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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 9/29/2017 City of Glendale 5850 West.Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 I fits 111111 GLENEV t , r . Meeting Minutes Friday, September 29, 2017 10:00 A.M. Special Workshop Civic Center Annex City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh • Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.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; Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager; Michael Bailey, City Attorney; Julie K. Bower, City Clerk WORKSHOP SESSION 1. FY2017-18 COUNCIL POLICY GUIDANCE—SESSION 1 Presented By: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Mr. Phelps said the purpose of the meeting was for Council to provide guidance and direction regarding the proposed topics. The City was underway with its Strategic Plan. It was anticipating significant growth in the next 15-20 years and there was a need to anticipate the growth, understand it and make sure it was the type of growth the City wanted. Mr. Phelps said the topics for discussion were as followed: •Annexation Policy—the City had no real policy regarding annexation. The questions were— was the City prepared and did the annexations meet the City's expectations. • Infill Policy—every district had vacant properties. Now was the time to develop different approaches to facilitate thoughtful infill. •Transportation Policy—discussions would center on how and where the City invested its transportation dollars. •Building Assets Philosophy—the City had set aside improvements, now it was turning the corner, it needed to assess facilities. Facilities were a tool to either increase or decrease productivity. Were City facilities positioned so that they were a tool and resource to increase the quantity and quality of services. •.Workforce Development Philosophy—being a world class city relied on the quality of services and programs provided. It would take a world class workforce. The City had to make sure there were strategies and the right tools and training. Mayor Weiers requested that the order be changed so that infill was discussed first and annexation second. He was constantly receiving calls and visits from people who wanted to do things in downtown. It was virtually impossible with the current Code. The City needed an adaptive reuse program like other valley cities. Jean Moreno, Executive Officer, Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects, said the objective for today was informational, providing a high level overview and framework. Staff would need policy direction. Future sessions would provide a deep dive, with issue-specific research, specified policy direction, policy adoption and implementation in the Strategic Plan. Councilmember Clark said with regard to the intended strategic result, had staff created that. City Council Meeting Minutes-September 29,2017 Page 2 of 10 She asked why staff was not asking Council up front so it could be incorporated. Ms. Moreno said the framework was from the staff perspective to present topics. During the deep dives, staff would be receiving policy direction from Council. Ms. Moreno said all issues would be impacted by the anticipated growth. The employment density was currently at Arrowhead, Talavi, the Thunderbird corridor, Grand Avenue and the 101 corridor. By 2050,there would be additional areas—north 101, 2 additional industrial areas on Grand Avenue, growth in the 101 corridor plus the addition of the 303 industrial and commercial areas. • Councilmember Aldama was concerned about Grand Avenue. It was light industrial and that impacted the community. He wanted to talk about mitigation and management and Grand Avenue becoming attractive to industry that blighted the community. Mr. Phelps said it was a modeling done on the current General Plan. If a change was wanted, it could be impacted with policies. It could be addressed through zoning and land use regulations. Councilmember Aldama asked why zoning wasn't part of the discussion. Mr. Phelps said there was a huge zoning component on the annexation and some for the infill. Mayor Weiers said Luke Air Force Base itself was not highlighted. Ms. Moreno said the modeling was also based on the MAG density map that was only updated every 10 years. It reflected the old General Plan and would be updated based on the current General Plan. Ms. Moreno said it was necessary to look at the ratio of employment versus population. The 2015 data ranked Tempe first with a ratio of 1 to 1. Glendale's ratio was 1 to 3. If the City had a large population and had to pay for amenities, a good balance was necessary. The 2050 projection for the City's ratio was 1 to 2. She asked what was Council's expectation for job and population growth. The projected job growth was 123% and a 30-40% population growth, resulting in a 1 to 2 projected job to resident ratio. There was a need to manage growth through transportation, building assets and workforce to provide services to the community. Brian Friedman, Economic Development Director, said the infill strategy included adaptive re-use, flexible land use, reasonable development standards, programs and incentives and private investment. There was a need to raise the City's competitive advantage so that areas weren't overlooked. Infill policies were crucial to attract development and modernization would be a springboard. Mr. Friedman said there was a need to expand beyond the redevelopment area. The potential target area was identified in the General Plan. Infill was not defined and had no parameters. He said development standards were a barrier to entry and there was no incentive policy. Mr. Friedman said 85% of vacant land in the City was listed for sale. There were high vacancy rates and ground-up build was easier and cheaper than infill. Infill provided improved economic vitality and supported population and capital investment. It leveraged existing City infrastructure and services. He said future policy would include a definition, reducing barriers, incentives and the vision for an infill policy. Mr. Phelps said one barrier was purely the economics of infill development. It didn't align with a viable financial model. Second, with a good policy, the City could leverage existing infrastructure. Infill didn't require new parks, streets, etc. The way the City incented infill could City Council Meeting Minutes-September 29,2017 Page 3 of 10 change by taking into account that the City wouldn't have to make significant investments. He said new growth required new public amenities. Mayor Weiers did believe in incentives for infill projects if it didn't cost the City more money. He didn't want someone to buy the property and then sit on it, so there needed to be a limit on how soon development started. Councilmember Aldama said infill was a priority. He disagreed that downtown had a lot of infill. There was a lot of residential infill and there was a lot of vacant property in the district. It was important to define infill. The downtown did have vacant buildings. He wanted an inventory so that the City could start reaching out to the owners. The stall was the City's transportation plan and its decision on light rail. Mayor Weiers said there were older buildings that had become vacant due to market trends. The barrier was the codes for redevelopment. Other cities had an adaptive reuse program and the City needed a way to allow that. Councilmember Clark agreed with the Mayor's concept but the caveat was the type of infill. The City had to decide what it was looking for and shouldn't be handing out incentives like candy. She said it had to be in line with the City's vision for development and a time limit was critical. The third element was infill should kickstart other development in the area. If that requirement was not met, the City shouldn't give out incentives. Vice Mayor Hugh said the downtown was all the way to 43rd avenue and it was embarrassing to see the empty land when entering the City from Phoenix. There were also rundown apartments that needed to be refurbished. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if Councilmember Aldama was asking for a list of vacant parcels and vacant property citywide. Councilmember Aldama said that was correct. In the downtown, the City had the ability to lead by example with its own vacant properties. The City could either sell off its property or redevelop it. The policy should include an urban pedestrian walking area. Councilmember Malnar asked for a clarification of the statement regarding 85% of vacant land for sale. Mr. Friedman said it was 85% of 5%. Councilmember Malnar said one of the largest concerns of constituents was how it impacted the neighborhood. Council needed to have that discussion. The City might love to see a large project but if it had negative impacts on the neighborhood, Council needed to take that into consideration. Mr. Phelps said the City needed to be thoughtful about balancing out the needs of the community. It was also necessary to define the downtown and what the intended outcome was. Annexation Sam McAllen, Development Services Director, said the strategy was to create a community of choice through managed growth. The challenges were population, economic development, land use, tax base, City services, facilities and infrastructure. Mr. McAllen said the City had the potential to grow geographically by one-third. The incorporated area was approaching build out and it was the last opportunity for managed growth. The City had City Council Meeting Minutes-September 29,2017 Page 4 of 10 received an annexation application for 1,300 acres of industrial site, which was rail-served. The property was included in the pre-annexation development agreement(PADA) and was anticipated in December. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what was the PADA. Mr. McAllen said there were multiple property owners with a third party providing water and sewer services. It was agreed upon by a prior Council. Staff would come back to Council when the property owners desired to be annexed into the City. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the City had made a commitment with the agreement. Mr. McAllen said the agreement didn't commit the City to the annexation. It was still Council's decision. Councilmember Clark said Council had been working with the group for more than 10 years on the annexation. The initial determination was that the City would not provide water and sewer. After ten years, it would be disappointing if Council reneged on the promise of annexation. She said the focus was on commercial but residential shouldn't be ignored. It was time to look at a residential annexation policy and whether it should be punitive and a deterrent or a new strategy to encourage incorporation. Councilmember Malnar asked if there were properties in Sahuaro and Cholla that weren't annexed. Mr. McAllen said there didn't appear to be any in those districts. There were properties on the • north side of Glendale Avenue that weren't annexed into Glendale. Councilmember Malnar said the City needed to be strategic and make sure it wasn't stretching itself too thin based on the projected revenue. • Mr. Phelps said it was necessary to craft a policy, understanding the financial commitment. The topic would require a lot of time and work. Mr. McAllen said the benefits to taxpayers included more diverse residential, commercial and recreational opportunities; increased attraction and revenues; impact on state-shared revenues; and impacts on DIF. He said future policy direction needed from Council was: how would it take place; how would the City handle county islands; land use priorities; was population growth a priority; balance between employment uses and sales tax generation; and a definition of sustainability. Councilmember Malnar asked if the City provided services to the county islands. Mr. McAllen said the City did not provide services until the areas were annexed. Councilmember Malnar said there was a'big island in Ocotillo surrounded by the City, where fire and police services were provided. Mr. Phelps said it was part of the City's automatic aid agreement. Whichever jurisdiction was closest would respond to the fire. Police Chief St. John said there was no formal agreement, the jurisdiction would call the Police Department for assistance and the City would do the same if there was a major incident. Craig Johnson, Water Services Director, said the City served up to 115th Avenue, west of that City Council Meeting Minutes-September 29,2017 Page 5 of 10 was being provided by other providers. He said the City did provide water service to county islands. Transportation Jack Friedline,Assistant City Manager, said transportation included roadways, transit, aviation, bicycle and pedestrian. It was about developing a quality community and a tool to sustaining economic vitality in the community. He said the sidewalk system had a lot of gaps that needed to be addressed. • Mr. Friedline said the system should be leveraged and aligned with economic development priorities. The City should develop strategies for all modes to mitigate congestion, address community mobility needs, leverage airport assets as an economic engine and improve walkability and connectivity. Trevor Ebersole, Transportation Director, said the current state of the pavement condition was 65.6 PCI out of 100. The City had implemented the pavement management program to increase the PCI and the goal was 70 or higher. With regard to intersection service levels, 32 of 98 intersections were operating at a level C, with a 30-second delay. Mr. Ebersole said staff had identified areas for improvement. Maintenance on signs, signals and striping was currently reactive. Intelligent transportation service (ITS) coverage, had gaps. There were 11 fixed bus routes, 3 urban routes and dial-a-ride services. Airport activity was increasing with four more flight schools. The terminal was 100% occupied and there was 84 acres of developable land surrounding airport. There were gaps in bicycle and pedestrian pathways that connected with Peoria and Phoenix. Mr. Friedline said the City was operating under the 2009 Transportation Plan. It was necessary to prioritize funding, plan for regional sales tax extension and plan for proactive maintenance. The taxpayers benefitted if investments matched community priorities. He said investments could leverage economic development. There would be improved regional throughput and connectivity. Mr. Friedline said direction on the investment focus, maintenance standards, transit priorities, airport development and bicycle/pedestrian priorities, was needed. Mayor Weiers said Council had approved a plan two years ago that within 5 years, every street would have been touched, maintained or brought up to a certain level. He wanted to confirm that was not changing. Mr. Friedline said it was not but it was hard to do without a plan to guide it. Councilmember Clark said the comment about signs made her think of City entryway signs that were old, missing or faded and looked awful. She said it was a minor priority but asked that the entryway signs be looked at and replaced and that the City take a fresh look at the logo for branding purpose. Mr. Phelps knew that the signs were less than desirable and staff was looking at rebranding. Transportation needs would far outweigh existing resources so the discussion was about priorities. Once a 5-year plan was completed, the City needed to maintain and talk about long range planning. He said intersection design needed to accommodate traffic. Future growth needed established policies to handle the transportation issues. There was also a need to talk about return on investment. Councilmember Clark said as Council discussed the policies, she would appreciate alternatives City Council Meeting Minutes-September 29,2017 Page 6 of 10 and options. She didn't want the discussion to be driven by a staff presentation with a single focus. Building Asset Philosophy Michelle Woytenko, Field Operations Director, said the City spent nearly$10 million on City buildings in the last budget. The intended strategic result was intentional asset improvements that yielded tangible results. She said effective building design facilitated efficient service delivery and reflected the character and values of the community. Ms. Woytenko said there was an opportunity to plan as the City went forward and used its buildings as assets. City Hall was very dark and uninviting, was hard to navigate and impeded good customer service. She said very little had been spent on the building and there was outdated technology. The City's buildings were under-utilized and space had a cost. The median was 309 square feet per person and at city hall, there was 387 square foot per person. It was underutilized because of long hallways, duplicative areas, obstructive columns and offices were utilized only 35% of the time. Ms. Woytenko said taxpayer benefits included efficient, effective space and aligning resources. If the building was more efficient, it would only need two security guards instead of four. Any changes to the building had to consider employee productivity. Ms. Woytenko said the future policy direction needed was: should there be a focus on buildings where customer interactions took place; projects that yielded service enhancements; smart design standards; energy efficiency improvements; cost reduction through effective co-location; and facilities that reflected community sophistication. Councilmember Tolmachoff said there could be a much more customer-friendly experience at City Hall. There were no directional signs. Excellence in customer service was an initiative. She suggested having someone who could solve the problem or provide service when the customer first entered the building and putting a directory on each floor. The City needed to think about what it was presenting to its customers. Councilmember Malnar agreed with Councilmember Tolmachoff. He liked the idea of the customer service, one-stop shop where a customer could get most of his or her business taken care of. Councilmember Clark agreed. The Avondale City Hall had a customer service person at the front desk who could take care of the issue or get someone who could. The time had come to start on small fixes. Councilmember Aldama also supported Councilmember Tolmachoffs comments. A consideration was when the building was constructed. Were departments in the right location. Was the City Clerk's Office in the right location or should it be in an area that was more conducive to the public. He agreed the building should be made more customer-friendly. Mayor Weiers said the design of the building was the biggest challenge. There should be one entry point, with someone to guide people and it would be easier tp secure. Mr. Phelps said a co-location study would help determine what departments needed to be next to each other. A service counter could be designed that did more than one function. Staff could start doing some of the framework with Council's direction. There were some small things that would make big improvements. It required a thoughtful approach because the existing built environment precluded changing the culture of the organization. City Council Meeting Minutes-September 29,2017 Page 7 of 10 Councilmember Aldama asked if staff was looking at upgrading mechanical equipment that paid for itself with savings. Ms. Woytenko said staff was always looking at that and had conversations with vendors and Finance. Staff would like direction from Council on payback and projects. Workforce Development Jim Brown, Human Resources Director, said the City's largest investment was in the workforce and the question was what was the City's philosophy. The intended strategic results were to define workforce development; establish service delivery levels; talent-matched service • expectations; a workforce that reflected the community; healthy retention; and organizational stability. Mr. Brown said the current state was that there were newly adopted strategic objectives; a benchmark cities market model; and represented/non-represented work groups. The City had previously focused exclusively on compensation but was now moving toward a holistic approach that also addressed career growth and leadership. Mr. Brown said human capital was the City's most critical resource. Council had identified resource alignment and workforce development as strategic objectives. The City needed policy direction on expectations to align workforce strategies with the organizational direction. There was a need to set a future path to ensure the City had the right people in the right positions at the right time. • Mr. Brown said the benefits to the taxpayer included: demonstrated value of workforce; reduced cost of employee turnover; investment that impacted service level capability; meeting the needs of the community; dependable service delivery; and a focus on agility and performance. Mr. Brown said future policy direction should include a workforce development philosophy; organizational values and objectives; identifying the quality of talent needed; defining the City's market; and best strategies for attracting and retaining talent. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if other government agencies had merit based on performance. Councilmember Aldama said the Maricopa Community College was going to pay for performance. He asked if the City matched qualifications with the service provided. Had it been done holistically with a review of job descriptions. Mr. Brown said the City had done a full review two years ago and continued to do it as vacancies occurred. The City lacked an overall strategic plan. Councilmember Aldama said there had been a lot of reclassifications and many were director-level. Other positions multi-tasked but was it more than multi-tasking or was the job description not current and was it compensable. Mr. Brown said the City needed to do a better job on career-pathing. Councilmember Aldama suggested creating a policy that allowed employees to apply for higher positions and if it didn't work out, the employee could return to his or her previous position. Mr. Brown said there was a 6-month probationary period and if it didn't work out, if there was a vacancy, the employee could go there. There was a need to prepare employees to be successful. City Council Meeting Minutes-September 29,2017 Page 8 of 10 Mayor Weiers said the item was the top priority. The City was growing so fast and other cities were trying to steal the City's employees. Retaining and attracting talent was important. He wanted to look at shortening the time it took to hire. The City might not have the staff to deal with the growth. Mr. Phelps said it was a strategy. The tendency was to use compensation as the only focus. The City should align its compensation on employees' needs and could build incentives around merit or innovation. He said how the City recruited different skill sets couldn't be one size fit all. It needed the right employees in order to become a world class city. Councilmember Turner wanted to develop a strategy that rewarded proficiency and performance and eliminated poor performers. Next Steps Ms. Moreno said staff was proposing the following for future discussions: Mondays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with 1 to 2 topics per session. Mayor Weiers asked if it would be one topic per date. Ms. Moreno said 2 hours would be spent on each topic, so 2 topics could be discussed. It was possible staff would need to go back and do further research. Councilmember Clark requested that the material for the discussions be provided a minimum of one week before the workshop. Mr. Phelps said two topics per workshop could be discussed or the entire workshop could be spent on one topic. Councilmember Clark suggested that the first session be limited to just one topic and see how it went. Councilmember Aldama suggested combining annexation and infill into one session because zoning was part.of each. Mayor Weiers requested the topics of annexation and infill on October 30th and then Council could decide on the rest of the schedule. Mr. Phelps requested feedback on the timeframe, location, set-up, etc. Mayor Weiers and Councilmember Clark preferred the meetings be held on Mondays. Councilmember Malnar preferred Thursdays. Councilmember Clark said everyone was so spread out and asked that the room be reconfigured. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 1:11 p.m. City Council Meeting Minutes-September 29,2017 Page 9 of 10 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 29th day of September, 2017. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 18th day of October, 2017. / J , Bower, MMC City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes-September 29,2017 Page 10 of 10