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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012.0517.TCRM.Minutesz:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 1 of 14 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL MAY 17, 2012 * CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Schlum called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. * INVOCATION – Mrs. Michele Hasley, Director of Care Ministries for North Chapel Community Bible Church * ROLL CALL Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Schlum, Councilmember Contino, Councilmember Leger, Councilmember Brown, Councilmember Elkie and Vice Mayor Dickey. Town Manager Ken Buchanan, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. Councilmember Hansen was not present at the meeting. * MAYOR'S REPORT Mayor Schlum encouraged everyone to purchase a poppy and support the Veterans' assistance programs. The Mayor passed chocolates around to members of the Council and said it was a little treat to thank them for being such an awesome group. He thanked them all for their service to the Town. * SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS I.) HONORARY CONSUL OF EL SALVADOR, ENRIQUE MELENDEZ AND CONSUL GENERAL OF EL SALVADOR, JOAQUIN CHACON WILL MAKE A PRESENTATION ON BEHALF OF THE SALVADORAN GOVERNMENT TO MAYOR JAY T. SCHLUM FOR HIS DEDICATION AND SUPPORT FOR THE SISTER CITIES PROGRAM AND EL SALVADOR. Mayor Schlum welcomed Mr. Melendez to the meeting and thanked him for his attendance. Mr. Melendez said that as a former Councilmember and a resident he would like to congratulate Councilmember Leger on his recent victory and also Councilmember Brown and wished them both the very best. He also thanked Councilmember Contino, who will be leaving the Council, and expressed appreciation to him for the work he has done. Mr. Melendez thanked God for providing him with good health and the energy to do the things he does for his native country and his wife Pam. He also welcomed Town Manager Ken Buchanan to Fountain Hills and wished him the best of luck in his new position. He asked that he try to achieve the same level of excellence that Paul Norton displayed when he was the Town Manager and stated the opinion that he was the best Town Manager in the State of Arizona. Mr. Melendez stated that he was asked by the Foreign Ministry to honor Mayor Schlum for his service to the community and the Sister Cities Program -- Germany and El Salvador. He introduced former Mayor s Wally Nichols, Sharon Morgan and Jerry Miles in addition to the Honorary Consul of Poland, Bogumil Horchem and his wife Elizabeth and also provided brief history relative to the selection of Ataco as a Sister City and the Mayors' participation in the Sister Cities program. z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 2 of 14 Mr. Melendez commended Mayor Schlum for his consistent support of the Sister Cities program and a presentation took place in which Mayor Nichols was presented with a picture and two plaques (Mr. Melendez read the plaques into the record). The Mayor expressed appreciation for the gifts and said that the Town has the best Sister Cities program in the world and has been recognized as such for the second time. He read a note written to Mayor Sharon Morgan from the Council extending appreciation and congratulations to the Sister Cities organization on this outstanding achievement. He said that the Council is very proud of the work that the group has done, particularly the rebuilding of homes after the tragic mudslide and thanked everyone involved for their hard work and dedication. Mayor Schlum also recognized and introduced members of his family present at the meeting and thanked them for their attendance. He said that tonight is his and Councilmember Contino's last regularly scheduled meeting and added that they will be here a couple more times -- at a Special Session to validate the vote and a gavel passing ceremony and a reception on June 7th, just before the next regularly scheduled meeting that will be run by the new Mayor. He advised that everyone is invited to attend the recept ion and the gavel passing ceremony at 5:30 p.m., reception at 6:00 p.m. and said they could remain for the meeting that will follow at 6:30 p.m. * CALL TO THE PUBLIC None. * CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM MAY 3, 2012. 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 Absent Councilmember Contino Aye Councilmember Brown Aye Councilmember Elkie Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present (6-0). REGULAR AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #2 – CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2012-14, ADOPTING THE INTERCONNECTED TRAILS PLAN. Mark Mayer, Director of Community Services, addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that the Town entered into an agreement with the firm of Olsson and Associates to develop the Fountain Trail Plan for the community. He said that they are back before the Council this evening to show the Council the final version that went before the Parks & Recreation Commission early this week. He noted that the Commission recommends approval of the plan. z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 3 of 14 He stated that the Council had set a goal for this year to provide a multi-use trail and bicycle system and said that he believes that the plan being proposed brings that to a conclusion and they would ultimately move into the implementation phase. He noted that there are some funds requested in this year's budget to begin the implementation later on this fall and unveil what they hope will be future trail sites. He advised that Development Services Director Paul Mood and Town Engineer Randy Harrel worked with him on this project. He stated that Randall Kopff from Olsson and Associates is present this evening and will address the Council as well. He said that he has done the bulk of the work associated with this plan. He added that although funds were limited, they tried to focus on areas to develop trails that were already fairly well in place or completely in place to maximize end results, utilizing existing parking, restaurant facilities and drinking water (the first trail they looked at was the downtown trail, which will be showcased this evening and is the one that staff is proposing they start with). Mr. Randall Kopff addressed the Council and said that staff early on did a great job and identified about twelve different trails within the Town. He highlighted a brief PowerPoint presentation (available in the office of the Town Clerk) and referred to an overall system map, a Civic Center trail map, logo/identities (mile markers) and the final design for the trail kiosk. Mr. Kopff provided detailed information relative to the proposal and indicated his willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Mayer and Mr. Kopff for their presentation. Councilmember Leger asked when staff anticipates that the first phase will be completed and Mr. Mayer replied that assuming the funding will remain in place, the plan is to begin to implement this summer so that they will be in a position to unveil the trail this fall. Councilmember Leger asked what Strategic Goal this addresses and Mr. Mayer responded recreational opportunity amenities and the specific Council goal of providing a multi-use trail and bicycle system. Councilmember Leger noted that this does tie into the citizen driven plan and that is where the Council's focus is. Councilmember Brown questioned whether any special striping will be required to keep walkers and bicyclists on the right and left sides of the sidewalk -- will any separation striping be put place? Mr. Mayer advised that a lot of the trails selected by staff are already striped for either a bikeway or a bike path so staff would envision that people using bikes would utilize the road instead of the sidewalk. He added that they are intended to be multi-purpose and funds were requested to do signage plus, if places are identified, they could put a sidewalk or bicycle path through there and be able to stripe the pavement accordingly. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. Mayor Schlum commented that he noticed they had put “no camping” signs in the proposal -- and people might assume hiking and camping but this could not take place in an urban setting. Vice Mayor Dickey MOVED to approve Resolution 2012-14, accepting the Fountain Hills Interconnected Trail Plan and Councilmember Contino SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present (6-0). AGENDA ITEM #3 - CONSIDERATION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING AN APPLICATION FOR LOCAL TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE FUND II (LTAF II) PROJECT FUNDS THROUGH VALLEY METRO REGIONAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (RPTA) FOR FY 2011-12, IN THE AMOUNT OF $65,986, FOR TRANSIT PURPOSES. z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 4 of 14 Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director Julie Ghetti addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and advised that prior to Fiscal Year 2010-11 the Town provided special transportation services to residents for medical appointments and social services. She noted that that was funded by a gr ant through lottery proceeds (LTAF II). She added that in Fiscal Year 2010-11, the Legislature swept that funding for cities and towns and the Town had to cancel the program leaving residents to provide their own transportation. She advised that this Fis cal Year, the Courts have reinstated the LTAF II funding for cities and towns to use for transportation purposes. She reported that Fountain Hills is eligible to receive $66,000 if they apply by May 31st. She said that normally staff does not like to come before the Council and make presentations without fully vetting out the program, however, due to the time limitations on this, staff did some preliminary research on this and is bringing forward a recommendation to the Council. She stated that if they apply to Valley Metro for LTAF II funding and they apply for one program or another they can always go back after they have had time to analyze it further and change the scope of work. She added that subsequent to the information provided in the Council's packets, additional information has been received that causes staff to do more research -- specifically, the Town is also eligible for what the call PTF funding in the amount of $33,000, which brings the total to $100,000 for the transportation program (no General Fund match for either of them). Ms. Ghetti advised that staff is recommending that a Dial -A-Ride program be put into place and said that there were two options that kind of fit -- Dial-A-Ride and one called a flex stop circulator, which would be a fixed route transportation system that would go within the community and hook up to the bus (regular Valley Metro bus at Mayo Clinic). She noted that there are some requirements that need to be verified such as whether bus stops would have to be built and maintained, whether they have to be ADA (Americans With Disabilities) compliant. She reported that these things would add to the cost and she is not sure something that the Town could afford. She said that for the purposes of filling out the grant application staff is proposing the Dial-A-Ride program -- they could control the associated costs and would be limited to ADA certified residents and there are no other requirements like bus stops because it is a door-to-door service. Ms. Ghetti informed the Council that in order to move forward and apply for the grant staff is proposing that they submit the grant application for the Dial-A-Ride program but with the understanding that following additional research they would be able to change over to the other program if it makes more sense. Ms. Ghetti indicated her willingness to respond to questions from the Council. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Ghetti for her presentations. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. Vice Mayor Dickey asked if it would be okay to make a motion to direct the Town Manager to apply for grants and any other funding to make sure that they have LTAF II funds and any other funds that are available for a local transit program (do it in a general way because she underst ands there may be some flexibility in the timing). She said that in this way it does not go out as a recommendation for a particular thing that perhaps would have to be changed in the future. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire advised that the motion could be made in that manner or they could also direct the Town Manager to evaluate other options and to report back to the Council -- maybe not in a public setting, but in a memo back to them to provide information on other options that have been discussed as well as other options that may become available. He pointed out that because of the May 31st deadline they do need to provide that flexibility. Vice Mayor Dickey stated that she knows there has been desire to have connectivity with the #106 to Mayo and so she would not want to give the impression that that is out of the realm of discussion at this time. z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 5 of 14 Councilmember Elkie asked if there was any chance that the cost of this program could exceed the grant and would the Town have to pick up the balance at that point? Ms. Ghetti replied that with the Dial-A-Ride program, costs can be controlled by controlling the number of trips, who goes on them, how far they can go, how many times they can use it, etc. She said that with the flex stop circulator the costs may be a little more difficult to control. They know what the cost for the route would be because they know it is $6.00 a mile and they can control how many trips they do within Town but what they don't know at this point and can't control are the requirements for the ADA, bus stops and whether the Town will have to maintain them, if they can be flag stops or shelter stops, etc. She added that staff does not yet have that information. Councilmember Elkie asked if they have staff allocated to manage the riders and make sure that the riders are not exceeding the numbers (how much time will need to be allocated for that?). Ms. Ghetti responded that Valley Metro would manage the program. The Town would apply for the grant and give the funds to them but they would set the criteria -- on the Dial-A-Ride specifically, the Town would set the criteria. Councilmember Elkie asked if the funds were not available next year would this in any way obligate the Town to continue the program. Ms. Ghetti advised that staff did question Valley Metro on the likelihood of those funds being available in subsequent years and because it was a court action that reinstated those funds for transportation, it is highly unlikely that those funds would be taken away again. The Legislature cannot sweep them again -- the only issue is that they are driven by lottery proceeds -- but historically the funds have been there until the Legislature took them so there is likely to be money. She reiterated that with one program they can control the costs and the other one maybe not so much. Councilmember Contino advised that he likes the flex stops because it provides more opportunities for people to come into Fountain Hills and helps people who can't get out of Town get to where they need to go. He added that sometimes he thinks they are missing the boat because they are talking about tourism and he thinks this would be an opportunity for people to come out to Town, see what we have to offer, eat here and then go home. He stressed that he is not against Dial-A-Ride but he thinks they need to expand their services and start looking ahead. He said that being handicapped, he thinks they could eliminate a lot of the stops that they are talking about by putting them where they don't have to have a lot of particular handicap items because of the way the buses are constructed today. Mr. Buchanan concurred with Councilmember Contino and the Vice Mayor's comments and said that staff just has to analyze it further -- they have just not had enough time to thoroughly research it and get the answers to so me important questions. He emphasized the importance of identifying any unintended consequences that could cost the Town money it doesn't have. He added that staff would like to take a close look at the circulator but right now it is important that they submit the application by May 31st. Councilmember Leger stated that basically this evening they are here to authorize staff to go forward and submit a grant application and as he looks at the proposed motion it occurs to him that the motion could simply exclude Dial-A-Ride and just authorize the grant application that can be determined as they move forward (or do they need to be specific in the application?). Mayor Schlum asked whether the other item is adding the PTF funds or is that another separate application. Vice Mayor Dickey questioned whether a motion could be made that says "Apply for LTAF II and any available funding for a local transit program" and not put any amount in there and not put in being administered by the RPTA z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 6 of 14 because there is some other information that might come forward that may not be administered by them. She said instead of making it narrow she wondered if they could say something like that. Mr. McGuire advised that that motion would be fine as a substitute but one more thing to consider in terms of grant agreements is if they believe they will have a grant agreement back prior to the 31st, which he doesn't think they would, then it would be a good idea to authorize the Town Manager to execute any grant agreements as long as they don't have any matching fund requirements. Vice Mayor Dickey MOVED to authorize and direct the Town Manager to apply for LTAF II and other available funding for a local transit program and execute the grant agreement and Councilmember Contino SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present (6-0). AGENDA ITEM #4 - PRESENTATION BY THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS EXECUTIVE BUDGET COMMITTEE, RELATING TO A RECOMMENDATION FOR FUNDING AND SCOPE OF WORK FOR FOUNTAIN HILLS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (TOURISM), FOUNTAIN HILLS COMMUNITY THEATER (YOUTH ARTS), EXTENDED HANDS FOOD BANK (SOCIAL SERVICE) AND BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF SCOTTSDALE, MCKEE BRANCH (TEEN PROGRAM), WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF. Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director Julie Ghetti addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that in Fiscal Year 2007-08 the Town issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) with a scope of services for specific services within the community and awarded three-year contracts through Fiscal Year 2010 for social services, Theater, tourism and the Boys & Girls Club. She advised that those contracts have been amended for the last two years through extensions. She said that through discussions at the Goal Setting Retreat staff asked the contractors to propose a scope of work to the Budget Committee and the presentations were given to the Committee and are included in the Council's packets. Ms. Ghetti stated that the goal this evening is to approve the scope and direct staff to prepare the contracts for the scope of services. She indicated her willingness to respond to any questions from the Council. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Ghetti for her presentation. Ms. Bender advised that one citizen wished to speak on this item. Linda Bordow addressed the Council and referred to the Tourism Bureau's survey that was conducted in 2006 that quantified how much it was per individual and asked how much that survey cost. She said she knows they are proposing to do it again so she is curious to know how much that cost and how much it will cost to do the study again. She added that she has been looking at some of the theater's finances and asked what percentage of the productions actually break even or produce a profit. She stated that it appears to her that they are losing money -- $72,240 was in the budget last year and asked if that was just to fund the productions because she knows the buildings they use are basically rent free. She questioned whether the maintenance of those buildings represents some of the costs to the Town. She said she doesn't understand why they can't "pump up" the theater to make it do better. She added that she also looked through the proposal for the Tourism Bureau and stated that she is wondering why they don't do a cultural spin on that because they have so much great art -- why can't they combine a Theater, a dinner, an art walk -- some kind of upscale cultural events included in the Tourism Bureau to attract people from out of Town. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Bordow for her comments. z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 7 of 14 Mayor Schlum asked if any of the partners wished to share anything at this time and Ms. Ghetti confirmed that the providers for all of the groups are in the audience this evening and willing to respond to any questions. Mayor Schlum commented that the proposed scopes of work and associated dollar amounts are contained in the Council's packets and asked for input/discussion on this item. Vice Mayor Dickey stated that since it appears that this is one motion sh e wanted to know if she could vote on it and talk about it. Mr. McGuire advised that it would be better to break that one component (the Theater) out so they can vote on the others. The Mayor clarified that staff is looking for a motion from the Council t o give direction to work with the providers on finalizing the contracts and Ms. Ghetti concurred with his comments. He asked if staff works with the providers on the contracts, when would the affirmative motion be made to spend those dollars. Ms. Ghetti replied that the amounts would be approved in the final budget in June and hopefully staff would bring those contracts forward we well. She added that staff is looking to find out whether the scope of work provided by the various providers is acceptable to the Council and meets the stated goals. She said that the motion from the Council would be to direct staff to go ahead and prepare the contracts with these groups with their proposals for their scopes of work. Mayor Schlum noted that July 1st will be the beginning of a new Fiscal Year and the longer they wait the longer the groups are hanging out there without knowing what to expect. Ms. Ghetti said that the motion would be to direct staff to prepare the contracts and the final ratification would take place at a future Council meeting in June with the budget. Mayor Schlum commented that Councilmember Hansen is not present this evening and they do have a new Mayor coming in as well as a new Councilmember so they will have the opportunity to discuss this at length as well. The Mayor said that the other thing they discussed over the last few years was to reduce each of the contracts and last year they were reduced by 20% and Ms. Ghetti concurred. He added that the year before that it was a little less -- 16% or so to coincide with the reduced Town budgets. Ms. Ghetti advised that for Fiscal Year 2012-13 there are no more reductions and they are at last year's level. Vice Mayor Dickey noted that all of the providers are accessible to everyone -- anyone living in Town will have access to these services. Mayor Schlum encouraged everyone to go through the "one pagers" for each of the organizations and review the propose scope of work for the various providers. The Mayor referred to the "one page r" submitted by the Tourism Bureau as an example of good information that can be found. (Copy of all of the information is available on line and in the office of the Town Clerk). Councilmember Leger referred to the scope of work for the Tourism program and noted that the cost actually amounts to $173,500 and said that the Town is proposing to fund it at $103,200 for the particular program that is being proposed. He added that the $70,000 balance is made up through other funding sources (Fort McDowell, etc.). Councilmember Elkie commented that last year when the Town was experiencing a budget shortfall they had to cut staff and funding and that is when the 20% cut to the contracts happened. He said that serving on the Executive z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 8 of 14 Budget Committee, early on in the discussions and meetings there was talk about reducing these contracts by another 20%. He stated that when he refers to the Community Service Contracts, and they have four before them tonight, he looks at the theater, the Boys & Girls Club and the Extended Hands Fo od Bank. He added that in his opinion those are different from what they do through the Chamber of Commerce. Councilmember Elkie said that last year around this same time, he mentioned that they were having budget shortfalls and difficulties and the agencies should look at additional cuts the next budget year or no funding at all because of what is going on. Early on during this year's budget discussions there was talk about another 20% reduction and perhaps even a higher percentage to the Community Service Contracts. He noted that he was out of the country when staff advised at a meeting that this year's shortfall was not going to be as bad as anticipated. Staff's recommendation was to maintain the status quo and his understanding is that the Council agreed with that. He said that they spend so much time with the Community Service Contracts that they have and what they are getting back certainly adds value to the community but the theater, the Boys & Girls Club or the Extended Hands Food Bank all existed prior to receiving Town funding. He stated the opinion that if the Town continued to reduce or eliminated the funding those programs would continue to exist. He added that he would like to see them continue down the same path that they discussed before -- reducing these contracts -- because although revenue projections are not as dire as initially anticipated, it is still dire because they don't have the funding for the roads. He said that he knows it is not very popular to talk about this and to some it may sound "anti kids, anti-Theater and I don't want to feed the hungry," but he thinks they should have a discussion about this and move towards reducing the funding and not have the Town and the taxpayers continue to fund these three comments. He clarified that he is not suggesting that they be eliminated but discussion about reductions should occur. He added that he just wanted to put that out there for discussion. Councilmember Contino MOVED to approve the proposed scope of work for each contractor and direct staff to prepare professional service agreements at the funding levels proposed by the Executive Budget Committee and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion. Vice Mayor Dickey asked if they could somehow exclude the theater so she could vote on the other two proposals. Mr. McGuire stated that an amendment could be made to that effect. Vice Mayor Dickey MOVED to amend the motion to exclude the theater and have separate discussion on that item and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED BY MAJORITY VOTE of those present (5-1) with Councilmember Elkie voting Nay. Mayor Schlum said that they are now back to the amended motion, which is items other than the Theater. He said he would like to get some answers as to the questions raise d by Ms. Bordow and noted that Councilmember Elkie talked about the role of government and perhaps that is something they should talk about at every meeting. He noted that they met with different organizations and they asked why aren't you funding this -- don't you value this? And the answer is often yes, certainly we value it as a community but we are just not certain that government needs to fund this. He noted that there are other avenues and as Councilmember Elkie pointed out in the past government didn't fund portions of some things. He added that he likes the scope of work now because it's more and more common now for towns, cities and government to contract for services and that is what they have done for a large amount of time. He cited as an example the Boys & Girls Club and said that they are going to run a program that does X, Y and Z for the Town and they are asking for the funding to cover that program. He questioned whether those services are something they would have done in-house otherwise and said perhaps and they are looking at utilizing and leveraging their talents, their facilities and their staff to carry out those services on behalf of the Town. z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 9 of 14 The Mayor added that he thinks there are two important things to understand -- what is the role, what is the role of government in Fountain Hills and what is appropriate for them to fund. He stated that they are not giving money to charities -- they are contracting for services just as they contract for a lot of other services, including tho se of the Town Attorney. He requested input relative to the questions posed by Ms. Bordow, including the survey and cultural events. Ms. Ghetti said that she believes the first question Ms. Bordow posed was how much it cost (and she is not sure whether she meant the RFP) but there was no cost other than staff time to put that together -- they didn't pay anyone to do that. (Inaudible comments from Ms. Bordow and Ms. Ghetti and the Mayor said that it was a survey that the Chamber did that talked about the value of tourism -- something the Chamber paid for and not the Town.) Mayor Schlum stated that Mr. Mayer probably made some notes as far as what Ms. Bordow referred to regarding cultural events and expanding upon the ability of the Town to attract visitors and enhance events. Ms. Ghetti pointed out that Ms. Bordow also asked a question about the profitability of the theater and said that that is probably a question that the theater should respond to. Discussion ensued relative to Councilmember Leger's comments that the question he continually wrestles with regarding Councilmember Elkie's viewpoint, which he respects and appreciates and quite frankly doesn't disagree with, is that they have to ask themselves what type of community they want to be; his comment that the service contracts add value to the community and in some ways contribute to tourism and attract new residents to the Town; his opinion that the amount of money they would save by cutting the contracts by 20% is not that significant; value received for dollars spent; the fact that the Town is what he would call a hybrid government in that they contract out for a lot of services; cutting back may save the Town $20,000 but he believes more than $20,000 is being given to the community by maintaining these services and amenities; the fact that the savings would not even come close to what is needed to take care of the Town's roads and capital needs ; his question as to whether they are a community with a heart and soul or are they just asphalt, grass and mortar. Councilmember Leger stated that he doesn't disagree with the fact that there would be savings but he does think that the contracts add value to the Town and its residents. He pointed out that the Council originally proposed to decrease these by another 20% and through budget discussions they brought them up to the level they are being proposed at today. He added that when he looks at the 2006 Strategic Plan and the revamped plan -- which consists of input from the citizens -- it is clear to see that they are asking for amenities and to him these are amenities that are value adding and enhance the small town character of Fountain Hills, a community that has a heart and soul. Councilmember Elkie commented that he appreciates Councilmember Leger's comments and said whether or not they have a heart he thinks they need to look at the numbers. He noted that with the Food Bank they would be providing a proposed $30,000 plus to give out food to those in need or support that program. He added that as far as the theater, the Town does support it in addition to the $72,240 that is proposed by maintaining the building and leasing the building for what he believes is $1.00 a year at no cost to the theater so even without the contract the Town does support this entity. He stated the opinion that the funding is to underwrite the performances and stressed that he has nothing against the theater or the Food Bank. He added that as far as the Boys & Girls Club of Scottsdale's teen program in the amount of $80,000 and said that he knows a number of the Councilmembers have questioned this because to participate in that Club people have to pay a fee -- so they are receiving funding from the Town and then residents have to pay a fee in order to participate in the teen programs. He questioned the funding and noted that in years past his understanding is that various community programs would come forward and ask for a certain amount of money that was in the pot that year and then provide a particular service -- and then it got z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 10 of 14 narrowed down to these three. He stated that he is often asked why the Rotary Club doesn’t receive funding and other organizations and questioned whether government should be providing the funds. Councilmember Contino advised that as the person who previously ran the St. Dominick's Food Bank, they didn't receive funding from the Town until the very end. He noted that they struggled for 19 years and he sees where Councilmember Elkie is coming from but also sees that they need to help these groups -- but what happens if they (the Town's funding) goes away. He said that they had some donors at Christmas time who would help them get over the hump and take care of some of these things. He noted that other than that a lot of the food and the rent was paid by him with no help from the Town. Mayor Schlum stated that he believes the numbers are pretty accurate and considerable reductions have been made due to serious budget restraints. He added that the numbers are not a large percentage of the Town's budge t and, as some have pointed out, the agencies provide important services that are not totally funded by the Town; they are partially funded by the Town and largely rely on individuals and businesses to support them. He noted that they cannot simply rely on government. Vice Mayor Dickey asked what the purpose of tourism contracts consists of. She said that she sees golf, marketing, and asked if bringing people into Town to play golf is any different than bringing people here for something else. She added that perhaps the goal with tourism could be on a par with what the goal is for some of the others. She stated that she is not sure about the separation aspect of it and she understands, as they all do, that an over -riding philosophical discussion on this is hard to have. She said that they added money for the Posse and for some of the Fire Department stuff and almost every event they have can be looked at in that same way. She added that this really is a huge discussion and she does appreciate where the comments are coming from. Discussion ensued relative to Councilmember Brown's comments that this discussion goes on year after year and will probably continue long after all of them are off of Council; his opinion that if you take tourism out of the spin and look at the Boys & Girls Club, the theater and the Food Bank and you start looking at the children in this Town it's hard to ignore that they have practically nothing for the children to do in Fountain Hills; the fact that taking that little bit of money away from the group of people who need to keep their children in the Boys & Girls Club but not being able to do that -- or take 20% of the alarming number of total of the age group from zero to 20 that they have fed (2,970 children just through the month of March and take 20% out and that is almost 600 kids); his statement that they have to look at this deeper than just the dollars because he sees a group of children who are in need and require help and he feels that they should respond to that; his comment that he agrees with Councilmember Elkie that this is a tough situation -- do they have to? No. Do they need to? Yes; and his comment that he will stand as he did a few weeks ago and hope that they don't lower the percentage anymore on these four contracts. Councilmember Leger asked where they draw the line between government's involvement in these programs. He added that as Councilmember Brown said, they will continue to have this discussion and do what they feel is in the best interest of the Town. He stated that it is important to note that when they look at these numbers it is very popular to talk about subsidies and the government subsidizing programs. He noted that the Food Bank's budget for next year is $260,000 and the Town is being asked to provide them with $30,000 worth of help and support. He pointed out that they do fundraising and a lot of lot of things -- their funding comes from churches, foundations, clubs, grants and individuals. He said that they are not just kicking back as if they are relying on social welfare -- that is absolutely not the case. He added that the Council has communicated very clearly to the Food Bank that there may be a day when the funding is not there and they have picked up their fundraising the past year so he thinks the organizations are getting that message and this represents a very small part of their budgets perhaps with one exception. z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 11 of 14 Councilmember Elkie stated that at long as the funding is there they are going to continue to accept it. He clarified that he is certainly not against children and does not want to see anyone go to bed hungry or have children with nothing to do after school -- this is more of a philosophical discussion as far as what government's role is in all of this. He said that if that is what they want to be and what they want to do then there should be a motion made to increase these by 20% and provide more taxpayer funds for these particular types of programs, not reduce them or maintain the status quo. He added that he is a little disappointed because they have had these discussions in the past as far as getting away from funding these Community Service Contracts and the way that the motion has been presented it does include the Chamber of Commerce along with two of the other programs and his sense is that this is probably going to pass. He said that it is a question of if not this year then when. He commented that this is a very unpopular point of view and he expects that there will probably be a number of e -mails before he gets back to this office but he wanted to just put it out there for discussion. Vice Mayor Dickey advised that she wanted to support Councilmember Elkie a little bit on this because she thinks it is really difficult and when she starts to talk about things like this she looks at everything that the Town does -- Parks and Recreation, the Fountain being on and they have heard the phrase "nice to have versus need to have" and there definitely aren't that many "needs to have." She said that she is having a problem separating this from the other things that they do and the question is if these are things that they like or would like to have offered and is this a good way to offer it. She added that the only difference is things maybe not being done through Parks & Recreation but done through a contract so that is where she is at and she absolutely understands. Mayor Schlum commented that the amended motion is the three items as they are presented in the packet for staff to move forward and craft the contracts further and work with the partners and ultimately bring this back to Council for discussion. The Mayor added that short of the Community Theater the amended motion will cover those three items. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Contino Aye Vice Mayor Dickey Aye Councilmember Brown Aye Mayor Schlum Aye Councilmember Leger Aye Councilmember Elkie Nay Councilmember Hansen Absent The motion CARRIED BY MAJORITY VOTE by those present (5-1) with Councilmember Elkie voting Nay. Councilmember Contino MOVED to approve the proposed scope of work for the Community Theater and direct staff to prepare professional services contracts at the funding levels proposed by the Executive Budget Committee and Councilmember Leger SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED BY MAJORITY VOTE of those present (4-1) with Vice Mayor Dickey abstaining and Councilmember Elkie voting Nay. Mayor Schlum thanked Ms. Ghetti for her input this evening and the community partners for doing what they can for the residents of Fountain Hills. AGENDA ITEM #5 - DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF RELATING TO THE LETTERS DATED MAY 7TH, APRIL 18TH, AND APRIL 25, 2012, RESPECTIVELY, WHICH WERE z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 12 of 14 RECEIVED FROM THE FOUNTAIN HILLS SANITARY DISTRICT, REGARDING THE NOT ICE OF RECLAIMED WATER SHORTAGE AND THE FOUNTAIN LAKE PUMP-BACK SYSTEM. Town Manager Ken Buchanan addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and provided a status report on this issue. He noted that the Town received notice of a potential shortage of reclaimed water. He reported that the Sanitary District is working diligently to look at alternative ways to provide the water for the contracts with the golf courses. He said that as of April 18th when the letter was received from the Sanitary Distr ict, staff has been work with the District's manager to answer those questions and he has been in touch with a number of individuals from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to determine what the Town is actually going to have to do to answer some of those questions. He added that they are still in the process of doing that and will continue to update the Council as they receive more information on this as well as continue to work with the Sanitary District on their options. Councilmember Brown asked how short they are going to be (projected gallons) and Mr. Buchanan advised that they are not sure at this point but staff is trying to obtain an estimate and will provide that at the next update. Bruce Hansen, Chairman of the Fountain Hills Sanitary District, addressed the council and advised that they are projecting that the Town will be one million gallons short. He added, however, that they do have things in the works that they think will take care of this situation and hopefully they are all goin g to work (they are 90% sure of that). He reported that they are in the process now of trying to lease some Type 2 water credits and they are 95% sure that will happen (that will take care of the situation at least for this year). Councilmember Brown asked what about the duration, until the snowbirds come back and Mr. Hansen advised that the need for water falls off dramatically in November and that is where their big problem is. He added that they are going to be out of water (he clarified that they have stored water in the aquifer and that is what they run out of) around July and that is when they will need the other water that they believe they will be able to get. He said that they will lease the Type 2 water credits for the rest of the year and use what they have to -- about 400 acre feet -- and they may have to do this again next year but everyone will get the same amount of water they are getting now. Discussion ensued relative to the fact that they are talking about the reclaimed water that is spre ad largely on the three golf courses and the three parks; Mr. Hansen's comment that this has nothing to do with drinking water, which will not be affected; the fact that the water company provides the water that people drink and the Sanitary District takes care of the water that is flushed; the fact that Chaparral Water Company has been very cooperative but they too have problems because the only water they can provide is drinking water and the cost of drinking water is pretty high; the fact that Chaparral years ago had an irrigation rate and could provide water for golf courses at a reduced rate but that right went away several years ago when ADEQ wanted the golf courses to use reclaimed water only and Chaparral does not want to apply for that right again; Councilmember Contino's comment that over the last seven years the Town has lost approximately 76 million gallons that did not go back in because of the pump and that all they have to do is make a call to Carol at Fort McDowell and they would have the pump fixed within a couple of days; Mr. Buchanan's response that staff has been in touch with Fort McDowell and the fact that legal concerns raised by the Sanitary District have to be addressed; the fact that the Town would not be getting additional effluent -- the aquifer has a lot of water in it and they are going to actually pump water out of it and they are allowed to pull out what they have put in (by leasing the Type 2 water, that allows them to pull water out of the aquifer that they didn't put in); and the fact that Type 2 water credits are non-agricultural. Mayor Schlum thanked Mr. Hansen for his comments. z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 13 of 14 AGENDA ITEM #6 - DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION RELATED TO ANY ITEM INCLUDED IN THE LEAGUE OF ARIZONA CITIES AND TOWNS WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN. Mr. Buchanan addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and advised that Senate Bill 2826 was signed by the Governor. He asked Town Clerk Bev Bender to elaborate a little bit assisted by the Town Attorney regarding what the Town will have to do to comply with this legislation (elections consolidation). Ms. Bender stated that once the legislation is pre-cleared, this is something that is going to have to go to the Department of Justice because it affects voters' rights and once that comes back st aff will be working closely with the Town Attorney to make sure that the Town comes into compliance before their next election in 2014. She noted that it will probably include changes to the Town Code that will come before the Council for approval and a few other areas as well, such as terms. Ms. Bender advised that there were no citizens wishing to speak on this item. Vice Mayor Dickey commented that there were some people who were concerned with involvement and they did join in with the flood or letters sent to the Governor opposing the bill (over 40 cities and towns asked the Governor to veto the bill). She noted that copies of the Governor's letter were included in the Council's packets stating that the bill preempts all local laws and charter provisions if they are contrary to the consolidated election schedule. She added that beginning in 2014, the Town will be subject to the new schedule (adds another six months to the terms of newly elected officials). She stated that the Governor agreed that election consolidation will increase voter participation and decrease costs and pointed out that the Town did that locally by going to all mail ballot elections. The bill's sponsor (Ugenti) has stated that "not only will it reduce costs and increase voter tur nout, it will diminish the clout that special interests have on municipal elections. Supporters, such as the Goldwater Institute, ha ve for a long time accused unions of using low voter turnout in city elections to help pro-union candidates." She went on to say that "this is truly an anti-union bill because now special interests cannot take advantage of low voter turnout and that was used as a tool." She stated that the bill may result in more conservative candidates being elected at the municipal level but denied that that was the intent of the bill. The Vice Mayor reiterated that a significant number of letters were sent to the Governor informing her that this action would increase election costs for smaller cities and towns, diminish local control and drown out municipal issues in elections where voters will be more focused on State and Federal level races. The head of the League has stated that this will negatively impact those smaller cities and towns whose issues will be at the end of long ballots. Mayor Schlum noted that they have also had the opportunity to talk about it amongst themselves and they have always liked spring elections because the focus was on the Town and not caught up in a lot of other things. He added that it is what it is now and they will have to wait and see how it all works out. He said he is not sure how the all mail ballot will be affected because when there are other issues from other jurisdictions on the same ballot that could cause problems. Ms. Bender informed the Council that staff is still working out the details out with the County. AGENDA ITEM #7 – 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. Councilmember Leger asked to bring up a point of personal privilege and said that he just realized that this is Mayor Schlum's last meeting. He asked how he felt about that. z:\council packets\2012\r6-7-12\120517m.docx Page 14 of 14 The Mayor responded that it is what it is and he has had a long time to think about it so here they are. Councilmember Leger stated that it has been a pleasure serving with Mayor Schlum and he thinks he has done a tremendous job during one of the worst downturns in the economy. He added that the Mayor has served with dignity and integrity and treated everyone with respect. He commended Mayor Sc hlum for all that he has done and recognized him for doing an outstanding job as the Mayor of Fountain Hills. Mayor Schlum thanked Councilmember Leger for his comments and said that it has been a complete honor and joy to be the Mayor of Fountain Hills -- an awesome experience and it has been his pleasure. The Mayor commented that this is the last Regular council meeting for both he and Councilmember Contino and noted that they will each have an opportunity to share a few words at the gavel passing ceremony . He added that the Council has been great and he has a little hesitation in moving on. He noted that they have always been blessed with a tremendous staff, Council, citizenry and businesses. He said that they are in great shape in Fountain Hills and have gotten through a bunch of hard work. AGENDA ITEM #8 – SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS AND REPORT ON RECENT ACTIVITIES BY TOWN MANAGER KEN BUCHANAN. None. AGENDA ITEM #9 – ADJOURNMENT. Councilmember Brown MOVED that the Council adjourn the meeting and Vice Mayor Dickey SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present (6-0). The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By_____________________________ Mayor Linda M. Kavanagh 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 Special Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 17th day of May, 2012. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. Dated this 7th day of June, 2012. _____________________________ Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk