HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.1105.TCERM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE AND REGULAR SESSIONS OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
NOVEMBER 5,2015
EXECUTIVE SESSION
* CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Kavanagh called the Executive Session to order in the Fountain Conference Room -2nd Floor.
AGENDA ITEM#1 -ROLL CALL AND VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION:
Present for roll call were the following members of the Town Council: Mayor Linda Kavanagh, Vice Mayor Dennis
Brown, Councilmember Nick DePorter, Councilmember Cecil Yates, Councilmember Alan Magazine and
Councilmember Henry Leger. Town Manager Grady Miller, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town Clerk Bevelyn
Bender, and Finance Director Craig Rudolphy were also present. Development Services Director Paul Mood entered
the meeting at 5:35 PM.
PURSUANT TO A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(3),DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATION FOR LEGAL ADVICE WITH
THE ATTORNEY OR ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY,AND A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(4), DISCUSSION
OR CONSULTATION WITH THE ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY IN ORDER TO CONSIDER ITS
POSITION AND INSTRUCT ITS ATTORNEYS REGARDING THE PUBLIC BODY'S POSITION
REGARDING CONTRACTS THAT ARE THE SUBJECT OF NEGOTIATIONS, IN PENDING OR
CONTEMPLATED LITIGATION OR IN SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO
AVOID OR RESOLVE LITIGATION (SPECIFICALLY, (I) THE PARK PLACE DEVELOPMENT
AGREEMENT. (II) A SETTLEMENT OFFER ON A TAX ENFORCEMENT ACTION, AND (HI) THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS THEATER LEASE).
(Or Councilmember Yates MOVED to go into Executive Session at 5:15 p.m.and Councilmember DePorter SECONDED
the motion,which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present(6-0).
Councilmember Hansen arrived at the meeting at 5:16 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM#2 -ADJOURNMENT.
The Executive Session adjourned without objection at 6:26 p.m.
REGULAR SESSION
* CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Kavanagh called the meeting to order at 6:36 p.m.
* INVOCATION-Mayor Kavanagh requested that everyone observe a moment of silence.
* ROLL CALL- Present for roll call were the following members of the Town Council: Mayor Linda Kavanagh,
Vice Mayor Dennis Brown,Councilmember Nick DePorter,Councilmember Cecil Yates, Councilmember Cassie
Hansen,Councilmember Alan Magazine and Councilmember Henry Leger.Town Manager Grady Miller, Town
Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bevelyn Bender were also present.
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* MAYOR'S REPORT
i) The Mayor will read a Proclamation declaring November 2015 as McDowell Mountain Month in the
Town of Fountain Hills.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that the preservation of the McDowell Mountains and the Sonoran Desert has been established
as a high priority of the Town of Fountain Hills and its citizens and it is the desire of the Town to celebrate the unique
environment of its Preserve. She said that it is also the intent of the Town to raise awareness regarding the need to
preserve these valuable treasures for future generations and noted that the first permanent access trail to the Preserve
has been completed that links the McDowell Mountain Regional Park's Dixie-Mine Trail to the Preserve's northern
boundary via the Sonoran Trail. The Mayor declared the month of November as "McDowell Mountain Month" in
Fountain Hills and called upon all citizens to take a moment during the month to appreciate the beauty of this
community treasure.
ii) The Mayor will read a Proclamation declaring November 2015 as American Diabetes Month in the Town
of Fountain Hills.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that in the United States nearly 30 million people, including 692,311 in Arizona, have
diabetes, a serious disease with potentially life-threatening complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness,
kidney disease and amputation. She added that another 86 million people in the United States are at risk for
developing Type 2 Diabetes and reported that recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults
will have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue. She said that an increase in community awareness is necessary
to put a stop to the diabetes epidemic and proclaimed November 2015 as American Diabetes Month in Fountain Hills.
She encouraged all Americans to recognize American Diabetes Month and be part of the American Diabetes
Association's "Stop Diabetes" movement to confront, fight and, most importantly, change the future of this deadly
disease.
* SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS „tis)
i) The Mayor may review recent events attended relating to Economic Development.
Mayor Kavanagh referred to three PowerPoint slides displayed in the Council Chambers. She stated that she was at a
Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) meeting and that the group was presented with these slides and she
thought them important enough to share with everyone. She reported that the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)
has come out with new Ozone Standards, standards that everyone in the United States will have to comply with (they
are actually already in effect). She explained that the dark areas on a map of the U.S. represent states that are over the
new standards and pointed out that Arizona is definitely one of those states (Copy available on line and in the office of
the Town Clerk). She advised that they had asked why Arizona would fit into this high ozone category and referred to
the second slide which depicted what they called an "Ozone Plume" and said that they call it "Ozone Transport"
because it moves (an ozone cloud that actually moves). She pointed out that the plume shown over California actually
comes from China and the next plume, that is actually covering all of the State and moving upward on the left-hand
side, is coming from Mexico. She advised that they can work very hard to make sure that Arizona's air is the cleanest,
but by EPA Standards, this(the "Ozone Transport") is being counted against the State. She further stated that they can
actually differentiate between ozone from our State versus ozone from Mexico ("Transport Ozone") and if this is
allowed to stand, the State of Arizona can have the cleanest air but still be facing fines because we are not meeting the
new standards. She advised that the Mayors at that meeting were shocked and asked her if she knew a Senator who
could help them with this. She reported that the first thing they are going to do is go to the Legislature and that
Senator Kavanagh is already on board with this and is going to be talking with the Governor's Office. She pointed out
that they have to put something together for the Legislature to fight this because it certainly is not fair. She added that
if Mexico needs help, the United States is always willing to provide that help with technology and anything they need
if they want to reduce their ozone but again it is not fair that "Ozone Transport" that is coming from China and Mexico
should be held against us. She said that the EPA has put out press releases saying that Arizona is above the ozone
level and they have to reduce their ozone so when the residents read that they will now know that they are counting the
"Ozone Transport" in. She reiterated that the Town and others will be fighting this and she will keep everyone updated 44)
on whatever she hears.
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ii) Reco_g_nition of Robbie Cole for attaining rank of Eagles Scout after completing his Fountain Hills
Community project.
Mayor Kavanagh advised that Robbie Cole is present in the audience,joined by his mother Carol and his dad.
Town Manager Grady Miller addressed the Council and stated that as many people know, attaining the rank of Eagle
Scout is among the highest achievements one can have in adulthood and many leaders in the country are also Eagle
Scouts. He said that young men who work towards this great endeavor often have great careers ahead of them, many
in leadership,and asked Robbie Cole to step up to the podium at this time. Mr. Miller advised that Robbie had a great
idea for a community project (many Eagle Scouts have community projects that they undertake) and requested that
Robbie talk about the unique project he decided to undertake.
Robbie Cole addressed the Council and advised that he has been interested in the washes in Town for a very long time
and has been hiking all of them with his dad and his friends. He added that when it was time for him to do his Eagle
Project he decided that he was going to put signs along the streets labeling the names of the different washes (he
referred to a PowerPoint slide shown in the Chambers and available on line and in the office of the Town Clerk). He
noted that they put up signs wherever streets would cross washes and they labeled the names of the washes at six
locations around Town. He said there are now 12 signs that are labeled like the Ashbrook Wash, the Emerald Wash,
etc. He reported that the work was accomplished in one day and it went well. He said that former Town Manager Ken
Buchanan helped him out. The Council and audience gave Robbie a round of applause for his great initiative and
accomplishment.
Mayor Kavanagh thanked Robbie and stated that there are many youths that do Eagle Scout projects but this one will
certainly benefit his home Town and they are very excited about this. She added that she knows that when the signs
went up people were saying, "I didn't know that was the name of that wash that is right by my house" so now for the
history of Fountain Hills they have all of their washes named and signed and they have Robbie to thank for that. The
Mayor came down and presented Robbie with a Certificate and photographs were taken to commemorate the event.
Mayor Kavanagh also congratulated Robbie's parents and said she knows that they had a lot to do with this.
iii) Presentation of the Town of Fountain Hills' Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and
associated reports for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, by Dennis Osuch, CPA, Principal with
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP.
Town Manager Grady Miller addressed the Council and advised that each year the Town as well as many other
municipal organizations across the country undertake what is known as a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
(CAFR). He said that basically it is a synopsis of the Town's financial condition and it is done with the assistance of
the Town's auditors. He stated that Mr. Dennis Osuch will be giving a presentation on this report.
Mr. Osuch, a Principal with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, the Town's audit firm, provided background information and a
brief overview of the audit and noted that the firm's examination was conducted in accordance with standards
established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He reported that the firm conducted the audit
and as part of that audit they issued a Letter to Governments describing the scope of the audit, whether they had any
material audit adjustments or uncorrected adjustments, the purpose of the audit and management's purpose (Copy of
the report is available on line and in the office of the Town Clerk). He added that they also included in the report the
Annual Expenditure Limitation Report and an Internal Control Report. He further stated that the Highway User
Revenue Report (HURF) and obviously the CAFR are also included. He noted that they would report any type of
significant deficiencies that they might find as part of the audit. He reported that there was one material audit
adjustment for a revenue accrual at the end of the year that was subsequently booked by the Town. He further stated
that there was one significant deficiency that they did report and that had to do with internal controls over building
permits and it was really just over the review of those building permits that were going into the computer system.
Mr. Osuch discussed the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report and noted that every year cities and towns are subject
to an Annual Expenditure Limitation Amount and they can either elect to have a voter-approved amount or be subject
to the Economic Estimates Commission where they can do a permanent base adjustment as well. He pointed out that
the Town is under the Economic Estimates Commission which is based on population and said the Town was under
that by approximately $8.8 million during the year. He added that in that report the firm provided an opinion basically
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saying that the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report that was prepared is in accordance with the State's statute as
well as the fact that the Town was within their expenditure limitation amount. He also discussed the Highway User It
Revenue Report(HURF)and explained that the firm looks at the funds to make sure that they were used in accordance
with State statutes. He noted that they do this on a sample basis and the firm issued a clean opinion on that as there
were no findings of issues.
Mr. Osuch stated that for the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report(CAFR) the firm issued an unmodified opinion
or clean opinion, which means that the Financial Statements were in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles. He reported that for the 14th year the Town was awarded the GFOA (Government Financial Officers
Association) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. He indicated his willingness to
respond to any questions from the Council.
Mayor Kavanagh thanked Mr. Osuch for his presentation.
Mr. Osuch thanked Finance Director Craig Rudolphy and his staff for all of their hard work.
iv) Presentation of the Quarterly Budget Report by Finance Director Craig Rudolphy for the Town's Fiscal
Quarter ending September 30,2015.
Councilmember Magazine commented that he wanted to recognize Mr. Rudolphy because he suspects they would not
have had such a clean audit had he not been involved in it.
Mr. Rudolphy addressed the Council and said this is the first quarter of the new fiscal year and they saw that last year
they caught up at the end of the year and exceeded both their revenue and expenditure projections so they are on a
good track. He highlighted a brief presentation that included the following:
* Operating Fund
* All Funds Revenues
* Operating Fund Revenues by Source through September 30th
* Operating Fund Revenues
* State Shared Revenues
* Local Sales Tax-All Funds
* Local Sales Tax-Retail
* Local Sales Tax -Restaurant
* Local Sales Tax -Telecom
* Local Sales Tax -Construction
* Operating Fund Expenditures by Department
* Other Funds
* Highway User Revenue Funds(HURF)
* HURF Expenditures
* Restricted Funds
* Fund Balance
Mr. Rudolphy presented the Council with the following summary:
* Operating Fund revenues and expenditures are trending favorably in the current year
* Reserve fund balances remain acceptable for all funds
* Operating Fund revenues are 10.3%($364,661) under budget but 4.4%($134,226)higher than last fiscal year
* Operating Fund expenditures are 1.0%($36,670)under budget but also 3.4%($115,202)higher than last fiscal
year
* Pavement Management remains a priority and is funded through HURF and Vehicle License Tax revenues.
Mr. Rudolphy indicated his willingness to respond to questions from the Council.
Councilmember Yates congratulated Mr. Rudolphy on a fantastic job and asked him to elaborate a little bit more on
their "below budget but ahead of last year" comment and asked if it is still taking into consideration that all of the
revenues for the year annualized should be at the anticipated budget and Mr. Rudolphy said that is a correct statement.
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Councilmember Yates said that they are not trending down and everything is still good and Mr. Rudolphy stated that
they need another quarter or two to play catch up.
Councilmember Magazine asked how often the Town receives State Shared Revenues and Mr. Rudolphy responded
that they are received on a monthly basis. Councilmember Magazine asked whether Mr. Rudolphy had any recent
information on the communities that are doing a census to determine their population and how that would skew the
revenue for State Shared Revenues.
Mr. Rudolphy replied that he doesn't believe that the censuses will be completed until December and so he has no
further information at this time. He estimated that five communities are doing their own census.
Councilmember Magazine stated that aside from a decline in State Shared Revenues that would occur as a result of
that he would like to know if there are any other issues of concern that could really skew things.
Mr. Rudolphy responded construction sales tax and said that because of the changes that they implemented January
1st,they don't have enough history or experience to know what if any negative impact it will have on the Town.
Mr. Miller advised that there are also some issues going on with the State and their collection software that they are
trying to implement so there could be some potential issues down the road as far as possible slowdowns in
disbursements until that is all worked out. He added that right now he thinks things are looking pretty good.
Councilmember Magazine commented that they have allocated $1.5 million for the first zone for Pavement
Management and asked whether they have any feel as to how close they are going to be to that or is it just too early to
know that now.
Mr. Rudolphy stated that the Development Services Manager would know better but he believes they spent pretty close
to that amount but did not exceed it.
Mayor Kavanagh agreed that Mr. Miller is right as far as the possibility of a slowdown at the Department of Revenue
and added that they just discovered that they are still on Cobalt so it will take a while to work that out. She said that
the League is also working on that. The Mayor thanked Mr. Rudolphy for the great job he is doing.
v) Presentation by Recreation Supervisor Rachael Goodwin regarding the Town's sponsorship of the
Copperwynd Women's Pro-Challenge Tennis Event scheduled for November 8 through 15,2015.
Recreation Supervisor Rachael Goodwin addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and said that she was
present to provide a brief update on an event that is coming to Town -- the Copperwynd Women's Pro-Challenge
Tennis Event. She noted that this is the largest women's tournament in the State of Arizona and this will be an
inaugural event for the Town. She stated that over the last several months, staff has been working with both
tournament and Copperwynd staff as well as Cliff Drysdale Tennis to facilitate the event. She noted that the Town has
partnered with them to put together a cohesive team to welcome this dynamic event. She added that staff has worked
with them as far as the logistics, marketing, introductions to the community and getting them acclimated to the Town.
She advised that they have agreed to award the Town a Gold Level Sponsorship with the event, which basically
translates into featured branding -- the tourism brand throughout the event including the website, the program guide,
on-site banners, etc. She reported that they are going to have a shuttle service that will go throughout the Valley that
will have the branding on it as well and there will also be a 30-second video featured on their live streaming on their
website throughout the event. She introduced Scott McCulloch,who is with Cliff Drysdale Tennis, and said that he is
the Director and can answer any event questions the Council might have. She also pulled up the event's website for the
benefit of the Council and audience.
Mr. McCulloch addressed the Council and noted that the Women's Pro-Challenge Tennis Event is a very prestigious
event and part of the professional tennis tour. He noted that it is a $50,000 prize money event and streamed world-
wide. He added that women will be coming from 22 countries to compete in the Event and added that Cliff Drysdale
Tennis is very proud to partner with the Town of Fountain Hills and Copperwynd. He provided additional information
relative to the event and announced that they will be awarding sponsorships to youths in the community to be a part of
tennis for two months after the Event and they will also be holding a Veterans Day Clinic for any active and retired
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Veterans and military personnel on Sunday in addition to some "Appreciation Events" that will be occurring. He
indicated his willingness to respond to any questions from the Council.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that this is just wonderful for the Town of Fountain Hills and they are all so excited to have
Copperwynd doing this once again. She added that the Town is thrilled to be a part of this Event.
Councilmember Yates asked Mr. McCulloch why Fountain Hills was chosen as the site for this Event and Mr.
McCulloch advised that Cliff Drysdale is a tennis management company that manages about 30 properties across the
country and the company has been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He stated that they decided to
come to Copperwynd to manage this wonderful Event because they have a counterpart in the Mayo Men's Tennis
Tournament that is held in Napa Valley with a $50,000 prize, so this is part of their west coast tour and they feel
strongly that tennis can become a very active part of the Fountain Hills Community.
Councilmember DePorter asked whether the hotel is still called Copperwynd and Mr. McCulloch replied that it is but it
is going through a rebranding process right now. He confirmed that the name of the Event would change to whatever
the hotel winds up being called in the future.
Councilmember Leger asked whether they are looking at this as an annual event and Mr. McCulloch replied that that is
the hope. He noted that the Event location is awarded one year at a time and it is for their choosing at the end. He
reported that he has hosted four or five of these events and their hope is that at the end of the Event, the Town and its
residents want the Event to be held again in Fountain Hills next year.
In response to a question from Councilmember Leger, Mr. McCulloch advised that the management of Copperwynd
has been fantastic and actually accelerated some of their enhancements around their property to tie in with the
tournament.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that if there is anything that the Town can do to help make this Event a success, Mr.
McCulloch knows where to find them.
`441)
Mr. McCulloch thanked the Council for their support and also expressed appreciation to Grace and Rachael for their
assistance.
The Mayor thanked Ms. Goodwin for her efforts and she was given a round of applause.
CALL TO THE PUBLIC
None.
CONSENT AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #1 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
FROM OCTOBER 13,2015.
AGENDA ITEM #2 - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2015-53, APPROVING THE TOWN OF
FOUNTAIN HILLS 2015 MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN.
AGENDA ITEM #3 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION FOR
ACQUISITION OF CONTROL AND AGENT CHANGE SUBMITTED BY GWENDOLYN WALLACE,
OWNER/AGENT OF COWBOY SPIRITS LLC, DBA SADDLE BRONC GRILL, LOCATED AT 11056 N.
SAGUARO BOULEVARD,FOUNTAIN HILLS,AZ.
AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION
SUBMITTED BY MERITA KRAYA, OWNER/AGENT OF EURO PIZZA CAFE, LOCATED AT 12645 N.
SAGUARO BOULEVARD,SUITE 11,FOUNTAIN HILLS,AZ. THIS IS FOR A SERIES 7 LICENSE (BEER
& WINE BAR).
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AGENDA ITEM #5 - CONSIDERATION OF A CONTRACT WITH SALT RIVER PROJECT FOR THE
ASHBROOK WASH RELOCATIONS (SRP WORK ORDER #T2015861 - CONSTRUCTION SERVICES
CONTRACT(FCDMC),HAVING A COST OF$114,751.
Councilmember Yates MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as listed and Councilmember DePorter SECONDED
the motion.
A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Mayor Kavanagh Aye
Vice Mayor Brown Aye
Councilmember Nick DePorter Aye
Councilmember Cecil Yates Aye
Councilmember Cassie Hansen Aye
Councilmember Alan Magazine Aye
Councilmember Henry Leger Aye
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
REGULAR AGENDA
Mayor Kavanagh stated that they have had a rather long beginning of the meeting so in consideration of Ms. Kristi
Passarelli, Maricopa County's Election Campaign Finance &Jurisdictional Manager,who is present in the audience to
talk to the Council about Agenda Item #13 regarding Elections, Agenda Item#13 will be the first item discussed this
evening on the Regular Agenda.
AGENDA ITEM #13 - CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 15-09.AMENDING TOWN CODE CHAPTER
2, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, ARTICLE 2-3, BY MODIFYING THE PROVISIONS RELATING TO ALL-
MAIL BALLOT ELECTIONS AND BY INCORPORATING CHANGES TO STATE LAW REGARDING
�r CALCULATION OF THE MAJORITY OF VOTES CAST.
Town Manager Grady Miller stated that they are very fortunate to have a representative from the County here with
them tonight who is really experienced in elections to go over some changes from the Ordinance that the Council
adopted a few years back regarding All-Mail Ballots.
Ms. Passarelli addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and announced that she is now an Assistant Director
with the Department and has been there for 23 years. She noted that consolidated elections created some difficulties
for cities and towns across the State and in 2012 the Legislature amended the applicable statute that says all city and
town elections where a candidate appears on a ballot have to be on the same ballot as the County and State candidates.
She pointed out that that eliminated the ability of cities and towns that held their Council elections on the "off cycle" to
continue doing that and forced them to go to the August/November cycle in the even-numbered years. She said that
when that law went into effect,the cities of Tucson and Phoenix sued to not be included as Chartered cities,saying that
that law directly conflicted with their Charters. She reported that the trial court actually granted judgment to those two
cities saying that they were in fact correct. She added that the State appealed that decision and lost and it went to the
Court of Appeals which took a very long time. She noted that this law just became permanently effective in April of
this year so the permanent injunction remains in effect as it was stated and city and town Council/Mayor elections have
to be held in August/November of the even-numbered years with the exception of a Charter city should they mandate
that they would like to hold their elections on a different cycle.
Ms. Passarelli explained that because the Town of Fountain Hills is a non-Chartered city, they have to have a
consolidated election, meaning that the County and State ballot, as large as it is, will include all cities and towns that
are not adopting an ordinance as a Chartered city to hold their election at a different time. She pointed out that in the
essence of the world of Primary and General Elections,they always come to the point of the Independent voter and this
is a decision that has always been. She stated that Arizona is a semi-open Primary and by that an Independent voter
can participate in Primary elections, but that Independent voter has to designate which party if they so choose a party
for an applicable ballot to be issued. She added that if they pick a party ballot and a city or town is on that ballot, the
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city or town non-partisan office will appear on that partisan ballot if they choose. She stated that if they don't want to
participate in a partisan election but they want to participate in a city or town non-partisan election, they can choose
the Independent simple ballot which is just that non-partisan race.
Ms. Passarelli informed the Council that notifications that the County did that are required by statute are 90 days
before an election is held in August or March so her office mails a notification to everyone that is on the permanent
early voting list including those individuals that have registered as Independents at the time, that says, "there is an
election coming and they are going to receive a ballot automatically in the mail because they are a member of the
permanent early voting list and if you are an Independent please tell us which ballot to send to them." She pointed out
that they cannot by osmosis determine which ballot to send and they can't just send a non-partisan ballot under the
assumption that that is what they would choose because they have the ability to pick a party. She advised that if they
look at the sample provided, the very top portion is highlighted that tells them they are not registered in a political
party. She noted that what they often hear from their Independent voters is that they always vote X party or Y party
and that is probably true because they designate it at the time. She further stated that in a General election there is no
party restriction so an Independent may vote that particular party because everyone gets the same ballot with all of the
applicable parties on it. She said this is the first mailing at 90 days.
Ms. Passarelli said that as far as the ballot choice she just wanted to make note that the city or town only ballot is the
first choice on the list for an Independent voter. (She displayed a PowerPoint presentation, copies of which are
available on line and in the office of the Town Clerk). She pointed out that the first option is to pick a non-partisan
ballot that the County would send to them and afterwards are the recognized political parties for the State and so every
election cycle this notice will change depending on which parties are eligible to participate. She advised that the
County also did an additional notification that is not required by statute but it is allowed to be done by a jurisdiction
should they so choose at 33 days. She commented that a lot of the cities were all-mail ballot jurisdictions before the
consolidated election law went into effect, much like the Town here, and for those jurisdictions in 2014, the County
granted them permission to continue to hold their elections by mail even though it was a State and County election.
She explained that in order to get people who are not on the Permanent Early Voting List notification as an
Independent, the County mailed a notice out 33 days before the election saying, "this city/town is conducting an
election by mail and you are an Independent voter, please tell us which ballot you would like the County to mail to
you." She noted that in an all-mail ballot election there are no polling places and so in order to get the proper ballot to
the various individuals,they had to come up with some type of notification to accomplish that. She said that this is not
required by statute, the County just budgeted funds in order to do that. She said they are also considering doing that
for the upcoming 2016 elections.
Ms. Passarelli advised that as far as requests for ballots go, with communities like Fountain Hills that have a lot of
snowbirds they have to find a way for them to have their ballots sent to their address if they are away and because the
Primary election is in August, they may not be back in Town. She stated that 93 days before an election is when
someone is allowed to make a ballot request for the County to mail the ballot and that they would accept them for both
the Primary and the General elections at the same time. She pointed out that the PowerPoint presentation contains all
of the applicable dates for the upcoming election cycle. She further stated that for the Independent voters to get a
forwarding address, they have to tell the County in writing what address to send it to. She said that automatically, if
you are on the Permanent Early Voting List or in an all-mail jurisdiction, the County sends the ballot to the address
that is on the Voter Registration Record and if they are not back in Town, then the ballot will get returned to the
County because they are not able to be forwarded by statute.
Ms. Passarelli commented that as far as the big question --why can they not have all-mail ballot elections in 2016 -- it
is for all of the reasons that she has stated in the beginning, the law does not allow for cities and towns to have non-
consolidated elections separate from the State or the County. She added that this is not new for some cities and towns
and in 2014 it was a first time deal for the County, they tried it and it was a disaster and commented on the extensive
amount of complaints the County received from various sources. She noted that their job at the County is to make sure
that a voter can vote without difficulty in any way possible and that is what they strive for and this did not work out as
they had planned and there was lots of frustration and confusion. She referred to a map displayed in the PowerPoint
presentation and said if the Council looked at all of the areas on the map that are shaded, those are the city boundaries
and all of the red lines are the individual voting precincts that voters live in. She explained that when the County
,41)conducts an election they have to conduct it by voting precinct so if a city boundary does not encompass an entire
precinct that creates holes and for those holes in any precinct, she had to find a polling location for the small portions
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that were the bubbles. She added that the confusion is that there is a polling place for the people who are not in an all-
mail ballot city or town but the people who are across the street and they are in the city or town,those individuals were
mailed a ballot and the only place that they could get a replacement ballot was from their City or Town Clerk or the
County's office. She stated that they cannot go to the polling place because it was not a polling place election. She
further advised that the people on the other side of the street who are not in the city could go to their regular polling
place on Election Day because that is how they always vote and they didn't vote by mail. She informed the Council
that the biggest portion of confusion was for the city of Buckeye and said if they know what that city looks like it now
goes from very far south of the Valley hundreds of miles north of the Valley up to the Town of Wickenburg so people
who live in a district kind of in the middle of the picture on display think they live in Surprise but they don't, they live
in Buckeye. She added that Surprise had a polling place pretty close to the boundary of that precinct and the people
who lived in any of those areas in the city of Buckeye had to drive to downtown Buckeye in order to get a replacement
ballot and the people who lived in the little holes got to go to their polling place. She emphasized that it was a
disastrous situation that she would not like to ever see repeated.
Discussion ensued relative to the costs associated with holding an election and the fact that that too seems to cause
some confusion; the fact that when a municipality is on a County ballot the cost is much cheaper because it is one
ballot for everyone and fifty cents per voter;when a city or town holds its own election on a non-consolidated date, the
cost per registered voter is $2.12 if it is an all mail jurisdiction,which is also cheaper than a polling place election; the
fact that a polling place election is$1.37 per registered voter plus$2.12 for every ballot that has to be mailed;a County
ballot is cheaper and an all mail ballot election in an off year is cheaper than a polling place election but the costs are
nowhere near what the real costs are(that is just what the County charges). Ms. Passarelli indicated her willingness to
respond to questions from the Council
Mayor Kavanagh stated that she knows the first question everyone asks is whether they can still get a mail ballot and
voters can still get an early ballot mailed to their homes if they can't go to a polling place.
Ms. Passarelli confirmed that the Mayor's statement is correct and said that they still have the Permanent Early Voting
List but even if someone is not on that list and they want to vote in one specific election, if they mail in a request, the
County will send them out a ballot. She noted that they are in the middle of election week -- Tuesday was Election
Day for a majority of the County and 97% of those people who voted did so by mail ballot. She added that they had a
3% turnout out the polls.
Mayor Kavanagh asked if doing it this way costs the Town anything (it is a County expense). Ms. Passarelli
responded that when a municipality is on a County ballot it is fifty cents per voter and that has been a standard cost for
many years. She stated that the County shares the cost with the municipalities and there is no additional charge for a
mailed ballot since they would be mailing that ballot anyway.
The Mayor asked Town Clerk Bevelyn Bender whether she wanted to make any comments.
Ms. Bender commented on the fact that they were very busy on election day and a few of the Councilmembers came
through and saw how nuts it was because even though they had people receiving mail ballots, the School District was
having a bond election that same year and they had told people just to go to Town Hall to vote even though they were
mailed ballots. She noted that they wound up having a complicated issue because they had to reproduce ballots for
those voters who came in.
Ms. Passarelli said that that is the highest provisional ballot total -- people who receive a ballot in the mail and then
they don't use it and they go to the polls and vote a provisional ballot and they get mad at the County. She stated that
their ballot still counts. She further commented that maybe one day in her lifetime Arizona will be an all mail ballot
State and won't have polling places. She thanked the Council for inviting her to explain this process and advised that
Fountain Hills is the second jurisdiction that has asked her to do this; she is also going out to Queen Creek.
Vice Mayor Brown advised that he would like to try and simplify this and said that in essence they are going back to
the way it was before they became an all mail in ballot jurisdiction, they are going back to a ground election and if
people want to ask for an early ballot they may and they may receive an early ballot.
Ms. Passarelli concurred with the Vice Mayor's comments.
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Ms. Bender interjected except for the fact that if they have a non-consolidated election they still can do all mail
elections and Ms. Passarelli agreed adding that this is only for the State's August/November election and any other
election they can do by mail. She emphasized that the biggest thing is to let the Independent voters know that they are
eligible to participate and they can request just the city/town ballot if that is their desire.
Mayor Kavanagh commented that she is sure that for a long time everyone knew where their polling place was and
then all of a sudden the polling places changed and this caused a lot of confusion. She asked whether they are going to
go back to pretty much neighborhood polling places and Ms. Passarelli replied that State statute states that there has to
be one polling place in every precinct so they have five voting precincts in Fountain Hills and there will be one polling
place in each precinct if they have them(she believes one time they had a co-located precinct).
Councilmember Leger thanked Ms. Passarelli for attending the meeting and providing helpful information. He added
that she has been helpful to him over the years in providing answers to his election questions. He thanked Ms. Bender
for her ten-page memorandum that made this all perfectly clear and said if anyone is interested in the details they can
go to the website and read the document(under the Council packet documentation).
Councilmember Leger asked Ms. Passarelli if she knew the percentage breakdowns for voter registration for
Democrats, Republicans and Independents and she said she does not but she does know that they just hit their 2 million
mark on registration and all of those figures are updated on the first Monday of every month on the County's website.
She reported that the Independents are higher than any recognized party right now.
Councilmember Leger commented that historically municipal elections have been non-partisan by design and now that
they are consolidated into the County's elections and people are required to vote by party, is it fair to say that non-
partisan elections have a tendency to be leaning towards being more partisan elections?
Ms. Passarelli replied that she would say no because a person may be a member of a recognized party and vote in the
Town only elections when they weren't on a State or County ballot and the Independent is the same way --even if you
were an Independent voter when it was the non-consolidated elections, they could still vote. She added that it doesn't
make the Town necessarily partisan,it's just that they happen to be a member of a party and the non-partisan section of
the ballot in the Primary is specific to cities and towns and other districts that have non-partisan offices. She further
noted that there are cities that are partisan in the State.
Councilmember Leger asked whether Ms. Passarelli thought that all of the confusion they have been experiencing is
the result of consolidation legislation and she said absolutely, 100%.
Ms. Passarelli again thanked the Council for the opportunity to address them and advised that the Proclamation relative
to Diabetes struck a chord with her because her son has been diagnosed with Type 1 and it has only been four years
and they fight every day,to keep him alive. She thanked the Council for doing that.
(The motion on this item is shown following Agenda Item#6.)
AGENDA ITEM #6 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A SETTLEMENT OFFER RELATING TO A
TAX ENFORCEMENT ACTION.
Town Manager Grady Miller addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and said that before them is a request
for a settlement offer involving CM Realty Holdings LLC. He pointed out that some discussion on this took place
during the Executive Session and reported that the settlement offer is for $140,000, which would settle and remove
liens as a result of failure to pay sales tax on the construction. He stated that if the offer is approved tonight this would
go into effect very quickly and allow staff to get the liens removed as part of the settlement offer. He indicated his
willingness to respond to any questions from the Council.
Vice Mayor Brown MOVED to approve and accept the settlement offer for $140,000 and Councilmember Yates
SECONDED the motion.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item.
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The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
The Mayor advised that they will now ao back to Agenda Item#13 for a motion.
Councilmember Hansen MOVED to approve Ordinance 15-09 and Vice Mayor Brown SECONDED the motion.
Ms. Bender advised that former Councilmember Ginny Dickey wished to speak on Agenda Item#13.
Former Councilmember Ginny Dickey addressed the Council and thanked Ms. Bender, Mr. Miller and Ms. Passarelli
for the presentation and the comprehensive packet with all of the information. She said that in 2011 the Council had
unanimously decided to mail ballots in the spring to every registered voter to increase voter turnout, make voting
accessible and convenient for the citizens, ensure that the local issues didn't get lost deep in the ballot and also to
maintain the non-partisan integrity of their elections. She stated that she believes now that trying to hold parallel
elections for Town issues, mailing ballots as they had intended, will not be feasible. She noted that one reason is the
expense, which was discussed and the other is that it would create uncertainty for voters who would automatically get
the municipal ballot but then they would have to be on the Permanent Early Voting List to get one for the other races
and they would have to request one if they were not registered with a party. She expressed the opinion that there is no
good action short of a legal challenge to ask the Council or the County to mitigate this. She added that the players who
purposely caused this despite their vocal and universal opposition to consolidated elections should be noted. She
pointed out that the Legislature is totally responsible for this disruption and voter suppression under prime sponsorship
by those who were supposed to be supporting Fountain Hills -- Michelle Ugenti, John Kavanagh, and support from
Senator Michelle Reagan. She expressed the opinion that their unanimous vote -- Councilmembers Hansen, Leger,
Brown, Contino,Elkie, Mayor Schlum and herself-- to engage all of their citizens was hijacked. She added that their
goal of skewing non-partisan elections into this bias result despite the protestations and promises has finally been
realized. She said that literal assurances that nothing would change,particularly by Representative Ugenti right here in
this room,were not honored. She further stated that it is a shame that this concept is so convoluted and hard to explain
because she believes voters would be flooding this meeting, not necessarily to ask the Council to do anything but to
shine a light on this election scheme that mocked our democratic process. She advised that voter turnout has decreased
overall as the County can attest,particularly for the ballot races like Fountain Hills Mayor. She said she finds it telling
that when the courts ruled in favor of Phoenix and Tucson part of the finding stated that the Court found that the
Legislature affected the method of selecting city's governing officers as a matter of local concern and the State did not
provide evidence to demonstrate that the statute implicated a State-wide interest. She commented that that negates the
very heart of the justification of this change in the law which was reiterated by Governor Brewer in response to
overwhelming requests including the Town's unanimous Council vote to veto it. She added that it would be good to
know if all 72 General Law municipalities have an interest in taking any legal action as well to see if they could get
back some local control. She said she would be happy to answer any questions and thanked the Council for their time.
She added that as far as the question that was asked regarding registration for the 2014 August election,which was the
first one that the Town had to do in the fall, the overall turnout for registered Republications and Democrats was 45%
and the turnout for Independents was just under 22% so she believes it can turn an election into a partisan election.
Mayor Kavanagh thanked former Councilmember Dickey for her comments.
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #7 - CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTING A BRONZE SCULPTURE TITLED, "GONE,
BUT NOT FORGOTTEN," AND PLACEMENT IN FOUNTAIN PARK AT THE REQUEST OF THE
PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE.
Town Manager Grady Miller advised that before the Council this evening is a request to accept a bronze sculpture
entitled, "Gone, but not Forgotten." He said that Recreation Supervisor Rachael Goodwin will give a brief
presentation on this since the Community Services Director is out ill and unable to do it himself
Ms. Goodwin addressed the Council and said on the screen tonight the Council can see a picture of a bronze piece
entitled, "Gone, but not Forgotten," and stated that the sculpture depicts a cocker spaniel that was created by artist
Gary Whittington. She added that it is being donated by Carol Kubota, a resident of Fountain Hills. She advised that
they have worked with the Public Art Committee to designate a location for this piece and referred to the proposed
location on a map over near the Veterans' Memorial (copies of which are available on line and in the office of the
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Town Clerk). She reported that the piece has a value of about $7,000 and it has the full backing of all of the members
of the Public Art Committee. She noted that the Chairman is present should the Council have any questions.
Councilmember Leger asked whether there will be a plaque accompanying this piece of art and Ms. Goodwin said she
believes so and she knows there is going to be a base involved with it as well.
Mr. Miller advised that there always is a plaque and it will basically have the name of the piece, the year that it was
dedicated and also the name of the artist.
Mayor Kavanagh thanked Carol for her incredible donation to the Town and said that they certainly do appreciate it.
Councilmember Leger MOVED to accept the bronze sculpture and Councilmember Yates SECONDED the motion,
which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM#8-DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE AFFIRMATION OF "FOUNT RUSHMORE" AS THE
OFFICIAL NAME OF THE PLAZA NEAR THE U.S.PRESIDENTS STATUES AT FOUNTAIN PARK.
Town Manager Grady Miller addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that it was brought to his
attention not too long ago that the name of the Plaza near where they have the Presidents over at Fountain Park
(Presidents Reagan, Washington, Jefferson Roosevelt and Lincoln) was named "Fount Rushmore" as the Town of
Fountain Hills'version of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. He said that in learning more about the background and
history on the naming of the Plaza,it was discovered that "Fount Rushmore"was not officially designated or named by
the Town Council even though there is a sign designating the Plaza as "Fount Rushmore." He advised that according
to Resolution 2014-36 adopted by the Council, only the Town Council has the authority to approve the naming of
facilities, buildings, parks, streets, plazas and other Town assets. He stated that since the Plaza appears to be
appropriately titled "Fount Rushmore" and there appears to be community support for continuing with the name, he is
requesting that the Council affirm the name of the Plaza area at the southwest corner of Fountain Park as "Fount
Rushmore."
Mayor Kavanagh commented that she knows this was the idea of Roy Nichol.
Public Arts Committee Chairman Sandi Thompson addressed the Council and said that Roy Nichol is one of their
Committee members and he has been really involved in having all of the Presidents included in a President's walk.
She said they all thought that the name would be appropriate in view of the Fountain and they have four sculptures of
the Mount Rushmore Presidents on display at this time. She noted that the entire Committee approved the name and
are glad it is being brought up to make it official. She added that the sculptures were all donated by private donors and
people ask why there is no Democrat President there and Jerry Miles has told them that if they come up with the
money they will definitely put one up.
The Mayor added that Mr. Nichol was particularly involved in the Theodore Roosevelt ("Teddy") art piece and
literally raised the money himself from people from South Dakota and Firerock as well because a lot of residents live
there.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item.
Councilmember DePorter MOVED to affirm the name of the Plaza located near the U.S. Presidents' statues at the
southwest corner of Fountain Park as "Fount Rushmore" and Councilmember Yates SECONDED the motion, which
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #9 - CONSIDERATION OF A FINAL REPLAT AT 16750, 16800 & 16820 E. PAUL
NORDIN PARKWAY AND AT 16845 E.AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS (PLAT 208,BLOCK 7, LOTS 1,2.,
3 & 5). CASE#S2015-14.
Town Manager Grady Miller addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that there has been some
positive development on this item, which has been on the Council agenda three times. He reported that today staff
received an Easement Agreement just before lunch and they also received later on in the day the plat documents. He Nir
explained that as part of the review process, staff needs to review the plat documents along with the title reports and
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they received the title reports a little bit afterwards and staff just did not have sufficient time to do an adequate review.
He pointed out that Council action is required for this and stated that for the Council to take action and have this
properly recorded it really needs to be accurate and correct so he couldn't give the Councilmembers assurances before
the meeting that that had been done because staff only had two hours and many of them were in multiple meetings
including the Executive Session so it just could not be done. He said that the applicant is present this evening and
added that the project manager as well. He advised that at this point staff recommends that the Council table this. He
added that he has also given assurances to the applicant that if the Council so desires, if after review it proves to be
adequate or if there are any corrections that could be made quickly, that a Special meeting of the Council could be held
if that is necessary. He requested that the Council table this agenda item at this time.
Councilmember Yates commented that he knows that the applicant has been working off of a temporary permit and
asked how this affects that permit.
Mr. Miller responded that he has an Extension that is on his email upstairs that he was going to send and it is sitting up
there because he wanted to make sure that they had this approved for tonight. He said when the meeting is finished he
will forward on the Extension that will be good for another week and he is hopeful that the building permit will be
forthcoming on this. He apologized and stated that he knows that the applicant worked diligently on this and there are
a lot of moving parts and parties to this and he is sure they are disappointed but staff just didn't have time to do the
thorough job that needs to be done to act on it this evening.
Councilmember Magazine MOVED to table this agenda item and Vice Mayor Brown SECONDED the motion,which
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #10 - PUBLIC HEARING TO RECEIVE COMMENTS ON A PROPOSED SPECIAL USE
PERMIT TO ALLOW THE INSTALLATION OF A 25'-TALL GOLF NET AT 17008 E. JACKLIN DRIVE.
(APN 176-08-738). CASE#SU2015-14
Mayor Kavanagh advised that there will be one Staff Report for Agenda Items#10 and#11.
Mayor Kavanagh declared the public hearing open at 7:54 p.m.
Development Services Director Paul Mood addressed the Council and said that Lisa Denny has applied for this Special
Use Permit to allow the installation of a 25'-tall golf net at 17008 E. Jacklin Drive. He described the property's
location (abuts Fairway #4 of the Desert Canyon Golf Course which is north and west of the property) and reported
that numerous golf balls land on the property on a daily basis. He advised that their new home is currently under
construction and at least one of the workers has been hit by a golf ball already. He explained that the applicants want
to be able to protect the property and be able to enjoy the use of the backyard safely once the house is occupied. He
referred to slides displayed in the Council Chambers depicting the property (Copy of the presentation available on line
and in the office of the Town Clerk) and the location where the applicant wants to place the golf net (a mesh fence
with no mid cross bar). He noted that the Zoning Ordinance lists six criteria for Special Use Permits for golf ball
fences and said that staff feels that the criteria is being met. He stated that the Planning& Zoning Commission heard
this item and unanimously recommended approval and staff recommends approval as well on the item as presented.
He indicated his willingness to respond to any questions from the Council.
Councilmember Magazine advised that he is certainly sensitive to the need for this but is curious as to whether this will
affect the line of sight for any other home.
Mr. Mood responded that it could affect the property to the right but they have also been hit by golf balls and for
people driving up Augusta Court, they would be able to see it as well in addition to the property on the corner. He
noted that most of the homes in this area have been hit by golf balls.
Ms. Bender advised that three speaker cards were submitted on this agenda item, Chris Denny and Bob Denny who
both indicated that they wish to speak and Lisa Denny, who is for the installation of the fence, but does not wish to
speak.
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Mr. Chris Denny addressed the Council and advised that he is the applicant's brother in law and also the general
contractor on the home. He stated that he is on the site every day and during the course of construction, he has
recovered a very large number of golf balls(he displayed two bags of balls) and pointed out that this number does not
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include those balls that hit the structure and went back out onto the golf course or balls that hit the property after he left
the site. He said that that is the reason for the application.
Mr. Bob Denny decided not to speak at this time.
The Mayor closed the public hearing at 8:00 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM #11 - CONSIDERATION OF A PROPOSED SPECIAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW THE
INSTALLATION OF A 25' TALL GOLF NET AT 17008 E. JACKLIN DRIVE. (APN 176-08-738). CASE
#SU2015-14
Councilmember Leger asked what the maximum allowable height is for a golf fence and Mr. Mood replied that in
accordance with the Town's Ordinance,25 feet is the maximum allowed.
Vice Mayor Brown MOVED to approve the Special Use Permit for the golf ball fence at 17008 E. Jacklin Drive as
presented and Councilmember Hansen SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #12 - DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING
ADVISORY COMMISSION REGARDING ITS PROJECT APPROACH AND EFFORTS IN UPDATING
THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STRATEGIC PLAN.
Town Manager Grady Miller stated that before the Council this evening is a request from the Strategic Planning
Advisory Commission (SPAC) to give direction to the Project Approach that they are requesting. He noted that back
in 2005, the Town's very first Strategic Plan was adopted and then they had an update to that back in 2010. He said
that this is a request to provide direction to the Commission and give them assurances that they are on the right track.
He stated that with them this evening is Dana Saar, Chairman of the SPAC, who will highlight a presentation on this
agenda item.
Mr. Saar addressed the Council and introduced the members of the Commission still present at the meeting. He
advised that the group wanted to provide the Council with an update and get some feedback as to whether they are on
the right track or not. He reported that they have three basic phases that they want to get through -- where are they
now,where do they want to go and how do they get there? He added that what they are presenting tonight primarily is
where they are now in as much detail as makes sense. He referred to a SWOT(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Threats) Analysis displayed in a PowerPoint presentation (Copy available on line and in the office of the Town
Clerk) and pointed out that this is a management tool that has been used for years. He informed the Council that the
Commission has spent the last six to eight months going through this process, both in subcommittees and as a
Commission, to come up with what they feel is a good representation of where the community sits today in these four
elements. He talked about a few of the different items under the four categories on the SWOT list, the ones in bold
lettering below,and the entire list is as follows:
Strengths
* Environmental setting
* Community brand
* Operationally lean local government
* Safe community
* Abundant amenities
* Proximity to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport
* Data infrastructure
* Numerous special events
* Robust volunteer program
* Available office space
* Collaboration and support from local civic and fraternal groups
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Weaknesses
* Fiscal Sustainability
* Demographic imbalance
* Aging infrastructure
* Land locked
* Limited youth programs
* Lack of available industrial space
* Affordable housing
* Town government is understaffed
* Seasonal residents
Opportunities
* Rebrand the community
* Extend residential density
* Focused economic development program
* Future technology preparedness
Threats
* General resistance by community changes/investments proffered by local government
* Impact of certain legislation by state on local government's ability to manage the community's evolving
needs
* Lack of funds to address the Town's aging infrastructure
* Sustainability of the school system with continued declining enrollment
Mr. Saar advised that sustaining the quality of life that they have in Fountain Hills is a major challenge for the group
and they want to make sure that in this next phase of determining what it is this Town wants to be when it grows up
that all members of the community have input, understand how they got to where they are today and the constraints
they are currently living with and will probably live with for the foreseeable future. He stated that the goal of this
Strategic Plan Update is not just the five-year cycle but also the longer term. He added that not all of them will be here
50 years from now but someone will be so they want to make sure that the decisions they make today affect them
positively and their quality of life is at least as good as they have now and hopefully better. He said that he would like
to take this opportunity to bring up a member of a partner that they came up with called Vision Fountain Hills and
explained that it is a subdivision of the Fountain Hills Cultural & Civic Association. He noted that they have been
very supportive and they have been working independently of the SPAC for about a year and a few months ago they
decided that the two could work together and really do a better job than each of them could do independently. He said
that he will be asking John Kraft, Co-Chair of that committee and a member of the SPAC come forward but first he
wanted to respond to any questions that the Council might have for him.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that she had a couple of comments and advised that she was looking at the list of Weaknesses
and pointed out that while being land locked can be a weakness, it is also a draw for people who like a small
community. She pointed out that Fountain Hills is one of the last small communities and that could be turned around
to their advantage. She referred to the affordable housing weakness and said that they had a big discussion on the new
project that is coming into the Downtown area, because originally they were going to put condos in. She reported that
all of the urban studies now, especially the ones coming out of Phoenix, are calling for apartments because they are
finding that the younger people don't want to own homes, the young entrepreneurs who have home businesses working
on their computers want apartments and so that is one of the reasons why the people who are building down on the
south side of the Avenue are going to be putting in apartments. She added that hopefully that is going to help bring in
more young people and make that more attractive. She further stated that she was really glad to read about the Wi-Fi
because she has been asking for that for years and Peter Bordow and herself and Councilmember Yates met with Cox
several years ago and tried to look into it and it was very expensive. She pointed out that that is something that the
younger people are looking for and the developer is going to put it into his project and they are trying to get them to
blast it out as far as the median because that is where they need it, at the median, at the parks, etc. She noted that Mr.
Bordow worked extensively with her on that and he is a real techie guy. She advised that she agrees with everything
they said about attracting people and bringing businesses in and it is amazing what Wi-Fi will do.
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Councilmember Yates said that the Commission has done an awesome job and thanked them for their hard work. He
asked whether parking has ever been brought up as a strength or weakness or something for consideration.
Mr. Saar replied no,that has not come up during their discussions but he knows that down by the lake parking has been
a problem especially on weekends but it has not come up as a real weakness.
Councilmember Magazine also thanked the SPAC for their excellent work and noted that Mr. Saar mentioned
sustaining the quality of life and he has looked at this and the Wi-Fi and all the other things and it requires resources.
He noted that fiscal sustainability was listed as the first weakness and according to the budget they adopted they are
facing a $1.9 million shortfall between now and 2019-2020 and in fact that is understated. He stated that he hopes that
the Commission along with Vision Fountain Hills will concentrate a lot of their time on the whole issue of fiscal
sustainability because without it there are so many things that they simply can't do. He added that Mr. Saar mentioned
the next phase and asked what that is--where do they go from here and what is the process?
Mr. Saar responded that the next phase is "where do they want to be?" and the final one is "how do they get there?"
He further stated that the Vision Fountain Hills partnership is dedicated to that middle phase to find out where it is the
community wants to go, both in the short term and the long term. He reiterated that they want to make sure that they
are not just planning for the next five years but rather for the next 30 to 50 years. He advised the Council that they
know that there are some challenges and they don't want to just have a "want list" when they are finished, they want
something that can actually be implemented in the short term to get them further along. He added that they hope that
they can come up with some solutions.
Councilmember Magazine asked how they are going to find out what the community wants and Mr. Saar replied that
he will let Mr. Kraft answer that question when he comes forward. He noted that Mr. Kraft is Co-Chair of that
Committee and that is part of their role.
Councilmember DePorter commented that the School District is something that he can see falling into a lot of these
buckets -- a potential weakness but there certainly are things to brag about and some opportunities there. He
questioned whether anyone from the School District is involved and Mr. Saar responded not on the SPAC directly but
the nice thing about Vision Fountain Hills is that they can include the schools and give them the same kind of
information they provide the Council and the Sanitary District possibly as well. He added that the School District will
definitely be involved.
Councilmember DePorter advised that he sits on a committee for marketing and communications with Dr. Sweeney,
the new Superintendent,and there seems to be a lot of opportunities there because they are willing to listen, partner,
strategize, use forward thinking and with Dr. Sweeney's experience he thinks that could be a big win.
Mr. Saar pointed out that over the last 20 to 30 years the partnership between the School District and the Town has
been recognized State wide for their partnerships and he hopes they can build on that.
Mr. John Kraft addressed the Council and said that he appreciates the opportunity to speak to the Council. He stated
that the question "where do we go from here?" is a valid question that the group has been asking themselves from the
beginning but they felt like they needed to know where they were initially and the input they have received at least
gives them a baseline from which they can move forward. He agreed that something the group considers a weakness
might also be an opportunity and vice versa and they felt that to a certain extent they wanted to consolidate this
information so that they could begin working with it. He advised that the next step they had was to partner with Vision
Fountain Hills and that advisory group insisted on coming this evening. He asked them to stand and be recognized.
He informed the Council that the Vision Fountain Hills group has been working with him, Mr. Saar and Gerard over
the last several months and looking forward to what they can do to engage the stakeholders in the community as well
as the residents in some productive dialogue. He stressed that they want this to be something where they are looking
forward and spending less time looking backward. He said that the Vision Fountain Hills group wants to serve as a
catalyst for getting the community to work and help them identify solutions to some of the priority issues that they
think are resolvable within the next three to five years. He stressed that the Town's finances are going to be an over-
riding concern and a key part of any kind of solution that they move forward with. ,4411:1)
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Mr. Kraft advised that over the next six months they plan to reach out to the community and because they have several
members of the Vision Fountain Hills group that are under the median age in the community, in their 30s, they want to
use social media and he has absolutely no problem with that. He expressed the opinion that from a cost perspective he
thinks they will be able to get a lot more input that way and explained they are talking about having two surveys. He
noted that they initially put together a list of roughly 100 members of the community that they consider stakeholders,
civic-minded, intelligent individuals that they are reaching out to on a personal level and they are going to have them
go on line. He added that they have created a website where they will take a survey and they will use their input,
which will be tabulated by Survey Monkey to refine a final survey product that they will then promote aggressively
throughout the community and get as many people as they can to provide input. He advised that this will all take place
over the next 90 days and they hope that by sometime in January or February they will have enough information back
so they can come back before the Council with some suggestions on where they think they want to focus based upon
community input.
Mr. Kraft informed the Council that beyond that the next step will be on May 7th when they will hold a day-long
Town Hall&Workshop Session at the Community Center and they will invite community members to participate with
them in an organized process to put together the solutions that they believe make sense. He added that those solutions
will be presented by Vision Fountain Hills back to the SPAC Commission for their consideration and they will then
work with that and get together with the Council in terms of where they think they want to go. He stated that they
should have all of that by the summer to present to the Council.
Councilmember Magazine expressed the opinion that what he has heard is truly outstanding and he is really pleased
that the SPAC is working hand in glove with Vision Fountain Hills. He noted that he and Councilmember DePorter
are former Chairs of the SPAC and they had all kinds of ideas -- all you have to do is just look at the last plan to see it
is just full of ideas --and ideas are great but they have to be implemented. He added that he hopes that as part of their
process that they will come up with some ideas on first setting some priorities and ideas on how to implement change,
whether it is their group or another group, whatever the process is because ideas don't mean anything if they don't
become a reality so he urged them to think about how they can get things done as they work through the process.
Mr. Kraft advised that those are great suggestions and said that that was an integral part of their discussion. He
commented that initially they were just thinking about holding a Town Hall and normally the outcome of such events
is a list of suggestions and he agrees that they need to get that information but the big part of what they plan on doing
during that Workshop Session is to get people to come up with creative ways in which they can develop solutions that
they can actually deliver.
Discussion ensued relative to the survey and the fact that it will be anonymous; the group is hoping that through an
active public relations program that they will get anyone and everyone in the community that is a resident of the Town
at some point to go on line and fill out the survey; the importance of leveraging social media; the valuable results that
will be obtained; the ability to do sponsored ads at a very low cost that would bring this before people who would not
normally see it; the Mayor's comment that Grace who works on Tourism is a wiz with social media and would be
willing to help out in this worthwhile endeavor; and the importance of reaching out to everyone and obtaining as much
feedback and suggestions as possible.
Councilmember Leger advised that he would like to applaud the SPAC's effort to collaborate with Vision Fountain
Hills and said he thinks that is going to be a tremendous partnership. He also thanked the groups for putting together
the SWOT Analysis and expressed the opinion that it validates what some of the Councilmembers sense after sitting up
there for a few years. He added that as they did this initiative back in 2005,the original Strategic Plan,they didn't have
the advantage of social media so that is really going to be a wonderful tool for them to use. He further stated that as
they move forward and do what he would call a community needs assessment and break that down into different
categories, he thinks it is extremely important not only to ask the question about what people envision and/or what
their needs or wants are, it is also important to tie into that a question as to what the residents would be willing to pay
for. He said that if they do not ask that question, they will wind up with a vision and kind of what the past SPAC
groups wrestled with, an infinite list of needs that were somewhat unrealistic because they weren't correlated with
associated costs and a willingness to pay. He stressed that the other important question is how will they pay for the
items.
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Mr. Kraft expressed the opinion that they are in sync with those comments and commented that at the meetings when
someone goes off on a tandem the question is always asked, "Are you here with a solution or are you part of the
problem?" He added that they want to make sure that finances are an integral part of the discussions.
Mayor Kavanagh pointed out that the SPAC is looking for direction.
Mr. Saar referred to the budget for the process and said they don't see any need for consultants and they are fortunate
that they will be able to do a lot without many of the costs that had to be faced in the past. He advised that they
currently do not have any need for funding but of course there will be some expenses when it comes to the Town Hall.
He emphasized that their goal is to do this as reasonably as possible yet produce results that represent value.
Vice Mayor Brown commented that he has seen the SPAC grow up from 2005 and he commended the Commissioners
that have served on that worthwhile group over the years. He advised that it appears to him that the SPAC is coming
into its own and is growing up and feeding off of all the information that has been gathered over the last 11 years. He
stated that it is encouraging to see what is happening with the SPAC these days and thanked everyone for their hard
work.
Councilmember Yates thanked Mr. Saar for his work and pointed out that at the last Council meeting they had
something on the agenda about placing interactive musical instruments down at the Fountain, Harmony Park, and he
had their Strategic Plan list and it is fun to see how many things on that list they have already accomplished. He
requested that they update the list because many things have already been accomplished and that is to their credit.
Mr. Saar thanked the Mayor and members of the Council for the opportunity to address them this evening and for their
feedback. He said if they have any questions to please contact him or any of the members of the SPAC or Vision
Fountain Hills.
Mayor Kavanagh noted that it sounds from everyone's comments that the direction is to move forward as proposed.
She thanked all of the SPAC and Vision Fountain Hills'members for attending the meeting.
Mr. Miller asked whether a motion would be in order and the Mayor advised that she had it down as discussion and
direction and asked the Council if they would like to put it in the form of a motion.
Mr. Miller expressed the opinion that the SPAC and Vision Fountain Hills would appreciate having a motion made on
this item.
Councilmember Hansen MOVED to direct the SPAC and Vision Fountain Hills to continue to move in the
approach/direction as presented to the Council and Councilmember Yates SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM#13 - CONSIERATION OF ORDINANCE 15-09,AMENDING TOWN CODE CHAPTER 2,
MAYOR AND COUNCIL,ARTICLE 2-3,BY MODIFYING THE PROVISIONS RELATING TO ALL-MAIL
BALLOT ELECTIONS AND BY INCORPORATING CHANGES TO STATE LAW REGARDING
CALCULATION OF THE MAJORITY OF VOTES CAST.
NOTE: SEE PAGE 7; THIS ITEM WAS THE FIRST ITEM DISCUSSED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA.
COUNCIL VOTE ON THIS ITEM FOUND ON PAGE 11.
AGENDA ITEM #14 - CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 15-10, APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO
THE PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND AUTHORIZING THE NECESSARY BUDGET
TRANSFERS TO FUND THE PROGRAM.
Town Manager Grady Miller addressed the Council and advised that before them this evening is a request to approve
an amendment to the Pavement Management Program by adopting Ordinance 15-10. He pointed out that about two
and a half years ago a major priority of the Council was to have a formal Pavement Management Program. He stated
that just before he became Town Manager he spent some time with former Town Manager Ken Buchanan and Finance
Director Craig Rudolphy as well as Development Services Director Paul Mood and they had a great meeting just to
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talk about the next phase of this important program. He said that Mr. Rudolphy will give a brief presentation on this
agenda item and how staff is going to try and allocate additional resources to the Pavement Management Program. He
pointed out that the Program is in two different pieces,one is Pavement Replacement which is the capital part and then
the Pavement Management which is really just the on-going operating costs involved in doing street maintenance. He
added that after the presentation and questions, Mr. Mood is present to answer any specific questions relating to the
Pavement Management Program.
Finance Director Craig Rudolphy addressed the Council and stated that in an attempt to find funding for the Asphalt
Replacement portion of the Pavement Management Program, staff is looking into some creative methods. He noted
that they are currently paying down debt in the Municipal Property Corporation with Town sales tax and the Council
has dedicated 0.2% of the Town's sales tax to pay down the bonds. He pointed out that the bonds consist of two pieces
-- the Mountain Preserve portion as well as the Community Center portion. He stated that when the bonds were
initially issued the debt was allocated into those two pieces and they now have the possibility of reallocating that
money because the Mountain Preserve portion of the debt will be paid off by July 1, 2016. He said that it is staff's
intention to ask the Council to take that 0.2% of the dedication and to reallocate it to the Asphalt Replacement portion
which will generate between $600,000 and $800,000 a year when fully implemented and that would include utilizing it
after the Community Center portion is paid off in 2020. He added that they would devote those monies to the excise
tax as well as well as committing a certain portion of the Capital Improvement Program to fund the Asphalt
Replacement to the tune of roughly $1 million a year. He further stated that ultimately over a 10-year period they
would come up with $8.5 million.
Mayor Kavanagh asked what that amount of money would translate into as far as giving them pavement, what could
they get? She pointed out that it is expensive just to fill a pothole.
Development Services Director Paul Mood addressed the Council and advised that it is a start but it does fall short. He
reported that the recent mill and overlay that they did in Zone 1 was about $1.5 million so they are going to try and
pool these monies with the Pavement Management money and in certain years they could do all mill and overlay and
in other years some mill and overlay but a lot more maintenance. He added that next year they are going to have to do
more mill and overlay in Zone 1 and hopefully the third year they will have enough money to go back and slurry seal
all the roads they didn't do. He further stated that staff is currently working on a program with Mr. Rudolphy to see
what monies are coming in and what they can do.
Councilmember DePorter asked if it is reasonable to expect $1 million not going as far every year as costs go up and
Mr. Mood replied that luckily this year the Town worked off a contract with M.R. Tanner that they had with the City
of Chandler contract which he believes they have for five years. He added that they do build in escalations because
asphalt is petroleum based. He informed the Council that a lot of the roads in Town have only been slurry sealed over
multiple times so that is starting to wear off, crack and come through and they will have to start addressing that. He
reiterated that the money is a good start.
Mr. Miller advised that he believes the intent is that they are probably going to be coming back with a bond package
after these bonds are paid off for Saguaro and staff will be identifying basically what is potentially another phase of a
project that will be short-term financed. He said of course that will involve a citizens'committee to identify what those
projects might be. He further stated that there may be some years with the way that this policy is before them where
they may be over generating on the capital side but not putting enough aside on the operating side so staff might be
coming before the Council even though this is set by ordinance to basically request that the Council reallocate or
transfer those monies.
Councilmember Hansen asked whether language could be included in the ordinance to allow that flexibility and Mr.
Miller responded that he thinks because of the dollars involved it is ultimately going to need Council action. He said
that as they go through a budget process they could identify it then and make the Council aware of it but ultimately,
because this is by ordinance, staff would want the Council to act on it but that is probably a question for the Town
Attorney.
Town Attorney Andrew McGuire advised that yes, they could add some language.
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Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve Ordinance 15-10 with modifications to allow flexibility for funding to be
rotated between the two different components of the Plan (Maintenance and Capital) and Vice Mayor Brown
SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM#15-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)
directing staff to conduct further research and report back to the Council.
None.
AGENDA ITEM #16 - SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS AND REPORT ON RECENT ACTIVITIES
BY THE MAYOR,INDIVIDUAL COUNCILMEMBERS AND THE TOWN MANAGER.
Councilmember Yates commented that Saguaro is beautiful and he enjoyed going down there just to see the progress
keep going and the last fountain is now finished on the Avenue and it is absolutely beautiful. He stated that he can't
wait for the clock to be put back up. He asked whether they could have some sort of report as to milestones --where
did they come in at,above or below,on budget,that type of information.
Mr. Miller responded that he will have Mr. Mood talk about that but his understanding is that they did very well on this
project despite some of the change orders that they had. He added that the road was opened one day earlier than
anticipated and they had a lot of rain during this project.
Mr. Mood stated that obviously the road is open and they walked the entire northbound side today putting together a
punch list and there are still some items that need to be completed. He said that the lighting at the Avenue is a big one
but they did get the clock back up today but it wouldn't start so they are getting someone out to take a look at that. He
informed the Council that staff will do a final accounting but noted that they will be under budget. He explained that
one of the big things that saved them was when they got into working more closely with EPCOR and the Sanitary
District some of their lines that they thought needed to be relocated did not and that saved the Town at least$100,000.
NOY
He added that the bid wasn't as high as they had anticipated and they added some money from the Downtown fund for
the lighting so that was an added cost but not out of the bond.
In response to a question from Councilmember Yates, Mr. Mood advised that the way the bond question was written
for Saguaro the monies can only be used for certain things on the project. He commented that staff is trying to go back
and address some things that they can use bond money for. He reported that one thing they ran into was probably ten
miles of irrigation needed to be replaced and they didn't know that all of the irrigation in the median was literally right
behind the curb and shallow so when they popped the curb up the 40-year old PVC pipe came along with it. He added
that they went through and changed all the irrigation.
Mayor Kavanagh thanked Mr. Mood for his comments.
Councilmember DePorter announced that he and Mayor Kavanagh attended the opening of the Multi-Media Center at
the Boys & Girls Club this evening and it was fantastic. He stated that there was a great turnout and their investment
in the community continues to grow.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that she had a lot of fun judging the pet costume contest at Spike's Treats. She added that
Make A Difference Day was a tremendous success and over 300 volunteers participated along with many of their staff
members. She noted that many businesses in Town offered either tools or services and Councilmembers Yates and
Magazine were there to help out. She thanked her Mayor's Youth Council and the Kern family and reported that they
painted a house here in Town. She said that her biggest praise goes to Heather Ware and her assistant volunteer, Lisa
Kern, for organizing the entire event. She advised that she and Senator John Kavanagh attended a big fundraiser for
Cool Cats Rescue and stated that Sandra Schiavone runs that organization that seeks homes for kittens here in Fountain
Hills and reported that it was another big success thanks to all of the cat lovers in Town. She further stated that she
and Senator Kavanagh attended Halloween in the Hills and she had a booth on the Avenue along with schools,
businesses and organizations. She expressed a huge thank you to Stephanie of Sami Fine Jewelry who organizes this
event each year. She said it was a tremendous success and the Town had a booth where they gathered information on
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who visited their Town that evening. She reported that last Tuesday she had the honor of being a judge for the Boys&
Girls Club Youth of the Year and advised that the judges chosen pick from other branches, not their own. She stated
that she has done this now for three years and it is a great experience but one of the most difficult decisions to make
because all of the kids chosen deserve to be chosen but you can only pick one. She noted that as Councilmember
DePorter stated,just before the meeting, she attended their branch of the Boys&Girls Club for the opening of the new
multi-media room and she spoke about the tremendous value of having this club here in Town and the service it
provides for their youths as well as supplementing programs for the Parks & Recreation Department. She emphasized
that it is a great facility and they have an outstanding staff.
AGENDA ITEM#17 -ADJOURNMENT
Councilmember Yates MOVED to adjourn the meeting and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion, which
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0). The meeting adjourned at 8:54 p.m.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
By a(vp-0414/044/—&—vg4 M. Kavanh, Mayor
ATTEST AND
PR ARED BY:
. fliN....,) v lyn . Be er, own Clerk
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Executive Session, held in
the Fountain Conference Room - 2nd Floor and Regular Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the
Town Hall Council Chambers on the 5th day of November, 2015. I further certify that the meeting was duly called
and that a quorum was present.
DATED this 19th day of November7S'h. ',
to; drowIn J. ender,Town Clerk
ill
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