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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991.0305.TCWSM.Minutes • (160 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE WORK/STUDY SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL MARCH 5, 1991 A public meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor John Cutillo at 6:30 p.m. , Tuesday, March 5, 1991, in the Town Hall Conference Room located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd., Building C, Fountain Hills, Arizona. ROLL CALL - Following the pledge to the flag, roll call was taken. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo, Vice Mayor Wally Hudson and Councilmembers Peg Tibbetts, Mike Minarsich, Charlie Fox, Frank Clark and Bill O'Brien. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Attorney Bill Farrell and Town Clerk Cassie Hansen. AGENDA ITEM #2 - COUNCILMAN CLARK'S REPORT ON THE MAG MEETING Councilman Clark reported on the agenda items that had been discussed at the recent MAG meeting. He stated that the ADOT Transportation Plan update was the first item seriously discussed and said that ADOT stated that they would conduct an audit. He mentioned that ADOT reported that RTC had a considerable amount of land in the freeway corridor and said that he felt some steps should be taken to "put a lock on that" before the land was sold. Councilman Clark commented on ADOT's transportation financing strategy and said that this item led to a "bitter discussion" due to the need to straighten out the method of acquisition of right of way. He stated that they planned to discuss options for vote by the Council at their next month's meeting and if (and when) an election should be held. He said that various opinions were expressed as to the timing of an election. He commented that the general consensus was for a Spring, 1992 election. Councilman Clark stated that the next item discussed was the ADOT policy on joint sponsorship of highway projects. He stated that several members of the council held strong opinions concerning the situation where Del Webb Corp. requested a realignment of the Estrella freeway. He said that the most vocal member was Mr. George Renner, Mayor of Glendale, who was concerned that non-Maricopa County people were making decisions affecting the County. He stated that ADOT considered this change to be only minor in that the realignment requested by Dell Webb Corp. still fell within the corridor of the original plan. Councilman Clark mentioned that a motion was made that any changes be brought before MAG Regional Council and that the motion carried unanimously. He stated that the authority carried by MAG was of making proposals and recommendations as well as prioritizing. Town Council Work/Study Session Minutes - 3/5/91 Page 1 of 7 Councilman Clark said that the next item was concerning the MAG Traffic Congestion Study and mentioned that an overview of the study was presented and accepted. The next item was an air quality update presented by Linda Bower and very little discussion ensued. The next agenda item was regarding the legislative update. Councilman Clark stated that although comments were brief, the legislature was going to attempt to cap the revenue sharing and pointed out that all legislators maintained the same position. Councilman Clark stated that the last item discussed at the MAG meeting was that ADOT would host the March 27, 1991 meeting. Mr. Bruce Hansen commented that he had read that ADOT would not accept an independent audit. Councilman Clark stated that he did not know whether an audit would need to be independent or otherwise. Mr. Nordin said that he felt ADOT would be wise to allow an independent audit to take place. Councilman Fox questioned whether any discussion had ensued concerning making Shea Boulevard a state road. Councilman Clark answered that this item had not been mentioned, but said that this had been proposed before. Mr. Nordin commented that he felt ADOT would not desire Shea Boulevard to become a state road and said that he believed ADOT would resist Scottsdale 's attempting to make it so. Mayor Cutillo commented that Shea Blvd. had already been designated a highway of regional significance due to the access it gave to McDowell Mountain Park. AGENDA ITEM #3 - MAYOR CUTILLO'S REPORT ON THE LANDFILL MEETING Mayor Cutillo stated that the committee working on the landfill issue was considering hiring and spending $200,000 for a consultant to find a suitable landfill area. He stated that monies which would be used for this purpose would be obtained through a bond issue and were coming out of the current year's budget. He stated that his intention was to propose at the next meeting that the landfill committee consider a long-term contract with Waste Management stating that the current landfill near Mobile, Arizona would service the Phoenix area for 125 years. He commented on the importance of building some new transfer stations, in particular one near Fountain Hills, and stated that he felt this would solve the County's waste management problems and save money. Mayor Cutillo pointed out that any community who uses a landfill is responsible for its upkeep. Councilman Pox mentioned that hazardous waste was becoming an increasing problem especially in residential areas. Mayor Cutillo reiterated that he did not feel that money needed to be spent in such large quantities on waste disposal since a suitable landfill was already available. Town Council Work/Study Session Minutes - 3/5/91 Page 2 of 7 AGENDA TTEM #4 - DISCUSS MAYOR CUTILLO'S INVITATION TO ATTEND GPEC'S "ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MISSION" IN LOS ANGELES Mayor Cutillo commented that he felt his attendance at GPEC'S "Economic Development Mission" would be important and would show GPEC that the Town was interested in this program. Councilman Fox stated that he strongly felt a representative from the Town should be involved and very active because a great deal of money was spent for being members of GPEC. Mayor Cutillo stated that he felt the Town 's association with the organization would invite larger and well established businesses into the Fountain Hills area. Councilman Minarsich commented that he felt the Town should become involved with GPEC and supported the Mayor's attendance at GPEC's "Economic Development Mission. " Mr. Nordin also expressed his support and stated that he felt the Town would "get it 's money out of GPEC. " AGENDA ITEM #5 - TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT A. Project Update Before beginning his report, Mr. Nordin mentioned that on Monday, March 11, 1991 at 10:00 a.m. he would be meeting with Mr. Gary Crowl of DPS. He stated that the subject of the meeting would be the presentation of a report for the establishment of the Fountain Hills Police Department. (1101, Mr. Nordin reminded the Council that the new Governor would be sworn in at 11:00 a.m. the next day following a 9:00 a.m. church service. Mr. Nordin stated that he would be attending a water rate hearing the following Thursday although he did not desire taking an active part in the meeting. Councilman Fox mentioned that Chaparral Water had rescinded the sprinkler rate. Mr. Nordin replied that the Arizona Corporation Commission staff had proposed to have Chaparral Water impose extremely high water rates but stated that the staff had decided to "back off" and proposed that the original rate of $50.00 be reinstated. He commented that a sizeable water rate increase would still be in effect. Councilman Minarsich said that the reason for the increase related to Chaparral Water's having to pay higher taxes. a. Awarding the crack seal and material bid Mr. Nordin reported that an award of a crack seal contract was being made and said that the Town would like to purchase approximately 42,000 pounds. He stated that the Town would ask for permission to spend an amount not to exceed $12,000 for the crack seal material. Mayor Cutillo asked if the Road Department intended to perform any further maintenance. Mr. Nordin stated that he would work on this issue when considering the next fiscal year's budget but said that no more money would be spent during the current fiscal year. Mr. Nordin stated that performing crack sealing kept moisture out of Town Council Work/Study Session Minutes - 3/5/91 Page 3 of 7 cracks in the pavement thus slowing further deterioration. Councilman Clark commented that he desired periodic reports be prepared by Mr. Harvey concerning the success of the slurry seal already done. Mr. Nordin stated that it was a very wise procedure when planning to do an overlay to do a crack seal first as it retarded further cracking. B. Discuss the following a. Naming the terms of the Board of Adjustment members No questions from the Council were raised concerning this issue. b. Liquor license application for Poma's Ristorante and Deli Mr. Nordin stated that all standard procedures had been followed in order for Poma 's to procure their liquor license. Vice Mayor Hudson mentioned that only a certain number of liquor licenses could be issued in each town. He expressed concern that should a deluxe resort/restaurant be built in the Fountain Hills area they may have difficulty obtaining their liquor license. Mr. Farrell stated that club and resort licenses were readily available and did not feel any establishments of this type would have any trouble. Mayor Cutillo requested abstention from voting on this issue although he did not have a conflict of interest to declare. Mr. Nordin confirmed that abstaining from voting on any issue was the perogative of the chair. c. Staff authorization to negotiate a cable TV license with Dimension Cable TV Mr. Nordin explained his plan for discussion concerning the cable TV issue with the public for the following Thursday night 's meeting. He stated that Dimension Cable's officials would be attending the meeting. He mentioned that they had prepared a public presentation and would give the public ample opportunity to ask questions. He said that he encouraged the public to ask searching questions in order to improve the Town's position with the Cable TV company. He requested that the Council abstain from their questioning until he had spoken with the officials regarding whether or not to authorize the cable TV license. Mr. Nordin stated that the Cable TV subcommittee had met the past Thursday and had recommended unanimously that the Council authorize staff to negotiate the license. Mr. Farrell requested that the Council raise all pertinent issues which they felt would be important to be discussed with Dimension Cable 's officials at the next meeting. Mr. Farrell stated that Dimension agreed to extend cable in the streets through every existing platted subdivision and said that these residents would only have to pay a standard fee. He stated that future subdivisions such as the Felker project and any new MCO Town Council Work/Study Session Minutes - 3/5/91 Page 4 of 7 projects may be required to pay a line extension fee in addition to the standard fee. He explained that, however, any new homes built in currently existing subdivisions would have cable hook-up for the regular fee and would not have to pay any extra line extension fees. Mayor Cutillo commented that although many "horror stories" existed concerning Dimension Cable 's past performance a new agreement would require a certain amount of trust and, he was certain, would bring about a change in the quality of service. Councilman Clark suggested that any motion made on Thursday should instruct staff to enter into negotiations with Dimension Cable but continue to investigate alternative sources for cable TV. Mr. Nordin and the Council discussed various possible questions which they felt should be raised by the Council and suggested that both the Council and the public press Dimension so they would understand the existing problems and realized that competition for their business existed. The subject of why Sky Cable was not being considered as Fountain Hills ' cable company was broached. Councilman O'Brien stated that Sky Cable was a corporate entity, but was still only a concept and was not in a marketing mode. Mr. Nordin stated that he felt Sky Cable may be the future answer to the problem. Mr. Nordin suggested that when an agreement was discussed between Dimension and the Town the Council should request guarantees of quality service at certain prices. Councilman O'Brien commented that Dimension had laid out a time-table for improving cable service section-by-section within Fountain Hills. Mr. Farrell stated that Dimension also needed their assurances from the Town promising business for a certain amount of time as they would be spending a great deal of money in order to increase their service and to make their effort worthwhile. Mr. Nordin agreed but stated that he felt a revocation clause should be included in the business agreement to protect the Town. Councilman O'Brien commented that Dimension desired the contract be written under the business name of American Cable TV (ACT). The alternative of having a publicly owned cable TV company through the Sky Cable was mentioned and briefly discussed. Mayor Cutillo stated that this was also risky as a sizeable initial investment would need to be made. Mr. Nordin reminded the Council that the next Thursday's meeting was structured in order to create a "good climate" to begin negotiations with Dimension Cable. He stated that questions needed to be pointed and clear, but not hostile. Vice Mayor Hudson stated that he felt any motion should be carefully written first in order to avoid any confusion and amendments. Town Council Work/Study Session Minutes - 3/5/91 Page 5 of 7 AGENDA ITEM #6 — DISCUSS RESOLUTION 1991-07, ADOPTING AN ENHANCED NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE TO INFORM NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES OF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY There were no questions on this item. AGENDA ITEM #7 — DISCUSS RESOLUTION 1991-08, AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT RE LIABILITY INSURANCE Councilman Clark mentioned that towns which did not have their own safety- department paid much higher liability premiums than those which did. Mr. Nordin stated that the Town had appointed a safety committee which included Ms . Cassie Hansen, Ms. Diana Nottingham, Mr. Pat Harvey and Vice Mayor Hudson. He commented that they had already been to one meeting and were beginning to develop a safety program for the Town. He stated that Mr. Harvey had been appointed chairman of the committee and would report directly to him. Vice Mayor Hudson stated that the subject of the first meeting was "risk management" or how to analyze where an office had problems and what actions needed to be taken to remedy potential hazards. He commented that the committee would be responsible for keeping records and analyzing any claims, auto accidents or complaints which concerned safety matters. Ms. Hansen commented that the landlord of the Town Hall was always contacted when any potential safety hazards were observed. Councilwoman Tibbetts mentioned that she had received a telephone call from Ms. *a) Anna Townsend who was attempting to procure a peddler's business license to sell ice cream and candy in Fountain Hills. She stated that Ms. Townsend wanted the Council to discuss her desire to obtain a business license. Ms. Hansen stated that Ms. Townsend had been appoprised of the necessity to agendize items before formal discussion on any topic could occur. Mr. Nordin explained that the amendment to the Intergovernmental Agreement regarding liability insurance released the Department of Administration from the contract. AGENDA ITEM #8 — ADJOURNMENT The Town Council adjourned the Work/Study Session at approximately 8:37 p.m. Town Council Work/Study Session Minutes — 3/5/91 Page 6 of 7 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By: _ John MJ Cutillo, Mayor ATTEST: /✓. Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Work/Study Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 5th day of March, 1991. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this I SO `-day of April, 1991. . l• ,rt a,v� Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Town Council Work/Study Session Minutes — 3/5/91 Page 7 of 7