HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003.1204.TCRM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
DECEMBER 4,2003
Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
INVOCATION—The invocation was led by Pastor Joel Bjerkestrand, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.
ROLL CALL — Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council:
Councilman Archambault, Mayor Nichols, Councilwoman Stevens, Councilman Kavanagh, Vice Mayor Melendez,
Councilwoman Nicola, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town Manager Tim Pickering, Accounting Supervisor
Julie Ghetti and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present.
Councilwoman Ralphe was ill and excused from the meeting.
CALL TO THE PUBLIC
Edwin Kehe, a resident of Agate Knoll, addressed the Council and stated concern regarding an article he recently
read that said the State Department of Water Resources had indicated that Chaparral City Water Company had
exceeded its assured supply of water on an annual basis of 400.39-acre feet. He said that the Town had been
requested to stop the approval of any new plats. He noted that 400 acre feet was sufficient to provide water
requirements for 1200 homes and stated that eventually this problem would "trickle down" to the homeowners in
the community. He requested information on what the Town was doing to compel the Chaparral City water
company to correct its deficiencies.
Town Manager Tim Pickering reported that staff and developers in the community met today with Chaparral Water
Company as they did on a weekly basis. He said that although the situation was a concern, he did not want
residents to panic that they would not be able to receive water and assured the citizens that everyone in the
kiw community would continue to receive water. He explained that the State Department of Water Resources was
concerned about the 100-year supply and where the water would come from in the future. He noted that the Water
Company was verifying the numbers to determine their accuracy and another meeting would be held next week
with the Department to verify those numbers. In addition, after the numbers were verified, Chaparral would begin
an analysis and geological study of the water supply to determine whether what they originally applied for was the
water that was there or if there was more.
Mr. Pickering advised that the ultimate solution was purchasing Central Arizona Project water and added that in
2008, the Town's water company had been assured it would receive a very large supply of water. He said that in
the long run this represented a temporary problem and staff would continue working with the water company and
the developers to solve it as soon as possible.
CONSENT AGENDA
Mayor Nichols read the following consent agenda item:
AGENDA ITEM#1—CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF 11/12/03.
Councilwoman Stevens MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as read and Councilman Archambault
SECONDED the motion.
A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Councilwoman Nicola Aye
Mayor Nichols Aye
Councilman Kavanagh Aye
Councilwoman Stevens Aye
Vice Mayor Melendez Aye
Councilwoman Ralphe Absent
Councilman Archambault Aye
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The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present(6 to 0).
AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF APPOINTING THREE CITIZENS TO FILL VACANCIES
ON THE COMMUNITY CENTER ADVISORY COMMISSION.
Mayor Nichols MOVED and Councilman Archambault SECONDED a motion that Peg Tibbetts, Bill Muelhauser
and Jackie Miles be appointed to serve two-year terms on the Community Center Advisory Board.
There was no discussion and no citizens wishing to speak.
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present(6 to 0).
AGENDA ITEM #3— CONSIDERATION OF THE NEXT STEP IN THE PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN,
SUPPORTED BY THE ARTS COUNCIL, TO ACQUIRE AND PUBLICLY DISPLAY SCULPTURES IN
THE DOWTOWN AREA,
Mr. Pickering stated that the Town of Fountain Hills was extremely fortunate to have the public participation in the
arts area and noted that the Town had not purchased all the sculptures seen around the community; they had been
donated. He said that their generosity represented a great gift to the entire community.
Mark Mayer, Director of Parks, Recreation and the Community Center, stated that several weeks ago the Council
considered and accepted a resolution that accepted a Public Art Master Plan. He said that the Public Arts
Committee of the Arts Council put the plan forth. He added that one of the cornerstones of the document was a
plan to put together a series of sculptures that would be placed in the downtown area. He referred to a copy of a
letter provided to the Council from Jerry Miles, a member of the Arts Council, and said he was present this evening
to briefly discuss the program and respond to any questions the Council might have.
Mr. Mayer noted that previously they had talked about a resolution that would (1) publicly support the acquisition
of art; (2) insure the pieces of art, once accepted, on behalf of the Town; (3) guarantee in the future that the pieces,
if damaged, would be repaired under that insurance plan; and (4) pieces of art placed throughout the community
would be preserved.
Mr. Miles addressed the Council and said that over the last three years, the Public Art Committee brought to the
Town 14 pieces of sculpture, which were paid for by private sources. He added that the Library Association
donated three more pieces, and private businessmen had contributed a number of other pieces. He explained that
the group was proposing a ten-year plan to acquire 40 significant pieces of outdoor sculpture at an average of four a
year to be placed from Fountain Park up through Avenue of the Fountains to the Community Center. He stated the
opinion that once completed, the Town would have the finest outdoor sculpture collection anywhere in the
southwest outside of Los Angeles and Orange County.
Mr. Miles commented on the positive benefits of such a program and said that the Town had based its fiscal future
on sales tax and when people came to see the largest fountain in the world,they wanted to create a true attraction in
the form of a sculpture collection that would bring people in and generate significant sales tax revenues.
Discussion ensued relative to Mr. and Mrs. Miles' past art donations and their pledge to the community to donate
another two pieces over the next ten years; requests to other civic organizations to follow suit and donated funds
and/or pieces of art; the group's intention to ask the Town, during the next budget session, to purchase one piece of
art a year; and the benefits of the program to the entire community.
Vice Mayor Melendez said that if the Town could meet the standard set by Los Angeles, it would truly benefit
Fountain Hills. He referred to a staff report and pointed out that there were three items that discussed costs to the
Town. He noted that one item was to insure the cost of the pieces, once accepted, and asked what that cost would
be. He added that it also stated the Town would pay the necessary costs, once accepted, of placing the pieces on
public property, and would provide ongoing maintenance. He said that the report showed a zero fiscal impact, yet
the above listed items would cost money,
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Mr. Pickering responded and said that the insurance cost would be extremely minor because it would fall under the
Town's umbrella. He added that the one-time installation costs would depend on the size of the pieces. He
explained that Parks and Recreation staff would help unload the pieces and set them on in-place concrete bases. He
stated that to date maintenance costs had been virtually nil and discussed difficulties in determining an exact cost
,. since it depended on each piece.
Mayor Nichols stated the opinion that the proposal was very worthwhile and beneficial and commented on the two
new hotels that would be opening up. He agreed that the sculptures would serve as a "draw" and bring people into
the community. He said that earlier in the day, Mr. Miles challenged him and his wife to personally purchase one
piece of art for the Town over the next ten years. He said that although he didn't have the opportunity to discuss
this with his wife, Sheila, it was his intention to commit a portion of his teaching revenues over the next ten years to
purchase one piece of art for the Town of Fountain Hills.
Councilwoman Stevens said she was extremely excited and supportive of the proposal. She added that she was not
sure that the Council would set aside funds for art due to the difficult financial problems the Town was facing, but
said that they were going to pursue revenue enhancements and perhaps in the future they would be able to look at
purchasing a piece of artwork.
Town Attorney Andrew McGuire stated that by a simple motion the Council could approve the concept and a
resolution would come forward on this issue in the future.
Councilman Kavanagh MOVED and Vice Mayor Melendez SECONDED a motion to approve the concept to
purchase 40 public art pieces over the next ten years as presented by the Arts Council.
Councilwoman Nicola echoed the concerns expressed by the Vice Mayor Melendez relative to potential costs and
requested that additional information regarding the costs be provided when the actual resolution came forward for
approval.
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present(6 to 0).
AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 03-23, AMENDING THE TOWN OF
FOUNTAIN HILLS TAX CODE RELATING TO THE PRIVILEGE LICENSE TAX BY INCREASING
THE RATE OF TAXATION ON ADVERTISING FROM ZERO PERCENT (0%) TO TWO AND SIX
TENTHS PERCENT (2.6%); PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF;
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; DESIGNATING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROVIDING FOR
APPLICATION OF TAX TO CERTAIN CONTRACTS.
Vice Mayor Melendez said that it was his understanding in talking with the Town Attorney that he could proceed
with this item.
Vice Mayor Melendez MOVED to continue Agenda Items#4, #5 and#6 to the second Council meeting in January
to coincide with some of the budget preparation and discussions that would occur. He stated that the first time the
Council was given a detailed review was at the November 12th Work Study Session and added that this evening
they were being asked to vote on a major tax package less than a month later. He stated the opinion that there had
not been sufficient time for the community and the business sector to provide input. He added that he had met with
nine business owners over the last three days and they had requested help. He said they believed the Town would
become "Fountain Hills Tax City." He pointed out that the business community was told about this issue only last
week and said that information was also printed in news publications today both in Scottsdale and Fountain Hills.
Vice Mayor Melendez commented that he had many questions he wanted to pose, such as how could this be
monitored so that all forms of the media would be treated the same. He added the opinion that local businesses
would be impacted with their advertising purchases. He said that a lot of questions needed to be asked and a lot of
answers needed to be provided before they proceeded. He stressed the importance of studying the entire package
and said that he was unwilling, particularly at this time of year, to say "Merry Christmas citizens, we've got a great
tax package for you."
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Councilman Kavanagh SECONDED the motion.
Mayor Nichols requested input from the Councilmembers regarding the motion.
Councilman Archambault agreed with the Vice Mayor's comments and said he believed they needed to give the
Town's business people the opportunity to review the items.
Councilman Kavanagh stated that he had expressed concerns earlier regarding the fact that the taxes were being
done "piecemeal" and stressed the importance of looking at the overall picture. He added that he would prefer to
have them all reviewed at the same time and requested that the Town Manager pull the revenue enhancements from
the agenda of the next meeting as well so that all of the items could be reviewed as an entire package in January.
Councilman Kavanagh said he would hope that if the motion passed, three of his colleagues would pull the motion
next month since they were going to be looked at all together. Mayor Nichols commented that they should restrict
conversation to this motion and not move on to the next meeting. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire stated that staff
heard the comment.
Councilwoman Nicola said that if the motion passed, she hoped that the tax items were the only issues placed on an
agenda of one revenue enhancement meeting to allow sufficient time to discuss the various issues.
Councilwoman Stevens commented that she was disappointed since the Council members were the ones who had
decided to place the items on the agenda in the first place and questioned why the Council didn't tell the Town
Manager if they had changed their minds. She added that the citizens would not be able to speak on this now and
there would not even be a staff report and said she would not support the motion. She noted that had she known
about the continuance beforehand, she might have accepted moving in that direction.
In response to a question from the Mayor, Mr. McGuire stated that the majority of the Council could decide to
suspend the rules and vote on all three agenda items (#4,#5 and#6) at the same time. Mr. McGuire added that only
comments received from citizens on the subject of the proposed continuance could be heard at this time.
Vice Mayor Melendez said that as they moved through the public policy process and met with the business owners,
they got a different flavor regarding the urgency of not moving quickly. He added that he was unable to contact all
of the Council members and regulations restricted what they could and could not do.
Mr. McGuire reiterated that if a majority of the Council supported suspending the rules and voting on all three
items at the same time that it would be permissible.
There were no citizens present wishing to speak at this time.
Mr. McGuire added that if the Council so desired they could open the meeting up for discussion on the propriety of
the continuance.
Mayor Nichols asked whether anyone wanted to speak on the issue of a continuance and no one came forward.
A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Vice Mayor Melendez Aye
Councilman Kavanagh Aye
Councilwoman Nicola Aye
Councilwoman Stevens Nay
Councilman Archambault Aye
Mayor Nichols Aye
Councilwoman Ralphe Absent
The motion CARRIED BY MAJORITY VOTE of those present(5 to 1).
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AGENDA ITEM #5 — CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 03-24, AMENDING THE TOWN OF
FOUNTAIN HILLS TAX CODE RELATING TO THE PRIVILEGE LICENSE TAX; REMOVING THE
EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION FOR RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTY; PROVIDING
PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; DESIGNATING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROVIDING FOR APPLICATION OF TAX TO CERTAIN CONTRACTS.
CONTINUED TO THE SECOND COUNCIL MEETING IN JANUARY 2004. SEE DISCUSSION UNDER
AGENDA ITEM#4.
AGENDA ITEM #6 — CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 03-25, AMENDING THE TOWN OF
FOUNTAIN HILLS TAX CODE RELATING TO THE PRIVILEGE LICENSE TAX BY REMOVING
THE EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION FOR HEALTH CLUBS AND SPAS, PROVIDING PENALTIES
FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; DESIGNATING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROVIDING FOR APPLICATION OF TAX TO CERTAIN CONTRACTS.
CONTINUED TO THE SECOND COUNCIL MEETING IN JANUARY 2004. SEE DISCUSSION UNDER
AGENDA ITEM#4.
AGENDA ITEM #7 — DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF TO RESEARCH THE
TOWN'S AUTHORITY AND OPTIONS RELATIVE TO SINGLE REFUSE SERVICE WITHIN THE
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS.
Town Manager Tim Pickering addressed the Council regarding this agenda item and said that last year during the
public Town Hall Meeting regarding finances, one of the discussion items asked to be considered was having the
Town take over residential refuse collection and have one vendor for all of the residents of Fountain Hills. He
commented on the research that was done and said he wanted to present the information at this time. Mr. Pickering
said that communities take over trash hauling because of health and sanitation issues. He noted that the Town was
not involved in garbage hauling at this time and left it up to the individual residents to contract with the various
haulers. He said that there were four or five haulers that the residents chose from ranging in cost from$14.33 up to
$17.00 a month.
Mr. Pickering discussed the pros of switching to a single hauler and said there were many, including less garbage
trucks on the streets, which would cut down on street maintenance and pollution; everyone in certain sections
would have their garbage out at the same time, resulting in beautification/aesthetics along the streets; everyone
obtained service, eliminating the possibility of burning trash or illegal dumping; and to save money due to economy
of scale.
Mr. Pickering added that in the Town's situation there were also many cons and risks including the fact that
citizens' choice of vendor would be eliminated; and since it would affect every property owner, all issues and
concerns would be directed to Town Hall resulting in a need for staff to address the concerns. He said that staff had
completed an initial study of this issue comparing the rates paid in Fountain Hills to other rates in other
communities and added that if someone went with the lowest costing vendor, they would still be paying below the
average of many municipalities in the area.
Mr. Pickering requested input from the Council relative to what problem they were trying to solve, aesthetics and
continuity or making the enterprise a profit center for the Town. He said it was a difficult scenario to "play out"
and explained that most of it was based on his personal experience in managing cities and looking at other
communities and what they do. He added that the bottom line was "do cities make money from providing this
service?" and responded that some do, such as Mesa and Scottsdale, which charge a higher fee and the profit they
make is put into the General Fund. He said that it was basically an "in lieu property tax"and if this was the way the
Town wanted to proceed,they needed to let everyone know that was why the Town was taking on the program.
Mr. Pickering explained that the downside of it was many communities either just broke even or lost money and the
pressure associated with setting the rates higher than what they should be in order to make a profit was often too
high for Councils to sustain over a long period of time. He said that Councilman Archambault had done a lot of
work on this issue and commended him for his efforts. He agreed with him that if the rate were set at
approximately $17.50 a month (included in the analysis prepared by Councilman Archambault) money would be
generated for the first few years. He added that he was concerned with the long term and questioned whether the
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Town would be able to continue charging the higher rate and letting citizens know their rate was higher than what it
was costing the Town so monies could be generated for public safety,parks, and other items in the General Fund.
Mr. Pickering also commented on problems associated with street maintenance and said that the maintenance costs
the Town $91,000 a year. He stated that staff wholeheartedly supported some mechanism to recapture that amount.
He said that staff had met with Waste Management in an effort to determine whether a profit could be made and the
initial thought was to charge a franchise fee, similar to the one charged to Cox Cable. He added that the charge
could be $2.00 to $3.00 per person for a total of $300,000 a year. He explained that unfortunately, according to
Arizona State laws, garbage haulers couldn't be charged a franchise fee since they were not considered to be public
utilities. He added that the only charge that could be assessed was a business license fee and up to $5,000 per
hauler could be charged each of the seven independent haulers,resulting in the recovery of$35,000.
Mr. Pickering emphasized that although some municipalities do make a profit, it was necessary to have very
qualified, expert employees running this type of operation as a business. He noted that Mesa had their own system
and trucks and made a good profit, but they also had 130 employees who managed that operation. He said that if
the Council decided to take on this service, staff would be needed. He publicly wished Councilman Archambault a
happy birthday.
Councilman Kavanagh discussed the fact that if the Town assumed this role, additional employees would be needed
and said that right now there were four different haulers doing the work and no employees were needed to monitor
and supervise them.
Mr. Pickering explained that staff would be needed for billing purposes, probably more than the two he previously
mentioned. He added that the amount of calls that the Town received would drastically increase because when
trash was not picked up, citizens would not call the hauler, they would call the Town Hall and this would increase
the need for added staff as well. He said that staff time would also be needed to put the bids together and oversee
the process and added that an additional volume of work for employees would definitely result.
Councilman Archambault commended Mr. Pickering on his presentation and said that he had put together a power ,
point presentation (a copy of the presentation, in its entirety, is on file in the Clerk's office)that he hoped would be
helpful. He said that a year ago they were asked to diversify their revenue sources and that was one of the reasons
why they were discussing this issue tonight. He stated the opinion that this was a great way to generate revenue
and added that the proposed revenue source allowed the Town to "earn" its income by providing a service for its
"dollars," which would only require a little effort. He said that they could add to the quality of life for residents by
helping to free up current general funds that were being used to supplement road repairs. He added that the funds
could be used for youth sports, community services, revival of the Parks & Recreation programs and other quality
of life issues that make the Town desirable.
Councilman Archambault continued his presentation and discussed the fact that Article 10 of the Town Code
requires the Town to inspect at least one quarter of the containers in the Town and to date he has been unable to
locate any such records and has been told that this was never done; Maricopa County Environmental Services
Department requires that two pickups occur each week and the Town was not assuring the residents that this was
happening; the fact that this was also stated in Title 10 Chapter 1-5 of the Town Code; Title 49, #741 and#746 of
the Arizona Revised Statutes gives the Town the authority to control refuse service for the Town and, in fact, the
Town was required to provide for the health, safety and welfare of its citizens, which was why the Town
incorporated; refuse service could add stability to the constant price wars being waged and subsidized with the
Town's streets; he questioned what would happen to the fees if the Town added the increased license fees and what
would happen when the little haulers who were keeping the fees down left because they could not afford the license
increase; and he stated that the Town would be left with possibly two haulers and only $10,000 to mitigate the
damage being enacted to the streets.
Councilman Archambault reported that the Town was looking at a shortfall of $8 million by 2009 to do all the
maintenance and repairs on the roads, and if in fact 29% of the road damage was being caused by refuse trucks,that
equated to$2,320,000 in estimated repairs between now and 2009.
Councilman Archambault expressed the opinion that his proposal would diminish road damage and control noise
and pollution (air, noise and liquid) and explained that at forces exacted 2000 times that of a car, they were
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currently subjecting Town roads to horrendous forces each day and causing premature wear. He added that prices
would be more realistic and stabilized over a five-year period with adjustments tied to inflation. He said that a false
sense of affordability would be avoided and if several haulers were to pull out of Town, a cry from residents to
provide relief from the skyrocketing cost of refuse would be demanded. He noted that State Statutes and Town
Codes would become the weapon of choice.
Councilman Archambault advised that recycling would actually happen and fear that refuse companies wouldn't
take recycling goods to the proper sites would be calmed by proof of receipts from those places. He added that in
the news article about Tempe's rate hike, a comment was made that they would be paving 165 miles of alleys in
four years. He questioned the cost per mile and added that Tempe was making a profit. He also talked about the
City of Scottsdale's Financial Statement which showed $16,226,231 in revenue from refuse service and noted that
$13,069,471 would be used to pay landfill costs, employee cost and bond payments, leaving $3,256,760 of which
$1,993,595 would transfer out and $1,163,165 would be reserved resulting in a profit of$3,156,760.
Councilman Archambault pointed out that Jerry Bacchus was in the audience and said that he was instrumental in
providing information and back-up data.
Vice Mayor Melendez said that he had been working with Councilman Archambault on and off for the past year
and said that there were two things that intrigued him: (1) what a shame it was that Fountain Hills did not have
recycling and (2) the possibility of developing a profit base as a result of utilizing a single hauler. He said he
supported both items and they had a lot of merit.
Councilman Archambault pointed out that Goodyear just began contracting with Allied and what they did was
contract with them to pick up the refuse and take care of the landfill so all Goodyear was doing was adding their
cost to maintain that program. He said that the $17.30 a month would be a true cost of refuse while the City of
Chandler, which has charged $11.90 since 1993, has decided to subsidize the additional revenues that they got from
the fund and pass it on to the residents. He added that Chandler was about to raise their fees to what would be
considered a normal rate. He said that if the Council wanted to go forward, he wanted to provide them with a
resolution that would give them a basis to look at. He referred to Section 8 of the resolution and noted that he put
in there that it would take a 3/4 vote of the Council to change the rate after the initial price was set. He stressed the
importance of how the program was set up because once initiated, he did not believe it should be changed.
Councilman Kavanagh also thanked Councilman Archambault and the Vice Mayor Melendez for their work and
said that he was initially skeptical of taking over and said he still felt that way because the figures provided definite
proof that no changes should be made and the Town should not assume this responsibility. He commented on the
decrease in service and the increase in cost that this would cause and said that he would be hesitant to charge
haulers a$5,000 license fee and the negative results that might occur.
Councilwoman Stevens agreed with Councilman Kavanagh's comments and said she was unaware of the price war
that was going on in Fountain Hills.
In response to a question from Councilwoman Stevens, Mr. Pickering advised that Waste Management's rates were
based community by community because it depended on the number of customers they had to serve and whether
they had a contract. He explained that the company did not have the entire contract in Fountain Hills, which made
the job more difficult. He added that rates were negotiated and each community was different.
Mayor Nichols also thanked Councilman Archambault for all of his work on this issue and said that Accounting
Supervisor Julie Ghetti spoke with ten different cities/towns and of those, six were currently losing money in the
refuse business and that was not a good sign. He added that two were breaking even and two were making money.
He said he needed more time to look at the numbers supplied by Scottsdale before moving forward. He commented
that the reason Mesa was making a profit was they added a couple of dollars to each homeowners' trash pickup fee
as an indirect tax and they used the money to provide for other services. He stated that he would not support going
any further at this point in time.
Councilwoman Nicola expressed her appreciation to Councilman Archambault and staff for their efforts and
expressed concerns she had heard from residents of Fountain Hills relative to the fact that the cost of living in the
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Town was already too high. She said that people were asking for relief because they were experiencing financial
difficulties. She advised that a group of seniors combined their trash and took it to a local receptacle because they
could not afford trash pickup. She added that illegal dumping was already a problem and she did not believe that it
was the right time to change things.
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Mayor Nichols said that at the current time, trash pickup was not mandatory but if they went ahead with the
proposal it would be mandatory and include everyone. He added that they would be taking away citizens' rights
and choice of supplier. He also discussed seasonal residents and the starting/stopping of service and stated that this
would result in administrative costs. He stated the opinion that monitoring the process would be difficult.
Councilwoman Stevens thanked Councilman Archambault for his work and expressed the opinion that someone
should be checking on the trash receptacles and perhaps the Code Enforcement staff could do so.
Mayor Nichols suggested that volunteers from the Mayor's Youth Council could be used for this purpose.
The Vice Mayor Melendez agreed with Councilwoman Stevens and said why have an ordinance on the books and
not enforce it. He urged the Town Manager to look into this matter.
Councilman Archambault explained that the reason this was on the agenda was to determine whether the Council
wanted to go further with the issue.
Mayor Nichols advised that he needed additional time to review the data that was provided.
Councilwoman Stevens commented on the fact that most residents were not aware of the fact that the Council was
even evaluating this issue and said that word should go out so that input could be received.
Councilman Archambault suggested that they move forward with additional discussion so that citizen input could
be obtained.
Discussion ensued relative to the fact that if the Council didn't move on this issue this evening, that would be the
end of it, it won't come back up for discussion. Mr. Pickering agreed and said staff would not do any more
research in that case.
Councilman Kavanagh stated the opinion that this was a good thing to look into but the figures were glaringly
negative towards proceeding.
Mayor Nichols noted that if the Council voted not to do this, if someone who voted against it wanted to change
their position, the issue could be brought up again. Mr. Pickering confirmed that the issue could be placed on an
agenda to discuss again.
Mr. McGuire commented that if they were talking about a motion to reconsider, someone who voted in the negative
would have to bring it up at the next meeting. He added that the issue did not necessarily need a motion and it could
come back again and be placed on an agenda.
AGENDA ITEM #8 - COUNCIL ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW OF THE MEETING TO IDENTIFY
PROCEDURAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND DISCUSS POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS FOR
FUTURE MEETINGS.
There was no discussion relative to this agenda item.
AGENDA ITEM #9 — COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER. ITEMS
LISTED BELOW ARE RELATED ONLY TO THE PROPRIETY OF (i) PLACING SUCH ITEMS ON A
FUTURE AGENDA FOR ACTION OR (ii) OR DIRECTING STAFF TO CONDUCT FURTHER
RESEARCH AND REPORT BAVK TO THE COUNCIL: NONE.
VIP
There was no discussion relative to this agenda item.
AGENDA ITEM#10—SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY TOWN MANAGER
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Mr. Pickering stated that the art resolution would be placed on a future agenda and staff would further research
costs related to insurance and maintenance. He added that on January 15, 2004, all of the revenue enhancements
would be brought back for discussion. He said that staff would also check on the recycling monitoring through
Code Enforcement.
Councilwoman Nicola commented on the Art Master Plan and discussion this evening relative to the fact that the
Town was going to be asked during the next budget session to put aside funds to purchase one piece of art per year,
which would generate public comments. She questioned when an opinion would come forward regarding this
matter and whether it would be before the Council approved the resolution.
Mr. Pickering stated that discussions would take place during budget time and added that the resolution was simply
to state from the Town's standpoint that it accepted the art, would place it in public right-of-way and would insure
and retain it.
Vice Mayor Melendez wished the Trojans success in the national championships.
AGENDA ITEM#11 —ADJOURNMENT
Councilwoman Stevens MOVED that the Council adjourn.afid'Councilwoman Nicola SECONDED the motion,
which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
TOWN OFF N HIL�,S
Y
Wally Nichols,Mayor
ATTEST AND
PEPARED BY:
evelyn J. Be er,, own Clerk -
v
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session held by
the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 4th day of December 2003. I further certify that the meeting was duly
called and that a quorum was present.
DATED this 18th day of December 2003.
/),(..te-6e
,Z71
Bevelyn J. Wender, Town Clerk
L
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