HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013.0207.TCRM.Minutesz:\council packets\2013\r130221\130207m.docx Page 1 of 17
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
FEBRUARY 7, 2013
* CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Kavanagh called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers.
* INVOCATION – Pastor Don Lawrence, Christ's Church
* ROLL CALL
Present for roll call were the following members of the City Council: Mayor Kavanagh, Vice Mayor Leger,
Councilmember Brown, Councilmember Dickey, Councilmember Yates, Councilmember Elkie, and Councilmember
Hansen. Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director Julie Ghetti, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev
Bender were also present.
Mayor Kavanagh thanked the members of the Mayor's Youth Council for their attendance at the meeting.
* MAYOR’S REPORT
i) The Mayor may review recent events attended relating to economic development.
Mayor Kavanagh advised that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office will be conducting a training exercise on
Saturday at the closed Four Peaks School. She said that this is a unique opportunity for training in an actual school
building to better protect their students, teachers and school staff.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that on behalf of their Town government, she recently reached out to the Superintendent of
their Public Schools and the Principal of the Charter School to offer a working partnership with the Sheriff's Office
and the Rural Metro Fire Department to create a safe environment for their students. She added that when they see
the activity that will be taking place at the Four Peaks School, be assured that it is simply a training exercise and they
hope that these drills will never actually occur in their community. The Mayor congratulated Bryan Hughes,
Superintendent of Recreation for the Town's Community Services Department, for being named the 2012 Professional
of the Year by the Arizona Recreation Association.
Mayor Kavanagh discussed her attendance at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council's meeting on Arizona's trade
relationship with China and said they are currently working with seven cities and focusing on solar energy. She said
she was also present at the swearing in of the new State Legislature to get acquainted with the new Representatives
and Senators. She also discussed her attendance at a Rural Metro event and heard a Chief LaGreca and Randy
Roberts receive a lot of praise.
The Mayor commented on the East Valley Mayor's Luncheon and noted that several key issues were discussed in
addition to a meeting she attended where the changes to the Transaction Privilege Tax were discussed. She said that
she attended the Maricopa Association of Government's monthly Board of Directors meeting where transportation
issues were reviewed.
* SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PRESENTATIONS
(i) RECOGNITION of Board of Adjustment Member Gary Glunz's service to the Town of Fountain Hills.
Mayor Kavanagh discussed Mr. Glunz's term on the Board and said that he was a valuable member of the team. She
thanked Mr. Glunz for his contributions to the Town.
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(ii) RECOGNITION of Senior Services Advisory Commissioners Nancy McNamara's and Grace Jakubs' service to
the Town of Fountain Hills.
Mayor Kavanagh thanked Ms. McNamara for her service to the Town and commended her on her enthusiasm and
friendliness. She said that Ms. McNamara is very involved in the community and they look forward to working with
her in the future. The Mayor also thanked Ms. Jakubs for her dedicated service to the Town and thanked her for all
of her efforts. The Mayor presented Ms. Jakubs with a Certificate of Appreciation and said the other citizens will be
forwarded their Certificates as well.
(iii) ROTATION of the VICE MAYOR position to Councilmember Tait D. Elkie, pursuant to Fountain Hills Town
Code, Section 2-2-2, which requires every elected Councilmember to serve as Vice Mayor during the member's
elected term.
Mayor Kavanagh thanked Vice Mayor Leger for his efforts on behalf of the Town during his tenure as Vice Mayor
and advised that Councilmember Tait Elkie will now assume the position of Vice Mayor. The Mayor congratulated
Vice Mayor Elkie on his appointment.
CALL TO THE PUBLIC
Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that one citizen wished to speak to the Council under this agenda item.
Peter Bordow addressed the Council and said that his new motorcycle business has been open on Colony Drive for
five days now and announced that the businesses' Grand Opening will take place on Saturday. He expressed
appreciation to the Council for renewing the contract with the Business Incubator Program and commented on the
significant amount of assistance he received from that group as a new business owner. He invited everyone to attend
the Grand Opening on Saturday.
CONSENT AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #1 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
FROM JANUARY 8, 17, AND 24, 2013.
AGENDA ITEM #2 – CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING RESOLUTION 2013-08, ABANDONING
WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN PORTIONS OF CERTAIN PUBLIC
UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED AT THE SOUTHERLY AND EASTERLY
PROPERTY LINES OF PLAT 505-C, BLOCK 2, LOT 5 (15721 EAST GRASSLAND DRIVE) AS
RECORDED IN BOOK 158 OF MAPS, PAGE 42, RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA.
EA12-11 (BURGETT)
AGENDA ITEM #3 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING RESOLUTION 2013-10, ABANDONING
WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN PORTIONS OF THE CERTAIN
PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED AT THE SOUTHWESTERLY PROPERTY
LINES OF PLAT 204, BLOCK 14, LOT 8 (16863 E. PARLIN DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 142 OF
MAPS, PAGE 10, RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA. EA13-01 (GENDREAU)
AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE
APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY ROBERT D. SCHMITZ, REPRESENTING THE AMERICAN LEGION
POST 58 LOCATED AT 16837 E. PARKVIEW, FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ, FOR THE PURPOSE OF A FUND
RAISER. EVENT TO BE HELD AT 16837 E. PARKVIEW, SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON FRIDAY,
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 23 AND 24, 2013, FROM 9:00 AM TO 10:00 PM.
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AGENDA ITEM #5 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING AN APPLICATION FOR EXTENSION OF
PREMISES/PATIO PERMIT - "TEMPORARY CHANGE" SUBMITTED BY MERITA KRAJA,
REPRESENTING THE EURO CAFE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF A TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF
PREMISES AT 12645 N. SAGUARO BOULEVARD, #11, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE BANDIDOS
MOUNTAIN TO FOUNTAIN 15K EVENT TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2013.
AGENDA ITEM #6 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE
APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY SHERRY WOOD, REPRESENTING THE AMERICAN LEGION
AUXILIARY FOUNTAIN HILLS UNIT 58, INC., LOCATED AT 16837 E. PARKVIEW, FOUNTAIN
HILLS, AZ FOR THE PURPOSE OF A FUND RAISER. EVENT TO BE HELD AT AVENUE OF THE
FOUNTAINS AND LA MONTANA SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY,
FEBRUARY 22 AND 23, 2013, FROM 9:00 AM TO 6:00 PM AND SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 20 13, FROM
10:00 AM TO 6:00 PM.
AGENDA ITEM #7 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE
APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY ROBERT BOE JAMES, REPRESENTING THE VETERANS OF
FOREIGN WARS, POST #7505, FOR THE PURPOSE OF A FUND RAISER. EVENT TO BE HELD AT
SAGUARO BOULEVARD AND AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS, SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 AND 23, 2013, FROM 9:00 AM TO 10:00 PM, AND SUNDAY,
FEBRUARY 24, 2013, FROM 10:00 AM TO 10:00 PM.
NOTE: AGENDA ITEMS 8 AND 9 WERE MOVED REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND
PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA PER COUNCILMEMBER DICKEY'S REQUEST.
Councilmember Yates MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as amended (with Agenda Items 8 and 9 placed on
the Regular Agenda) and Vice Mayor Elkie SECONDED the motion.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on these agenda items.
A roll call vote was taken as follows:
Councilmember Dickey Aye
Vice Mayor Elkie Aye
Councilmember Leger Aye
Councilmember Hansen Aye
Councilmember Yates Aye
Councilmember Brown Aye
Mayor Kavanagh Aye
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
REGULAR AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM #8 - CONSIDERATION OF ALLOCATING $7,500 FROM THE DOWNTOWN
DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR THE CYCOLVIA FOUNTAIN HILLS EVENT.
Supervisor of Recreation Bryan Hughes addressed the Council relative to this agenda item. He stated that the
Cyclovia Fountain Hills is a new event being coordinated by the Town in cooperation with the Fountain Hills
Chamber of Commerce/Visitors' Bureau. He noted that the event focuses on health and wellness and is scheduled for
Saturday, April 13, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes a closing concert in the park from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
He added that it is also serving as a kick-off event for the 21st American Trail International Trails Symposium (ITS)
being held at Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Resort from April 14th - 17th, 2013. He referred to the American Trails
website and highlighted information in the staff report (Copy available on line and in the office of the Town Clerk).
Mr. Hughes explained that the event is estimated to bring 1,000 to 2,000 participants to the Downtown area, including
visitors to Fountain Hills. He said that staff is requesting $7,500 from the Downtown Fund in order to fund event
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logistics this year including but not limited to street closures, portable toilets, tents, tables, chairs, staging, inflatabl es
and event security. He noted that the Visitors' Bureau is funding marketing for the event, including the website ,
flyers, posters, etc., and in addition, the Bureau is also funding the closing concert in the evening, including
performance fees, sound and lighting. He stated that the Visitors' Bureau has budgeted $10,000 for this event.
He advised that the word Cyclovia is a Spanish word signifying the temporary closure of a network of streets to cars
so that they can become "open" to the people who bike, walk and participate in fun, free, healthy activities. He
pointed out that the website is already promoting Fountain Hills and the event. He said that the event meets the goal
of the funds that were set aside in the Downtown Fund for the creation of new events that benefit the Downtown area
and said that staff requests Council approval.
Councilmember Dickey thanked staff for bringing this forward. She referred to the $10,000 that the Visitors' Bureau
has set aside for this and said that in looking at the contract it shows $7,500 budgeted for the International Trails
Symposium. She asked if that $7,500 is part of this event (the $10,000) and is this $10,000 coming out of the funding
that the Town gives to the Visitors' Bureau.
Mr. Hughes said that when they started with the original estimate the overall cost estimate was between $25,000 and
$30,000 and they have been "dialing that back" as they receive more details. He stated that as far as the funding that
is coming from the Visitors' Bureau, he asked Mark McDermott to be here this evening to respond to questions.
Mr. McDermott, Director of the Visitors' Bureau, addressed the Council and said that they are talking about two
separate budget items. He noted that in order to book this event, which consists of about 1,000 people in attendance,
the host community had to meet certain requirements and one of those was to be a sponsor of the event itself. He said
that that includes a great deal of exposure, including the website, which receives over one million hits a year. He
added that they also have a nationally distributed magazine with a circulation of 50,000 and they have received
several articles specific to Fountain Hills and all of Arizona. He said that this is a sponsorship in the area of
meetings/tourism. He added that they need to raise many thousands of dollars to conduct this event and the Town is
helping in that regard. He further stated that during conversations with them, they came up with the idea of a
Cyclovia event, which they are very familiar with, and the Visitors' Bureau liked the idea because it fit the mold in
terms of what they are trying to do to promote/brand Fountain Hills as a health, wellness, fitness, vibrant community
with a unique setting that is very conducive to that sort of thing. He said that a 25 -member committee was formed
that includes members of this Council, former Mayors, civic community leaders, cultural community, etc. and they
have been working on this for approximately one year. He stated that the Visitors' Bureau thought the funds were an
appropriate use of Downtown Fund monies and the Bureau also decided to dip into its funding if necessary.
Mr. McDermott informed the Council that they are selling sponsorships for the event and have already raised over
$1,000 and hope to raise upwards of $5,000 to $7,000. He said that Councilmember Dickey's question was "Is it
Town Funding?" and stated that probably half of the amount could be called Town funding, whatever they spend
above and beyond sponsorship dollars, because the Bureau receives money from the Town, from the Tribe, a little bit
from the Chamber and other miscellaneous revenue sources.
Vice Mayor Elkie commented that this will be done in conjunction with the Visitors' Bureau and the Town and asked
if any type of admission will be charged. He added that as far as the sponsorships, is the Visitors' Bureau the e ntity
that is sponsoring it?
Mr. McDermott advised that there are no revenue generating activities at the event (the only revenue will be from the
sponsorships).
Mayor Kavanagh stated that it sounds as though the Town is getting a lot of publicity on lin e and she is sure that their
restaurants and stores are going to benefit from having all those people Downtown. She added that the streets are
going to be closed and there will be activities for the children.
Mr. McDermott said that the goal is for this to grow and become the Town's third major event.
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Councilmember Dickey noted that the contract that the Town has with the Visitors' Bureau contains certain things that
are expected and asked if this $10,000 is coming from that same amount (the amount expected according to the
contract). She said she wanted to be clear about whether it is $7,500 or $17,000 -- she added that she is all for this
and she just wants to be clear on what the Town's contribution is or if it is at all affecting the contract that th ey have
with the Bureau for the $103,000.
Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director Julie Ghetti advised that when the contract was awarded to the Chamber for
Tourism the event was not anticipated at that time so it would not be spelled out as something included in that
contract.
Councilmember Dickey asked whether anything that was in the contract is being compromised by the $10,000 and
Mr. McDermott responded no, because part of the job that the Bureau is charged to do by the Town is to sponsor
events to bring people to Town. He said that this is a little unique because in sponsoring this event they are also
creating the event and it is part of their mission as well to create new events to bring people to Town. He added that it
is essentially an event sponsorship with a creation component to it. He noted that they will spend $3,000 to $4,000
marketing the event but they would spend that marketing events anyway and that is part of the $10,000.
Councilmember Yates commented that he is looking at the Strategic Plan and stated that they obviously fit several
categories contained in it -- economic vitality, health and safety, public welfare, etc. He asked if the $7,500 will
impact the existing budget -- is there any downfall associated with this.
Ms. Ghetti replied no -- this was money set aside specifically for any new event coming into Town.
Councilmember Leger said to further clarify Councilmember Yates' question, in the budget they have a specialized
fund (in the Excise Tax Budget) for $50,000 and there were no defined events so this $7,500 is coming out of that
$50,000. He added that they actually have a surplus rather than a deficit.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item.
Vice Mayor Elkie MOVED to approve the allocation of additional funds from the Downtown Development Fund for
the 2013 Cyclovia Fountain Hills event in the amount of $7,500 and Councilmember Yates SECONDED the motion,
which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #9 - CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF A REQUEST FOR
STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR PROMOTION OF COMMERIAL BUSINESS IN FOUNTAIN
HILLS.
Councilmember Yates advised that this is a free market solution to a public sector problem -- how do they reach out
and attract businesses, not just retail but actual office space, industrial manufacturing and of course retail space
without hiring a new person and spending staff time when they already have a system in place called the free market.
He stated that right now if someone owns a building or land and they want to sell it, lease it or rent it, they hire a
commercial real estate broker. He added that if someone owns a business and wants to find space they hire a
commercial real estate broker. He said that he is asking for the Town to hire a commercial real estate broker to
represent the Town so that when new businesses are looking to move somewhere Fountain Hills is on that list and
when new businesses call the Town and say they are looking for something in Fountain Hills, Deputy Town Manager
Julie Ghetti or Town Manager Ken Buchanan will have someone to contact. He added that the beauty in this i s that
the free market pays for it -- there is already a commission in place whether it be on the buyer/broker's end (a business
pays a broker to find them space or land). He noted that if it succeeds it does not cost the Town money and if it
doesn't quite work out well it still doesn't cost the Town money but he believes it will succeed because of the chatter
they are getting in the press. He added that he has had several brokers ask him when this would be on an agenda. He
said it is something new and a little "out of the box" but the down stroke is very minimal. He stated that he welcomes
additional discussion and/or questions relative to this proposal.
Councilmember Dickey referred to the Scope of Work and said that it states "Seeking qualified commercial real estate
brokers" and she doesn't know what he considers commercial. She asked if there would be any opportunity for a non -
profit or an educational/governmental entity to rent office space or would this preclude that in the definition.
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Councilmember Yates replied that the term commercial real estate broker is all encompassing -- anybody who rents,
buys, leases or does any kind of business. He added that the term business includes non-profits, for profit, sole
proprietor, etc. He said that one of the brokers he works with a lot almost specializes in non-profits and that is where
some of the idea came from. He stated that they move, use office space and some of them like Goodwill for example
have a non-profit business model that supports their non-profit entities and that is how this works.
Councilmember Dickey said if they entered into this with an organization would that be brought back before the
Council as another agenda item for discussion on the scope of work and any other items.
Councilmember Yates asked Town Attorney Andrew McGuire to walk the Council through the Request for
Qualifications (RFQ) process and stated that once it is sent out he hopes several companies apply and said that he
would like to know the next step.
Mr. McGuire informed the Council that the RFQ process contemplates that at the end of the evaluation period when
the selection committee decides who they are going to sign up with, whatever form of contract that is going to be used
will come back to the Council for approval.
Councilmember Dickey asked if this would be exclusive or are there opportunities for people to come forward if they
would like to do it.
Councilmember Yates advised that at one point they were talking about whoever the best retail broker is or the bes t
retail/manufacturing broker, but it makes more sense in the industry to get a team together. He added that they are
looking for a team that does all those services and there are several out there.
Councilmember Leger pointed out that Councilmember Yates used the word "hire" and said he believes that was just
a bad choice of words. He clarified that the Town will not be paying for this service. He added that he has had some
interest from this community regarding this and some questions. He asked wha t impact if any this would have on
local commercial realtors or real estate brokers that might be concerned that they are going "out of house" for this
particular service.
Councilmember Yates replied that in a perfect situation when someone lists a property they are hoping to get it sold
themselves so they get the 100% commission. He stated that whoever the listing agent is they always put in their
agreement that they will split that commission. He noted that 30% of something is better than 100% of nothi ng so if
the Town has somebody representing them and he gets two other entities that are licensed together, they will work
amongst themselves to split whatever that commission is. He added that as far as excluding anybody, no one would
be excluded and if anything it exposes some of the local agents to a much broader base that they by themselves might
not be able to reach.
Councilmember Leger said that if an in-Town commercial broker/realtor was landing a project, they are in it for their
commission and not sharing it with this outside group -- that outside group does not have dibs on their piece of work.
Councilmember Yates concurred with Councilmember Leger's comments.
Vice Mayor Elkie asked if the Selection Committee has been put together at this point and Councilmember Yates
responded no.
The Vice Mayor asked Mr. McGuire if they knew what the new dates were going to be (on the first page of the
Statement for Qualifications as far as the release date, the final date for inquiries, etc.).
Mr. McGuire advised that this was prepared in anticipation of an earlier Council meeting and all dates would be
adjusted by three weeks.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item.
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Councilmember Yates MOVED to extend the Statement of Qualifications for promotion of commercial business in
Fountain Hills and Councilmember Brown SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #10 - CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTING AND APPROVING THE PLACEMENT OF A
BRONZE SCULPTURE TITLED, "LOOK TO THE MESA," IN THE COMMUNITY CENTER LOBBY.
Mayor Kavanagh announced that the bronze sculpture titled "Look to the Mesa" is being donated by Arlene Helgeson,
a local resident, and asked Ms. Helgeson to stand and be recognized. The Council and members of the audience
expressed their appreciation to Ms. Helgeson for this wonderful contribution.
Director of Community Services Mark Mayer addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and noted that Mr.
Miles and Sandi Thompson, Chair of the Public Art Committee, were in attendance. He advised that the Public Art
Committee is requesting that the Town accept a donated bronze sculpture for public display. He noted that the
sculpture, "Look to the Mesa" depicts a Hopi maiden. He said that the Public Art Committee is requesting that this
item be placed in the lobby of the Community Center. He reported that the piece is valued at $15,000 and the annual
insurance cost to be paid by the Town is $64.50. He added that the Community Center Advisory Commission
reviewed the piece and its proposed location at their January 22nd meeting and supports the acquisition of the piece
and its proposed location and staff also recommends acceptance and placement as proposed. He referred to a diagram
showing the proposed location (Copy available on line and in the office of the Town Clerk).
In response to a question from the Mayor, Mr. Mayer advised that the piece is 53 inches tall and 22 inches wide. He
noted that it is sitting on a base and is a completely self-contained unit.
Vice Mayor Elkie thanked Ms. Helgeson for donating the piece to the Town and Mayor Kavanagh advised that the
sculpture is part of Ms. Helgeson's personal collection. She noted that Ms. Helgeson loves the community and wanted
to share this beautiful piece of art with everyone else. The Mayor again thanked Ms. Helgeson and the Public Art
Committee for their efforts.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item.
Councilmember Brown MOVED to accept and approve the placement of a bronze sculpture titled, "Look to the
Mesa," in the Community Center Lobby and Councilmember Yates SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #11 - CONSIDERATION OF INITIATING AN AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 6, SECTION
6.08 - SIGNS, OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE. IF ADOPTED, THE AMENDMENT WOULD REVISE
THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH PROMOTIONAL BANNERS MAY BE USED BY BUSINESSES.
Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director Julie Ghetti addressed the Council and stated that staff was asked to come
back and provide the Council some clarification on Section 6 of the Zoning Ordinance as it relates to banners. She
noted that staff would be Bob Rodgers and Paul Mood who are both sick so Town Attorney Andrew McGuire will
provide an update on this agenda item.
Mr. McGuire stated that this is the embodiment of trying to make this Section as clear as possible. He said that the
text is mostly the same in the areas that were not specifically clear before but he decided that while they were cleaning
it up they should make it actually read better as well. He noted that if this meets with the understanding of the
Council then staff will forward it on to Planning & Zoning, go through the public hearing process and bring it back
before the Council in April (an ordinance to adopt the change).
Vice Mayor Elkie referred to Section D(c) on the first page of the packet and asked Mr. McGuire to define "on a
periodic basic with advanced notification to Town."
Mr. McGuire advised that the staff had a process by which permits were not necessarily issued for this type of sign
but notification of when these events were going to happen was required. He said that "on a periodic basis" was the
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best language he could come up with in trying to figure out the two 7-day periods that were possible each month. He
added that they weren't certain whether it would be every month -- they could do it three times a year.
Vice Mayor Elkie commented that "on a periodic basis" could probably be read ten different ways but he can
understand the difficulty in coming up with the language. He suggested taking out the words "on a periodic basis"
and leaving it up to the business owners to come to the Town with advance notification for not more than two periods
of seven consecutive days per month. He said as far as the advanced notification to the Town, it is his understanding
that if there was a banner that had to be attached to a building some approval was needed for safety purposes and that
sort of thing. He asked how that reads into advanced notification to the Town and whether there is an application or
something that needs to be submitted by the businesses so the Town knows what it is and when it is going to occur.
Mr. McGuire stated that administratively that is really what it turns out to be. He added that it is not necessarily an
application like they might have for a sign permit but it contains a lot of the same information. He said that he thinks
Mr. Rodgers does them by e-mail. He further stated that to distinguish it from 1(a), which is the one time basis, do
they want to perhaps say recurring because he wants to make sure that they have a distinction between the long term
one time banner and the recurring (as many times as they want within a seven-day period).
Mayor Kavanagh said Mr. McGuire mentioned business community but a banner could be requested by someone
other than a member of the business community (a group, etc.).
Mr. McGuire replied that if it is not advertising for the purpose of an event and it's not a commercial business or a
church or a group -- if it is just a person wanting to have the sign up -- that is not covered by this code. He added that
this just pertains to those commercial entities or non profits that would be covered by this.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that it will cover churches and all that as well and Mr. McGuire concurred.
Vice Mayor Elkie referred to Section D(1)(b) which deals with a church for up to 30 consecutive days for the purpose
of promoting a program or event. He asked if that is 30 consecutive days one time a year.
Mr. McGuire responded advised that this is the current language in the code and when they talked about it before
there didn't seem to be any consensus or direction from the Council to modify that provision. H e added that it really
is unlimited with respect to churches as far as the code has been interpreted.
Vice Mayor Elkie commented that a church could have it up for 30 days take it down for one day and then put it up
for another 30 days and Mr. McGuire said that is a possibility. He added that he doesn't believe that that has been a
concern as far as enforcement over the years.
The Vice Mayor reiterated his request that the language regarding advance notification to the Town be clarified
because he knows that could be in the form of an e-mail and he wants to make it as easy and straight forward as
possible. He said that Mr. Rodgers would probably be the best person to answer that question unless Ms. Ghetti
knows how that works.
Ms. Ghetti informed the Council that staff met and discussed that today and the notification is to allow for the
businesses to come in with their banner and there is a requirement that they have to show where the sign will be
placed and then staff has to put that into the system so that the clock starts ticking on those seven days. She added
that they determine for no longer than a year so they could come in and apply once for the whole year but that would
be the maximum.
Councilmember Hansen pointed out that the concerns are addressed in the chart that was provided where it says the
type of event and sign type. She said that the language in that is very clear and indicates that a formal permit process
is not necessary.
Ms. Linda Bordow had submitted a speaker card but withdrew her request due to the fact that her question was
answered during the discussion.
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Councilmember Leger stated that it is his understanding that C will be changed from "periodic" to "reoccurring" and
Mr. McGuire advised that that would be his recommendation in order to distinguish it from Section 1(a).
Councilmember Leger said that he is comfortable with that and also pointed out that with respect to not seeing this
again, there is a Sunset Clause included so it looks as though they will be taking a look at this around Christmas time
in 2014 and Mr. McGuire confirmed that Councilmember Leger was correct.
Councilmember Yates MOVED to move this forward to Planning & Zoning for their review and Councilmember
Brown SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED by majority vote (6-1) with Councilmember Dickey voting Nay.
AGENDA ITEM #12 - CONSIDERATION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF TO CONTRACT
WITH THE INTERNATIONAL CITY/COUNTY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (ICMA) AND THE
NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER, INC. (NRC) FOR A NATIONAL CITIZEN SURVEY IN THE
AMOUNTOF $20,300.
Ms. Ghetti addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and outlined a brief PowerPoint presentation (Copy
available on line and in the office of the Town Clerk). She said that one of the Council's goals for this fiscal year was
to conduct a statistically valid Citizens' Satisfaction Survey, consider the survey as a baseline and tie it to performance
measures utilizing the ICMA (International City/County Management Association) standards. She noted that the
Town previously conducted two surveys that were designed to illicit responses regarding the proposed Strategic Plan
and what residents were willing to pay for. She added that the survey was in concert with the proposed Strategic Plan
and was targeted towards half of those who participated in the Strategic Planning process in the Town Hall and the
other half (400 of the 800) were random. She said that in order to accomplish measuring the level of satisfaction of
Fountain Hills' residents and utilizing the results to benchmark for the future, staff is proposing to initiate a Customer
Satisfaction Survey that is administered nationally by ICMA in cooperation with the National Research Center
(NRC). She noted that the survey is utilized by cities in Arizona and can become a benchmark for future surveys and
is designed specifically for use by local governments. She said that because similar surveys are conducted in
numerous jurisdictions, the Town can compare the results with other cities both locally and across the country. She
added that the survey can be tailored to the Town's specific needs while utilizing standardized questions and allows
for the creation of three policy questions that are entirely specific to Fountain Hills.
Ms. Ghetti informed the Council that it is staff's recommendation that utilizing the NRC to administer the survey is a
cost effective and efficient use of Town resources. She noted that the survey is basically a turnkey operation yet it
provides data on how they can assess their community's needs and an assessment of resident satisfaction with
community amenities and government service provisions.
Ms. Ghetti advised that the basic survey cost is $10,300 and that includes 1,200 randomly selected households,
including two pre-survey postcards and a mailing of the survey instrument. She said that if they wanted to expand the
survey to 3,000 residents that would cost an additional $7,100. She further stated that if they wanted to add a web
survey that would cost another $900. She stated that staff is proposing that if it is the Council's direction to move
forward with the NRC, staff will work with NRC to create the survey instrument and distribute it to the Council
before it is put out to the public. She added that staff is l ooking to find out if the Council wants to go this route as
opposed to issuing an RFQ and going through that process with a consultant and, if so, do they want to have just the
basic survey or expand it to 3,000 or add a Spanish translation (there are some options within the survey). She
reported that the $20,300 figure noted in the Staff Report is merely a suggestion. She indicated her willingness to
respond to questions from the Council.
Councilmember Yates asked how effective this is. He advised that he has a marketing background and it seems that
direct mail is not as effective as it once was. He questioned whether they have any numbers indicating what kind of
response they can expect and the validity of what they get.
Ms. Ghetti noted that it is a nationally recognized survey and company and they say that out of 1,200, they can expect
about 425 back and that is pretty much standard.
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Councilmember Yates asked if the company believes they can extract a valid response on the topics they will discus s
and Ms. Ghetti responded that that would be the standard norm and in order to make the survey statistically valid
there has to be some control over what is sent out and what they get back. She noted that they can do telephone as
well and if they choose to do that the cost would be less expensive but they might lose some of the statistical validity
because they will lose some of the control but it is an option and would cost $6,000.
Mayor Kavanagh advised that that was one of her concerns as well -- the mail issue, they have to send out a postcard
and then people know it is coming but with the amount of mail that people get she is just wondering for this price how
many people are going to actually open the mail, sit down, do the survey, and mail it back. She added that it just
seems like people don't do that type of thing anymore, it is more e-mails or phone calls. She asked if they do any type
of an e-mail.
Ms. Ghetti replied that she didn't see where they perform any part of an e -mail as part of the survey because again
they have to have control over who gets what so that they can create the grouping that is pretty valid, a good sense of
the people that have been surveyed. She added that there is a web option as part of the survey but that doesn't get
counted in as statistically valid. She said that as far as the mail, if they promote it and let people know about it -- get
ahead of it and raise awareness that it is coming that might provide them a better return.
Mayor Kavanagh noted that out of 1,200 they may get 425 responses and asked what kind of response they get from
telephone surveys.
Ms. Ghetti stated that she didn't know the answer to the question.
Councilmember Hansen pointed out that the paperwork says that a phone survey will cost $6,000 and they do 400
completed interviews. She said that essentially it is the same as mail -- they will get 400 responses.
Ms. Bender advised that one citizen wished to speak on this item.
Linda Bordow addressed the Council and said that she has done a lot of work and due diligence on this and now has
three vendors who are interested in bidding on the survey. She stated that all three are confident that they can
complete the same work for less money and they have a lot of experience in this area. She urged the Council to keep
the money in the State and said that any one of the three vendors could do future comparative surveys as well. She
noted that most of what they would be doing would be a call or an in-person face-to-face statistically accurate survey.
She added that all three agree that the mailing list is the least effective of all surveys and have a less return rate than
most. She noted that with the survey they are discussing for 3,000 pieces of mail they will get a net return of 1,000
and that is if they came in at a third and sometimes they are a lot less than that. She requested that the Council move
forward with an RFQ and put the survey out to bid in order to get the most bang for the buck. She said that every
dollar matters and she has only known about this for eight days and that is not long enough for the vendors to drill
down and give an exact dollar figure but the best they could do at a first pass was for a couple to say they would
provide all of the same metrics that were in the package presented to the Council and the largest vendor felt they
could do the same exact work with independent questions for an amount between $11,000 and $13,000. She
requested that the Council table this for two weeks or a month so that she can get with each vendor and obtain from
them a firm dollar figure. She indicated her willingness to continue working on this to ensure that the Town gets the
best possible survey for the best dollar amount. She also thanked Ms. Ghetti for her assistance.
Mayor Kavanagh thanked Ms. Bordow for all of the work that she has put into this.
Councilmember Yates asked if they would do a Request for Proposals (RFP) or a Request for Qualifications (RFQ).
Mr. McGuire advised that this is a price specific proposal so it would be a Request for Proposals that would ask the
vendors for both qualifications and price.
Councilmember Yates commented that they could do this in one step and Mr. McGuire agreed.
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Vice Mayor Elkie pointed out that the Town does contract with their Town Attor ney so whenever they put out an
RFQ or an RFP there are associated costs. He said that he would be interested in hearing what the public has to say as
they often do. He stated that he would invite anyone who is listening tonight to call and let them know what kind of
job they are doing (425 calls would equal a great savings). He emphasized the importance of knowing what the
citizens are thinking and he is no statistician but the biggest concerns he believes are going to be Saguaro Boulevard,
fix the roads, etc. and they are certainly moving along in that direction. He stated that being a Town of limited
resources and means right now he would be more in favor of putting this on the back burner until some future date as
opposed to spending more money on surveys and studies similar to his position on the Traffic Study Committee that
they voted on not too long ago.
Councilmember Brown commented that just for his knowledge he would like to know how much it costs to issue an
RFP.
Ms. Ghetti advised that there is legal time involved and staff resources and she couldn't venture to guess at an actual
amount but it would be more time than it is dollars.
Vice Mayor Yates asked how much it cost for the one they just put together for the broker (have they been bil led for
that yet?).
Mr. McGuire stated that he is not sure that staff could provide a good estimate based on that particular RFP because
that one was unique. He noted that this one would be much like the ones they do on a regular basis and it would come
from one of the firm's paralegals and at a much lower rate but would probably take a few hours of her time so a few
hundred dollars.
Councilmember Brown concurred with Vice Mayor Elkie's comments and said that this should be set aside for the
time being and tabled until a future time.
Councilmember Dickey pointed out that at their Retreat they kept coming back to this item and saying it was
something that they wanted to do. She said that she is actually okay with not doing it now also but since this is a
switch in what they thought was a priority is she hearing that they still think it is important but they just don't want to
do it right now.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that this goes way, way back and asked if there was a particular reason why the Council felt
they needed the survey and Ms. Ghetti replied that the idea actually came out of the Retreat and it is part of the
Strategic Plan, one of the initiatives. She advised that two surveys have been done in the past, one in 2005 and one in
2007 and both of them were very specific, they weren't general customer satisfaction surveys, they were geared
towards what citizens thought about the Strategic Plan and what the citizens were willing to pay for.
Councilmember Leger commented that for the basic service the cost is $10,300 and asked what that consists of.
Ms. Ghetti informed the Council that that amount covers the 1,200 mailings, follow-up phone calls and reporting back
but it doesn't include demographic information.
Councilmember Leger stated that the basic service is $11,000 and they are talking about ICMA, which set the
standards in municipal governments. He pointed out that they have done this hundreds of times. He added that when
they look at methodology surveying, what they will do is send out a basic survey by demographics in this Town and
they will know how many numbers they need returned in order to have something that is statistically significant. He
added that if they don't hit their mark with the basic package then they can start talking about expanding the same
group (they don't have to commit to that on the front end). He noted that they have a citizen who wants to bring forth
more information and he is fine with that. He said that they have been talki ng about this forever and this isn't a very
difficult task and their base price for a survey from the top notch group in the United States that does this work and
sets the standard for municipal government is extremely reasonable. He stated that he looked at it and said good
group, good history, good product, good service and he would like to move forward and get it done. He said that they
have talked about this since 2007 and he does not think that this is unreasonable at all.
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Councilmember Yates asked if this would be in addition to the budget or if the cost has already been included in the
budget.
Ms. Ghetti advised that $25,000 has been budgeted for this purpose.
Councilmember Leger said that they are going to get a lot of responses from an RFP, he has heard from one vendor
already. He said that the legal time in putting this together is not the issue because he has been through this process
before with the Strategic Plan, it is sitting down and reviewing it and then probably having to select a hand ful of them
and then beginning the interviews. He noted that the RFP done right is not a slam dunk and it is and will be labor
intensive depending on who is applying, how many people, how many qualified people do they have. He added that
that is an indirect cost that could get pretty high but he is sure they won't be flying people in from across the country
as they have done in the past.
Mayor Kavanagh advised that $20,000 is a lot of money to spend right now and she knows that they provided some
samples of surveys like the one they did for the City of Nogales and just looking at the questions that were asked she
has to agree with Vice Mayor Elkie that they already pretty much know what people are going to say about quite a
few of these. She said that she knows they all planned to do a survey long before she came on board but with the
money being so tight she is just looking at the questions and asking herself how much they are actually going to learn
from some of them. She added that she knows what people are going to say about the overall condition of the Town
streets and what people think about the traffic lights and the paths. She noted that there are a lot of basic questions
that they seem to ask all of the cities and towns and actually Fountain Hil ls is pretty different from most
municipalities, they are unique. She stated that she would prefer a survey that is a little bit more geared towards their
Town. She added that she doesn't think she would get much out of the results particularly from this survey so she is
not in favor of proceeding with this at all. She said that they should just save the money.
Councilmember Leger commented that he doesn't disagree with the Mayor's comments because they probably do
know the answers to most of the questions and really the questions are less significant than the methodology because
they want to be able to come back and say we know that this is a random, statistically sound survey and feel that we
have a high level of confidence that we know what is happeni ng. He added that right now they get a lot of feedback
and they sometimes have a vocal minority that appears to be the majority in this Town. He stated that they can't cut
through that unless they have a good methodology in the survey. He said the "what " is not as important as "how" this
is done so he is comfortable looking at other vendors but at the end of the day it is about methodology and how
confident they can feel that this is a representative sample of this community. He pointed out that that is a really hard
thing to get because 90% of the population don't provide feedback about anything and they need to hear from a
random sample that is statistically sound so they can feel with a level of confidence that they can move in a certain
direction. He added that that was the level of confidence they had with the Strategic Plan and they felt very confident
about investing money and time and saying that the Strategic Plan will be their compass because they know it is
statistically sound. He stated that he thinks that is very important moving forward whoever they look at or move
forward with.
Mayor Kavanagh advised that she agrees with Councilmember Leger about having something be statistically accurate
but she doesn't think that mailing something out to someone is going to come back accurate because that is just not
done any more. She said that even for political surveys that candidates do and they are very particular about what
comes back no one uses the mail because it just doesn't give accurate results. She noted that there are a lot of people
who do not have e-mail and many don't have phones anymore so any way they are going to do this they are going to
be leaving some groups out. She reiterated that she still doesn't think that the questions are going to be helpful to
them and not worth the $20,000. She said that she may consider putting this out as an RFP and maybe looking at the
best possible way to get the best results at the cheapest price but certainly not $20,000.
Councilmember Brown advised that he could get behind an RFP and he was under the impression that it was more
costly than what the Mayor is explaining but if it is a minimal amount he could certainly get behind that. He added
that he too is not prepared to spend the $20,300.
Mayor Kavanagh said she thought if they put it out and they don't use a company like this where the questions are
kind of set they could pretty much direct what type of questions they want asked (if they want to keep them more
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towards their own community). She stated that knowing their community issues they could include questions like that
that just relate to their community.
Ms. Bordow concurred and said the Council would have the option to pose additional questions . She added that they
have standardized questions that they could select from and it is a pretty streamlined service.
In response to a question from Councilmember Yates, Mr. McGuire advised in order to issue an RFP, staff would
need to generate a Scope of Work for the companies and frame what is being requested so they would know exactly
what results are expected. He added that it would have to include some direction as to what kind of survey
methodology the Town is looking to utilize and whether or not there are baselines to the questions, how much
customization is allowed or provided for by the vendors, etc.
Councilmember Hansen agreed with Councilmember Leger that some people will say this is not something that
should be put on the back burner right now. She said that they have too many issues coming up before them and
although they can think they know what people in the community tend to think but, as Councilmember Leger stated,
that probably doesn't include 90% of the population. She added that she thinks they need to do everything po ssible to
reach out to those people so that they have a better handle. She stated that she doesn't think they can let this go by the
wayside and if they want to go another route she doesn't have a problem with that but there has to be a reason why a
survey came up on a continuing basis as a priority -- the desire that they do want to reach out to their citizens and get
the best input back they can asking questions that are as objective as possible and making sure that they don't get in
the way and dictate what the outcome is -- they want it done professionally and very objectively.
Councilmember Yates MOVED to direct staff to issue a Scope of Work and then an RFP unless they need to look at
the RFP prior to its going out and Councilmember Hansen SECONDED the motion.
Councilmember Leger stated that the assumption there is that staff becomes the experts in terms of developing the
Scope of Work and they have come full circle again. He added that Councilmember Hansen just said then they start
dictating the process. He said that they have to let go of this and find an expert out there whether it is someone who is
recommended or ICMA -- they need to let the experts who do this kind of work tell us that this is the best way to do
it. He noted that most people are going to come up with the same questions with some room for latitude and the other
side of that is the base survey is $10,000 not $20,000 and there are add ons to get to the $20,000 level. He added that
if they look at what they needed to generate with the Strategic Plan to be statistically significant, the number was
rather high and that was accomplished through mail surveys and follow-up of those individuals through phone calls to
get the mail surveys back because that was part of a targeted group so they could strategize the data (that was done by
age group, a section of the Town). He commented that it was bulletproof in terms of developing their own strategy
moving forward so once again, if the group want s to move forward this is turnkey, a reputable group, a reasonable
price. He added that if the majority wants to move ahead on something else that's fine but at the end of the day they
are going to be in the same place. He asked whether they really want a Customer Satisfactio n Survey because if that
is what they want that is done at the point of service, which is Town Hall. He added that if they are not pleased with
the questions and they move forward on this he would suggest that it become more of a needs assessment -- what do
the community members view as their needs, what should they be investing money in and what should they support.
Mayor Kavanagh agreed that they need more significant questions and said that she thinks that one of the other
companies that is not just giving the Town set questions would be more open to what is more relevant to the
community. She added that she is not saying that they don't want to put some of those other types of questions in the
survey but they don't want it to just be a "feel good" survey.
Councilmember Leger concurred and said that that goes into Scope -- what is the desired output they want from this
survey. He stated that if it is a mixture of customer satisfaction and needs, needs is what he wants to hear about.
The Mayor advised that she likes Councilmember Hansen's idea and some of the issues that have come up have been
very controversial but like it was said, some people do all of the talking and the quiet ones don't come forward. She
stated that if they wanted to put something in there about a roundabout or any of their other controversial issues they
could do that and then they would be finding out specifics which would help them in the future to make decisions.
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Councilmember Dickey said that when they did talk about this she thought they specifically did not want a Customer
Service Survey that was just people who had actually come into Town Hall to do business. She added that she
thought it was going to be along the lines of what they did when they took on the Strategic Plan and trying to find out
what the Town wanted to be. She further stated that this is a science and she doesn't think that they are qualified to be
providing some of the input they are because some of the questions in there like "How safe do you feel?" ar e almost
control questions and they don't know what goes into this. She said that is why there are people who make a living
doing this. She advised that she is not opposed to looking at other companies that do this but she would tend to agree
with Councilmember Leger as far as the fact that this company is familiar with what they want but she doesn't think
that it is enough so she is okay with looking and going out but she is wondering about the Scope of Work part instead
of just saying we want a survey that is statistically valid of the most people in Fountain Hills about where they want to
go and what do they think is happening and not just a question asking if staff was courteous to them when they went
into Town Hall. She noted that she does not want them to have to write the Scope of Work.
Ms. Ghetti said that she is not sure whether benchmarking is a priority with the Council or not. She explained that if
they use a survey that isn't the national standard or one of those that the other cities are doing then they lose their
ability to benchmark but she doesn't know if that is important to the Council or not.
Mayor Kavanagh advised that it is very difficult to judge what everyone is saying since everyone seems to have
changed their mind considerably. She pointed out that they do have a motion and a second on the floor.
Discussion ensued relative to Vice Mayor Elkie's comment that he is still not in favor of spending the money on the
survey at this particular point in time even though they have budget ed for it; his comment that he thinks they are
making the process a little more complex than it needs to be and his belief that they could probably address the Scope
and the questions with the recommended company (ICMA) and not go through the RFP process and spend staff time
and hours going through applications; his statement that if a majority of the Council wants to move forward with this
survey then they should go with ICMA, spend the minimum ($10,000) and not proceed with an RFP; and his
comment that staff time is as equally important to the Town as money because of the limited staff they have; the
Mayor's comment that it sounds like the other companies do exactly what this company does and this company is
taxpayer funded (she doesn't know if that makes a difference in which one they choose); the Mayor's opinion that it
would be easier to work with a local company and her statement that she would like to see it done cheaper and they
have an opportunity with the other companies to get the exact same professional work but at a better price and they
could work with local people who are more familiar with Fountain Hills; and Councilmember Yates' motion and his
statement that whatever Scope they used with ICMA they could put that out there with the caveat that some questions
having to do with local issues be added.
Mayor Kavanagh asked Mr. McGuire if Councilmember Yates' motion that is on the floor is to use ICMA or to put
the job out to bid after the Scope of Work is completed.
Mr. McGuire advised that the motion on the floor is only to put it out for bid and to not use ICMA's product.
Councilmember Hansen commented that the Scope of Work does not have to be that complicated and they need to
specify that they are not looking for a Customer Satisfaction Survey -- they are looking for an assessment of citizens
needs and priorities are for the community. She added that the Scope of Work would not have to be real specific.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this item.
Councilmember Leger noted that Ms. Ghetti asked a question and did not receive a response from the Council in
terms of how important the Council feels standardization (benchmarking) is. He said that standardization is extremely
important because that is where they compare apples to apples i n terms of how they are doing as a municipality. He
stated that right now if you take municipal surveys in the country or the Federal/State government they get some
pretty interesting numbers and some low ones. He stressed that they then need to be able to compare those numbers
state-to-state or municipality-to-municipality. He agreed that Fountain Hills is not similar to Nogales but stated that
they are similar to other communities that ICMA has evaluated.
The Mayor called for a roll call vote on the motion on the floor and the results are as follows:
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Councilmember Yates Aye
Councilmember Dickey Aye
Councilmember Hansen Aye
Councilmember Brown Aye
Vice Mayor Elkie Nay
Councilmember Leger Nay
Mayor Kavanagh Aye
The motion CARRIED by majority vote (5-2) with Vice Mayor Elkie and Councilmember Leger voting Nay.
AGENDA ITEM #13 - CONSIDERATION OF AN EMERGENCY EXPENDITURE, IN THE AMOUNT OF
$100,003, FOR REPAIRS TO SAGUARO BOULEVARD AND SHEA BOULEVARD, INCLUDING
EXECUTION OF ANY CONTRACTS RELATED TO THE EMERGENCY REPAIRS.
Ms. Ghetti addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and advised that a few weeks ago the Town experienced
quite a bit of rainfall and some freezing which did some significant road damage to Saguaro Bouleva rd/Shea
Boulevard. She noted that it created a safety hazard for the residents and so the decision was made to go ahead and
move forward with patching and fixing up the road as best as possible. She said that staff was not able to keep up
with fixing each individual pothole so they had to go in and do some extensive road work. She stated that there was
money included in the Streets budget to do some road maintenance and this uses all of that money up. She indicated
her willingness to respond to questions from the Council and added that Streets Superintendent Ken Kurth is also
present in the audience.
Councilmember Leger advised that he has some questions to ask that were forwarded on by residents and he said that
this is an opportunity for Mr. Kurth to speak to the residents regarding the work that has been done. He commented
on the patch work/repairs that were done and stated that a handful of residents are saying that the road is looking
pretty good and it rides pretty well so why are they doing a bond? Why don't we just do this to the whole surface? He
added that he is also hearing residents ask why they are spending all this money -- they went over the road surface and
it's not smooth at all. He asked Mr. Kurth to provide answers to the residents’ questions.
Mr. Kurth addressed the Council and explained that the base failed due to the rainstorms and the freezing. He said
that they put a surface treatment on poor base in order to hold it for two years. He added that the two years in this
process was selected because if the bond passes, it will be two years before they actually reconstruct the road and if it
doesn't pass, it will be two years before they have to do some more repair work on the road. He reported that they are
talking about 164,000 square yards out there and they covered a total of 20,000 square yards so his biggest challenge
was where to paint the start and stop lines because what they didn't coat and surface will continue to fall apart a s this
will -- they just had to pick out the worst of the worst. He noted that while they filled the potholes with hot mix
asphalt to make a base, the sand seal was nine feet wide on the driving surface to make a level surface and the micro -
surface is 3/8ths of an inch thick to hold that in place so it is going to crack and break because there is no base
underneath. He emphasized that the work they did represents a two year temporary fix and hopefully it will last that
long.
Councilmember Leger thanked Mr. Kurth for his explanation and said that appearance wise some people seem to
think (and rightfully so) that it might be a permanent fix. He added that Mr. Kurth just clarified that although it is an
enhancement from filling potholes, it is still a temporary fix.
Vice Mayor Elkie advised that he has received similar questions and one was why now and not before -- why is it now
an emergency and it wasn't one before? What was the change in circumstance or condition that warranted an
emergency expenditure at this point whereas previously it was sufficient just to fill the potholes with material?
Mr. Kurth replied that they can handle small amounts of rain and fill potholes but the asphalt adjoining the potholes is
still broken up. He said that in this case there was 2 1/2 inches of rain and the potholes just got too big for them to
handle and they were into the base because it is 2 inches maximum of broken up asphalt and as the cars hit the
potholes they get deeper. He noted that staff anticipated that this would happen if they experienced a heavy rain and
that is what happened.
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The Vice Mayor said that there are obviously other potholes in Town that have been affected by the rains and with the
monsoons coming up that will be a problem. He added that he heard they spent the budget for this particular item and
asked if they should anticipate new expenditures in the future for additional road repairs.
Mr. Kurth advised that they took care of what they would consider to be the larger road repairs but they still have
some monies for potholes.
Councilmember Dickey MOVED to ratify the emergency expenditure of $100,003 for repairs to Saguaro Boulevard
and Shea Boulevard, including execution of any contracts related to the emergency repairs and Councilmember
Brown SECONDED the motion.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this agenda item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
AGENDA ITEM #14 - DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF RELATING TO ANY
ITEM INCLUDED IN THE ARIZONA LEAGUE OF CITIES AND TOWNS WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE
BULLETIN OR RELATING TO ANY ACTION PROPOSED OR PENDING BEFORE THE STATE
LEGISLATURE.
Mr. McGuire addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and said that this is just on the agenda to allow for
discussion of any issue that has arisen during the week. He added that they know a few things are still moving
forward including the Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT). He noted that a news conference on this is scheduled for
Tuesday and a meeting scheduled with the Mayors for Wednesday so they should know whether something is going
to be coming out on that. He advised that some of the other bills have not moved forward much as of yet so there is
not a whole lot to report on. He added that the League's latest Legislative Bulletin is in the Council's packets and he
would be happy to address any issue they may have.
Mayor Kavanagh agreed that the TPT is one of the most important pieces of legislation for Fountain Hills and would
be very detrimental to the Town if the point of sale for construction tax is changed. She noted that she has a meeting
with the Mayors and with the League and they have a lot of support. She added that when some of the larger cities
came on board as being opposed to that, that put the Town in a better position to fight this (with Scottsdale and all the
East Valley Mayors along with Phoenix). She said that there are going to be more meetings on this and they just have
to really watch it because if it doesn't come out as a bill, it could come out in some other f orm or be attached to
something else somewhere so the League is watching this and they are on the Town's side and helping them fight this.
Councilmember Dickey announced that today she attended her second meeting of the MAG (Maricopa Association of
Governments) Domestic Violence Committee and she doesn't have a report yet but will next time. She noted that
everyone at the meeting was really in favor of one of the bills that was on the list, Domestic Violence Arrest for
Dominant Aggressor (2383). She said they discussed whether there were any bills that the Town wanted to weigh in
on and she would ask that they consider do that with 2481 - Permissible Consumer Fireworks Penalty, which Mr.
Buchanan had advised that the League is opposing. She said they could weigh in individually or as a Council on this
bill.
Mayor Kavanagh stated that she agrees with Mr. McGuire in that they will just have to see where the various bills go
because some of them might just die. She referred to HB 2005, which will result in more transparency and said that
the League had certain meetings that were closed to the public and one Mayor in particular wanted to bring this
forward to say that the Open Meeting Laws should apply to them and any other entity like that. She said that t hat is
another one to watch.
Councilmember Dickey said she would like to discuss two points of personal privilege -- She said that if there was
any implied support, she just wanted to make it clear that this Council had no prior knowledge or approval in t he
planning of the media event (MCSO training) that will take place at the Four Peaks School (previously announced by
the Mayor). She added Love in the Hills will take place on February 14th and they are only half way there so they are
encouraging couples to come over and bring their marriage license with them.
z:\council packets\2013\r130221\130207m.docx Page 17 of 17
Councilmember Yates advised that he had a couple of meetings with Rick Melendez about some other items and he
mentioned that he has been getting feedback from people saying that cars are speeding o n Saguaro. He said he
wanted to give everyone a friendly reminder to slow it down once they come off the Beeline Highway.
Mayor Kavanagh noted that the Captain is responding to that as he did some speeding issues in a school zone. She
said that she was also told that a lot of speeding has been happening on Golden Eagle as well so the Captain is going
to check into that too.
AGENDA ITEM #15 - COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER KEN
BUCHANAN.
Items listed below are related only to the propriety of (i) placing such items on a future agenda for action or (ii)
directing staff to conduct further research and report back to the Council.
A. None.
AGENDA ITEM #16 – SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS AND REPORT ON RECENT ACTIVITIES
BY THE TOWN MANAGER KEN BUCHANAN.
None.
AGENDA ITEM #17 - ADJOURNMENT
Councilmember Yates MOVED to adjourn the meeting and Vice Mayor Elkie SECONDED the motion, which
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
By __________________________________
Linda M. Kavanagh, Mayor
ATTEST AND
PREPARED BY:
________________________________
Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session held by
the Town Council of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 7th day of February, 2013. I further
certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present.
DATED this 21st day of February, 2013.
___________________________________
Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk