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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 10/1/2013GLE E MINUTES OF THE GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP SESSION Council Chambers — Room B-3 5850 West Glendale Avenue October 1, 2013 1:30 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Jerry P. Weiers, Vice Mayor Yvonne J. Knaack and Councilmembers Norma S. Alvarez, Ian Hugh, Manuel D. Martinez, Gary D. Sherwood, and Samuel U. Chavira ALSO PRESENT: Brenda Fischer, City Manager; Julie Frisoni, Interim Assistant City Manager; Michael Bailey, City Attorney; and Pamela Hanna, City Clerk CALL TO ORDER WORKSHOP SESSION CITY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE CLOSURE DURING CHRISTMAS WORK WEEK PRESENTED BY: Jim Brown, Executive Director Human Resources and Risk Management Staff is seeking direction from Council regarding administrative office closure for the week of December 23 — 27 (the week of the Christmas holiday). This request has come to the City Manager through the Employee Recognition and Rewards Committee. This committee has been tasked with providing suggestions to the City Manager for ways to engage City employees and enhance employee morale. Mr. Brown introduced two employees of the Employee Recognition and Rewards Committee, Sandy Adams and ChrysDavis. Ms. Adams said she is the Transportation Education Program Manager in the Transportation Department. She said the committee's purpose is to initiate citywide recognition and events that focus on what we can do. The committee is to recognize efforts of employees create teamwork and celebrate success. Mr. Davis said the first objective is to recognize the hard work and dedication of city employees. Even with many challenges over the last few years, employees have remained loyal and continued providing excellent customer service. He said the proposal to close all non-essential administrative services during the week of Christmas will recognize and reward employees. This accomplishes the objectives of the committee. Mr. Brown said it has been five years since employees have received a merit increase. An employee voluntary furlough program was initiated then a mandatory furlough program followed for 3 years. There have also been reductions in force and reductions in the resources available to employees to do their jobs, but employees have continued to provide a very high level of service to the citizens of Glendale. Lowered morale and a turnover rate of over 13 percent have been issues facing the employees. The committee was formed to come up with ideas to give back to and reward employees for continuing to do their jobs in difficult times. At the same time, the committee was charged with keeping the cost to the city at a minimum. This administrative closure would close City Hall offices for 3.5 business days during Christmas week, in addition to the 1.5 days the offices are already closed that week. Just under half of the employees would receive the entire week off. The employees who would have to work all of that week would be given those 28 hours of time off to be used before the end of the fiscal year. He said core services would still be provided and the committee wants the impact to citizens to be minimal. Mr. Brown said this closure would provide a positive note for the employees and provide the least impact to the citizens. He said some departments would have to provide additional funds for overtime or standby pay. The estimated cost for this from non-public safety departments would be approximately $20,000 and the majority of hose funds would come out of either the Water, Sanitation or Transportation budgets, not out of the general fund. Public Safety will provide their cost figures within the week. Mr. Brown discussed other valley cities which have also successfully provided this benefit to their employees. He noted when those cities were able to provide merit increases then they discontinued the Christmas week closure. He discussed the fact that many employees are bringing home less in their paychecks today than they were five years ago due to the increases in retirement and health care costs. Councilmember Alvarez asked how many employees were on the committee and which departments are represented. Mr. Brown said we have a list of committee members and over 20 employees are involved with the committee. He said all departments are represented. Councilmember Alvarez asked if the committee members were diverse, from management to line level employees. Mr. Brown answered yes. Councilmember Alvarez said she would like to have a copy of the list. Councilmember Alvarez asked if management took furloughs during the mandatory three years. Mr. Brown said everyone who was not represented had furlough, including management. The represented employees did not take mandatory furloughs, but did give back in other ways. Councilmember Alvarez asked for an example of what represented employees gave back instead of furloughs. Mr. Brown said represented employees gave back deferred compensation, uniform allowance, and moving forward in the step plan. Councilmember Alvarez asked if the city manager and assistant city manager took furloughs. Mr. Brown answered they did. Councilmember Alvarez asked if there was proof that management staff took furloughs. Mr. Brown said that information is available in their Peoplesoft system. Councilmember Sherwood commented this was a great idea. He said the private sector has been doing this for a long time, but gave employees a year's notice to save their time, so they could use it during that week off. He said this was a suggestion for future years if the city were to do this again. He said it was a good idea as that week was a very slow time of year. He said he would support the week off for this year. 4 Councilmember Martinez complimented the Employee Recognition and Rewards Committee. He said it was a great idea. He asked if the plan being proposed was similar to plans implemented in other cities. Mr. Brown said they have checked with the other cities and they are following those models. Councilmember Martinez said he fully supported this. Councilmember Chavira commented this was a great idea and a step in the right direction. He said that week is a slow time and people should spend time with their families. Vice Mayor Knaack said it is the least they can do for the employees. She also thanked the committee for all their hard work on this item. Councilmember Martinez commented on a meeting held that included employees from several departments. He thanked the staff for the excellent job they do day in and day out. He said he feels good about this. Mayor Weiers asked for clarification on how much time the employees would get off Mr. Brown said employees already get a paid holiday on Christmas Day and one half day on Christmas Eve off In addition to that, they would get full days off Monday, Thursday and Friday, and a half day on Tuesday. Mayor Weiers said it was truly 40 hours the employees would be given. Mr. Brown said if you include the paid holidays, it would be 40 hours off. Mayor Weiers asked which employees would be included. Mr. Brown said merit employees would be entitled to this time off. Mayor Weiers asked about the $20,000 figure Mr. Brown mentioned earlier. Mr. Brown said the $20,000 came from Field Operations, Water Services and Transportation and those departments would be offering services during Christmas week. He said the $20,000 was additional cost to the city, cost for either standby pay or possibly overtime or temporaries. Mayor Weiers asked the total cost of all the employees taking 3.5 extra days off. Mr. Brown provided a chart showing a total of just over 46,000 leave hours that this time off is equivalent to. Mayor Weiers questioned Mr. Brown about the number of leave hours and the cost of that time. Councilmember Sherwood said the potential impact to the budget would be about $20,000 at the same time they were giving 3.5 days every employees' vacation banks. They were not adding to the budget. They were just paying employees and not requiring them to use their vacation time. He said if they want to know the true cost, the calculation would be the average pay of the employees times the 46,000 hours. Mayor Weiers said that what he was looking for. Mr. Brown said that would be the value of those hours, but this should not be confused with the budget impact. Mayor Weiers said he wanted to know the value of those hours. Mr. Brown said the value of the hours would be $1.3 million. He said those are not additional 4dollars coming out of the actual budget. Mayor Weiers said he understands that employees need to be rewarded somehow. He said he has to be worried about the citizens as well. He wished they could give everyone a pay increase. He asked what happens next year, and this could potentially be a problematic expectation. Mr. Brown said they reviewed the models from other cities. Other cities gave this benefit of time off to their employees because they couldn't do anything else. As things improved and they were able to give their employees raises, this time off benefit was discontinued. Mayor Weiers and Mr. Brown discussed various ways other cities in the valley have handled this issue. Councilmember Chavira commented this is a perfect time to give the employees this benefit. He said the taxpayers did come into the equation of this outcome. Councilmember Martinez asked when the last cost of living increase was given to employees Mr. Brown said the last merit increase was in 2008 and the last cost of living increase was either before or in 2007. Councilmember Martinez said for those who have been here during those years, they have seen the impact on the staff. He said the $1.3 million figure does seem like a lot of money, but taken in context of the total budget and what the employees who have stayed have gone through, it is the least Council can do. Councilmember Alvarez said she herself was an employee with Glendale, and she is very loyal to the employees. She wanted to make sure that all employees are being represented on these committees and the line level employees are aware of what is going on. She said this is a good idea. She wished there had been raises and no furloughs, so the employees deserve this. Councilmember Hugh asked how many paid days off the average employee receives. Mr. Brown said there are 11.5 paid holidays by the city. Councilmember Hugh asked how much vacation time. Mr. Brown said vacation can accrue up to 360 hours. Councilmember Hugh asked how many hours would he accrue if he was a 10 year employee. Mr. Brown said the number was based on the number of hours you work. He continued it depends on how many years of service an employee has put in. Mayor Weiers said some citizens have said they don't get paid when they take time off. He said he is trying to balance keeping the citizens happy and taking care of the problems they have. Vice Mayor Knaack said the $1.3 million is just the value of hours, not actual money spent. She said the employees have given so much for the city and this is just a no brainer. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to move forward with this item. 2. 2015 SUPER BOWL XLIX PLANNING UPDATE PRESENTED BY: Julie Frisoni, Interim Assistant City Manager Sam McAllen, Executive Director Neighborhood & Human Services Jean Moreno, Innovate Administrator The purpose of this report is to provide an update to the City Council regarding organization - wide planning efforts related to hosting the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX (49) in the City of Glendale. This report is provided for informational purposes only. M Ms. Frisoni said this item was to provide the council with information only and no action was requested or required. She said they are thrilled to host another Super Bowl. She provided some history and figures from the 2008 Super Bowl. She introduced the internal staff, Sam McAllen and Jean Moreno, spearheading this project, as well as 22 additional internal team members assisting. Ms. Frisoni went on to discuss specifics of various departments who will be working on the Super Bowl. She said 70 percent of the team worked for the city in 2008 during the first Super Bowl. Ms. Frisoni said the city has already budgeted money for this fiscal year to provide any necessary services they may need. The majority of these funds will be rolled over into the next fiscal year to fund any costs. She also said departments are working hard to determine actual costs for the Super Bowl. Ms. Frisoni explained the need for some additional funding which was required by the Super Bowl Host Committee. She said Glendale's contribution to this funding is $72,000, which represents 10 percent of the 2010 gross hotel room sales. They will bring this forward at a future meeting for approval. She said this money is not coming from the General Fund; it is coming from Prop 302 funding. Mr. McAllen discussed some specific services the city will provide for the Super Bowl, including police and emergency services in and around the stadium. The city will also provide traffic control, airport services, zoning enforcement and expedited inspections and permitting. Ms. Moreno discussed taxes and costs associated with this event. She said the NFL Experience will not take place in Glendale. She discussed the history of this event and the background of why this event will not be in the city. Since this event will not take place in the city, the city is not required to provide the extensive public safety resources needed for the event. Ms. Moreno said they do anticipate the same game day experience as provided in 2008, and the special events staff has started planning those events. She discussed several events already being planned for that time, including the Chocolate Affaire and some ideas for the Westgate area. She also discussed the events coming up in the near future included in planning for the Super Bowl. She said the Economic Development division has been involved with several entities to recruit executives to Glendale as part of the Super Bowl. She also discussed several other planning activities that are currently underway, including CVB Consortium meetings, Public Safety Executive Steering Committee and operational needs assessments. Mr. McAllen said the next steps were to meet with the Super Bowl Host Committee, conduct west valley outreach and the NFL Executive Leadership meeting. Ms. Frisoni said they are well ahead of schedule and she remembered successes from 2008. She gave several examples of the great success of Super Bowl 2008. Councilmember Sherwood said it was a great presentation. He commented that although the NFL Experience is not being held in Glendale, he said that the NFL is now requiring that be held as an indoor event. Ms. Frisoni confirmed that and when the Super Bowl Committee Bid Committee bid was a requirement that events not be separated around the valley, and they be centered in downtown Phoenix. She said that event was never planned to be in Glendale this time around. Councilmember Sherwood asked how the $72,000 in CVB money is used. Ms. Frisoni said the money goes to the Super Bowl Host Committee. He commented if there was E anyone interested in working the Super Bowl Host Committee is still accepting applications for the familiarization tour. Councilmember Chavira thanked the staff for the updates past and present Super Bowls. Vice Mayor Knaack commented they didn't expect to have the NFL Experience every time and this seemed to be a weather related decision on the part of the NFL. She said when they attended the 2008 Super Bowl; they heard nothing but kudos of how well the event went. She said every department played a part and did an amazing job in the 2008 Super Bowl. Councilmember Martinez agreed with the comments of Councilmember Sherwood and Vice Mayor Knaack. He disagreed with the recent negative comments in the press and said the business community fully supports this event. He said the city is ready, willing and able to put on Super Bowl 2015 and other cities use Glendale as a model for their events. He said all departments put forth a great effort. Vice Mayor Knaack added that the Marketing Department did a wonderful job in getting Glendale's name out there. Mayor Weiers said he wanted to make sure city staff and the NFL were working together to make this a superior event. 3. PROPOSED GRAND AVENUE PROPERTY EXCHANGE WITH THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PRESENTED BY: Cathy Colbath, Interim Executive Director, Transportation Services The purpose of this report is to provide information to the Mayor and City Council regarding a proposed land exchange between the City of Glendale and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) as part of improvements to Grand Avenue. Grand Avenue traverses the Cactus, Ocotillo and Barrel Districts. Ms. Colbath discussed a land exchange on Grand Avenue between the City of Glendale and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). She explained the history of Grand Avenue and the city's responsibility. She also discussed several improvement projects which have occurred on Grand Avenue. She said the purpose of this item was an exchange of properties between Glendale and ADOT to address right-of-way needs and underground easements. Ms. Albert provided a history of the recent Grand Avenue project. She first discussed the underpass at 59th and Glendale Avenues then talked about the specifics of the land being exchanged. After this transfer, the balance owed by ADOT will be $13,234 and the properties and cash will go to the General Fund. The next project is an access control and beautification project 71st to 43rd Avenues. The balance owed by ADOT will be $242,962 and this money will refund the General Fund for its portion and the remainder will be sent to the GO Fund. A total of $205,290 will be sent to the GO Transportation Program and $50,906 to the General Fund. Ms. Albert also discussed ADOT's responsibility for structural integrity of access control features on within the state's right-of-way and Glendale will be responsible for maintaining walls for the entire project. Ms. Albert asked for council direction on this project. Councilmember Sherwood asked if there were going to be any other land swaps along Grand Avenue. Ms. Albert said they are not anticipating any further swaps at this point, including the Northern Parkway project. She said this is not the last project along Grand Avenue. She said ADOT is getting ready to advertise Phase H which will provide additional enhancements along Grand Avenue. Councilmember Sherwood asked if the second phase of Grand Avenue will come under Prop 500. Ms. Albert said the second phase of Grand Avenue is already funded. Councilmember Martinez said Grand Avenue looks so much better. He asked if there have been any discussions about any walls going up at the mobile home park. Ms. Albert said there were several mobile home parks in that area. Councilmember Martinez clarified which mobile home park. Ms. Colbath said there were no plans at this time and all the driveway access controls has been completed. Ms. Albert said a lot of the property owners were compensated for putting up those walls. 4. COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST — MODIFICATION OF SANITATION SERVICE LEVELS PRESENTED BY: Stuart Kent, Executive Director, Public Works This is a follow up to an item of special interest requested by Councilmember Martinez at the August 20, 2013 Council workshop. Councilmember Martinez asked about two areas of sanitation service, 1) changing loose trash collection from monthly to quarterly or eliminating the service completely, and 2) he asked about changing the service level for residential sanitation and recycling service from once a week to once every two weeks. This report will outline some of the potential impacts and feasibility of these changes in service. Mr. Kent said both state and the county laws which specifically require cities to provide twice weekly service for residential sanitation, and the city has received a variance to provide weekly service. He next provided history of loose trash collection in the city and how this service is handled by other cities. Councilmember Martinez asked if there would be savings if the city went to loose trash pickup six times a year. Mr. Kent said there may be some savings, but the challenge would be to determine how much less they would collect. He noted it really depends on what level of service we provide. He explained various scenarios that could occur. Councilmember Martinez asked for cost figures. Mr. Kent said cutting the service level by a percentage does not mean a drop in costs by the same percentage. Councilmember Martinez said he would like to see some dollar figures to determine if there would be substantial savings. Councilmember Martinez asked if there would be peak periods for amounts of pickup. Mr. Kent said there are peak periods, but the amounts collected in loose trash have remained consistent over the years. Mayor Weiers said both spring and monsoon season probably would be heavier collection times. He said it might be confusing for citizens for scheduling purposes if collection is not consistent. 7 Mr. Kent said there were several different factors to consider when coming up with different proposals. Mayor Weiers asked if it would assist with savings to purchase more fuel efficient equipment in the future. Mr. Kent said they definitely look at that issue and it is an ongoing task. Councilmember Alvarez said the level of service they have now is something to be proud of, especially in the older areas. She said people utilize this monthly service and this use speaks for itself. Councilmember Sherwood said he does not want to go to less frequent services. The current level of service encourages people to clean up every month. Vice Mayor Knaack said everyone knows when loose trash collection is coming every month and to try to change that will be hard to do. She said regular loose trash collection helps keep the neighborhoods clean. She is in favor of keeping the service as it is. Councilmember Chavira said he is in favor of keeping the schedule the same. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Ms. Fischer mentioned how appreciative she is of the quality work of the staff. She said the staff is a very generous group. The city has been recognized by the Valley of the Sun United Way as a top performer for the 2012 United Way Campaign. She asked the Council to join in congratulating the employees who supported the 2012 United Way campaign. She recognized Joe Hernandez and Randy Huggins who served as Chairmen of the 2012 campaign. She also thanked Craig Johnson and Jim Brown who is the current Chairman of the 2013 campaign. COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Alvarez wanted to get a financial report of what is happening with the Coyotes. She would like to see this report each month so council is aware if any money is being made. Vice Mayor Knaack would like to have discussion on Council budgets and funds. She said it has been a long time since this issue has been discussed. Mayor Weiers said merchants have asked him about the 2 hour parking signs in the downtown area. He said the time limit is driving people away from the downtown area. He said this issue needs to be discussed further. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3:18 p.m.