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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 1/9/2018City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 Meeting Minutes Tuesday, January 9, 2018 12:30 P.M. Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aidama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 12:31 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager; Julie K. Bower, City Clerk; Michael Bailey, City Attorney; Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager; Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager WORKSHOP SESSION 1. DRAFT TRANSPORTATION PLAN - Moving Glendale Ahead Presented By: Trevor Ebersole, Transportation Director Jack Lorbeer, Transportation Planning Administrator Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Friedline said staff was looking for guidance to move the plan forward to a third phase. Further guidance would be sought for the finalization of the plan. Mr. Ebersole explained that staff had incorporated the recommendations received from Council into the second draft of the Transportation Plan and further Council direction and comments would be included in the third phase. He said staff was looking for Council guidance on the distribution of light rail project savings, recommendations for Transportation Plan projects/programs and level of service standard for roadways. Mr. Lorbeer provided Council with the breakdown of the costs and overall savings from the light rail project. The total cost of the project over a twenty-five year period would have been $162.4 million. The project would have been funded with $58.8 million in cash and the issuance of two capital bonds. The operation costs for the project would have been approximately $3.8 million a year. Mr. Lorbeer said recommendations for the distribution of the light rail savings included streets, transit, aviation, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), Transportation Systems Management (TSM), bike/pedestrian and miscellaneous. Debbie Albert, Transportation Engineer, said current street and highway funding was $444 million over the next 25 years and an increase of $44 million over the next 25 years was being recommended. Kevin Link, Transit Administrator, said the current funding level for transit over the next 25 years was $426 million. An increase of $48.2 million was recommended and would include enhancements to fixed routes, Dial -A -Ride, GUS/Administration and capital projects. Mr. Lorbeer said the current miscellaneous projects/programs included debt service which City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 2 of 17 impacted the budget by $7 million a year. The repayment plan would be completed in the year 2032. It also included the traffic education program. Dory Ludwig, Transportation Education Program Manager, said traffic education included programs such as: • Safe Routes to School • Bike Safety Rodeo • Glendale Family Bike Ride • Walk & Bike to School Day • Bus & GUS Individual Training • School Crossing Guard Training • Be Safe, Be Seen • Driver Safety Messages • Community Outreach Mr. Lorbeer said the "other" category in miscellaneous projects/programs was the vehicle replacement program. Mr. Lorbeer said the current level of service (LOS) standard for City roads was C but there were some issues that could have significant community impact if the issues were not addressed. The proposed plan recommended Council adopt an LOS standard of D. An LOS D would allow for moderate congestion. He said 5 of 6 peer cities — Avondale, Chandler, Goodyear, Phoenix and Scottsdale, used an LOS D standard. Changing the City's standard to D would maintain funding for improvements in the proposed plan for infrastructure and to support economic development. It would also minimize right-of-way impacts that had negative economic impacts. Mr. Lorbeer said staff was asking for further guidance on the following items: • Distribution of the Light Rail Savings, estimated at $162.4 million • Recommended Transportation Plan projects/programs • Level of Service Standard for Roadways Councilmember Turner said some members of the community expressed a desire to use the savings to reduce the tax. He asked if that was considered by staff and if not, why it wasn't. Mr. Friedline said a reduction in the tax wasn't considered although Council could make a change. He said a tax cut wasn't considered because funding could be used to make upgrades to the transportation system where there was no funding currently available. Councilmember Turner was concerned that staff had looked at the money as a windfall. There were needs throughout the City, not just in transportation. He supported exploring the opportunity to reduce the sales tax burden on Glendale residents. Councilmember Turner was also concerned that no recommendations were presented from the Citizens Transportation Oversight Committee (CTOC). He asked if the information had been presented to the CTOC. It was the Committee's job to advise the Council on transportation issues, including the G.O. Fund. Mr. Ebersole said the information had been presented to the CTOC and the Committee was in support of the recommended projects. Councilmember Turner asked if the CTOC was on record as being in support of the recommendations. Mr. Lorbeer said individual pieces of the overall plan had been presented to the Committee. Staff City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 3 of 17 was now looking for guidance from Council. Once the draft plan was completed, it would be presented to the CTOC. Councilmember Turner said it seemed as if the CTOC was being asked for concurrence rather than being provided with the information in order to make recommendations to Council. His preference was to hold off on Council recommendations until the CTOC reviewed the information and provided recommendations. Mr. Ebersole said staff would present it to the Citizens Transportation Oversight Committee for concurrence with the recommendations. Councilmember Turner was willing to provide ideas for the requested guidance list but felt it was premature to make recommendations. Councilmember Turner asked if there was any clarity on how the general fund burden might be lessened so that other City needs could be met and benefit from the savings. He asked for information on the restoration of transit services that were cut in 2012 and what the timeframe was for bus service expansion. Mr. Link said the expansion of the fixed -route service would happen as the funding became available. The funding would be spread out over ten years. He was hoping to implement a few expansions within the next five years but it would depend on the priorities of the department. Councilmember Turner said the presentation indicated that $42 million was available for use. If that was the case, he wanted to see transit levels restored to the 2012 levels and the expansion as quickly as possible. Mr. Ebersole said the implementation of each of the projects would be brought back to Council along with timelines. Mr. Phelps said staff did not want to make presumptions on the highest -level priorities. If Council would like to see more funding go to a project such as transit, staff would review the funding approved by Council and provide an implementation plan. Once Council had decided how the funding would be allocated, staff would review and present the priorities for implementation. Councilmember Turner said street and intersection improvements should be a long-term solution and staff should look at the disruption that businesses faced during the construction. Mayor Weiers said improvement of the roads and' intersections was something that all citizens would like to see. He didn't want to see an increase in bus service only to have the buses caught up in the traffic improvements. Staff were the experts and he wanted staff to prioritize the ! projects to address what was best for the citizens and the community. Councilmember Aldama was in favor of a reduction in the sales tax but didn't believe Council should make the decision. He wanted to hear from the residents and have citizens included in the decision. i Councilmember Aldama asked if the "GUS Bus" would be included in the expansion of service. Currently, it did not go any further than Glendale Avenue. Mr. Link said the GUS bus was included in the expansion with expansion to the north, south and west. Councilmember Aldama asked if the expansion would be on the same timeframe as the other expansion referenced by Councilmember Turner. City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 4 of 17 Mr. Link said the projects were listed in order of priority and funding availability. The Council would have final say on what the priorities were. Councilmember Aldama asked about any expansion plans for Glendale Avenue. Ms. Albert explained that the traffic data did not indicate any issues with Glendale Avenue and therefore nothing was planned. Staff would continue to monitor Glendale Avenue. Councilmember Aldama said the traffic was significant on Glendale Avenue, from 59th Avenue to the Loop 101 corridor and caused a lot of wear and tear on the road. He asked if funding should be allocated along with an implementation plan. Ms. Albert had misunderstood Councilmember Aldama's question. She said if his concern was for the maintenance and infrastructure already in place, staff would check the pavement management plan and provide the information to Council. Councilmember Aldama agreed with Councilmember Turner's suggestion that the full draft of the plan be presented to the Citizens Transportation Oversight Committee for recommendations. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the five most dangerous intersections in the City included intersections that were not performing well and were the intersections the same. Ms. Albert said one of the intersections, 67th and Bell Road, did overlay. Transportation staff would like to work with the Police Department to systematically address the intersections. A road safety assessment would be performed to determine necessary improvements. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked about the ITS funding and the minimal amount of money for upgrades. She asked if yellow flashing lights would continue to be used and was there a proposal to increase the use of the lights. Ms. Albert said there was a plan to install the flashing yellow arrow at more intersections and it would be completed in three phases. The first phase was fully funded with federal funds. The second phase would be completed in-house and was about 80 percent completed. The third phase, 22 intersections, had funding for the design but not for the construction but was included in the proposed plan. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the flashing yellow lights had made an improvement where. they had been installed. Ms. Albert said there had not been any issues but it took time to analyze the data. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how the determination was made to use the yellow flashing lights. Ms. Albert said national studies were used to determine whether it would have an impact on the intersection. There were also operational benefits to using the flashing yellow lights. It offered more flexibility for the intersection. If a flashing yellow arrow wasn't used then a leading left turn or lagging left turn must be used. A flashing yellow arrow allowed protective/permissive turns on yellow when there was a safe gap in traffic. Counciimember Tolmachoff asked that consideration be given to a different standard for volume and speed on collector streets. She said installing flashing stop signs, etc., could deter or reduce the amount of traffic in neighborhoods that might not meet the criteria. City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 5 of 17 Ms. Albert said it would be taken into consideration. Mr. Phelps said it might be premature for consideration of Glendale Avenue because of other things going on in the vicinity such as the addition of a 4,000 -stall parking garage and the expansion of Bethany Home Road. Councilmember Malnar asked if an increase in sales tax revenue was included over the 24 -year period or if it was a flat rate. Mr. Lorbeer said a regular inflation factor was used in the assumption of the revenues. Councilmember Malnar asked about the $47.7 million in debt service savings. He asked if that included an assumption of no debt or some debt. Mr. Lorbeer said staff assumed no debt. Councilmember Malnar asked if it was an actual cash savings. Mr. Lorbeer said that was correct. Councilmember Malnar asked if the contingency fund built up or was it just an amount that was allocated each year of the 24 years. He asked if it was the actual amount in the contingency or was there a larger amount in the contingency and what it was used for. Mr. Lorbeer said the contingency fund was protectionary in the event the scope of a project happened to change or if something else unexpected happened. The money would be used to help cover the unanticipated costs. It was a constant number each year and was used only if needed. The G.O. program had a five percent contingency. Councilmember Malnar supported a sales tax reduction in the G.O. program. Mr. Lorbeer said the G.O. program half -cent sales tax generated approximately $25 million a year. Councilmember Malnar was in favor of reducing the tax to one-tenth percent. Many constituents had expressed concerns about the high sales tax rate and would like to see it reduced. The decision to reduce it should be made by Council because most constituents would be in favor of the reduction. Councilmember Malnar recognized the needs of the transportation system and was in favor of improving the streets and bus system but would like to see a more conservative approach to making the improvements. Councilmember Clark favored a reduction in the food sales tax because it would benefit everyone. It had been one of the biggest complaints in the community. Councilmember Clark said there were not enough specifics in the presentation. She asked how the money would be spent over the next five years, what were staffs recommendations for the projects and what were the costs associated with each project. Councilmember Clark was concerned that a list of priorities would be made by staff and wanted to look at the residents' priorities. Councilmember Clark did not support the light rail project because she believed the funds could be put to better use, especially in economically -deprived areas. Councilmember Clark said the City had over 500 bus stops and 278 of the stops had only a sign. If City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 6 of 17 the City wanted to encourage ridership then it should make the stops more inviting with bus shelters for the hot days. Councilmember Clark said commuter light rail was an initiative the City needed to get onboard with since seventy percent of the City's population went outside of the City to work. Councilmember Clark said the amount of funding that went to the airport did not change over the next 26 years. The airport was an economic development tool. It encouraged economic development between the airport and Westgate. She wanted to see ways to connect the airport and Westgate without using Glendale Avenue. Councilmember Clark said she would like to see dedicated funding for the east side of the airport and for economic development that included marketing and development. Councilmember Clark said other concerns included giving priority and focus to Bell Road and the City doing its part on Camelback Road. The counts were horrendous. It was a major road that went throughout the valley and was the City's responsibility. She would follow-up with staff via email on the rest of her concerns. Vice Mayor Hugh was happy to see the extra funding so that programs could be improved and/or fixed. He was excited to see the next phase of the plan. Councilmember Tolmachoff inquired about the federal infrastructure funding that could be leveraged by the cities and asked how that would affect the City. Mr. Lorbeer said the City would continue to leverage federal funds and the Northern Parkway project was an example of the use of federal funds. Staff would continue to provide information regarding funding to Council. Councilmember Tolmachoff said it was important that funding be available when it did come time to leverage funding. She didn't want to see existing funding be exhausted and the City pass up an opportunity to leverage a substantial amount. Councilmember Aldama addressed Councilmember Malnar.'s comments regarding a reduction in the sales tax rate. The City was not doing well because of economic development. It was doing well because of the increase in sales tax revenue. He asked what would have to be given up if the rate was reduced. Councilmember Aldama was talking about the tax approved by Glendale voters to improve the City. He was not against a reduction but ultimately wanted the residents to see the whole picture. Mayor Weiers said staff was looking for a consensus to move forward with the proposed Transportation Plan. He wanted everyone to be cautious and not be rash about removing the sales tax. Councilmember Clark wanted more specifics brought back such as timeframes and costs. Mr. Phelps said what Councilmember Clark was asking for could be difficult. The time, energy and resources had not been invested to be able to detail out the project costs. Councilmember Clark said staff was very experienced and would have a general idea of the costs associated with each project. It was important for Council to specify its priorities. Councilmember Clark said her priorities were bus transit, bus stops, warrants for more HAWK locations, funding for speed cushions and airport development. Major intersections, such as Bell Road and 83rd Avenue, were also a priority. City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 7 of 17 Councilmember Turner said staff was recommending allocating the savings proportionately to how the money would have been spent without the savings. If the funding was enough prior to the savings, then other uses should be looked at for the extra money. He said what Councilmember Clark was asking for would not be considered starting fresh and he believed that the CTOC should provide recommendations. Mr. Ebersole said the information would be presented to the CTOC and then brought back to Council sometime in April or May. 2. FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL FORECASTS Presented by: Vicki Rios, Director, Budget and Finance Lisette Camacho, Assistant Director, Budget and Finance Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager Terri Canada, Budget Administrator Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Rios provided information on the forecast methodology and a breakdown of the General Fund for the current Fiscal Year (FY) 17-18. She said 64 percent of the fund was used for public safety. Councilmember Clark asked if the 64 percent included Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS). Ms. Rios said it did include PSPRS. Ms. Rios said there would be moderate sales tax growth through FY 20-21. Growth would slow down in FY 21-22 and FY 22-23. The average growth was estimated at 2.8 percent over the five-year forecast. Councilmember Clark asked if the forecast included IKEA and Wolff Logistics, major components that would add to the sales tax base. She asked why the forecast was for sales tax growth to slow in FY 21-22. Ms. Rios said staff was conservative when estimating revenue. Revenues had a "whip" effect, meaning they were cumulative. Councilmember Clark said the slowing was being forecasted during the time when IKEA would be a contributor. Mr. Duensing said without IKEA, the sales tax revenue growth would not be as robust as forecasted. The forecast had included IKEA and the 'but years" showed no further growth. Ms. Rios said the expenditures: • Assumed compensation increases for both represented and non -represented staff • A half year of operating expensed for the Western Area Branch Library • Vehicle replacement - Ladder truck • Increase in PSPRS • Capital Improvement Program • Moderate increase to health insurance costs • Replacement of police in -vehicle computers Ms. Rios said the goal was to achieve a fund balance of $50 million by FY19-20. The goal was attainable but the City had to be cautious and not exhaust the $2 million contingency fund each year. It would also require staff to be conservative on revenue predictions and hold the line on City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 8 of 17 expenses. Councilmember Clark had noticed a 9.6 percent increase from FY 18-19 to FY 19-20 and from FY 19-20 and FY 20-21 for operating expenditures. She asked if the City was holding the line on costs but not on operating expenditures. Ms. Rios said the City didn't have much control over some expenses such as debt service that continued to go up and PSPRS costs. Mr. Duensing said the costs also included a half year of expenses for the Western Area Branch Library. Councilmember Clark asked if the specified items accounted for over $7 million in operating expenditures each year. Mr. Duensing said the $7 million increase also included salaries and benefits, increases in health insurance costs, and increases in the current Memoranda of Understanding (MOU). Councilmember Clark asked about the forecasted increase to the FY 20-21 operating expenditures of only $1 million dollars. Ms. Rios said the Arizona Cardinals settlement would be paid off at that point which added $3 million back into the forecast for FY 20-21. Mr. Phelps clarified that the forecasted increase of FY 18-19 through FY 22-23 was 8.9 percent. That increase was divided over four years, which made it a 2.2 percent assumed increase in the expenditure level. He said staff was also conservative on expenditures. Ms. Rios said the following was true of the Water & Sewer, Solid Waste and Landfill Funds: • Supported primarily by user fees/charges • Funds operated like a business • Assumed recently adopted rate adjustment (FY 17-18 and FY 18-19) and no future rate adjustment • More capital -intensive operations • Forecast might indicate a future rate adjustment would be necessary Ms. Rios expressed concern for the capital outlay each year. The goals were to hold the line on costs; watch revenues/economy closely; manage the capital outlay to minimize debt service costs; ensure responsible timing of rate adjustments; and plan for future debt issuance. Ms. Camacho said the Special Revenue Funds included the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF); Transportation Sales Tax; and Public Safety Sales Tax for Police and Fire. The Special Revenue Fund had its own dedicated revenue source and both Transportation and HURF were capital -intensive. Councilmember Clark inquired about drawing down the operating costs to five percent which left no room for hiring more personnel. Mr. Duensing said positions were added when the tax was implemented. The costs were captured in the General Fund which paid for the added police officers and firefighters. Councilmember Clark asked if the fund increased to cover the cost of hiring additional personnel. Mr. Duensing said it would not cover the cost of additional staff. The fund grew by the same percentage as the General Fund and covered only the MOU increases. City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 9 of 17 Ms. Rios said the General Fund had absorbed the costs for officers that were grant -funded after the grant funding had been exhausted. Councilmember Clark asked if the priority had changed on the use of the funds and there was now no intent to hire additional personnel. Mr. Duensing said without additional revenues, above and beyond what was forecasted, there would not be enough funding to sustain additional hires. Mayor Weiers understood that when the tax increase was implemented, the intent was to hire additional officers and the fund would support those officers annually. Ms. Rios said that was correct. The fund paid the annual costs for the additional officers that were hired. Mayor Weiers asked if the PSPRS cost for the additional officers was now coming out of the General Fund rather than the Public Safety Fund. Ms. Rios said the calculation was based on when the tax was enacted and how many officers were staffed. There was not enough money in the fund to cover the expenses for all of the officers. The fund itself was not enough to cover the officers that were hired at the time. Mayor Weiers asked, if the funding was to increase substantially, would it allow for the hiring of additional officers. Ms. Rios said theoretically it would but the current funding was not enough to cover the additional officers that had been hired. Mayor Weiers said there was no intent to eliminate those officers and the General Fund was covering the expenses. Ms. Rios said that was correct. Councilmember Clark said the intent was for the officers to be absorbed, over time, into the General Fund to free capacity to hire additional officers. It did not appear that was happening. Mr. Duensing said there was no capacity in the General Fund to absorb more officers unless it was a priority of the Council. Councilmember Turner said the Highway User Revenue Fund showed a fund balance that was $4 million over the policy. He asked if additional balance would be better used on streets. Ms. Rios said the HURF and the Transportation Sales Tax Fund needed to be updated based on the capital needs of the Transportation Plan. The Transportation Plan and the HURF interacted with one another.The plan was missing some information with updated capital outlay and would be presented as part of the budget process. Ms. Rios said the Transportation Sales Tax fund showed a $900,000 transfer from the General Fund and was based on a policy set by Council. Councilmember Clark asked if the material for each workshop could be provided to Council a full week in advance. The extra time would be appreciated. Mr. Phelps explained that staff would continue to provide the voting materials to Council the City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 10 of 17 Wednesday prior to the voting meeting. Staff was working to have the workshop materials to Council the Friday before the voting meeting materials were sent out. Councilmember Tolmachoff inquired about the $900,000 transfer. -She wanted to discuss the discontinuation of the transfer to help offset the costs of the PSPRS increase and any other expenses. Mr. Duensing said the best time to discuss it was during the budget process. 3. 2018 STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Presented By: Jenna Goad, Intergovernmental & Council Services Manager Ryan Lee, Intergovernmental Coordinator Brent Stoddard, Director, Public Affairs Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Stoddard said staff was seeking direction from Council on the City's state legislative agenda. The legislative agenda defined the City's priorities and guided lobbying efforts. He said Council would be updated throughout the legislative session. Ms. Goad said 180 bills had been introduced to the 53rd session of the Arizona Legislature. She said Governor Ducey had presented his State of the State address. Some of his priorities were: • A special session to address the opioid crisis • Public safety • Less regulation and red tape • Welcoming innovative new businesses to Arizona • Tax cuts for military veterans • A full commitment to K-12 education • Strong water management Ms. Goad said the major themes of the legislature were: • FY 2018 Budget • Education funding • Tax reform - construction sales tax • Water policy. • Restoration of highway user revenue • Economic development tools - Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET) • New technologies and a changing economy Ms. Goad said a number of tax reform measures would likely be proposed by various legislators. Staff would encourage legislators to carefully consider whether changes to the tax code truly improved national competitiveness enough to justify the loss of revenue. The Legislature would need to evaluate any revenue impacts associated with the recently approved federal tax reform package and whether Arizona would adopt conforming changes to the tax code. Ms. Goad said the Legislature would also need to weigh how to fund any new programs and initiatives, especially in light of the fact that the Joint Legislative Budget Committee was now projecting a slight baseline deficit for FYs 2018 and 2019. Ms. Goad said several sessions ago, the cities and the construction industry agreed to some changes on how taxes were calculated for certain construction work including treating smaller renovation projects differently than full home construction that the development community provided. The changes had turned out to be very complicated and more difficult to manage but there was no consensus on any solutions. The issue was an ongoing item of discussion at the City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 11 of 17 Legislature. Mr. Lee said another theme expected was the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF). HURF funds were routinely swept in amounts greater than the statutory limit to pay for Department of Public Safety operations. Cities and towns had objected to the practice and while cities had seen a slight restoration of HURF funds, the amount of funds that had been diverted away from maintenance and construction of transportation projects had continued. Staff was hearing that there might be an agreement to address the HURF sweeps permanently instead of the current practice of addressing the issue separately each year. Mr. Lee said another theme was economic development. Cities and towns were on the front line of economic development. Providing the infrastructure necessary to attract and support businesses continued to be a challenge. Conversely, past sessions had seen efforts to reduce,or repeal existing economic development tools including GPLETs and staff believed those efforts would be continued. Mr. Lee said Governor Ducey had made it a priority that Arizona be on the front line of reducing regulatory burdens and adapting to new technologies in order to spur economic growth. Staff would continue to work with the state to encourage innovation and job growth while protecting the City's authority to regulate permits, fees, aesthetics, and other issues impacting the community. Mr. Lee outlined the following legislative priorities: Fiscal Sustainability • Protection of state shared revenue • Full funding of existing revenue streams • Preservation of local taxing authority • Opposition to unfunded mandates Economic Development • Local authority to execute economic development projects • Maintain and enhance current economic development tools • Land use planning • Maintain local authority Military Preservation • Preserve the mission of Luke Air Force Base • Support existing statutes that protect military installations • Ensure capability for future mission expansion Ms. Goad said other priorities included: Neighborhoods • Preserve and enhance quality of life in neighborhoods Public Safety • Preserve and enhance ability to strategically plan for and respond to emergencies Transportation • Support voter approved Proposition 400 and regional coordination and protect implementation of Proposition 400 • Encourage additional tools to provide for transportation improvements Water City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 12 of 17 • Ensure the wise use of natural resources Mr. Stoddard said Councimember Clark had brought an issue forward that would require statutory changes. Councilmember Clark said the density of liquor licenses had always been a concern for her. She had met with staff to explore ways in which to strengthen the City's ability to protect neighborhoods. Councilmember Clark was asking that Council consider allowing staff to draft some proposals with regard to liquor licensing in the following areas: • Impact on economically disadvantaged areas • Increased density between locations • Increased distance from churches/schools Councilmember Clark was thinking in terms of package liquor stores and bars, not restaurants. She was asking for consensus to direct staff to draft language for proposed legislation. Mayor Weiers was concerned about what the perception would be to businesses if an area couldn't have a license within 1,000 feet. It might create pockets of poverty areas. He would like to see the business committee come up with recommendations. Councilmember Clark said the idea was to proceed with the concepts over the summer and have the business committee provide suggestions the following year. She was concerned because neighborhoods were characterized by the goods and services provided in the neighborhood. It wasn't necessary to have such a high concentration of liquor stores and bars in some neighborhoods. Councilmember Clark was looking for anything that would protect the quality of life for the neighborhoods. Mayor Weiers said the City had to recognize what was happening with recreational marijuana and recommended that issue also be considered. Councilmember Clark agreed with looking at preemptive legislation on that issue too. Mr. Stoddard said the League formed its legislative agenda through a resolution process. If the City was interested in putting forward something, staff would define the scope and submit a resolution to the League. The League would assign it to an appropriate policy committee. The committee would debate it and make a recommendation to the full body. If recommended, the resolution would move forward to the annual conference for a vote. If approved, it would become part of the legislative agenda and the League would advocate for it during the 2019 legislative session. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if liquor and marijuana would be one item. Councilmember Clark said it would be two separate items. Councilmember Tolmachoff supported the marijuana restrictions because it was important for the City to establish control over the number and locations. She didn't understand how it would work with liquor licenses because the establishments already existed. Councilmember Clark said it would affect future establishments. Existing establishments would be grandfathered in. City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 13 of 17 Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what would be the criteria for establishing economically disadvantaged areas. It seemed very broad and she was concerned about redlining. Mayor Weiers said staff could come back with recommendations and Council could move forward. Mr. Stoddard said staff would scope out the resolution with Councilmember Clark and then present it to Council to see if there was consensus to move forward. Councilmember Clark said time was of the essence and asked that staff get the work done as quickly as possible. Mr. Stoddard said the deadline for resolutions was usually in June. Councilmember Turner was very interested about learning more about the liquor license issue and making sure there were no unintended consequences. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the League would continue its work on S131487. Mr. Stoddard said SB1487 allowed any single member of the legislature who believed that a city or town had violated state statute to file a complaint with the attorney general and then on to the State Supreme Court. During the process, state -shared revenue to the city or town could be stopped. He said discussion was still taking place on how to proceed with opposition to the bill and the best legislative or legal strategy. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to move forward with the scoping of the liquor and marijuana resolutions. Councilmember Clark asked staff to find out from the Governor's Office or the Legislature how the state was going to be proactive in capturing federal infrastructure funding if Congress passed funding for infrastructure projects. Mr. Stoddard said the Administration would be releasing its plan for nationwide infrastructure which could be an investment of $1 billion over 10 to 15 years. Arizona had never taken advantage of public-private partnerships but it was now being discussed so that federal funds could be leveraged along with state and local funding. Councilmember Clark asked if there was a process once cities had identified funding. Mr. Stoddard said the details were unknown. He thought it would be similar to the process used with the Obama Administration's stimulus funds. He said the proposal would still have to get Congressional approval. Councilmember Clark wanted the City to not only focus on infrastructure but also the City's utilities. Mr. Stoddard asked if there was consensus to proceed with the legislative agenda. Councilmember Turner said the issues he was concerned about were the financial stability of the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority; cities' abilities to annex and de -annex; and maintaining the preferred tax status of municipal bonds. Mr. Stoddard said the tax reform package allowed non-taxable bonds for municipalities to continue. Restrictions had been placed on advanced refunding of some municipal bonds. Councilmember Aldama asked how many unfunded mandates there were and what it was costing City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 14 of 17 the City. Mr. Stoddard said mandates had come and gone and staff tracked them and could provide information. Councilmember Aldama said it was important for citizens to know the number and cost of mandates. Councilmember Aldama asked if there was legislation regarding eliminating the requirement for vehicle registration. Mr. Stoddard was not aware of the bill and didn't think it was likely. There was a crisis coming on how to maintain the state's infrastructure because gas tax revenue was declining. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to proceed with the legislative agenda. 4. COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: COUNCIL COMMENTS PLACEMENT ON WORKSHOP AGENDA Presented by: Brent Stoddard, Director of Public Affairs Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Stoddard said the item was brought forward by Councilmember Turner requesting that the agenda item, "Council Comments and Suggestions," be placed on all workshop agendas. "Comments and Suggestions" was currently an item on voting meeting agendas only. He said staff was suggesting that if there was consensus for the addition, the item would be added as "Council Comments, Suggestions and Items of Special Interest." Councilmember Turner said it was a housekeeping item. Council had received a reminder from the City Manager that the workshop agenda allowed for a discussion of Council items of special interest but not for Council comments or suggestions, such as district meeting announcements. He said, if Council wanted to make those kind of announcements, it would be appropriate to add it as an agenda item for workshops. If Council didn't want to add it, it should refrain from making those kinds of announcements. Councilmember Aldama was in favor of adding it to the workshop agenda. It gave Council another opportunity to inform the public of upcoming events. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked, now that the workshops and voting meetings were held on the same day, was it really necessary to add it to the workshop agenda. Councilmembers would have an opportunity to provide items of special interest at the workshop and comments and suggestions at the voting meeting. Councilmember Turner noted that the workshop meetings and voting meetings wouldn't be broadcast on Channel 11 back-to-back. Mayor Weiers asked if he shouldn't allow Councilmembers to make announcements during the Council Items of Special Interest agenda item. Mr. Bailey was not aware of any violation because of the comments. Mayor Weiers didn't know if the addition was necessary. He would continue to be as liberal as possible and allow people to speak. Vice Mayor Hugh said it might make it easier to add it. City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 15 of 17 Councilmember Malnar agreed with Councilmember Tolmachoff. Adding it wasn't necessary with the meetings now being held on the same day. Councilmember Clark supported leaving it the way it was. Councilmember Turner said if the agenda was not going to be amended to allow for it, then Councilmembers should refrain from making comments and announcements at workshop meetings. Mayor Weiers said there was no consensus to add the item to workshop agendas. 5. COUNCIL SELECTION OF VICE MAYOR Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mayor Weiers asked if there were any nominations for vice mayor for consideration to be placed on the next voting agenda meeting. Vice Mayor Hugh said he intended to nominate Councilmember Tolmachoff. There were no other nominations for vice mayor. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Phelps had no report. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT Mr. Bailey had no report. COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Clark requested that the City Attorney come up with a strategy for fireworks, such as limiting the times when fireworks could be shot off. Councilmember Aldama would like a survey done on City rights-of-way and indicate where development agreements existed and where they did not. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Jamie Aldama, seconded by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff to hold an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 16 of 17 EXECUTIVE SESSION Council entered into an executive session at 4:15 p.m. to discuss appointments to boards, commissions and other bodies pursuant to A.R.S. 38-431.03(A)(3)(4). A motion was made by Councilmember Ray Malnar, seconded by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed ADJOURNMENT I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the meeting of the Glendale City Council of Glendale, Arizona, held on the 9th day of January, 2018. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 9th day of February, 2018. -92 . Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes - January 9, 2018 Page 17 of 17