HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007.1004.TCREM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE AND REGULAR SESSION OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
October 4,2007
Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 5:02 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, Kate Zanon, Planning and Zoning Director Richard Turner and Town Clerk Bev Bender were
also present.
VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION: (i) PURSUANT TO A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(1), FOR
DISCUSSION OR 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 FOR THE
PURPOSE OF REVIEWING AN APPLICATION RECEIVED FOR CONSIDERATION FOR ONE OF
THE VACANCIES ON THE MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN PRESERVATION COMMISSION) AND (ii)
itity PURSUANT TO §38-431.03(A)(4), FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATION WITH THE
ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY IN ORDER TO CONSIDER ITS POSITION AND INSTRUCT
ITS ATTORNEYS REGARDING THE PUBLIC BODY'S POSITION REGARDING CONTRACTS
THAT ARE THE SUBJECT OF NEGOTIATIONS, IN PENDING OR CONTEMPLATED
LITIGATION OR IN SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO AVOID OR
RESOLVE LITIGATION. (SPECIFICALLY, a)A POSSIBLE UPDATE REGARDING NEGOTIATIONS
FOR A POTENTIAL DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT AND b) THREATENED LEGAL
ACTION REGARDING CUT WAIVER.)
Vice Mayor McMahan MOVED to convene the Executive Session and Councilmember Archambault
SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
Councilmember Archambault MOVED to adjourn the Executive Session at 6:30 p.m. and Councilmember
Leger SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM#2—RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION
Mayor Nichols convened the Regular Session at 6:35 p.m.
• INVOCATION—Councilmember Schlum
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
L., Tim Pickering and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present.
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• MAYOR'S REPORT
(i) THE TRANSFER OF THE EIGHT-MONTH ROTATING VICE MAYOR POSITION
TO COUNCILMEMBER DICKEY.
Mayor Nichols stated that the first order of business would be to transfer the eight-month rotating Vice Mayor's
position from Vice Mayor McMahan to Councilmember Dickey. The Mayor thanked Vice Mayor McMahan for
carrying out the duties during his tenure and congratulated newly appointed Vice Mayor Dickey on her
appointment.
(ii) DEPARTMENT DIVISION INFORMATIONAL OVERVIEW OF SERVICES
PROVIDED—PLANNING AND ZONING DIRECTOR RICHARD TURNER.
Town Manager Tim Pickering addressed the Council and said that this evening's presentation was part of an
on-going process whereby Council and the citizens of Fountain Hills had an opportunity to learn more about the
different responsibilities and services offered by the various Town departments. He added that Planning and
Zoning Director Richard Turner would highlight the presentation.
Planning and Zoning Director Richard Turner discussed the Mission of the Planning and Zoning Department
and said that "The Planning and Zoning Department is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in the Town of
Fountain Hills through innovative, proven planning techniques and providing excellent customer service in a
professional and timely manner." He provided a brief overview of a PowerPoint presentation (a complete copy
is available in the office of the Town Clerk) and explained the organizational structure of the Department and
staffs varied responsibilities. Mr. Turner noted that P&Z's customers consisted of the public
(residents/property owners), applicants/developers, the Town Council, the P&Z Commission and Board of
Adjustment, Town staff and future residents. He listed the various applications that the Department processes
and discussed Zoning Ordinance Amendments, the purpose of which were to implement the General Plan,
Strategic Plan and Town Council goals; to correct or clarify policy and to address new trends in land use
development.
Mr. Turner provided a brief explanation of the Town's application process and added that other responsibilities
included grant applications, General Plan updates, the State Trust Land, environmental policy, land use analysis
and statistical reporting as well as business license review. Additional discussion ensued relative to the
Department and its responsibilities and Mr. Turner indicated his willingness to respond to questions from the
Council.
Councilmember McMahan commented that the Town's application process had vastly improved and asked what
steps were taken to accomplish this important goal.
Mr. Turner responded that staff had become more responsive to the submittals that were received and expended
every effort to process them within a reasonable amount of time. He added that staff used common sense in
their reviews and fairly applied the Town's regulations.
Mayor Nichols thanked Mr.Turner for his informative presentation.
* CALL TO THE PUBLIC
There were no citizens wishing to speak.
CONSENT AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #1 —CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 19 AND 20,2007.
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AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING UNITED CONCORDIA AS THE
DENTALINSURANCE CARRIER FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS EMPLOYEES IN 2007-
08 IN THE AMOUNT OF$42,089.64.
Councilmember Archambault MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as listed and Councilmember Schlum
SECONDED the motion.
A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Vice Mayor Dickey Aye
Mayor Nichols Aye
Councilmember Leger Aye
Councilmember Schlum Aye
Councilmember Kehe Aye
Councilmember McMahan Aye
Councilmember Archambault Aye
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
ACTION AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #3 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH
NORWOOD EOUIPMENT, THROUGH AN EXISTING CITY OF TEMPE CONTRACT, FOR AN
ELGIN BROOM BEAR PM-10 STREET SWEEPER IN THE AMOUNT OF$185,953.62.
Public Works Director Tom Ward addressed the Council and said that he would discuss the rationale behind the
L., purchase, the MAG funding and what the sweeper would be used for. He advised that the Town was required
under the MAG PM-10 5% Plan to purchase this sweeper by January 1, 2008. Measure 29 states, "Sweep
streets with a PM-10 Certified street sweeper." The cost for the sweeper was approximately $185,954 and
MAG's funding totaled $163,742, leaving the Town an expenditure of $22,212. He advised that the Town
needs the second sweeper; the Town had 150 miles of streets that were constantly being swept and the two
sweepers would help staff provide better service. He said that the current sweeper was old and they could no
longer obtain parts for it (the equipment would be disposed of). Under the Stormwater Management Plan, the
Town was required to sweep streets as clean as possible.
Councilmember McMahan MOVED to approve the purchase agreement with Norwood Equipment and Vice
Mayor Dickey SECONDED the motion.
Councilmember Schlum thanked Mr. Ward for his explanation and added that the Town was very fortunate to
have received funding for the purchase of the much needed equipment that would help improve the air quality in
Fountain Hills. He thanked staff for their good work and efforts in this regard.
Vice Mayor Dickey noted that in addition to the PM-10 requirements, Senator Allen's Senate Bill 1552 also
passed so it was part of Title 9 and 49 Statutes. She also thanked staff for their efforts.
Mr.Ward expressed appreciation to Street Superintendent Ken Kurth who had been instrumental in this process,
working with the Town's Engineer Randy Harrel.
Councilmember McMahan asked if there was a regular schedule in place to ensure that all of the residential
streets in Town were swept and Mr. Ward responded that Mr. Kurth maintained a street schedule and worked in
zones to ensure that all of the streets were covered.
Lir
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Councilmember Leger also thanked staff for their hard work and efforts to obtain the grant funding for the
equipment. He said it was important for the public to know that part of the Council's goals and staff's goals was
to"beef up" activity with respect to grants. He added that the cost offset was a tremendous bonus for the Town.
Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Kurth for his efforts as well.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this item.
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTING A HERITAGE FUND GRANT FROM
ARIZONA STATE PARKS IN THE AMOUNT OF $774,920 FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO DESERT
VISTA PARK.
Parks and Recreation Director Mark Mayer addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and explained that
competitiveness for the grants had become more difficult. As a lot of the metropolitan areas, including Fountain
Hills,continued to grow,they find themselves looking for additional sources of revenue in order to keep up with
infrastructure (parks, roads, etc.). He noted that the grant applications were rated on a variety of items ranging
from public input on the process to the number of partners in place and it was necessary to score at least in the
upper 80's to low 90's (based on a 100 point score) in order to even be considered for the grant award. He said
that the State Parks considered whether to grant partial or full funding and the Town was fortunate to receive
full funding. He advised that depending upon how prices came back; they were very near to being in a position
to finish everything left to be done at Desert Vista Park, including some improvements to the Dog Park area and
the upper athletic area. At that point, they would have completed Golden Eagle and come close to completing
Desert Vista and Fountain Park. The next move would be over to Desert Vista to deal with the eastern portion
of that park, which would pretty much finish out the Town's park system.
Recreation Director Bryan Hughes addressed the Council, highlighted a brief PowerPoint presentation and *iti)
commented on the significant amount of time it took to secure the grant funding. He thanked everyone involved
for their assistance in achieving this important goal. He advised that the application was submitted to State
Parks in February of this year for the development of Desert Vista Neighborhood Park and in March the Council
adopted a resolution that authorized the Town to apply for the grant and provide the matching funds from Park
Development Fees. For purposes of the grant, the project's cost was $1,777,354 and included most of the
amenities in the Parks Master Plan. The Town's matching fund totaled a little over$1 million and was included
in this year's budget request that was approved. The balance was $774,920, the maximum amount the Town
could apply for based on available funds at that time. Arizona State Parks conducted a site visit that went very
well. They then reviewed all of the applications and determined that there were 31 Heritage Fund applications
that were eligible and those grants were seeking over $13 million in funding. Unfortunately, less than $4
million in funding was available.
Mr. Hughes said that the Town received a score of 89 points out of 100 and tied for fifth place overall. He said
that when the Heritage Funds run out, monies would then be taken out of the Land and Water Conservation
Funds that were available from the Federal government ($300,000 to $400,000). The Arizona State Parks
recommended full funding for Desert Vista Park. Additional discussion ensued relative to scoring, the
competitiveness of the process and the fact that the Town scored lower in the partnerships and donations
category. He advised that the smaller donation received to date would not have helped raise the score on this
particular grant application. He also discussed the amenities that would be added to the park as a result of the
funding. He expressed appreciation to Council and all of the staff members who assisted in the process.
Councilmember Schlum MOVED to accept the Heritage Fund Grant and Councilmember Archambault
SECONDED the motion.
j
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Councilmember Archambault thanked Mr. Mayer and Mr. Hughes for their efforts and asked how many parking
spaces would be provided at the park and Mr. Hughes advised that over 100 parking spaces would be available.
Councilmember Kehe asked about the progress being made on the Skate Park and Mr. Hughes responded that
they had not received any complaints to date and staff believed that the park was receiving the use that was
anticipated. He added that the park would probably be utilized more if lighting was in place and when the
evenings become cooler but all in all it had been positive. He advised that previous parking concerns had
"settled down."
Vice Mayor Dickey expressed appreciation to staff for their excellent work and said that in the future they
would see more of a"weight" on environmental issues being placed grants.
Councilmember Schlum also thanked staff and asked whether the Town's matching funds had much value in the
overall rating. Mr. Hughes replied not really and explained that there were several other projects that matched
more than the necessary 50%. He said that they obviously had a very good project and had not applied in a
while, which probably also helped. He stated that it was helpful to have a bigger match so they could go for
more money.
Councilmember Schlum asked whether any improvements to the Skate Park Phase II were included in this and
Mr. Hughes said that nothing was included as far as Skate Park improvements. He added that the area lighting
that would go in along the sidewalks and the athletic field lighting"spill over" would allow for some activity to
occur at night but there would still be some dark spots so that would have to be taken into consideration.
Councilmember Schlum asked whether opportunities existed to reach out to private organizations in an effort to
obtain donations and increase the Town's scoring potential for future grants. Mr. Hughes stated the opinion that
there were always opportunities to pursue and said that some of the smaller donations would probably not have
Loy helped much in this situation. He said that staff would certainly keep this issue in mind for future endeavors.
Mr. Hughes informed the Council that a Request For Qualifications (RFQ) had already been issued and were
due tomorrow. Staff hoped to bring something before the Council in November for approval and would be
working on the guaranteed maximum price, which would determine how much they could actually get done. He
noted that construction prices continued to rise and added that staff hoped to begin construction in January and
the architect's estimate was seven to nine months so they would go with nine months and by next soccer season
they should be playing in the park.
Mayor Nichols commented that the proposal also included garbage cans and requested that staff look into
possibly having trash cans as well as recycling cans in place to set an example at this park of being an
environmentally friendly park that hopefully would flow on to other parks. Mr. Hughes said that staff would
pursue this suggestion. Mayor Nichols thanked staff for their accomplishment and stated it was something they
should all be proud of.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this item.
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM#5—SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY TOWN MANAGER.
None.
AGENDA ITEM #6 — 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:
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A. NONE
AGENDA ITEM#10—ADJOURNMENT '4411)
Councilmember McMahan MOVED that the Council adjourn and Councilmember Schlum SECONDED the
motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meetin. adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
TOWN OF FOUNTA %HILLS
By ,.41 _
Wally Nic o s, = •
ATTEST AND
PREPARED BY:
Bevelyn J. B nde ,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 4th day of October 2007. I further certify
that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present.
DATED this 18th day of October 2007.
Bevelyn J e er,Town Clerk
"401)
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