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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006.1212.TCWSEM.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE WORK STUDY SESSION AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL DECEMBER 12, 2006 AGENDA ITEM #1- CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL: Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Nichols, Vice Mayor Kehe, Councilmembers Leger, McMahan, Schlum and Dickey. Town Manager Tim Pickering, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. Councilmember Archambault was not present at the meeting. AGENDA ITEM #2 — DISCUSSION OF THE POSSIBLE CONSOLIDATION OF THE VARIOUS COMMISSIONS. Parks & Recreation Director Mark Mayer addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and outlined the contents of a Staff Report. He said that originally discussion focused on the following Commissions, the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission, the Senior Services Commission, the Community Center Advisory Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission. He acknowledged that it had become increasingly difficult to keep the Commissions staffed. He said staff had been advertising current openings for a number of months now and had not had citizens step forward to serve. He said for discussion purposes and general information it was helpful to talk about the number of meetings that were held. Specifically, within his department there were 52 meetings and between the Commission meetings for Public Works and the meetings for Administration the overall total comes to 85. Mr. Mayer advised that he had also prepared a breakdown showing the time commitments that staff makes, staff costs, and total hours spent. For Parks and Recreation that was approximately $20,000. He noted that in order not to infringe on the other staff, he had basically took the actual staff costs associated with Parks and Recreation and used the middle of their pay ranges, so it was an approximation. He acknowledged the staff from other departments and said they were helpful in providing information about the different Commissions, the amount of time spent in meetings and who attended. He reported that Planning and Zoning, with approximately 266 hours, the cost was almost $28,000. For administration for the Public Safety Commission, the cost was approximately $888.00. He said that the numbers were conservative and did not include any subcommittee meetings that were held in addition to the regular Commission meetings. He reported that the grand total for all of the different Commissions equated to approximately 600 hours of staff time at an approximately cost of $48,000. Mr. Mayer briefly discussed the various roles of the different Commissions and reiterated that there were currently a number of openings on the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission (MMPQ and, due to a lack of a quorum they had not been able to meet for a number of months. They were experiencing similar problems with filling vacant positions on the Parks & Recreation Commission and discussed problems associated with finding qualified people who were willing to make the required time commitments. ZACouncil Packets\2007\R1-04-07\12-12-06 Executive and Work -Study minutes.doc Page I of 9 Mr. Mayer commented on the possibility for commission consolidation and pointed out that a number of years ago the number serving on the Parks and Recreation Commissions had been reduced from nine to seven members. He indicated his willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Vice Mayor Kehe noted that short while ago the Council had debated this subject and the Council was pretty clear in stating that at least as far as the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission was concerned, it was to remain as a unit. There was some discussion about "folding it in" with some other Commission, specifically Parks and Recreation, and at that time it was pointed out that the goals of Parks & Recreation are different that those of the MMPC and so the concept was rejected. He said that the more people involved in government the more they have a representative government and he expressed concerns about cutting down the number of Commissions because that was in effect cutting down on the number of participants. He recognized the difficulties the Town is experiencing relative to recruitment and questioned whether they needed to be more proactive in their recruiting efforts rather than reduce the number of Commissions. He said that he would rather be more proactive and allow the current bodies to remain in place. Councilmember Dickey questioned whether the Commissions needed to meet as often as they currently do and noted that the Community Center Advisory Commission met every four months but additional meetings could be scheduled if a needed. Mr. Mayer responded that that was a possible solution and said that the number of meetings had been left up to the Commission members in the past. He pointed out that the Parks & Recreation Department was responsible for the Preserve as well as the trail system that existed over at El Lago and that significant improvements had been made to that trail. He confirmed that those efforts would continue. He stated the opinion that the Parks and Recreation Commission and the McDowell Mountain Preservation "missions" were not that different. Mayor Nichols agreed with Mr. Mayer's remarks and said that he would support merging the MMPC with the Parks & Recreation Commission and added that having all of the trails under one Commission would be the right thing to do. He would not make all four of them into one Commission but he would have no problem seeing the Community Center Advisory Commission combined with the Senior Services Advisory Commission because they share similar activities and work hand in hand. He could see combining those two and then combining the MMPC and the Parks & Recreation Commission and they would then go from four down to two. Mr. Pickering said that it might be helpful for the Council to hear why some of the various Commissions were formed and provided the Council with relative background information. He said that the Senior Services Advisory Commission was formed because the seniors were being moved under the town's umbrella. He expressed that in retrospect it might have been advantageous to create a study group instead of a Commission as they went through the process. He added that perhaps a sunset clause should have been placed on some of the Commissions. He noted that one of the Council's responsibilities was to help recruit for the various Commissions. In response to a question from Councilmember Schlum, Mr. Pickering stated that the scope of some Commissions could be broadened so that they encompass what the other Commissions were responsible for. Discussion ensued relative to the fact that some members were remaining on Commissions simply because they had been encouraged to do so in order to achieve quorums; the possibility of broadening the groups' role and combining Commissions; the fact that Councilmember McMahan would oppose merging the Senior Services Advisory Commission with the Community Center Advisory Commission based on the fact that the seniors had their own concerns and goals; the fact that the Mayor had spoken with Mr. O'Flynn about this issue and he did not object to combining the two groups [Senior Services Advisory Commission and the Community Center Advisory Commission]; Councilmember Leger's opinion that the more Commissions they had the more involvement they had and his concurrence with Councilmember McMahan's remark that the Community Center and Senior Services groups were very passionate about what they do as are the Parks & Recreation and MMPC groups; his concerns that combining the groups may diminish their missions and the importance of enhanced ZACouncil Packets\2007\R1-04-07\12-12-06 Executive and Work -Study minutes.doc Page 2 of 9 recruitment efforts and the fact that Mr. Mayer had spoken individually with the Chair of the Senior Services Commission who indicated the same position as the Mayor and he also spoke with the Chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission and the Community Center Advisory Commission but was not able to speak directly with the Acting Chair of the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission. Councilmember Dickey advised that she had heard reluctance on the part of the Community Center Advisory Commission to consolidate. Councilmember Leger stated that when you consolidate you become more generalized rather than become more expert in those particular areas. He said that he valued more Commissions if they could be more manageable and they should look at how they do that from an organizational point of view including where the staff liaisons are. He agreed that Mr. Mayer's responsibilities were currently overwhelming and suggested that be looked into. He added that if they were going to have staff liaisons then the staff involved should be a little closer to managing those particular entities. He stated the opinion that consolidation would place a clamp on visionary thinking and generalize overall missions. Councilmember McMahan expressed the opinion that they might be trying to fix something that was not broken. He said that they needed more personnel on the Commissions but that was a matter of recruitment and getting more people involved in the community. He agreed that this was the responsibility of everyone. The Vice Mayor stated that staff, the Council and existing Commission members should be heavily involved in the recruitment process. Councilmember Schlum commented on the fact that the Community Center Advisory Commission met four times a year and stated the opinion that other Commissions could be encouraged to reduce their meeting schedules, which would alleviate staff overload. He stated the opinion that they should try this alternative before moving to combine various Commissions. Mayor Nichols agreed that Councilmember Schlum's opinion would also assist in the recruitment process by reducing the time commitment. Mr. Pickering stated that staff would work with the Commissions in an effort to determine whether fewer meetings could be conducted. AGENDA ITEM #3 — DISCUSSION OF THE MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN PRESERVE ACCESS ISSUE. Mr. Pickering stated that the Council was asked to look at this issue in August and staff had been studying it since then and were prepared to present some options at this time. He noted that the road that MCO was planning to build was going to be the access into the McDowell mountains (when the land was bought). He said that had changed because development in the Town had changed and MCO's timing on the development might not be imminent. He stated that they had the mountains and now the question was how to access them under the current scenario of not having a road up into the mountains. Mark Mayer addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and said that discussion took place relative to whether there was some means by which the Town could establish an access to the preserve that would open up the existing access, which was confined to the guided hikes series where people were allowed to park at the end of the trailhead off of Copperwynd and with assistance of volunteers from the Sonoran Conservancy could participate in guided hikes through MCO property up to the trailhead, accessing the various trails within the preserve. They would also like to open that up and allow people to access the preserve if they could find some route to allow them to do that from this day forward. Discussion had revolved around three different options; two involved easements along the northern boundary of Town — one through MCO property and the second through the potential of the McDowell Mountain Regional Park and the third option staff was asked to look at was to utilize the dedicated property that was now Town property that would act as the access road into MCO's ZACouncil Packets\2007\RI-04-07\12-12-06 Executive and Work -Study minutes.doc Page 3 of 9 Adero Canyon development as a potential trail. The fourth option had been identified at a tour hosted by Mr. Kinsey and that was to access the preserve coming off of Mayan Drive and utilizing an existing access that was for the water tower that Chaparral City Water currently owned. Mr. Mayer added that at the request of the Council, staff had invited the various shareholders (MCO, the Sonoran Conservancy, the MMPC, Chaparral City Water and MCO) to participate at this work-study and pointed out that representatives were present. He noted that included in the Council's packet was a letter dated October 23rd to MCO President Jeremy Hall requesting consideration of providing access through MCO property. He said that in a letter dated October 30, 2006, Mr. Hall indicated that in his opinion there were a number of reasons why that would not be possible, particularly the fact that MCO no longer owned the property and therefore individual easements would need to be obtained from property owners. Mr. Hall's letter also outlined other reasons that preempted MCO from entering into such an agreement. Mr. Mayer advised that the second option was very similar with the difference being that it was located north of the boundary and would provide access through the existing easement and up into the McDowell Mountain Regional Park. The Superintendent of the Regional Park had also sent a letter and provided a written response dated November 30, 2006 in which he stated that he was not supportive of that particular arrangement. His concern was trying to provide permanent access to the Preserve and more importantly to the Regional Park through that access, which this option would not allow (due to seasonal closures based on fire concerns). He said that in the future they intended to extend a trail that would tie in eventually with the north trail that was being constructed and ultimately allow access but they were a couple of years out from completing that portion of the trail. Mr. Mayer informed the Council that the third option considered was the existing public access through MCO properties on the platted road that would take them up to the Preserve. From that point forward people would be able to access the Preserve and visit the various trails. That option remains viable based on research conducted to date. Option four would be coming off of the Chaparral City Water Company's land — both an easement and existing property. There were a number of parcels in this area and he referred to the easement and open space, zoned property and access through the property. Finally, there was an access that ran across that deeded property and over to the water tower. Mr. Mayer stated that Options three and four represented the best options to move forward on and additional research had been focused on those two options. Mr. Mayer discussed concerns relative to health and public safety and said he would defer to Mr. Kinsey to discuss whether a sufficient number of volunteers existed at this point to offer activities 365 days a year. He also spoke with representatives from the medical staff and the fire response group and he and the Fire Marshall shared concerns relative to Preserve access. At some point there will be a need to get someone out of the Preserve who has had a medical emergency or some kind of complication that required removal. He added that when they established a trailhead they would need to do the work necessary to park vehicles. He noted that the long-range plan for the establishment of the trailhead provided access for up to 40 vehicles. That figure was based on staff's estimate of how many people might access the trails during a weekend and includes planning for the future. The need for some temporary restroom facilities also existed as well as some trash receptacles that would be maintained and serviced. Discussion ensued relative to the fact that Mr. Mayer and staff evaluated each of the sites based on a number of criteria and outlined the contents of a matrix contained in the Council's packets (copy on file in the Office of the Town Clerk); the fact that as far as Option 3, the Town owned the property and had access to it and there was a great deal of distance between homes and the potential parking area; the Town would have the ability to put in sanitary facilities and trash receptacles; the fact that the cost for Option 3 was approximately $200,000 (1.53 miles with a 3% grade); the one disadvantage was that the trail would obviously be closed during any MCO construction associated with the road/utilities but that might be offset by the use of Golden Eagle Road access during those periods of time; Option #4, the Reservoir access (an estimated distance of .83 minimum miles with a 14% grade); the fact that this option has not yet been walked; the fact that the $23,000 figure was just an estimate and the total would most likely be more because of the higher elevation change (shorter but much ZACouncil Packets\2007\R1-04-07\12-12-06 Executive and Work -Study minutes.doc Page 4 of 9 steeper); Mr. Kinsey's offer to have the trailblazers perform the work on both Option #3 and Option #4, and neighborhood concerns relative to traffic and additional costs associated with establishing a parking area (Option #4). Mr. Mayer further stated that when you go across the property under Option ##4 there was an easement to be crossed and it was still unclear whether or not the Town had, through the utility easement, access that property for other purposes. They also did not control it. He had been unable to secure a copy of the document but staff had requested this information. Mayor Nichols stated he would call on people with expertise in this particular area, such as Mr. Kinsey (Sonoran Conservancy), Mr. Handford (Chaparral City Water Company) and Mr. Wayne Tall (Acting Chair of the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission). He added that Mr. Jeremy Hall (MCO) was also in attendance. He does not have any remarks to present but will be used as a reference should the need arise. Mr. Pickering suggested that Mr. Hubbell from the McDowell Mountain Regional Park also be called upon to present his remarks. Mayor Nichols noted that a representative from North Heights was also present and would be able to "weigh in" on the discussion if the needed. Mr. Roy Kinsey addressed the Council and said that they were being asked to determine how to create public access to the Preserve in a 7-day a week, free time approach. He stressed the importance of working together and thanked the Council and staff for scheduling the meeting and providing the various information for review. He said that he would focus his comments on Option #4 and stated that he had forwarded the Council a packet containing his thoughts. He said that Option #4 started with Jeremy Hall who was trying to look for a creative way to accomplish the goal. He saw the landmass that was Town property and went to Chaparral Water Company to determine whether a possibility existed to provide access and site parking. He then contacted Vice Mayor Kehe and the process began. He stated the opinion that if that site was selected, there were ways for the Town and the Water Company to work together on the roadway. Mr. Kinsey stated that this location could provide the much -needed public walking access into the Preserve. He presented the following six points to the Council: (1) Creating the walking access put the Town on the right track to complete the agreement with the Maricopa County park's system, which would allow a new parking entrance into the County Park from the north trail as long as it was ensuring full time unrestricted travel to and from the Park; (2) Once that happened, they gained a broader position because they could officially claim that they were part of the Valley's pedestrian freeway loop system (which would tie from the County Park through Scottsdale's trails into the Tonto Forest and that link went around the entire County park system); (3) Creating the walking access would provide continuity of unrestricted access as time went by and hopefully Adero Canyon was slated for development, because at that time the Canyon itself would be closed for a period of twelve to fifteen months while they built the road; (4) If they were to build a walking trail from the water tank to the Preserve (about a mile) and they would do "switchbacks;" (5) The fact that if the Town hired Northwest to build the trail, it would probably cost $23,000+ and he had suggested, as they have done in other parts of the Preserve, the Sonoran Conservancy would assume that challenge and build the trail for nothing, a volunteer effort that would cut the cost down to just the cost associated with modifying the road for parking working with the Chaparral Water Company, and (6) It was unfortunate that the whole idea of this particular site had been discussed in the papers and local neighbors had become very aroused. Typically, they would have talked to the neighbors first but no decision had been made. He hoped that if the Council decided to pursue the water tank site that public meetings with the North Heights residents would be conducted so the Town had the opportunity to explain the unlikelihood of people walking the entire site and parking more than three or four cars at a time. There was not going to be a large volume of traffic but all of their concerns would have to be addressed. Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Kinsey for his comments. Robert Handford addressed the Council and referred to graphics displayed in the Council Chambers. He discussed access and said that Chaparral owned two parcels; the first included the tank site itself and a majority of the access road that ran roughly east to west. There was also a second parcel from the terminus of that parcel that proceeded easterly to the subdivision boundary that they owned and the gap in between was an open space ZACouncil Packets\2007\R1-04-07\12-12-06 Executive and Work -Study minutes.doc Page 5 of 9 parcel in the subdivision that terminates at the cul-de-sac at Mayan. The company had owned the two parcels since the 70's and they already had power to the site and as far as drainage, a channel ran to the north side of the access road and the tributary area to the south was fairly small (the storm drainage improvements would be fairly nominal). He added that they might need to increase the security fencing at the site and perhaps add some additional lighting while being sensitive to light pollution. He said that the company believed that the proposal was fairly straightforward. Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Handford for his remarks. Wayne Tall, Chair of the MMPC, addressed the Council and thanked the Council for maintaining multiple sources of information relative to this important issue. He said that he supported having the trail in the Mayan site and said that he had walked along the proposed road (not the jeep trail) from Copperwynd up to the park site and it traveled through a lot of very narrow areas that were difficult to travel. They would have to put cul-de- sacs in or culverts and that would be hard to make-work. He discussed elevation changes and accessibility and said it was his understanding that the road up to the water site was a public easement so there was park property, which was Town property and a public easement. He noted that everything they were doing this evening was for a temporary road (access), and the people who would be utilizing it as well as the jeep trail were rather fit individuals. Hopefully, the Preserve would be set up and ready for use by all of the Town's residents but to do that they needed something other than a hiking trail; they needed to negotiate getting the proposed roadway through Adero Canyon completed quickly or find another place. He suggested that maybe the Mayan site could be used and a roadway could be put in where they did not have to wait for market conditions that were favorable for MCO. Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Tall for his input. Mr. Hubbell addressed the Council and said as the Park Supervisor of the McDowell Mountain Regional Park he valued connectivity. He expressed that they were interested in connectivity to the Preserve. To build a trail to the Preserve would require a spur off of the existing Dixie Mine Trail (about a half mile) and that would necessitate an addendum to the Master Trail Plan for the park that was approved in 1999. He noted that was a lengthy process. He said that if they went through that process, he would also like to address the foreseeable need for new trails in the park. He would like to see a trailhead on the southern boundary of the park that would allow the public direct access to the park seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. They also anticipated the need for connectivity to the State Trust Land when that was sold and developed and if that allowed for public access and parking along the southern boundary of the park, they would like that connectivity as well. He was currently considering access from Rio Verde, Tonto Verde, and Vista Verde. There were a number of considerations for the park and he would like to include all of the foreseeable trails in the addendum at the same time. He expressed the opinion that they were talking about a two-year process but said that they were interested in the connectivity and wanted to be included as a partner. Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Hubbell for his comments. Jeremy Hall, President of MCO, addressed the Council and said that with all due respect to staff, the public right-of-way has been platted and conveyed to the Town. He added that that was part of a larger agreement between MCO and the property that pre -dated him and it spelled out a number of obligations on the part of the Town and MCO. One requirement for the Town was that there would be no public access on that right-of-way until MCO completed the road. He stated that he did not believe the Town had legal access through Adero to get to the trailhead. He noted that there was no water up there and should a fire occur there was no way for the Fire Department to put it out and the whole development could go up in smoke. There was also no electricity up there so it would be difficult to construct restroom facilities. He noted that as far as Option #3, the water tank, there was in fact water and electricity already in place and legal public access exists. The only part that was not public was on the portion of the road owned by the water company. Mr. Hall stated the opinion that if the Town consulted with a civil engineer, they would get a very different story. There is a federal jurisdiction wash that runs through Adero Canyon and they could not simply plow a Z:\Council Packets\2007\R1-04-07\12-12-06 Executive and Work -Study minutes.doc Page 6 of 9 trail through it. The development agreement spoke to three to four bridges being required along that right-of- way to cross the wash. This was a very environmentally sensitive issue and the Army Corps of Engineers did not look favorably on people walking around the washes and it could affect what they could and could not disturb throughout the rest of the development. He expressed the opinion that a lot more homework needed to be done in that area before determining whether the option was even a viable one. He pointed out that it would be very costly to grade a trail in that area and added that if they did put a trail up there, consideration would have to be given to the impacts on private property on both sides (runoff, erosion, etc.). Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Hall for his remarks. Vice Mayor Kehe asked where the cars would park if Mayan was the entry point. Mr. Mayer responded that there were two options, they could park at the end of the cul-de-sac or the preferable option would be to construct a parking area within the Preserve property. Mr. Kinsey stated there was a dirt road (1,056 feet or 350 yards) after going through the gate to the water tank. If the dirt road were to be widened, it would accommodate planned parking for six to eight cars; the vehicles would be basically out of sight from the corner where the house was. He added the opinion that parking would not be serious problem as long as they were planning on allowing just six to eight cars. Councilmember Leger asked whether the possibility existed to create a parking area on the other side of the water tank and Mr. Kinsey stated that the geography was such that the water tank was "bermed up" on the south side and the only way to consider something to the north, which was very level, would be to cross the wash. The slope and the cut that they would have to take to go past the water tank on the south side would be too severe. It would have to be done on the north side if they were willing to bridge (would be more expensive). Mr. Tall said that if the fencing could be changed near the water tank, they could go right past the tank on the south side and get to the flat area. But it would require the Water Company to allow them to utilize what was essentially the end of the road that was now fenced up as part of their property. Additional discussion ensued relative to there being no public access on the road unless it was developed by MCO was a legal issue and the fact that the document was reviewed by the Town Attorney (what appeared on the plat) and staff's belief that the Town did in fact own the property; Mr. McGuire's statement that he was not sure what language was being referred to in the development agreement that would be contrary to the plats that followed that agreement; the fact that Mr. McGuire would be happy to review the section of the document referred to and offer an opinion; the fact that there was a significant difference between building an access road and building a soft trail up to a site; the fact that the person who did the estimate for the Town walked the route and said he could not find a better route; environmental impacts and Federal laws and the fact that staff was proposing minimal modifications to what already existed; Mr. Tall's statement that there were two areas that were not easy to build a trail through (very steep); an exhibit that showed that the existing jeep trail was not the right-of-way, and the fact that in order to proceed with Mr. Kinsey's proposal, they would have to cross Chaparral property as well as the utility easement In response to a question from the Vice Mayor relative to controlling access into the park after sunset, Mr. Kinsey stated that they discussed electronic aids be used to block the access and the fact that fencing would have to be properly engineered. He added that no matter where the trailhead was, postings would designate that it would close at sunset. He said that the current gate was very sturdy but the lock could be sawed off. Councilmember Dickey said that if there would only be room for eight or nine cars she would like to know how they would stop the public from parking along Mayan and disturbing the neighbors. Mr. Kinsey replied that the people who would normally choose to take a hike were not going to be a problem; it was nighttime protection that might be needed. He emphasized the importance of security, postings, public education, etc. Z:\Council Packets\2007\it1-04-07\12-12-06 Executive and Work -Study minutes.doc Page 7 of 9 Councilmember Leger requested an estimate on the time it would take for Mr. Kinsey's group to construct a trail for Option 3 and Option 4. Mr. Kinsey responded that they started the north trail this fall and had been working �bw on it for approximately six weeks and had gone a little over a half a mile. He added that it took them a spring and a fall to do the western loop trail, which was also a 600-foot elevation with "switchbacks." He stated that if they were to start on it this winter, it would probably be available next winter (the Mayan trail). He said that he had not walked the Adero Canyon trail like Wayne had and said that if almost of the washes went through some fairly rocky, narrow channels and if they had to stay on a 50-foot span, that time frame would be longer. Additional discussion ensued relative to the fact that the vendor had provided an estimate to Director Mayer of $20,000 for Adero Canyon and a two -to -three week time frame for the 1.6-mile trail. Councilmember Leger requested that a representative from the North Heights Homeowners' Association or someone in an official capacity provide input at this time. Bruce Tominello addressed the Council and spoke in opposition to providing access to the Preserve through an upscale residential neighborhood of people who bought their homes knowing that they were backing up to Preserve land. No one was ever informed that someday someone would want to cut a trail through there. He expressed concerns regarding increased traffic and destroying what they were supposed to be preserving. He stated that they should wait for Adero Canyon. He urged the Council to listen carefully to the residents and commented that the residents would bring litigation against the Town if they proceeded in this manner in order to preserve their quality of life. Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Tominello for his input. Mayor Nichols commented that they have a $13 million asset that they could not use and they were trying to figure out a way to utilize it without having to wait five or ten years to do so. He emphasized the importance of considering everyone's concerns and pointed out that they had four possible access options that had now been reduced to two but there were still problems that needed to be addressed. He expressed the opinion that additional research should be conducted relative to Option #3 and Option #4. He pointed out that they were talking about temporary access, not permanent access. He added that he would like to see open discussions occur with the residents of North heights to determine what their objections were and stressed the importance of receiving as much input as possible. He noted that it had always been his objective to try and gain access to the Preserve within one year. Councilmember Leger agreed that they should take a look at a hypothetical project plan for both of the options and said that although staff had done a great job, a lot of information was missing. He added that they should look into the costs as well. In response to comments by Councilmember McMahan, Mr. Pickering advised that the Town had money in its development fees but the funds would have to be budgeted. If the Town wanted to enter into a contract, the funds would have to be budgeted for and the earliest they could spend that money would be July 1, 2007. It was the consensus of the Council that staff conduct additional research relative to Options #3 and #4 and that meetings be scheduled with the residents of North Heights to hear their concerns and determine whether an acceptable solution could be worked out. Mayor Nichols thanked everyone for their input at the meeting. _ WnuK CTTtnv ,9FRRTON ADJOURNMENT IMMEDIATEL 17 CONFERENCE ROOM. Z:\Council Packets\2007\it1-04-07\12-12-06 Executive and Work -Study minutes.doc Page 8 of 9 Councilmember McMahan MOVED to adjourn the Work Study Session and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present. The meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #5 — VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION: PURSUANT TO A.R.S. 38- 431.03(A) (1) FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION OF EMPLOYEE ASSIGNMENT, APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, DEMOTION, DISMISSAL, SALARIES DISCIPLINING OR RESIGNATION OF A PUBLIC OFFICER, APPOINTEE, OR EMPLOYEE OF ANY PUBLIC BODY, EXCEPT THAT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SALARY DISCUSSIONS, AN OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE MAY DEMAND THAT THE DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION TAKE PLACE 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 SHOULD OCCUR AT A PUBLIC MEETING. (SPECIFICALLY, TO INTERVIEW QUALIFIED APPLICANTS FOR VACANCIES ON W THE COMMUNITY CENTER ADVISORY COMMISSION AND 00 THE STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION— YOUTH. Councilmember Leger MOVED to convene the Executive Session and Councilmember Dickey SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting convened at 6:50 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #6 — ADJOURNMENT: Councilmember McMahan MOVED to adjourn the Executive Session and Councilmember Schlum SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. TOWN O-LEOUNTAIN HILLS By V ➢"� Wally Ni ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: Bevelyn J. n r, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Work Study Session and Executive Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 12th day of December 2006. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 4`h day of January 2006. de/,,"Town Clerk Z:\Council Packets\2007\R1-04-07\12-12-06 Executive and Work -Study minutes.doc Page 9 of 9