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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010.0114.TCOM.Minutesz:\council packets\2010\r2-18-2010\100114m.docx Page 1 of 4 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL COUNCIL GOAL SETTING WORKSHOP OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL January 14, 2010 *CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME Mayor Schlum called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. and welcomed everyone. Fountain Hills Town Council present: Mayor Jay Schlum, Councilmember Dennis Contino, Councilmember Henry Leger, Councilmember Dennis Brown, Councilmember Mike Archambault and Councilmember Ginny Dickey. Vice Mayor Hansen arrived at 8:40 a.m. Town Staff present: Town Manager Rick Davis, Deputy Town Manager Julie Ghetti, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Planning and Zoning Director Richard Turner, Public Works Director Tom Ward, Parks and Recreation Director Mark Mayer, Community Center/Senior Services Director Samantha Coffman, Human Resources Joan McIntosh, Community Affairs/Media Relations Administrator Katie Decker, Economic Development Administrator Lori Gary, Judge Ted Armbruster, MCSO Captain John Kleinheinz, Fire Chief Scott LaGreca, Assistant Fire Chief Randy Roberts, Executive Assistant to the Mayor/Town Council/Town Manager Shaunna Williams, and Town Clerk Bev Bender. Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (SPAC) Chair Audra Koester Thomas was also present. Town Manager Rick Davis also welcomed everyone and provided an overview of the process that would be followed. He stated that the idea was to approach goal setting by identifying desired outcomes from the Strategic Planning focus areas. He stated that the Council’s proposed suggestions would be listed under each area and then provided to staff to provide more specific goals for the next year. The proposed goals would be provided to the Council for discussion and formal ratification by adoption at a subsequent Council meeting. Mr. Davis introduced Audra Koester Thomas as the first speaker. GOAL SETTING Audra Koester Thomas, the Chair of SPAC, addressed the Council relative to the status of the Strategic Plan update process and the Phase 2: Visioning Report outcome. She stated that the Commission would be providing the finalized Phase 2 –Visioning Report to the Council next week. Chair Thomas noted that the strategic vision plan focused on eight areas: Civility; Civic Responsibility; Environmental Stewardship; Education, Learning and Culture; Maintain and Improve Community Infrastructure; Economic Vitality; Public Safety, Health and Welfare; and Recreational Opportunities and Amenities. She stated that once completed the plan would add definition to what each value statement meant and provide raw feedback to the Council, which was a good resource for broader public representation. She provided a brief overview of each of the eight and referenced documents that had been distributed to the Council (information on file in the Clerk’s office). Discussion ensued with regard to possible goals proposed by the individual Councilmembers under each of the eight focus areas (lists on file in the Clerk’s office). z:\council packets\2010\r2-18-2010\100114m.docx Page 2 of 4 The lunch break began at 12 p.m. The afternoon session resumed at 1:05 p.m. Mr. Davis thanked everyone for their hard work during the morning session noting that the clearer we were, the more effective we would be (the Good to Great – “hedge hog” concept). He asked the Council to contact him if they had further suggestions so that those items could be included on the lists. LAW ENFORCEMENT PRESENTATION Maricopa County Sheriff’s Captain John Kleinheinz addressed the Council relative to information contained in his a presentation (copy on file in the Clerk’s office) regarding community policing options. Captain Kleinheinz discussed the current contract with the Town including staffing detail and service costs, their 6-year goals, quality of life issues and a proposal for the creation of a community policing squad to deal with those changing quality of life issues. Discussion ensued relative to the need to clearly define a community policing squad’s role, what resources could be used, if there would be any potential cost impact, and Captain Kleinheinz’s comment that it should be a wash relative to cost; the fact that the Sheriffs’ Office was patrolling more miles in town and that they looked at crime trends as a performance measure; how placement of a speed trailer was coordinated with Public Works; and the fact that block watch had been helpful in resolving the speed issue on Trevino although there was one person who still had concerns. Fire Chief La Greca commented on the uniqueness of the Town’s Fire/Police department relationship and how great it was that they were able to talk car-to-car. Vice Mayor Hansen asked what posse members could do legally and the Captain responded that the posse was remarkable but that they worked under the deputy’s authority and did not have enforcement authority, which limited their assistance to vacation watch and fairs/events. Captain Kleinheinz commented that they were looking into putting together an ordinance that would address alarm calls and it might be possible to utilize the posse further in that capacity. He addressed a question from the Vice Mayor related to if the posse could be used for wellness checks stating that was not a possibility as they would be entering into uncertain situations. He noted that the posse worked for donations and that they were also used to transport prisoners to booking in downtown Phoenix. Mr. Davis called for a break at 2:20 p.m. and the meeting resumed at 2:40 p.m. FIRE SAFETY PRESENTATION Fire Chief Scott LaGreca addressed the Council relative to information that would be contained in his joint presentation with Asst. Fire Chief Randy Roberts (copy on file in the Clerk’s office). Asst. Fire Chief Roberts reviewed the challenges associated with a mountain rescue in the Town’s preserve and how they were trying to mitigate those challenges though mutual aid agreements, signs, and operational standards. He also discussed various types of rescues describing the resources that would be required and plans to address such needs ( i.e. increased training, more equipment and personnel). Fire Chief LaGreca provided a snap shot of Station #2 and a proposed Station #3 as well as a polygon of the 3 minutes response time. He explained that he liked the idea of having a back-up plan and talked about the possibility of a joint facility (with Parks & Recreation) as there were positives, which he shared with the Council. z:\council packets\2010\r2-18-2010\100114m.docx Page 3 of 4 Asst. Fire Chief Roberts discussed the progress of the Fire Station project, noting that the building design was almost complete, that they had the building permit, that the project was shovel ready, and that they were waiting on FEMA to find out if they had received the grant award. Chief LaGreca gave an update on the ambulance station stating that the agreement was with the attorneys; Rural Metro was committed to getting into that site as the temporary location had improved EMS response times. Discussion ensued with regard to ARRA funding and the probability that another round of grants would be awarded and the fact the Town had not received a FEMA rejection letter. Discussion continued relating to the C.A.R.E.S. program and if there was anything that could be done to enhance it; the fact that the Fire Department said it was working well, was actively looking for volunteers, had received grants over the holidays, was a true volunteer organization, which was a valuable health asset for the Fire and Police Departments and program for the community, that it needed time to continue to grow while developing its relationships, and that the funding committee was looking into how to fund a van or ambulance for their use, the suggestion by Councilmember Dickey that this could possibly be another ongoing contract similar to the other community service contract. Chief LaGreca summarized that Fountain Hills had a world class hiking trail system and that they needed to be ready to deal with the challenges that would be presented in the future. In response to a question by Vice Mayor Hansen, Chief LaGreca confirmed that individuals currently did not get charged for the cost of a rescue but that could be facilitated if the Council was interested. Mr. Davis called for a break at 3:35 p.m. and the meeting resumed at 3:45 p.m. FINANCIAL UPDATE Deputy Town Manager Julie Ghetti addressed the Council and provided a six month review of the budget (presentation on file in the Clerk’s office), which covered the various funds, revenue and local sales tax projections, a comparison of last year’s position to this year relating to sales tax, various fee collection by the town, and expenditures by department, noting that expenditures had been revised down (to $400K). Discussion ensued with regard to whether the Town could charge tax on gas, the fact that HURF revenues were down slightly; the possibility that the HURF fund and State Shared Revenues might be at risk although State Shared Revenues were tied to a past compromise with the Legislature relating to the prevention of local income tax; the fact that staff would try and clarify if HURF was protected; possible strategies that might be used if revenues funds were swept by the Legislature, and the fact that sweeping of funds could happen at any time but the Town would plan as best they could; the collection of Development Fee revenues vs. expenditures. Ms. Ghetti provided an overview of the Capital Projects Summary. She discussed the current year outlook: the Town would continue to proceed with caution before approving expenditures, would conduct research and analysis on privatization vs. in-house and vice versa; the fact that State sales tax and building permit activity would continue to be questionable areas; that staff anticipated continuing mid-year adjustments and monitor the annual threat of the Legislature’s sweeping a portion of the State Shared Revenue fund. In response to a question by Councilmember Archambault Ms. Ghetti confirmed that originally the crossing of revenues and expenses had been projected to take place in 2016/17 but with the development of the Ellman property stalled and the economy situation, the time table had moved up. Ms. Ghetti also provided an explanation of the process followed to resolve delinquent dog licenses in response to a question from Councilmember Contino. z:\council packets\2010\r2-18-2010\100114m.docx Page 4 of 4 Ms. Ghetti summarized that the economic slowdown gave the Town an opportunity to re-engineer for more efficiency and better service; that the Town needed to continue reducing operating costs while minimizing the effect on citizens, and that expenditures were monitored continuously to ensure that there were sufficient year revenues to pay for the expense. ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Schlum adjourned the meeting at 4:10 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By_____________________________ Mayor Jay T. Schlum ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: _________________________ Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Annual Council Goal Setting Workshop held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town of Fountain Hills Community Center on the 14th day of January, 2010. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. Dated this 18th day of February 2010. _____________________________ Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk