Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002.0404.TCREM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL April 4,2002 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, Susan Ralphe, and Leesa Fraverd. Councilman Rick Melendez was absent. Also present were Assistant Town Attorney Jennifer LaFortune, Acting Town Manager Roy Pederson,and Interim Community Development Director Jesse Drake. MAYOR'S REPORT Mayor Morgan introduced the presenter of the John J. DeBolske Professional Excellence Award. Mr. George Flores, Deputy City Manager of the City of Phoenix. Mr. Flores and Dana Ingman, from the League of Arizona Cities, made the presentation of a plaque to Paul Nordin, noting Mr. Nordin's many contributions over the years. Mayor Morgan commented that it was a well-deserved award. Mr. Pederson recognized Mr. Nordin's wife, Linda Nordin, who was in the audience. Mayor Morgan read the Consent Agenda(1—7): AGENDA ITEM#1 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF MARCH 14 AND 21, 2002. AGENDA ITEM #2 - CONSIDERATION OF THE LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY MR. STEPHEN MCKINNEY FOR FRY'S FOOD AND DRUG LOCATED AT 14845 EAST SHEA BOULEVARD. THE APPLICATION IS FOR A TRANSFER OF AN EXISTING SERIES 9 LIQUOR LICENSE. LENDA ITEM #3 - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2002-14 ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED ALONG THE NORTHERLY AND WESTERLY PROPERTY LINES OF PLAT 505B, BLOCK 2, LOT 20 (16216 N. BOULDER DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 158, OF MAPS, PAGE 43 RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY,ARIZONA(JOHN& DIANE HEWITT) EA2002-02. AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF AN ACCEPTANCE OF DEED REQUEST FOR OWNERSHIP TRANSFER TO THE TOWN FROM THE LAKESIDE VILLAGE ASSOCIATION. THE LAKESIDE VILLAGE ASSOCIATION HAS REQUESTED TO DONATE THEIR OWNERSHIP OF WASH PROPERTY TO THE TOWN(WITH STAFF STIPULATIONS). COLONY WASH REA 2001-07. AGENDA ITEM #5 - CONSIDERATION OF THE PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLAT FOR THE 2-UNIT COLONY WASH CONDOMINIUMS, LOCATED AT 12036 N. CHAMA DRIVE, AKA FINAL PLAT 206, BLOCK 8,LOT 13,CASE NUMBER S2002-05. AGENDA ITEM #6 - CONSIDERATION OF THE PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLAT FOR THE 2-UNIT THE MOUNTAIN SUN CONDOMINIUMS, LOCATED AT 13442 N. MOUNTAINSIDE DRIVE, AKA FINAL PLAT 601-A,BLOCK 1,LOT 2,CASE NUMBER S2002-07. AGENDA ITEM #7 - CONSIDERATION OF THE PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLAT FOR THE 2-UNIT IBSEN ESTATE CONDOMINIUMS, LOCATED AT 14240 N. IBSEN DRIVE, AKA FINAL PLAT 111, BLOCK 5,LOT 8, CASE NUMBER S2002-08. Councilwoman Fraverd MOVED to approve the consent agenda as read and Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilwoman Hutcheson Aye Mayor Morgan Aye Councilwoman Fraverd Aye Councilwoman Ralphe Aye Vice Mayor Kavanagh Aye The motion CARRIED unanimously Town Council Meeting Minutes-April 4,2002 Page 1 of 5 AGENDA ITEM #8 - PRESENTATION OF A PROCLAMATION FOR STRONG CITIES AND TOWNS WEEK BY MARK MAYER AND BRYAN HUGHES ON THE "SPECTACULAR SPRING FLING" SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY,APRIL 9 IN FOUNTAIN PARK. "ector Mark Mayer provided the Council and the public with background information on this event. He explained thi) Lids event, established two years ago by the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, not only allowed Town Staff to presen information to the public about the various services provided but also afforded citizens the opportunity to meet staff. He recognized the many contributions being made by all the departments for the planned activities. He proceeded with a Power Point presentation, which reviewed what each department intended to provide. Director Mayer acknowledged that this "Spring Fling"would become an annual event. Mayor Morgan read the proclamation. AGENDA ITEM #9 - CONSIDERATION OF A CUT/FILL WAIVER FOR FIREROCK COUNTRY CLUB PARCEL"J-2",LOT 7,AKA 9706 FOUR PEAKS WAY, CASE NUMBER CFW2002-01. Senior Planner Burkhardt reviewed the request and site plan. He noted that staff tries to help the applicant with design issues prior to the issuance of a building permit. Unfortunately one of the options that could be utilized was framing. He felt that the design of this custom home was a sensitive design for the topography. He noted that the corner in question was unable to be redesigned prior to issuance of the permit. He quoted town engineering staff member,Jim Leubner, who said it was difficult for staff to support something that could have been addressed upfront. He expressed that the applicant had time constraints at the time of the building permit and framing was the more equitable option at that time. Senior Planner Burkhardt stated that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of this application but staff was recommending denial. Staff felt that this issue could have been addressed with a redesign. Vice Mayor Kavanagh MOVED to approve the cut/fill waiver with direction to staff to institute a zoning text amendment so that they could evaluate future requests and Councilwoman Fraverd SECONDED the motion. Councilwoman Hutcheson asked if the Council could approve this application as stated in the motion. She did not understand what was meant 'to prepare criteria for an ordinance by which future fills would be evaluated'. Senior Planner Burkhardt responded that he had met with Town Attorney Bill Farrell prior to this Council Meeting but unfortunately not --ior to his written stipulation to the Council. He felt he did not get a lot of feedback. Senior Planner Burkhardt stated that- main concern had been as to what the Council would base their position on for future approval/denial requests of thi 410 nature. He believed that this was a subjective issue. That was why staff was asking for specific criteria. He said it would help staff to have Council's direction on this matter. He said that this issue could have been avoided if there hadn't been the time constraints on the part of the applicant and if staff had established a working relationship with the applicant. Councilwoman Hutcheson was not sure how the criteria would be evaluated other than what staff already does. She noted that the Council already had some discretion built into the ordinance. She asked if this would be changed or was staff looking for the evaluation process to be put in writing. She continued by questioning if these issues would come before the Council on a case-by-case basis or were they being asked to ignore the cut/fill waiver ordinance. She asked for clarification. Senior Planner Burkhardt suggested that staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission look into this further before any recommendations were made for Council consideration in order to establish the parameters or criteria. Interim Community Development Director Jesse Drake expressed that she and Councilwoman Fraverd had been working with the Developer Advisory Committee to resolve some of these issues. They were looking at revising the text as far as cut and fill waivers. The Committee hoped to have this problem solved for the Council in the future. Vice Mayor Kavanagh did not have a problem with developing standards as it gave applicants fair warning. He wanted to grant this application immediately so that the person could proceed and then take care of the standards afterwards because of what he felt was a minor request. He pointed out that the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5 — 1 to approve this application. He did not want to burden the property owner with action that could delay the construction of the home indefinitely because the Council did not know long it would take to define the criteria. Tony Woodrel, 16230 Edgewater(builder of the project) He described the background on how the house plan/site evolved. He expressed that once the Developer Advisory Committee finished its work, staff could deal with a minor issue and it would not have to go through the Planning and Zoning Commission for their approval. He noted that this situation did not have any effect on the public and would not ange this house from the outside. He stated that he was trying to save his homebuilders some money. Town Council Meeting Minutes-April 4,2002 Page 2 of 5 Councilwoman Fraverd commented that Fountain Hills had many design and building rules and regulations. Sometimes in order to meet them the result was unpalatable to the owner and became a nightmare for everyone involved. She felt that this was the perfect example of a little area that would not be visible to the public and could have easily been addressed th some relief from the ordinances. The Committee was working toward that goal. She noted that the Committee was Wit11 working on the verbiage to solve the problem. The motion CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#10 - UPDATE AND DISCUSSION ON THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS GENERAL PLAN UPDATE. Ms. Drake stated that this process was moving along in a timely manner. She noted that several revisions had been made to the general plan due to public comment and comments made by various agencies. She reviewed her staff memo, which contained the list of line-by-line changes. Ms. Drake confirmed that most changes were minor. She pointed out that the Council also received new color renderings. She asked that the Council carefully review them for any further revisions. She acknowledged that staff had met with the City of Scottsdale Preservation Department on April 2, 2002, along with the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission Chair Roy Kinsey, in an effort to fine tune the trails map. She explained that was why that map had not been included as staff was still working on it. She noted other areas that would need clarification. Mayor Morgan asked if there was a bike route shown in Exhibit #9 (Fire Rock). Ms. Drake stated that she would check with Engineering to see if that was an error. Councilwoman Fraverd asked if the exhibit numbers were still out of order. Ms. Drake said the original exhibits were taken from the 1998 draft document. At that time not knowing what the exhibit number was going to end up being, staff had just left the exhibit numbers as they were. She explained that the exhibit numbers had now been corrected and were shown as they would appear in the final document. Councilwoman Fraverd asked if they had received a new topography and major drainage plan. Ms. Drake replied no. When they were provided with those exhibits, they would take on a new "mber. Ili councilwoman Fraverd asked if the four multi-family lots were being proposed as high density. Ms. Drake said the Planning and Zoning proposal called for them to be the same as the Fire Rock Casitas, which were high density. Councilwoman Fraverd was not as smitten with that idea as the Planning and Zoning Commission was. Public opinion reflected that they felt there were enough condos and apartments in town. She expressed concern with regard to changing the zoning from low-density single family to high-density multi-family. She could support lower density multi-family because there weren't that many duplexes. Ms. Drake clarified that the zoning was not being changed. It was the General Plan that was being changed. She felt the issue was that these particular lots had been presented to the Council as not suitable for single-family homes on three past occasions. She explained that the Planning and Zoning Commission had been looking for some other designation other than the single family since commercial was also identified as not suitable. AGENDA ITEM#11 - CALL TO THE PUBLIC AND ADJOURNMENT. John Winters, 11247 N. Inca He brought to their attention an article found in the Arizona Republic newspaper last Friday about a citizen's group that was trying to get rid of Rural Metro in Scottsdale. He stated he was one of the Town's past Fire Commissioners, or still a Commissioner who never resigned. He stated the article made three major points that the Commission had been trying to bring to the Council last fall. One that Rural Metro could not live up to its contract. That was what the Board had been saying last fall. Two that Rural Metro was in bad financial shape, which was bad for the Town. Because of their bad financial shape, it also caused Rural Metro to not pay a pension to their firemen. This caused problems for Rural Metro and the union. He stated that Rural Metro has not paid into the pension plan for three years. The last time they paid into it, it was with their stock, which was now around $.85 per share. Many of their firemen would not be able to retire and he said that was a real shame. The last point was that the Commission had said they could run the fire department cheaper and better than was being done under Rural Metro reign. He pointed to the City of Gilbert as an example. Gilbert had ntracted Rural Metro and left them in 1992. Their situation was exactly what the Fire Board had stated, that Gilbert was (boning a better fire department for less money than Rural Metro. Mr. Winters said there had been a huge mistake made Town Council Meeting Minutes-April 4,2002 Page 3 of 5 last year and he was hoping that with these and other facts coming out that the Council may start to see if they can't change the mistake that had been made. e Mayor Kavanagh refuted Mr. Winters' comments by saying that he too had read that article and follow up articles me Republic. He cited that the Scottsdale citizens' group's arguments were about response time and the manning of the trucks. He stated that Fountain Hills did not have an issue with response time since Rural Metro was meeting the response times. He remarked that the Scottsdale citizens' group had noted that Scottsdale was spread out and he did not see that as being relevant to the Town's situation. This group also criticized Rural Metro saying that Rural Metro only ran three person trucks. They wanted to see four to five person trucks. Vice Mayor Kavanagh said that was also irrelevant in Fountain Hills. When the Fire District ran the department they were running two person engine trucks. After the Town took over the department, the coverage went up to three people on engine trucks. If this citizens' group had been in Fountain Hills when the Fire District had been running the Fire Department and, if they didn't like the three-person truck that Rural Metro was running, they would have probably gone totally wild when they found out there were only two on an engine. A follow-up article to the consultants' report clarified and concluded that Rural Metro was doing an excellent job and that they were efficient and effective. He felt it was proper to set the record straight on this issue. He based his comments on articles he read in the newspaper and from discussions with fire staff and Rural Metro firefighters. He wanted to make sure that the facts were clear and that the later article,which Mr.Winters might not have read, was brought to the public's attention. Councilwoman Hutcheson commented because she found Mr. Winter's statements somewhat of a criticism. She had also read the articles. She felt the Scottsdale City Council would consider this matter. She said they were much more capable than the Fountain Hills Council or Fountain Hills residents in evaluating Scottsdale's consultant's report and of doing their own study on their own fire issues and coming to a conclusion including the citizens' group recommendation. She felt that Scottsdale would be able to make their own decision as to who would be able to provide the best fire service for them. She did not think it was the Fountain Hills Town Council's place to tell them how to do that. Frances Hoffman, 14215 N. Ashbrook Dr. said it was unfortunate that Rural Metro was a private corporation because no one really knew what went on. If th _'iwn had their own fire department, which would be led by a Fire District, they would be in control and the public woul know exactly what was going on because they would have to answer to the Fire District. She felt that was the most unfortunate that the Town did not get their tape in order to know how long it takes them to run to a call. If the Town had their own fire department, 911 calls would be made public to everybody. She restated that the public really did not know because Rural Metro was a private corporation. Councilwoman Ralphe responded that this Council and this Town did know what was going on and did have their own Fire Department. The Town contracted with Rural Metro in order to deliver those services. Councilwoman Fraverd MOVED to adjourn. Bob Travis, 14218 N. Chinook Plaza He stated that when he left the Fire Board in operation, he believed that there were eight employees per day with Rural Metro (24 hours per day). He asked if the Town had increased that since December because Vice Mayor Kavanagh indicated that there were three people on a truck. That would account for three people for each truck and two on the ambulance for a total of eight people. That did not account for the prevention people traveling during the day in vehicles. He did not see how there were three people on each truck during the daytime unless the Town had increased the manpower, which the public was never told about. Vice Mayor Kavanagh clarified he had said three on each engine. Mr. Travis asked then how it was possible to also have people going around in prevention vehicles and doing snake calls and other calls if they were all on the engines. They were driving other vehicles during the daytime and not on the engines. Unless the Town had increased the manpower from eight, there weren't three men on each engine. Vice Mayor Kavanagh commented that actually there were four on yesterday for an emergency call as an off duty Rural Metro fire fighter (on his own time) jumped on because of his dication. He applauded him for that. Town Council Meeting Minutes-April 4,2002 Page 4 of 5 Councilwoman Hutcheson SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 7:25 p.m. Lor TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS W*4fB >G � Sharon Morgan,Mayor A f hST: Cassie B. Hansen, Director of Administration/Town Clerk PREPARED BY: C" Bev Bender,Executive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 4th day of April, 2002. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 18th day of April 2002. Cassie B. Hansen,Director of Administration/Town Clerk L Town Council Meeting Minutes-April 4,2002 Page 5 of 5 J