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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020.1006.TCRM.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL OCTOBER 6, 2020 1. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE — Mayor Dickey Mayor Dickey called the meeting of October 6, 2020, to order at 5:30 p.m. and led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. MOMENT OF SILENCE Pastor Rod Warembourg with Desert Creek Fellowship gave the invocation. 3. ROLL CALL — Mayor Dickey Present: Mayor Ginny Dickey; Vice Mayor Mike Scharnow; Councilmember Gerry Friedel; Councilmember Alan Magazine (telephonically); Councilmember David Spelich Absent: Councilmember Art Tolis; Councilmember Dennis Brown Staff Town Manager Grady E. Miller; Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson; Town Clerk Present: Elizabeth A. Burke 4. REPORTS BY MAYOR, COUNCILMEMBERS AND TOWN MANAGER Town Manager Grady Miller reported that some modifications had been made to the roundabout which has caused a slight delay. He said that today he learned that they are looking at the 19th for grading and paving placed within three days of that date. There is a project meeting tomorrow that the Public Works Director will be attending, and he has asked him to try to tighten up that schedule. Mr. Miller also reported on the road leading to Eagle Ridge. He said that according to the development agreement with Toll Brothers, it was to be built by December 2020. They now believe that it may be done in time for Thanksgiving. Councilmember Spelich said that he has been a proponent of collecting fees owed to the town, one of which was the environmental fee. He has learned that one of the staff members, Rhonda Brenneman, was given a list of people that had not paid and the biggest one was for $12,000 owed since the inception of the fee. She worked on it and was able to get the person to pay the $12,000 owed. He complimented her on a great job. Councilmember Friedel reported that he had attended a few sessions on Economic Development through AAED, which were geared toward new council members. They talked about the alignment efforts among town, county, and state. He said that it was well attended and well received. He also mentioned that he got a call from residents that lost a set of car keys and they were turned into MCSO, which took them five to six hours to locate. He wanted to remind residents that there is a lost and found at the Community Center and if they find something it can be turned in there. Town Council Regular Meeting of October 6, 2020 2of9 Mayor Dickey gave the following report: • The Census Bureau announced it will continue counting individuals through October 31. Go to 2020census.gov/ or call 844-330-2020. • The deadline to register to vote in AZ has been extended to 10/23/20. • East Valley Partnership meeting was a panel discussion about the election. • We attended beautiful remembrances last week for our friends Councilmen Ed Kehe and Mike Archambault. Again, our hearts go out to their families. We are a better community for their service. • In that spirit, the Fountain at 50 Committee is gathering items for a time capsule... a glimpse of our community to future generations. What will it be? We get to tell the story of an unlikely start... locating a record -breaking tall fountain in the middle of the desert becoming a hometown with memories shared by family and friends spanning half a century. We have been experiencing rough times, and are understandably anxious and uncertain, disappointed even isolated. Please let's not forget that we are neighbors and volunteers with many common goals, completing our Vision/FH survey and getting ready to vote on our publicly -created General Plan that we will discuss tonight. So even as we choose contents to display our past and present, we are shaping the future together. You are all a part of this. • MAG Regional Council focused on the Prop 400 extension and will talk more about how we fit in locally when we hear the presentation in a little while from RPTA. The MAG Regional Domestic Violence Council has coordinated a response to domestic violence through the criminal justice system since 1999, saving lives, time, and resources. Our Town Hall is lit up in purple and I will read the proclamation next. A. PROCLAMATION - October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month Mayor Dickey read a proclamation proclaiming October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. B. PROCLAMATION - October as Fire Prevention Month. Mayor Dickey read a proclamation proclaiming October as Fire Prevention Month. C. PROCLAMATION - October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Mayor Dickey read a proclamation proclaiming October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 5. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS A. PRESENTATION of National Weather Service Storm Ready Designation for Fountain Hills. Fire Chief Dave Ott explained that Mike Winters, Deputy Fire Chief, oversaw the application process for becoming a Storm Ready community, which shows that the Town is prepared with an Emergency Operation Center to notify the general public and their employees. He said that early notification is paramount. Flooding is a big problem in the state of Arizona, with 90% of all presidentially -declared emergencies. He said that 500 people per year perish and they have $14 billion worth of damage. He said that they have an Emergency Operation Plan so they are prepared for a severe weather plan. At this time, Marvin Percha with the National Weather Service gave a brief PowerPoint presentation (telephonically): Town Council Regular Meeting of October 6, 2020 3 of 9 WORKING TOGETHER TO SAVE LIVES WHY DO WE NEED STORM READY? WHAT IS STORM READY? STORM READY INCENTIVES PARTNERSHIPS HOW DOES A COMMUNITY BECOME STORM READY He said that Fountain Hills is the 35th Storm Ready community in Arizona. Vice Mayor Scharnow asked if the main way the citizens will be notified will be through cell phones. Mr. Winters said that they use a variety of alerts, through Code Red, local media (TV and radio), and they do have a partnership with the Maricopa County Flood Control District. Mr. Miller said that he was very pleased with the Deputy Chief bringing this to the community. He said that they have been hit seriously in the last two years. B. PRESENTATION on Epcor Operations and Proposed Rate Case before the Arizona Corporation Commission by Epcor Representatives. Mr. Miller said that they had two representatives from Epcor with them tonight: Chad Guzman, Government Relations Manager, and Frank Metzler, Operations Director - Eastern Division. Mr. Guzman said that Epcor has a special relationship with the Town of Fountain Hills. They have operated the system here for many years and have enjoyed a strong partnership with the Town. He said that they have worked well with the Town Council and staff, and many of their employees live in Fountain Hills. He then began a PowerPoint presentation which addressed: AGENDA Rate Case History March 28, 2019 Decision Order to File New Rates Customer Assistance Programs HOW RATES ARE SET WHAT'S IN A DOLLAR OF WATER? Investment in System $.32 cents Plant Pipes Equipment Operation costs $.31 operating $.17 tax and insurance $.09 administrative, legal and regular expenses ARIZONA WATER DISTRICTS RATE CASE HISTORY INTERIM RATES DECISION POTENTIAL UNIFICATION SCENARIOS Town Council Regular Meeting of October 6, 2020 4of9 He said that Epcor has no position on any of the scenarios; these were ordered by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to be considered. He said that they are wanting to include that in the application and have a thorough policy conversation. He said that they believe that unification as a concept, in general, can provide benefits to their customers by streamlining operations, working with districts; however, they do not want to take a position in any of the scenarios. Mayor Dickey asked why they were bringing this before them if they were not proposing the full consolidation. Mr. Guzman said that they included it to serve as a baseline case to compare with the other regional options. Mayor Dickey asked what the operational downside to Fountain Hills would be if they consolidated. Mr. Metzler said that Epcor prides itself in excellence, and they would not compromise on its commitment to maintain that level of excellence. Mayor Dickey asked if meter size mattered. Mr. Metzler said that it does; they have this chart for different meter sizes, based on the most common size for each district. CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS Low Income Assistance Program $10 Credit Deployed Service Member Credit Disabled Veterans Assistance WHAT'S NEXT? Virtual Information Sessions Ongoing Communication March 22, 2021 Public Hearing Late summer 2021 decision (estimate) Mr. Metzler said that he was the Director of Operations for everything east of 1-17 and everything on the Colorado River. They have 15 employees working in Fountain Hills. They have 14,000 connections and serve 24,000 customers. He said that the water comes from the Central Arizona Project and they have two good producing wells in the community. The surface water is treated at Palatial Estates plant, with the ability to treat 20 mgd. The average high demand month is at 7.2 mgd. He said that their annual electric bill is $1 million and their annual water bill is $1.6 million a year. Mr. Metzler said that he looked at data for the past four years, and they spent between $4.2 to $5 million a year. They have 9 reservoirs, water main replacements and water main breaks. Every year they try to replace 1 /2 of all water meters. This year they spent $300,000 on those efforts. He said that he is proud of the relationship they have with Mr. Weldy and Mr. Miller. Mr. Metzler then reviewed recent projects in Fountain Hills: Sunridge Drive Shea Treatment Plant Adero Canyon Trailhead Extension Palatial Estates Reservoir Wall Painted Surface Water Storage Reservoir at the north end of Fountain Hills off of Blackbird Palisades line He said that they like to be able to look at their telemetry and instrumentation. It calls them in Town Council Regular Meeting of October 6, 2020 5 of 9 the middle of the night for a drop in pressure. They have six smart fire hydrants and they are continually monitoring the system. He said that when they have a main break, it does not just impact the system, but also the customers. They want to find those as quickly as possible, isolate them and then repair and repave the road as quickly as possible. Vice Mayor Scharnow said that some of the pipes in the Grande/El Pueblo area are from the 1970's. Mr. Metzler said that if they look at the work done in the 60's and 70's versus that done in the 1990's and 2000's, there is not a direct relationship with age; a lot of it gets to the craftsmanship. The major area of concern is the line on Palisades. Councilmember Spelich said that back in January he knew someone that inadvertently backed into a fire hydrant and the water was gushing for well over half an hour. He asked why the Fire Department did not have the ability to turn that off. Mr. Metzler said that every community in Arizona is its own animal. Typically, the agreements are reached and negotiated with the leadership. He said that he is more than willing to have that conversation with the Fire Chief. Councilmember Spelich said that last month he was contacted by two customers who usually have water bills in the $60-80 range, and each were around $300. He asked who they should reach out to if that happens. Mr. Metzler said that they should call the 1/800 customer service number and they can talk them through it. Nine times out of ten it is related to a leaking irrigation system. If the customers demonstrate they have located and corrected the problem, he will consider crediting the bill. Mr. Guzman said that he is always available as well to talk with a customer. Councilmember Spelich asked if the majority of meters were read virtually. Mr. Metzler said that they are very close to having replaced all of the meters with smart meters, which allows them to drive through a neighborhood. Councilmember Spelich asked if there is ever a time where they would estimate a bill. Mr. Metzler said that they do not estimate reads; it is not acceptable. Mayor Dickey and Councilmember Magazine thanked them for the presentation. C. PRESENTATION of General Plan Video. Mr. Miller said that Bo Larsen worked diligently with John Wesley to get the word out on the General Plan. He said that it was not to tell people to vote yes, but was purely educational. Mr. Larsen then showed the video to the Council and audience. Council asked Mr. Larsen to forward it to the entire Council. D. PRESENTATION of Valley Metro transit analysis. Mr. Miller explained that a few years ago the Town became a member of Valley Metro, which entitles the Town to send a representative to sit on their Board of Directors. Vice Mayor Scharnow has been sitting in that capacity. Part of the Town's membership entitles it to have a comprehensive transit study done at no cost. He said that they got started early last year, but then COVID hit, which delayed the project. Mr. Trimble said that he was happy to help coordinate the annual paperwork for their membership, and tonight they have Joe Gregory, Manager for Service Planning, and Hannah Quincy, Senior Transit Planner, on the telephone. Ms. Quincy then gave a PowerPoint presentation which addressed: Town Council Regular Meeting of October 6, 2020 6of9 VALLEY METRO SYSTEM FACTS OPERATING COSTS & FUNDING SOURCES TRANSIT STUDY SCOPE OF WORK DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE COMMUTE PATTERNS EXISTING TRANSIT OPTIONS RIDECHOICE TRANSIT SERVICE CONCEPT COMMUNITY CONNECTORS EXPRESS ROUTE MODIFICATIONS NEW EXPRESS ROUTE NEW DOWNTOWN CIRCULATOR ALTERNATIVE SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL OTHER SERVICE IDEAS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND FUNDING STRATEGIES SECTION 5310 (FEDERAL FUNDS) FUNDING STRATEGIES RIDECHOICE EXPANSION TOWNWIDE SALES TAX, BUSINESS LEVY OR OTHER TAX Mr. Miller said that he was talking earlier that perhaps they should spend down the money currently in the reserves and develop a plan to be discussed during the February Retreat, which is also about the time that Valley Metro requires them to have a plan. Vice Mayor Scharnow said that he was okay with that; however, the Retreat does get to be a long day and topics stack up. He suggested that they schedule a separate work study. Vice Mayor Scharnow said that it is a given that the 514 is probably not going to survive. He believes that with $225,000 in the bank, the cross-town extension to Gilbert/McDowell Roads is a good pilot program for two years; then the money will run out. He said that he was glad to see the numbers come up on RideChoice and he would like to look at options with the Give -a -Lift program, possibly providing administrative help. He said that regionally, he has loved the Valley Metro meetings and he was glad that the Town has been a part of that. He said that he would like to see an increase in the Van Pool Expansion. Mr. Miller said that Hanna had mentioned a Federal Program workshop held for vehicles/operating costs, but it is only held every other year. Mr. Trimble added that MAG put it on. He said that it was a long day with a ton of strings attached. He was not sure that the Town could administer it; it was focused more on nonprofits, but perhaps the Town could partner with a nonprofit. Councilmember Friedel said that he was intrigued with the RideChoice services, and expanding it and getting to the low-income users. He asked if there was enough of a demand for it. Mr. Miller said that there is some survey that was done, and they could probably obtain that from the Department of Economic Services. Mr. Trimble said that one of the biggest advantages with RideChoice is that they came out with a pilot program that decreased the cost to riders. Under the previous program to go to the hospital at 90th Street and Shea, it was a $30 charge; now it is $4 each way. Hannah said that they could look at one of the peers in the region, such as Surprise, as they have expanded. Town Council Regular Meeting of October 6, 2020 7 of 9 Mayor Dickey said that she has been having the same thoughts, talking about transportation. With the Prop 400 extension the Town has proposed 13-14 projects. She said that if they are looking to have 35,000 people in town, she believed that A.ternate 1 to Mesa made the most sense. She said that it would still be separate from the RideChoice program. If they dropped 514, they would get $65,000, giving them a total around $100,000 and that would get them back into what they are going to get out of Prop 400. She was happy to have this information and happy to move forward. Mr. Miller said that he did not hear any debate over the Gilbert Road Connection, to also grow the RideChoice program and expand to low/moderate in the interim. He said that he would like to work with the Mayor and Vice Mayor to influence them providing a regionalized service. Joe Gregory with Valley Metro said that in order to do this they are working six months ahead of time. They are now talking about April of 2021 changes and will be going out to those next month. Mr. Trimble said that they are too late to make a change in April, but to propose something in October 2021, a discussion during the retreat may work in the timeline. Vice Mayor Scharnow thanked Hannah and Joe, and the crew, for the update and study. Mayor Dickey thanked Vice Mayor Scharnow as well. She said that they have a lot of committees around the region and he has been right there since the beginning. 6. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.01(H), public comment is permitted (not required) on matters NOT listed on the agenda. Any such comment (i) must be within the jurisdiction of the Council, and (ii) is subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. The Council will not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during Call to the Public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action. At the conclusion of the Call to the Public, individual councilmembers may (i) respond to criticism, (ii) ask staff to review a matter, or (iii) ask that the matter be placed on a future Council agenda. None 7. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS All items listed on the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine, noncontroversial matters and will be enacted by one motion of the Council. All motions and subsequent approvals of consent items will include all recommended staff stipulations unless otherwise stated. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a councilmember or member of the public so requests. If a councilmember or member of the public wishes to discuss an item on the Consent Agenda, he/she may request so prior to the motion to accept the Consent Agenda or with notification to the Town Manager or Mayor prior to the date of the meeting for which the item was scheduled. The items will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. MOVED BY Councilmember David Spelich, SECONDED BY Vice Mayor Mike Scharnow to approve Consent Agenda items 7-A through 7-C. Vote: 5 - 0 Passed - Unanimously Town Council Regular Meeting of October 6, 2020 8 of 9 A. CONSIDERATION OF approving the meeting minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 15, 2020. B. CONSIDERATION OF adopting Ordinance 20-23 to Amend Town Code, Chapter 9, Article 9-5, Section 1, Purpose and Intent; Section 2, Definitions; Section 3, General Preserve Regulations; and Section 4, Central Trailhead Regulations. C. CONSIDERATION OF approving a Liquor License Application for Georgie's, located at 16725 E. Avenue of the Fountains #C110 Fountain Hills, Arizona, for a Series 12 (Restaurant) license. 8. REGULAR AGENDA None 9. COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION to the TOWN MANAGER Item(s) listed below are related only to the propriety of (i) placing such item(s) on a future agenda for action, or (ii) directing staff to conduct further research and report back to the Council. None 10. ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY Councilmember David Spelich, SECONDED BY Councilmember Gerry Friedel to adjourn the meeting. Vote: 5 - 0 Passed - Unanimously The Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council held October 6, 2020, adjourned at 7:45 p.m. ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: gizbe Burke, Town lerk CERTIFICATION TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS `� t Gino Dick , Mayor I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 6th of October, 2020. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 17th day of November, 2020. Elizabeth rke, Town C r Town Council Regular Meeting of October 6, 2020 9 of 9