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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994.0621.TCSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL JUNE 21, 1994 A Special Session of the Fountain Hills Town Council open to the public was convened and called to order by Mayor Cutillo at 6:30 p.m.,Tuesday,June 21, 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 Wally Hudson,and Councilmembers Bill O'Brien,Frank Clark,Marianne Wiggishoff,and Peg Tibbetts. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Town Clerk Cassie Hansen, and Town Engineer Randy Harrel. Councilman Don Lawrence was absent. AGENDA ITEM#2.-DISCUSSION OF DIRECTING STAFF TO PREPARE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 2-6-1 "POWER RESERVED;TIME OF ELECTION" OF THE TOWN CODE OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS REGARDING SETTING THE TIME OF ELECTION FOR INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM. Town Attorney Bill Farrell gave a brief overview of the current town code regarding special elections and then briefly discussed a draft ordinance he had prepared which would amend that same portion of code. Mayor Cutillo said he had requested the item be placed on the agenda and that he felt quite strongly that the Council should have the ability to decide on the timing of an election. He said waiting two years until the next scheduled election to decide the matter could have several damaging effects and he would like to have it before the voters much sooner than two years. He said he would be in favor of the optional choice where the Council could decide whether or not to hold a special election. Councilman O'Brien said he would be in favor of the ordinance only if it gave the Council more options,and the only way he could foresee more options would be to select the non-mandatory option. Councilwoman Wiggishoff said she felt that selecting the optional condition would place the Council in a position of having to justify when they did not choose to call a special election. She said she could see the need for options if there was an emergency condition and,in that case,a super majority vote could make the decision. She said she could see the benefit of getting issues resolved that some people, though not necessarily all, may consider urgent. Since there was already a mechanism in place to hold an election, and it wouldn't always be as long as two years, she felt the cost should be a major consideration against optional special elections. Councilwoman Tibbetts said she would prefer the optional choice, since the timing, cost, and issue at hand would all have to be considered. Councilman Clark said the ordinance could be expanded if it was written to include all primary or general elections. Mr. Farrell said that could be done and would give the additional option of an election being held in September or November of odd years, in addition to March and April of even years. He said he had a slight concern with that decision since the ability of controlling the election would not lie with the Council but with the county elections department since they determined whether or not an item could be placed on their ballots. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 6/21/94 Page 1 of 5 Mayor Cutillo said a majority of the Council favored the optional choice and he directed staff to prepare the ordinance for the July 7 meeting. Mr. Bill Tessmer, 17144 E. Rand, questioned the Mayor, since he had the item placed on the agenda,as to whom he was representing. Mr. Tessmer said there was a petition before the Council with 430 signatures on it and the Mayor needed to represent all of the people. He said he thought the ordinance should require more than a simple majority vote. Mr. Mike Abatemarco, said he thought the ordinance was custom tailored for the developer. He said he saw potential for a large conflict when the Council had to decide whether to hold a special election or wait until the next primary/general election. He said he felt that the public showed their unhappiness when they chose to put a matter up for referendum. He said it would be much more advantageous for the developer to resubmit his plans rather than holding a special election. Mr. Farrell said the ordinance would not change the power of the referendum--once a petition was filed,no action would be taken under the authority of the legislation. It would only allow the voters to decide the issue a little sooner than waiting until the next regular election. There was some discussion regarding how the matter was handled by other municipalities. Ms. June Post wondered why the citizens should pay for a special election when the only one who benefitted was the developer. Mr. Mike Heasley said he questioned the lack of town involvement in working with the two parties to find a workable solution. He also wondered if there might be a mechanism to allow full withdrawal in the event the developer and the petitioners were able to arrive at a solution, even if it happened after the 30-day cutoff period. Mr. Farrell said there was no legal way to stop the referendum process once the petition was filed unless the legislative body removed the legislative action by formal adoption. Mr. Mike Heasley said he wanted to endorse a special election A.S.A.P. and get the matter resolved once and for all. AGENDA ITEM#3.-REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS FOR THE 94/95 FISCAL YEAR. ALL ASPECTS OF REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES WILL BE DISCUSSED AND CONSIDERED. Mr.Nordin said the town would be able to increase its estimate of state collected sales tax by approximately$17,000 since the state sales tax was going up and the town's share would go up accordingly. He said the general fund would reflect that additional $17,000 when the tentative budget was presented for adoption on July 7. Mr.Nordin presented the Street Fund Summary,which showed$763,000 in current revenue with a substantial carry- forward amount for a total available of$1,100,000. Planned expenditures were a little over$1,000,000,leaving a contingency of$65,837 for the next fiscal year. Mr.Nordin continued with the HURF Bond Construction Fund. Mr. Nordin reminded the Council that at the May 30 Work Study Session, staff had been given the task of budgeting what the Council would like to see done on Fountain Hills Blvd. and he directed the Council to where he and Mr. Harrel had listed the corresponding figures. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 6/21/94 Page 2 of 5 He said he had been contacted by several Councilmembers regarding funds unspent in previous years and had been asked how he planned to ensure that the funds were spent on street maintenance projects for the coming fiscal year. He said he proposed that additional engineering fees be used to retain the services of engineering firms,as needed, to help move the projects along. He said he recognized that Mr. Harrel and his small staff had been inundated with a great deal of unexpected growth that had taken Mr. Harrel's time from the public works projects. Staff proposed to rectify that situation by budgeting additional funds for temporary engineering services to get the work moving. Councilwoman Wiggishoff requested that maintenance be separated from capital expenditures to get an idea of how much money is required for normal street maintenance. Mr.Nordin said that realistically,everything discussed came under the category street maintenance. He said examples of capital expenditures would be new street construction or a new traffic signal. He said a more concise breakdown could be prepared. Councilwoman Tibbetts said she would like to see a column added to allow tracking of the proposed expenditures and see the final result at the end. Mr. Nordin said it could be done and could even show projected versus actual expenditures, if desired. Vice Mayor Hudson wondered if there was any way to begin work on Fountain Hills Blvd.before next April. Mr. Nordin answered that he and Mr.Harrel had been discussing that very recently and had contacted Stanley Consultants to see about proceeding at a quicker pace. He said it was hoped that work on Fountain Hills Blvd. could coincide with removal of a large and growing pile of dirt behind the new First Assembly of God Church. There would be some other contingencies,but it was hoped to begin sooner than anticipated. Following some further engineering discussions, Councilman O'Brien MOVED to approved the Street, H.U.R.F., and Engineering budgets. Councilwoman Tibbetts SECONDED the motion which PASSED unanimously. It was decided to proceed to the Marshals Office budget. Mr. Nordin said an additional car, an additional • administrative aide and five extra volunteers were being requested. Vice Mayor Hudson asked how the cost for a volunteer was figured. Marshal Gendler said it cost approximately $2,200 to field, process and select a volunteer for the first year; after that the cost was minimal. If the candidate met the requirements and wished to attain schooling, a choice of a residential academy or the Mesa Reserve Academy was given. If the residential academy was selected,the cost would be minimal, due to tradeoffs,with the only expenses being basically an extra uniform and some of the supplies. If the Mesa college was chosen, it cost approximately$460 per semester plus all supplies. The candidate must graduate with at least a B average, though, before the cost would be reimbursed to him. Councilman Clark pointed out that if the volunteers were approved, additional support from the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office (MCSO) could be deleted, for a savings of$6,000. Mr. Nordin noted that the budget had been prepared with a 4.3% increase to MCSO,when the amount approved had ended up being 5%, so there would be a change in that figure, assuming it was approved by the county. Mayor Cutillo said he felt that the Marshals Office could do without the car and the five volunteers for another year and the money better used for a full bike lane down Fountain Hills Blvd. Councilman Clark said he supported the requests and said the longer they were delayed,the longer the Town paid to contract for additional outside help. Councilman O'Brien said he would like future budgets to do some calculations to show yearly expenses and planned replacement of vehicles and equipment to be able to project ahead of time what would need replacing. He said he favored the budget as presented. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 6/21/94 Page 3 of 5 Councilwoman Tibbetts said she felt the Marshals Department was one of the positive features of the administration ihror and she also favored the budget as presented. Councilman Clark asked Marshal Gendler how long the five volunteers would meet the needs of the Town. Marshal Gendler answered there would be a point when the volunteer group reached a certain size that they would no longer be able to be supervised. He said he wouldn't be back each year in the future asking for more volunteers because he had reached the point,with his latest request,of exceeding his ability to supervise,train,recruit and retain them. Vice Mayor Hudson MOVED approval of the Town Marshals budget, SECONDED by Councilman Clark. The motion CARRIED 5 aye votes to 1 nay vote,Mayor Cutillo casting the nay vote. AGENDA ITEM#4. - ADJOURNMENT. Councilman O'Brien MOVED to adjourn and Councilwoman Tibbetts SECONDED. The motion CARRIED unanimously and the Town Council adjourned at approximately 8:53 p.m. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session -6/21/94 Page 4 of 5 J TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By: John M utillo, Mayor A1ThST: `1 k- 45• IL4J Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk PREPARED BY: ' � t/ Rosaly cker, Admini tiAsistant CER 11141CATION 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 21st day of June, 1994. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. No) DATED this 7th day of July, 1994. atuvIL 1J414—L,-J Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 6/21/94 Page 5 of 5