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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007.0215.TCREM.Minutes • TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE AND REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL February 15,2007 Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 5:27 p.m. AGENDA ITEM#1—ROLL CALLAND VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. ROLL CALL— Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Nichols, Councilmember Kehe, Councilmember Leger, Vice Mayor McMahan, Councilmember Schlum, Councilmember Archambault and Councilmember Dickey. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town Manager Tim Pickering, Parks and Recreation Director Mark Mayer, Kate Zanon and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION: PURSUANT TO A.R.S. 38-431.03(A)(3), FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATION FOR LEGAL ADVICE WITH THE ATTORNEY OR ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY. (SPECIFICALLY, LEGAL ADVICE REGARDING ACCESS INTO THE PRESERVE.) Councilmember Archambault MOVED to convene the Executive Session and Councilmember McMahan SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present. Councilmember Schlum MOVED to recess the Executive Session at 6:27 p.m. and Vice Mayor McMahan SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. (1160 AGENDA ITEM#2—RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION Mayor Nichols reconvened the Regular Session at 6:30 p.m. INVOCATION—Youth Minister David Taylor, First Baptist Church ROLL CALL— Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Nichols, Councilmember Kehe, Councilmember Leger, Vice Mayor McMahan, Councilmember Schlum, Councilmember Archambault and Councilmember Dickey. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town Manager Tim Pickering, Mark Mayer, Kate Zanon and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Ms. Charlotte McCluskey, 16218 E. Carmel Drive, addressed the members of the Council as an individual citizen, and stated that she was in the unique position of having public relations contracts at various times with the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce, the new medical campus and the River of Time Museum. She spoke in support of the proposal to re-arrange the positions and make changes that will result in having a Public Information Officer and someone who works in the business development area. Mayor Nichols advised Ms. McCluskey that she would have an opportunity to present her remarks regarding this issue under agenda item#7 and thanked her for waiting until that time. He said that he would call her name to speak when the Council addressed that issue. Mr. Frank Ferrara, Chief Executive Officer of the Fountain Hills of the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce, addressed the members of the Council and expressed appreciation to Mayor Nichols, the members of the Council and staff for the great presentation they gave this morning at the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. He stated that the presentation was inspiring, positive, up beat and showed the partnership Z:\Council Packets\2007\R3-01-07\02-15-07 Regular and Executive Session Minutes.doc Page 1 of 8 that existed between the Town and the Chamber. He added that the relationship grows stronger and better every day. Mayor Nichols thanked Mr.Ferrara for his comments. CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 1,2007. AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE FOR FOUNTAIN HILLS POST NO. 58, THE AMERICAN LEGION, LOCATED AT 16837 E. PARKVIEW AVENUE, SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2007, FROM 9:00 A.M. TO 11:59 P.M. AGENDA ITEM #3 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE FOR FOUNTAIN HILLS POST NO. 58, THE AMERICAN LEGION, LOCATED AT 16837 E. PARKVIEW AVENUE, SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2007, FROM 9:00 A.M. TO 11:59 P.M. AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2007-06, ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN PORTIONS OF THE CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED AT THE EASTERLY PROPERTY LINE OF PLAT 805D, BLOCK 2, LOT 7 (15418 E. MUSTANG DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 164 OF MAPS,PAGE 15,RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY,ARIZONA. EA06-16(RUSSO). AGENDA ITEM # 5 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2007-07, ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN PORTIONS OF THE CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED AT THE NORTHEASTERLY PROPERTY LINE OF PLAT 505D,BLOCK 2, LOT 50 (15504 E. GRASSLAND DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 158 OF MAPS, PAGE 41, RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, SUBJECT TO STIPULATIONS. EA06-17 (BUCHS). Vice Mayor McMahan MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as listed and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Dickey Aye Mayor Nichols Aye Councilmember Leger Aye Councilmember Schlum Aye Councilmember Kehe Aye Vice Mayor McMahan Aye Councilmember Archambault Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ACTION AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #6 — REVIEW THE COUNCIL GOALS ESTABLISHED AT THE COUNCIL'S RETREAT. Z:\Council Packets\2007\R3-01-07\02-15-07 Regular and Executive Session Minutes.doc Page 2 of 8 1 Town Manager Tim Pickering addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and said that all of the members of the Council with the exception of Councilmember Schlum who was ill had attended the Council's Retreat on February 2nd. He said that a report on the goals established by the Council has been compiled by the retreat facilitator. (A copy of the report is on file in the office of the Town Clerk.) Mr. Pickering advised that the next step was for staff to meet and work on the objectives before bringing them before the Council. Prior to that, staff wanted to ask the Council if they had any corrections/additions they would like to present at this time so that staff could use that input when developing a proposed implementation plan. Councilmember Kehe referred to the summary and noted that the Council had actually established seven goals. He said that he worked on a subcommittee that dealt with the environment and two goals had come out of that group: (1)the environment and(2) access to the Preserve. He said that access to the Preserve was missing from the summary and was apparently "folded in" with the environment. He said that the summary stated that the six topics the Council selected for developing goals for FY2007-08 (in no particular order) were: (1) financial implementation of the Strategic Plan; (2) revenue shortfall; (3) annex State Trust Land; (4) enhance pedestrian safety; (5) enhance environmental stewardship and (6) enhance economic development. He stated the opinion that a seventh goal was clearly established by the Council, access to the Preserve, and said that although that item appeared later on under Strategic Priorities, it also should appear as one of the Council's identified goals. He noted that access to the Preserve was an ongoing process initiated as early as 1999 and had nothing to do with the Strategic Plan and the placement of that goal in the report was confusing. He requested that staff revise the report to reflect that there were seven topics selected by the Council for developing goals and add"access to the Preserve." Mr. Pickering said it might be clearer to eliminate the heading, "Strategic Priorities Years 3 to 5" because there were actually eight goals and six topics. Two of the topics had two goals underneath them. He said it was his understanding that to provide access to the McDowell Mountain Preserve was one of the eight goals. He added that he could see Councilmember Kehe's point and staff could clarify that by eliminating the headings and therefore,the confusion. Councilmember Kehe concurred with Mr. Pickering's suggestion and Mayor Nichols also agreed that the revision should be made for clarification purposes. Councilmember Dickey asked whether they wanted to do the eighth one as well, the study (as part of resolving the projected revenue issue) and noted that part of that was separated and put under goal#3. She added that they also had things separated (years one to two and three to five) trying to conform with the Strategic Plan but her understanding was that this was not a one to two year process — it was what they were doing this year. She preferred that it state that this was the result of the Retreat,the Council's goals for this year. The Council agreed with Councilmember Dickey's comments and said that staff should put the items all under one category. Councilmember Dickey stated that the reason she provided copies of the Governor's Executive Orders Action and information regarding some of the issues that were going on in the State (a lot having to do with energy) was because there was a component in it that stated that some discretionary funding from the State or other sources could be tied to their participation in renewable energies and other things like that. She said she was very pleased to see that that was part of the Town's annual goals. She added that over the last couple of days, Fountain Hills had been a topic in the State because there was a big air quality bill that Senator Carolyn Allen and Senator Huppenthal were putting together. Councilmember Kehe advised that he read that Legislators were attempting to "soften" the proposed bill referred to by her. Councilmember Dickey said that she was aware of that but emphasized that everyone was now talking about the issue and she believed it was a good starting point. She was glad they were"in the mix." Z:\Council Packets\2007\R3-01-07\02-15-07 Regular and Executive Session Minutes.doc Page 3 of 8 In response to a request for clarification from Councilmember Leger, Mr. Pickering advised that once staff had the opportunity to put together a proposed implementation plan, based on the Council's direction, their findings would be submitted to the Council for their review and consideration. He said that the approval of the final product would most likely occur in March. He added that staff used the document to put the budget together 4140 and so staff did not want to proceed "too far down the line"without first having Council's support. Councilmember Archambault MOVED to approve the Council's goals as established at the Retreat and contained in staff's report as amended. Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Pickering for the presentation. AGENDA ITEM 447 — CONSIDERATION OF COMBINING AND CONSOLIDATING THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS OF THE ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST TO ASSISTANT TO THE TOWN MANAGER AND PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER. Human Resource Administrator Joan McIntosh addressed the Council relative to this agenda item. She said that staff was requesting the Council's approval to reclassify two of the Town's current job descriptions, the first being the Assistant Town Manager's position (approved by the Council in budget year 2005-06). She said that they were able to fill this position in 2006 but it soon became apparent that the responsibilities were too diverse for one person to successfully accomplish and that person was not able to meet the needs that the Town had based on the diverse responsibilities. Consequently, that person resigned after six months of employment with the Town. She added that for those reasons, staff was proposing that they change the job description from Assistant Town Manager to Assistant to the Town Manager. The essential functions of the Assistant to the Town Manager would be economic development, special projects as assigned by the Town Manager, an overseer of the grant program and eventually that person would be able to serve as Acting Town Manager in his absence. Ms. McIntosh advised that the second position they were requesting reclassification of was the Economic Development Specialist's position(approved by the Council in budget year 2003-04). The essential functions of the Economic Development Specialist position were those that primarily supported and promoted business vitality in the Town. Since these duties would be assigned to the Assistant to the Town Manager, staff was proposing to reclassify the Economic Development Specialist position to the Public Information Officer. The essential functions of the Public Information Officer's position were public information and intergovernmental affairs. Ms. McIntosh explained that with the position responsibilities as they currently exist, the Public Information Program was established but it was taking care of only the minimum requirements for media and basic community communications. There was a lot of opportunity to increase this program if time only allowed. The need for the proposed changes became even clearer when the Town's Economic Development Specialist needed a three-month leave of absence. This left the Town with two vacant positions, the Assistant Town Manager and the Economic Development Specialist. Fortunately, the Economic Development Specialist had cross-trained one of the Town's Planners to maintain her position in her absence, which necessitated the Planner working very closely with the Town Manager's Office. She was also able to complete a lot of the special projects that the Assistant Town Manager had started but was unable to complete before her departure. Ms. McIntosh further stated that after a few months it became very clear that the skill sets of economic development and Assistant to the Town Manager complimented one another. This position required a fact- driven person who was both a facilitator and a negotiator. She stressed the importance of being realistic as far as the combined skill sets they could expect from one position. To be successful, a position should require like skill sets and not so diverse that they set that person out for failure. Approval of the proposed reclassifications would best meet the needs of the Town at a cost savings, support the Town's succession plan, and make it much Z:\Council Packets\2007\R3-01-07\02-15-07 Regular and Executive Session Minutes.doc Page 4 of 8 easier to recruit and retain qualified candidates to fill the positions. She indicated her willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Leof Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve staff's recommendations relative to the reclassification of the Assistant Town Manager and Economic Development Specialist positions to the position of Assistant to the Town Manager and Public Information Officer. Councilmember Dickey SECONDED the motion. Councilmember Leger commented that he assumed that the rationale was to improve efficiency and effectiveness in terms of delivering services to the residents. He said that in looking at staff's proposal, he focused on the necessity of the essential functions and he believed that the functions were important and necessary. He requested that Ms. McIntosh elaborate further on the cost savings previously mentioned. Ms. McIntosh reported that the current salary range for the Assistant Town Manager was in a higher grade than what staff was proposing for the Assistant to the Town Manager. This was necessary in order to attract and recruit individuals with those types of skill sets. Staff had since determined that those skill sets did not necessarily work well together and so reclassifying the position and changing the skill sets to better compliment each other resulted in a lower salary range or pay grade for that position. If staff's proposal were approved this evening, it would be possible for the Town to attract someone at a lower salary to fill the position of the Assistant to the Town Manager versus an Assistant Town Manager position. She noted that the Assistant Town Manager's salary was approximately $91,000 and the beginning salary range for the Assistant to the Town Manager is $65,864. Councilmember Dickey commented that the functions of the position were the same but they were being reorganized in a way that she believed would better serve the public. She said she was happy to see that the person would be concentrating on relationships with the staff (staff recognition, etc.) She also stressed the importance of constituent interaction and added that every employee was a Town spokesperson and to have someone in charge of that was a positive step. She further stated that increasing visibility for Fountain Hills and Ntsse assisting the Mayor in this area was a worthwhile goal as well as grant writing. In response to a request from Councilmember Leger, Ms. McIntosh clarified that staff was simply proposing a restructuring of existing staff and noted that no additional employees would be hired. Councilmember Kehe said that he recognized the personalities involved and any comments made bear no relationship to them; he was looking at the issue from a position of examination of the jobs as opposed to who carried out the jobs. He stated that he agreed with the functions identified in the report — public information, grant writing, economic development and intergovernmental relations. He added that he would support the realignment of staff to address those issues. He advised that he could not say the same thing if the reorganization includes an Assistant to the Town Manager. They were a Town with a population of approximately 24,000 residents, small in comparison to other communities in the Valley, they contracted out for fire and police, have a sanitary district, and garbage collection was handled by private enterprise. Given that, and with the knowledge of the Manager's position gained by serving for 33 months on the Council, he had found no real evidence that the demands placed upon the Fountain Hills' Town Manager exceeded what one person could reasonably handle. If there were such evidence, he would support staff's recommendation for an Assistant. He further stated that he believed he was articulating the position of a significant portion of the Town's citizenry. Councilmember Kehe commented that succession was often used as the rationale pointing to the Town's difficulties six years ago. At that time, they followed the traditional method of hiring an Interim Town Manager from a pool of retired executives who served through the recruitment and selection of a new Manager. This was a tried and true process, which by proximity was unfortunately linked to the fire district controversy and Ls, attending financial woes. The Town Manager's contract contained a clause that required him to give a 60-day notice if he wished to leave, clearly ample time to hire an Interim Manager if the need arose. If he were a business owner in Town, he might well be concerned with staff's proposed realignment, which adds to an Z:\Council Packets\2007\R3-01-07\02-15-07 Regular and Executive Session Minutes.doc Page 5 of 8 existing solely economic development position with tasks such as grant writing, special projects and covering for the Manager when absent. He expressed the opinion that was a diminished priority for commerce identified in their recent Retreat business vitality as a major goal for 2007-08. Councilmember Kehe said that with all due respect, the recommendation was being made by the Town Manager and added that he was interested in a compromise proposal, which would meet their needs in the listed four areas. He stated that first they had to eliminate the currently budgeted Assistant Town Manager position and then add a Public Information Officer/Intergovernmental Relations position and Economic Development Specialist/Grant Writer position, each at a range of$51,529 to $73,279. Based on current salaries, the method used in the staff proposal indicates that there would be a savings of$24,000 and his proposal would result in a savings of $39,000 and no additional positions would be added. He requested that the Council consider his proposal and asked the Town Attorney whether that discussion could take place at this meeting as an amendment or whether the existing motion would have to be acted upon and perhaps defeated for a subsequent motion to be made. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire stated that their goal is to not amend motions that have different purposes and the proper procedure to follow in the Council's rules would be to act on the current motion and then go back. He added that if the Council wants to amend the current motion to change the character of it, it would not be the first time that has occurred. He said that the"cleaner"procedure would be to act on the current motion and then adopt a separate one but the Council has done it both ways in the past. Councilmember Kehe MOVED to amend the current motion to add a Public Information Officer/Intergovernmental Relations position and an Economic Development Specialist/Grant Writer position, each at a range of$51,529 to$73,279. Councilmember Kehe clarified that the effect of the amendment would be to eliminate the Assistant to the Town Manager position. He requested that at a minimum the motion receive a second to allow further discussion to occur. Vice Mayor McMahan SECONDED the motion. Councilmember Schlum commented that as far as title and role enter into this, he had thoughts similar to Councilmember Kehe's. He added, however, that where he worked almost everybody had the same legal title yet their job functions were vastly different from one another so he was no longer troubled by the title and believed that the roles fit. He stated that he was comfortable with the well thought out reasoning behind the needs and the division of the duties. He said that he had confidence in staff's recommendations and would not support the proposed amendment. Councilmember Archambault commented that he was pleased to see that the proposal follows along the lines of the established succession plan. He added that he would be hesitant to split the jobs and believed that staff had applied good logic to their recommendations. He said that he too would not support the proposed amendment. Vice Mayor McMahan stated that he concurred with Councilmember Kehe's comments and did not believe that the Town needed an Assistant to the Town Manager position. He stated that he did want to concentrate on Public Information, grant writing and intergovernmental affairs. He said that he would support the proposed amendment. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Schlum Nay Vice Mayor McMahan Aye Councilmember Archambault Nay Councilmember Kehe Aye Councilmember Leger Nay Z:\Council Packets\2007\R3-01-07\02-15-07 Regular and Executive Session Minutes.doc Page 6 of 8 Mayor Nichols Nay Councilmember Dickey Nay The amended motion FAILED for lack of a majority(2-5). Mayor Nichols invited Ms. McCluskey to present her remarks at this time. Ms. McCluskey addressed the Council and spoke in strong support of the Public Information Officer's position. She said that in working with the organizations as she had mentioned at the beginning of the meeting, it became clear that there was so much information that needed to be pulled together. If the Town did not have someone on staff performing that responsibility, the different entities in Town (current and future) would not know where to go to get assistance and it was critical that this service be provided. She said that based on the fact that no new employees would be needed and the Town would realize a cost savings, she requested that the Council approve staff's recommendations. Mayor Nichols thanked Ms. McCluskey for her input. Mayor Nichols called for a vote on the main motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Archambault Aye Councilmember Schlum Aye Councilmember Kehe Nay Councilmember Leger Aye Vice Mayor McMahan Nay Councilmember Dickey Aye Mayor Nichols Aye The motion CARRIED by majority vote (5-2). AGENDA ITEM#8—SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY TOWN MANAGER. Mayor Nichols stated that Mr. Pickering would make the recommended changes to the list of Council goals as previously discussed and directed. AGENDA ITEM #9 — COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER. ITEMS LISTED BELOW ARE RELATED ONLY TO THE PROPRIETY OF (i) PLACING SUCH ITEMS ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR ACTION OR (ii) OR DIRECTING STAFF TO CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH AND REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL: A. NONE AGENDA ITEM#10—ADJOURNMENT Vice Mayor McMahan MOVED that the Council adjourn and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m. L Z:\Council Packets\2007\R3-01-07\02-15-07 Regular and Executive Session Minutes.doc Page 7 of 8 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN H S By Wally Ni ols, ayor ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: Bevelyn J. B de own 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 15th day of February 2007. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this lst day of March 2007. Atlite Bevelyn J. B r,Town Clerk Z:\Council Packets\2007\R3-01-07\02-15-07 Regular and Executive Session Minutes.doc Page 8 of 8