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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 12/9/2014 City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 ",. Meeting Minutes - Final Tuesday, December 9, 2014 6:00 PM VOTING VACATED-2015 COUNCIL INSTALLATION CEREMONY Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Samuel Chavira Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Gary Sherwood Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner City Council Meeting Minutes-Final December 9,2014 CALL TO ORDER Present: 5- Mayor Jerry Weiers, Vice Mayor Yvonne J. Knaack, Councilmember Samuel Chavira, Councilmember Ian Hugh, and Councilmember Gary Sherwood Absent: 2- Councilmember Norma Alvarez, and Councilmember Manny Martinez PRESENTATION OF COLORS-LUKE AIR FORCE BASE HONOR GUARD The Colors were presented by the Luke Air Force Base Color Guard. NATIONAL ANTHEM The National Anthem was sung by Retired Master Sergeant John LaPorte. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRAYER/INVOCATION The invocation was offered by Rabbi Sholom Lew, Chabad of the Northwest Valley. MAYOR'S WELCOME Mayor Weiers welcomed the new Councilmembers and acknowledged the current Councilmembers in attendance. Mayor Weiers shared a speech he recently heard for newly promoted sergeants. "Good evening, and welcome friends and co-workers and family on this special date. It's my privilege to begin offering some practical wisdom to the three individuals who are to be installed as Glendale City Councilmembers tonight. Winston Churchill said to every man, there comes in his lifetime that special moment when he figuratively is tapped on the shoulder and offered a choice to do a very special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which will be his finest hour. The voters of your districts have tapped each of you on the shoulder and now trust you with the leadership of their most prized possession, themselves. Leadership in its basic form is influence. Influence is the ability to present your solutions to problems and have others believe your way is best. People can and will, if they can trust in the person, giving the message. Trust is only developed through relationships where character and confidence are fully on display for others to see and above reproach. Therefore, leadership at its core is all about relationships. Success as a leader depends on recognizing the core truth by which I live my life. We are here not to be served, but to serve. This model of servant leadership is the driving philosophy of our police department and is modeled after and the only true way to foster a culture where citizens and city government truly work together in partnership. Combining this with the primary focus on building relationships can and will be your why statement when seeking the purpose behind what you do. As each of you take the helm in your districts, consider what that means. It means leadership, not your title, is privilege. It means when you accept working odd hours, it means serve with strength of humility, recognizing that you are not above others, but part of them. Through this, you will not only gain people's trust, but you will influence them to a path of inspiration you, yourself are living out day by day. Situations will arise daily where the strength of your convictions will be tested. What to do in a critical incident, how to handle a difficult issue or listening to someone who wants to vent about how your city staff handled a problem. Servant leaders embrace and welcome these situations. Jim Collins, in his book"Good to Great,"identifies these City of Glendale Page 1 Printed on 1/14/2015 City Council Meeting Minutes-Final December 9,2014 leaders in this way. Self-effacing, quiet and even, displaying reserve and strength of authority. These leaders are a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professionalism. They are more like Lincoln and Socrates than Patton or Cesar. You will balance practical wisdom, the right way to do the right thing at the right time, with the heart, head, hands and habits of a servant leadership. How does this look? Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges break this down in four areas of their book The Servant Leader. Your heart, does a heart swelled by pride say the righter you sound, the madder I get. Spend your time with colleagues and constituents and you will come to appreciate and truly value their contribution. Have a heart to recognize and share their successes. Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. Proverbs 13:10. A servant leader is always developing in others to replace him. Your head, leadership requires vision and passion. No organization will rise above passion of a leader. A good leadership vision combines commitment to a purpose and a mission with a value-driven picture of how the future will look. Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained. Proverbs 29:18, a servant leader combines a passionate vision for the organization seen through the eyes of an individual. Your hands, commitment to a vision rooted in wisdom will release change. It will happen. Your contribution to this process will be in how you directly deal with your fellow Councilmembers. A twenty year veteran of the council will likely see things differently than you. So you must, too, see your role to each one differently. Transformational leadership employs direction, coaching, supporting, delegating seamlessly into each situation, as needed. It will be through the work of your hands you transmit what is in your heart and head. An iron, an iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17, a servant leader meets each person where they are, and is willing to walk not only with that person, but also in front to lead the day. Your habits, before something can become a habit must be practiced as discipline. Constant recalibration to the purpose,passionate vision and transformational change to your position will allow you to keep your edge. Seek reflection, feedback and accountability to support you through this journey. Be open and be vulnerable with your peers and embrace them doing the same. Find a mentor further down the path from whom to seek guidance. Two are better than one because they have a good return on their work. A cord of three stands is not quickly broken. A servant leader models humility as the strength and sees the value in intentionally committing to others daily." As I close, I will leave you with this from Thomas Jefferson. When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself public property. Embrace this and earn the public's trust every day. Congratulations to all of you and I pray that you will always have the strength to change when wrong, give credit to others when right and let the power of your example far exceed the authority of your title. To the incoming Councilmembers, I congratulate you on your election. I look forward to working with all of you." Mayor Weiers turned the podium over to the emcee Mr. Cary Pfeffer, Master of Ceremonies for the evening. OATH OF OFFICE Mr. Pfeffer welcomed everyone and said it was great to be a part of history. He said many different people joined the new Councilmembers this evening, including elected officials from the federal delegation, the state legislature, and county board of supervisors and former members of the Glendale City Council, other members of city government from neighboring cities and tribal members. He said they are also joined by the judges who will administer the oath of office to the new Councilmembers. He asked everyone he had mentioned to stand and be recognized by the audience. He spoke City of Glendale Page 2 Printed on 1/14/2015 City Council Meeting Minutes-Final December 9,2014 about the tradition of this type of installation ceremony. He explained each member will be sworn in and then give a speech. Mr. Pfeffer said the new Councilmembers will be sworn in alphabetically. A. Councilmember-elect Jamie Aldama,Ocotillo District,Oath of Office Administered by The Honorable David B.Gass,Judge of the Superior Court of Maricopa County Honorable David B. Gass, Judge of the Superior Court of Maricopa County administered the Oath of Office to Councilmember Jamie Aldama and presented him with his certificate of election. Councilmember Aldama's speech: "Thank you everybody for being here tonight. First, I want to thank God for all of his blessings. I truly am blessed. I truly am. I want to thank my wife, Monica. I love you and I could not have done it without you. It has been exhausting thirteen months, but we made it. To my entire family, my two sons, and especially my daughter and son-in-law, thank you very much. I appreciate you. To my volunteers, I thank you so very much for your help, especially Manuel. I thank you, I thank you so much. Sir, you are a very special man, indeed you are. You have no limitations and the sky is the limit, as was evident in our campaign. Thank you very• much, Manuel. To the voters and citizens of Ocotillo, I am thankful and I appreciate you, every single one of you. Having been raised by a single parent, my mother,Andrea, with seven children, all boys, with the exception of the blessing of God, our sister, the only sister, who today remains the beacon, the patriarch of our family, who is in the audience today. Growing up, our family was poor, but rich in family traditions, of which I will never forget. My mother instilled in her children respect for others and integrity, compassion and faith in God, no matter the situation you find yourself in. No matter what situation you find yourself in. My mother did her best to provide for her children and she often faced adversity at her doorstep, but with faith in hand and heart, she would prove her resilience in the face of adversity. Adversity met her match. As adults, we, her children, learned that adversity is simply the clear revelation of God's favor, a challenge. However, in 1997, my mother met adversity once again. This time it arrived with a vengeance. She suffered the greatest loss in her life, her youngest son, to a cowardly drunk driver who fled the scene, only to be captured by neighbors. He has since been forgiven. We bless him. God bless him. Mother passed away in 2004 after a battle with cancer, but before her passing, she left her children, including me, a life lesson. She said be passionate, have compassion for others, treat others with respect, forgive, but don't forget, and that leaving adversity to God is the only way to overcome. There is only way to overcome adversity. I share this story with you because the city of Glendale has suffered its share of adversity. Remembering the decisions that nearly collapsed our city will remain a memory. Working to secure our future because we will spend the rest of our lives here shall be a priority. Working together as councilwomen and councilmen we'll reimagine Glendale. Sending the message, that we are rapidly recovering, that we are resilient, that our staff is capable of standing near collapse without permanent deformation. We are one. Together we will reimage Glendale as the best city in the state. We are Glendale, we are resilient and we are open for business. Having been raised in the Ocotillo district, I could never have imagined being elected to office as a representative to our citizens. It is an astronomical time in my life and an opportunity of a lifetime. I am sincerely humbled, honored and grateful for the trust bestowed upon me by each of you. In all my life, I have called Glendale my home, a city I am passionate for and committed to make sure it remains the best city in the state. On February 27, 1892, Glendale becomes an official City of Glendale Page 3 Printed on 1/14/2015 City Council Meeting Minutes-Final December 9,2014 city, celebrating its official birthday, a day we opened for business. Since this day, Glendale has evolved over years, increasing its residents its amenities and services and began to foster relationships with business owners, developers and farmers that still exist today. For this reason, I will work diligently to continue fostering relationships with our business owners, encourage new businesses for Glendale's Ocotillo district and the city as a whole. Increasing our relationships with organizations such as the Glendale Chamber of Commerce will remain a priority, affirming our commitment to our business owners. I will work hard to ensure that the critical services that our citizens are accustomed to are available. I will serve to encourage family advocacy, work with our city managers and Councilmembers to make them knowledgeable and help them recognize the needs of the Ocotillo district. Together, we will better Ocotillo and we will better Glendale. Our employees, who are all in the room today, some working and some at home. They deserve the very best leadership from their council and from their administration. I will work to support and create policies that bring advanced workplace equality and diversity for our employees, ensuring them we are employee family friendly. To each and every one of you, thank you so much for making Glendale better. You guys are truly professionals and I appreciate you, as does my family. I will work to strengthen relationships with our local schools and colleges and encourage council to do the same. I remain committed to education and I will work to maintain programs that serve children and the elderly and work with organizations that provide the same. Tonight, I want to congratulate Ms. Tolmachoff and Mr. Turner, and I look forward to serving with both of you and our current council. I leave you tonight with two quotes in my closing. Cesar Chavez once said, "We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others for their sake and for our own." Martin Luther King once said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in a moment of comfort or convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy." I am Councilmember Aldama of the Ocotillo district and I stand ready to serve. Thank you very much." B. Councilmember-elect Lauren Tolmachoff,Cholla District,Oath of Office Administered by The Honorable Elizabeth R.Finn,Presiding Judge of the Glendale City Court Honorable Elizabeth R. Finn, Presiding Judge, Glendale City Court administered the oath of office to Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff and presented her with her certificate of election. Councilmember Tolmachoff said she had never been on that side of the podium before. She thanked Judge Finn and everyone in the audience for coming tonight. "First and foremost, I want to thank the citizens of the Cholla district who placed their trust in me with their votes. I promise to represent Cholla and all of Glendale with honesty and integrity. Glendale is not just a place to live for me. Our family history goes back over one hundred years in Glendale. My son is a third generation Glendale native. A few years ago, when I had a client tell me he would not consider Glendale as a place to buy a home, I took it personally. I love this community, but was not really informed about the issues facing Glendale, other than what I had heard on the news and read in the paper, so I started attending the city council meetings. I soon realized that Glendale was in real distress. Growing up, my dad taught me to either step up or shut up when faced with a problem. Whether it was standing up to a bully on the playground or in this case, stepping up to serve my community by running for city council, I can't just sit and City of Glendale Page 4 Printed on 1/14/2015 • City Council Meeting Minutes-Final December 9,2014 complain about a situation. I want to try to be part of the solution. I had no idea how to run a campaign, but I know how to work hard, so I turned in my paperwork and started gathering signatures. The timing was very fortunate, because my son, Ben, had just recently graduated from ASU with a degree in journalism that focused on public relations that we contributed heavily to. Luckily, he was willing to take on the job of my campaign manager. Early on, I asked him if he was going to add campaign manager to his resume, and he said he would if I won the election. I'm glad I was able to help him with his resume by winning the election. Ben, I thank you for all of your hard work and your patience. I'm so proud of you and would not be standing here tonight without your help. Thank you to my husband, Andy, the other half of my sign crew. We did most of our sign installations during the hottest part of the summer. Anybody who has ever run for office knows what that is like. Sometimes I had to bribe him with chicken wings and beer on our way home, but he was a good sport. He understood when I walked the district many, many nights, knocking on doors until dark, and I thank him for his love and support. I'm blessed to have the support of wonderful friends and to have made a lot of new friends along the way. Many of them are here tonight and my treasurer, Rhonda Gall, who was very helpful in learning how to fill out all the paperwork and trying to figure things out as we go, learning on the fly. Many other friends are here tonight as well. Thank you all for being here. Thank you for your help, the time you devoted to helping me to be here tonight. I really appreciate it and I cherish our friendship. I learned very quickly, though, that a political campaign requires more than just the support of family and friends. I was fortunate enough to receive help that I needed and would not have been successful without the help of many others. I'd like to recognize the chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation. Chairman Norris is here this evening. Thank you Chairman Norris and the rest of your delegation, I'm very grateful for your support and the support of the Tohono O'odham Nation. Thank you. The Professional Association of Firefighters, thank you for your support. The yellow fire truck signs were a big hit. They disappeared almost as fast as they were put up. I'm still trying to get my hands on one. Thank you also to my colleagues at the West Maricopa Association of Realtors. They formed a campaign committee that I knew nothing about until after the election. Now I understand why everyone acted like I was contagious every time I happened to be in the building for a class or a member meeting. They would scatter when I walked in the door. I am grateful for your hard work,your support and your friendship. Thank you. The future of Glendale is bright and I look forward to serving this wonderful city with Mayor Weiers, Councilmembers Hugh, Chavira, Sherwood, Turner and Aldama. I believe that by working together, we can move the city forward and I am committed to doing that with an open door and an open mind. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I'm ready to get to work. Thank you." C. Councilmember-elect Bart Turner,Barrel District,Oath of Office Administered by The Honorable Scott Bales,Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court Honorable Scott Bales, Chief Justice, Arizona State Supreme Court administered the oath of office to Councilmember Bart Turner and presented him with his certificate of election. Councilmember Turner apologized for his voice being hoarse. He said he wore out his voice at the hockey game, selling charity raffle tickets. He said they raised about $10,000 for charity. He said tonight was a night for thank you for the others, as well as for him. "First of all, I want to thank the voters of the Barrel district for the trust you've placed in me by electing me to represent you on the city council. You have my promise City of Glendale Page 5 Printed on 1/14/2015 City Council Meeting Minutes-Final December 9,2014 that I will do my very best in this endeavor and I will always be available to you via phone, email and in person. Secondly, I would like to thank those who supported me in my campaign. The early and yes, constant, encouragers, Jessica Koory, Dennis Burke and Maureen West, Elaine McLane, Nancy Adamson, Don Dawson, Wayne Parish, Mary Beth Sullivan. Without your initial encouragement, I would have never thrown my hat in the ring. Without your support throughout the campaign, I doubt I would have reached the finish line. I thank you all very, very much. I thank my talented and patient campaign advisory, Cheryl Coolis. Cheryl, I appreciate you more than you will ever know. Your campaign skill and intuition put me on a winning track and it kept me there. To my volunteers, in addition to those I've already mentioned, I'd like to thank Doug, Craig, Marlene, Tom, Kim, Pete, Nick, John, Lucas,Arlene, Kristin, Anne, Sandy, Jan, and I'm sure there are many, many more who I'm forgetting. I want you all to know how deeply I appreciate you and I thank you all very much. I would also like to thank my endorsers, the Glendale Star, the 3500 firefighters and paramedics in the Professional Firefighters Association, my friends in labor and industry and over at the Tohono O'odham Nation. I appreciate your support and your faith in me to help bring jobs to Glendale. I'd like to thank also Rodene Widom, Reginald Martinez, David Prescott, Lee Stanley and many other friends and associates whose names you recognize and have known over these many years. For your faith in me, I thank you, as well. And, of course, I'd like to thank my financial contributors. Fortunate for me, there are too many to mention here, but you can find them all on the City Clerk's website if you are truly interested. Thirdly, I'd like to thank people who have contributed so much to my life over the years and have really helped shape the person that I am today. People like Mr. Vale, my high school speech and debate coach, Mr. Tipton, my 8th grade history and government teacher and my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Johnson, who actually called me today from Murfreesboro, Tennessee just to wish me well. Mrs. Johnson also said to say hi from her to any of my 5th grade classmates that might be here tonight. So, hello! Now, none of those educators could be here tonight, but there is one gentleman in the audience who has not only educated thousands of Glendale students, but has been a mentor of mine for many, many years. That would be former Glendale City Councilmember Bruce Heatwole. Bruce, thank you for your many years of service to Glendale and for being here tonight as a representation of all the wonderful teachers that I've had in my life. I appreciate you, my friend. Another gentleman here tonight that I would like to thank is my former scoutmaster,John Osborn. Now the Boy Scout organization is wonderful not just for developing camping skills, but for developing leadership skills. Scouting leaders like Mr. Osborn helped young boys to grow to become good men and good citizens. Scouting certainly made a positive difference in my life and l doubt that I would be standing here tonight before you were it not for the skills I learned in scouting. Thank you, Mr. Osborn. Now, my father was a scout leader also, but more than that, he was a family leader. The lessons a father teaches a son are innumerable, but the example he gives is singular. My father and I do so wish he could be here tonight, taught me everything I know about responsibility, how to accept it and how to live up to it. Dad, I will do my best to make you proud. Now, lest any of you think perhaps I've forgotten someone, I haven't. You all were briefly introduced to my mother a few minutes ago, and it is a joy to have her sitting next to me tonight. For those of you who know her, I think you will agree that she is a force of nature and quite often a force to be reckoned with. But I know her as exactly the kind, loving mother that this little boy needed and still needs. Mother taught me everything I know about compassion through many lessons over these many years. City of Glendale Page 6 Printed on 1/14/2015 City Council Meeting Minutes-Final December 9,2014 Thank you mother, l love you. Lastly tonight, I would like to thank Arizona State Supreme Court Chief Justice Scott Bales for coming here to Glendale tonight to administer my oath of office. Not only is being sworn in by a friend who I believe appreciates the breadth and depth of my commitment to civic service especially meaningful to me, Chief Justice, I also hope that your presence here tonight will help me send the signal to our community and to our staff from the Mayor to the Council, from the City Manager to the city meter readers, for all of us, whether we be elected, appointed, hired, sworn or civilian, that only the highest degree of professional ethics,personal integrity and legal adherence is anticipated and no less will be tolerated. Thank you Chief Justice Bales. So now for the sake of my voice and your ears, I'm going to cut my remarks short. I thank you all for being here tonight. God bless you and God bless Glendale." Mr. Pfeffer said diplomacy, heartfelt emotion and sense of humor was evident this evening. He again asked everyone to welcome the new Councilmembers. Mayor Weiers and the entire new council came up for official pictures. CEREMONIAL CITY COUNCIL PHOTOGRAPH The new Council gathered for the Ceremonial Photograph. Master Sgt. LaPorte returned to the podium to sing God Bless America. Mayor Weiers recognized the MYAC students that were in the audience. He said they are Glendale's finest. He challenged the new Councilmembers to get students from their district to join this wonderful organization. Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:53 p.m. 'amela Hanna - City Clerk