HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008.0605.TCSREM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
(ity MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL,REGULAR,AND EXECUTIVE SESSIONS OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
June 5,2008
Gavel Passing Ceremony
At 5:30 p.m., Dr. Clinton Pattea, President of the Tribal Council of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
administered the "Oath of Office" to Mayor Elect Jay Schlum and Councilmembers Elect Dennis Contino,
Cassie Hansen, Keith McMahan. Former Mayor Wally Nichols invited the Mayor Elect and Councilmembers
Elect to take their places on the dais. Mayor Nichols officially passed the gavel to Mayor Elect Schlum.
Mayor Schlum thanked Former Mayor Nichols for his service to the community and presented him with a
plaque with a gavel displayed, a fountain pin, and the United States Flag that flew over Town Hall during his
term as Mayor. Former Mayor Nichols made a brief farewell speech to the Council, staff, and the public.
Mayor Schlum thanked Former Councilmember Kehe for his service to the community and presented him with a
fountain pin. Former Council Kehe also made a brief farewell speed to the Council, staff, and the public.
Mayor Schlum invited each of the new Councilmembers to say a few words. Councilmembers Dennis Contino,
Cassie Hansen, and Keith McMahan each made brief remarks and thanked the public for their support during the
election process.
The Council convened the Special Session as the District Board of the Eagle Mountain Community Facilities
District (EMCFD) at 6:17 p.m., which adjourned at 6:20 p.m.; followed immediately by the Council convening
the Special Session as the District Board of the Cottonwood Maintenance District (CMD) at 6:20 p.m., which
adjourned at 6:22 p.m.
The Council then immediately convened the Special Session of the Town Council following the adjournment of
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the Special Session of the Cottonwood Maintenance District.
CALL TO ORDER—Mayor Schlum called the Special Council meeting to order at 6:23 p.m.
INVOCATION-Pastor David Iverson, Fountain Hills Christian Center.
ROLL CALL—Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor
Schlum, Councilmember Contino, Councilmember Leger, Councilmember McMahan, Councilmember Hansen,
Councilmember Archambault and Vice Mayor Dickey. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Interim Town
Manager Kate Zanon and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present.
MAYOR'S REPORT
None.
SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS
i) Rotation of the Vice Mayor position to Councilmember Leger, Pursuant to Section 2-2-2 of the
Fountain Hills Town Code, each member of the Council, except the Mayor, shall serve an eight-
month term as Mayor.
Mayor Schlum stated that pursuant to the above referenced section of the Town Code, he would like to thank
Vice Mayor Dickey for her service as Vice Mayor as the position now rotated to Councilmember Leger. He
congratulated Vice Mayor Leger on his appointment to the position.
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SPECIAL SESSION AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM#1—PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING THE ESTIMATES OF EXPENSES AND TAX
LEVIES AND ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE BUDGET AS THE FINAL BUDGET FOR THE 2008-09
FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS.
Mayor Schlum asked if there were citizens who wished to address the Council. Town Clerk Bev Bender
advised that one citizen wished to address the Council.
Grace Jakubs, 16440 N. Aspen, a 16-year Fountain Hills' property owner and 11-year resident, addressed the
Council and stated that she was an art lover and avid supporter of public art, the Phoenix Art Museum and
former manager of a public corporate art gallery in downtown Chicago. She was also a proponent of principles
listed by Jerry Miles in his campaign literature, namely, "Don't spend what you don't have on what you don't
need. It's a matter of common sense," and "Job #1 is police,fire and emergency services." She said that she
mentioned these quotes because she was here to ask the Council to remove a proposed expenditure from the
budget. Ms. Jakubs stressed the importance of placing a high priority on prudent financial decisions and this
places the burden of separating the "nice to have"from the"must have." She requested that the Council remove
from the Facility Maintenance's repairs and maintenance budget $25,000 as identified for installation of arts
sculptures. She stated that this "nice to have" item totaled 29% of the allotment for repairs and maintenance and
exceeded the amount of money allocated for services and repairs to fire stations. She noted that the amount was
almost $6,000 over the allocations for heating, cooling and fire sprinkler maintenance in 11 Town buildings.
She stated the opinion that the proposed installation amount was a lot of money and not an expenditure needed
for safety, security, repairs or maintenance and asked what justification existed for this "nice to have" item. She
added that the Cultural & Civic Association had served the Town by securing donated art works and said that
these efforts may be expected to continue without the $25,000 being spent by the Town. She said that it was
Lwithin reason to include installation expenses in contributions from donors and noted that this approach was
favored by many municipalities. She further stated that those who wanted public art in Town must be willing to
place down payments for art on a back burner during uncertain economic times.Ms.Jakubs thanked the Council
for their consideration of her request and for their service to the Town.
Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Jakubs for her comments.
Mayor Schlum declared the public hearing open at 6:27 p.m. He stated that if there were additional citizens who
wish to address the Council relative to this item, they would be given an opportunity to present their remarks
following the staff presentation.
Finance Director Julie Ghetti addressed the Council stated that she would present a summarized presentation on
the Fiscal Year 2008-09 tentative budget for the benefit of anyone who was unable to hear the previous
discussions on this item. She noted that the budget message was that the Council and Strategic Plan goals were
to be incorporated within the budget. She noted that the goals focused on:
• Development of the Ellman property
• Restructuring Town's financial policies
• Working with local schools
• Evaluating pavement management analysis
• Implementing an environmental policy
• Improving economic development and business vitality and
• Expanding the reach of Town communications
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Ms. Ghetti noted that the Town's General Fund expenditures were down 8% from last Fiscal Year, overall
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revenues were down 7.9% from the previous year and overall expenditures were down 9.5% from the previous
year. Ms. Ghetti briefly reviewed the extensive budget process schedule, which began in November 2007 and
listed the following eight Council goals and associated departments/cost impacts as follows:
• To restructure the financial policies for fiscal efficiency, for the benefit of taxpayers—Administration.
No associated costs.
• To enhance and nurture the relationships with local schools for the benefit of the community —
Administration. No associated costs.
• To ensure that development of the Ellman property (former State Trust Land) would be compatible
with the character of the rest of the community in areas such as aesthetics, density, traffic and housing
development standards—Planning and Zoning. No associated costs.
• To increase community initiatives to strengthen Fountain Hills' small town character — Parks &
Recreation. Approximate$3,000 cost.
• To evaluate the Pavement Management Analysis for the community — Public Works. Approximate
$19,000 cost.
• To implement the environmental plan to enhance stewardship of the environment—Planning&Zoning.
$38,000 cost.
• To improve economic development, business vitality and relationships between the Town and
businesses to benefit the community — Administration (Economic Development Department).
Approximate$68,000 cost.
• To tailor the communications now available to the various demographics of the community
Administration. Approximate$68,000 cost.
Ms. Ghetti briefly highlighted a chart that showed the total budget by funds and explained that Town
((iiiw government was divided into separate funds and noted that the main operating fund for the Town was the
General Fund. She noted that there were revenues in the amount of $16.1 million and expenditures of $16.1
million, so therefore the budget was balanced. She said that the expenditures were only what the available
revenues were. She added that the Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF) could only be used for Streets and
reported that revenues were $1.9 million and expenditures $2.2 million because there was money left over in the
Streets Fund this year and so they could spend what would be left over this year during the next year. She
emphasized that surplus revenues must remain in their allocated fund but the surplus could be carried over to the
next year and spent within that fund. Ms. Ghetti reviewed the rest of the chart, which covered Development
Fees, the Special Revenue Fund (grants), the Excise Tax Fund (local sales tax) for Bond payments, the Excise
Tax (Downtown), Debt Service and the Capital Projects Fund. She noted that under the Capital Projects Fund,
staff was proposing to accomplish$3.4 million in projects.
Ms. Ghetti stated that after the budget was reviewed and put out for the public's review and input, staff made the
following changes for Council's review:
• Eliminate $169,160 expenditure for the Open Space Development fees for the Trailhead (per Council
action on 5/15/08).
• Revise upward the cost of a full development fee study (in Development Fee Fund). Staff was
proposing to do a full study next year as Council directed a few years ago and so the cost had to be
increased.
• Increase Facilities budget by $10,000 and reduce the Downtown Development Fund by the same
amount for holiday lighting to be consistent with prior year budgets.
Ms. Ghetti provided a brief summary of all funds, revenues and expenditures and noted that the Town's major
revenue source, State Shared Revenues, was at $8.9 million; Local Revenues were $11.1 million; grants were
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$2.1 million; Development Fees were $0.5 million and the Secondary Property Tax were at $1.4 million. She
noted that the General Fund made up 57% of the Town's total expenditures; 20.3% of the total would be spent
on Capital Projects; the General Fund was the only fund not restricted for use; Expenditures for all funds equal
$28.4 million but each fund should stand on its own and stated that the Town was below the Constitutional
expenditure limit by$8.2 million.
Ms. Ghetti advised that the Council's goals were incorporated throughout the budget. Wages and benefits
increased by only 4% from last Fiscal Year. Contractual services decreased by 15%. Repairs and maintenance
decreased by 11%. Supplies and services increased by 7%. Capital expenditures decreased by 31%. Overall
expenditures decreased by 8% for all funds and added that there were no new staff requests in the 2008-09
Budget. Ms. Ghetti indicated her willingness to respond to questions from the Council.
In response to a question from the Mayor,Ms. Bender advised that there were no citizens wishing to address the
Council at this time to speak on the Budget.
Councilmember McMahan asked whether State law required a period of at least 14 days between adoption of
the final Budget and adoption of the tax levy. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire confirmed the existence of the
law referred to by Councilmember McMahan.
Mayor Schlum declared the public hearing closed at 6:44 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM #2— CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2008-20, ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE
GET BUDun FINAL BUDG THE -09 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR THE TOWN
OF FOUNTAIN HILLS.
CocilmemASber McMahanTHE MOVED toET approveFOR Resolution2008 2008-20, adopting the Tentative Budget as the final
Now budget for the 2008-09 Fiscal Year budget for the Town of Fountain Hills and Vice Mayor Leger SECONDED
the motion.
Interim Town Manager Kate Zanon addressed the Council and provided a brief presentation on the individual
departmental budgets. Ms. Zanon noted that the Town Council's proposed budget amounted to $93,088, a
decrease from the prior year. She reviewed that there was money in the budget to enhance constituent
communications, maximize public access to Town Council meetings, promote Fountain Hills with other
municipalities and support Sister Cities and Strong Cities programs.
Councilmember Hansen referred to Page 60 of the budget, specifically the breakdown of some of the items such
as $11,500 for the Annual Goal Setting Retreat, including a facilitator and facility, and said that although these
would not be significant cuts she thought it might be worthwhile going through that process and identifying
some things along the way in an effort to determine whether they should do some things differently during the
upcoming year in an effort to reduce costs.
Mayor Schlum thanked Councilmember Hansen for her input and acknowledged that she was attempting to
utilize resources as best as possible. He added that he could personally vouch for the importance of the Annual
Goal Setting Retreat and said that it helped the Council to set common goals that were clear, measured, which
resulted in a document that helped keep everyone focused. He stated the opinion that they were receiving good
value for what needed to be done.
Ms. Zanon said that the Town had historically conducted a Retreat that was facilitated by an outside party and
results in a venue that was typically part of the whole package. She added that they rarely paid for the venue;
they usually just paid for the cost of the lunch (during the last two years they had not paid for the venue). She
lbw noted that there was a cost for facilitation and those expenses were quite high so a majority of the cost was for
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the facilitation and preparation of the documents. She added that this cost was always brought in as cost
effectively as possible and an estimated number was placed in the budget to ensure that Council's expectations
would be met. She confirmed that the cost included lengthy discussion ahead of time between the facilitator and
each of the Councilmembers as well as the Town Manager and other appropriate staff. She added that the
facilitator also reviewed all of the Town's current planning documents (General Plan, Strategic Plan, etc.) to get
"up to speed" on how the Town operates. She said that there was a lot of front end and back end work
associated with the process in order to ensure the Retreat's success. She advised that the proposed cost had
increased slightly from past years but emphasized that the quality of the day depended on the quality of the
facilitator and the Town had been lucky over the last few years to obtain the services of the same facilitator who
had kept his fees very reasonable.
Mayor Schlum advised Councilmember Hansen that if the$11,500 represented a one-day expense he too would
have a concern and added that, as listed, it would appear that way. He noted, however, that the process was
much more extensive and stated the opinion that the cost was justified for the services rendered.
Councilmember Hansen questioned whether this item was put out to bid periodically or whether the same
facilitator was used every year. Ms. Zanon replied that this item was put out to bid every year and most of the
prices received this year were substantially higher than in past years. She added that every year staff re-bids the
item, analyzes the contents to ensure that the Town received the best result for dollars spent.
Councilmember Dickey commented that as they went through the budget,they could see the value they received
as a result of the Retreat and agreed that a significant amount of effort and hard work was put in by the
facilitator. She pointed out that the Town had never done the East Valley Mayor's Luncheon and said that this
year the League conference would be in Scottsdale so monies would not have to be spent on hotel rooms. She
added that the Council always reserves the right not to spend allocated monies.
(lbr Councilmember Archambault said that it was not uncommon for the Council to go ahead and approve a budget
with some expenditures in it always with the caveat that direction be given to the Town Manager to conserve on
those costs. He added that they often did not expend certain costs and monies were moved around to cover
other items that might cost a little more. He stated that they always ruled on the conservative side of such
matters.
Councilmember McMahan said that he had concerns that some of the new Councilmembers had not yet had
sufficient time to study the proposed budget and some had told him that they had some very strong concerns.
Councilmember Archambault emphasized that the Council always reserved the right to give direction to staff
that they want to review a particular item further down the road and not make that expenditure "right off the
bat." He added that the more they reduce the budget and then encounter an emergency expense, if they had
taken those monies out of the budget then the funds could not be moved to cover it.
Mayor Schlum commented that they needed to recognize the work that had been done by staff, look at the
overall effort to reduce the budget in light of the economic downturn and said that it was quite commendable to
be able to reduce the overall budget by approximately 10%. He added that they must have confidence in the
staff to get the "best bang for the buck." He said that they wanted to ensure that each and every member of the
Council was as comfortable as possible with the budget and added that it was quite a task to accomplish at this
first meeting.
Councilmember McMahan suggested that another Work Study Session be scheduled for June 10th when the new
members of the Council could be involved in the informal process and raise their concerns. He added that the
(1410, final budget could be prepared by the next Regular Session.
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Mayor Schlum stated that they had a lot of time this evening to go over the budget section by section and said
that if concerns still existed after that took place then the Council could consider that option at that time.
Vice Mayor Leger noted that the Council was taking a different approach this evening as far as the budget; one
that benefited the new Councilmembers—namely, going through the budget section by section and said that this
should enable everyone to take a good look at the budget. He said that he hoped that the new members were
prepared to talk about the budget and pointed out that they have had the document as long as he has. He
discussed the members' fiscal backgrounds and stated that he was sensitive to the conversation that was on the
table and he felt they were taking the effort to move through this item cost center by cost center. He added that
the process was also about making motions and said that if Councilmember Hansen was not happy and would
prefer not to appropriate the$11,500 for the Annual Goal Setting Session, she was free to make a motion to that
effect and the Council could then vote on the motion.
Vice Mayor Leger further stated that it was important for the record to reflect that in Fiscal Year 2007-08, the
Council's budget was $212,146 and the expenditures for the Council's budget during that same timeframe were
$179,000. He said that with a reduced budget of$98,088 he felt comfortable where they were at but added they
could always evaluate items as they moved forward.
Councilmember Hansen stated that when they went back and looked at the Council's budget in 2005-06, it was
approximately $80,000 and added that when they looked at some of the State Shared Revenues and levels were
going back to where they were a few years ago when they were not quite as "flush" that was certainly a more
reasonable budget than $179,000. She said it was more of just having the philosophy that staff had done a good
job by cutting $3 million out of the budget and now the Council should do their job as well. If they saw
something from a different perspective then that was part of the process as well.
Vice Mayor Leger agreed with Councilmember Hansen's statement and reiterated that if there was something in
Lthe budget that she or any other member of the Council was uncomfortable with, they had the right and
responsibility to make a motion not to fund that particular piece of the budget. He added that as far as previous
budgets, every year the Town had evolved as different situations and priorities arose and said they had to look
budget by budget to see what the value added actually was (evaluate each on its own merits). He stated that he
was prepared to make motions to change items in the budget as they moved through the process and encouraged
the other members of the Council to do the same.
Mayor Schlum commented on the $7,000 Community Events & Programs item and said that he believes this
came out of the Council's goal setting process. He stated that the purpose was to increase the Town's small
town character with perhaps more events at the Fountain and asked for input from staff relative to this item.
Councilmember Hansen noted that the item was for the Sister Cities and Strong Cities programs.
Mayor Schlum stated that he appreciated the dialogue that was taking place and encouraged the members to
continue to voice concerns and raise questions.
Ms. Zanon discussed the Municipal Court's budget ($394,490) and explained that monies were included to
enhance the Court website to include legislative updates and Court-related information, to work with a
neighboring Court for disaster preparedness purposes and to seek grant funding to monitor compliance with
sentencing through probation. She noted that Judge Armbruster was in the audience this evening to respond to
any questions from the Council.
The Mayor noted that this was one of the items that had actually increased and Ms.Zanon agreed and said that it
had increased by just over 3.5%. She stated that the increase was a modest one that took into consideration the
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different Court services with different hardware and computer software.
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There were no questions from the Council relative to this item.
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Ms. Zanon moved on to the General and Administrative Department and said that the slide she would refer to
was for three budgets, Administration that included Information Technology & Operational Support as well as
the overall Administration budget. She noted that the combined total of all three budgets was $2,906,648 and
said that it was a little higher on the operational support side and the majority of the monies was for contract
services that were entered into over a year ago. She added that the Information Technology budget was actually
down and the Administration budget was up with the majority of that for one line item- Special Transportation
Services (STS). She noted that the Town had received LTAF II monies that paid for approximately 80% of the
Town's STS and said that they were not expecting to receive that money next year so the money was for the
Town to cover the full cost of that service if the Council so wished.
Ms. Zanon added that the budget also included funding for the Human Resources Department, the Town Clerk,
the Finance Department, the Town Manager's Office, the Volunteer Coordinator as well as Customer Service
and the IT Coordinator. She added that they would also:
• Restructure financial policies to include a rainy day fund
• Expand the audit program to capture sales tax revenue leakage
• Invest in new technology for improved transparency in government and customer service
• Transition to live broadcasting of Town Council meetings
• Update the Town Code and
• Continue support of community programs
Councilmember McMahan referred to the cost to update the Town Code ($12,000) and asked why this figure
was so high. Ms. Zanon explained that the Town Code has had several updates since its inception in 1989 and
(' language had changed that staff wanted to match in order to bring the Code up to standards. She added that the
current software that updated the Town Code was outdated and could not be added to so the Town Code had to
be added into new software as they continue to archive. She noted that this includes all of the Town Council
meeting minutes, agendas and the codes themselves. She said that this was a two-fold line item.
Councilmember Hansen referred to the Annual Director Retreat and asked if any cost savings would be realized
if they decided to combine the Directors and Councils Retreats.
Ms. Zanon replied that staff bids both Retreats at the same time with one facilitator(one package) and therefore
they receive the best value available. She added that it was not fair to put that whole cost into the Council
budget since a piece of it was for the Director's Retreat.
Mayor Schlum encouraged the Council to bring forward ideas to make the processes more worthwhile.
Councilmember McMahan stated the opinion that the Retreats were repetitive and the Mayor said that this was
something that the Council was familiar with and could look at further as they proceed.
Ms. Ghetti advised that the cost for the Director's Retreat was $9,500; $7,500 for the facilitator and $2,000 for
the facility and meals.
Councilmember Archambault asked why the Town Prosecutor was not included as part of the Court's budget.
Ms. Zanon explained that the Town Prosecutor cost was contained in the Town's Operational Support section of
the government along with all other legal support. She added that the Town Court operated as a limited
Li" jurisdictional court in a very detailed capacity and had its own budget and staff.
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Councilmember Hansen asked why they were increasing work stations if they were not increasing staff(Page
( 77). Ms. Zanon responded that they had been slowly increasing the number of mobile workstations, such as
laptops, so that they were available for both Councilmembers and staff to attend meetings and they also put
them in staff vehicles such as the Code Enforcement vehicles. She said that this was to ensure that everyone had
a workstation and they increase them on a rotational basis. She added that as computers became outdated that
they had to update them and this covers where they were going to sit with workstations. She noted that some
were allocated to other staff that did not use a workstation on a frequent basis or there might be a workstation
that a couple of staff members shared. It was time for replacement.
Ms. Ghetti commented that there was a rotation schedule in place for the Town's IT equipment and noted that
they rotate a quarter of the equipment every year because technology changed so quickly.
Ms. Zanon advised that this was a step towards providing faster customer service by updating programs. She
said that at this point Code Enforcement could not print material but they could access information and share it
with their customers.
Mayor Schlum referred to Page 78, a $200,000 transfer for Capital Improvement Projects and said that in
meeting with staff he learned that part of this amount was to upgrade the Town's 15+ year old system allowing
for greater transparency and access for the public. He asked for staff input relative to the transfer.
Ms. Ghetti advised that the $200,000 transfer out of the General Fund into the Capital Projects Fund was for the
second phase of the new software that the Town was looking to purchase this Fiscal Year. She said that they
were looking for a software system that would integrate all of the Town's activities into one system. She added
that this phase was for the implementation and training as well as leading to a GIS program because they had
started with a base for the GIS but in order to move forward they needed the programs underneath as well as the
next piece of the GIS program. She explained that GIS stood for Geographical Information System and said that
(kije this would allow the Town to put in different layers of what they had in the Town(roads, houses, etc.). It would
provide citizens with the ability to go in and look at maps and staff could determine where every water main,
every house, etc. was.
Vice Mayor Leger said that he was aware of the fact that Ms. Ghetti was conducting research relative to using
General Fund revenues or development fees and asked whether she had received any clarification on this issue.
Ms. Ghetti advised that staff had received some information from the consultant as far as being able to use some
of the development fees to pay for the new software program. She noted that the program was for the future and
said that hopefully they could have everything implemented before the State Trust Land came on board because
the program also included building permits. She said that the question of whether they could charge the entire
program to development fees or a portion of it was still a gray area. Staff was looking to be able to put as much
as they could into the development fees but if it was not all related to growth they would not be able to use
development fees to pay for the whole thing. She noted that the goal was to use as much of the development
fund fees for this use as possible and said that this would take some pressure off of the operating budget.
Mayor Schlum stated that they would now move on to the Public Information budget(Page 81).
Ms. Zanon said that the Public Information Budget ($201,633) was down from last year and noted that some of
the key programs for the upcoming Fiscal Year included:
• Enhancing the Town's website to include easy navigation, E-government applications and links to
partner sites
• Expanding communication efforts to reach a broader demographic
• Creating a centralized communications system, and
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• Promoting the value of Fountain Hills to local and Statewide civic and service organizations.
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Councilmember McMahan referred to an expenditure of $68,500 to produce two videos for Channel 11 and
printing/design of a community newsletter and said that the Town had two newsletters at the current time and a
lot of people did not watch Channel 11 as they had Direct TV.
Public Information Officer Katie Decker said that this amount covered a combination of a couple different
items. She advised that they were in the process of teaming up with the Fountain Hills High School to produce
some videos for Channel 11 and in the process of doing something like that by the time the shooting,editing and
script writing took place, the cost increased because it was quite a process. She added that staff had also taken
AveNEWS, the Town's monthly publication that came out twice a month, and was putting one in hard form to
be sent out to all residents who might otherwise miss out on the publication. She said that when they talked
about printing and mailing a publication to the entire Town, as well as production costs for Channel 11,the costs
added up quickly.
Mayor Schlum commented that one of the Council's goals was to communicate more with the citizens of
Fountain Hills and reach out to them in different ways. He noted that this was not an additional $68,500; this
simply encapsulated what had been done in the past as well as some new things that were being utilized today.
Ms. Decker advised that the videos were in line with Council goal#8 and added that the printing was not much
more than what was done in the past. She added that they had done away with The Compass and replaced it
with AveNEWS and instead of being a bi-monthly publication, it was now every month. She said that this was
requested by the residents who want more timely information on a consistent basis. She discussed printing costs
and stated that staff would be coming back to the Council next week with a new contract for all printing
services. She said that the current printing service contract was about to expire at the end of this Fiscal Year so
staff would be back looking to renew for three years with either the current provider or someone else since they
Noe had gone out to bid to see what the competition would bring forward. She also discussed the two videos and
said that the contract with that provider was also set to expire at the end of this Fiscal Year and would be looked
at by staff as well. She reported that typically a 30-minute video costs approximately $30,000. She added that
staff was putting together a production schedule for the upcoming year and they were looking at doing
something relative to the history of the Fountain and other things that could be marketed by the Chamber of
Commerce and other entities about Fountain Hills.
Councilmember McMahan stated that one of the concerns he had was that AveNEWS and the Manager's Memo
were practically the same publication and carried the same information. He asked whether the Manager's
Memo could go to everyone. Ms. Decker responded that the Manager's Memo had been renamed the
AveNEWS about two months ago and that publication now went to everyone. The Manager's Memo had been
replaced with AveNEWS.
Councilmember McMahan advised that the biggest complaint he had received as far as the budget had to do
with the $200,000 expenditure for the Public Information Office. He said that they had to be very diligent in
explaining every expenditure.
Mayor Schlum stated that they would now move on to Downtown Development(Page 85).
Ms. Zanon said that the Downtown Development budget was $191,835, down from last year. The budget would
be used to accomplish the following:
• Expand the business retention program
• Assist with coordination of more community events in the Downtown area
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• Work with the Chamber of Commerce on the Business Vitality Advisory Committee's plan
( • Facilitate creating way finding signs on Shea Boulevard for the downtown area and
• Holding two economic developing visioning sessions with stakeholders and working with downtown
businesses on the Main Street Program.
Ms. Zanon explained that in the past staff had separated the holiday lighting and this year they recognized that
and had moved$10,000 back into Facilities(the$10,000 difference).
Councilmember Archambault said that he was happy to see that they were finally going to get speakers and said
that he had been asking for this to happen for years.
Councilmember McMahan stated that the last he had heard they were only going to have one side of the street
for the Fall Festival equipped with the new speaker system. The old system would be used on the south side and
they would be tied in very effectively.
Ms. Zanon advised that staff had been working diligently on this item and said that although it appeared to be
simplistic it had turned out to be more complicated than anticipated due to the fact that when the Chamber held
their Arts Festivals there were wires going into the medians, back out to the sidewalks and then back to the
medians. She noted that the Town only had electric on one side of the Avenue and only partway down on the
other so this was a line item that staff continued to work on and they hoped to have something worked out by the
fall.
Councilmember Archambault asked whether staff was planning to schedule a Work Study Session to discuss the
way finding signs on Shea Boulevard for the downtown area. Ms. Zanon advised that such a Session could
certainly be scheduled and added that in meeting with the Business Vitality Group, different business owners
and driving on Shea Boulevard many people realize that there was not clear signage when entering Shea and
Nkre signage was definitely needed to identify all of the amenities in the Downtown area. She added that staff was
looking at several designs and would bring them to a Work Study Session for the Council to review and
consider.
Councilmember Dickey said that she would imagine that the videos,the newsletters and other efforts by the PIO
would correspond with Downtown development and the Council's goal to promote more activity.
Ms. Zanon moved on to the Public Works Department budget, including Facility Maintenance, (Pages 89 - 95),
which totaled $1,828,358. She noted that the figure for both divisions was down from last year. She advised
that some of the key programs that would be worked on next year included:
• Continue implementation of the Stormwater program with consultant
• Maintain wash cleanup program in fire hazard areas
• Update the Pavement Management program
• Inventory all Town trees for the GIS program
• Complete the Emergency Operations Center and
• Repair roofs on Kiwanis and Theater buildings.
In response to a question from Councilmember McMahan, Public Works Director Tom Ward explained that the
GIS system was a Geographical Information System. Ms. Zanon added that this was the mapping system that
Ms. Ghetti had described earlier.
caw
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Councilmember Dickey referred to roof repairs and requested that if there were any opportunities to use solar in
( any way she hopes that staff would pursue this option. She added that she would also like staff to look into
things like curbside recycling with trash pickup and solar options.
Mayor Schlum said he understood that the Community Theater might require additional improvements,
including roof areas, and wanted to make staff aware of this fact. Prior to any contracting of services he would
like staff to make sure that they were tied in with the Community Theater to ensure that they were not improving
something that might be dismantled soon. Ms. Zanon advised that staff's initial communication with the
Community Theater group was that they would like to do some expansion in the future but they did not have a
timeline in place at this time. She said that before staff went out to bid for this project they would meet with the
Community Theater group to ensure that the timeframe was still out in the future and not something they were
looking to do within the next few years.
Vice Mayor Leger referred to Page 98, the expenditure of$25,000 for installation of art sculptures donated by
the Fountain Hills Cultural & Civic Association, and noted that the Councilmembers all received a packet of
information from a citizen addressing this issue; the citizen who spoke earlier on this issue. He said that he
would not recommend at this time that they remove that allocation from the budget; however, he believed she
raised several good points in the documentation she presented. The Vice Mayor stated that he would like to
direct staff to go back and review that policy. He added that he would like to have a better understanding of the
genesis of the payment for installation. In his review of the policy, he did not see that installation was part of
that process although it said "contracting with the artist," which might very well be. He said that they should
review that policy and possibly enhance it because it was really ambiguous.
Town Attorney Andrew McGuire explained that the policy adopted in 2003 was actually very clear and one of
the items that was included in the cost of the donation was installation so the contract was supposed to be
between the Arts Committee and the artist and was to include installation as well. He added that Town was((
supposed to be included along with the appropriate staff member from whatever department involved in the
installation. He said it was very clear in the policy that the payment for the contract would be from the donation
as well so it takes into consideration the art piece and the installation. He stated that the Town would then
manage or work with the Committee on managing the contract to ensure that installation took place properly.
He noted that the administrative change to that really came about as a result of the art piece that was installed at
the Community Center. It was such a large piece that there was concern at the time that the piece should be
installed by the Town because of where it was —on the wall of the Community Center up above the lobby — a
very large, heavy piece. The Town assumed the duty of installation on that particular piece of art because of
those reasons and from then on that simply continued and the Town had become the installation component of
the policy even though the policy was that the donation would include installation. He added that there was an
administrative policy in place that was the direct opposite of the adopted policy because of that particular trend.
To go back to the policy adopted by the Council in 2003 simply required direction from the Council relative to
the fact that any related installation costs would be part of the donation and not contain any Town component.
He added that leaving funding in the budget would allow some flexibility should another unusual piece of art be
donated throughout the course of the year that would require some extraordinary installation cost.
In response to a request for clarification from Councilmember Dickey, Mr. McGuire explained that as long as
the Council stayed within the same budget area fund transfers were relatively easy. He said that fund-to-fund
transfers were Council action items.
Ms. Zanon further stated that all of the public art pieces came before the Town Council and they had an
opportunity to "weigh in" on each item. She said that to leave a budget line item in there meant, as Mr.
McGuire pointed out, that if an unusual piece was presented in the future and Council believed the Town needed
to assist with the installation due to the sensitivity of it, money would be there to spend. She added that line
items did not have to be fully expended and the monies would sit in the fund balance and at the end of the year
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would transfer as per policy over to capital. She noted that if there was another expenditure that came up
r throughout the year that was unbudgeted and there was a budget line item that Council later on decided that they
Vibe did not want to spend; staff could come before Council and ask to use the funds from this line item for another
expense. She emphasized that all of that would come back before the Council for their discretion and approval
to do so.
Councilmember Dickey commented that if the Town accepted a piece of art she did not want it to mean that they
were committing to installing it if the Council did not feel that should occur. Ms. Zanon stated that this policy
discussion could be brought back to a future meeting for the Council to provide staff direction. She added that
whatever policy the Council chooses, it must be clearly communicated to the community so there would not be
any surprises as far as art pieces.
Vice Mayor Leger stated that despite the fact that the Town Attorney had stated that the policy in place was
relatively clear, he believed that they needed to move forward in the future with a policy discussion on this
issue. He added that there were different understandings out there among different Commissioners,
Commissions and Councilmembers and stressed the importance of having a level playing field.
Mayor Schlum agreed with the comments that were made relative to this issue and emphasized the need to have
a clear policy/process in place.
Councilmember Archambault said that he had noticed they were motorizing the operation of the gate at the
Community Center and added that this had been a long time in coming. He noted that the Council had been
talking about the gate that was on Technology and Saguaro Boulevard over the last couple of years (automating
that particular gate). He added that it was supposed to be done when the Four Peaks Center was being
developed but was never accomplished. He said that if they had enough "movement" in the budget he would
like to put some funds into getting this accomplished as well.
Ms. Zanon commented that Councilmember Archambault had brought that to her attention recently and said that
if Council would like this item added to the budget they could work on getting it into next year's fiscal budget.
Mr. Ward stated that he was not prepared this evening to provide any cost figures for the work but would be
happy to pursue that if the Council so desired. He said he believed that they had discussed this previously as
well as having the person who developed the property take care of doing this work as part of a developer
stipulation and that option existed as well.
Councilmember Archambault advised that the stipulation was eliminated because the developer refused to do so
and provided history relative to this issue.
Councilmember Archambault MOVED that staff be directed to look into the costs/identifying funds in the
budget to automate the gate located at Technology and Saguaro Boulevard (the U-Haul gate) in an effort to
allow emergency traffic through without having to exit vehicles to open the gate and Councilmember McMahan
SECONDED the motion.
Mayor Schlum said that three issues came to mind — the cost, the benefit to the Fire Department (access and
impact on public safety) and providing a comfort level to the residents.
Ms. Zanon advised that several of the items discussed by the Council would be looked into before any expenses
were made. She added that for the sake of the budget this evening, staff would like to come up with some value
that they thought was at least a "ballpark figure" so that monies could be allocated in the budget. She said that
staff would make sure that residents were supportive of the proposal and then come up with the hard costs for
', bidding it out. Even though the infrastructure was already in place, the nearest electrical connection point was
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quite a distance from that gate so she would not want to simply match the $9,000 that was in the budget for the
(iv, Community Center gate; she would like to put more money in just to ensure that there was sufficient funding to
trench and hook into it. She estimated that the amount should be in the $12,000 to $15,000 range in order to
provide a"cushion"and emphasized that the work would be done as cost effectively as possible.
Vice Mayor Leger concurred with Ms. Zanon's remarks and said that he would not feel comfortable voting on
something unless they had a"ceiling on the expenditure."
Mayor Schlum commented that the Council needed to allocate a certain amount in the budget for this item.
Additional discussion ensued relative to the type of gate and possible associated costs. Fire Chief LaGreca also
discussed the benefits associated with automating the gate.
Councilmember Archambault MOVED to amend his motion to include a $20,000 ceiling for the cost of
automating the gate and Councilmember Dickey SECONDED the motion.
Councilmember McMahan suggested that they lower the amount to $12,000 and Mr. McGuire stated that there
was a motion currently on the floor that had to be voted on first. Mr. McGuire clarified the motion/voting
process for the benefit of the Council.
Councilmember Archambault noted that the proposed $20,000 amount was simply a cap and was just to take a
look at this issue and determine what the expenditure would be. He added that when the item came back to the
Council they would have an opportunity to decide whether or to proceed.
A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Councilmember McMahan Nay
Councilmember Hansen Nay
Councilmember Contino Aye
Councilmember Archambault Aye
Vice Mayor Leger Nay
Councilmember Dickey Aye
Mayor Schlum Aye
The motion CARRIED by majority vote (4-3) with Councilmembers McMahan and Hansen and Vice Mayor
Leger voting Nay.
Mayor Schlum advised that staffs findings would be brought back to a future Council meeting for the members
to consider.
In response to a question from the Mayor,Ms. Zanon explained that they could keep moving through the budget
and see where they were at. She said that when they get to the end they might find out that this had worked
itself out and if it had not then they did have the Manager's Contingency Budget to work from.
Mayor Schlum referred to an item on Page 92, Stormwater, and said it was his understanding from staff that the
$55,000 (consulting contract for Stormwater Program Phase I, Implementation and Testing Mandates) was that
if they did not spend roughly $25,000 for this mandate they could get into trouble and the $30,000 was to
implement the Stormwater Program Phase I. He requested input from Mr.Ward on Phase I.
Mr. Ward concurred with the Mayor's comments and said that the $30,000 was for the implementation. He
Nilly added that if they were to look down the road at a Stormwater utility this would be the first portion of the very
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first phase. He said that this was not something that was mandated; the $25,000 was where the unfunded
( Federal mandate came in and had to do with testing to the best of their ability. He stated that they were looking
to move in favor of implementing a Stormwater utility to fund this unfunded mandate. He added that this
presentation was made to the Council last year.
Mayor Schlum asked if there would be implications if they held off on the $30,000 this year and put off the
implementation until next year. Mr.Ward replied that there would not be any implications and the decision was
entirely up to the Council.
Councilmember Dickey commented that the timeframe they were looking at as far as fruition was several years
and Mr. Ward advised that it was approximately two years. He noted that they could reduce that time but the
consultant had stated that if they did not provide enough public information there would be confusion. He
added that it was a time period in which they should let the public know exactly where they were headed and the
reasons behind it.
Councilmember Dickey asked if this represented an approximate$1 million "hit"per year and Mr. Ward replied
that it depended on what the Council wanted to put into a Stormwater utility fee and discussed the complexities
associated with this issue.
Councilmember Dickey asked what the General Fund "hit" would be every year to fulfill this mandate if they
did not do a Stormwater utility.
Ms. Zanon said that she believed Councilmember Dickey was asking about the types of projects and different
costs the Town incurred as a result of Stormwater, for example dam maintenance costs, testing mandates and
possible reclamation efforts, etc. She added that the costs related to Stormwater maintenance could grow quite
quickly depending on what they found in their testing phase and they were just entering into that phase. She
Nor noted that there were a lot of costs that could build related to Stormwater.
Councilmember Dickey advised that the $25,000 was the first example of the unfunded mandate that would
continue year after year unless they began to explore a utility and that was what the$30,000 was for.
Mayor Schlum agreed and said that the $30,000 was not to do any work as far as improvements on roads or
crossings;it was for the Town to do the first phase of implementing a Stormwater utility fee.
Councilmember McMahan asked why the Town purchased its replacement vehicles instead of leasing them.
Mr. Ward stated the opinion that this option had never been explored since staff had always felt that they get
more "bang for the buck" by purchasing their vehicles since the Town kept them for 10 years (he was not aware
of any 10-year lease) and added that the Town maintained the vehicles because staff had found that to be more
economically beneficial.
Mayor Schlum said that he would be more comfortable considering the $30,000 implementation figure in a
future year budget when the Stormwater programs were better understood as they apply to states such as
Arizona. He expressed the opinion that what was in place now and the associated expectations were not realistic
for the community to make much headway in improving the Stormwater quality, which was really the goal here.
He added that he was not comfortable spending that much money on something that would not make that much
of a difference but noted that it was a Federal mandate and they would have to continue to report on progress.
He further stated that he was comfortable with spending the$25,000 at this point.
ctio. Mayor Schlum MOVED to reduce the $55,000 amount to $25,000 and Vice Mayor Leger SECONDED the
motion.
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Councilmember Dickey said that it was hard to take a step such as this but as they were looking at a couple of
years down the road when they had to spend$25,000 this year and questioned what the costs would be next year
and in four years. She added that this was looking ahead and saying they could get a bad "hit" in the future if
they did not examine this. She stated that she did not know where the$30,000 figure came in; she just knew the
purpose of it. So if it was something that could be played around with she would be a little more comfortable
than not doing anything to move towards this goal. She said that this should eventually be a user fee kind of
thing where all of the runoff that was coming from individuals could be paid for by the responsible parties. She
added that she would be a little uncomfortable saying that they would not take one step on this but if there was
some type of leeway to the$30,000, she would be more open to that.
Mayor Schlum commented that another year would provide an opportunity to learn more from other
communities and provide a better opportunity to spend the$30,000 more effectively.
In response to a question from Councilmember Archambault, Mr. Ward explained that the $30,000 represented
the consulting fee for the first phase for the implementation of a Stormwater utility fee. He added that they had
$110,000 in this area and reduced the amount and shifted it further out. He said that it would take
approximately two years to set up the Stormwater utility fee. He explained that they were not mandated to start
a Stormwater utility fee and added that they could not say they wanted to spend$200,000 next year and do it all
in one year-there was so much work to do, and that was why it would take two years.
Councilmember Archambault stated that if it was going to take two years to eventually set up and that was one
of the goals toward financial stability that was one that he did not want to put off.
Vice Mayor Leger asked what the $25,000 would yield the Town and Mr. Ward explained that that represented
the testing portion of what they must do. They had moved from the five years of public outreach and education
(1 (toe phase and now were moving into the actual physical portion of Stormwater utilities where testing had to be done
to ensure that sediment did not contaminate groundwater in the future. He stated that it was about a physical
portion rather than creating pamphlets for public outreach. He said that the test could help determine the scope
of the work that must be done in Fountain Hills.
The motion CARRIED by majority vote(5-2) with Councilmembers Dickey and Archambault voting Nay.
Ms. Zanon advised that she would now address the Planning &Zoning (P&Z) budget (Pages 107-112/113-116)
and would come back to Streets. She noted that the budget contained P&Z as well as the Building Safety budget
and the combined total was $1,421,338. She said that both budgets were down from the last Fiscal Year and
some of the key items they would be working on would include the following:
• Overseeing the planning of the Ellman property
• Updating the Town's General Plan
• Updating Town ordinances,such as signs
• Developing a unified ordinance document involving the Town's Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances
• Enhancing stewardship of the natural environment through the Environmental Planner,and
• Increased Code Enforcement of un-permitted construction activities
Councilmember Archambault referred to Page 110 and said they had $38,250 allocated for hazardous materials
disposal that was partially grant funded. He asked if the Town knew how much it would receive in grant
funding.
Planning & Zoning Director Richard Turner advised that the Town had applied to ADEQ and it looked very
favorable that they would receive$19,000. He confirmed that this would be a one-day event.
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Councilmember Dickey stated that there would be some staff available to help because enhancing the
stewardship of the natural environment or any of the other events where volunteers would be utilized may
(iily
require staff coordination. She added that they had also talked about the formation of a possible Commission
and she was confident that resources would be very wisely utilized.
Mayor Schlum asked if there were any more questions relative to these budgets and there were none.
Ms. Zanon then discussed the Parks & Recreation budget (Pages 117-138) and noted that the budget covered
five sections, Recreation and four Town parks, for a combined expenditure of $1,906,912, approximately the
same as last Fiscal Year. She noted that a variety of projects would be undertaken by this department including
the following:
• Provide two new events that could grow to 2,000 or more participants
• Identify new recreation and leisure education programs
• Work with the School District on joint goals
• Complete park signage through parks
• Upgrade fountain equipment
• Promote low-water use techniques with Neighborhood Watch groups
• Demolition of Four Peaks concession stand and bus barn facility
• Reduce the amount of potable water that was used for irrigation
• Complete FEMA 100-Year Flood Compliance requests and
• Complete capital improvements at Desert Vista Neighborhood Park
Councilmember McMahan stated that he had heard a lot of criticism from the residents of the Town relative to
the condition of the grass in Fountain Park and asked if there was a program underway to correct that problem
and whether it was included as part of the budget.
Parks & Recreation Director Mark Mayer responded that a number of months ago, staff appeared before the
Council and discussed a turf enhancement program that was underway in the park. He advised that the process
was continuing and they had aerated, fertilized and slit seeded the turf and for the most part staff was pleased
with the grass except for the bare spots. Within the last few weeks those bare spots had been slit seeded and
they were now getting some germination but they were not sure that they would get the type of coverage they
were hoping for. The intent of the slit seeding was to get some grass growth and depending on what type of
growth they got, they might have to slit seed for one or two years in order to get it to completely fill in. The
nature of the Bermuda grass was that was spreads itself out but it did take some time. He said that staff was
continuing through that process and it was going to take some time to fill in the last of the bare spots.
Vice Mayor Leger noted that there were some bare spots in the park where he exercised on a weekly basis and
he was not sure what it was going to take to make that work. He asked whether there was money in the budget
to re-sod some of those areas where there was a high probability that grass would never see the light of day.
Mr. Mayer advised that monies for sodding were not included in this budget and added that if the Council
looked under the Parks budget, specifically Fountain Park, they would see that the amount was now up to
$68,000, which represented a more aggressive overall program. He said that if it was the desire of the Council
to have those spots filled in with new sod, there was no money in the budget at the current time to accomplish
that task.
Vice Mayor Leger stated that this was an issue that he would like the Council to consider(adding some money
for sod)and stated the opinion that without using sod they might be fighting a losing battle.
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Councilmember Archambault asked whether staff had looked into costs to accomplish what the Vice Mayor had
i brought up and Mr. Mayer reported that for sod alone, without the installation or any work with associated with
the soil, the cost would be approximately $30,000. He added that by the time they added in taking out the
topsoil that was there and replacing it with more desirable topsoil they were probably talking more in the range
of $45,000 (for an acre and a half of bare spots). He explained that the grass suffered when they put in the
sprinkler system and because of the summer months. He said that with the program in place now, they would
continue over the next couple of years to fertilize and slit seed in those areas and believes they would get grass
growth there but obviously not as fast as putting sod down. He noted that the seeding would have to be done
about this time of year on an annual basis, however, sod could be put down and they would have instant grass
and the ability to keep it green for the rest of the year.
Councilmember Contino said that he had watched the park deteriorate over the last five years or longer and
added that some of the new sod behind the Plaza Fountainside was rotting out and turning brown and in the dirt
spots they could not even get rye grass to grow. He asked what kind of soil was put down.
Mr. Mayer said that he would respectfully disagree with Councilmember Contino's comments with respect to
the condition of the park. He added that he walked the site just this morning and people stopped him to say that
the park looked as good as it had ever looked. He stated that they get diverse opinions depending on who they
talk to but expressed the opinion that the grass looked significantly better than it did after they put the new
sprinkler system in. He noted that putting the sod in behind Plaza Fountainside was pretty successful and
pointed out that they had tried to seed that area before and had no success.
Councilmember Contino disagreed with Mr. Mayer's remarks and said that he saw brown spots and burnt spots
while all of the other parks in town were green and looked wonderful, such as Golden Eagle, which had the best
looking turf out there. He asked why they did not contact whoever ran the grass program at that park and bring
I� Illiw
him over to run this park to get the grass green again.
Mr. Mayer commented that when a new park was constructed it was like doing a golf course and they literally
start from the bottom up and that was why they had the type of grass they had at Golden Eagle Park. He noted
that they did not have that luxury when it came to Fountainside Park— they had to take the soils and sprinkler
system that was in place at the time. They recognized that there were some things they had to do like a new
sprinkler system, augmenting the soil and reseeding and they were doing all of those things. He said he believes
that the grass would get better over time. He added that when the rye grass died off as it did every year about
this time and the Bermuda takes over and fills in and greens, it would be much better but they were in the
transitional period right now.
Councilmember Contino reiterated that he had not seen any improvement in the grass over the last several years.
Mayor Schlum agreed that this was a very important issue and noted that in 2002-03 the Town suffered some
financial troubles and the park was not over-seeded for a year and the sprinkling system was not in good shape
until recently so they lost a lot of the topsoil at that time. He said that the water sprinklers were put in
approximately one year ago because nothing could grow until they had the ability to water it. He added that
now they just did not have the soil for it to grow so the plan was not to bring in truckloads of new soil but to
treat areas where they had trouble. He stated that they needed to make sure that the budget reflected what
Council was demanding and that was to make the park beautiful again, golf course quality. He said that he was
comfortable learning that the summer Bermuda grass would leave a better base for the winter grass to come in
more successfully. He suggested that they not spend all that money on the sod at this point in time but rather get
through the summer and see if they could get the hardier grass to grow and then come back and over-seed in the
fall when the nice grass could fill in the holes. He said that no one wanted to see bare spots in that park.
Lie,
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Mr. Mayer advised that that was staff's goal as well and noted that it was a 2 to 3-year program to fill in the
spots because it takes a while to get the seed planted and get it to germinate and that could only occur once a
Nor year in the spring. He said that the Bermuda grass spreads and would grow as much as it could but as they move
into the winter months it would die off(go dormant) and then they over-seed with the rye grass to fill in all of
those areas. He added that they needed something to bond the rye grass to and dirt alone did not work
particularly well so they would have to do something in those spots. They would again come in and split seed
those spots next spring in order to fill in those spots. He stated the opinion that they would be successful but it
was going to take some time. He added that the other alternative would be to go to sod for those areas but noted
that it would be more expensive.
Mayor Schlum commented that if the Council wanted more rapid results they should consider adding monies to
the budget to cover the cost of sod.
Vice Mayor Leger said that if they were split seeding for three years there was a cost associated with that as well
and so what appeared to be a $30,000 expenditure for sod in the long run would be more like a $15,000 or
$20,000 expenditure. He stated that his goal was to have that park pristine and expressed the opinion that they
should deal with this issue now and budget for sod.
In response to a question from Mayor Schlum, Mr. Mayer advised that Parks staff measured that particular area
and it came to 1.5 acres and the $45,000 figure previously mentioned would cover the cost for the sod. He
added that if the Council decided to do that, it would certainly eliminate the institution of Bermuda seed in that
area(that could be eliminated) so pieces of that process could be eliminated but he did not have a figure at this
time.
Discussion ensued relative to the fact that there was always a risk associated with sod, especially in this climate,
but with the sprinkler system that was now in place and the Parks staff who had a strong background in golf
(' (1600 course maintenance, staff was confident that it would work; the fact that staff believed that the sod that had been
laid was the best grass in the park right now; the fact that the quality of the water(salts in the water) did present
a challenge but most of the golf courses in Town were also using effluent water but Bermuda grass was pretty
hardy; Councilmember Contino's suggestion relative to seeing how the sprinkler system worked in the daytime
rather than during the nighttime and his opinion that perhaps they needed to use more water.
Mayor Schlum said that it might be worth touring Fountain Park in an effort to become more educated on this
issue and better understand what they were dealing with.
Vice Mayor Leger noted that the Council had come up with a$30,000 savings on the Stormwater utility and said
that in light of that he would like to make a motion.
Vice Mayor Leger MOVED to allocate$30,000 to the budget for the purpose of purchasing sod at the discretion
of the folks in that area. The Vice Mayor added that he believed they would actually realize a savings if they
discontinued split seeding in that area and just go to sod. Councilmember McMahan SECONDED the motion.
Councilmember Archambault commented that he would much rather see the $45,000 spent to accomplish what
Mr. Mayer stated that needed to be done in order for the grass to grow. He asked Mr. Mayer if he could talk
about some of the savings they would realize on the budget items that they could add to the$30,000. Mr.Mayer
stated that he could not get the figure up to $45,000 taking into account the savings but he could certainly get
closer. He added that$24,000 was included in the budget for soil preparation and seed and said that they could
eliminate 1.5 acres of the 33 acres down there so there would be some cost savings there.
Mayor Schlum asked Ms. Zanon whether the items were closely enough aligned so that if they were not needed
s Ly
they could be moved to sod. Ms. Zanon replied that if the Council added a certain dollar value to the budget
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staff could go through the budget with more scrutiny and tighten up some of the other line items if necessary to
( titive ensure that the appropriate amount of sod could be purchased.
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
Councilmember Contino commented that he was not against anybody; he thought that the park workers were
doing a good job but they just have a tough job out at Fountain Park and noted the Council heard complaints day
after day on this matter.
Ms. Zanon moved on to the Community Center budget, including Senior Services Division (pages 139 & 145)
and noted that the total budget amounts to $1,144,943, approximately where they were last year. She said that
the programs that these areas would be pursuing over the next year include the following:
• Pursue grants and other funding for events circle
• Restructure the Community Center fee schedule
• Replace carpet in ballrooms
• Initiate a long-range plan to expand the Senior Center
• Pursue funding for a new van
• Increase Senior membership by 5% and
• Further develop stronger support groups
Vice Mayor Leger asked how the van replacement would be accomplished and Samantha Coffman, Director of
the Community Center, advised that a presentation on this item would be brought forward at the next Council
meeting. She advised that the van would cost approximately $60,000 and right now they did have funding
coming in from Senior Services, Inc. in the amount of $30,000. She confirmed that the van would be totally
(, (taw handicapped equipped.
Ms. Zanon discussed the Law Enforcement and Fire budgets (Pages 151 and 155) and noted that they totaled
$6,079,985 (both slightly increased from last year). She noted that neither of the contracts was up for renewal
this year and so the Town was just living up to its contractual obligations. She advised that these two
departments would be working on a number of items during the upcoming Fiscal Year including the following:
• Increase participating in Block Watch programs by 25%
• Increase patrols in Town parks
• Implement Crime-Free Multi-Housing Program
• Increase traffic enforcement and awareness with higher visibility
• Design and begin construction of Station#2 relocation
• Seek grant funding for firefighting equipment and
• Develop policy and training for mountain (trail)rescue program
hi response to a question from the Mayor,Ms. Zanon advised that the Police contract would be in effect through
2010 and Fire would be up at the end of the upcoming Fiscal Year.
(Mayor Schlum declared a brief recess at 9:00 p.m. and the meeting resumed at 9:09 p.m.)
Ms. Zanon addressed the Council relative to the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) (Page 101) and noted
that Streets were funded through this fund. It was State Shared Revenue based on gasoline sales and population
and was to be used solely for street and highway purposes. She noted that it also included lottery proceeds
(LTAF) monies in the amount of$113.6k.
Low
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Ms. Zanon discussed the Town's Street Department budget ($2,207,284, down from last Fiscal Year — Page
( 101) and said that some of the projects in this department that would.be implemented include:
• Implementation of an in-house traffic signal maintenance program
• Converting 33% of street name signs for higher visibility
• Implementing Stormwater Management Plan requirements by increased street sweeping
• Retrofitting two traffic signals to LED signal heads and
• Preparing streets in the south central area for pavement management activities
Superintendent of Streets Ken Kurth responded to a request from Councilmember Archambault and discussed
the reason why repairs and maintenance were so drastically down (Page 103). He explained that staff moved the
repairs and maintenance for major road improvements down to the capital funds. He said that monies for slurry
seal for the upcoming year were included in the CIP(approximately$900,000 for slurry and micro-surfacing).
Ms. Zanon stated that the Streets Maintenance Program was brought before the Council last Fiscal Year and it
was an on-going capital expense, so anything related to street maintenance was included in the CIP but was still
funded out of HURF so the funding source had not changed;just where it was being held in the budget.
Councilmember Dickey questioned if the amount they were spending this year was enough to maintain what
was acceptable and Ms. Zanon explained that the Streets Maintenance Program had broken the Town down into
six sections and in those sections there were some slurry seal and micro-seal as well as the potential for mill and
overlay. She said that the money would cover what was needed in that section of Town.
Ms. Zanon advised that Mary Martin from the Town's Finance Department was instrumental in enhancing the
capital projects budgets this year and referred to the justification sheets/funding sources for the various projects
(Page 159). Ms. Martin addressed the Council and advised that the budget presented shows 18 original projects
Noe for Fiscal Year 2008-09. The first of the projects, the McDowell Mountain Preserve Access was eliminated by
the Council on May 15, 2008. Of the remaining projects, 12 were continuing projects from Fiscal Year 2007-08
and 5 were new projects. She noted that the first of the continuing projects was the Botanical Garden Parking
Improvements and another continuing project was the Desert Vista Park completion. She added that one of the
new projects being proposed was the Event Circle Project between the Community Center and the Library and
another continuing project was the Municipal Government Software (Phase II of integration and e-government
applications). She noted that there was also the continuation of three projects along Shea Boulevard(the Truck
Climbing Lane, the Widening Project and the Bike Lane). Ms. Martin informed the Council that the next
project was a multiple phase project over a number of years, the Alley Paving Project, and noted that Phase I
would cover Panorama to Colony. She added that continuing projects for construction of various sidewalks per
plan were also included (Annual Sidewalk Program, Downtown Sidewalk Program and Fountain Hills
Boulevard)). Ms. Martin noted that the Annual Pavement Management Program was also a continuing project
(slurry seal and micro-surface — Zone 3). She stated that two new projects included replacing the storm
sewer/box culvert concept for Del Cambre Drainage FHB/Oxford Wash and added that the Street Maintenance
Facility Improvements was also a new project and in the first year of the project staff would be looking to do a
master plan for the area where the street maintenance facility currently existed.
Ms. Martin also discussed a new project that had been in planning for a number of years, the relocation of Fire
Station #2 (Design (2008-09) and construct (2009-10) a new fire station to replace the Saguaro station). She
said that staff also planned to continue the traffic signal project for Palisades & Sunridge (complete the signal
installation). She informed the Council that staff had also incorporated, as part of the CEP, the Vehicle
Replacement Program and explained that a self-funding mechanism had been set up for all future vehicles
replacements within the Town. She noted that strict criteria had been developed to evaluate each vehicle based
on the age of the vehicle, the age of the vehicle and the odometer reading. She added that because of that, staff
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was bringing forward a request to replace only two vehicles for next year — a fire truck replacement for the
( Assistant Fire Chief/Fire Marshall, which would also be equipped for trail rescue and the replacement of a van
for the seniors.
Councilmember McMahan expressed the opinion that the Town's Sidewalk Program needed a complete re-
evaluation. He said that there were many areas he saw where they could get the developers to put in the
sidewalks but added that this issue would come up later on.
Councilmember Dickey noted that the sidewalks along Fountain Hills Boulevard were already developed and
she appreciated that fact. She added that Mr. Ward had been having conversations with someone regarding
possible alternatives to the pavement or materials used on the sidewalks and said that there were some options to
be explored. She asked if box culverts could be paid for by the Storm Water utility and Ms. Martin responded
yes.
Mayor Schlum discussed the Fire Station relocation project and said that given the current economic status this
might be something the Council could consider delaying.
Fire Chief Scott LaGreca addressed the Council and stated that this was a project that they had been looking at
for the past five to six years. He provide brief history relative to this issue and said that back in the mid 1990s
when he came to Town, there was a two-tiered response system in place, which was still in place today. He said
that the system consisted of five minute zones 90% of the time and eight minute zones 90% of the time. He
explained that the eight minute zones were found in the south central, south west, west and north west sections
of the Town and consisted of unplatted properties. He said that there was very little need for them to ever go in
there so it was okay to accept an eight minute response time or greater. He added that as the Town continued to
grow over the past 12 years, most of those areas were totally platted out now and homes were being built and
there were commercial segments in certain parts as well. He noted that they were still going on the same
premise that they would get to certain parts of the Town in five minutes and other parts of the Town in eight
minutes with the two-tiered system.
Chief LaGreca discussed software that was used to base their study on and noted that Station #2, the one they
were talking about replacing, handled 521 calls a year less snake calls. Station #1 did 2,157 calls a year less
snake calls. He commented on the huge imbalance that existed and provided additional data relative to response
times from the stations. He informed the Council that he knew it would take a year to design the station and a
year to build it and they could not change the response times for those two years. He urged the Council not to
push this project back to three years and requested that they move forward with this project. He indicated his
willingness to provide the Council with a presentation at a future Work Study Session should they determine
that such a presentation would be helpful.
Mayor Schlum asked Chief LaGreca about the impact of adding the automatic gate to Technology and asked if
this would help the residents of Eagle Mountain where the longest response times occur from Station#2. Chief
LaGreca advised that the gate would not impact Eagle Mountain and explained the logistics involved. He said
that he would follow whatever direction was given by the Council but stated the opinion that this project was
mission critical (to get rid of the two-tiered response system and get it down to a one tier). He added that their
goal was to have a five minute response time 90% of the time. He also pointed out that once this project was
completed, the property on Saguaro could be sold. If they chose to sell the old property, then those dollars
would come back into the CIP fund and the project would be a little less expensive than what it looked like
today.
Councilmember Dickey discussed the financing of the project and noted that there were a lot more calls made to
Fire Station #2 than to #1 and said perhaps there would be some savings in the calls being more evenly
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distributed. She asked whether development fees could be used for something like this because the need was
obviously coming into play because of new developments.
Ms. Zanon responded that development fees could be used to pay for a project like this because it was growth
based and noted that the balance in the Fire Development Fees was not even close to being able to cover the cost
of the project.
In response to a request from the Mayor, Ms. Zanon advised that Chief LaGreca had spent a lot of time looking
at locations for potential fire stations and determining coverage. She said that the work had already been done
to find the optimum station location and the closest cross streets would be Palisades and Shea(a little bit east of
Palisades). She advised that that location allowed the department to reach the maximum number of residences
within the five to eight-minute range.
Chief LaGreca clarified that the proposed location represented the optimum location for five minute responses
or less not eight minutes. He reiterated his willingness to provide the Council with the documentation that had
been prepared relative to this important issue.
Councilmember Archambault asked whether moving the station to Shea Boulevard just east of Palisades would
help disperse the calls more equitably between the stations and the Chief said that the relocation would
definitely help in this area. Councilmember Archambault noted that next year the Council was looking at
spending$1.45 million to build this station and asked whether that money would be available.
Ms. Zanon advised that there was money built up in the Capital Projects Fund, approximately $5 million at the
end of the Fiscal Year under discussion. She added that there was money in that fund to take on projects next
year and added that it was always a balancing act to determine which projects move forward and which get
K if delayed. She said that this one was geared toward moving forward.
Councilmember Contino asked whether they were talking about engines or ambulances when speaking about
calls for service and Chief LaGreca said they were talking about total calls, both engines and ambulances. He
noted that on an EMS call, both an engine and an ambulance were sent out. The Chief added that their studies
show that the department would be able to hit the entire industrial park and Firerock community in five minutes
or less (probably four to four and a half minutes).
In response to a question from Councilmember Contino, Chief LaGreca stated that he was comfortable with
eliminating the#2 Station.
Ms. Ghetti advised that the Council would have to determine whether to sell the current station property and
what to do with any resulting assets. She added that if the Council decided to sell the property the money would
go back into the Capital Projects Fund.
Town Attorney Andrew McGuire pointed out that if the property was valued at more than $500,000, the issue
would have to be placed on the ballot at a Town election. He added that it would be entirely at the Council's
discretion.
Councilmember Contino agreed that the response time was very important.
Vice Mayor Leger asked whether they had ever considered satelliting their EMS people in locations other than
the Fire Stations. Chief LaGreca replied that they had never considered that option and explained that it would
be complicated because the ambulance component of public safety was just a small piece of the fire contract and
they were only required to have one ambulance stationed in the Town of Fountain Hills. He said that such a
Ly. process would have to be negotiated with Rural Metro Ambulance and there would be associated costs.
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In response to a question from Councilmember Hansen, Chief LaGreca advised that the information had been
( provided to the Town Council and the public at a previous work-study session. He stated that the original site
they had looked at on Shea (down by Palatial Estates) was broached with the residents there but it never went
any further. He added that when they performed their due diligence on the site they determined that there was a
fiber optics cable they would have to go over and replace and it was extremely expensive ($250,000 to
$350,000).
Vice Mayor Leger said that the service the department provides was excellent and said that it was not a matter of
need for him; it was really a matter of timing relative to where the Town was at financially. He added that they
were hurting this year and would really be hurting next year. He pointed out that they replenished the Town's
capital funds, which pay for such projects, through building and building was down significantly and would
remain that way for a while. He discussed the $364,000 design fee and said that that was certainly affordable
given where the Town was at today but added that what concerned him was the $1.4 million construction
expense that would hit the Town in 2009-10 when they would be experiencing tough times. He added that it
was his understanding that if they decided to sell the property to balance off the cost the sale amount would
require a public vote.
Mayor Schlum thanked the Vice Mayor for his comments and said he shared a lot of his views on this issue. He
added that although the selected site appears to be a great location, it would still require implementing a
significant public awareness program first. He said that he would consider delaying this project for another
year.
Councilmember Dickey said that she would not support putting this off because she believed it was important.
She stated that she would be willing to remove something else from the budget rather than delay action on this
item. She added that this was not an area that she was comfortable"second guessing."
<< Vice Mayor Leger commented that he did not question the need, he just questioned the timing and the
affordability. He added that he was hopeful that the development of the State Trust Land would move forward
and generate revenue for the Town. He said that as that development moved forward they might start seeing
development fees that could be used to support these types of expenditures.
Councilmember Contino advised that he was coming in on the"tail end of this issue" and would like to have the
opportunity to hear the Chief talk more about this issue. He asked whether they were sure that the neighbors
were going to accept the proposed location and had staff projected what the building would cost.
Ms. Zanon stated that a public involvement process was something they could engage in to ensure that the
neighborhood was well aware of the project and obtain feedback. She added that staff was projecting that the
building would cost approximately $1.4 million to construct. Chief LaGreca advised that there really were no
neighbors at this time—the closest neighbors would be the people in the two-story buildings on the other side of
Palisades and the closest neighbors to the south would be across Shea and down a hundred foot drop.
Councilmember Archambault said that the further they put this out the more expensive it was going to get and
the further they put it out the longer it was going to take them to balance the inequity that currently existed. He
added that one of the things that they were charged with was providing building safety, fire and police. He
stated that this particular project certainly had the earmark of falling into that realm. He noted that they had$9
million, almost$10 million, projected to build out the community park that was on the Ellman property in 2010
to 2013 and one of the things they were able to do with the Ellman property was to work out an agreement with
the developer whereby he built out the park and he commended staff on this accomplishment.
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Councilmember Hansen commented that if they had to hold an election to sell the old fire station property, the
possibility also existed to place a bond question on the ballot to determine whether residents would support a
new fire station as well.
Mayor Schlum MOVED to delay the relocation of Fire Station #2 for a period of one year and Vice Mayor
Leger SECONDED the motion.
Councilmember Dickey stated that if they went ahead with the design they could still bond for the building.
The motion FAILED by majority vote(2-5) with Mayor Schlum and Vice Mayor Leger voting Aye.
Vice Mayor Leger said that since the Council had now approved that expenditure he believed it would be
important to "drill down" on some other expenditures. He stated that he would like to look at the Street
Maintenance Facility cost in the Capital Projects Fund and in FY 2008-09 as it was pretty benign, only $17,000
for the design. He added, however, that over the course of two to three years (when they would probably be
building the Fire Station)they were looking at a cost of$130,000 and then a cost of$733,000. He advised that
his "no vote" on the Fire Station had nothing to do with public safety; it had to do with funding and he hoped
that he had made that perfectly clear. He added that since the Fire Station item had passed, he must now move
in the direction of pulling out some of the other capital improvements because they were going to get
"slammed"in the next couple of years.
Vice Mayor Leger MOVED to delay the expenditure for the Street Maintenance Facility ($17,000) and not
appropriate those funds in this Fiscal Year and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the motion.
Councilmember Dickey asked whether the design of the facility, at a cost of$17,000, would be obsolete if they
did not do the project according to the rest of the schedule. Mr. Ward responded that this was just a concept
plan for the site. He added that because the site was so small, staff wanted to make sure that they used it as
efficiently as possible. He noted that there was $130,000 planned for the actual design and $520,000 for the
construction of the Street Maintenance Facility and $213,000 for the storage building—much more to come. He
added that the concept plan was considered a master plan and could be used at a later date.
Ms. Zanon advised that there were growing needs at the street yard and this plan was really to take stock of what
was out there and determine what the growing needs actually were. She added that the figures they saw going
into the future were based on what staff thought was out there but the master planning would allow them to
really "drill down further"and determine what was needed for the street yard in the future.
Vice Mayor Leger reiterated his comments relative to the importance of pulling back on large capital projects
based on the financial situation that the Town would be facing. He noted that this project was rated as a medium
priority project and said that he had begun thinking about the future and that was why he made the motion.
Mayor Schlum called for a vote on the motion.
A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Councilmember Contino Nay
Councilmember Dickey Nay
Councilmember Hansen Nay
Councilmember McMahan Nay
Mayor Schlum Aye
Vice Mayor Leger Aye
\ Nitre Councilmember Archambault Aye
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The motion FAILED by majority vote(3-4).
Councilmember Archambault commented that they were looking at a capital improvement project called the
Civic Center Courtyard Event Circle and said it was only $90,000 this year but next year it was going to be
$250,000. He said that they receive a lot of requests to rent the plaza and he was curious as to whether the rents
would cover the costs or they should look at some other way to get that paid.
Community Center Director Samantha Coffman advised that part of their goal for next year was to start looking
for grant funding so that they could continue the process. It was noted that the area could be rented out for
several different functions (Farmer's Markets, Art Fairs, etc.). She stated that staff had not yet conducted a
study to determine rental amounts but indicated their willingness to proceed in that area.
Councilmember Archambault said that he would like to see the rental numbers before moving forward on this
particular project. He requested that he be provided additional information on this issue.
Ms. Zanon advised that this was an item that would come back to the Council for approval before any
expenditures were made. She added that staff would provide the Council with a presentation on this item. She
noted that the placement of grass in that area would not bring the Town into ADA(Americans with Disabilities)
compliance and there were several utility lines that run under that area so paving it would allow them to create a
stabilized surface that was ADA compliant and could also be removed if necessary.
Councilmember Contino asked whether this project included any electrical or underground water components or
was merely a surface project. Ms.Zanon advised that this was strictly a surface project.
Councilmember Contino agreed with Councilmember Archambault's comments relative to obtaining more
i (toeinformation relative to this item and the fact that revenues may be generated as a result.
Ms. Zanon stated that they had now gone through the entire budget document and Council had made several
motions and the next step was to adopt the tentative budget and make it the final budget. She said that they
typically like to adopt the budget at the first meeting in June to allow enough time to approve contracts to start
the 2008-09 year on July 1st and to get the tax levy to the County by July lst. She noted that State law required
14 days between adoption of the final budget and adoption of the tax levy.
Ms. Zanon summarized by stating that the budget was balanced; Council's Strategic Goals were framed and
proposed throughout the budget; the funding proposed for the capital was coming from a variety of sources and
there were no increases in staff. She indicated her willingness to respond to questions from the Council and
thanked everyone for their contributions to this process.
Councilmember Hansen referred to the Pay Plan and asked what the annual increase would be and Ms. Zanon
replied that 4.5% had been budgeted for staff wage increases (an average across the board). She added that it
drops down to 4% when they brought health care into that value. She noted that the 3.6% included in the
documentation was actually a "rounding." One number was looking at salaries in isolation and the other was
looking at health care benefits and salaries combined. Additional discussion ensued relative to salary/health
benefit costs.
Vice Mayor Leger expressed his appreciation to staff for the budget breakdown presented this evening.
Mayor Schlum, Councilmember McMahan and Councilmember Dickey also thanked staff for their excellent
presentation.
co,
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Councilmember McMahan MOVED to approve Resolution#2008-20 adopting the tentative budget as the final
budget for the 2008-09 Fiscal Year for the Town of Fountain Hills subject to staff's stipulations and as amended
this evening and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
(7-0).
Councilmember McMahan MOVED to adjourn the Special Session and reconvene the Regular Session aid
Vice Mayor Leger SECONDED the motion. The Special Session adjourned at 10:20 p.m.
REGULAR SESSION
• CALL THE REGULAR SESSION TO ORDER
Mayor Schlum reconvened the Regular Session at 10:20 p.m.
• ROLL CALL
Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Schlum,
Councilmember Contino, Vice Mayor Leger, Councilmember McMahan, Councilmember Hansen,
Councilmember Archambault and Councilmember Dickey. Interim Town Manage Kate Zanon, Town Attorney
Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present.
• CALL TO THE PUBLIC
Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that she had received two requests to speak but only one person was still
present at the meeting.
‘iw
Robert Deppe, 16247 N. Boulder Drive, addressed the Council and welcomed the new members of the Council.
He said that during their campaigns, all of the Councilmembers promised to listen to the citizens of Fountain
Hills. He stated that there were two ways they could honor that commitment: (1) The three-minute rule on
speakers. Most speakers came up and spoke for less than a minute and others had a lot to say and require more
time. He suggested that if they really wanted to listen to the people they should get rid of the three-minute rule
and either make it unlimited or something reasonable like ten minutes and (2) The current rules state that no
Councilmember could bring an agenda item forward without the consent of three Councilmembers. He said that
this made it really difficult for a Councilmember to bring something up and he requested that they also eliminate
this rule. He stated the opinion that the Council would have improved communication with the citizens if they
listened to his two suggestions. He thanked them for their time.
Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Deppe for his comments.
CONSENT AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #1 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES FROM MAY 15,2008.
AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE CANCELLATION OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS' TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS SCHEDULED FOR JULY 3 AND JULY 17,2008.
AGENDA ITEM #3 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE RENEWAL OF THE ANNUAL
LANDSCAPE CONTRACT WITH MARIPOSA HORTICULTURAL ENTERPRISES, INC. IN THE
AMOUNT OF$311,097.14.
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AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2008-30, ABANDONING WHATEVER
( RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN THE CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND
DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED AT THE WESTERLY AND SOUTHERLY PROPERTY LINES
OF PLAT 212,BLOCK 1, LOT 3 (15020 N.BRISTOL BAY) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 141 OF MAPS,
PAGE 17,RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY,ARIZONA. EA 08-05 (GIBISON).
AGENDA ITEM #5 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2008-28, APPROVING A SIDEWALK
AND TRAFFIC SIGNAL EASEMENT ACCEPTANCE FROM MERIDIAN BANK.
AGENDA ITEM #6 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2008-27, APPROVING AN
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AND THE
ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (ADOT) TO ALLOW THEM TO PERFORM
THE TOWN'S REQUIRED BRIDGE INSPECTIONS.
AGENDA ITEM #7 — CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTING A SCULPTURE ("TEDDY ROOSEVELT:
THE CONSERVATIONIST") FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY AS RECOMMENDED BY THE FOUNTAIN
HILLS CULTURAL AND CIVIC ASSOCIATION AND THE FOUNTAIN HILLS PUBLIC ART
COMMITTEE.
AGENDA ITEM #8 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE HOME DELIVERED MEALS
CONTRACT WITH FOUNTAIN VIEW VILLAGE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008-09.
Councilmember Dickey MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as listed and Councilmember McMahan
SECONDED the motion.
(( A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Councilmember Contino Aye
Councilmember Hansen Aye
Vice Mayor Leger Aye
Councilmember Dickey Aye
Mayor Schlum Aye
Councilmember McMahan Aye
Councilmember Archambault Aye
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
REGULAR AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #9 — CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTRUCTION
MANAGER AT RISK AGREEMENT WITH VALLEY RAIN CONSTRUCTION CORP.
ESTABLISHING THE SECOND OF TWO (2) GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICES (GMP) IN THE
AMOUNT OF $906,097.12 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF DESERT VISTA NEIGHBORHOOD
PARK IMPROVEMENTS.
Parks & Recreation Supervisor Bryan Hughes addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and said that
staff wanted to bring this item forward immediately after the adoption of the tentative budget due to time
constraints. He said that they were undergoing construction right now and would like to see a seamless
transition through to the next phase, which required some long lead items to give the contractor assurances that
the Town was moving forward. He added that they also had one grant ($252,000)from the Arizona Tourism&
Le Sports Authority and they really wanted to see the Town commit these funds before they released any funds to
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the Town. He said that they had been very patient knowing that the Town had some financial challenges with
Loy, the project and added that staff wanted to keep this moving forward.
Mr. Hughes highlighted a brief presentation and referred to the Master Plan containing the Dog Park area, the
soccer fields, the new restaurant component and then connecting sidewalks throughout. He discussed the
concession storage building, two picnic ramadas, three shade ramadas, athletic field and area lighting, irrigation
landscaping improvements, site amenities and parking improvements. He also reviewed the project's timeline,
construction costs and funding, and noted that Phase I was approximately 80% complete. He noted that this
phase included the restroom/storage building, utilities, installation of sidewalks and entryways, other hardscape,
electrical infrastructure for the athletic field lights, drinking fountains, landscaping, irrigation, demolition and
grading.
Mr. Hughes stated that the next phase they were hoping to receive approval on this evening would include the
athletic field lighting fixtures themselves, picnic and shade ramadas, playground equipment, an area around the
skatepark (the entryway), trash enclosure, some site amenities and some parking improvements. He noted that
they had accepted two grants for the project totaling a little over $1 million and said that eliminating any
portions of the plan could jeopardize the grand funding amounts. He said that staff recommends approval of this
agenda item.
Ms. Bender advised that there were no citizens wishing to speak on this item.
Vice Mayor Leger MOVED to approve the amendment to the Construction Manager at Risk Agreement with
Valley Rain Construction Corp. establishing the second of two Guaranteed Maximum Prices (GMP) in the
amount of $906,097.12 for the construction of Desert Vista Neighborhood Park Improvements and
Councilmember McMahan SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
kirre AGENDA ITEM#10—COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER
Items listed below were related only to the propriety of(i) placing such items on a future agenda for action or
(ii) directing staff to conduct further research and report back to the Council.
A. NONE
Ms. anon added that during the Special Session direction was given to staff to bring forward more
communication to Council on some of the projects (Fire Station, Fountain Park, etc.).
AGENDA ITEM #11 — SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY THE INTERIM TOWN
MANAGER.
None.
Councilmember Dickey stated that she wanted to mention some League items and advised that if the Council
wants to present any resolutions to the League they must do so fairly soon. She said that the League Conference
would be held in August (August 21st). She noted that a Regular Council meeting was also schedule for that
date and wanted to put it out there in case the Council wanted to make a change. She advised that she would be
at the League's Newly Elected Official's training session next Friday(she would be serving on a panel).
AGENDA ITEM #12 — ADJOURN THE REGULAR SESSION AND CONVENE AN EXECUTIVE
SESSION.
Councilmember McMahan MOVED to adjourn the Regular Session and Convene an Executive Session at
10:33 p.m. and Councilmember Contino SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
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EXECUTIVE SESSION
1 ,,,,
• CALL THE EXECUTIVE SESSION TO ORDER
AGENDA ITEM #1 — PURSUANT TO §38-431.03(A)(1), FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION
OF EMPLOYMENT, ASSIGNMENT, APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, DEMOTION, DISMISSAL,
SALARIES, DISCIPLINING OR RESIGNATION OF A PUBLIC 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, THE REAPPOINTMENT OF THE TOWN'S
MUNICIPAL JUDGE.)
Mayor Schlum called the meeting to order.
ROLL CALL - The following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council were present for the Executive
Session: Mayor Schlum, Vice Mayor Leger, Councilmember Hansen, Councilmember Contino,
Councilmember McMahan and Councilmember Dickey. Interim Town Manager Kate Zanon, Town Attorney
Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. Councilmember Dickey was absent.
Municipal Judge Ted Armbruster joined the meeting at 10:50 p.m. and left the meeting at 11:10 p.m.
Councilmember McMahan MOVED to convene the Executive Session at 10:40 p.m. and Vice Mayor Leger
SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
AGENDA ITEM#2—ADJOURNMENT.
Vice Mayor Leger MOVED to adjourn the Executive Session at 11:17 p.m. and Councilmember McMahan
Okay SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(7-0).
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
By
. Schlum,Mayor
ATTEST AND
PREPARED BY:
1.Zefrtcee,\„
Bevelyn J. nd ,Town Clerk
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special, Regular and
Executive Sessions held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 5th day of June 2008. I further certify
that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present.
DATED this 19th day of June 2008.
Bevelyn J. d , Town Clerk
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