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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002.0809.TCSEM.Minutes • TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL August 9,2002 Mayor Beydler called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. ROLL CALL -Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Jon Beydler, Vice Mayor Leesa Fraverd, and Councilmembers Rick Melendez, Kathleen Nicola, Michael Archambault, and John Kavanagh. Town Attorney Bill Farrell and Director of Administration Town Clerk Cassie B.Hansen were also present. 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 REGARDING CONTRACTS THAT ARE THE SUBJECT OF NEGOTIATIONS, IN PENDING OR CONTEMPLATED LITIGATION OR IN SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO AVOID OR RESOLVE LITIGATION, SPECIFICALLY MEDIATION IN THE HOFFMAN/ROBINSON/KNAPP VS.TOWN,ET AL LITIGATION. Vice Mayor Fraverd MOVED that the Council convene the executive session and Councilman Archambault SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#2-RETURN TO SPECIAL SESSION. Mayor Beydler recessed the executive session and reconvened the special session. AGENDA ITEM#3-ADJOURNMENT. Councilman Archambault MOVED that the Council adjourn and Councilwoman Ralphe SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 4:53 p.m. TOWN OF"FOUNTAIN HILLS By:/Mi Jon Beydl , ayor ATTEST: ,O-4A c.a , • Cassie B. Hansen, Director of Administration/Town Clerk n ,1 / PREPARED BY: '(,1" 42LfLi2C Z 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 9th day of August, 2002. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 15th day of August 2002. rr Cassie B. Hansen, Director of Administration/Town Clerk TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL,EXECUTIVE AND WORK STUDY SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL August 12,2002 Mayor Beydler called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. ROLL CALL - Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Jon Beydler, Vice Mayor Leesa Fraverd, and Councilmembers Rick Melendez, Susan Ralphe, Kathleen Nicola, Michael Archambault, and John Kavanagh. Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Director of Public Works Tom Ward, Town Engineer Randy Harrel, Interim Director of Community Development Jesse Drake, Senior Planner Dana Burkhardt, and Director of Administration Town Clerk Cassie B.Hansen were also present. AGENDA ITEM #1 - CONSIDERATION OF EXTENDING THE CONTRACT WITH SINTRA HOFFMAN FOR TOWN MANAGER SERVICES. Councilwoman Nicola asked what the dates were for the proposed contract extension. Director Hansen responded that the dates had been left open because the dates had not been determined by Ms. Hoffman's boss. She observed that since the new town manager was to begin work on September 16 it would be for whatever length of time she would be allowed to stay. It was noted that Ms. Hoffman would return from vacation on August 2151. Councilwoman Nicola commented that the Town had paid Ms. Hoffman for the days that she attended the ACMA conference. Therefore, Councilwoman Nicola proposed that if Ms. Hoffman was going to attend the League of Cities and Towns conference, that she attend on City of Surprise's payroll. She asked that the dates of the League Conference be excluded from Ms. Hoffman's contract. Director Hansen said she understood that Ms. Hoffman had registered for the League Conference through the Town of Fountain Hills as opposed to the City of Surprise. Councilman Kavanagh expressed that the City of Surprise was doing the Town a favor by allowing Ms. Hoffman to be here. He pointed out that the Conference fell within the time period that she is working for the Town. As it was only for a couple of days, he did not want to offend Surprise by not paying for her time. Councilman Melendez agreed that the Town did not want to alienate Surprise, but expressed there might be citizens who would oppose this. He said it appeared that the Town was paying her to attend meeting. He stated that she would be returning to Surprise following that conference. He asked how much she was being paid. Director Hansen was not sure what the per day basis was. Mayor Beydler commented that he had received a call from Ms. Hoffman expressing the Mayor of Surprise's request that he vote for their choice to fill the position of chair of the MAG Transportation Committee. He said that Ms. Hoffman had represented herself as being from the City of Surprise in that phone call. He said he had found that to be a little odd considering that she was on the payroll of Fountain Hills as interim town manager. He felt this action brought up the issue of her allegiance. It was clear that she worked for the City of Surprise and that was where her primary long-term commitment was. He echoed Councilwoman Nicola's and Councilman Melendez's concerns. Councilwoman Nicola said this suggestion was not meant to be a slight to Ms. Hoffman or Surprise. It was just a matter of fiscal responsibility. She did not think that Surprise would have a problem with that. Councilman Kavanagh suggested that the Town split the difference and offer to pay for one of the two days while at the League conference. Mayor Beydler said this whole discussion could be avoided by retaining her from Monday, August 26, 2002 through Friday, September 13, 2002. Vice Mayor Fraverd asked where Ms. Hoffman would be during the week of the League Conference. Mayor Beydler acknowledged that she would be at the conference but would be representing the Town of Fountain Hills. fir► Councilwoman Ralphe asked Mayor Beydler where would Ms. Hoffman's paycheck come from for August 21 — 23, 2002. Mayor Beydler responded it would come from Surprise. Councilwoman Nicola clarified that the Town reimburses the City of Surprise for the cost. Councilwoman Ralphe expressed she was uneasy with that back and forth motion. She agreed that the City of Surprise had done Fountain Hills a favor and Ms. Hoffman's professional expertise had been a help to the Town. Therefore,the Town needed to pay accordingly without gaps. Councilwoman Nicola said she was under the impression that Ms. Hoffman would be sitting at the lunch table with the City of Surprise representatives and not with the Town of Fountain Hills. She concurred with Mayor Beydler's suggestion that Ms. Hoffman would attend the League Conference as a representative of the Town. Mayor Beydler noted that Ms. Hoffman was unaware of this discussion and she had not discussed with her city manager what future dates she could continue working for the Town of Fountain Hills until the new town manager was on board. Mayor Beydler reminded the Council that contractually Ms. Hoffman's last day was August 6. Vice Mayor Fraverd stated that if Ms. Hoffman was going to be at the League Conference the last week of August and not coming back the week before that was a major problem for her. She preferred to start her contract as soon as Ms. Hoffman was back and available. She felt that Ms. Hoffman could serve Surprise as well as Fountain Hills at the League Conference. She asked that Ms. Hoffman start on August 21, 2002, and that her contract overlap Mr. Pickering's start date by a couple of days in order to help bring him up to speed. Councilman Archambault asked if anyone had contacted the town manager of Surprise to see if he was agreeable to let Ms. Hoffman return to Fountain Hills. Director Hansen replied that in the last conversation she had with Ms. Hoffman her manager had agreed to let her come back after her vacation. That was after Mr. Pickering had accepted the position. The town manager of Surprise had expressed that he did not want to leave Ms. Hoffman here with an open-ended position. Director Hansen stated she was unsure if the mid-September start date for Mr. Pickering would be a problem for Surprise. Councilman Kavanagh MOVED to continue the present arrangement with Sintra Hoffman/Town of Surprise for no longer than one week after the arrival of Mr. Pickering, subject to the approval of the Surprise town manager and Vice Mayor Fraverd SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #2 - 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 REGARDING CONTRACTS THAT ARE THE SUBJECT OF NEGOTIATIONS, IN PENDING OR CONTEMPLATED LITIGATION OR IN SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO AVOID OR RESOLVE LITIGATION, SPECIFICALLY MEDIATION IN THE HOFFMAN/ROBINSON/KNAPP VS.TOWN,ET AL LITIGATION. Councilwoman Ralphe MOVED that the Council convene the executive session and Councilman Melendez SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#3 - RETURN TO SPECIAL SESSION. Mayor Beydler recessed the executive session and reconvened the special session at 6:29 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #4 - DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING MEDIATION CONTINUATION TO AUGUST 13,2002. Vice Mayor Fraverd MOVED to continue and Councilman Archambault SECONDED the motion. The motion CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #5 - ADJOURN THE SPECIAL SESSION AND CONVENE THE WORK STUDY SESSION AT 6:30 P.M. Mayor Beydler recessed the special session and convened the work study session at 6:30 p.m. Town Council Meeting Minutes August 12,2002 Page 2 of 6 AGENDA ITEM #6 - DISCUSSION OF THE PRELIMINARY PLAT FOR THE 9-LOT, 11.104± ACRE, SIERRA MADRE ESTATES, PHASE 1, LOCATED ALONG THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF SIERRA MADRE DRIVE, SOUTHWEST OF GOLDEN EAGLE BOULEVARD, CASE NUMBER S2001-16. THE (iiw. DISCUSSION WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO AN INDEPENDENT TRAFFIC ENGINEER'S REPORT BY BURGESS NIPLE REQUESTED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL AT THE JULY 2 COUNCIL MEETING. Councilman Kavanagh asked for clarification of the traffic engineering report dated 8-9-02 submitted by Burgess & Niple. Town Engineer Randy Harrel responded that staff had received the report this afternoon. There had been some preliminary discussions on those issues. He acknowledged that there would be some modifications made and staff was working toward that agreement. He did not have a problem if the Council wished to add the stipulation that was written on the cover sheet. He confirmed that the applicant was in agreement with that as well. Councilman Kavanagh asked which standards were being used. Mr. Harrel stated that the Town's requirements, as shown in the subdivision ordinance, gave a specific site distance for a specific design speed. Councilman Kavanagh asked if Mr. Harrel's recommendation was that a 40 m.p.h design speed be used but utilize the GDHS criteria. Mr. Harrel confirmed that would be his recommendation. Vice Mayor Fraverd asked Mr. Harrel and the representatives from Burgess and Niple why they were recommending the 40 m.p.h. design speed. Mr. Pat Osborne said that traffic speed tests conducted a couple of months ago showed that the approximate operating speed was 40 m.p.h. Therefore, they felt it should be designed on the 40 m.p.h. design speed. Vice Mayor Fraverd asked if they had received a copy of the Sheriffs Department's speed study that had been done. Mr. Osborne said he was in receipt of a memo dated June 4, which was a summary of the speeds. Vice Mayor Fraverd said that the Sheriffs Department had completed a study and found the average speed was 30 m.p.h. She asked if that would change their recommendation. Mr. Osborne said he did not have this information. Based on the information that they had, indicated that the majority of the travelers were traveling 40 m.p.h. He asked Vice Mayor Fraverd on what section of Sierra Madre were those speeds collected. Vice Mayor Fraverd replied she did not have that information. Mr. Harrel explained why he felt the Sheriff's Department clocked speed was lower than what staff , had shown. Mayor Beydler asked what the Sheriffs Department recommended speed was. Councilman Melendez commented their study was conducted during the hours of 7 — 8 (7 days a week) over a 16-day period. Mr. Harrel commented this was called saturation law enforcement. Vice Mayor Fraverd felt that was not a true picture of the study as the Sheriffs cars were unmarked and were in place on different days. The public did not know exactly which days or hours they would be there. Vice Mayor Fraverd asked Mr. Osborne if the original information had been a 30 m.p.h. average speed, would the recommendation been different. Mr. Osborne responded if the study had concluded that most traveled at 30 m.p.h. their recommendation would have been a design speed of 30 m.p.h. Larry Woodlan introduced himself and the previous speaker (Pat Osborne) as the representatives from Burgess and Niple. He noted that Mr. Osborne was the engineer who had completed their study. Mr. Woodlan explained their reasoning for preferring the two counters speed for the design speed vs. the speed study done by law enforcement and the criteria they used to determine the appropriate design speed for this project. Councilman Kavanagh asked for clarification of one of the questions that staff had asked of Burgess and Niple. Why should the proposed street and two proposed driveway intersections be designed for a higher speed(40 m.p.h.) as it was inconsistent with the remainder of the existing roadway corridor? He asked if there was an unsafe condition elsewhere on this street. Mr. Woodlan responded no. The original road design was for 25 m.p.h., which was a minimum speed. He explained that speed counts could be taken later on that roadway. Depending on the character of the road, the 85th percentile speed would be looked at to see if at that point the speed limit could be adjusted. He noted that to change the speed limit on a road there would many details to analyze. He stated that they were not suggesting that the speed limit be modified. Councilman Kavanagh asked what Mr. Woodlan felt the proper speed should be for this road. Mr. Woodlan said that had not been studied. What they were observing was that the 85th percentile was approximately 40 m.p.h. If they were designing new driveways, they would design them for a 40 m.p.h. design speed. He noted that the manual states that if existing conditions govern that 40 m.p.h. could not be achieved, advanced warning signs should be posted such as"driveway ahead"or"intersection ahead". Town Council Meeting Minutes August 12,2002 Page 3 of 6 Councilman Archambault asked Mr. Harrel if there was a different way that the sewer could be constructed as the Sanitary District would not allow the pump station to go in. He questioned if the applicant could go across the wash without a vote of the people. Mr. Harrel agreed that a vote of the people would be one that could happen. Mr. Harrel noted another way would be that a court action could require the construct through the wash. Councilman Archambault asked if the cul-de-sac could be moved somewhere so a gravity feed could be used. Mr. Harrel responded there wasn't any way to do that because of the grade. Councilman Archambault asked if the two options per the Sanitary District were to cross the wash or go across the roadway. Mr. Harrel saw their options as pumping to the top of the hill and using gravity from about Lot 5. He expressed that was feasible but the Sanitary District did not like that solution. The issue with going across the wash would require a vote of the people or a court action requiring the Town to allow that. He stated there was the option of going within the Sierra Madre right-of-way and connecting into the existing sanitary sewer as well as crossing Sierra Madre and obtaining an easement from the owner across the street. Mr. Harrel noted that the Sanitary District was comfortable that in the design phase they would be able to work something out. He reminded the Council that sewer connection was not the Town's purview. The owner of the sewer must be allowed to determine what option they would prefer. Councilman Archambault asked if at the last meeting it had been talked about allowing only right turns in and out without any cuts in the medians. Mr. Harrel said that had been mentioned. Councilman Archambault noted that section of Sierra Madre was only one mile long. He did not understand why those people could not make just a right turn out. He asked if that would alleviate some of the line of site problems. Mr. Harrel acknowledged that the issue with that would be that they would not have the option of a left turn into Fountain Hills. It would force traffic out SunRidge Drive and Golden Eagle Drive where there wasn't a particularly good line of site. Councilwoman Ralphe summarized that to make a left turns out of the proposed Princess Drive there wasn't enough line of sight so there would have to be additional grading done. Making left turns into the driveway between lots 3 and 4 there was not enough line of site to make the turns safely. She asked Mr. Osborne if he had factored the "sun in the eyes" component. Mr. Osborne replied no. Councilwoman Ralphe asked if that was something that should be taken into consideration. Mr. Osborne said that would be extremely hard to determine. Councilwoman Ralphe asked about the warning signs. She wanted to know if there were any studies that showed how much distance a sign was worth when dealing with the issue of line of sight. Mr. Woodlan stated that the design proposed by the developer was set up for 30 m.p.h. He felt warning sign placement would be appropriate along the roadway to let the drivers know there were intersections and driveways ahead. The signs were based on accepted design standards, which would permit the driveways and the intersections by posting the advanced warning signs. Mr. Woodlan expounded on the "sun issue". He noted that the design standards look at a "standard of care" but acknowledged that there would always be specific instances where a driver would be blinded for a few minutes. He noted that besides the sun issue they also looked at the travel of the headlights. He explained that all issues were considered before making their recommendation. Councilman Kavanagh acknowledged that the decision came down to three areas: Lots 3 and 4 and Princess Drive. The consultant's conclusion on lots 1 and 2 had been for both left and right turns and that grading may or may not be needed. He asked if their conclusion meant there wasn't any problem with line of sight compliance. Mr. Osborne agreed. Councilman Kavanagh asked about lots 3 and 4. He noted here was a similar situation with the right turn and on the left turn the deficiency was 110 feet. He read from the consultant's report where it stated additional grading would be needed to provide minimum sight distance. He asked if the consultants had viewed this area. He asked if this was attainable or were the consultants saying it had to be done without knowing if it could be done. Mr. Osborne said they had been to the site and looked at the plans. He concluded that the applicant would have to provide plans proving that they could meet that sight distance. Councilman Kavanagh asked if the consultants believed that the applicant could meet this. Mr. Osborne said yes. Councilman Kavanagh asked why the consultant jumped from AASHTO standards to the Town standards. Mr. Osborne said that was to notify the Council that the Town's required 580 feet. Councilman Kavanagh asked which criteria was the consultant recommending AASHTO's or the Town's. Mr. Woodlan said it was not that simple, as they had been brought in to look at both and to point out the differences. The Town was a Code passed by the Council and was a design requirement. He stated that AASHTO was a design standard normally used in the industry. It was a standard of care issue. They had tried to make the Council aware based upon 416, their charge. He pointed out their charge was look at both standards and give the Council their analysis of both. He acknowledged that frequently communities have a more stringent standard than the AASHTO standard. He noted that :,, this instance the Town did have a more stringent standard. He compared the Town's standard with the AASHTO Town Council Meeting Minutes August 12,2002 Page 4 of 6 standard. If the Town's standard was used, advance-warning signs must be used. If the AASHTO standard were used, some of the driveways may not need advance warning signage. He stated that on Sierra Madre lots 3 and 4 there was a vertical curve on that road. He said that vertical curve looked like it might only be capable of about a 35 m.p.h. design speed, but again that was up to the developer's engineer to prove one way or another and not up to consultants to prepare a design. He stated they were here to do a code enforcement review. The bottom line was that if the Town standards were used, advance-warning signs must be used. Mr. Woodlan pointed out that the developer had already said they would provide advance warning signs on Princess Drive so he felt that was a moot point. Mr. Harrel felt the grading should be completed which was physically possible, but that advance signage would be adequate mitigation above that. Councilwoman Ralphe questioned if it was the usual and customary practice to put these types of signs up in a subdivision or more often when a particular traffic situation has been identified. She asked which situation happened most frequently. Mr. Harrel estimated that it happened more often with the original road design. Mr. Woodlan stated that in Arizona most roadways were new so they mostly came in with subdivisions. Mr. Woodlan and Mr. Osborne agreed with Mr. Harrel. Councilman Melendez said his neighborhood had been posted with advance warning signs. Vice Mayor Fraverd summarized what she heard the consultant's recommendations to be: Lots 3 & 4 and Princess Court—grading would be needed;Lot 4 needed advance signage, and Lots 1 &2 were fine. Councilwoman Nicola asked the consultants if the speed calculations were for passenger cars, which had become larger over the years. She questioned whether that had been calculated into their findings. Mr. Woodlan responded that the design standards change as vehicles change. The 2001 manual tried to incorporate the various types of vehicles driven today. Councilwoman Nicola said she questioned the larger vehicles ability to slow down in order to turn left in front of oncoming traffic. Mr. Woodlan reiterated that the cars today were better than those driven from years ago. Councilman Melendez stated that most of his questions were of a legal nature and the town attorney was not present so he will address those questions at the Thursday night session of the Town Council. Senior Planner Burkhardt reminded the Council that the grading on the common driveways of lots 1 &2 and lots 3 &4 was not exempt from the land disturbance requirements. Therefore, staff would add a stipulation that the disturbance be recalculated. It was likely that there would be an additional disturbance area to be transferred. Mayor Beydler thanked Vice Mayor Fraverd for the suggestion of a work-study session in order to discuss the technical issues of this project. AGENDA ITEM#7 -ADJOURNMENT. Councilman Archambault MOVED that the Council adjourn and Councilwoman Nicola SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. Stew Town Council Meeting Minutes August 12,2002 Page 5 of 6 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Jon Beydl ,Mayor 6 ATTEST: � \ Cassie B. Hansen, \\ Director of Administration/Town Clerk PREPARED BY: b(--t7/ Bev Bender,Executive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Work Study, Special and Executive Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 12h day of August, 2002. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 5th day of September 2002. Cassie B. Hansen, Director of Administration/Town Clerk `0rr Town Council Meeting Minutes August 12,2002 ' Page 6 of 6