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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999.1202.TCREM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL DECEMBER 2,1999 Mayor Morgan called the regular session of the Town Council to order. ROLL CALL: Following the pledge to the flag and the invocation by Rev. Don Schrage, Trinity Lutheran Church, roll call was taken. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Sharon Morgan, Vice Mayor Sid Apps, and Councilmembers Pen Mower,John Wyman, Sharon Hutcheson, and Councilwoman Marianne Wiggishoff. Councilman Al Poma was absent at the beginning of the meeting but later came in. Also present were Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Clerk Cassie B. Hansen, Interim Town Engineer Tom Ward,and Community Development Director Jeff Valder. Mayor Morgan read the Consent Agenda, which consisted of the following agenda items: AGENDA ITEM#1 —CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 16 and 18, 1999. AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST SUBMITTED BY MITCH SILVER FOR THE SILVER COLLECTOR CAR AUCTION TO BE HELD FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 14 AND 15, 2000. THE EVENT WILL OPERATE FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 10:00 P.M.EACH DAY. NO STREET CLOSURES WILL BE REQUIRED. AGENDA ITEM #3 — CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST SUBMITTED BY STAN CONNICK FOR THE FALCON BOOSTERS "CLOSING THE GAPP" 5K RUN/WALK TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2000, FROM 1:30 P.M. TO 3:30 P.M. THE FUND RAISING EVENT WILL OCCUPY PORTIONS OF EL LAGO BOULEVARD FROM VERDE RIVER DRIVE TO MARY MUNDE ALK, AVENIDA VIDA BUENA FROM MARY MUNDE WALK TO THE AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS, AND THE AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS FROM AVENIDA VIDA BUENA TO VERDE RIVER DRIVE. THE EVENT WILL REQUIRE SOME TRAFFIC CONTROL BUT NO STREET CLOSURES. AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF THE FINAL PLAT FOR FIREROCK COUNTRY CLUB PARCEL "P' A 20 LOT 2 TRACT SUBDIVISION, CONSISTING OF 8.5 ACRES, LOCATED IN THE FIREROCK COUNTRY CLUB AREA SPECIFIED PLAN, CASE#S98-037. AGENDA ITEM#5— CONSIDERATION OF REJECTING ALL BIDS RECEIVED FOR FOUNTAIN PARK PHASE 1 IMPROVEMENTS BID#PR99-021. Vice Mayor Apps MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as read. Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results. Councilwoman Wiggishoff— aye Vice Mayor Apps - aye Councilman Wyman - aye Councilwoman Mower- aye Councilwoman Hutcheson - aye Mayor Morgan - aye The motion CARRIED unanimously with a roll call vote. AGENDA ITEM #6 — ANNOUNCEMENT AND RECOGNITION OF THE WINNERS OF THE ADOPT-A- TREET CONTEST. ayor Morgan and Councilman Mower announced the winners of the Adopt-a-Street art contest. Councilman Mower asked Adopt-a-Street Committee member Wally Hudson to assist with the presentation. He said the contest had been Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 1 of 10 held for the 4th and 5th graders at Four Peaks Elementary. He recognized the art instructor at Four Peaks, Ruth Pieper; the judges from the Fountain Hills Art Council Carolyn Rosenquist, Jean Thompson, and Goey Quinton. He announced the winners: (111w 3rd Place Winner: Sara Graham, $50 Savings Bond 2na Place Winner: Chelsea Miller, $50 Savings Bond 1st Place Winner: Julie Donohue, $100 Savings Bond He also introduced Judy Hertrich who provides staff support to the Adopt-a-Street Program. He read the Honorable Mentions: Jenna Bode, Ryan Carriero, Kayli Donaldson, Abbye Eiklor, Haley Galligher, Tommy Hogan, Lindsay Russo, Gregory Verele and Charles Vitellaro. Wally Hudson stated the money for the saving bonds had been donated by Jack Bercel of Bercel Builders and himself, with Baskin and Robbins providing certificates for free ice cream for all. AGENDA ITEM #7 - INTRODUCTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS MAYOR'S YOUTH COUNCIL. Mayor Morgan introduced the members of the 1999-2000 Fountain Hills Mayor's Youth Council Shanna Hahn,President, 12th grade-FHHS Emily Holexa, Vice-President, 12th grade-FHHS Cimber Neussle, Secretary, 10th grade-FHHS Lauren Machaill, Sergeant At Arms, 10th grade-FHHS Ellen Stutheit,Points Commissioner, 12th grade-FHHS Kate Hunkler, Sydni Volf,Max Bingham, Bethaina Aranki,Jill Groh, Katie Miske, and K.C. Rosburg. Mayor Morgan also introduced the two members of the Fountain Hills Parks and Recreation Department who guide this group of young people, Amy Silverman and Corey Hromek. UGENDA ITEM #8 - CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE OMMUNITY BENEFITS REVIEW COMMITTEE REGARDING THE DISTRIBUTION OF COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUNDS APPROVED IN THE 1999/2000 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET. Town Clerk Cassie Hansen stated the process for awarding the Community Benefits Funds had evolved over the last couple of years from letters of request given to the Council at budget time to a full application procedure utilizing the input of the citizen review committee. She reviewed that the Council had approved $80,000 in the 1999-2000 Budget for Community Benefit Programs. She explained that once the budget had been adopted, the application was formatted using the more comprehensive and strict criteria suggested by last year's committee. Notification that the format was available and applications were being accepted ran in the Fountain Hills Times for the entire month of October, was shown on Channel 11, and also the Town's website. She announced seven applications had been received from Fountain Hills Community Theater, St. Dominic's Food Bank, Golden Eagle Foundation, Cub Scout Pack 243, Fountain Hills High School Leadership Team, Vocational Educational Tech Prep, and the Fountain Hills Chamber Players. She reviewed the numbers shown on the overhead, which reflected the individual organization's request and the committee's recommendations. She explained that since the requests had exceeded the available funds by $1,500, the committee decided to decrease the amount given to the Community Theater by $5,000. They felt the remaining $25,000 would enable the Theater to continue with ongoing youth programs and workshops provided by the Theater and was more in line with what they had received last year. This decrease would allow for an increase of funds to be made to the Golden Eagle Foundation and St. Dominic's Food Bank. The committee felt the Food Bank provided a necessary and beneficial humanitarian service to the community so the committee increased their funding request by $1,000. She reminded the Council that the Golden Eagle Foundation actually represented four separate funding activities, one of which was core scholarships for seniors in the amount of$1,000. The committee felt this program would provide a valuable service and unanimously agreed to increase the scholarship program by $2,500, which Lcreased the Golden Eagle Foundation request to$17,500. Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 2 of 10 She announced the committee had been pleased with the process this year and felt the information requested on the application format was very helpful in the decision making process. She said that it had been evident that committee members were conscientious in their task and made the decisions that they felt were in the community's interest. She paid the committee's submitted their recommendations for the Council's consideration. The following was the committee's recommendation: Fountain Hills Community Theater $25,000 St. Dominic's Food Bank $27,000 Golden Eagle Foundation $17,500 Cub Scout Pack 243 $ 2,000 Fountain Hills High School Leadership Team $ 4,500 Vocational Educational Tech Prep $ 3,000 Fountain Hills Chamber Players $ 1,000 Total $80,000 Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED the Council approve the Community Benefits Review Committee's recommendation for funds as presented and Vice Mayor Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #9 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 1999-58, AMENDING THE PAY RESOLUTION FOR EMPLOYEES IN THE MUNICIPAL SERVICE OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS. Town Clerk Hansen stated that in 1990 the Town Council approved the first resolution setting the pay ranges for town employees. She said that since then those ranges had been amended by resolution approximately every two years. Previous range revisions had been done in house using information from the Arizona League of Cities and Towns Salary and Fringe Benefits Survey provided by all cities and towns in Maricopa County. This information established the averages used for Fountain Hills. LoShe explained that this year staff had decided to compare notes with other jurisdictions as to how they established their pay ranges. Some said they had used services of outside consultants and never hesitated to comment on the service they had received. The name of Dr. Michael Nash had received very high marks so staff contacted him to get an idea of the services he could provide to the Town. Dr. Nash outlined the scope of work. It would include an individualized review of each job classification as well as a comparative assessment of the salary ranges. After 10 years, staff did think that it would be beneficial to utilize the services of an outside consultant to perform a more in-depth compensation and classification study. Dr. Nash met with staff last May to discuss the Town's specific goals and objectives. Detailed questionnaires were distributed to all Town employees to gather personalized information on the responsibilities and functions of each position within the organization. Dr. Nash addressed all employees to explain the forms and how the whole process would work. A few weeks later he returned and met with all employees individually and in small groups to discuss the surveys. Using the information from the questionnaires and the interviews, Dr. Nash reviewed all of the job descriptions for legal content and consistency with actual work performed. He established a salary matrix and a grading system to position each job title within the organization. The Doctor also established benchmark positions using comparative data from other cities and towns within Maricopa County classified by population and size. Quartiles were established for each of the benchmark positions. Each position was evaluated to make sure that the new proposed salary range was above first quartile and below the third quartile providing a fair and competitive range for each position. She acknowledged that significant time and energy had been invested in the compensation and classification study. She said staff felt that the objective of the process had been met, which was to insure that the employees were viewed as valuable assets, compensated fairly, and given proper incentive to remain in the Town's employ. Ms. Hansen introduced Dr. Nash saying his credentials were impressive. He is faculty member of the American Compensation Association Certified Compensation Professional Program where he taught job evaluation. He is the pthor of a dozen articles and four books, including Managing Organizational Performance and Making People roductive. Prior to establishing his own consulting firm, he was a partner and general manager of the Hay Group, the Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 3 of 10 largest compensation-consulting firm in the world. She stated Nash and Company had provided compensation and classification studies for more than seventy-five public agencies in California and Arizona. Jr.J Nash thanked the Council for giving him the opportunity to present the results of the study and he complimented e staff on a very thorough and satisfying process. He urged the Council to seriously consider approving and implementing the recommendations. He highlighted what the goals had been and the methodology. 1. Make sure Titles were accurate and position specific. 2. Update job descriptions to assure compliance with the laws. 3. Determine where the Town was in the marketplace and formalize future policy. He explained the procedure he followed. On the title and job description side, employees filled out questionnaires, participated in interviews, and were given drafts of their job descriptions and the preliminary recommended titles for feed back. Those recommendations were then reviewed with department heads, with an opportunity for feed back. He said he had tried to listen very carefully before ultimately presenting the package now before the Council. On the classification side,job descriptions were updated and brought in compliance with the law. He said there had been some changes in titles and some new job titles had been created. He said from a policy point of view, the compensation analysis had been compiled from cities in Maricopa County. From that information, he had a database constructed of all of the cities and towns in Maricopa County and it had been decided competitive was the medium and fair would be the middle band from Q1 (the 25% percentile) to Q3 (the 75% percentile). He explained what policy the Council was being asked to approve as having a competitive salary range with a pay range in the middle band and to establish a policy which never intentionally paid anyone in the bottom 25% of the survey nor intentionally moved anyone beyond the 75% percentile or the 3`d Quartile (the minimum and maximum bands). He said the Council was approving that the Town Manager had the authority,based on tenure,merit and his judgment,to move employees through the minimum and maximum,but not automatically promising increases. councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED the Council approve Resolution 1999-58 as presented and Councilman Wyman SECONDED the motion. Councilman Wyman expressed surprise as to how far out of line the Town had been in some pay ranges. He asked if the League of Cities and Towns had also been that far out of line. Dr. Nash answered saying that in the aggregate the Town had been competitive but modest. The individual ranges, which the Town had previously adjusted, had been developed eclectically by inspection and the new ranges were arithmetically a given percentage apart. He agreed that in some cases the maximum might have gone up but the individual impact was rather modest in the aggregate. Councilman Wyman asked Mr. Nordin if the adjustments that would be made immediately were because those employees' salaries were so far out of line. Mr. Nordin said it wasn't that severe. He said the adjustments called for would primarily effect the lowest pay level employee. As a group, the dispatchers would receive a modest increase to bring them up to the new minimum. Councilwoman Wiggishoff stated that from looking at the figures it could be seen where the past emphasis had been in terms of the Planning Department, the Community Development and so on. Yet, the ranges for Director of Parks and Recreation and the Town Clerk were sadly out of kilter. She said she was pleased the Town had this study done and recognized the good job both individuals had done for the Town. She indicated it had been strictly an oversight on their part that the salary ranges had gotten out of whack. Vice Mayor Apps asked if the maximum range would affect the amount paid on Workers Compensation by the Town and would affect the next budget. Mr. Nordin responded no. Vice Mayor Apps inquired what percentile the Mayor and Council were in. Dr. Nash responded he would find out, as was not prepared to give him the answer at this time. Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 4 of 10 Councilman Mower asked Dr. Nash if he was using the modified Hay Point System. Dr. Nash said he had used more of a whole job analysis, by starting with a salary survey bench marks and slotted the jobs around it. He acknowledged it had been discussed to use a Hay type quantitative knowledge, skill, etc. but they had decided not to. Councilman Mower said the Director of Administration and Town Clerk position had a 40%-42% increase and asked Dr. Nash to clarify if the Town had been way out of kilter on that position. Dr. Nash said yes there had been a couple of these positions and it was not atypical of a jurisdiction to over time have some positions get overlooked. He explained that the adjustment to the maximum by no means indicated the incumbent would be the recipient of an increase of that size. It simply meant the opportunity existed. Councilman Wyman asked if the reclassification of title was being done for the convenience of boosting the salary ranges. Dr. Nash said no, and explained that it was the result of his experience with proper titling procedure. Councilman Mower inquired if Council approval was given, would the Town then give the bottom quartile an automatic pay increase. Mr. Nordin responded no, and explained the automatic increase would only come in effect for those individuals whose new minimum salary range would be above their present pay. Dr. Nash asked Councilman Mower if his question was, would the Town Manager increase those employees' pay up to the minimum new pay range who were below the Q1. Councilman Mower said it was his understanding that Dr. Nash seldom had employees in Q1 or Q4. Dr. Nash reiterated that he did not recommend it as a policy. Dr. Nash said one thing that he and Mr. Nordin had done was to go through every job to make sure that anyone that he thought would be in the bottom quartile would have an adjustment made. He asked Mr. Nordin if that was correct. Mr. Nordin stated the list of employees getting an automatic pay raise was quite short. Dr. Nash again stated the answer to Councilman Mower's question was yes. Dr. Nash said it would be the intent to automatically move those individuals from their current pay rate to the bottom of the middle band of the new pay range. Mr. Nordin stated employees would not be moved up in their new range higher than the minimum. Councilman Mower asked if past policy had been to give an increase of 5% at the time of the employee's review. Mr. Nordin said no. The department head had the ability to recommend whatever the appropriate raise would be for the individual, consistent with the amount that the Council had approved for that year, but not to exceed the maximum in that range. In the past, it had given the town the flexibility to give more than a one step increase to a good producing employee. Conversely, if an employee was producing only reasonably well, the town would have the flexibility to give that employee less. The motion CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #10 — CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 99-34, AMENDING THE TOWN CODE OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, CHAPTER 9, SECTION 9-2-3, TO INCLUDE AN ATTENDANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURE. Parks and Recreation Director Robin Goodman said the intent of the ordinance was to amend Chapter 9 of the Town Code dealing with the Parks and Recreation Commission. It would establish an attendance policy giving the Council the flexibility should there be excessive absences by any one or more members of the commission. Those commissioners would then be asked to step down. She explained the policy was consistent with that of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Councilman Mower MOVED to approve Ordinance 99-34 as presented and Councilman Wyman SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #11 — PUBLIC HEARING ON A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY IN THE R1-10 ZONING DISTRICT,LOCATED ON LOTS 5 & 6,BLOCK '3, FINAL PLAT 505-A AKA 15944 ROCKY MOUNTAIN PLACE, CASE #SU99-09. (DUE TO PLANNING AND ZONING CONTINUATION,THE COUNCIL WILL ALSO BE CONTINUING THIS ITEM.) Mayor Morgan recessed the regular session and opened the public hearing at 7:08 p.m. Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 5 of 10 Senior Planner Geir Sverdrup stated the Planning and Zoning Commission had continued this item from their agenda and they would be hearing it the following week. He said the applicant wanted additional time to research the area. L;taff recommended that the Council continue this item until their January 20th Town Council meeting. Linda Dowalter She explained her home bordered the project. She said they had bought the home primarily because of the beautiful and serene residential neighborhood, quiet and solitude, and because it was situated next to state trust land that would not be developed or commercialized. She said they did not feel that a tower in a residential neighborhood was appropriate. She stated Sprint should not be allowed to come into a residential neighborhood. She said Sprint should buy commercial property or contract with a commercial property owner to build their tower. She was also concerned about the property devaluation that would occur if such a tower were allowed. She asked if it was fair for the entire neighborhood to suffer from property devaluation for the greed of one neighbor. She expressed concern about the waves emitted by these towers as they may be harmful to their health and have not been proven to be 100% safe. She said that until they were she did not want to live next door to such a tower. She explained she was a housewife and would be bombarded by the waves 24 hours a day. She asked the Council not to allow Sprint into the residential neighborhood. Edwin Keys, Agate Knoll He said he had been present at the last Planning and Zoning Commission where the applicant made his proposal. He understood that the homeowner was willing to lease a portion of his house and property to the applicant for valuable consideration. The purpose of the lease was to construct a tower, which was vital to the applicant's occupation. He said that brought Home Occupations - Section 5.14 of the Zoning Ordinance, adopted November 18, 1993, into play. He cited this section. He understood the applicant intended to increase the size of the chimney so that the tower would Le somewhat disguised. In addition the applicant would build an accessory shelter to hold some of the electronic quipment outside the house. He cited Part A of 5.14 - accessory buildings and yards may not be used for home occupations. He said he understood the applicant would provide service with employees of the business doing that service. He cited Part C of Section 5.14—there should be no employees other than members of the immediate family residing in the dwelling unit where the home occupation is being operated. He said in order to service the tower on a regular basis the applicant would have to drive his trucks and equipment to the site. He cited Part D of Section 5.14— no business shall be conducted which required delivery vehicles or other services not customary to a residence. He said it was his understanding there were no other residential areas in town upon which an aerial tower was built or had been requested to be built. He said this item had to be dealt with carefully. He said the town had a map of available sites within the community for towers, which was not presented to the applicants and it should be investigated. Bill Reed, 13036 North Ryan Way He was against the tower being placed in a residential area. He acknowledged he had discussed this issue with consultants of cellular companies on zoning issues and a consultant said it was unusual to have a cell site on a residential home in a residential neighborhood. He said the consultant did not know of any such application in the Phoenix area. He said he had also contacted the largest cell phone provider in Arizona and was told they did not have any cell sites on a residential home in a residential area. They also acknowledged they had cell towers at church and school locations only. He explained the cell phone provider had also expressed concern with locating a commercial business in a residential area in a residential home and they were also concerned with meeting FCC guidelines outlined in OET Bulletin #65 (exposure to waves). He questioned if neighbors would have to disclose the existence of a cell site in a residential area when selling their homes and if the buyer could sue if not disclosed. Mayor Morgan closed the public hearing and reconvened the regular session at 7:20 p.m. L Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 6 of 10 AGENDA ITEM #12 — CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY IN THE R1-10 ZONING DISTRICT, LOCATED ON LOTS 5 & 6,BLOCK 5 FINAL PLAT 505-A AKA 15944 ROCKY MOUNTAIN PLACE,CASE#SU99-09. L2ounci1man Mower MOVED to continue the Special Use Permit application until the January 20th, 2000 Town Council meeting and Councilman Wyman_SECONDED the motion. Councilman Mower suggested that the Town Attorney Bill Farrell look into issues brought up by the last two speakers. Mr. Farrell said he and Community Development Director Jeff Valder would compile a staff report. The motion CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #13 — PUBLIC HEARING ON A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY IN THE C-1 ZONING DISTRICT, LOCATED IN TRACT B, PLAT 430, ADJACENT TO THE SRP GLENBROOK SUBSTATION CASE #SU99-10. (DUE TO PLANNING AND ZONING CONTINUATION,THE COUNCIL WILL ALSO BE CONTINUING THIS ITEM.) Mayor Morgan recessed the regular session and opened the public hearing at 7:23 p.m. Mr. Sverdrup again addressed the Council saying staff was requesting the Council continue this item until the December 16th Council meeting. The issue of exactly who owns the tract of land beneath the SRP tower and their ability to have their absolute right to provide cellular service in that tract and their public utility easement was something that the Town Attorney and he were discussing. He explained that the Planning and Zoning Commission would be hearing this item next week and the Council would receive a staff report before the December 16th Council meeting. Mayor Morgan closed the public hearing and reconvened the regular session at 7:24 p.m. 460AGENDA ITEM #14 — CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY IN THE C-1 ZONING DISTRICT, LOCATED IN TRACT B, PLAT 430, ADJACENT TO THE SRP GLENBROOK SUBSTATION CASE#SU99-10. Councilman Mower MOVED to continue the Special Use Permit Application until the December 16th, 1999 Town Council meeting and Vice Mayor Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #15 — CONSIDERATION OF A CONTRACT FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE LAKE LINER REHABILITATION PROJECT.. Interim Town Engineer, Tom Ward explained that for part of the planning for this project staff had been meeting with ADEQ and Fountain Hills Sanitary District. The assessment process had recently included a tour of the Fountain Lake and Panorama Wash with ADEQ on November 19t. At that time it was noted that the flow of water into Panorama Wash had stopped. That was due in part to upgrades that were done by the pump back system last summer as outlined in Town Engineer Randy Harrel's August 9th letter to the Fort McDowell Indian community. He stated it was also possible that the low level of the lake had contributed to the ebbing flow of the water into the wash. It could indicate that the liner was intact at deeper levels of the lake. He said staff would like to do a two-phase approach to the Fountain Lake liner rehabilitation project. The first phase would include research, sampling, testing, analysis, and evaluation to determine and assess the true condition of the liner at all levels. He said work had been outlined in items 1-6, 9, and 10 attached to the report. He explained that due to the complexity of scope of the project, staff had sought two proposals, one from Wildan and Associates and one from Black and Veatch for engineering services. He said copies of the proposals and the outline of the scope of work were attached to his memo. Mr. Ward explained the Wildan's proposal was for the amount of$169,124, which made it appear to be the low bid. (10�e said staff had found the geo-technical engineering portion of the bid was not included. The cost from Black and eatch was almost $60,000 for that portion. If$60,000 were added to the bid by Wildan, it would make Black and Veatch the low bidder on this project. He said staff had been working with the Fountain Hills Sanitary District on this Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 7 of 10 project and he thanked Ron Huber for his help when town staff met with the six people from ADEQ. He said Mr. Huber was working with Black and Veatch on his projects and staff felt it would greatly enhance the Fountain Lake liner project to use the same engineer on this project as it was known that things would need to be coordinated with Ron and his engineer. Mr. Ward stated staff recommended approval of awarding Lake Liner rehabilitation project in the amount of$216, 520 contract to Black and Veatch for engineering services. Councilman Mower asked Mr. Ward to confirm that Wildan could not do a geo-technical service. Mr. Ward clarified, that when he had talked with a Wildan representative, they felt that portion of the bid should be with the contractor. Mr. Ward said staff did not feel that was the case and staff wanted control of the situation due to the complexity of the project. Councilman Mower asked if geo-technical services would be required for the project and Mr. Ward said yes. Councilman Mower asked if any consideration had been given to shotcreting the whole lake and forgetting about the liner. Mr. Ward said at this time staff was looking at replacement of the liner and was following the two phase approach as previously outlined looking as all different possibilities. Councilman Mower suggested staff look seriously at the cost of shotcreting and Mr. Ward said staff would. Councilwoman Wiggishoff thanked staff for the detailed report regarding the tasks involved in this project. It was extremely helpful in understanding the project. Councilman Wyman asked for clarification that Wildan was essentially unresponsive since the RFP stated specific requirements that they had left out. Mr. Ward said that was not necessary the term. When Wildan was given the proposal all of the requirements were listed but when Wildan responded there was a zero in that column. He said he had talked with them about it and that was why he had conveyed that the geo technical was to be taken care of by the contractor. Councilman Wyman said he had been confused when looking at the detailed summary that accompanied the memorandum there was a zero in only one column and yet the responsive bidder (Black and Veatch) had only $5,040 in that column and not $59,000. Mr. Ward apologized and explained he had thought he had set the chart up in an accurate side-by-side number comparison. He said if Council examined the chart for the hours under geo-technical engineer there was a zero in that column for total hours for geo technical submitted by Wildan. Whereas, Black and Jeatch submitted $59,000 for geo technical. Councilman Wyman said when first looking at the summary it would ppear that Wildan was responsive to every one of the items with the exception of item 9, which was the contractor's prequalification and the difference there was $5,040. He said he had been trying to reconcile that to the $59,000 difference. Mr. Ward said he would be happy to go over those numbers the following day. Councilman Poma asked if the town took this burden on, what type of time frame would it take to get the liner repaired. Mr.Ward responded engineering would be working with the Sanitary District and the first draw down would start in April or May. At that time, engineering would be very intense in the evaluation of the liner. He said by then staff would have already done some of the front work by taking samples of the liner. He said it would happen in the year 2000. Councilman Poma asked if chemicals were found in soil samples, would it be more expensive to remove them. Mr. Ward said previous tests did not find anything that was harmful and could provide copies of statements from Wilson and Company as well as from Asset Environmental, which address that issue. Councilman Poma acknowledged reading those reports but had now heard that fish were dying. The fountain was not going off at this time so the fish would not go into the motors and it made him wonder what kind of problems there really were. Mr. Ward said because the lake gets such an immense amount of aeration from that fountain and since it was not operating at this time, it was his opinion that was probably why some fish were dying. Councilman Poma inquired if MCO would still be paying 12%. Mr. Ward said yes. Vice Mayor Apps questioned Mr. Ward about when MCO had performed a limited sampling program several years ago and their conclusions had been that there were no hazardous materials in the lake. He said Mr. Ward's memo stated that staff expected their results would confirm MCO's finding, but if the sediments were found to be hazardous additional tasks would be necessary. He inquired if the word "if' came into play, would that change the bid price, would it stop there, or would the Council then have to look at it again, or did the bid price take into consideration the "if' factor. Mr. Ward said the bid price did not take into consideration the "if' factor and that was why samples had (itioveen taken before the town took over the lake and the liner to see if there were hazardous materials. He indicated there ere no findings that showed any hazardous materials. Vice Mayor Apps surmised that if hazardous materials were Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 8 of 10 found with the proposed testing, the process could stop at that point. Mr. Ward said yes, he would have to come back to the Council. ,Councilwoman Hutcheson asked if this process would happen in April and Mr. Ward said that was correct. She then asked if that would extend the temporary use of irrigation fields beyond April. Mr. Ward responded yes and said staff would be working with the Sanitary District to move the effluent from the lake into the effluent fields as well as continue to feed the golf courses by not putting water into the Fountain Lake. Vice Mayor Apps questioned if Mr. Ward was familiar with the standards Black and Veatch used for their sampling. Would they use their lab, independent labs, and he asked whom would they use to qualify/quantify the blind studies, etc., to make sure the standards were correct. Mr. Ward said Asset Environmental used Wilson and Company as well as another company that he did not have the name in front of him at the moment. Staff would do more tests to assure the town did not have hazardous materials in the lake. Vice Mayor Apps asked if he was comfortable that their labs or whichever labs they used their standards would be sufficient. Mr. Ward said yes and said he had reread the report for the results of the labs testing. Vice Mayor Apps responded there were standards for environmental qualities of the labs and would be curious later on which labs they used and as to how they set their standards. Mr. Ward said it had been a Phase I environmental study, which had been done. Vice Mayor Apps said he would talk with Mr. Ward later on the different standards used. Councilman Poma asked the Town Attorney if there was any way the Town could go back to the people who had given the Town a report on the fountain condition 3 ' years ago when the Council voted to take the fountain over. He said at that time,the Council had been told the fountain was in perfect health and now 3 '/years later the town needed to swallow the $1 million dollar repair bill. Mr. Farrell said it was currently under review to see if there was a legal process to proceed with. Vice Mayor Apps said that he had also questioned that the findings of the lab and what he had found were some very gross differences within a 24-month period. He understood the Town was looking into the matter, which was needed, ,ut he also felt the lab or labs that Black and Veatch used must be held to what he considered their best standards. He tated in his profession, labs had all different types of standards and he would like to use the labs which had the best standards instead of the cheaper labs. Councilman Wyman MOVED to approve the contract with Black and Veatch in the amount of$216,520 as presented and Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#16—CALL TO THE PUBLIC. No one came forward from the public. AGENDA ITEM #17—PURSUANT TO A.R.S. §38-431.03.A.3., A.R.S. §38-431.03.A.4.; A.R.S. §38-431.03.A.7., VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATIONS FOR LEGAL ADVICE WITH THE ATTORNEY OR ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY REGARDING THE LOS ARCOS MULTIPURPOSE FACILITIES DISTRICT AND THE BARCLAY GROUP; AND DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATION WITH THE ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY IN ORDER TO CONSIDER ITS POSITION AND INSTRUCT ITS ATTORNEYS REGARDING THE PUBLIC BODY'S POSITION IN PENDING OR CONTEMPLATED LITIGATION REGARDING THE TOWN VERSUS MCO PROPERTIES; AND DISCUSSIONS OR CONSULTATIONS WITH DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PUBLIC BODY IN ORDER TO CONSIDER ITS POSITION AND INSTRUCT ITS REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING NEGOTIATION FOR THE PURCHASE OR LEASE OF REAL PROPERTY WITH REGARDS TO THE POSSIBLE ACQUISITION OF CHAPARRAL CITY WATER COMPANY; RESPECTIVELY. layor Morgan called for a vote to go into Executive Session at 7:42 p.m. Councilman Mower MOVED that the 'ouncil recess the Regular Secession and convene the Executive Session and Councilman Poma SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 9 of 10 ,,AGENDA ITEM#18—RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION. Mayor Morgan reconvened the Regular Session of the Town Council at 8:43 p.m. Councilman Poma MOVED to adjourn the meeting and Vice Mayor Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGNEDA ITEM#19—ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By. Sharon Morgan,Mayor A YI'hST: Cassie B.Hansen,Town Clerk PREPARED BY: !( �' ' �. � Bev Bender,Administrative Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the rl day of December 1999. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 16th day of December 1999. (A14,44-4--\5 Cassie B. Hansen,Town Clerk L Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/02/99 Page 10 of 10