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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001.1031.TCSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
October 31,2001
Mayor Morgan called the special session of the Town Council to order at 12:20 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Present were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Sharon Morgan,
Vice Mayor John Wyman and Councilmembers Leesa Fraverd, Sharon Hutcheson, John McNeill (by phone), John
Kavanagh, and Susan Ralphe. Also present were Acting Town Manager/Attorney Bill Farrell and Director of
Administration/Town Clerk Cassie Hansen.
AGENDA ITEM#1. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS REGARDING EMERGENCY MEETINGS BY
ACTING TOWN MANAGER WILLIAM FARRELL.
Mr. Farrell stated that earlier he had e-mailed both the homes and offices of the Fountain Hills Town Council an
invitation to attend a special emergency meeting to discuss and act upon issues relating to the provision of fire protection
services to the residents of the Town. He said that the emergency meeting was being called pursuant to Town Code
Section 2-4-2 and A.R.S. 38-431.02, which provides that in rare cases the normally 24-hour posting notice for a public
meeting could be suspended in the case of actual emergencies. Following the joint meeting of the Town Council and the
Fountain Hills Fire District Board last night, he had spent the rest of the evening analyzing the options that might occur
if nothing was done and the options that might occur if employment agreements containing severance clauses as
outlined in public requests made to the Fire District were enacted today. It became apparent to him early this morning
that an actual emergency existed suitable enough to ask the Council to convene this particular meeting.
He felt it was important because of the special nature of this meeting and the important decisions that the Council would
be called to vote on that he set some of the stage as easily and quickly as he could. He came to the conclusion that there
were basically five things that could happen as a result of the petitions that had been circulated for dissolution and the
actions of the Fire District Board to date. Four of those things were fairly OK for the citizens but the fifth was very
dramatic and that was the complete loss of fire protection services to all residents. It was theoretically possible that an
election in March could result in the Board being dissolved and the assets of the Board transferred to Maricopa County
for dissolution and disposition. He was not saying that was probably going to happen or odds as to what the election
outcome would be,but it was clearly possibly under state law that could happen. A second alternative would be that the
then existing Fire District operation, with whatever the financial obligation was, and employees would be transferred to
the Town of Fountain Hills to operate. Among those liabilities, in his opinion and outside counsel's opinion, would be
questionable severance contracts with all employees. The liability could be as little as $3.6 million or it could be more.
He had estimated from last night's testimony that there was an annual payroll of about $1.3 million dollars with the
minimum severance at 3 years. The contract said that the amount was all due and payable at the time that there was
dissolution of the District or in case of termination of all employees and then it would be due immediately to those
employees. He pointed out that$1.3 million dollars times 3 years was $3.6 million dollars and some employees would
receive 4 years and or 5 years. He was pretty well convinced that written contracts did not exist per the testimony of
Chief Brown last night. Although he had filed a public records request, all he had received to date were three pages
unsigned and indicated that this would be considered this afternoon at a special meeting of the Fountain Hills Fire
District Board of Directors. The alternatives that would allow Rural Metro to stay in the community were extremely
difficult to coincide with an election. A number of people including the Town Council last night seemed to express a
desire to have that in the form of a ballot issue. He was sorry to say that he could not find a way in which the Town
could present to the citizens of the Town of Fountain Hills a question of: Do you want Rural Metro or employed fire
fighters? He said that he could certainly bring to the table the issue of employed fire fighters and Rural Metro as to
whether they should be supervised by a Fire District Board or supervised by the Town Council.
Mr. Farrell stated it was his concern that the two alternatives would leave the Council with either with no fire protection
or with a group of employees under contract that the Council had neither hired, screened, nor employed. This was a
situation that needed the Council's attention today, but unfortunately the recommendation he was going to make in
Agenda Item #1 was an ordinance with an emergency clause, which would in affect terminate the existence of the
Fountain Hills Fire District. The emergency nature of today's meeting and the waiver of the traditional 24-hour notice
had needed to be explained before he asked the Council to go forward. He stated that he would ratify whatever actions
the Council took from nothing to something at tomorrow evening's meeting, which was required under the law. He
explained that a full posting of today's meeting would be made tomorrow so that the citizens would have an opportunity
to know what was discussed and why the emergency was stated. He took that brief introductory period to tell the
Council the reasoning for the emergency nature of the meeting. He felt it was a decision that the community would
want to have made by all seven members of the Council.
AGENDA ITEM#2. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE
01-18 AMENDING THE TOWN CODE, CHAPTER 4, ARTICLE 4-4, TO PROVIDE FOR FIRE
PROTECTION SERVICES; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
Mr.Farrell read Ordinance#01-18 aloud. He stated that the emergency nature was clearly set forth in the ordinance. He
anticipated that if the Council were to pass such an ordinance with less than an emergency clause that the thirty day
period in which it would need to become effective would allow actions to occur that would seriously jeopardize the
status quo and the financial well being of the Town. He stated that he was asking as the Town Attorney that the Council
consider enacting this with a"declaration of emergency". He knew that the Council as a group generally did not favor
his bringing forward ordinances to them with the emergency clauses. The Council had uniformly said that they were in
favor of the people expressing their will at the ballot box and he was sorry that he had to do this but it was necessary to
do it this afternoon. It was his opinion that the effectiveness of this action would be literally abolished if it were not
done with the affirmative vote of six members. He did not think that this would be easy. He noted that if the Council
were to vote affirmatively for this, the Council would be taking on some legal battles. He stated that as this meeting
going on, he had been lead to believe that books and documents were being taken out of the office of the Fire District
supposedly to be hidden away somewhere. He stated that he had every reason to believe that the Town would be legally
challenged and resisted each step of the way. Mr. Farrell said the Town had no intention of sending the Marshal to
arrest anybody. No action had been filed in Superior Court nor had any temporary restraining orders been filed without
the benefit of serving the other side. He did not have a judicial declaration that anybody was violating the law. Mr.
Farrell stated that he had to wait until such times as the Council decided if they wanted to take this particular action. He
acknowledged that then the Town would seek all the legal protections available to the citizens of the Town if this were
passed. He confirmed that nothing had been done in anticipation of the Council's vote today. He said he had held
conversations with one-third of the District's legal team and personally assured him that this was the situation. He noted
that he would be contacting the other two members of the District's legal team to inform them of the results.
Mr. Farrell said last night the Council had heard a great deal of concern by the Fire Board that December 3, 2001, was a
critical date for Rural Metro from a financial standpoint. Although it was his opinion as the Acting Town Manager and
Town Attorney that Rural Metro would continue to be a viable source of services to the Town regardless of entering into
bankruptcy,he felt it was prudent to have the development of an alternative plan as suggested by several of the Council.
It just happened to coincide that the Town had their regular December 6 meeting moved to December 4 because of
attendance by some of the Council at the National League of Cities. He confirmed that he would be more than happy to
prepare an alternative plan should Rural Metro disappear from the face of the earth. He said staff would have that ready
for the council's standby capabilities on the evening of December 4, 2001. He reported that he had conversations with
other managers in the area. He felt it was important in considering this issue that the Council understand that Rural
Metro Corporation did provide fire service to the City of Scottsdale, Town of Paradise Valley, and the Towns of
Carefree and Cave Creek in various degrees. All four managers that he had spoken to expressed the same concerns that
the Council had. Their communities stand to be without protection if something would befall Rural Metro that did not
provide for continuation of services. All communities had pledged, specifically Scottsdale, that all would work together
in case the communities found themselves in that position. He noted that the municipalities owned most of the buildings
and fire apparatus and that it would be a matter of obtaining services primarily,and secondarily additional equipment, if
something were to befall Rural Metro. He said all five managers pledged that they would take this issue of mutual aid
and protection to their Councils. He was comfortable that if emergency measures were needed as a result of some
bankruptcy action, that the City of Scottsdale would take the lead and the other four communities would certainly assist
in any way to make sure that fire protection was available to the communities. He stated that Fountain Hills was not an
L. isolated little island but part of a dynamic core in the northeast valley. It was an issue that affected all five of the
communities. It was his opinion that the provision of services could be well handled by the Town Council and that there
Fountain Hills Town Council Meeting
Special Session 10/31/01
Page 2 of 9
were other items to show what would be put in place should the Council adopt 01-18. He asked that six of the seven
members look with favorable consideration upon Ordinance#01-18.
Councilwoman Fraverd MOVED to approve Ordinance 01-18 as presented and Councilman McNeill SECONDED the
motion.
Councilman Wyman said there had been a lot of discussion about the will of the people. He felt that the Fire Board
should be allowed to do the job that they had been elected to do. He was sure that the Fire Board felt they had acted
responsibly to the people of Fountain Hills. He said there was fire protection going forward. He said if the issue was
taken forward to March and the folks voted "yes or no"on dissolution, the public might decide they have a pretty good
fire department. That said nothing about the quality of the individuals that were manning those trucks today and he
thought everyone on both sides agreed they were fine people. He pointed out that those individuals had been offered
that opportunity but would not be with the Town today because they did not apply. He suggested that the people might
decide that they don't want to dissolve the District as that was going to cost them roughly as much as it had. He pointed
out that the reason that the District offered the packages was a mechanism of attracting applicants to Fountain Hills that
might not otherwise come because they were not sure that they would have jobs. He was concerned that the public was
not totally aware of what they were signing when they signed the petitions. He said there wasn't a crisis until the
Council created one. He asked that the council leave it alone and let the people vote on it March 12.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh said he had purposely stayed away from this issue until recently because there was a decision
being made by the Fire Board who was an independently elected body with its own taxing authority that stood
politically equal to the Council, the School District, and the Sanitary District. It was not the job of one elected body to
second-guess the mandate of another body. That all changed when the petitions were filed. Unfortunately the Council
became involved because it appeared that should the voters decide to abolish the Fire Board the responsibility would fall
on the Council. He said over the last several weeks it had become more difficult to deal with the Fire Board. He said
that last night the Fire Board failed to admit that they recognized that the issue of the referendum was whether to keep
Rural Metro or have our own department. He discussed what he felt were the questionable actions of the Fire Board.
He wished that the Fire Board had agreed to freeze everything and let everybody argue this before the voters and let the
people decide. He did not see any alternative but to protect the taxpayers' right to decide by having the Council step in
and assume the role it legally could.
Councilwoman Ralphe said that Section 2 had to do with preparation of an alternative plan of delivering fire services
should Rural Metro be unable to provide that service. She acknowledged that she was one the council members who
strongly favored the inclusion of that section. She noted that this was not a situation where the Council's choices were
perfect choices as one of the imperfections was Rural Metro's financial condition. Given that troublesome and
worrisome financial picture, it made sense to go as far as the Council could to alleviate the citizens' concerns and
worries by providing an alternative plan for delivering fire service to the public in case the original plan did not work.
Councilman McNeill stated that the status quo request by the Council to the Fire Board last night was not the first time
that issue had been broached. It was something that had been communicated to the District quite some time ago when
they still had the opportunity to forebear from hiring new employees. To the extent that there was a crisis in dealing
with all of the new employees, which the District had apparently made or was about to make, he felt that was of the
Board's own doing. The Council had offered an alternative to that action. He noted that he came to this issue with great
reluctance. He addressed the issue of the last Fire Board election. He confirmed that it had been a much higher turn out
than most Fountain Hills' elections because it was a General Election. He did not think that everyone should read too
much into to those election results. He recognized that 3,000 petition signers now wanted to see an election on the
dissolution. It was possible that unless the Council took the action before them today, that the ability of the voters to
make that choice in a straight forward manner without it being tainted was unlikely and it did not leave a practical
alternative for the voters to deal with. He stated he would support this.
Mayor Morgan said she agreed with Councilwoman Ralphe, Vice Mayor Kavanagh, and Councilman McNeill. This
Le was something that none of the Council wanted to do. She said she would be supporting the ordinance. Councilwoman
Hutcheson stated that she was hesitate for one board of elected officials to mettle in the business of other elected
officials. However, as the Council watched this progress they had been placed under a tremendous amount of pressure
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Special Session 10/31/01
Page 3 of 9
from the citizens of the community more than she had seen for any issue including the Mountains. It was her opinion
that it was very important for the voters to have a say. Whether or not the public signed the petition knowing what they
were doing was immaterial. In an unencumbered election the public would have the opportunity to cast their vote for
L. either side. If the Council did not act quickly and decisively today,they would be effectively stifling the citizens to have
an impact on a vote, as there wouldn't any viable financial alternative left for them. Councilwoman Hutcheson
complimented Councilwoman Ralphe for the inclusion of Section 2 because for many of the Council there were some
questions about viability. The Council needed more time to look into it and that section provided that. She said that she
would be supporting this. Councilwoman Ralphe said she would have never chosen or wished to get this way to get to
this vote. She stated that she favored all of the central services being under the Town umbrella, so that no person or
entity could threaten the delivery of those services to the people.
Councilwoman Fraverd said it was unfortunate that the Council had been asked to resolve this issue but the residents
had asked the Council to do just that. She wished that the Council could have had more time and that the election could
have gone forward, but the actions of the Fire Board within the last two weeks made that impossible in her mind. She
confirmed that she would be supporting this. Councilman McNeill said that some people might try to taint this as a
picture of the Town favoring Rural Metro. In his mind that was not the issue. If the Council proceeded, it was the
logical action that the Town would contract with Rural Metro in the interim. He stated that all were aware of their
financial condition and the issues that the Fire District had with Rural Metro. Councilman McNeill expected that if the
Town contracted with Rural Metro that the Town would be administering the contract to make sure that the Town was
getting all of the fire protection services to which the Town was entitled. He felt that the Town would be looking at
alternatives if Rural Metro did not perform fully the services contracted for which they had contracted.
Fire Board Clerk Tammy Rothermel
She restated the offer the Board made last night to the Council with regard to the removal of the severance pay. She
conveyed that in the spirit of cooperation forged last night, the Board had cancelled today's meeting. Obviously the
Council decided they wanted to hijack the election and proceed. She regretted the decision that the Council had made.
taiw Tom Knapp,Deputy Chief for the Fire Board
He indicated that the offer from the Board's to openly discuss the Town desire to start their own municipal fire
department still existed. In the spirit of cooperation the Board had asked that the Council meet with them and they
would help the Council achieve that goal. The Board asked that the Council avoid taking any action that would result in
the costly litigation to both the Town of Fountain Hills and the District, which ultimately means the taxpayers. He
reminded the Council that the boundary issue had not been resolved.
Arnold Van Ruttenbeck, 15215 San Tomas Place
He agreed with the Fire Board's position to leave the fire fighting issues to the locally dully-elected Fire District Board
as they had the experience and he trusted them. He asked the Council to cooperate with them.
William Bennett,one of the attorneys for the District
He felt the Council was taking the voters' opportunity away from them. If the Council takes this proposed action today,
there would be no election. He asked what the purpose would be to vote on the dissolution of a Fire District that had no
assets and was taken over by the Town. He felt the Council was stepping into the shoes of 2,900 petitioners and
following the dictate of what the Council interpreted those petitions to be. He said that the District would be testing the
legality of the petition and questioning other things. He hoped to meet with Mr. Farrell immediately following this
meeting. He asked the Council to reconsider what they were about to do.
Ed Beany,Chairman of the Citizens' Against Town Property Tax.
They hoped that the Town would not take any action that would result in a need for a Town property tax.
Todd Brunin, 16133 E.Balsam
He stated that he has worked for Rural Metro in Fountain Hills for the past 15 years. He stated that he has responded to
literally some type of emergency on every street. He wanted to give the Council confidence that the fire fighters were
dedicated to this community and they were here for you.
Fountain Hills Town Council Meeting
Special Session 10/31/01
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John Griffin, 17034 Tejon Dr.
He felt that he had been threatened during the last few minutes by some of the comments made by the District's
attorney. He felt that the fire department had another duty, which was emergency medical service. He stated that he and
L. his wife had serious medical conditions. He stated that he has had excellent service from Rural Metro emergency
medical assistance. He said that the proposed Fire Board fire department would not provide complete ambulance
transportation emergency service. He stated that the Fire Board has stated that they had purchased an emergency
response vehicle and that was not an ambulance. They were proposing to provide ambulance service with a private
ambulance company, which would require a phone call and delay in arrival to the emergency location. He did not want
that to happen to him.
Chief Glen Brown for the Fire Board
He assured the Council that they would provide even more services than what were being provided now. He said the
Board had made a decision that the company that they had contracted with was not providing the services that the
contract required. He reiterated that Rural Metro had signed a termination agreement on June 29th, 2001, where they
agreed they would leave the community on December 15, 2001, and the Fire Board would begin their operation and
they were now in breach of that contract. At the end of the week the District would file litigation against Rural Metro
for breach of contract. He explained that the Fire Board could not in good conscience extend a contract to a company
that they were suing for breach of contract, as they no longer had any faith that they would meet the conditions of any
contract. He restated that the Fire Board was open to discuss this issue with the Council. The Fire Board put the
severance agreements on the table as willing to relook at that issue. He suggested that the unresolved boundary issue
might have the quirk of creating two fire departments in this community (one by Town and one by the Fire District).
The Board felt the fiduciary responsibility to the community of what would happen if Rural Metro went bankrupt. He
stated that if the Town initiated fire service, and a property tax that was needed to operate it failed to pass, the Council
assumed that Rural Metro would again provide fire service by subscription. However, he said that was lower level
service than what was currently being provided in Fountain Hills. He again encouraged the Council to sit down and talk
to the Fire Board to resolve those issues before any action was taken.
Steve Quintaro,new hire for the Fire District
He stated that he spoke for most of the other employees that they had not taken the job for the contract as stated. He
took the job because he wanted to work in a community that would benefit him and his family. He stated that he came
from Rural Metro and they could not give him what this community could give his family. He proposed that he and the
others would give the community the same service that Rural Metro gave the Town. He and the other employees did
not want the contract; they just wanted to work for the Fountain Hills Fire Department and get all of the benefits that
would be given to them as a community. He asked that the Council not jump to conclusions.
Francis Hoffman,new captain's wife for the District
She stated that they sold a home in Tucson to move here and that her husband was well qualified. She noted that she
had a bad heart and she would not jeopardize her health and well being by coming here. Mrs. Hoffman understood there
were problems. She hoped that the Council would do the right thing.
Ellen Wanant,Office Manager of the Fire District
She said the board members took great pride in this community and they would never do to harm or put the
citizens in danger. She did not understand what was happening. She asked the Council to reconsider their
condition or at least until the Council could get more facts.
George Williams,N. Aspen Dr.
He agreed with the points made by Councilman Wyman, Mr. Knapp and Chief Brown. He said the Fire Board
was an elected body and had the right to make the decision. He felt there were still a lot of questions unanswered
and asked that the Council look into this further before taking action.
Fire Board Commissioner Travis, 14218 N. Chinook Plaza
He restated that the Fire Board had studied this issue for two years. He noted that it had taken them a year to put
a new department together. He did not see how the Town would be able to put together a contingency plan in
time if Rural Metro did file bankruptcy because it had taken them that long. He felt that the Town would have to
Fountain Hills Town Council Meeting
Special Session 10/31/01
Page 5 of 9
contract with Rural Metro for over a year to organize a department. He said he had asked the Council to see what
he could to do to address the concerns of the Council with regard to the removal of the severance packages. He
said that Commissioner Dowling was to have contacted the Council to let them know that the Board had cancelled
their meeting. He confirmed that all their fire fighters had agreed to the removal of the severance package and
that was why they had cancelled their meeting. He pointed out that he had been notified 20 minutes prior to the
beginning of this special meeting of the Council of the meeting. He thought that was very quick. He stated that
the Fire Board had been working in good faith to get the severance package taken away. All he asked was that the
Council let the Board do what they felt necessary in order to provide emergency services to the Town. He noted
funding that the Town would lose with these actions and the fact that Council would be firing the new hires. He
expressed his desire that the Council would give them the opportunity to work together.
Fire Board Commissioner Winters, 11247 N. Inca
He said this Fire Board had one of the lowest fire taxes in the state. He restated that the actions taken by the Fire
District did not happen overnight. He asked how the Council was going to justify the loss of funding and
increases to the taxpayer. He pointed out that the boundaries were still an issue. He noted that their meeting had
been cancelled and that they had indicated that they were not offering severance packages. If that was what the
Council was so worried about and it was now off the table, he asked what the Council's vote was all about.
Fire Board Commissioner Dowling, 9424 N. Long Feather
He clarified that the assistance tax was $300,000, but before the District could open the door and go on the first
call there was$54,000 in office/clerical salaries and there was an additional chief that was not present in the Rural
Metro system. 50% of the assistance tax was duplicated at the main office of Rural Metro. He did not think that
they could say that the $300,000 in assistance tax wasn't all going to fight fires. A lot of it was a duplication to
have an office staff. The transfer of assets seemed to be up in the air. He found it difficult that a county official
would allow the transfer of assets from the Fire Department to go to the county when the citizens of Fountain
Hills paid for that based on what the money was spent for or intended for.
Jack Bishop, 14203 Hawthorne Court
When the petition drive was started a few weeks ago they had not meant to put the council in an awkward position
of having to take this load today. However, it appeared that the citizens would never get a vote unless the council
did take the action being talked about. Their position was to dissolve the District and it was not basically Rural
Metro. They agreed with Councilwoman Ralphe that the citizens would be receiving better protection with the
jurisdiction of the Town, rather than having a separate Fire District. The council currently contract with the
Sheriff Division to provide protection and they felt that the Council could do equally as well with the fire
protection and paramedic service. He said they had collected 3469 signatures with approximately 2,900 valid.
They appreciated the fact that the Council was considering this issue. He urged the Council to adopt it, as it was
best for the Town and the citizens. They found that all who approached the all-volunteer petition gatherers had
been asking to sign the petition and they did know what they were signing.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh
He said it was essential that everyone realized that this was not about the 3 — 5 extension contracts as they were
only one of the issues. From the beginning the Council said that once the petitions were filed that they wanted the
voters to be able make a straightforward decision without having the contracts attached. The request made to the
Fire Board was to freeze the action,don't hire any more new people, extend the Rural Metro contract to June 30th,
and let the voters decide the issue in March. If the voters decided to dissolve the Fire Board, Rural Metro would
still be here, which was what the petition gatherers had wanted. But if the voters affirmed that the Fire Board did
the correct thing, then the Board would have 3 months to finish their hiring and get the department going. That
was what that the Council had continually asked. He felt the Council position had been portrayed that all they
cared about was the contract extensions and if that were the case, this would be over. Because of all the past
conversations, he was convinced that the Fire Board would not retreat from their position and that deprived the
voters of their choice.
Arnold Van Ruttenbeck
He asked for clarification that the action that the Council was about to take would result in not having an election
at all. Mr. Farrell responded that was correct. Mr. Van Ruttenbeck asked what that did to Vice Mayor
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Kavanagh's argument. Vice Mayor Kavanagh replied that the Fire Board, by their failure to honor the Council's
reasonable request to freeze the action, now forced him and the rest of the Council to choose the lesser of two
evils.
Councilwoman Hutcheson
She asked if the Fire Board had held a meeting, which she was unaware of, where the consensus of the Board had been
that the severances were off the table. Mr. Farrell said he did not believe so. He stated that the indication was made that
some notice was given with regard to the cancellation of their meeting. He noted that he did not receive any and he did
know if anyone else in the Town did until it was stated at the podium.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh stated that he did not want to be put in the position to change Fire Department personnel as
suggested by the Fire Board. Councilman Wyman restated his position and that there was no crisis. Councilman
McNeill said on the idea of two departments operating at the same time, he found it hard to fathom that a court would
look at the issue and allow duplication of services to proceed. He hoped that litigation would not be the way that this
would be wind up, but he noted that it took two to cause that to happen. Regardless of the action taken there was room
for continuing dialogue with the District Board and hoped that they would continue to discuss and avoid litigation. He
did not appreciate the threats of lengthy litigation and thought it could be avoided.
Ellen Wanant,Office Manager of the Fire District
She clarified that the Fire Board's postponement of their meeting regarding the severance packages had been posted.
Mayor Morgan called for a roll call vote with the following results:
Vice Mayor Kavanagh Aye
Councilwoman Ralphe Aye
Councilman Wyman Nay
Councilman McNeill Aye
Councilwoman Hutcheson Aye
Mayor Morgan Aye
Councilwoman Fraverd Aye
The motion CARRIED on a vote of 6— 1. Councilman Wyman cast the nay vote
AGENDA ITEM#3. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING INTERIM CONTRACTS
WITH RURAL METRO FOR PROVISION OF FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES AND OTHER
MATTERS.
Mr.Farrell said the agenda had been put together in a specific order because had the Council not adopted Ordinance 01-
18, then there would have been no need to discuss possible action regarding interim contracts with Rural Metro for the
provision of fire protection services and other matters. He said there were representatives present from Rural Metro.
Yesterday,he had asked President Beam if it was their desire or willingness to come into this situation with the Town of
Fountain Hills. He distributed a copy of the letter to the Council. He noted that Rural Metro was willing to enter into
one or two contracts with the Town of Fountain Hills. The first agreement would become effective the instant that the
Town elected to provide fire protection and would continue through June 30th, 2001. That would keep the Rural Metro
service in place through the end of the Town's and District's current fiscal year and would be the first agreement that
staff would ask for authorization to enter into. He stated that he had not drafted,nor had he intended to use the identical
contract that Rural Metro had with the Fountain Hills Fire District, as there were legal issues there also. Mr. Farrell
noted that it would not be his desire after hearing from the board members that there were issues that needed to be
resolved to continue with that contract. It was always his intention to suggest that those concerns and issues be
negotiated into the new contract.
Secondly, everyone heard that there had been two ambulances in the community but that Rural Metro had canceled
service as a cost savings measure. Mr. Farrell said it would be his recommendation that the new contract include the
reinstatement of the second ambulance. He pointed out that there were some Town issues that had come up over the
course of time regarding wash preservation and the way that fire protection services were coordinated throughout the
Town. The method and manner that fire protection services were coordinated through the Marshals, Community
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Development,and Engineering Departments of the Town had recently directed the adoption of a wash protection policy.
He felt that should be codified into the new contract. He also asked if during the budget negotiations and discussion that
would take place in March, April, and May that Rural Metro be willing to enter into a second one year contract that
would be effective July 1, 2001, terminating on June 30, 2003. He felt that this would speak to the issue of should there
be an evaluation of the way in which services were provided to the Town of Fountain Hills for fire service. He
remarked that it would be naive to say that there wasn't any concern over the financial viability of Rural Metro or a
history of good service to this community for both fire and ambulance protection. There was no question that this was
costly. There were economies that would be able to be entered into these contracts, which would at best hold the same
burden for the taxpayers rather than increase them. When these documents were brought to the Council, staff could tell
the Council for sure.
Mr. Farrell clarified that the ordinance did require a back up plan on December 4, 2001. He said he proposed to have
the contracts to the Council, if authorized today, on December 4 for the Council's ratification. He said a great deal of
time had been spent discussing issues with the Rural Metro attorneys. He stated for the benefit of the District's
attorneys, that he had not instituted litigation against the Fire District, nor sought a temporary restraining order, and did
not intend to request the Town Marshal or Sheriffs office to seize assets of the District this afternoon. He believed that
the Council wanted to have a smooth and effective transition. With respect to those individuals already employed by
the District he wanted to try to address their particular needs. He noted that there was a boundary dispute only because
he sensed that there was a threat of litigation. He pledged that there was the resolve on the part of the Town to a legal
issue challenge if that was brought. He asked the Council to direct him and staff to enter into interim contracts with
Rural Metro for the provision of fire protection services and ambulances service and to return with those contracts for
ratification on December 4, 2001.
Councilman Wyman MOVED to direct the Acting Town Manager/Attorney and staff to proceed as just presented and
Vice Mayor Kavanagh SECONDED the motion.
Tom Knapp,Deputy Chief with the District
He urged he Council to explore all of their options and consider contracting with the District for that service.
The motion CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM#4. RETENTION OF GUST ROSENFELD, AS ATTORNEY FOR THE TOWN, TO
ASSIST THE TOWN ATTORNEY IN LEGAL MATTERS RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION
SERVICES ISSUES.
Mr. Farrell asked for permission from the council to retain Mr. Rosenfeld's firm and Mr. Rosenfeld in the legal
matters relating to the fire protection service issues. He expressed that if this did go to litigation and because of his
dual role, it might make it difficult for him to be both a witness and the attorney. He confirmed Mr. Rosenfeld was
extremely experienced in Title 48. He has particularly asked Mr. Rosenfeld because of his Title 48 experience and
the firm had agreed to accept representation if authorized. Mr. Farrell pointed out that he has some authorization to
expend some funds, but he had wanted to make sure that if it became necessary to have legal services provided to
the Town that he would be authorized to retain Gust Rosenfeld. He introduced Mr.Rosenfeld.
Mayor Morgan MOVED to retain Gust Rosenfeld to address legal matters relating to the issue of fire protection and
Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM#5- CALL TO THE PUBLIC.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh requested that a new item be placed on tomorrow's Council agenda, which would involve
possible severance assistance to new or nearly new hires of the former Fire District.
AGENDA ITEM#6-ADJOURNMENT.
Councilwoman Fraverd MOVED to adjourn the meeting and Councilwoman Ralphe SECONDED the motion, which
CARRIED unanimously. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 2:05 p.m.
Fountain Hills Town Council Meeting
Special Session 10/31/01
Page 8 of 9
TOWN OF F UNTAIN HIL S
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` Sharon Morgan,Ma or
ATTEST: CAtt4.4.4.4_ J41M�J
Cassie B. Hansen,
Director of Administration/Town Clerk
PREPARED BY: A 0- /(:✓.,44,1
Bev Bender,Executive Assistant
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special Session held
by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 31s1 day of October 2001. I further certify that the meeting was
duly called and that a quorum was present.
DATED this 15`11 day_of November 2001.
(1,/1-4.4.;k_q5
Cassie B. Hansen, _
Director of Administration/Town Clerk
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L
Fountain Hills Town Council Meeting
Special Session 10/31/01
Page 9 of 9