their jobs are hard enough without having to deal with unnecessarily contrary behavior of unproductive councilpersons. When this group votes to relieve themselves of ethical principles, the accepted mode of behavior will continue to be ready, fire, aim. BENDER: Beth Culp followed by Linda Somo. CULP: Good evening. We had a petition drive. We had a written petition, and we had an online petition, and I'm here tonight to present you with signatures of a little over 300 Fountain Hills residents. Some are on the handwritten, and some are on the online petition. And here's what they were asked to sign. To the Mayor and members of the Town Council of Fountain Hills, please be advised that the undersigned residents of Fountain Hills oppose removing the sanctions imposed on Allen Skillicorn for his unethical conduct that included assaulting and defaming a town Code Enforcement Officer, falsely accusing fellow Town Councilmembers of corruption, and bullying staff. And attached to that is a very well-known photograph of Councilman Skillicorn with Mr. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 62 of 75 Lucchese when he's got -- Mr. Lucchese looks like he's got his hands up, he's surrendering himself to Skillicorn, and Skillicorn wrote, this video is why Fountain Hills changed its own constitutional sign ordinance. And at the bottom of it, he says, Skillicorn versus sign thief. This is after the fact. He is so unapologetic and so brazen in his cruelty and his meanness that -- the idea of removing the sanctions that were imposed against him. This is not silliness, Councilmember Watts. You talked about the silliness. This is a member of our public body, our public official who chased down a town Code Enforcement Officer and then did not -- was not straightforward with the deputy, and then later, he continues to taunt the Town employee online. And he's taunted me many times. Many times. He is responsible -- many of us understand that he is responsible for creating false profiles, hacking people's media, creating false websites. He is a destructive man who likes to think about himself as an agent of chaos, and he's brought chaos to our community. And I ask you, please, change the sanctions. Modify the sanctions. But he's going to go out and he's going to say, I won, I won, and he's going to gloat, and it will be bad for all of us. Please think really hard about this. BENDER: Linda -- CULP: Sorry. I meant to turn this in to the Town Clerk. These are the petition signatures. I apologize. BENDER: Thank you. CULP: Thank you. BENDER: Linda Somo followed by Ed Stizza. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: She had to leave. BENDER: Okay. Ed Stizza, and then there's Elijah Norton. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: He had to leave. BENDER: He left? You have one speaker left. Ed Stizza. STIZZA: Good evening. Ed Stizza, a resident of Fountain Hills. What do you say to that mess? Boy, I'll tell you. You know, when this happened to Allen Skillicorn -- and I'll say TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 63 of 75 happened to Allen Skillicorn. Four -- three Town Councilmembers, and two are still sitting up there right now, and our previous mayor went after and publicly castrated Allen Skillicorn. So I think that everything that was said that day was unnecessarily said to the public, so this stuff should be handled behind closed doors. I mean, that's all there is to it. And to bring this out into the public, to let bodies like this sit here and just make it worse doesn't make a whole lot of sense, you know. So seems to be a little backwards here. And certainly, the sanctions should be released. I think people are making a much bigger deal about it, and I don't see where, you know, just piling on consistently does any good whatsoever, and -- because you're starting to spin around the whole problem, and you don't even see it. So maybe you should correct all of it, and so should the public. You know, our town -- you know, it is looking pretty dire as far as the public attitude, and it's too bad. I'm so glad I only -- really don't focus on politics but focus on the aesthetics of the town, and it's too bad we don't all do the same. So try to get it all solved without making a public disaster of everything. So I'm done, but I don't know if Peggy wants to say something. So thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Town Clerk, any more speakers? BENDER: That's the last speaker. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Thank you. Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Councilwoman McMahon was ahead of me, if that's okay. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. Councilwoman? MCMAHON: Thank you very much. I don't really appreciate the most recent comments, having been on Council for four years and experienced Councilmember Skillicorn and his bad acts, and to me, it's an honor to be elected as a member of the Fountain Hills Town Council. I've done my best to uphold that oath of office and the standards of ethical conduct that come with serving this important role, and I believe most of us here have strived to do the same throughout our time in office and be accountable. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 64 of 75 Unfortunately, I honestly cannot say that for Councilmember Skillicorn, who proudly refers to himself as the agent of chaos. In my opinion, this does not reflect honorable conduct nor respect for the office to which he was elected. A year ago, he was lawfully sanctioned for egregious behavior and clear disrespect for the responsibilities of his position. An ethics complaint was filed -- EARLE: Point of order. MCMAHON: -- and outside legal counsel -- EARLE: Point of order. MCMAHON: -- determined he had violated -- EARLE: Point of order. MCMAHON: Excuse me. EARLE: Is this a time for her to be attacking Allen? MCMAHON: Yes. I have the right to comment and talk about this. EARLE: I thought we weren't -- MCMAHON: Thank you. EARLE: -- going to be disparaging against each other up here. MCMAHON: I'm not disparaging. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). MCMAHON: Thank you. TOTH: I'd like to call the question because this conversation will only devolve. MCMAHON: Excuse me. Please don't do that. I'm in the middle of making -- TOTH: I'd like to call the question. MCMAHON: -- a comment and talking about it, and that's extremely rude, and that is a misuse of -- TOTH: May I get a second? MCMAHON: Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Please. MCMAHON: Me? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Both of you. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 65 of 75 MCMAHON: We -- I'm in the middle of making a comment, and I've been rudely interrupted. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I don't think we need to have disparaging remarks made on the dais -- MCMAHON: They're not disparaging. Please -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: -- about another councilmember. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). MCMAHON: Gerry? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Finish your talk. MCMAHON: I'm going to finish it. Thank you. You know, the fact of the matter is that this complaint was filed, and he was found in violation of that. Just, you know, on the basic standards of ethical behavior, she found that he had violated it. I mean, he literally ran one of our staff and code officers off the road, and he's an ex-police officer. He feared for his life, and he ended up at Town Hall. And I'm being brief about it. And I mean, this was for a couple miles. He -- the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office happened to be there, and it is on video. And this isn't trumped up. You can see it on video. And this isn't an isolated event, and -- I wish it wasn't, and I mean, I wish it was, if that's all we were talking about conduct. He was lawfully removed from the office -- the Town Hall for yelling at and demanding one of his signs that was legally taken. And due to the -- SKILLICORN: (Indiscernible). MCMAHON: Yes, it was. And instead of reflecting on these actions, he continues his bad conduct. He -- in fact, he filed a federal lawsuit against me, the Mayor, Kalivianakis, and Sharon (ph.) because we lawfully followed the outside attorney and found him in violation and issued lawful sanctions reasonable for the rest of his term. He cost the Town tens of thousands of dollars in that lawsuit, and the judge found that his lawsuit was frivolous and found against him. I mean, to me, knowingly filing a lawsuit based on a claim of violation of free speech and knowing that really has no merit, I couldn't believe that he did it. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 66 of 75 His social media posts I've stated, his numerous letters to the editor. He intentionally obstructs committee appointments. I know he did that. He misuses procedural motions, in my opinion. You guys have stood before Council and repeatedly complained about his actions, and I think that he has no remorse. He hasn't changed anything. He's been asked to change his conduct, but he doesn't. And therefore, I am -- and I cannot, in good conscience, change my vote to sanction him tonight. I don't believe that he has changed his conduct or his attitude or how -- his disrespect to the office as demonstrated again by his conduct. Thank you. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Thank you. Vice Mayor? TOTH: Yes. As I said earlier, I believe this conversation is, obviously, devolving into personal attacks and not staying germane to what the sanctions were actually on, which did not include his social media, did not include the lawsuit. MCMAHON: (Indiscernible). TOTH: I'm going to avoid droning on. I'd like to call the question. KALIVIANAKIS: Mr. Mayor, if I could just address this council -- TOTH: Oh, Gayle had already seconded. Sorry. KALIVIANAKIS: -- just very briefly, and I promise there'll be no disparaging attacks. TOTH: We don't discuss call to the questions. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We have to vote on the call to the question. KALIVIANAKIS: Then I, once again, assert my claim that the calling to the question is being weaponized. I am the one who filed the complaint, and I don't even have a chance to just -- to weigh in on the sanctions? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Your -- KALIVIANAKIS: That's got to smack against just fundamental unfairness, Gerry. I should -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Your point -- KALIVIANAKIS: -- have just a moment to address this. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Your point is taken, but we have a -- we have a motion and a second. KALIVIANAKIS: Well, I implore one of my fellow councilmembers to give me a chance to TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 67 of 75 speak and vote against the -- calling the question. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Town Clerk, please. BENDER: Mayor, was there a second to the call to question? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Nay. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn? SKILLICORN: I will recuse myself, so I abstain. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Yes. Oh, yes. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Nay. BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: I'd like to hear more. Nay. BENDER: Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, three to three. MAYOR FRIEDEL: (Indiscernible). [CROSS TALK] MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Kalivianakis. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for recognizing me. Also, thank you, Allen, for your recusal. That's very honorable, and it wasn't necessary. You could have not. And also, thank you, Gerry, for giving me a chance to speak. What I would just like to address tonight -- I did hope that Allen would have softened his heart and made an apology, but he didn't, but so I would just like to say that what this was all about from the very beginning was the allegation that he had a First Amendment right to do what he did when he disparaged the Council and when he engaged Code TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 68 of 75 Officer Lucchese. He has asserted from the beginning and to the outside attorney that found him guilty to the federal court that he had a First Amendment right to that speech, and he actually -- last week, he said the First Amendment doesn't allow for hurt feelings. So he's been very consistent on that. And so all I want to do tonight is just address that one point. The First Amendment, while guaranteeing free speech, okay, doesn't guarantee all speech. Incitement of violence, defamation, obscenity, you get the picture. It doesn't protect that kind of speech. There are also time, place, and manner regulations, which I've talked about with Rachael, on sign placement. Restrictions on free speech are time, place, and manner restrictions, and they include permitting requirements for -- permitting requirements for parades, demonstrations, restrictions on noise levels, and limitations on why -- where signs can be posted. When it came to addressing this body and accusing Sandor of giving us money in favor for favorable votes, I consider that -- I think that was defamation, and that's the basis for that complaint. When it went to the code officer and when you called him a sign thief, and it was published and we saw it here tonight, that's defamation. He's not a public figure. He's a gentleman that was a former police officer. And so he could have actually sued for defamation. That's why I think these charges are valid, because I don't believe the First Amendment applies here. And so I just wanted to point that out, but maybe you don't realize that, but the First Amendment isn't the freedom to say anything that you want any time. There are restrictions and that -- restrictions that we have to observe, and it's in the Constitution. And the last thing I'd like to say is we are all sworn, when we are taking our oath, to swear to the Constitution of the United States. And so to me, that's why I filed the complaint, Allen. I wish you had had a softer heart. I'd like to -- I'd just like to vote to let him go away. He recanted. But since I didn't hear this, I will vote to keep them up with sadness in my heart. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman Watts? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 69 of 75 WATTS: First, I'm going to say that I'm going to vote to cease the sanctions for time served. I think that the whole situation was taken out of context. I think that the backstory of other signs being stolen by whomever was not taken into account. I never heard Councilman Skillicorn say that he accused somebody of something with Sandor. He asked a question. I think, like I said previously when we were talking about Section 10, the violations were too ambiguous, too vague, and to egregious. A simple apology may have sufficed, but sometimes when you're backed into a corner, you won't back down, period, and I don't blame him for that. So did he -- should he have said I'm sorry? Maybe. But still, time served is enough, and enough is enough. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilwoman Earle? EARLE: Okay. To make it crystal clear, I understood that when we just voted on 10, that Skillicorn's sanctions are removed, but we're doing this here to just make sure it's -- formally, we're removing them. But I also would like to state that it's time for forgiveness and grace. We need that on this council. We need that in this town. And Allen has served his time. So I move to -- I'd like to make a motion to formally remove Allen Skillicorn's sanctions. TOTH: I believe that motion's already on the table, Councilwoman. EARLE: Good. I'm sorry. I just made a big statement for nothing. TOTH: It was a good one. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Vice Mayor? TOTH: Okay. Since I couldn't call the question, I guess -- I guess I'll put my two cents in real quick. I was out of town for the Council meeting that we actually voted on this. However, I was online, and I'd like to have a chance to repeat in person what I said that night. The procedure of these sanctions was completely unprecedented, completely outside of the norm. Whether or not you like Allen Skillicorn as a person, this was mishandled and handled in such a way that we have never seen in our town. Never have we voted to not allow someone to be vice mayor, to not allow them to have meetings with staff without a babysitter or not allow them to attend events such as the League of Arizona TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 70 of 75 Cities and Towns conference. This is completely out of hand. And what happened to do that, it -- first of all, it became a trial on everything he has ever done, which is not fair. Second of all, and did not, again, stay germane to what the actual complaint was regarding. So in my mind, I still hold the same opinion I did a year ago. I would not be supportive of something that is so far out of procedure, even if it was someone that I don't politically agree with. The idea that this is just exonerating something that was egregious is a completely false narrative. This was out of hand. This was outside of regular procedure. I still am astonished that it was even done in the first place. That's my two cents. MAYOR FRIEDEL: I'll weigh in as well. When these sanctions were leveled, we violated our own code of procedure, not once but twice, by having it in a regular agenda meeting. I don't know if you guys remember me -- we actually adjourned into an Executive Session, and then Allen decided to have the second meeting. Twice we had it on a regular agenda when it shouldn't have been on either one of them. Allen, about an hour before the meeting, decided to let it -- let it go in public. So that's the first thing I want to say. Secondly, when those sanctions were leveled, there was no time limit at that point, so he's had them on over a year. And the Councilwoman mentioned defamation by the -- by the -- by the question that was asked. No names were asked in that question -- or mentioned in that question. That question was to everybody. So I find it hard to be defamed by a question that was just thrown out about the Sandor experience. I'll call it that. And I also think the night that I sat here and watched what unfolded, it's really hard for me -- and I'm not going to accuse anybody of this, but four people had four prepared statements. That, to me, seemed a little bit on the edge of some sort of violation. We won't go there. But at any rate, a simple apology, like Councilman Watts said, probably would have resolved a lot of that, but I think the time served, I agree. And again, because there was no time limit attached to these sanctions, I think it's time to move TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 71 of 75 on. KALIVIANAKIS: Just for the record, the outside attorney in the federal court agreed with my contention. WATTS: Can we have a vote? MAYOR FRIEDEL: That doesn't mean I have to. KALIVIANAKIS: That (indiscernible). MCMAHON: Can we vote now? MAYOR FRIEDEL: So we have a motion. Do we have a second? TOTH: Yes. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We do? Okay. Town Clerk, please. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). BENDER: Councilmember Watts? WATTS: The motion is to lift the sanctions for time served? KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah, dissent. WATTS: All right. Aye. BENDER: Councilmember Kalivianakis? KALIVIANAKIS: Nay. BENDER: Councilmember McMahon? MCMAHON: Nay. Big nay. BENDER: Councilmember Earle? EARLE: Big yay. Yes. I'm sorry. BENDER: Councilmember Skillicorn recused himself. Vice Mayor Toth? TOTH: Aye. BENDER: And Mayor Friedel? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Aye. BENDER: Mayor, four to two. I'm sorry. One, two -- yeah, four to two. MAYOR FRIEDEL: And we did remove item E from the agenda, so we'll move on to Council direction to the Town Manager. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 72 of 75 Vice Mayor? TOTH: I wanted to follow up on Mr. Blecker's statement to the Council during Call to the Public. If we could explore how to add something to our legislative agenda or communicate with our legislators. I'm sure Mr. Kolodin would be happy to talk to us since he was here today regarding the hazardous waste coming from California. I think that affects every municipality, and it would be good to show leadership here. MAYOR FRIEDEL: On that note, could we send a letter to our legislator? Is everybody in agreement with that? MCMAHON: No. I don't know -- I need time to look at it. SKILLICORN: It doesn't have to be unanimous. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. We could say the majority. Everybody else in line with that? EARLE: Yes. Allen -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. WATTS: (Indiscernible). MAYOR FRIEDEL: We'll do that as a majority, Rachael, if we can. And then I have one thing I'd like this council to consider. At some point, I'd like to bring back an agenda item. You know, we talked about the raises for our Town staff. Our Town staff has got a lot of work ahead of them, especially now with the Dark Sky Discovery Center grant that we're looking at funding. I'd like a future agenda item -- if we can do this before the budget is fully approved, I'd like this Town Council to consider at least a quarter, maybe a half a percent more on that cost of living adjustment. We've got a lot of work ahead of us, and we need the staff, so I would really like to have us consider that. MCMAHON: I'll second. KALIVIANAKIS: I'll third. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Anybody have anything else? Future agenda items? Anything? Other than what I just brought up? Anybody? WATTS: One last thing. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Councilman? TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 73 of 75 WATTS: Your forgot to remind me about 4.2. -- whatever that was with shall, and I -- GOODWIN: Oh, I'm sorry. WATTS: -- didn't get my two cents in on that one. Things went too fast. It was -- but if we can look at that again. I think there's a few other points that we ought to, at some future date, look at for amendment. It was 4.2.B.2, and it was shall versus may. MAYOR FRIEDEL: That's right. 4.2.1. I got that written down here, too. KALIVIANAKIS: I'm sorry. May I ask what that was regarding? WATTS: It's exchanging wording from may -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: To shall. WATTS: -- to shall. KALIVIANAKIS: To what agenda item? WATTS: To get an item on the agenda. KALIVIANAKIS: Oh. MAYOR FRIEDEL: To get an item on the agenda. WATTS: Yeah. KALIVIANAKIS: Oh, so that -- was that the code rewrite we were talking about? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah, yeah, yeah. TOTH: (Indiscernible). WATTS: I think there were a lot of things that were brought up that we should at least consider. KALIVIANAKIS: I agree. I'd like to look at that again maybe out of the context of the motion of the Skillicorn stuff, Gerry. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. KALIVIANAKIS: Would that -- would you be amenable to that? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Are you requesting a future agenda item? KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah, I would like to request a future agenda item, that we do look at the code rewrite without the emotion, and we can look at minor amendments and Councilmember Watts' amendment to shall just under more calmer circumstances just so we can get that right. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 74 of 75 MAYOR FRIEDEL: Are you not calm? KALIVIANAKIS: I'm very calm. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. MCMAHON: I'll second it. KALIVIANAKIS: Thank you. GOODWIN: Do we have a third? MAYOR FRIEDEL: Do we have -- do we have a -- do we have a third? KALIVIANAKIS: I think Rick would be a third (indiscernible). It's your show, you know. WATTS: I would be a third for the 4.2B-2, the shall. MAYOR FRIEDEL: (Indiscernible). WATTS: The shall. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Shall (indiscernible). WATTS: I would be a third on the shall. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Okay. There you go. KALIVIANAKIS: This was -- this is going to come back on -- MAYOR FRIEDEL: Yeah. KALIVIANAKIS: Yeah. Okay. MAYOR FRIEDEL: Anything else? Can I get a motion to adjourn? WATTS: Yes. TOTH: So move. MAYOR FRIEDEL: We're adjourned. Thank you. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS APRIL 15, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 75 of 75 Having no further business, Mayor Gerry M. Friedel adjourned the Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council held on April 15, 2025, at 8:15 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS _______________________ Gerry M. Friedel, Mayor ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: __________________________________ Bevelyn Bender, 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 15 day of April 2025. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED 20th day of May 2025. _________________________________ Bevelyn Bender, Town Clerk ITEM 7. B. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Type: Consent                  Submitting Department: Public Works Prepared by: David Janover, Town Engineer Staff Contact Information: Justin Weldy, Public Works Director Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language):  CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving Resolution 2025-17, abandoning the 10' Public Utility and Drainage Easements along the north and west sides of 11414 N Pinto Drive (Application A25-000003) Staff Summary (Background) This is a proposal to abandon the pre-incorporation 10' Public Utility and Drainage Easements along the north and west property lines of Plat 605-D, Block 6, Lot 2 (11414 N Pinto Drive). The owners of the property are having a residence constructed on the lot, and will be grading within the existing easement area.  Staff have reviewed the site to determine the potential on-site drainage issues in addition to the Town's general interest in the easement. There is no need for the Town to retain the drainage easement proposed to be abandoned, with the understanding that the owner of the lot is required to pass the developed flows generated by the upstream lots across their property. All public utilities have approved the abandonment of this easement. 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 approval of Resolution 2025-17 SUGGESTED MOTION MOVE to approve Resolution 2025-17 MOVE to approve Resolution 2025-17   Attachments Resolution 2025-17  Vicinity Map  Aerial Photo Map  RESOLUTION 2025-17 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA, ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST IT HAS IN THE PRE- INCORPORATION 10' PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS ALONG THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN PROPERTY LINES OF PLAT 605-D, BLOCK 6, LOT 2 (11414 N PINTO DRIVE) FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA, AS RECORDED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY RECORDER OF MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, BOOK 164 OF MAPS, PAGE 15 WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the Town of Fountain Hills (the “Town Council”), as the governing body of real property located in the Town of Fountain Hills (the “Town”), may require the dedication of public streets, sewer, water, drainage, and other utility easements or rights-of-way within any proposed subdivision; and WHEREAS, the Town Council has the authority to accept or reject offers of dedication of private property by easement, deed, subdivision, plat or other lawful means; and WHEREAS, all present utility companies have received notification of the proposed abandonment. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, as follows: SECTION 1. That the certain public utility and drainage easements, located at the northern and western property lines of Plat 605-D, Block 6, Lot 2 (11414 N Pinto Drive) Fountain Hills, as recorded in the Office of the County Recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona, Book 164 of Maps, Page 15, and as more particularly described in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference, are hereby declared to be abandoned by the Town. Certain lots within this subdivision are subject to lot-to-lot drainage runoff. The property owner is required to pass the developed flows generated by the upstream lots across their property. SECTION 2. That this Resolution is one of abandonment and disclaimer by the Town solely for the purpose of removing any potential cloud on the title to said property and that the Town in no way attempts to affect the rights of any private party to oppose the abandonment or assert any right resulting there from or existing previous to any action by the Town. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY the Mayor and Council of the Town of Fountain Hills May 20, 2025. FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS: ATTESTED TO: Gerry Friedel, Mayor Bevelyn Bender, Town Clerk REVIEWED BY: APPROVED AS TO FORM: Rachael Goodwin, Town Manager Town Attorney EXHIBIT "A" TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS EASEMENT ABANDONMENT LOT 2 A25-000003 BEELIN E H W Y SHEA BLVD PAL I S A D E S B L V D SAGUARO BLVD SAG U A R O B L V D PALIS A D E S B L V D PALISA D E S B L V D SA G U A R O B L V D FO U N T A I N H I L L S B L V D McDOWELL M O U N T A I N R D FO U N T A I N H I L L S B L V D SUNR I D G E D R EL L A G O B L V D AVEN U E O F T H E FOUN T A I N S PA N O R A M A D R EAG L E M O U N T A I N PK W Y CR E S T V I E W D R PALO M I N O B L V D SIERRA M A D R E GRANDE BL V D G O L D E N E A G L E B L V D E A G L E R I D G E D R VICINITY MAP TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS NORTH SCALE: 1" = 3500' All that is Ar i z o n a F O U N TAIN HIL L S T OWN OF INC. 1989 TOWN HALL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT SCOTTSDALE McDOWELL MOUNTAIN PARK FO R T M c D O W E L L Y A V A P A I N A T I O N SALT RIVER PIMA MARICOPA INDIAN COMMUNITY TOWN BOUNDARY SCOTTSDALE 11414 N Pinto Dr A25-000003 DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AERIAL PHOTO MAP A ll that is A r i z o n a F O U N T AIN HIL L S T OWN OF INC. 1989 2023 AERIAL ZONING:R1-8 LOT 2 ABANDON 10' P.U.E. & D.E. N P I N T O D R LOT 13 LOT 12 LOT 11 LOT 1 LOT 3 ITEM 8. A. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 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: Approving of Ordinance 25-05 amending Town Code Chapter 9, Article 9-7 (Trees) Staff Summary (Background) Summary Ordinance No. 25-05 establishes consistent standards and responsibilities for the care, maintenance, and oversight of public trees located in Town-maintained rights-of-way, medians, and park and recreation areas. The ordinance creates a structured approach to managing tree-related risks, reducing long-term maintenance costs, and minimizing potential liability for the Town. Background The Town maintains numerous trees throughout its parks, medians, and rights-of-way. Until now, the Town lacked a formal ordinance to guide tree maintenance practices, assign responsibility, and ensure work is performed to industry standards. This ordinance formalizes roles and expectations, sets clear boundaries for tree maintenance on public property, and provides enforcement tools for improper or unauthorized actions involving public trees. Key Provisions  Defined Maintenance Responsibilities Clarifies that the Town is responsible for trees in medians and parks. Adjacent property owners are responsible for irrigation and general maintenance of trees in abutting rights-of-way unless otherwise agreed. Enforcement and Liability Management Prohibits unauthorized tree trimming, removal, or planting. Establishes a pre-construction review process to prevent accidental damage and costly replacements. Emergency tree work is permitted by staff or designee approval. Prohibited Practices Bans tree topping and interference with tree maintenance work. Requires adherence to recognized safety standards (ANSI A300 and Z133) to reduce risk of injury or property damage. Penalties and Restitution Provides for citations, stop-work orders, and restitution for damaged or destroyed trees. Penalties may include the full appraised value of the tree and associated costs for removal and replacement. Community Benefits  Improved Public Safety Regular, standards-based maintenance reduces the risk of falling limbs, obstructed sightlines, and other safety hazards in public areas. Reduced Town Liability By establishing a clear oversight and approval process, the Town can better manage potential liability associated with unauthorized or improper tree work. Cost Control and Predictable Maintenance Centralizing oversight ensures tree maintenance is performed correctly the first time, reducing costly rework or emergency responses. Clear Expectations for Residents and Developers Defined responsibilities and enforcement provisions ensure property owners, contractors, and utility providers understand when Town authorization is required and what standards must be followed. Recommendation Staff recommends adoption of Ordinance No. 25-05 to enhance public safety, reduce liability exposure, and promote consistent and cost-effective tree maintenance practices throughout the Town.     Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle Town Code, Chapter 9 Parks and Recreation Risk Analysis N/A Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s) Unanimously recommended by the Community Services Advisory Commission.  Staff Recommendation(s) Staff recommends adoption of Ordinance 25-05. SUGGESTED MOTION MOVE to approve Ordinance 25-05 amending Chapter 9, Article 9-7 (Trees) Attachments Ordinance 25-05  Exhibit A - Town Code Chapter 9, Article 9-7 Trees  ORDINANCE NO. 25-05 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA, AMENDING TOWN CODE CHAPTER 9 "PARKS AND RECREATION” TO INCLUDE ARTICLE 9-7 CONTAINING PROVISIONS RELATING TO A TREE ORDINANCE. WHEREAS, the Mayor and Town Council have determined that it is in the best interest of the residents of Fountain Hills to amend Chapter 9 of the Town Code to include Article 9-7 (Trees). WHEREAS, the Town Council has determined that changes to the Town Code are necessary to: promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the Town; to enhance the aesthetic quality of the natural and built environment of the community; to maintain and enhance the desirable character of the community; and to facilitate quality development in accordance with the Town's adopted General Plan. NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA, AS FOLLOWS: Existing Chapter 9 of the Town of Fountain Hills Town Code is hereby amended by the addition of a new Article 9-7 under Chapter 9 “Parks and Recreation.” Article 9-7 is hereby approved, adopted, and incorporated into the Town Code by reference, as fully outlined in this Ordinance in its entirety in Exhibit A attached. If any section, subsection, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance or any part of the amended and restated Town Code Article 9-7 is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY the Mayor and Council of the Town of Fountain Hills, Arizona, this 20th day of May 2025. FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS: ATTESTED TO: Gerry Friedel, Mayor Bevlyn Bender, Town Clerk REVIEWED BY: APPROVED AS TO FORM: Rachael Goodwin, Town Manager Town Attorney EXHIBIT ‘A’ ORDINANCE 25-05 Town of Fountain Hills Town Code Chapter 9 Article 9-7 Tree Ordinance Sections: Section 9-7-1 Purpose Section 9-7-2 Definitions Section 9-7-3 Responsibility for Maintenance Section 9-7-4 Violations Section 9-7-5 Penalties Section 9-7-1 Purpose This Ordinance authorizes the Town of Fountain Hills to provide guidelines and standards for the care, maintenance, and management of trees and tree resources in the public rights-of-way and medians maintained by the Town, as well as park and recreation areas in the Town. Section 9-7-2 Definitions For the purpose of this Article, the following words, terms, and phrases shall have the following meanings/definitions ascribed to them, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: Town: The Town of Fountain Hills, Maricopa County, Arizona and/or the Town Manager and the Community Services Department. Town Arborist: An existing employee, or contracted designee, of the Town designated by the Director of the Community Services Department. The Town Arborist should be a Certified Arborist by the International Society of Arboriculture. Public Trees: Trees in public parks and recreation areas and all areas owned by the Town, or to which the public has free access as a park and recreation area. Trees on land lying between property lines on either side of all streets, avenues, or rights-of-way within the Town where the landscaping is maintained by the Town. Value of the Tree: The value of the tree shall be based on the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers Guide for Plant Appraisal’s most recent edition and any reasonable costs for removal and replanting. Section 9-7-3 Responsibility for Maintenance A. Responsibility for Maintenance. Maintenance of Town Public Trees in medians and park and recreation areas shall be the responsibility of the Town’s Public Works and Community Services Departments, respectively. Unless there is a specific agreement between the property owner and the Town relieving the property owner of responsibility, a property owner adjacent to right-of -way maintained by the Town shall be responsible for the irrigation and maintenance of the trees in public rights-of-way abutting the owner’s property. Should the Town Arborist or designee determine the tree is not being maintained properly, may take any action provided within this Article to bring the tree into compliance. B. Public Tree Care The Town may plant, prune, maintain, and remove trees, plants, and shrubs in public squares and parks, and recreation areas, as may be necessary to ensure public safety or to preserve or enhance the aesthetics of such public grounds. The Town may plant, maintain, and remove trees, plants, and shrubs within public street rights-of-way where the Town has the responsibility for maintenance. The Town Arborist may remove any Public Tree or part thereof that is in an unsafe condition, infected, or in otherwise poor health. This Section does not prohibit the maintenance of trees by adjacent property owners in the right of way as required by Section 9-7-3(A). C. Acceptable Tree Species Acceptable tree species for the Town shall be considered low water use and/or drought tolerant. Species other than those considered low water use and/or drought -tolerant may be planted as Public Trees with written permission of the Town Arborist. The Town uses the most updated list of acceptable trees from The Phoenix Active Management Area Low Water Use/ Drought Tolerant Plant List. D. Removal of Stumps. All stumps of Public Trees shall be removed below the surface of the ground so that the top of the stump shall not project above the surface of the ground. Following the removal of a stump, the Town Arborist shall take steps to replant or maintain the impacted area to ensure public safety and preserve aesthetics. Soil leveling: The impacted area from which the stump has been removed shall be leveled to match the surrounding landscape to prevent public safety hazards and maintain visual appeal. Exemptions and alternatives: The Town Arborist or designee may approve alternative landscaping solutions based on the conditions of the impacted site, utility concerns, or public safety considerations. Section 9-7-4 Violation A..Planting, removing, or cutting trees on public property. No person shall plant, remove, cut above the ground, deface, or disturb any Public Tree within any Town maintained right of way, park and recreation area, or other public grounds without first obtaining permission from the Town Arborist. Any tree requiring trimming must follow American National Standards Institute A300 pruning and Z133 safety standards. In special circumstances where these standards cannot be followed, special permission must be granted by the Town Arborist. Pre-construction or utility permission requirement: Any person or entity engaged in construction or development activities that may impact Public Trees shall conduct a pre-construction assessment with the Town Arborist and evaluate potential safety concerns or liability to the Town. Emergency work: In cases of emergency in which the trimming, cutting, or removal of a tree is required for safety or utility repair, the Town Arborist may approve a 24-hour work schedule. Penalties for non-compliance: Unauthorized damage to or removal of Public Trees shall result in the immediate issue of a stop-work order and may incur fines up to the value of the tree damaged or destroyed. B. Tree Topping. It shall be unlawful as a normal practice for any person, firm, or Town department to top any tree on public property. Trees severely damaged by storms or other causes, or certain trees under utility wires or other obstructions where other pruning practices are impractical, may be exempt from this Section at the determination of the Town Arborist. C. Interference with the Town Arborist. It shall be unlawful for any person to prevent, delay, or interfere with the Town, the Town Arborist, or any of the designated agents or contractors while engaging in and about the planting, cultivating, mulching, pruning, spraying, or removing of any Public Trees as authorized in this Ordinance. Section 9-7-5 Penalties Any person, whether as principal, owner, agent, tenant, employee, or otherwise, who plants, maintains, removes, or trims a Public Tree, violates any provision of this Article, or fails to comply with any provision of this Article, unless expressly stated otherwise, is guilty of a penalty. Restitution for damaged or destroyed Public Trees may not exceed costs for replacement and the appraised value of the trees. The issuance of a citation to any person hereunder shall not relieve such person from the responsibility to correct such violation nor prevent the enforcement, correction, or removal thereof in any manner authorized by law. Every day that a violation is permitted to exist or caused to continue to exist under this article may be deemed a separate violation of a civil infraction and shall be punishable as provided in Article 1-8-3. ITEM 8. B. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Type: Regular Agenda                  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):  CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving Resolution 2025-07, a Project Agreement with the Maricopa Association of Governments to accept grant funds for Design Assistance of Sidewalk    Staff Summary (Background) In October 2024, the Town submitted a request to the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2025 Closeout Funds under the Design Assistance Program. The proposed project, entitled "Downtown Sidewalk Gap Elimination and Lighting Improvements" (MAG Project No. FTH-2025-DA-001), aims to evaluate and address missing sidewalk segments and insufficient pedestrian-scale lighting in the Downtown District, with a focus on two key corridors: Verde River Drive and Parkview Avenue.  The Town was successful in applying for closeout funds, and is being awarded up to $100,000, for which the Town is responsible for a 5.7% match.  The attached Active Transportation Project Agreement outlines the responsibilities of MAG and the Town, and is required for the Town to receive the grant funding. The Design Assistance project will be managed by MAG, and will deliver a Project Assessment, which includes:  A conceptual design and two alternatives in select constrained areas ADA-compliant crosswalk and ramp enhancements Pathway and intersection lighting recommendations Public outreach and stakeholder engagement A 15% level cost estimate Executive Summary with regional significance findings The work will be performed by Harrington Planning + Design under MAG's on-call contract, and is anticipated to be completed by August 25, 2025.  MAG prepared a Task Order for the amount of the consultant's cost, which is $99,825.20.  The Town's share is 5.7%, as tabulated below.  Entity Share % Share Maricopa Association of Governments $94,135.16 94.3% Town of Fountain Hills $  5,690.04 5.7%  $99,825.20 100%    Immediately following completion of the 15% design under this grant, the Town’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) will fund and manage the continuation of design through construction documents. These efforts are anticipated to align with Phases 1 and 2 of the Downtown Improvements project, with construction scheduled for FY 2027 (Verde River Drive) and FY 2028 (Parkview Avenue).   Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle The Design Assistance Grant directly supports the Downtown Strategic Plan by advancing pedestrian connectivity, safety, and lighting improvements along Verde River Drive and Parkview Avenue—key goals in creating a more walkable, vibrant downtown. Risk Analysis Failure to approve the Resolution would result in the loss of MAG grant funding, eliminating the cost offset and requiring the Town to fully fund the preliminary design phase using local resources. Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s) N/A Staff Recommendation(s) Staff recommends approval of Resolution 2025-07 SUGGESTED MOTION MOVE to Approve Resolution 2025-07  Fiscal Impact Fiscal Impact:$5.690.04 Budget Reference:FY 26 Funding Source:Capital Projects Fund If Multiple Funds utilized, list here:N/A Budgeted: if No, attach Budget Adjustment Form:N/A Attachments Letter of Request for Closeout Funds  Letter of Support from Tract 208  Letter of Support from Chamber  Letter of Support from Tama  Parkview Concepts  Verde River Concepts  ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROJECT AGREEMENT  Resolution 2025-07  T O W N O F F O U N T A I N H I L L S October 29, 2024 16705 E. Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268 | P 480.816.5100 | F 480.837.3145 | www.fountainhillsaz.gov Maricopa Association of Governments 302 North 1st Avenue, Suite 300 Phoenix, AZ 85003 Attn: Patrick Stone, Deputy Transportation Director - Programming RE: Request for Federal Fiscal Year 2025 Closeout Funds – Fountain Hills Dear Mr. Stone: In response to the MAG Memorandum dated October 14, 2024, the Town of Fountain Hills is interested in applying for FFY 2025 closeout funds for our Design Assistance application that was not selected as part of the FFY 2024 call for projects. The Town understands that if approved, the requirement for an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the Town and ADOT must be initiated by February 14, 2025 and the IGA must be fully executed by May 16, 2025. Project and agency resources are available to advance the project, if approved. The Design Assistance project (originally submitted to MAG on June 27, 2024) entitled “FTH-25-DA-001, Downtown Sidewalk Gap Elimination and Lighting Improvements” had a total cost estimate of $100,000. The Town of Fountain Hills appreciates this opportunity to apply for closeout funds. If there are any technical questions, please contact Public Works Director Justin Weldy at 480-816-5133. Sincerely, Rachael Goodwin Town Manager Cc: Justin Weldy, Public Works Director David A. Janover, PE, Town Engineer Paul Soldinger, Finance Director/CFO Wendy Miller, MAG Tract 208 Property Owners Association C/o AAM, LLC 1600 W Broadway Road Suite 200 Tempe AZ 85282 June 25, 2024 Justin T. Weldy Public Works Director Town of Fountain Hills 16705 E Avenue of the Fountains Fountain Hills AZ 85268 Dear Justin, I am the current Board President and contacting you on behalf of the Tract 208 Property Owners Association. As you know we own and manage the four parking lots essentially between Palisades Blvd on the North, Saguaro on the East, Avenue of the Fountains on the South, and La Montana on the West. We understand the Town is preparing a grant application through Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) for Design Assistance related to new sidewalk and lighting improvements in the Downtown Area. The sidewalks being asked for (along Parkview Ave. and Verde River Dr.) are identified as future sidewalks in the Town’s adopted Active Transportation Plan. We are in full support of this plan and would look forward to these much-needed improvements to our commercial areas where all the owners either own commercial buildings or commercial lots. These improvements would not only enhance our areas but would also increase values to our Downtown. They would also provide safety to anyone utilizing these sidewalks vs the streets or parking areas. I would be glad to speak with anyone from this group reviewing your application should they want anymore feedback or have any specific questions. I have included my contact information under my signature. We will look forward to your application approval and proceeding with the planned improvements. Sincerely Zachary Brooks Board President Tract 208 Property Owners Association 602-418-6704 Zach@zbrooks.com Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue PALISADES BLVDPALISADES BLVD AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINSAVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS PARKVIEW AVEPARKVIEW AVE LA MONTANA DR LA M O N T A N A D R VERDE RIVER DR VE R D E R I V E R D R SAGUARO BLVD SA G U A R O B L V D L A M O N T A N A D R LA MON T A N A D R Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Cross Sections Existing Angled Parking Existing Angled Parking 10’ Existing Buffer 10’ Existing Buffer 5’ Multi-Use Buffer 5’ Multi-Use Buffer 16.5’ +/- Travel Lane (East Bound) 16.5’ +/- Travel Lane (West Bound) 16.5’ +/- Turn Lane 6’ Landscape 6’ Landscape 2’ C&G 2’ C&G CL 42’ R/W42’ R/W Parkview Avenue (Looking West) Existing Angled Parking Existing Angled Parking 10’ Existing Buffer 10’ Existing Buffer 6’ Sidewalk 6’ Sidewalk 8’ Parallel Parking 8’ Parallel Parking 11’ Travel Lane (East Bound) 11’ Travel Lane (West Bound)5’ Shade Trees & Landscape 5’ Shade Trees & Landscape 6’ Landscape 6’ Landscape2’ C&G 2’ C&G CL 42’ R/W42’ R/W Parkview Avenue (Looking West) AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINSAVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS Existing Proposed Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Aerial View Ve r d e R i v e r D r 42'R/W 42'R/W 42 ' R/W 42' R/W PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VE R D E RI V E R DRPARKVIEW AVE LA M O N T A N A D R SA G U A R O B L V D Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Proposed Plan View Ve r d e R i v e r D r 42'R/W 42'R/W 42 ' R/W 42' R/W PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VE R D E RI V E R DRPARKVIEW AVE LA M O N T A N A D R SA G U A R O B L V D SHADE TREES SHADE TREES PARALLEL PARKING NEW 6’ SIDEWALK LANE REDUCTION CORNER BUMP OUT AT ALL INTERSECTION CORNERS NEW 6’ SIDEWALK SHADE TREES PARALLEL PARKING NEW SITE AMENITIES, TYP. NEW SITE AMENITIES, TYP. Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Existing Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTH Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Conceptual Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTH Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Existing Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTH Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Conceptual Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTH Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Conceptual Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTH Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Existing Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTHWEST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Conceptual Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTHWEST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Existing Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING SOUTHEAST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Conceptual Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING SOUTHEAST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Existing Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING SOUTHWEST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Conceptual Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING SOUTHWEST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Existing Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTHWEST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Conceptual Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTHWEST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Existing Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTH Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Parkview Avenue - Conceptual Imagery PARKVIEW AVE VE R D E R I V E R D R VIEW LOOKING NORTH Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive PALISADES BLVDPALISADES BLVD AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINSAVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS VERDE RIVER DR VE R D E R I V E R D R LA MONTANA DR LA M O N T A N A D R SAGUARO BLVD SA G U A R O B L V D L A M O N T A N A D R LA MON T A N A D R PARKVIEW AVEPARKVIEW AVE Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive - Cross Sections VERDE RIVER DRIVEVERDE RIVER DRIVE Existing Proposed 5’-8’ Sidewalk 5’ Sidewalk (Existing) 17’ Angled Parking 17’ Angled Parking 12’ Travel Lane (East Bound) 12’ Travel Lane (West Bound) 5’ Shade Trees & Landscape 3’-5’ Shade Trees & Landscape 2’ C&G 2’ C&G CL 42’ R/W42’ R/W Verde Rive Drive (Looking West) Vacant Lot Existing Building 5’-8’ Sidewalk 5’ Sidewalk (Existing) 8’+/- Parallel Parking 17’ Angled Parking 14’ Travel Lane (East Bound) 19’+/- Travel Lane (West Bound) 5’ Shade Trees & Landscape 3’-5’ Shade Trees & Landscape2’ C&G 2’ C&G CL 42’ R/W42’ R/W Verde Rive Drive (Looking West) Vacant Lot Existing Building Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024 42' R/W Pa r k v i e w A v e 42 ' R/W 42 ' R/W 42 ' R/W PA R K V I E W AV E VERDE RIVER DR Verde River Drive - Aerial Views VERDE RIVER DR PA R K V I E W AV E PA L I S A D E S B L V D AV E N U E O F T H E F O U N T A I N S Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024 42' R/W Pa r k v i e w A v e 42 ' R/W 42 ' R/W 42 ' R/W PA R K V I E W A V E VERDE RIVER DR Verde River Drive - Proposed Plan Views VERDE RIVER DR PA R K V I E W AV E PA L I S A D E S B L V D AV E N U E O F T H E F O U N T A I N S SHADE TREES SHADE TREE NEW SIDEWALK REDUCED LANE WIDTH CORNER BUMP OUT AT ALL INTERSECTION CORNERS NEW ANGLED PARKING REDUCED LANE WIDTH NEW SIDEWALKNEW ANGLED PARKING NEW SITE AMENITIES, TYP. NEW SITE AMENITIES, TYP. Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive- Existing Imagery PA R K V I E W A V E VERDE RIVER DRVIEW LOOKING NORTHEAST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive- Conceptual Imagery PA R K V I E W A V E VERDE RIVER DRVIEW LOOKING NORTHEAST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive- Existing Imagery PA R K V I E W A V E VERDE RIVER DRVIEW LOOKING NORTHEAST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive- Conceptual Imagery PA R K V I E W A V E VERDE RIVER DRVIEW LOOKING NORTHEAST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive- Existing Imagery PA R K V I E W A V E VERDE RIVER DRVIEW LOOKING SOUTH Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive- Conceptual Imagery PA R K V I E W A V E VERDE RIVER DRVIEW LOOKING SOUTH Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive- Existing Imagery PA R K V I E W A V E VERDE RIVER DRVIEW LOOKING NORTHEAST Fountain Hills Downtown Streetscape Renovations | 12/02/2024Verde River Drive- Conceptual Imagery PA R K V I E W A V E VERDE RIVER DRVIEW LOOKING NORTHEAST MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 1 ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROJECT AGREEMENT BETWEEN MARICOPA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS AND TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS FOR THE DOWNTOWN SIDEWALK GAP ELIMINATION AND LIGHTING IMPROVEMENTS This agreement (“Agreement”) is between the Maricopa Association of Governments (“MAG”), an Arizona non-profit corporation, and the Town of Fountain Hills an Arizona municipal corporation (“TOWN”), collectively referred to as the “Parties,” or individually as a “Party.” This Agreement shall become effective as of the last date of execution below and shall continue in full force and effect until [DATE]. MAG and Town of Fountain Hills view this Agreement as a mutually beneficial relationship. A) Statutory Authorization Agreement The Parties are authorized to enter into this Agreement by Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 28-6308 and 28-6353. B) Purpose of the Agreement The purpose of this Agreement is to identify and define the level of financial participation by Town of Fountain Hills and MAG to prepare the Downtown Sidewalk Gap Elimination And Lighting Improvements (“PROJECT”). The PROJECT will be completed through a MAG On-Call Contract using a consultant(s) from the approved Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities Design Assistance FY 2022-2025 Pedestrian And Bicycle Facilities Design Assistance Program On-Call (1137-DA) and Active Transportation Services On-Call Consultant list. The cost of this PROJECT will not exceed $99,825.20. C) Mission/Goal Statement The goal of the PROJECT is to provide a Project Assessment for The Downtown Sidewalk Gap Elimination and Lighting Improvements for the TOWN. D) Study Funding 1. MAG is the recipient of Surface Transportation Block Grant Program Funds as described in the amendments and modifications to the Fiscal Year 2022-2025 Transportation Improvements Plan (TIP). 2. The consultant contract for the PROJECT will be for an amount not to exceed $78,124. Subject to the availability of funding and approval of their respective governing bodies, funding for the PROJECT will be shared among the Parties as follows: The original amount allocated to the Town of Fountain Hills for the PROJECT is $100,000. Subject to the availability of funding and approval of their respective governing bodies, funding for the PROJECT will be shared among the Parties as follows. Maricopa Association of Governments $ 94,135.16 94.3% Town of Fountain Hills match $ 5,690.04 5.7% Total / Subtotal $ 99,825.20 100% 3. Cost adjustments: The MAG/TOWN proportional share for the awarded funds is to be split 94.3/5.7 for any amount less than or equal to original allocated amount of $100,000. If at any time during the Project MAG anticipates that there will be cost overruns, MAG will immediately notify the TOWN and schedule a meeting to discuss the status of the Project. If the cost for the consultant is more than the original allocated amount (including proportional share), it will be TOWN’S responsibility to cover MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 2 excess costs. 4. The TOWN’S financial participation is limited to paying the TOWN’S’ share including additional the TOWN local funds as provided in paragraphs 3 above. It shall be MAG’s responsibility to enter into the consultant contract. 5. MAG will invoice the TOWN for the TOWN’S’ share within thirty (30) calendar days of execution of this Agreement. The TOWN shall make payment to MAG within thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of invoice. The financial contribution of both Parties shall be deposited into the specified account no later than sixty (60) calendar days after payment of invoice. MAG shall maintain billing accounts and financial records during and for three (3) years after the completion of this Agreement and will produce the same to the TOWN upon the TOWN”S’ written request. 6. All notices or demands required to be given pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be given to the other Party in writing, delivered in person, sent by confirmed email, deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or deposited with any commercial air courier or express service at the addresses set forth below, or to such address as the Parties may substitute by written notice given in the manner described in this paragraph. For MAG: Ed Zuercher Executive Director Maricopa Association of Governments 302 North First Avenue, Suite 300 Phoenix, Arizona 85003 602-254-6300 For the Town of Fountain Hills David A. Janover, PE, F.NSPE, CFM Town Engineer Town of Fountain Hills 16705 E. Ave. of the Fountains Fountain Hills, AZ 85268 (480) 816-5112 Notices shall be deemed received on date delivered, if delivered by hand; on the day it is sent by confirmed email; on the second day after its deposit with any commercial air courier or express service; or, if mailed, ten (10) calendar days after the notice is deposited in the United States mail as above provided; and on the delivery date indicated on receipt if delivered by certified or registered mail. Any time period stated in a notice shall be computed from the time the notice is deemed received. Notices sent by confirmed email shall also be sent by regular mail to the recipients at the above addresses. This requirement for duplication notice is not intended to change the effective date of the notice sent by confirmed email. 7. In the event that the MAG funds required for performance of this Agreement are withdrawn or are not available for funding, this Agreement, without penalty to any of the Parties, may be immediately terminated; and any unspent financial contribution paid by the TOWN will be returned to the TOWN. 8. After the PROJECT has been completed and the final retainage invoice has been paid to the consultant, the TOWN will invoice MAG within 30 days for reimbursement of the TOWN’S’ SHARE that has not been spent (if any). E) General Terms and Conditions of the Agreement MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 3 1. Governing Law. This Agreement is entered into in Arizona and shall be construed and interpreted under the laws of the State of Arizona. 2. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is declared invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision shall be severed from the Agreement, and the remaining provisions shall otherwise remain in full force. 3. Hold Harmless. MAG and the TOWN (each as “Indemnitor”) agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the other Party (as “Indemnitee”) from and against any and all claims, losses, liability, costs, or expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys' fees) (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Claims”) arising out of the bodily injury of any person (including death) or property damage and any other claims (including, but not limited to, claims of derivative or vicarious liability), which are caused by the act, omission, negligence, misconduct or other fault of the Indemnitor, its officers, officials, agents, employees or volunteers. 4. This Agreement shall not be construed to imply authority to perform tasks, or accept any responsibility, not expressly set forth herein. 5. This Agreement shall be strictly constructed against the creation of a duty or responsibility unless the intention to do so is clearly and unambiguously set forth herein. 6. This Agreement shall be subject to cancellation for conflict of interest without penalty or further obligations as provided by A.R.S. § 38-511. 7. This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the Parties and supersedes all previous representations, written or oral, with respect to the services specified herein. This Agreement may not be modified or amended except by a written document, signed by authorized representatives of each Party. 8. Each Party hereby warrants and represents that it has full power and authority to enter into and perform this Agreement, and that the person signing on behalf of each has been properly authorized and empowered to enter into this Agreement. Each Party further acknowledges that it has read this Agreement, understands it, and agrees to be bound by it. 9. Each of the following shall constitute a material breach of this Agreement and an event of default ("Default") hereunder: A Party's failure to observe or perform any of the material covenants, conditions or provisions of this Agreement to be observed or performed by that Party ("Defaulting Party"), where such failure continues for a period of thirty (30) days after the Defaulting Party receives written notice of such failure from the non-defaulting party, provided however that such failure shall not be a Default if the Defaulting Party has commenced to cure the Default within such thirty (30) day period and thereafter is diligently pursuing such cure to completion, but the total aggregate cure period shall not exceed ninety (90) days unless the Parties agree in writing that additional time is reasonably necessary under the circumstances to cure the default. In the event a Defaulting Party fails to perform any of its material obligations under this Agreement and is in Default, the non-defaulting party, at its option, may terminate this Agreement. Further, upon the occurrence of any Default and at any time thereafter, the non-defaulting party may, but shall not be required to, exercise any remedies now or hereafter available to it at law or in equity. 10. This Agreement is subject to all applicable provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Public Law 101-336, 42 U.S.C. 12101-12213) and all applicable Federal regulations under the Act, including 28 CFR Parts 35 and 36. The Parties to this Agreement shall comply with Executive Order Number 2009-09 issued by the Governor of the State of Arizona and incorporated by reference regarding “Non-Discrimination.” 11. Non-Availability of Funds: Every obligation of the Parties under this Agreement is conditioned upon the availability of funds appropriated or allocated for the fulfillment of such obligations. If funds are not MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 4 allocated and available for the continuance of this Agreement, this Agreement may be terminated by the Parties at the end of the period for which the funds are available. No liability shall accrue to the Parties in the event this provision is exercised, and the Parties shall not be obligated or liable for any future payments as a result of termination under this paragraph. 12. In the event of any controversy, which may arise out of this Agreement, the Parties agree to abide by arbitration as is set forth for public works contracts if required by A.R.S. § 12-1518. 13. The Parties shall comply with the applicable requirements of A.R.S. § 41-4401. 14. The Parties shall comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations and ordinances, as may be amended. 15. In accordance with Arizona law, attached is the written determination of each Party's legal counsel that the Parties are authorized under the laws of this State to enter into this Agreement and that the Agreement is in proper form. (Signature page follows) MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 5 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have executed this Agreement. Town of Fountain Hills, an Arizona municipal corporation By: Mayor, Gerry Friedel Date: Attest: By: Town Clerk, Bevelyn J. Bender Maricopa Association of Governments, an Arizona non-profit corporation By: Ed Zuercher Executive Director Date: Reviewed as to form by General Counsel for Maricopa Association of Governments, and Counsel for the Town of Fountain Hills. I have reviewed the above referenced Agreement between MAG and the Town of Fountain Hills, an agreement proper in form and within the powers and authority granted to the Town of Fountain Hills under the laws of the State of Arizona. No opinion is expressed as to the authority of MAG to enter into this Agreement. Town of Fountain Hills Kathryn Gasior Town Attorney Maricopa Association of Governments General Counsel MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 6 APPENDIX A - SCOPE OF SERVICES MARICOPA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (“MAG”) TASK ORDER NO. 33 ON-CALL CONTRACT NO. 1137A-0D, HARRINGTON PLANNING + DESIGN PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE FACILITIES DESIGN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ON-CALL AND ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION DOWNTOWN SIDEWALK GAP ELIMINATION AND LIGHTING IMPROVEMENTS MAG PROJECT NO. 0600-0145-25-E001-1137A-0E.000029 TASK ORDER SUMMARY The Town of Fountian Hills is evaluating and improving pedestrian sidewalk gaps within the downtown core of the town area. This design request is to address sidewalk gaps in the Town of Fountain Hills Downtown District, as well as provide pathway and intersection lighting. There is approximately 3,600 LF of concrete sidewalk proposed with this project. The Town seeks design assistance to infill these sidewalk gaps as well as provide pedestrian pathway and intersection lighting as needed. The proposed sidewalk gap locations include sections along Parkview Ave. and Verde River Dr. The design would incorporate ADA compliant ramps and crosswalks where appropriate. This multi-corridor study is proposed to be prepared in a Project Assessment (PA) format. Under that format, utility review and a public outreach program are to be conducted. A 15% set of preliminary design plans, 15% cost estimate, and an executive summary report with a regional significance statement page will be included by the design team with the PA. The Scope of Services described below shall not be modified except at MAG’s request or with MAG’s concurrence. Any services rendered by [CONSULTANT NAME] (“CONSULTANT”) that MAG considers to be outside the Scope of Services of this Task Order shall not be the responsibility of MAG. TOTAL TASK ORDER BUDGET The CONSULTANT budget is attached. The total amount of this Task Order shall not exceed $99,825.20 SCOPE OF SERVICES Task 1. Scope Refinement, General Coordination and Project Administration CONSULTANT The Consultant will meet with MAG and the Town of Fountain Hills to review the project approach, schedule, specific requirements, and administrative procedures needed to complete this initial phase of the project. The team will also visit the project site to discuss design issues and recommendations for specific site conditions. The pedestrian facilities improvements will follow the Design Assistance Application project details. This project has a limited budget, and the consulting team will work with the Town of Fountain Hills to address the needs of developing a Project Assessment (PA) for the project area. Monthly coordination between the design team, Town staff, MAG staff, and project area stakeholders shall be included under this task for the duration of the project. Deliverables: 1. Summary Report Document: The Summary Report Document will include a list of specific project tasks and a schedule for completion of each task. MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 7 Task 2. Meetings & Events: Stakeholder / Core team / Public 2.1 Core Team & Stakeholder events: Core team events to include Local Agency (Town of Fountain Hills), MAG Project Manager, Consultant Design Team, and other government agency contacts impacted by the project scope or limits. Stakeholders shall be identified by Town of Fountain Hills and CONSULTANT to provide input and coordination during the development of concepts and the PA. Stakeholders are anticipated to be adjacent parcel owner organizations, businesses, immediate area public facilities, and other specific entities affected by the proposed corridor modifications. Core Team meetings shall be provided as an allowance of 3 meeting events at 1 to 2 hours per event to be chosen by the Town of Fountain Hills for occurrence during the project schedule. It is anticipated to include 1 project kickoff event, 1 post public engagement event to summarize community input, and 1 draft PA comment review event. 2.2 Presentation events: CONSULTANT shall participate in, and support one (1) council event scheduled for this project. The council event presentation shall be developed by CONSULTANT. This project scope includes 1 Council presentation for support services, as a weeknight event meeting (live). This event is anticipated to be held in June 2025 for event #1 (introduction / input gathering) for no more than 2 hours to present design concept. This event will be provided in-person at a facility provided by the Town of Fountain Hills, for this project’s council engagement process. Deliverables: 1. Meetings & Events Summary Report: Prepare a summary report documenting meeting event records, public and core event summaries, and the stakeholder input. Task 3. Data Collection The CONSULTANT will collect available relevant data pertinent to on- and off-site conditions and regulations or procedures, which may influence the design concepts. General data pertaining to traffic movement, accident reports, existing and planned transportation facilities, aerial imagery, visual character, right of way mapping, land use, easements, and utility information will be identified. In addition to these project corridor factors, information pertaining to utilities, engineering constraints, site visibility, pedestrian environment design, maintenance concerns. Town of Fountain Hills and / MAG design guidelines will be considered. The Town of Fountain Hills shall provide all aerial imagery and GIS data files available for the use of the design team. CONSULTANT will develop concept mapping and schematic base sheets for this project. The sub-tasks required to complete this task are as follows: 3.1 Site Visits: The CONSULTANT design team will observe the project area to determine existing conditions and possible design impact considerations. The CONSULTANT team will take digital images of the various site conditions for future reference and inclusion in the documentation of the project. 3.2 Design Standards Review: The CONSULTANT team will also review MUTCD, ADA / PROWAG, AASHTO, and NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide for pedestrian and bicycle environment design standards and Town of Fountain Hills / MAG Guidelines for preparation of a conceptual corridor (pedestrian focused) design. 3.3 Obtain Existing Data: Obtain available site data and coordinate with Town of Fountain Hills staff to develop base mapping data to be used in the preparation of 15% concept plans and concept alternatives. 3.4 Review Adjacent Land Use: Review existing land use for areas adjacent to the corridor. Discuss and define the Town’s knowledge of proposed and adjacent future land uses. 3.5 Field Data Collection: The following tasks will be completed during data collection: MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 8 1. Photo-document each corridor in the project area for existing condition pavements, utilities, grading and drainage infrastructure, regulatory signage, lighting, and accessibility compliance for circulation. 2. Prepare a summary exhibit of the photos collected and categorized per corridor with an overall summary map locating image position in plan. 3. Observe pedestrian activity during the field event and note circulation patterns and routes. 3.6 Identify Right of Way, Tracts Easements: Identify existing tracts, to whom the tracts are dedicated and for what purpose. Identify Right-of-Way easements, ownership and determine areas where new easements will be required. ROW easement ownership will be identified with coordination assistance from the Town of Fountain Hills. 3.7 Review Travel Routes: Obtain and review information of existing and proposed transportation travel routes, which may link to this project’s multiple roadway areas. These shall include roadways, sidewalks, crosswalks, connections to private development circulation routes, and pedestrian linkages. 3.8 Task Summary Report: HP+D will prepare a brief report of data collected and the value of each information source as it relates to the development of the project concept to achieve project goals and objectives. Deliverables: 1. Data Collection Summary Report: Prepare a brief report of data collected and the value of each information source as it relates to the development of the project concept to achieve project goals and objectives. Task 4. Data Analysis CONSULTANT shall provide analysis of the materials and information collected for the project area from materials collected under Task 3. Data shall be evaluated to determine possible opportunities and constraints as related to the study area and corridor improvements. An opportunities and constraints map shall be provided during this task. Analysis shall generate design criteria and project impacts to the concept development prepared under Task 5. Analysis and review shall be documented as a summary report for this task. The sub-tasks required to complete this task are as follows: 4.1 Opportunities and Constraints Map CONSULTANT will prepare a map of the project area limits to identify existing conditions, and future consideration impacts to the project. 4.2 Circulation Summary Statement: The CONSULTANT will prepare a brief report of corridor connectivity, active transportation networks, existing sidewalk and ADA route connections and gaps, and existing lighting deficiencies of the project area to identify any potential issues or metrics to achieve during the concept design task of the Project Assessment development. 4.3 Task Summary Report: CONSULTANT will prepare a brief report of data analyzed and the impacts to the project from each source collected under Task 3. Deliverables: MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 9 1. Data Analysis Summary Report documenting the data analysis of the collected materials and site conditions for the project. Task 5. Project Assessment Report - DRAFT The Project Assessment (PA) summarizes the initial conditions of the project. CONSULTANT will follow the specific format provided by MAG for the preparation of this document. The PA will be prepared in a draft format and submitted for review by MAG and the Town of Fountain Hills. The PA will document the project need, scope of design, and impacts on the surrounding built environment by the proposed concept. The PA shall include conceptual design solutions for the proposed improvements to the project area (with a focus on active transportation). Concepts shall include up to 2 design alternatives to select areas of the corridor for challenging locations such as restricted right of way areas, intersection crossing, ADA compliance for ramps and driveways, pedestrian comfort opportunities, address gaps in circulation networks with connectivity to private development circulation, lighting recommendations, and potential wayfinding locations. A concept package of existing and proposed corridor design sections, barrier solutions, way-finding features, and environmental character shall be prepared to accompany the PA as 15% level plans for the project area. Following a client review, a meeting will be scheduled to discuss the review comments and any clarifications to be incorporated. 5.1 Initial document preparation: Prepare a Project Assessment – Draft as preliminary report of the project design goals. PA Draft documents shall be provided as PDF final documents to Town of Fountain Hills as final deliverables. 5.2 Concept Development and Presentation Package: Prepare a preliminary design concept package with specific alternatives for options to challenging locations such as restricted right of way areas, intersection crossing, ADA compliance for ramps and driveways, pedestrian comfort opportunities, address gaps in circulation networks with connectivity to private development circulation, lighting recommendations, and potential wayfinding locations. PA Draft document, with concept graphics and 15% design plans, including detailed / itemized cost estimate shall be provided as PDF final documents to the Town of Fountain Hills as final deliverables. The assumption for this concept package is that 1 preferred alternate is prepared. Included in the preferred alternative will be options (not more than 2 additional design options will be prepared) for corridor configuration, and aesthetic treatment of the pedestrian environments. 5.3 Review Meeting: Attend a meeting to review the comments identified in the draft PA. Discuss the clarifications needed and develop a consensus among the participants as to the recommended efforts needed to complete the PA in a satisfactory manner. Deliverables: 1. Draft PA Report documenting the project concept, preferred alternatives, site development considerations and detailed / itemized cost estimate and 15% design plans. Task 6. Project Assessment Report - FINAL The Project Assessment (PA) shall be revised per comments from the draft PA provided by Town of Fountain Hills and MAG staff. 6.1 Refine and Finalize Project Assessment: CONSULTANT will edit the PA based on the comments received and prepare a final PA for final review and approval by MAG and the Town of Fountain Hills. PA (Project Assessment) Final documents shall be provided as PDF final documents to Town of Fountain Hills as final deliverables. 6.2 Refine and Finalize Concept Development and Presentation Package: CONSULTANT shall edit the concept design package per comments provided during the DRAFT review. MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 10 Plans shall be finalized for approval by MAG and the Town of Fountain Hills. A recommendation of the ADA compliant pedestrian circulation needs and lighting recommendations will be included in the Final PA report. Concept Plans shall be provided as PDF final documents to the Town of Fountain Hills as final deliverables. Deliverables: 1. Project Assessment Report - FINAL PA report from the reviewed DRAFT documenting the project concept, alternative preferred, and site development considerations and refine the detailed / itemized cost estimate. Task 7. Executive Summary and Regional Significance Report / Final Deliverables CONSULTANT will prepare an executive summary of the project. The summary shall include an aerial map of the area, before and after sections, renderings, and a brief description of the pedestrian design assistance project and key recommendations. A primary goal of the summary shall be to provide an explanation of the regional significance of the project and lessons learned from this project that could be applied to the other areas of the region to help improve the pedestrian/bicycle environment. The summary will include text to describe the short term and long-term corridor improvements and design impacts to the Downtown Sidewalk Gap Elimination area in the Town of Fountain Hills. The summary shall be reviewed by the MAG Program Manager and comments shall be incorporated into the draft summary. The draft report shall be reviewed, and comments shall be incorporated into the final report. Deliverables: 1. Executive Summary & Statement of Regional Significance. 2. Provide electronic medium containing the Final Project Assessment Report, 15% Design Plans, Executive Summary and Regional Significance Report in PDF format and original files (InDesign, Word, Excel, etc.), preferred alternative design files (CAD, GIS), and project photos. All GIS data deliverables shall comply with MAG GIS Standards for Consultant Delivery of Data. SCHEDULE This task order will begin on or about May 21, 2025, and will end August 31, 2025. TASK SCHEDULE FOR COMPLETION 1. Scope Refinement, General Coordination and Project Administration. 05-21-25 to 08-25-2025 (3 months) 2. Meetings & Events: Stakeholder / Core team 05-21-25 to 08-25-2025 (3 months) 3. Data Collection 05-21-25 to 06-18-2025 (1 month) 4. Data Analysis 06-18-25 to 07-02-2025 (0.5 month) 5. Project Assessment Report - DRAFT 07-02-25 to 08-02-2025 (1 months) 6. Project Assessment Report - FINAL 08-02-25 to 08-25-2025 (1 months) 7. Executive Summary and Regional Significance Report / Final Deliverables 08-18-25 to 08-25-2025 (0.25 months) MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 11 CONSULTANT WORK TEAM The CONSULTANT will form a work team of key personnel (as named below) to perform the project. Other labor requirements will be filled by other staff members of the CONSULTANT. Jason Harrington Project Manager, Registered Landscape Architect RLA Yang Yang RLA Landscape Architect Jada Delaney Designer/Principal MAG Agreement No. 1137A-0D Task Order 33 12 PROJECT NAME:Downtown Sidewalk Gap Elimination and Lighting CONTRACT NUMBER:1137A-0D CONTRACT PERIOD: FROM 8/2/2023 TO 6/30/2027 TASK ORDER NUMBER:33 TASK ORDER PERIOD: FROM 5/21/2025 TO 8/31/2025 MAG STAFF:Kay Bork CONSULTANT REMIT TO ADDRESS: HP+D 3116 S. Mill Avenue #305 Tempe, AZ 85282 TAXPAYER ID NUMBER: 45-2951894 * Only type in the BLUE or GREEN areas and be sure to enter entire budget PRIME CONSULTANT Original Costs and Rates Raw Direct Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Direct Hourly Rate Scope of Work Refine Stakeholder and Core Team Meetings Data Collection Data Analysis Draft PA Report Final PA Report Ex. Summary / Report Total Hours Total Cost Jason Harrington, RLA $50.00 20.00 20.00 22.00 30.00 50.00 35.00 10.00 187.00 $9,350.00 Yang Yang, RLA $50.00 0.00 20.00 30.00 30.00 80.00 50.00 10.00 220.00 $11,000.00 Jada Delaney $26.00 0.00 20.00 45.00 80.00 160.00 130.00 20.00 455.00 $11,830.00 Total Task Hours 20.00 60.00 97.00 140.00 290.00 215.00 40.00 862.00 32,180.00 Total Task Cost $1,000.00 $2,520.00 $3,770.00 $5,080.00 $10,660.00 $7,630.00 $1,520.00 $32,180.00 Overhead and/or Fringe Audited Rate 1.40 $1,400.00 $3,528.00 $5,278.00 $7,112.00 $14,924.00 $10,682.00 $2,128.00 $45,052.00 Total Labor with Overhead $2,400.00 $6,048.00 $9,048.00 $12,192.00 $25,584.00 $18,312.00 $3,648.00 $77,232.00 Fee (10% max rate)0.10 $240.00 $604.80 $904.80 $1,219.20 $2,558.40 $1,831.20 $364.80 $7,723.20 2,640.00$ 6,652.80$ 9,952.80$ 13,411.20$ 28,142.40$ 20,143.20$ 4,012.80$ 84,955.20$ PRIME CONSULTANT Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Scope of Work Refine Stakeholder and Core Team Meetings Data Collection Data Analysis Draft PA Report Final PA Report Ex. Summary / Report Total Cost -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Scope of Work Refine Stakeholder and Core Team Data Collection Data Analysis Draft PA Report Final PA Report Ex. Summary / Report Total Cost $2,640.00 $6,652.80 $9,952.80 $13,411.20 $28,142.40 $20,143.20 $4,012.80 $84,955.20 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $14,870.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $14,870.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 2,640.00$ 6,652.80$ 24,822.80$ 13,411.20$ 28,142.40$ 20,143.20$ 4,012.80$ $99,825.20 SUBCONSULTANT - NO. 1 Engieering Alliance Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Scope of Work Refine Stakeholder and Core Team Meetings Data Collection Data Analysis Draft PA Report Final PA Report Ex. Summary / Report Personnel Loaded Hourly Rate Task Hours Task Hours Task Hours Task Hours Task Hours Task Hours Task Hours Total Hours Total Cost $165.00 0.00 0.00 56.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 56.00 $9,240.00 $95.00 0.00 0.00 54.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 54.00 $5,130.00 0.00 0.00 110.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 110.00 $14,370.00 $0.00 $0.00 $14,370.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $14,370.00 $0.00 $0.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Engieering Alliance Total Cost $0.00 $0.00 $14,870.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 14,870.00$ CONTRACT BUDGET BY TASK ORDER BUDGET OF DIRECTLY REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES BUDGET OF PERSONNEL BY TASK NUMBER TOTAL BUDGET SUBCONSULTANT BUDGET FOR PERSONNEL AND REIMBURSABLES ** Input Raw Hourly Rates TWO DECIMAL PLACES ONLY and use most current information *** Invoices should relfect ACTUAL RATES for Prime Consultant Personnel Reimbursable Expenses Total Labor With Overhead and Fee Total Prime Reimbursable Expenses Total Subconsultant Costs Adjustments Thomas Lavalette, RLS Bradley Lavalette (or) Subconsultant Flat Fee TOTAL COST SUMMARY GRAND TOTAL Total Labor Budget With Overhead & Fees Total Prime Reimbursable Expenses Total Task Hours Total Loaded Labor Costs Total Subconsultant Reimbursable Expenses RESOLUTION NO. 2025-07 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA, APPROVING AN ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROJECT AGREEMENT WITH THE MARICOPA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS RELATING TO DESIGN ASSISTANCE GRANT FUNDING FOR SIDEWALK AND LIGHTING DESIGN. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS as follows: SECTION 1. The Active Transportation Project Agreement with the Maricopa Association of Governments relating to a Design Assistance Grant for the design of sidewalk and lighting along Verde River Drive and Parkview Avenue (the “Agreement”) is hereby approved in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference. SECTION 2. The Mayor, the Town Manager, the Town Clerk and the Town Attorney are hereby authorized and directed to cause the execution of the Agreement and to take all steps necessary to carry out the purpose and intent of this Resolution. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Fountain Hills, Maricopa County, Arizona, May 20, 2025. FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS: ATTESTED TO: __________________________________ ____________________________________ Gerry Friedel, Mayor Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk REVIEWED BY: APPROVED AS TO FORM: __________________________________ ____________________________________ Rachael Goodwin, Town Manager Town Attorney EXHIBIT A TO RESOLUTION NO. 2025-07 [Agreement] See following pages. ITEM 8. C. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Type: Regular Agenda                  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):  CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving additional funding for Capital Improvement Projects D6057 Golden Eagle Impoundment Project, as proposed by staff, as well as, associated budget transfers and Contract Amendment 2025-026.1 with B2 Enterprises.    Staff Summary (Background) Purpose: To request an additional Not-to-Exceed amount of $300,000 in project funding for the Golden Eagle Park Drainage Improvements project, to cover unanticipated construction costs, including approved and pending change orders. Background: On October 15, 2024, the Town Council awarded a construction contract for the Golden Eagle Park Drainage Improvements project. The project scope includes the installation and enhancement of stormwater management infrastructure, site grading, and related improvements designed to protect park facilities and enhance recreational use areas. Construction commenced shortly after the contract award and is currently approximately 90% complete. Throughout construction, the project team encountered several unforeseen field conditions, infrastructure conflicts, and discrepancies with existing utilities not identified during the design phase. These conditions have resulted in multiple change order requests from the contractor. To date, 15 change orders have been submitted to Town staff. Several have been reviewed and approved, while others remain under review as staff and the Construction Management team continue their evaluations and negotiations. Staff has worked closely with both the contractor and the Construction Manager to carefully assess the scope and ensure fair pricing for each proposed change. Discussion: The following field conditions and site constraints have required additional work beyond the original contract scope: Outdated and unmarked underground utilities Shallow irrigation lines and outdated components not shown on plans Elevation discrepancies impacting the multi-use path and drainage outflow near the baseball fields Inconsistencies between ASBUILT CAD and PDF construction drawings Inconsistencies between ASBUILT CAD and PDF construction drawings Conflicts between proposed grading, utilities, and existing site elements (e.g., retaining walls, sidewalks, volleyball courts) Required separation between reclaimed and potable water systems The following change orders have been reviewed and approved to date: CO1 – Removal of 3,285 SF of existing sidewalk and replacement of 366 LF not originally scoped CO3 – Vertical realignment of Bristol Wash and installation of grouted riprap to address a waterline conflict CO4 – Grading modifications to prevent erosion along Field #3 fence line CO5 – Rerouting and realignment of an electrical line in conflict with a riprap channel CO6 – Removal and replacement of the warning track to enable floodwall installation at Field #4 CO7 – Installation of light pole conduit, wiring, pull boxes, and trenching CO8 – Sidewalk realignment to preserve an existing mature tree CO9 – Replacement of outdated irrigation valves with updated components CO10 – Lowering of existing electrical conduit to meet final sidewalk grade requirements near the Volleyball Court CO11 – Relocation of electrical wire sleeving beneath sidewalk CO12 – Relocation of reclaimed water main and reset of valves between footer and sidewalk (between Volleyball Court and Field #4) These modifications were necessary to maintain compliance with design standards, protect existing infrastructure, and ensure safe, functional park operations. Staff and the Construction Manager have rigorously evaluated each change to validate its necessity and confirm appropriate cost assessments. It is not uncommon for municipal capital improvement projects of this scale and complexity—particularly those involving aging infrastructure or incomplete as-built documentation—to experience cumulative change orders approaching or exceeding 10% of the original contract amount. These conditions are a reflection of on-site realities and not indicative of poor planning or mismanagement. Financial Impact: Upon approval, the following budget transfers will be initiated by staff: $200,000 from the Capital Projects Fund contingency $100,000 from the Panorama Park project (P3057), which has reached substantial completion In addition, Contract Amendment 2025-026.1 will be executed to formally incorporate the increased funding and associated change orders into the project agreement. Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle Adopted Capital Improvement Projects Policy. Public Works Mission Statement  Risk Analysis Not approving the additional funding may result in unpaid contractor claims, project delays, or compromise in completing key improvements to Town infrastructure. Delays could further impact park operations and lead to increased costs due to remobilization or inflation. Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s) N/A Staff Recommendation(s) Staff recommends approval of the funding request, including budget transfers and a contract amendment to facilitate the completion of the Golden Eagle Impoundment project. SUGGESTED MOTION MOVE to approve additional funding for Capital Improvement Projects D6057 Golden Eagle Impoundment Project, in a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000, as well as associated budget transfers and Contract Amendment 2025-026.1.   Fiscal Impact Fiscal Impact:$300,000  Budget Reference:FY 25 Funding Source:Capital Projects Fund If Multiple Funds utilized, list here: Budgeted: if No, attach Budget Adjustment Form:N/A Attachments D6057 Budget Transfer  2025-026.1  TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS BUDGET AMENDMENTS JOURNAL ENTRY PROOF Report generated: 05/13/2025 11:51User: BBogdanProgram ID: bgamdent Page 1 LN ORG OBJECT PROJ ORG DESCRIPTION ACCOUNT DESCRIPTION PREV BUDGET AMENDED ACCOUNT LINE DESCRIPTION EFF DATE BUDGET CHANGE BUDGET ERR YEAR-PER JOURNAL EFF-DATE REF 1 REF 2 SRC JNL-DESC ENTITY AMEND 2025 11 25 05/13/2025 D6057 BUA GE IMPOUND 1 1 1 CIPSTO 8085 D6057 STORMWATER CAP PROJ STORMWATER/DRAINAGE IMPROVEMEN 2,882,000.00 300,000.00 3,182,000.00 600-40-30-304-000-1960-8085-D6057 UNFORSEEN COSTS 05/13/2025 2 CIPAD 7010 CAPITAL PROJECTS ADMIN CONTINGENCY 275,000.00 -200,000.00 75,000.00 600-10-10-105-000-0106-7010- TO D6057 05/13/2025 3 CIPPR 8070 P3057 PARK & REC CAP PROJECTS PARK IMPROVEMENTS 250,000.00 -100,000.00 150,000.00 600-50-50-502-000-1602-8070-P3057 TO D6057 05/13/2025 ** JOURNAL TOTAL 0.00 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS BUDGET AMENDMENT JOURNAL ENTRY PROOF Report generated: 05/13/2025 11:51User: BBogdanProgram ID: bgamdent Page 2 CLERK: BBogdan YEAR PER JNLSRC ACCOUNT ACCOUNT DESC T OB DEBIT CREDIT EFF DATE JNL DESC REF 1 REF 2 REF 3 LINE DESC 2025 11 25 BUA CIPSTO-8085-D6057 STORMWATER/DRAINAGE IMPROVEMEN 5 300,000.00 05/13/2025 GE IMPOUND D6057 T UNFORSEEN COSTS BUA CIPAD-7010 CONTINGENCY 5 200,000.00 05/13/2025 GE IMPOUND D6057 T TO D6057 BUA CIPPR-8070-P3057 PARK IMPROVEMENTS 5 100,000.00 05/13/2025 GE IMPOUND D6057 T TO D6057 JOURNAL 2025/11/25 TOTAL .00 .00 1 Contract No. 2025-026.1 FIRST AMENDMENT TO PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AND B4 ENTERPRISES, INC. THIS FIRST AMENDMENT TO PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT (this “First Amendment”) is entered into upon execution, between the Town of Fountain Hills, an Arizona municipal corporation (the “Town”) and B4 Enterprises, Inc., a(n) Arizona corporation (the “Vendor”). RECITALS A. The Town and the Vendor entered into a Professional Services Agreement (the “Agreement”), dated October 1, 2024, for the Consultant to provide “Golden Eagle Park Drainage Improvements” (the “Services”). All capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this First Amendment have the same meanings as contained in the Agreement. B. The Town has determined that it is necessary to increase the amount of the Agreement with the Vendor for Services. C. The Town and the Vendor desire to enter this First Amendment to amend the Agreement to provide compensation to the Vendor for the Services. AGREEMENT NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing introduction and recitals, which are incorporated herein by reference, the following mutual covenants and conditions, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Town and the Vendor hereby agree as follows: 1. Compensation. The Town shall pay Vendor an amount not to exceed $2,919,696.75 (of which sum includes an owners’ allowance of $150,000 and a miscellanies utility relocation/repair allowance of $50,000, for the Services), resulting in an increase of $300,000. The aggregate amount per renewal term shall not exceed $50,000 in any case unless the Agreement is affirmed and ratified via an executed amendment. All remaining terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. 2 2. Effect of Amendment. In all other respects, the Agreement is affirmed and ratified and, except as expressly modified herein, all terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. 3. Non-Default. By executing this First Amendment, the Vendor affirmatively asserts that (i) the Town is not currently in default, nor has it been in default at any time prior to this First Amendment, under any of the terms or conditions of the Agreement and (ii) any and all claims, known and unknown, relating to the Agreement and existing on or before the date of this First Amendment are forever waived. 4. Conflict of Interest. This First Amendment and the Agreement may be cancelled by the Town pursuant to Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 38-511. [SIGNATURES ON FOLLOWING PAGES] ITEM 8. D. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Type: Regular Agenda                  Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Paul Soldinger, Chief Financial Officer Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language):  DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION: Review of Existing Town Travel Procedures Staff Summary (Background) The Town's existing travel procedures were approved by a former Town Manager in July 2016 and have been in place since then. At the May 6, 2025, Council meeting, staff were asked to bring forth the existing travel procedures for Council discussion and possible direction. Thus, staff attached the travel procedures and updated forms including the following:  Travel Procedures - Approved on July 19, 2016 Employee Travel Authorization form Travel Expense Reimbursement form Mileage Log (submitted with Travel expense reimbursement form) Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle Travel Procedures, as approved on July 19, 2016. Risk Analysis N/A Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s) N/A Staff Recommendation(s) N/A SUGGESTED MOTION Staff to follow the Council directive Attachments Travel Procedures  Employee Travel Authorization Form  Travel Expense Reimbursement Form  Mileage Log  Town of Fountain Hills,AZ Travel Procedures 7/19/2016 Town of Fountain Hills -Travel Procedures PURPOSE: To provide clear and consistent guidelines for employees traveling on Town business while protecting the interests of the Town. It is the duty of all travelers to carefully weigh any expenditure of public funds.Travel expenditures should only be incurred when there is a clear business need that benefits the Town.It is the responsibility of the traveler to maintain correct and proper records to report only authorized Town business related expenses when reporting expenses for travel. APPLICATION: This Procedure is applicable to all Town of Fountain Hills employees,contract employees,temporary employees,agents,volunteers,and contractors unless otherwise specified. DEFINITIONS: Out-of-Town Travel -Any travel outside of Maricopa County. Out-of-State Travel -Any travel outside of the State of Arizona. Purchasing Card (P-Card)-A corporate liability charge account card issued to Town employees to pay for expenses incurred in connection with authorized travel or other expenses for the Town. Town -when capitalized,Town refers to the Town of Fountain Hills,except in the phrase Out-of-Town. PROCEDURE: A.Overview 1.When traveling to conduct the Town's business,all travelers must conduct themselves appropriately and follow this Travel Procedure (Procedure)to ensure that payments made by the Town are for actual and necessary expenses incurred for Town business. 2.Specific procedures,as managed by the Finance Division in implementing this Procedure,are referenced in this document.The employee and the employee's supervisor are responsible for adhering to this Procedure and all other Town policies and procedures while traveling on Town business. 3.Refer to the Town's purchasing card (P-Card)guidelines whenever using a Town P-Card for any expenditures.All expenditures must comply with the Town's P-Card guidelines. 4.The Expense Reimbursement Request must be completed within 30 days of the end of the trip to report all charges incurred on the trip,regardless of how the expenses were paid.The Employee Travel Authorization Form is required for all overnight Out-of-Town and Out-of-State travel regardless of whether or not the traveler is seeking a reimbursement for expenses.A requisition entered into MUNIS will be required. Page 2 of 12 Town of Fountain Hills -Travel Procedures 5.Requests for reimbursements must be submitted to Accounts Payable within 30 calendar days from the end date of the business travel.Accounts Payable will process the request for reimbursement in the Accounts Payable system after the traveler's supervisor has approved the reimbursement. 6.Requests for exceptions to this Procedure must be authorized in writing by the Town Manager or designee. B.Advance Approval Required 1.Travelers must submit the Employee Travel Authorization Form for any overnight travel (Out-of- Town or Out-of-State)and obtain all required approvals prior to obligating Town funds or incurring expenditures related to their future travel.The traveler's supervisor must approve all requests for travel and reimbursements. 2.The Employee Travel Authorization Form is NOT required for in-state,single day trips. 3.The Town Manager or designee must approve all Out-of-State travel,in advance. 4.The Town Manager or designee must approve all requests for travel and reimbursements for Department Directors and above. 5.In cases of emergency travel when there is not enough time to request an advanced approval,a memo from the Department Director authorizing and explaining the emergency travel must be submitted with the Employee Travel Authorization Form. C.Applicable Forms Download the specific forms (sample forms are attached at the end of these Procedures)from the Intranet (Document Library\Finance)to complete when preparing to travel on Town business and when requesting financial reimbursement for Town business travel: 1.Employee Travel Authorization Form 2.Mileage Log Reimbursement Form 3.Expense Reimbursement Request D.Non-Reimbursable Expenditures 1.There are certain common expenses that are generally not necessary in the performance of the Town's business.Common non-reimbursable expenditures are included in this section,but this is not an all-inclusive listing.The Town Manager or designee reserves the right to specifically authorize or deny expenditures. Examples: •Any personal expenses and all expenses related to the inclusion of family or guest(s)while traveling. •Non-business/personal air travel,auto rental,meals,and hotel arrangements. •Purchases of alcohol,tobacco,guest movies,games,or personal items. Page 3 of 12 Town of Fountain Hills -Travel Procedures •Expenses incurred for laundry,valet or dry-cleaning uses. • Traffic and parking tickets and fines. •Repair costs for personal vehicles. •Baggage over limit fees without approved written justification. • Priority boarding fees and airline seat premiums or upgrades,unless other options are not available. •Any expenses deemed to be excessive and/or not justified for Town business by the Town Manager. E.Allowable and Reimbursable Expenses for Town Related Business 1.There are certain common expenses that are generally necessary in the performance of the Town's business.Common reimbursable expenditures are included in this section,but this is not an all- inclusive listing.The Town Manager or designee reserves the right to specifically authorize or deny expenditures. 2.Transportation a.Commercial Airfare 1.The maximum amount the Town will pay or reimburse for airfare will be for the reasonable cost of a round-trip,coach ticket from Phoenix/Mesa to the airport nearest the business destination. i.If a traveler travels to or from an airport other than Phoenix,the actual cost of such airfare may be paid or reimbursed up to the cost of the similar ticket to or from Phoenix. ii.If a traveler travels to or from an airport other than the one nearest the business destination,the actual cost of such airfare may be paid or reimbursed,up to the cost of the similar ticket to or from the nearest business destination. 2.Use of carry-on luggage is preferred.However,the Town will reimburse for the cost of one checked bag if applicable.Additional checked bags will be allowed with advance approval from the Town Manager. b.Use of Motor Vehicles 1.When operating a motor vehicle on Town business within the U.S.,whether that vehicle is a Town vehicle,rented or privately owned,the driver must possess: i.A valid driver's license and mandatory insurance coverage as required by applicable Town laws and regulations,primarily issued by Arizona Department ofTransportation. a.Risk Management should be consulted with respect to the operation of a vehicle on Town business outside ofthe U.S. Page 4 of 12 Town of Fountain Hills -Travel Procedures 2.Use ofTown Vehicles i.Use of Town-owned vehicles for Out-of-State travel is prohibited unless specifically authorized and approved in writing by the Town Manager or designee. ii.For Town vehicles used within Maricopa County,fuel should be obtained from Town fueling facilities whenever possible. iii.For Town vehicles used outside Maricopa County,fuel can be purchased using a P-Card. If no P-Card is available,expenses shall be reimbursed at actual cost with proper documentation of the expenses. 3.Personal Vehicles i.The use of a Town vehicle is the preferred method when traveling by car.Use of personal vehicles must be pre-approved by the traveler's supervisor when requesting reimbursement for mileage.Approval can be verbal. ii.Only those employees who do not receive a car allowance are eligible for reimbursement of authorized use of their personal vehicles.Employees receiving a car allowance are not eligible to receive reimbursements for mileage,parking or valet fees, parking tips,tolls,or other similar fees associated with parking or driving during Town related business. iii.When personal or rental vehicles are approved for transportation,the reimbursed cost shall in no case exceed the cost of air travel for the same trip. iv.Travelers may be reimbursed for authorized use of their personal vehicle for Town business.The mileage reimbursement rate per mile will be updated periodically in accordance with the approved IRS guidelines.To find out the current mileage reimbursement rate,use the current Town of Fountain Hills Mileage Log Reimbursement Form.The origination and destination of the trip and the number of miles must be indicated on the Mileage Log Reimbursement Form. v.Mileage will be reimbursed based on the most direct route from the point of departure to the point destination and return.The cost of travel between a personal residence and the normal place of work is not reimbursable regardless of the distance. vi.Tolls and parking fees are considered reimbursable if incurred while driving for Town business (excluding to and from work).When possible and applicable,use long-term economy parking rather than the short-term parking. 4.Rental Vehicles i.Travelers must have prior written approval from the Town Manager on the Employee Travel authorization Approval Form and provide documentation supporting the need for a rental vehicle.The rental vehicle must be procured using the best possible rate to the Town. Page 5 of 12 Town of Fountain Hills -Travel Procedures ii.For rental vehicles used for travel at the destination,reimbursement will be limited to the actual cost of fuel and rental fees.Rental vehicle insurance is not to be purchased and will not be reimbursed.If an accident occurs and the traveler is at fault,the Town's Risk Manager will handle the claim. iii.If a traveler rents a vehicle for personal use,the Town will not pay for either the cost to rent the vehicle or damage to the vehicle if an accident occurs. 5.Ground Transportation (Shuttles,Taxis,etc.) i.It is the traveler's responsibility to use the most economical means available for ground transportation.Shuttle and taxi services to and from the airport for Town business purposes may be reimbursed. ii.If using a personal vehicle,mileage from the traveler's normal place of work to the airport is considered an appropriate ground transportation charge.Mileage from the traveler's home to the airport will be reimbursed less the mileage for the normal commute from the traveler's home to the traveler's normal place of work. iii.The mileage must be noted on the Town of Fountain Hills Mileage Log Reimbursement Form and will be reimbursed at the standard mileage rate as set by the IRS. iv.When at a location outside of Maricopa County,expenses for the most economical form of local transportation,such as shuttle, taxi and bus fare,will be allowed whenever such transportation is necessary to conduct Town business.Travelers must use any available public transportation or shuttle services provided by the hotels,conferences,organized events,etc.whenever possible. 3.Lodging a.It is suggested that travelers make arrangements to stay at a hotel that is close to the business meeting or training facility.Travelers should always inquire about government room discount rates and the event's discount. b.Hotels usually request a credit card number to reserve the first night's stay.If the traveler has a Town issued P-Card with adequate credit available,then that card should be used. c.Lodging arrangements must be made at the standard,single occupancy,non-deluxe accommodation rate for the traveler only.If the traveler has secured accommodations other than previously stated,it is the traveler's responsibility to find out the single,standard,non-deluxe rate and provide a written explanation for the difference.In no event will the Town reimburse or pay for any exceeding difference in the room rate.Expenses for personal or vacation time used before or after necessary Town business are also non-allowable expenses (e.g.,room expenses for arriving a day early for personal reasons are not reimbursable). d.Travelers who have guests stay in the hotel will be responsible for paying any difference in the room rate.No expenses of any kind will be reimbursed for the guest. Page 6 of 12 Town of Fountain Hills -Travel Procedures e.Expenses will be allowed for other lodging charges appropriate to the purpose of the trip (e.g., internet connection). f.Detailed receipts for the all lodging charges must be provided to obtain reimbursement and to provide documentation of the number of days attended at an event. 4.Meals a.Meals are only reimbursable when traveling Out-of-Town or Out-of-State. b.Travelers cannot use Town funds to pay for meals (via advance,reimbursement or P-Card)that have already been paid for as part of a conference or event registration fee.This slatement applies even if the traveler incurs an expense because they did not cat the meal provided at the conference or event. c.Travelers can elect one of the two methods for reimbursement of meals.Use of both methods in the same trip is not allowed. i.Pcr-diem meal allowance per day (at General Services Administration (GSA)determined rates, excluding incidentals,and pro-rated for partial days of travel.)Per-diem will be reimbursed without requiring submittal of receipts.Per-diem will be prorated for partial days of travel and reduced by the amount of any meals included in conference or event registration fees. See link at http://www.tisa.tiov/portal/conlent/10151H .If using the pcr-diem option,use of a P-Card to pay for meals is prohibited. OR ii.Actual expenditures from itemized receipts must be submitted for all reasonable meals (for which ihc traveler i.s sivkinii reimbur^i-nuiii)incuri-al while traveling.Itemized expenses must be supported by detailed cash register receipts and attached to the Expense Reimbursement Request.Actual receipts will not be allowed for meals which were already included in conference or event.Actual receipts will not be allowed for meals paid for by another person.In no event will a reimbursement request be approved for a meal amount which exceeds the amount established by the General Services Administration (GSA)at http://www.tisa.iiov/poiial'content'110151S . d. If a traveler requests reimbursement for meals but it is determined that the cost of that meal was paid for by another person using Town funds (via advance,P-Card or reimbursement),the traveler will not be allowed to claim reimbursement for that meal.If the traveler was given a travel advance,h/she will be required to reimburse the Town for the value of that meal. Page 7 of 12 Town of Fountain Hills -Travel Procedures 5.Registration Fees Charges for registration at any authorized meeting or convention arc allowable and will be eligible for reimbursement.Payment can be made utilizing the P-Card.A receipt or other proof of payment will be required for reimbursement or to help document attendance.Include a copy of the conference/registration form (with dales,times,and meals provided)and supporting documentation indicating the purpose/business nature of the trip (e.g.travel brochures,bulletins,etc.)lo Finance with the Expense Reimbursement Request. 6.Telephone and Electronic Communications and Internet Usage For more information refer to Cellular Phone Stipend Procedure. During travel.Town business-related telephone and Internet usage may be reimbursed. Personal communication devices (cell phones,pagers,etc.).assigned by the Town for employee use, are subject to the use Procedure as determined by the Town Manager or designee. 7.Tips and Gratuities Reasonable expenses for lips and gratuities are reimbursable.Tips arc to be written on the bottom of the receipt (i.e.hotel,taxi,restaurant,etc.)for the particular service.Reasonable tips and gratuities are defined as approximately 20%of the cost for service but may be less. F.Advance Payments 1.If,in the judgment of the employee's Department Director,the estimated expense for the travel is too high to expect the employee to finance the trip and be reimbursed upon reluming,the Department Director may authorize advance payment of the estimated travel amount to the employee.To receive an advance payment,the approved Employee Travel Authorization Form must be submitted to the Finance Division.Accounts Payable,no less than 3 weeks before the trip. 2.Advancing money for travel expenses does not constitute approval for expenditure of the entire amount advanced.All allowable expenditures must be justified and approved on the Expense Reimbursement Request.If the actual expense incurred is less than the advance,the traveler must reimburse the Town for the difference. G.Non-Exempt Employee Travel 1.Employees in positions classified as non-exempt under the FLSA are eligible for compensation for the time they spend traveling.Compensated travel must take place within normal work hours as defined in HR Policy No.1001 -TRAVELING ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS -TRAVEL TIME. 2.Travel time includes the time the employee arrives at the airport to the lime the employee reaches the destination (hotel or temporary worksite.)When returning home,the destination is the airport of final arrival. Page 8 of 12 Town of Fountain Hills -Travel Procedures 3.Travel between home and work or between the hotel and the temporary worksite is considered normal commuting and is not eligible for pay. 4.Travel time within normal work hours,as defined in HR Policy No.1001 -TRAVELING ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS -TRAVEL TIME is treated as hours worked and subject to overtime. 5.Travel time outside of work hours is not subject to overtime and is considered to be outside of work travel. AUTHORIZED: Page 9 of 12 Town of Fountain Hills -Travel Procedures Tows of Fountain Hills Employee Travel Authorization Form EUFLOYEENAUE DEPARTURE DATE Department Rerats Date Position Title Destination-(Ort,sta BUSINESSFDKTO5E (CHICK ONE)! LICENSING Conference MEETING GEKERAI/OTHER TRAINING INSPECTION WORKSHOP Explanationor Travel (attachADDmosAL intoruatiok asnecessary) Fjfensis UlLMCt UlHiK FatuertMrraoo E',1.COiT Expenses Loduh: Hun KiumuniiN tu FaviientUrraoD TotalEsihiatzd Costs EST.COST REgPEST FOR TBA\-EL ADVANCE (\OT TO EXCEED BO«/t OFTOTALESTD1ATP1COSTS) BV SKMKGHELCTT.1AG51EIT3 USE XSYTUU1LADVAIIC THAIAIMNCCMPtMNdHUH IKE TonTJOTFOTNTADJ HKLS TXAVEL POlin'. TOTAL-\DVA.VCI Date ElIFLOVEE CERTOICAT10S BY SIOaNGHELOB-,ICEUDTTHEEStpffiSIED TX*\TE-I5 APJTOraUTC MX>KECISSAXVrOl COMWCTWC OfTELU.TCW>I BU5KESS,ANDA5REE TO COMPLYW7IB TOETOWN OF FOUKTAK HH1S'EUHOTTETW\TL *ElTDCEPOIiCV. SU3UTVKE DATE DEPARTkffiXTHEAD (OK DESKOTE)AUTHORHATION AFFROITD DENIED PRDJTEDNAME&TITLE DATE Ton?;Manager Authorizationfor olt-of-Wate traveland/okrental ^"EfflCLE APPRO^XD DENIED Date Page 10 of 12 NAME DEPT/LOC DATE (S) PURCHASE ORDER # PURPOSE Please complete and return to accounting with receipts: ORG OBJ PRJ REGISTRATION FEES $ LODGING (HOTEL)$ MEALS $ **Must include $ ITEMIZED receipts $ $ $ TRANSPORTATION: AIR TRAVEL $ MILES @ $0.54 PER MILE (2016 Rate)miles (attach mileage log)$0.00 MISC.(Taxi, parking, etc) $ $ $ TOTAL ABOVE EXPENSES $0.00 Date Submitted: 9/7/2016 By: Approved: *If under $50, please attach Petty Cash Request. Do NOT attach Check Request. This form is considered an invoice. **Any Meal receipts listed without including the Itemized receipt will not be paid. Please submit reimbursements requests within 30 days of the receipts date. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS TRAVEL EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST Rev. 9/7/16 05n to o s l( J « M ! H ( ) l \ l \ I M I I U - S M I I . I «:i - l. ( K : « r i M H l K S K M I M II I H M F-H d-u i i F - " Ju- j n T Pla J j i Fr , ! 1C ia 31 44 DA T E AO B n E S S \ O C A I I O N ti n EL — 1 Sp g n i l u r a FW t O V E E P. m lu * « Olf l a r » YDE S T m t T I O N HO T US T E C ST A R T UU A G E tN D UU M X 10 " I ■■ "" TO T A L HI L L 5 ae t o t v CB. ? . c r T3 T = L Ar v w i Sli r It o t n A«t - v i PT w O * Pl u s (Co * i * - n f p f *$ ' . ' - O W Wt O i S t . Tflr t i Hicm ■*. ■kj i JO 7 ri: ii : l? 0 r.'] - ! . ' ' ■ mi -o D O i H ©n re p,c 1 IPB n b r D b a c n n i U m l i m l w O I C E iri n t o r l H l p» « o ilA n w f i i r Art! »i « i p . ** * iir f ' n j i f *j p r » d t i-o TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS EMPLOYEE TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION FORM EMPLOYEE NAME DEPARTURE DATE DEPARTMENT RETURN DATE POSITION TITLE DESTINATION (CITY, STATE/COUNTRY) EMPLOYEE CERTIFICATION BY SIGNING BELOW, I CERTIFY THE REQUESTED TRAVEL IS APPROPRIATE AND NECESSARY FOR CONDUCTING OFFICIAL TOWN BUSINESS, AND AGREE TO COMPLY WITH THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS’ EMPLOYEE TRAVEL & EXPENSE POLICY. SIGNATURE DATE DEPARTMENT HEAD (OR DESIGNEE) AUTHORIZATION ☐ - APPROVED ☐ - DENIED PRINTED NAME & TITLE SIGNATURE DATE TOWN MANAGER AUTHORIZATION FOR OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL AND/OR RENTAL VEHICLE ☐ - APPROVED ☐ - DENIED SIGNATURE DATE BUSINESS PURPOSE (CHECK ONE): ☐ - AUDITING ☐ - CONFERENCE ☐ - GENERAL/OTHER ☐ - INSPECTION ☐ - LICENSING ☐ - MEETING ☐ - TRAINING ☐ - WORKSHOP EXPLANATION OF TRAVEL (ATTACH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AS NECESSARY) EXPENSES PAYMENT METHOD ESTIMATED EXPENSE ACTUAL EXPENSE AIRFARE $ MILEAGE (PERSONAL VEHICLE) $ RENTAL VEHICLE $ OTHER TRANSPORTATION $ LODGING $ MEALS $ REGISTRATION FEE $ OTHER EXPENSES $ TOTAL EXPENSE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST INVOICE#ERR - 5/12/2025 NAME DEPT/LOC DATE (S)PO/RFC # PURPOSE Please complete and return to Finance with receipts: ORG OBJ PRJ PHONE CALLS $ LODGING (HOTEL)$ $ MEALS - per diem or itemized receipts** $ $ $ $ $ TRANSPORTATION: AIR TRAVEL $ MILES @ $0.67 PER MILE (2024 Rate)0 miles $0.00 (attach mileage log)$ MISC.(Taxi, parking, etc)$ OTHER: $ $ TOTAL ABOVE EXPENSES*$0.00 Date Submitted:5/12/2025 By: Approved: *If under $50, please attach Petty Cash Request. Otherwise submit in MUNIS. Do NOT attach Check Request. This form is considered an invoice. **Any Meal receipts listed without including the Itemized receipt will not be paid. Submit reimbursements requests within 30 days of the receipts date. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MILEAGE LOG REIMBURSEMENT FORM DATE START END START END LESS TOTAL ADDRESS/LOCATION ADDRESS/LOCATION PURPOSE ORG OBJECT MILEAGE MILEAGE COMMUTING MILES (If Applicable) 6120 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 I certify that this claim for reimbursement of personal vehicle mileage is true, correct, justly due, and unpaid. All mileage reported was reasonable and necessary to conduct official business for the Town of Fountain Hills.0.000.00 Employee PO/RFC #TOTAL MILES 0.00 Signature Date 5/12/2025 2025 Rate 0.700 # $ - **PLEASE ATTACH SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION (MAPS) FOR ANY DESTINATION NOT LISTED BELOW Acc o u n t i n g Sum m a r y - MU S T CO M P L E T E ORG OBJECT TOTAL EMPLOYEE 6120 $ -NAME INVOICE#MLR - 5/12/2025 #Should equal above Total $ - 0 Authorized In Town Locations**Mileage One Way from Town Hall Arizona Locations*Signature FH Chamber 0.6 Sky Harbor Airport 25.5 Date Bashas 1.0 Phx Civic Plaza (Convention Ctr)30.7 Safeway 1.3 ASU - 660 W 6th St, Tempe 23.7 Target Plaza 3.1 GPEC - 2 N Central Ave, Phoenix 31.2 Petty Cash Frys 4.4 AAED - 400 N 5th St Phoenix 30.5 Rec'd - Initials Fort McDowell 4.5 MAG/League - Downtown Phoenix 32.0 EMPLOYEE CASHIER This form is to be considered an INVOICE. If under $50, please submit for Petty Cash Reimbursement. If over $50, please enter into Munis and submit signed copy to Accounts Payable. ITEM 8. E. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 05/20/2025 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Type: Regular Agenda                  Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language):  CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Relating to any item included in the League of Arizona Cities and Towns' weekly Legislative Bulletin(s), or relating to any action proposed or pending before the State Legislature.   Staff Summary (Background) This is a regularly recurring agenda item on the Town Council agenda during the legislative session. This agenda item aims to obtain consensus from the Mayor and Council on legislative bills and provide direction, if any, to staff to communicate the town's position on the bills. For every Council meeting, the Legislative Bulletin will be attached to the Town Council agenda, including legislative analysis of the bills and their impacts on municipalities. The Mayor and Council will have an opportunity to review the bills that are under consideration in the Arizona State Legislature and provide direction on supporting or opposing the bills. The Mayor and Council may also bring up other bills of interest to the Town of Fountain Hills for discussion that are not listed in the Legislative Bulletin.  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 provide staff direction on one or more bills being considered by the State Legislature.