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TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
February 4, 2010
* CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Schlum called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
* INVOCATION – Carolyn Goldberg, President of Temple Beth Hagivot
* ROLL CALL
Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Schlum,
Councilmember Contino, Councilmember Leger, Councilmember Brown, Vice Mayor Hansen, Councilmember
Archambault and Councilmember Dickey. Town Manager Rick Davis, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, and
Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present.
*MAYOR'S REPORT
(i) A review of upcoming community events.
Mayor Schlum requested that the citizens continue to support local restaurants, stores and other businesses. He
noted the community's great food, merchandise, services and experiences that were available and emphasized
that their support will help strengthen the entire community during these difficult economic times.
The Mayor also announced the following upcoming community events:
Thursday's Noon-Dusk Art on the Avenue in Downtown Fountain Hills
February 4th - 7th - Great Fair Sr. Softball Tournament at Golden Eagle Park
Saturday, February 6th from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Fountain Hills Coin & Car Show at Fountain Hills
Presbyterian Church
Saturday, February 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. - Public Safety Appreciation Day at Fountain Park
Mayor Schlum encouraged citizen participation at the various Fountain Hills High School sports events
(Basketball, Soccer and Wrestling) and noted that High School State Tournaments were underway. He urged
everyone to check the schedules for the games by going to www.AiAonLine.org.
(ii) The Mayor will read a proclamation declaring February 13, 2010 as "Public Safety Appreciation Day"
in the Town of Fountain Hills.
Mayor Schlum read a proclamation into the record declaring February 13, 2010 "Public Safety Appreciation
Day" in the Town of Fountain Hills and encouraged all citizens to recognize and honor the Town's firefighters
and police officers for their efforts to keep everyone safe.
*CALL TO THE PUBLIC
None.
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*CONSENT AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #1 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES FROM JANUARY 12 AND 21, 2010.
AGENDA ITEM #2 – CONSIDERATION OF A FINAL REPLAT FOR A LOT JOIN AT 10251 N.
NICKLAUS DRIVE, AKA PLAT 401-B, BLOCK 3, LOT 8. (APN'S 176-10-031 AND 176-10-073A).
CASE #S2010-02.
AGENDA ITEM #3 – CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL EVENT APPLICATION FOR THE GREAT
FAIR SPONSORED BY THE FOUNTAIN HILLS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO BE HELD
FEBRUARY 26, 2010 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2010, WHICH WILL REQUIRE CLOSURE OF
PARTS OF AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS, PARKVIEW AVENUE, VERDE RIVER DRIVE AND
SAGUARO BOULEVARD.
AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION
SUBMITED BY TAIT DANIEL ELKIE (VETERANS OF FOREIGN WAR POST 7507) FOR THE
PURPOSE OF A FUNDRAISING EVENT (GREAT FAIR), LOCATED AT SAGUARO BOULEVARD
AND AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS, FOUNTAIN HILS, AZ, SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON
FEBRUARY 26TH AND 27TH, 2010 FROM 9:00 A.M. TO 10:00 P.M. AND FEBRUARY 28, 2010
FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 10:00 P.M.
Councilmember Archambault MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda and Councilmember Dickey
SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Councilmember Dickey Aye
Mayor Schlum Aye
Councilmember Leger Aye
Vice Mayor Hansen Aye
Councilmember Contino Aye
Councilmember Brown Aye
Councilmember Archambault Aye
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
REGULAR AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #5 – CONSIDERATION OF AN EXPENDITURE IN THE AMOUNT OF $30,269.00
(PLUS TAX) TO PRECISION ELECTRIC COMPANY FOR THE REPAIR OF FOUNTAIN LAKE
PUMP #2.
Parks & Recreation Director Mark Mayer and Park Supervisor Don Clark addressed the Council relative to this
agenda item and noted that Steve Belt with Precision Electric and Ken Fairchild, an Electrical Engineer with
Olsson Associates, were also present to respond to any questions the Council might have. He advised that
several weeks ago staff noticed that there was a diminished capacity in the output of water from Pump #2 at the
Fountain and, subsequently, a noise began to occur in the motor. A vendor came out on Tuesday, December
29th, and determined that the motor and pump would have to be taken to their shop to further troubleshoot the
motor noise and low-water output of the pump. The equipment was pulled on December 30th to determine the
problem and the total cost of the repair. The vendor provided a quote on January 6th for the total repair work at
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a cost of $30,269.00 plus tax. The proposed repairs would include the following work: (1) Pull and reset pump
and motor; (2) Recondition 600 H.P. turbine pump; (3) Recondition 600 H.P. 2300 volt motor and (4) Sandblast
and repaint entire pump. The warranty on the reconditioned pump would be one year and the warranty on the
motor, which would receive minimal work, would be ninety days.
Mr. Mayer further advised that staff also investigated potentially replacing the pump motor with a new high-
efficiency motor. However, based on the computations of the Town's Electrical Engineer consultant, Ken
Fairchild, the payback for the new motor and pump at $101,604.00 plus tax would be between eighteen and
twenty years. He added that both Precision Electric and Mr. Fairchild have advised that the problem
experienced was mechanical and not electrical. The work and testing of the motor was being recommended as
preventative maintenance and not as a repair with estimates of the run time for the equipment after the repairs
considered to be up to another thirty years.
Mr. Mayer stated that the Fountain was currently running on the two remaining pumps and said that staff
recommended having the repair done as soon as possible in order to continue normal Fountain motor/pump
rotation when all three pumps were available and have an additional pump for operation, if needed. The rotation
allowed downtime for each motor/pump and reduced mechanical wear. The vendor anticipated a week to
complete the repairs and reinstall the motor. Mr. Mayer noted that under the Town Code's Purchasing Policy,
expenditures without bidding on amounts over $20,000 were permitted for Professional/Technical services
under Section 3-3-10. Funds for the repair would come from the Fountain Park equipment maintenance budget.
He noted that this expense was not budgeted and might result in a budget overage.
Mr. Mayer advised that staff recommended approval of the expenditure in the amount of $30,269.00 plus tax to
Precision Electric Company for the repair of Pump #2 and indicated his willingness to respond to any questions
from the Council.
Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that there were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item.
Councilmember Contino said that when they pulled out the one pump, did they have a discussion on pulling the
other two as well to inspect the shafts.
Mr. Mayer explained that the Town did not have the funds for them right now. He added that they could
certainly pull them, and he thought the cost to do so would be a couple thousand dollars, but staff felt that the
likelihood of another pump rupturing within the next several months, after forty years in existence, was
minimal. He said that staff had put in a request to do that next year and if the dollars were available then, the
pumps could be pulled as early as July.
In response to questions from Councilmember Contino, Mr. Mayer reported that the other pumps/motor were
operating as efficiently as the newer ones and reiterated that it would be an 18 to 20-year payback should they
purchase the new equipment. Mr. Mayer discussed rotations and said that staff monitored the run times on the
Fountain to ensure that they were not running the motors/pumps a disproportionate amount of time on any of the
equipment. He noted that based on the analysis that Mr. Fairchild conducted a couple of years ago for the
Town, they had not experienced any issues with power surges. He added that the soft start technology was
another part of the equation and explained that because they did not load both pumps at the same time (they start
one and then the other one starts) there was not a whole lot of benefit as far as staff could see with the soft start
technology.
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Councilmember Contino asked whether the new motor would be more efficient when they first turn the pump on
and Mr. Mayer replied that he was not sure that that had been analyzed. The consultant advised that there would
not be any difference.
Councilmember Dickey questioned whether the proposed warranties were typical and Mr. Mayer replied that
they were and obviously they would obtain a longer warranty if they were purchasing new equipment, but that
would be a lot more expensive. He added that based on his conversation with Mr. Belt, with the repairs the
Town could get another 10 to 15 years worth of operation out of the equipment.
Councilmember Archambault said he was pleased that staff intended to put money in the budget for next year to
at least inspect the other pumps and stressed the importance of knowing what the Town's infrastructure was
looking like and how it was aging so that money for repairs could be budgeted. Councilmember Archambault
asked if they would also be looking at the bearings on the motor and was advised that the bearings were being
replaced as part of the proposed repair work.
Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Mayer for his presentation and diligence in this important area.
Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve the expenditure in the amount of $30,269.00 plus tax to Precision
Electric Company for the repair of the Fountain Pump #2 and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the
motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #6 - PRESENTATION BY AUDRA KOESTER-THOMAS, CHAIR OF THE
STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION, AND DISCUSSION OF THE STRATEGIC
PLAN UPDATE WORKING PAPER #2: VISIONING REPORT.
Audra Koester Thomas, Chair of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (SPAC) addressed the Council
relative to this agenda item, introduced Rick Schultz, a Charter member of the SPAC, and thanked Shaunna
Williams, staff liaison to the SPAC, for her continuing efforts and attendance at the meeting. She also expressed
appreciation to Town Manager Rick Davis and his staff for their efforts and support.
Ms. Koester-Thomas highlighted a presentation on the Strategic Planning Update process (a complete copy of
the presentation was available in the office of the Town Clerk) and indicated her intention to specifically review
the Phase 2 process - a review of the Vision & Values, and the next steps for the planning process.
Ms. Koester-Thomas advised that the Strategic Planning Update process was devised as a four-phased program.
Phase 1 was an opportunity to do an audit on the current and original Strategic Plan for the Town and noted the
audit's various components. She said that they took the original values identified in the original Strategic Plan
and initially saw strong support for a couple of them, including preserving Fountain Hills’ small town character,
community participation, involvement and volunteerism, the environment and public safety. She stated that
there were other issues that they did not hear a lot about in Phase 1: cultural diversity, recreational opportunities
and education. At the end of Phase I, SPAC had also identified a number of other emerging values, including
economic vitality, health and welfare and environmental sustainability. She emphasized that Phase II was really
a visioning task and the product was the values and strategic vision.
Ms. Koester Thomas discussed the extensive outreach activities that occurred; an on-line feedback session;
questions that were asked during the process to obtain maximum feedback; issue forums; youth visioning,
including a planning day at Fountain Hills High School and working with the Boys & Girls Club to obtain input
from the Town's youngest residents; the group's meetings with existing organizations and groups; the Planning
Team, composed of a group of citizens who came together and allowed the SPAC to "bounce their ideas" off
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them at different important mile points; continuing meetings with Executive Staff and a presentation at the
Council's fall Retreat and in January at the Council's Goal Setting Retreat; meetings held with all of the Town's
commissions; the fact that the SPAC easily met with over 300 people during Phase II, which brings the total to
over 1,000 to date; the fact that the newspapers' coverage of this topic greatly enhanced education and
participation in the process; the extensive question/answer process that took place and the valuable information
that resulted as far as the Town today and 20 or 30 years out; SPAC's Visioning Retreat; the participation of
ASU planning students who helped facilitate table discussions and served as recorders for the event and the
great ideas that were received from the youths in Town.
Ms. Koester-Thomas stated that the eight values that the SPAC had identified include: Civility, Civic
Responsibility, Environmental Stewardship, Economic Vitality, Education, Learning & Culture, Maintain and
Improve Infrastructure, Public Safety/Health & Welfare and Recreational Opportunities and Amenities. Ms.
Koester-Thomas provided a brief overview of each of the eight values listed above and efforts to develop a
Vision Statement: "Fountain Hills is a distinctive community designed to invigorate the body, mind and spirit
and strives to be stewards of this unique enclave dedicated to preserving the visual aesthetics and experience
and to living in balance with the Sonoran Desert. We strive to champion the diversity of experiences our
residents bring to our community and rely on this depth of experience to innovatively address our challenges.
We strive to be economically sustainable and we anchor our vitality in an active, vibrant Town core that serves
its Town culturally, socially and economically. And we strive to be civic minded and friendly, taking
responsibility for our Town's success by building partnerships and investing our talent and our resources."
Ms. Koester Thomas informed the Council that the next step would be Phase III (Draft Strategic Plan
Development) and said that the goal was to construct a draft Strategic Plan, receive additional public feedback
on the document and hold a joint Council/SPAC meeting in March 2010. She noted that Phase IV would be the
actual adoption process.
Ms. Koester Thomas thanked the Council for the opportunity to address them this evening and indicated her
willingness to respond to any questions.
Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Koester Thomas and the other members of the SPAC for their tremendous efforts to
date and also thanked staff for their hard work regarding this important endeavor.
Ms. Bender advised that there were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item.
Councilmember Dickey MOVED to receive and file the Strategic Plan Working Paper #2: Visioning Report and
Councilmember Contino SECONDED the motion.
Councilmember Archambault stated that he wished to publicly thank Ms. Koester Thomas for all of the hard
work that she and the Committee put into this project and said that the report was so easy to read, concise and
provided the vision that they had been seeking for quite a while. He added that the document puts into words
what everyone wanted and the citizens of the Town, when they read it, would be able to "wrap their hands
around it" much as they had the Downtown Vision Plan. He stated that he did not think that the Council could
express enough appreciation for what SPAC had accomplished. He commented on the fact that the Town has
the luxury of professionals such as the members of the SPAC who were willing to give so much of their time
and expertise to enhance the community.
Councilmember Dickey commented that the Morrison Institute had recently come out with a paper about civic
responsibility and the importance of keeping that "on our radar screen." She said she wondered whether Ms.
Koester Thomas had seen it and, if so, had any comments.
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Ms. Koester Thomas advised that she was aware of the fact that the Institute had been working on that project
but she has not had the opportunity to see the final product yet. She noted that the value of civility was truly
unique to the Fountain Hill's community, coupled with the sense of responsibility and volunteerism that also
existed in Town.
Councilmember Dickey reported that the Institute defined civic responsibility as voting. She indicated people
typically tend to think of it in terms of volunteering (what people give to the Town).
Councilmember Contino thanked Ms. Koester Thomas for all her work as well as the other members of the
SPAC. He stated that the one thing that impressed him the most this time around was the idea that the people in
general all worked together to have a good time rather than just because they felt they had to do something. He
commended the group for bringing that point out this year.
Vice Mayor Hansen thanked Ms. Koester Thomas and the group for the extra effort they put forth to include all
of the individual comments. She said that it was like being able to hear from individual citizens. She added that
she particularly enjoyed the views expressed by the Town's youth.
Mayor Schlum noted that the report was very extensive and lengthy and was available on line for anyone who
wished to review the entire document. He reiterated his appreciation to Ms. Koester Thomas and the members
of the SPAC for all of their efforts and the Fountain Hills Times for their coverage provided. He stated that he
looked forward to the final output.
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #7 – CONSIDERATION OF A TEMPORARY USE PERMIT FOR A "FARMERS'
MARKET," REPEATING OUTDOOR RETAIL SALES EVENTS FOR 2010. CASE #TU2010-01.
Planner Gene Slechta addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that the request was to
consider a Temporary Use Permit for a Farmer's Market, repeating outdoor retail sales events for 2010. He
noted that the applicant, Monique Lightner, was representing the vendors and was requesting approval for
repeating Farmer's Markets in 2010. He noted that the events would be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. every
Thursday from February 11, 2010 through April 29, 2010. The exceptions would be the week of The Great Fair
and the Annual Wine & Cheese Fair. He pointed out that Section 5.16.B.4 of the Fountain Hills Zoning
Ordinance regulated Temporary Use Permits for outdoor sales allows for such repeating events and added that
the request complied with all aspects of the regulations.
Mr. Slechta advised that the events had been planned to occur in conjunction with the weekly Art on the Avenue
events and the coordinators for both of the events were working closely together for synergy. He stated that this
was part of the vision that Judy Yates had brought to the Council months ago. He added that the request had
been posted and the notices had been mailed and no inquiries or objections had been received. He referred to a
map depicting the exact location of the events and said that the initial focus area for the vendors would be in the
median adjacent to Verde River Drive to the west and he pointed out that the Art on the Avenue event was to the
east and closer to Saguaro. He stated that if the two events prove to be successful, their coverage would expand
on the median.
Mr. Slechta said that staff recommended approval of the Temporary Use Permit for the Farmer's Market
repeating outdoor retail sales events for 2010 subject to the stipulations outlined in the staff report. Mayor
Schlum thanked Mr. Slechta for his presentation. Ms. Bender advised that there were no citizens wishing to
speak on this agenda item.
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Vice Mayor Hansen MOVED to approve the Temporary Use Permit for a Farmer's Market, repeating outdoor
retail sales events for 2010 as recommended by staff and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the
motion.
Councilmember Contino advised that he noticed on the vicinity map that there were two sites east and west of
Verde River Drive and asked if they moved it way up on the west end of Verde River Drive whether that would
distract from the rest of it (the Art on the Avenue event). He asked if it was going to be too far away from all
the action, because 99% of it was east of Verde River Drive.
Mr. Slechta replied that this proposal was pretty much a pilot program and they were hoping that this would
expand. He added that the Art on the Avenue was pretty much focused towards the eastern part of the median
but said that it could expand to the west and so could the Farmer's Market depending on how that goes (could
expand east or west as well).
Mr. Slechta referred to the site diagram once again and pointed out the exact location of the Farmer's Market
event (basically across from Chase Bank).
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #8 – CONSIDERATION OF A PROPOSED PRELIMINARY MASTER PLAT FOR
"FOUNTAIN HILLS ASLD," LOCATED ALL, OR IN PART, IN MARICOPA COUNTY TOWNSHIP
3 NORTH, RANGE 6 EAST, SECTIONS 1, 2 AND 3. CASE #S2009-07.
Senior Planner Bob Rodgers addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and highlighted a brief
PowerPoint presentation (copy on file in the Town Clerk’s office). He stated that the proposal was for a 22
parcel, 50 tract master planned community on approximately two square miles of land with a maximum final
residential density of 1,350 single family dwelling units. Mr. Rodgers noted that the property was located on the
northeast corner of the Town, which borders the McDowell Mountain Park on the north and Fort McDowell
Yavapai Community on the east. He added that the property was also the subject of three previous approvals,
which would help govern certain aspects of the development. Resolution 08-12 established the zoning districts
on the property, 08-24 established the General Plan's land use designations, and 08-25 updated the Pre-
Annexation Development Agreement.
Mr. Rodgers reiterated that the proposal was for a preliminary master plat, which was provided for in State
statutes and showed the creation of large parcels that would be the subject of future development within the
context of a much larger development proposal (in this case a master planned residential community). He added
that a preliminary master plat was a conceptual level above the more familiar plat; it did not authorize any
physical activity and was not recorded. A master plat's purpose was to provide a baseline reference that
officially outlined the development's parcels, the non-developable parcels, major arterial roadway relocations
and how they related to the General Plan, the zoning, the cut/fill waivers and the Development Agreement. He
noted that it also provided the base for the developer and the Town to move the project forward to the next step,
which would be roadway improvement plans, grading plans, parcel platting and ultimately building
construction.
Mr. Rodgers referred to a map that outlined the various proposed parcels and said that there would also be 50
open space tracts (permanent open space). He advised that the property would be accessible from eight
locations and stated that the current location of McDowell Mountain Road would be relocated and become
Fountain Hills Boulevard. Once the new road was constructed and accepted by the Town, the old road would be
abandoned. He said that preliminary master plat approval was administrative in nature and was the first step in
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the design process for developing this property. He added that due to the size of this project, the Town had
encouraged the applicant to submit this preliminary master plat and said that it was actually an extra step in the
normal platting process and allowed for additional up front scrutiny. He stated that the master plat defined the
parcel’s boundaries, which had been designed to coincide with the previously adopted zoning district boundaries
and general land use boundaries and it would not be recorded. He emphasized that approval at this stage was
not approval to build - this was only step one and no dirt would be moved until roadway improvement plans or
park grading plans were approved and no residential parcels would be subdivided until they received approval of
their own individual, preliminary and final plats.
Mr. Rodgers informed the Council that both the Water Company and the Sanitary District had noted that they
did not yet have agreements in place for service to this development. In addition to stipulating compliance with
the existing agreements and regulations, staff had required that notes be placed on the relevant plan sheets
requiring master water and master wastewater plans prior to any preliminary plat approvals. He also reported
that stipulations had been included in the staff recommendations to require that the utility agreements be in place
prior to any final plat approvals.
Mr. Rodgers stated that the Planning & Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval at their January 14th
meeting and said that staff recommended that the Council approve the preliminary master plat as presented
subject to the stipulations contained in the staff report. Mr. Rodgers indicated his willingness to respond to
questions from the Council.
Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Rodgers for his presentation. Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that one citizen
wished to address the Council relative to this agenda item.
Glenn Panaro, Chairman of the Fountain Hills Sanitary District, addressed the Council and thanked them for
allowing him the opportunity to speak on this item. He advised that the District had forwarded a letter to the
Mayor and Council on February 2nd and requested that it be included as part of the public record (copy on file
in the Town Clerk’s office).
Mr. Panaro said that he wanted to make it clear that the District in no way wanted to be an obstacle or delay the
process for this project. He noted that they were simply performing their statutory duties and added that the
District had not yet formally agreed to provide sewer service to the Ellman property and pointed out that the
property was not located within the District's boundaries. He advised that the District's approval would occur
after execution of a pre-annexation agreement and if the Town was prepared to move forward with the approval
of the preliminary master plat application, they respectfully requested that the Council's approval be conditioned
on the property being annexed into the Fountain Hills Sanitary District. He said that otherwise the District felt
that approval of the preliminary plat put the cart before the horse as it related to the approval of a wastewater
master plan for this project.
Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Panaro for his remarks.
Councilmember Dickey MOVED to approve the Preliminary Master Plat for Fountain Hills ASLD subject to
the stipulations outlined in the staff report and Councilmember Brown SECONDED the motion.
Councilmember Dickey asked whether there was a stipulation in the staff report that related to Mr. Panaro's
request or whether the Council would have to amend the stipulations to address his concerns.
Mr. Rodgers explained that the stipulations did not require execution of a pre-annexation agreement and said he
was not sure whether they could in fact actually stipulate that (a legal question).
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Councilmember Dickey referred to a statement in the documentation that reads, "The applicant shall secure
approval to provide domestic sewer service to this property prior to the final plat approval" and asked whether
that was the same thing.
In response to a request from the Mayor, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire advised that Stipulation #5 in the
staff report was related to domestic sewer service and it was the same stipulation contained in the plat notes and
in the previous agreements. He added that what they did not have any control over was annexation into the
Sanitary District, but said that was everybody's goal. He stated that the Town did not have the authority to
impose a stipulation that related to a different taxing entity. He said that he was not sure that was anything
different than what was already required and emphasized that they could not approve a final plat for any of the
lots until they had water and sewer provided to them. Even though the Town did not provide those services, it
was the same effect as though they were issuing "will serves" for them and the Council could not approve the
plats until they were authorized by the independent entities regardless of who they were.
Mayor Schlum stated that Stipulations #4 and #5 ensured that before final plat approval was given domestic
water and sewer would be made available. Mr. Rodgers concurred and reiterated that there were also notes on
the plans that require that the designs be done for the preliminary plat.
Vice Mayor Hansen pointed out that a number of the pages refer to "conceptual plans" and there was one for
water and one for sewer. She questioned if either the water company or the Sanitary District had seen the
conceptual plans. Mr. Rodgers advised that they had seen the plans.
Councilmember Leger asked whether the applicant was present. Ms. Wendy Riddell with the law firm of Barry
& Damore addressed the Council as the applicant’s representative.
Councilmember Leger stated that he understood that they were “at the 30,000 foot level” with this plan and
there was more work to be done particularly with the Sanitary District and Chaparral Water. He said that he had
received an inquiry from a citizen today regarding connectivity between the proposed development and the
McDowell Mountain Park. He added that he recognized that at this phase roads were not going in, etc. but said
that the citizen was concerned that the group had not interfaced with the McDowell Mountain Park folks and
asked for some input on this.
Ms. Riddell replied that very early on they did in fact interface with the people from the County Parks System
(at the time of the General Plan and Zoning). She agreed that was not part of the consideration this evening and
she explained that those types of considerations (recreational opportunities, connectivity, etc.) were all items
that would be considered at the appropriate time when the individual parcel lots came forward.
Councilmember Leger asked whether the Parks officials had given any indication that they were interested in
any type of joint ventures.
Ms. Riddell replied that at that time they indicated that they were not interested in any type of joint ventures due
to safety concerns as the southernmost part of that park was a high use bike facility (mountain bikes) and having
people walking up there -- they did not consider that to be a complimentary use.
Councilmember Leger noted that was an expressed interest of the citizens of Fountain Hills and asked if that
was something that would be pursued further. Ms. Riddell responded that it was certainly something that
conversation would take place about as they work on the individual parcel lots and plats.
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Councilmember Dickey advised that the same gentleman also had a question about Parcel 8 and said she was
just asking for confirmation that in general those things came later (not talking about that level of detail at this
time).
Ms. Riddell agreed and stated that they were not talking about individual lots on any of the parcels; they were
simply talking about being able to take the approved land uses from the General Plan and zoning and create a
baseline engineering document so they could work cooperatively with the Town in considering each of the
parcels on a parcel-by-parcel basis.
Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Riddell for her attendance at the meeting and also expressed appreciation to staff for
their hard work on this large, important project. He stated that they obviously wanted the project to move
forward. He added that this represented the preliminary master plat and no lots were included on it, just the
parcels themselves, and there had not been any zoning or land use changes.
Vice Mayor Hansen noted that Richwood was identified on the plans as a minor collector and asked if by
approving this were they "locked in" to the size that the streets were going to be (or will that be discussed
further at a later date?).
Mr. McGuire replied that the only thing that the plats do, when they get to a final plat, was establish the rights-
of-way. The actual engineering of the streets would occur at individual plat time. He stated the opinion that
there was going to be a fair amount of flexibility subject to the Town Engineer's discretion on what was a safe
roadway for the amount of traffic.
Vice Mayor Hansen said that the plan as it was approved contained a number of streets going through
neighborhoods and that she still had concerns regarding the size of the streets going into those neighborhoods,
cut-through traffic, etc.
Mr. McGuire stated that that discussion would occur after lots of analysis and consideration by the Town
Engineer to reduce the streets as much as possible. He added that there had been preliminary discussions about
the Boulder connection but said that in the end it was an engineering discussion. He said that safety standards
had been approved for the rest of the streets in Town and some of the older streets had a different standard and
whether or not that standard could be applied could not even be guessed at this point in time.
Councilmember Archambault said that the approval the Council was giving tonight did not define the roads; it
was simply defining the property lines for the specific zoning areas and providing for the plats.
Mr. Rodgers concurred with Councilmember Archambault's statement and added that tonight's approval was
approving the parcels and the general locations of the roads -- not defining them or laying out any right-of-ways,
etc.
Councilmember Contino asked whether they had some hiking trails at the park and noted that they had worked
with McDowell Mountain Park on trails that went all the way up into the park now.
Mr. Rodgers responded that there were some preliminary discussions about that and the Development
Agreement talked about working with them to create some connectivity. He explained that that would happen
when they began to look at the individual parcels and the roadway layouts, etc.
Mayor Schlum stated that there had also been a lot of discussion lately regarding the Town working as a partner
with the McDowell Mountain Regional Park in connecting with their preserve and there were also the efforts by
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the Sonoran Conservancy and the McDowell Mountain Preservation Committee to make that happen. The
Mayor confirmed that discussions were still open regarding this issue.
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #9 – COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER. ITEMS
LISTED BELOW ARE RELATED ONLY TO THE PROPRIETY OF (i) PLACING SUCH ITEMS ON
A FUTURE AGENDA FOR ACTION OR (ii) DIRECTING STAFF TO CONDUCT FURTHER
RESEARCH AND REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL:
A. NONE.
AGENDA ITEM #10 – SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS AND REPORT ON RECENT
ACTIVITIES BY THE TOWN MANAGER.
Town Manager Rick Davis advised that he had a brief opportunity to attend the Arizona City Manager's
Association conference and said that in his report to the Council this upcoming week he would recap some of
the valuable things learned at the conference, particularly a clearer understanding of where they were going
economically in the State as a community. He advised that the economy was described in this manner: "We
used to be drowning in 30-feet of water but now we were drowning in 20-feet of water." He stated that things
were coming back and he was optimistic about that. He noted that the presenter was an economist and he
wagered with people that within three or four years we would be back to where we were before the great
recession and even said that if we were not and we gave him our business cards, he would pay us each $20.00.
Mr. Davis informed the Council that Mr. McGuire had attended the conference with him and they listened to the
Secretary of State who had provided very valuable information.
Mr. Davis said that he also had his first experience with Home Delivered Meals, as he had been out there
delivering them, and stated that he had watched the entire process from beginning to end. He stated that this
was a very valuable experience for him and helped him gain a better understanding functionally of how that
program benefited the Town's citizens.
Mr. Davis advised that staff was already working on the eight goals/focus areas contained in the Strategic Plan
and said that the Council would have in their packets eight proposed goals and some initiatives that they would
be able to work on next Thursday (a week from today). He stated that staff hoped to "wrap up that process" and
get to work on it. He added that the department heads were also in possession of the initiatives and were
beginning to formulate their budgets. He emphasized that staff was focused on obtaining the "biggest bang for
the buck" in this coming year.
Mr. Davis indicated his willingness to respond to questions from the Council.
Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Davis for the update and commented on the huge rainfall that the Town had
experienced and the potholes located throughout the Town. He emphasized the importance of continuing to
maintain their infrastructure. He noted that Saguaro has had problems that they had talked about and
commended staff for all of their hard work to keep the streets as safe as possible for the citizens of Fountain
Hills. He said that staff had addressed the situation to the best of their ability and their preparations prior to the
rain helped immensely. He thanked the Fire and Police Departments for doing an excellent job.
The Mayor reminded everyone that next Saturday was Public Safety Appreciation Day at Fountain Park.
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AGENDA ITEM #11 – ADJOURNMENT.
Councilmember Contino MOVED that the Council adjourn the meeting and Councilmember Archambault
SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). The meeting adjourned at 7:45 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 Regular Session held
by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 4th day of February, 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