HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 6/7/2016 City of Glendale
5850 West Glendale Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85301
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Meeting Minutes - Final
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
1:30 PM
Workshop
Council Chambers
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 June 7,2016
CALL TO ORDER
Rollcall
Present 7- Mayor Jerry Weiers,Vice Mayor Ian Hugh, Councilmember Jamie Aldama,
Councilmember Samuel Chavira, Councilmember Ray Malnar, Councilmember
Lauren Tolmachoff,and Councilmember Bart Turner
Also present were Kevin Phelps, City Manager; Michael Bailey, City Attorney; and
Pamela Hanna,City Clerk.
WORKSHOP SESSION
1. 16-259 REQUEST FOR POLICY GUIDANCE: LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND FARMING ON UNDEVELOPED PARK
LAN D
Staff Contact and Presenter: Erik Strunk, Director, Community Services
Staff Presenter: Tim Barnard, Assistant Director, Community Services
Staff Presenter: Mike Gregory, Parks and Recreation Administrator
Mr. Strunk said this is a request for Council guidance on enhancements to the City's
parks and recreation system, which have been discussed by the Parks and Recreation
Advisory Commission. The first item up for discussion is park telemetry software and
hardware. This item has no to low cost to the City. Mr. Strunk said the second item is a
request for Council guidance on issuing an RFP for potential farming of undeveloped park
sites. Farming these sites provides greening of those park sites, ongoing maintenance to
those parcels and would be done at no cost to the city. Also included in this proposal is
a community garden concept. The Parks and Recreation Commission have discussed
and support both of these items. Staff is seeking direction to proceed on these two
issues.
Mr. Barnard said staff has researched various companies that can improve water delivery
to the City parks irrigation system. Staff proposes an RFP to replace the outdated
existing irrigation infrastructure and controllers in the City's 46 neighborhood parks and
19 retention basins. The current park irrigation system is aged and the existing
controllers are no longer manufactured or supported by the manufacturer. A new park
water delivery system can upgrade irrigation infrastructure and provide state-of-the-art
technology. There is potential for little to no up-front costs or capital investment. The
potential in water use would be used to offset the cost of acquiring new irrigation
technology. This is an incentive based contract and the vendor receives payment based
on the percentage of system savings. He explained a web or cloud-based computer
would replace the current manual control system, resulting in cost savings of up to
$30,000 per year. He said there is the potential for a considerable amount of water
savings in the proposed neighborhood parks and retention basins. The percentage that
goes to the vendor would be negotiated within the RFP process and the vendor would get
a portion of the savings netted by going to this new technology and irrigation
infrastructure. Mr. Barnard explained this is state of the art telemetry technology, it
provides real time monitoring of the irrigation system and issues can be identified
immediately to minimize water loss. This technology will improve the efficiency of
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managing water resources and improve budget management overall.
Mr. Gregory said staff is specifically focusing on Northern Horizon Park, Orangewood
Park and Heroes Regional Park, a total of 80 acres of property, in the urban farming
concept. The undeveloped portions of Northern Horizon and Orangewood consist of
undeveloped retention basins. These properties are not likely to be developed for at least
3-5 years. There is an opportunity to green up these areas by allowing urban farming in
the short-term. This will create improved land management and stewardship. There is
also an opportunity to set aside a portion of these vacant parcels for a community garden
concept. The irrigation infrastructure at these locations is still functional, but will require
some clean up or repair, all at the cost of the farmer or contractor. The contract would
also control water delivery, maintenance of the delivery system and infrastructure and
on-site maintenance. Any machinery used by the contract will be stored off-site. If
Council desired to move forward, staff will proceed with an RFP for a 3 to 5 year contract.
This is not a new concept and the City of Phoenix is currently leasing about 200 acres for
urban farming to address similar issues. Mr. Gregory provided photos of the vacant land
at the parks that would be farmed.
Mr. Strunk said staff is seeking permission to move forward with these two concepts. If
directed, staff will develop and issue separate RFPs for irrigation telemetry and urban
farming at the three undeveloped park sites, and these will be revised by the Parks and
Recreation Advisory Commission. If the commission recommends approval, staff will
bring this item forward for Council approval.
Councilmember Malnar asked how long the urban farming might last on these properties.
Mr. Strunk said it depends on the City's fiscal ability to develop these park properties.
Staff is looking at a 3-5 year window. The proposed agreements would be 3-5 year
agreements,with annual renewals.
Councilmember Malnar asked if there would be provisions in the agreements that no
permanent structures would be put on the properties by any vendors and that the
properties could be taken back by the city if the city received funding or a grant to
develop that park land.
Mr. Strunk said staff would include that sort of language in any RFP so any potential
vendors knew about those provisions right up front.
Councilmember Malnar asked staff to look at the total cost and return on investment prior
to obtaining vendors to improve any irrigation system.
Mr. Barnard said staff will look at that and vendors will make the capital investment up
front. Staff estimates a cost of about $6,000-8,000 of infrastructure per site and the
vendor would bear that cost up front and then reap that payment back through the water
savings cost sharing once the system is up and running. He said staff can provide an
estimate of costs if the city were to provide a new system and what the benefits of that
would be.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked for further explanation about leasing the property.
Mr. Strunk said there are three undeveloped parcels of park property which will not be
built out within the next 3-5 years. He said staff is looking at greening up those parcels
while having them maintained by a non-city force. Other cities have farmed out these
undeveloped park properties. He explained Councilmember Malnar's question was what
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prevents something from going in there that over time may not be expected by the
community. He said the RFP would be very clear that those parcels would just be for
farming only.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if a potential vendor would be paying to lease the
property or if the city would just let a vendor use the property.
Mr. Strunk said they don't have a specific answer to that question yet. He said staff
doesn't feel they will get back any great return on this concept, so in exchange for
greening up the property, the vendor will just keep the property green and keep the
community garden going at no cost.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked who will cover the cost of the water.
Mr. Strunk said the vendor will cover those costs and it will be specifically stated in the
RFP. He said the idea is not to spend any city money on this project.
Councilmember Tolmachoff said this is a common practice for farmers to lease property
for farming. She felt they should test the market to make sure the city isn't giving
something away. She wanted staff to check if other cities were leasing the properties.
She asked if community garden vendors will carry insurance and hold the city harmless.
Mr. Strunk said staff hasn't looked that far ahead yet, but other communities with this
type of concept usually have the required insurance certificates.
Mayor Weiers asked if the concept is for a community garden or for a farmer to put in an
alfalfa field.
Mr. Strunk said this concept envisions a combination of both ideas, with a manageable
space for a community garden, and the rest of the property farmed out.
Mayor Weiers said farmers will put in a certain investment into the property and said the
city should not allow crops that might have a higher fire danger. He said alfalfa or corn
might be good crops.
Councilmember Turner said there may be an opportunity for some financial gain to the
city and believed the city should lease the land, although there may be less of an
opportunity to lease the land with a shorter use time. He said a lease is the normal
practice and should be expected. He said he is a fan of community gardens and is open
to this concept. He was also interested in greening up other areas in Heroes Park to
present a better face to the community. He asked who would monitor the day to day
operation of the irrigation system.
Mr. Barnard said the vendor would do the initial monitoring and at some point, the system
would be turned over to the city.
Councilmember Turner asked what else the vendor provides for the program.
Mr. Barnard said the vendor would provide the entire infrastructure, including irrigation
piping and/or mainline that leads to the controller, and the new controller itself.
Councilmember Turner clarified it would be piping to the controller and to the internet. He
asked what about sprinkler heads,drip heads or any other system parts.
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Mr. Barnard said the city would be responsible for the balance of maintenance of the
system. He said the water gets distributed to the rest of the park at the ovn8nUer, and it
could be turned off automatically when an overflow sensor is triggered. He said staff
would know immediately if a leak is occurring.
Councilmember Turner what a typical warranty would be on this type of a system.
Mr. Barnard said it would depend on the vendor and length of the cnn0act, and there
would also be a manufacturer's warranty on the parts used.
Mr. Gregory said this is web or cloud-based and is regularly updated. He said the only
thing they would be concerned with is what is underground. The city would save money
because the system is operating more efficiently.
Councilmember Turner said if this makes financial senuo, it's a good thing. He is
concerned about the end of the agreement and the equipment that might not be
warrantied when the program is over.
Councilmember Aldama asked if there was 20 percent savings to the vendor.
Mr. Barnard said it was roughly 20 to 30 percent of total budget savings. He said there
will also be a certain amount of pay back based on the contract negotiated with the
vendor.
Councilmember Aldama asked if it was in water savings.
Mr. Barnard said that was correct,
Councilmember Aldama asked if that was system driven or employee practice driven.
Mr. Strunk said without any new te|emet,y, it continues on as is and there is no savinQo.
He said if they would see a reduction in the water appropriation for the parks and
recreation budget, so they pay back the city, it is an unknown at this time. He said the
savings to the city with this project would be the up-front investments. He said the city
does hire outside contractors to monitor and take care of the irrigation systems. He
explained that is where the savings will be. Those types of contracts will be reduced as
they won't need crews to go out and turn sprinkler systems on and off every time it rains
The majority of the savings will evolve from that as well as using the water smarter and
more efficiently.
Councilmember Aldama said he was familiar with those systems and they work well
He asked when was the last time the valves and other infrastructure was upg,aUed, and
was concerned about putting a new system onto a very old system.
Mr. Gregory said beyond the oontm||ers, the system that is in place now is today's
tenhnu|ogy, and the infrastructure is up to date. He said the city could realize a savings
in its infrastructure costs in the future,as well.
Councilmember Aldama said his biggest concern was the return to the vendor, and
wanted to make sure this project has been justified appropriately if residents question
this.
Mr. Barnard said the total savings for the system with the new technology ranges
between 20 to 30 percent. He said that is not the amount that is given back to the
City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 7,2016
vendor. A negotiated percentage of that savings is given back to the vendor.
Councilmember Aldama said they do not know what that number is.
Mr. Barnard said that is correct,they won't know until an RFP is done.
Councilmember Aldama said he heard 20 percent, but they really don't know what the
number is.
Mr. Barnard said that is based on the performance of the technology.
Councilmember Chavira provided history on this item. He said a great deal of time and
effort has gone into this project from both staff and the Council.
Mayor Weiers said there was a consensus to move forward with this item.
Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted clarification on what staff was asking for on the
farming issue.
Mr. Strunk said he heard a yes on the lease concept. He said they will make sure that is
in the RFP. He explained staff will be in the learning process as they move through this
project. Also, he said this item will be submitted to the Parks and Recreation Advisory
Commission for review and approval. Many of the issues expressed by the Council will
be discussed by the commission and Council concerns will be addressed.
Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to move forward.
•
2. 16-249 APPOINT MEMBERSHIP TO STANDING COUNCIL COMMITTEES FOR
THE 2016-2017 FISCAL YEAR, PURSUANT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
GUIDELINES
Staff Contact: Brent Stoddard, Director, Intergovernmental Programs
Mr. Stoddard said this item is Council's opportunity to appoint its members to serve on
the Council committees. He said there are two Council committees, the Government
Services Committee and the Sustainability Committee. The Sustainability Committee
does not currently have any members and has been inactive since 2012. Mr. Stoddard
explained that the Council adopted a policy that Councilmembers will only serve on a
Council committee for two consecutive years. He said Councilmembers Aldama and
Tolmachoff were appointed to the Government Services Committee in November 2015 and
are eligible to continue serving. Councilmember Malnar assumed the seat on the
Government Services Committee in November of 2015 and is eligible to continue serving
on this committee.
Mayor Weiers asked if each of the Councilmembers were happy where they were at for
the next year.
Mayor Weiers said there was consensus for each Councilmember to continue serving as
they currently are.
3. 16-261 COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: DOWNTOWN
BEAUTIFICATION
Staff Contact and Presenter: Jean Moreno, Economic Development
Officer
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Staff Contact and Presenter: Jon Froke, AICP, Planning Director
Ms. Moreno said this is a response to a Council Item of Special Interest regarding
downtown beautification. She introduced Mr. Froke as her co-presenter on this item.
She explained this request looked at the downtown pedestrian light color change, a
program for common area maintenance, maintenance of the Murphy Park clock, and
post-festival clean up.
Mr. Froke provided background and said from 2008 to 2013; about $350,000 per year was
budgeted for a downtown beautification program. It consisted of 4 full time employees, 2
of which were security guards on bicycles and 2 service workers to help keep the area
clean. Funding for this program was phased out in 2013. Mr. Froke explained the annual
budget for the signature events is about $800,000 per year. The annual revenue
collection for this was about$543,000
Ms. Moreno said staff looked at various ways this type of programming could be
sustainable. Other communities have independent downtown organizations using A.R.S.
48-575, Enhanced Municipal Services District, which allows a higher level of public
service in a specific area. This is funded through property tax assessments and the
scope of services depends on the organization. This type of program requires support
from the business community as well as City Council authorization. Some examples of
these programs are the Downtown Mesa Association, Downtown Chandler Community
Partnership, Downtown Phoenix Partnership, and Downtown Tempe Authority.
Mr. Froke said the color and design of the downtown pedestrian lighting is the other part
of this discussion. He said the Glendale Downtown Development Design Standards
Manual was created in the 1980s and established uniformity in color and design among
multiple urban design elements. He said the current design standard is consistent with
the 1800s era gas light style. He said there are 726 gas lamp style poles in the area,
and options vary from $100,000 to repaint the poles to $1.6 million to completely replace
the poles: Staff recommendation is to continue to maintain the color of the poles as
outlined in the design standards and to conduct an assessment of the fixtures. He said
all the poles should be inventoried and identifying labels placed on each pole so a pole
that requires maintenance can be easily identified.
Ms. Moreno said conducting an assessment will also allow staff to put together a plan to
maintain the poles.
Ms. Moreno went on to discuss common area maintenance. Previously, the city did have
a common area maintenance program which provided specific services. Currently, the
trash receptacles are emptied three times a week pursuant to a Parks Maintenance
contract, cleaning debris and sweeping alleys on a monthly basis by Public Works, and
street sweeping as needed, monthly or quarterly by Public Works.
Mr. Froke explained the Murphy Park clock has been inspected, repainted and cleaned
since this initial Council Item request at a cost of $1,200, and was paid by the Parks and
Recreation Department. Mr. Froke said post-festival clean-up for special events is
handled by special events staff with temporary or contract employees. They monitor the
special activities before, during and after the event. Parks and Recreation staff also
monitor the event area on the Monday after the special event to make sure the area has
been cleaned properly.
Ms. Moreno said in conclusion staff looked at the existing data to make some decisions
regarding the staff recommendation. The recommendations include assessing and
labeling all pedestrian lighting fixtures, as well as maintaining the current service level for
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trash receptacles, alley cleaning and street sweeping. She said staff also recommends
conducting an assessment of exterior maintenance needs of city-owned properties and
commons areas, which includes City Hall campus and parking garage, Murphy
Park/Library, Bank of America campus and garage, Civic Center campus, Public
Safety/Court campus, Sine Office Building, and other vacant properties such as the Bead
Museum, SVDP, and Thunderbird Lounge.
Councilmember Aldama said this item originally came from a longtime resident of
Glendale who wanted to see a downtown beautification project. He said the lamp posts
should be left black, and agreed that assessments should be done on the lamps.
Councilmember Chavira agreed with all the recommendations, including maintaining the
current colors of the light poles. He said the timing is perfect and they need to show off
the downtown area.
Councilmember Turner thanked Ron Brewster for his suggestions and spoke about
adding flower planters and possibly chimes to the downtown area. He said some of the
light poles are in need of repair and repainting. He hoped more downtown businesses
would be interested in assisting to enhance the downtown area once they find out about
the statute. He asked if the enhancement was just for the downtown area or if it would
cover the Centerline area as well.
•
Ms. Moreno said explained the various ways cities create their downtown beautification
area, and said it can be structured any way the Council wishes. She said the structure
of the Enhanced Municipal Services District is driven by what the community itself wants.
She said a community conversation would need to take place. She said in the past,
there hasn't been a strong interest from the business community for a project like this,
but that interest might be shifting.
Councilmember Turner said common area maintenance has improved recently. He spoke
about improvements to the Thunderbird Lounge and maintenance on the park benches by
citizens and other groups. He said he is concerned about the pre-festival clean-up. He
said the area west of Grand Avenue on Glendale should also be included in the clean-up
and beautification process and suggested flower planters to make the area look nicer.
He also said City Hall and 57th Drive should also be part of this program.
Ms. Moreno said the map that was included in the Council packet was intended to assist
in showing the costs for increasing services, and this was based on the former levels of
service. She said there is no plan to add flower planters at this time. That should be
included in any community discussions.
Councilmember Turner said that was one of the suggestions and asked for clarification.
Ms. Moreno said the staff recommendation is to maintain the existing levels of services,
which does not include flower planters. Staff would like to hear from the community
about their concerns and interests in this project.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if staff wanted specific direction from Council on each
point or just direction in general from the list provided.
Ms. Moreno asked if she was talking about the staff recommendations.
Councilmember Tolmachoff said yes.
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Ms. Moreno went over the staff recommendations.
Councilmember Tolmachoff agreed they need to address exterior maintenance needs of
City Hall. She asked if staff wanted Council to prioritize the list of services that was
provided.
Ms. Moreno said they are open to any Council suggestions.
Mr. Phelps said the Manager's Office is committed to enhancing the downtown area. He
said staff really does not have good data to identify what the issues are that are holding
back the downtown area. Staff needs to do a better job reaching out to the community to
find out what resident issues are. He said it may not be a beautification issue, but rather
a public safety issue. He said staff is currently assessing a scope of work to address
both interior and exterior issues at City Hall. He said once the scope of work has been
identified, there are funds in the FY16-17 budget to address the issues. He said he
wanted to compile the data to make sure the strategies are very successful in the end.
Councilmember Aldama said he would like to also see an inventory of the trees in the
downtown area so assessments can be made where and when to plant trees and what
type of trees to plant.
Councilmember Turner asked how or when this data will be developed.
Mr. Phelps said staff is working on concepts with the Economic Development Department
on how to mobilize downtown merchants to begin this conversation and obtain the
necessary data. He said the lack of coordination with local merchants is hindering this
process. He said staff wants the merchants to be successful in downtown and need to
begin the conversation to find out what the merchants need and want in this area. He
said these plans only work when there is broad buy in from the community and business
owners.
Councilmember Turner said there is only one actual bullet point that is not currently being
done and that is assessing and labeling the light fixtures. He asked if that included
cleaning the globes.
Ms. Moreno said that was correct.
Councilmember Turner asked if changing the light source might provide more flexibility
with the light poles.
Ms. Moreno said staff did look at putting the pedestrian lights on the ROAM system.
She said there is a cost associated with that. She said the initial plan included
identifying and assessing the existing poles, cleaning them and getting them labeled.
Councilmember Turner said it seemed the consensus is to proceed with the light pole
assessment and cleaning and maintain current service levels. He was disappointed they
were not moving forward with anything proactive with downtown beautification.
Councilmember Aldama said he was disappointed there was not a plan to beautify
downtown. He said they are continuing current service levels and asked to, increase
current service levels.
Ms. Moreno said they want to create sustainability over the long term. She said that is a
concern there hasn't been any funding in the past for those programs. As decisions are
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made for the future, staff wants to ensure they have a better idea what issues the
community is concerned about and the best way to spend the money. She said they are
continuing to look at what the public/private partnerships can do to assist with this
process.
Councilmember Aldama said the Council makes decisions on data provided and asked
staff to come back with costs for increased services levels so Council will know what it
includes. That will help them determine whether to move forward. He also wanted to add
Catlin Court in this costs assessments as well.
Ms. Moreno said preliminary cost estimates were done and provided in the Council
Report, and said staff wanted to make sure they had a sustainable model for the future.
Mayor Weiers said it would be nice if they could do all the things on the list provided, but
wanted to expedite building maintenance. He would like take care of the city structures
and look at costs associated with some of the service items.
Councilmember Malnar asked if there were any beautification projects in downtown that
could be paid by the GO tax.
Ms. Moreno said staff will have to follow-up on that question. GO funding has been used
for pedestrian alleyway projects.
Councilmember Chavira was in support of continuing this assessment. He also wanted
to include Catlin Court and was appreciative of Councilmember Malnar's attempt to think
outside the box for funding sources.
Councilmember Turner said the annual costs for the five items listed were about
$153,000. He suggested using community service hours to assist with some of the
services. He said the city has to do what it can when it can and they should utilize every
opportunity that they can now.
Councilmember Aldama said he has been without an iPad for about a week and didn't
see the cost estimates he spoke about earlier.
Councilmember Tolmachoff said they know they need to do something, but they need to
get more data, set priorities and then set a plan in action in place. They need to engage
the merchants and figure out the next few steps so they can spend the money effectively
and efficiently.
Mayor Weiers said there was a consensus to move forward.
4. 16-266 COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: CITIZENS' COMMISSION ON
HUMAN RELATIONS AND DIVERSITY
Staff Contact and Presenter: Jim Brown, Director, Human Resources and
Risk Management
Mr. Brown said this item is in response to a Council item of special interest of a request
for a citizens' commission on human relations and diversity. Mr. Brown said research
was done with benchmark cities and human relations commissions were found in six
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cities. The committees were advisory in nature, provided an annual plan to Council and
focused on the promotion of inclusion and unity within the community. Staff
recommendations include that the commission be advisory in nature, advice Mayor and
Council on diversity issues or policies, recommend ways to encourage mutual respect
and understanding community wide, discourage prejudice and discrimination within the
community and work toward cultural awareness and unity within the community.
Additional recommendations include recognizing contributions of persons from diverse
backgrounds by supporting cultural and community events and providing education about
such persons to the general public. The commission would also serve as a public forum
to receive stakeholder input on issues related to the purpose and functions of the
commission and collection information regarding complaints of discrimination and advise
Council. Mr. Brown cautioned that this commission would not be a complaint receptacle
with expectation for the commission to take action.
Mr. Brown said staff recommends the commission have 11 members, appointed by
Council, broadly representing the diverse demographics of the community. Members of
the commission shall be Glendale residents, representatives of businesses located in
Glendale, and stakeholders representing educational institutions located within Glendale.
Members of the commission shall serve 2 year terms. Police and Fire shall appoint
liaisons to advise and assist the commission, as needed. Once membership is
determined, the commission will establish rules, regulations and procedures that will
govern its affairs, including provisions for selection of a chair and vice chair and other
officers as deemed necessary. The commission will also establish and time and place
for regular and special meetings and establish bylaws and an annual plan.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked about collecting information about complaints.
Mr. Brown recommended that language not be in the ordinance.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the 11 member count included the Police and Fire
liaisons.
Mr. Brown said the 11 members would be appointed by Council, and there would be two
additional Police and Fire liaisons as resources if needed.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the 11 members would all be at large or Council
appointed.
Mr. Brown said appointment of members would be at Council discretion, but staff
recommends appointing residents of the city of Glendale, which may include one
representative from each district, a Mayoral appointment, members from the business
district and members from the educational institutions.
Councilmember Malnar said the information packet made reference to disabilities, and
asked if that meant the Commission on Persons with Disabilities would be merged.
Mr. Brown said other cities have done that, and he has had some preliminary discussions
about that. He read a statement about the purpose of the Commission on Persons with
Disabilities and said there are similarities between that and the Human Relations
Commission.
Councilmember Malnar asked if the Commission on Persons with Disabilities could just
be renamed and change focus rather than creating a new commission.
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Mr. Brown said the Commission on Persons with Disabilities is specific to issues dealing
with persons with disabilities within the community. This commission would be
expanded to a more diverse population.
Councilmember Malnar confirmed that they wanted to .keep both commission, and that
the Commission on Persons with Disabilities is specific to that community.
Mr. Brown said that was correct.
Councilmember Malnar suggested there be commissions on age, religion and other
specific items rather than combining the commissions into one.
Mr. Brown said staff can take a look at combining the two commissions.
Councilmember Malnar spoke about a recent legislative bill that puts state shared
revenues in jeopardy if the city does anything that is not a policy of the state, and asked
if there is any risk to the city. He said the state has chosen not to take any action on
these types of things. He asked by not taking action, if the city is going against the will
of the legislature.
Mr. Bailey suggested Councilmember Malnar is referencing SB1487, which says in the
event one or more members of the legislature believes that a city has taken an action that
violates state law or the Arizona Constitution, they can request the Attorney General to
undertake an investigation into whatever action that city has taken. The AG's Office can
have a finding of yes, have a find of no or have a finding of maybe. He explained what is
in jeopardy is 6 months of the city's state shared revenue. He said there is risk as the
city moves forward in some of these areas. He said this is new and he doesn't know
what the outcome would be. He said staff can research this more and provide Council
with more information, but there is risk involved. He said this will continue to be the case
as the city conducts business in the future.
Councilmember Malnar said they need to look into this some more.
Mr. Bailey said that is correct.
Councilmember Malnar wanted staff to explore what value these types of commissions
have provided to other cities.
Vice Mayor Hugh said the Commission on Persons with Disabilities have had a hard time
making a quorum and have gone from meeting monthly to meeting every other month. He
said it would be a good idea to contact them to see if they would mind taking on
additional responsibilities and adding members to that commission. He said he would
rather add responsibilities to that commission rather than see the commission disband
because they don't have any work to do.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked a question about commissions establishing
subcommittees, and asked if any commissions had that authority.
Mr. Brown said he would have to check on that.
Councilmember Tolmachoff said she would like to know the answer to that.
Mr. Bailey said he would have to check, but believed some of them have the ability to
create subcommittees.
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Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there Were parameters on who could be on that
subcommittee.
Mr. Bailey said this is a challenge from the staff perspective. He explained the ordinance
has been drafted under the assumption of what they think they've heard that the
Councilmembers want. He said staff is looking to Council for guidance on what they
want. He asked for feedback from the Councilmembers so changes could be made.
Councilmember Tolmachoff said she was concerned that the commission would be built
on people who all have their own mission and they wouldn't be able to accomplish
anything. She said if they were going to allow this, it would need to be specific on who
would make the appointments.
Councilmember Malnar asked if it would be appropriate for Councilmembers to provide
their thoughts individually on what they think should be included or excluded.
Mr. Bailey said staff can provide a framework where that can occur. He said it is difficult
with new legislation, and welcomes Council feedback. He said staff can bring back
additional options that are available.
Councilmember Turner asked if Mr. Bailey was aware of any state law that would prohibit
creation of a commission on human relations and diversity.
Mr. Bailey said he was unaware of anything in that regard.
Councilmember Turner said he could see the possibility of incorporating the Commission
on Persons with Disabilities into the diversity commission once it is up and running. He
said focus of Commission on Persons with Disabilities has little to do with the focus of
diversity commission. He also said it would not be appropriate to consider the persons
outlined in the human relations ordinance as having disabilities. He would like to see the
Council proceed in creating this commission. He said thought it should be given to
subcommittees. He said the commission might be able to receive information rather than
collect information.
Vice Mayor Hugh said the members of the Commission on Persons with Disabilities have
done a nice job and asked if they might be interested in taking on additional
responsibilities.
Mr. Phelps said the struggle may be determining what is the appropriate area for policy
development. He discussed processes for amending the ordinance. He said the Council
can craft the specific language they want. He explained staff should not be in a policy
making role. He encouraged the Councilmembers to provide direction to staff.
Councilmember Aldama said he is comfortable with the ordinance. He said if they
combined the Commission on Persons with Disabilities with the new commission, they
would be pre-determining the commission members, and he was a little concerned about
that. He liked Councilmember Turner's idea of possibly combining the commissions at a
later date.
Councilmember Tolmachoff said she was a little confused on how they got to the number
of 11 commission members for the diversity commission. She asked if there would be a
budget associated with this commission to provide events.
Mr. Brown said if there is an annual plan with a budget component, it would go into the
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budget of whichever department would be staffing that commission. He said there are
budget funds allocated for diversity issues. He said other human relations commission
work in partnership with the community, businesses and other organizations. The only
cost for those types of organizations would be the cost of staffing for the department
responsible for that commission.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there would be oversight for the events held for this
commission.
Mr. Brown said it would depend on what that event is.
Vice Mayor Hugh said the reason he is talking about the Commission on Persons with
Disabilities is that it is included in that and at the bottom it talks about persons with
disabilities. He wanted to allow those commission members an opportunity to participate
and broaden their responsibilities.
Councilmember Malnar agreed with Mr. Phelps' statements about the legislative process.
He was in favor of moving this forward for additional study after the questions have been
answered. He said the commission is a big deal and it is important.
Mayor Weiers said the Commission on Persons with Disabilities has cancelled 6
meetings since July 2015. He discussed how many meetings several other commissions
have cancelled during that same time period. He also said he wanted to get more
answers before moving forward.
Councilmember Turner said they can always offer amendments at a voting meeting. He
said it might be a good idea to try and achieve consensus on what they could today. He
wanted to know if there was consensus today about the 11 members for this commission
being made up of one for each district and 4 at large members.
Councilmember Malnar said as a point of order said he thought Mr. Phelps said they
should not be doing that kind of thing, and suggested they go through each item and vote
by consensus.
Mayor Weiers said they are not voting on anything right now.
Councilmember Malnar said he knew it was not voting, but asked if it was appropriate to
try and achieve consensus on some items.
Mr. Bailey said generally the AG's office looks at this kind of practice favorably. He said
everyone understands the Council is not taking legal action tonight, but would have to
take legally binding action at a subsequent meeting.
Councilmember Turner said he would be interested in knowing if there was consensus to
design the commission that way. He also wanted to know if there was consensus to
allow the commission members to choose a chair and vice chair. He asked if there was
consensus to strike two words, "complaints of", where it speaks to collecting information,
so the text would read "collect information regarding discrimination and advise the
Council." He said those were the three areas he thought the Council could make
progress on at this meeting.
Councilmember Aldama said he could meet consensus for that.
Mr. Brown said that was initially what staff recommended and it was discussed with
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Council prior to that. He said the concern would be that this commission would be a
body that would take complaints and take action on those complaints. He said there is
no mechanism at this point to do that.
Mayor Weiers asked if there is a consensus to remove that piece.
Mr. Bailey responded to Mr. Brown. He asked what the Council wanted, and if they
wanted a body that will be quasi-judicial. He said if the Council does not want the
compliant aspect and removes that from the Ordinance, the commission will still have the
ability to collect information and advise the Council. He said staff needs to understand
whether the Council wants a mediating body.
Councilmember Tolmachoff spoke about the specific language about collecting
information in the Ordinance.
Mr. Bailey clarified this would not be a body to adjudicate complaints.
Vice Mayor Hugh said he did not remember the Council talking about collecting
information on complaints and discrimination, and asked if that is what they have
discussed and recommended in the past.
Mr. Brown said on February 2nd, there was discussion of complaints, and there may
have even been discussions about that prior to the February 2nd meeting.
Vice Mayor Hugh wondered if Council discussed putting that in the Ordinance.
Mr. Brown said there were discussions about complaints in the February 2nd workshop.
Mr. Phelps referenced Councilmember Turner's comment about taking out the specific
words "complaints of," and said the City Manager's Office would be comfortable with that
change. The commission is designed to try and get a picture of what is happening in the
community. He said they were uncomfortable with the word complaint because it implies
a certain process or a certain expectation. He said this is an advisory body to the
Council, and as such, they should be able to gather information and provide context for
the recommendations that body makes. He said the Manager's Office will take direction
from the Council.
Councilmember Malnar agreed with Councilmember Tolmachoff that Item 6 does that, and
they should eliminate Item 7 altogether.
Councilmember Turner said the difference between the two is one is passive, to serve as
a forum and receive input if it comes forward and as it comes forward. It does not give the
commission any proactive data-driven opportunity. Keeping the language about collecting
information regarding discrimination and advising Council gives the commission the
opportunity to go out and collect useful and reliable data on the issue. He said having
both would allow the commission to receive input from their stakeholders and provides the
ability to be proactive in getting good data.
Councilmember Malnar spoke about the language "advocate and promote all aspects of
diversity," and said it was a broad statement and is inclusive. He said that includes what
Councilmember Turner is talking about.
Councilmember Chavira said he is full support of Councilmember Turner's
recommendation.
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Councilmember Tolmachoff said it is a valid point that they are not going to create a
separate commission for elderly people, people of different races, or people of different
religions. She said the Commission on Persons with Disabilities is having trouble
reaching a quorum and said the Council needs to address incorporating those members
into the new commission or come up with another idea.
Councilmember Aldama suggested the Council deal with the issue of how to get a
quorum on the Commission for Persons with Disabilities, and staff should be tasked with
trying to fix that problem.
Mayor Weiers said the Aviation Advisory Commission has not cancelled meetings, but
has a tough time keeping their members.
Councilmember Tolmachoff said her point was that there were many distinct groups listed
and disabled communities were part of that list. She suggested the Council decide how
they want to deal with incorporating the commissions.
Mayor Weiers said he would like to know if the Commission on Persons with Disabilities
would like to be a part of this human relations commission before making any decisions.
Vice Mayor Hugh said that was the point he was trying to make and wanted to make
sure those commission members were included in the process. He would like staff to find
this out and report back to Council.
Councilmember Turner said they can proceed and put this on the calendar and would
receive feedback from the Commission on Persons with Disabilities whether they would
like to disband and become a part of the new human relations commission or if they
wanted to stay on the Commission on Persons with Disabilities. He again went over the
three areas he felt the Council could reach consensus on.
Mayor Weiers asked what the benefit would be of 11 members versus 7 members.
Councilmember Turner said a commission of this sort has many interested communities
who might want to be included. He said business and educational institutions might want
to be included.
Councilmember Chavira agreed and said 11 gives the commission a bigger and broader
perspective.
Councilmember Malnar agreed with the second recommendation. He also liked the idea
of one commission member from each Council district, and did see value in having a
couple other members as well.
Mayor Weiers said if some Councilmembers felt a higher number is better, then each
Councilmember could appoint two members to the commission.
Councilmember Aldama agreed with Councilmember Turner's request, but said they are
trying to set an example for the youth. He suggested having one appointment from each
district,two at large appointments, and then two youth appointments.
Councilmember Malnar said he would agree to 7 district appointments and 2 at large
appointments.
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Mayor Weiers asked where the 2 at large appointments would come from.
Mr. Brown said in the February 2nd meeting, some Councilmembers wanted
appointments from the business and educational communities, and he brought back a
recommendation today based on that discussion.
Mayor Weiers said that any of the 7 district appointments could include members from
those various communities.
Mr. Brown said that was correct and it was up to the Council to make that determination.
Councilmember Malnar said they could agree on 7 today and that number could be
changed at some point in the future.
Councilmember Turner asked if there were other commissions that had more than 7
members.
Mr. Bailey said that was correct.
Councilmember Malnar asked where they go from here.
Mayor Weiers asked if there was consensus on 7 members for the commission.
Councilmember Malnar asked what's consensus.
Mayor Weiers said it can be changed in the future. He said he was just trying to get
movement on this issue.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what the process to change that number later was.
Mr. Bailey said an amendment can be proposed and the Council can vote on that
amendment at the time it is made.
Mayor Weiers clarified they can make an amendment before they vote, and asked once it
goes into effect if it can be changed later on and how difficult the procedure would be.
Mr. Bailey said it would be the same process, each amendment would be voted on
separately.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if they go with 14 members, so each Councilmember
would have two choices and pick whoever they think are the best choices.
Councilmember Turner and Councilmember Chavira agreed with that.
Mayor Weiers said it was a good idea when he first brought it up.
Councilmember Malnar said he thought it was way too many.
Mayor Weiers said he was concerned with the other commissions that were having a
hard time getting a quorum. Mayor Weiers asked if there was a consensus on 14
commission members.
Mr. Bailey said the council needed to be wary is an even number of commission
members, so votes may fail. He also cautioned on having minors on a commission as
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parental permission is required.
Mayor Weiers wasn't concerned about the even number of commission members. He
was more concerned about getting a quorum.
Mr. Bailey said he was just advising the Council of potential issues.
Mayor Weiers said there was consensus for 14 commission members. Mayor Weiers
another issue was removing the entire last sentence or just removing the word
"complaints." Mayor Weiers asked if there was consensus to remove the entire last
sentence. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus on that.
Councilmember Turner said not to remove the whole last sentence.
Mr. Brown said the concern was the word "complaints," and that it would make this more
of a judiciary body,which is not the intent.
Mayor Weiers asked if there was consensus to move the last line.
There was further discussion about what language was concerning.
Mayor Weiers clarified it was one sentence, but the last two lines.
Councilmember Turner said Mayor Weiers was looking at the Ordinance itself.
Mayor Weiers said paragraph B, number 7, under section 2-302.
There was further discussion about what specific language was in question.
Councilmember Turner clarified what language he was talking about.
Councilmember Malnar said that was the sentence they were talking about.
Councilmember Aldama asked if they were asking to remove the whole thing.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what the difference was between collecting information
and gathering stakeholder information.
Councilmember Malnar said that is why 7 is not needed.
Mayor Weiers said it was not necessary.
Mayor Weiers said they did have a consensus on removing that paragraph, starting from
number 7.
Mayor Weiers asked Councilmember Turner what his third point was.
Councilmember Turner said his final point was that the chair and vice chair positions be
determined by the commission members, rather than by the Council.
Mayor Weiers asked where he was at.
There was further discussion about what section was under discussion.
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Councilmember Turner read specific language and said the chair and vice chair shall be
determined by the commission.
Councilmember Tolmachoff said that is not how they determine the chair and vice chair
on all commissions. She said they all come through the Government Services
Committee.
There was further discussion about this issue.
Councilmember Turner asked if they could ask Mr. Bailey.
The Councilmembers discussed the issue further.
Councilmember Malnar said leaving it how it is, is how he's seen it done so far.
There was further discussion by the Councilmembers about this item.
Councilmember Turner said he believed there were commissions that determined their
own chair and vice-chair.
Mr. Bailey said the authority of who is actually the ultimate determining body is set forth
in the ordinance that establishes the board or commission.
Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if they should get a recommendation from the
commission, because they all still have to go through the Government Services
Committee and approved by Council.
Councilmember Turner said it would be his preference that the commission determines
their own leadership and if procedures require the Councilmembers to sign off on it, which
was fine.
Mr. Stoddard said there are committees that choose their own chair and vice chair. He
said those recommendations are still brought through the Government Services
Committee and have Council formally ratify those decision. He said it is not required, but
that has been the practice in the past.
Councilmember Tolmachoff said since there were 14 members on the commission it may
become an issue at some point.
Councilmember Malnar said he liked it the way it was currently stated.
Vice Mayor Hugh said he did not have a problem with the commission making their own
selection of chair and vice chair.
Mayor Weiers asked if there was consensus on the commission making their own
appointment of chair and vice chair, but those appointments will still come through the
Government Services Committee and Council. Mayor Weiers said they have consensus.
He said he wanted this to come back to a workshop and wanted to know the thoughts
from the Commission on Persons with Disabilities.
Councilmember Malnar said he would like to have specific answers to the questions he
asked at a workshop.
Councilmember Aldama commented on striking out Item 7, and said the City Manager
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accepted removing just the word"complaints."
Mayor Weiers asked if there was consensus for bringing this item back to a workshop
with all the questions answered.
Councilmember Turner said he did not know what all the questions were.
Mayor Weiers said there were several that Councilmember Malnar asked earlier.
Councilmember Malnar his questions how they plan to fold the Commission on Persons
with Disabilities or should this commission be folded into the disabilities commission.
Has the city court been brought into this discussion regarding the legal aspects. Who
creates the rules which this group will promote all aspects of diversity. What value the
commission provided to other communities. Question regarding recently passed
legislation regarding putting city funds in jeopardy.
Vice Mayor Hugh doesn't want to exclude Commission on Persons with Disabilities and
wanted to include them in the process.
Councilmember Turner said folding the disability into the human relations commission is
a Council decision and didn't see what staff could provide toward that decision. He would
like input from the commissioners. He said input from the other cities could be handled
by a memo, as those are value judgments. He also said input about the SB 1487 could
be handled by a memo from the Attorney's Office. He said he did not see the need to
workshop this item again.
Councilmember Malnar agreed that a memo would be advantageous, but still felt this
items warranted further discussion in a workshop.
Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to bring this item back to another workshop.
Mayor Weiers asked what else staff needed.
Mr. Brown said he has his direction.
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
City Manager Phelps had nothing to report.
CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT
City Attorney Bailey had nothing to report.
COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST
Councilmember Chavira said the widow of Cesar Chavez passed away yesterday.
Councilmember Malnar asked staff to develop into a policy providing handicapped citizens
a reduced fee schedule for pay for services in the city, combined with the discount
program currently offered to seniors and veterans.
Councilmember Turner asked for input on Councilmember Malnar's item of special
interest from the Commission on Persons with Disabilities.
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MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION
A motion was made by Councilmember Malnar,seconded by Vice Mayor Hugh,
to enter into Executive Session.The motion carried by the following vote:
Aye: 7- Mayor Weiers,Vice Mayor Hugh, Councilmember Aldama,Councilmember Chavira,
Councilmember Malnar, Councilmember Tolmachoff, and Councilmember Turner
EXECUTIVE SESSION
City Council entered into Executive Session at 4:27 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
City Council adjourned at 5:18 p.m.
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct
copy of the minutes of the meeting of the Glendale City Council
of Glendale, Arizona, held on the 7th day of June, 2016. I further
certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a
quorum was present.
Dated this ISS day of j.1.4L `� ,2016.
Julie K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk
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