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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994.0203.TCRM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL FEBRUARY 3, 1994 ROLL CALL - Following the pledge to the flag and the invocation by Councilman Lawrence, 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, Frank Clark, Wally Hudson, and Bill O'Brien. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Town Clerk Cassie Hansen, Director of Community Development, Gary Jeppson, and Town Engineer, Randy Harrel. Mayor Cutillo read the consent agenda which included: AGENDA ITEM #2. - ACCEPTANCE OF THE MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 20TH AND 24TH. AGENDA ITEM #3. - CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST SUBMITTED BY THE SUNRISE KIWANIS FOR THE FIRST ANNUAL "MOUNTAIN TO FOUNTAIN 15K AND 5K" RACE, SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY,FEBRUARY 26! 1994, FROM 6:30 A.M. TO 10:00 A.M. THE EVENT IS BEING HELD IN vile CONJUNCTION WITH THE GREAT FAIR AND SPECIAL PROVISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE TO INSURE THE SAFE COORDINATION OF BOTH EVENTS. AGENDA ITEM #4. - CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST SUBMITTED BY THE SUNSET KIWANIS FOR A DUATHLON TO BE HELD SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1994, FROM 6:30 A.M. TO 9:00 A.M. THIS ANNUAL EVENT WILL BE TAKING PLACE DURING THE GREAT FAIR AND SPECIAL PROVISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE TO INSURE THE SAFE COORDINATION OF BOTH EVENTS. AGENDA ITEM #5. - CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT TEMPORARY OFF-SITE DIRECTIONAL SIGN REQUEST SUBMITTED BY THE COMMUNITY THEATER FOR THE SOUND OF MUSIC. AGENDA ITEM #6. - CONSIDERATION OF RATIFYING THE JANUARY 27, 1994 AMENDMENTS TO SECTIONS II.A.4, III.A.S.a; AND III.C. OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION BY-LAWS. Councilman Hudson MOVED that Agenda Item#5 be removed from the consent agenda and that items 2, 3, 4, and 6 be approved; SECONDED by Councilman Lawrence. A roll call vote was taken with the results as follow: Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 1 of 10 (100 unanimously. The Council adjourned at approximately 10:10 a.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By: -1‘17,--, John M. tillo, Mayor ATTEST: 3-4...4i-k IJ • 1JAJ Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk PREPARED BY: (-4-44—‘t-(.. ttrJ. 4.1 � Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk CER I I HCATION 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 24th 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. La,L,_ . I Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 1/24/94 Page 11 of 11 Mayor Cutillo aye Vice Mayor Minarsich aye Councilman Lawrence aye Councilwoman Tibbetts aye Councilman Clark aye Councilman Hudson aye Councilman O'Brien aye AGENDA ITEM #5. - CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT TEMPORARY OFF-SITE DIRECTIONAL SIGN REQUEST SUBMITTED BY THE COMMUNITY THEATER FOR THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Councilman Hudson said this was the first such sign request and it was somewhat outside the current sign code. He felt there were a couple of items that needed consideration. His first concern was the length of time the signs were to be posted, and the second concern was that since the request was not a regular special event request, there was apparently no certificate of insurance required. He said he felt that with temporary off-site directional signs, there should be some liability coverage required, and the organization had none. He said he felt that displaying the signs two weeks before the event was too long--one week would be better. Mayor Cutillo asked whether a rider could be bought to cover the organization for the period of time involved. Mr. Nordin said he didn't believe so. L. Councilman Hudson said it was farfetched to think that a sign stretched between two poles could cause something for which the town would be liable, but it could happen. Councilman Hudson MOVED approval of the sign from February 25 through March 20 with the provision that a public liability carrier be listed with the Town of Fountain Hills named as an additional insured; SECONDED by Councilman Clark. Councilwoman Tibbetts asked whether placing the signs on private property would exempt them from the requirement. Mr. Jeppson answered that the only place an off-premise sign was allowed was in the public right of way. Mayor Cutillo said that while he agreed that liability was a concern, the Community Theater was a non-profit organization, barely making ends meet while providing a cultural event that the entire community could enjoy. He thought maybe the code could be addressed in the future, and possibly a restriction put on the time the sign would be allowed to hang, but he didn't want to stop them from having their sign. Councilman O'Brien said he thought the issue might be precedent setting in that there were many other signs around town where liability could be argued. He said there should be consistency in the requirement. The motion CARRIED unanimously. Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 2 of 10 AGENDA ITEM#7. - PUBLIC HEARING TO AMEND CHAPTER 7 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS PARKING STANDARDS TO ELIMINATE TANDEM PARKING TO FULFILL MINIMUM PARKING `441) REQUIREMENTS, TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF MINIMUM PARKING STALLS FOR MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, AND TO REQUIRE ALL PARKING SURFACES, EXCEPT FOR SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED RESIDENTIAL DWELLINGS, TO BE SURFACED WITH ASPHALT CONCRETE, PAVEMENT BRICKS, OR CEMENT CONCRETE. At 6:46 p.m., Mayor Cutillo recessed the regularly scheduled meeting and called a public hearing to order. Mr. Jeppson said that as a result of field work surveying sites in multi-family areas by the Planning and Zoning Commission, a concern was raised regarding the tremendous amount of on- street parking. The Commission felt the on-street parking was a result of tandem parking in the multi-family dwellings. Tandem parking, he said, was where two parking spots were required and the one-car garage and the driveway behind it were counted as two spots. A problem arose when the vehicle parked in the garage was also the first to leave. The second vehicle, not wishing to block the first vehicle, parked on the street. When vehicles parked on both sides of the road, it made the narrowed streets difficult to travel. He said the Commission wanted to initiate an amendment to the minimum parking standard to require that tandem spots not be counted toward the minimum parking standards. Tandem parking would still be allowed, but to fulfill the proposed requirement, non-tandem spaces on the property surfaced with asphalt concrete, pavement bricks, or cement concrete must be provided. He said the Commission also felt that there was a shortage of minimum parking spaces in a number of the multi-family complexes for guest parking and asked that the number be increased to allow one guest parking space for every three units or fraction thereof. Mr. Gary Martinson, Mirage Homes, said he was quite concerned as to why the item was even on the agenda. He said the traffic he saw to be a problem was on Ashbrook Dr. and were trucks with generators on trailers that couldn't park in the driveway anyway. He also said of the more than 30 single-car garage homes his company had sold the past year, not one had more than one car. A requirement for two-car parking spaces would only replace one third of the landscaping with concrete. Mr. Charlie Vascellero, Algonquin Ct., said the problem on Ashbrook Dr. was not the daytime parking, but that the street was used as a shortcut. He said he feared for the safety of the many children in the neighborhood with the cars speeding by. An alternative, he said, would be to put a stop sign on every corner, causing the people in such a hurry to find another route. Mr. Chris Vascellero, Ashbrook Dr., said he welcomed the cars parked on the roadside because he felt it deterred the speeding drivers. He, too, feared for the safety of the children in the neighborhood. He said if you forced the cars to not park on the road, it would just open the road wider for those who drove too fast. Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 3 of 10 With no other comment from the public, Mayor Cutillo declared the hearing closed at 6:59 p.m. and reopened the Regular Council Meeting. AGENDA ITEM#8.- CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTING AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 7 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS PARKING STANDARDS TO ELIMINATE TANDEM PARKING TO FULFILL MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS,TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF MINIMUM PARKING STALLS FOR MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, AND TO REQUIRE ALL PARKING SURFACES, EXCEPT FOR SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED RESIDENTIAL DWELLINGS, TO BE SURFACED WITH ASPHALT CONCRETE, PAVEMENT BRICKS, OR CEMENT CONCRETE. Vice Mayor Minarsich asked Mr. Jeppson if there was any portion of Town Code that dealt with the on-street parking of the construction trailers and generators. Mr. Jeppson said he wasn't aware of any such regulations. Mr. Harrel said there was a regulation that prohibited the overnight, on-street parking of any vehicle over five tons. Vice Mayor Minarsich said he was in opposition. Mayor Cutillo said he, too, was opposed and felt the issue could be better addressed by possibly restricting parking to one side of the road or restricting all-night parking. For lack of a motion, the request was denied. AGENDA ITEM#9. - TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT: (WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION FROM THE COUNCIL FOR APPROPRIATE ACTION) #9.A. Award of Bid on Golden Eagle Park Softball Field Lighting. Mr. Nordin said the low bid was received from A J P Electric for a base bid of almost $71,000 with an add. alternate amount of$6,370, for a total bid of$77,350. He said staff recommended that the Council award both the base bid and the add. alternate to A J P Electric for the construction of the softball field lighting. The reason for the add. alternate amount, he said, was so that on the back of two of the six light poles to be constructed, extra hardware would be placed so that when the time came to light the adjacent field, those same two poles could be used to facilitate that lighting. The electrical engineer hired to do the work suggested that the alternate be added to the bid process to see if that option could be obtained and still be under budget. He also told the Council that the bidding contractors were made aware of the need to have the job completed in time for the Little League season. Councilwoman Tibbetts MOVED to grant the bid to A J P Electric in the amount of$77,350 to include the base and alternate bid. The motion was SECONDED by Councilman Lawrence and CARRIED unanimously. #9.B. Status report on the 1993/94 street maintenance program. Mr. Nordin turned the floor over to Mr.Harrel. Mr. Harrel reported on the 1993/94 street maintenance report per his attached Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 4 of 10 memo. He said there was not nearly enough money in the street funds to make a dent in the Naw needed maintenance. He said four major maintenance contracts were recommended for Fiscal Year 93/94. Staff had been working since last July to prepare the contract documents and they were almost completed. Mayor Cutillo reiterated that a major reason extra funds were needed was because of the underfunded road districts which were unable to maintain proper major maintenance due to the inability to gain any funding. He said the town had also spent $500,000 the past three years for equipment to be able to perform some of the required maintenance. In response to a question from Vice Mayor Minarsich, Mr. Harrel said crack sealing and asphalt patching were a preparatory part of the major maintenance being performed by the Street Department rather than on contract. He said the concrete contract was ready to go, and the other three contracts would be completed shortly. He said staff was discussing whether to proceed or wait until after the March election when the sales tax decision would be made. #9.C. Consideration of Councilman Clark's suggestion to separate the funding mechanisms for Fountain Hills Boulevard improvements and major street maintenance. The HURF bond monies made available by a successful bond election on March 8, 1994 would fund the improvements for Fountain Hills Boulevard. Major street maintenance could be funded by the revenues received from a newly enacted local sales tax. Mr. Nordin turned the floor over to Councilman Clark. Councilman Clark said that the Council, in their haste to act on the matter, overlooked a very important fact. When the scope of the program was scaled down, the need to mingle funds to complete the program with the major maintenance program was eliminated. He made a presentation per the attached copy of the overhead projection slides and concluded by saying that delays cost money and action needed to be taken. He said the Council needed to enact a local sales tax now. Vice Mayor Minarsich said he didn't think the additional four or five weeks it would take for the public to have a say would make much difference to the condition of the roads and that the original plan that the majority of the Council had voted on should be adhered to. Councilman Clark said he believed his plan would tell the public in a very clear and concise manner what was desired with the HURF bond issue and wouldn't confuse the issue by also throwing in a sales tax. He said if the issue were defeated on March 8, the Council would never know why it was defeated, whether it was the sales tax or the Fountain Hills Blvd. plan being voted down. Councilman Lawrence said the Council had voted on street maintenance as the top priority and agreed to let the public decide on the HURF bond and to educate the public to the best of the Council's ability that if the vote was in favor of the HURF bond, there would be a sales tax. He said the commitment was made to the public to allow them to vote on the sales tax and he would not be in favor of breaking that commitment just because someone had a different idea. Councilman Hudson said he disagreed that the commitment was made that if the HURF bond was turned down there would be no sales tax. He said there was no way to do the road work without a sales tax or some form of a property tax. Councilman Lawrence said maybe that would tell Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 5 of 10 the Council that the citizens didn't want anything to be done with Fountain Hills Blvd. at the current time. Councilman Hudson said he felt Fountain Hills Blvd. was a disgrace and should never have been allowed to get in the condition it was in. He said the only ways shown to *40) obtain the money to do the repairs had been a property tax or a sales tax. Councilman Lawrence agreed that there was a definite need to work on Fountain Hills Blvd., but the commitment had been made to allow the public to decide on the HURF bond issue, and if it was voted down, the Council would have to find another plan or go with the citizen's advisory committee to find out what the public wanted. Councilman Clark said it was time to say the Council made a mistake. Vice Mayor Minarsich agreed with Councilman Lawrence that if the citizens voted down the HURF bond, the Council would need to start all over with new revenue plans, which might be a property tax or not making improvements to Fountain Hills Blvd. Councilman Clark MOVED that the Council direct staff to initiate the steps required for the Council to ultimately approve a sales tax. Councilman Hudson SECONDED the motion. Mr. Charles Vascellero, Algonquin Ct., read from a prepared statement (attached) and stated his continued opposition to a sales tax. Mr. John Evoncho,Jacklin Dr., said he attended approximately 70% of the Council meetings and said he had never heard anyone discuss cutting back on the Town's budget. He said he had a newspaper from Crestwood, Illinois (pop. 12,000) and had called that town to discuss an article in their paper. He said he questioned them and found they had roads to repair, policemen to pay, snow to plow, and were able to do it all on an annual budget of$2,000,000. When he called the Fountain Hills Town Hall, he was told the annual budget for the town was $6,600,000. He said he asked the Crestwood people how they could do it all for $2,000.000 and was told that their town was run as a business. Mr. Evoncho said he made an offer to two council members to fly at his expense to Crestwood, Illinois and find out how they managed so successfully and Fountain Hills couldn't. He said his offer hadn't been accepted to date by either council person. Mayor Cutillo told Mr. Evoncho that the Town's bond debt and other items were included in the $6.6 million dollar figure and the Town's actual income was just over$2,000,000 received from revenue sharing, and the Town spent even less than that. He said he didn't feel an equal comparison was being made. Ms. Shirley McDonald, Nicklaus Dr., asked why the public was told it was going to have a vote on the sales tax when the Council was now attempting to pass a sales tax without the public vote. Ms. Anne Colson, Jacklin Dr., wanted to know how the public could prevent any increases in taxes. Mayor Cutillo said he had always felt that the citizens should have a voice, no matter what the tax and no matter what the purpose of the tax. He said he continued to oppose the sales tax and felt there were other options. Mr. Vascellero said the alternative of G.O. bonds was still there and it was an option that went Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 6 of 10 away when it was paid off. ,,. The motion was restated and a roll call vote taken with the results as follows: Councilman Clark aye Councilwoman Tibbetts nay Councilman O'Brien nay Mayor Cutillo nay Councilman Hudson aye Councilman Lawrence nay Vice Mayor Minarsich nay The motion was DEFEATED five nay votes to two aye votes. #9.D. Discussion of transaction privilege tax (sales) tax including model cities sales tax code and types of transactions which are taxable. Discussion will include the mechanics of adopting a model city sales tax code and the options available.68 #9.E. Possible action to direct staff to prepare a Fountain Hills city sales tax code for future adoption. Mr. Nordin said due to the Council action on the previous agenda item, discussion on the above two items was no longer necessary. k, #9.F. Discussion of an informational packet requested by Vice Mayor Minarsich for the upcoming bond election. Mr. Nordin said Vice Mayor Minarsich had requested the item be placed on the agenda with the intent of presenting to the voters as clearly and concisely as possible what the Council's intentions were with regard to the upcoming bond election, and he turned the floor over to him. Vice Mayor Minarsich said he felt the public was confused over the issue and he felt it was important that the public knew exactly what the revenues produced by the HURF revenue bond would be used for and that staff should be directed to prepare an informational packet. He suggested staff prepare the packet so that it was informational only and run it by the Council and Mr. Farrell. After incorporation of any changes, a final draft would again be presented to the Council and then be mailed by Carrier Route (to save money) to reach every voter in Fountain Hills prior to the March 8 election. Carrier route would be delivered to every home and reach people that didn't read the newspaper. Councilman Lawrence said time was running out and asked how soon staff could prepare such a packet. Mr. Nordin said it should be ready by the next Council meeting and, if approved, mailing could being right away. Vice Mayor Minarsich said that due to the nature of mailing the packets as suggested and possible delays, he requested the Council receive copies within a week rather than at the next Council meeting. Councilman Clark said he thought it would be very complicated trying to tell the public why a sales tax was needed to retire a HURF bond. Vice Mayor Minarsich said the purpose of the Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 7of10 packet would not be to explain that, but to inform the public of the funding mechanism to be used. The purpose of the informational packet would be to explain what the revenue bond would be spent on and what the monies were needed for. Mr. Arnold Van Ruitenbeek, San Tomas P1., said he would like to know with the bond and revenues how much would be left for two other very urgent needs: the downtown situation and the schools. A beautiful four-lane highway leading to overcrowded schools and a downtown wasteland was not, in his opinion, progress. #9.G. Consideration of changing the speed limit on Fountain Hills Boulevard. Mr. Nordin said this item was requested by Councilman O'Brien. Mr. Nordin reminded the Council that the engineering report prepared by Stanley Consultants had revealed that Fountain Hills Blvd. was not designed for a 45-mph speed limit and Councilman Hudson, concerned about the Town's liability, had requested the Town take a look at the subject. Mr. Nordin turned the floor over to Mr. Harrel. Mr. Harrel quoted from state law that said local authorities had the authority to set and change maximum speed limits when an engineering and traffic investigation determined that the set speed was greater or less than reasonable or safe under the conditions found to exist. He read from a report (attached) the determining factors for setting a speed zone. After reviewing the engineering study, staff recommended changing the speed limit on Fountain Hills Blvd. from Trevino to 300 feet north of Kingstree from 45 mph to 35 mph. This was based, in part, on a very sharp vertical curve, a horizontal curve, a sudden pavement narrowing, and substantial side friction due to the vehicles coming from Palomino. Other potential hazard areas were studied, but accident and speed data did not indicate a problem and/or need for reduced speed in those areas. Mr. Harrel said due to heavy rains last winter, there was rapid pavement deterioration and pothole patching crews were out on Fountain Hills Blvd. three times a week trying to stay on top of the problem. Mr. Harrel said he was concerned if there was another season of heavy rains, the same condition would again occur and Fountain Hills Blvd. could very rapidly become an unsafe roadway due to pavement deterioration. He said staff recommended that the Council authorize the Town Manager to lower the speed limit to 40 mph should the situation re-occur. Councilman O'Brien MOVED that the recommendations in Paragraphs 1, 2, and 4 of Mr. Harrel's memo be approved and SECONDED by Vice Mayor Minarsich. Mr. Dave Gray, Teller Dr., asked how many different posted speeds limit there were on Fountain Hills Blvd. Mr. Harrel answered that there were presently three different speed zones and the motion would not change that. Mr. Gray said he was concerned that lowering the speed limit might cause a backup behind southbound heavy trucks or equipment attempting to make the incline on Fountain Hills Blvd. Mayor Cutillo said he didn't feel any real concern because a heavy truck would automatically slow down in making the climb and would be lucky to get up to speed by the time it reached the top. The motion CARRIED unanimously. Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 8of10 AGENDA ITEM #10. - 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.) Mr. Walter Johnson, Thistle Dr., distributed to the Council a handout entitled Construction Site Safety Rules which he said he had picked up in the Safety Department (attached). Mr. Johnson said he had contacted the Marshals Dept. twice and twice they had responded to his complaints. He said it was ridiculous to bother the Marshal because people wouldn't pick up their beer and pop cans, McDonald's wrappers, styrofoam and miscellaneous from building sites. He said he would like to see every builder have at least two of the notices posted on every building site, one outside and one inside. He said despite the Marshal's Department's immediate response, there were still no dumpsters on the construction site across from his home. He said of the three homes being built by his home, only one had a dumpster. He referred to the handout and said that of the seven rules listed, only number seven had been complied with. He said the Marshals Department had a more urgent need to attend to the irresponsible drivers in the community; in particular, the drivers who repeatedly passed him on the left, thereby crossing the double yellow line, when he turned right off Fountain Hills Blvd. Mr. Harrel said he had been reminded by the Town Attorney that the previous agenda item that changed the speed limit required an ordinance and that Mr. Farrell would be drafting one for the next Council meeting. Accordingly, Councilman O'Brien withdrew his original motion, Vice Mayor Minarsich removed his second, and Councilman O'Brien MOVED that an ordinance be prepared to incorporate the first, second, and fourth paragraphs of staff's recommendations to change the speed limit on Fountain Hills Blvd; Vice Mayor Minarsich again SECONDED the motion which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #11. - ADJOURNMENT. Vice Mayor Minarsich MOVED to adjourn the meeting and Councilman O'Brien SECONDED the motion which CARRIED unanimously. The Council adjourned at approximately 8:50 p.m. 1/460, Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 9 of 10 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS f j �k4'fi By: '`( John . Cutillo, Mayor AITEST: e-LA-t-Ak_ . 041} / Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk PREPARED BY: �/' _ > , '; ,J. Rosalynn Rucker, Administrative Assistant CER'1'WICATION 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 3rd day of February, 1994. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 17th day of February, 1994. 2 . Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Minutes of the Regular Session of the Town Council 02/03/94 Page 10 of 10