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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010.0617.TCSRM.Minutesz:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 1 of 16 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL AND REGULAR SESSIONS OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL June 17, 2010 SPECIAL SESSION * CALL TO ORDER Mayor Schlum called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. * ROLL CALL Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Schlum, Councilmember Contino, Councilmember Leger, Vice Mayor Brown, Councilmember Hansen, Councilmember Elkie and Councilmember Dickey. Town Manager Rick Davis, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 – CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 10-02, AMENDING THE TOWN TAX CODE BY INCREASING THE TAX RATE ON TRANSIENT LODGING; PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, MAKING PROVISION FOR EXISTING CONTRACTS; AND DESIGNATING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Deputy Town Manager Julie Ghetti addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that over the last several months a committee was formed to review funding for the community contracts that included tourism, the Boys & Girls Club of Scottsdale, the Fountain Hills Community Theater and Extended Hands Food Bank. She advised that one of the proposals was to increase the Transient Lodging (Bed Tax) Tax to 5% from the existing 3% with the additional funds used to fund tourism. She stated that Ordinance 10-02 would approve this recommendation. She noted that tax confidentiality regulations prohibited discussing the amount of potential revenue that could be generated as a result of this increase and added that staff had incorporated the proposed increase into the General Fund budget, however, if the Council desired to make changes to the tax rate, the difference would be absorbed within the General Fund contingency line item. She said that the committee recommends approval of Ordinance 10-02. Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that there were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. Councilmember Elkie asked whether this particular increase would only affect the funds that would go to the Chamber and Ms. Ghetti explained that the monies would go into the General Fund to help fund tourism. She added that when the monies went into the General Fund, then funds could be appropriated for tourism, but they were not specifically sent right over for tourism. Mayor Schlum advised that quite a bit of discussion had taken place regarding the Bed Tax and how it was done in some places versus others and it would go into the General Fund and at this point the monies were not specifically tied to anything. Councilmember Dickey noted that some of the discussion among the subcommittee had to do with raising certain taxes that would immediately go to the contracts and there was no support from the Council at that time to do that in a dedicated way. She added that the contracts would come before the Council like an amendment or a continuation for one year so at this point, knowing that they had revenue challenges, the Council said they might be able to support some revenue enhancements if the monies went into the General Fund for the good of the future and not just for one specific thing. She said that the entities might not exist in the same way or be the same ones after this coming year. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 2 of 16 Councilmember Leger advised that he had received several e-mails from the public and to clarify this issue he would like Ms. Ghetti to explain why the funds were not going into a tourism fund. Ms. Ghetti complied with Councilmember Leger's request and explained that if the Town dedicated the specific Bed Tax to a specific use, because they had less than ten taxpayers in this category, they would never be able to disclose how much revenue was generated from the Bed Tax so that was why it was included in the General Fund. She added that she believed it would be a felony to disclose how much revenue was generated as a result of the Bed Tax (disclosing taxpayer information). Councilmember Leger thanked Ms. Ghetti for her explanation of why the funds would go into the General Fund as it had in past years, due to legal consequences. Councilmember Hansen asked if this item did not pass whether the contracts listed on the agenda would be able to move forward; Ms. Ghetti replied that if they did not pass staff would take the funding out of the General Fund and then the funds would come out of the Contingency Fund. Mayor Schlum asked where the increase (3% to 5%) would leave the Town as far as an overall sales tax being paid by the hotel owners (compared to other municipalities) and Ms. Ghetti said taking into account all of the taxes in the State that the hotel owners paid, Fountain Hills would be the highest at 15.87% (with Cave Creek being second at 15.27%). Ms. Ghetti confirmed that the City of Scottsdale increased their Bed Tax by 2% for a total tax impact of 14.92% because they have a 1.5% tax rate and the Town has it at 2.6%. Mayor Schlum commented on the fact that if they approved the increase, the difference in the Town's tax versus Scottsdale's tax would remain the same as it has been. He added that no one on the Council was excited about being the highest but stated that they all understood the challenges they were facing as far as revenues. He also stressed the importance of generating revenues to fund various things including tourism. He further stated that they did not want to place the hotels in a detrimental situation and wanted them to be able to remain competitive as they were today. He explained that other communities had other ways of funding things, such as through a property tax and other fees, and that remained the challenge. He requested input from the Council. Councilmember Leger referred to a chart that was provided to the Council (Copy of the presentation on file in the Town Clerk’s office) and said that it did include the temporary State tax and so as far as the sensitivity that surrounded the 15.87%, they had to keep in mind that the State tax (1%) was temporary (3 years) and would move many people under the 15.87% level. He noted that other communities were contemplating increasing their Bed Tax as well. Councilmember Dickey stated that the subcommittee that brought the recommendations forward also wanted the Town to raise beverage and food taxes, etc. She said that there were a total of three recommendations for increases and the Council had narrowed it down to this one because it related to tourism. She commented on the long term problems that they were facing, like transportation, and said that the tax would help them along the way. She added that if the rate went up by 1.3% instead of 2% she would consider it and that would keep the Town's rate under that of Cave Creek. She stated that she would like to know whether people were aware of the fact that Cave Creek had been the highest for a long time and whether that has had any impacts (have people changed their plans to travel?). Vice Mayor Brown pointed out that it was not a great deal of revenue and that he personally did not feel that an extra penny or two was going to keep anyone from coming to Fountain Hills, staying in one of their fine hotels and enjoying the Fountain. He noted that a major issue was the length of the time that the Fountain ran and somehow they had massaged their budget so they could run the Fountain full time and perhaps if they went with the 2% increase they could look at some monies in the General Fund and be able to allocate it without wringing every penny out of every corner to run the Fountain. He said that he saw a lot of benefit in raising the tax by 2%. He further stated that at the time they were looking for additional revenue, even though it had not come into effect yet, they did not hesitate to raise the development fee by a 7-0 vote. He emphasized that it was all about finding enough money to run Fountain Hills and so he fully supported this recommendation from the subcommittee. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 3 of 16 Mayor Schlum thanked the Council for their input and advised that the Council had considered some increases and had said no as much as they could (franchise fees, increasing the restaurant/bar fees, etc.). He stated that they said no to most of the increases but they still needed to find avenues to generate revenue in order to properly run the Town and keep it the wonderful place to live, visit and play in that it was today. He added that the Town's fee schedule remained pretty much flat and they had talked a lot about Home Delivered Meals and agreed to a very modest increase (accepted the recommendation of the Senior Services Commission) and the Town had gone through some dramatic cost reductions as well. He noted that although the proposal might not amount to a great deal of revenue, it was a long-term solution and because of the modest base that they would collect it from, laws prohibited them from discussing the dollar amount. Councilmember Elkie agreed that they were talking about a modest base (those who would be impacted) and said that he believed it was going to have an impact on the community as far as getting people to visit. He added that they wanted to encourage people to come to Town and he always had concerns when they talked about raising taxes because once you did that they rarely came back down again. He advised that if they were inclined to increase the fee, he would be more comfortable with one half of a percent and stated that perhaps the Council could revisit this issue again next year. He said that down the road he did not envision the increase being decreased so again he would be more comfortable with a one half of one percent increase at this time. Councilmember Leger stated that currently at 3% the average cost of a room per night was approximately $75.00 and 3% would come out to $10.40 a night while 5% would amount to $11.90 a night, so they were talking a $1.56 difference. He expressed the opinion that it was important to put this into perspective and advised that when he traveled and looked at the tax on his hotel bills he was usually shocked but it did not prevent him from going someplace. He added that people often compare Fountain Hills to Scottsdale and say they want to be competitive with that community because it was the Town's main competition. He noted that the Town has been higher than Scottsdale historically and with the increase that would remain the same. He discussed room rate comparisons between the Town and Scottsdale and noted that the rates would still be higher in Scottsdale. He agreed that they did not necessarily want to be the highest number on the chart but wanted to offer another perspective. Mayor Schlum said it was tough time economy wise and advised that Copperwynd remained open, still had guests and was serving food. He added that the Council was a great supporter of tourism in Town and that was why they had spent so much time and had considerable dialogue on this issue. He commented on the fact that the State's 1% tax was temporary and so that would drop by 1% in three years. Mayor Schlum MOVED to increase the Transient Lodging Tax (Bed Tax) by 1% (3% to 4%) and Councilmember Hansen SECONDED the motion. Councilmember Dickey MOVED to amend the motion to increase the Transient Lodging Tax (Bed Tax) by 1.3% (3% to 4.3%) and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion. Mayor Schlum requested a vote on the amended motion and a roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Contino Nay Councilmember Hansen Nay Councilmember Leger Aye Councilmember Dickey Aye Councilmember Elkie Nay Vice Mayor Brown Aye Mayor Schlum Nay The motion FAILED for lack of a majority vote (3-4). The Mayor then requested a vote on the main motion. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 4 of 16 Councilmember Elkie MOVED to amend the main motion to increase the Transient Lodging Tax (Bed Tax) to one half of 1% and the motion FAILED for lack of a second. Councilmember Hansen pointed out that with a 1% increase, the Town would still be under Scottsdale's rate. She added that they had received correspondence from the Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the hotel industry and they had suggested that the Council go with a 1% increase. Councilmember Dickey said if they went below the original recommendation, it was suggested that the funding come from the Contingency Fund and she just wanted to state that if she voted yes on the main motion, it did not mean that she would vote yes on the use of Contingency Funds for any of the contracts. There being no further discussion, the Mayor requested a vote on the main motion (a 1% increase). The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #2 – CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2010-16, ADOPTING THE AMENDED AND RESTATED TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS FINANCIAL POLICIES, REDUCING THE ALLOCATION OF CONSTRUCTION SALES TAX TO CAPITAL PROJECTS FROM 85% TO 50%. Ms. Ghetti advised that a committee was formed to look at all of the community contracts including the Boys & Girls Club, the Community Theater, Tourism and the Extended Hands Food Bank. She advised that another recommendation was to decrease the allocation of construction sales tax to capital projects from 85% to 50%. She advised that this requires a resolution to amend the Town's financial policies and added that staff had already incorporated the proposed increase into the General Fund budget but noted that if it was the Council's desire to make changes to the transfer percentages, the monies would be absorbed into the Contingency Fund budget. She stated that in this case they were not bound by any confidentiality statute and the difference would amount to approximately $48,000. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Ghetti for her presentation. Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve Resolution 2010-16, amending the Town's financial policy to decrease the allocation of construction sales tax and redirect it to the Capital Projects Fund from 85% to 50% to fund community projects for FY 2010-11 and Vice Mayor Brown SECONDED the motion. Councilmember Dickey noted that the motion, as written, was to fund community projects and said that was not the only purpose. Discussion ensued relative to the language contained in the current motion and Town Attorney Andrew McGuire advised that if the motion was restated to reflect the intent, there was no need for an amended motion. Councilmember Leger restated the MOTION to approve Resolution 2010-16, amending the Town's financial policy to decrease the allocation of construction sales tax and redirect it to the Capital Projects Fund from 85% to 50% and Vice Mayor Brown SECONDED the restated motion. Ms. Bender advised that there were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #3 – PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING RESOLUTION 2010-23, ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE BUDGET AS THE FINAL BUDGET FOR THE 2010-11 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 5 of 16 Mayor Schlum declared the public hearing open at 7:02 p.m. Accounting Supervisor Mary Martin addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and said that this item was the continued public hearing on the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2010-11. She advised that staff was present to address any questions the Councilmembers might have. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Martin and said that they had just talked about changing one of the revenue items from a 2% to a 1% decrease and asked for staff to comment on this. Ms. Martin stated that there were funds in the budgeted Contingency area that would deal with the item. Mayor Schlum noted that they were still in the public hearing portion of the item and a motion was not appropriate at this time. The Mayor asked if there were any citizens who wished to speak and Ms. Bender advised that there were not. Mayor Schlum declared the public hearing closed at 7:03 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #4 – CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2010-23, ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE BUDGET AS THE FINAL BUDGET FOR THE 2010-11 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS. Councilmember Dickey MOVED to approve Resolution 2010-23, adopting the Tentative Budget as the Final Budget for the 2010-11 Fiscal Year Budget for the Town of Fountain Hills and Vice Mayor Brown SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this item. The Mayor noted that they were about to vote on the proposed budget that they had discussed for a couple of months and asked if there were any additional questions at this time. Councilmember Dickey asked when would be the appropriate time to bring up the fact that instead of taking the monies needed due to the change in Item #1 from the Contingency Fund that they take it from somewhere else or could she approve this now without indicating that she supported taking the entire amount out of Contingency (address that at a future time). Mayor Schlum stated that when items come before the Council they would have an opportunity to provide direction but added that she should feel free to talk about it at this time as well if that was her desire. Councilmember Dickey said that she would support it at this time based on the fact that the items would come back before the Council and said perhaps the economy would improve and there might be chances to make it up or make some changes without having to take it from Contingency Funds. Councilmember Hansen said she knew that staff was transitioning into a different format for the budget but stated that she did have some concerns that they were losing something in that process. She noted that they used to receive detailed pages but now they were only getting detailed pages on departments and not divisions and she felt it very beneficial to have the old line page because it provided a five-year history and made it easy to go back and see how they have done in the past. She added that she knew they had new software but it would be nice as they moved forward to still create that same type of report that provided some historical perspective. She referred to Page 278 of the Budget under the Municipal Property Corporation and said it showed the expenditures and the debt service and noted that in previous years those were broken out for each bond, which made it very clear what the balance was in each of those funds. She further stated that as they moved forward with the new system the numbers were being shown as principle, interest and administration fees but it was combining all of the other line items in one amount so they no longer could see the actual detail. She added that it was great to show principle and interest but if they could also show it broken down for each of z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 6 of 16 the bonds that would give the Council a better idea of what it was. She advised that she was struggling with the lack of detail and believed that others would too, because two years from now 2006-07 would have dropped off. Mayor Schlum commented that he could see what Councilmember Hansen was referring to and asked Ms. Martin to provide some input on the concerns expressed by Councilmember Hansen. Ms. Martin stated that there were two different issues that were being presented -- on the issue of the bonding being broken out differently than it was in the past, that was due to the fact that a few years ago the Town went to a refunding of those bonds so instead of having those bonds individually priced now they were rolled into a package and there was only one principle and interest payment. Councilmember Hansen asked if there was a way to add some additional language in the budget so that the Council and everyone who reviewed it could see a breakdown. Ms. Martin responded that the only breakdown that existed was the one principle and interest amount. Mayor Schlum stated that perhaps they could simply have some language that said "FY 2008-09 refinanced into one package and now accumulated debt was accounted for differently." He added that perhaps that was not the best example and it was difficult to compare anymore because they were apples to oranges since other costs were included in the programs. Councilmember Hansen advised that she understood that but said that it was difficult because items were being "clumped" and anyone wanting to do some research would have to go to a number of places to come up with the answers. She added that the process had become cumbersome. Ms. Martin informed the Council that one of the challenges that staff was facing was that up until a few years ago they had budgeted at the department level so there was no way to get detail below the department level so if someone wanted to know how much the Code Enforcement component and Zoning was, they could not tell because they were just included in line items for the Planning & Zoning Department. She noted that Administration was one department and if someone wanted to know what the component Town Clerk cost, there was no way to tell. She advised that that was the difficulty they had going forward -- beyond two and a half years ago everything was budgeted at the department level and in order to maintain a history they had to start at the department level (to get history that went back five years). She pointed out that the last two years staff has been able to provide more detailed history but they could only go back two years. She added that hopefully in a few years, as they built more history, the budget process would become more transparent. Mayor Schlum said that he liked more detail and said for example that the budget no longer contained one number for postage, it was allocated to each department on an agreed upon amount. He stated that they were getting more detail but they no longer had the years of history to compare numbers against. He noted that if they did not change anything again they were happy with how they were accounting for things and each year they would be able to track more in a cyclical fashion. Ms. Martin commented that that was staff's hope. Mayor Schlum thanked staff for their input and the Council for their excellent dialogue and comments. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 7 of 16 A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Elkie Aye Councilmember Hansen Aye Councilmember Contino Aye Councilmember Leger Aye Vice Mayor Brown Aye Councilmember Dickey Aye Mayor Schlum Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). Mayor Schlum added that he would like to thank the Commissions, staff, and the Executive Budget Committee for their hard work and dedication and also expressed appreciation to the residents for their excellent input. He noted that they had put together a budget during a time when revenues were so dramatically decreased and maintaining the quality of life that existed in Town was quite a struggle. He added that they have had to say goodbye to quite a number of staff members during this struggle so it had been very challenging and difficult but he appreciated everyone's efforts to work together for the good of the Town. He said that he believed they had a budget that they could be proud of and it would help them get through the next year until they faced it again. AGENDA ITEM #5 – ADJOURN THE SPECIAL SESSION AND CONVENE THE REGULAR SESSION. Councilmember Elkie MOVED that the Council adjourn the Special Session and convene the Regular Session and Councilmember Dickey SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). The meeting adjourned at 7:14 p.m. REGULAR SESSION AGENDA CALL THE REGULAR SESSION TO ORDER Mayor Schlum called the Regular Session to order at 7:14 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. ROLL CALL Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Schlum, Councilmember Contino, Councilmember Leger, Vice Mayor Brown, Councilmember Hansen, Councilmember Elkie and Councilmember Dickey. Town Manager Rick Davis, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. ● INVOCATION by Mayor Jay T. Schlum. ● MAYOR’S REPORT (i) The Mayor will read a proclamation declaring July as Park and Recreation Month. Mayor Schlum read a proclamation declaring July as Park & Recreation Month in the Town and stated that their programs represent an integral part of the community as well as the country. He stressed the importance of Parks & Recreation programs maintaining and improving the Town's quality of life, ensuring the health of all citizens and contributing to the economic well being of the community. He noted that the programs help combat chronic disease and help all facets of the community and benefit the entire Town (economic development, quality of life and providing a better place for children and adults to connect and enjoy their lives). z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 8 of 16 SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS (i) Presentation by Scarlett Spring, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC). Scarlett Spring, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), addressed the Council and highlighted a brief PowerPoint presentation that depicted past, current and future activities in relation to the overall benefit to the Town as well as expected data regarding the entire nation. (Copy of the presentation available in the Town Clerk’s office.) Ms. Spring said that GPEC performed three major functions: Business attraction; Marketing the region and Providing competitiveness. She discussed five years of data relative to the organization's prospect activity; companies that had come to the State through the Arizona Department of Commerce; the fact that over the past five years that number had trended down mainly because most of the companies calling were Fortune 500 companies, which were looking for expansion and regional offices and in 2008-09 those companies were not in the expansion mode at all; the fact that GPEC was able to maintain their level of prospect activity (as of the end of June) was a remarkable accomplishment; the fact that GPEC took 37 domestic trips and two international trips to provide information and solicit businesses; the GPEC 100, which was a site selector; the organization's efforts to bring viable projects to the community; their international activities; expansion activities and conferences attended; recruitment efforts and successful relocations; the organization's efforts to ensure that other states did not boycott Arizona as a result of the passage of the recent immigration legislation; job generation and media exposure; achievements in the City of Scottsdale, which positively impact the Town as well; valuable analyses and interaction/partnering that was provided to the Town's staff; Senate Bill 1403, the Renewable Energy Tax Credit Bill that GPEC helped introduce and positive impacts as a result of that legislation; continuing efforts to get worthwhile legislation passed that would benefit the entire region; the importance of remaining diverse, particularly as they emerge from the recession; marketing efforts for the region; GPEC's website that lists available office and industrial space that was "shovel ready;" and efforts to reach out to the State's legislators to gain their support. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Spring for her presentation. Councilmember Dickey said that GPEC foresees the implications of 1070 and asked how the organization was communicating/dealing with their concerns regarding the ways in which the legislation might negatively impact the organization's goals. Ms. Spring stated the opinion that no one thought this issue would move forward as quickly as it did and noted that they were not lobbyists and did not have a lobbyist on staff (although they did contract out with one on an as needed basis). She reported that they have yet to have a deal back out because of Senate Bill 1070 and added that they had three deals right now that would have to be announced under project names and information would be forthcoming about them in January 2011. She said that they did not want to be associated with the issue and GPEC had expended great effort to ensure that they were not in the press. She added that they did not know if they were getting screened out (they usually fall in the top ten markets) in the early process and that would not show up until September. Councilmember Leger thanked Ms. Spring for her presentation and said he was hopeful that GPEC would continue to focus its efforts on the community. Councilmember Dickey said that the Department of Tourism and the Department of Commerce that was going away and becoming a "quasi-governmental" organization and asked for Ms. Spring's thoughts on this. Ms. Spring advised that GPEC was on the phone almost every day talking with the Department of Commerce and said they were being quiet right now because she anticipated that they would be making an announcement and did not want to get ahead of the Governor in doing that. She noted that it had been alluded to that their interaction with economic development groups would not change -- what would change was that there would now be a public board and on that z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 9 of 16 board would sit the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate would Chair it and there would be 14 private sector boardmembers. She stated that the public/private leadership would change rather than the actual transaction of the deals. She said that the Governor would handle that announcement on her own and the Department of Commerce would then "fold in behind that." In response to a question from Councilmember Dickey, Ms. Spring advised that every state had a Department of Commerce. She said that she believed in Arizona they would peel off the pieces from the Department of Commerce and place them in the new Arizona Commerce Agency and so there would still be parts of commerce because analyses, etc. had to be done and she believed those components would remain in place. Mayor Schlum reiterated his appreciation to Ms. Spring for her presentation, input and efforts to assist the Town. (ii) Presentation by Fred Bedell, Chair of the Fountain Park Sub-Committee, regarding the Greening of the Downtown Committee’s activities. Mr. Fred Bedell, Chairman of the Fountain Park Sub-Committee, addressed the Council relative to the greening of the Downtown Committee's activities and advised that he was standing in for Jerry Butler, the Chairman of the group, who was currently out of Town. He said that he believed this was a perfect example of how a public/private partnership could co-exist around a particular challenge and come up with an initiative to get something done. He noted the various representatives who serve/work with the subcommittee. He noted that they had employed Urban Planning and Swaback had come up with a vision plan and following that, thanks to the Council's financial help and support, they came up with a landscape plan for the Town Park. Mr. Bell discussed plans that were developed to successfully conduct a demonstration project in the performance pad area; the importance of getting people interested in and supportive of the project; the three phases of the project that were planned out; the fact that the program was dependent upon donations (the subcommittee raised $30,000 as of April 30th); the fact that the tree project cost $14,000; contributions that were received from Meridian and Wells Fargo Banks; pending applications that had been submitted to Chase Bank and Bank of America; the importance of obtaining additional funding to advance the project; their goal of planting trees around the Veteran's Memorial Project and improving the landscaping in that area as well; coinciding efforts with the State's Centennial in 2012 (during Phase III); difficulties and challenges faced by the subcommittee, particularly during these difficult economic times; the importance of setting priorities; and their continuing efforts to transform the area into an extremely attractive, aesthetically pleasing one for citizens and visitors to enjoy. Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Bedell for his presentation and said that the work to date looks awesome. He expressed appreciation to everyone involved for their hard work and dedication and also commended those who had generously provided needed funding for this important and worthwhile endeavor. CALL TO THE PUBLIC None. CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM MAY 4, 11, 20, 2010 AND JUNE 3, 2010. AGENDA ITEM #2 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE CONTRACT WITH FOUNTAIN VIEW VILLAGE FOR HOME DELIVERED MEALS FOR FISCAL YEARS 2010 THROUGH 2012. AGENDA ITEM #3 – CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE, SUBMITTED BY JEROLD LANE MILES (FOR THE FOUNTAIN HILLS AND LOWER VERDE VALLEY MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY) FOR THE PURPOSE OF A FUNDRAISING EVENT, TO BE LOCATED AT 13001 N. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 10 of 16 LA MONTANA DRIVE, FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ, SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON AUGUST 28, 2010 FROM 6:00 P.M. TO 10:00 P.M. AGENDA ITEM #4 – CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE, SUBMITTED BY JEROLD LANE MILES (FOR THE FOUNTAIN HILLS AND LOWER VERDE VALLY MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY) FOR THE PURPOSE OF A FUNDRAISING EVENT, TO BE LOCATED AT 13001 N. LA MONTANA DRIVE, FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ, SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2010 FROM 6:00 P.M. TO 10:00 P.M. AGENDA ITEM #5 – CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE, SUBMITTED BY JEROLD LANE MILES (FOR THE FOUNTAIN HILLS AND LOWER VERDE VALLEY MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY) FOR THE PURPOSE OF A FUNDRAISING EVENT, TO BE LOCATED AT 13001 N. LA MONTANA DRIVE, FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ, SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 17, 2010 FROM 6:00 P.M. TO 10:00 P.M. AGENDA ITEM #6 – CONSIDERATION OF AWARDING THE CONTRACT TO LARSON ALLEN, LLP FOR FINANCIAL AUDIT SERVICES FOR FISCAL YEARS 2010 THROUGH 2012, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $84,300. Councilmember Hansen MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda items 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 #7 – CONSIDERATION OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND THE EXTENDED HANDS FOOD BANK, EXTENDING THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT BY ONE YEAR IN THE AMOUNT OF $37,840. Mayor Schlum stated that they would have one presentation on Agenda Items 7 through 10 and would then take separate votes on each of the community contracts. Ms. Ghetti addressed the Council and advised that Agenda Items 7 through 10 represented contract amendments to contracts entered into by the Town in 2007 with the various agencies listed above. She noted that these contracts were for the provision of services and they all expire on June 30, 2010. She said that as a result of the decline in General Fund revenues, a committee was formed to identify funding for the community contracts going forward and the committee identified sources of revenue, two of which were on tonight's agenda. She reported that the consensus of the Council during a recent Work Study Session was to extend the current contracts by one year to allow the committee to continue working on the scope of the contracts as well as the funding. She informed the Council that the exception was the scope of work for the Fountain Hills Community Theater and stated that the Theater had agreed to accept the reduced level of z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 11 of 16 funding with a reduction in the level of service, specifically eliminating the requirement to produce one performance on a weekend at the Fountain Hills Amphitheater in Fountain Park. She advised that due to an oversight on her part, the performance did not get removed from the second amendment that was before the Council for consideration this evening. She noted that should the Council decide to approve the amendment, a revised scope of work would be provided relative to the Theater. Ms. Ghetti stated that in addition to approving the amendments to the contracts for one year, the funding for three of the four contracts was reduced due to fiscal restraints and all other terms and conditions remain the same. She added that staff understood the Council's direction to extend the contracts for one year to allow for further evaluation and possible modification for possible amendments next year. She said that the committee recommends approval of the proposed amendments to the community contracts. Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve the second amendment to the professional services agreement between the Town and the Extended Hands Food Bank for one year in the amount of $37,840 and Councilmember Elkie 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 THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND THE FOUNTAIN HILLS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE/TOURISM, EXTENDING THEIR TERM OF THE CONTRACT BY ONE YEAR IN THE AMOUNT OF $129,000. Councilmember Hansen declared a potential conflict of interest regarding this agenda item and stated that she would refrain from any discussion and/or voting on this item. Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve the second amendment to the professional services agreement between the Town and the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce/Tourism, extending their term of the contract by one year in the amount of $129,000 and Vice Mayor Brown SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those voting (6-0 with Councilmember Hansen abstaining). AGENDA ITEM #9 – CONSIDERATION OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND THE FOUNTAIN HILLS COMMUNITY THEATER, EXTENDING THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT BY ONE YEAR IN THE AMOUNT OF $90,300. Councilmember Dickey declared a potential conflict of interest regarding this agenda item and stated that she would refrain from any discussion and/or voting on this item. Vice Mayor Brown MOVED to approve the second amendment to the professional services agreement between the Town and the Fountain Hills Community Theater, extending the term of the contract by one year in the amount of $90,300 and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Dickey Abstain Councilmember Contino Aye Councilmember Hansen Aye Vice Mayor Brown Aye Mayor Schlum Aye z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 12 of 16 Councilmember Leger Aye Councilmember Elkie Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those voting (6-0 with Councilmember Dickey abstaining). AGENDA ITEM #10 – CONSIDERATION OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER SCOTTSDALE, EXTENDING THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT BY ONE YEAR IN THE AMOUNT OF $100,000. Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve the second amendment to the professional services agreement between the Town and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale extending the term of the contract by one year in the amount of $100,000 and Councilmember Contino SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. Councilmember Dickey advised that she would like to talk a little bit about what led to fully funding the Boys & Girls Club in the amount of $100,000, which was the same amount they had received in previous years. She referred to the minutes that the Council previously approved at the beginning of the Regular Agenda (May 20, 2010 minutes) and referred to the conversation that took place. She said that "Vice Mayor Hansen noted that the Boys & Girls Club did not have an automatic increase during the three-year term of the contract. She stated that in looking at that it appears that all of the other groups had increased but the Boys & Girls Club did not." She further read that "Vice Mayor Hansen stated that they should look at the fact that the Boys & Girls Club contract did not increase and figure out what that number would be if they had had automatic increases like the other groups." She went on to say that "Councilmember Dickey did not believe that the other groups had received automatic increases and would like someone to talk about this (she thought it was based on expenses)." Vice Mayor Hansen responded that "she thought it was written into their contract for a certain percentage of an increase." She advised that the Mayor said, "In light of the fact that they did not have the increase they entered into the contract initially and did not realize that it was an option, I believe that the Vice Mayor made a valid point" and moving on "to keep that in mind and you would be willing to consider an amendment” (at that time the Boys & Girls Club contract was being amended at 14% like all the rest of the contracts from $100,000 to $86,000). She said that the decision was made on information presented at that time, which had turned out not to be the case. She noted that the minutes also stated that "Councilmember Dickey said that she wanted to set the record straight as there was some doubt as to the automatic increases and it was her understanding that some of them were not automatic." She added that they went on to the vote and the contracts were reduced by the 14% and the motion was amended to add back the $14,000 based on what they now know was not the case for these contracts so once again she would like to have some dialogue on this issue. She said that out of all of the cuts that they had been talking about and doing and out of the spirit of fairness she felt that this should be readdressed because the decision was made without all of the information. Mayor Schlum thanked Councilmember Dickey for her clear presentation of the discussion that had previously taken place. He added that he had considered that as well and was comfortable with where they ended up. He stated that some of the contracts increased over time -- Tourism and the Food Bank (he could not remember all of them at the current time, the exact dollar amounts) -- and the Community Theater's increase and it now appeared that it did not. Councilmember Dickey advised that one of the things that the Council was told about the cuts that had to be made involved over-seeding and things like that. The Fountain Hills Soccer Club decided that it could not over-seed Desert Vista Park and there was an amount of $12,000 and she heard from a resident about that so based on the condition of the Soccer field at Desert Vista, she would respectfully request that options be considered so that the main fields themselves did not become basically dirt and the play areas. She added that they also talked about the transportation issue and the fact that it would be worse in a couple of years and said that with the $14,000 they could possibly do some other things. She noted that they did not raise the Bed Tax by the amount that was being proposed. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 13 of 16 Mayor Schlum advised that all of the things that they had funded over time have all provided value and that he liked having more of a holistic discussion on the value related to each individual item on its own (an individual item approach and hopefully they would make the right decisions as to what the community wanted). Councilmember Dickey stressed that she was concerned about the issue of fairness in a holistic manner. Vice Mayor Brown said that he would like to state for the record that when they went from $86,000 back to $100,000 he advised that he did not think that was a fair move and he said that he still felt that what was good for one was good for all, especially in this environment. Mayor Schlum thanked Council for the discussion and said that there had been some good clarifying this evening. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #11 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE 4 DAY/10 HOUR PER DAY WORK SCHEDULE FOR TOWN EMPLOYEES ON A PERMANENT BASIS. Human Services Director Joan McIntosh addressed the Council and stated that in June of 2009, the Council approved changing the Town Hall business hours for Fiscal Year 2009-10 to be Monday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and closing on Fridays. She noted that Council directed staff through this fiscal year to evaluate the hours based on four criteria, the first being enhancement of customer service. She said that staff had done that and determined that the Town's customers had benefitted from the extended Town Hall business hours due to the increased access to Town Hall. She noted that the Building Safety and Administration desks had reported that approximately 8% of their total customers arrive prior to 8:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. She added that the Court had also experienced a similar showing (12% during the extended hours). She advised that she had spoken with the front desk staff to find out if they had heard any complaints from customers relative to Town Hall being closed on Fridays and they had indicated that they had not received a single complaint. She added that they did have a couple of people who came in on a Monday and said they had tried to come by on Friday who did not know the offices were closed, but they were comments rather than complaints. In addition, the Building Safety counter had not received any complaints. Discussion ensued relative to the fact that on-going customer surveys indicate that 85% of the residents were in favor of continuing the existing hours or did not care one way or another while 15% would like to go back to 8:00 to 5:00 p.m. five days a week; the fact that Judge Armbruster, who was a strong advocate for the current hours forwarded an e-mail to Ms. McIntosh, extolling the positive impacts the 4 day/10 hour per day work schedule has had on the overall operations of the Court, including providing the Court with an enhanced ability to service the needs of customers (the e-mail expanded on the various benefits and a copy on file in the Town Clerk’s office); $8,112 in cost savings that has been realized (savings in electrical, water and sewer); additional benefits such as a reduction in driving (personal auto savings), less gas consumption and overall benefits on the environment (less pollution); a decrease in stress on employees who looked at the hours as a benefit; an on-line Town Hall survey that showed 81% of the employees supported the current hours while 19% would prefer going back to the 8 hour, 5-day workweek (less time for exercise was one reason provided, and another was that the long hours were tiring); productivity had improved according to the employees; the fact that the trend for the current hours was increasing throughout the Valley and of the contacted municipalities, the one half that had responded reported that the change in hours had been very successful and would be continued; some of the cities/towns had experienced larger cost savings; and the fact that improved employee morale more than cost savings had been the major reason for introducing the 4 day/10 hour work week in cities/towns. Ms. McIntosh stated that staff recommended approving the 4 day/10 hour a week work schedule for employees on a permanent basis and indicated her willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. McIntosh for her presentation. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 14 of 16 Councilmember Dickey MOVED to approve a permanent change to the Town Hall business hours by lengthening the hours of operation Mondays through Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and closing the Town Hall on Fridays and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion. Mayor Schlum commented on the fact that the current hours appeared to provide added benefits to citizens as well as staff and said that once construction commenced again there would be even greater benefit during the mornings in particular. The Mayor stressed the importance of improving customer service whenever and wherever possible. He asked Mr. McIntosh to discuss who was and was not on that work schedule. Ms. McIntosh advised that Public Safety personnel could not work 4/10s because they had to be here to protect the community and the Town's Senior Center and Community Center was also open seven days a week. She added that some of the staff at the Community Center had elected to work 4/10s and others had elected not to do so (decision had been left up to the Directors). She added that the Parks staff still worked five days a week, eight hours a day (again, at the discretion of the Director). In response to questions from Councilmember Elkie, Ms. McIntosh stated that the Town currently had 48 full-time employees and a majority of them were on the 4/10s. She also reported that 89 residents completed the survey regarding the hours and provided additional statistics relative to this particular issue. Ms. McIntosh reported that there were Parks staff members who would like to work the 4/10s or at least be given a choice and that issue again had been left up to the Director to decide. Additional discussion ensued relative to this issue with Ms. McIntosh responding to a number of questions relating to the survey results. Judge Armbruster discussed his approach to the 4/10s and assured the Council that any issues had been addressed successfully and options were available. He reiterated that he had not received any complaints and other courts throughout the Valley were also supportive of the 4/10 work week. Mayor Schlum reiterated his appreciation to staff for monitoring this issue and providing results on this item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #12 – CONSIDERATION OF AWARDING THE ANNUAL LANDSCAPE AGREEMENT TO ARTISTIC LANDS MANAGEMENT, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $179,127.20 FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1, 2010 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2011. Parks & Recreation Director Mark Mayer addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and noted that the contract was issued for one year and was renewable for up to four years for a total of five years, assuming that both parties were interested in renewing the contract. He advised that this covered the mowing of the Town parks, rights-of-way, medians, including fountains and other properties. In addition, it included over-seeding in some of the grass areas and the trimming of a number of trees. He noted that the current contract expired at the end of this month. He discussed advertising efforts expended by staff to solicit bids for the work and said that nine of the twelve firms had submitted bids. He reported that three were eliminated for various reasons and said that the Council had been provided a list of the bids. (Copy on file in the Town Clerk’s office.) Mr. Mayer informed the Council that Artistic Lands Management, Inc. had performed their work in an excellent manner and their references had been reviewed and confirmed. He said that staff recommended awarding the annual landscape agreement to Artistic Lands Management, Inc. Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Mayer for his presentation. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 15 of 16 Councilmember Dickey MOVED to approve and award Contract No. 2011-101, annual landscaping agreement to Artistic Lands Management, Inc., in the amount of $179,127.20 for the period July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011 and Councilmember Elkie SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #13 – CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2010-17, AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION FOR GRANT CONSIDERATION BY THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND THE MARICOPA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS RELATING TO SAGUARO BOULEVARD PEDESTRIAN AND LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS. Town Engineer Randy Harrell addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that this was the first grant application that staff had ever submitted that required the Council to pass a resolution as part of the application process. He reported that this project was along the east side of Saguaro Boulevard and added that they had started on this concept back in 2004 but the project never moved forward due to the lack of a funding source. He noted that the project was now in the Town's Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) with construction in 2012-13 so if they were awarded the grant, it would greatly reduce the amount of Town funding needed for this project. He advised that staff forwarded the initial paperwork for this grant as a pedestrian facility project and the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) would need to have the complete packet before they forwarded this on to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for their review. Mr. Harrell briefly reviewed portions of the contents of the staff report (Copy on file in the Town Clerk’s office) and advised that staff recommended approval of Resolution 2010-17. He said that the selection process would be completed by November, and if the Town was selected, it would be about three years until the project was ready for construction. Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Harrell for his ongoing efforts and presentation. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. Councilmember Dickey MOVED to approve the submittal of a grant application to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for Federal aid transportation enhancement grant funding for the Saguaro Boulevard Colony Panorama sidewalk project (Resolution 2010-17) and Councilmember Elkie SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #14 – COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER. Items listed below were 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: None. AGENDA ITEM #15 – SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS AND REPORT ON RECENT ACTIVITIES BY THE TOWN MANAGER. Mr. Davis addressed the Council and said he knew that they were awaiting the completion of the Shea Climbing Lane project, originally slated for completion by June 30th. He said that indications were that the completion would be pushed out to about the third week in July (July 23rd). He advised that there were three factors affecting this delay: 1) the unanticipated needs associated with the infrastructure that needed to be accommodated (work that had to be done for signaling that was not included in the original plan; 2) quite a bit of infrastructure was found that they did not initially anticipate, and 3) a lack of anticipation relative to how hard the soil was in Town so the excavation had been a lot more difficult and time consuming. He reported that the work was going well and they did anticipate completion by July 23rd and around the second week in July the overnight milling that would close the road completely would take place between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. He said that traffic would be detoured for five days while that occurs. z:\council packets\2010\r8-5-10\100617m.docx Page 16 of 16 Mr. Davis added that today another letter was received from ADOT confirming that in the fall of this year they would proceed with the Shea Gap Project, between Saguaro and Fountain Hills Boulevard and the construction of a median there. He said that they were looking for that project to be completed within three months following the start (hopefully by Christmas). He stated that next year they would address the intersection of Saguaro and Shea, which would include an overlay of that section all the way to the Town limits. Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Davis for his presentation and discussed the savings that the Town would receive as a result of the project. AGENDA ITEM #16 – ADJOURNMENT. Vice Mayor Brown MOVED to adjourn the Regular Session and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). The meeting adjourned at 8:41 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 Special/Regular Sessions held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 17th day of June, 2010. I further certify that the meetings were duly called and that a quorum was present. Dated this 5th day of August 2010. _____________________________ Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk