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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994.0831.TCRETREATM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL RETREAT OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL AUGUST 31, 1994 A Council Retreat of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Cutillo at 7:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 31, 1994, at the Courtyard by Marion, 13444 East Shea Boulevard, Scottsdale, Arizona. Present at the retreat were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo, Vice Mayor Wally Hudson and Councilmembers Peg Tibbetts, Bill O'Brien, Don Lawrence, Marianne Wiggishoff, and Frank Clark. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin,Town Attorney Bill Farrell and Town Clerk Cassie Hansen. Community Development Director Gary Jeppson, Parks and Recreation Director Robin Goodman and Town Engineer Randy Harrel were present at varying times throughout the day. Following breakfast, Mr. Nordin began explaining the format for the retreat, explaining that it was the Council's retreat and they could discuss items in any order they desired. Since there was not a formal facilitator, Mayor Cutillo began with agenda item one. AGENDA ITEM #1 - LAND USE ISSUES, INCLUDING THE PLANNING AND ZONING ORDINANCE, SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE, GENERAL PLAN, AND DISCUSSION OF LAND USE TRENDS IN FOUNTAIN HILLS, SUBDIVISION DEVELOPMENT, RESIDENTIAL GROWTH, COMMERCIAL GROWTH, ETC. Referring to the increasing number of children in the Fountain Hills school system, Vice Mayor Hudson asked if certain types of development attracted young families. Mr. Jeppson replied that a large portion of the school aged children lived in the older neighborhoods, around Four Peaks School. He said that recent "tract" developments such as Glenbrook and Glenview were not contributing significantly to the school age population. Councilwoman Tibbetts commented that financial status was a major factor. Vice Mayor Hudson said he felt the General Plan was a good document, offering a healthy variety of housing and development. Mr. Farrell discussed exclusionary driven litigation issues and that these types of situations are real threats in other areas. Councilwoman Wiggishoff said it appeared to her that Fountain Hills was running out of land for apartments and that there seemed to be a void at both the top and bottom ends of development. Councilman O'Brien said he felt the development would be market driven and that the community had repeatedly said that downzoning was good. Vice Mayor Hudson commented that he favored the changes from apartments to single family homes on 5,000 to 6,000 square foot lots. Mr. Jeppson reported that the Planning and Zoning Commission was working on a General Plan review, revisiting the PUD issue and examining deleting the PUD and replacing it with high density zoning. Councilman O'Brien raised the question of putting a maximum on PUD's. Mr. Farrell pointed out the difficulty with working back and forth between the broad-based nature of a General Plan and the absolute, black and white lines of a Zoning Ordinance. Mayor Cutillo said he favored having the PUD as a bargaining tool. There was a general consensus that there currently was no desire to change the way the Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Lor Page 1 of 11 PUD worked. viso) AGENDA ITEMS #2 AND #3 - DEVELOPMENT/IMPACT FEES AND LOCAL SALES TAX - HOW AND IF THESE ITEMS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE MANAGER'S '94-'95 PROGRAM OF WORK Mr.Nordin presented the possibility of commissioning an outside agency to study the feasibility of impact fees for Fountain Hills as had been done in other jurisdictions. Councilwoman Wiggishoff added that such a study had been done in Lake Havasu. Mr. Nordin pointed out that the subject had caused much public controversy. Councilman O'Brien questioned the logic of spending time pursuing such a study since the Town Attorney had previously stated that such fees were difficult to legally justify. Mr. Farrell,referring back to the Dolan case, advised the Council to look at development fees if they did not enact a sales tax. He said the town would need an additional source of revenue with the additional costs to provide services to new developments. Mr. Farrell added that the fees would have to be used for a specified use for the development from which it was extracted. Vice Mayor Hudson said that now was the time for a sales tax in Fountain Hills. He said the Council could decide how to use the monies without a mandated direction imposed by the development fees. Councilman O'Brien agreed that it was time for a sales tax to be imposed. Vice Mayor Hudson commented that with current funding,the town could continue to operate at its current level of service but that the residents didn't want that. As more and more people moved to Fountain Hills, the demand for services and amenities would increase and additional sources of revenue would be required to meet these demands. Mayor Cutillo said he was not against a sales tax but that he felt it should be ear-marked for particular purposes. Councilwoman Wiggishoff said that a plan needed to be established so that the people would know what to expect from the sales tax revenue. She emphasized that enacting a sales tax would require a sales job. Councilman Lawrence suggested tying the sales tax to particular projects such as parks development and the community center. Councilman Clark emphasized the importance of a unified Council effort, that all should be in agreement when enacting the sales tax. Councilwoman Wiggishoff suggested having a new Town Hall to involve residents new to the community. She said that many decisions that had been made based on the last Town Hall may not reflect the wishes of the residents now. Councilman O'Brien suggested that staff prepare updated figures for sales tax revenues and updated project costs for the community center, parks, police department, swimming pool, etc. using a timeline of six months. AGENDA ITEM #4 - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/MAYOR'S COUNCIL FOR BUSINESS GROWTH REPORT FROM MAYOR CUTILLO AND COUNCILMAN CLARK Mayor Cutillo reported that the Mayor's Council for Business Growth, MCBG, was moving along and making progress. Vice Mayor Hudson asked if additional funding was needed and if they were still doing direct mailings. The Mayor said there currently was sufficient funding and that the mailings had been replaced by other avenues. Councilman O'Brien asked if other schools would be pursued and was told Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Page 2 of 11 that it was a possibility. Councilman Clark handed out a "quiz" to the Council which evaluated GPEC's performance. He reported that as the Town's representative to the GPEC Executive Committee,he would be taking a much more active and aggressive role than his predecessor, reaping more benefits from the Town's membership. AGENDA ITEM #5 - TOWN MANAGER'S 1994-95 PROGRAM OF WORK Mr. Nordin asked the Council to refer to his proposed program of work and make any changes they desired. Councilman O'Brien commented that he would like to see changes in some of the weights given to some projects. He felt the downtown should be as heavy as some of the other projects,possibly closer to a 12. He said he would also like to see the capital acquisition process revised. He suggested assessing a projected life estimate of equipment such as police cars,street equipment,parks equipment,etc. to assist in planning for future expenditures. Councilman Clark suggested adding the sales tax study. Mr. Nordin explained that it was included under the capital improvement plan but that he would exclude impact fees. Mr. Nordin explained his strategy regarding the acquisition of the Sanitary District. His plan was to ask the District if they would like to dissolve and if they replied negatively, he would receive the 2 points assigned to that particular project. If the District replied affirmatively, he would increase the weight of that particular project. Vice Mayor Hudson posed the question as to whether or not the Town wanted to acquire the Sanitary District at this time. Councilman Clark felt that it should be acquired as soon as possible. Councilman O'Brien said that he felt solving the inherent"employee transition problems"should not be part of the criteria in making the decision of whether or not to acquire the District. Mr. Nordin said that he didn't feel that economy of scale would be realized with the consolidation. Mayor Cutillo said he felt the Manager should do more than "just ask" if the District wanted to dissolve; he felt the Manager should present a case supporting the dissolution. Mr. Nordin suggested that a committee of the Council accompany him to meetings with the Sanitary District Board. Councilman Clark suggested forming a Transition Commission but Mr. Farrell warned against jurisdictional authority complications. Vice Mayor Hudson said that he would serve, along with Councilman O'Brien,on a committee to discuss dissolution with the Sanitary Board. AGENDA ITEM#7-FOUNTAIN HILLS POLICE DEPARTMENT,DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE TIME TABLE (COUNCILMAN CLARK) Mr. Nordin explained that Marshal Gendler would not be present but that he had supplied the Manager with some updated facts and figures on establishing the Town's own police department (attached). Councilman Clark said that although he had requested this item be included for discussion, he had no agenda on this issue. He said that he didn't think the time had come to have our own department but that the time was probably getting closer. He added that he felt the time was approaching more quickly than he thought it would. An incident reported to him involving poor response time had led him to add the agenda item. Councilman Clark said he questioned from time to time as to whether or not the Town had adequate coverage. Councilman Lawrence said one particular incident shouldn't be used as a catalyst for the creation of a police department. Councilwoman Wiggishoff suggested using the issue of response time without citing particular examples. Councilman Lawrence questioned the Town's ability to supply all the resources currently available through the Sheriff's contract such as detectives, crime lab services, etc. Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Page 3 of 11 Councilman O'Brien expressed ambivalence over the issue at this time. Mr.Nordin gave the Council the following figures,supplied by Marshal Gendler,with regards to lead time and set up costs to establish a Fountain Hills Police Department: Total transition time required 18 months Current annual cost for Sheriffs contract and Marshal Department $712,000 "Minimum" annual cost for local police department $1.13 million "Realistic" department annual cost $1.35 million "Ideal" department annual cost $1.8 million Mr. Farrell told the Council that the Town had the most unique and effective law enforcement in the state in that they had found a way to enforce both local and state laws. He said that the Town had the perfect balance and was the envy of many jurisdictions who managed to enforce state laws but fell short in local ordinance enforcement. Mr.Farrell warned that micro-managing a police department was the worst thing a council could do. He added that an annual cost of$6 million was closer to what the total cost would be to have our own police department. He said it was an ideal situation having a marshal to serve the Council's needs. Councilman O'Brien said he felt that having our own police department would not guarantee a quicker response time. Councilman Clark said there were problems with conflicts between the departments. Vice Mayor Hudson said the Town could not afford their own department with the current financial status, adding that there would have to be a property tax to pay for it. Mr. Nordin assured the Council of the many efforts being made to promote inter-department cooperation between the Marshal's Department and the Sheriff's Department. Mayor Cutillo said that he thought the issue should be revisited and re- evaluated annually because there would come a "break even" point. He added that many volunteers participated in the department with the hope that someday they could work for the Town - if put off indefinitely, some good officers may be lost. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked how widespread the parental concern over"sheriff abuse" was. She said she had thought that programs like Midnight Madness were supposed to give a "human face" to the MCSO. AGENDA ITEM#8-POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF A PARK ADJACENT TO THE KIWANIS BUILDING USING HERITAGE MONEY AND LAND VALUE PLUS DONATIONS RECEIVED FROM CLUBS AS MATCHING FUNDS (COUNCILMAN CLARK) Councilman Clark gave a brief history on the fund created by the Kiwanis Clubs for the development of a Kiwanis Park in Fountain Hills. The fund currently contained $11,100 but interest had waned since progress had somewhat come to a standstill. He said the Kiwanis would like the park to be named and funded for/by the Kiwanis organization and located on Town property, possibly adjacent to the Kiwanis building. They felt that it was time that this be considered by the Council so they would know how to proceed. He said he felt the Town should take a stand as to whether or not this would be something the Kiwanis could do and that maybe matching grant funds could be used as well. Mayor Cutillo said that the Town was currently struggling to get the funds to complete Golden Eagle Park and questioned how justification could be made to spread the funds over two projects. Councilman Clark Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Page4ofll responded that the Council had to look at the needs of all the citizens, not just those that play softball. He said that some may desire a more passive park. Councilman O'Brien said that he did not want to address this project out of the context of the Parks Master Plan. Councilman Lawrence suggested giving the project an affirmative nod contingent on its inclusion in the Plan. Mayor Cutillo asked if the proposed resort across the street would enhance the park project. Councilman O'Brien questioned how private projects would get incorporated into the Master Plan. Following additional discussion, Councilman Lawrence observed that it seemed there was a consensus that the Council looked favorably on having the project integrated into the Parks Master Plan at the next review. AGENDA ITEM #9 - RELATIONS WITH FORT MCDOWELL INDIAN TRIBE; POSSIBLE APPOINTMENT OF A COUNCIL MEMBER TO SERVE AS A TRIBE LIAISON (BILL FARRELL) Mr. Farrell recounted some of his past experiences in Scottsdale which prompted this item. He said the goal was to make sure that there were no "skeletons in the closet" before any issues arose. Mr. Farrell also said that it was a good idea to open dialogue with our Indian neighbors to determine whether or not there was any hidden indebtedness or unsettled old debts that might need addressing. At this point, AGENDA ITEM #15 - POSSIBLE GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT (OR OTHER APPROPRIATE ACTION TO FORMALIZE/LEGALIZE THE 50' BUFFER STRIP BETWEEN FOUNTAIN HILLS AND THE MCDOWELL INDIAN TRIBE LAND. THIS BUFFER STRIP WAS ORIGINALLY AGREED TO BY MCCULLOCH PROPERTIES IN A LETTER DATED APRIL 9, 1970. (COUNCILWOMAN TIBBETTS), was incorporated into the conversation since the items were somewhat related. Councilwoman Tibbetts gave a brief history of this buffer area and referred to the letter of April 9, 1970 in which McCulloch Properties agreed to honor this 50' strip between the two communities. She expressed concern that the Indians might have the perception that the Town would live up to the agreement made by McCulloch. Although no buildings were currently in this area, Mr. Jeppson said that the drive-thru at Taco Bell was in the easement and the proposed parking lot at the Community Center would also enter into this area. Mr.Farrell observed that sometimes the wrong people were sent to do the right job - even though planning issues should be dealt with by Mr. Jeppson and perhaps Mr. Harrel,the Mayor and Council should initiate the communication. Councilman O'Brien said that the Town should be proactive and that even though communication was sometimes difficult,the Town should keep trying. Mr. Jeppson said that staff had been working with the Pima Community on Eagle Mountain but that the communication had been limited compared to what they've had with Fort McDowell. He said it was very hard to find "equals" in the Indian communities, ie, who or what position does the planning. Mr. Farrell said he saw a good opportunity for long range cooperative planning in areas of water, sewer and waste disposal. Councilman Clark suggested that John (Cutillo) and Clinton (Patea) should meet so that the Mayor could get the tribal chiefs ideas on how to accomplish these goals. Councilwoman Tibbetts expressed a need to get current input from MCO regarding their future development plans for the 50' buffer corridor. Councilman O'Brien suggested asking them to respond to the 1970 letter including their current position and any other information they may have on the letter. Mayor Cutillo suggested contacting Mr. Fisher and Councilwoman Tibbetts concurred. Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 tiow Page 5 of 11 AGENDA ITEM #11 - IDLE FUND INVESTMENT PROGRAM FOR TOWN; POSSIBLE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INVESTMENT COMMITTEE (VICE MAYOR HUDSON) Vice Mayor Hudson explained that all of the Town's money currently goes into the State Pool. He said that this was a good place for the Town's money right after incorporation but since the interest rates had gone down he felt investment alternatives would be better. He said the Town could invest on their own per Title 35 and that we could get 1.5% to 2% more by investing outside the Pool. If things changed, the Town could always go back to the Pool. Mayor Cutillo asked if there would be a greater risk to which Vice Mayor Hudson replied that investment would only be made in federally insured bonds or CD's. He said with the current million dollar surplus, $500,000 to $600,000 could be tied up for varying length of terms. Mr. Nordin said that for about the last 6 years, the Pool had been the best investment since it had the highest interest rate plus liquidity. Vice Mayor suggested dividing funds into 1, 2 and 3 year Treasury Bills. Mr. Nordin mentioned "sweep" accounts where the funds would be rolled over daily. Mayor Cutillo asked if this would require additional staff to which Vice Mayor Hudson replied that the Town Treasurer had the authority to invest Town funds. If it was done today, $300,000 to $400,000 could be invested in 1, 2, and 3 year rollover accounts. He said the Pool was now charging a fee, a percentage of the amount currently invested. Mr. Nordin said that staff would look at it and work out a program. Attempting to find items that could be fit into the schedule prior to the lunch break, the Council jumped to AGENDA ITEM#17 - DISCUSSION OF HOTEL/RESTAURANT AT SHEA AND SAGUARO BLVD.'S, WIDENING OF SHEA, AND OTHER STAFF STIPULATIONS (MAYOR CUTILLOt COUNCILWOMAN TIBBETTS). Mayor Cutillo said that he and Councilwoman Tibbetts had both been concerned with the stipulations that staff had made on the proposed Holiday Inn and that the project had been threatened as a result. He felt that some policy should be established to facilitate rather than obstruct projects that would be beneficial to the community. Councilman Clark agreed that a policy should be created so that if a project was to the advantage of the community, exceptions could be made. Mr. Nordin explained that on the project in question,staff had been negotiating as they normally would for streets and other improvements,hence the stipulations. The Manager subsequently had Gary Jeppson and Randy Harrel meet with the Town Attorney to discuss the imposition of stipulations in the context of the Dolan case. Mr. Farrell said that the authority to exact stipulations within and without an area to be developed was the point in question. He said the issue becomes how much does each adjacent property owner have to contribute, adding that this was not an issue that lends itself to actual policy. Mr. Farrell said he felt that staff was very much aware of the Council's interest in potential commercial projects and would respond with the appropriate sensitivity to that interest. He finished by saying that for this particular project, the number of rooms being proposed would not incur significant off-site costs. Mayor Cutillo asked if something should be sent to staff directing future activity. Mr. Farrell reiterated that he felt staff had the message. Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Page 6of11 AGENDA ITEMS #10 AND #13 - DISCUSSION OF TOWN POLICY FOR WASHES AFTER ACQUISITION; OPEN SPACE DEVELOPMENT, PARK MASTER PLAN, AND PARK DEVELOPMENT (COUNCILWOMAN WIGGISHOFF) - AND - POSSIBLE FORMATION OF CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR: A) WASH DEVELOPMENT; B) AIRPLANE TRAFFIC OVER FOUNTAIN HILLS (MAYOR CUTILLO) Councilwoman Wiggishoff said she felt the wash issue needed to be addressed because there was a great deal of public concern as evidenced by the 700 signatures obtained. She said she would like to see public conversation committed to this topic. Councilman O'Brien objected,saying that he felt the "wash" group had taken a position before seeing what was going to happen. He said he would like to see a Parks and Recreation recommendation prior to discussing the issue in public. Councilwoman Wiggishoff said she felt a conversation should be initiated to discuss the concerns first and suggested getting it on an agenda with a citizen committee and the Parks and Recreation Commission. She said a hassle could be avoided by addressing the problem earlier than later. Councilman Lawrence said he felt that concerned citizens already had an avenue for presenting their concerns at the Parks and Recreation Commission and Council meetings. Mr. Nordin commented on the "disaffection with government" which seemed prevalent everywhere. He said the challenge was how to positively deal with special interest groups. Councilman O'Brien said he felt this was an example of the concept "my way or not at all" and that just because someone didn't get their way didn't mean that they hadn't been heard. He didn't feel the Council should respond just because someone had the "loudest voice". Councilman Lawrence said that everyone should have the right to be heard and that the Council should be sensitive to the concerns of the citizens. But he also felt the Council shouldn't overreact to whoever yells the loudest. Mr. Nordin suggested obtaining the name of a contact person in the wash group who could be notified when there were meetings of interest to them. Mayor Cutillo asked Parks and Recreation Director Robin Goodman if she thought a citizen committee would be beneficial in discussing the wash plan. Ms. Goodman responded by saying that the group had been relatively quiet,that they had come to the Parks and Recreation meetings and said very little. She added that the plan did not call for the use of every wash in Town and that they were exploring using the washes previously disturbed by the Sanitary District. Mr. Farrell said he felt that one of the group's concerns involved the Town accepting the washes prior to having a plan. AGENDA ITEM#p6-REPORT FROM THE ARIZONA MUNICIPAL RISK RETENTION POOL- VICE MAYOR HUDSON (AND OTHERS) Prior to lunch, Vice Mayor Hudson introduced Alicia Sterna, attorney for Southwest Risk Services, Inc., who had served as the Loss Coordinator for the State of Arizona. During lunch, Vice Mayor and Ms. Sterna reported on the Pool. Vice Mayor Hudson began by reporting that the Pool had lost 4 cities to private insurance companies. He said that other than Hartford, there were 3 other carriers considering writing this type of insurance. He told of specialty companies that would sometimes write policies that would show no aggregate when one did exist, causing many problems if multiple claims were made. Vice Mayor Hudson pointed out other examples of how the Pool operated differently. For example, say there was a claim that a town Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Page 7 of 11 didn't feel should be paid. The Board had made a policy to have an executive session,listen to both sides and try to work it out. He said if that procedure was attempted with the Board of Directors of an insurance company, it would never work. The Vice Mayor said there had been a good response from individuals desiring to serve on the Pool's Loss Control Committee. Ms. Sterna told the Council that she had been with Southwest Risk since the end of March and handled claims. After providing a summary of her background with the State, Ms. Sterna said that one of their primary functions was to determine which claims were legitimate and settle those as quickly as possible. She said her department also provided assistance for staying out of trouble. PAL, Personnel and Police Assist Lifeline,was a program they were working to set up that would provide assistance up front to avoid claims. An attorney who specialized in employee and police law would be paid so they could be contacted anytime for advice. Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR),mandatory arbitration,focus groups, and summary jury were all methods designed to avoid litigation and expedite claims processing. She said they hoped to keep tort reform steady and moving along. Ms. Sterna said the Board was maturing in how it met the needs of its members and that there was a willingness to customize the Pool's programs. She said she felt the membership loss could be attributed to marketing issues and that there were still 58 members belonging to the Pool. AGENDA ITEM #18 - REPORT FROM CHIEF TOM KNAPP REGARDING SUBDIVISION REQUIREMENTS TO MANDATE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS, ETC. At 1:00 p.m., representatives from the Fire District and Rural Metro arrived including: Chief Tom Knapp, Assistant Chief Tom Van Meenen,Fire District Boardmember Tim Yoder, and Chief Jim Ford from Rural Metro Scottsdale. ',Au) Chief Ford addressed the benefits of residential sprinkler systems, showing a video depicting the differences in fire severity with and without the proactive prevention. Chief Knapp and Chief Ford compared response times, 3.5 minutes in Fountain Hills and 4 minutes in Scottsdale. It was noted that in Fountain Hills,the Fountainhead Condos had opted for sprinkler systems as a more cost effective way to obtain their permit. Increased building costs were discussed and it was noted that construction costs would increase by 50 to 65 cents per square foot to install sprinkler systems. It was pointed out that those costs had decreased from$1.14 per square foot. To retrofit existing construction would cost$1.24 per square foot. Chief Ford said that they were more apt to lose people in homes as opposed to commercial buildings. He pointed out that from the perspective of firefighting, firefighters were reactive while sprinklers were proactive. The fire officials said that one of the savings of sprinklers was that without them, 1,000 gallons of water/minute had to be available - with sprinklers, only 500 gallons/minute had to be available because the water was already there. Monetary loss ratios for the same time periods showed a dramatic difference - $1,833 sprinkled loss compared to $17,067 non-sprinkled loss. They reported that insurance rates could decrease from 5% to 20% with sprinkler systems, more in commercial buildings. Town Engineer Randy Harrel reported that an ad hoc committee consisting of Tom Van Meenen, Cliff from the Water Company and himself had been looking at future development and possible incentives that could be offered to developers using sprinkler systems. He said that if sprinklers were included in the Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Page 8 of 11 western area subdivisions, the Fire District could avert future increases in providing service to that area. He said that when the Town adopted the 1991 fire code (1988 was the current) that any building over 3,600 square feet would be treated as commercial with regards to the water availability requirements. It was clarified that the schools fell under the state fire marshal jurisdiction. Chief Knapp said that Rural Metro was currently informing homeowners if they were building a home with limited access as far as emergency and fire fighting services were concerned. Councilman O'Brien queried the Council as to whether or not there was any heartburn over enacting such an ordinance. Councilman Lawrence said he had a problem with government control in yet another area and that he felt it should be a matter of personal choice. Mayor Cutillo agreed,adding that he didn't think the insurance companies were responding enough with regards to rate decreases. Mr. Farrell said that the impetus to adopt the sprinkler ordinance in Scottsdale in 1985 was the annexation of land 7 miles north of the city. It was one way to deal with the increased demand for services. There was a consensus amongst the Council to have future discussions on the possibility of requiring sprinklers in new subdivisions. AGENDA ITEM#13-POSSIBLE FORMATION OF CITIZENS COMMITTEES FOR: A)WASH DEVELOPMENT; AND B) AIRPLANE TRAFFIC OVER FOUNTAIN HILLS (MAYOR CUTILLO) The Mayor returned to this item since only a portion of it had been addressed. A)Mr. Nordin reiterated that a citizen committee for the washes could wait until the Town had ownership of the washes and the Parks Master Plan was completed. B) Mayor Cutillo began by saying he had received a number of calls over the years from people who complained about the noise and the safety hazard of increased air traffic over Fountain Hills. He said that the traffic would go over the flight path of least resistance, ie. where fewer people complained about the noise. Councilman O'Brien said Tempe had complained for a long time to little or no avail. Mr.Nordin said that he had a contact with the FAA that had been handling the complaint calls very well. Councilman O'Brien didn't feel the Town should get involved in complaints over which it had no control or jurisdiction and that the people should complain to the FAA. AGENDA ITEM#16 - REFUSE CONTAINER ENCLOSURE; DISCUSSION, REGULATION OF HAULERS, ETC. (MAYOR CUTILLO) Mayor Cutillo referred back to a recent council meeting when the problem of"alley blight" was discussed. He said that simply paving the alleys, as discussed in the meeting, would not solve the trash container problem of getting the dumpsters out of the alley-ways. Councilman Lawrence suggested taking each alley one at a time. Forming improvement districts was again brought up but Mr. Nordin said if a district was formed,half of the property owners could stop it. Mayor Cutillo suggested looking at the regulation of trash haulers, adding that the liability was not the detracting factor it once was since the landfills were more regulated and state of the art. Councilman Clark said he was all for the regulation of haulers but not for forced environmental recycling. Mr. Nordin, referring to the TriCity landfill problem, said the Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Page 9 of 11 Town had already gotten out of one lawsuit because the haulers were not regulated locally. Mayor Cutillo said that 30% to 35% of the residents did not pay for trash service and that if everyone was charged, illegal dumping would decrease. Mr. Farrell asked if the Council would like to send out a non-binding RFP to all vendors. Vice Mayor Hudson said the services desired should be identified first. Councilman Lawrence asked if the Town would go out for bid every year and a 3 to 5 year contract was discussed. Councilman Lawrence remarked that regulation would lessen the truck traffic and the number of days when dumpsters would be out on the streets. Councilman O'Brien expressed his concern with the inability to control commercial services the same as residential. Mr. Farrell said that competition had to be allowed for commercial services. Mr. Nordin suggested following the procedure followed by Chandler and said that staff would work on a document to bring back to the Council at a later date. AGENDA ITEM#14-POSSIBLE CHANGE OF LENGTH OF TERM FOR MAYOR FROM TWO TO FOUR YEARS (MAYOR CUTILLO); TERM LIMITATIONS FOR MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS (COUNCILMAN CLARK) Mayor Cutillo opened the discussion by saying he would like to see the term of mayor changed from two to four years and the term of office limited to two four-year terms. Councilman Clark said he felt there were pros and cons on the issue. He said that citizens he had talked to and the newspapers had encouraged term limitations for legislative offices. But on the con side, he said that sometimes it took two years for a new council member to find out what's really going on. He also raised the question of establishing a starting date for the term limitations - in the case of a new community such as Fountain Hills, there were many unfinished tasks that needed completion. Councilman O'Brien said that this was a popular issue to talk about but that there was no track record to know how effective term limitation would be. Vice Mayor Hudson said he was not in favor of term limitation for municipalities. He said that if someone in a community such as Fountain Hills could get the vote of the people in every election, he/she should be entitled to continue in office. Councilwoman Wiggishoff said she was in favor of a four- year term for the office of mayor with a two term limitation. She felt there should be two four-year term limitations for council members because incumbents had an advantage and fresh ideas were always needed. Mr. Farrell stated that an appointment to an unexpired term or vacancy should not be calculated into the term limitation. He suggested a ten year limit. Mayor Cutillo said he had suggested four years terms for mayor as opposed to two year terms to avoid the possibility of major, unpleasant turmoil in the community every two years. He did not want to go back to the council appointing the mayor. He said he supported limiting the terms for mayor but had not thought about it for council. Vice Mayor Hudson said they could go back to the council deciding on the mayor. Councilman O'Brien agreed with four-year terms for the mayor, that it was less disruptive. Councilman Lawrence said the people he had talked to favored four-year terms for the mayor. Mr. Farrell said the public had voted on the direct election of mayor, not the length of term. He said he could make a legal argument stating that the Council could change the term limit. Councilman Clark said he thought there were benefits to having the mayoral election every two years. He said it brought about an element of active community participation in the election process and that this Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Page 10 of 11 , was a healthy atmosphere for getting the candidates' positions on local issues. He felt the issues would not have been revealed without the mayoral race and all the interest it had elicited. Councilman Lawrence disagreed saying he felt the issues would have come out regardless as evidenced by a debate he had participated in where only the seven council candidates were present. The Council expressed the desire to bring the issue of term limitations to the voters. Mr. Farrell said that term limitations was not an issue which could be legally brought before the voters. Councilman O'Brien said that he was not thrilled on limiting terms and felt that term limitations was a restriction of the voter's right to elect a person to public office. Special election costs were discussed and Mr. Nordin said that Southwest Gas had offered to pay for a special election for franchising. Mr.Farrell said he would supply the Council with a legal opinion regarding changing the length of term for mayor. Mr. Nordin stated that he thought the voting history in cases of small communities was against incumbents. The Council adjourned the retreat at 3:30 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS B Y• o M. Cutillo, ayor ATTEST: Ja-4A-4-•L-) 3,1-4-4-A:L 46 I Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk PREPARED BY: Cl S Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Council Retreat held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 31st day of August, 1994. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 6th day of October, 1994. 01-41LL ,, Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Minutes of the Retreat of the Town Council 08/31/94 Page 11 of 11