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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010.1005.TCRM.Minutesz:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 1 of 19 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL May 20, 2010 *CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Schlum called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. *INVOCATION – Pastor Steve Bergeson, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church *ROLL CALL Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Councilmember Dickey, Mayor Schlum, Councilmember Leger, Councilmember Brown, Councilmember Contino, and Councilmember Archambault. Town Manager Rick Davis, Deputy Town Manager Julie Ghetti, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. (Vice Mayor Hansen joined the meeting at 6:34 p.m.) Mayor Schlum announced that Councilmembers Leger and Brown would be celebrating their birthdays on May 24th and June 2nd respectively and wished them both a very happy birthday. *MAYOR'S REPORT (i) The Mayor will review upcoming community events. Mayor Schlum stated that there were numerous community events coming up and urged the citizens to check the various websites for information and attend the various events. (ii) The Mayor will read a proclamation commending the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7507 for their Annual Memorial Day "Buddy Poppy" fundraiser held on May 28 and 29, 2010 for the benefit of Veterans' relief. Mayor Schlum read a proclamation into the record and stated that America is the land of freedom, preserved and protected willingly and freely by citizen soldiers. He said that the Red Poppy has been designated as a symbol of sacrifices of lives in all wars and commended the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7507 for conducting their Annual Memorial Day "Buddy Poppy" fundraiser on May 28 and 29, 2010, for the benefit of Veterans' Relief. *SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS (i) Recognition of Councilmember Mike Archambault for his service to the Town of Fountain Hills. Mayor Schlum stated that at this time he, on behalf of the Council and citizens of Fountain Hills, would like to take this opportunity to recognize Councilmember Archambault for his years of service as a member of the Town Council. Mayor Schlum noted that Councilmember Archambault has served for eight years on the Council and said that everyone had learned so much from him. He said that Councilmember Archambault had been a great mentor for him and had provided the Mayor with a great deal of support. He commented on Councilmember Archambault's history of generosity and service as well as his compassion and caring for the entire community. Mayor Schlum presented Councilmember Archambault with the ceremonial fountain pin and stated that Councilmember Archambault had touched so many lives and had done so much good for the Town of Fountain Hills. He added that Councilmember Archambault challenged each member of the Council by always being so prepared to address issues and said that he took the time to make sure that he was totally prepared to participate in every meeting that took place. The Mayor thanked him for his excellent work and outstanding service to the entire community. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 2 of 19 Councilmember Dickey said it had been an extreme pleasure to know and work with Councilmember Archambault and noted that she had known him since the early 80's. She commented on his continued unselfish service to the community and stated that he had built a strong family base and business ties as well as loyal, dependable friendships. She advised that former Councilmember Nicola, who they lost five years ago yesterday, grew to rely on Councilmember Archambault the same way she had depended upon him -- as a thorough, thoughtful and very trustworthy colleague. She said that Councilmember Nicola was like Councilmember Archambault in that her motivations were always driven by the community benefit and she served with unbelievable generosity. She stated that she would miss him, remain his friend, and expect his advice. She added that she also expected that Councilmember Archambault would continue to provide his excellent advice and joined with the Mayor and Council in thanking him for his leadership. Councilmember Leger advised that he had served on the Council for four years and it had provided him an opportunity to work with Councilmember Archambault and get to know him better. He said that he echoed the sentiments of Councilmember Dickey and Mayor Schlum and commended him for all of the years he had dedicated to the Town. He stated that Councilmember Archambault was passionate about the Town and had demonstrated that throughout his service to the community. He added that it had been his pleasure to serve with Councilmember Archambault and said that he had a feeling that Councilmember Archambault would continue to be active in the Town. Councilmember Contino thanked Councilmember Archambault for his eight years of service and said that the "Dennis Contino Kool-Aid" was selling well and he would have liked to give Councilmember Archambault a bottle but they sold out today, but when he saw the sign that said "Dennis Contino Kool-Aid" he should stop by and Councilmember Contino would sell him a bottle. He reported that the flavor of the day was raspberry and said that he thought Councilmember Archambault would like raspberries. Councilmember Brown stated that it had been a real pleasure to serve one year with Councilmember Archambault and said that he was a strong, sound Councilmember and that the leadership that he had shown to him was greatly appreciated and he thanked him for that. Vice Mayor Hansen said that she would have done a version of "Thanks for the Memories" for this occasion but did not know that they were going to do this. She expressed her "thanks for the memories." Mayor Schlum stated that Councilmember Archambault had left his mark all over Town and he knew that he was not going anywhere. He added that for the $400 a month he had been paid over the last eight years the Town had certainly gotten their money's worth. He reiterated his appreciation for Councilmember Archambault's service to the Town and noted that he had one more meeting to get through tonight. *CALL TO THE PUBLIC Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that one speaker wished to address the Council. Mr. Bruce Florence, 14629 N. Winston Lane, addressed the Council and said that this year's budget process had caused him some worry, first because two scheduled budget study sessions were never held this spring and they would have been open to the public. He stated that the opportunity for public scrutiny and input was drastically reduced and added that they should never be put in a position where they were rushed. He said that why this happened was equally as important to him as why it was not challenged. He further stated that as a resident he was disappointed to read in yesterday's Times that a Councilmember had asked a staff member whether there was room for discussion. He emphasized that there was always room for discussion by Council in an open budget process and a Councilmember should never have to feel the need to ask such a question. He advised that he was disappointed to read that in answer to a question, a member of staff told a Councilmember that a budget decision had already been made on certain items. He said that that response was unacceptable -- the budget was not final and in an open budget process the staff member would never give such an answer. He noted that there was still room for discussion on any and all items in the budget. He pointed out that the budget was going to have a major impact on everyone's lives and they all must now do some micro-managing. He added that they must read and scrutinize the budget themselves, especially when they were learning that services were being z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 3 of 19 reduced or eliminated. He said that the Budget Committee had dealt with numbers and must factor in priorities that arose and when Council gave direction in budget matters. He stated that they stood ready to work with the Council on the budget as it was being developed and they could only do that if each of them played an active role. He stressed that by Town Code and State Statute, final approval was the Council's responsibility and they must know what they were approving and they should expect the budget to reflect the values of their constituents. Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Florence for his comments. *CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM MAY 6, 2010. AGENDA ITEM #2 – CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2010-08, APPROVING AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT (IGA) WITH MARICOPA COUNTY ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL RELATING TO ANIMAL SHELTER SERVICES, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $35,000 FOR THE FISCAL PERIOD JULY 1, 2010 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2013. AGENDA ITEM #3 – CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2010-20, APPROVING AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT (IGA) WITH MARICOPA COUNTY ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL RELATING TO ANIMAL CONTROL SERVICES, IN THE AMOUNT OF $19,463.85 FOR THE FISCAL PERIOD JULY 1, 2010 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2013. AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING RESOLUTION 2010-14, ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN THE CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENT LOCATED AT THE SOUTHWESTERLY PROPERTY LINE OF PLAT 602C, BLOCK 3, LOT 1 (15759 E. ECHO HILL DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 166 OF MAPS, PAGE 33, RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, EA10-03 (MOORE). Councilmember Archambault MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as listed and Councilmember Brown 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 – PRESENTATION BY AUDRA KOESTER-THOMAS, CHAIR OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ADOPTION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS STRATEGIC PLAN 2010. Audra Koester-Thomas, Chair of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (SPAC), addressed the Council relative to this agenda item. She noted that Charter member Rick Schultz was also present this evening and noted that other members were unable to attend. She discussed her intention to review the plan and process this evening, provide a quick introduction to the Plan itself and highlight the vision and values, or the fundamental foundation of that product, and review some highlights of the Plan itself. She noted that this was a four-phased program and they started with an audit of z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 4 of 19 the original Strategic Plan and identified what had and had not been implemented and that they had identified some of their goals and how they wanted to tackle the process. She added that they also discussed what they wanted the product to look like. She recalled that they started the process off by interviewing each one of the Councilmembers to get their feedback and they then conducted an education and expectation aspect that went through the summer and fall and they went out to the residents, the stakeholders, and asked them what they wanted for the future of their community. She advised that Phases I and II had significant public involvement and that was what drove the process. During Phases III and IV, the Commission sat down and actually constructed the Plan (starting in January) and in a couple of short months were able to present this product to the Council. She noted that tonight represented the conclusion of that process. Ms. Koester-Thomas noted that the Plan itself was built on the contributions of the citizens and stakeholders. She reported that over 80 meetings took place, they engaged and received feedback from well over 2,000 individuals and communicated to over 20,000 residents. They provided citizens a variety of input and engagement techniques and went to where the people were. The project came in at 97% under budget – for a total of $568.01, estimated the total volunteer hours at 1,500 and noted that the project was really more than that. She referred to a PowerPoint presentation that showed various events associated with the project (a copy of the presentation available in the office of the Town Clerk). Discussion ensued relative to how the Plan would be used, how the Plan was formatted and why this was important, guiding principles to fulfill the vision, key performance questions (measures progress and accomplishments), the "idea box," the foundation for the Plan's success (financial sustainability) and the fact that without resolution the citizen-defined vision would not be fulfilled and values will be compromised, the basis of the Plan, and various highlights of the Strategic Plan 2010. Ms. Koester-Thomas expressed appreciation to the residents, stakeholders, staff, Town Commissions, various organizations and agencies, the Town Council, the Planning Team and the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission for their efforts and hard work throughout the process. She said that everyone was excited about the product and they looked forward to the Council's adoption of this Plan. Ms. Koester-Thomas indicated her willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Koester-Thomas for her presentation and for the hard work she and everyone else involved put into creating this important document. Councilmember Leger MOVED to adopt the Fountain Hills Strategic Plan 2010 and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. Councilmember Archambault commented that the Council had met with SPAC in a joint meeting before but he did not believe the public had an opportunity to hear the back and forth dialogue that took place. He stressed the importance of letting the public know how efficient staff and the volunteers were and the contributions they made to this Town. He noted that they recently held a Volunteer Appreciation Day and approximately 200 people had showed up. He said that this demonstrated the pride that everyone took in the Town. He stated that the Council could not express enough appreciation for the effort that the SPAC put forward. He added that he had no idea before this evening that the SPAC had not spent the budgeted $20,000 and said the Commission and staff, especially Shaunna Williams who was always volunteering to do something else, should be applauded. He said that sometimes he saw Shaunna and she looked "frayed" and all of them did so much more than what was expected. He added that he could not express just how much appreciation the Council had for the format that they set up, how easy the document was to read, and said that he believed the public could get "their arms wrapped around it" because it was very user/reader friendly. He expressed his deep appreciation to everyone for their outstanding work. Vice Mayor Hansen led the Council, staff and audience in a round of applause for those who helped to develop the Strategic Plan 2010 for the Town of Fountain Hills. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 5 of 19 The Mayor reiterated his appreciation to everyone involved. Councilmember Dickey said that the origin of Strategic Planning, which was really not that common everywhere else, was the handiwork of former Mayor Wally Nichols and the former Councilmembers who got "the ball rolling" with far- reaching ideas to try to look ahead and take a pulse on what the people wanted. She stated that the end product was absolutely thorough and professional and was greatly appreciated. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #6 - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2010-11, ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN THE CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED AT THE NORTHEASTERLY AND EASTERLY PROPERTY LINES OF PLAT 506B, BLOCK 1, LOT 59 (16607 N. PARADOX DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 159 OF MAPS, PAGE 03, RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, EA10-02 (SCHADER). Mayor Schlum advised that Agenda Items 6, 7 and 8 would all be discussed at the same time. Town Engineer Randy Harrel addressed the Council relative to these three agenda items and stated that the items all related to easement transactions at the lot referenced above. He noted that the owner of the lot needed to legally gain the right to utilize his existing access route to this existing artist's workshop at the rear of his lot. He added that the Public Works Department had reviewed the site and recommended approval of the three Agenda Items subject to the stipulations contained in the Staff Report (subject to all five stipulations). He referred to a map displayed in the Chambers and highlighted each of the items. Mr. Harrell indicated his willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Councilmember Dickey MOVED to approve Resolution 2010-11, the abandonment of the public utility and drainage easements at Plat506B, Block 1, Lot 59, with stipulations and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0) AGENDA ITEM #7 –CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2010-10, REGARDING GRANTING AN ACCESS EASEMENT TO BRIAN SCHADER (PLAT 506B, BLOCK 1, LOT 59), THROUGH A PORTION OF TOWN- OWNED OPEN SPACE PROPERTY (PLAT 506B, PARCEL A), TO ACCESS HIS ARTIST WORKSHOP AREA AT THE REAR OF HIS LOT, WITH STIPULATIONS (EAA19-01). (For discussion, see Agenda Item #6 above.) Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve Resolution 2010-10 and Vice Mayor Hansen SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #8 – CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2010-09, REGARDING ACCEPTING THE GRANT OF AN ACCESS EASEMENT AND PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENT FROM BRIAN SCHADER, ON LOT 59 AND THE PARADOX WASH PARCEL (ORIGINALLY A PART OF PLAT 506B, PARCEL A) (EEA09- 04). (For discussion, see Agenda Item #6 above.) Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve Resolution 2010-09 and Councilmember Brown SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 6 of 19 The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #9 - DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS PROPOSED FY2010-11 BUDGET. Accounting Supervisor Mary Martin addressed the Council relative to this agenda item. She noted that prior to this evening, two public open houses had taken place to obtain input from the citizens and last week, on May 11th, a Council Work Study Session was held. She explained that the item was before the Council this evening to again solicit comments from the citizens and provide the Council an opportunity to pose questions to staff as well as provide direction on how to proceed with the budget. Ms. Martin indicated staff's willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Martin for her comments. Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that two citizens wished to address the Council relative to this agenda item. Jim Judge, current Chair of the Senior Services Advisory Commission (SSAC) addressed the Council and advised that there was a major disagreement between the Budget Committee's current budget for next Fiscal Year, the cost of the Home Delivered Meals (HDM) program, and the 1,052 members of the Seniors and Boomers Center. He noted that they tried to resolve their differences before coming to the Council but it had not been accomplished. He added, however, that they respected the honest differences they had with the Budget Committee, recognized the tremendously difficult job they had and believed that questioning each other's logic was healthy and would only serve to make all of them stronger. He said that the Budget Committee was telling the Council that the Town was subsidizing the HDM program at a total cost of $9.36 a meal and probably would present charts and graphs showing that based on 10,800 meals served annually, the meal preparer's cost (a local nursing home in Town) was roughly $70,000. He stated that they agreed with that number. He reported that the Committee would state that delivery supplies, heat trays, etc., was $3270 and they said it was $3200 a year and that charge was paid for by the Area Agency on Aging and if they stopped paying for it, the SSAC would pick up that cost. He added that the Committee would state that salary, staff and benefits was $27,852 and they said it was $18,600 (part-time coordinator). The total program cost as proposed by the Budget Committee was $101,177 and they (SSAC) said that it is $13,400 -- there was obviously a big difference. Mr. Judge advised that the Commissioners were saying that the Town was not spending a dime for the meals and was gaining $5200 in additional revenue between the price they would charge at $7.00 per meal and the meal preparer's charge, which was $6.48. He noted that if the HDM coordinator's wages were included then the total Town subsidy was $1.72 cents per meal or $13,400 total. He said that the Budget Committee defined subsidy as any unit of the Town that did not break even financially. He stated that he admitted that the subsidy in this context was less concerting to him than what they had been hearing at Council meetings -- more of a social or giveaway program. He said that they felt that it was part of the Town's civic responsibility to do this. He reported that the Budget Committee had come up with $9.36 and they (SSAC) believed that there was no cost to the Town for the meals themselves -- the only cost to the Town was the difference between $18,600 that the coordinator earned and the roughly estimated $5,000 they brought in -- $13,400 (the true cost to the Town). Mr. Judge advised that 250 volunteers delivered the bags (both hot and cold bags) and stated that the expensive bags wear out very quickly. In closing, Mr. Judge said that the $13,400 subsidy that the Town provided for something as basic as food in adequate amounts and with reliable delivery for elderly and mostly infirmed 80-year old human beings living in Town was a small price to pay. He stressed the importance of taking care of these people. He expressed the opinion that it was really shameful that they were even before the Council this evening justifying this important program that costs a mere $13,400. Bill Whittaker, a member of the Senior Citizens Advisory Commission (SSAC) addressed the Council and concurred with the remarks presented by the previous speaker. He said that he did not pretend to understand all of the accounting that went into it and thanked members of staff for their attempts to explain it to him. He stated that what he did understand was that they were talking about Home Delivered Meals (HDMs) as though they were just boxes of paper clips or pencils z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 7 of 19 and emphasized that when it became time to make final decisions on this budget they could not treat HDMs as just another office supply. He urged them to vote with their hearts. Mayor Schlum thanked the previous speakers for their comments. Mayor Schlum noted that previously the Council had the understanding that HDMs was a program that paid for itself and now with the cost measures being analyzed they could better understand the expenses that went into that -- not that any expense would not be a valid one or acceptable, but there was a cost and that was why the question came up. He said that it was his understanding that the concern regarding this program was that those that were subsidized from other agencies or from the SSAC were not going to have any additional costs given the different scenarios they have looked at (the additional costs would go to self pays today and self pays tomorrow -- those were the costs that would be going up under the different plans that they had been considering). Ms. Martin concurred and explained that the lower two tiers of participants that were funded either through the area agency or the United Way grant paid nothing to participate in the program (pay nothing for the meals) -- the only participants who paid anything for meals were those who were self pay. Mayor Schlum stated that he was not saying that the self pays could afford to pay anything either, he understood that there were constraints there and that was the Commissioners' and the publics' concern as well. He said that hopefully this evening, although they were not going to make a decision, they would be able to better explain how they had arrived at the accounting and Ms. Martin assured the Mayor that she would do her best to try to explain that. Vice Mayor Hansen commented that this was the first year that they had used this subsidy and Mayor Schlum replied it was the first time they have understood the program's costs and looked at the revenues/expenses associated with each program. The Vice Mayor said that in this case the subsidy was to actually offset the cost of the salary involved and Mayor Schlum concurred and said also there was a slight increase in the meal cost. Ms. Martin noted that when they went through the process they did not actually identify what revenue went towards offsetting a particular expense -- they looked at the total cost of the program, the total revenues that were generated by the program and the difference between the two was what they were calling a subsidy. It was the amount that the Town would have to take out of the General Fund to pay for the remainder of the expenses of the program. Ms. Martin reported that they went from having a HDMs coordinator who worked half time to someone who was working three quarters of the time. Vice Mayor Hansen stated that they were looking at a subsidy to pay for staff costs and asked if they were doing this in other departments as well. She added that part of government's role was supplying services and said that she did not believe they always looked to have everything pay for itself. Mayor Schlum agreed with the Vice Mayor's comments and said that government took dollars from individuals and puts them where they felt the citizens obtained the most value. He added that it was really about understanding the pure cost of the program versus the understanding of what they were getting back from it. He reiterated that they were previously under the impression that this was a program that paid for itself and he just wanted to make sure that it was understood that that was not the case this year if they decided to keep it where it was at. He stressed the importance of being transparent and making sure everyone knew what they were paying for, what they were getting in return, and what the actual costs were. Councilmember Dickey stated that the HDM information stated that for $7.00 a meal, the worse bottom line, meaning that they did not get the United Way grant, was $40,905 and the bottom line for the $8.50 was $33,646 so what they were really talking about was about a $7,260 difference. She added that if people could see themselves saying okay to the $7.00 they were only talking about $7,200. She advised that she could see the hesitation as far as the word subsidy z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 8 of 19 because, for example, when they built a road they were never going to make money on it so there were services and things that Town's provided that cost money and some of them they had to decide whether or not to do them. She reiterated that they were only talking about $7,200 and questioned the use of the word "subsidy." Mayor Schlum said that after this meeting the SSAC would meet on Monday and talk some more and then everyone would have a better understanding of where they were at. He asked if the meals cost $12.00, would they be comfortable going forward with that expense? He noted that they were fortunate in that they got to leverage so many resources of volunteers. He commented that the Town had done a great job partnering with the SSAC and doing many wonderful things but there was an associated cost and they had a limited budget and that was the reason why the issue was on the table. He agreed that the service provided represented a great investment because of the many volunteers who put in thousands of hours every year in this program and that allowed the Town to leverage and provide a great service. Councilmember Leger said that earlier that he had heard that staff wanted direction and asked what type of direction they were looking for at this point in time to be able to put this issue behind them. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire said that if the staff was comfortable taking direction by acclamation on this item, then formal action was not required at this time but if there was a point where they had not heard from everyone necessary to make that determination, then a formal motion would probably be in order just to provide some direction to staff. He stated that he was not sure that was necessarily what was intended for this evening. Councilmember Leger advised that he would like to "put this issue to bed" and move on and added that as previously stated, he was willing to take the recommendations of the Commission (whether they called them costs or subsidies) and basically move with the recommendations of the Commission and if he was to make a motion, the motion would be $7.00 for the HDMs and $15 for membership and Vice Mayor Hansen said that she would second such a motion. Mayor Schlum stated that if they were to move in that direction it appeared that everyone would be in favor of that. Councilmember Leger thanked all of the Commissioners for all of the energy they had put into this matter and for their recommendations. He added that language could be tricky sometimes and he was glad that the Vice Mayor brought up the subject of subsidy because he too had not felt comfortable with that terminology. The Vice Mayor asked if the Town Attorney stated that they were adopting the tentative budget on the 17th instead of the 3rd and Mayor Schlum advised that they would be adopting the maximum budget at the first meeting in June. Deputy Town Manager Julie Ghetti explained that the Council would adopt the final budget on June 17th and the maximum expenditure budget on June 3rd, their next meeting. Mr. McGuire noted that the tax levy was not until August. Vice Mayor Hansen said that the Council just received the budget before them a week ago last Monday and she had eight pages of notes and asked if they could go section by section. She also asked if there would be a possibility of holding an additional Special Session on the Tuesday before the 3rd when they could do a little more of the process. She noted that they would have a new Councilmember on board by then and that might provide him a little more time to weigh in on it. She added that if they did that in a Special Session as opposed to a Work Study Session, they could make individual motions on any changes they would like to make. She said that the Councilmember-Elect would be sworn in prior to the meeting on the 3rd so he would be eligible to participate in that meeting. Mr. McGuire advised that as soon as the election was canvassed and he took the Oath of Office, the new Councilmember would be eligible to participate in a meeting. Mayor Schlum stated that they could consider that and also since the first Thursday of next month would be when they considered the maximum amount of the budget they could schedule another meeting in between that date and the 17th. He asked whether the Vice Mayor wanted to address her issues now. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 9 of 19 Vice Mayor Hansen replied that she could certainly meet with Ms. Ghetti on a number of the items but she also had others that she would like to throw out and receive input on. She added that if they were going to wait and do it more methodically, then she would probably wait until then. The Mayor said they were fine doing that this evening as well and the Vice Mayor stated that it might be helpful to sit down with Ms. Ghetti first because she might be able to eliminate some of her questions. Mayor Schlum encouraged Vice Mayor Hansen to bring up any items this evening that she would like to address. Councilmember Dickey asked why they could not have a discussion on the 3rd and Mayor Schlum said that they could -- coming out of that meeting they wanted to have a maximum amount. He said they would just keep that open for now. Councilmember Leger expressed the opinion that the difficulty with doing that on the 3rd was the fact that they might be making a lot of changes on the fly and staff would then have to go back and adjust the budget so they probably would not know what the number was that evening in terms of setting a maximum or even setting a number because the number would likely change. He stated support for tackling as much of it as they could this evening and then if there was a need to come back after the Vice Mayor spoke with staff, they could schedule an additional meeting. Councilmember Archambault referred to the Community Contracts and said when they talked about this before, Councilmember Leger had suggested that they take the current numbers and reduce them by 14%. He stated that they heard from the Community Theater about what they had gone through to come to their number, which was the only one that was reduced (to $80,000). He added that he thought the fair thing to do since they took the full amount from the other contracts and Val Stasik did eliminate the program in part by $25,000, would be to take the 14% out of the total budget amount of $105,000, which would leave $90,300. He advised that he would like to take that number up to $90,300 and he would put that in the form of a motion. Mayor Schlum asked Councilmember Archambault if he wanted to include the 14% overall reduction on the other items. Councilmember Archambault MOVED to reduce the Community Theater's contract down to $105,000 and then take that number and everyone else's number (the total number) from last year and reduce it by 14%. Councilmember Archambault asked Ms. Martin if she had those numbers. Ms. Martin responded that she did and the Vice Mayor asked what they would be. Ms. Ghetti advised that they would amount to $86,000 for the Boys & Girls Club; $129,000 to Tourism; $37,840 to the Extended Hands Food Bank and $90,300 to the Community Theater. Councilmember Brown SECONDED the motion. Vice Mayor Hansen noted that the Boys & Girls Club did not have an automatic increase in the three-year term of the contracts so if they looked at that, the others all increased and they did not. She added that there were some other factors as well -- the Theater had an additional benefit from the Town through the building and she believed they needed to factor that in too (the fact that for little or no rent they were using a Town building). She suggested that they look at the whole picture because she believed there were more factors involved than just coming up with a 14% figure. Mayor Schlum stated the opinion that that would be a challenge and questioned how they would arrive at those figures. He said that he understood what the Vice Mayor was saying and believed her point to be valid but added that measurable things were sometimes hard to calculate without a tremendous amount of effort and it could be impossible to measure some items. Vice Mayor Hansen commented that they should look at the fact that the Boys & Girls Club's contract did not increase and figure out what that number would be if they had had an automatic increase like the other groups did. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 10 of 19 Councilmember Dickey said that she did not believe the groups had automatic increases and she would like someone to talk about this. She thought it was based on expenses. Vice Mayor Hansen noted that she thought it was written into their contract (a certain percentage of increase). Mayor Schlum agreed that the Boys & Girls Club did not have an increase but the others did. He asked if the scope of work changed as well (did it ramp up?). Ms. Ghetti responded that she did not work on those contracts but her recollection was that each one of them had a different amount each year but it was not based on the same percentage overall -- Tourism had a $25,000 increase per year and the Food Bank had a smaller one but it wasn't an equal increase by each one and it did not change the scope of work. Mayor Schlum stated that he did not believe it would be practical to drill down on it that much although that would be the best way to do it. He added that they had received good service from each one of the organizations thus far and what they received from the Boys & Girls Club was substantial as well and they did not have an increase and when they entered into the contract initially did not realize that was even an option so he believed that the Vice Mayor had made a valid point. He said the lack of funds rather than value received was the real issue and they were looking at the group to carry out the same amount of work with less money. He stated that with that in mind he thought it might be best to remain in the same frame of mind as articulated in Councilmember Archambault's motion but that being said, keeping in mind what the Vice Mayor stated, he would be willing to consider an amendment on the Boys & Girls Club. Vice Mayor Hansen asked if they could keep the caveat that as they go through the process if they found any dollars elsewhere that might be able to be moved over, even if this went forward, that the issue could be re-addressed. Councilmember Dickey stated that she wanted to set the record straight as there was some doubt about whether these were automatic increases and it was her understanding that some of them were not and she did not know if they wanted to start talking about the use of the building. She commented that the Boys & Girls Club building was a School District building and stated the opinion those were kind of out of the scope of what they were talking about here. She said that for the Town there were people today who had jobs yesterday who did not today and people who had affordable health insurance yesterday and not today so there were cuts being made everywhere and they had to look at this on a higher level. Councilmember Dickey stated that they needed to look at this from a higher level noting that some people were not willing to give an inch and others offered solutions that they could compromise on. She asked that they keep that all in mind too. Councilmember Leger advised that he was pretty comfortable with the way in which they were moving and he was comfortable with the motion. He added that during the process if the Vice Mayor could come up with a manner in which to apply some additional monies to this item (Boys & Girls Club), that she bring that item back before the Council for additional discussion and consideration. Mayor Schlum indicated that he would like to move forward with it at this time and MOVED to amend the motion and keep the items that Councilmember Archambault shared in his motion and increase the Boys & Girls Club to $100,000 and maintain that level of funding. Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the motion. Councilmember Dickey said that the Mayor was asking to keep the Boys & Girls Club at the same level they were at last year and everyone else would take a 14% decrease and the Mayor concurred with her statement. Mayor Schlum commented that the increases that had been coming from the other contracts were not included in the contract for the Boys & Girls Club. Councilmember Brown stated that he did not see the benefit of putting 14% back and raising the Boys & Girls Club back to $100,000. He expressed the opinion that such a move would not be fair to the other organizations and said that the cut should be across the board. He said that he would not support the motion. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 11 of 19 Mayor Schlum called for a vote on the amended motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Brown Nay Mayor Schlum Aye Councilmember Contino Aye Councilmember Leger Nay Vice Mayor Hansen Aye Councilmember Archambault Aye Councilmember Dickey Nay The motion CARRIED (4-3) with Councilmembers Brown, Leger and Dickey voting Nay. Mayor Schlum called for a vote on the main motion (included a change to the Boys & Girls Club amount - $105,000). Vice Mayor Hansen Nay Councilmember Brown Aye Councilmember Archambault Aye Councilmember Contino Aye Councilmember Leger Aye Mayor Schlum Aye Councilmember Dickey Aye The motion CARRIED (6-1) with Vice Mayor Hansen voting Nay. Councilmember Dickey referred to Pages 145-146 (Law Enforcement Mission Statement, etc.) and said she believed there was a typographical error on the bottom (last sentence in the middle of the Department Description). She added that she sent some information to Ms. Ghetti, Captain Kleinheinz, and Bryan that was basically just about some language that was in the draft budget that she liked and she believed they were going to look into putting some of that back in so there would be some changes. She noted that one of them had to do with the reference to AZ Post that was in the draft budget that said, "All sworn personnel will meet, exceed and stay current with State training standards set by AZ Post as a means of reducing liability." She said that she would ask that that be put back in because it was very relevant. She pointed out that in light of Senate Bill 1070 this had become something that the Governor and other people were putting a lot of focus on and she believed it a good idea to have that language in there. Councilmember Dickey added that they were going to be looking at decreasing the number of false alarm calls through citizen education and said that Avondale was currently doing that and it would save a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Councilmember Leger stated that during the Council's last Work Session they talked about the $4.5 million in capital with respect to Saguaro and he just wanted to confirm that that would be removed from the capital budget, which would lower the total budget from about $38 million down to $34.5. He added that an adjustment to one of the financial policies was recommended last time around -- taking 50% and moving that into capital. He asked when the Council would see that resolution. Ms. Ghetti replied that it would be on the agenda of the June 17th Council meeting. Councilmember Leger also asked about the resolution that would increase the bed tax and Ms. Ghetti advised that that would also be on the agenda of the June 17th meeting. Council Leger referred to the Operational Budget on Page 87 and said he would address the Economic Development budget on Pages 105 and 106. He requested some additional details. Lori Gary addressed the Council and discussed marketing pieces and said at the present time they did not have any that were targeted towards specific industries that they would like to address. She explained that they were doing some z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 12 of 19 outreach to the retail industry and in order for them to have a strong case (their value proposition to that particular industry segment) one of the things they needed was a targeted marketing piece that was directed at that particular segment. She said that the study had been completed and now they had to address some targeted marketing pieces. She confirmed that fact book folders would represent sending facts/information to a perspective client. She further stated that as far as advertising they would target the retail industry for example and they needed to develop some marketing pieces to develop, print, and push out to very specific industry segments in the retail sector. She added that there were also some opportunities for them to advertise and directly target the retail industry -- e-newsletters, attend and advertise at and prior to trade shows, etc. She said they also wanted to pursue the advance medical industry segment and that would include the same advertising opportunities. Discussion ensued relative to trade shows and the fact that they were listed under conferences and would be clarified in the detailed budget; enhancing signage (Page 106) on Shea Boulevard, etc. and marketing pieces/advertising; the excise tax and the fact that details would be included in the marketing and outreach pieces; the importance of articulating that there were opportunities for all types of businesses in the downtown area; signage and the difference between that and highway signage (highway signage was the signage on Loop 101 and 87), directional signage and advertising and signage should be advertising but that was the name of the account that it goes under. Mayor Schlum stated that highway signage was another good example of volunteers stepping up and helping by working with ADOT and identifying signage. He added that not included in that was the cost of free signs and so many people had worked hard to get good prices on signs that go up along the highways. Vice Mayor Hansen expressed the opinion that it would be helpful in this particular budget if there could be (in parenthesis) what the total cost was. She said, for example, that under Consulting Services for the Excise Tax Fund they showed $30,000 and then there were also some consultant fees in the General Fund, etc. She stated that it was important to display the full costs and requested more information relative to the Consulting Services. Ms. Gary discussed the Consulting Services and explained that part of that was for the downtown parking study and said that in the Downtown Vision Plan one of the challenges that they continued to talk about was parking. She stated that money was put in there to do a parking plan and the other part of that was a skill set survey in terms of if they were to do some targeted industries and they required particular skill sets/labor force and what was available in the Town's labor market. She noted that if they were to target the Advanced Medical industry they would need to know what type of skill sets they had in their labor market to attract those types of businesses. She reported that the average travel time one way to work and from work in Maricopa County was approximately 29 minutes each way so if they took that amount of time and looked at what their true "labor shed" was in that commute, that enlarged the labor pool beyond just the Town limits. She added that design services for some of the marketing pieces were also included in that particular professional fees area. In response to a question from Councilmember Leger, Ms. Martin explained that there were three projects in the Downtown section of the capital projects and the transfer on Page 106 represented two of them, the third project was the volunteer project. Vice Mayor Hansen stated that while they were talking about Economic Development, sometimes it referred to that fund as the Downtown Fund and in other places it is the Economic Development Fund and they were all talking about the same thing so they might want to achieve consistency in this area. She said when it was approved it was called Downtown Development and some of the things listed at that time included the mall and street/sidewalk improvements/redo of the Avenue, etc. Ms. Ghetti confirmed that they could call it the Downtown Fund and they had used that and Economic Development Fund interchangeably but they could allocate that specific fund was called the Downtown Fund. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 13 of 19 The Vice Mayor indicated that she had researched the item and said that it should be called the Downtown Development Fund. Mayor Schlum noted that the Council's budget had been reduced dramatically as well. Councilmember Dickey noted that there was something in the paper either this week or last about salary cuts and raises and she said they had made their personnel changes and things like that and there had not been salary cuts but no cost of living increases had been brought forward for anyone and no merit raises or salary cuts. Ms. Ghetti clarified that the Judge had a contract with an automatic increase in it but added that this was the second year in a row that there had been no increases programmed for any staff, even Directors, just the Judge because he had a contract. Mayor Schlum announced that the Judge had contributed his raise towards community organizations in a donation form and said that he was a team player and sensitive to the situation the entire Town was facing. Mayor Schlum requested that Town Manager Rick Davis review performance measures and their purpose. Mr. Davis addressed the Council and stated that performance measures represented the gauges on the dash of the services that the Town provided and were to be viewed in both the sense of providing an opportunity for them to compare their performance with national, state, regional and local performance in other jurisdictions. They should also be viewed as a mechanism by which they could identify early problems that were occurring as they saw trends, which could relate to costs being expended or associated with the services provided. They could also indicate revenue issues that came up and the measures might provide some early warning with regard to how well they were going to be able to provide those services in the future. He noted that ratios were generally the way that they communicated; they utilized performance measures, costs per lane mile maintenance, streets swept, per capital expenditures for law enforcement services, fire protection, etc. He said that the concept was that which was not measured would not result in progress and it also allowed them to identify future goals/initiatives for the Council's consideration to improve the performance measures as well. Mayor Schlum advised that the Council appreciated the supplemental book Mr. Davis had provided to them, "Good to Great" supplement for the social sectors. Mr. Davis noted that another good reason to utilize performance measures was to identify success as well. Councilmember Dickey asked whether the budget reflected the decision not to go forward on the bond for Saguaro until November of 2011 and asked if anything had to be changed in the Capital Improvements because of the delay. She asked if that decision changed anything as far as how they would maintain that road. Public Works Director Town Ward advised that he did not believe they were doing anything if they were not doing the bond. He added that they were waiting because they felt that that was just another band aid that would take more money and they did not have the money to spend right now. Mayor Schlum said that they were hoping that because they were not going to be redoing Saguaro now, they were just going to continue to budget what was contained the budget today -- to patch and get by until the following fiscal year. Mr. Ward concurred with the Mayor's remarks and said they would just fill pot holes. Councilmember Dickey commented that they had interesting discussion this evening about the budget and the role of government and infrastructure. She stated that if you kind of "peeled everything away" you had infrastructure and public z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 14 of 19 safety and she regretted that they were not going forward with this -- not only because of the condition of the road but for the downtown and the ability to solve that intersection problem. She added that she wished they were able to move forward with that. She noted that there was another full-page ad in the paper about the garbage and she and her husband received another e-mail today from someone who felt that the roads would be in better condition if they did not have as many heavy trucks driving on it. Mr. Ward advised that he kept getting asked whether the road would last that long and reiterated his remark from prior discussions that was totally up to mother nature -- it could get much worse or it could hold on and they hoped that was the case. He said that the goal was to eventually pass the bond issue and discussed the importance of doing excellent public outreach and providing education to the citizens on this crucial issue in an effort to convince the voters that this was the right thing to do. Mayor Schlum discussed the fact that the planning and design was going to take longer and they would not be quite ready in time for a November 2010 election. He said that it was not a lack of desire as much as it was the practicality of getting the issue on the ballot. He also expressed the importance of the timing and stated that they wanted to make sure that they were not re-doing things that had already been improved. Councilmember Archambault referred to the Fire Budget (Page 155) and said he thought that he had read that Rural Metro was going to step up to the plate and not take their 3% increase this year. He asked if the budget reflected that. Ms. Martin advised that the budget still reflected the original price and Mr. Davis added that the number would change and it would amount to approximately $85,000. Councilmember Archambault stated that he wanted to bring that up to point out the extraordinary efforts that Chief LaGreca, Randy Roberts, the Town Manager, and the Mayor had put forth in working on this particular budget. He commended everyone for their willingness to "pitch in" when needed. Mayor Schlum commented that the Town had been well protected by Fire and Police and they had been very fortunate and not seen any increases over the last several years. He said that they obviously had great partners who helped the Town save dollars, particularly at this time. Vice Mayor Hansen said that perhaps in going forward what would help answer a lot of small questions quickly was looking at the sheets with all of the line items and in places where there were a significant fluctuation adding a little blurb to explain the change. She noted that the fees had been highlighted and the Mayor agreed that providing brief explanations for other changes would be helpful and save time. Ms. Martin stated that staff would attempt to do that and explained that they tried to use the budget highlights to point out some of the areas where numbers might have significantly changed but she could also make a note at the bottom of the detailed budget pages so that the information stood out on the same page. (Page 49 was used as an example -Landscape Fees that went down to zero and Planning and Zoning Fees that increased.) Councilmember Dickey asked whether the increase in the bed tax was included in the budget (on Page 49) and Ms. Martin responded that the only place they would see that was in the increase in the excise fees. She confirmed that it was programmed in. Councilmember Leger said that in the event they did not do Saguaro Boulevard, Councilmember Dickey suggested that they look to see if there were any other project dollars available for some type of emergency situation and he noticed that on Page 121 there was money for minor road repairs and he would imagine that would extend to Saguaro Boulevard in the z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 15 of 19 event issues arose. He added that on the summary sheet for expenditures there was $133,592 for contingency for capital (a capital contingency fund) and for a worst case scenario he would look at both of those areas for use as a safety net. Councilmember Dickey asked if the Council was giving direction in case some of the items did require funding -- were they saying that staff could go ahead and look at those kinds of things -- the contingencies or the Rainy Day Fund? She said that as they went through the budget this evening and added some money to a couple of items, and might do that some more, were they telling staff when they tried to find those monies to look at utilizing contingency fees and/or the Rainy Day Fund? Mayor Schlum advised that there were limits as to what those monies could be used for and asked Ms. Ghetti to elaborate on this issue. Ms. Ghetti stated that they did have some contingency monies in the General Fund for those types of things. She added that staff would not necessarily recommend Rainy Day Funds because those funds were to be used for emergencies and not for operating but they did have contingency funds in there and if they got to the point where they used them all up, they would probably come back to the Council with that. Mayor Schlum asked if the Rainy Day Funds would have to be budgeted or was a different process followed in order to utilize them should they be needed during the next fiscal year. Ms. Ghetti reported that the Rainy Day Funds were appropriated in the way that they were designed to be used if there was a real shortfall in revenues. She added that to utilize them the issue would have to be brought before the Council and approval for the authorization to utilize those funds (transfer them over to the General Fund) would require a super majority affirmative vote of the Council. Councilmember Dickey asked Ms. Ghetti if she had a feel as far as her ability to cover some of the things that had changed without either doing that or utilizing the Council's authority to change and use capital funds if they wanted to. She noted that that was not one of those things that the State of Arizona told them to do -- it was something they could do if they decided to (it was under the Town's jurisdiction). She asked if Ms. Ghetti was comfortable so far with being able to cover the changes that the Council had brought forward. Ms. Ghetti replied that she was comfortable at this point and noted that staff was keeping track of everything that was being recommended by the Council and believed they were still within a good range. Mayor Schlum said that as Vice Mayor Hansen stated, perhaps at the next meeting on the budget (Page 81) they would just go through the operating budget item by item and find out whether anyone had any additional items to add to each of those sections. He stated that they would do the same with the Capital Improvement Projects -- he said he was not sure if they wanted to go through every program number, but they could address the Capital Improvement Projects more broadly and find out if the Councilmembers had any specific questions on the items. He urged the Council to work directly with staff and pose whatever questions they might have and obtain needed clarifications. Vice Mayor Hansen asked what internal service charges were and Ms. Martin explained that in the past they had used the operating support division to house what were typically shared services throughout Town departments so items like mail service postage, photo copy usage, anything that would be a shared service was housed in one department but in line with the goal of trying to make programs reflect their true costs, the internal service funds were now charging departments for those usage items. Vice Mayor Hansen also brought up the Vehicle Replacement Program and asked how long they had been doing that. Ms. Martin reported that this was the second year of the program and this year they had expanded it to include both z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 16 of 19 vehicle and equipment replacement. She said that rather than deal with it (as they had in the past) and dealing with the fact that during a particular year they had three vehicles to replace and had to come up with significant amounts of money to do so, they now set aside what was equivalent to depreciation every year for the vehicles that they did have in their fleet and that money was then set aside to provide funding for the future replacement of vehicles and equipment. The Vice Mayor asked whether they could forego deducting that from the budgets for this fiscal year to help generate some additional monies. Mayor Schlum advised that Chief LaGreca pointed out that because of the degree of maintenance and care that his equipment had been receiving; he was going to be able to extend some of the vehicles use for at least another year. He said that hopefully they could apply that to other vehicles as well. Vice Mayor Hansen noted that they had fewer employees and asked whether they resulted in extra vehicles. Ms. Martin stated that staff looked at what vehicles were going to be maintained in the fleet and because they had downsized the fleet for next year those vehicles that were taken out of service because they were no longer needed were no longer scheduled for replacement. She added that this would extend the life of how they had to replace existing vehicles because those vehicles would come into the fleet to replace older vehicles. She said that it had made the vehicle replacement program a longer duration (vehicles that they might have replaced because of the terms in the replacement program in 10 years might be able to be held onto for 12 years). She advised that the charges had been scaled back to reflect that. She noted that some vehicles were stored and others went to auction each year. Councilmember Leger asked staff to review what the budget schedule looked like going forward and noted that suggestions had been made relative to changes and possibly adding a Special Session for more discussion. Ms. Martin advised that it appeared that the Council's consensus was to take the first meeting in June (June 3rd) and extend it so that that meeting would encompass the additional meeting that they talked about potentially having following the June 3rd meeting. She said that at this point she assumed that they were having an extended June 3rd meeting that would set the maximum amount of the budget and continue the discussion. Mayor Schlum asked when all of the budget-related meetings would take place. Ms. Martin outlined the schedule and reported that no additional open houses would take place. She stated that at the June 3rd meeting they would set the maximum amount of the budget and at the June 17th meeting they would adopt the final budget. Mayor Schlum added that additional dialogue would take place at the first meeting in June (June 3rd) to make sure they covered everything. Councilmember Brown said he thought that the Vice Mayor had asked for a meeting on Tuesday, June 1st. Councilmember Leger agreed and said that he thought a Special Session was going to take place because if they had discussion on the 3rd and made any drastic changes, it was going to be very difficult to calculate on the fly and come up with the tentative budget. Councilmember Brown advised that he would like to see that happen. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 17 of 19 Mayor Schlum stated that he believed the challenge in doing that was by the time they held the June 3rd meeting they might not have everything buttoned down from the meeting held one or two days earlier. He indicated his preference to extend the meeting on the 3rd and, if necessary, scheduling a meeting for the week following that. Mr. McGuire said that he did not believe that they had anything scheduled yet for the June Work Study Session that followed on the next Tuesday and added that they could schedule that as a Special Session depending upon what happened at the prior Thursday meeting. Mayor Schlum asked if they should put them down as a place holder and the Council responded in the affirmative. The Vice Mayor stated that the extra meeting would be helpful for the newly elected member. Mayor Schlum thanked everyone for the excellent dialogue that has taken place. AGENDA ITEM #10 - CONSIDERATION OF A CONTRACT WITH PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF IN THE AMOUNT OF $112,285, FOR THE DESIGN OF THE SHEA GAP PROJECT (INCLUDING INCORPORATING THE SHEA BIKE LANE AND MEDIAN PROJECT). Town Engineer Randy Harrel addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and reported that the Town had received excellent bids for the design of the Shea Gap project and because of that they were able to de-obligate the ARRA (Stimulus) portion of the funds for that project and commit them to different projects. He noted that the work could now include the Shea Bike Lane on the south side of Shea and a median project, which was previously bid by ADOT and had been sitting on the shelf for the last couple of years. He said that staff was recommending that they package all of the work together and do them as a new project. He advised that Parsons Brinckerhoff served as ADOT's east valley management consultant for ARRA projects, which would give them more control and familiarity with the ADOT process and they had indicated that they could meet the very tight time schedule that would be required on these projects. He reported that they would have to have the projects designed and ready to bid by August 15th. He referred to a chart that depicted the grant projects on Shea Boulevard (a copy of the presentation available in the office of the Town Clerk) and explained what they were talking about this evening. He advised that staff recommended that the Council approve the contract in the amount of $112,285. Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Harrel for his presentation. Councilmember Dickey MOVED to approve the design contract with Parsons Brinckerhoff for the design of the Shea Gap project, including appropriating the Shea median and bike lane project for $112,285 and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. Mayor Schlum requested that Mr. Harrel explain the funding in more detail. Mr. Harrel explained that the Town had approximately $3.4 million in the IGA with ADOT last fall that the Council approved and because of the current economy the bids came in much less than anticipated and so they were in a position, in addition to the construction of that project, to de-obligate the entire portion of the Stimulus funds that were allocated to that project (approximately $1.1 million). The Mayor asked if the project would completely (on the west bound side) connect from where the Stimulus dollar project would end (Fountain Hills Boulevard) and how far south it would go. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 18 of 19 Mr. Harrel again referred to the chart and responded to the Mayor's questions and added that there were two sections now that included a dirt median and this project would provide curbing and landscaping in addition to the bike lane on the south side. He confirmed that the landscaping would include a low-water drip system. Mayor Schlum commented on the fact that the Town had not been assured that it was going to receive the money and asked if staff was confident that this would occur (approval of de-obligation). Mr. Harrel responded that the de-obligation process was in process but there were no guarantees that that would happen but all indications were that it was going to continue to move forward. He said that in the event that did not happen, the plan would remain with the Town so they could utilize it in the future with additional grant monies. He added that if that happened, staff would come back before the Council to seek direction on how they should proceed at that point but he did not anticipate that that would be the case. He noted that Parsons Brinckerhoff submitted a cost proposal that broke down their man hours into the various categories of work that needed to be done and added in their consultants' costs (five different consultants would work on this project). The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #11 – 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 #12 – SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS AND REPORT ON RECENT ACTIVITIES BY THE TOWN MANAGER. Mayor Schlum commented on the excellent meeting that took place between the Council and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Tribal Council and said that the meeting was much appreciated. Mr. Davis agreed and said that some of the discussions that the Council was going to have with them would help set the stage for some exciting new ventures together next year, including a celebration of their culture within our community and a joint effort to celebrate their Centennial as well. Mr. Davis added that they had also had some communication with the Tribe about jointly participating on Shea -- their part connects to Highway 87 and so they did not have a second Shea gap there as well. He said they had also talked a little about joint economic master planning and envisioned that would include the Shea Corridor and Golden Triangle as well as the land east of the Town running along the Beeline. Mayor Schlum suggested that they pursue scheduling another joint meeting with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Nation. He added that the meeting was very special because Fort McDowell invited the Council over, put the agenda together, arranged the round-table seating that was a little more casual and the full Councils attended from both sides so there was great dialogue as a result of that wonderful meeting. He stated that they were great neighbors. Mayor Schlum announced that at this time he would like to give outgoing Councilmember Mike Archambault a point of personal privilege to share a few words as he concludes his last Council meeting. Councilmember Archambault thanked the Mayor for allowing him the opportunity to present some remarks. He said that he took some time to reflect on his last eight years on the Council and his thoughts resulted in a short two-page compilation of his life philosophies, memories, lessons learned and hopes and desires for the Town of Fountain Hills. (A complete copy of Councilmember Archambault's remarks available in the office of the Town Clerk.) AGENDA ITEM #13 – ADJOURNMENT. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100520m.docx Page 19 of 19 Councilmember Archambault MOVED that the Council adjourn the meeting and Councilmember Dickey SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). The meeting adjourned at 9:02 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 20th day of May, 2010. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. Dated this 17th day of June 2010. _____________________________ Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk