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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021.0202.TCRM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL FEBRUARY 2, 2021 1. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE — Mayor Dickey Mayor Dickey called the meeting of February 2, 2021, to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. MOMENT OF SILENCE A Moment of Silence was held. 3. ROLL CALL—Mayor Dickey Present: Mayor Ginny Dickey; Vice Mayor David Spelich (telephonically); Councilmember Mike Scharnow; Councilmember Sharron Grzybowski; Councilmember Gerry Friedel; Councilmember Alan Magazine (telephonically); Councilmember Peggy McMahon (telephonically) Staff Town Manager Grady E. Miller; Town Attorney Aaron D. Arnson; Town Clerk Elizabeth Present: A. Burke 4. REPORTS BY MAYOR, COUNCILMEMBERS AND TOWN MANAGER A report was given on the new Webcam at Fountain Park (below). Then Councilmember Grzybowski reported that she attended the GPEC Board meeting and sat in on the Community Services Master Plan, the Mayor's State of the Town, the Governor's Roundtable with the East Valley Chamber, and the State of Innovation Virtual Summit with the Partnership for Economic Innovation. She also sat in on both of the legislative updates from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. She expressed concern over the corporate tax cuts, and was eager for that conversation later in the meeting. Councilmember Friedel sad that he had attended the State of the Town and thanked everyone. He attended the GPEC Health and Economy session. He noted that in Scottsdale the bed/booze revenues will be down over 30% and there have been a lot of lost jobs in the leisure and hotel industry. He said that on the health side, he has been told that the one-shot vaccine should be in Arizona by the end of February. He also attended a couple of ribbon cuttings, for Jay Schlum's new office on Shea, and the GOALL business. He told Public Works Director Justin Weldy that he went out and watched the people working in Sunridge sealing the cracks and they did a nice job. Councilmember Friedel asked if there is a possibility to have a more interactive section on the website for residents to ask the Council questions, such as they do in Chandler and Tempe. Mr. Miller said that they will look into other ways to do that, and they could talk more about it offline. Town Council Regular Meeting of February 2, 2021 2 of 10 Councilmember Scharnow said that he also attended the State of the Town and participated in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan meeting. He also attended the ribbon cutting for Jay Schlum. They also had a Valley Metro Board Meeting/study session where they reviewed the budget. Councilmember Magazine said that the State of the Town was excellent. He liked what they began last year with including the department directors since they are the backbone of the Town. Mayor Dickey said that she participated in a video with other Mayors addressing short-term rentals. She said that they did a hybrid State of the Town, and she thanked the sponsors. She said that the video was well put together and thanked Bo Larson, Mike Ciccarone and Mr. Miller, along with the department directors and public safety personnel. She participated in the Parks Master Plan, as well as the MAG Regional Council, which focused their efforts to address homelessness, transportation and legislation that affects local jurisdictions. She also attended the East Valley Chamber and Phoenix East Valley Partnership with the Governor. A. Report on Fountain Park Webcam Town Manager Grady Miller introduced James Smith, Economic Development Director, to give a report on the new webcam at Fountain Park. Mr. Smith said that he was excited to present what they are working on and would be providing just a snapshot of where they are going. He said that it is not fully executed at this time; the company is still building out the Town's system. They entered an agreement with Earthcam which will provide a live camera of Fountain Park on the website. He said that their website shows prominent landmarks and cities around the world. They rotate through their cities nd towns, and at any given time they may feature Fountain Hills. He said that viewers are able to go back for the past 24 hours, and that will enable someone to view the fountain. He said that this will be on the Experience Fountain Hills and Earthcam websites. He said that it was a total team effort, and he thanked Mike Ciccarone, Amanda and Justin. Mr. Miller said that once it is completely set up the user will be able to get a panoramic picture from their mobile device and pan in or out; they will have total control. He added that it will be on 24/7. Councilmember Grzybowski said that she was very excited and thanked everyone involved. Town Council Regular Meeting of February 2, 2021 3 of 10 5. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS A. PRESENTATION ON Monthly Update by Captain Larry Kratzer of the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office. Captain Kratzer said that due to the time frames for generating a staff report with statistics, he was unable to do that, but would report on it next month. Tonight he wanted to address an issue on which he has received a lot of calls--the safety corridors. It has been about two months since the signs were erected on Saguaro and Palisades. In those two months they have had 627 traffic stops throughout town, and 40 percent have been within the corridors. He said that some residents believe that there has been no enforcement. He noted that when they first discussed this they were never going to be putting all of their resources into it, but they would do more, which they have. He said that they are making sure that when they have enforcement, they take into consideration all of the factors in determining whether they get a warning or a ticket. He said that out of the 253 stops, 65 percent have been for speed; 17 percent for nonmoving violations such as cell phone use and equipment violations; 13 percent for stop sign/red light violations, suspended drivers licenses. He said that he is asking his deputies to continue enforcement efforts. The deputies do have discretion, although some residents believe they should be 100 percent tickets. Out of the stops, 70 percent have received citations and 30 percent have received warnings. Councilmember Magazine said that somehow they need to get the word out about how serious they are with this. He said that many people do not have a clue as to what a safety corridor means. Mr. Miller said that they anticipated that and worked closely with the Fountain Hills Times and they did a story in the Insider. Councilmember Magazine suggested that they also share with the public the number of people being cited. Councilmember Scharnow asked what determines "criminal speeding." Captain Kratzer said that in a residential area it is usually 20+ over the speed limit. Mayor Dickey thanked the Captain for being so responsive. He is available and accessible to the Council and the public. She said that she appreciated what they are all doing, especially being on alert for months with everything else going on. 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 Town Council Regular Meeting of February 2, 2021 4 of 10 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 Mike Scharnow, SECONDED BY Councilmember Sharron Grzybowski to approve the Consent Agenda. Vote: 7 - 0 Passed - Unanimously A. CONSIDERATION OF approving the meeting minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 19, 2021. 8. REGULAR AGENDA A. PRESENTATION and PUBLIC HEARING on FY19 and FY20 Development Fee Audit Report. Mayor Dickey opened the Public Hearing. Finance Director David Pock said that about a year ago they did the development fee updates and instituted new fees. That process took about 270 days to complete. He said that part of the Arizona Revised Statute regulations on development fees, they have to go through an audit every two years in which the fees are reviewed to determine that they were collected and spent correctly. He noted that this is not related to the Town's financial audit which is done every year. He then introduced Kevin Burnett from Willdan who attended telephonically. Mr. Burnett said that this is a different type of audit. They are not looking at financials specifically. He said that last year the Town did a study wherein they projected growth for the next ten years and based on those projections they determine what additional facilities the Town would need to construct or acquire. He said that this determination is based on data at that time, and it is not going to be perfect. A good example is no one could have foreseen COVID at that time and the impact it may have to development. He said that this is an early stage of the audit. The study is done for ten years and this is the first year since the study was done. If this was year 9 of 10, and they were 50% lower than projections that might raise red flags.They have no concerns with where the Town is at right now. He said that they think the development will pick up and they will have an appropriate matching between the development and facilities. He said that the state statutes are explicit on what they can and cannot spend those fees on, and they also look at that. He said that they did not spend any money on capital infrastructure from those funds, so they are abiding by state statutes. Mayor Dickey closed the Public Hearing. Town Council Regular Meeting of February 2, 2021 5 of 10 B. CONSIDERATION OF Approving Professional Services Agreement C2021-032 between the Town and Kimley Horn & Associates, Inc. for the Desert Vista crosswalk project. Public Works Director Justin Weldy said that the Community Services Director, retired Town Engineer and himself have looked at this issue for two years and brought it forward as a capital project. He said that this would provide a safe pedestrian crosswalk from the south side of Saguaro to the north for those going to and from the dog park, soccer fields, skate park, etc. He said that part of it will include a sidewalk on the north side of Saguaro and there will be a hybrid flashing beacon at Tower Drive. There is a wide median that provides a safe haven and an opportunity to rest or push a button and the lights will begin flashing. He said that there will also be a crosswalk from Saguaro across the service road, but there will be no flashing beacon. He said that on the south side of Saguaro there is a relatively steep slope ad they have some existing water meters and mature landscaping. They would like to minimize the disturbance by installing a retaining wall of approximately 36" at some points. Councilmember Friedel asked what the timeline was. Mr. Weldy said that if approved, they will move forward to 90% plans and he would like to say it would be ready by middle of May and completed by June 30. Councilmember McMahon voiced concern with no warning lights. Mr. Weldy said that they currently do not have advance crossing lights; that may be a necessity as the design moves forward. He said that there will be an advance sign with a crosswalk indicating that along with the light. He said that the service road on the north side will be marked in white as a crosswalk, identical to what is on the Avenue of the Fountains. Also, there will be advance warning signs. Mr. Weldy said that the accessible route on Tower between the service road and park will be brought up to current ADA requirements. He said that they had originally looked at Desert Vista for the crosswalk location, but with the curvature and line of sight issues, along with northbound right turning movements, it was challenging. Mr. Weldy said that there will be a street light luminaire and dual strobe lights lit at night and the sidewalk will have reflectors. They may also put in RPMs (raised pavement markers). Councilmember Scharnow said that the next agenda item talks about Hawk systems, and he asked if this location could be retrofitted for a future Hawk conversion. Mr. Weldy said that Hawk signals are appropriate in some locations. In this case, the cost to purchase and install the flashing system is $20,000 and is consistent with other locations, such as by Fire Station #2 and the crossing near the high school. A Hawk system is a few hundred thousand dollars. It could be in the future, if staff was given that direction. He said that if the town engineer was there she would say that this flashing system is the best suited for this location. Mayor Dickey asked if this would interfere with the paving. When they did the CIP, they were told this would not interfere for the road plans. Mr. Weldy replied that was correct. Mayor Dickey said that it is one part of a puzzle of making Fountain Hills more walkabout. Town Council Regular Meeting of February 2, 2021 6 of 10 Councilmember Scharnow asked if there is funding available if they get the final design and want to move forward. Mr. Miller said that the funding for the design and construction was part of the budget. He said that staff could bring the design back to Council before proceeding if they would prefer. Mr. Weldy said that he believed they budgeted $320,000 or $280,000 based on best practices when putting this together. Based also on existing contracts that they use for flat work and retaining walls and pavement markings, he thinks it will come in just under $300,000. Mayor Dickey added that they have had residents coming to the Council requesting that they address this issue. Mr. Miller said that was corrected; within the last two years they have had requests that families have a safe way to get to the park. Mr. Weldy added that this sidewalk will then connect this neighborhood via Tower to Tioga, to Panorama and they will then have an uninterrupted trail to Fountain Park and Overlook Trail. MOVED BY Councilmember Mike Scharnow, SECONDED BY Councilmember Sharron Grzybowski to approve Professional Services Agreement 2021-032 with Kimley Horn and Associates, Inc. in the amount of$85,901.00 Vote: 7 - 0 Passed - Unanimously C. PRESENTATION on the proposed Active Transportation Plan and Town Council feedback regarding its recommendations. Development Services Director John Wesley said that what is before them is the updated Active Transportation Plan and staff is seeking Council input and direction. He said that it is a vision for being a balanced community. He said that the Maricopa Council of Governments (MAG) provided the Town with a grant to do this study. The Town hired J2 Engineering, who extensively does these types of plans. The plan will look at all active transportation, nonvehicular items, such as sidewalks, bike paths, etc. He said that they started the process last September with a Zoom public meeting, and they have held two since that time. The consultant has been looking at documents, taking input, doing surveys, etc. hoping to bring back a final report. He said that this is the time to review the work done and provide feedback. He said that they want to confirm that these are their priorities and ask if they are going down the right path. He was not looking for a formal motion. At this point Aaron Allan with Willdan reviewed a PowerPoint presentation telephonically which addressed: GRAPHIC SCHEDULE Information Gathering Inventory &Analysis Preliminary Active Transportation Plan (Where they are at) PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT INPUT SUMMARY PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT INPUT SUMMARY - Walking Town Council Regular Meeting of February 2, 2021 7 of 10 Councilmember Magazine asked if this survey went to all citizens. Mr. Allan said that it was posted on the Town's website and they received 53 responses. Mr. Miller said that it was not designed to be a statistically-valid survey. It appeared to him that it would be better described as stakeholder feedback. He said that it included people that have been contacting the Town and a lot of those people participated. Councilmember Magazine suggested that in the future they find other ways to get surveys like this. Mr. Miller said that it would have been nice to have more people; they will strive for that in the future. Going through the rest of the presentation, they will see that they did receive some outstanding input from those 53 people. Mayor Dickey said that they put it all online and she emailed it to sever groups of people. Mr. Miller added that the newspaper got the word out as well. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT SUMMARY - Bicycling PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT CONTINUES BACKGROUND RESEARCH PROPOSED SIDEWALK MAPPING PHASED LEGEND PROPOSED BICYCLING MAP LEGEND PROPOSED BICYCLE ROUTES LONG RANGE PLAN SUGGESTED EVALUATION OF NEW BICYCLING LANE MARKINGS AT SELECTION TOWN INTERSECTIONS SUGGESTED EVALUATION OF NEW PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS AND SIGNAGE AT SELECT TOWN INTERSECTIONS TOWN ROADWAY CLASSIFICATION NETWORK OPPORTUNITIES - TOWN MINOR ARTERIALS EVALUATE COST IMPACTS - MINOR ARTERIALS OPPORTUNITIES - TOWN COLLECTORS EVALUATE COST IMPACTS - COLLECTORS OPPORTUNITIES - TOWN LOCAL STREET EVALUATE COST IMPACTS -TOWN LOCAL STREET OPPORTUNITIES - OUTSIDE OF EXISTING ROADWAY EVALUATE COST IMPACTS - OUTSIDE OF EXISTING ROADWAY Councilmember Scharnow said that on some of the proposals it showed them moving the sidewalk on existing roadways, and asked how they would address the mailboxes. Mr. Allan said that sometimes those neighborhoods have looked at community mail boxes. Councilmember Scharnow said that to take some of the wider streets and making them narrower and adding sidewalks makes sense to him. He sad that anything they can do to enhance safety for bikers is a good thing. Councilmember Grzybowski applauded the study. She said that they have great opportunities in Town and they have some wide roads. Councilmember Magazine said that he sees some potential political problems. Some people do not know where their property lines are and will have a problem giving up property for this. Mr. Miller said that some people do not realize that the right of way is from the middle of the road into their property. He said that those are considerations they have to look at. This is a long-term plan. As they start trying to go after grants, the Active Town Council Regular Meeting of February 2, 2021 8 of 10 Transportation Plan, along with Safe Route to School, will give them resources to demonstrate that they are serious about this. They can apply and receive MAG funding. He said that this is a 20 year plan to focus on. He said that they would like to take on the low-hanging fruit and as people see improvements in other neighborhoods, they will want to know when they can get them as well. Councilmember Friedel said that he liked the plan. Sharing the road and the right of way is an educational process. They have a lot of educating to do. Maybe they could have a "share the road day, week, or month" to get people used to the idea. Councilmember Scharnow said that they have been getting letters of complaint, especially around the Safeway area, with pedestrians crossing the road from the condos, and he still sees it happening. Mayor Dickey said that she had a resident ask about the opportunity to have a bike sharing program, but she agreed that it is more suited to be used in a more urban area. Mr. Wesley said that they may be able to provide those, but they have come and gone. He said that they have not been as successful, partially due to the density of users needed for those types of programs. It may be workable in the downtown area, but he is not sure it fits in with this study. Councilmember Grzybowski said that she really likes that a lot of towns are going to the "greening" of the bike lanes. In an effort of education, it does help to differentiate the bike routes. The Town does not sign it well and it would make it obvious. She said that they have been doing it on the east coast for six or seven years. Mayor Dickey said that the urban trails is also a component of the study that they like. She said that healthy cities have safe walking and biking, and all of this fits well in a big picture way. Having a plan is the first step. She appreciated them bringing this forward to them as it gives them a plan going forward. Mr. Wesley said that he appreciated the comments and if they get away from the meeting and think of something else, to please let them know as they are working on getting the draft out within the next month. They have also been working with the consultants on the Parks Master Plan to make sure the two are working together. D. DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION relating to any item included in the League of Arizona Cities and Towns' weekly Legislative Bulletin(s) or relating to any action proposed or pending before the State Legislature. Mr. Miller said that from this point forward, they will have this agenda item during the Legislative session where staff will be seeking Council consideration. He said that each Councilmember can go on the ALIS website and register individually in favor or opposition to any of the bills. But, for the Council to register and provide input, staff will ask for Council consensus of specific issues. He reviewed some bills seeking direction. SB1252 - Corporate Income Tax Phase Out He said that 36% of the Town's operating revenue comes from state shared revenues. This bill would have a huge impact on the Town, anticipating $130,000 a year with each year doubling. The total reduction would be about $600 million to the state and the share for cities/towns would be about $180 million, with Fountain Hills' being around $1.2 million. Town Council Regular Meeting of February 2, 2021 9 of 10 Councilmember Grzybowski said that she was totally opposed to this bill as they would be missing out on a lot of money. Councilmember McMahon said that corporations should pay their fair share of taxes. Mr. Miller said that there has been a little infighting within the Legislature. The Governor may or may not get his wish. He said that traditionally Democrats have taken the side of cities/towns on these issues and it is a fragile Republican majority right now. Councilmember Scharnow asked if the Governor is cutting on their side as well, like with state services. Mr Miller said that in the past they have had the state absorb the impact on cities and towns, but there has to be an impact on the state as well. SB1333 - Law Enforcement Budgets Mr. Miller said that he has not heard of any cities or towns wanting to reduce their budget, but this bill would mean that if a budget was reduced for any reason the state could withhold shared revenues. He said that if they had their own police department and departments were required to reduce their budgets overall, this would allow the state to withhold revenues. Additionally, MCSO would have to pick up and hire any of those that lot their jobs. He said that the state is trying to tell cities and towns how to do their budgets. There is a good possibility this could die in committee. Councilmember Grzybowski said that it was ironic that they are trying to control the way the cities and towns spend, and trying to reduce their revenues with the corporate tax cut. Councilmember Magazine left the meeting at this time. Mr. Miller said that based on the discussions, he would register opposition on both bills. Mayor Dickey said that Representative Kavanagh has introduced a bill, HB2481, that it is a reasonable way to deal with short term rentals and the League is working on proposed language. Councilmembers Grzybowski and Scharnow agreed. Mayor Dickey said that there are also bills regarding the opposition to county recorders handling elections, and have the Secretary of State and Board of Supervisors handling elections. She said that almost every level of government is being questioned by the Legislature so cities are in good company. The bills address more than election issues, such as trying to take away the Emergency Declaration power from the Governor and allowing any legislator to challenge any action by the Corporation Commission, and taking away their energy policy making ability. She said that there is another bill, SB1379, regarding short term rentals, but it does not approach the crux of the situation. The League is asking towns to oppose this bill. Consensus was to oppose. Town Council Regular Meeting of February 2, 2021 10 of 10 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. Counclmember Friedel said that he has read a lot of stories about attracting businesses, and he would like to get an update on the Town's efforts. Mr. Miller said that they are going to do that at the upcoming Retreat. 10. ADJOURNMENT The Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council held February 2, 2021, adjourned at 7:28 p.m. MOVED BY Councilmember Sharron Grzybowski, SECONDED BY Councilmember Gerry Friedel to adjourn. Vote: 7 - 0 Passed - Unanimously TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS ' Ginny ickey)Mayor ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: E izabeth . urke, Town C erk CERTIFICATION 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 2nd day of February, 2021. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 16th day of February, 2021. 1 If-7-7-Q -1 d�,- izabethy rke, Town C erk 4 4