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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021.0302.TCRM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL MARCH 2, 2021 1. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE — Mayor Dickey Mayor Dickey called the Regular Meeting of March 2, 2021, to order at 5:30 p.m. and led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. MOMENT OF SILENCE A Moment of Silence was held. 3. ROLL CALL—Mayor Dickey Present: Mayor Ginny Dickey; Vice Mayor David Spelich; Councilmember Mike Scharnow; Councilmember Peggy McMahon; Councilmember Gerry Friedel; Councilmember Alan Magazine; Councilmember Sharron Grzybowski Staff Town Manager Grady E. Miller; Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson; Town Clerk Present: Elizabeth A. Burke 4. REPORTS BY MAYOR, COUNCILMEMBERS AND TOWN MANAGER Mr. Miller reported that he and the Mayor met and they have been monitoring COVID-19 cases and numbers of vaccinations. They have determined that they are close to one-third of the Town's residents have been vaccinated and the infection rate is down around seven percent, when prior numbers had been in the double digits. Because of these facts, they will start holding public meetings with the March 16, 2021, Regular Council Meeting, with masks required and social distancing efforts continuing. Additionally, the Town's boards and commissions will resume regular scheduling. From an organizational standpoint, they are continuing modified work hours at Town Hall and the Community Center, but they will be open for the public during regular times, continuing with the State's mandates of masks and social distancing. Councilmember Friedel reported that he attended a Zoom meeting on Planes an Cranes. They learned about Arizona, and Phoenix in general, that at their worst they were down 90% in air travel. They did hold up better than many locations because of the state's business environment, people liking leisure and space, and the weather. This year in December, they were only about 50%. He reported that he attended a ribbon cutting at Pearl Nutrition which is a new business with wonderful people. Councilmember Grzybowski said that she also attended the same Planes and Cranes. Town Council Regular Meeting of March 2, 2021 Page 2 of 7 She said that one thing she picked up is that international travel in the foreseeable future will require a COVID card. Additionally, she has been joining in on the League's legislative calls. Mayor Dickey reminded everyone that the recent Council Retreat is available online and on Channel 11. She attended a MAG Regional Council meeting and discussed the Town's and other projects proposed for Prop 400. She also attended a Canadian/Arizona Business Council quarterly meeting to continue discussions regarding economic opportunities now and post COVID. She said that the COVID relief bill that passed the House has appropriations for cities and David will update the Council when it is finalized. She noted that Mesa Mayor Giles supports it. She said that, as mentioned, changes have been made to the schedules for the Community Center, commission meetings and Town Council meetings. These will all be open to the public, continuing the 50 attendees limit. She said that they are continuing to advertise for the Fair as if it will occur. She said that there have been 1,535 COVID cases in Fountain Hills since it began, but they are up only 8 in the last six days. Hospital capacity is at 85%, number of cases per 100,000 are about to be "moderate" (not "substantial"). Fountain Hills is at 7% positivity, so "moderate" and COVID-like illness is at 3.8, which is "minimal."About 63% of those eligible in Fountain Hills have had at least one shot. Those actually vaccinated is 8,164, around 1/3 of the population. Mayor Dickey reported that bollard cleaning and painting has been completed. She thanked Ted Blank and his volunteers. She gave many thanks to local merchants, Paul's Ace Hardware and Sherwin Williams, for donating the cleaning, taping and painting supplies. She thanked staff and the Council for partnering with Ted and the volunteers. 5. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS A. PRESENTATION by Captain Larry Kratzer with the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office with Monthly Update. Maricopa County Sheriffs Office Captain Larry Kratzer gave a monthly update, which included a review of 2020 statistics (Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof). Councilmembers agreed that the report was very valuable and it was suggested that a news story be made from the information. Captain Kratzer said that he would work with Mr. Miller to do that. Mayor Dickey suggested that it be provided in an additional format for those that do not find statistics easy to interpret. Mayor Dickey thanked Captain Kratzer for the report, noting that they all appreciated it. Town Council Regular Meeting of March 2, 2021 Page 3 of 7 6. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.01(H),public comment is permitted(not required)on matters NOT listed on the agenda.Any such comment(i)must be within the jurisdiction of the Council, and(ii)is subject to reasonable time,place, and manner restrictions. The Council will not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during Call to the Public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action.At the conclusion of the Call to the Public,individual councilmembers may(i)respond to criticism, (ii)ask staff to review a matter, or(iii)ask that the matter be placed on a future Council agenda. None 7. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS All items listed on the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine, noncontroversial matters and will be enacted by one motion of the Council.All motions and subsequent approvals of consent items will include all recommended staff stipulations unless otherwise stated. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a councilmember or member of the public so requests. If a councilmember or member of the public wishes to discuss an item on the Consent Agenda, he/she may request so prior to the motion to accept the Consent Agenda or with notification to the Town Manager or Mayor prior to the date of the meeting for which the item was scheduled. The items will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. MOVED BY Councilmember Alan Magazine, SECONDED BY Councilmember Mike Scharnow to approve the Consent Agenda items. Vote: 7 - 0 Passed - Unanimously A. CONSIDERATION OF approving the meeting minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 16, 2021. B. CONSIDERATION OF approving a Special Event Liquor License application for the Fountain Hills VFW Post 7507 for a beer garden in conjunction with the Fountain Festival of Arts and Crafts on April 9-11, 2021 C. CONSIDERATION OF a Map of Dedication for the dedication of easements and right-of-way associated with the development of the Fountain Hills Medical Center located at the northwest corner of Saguaro Boulevard and Trevino Drive. 8. REGULAR AGENDA A. CONSIDERATION OF Approving a Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with General Acrylics (Contract No. 2021-037)for the installation, repair, and maintenance of sport courts. Community Services Director Rachael Goodwin said that this contract would allow the Town to build three pickleball sports courts. She then gave a brief PowerPoint which addressed: SPORT COURTS IN FOUNTAIN HILLS EFFORTS UNDERWAY FOUR PEAKS PARK RENOVATIONS: CURRENT AND FUTURE FOUR PEAKS PARK RENOVATIONS: WHY PICKLEBALL? Town Council Regular Meeting of March 2, 2021 Page 4 of 7 Councilmember Scharnow asked about lighting. Ms. Goodwin said that they would work similar to what is at the new basketball court on the lower level. They are demand-driven; If no one is using them, they shut off automatically. Councilmember Scharnow questioned if the ping pong tables would be secured. Ms. Goodwin said that they would. She said that they had some usable space under the shade so the idea was to bring in ping pong tables, cornhole boards and users could bring their own paddles, balls and bean bags. She said it would be adjacent to the Boys and Girls Club and would allow them to use it as well. Councilmember Friedel asked if the pickleball courts would be by reservation. Ms. Goodwin said that for now it would be done similar to the reservation system for the tennis courts. Councilmember Magazine said that at one time there had been discussion of using some space behind Euro Pizza for some type of activities. Ms. Goodwin said that there has been a lot of discussion and a number of them had support until they realized the financial ramifications. She said that through the CIP Splash Pad expansion they had talked of using some space to expand the footprint and provide for additional seating. Councilmember Grzybowski said that her first project on the Community Services Advisory Commission was a months-long discussion with the pickleball people. This is something they need in town. MOVED BY Councilmember Sharron Grzybowski, SECONDED BY Councilmember Mike Scharnow to approve the Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with General Acrylics, Contract No. 2021-037, in the amount of$129,500. Vote: 7 - 0 Passed - Unanimously B. RECONSIDERATION OF approving a Professional Services Agreement with Kimley Horn and Associates, Inc., for a warrant study to evaluate and document the need for a signalized controlled intersection at Palisades and Eagle Ridge Drive/Palomino. Mr. Miller said that the Council talked about this recently, but when it came before them there was a mishap with different numbers in the staff report. Staff was asked to bring this back before the pedestrian and Safety Traffic Committee which they have done. Mr. Weldy said that when the Council approved development fees, through the IIP, this was identified as a project that would be able to use development fees for a traffic signal. There will be funds available if that need is determined after this study. He said that it was never his intent to provide misleading or confusing information. This project was tied to a contract to study the intersection at Palisades and Fountain Hills Boulevard. He failed in that presentation, and he apologized for that shortcoming. He said that staff is back before the Council; it is important to note that when they are planning for outlying years, especially in traffic management, they look at intersections. He said that there are nine warrants, but they are only studying four of them (8-hour Town Council Regular Meeting of March 2, 2021 Page 5 of 7 vehicular volumes in each direction; 4-hour vehicular volume; peak hour flows; pedestrian volume). Staff does believe that they will meet one or more of those warrants at this intersection; however, the only way to determine that is to do the study. Mr. Miller said that the engineer of record will report back to Council, and they will decide if they want the staff to move forward and have it designed. He said that if the Town does get close-out funding this would be a perfect project for that. Mr. Weldy said that in the past the Town has used WISA funding to make changes to 12 of the 13 traffic signals. Mayor Dickey said that it is important to think of this as modeling. The development fees are narrowly defined on how they are used, and this project would meet those requirements. Councilmember Friedel sad that if this is just for the study, he asked how much the design would cost. Mr. Weldy replied that it would remain at$50,000 for 100% design. MOVED BY Councilmember Peggy McMahon, SECONDED BY Councilmember Mike Scharnow to approve Professional Services Agreement C2021-031 with Kimley Horn and Associates, Inc., for a warrant study to evaluate and document the need for a signalized controlled intersection in the amount of$49,027.00. Vote: 6 - 1 Passed NAY: Vice Mayor David Spelich C. DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE CONSIDERATION relating to any item included in the League of Arizona Cities and Towns' weekly Legislative Bulletin(s) or relating to any action proposed or pending before the State Legislature. Mr. Miller said that he passed out a legislative info sheet prior to the meeting which he will continue to maintain. The challenge is that every day the Legislature moves quickly. He will try to have information provided in the meeting packets, and provide any new information the day of the meetings. He then reviewed a few bills that they would like to take a position on: HB2623. Fireworks. He said that the League is supporting this bill. Towns cannot prohibit fireworks, but this would allow them to say what the end time would be. HB2804. Executive Sessions. He said that currently there are eight topics that may be discussed under Executive Session and the Town Council can always have legal advice on a variety of matters. This bill would keep it to legal advice of only those eight items which is very limiting. He said that the bill was supposed to create transparency, but it hampers the ability to receive legal advice. Mr. Arnson said that he does not support the bill. Councilmember Magazine said that a few years ago he authored an op ed published in the FH Times about preemptions and the Legislature making decisions to control how cities/towns operate. He said that local governments are powerless pawns of the system and being made less and less powerful every time the Legislature begins their sessions. There is a stunning lack of trust by the Legislature of the towns' ability to make the best decisions. He said that he was criticized for the op ed. He said that if the citizens do not Town Council Regular Meeting of March 2, 2021 Page 6 of 7 like the Council they can vote them out. Council consensus was to support the fireworks bill and oppose the executive session bill. Mayor Dickey said that Council should not feel alone; there are bills trying to keep the Governor from proclaiming emergencies, and requiring the Board of Supervisors to hand over ballots. Councilmember Scharnow said that he likes and appreciates the matrix as it helps keep things in focus since they do move quickly. He said that at the last meeting there were bills brought up during the meeting that they were expected to vote on. He did not like being put on the spot as he did not know a lot about them. He almost abstained, because he likes to be prepared for meetings. Mr. Miller said that procedurally if there are some feeling uncomfortable in those situations, staff can brief them and then bring it back to the next meeting for action. It is not a fiduciary item;just direction to the Town Manager. Mayor Dickey said that it is okay procedurally what they did. Mr. Miller said that he is trying to be careful; he does not want to take a position without a majority of the Council weighing in. He said that they will think about it further. He suggested that if any councilmembers had any bills they would like to bring up, they can let him know ahead of the meeting so staff can research it before it comes to the Council. 9. COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION to the TOWN MANAGER Item(s)listed below are related only to the propriety of(i)placing such item(s)on a future agenda for action, or(ii)directing staff to conduct further research and report back to the Council. None 10. ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY Vice Mayor David Spelich, SECONDED BY Councilmember Gerry Friedel to adjourn. Vote: 7 - 0 Passed - Unanimously The Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council held March 2, 2021, adjourned at 6:50 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Gin Dickey Mayor Town Council Regular Meeting of March 2, 2021 Page 7 of 7 ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: Elizabeth A. rke, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 2nd day of March, 2021. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 16th day of March, 2021. Elizabeth . urke, Town CI k