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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001.0621.TCREM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL June 21,2001 Mayor Morgan called the regular session of the Town Council to order at 5:40 p.m. AGENDA ITEM#1. PURSUANT TO A.R.S. §38-431.03.A.4, VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR: 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 OR IN SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO AVOID OR RESOLVE LITIGATION (CONDEMNATION ACTION -TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS V. MCO PROPERTIES). Councilwoman Fraverd MOVED that the Council convene the executive session and Vice Mayor Wyman SECONDED the motion, which carried unanimously. Mayor Morgan adjourned the executive session at 6:25 p.m. AGENDA ITEM#2. RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION Mayor Morgan reconvened the regular session at 6:30 p.m. Following the pledge to the flag and invocation by Father Tot O'Dea, roll call was taken. ROLL CALL-Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Sharon Morgan, Vice Mayor John Wyman and Councilmembers Leesa Fraverd, Sharon Hutcheson, John McNeill,John Kavanagh,and Susan Ralphe. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin,Town Attorney 1111100 Bill Farrell, Director of Public Works/Town Engineer Randy Harrel, Director of Administration Cassie Hansen, Director of Public Safety Gendler, Assistant Director of Public Works Tom Ward, and Director of • Community Development Jeff Valder. AGENDA ITEM#1. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 7,2001. AGENDA ITEM#2. CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST SUBMITTED BY KENNY KRELL ON BEHALF OF 3 DISCIPLINES RACING FOR THE JINGLE BELL RUN SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2001 FROM 4:45 P.M. TO 6:30 P.M. THE EVENT WILL REOUIRE STREET CLOSURES AT: AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS FROM VERDE RIVER TO SAGUARO; SAGUARO FROM PALISADES TO EL LAGO. AGENDA ITEM#3. CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST SUBMITTED BY LEE ROBINSON FOR THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR A 25111 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2001 FROM 11:00 A.M. TO 4:00 P.M. THE EVENT INCLUDES AN OUTDOOR MASS AND PICNIC IN FOUNTAIN PARK AND WILL REQUIRE THE CLOSURE OF SAGUARO BOULEVARD FROM 10:00 A.M.TO 1:00 P.M. AGENDA ITEM#4. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2001-29 ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENT LOCATED ALONG THE SOUTHERLY PROPERTY LINE OF PLAT 431, BLOCK 2, LOT 4, (15232 E. DELRAY DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 151 OF MAPS, PAGE 43 RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA. (JOHN BUCUR) EA01-12 AGENDA ITEM#5. CONSIDERATION OF THE RENEWAL OF THE ANNUAL MOWING & LANDSCAPE CONTRACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2001-2002. AGENDA ITEM#6. CONSIDERATION OF RENEWING THE CONTRACT WITH CEREUS GRAPHICS, INC. (FORMERLY COMMERCIAL LITHOGRAPHERS, INC.) TO PRINT THE COMPASS AND JUST 4 TEENS NEWSLETTERS DURING FISCAL YEAR 2001-2002. Councilman McNeill MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as read and Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results. Councilman Kavanagh- aye Councilwoman Ralphe— aye Vice Mayor Wyman - aye Councilman McNeill- aye Councilwoman Hutcheson- aye Mayor Morgan - aye Councilwoman Fraverd- aye The motion CARRIED unanimously with a roll call vote. AGENDA ITEM#7. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2001-31 ORDERING THE SALE OF $6,000,000 PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA, GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS, PROJECT OF 1997, SERIES 2001, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Mr. Nordin reviewed that in 1997 there had been a successful bond issue in the amount of$6,000,000 that was voted on favorably by the electorate of issuing the stated amount for mountain preservation. He explained that with this item and the next item, staff was making an attempt to be prepared so that when the time came to come up with the cash necessary to effect the land sale, it would be ready. He confirmed that these actions tonight did not issue any bonds, only the authorization to issue at the appropriate time. He introduced the Town's bond counsel, Scott Ruby. Mr. Ruby (from the firm of Gust Rosenfeld) stated that the resolution before the Council authorized the sale of the bonds. He reviewed that those bonds would not be sold until there was a need for the money and the contingencies and other matters had been satisfied. Vice Mayor Wyman MOVED to approve Resolution 2001-31 as presented and Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion. Councilwoman Ralphe asked with what firm Mr. Ruby was associated. Mr. Ruby responded it was the firm of Gust Rosenfeld. Councilwoman Ralphe asked if that company was involved in the PG&E transaction. Mr. Ruby said his firm had served as bond counsel for a number of years for the Town of Fountain Hills including the particular municipal property corporation out of which the PG&E issue had arose. Councilwoman Ralphe expressed that she was looking for assurance from him and his firm that some safeguards had been put into place that could protect the people of Fountain Hills from another PG&E type situation. Mr.Ruby asked if she wanted him to address that issue in connection with this item, which was a general obligation bond issue, or wait and address that item in the next agenda item, which was a municipal property corporation matter to which this was the sister or brother to that original transaction referenced by Councilwoman Ralphe. Councilwoman Ralphe acknowledged that she asked the question on the wrong agenda item and asked him to speak on the safeguards at that time. Councilman McNeill asked if there would be another action that would come before this Council before the bonds were issued. Mr. Ruby replied yes. Once a date had been set to receive bids and the bids were received they would bring those bids back to the Council for consideration. At that time, if the bids were Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 Page 2 of 12 found to be acceptable, the Council would be asked to adopt another resolution. Councilman McNeill clarified that the Council would have some control over the timing of the bond issuance with respect to this particular issue. Mr. Ruby agreed. Councilman Kavanagh commented that he had never opposed the expenditure of the $6 million dollars for which the public voted. He said that amount was well within the Town's budgetary constraints so he would be supporting this particular resolution. Mayor Morgan called for the vote on the motion as stated. The motion CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#8. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2001-32 APPROVING THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA, MUNICIPAL PROPERTY CORPORATION MUNICIPAL FACILITIES REVENUE BONDS, SERIES 2001, AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS RELATIVE TO SUCH SALE. Mr. Nordin deferred again to Mr. Scott Ruby. Mr. Ruby stated that this resolution approves the beginning of the transaction involving the municipal property corporation. He reviewed that the Municipal Property Corporation (MPC) met earlier this afternoon and considered and granted preliminary authorization to the issuance of not to exceed $9,000,000 million dollars of their bonds. He explained that their bonds were supported by an excise tax (sales tax pledge from the Town). Mr. Ruby stated that this resolution also grants the approval to the issuance of not to exceed $9,000,000 of the municipal property corporation bonds. He said that these bonds were partnered with the G.O. bonds in order to finance the purchase price discussed by the Council at a prior meeting. Mr. Ruby confirmed that the transaction was very similar to what the Council did in 2000 with respect to the convention center. In fact, the way these bonds would be issued would be with an amendment and supplement to those documents. Mr. Ruby acknowledged that the Town had adopted some guidelines as to investments so now those guidelines were stricter than what was found in these documents. He pointed out that the documents reflected three things: 1. Industry standards. 2. The dictated eligible investments by the municipal bond insurance companies. 3. The Town's standards were stricter than the Legislature's, which gave the Town greater authority. During this last Legislative session they added commercial paper and corporate debt to a list of investments in which a Town could invest. He noted that through the Council's actions and policies, stricter investment criteria existed with respect to all of these funds. Mr. Ruby reiterated that criteria would be imposed and was in fact imposed in the prior deal just not at the right time (after the fact). It would be the case in this transaction where the investments would be limited to that much stricter policy. Mr. Ruby confirmed that this transaction would involve a new trustee. He said they were examining that whole relationship and were in the process of presenting some conclusions to the Town's administration. He suspected that any selection along those lines would be made with their input and after some serious conversations with the new trustee. Councilwoman Fraverd MOVED to approve Resolution 2001-32 as presented and Vice Mayor Wyman SECONDED the motion. Councilwoman Ralphe asked if this resolution amended the original trust indenture. Did the language provide for only investment in government guaranteed securities and none that were on credit watch or Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 Page 3 of 12 under review? She asked if that type of wording was in that trust indenture or did the Council need to make an amendment to accomplish that. Mr. Ruby responded that the current transaction supplements the original indenture. The supplement did not address the change in the eligible investments. The criteria that the Council previously adopted as for investment, which limited investment to government investments, would be part of this transaction at a minimum as an instruction letter to the trustee. Councilwoman Ralphe AMENDED the supplement to the original trust indenture to provide for the three points: only government guaranteed investments, none on credit watch or under review and Councilman Kavanagh SECONDED the amendment. Mayor Morgan asked if an amendment, as just made, would convolute the lawsuit. Mr. Ruby said the amendment as stated would offer up a defense of exercising prudence if it were brought up in the lawsuit. Mayor Morgan asked if the amendment could be damaging to the case. Mr. Ruby stated at this stage, no more damaging than having offered up this amendment. Councilman Kavanagh asked for clarification of Mr. Ruby's statement. Mr. Ruby responded that Council had not offered up the amendment now and it was a part of public record so people would be able to examine and make some conclusions on that. The amendment FAILED on a vote of 6— 1. Councilwoman Ralphe cast the aye vote. Councilman Kavanagh restated that while he supported the $6 million dollars because it was voter approved,the additional$9 million was not voter approved. He noted that he would not be supporting this because he questioned the mandate and the financial wisdom. Councilwoman Ralphe AMENDED the motion to exclude the emergency clause (section #13). The amendment FAILED due to the lack of a second. A roll call vote was taken on the original motion with the following results. Vice Mayor Wyman- aye Councilman McNeill- aye Councilwoman Hutcheson- aye Councilwoman Fraverd- aye Mayor Morgan- aye Councilwoman Ralphe— nay Councilman Kavanagh- nay The motion CARRIED on a vote of 5 -2. Mayor Morgan congratulated and presented Vice Mayor Wyman and his wife Barbara with a large bouquet of flowers commemorating their 50th wedding anniversary on behalf of the Council and staff. AGENDA ITEM#9. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2001-33 ESTABLISHING A POLICY FOR TOWN-OWNED WASH MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE. Councilwoman Ralphe introduced this resolution by describing the proposed wash policy in two ways. This was a written policy for a wash preservation ordinance that went into effect in 1996 via an initiative and a strong popular vote. She described this action as "catching up" as a policy would logically follow the enactment of an ordinance. Councilwoman Ralphe noted that this was the result because of problems that had occurred in the washes and because citizens had informed the Town that there were problems. Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 Page 4 of 12 She said that it occurred to her and to others that it was time that the Town took responsibility for the ordinance and monitoring of the washes. Councilwoman Ralphe pointed out that the citizens could not be expected to always come to the Town and report problems. She gave an overview of some of the problems with which the Town had dealt. She hoped that this policy would be able to address these types of issues. Councilwoman Ralphe stated that this policy process had started a couple of months ago. The Town Manager Paul Nordin had invited a couple of staff members, Community Development Director Valder, Marshal Gendler, and Lori Noss who represented CPE to meet with her to begin to talk about a policy. In those early meetings, goals were identified. Goals led staff to putting together much of the language in this policy. Talks were held with other department members and outside governmental agencies, which brought it to this point. It was now time for the Council to look at it. She called on Steve Gendler. Public Safety Director Gendler acknowledged that he had been involved in the process early on. He noted that the Marshals Department was committed to community oriented policing. When the issue of the washes came up, he had tried to come up with a contribution for the policy from a law enforcement point of view that would emphasize this philosophy. He contributed that there be a three-point program from a law enforcement point of view that should emphasize prevention, citizen involvement, and enforcement action. Along with the suggestion he made to the group, he had also talked with members of his staff. It was decided to put some of these things into place on their own. Director Gendler felt these actions fit what the Council was looking for and what they were trying to do for the community. He confirmed that since the beginning of this year the marshals had 28 calls out in the washes that had resulted in enforcement action. Those calls covered everything from dumping to people driving in the washes or other actions that violated the Town's existing codes. He noted that the Marshals Department was in the process of working with the neighborhoods to establish"wash watches",which was a version based on "neighborhood watches". Citizens that border the washes would be asked to help the Now marshals by reporting suspicious activities so that the marshals could increase the swiftness of their law enforcement response. Director Gendler stated that they would implement that portion of the plan regardless of what action was taken on this policy tonight. To try and make citizens aware, the Marshals Department had prepared articles that would be published in the Compass and had talked to the Times about the possibility of alerting the citizens to what go on in the washes so that the citizens knew how to reach the department in order to help preserve the washes in the manner that the Council expected. He reported that the Marshals Department had already started to put the enforcement portions of the plan into effect,as they were already available with the department's existing resources. Councilwoman Ralphe called upon Assistant Director of Public Works Tom Ward. She stated that he had been of great help as he had been the key player in fixing up washes where problems occurred. He was also instrumental in the cleaning up of washes and removing non-native plants for the purpose of fire prevention. She pointed out that the wording in the policy affirmed what Mr. Ward and his staff had already been doing. Mr. Ward hoped to make the transition from repairing things to maintaining things with some of the words in place with which staff could follow through. He referred to an article that he had provided to the council regarding salt cedar, which explained what staff was doing in those washes. He felt that article was worthy of the council reading in order to confirm that staff was heading in the right direction and were doing good things. Mr. Ward expressed that his concern had been mainly to look at areas where staff could reduce wild fire danger, facilitate drainage, and promote public safety. He said that public safety and welfare for those residents that live and reside along the washes had been his first concern with regard to the Town's liability. He said this policy would help to accomplish that end. Mr. Ward distributed a copy of a letter from Mr. Dan James, owner of Sun West Golf and Reclamation. Mr. Ward noted that Fish and Game had recommended Mr. James at the request of the CPE when staff asked for direction on how to handle the cutting and reseeding of the washes. He was also used as Fish `& Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 �r Page 5 of 12 and Game's consultant. Mr. Ward pointed out that Mr. James had been very helpful. Mr. Ward stated that the letter just distributed stemmed out of revegetation of Ashbrook Wash. He concluded that the key element in this letter was that the salt cedars were acting as invaders on new open habitat, which was also conducive to the establishment of more desirable native species. In the letter, Mr. James agreed that it would not be harmful to remove the desert broom if it was a nuisance. Mr. Ward confirmed that staff was removing it because it was a nuisance. Although some people do classify these salt cedar and desert broom as native species he explained that there may be times that staff has to work on native species to reduce wild fire danger,facilitate drainage, and promote public safety. Councilwoman Ralphe MOVED to approve Resolution 2001-31 as presented and Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion. Vice Mayor Wyman applauded the end result of this document but objected to the means of getting there. He cited his displeasure at receiving numerous revisions of the document as late as just before the beginning of the Council meeting, which brought yet another revision to his attention. He did not feel this policy had gone through due process because of discussions with people he felt should be involved with the development of this policy (the Sanitary District, Public Works,the Marshals Department, committees and commissions who had been commissioned by the Council). He stated that in some instances it could take weeks,if not month,for the document to be ready for presentation to the Council. Vice Mayor Wyman read the Public Works mission statement contained in the Town's budget and from the section subtitled Medians/Dams/Mountain Preserves. He pointed out that it was this department's job to enhance the beauty value and quality of the environment by operating and maintaining the public grounds dams, medians, natural washes, and mountain preserves. He noted that their fiscal 2002 objectives were to continue the clean up of other arduous and moderate fire hazards areas in cooperation of the Fire District, to attend MMPC meetings, and assist with goals and objectives for open space areas and work in conjunction with the Committee to Protect the Environment(CPE). This department was to check °, these wash areas weekly for illegal dumping or destruction of these areas. Vice Mayor Wyman reviewed �r . the proposed budget of$160,000 for the coming year in order to take care of all of these items. He pointed out that the MMPC had been working for some time on the development of a preservation management policy that they wished to submit to the Council. Vice Mayor Wyman expressed concern that what was seen here was something of a rush. He noted that MMPC Chairman Roy Kinsey that he was distressed with this present document and they had not had the opportunity to study it. He felt that this should be continued to a later date so that all the agencies might have time to comment on it. Councilwoman Fraverd asked that the discussion be opened to the public so that she could see if Vice Mayor Wyman's arguments had merit. She wanted to know if the public felt this policy was being rushed or if they were ok with it. David Hansen, 15759 Brittlebush Lane(Chairman of the Fountain Hills Fire District) He commended everyone on the approach of coming up with a formal solution for maintaining the washes. He noted that the maintenance had to be done carefully because in the opinion of the Fire Board it was the number one hazardous situation and could do extensive damage in the community if not done well. He stated that open lands were not just owned by the Town, as there were homeowners associations and private individuals who owned property bordering on the washes. He suggested that a set of standard be developed for citizens, which would advise them what could be done and where could they go for advice. He stated that the Fire District had been working with the Arizona State Land Department evaluating the washes for potential fire problems. Chairman Hansen reminded everyone that a typical Sonoran fire with a good wind could spread one square mile in minutes and could cover twelve square miles in an hour. He pointed out that Sonoran native plants were not conducive to spreading wild fires but it was the grasses and non-indigenous plants Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 Page 6 of 12 that were the problem with carrying the fire rapidly forward. The Fire District had the knowledge to maintain the washes natural look without destroying it but they would need to know which plants to trim and which to eliminate. He proposed that the Fire District become a partner in this work with everyone's responsibilities clearly spelled out. Chairman Hansen noted that the Fire District would be going on their own December 15, 2001, and training their firefighters to go door-to-door throughout the community to check the operation of sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, and to identify unsafe conditions for the homeowners with the idea of promoting prevention. He pointed out that there wasn't any reason why the firefighters couldn't be trained to look for problems in the washes while conducting these safety checks. He noted that they would be happy to do this in conjunction with their community service inspection program. He volunteered that they would manage the entire program if the Council wanted them to or to help with the program. He reassured the Council that the Fire District was not interested in advocating clear cutting of the washes,as they wanted to maintain the natural beauty of the washes. Councilman Kavanagh asked for clarification as to if Fire District wanted to have input on this document or that the Fire District was taking a position of support regarding this document or that they just wanted to be consulted later. Chairman Hansen responded that they supported the concept of codifying clear guidelines for the public, which could strengthen it. If that were done, then two objectives could be achieved: keep the washes natural and fire safety. Councilwoman Hutcheson said she understood that the Town departments had been doing an excellent job of watching for fire danger. Mr. Ward and his crew had worked well with Fish and Game being very careful of non-native plants and the removal of fire danger plants. Councilwoman Hutcheson thanked him for his offer but she felt the Town was already doing that. This was not to say that perhaps at a future time the Fire District could be consulted. She pointed out that the document was clear when it stated the Fountain Hills Fire District,Sanitary District and the Arizona Department of Game and Fish would review the standards as they were developed. The document provided for the prevention of fire danger and the removal of non-native vegetation. Chairman Hansen commented that it was one of the Fire District's top priorities and he doubted that it was one of Fish and Game's priorities. He suggested that the Town's budget might be inadequate for this task and felt that the Town could triple that budget and still not bring the washes to the standards where the Fire District would like to see them. He proposed that the Fire District would probably be more concerned than anyone else because it would be their responsibility to control and protect the public. He was only suggesting the Fire District as a resource but if the Town wanted to go their own way that was within their rights. Councilman Kavanagh said it had been suggested that some groups felt that they did not have adequate input and they wanted the opportunity to provide their input before the council approved this policy. He asked if the Fire District was in that group. Chairman Hansen explained that they were going through a transition. Up until now their contract employees had represented the Fire District in this process. He said he had respect for the people who were doing it and they were competent but at this time the Board was redefining its goals and objectives since it would be their own operation. In looking at the potential hazard he felt there was a need for quality emergency service with washes being the biggest hazard faced. The Board was saying they would prefer to have control overseeing the operations to reduce the potential of wild fires in the washes. Councilman Kavanagh asked if the Fire Board was asking the Council to postpone passing this resolution for one or two meetings so that they could formerly comment on the document. Chairman Hansen responded he was not sure that they would be invited to formally comment. Councilman Kavanagh confirmed he was asking if they wanted to be invited to formally comment. Chairman Hansen replied yes. Chairman Bert Putterman (Sanitary District) 16856 Last Trail He stated he was speaking on his own behalf because the Sanitary District received a draft copy of this resolution on Tuesday. He indicated that he had not had the opportunity to discuss this revision. He stated Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 Page 7 of 12 that the Sanitary District would like the opportunity to provide input on this document. He asked that this Lir be tabled at this time. Lori Noss,CPE She pointed out that they had been working with Town staff and the various groups in Town since the beginning of this issue. She expressed that their primary concerns had been the problems that had been happening in the washes. She stated that guidelines and standards needed to be set so that the Town and others know what can be done in the washes. She felt there had been a great deal of communication with all of the groups. She pointed out that the document stated that future wash clean up activities should be undertaken after standards had been developed and refined. Ms. Noss defended that this policy needed to be adopted and get those standards defined. She asked that the Council pass the resolution. Don Logan, 14061 N.El Pueblo He supported adoption of this policy and asked that the Council act quickly. Bert Futterman He pointed out that the negotiations or conversation that went on with Ms. Noss, Town staff and the Sanitary District concerned the pump station lift project. He expressed that the Sanitary District had some reservations about some of the language in this resolution and again asked that they be allowed to have some input. Lori Noss,CPE She explained that the reason for wanting a standard established was to have rules, which would apply to all in order to protect the washes. Jerry Sheridan,MCSO He volunteered the inmate labor detail and the male or female chain gang to help with the wash situation. Vice Mayor Wyman reiterated that he supported the end goal of this policy. He expressed his concern for the rush involved to push this through and to the numerous revisions that Council had been asked to quickly review. He did not feel that this policy had gone through due process. Vice Mayor Wyman MOVED to continue this agenda item until the September 4th, 2001 Council meeting and Councilman Kavanagh SECONDED the motion. Mayor Morgan requested a roll call vote with the following results: Councilwoman Fraverd nay Councilman Kavanagh aye Councilwoman Ralphe nay Vice Mayor Wyman aye Councilman McNeill nay Councilwoman Hutcheson nay Mayor Morgan aye The motion FAILED on a roll call vote of 4-3. Councilman Kavanagh MOVED to continue this agenda item until the July 5th, 2001 Council meeting and Vice Mayor Wyman SECONDED the motion. Councilwoman Ralphe nay Vice Mayor Wyman aye Councilman McNeill nay Councilwoman Hutcheson nay Councilwoman Fraverd nay Councilman Kavanagh aye Mayor Morgan aye The motion FAILED on a roll call vote of 4—3. 141111 Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 Page 8 of 12 Councilwoman Hutcheson commented that changes had been made to this document. She realized that in the case of the Sanitary District that if they have input they want to give, the Council would be willing to listen. As she read the document all it asks for is that the Town be notified in the beginning when they need access to property that they were going to use except for an emergency. She did not think this was a big issue, as they would require the same of the Town if the Town were on their property. She saw provision in the document for the Fire Department to either work with Town staff or our staff has been able to do a pretty good job of removing the dangerous fire material in the wash. She felt staff would work in developing those standards. Councilwoman Hutcheson agreed it was difficult to receive documents at the last minute. She reminded the Council that last week they had voted on a significant document that she had looked at changes just a few hours before as well. Councilwoman Fraverd saw this document as step one in a two-step process. She agreed there was a need for standards to be developed and the current group that had been working on this should be expanded. She did not know if the Sanitary District had been involved in the process and felt they should be. Councilwoman Fraverd said that the Fire District also needed to be involved along with the Town's engineers, the CPE, and a couple of interested citizens. She asked that whoever was heading this up to expand the group to include all. She stated that this was a resolution saying that the Council was in agreement with this and ready to proceed with these standards. She concurred with Councilwoman Hutcheson that after reading this resolution some of the conflicts that other council people have had been addressed. She did not have a problem voting on this tonight. Councilman McNeill also viewed this as a first step. He stated it was a policy statement and not an ordinance,which allow the Town to move forward with the management. He was surprised at the number of acres involved (559 acres of town owned property). He acknowledged that there had been some problems in the washes and with that much property it was appropriate to start moving towards a policy. He pointed out that this policy appropriately called for the coordination with the Fire District, Sanitary District, and Fish and Game. He welcomed their input on ways to maintain the beauty of the washes and Lor public safety at the same time. He offered an amendment to hopefully address some of the concerns that the Sanitary District. Councilman McNeill AMENDED the motion to change the wording from"*st"to "is requested to"in Paragraph#8 and Mayor Morgan SECONDED the amendment. Mayor Morgan stated she did not like the word"must"as it was too harsh and did not foster cooperation. The amendment CARRIED unanimously. Vice Mayor Wyman responded to the earlier comparison made between getting revisions on this document and the mountain agreement prior to the meeting. He stated that this council had thoroughly studied previously proposed mountain agreements. While it was true that up to the last minute the parties had been making modest tweaks to it, it was not analogous to getting a document on Monday morning with revisions as late as sitting down at the dais at the beginning of this meeting and was hardly the same comparison. He was concerned that everyone may not have had time to read this document because they certainly did not have time to read it before the Council meeting. Councilwoman Ralphe responded to the timeframe concerns expressed. She noted that this had been a tedious process and there was a change in the document this afternoon. She stated it reached each councilmembers' home and department head at approximately 3 p.m. She said everyone received a phone call regarding the change to let them know it was there. She pointed out there had been minor changes made. It wasn't quite this evening when everyone received this revision. Mayor Morgan said that was well in good if you were at home and she was not. Councilwoman Ralphe agreed that was true. e, Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 �Ir Page 9 of 12 Councilman Kavanagh disagreed that the adoption of the policy was a first step. He felt it was the last step. He expressed concern over the extent of the vegetation removal, a somewhat inappropriate use of the Marshals Department,zero tolerance policy suggestion, and the question of input by other parties. He was glad to see that the latest revision had addressed all of his objections except for the input issue. Had there not been statements made by other entities that they wanted input, both directly and indirectly, he would have been prepared to support this policy. He had a problem with the other agencies not having the opportunity for input that they say they want. Councilman Kavanagh said a lot of people had to be involved in this wash protection and it would involve cooperation not only with the Town departments but also with the other entities. He did not want to get off on a bad foot by essentially having this cloud of disrespect hanging over this policy or future issues and it was unnecessary. A delay of six weeks would not have made any difference in terms of problems in the washes or the final draft. He did not understand why the Council was not allowing the other entities the opportunity for input on this policy. He said he would be voting against this policy,not because he thought it was a bad policy,but it needed more input. Mayor Morgan agreed with Councilman Kavanagh and stated it was a good policy. She said she would not be able to support this for that reason. The policy could only be made better with input from the other agencies. Councilwoman Hutcheson agreed with both Mayor Morgan and Councilman Kavanagh, but in the document it states that standards would be developed and input would be sought to review the standards. She felt it included those other agencies. She pointed out that the council had always welcomed input from them in the past and did not see anything in this document that would preclude their input in the future as these standards are developed. Mayor Morgan asked how many more times would the Council be asked to review revisions? She would prefer to get everyone's input and review one document. Sanitary Board Director Bruce Hansen, Sunburst Dr. He responded to an early question as to when they.became involved in this process. Mr. Nordin called Ron Huber on Tuesday and asked him if he would like to see the policy. That was the very first time the Sanitary District had heard of this proposed policy. He reminded the Council that they did not have any authority to regulate what the Sanitary District did. The Sanitary District had public utility easements (PUE)in the washes and could enter the washes at anytime. He pointed out that they were a political body on the same level as the Town Council. He noted that Mr. Farrell, the Town's attorney, would tell them the same thing. Mr. Farrell commented that the public utility easements that existed in the washes were created by the original wash owner (MCO Properties) and did grant to the utilities the ability to enter the washes if they so chose. He confirmed that the Town could not prohibit them from doing that, as any policy of cooperation that the Town would get from the utilities would have to be a policy of cooperation. If a utility was not using any of the washes, the Town could abandon a portion of them, but clearly in the case of the Sanitary District or Chaparral City Water Co. there did exist service lines in the washes that would remain there. A week ago the council had indicated to MCO in the development of the newest subdivision that every effort should be made in connection to Chaparral City Water Company. and the Sanitary District to keep wet utility lines out of the washes. He confirmed that Mr. Hansen was correct. The Marshals could not stop them and he suggested fostering cooperation rather than mandatory compliance. Mayor Morgan reiterated that she did not see any harm or damage that could come by waiting to get input from the Sanitary District by not letting this little tan cloud become chocolate brown and create something that the Town could not overcome in future instances. Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 Page 10 of 12 Lori Noss,CPE She did not agree there would be additional amendments to the resolution because the standards still needed to be developed with input from Town staff, Fire, Sanitary, citizen groups, and Fish and Game. They would be the ones who set the standards. Councilwoman Fraverd stated that she had misunderstood and apologized to the Sanitary District because she had thought they had been involved in the preparation of this policy. She agreed that the Sanitary District and the Fire District should take part in the development of these standards. She hoped that they assist the Town in coming up with a good set of rules and regulations for all. Councilwoman Ralphe assured Sanitary District Board member Bruce Hansen that the Council knew their easements were there. In fact, the original ordinance on which this policy was based had clear language affirming that there were easements. She reiterated that this was policy and other types of implementation would follow with one of the first things to be standards for wash clean ups. She noted that some standards already existed and perhaps they needed to be revised. She encouraged and invited any outside agency,interested department or citizens to call Town Hall to find out how they can become involved. Mayor Morgan reiterated the question of why rush. Why not have the standards in the one policy? Why not allow two weeks and then have the standards and be done with it? Councilwoman Ralphe responded that she did not believe in micromanaging. She preferred to have a general policy and then have other things flow from that. She imagined that the standards could get quite specific. Councilwoman Ralphe offered Town staff the opportunity to do the work that they are hired to do and she felt that standards were one of those things. Vice Mayor Wyman said that he had the time to read the revised policy while the others were talking over the last ninety minutes and he liked it. He stated that he was going to vote against it for one reason; he did not want to reward this type of behavior. For some reason the Council was rushing to judgment on this Low policy and he did not understand why. He had compared this revised document to the document distributed on Monday and the difference was night and day. He again asked why not allow the additional time for review? Mayor Morgan called for a roll call vote on the original motion with the amendment with the following results: Councilwoman Ralphe aye Vice Mayor Wyman nay Councilman McNeill aye Mayor Morgan nay Councilwoman Fraverd aye Councilman Kavanagh nay Councilwoman Hutcheson aye The motion CARRIED on a vote of 4-3. AGENDA ITEM#10. CALL TO THE PUBLIC. No one came forward. ADJOURNMENT. Councilwoman Hutcheson MOVED to adjourn and Councilwoman Fraverd SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 8:03 p.m. Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 Page 11 of 12 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By 11( aron Morgan,M or ATTEST: ( .Q6 Cassie B.Hansen, Director of Administration/Town Clerk y� PREPARED BY: 2! ��'���1 ) Bev Bender,Executive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular and Executive Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 21st day of June 2001. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 5th day of July 2001. 6/(44-. 6 Nispe Cassie B. Hansen, • Director of Administration/Town Clerk Town Council Minutes Regular and Executive Session 6/21/01 Page 12 of 12