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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004.0603.TCREM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL JUNE 3,2004 Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #1 — VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION: PURSUANT TO A.R.S. 38-431.03.A.4 FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION OF EMPLOYMENT, ASSIGNMENT, APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION,DEMOTION,DISMISSAL,SALARIES,DISCIPLINING OR RESIGNATION OF A PUBLIC OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE MAY DEMAND THAT THE DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION OCCUR AT A PUBLIC MEETING. THE PUBLIC BODY SHALL PROVIDE THE OFFICER,APPOINTEE,OR EMPLOYEE WITH WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AS IS APPROPRIATE BUT NOT LESS THAN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS FOR THE OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION SHOULD OCCUR AT A PUBLIC MEETING. (SPECIFICALLY, RE-APPOINTMENT OF THE TOWN MANAGER, TOWN ATTORNEY AND TOWN MAGISTRATE), AND (ii) PURSUANT TO A.R.S. 38-431-03a.7, FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATION WITH DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE PURCHASE, SALE OR LEASE OF REAL PROPERTY. (SPECIFICALLY, THE TOWN HALL LEASE.) Councilman Archambault MOVED to convene the Executive Session and Councilwoman Nicola SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mayor Nichols recessed the Executive Session at 6:25 p.m. AGENDA ITEM#2—RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION Mayor Nichols reconvened the Regular Session at 6:30 p.m. *SWEARING IN CEREMONY: ADMINISTRATION OF OATH OF OFFICE BY STATE LEGISLATURE—SENATOR CAROLYN ALLEN TO: MAYOR-ELECT NICHOLS, COUNCILMEMBERS-ELECT JAY SCHLUM, ED KEHE, AND KEITH MCMAHAN. Mayor-Elect Nichols said it was his pleasure to introduce Senator Carolyn Allen who represents the Town of Fountain Hills in the United States Senate and advised that she would officiate over the swearing-in ceremonies for him and the three new Councilmembers. Senator Allen asked the councilpersons-elect to raise their hands and repeat the Loyalty Oath after her, which they did. She congratulated the winners on their successful campaigns and election to office. *PRESENTATIONS: MAYOR NICHOLS TRANSFERRED THE VICE MAYOR'S NAMEPLATE TO VICE MAYOR ARCHAMBAULT. The Mayor congratulated Vice Mayor Archambault on his appointment to this position and the Vice Mayor expressed his appreciation to the Mayor. Following the invocation by Reverend Mark Lansberry from The Fountains,roll call was taken. ROLL CALL— Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Vice Mayor Archambault, Mayor Nichols, Councilman Kehe, Councilman Kavanagh, Councilman Schlum, Councilwoman E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 1 of 17 Nicola, and Councilman McMahan. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town Manager Tim Pickering, and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. Mayor Nichols stated that in keeping with policy, he would like to provide the newly appointed members of tht41) Council an opportunity to present their remarks. Councilman McMahon said that during his 30 years in Fountain Hills he had been involved in many community service activities. He said he was very honored to serve as a member of the Council and thanked everyone for their support. He added that this evening he felt that he had reached the pinnacle of service that any community can offer, serving in Town government, and stated that he was deeply honored and humbled. He thanked all of the citizens in Town who voted for him and pledged to listen to all of the citizens and consider their concerns. He said he would do his best to be objective and use his long knowledge of Fountain Hills to work in Town government for the betterment of the community,today and tomorrow. Councilman Kehe commented that it was very different sitting up on the dais than being a member of the audience. He said that running for office takes a team and he had an excellent one. He thanked everyone who had faith in him. He added that he would do his very best to represent all of the citizens of Fountain Hills over the next four years. Councilman Schlum said he too was honored to be a member of the Council and represent the community he had loved for so many years. He thanked his entire campaign team and everyone who voted for him. He added that he looked forward to getting to know Staff better and to serve as a steward of the community's funds. He stated that he was always a conduit to the public and encouraged the citizens to reach out to him to assist him in making the best possible decisions. Mayor Nichols commented that he would like to thank the voters who re-elected him as their Mayor and recognized the members of his election committee. He stated the opinion that running unopposed represented a vote of confidence by the residents in his leadership style and results over the last year. He noted that he was only one vote out of seven on the Council and stressed the importance of representing the wants and needs of a majority of th ood community, not personal agendas. Mayor Nichols emphasized the importance of keeping in touch with the residents. He said it disappointed him when he heard residents say that the Council did not listen to them. He stated that from the day he was elected he had held monthly "Coffee with Wally" sessions at the Community Center. He added that this was an opportunity for residents to communicate to him what was on their minds. He said that the sessions had been successful and attendance ran from 25 to 100 people depending on the issue. He discussed his intention to expand the coffees beginning this month to be"Coffee with Wally and Council". He said it was his hope that two members of the Council would join him on a monthly basis (rotational). He added that the purpose of the sessions would be to listen to the citizens' comments, suggestions, and hopefully compliments. He stressed the importance of citizen input and stated that the informal format allowed for "give and take" on the various issues. He said he was very proud to serve as the Mayor of this new Council and believed they could do great things for the Town of Fountain Hills as they moved forward. He added that Fountain Hills was the best place to live in Arizona as well as the entire United States and he was honored to represent the residents for the next two years. Mayor Nichols asked whether Senator Allen wanted to address the audience. She provided a brief update on the State Trust Land package. She commented on the complexity of the issue and said that the different stakeholders who had worked on this for the past three years (known as the "Ed Fox Group") met at the table and knew that this had to be completed before July 1 in order to get it on the ballot in 2004. She added that it was very important for the State of Arizona that they look at State Trust Land, the department, and some changes and added that she and the other people who had worked so hard on this issue were going to begin meeting two to three times a week. She stressed the importance of going through the process with a "fine tooth comb", because they were asking that the State Constitution be changed as well as the Enabling Act at the end of the day. She emphasized the importance of proceeding in the correct manner. Mayor Nichols thanked Senator Allen for her continuing dedication and wished her the best in the future. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 2 of 17 CALL TO THE PUBLIC Town Clerk Bev Bender said that Bob Howes would like to address the Council. Bob Howes Mr. Howes congratulated the three new members of the Council, wished them the best of luck, and commended them on running good campaigns. He also congratulated Mayor Nichols on his re-election and said he was doing a good job, as witnessed by the lack of opposition in the recent election. Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Howes for his comments. CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #3 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF 5/11/04 and 5/20/04. AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE ANNUAL LANDSCAPING CONTRACT IN THE AMOUNT OF$242,122.86. AGENDA ITEM #5 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE CONTRACT FOR THE TOWN'S COMPASS NEWSLETTER AND THE PARKS AND RECREATION ACTIVITY GUIDE IN THE AMOUNT OF$37,715.70. AGENDA ITEM #6 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING AND AWARDING THE ANNUAL MEDIAN LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT (PW 2004-04) IN THE AMOUNT OF $143,200 TO NICHOLS & SONS LANDSCAPING,INC. AGENDA ITEM #7 - CONSIDERATION OF THE FINAL PLAT FOR "COLONY WASH VISTA CONDOMINIUMS," A 20-UNIT MULTIPLE FAMILY DEVELOPMENT AND RIGHT-OF-WAY DEDICATION LOCATED AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF PANORAMA DRIVE AND THE COLONY DRIVE ALLEYWAY; CASE#S2003-13. Vice Mayor Archambault MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as read and Councilman McMahan SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilman Kehe Aye Councilman Schlum Aye Councilman Kavanagh Aye Councilwoman Nicola Aye Mayor Nichols Aye Councilman McMahan Aye Vice Mayor Archambault Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7 to 0). AGENDA ITEM #8 — CONSIDERATION OF RATIFYING THE TOWN MANAGER'S EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT WITH THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire advised that the Town Manager's employment agreement with the Town of Fountain Hills would soon expire and needed to be ratified at the first meeting in June in even years. He added that the contract, if renewed, would run for another two years. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 3 of 17 There were no speakers wishing to provide comments. Mayor Nichols MOVED that the Town Manager's employment agreement be approved for an additional two-yea period of time. Councilwoman Nicola SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7 to 0). AGENDA ITEM #9— CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN ATTORNEY'S EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT WITH THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS. Mr. Pickering advised that this agenda item was to renew the Town Attorney's employment agreement with the Town of Fountain Hills for legal services. He noted that upon 30-days notice, the Council had the ability to cancel the contract. He added that the contract price remained unchanged until next year, at which time it would increase by $10.00. He stated that this was an extremely reasonable cost for the services provided and recommended approval. Mayor Nichols MOVED that the Town Attorney's employment agreement with the Town of Fountain Hills be approved. Vice Mayor Archambault SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7 to 0). AGENDA ITEM #10 — CONSIDERATION OF RE-APPOINTING THE TOWN MAGISTRATE FOR A FOUR-YEAR TERM WITH THE FOUNTAIN HILLS' MUNICIPAL COURT. Councilwoman Nicola said that for the past month she has been an employee of the Arizona Supreme Court and therefore she declared a conflict of interest and said that she would not discuss and/or vote on this agenda item. Councilwoman Nicola recused herself and left the dais at 6:50 p.m. Mr. Pickering explained that the Town's Magistrate position was not really a contract per se. The Town Code had provisions that contained all of the duties of that position and anything not included in the Town Code was governed by State law. He added that in accordance with State law, the Town was required to appoint the Town Magistrate for Nt not less than two-year terms and pointed out that the Town Code provision stated that the first appointment might be for a term of two years but every appointment after that would be a four-year term. He noted that for consideration this evening was the four-year reappointment of the Town Magistrate. He added that during the term of the Magistrate's appointment the Council could not raise or lower his salary. Therefore the Council must determine what his salary would be for the next four years. He stated that a motion to reappoint would require mention of the base salary and then any form of increased salary the Council would like him to have over the next four years. Mayor Nichols MOVED that the Town Magistrate's contract be renewed for an additional four year period of time at an annual contract rate of$90,000 per year with 5% salary adjustments in the second, third and fourth years. Vice Mayor Archambault SECONDED the motion, which carried unanimously by those present(6 to 0). Councilwoman Nicola returned to the dais at 6:52 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #11 — PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING RESOLUTION 2004-31, APPROVING THE LOCATION TRANSFER OF THE SENIOR SERVICES FOUNDATION OF FOUNTAIN HILLS' BINGO LICENSE TO THE FOUNTAIN HILLS' COMMUNITY CENTER. Mayor Nichols declared the public hearing open at 6:52 and asked whether any citizens wished to provide input or pose questions regarding this agenda item. There being none, the Mayor declared the public hearing closed at 6:52 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #12 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2004-31, APPROVING THE LOCATION TRANSFER OF THE SENIOR SERVICES FOUNDATION OF FOUNTAIN HILLS' BINGO LICENSE TO THE FOUNTAIN HILLS' COMMUNITY CENTER. Mayor Nichols asked for a motion on this agenda item. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 4 of 17 Vice Mayor Archambault MOVED and Councilman Kavanagh SECONDED a motion to approve Resolution No. 2004-31. w The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7 to 0). AGENDA ITEM #13 — PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING RESOLUTION 2004-26, ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE BUDGET AS THE 2004-05 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS. Mayor Nichols declared the public hearing open at 6:56 p.m. Ms. Bender advised that Michael Wulff and Phil Gaziano wished to address the Council regarding this agenda item. Michael Wulff Mr. Wulff said that during the ten years he had lived in the Town, the General Government budget for Fountain Hills had more than tripled from $1 million in 1994 to $3.3 million in 2003. He stated the opinion that the Town's population base had not tripled during that same period of time and added that Public Safety expenses had gone from 3/4s of a million dollars in 1994 to $5.2 million in 2003, a 700% increase in a decade. Mr. Wulff also discussed increases in the cultural and recreation area and added that the Town did not need to spend more money hiring an Assistant Town Manager but perhaps should look into replacing Mr. Pickering with someone capable of carrying out all of the duties and responsibilities on his/her own. He spoke in opposition to the strategic plan and asked that the Council not make the Town into something it did not want to be. Phil Gaziano, Sierra Madre Drive Mr. Gaziano expressed appreciation to the Council for subsidizing the Fountain Hills Community Theater in the amount of $40,000. He said it would be nice to increase that amount by $10,000, which would carry the cost of financing the personnel for the children's program. He also requested that the Council consider granting a 5-year lease to the Community Theater with two five-year renewal options, at a significantly lower cost. He commented on the tremendous volunteerism associated with the Theater and said that although they had not made any money over the last 18 years, they had gained the reputation of being one of the best theater groups in the valley and the State of Arizona. He discussed the importance of providing them an opportunity to obtain public funding and said it was difficult to accomplish that goal without a long-term lease. Mayor Nichols thanked the speakers for their input and declared the public hearing closed at 6:59 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #14 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2004-26, ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE BUDGET AS THE 2004-05 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS. Town Manager Tim Pickering advised that Staff had made the requested changes to the budget, which consisted of: * The addition of an additional five (5) minutes to the Fountain (back to its original timeframe), which resulted in an additional $35,000; * Added an additional $25,000 in Tourism funding; * Per previous discussions regarding recreation programs, Staff reviewed this area and added approximately eight(8)programs at an additional cost of$5,000; * The Public Information Officer's (PIO)position was eliminated, which resulted in a$63,000 reduction; coy * The cost of the Strategic Plan was reduced by approximately $60,000. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 5 of 17 Mr. Pickering reported that the Town's revenues were exceeding expenditures by approximately $200,000 and said that was a good amount to add to the fund balance. He added that this year they had less authorized positions than last year and pointed out that staffing was about a third less than it was about two years ago when there were over 101 di j positions compared to the current 75. He noted that all services were still being provided at a reduced cost. He adde that Staff has provided information regarding additional personnel and said he would be happy to respond to any questions from the Council. He reiterated that the budget was balanced and the largest expenditure by far was the construction of the Civic Center Phase II project, which would house everything from Senior Services to law enforcement, administration, public works, etc. He reported that an annual savings of $600,000 would be realized every year after it was built. He added that there were some up front costs and the bonds had to be paid off but said they know where that money was coming from. Vice Mayor Archambault said he would like to see if there was sufficient support on the Council to increase funding for the Strategic Plan to$60,000. He added that this idea was thoroughly discussed at the Council's retreat at a cost of $30,000. Mr. Pickering interjected that the cost of the retreat had only been $3,000. Vice Mayor Archambault acknowledged that the Council's goal was to benefit the Town as a whole. He stated that he looked at the overall budget and noted that $75,000 was being spent on bathrooms for the trailhead, which were going to benefit a lot of people. He added that $55,000 was allocated for the seniors and that too was money well spent. He noted that $150,000 was allocated for the Boys & Girls Club and again, that was money well spent. He pointed out that$40,000 had been allocated for the Theater and said he did not know how they accomplish so much with so little. He said although all of the above listed items represented money well spent, they did not benefit everyone. The Vice Mayor noted that $25,000 was going to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), $150,000 for the skate park (for a total of $206,000), $48,000 would be spent on field prep for the youth sports and maintenance on the concession stands, electric, sewer and water, $125,000 for the spray park, $76,000 for a School Resource Officer, $75,000 for tourism, for a total of$869,100. He stated that if you thought of the Town as a whole, you thought of it as a wheel. You had a hub, which was the Town, and you had all the spokes, which were all the different interest groups. He added that several spokes were missing and said they were the silent majority of the Town, which he calculated to be somewhere around 60%. He said he wanted to hear from those people and he believed the proposed: loill funding increase would benefit the Town as a whole. Mayor Nichols clarified that the amount was originally $110,000 and the Council reduced it by $60,000 to the current $50,000 level. Vice Mayor Archambault said he would like to increase the amount to$60,000 rather than $50,000. Mayor Nichols commented that over the last couple of weeks he has heard from many residents who liked the idea of the Strategic Plan, although they did not like the "sticker shock". He added that they believed sufficient skilled volunteers lived in Town who could accomplish this goal along with perhaps a member of the Council or an Assistant Town Manager heading up the project. He stated that he supported the Strategic Plan and that it was something the Town needed. He stressed the importance of ensuring that continuity existed as they moved from one Council to the other. He said that he supported the allocation of an additional $10,000 as recommended by the Vice Mayor. Councilman Kavanagh said from a procedural standpoint, he believed a motion and second should be made so that discussion might occur and the Mayor agreed. Councilman Kavanagh MOVED to adopt the budget and Vice Mayor Archambault SECONDED the motion. Councilman Kavanagh moved to AMEND the amount of funding for the Strategic Plan from $50,000 to $15,000. Councilman McMahan SECONDED the motion. Councilman Kavanagh commented that the strategic planning process was really a multi-year process and would not be done during the first year. He agreed with the importance of finding out what the citizens wanted and said he had been a strong advocate of conducting a strategic plan survey. He added the opinion that the first step in a strategic plan was to solicit public input and said he believed a scientific survey could be conducted for approximately $5,000 to $6,000, utilizing the services of Dr. Merrill or a similar professional who had been utilized in the past. He stated that the other $9,000 to $10,000 should be allocated to Staff for payment of newspaper advertisements and related expenses associated with soliciting input at a series of focus groups held by Staff and volunteers. He said they would E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 6 of 17 target all of the various people (seniors, youths, individuals, sports groups, etc.) in an effort to clearly define their vision and needs. He added that this would help put the survey together, which could then be distributed to the citizens. He stated that once that information had been received, they could decide what the next step would be. He itior believed Staff was more than capable of handling that once the key items had been identified. He commented on the fact that he had sat in on a variety of meetings with consultants and various groups on a variety of issues and said the average shelf life of most of those plans was two years. Councilman McMahan stated that he disagreed with the idea of hiring a consultant for the Strategic Plan as it was presently conceived. He expressed the opinion that the Town could obtain assistance from the Civic Association like they did years ago with Town Halls and other planning sessions. He spoke in opposition to spending so much money on outside consultants. He added that Fountain Hills was a small Town that would be built out in another ten years. He stated the opinion that there was sufficient talent in Town to conduct their own planning. He advised that he would support a small expenditure to support the efforts of volunteers and cover the costs of conducting surveys and gathering other information. Councilman Kehe noted that at their retreat, the Council identified seven major goals for fiscal year 2004-05 and one of those goals was a community Strategic Plan. He stated the opinion that the advantage of such a plan was that it provided an opportunity to "tap" into the community to a depth heretofore unknown. He said that he had heard various opinions about the Strategic Plan and said it would provide Fountain Hills the ability to plan its own destiny based upon the wishes of the people. He added that he hoped the Council would at least leave the balance of the funds, between $40,000 and $50,000. He said the monies could be used to achieve a starting point to plan their own future. He spoke in support of educating the Council on exactly what was involved in a Strategic Plan and added that it would provide an opportunity to pursue the continuity aspect raised by Councilman Kavanagh. Councilman Kehe added that a member of Staff or a long-term member of the Council could attend a seminar to address the issue of how to accomplish strategic planning and continuity. He noted that the Town was fortunate to have a volunteer with extensive experience in strategic planning and said she was present at the meeting and willing tito provide her consulting services free of charge. He stated that she could be instrumental in setting up strategic focus lw groups, which would identify a plethora of concerns that the Town might have in terms of amenities, services,etc. He noted that this could be followed up by a scientific survey. He discussed the lack of revenues that would result when build-out occurred and emphasized the importance of proceeding with a plan as quickly as possible. He added the opinion that it could be done for $40,000 and at the end of this year they could determine where they wanted to go from there. He urged the Council to support at a minimum the residual amount in the budget. In response to a request for clarification from Councilwoman Nicola, Mayor Nichols concurred that this evening the Council was simply talking about monies in the budget and were not approving the contracts before them. She asked whether they were free to issue another RFP and was advised that this could occur. Councilman Kavanagh said he believed the cost of the survey would be between $5,000 and $6,000, advertising in the paper would cost approximately $3,000 to $4,000 and said that came to $10,000 tops. He stated that they had a consultant willing to volunteer her expert services and asked what the additional $40,000 would be used for. Mr. Pickering responded that the cost of the survey would actually be more expensive. He noted that he was involved in a similar survey for a smaller community approximately five years ago and the cost was $12,000. He estimated that the cost of a survey such as the one being discussed for the Town would be approximately $20,000. He added that monies would also be needed to engage the services of someone to "guide the strategic planning"and said he was not sure at this point in time what that cost would be. He agreed with Councilwoman Nicola that an RFP would have to be issued to determine exactly what services were required. He said they were talking about doing a majority of the work in-house at this point and expressed the opinion that approximately $40,000 to $50,000 would be spent, although probably not this year. He reiterated that the figure was merely an estimate. Mayor Nichols called for the vote and a roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilman Schlum Nay Councilwoman Nicola Nay E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 7 of 17 Councilman Kehe Nay Councilman McMahan Aye Mayor Nichols Nay vt) Councilman Kavanagh Aye Vice Mayor Archambault Nay The motion FAILED for lack of a majority vote (2 to 5). Vice Mayor Archambault MOVED that funding for the Strategic Plan be increased to the $60,000 level, to allow sufficient flexibility. Councilman Kehe SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilman McMahan Nay Councilman Schlum Nay Councilman Kehe Aye Vice Mayor Archambault Aye Councilman Kavanagh Nay Councilwoman Nicola Aye Mayor Nichols Aye The motion CARRIED by majority vote (4 to 3). Councilman Kavanagh MOVED to eliminate the Assistant City Manager's position and Councilman McMahan SECONDED the motion. Councilman Kavanagh stated the opinion that the position was not justifiable, particularly now that they were going to have a consultant work on the Strategic Plan. He said the other part of the work to be performed by the Assistant City Manager was going to be Community Development and noted that over his objections they hired a full-time person to carry out that responsibility. He advised that throughout the election he heard from many citizens that the Council was on a"spending spree"and stressed the importance of stopping it. Councilman McMahan expressed the opinion that the position was not necessary at this time for some of the reasons mentioned by Councilman Kavanagh. He said they now had a new Economic Developer on staff and he believed they should "hold the line"on hiring additional employees. Councilman Schlum stated that he too was opposed to the hiring of an Assistant City Manager at this time and said he believed it was going to be very important to have the Strategic Plan come from the people, who might want to reduce staff even further. He asked that they wait until they can determine the path the citizens wished to follow and relook at it in a year. Councilman Kehe asked whether the Town Manager could speak to this item. Mr. Pickering stated that he wanted to clarify a few issues and referred to slides displayed in the Council Chambers, which depicted some of the proposed duties that would be assumed by an Assistant City Manager. He noted that the position was never intended for economic development or community development. He highlighted the types of projects that this position would oversee, including grant writing, legislative affairs, the Public Safety Commission, and the Strategic Plan (intent was to decrease the consultant's role and increase Staffs role). He suggested that if they decided not to move forward with the hiring of an Assistant Town Manager that they not follow through with a Strategic Plan at this point. He added that when the Council adopted their goals, he said at that time that he needed the tools and resources to accomplish them. Mr. Pickering noted that no one was in place to handle Emergency Disaster Preparedness and a coordinator was needed. He pointed out that one of the Council's goals was,public information and said the Public Information Officer's position had been eliminated and, at the suggestion of Councilwoman Nicola, some of the duties that were going to be assigned to that position were shifted to the Assistant Town Manager's job description. He clarified that E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 8 of 17 the Assistant Town Manager ultimately would not be the Town's Public Information Officer but explained that the person could begin to establish that process by improving the newsletter, improving Channel 11, ensuring that news releases went out and staying on top of the news versus being reactive to it. He agreed that certain members of Staff Now could assist with public information but stressed the importance of having someone oversee and coordinate the process. Mr. Pickering also informed the Council that the Assistant Town Manager would fill in for key personnel in their absence, such as the Accounting Supervisor and Human Resources Administrator, and emphasized the importance of having someone who could "jump in" and handle the responsibilities of those positions. He noted that the position was common in other municipalities and discussed the succession risk, which was also discussed at the Council's retreat. He said that should a situation arise that resulted in the Town Manager leaving or his inability to perform his duties due to illness, such as the case with Mr. Nordin, it was imperative that someone have the experience and education necessary to "step in" and assume responsibilities. He informed the Council that although they kept hearing that more and more people were being hired that was not true. Staffing levels were one-third less than they were two years ago. He noted that they continued to provide the same services as in the past and wanted to provide additional services. He noted that in administration, there were 3.5 positions less than what were authorized in 2002-03. Mr. Pickering ended by saying that although the Town had gotten by in the past without such a position, there were risks involved in not filling this void. Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Pickering for his comments. Vice Mayor Archambault asked whether the elimination of the Assistant Town Manager would result in "gutting"the seven points that were identified at the Council's retreat. Mr. Pickering responded that three of the seven points would be severely impacted. One, they would continue to do the back up contingency plan but the program would suffer; public information would also be impacted and that would hurt the chances for progressing with a Strategic Plan. Le. The Vice Mayor stated that he had serious concerns that they were going to "gut" everything that they identified at their retreat. He noted that they eliminated the Public Information Officer's position, yet the biggest complaint the Council heard was that citizens were not aware of what the Council was doing. He added that now they were going to ask Staff to move forward with the seven goals identified at the retreat but they were going to place an additional burden on Staff. He reported that in Tuesday's newspaper an article appeared relative to"Cities reviewing pay raises" and noted that in the article cities acknowledged the fact that they had Staff who worked two jobs because of the difficult financial time they were going through. He expressed concern that Staff would seek other places of employment if they were not given some type of support. He noted that at the retreat the Council stated that employees were the Town's biggest asset and added that cutting positions and asking them to do more when they were already doing more would be cutting off their noses to spite their faces. Councilman Kavanagh expressed the opinion that the last retreat was extremely productive and stated that although they agreed that communication was important, that did not mean that they were willing to write a "blank check". He said he personally believed that this was one of the most wide open governments he had ever seen between Channel 11 meeting coverage as well as the Town's extensive website. He added that The Times had phenomenal coverage of all issues and said those citizens who wanted to be informed certainly had the avenues to do so. He stated the opinion that the Town did not need an Assistant Town Manager or a Public Information Officer to write more press releases. Councilman Kavanagh asked that the list of additional duties that could be assumed by an Assistant Town Manager be displayed and commented on grant writing. He said there were ways to obtain the services of individuals who had expertise in this particular area at a very reasonable price, without benefits. He also commented on legislative affairs and stated Arizona League of Cities and Towns could and should provide this service. He added that as far as staffing the newly created Public Safety Commission, that would be staffed by the Commission members and most likely the Town's Police Captain and Fire Captain would participate. He stated that as far as the emergency contingency plan coy for medical and fire, that would be a great topic for the new Public Safety Commission to tackle. He added that coordination of the Strategic Plan could be handled by the volunteer who had expertise in this area and was more than willing to oversee that project. He also discussed emergency disaster preparedness and stated the opinion that the Town was reasonably prepared. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 9 of 17 Councilman Kavanagh commented on coordination of the public information program and said he believed information flowed pretty good in the Town. He stated that they had been filling in for key personnel since the Town was founded; other Staff members simply filled in when there was a need, and it was good because people became familiar with other parts of the government and staff members. He added that as far as coordinating Council goals, he believed that was the Council and Town Manager's responsibility. He further stated that as far as the Town's succession risk he would not argue that point and said he was there when they did not have a Town Manager and it was a very difficult political time. He added, however, that a more stable political environment existed today than at that time. Councilman Kavanagh noted that the citizens had sent the Council a message, "You are spending too much, back off'. He said it was a matter of building back the public's trust after eliminating such a significant amount of positions only three years ago and emphasized the importance of working to once again restore the citizens' trust in government. Councilwoman Nicola stated that in the current fiscal year there was a position budgeted that would have covered a number of those items but the Town Manager decided not to fill the position, the Public Safety Coordinator. She said she still believed that this was an important position and that the Town needed a dedicated person to staff the new Public Safety Commission to provide continuity. She added that she would support a Public Information Officer's position but for many of the reasons previously stated she did not believe that it was the right time for the Town to create another high level position. She noted that according to the League of Arizona Cities and Towns' 2004 government survey of towns that had Assistant Town Managers, they included Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert, Sierra Vista, Apache Junction and Good year and said they were all much larger towns and cities than Fountain Hills and said she could not support this position at this time. Councilman Schlum stated the opinion that it came down to what the Town was more in need of and said that at this time he did not believe that the need for an Assistant Town Manager's position existed at this time. He added that he appreciated what Mr. Pickering had stated regarding the necessity to have the proper tools and resources to achieve the goals that Council had identified but said he believed they needed to hold off for a while. He agreed that a need for grant writing existed and said that the community had a lot of resources that could be tapped. Councilman Kehe said he would like to address two items listed, not from the point of position but the function. He stated that the first was grant writing and noted that there was no grant writer on Staff and commented that literally hundreds of thousands of dollars that were available in grants were not being taken advantage of cited an example of fire diet DEPARTMENT grants that could have been applied for but were not because there was no one in place to do so. He also discussed the Public Information Office and said that some people viewed that as a "mouth piece" for Town offices. He stated that he agreed with Councilman Kavanagh that there were more opportunities in Fountain Hills than he had seen in many communities to attend meetings of the Council, various Committees and Commissions and speak their minds. He said that many people were not able to attend the meetings and so they had to attempt to get into their homes, which would be a goal of any Public Information Office, get into the homes of citizens by utilizing various media. He added that Channel 11 was good but not good enough and said he would like the public OFFICIALS to be brought in to discuss issues on a regular basis, live and taped, in addition to Council meetings. Councilman Kehe said that the Town had a nice magazine called Compass and stated that next year six issues would be devoted to community governmental matters and three issues devoted to recreation. He commented that that was great but it was put together by a secretary who did a good job but did not have the training to accomplish the type of job that a specialist in Public Relations could accomplish. He added that opportunities existed to work more with the local papers and the local radio station. Councilman McMahan commented that The Times was an outstanding newspaper that did a great job of disseminating information. He said he would also like to see Channel 11 "beefed up" but at the current time, he believed the citizens were saying, "curb spending"and at every opportunity they should multi-task the employees and vii) Staff. He expressed opposition to adding another member to Staff. Mayor Nichols said that if it were the desire of the Council not to add the position of Assistant Town Manager, he would ask that the seven goals identified by the Council at their retreat be reviewed and reduced accordingly. He E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 10 of 17 stated that the Council could not hold the Town Manager and Staff accountable when they were not given to tools and resources to accomplish the job. (Nor Discussion ensued relative to not holding the retreats during the second year of a term but in the first and the fact that another retreat would be held within the next three months. Mayor Nichols stated that there was a motion on the floor to eliminate the position of Assistant Town Manager and asked for a vote on this item. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilman Schlum Aye Councilman Kavanagh Aye Councilwoman Nicola Aye Councilman Kehe Nay Vice Mayor Archambault Nay Mayor Nichols Nay Councilman McMahan Aye The motion CARRIED by majority vote (4 to 3). Vice Mayor Archambault questioned whether anyone had reviewed the disturbing information on Page 152 relative to the reduction of the maximum pay for employees by adjusting this budget year to what current cities and towns were paying. He said he had concerns because he believed they valued their employees as assets and to take away even the smallest hope that they might achieve the maximum in their pay raises goes against the Council's goals for employees and diminished morale. ,, Vice Mayor Archambault MOVED that the Council not reduce any of the maximum amounts from the previous year and that the pay scale be retained. Councilwoman Nicola SECONDED the motion with the addition that the Council only keep the maximums where they were when there was a reduction called for by where work had been done and pay, titles, and job descriptions had been reviewed, and a justified increase in the minimum and maximum existed, that the increase be improved. Mayor Nichols clarified that the amendment was to "red circle"the maximum rates that were going to be going down. He explained that if they were red circled they were not reduced. Councilman Kavanagh said he was concerned with the policy because he felt it was unfair to employees. He added that in talking with Mr. Pickering he learned that no one was impacted by this. Mr. Pickering explained that no one would have a decrease in his or her salary and said the only ones who would be impacted were employees at the top of their range who happened to be there. He added that all of the salary ranges were developed from the market. Councilman Kavanagh asked whether any current employee would be denied a pay increase because of this adjustment and Mr. Pickering responded that he would have to look into this because it depended upon the amount of the increase. Councilman Kavanagh said that he would then agree with the amendment to the motion and stated that anyone who accepted a job with the Town and was told what range they would be in should not be subject to change once they were employed. He added that he had no problem adjusting the ranges of positions for incoming employees but existing employees should be exempted. He stated that perhaps a policy should be developed in the future relative to this issue. Mayor Nichols commented that if they were not going to abide by the market rates then they should state so in their policy. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 11 of 17 Councilwoman Nicola pointed out that the current ranges were based on the market as it existed two years ago and said she had a hard time believing that the cost of living for that person had gone down, thereby justifying the action. She agreed that it was not fair and when someone was offered a position in a certain range it should remair unchanged. Mayor Nichols discussed the fact that market rates sometimes increased 20% to 30% a year based on demands. He asked whether they wanted to continue with those high ranges when they did not have to be paid. Councilwoman Nicola responded in the affirmative. Vice Mayor Archambault commented that the Town should be worried about the growth cities which were upsizing their departments. He pointed out that over the last two years the Town had lost employees because of the workload that was imposed upon them and because of the pay range they were restricted within. He expressed the opinion that the west side was staring them right in the face and saying, "we are going to try and steal your employees". He stated the opinion that a minimal amount of freezing those maximums says that we did not take whatever ray of hope that they might hit those maximums they were striving to achieve. He emphasized that this should not be taken away from them and that would help mitigate some of the exodus they had experienced. Councilman Schlum said he would be most comfortable in the market range so that the Town had the flexibility to hire who they want when they needed to. Councilman Kavanagh clarified that no one objected to setting market rates but said when someone accepted a position and was told his/her salary was X to X, should the market go down the following year, he did not believe that he or she should be penalized. Mr. Pickering noted that the range would change every year, sometimes up and sometimes down, and said that although in the past this had occurred every two years he believed they needed to do it every year because sometimes the Town was way below market. He added that justification for increases were based on the market. Councilman Kavanagh said that he affirmed and applauded that stance and added that once someone was hired, should the market go down for some reason, he did not believe that the person who committed to working for the Town should be penalized. Mayor Nichols commented that the Council must serve as good stewards of the Town's money. He added that the motion was saying if there was a salary range maximum and the market showed that it should go down they were not going to reduce the maximum, it was going to stay. Councilman Kavanagh emphasized that it would remain for existing employees and any new hires would come on at the lower rate. Mayor Nichols responded that this would constitute a dual system. Councilman Kavanagh stated that he thought they were talking about not having the rates go down for existing employees. Councilwoman Nicola clarified that she supported freezing the maximum where there had been a reduction and accept the rest of it as is. She said there had to be one pay scale range for the position. Mayor Nichols said that they were getting into a lot of administrative detail and what he believed they were saying was "let's be as sensitive as we can to our employees and improve morale". He added that it did not appear that they approved of the present salary administration policy and recommended that Human Resources, through the direction of the Town Manager, go back and examine this policy and make recommendations. In response to a question from Councilwoman Nicola and Mayor Nichols as to whether a budget existed, Mr. Pickering advised that it was included in the budget and said that recommendation had been made. He agreed with Councilwoman Nicola that they should not have dual systems and emphasized the importance of consistency. He added that he appreciated the Mayor's comments relative to not designing a pay plan from the dais. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 12 of 17 Vice Mayor Archambault pointed out that the data was two years old and said he did not want to mislead anyone. He added that the pay ranges very rarely decreased and at some point might stabilize. He said that his concern was that they were looking at older data and stated that he wanted to simplify the process and not take any of the maximums that had been reduced and reduce them because it may reduce them to the point where the person in that position is already being paid that amount and he just lost hope that he would get an eleven cent raise. He commented that eleven cents an hour might not mean a lot to many people but it might mean a lot to that particular employee who might be valuable to the Town. Discussion ensued relative to the market research that was conducted, the fact that all of the municipalities in Arizona were looked at, the fact that a private entity provided the Town information and they looked at the private market. Councilman Kavanagh stressed the importance of discussing this item but not at this time. Councilman Kavanagh MOVED to table this item to the next meeting to allow additional time to discuss this issue and review the matter with Staff. Councilwoman Nicola SECONDED the motion. Vice Mayor Archambault said that if he understood the motion, they were going to take this section out of the Town budget when it was approved tonight and talk about it as a separate item. Mayor Nichols agreed with the Vice Mayor's summation. Mr. Pickering asked what additional information the Council wanted and said he basically saw a policy change, which was fine,but asked if there was any information they wanted from Staff. Councilman Kavanagh said that the issue was confusing and they were not being productive. In response to a question from Councilwoman Nicola, the Mayor stated that the tabling of this item would not table the position of the Public Information Officer. Mr. Pickering clarified that now the Public Information Officer's position and the Assistant Town Manager's position were not included in the budget. They had been removed. The Mayor called the question and a roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilman Kehe Aye Councilwoman Nicola Aye Councilman Schlum Aye Councilman McMahan Aye Mayor Nichols Nay Councilmember Kavanagh Aye Vice Mayor Archambault Nay The motion CARRIED by majority vote (5 to 2). Councilwoman Nicola commented on the administration budget(Page 51) and pointed out that the Town Council was responsible for appointing four positions, three of which were accomplished this evening. She added that a few weeks ago she communicated to the Town Manager her concern that there was nothing to substantiate the payment of a Town Prosecutor, and no Letter of Agreement existed in the current year's budget or the upcoming Fiscal Year budget. She noted that no contract or Letter of Agreement existed and said that two years ago the Council decided that because contract positions were not covered by the Town's risk pool insurance, they wanted to know that insurance was being provided by the attorney. Councilwoman Nicola MOVED that they take the $110,000 that was listed under legal fees and put that into the contingency fund until such time as Council did have a contract or Letter of Agreement for paying those fees. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004Utegular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 13 of 17 In response to a request from Councilwoman Nicola, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire stated that he would speak to the contract portion. He explained that it was customary in the legal field to have an engagement letter as a contract of sorts whereby all of the terms and conditions were set out. He said this provided a general idea of the hourly rate how payment was applied, and billing. He noted that the engagement letters were required by the Town' Professional Rules of Conduct. He stated that for ten or eleven of the thirteen years that Iacovino had been the prosecutor, he had given a letter each year that went along with the budget. He added that they did not have one for the current fiscal year and said it should not be difficult to do before the next fiscal year before any funds were spent. Vice Mayor Archambault SECONDED the motion. Councilwoman Nicola explained that the $110,000 would be put into the contingency funds and said that without a letter of understanding or a contract they had no known amount that the vendor, the contractor, expected to be paid. She added that as such the Town's ordinance stated that the Council should appoint this position and they should, as a matter of common courtesy,give the fourth officer that the Council was charged with appointing the opportunity to be appointed. Mr. Pickering stated that he would first comment on the budget and said he would not recommend moving the funds. He added that it did not matter who the individual was, they were going to spend that much money in prosecutor fees out of the legal line item. He further stated that as far as getting a letter of engagement, he believed that that was a very short-term project that Staff could accomplish. He advised that Staff put together a Request for Proposals and brought it to the new Council and was willing and able to bid the service and the Council said they did not want to move forward with that. He stated that they had moved forward with the existing prosecutor and noted that the price was based on what he had been charging the Town for quite some time. Vice Mayor Archambault said that based on that information he would WITHDRAW his second to the motion. Mayor Nichols stated that the motion failed for lack of a second. Councilwoman Nicola MOVED that Staff be directed to come back at the next Council meeting with a letter to be approved for the payment of the services. Councilwoman Nicola commented that Mr. Pickering erred in stating that it was the new Council who did not want to move forward and clarified that it was the old Council. She stated that she did not understand without any type of written agreement where there was authorization for the Town to send a monthly check, which totaled $100,000 a year to the Prosecutor. She emphasized that it was Council's job to appoint the Prosecutor. Vice Mayor Archambault SECONDED the motion. Councilman Kavanagh commented that Staff already said they would do that and expressed the opinion that they could be trusted to do so. Councilwoman Nicola emphasized that Staff did not appoint the Prosecutor. In response to a request for clarification from Councilwoman Nicola, Mr. McGuire stated that the Town Council appointed the Prosecutor's position and explained that the only reason they had contract renewals, such as his, was because the contract they have in front of them from him had a two-year term on it. He added that going forward his contract would automatically renew and it contained a 30-day "out clause". He said they would not see a renewal of his contract, but the appointment for the Prosecutor, prior to this time, had not been changed was okay to cover the Prosecutor's appointment. He added that the gap they needed to close was what the agreement covered. He noted that it was a two-year gap and ensured the Council that Staff would make sure that the law firm presented evidence of proper insurance. Upon tabulation of vote it showed: Councilman Kavanagh Nay E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 14 of 17 Councilman McMahan Aye Councilman Schlum Aye LiMayor Nichols Aye Councilwoman Nicola Aye Councilman Kehe Aye Vice Mayor Archambault Aye The motion CARRIED by majority vote(6 to 1). Mr. Kehe stated that he wished to speak on the Tourism grant and said that the amount was increased to$75,000 from $25,000 at the last Council meeting. He said on many occasions he had supported funding for the Tourism Bureau but said he would attach a caveat to that, namely performance funding. He said it appeared to him that what they had was an offer of$50,000, a request from the Tourist Bureau for $100,000 and they would settle for $75,000. He was not sure that was the best way to proceed. He stated the opinion that performance criteria should be in place, such as a bed tax, where a baseline was established for the end of the fiscal year and compare that to bed tax receipts at the end of the next fiscal year. He said that could be used as a standard upon which to base further aid as opposed to just coming up with numbers. He stated that there would be something upon which to base funding. He further stated that he was not sure that was possible but wanted to put that out there so that some kind of measure was in place. Councilman Kavanagh agreed with Councilman Kehe's comments and said it would be valuable to be able to keep track of what was being done. He added that they needed to ask some people involved in tourism how this could be best accomplished because clearly the bed tax was going to generate more revenues with the hotels coming in and tourism increasing. He said he would like to see a measure and suggested that they ask Staff to look into what type of measure could filter out all of the other factors that affected tourism. Councilwoman Nicola stated that a few weeks ago they were told that they could not ask how much the bed tax receipts were because there were not enough beds to make the pot large enough where they would not be able to identify who contributed and who made how much money. It was proprietary information. She asked whether the short-term rentals, those under 30 days, were being included in that. She questioned whether they could accomplish what they would like to. Mr. McGuire responded that they were prohibited by State law from disclosing any information that would identify a single taxpayer. He noted that the Statute was very strict and therefore they were very cautious in complying. Mr. Pickering said that Staff could review the total aggregate number of beds or taxpayers that were included in that group and provide that information to the Council. He added that the point was whether they could develop a measurement to gauge how tourism was doing and Staff could work on that. Mayor Nichols agreed that it was a good idea to pursue that. Councilman Kavanagh recommended that they place a return postcard in every hotel room asking how they heard about the Town. Councilman Kehe noted that as the Town got more hotels, there would be a higher bed tax and so they would have to consider that when doing calculations. He added that the bed tax was just one possibility and said there might be other measures. He emphasized the importance of having some basis upon which to make grants. Councilwoman Nicola suggested that next year they might talk about setting a dollar amount or a percentage of the budget that set a cap on the community benefit dollars that would be provided and then look at that from a policy standpoint instead of"they ask, they get,they come back and ask, more is given." Councilman Kehe commented that he attended a School District meeting a couple of weeks ago and a discussion took place regarding drug use among high school students, all the way down to middle school students. He said that the "seed was sewn" for a school resource officer who would focus on drugs in the schools. He added that he did not think anyone would disagree with the importance of that and said as a person with a strong background in public E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 15 of 17 education he supported the schools. He stated that he was concerned about the fact that the Town was funding the officer at $67,000 plus benefits. He said that if the schools perceived the drugs as a problem, why were they not budgeting for an officer to control it. He asked whether the Town was working effectively with the School Distric relative to items such as this as well as the sharing of facilities, etc. He asked whether Town had a facility that thelly school needed and in return they had something the Town needed and at the end of the year the bottom line could be effectively zero. He stated the opinion that they were not doing that at this time and they were missing out on a great opportunity. Mayor Nichols advised that Staff had been trying to work with the Fountain Hills Unified School District to acquire space for additional soccer and baseball fields. He said that he and the Vice Mayor traveled around with members of the School District to identify possible sites that they could either give the Town at no cost or rent to them at $1 per year for 50 years. He noted that the Town had a contract with the Sheriff's Department and the Town agreed to provide the resource officer and in return what the Town was trying to get from the School District was some additional soccer and baseball fields. Councilman Kavanagh commented that the Town had a long history of mutual "buy back" with the School District and said they consumed a large amount of their gymnasium time for the youth basketball league, parks and recreation, and in return the Town gave them all the ball fields for their teams to play on. He agreed that it probably could be expanded and it would be good to look into that. He expressed the opinion that ultimately Fire, Police, and ambulance service were the responsibility of the Town and if police protection was needed on the campuses, he believed the Town should provide that service. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire commented that there was no agreement in place this year early on to have the resource officers back in the schools. He noted that other cities fund their school resource officers through grants received by the School District but explained that unless a program was in place to obtain the grants ahead of time, the positions could not be filled. He added that in moving forward the Town might be able to, in conjunction with the School District, access some grants, but timing was crucial. Councilman Kehe commented on an article in the newspaper that said the Town was charging the School District for certain services and in return the School District stated that they were going to start charging the Town. He emphasized the importance of avoiding this type of interaction. The Mayor called for the vote, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7 to 0). AGENDA ITEM #15- COUNCIL ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW OF THE MEETING TO IDENTIFY PROCEDURAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND DISCUSS POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS. Councilman Schlum commented that this was the best Council meeting he had ever attended. Councilman McMahan said that as the new members became more familiar with issues and the process, he believed the meetings would become even more productive. AGENDA ITEM #16 — 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 BACK TO THE COUNCIL: A. None. AGENDA ITEM#17—SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY TOWN MANAGER Mr. Pickering stated that they would revisit the Council's goals at a future meeting and said Staff would bring back a*40) pay plan. He noted that the Assistant Town Manager's position had been eliminated. He added that he would provide an engagement letter for the Prosecutor. He advised that a retreat would be held in approximately three months and one of the items to be discussed would be the development of measurements for tourism. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 16 of 17 Mayor Nichols complimented the new members of the Council on their first meeting and said he had a goal of completing the Town's business in two hours time and said it was 8:37 p.m. and they had done a good job of staying on track. AGENDA ITEM#18—ADJOURNMENT COUNCILMAN KAVANAGH MOVED that the Council adjourn and COUNCILMAN MCMAHAN SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting adjourned at 8:37 p.m. TOWN OF IN HILLS ,,,,tj... By ,,/1/ � (....7 Wally Nicho4,iM yor ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: f , ,Z.f .., I' , -, 4 , L ,, Bevelyn J. B�endet(Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular and Executive Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 3rd day of June, 2004. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 17th day of June, 2004. . / - -<„ ,--/ --... ' ...c___,/(1--1...-"X Bevelyn J. 1 ender-'town Clerk \ E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2004\Regular and Executive Session 6-03-04.doc Page 17 of 17 vai)