Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002.0122.TCREM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL January 22,2002 AGENDA ITEM #1 - PURSUANT TO A.R.S. 38-431.03.A.1; VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION OF EMPLOYMENT, ASSIGNMENT, APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION,DEMOTION,DISMISSAL,SALARIES,DISCIPLINING OR RESIGNATION OF A PUBLIC OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE OF ANY PUBLIC BODY, EXCEPT THAT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SALARY DISCUSSIONS,AN OFFICER,APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE MAY DEMAND THAT SUCH DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION OCCUR AT A PUBLIC MEETING. THE PUBLIC BODY MUST PROVIDE THE OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE WITH SUCH PERSONAL NOTICE OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AS IS APPROPRIATE BUT NOT LESS THAN 24 HOURS FOR THE OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE TO DETERMINE WHETHER SUCH DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION SHOULD OCCUR AT A PUBLIC MEETING. THE COUNCIL WILL BE INTERVIEWING AN APPLICANT TO SERVE AS THE INTERIM TOWN MANAGER. Councilman Wyman MOVED that the Council convene the executive session and Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#2-RETURN TO SPECIAL SESSION Mayor Morgan convened the regular session at 6:30 p.m. Following the pledge to the flag and invocation by Councilwoman Ralphe,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 Kavanagh, and Councilmembers Sharon Hutcheson, John Wyman, Susan Ralphe, John McNeill, and Leesa Fraverd. Also present were Acting Town Manager/Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Director of Administration/Town Clerk Cassie B.Hansen. AGENDA ITEM #1 - CONSIDERATION OF APPOINTING AN INTERIM TOWN MANAGER FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE 2001-2002 FISCAL YEAR. Mayor Morgan MOVED to appoint Roy Pederson to the position of Interim Town Manager and Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #2 - DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS INCLUDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTEGRATED LAW ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM BETWEEN THE MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE AND THE TOWN MARSHALS DEPARTMENT WITH SPECIFIC TASK ASSIGNMENTS AND SUGGESTED LEVELS OF STAFFING. Vice Mayor Kavanagh MOVED that staff be directed to begin the budget preparation based upon the criteria set forth in the alternate law enforcement plan that he recently submitted and Councilman Wyman SECONDED the motion(plan on file in Clerk's office). Vice Mayor Kavanagh explained that because the plan had been well publicized in the various newspapers and copies had been provided to those attending the meeting tonight he stated that he would not go into great detail. He stated that the issue of whether the Town should have its own police department or continue contracting with the Sheriffs or go totally with the Sheriffs Department had been an issue for years. Previous Councils had been continuing with the mixed system for quite some time. The issue had now come to a head and this Council could no longer procrastinate. A decision must be made. He reviewed that a consultant had been hired who had recommended a reduction of the Marshals Department to only about 5 certified officers with the Sheriffs Department pick up most duties other than the local code enforcement. LEAP concurred with the consultant's recommendation although they went a bit further by suggesting that the'5 Marshals that remained not be certified officers. He noted that the public appeared to be split on this issue. Vice Mayor Kavanagh stated that what was certain was that the current system wasn't L working. The basic problem was that it created a lot of competition between the two departments because no clear-cut delineation of duties had been defined. He concurred with the consultant that the present system Special and Executive Session Minutes-January 22,2002 Page 1 of 8 wasn't working. However, he was not prepared to accept the consultant's recommendation to reduce the -chals to 5. He felt that the Marshals Department was an important part of community policing and the cil owed something to the Marshals who had served the Town well for many years. He acknowledged that t 0heriff s Department had also been serving a role in the community over the years and many residents wanted to see them involved in law enforcement. He felt that somewhere between the two extremes there was a workable compromise that would preserve the Marshals Department at reasonable strength allowing them to contribute in policing ways, but also continue with the Sheriffs Department because of their benefits to the Town, especially in the area of liability. Therefore, he had enacted a compromise plan, which would allow the two agencies to continue to work in Town. He noted that when the lines of responsibilities were defined there wouldn't be these types of conflicts. He reviewed his alternate plan contained in Table 1 and displayed it on the visualizer for the public. The proposed plan defined the responsibilities of both individual departments and listed the duties that would be shared between the two departments. He felt that the Council needed to act now to end the conflict between the departments and the citizens. He said this approach would be fair to the Marshals officers so that they could make their career decisions. He did not feel it would be fair to them to postpone this issue any longer. The spirit of this plan was that it would continue until something substantially changed in the Town, perhaps at build out in six years, or if there was a dramatic change in the Sheriff s contract. One reason that the Marshals Department was kept at a healthy staffing level in the plan was that it would allow the Town in the futures the option of going with a Town police department. Councilwoman Ralphe said she respected Vice Mayor Kavanagh's credentials, background in law enforcement, and as an educator because he could bring some valuable suggestions. She was also appreciative of the time that went into writing this plan and the communication that had taken place among the various officials. She expressed that the Council did not know how much this plan would cost. She expressed that she was very uneasy about voting for something for which there were no cost figures available. She felt that was not a responsible way for elected officials to proceed. Councilwoman Ralphe AMENDED the motion to adopt the integrated plan as a temporary framework for fiscal planning for the 2002/03 budget; authorizing for the same time period between now and 2002/03 the filling of vacant Marshals positions to maintain the equivalent of 2.5 Laincluding grant funding positions; and specifically, that these actions would not preclude at the 2002/03 �t time the examination of other law enforcement alternatives. Councilman McNeill SECONDED the dment. Councilwoman Ralphe said that enacting this plan on an interim basis would give the Town and the Sheriffs Department an opportunity to try the plan out for a time. It would also give the Council the opportunity to complete financial figures. It would calm immediate fears of Marshal Department deputies about downsizing, including downsizing from attrition. This might help gain the support of more Councilmembers then the initial plan,it might draw the community together, and it might draw law enforcement agencies together. Councilman McNeill expressed his preference to move the Town towards a full fledge Fountain Hills Police Department. He stated that he supported the amendment. The problem was that if the Town went with only contractual law enforcement services, the Town would always be at the mercy of whatever the vendor wanted to charge for those services. He addressed "mission creep" and said it had occurred with the sanction of this Council and previous Councils. The plan had been to start with a small Marshals Department and build it up over the years to the point where if the Council wanted to a Fountain Hills Police Department could be formed. He pointed out that if the Council chose to go with nothing but contracted services, and the County implemented an increase as they once had in the amount of 70%, such an increase would be devastating to the Town. He did not think that was an option that the Council could responsibly consider. He suggested that the Council could responsibly consider continuing the dual system with the option of going to the full-fledged department at some time in the future. He was of the opinion that it was also a reasonable choice now to go forward with a Town Police Department at this time. Vice Mayor Kavanagh responded to the amendment. He clarified that his motion was not to implement the plan now. The motion was to direct staff to prepare the budget, which would provide the Council with the facts and f—tres that Councilwoman Ralphe was looking for. Without having the ability to sit down and do the alations, it appeared to him that the worst-case scenario was that the cost would be the same. He suggested because there wouldn't be any increase in services and only reshuffling duties, there wouldn't be any budgetary increase. He felt that in terms of specifying the exact number of beats or officers that should be Town of Fountain Hills Meeting Minutes January 22,2002 Page 2 of 8 employed by each agency at this time was premature. He noted that both agencies had been discussing the dual system. Everything was going smoothly and everyone was getting along quite well. He said it was important that both agencies' representatives sit down with the new interim Town Manager and they sit down to complete the budgetary calculations for coverage. He reiterated that this plan only directed staff to begin enacting, based upon the spirit of the amendment, and he trusted staff to do that. He did not think it was necessary to get into specifics at this particular time. In terms of the staffing level of the marshals, he was committed to staffing at a level where the Marshals could do their job effectively. This plan would keep a strong Marshals presence. He explained that the Sheriffs Department had agreed that if local ordinance problems occurred on their shift their personnel would do that particular task. Both agencies would be backing each other, facilitated by the fact that they were on the same radio frequency. Vice Mayor Kavanagh expressed both agencies remained strong under his proposed plan. Mayor Morgan commented that the staffing should be left up to representatives of both agencies and the interim town manager. She remarked that it wasn't the role of the Council to become involved with personnel matters. Vice Mayor Kavanagh clarified that the direction that this motion gave was to direct staff on specific duties for each agency, with the Marshals Department adequately staffed to do those tasks. Councilman McNeill agreed it wasn't appropriate for the Council to get involved with the exact positioning of personnel. He stated it was the Council's role to adopt policy regarding the overall size of the Marshals Department. He felt that the amendment was aimed at restoring the Marshals Department to the size that had been previously approved by this Council, which was reflected in the budget adopted this past year. He asked to hear from Director Gendler. He said that he wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason for restoring those positions was that the Town had some grant funded positions. Councilman McNeill said that if some of the personnel that the Town had lost were not restored the Town might be in jeopardy of losing that grant funding. He commented on putting this plan in place as a working plan with the notion that it would be the policy document that would be looked at for perhaps the next six or seven years until the Town reached build out. He reminded the Council that there was an imminent election, which would point to the direction that the citizens want to see the Town take in terms of law enforcement. He said the voters would have the opportunity to vote tiotar for people that would support a Fountain Hills Police Department and he hoped they would do so. Councilman McNeill noted that what the Council was talking about tonight was a plan that had a two or three-month life span until the new Council was seated. This Council could talk about the issues and set some direction but he advised against getting excited about this becoming a seven-year document. Councilwoman Ralphe spoke to the provision in Vice Mayor Kavanagh's plan for putting off this issue again for another six years. She reiterated that a present Council's action could not bind a future Council's action. She explained that was why she had made this interim proposal. This would be an acknowledgement of this current Council's and previous Council's input on this matter. In pointing to the future it provided a perfect format for the incoming Council in June to take what this current Council was doing, because it was on an interim basis until June, and modify it in a way that they felt would be best. Councilwoman Hutcheson agreed one that Council could not bind another Council and that past Councils had looked at the issue. She noted that there hasn't been one Council that had voted to do anything other than what this present Council was doing now even though they had discussed it. She did not feel that was the issue as any Council could look at this issue in any budget year at any time. She felt that the issue was that the alternative consensus plan proposed by Vice Mayor Kavanagh dealt with some serious liability issues problems that the consultant's report pointed out. This alternative offered clear task delineation and a settling period. She acknowledged that this issue would be addressed again at budget time. She stated that it was at that time with the new Council in place that staffing issues could be revisited. Anything further at this time was unwarranted and premature. She felt that this was an important step forward and she did not want to see the issues blurred. She liked the clarification that the proposed plan offered. Councilman Wyman asked for a point of order and requested that the Town Clerk read back the primary motion. Director Hansen reread the primary motion. Councilman Wyman reiterated that the primary motion was to li direct staff to put together a budget based upon the proposed plan's criteria, not to implement the primary plan. L,. Mr. Farrell said that the Council could give that direction. Councilman Wyman asked for clarification. Mr. Farrell responded that he was hearing direction to do some of this continued implementation. During the last Town of Fountain Hills Meeting Minutes January 22,2002 Page 3 of 8 several weeks there had been many hours of meetings with Captain Penrose, Director Gendler, councilmembers and citizens. A number of issues had been discussed and staff had started some of the processes that, in his opinion, needed to be started. This was an ongoing process that would direct staff from now until budget time iliwy to put into position some of these changes. Councilman Wyman said that was fine. He had wanted to ensure that the Council was dealing with the implementation of the process and not simply whether or not the Council would examine the budget for it. He asked if the primary motion would have anything to do with implementing this next week and not next fiscal year. Mr. Farrell said that from his reading of the alternative plan, if it were to receive four or more affirmative votes this evening, staff would be sitting down with Captain Penrose and Director Gendler tomorrow. Councilman Wyman addressed the amendment to the alternative plan. He expressed that much time and work had gone into Vice Mayor Kavanagh's plan with the help of many people to get it to this point. Councilman Wyman asked if Captain Penrose and Director Gendler had been involved in what was proposed as an amendment to Vice Mayor Kavanagh's alternative plan. He did not want to frustrate the purpose of the many weeks worth of work there had been. Vice Mayor Kavanagh responded to the two issues in the amendment. With regard to the specific number of Marshals, that had been adequately addressed as being best worked out by the administrative staff and law enforcement people. He explained that the second issue was that it was really only binding for four months until when the next Council took over and that was understood in everything that this Council did. He restated that no Council could bind a future Council unless the action was on the order of signing a contract and that was understood which was why he did not feel the amendment should be placed on this motion. The spirit of this compromised plan was to stop the competition, which was causing conflict between the two agencies. If every year this competition reoccurred, then every year the Town would have the agencies competing and conflicting. This action would attempt to give a little bit of stability to law enforcement in Fountain Hills. Based upon the public input, the consultant study, the LEAP study and everything combined, what this plan basically said that was the Council should try this system out. He said he would be the first to say that a year or two from now if the conflict did not go away, he would suggest the Council try something different. Vice Mayor Kavanagh stated he felt this plan would work and the spirit of compromise and the spirit that both agencies could work together was what were contained in this plan. A big part of the plan was that there wouldn't be a yearly determination made of who gets to win the prize. He restated that the spirit of this plan was that unless there was a substantial change in the Sheriffs contract that the Town would stick with this plan until the Town reached build out. Fountain Hills would be different demographically and it would be appropriate to reexamine this issue. Mayor Morgan asked if Captain Penrose or Director Gendler were called upon would they only be able to speak to the amendment. Mr. Farrell confirmed that was the case and he reviewed parliamentary procedure. Councilman McNeill MOVED to suspend the rules and allow the public discussion to address the merits of both the amendment and the motion and Councilwoman Ralphe SECONDED the motion. Vice Mayor Kavanagh objected, stating that speaking to both issues would be confusing. He suggested dealing first with the amendment. The motion FAILED on a vote of 5 — 2. Councilman McNeill and Councilwoman Ralphe case the nay votes. Mr. Graziano,LEAP member He stated that LEAP was against both parts of the amendment and they saw no reason it. Francis Hoffman, 14215 N.Ashbrook She asked for clarification of the time frame for implementation and a definitive number of officers. Vice Mayor Kavanagh restated that the amendment stated the motion was good for four months, not one year. He acknowledged that if the motion passed that a budget would be prepared giving cost figures. Shawn Dow,Buffalo Dr. He said there was no need for the amendment and asked that both Director Gendler and Captain Penrose be allowed to work out the details. Councilwoman Fraverd said that the amendment had thrown her a bit. She pointed out that the Council had received the alternative plan at least a week ago and she had the opportunity to discuss the pros and cons with Captain Penrose and Director Gendler so that she understood it. Councilwoman Fraverd said the amendment Town of Fountain Hills Meeting Minutes January 22,2002 Page 4 of 8 put a different spin on things and could make it very different. She did not understand the 2.5 beats. She thought that when the amendment was made that it was asking for more sheriff officers and apparently that was not the case. For an amendment like this she would have preferred some information ahead of time with a better f , explanation and input from Director Gendler and Captain Penrose. She questioned if the Town needed 2.5 beats. She asked where this number came from and what would it cost. She affirmed that she needed more information and she did not see how she could support the amendment this evening. Further down the road if the community felt that they wanted more officers in the street, she would be willing to look at 2.5 beats when she knew something about the costs. Councilwoman Ralphe responded to the concern about the amendment coming out of left field. She wanted to know how much the alternative plan would cost. She acknowledged that staff had provided her with facts and figures showing that a Town owned police department would cost the Town slightly less than the current dual system and the contract with the Sheriff's department. Councilwoman Ralphe stated that as far as an amendment that came up quickly, that was just part of the political process. She explained that this amendment came about from conversations that she had with people in the community. She noted that it wasn't realistic to think that the Council would know far in advance every little detail that would be discussed at a meeting. Councilman Wyman reminded everyone that the consultant had noted that although they thought the Town was somewhat over staffed in certain areas, that collectively the Town's law enforcement efforts at 20% of budget was at or below the majority of communities in this country. He suggested that law enforcement or fire protection was an area on which citizens would be willing to spend additional money. If the dual agency system would give the Town everything needed with regard to cost,than the Town had two agencies working in concert and the Town was indeed a fortunate community. Councilman McNeill said he understood the confusion about specifying 2.5 beats. He looked at that as a goal rather than looking at it as a fixed number. He saw the general intent of the amendment to be the restoration of the Marshals Department to the staffing levels that had been previously authorized by this Council. He noted that there were some issues regarding grant funding that the Town might be jeopardizing if some of the staffing wasn't restored. He felt that this amendment would give direction to staff to restore the Marshals status quo and rr it was highly appropriate action for this Council to take so the new Council could embark on the final law enforcement decision. Councilman Wyman concluded that some of the grant positions had run out and the Town had been obliged to hire those people when they were no longer being funded by the grant. He acknowledged that he did not know if there a number of grants that would legally encumber the Council if the Marshals were not restored in the a particular department. Councilwoman Fraverd asked for clarification if the Town was at 1.5 beats. Director Gendler replied that they used as a standard 1.5 officers per 1,000. Currently the Town has 6 law enforcement beats between the Sheriffs Department (3) and Marshals Department (3). He noted that the Marshals Department had lost several people from the Marshals Department for functions that they would not be providing under this alternative plan, hence the 2.5 beats that Councilwoman Ralphe was talking about. Director Gendler said that he would be approaching the Council to purchase additional sheriffs' resources, probably 3.5 to maintain the same level of service. He explained that a beat was 5.5 officers. He stated that at one time the Marshals Department had 17 officer positions, with 10 of those grant funded. Currently 6 of those grants had either expired or would be expiring this fiscal year. Four of the positions would remain as active grants. As pointed out, the grants carried retention clauses, which meant that the Town was obligated to retain the individual when the grants expired. Councilwoman Hutcheson asked what the Town's obligation was towards the grants. Mr. Farrell said that the Council was not marked in perpetuity to have 10 positions and he remarked that the grants were transferable. He explained that the idea behind most of the grants was to assist local communities in bringing law enforcement officers on board. He noted that the Town would like to retain 10 positions if possible. The Council was not mandated under penalty to maintain 10 positions. If a grant officer left and went to the Sheriff's Department, the Town could investigate transferring that grant. He stated that Director Gendler had effectively been able to reassign other officers into those grant positions. Mr. Farrell reviewed that from the 17 kw, positions the department had been reduced to 14 with the possibility of one other leaving which would bring the Town of Fountain Hills Meeting Minutes January 22,2002 Page 5 of 8 number to 13. With four active grant positions and 13 officers, reassignment could get those four grant positions filled. ktow Vice Mayor Kavanagh moved the amendment. Mayor Morgan called for a vote on the amendment, which FAILED on a vote of 5—2. Councilman McNeill and Councilwoman Ralphe cast the aye votes. Director Gendler addressed the alternative plan proposed by Vice Mayor Kavanagh. He endorsed the proposal. He stated that the Town had developed a unique dual agency model that had been surprisingly efficient and affective. Vice Mayor Kavanagh had drawn from his past experience and put thought into ways that the departments would improve this dual agency model, which had resulted in the proposal that the Council was considering tonight. He thanked Vice Mayor Kavanagh for his efforts. He asked that the council look favorably on the concept and he pledged to do his best to ensure its success. Maricopa County Sheriff's Captain Penrose stated that he was optimistic for the future of law enforcement in Fountain Hills. He thanked Vice Mayor Kavanagh for his hard work and dedication and the other Councilmembers who took the time to find out the truth about this issue. He felt that the Council had the opportunity to provide the Town with a high level of quality law enforcement. By taking the expertise and dedication of Sheriffs office employees and the Marshals Department employees and applying it to Vice Mayor Kavanagh's plan all could win. He promised that both he and Director Gendler would work hard to make this plan a success. He noted that they had already both been working hard to move forward on this plan. Maricopa County Sheriff's Chief Jerry Sheridan thanked Vice Mayor Kavanagh for his input and he heartily supported this plan. He spoke on behalf of Sheriff Arpaio, a resident, stating that he was also in favor of this plan and he also thanked Vice Mayor Kavanagh and the Council for this viable plan. He hoped that this would bring the community together, bring stability to the law enforcement, and take the carrot away from both organization to make things work for the Town at a great cost. Francis Hoffman, 14215 N. Ashbrook She expressed concern that six to seven years was a long time to put an officers life on hold to know whether or not they would grow in their profession. Vice Mayor Kavanagh clarified the time frame. He restated that any Council at any time could change the plan so nothing was written in stone because that was the way that democracy worked. The spirit of the alternative plan was to stop the yearly contest, which had resulted in continuous yearly competition and caused friction. One of the things that had upset him was that year after year the previous Councils had said not this year maybe next year. If that was not said out right, it was certainly the implication presented. He did not think it was fair to string the Marshals along year after year. He hoped to accomplish that with this plan. Although this was not binding to future Councils, he felt that most in coming Councils held a certain amount of respect for the actions of past Councils. New Councils would look very hesitantly at overturning that type of a thing. So by saying that the spirit of the motion was that the Council would address at build out this Council was saying that they did not want the yearly competition. By the same token this Council was not saying that the Town would not change in the future and might want to go with its own department and that was certainly an option. He clarified that this Council was saying it was appropriate to re-evaluate the issue at build out or when there was a substantial change in the terms of the Sheriffs contract. He felt that was more of a definitive answer to officers for their future instead of saying maybe next year after year they might have their own department. He stated this action communicates intent. He acknowledged that this Town was severely divided on this issue and community support for a police department was important that until there was a consensus in the Town of which way the citizens wanted to go neither agency could take over. A community split on the way it wants their policing done would not be fully behind its department, which was the principal of community policing. He was trying to give a little certainty to this situation and not continue the uncertainty that has happened. Councilman Wyman said that the Town Attorney would be able to affirm that the Council would not be allowed under law to enter into a contractual relationship that would specify a given number of years. Contracts had to be entered into from year to year so there wasn't any contractual obligation here. He agreed with Vice Mayor ice,, Kavanagh that this plan was a statement of intent so that people could go forward and not have to wonder whether or not they would be employed year after year. Mr. Farrell said that was correct. The courts had pretty Town of Fountain Hills Meeting Minutes January 22,2002 Page 6 of 8 well said that absent voter approval, the city and town councils were limited to their political life and Fountain Hills' life was two years. Councilman Wyman noted that the contract between the Sheriffs organization and the Town was an annual contract that could be terminated only by giving notice prior to a July execution date. Mr. illow Farrell explained that the Town had a number of contracts that went beyond a one or two year period. In order to remain legal and not be able to bind that future Council, there was a non-appropriation clause so that if the Council chose not to budget the money for that contract in July of 2002, then the contract would terminate. If the Council chose to follow the wisdom of their predecessors, then the contract stayed in place. He pointed out that was done with the auditor, landscaping, some materials and other things that the Council would annually check at budget time. Jon Beydler, Mayoral candidate He stated that there was an imminent election in 49 days. He said all five challengers had gone on record that they support a town police department. He asked why not let the voters make that choice in 49 days, because if the challengers win there would be a police department. Vice Mayor Kavanagh said that to assume that the election for Council was a referendum on police work alone was a false assumption. He explained that there were so many issues and factors that went into any voters' mind that it couldn't be said that any one election was on one issue. When people go to the polls they weren't saying they were voting for one issue as it was much more complex than that. He commented that this election was not going to be a referendum solely on any one issue as it was a mixture of many things and he did not think the voters could be read that easily. Shawn Dow,Buffalo Dr. He said if both of the agencies and the 300 residents he had talked with wanted to see this plan go forward, he asked the Council to do their job and pass it. Mr. Graziano,LEAP He stated that LEAP supported this plan. LEAP agreed that the plan would work with stipulations. He went on Lto outline the main issues behind their suggestions. He discussed the law enforcement background of the LEAP members because of a recent letter to the editor that LEAP was not qualified to make such a report. Vice Mayor Kavanagh thanked the members of the LEAP organization for modifying its position in support of this alternative plan and for clarifying the LEAP members' law enforcement background, which showed them qualified. Pen Mower,Ponderosa He asked that the Council defer their decision on this issue until the new Council was in office. Bob Howes,Mustang Dr. He stated that he supported the alternative plan. He thanked Vice Mayor Kavanagh for coming up with this plan. He expressed the important thing tonight was that two law enforcement bodies came together in agreement on a plan. He asked the Council to support the plan. Bob Thomas, 15828 Tumbleweed He stated that he supported the alternative plan. He was pleased to see a consensus plan being developed after weeks of divisive debate on the makeup of the Town's law enforcement agencies. He felt that the proposal by Vice Mayor Kavanagh met the immediate needs of the community and would avoid a continuing controversy, which would adversely affect the harmonious nature of the small town relations. He hoped that in the implementation of the plan, proper attention was given to the training and certification of marshals, supplementation of traffic control and continuing primary responsibility for school grounds security. He hoped the Council would favorably consider the plan. Mike Archambault, 10533 El Sombrante tow He asked if the 2000 perk chart was to be used to progress the Marshals Department in becoming a Police Department. He questioned if the study had been initiated because problems had been run into because of that Town of Fountain Hills Meeting Minutes January 22,2002 Page 7 of 8 perk chart at some point in April of last year. He asked if Director Gendler had instituted corrections from that study. Was this plan going to initiate that perk chart again? Vice Mayor Kavanagh was not aware of the perk chart. The reason why this particular consultant study was initiated was because when this Council wanted to address the issue about a lth-year ago, some Council members felt that they needed more information. They had wanted professional information before proceeding and that was why the consultant was hired. Mr. Archambault asked if the Council had been at a specific crossroad where they had to make a decision. Mayor Morgan and Vice Mayor Kavanagh answered no. Mr. Archambault asked if corrections had been made in the Marshals Department suggested by the consultant. Vice Mayor Kavanagh answered that Director Gendler had corrected many of the deficiencies. A roll call vote was taken with the following results. Councilwoman Fraverd - aye Councilwoman Ralphe— nay Mayor Morgan- aye Councilwoman Hutcheson- aye Councilman Wyman - aye Councilman McNeill- nay Vice Mayor Kavanagh- aye The motion CARRIED on a vote of 5—2. AGENDA ITEM#3- CALL TO THE PUBLIC. No one came forward. AGENDA ITEM#4-ADJOURNMENT. toliov Councilwoman Fraverd moved to adjourn the meeting and Vice Mayor Kavanagh seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. TOWN F FOUNTAIN LLS 7 t B : ✓' y Sharon Morgan,Mayor ATTEST: ��-�--'c-- )•=.-L� �..,:-_. Cassie B. Hansen, Director of Administration/Town Clerk PREPARED BY: 6i LZICAa',L Bev Bender,Executive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special and Executive Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 22nd day of January 2002. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 7th day of February 2002. C A )�.LL.�� l tiC��j� Cassie B. Hansen, Director of Administration/Town Clerk Town of Fountain Hills Meeting Minutes January 22,2002 Page 8 of 8