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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990.0201.TCRM.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL FEBRUARY 1, 1990 A public meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor John Cutillo at 6:32 P.M., Thursday, February 1, 1990, in the Fountain Hills School District Administration Building located at 14605 N. Del Cambre Ave., Fountain Hills, Arizona. Preceding the call to order, Town Manager Mike McNulty and Town Attorney Bill Farrell took their oaths of office precisely at 6:30 P.M. ROLL CALL - Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo, Vice Mayor Mike Minarsich and Councilmembers Harry Barber, Marti Lemieux, Charlie Fox and Dick Haugen. Councilmember Joe Bill entered the chamber shortly following roll call. Also present were: Town Manager Mike McNulty, Town Attorney Bill Farrell and Town Clerk Cassie Hansen. AGENDA ITEM #2 _ APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION made by Councilwoman Lemieux to approve the January 25, 1990 special meeting minutes. SECONDED by Vice Mayor Minarsich and CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #3 - TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT At the request of Councilman Bill and Councilman Barber, Mr. McNulty investigated the status on the Beeline Highway improvement from McDowell to Shea. He reported that this section of the highway is under a design contract now under the state 5 year road improvement program in the design phase and that is going on currently. We will have to work with MAG and the county to make sure that it progresses into the construction part of the 5 year program. This program is updated every year, projects get pushed up and pushed back, priorities are changed and it's a matter of showing alot of interest in a project to keep it high on the list of priorities. Our best way to do this is through MAG. There are 2 projects currently underway - a 15 million dollar project to reconstruct Shea to the Forest Service boundary. There is also 4 million dollars set aside for the right of way to do that. The state is paying quite a bit of attention to Highway 87 but we have to keep pressure on to keep things moving along. Mayor Cutillo asked if anything was said about Higley Road and Mr. McNulty said he hadn't checked into it but would if the council so requested. Mr. McNulty completed his report by saying that Shea is much in the interest of MAG and they are looking into naming it a regionally significant road which means it would be eligible for additional state funding to bring it up to a specific standard. This means it could be increased to a 6 lane highway. It is also being looked at as a possible freeway corridor. Councilman Bill said he found out that the council could put something together in writing and send it to Jim Bruener's office to give him ammunition in his efforts to make sure progress is continued in this area. Mayor Cutillo requested that this subject be added to a future workshop agenda and Mr. McNulty said he would also schedule Town Council Minutes 2/l/90 Page 1 of 6 MAG to come out and give a presentation on transportation. He will begin working on setting this up. AGENDA ITEM 14 - ORDINANCE 90-3: ADOPTING AN INTERIM BUDGET FOR THE PARTIAL FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1990 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Mayor Cutillo CALLED TO ORDER at 6:40 P.M. the public hearing on the interim budget and asked for any comments from the public on the budget. No comments were forthcoming and Mayor Cutillo CALLED TO AN END the public hearing at 6:41 P.M. Councilman Fox asked to remind everyone that the categories on the budget were general categories and the details behind them would be worked out as the council proceeds. He said that on a vote of the council, amounts could be moved from one category to another as needed. Councilman Fox made a MOTION that the council adopt the interim budget on an emergency basis using ordinance 90-3. Councilman Haugen SECONDED and the motion CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #5 - DISCUSSION AND SELECTION OF INSURANCE CARRIER FOR THE TOWN Councilman Fox gave a report to the full board on the findings of the insurance subcommittee which met on Wednesday, January 31, 1990 at 3:00 p.m. The subcommittee met with 3 carriers, Carroon & Black, Carr Insurance and Southwest Risk Retention Pool. Each agency had been provided with a list of desired coverages prepared by the subcommittee, chaired by Wally Hudson. The insurance coverage from Carroon & Black came in with a premium of $17,177.00; from the Carr Insurance Group $22,213.00; from the Southwest Risk Retention Pool ;s' $8,651.00. This is approximately 55% less than the next closest carrier. `, Councilman Fox MOVED that the council enter into an agreement with Southwest Risk to be retained as the general insurance carrier for the Town of Fountain Hills at an annual premium of $8,651.00, this premium to cover property, general liability, errors and omissions, automobile, public officials liability, and excess liability coverage up to 5 million dollars and all coverages stated in their proposal made to the Town of Fountain Hills dated January 1990. Vice Mayor Minarsich SECONDED the motion. Councilman Haugen asked why the Pool was so much less and Mayor Cutillo requested Wally Hudson to answer the question. Mr. Hudson explained that the proposal calls for the participation in a pool arrangement set up by the state. He said that the pool consists of 50 cities which share in the risk. We contribute to the pool with our premium and the pool pays losses up to X number of dollars in cases of property insurance. The pool covers losses up to $100,000. Over that, the pool has purchased reinsurance, in other words any loss that exceeds $100,000 will be paid by the Traveler's Insurance Co. In respects to liablilty or auto or fidelity bonds, things of that sort, the pool shares in the losses up to $300,000. The next $7001000 is shared by an insurance company set up by the national league of cities which includes 29 states. They pay the next $700,000 or anything up to $1,000,000. This general reinsurance company is the nation's largest, best known and most profitable reinsurance company. There is no commission to anyone in the Pool. Southwest Risk receives a fee of 13%. For this they do the statistical work, provide engineering, loss prevention classes, etc. Fountain Hills will have a member to represent the town on the board. The excess funds collected are invested by the Town Council Minutes 2/l/90 Page 2 of 6 State Treasury and the Town of Fountain Hills will share in these funds. This pool is not regulated by the insurance department. It was set up by state statute. Mr. Hudson explained that if experience in the pool becomes bad, we would be subject to a one years premium assessment. This has never happened and the Pool is showing a substantial profit. Mayor Cutillo asked to make it clear to everyone that this is a claims only policy. The council voted and the motion CARRIED unanimously except for Councilwoman Lemieux who stated that she was not able to vote on this issue. Mr. McNulty read Resolution 1990-5 (attached), allowing the Mayor to enter into an intergovernmental agreement, in it's entirety. Vice Mayor Minarsich made a MOTION to accept the resolution as read. SECONDED by Councilman Bill and CARRIED unanimously. Councilman Fox recounted a recommendation made by the subcommittee of the possibility of drawing up a resolution or ordinance to limit the amount of time a claim can be filed on the town and now might be a good time to instruct council to draft this so it could be put into effect as soon as possible. Mr. Farrell replied that there is a state statue already in place and when the code subcommittee meets, this is traditionally one of the items that would be included in the code. He advised to wait until the entire code is in place within a month or two and adopt them all at once. AGENDA ITEM #6 - DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON SELECTING A BANK Councilman Fox reported on the presentations given to the Banking Subcommittee by the Valley National Bank, The Community Bank and The Fountain Bank on Wednesday, January 31, 1990 at 9:00 a.m. During the presentations, each bank listed the services they felt would fill the current and future needs of the town. Checking at all banks would be free. Valley Bank estimated their charges, including computer services, to amount to approximately $120 a month while the other two banks were basically free except for computer transfers. He said that one more consideration was the interest each bank would charge while we are operating on a warrant basis. The rates of interest to be charged to the town, which by state law cannot exceed 6%, are as follows: Valley Bank - 6% with a request for a minimum of two years as serving as the town bank; Community Bank -5.8%; Fountain Bank - 5.75%. Based on these rates and the fact that the services as needed down the line would probably, in his opinion, be best served locally, Councilman Fox said that on the recommendation of the subcommittee, he would like to make a MOTION to the full council that the council vote to select The Fountain Bank to handle the Town of Fountain Hills' banking needs from today until June 30th, 1991. SECONDED by Councilman Barber. Wally Hudson asked from the floor if The Fountain Bank would be able to provide services of issuing payroll checks and keeping track of such. Mr. Vernon Peckham, President and Chairman of Fountain Bank, said his bank has the capability of providing these service when needed. He said they can do this through the system they have access to that they have data processing on. They only need to know how many members are on the payroll, the amounts and they need this in advance. Vice Mayor Minarsich wanted to clarify that there were no add on computer charges. Mr. Peckham stated that we would only be charged what they are charged. The motion CARRIED unanimously. Town Council Minutes 2/1/90 Page 3 of 6 Before the next agenda item, Councilman Fox asked to bring up one item relating to the Banking/Financing Subcommittee because he was going to have to leave. He distributed to the council members copies of a presentation he had received in the mail from Peacock, Hislop, Staley & Given, Inc. He explained that they do the bonding services for the school, sanitary and road districts. He said it's a summary of the bonding they do for other incorporated areas. He said the representative of this company would like to go over their presentation at the next work session next Thursday with the council. AGENDA ITEM #7 - ORDINANCE 90-4: PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF WARRANTS Councilman Haugen made a MOTION to adopt ordinance 90-4. SECONDED by Councilwoman Lemieux and CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #8 - BRIEFING FROM TIM YODER RE: THE SUIT AGAINST THE FIRE DISTRICT Tim Yoder, Chairman of the Fire District, local Fire Chief Jim Hartsfield and Weldon Paxsfield from Rural Metro were present. Mr. Yoder gave a brief history of the charges levied by Chaparral Water Co. on the fire hydrants in Fountain Hills. He said the last rate hearing that Chaparral requested took place in January of 1987 and allowed and required Chaparral to collect a $6.00/month hydrant fee. The fees total out at an excess of $51000/month or $60,000. He said the district paid this for over one year, paying out over $80,000. When questioning different agencies about this fee, they were not satisfied with the answers they were getting. They did not feel the rate was appropriate or that they were the customer to be charged. Mr. Yoder wanted the council to know how the Fire District felt on this matter and how they planned to pursue the settlement of the suit. On January 23rd, the District was served the suit papers and they have to respond by February 12th in Superior Court. When Mayor Cutillo asked how the District expected the council to help them, Mr. Yoder replied that they merely wanted to apprise the council of the situation and that there was nothing the council could do. Vice Mayor Minarsich asked if the contention was over hydrants in unpopulated areas and Mr. Yoder replied that it was over the hydrant system in general. Mr. Yoder clarified that all people with meters should be the customers to share in this. charge. When asked for an opinion, Mr. Farrell stated that this was not a municipal item and it would be better to wait for the outcome of the litigation. AGENDA ITEM #9 - ACCEPTANCE OF LOGO SUBCOMMITTEE MINUTES - DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF AUTHORIZATION TO EXPEND FUNDS Allison Varley addressed her subcommittees' needs for funds and explained that it was primarily to print flyers to promote the logo contest and that $50.00 to $100.00 should cover the costs for the 300 flyers. Councilman Bill asked if there was going to be a prize for the winner. Allison replied that they did not want to make this a circus and there would be no prize. She said they would choose 3 to 5 entrys to submit to the council for consideration. She said that if nothing appropriate was turned in, there were several graphic artists in the community who would be approached. Councilman Haugen expressed concern over duplicating a slogan or symbol created by MCO or the Chamber of Commerce. Councilman Haugen made a MOTION to support the Logo Subcommittee up to $100.00. SECONDED by Councilman Bill. Ken Sparks, from the floor, asked what exactly the Committee was looking for, ideas or something that would be production ready. Town Council Minutes 2/l/90 Page 4 of 6 Allison explained that there was a graphic artist on the subcommittee who could take a rough draft or an idea and put it into final form. Following no further discussion, the motion PASSED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #10 - DISCUSS AND ACT UPON THE NEED TO SET AN EXECUTIVE SESSION Mr. McNulty explained that this was a way to avoid having to call a special meeting to vote on having an executive session if the need arose next week. Mayor Cutillo asked Mr. Farrell if he saw a need for this and Mr. Farrell responded that in light of the current litigation it would probably be a good idea. Vice Mayor Minarsich made a MOTION to set an executive session for the work session set for next week, on Thursday. SECONDED by Councilman Bill and PASSED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM Ill - CALL TO THE PUBLIC Norman Lash stated that he couldn't hear. Vern Peckham from the Fountain Bank said he appreciated the selection of their Bank and said they would be available to help iron out the wrinkles. AGENDA ITEM #12- - VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION MOTION made to go into executive session by Councilwoman Lemieux. SECONDED by Councilman Bill and PASSED unanimously following a remark by Norman Lash suggesting that the council go into executive session before the regular meeting so they could come out and report what happened in executive session. At approximately 7:30 p.m. the council went into executive session. AGENDA ITEM #13 - RESUME PUBLIC MEETING At approximately 10:50 p.m. the council came out of executive session and resumed the public meeting. AGENDA ITEM 114 - DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON HIRING A TOWN CLERK Councilman Fox made a MOTION to hire Cassie Hansen as permanent Town Clerk on a contract basis at an annual salary of $26,000 which will be retroactive to the original date of appointment as interim Town Clerk. The clerk will report directly to the Town Manager. Councilman Bill amended the motion to remove the word permanent from the motion. Vice Mayor Minarsich SECONDED the amended motion and the motion PASSED unanimously. ADJOURNMENT The council adjourned at approximately 10:55 p.m. ATTEST: l.il�•dQ.�ti �- Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk TOWN Of FOUNTA LS By: John M. Cutillo, Mayor Town Council Minutes 2/1/90 Page 5 of 6 CERTIFICATION �W I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the Town Council of Fountain Hills held on the lst day of February, 1990. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. IN DATED this I5+k day of February, 1990. &A4A-A,-�j �.J 1 Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Town Council Minutes 2/1/90 Page 6 of 6