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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005.0421.TCRM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL thw APRIL 21,2005 Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. INVOCATION—The invocation was led by Pastor Larry Finch, Four Peaks Community Church. ROLL CALL — Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Councilman Archambault, Mayor Nichols, Councilman Kavanagh, Councilman Kehe, Vice Mayor Nicola, Councilman McMahan, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town Manager Tim Pickering, Parks & Recreation/Community Center Director Mark Mayer and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. Councilman Schlum was absent from the meeting. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS (1) Presentation by representatives of VFW Post 7507 and American Legion Post 58 for the dedication of the Veterans Memorial and event planned for Monday, May 20, 2005, Memorial Day Holiday. Mr. Mayer provided history regarding the Veterans Memorial at Fountain Park. He said that since he joined the Town in 2001, he had been working with both local Veteran organizations in the pursuit of establishing a monument and said he appreciated the organizations' and public's patience in this regard. He noted the project was almost complete and this was a great opportunity for those involved to speak on this great accomplishment. Mr. Bruce Thulien, Commander of VFW Post 7507 in Fountain Hills, informed the Council that the Veterans' Vise memorial, sponsored by both Veteran's groups (the American Legion Post #58 and the VFW Post 7507 was completed. He noted that the success of the project was the direct result of hundreds of volunteer hours and significant contributions on the part of local contractors and material supply companies. He said that a couple of years ago, the Veterans' groups pledged to work hard to build the memorial and reported that they raised approximately $75,000 through their fundraising efforts. He added that the Town's residents had donated over $125,000, including $40,000 donated by the Town. He noted that they remained approximately $80,000 from their goal but in order to allow the project to remain on schedule, both groups borrowed $40,000 each from their members to meet the $80,000 and were now working extremely hard to raise the funds and repay the loans. He added that cost over-runs were common, the cost of steel doubled in cost every week, and they found themselves competing for concrete. He said that the result of everyone's efforts was something that the Town could take pride in. He introduced Carl Propp and said that he would be followed by Len Zoar, President of the American Legion. Mr. Carl Propp, Co-Chairman of the Veteran's Memorial Committee, provided an overview of the proposed celebration and reported that the dedication/ribbon cutting ceremony would take place on May 30th (Memorial Day) at 11 a.m. at the site. He noted that the Mayor and members of the Council would be in attendance and the Mayor, along with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Congressman J.D. Hayworth would be featured speakers and a number of other dignitaries would be in attendance. He invited everyone to come to the double celebration (Memorial Day and dedication ceremonies). He outlined the programmed events for the day, which included the landing of an Apache helicopter,a possible military flyover,as well as various color guards and department leaders Mr. Lynn Zaw, Commander of American Legion Post 58, noted that they had also invited a very special distinguished guest, Mr. Fred Furgeson, a recipient of The Medal of Honor and he provided additional information regarding the scheduled program. He added that following the ceremony, they were inviting the entire Town to attend a reception at their Post. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2005\04-21-05 Regular Session.doc Page 1 of 6 Mayor Nichols thanked everyone for their remarks and their hard work that had resulted in the memorial. He said he would be proud to attend and participate in the event. He added that when the gun (howitzer cannon) arrived, e-mails were received from residents who opposed the gun. He stated that he recently spoke with some of the people who were opposed and he now believed that everyone now supported the entire memorial. CALL TO THE PUBLIC There were no citizens wishing to speak at this time. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Nichols read the following consent agenda items: AGENDA ITEM #1 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 7, 2005. AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2005-27, ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE ESEMENTS LOCATED AT THE NORTHERLY PROPERTY LNES OF PLAT 603C BLOCK 2, LOT 34 (18532 E. CHOLLA DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 161 OF MAPS, PAGE 43, RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY,ARIZONA. EA05-07 (KAUFMAN). AGENDA ITEM #3 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2005-28, ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT,TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED AT THE SOUTHERLY PROPERTY LINES OF PLAT 111, BLOCK 7. LOT 9 (16623 E. ASHBROOK DRIVE, UNIT A) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 150 OF MAPS, PAGE 12, RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY,ARIZONA. EA05-08(LUCAS). AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2005-29, ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED AT THE ORTHERLY PROPERTY LINES OF PLAT 204, BLOCK 13, LOT 6 (11208 N. TELLER DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 141 OF MAPS, PAGE 10, RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUUNTY,ARIZONA. EA05-09 (LYDICK). AGENDA ITEM #5 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE EXTENSION OF PREMISE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY AUSENCIO SANCHEZ FOR QUE BUENO RESTAURANT LOCATED AT 13207 N.LA MONTANA DRIVE FOR MAY 5,2005 FROM 3:00 P.M.TO 9:00 P.M. Councilman Archambault MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as presented and Councilman McMahan SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Vice Mayor Nicola Aye Mayor Nichols Aye Councilman Kavanagh Aye Councilman Schlum Absent Councilman Kehe Aye Councilman McMahan Aye Councilman Archambault Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present(6 to 0). ACTION AGENDA 'or) E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2005\04-21-05 Regular Session.doc Page 2 of 6 AGENDA ITEM #6 — UPDATE BY THE TOWN MANAGER ON THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING THE COUNCIL'S GOALS. Mr. Pickering addressed the Council regarding this agenda item and noted that in 2004, goals were set for the Council and the Town and said that five different goals were laid out, namely: (1) to do an analysis of the Town's finances in case the water expansion could not occur; (2) doing a succession plan, which was planning for the replacement of key positions; (3) to encourage and work with the State Land Department to annex State Trust Land; (4)to complete a strategic plan for the Town and (5)to prepare a fire service contingency plan. Mr. Pickering reported that great progress had been made in achieving those goals and said he would like to update the Council at this time on exactly what had taken place. He noted that the analysis as far as the financial consideration with the water was complete. He added that Chaparral Water was able to expand their water service. He stated that the succession plan, which was being prepared in case employees filling key positions left (who would replace them, training, etc.) was 90% complete and would be submitted to the Council during the budget process. He reported that Joan MacIntosh, the Town's Human Resources Administrator, was working on this goal. He added that much had been done regarding the State Trust Land during the quarter and reported that staff had met five different times with the State Land Department and had met four times with their staff. They had learned about the many different steps involved in the lengthy process. He said that they were steadily moving forward and the State Land Commissioner had declared the land suitable for urban development and the next step was to schedule and conduct some public hearings. In addition, Chaparral Water would extend its boundaries so that they could service the land and the School District was proceeding with a public vote to extend their boundaries to also serve the land. Mr. Pickering noted that one additional step that was not included in his report involved the permittee and reported that the Land Commissioner had decided to use the Urban Lands Process, which was a process whereby they chose a permittee to conduct the planning. He said that the public had been notified and the permittee's applications were due by the end of this month. He noted that they had also sent a letter requesting annexation and pointed out that it was really just a renewal of a letter since they sent one in 1991 and no action had occurred since then. He said the purpose was just to reiterate to the Commissioner the Town's interest in annexation. Mr. Pickering also discussed the strategic plan and reported that approximately 250 attended the first Town Hall under the Strategic Plan process last Friday and Saturday. He reported that they received great input from the residents as the result of the efforts of 13 facilitators. He stated that they were really moving along on this goal and he was very excited about the project. He noted that it was due to be completed by January and added that in the upcoming months, focus groups would be conducted, another Town Hall would be held in August and in the interim staff was going to put together some numbers in response to requests received from the citizens regarding what it meant financially to accomplish the goals. He added that following the August Town Hall a survey would be conducted in an effort to validate the information received and in November the Council would review the first draft of the action plan and hopefully in December adoption would take place. He said that in January they would hold a celebratory party. Mr. Pickering also commented on the Fire Service Contingency Plan, requested by the Council, and noted that the main change in this area was Scottsdale's decision to implement a municipal department rather than remain with Rural Metro, the Town's contractor. He said that the Council was aware of the five-year agreement the Town had with Rural Metro and reported that there were approximately four years remaining. He stated that staff had met with officials from Scottsdale, representatives from Rural Metro and the Rio Verde Fire District, as well as representatives from Fort McDowell and he announced that the entities were prepared to enter into mutual aid agreements and reported that the attorneys were currently reviewing such documents between Scottsdale and the Town. Mr. Pickering discussed the fact that the Town's Fire Chief had accepted a position with the City of Scottsdale and said that last week Rural Metro asked the Town to help them conduct interviews and they did so last week. He reported that Rural Metro was in the process of making an offer to an individual they had recommended and Mr. Pickering said he would keep the Council updated on this issue. He added that during the next quarter, staff E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2005\04-21-05 Regular Session.doc Page 3 of 6 intended to conduct an analysis of what the cost would be for a municipal department. He stated that staff would continue to provide quarterly updates to the Council and indicated his willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Councilman McMahan asked what year the Fire Department contract would expire with Rural Metro and Mr. Pickering responded about four years from now. He said he would provide the Council with the exact date. He concurred that a buffer was in place and advised that the great thing about the contract was that if Rural Metro was going to stop service,they would have to give the Town a two-year notice. In response to a question from Councilman Kavanagh, Mr. Pickering advised that staff had not contracted out for the survey as yet and added that it was included in the upcoming budget. He added that the actual survey was planned for October and survey design would begin in early August. He reported that the Town's facilitator had used O'Neill & Associates in the past and said that the company was anxious to bid on the contract. Councilman Kavanagh said he would appreciate receiving a copy of their methodology prior to any work being done and Mr. Pickering stated that he would make sure that the Council was provided this information. Councilman Kavanagh asked whether Scottsdale was going to be providing cost estimates on their providing the fire services and Mr. Pickering commented that it was definitely a "work in progress" and they had given the Town some initial estimates. He reported that the cost to the Town would be approximately $1 million more than what the Town was paying right now. He added that the cost for Paradise Valley would be somewhat less expensive now that they were on subscription. He said that was a different scenario as Paradise Valley was in a different position. He noted that for the first year, Scottsdale would not be in a position to provide service to anyone; they would be working to get their operation up and running. He said that hopefully by the time the Town was about through with the contract with Rural Metro, Scottsdale would at least be willing to talk with the Town regarding providing that service. He stated that their initial figure was a "guesstimate" but based on per capita numbers. Councilman Kehe posed questions regarding the State Trust Land and said that he would like additional information for the benefit of those who might not totally understand the process. He reported that the previous • Council made a decision in October 2003 to annex the State Trust Land on the northeast border and it was also one of the goals set by that Council for 2004-05. He added that annexation was reaffirmed as a goal for 2005-06 by the current Council at its January retreat. He commented on the fact that the land would be developed and the current owner of the land was the State of Arizona. He asked Town Attorney Andrew McGuire to explain the difference between annexation and acquisition as it pertained to the land under discussion. Mr. McGuire said that acquisition by the Town meant that the Town becomes a fee title owner to the property. He noted that the Town acquires as little property as it physically could simply because property in the Town was very expensive and the Town had no interest in becoming a land developer. He reported that the Town's current holdings were limited to those open space areas and the areas under Town Hall, the Community Center, etc. He added that annexation meant that the Town extended the corporate boundaries of the Town to embrace the land that was currently in the County. He reported that the most recent annexations included the area near Copperwynd, Crestview, and Eagle Mountain. He said the land in those areas were formerly under Maricopa County but now were part of the Town and subject to the Town's taxation and regulations. Councilman Kehe asked what the benefits were to the Town as a result of annexation and Mr. McGuire responded that there was no doubt that the land was eventually going to be developed and if it was developed in the County and never annexed into the Town, the sheer physical constraints of accessing the property were going to require that everyone who lived there traveled through the Town in order to get to it. He added that the Town's infrastructure was not meant to handle that additional burden without some type of"infusion" of cash. He noted that it would severely impact the Town's CIP budget. He said that if a piece of property was annexed into the Town prior to its development several key things happen, first, upon any land use approvals, the Town would be involved in the processing of the land use approvals and in collecting processing fees. He said that the real key was when the property was developed because the Town would collect impact fees on the property. He emphasized the importance of annexing the property before it developed because impact fees were the balancing E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2005\04-21-05 Regular Session.doc Page 4 of 6 tool that was intended to take residential property that did not pay for itself on its own and at least have it pay for a "chunk"of the infrastructure costs necessary to accommodate the new homes. Mr. McGuire commented that the next phase is the permitting fees, building permit fees on the type of residential building that would go on out there, which might be substantial. He also discussed new construction sales tax and noted that that had been the lifeblood of many Arizona communities for the past 25 years. He noted that the Town was coming to the end of its road with that particular income stream because only so much more new construction could happen. Mr. McGuire added that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office would have to provide service as would whatever provider was providing fire protection. He stated that there was a huge incentive for the Town to annex at the beginning of the process. In response to a comment from Councilman Kehe as to the term "seamless development" in association with State Trust Land, Mr. McGuire stated that the integration of property into the Town's land use plans would allow for the same regulations to be in place and consistency to occur. He stressed the importance of ensuring that the character of the land remained the same. He also said that they would have to make sure that the transportation system worked together and stated that it must be a ridgeline development because of the natural wash areas. He added that they were reasonably comfortable that what was going to be built would look like Fountain Hills, simply because of the topography and becoming involved in the process early on would help even more. Mr. McGuire discussed the process that would be followed and noted that the Town had received a letter months ago from Commissioner Winkleman with the State Land Department that the Town had presumed was a Notice of Intent. He explained that they recently learned that the letter was just his "pre-notice" and what was received on approximately March 30th was a notice that the land was under consideration for reclassification as suitable for urban planning. He said that this was the first step in the puzzle and after this, they expected that the Town would receive the actual Notice of Intent to reclassify and when that was issued, a set of statutorily required things would happen. He reported that the State General Plan had to be compiled and approved, and a public hearing would need to be held. He commented on the fact that the State General Plan looked a lot like the Viso Town's General Plan but said it was not a "map driven document" and was more of a policy document that covers 17 areas of land use issues in text format, more of a guidebook for the permittee. He said that after that happened, the Town would be invited to talk with the permittee selected by the State. He stated that staff would be able to provide input at the beginning, middle, and end of the process. Mr. McGuire advised that a pre-annexation development agreement would add value to the land and added that staff hoped to reach this point early in the process so they knew exactly what would happen. He said they hoped all of this would occur prior to the land being sold. He noted that State .Land Department staff supported Fountain Hills' annexation and they had stated that the Town would add value to the property. He commented that staff was not sure of the timeframe but said this case was moving along much more quickly than a typical State Land Department transaction. He added the opinion that the Town was a "guinea pig" and the first of many who would be administered under this process being used by the State Land Department for the disposition and development of State Trust Land. In response to an additional question from Councilman Kehe, Mr. McGuire stated that the pre-annexation agreement would put the conventional land purchaser in the shoes of the State Land Department after the sale. He added that the State Land Department would commit to certain things in the pre-annexation agreement, as would the Town and after the sales occurred, that agreement would then "fall over" to the new developer who took it. He stated that you could view it as "running with the land" but actually it was a value added point for the developer. Councilman Kehe asked whether if the permittee was not the actual purchaser of the land, they would still be bound by the pre-annexation agreement and Mr. McGuire responded that the State Land Department would still be a party to it. He noted that the pre-annexation agreement was only going to have two parties. The State Land Lor Department would be bound by the agreement, as would the purchaser of the land. Councilman Kehe thanked Mr. McGuire for his input. E:\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2005\04-21-05 Regular Session.doc Page 5 of 6 Mayor Nichols thanked staff for the presentation and agreed that it was of benefit to the citizens to hear the Town Attorney's responses to Councilman Kehe's questions. There were no additional questions from the Council and/or members of the audience. AGENDA ITEM #7 - 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 #8 — 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. There was no discussion relative to this agenda item. AGENDA ITEM#9—SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY TOWN MANAGER There was no discussion relative to this agenda item. AGENDA ITEM#10—ADJOURNMENT Councilwoman Kavanagh MOVED that the Council adjourn and Councilman McMahon SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present (6 to 0). The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. TOWN UNTAIN HILLS B Y Wally Ni of , ayor ATTEST AND PRE ARED BY: Bevelyn J. B der, wn Clerk 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 21st day of April 2005. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 5th day of May 2005. Bevelyn J. B er, wn Clerk E.\BBender\Documents\Current Minutes 2005\04-21-05 Regular Session.doc Page 6 of 6