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(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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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