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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 1/23/2001 * PLEASE NOTE: Since the Glendale City Council does not take formal action at the Workshops, Workshop minutes are not approved by the City Council. MINUTES CITY OF GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP January 23, 2001 1:30 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Scruggs, Vice Mayor Eggleston, and Councilmembers Clark, Frate, Goulet, Lieberman, and Martinez. ALSO PRESENT: Ed Beasley, Assistant City Manager; Rick Flaaen, Acting City Attorney; and Pamela Oliveira, City Clerk. 1. UPDATE OF THE SPEED REDUCTION CAMPAIGN CITY STAFF PRESENTING THIS ITEM: Mr. Tim Ernster, Deputy City Manager; Mr. Jim Book, Transportation Director; and Mr. David Dobrotka, Chief of Police. The City of Glendale's award winning speed reduction campaign "It's Our Town, Please Slow Down!" has been in effect since October 1, 1997. The campaign has included more aggressive prosecution efforts for speed violations, the arrest of motorists exceeding the posted speed limit by 25 mph, and the operation of a speed enforcement unit in the Police Department. It has also included traffic education for high school and elementary school students, speeding related street signage, and a marketing and communications program. The purpose of this item was to provide an assessment of the speed reduction program and receive direction from the Mayor and City Council regarding future speed reduction efforts. The "It's Our Town, Please Slow Down" speed reduction program has been widely publicized through press releases, press conferences, educational presentations, bumper stickers, billboards, street signage and door hangers. As a result, a Marketing Department study indicates that over a million Valley citizens saw the initial press conference, 84% of all Glendale residents have seen the campaign signs in medians, and 72% of all residents have become aware of the campaign through refuse container stickers. After analyzing key indicators to determine the effectiveness of the program, staff is of the opinion that the current campaign has met its goal of making citizens more aware of the dangers of speeding and has reached the point of diminishing returns. Statistics show that after the first year of the program, the number and the rate of accidents at many intersections has been slowly increasing: 5/2/97 10/1/97 10/1/98 10/1/99 Activity Category to to to to 9/30/97 9/30/98 9/30/99 9/30/00 Arrests over 25 mph 21 51 64 40 Total collisions 1,627 4,299 — 4,385 4,594 Injury collisions 530 1,255 _ 1,270 1,388 Total traffic citations 8,856 18,734 18,623 17,318 Accident rates (accidents per million vehicles through intersection) in the City of Glendale, for the twenty intersections tracked on an annual basis, have been 2.22 for 1996, 2.05 for 1997, 2.52 for 1998 and 2.51 for 1999. Many cities in the Valley have implemented red light running programs, but all have had complications. The most significant complication is the issue of violators not being properly served their citation. There is one major legal difference between a citation issued by a police officer and a photo enforcement citation. When a police officer issues a citation, the legal requirement of being served is accomplished when the officer hands the driver the citation. With a photo enforcement citation, anyone who does not respond to the citation must be process served in person within 120 days of the offense, or the court must dismiss the citation. In the absence of legal service of non-responsive, cited motorists, questions arise as to the fairness and equity of photo enforcement. In the cities sampled, with red light running programs, the percentage of those who do not pay their traffic fines ranges from 19% to 45%. Process service substantially increases the number of ticketed motorists either paying the fine, attending defensive driving class, appearing and having their case dismissed, or being set for a hearing. According to the Mesa/Chandler contract, the cost of process service ranges from $18 to around $30 for successful service. In response to these trends, staff recommended the following possible options for consideration by the Mayor and City Council: 1. Should the Council wish to continue a speed reduction campaign with education as the emphasis, a new program will need to be developed to reinforce the importance of speed reduction and traffic safety. If directed to do so by the City Council, staff can prepare a supplemental for the upcoming budget process that will create a new public information campaign targeted at reducing speeding. 2. A second option the Council may wish to consider is issuing a request for proposals for a demonstration red light running program at one or two intersections. This demonstration program would provide the City Council with data specific to Glendale, including the number of violations, the number of violators who voluntarily comply with the citation, and those who choose to ignore the citation (which are all issues faced by those communities — Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe - currently using photo enforcement techniques.) 3. The Council could also decide to solicit requests for proposals to implement a comprehensive red light running program that would provide red light enforcement cameras at eight to ten intersections throughout the City. A staff team, consisting of the City's Transportation Director, the Presiding City Judge, the Chief of Police, the Marketing Director, and the City Prosecutor, were present at the Workshop to discuss the assessment of the current speed reduction campaign, the options being recommended for consideration, and to answer any questions of the Mayor and City Council. After discussing photo radar in workshop sessions held on February 4, February 18, and April 1, 1997, the Council directed staff to develop and implement a voluntary compliance-based program as an alternative to photo enforcement, in order to reduce traffic accidents and speeding. In addition to the voluntary elements, the Police Department increased enforcement of existing speed limits. The City Council approved the "It's Our Town, Please Slow Down" speed reduction program in 1997 and has subsequently funded the program to the present time in order to encourage safe driving within the City. The City Council was last updated on the program in workshop session on December 15, 1998. As previously mentioned, the majority of citizens of Glendale have been made aware of this campaign through a variety of mediums, including advertisements, street signage, bumper stickers, and public service announcements. The City budget currently includes $50,000 for marketing the speed reduction program, $53,966 for the Traffic Educator position, and $37,500 for the Fiscal Year 2000/2001 "Slow Down Friday" campaign. Funding for the speed reduction program is ongoing, except for the one-time funding of the "Slow Down Friday" campaign. The present staffing level is sufficient to support the speed reduction campaign in its present form. 3 It was staff's recommendation that the current educational, marketing, and enforcement elements of the "It's Our Town, Please Slow Down" campaign be continued, with changes. Staff also recommended soliciting a request for proposals to implement a red light camera demonstration project of one or two intersections to evaluate the efficacy of the technology and the workload impacts to City staff. Council would then have the needed statistical and budget information to determine the overall effectiveness of a photo-radar enforcement program in the City of Glendale. Mayor Scruggs asked why the number of citations had decreased. Mr. Dobrotka explained that, from October of 1999 through September of 2000, the Police Department lost 25% of its traffic patrol officers for a variety of reasons. He said it took an extended period of time to fill the vacancies, resulting in an estimated loss of 25% of the time they would have had available if fully staffed. He noted that the 19 traffic patrol officers issue approximately 60% of all citations issued by the Police Department. He reported that the Police Department is back up to full strength with regard to traffic patrol officers. Mayor Scruggs asked if there were similar vacancies in other staff positions. Mr. Dobrotka explained that their two primary missions were to ensure that District Officer positions are filled because they are the primary responders to 911 calls and to ensure Person's Crimes Detective positions are filled. He said, with those positions being top priority, they were not willing to pull someone from one of those positions to fill a traffic patrol position. Mayor Scruggs asked how the statistics relate to the dramatic rise in the collision rate. Mr. Dobrotka stated that the initial publicity program did have the effect of reducing collisions; however, the effect diminished over time. Councilmember Martinez noted that the first year of the safety program saw an increase in injury collisions, with a decrease the following year, followed by another increase. He asked Mr. Dobrotka to comment. Mr. Dobrotka pointed out that the first year only covered approximately six months. He said injury collision rates had gone up, particularly over the last year. Councilmember Martinez agreed that the safety program, although initially very successful, might have reached the point of diminishing return. Councilmember Goulet agreed that the campaign is less effective now and should be approached in a new way. He asked how the collision rates relate to population and traffic growth. He stated that the program may still be successful when those factors are taken into consideration. Mr. Book reported that population growth has been approximately 5%, with traffic growth closely paralleling that increase. He noted that traffic predictions for the Valley indicate the rate of traffic will almost double the rate of population. Councilmember Frate referred to the 1999 Crash Statistics booklet. He noted that there were 14 fatal crashes in 1998, and 19 in 1999. He said 90% of those crashes were attributable to people driving too fast for the conditions of the road and 3.2% were attributable to red light and stop sign running. He concluded, therefore, that speeding is the biggest problem. He stated that it equates to an economic loss of $57,000,000. He said he was willing to spend quite a bit to recover that $57,000,000. He said people are more likely to follow the speed limit if they see officers out on the streets,. 4 Vice Mayor Eggleston asked Mr. Book for his opinion as to whether the effectiveness of the safety campaign had worn off. Mr. Book stated that the campaign does not have the same impact as it first did. Mayor Scruggs stressed the fact that nothing being said should take away from the overall success of the marketing campaign. Councilmember Lieberman noted that the City of Phoenix is number one in the country for accidents, with the City of Mesa being seventh or eighth. He asked how the City of Glendale's rate of 2.51 compares to the five other major cities in the area. Mr. Book said he did not know how Glendale compares because he was not sure that the other cities target their top 20 intersections. He said they are conditioned to react to an accident rate over 2.0 because the federal government provides safety funding at that point. Councilmember Lieberman asked Mr. Book to obtain that information for him. Councilmember Lieberman asked Mr. Dobrotka if he believed the 24 additional officers would make a difference in citation rates. Mr. Dobrotka noted that 6 of the 24 officers would be motor officers. Councilmember Lieberman said he was pleased to know that the total number of motor officers would increase to 20. He said he believed this would have an effect on accident rates. Mr. Dobrotka said there was an ongoing battle between the need for officers dedicated to speed enforcement and officers responding to citizen requests for an increased presence in neighborhoods. He stated that the Police Department has been involved in a community activity review over the past six months, where they examined trends, crime data, calls for service and quality of life issues. He said it was all designed to be focused in the neighborhoods. He stated that the commanders were also putting pressure on the officers to get off the arterials and into the neighborhoods. He noted that Mayor Scruggs came to them with an idea to use dummy cars. He stated that they had implemented the idea. Councilmember Lieberman asked if extra money was already in the budget for the police cars and motorcycles. Mr. Dobrotka said it was. Councilmember Martinez asked if the Police Department keeps statistics on red-light running accidents. Mr. Book said those statistics are included in the 1999 Crash Statistics booklet. Councilmember Martinez said, while the safety program has been successful, it is time to concentrate on red light running violations. He noted that Mr. Steve Wilson of the Arizona Republic wrote several articles on the subject of red light running and he quoted from one of the articles, "In 1997, more than 40,000 vehicles were damaged in red light or stop sign running accidents in Arizona and 16,400 people were killed or injured. The accidents cost all of us millions of dollars in higher auto insurance costs and help keep premiums in the state well above the national average. More needs to be done. Are there any public officials out there interested in taking the lead?" He stated that he was interested in taking the lead. He asked the Council to accept staff's recommendation and move forward with a demonstration project. In response to Mayor Scruggs' questions, Mr. Dobrotka clarified that they have 14 motorcycle officers, for a total of 19 traffic enforcement officers. He confirmed that, with the addition of new officers, they would have a total of 25 traffic enforcement officers throughout the City of Glendale, 20 of which would be motorcycle officers. He explained that motorcycle officers can do a better job on arterial streets, while marked units do a better job of responding to neighborhood complaints and concerns. 5 Councilmember Lieberman asked if the five patrol car officers were part of those responsible for 60% of all citations. Mr. Dobrotka said all of the traffic enforcement officers account for approximately 60% of the citations. He agreed that they should get red light running cameras. Mayor Scruggs asked if other cities using cameras still deploy officers whose primary responsibility is traffic enforcement. Mr. Dobrotka said most of them still have officers assigned to traffic enforcement. Mayor Scruggs asked if they would keep the full 25 traffic enforcement officers if the City employed some form of technology for issuing citations for red light running. Mr. Dobrotka said that would be his intent. Mayor Scruggs expressed her opinion that a machine could never replace officers in terms of what officers convey by their presence. Councilmember Clark asked for clarification that staff was asking if Council supports a red light running campaign. Mr. Book said that was one of the options they had proposed. Councilmember Clark said she also read the 1999 Crash Statistics booklet and found the top factors in those accidents to be: (1) no improper driving at 42%; (2) speed too fast for conditions at 19%; and (3) failure to yield right of way at 15%. She noted that disregard of traffic signals was at the bottom of the list at 2.8%. She said, according to the data, the number of crashes has nothing to do with the volume on the street. She noted that people between the age of 15 and 19 years had 1,124 accidents and those between the age of age 20 and 24 had 1,074. She pointed out the two highest categories in terms of fatalities by age were people between the age of 15 and 19 and between the age of 20 and 24. She said young drivers seem to be more contributory to accident rates than the red light running issue. She suggested implementing a red light running campaign through publicity before looking at extraordinary measures such as expensive equipment. Councilmember Clark said 59t and Peoria Avenues has been singled out as one of the best constructed intersections in the city. She asked why other bad intersections could not be brought up to the same standards. She suggested that marketing efforts be targeted towards people between the ages of 15 and 24. Vice Mayor Eggleston stated that a constituent had suggested painting a broad white stripe before the intersection to let people know that, if they pass that white stripe, they would not be able to stop at a yellow light. Mr. Book said they had evaluated that suggestion and the question they had was how it would differ from a crosswalk. He explained that they believed there were adequate indicators to let people know when the lights will change. He noted that people willfully run red lights because they do not want to wait. Mayor Scruggs disagreed with Mr. Book. She stated that people have difficulty judging whether they will be able to stop in time. Mayor Scruggs noted that Arizona State Law states that, unless a person is personally served within 120 days, the Court must dismiss the citation. She stated that, in the first year the City of Scottsdale started delivering tickets in person, they could only reach 15% of the 3,000 people each month who ignored their mailed citation before the time ran out. She asked whether the City of Glendale would use process servers, how many attempts the process servers would make, if they would be paid every time they attempted to serve, and if they would be sent to other cities if the violator does not reside in the City of Glendale. Mr. Book said he was unable, at this time, to answer all of the questions the Council had asked. He explained that they had proposed a pilot program to obtain those answers. He said they had proposed a reduced program because they believed one or two intersections could be monitored without 6 overwhelming the Court. Mayor Scruggs said her questions related to how the pilot program would be implemented. Mr. Book said process servers could be added to the proposal. He explained that service of process would be an additional charge that could be added as a Court cost. He noted that the firm which does service of process for the City of Chandler does not get paid until it comes back to the Court system. With regard to how far the process servers would go to serve someone, the City would write an open proposal and the responding firms would state what they could do. Councilmember Clark said anyone who was issued a citation would have to be served because only serving City of Glendale residents would be discriminatory. Councilmember Frate asked what the pilot program would cost. Mr. Book said costs are all over the board and that was why they had recommended going out for an RFP (Request for Proposals). Councilmember Frate said, if an officer gives a ticket and the person chooses not to pay it, the next time that person is stopped they go to jail. He said, however, that would not be the case if notification was sent in the mail. Mayor Scruggs said an article by Lee Templer in the Tribune states "Chandler has a contract that guarantees a private vendor at least $20,800 a month from paid tickets." She asked if the City would pay the difference if that amount was not collected. Councilmember Goulet said he was bothered by the fact that radio stations broadcast where the red light cameras are located in the Valley. He suggested they re-evaluate the speed reduction campaign. He said he liked Councilmember Clark's idea about raising the construction standards at certain intersections. He asked what the long-term cost benefits and savings would be if intersections could be reconfigured versus the cost of implementing red light cameras. He said red light cameras might provide a false sense of security. He said there was no question that young drivers are a disproportionate factor. He recommended that a campaign to educate and inform those drivers be part of whatever program that is implemented. Councilmember Lieberman requested information regarding cell phone usage with regard to accident rates. He noted that 35,000 to 50,000 vehicles are added to Maricopa County each year. He stated that red light cameras not only help decrease the number of people running red lights, but also assist in determining who is at fault if an accident occurs. He expressed his opinion that both red light cameras and photo radar cameras are great deterrents. Councilmember Martinez asked how many of the 25 traffic enforcement officers would be on duty at any given time. Mr. Dobrotka said officers are assigned in a different way at different times. He explained that flexibility in scheduling officers allows them to respond to data being collected. Councilmember Martinez said he liked the suggestions to re-evaluate the marketing program and do a pilot program for at least two intersections. He noted, however, that there is not one single answer and they should consider all of their options and select those that they feel will have the most impact. He strongly recommended proceeding with the red light running pilot to see if it would help. Councilmember Clark noted that handheld cell phone usage was banned back east. She said it is becoming more of an issue throughout the country. She recommended that the issue be further investigated. She asked if officers note when incidents occur while people are using their cell phones. Mr. Book said the State Legislature was looking at the issue. 7 Mayor Scruggs asked if the City has authority to create an ordinance regarding cell phone usage or if it has to follow State driving laws. Ms. Jean Baxter, City Judge, said she would question whether the City would have the authority to limit the use of a federal communications device. Mayor Scruggs asked Ms. Baxter to discuss the Court's role in the pilot program. Specifically, she asked if the Court planned to hire personnel to handle extra tickets and process server duties. Ms. Baxter explained that the service of process is a law enforcement issue. She noted that it would also involve the City Prosecutor's office. She said, in her experience, most process servers want to be paid for their attempts. She pointed out the fact that a successful service could require multiple attempts. She said pending legislation regarding service issues could significantly change the scenario. Councilmember Martinez asked if the Court could handle the increased workload should the Council consent to move forward with the pilot program. Ms. Baxter said it would be possible this fiscal year, but she could not make any commitments for next year. She said it appears each red light camera issues approximately 200 good complaints a month, resulting in approximately 4,800 additional citations per year. She noted that they currently process 17,000 to 18,000 citations per year. She explained that tickets issued by officers contain an average of two violations, whereas photo citations would only contain one. Councilmember Lieberman said adding six new officers would result in an additional 3,459 citations; therefore, regardless of the method, they could expect at least 3,500 additional citations per year. Councilmember Martinez asked how the number of photo citations that are ignored compares to citations issued by other means. Ms. Baxter said, out of approximately 12,000 pictures, more than 3,000 complaints would be filed. She explained that half of those complaints would be ignored. She said two-thirds of officer-issued citations are settled by the violator attending defensive driving school or paying the fine, with the remaining third going to suspension or a hearing, or being amended. She said total non-compliance for officer-issued citations is approximately 18%. Mayor Scruggs pointed out that the 50% follow-through rate for photo citations is based upon 25% of the pictures that result in complaints. Ms. Baxter said pending legislation would greatly effect that number because it would hold registered owners responsible. Mayor Scruggs asked if legislation had been introduced to change state law so that personal service is no longer required. Ms. Baxter said proposed legislation would make U.S. mail a valid form of service. Mayor Scruggs said she had read that the City magistrate has the authority to raise fines for moving violations, up to a state mandated cap of $250, but that cities generally try to keep fines even. She asked if the City of Glendale's fee was still $119. Ms. Baxter stated that it was, but she anticipated it being raised to $175. She said pending legislation would assess a $250 fee for red light running, in addition to State assessed surcharges, resulting in approximately $500 in fines. Councilmember Lieberman asked if all judges issue the same fine for the same offense. Ms. Baxter said the same fee is not necessarily charged. She explained that a person can present his or her case as to why a presumed amount should or should not apply. 8 In response to Councilmember Martinez's question, Ms. Baxter explained that at one time all traffic violations were considered criminal. She said some were then de- criminalized and became civil traffic violations. Vice Mayor Eggleston asked for clarification that proposed legislation would require only a picture of the license plate and it would not matter who was driving the car. Ms. Baxter explained that, under the proposed legislation, the registered owner would be able to admit or deny the allegation or name the person who was driving the vehicle. Vice Mayor Eggleston asked if the City receives any funds when people attend defensive driving school. Ms. Baxter said the Court receives some revenue from the City General Fund. She noted that approximately half of the revenue which is paid to the City Court goes to the State. Mayor Scruggs asked, in cities that utilize cameras, how much of the revenue that would have gone to the city goes to the vendor. Ms. Baxter stated that the amount varies from city to city. Mayor Scruggs stated that she understood two thirds of the City's 50% share goes to the vendor. Ms. Baxter noted that cities that employ photo enforcement have not seen the windfall in revenue that people were concerned about because a substantial amount of the revenue goes to the vendor. Ms. Nancy Khiel, City Prosecutor, said, although her office represents the State, they do not generally attend civil traffic hearings. She stated that they believe photo enforcement would impact their office in terms of the increased number of citations. Mayor Scruggs asked Ms. Khiel how the increased workload would effect their office. Ms. Khiel said they would need at least one more prosecutor. Vice Mayor Eggleston suggested that the issue be postponed due to the number of state-wide considerations. Councilmember Goulet voiced his support of Option 1. He explained that he would like to continue the speed reduction program. He said, while there are merits to the technological options available, they come with a host of related issues that have not been factored into budgets and personnel. Councilmember Clark said she would not support moving forward with a red light pilot program at this time. She stated that she would prefer to see the City focus on modifying some of the most dangerous intersections. She suggested that the marketing efforts take a new direction, targeting the young adult market. Councilmember Martinez expressed his opinion that the City should at least try the red light running program to determine if it works. He said the City of Glendale has as much of a problem as other cities do. He noted that some of those cities are adding to their photo enforcement program. He said he could not understand how the City of Glendale could choose not to implement a program that other cities have researched and deemed a useful tool in increasing safety. Mayor Scruggs said the experiences of other cities are raising issues. She explained that injury rates are twice as high in accidents that involve drinking as they are for accidents caused by red light running. She suggested, if an RFP (request for proposals) is done, that much more extensive staff work be done, including obtaining input from the Court and City Prosecutor's office, She said staff might want to prepare a draft RFP for the Council to review and determine if it should come back to a Workshop session. She said staff needs to identify their real objective for implementing the program and explain how results would be measured. She said she was relieved to 9 hear that the number of traffic enforcement officers would not be reduced. She stressed the fact that the Council and City residents value the work done by traffic enforcement officers. She agreed that a new marketing campaign should be started. She stated, however, that a consensus as to the type of campaign had not been reached. Councilmember Lieberman said he supported staff recommendations, including soliciting an RFP to implement a red light camera demonstration project at one or two intersections to evaluate the effect. He said other cities have found the program to be successful or they would have abandoned the project by now. Councilmember Frate agreed that staff should draft an RFP for the purposes of cost assessment. He said red light running accounts for a small percentage of the fatalities. He stated that attention needs to be focused on speed violators. In response to Councilmember Martinez' question, Mr. Dobrotka offered to obtain fatality statistics for 2000, especially those related to red light running. Mayor Scruggs said they were not disputing the fact that every single life is valuable, She stated that they were only saying that the numbers show there are other problems which create much more loss of life. She noted that none of those lives are replaceable and none of those lives have any less value. She said what the Council was saying was that they were willing to create a safer driving environment. The Council wants to make sure that the money being spent by the City is spent wisely. She said, at this point, they were not sure that installing red light photo radar was going to be in the best interests of the community. Mayor Scruggs stated that Councilmember Clark had raised the issue of directing those funds to intersection improvements, which might help the red light runners and speeders, and Councilmember Goulet agreed with that idea. Mayor Scruggs said this would involve a marketing campaign, but they did not have any idea at this time what type of campaign they wanted. She stated that there was some interest in red light running. She noted that the City needs to be fair and equitable so as not to only cite Glendale and Peoria citizens, but drivers from the entire Valley as well. She said she was concerned with the fact that only 3,000 of the 12,000 pictures taken were readable and only 50% of those cited ever show up in Court. She questioned the purpose of what they were trying to accomplish. Mr. Tim Ernster, Deputy City Manager, stated that the direction being given was clear to him, i.e. the Council wanted the Marketing Director to re-instate a marketing campaign in the next fiscal year. He noted that this would be done through the budget supplemental process. Mayor Scruggs said the Council would like to see the proposed marketing campaign ahead of time because there are different ideas as to whether the City should just reinstate the educational campaign that is currently in place, aimed at third graders, or if there needs to be a new, totally different marketing focus. She said the Marketing Director should advise the Council ahead of time with what she felt would be the most effective marketing campaign. The Council could then evaluate the proposed campaign in terms of content, audience, etc. instead of just a budget supplemental. She suggested repackaging their ideas in terms of what a draft RFP (request for proposals) might look like and circulate it to the Council, to enable the Council to determine if there was a majority that wished to have the issue brought back. Mayor Scruggs said she was not sure there was Council consensus at this time. She said 10 staff needed to focus on all of the items that were discussed at today's Workshop. Mayor Scruggs noted that Ms. Jean Baxter, City Judge, would be providing the Council with the dollar amount of the fine increase at the time the cards need to be printed. She noted that there was now a fourth component, something that they might put together that would give the Council an idea of what they might do with the intersections. She asked if that was where they were going to go. Councilmember Clark stated that, although they were mindful and aware of the magnitude of injuries and fatalities in the City, they were not sure of the correlation between red light running and those accidents. She said other factors appear to contribute to those accidents to a greater degree; therefore, the Council should also look at ways to ameliorate those factors. Councilmember Lieberman noted that the intersection of 51St and Olive Avenues was recently improved. He pointed out that, in 1997, it was the most dangerous intersection in the City. He suggested that they use the improved intersection as the basis for what an enhanced intersection can mean. He requested that 1999 accident records for that intersection be made available for comparison to previous years. Mayor Scruggs said she agreed with Councilmember Lieberman. Mr. Book informed Council that the City has a fairly active intersection improvement campaign. He expljned that they have a federal grant for 67th Avenue and Bethany Home Road and 67 and Peoria Avenues, which is scheduled to begin construction within the next two months. He stated that the Council has funded an ongoing intersection improvement program that has been in the Capital Improvement Program for a number of years. He explained that those funds are used to do improvements and match federal grants. Mayor Scruggs said she had seen statistics, which indicate that the City of Scottsdale saw a 3% decrease in accidents when it implemented its $2.1 million speed and red light running photo enforcement system. She noted that the City of Mesa saw a 4% decrease. She asked to see statistics on how intersection improvements compare in terms of improving the accident rate. 2. SUB-REGIONAL OPERATING GROUP AGREEMENT CITY STAFF PRESENTING THIS ITEM: Mr. Ken Reedy, Deputy City Manager; and Mr. Chris Zapata, Utilities Director. OTHER PRESENTER: Mr. Roger Manning, the Executive Director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, the administrative representative for the Sub- Regional Operating Group. The Sub-Regional Operating Group (SROG) owns and operates the 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant and is comprised of the cities of Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe. The Sub-Regional Operating Group was formed in 1979 to provide regional wastewater treatment for cost efficiency and economy of scale. The City of Glendale has been a member of SROG since its inception. 11 Currently, SROG has an agreement with the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Palo Verde) for the purchase of treated effluent water, which is primarily used as cooling water. Palo Verde has an entitlement of 105,000 acre-feet per year of effluent, at a rate of $30 acre-foot. Palo Verde does not always take its full allotment. Pinnacle West Energy Corporation has approached SROG with the request to purchase up to 6,500 acre-feet of treated effluent per year of Palo Verde's unused allotment. The agreement provides for the sale of effluent at $75 per acre-foot for calendar years 2002 to 2007 and $100 per acre-foot for calendar years 2008 to 2026, along with an annual escalator clause. In order to enter into an agreement with Pinnacle West Energy Corporation, each city within the SROG must approve the purchase. This proposed agreement presents an opportunity for SROG and the City of Glendale to recoup $45 more per acre-foot than the City is currently receiving from Palo Verde. The proposed agreement also lays the groundwork for the future sales of effluent water. The proposed agreement adds a take or pay clause and an escalator agreement, which is not part of the contract with Palo Verde. No previous action has been made on this request for the purchase of effluent water. Roger Manning, the Executive Director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, the administrative representative for the Sub-Regional Operating Group, and Ajoy Banerjee, the Vice President of Pinnacle West Energy, have been contacted about this Workshop session. There are no direct budget impacts related to the approval of this agreement. The recommendation was to review this item and provide staff with direction. Councilmember Lieberman said the Red Hawk facility is one of four power plants proposed by the Pinnacle West Energy Corporation. He asked what the other three were. Mr. Manning explained that the Red Hawk facility is one of twelve facilities proposed by several entities, but the only one he was aware of being proposed by the Pinnacle West Energy Corporation. He said there are two facilities in the southeast Valley, one of which is a refurbished existing facility. He said, in all cases, they are looking at either ground water or, in the case of SRP(Salt River Project), mixed with some surface water. He said most of the other plants are located outside the Phoenix metropolitan area and would be totally dependent on ground water, with the exception of one proposed facility that would have the ability to use surplus CAP (Central Arizona Project) water. He said the Red Hawk facility is the only facility planned, using treated effluent as the cooling water. Councilmember Lieberman asked if the government would allow them to take that much water out of the ground. Mr. Manning stated that not all of the proposed plants have been permitted to do so at this time and the source of cooling water will be an issue as they go through the permit process. 12 Councilmember Clark asked if any cities had formally ratified the proposed agreement. Mr. Manning said, to his knowledge, no cities have taken a formal vote at this point in time. He said he hoped that, by March, all cities would have acted on the issue. Councilmember Clark stated that they had a discussion about Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) last week, at which time staff stated they would present a total picture of water and utilities at the February 3, 2001 meeting. She asked why this issue was not scheduled to come before the Council at that time, to be considered in the entire picture of the City's water issues. Mr. Reedy explained that he thought they would be di§cussing Capital Improvement Projects and their effect on water rates at the February 3ru meeting. He said the totality of water issues would take several sessions to discuss. Councilmember Clark said she was not opposed to what was being presented; however, she would appreciate being able to see the whole picture at one time. Councilmember Goulet said the months of June, July, and August can often be the most stressful time for a city to have any type of water available. He noted that the Red Hawk facility would be purchasing its effluent at that time. He asked what would happen if there was a problem. He asked if there was an option to bank water in the event water was not available in one particular year. Mr. Manning said the agreement was structured to address that issue. He explained that they do not have any entitlement in the months of June, July, and August, but do have a legal right to pump a certain amount of ground water in the area during those months. Councilmember Goulet asked if the Red Hawk facility would have the option for a credit of some kind if water was not available for any particular cycle. Mr. Manning stated that they would not. Councilmember Lieberman asked if they would be using the existing transmission lines that currently go to Palo Verde. Mr. Manning said the agreement states that the City will have water available at the same point Palo Verde takes delivery. He stated that it is up to the Red Hawk facility to work out an agreement with Palo Verde as to the use of its transmission facility. In response to Councilmember Martinez' question, Mr. Manning stated that the agreement basically states that they pay for what they take. He noted that, if they pay a given amount at the beginning of the year, but do not end up using any water, they are not entitled to get the money back and it does not become a credit for the next year. Councilmember Martinez asked if there was any language in the current agreement that allows the City to renegotiate. Mr. Manning said there was no language that provides for renegotiations and, on two separate occasions, he had been unsuccessful in attempts to suggest ways of renegotiating. He explained that APS (Arizona Public Service) was currently going through a planning process to consider whether to re- license the Palo Verde power plant for another 40 years and, during that process, they would have to show a firm water supply for the entire 40-year period. He said one of the tremendous values of the new agreement is that it becomes the new precedent for how both value and payment would be structured. Councilmember Clark stated that, based on the material they had heard, she would support moving the agreement forward for presentation at a formal Council meeting. Councilmember Frate asked Mr. Zapata for his opinion. Mr. Zapata said he believed that Mr. Manning had covered everything and he agreed it creates a win-win situation. Mayor Scruggs directed staff to bring the agreement forward to Council for appropriate action. 13 3. PROPOSED CIVIC CENTER COURTYARD ENHANCEMENTS As of December 2000, the Glendale Civic Center was open for one year and has lived up to the expectation of being an important City facility that has brought many new cultural events, activities, and visitors to downtown Glendale. During the course of its first year of operation, the Civic Center courtyards have not been utilized as much as staff initially thought they would. To date, the courtyards have represented only 5% of all rentals at the Civic Center. To better utilize the outside event facilities at the Civic Center, many improvements are needed to make the courtyards more suitable for outside events and to become more competitive with other outdoor valley event facilities. In addition to the planned water fountain features, other improvements would include new outdoor lighting and better landscaping. Among the specific improvements needed are: 1. Lighting - Major overhead and decor lighting improvements are needed in both courtyards. The outdoor spaces are not adequately lit and the Civic Center has had to bear the cost of rental lights for evening events because the lack of lighting is considered a facility deficiency. The bollard lights on the south and north sides will be changed, as they are considered to be disproportionate to the building and are constantly being knocked over by cars backing into them. 2. Enhanced Landscaping — Currently, the courtyards are sparsely landscaped, and the grassy area in the West Courtyard has proven too large and has seldom been used. Staff has also had difficulty in keeping the plaza trees alive. Although the trees currently seem to have stabilized, it is important that a detailed analysis be made of their growing conditions. 3. Fountains - The Fountain Courtyard (west) preliminary design was for a large, central fountain, consisting primarily of large concrete and granite pillars. During the design process, cost estimates rose well above the $80,000 originally presented to the City Council. Cost-cutting design changes resulted in a fountain considered too stark for the area and the design has been rejected. 4. Gazebo - A stylized metal gazebo, with a small fountain for the Garden Courtyard (east), has been designed and is currently in plan review. Construction costs are expected to come in near the original $45,000 estimate presented to City Council. In response to these issues, staff determined that they could best be resolved if they were treated as a complete package. A request for proposal (RFP) was issued to architectural landscape firms throughout the valley. Two firms responded to the RFP and the "e group" submitted the preferred proposal. The proposed design ideas would make the outside spaces more lush and intimate by incorporating multiple smaller fountains, less grassy areas in the Fountain Courtyard, more flower beds and by adding multiple intimate seating areas in the courtyards. Landscape improvements would also be made to the plaza entrance and the north side of the building. The e group's design fee is $37,290, of which $15,000 is required in the current budget year. The $15,000 will be covered by the current Marketing Department budget, with the remaining $22,290 coming from the proposed Fiscal Year 2001-02 Capital Improvement Plan budget, if approved by the Mayor and Council. If authorized, the preliminary design for the new courtyard enhancements would be shown to the City Council in April of 2001 for review and approval, with the actual bid award taking place in September of 2001. Construction would begin in November, to allow the Civic Center to meet current contractual commitments for events in the courtyards and would be completed by March of 2002 at the latest, so that the courtyards would be available for spring rentals. Proposed courtyard fountain designs and cost estimates were presented to the Mayor and Council at the April 4, 2000 Workshop and direction was given to proceed on the designs. With some cost-saving design changes, the Garden Courtyard gazebo/fountain presented at that meeting has been approved and is proceeding forward. The West Courtyard fountain presented at the meeting has been halted. The e group estimates that construction of the landscaping, lighting, and West Courtyard fountains will cost approximately $250,000. The funds to cover these costs and the estimated $45,000 cost of the East Courtyard gazebo/fountain are included in the proposed Fiscal Year 2001-02 Capital Improvement Plan budget, if approved. The recommendation was to review this item and provide staff with direction. Due to time constraints, Mayor Scruggs postponed Agenda Item No. 3 to a future Workshop. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. 15