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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002.0103.TCRM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
January 3,2002
Mayor Morgan convened the regular session at 6:30 p.m. Following the pledge to the flag and invocation by
Councilwoman Hutcheson,roll call was taken.
ROLL CALL - Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Sharon
Morgan, Vice Mayor John Kavanagh, and Councilmembers Sharon Hutcheson, John McNeill, John Wyman, Susan
Ralphe, and Leesa Fraverd. Also present were Acting Town Manager/Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Director of
Administration Cassie Hansen,and Director of Community Development Jeff Valder.
Mayor Morgan read the items on consent(items 1-5):
AGENDA ITEM#1. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF DECEMBER 20.
2001.
AGENDA ITEM#2. CONSIDERATION OF A PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT WITH MCO
PROPERTIES FOR THE PARCEL 12 KIWANIS DRIVE STREET AND DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS.
AGENDA ITEM#3. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2002-02 ABANDONING THE EXISTING ALLEY
BETWEEN LOTS 68 AND 69 IN THE "FIREROCK INDUSTRIAL PARK" PROJECT (PLAT 414),
SATISFYING THE STIPULATION REQUIREMENTS.(MCO PROPERTIES)ROW01-01
AGENDA ITEM#4. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2002-03 ABANDONING THE TWO 8' PUBLIC
UTILITY EASEMENTS LOCATED ADJACENT TO THE ALLEY AND BETWEEN LOTS 68 AND 69 IN THE
"FIREROCK INDUSTRIAL PARK" PROJECT (PLAT 414), SATISFYING THE STIPULATION
REQUIREMENTS.(MCO PROPERTIES)‘440.,. AGENDA ITEM#5. CONSIDERATION OF A PRELIMINARY PLAT FOR THE 21-UNIT DESERT VISTA
PLACE CONDOMINIUMS, PROPOSED TO BE LOCATED IN FINAL PLAT 302, BLOCK 3, LOTS 1-6,
CASE NUMBER S2001-23.
Councilwoman Fraverd MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as read and Councilwoman Ralphe SECONDED the
motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results.
Councilman Wyman - aye
Councilman McNeill- aye
Councilwoman Hutcheson- aye
Councilwoman Fraverd- aye
Vice Mayor Kavanagh- aye
Councilwoman Ralphe— aye
Mayor Morgan - aye
The motion CARRIED unanimously
AGENDA ITEM#6. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2002-01 ADDING 354 ACRES OF NEWLY
ACOUIRED LAND TO THE FOUNTAIN HILLS MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN PRESERVE.
Director Valder reviewed that at a culmination of the Town's negotiation efforts with MCO Properties, the Town
acquired 354 acres in the McDowell Mountains of Fountain Hills. He identified the area for the public by use of the
overhead screen. He stated that if the Council approved Resolution 2002-01 the 354 recently acquired acres would be
added to the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve and would culminate the Town's land acquisition efforts in
this part of Town.
Councilwoman Ralphe MOVED to approve Resolutions 2002-01 as presented and Councilwoman Hutcheson
SECONDED the motion.
Nor
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Councilman McNeill questioned what the reasoning was behind the map showing the recently acquired acreage divided
into the 200-acre parcel and a smaller parcel. Mr. Farrell responded that the separation of the two parcels had to do with
two issues. The bond sale financed 200 acres of acquisition through the MMPC and financed the remaining 154 acres
L. with the $6 million dollar general obligation bond. Staff had wanted to make sure that the 154 acres was the area that
would be adjacent to all development that MCO was contemplating. If a dispute or a beneficial trade could be made for
something that the Town wanted preserved in exchange for other land then the disturbance and the revegetation and
development could be performed on land that the Town owned in fee rather than leased from the MMPC.
The motion CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM#7. INTRODUCTION AND DISCUSSION OF ORDINANCE 2002-01 AMENDING THE
TOWN CODE BY ADDING ARTICLE 9-4 TO ESTABLISH RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN PRESERVE.
Director Valder reviewed that the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission (MMPC) had been working on rules
and regulations for the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve. He noted that the Commission met numerous
times to talk about their vision and with staffs assistance had prepared a draft ordinance that was intended for inclusion
in the Town Code which would establish these rules and regulations. Director Valder explained that this resolution was
being introduced tonight for discussion so that staff could bring back to the Council an acceptable version at the January
17th meeting. He stated that regarding trails and trailheads rules and regulations the MMPC were aware of issues that
the City of Scottsdale was working through in their own version of rules and regulations for their preserve. This draft
ordinance represented their vision as to how the Commission would like things to work in the Fountain Hills Preserve.
He noted that it was a restrictive set of regulations. The MMPC had not wanted to create regulations that would
encourage or imply that it was ok to stray off the trails, as their vision was to preserve these lands for many generations.
Director Valder reviewed that there were many use restrictions. The MMPC intended the preserve to be a contemplative
park.
Councilwoman Fraverd asked Director Valder to explain what the special preserve permit process would be and the
reasoning. Director Valder responded that the proposed trailhead plan called for the construction of at least one ramada.
In order to create a way for people to reserve the ramada, staff would require some type of a permitting process. The
MMPC thought there might be times when the Town would permit alcohol at the trailhead. It was thought that the
special reserve permit would be the "catch all" permit that would enable the public to ask for permission to reserve the
Ramada or perform certain activities at the trailhead that would take some planning. The MMPC and staff had wanted
to avoid having multiple users at the trailhead all claiming the area at the same time.
Councilwoman Fraverd asked if this process would go through Parks and Recreation Department. Director Valder
explained that it would be handled administratively but he and the Commission have yet to talk with Parks and
Recreation about it.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh observed that overall the ordinance was a well thought out document. He requested that in
Section 2 of Resolution 2002-01 that the word "may" be substituted for "will be". Vice Mayor Kavanagh reviewed
proposed revisions that he would like to see in the ordinance. He addressed his concerns regarding portions of sections:
9-5-2, 9-5-3, 9-5-4. He also requested that when penalties were considered that the MMPC and staff try to follow the
general guidelines used for the other Town parks as recently revised.
Councilman McNeill supported Vice Mayor Kavanagh's idea to review how other preserves handled keeping the public
on the trails at all times. He felt that there should be the ability to issue a special permit to those who wanted to
complete a scientific study within the preserve with good reason for those areas off the trail. Councilman McNeill
questioned 9-5-3 (B) and encouraged the MMPC to be extremely flexible with the hours of posted operation given the
summer climate. He felt the public would want to have some input on the bicycle and dog access issues at the next
meeting. 9-5-5 (F): He felt that since there probably would not be any school buses utilizing those parking spaces on the
weekends, he would encourage permitting the public to use those parking spaces for cars on the weekends. Councilman
McNeill said regarding 9-5-6, he felt that if the MMPC identified the need and location of a new trail, he, as a
councilman,did not to necessarily want to see and approve it.
Councilwoman Hutcheson asked if these regulations were developed after speaking with the City of Scottsdale and were
these regulations accepted in Scottsdale. MMPC Chairman Roy Kinsey responded that these rules and regulations had
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been developed from the essence of the rules and regulations from Maricopa County Parks, Scottsdale. Phoenix, and
Paradise Valley. The Commission had felt that it was best to have the public aware of the rules and regulations.
Councilwoman Hutcheson pointed out that the MMPC had done a considerable amount of research. She stated that
those municipalities contacted have had regulations on preserve areas for quite some time. Chairman Kinsey noted that
there was a significant difference between operating a preserve and a park.
AGENDA ITEM#8. PUBLIC HEARING ON A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR AN OUTDOOR SEATING
AREA AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE SALES AND DISPENSING AT THE PROPOSED PEI WEI ASIAN
DINER TO BE LOCATED AT "PARCEL 1, TRACT C-3", ALSO KNOWN AS "EAGLE MOUNTAIN
VILLAGE MARKETPLACE", CASE NUMBER SU2001-16.
Mayor Morgan recessed the regular session and opened the public hearing at 6:58 p.m.
Senior Planner Burkhardt reviewed the applicant's request. He displayed a depiction of the proposed outdoor seating
area. He acknowledged that staff had not received any public objection. He stated that the Planning and Zoning
Commission and staff were recommending approval.
Mayor Morgan closed the public hearing the 7:00 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM#9. CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR AN OUTDOOR SEATING
AREA AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE SALES AND DISPENSING AT THE PROPOSED PEI WEI ASIAN
DINER TO BE LOCATED AT "PARCEL 1, TRACT C-3", ALSO KNOWN AS "EAGLE MOUNTAIN
VILLAGE MARKETPLACE",CASE NUMBER SU2001-16.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh MOVED to approve the Special Use Permit as presented and Councilwoman Hutcheson
SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM#10. PRESENTATION BY ACTING TOWN MANAGER BILL FARRELL ON THE LAW
kilo ENFORCEMENT AGENCY STUDY CONDUCTED BY LOU REITER AND ASSOCIATES.
Mr. Farrell stated that this discussion was a starting point in 2002 to help the Town move forward with a decision made
ultimately by those on the Council in June during the budget process. He pointed out that the prime purpose was to
invite the two authors of the report of the law enforcement report and to allow the Mayor, the Council, and the citizens
the opportunity to ask questions about the report. He emphasized that this was not an action item.
Mr. Farrell reviewed the history of the unique Fountain Hills law enforcement concept. He explained how it had
evolved into what it is currently. He said that neither he nor the consultant could find any other community in the state
that provided for such a combination of paid certified law enforcement personnel in a community as was provided in
Fountain Hills.
Mr. Farrell referred to pages 66 through 77 in the consultant's Law Enforcement Study. He felt this portion of the report
provided a concise history of the early days, the formation, and the evolution of the Marshals Department and law
enforcement and presented a fair and accurate portrayal of the situation. He said that Fountain Hills had experienced the
best of both worlds for a period of time where code enforcement and community based issues were efficiently handled
and law enforcement was handled through the contract with the Maricopa County Sheriffs office.
Mr. Farrell emphasized the both the cost of the Sheriff's contract and the operational cost of the Marshals Department,
as he did not believe that cost was one of the issues. He stated that for $2.9 million dollars the Town was receiving a
tremendous amount of law enforcement personnel and equipment for a community of its size. He felt that the Town was
now in the process of asking how those services would be delivered in the future rather than how those services could be
reduced, downsized, or eliminated. He was not expressing that the Town was out of money and requesting that the
Council approve a reduction in funds for law enforcement. He stated that law enforcement had always been a corner
stone of the community and was something of which the community had been proud. He felt that the reason that there
was so much passion and so much interest by the citizens regarding this issue was that everyone was proud of the law
enforcement in Fountain Hills. He reiterated that neither he nor the Council were here to fire people, terminate
contracts, or lay off people. He suggested that if the Council chose to, they could use this report to help analyze the
problem and lead them to a conclusion at budget time as to how to allocate funds. Mr. Farrell reviewed that Lou Reiter
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and Associates had conducted the study under a written agreement with the Town of Fountain Hills and primarily under
direction of the Town Manager Paul Nordin. He acknowledged that he had been present at the meeting when Mr.
Nordin interviewed Mr. Reiter and at the initial meeting with Mr. Reiter, Mr. Gallagher and their associates. He
expressed that he had wanted to move this consultant's report forward because it had become something more than a
Now guide.
Mr. Farrell focused on key issues in the report. He referred to the first paragraph on page 4 where the consultants made
their recommendation that one police agency should be designated. He continued that the Council could find that at the
end of the process that could be the Town's own police department or a contract with the Maricopa County Sheriffs
Department (MCSO). He felt that was a good policy. Mr. Farrell expressed that sharing those duties between two law
enforcement agencies became difficult no matter how close they might be as each had a particular philosophy and a
style of law enforcement. He said that the second key issue was also found on page 4 as the last bulleted paragraph. He
proceeded to read the paragraph. He pointed out that the current financial report had been made available to the
Council. He said that he felt relatively safe stating that the Council had adequate resources, even in tight times, to
continue to provide the maximum amount of law enforcement service to the citizens. He noted that this community was
safe and well policed with a strong police presence.
Mr. Farrell reviewed that the next area that the consultants addressed was the defined tasking responsibilities. They
built a series of five plans. The consultants made a recommendation for Plan#1 because they had been asked to make a
recommendation. He said that over the course of time between the preparation of this report and the time that the Town
had allowed to elapse, some things had become clearer in the law enforcement experience. For example,the report talks
about using one school resource officer. Because there were a number of interested citizens in the youth of the
community, the Town had expanded that program to three school resource officers under the Council's permission and
authority. He stated that the Council asked to have the study done because of an area that the consultants labeled
"mission creep". Mr. Farrell reviewed that "mission creep" occurred in the mid to late 90's when the Town started to
bring on marshals under grants and through training who were performing duplicate services that had been contracted
for with the MCSO. Around that time the Town also developed and implemented the most successful non-emergency
number system (837-8800) of any community in the state that he was aware of, which was again another unique
advantage for citizens of Fountain Hills. However, that placed mixed responsibilities on those who make decisions that
`_were very similar in nature to the 911 calls. In tracing back, he said there had been confusing situations. A simple
decision that had been made in the best interests had left one or the other agency without the necessary information they
felt that they needed or wanted to have for the sake of the officers' safety when responding to the call. Mr. Farrell
pointed out that the Marshals did not currently operate on the same radio frequency as the MCSO. He reported that
there was a pending radio purchase that would correct that situation and that was another part of the report findings that
has changed.
Mr. Farrell reviewed pages 17 - 19 of the consultants' report; they proposed that MCSO be that primary law
enforcement agency. He discussed the three reasons why contract services were preferred over employees, especially in
a high liability area such as the administration of law enforcement services.
• The transfer of law enforcement liability to the MCSO.
• Personnel costs.
• Specialized personnel and equipment.
Mr. Farrell stated that beginning on page 20, the consultants examined the "big five" budget issues. He felt that
beginning this fiscal year, culminating with the budget, it was time to make permanent statements as to what the law
enforcement recommendation should be. He noted that he had talked with Marshal Gendler about the report and
Marshal Gendler had implemented a number of the consultants' recommendations and suggestions, with the others
being studied. Mr. Farrell said the decision remained whether the Council should use this report as a basis to clearly
define the mission of the two law enforcement agencies or determine if one of the agencies should be eliminated or
diminished. He concluded that the early factors in the report stressed what both Mr. Nordin and he had said to the
consultants; please be sensitive to the twelve-year relationship that the Town has had with the MCSO. He stated that
some people had misinterpreted that remark to say that the consultants were instructed to go easy on the brown and pick
on the blue. He clarified that neither he,Mr. Nordin nor the Council had asked the consultant to analyze the MCSO. He
posed that when a municipality contracts with a contract provider, one of the most important aspects in preserving the
independent contractor relationship was that the municipality not interfere in the method, manner, place, time, or
Nor equipment with which that independent contractor functions. He interjected that the consultants had been asked to focus
primarily on the Marshals Department because they were the employees. He suggested that if their blemishes were
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apparent in this report it was because they had wanted to analyze how the Marshals Department was continuing to
develop and grow. Mr. Farrell stated it was his opinion that the report was an excellent beginning point. He reminded
the Council that this agenda item tonight was not an action item. He introduced both Mr. Reiter and Mr. Gallagher.
Ly Vice Mayor Kavanagh addressed citizens concerns that the last 25 to 26 pages of the consultants' report had not been
released to the public via the Town website. He clarified that any hard copies were complete. He explained that the
consultant's report had been placed on the Town website so that everybody would have an economical, easy access to it
in three different formats. The first format allowed users of WordPerfect to download the entire report. If the public
had clicked view only, the entire report could be read. If the public used Microsoft Word or another word processing
program and clicked on the WordPerfect format by mistake, it would have printed all but the last 25 to 26 pages of the
report. He noted that consequently copies of the last 25 —26 pages were made available to the public on the table in the
back of the room without charge. Mayor Morgan reiterated that no one had tried to purposely omit information. She
covered the rules for addressing the Council and restated that public comment had to be contained to the consultants'
report.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh agreed that the Council was taking comment on the Reiter report only and the public would have
the opportunity to ask questions how it was done. . He announced that at the next Council meeting he had asked that an
agenda item be added for possible action with direction to staff regarding the budget for the future structure of law
enforcement in Fountain Hills. He stated that would be when the debate and public comment would be received on the
future direction of law enforcement in Fountain Hills. He stated that the final decision would come when the dollars
were dispensed. That would not happen until the budget was taken care of after the Council election. He pointed out
that if there was a major change in the composition of this Council, then anything done next week could be reversed.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh stated that it was this Council's responsibility to give some direction to staff now with the
understanding that it might be changed later on. He believed that all potential members of the council should have
adequate input at the next meeting into any decision that this council might make. He requested that staff communicate
to each of the candidates that they were invited and encouraged to make their comments at the next Council meeting.
He suggested that the three-minute rule be waived for them.
Mayor Morgan recessed the meeting at 7:20 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 7:55 p.m.
The consultants, Mr. Lou Reiter and Mr. Patrick Gallagher introduced themselves. Each gave their career background.
Mayor Morgan asked how many reports they had collectively assembled. Mr. Reiter responded he had prepared
approximately 70— 80 and then listed the various municipalities. He expressed that Mr. Gallagher had done that many
or more and some of these reports were done together. Mayor Morgan remarked that Fountain Hills was not their first
and would not be their last.
Councilwoman Fraverd said that the credibility of the consultants' firm and this report had been questioned. She asked
them to comment on if it was normal for a consultant to submit a draft report. She requested clarification on whether or
not the consultants were asked to edit this report and how this report and the draft had changed. Mr. Reiter replied that
the original proposal submitted had asked for a draft report. He stated that they regularly prepared draft reports to
identify any glaring omissions that might have been made or to give clarification to issues prior to the final report. He
restated that was a very common practice. Mr. Reiter explained that in this report only three areas had been changed.
Originally the contract had indicated that the consultants would set out the options. Their response had been that it
wasn't the consultants'job to make the decision as to what would be the best option for Fountain Hills. They made their
recommendation although their report was pretty clear which one they thought was probably the one that should be
accepted. He put in a paragraph that stated the study team recommended study one. Mr. Reiter continued that there
were a couple of paragraph added to the first chapter at the end on options about transition issues, which he had
forgotten to add in the draft version. There were two comments in the last chapter contained in the last 25 pages that
dealt with the perceptions of the focus group and the interviews of personnel in both departments that had been
considered inflammatory so those two comments had been eliminated. That-was the extent of the changes made from
the draft to the final report now being reviewed. Mr. Gallagher noted that he had never submitted a final without a draft.
If the agency wanted to accept it, they could. If they wanted a final report, he would do that. That would be done to try
to correct any numerical mistakes or other errors. He pointed out another reason for submitting a draft report instead of
a final report was it was not as discoverable in a court as a final report was. It gave the report a little more protection
than it would have as a final report.
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Councilwoman Ralphe questioned if there was only a final report wouldn't there be less room for question and suspicion
and thereby make the final report more credible. Mr. Reiter stated that he always submitted a draft report. He reminded
the Council that the consultant was working for the person who hired them. They were considered a vehicle to discover
needed information upon which to base decisions. He reiterated that nothing of any substance had been altered or
omitted from the draft report other that the three areas. Mr. Gallagher described instances where he had presented the
draft report to a Council in a sealed box, opened the box in front of the Council, and given out the first copies to them.
Then the presentation was made on the final draft report. Then there was no question about the fact that nobody had
seen the report or edited it. He stated that was a safeguard that he had previously used. Mayor Morgan asked if the
consultant's instructions had been to submit the draft report to the Town Manager. Mr. Reiter confirmed that was stated
in the proposal.
Councilman Wyman was interested in the consultants' experience within Arizona, especially Cochise and Gila counties,
regarding the liability issue because of the consultant's expertise in that area. Mr. Gallagher noted those were
comprehensive studies looking into every aspect of the department. Councilman Wyman assumed that they had done
the same type of study for Maricopa County. Mr. Gallagher replied there was distinction between the two. The
Maricopa County Risk Manager brought their firm in. The other two counties' insurance pools brought them in because
those two counties were having serious problems with liability. The management study and liability assessment was an
attempt to try to provide direction to those agencies as to how to avoid liability. Councilman Wyman asked in the case
of Maricopa County had there been more study done in the way of operational and/or training. Mr. Reiter clarified that
study had been more of a liability assessment than a management program. Councilman Wyman noted that if the
counties and the Department of Public Safety were taken out of the mix, the consultants had worked for a single
community in Arizona, Chino Valley, which was a third of the size of Fountain Hills. He questioned if that had been a
type of audit similar to what they had done for Fountain Hills. Mr. Gallagher stated that two studies had been done for
Chino Valley, which had been a liability assessment and management study. He said they completed a comprehensive
study that had looked at all of the issues. Four years later they were called back to see to what extent the
recommendations in the first study had been implemented. Councilman Wyman questioned that when considering there
were 87 towns and cities in Arizona(of which Fountain Hills was the 24th largest) why hadn't the 79 who had their own
police department allowed the liability situation to provoke them into contracting out for law enforcement services. He
commented that close to 90% of the cities and towns in the state had their own police departments. He suggested that
itte the Town's insurance people should look into it as he wanted to know how those other 79 cities and towns handled the
law enforcement liability issues. Mr. Gallagher said that he and his partner Bill Westfall had presented numerous
programs for the insurance pools and conducted training classes that would assist them with cutting down on the
potential for liability. Councilman Wyman asked the consultants if they had examined the contract between the Town
of Fountain Hills and Maricopa County Sheriff contract as part of the study. Mr. Reiter replied no, only the budgetary
implications. Councilman Wyman questioned if they had reviewed the state mandated emergency response plan with
regard to the whole safety issue. Mr. Reiter said no.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh asked the consultants to expand on their vision for the court officer position. Mr. Reiter said that
it would be a very productive and successful operation with the court officer bringing in a significant collection of fines.
He noted that law enforcement did not usually make money except in courts or in parking control. Vice Mayor
Kavanagh asked where this position was located under Plan #1. Mr. Reiter said that officer would remain under the
Town Marshal. Vice Mayor Kavanagh stated that everything that he had read and knew about community policing
stated that the foundation was community support for the police. Almost all community based policing efforts were
aimed at winning the trust and cooperation of the public. What had become apparent was the considerable division in
the Town whether there should be all marshal or sheriff or a combination of the two providing law enforcement
services. He felt that no matter what action this Council took a significant percentage of the population would be upset
with the outcome. He feared that a certain amount of negative feeling would transfer to whomever provided the law
enforcement services. Vice Mayor Kavanagh asked how the Council was to deal with that issue. Mr. Reiter responded
it would be done through hard work, direction, supervision, and the implementation of community based programs. He
felt there had been a diminishing of the kind of role that the Marshals had originally played that had initially endeared
them so much to the community as they answered calls that were truly the assignment of the Sheriffs Department. Mr.
Reiter said that whatever plan the Council implemented, the public would have to be won over. It would be the
commander of that unit who would have to provide the officers and the specific programs that they develop. Vice
Mayor Kavanagh pointed out that Fountain Hills was in a unique situation, as the Town would be dealing with division
on a philosophical level regarding the structure of law enforcement.
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Councilwoman Hutcheson expressed concern that there was some confusion in the public's view of community based
policing. She said it was a philosophy of how the law enforcement services were delivered to a community and did not
have so much to do with location. Mr. Gallagher stated community based policing was a style of policing. He
continued that the officers certainly did not have to live in the community to operate with a particular style as long ietiro they did everything possible to try and forge ties with the community by operating in a very positive way. Mr. Reiter
mentioned that the study team spent a lot of time in both departments and one thing that was noticed was that each
person was dedicated to the Town of Fountains Hills. It did not matter if they lived in town or not. They were all
dedicated to providing what they believed was the best and most professional police service to the Town of Fountain
Hills. It didn't matter if they wore a brown or blue uniform or if they lived in town or not. The study team had been
impressed with everyone's dedication.
Councilwoman Ralphe referred to a section in the report, which dealt with what happened when a resident discovered a
crime. She quoted from the report where it stated that most calls were handled according to the prioritization policies of
the Sheriff's Department. If there was no immediate threat, the call might be given a low priority and given a longer
response time. She noted the Marshals Department filled in for the Sheriffs Department when there was a long
response time. Councilwoman Ralphe asked if that was considered "mission creep" or was that considered protecting
the public. Mr. Reiter agreed that the Town could provide that second tier of protection by stating those calls not
requiring immediate response could be handled by a Town Marshal. He compared the situation to that of a hospital
triage. In those situations hospital staff recognizes the people that need immediate attention versus those who were able
to wait three or four hours. He pointed out that policing is never staffed out to the maximum of what is needed as no
one could afford to do that. Mr. Reiter reminded the Council that would be a decision they would have to make. He
suggested that the Town could also set up call screening. with those calls requiring an immediate response assigned to
the Sheriff Department. Calls requiring a non-immediate response would be assigned to another kind of unit. He
acknowledged that agencies have functioned under a two-tier operation with a fully certified person and have a
community service officer. Mr. Gallagher noted that in the case of a cold call, the law enforcement agency would not be
the primary response agent tied up on that call if something else came and he or she couldn't break away.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh stated that one of the major ways that the public provides input was through focus groups. He
asked for clarification that the way the opinions came down in the focus groups did not necessarily reflect the way the
population feels percentage wise. He felt that the consultants were using the focus groups to ferret out issues. The
consultants had not scientifically sampled the focus group. Mr. Reiter agreed that was accurate. He expressed that they
had recommended that there be two focus groups. One group would be from the business and retail section and the
other made up of residents and homeowners associations. For whatever reason, the latter group couldn't be organized.
He said the first one had been done through Mayor Morgan and the Chamber of Commerce. The result had been a
reflection of what the group said and should not be considered a citizen consensus. Mr. Reiter stated that the last section
in the report contained perceptions and thoughts of these different persons. He acknowledged that the focus groups had
been made up a very small group of people, perhaps twenty or twenty-five in total. Vice Mayor Kavanagh stated he
brought this up because many people thought this had been conducted like a survey but the focus group had been used to
ferret out issues and concerns and was not necessarily representative of the opinion of the town as a whole.
Mayor Morgan clarified that she knew nothing of the Chamber group that took part in the focus group. She had
questioned why the Chamber was involved when she happened to over hear the receptionist making calls to various
businesses because of the direction someone else had given her. She reiterated that she knew nothing of this until well
after the fact. Mr. Reiter apologized for his mistake.
Councilman Wyman said that of the 77 people listed as interviewed only 21 people were not members of the town staff,
the Marshals Department, the Sheriffs organization, and the Council. He was concerned that the report might have been
unintentionally biased. He did not want anyone to draw the wrong conclusions from what was a thorough report.
Councilman Wyman stated that he particularly appreciated the consultants' work from page 66 to 77 where they
discussed the genesis and evolution of the Marshals organization. He expressed that he would have liked to have seen a
certain amount of sympathy in the report for a Marshals organization since they had been told from the very beginning
that they were to evolve in the direction of a police organization. He agreed that 21 people was a pretty small universe
from which to gather information.
Councilman McNeill agreed with Councilman Wyman that the report was quite thorough. He did not agree with all of
Now the consultant's conclusions. One issue that needed to be acknowledged was that this report had been commissioned a
year ago. The study work was done nine months ago and the draft was produced seven months ago. Many things had
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changed in Town since then. One of the things that the acting town manager had acknowledged in his presentation was
that Marshal Gendler had already implemented a number of the suggestions that were made by the consultants. He felt
that showed the value of some of the information that the consultants presented. Another thing that had changed was
t the Town now had another level of public safety responsibility that the Town did not have when the consultants did
%boor study, which was the responsibility for fire protection. A section of the study talked about equipment costs. He
felt that if the Town were looking at having a study done now the consultants would have probably been asked to
consider how the Town would integrate all public safety functions for an overall savings. He noted that perhaps the
police protection and fire protection services could be integrated by using a 911-dispatch system that would address all
public safety issues from one location. He expressed that, as elected officials, the Council must take all facts into
account when making their decisions.
Councilman McNeill noted that the report said that costs were not the over riding consideration and he agreed with that.
As he read through the different options it became clear that the choice of going with the consultant's option #1 or
choosing to create a town police department was not a cost issue. He read in the report that it was slightly less
expensive to go with a town police department. The consultants also mentioned in the report that a transition to a full
police department would be fairly easy and the equipment needs were relatively minimal at this point. Mr. Farrell
addressed one of the advantages of the contract services was the special services from the MCSO. As tax payers of
Maricopa County, Fountain Hills would be entitled to that type of service whether there was a contract or not. He was
not sure if he was over reacting to that point made in the report but he did not feel that should be a major consideration
in the Council's decision in moving forward.
Councilman McNeill commented that "mission creep" was an unfortunate choice of terminology. It implied that there
was something going on behind closed doors. He felt that term implied that something under the table had occurred. He
felt that what had occurred was that this Council and the Councils before had all chosen to accept grants that expanded
the Marshals Department. Those Councils had looked at issues like traffic, which was an area where the Marshals
Department was criticized for "mission creep". This was actually an area where the LEAP Committee and the Traffic
Standards Committee had pushed for more traffic enforcement. He said what had been seen was that the Council and
the Marshals Department had responded to that. Areas such as the school resource officers were an area brought about
by the Marshals Department as the result of a need driven by the Sheriffs Department realizing some cost cutting
Aires by dropping the D.A.R.E. program. He acknowledged there had been a number of factors that came together
Meause the expansion of the role of the Marshals Department. Councilman McNeill said"mission creep"was an unfair
term. Mr. Reiter responded that the term"mission creep"had not meant to be under handed. He explained that the term
had been meant to define the roles of the Sheriffs and the Marshals. Over the years the Marshals had assumed tasks and
jobs that had previously been under the normal assignment of the Sheriffs Department. Mr. Gallagher expressed that he
had reviewed the history of both departments. He found no clear direction given to either department. If the previous
Council had given them clear direction as to where they wanted them to be by a specific date maybe much of the
confusion could have been avoided. Councilman McNeill agreed there had been a lack of clarity in the policies
previous Councils. It was his opinion that"mission creep" had occurred on the part of the Marshals Department in case
the Sheriffs coverage option went away and it was decided to convert to a town police department. In large part that had
been the impetus for the path taken. Whether or not it was expressly stated or simply by the fact that the Council had
endorsed new grants and positions, he knew that the Council had expanded the Marshals Department role.
Councilman McNeill referred to a consultants' recommendation for greater identification on cars and uniforms if the
Town continued the contract with the Sheriffs Department. He referred to Kings County in the state of Washington.
Most of the contracted law enforcement officers would wear the uniform that the Town designated and would drive cars
that say the Town of xxx Police Department. He felt that idea had merit and proposed that the Council consider it. He
reviewed the historical section where it mentioned that in the past the Town had county auditors look at costs of
providing services and make their recommendations. In the early 90's there had been an increase of 71% projected in
the cost of the contract law enforcement services. He remarked that the Town could not afford that type of increase. If
the Town went with the "all Sheriff option", the Town would continually face the problem of a potential increase in the
contract cost. He also mentioned that there could be a change at the county level. How would the Town protect
themselves?
Councilwoman Hutcheson addressed costs. She understood that the initial start up costs for a Town department and
acting were basically the same. She told Mr. Farrell that the last Council visited this issue and Councilwoman
Abei_ishoff looked at the higher costs in liability, personnel, and equipment costs. The Reiter consultants had identified
costs that were not directly related to initial start up costs. She recalled that when similar cities and towns were
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analyzed who had their own police department that per capital costs were always higher. Mr. Farrell agreed. He
explained that the desire to provide the protection usually causes the municipality to invest the income of the community
in police services. He noted that it was a problem to take two communities that have a population of 20,000 and say that
they were identical to Fountain Hills and compare the salaries. Generally speaking, Paradise Valley and other
communities that were close and similar to Fountain Hills in size tended to spend a little bit more of their budget on law
enforcement because there was an ownership interest there. When negotiating contracts, municipalities tended to
minimize the expenditure and maximize the return for the dollar spent. He reiterated that it was difficult to make a
meaningful comparison since Fountain Hills was so unique. Fountain Hills did have a long history with both
organizations, Marshals and Sheriffs, in the Town's relatively short lifetime of existence. Councilwoman Hutcheson
sympathized with Councilman McNeill's concern for the potential for significant contract increases and reviewed that
the Town's health insurance costs had recently increased by 77%this year alone.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh reflected on the bad feelings between the Marshals Department and the Sheriffs Department
alluded to by the consultants referred to as "polite avoidance". He found that troubling. In terms of options, Vice
Mayor Kavanagh asked if the consultants were of the opinion that both departments could work together in Town if
their specific duties were clearly delineated and supervised. Mr. Reiter said he believed that could work but it would
depend upon getting the right person for the right job. Fountain Hills made available a very unique opportunity when
the Town started with the code enforcement and the animal control service by wanting to give a heightened level of
service that communities don't usually get. One the problems that they as consultants had noticed was that a lot of the
people who came on board with the Marshals Department had been promised that they would eventually become police
officers and a police department. He agreed that if the Town could specify what the missions were and select those
persons with direction as to their tasks were, the two agencies could get along well. He reviewed a few other
recommendations such as a joint shift roster and training program that could make the two departments feel as one law
enforcement community with different missions.
Mr. Farrell offered that when he took over at the acting town manager that had been one of the assignments given to
him. He had tried to get the personnel communication going. He remarked that the situation that existed in July was not
tolerable. What exists in January 2002 was becoming far more tolerable. He acknowledged that this had not been an
easy process but he was beginning to see some signs of communication on all levels and more comradery. He agreed
that if the definition of the goals and Council direction was clear he was of the opinion that the two agencies could
function at a level that the Town had not even dreamed about. He commented that the process would take a lot of time
and with clear Council direction.
Mayor Morgan stated that the Council would have to layout the rules. Both departments would have to make the effort
if there was to be a successful merger of the two agencies. Councilman Wyman asked that the Sheriff also examine his
own organization. He referred to and read from page 7 of the MCSO contract with the Town where it discussed the
chain of command responsibility standards. He stated that one point made in the contract was that the Town Public
Safety Director and the Division Commander of the Sheriffs Department should establish the primary and secondary
roles of jurisdiction for public safety services. For one reason or another that had not occurred. To simply lay it on the
Sheriff's deputies or lay it on 60-70% of the marshals department might be unfair. He noted that he frequently rode
with both the Sheriff and the Marshals'deputies and he was satisfied that both were dedicated and cared about their jobs.
He acknowledged that the problem was not with them but with either the Council or some one within the Sheriff's
organization. He stated there was no such thing as bad troops, only unenlightened leadership. He felt that leadership
had steered the people who work and report to them in directions that were biased because those individuals had to
respond to them. He remarked that leadership had headed their people to this current situation. If the issue could be left
up to Captain Penrose and Director Gendler to resolve, and if leadership could keep their fingers out of it and honor the
contract that had been drafted between the two parties, perhaps they could sit down and work out the jurisdictional
issues together coming to their leaders for resource allocation or for consultation if necessary. Councilman Wyman
stated that if this and previous Councils as well as the Sheriff's hierarchy had actually said that let's have the two
agencies sit down and work this out and bring the officers together all would be colleagues. Councilman Wyman
reminded Captain Penrose and Director Gendler that their officers were colleagues and that they should work together.
Frank Ferrera, (Glenbrook Blvd.)Director of the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce.
He referred to page 86 in the consultant report. He clarified that Mayor Morgan had not been aware of anything to do
with the focus groups and this should not have been referred to as a Chamber of Commerce focus group. He stated that
Now the Chamber of Commerce did not have a position at this time for or against what should happen with law enforcement.
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This report should not be considered the official position of the Chamber of Commerce on law enforcement in Fountain
Hills.
Joyce Szeliga, 12824 N. Ryan Way
Nrir She pointed out that this report was biased, as it was a focus group comprised of twelve people and a misrepresentation
by use of the Chamber name.
Pen Mower, 15951 E. Ponderosa
He spoke as a former council member and acknowledged that previous councils over the past six years had budgeted
through grants and town funds for the building of a future police department. He referred to chapter 4 in the Town Code
that spoke to the fact that the Marshals responsibility would be in law enforcement. Communications would be assisted
if the Sheriffs Department would bring their level of radio communication to a level that could be used by the Town
Marshals Department. He stated that the consultants had not contacted him, former Mayor Miles, nor former
Councilwoman Wiggishoff and they were the ones who had developed the current MCSO contract.
Charles Cutler, 15208 Red Rock
He asked if the report was factual or were there statements to be disputed. He expressed his amazement at the level of
dysfunction being cited and that it had been allowed to occur. He stated that if the town expanded one operation, then
he felt that the MCSO contract should be cut back. He had not seen that mentioned in the report.
Harold Dennome, 15205 E. Pageland Cir.
He asked if everyone knew what the parameters were when the study was put out. He asked if the Council was unaware
of what they were voting for when they put it out. If the supplier of the report was questionable, why didn't the town
find a better one? He asked if the draft could be compared to the final report to get rid of the question as to what was
messaged and what wasn't. He said it sounded like the Town didn't help the supplier do his job.
Stan West, Sycamore
He stated that he had been a resident for 18 years and a member of the Sheriffs Posse for 12 years. He disputed an
earlier statement that most interviewed had been Posse men and asked for clarification. Councilman Wyman said he
1/40.0 had been given figures that 36% interviewed were oriented or involved,with the MCSO. Mr. West said he had noticed
only one posse man, 21 MCSO officers/deputies, and 18 from the Marshals department. He felt that was a pretty even
opinion. Mr. West said this was a Council problem and suggested that there was room in Fountain Hills for both
departments if responsibilities were defined.
William W. William, 14620 Love Court
If law enforcement service and communication would improve by accepting the consultants' recommendations, he
suggested that the Council adopt the report.
Ginny Chin, 14649 N. Fairlyn(member of the Fountain Hills School Board)
She stated that the School Board wanted to keep the school resource officers. She expressed her opinion that Marshal
Gendler knew the community's needs the best. She thanked the Council and Sheriff Joe for recognizing their roles as
leaders.
Shawn Dow, 11007 N. Buffalo
He acknowledged his participation in the business focus group. He stated that not one person in the room who
participated in the focus group had been a member of the Posse. He inquired why not directly ask Sheriff Joe for his
help with the problem since he was present tonight.
Al Crowley, Ibsen Dr.
He asked the consultants if anyone had given them a list of people with whom to talk. Mr. Reiter replied that they had
identified people to whom they wanted to talk. He acknowledged that there were some who they had been specifically
asked to talk to: the Paradise Valley Police Chief and Roy Kinsey. Mr. Crowley stated that as an early resident he had
been promised a police department and a fire department.
Marshal Deputy Louis Lombari
He asked if there had been a prerequisite for those who participated in the business focus group. Lou Reiter said no.
Deputy Lombari asked if their opinions should have been somewhat non-biased as to what the future of law
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enforcement should be. Mr. Reiter said they were individuals who took the time to spend about three hours in the focus
group. Deputy Lombari asked if the group was pro one side or another would that sway the outcome of the consultant's
report. Mr. Reiter responded no. They had put together the participants' comments and insights that had been derived
from the discussion from a list of questions. Deputy Lombari asked if the list of questions had been given out prior Nlow the meeting. Deputy Lombari asked if the consultants were aware that the Sheriffs Department had a meeting with
some of the individuals prior to the focus group meeting to discuss the list. If the consultants had known that Sheriff s
meeting had occurred, would that change the outcome of the consultant's report? Mr. Reiter clarified that the
individuals could not have had the list of questions, as he was the only one who had the list. The list of questions was
distributed when the participants came into the room the morning of the meeting. Mr. Reiter agreed if the individuals
had met with the Sheriffs Department, it could have swayed the outcome.
Kathy Nicola,Tejon Dr.
She agreed that the lack of cooperation and communication had been a problem between the two departments since the
mid 90's. This was an issue that needed further community input.
Rocky Dziepak, 16316 Jacklin
He supported having a local police department.
Mary Schlosser,Administrative Sgt. for the Marshal Department
She disputed the charge of lack of communication between the two departments and interjected that personal feelings
did not interfere with her job performance and how she serves the community.
Fred Muetter, 15719 E. Sunflower
He asked for the consultant's reasoning for their support of Option #1. Mayor Morgan posed that question to Mr.
Reiter. Mr. Reiter responded that it met the criteria of what was thought to be most important. He referred to page 4 in
the report, which listed their conclusions. Mr. Reiter acknowledged that it was a political decision and not one that an
out of town consultant should make because the community would receive the benefits of the public services. Mr.
Gallagher looked at a number of other areas. He had reviewed the liability and the training issues and the policy and
supervision issues where harder data was contained and enabled him to make his decision to support his
recommendation of Option#1. He said the Council through the Marshal had the responsibility to provide administrative
guidance to the officers of the department. That was the town's protection against massive liability if an incident were
to occur. He outlined the deficiencies that they had found in the Marshals Department.
Public Safety Director Steve Gendler
Director Gendler addressed the points brought up by Mr. Gallagher. He stated that although that may have been the
situation nine months ago, that it was not the situation now. He noted that the procedure manual had been revised. He
appreciated those things that had been brought to their attention by the consultants and they had tried to correct as many
of the deficiencies as possible. The Marshals Department did not train their people in those areas that they did not
respond to, and they would try and keep their liability to their minimum. He stated that the field supervisors worked
nights and weekends and their department took great pride in their supervision.
L.E.A.P. Chairman Rick Melendez
He reviewed the L.E.A.P. Committee's recommendations that were based upon the consultants' report. They proposed
that one law enforcement agency be utilized for the delivery of all law enforcement services and that it should be
provided by the MCSO. They felt that the Marshals Department should be restructured. The Town of Fountain Hills
should handle code and zoning enforcement and public information. Should the Council want to develop their own
police department after reviewing all the information, then the Town Council should set a date specific in order to be
fair to all employees and to inform the citizens of Fountain Hills. He said that in conversation that he had with Sheriff
Joe that if the Council should decide to vote on this proposal at a future date that no one would lose his or her jobs.
Everyone in the Marshals Department would be welcomed in his department at the same pay or better. L.E.A.P. was
prepared to work with any agency in the future.
Lt. Scott Penrose,MCSO
He assured that no one from the Sheriffs Department met with the focus group prior to their participation. He said it
was the intent of all his officers to do a good job for Fountain Hills. He clarified that D.A.R.E. was still taught here in
v the community by Officer Booker.
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Vice Mayor Kavanagh briefly clarified that it was not a sign of disrespect on the part of the Council when they did not
call upon Sheriff Joe to address this issue, as it was not the Council's policy to do so. If done so in the past, it was
almost always a town staff member that was expected to clarify an issue. He would not put a regular attendee on the
spot and call them to answer a question. He pointed out that the reason no one had asked for clarification from the
%k consultants on their recommendation of Option #1 was their reasons were outlined in the report and he did not feel it
necessary to ask.
Councilman Wyman agreed with Vice Mayor Kavanagh that the consultants had given the Council their
recommendations and explained why in the report. Councilman Wyman stated that the consultants had given the
Council precisely what the Town Manager had asked for acting on the council's behalf. He complimented Mr.
Gallagher and Mr.Reiter for providing their report as asked for.
AGENDA ITEM#11. CALL TO THE PUBLIC.
No one came forward.
AGENDA ITEM#12. ADJOURNMENT.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh MOVED to adjourn and Councilwoman Fraverd SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED
unanimously. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 10:45 p.m.
TOWN OUNTAIN ILLS
By:
Sharon Morgan,Mayor
ATTEST:
Cassie B. Hansen,
Director of Administration/Town Clerk
PREPARED BY: A O"' 'LA.-x-4
Bev Bender,Executive Assistant
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the
Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 3`d day of January 2002. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and
that a quorum was present.
DATED this 17th day of January 2002.
•
(14l,L;1.A. J,
Cassie B. Hansen,
Director of Administration/Town Clerk
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