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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004.0205.TCREM.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL FEBRUARY 5, 2004 Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. (Some items on the agenda were discussed out of order but for the purpose of clarity, will remain as shown on the agenda.) AGENDA ITEM #1— VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION: PURSUANT TO A.R.S. 38-431.03.A.1 FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION OF EMPLOYMENT, ASSIGNMENT, APPOINTMENT PROMOTION DEMOTION, DISMISSAL, SALARIES DISCIPLINING OR RESIGNATION OF A PUBLIC OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE OF ANY PUBLIC BODY, EXCEPT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SALARY DISCUSSIONS, AN OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE MAY DEMAND THAT THE DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION OCCUR AT A PUBLIC MEETING. THE PUBLIC BODY SHALL PROVIDE THE OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE WITH WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AS IS APPROPRIATE BUT NOT LESS THAN TWENTY FOUR HOURS FOR THE OFFICER. APPOINTEE, OR EMPLOYEE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION SHOULD OCCUR AT A PUBLIC MEETING. (SPECIFICALLY, THE TOWN MANAGER'S EVALUATION AND BENEFIT PACKAGE.) Councilwoman Stevens MOVED to convene the Executive Session and Councilwoman Nicola SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Councilwoman Stevens MOVED to recess the Executive session and continue it on February 19, 2004, and Councilwoman Nicola SECONDED the motion which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mayor Nichols recessed the Executive Session at 6:30 p.m. VL' 1\L[1 11 L' 1M1 Trb - 1%1:1 1 V1\114 I" 1%r I U11t%1% arlo)1V114 ayor Nichols reconvened the Regular Session at 6:32 p.m. Following the invocation by Mayor Nichols, roll call was taken. ROLL CALL — Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Councilman Archambault, Mayor Nichols, Councilwoman Stevens, Councilman Kavanagh, Vice Mayor Melendez, Councilwoman Nicola, Councilwoman Ralphe. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town Manager Tim Pickering, Town Clerk Bev Bender, Director of Public Works Tom Ward, Fire Chief Mark Zimmerman, MCSO Captain John Kleinheinz, Dana Burkhardt, Denise Ruhling and Mark Mayer were also present. MAYOR'S REPORT a) Presentation made by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to the Town of Fountain Hills. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio addressed the members of the Council and said that three months ago, Vice Mayor Melendez approached him and asked whether they could help out the kids by providing funding for the sports field. He emphasized that the donation was not a personal one as it came from RICO funds. He explained that much of those funds were used to help pay detectives and under -cover police, which he believed were crucial to help keep children from becoming involved in the drug traffic. He added that he managed to put together $3,000 and said that an additional $2,000 would be forthcoming. He presented the Mayor with the check. Mayor Nichols thanked Sheriff Arpaio and said that the Town of Fountain Hills appreciated what the Sheriff did personally for the Town as well as the efforts of the Sheriff's Department. He also commended the officers for the outstanding job they performed on a day-to-day basis. He added that he was very proud of the 25 officers who averted a death and murder situation during a recent hostage situation. Sheriff Arpaio indicated the Department's intention to do everything it could to protect the citizens of Fountain Hills. EABBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page I of 15 b) Plaque presentations by Mayor Nichols to outgoing Planning and Zoning Commissioners: Jay Schlum and Fred Luft. Mayor Nichols recognized Jay Schlum, an outgoing member of the Town's Planning and Zoning Commission The Mayor expressed appreciation to Mr. Schlum for serving a four-year term on the Commission and read a not from P&Z Chairman Michael Downes, which outlined the positive achievements Mr. Schlum's service had had on the entire community. Mayor Nichols presented Mr. Schlum with a plaque and again thanked him for his willingness to serve. Mr. Schlum stated that it was an honor and privilege to serve with the other members of the Commission. Mayor Nichols also announced that Fred Luft served on the Board of Adjustment and recently retired from that position. The Mayor said they wanted to honor him this evening by presenting him with a plaque. Mr. Luft was not present at the meeting and the Mayor said he would make sure the plaque was presented to him at a later time. c) Mayor Nichols presented the Town of Fountain Hills a plaque from the Elks Club of Scottsdale honoring Fountain Hills Law Enforcement and Fire Personnel. Mayor Nichols stated that he was invited to attend a meeting at the Elks Club of Scottsdale and had been presented with an award for the Town's Police and Fire Departments. He stated the departments had been presented with the Exalted Rules Award, which was presented to quality personnel of the Police and Fire Departments of Fountain Hills by the Scottsdale Elks Lodge, #2148. The Mayor displayed the plaque and said he was very proud to receive the award on behalf of the Sheriff s Department and Rural Metro. d) Update by Councilwoman Nicola on her involvement with Maricopa Association of Government's Human Services Committee. Councilwoman Nicola provided a brief update on her involvement as a member of the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG). She thanked the Mayor for appointing her to the Committee. She said that as a member o the Human Services Coordinating Committee, she would be responsible for things such as domestic violence, the continuum of care on homelessness, senior services, poverty, and youth programs. She reported that on Tuesday, February 24 h, the third annual HUD Homeless Street Count would occur and explained that volunteers count the number of homeless people over a three-hour period. She said that last year the number reached approximately 1500 in all of Maricopa County and added that she was sure everyone would agree that the number was low. She said they were hoping for a higher count this year so that the County would receive additional funding. Councilwoman Nicola noted that last year just under $17 million was given to Maricopa County to build shelters, provide food and medical needs, and provide other services to the homeless. She added that she had passed out MAG committee structure to her fellow Councilmembers in the hope that their continuing support and efforts would assist her in achieving the goals of the committee. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that there were five citizens who wished to address the Council under this agenda item and Mayor Nichols asked that they come forward and present their comments at this time. Hugh Henry, 15731 E. Sycamore, a member of Citizens To Save Our Community, (CSOC), stated that in December of 2002 a Blue Ribbon Committee looked at the possibility of improving the financial status of the organization with regard to a fire district. He said they recommended three different ways of accomplishing this goal; (1) a sales tax; (2) a primary tax or (3) possibly getting a new fire district. He said that the Committee met with him at his home to review this issue and they found that there did not appear to be any avenue for the Town to actually establish a new district, so they volunteered their services to work in that area. He stated that the group could have filed as a non-profit organization but elected instead to become a PAC because they believed it to be the most expeditious way. Mr. Henry informed the Council that the group had collected many petition signatures and received a tremendous amount of support. He noted that MCO would be signing for well over 100 properties, which would generate approximately $5 EABBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 2 of 15 million in assessed value. He added that at a previous meeting, the group submitted to the Town the same information for approximately 66 pieces of property, which would contribute about $4 million to that number. He said they were looking forward to working together and bringing the information back to the Council as soon as possible. ita Brown, 16738 E. Nicklaus Drive, the Treasurer of CSOC, stated that the process set out by the Board of Supervisors required that over 50% of the registered voters and over 50% of the property owners representing over 50% of the property value, provide their signatures in favor of a new fire district that could re-establish the secondary property tax. She said that unfortunately this was not an election in which they could abstain. She said anyone who did not vote "yes" was automatically counted as a "no" and against the fire district. She stated that on day one, everyone was counted as a "no." She added that a one-year period from May 7, 2003, through May 16, 2004, was established as the time frame during which signatures could be collected. She discussed organizational efforts to accomplish their goal of having 40% of the needed signatures collected by February 1, 50% by March 1 and 100% by April 15, 2004. She reported that they were on track and had reached two of their goals and exceeded a third. She added that as of February 1S` they had collected 2700 of the Town's 2800 registered voters' goal and collected 2330 of the 2500 property owners' goal. She also noted that they achieved 112% of their property value goal at $70 million of the $62 million that was forecast. Ms. Brown stated that much more work needed to be done and many more signatures needed to be collected in all categories and said that information on how to become involved would be provided at a later time. Bob Tripp, 16410 E. Tombstone Avenue, a volunteer member of CSOC, said that the ability to collect a secondary property tax for fire and emergency services was eliminated when the fire district terminated. He stated that this resulted in a loss of $1.3 million in State contributions as well as the commercial and non-residential secondary property tax per year. He referred to a chart displayed in the Council Chambers, and said that without a secondary property tax, significant revenue would be lost. He noted that to replace this loss with a 1% sales tax would require retail sales of $130 million a year. He added that today non-residents and commercial owners received free fire and emergency services and said that the main burden of a sales tax fell on the residents who lived and shopped in Town and were a burden on the already challenged business community. He commented that according to Mayor Nichols, Moody's rating service considered a use and sales tax to fund essential services to be a black mark against the Town and could result in added costs for iuntain Hills. He asked that the Council restore the secondary property tax or the revenue that had been lost. Sandy Zinn, 14250 N. Saguaro Blvd., also a member of CSOC, concurred with the comments of the previous speakers and said that the Town entrusted the members of that Committee with the responsibility of pursuing the recommendation of a Blue Ribbon committee to set up the new fire district. She noted the members had taken this significant undertaking very seriously and pointed out that thousands of hours had been given and thousands of dollars had been spent on this important issue. She commented that it had been gratifying that large stakeholders, such as MCO Properties and Desert Canyon Golf Course, had agreed to sign for their properties as well as many smaller businesses and the Chamber of Commerce. She said they had received consistent support from The Fountain Hills Times and said that although they had already collected thousands of signatures, they still needed to collect thousands of signatures and urged the Town to sign for Town properties as other large stakeholders have done. She stated that they needed as many people as possible to help achieve this tremendous goal as well as funding. She encouraged everyone to stop by the CSOC office and sign the petition and provided directions, hours, and a telephone number. Bob Travis, 14218 N. Schnook Plaza, stated the opinion that since the Council voted to follow the recommendations of the Committee that was formed to address the fire district issue, they should also sign the petition for the Town's property. He said he knew that some legal issues existed but that the County attorneys should determine whether the Council would have a problem if they signed the petition. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire advised that Mr. Travis had contacted him last week and inquired as to whether the Town was empowered to sign the petitions. He said they posed the question to the County Attorney's office and a "yes and no" response was received yesterday; yes with respect to the number of petition signatures needed and number of properties and no with respect to assessed valuation. He explained that the Council had signature capability on one set of petitions but not on the other. the Mayor thanked Mr. McGuire for the update and thanked all of the speakers for their input. EABBendeADocumentsTurrent Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 3 of 15 CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF 1/13/04 AND 1115104. AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY THE AMERICAN LEGION POST #58 THE REQUEST IS FOR A FUNDRAISER SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 21, 2004. AGENDA ITEM #3 — CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY THE AMERICAN LEGION POST #58 THE REQUEST IS FOR A FUNDRAISER SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 27 — 29, 2004. AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE ANNUAL WASH CLEANUP CONTRACT WITH TRUGREEN LANDCARE IN THE AMOUNT OF $125,700 Councilman Archambault MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as read and Councilwoman Ralphe SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilwoman Stevens Aye Vice Mayor Melendez Aye Councilman Kavanagh Aye Councilwoman Nicola Aye Mayor Nichols Aye Councilwoman Ralphe Aye Councilman Archambault Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7 to 0). AGENDA ITEM #5 — CONSIDERATION OF APPOINTING THREE CITIZENS TO FILL CURRENT VACANCIES ON THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT EACH SERVING TWO-YEAR TERMS Mayor Nichols stated that this agenda item involved the appointment of three citizens to fill vacancies and serve two-year terms on the Board of Adjustment. He stated that the names of the appointees were: (1) Eugene Peters; (2) E.K. Ohsman; and (3) Ross Barker. Councilwoman Ralphe MOVED to approve the appointment of the three citizens listed above to the Board of Adjustment for two-year terms and Councilman Kavanagh SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #6 — QUARTERLY REPORTS PROVIDED BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT. Mr. Pickering stated that Fire Chief Mark Zimmerman and MCSO Captain John Kleinheinz would present their updates covering the second quarter of this fiscal year to the Council. Chief Zimmerman highlighted a brief power point presentation and noted that the number of calls (call volume) decreased in the second quarter. He explained that this was not unusual because of all the snake calls and special calls they received during the last half of the summer when the snakes were out. He noted that emergency calls increased slightly and again said this was typical since more people were in Town. He pointed out that the overall response time for all calls had improved and training hours had decreased slightly. He stated that fire prevention activity had increased (plan review, inspections and permits). Chief Zimmerman discussed the department's quarterly activities and said they participated in the Fall Festival; participated as an EMT standby at the Chamber's Fall Art Festival; delivered Santa to the annual Avenue of the Fountains Christmas lighting ceremony; both stations were collection points for the Toys for Tots program; performed the annual Ladder 823 inspection and aerial ladder certification was completed and all annual business inspections were completed as well. He also noted that the monthly hose testing took place during the month of January. EABBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 4 of 15 Captain Kleinheinz addressed the Council and thanked the Council for the opportunity to update them and said that Sergeant Chuck Siemens would briefly highlight a power point presentation, which would provide a statistical recap of the last quarter's activities for the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office in Fountain Hills. �,-rgeant Siemens stated that during the past quarter, a new District Commander, Captain John Kleinheinz, was appointed. He added that a "stand alone" patrol district (District 7) was created strictly for Fountain Hills. He noted that improvements to the working environment for the deputies in the station also occurred and advised that they provided security for a Town Hall meeting with Senator Kyl and Congressman Hayworth in October. He noted that the calls for service went from 959 in October, down to 939 in November and then increased to 975 during December. Discussion ensued relative to an increase in the number of reports taken; the continuing zero homicide rate; sexual assaults (adult and minor) and the fact that the Town of Fountain Hills had no forcible, violent rape crimes; no robberies occurred during this particular period of time; burglaries (residential, business and vehicle) totaled 39 compared to an average of 65; stolen vehicles 8 compared to an average of 72.6; thefts 60, compared to an average of 208; a high of 187 traffic citations were issued in December; a total of 29 non -injury traffic accidents and a total of 15 injury traffic accidents. Sergeant Siemens added that the Sheriffs posse had done an excellent job augmenting the patrols and performing a variety of functions. He said that they gave a total of 3,034 volunteer man-hours. Mayor Nichols thanked the speakers for their presentations. In response to a question from Vice Mayor Melendez, Captain Kleinheinz explained that most of the Town's standard personnel were on -duty when Senator Kyle and Congressman Hayworth were in Town. He added that they augmented that with members of the Tactical Operations Unit and asked the posse to also become involved. Vice Mayor Melendez asked Captain Kleinheinz to discuss the impacts of creating a new "stand alone" patrol district (District 7) for Fountain Hills. The Captain said that when he assumed his current position, he was sharing �sponsibilities with another captain and the designation was 4 north (Cave Creek, Carefree, Anthem and the northern part rnd four south of the district geographically, which is now District 7 (Fountain Hills, Rio Verde, Tonto Verde and the accompanying unincorporated areas). He stated that he very quickly recognized that there were two captains, two chains of command and a span of control that over -mixed people who were working for them. He reported that after lengthy discussions with the Sheriff, the Chief Deputy, and his Chief, Larry Black, he was able to present to them enough information to get them to agree that splitting District 4 into two "stand alone" districts would be better for not only the Sheriff s Office but for the Town itself. Councilwoman Nicola asked whether District 7 was located only within the limits of Fountain Hills and Captain Kleinheinz responded that he still had coverage responsibilities for some of the unincorporated areas that surround Fountain Hills. Councilman Kavanagh stated that over the last couple of months, the deputies were faced with two or three incidents involving the use of deadly force either against them or others and commended Captain Kleinheinz on the fact that all of those situations were resolved without any shootings despite the risks involved. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this item. Mayor Nichols again thanked everyone for the update. AGENDA ITEM #7 — CONSIDERATION OF THE FINAL PLAT FOR PARCEL 3 AT EAGLES NEST A 14- LOT, FIVE -TRACT, 22.27-ACRE SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION CASE #S2002-28 See discussion under Agenda Item #9. #8 — CONSIDERATION OF THE FINAL PLAT l LOT, THREE TRACT, 26.55-ACR] See discussion under Agenda Item #9. ,E-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION. EABBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 5 of 15 AGENDA ITEM #9 — CONSIDERATION OF THE FINAL PLAT FOR PARCEL 5 AT EAGLES NEST. A 21- LOT, FIVE TRACT, 42.2-ACRE SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION CASE #52002-39 Senior Planner Dana Burkhardt addressed the Council and stated his intent to discuss Parcels 3, 4 and 5 at the same time. He noted that Parcel 3 was located in the lower portion of Eagles Nest and made up of 14 lots with a single cul-de-say road. He said that Parcel 4 was a 14-lot subdivision with a double -headed cul-de-sac going west from the backbone road He added that Parcel 5 was a 21-lot parcel subdivision serviced by a loop road going up through Parcel 6 and also the two cul-de-sacs extending to the southern portion of the plat. He stated that staff recommended approval with stipulations, including an amended stipulation to number one on all three parcels as outlined in a memorandum dated February 5, 2004. He said that the developer agreed to all of the stipulations. Councilman Archambault referred to Parcel 4 and asked whether a double cul-de-sac was unique. Mr. Burkhardt responded that if he was referring to the length of a cul-de-sac, they were measured separately. He added that they were both measured from the initial right-of-ways and separate roadways. Councilwoman Stevens MOVED to accept the Final Plat for Parcel 3 at Eagles Nest including the proposed amended stipulation. Vice Mayor Melendez SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). Councilman Archambault MOVED to accept the Final Plat for Parcel 4 at Eagles Nest including the proposed amended stipulation. Councilwoman Stevens SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). Councilman Kavanagh MOVED to accept the Final Plat for Parcel 5 at Eagles Nest including the proposed amended stipulation. Councilman Archambault SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #10 — CONSIDERATION OF A CONCEPT PLAN FOR WENDELL MOTOR CARS LOCATED AT 11855 N. SAGUARO BOULEVARD_ , SUITE A. AKA PLAT 205 OF BLOCK 3 LOT 12 CASE NUMBER CP2003-14. Denise Lacey, Planner, addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and said that this was a request for approval of a concept plan, not something that the Town Council would typically see. She explained that they were talking about an auto dealership. Per a Town ordinance, auto dealerships required site plan approval by Planning and Zoning and Towr Council. She referred to aerial photos of the site and said that there were two existing buildings on the site, an insurance company, a beauty shop and a tailor. She referred to the proposed site plan and clarified that the exact parking was not existent at this point and was not striped. She said that this was a request from Jack Wendell to allow auto sales on this particular site per the Town's ordinance. She noted that staff recommended approval with four stipulations: (1) that the drive -aisle not be used for parking or display of vehicles; (2) that the display of vehicles not interfere with access to other businesses; (3) that the number of display vehicles be limited to six; and (4) the applicant must provide required parking improvements. Ms. Lacey informed the Council that the Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed this request and recommended approval. She indicated her willingness to respond to any questions from the Council. Councilwoman Nicola referred to Stipulation No. 3, limiting the number of display vehicles to six, and asked whether the intent was that they be in certain designated parking spaces, the new parking spaces, or in addition to those parking spaces. Ms. Lacey responded that it was staff's intention that the display vehicles be parked in parking spaces. Councilwoman Nicola asked whether the Council could amend that and Ms. Lacey responded yes. Councilwoman Nicola stated that her concern was that in some of the other locations that currently existed, there seemed to be a congestion problem and said that she would like to somehow "tighten it up" so that six vehicles were not "scrunched in." Ms. Lacey stated that if was Councilwoman Nicola's intention to clarify the manner in which the display vehicles were located, a stipulation could be added to state that the number of display vehicles was limited to six and those vehicles must be in approved parking spaces. In response to a question from Councilwoman Nicola, Ms. Lacey advised that the applicant was not the owner of the property but had the authority from the owner to move forward on this matter. She added that the other businesses' parking needs would still be met. EABBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 6 of 15 Councilwoman Stevens MOVED to accept the concept plan as presented. Councilman Kavanagh SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #11 — DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING COUNCILMEMBER ,,,DECORUM. Mayor Nichols advised that this item was placed on the agenda at the request of three Councilmembers and asked one of the three to speak on the item. Councilman Kavanagh MOVED that the Council issue a formal notice to Councilmember Archambault that the Council strongly disapproves of actions he took following the last Council meeting in a public area of the Community Center where he confronted the Town Manager in a public area in front of the public and employees and engaged in activity unbecoming of a Councilmember or anyone for that matter (i.e. shouting at the Town Manager, using profanity (the "f' word), engaging in aggressive hostile contact (contacting the Manager with his finger and other hostile behaviors). He stated that in addition to expressing their strong disapproval of this action, they also believed that should there be a recurrence of this in the future, that Councilman Archambault voluntarily resign his position from the Council. He added that at this point, in addition to the disapproval, they also requested that Councilman Archambault publicly apologize to the Town Manager for his actions. Vice Mayor Melendez SECONDED the motion for the purpose of discussion. Councilman Archambault asked where Councilman Kavanagh had obtained his facts. Councilman Kavanagh responded that they came from two sources, Vice Mayor Melendez, who was an eye witness and the person Councilman Archambault requested accompany him out to the lobby to speak to the Town Manager and from the Town Manager who confirmed all of the allegations and with whom he had gone over the issue in detail. Councilman Archambault expressed surprise that a member of the Council who possessed a doctorate degree in law enforcement, worked in law enforcement and who was an instructor in the field which was based on establishing fact, didn't even bother to call him. He noted that no one had called him to find out what his side of the story was. He asked �:)uncilman Kavanagh whether it was part of his duties as a police officer to conduct an investigation on both sides. _Wlouncilman Kavanagh stated that he was not acting in the capacity of a police officer and added that were he still an active police officer and present, based upon what he had been told, he would have placed him under arrest because his activity was criminal. Councilman Archambault asked if he was saying that he didn't have the right to go to ask the Town Manager a question. Councilman Kavanagh responded that he did not have the right to scream the "f'word in a public place and asked him if he denied that he did so in the lobby of the Community Center. Mayor Nichols requested that all questions be addressed through him. Councilman Kavanagh requested that the Mayor ask Councilman Archambault whether he denied yelling the "f'word at the Town Manager after the last meeting in the Community Center. The Mayor asked if he wanted to reply to that and Councilman Archambault said that he did not want to reply to that because it was taking everything out of context and not looking at the initial facts. He added that the fact was he had the initial right to ask the Town Manager a question. He said that he was being accused of "poking" the Town Manager, which did not happen. He stated that the fact was that Vice Mayor Melendez accused him in the paper of both of them being in a gym class of students and parents. He said he checked with staff and found out that the gym class utilized a portion of the facility from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. He pointed out that the Council meeting did not end until 10:20 p.m. and added that the confrontation that everyone was talking about probably did not occur until around 10:30 p.m. He said that Councilman Kavanagh was basing his facts on what the Vice Mayor told him. Councilman Kavanagh responded that he was also basing them on what the Town Manager confirmed. councilman Archambault said that they were trying to make everyone believe that at 10:30 p.m. on a school night grade school children were hanging around and stated that he found that to be almost impossible. He added that he found it even more interesting that Vice Mayor Melendez, who should be held to a higher standard, then changed his position and E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 7 of 15 said that there were a half a dozen people there. He said that now he was changing the location. He advised that the fact was that he asked the Town Manager a question, which he had a right to do, he was doing some investigative questioning to find out if some allegations that he heard were true or false. He stated that he had no idea that the discussion would become "charged" but when it did, they took it outside. They didn't stay there. He said that the fact of the matter was tha'' `Ih the incident did not occur during a Council meeting and was not an exercise of official duty and it did not belong on thlAW dais, and was a waste of staff time and a waste of the Council's time. He added that the fact was that although the discussion was emotionally "charged," it was never in danger of leading to anything more than a verbal exchange. He stated that again, the Vice Mayor pointed out in an article that it appeared a fistfight was going to erupt. He said if anyone had bothered to ask the Vice Mayor, he would have told them that he talked to me at about 11:30 that night and asked me how it went and I told him we settled it in a gentlemanly manner and we walked away. He emphasized that he did not tell him that a fistfight broke out and that days passed before he decided to make that inflammatory remark in the paper. Councilman Archambault commented that he and the Town Manager made their points, agreed to look into the topic at a later time, and departed calmly. He stressed that those were the facts. Councilwoman Ralphe asked the Town Attorney what authority the individual members of the Council had to express disapproval, pass judgment, etc. upon any of the other members. Mr. McGuire responded that although staff thoroughly researched this issue, the best they could come up with was that the Council did not have the authority to sanction, discipline, censure, or cause anything to happen to a Councilmember. He added that the Council could discuss and make a statement of disapproval but could not bring about any type of actual punishment. Councilwoman Ralphe asked if she was correct that the Town Attorney stated during a previous discussion that if action was taken by the Council, it would not be official Town Council action. Mr. McGuire stated the opinion that it would not have a legal, binding effect. Councilwoman Nicola said that she reviewed the Council's Rules of Procedure looking for the same information that Councilwoman Ralphe requested and said that under Decorum and Order it stated that the enforcement of decorum was to be maintained by the Chair during all meetings, and this clearly happened after the meeting. She added, however, that. following this discussion she would like to discuss decorum that occurred the same evening during the Council meetin when she found herself needing to go up to a member of the public and apologize for Councilman Kavanagh's outburst. Mayor Nichols stated that Councilwoman Nicola was out of order and said that only remarks on the current issue would be allowed. Councilwoman Nicola commented that since the situation occurred after the meeting, it appeared to be more of a police matter. She added that it involved two people who she witnessed were equally disorderly and recommended that the Council refer this for further investigation. Councilman Kavanagh responded that relative to Councilwoman Nicola's comment regarding equal liability, it was important to note that the Town Manager had no idea what the investigation Councilman Archambault was conducting was about, he had had no involvement in what Councilman Archambault thought he was involved. He added that even if he did, nothing justified vulgar, crude, profane, and illegal actions. He said that with respect to claiming that someone who was approached and barraged with obscenities and poking was equally liable because they got angry and said something back, was little more than blaming the victim and was intolerable. Councilman Kavanagh stated that if he read the Town Attorney's opinion correctly, the Council could not censure or penalize but pointed out that the motion did neither. He added that the Town Attorney did say that the Councilmembers could express their public opinion of their dislike of the behavior, which he believed the motion did. He asked whether it was reasonable to conclude that the motion was a legal one with limited action. Mr. McGuire responded that the motion expressed the Council's position but did not have any legal effect. He added that it would be something on which the Council could express an opinion. Councilman Kavanagh stated that the motion was exactly about expressing their opinion on Councilman Archambault's behavior. He said that Councilman Archambault was denying the facts and said the people had the right to know what their representatives were doing. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 8 of 15 Councilman Kavanagh asked Councilman Archambault whether he denied yelling the "f' word at the Town Manager in the Community Center lobby. Councilman Archambault responded that since Councilman Kavanagh was not present, he did not have the right to ask him that question and asked whether the Vice Mayor would like to pose that question. �.iie Mayor asked the Vice Mayor whether he wanted to speak and Vice Mayor Melendez said he wished the public airing of this entire issue could have been avoided. He said that most of last week he was absent and in California and had been speaking with Mayor Nichols as late as last night. He said he asked the Mayor if there was any way they could avoid making this issue public and the Mayor replied that he had asked Councilman Archambault to apologize on three separate occasions. He stated that the comments he was about to make would not enhance the relationship that existed between himself and Councilman Archambault, but he had to say what he thought was right and correct. Vice Mayor Melendez said that three Council meetings ago, the Mayor allowed Councilman Archambault to quote a passage from a great writer, Walter Dickens, and said he would like the same courtesy at this time to quote a passage that had to do with this issue from another writer, Aristotle. He quoted "many individuals faced with the necessity of making a decision allow their emotions to allow contrary evidence without ever attempting to obtain and evaluate evidence. Such people are implicitly accepting emotions as a test of truth. Too many depend upon subjective feelings as a guide to a great variety of situations, ranging from trivial problems of everyday living to the more serious problems of the community. Most people today, however, will admit that they cannot trust their emotions in important matters, thus the experienced people will ignore these feeling and search for the facts." The Vice Mayor stated that his facts were as follows: during the two and a half years that he will have served in office as of this May, he was criticized for a couple of decisions he had made but he always based his decisions on the facts presented, never on emotion. He said that Councilman Archambault did not gather his facts before making accusations that evening to the Town Manager. He added that Councilman Archambault did not have a private conversation with Mr. Pickering. It was in a Town -owned facility within hearing range of himself, Mayor Nichols later on in the discussion, and citizens who were walking by. He stated that on four separate occasions, Councilman Archambault lost his temper (right here on the dais when he changed name plates from Councilwoman Nicola to Councilwoman Stevens because he was irate over a decision in Executive Session). He said that people witnessed that happen and Mayor Nichols was not in fice at that time but sat in the back and admitted the next day that he saw it. He said that second, during Executive ession, he was asked publicly by then Mayor Beydler to apologize and he did submit a written apology to the Council and other people from the outside. He noted that third, he shouted from the dais to a citizen sitting in the front row "You be quiet." He said that last, the incident with the Town Manager. Vice Mayor Melendez asked what would happen if this occurred again and the situation got elevated to a more physical level. He expressed the opinion that the Council would be subjected to criticism based on their knowledge that one of the Councilmembers had a history of anger. He added that a lawsuit could possibly result from an affected party. He stressed the importance of providing a non -hostile work environment. He commented that before he left office in June, he wanted to state for the record that Councilman Archambault's behavior was inexcusable, insulting, and degrading and his lack of good judgment was well beneath the stature and professionalism of what this public body was trying to present to the citizens of Fountain Hills and neighboring communities. He added that he supported the motion because someone had to tell the truth and he was within hearing distance. Councilman Archambault did use the "f' word and so did Mr. Pickering. He added that unfortunately Mr. Pickering was defending himself and also used that word but said that issue should be dealt with in Executive Session. He said he was not responsible for what the press wrote but he reported to them that he witnessed this incident and saw Councilman Archambault point his finger at Mr. Pickering. It was not touching and he never said it was touching, but it was pointed at Mr. Pickering's face and Councilman Archambault's face showed anger. Vice Mayor Melendez stated the opinion that the situation came close to a fistfight and he went back to the community room and asked the Mayor to help him take the two people out of the Community Center and into the parking lot. He noted that the Mayor was driving him home that evening and before they left, the Mayor said, "We better make sure that these guys are not going to get into a fistfight." He said they went home and he called Councilman Archambault that night to see what had occurred. He added that his point was that this was not the first time that Councilman Archambault lost his temper. It was his fourth time, and in his opinion reflected a pattern. He recommended that Councilman rchambault attend anger management classes because that type of behavior could not continue to happen. Councilman Archambault stated that the Vice Mayor's remarks constituted "quite a speech" but were "a lie." He said that both he and the Vice Mayor, while in the Council Chambers, agreed to go ask the Town Manager about the issue. He E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 9 of 15 commented that Vice Mayor Melendez had just stated that he approached the Town Manager in anger and said he approached Mr. Pickering and asked him a question. He stated that Councilman Kavanagh accused him of not getting all of his facts straight before he got there but said he was in an investigative mode and was not announcing it to the world. He was simply asking the Town Manager a question. He agreed that it was probably a loaded, hot, and charged questior but emphasized that it was a question that needed to be asked. He said that even the Vice Mayor agreed to ask the Tow Manager the question. Vice Mayor Melendez concurred that he did agree to ask the Town Manager the question and stated that the entire issue started when a Mr. John Turner informed them that a Marshall Tate had been transferred out of the district and he wanted him to talk to Mr. Pickering. He said that Mr. Pickering had left the meeting room and he followed closely behind him and by the time he got two feet away from both of them, the first words he heard were the "f' words by Councilman Archambault to Mr. Pickering. Councilman Archambault responded that the Vice Mayor was wrong and Vice Mayor Melendez said that he believed he had the floor. He went on to say that that evening, because of the delicate nature of this situation, he took notes to accurately remind himself of what had taken place. He stressed that he stood by what he said and Councilman Archambault did use the "f' word and Mr. Pickering did not deny that he had also used it. He said Councilman Archambault should not stand there and tell him that this didn't happen because he (Mr. Pickering) and I (Vice Mayor Melendez) agreed that Councilman Archambault did that. Councilwoman Ralphe commented on the difficulties associated with the incident and noted that she and half of the Council were not present at the time. She said they were in the uncomfortable position of having to "sift" through the rhetoric for the facts and what other people said and this placed the Council at a disadvantage. She stated that Mr. Pickering was the second person involved in the interchange and asked whether he had any advice for the Council as to how to handle the situation. Mayor Nichols expressed the opinion that Mr. Pickering might not want to do that and said the issue was one for the Council to decide upon. Councilman Kavanagh stated that he did not see the need to proceed with an investigation of the factual allegations and added that Councilman Archambault would not deny the allegations; he picked up on irrelevant side activities and argued that they were inaccurate. He expressed the opinion that everyone knew the core allegations were true. He commented that this issue was made public for a number of reasons. First, Councilman Archambault chose to make it public and the incident occurred in a public place within earshot of Town employees. He said that efforts were initiated to avoid a public display because the members did not want a repeat of last year's events. He noted that he communicated to Councilman Archambault through the Mayor that if he was willing to publicly apologize, admit what he did and state if he did it again he would resign, that he for one would not say anything and it would have been just a two -minute Council item and they would have moved on. He said it was necessary to make the issue public because Councilman Archambault refused to admit what he had done and accept responsibility for his actions, to say what he did was wrong and to state he would not do it again in the future. He stated that when someone refused to admit they did something wrong, there was a pretty good chance they would do it again. He added that Councilman Archambault embarrassed the Town and the Council, created a hostile atmosphere for the staff, not only the Town Manager, all of the staff now knew he had a "razor edged temper" and was willing to engage in hostile behavior when staff did not do what he liked or answered improperly. Councilman Kavanagh expressed the opinion that Councilman Archambault destroyed the working relationship between him and the Town Manager, severely damaged the working relationship among Councilmembers by putting them through this awful episode, and exposed the Town to civil liability by creating a hostile working environment, as Vice Mayor Melendez stated after talking with an attorney. He said they had all heard of cases where employees sued their employers if there was evidence that an employee was exposed to a hostile environment. He pointed out that in this instance the employers (the Council) knew about it and the only action they were taking was to publicly acknowledge the bad behavior. He emphasized that this was doing the right thing and reiterated that Councilman Archambault's behavior was rude, crude, unprofessional, morally wrong, and must be publicly condemned. He noted that the first time Councilman Archambault displayed this type of behavior, everyone stayed quiet. The second time they accepted a private written apology and did not go public at a meeting and this was the third and worst time. He stressed the importance of acknowledging the moral wrong and said to ignore this situation would be to not do the right EABBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 10 of 15 thing and would constitute engaging in a "cover up." He stated that he was unwilling to do that anymore and the Council probably should have taken action the second time because maybe his actions would not have gotten to this extreme point. He said he supported the motion. ,ouncilwoman Stevens commented on the "down side of politics" and said over the past couple of years she had wished a couple of times that she wasn't sitting up on the dais and this was another one of those times. She stated that the Town Council was Mr. Pickering's boss. He was an employee, and that was not how they should treat their employees. She added that employees should be treated with respect and if a private disagreement occurred, it should remain private. She expressed the opinion that Councilman Archambault's behavior was inexcusable and must not continue. Mayor Nichols pointed out that the incident happened on Town property and therefore was Town business. He said that the situation had upset him greatly and he tried to "broker" an arrangement between Councilman Archambault and the members who brought this issue forward. He stated that he spent a lot of time with Councilman Archambault, Councilman Kavanagh, Vice Mayor Melendez and Councilwoman Stevens. He added that he also talked a few times about this issue with Councilwoman Ralphe and Councilwoman Nicola, but was unable to get the parties to come to a satisfactory resolution whereby Councilman Archambault would publicly apologize for his behavior to the Council, the public, and the employees. He stated that he and the members of the Council were elected leaders and therefore held to a higher standard of behavior. He stressed that the public expected that type of behavior and expected the Council to be leading the behavior of the Town. He said that the Councilmembers could not lose their tempers. He agreed that Councilman Archambault had the right to pose a question to the Town Manager, but said that the response he received sent him into a rage. The Mayor admitted that he did not see the first set of exchanges occur. When he came upon the scene Councilman Archambault and Mr. Pickering were in the parking lot of the Community Center. He commented that at that time the argument was "hot and heavy" and both individuals were using foul language, including the "f' word. He said his concern was to ensure that the situation did not escalate into a physical battle. He stated that he spoke with both of them and asked if they were all right and if they could all leave and whether they had settled down to the point where they were not going to get into physical violence. He said he asked if they "were okay" and they said they were. He said he responded that as long as that was the case, he would take the Vice Mayor home and that was what he did. ayor Nichols stressed the importance of Councilmembers not losing their temper in public and stated he was disappointed with Councilman Archambault's behavior. He added that this was not the first time he had observed it. He had witnessed it a couple of times, and they had talked about it and he could not condone the behavior. He said that if a Councilmember was going to ask a "loaded" question, and might not like the answer, he or she should do so in private, particularly if the member had a history of "flying off the handle." The Mayor stated the opinion that the Council was saying to Councilman Archambault, "Please, in the future, if you feel you are going to be in a situation where you might fly off the handle, go behind closed doors and do it in private. Don't do it in public and embarrass your fellow Councilmembers, employees, and the public of Fountain Hills." He reiterated that this type of behavior could not be condoned. Councilwoman Ralphe commented that she believed 100% in public officials carrying out their responsibilities in a professional manner. She said she wished this had never happened but after it did and she was told about it, she contacted Councilman Archambault and suggested some type of apology and how and when it could occur. She advised that if that apology came through even at this point in time, she would still be happy and would accept it. She added that she was very uneasy about taking the proposed action and questioned what it would accomplish since the Town Attorney stated that it would have no legal effect. She said the Council couldn't discipline or sanction Councilman Archambault and the action would have very little meaning. She added, however, that it could create even further turmoil, dissension, and division on the Council and out in the public. She stated the opinion that that was not what the Council wanted to happen and she would prefer that they simply got back to taking care of the citizens' business because that was what they were there to do. She said she would not support the motion. Councilman Kavanagh responded to Councilwoman Ralphe's comments and stated that the motion was not meant to have any legal effect, because the Town Attorney had advised that it could not have any legal effect. The motion did state that was the opinion of the Council that this behavior was morally wrong, bad, and intolerable. He added that he did not lieve there was anything wrong with coming down on the "right side" of a behavior issue such as this and to not condemn it publicly might encourage it in the future. He said he was simply asking the Council to do the right thing. He questioned what would happen if two or three months from now Councilman Archambault in another instance such as this EABBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page I 1 of 15 struck someone and the Town was sued. He pointed out that on the record this Town Council, if they did not pass the motion, would be saying, "We don't believe this behavior is worthy of formally expressing disapproval." He added that he would love to be on a civil jury and call a witness, somebody's employer, who says, "Yes, I knew this person was engaging in hostile behavior, and I purposely decided not to say it was wrong to that person." He emphasized that it wa right to say this was wrong. Councilwoman Nicola noted that the first and second occurrences previously referred to happened during the same meeting within ten minutes of each other and Councilman Archambault had lost his temper because several members of the Council were attacking another member of the Council, her, and she thanked him for his chivalrous behavior. She expressed the opinion that Councilman Archambault was a "stand up kind of guy" unlike some others she had known. She pointed out that the third occurrence was the same thing that Councilman Kavanagh had done to former Councilmember John McNeill at the last meeting. She stated that she had not witnessed hostile or violent behavior on Councilman Archambault's part and said that was not the Councilman she knew who donated his salary every month to the food bank and took employees to lunch on a regular basis in an effort to remain in touch with them. She noted that the current situation brought forth memories of situations that occurred approximately ten months ago. She was ashamed that they were discussing this issue this evening. She stated that she would not support the motion for many reasons but mainly because she did witness the event and only one party was being hung. She added that there were better ways of doing things and she hoped the two people involved had worked things out and could have more gentlemanly conversations in the future. Councilman Archambault commented that as the saying goes, "If you build a thick file you are guilty by association of the thickness of the file." He questioned whether that was what Councilman Kavanagh was trying to accomplish and said that if there was anything to apologize for it was the fact that he believed passionately in his responsibilities and duties as a Councilmember. He stated the opinion that not one of the members of the Council could stand up to him in his duties and actions as a Councilmember. He emphasized that representing the citizens of Fountain Hills was his foremost goal. He noted that all of the members of Council had pleaded passionately on select issues from time to time and some of the passionate pleas were fairly heated in private conversations. He said that he and Mr. Pickering did not believe this issue was worthy of Council action but the Mayor and a majority of the Councilmembers believed that it was and he was disappointed. He questioned what Councilman Kavanagh and the Vice Mayor's motives were and asked whether thei concerns would have been better handled on a one-to-one basis. He pointed out that they "ran" to the Town Manager but the Vice Mayor did not see the whole thing and Councilman Kavanagh didn't witness it at all. He added that Councilwoman Stevens also did not witness the incident and said he did not owe them an apology. He stated that if their malicious attempts were to embarrass him, then he would submit to the fact that they achieved their goal at this meeting. He expressed the opinion that this item did not belong on the Council agenda and staff time was wasted for the last forty- five minutes. Councilman Archambault added that if they were trying to embarrass him, they were not accomplishing that goal and reiterated that he did not believe he owed them an apology. Vice Mayor Melendez said that last evening he had attended one of the "Coffee With Wally" sessions at Eagle Mountain and during the question and answer period one of the citizens (he did not recall her name) got up and asked why the media always reported the bad parts of the Town. He stated that the Mayor responded very professionally that the Council had been trying to bring forward a new spirit of cooperation and could not dictate to the press what their stories should entail. He said that since he was elected, the Town had been embarrassed on three occasions, the first with ex -Mayor Beydler when he uninvited Sheriff Arpaio to a public meeting and it hit the papers; the second when Councilwoman Nicola wrote an e-mail making allegations towards some of the fire fighters, a lawsuit resulted, and it was settled with funds out of the insurance pool. Councilwoman Nicola declared a point of order and said the lawsuit was dismissed. Vice Mayor Melendez continued and stated that Mr. McGuire had informed him that the insurance pool had taken care of that matter. He commented on the huge amount of negativity those two incidents brought about and said that this situation enhanced that negativity, front-page news in The Arizona Republic Scottsdale section. He stated the opinion that this was not the way Fountain Hills should be viewed as a community of 22,000 with water and mountain issues. He advised that he did not want to make the "speech" that Councilman Archambault said he made, he thought about it very EABBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 12 of 15 carefully, but since he was unwilling to apologize, he felt he had to take this step so the people would know where they were at. Tn response to a question from the Mayor, Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that Roland Willis did not wish to speak but ,,.dicated that he was against any action and supported Councilman Archambault and Roger Bates and Bob Travis wished to address the Council on this item. Bob Travis addressed the Council and said he had known Councilman Archambault for approximately 27 years. He stated that he had discussed this issue with him and agreed that it got a little out of hand but added that it was a hot topic and at times everyone "loses their cool." He agreed that as Councilmembers, they were supposed to uphold a higher standard but stated that issues such as this should first be handled in Executive Session. He said that this might have resulted in it being settled and not becoming a public matter. He added that he found it hard to believe that it was all right for another Councilmember to chastise an ex-Councilmember and ex Fire Board members from the dais. He questioned why it was okay for Councilmembers not to care about public safety and noted that two years ago he asked Vice Mayor Melendez to look into an out -of -service fire hydrant that served over 50 condominiums and the matter was finally settled last week when they dug a hole around the hydrant so that the Fire Department could hook a hose up to it. He added that it was also all right for a Councilmember to publish lies on his website about citizens of the Town while he addressed issues as a Councilmember which he said was a public website so he was not liable, but he was listed as a Councilmember on his website. Mr. Travis also stated that it was okay for a Councilmember to reduce medical and fire manpower last year and use the money saved in the fire contract for special interest groups. Councilman Kavanagh declared a point of order and said that Mr. Travis' issues were not on the agenda and he was rambling on. Mr. Travis responded that all he was saying was the issue did get heated and he felt for both parties but believed that Executive Session was the place to address the issue and they should have tried to resolve it before it was brought to the blic's attention. Councilman Kavanagh explained that the issue could not be discussed during Executive Session per the advice of the Town Attorney. Mayor Nichols stated the opinion that sufficient discussion had occurred on this item and called the question At the Mayor's request, Councilman Kavanagh repeated the motion A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilwoman Ralphe Nay Mayor Nichols Aye Vice Mayor Melendez Aye Councilwoman Nicola Nay Councilwoman Stevens Aye Councilman Archambault Nay Councilman Kavanagh Aye The motion CARRIED BY MAJORITY VOTE (4-3). Councilwoman Nicola said that under the same agenda item she would like to state, as Councilman Kavanagh stated, "I If you don't tell someone it's wrong, they don't know." She added that as a member of the public just stated, there had been several times when she as a Councilmember had been embarrassed by statements made from the dais from �)uncilman Kavanagh. She stated that she had not taken action prior to this but during an intermission at the last Council hreeting she felt it necessary to go up to former Councilmember John McNeill and apologize for what Councilman Kavanagh stated completely out of order. She added that not only were his comments out of order because he was attacking a citizen and former Councilmember, he had also not been recognized by the Chair. She stated that Councilman EABBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 13 of 15 Kavanagh had a habit of doing that, sometimes funny one-liner quips, other times interjecting. She reminded everyone that there were adopted rules of decorum and order and Councilmembers must be recognized by the Chair prior to speaking. She noted that the minutes approved this evening did not show Councilman Kavanagh being recognized to speak although he questioned former Councilmember McNeill's input on a public matter. She said she found that to bi very unprofessional. Councilwoman Nicola added that when she stated her apology on behalf of the Council to Mr. McNeill, he responded that she was the third Councilmember to do so. Councilwoman Nicola MOVED that the Council ask Councilman Kavanagh to refrain from speaking out of turn and refrain from attacking the public on their position from the dais. Councilman Archambault SECONDED the motion. Councilman Kavanagh said that he had anticipated that Councilwoman Nicola would support Councilman Archambault this evening because he was a long-time ally of hers and that she would argue every issue and at some point it would turn into an attack against him. He stated that he took the liberty of bringing in a clip of his attack on former Councilmember McNeill and asked the audience to look at his response and if at any point they felt he was attacking, shouting, using profanities (particularly the "f' word),jumping off the dais and beginning to "poke" Mr. McNeill in the chest or suggest that the "step aside,"to please stop the tape and he would vote in favor of the motion to discipline himself. He asked that they take a look at what Councilwoman Nicola deemed an attack. At this time the clip of that meeting was aired and Councilman Kavanagh was heard to state "I am just wondering if Mr. McNeill retroactively applies that same caveat to three tenths of a percent for mountains. You did vote to spend three tenths of sales tax for mountain preservation, so I'm not sure if you are chastising us now to try and catch up for the losses that we sustained. That expense is really noteworthy." Councilwoman Nicola said that that was exactly what she was talking about. Councilman Kavanagh commented that if they thought that was out of order, they would probably have to spend half of their Council time literally not speaking. He noted that no shouting or anything like that occurred. Councilwoman Ralphe stated the opinion that Councilman Archambault was out of line but sometimes Councilman Kavanagh also acted in the same manner. She said that in viewing Councilman Kavanagh's website, she was not sure that an unbiased truth was always stated there but she would take the same stand. She reiterated that the motion would not have any lasting legal effect, the Council cannot sanction anyone, and all they would create would be dissension and division. She said that she would not vote for this motion. Councilwoman Nicola commented that all she was asking for was that Councilman Kavanagh follow the proper procedure and rules of order and not make citizens fearful of coming up to speak their piece because of fear of reprisal. She stated that she would support this because it fell under the terms of decorum during an actual meeting. Councilman Kavanagh said that it had always been his belief that as a public body the Council could best come to the correct decision by examining, collecting, and debating all of the facts. He stated that by debating facts, getting through falsehoods or misconceptions that they arrived at the proper conclusion. He added that when someone came forward and, in his opinion, misstates a fact, he felt it was his responsibility as well as any Councilmembers' responsibility, to discuss it. He said that the suggestion now was that there be some kind of"thought police" and "political correctness police" and that questions resulted in fear of reprisal. He expressed the opinion that this type of thinking was ridiculous and the entire situation was becoming pretty silly. Mayor Nichols called the question. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilwoman Stevens Nay Councilwoman Nicola Aye Councilwoman Ralphe Nay E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 14 of 15 Vice Mayor Melendez Nay Mayor Nichols Nay Councilman Kavanagh Nay ouncilman Archambault Aye The motion FAILED for lack of a majority vote (5-2). AGENDA ITEM #12 - COUNCIL ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW OF THE MEETING TO IDENTIFY PROCEDURAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND DISCUSS POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS. Councilwoman Stevens requested that the Mayor maintain a "tight rein" on the Councilmembers so there would not be so much back and forth discussion. The Mayor agreed to act on this suggestion. AGENDA ITEM #13 — COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER. ITEMS LISTED BELOW ARE RELATED ONLY TO THE PROPRIETY OF (i) PLACING SUCH ITEMS ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR ACTION OR (ii) OR DIRECTING STAFF TO CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH AND REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL: None requested, AGENDA ITEM#14—SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY TOWN MANAGER None requested. AGENDA ITEM#15—ADJOURNMENT Councilwoman Stevens MOVED that the Council adjourn and Councilman Archambault SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting a journed at 8:32 p.m. TOWN OF FO , TAIN HILLS coir By Wally Ni hols, yor ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: Bevelyn J. Bdeis;Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 5th day of February, 2004. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and _ that a quorum was present. DATED this 19th day of February, 2004. Bevelyn J. nder, own Clerk L E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 2-5-04.doc Page 15 of 15