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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994.0120.TCRM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL JANUARY 20, 1994 A public meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Cutillo at 6:30 p.m.,Thursday,January 20, 1994,in the Fountain Hills Town Hall Council Chambers,located at 16836 E.Palisades Blvd., Building C,Fountain Hills, Arizona. ROLL CALL-Following the pledge to the flag and the invocation by Councilwoman Tibbetts,roll call was taken. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo, Vice Mayor Mike Minarsich, and Councilmembers Don Lawrence,Peg Tibbetts,Wally Hudson,and Frank Clark. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Town Clerk Cassie Hansen, and Current Planner,Jeff Vaider. Councilman Bill O'Brien arrived at 6:34 p.m. Mayor Cutillo read the consent agenda which included: AGENDA ITEM#2.-ACCEPTANCE OF THE MEETING MINUTES OF DECEMBER 2ND,10TH, 14TH, 1993 AND JANUARY 4TH AND 6TH, 1994. AGENDA ITEM #3. - CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST FOR THE "FORT McDOWELL/FOUNTAIN HILLS APPRECIATION DAY". THE EVENT,TO BE HELD ON SATURDAY= FEBRUARY 5, 1994 FROM 8:00 A.M. TO 5:30 P.M. AT FOUNTAIN PARK, IS A CULTURAL CELEBRATION OF THE TWO COMMUNITIES WHICH WILL CULMINATE IN A FIRE WORKS DISPLAY. AGENDA ITEM #4. - CONSIDERATION OF CLARIFICATION OF THE LENGTH OF TERMS TO BE SERVED BY THE NEW PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSIONERS. THE JANUARY 6TH MOTION TO APPOINT WENDELL OLIPHANT, JOHN KAVANAGH AND NOREEN KURDZIALEK STATED THAT THE TERMS WERE FOR TWO YEARS. THE TERMS ARE FOR THREE YEARS. AGENDA ITEM #5. - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 1994-01, PROVIDING NOTICE OF THE REGULAR PRIMARY ELECTION;ESTABLISHING POLLING PLACES AND VOTING DISTRICTS AND THE TIMES THAT SUCH POLLS WILL BE OPEN;AND DESIGNATING THE DEADLINE FOR VOTER REGISTRATION. AGENDA ITEM #6. - CONSIDERATION OF MIRAGE CONDOMINIUMS XX THROUGH XXIV AND XXVI, CASE NOS. S93-34 THROUGH S93-38 AND S93-40. Councilman Hudson MOVED approval of the consent agenda and the motion was SECONDED by Vice Mayor Minarsich. A roll call vote was taken with the results as follows: Mayor Cutillo aye Vice Mayor Minarsich aye Councilman Lawrence aye Councilwoman Tibbetts aye Councilman Clark aye Councilman Hudson aye Councilman O'Brien aye Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 01/20/94 Page 1 of 8 , AGENDA ITEM#7.-PRESENTATION OF THE PLAQUES OF APPRECIATION TO DEE SCHROEDER, STEVE TEKESKY AND MICHAEL BACHMAN FOR THEIR SERVICE AS COMMISSIONERS ON THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION. Mayor Cutillo said Ms.Schroeder had sent a letter expressing her appreciation for the plaque and sending her regrets for being unable to attend. Mr.Bachman, the student representative on the Commission,was also unable to attend. Mayor Cutillo presented Mr.Tekesky with a plaque for dedicated service to the Fountain Hills Parks and Recreation Commission from 1991 to 1993. Mr. Tekesky said he appreciated very much the opportunity of working with the Parks and Recreation Commission for three years prior to incorporation and his just-finished term. He said he wanted to pass on to the new commission two areas he felt the Town needed. One area would be for kids who did not participate in any type of ball games--kids that used skateboards and rollerblades and needed a safe place to play. The second area, he said, would be the washes. He said those areas should really be considered as potential open space area and also for bike paths and walking paths. AGENDA ITEM#8. - MONTHLY REPORT BY MAGISTRATE STUART SHOOB. Judge Shoob presented his report and asked if there were any questions. Councilwoman Tibbetts said she was concerned with the bottom figure on the report(Outstanding Accounts-$100,875). Judge Shoob said that item was being addressed on a daily basis with Marshal Gendler. He said that while the amount did reflect an increase, he wanted to point out to the Council that there was more than one reason for that. The court was getting a higher volume of cases filed and as they were filed, more people were being added to the books. He said more people meant more revenue, but it also generated more outstanding accounts, which often necessitated tracking down offenders and convincing them to pay. He said,again,that the problem was being addressed and several things were in the works and it was hoped to soon have the Outstanding Accounts back down to a more reasonable five figure amount. He also said he thought that the Fountain Hills court was probably collecting at a higher percentage than any other court in the state. He said the average around the state in collections was approximately 60-65% while Fountain Hills was still at 80-85%. Phoenix, he said, now had $57,000,000 in outstanding accounts, though, of course,Phoenix was a much larger municipality. Collections were a real problem for all courts and were constantly being addressed. AGENDA ITEM#9.-PUBLIC HEARING ON A SPECIAL USE PERMIT WHICH WOULD ALLOW FOR A 21,000 SQUARE FOOT NURSING, CONVALESCENT CARE AND ASSISTED CARE FACILITY ON LOTS 8, 9, AND 10, BLOCK 1, PLAT 207, CASE NUMBERS S93-41 AND SU93-22. Mayor Cutillo recessed the regular Council Meeting and declared the public hearing open at 6:40 p.m. Current Planner,Jeff Valder, said a part of the project was a replat to assemble the three lots into a property upon which to complete the project. He said the special use permit was for a one-story, 21,000-square-foot, 64-bed project. He said the plans allowed for twice as many parking spaces as were required. He said there were no other convalescent care facilities in town and staff thought it was a good idea. Mr. Valder said he would be glad to answer any questions, though the hearing only concerned the special use permit. Councilman Hudson asked what permits, if any, were required by the state for such an operation. Mr. Nordin answered that the facility would be licensed through the state and would be subject to periodic examinations. Mr. Mr. Lowell Allen, 16714 Gunsight, said his property adjoined the proposed project on the south and he would be directly affected. He said he was in support of the rezoning concept,but had two concerns. He said he would like to see a greenbelt maintained. He said he understood there was to be an emergency drive along the back and since his property adjoined the project, he would like to strongly suggest that the emergency drive be hard surfaced due to the possibility of service vehicles creating a dust problem. Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 01/20/94 Page 2 of 8 , Mr. Bruce Hansen,Planning&Zoning Commission,said there would be a greenbelt between the two areas and the area in question would be hard surfaced. Mr. Art Ursu,owner of the proposed project, said the back road would not be used as a service road, it would only be used by fire vehicles in case of fire. He said the Fire Department required only that he provide a solid base that the fire trucks would not dig in when they drove through. He said he thought it would be an extra expense and didn't feel what was being asked of him was really needed since it would only be used in case of a fire. Mr. Valder said the Town Code required that the surface be paved with either concrete or asphalt. He said that due to the surface design,staff anticipated some truck traffic would choose to drive over the area in question rather than use the area as designed because it would be easier than attempting to turn around in the space provided,though the owner anticipated traffic of only one or two trucks per day. He said there was a 10-foot planter strip required between the lane and the property line to make the plan consistent. With no further discussion,Mayor Cutillo declared the public hearing closed and resumed the regular Town Council Meeting at 6:48 p.m. AGENDA ITEM#10.-CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT WHICH WOULD ALLOW FOR A 21,000 SQUARE FOOT NURSING, CONVALESCENT CARE AND ASSISTED CARE FACILITY ON LOTS 8, 9, AND 10, BLOCK 1, PLAT 207, CASE NUMBERS S93-41 AND SU93-22. Mayor Cutillo MOVED that the recommendation from staff be accepted and the request as written be approved. The motion was SECONDED by Councilman Clark and CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#11. - CONSIDERATION OF A REPLAT IN PLAT 207,TO REMOVE THE COMMON LOT LINES AND ASSEMBLE LOTS 8, 9, 10, BLOCK 1, PLAT 207. Mayor Cutillo MOVED to accept the recommendation as stated. The motion was SECONDED by Councilwoman Tibbetts and CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #12. - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 1994-02, STATING OPPOSITION TO UNFUNDED FEDERAL AND STATE MANDATES. Mr. Nordin said a suggestion to pass the resolution was made by Senator John McCain in a letter received by the Council. He said staff recommended approval. Unfunded mandates were quite a burden on state and local governments. He said the last mandate had been the Americans With Disabilities Act and,while everyone may have been in full agreement with the objectives of that act, the Town had had to pay all costs to comply with that act. He said the resolution would encourage the federal and state governments, if they felt that an issue was very important, to provide the municipalities with the funds to make the required improvements. If the resolution was approved, a copy would be sent to all congressional delegates as well as state legislators. Vice Mayor Minarsich MOVED approval of Resolution 1994-02 as stated and Councilwoman Tibbetts SECONDED the motion. She said she assumed the Town was not alone in passing the resolution and that she understood there was a national grassroots effort to make the resolution really effective. Mr.Nordin answered that there was indeed an effort going on all across the country and a few months ago there had been a national anti-mandate day held. The motion PASSED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #13. - TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT: (WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION FROM THE Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 01/20/94 Page 3 of 8 , COUNCIL FOR APPROPRIATE ACTION) #13A. Consideration of directing staff to explore the possiblity of amending the town code with regards to trash receptacle enclosures. Mr. Nordin said that Councilman Hudson had requested the item be on the agenda and there was a memo from Community Development Director Gary Jeppson on the item. Mr.Nordin yielded the floor to Councilman Hudson for comments with the idea of giving staff an appropriate directive to research the topic further. Councilman Hudson said he became aware of the problem of unscreened dumpsters after receiving some citizen complaints and also by driving around town and seeing the problem on his own. He said the current zoning ordinance required that the dumpsters be screened,but the requirement was not retroactive. He thought that getting some of the other dumpsters screened was a matter that needed attention. He said if a resolution was passed,then there should be some sort of time limit in which to have it accomplished. Councilman Hudson then MOVED to direct staff to explore the amendment and Councilman Clark SECONDED the motion. Mayor Cutillo said he could see many hardships created by the amendment and, in some cases, space limitations might not even allow such screening. He said the new law required the screening, but asking people to give up parking spaces or give up space that wasn't originally required,he thought,would be asking too much. He thought staff might be wasting a lot of time when it turned out that they all ended up being grandfathered anyway. Councilman Clark said if there was a possibility of significantly improving the appearance of the Town, the matter ought to at least be investigated. He said while he agreed that there might be some hardship cases,he did think there was a need to look into it and see if there weren't some areas where improvements could be made. Vice Mayor Minarsich said he would support a study,but he asked Mr.Jeppson if he felt that such a study would require a lot of time. Mr.Jeppson answered that they would go through the commercial areas and take photographs to give the Council an idea of what was being dealt with and that would take approximately 20 hours. Mary Pilarinos asked Councilman Hudson what sort of changes he proposed with reference to the current ordinance. Councilman Hudson said he was requesting that someone drive around some of the alleys and the free-standing buildings and observe the dumpsters. The targeted ones were the ones that could be viewed from residences--ones that overflowed and also attracted animals. He said he was just trying to get a consensus as to whether some could be cleaned up, given a reasonable amount of time. He didn't feel that would be asking too much to help beautify the town. The motion CARRIED six aye votes to one nay vote by Mayor Cutillo. #13B. Consideration of approving the Phase II construction projects for Golden Eagle Park. Mr. Nordin referred to a January 14, 1994 memo(attached)regarding the Parks and Recreation Commission's recommendation for the remainder of Golden Eagle Park,Phase 11 amenities. He said the memo represented a change from what was presented last time. The bleachers were being de-emphasized and additional landscaping was being emphasized. As money became available,additional priorities of sand volleyball courts and bleachers could be pursued. He said staff was in concurrence with the recommendation as presented. Councilwoman Tibbetts said she had heard concerns that the town was going overboard in the area of softball fields at Golden Eagle Park,but she said she understood the field would be used for a great many purposes other than just softball. Councilman Clark asked for clarification on the intent of the additional priorities. Mr.Nordin said that the additional priorities were presented in case the actual costs of the first three priorities came in significantly less, it was staff's intent that the additional priorities be funded next. Councilman Clark asked whether staff was asking for approval,or were the additional priorities mentioned for information only. Mr.Nordin said the intent was to ask for approval. Councilman Clark said he would like to see staff return before the Council and ask for approval once it was determined if the budgeted amount would be adhered to. He said if there was a surplus, he would like to discuss it at that time. He said almost every proposal brought before the Council had been vague and underestimated. He said he wouldn't want to leave any impression that the additional amount was being approved. Vice Mayor Minarsich asked whether approval of the additional priorities couldn't be made contingent on the first items coming in within budget. Councilman Clark said he would prefer not to do so. He said that in the past new Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 01/20/94 141) Page 4 of 8 , items were brought forth every month or two and it became confusing as to what had been approved. He asked why approval was needed since nothing could be done until the funds became available. Mr. Randy Harrel, Town Engineer, said the items were presented so that at the time of construction bids, Council would have the items presented with costs and a decision could be made whether to include them in the project. The items were shown merely as a prioritization. Mr. Nordin said Council would have to approve any contracts before they could be accepted. Mayor Cutillo said the item was simply a prioritization--any expenditures would require Council approval. Councilman O'Brien MOVED approval with the total amount being restricted to not exceed$163,250 and the motion was SECONDED by Councilman Lawrence. Mr.Nordin said no dollars were being requested until the Council got the opportunity to view the actual bid documents. Vice Mayor Minarsich asked,based on the motion,if the Council would still be authorized to proceed if bids for the sand volleyball courts and the bleachers came in, were taken out of the contingency,and the bid still came in under$463,250. Mr.Nordin answered that in his opinion,no,because the Council had to approved the bids. The motion CARRIED unanimously. #13A. Discussion of revised local sales tax revenue estimates. Mr. Nordin said that Councilman Hudson had asked him to prepare a revised local sales tax revenue estimate. Councilman Hudson said in the event the Council voted to put a bond issue before the voters,that he felt a more realistic picture of what the sales tax would be to pay for the issue since Mr. Nordin's figures were very conservative. Mayor Cutillo said that while the table could be very accurate, it did a lot of assuming and that was how communities got into trouble--by overassuming. Mr.Cyril Wiggishoff, 15944 E.Rocky Mountain Place,said when figures were brought up for consideration,it was usual to take such figures into account as Councilman Hudson. He asked whether Mr. Nordin hadn't already considered such figures,thereby adding in the same amounts twice with Councilman Hudson's figures. Mr.Nordin said he had not used those figures until asked to do so by Councilman Hudson. Mary Pilarinos asked Mr.Nordin what figure he had used to show the amount the town gained over the five year period of the sales tax. Mr.Nordin said he had assumed a$700,000 per year sales tax receipt. He said what Councilman Hudson requested he do was take that$700,000 and,over the four remaining years,add a growth factor and put on an additional 10%for the first year. An additional general fund contribution was also added. AGENDA ITEM#14.-CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 94-01,AMENDING TOWN CODE CHAPTER 9, PARKS AND RECREATION, ARTICLE 9-2, PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION, SECTION 9-2-3 MEMBERSHIP BY PROVIDING FOUR STAGGERED TERMS AND PROVIDING A START AND FINISHING DATE FOR ALL TERMS. Mayor Cutillo moved to accept Ordinance 94-01, amending the town code, as written. Councilman O'Brien SECONDED the motion and it CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #15. - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 1994-03, ORDERING AND CALLING A SPECIAL STREET AND HIGHWAY USER REVENUE BOND ELECTION TO BE HELD IN THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS ON TUESDAY THE 8TH DAY OF MARCH, 1994, TO SUBMIT TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE TOWN,THE QUESTION OF ISSUING AND SELLING STREET AND HIGHWAY USER REVENUE BONDS,TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPROVEMENT, CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF FOUNTAIN HILLS BOULEVARD AND OTHER STREETS AND ROADS, AND FOR THE INSTALLATION OF NECESSARY TRAFFIC CONTROL EQUIPMENT WITHIN THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, AND TO PAY ALL CONTINGENT COSTS,TO BE DATED THE DATE OF THEIR ISSUANCE,TO BE NUMBERED FROM ONE UPWARD, TO BE IN THE DENOMINATION OF $5,000 EACH OR MULTIPLES THEREOF, TO BEAR INTEREST FROM THEIR DATE TO THE MATURITY OF EACH BOND IN THE SERIES AT A RATE NOT TO EXCEED 12% PER ANNUM THE FIRST INTEREST PAYMENT DATE FO BE DETERMINED PRIOR TO OFFERING ALL OR ANY SERIES OF THE BONDS FOR SALE,INTEREST PAYABLE SEMIANNUALLY THEREAFTER ON JANUARY 1 AND JULY 1 IN EACH YEAR DURING A PERIOD OF NOT TO EXCEED TWENTY(20)YEARS FROM THEIR DATE IN THE AMOUNTS AND YEARS TO BE DETERMINED BY THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL;PROVIDING FOR GIVING Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 01I20/94 Page 5 of 8 , NOTICE OF SPECIAL BOND ELECTION; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Councilman Hudson said he felt that a more realistic figure as to what the sales tax would produce would allow the paving and repaving/repairs of many streets immediately. He said once authority to issue bonds was granted,he had assumed using his calculations that the bonds would not even need to be issued for at least two years and maybe longer due to funds being available to do the street upgrades,to pay for the 18-month plan,and to pay for estimated condemnation costs,so there would be no point in issuing the bonds early and paying interest. If the voters approved the bonds, the town could wait to issue them until such time as the money was actually needed. Mayor Cutillo wondered why the town would ask for the bonds now but not use them for three years. Councilman Hudson said it would be best to get the issue voted on now so that when the time came to issue them,the Town was ready. Vice Mayor Minarsich said he thought staggering the bond issuance made good fiscal sense if it could be done, and if not, he agreed that the issue should be settled once and for all. Mayor Cutillo said that while he was opposed to the content of the resolution and the use of funds for Fountain Hills Blvd.,he was not opposed to the resolution in that it gave the public the right to vote on the issue. He said he didn't feel Fountain Hills Blvd.needed to have four lanes. He thought Fountain Hills Blvd. could be repaired,aesthetics added,and many things done to improve the safety issue without resorting to bonds or even a sales tax. Councilman Clark said he would like to see, with approval of the resolution that evening,the Town not wait to proceed with the maintenance plan. He said he would like to see much further deliberations before a decision was made regarding Fountain Hills Blvd. Mayor Cutillo said he believed that a decision was made at the last meeting to widen Fountain Hills Blvd.to four lanes and Mr.Nordin said that was his understanding. Mayor Cutillo said in order to undo that decision, a motion to reconsider would have to be made. Mr.Nordin said staff took the intent of the Council to proceed with the four-lane design,if at all possible. He said he was hesitant to project aggressive sales tax receipts because he was aware of municipalities where there had been decreases in revenue with a sales tax. He said he could conceive of two separate possibilities. One would be if the sales tax receipts didn't come in as projected, staff would go before the Council and tell them that the money was not coming in as anticipated and suggest that different alternatives for Fountain Hills Blvd. be reviewed, one of which could be two-lane rather than four-lane construction. The other possibility was that receipts more in line with Councilman Hudson's projections could come in, then staff could go before the Council and say that even more could be accomplished than originally projected. He said he felt all of the Fountain Hills Blvd. options were still on the table, to be dependent upon the amount of revenue which the sales tax did bring in. Vice Mayor Minarsich said he felt the public needed a very concise picture of what was planned for Fountain Hills Blvd. He said since the design alone would take a year to complete, that should be time enough to give an idea of the sales tax revenue. Councilman Hudson MOVED to adopt Resolution 1994-03 and the motion was SECONDED by Councilman O'Brien. Mary Pilarinos said it was unclear what was being proposed for Fountain Hills Blvd. She said she didn't think Fountain Hills needed a four-lane highway, but improvements were needed. She said the bond presented to the public should be clear, concise, understandable and factual. Vice Mayor Minarsich said a very specific plan was agreed upon by the Council and it was to be voted upon by the public. He said if the voters approved the bond measure on March 8,it would be with the understanding that the Council would be enacting a 1.2%sales tax to pay for the bonds. If the revenues from that sales tax fell short of the projections, then the Fountain Hills Blvd. plan could not be carried out to the full extent as quickly. He added that if Councilman Hudson's projections were realized, more revenue would be available for the job. The real problem was that exact figures for the sales tax revenue could not be calculated. Ms.Pilarinos asked why a four-lane highway was the only scenario that would be presented to the voters because she was opposed to it. Vice Mayor Minarsich answered that road and engineering studies had shown a four-lane road to be the only safe course of action and it wouldn't make sense to fix up a two- lane road, only to tear it up a few years later to put in the four-lane road. Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 01/20/94 ,4010) Page 6 of 8 Mr. Bob Thomas said he was opposed to putting the HURF bond on the March 8 ballot and he presented his arguments in opposition. A roll call vote was taken with the results as follows: Mayor Cutillo aye Vice Mayor Minarsich aye Councilman Clark aye Councilwoman Tibbetts aye Councilman O'Brien aye Councilman Hudson aye Councilman Lawrence aye The motion CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#16.-CALL TO THE PUBLIC. (PUBLIC COMMENT IS ENCOURAGED BUT PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE COUNCIL HAS NO ABILITY TO RESPOND OR DISCUSS MATTERS BROUGHT UP DURING THE CALL TO THE PUBLIC AS SUCH DISCUSSION IS PROHIBITED BY THE ARIZONA OPEN MEETING LAW.) No one came forward. AGENDA ITEM#17.-PURSUANT TO A.R.S.38-431.03.A.3,VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR DISCUSSIONS OR CONSULTATION FOR LEGAL ADVICE WITH THE ATTORNEY OR ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY. litor Mayor Cutillo MOVED to go into the Executive Session. SECONDED by Councilman Hudson and CARRIED unanimously. Mayor Cutillo recessed the Regular Session at 8:13 p.m. and went into the Executive Session. AGENDA ITEM#18. - RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION AND ADJOURNMENT. The Council returned to Regular Session at 9:10 p.m. Councilman O'Brien MOVED to adjourn. The motion was SECONDED by Councilman Lawrence and CARRIED unanimously. The Town Council adjourned at approximately 9:10 p.m. Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 01J20/94 Page 7 of 8 , TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By: John M utillo, Mayor ATTEST: CA-4-4--414- )5• 11-4A-4-A—) Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk PREPARED BY: C -,-,-r, <: 7 c c c- j Rosalynii Rucker, Administrative Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 20th day of January, 1994. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 3rd day of February, 1994. Noil) ea_44,_:, 6. l Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 01/20/94 Page 8 of 8 ,