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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017.0307.TCSM.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL MARCH 7, 2017 SPECIAL SESSION CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Kavanagh called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in the Fountain Hills Town Council Chambers. Present for roll call were the following members of the Town Council: Mayor Linda Kavanagh, Vice Mayor Nick DePorter, Councilmember Alan Magazine, Councilmember Cecil Yates, Councilmember Art Tolis, and Councilmember Henry Leger. Town Manager Grady E. Miller, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bevelyn Bender were also present. Councilmember Dennis Brown was absent. AGENDA ITEM #1 - DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS RELATING TO FOUNTAIN PARK ACCESS AND THE AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS. Mr. Miller gave opening remarks on a proposed electrical upgrade on the Avenue of the Fountains and the refreshed holiday lights on the Avenue that would tie in other Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) related to the Fountain project and proposed Park access by contracting Kimley-Horn to assist the Town with the design phase along with the Avenue lighting CIP listed in the Town's budget this year. Town Manger Miller introduced Public Works Director Paul Mood who continued to discuss these issues. Mr. Mood stated the Town had allocated $300K in the CIP budget for the "Avenue Park Access" in the Downtown Fund to begin the designing of the project being presented to Council by Kimley-Horn along with the Avenue Lighting Improvements project. Mr. Mood added that the $300K was a placeholder in the budget with a total of $1M available and asked Council for direction on an option so a more accurate funding total could be presented during the March 14, 2017, CIP Budget Special Session. Mr. Mood introduced Jeff Kratzke, representative for Kimley Horn, who gave a summary of the project as created by Landscape Architects and Engineers within the Kimley-Horn Association. Mr. Kratzke presented and discussed the information provided in a PowerPoint presentation (available on-line and in the office of the Town Clerk) including the project's purpose, location of pedestrian access, and the lake overlook. Mr. Kratzke presented three concepts and reviewed the concept that would provide an overlook on the east side of Saguaro Boulevard with a circulation system to provide people the option to connect to the lake trail system. He added that after working with staff the preferred concept included the best entry features, addressing unique challenges and a concept that did not impact the existing swale allowing the use of the path regardless of any storm events. Councilmembers discussed the construction of the pathways, walls and landscape areas proposed by Mr. Kratzke. Councilmember Magazine asked what the objective was of the plan as described to Kimley-Horn; Mr. Kratzke answered they had included a destination, safe crossing from the Avenue of the Fountain to Saguaro Boulevard with access to the park to a gathering place, and an ADA compliant grade pathway to the lake. Mayor Kavanagh mentioned this was the first plan presented that addressed a possible solution to allow for ADA compliance and Councilmember Yates noted this plan conformed with the Town's "Swaback Plan". Councilmember Yates then asked if stairs could be added on the east side and Mr. Kratzke answered yes with additional costs and there noted there would be a drop of approximately 10'-15'. Mr. Mood added that staff had looked into that option but found the stairs must be tied into another pathway due to numerous swells that could cause the bollard lighting to be under water at some point making this option a challenge to comply with ADA standards. Mr. Mood reiterated that the current plan as presented met ADA requirements. z:\council packets\2017\r170406\170307m.docx Page 1 of 5 Councilmember Magazine pointed out that if the objective of this plan was to help people get down the hill, additional stairs could be added but he requested removal of the plaza. Mr. Kratzke pointed out that was possible, but the plaza was included to provide a gathering place and multi -functional space. Councilmember Magazine asked if the plan could be completed in phases and Mr. Kratzke answered it could, but expressed the need to create a safe route to allow people to access the park from the Avenue onto Saguaro Boulevard with a pathway into the park by avoiding the steep grade; grade and drainage were driving factors. Vice Mayor DePorter stated he liked the concept plan and that it was much larger than he had anticipated to draw people down to the lake for various activities and stated he understood why the path meandered down and was a nice end to the Avenue of the Fountains. He asked if there was way to deter people from sitting on the wall; Mr. Kratzke responded they had not yet defined the deterrent that would be used. Councilmember Tolis discussed the downtown funding, time -line on spending and possible restrictions to this plan and stressed the need to continue funding until it was decided what the long-term objective was to bring visitors to the park. He also felt that not enough venues were held at this time in the park to justify the expense of the plaza and pointed out the paths and ADA access already provided to the amphitheater and he proposed that the Town should be directing it to retail at this time instead of going forward with this plan. Councilmember Yates stated he saw a mobilization cost discrepancy with this concept plan and believed the timing was right to create an area for people to come downtown by creating a sense of place. Councilmember Tolis requested Council hold off and consider other concepts before taking action. Councilmember Leger stated he liked the pathway and if the Town had the funds necessary or the citizens felt the need for a viewing deck this would be the plan. Councilmember Leger noted that timing was important and he wanted to wait and see how the new Park Place Development looked upon completion and then discuss the kind of needs would be created by this development (i.e. traffic mitigation). Mayor Kavanagh felt it important to add another ADA path due to the long route it takes to access the park and questioned if a path could be created to cross Parkview and meander down to the lake path. Mr. Kratzke believed an ADA compliant connection could be made, but the grade would have to be verified to see how much of a loop would be created in the grade transition. Councilmember Leger agreed that the additional path would be the best solution by adding an ADA compliant access point and asked what actions would be necessary. Mr. Mood explained that a crosswalk and signage would be necessary with an additional ADA ramp opening on the park side of Saguaro Boulevard; he stated the biggest challenge would be meeting the ADA slope requirements, but he still felt a plan could be accomplished. Councilmember Magazine acknowledged how beautiful the concept was and that it would be a major addition to the Town, but added it was not a necessary item; he pointed out that Council may be asking the public to approve a tax increase and the optics for this plan could not come at a worse time and stressed he could not agree to this plan at this time. Mr. Kratzke finished his presentation with a slide showing a panoramic view from the proposed concept overlook and noted that lighting was included in the plan and would blend with existing path lighting. Mr. Kratzke discussed the information presented on the probable detailed cost of the project as $834,006.11, which included design costs and a 15% contingency. Mr. Kratzke also listed the annual required maintenance costs as minimal. Councilmember Magazine asked Mr. Kratzke if Kimley-Horn could return to Council with a scaled back version and cost estimate, based on input from staff that consisted of a stairway and path while eliminating the plaza. Mr. Miller stated he had hoped that a decision could be made on this project during this meeting so the project could be included in next year's CIP budget discussions and hoped that he could receive preliminary cost estimates for the pathway and staircase to be used in the CIP with a consensus from Council. Mayor Kavanagh added that she would also like a cost estimate for a possible loop off the sidewalk from Parkview Avenue. z:\council packets\2017\r170406\170307m.docx Page 2 of 5 Councilmember Tolis and Mr. Kratzke discussed the scale of the plaza versus the "Town's Area Specific Plan" and the different concepts explored. Mayor Kavanagh asked if Council had further questions regarding the plan and if not requested discussion on the Avenue of the Fountains lighting. Mr. Mood stated that for his part of the presentation at next Tuesday's Special Session, staff needed Council's direction on the timing of both projects so funding could be addressed. Mr. Miller pointed out that the budget could be changed during of the budget process, and if necessary, the projects could be placed as unfunded projects if Council directed the action. Mr. Mood introduced Michael Columbo representing Kimley-Horn reviewed the three options on decorative lighting on the Avenue in a PowerPoint presentation (available on line and in the office of the Town Clerk) and explained that in concept one and two the lighting proposed were not shielded and were over the lumens limits requiring a Town Lighting Ordinance exception. Mr. Columbo noted concept three was in full compliance of the lighting ordinance. Mr. Columbo broke down the cost estimates for each concept plan. Concept 1 $ 98,002 Concept la $310,835 Concept 2 $348,215 Concept 3 $469,660 Mayor Kavanagh asked for Council's questions regarding the plan. Councilmember Yates questioned the amount currently spent by the Town on the Avenue lighting and Community Development Director Mark Mayer; he indicated he did not have the break -down of costs, but noted the Christmas lighting included the wrapping of the trees for approximately $25K. Councilmember Yates pointed out that due to the weather in December the holiday lights were out of service a lot and stated the opinion that Kimley-Horn's projected costs appeared to be a little high and expressed the need to address the Avenues infrastructure. Mr. Miller explained that the cost was high due to all the new infrastructure replacement with new wiring and timers. Councilmember Yates asked if the $61K included wrapping all the trees including the southside of the Avenue and Mr. Miller answered that the Town would be making an initial investment in the lighting instead of leasing the lights each year. Vice Mayor DePorter pointed out that the cost of purchasing the lights would pay for itself in three years with the expense of replacing the bulbs. Vice Mayor DePorter added he questioned if the additional lighting was necessary at this time since the plan may affect the housing project scheduled for the Avenue. He questioned if the Park Place Developer might become involved in the lighting investment as public art. Councilmember Leger acknowledged that the public appreciated the lights during the holidays and wondered if the cost included the maintenance costs; Mr. Columbo stated it did not and pointed out that there would be an on-going annual cost. Councilmember Leger requested Council to wait and see what the streetscape looked like once the Park Place Development was built and pointed out that the Avenue could look differently upon the project's completion. Councilmember Leger expressed that he liked concept one involving the removal of the Palo Verde trees and pointed out would also lower the cost of maintenance. Councilmember Tolis expressed he wanted the Downtown to be vibrant with up and down lighting like that of other larger projects in the valley instead of wrapping trees and he expressed that additional concept plans should be reviewed with pictures from other communities with available options for the Town. Mr. Mood added that staff had looked at additional uplighting on its palm trees and said that the type of palm trees on the Avenue did not grow straight that was the reason staff decided not to consider that option. z:\council packets\2017\r170406\170307m.docx Page 3 of 5 Councilmember Tolis stated that he felt Council was premature in spending for this project at this time and requested additional feedback from Avenue businesses on how they would like the lighting addressed. Mayor Kavanagh suggested Council look at fixing the wiring issue for the upcoming holiday lights. Councilmember Magazine stated his preference for wrapping the palm trees for a long time because it drew people downtown, but noted due to the Town's present situation financially he believed the timing was bad and suggested leaving the project in the CIP budget. Councilmember Yates requested a cost analysis of the infrastructure be done and suggested comparing the findings to what the Town currently pays for Avenue lighting. Councilmember Tolis supported Councilmember Yates suggestion and also wanted staff to review the previous contract to see if the work on the median was completed to the contract specifications, and if not, the contractor needed to correct. Mr. Miller explained that the "spyder boxes" were installed to provide flexible power to Avenue events where needed and described the additional problems on the Avenue that needed to be fixed. Councilmember Leger said he could support the necessary improvements to enhance the area but stated he needed costs and exactly what technology was necessary to upgrade and solve the problems. Mr. Mood explained the issues relating to the infrastructure of the lighting on the Avenue and how each section was powered and controlled. Councilmember Leger asked staff for a cost estimate to fix the electrical issues and suggested funding the project in the CIP budget or from the Downtown Fund. Mr. Mayer noted there were two issues that needed addressed. One involved the "spyder boxes", which worked for events with no issues, but they were not conducive for the holiday lighting. He pointed out that the holiday lights were old and needed to be replaced with LED bulbs to be more durable. Mr. Mayer continued that currently the breakers were tripped regularly due to the weather causing a disruption and the system was controlled by multiple boxes leaving the lights either all on or all off. He reiterated that they were not designed for holiday lighting. Mr. Mayer suggested replacement of lights to LED at $7,800.00, consult with Kimley-Horn on a solution to fix the power needs. Councilmember Yates asked that the wrapping on the palm trees be removed in the revised costs and he proposed that the lights be lit all year, not just annually. Councilmember Tolis requested that the Town reach out to local contractors and perhaps form a sub -committee in order to use the local contractor's expertise to find solutions and find a way for them to assist financially in these type projects. Mayor Kavanagh requested the Council look at the legality of such a request. Vice Mayor DePorter asked if the Downtown Fund could be used for lake improvements and Town Attorney McGuire answered Council did not have many guidelines for the use of these funds and the designated location of downtown was not specified. Vice Mayor DePorter suggested it would be beneficial to have the fountain's control system paid for from the Downtown Fund. Mayor Kavanagh asked if there were any speaker cards and Town Clerk Bender answered none were received. Mayor Kavanagh asked for a motion to adjourn. AGENDA ITEM #2 - ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Yates made a MOTION to adjourn the meeting and Councilmember Tolis SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (6-0), by those present. The Special Session adjourned at 7:16 p.m. z:\council packets\2017\r170406\170307m.docx Page 4 of 5 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS :S ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: Bevelyn Bender, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION Linda M. Kavanagh, Mayor I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 7th day of March, 2017. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 6`h day of April, 2017. Bevelyn Bender, Town Clerk z:\council packets\2017\r170406\170307m.docx Page 5 of 5