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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994.0503.TCWSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE WORK/STUDY SESSION OF THE yid FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL MAY 3, 1994 A Work/Study Session of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Cutillo at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 3, 1994, in the Fountain Hills Town Hall, located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd., Building C,Fountain Hills, Arizona. AGENDA ITEM #2. - DISCUSSION OF THE MAJOR STREET MAINTENANCE PLAN INCLUDING IMPROVEMENTS TO FOUNTAIN HILLS BLVD. Mr. Nordin made an initial presentation per the attached memo. He explained that the $100,000 in Expenditures under Fountain Hills Blvd. Shea-Ashbrook column was for matching funds for a grant to be used for a concrete box culvert for the Ashbrook wash. Mr. Nordin then listed some additional revenue sources. He first identified reductions that could be made to the proposed departmental budgets which could increase available revenue. Secondly, as the Council reviewed the budget, they could earmark additional funds from cuts they felt were appropriate for Fountain Hills Blvd. Third, were general fund transfers identified on Mr.Harrel's memo(attached). Transfers in the amount of$80,000 would be in addition to the $1,084,000 previously identified in his memo. He said staff was always on the lookout for additional grant money. Mr. Harrel said the amount of$364,500 for Fountain Hills Blvd.Renovation - Construction Contracts was the key figure to remember. Councilman Clark asked if the total of$331,800 for Major Street Maintenance included the funds budgeted for the same by the Street Department. Mr. Harrel confirmed that the item included the Major Street Maintenance, the Capital Improvements,and the contingency item from the Street Department fund,plus some funds from the Bond Fund. A question was raised as to projected income from and plans for HURF funds for the '94-95 year. A good deal of discussion in an attempt to clarify the question followed. It was determined that the$849,000 listed was the bottom line figure which was the projected revenue minus the expenses. HURF funds anticipated were$750,000 total with $625,000 from HURF money/gas tax, $88,000 lottery, $5,000 from interest, $30,000 charges for services/permits, and miscellaneous income of$2,000. A projected carryover and/or contingency for'94-95 before budget cuts would be $79,000, as opposed to the carryover from '93-94 of $235,000, due to $100,000 more in routine annual maintenance being performed and an additional street department person being hired. Councilman Clark summed up the next round of discussions: The Street Dept. budget and work load for '94-95 minus Fountain Hills Blvd. including the Ashbrook project, and minus the category Other Capital Projects would be approximately the same as the '93-94 budget, only slightly higher. In order to maintain the same level of maintenance, the current reserve would be spent, plus $100,000 from the bond fund, due to more work being proposed. Mr. Harrel presented some slides and overhead projector slides (copies attached). Under the category Renovation &Spot Improvements,category Pavement Resurfacing,Councilman O'Brien didn't think it would be cost-effective to do repair work with a 12-year life to a two-lane Fountain Hills Blvd.only to tear it all up if and when the Town was able to make it a four-lane road a few years later. Mr. Harrel said the 12-year life option was presented given Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 05/03/94 Page 1 of 4 consensus of the Council was to go for the 5-year repair. Mr.Harrel then said since staff had basically gone for the 12-year recommendation, other items on the checklist might, therefore,be eliminated or cut back. Under the next category, Spot Widening, the consensus of the Council was to spot widen at stop signs to 4 lanes (reduced length & tapers); lengthen transition tapers, 9 locations, and add a left turn lane at Kingstree. Under the next category, Shoulder Improvements, following discussions on making the shoulder improvements acceptable for bike lanes,it was commented that there would be a bike lane on Saguaro and, in the future, one on Palisades, and it really wouldn't be necessary to have one on Fountain Hills Blvd. also. There was no consensus so it was decided to move on to the next item. Vice Mayor Minarsich asked if grant money was available for traffic materials. Mr. Harrel said staff had made a grant application,similar to one received a few years back,for the amount of$17,000,but he didn't know whether it would be received. He also said there were numerous other grants the Town had applied for but hadn't received word on yet. The consensus of the Council was to do all the recommended Traffic work. The next category,Drainage,was skipped and discussions began on Aesthetics. Under the topic of berms,Mr.Jim Rush said the berms were in very poor condition--there was an astonishing amount of trash along with the rock. He said that sooner or later grading would be warranted and the ditches would need to be reformed. He suggested being selective as to where the work was done. Mr. Harrel then said staff suggested hydro-seeding the shoulders with some desert grasses,bushes, trees and flowers. He related an example where MCO had done hydro-seeding and it had been very effective. Mr. Rush said hydro-seeding and water hydrating the berms would be a very poor use of funds. He said the shoulders weren't prepared for that type of vegetation. They would need to be graded, as was the case in the area related by Mr.Harrel,would need better texture and a lot less garbage mixed in. He said he would hate to see$35,000 spent on those berms in the conditions they were presently in. He also recommended that prior to spending$35,000,that hydro-seeding be tested in a couple different locations to measure the results and done with great care if the decision was made to go ahead. Councilwoman Tibbetts asked if clean up of the medians might be something a community volunteer group might get involved with. Mr. Harrel said that Mr. Rush and his group, Trees For Fountain Hills, had made an excellent start on one median but it was a big job to undertake. Mr.Rush said they had done quite a bit along Fountain Hills Blvd., several things along Saguaro Blvd.,and quite a bit along Sycamore. He said they had done that as a test to see what could be done. He said he felt there were a substantial number of people in the community who would be willing to provide the labor and activity to continue the effort if the Town and Council were interested. In the previous instance,the Town had provided vests, directional signage to protect the workers, and provided a vehicle to pick up the scrap and trash collected. He showed,using slides,a lot of growth that had been planted years earlier and let grow wild that could now be cut way down and thinned and would look very nice. He also noted that it would cost hundreds of dollars to replant those same trees at this time. Vice Mayor Minarsich asked if irrigation would be an issue. Mr.Rush said it would be. Most of the materials planted would survive after about three years of watering,but he recommended portable irrigation. He said there was a lot of original irrigation materials still out there that with MCO's help could be re-used. Mr. Rush also said there were grant sources for trees. The previous week they had picked up 10 fifteen-gallon Chilean mesquite trees and had placed them in the Town yard where they were being watered and cared for while waiting transplanting. Vice Mayor Minarsich said since the Town had a group of willing volunteers, their help should certainly be accepted since volunteers weren't all that easy to come by. Mr. Harrel agreed but said Mr. Rush's group was small and the amount of work needing to be done would be overwhelming to just one group. Mr. Rush asked if they could be allowed to quickly work with Mr. Harrel to put together a meaningful budget and work program and prove whether or not they had the capability of performing the work. Councilman O'Brien said he wanted Fountain Hills Blvd. to look as nice as possible,but he wasn't in favor of doing major long-term work that might just be torn out in a few years if a four-lane road became a reality. Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 05/03/94 Page 2 of 4 The discussions returned to hydro-seeding and Mr. Harrel said they could do a small amount of hydro-seeding on a test basis using different soils, different conditions, and he said that effluent water could be used. Mr. BruceNoOF Hansen said the Sanitary District had,in the past,done a lot of hydro-seeding and 90% of it failed over a four-year period. He said the Sanitary District had not used effluent water,but their portable water sprinklers had washed a good deal of the seeding away and he felt that hydro-seeding was not effective. Mr. Rush said he favored other options than hydro-seeding such as above-ground portable irrigation systems that would be in place for two to three years and could then be moved and wouldn't have to be lost. The consensus of the Council was to put aside between $35,000 to $50,000 in reserves and revisit this category at a later date. The next category of discussion was Drainage. The consensus of the Council was to go along with staff recommendations for: Catch basins & ditch outlets at valleys & street crossings (10 ea.), (4 street locations), and a 60" cross culvert at Colony North Wash (50% paid for by Paradise Ridge Subdivision). The next category was Hazard Elimination. There was discussion relative to how responsible it was to identify certain hazards and then vote to do nothing about them. Discussions then moved on to the subcategory Ocotillo Drive Realignment and how it would be accomplished. The consensus of the Council was to go with the Frontage road connection option. The consensus on the original subcategory,Reconstruct&rebank adverse crowns,was to approve Fountain Hills Place to Chama and Muskrat to N.of Pinto(SB only) and use road warning signage for the other two options. The next category, Full Improvements - Segundo to Palisades, was presented. The Council agreed, at present, to do nothing in this category due to lack of funds. The next category was Traffic Signal @ Palisades(if not Federal-Aid). Mr.Harrel said the Program for Federal Aid Funding had been shifted back to FY96 and FY97, which meant it would probably be 1998 before the program would be operational. Additionally,he said,in 1996,all MAG projects would be required to undergo a conformity analysis wherein a plan would have to conform to air quality control. He said there was no guarantee the money would be there in 1996-1997. It was established that the Town met the criteria for a traffic signal,but that did not mean a signal had to be put in. Mr. Nordin suggested that the item be put off until the cost could be verified. The final category, Non-Construction Issues, was introduced. The subcategory, Scalloped Streets Ordinance,was defined as having been started by Tempe and was a mechanism to pave a street and get a developer's contribution later. Mr.Farrell said there were substantial limitations. The Town was basically required to pass an ordinance that showed a need to have actual expenses occurred at the time the sidewalks or streets were installed. The adjacent property owners would then be assessed an amount for their participation,but there was a limit of no more than 1000 lineal feet of adjacent arterial streets. Residential properties were limited to 200 lineal feet. If the owner of a lot were to seek to take out a building permit within ten years, they would be assessed their portion. After ten years there would be no assessment against their property. It was suggested that it might be worthwhile for the Town to look into adopting the ordinance. AGENDA ITEM#3. - ADJOURNMENT. With no further discussions, Mayor Cutillo declared the meeting adjourned at approximately 8:15 p.m. Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 05/03/94 Page 3 of 4 , L TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS I � By: John M. tillo, Mayor ATTEST: 0.4114.A.A..H. 6 • 00-1,4, Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk PREPARED BY: Rosaly Rucker, Adm. trative Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Work Study Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 3rd day of May, 1994. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 2nd day of April, 1994. 0-114-4 • I JAAA4- , Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 05/03/94 Page 4of4