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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012.0216.TCRM.Minutesz:\council packets\2012\r3-1-12\120216m.docx Page 1 of 7 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL FEBRUARY 16, 2012 * CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Schlum called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. * INVOCATION – Pastor Daly, Trinity Lutheran Church * ROLL CALL Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Schlum, Councilmember Contino, Councilmember Leger, Councilmember Hansen, Councilmember Brown, Councilmember Elkie and Vice Mayor Dickey. Acting Town Manager/Community Services Director Mark Mayer, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. * MAYOR'S REPORT i) Mayor's "State of the Town" Address Mayor Schlum thanked the members of the audience and his family for attending the reception and meeting this evening. He also thanked Town staff for the great job that they do on a daily basis. He also thanked the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), Rural Metro and all of the other organizations that the Town contracts with for the excellent services they provide. He expressed appreciation to his fellow Councilmembers and said that it has been great serving with them and he believes they have positioned the Town well for a positive, bright future. Mayor Schlum highlighted a PowerPoint presentation (copy is available in the office of the Town Clerk) and referred to a slide showing him enjoying Oktoberfest activities. He noted that this is just one of the fun events that take place in the Town throughout the year. The Mayor discussed the State of the Town and touched on the Town's financial makeup; successes/highlights; challenges/opportunities and the importance of moving forward together. He also discussed the Town's financial make-up and referred to slides that depicted decreasing General Fund revenues (from FY 2006-07 to FY 2011-12); explained where revenue funding comes from (local sales tax, State Shared Revenues, building revenue and other areas); he noted the percentage public safety plays as part of the General Fund and reported that since FY 2007-08 the number of Full Time Equivalent Employees (FTE's) has dropped from 88 to 56; he stated that he believes the Council and staff has served as good fiscal stewards for the Town and noted the following: * Achieving a balanced budget * Maintaining the Rainy Day Fund * Maintaining savings * The Town's Bond Rating is High Aa3 * Debt is low * Taxes have not been raised * The Town Hall Bond has been paid off Mayor Schlum further discussed the Town's successes, challenges and opportunities and commented on Veterans Day and Red Shirt Fridays. He emphasized that community volunteers have made a significant difference in the Town and advised that they conducted "Make a Difference Day" and celebrated the volunteers who willingly z:\council packets\2012\r3-1-12\120216m.docx Page 2 of 7 devote their time and efforts to serving the community. He commented on the Gift a Lift Program and said that right now fifty riders take advantage of this wonderful service. The Mayor referred to a slide that depicted the numerous volunteer opportunities that are available in Town. He thanked those who are already involved and encouraged others to participate in these worthy programs. He reiterated that community volunteers are difference makers and expr essed heartfelt appreciation to the Town's 700+ volunteers for their significant contributions. Mayor Schlum highlighted Town Points of Pride that included the following: * The Greening of Downtown (As of last year over 100 trees had been planted in Fountain Park * Signage placed in the McDowell Mountain Preserve (installed by volunteers from the Sonoran Conservancy) * The Town's partnership with MCSO and the Coalition to provide alternative activities to keep the Town's youth involved in regularly scheduled safe activities within the community * Senior Services hosted the first ever intergenerational Sock Hop at the Community Center * In cooperation with the Public Art Committee, the Town acquired and placed on public display over a dozen additional pieces of art * Worked with the Centennial Circle Committee to approve the concept and provide funding for the recently completed Centennial Circle * Organized and provided needed funding for a Centennial Celebration Committee for the Town's event on February 12, 2012 at the Centennial Circle * Delivered 8,847 meals to people in need in the community through the Home Delivered Meals Program utilizing volunteers * Held the first ever Citizen's Academy with twelve people graduating from the program * Completed the first overhaul of two of the motors and pumps that operate the Fountain. The final motor and pump is currently being overhauled * The Town was designated as a "Playful City USA" site * Helped facilitate several new special events, including the Mountain to Fountain race, the Relay for Life and the Great Grape Stomp Mayor Schlum advised that the Fountain Hills Downtown Greening effort continues to improve the park and downtown and discussed Desert Garden at Fountain Park. He provided an update on trash and recycling activities and reported that in the first six months of the program Town residents have diverted 2,136,000 pounds of material from landfills (the equivalent weight of 1,068 SUVs). He noted the various partnerships that the Town has entered into that enhance the quality of life and said that there are more and more to come. Mayor Schlum stated that he is proud to discuss the fact that Fountain Hills' caring and amazing youth build homes in the Town's Sister City of Ataco, El Salvador (part of and supported by Fountain Hills High School's Hospitality Management Program/FCCLA, led by teacher Claire McWilliams and the Fountain Hills Sister Cities ' organizations and Honorable Counsel Enrique Melendez). The Mayor noted the on-going accomplishments and significant advancements made by the Fountain Hills’ Rural Metro Fire Department and added that the Fountain Hills' CARE Program continues to respond to our residents in crisis. Since their inception in 2007, these volunteer teams have quadrupled their call volume. In the past year alone, they assisted almost 500 people and donated over 400 hours of service. He added that the Fountain Hills ’ z:\council packets\2012\r3-1-12\120216m.docx Page 3 of 7 Sheriff's Posse volunteers thousands of hours each year, helping with patrol, prison transfers, vacation wat ch, special events and so much more (each member invests their own money for uniforms, training and gear). Mayor Schlum commented on the successful capture of the Town's elusive Rock Burglar by MCSO and noted that the Fountain Hills Deputies utilized all of the resources of MCSO to capture the burglar in Fountain Hills as he was about to victimize another Town family. He discussed the leaving of former Town Manager Rick Davis to pursue another career opportunity and thanked Julie Ghetti, the Town's Finance Director, for serving as Interim Town Manager. He said that Ms. Ghetti performed an outstanding job and the Town is grateful for her help. He announced that newly hired Town Manager Ken Buchanan will soon join the Town and said he is sure that Mr. Buchanan will be a great asset for the Town as it continues its quest to achieve its visions for the future. The Mayor outlined exceptional events that occurred in the Town, including Ballet Arizona, dog racing at Oktoberfest (and thanked Spike's Treats for their contributions), and highlighted significant issues such as the increasing Federal budget (estimated 2010 deficit in the amount of $1.54 trillion). He discussed concerns regarding Federal debt, housing, the fact that the Federal Government as well as the State continue s to add costs to the Town and said that their laws limit local autonomy. He encouraged citizens to be positive, add value and get directly involved. He referred to a quote, "Nice people make the world better and mean people make it worse" and said that they are fortunate to have so many caring, nice people in Fountain Hills and encouraged everyone to "Keep it up!!). Mayor Schlum referred to a slide that depicted the ever decreasing Town budget and reported that despite significant challenges, Fountain Hills continues to have a bright future. He outlined the following achievements: * More local businesses are thriving * The Avenue of the Fountains has a "wait list" * Youth are prepared to thrive * Highly engaged public serving others * Public/private partnerships abound * Community Organizations are growing * Visitors Center at Fountain Park * Growing outdoor events/activities * More people are moving to and visiting Fountain Hills The Mayor announced that the Fountain Hills' Arts on the Avenue and Farmers Market take place every Thursday in downtown and encouraged attendance at these worthwhile events. He advised that local business success is necessary for Town success and discussed the Town's strong support for local business es. He commented on implementation of the Downtown Vision Plan and strongly emphasized the importance of shopping locally and supporting local businesses. He added that the Downtown Vision consists of collaboration, planning, adoption, sharing as well as implementation -- doing it and taking action. He discussed the approval of a new 12-screen theatre that will be coming to downtown and noted that this is something that has been a priority for the Town for many years. He added that he is excited about seeing what follows after the theatre goes in. In closing, Mayor Schlum thanked everyone for their on-going support and asked that God continue to bless Fountain Hills, Arizona USA -- "The Greatest Town in the World." He said that he looks forward to moving forward with everyone in the future and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to address them this evening. z:\council packets\2012\r3-1-12\120216m.docx Page 4 of 7 * SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS None. * CALL TO THE PUBLIC None. CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 2, 2012. AGENDA ITEM #2 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING AN APPLICATION FOR EXTENSION OF PREMISES/PATIO PERMIT SUBMITTED BY MERITA KRAFA, REPRESENTING THE EURO PIZZA CAFE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF A TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF PREMISES IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE BANDIDOS MOUNTAIN TO FOUNTAIN 15K EVENT, TO BE HELD AT 12645 N. SAGUARO BOULEVARD, #11, ON SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2012. AGENDA ITEM #3 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A WINE FESTIVAL LINCENSE/WINE FAIR LICENSE SUBMITTED BY JOHN M. MCLOUGHLIN, REPRESENTING THE JEROME WINERY, FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE THUNDERBIRD ARTIST'S ANNUAL FOUNTAIN HILLS FINE ART AND WINE AFFAIRE TO BE HELD ON AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS, WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 23, 24 AND 25, 2012, FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 5:00 P.M. AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY ROBERT HARRISON BAILEY, REPRESENTING THE KIWANIS CLUB OF SUNSET FOUNTAIN HILLS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF A FUNDRAISER TO BE HELD AT AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS, ON FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 24 AND 25, 2012, FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 5:00 P.M. AGENDA ITEM #5 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY CARLOS ENRICO ALVAREZ, REPRESENTING THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS, POST #7507, FOR THE PURPOSE OF A FUNDRAISER TO BE HELD AT SAGUARO BOULEVARD AND AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS, ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24 AND 25, 2012, FROM 9:00 A.M. TO 10:00 P.M. AND SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2012 FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 10:00 P.M. Councilmember Contino MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as listed and Councilmember Brown SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Vice Mayor Dickey Aye Mayor Schlum Aye Councilmember Leger Aye Councilmember Hansen Aye Councilmember Contino Aye Councilmember Brown Aye Councilmember Elkie Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). z:\council packets\2012\r3-1-12\120216m.docx Page 5 of 7 REGULAR AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #6 – CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTING A SCULPTURE TITLED, "WINDS OF CHANGE," FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY IN THE CENTENNIAL CIRCLE. Community Services Director/Acting Town Manager Mark Mayer addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that the Public Art Committee is recommending the acceptance and placement of a donated piece of public art for display. He said that the Chair of that Committee is present in the audience this evening. He noted that the piece is a sculpture titled, "Winds of Change" and added that placement would be in the Centennial Circle at a site shown on a slide displayed in the chambers. (Copy of the presentation is available in the office of the Town Clerk.) Mr. Mayer informed the Council that the piece was done by local sculptor Jim Dobson and has a listed value of $12,500. He stated that the piece is being donated by Walt and Nancy Franklin. He reported that if approved, this will be the fourth piece of art going in at that location and added that the final goal is to have eight pieces. Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that there were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. Mayor Schlum said that he likes the proposed placement of the art piece and added that it will enhance that area tremendously. Vice Mayor Dickey MOVED to accept the sculpture titled, "Winds of Change", and to approve the placement location and Councilmember Hansen SECONDED the motion. Councilmember Elkie requested that Public Art Committee Chairman Sandi Thompson express the Council's appreciation to Walt and Nancy Franklin for their generous donation. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #7 – CONSIDERATION OF A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SUNRISE ENGINEERING FOR THE DESIGN OF THE "FOUNTAIN HILLS BOULEVARD SHOULDER PAVING" PROJECT, IN THE AMOUNT OF $104,900. Town Engineer Randy Harrel addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and highlighted a brief presentation on this issue. He noted that this project will pave a 5'-wide shoulders on those sections of roadway that are not currently widened. He said this project was selected because of its air quality benefits (quite a bit of dust is generated from cars going off of the pavement) and discussed the safety benefit of having a paved shoulder. He reported that over the last decade there have been 38 incidents on this section of Fountain Hills Boulevard and 64% of them have been single-vehicle accidents. He advised that this is not a bike lane but said that bikes traveling that route will now have a place to go that is off of the paved travel lane. He added that it is also not a sidewalk but pedestrians will have a place to walk along Fountain Hills Boulevard that is not in the travel lane itself. Mr. Harrel reported that this project has been selected by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) for a $255,364 Federal Aid grant, which can fund up to 94.3% of the construction cost s. He noted that these monies will fund up to 65% of the total costs associated with this project. He stated that staff does not anticipate that the ultimate widening of this roadway will occur for many years (potentially after 2030). He advised that staff recommends approval of this proposal and said that he and Development Services Director Paul Mood and have been involved in the negotiation of this contract and believe it to be a good contract with a good engineering firm. Mr. Harrel indicated his willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Harrel for his presentation. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. z:\council packets\2012\r3-1-12\120216m.docx Page 6 of 7 Councilmember Elkie asked if the Council at some point in the future were to change the T own Code relative to where commercial traffic was to go (on Fountain Hills Boulevard and off Saguaro) whether that would have any impact on current plans or future plans. Mr. Harrel replied that he believes the traffic on Fountain Hills Boulevard will not warrant being widened until 2030. He said that if the Council decided to change the truck lane location there would be a number of issues associated with that -- the big hill, the curves, the fact that traffic travels one way in each direction -- so that would be a major issue if pursued given current conditions. He added that if they did decide to do that having paved shoulders would definitely be a benefit. Councilmember Elkie asked if there was anything that should be done or anything that should be in cluded in the contract that might take the move into account. He said he is just trying to look ahead and wonders if that change is made at some future date, whether there is anything they should be looking at now to better accommodate it. Mr. Harrel responded that the time to make that kind of decision would be when they widen Fountain Hills Boulevard to four lanes but the work they are planning to do on the shoulders would help cars maneuver around slow-traveling large trucks going up the hill. In response to a question from Vice Mayor Dickey, Mr. Harrel advised that a more complete schedule is needed but he would estimate that the project would be completed in late 2014. He said that the funds have to be obligated but the work itself can occur after that. He added that extensions are pretty automatic on project such as this. Councilmember Hansen stated that she drives Fountain Hills Boulevard multiple times every day and she believes this really is a safety issue and a good idea. She added that there a re a lot of cyclists on that Boulevard and they cause cars to swerve into the other lane to get around them. She noted that erosion is also a big factor so she believes this will be a good improvement. Councilmember Brown expressed the opinion that $104,000 is a fairly large amount to pay for design work and asked how they came up with the engineering firm that will be selected to do the work if this passes. Mr. Harrel advised that this is a direct select engineering contract, the way the Town has done mos t of its engineering contracts, and added that Mr. Mood is very familiar with this firm. He said that they negotiated the contract with them and it was a fairly lengthy process. He stated that staff is satisfied with the price quote provided and their knowledge of the level of work that is going to be needed. He confirmed that the Town has not used this firm in the past but Mr. Mood has worked with the firm in previous job capacities. Councilmember Brown reiterated that the number appears high and the budget is set up to pay for it over three years. He asked if the section of asphalt that is being designed for the additional lane that will be going in was designed for heavy traffic. Mr. Harrel replied no and explained that it is designed as a shoulder and added that staff does intend to design several sections of it for heavier traffic so they could eventually put in left or right-turn pockets. Councilmember Brown thanked Mr. Harrel for his input and said that he too thinks that this project will be a grea t addition. Councilmember Leger commented that designing turn pockets is critical because they do have some safety issues there. He said that this also explains why the cost appears somewhat high (for that additional design work). In response to a question from Mayor Schlum, Mr. Harrel advised that the amount is slightly over what was budgeted. He said it will be included in next year's budget. He added that the grant amount is for approximately z:\council packets\2012\r3-1-12\120216m.docx Page 7 of 7 $255,000 and that will pay for 94.3% of the construction costs. He stated that the stretch is about a mile and a half long. Councilmember Brown MOVED to approve a Professional Services Agreement with Sunrise Engineering, Inc., for the design of the Fountain Hills Boulevard Shoulder Paving Project," in the amount of $104,900 and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). AGENDA ITEM #8 – COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER. ITEMS LISTED BELOW ARE RELATED ONLY TO THE PROPRIETY OF (i) PLACING SUCH ITEMS ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR ACTION OR (ii) DIRECTING STAFF TO CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH AND REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL: A. NONE. AGENDA ITEM #9 – SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS AND REPORT ON RECENT ACTIVITIES BY THE INTERIM TOWN MANAGER/FINANCE DIRECTOR JULIE GHETTI. Acting Town Manager/Community Services Director Mark Mayer advised that each of the Councilmembers should have received information relative to the budget in their packets. He said that the information is for their benefit and this item will be discussed next week at the Work Study Session. AGENDA ITEM #10 – ADJOURNMENT. Councilmember Leger MOVED that the Council adjourn the meeting and Councilmember Brown SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By_____________________________ Mayor Jay T. Schlum ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: _________________________ Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 16th day of February, 2012. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. Dated this 1st day of March, 2012. _____________________________ Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk