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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010.1006.TCRM.minutesz:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 1 of 13 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL June 3, 2010 Prior to the scheduled meetings beginning, the Oath of Offices were administered to the individuals elected at the March 9, 2010, Primary Election, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Fountain Hills Council Chambers: Fountain Hills Presiding Municipal Court Judge, Ted Armbruster administered the oath of office to Mayor-Elect Jay T. Schlum. Campaign Manager and husband, Jim Dickey administered the oath of office to Councilmember Elect Ginny Dickey. Arizona State Representative, John Kavanagh administered the oath of office to Councilmember Elect Tait D. Elkie. Fountain Hills Presiding Municipal Court Judge, Ted Armbruster administered the oath of office to Councilmember Elect Henry Leger. Each newly seated member took a few moments after being seated on the dais to thank their family members, those involved with their campaigns and their constituents for their support now and during the election process. The Council then convened first as the Board of Directors for the Eagle Mountain Community Facilities District at 6:25 p.m. and then Cottonwoods Maintenance District at 6:28 p.m. before convening the Regular Session of the Fountain Hills Town Council. *CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Schlum called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. *INVOCATION – Pastor David Felten, The Fountains, A United Methodist Church *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 Elkie, and Councilmember Dickey. Town Manager Rick Davis, Deputy Town Manager Julie Ghetti, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. *MAYOR'S REPORT None. *SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS (i) Rotation of the Vice Mayor position to Councilmember Dennis Brown. Pursuant to Section 2-2-2- of the Fountain Hills Town Code, that each member of the Council, except for the Mayor, shall serve an eight-month term (6-10 thru 1-11) as Vice Mayor and shall perform the duties of the Mayor during his absence or disability. Mayor Schlum said that they would now complete the rotation of the Vice Mayor position, which went to Councilmember Brown. He stated that Vice Mayor Hansen had done a great job while serving in that position and thanked her for her z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 2 of 13 hard work and continuing efforts. He added that he looked forward to Vice Mayor Brown doing an excellent job as well over the next eight months. *CALL TO THE PUBLIC Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that there were three speakers who wished to address the Council. Rick Melendez addressed the Council and said that seven and a half years ago he took the Oath of Office and it was a very proud moment for him and his family. He said that he felt it important to state this evening what an honor and privilege it was to serve the community and added that the community was also very fortunate to have the members of the Council who expended so much of their time and energy for the well being of the community. He congratulated the members of the Council on their election/re-election and stressed the importance of always remaining positive, remembering to compromise, respecting the staff and, most of all, having fun. He said that he believed most people took themselves too seriously and stated that they were only here for a short while and must enjoy what they were doing. He stated that the entire Council had a huge task before them and added that he respected all of them and prayed to God that He gave them all continued positive help so that they continued the effort to bring the Town of Fountain Hills to the highest level of excellence. Harris Deitch addressed the Council and said that there were certain areas of Town that needed improvement and he had come up with a beautification program. He expressed concerns regarding the areas surrounding Circle K and McDonalds and said that the Sunridge Canyon Golf Course had some wonderful bushes and plantings that enhanced rather than detracted. He suggested that if the Council could require strip malls to plant similar plants/bushes to enhance their appearance. Mr. Deitch added that Target and other strip centers in Town could greatly improve their appearance by adding such landscaping. He thanked the Council for the opportunity to address them and congratulated the re-elected and newly elected members of the Council. Vincent Marsella addressed the Council and stated that he learned from reading a local newspaper that the Town was looking to hire a Development Services Director and said that he had thought that there was a hiring freeze currently in place. He added that if he was mistaken and there was not a hiring freeze at the current time then the Council might want to consider looking at the Town's current staffing in an effort to identify someone who could carry out the duties of this position. He said that he believed there were people with expertise currently working in the Engineering Department and expressed the opinion that Randy Harrel would be an excellent choice for this position. He added that the money they would save by following his suggestion could be put to better use. Mayor Schlum thanked all of the speakers for their comments. *CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM MAY 12, 2010. AGENDA ITEM #2 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING RESOLUTION 2010-19, DECLARING AND ADOPTING THE RESULTS OF THE SPECIAL ELECTION HELD ON MAY 18, 2010. AGENDA ITEM #3 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING RESOLUTION 2010-18, REGARDING THE MARICOPA COUNTY COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN. AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE APPOINTMENT OF COUNCILMEMBER CASSIE HANSEN, COUNCILMEMBER HENRY LEGER AND VICE MAYOR DENNIS BROWN TO SERVE ON THE TOWN COUNCIL REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE FOR THE PURPOSE OF REVIEWING z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 3 of 13 APPLICATIONS, INTERVIEWING APPLICANTS AND SUBMITTING A RECOMMENDATION TO THE MAYOR FOR THREE APPOINTMENTS TO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION. Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as listed and Vice Mayor Brown SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Dickey Aye Mayor Schlum Aye Councilmember Leger Aye Councilmember Hansen Aye Councilmember Contino Aye Vice Mayor Brown Aye Councilmember Elkie Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). REGULAR AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #5 – CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2010-22, ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE BUDGET AND THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS' FISCAL YEAR 2010-11 BUDGET WITH APPROPRIATE DIRECTION TO PUBLISH SAID DOCUMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE LAW. THE COUNCIL MAY ADDRESS ANY OR ALL ITEMS CONTAINED IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT AND INITIATE ANY SUGGESTED CHANGES PRIOR TO THE ADOPTION. Accounting Supervisor Mary Martin addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and said that the action required by the Council this evening was the adoption of the tentative budget and approval of a resolution setting the maximum amount for the Town of Fountain Hills Fiscal Year 2010-11 budget at $33,627,020. She explained that the setting of this maximum budget amount did not preclude the Council from continuing to request changes to the tentative budget beyond this evening as long as the total amount of those changes did not affect the adopted maximum. Ms. Martin, for the benefit of the public, displayed a PowerPoint presentation and reviewed the budget process that had taken place to date (a copy of the presentation on file in the office of the Town Clerk). Discussion ensued relative to reorganization of Town Departments (Community Services/Development Services); reductions in staff from 81 FTE to 61 FTE; reduction in construction sales tax transfer to CIP from 85% to 50%; increase in the hotel/bed tax from 3% to 5%; updating the comprehensive fee schedule and adding new fees; changes in service levels, including maintaining the existing Fountain "Run Time;" eliminating the Public Information Division; postponing all major capital expenditures; deferring preventative maintenance; providing custodial services in public areas only; reducing park and median landscape maintenance; eliminating certain Town programs (e.g. Concerts in the Park, Oktoberfest, Parking Lot Recycling, etc.); the inclusion of community service contracts in the General Fund; Park & Recreation programs and the fact that the overall subsidy had been reduced from 63.2% to 41.7% (the net program subsidy in FY 2010-11 is $106,905); Senior Programs and the fact that the overall subsidy had increased from 46.4% to 61.2% resulting in a net program subsidy in FY 2010-11 of $99,732; the fact that the Saguaro Boulevard Mill & Overlay project had been rescheduled to FY 2011-12; and an overview of the All Funds Summary. Ms. Martin reiterated that if the Council adopted the maximum this evening, any changes that they made going forward in the budget were fine as long as they did not exceed the maximum budgeted amount of $33,627,020. She added that they would still be able to make internal changes (increase some items and decrease others) as long as the maximum was not exceeded. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 4 of 13 Ms. Martin indicated her intention to review the operating section of the budget and noted that the appropriate staff was present this evening to respond to any questions that the Council might have. Mayor Schlum commented on the fact that some of the subsidies were increasing while others were decreasing and said he believed that some of those subsidies had changed due to the fact that they were now capturing actual program costs, which they had not done in the past. Ms. Martin concurred with the Mayor's remarks and stated that, for example with the Home Delivered Meals (HDM) program, the cost of the HDM Coordinator was now included as well as all of the supplies that were necessary to carry out the program and the cost of the meals themselves. She noted that the Town still did not charge overhead costs, these were direct costs only. Councilmember Leger said that prior to talking about the operating budget, he noticed a few inconsistencies in the prior section. He added that he was aware of the fact that the numbers had been changed several times and stated that he would like to point out the items he was talking about. He noted that on Page 28, on their slide they talked about the notion of the 85% going to 50% and under capital projects it still stated 85% and he just wanted to point that out. He stated that he knew they had not yet approved the resolution and that might be the reason why it had not been changed yet but he felt it important to at least point it out. Ms. Martin replied that the change had been noted but until Council acted on the resolution the staff maintained the 85%. Councilmember Leger also referred to Page 45 and said that under Capital Projects Fund Overview, it talked about street sidewalk projects. He stated that it looked as though the $4.5 million had not been taken out of the $10 million yet and Ms. Martin concurred. He added that Page 46 talked about bond proceeds at $4.5 million and said that that too would be edited. He noted that on Page 62, the numbers had changed a little since their last meeting and the chart showed $12.7 million and he believed it should be $12.6 million. Ms. Martin agreed and said that change would also be made. Councilmember Leger referred to Page 94, which was part of the operating budget, and said he had an editorial change. He reiterated previous comments relative to the importance of revising the Deputy Town Manager's position to read Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director and was assured that the change had been made. He added that on Page 108 the chart under Community Contracts, the number was $338,340 and said that the new adjusted amount was $357,140 and Ms. Martin concurred. Councilmember Dickey referred to Page 26 where it said "Reserved for Organizational Chart" and said that she was assuming that that would be included and Ms. Martin confirmed that it would. Councilmember Dickey added that on Page 28 under Development Fee Funds it said; "Development fees must be expended within six years of collection or refunded to the taxpayers" and said that that sentence should be removed. Ms. Martin continued reviewing sections of the budget and provided brief explanation on the various proposed changes to the budget. Councilmember Hansen referred to the Mayor/Council portion of the budget and asked what the Communications Expense represented (graph on Page 86). Ms. Martin explained that the $476 charge represented cell phone service or desk top service and internet. Councilmember Elkie noted that in the Council budget there was a Communications Expense in the amount of $2,379, the previous year's cost was zero and the year before that it was $550.00. He asked whether this charge was for cell phone use as well or something else. Ms. Martin replied that the charge was for telecommunications costs in general and included cell phone service, the hard-wired service at each person's desk, internet service, etc. She advised that in the past they had an overhead department called Operating Support and all of the shared costs were included under that Operating Support program. She added that this year the only item remaining in the Operating Support program was the Town's contingency. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 5 of 13 Councilmember Hansen expressed the opinion that the review/input discussion could be expedited if staff could highlight those items that were previously at the zero level but now had costs associated with them. Ms. Martin stated that one of the difficulties that staff was experiencing was that because of the change in computer systems since last year's budget, all of the history associated with prior years was now defunct but said that staff could try and provide a somewhat clearer explanation but to provide a one-on-one correlation might be somewhat difficult. She advised that they could definitely do it from last year to this year and point out any significant changes. Councilmember Dickey added that if the budget reflected a significant difference between last year's budgeted amount and the proposed budgeted amount, it would be helpful to obtain a brief explanation. She said that on the Revenue portion she had a question regarding interest income and said that the figure went from $125,000 to $10,000 to $10,000 and another question had to do with the in-lieu payments on LTAF that went from $2,000 to $15,000 and asked why that happened. Ms. Martin explained that currently all of the investment funds were with the State pool and because of the State pool's investment philosophy interest rates were significantly down and they had been averaging approximately two-tenths of a percent over the last few months on funds, which was why Ms. Ghetti came before the Council a while back and discussed revising the Town's investment policy to try and get a better return on the Town's investment. In response to a question from Councilmember Dickey, Ms. Martin advised that the principle amount had remained the same but the interest earned had changed significantly. She added that this was the result of the change in the economy and said that with short-term investments the State pool almost acted like a money market account - there was no commitment for holding the money any specific length of time - the Town could invest today and pull the money out tomorrow and so, as a result, it paid a very low interest rate. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire advised that he was not aware of any legislative changes that had occurred that would have impacted the interest amount. Ms. Martin addressed a question from Councilmember Dickey regarding in-lieu payments and the change reflected in the budget and explained that these were revenues collected from encroachment payments. Discussion ensued relative to the Administration portion of the budget and individual departments; a request to cover the individual line items that covered primary reductions/increases; the fact that the Public Information Department had been eliminated and remaining programs/costs would be shifted to other departments; various clarifications provided by staff relative to the different departmental costs listed under the Administration portion of the budget; the fact that highway signage costs were for signage anticipated to be added to State Route 87 and the 202; the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) at an annual cost of $10,000 and the fact that this regional cooperative group's goal was to bring new companies into the greater Phoenix area and positive benefits gained as a result of the Town's membership in GPEC (outreach, exposure, enhancing/marketing the area, etc.); the Mayor's opinion that the fees were easily justified; Ms. Gary's comments relative to the visibility that GPEC provided the Town as well as services that the Town could not pay only $10,000 to obtain (Costar, research expertise, website availability, leads as a result of their marketing trips, etc.); Ms. Gary's willingness to request that GPEC representatives appear at a future Council meeting and discuss their efforts that had benefitted the Town and the Council's opinion that that would be very helpful particularly during the budget process; GPEC's efforts regarding Luke Air Force Base and securing the F-35 contract and associated benefits on a regional basis; value received as a result of networking opportunities, the importance of job creation and the fact that GPEC was all about municipalities; the fact that in the updated budget the Council would see a General Fund Summary, an Excise Tax Summary and a Combined Summary; a request that staff itemize the various memberships, publications, conferences and meetings and, rather than just listing a breakdown, provide additional information (across the board throughout the budget); additional benefits obtained as a result of various membership dues associated with GPEC (Claritots, retail directory, report subscriptions, etc.); staff's willingness to clarify all these portions of the budget; the Legal section z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 6 of 13 including estimated Public Defender expenses and the cost of law books (updated Arizona Revised Statutes {ARS}) that was allocated differently in last year's budget; a question from Councilmember Elkie relative to the possibility of researching ARS statutes on line rather than purchasing the revised editions on an annual basis and Mr. McGuire's response that a lot of the research could be done online and the fact that the current versions were annotated statutes, which provided useful case law references; the fact that on-line services were not free and there were costs associated with accessing West Law; Mr. McGuire's opinion that it would not be cost effective to move away from their current practice; the fact that another set was being used by the Court and Mr. McGuire's willingness to comply with the desire of the Council; Councilmember Elkie's comment that most of the research work conducted by the Town Attorney was being done at his office in Phoenix and his suggestion that the Town eliminate this cost and have the Town Attorney use his set of books for research conducted on Town related legal issues unless information could be brought forward justifying keeping another set in the Town Attorney's office at Town Hall; Mr. McGuire's opinion that the law books were being utilized and it was an efficient practice to have a set on site; Councilmember Dickey's concurrence with the Town Attorney's comments; an option to let the Town Attorney's set of books elapse and maintain the current set at the Court; the fact that this option would result in a cost to access the West Law website and would require staff to go over to the Court to research issues; the Mayor's suggestion that staff consider this matter and bring back some suggestions to the Council for possible resolution and the fact that outside counsel costs were based on need and hopefully would be zero and Mr. McGuire's comment that although he would hope the same thing it was very unlikely to happen. Ms. Martin continued her presentation by discussing Operational Support and said that this was a contingency reserve that would be used if the Council decided to take on a project or the Town Manager identified a project that he would like the Council to consider pursuing. She stated that the monies were there to utilize for those reasons and were mainly used in emergency situations. She discussed the Development Services Department and explained that with the program budget (Pages 108 and 109) staff had tried, under the Performance Measures section, to break each division into its component services and so each program represented one of the services in a division (and included all of the costs associated with that program). She explained that if they continued to print Strategic Plan brochures, that cost would be included. She added that staff was hoping that as they developed the program budgeting process, next year the Council would see department-based object codes and then division-based with object codes and program-based with object codes. She said they would continue to see more and more detail at each level. Additional discussion ensued relative to Development Services (Engineering Division); the fact that the bulk of the reductions were the result of the consolidation and the movement of the Traffic Management Program and the Median Maintenance to the General Fund or the Streets (HURF) Fund; Facilities Maintenance and additional reductions; the fact that the HVAC represented the most significant costs and efforts to keep the equipment running as efficiently as possible; a rumor that the Kiwanis Building was up for sale and staff's response that they had not heard that rumor; Mr. Davis' comment that he was not aware of any proposal to sell the building; the Streets Department (funded out of the HURF fund); the fact that the Town would save approximately $58,000 in median maintenance (less work and less man hours); the fact that the significant increase in the water area was due to median maintenance that moved from Public Works to Streets; Staff reductions in the Planning and Zoning area and the significant resulting decreases in salaries and benefits; the fact that staff would provide more details on dues for the various memberships when they presented the next discussion on the budget; Building Safety and again salary and benefit decreases as a result of staff reductions as well as training costs; Code Enforcement and the fact that the department was no longer being pro-active due to staff reductions so the decreases were the result of salary and benefit savings and other proportionate resulting savings; the fact that staff would still respond to all complaints that were received but could no longer go out and actually look for violations; Councilmember Dickey's concerns relative to the West Nile Virus/green pools and Senior Planner Bob Rodgers comments relative to the fact that issues such as the West Nile Virus and green pools were going to be covered by the County now and the fact that when the Town had to perform this duty it was an unfunded mandate and so they had put aside a little money for that; the fact that the County was now being called upon to respond to green pool/West Nile Virus complaints; the fact that the problems remained at a fairly steady pace and foreclosed properties were still a problem; Mapping & z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 7 of 13 Graphics and the significant cost reductions that had resulted from a reduction in staffing; the fact that the cost for GIS updates were programmed in each year but sometimes updates were not done depending upon what happened during the course of the year; the Community Services Department (Page 135, Recreation) and the significant reductions that occurred in staffing and programming; the fact that in the past staff supported a lot of the evening community service projects for things such as the Little League and all of that had been reduced and, for the most part, eliminated; reductions in Town-sponsored events, such as Concerts in the Park, and the Recreation Department's on-going efforts to locate sponsors in an effort to maintain as many of those programs as possible; the Mayor's comment that he appreciated being able to review their performance measures, what they had accomplished and what they were currently focusing on and a question from the Mayor relative to where exactly the Council could look in the budget to identify exactly what was being cut/reduced in the Recreation area; the fact that the information could be found on Page 135 and Mark Mayer's comment that staff tried to focus on reducing events that they felt could be transitioned over to private sponsorships, with the Town serving more as a facilitator and providing some staff support; Concerts in the Park and the fact that in working with Sears they were able to obtain a $5,000 grant that covered staff time and the hard costs of putting on this worthwhile event; the fact that staff would continue to put as much effort as possible into identifying sponsors and would participate as much as possible in events such as the Eggstravaganza and other activities; Councilmember Hansen's recap of the Sears' event and explanation that an individual from the Town's local store had wrote an essay and competed for a talent show to take place in Fountain Hills (Sears Home Town event, which had occurred in only 24 cities/towns across the country – a talent show in which Town Manager Rick Davis and his wife Aimee participated - and the Sear’s store in Town was chosen and the Town was presented with $5,000 that would be utilized to its maximum; the fact that the Town was receiving quite a bit of publicity about the contest and Councilmember Hansen’s comment that "Craftsman put them on the map;" Mr. Mayer's comments relative to the fact that Sears' corporate staff also volunteered and performed some significant community service work; and the fact that staff had expended effort to assist outside groups in participating in events in order to save money and hopefully encourage others to become involved (attempting to streamline the process for events and steer people in the right direction). Ms. Martin discussed the Community Center portion of the budget and reported that a portion of the decrease was attributed to staff reductions. She added that the Center had been delaying the replacement of audio equipment, tables, chairs, etc. She reported that this time the budget contained an item for equipment replacement and so the Community Center was going to be taking small steps towards replacing that equipment in this year's budget. Councilmember Hansen pointed out that the Center's advertising budget was quite low and said she thought they might be missing out on something by not having a little bit more in there for advertising. She emphasized the importance of attracting people to the Community Center and questioned whether some Downtown dollars could be used for that purpose. Ms. Martin advised that typically the Recreation Department and the Community Center participated in bridal shows because they tended to draw a significant amount of rentals but said that this had been eliminated from the current budget. She stated that this might be one of the advertising programs that the Council decided to add back in. She also commented on the Senior Services budget and reported that there were no reductions in staff in that area and the reductions came primarily from the discontinuation of trips because the cost of the trips was programmed into their budget in the past and the discontinuation of programs requiring paid instructors. Mayor Schlum asked whether the cost of filling the part-time position was included in next year's costs and Ms. Martin confirmed that it was. She also advised that the entire trip program that the Town used to sponsor had been eliminated from the budget and added that Senior Services was trying to work with local travel agents to encourage them to try to package the kind of tours that the Seniors were interested in taking. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 8 of 13 Ms. Martin confirmed that over the last couple of years the Town underwrote the cost of all of the trips. Mayor Schlum stated that the trips could still be scheduled but they might have to be packaged differently and Ms. Martin said that next year's budget did not contain any funding for any Town-sponsored trips. Councilmember Leger discussed the fact that the trips were being eliminated and said he knew that Kelley Fonville had been working on this and asked for some input (he asked whether the Town was becoming more of a facilitator). Ms. Fonville stated that funds were going away for staff to facilitate the trips but staff was working with a variety of different travel agencies to ensure that members of the community would have trips available for them to go on. She noted that they were working with Fountain View Village that offered pretty much the same types of trips that were previously available and added that Arizona Trails Travel, a local travel agency, had also been contacted and so had Free Spirit Vacations that handle larger trips with larger buses outside Maricopa County. She added that they had also met with a new company, TJ's Travel, that offered trips for Seniors and Boomers and they were going to organize trips for the members. She said that a program entitled the Arm Chair Travelodge would also be added and this would be a monthly program whereby members who liked to travel could get together and pass on ideas to TJ's Travel so that trips could be arranged. She stated that she was very confident that there would be trip options but they would be packaged a little differently. Additional discussion ensued relative to the Park area and Ms. Martin reported that Fountain Park's budget included the return of the Fountain to 15 minute on the hour run times but added that it did include a significant decrease in the dollars spent for overall park maintenance; the Mayor's comment that many citizens remarked on the wonderful job that staff was doing at the Park; Don Clark's comment that staff was doing everything they could to save money on park operations while maintaining the aesthetics and the fact park maintenance had been reduced at other parks but not Fountain Park; the fact that bids had just been received on the annual landscape contract and the numbers came in pretty good so staff was expecting to be where there were last year and perhaps a little under on the maintenance costs; the Fountain jet and associated SRP increases and staff's opinion that they might have to run the Fountain a little bit more during the summer to augment the lake water quality; Mayor Schlum's comment that citizens recommended that the Fountain not run at night when no one could see it and said that as Mr. Clark stated it was important to keep that water moving for quality purposes; and the fact that the lights still ran at night and staff's efforts towards adjusting the program to allow for the lights to be turned off at night to realize a savings in that area. Town Manager Rick Davis advised that recommendations were received from Councilmember Hansen and others on the Council relative to a software modification that was being made that would pre-empt the Fountain from running on windy days -- instead of going up and then sensing that it was too windy and then coming down -- so staff would report the results on that to the Council. He asked the Council to keep in mind that although they did run the Fountain at night in order to aerate the lake, the next stage that they would probably need to go to was the installation of an adequately sized aeration system. He explained that the reason why this was not included in the proposed budget was because early cost projections were way low compared to the actual costs. He noted that estimates showed that the actual cost would be in the neighborhood of $100,000 and, in addition to that, there was a cost of about $50,000 a year for power to run the system. He reported that as they moved forward, the water quality needed to be continually monitored and staff would need to come back before the Council and discuss more significant adaptations to the aeration system (about four to five months from now). Councilmember Elkie asked whether staff had budgeted for advertising that the Fountain would remain running at the same time intervals so that the word got out and people wanted to come to Town and see it. Mr. Clark said that his area had not but he was sure someone else would be taking care of that. He added that park operations were going well and he had a very good parks lead working there who had been helping the park to remain very green. Ms. Martin discussed Golden Eagle Park's proposed reductions and the fact that Parks' staff had expended great effort to find ways to reduce the costs associated with maintaining the parks with minimal impacts on aesthetics. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 9 of 13 Mayor Schlum referred to Golden Eagle Park, Desert Vista and Four Peaks and said that many of the organizations like Little League and Soccer had spoken to the Council about the importance of having grass to run on. He stated that in the past they had offered to pay for some of the costs and perhaps the cost of mowing the grass was not taken into consideration. He asked where staff was at as far as working with its partners, those organizations, on maintaining the grass. Ms. Martin reported that one of the partners had stepped up already and offered to pay for the over-seeding. The Mayor stressed the importance of communicating with the various groups and letting them know the actual costs involved. Mr. Clark reported that the Soccer Club had offered to pay for the over-seeding and mowing at Desert Vista and at Golden Eagle, the Little League had stepped up and paid for the over-seeding for the last couple of years. He said that most of the mowing at Golden Eagle was done in-house as was the mowing at Four Peaks (reduced to once a week to reduce maintenance costs). Mayor Schlum asked if next year Desert Vista would be seeded and Mr. Clark said it would be -- the Soccer Club had offered to pay for that. He added that no one had stepped up and offered to assist with Four Peaks but said that the facility was being used less than the other parks (it would not be over-seeded). Councilmember Hansen referred to Page 140 (Four Peaks Park) and asked why the electric costs were so high. Mr. Clark replied that in the past Little League practice and other events had taken place at that park and staff would monitor the costs in an effort to determine why the cost was as high as it was. He said that he based the Desert Peaks cost estimates on Four Peaks Park's costs the prior year and they both were pretty close. Additional discussion ensued relative to the water used/associated costs and the fact that Desert Peaks used effluent water and potable was being used at Four Peaks and whether effort was being expended to use effluent instead; Mr. Clark's statement that staff was working with the Sanitary District to determine whether it was feasible to bring effluent into Four Peaks; and Mayor Schlum's comment about the fact that in addition to the soccer field, the baseball diamond at Four Peaks Park was a cost consideration as well as those lights were on for a variety of reasons; Ms. Martin's review of the Law Enforcement budget (Page 149) and a proposed decrease of 3% in law enforcement costs as a result of the renegotiation of the contract with MCSO; Mr. McGuire's comments relative to the fact that when the contract was renewed several years ago, it included a provision that allowed it to automatically roll over if certain conditions were met (if both parties did nothing, it would roll over from year to year with annual capped increases) and the fact that this year MCSO was kind enough to say that the annual increase would not occur and that was very helpful in terms of preparing the budget; discussions that had taken place regarding some operational refinement (just some minor language modifications/clarifications); the fact that the contract was definitely in place; prison fees and the fact that they did not include any transport costs but do included the actual incarceration costs (for both the night of the arrest and incarceration time); the Fire Department's Budget (Page 157) and the fact that the contract with Rural Metro called for an automatic escalation of 3% and in the first edition of the budget the Council saw those costs; the fact that the costs that the Council was now seeing were without the escalation clause and so that represented a reduction in the budget (no escalation and a reduction in the budget as well); the Mayor's appreciation to both MCSO and Rural Metro for assisting the Town in its time of need and for the great services they provide; and Ms. Martin's statement that this concluded the operating component of the budget and her willingness to respond to questions regarding other sections of the budget that the Council would like to pose. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Martin for her presentation. He asked the Council whether they had additional questions they would like to ask at this time about what Ms. Martin has covered or any other parts of the budget. Councilmember Hansen stated that additional input relative to the performance measures might be helpful. She added that it was previously suggested that additional discussion could take place at a Work Study Session and said that input relative to this would also be good. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 10 of 13 Councilmember Dickey advised that she did not have any questions relative to the performance measures and Councilmember Leger said that he too felt comfortable with the measures but if others would like to discuss them further, he had no problem doing so. Mayor Schlum requested that Mr. Davis describe how the departments approached the various performance measures and put them together. Mr. Davis responded that they were a way to demonstrate the efficiencies that were either being realized or failing to be realized and said that they utilized them in order to measure effectiveness in realizing Council goals. He added that if they were participating in a broader benchmarking effort they might measure that as well. He stated that to date they had not entered into a regional benchmarking effort but his experience in that area attested to the fact that performance measures were a valuable tool. He said he would like to move forward with that in the future but it would require the cooperation of other communities and was complex. He noted that right now a lot of performance measures were focused on two areas -- efficiency motivation and goal realization. Mayor Schlum asked Councilmember Hansen to what degree she would like to delve into this area and she stated that it was not so much what the performance measures were but rather it was the goals expressed in those measures that interested her. She referred to Page 186, Information Technology, and said it was pretty impressive with Mike taking on Channel 11 and his broadcasted messages for last year were zero and it was going to be over 200 for the upcoming year and he successfully brought the website in-house and had totally revamped it -- it was much more user friendly. She stated that that was a goal brought up during last year's budget and had been successfully completed. She added that one thought that came to mind regarding Channel 11 was possibly looking at what the Town's current policy was and look at modifying it. She advised that she had mentioned to the Town Manager the possibility of video- taping substance abuse coalition meetings because a lot of good information came out at those meetings and so broadcasting those meetings would represent an educational program. She stressed the importance of looking at the performance measures and then coming up with things that might be beneficial during the coming year. Mayor Schlum advised that he was trying to move everyone through the budget process rather than encapsulate the entire year's discussions. He agreed that Channel 11 and the website were topics that should be addressed by the Council in the future at a Work Study Session and said that he liked the idea about having dialogue take place but right now he would like to take a very effective timely approach towards reviewing and deciding upon the budget. Councilmember Hansen pointed out that there were no performance measures listed for the Town Attorney/Prosecutor/Defender and said perhaps they had never been put into place. Ms. Martin stated her intention to obtain the measures from those various areas by the time the budget was concluded. Mr. McGuire indicated his willingness to formulate some performance measures and said he had never been asked to do so. He noted that he sends a 25-page bill to the Town every month that details in six-minute increments every single thing they did and said he would be happy to somehow encapsulate how that works but added that it was difficult in terms of prosecution because it was challenging to come up with a benchmark indicating how many people were going to be prosecuted -- there was no control per se over that area. He said that they could "guesstimate" based on previous years' data. Mr. Davis advised that not too long ago staff did an analysis and quantified the amount of services provided per hour and created a ratio regarding how much was being spent in an effort to determine what the Town was receiving compared to other municipalities. He said that some of that information might be helpful and it was the only way he could determine effectiveness in measuring performance. He added that they might not be measuring the City Attorney's performance per se but rather the overall contracting for legal services. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 11 of 13 Mayor Schlum stated that Councilmember Hansen made some good points and there were some performance measures that they were going to have to add/measure. He added that some of the items she mentioned were ones that would be covered at a Work Study Session or more broadly at a goal setting session. Councilmember Hansen asked to mention one other item that she felt strongly about -- on Page 194 under Economic Development, the activities and outcomes were just about cut in half from last year and one thing that did get removed that she would like to see put back in was in last year's budget there was an activity to develop contacts and form positive working relationships with the Chamber and other business groups in order to work together toward mutually beneficial goals. She noted that the Chamber was specifically left out this time around. The Mayor asked if there was a reason for that omission and said that obviously the Town was working with the Chamber and staff met with Fort McDowell representatives on a regular basis. Councilmember Hansen commented that it was just more specific last year. Mr. Davis said that recently he had become the primary liaison with Fort McDowell and perhaps that measure should be included in his section. He stated that this happened pretty recently and staff did not intentionally leave it out -- it just got misplaced. He advised that he would be arranging those meetings and also meetings with the School District would be managed by Ms. Ghetti. Councilmember Hansen stressed the importance of having the Economic Development staff work closely with the Chamber and the Mayor and Mr. Davis agreed but also noted that that was not noted under the measures. The Mayor said that item should remain under Economic Development (working with the Chamber as outlined previously by Councilmember Hansen). Ms. Martin advised that she would work with all of the individuals involved and make sure that the measures were appropriately updated. Councilmember Dickey stated that they had talked about performance measures a couple of meetings ago and she e- mailed some information to MCSO and brought up at a meeting that there would be changes and typo corrections. She said that they had been graciously taken care of. Ms. Martin advised that the Council would see the updated pages within the next week or so. Vincent Marsello addressed the Council and asked the Council what the most important asset in the Town of Fountain Hills is -- he answered The Fountain -- and said that that was what everybody who visited the Town looked at and the beautiful areas that surrounded it. He commented on the Town's contribution of $129,000 to the Chamber of Commerce for the Tourism Bureau and said that the best advertisement for tourism in Fountain Hills was the Fountain. He said that it had been stated that a savings of $60,000 annually would be realized if they ran the Fountain for five minutes per hour instead of the present fifteen minutes per hour and he knew that has been changed. He added, however, that all of the negative publicity that the Town received from the possible reduction of the Fountain run times had not been very good. He discussed the resulting negatives that could occur and stressed the importance of turning a negative into a positive. He said that he spoke with Mr. Mayer today and confirmed that half of the electric costs were due to the Fountain's start-up costs and recommended that they run the Fountain for 30 minutes per hour for an additional $45,000 and promote the Town more efficiently and effectively. He added that the additional $45,000 could be taken out of the contribution to the Tourism Bureau and said that this action would also improve the quality of the water and allow for better algae control. The Mayor thanked Mr. Marsello for his comments. Mayor Schlum asked the Council if there were any additional questions or discussion regarding the budget and there being none, he asked Ms. Martin to explain the process. z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 12 of 13 Ms. Martin stated that if the Council felt that the maximum dollar amount that had been established was sufficient to accomplish what the Council would like to see accomplished next year, they could go ahead with a motion to approve the maximum amount. She noted that staff would continue to work with the Council on making any minor changes they would like as long as the amounts did not exceed the maximum. She added that additional meetings could be scheduled to address line items in the budget. Councilmember Dickey MOVED to approve Resolution 2010-22, adopting the maximum amount for the Town's Fiscal Year 2010-11 tentative budget and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion. There were no additional citizens wishing to address the Council. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Mayor Schlum Aye Councilmember Contino Aye Vice Mayor Brown Aye Councilmember Dickey Aye Councilmember Hansen Aye Councilmember Elkie Aye Councilmember Leger Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). Councilmember Hansen said that since the budget was a planning tool for the Council she thought it might be helpful to schedule a Work Study Session for certain things that did appear in the document (i.e. taking the vehicle replacement fund and possibly not contributing this year and using those funds to offset a portion of the transportation program grant, etc.). Councilmember Hansen said they could further discuss fees and issues like that and it could be done at a Work Study Session. She stated that the discussions would not affect approving the budget but would be useful, worthwhile discussion to have. Councilmember Elkie agreed with Councilmember Hansen's comments. Mayor Schlum noted that they did talk about scheduling a Work Study Session for Tuesday so there was a placeholder for that meeting. Mr. McGuire stated that the only schedule that really had a statutory obligation attached was the gap between the tentative budget adoption and the final budget adoption and the tax levy. He noted that the next agenda item was to cancel the meetings in July, which meant that the tax levy issue would be placed on the agenda of the first meeting in August. He said that the statutory gap was easily met there as it had to be done before the third Monday in August. He added that as long as they had the final budget adoption at the meeting on the 17th, everything prior to that time was fine. The Mayor said that they would hold the Work Study Session on Tuesday and asked that staff be prepared to discuss issues at that time. He asked for Council input on what they would like discussed at that meeting beyond the fee schedule. He requested that the Council let staff know as quickly as possible if there were any specific items they would like discussed during the meeting. AGENDA ITEM #6 - CONSIDERATION OF CANCELLING THE FOUNTAIN HILLS' TOWN COUNCIL JULY 2010 MEETINGS (JULY 1, 13 & 15, 2010). z:\council packets\2010\r6-17-10\100603m.docx Page 13 of 13 Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve the cancellation of the Fountain Hills' Town Council July 2010 meetings (July 1, 13 & 15, 2010) and Councilmember Dickey SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7- 0). AGENDA ITEM #7 - 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: Mayor Schlum stated that aside from the budget items that the Council asked Mr. Davis to follow up on there were no additional items. AGENDA ITEM #10 – SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS AND REPORT ON RECENT ACTIVITIES BY THE TOWN MANAGER. None. AGENDA ITEM #11 – ADJOURNMENT. Councilmember Leger MOVED that the Council adjourn the meeting and Councilmember Dickey SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). The meeting adjourned at 9:15 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 3rd day of June, 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