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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 10/20/2015 City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 r if& amilh GLE 01 ) Meeting Minutes - Final Tuesday, October 20, 2015 1:30 PM Workshop Council Chambers - Room B3 City Council Workshop Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Samuel Chavira Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 CALL TO ORDER Rollcall Present 6- Mayor Jerry Weiers,Vice Mayor Ian Hugh, Councilmember Jamie Aldama, Councilmember Samuel Chavira, Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff, and Councilmember Bart Turner [Councilmember Chavira attended telephonically and joined the meeting in person during item#5.] Also present were Richard Bowers, Acting City Manager; Jennifer Campbell, Assistant City Manager; Tom Duensing, Interim Assistant City Manager; Michael Bailey, City Attorney; and Pamela Hanna, City Clerk. WORKSHOP SESSION 1. 15-675 SALE OF CITY PROPERTY AND FACILITIES Staff Contact and Presenter: Jack Friedline, Director, Public Works Guest Presenter: Mr. Brent Moser, Executive Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield Guest Presenter: Mr. Brent Mallonee, Vice President, Cushman & Wakefield Guest Presenter: Mr. Mike Coover, Senior Vice President, Cushman & Wakefield Mr. Friedline said this item involves the sale of city property and facilities. Staff is asking for City Council's recommendations. He said nine properties were identified that had the potential for sale or reuse. Representatives from Cushman&Wakefield, consultants, were present to answer any questions. He also said the city entered into an agreement with a realtor who assessed the value of these properties. Mr. Friedline explained staff developed three categories of properties,which included sufficiently utilized property serving the community; property with the potential of public/private partnerships, and vacant or underutilized and privatized properties with market value. Mr. Friedline provided an overview analysis of the 9 properties. • Properties 1 &2, the Bank of America building and Promenade and Parking Garage were valued at$7.35 million. By January 2016,this property will be 97% occupied and will net over$600,000 in operating revenue. Options for use included continued use as-is, office, retail and garage. • Property 3 is the Desert Mirage Golf Course with a current value of$450,000. Desert Mirage has annual net operating revenues of$14,967, and the option use is a golf course. • Property 4 is Glen Lakes Golf Course with a current value of$5.2 million. Glen Lakes has annual net operating revenues of$12,000. He said this property has the potential to be converted into single use family residential-medium density City of Glendale Page 1 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 residential. • Property 5 is the Future City Court Site which has a current value of$3 to$5 million. Annual costs to maintain this property are almost zero and it can be used for commercial purposes. • Property 6 is the Bead Museum has a value of$400,000 to$500,000. This property collects revenue of about$12,000 and option uses for this property continue to be commercial. • Property 7 is the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store,which has a value of$490,000 to$630,000. Annual operating costs are$12,405 and this property has commercial use. Mr. Friedline said this property is currently vacant. • Property 8 is the Thunderbird Lounge and adjoining Retail Space. The current property value is$666,653 to$727,260,with no annual operating income as this property is also currently vacant. This property has a commercial use. • Property 9 is the Northeast Corner of 99th Avenue and Bethany Home Road. The current value of this property is$7.5 million with an annual maintenance cost of $5,000. Optional use for this property is commercial. Mr. Friedline said staff recommends continued operations of the Bank of America building and the Parking Garage, continuing a positive cash flow and making office space available for future expansion of city offices. Staff recommends continuing to utilize Desert Mirage Golf Course and Glen Lakes Golf Course as golf courses. Mr. Friedline said the city has invested over$10 million into the City Court property and staff recommends building the new City Court when finances and need demand it. The Bead Museum is part of the integrated city complex and staff recommends continued ownership with a renewal of the lease rate for possible adjustment to comparable rates in downtown Glendale. Staff also recommends continued ownership of the St.Vincent de Paul property until decisions are made regarding the downtown alignment of the transit system scheduled for construction in 2026. With reference to the Thunderbird Lounge Building, Mr. Friedline said there are issues with this property including loose trash and debris inside the building from past tenants. Staff recommends cleaning up this property to make it more visually appealing for potential sale,with built in equipment to remain in the building and will be addressed during any sales negotiations. He said Council will be updated on any future sales negotiations. Mr. Friedline said there is value in selling the property at 99th Avenue and Bethany Home Road under current market conditions or holding the property in anticipation of increased property values over time. Mr. Friedline said if Council approves the sale of any property, Cushman&Wakefield will perform the real estate brokerage services. If the property is sold, Cushman&Wakefield shall receive a commission from the sale of the property, but not more than 6%of the final sale/purchase price. He also discussed the amounts to be paid to Cushman& Wakefield if the properties are not sold. Councilmember Turner asked about the city's costs for the water services lot. Mr. Friedline said it was around$10.5 million. Councilmember Turner said he agreed with staffs recommendations for the two golf City of Glendale Page 2 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 courses. He also agreed with staff recommendations regarding the future court site. He said the only two he saw potential in were the Thunderbird Lounge and the St.Vincent de Paul property, but agreed the city should continue to hold those properties until final decisions were made on the high capacity transit issues. He wanted to see staff try and get tenants for those properties for the time being. He wanted to make sure the Thunderbird Lounge was fully secured and he would like to see some window dressing on that property to improve the look of downtown for the upcoming holidays. He said it was important that the city continue to maintain assets with keeping up on the landscaping at those properties as well. Councilmember Aldama agreed with Councilmember Turner and recognized staff for the window dressing they have done already. He agreed with Councilmember Turner's comments on St.Vincent de Paul. He also said the Bead Museum was a great partnership as well for community events. He was thrilled Bank of America was almost entirely occupied. He said the two golf courses are also a benefit to the community and the city should keep those. He asked what the original plans were for some of these properties,such as Thunderbird Lounge. Mr. Friedline said those purchases were made to be able to control development in the area. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if staff has looked at any temporary use or staging opportunities for Glendale Glitters for the St.Vincent de Paul and Thunderbird Lounge properties. Mr. Friedline said staff has not looked at those types of opportunities yet as St.Vincent de Paul was just vacated in July. He said they can certainly have a conversation with staff that runs Glendale Glitters about these opportunities. He said they would also come back to Council if there are any lease opportunities for these properties. Councilmember Tolmachoff said she imagined some sort of exhibit hall or something like that at the St.Vincent de Paul property. 2. 15-682 PRESENTATION ON WESTERN AREA BRANCH LIBRARY CONCEPT Staff Contact: Erik Strunk, Director, Community Services Staff Presenter: Erik Strunk, Director, Community Services Staff Presenter: Michael Beck, Chief Librarian, Community Services Guest Presenter: Ms. Paula Wilson, Chairperson, Library Advisory Board Mr. Strunk introduced Paula Wilson,the Chair of the Library Advisory Board, and Michael Beck, Chief Librarian. Mr. Strunk said staff and members of the Library Advisory Board have invested considerable time in discussing use of the Media Center as a community library source. Staff also explored other options once challenges in using the Media Center presented themselves. Mr. Strunk thanked Ms.Wilson and other members of the board on all the time and effort they spent on this item. Mr. Strunk explained the four areas of the city that staff uses for library planning City of Glendale Page 3 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 purposes. The library areas include the Foothills Branch Library,the Main Library, and the Velma Teague Library. Area D on the map provided to Council was the area where the city has been unable to provide library services to residents due to financial constraints. The city does offer virtual access to anyone with a Glendale library card. Residents are able to download and access books and materials online. Mr. Strunk provided a timeline of steps taken by the city to build out and develop the area at Heroes Regional Park. Mr. Strunk said Council approved a design contract for a 35,000 square foot library in 2008. He said the recent recession greatly impacted the city's ability to finance construction of this new facility and to cover ongoing operating costs. Mr. Strunk discussed the cost to operate a library 40 hours per week with 8.5 FTE or14 employees at this location. He said of the$4.5 million in development impact fees; about $500,000 is being used every year to acquire new materials and books. Subtracting out this amount,there is about$2.5 million in development impact fees. The standard service level that was used throughout the analysis was 40 hours per week, six days a week and the facility would be about 7,500 to 8,000 square feet. This is the same amount of space currently available at the Media Center. He said services provided in this area would be materials and programs for children,which were very important to the residents in the area. Other services include a blended balance of books, materials and technology,as well as having a community gathering room. He said the Western Area Branch Library would not be a large library it would be based on consumer demand. The services provided would be very similar to those provided to residents at the other Glendale libraries. Mr. Strunk said potential library options include the Glendale Media Center, possible purchase of a vacant facility, partnership with a local school, prefabricated or modular structure at Heroes Regional Park, and the automated book machine. Mr. Beck said staff worked in conjunction with the Library Advisory Board and the key factors for consideration in the use of the Media Center include operating hours, convenience and parking. Library operations would be impacted at this facility by over 70 special events including hockey games. Establishing regular library operating hours would be a challenge at this location due to the changing list of special and sporting events held each year. The Media Center would also need to be redesigned. Parking at, this facility would also be an issue. Ms.Wilson said the Library Advisory Board was concerned about the likelihood of irregular operating hours at the Media Center facility and said this would not be the best possible service option for the residents. The Media Center also located in a commercial area and is not neighborhood friendly. Due to these reason,this location was not recommended by the Library Advisory Board. Mr. Beck said the next option was a storefront library model. There were many concerns about location, autonomy,visibility, and incompatibility with surrounding businesses. Other concerns included whether this location was zoned as a commercial area instead of a residential area with possible parking and ADA issues. Ms.Wilson said the board's primary concern is that the storefront library model is not an ideal area or location for a community based service. Incompatibility with other City of Glendale Page 4 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 businesses, parking restrictions and a location that was not family-friendly was of concern to the board. Mr. Beck said another option was the establishment of a partnership with a school to operate the public library. Several cities in the valley have existing branches on school campuses. This partnership would require a very detailed intergovernmental agreement regarding responsibilities of the parties. Ms.Wilson said the board initially liked this idea, but after further consideration there may be too many operational issues to work through. She also said such a partnership may result in confusion to library patrons and school children and the mission of a school library is different than that of a public library. She also said additional certifications may be necessary for staff working in a school setting. Mr. Beck said using a prefabricated facility;the city could honor the original Western Area Branch Library location.This type of facility could be designed to complement the park and it would also give the library the option for phased expansion. This option seemed to be most viable option after discussion by staff and the Library Advisory Board. Ms.Wilson said this option is the most appealing and the board did publicly vote to recommend the prefabricated facility option to Council. This facility would be located within a defined neighborhood, provide needed library services to this part of the city and will honor the western location of the Western Area Branch Library. This location would also have necessary parking available and would complement the area and the neighborhood park. She said the board also liked this idea as the library could be designed and constructed in phases which would allow the city to pursue a larger library facility. She said the board felt with the right design and use of new building technologies, a prefabricated facility can be constructed in a manner that would suit the surrounding neighborhood. Mr. Beck said the final option was the book distribution machine which was previously presented to Council. Ms.Wilson said the book distribution machine is not the first recommendation of the board. She said the board does understand the financial limitations of the city and would support the use of an automated book distribution machine only if there are no other options for a new library branch. She also thanked the Mayor and Council for their interest in developing a Western Area Branch Library. Mr. Strunk said staff recommendations and future steps would include determining development and operating costs, including public outreach,develop conceptual designs using existing budgeted funds, review, present and discuss this item as part of the FY16-17 City Budget process. Councilmember Aldama thanked staff for the presentation and the board members for their input. He said the Yucca District really needs a library. He would prefer maintaining the libraries the city already has, but said he likes the prefabricated facility idea that was City of Glendale Page 5 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 presented. He asked if that prefabricated facility could be placed in Heroes Park where the parking already exists. Mr. Strunk said there was a large amount of open space and infrastructure already in place. He said the prefab facility would be in the general area where they see a main library going. Counciimember Aldama said there wasn't an option to do nothing at the western area location and use the money to assist the existing libraries. He asked if staff looked at that option at all. Mr. Strunk said staff looked at this when they discussed the development impact fees. He explained there was a change in state law in 2013 and said the rules surrounding new development impact fees that are collected is much more restrictive and cannot be used for anything inside the building such as furniture. The old development impact fee money can be used for those things. He said if this western area library was not developed, those development impact fee funds would be used to enhance features and services at the three existing libraries. Councilmember Chavira agreed with Councilmember Aldama's comments about moving forward with the prefab option. He said the Yucca District is in great need of a library. Councilmember Turner thanked Mr. Strunk, Mr. Beck, and Ms.Wilson for the presentation. He said the western area of the city has lacked library service for a long time and he is glad the city has options to improve service in that area. He said he still had a lot of faith in using the Media Center. He knows library hours and parking might be an issue at this location. He spoke about the large parking lot near the Media Center, which is underutilized. He spoke about the location of the Media Center and other potential library locations and said they would still be workable. He spoke about operating costs for the various locations. He said he could support the modular option at Heroes Park, but wanted to make sure it supports the expectations of the community and is a forward looking concept. He also said if the Media Center is not chosen for the new library, he encouraged staff to start looking at other options for that space. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the capital costs for the modular option included books and furniture. Mr. Strunk said they based that on what they currently have available, including fittings, bookshelves and books. Councilmember Tolmachoff said she discovered there wasn't even a county library near the Yucca district area. She said it is important to put a library out in that area because the residents have no library services near them. She said she would like to provide the area with a library as there is really a need. She likes the prefab idea for Heroes Park. She also agreed with Councilmember Turner about using the Media Center as the city won't have enough money to offer those services at a new library. She also agreed with trying to incorporate other uses for the Media Center space as a community asset. City of Glendale Page 6 Printed on 12/17/2015 • City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 Mr. Strunk said that option was discussed to partner with other entities and groups to use those city assets. Councilmember Aldama said there were high schools and colleges that might also want to use the Media Center facility. He also agreed with Councilmember Turner that the Media Center building could be used as a library. He was more in favor of a prefab facility near Heroes Park to be used as a community center if a new library is ever built. Councilmember Sherwood said returning all the libraries to full service was not discussed. He said they do need library facilities on the west side of the city and does agree with the board's recommendations. He said he would like to see the libraries return to extended hours and offering all the services available prior to the economic downturn. He also agreed that the Channel 11 facility is underutilized. He agreed with staff recommendations and asked if the current money had to be utilized by 2019. Mr. Strunk said that was correct and said the money had to be encumbered by January 1,2019. Mayor Weiers said he lived in the Yucca District and understood the library system. He said the Council should try and make Heroes Park work as it was intended. He spoke about the new Peoria park on 83rd Avenue and how successful it has been. Councilmember Aldama agreed with Mayor Weiers'comments that they needed to get back to Heroes Park original design. He said they have to do something to give the community what it needs right now. The Council does need to formulate a plan to get the park back to its original design. Councilmember Tolmachoff clarified by saying there is an immediate need for a library in that area. She agrees with Councilmember Aldama's comment to repurpose the prefab building at some point when they are able to provide more services to residents. Mr. Beck said it is 2.9 miles from Velma Teague Library to Heroes Park and the Media Center is 5.2 miles. He said there are 40,000 residents in western Glendale that do not have library service, and 400,000 people live within a 5 mile radius of Heroes Park. He said the library would have a regional pull in that area as there are no other library services in that area. Mayor Weiers asked for clarification of the distance between Velma Teague and Heroes Park and he said it was almost 4 miles. Mayor Weiers said he had no issues on doing this in pieces, but wanted to get the city focused on what was originally promised to the residents near Heroes Park. Councilmember Chavira agreed with the Councilmembers and said the modular component is the first step in the right direction. Council also needs to come back to the original view on how to supply what has been promised to residents. City of Glendale Page 7 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 Councilmember Turner said he is anxious to do improvements at Heroes Park as the city's financial picture improves. He said some of the ideas presented 20 years ago, might not be right for that area at this time, but the park should not be ignored any longer. He mentioned library hours and the libraries are open on Thursdays. Mr. Beck said at least one of the libraries is open 7 days at some point during the week. Councilmember Aldama said the Yucca District has waited too long for these services. The western area of Glendale does need a library. He supports a modular building library for the Yucca District. Councilmember Chavira agreed with Councilmember Turner's comments. He said the Council needs to be prepared to meet the city's growth needs. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to move forward to bring more information on the cost of a modular unit. Councilmember Turner said he would like to also see more information on the Media Center as they obtain more input from the public. Mayor Weiers said there was a consensus to move forward with both options. Mr. Strunk said they will do design work and will bring more information back. He also said they have money set aside for a design study. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked which of the two locations would better suit the geographic needs of the community. Mayor Weiers said there is a great deal of new home growth in that area and wanted staff to also take that into consideration. 3. 15-683 PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO GLENDALE CITY CODE, CHAPTER 3 (ALARM SYSTEMS) Staff Contact: Debora Black, Police Chief Staff Presenter: Kent Strege, Public Safety Technical Services Administrator Chief Black said this was an update for proposed amendments to City Code Chapter 3 for alarm systems. She said the alarm ordinance was proposed and adopted in August 2014, and an annual$20 fee was instituted for residence and business subscriber permits. She explained there are over 8,000 current alarm registrations and revenue from 2015 permit fees is$149,972. Effects of implementing this fee include increased staff workload, administrative challenges have been identified,the new process is challenging for permit holders, and permit holders have expressed frustration to staff and elected officials. She said response to the fees has been overwhelmingly negative and there has been confusion as to why the fee was implemented. She said the goal of this program was to reduce false alarms, but that has not been the case. She said there were 1,500 City of Glendale Page 8 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 locations that had 4 or more false alarm responses, and most of those were businesses. Chief Black explained the cost to respond to these false alarms is the same as the cost for 1%police officers. Chief Black said a survey was sent to over'4,500 alarm permit holders. The city received a 10%response rate, and 20%of respondents felt they should register and a fee should be paid. Over 60%felt that no fee should be charged for false alarms. She said there are other options they would like to explore for reduction of false alarms. She said she would like guidance from Council as to the permitting and the fees for permitting. She was requesting consideration by Council of eliminating the alarm permits and of discontinuing assessing fees. She wanted to approach this issue using a data-driven, problem solving approach and use the CAT team and patrol officers. Chief Black said they would not make any suggestions to change their approach to false alarms without having a meeting with stakeholders and getting public input. Mayor Weiers clarified that Chief Black was just informing Council of what was happening and would bring a plan of action forward in the future. Chief Black said if they are going to proceed with permitting and assessing fees,they need to get started on that for 2016. If Council does not desire to do that, they will bring a proposed ordinance amendment forward to remove those parts of the City Code. With respect to operational aspects, she will bring that item forward for Council consideration. She said her objective is not to reduce the levels of service provided to residents and businesses. She said she wants to manage this process better to eliminate the needless response and unproductive officer hours spent. Mayor Weiers asked what amounts were expected to collected for this program and the costs of officers actually going out to these calls. • Chief Black said the permit fees were to offset the administrative costs of the program. She said the goal is to reduce the false alarms. She said the goal was not to offset the cost of officer response. Mayor Weiers clarified they were trying to put the resources toward stopping the false alarms. Chief Black said that was correct. Mayor Weiers said that makes a lot more sense to him and to the business owners. Councilmember Aldama said there are a lot of false alarms. He asked what is the industry doing to try and alleviate this problem. He also wanted to make sure the stakeholders have a seat at the table in future discussions. Chief Black said technology will continue to improve. She said usually it is a wiring technology issue at the point of the alarm or an operator issue. She said those issues can be addressed if staff is more responsive at the front end of the problem. She said she wasn't even sure if the owners are even aware of the false alarm issue if an alarm occurs overnight. She said she believes these issues can be addressed and her officers City of Glendale Page 9 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 and staff do a very good job of problem solving. Councilmember Aldama said that was what he wanted to hear. Mayor Weiers said the Fire Department has the same issue,but they do not have nearly as great a problem as the police department. He said he wanted a stakeholder meeting, but also wanted to get the Fire Department involved as well. Vice Mayor Hugh said he was in favor of discontinuing the registration. He suggested fining repeat offenders and working with them to solve the problem. Chief Black said that was a great idea. Councilmember Turner said he would be happy to do away with the registration and fees. He said they need to continue fines for excessive alarms and need to keep working on trying to solve the problem. He talked about other options for responding to alarms and said there are a lot of options to look into. Councilmember Tolmachoff said she got a lot of citizen complaints. She supports no registration and no alarm fees on residences. She said the cost of taking almost two officers off the street to respond is too high. Councilmember Sherwood supports the decision as well. Mayor Weiers said stakeholders and the Fire Department should be involved. 4. 15-684 UNMANNED AIRCRAFT VEHICLES/SYSTEMS (DRONES) Staff Contact: Debora Black, Police Chief Staff Presenter: Nicholas C. DiPiazza, Deputy City Attorney/Legal Advisor Mr. DiPiazza said this item was on the use of non-commercial drones within city limits. He provided a brief history on the number of drones sold in the United States and the risk they present. He said drones can cause interference with police and firefighters, cause midair collisions and impact city safety and security. Mr. DiPiazza said the FAA strictly regulates commercial and government uses of drones, but does not provide as strict regulation for hobby uses of drones. He said city ordinances should focus on prevention of incidents and accidents, not on reacting after the fact. He explained all airspace over the city is restricted by the FAA in one way or another. He explained the restrictions in and around the city. He discussed other drone ordinances that have been adopted around the nation. These ordinances vary widely, including creating temporary bans for special events, city-wide bans, ban police use, and requiring pre-approval. He said an ordinance should address safety,security and local concerns and enable police to effectively enforce regulations. Mr. DiPiazza provided three options for Council consideration. The first option would be to allow hobby use without regulation. The second option would limit hobby uses by drone size, by capabilities and restrict use near designated locations. The third option would prohibit hobby use except in designated areas. City of Glendale Page 10 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 Mayor Weiers said the FAA is acting on this right now and a decision should be forthcoming in December. He asked why the city is trying to make regulations about drones before the FAA decision. He also asked about Class D airspace and said 100 feet above the ground will not interfere with any aircraft. Mr. DiPiazza said the FM will come out with something sooner than that, but they are talking about registration of drones. He said there has been little discussion about further restrictions on non-commercial uses. He said the FAA suggests hobby drone usage should be below 400 feet, but the capabilities of these machines have grown dramatically and very quickly. They present a risk to private and commercial aviation. Mayor Weiers said he has no issues with restricting drone use at the airport in the traffic pattern. He said he heard FAA decisions would be in mid-December. Councilmember Aldama said technology is increasing. He commented on how technology has changed from flying a kite to flying a drone. He said it is appropriate to move forward with a draft ordinance to see what it would look like. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there was training to fly a drone. Mr. DiPiazza said there is significant training and restrictions for commercial and public safety usage, but no requirements for private use of drones. Councilmember Tolmachoff said that poses a threat to public safety and public events. She would like to take a look at limiting hobby uses. Chief Black said this issue came about during Super Bowl when she needed to understand what her options were to enforce violations. She said all they have are federal regulations,which are very limited. She would like Council to consider options that would allow her officers to take enforcement action when there are violations of restricted airspace. She would like to make the public aware of any restrictions the city is going to place on drones before making an investment. Vice Mayor Hugh said the city needs to start looking at regulating drones. Councilmember Turner asked how far the drones were able to fly away from the operator. Mr. DiPiazza said the drones operate on line of sight, so the operator should be able to see the drone. Councilmember Turner asked if drones typically come equipped with cameras. Mr. DiPiazza said there are many different types of drones available even the least expensive models include the camera capability. Councilmember Turner supported no drone zones around airports and mega events. The City of Glendale Page 11 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 city should also look at establishing drone approved areas where hobbyists can fly their drones. He said they might also look at cameras relating to privacy issues. Mayor Weiers asked Chief Black if she had what she needed. Chief Black said she understood the Council had a desire to move forward with a proposed ordinance. 5. 15-681 COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: THE AMPHITHEATER IN MURPHY PARK Staff Contact: Erik Strunk, Director, Community Services Staff Presenter: Erik Strunk, Director, Community Services Staff Presenter: Tim Barnard, Assistant Director, Community Services Mr.Strunk said this item is to provide information on creating more activity in Murphy Park and the amphitheater. He said use of this area will enhance redevelopment of the centerline area. He introduced Mr.Tim Barnard,Assistant Director,to complete the rest of the presentation. Mr. Barnard provided a brief history of the amphitheater at Murphy Park and said the amphitheater hosts Summer Band concerts, Glendale Glitters, stage plays and cultural celebrations. For FY15-16,31 of the 47 events planned for Murphy Park will use the amphitheater. He said the amphitheater is open the same hours and days Murphy Park is open,with prime use time from Thursday through Sunday, from 4 p.m.to 10 p.m. Use of the amphitheater during prime hours is about 200 hours per year. Only a very small percentage of events held in the amphitheater are private events. Mr. Barnard said staff recommends increasing community-based events by 10%each year for the next 2 fiscal years,which will include use of Murphy Park. Recommendations also include waiving rental fees for non-commercial and public event organizers including non-profit organizations, implementing a quick,simple application process, and establishing a community based team to review applications. He said staff will adhere to provisions of special events ordinance and other requirements of the city and they estimate the expenditure impact of$10,000 to$15,000 per year to be submitted as part of the FY16-17 budget request. Councilmember Aldama was glad to see the application process is being simplified and some fees could be waived. He said he would like to see events that encourage pedestrian foot traffic and family friendly events for all Glendale residents. He said several Councilmembers want to bring back the Jazz Festival and hoped that 10%increase includes costs for that event. Vice Mayor Hugh said involving downtown merchants and the Chamber of Commerce to encourage events at the amphitheater is a great idea. He said one of the school groups started an arts festival which has become a very large event in Peoria. He hoped staff could reach out to the schools as well for participation. He asked if staff had any other ideas to market this and get the word out. City of Glendale Page 12 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 Mr. Barnard said they are working on promoting this through the Marketing Department. Vice Mayor Hugh said it would be great if residents knew there was an event every weekend in Murphy Park. Mr. Strunk said that is the goal staff is hoping to achieve. He said word of mouth about events will travel quickly, but they will reach out and work with any interested clients. He wants to increase community and neighborhood events. Mr. Barnard said the 10%figure is a way to begin management of this proposal. He said they have hired a consultant to look at the existing infrastructure to establish a baseline for seating and capacity for these events. Mayor Weiers said organizers of the Christmas Parade have had people who wanted to donate gifts for kids and wanted Santa Claus to give the gifts to the kids. He said it is refreshing to see staff getting more involved in bringing these events to Glendale and the downtown area. Councilmember Turner agreed with Vice Mayor Hugh's comments and said schools would jump at opportunities to involve the community. He also said the musician community might also be very interested in this venue. He also suggested having a regular open mike night or some other type of regular programming that the public could count on. Mr. Barnard said staff is looking specifically at the time periods between the city's large events. Councilmember Tolmachoff said waiving fees will encourage groups to come down and use the facility. She suggested holding a farmer's market in Murphy Park in the spring or fall. Councilmember Aldama thanked the Parks and Recreation department for all the events they do hold in Murphy Park and the amphitheater and the hard work they do to organize those events. He also suggested having a movie night in the amphitheater. Councilmember Chavira thanked staff for identifying events to turn into special events. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to move forward. 6. 15-637 COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: SERVICE LINE WARRANTY PROGRAM Staff Contact: Craig A. Johnson, P.E., Director, Water Services Staff Presenter: Craig A. Johnson, P.E., Director, Water Services Staff Presenter: John Henny, Deputy Water Services Director Mr.Johnson said this item was to provide information about water service line warranties City of Glendale Page 13 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 which private water and sewer lines insurance programs. He said these programs are available through marketing partnerships. Mr. Henny explained a service line warranty/program is a private insurance policy that homeowners can purchase to cover repairs for broken or leaking water and sewer lines outside the city's area of responsibility. He said participation in these programs is an option for residents. Partnering with the city benefits the private businesses because it tends to increase the penetration rate within a given market. He said there are no directly related costs to the city, although indirect costs have been identified for staff time to manage the contract and review marketing materials. Mr. Henny said revenue received by the city is dependent on terms and conditions of the partnership agreement. Mr. Henny continued the typical business model for these programs includes a one-time funding and ongoing funding,which is based on the number of policies sold. He said there is no cost to the city to participate, and there is a revenue sharing opportunity for the city. This is an optional program for residents and helps create awareness by informing homeowners of their service line responsibilities. He explained repairs are made by local contractors when possible. He said city obligations would include entering into an exclusive or non-exclusive marketing agreement,which would provide city logo on billing and marketing materials sent to Glendale residents. Indirect costs would include assigning city staff to manage the contract, review and approve marketing materials as needed, and a signature by a city official would be required. Mr. Henny said there are several cities in Arizona that have a service line warranty program, including Phoenix, Tucson,Avondale, Mesa and Tempe He said Tempe's program is self-funded and administered in-house. Mr. Henny said items for Council consideration include preparing an RFP to allow interested providers to present their programs,selecting a program that is administered by the provider and avoiding a program that is self-funded and self-administered, and to look for a non-exclusive agreement that allows for contract flexibility. Mr. Henny said this is a marketing relationship with the city and there are potential revenue opportunities for the city with this program. Councilmember Sherwood asked if staff had any knowledge of past problems residents have had to warrant such a program. Mr. Henny said staff has responded to 122 water leaks on customer side in the past year, and about 186 leaks on the city side. This type of program would have benefitted the 122 customers with water leaks. Councilmember Sherwood asked if staff really saw a need for this. He said if this was a real problem in the city, he asked if there was any benefit for this type of program for Glendale. Mr. Henny said Water Services is neutral on this issue, but it would be a relief to consumers in their time of need. He said it was a marketing agreement where the city would allow the city's logo to be used. City of Glendale Page 14 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 Councilmember Sherwood asked if citizens call to see if this type of service is offered. • Mr. Henny said he has only had a couple of calls, but it is usually when private companies reach out directly to the citizens. He said it is important to let citizens know this is an optional program. Councilmember Turner mentioned the cost being passed on to residents. He also said he was concerned about the city becoming involved in claim issues with insurance companies. He said he is protective of the city's brand and said he would be more in favor of a marketing campaign to let citizens know this type of program is available to them. Mr. Henny said there is a need for that type of information. Staff will be updating the city's website and can provide that information to the public. Councilmember Aldama said his district might have a need for this. He asked if homeowner's insurance covers this. Mr. Henny said he believed most insurance companies did not cover this type of water issue. Councilmernber Aldama said he did not know what this would cost an individual and was concerned with the city's logo on this product. He would like to see more information on this item. He also mentioned that the Sonorita area has zoning issues and asked if this type of program would work for those residents. Mr. Johnson said the vendor would reach out to those residents and work with this area to establish a plan. Mr. Froke said this program would not be impacted by the zoning in the Sonorita neighborhood, and said residents could opt into the program. Councilmember Aldama said he saw value in this program and would like to see more information. He said he has seen enough, however,to think residents in his district might benefit from this program. Councilmember Tolmachoff said this issue has come up in her job in real estate. She has never heard of a homeowner's policy that would cover the water and sewer line issue. She said educating residents is very important. She is not excited about the city endorsing a business and felt if the residents are educated, they can do their own research. She would like to see some public awareness information sent out to the residents. Vice Mayor Hugh asked if this is an extended warranty or an insurance policy. Mr.Johnson said these programs are providing residents insurance for their water line. City of Glendale Page 15 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 Vice Mayor Hugh asked if these businesses were insurance companies that are regulated. Mr. Bailey said they have not looked that deep into this program to determine if it is insurance or a home warranty, but will provide the information. Councilmember Aldama saw value in this program for his community, but asked if the city wanted to get into the business of putting the city logo on private businesses. Councilmember Turner asked if these companies would focus their efforts on neighborhoods which might be more profitable and have less risk. He said he didn't want to be in a situation where certain neighborhoods were treated less fairly than others. Mayor Weiers asked whether there is a different fee structure based on how old the home was. Mr. Henny said he believed the fee structure is the same for all participants. Councilmember Tolmachoff suggested using some available grant money to assist older residents with these programs. Mr.Johnson said staff is looking for direction on whether to move forward with the program or come back with additional information on the program and on grants. Mayor Weiers said there is consensus to come back with further information as there are a lot more questions than answers. Councilmember Tolmachoff also said it was the city's obligation to educate the public on this issue and their responsibility. Councilmember Turner said more research is necessary and suggested staff contact cities that are using the National League of Cities endorsed program and get information on their experiences using the program. Councilmember Sherwood said he was going to suggest the same thing and find out what percentage of participation there is. Mayor Weiers reminded everyone there was one item still left to discuss and executive session would follow. 7. 15-697 SPECIAL EVENT PERMITTING AND ENFORCEMENT Staff Contact and Presenter: Sam McAllen, Director, Development Services Mr. McAllen said this item was regarding special event permitting and enforcement, identifying process improvements that will be made and providing recommendations City of Glendale Page 16 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 which will be incorporated into an upcoming revision of the special events ordinance, if approved by Council. He said a special events ordinance was created in 2007 to ensure consistency with the process of reviewing and approving special event applications. He discussed the definitions of special events from the ordinance. He said currently special events and major events have different applications and they are approved through different types of processes. These applications are reviewed by multiple departments to ensure compliance with city codes. Mr. McAllen said the enforcement component at special events is designed to keep attendees safe. Enforcement at signature city events is done through the Police Department and Code Compliance. Private event promoters handle their own enforcement and if backup is required,the Police Department is contacted. The special events ordinance does say the city may take civil action to preclude an event that,is conducted or which may be conducted without a permit and the City Manager may suspend or revoke a permit. Mr. McAllen said staff has received input that the current process is confusing and can be improved. He said the process is going to be improved by creating an all-inclusive special event application,creating a one-stop shop for application submittals, and by creating a special event application review committee. He said the guide to major and minor events will be updated and the special events website revised to reflect process improvements. Staff will also include special event related fees in the Community Development Fee Schedule. He said staff would like Council guidance on modifying the application submittal deadline from 30 to 45 days, modifying the permit issuance/denial time from 10 days to 25 days, consider waiving the special event application fee for qualified non-profit organizations, allow repetitive and consecutive special events to do one application and pay one application fee, modify special event/large special event thresholds, and update insurance requirements. He said special events draw large crowds to the city,give Glendale regional identity and promote the city in a positive light. Councilmember Tolmachoff said she would like to see the special events review committee to include members who are not city employees. Councilmember Aldama agreed with Councilmember Tolmachoffs comments. He said there is some confusion about whether the permits are calendar year or fiscal year. Mr. McAllen said there is confusion. He said he was talking about consecutive events, but there has to be an end date for the event. He said they are flexible with whether the calendar is fiscal or calendar year. Mayor Weiers said if the permit was for a year,would the permit fee change if there was one event or six events. Mr. McAllen said if the event is a consecutive event with no additional permits required, there would be one fee. Mayor Weiers said it would work better for most people if it was a calendar year. Mr. McAllen said the fees do change and they do go into effect July 1st. City of Glendale Page 17 Printed on 12/17/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final October 20,2015 Mayor Weiers said he did not mean a calendar year, he meant a 12 month permit. Councilmember Turner asked about the application for different types of special events. Mr. McAllen said the intent is to have one application which would clarify what classification their event falls in. It is confusing to both staff and residents. Councilmember Turner said streamlining the process is a great idea and he supports it. He also agreed with waiving event fees for nonprofit organizations. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to move forward. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Acting City Manager Bowers had nothing to report. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT City Attorney Bailey had nothing to report. COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Aldama commented about the recent storm and thanked Mr. Friedline and all the staff for updating him. He would like to request an item on the Jazz Festival and how they can bring that event back to the city. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted to correct the language of the zoning text amendment regarding billboards from June 26, 2012, and see if they can make the amendment work the way it was intended to. She said there has been quite a bit of citizen concern about this. MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION It was moved by Councilmember Sherwood,seconded by Councilmember Turner,to enter into Executive Session. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7- Mayor Weiers,Vice Mayor Hugh, Councilmember Aldama, Councilmember Chavira, Sherwood, Councilmember Tolmachoff, and Councilmember Turner EXECUTIVE SESSION The City Council moved into Executive Session at 4:19 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 5:03 p.m. City of Glendale Page 18 Printed on 12/17/2015