HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992.0624.TCSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
JUNE 24, 1992
A Special Session, open to the public, and possible Executive Session of the Fountain Hills Town Council was
convened and called to order by Mayor Cutillo at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 24, 1992, in the Fountain Hills
Council Chambers located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd., Building C, Fountain Hills, Arizona.
ROLL CALL-Following the pledge to the flag and the invocation by Councilwoman Tibbetts,roll call was taken.
Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo, Vice
Mayor Fox and Councilmembers Frank Clark,Peg Tibbetts,Bill O'Brien and Wally Hudson. Councilman Minarsich
arrived at 6:40 p.m. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Accountant Julie Ghetti, Director of
Community Development Gary Jeppson, Parks and Recreation Director Robin Goodman, Town Engineer Randy
Harrel, and Town Clerk Cassie Hansen.
Mayor Cutillo stated that Mr. Nordin would start where he had stopped the evening before.
Mr. Nordin distributed a memo regarding the new budget sheets, stating that staff had discovered an error in the
computer software program. He said that they had to decrease the General Fund Reserve or look for other items
to decrease. Mr.Nordin said Councilman Hudson had suggested the Town could make an additional disbursement
to C.A.S.S. Mr.Nordin stated that when the General Fund was reduced,the other funds were also reduced. He said
that the effect to the General Fund was that there was an increase to the reserve accounts in the amount of$3,725.
Mr. Nordin said that the previous night's question regarding the disability insurance waiting period had been
researched. He stated that ninety days was the waiting period and staff recommended a Council approval of the
$4,000 amount. Councilman Hudson explained that an employee could let their sick leave accumulate and not have
a lapse in their coverage. He said that if an employee did use their sick leave time, there would be a lapse in their
pay if the injury/disability was not work-related. Councilman Hudson stated that the prior condition issue was an
important issue. He said that an employee had to have a prior condition for one year before it would be covered
under the insurance. Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to accept the proposal for disability insurance for the
employees. SECONDED by Mayor Cutillo and CARRIED unanimously.
Mr.Nordin then moved discussion to the Economic Development section of the budget. He said the budget amount
of$15,000 was to fund F.M.C.'s recruitment of new businesses to Fountain Hills. Mayor Cutillo made a MOTION
to approve the proposed amount. SECONDED by Councilwoman Tibbetts and CARRIED unanimously.
Mr. Nordin then moved discussion to the Chamber of Commerce. He recommended that $8,000 be approved as
indicated in the budget so that Chamber requests would be met as needed. Mr.Nordin said that Councilman Hudson
asked that the individual requests for funds be presented to the Council. Councilman Minarsich stated that he did
not want to see each request but preferred that the Manager administer it. Councilman Minarsich made a MOTION
to approve the budget amount as stated and the Manager to approve each item to be spent. SECONDED by
Councilwoman Tibbetts. Ms.Saverson said that the$8,000 would enable the Chamber to do things traditionally done
by Chambers. She stated that the projects would benefit the entire community. The motion CARRIED
unanimously.
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Mr. Nordin then moved discussion to the Community Center. He said that the budgetary increases were in
management fees and capital improvements. Vice Mayor Fox asked for a detailed explanation on the management
fee section. Ms.Hansen said the original management fee was based on someone being at the center twenty hours
a week. She stated that the property committee called around the valley trying to find a similar position and none
of them were exactly the same. Ms.Hansen said that with the position's increased involvement with the Parks and
Rec programs, it would become a full-time position and they simply doubled the previous year's amount.
Councilman O'Brien asked if the$45,000 would be depreciated. Mr. Nordin said that municipalities did not deal
with a depreciate line item in the general fund. He stated it worked effectively in municipalities in the area of
enterprise funds for utilities. Vice Mayor Fox requested a copy of the fee schedule for rental of the Community
Center. Councilman Minarsich said the Council should keep in mind that it was a"Community Center"and it would
need certain things to keep it in good condition. Ms.Goodman stated that Parks and Rec would use the Community
Center for more functions if funds were available. Councilwoman Tibbetts stated that community centers were
subsidized by towns or other facility because they provided an amenity for citizens. She said it was not like a
commercial building that you needed to make a profit on. Councilwoman Tibbetts said there was always concern
regarding what local versus out of town people would pay to rent the building. Councilman O'Brien asked how
much of the$45,000 would be recaptured in rental fees and how much was the Town willing to feed the building
if the rentals did not cover maintenance and upkeep costs. Councilman Hudson agreed with Councilwoman Tibbetts
and said that many organizations and people relied on the facility. Mayor Cutillo questioned the$15,000 amount
for building repairs when$45,000 was budgeted for improvements. Ms.Hansen explained that after the remodelling
was done, the entire building needed to be painted. She also said that the landscape maintenance person
recommended putting granite around the exterior of the center. Mr.Nordin explained many of the other line items
in detail. Mr.Breting said that most of the major interior improvements were to bring the building up to code. He
said another major improvement was to enclose the porch area on the Rand Avenue side, which would provide
additional space for small groups. Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to accept the Community Center budget
as presented. SECONDED by Councilman Clark. Vice Mayor Fox said he was concerned with the amount that
the management fees were increased. The motion CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM#5 - CONSIDERATION OF THE LEASE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT WITH THE
CIVIC ASSOCIATION FOR MANAGEMENT AND LEASING SERVICES OF THE COMMUNITY
CENTER.
Vice Mayor Fox requested the lease management agreement agenda item be tabled to the end of the budget review
process. Councilman O'Brien stated that he wanted to consider the fee schedule in the least-management agreement.
Ms.Hansen said that the fee schedule was reviewed on an annual basis and it had not changed in the past two years.
Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to approve the lease agreement as presented. SECONDED by Councilman
Minarsich. Vice Mayor Fox made a MOTION to TABLE the item. SECONDED by Councilman O'Brien. Vice
Mayor Fox said he wanted to go to each area of the budget that there would or could be changes,cover all of those
and make line item changes. Mayor Cutillo said that he would favor tabling the motion. Councilman Clark stated
that the night before he had requested waiting to approve the pay resolution and it was passed. He said he did not
see that this request was any different. Motion to table CARRIED with four aye votes to three nay votes.
Mr.Nordin moved discussion to the Parks &Recreation section of the budget. Ms.Goodman made a presentation
to the Council. She stated that one of the two largest budget items was Kids Country Club set at an amount of
$16,500. Ms.Goodman explained that it was an after school program. She said that throughout the year they had
received requests for programs from various organizations and individuals, including the school district. Ms.
Goodman stated that the fee would be$40 per week,based on twenty hours of instruction. She said that the fee was
consistent with the other program fees that averaged between $1.50 and $2.00 per activity hour. Councilman
Minarsich stated that the program was from 2:15 to 6:15 in the afternoon and asked if a parent could pick their child
up at 5:15 and just pay$30 per week. Ms.Goodman said that they could pick their children up whenever,but they
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would all pay the same. Councilman Minarsich said that some parents had expressed to him that that was a not
favorable situation. Ms. Goodman said that the department would take a look at that. She said that$13,000 of the
budgeted amount was for salaries for part time staff to run the program at McDowell Mountain School and the
balance was for supplies for the program. Councilwoman Tibbetts asked what the predicted revenues were for the
programs. Ms. Goodman said that one of the things they were going to study was looking at user fees. She said
they would inform the Council as to what the public thought regarding the fee amounts. She told the Council how
the program fees were figured. Councilwoman Tibbetts asked if there was a need for scholarship help with the
programs. Ms. Goodman said that there was and that during the summer session, there were thirty-five to forty
requests for financial help. She said that most of those requests came from single parent homes with an average
income of around$12,000. Councilman O'Brien asked if there was money carried over from the last fiscal year for
Parks and Rec. Mr.Nordin said that Option B of the proposal would sustain the present level of operation. He said
that if Option B was chosen,the Director of the Department would be able to spend more time working through the
Golden Eagle Park process. He said that that option would provide a full-time administrative assistant for Ms.
Goodman and that would allow her more freedom for other activities. Mr.Nordin said that Option C would produce
more revenue,however,it would also cost more,with an additional personnel expenditure of$49,400. He explained
that if that option was chosen,the Council would have to go to other areas of the budget to find items to cut. Vice
Mayor Fox stated that he would like staff to find a way to subsidize the Kids Country Club. He said the Town Hall
showed that one of the most important needs in the community was youth programs. Vice Mayor Fox added that
he wanted to see some shared facilities in the community,such as using the school. Councilman Minarsich said that
he did not favor Option C,but he did understand the need for it. He said he wanted to find an alternative source
of funding for it and see it have a higher recapture rate. Councilman Minarsich stated that daycare centers cost less
than the proposed program. Vice Mayor Fox said that not everyone would choose to use that program but he felt
it should be furnished. Ms.Goodman said there were two other programs,one was a Concert in the Park series and
the other was a cultural enrichment program in conjunction with the new high school. Mr. Nordin explained the
differences between Options B and C and said that to implement Option C,there would be an increase in staff and
it would mean an increase of approximately$49,400. Councilman Minarsich said he favored Option B because of
the impending focus on Golden Eagle Park. Councilman Hudson stated that the Town would have a good
contingency fund at the end of the year,however,it would decrease each year until the Town would have to impose
a sales tax. Councilman Minarsich made a MOTION to adopt the Parks and Recreation budget as presented in
Option B. SECONDED by Councilman Clark. Vice Mayor Fox said he wanted more information from Mr.Nordin
regarding Option C. Mr. Nordin said staff would produce a sheet showing where the revenue could come from if
the Council wished. Vice Mayor Fox stated that he had found approximately $60,000 that could be used and he
requested it be reviewed before the Council voted on the issue. Mr. Severson said he thought the Parks department
needed a park and further,he did not want to see the programs get cut. He stated that he did not feel that Option
C asked too much. Vice Mayor Fox made a MOTION to TABLE until the end of the budget discussions.
SECONDED by Councilman O'Brien. Mayor Cutillo said he preferred tabling the item also and wanted to study
a way to adopt Option C. Councilwoman Tibbetts agreed to table the issue,but preferred an enhanced Option B.
The motion to table CARRIED. A roll call vote was taken and the results were:
Councilman O'Brien aye
Councilman Hudson aye
Councilman Clark nay
Councilwoman Tibbetts aye
Councilman Minarsich nay
Vice Mayor Fox aye
Mayor Cutillo aye
The results of the roll call vote were five aye votes to two nay votes, cast by Councilman Clark and Councilman
Minarsich.
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Mr. Nordin then moved discussions to the Administration portion of the budget. He stated that there were some
substantial increases in some of the line items. Mr. Nordin explained that charges had not been broken into the
general fund departments. Mr. Nordin reviewed some of the line items for the Council. He stated that the major
item for consideration in the Administration portion of the budget was the request to the Council to increase the part-
time computer technician to full-time. Mr.Nordin said that was budgeted under the wages and salaries section. Mr.
Nordin reviewed several individual items that Councilmembers had questions on and no changes were made.
Councilman Clark said he wanted to review the legal expenses section. Mr.Nordin reviewed how Mr.Farrell's legal
fees were budgeted. All the Town's legal services, including and up to Superior Court prosecution, would be
performed for a flat fee of$6,250 per month,or$75,000 annually. Mr.Nordin said that only$70,000 appeared in
the Administration budget, the other $5,000 was in the Street Department budget. He said he would only charge
extra if something was taken to the Appellate Court level or any special condemnation project in connection with
the road bond issue. Mr. Nordin said that Mr. Farrell would prepare a bill each month for the same amount. He
added that it would be an excellent way to budget for legal expenses for the year. He said staff recommended that
the Council approve the contract agreement arrangement rather than an in-house staff attorney. Mr.Nordin said the
other legal fee in the budget was for the Town Prosecutors. He stated that the line item was inaccurate the previous
year and that it was very difficult to predict what the case load would be. Councilman Clark asked if an in-house
attorney would also act as the Town Prosecutor. Mr.Nordin said that his analysis indicated that the same person
would do both. Mayor Cutillo made a MOTION to accept the yearly contract figure as proposed. SECONDED
by Councilwoman Tibbetts and CARRIED unanimously.
Mr. Nordin moved discussion back to the half-time technical position. Mayor Cutillo made a MOTION to accept
the position from part-time to full-time for the Computer Analysis Position as recommended by the Town Manager.
SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich. Councilman O'Brien said he recognized that the position was a
recommendation and therefore staff felt it was necessary. He did not feel that the justification was valid.
Councilman O'Brien said that there had been much time spent on the five-year plan and that was not something that
would continue to need a great deal of work. He said that he was skeptical of how necessary or urgent the full-time
person was. Councilman Minarsich stated that he had agreed with Councilman O'Brien until he saw the additional
hardware and software requests by the Town's different departments. He said that based on his personal experience,
the Town would pay at least twice the proposed salary in consulting fees. Councilman Hudson stated that he would
go along with staff's request,because he was computer illiterate. Councilwoman Tibbetts said there was a need for
a support person if you used computers. Councilman Hudson said that his only experience with computers was in
trying to settle losses or lost material after an incident. He said that the most important issue to him was that there
was an effective back-up system being used and that he kept records up to date and in another location. Councilman
O'Brien asked if the proposed position was a promotion into a new position and Mr. Nordin stated that it was.
Councilman O'Brien asked if the Town had any obligation to advertise a newly created position and Mr. Nordin
replied that it was not a legal requirement. Mr.Nordin said the pay resolution that the Council approved the night
before included the position. Councilman O'Brien asked why it was a promotion,other than just expanding the hours
and Ms.Hansen stated that there would be an additional six month probationary period. Councilman Minarsich said
that it was not really a promotion,just going from part-time to full-time. Motion CARRIED with a vote of six aye
to one nay vote, the nay vote was cast by Councilman Clark. He said he was not against the position, he did not
agree with the rate structure, and that was his way of expressing the objection.
Mr. Nordin answered a question from Vice Mayor Fox regarding the Central Arizona Shelter Services (C.A.S.S.)
program. Mr.Nordin said that it was for County-wide support of the homeless,for food and shelter. Councilman
Hudson stated that almost every town in the state was involved in it, contributing on the average of $1.50 per
resident. He said that Fountain Hills' contribution was approximately $.50 per resident. Councilman Hudson said
the organization would purchase old houses, the homeless would fix them up and then the homeless lived in the
homes either for rent or rent-free until they found employment. Councilman Minarsich stated he felt the program
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was important,however,there were hundreds of other programs that were worthwhile. Vice Mayor Fox stated that
he preferred to see the funds go to local needy children through programs from our Parks and Recreation
Department. Councilman O'Brien asked if the Council or staff had ever seen a financial statement on the
organization. Mayor Cutillo stated that he was sure they must have produced something. Councilman Hudson stated
that their recommendation for a dues amount had been cut by 66 2/3 %,from$1.50 to$.50 per person. Councilman
Clark said that the Council did get a monthly report that told what they were doing. Councilman O'Brien stated that
it was not a high priority item. Vice Mayor Fox agreed with Councilman Minarsich and stated that the Council
should move the funds to a scholarship program through the Parks and Recreation Department. Councilman
Minarsich made a MOTION to remove the $5,000 contribution to C.A.S.S. as a line item from the General
Administration Budget. SECONDED by Councilman Clark. Vice Mayor Fox AMENDED the motion to move the
$5,000 to Parks and Rec for a scholarship fund. Amended motion DIED due to lack of a second. Original motion
CARRIED with a vote of six aye votes to one nay vote. Councilman Hudson cast the nay vote.
Mayor Cutillo called for a five minute recess. The Council recessed at 9:16 p.m. and reconvened at 9:21 p.m.
Mr.Nordin stated that the next topic of discussion would be the computer line item of the budget. He said that there
had been some proposed cuts and one of those areas was the computer area. Mr.Nordin said the cut in the computer
line item of the budget was $2,450. Mr. Puttennan answered the Council's questions on the budget's computer
items. He said that Harvard Graphics had been removed because the new version of Corel had a new module in it
to create presentation graphics. Mr. Futterman explained the back-up system server that the Town wanted to
purchase. Mayor Cutillo made a MOTION to accept the General Administration Budget as presented with the
recommended changes as stated by the previous motions. SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich. Councilman
Clark asked if the approval included the pay for performance proposal and Mr.Nordin stated that it did not. Motion
CARRIED unanimously.
Mr.Nordin moved the discussion to the Engineering Department. He said the largest portions of that department's
budget were the three positions. Mr.Nordin explained the secretarial situation and that Ms.Nekali would become
a full-time secretary in the Engineering Department. Councilman Fox made a MOTION to approve as presented,
along with the Engineering budget. SECONDED by Councilman Minarsich and CARRIED unanimously.
Mr.Nordin moved the discussion to the Town Marshal Department. He said the proposal sustained the present level
of operation regarding the Reserve Program. Councilman Minarsich made a MOTION to approve the Town
Marshal's Budget as presented. SECONDED by Councilman O'Brien and CARRIED unanimously.
Mr.Nordin then addressed the Building Safety section of the budget. He addressed the fee schedule from Building
Safety and Community Development. Mr. Jeppson said the Engineering Procedures Manual that the Town staff
would develop that would establish procedures for construction within the community of Fountain Hills. Councilman
Minarsich made a MOTION to approve the Building Safety Budget as presented. SECONDED by Councilman
Clark. Mayor Cutillo questioned the number of engineers on the Town's staff. Mr.Nordin stated that the contract
with Wildan was the better option for the Town because there was not an accurate way to project what the
department would produce in revenue. He said if the building industry decreased markedly, the Wildan contract
could be removed and Mr. Harrel would become the engineer for the Building and Safety Department. Mr.Nordin
stated that if the building industry increased markedly,the Council could consider a full-time staff engineer for that
department. Mr. Jeppson stated that the projected number of hours that Wildan would spend with Fountain Hills
during the next year would decrease, as the Dimension Cable work was completed. The motion CARRIED
unanimously.
Mr.Nordin moved the discussion to the Community Development Department and stated that the largest expenditure
was $24,000 for Engineering Fees. He said that Mr.Jeppson requested a current planner. Mr. Nordin stated that
it was another option for the Council to consider. Mr.Jeppson said the additional staff would enable the Town to
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be more service oriented to the construction requests of the citizens. He said the person would also enable the
filor existing Town staff to create long-range and large projects that would benefit the entire community. Mr. Jeppson
stated that the salary range for the proposed staff position would be in the$26,000 to$35,000 range. Councilman
O'Brien stated that some of the projects that that department had worked on were almost completed, such as the
Planning and Zoning Code and the Five Year Plan. He asked if those nearly completed major projects had been
factored into the need for the full-time position. Mr.Jeppson stated that it had been. He said that there was not a
provision for a desk or computer in his proposed budget at that time, however, there was room for that person in
his department. Mr. Jeppson added that he did not feel the person would need a computer anyway. Councilman
Minarsich and Councilman Hudson both stated that they thought Mr.Jeppson should have someone else to do the
plan checking that was not so highly paid as himself. Councilman Hudson said he thought the proposed position
was one that was needed. Councilman Minarsich asked why the position was not included in the budget and Mr.
Nordin stated that it was the exact position that Mr.Jeppson said he needed in his department's five-year plan. Mr.
Nordin said it had been his decision not to include the position in that presentation. Councilman O'Brien asked if
the position could be made less than full-time. Mr.Jeppson said he thought a full-time person would be kept busy.
Mr.Nordin stated that the Town could afford to fill such a position during the next fiscal year,but without additional
sources of revenue, the Town would not have funds to keep the position open more than three years. He said that
the Town could not consider adopting Option "C" of the Parks and Recreation Budget and do anything with the
Community Development position. Councilman Minarsich stated that the position was one that would be demanded
by growth. Mayor Cutillo suggested that if the position was one that was needed,the Council could forego any merit
raises for staff for the year. Councilman O'Brien made a MOTION to accept the recommended budget and direct
the Community Development Department to explore less expensive alternatives that might meet their needs. Mr.
Nordin suggested that Council approve the budget as presented and then direct staff as necessary. SECONDED by
Vice Mayor Fox. Mr. Jeppson requested that the Council consider funding the Planning and Zoning Commission
for the Southwest Conference. He stated that the request came in after the budget had been prepared. Motion
CARRIED with a vote of four aye votes to three nay votes. Mr.Nordin asked if the Council wanted Mr.Jeppson
to present his proposed alternatives at the next budget meeting. The Council stated that as soon as he was prepared
the Council would listen to his presentation.
AGENDA ITEM#9 - ADJOURNMENT.
Councilman Hudson made a MOTION to adjourn. SECONDED by Vice Mayor Fox and CARRIED unanimously.
The Town Council adjourned at approximately 10:30 p.m.
Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/24/92
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TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
By:
Cutillo,Mayor
ATTEST: 0.,t;L • ki.4,44.A.....)
Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk
PREPARED BY:
Lari L. ratcher, Secretary
CERTIFICATION
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 on the 24th day of June 1992. I further certify that the meeting was duly
called and that a quorum was present.
DATED thisC .day of August 1992.
0,6z4;,L_ dif.,,J,k)
Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk
Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 06/24/92
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